JR'S COLUMN FOR STANDARD JOURNAL 13 DECEMBER

Tara and I just got back from a competitive game of Tuesday night bowling. Will someone please explain to me how I can bowl a 185 one game, then turn around and toss an 89? I guess there are some things in life that are just unexplainable.

Since Saturday, Tara and I have been playing host to a friend's fiance. Pfc. Eric Day's fiance, Natalie, arrived in Busan (about an hour south of Daegu) on Saturday, and after we picked her up that night, we've done our best to make sure she's gotten to see the attractions. Sunday night she went out with the other enlisted soldiers from our section, along with Tara, to get the first-hand Korean meal experience. This was Tara's first meal like this, too, where the meat and kimchi are actually brought to the table raw, and we cooked the meat there ourselves. Tara enjoyed trying some of the different sides that came with the meal, although a lot of the dishes were a little spicy for her liking.

On Monday night we tried to take her to the Seomen Market, where we had done quite a bit of our Christmas shopping and a good place to look for just about everything (clothes, souvenirs, toys and even fruit and fish). However, when we got there we discovered most of the little shops were closed. Tara and I had never been there during the week before, and we were surprised at the lack of people. However, we didn't let this slow down or ruin the night. Fortunately, we had gotten to this point of town before by walking from the main downtown area, and we were able to follow our steps to get back there and do some shopping in the underground mall.And, as I said, tonight we went down to the post bowling alley and had a good time there. Tomorrow we're planning on making her a Pennsylvania Dutch style meal, with chicken pot pie, and possibly taking a crack at baked corn (although neither is gonna match up with mom's or Country Cupboard's). Oh, and FYI, we made waffles the other day and it really made me hungry for some Country Cupboard Chicken and Waffles. That'll be a necessity when we come home. I know Tara's craving some good soup.

Speaking of coming home, Tara and I are on the home stretch. We've got three more days of work each, a military ball on Saturday and a lot of packing and resting on Sunday. Then on Monday, we'll climb aboard and take the over 13 hour trip home. It's a lot of preparation, but we are ready to go and we can't wait to see everyone at home, and if nothing else, I think we're ready just to see the Susquehanna Valley.

Well, that's it for now. I need to get some rest to get through these next few days. I hope all is well for you and your holiday season is starting to come to life. Until next time, God bless.
(This column appears in the 13 DEC version of Standard Journal. For more information call 570-742-9671).

CHRISTMAS TIME!

Christmas is almost here, and Tara worked hard to get the household looking like home for the holidays. While we won't be here, it'll be nice for Day and his fiance Natalie to enjoy the holidays here.

SO HAPPY TOGETHER

So even though Tara shrunk his shirt and stole it (notice she's wearing it here, too) and she and Day suction cupped the cat's toy to his head, JR looks mighty happy with Tara here on the sofa.

MEAN KIDS

Day and Tara thought the kitty's toy suction cupped on top of JR's balding head was a pretty funny sight. As you can see by the second picture, JR did not find their little prank quite so funny.

ALL SMILES

Tara took some time to while relaxing to smile for the camera. Does everyone like her shirt? It was JR's before it magically shrunk in the laundry, which is weird because there was another one just like it that didn't have the same fate. Oh well.

HUACHUCA CREW

Not as many as originally anticipated made the trip, but there were four of JR's friends from Fort Huachuca that took the time to visit Camp George during Thanksgiving. There were 11 guests in all for the feast which Tara and JR (mostly Tara) slaved over. From left are J-Will, JR, Baynes, Trumbullstix, and Heine.

THE REAL STORY

I've heard the stories about our current president, George W. Bush, enjoying looking at this image and saying it's obvious which country actually won the Korean War. This is part of Asia as seen by satellite at night. You can see how bright Japan and China are, and even South Korea. But as you can see, Pyongyang is the the only mini-light cluster in North Korea. Seoul is the really big light cluster in South Korea.

BEAUTIFUL CITY

This could be a city in a small town anywhere in the U.S., but it's actually a very fake city. I wish I could claim credit for this shot, but it's one I found on the net. This is the city on the North Korean side of the DMZ which has little to no population. The North Koreans play traffic noise, even though there is no traffic, just to make the South Koreans think there's activity here. It's truly a crazy culture. Oh yes, and the flagpole is fairly new. It replaced the old one when the South Koreans installed one on their side of the DMZ that was taller. Not only is this new flagpole taller, but there is a flag over weighing over 600 pounds attached to it. If they were trying to make a statement, they did...unfortunately because of the heft the flag has a hard time waving in the wind.

