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Show Page Six - The Springville Herald - March 26, 2003 by Dr. Earl Tilford (writers Note: l was inspired by a very short piece someone I do not know sent me over the Internet titled, "PRIDE," which spoke ge-nerically ge-nerically of 19 year-olds youngsters learning about the worst of life and the best of life right now in Iraq. Thus inspired I wrote, "A Lion in Iraq" about an imaginary Pennsylvania kid, some might refer to him as a "slacker" "slac-ker" but, he's our "Lion in Iraq.") He'll turn 20 later this year and he's a Marine Rifleman Rifle-man fighting in Iraq. His hair's cut "high and tight" and he's muscled, weighs about 150 pounds. He'd get carded in a bar. In a little over six years he'll be old enough to rent a car. Tomorrow, Tomor-row, if the phone rings at home, his parents pray the voice at the other end won't say, "The Secretary of the Navy regrets to inform you.- if He grew up in a small, nearly abandoned, grey and dismal rust-belt Pennsylvania town west of State College, home of the Penn State Nit-tany Nit-tany Lions. He always wanted want-ed to be a Nittany Lion but he didn't have the grades. Some day,- after he gets to Baghdad, when he's back in PA, he may take some courses cours-es at the local community college... someday... back in Pennsylvania. Penn State? No way. The past four or five years he spent too many afternoons "shootin' hoops" or putting a system into his ten-year-old Camaro. He hung out in the evenings. Studying was for geeks. When he graduated high school... May a year ago... he got no awards. Still, proud parents videoed his shuffle across the stage... his friends whooped and somebody yelled his name.. .he grinned, waved... spun around, did a Michael Jackson "moon walk." His English teacher rolled her eyes, whispered to the' math teacher to her right. That one won t amount to much. Why do I do this?" "Whazz up?" "Fer swiz- zel me nizzel" The S rocks or he listens to hip hop... maybe rap. Back in high school, books weren't his thing but he knows what "get your sierra together" really means. He was up at 0600 last Thursday getting his sierra together, but spent much of the day donning his gas mask, putting on and taking off his chembio suit while SCUDS and El Samo-ud Samo-ud missiles passed overhead, he longed for rack time when the cold desert night closed around him, but his unit moved out... headed for border. When the sun came up he was in Iraq. Outside Basra he used a LAW (light You've Watied a LONG TIME! and now it's ALMOST HERE! U Get a BIG Discount at The Bookmark and Receive a FREE Tote valued at $25 When you pre-pay for your copy TODAY! Wl 717 N. Slain TUB! tain Springville, CT anti-tank weapon) to light up anti-tank weapon) to light up an Iraqi armored personnel carrier. "Woooo Whoo" crowed a buddy. He grinned back a long, "sweet." One time... just once, a high school term paper came back with a "B-" and his mother used a Pappa John's Pizza magnet to affix it to the fridge. Mostly, however, his book reviews and papers were drenched in red ink. Later today-or tomorrow--or next week a helicopter could haul his broken body to a MASH unit dripping a different differ-ent kind of red. So what if he can't write very well. If his rifle jams, he can field strip it, fix it and get it back together. ..in the dark..."hoorah." When his unit stops to rest, he can set a defensive perimeter. If attacked he can switch to the attack mode in a flash. High school English grades aside, he knows the active voice, "Move out!" "Incoming!" "Hit the deck!" "Cover fire! " Words convey meaning! He chows down on MR-Es... MR-Es... "meals ready to eat"...-tuna eat"...-tuna casserole, spaghetti and meatballs, chopped ham and potatoes. A burger, fries and shake at McD's would be max cool right now. He'll drink four quarts of water today and every day he's on the move; but he's share his canteen with a thirsty buddy. He carries 20 clips of M-16 ammo. In a firefight, if the Marine next to him cries out, "I need a clip" he'll toss one over. This kid puts in 12-hour days... stateside. He went 36 hours without sleep then fought his first firefight. What the Corps pays him for this year might cover the cost of tuition, room, board and books at Penn State. He might have to learn some neat stuff at State College but the Corps taught he what he needs for today; like how to kill four ways, field strip his rifle, use the LAW and how to stuff a wound, give mouth to mouth resuscitation... and he wouldn't hesitate to do it... to another guy... not matter how thick the lips or what color the skin. He knows how to jam a needle into his arm or leg... not to get high but to administer nerve-gas antidote. He can..