Every Day is a Holiday
Over the years I have had the chance to serve with many folks in the Army. In that much mixing with other folks you get to see all kinds. I believe we can learn from everyone we meet and work with. From some we learn things to do and from others we learn what not to do.
I also believe that there is often great wisdom in short phrases or sentences and also how we look at things makes a tremendous difference. There are phrases that I have learned over the years that have been very helpful to me. They have helped me through tough times and given me a better perspective on life.
Here are some of the sayings I learned:
Every day is a holiday, every meal is a banquet, and every gathering is a party.
Of course every day in the Army isn’t a holiday but it makes the hard days a little easier when soldiers say things like that to each other. But everyday was a day to live and enjoy. It’s better to enjoy the day than to bury yourself in bitterness.
There really weren’t any banquets but we did have food. In truth many of our meals were nasty. Some times when in the field we ate in the dark and the food was put on our plates in the dark. The chocolate cake might be on top of the salad and the salad dressing may be on the potatoes but it was food and every bite was a taste bud surprise. You never knew what the next fork full would be. I’ll never have some of those combinations again. I had the opportunity to have a truck hood and about every other thing as a table. I have flicked the fat or other uneatable stuff from the plate and thrown it under the brush. You just don’t dare do that as a kid growing up or in a restaurant.
We had many gatherings or formations. Few things we did were a party or fun unless we made it so. Making things fun is up to us. We all have the choice of being happy or unhappy. Most of the time we blame circumstances for our unhappiness but really it comes from how we look at circumstances.
We can make it, we can take it!
In basic training we ran and ran. One of the sayings we sang as we ran along went something like this: “We can make it, we can take it. PT (Physical training) so good. One mile we can make it, two miles we can take it, three miles so good, four miles is better!” And there were many other good things that we chanted as we went aching down the road. Over the years when things got tough those good words of “we can make it, we can take it” have come back to strengthen me and keep me going.
Keep the dirty side down and the bright side up!
There is a flight instrument that is called an “attitude indicator”. The attitude indicator tells the pilot when he or she is in the clouds, and whether the aircraft is right side up or bottom side up. When an aircraft is right side up the bottom of the instrument is painted black to represent the earth and the top is painted white to represent the sky. If the pilot lets the dirty side get on top, the aircraft is bottom side up and may run into the earth. But when we keep our attitude with the dirty side down and the bright side up, we are going to be all right in the end.
There are old pilot and there are bold pilots but there aren’t any old bold pilots.
There are times when combat pilots need to be bold and take some risks that normally should not be taken. But too often pilots and other folks act boldly or recklessly and soon it gets them in trouble. Often we get away with reckless behavior for a while but before too long we go too far too many times and end up in a crash. A little prudence is a wise thing!
If you don’t have something to do – don’t do it here!
In Army Aviation there is a great number of officers because the pilots are all officers. When pilots are not flying there can be times when there is nothing to do. During these times, the enlisted soldiers are working on the aircraft and preparing things and the pilots are just hanging around telling stories. This is not good for moral so pilots were told “If you don’t have something to do – don’t do it here.” Or in other words, get out of sight of those who have to stay here and work. Many times people who don’t have something to do take up the time of those that do and slow down progress. It is best to get out of the way and let people who have a mission get on with it.
It all counts towards 20!
Those who had decided to make the military a career used this saying. When they were given a job or assignment that was not the best they would say, “It call counts towards twenty” meaning their twenty years they needed for retirement. Many times we need to just remember that the current unpleasant task counts towards our eventual goal.
They can mess with me but they can’t stop the clock. Or, I’m getting shorter everyday.
Those counting the days until they would get out of the Army or transfer out of some place like Vietnam often used these sayings. Both sayings were making a statement that time was ticking past and soon the unpleasant situation would be over. There are many times in life when we need to just hold on for a bit longer because the end of the situation is coming and we are getting closer to it all the time.
Every Landing You Walk Away From Is a Good Landing
There are landings that pilots make that are so smooth that you can’t even tell you have touched the ground. Then there are the other landings that are either “okay” or pretty rough where you just hope that nothing is broken. That’s when the pilots say, “Any landing you walk away from is a good landing.” Pilots do feel bad when the landings aren’t the best, but in the final analysis, if we are still in the game of life we still have a chance and not all is lost. So when those days happen that things don’t go the way you hoped, just remember that any landing you walk away from is a good landing!
What are they going to do to me, bend my dog tags and send me to Vietnam?
