Hmrjmr1, From Richmond Hill, Ga, 294 Fans, 143 Hubs, Joined 9 months ago
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breakfastpop interviews Hmrjmr1
A modern Renaissance man shares his interests and affections
HubPages has opened up a world of writing and friendship
that has meant everything to me. I have come to know so many talented and
interesting people from all walks of life and from all over the world. I would
like to take this opportunity to introduce a very talented and interesting Hubber
who deserves your attention. Meet Hmrjmr aka Big John. One of the things I
admire about Big John is his ability to write about so many diverse subjects
and to do so with style and grace. Here is a man who served proudly in the
military, knows how to whip us a fantastic meal, writes beautiful and moving
poetry and can discuss politics with intelligence and a sense of humor. Say
hello to Big John.
Big John, could you tell us where the name Hmrjmr came from?
The Short story is Hmrjmr is an abbreviation for Hammer Jammer which was my
call sign at Forward Operating Base (FOB) Hammer in Iraq where I worked as the
Morale Welfare and Recreation Supervisor for the FOB. I used it here because
the handle picked up some meaning for my department, which can best be
described as compassionate, relentless, and proud service to our soldiers and
clients, and it is through that twisted lens of a life view that I write. I
wrote a hub about it as I have been asked about it a lot, I've included the
link (here) for the long
story of its origins.
Your bio tells us that you served proudly in the military for 22 years and
that you are now retired. Why did you join the service?
Well the short answer is I was blessed, at an early age with the realization of
what I am. That is a soldier.
The understanding of what you are transcends your occupation. I think most
folks don't ever come to an understanding of what they are. They confuse it
with what they do.
As a soldier, I have worked as an infantryman, a scout, a logistician, a
computer programmer/operator, an air traffic controller, a leader and a
follower. I've had duties that included Nuclear, Chemical, and Biological
Weapons surety and response, Equal Opportunity Coordinator, Recruiter,
Financial Counselor, Fitness Trainer, Professional Mentor, and Life Coach. I've had my feet on the ground in every continent except Antarctica. I have had
the privileged to serve at the very frontiers of freedom in the company of
many, many heroes (a title I steadfastly refuse for myself), including the
families of those who stand so quietly, and bravely beside and behind
them.
If you need some gauge to evaluate that; some of my military awards include the
Bronze Star Medal, the Meritorious Service Medal, The Army Commendation Medal,
Humanitarian Service Medal and others; some of those were for achievements that
bring a smile and others for days I will spend the rest of my life trying to
forget. It's the nature of the beast I suppose, since some of my best work is
known but to me and God and it's sufficient to let it rest there for now.
Have you always been interested in writing? If so, who inspired you to
express yourself through the written word?
I've liked writing since an early age but my first inspiration was from one of
my English Teachers, Mrs. Dates. She made us keep a journal, which we had to
turn in for her review weekly. She was ruthless in correcting spelling and
grammar but never content, though she would at times comment on it in blue
pencil in the margins and taught us to edit, edit, edit. I was still editing my
first weeks work when the class ended, I got a B+, a very high grade from her
as she never ever graded on a curve, and her standards were high which put
simply, was the correct use of American English Grammar.
Many others are authors most particularly George Orwell and his book 1984,
since it laid out the case for the human nature and passion for documenting
their history. People have been telling their story since the caveman
drew pictures on his wall. Mrs. Dates taught us that even the greatest oration
is said true to its meaning but once, but written down its impact is timeless
(The Holy Bible is a perfect example of that). It's why the book is always
better than the movie.
Other inspiring Authors are Alistair McLean (HMS Ulysses), Homer
(Odyssey), William Shakespeare (Henry V), Jack London (White Fang), JRR Tolkien
(The Hobbit and Trilogy of the Ring), Tennyson (Charge of the Light Brigade),
CS Forester (Horatio Hornblower series) They are all in their own ways
leadership studies that I continue to read again and again drawing new meaning
every time I do so.
You write about so many different topics covering health, politics, cooking,
poetry and the Armed Forces. Do you have one topic that you prefer to write about?
Not really, each serves a purpose in my psyche, some fulfill a personal
obligation on my part to 'tell the story', some are a mental release, and some
are just fun. All are my thoughts and I make no pretense of speaking for anyone
but me.
