The Great and Random Ramblings of Cannwin

One of the hardest, least talked about, issues with being a soldiers wife is the fact that we deal with the possibility of being widows on a much more common level than perhaps the rest of society. Not that I'm bragging, because, believe me you, it's not a fun thing to deal with. When a soldier leaves for a war zone, one of the first things they are required to do is put their will in order. Even when Ralexwin isn't running off to shoot at enemy combatants he is still expected to review his will (and other such things) perhaps once a year. At 20 years old, I swore to myself that I would never remarry. I said, "I love him like I've never loved anyone. I'll never, ever, ever want to marry again if he dies." It's all very poetic and romantic, but then he actually went to war. Nothing in this world will change your point of view quite as quickly as staring down the barrel of that very gun you've been talking about. At 23 years old... I saw ...

The military has been a part of my life for quite a while now. In fact, it was one of the things that attracted me to Ralexwin. I'd known soldiers (my brother mostly) and I deeply admired the honor such a commitment represented. I can still remember Ralexwin coming over to my apartment dressed to the nines in his Class A's. I don't recall where he was going, but I won't forget the masculine power that emanated from him and as soon as I saw him in that uniform I was a lost woman. Not only did it appeal to my femininity, but also to my respect for those qualities of duty, courage, and honor. I saw it as being a part of something greater than self and I loved it in my future husband, but those were days of peace. My childish mind barely registered the true oaths of a soldier, and I honestly didn't really care. I was enamored with the romantic notions of being a soldier's wife. When September 11, 2001 happened Ralexwin and I had been married for less than a ye...

Last night, after watching my new favorite TV-via internet crush--Law and Order UK-- I got to thinking about accents. I've always felt that I had a rather poor showing when it comes to accents. I mean, in Britain everyone crosses (crawssez) their t's (thair tee's) and rounds their r's quite (rowndz thair arr's qwIte) nicely. Their speech has character (kairecht'r). Where in America we-seem-to-just-talk-in-a-flat-montone-and-as-if-we-are-all-running-late-for-work. So I got to wondering, last night, what my accent really is. Do I have one? How would someone from Britain describe it? Do they think that their speech is melodic or monotonous? Once, in a store just outside of London the sales lady asked me if she was correct in hearing a little "twang" in my speech. Twang? That makes me feel like I'm a li'l lady from Texas. Except that in Texas they take pride in size... so I'd probably be a big lady from Texas. Here in South Dakota t...

Some mornings when I look at my blog my mind comes up with absolutely zilch to write about. That's when I search the web for blogging prompts (like the ones you can find at plinky.com ). Some mornings I look through the blogging prompts and my mind comes up with absolutely zilch, but then there's the mornings where I come across great prompts like the one below and then my mind starts spilling forth it's wit: via Plinky Prompt: Describe the country you live in to a foreigner who has never heard of it. First of all, where does such a person live? Under a rock? Who hasn't heard of the great U S of A?! We do go by some other names sometimes I suppose--does the Great Satan ring a bell? Still nothing? Well, rock-dweller, let me tell you a little bit about the most powerful nation in the world. First of all we're pretty big (land mass wise, not in stature), about half the size of Russia, but then again if you haven't heard of the US then who are we fo...

Great-Grandma W. with possibly your Grandma (insert married name here) Plinky Prompt: Write a note to a relative who lives 100 years in the future. To Whom It May Concern: If you are reading this I am dead. Alright, alright... if you are reading this 100 years from now then I am dead. Unless, of course, modern medicine has improved to the point that I'm not dead, in which case please shoot me. So, what is it like to live in 2010? Well, we haven't found a cure for Cancer yet. We haven't found a cure for AIDS and we haven't discovered a cure for a myriad of other diseases and ailments, but medicine is far better than it was 100 years before us. You may think it archaic, but for us we are at the peak of scientific discovery and knowledge. We are in the middle of a recession that no politician wants to admit is actually happening. Jobs are hard to come by and education is not the commodity it used to be. People are graduating with PhD's to find that they d...

