Being the correctness they can see

Being the correctness they can see

When things change so does your perspective. I have been struggling with college algebra and last week I locked myself away for two days at home to try and figure out synthetic division. I got mad and watched the same video three of four times until all of a sudden I caught that one little thing that was holding me up. Then the problems added a new twist and I went to the CLE and sat with three tutors until they brought in the head tutor and we painstakingly went through a “Zeros Theorem” problem step by step and finding all compliments that make up the zeros of a polynomial function until it made sense to me and then Thursday I sat with my assigned tutor and we went over graphing rational functions and asymptotes and the compound interest formula. Now I got excited, after all I was a California Mortgage and Real-Estate Broker and held my Life and Health, Series 6, 63 and passed my investment advisor’s license exams. I didn’t know that formula but I knew the rule of 72 so I back engineered the problem using the rule of 72 and I got to the right answer as fast as my tutor did using the formula but I think that formula might come in handy so I am going to learn it.

Now as I am working through all of this algebra I get a call out of the blue from a retired Naval Intelligence officer who then retired as an analysist for the FBI asking if I know anyone who served in the invasion of Grenada. Well I happen to know a few and they had some great stories. Somehow a couple of guys have been able to work with Hollywood to consult for some movies but the others signed nondisclosure agreements and don’t want the hassle of reversing them but the best story I was told was how a couple of guys I know who were given the mission to go to the Governor’s mansion to rescue the Governor but when they got there no one was there. They went inside and one of them fired a couple of rounds out of an open window and they got the attention of an Armored Personnel Carrier with a 105 howitzer turret. The turret turned toward the mansion and they all dove on the floor, hunkered down on the baseboards as the 105 round went right through the room without exploding. The senior team leading pulled out a can of Copenhagen and as he was pinching a dip to put into his lips said “All you need to relax is a little pinch between your cheek and gum.”       

There were a lot of other great stories from those guys. From what I understand enough time has passed since that operation that it can be disclosed and I guess the producer is going to get official authorization because there were a lot of things that happened and it was one of the first operations where SEAL Team Six actually played a major role. The funny thing is, the very next day I stumbled on the senior team leader who gave the Tabaco tagline while in the Governor’s mansion and we friended each other on Facebook. How did that happen? I love those guys. They kept Copenhagen in business.

I started chewing Copenhagen when I was seven years old. My step-dad got me started. He caught me spitting in an ashtray and I got a whipping and he told me “If you are going to chew Copenhagen you better learn to swallow like a man. That was a challenge. I figured out that if you swallow the juice before it builds up, it is not too bad except you get the hiccups. Then when I got really serious into boxing at 19 years old I started trying to quit. 11 years later I finally accomplished that goal. The trick is eating carrots. There is something in carrots that curb your appetite for nicotine. 

It gets hard hearing about my friends from the Navy SEALs who die, either in combat or as a result of living hard. Smoking or drinking too much. That is going to be one of my main messages when I start regularly working with kids. It is always easier to give them direction when they are young. Emphasize the right habits, eat healthy, stay fit, not drinking or doing drugs. Being a good example has lasting impact on those around you. I believe the majority at least know the right things to do. Being an example of living right makes it easy to lead. I remember from Free Fall Jumpmaster School, they taught you to look for correctness. You stand out when you give something to look at. People know when what they see is right and when it isn’t.