HARD AT WORK

It was hard work, but somebody had to do it. On the right, PFC Eric Day is getting ready to dig in on making noodles, while below PV2 Al Castinado jumped right in and got down to business. This was also at the Buddhist Temple.

MORE OF THE TEMPLE

Another shot of the Buddhist Temple. Although it's difficult to see here, there are people praying in the room visible through the open door/window. Below is a sign in Chinese we are unable to decipher.

BUDDHIST TEMPLE

This is the outside of the Buddhist Temple Tara and JR went to serve the homeless and elderly at in November. The temple itself was tall and beautiful.

JR'S COLUMN FOR STANDARD JOURNAL (06 DEC 06)

It' been a long few weeks, but somehow Tara and I have managed to complete our Christmas shopping (minus two gifts we know we are getting but haven't purchased yet) for everyone back home, and we just have a few things to get for each other for Christmas here. We've managed to find a way to pack up most of these gifts and it seems like we'll even have room to pack some clothes to come home - just kidding, there will be plenty of room for clothes.

While we are excited to be finished with the shopping, we are more excited to come home. It's been nearly a year since I've seen Pennsylvania, and I'm looking forward just to getting back home. It's difficult to get into the mood for Christmas as there are not many decorations here. We've done our best to decorate our little apartment, but it's not the same as walking outside to see the entire neighborhood decorated. I'm looking forward to the craziness of the U.S. and the holiday season there to help put me into that frame of mind. We've been listening to Christmas music and I just watched the staple "It's a Wonderful Life," but it's true, "There's no place like home for the holidays."

Even though the atmosphere hasn't quite reached its peak level here, it's definitely getting cold enough to feel like winter. I would wager that it might have reached the high 30s today with a biting wind. We were holding on to fall for so long, it's a real adjustment to get used to cold weather. I guess we're lucky though, it hasn't really snowed here (knock on wood) and Tara and I are getting close to having the priveledge of a car. For those not affluent with the military standards, grade levels E-6 and below are not afforded vehicles while in Korea, and since I'm an E-4, I've had to submit paperwork to have an exception to the policy.

Other than that, we are just trying to get through each day, one by one, and trying to keep each other sane with the busy schedules we are each facing. Even if we weren't able to come home, two weeks from now will be nice if for no other reason than to get a break from the grind.So, sorry there isn't much to report this week. We'll try to have more next week.

As always, I feel blessed so many individuals are interested in my activities here, and thank you for keeping up with me each week. I hope you are all enjoying the festivities leading up to the holidays. It is a lot of preparation, but it always seems to be worth it. We'll be home soon. Until next time, stay safe and God bless.

(A hard copy of this column can be obtained by contacting Standard Journal at 570-742-9671)

LITTLE GUYS

Tara found these little statues to be quite cute on post. I thought they were a little freaky, but who am I to judge another's lawn ornaments?

ON POST

This is just a glimpse of part of Camp Walker. If you click on th picture, you'll get a better view. In all honesty, Tara really wanted to try to get a picture of the old woman (pronounced like odd-ja-ma in Korean) in her pink outfit on the golf course. During the warm months in the summer they primarily wore a pink outfit to the golf course, but we've noticed since the cold weather has started to roll in, they've been sporting a brown and yellow outfit. And of course, as we've witnessed, Koreans love their golf.

THE KING LIVES!

I know it's a little dark, but you'll have to take my word for it that these three guys are in fact made in the likeness of Elvis himself. They're on top of a nearby restaurant here in Daegu.

JRs COLUMN FOR STANDARD JOURNAL (NOV 29, 2006)

Well, I believe I've made my final trip to Seoul before Tara and I make our way home for the Christmas holiday. I was recently there to attend a meeting of security managers and to get a brief overview of some new information. As I've said before, we'll be staying in Korea until at least May of 2008, so a lot of new responsibilities are being bestowed upon me, to include becoming an assistant security manager, among others.

This was, of course, after one of our greater feats: Pulling off a Thanksgiving dinner for 10 people. Yes, we hosted a few individuals from my time at Huachuca, as well as the enlisted members of my current section for a Thanksgiving feast.Tara went to town baking, making a double-layer cake, three pumpkin pies, cookies and a vanilla/chocolate mixed cream pie. One of the individual from our shop, Pfc. Eric Day, worked hard on the mashed potatoes and corn. Tara also took care of the home-made yams and pitched in on pretty much all the other food. My primary concern was the turkey and trying to play host.

We got an unexpected twist thrown into our plans, when our last guest told us he probably wouldn't arrive for dinner until after 5 p.m. We were planning dinner for 4 p.m. So, we turned down the heat on Tom (our turkey) and kept basting him. He turned out fantastic, as the meat was so tender it practically fell of the bone. With all the food turning out better than Tara and I could have hoped, no one went home hungry. We also played a few card games and board games and watched some movies, but mostly we took time to talk and catch up and enjoy the holiday together.