Here in South Dakota we have a strong sense of history. We rejoice in our vast and magnificent native heritage because we have a lot to celebrate. 10% of our population is Native American.- third largest in the country. We have the Crazy Horse Memorial. We have the Black Hills. We have Wounded Knee. We don't have Little Big Horn...but they went through here to get there. We like to remember where we came from. So today, when the rest of the country is celebrating the discovery of our continent we in South Dakota celebrate the day when an entire civilization woke up, saw Columbus and were informed that they existed.

I was looking at my BBC News ticker this morning, trying to keep up with the newest and freshest information about the world when I came across the most interesting of articles. Frustration from US soldiers who never went to war. ...[M]uch to the surprise of many civilians, when his service came to an end in 2006 and he hadn't served in a combat zone, Mr Agg was sorely disappointed. But in an all-volunteer military, those who sign up are steeled for their possible fate, so missing out on a battlefield tour can be a source of frustration, disgruntlement and, for some, shame. Many in the armed forces feel that too few civilians fully appreciate the drive to serve in combat. "The root cause of the misunderstanding is that the average person wouldn't actually want to volunteer for the military, so they don't understand that motivation to fight in war zone in the first place," Mr Agg, Okay, first of all, let my qualify myself by saying that I hardly think I...

1. When I get hungry I just go eat something. 2. I can read whatever I want! Anti-Christian, Anti-Islamic, Anti-American, Anti-Reality. 3. I can travel to the climate of my choice without getting a passport. 4. I don't live in a mud hut. 5. Contrary to popular belief it is possible for doctors in this country to save lives (before they worry about their profit margin's) I would know. 6. I have a right to bear arms!!!!!!! 7.   I have a right to go to whatever church I want, with my head uncovered and my ankles exposed. 8. I choose for myself what career I'll have. 9. I can have as many children as I want. 10. It's actually written that I have a right to pursue life, liberty and happiness. Remember, people actually die to allow you the right to care.... so care. Happy Fourth of July everyone.  Be safe.

Two days early and he shows up on my door, ringing the doorbell like a would be suitor. I love it when he does that. I get to walk up to the door and see this soldier standing there smiling at me. It makes me feel like I was 19 years old again leaning out my apartment window to smile at the man I hadn't spoken to for two weeks. It makes me think of being five months pregnant with our first child and him showing up at home, hopping the fence and coming in the back door, which scared me enough to scream for my brother-in-law (and then roommate). Then realizing who it was I jump up and run across the room only to have him hold me back in wonder at how much my belly had changed in those two weeks. Me tying white ribbons on his duffel bags so that he could identify them among the masses. Him driving his motorcycle through the night (and day) from Missouri to Phoenix (stopping only once) to see me before he was deployed to Iraq. Me wearing his second best pair of dog tags as i...

Happy Martin Luther King Jr. Day. One of my favorite quotes that MLK Jr. said is: The ultimate weakness of violence is that it is a descending spiral, begetting the very thing it seeks to destroy. Instead of diminishing evil, it multiplies it. Through violence you may murder the liar, but you cannot murder the lie, nor establish the truth. Through violence you may murder the hater, but you do not murder hate. In fact, violence merely increases hate. So it goes. Returning violence for violence multiplies violence, adding deeper darkness to a night already devoid of stars. Darkness cannot drive out darkness: only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate: only love can do that. Martin Luther King Jr is one of my all time favorite heroes. Did you know that he was  hand picked by the bl...

Alright... which one of you generous Britainians (is that a word?) did it? You could have saved it for yourself and yet you did it for me. I'm touched *sniffle* Really I am. I mean with those odds. If only it hadn't gone in with my spam messages I could have retired to a tiny island in the South Pacific. *sobs* But really, whoever the generous soul was. Thank you... it could have been you dear UK-anite and yet you gave it to me--an American.

