December 22, 2004
Marshall Trimble (Ask The Marshall) Emailed us today with an alarming message:

"Yesterday a rocket or suicide bomber hit the mess hall at Camp Marez, outside Mosul. My son Roger and his men were inside when it hit and all the soldiers in his vicinity were hit by shrapnel except Roger. His assistant was wounded and the soldier behind him was killed. Several of the soldiers he works with were also killed. Roger lost his hearing for a while but is okay now."

Quite sobering and very close to home. Marshall's son Roger graduated from West Point. A very good kid from Arizona.

Meetings today. Had to make some hard decisions based on deadlines and cooperation. Staff seemed to take the outcome well.

Mike Melrose took the sales staff and me and Bob Brink to lunch at El Encanto. Sat in the horno bar area and had a fun lunch (Mike paid! Somebody call the Nobel Peace Prize people!).

Today I got a cool spur clock, a box of candy, a mind mapping DVD by Bob Davies for presents. Yesterday Robert Ray gave me an athletic sweatshirt, with "True West Aesthetic Department" on the front. Looks like a typical athletic department sweat, except for the Aesthetic part. For the number he put 53, as in the year of our founding. I wore it proudly all day yesterday. Went home, took it off, laid it on Kathy's side of the bed so she'd see it when she got home (I wanted to show it off).

She got in at seven, went into the bedroom and I heard a loud, "Oh, thankyou! This is so cool!" And I went in and said, "Yeh, I thought you’d like that." I know, I know, men are such weinies.

I need to start my Christmas shopping tonight (Hey, this is early for me!)

"If all men knew what others say of them, there would not be four friends in the world."
—Old Vaquero Saying