This saying was used in Vietnam. In Vietnam there were times that soldiers did something that the higher-ups didn’t like and the soldiers would get chewed out, scolded, yelled at, etc. The recipient of the scolding would then use this statement, which meant that things were already as bad as they could be and so what had just happened had no effect on them. The person was saying, I’m already in Vietnam and might get killed so do they really think they can make things worse for me? I knew many that bent their dog tags so they had both bent dog tags and they were in Vietnam already! Sometimes we are in a spot and don’t see how anything or anybody could make it worse. There are times when even feeling that things can’t get worse can help. When you feel you are at the bottom and things can’t get worse, even feeling you are at the bottom helps you to feel better than thinking you might have further down to fall.
Some Folks Are Spring-loaded to the Stupid Position
There are many switches in helicopters. A few of the switches are spring-loaded so that they must be pushed and held to activate something and as soon as they are released they spring back into their home position. We used to say there were people like those switches. For a brief moment they might move out of that home position and do something smart but as soon as they could they would return to the stupid position which was home for them. They only had fleeting moments of using their brains. They just seemed to be spring-loaded to the stupid position. Probably all of us have days when we seem to be spring-loaded to the stupid position. I’ve spent my time there! Some times I’ve looked back and wondered what I was thinking on those occasions.
I’ve Got Mine
Some times there are people that seem to have an attitude that as long as they have what they want or need they don’t care about anyone else. We used to use this saying to describe those folks that thought they were the center of the universe and if they had what they wanted they didn’t care what happened to anyone else. There are some of these folks around but thank goodness there aren’t any more than a few of them! The universe can only have so many centers!
We Must Maintain A Rigid State of Flexibility
Many people have a tough time in the military because they do not maintain a rigid state of flexibility. When folks are unable to roll with the flow and accept change on a regular basis they get up tight and struggle in a sea of change. Life is a series of things in motion that are always changing. It's better to expect change and that things are not going to go as planned because rarely do they go exactly as we thought they would. The ability to accept change and even be part of it is one of the keys to a successful military operation as well as maintaining sanity in life. When we get really good at maintaining a rigid state of flexibility we can even keep our heads up and enjoy the wild ride through life and see it as an adventure not a series of frustrating disappoints.
Sayings or phrases not only help us express some feelings, they can give us encouragement, strength and perspective. Good sayings can be like flotation devices that buoy us up and carry us through the tough times. Though those around me may not always understand these sayings I still use them to carry me along! They still serve me well!
I also believe that there is often great wisdom in short phrases or sentences and also how we look at things makes a tremendous difference. There are phrases that I have learned over the years that have been very helpful to me. They have helped me through tough times and given me a better perspective on life.
Here are some of the sayings I learned:
Every day is a holiday, every meal is a banquet, and every gathering is a party.
Of course every day in the Army isn’t a holiday but it makes the hard days a little easier when soldiers say things like that to each other. But everyday was a day to live and enjoy. It’s better to enjoy the day than to bury yourself in bitterness.
There really weren’t any banquets but we did have food. In truth many of our meals were nasty. Some times when in the field we ate in the dark and the food was put on our plates in the dark. The chocolate cake might be on top of the salad and the salad dressing may be on the potatoes but it was food and every bite was a taste bud surprise. You never knew what the next fork full would be. I’ll never have some of those combinations again. I had the opportunity to have a truck hood and about every other thing as a table. I have flicked the fat or other uneatable stuff from the plate and thrown it under the brush. You just don’t dare do that as a kid growing up or in a restaurant.
We had many gatherings or formations. Few things we did were a party or fun unless we made it so. Making things fun is up to us. We all have the choice of being happy or unhappy. Most of the time we blame circumstances for our unhappiness but really it comes from how we look at circumstances.
We can make it, we can take it!
In basic training we ran and ran. One of the sayings we sang as we ran along went something like this: “We can make it, we can take it. PT (Physical training) so good. One mile we can make it, two miles we can take it, three miles so good, four miles is better!” And there were many other good things that we chanted as we went aching down the road. Over the years when things got tough those good words of “we can make it, we can take it” have come back to strengthen me and keep me going.
Keep the dirty side down and the bright side up!
There is a flight instrument that is called an “attitude indicator”. The attitude indicator tells the pilot when he or she is in the clouds, and whether the aircraft is right side up or bottom side up. When an aircraft is right side up the bottom of the instrument is painted black to represent the earth and the top is painted white to represent the sky. If the pilot lets the dirty side get on top, the aircraft is bottom side up and may run into the earth. But when we keep our attitude with the dirty side down and the bright side up, we are going to be all right in the end.
