Dearest creature in creation,
Study English pronunciation.
I will teach you in my verse
Sounds like corpse, corps, horse, and worse.

I will keep you, Suzy, busy,
Make your head with heat grow dizzy.
Tear in eye, your dress will tear.
So shall I! Oh hear my prayer.

Just compare heart, beard, and heard,
Dies and diet, lord and word,
Sword and sward, retain and Britain.
(Mind the latter, how it’s written.)

Now I surely will not plague you
With such words as plaque and ague.

But be careful how you speak:
Say break and steak, but bleak and streak;
Cloven, oven, how and low,
Script, receipt, show, poem, and toe.

Hear me say, devoid of trickery,
Daughter, laughter, and Terpsichore,
Typhoid, measles, topsails, aisles,
Exiles, similes, and reviles;
Scholar, vicar, and cigar,
Solar, mica, war and far;
One, anemone, Balmoral,

Kitchen, lichen, laundry, laurel;
Gertrude, German, wind and mind,
Scene, Melpomene, mankind.

Billet does not rhyme with ballet,
Bouquet, wallet, mallet, chalet.
Blood and flood are not like food,
Nor is mould like should and would.

Viscous, viscount, load and broad,
Toward, to forward, to reward.

And your pronunciation’s OK
When you correctly say croquet,
Rounded, wounded, grieve and sieve,
Friend and fiend, alive and live.

GO AHEAD. FINISH IT. IF YOU DARE

Graduation Ceremony, Great Lakes 

There were 13 Divisions, with 952 Sailors, one of whom was mine. My son David decided he was going to join the military when he was 8 years old.  It’s been a long trip, and his mind changed a few times about just what to do, but he’s in and happy.  Next stop, Nuclear Power School in Goose Creek , South Carolina.

New Sailor, New Sailor’s Dad and New Sailor’s Biggest Fan, PO2 Big Sister.

There’s a year and a half or so of tough schooling ahead for our fine young man, but he’s up to the challenge.  When he’s done with school his first duty preference is to be a Nuclear Machinist Mate on Fast Attack Submarines.  Long time from now, but all fingers and toes are crossed.

Attending David’s graduation were his Father; Idaho Joe, Mother,;Mrs. Idaho Joe, Sister; Po2 Big Sister, Girlfriend, Paternal Grandfather and Maternal Grandmother and two cousins.  Since any graduate is only allowed four confirmed guests plus any active duty military, three of the family had to wait outside until the hall was filled.  Luckily everyone got in and witnessed our wonderful son and grandson’s triumph.

An interesting note is David left for Boot Camp just before his 17th Birthday this year.  His Grandfather, also David, joined the Navy 60 years earlier, at the age of 17,  and was a Machinist Mate on a Destroyer during the Korean War.  And August 26th was his Grandparents 50th wedding Anniversary, may my blessed Mother Rest in Peace.

David flew to Charleston on Saturday the 27th, just behind Hurricane Irene. He’s settled in and started his first classes.  The kid has done us proud.

Strangely, I find the music to be rather fitting.

I’m not much for tooting my own horn, but in the past 7 years or so that I’ve been following this blog, I’ve come to think of y’all as sort of a virtual circle of friends, some of whom I’ve even had the pleasure to meet. And, since many of you know the trials & tribulations I’ve gone through in the last several years (like a certain motorcycle accident), I thought it would be appropriate to share with you some recent news that has given us at Chez Harvey great joy:

This past Thursday I was interviewed by the accession board for the California Army National Guard and was unanimously approved for immediate accession as full-fledged Chaplain!

I have already been assigned to the “Blackjack” 1st Battalion, 160th Infantry Regiment up in LA, and am preparing to deploy with them sometime in 2012.

I want to thank y’all for all of your kind thoughts, prayers, and well wishes that you’ve sent my way over the past years – God is always faithful, or as I like to put it, ADONAI IS SEMPER FI!

If you’re so inclined, feel free to head over to my blog at http://www.adonaisemperfi.blogspot.com/ for more thoughts and news about what’s been going on with me. Who knows? You might even find something inspiring!