slatten49 Loc: Lake Whitney, Texas

The following is a re-posting of a thread by me from several years ago....

Last November, I made a trip to the west coast. Primarily, I was there to see my son, his wife and our new grandson. I also took advantage of the trip to attend a Khe Sanh reunion with many of my Viet Nam buddies and others who were at that siege and major battle during the Tet Offensive of 1968. In order to coordinate with Veteran's Day and the USMC Birthday, our reunion was in San Diego and Camp Pendleton, Ca. On our visit to Pendleton, we had the opportunity to mingle, meet and socialize with some of America's finest for an entire day. Each of us 'old salts' left feeling comforted and secure in our belief that today's Marines and military are as fine a group of young men and women as our country could ask for. That visit reminded us, once again, that Americans always come to the forefront when circumstances might suggest, to some, that our country is in trouble.

On that trip, I took the opportunity to visit as many OPP posters as I could whom I was aware of on the route to and from those destinations. In similar fashion, this last May I took a trip east to attend a granddaughter's high school graduation in eastern Georgia. While heading to and from that destination, I again took advantage of my trip to visit yet another group of OPP posters. In light of both trips, I can say without hesitation that each was filled with memorable friends, visits and events that I will carry with me 'til my dying breath. I could not thank any of you nearly enough for the chance you provided for sharing time together. Each of you were absolutely wonderful!

Combined, my trips allowed the opportunity to meet over a dozen* members of the OPP forum. Allowing myself to make a personal observation/evaluation, that group ranged broadly from strong conservative to moderate & liberal thinkers. Each was gracious and hospitable towards me, and all proved to be enjoyable company. I might add...each lady was exactly that, and the gentlemen were just that...pure gentlemen. Just as noteworthy was my impression that each shared a common thread of being a proud American. As an American, I felt as proud of them as I did of my former unit and Veterans, albeit in a different way. I would be remiss if I did not mention those who could not meet on my trip due to circumstances, and the many with whom I have shared PMs, or had met in other trips. I have no doubt that any meeting between us would have proven just as memorable as the ones I shared with others.

I write all this after yet another episode of disappointment in reading so many vitriolic and bitter comments on the forum towards one another. I truly believe if we all had the same opportunity as I did to meet, we would find so much more in common than we may possibly realize. I refuse to give up on my belief in the overall goodness of Americans and of our country. Likewise, I do not hesitate in my belief that we, as a nation, will survive our greatest fears.

I close with a quote attributed to Harry Truman...one of my favorite sources for quotes..."I have no desire to crow over anybody, or to see anybody eating crow...figuratively or otherwise. We should all get together and make a country in which everybody can eat turkey whenever he/she pleases."

SEMPER FI

*I now have met, face-to-face, 18 OPP posters. I expect to meet a few more this month on a trip east.

Lonewolf

ACP45 Loc: Rhode Island

If you are ever visiting the state of RI and in the Bristol area, give me a shout. I'd love to share a cup of coffee or glass of beer with you.

woodguru

I met some of the guys on Gunbroker, and later some from Predatormasters. they had a hard contingent of right wingers with a common thread of being gun enthusiasts. I had a guy from Oregon come down to meet me, he had passport business in San Francisco so I told him to swing by for a couple of days. I had gotten along with the guy prior to this, and we talked on the phone regularly. He was there partially to figure out whether anything I talked about online was BS or not. We took the infamous Audi S8 out for a midnight run, and he reported that considering the short period it got up to 160mph and how hard it was still pulling it could easily pull the 188 at redline I had said it would. He would ask my wife about particularly unbelievable things and she'd ask what I'd said, on many she would say I hadn't told the whole story and she would fill him in.

He reported to the group on an open post that everything I had said was the real deal, and many people replied that if Doug said I was for real that was good enough for them, this caused me to be treated differently by many. I went on to meet another eight guys or so from GB that wanted to go target or ground squirrel shooting.

I have said before that I have a lot of right wing shooting and fishing buddies. I don't let politics get in the way of friendships, and I do not label those on the right in some dark pigeonhole where I lose sight of the fact that they are people, many of whom I would consider friends. I don't think right wingers should be eliminated because of their political beliefs.

It's easy to label people and forget they are people.

slatten49 Loc: Lake Whitney, Texas

I will be meeting a few OPP posters/former posters at the North Carolina Viet Nam Memorial just southwest of Greensboro, N.C. on the 24th of this month. My daughter, from Kingston, Tn., will be joining us at that meeting.

Unfortunately, that will be at far east as I travel on this trip. However, one of our former posters is flying down to Greensboro from Boston. He will be met by another poster from the D.C. area who will bring him down with her for our BBQ get-together on the hallowed grounds of that particular Memorial. The BBQ provider is from Charlotte, N.C., and I have heard only good things about North Carolinian pulled pork & BBQ.

Otherwise, ACP45...perhaps in the future, I would love to share that time & drink with you.

slatten49 Loc: Lake Whitney, Texas

Thanks, LoneWolf, and fellow Marine Vet

slatten49 Loc: Lake Whitney, Texas

Yes, it is, Woodie. Thanks for that report.

Wonttakeitanymore

Very nice slatten ur are a true gentle-man God bless ur heart!

slatten49 Loc: Lake Whitney, Texas

Thank you, sir/ma'am. Like most things in life, it takes constant effort.

Tug484

Awesome.