There are old pilot and there are bold pilots but there aren’t any old bold pilots.
There are times when combat pilots need to be bold and take some risks that normally should not be taken. But too often pilots and other folks act boldly or recklessly and soon it gets them in trouble. Often we get away with reckless behavior for a while but before too long we go too far too many times and end up in a crash. A little prudence is a wise thing!
If you don’t have something to do – don’t do it here!
In Army Aviation there is a great number of officers because the pilots are all officers. When pilots are not flying there can be times when there is nothing to do. During these times, the enlisted soldiers are working on the aircraft and preparing things and the pilots are just hanging around telling stories. This is not good for moral so pilots were told “If you don’t have something to do – don’t do it here.” Or in other words, get out of sight of those who have to stay here and work. Many times people who don’t have something to do take up the time of those that do and slow down progress. It is best to get out of the way and let people who have a mission get on with it.
It all counts towards 20!
Those who had decided to make the military a career used this saying. When they were given a job or assignment that was not the best they would say, “It call counts towards twenty” meaning their twenty years they needed for retirement. Many times we need to just remember that the current unpleasant task counts towards our eventual goal.
They can mess with me but they can’t stop the clock. Or, I’m getting shorter everyday.
Those counting the days until they would get out of the Army or transfer out of some place like Vietnam often used these sayings. Both sayings were making a statement that time was ticking past and soon the unpleasant situation would be over. There are many times in life when we need to just hold on for a bit longer because the end of the situation is coming and we are getting closer to it all the time.
Every Landing You Walk Away From Is a Good Landing
There are landings that pilots make that are so smooth that you can’t even tell you have touched the ground. Then there are the other landings that are either “okay” or pretty rough where you just hope that nothing is broken. That’s when the pilots say, “Any landing you walk away from is a good landing.” Pilots do feel bad when the landings aren’t the best, but in the final analysis, if we are still in the game of life we still have a chance and not all is lost. So when those days happen that things don’t go the way you hoped, just remember that any landing you walk away from is a good landing!
What are they going to do to me, bend my dog tags and send me to Vietnam?
This saying was used in Vietnam. In Vietnam there were times that soldiers did something that the higher-ups didn’t like and the soldiers would get chewed out, scolded, yelled at, etc. The recipient of the scolding would then use this statement, which meant that things were already as bad as they could be and so what had just happened had no effect on them. The person was saying, I’m already in Vietnam and might get killed so do they really think they can make things worse for me? I knew many that bent their dog tags so they had both bent dog tags and they were in Vietnam already! Sometimes we are in a spot and don’t see how anything or anybody could make it worse. There are times when even feeling that things can’t get worse can help. When you feel you are at the bottom and things can’t get worse, even feeling you are at the bottom helps you to feel better than thinking you might have further down to fall.
Some Folks Are Spring-loaded to the Stupid Position
There are many switches in helicopters. A few of the switches are spring-loaded so that they must be pushed and held to activate something and as soon as they are released they spring back into their home position. We used to say there were people like those switches. For a brief moment they might move out of that home position and do something smart but as soon as they could they would return to the stupid position which was home for them. They only had fleeting moments of using their brains. They just seemed to be spring-loaded to the stupid position. Probably all of us have days when we seem to be spring-loaded to the stupid position. I’ve spent my time there! Some times I’ve looked back and wondered what I was thinking on those occasions.
I’ve Got Mine
Some times there are people that seem to have an attitude that as long as they have what they want or need they don’t care about anyone else. We used to use this saying to describe those folks that thought they were the center of the universe and if they had what they wanted they didn’t care what happened to anyone else. There are some of these folks around but thank goodness there aren’t any more than a few of them! The universe can only have so many centers!
We Must Maintain A Rigid State of Flexibility
Many people have a tough time in the military because they do not maintain a rigid state of flexibility. When folks are unable to roll with the flow and accept change on a regular basis they get up tight and struggle in a sea of change. Life is a series of things in motion that are always changing. It's better to expect change and that things are not going to go as planned because rarely do they go exactly as we thought they would. The ability to accept change and even be part of it is one of the keys to a successful military operation as well as maintaining sanity in life. When we get really good at maintaining a rigid state of flexibility we can even keep our heads up and enjoy the wild ride through life and see it as an adventure not a series of frustrating disappoints.
Sayings or phrases not only help us express some feelings, they can give us encouragement, strength and perspective. Good sayings can be like flotation devices that buoy us up and carry us through the tough times. Though those around me may not always understand these sayings I still use them to carry me along! They still serve me well!
posted by Bruce | 9:06 AM
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