Also I have been a lifelong hobbyist, that is to say I pick up on an activity,
learn it thoroughly, develop a moderate proficiency, then try something
else. Used to drive Zena nuts that way, since during our marriage I cycled thru
Philately, Photography, Model Railroading, Cake Decorating, Gardening, Golf,
Massage (she liked that one), Home computers (since the Commodore VIC-20),
Cisco Systems Networking (CCNA and Net+), to name a few of the more prominent
ones. Not to mention my Non Profit work with the American Legion and the
publication of our Post Newsletter (Named 1st place newsletter by the Georgia
American Legion Press Association all three years of its publication) until I
went to Iraq. So I know more than a little about a lot of stuff and like to
write about it.
I know for a fact that you have written many terrific hubs that cover some
of your favorite recipes. Where did the interest in food and cooking come from?
My mom Dorothy insisted that all of her children (5 boys and 1 girl) know how
to fend for themselves and cooking was a part of that. We all learned from an
early age how to bake, fry, roast, boil, and broil, it was just a part of
growing up at my house. I think that philosophy came from her Father who would
treat us to fried spam sandwiches after church on Sundays, what a treat!!
Many of the recipes are from The Cupboard
Drawer Recipe book. This compilation was first published by my Mom and Dad
in 1988. My Mom has given me the rights to republish it again and hopefully by
this summer I will have all 368 recipes inputted, updated and for sale, along
with a few of my own.
I was pleasantly surprised to read some of your poetry, especially a moving
tribute to your late wife Zena. You are amazingly talented and unafraid to show
your emotions. Have you always been this way?
Thank you for your kind words on Zena's tribute. As for the emotions I don't
think so, Zena brought that out in me. I say that because friends of mine
that knew me both before and after I met her would remark on how great it was
to see me smile (and mean it) since they never had before. I had to lock away
emotion during Vietnam, as a mental safety mechanism; afterwards with the way
we were treated back home it was best left in the box, the guys that had
trouble were the ones that let it out.
Consequently I almost got married twice after Vietnam but something inside said
it wasn't right and I terminated the relationships, I had just seen too many of
my friends marry the wrong gal when they had doubts and they always ended
badly. Consequently when I met Zena it was at the end of the night at
Tudor Hall, a disco in Norwich England, and we only had three dances together,
I knew with conviction she was the right one for me, and the rest is history so
to speak. She more than any other individual, was my greatest teacher on life,
love, trials, tribulations, joys, and sorrows. She was an amazing person and
personality; a true muse.
I have to ask this question, because it's what writers do. Big John, do you
think you might want to write a book one day?
Some day when I can pull out the jumble of words from this skull of mush and
string them together into a story or several short ones. As I said before, The
Cupboard Drawer Recipe Book should be ready in late this spring so we'll see
how that goes.
I thoroughly enjoy it when you come to "breakfast" on my hub. How
strong is your interest in the political scene? Have you ever entertained the
idea of running for office? I can see you in that role because you have a
commanding and engaging personality.
POP, breakfast with you is always great and it is a highlight of my day even
when I'm late returning from a mission.
My interest in politics comes from the fact that first, everywhere a soldier
serves and the nature of his duties are due to the political needs of his
nation. Be it for security, emergency humanitarian assistance, or the
prosecution of hostilities they are all deemed to be in the National Interest.
Thus everything a soldier does or everywhere a soldier goes is affected by
politics and due to need to keep good order and discipline political speech is
restricted inside the service. (That's not a complaint just a fact) After all,
as an enlisted member you are sworn to uphold and defend the Constitution of
the United States against all enemies foreign and domestic, and to obey the
orders of the President and the officers appointed over me, whether you agree
with them or not. Officers in their oath have an obligation to evaluate their
orders for constitutional compliance and have an obligation to disobey if they
are not.
Once I retired, that genie came out of the bottle and I can have my say. Though
I think many would be surprised at what a hybrid I am, I think that 2 of the
top five presidents served during my lifetime (JFK, and Reagan) and one of my
heroes was Martin Luther King. I was in fact a member of the NAACP until the
late 70's when the leadership became corrupt and stole large sums of money from
their members, and gave up much of their own self interest to align themselves
solely with the Democratic Party.
By then I was already an independent voter with what I would suppose is a
military self interest tilt to the right. Since that time I have seen the
greatest economic prosperity when we have political checks and balances in
effect, Regan had a Democratic Congress for most of his terms, as Clinton had a
Republican one. When one party controls all three we get ideological crap (President
Carter comes to mind here) as witnessed by the latest sausage making fiasco.
