Day: November 10, 2021

Closing Thought–10Nov21

It is that time again when we get together with family and friends to have a large meal and some sort of sports (no doubt)….it is Thanksgiving time again.

My family serves up Turkey, mashed potatoes, sweet potato casserole, green peas, mac and cheese (my granddaughter’s favorite), green bean casserole, bread…..sort of typical…..but this year we will be paying money cash for our meal….

The American Farm Bureau says the average cost of preparing a Thanksgiving dinner fell to its lowest level in a decade last year—but 2021 is a very different story. Price hikes on numerous items for a variety of reasons are set to make this year’s Thanksgiving feast the most expensive on record, the New York Times reports. Canned cranberries will cost more because of a steel shortage, turkeys will cost more because the price of the corn they eat has more than doubled, and dinner rolls will cost more because the price of baking ingredients has gone up.

“When you go to the grocery store and it feels more expensive, that’s because it is,” Farm Bureau economist Veronica Nigh tells CBS. The bureau predicts that a typical turkey dinner with all the trimmings will cost up to 5% more than it did a year ago. Supply chain issues and labor shortages are also driving up prices. Norman Brown at Wada Farms in Raleigh, NC, says he is paying truckers almost double the normal rate to haul sweet potatoes. “I never seen anything like it, and I’ve been running sweet potatoes for 38 or 39 years,” he tells the Times. “I don’t know what the answer is, but in the end it’s all going to get passed on to the consumer.”

Analysts say turkey prices per pound are on course to top the record of $1.36 set in 2015. It’s not clear whether consumers will face shortage of ingredients, though some have started stocking up already. “I picture a perfect storm of increased demand and lack of supply,” says food writer Matt Lardie. Nigh at the Farm Bureau, however, says people should be able to find whatever they want, though they might pay more for it. She says this is a normal production year for turkeys, but many farmers kept them on feed longer to deal with an expected rise in demand. “If you can’t raise more turkeys, raise turkeys that are a little fatter,” Nigh says.

Sorry for the bummer news….but I felt I should let my readers know ahead of time so they could make any adjustments that they may need.

Be Well…..Be Safe…..

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

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The Effects Of Being A Soldier

The army has its first female sniper…..

A Montana soldier is the first woman to graduate from the US Army’s sniper course, the Montana National Guard announced. “We are extremely proud of this soldier’s achievement and recognize that this is a milestone for not only Montana, but the entire National Guard and Army,” said Maj. Gen. J. Peter Hronek, per the AP. The military is not identifying her at this time. The soldier enlisted in the Montana Army National Guard in December 2020 and underwent a 22-week training course at Fort Benning in Georgia that combines Army basic training with advanced individual training in infantry skills.

Her training staff recommended she be given the opportunity to attend the sniper course after she qualified as an expert shooter. She began the US Army sniper course in September and graduated on Nov. 5. “We’re all incredibly proud of her,” says Capt. Joshua O’Neill, her company commander. “There wasn’t a doubt in our minds that she would succeed.” The course trains soldiers to deliver long-range precision fire and to collect battlefield information. Now that her sniper training is completed, she will rejoin her Montana National Guard unit. Though she is the first to complete the Army’s intensive course, several women have previously completed the shorter training of the Air Force, notes Military.com.

I say good for her…..but…….

I recently wrote a post for those thinking about enlisting in the military…..

Thinking Of Enlisting In the Military?

As a continuation I would like for my readers to think about the psychology of being a soldier…

Firstly we all should be aware of the large number to veterans who are choosing suicide as a way out of their torment.

It is a seldom told cost of war.

When I returned from Vietnam I had a difficult time re-entering society. Within 48 hours I went from rain soaked Mekong Delta to the streets of New Orleans…..dealing with that was mind bending….the sounds and smells could trigger a response at any time.

I only had two tours and it is hard to realize what someone is going through with 10 or more deployments.

This article is what the psychological effects of being a soldier….

Supreme Court ruled that there is no place for a cowardly soldier in the army. The incident in question occurred in 2006 in the Kashmir Valley, when the army had surrounded militants inside a cordon. During the ensuing firefight, the dismissed soldier chose not to engage with the cornered militants and instead deserted his post, because of which the militants were able to break the cordon, kill an army personnel and decamp with a machine gun.

The soldier was armed with an assault rifle and a pistol but did not retaliate with either. The honourable bench pointed out that soldiers cannot be exonerated from cowardice just because they had participated wholeheartedly in previous operations, and had never displayed fear prior to this incident and upheld his dismissal from service.

The Psychological Toll of Being a Soldier

These are things that are seldom considered when one enters the military….with promises of signing bonuses and health care and training and….on and on….but NO where is the side effects are discussed….and it should be.

If you are thinking of entering the military to do your part to protect your country then please do some research.

Please, please take the time to do the searches and then weigh the pros and cons of military service….the side effects can be lethal.

Turn The Page!

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”