-. can..-. and will... cry when a buddy dies. In 1918, his great-greatgrandfather fought at Cantig-ny Cantig-ny with the Army's Big Red One. Fighting with the Seventh Sev-enth Infantry in World War II, his great uncle took a Nip bullet on Kwajalein. His dad was in the Nam, with the Marines up in I Corps. He may never go to Penn State but he'll always be a Nittany Lion at heart. Today he's our lion in Iraq. (Dr. Earl H. Tilford, Jr. Reserve your copy of "The Other Side n ot Heaven- available on DVD orVHS on April 1st 489 L I z i iffiawaMBA B w 1 i , , Zii Springville artist Alden Oakley has been a visiting snowbird to Quartzsite, Arizona for the past seven years. This winter be spent time painting this mural on the Quartzsite Improvement Association building with the help of another snowbird, Alberta Hoover. The mural depicts life on the desert, is 84 feet long and seven feet film iroIoasodJ Ask almost any Latter-day Saint where the popular saying "eight cow wife" originated, and chances are they will reply, "Johnny Lingo." Now for the first time, "Johnny Lingo" and other film classics that have become an important pan of Latter-day Saint culture are being released on DVD. "In the recently released-film, released-film, 'The R.M.,' the characters charac-ters attend a 'Johnny Lingo' party," said Phil Reschke, Managing Editor of Multi-Media Multi-Media Products at Covenant Communications. "And, although humorous, it was professor of history at Grove City College earned his bachelor's and master's degrees at the University of Alabama before joining the U.S. Air Force in 1969. During his military career he served as an intelligence officer and, from 1975 to 1979, served as part of a team that completed the official history of Air Force operations during the Vietnam Viet-nam War. Tilford earned his Ph.D. at George Washington University and taught history at the Air Force Academy. After retiring, Tilford was an associate professor of history at Troy State University in Montgomery ; and professor of military history at the U.S. Air Force Air Command Com-mand and Staff College. In 1993 he became director of research at the U.S. Army's Strategic Studies Institute in Carlisle, PA, where he worked on a project that looked at possible future terrorist threats. Tilford has authored three books on the Vietnam War and co-edited a book on Operation Desert Storm. He has lectured throughout thro-ughout the U.S. and abroad on the Vietnam War and, more recently, the future of armed conflict. He is a frequent fre-quent commentator on televi- sion and radio news programs pro-grams and his editorials have been published in newspapers around the, country.) - 3698 IDS IK i Jtefeit : Jhi ft, At Glassies on not surprising to see, because many of these classics have reached an almost legendary status." Although it's been approximately ap-proximately thirty years since these films were originally produced, they continue to generate interest. "Cipher in the Snow" is the top-selling video on a popular independent indepen-dent film website, and "Johnny "John-ny Lingo" is in its top ten, according to Mary Jo Tansy, Marketing Coordinator for BYU Creative Works, which began offering these film classics on VHS two years ago after receiving repeated requests. "These films create nostalgia nos-talgia for many people who are then anxious to introduce them to others because of the timeless messages that tug at the heartstrings while teaching teach-ing important moral messages," messag-es," said Tansy, who fondly remembers seeing "Johnny Lingo" in Guam, where she attended grade school, and reflects humorously on the irony of selling those videos so many years later. Tansy said the yearning for strong moral messages is not limited to families, as many schools and businesses are also seeking powerful vehicles to express the important im-portant themes , of compas- sion, forgiveness and courage , to their students and employees. employ-ees. The LDS Film Classics on DVD is available in two different collections, each containing four or five films. The first features "Johnny Lingo" and includes "The Mailbox," "Uncle Ben" and "Christmas Snows, Christmas DVD Get in on the action without the distraction. M Trv ACUVUE 2 Brand Contact Lenses from a name " ' ,v you know and trust Johnson A Johnson. j : If you like to be close to the action and need vision correction, you should consider trying contact tenses. And why not equip yourself with the 1 brand prescribed to patients? ACUVUE 2 Brand Contact Lenses are: Extremely comfortable -you'll hardly know you're wearing them Simple to use - their unique design makes them easy to put on and take off Easy to care for - as recommended by your Eye Care Professional Come see me today for an eye exam and ask if ACUVUE 2 is right for you. :.;cuyyp9 i t- ., 1 Traer G. Caywood, O.D., F.A.A.O. Frank A. Siddoway, O.D. Rick W. Winward, O.D. ACUVUE is , regisuired high and took 34 days to complete. Oakley has studied with artists Paul Salisbury and Glen Turner. He worked for 30 years for the Bureau of Reclamation before retiring. He also painted large mural at the Gold Star Coop Co-op in Quartzsite. Moras ilil Thousands of families along the Wasatch Front living on five to ten acre parcels have dreams and goals for their property. They also have a lot of questions ques-tions regarding those goals. Country Extension Agents from Utah State University (USU) at times feel like they have heard from each and every one of them. "Are there any plants on my property that might poison poi-son my iguana?" "How many animals are too many for my pasture?" "If I drink milk from a goat that's eaten poison ivy will I gain an immunity?" "Properties of this size present a lot of opportunities, but also raise a lot of questions," ques-tions," explains James Barn-hill, Barn-hill, USU Extension Agent in Weber County. Most of these families have horses or some other type of livestock. They want to have beautiful, productive pro-ductive pastured but aren't sure how to make it happen. They have questions about what type of pasture grass to plant, how to maintain or manage the pasture, how to control weeds, how to water, Winds;" the tion features Snow" and Gift," "The second collec-"Cipher collec-"Cipher in the includes "The Emmett Smith Story,' Race," "John Baker's Last and "The Phone Call," which is not currently available in any other format. Each collection retails for $19.95 and is available at Seagull Book and other LDS bookstores. O I ?S trademark of Johiwon & Johnson Vision Car,. Inc. JLk -Jl f Mi rl - Bdp . ffsp how much to fertilize and how to do a lot of other things. Many are also interested inter-ested in enhancing wildlife habitat or improving riparian areas. "In some cases," added Extension Agent Dean Miner from Utah County, "the things families want to do simply are not possible." Property owners need to carefully assess their water and soil resources. Land with little or no irrigation water or with poor soil quality has severe limitations on the quality and quantity of feed that can be raised. These county agents and several of their colleagues have organized a set of Saturday Sat-urday seminars to help small acreage owners answer these types of questions. The first will be held in Utah County on Saturday, Mar. 29, at the Harward Irrigation Building, 940 S. Frontage Road, Springville Sprin-gville (Use 1-15, Exit 263). Registration is at 9 a.m. The workshop will be held from 9:30 a.m. - 2 p.m. A seminar semi-nar in Cache Valley will take place on April 12 and seminars semi-nars in Davis and Summit Counties will follow on May If and 17. Each participant will receive a certificate for a soil fertility test, a management notebook, handouts and door prizes. Cost of the workshop is $10. Lunch will be provided. provid-ed. If you have any questions or would like to register, please call the Utah State University Extension in Provo at 801-370-8480. SPRHLLE EVE CARE 374 East 400 South, Springville 489-5111 Receive a $30 Rebate with al year supply order of eight boxes. Call Office for Details acuvue: AND CONTACT LINtIS www.acuvue.com CJohnson & Johnson Vision Car., Inc. 2002. |
