Staff Sgt Jason Ross - Marine

These past couple of days have been a little rough on me, and I am glad to say that I am feeling much better. I apparently got hit with something, and it left me with little to no energy and my sinuses were very congested (still are some). Linda had to put up with me, especially at night, when I was making all kinds of noise sleeping, like coughing and snoring. The overall congestion was pretty bad, and woke me up several times as well. She did manage to get some sleep, but it was disturbed and really not very restful. Of course you wouldn't know, watching her; she just kept on going, like the Energizer Bunny. Jason is continuing to heal up and is becoming more active around the house. He recently purchased a fish aquarium and now has seven fish in it. It is a 75gal. tank and has room for a few more, and he intends to get more, just taking his time so that the environment settles and it is good for the fish. He has been reading up on this activity and now knows more than most on ...

Lots of updates, and I truly apologize, but I don't have any new pictures to post. I will do my best to get a couple for tomorrow - and make another post. First of all, Jason is doing very well. His one remaining wound is continuing to heal and close, and we are all very anxious for it to finish up. Everything else has completely closed and if it wasn't for the fact that I know where they were, I would be hard pressed to point them out, specifically. Jason is also experimenting with different hobbies. He has been interested in guns, and has collected a few, over these past couple of years. Fortunately, one of the first things he did was to purchase a large gun safe, and it IS very large (weighs in at over 1/2 a ton, and also bolted down to the floor). He likes to get out and target practice, and he is getting pretty good, even with his pistols. Considering the damage that was done to his hands and nerves, this is a big deal. He is also very particular on how his guns are stor...

Happy Friday the 13th! Actually, this has been a good week, over all. It started out a little on the shaky side, as our Fusion of the past seven years, died. We had about 64,540 miles on it, so the mileage was actually pretty low. The problem was that a cylinder and piston decided that they just didn't want to work anymore. I was driving to an appointment (more on that later) at the VA, and I got as far as the exit off the freeway. The engine literally stopped working just before the exit, and I coasted to the top and then pulled over to the side. I was out of traffic and then waited. I did still make the appointment (hospital was in walking distance at that point), and immediately after I called for a tow and walked back to the car. I was gone for less than an hour, so I was fortunate that the CHP didn't ticket the car. A couple of hours later the tow truck showed up - driver had been given bad information from his dispatch. I had him tow me to a Ford dealer. Funny part is...

We (Linda and I) had a great couple of days with our son David and his wife Miriam, and their two boys Dylan and Ethan. It was Grandparent's Day at their school and we were invited to go. This was our third time for us going, and we had just as much fun this time as we did last time... but I'm getting a little ahead of myself. We drove up to Los Angeles, Thursday morning. Our nephew Wayne, who works for Enterprise, was able to get us a nice discount on a car rental (again - Thank you, Wayne) and that way we didn't have to put extra miles on Jason's van, and the rental car got great gas mileage. Anyway, we decided that since we were heading up a little early it would be okay to do a little exploring and we started out on Interstate 15, rather than on 5. Everything was going great until the GPS decided to loose it's mind. It took us on an extra 40 mile loop, that ended up going backward for a little bit. It all worked out and it was an "exploration" after ...

A good day today, as a milestone of sorts was achieved - - - by Jason. He went to the gym over at the Wounded Warrior Battalion on Camp Pendleton, and got a chance to work out. He worked with a few other guys and with a physical therapist, and most importantly, he had a good time. There was an opportunity for one of the therapists to work on his shoulders and he felt a great deal better after having them worked on. Because of the positive nature of the visit he is wanting to go more often and on a regular basis. I will be going with him for most of the visits, and assisting him with a couple things, but for the most part it is all Jason. I think the opportunity to work with other Marines, again, was a good feeling for him, as well. I guess the funniest part was when he got there, there was a new "receptionist" who challenged him and asked if he was an alum of the battalion. Jason said he was and then a few of the guys came out and one of them knew Jason from the past and it...