For in a republic, who is "the Country"? Is it the Government which is for the moment in the saddle? Why, the Government is merely a servant — merely a temporary servant; it cannot be its prerogative to determine what is right and what is wrong, and decide who is a patriot and who isn't. Its function is to obey orders, not originate them. Who, then, is "the country?" Is it the newspaper? Is it the pulpit? Is it the school-superintendent? Why, these are mere parts of the country, not the whole of it; they have not command, they have only their little share in the command. They are but one in the thousand; it is in the thousand that command is lodged; they must determine what is right and what is wrong; they must decide who is a patriot and who isn’t. In a monarchy, the king and his family are the country; in a republic it is the common voice of the people. Each of you, for himself, by himself and on his own responsibility, must speak. And it is a solemn a...

It's time to come out of the closet, to make a confession. Everyone better sit down... I'm a Democrat. I'm a conservative but a democratic one. I'm anti-abortion, pro-marriage amendment. Anti-capital punishment, pro-gun control. I was anti-going into Iraq, but now I'm pro-finishing what we've started. I'm pro-taxes on the top 1%, pro-government health insurance. I'm anti-ANWR drilling, pro-alternative fuels. And my family doesn't have a clue. My sister will be shocked, my dad might keel over, my friends might stop speaking to me but it's time I stop hiding it from everyone. I like Obama. I like the environment and I don't mind trying to protect it. I like embracing culture and diversity. I like peace. I like the idea of a government who lifts it's people so that the people can lift their government. I believe that the job of the government is to sustain and protect it's people. So today I have decided it's time to show my true blu...

25 Images that come to mind when I think of America: 1. Fireworks on the 4th (bombs bursting in air). 2. Turkey, cranberry sauce and hot pies at Thanksgiving. 3. Rocky Mountains climbing ever upwards. 4. Windows thrown open to catch a breeze. 5. Planes crashing into the Twin Towers. 6. Basketball games. 7. Bull riding and rodeo's. 8. Cowboy hats and Wranglers. 9. Native American Pow-Wow's (worth going to BTW). 10. Arizona! scorching hot cement and great shopping. 11. Church on Sunday's. 12. Segregation 13. Integration 14. Abraham Lincoln 15. 4th grade State History 16. Lee Greenwood "Proud to be an American" 17. Country music 18. Barbecues on Memorial Day and Labor Day 19. Road trips 20. Those nasty cars that for sure didn't pass inspection and insist on depositing their smog into your car. 21. Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness. 22. National Treasure (the first one) 23. High School Graduation and that first day of Summer. 24. The American Flag 25. Fre...

Being the wife of a soldier is no easy task. I have endured things I never imagined would be asked of me. First and foremost, sending my husband to war. This was extremely difficult, and I would not wish it on my worst enemy, but it is not where the greatest of our sacrifices have come. No, my gift to this country is not in watching for days on end as the news recounted stories of wounded soldier's, each time wondering if it were my own. It was difficult beyond measure, to be sure, when my husband was sent into Fallujah . These things have not gone unmarked in my heart. It is, however, easier to endure the obvious, because it is just that, an enemy before you to attack full on without regret. But when Ralexwin missed his daughter's first steps or his son's, I cried. When I was alone to battle a son who would not talk, my heart nearly burst from pain. My trials came from nights when I would wake from nightmares and have n...

When I was in England, I learned all kinds of fun new things. I learned about the diversity of a single language. And how easily it is to misunderstand someone simply because their slang is different. For example, I was told by our coach driver that one time he was driving a bus load of American teenager's. It was near the end of the trip and they were all tired so he made the comment "Come on boys, keep your pecker's up." (or something) The boys- being teenager's- all burst out laughing and he had to ask what was so funny. Evidently, pecker is slang for chin in England. I also learned that they weigh themselves in stones over there. Stones? Yeah, that's about how I reacted. So today I looked it up. A stone is 14 pounds or 6.4 kilograms (as if that really matters to us). It is a measurement greater than pounds, so your weight would come out stones with the left overs being in pounds. Example: I weighed myself this morning in stones- since my totally cool digit...