And so now, with the holiday behind us and my final trip to Seoul out of the way, we're left to the anticipation of returning home. Fortunately some of our excitement for that can be stored, as we also have two more exciting events coming up. In early Decemeber, Day's fiancee, Natalie, will be visiting and spending a lot of her time here at our place, since we have an extra room. And even though she's not here to see us, she's our first visitor from the states and Day's already expressed a need to help entertain her while she's here, so we're excited. Then, just a week after her arrival, we'll all head to the Christmas Ball. Tara's had a dress made and she's been working on making her own jewelry for the occassion, so I know she's excited for her first military ball.

Other than that, we've been occupying our time getting ready for the holidays. With most of our Christmas shopping done, and with Thanksgiving past, Tara turned her attention to decorating. So, before I left Sunday afternoon to go north, we got a Christmas tree and she started the decorating process. I was pretty amazed when I got home and she had a little winter village set up, she had the tree completely decorated and she had some other nice ornamentations to brighten the apartment for the holiday. Now we just have to wait for the trip home and for Santa to come find us.

We truly hope you all had a very happy Thanksgiving and you're planning a special celebration this holiday season. I also wanted to say thank you to Jesse "Smokey" Blankenship for shooting us an email just to wish us a happy holiday. I'll buy you a cup of coffee when we get home Smokey. And believe me, we just can't wait to get home for the holidays. Until next time, we miss you and God Bless.

(*A hard copy of this column will be run in the Nov. 29 version of the Standard Journal Newspaper)

ARCHWAY

This archway and roof is at a local church, where there is a lot of information concerning Daegu's only saint and information about the Christian matyrdom here in Korea.

SNACK TIME

We couldn't help but to snap off some pictures of all the scrumptious snacks in our local 7-11. As you can see, we've got some dried fish and fish scales, among others.

HMMM...

Boots debates whether or not to pounce on her mama's fingers while Tara tries to get her to play. The life of a kitty is never dull, especially in our household.

DADDY'S LITTLE GIRL

Yes, that's right, the kitty has daddy around here little finger...or claw. Here are Boots and JR taking a timeout, obviously after both had very difficult days.

CHUSOK LIGHT FESTIVAL

The Chusok holiday was celebrated all over Korea, but this light display in Daegu was particularly impressive. Tara and JR made their way to the Shin Chun River side with thousands of others to enjoy the celebration, which included food, singing and sales.

BRIDGE OF NO RETURN

This is the "Bridge of no return," where enemy troops were taken at the end of the Korean War. They were told they could go to one side or the other, but either way, they could never return to the other side. Hence the bridge's name.

STANDING IN NORTH KOREA

Here I am in North Korea - technically, anyway. We were inside T2, where the armistice was signed in 1953, and inside I was able to cross the DMZ. Here a U.N. troop was guarding the door, in case any North Korean troops entered while the visitors were there. The UN troops are second degree black belts in multiple martial arts and we were told not to interfere with their duties. Hence why I chose not to get too close.

LOOKING ACROSS THE LINE

This is the view at Panmunjom into North Korea. It's a little intimidating, as you are watched from several different buildings and you are told they are taking pictures of you while you are there. You can see United Nations troops watching the line to make sure there is no penetration across the DMZ, which is the concrete line between the buildings at the midway point of them.

ALL MY FANS

Finally a post...I know, it's been a while and sorry for the layover. We've been busy, and as you can see, popularity can be exhausting. Here, while JR was in Seoul at the War Museum, a group of school children wave to him while he was in uniform. Children here in Korea love to see Americans, especially troops. It makes us feel like rock stars!

Boots while she was sick. The vet gave her the cone because she would not stop scratching her infected eyes. She was pretty pitiful for a few days, and we felt really guilty putting the cone on her (but we still had to take a picture).

Some more pictures of Boots. She discovered that she loves Day's keys, so now every time he is here she has to attack them.

Meet Boots! She is the newest member of our family (named after Puss in Boots from Shrek).

These are pictures of our lovely bedrooms. The master bedroom is to your right, the computer room/everything else we do not have room for room, and the extra bedroom, which is also home to my crafts.

A picture of half of our kitchen. Isn't the microwave stand we bought beautiful?

Here are several pictures of the inside of our apartment. The dining room/living room and a picture of what you see when you first walk in.

Here is a picture of our apartment building (D101) with a plaque outside of our door advertising SPC SHAPPELL's apartment.