Along with the miss managed war effort initially in Iraq (we shouldn't have
needed a 'surge' cause the additional troops should have been there already).
Had it been done right, we could well have had most of them home (from Iraq at
least) as early as last year.
As for the Global War on Terror, the War in Iraq, and Afghanistan all are
necessary, I wrote home during the Gulf War (1990) having been privy to much
intelligence on Saddam and the Sunnis and Shiites that we would have to return
one day. The events of 9/11 lead to Afghanistan and to be straight forward, the
attacks on us by Islamic extremists started in Lebanon during Regan's
Presidency. All three have boiled down to the same thing, they are interrelated
evil, with the very same agenda that the Nazi's had in WWII. (There was a
Muslim Brigade in the SS that served in Yugoslavia) The difference now is that
Hitler had less than ten years to indoctrinate the youth of Germany to his fanaticism;
the madrassas throughout the middle east have been doing so since 1946 with the
birth of Israel. One last thought, on this, wars end when one side gets so
tired of dying, they seek a political settlement; it's taken over 60 years to
get half the Palestinians to that point. I would not be surprised if it’s our grandchildren’s
grandchildren that ultimately find a peaceful solution. Now this is not to say
that it is Islam that is the problem, I had a multicultural team at FOB Hammer
and for that matter all my FOBs that had Protestants, Catholics, Muslims,
Hindu's and Buddhists; they were Black, White, Brown, Tan, male and female etc.
working together in the framework of dignity, compassion, and respect from the
top down and the bottom up. If we could do so there it can be done anywhere.
These are generational battles in the simple struggle between good and evil; if
we are to maintain our freedoms we must continue to rise to the challenge and
do our duty. Freedom has never been free and it will always require vigilance
and sacrifice from those who seek it, for the benefit of the many who enjoy its
rewards.
So as you can see my interest in politics is strong, but I'm probably not cut
out for office as I am not good at oration, rarely do I see anything in shades
of gray, neither do I suffer fools well, and I am a bit blunt with my verbal
interpersonal skills. It's when I write that I can take a step back and
participate with civility in the debate, something I am proud of in my response
to those who disagree on my hubs; and one of the reasons I rarely go into the
political or religious forums, that is more like a conversation and it is much
more difficult for me to measure my words at that pace. Now if the right guy or
gal (like you maybe) needed a speech writer I could happily serve.
What is it about HubPages that draws you? Can you tell us what you enjoy
most about being a Hubber? When you are not writing, what do you do with your
time? You often refer to "secret missions" that take you away from
time to time. Would you care to elaborate on this?
So many have said it before but it's the community aspects that keep me
here, I like to play in the Sand-pit Forum though I have been remiss of late.
Another Sergeant once told me "All life is a story, if you don't have one
to tell, you haven't been living." I found hub pages looking for a place
to post content. That is to write about things I know and put out my ideas on
the web. I had returned from five years in Iraq and was figuring I was going to
have to register a domain and buy space to do that. HubPages said not only the
magic word free, but also said I could make money doing it. Bingo!! For this
unemployed soldier, mailman, wellness program coordinator/supervisor. Now
having said that, the money wasn't the chief motivator, a nice addition and I
have yet to cross the magic $100 on the AdSense account but it will come.
My current occupation (loose interpretation of the word) is trading stocks and
options, I have been able to take a small amount of money and earn a small
amount each month to maintain my household from month to month. The trading
itself is not full time but the research needed to make good trades is.
I'm not getting rich but I don't need to be rich to be happy. When I'm not
doing trading or writing I am doing Volunteer work at Wynn Army Hospital at
Fort Stewart, and with the Red Cross in Savannah Ga and Bryan County, I am on
the Bryan County Disaster Action Team and have been taking many training
courses for that.
Since December a friend and I have been helping a fellow retired soldier and
friend, who at age 58 suffered a stroke last August. We have been taking him
twice a week to his physical, occupational, and speech therapy appointments (a
147 mile round trip). I also gather intel for my writings by attending various
public functions by all three active players (Repubs, Dems, and Tea Party)
These are the missions I refer too but only one was a secret and that was when
I was securing an email interview from Congressman Kingston (R-GA) (remember me
shaking the snow off my Gilly Suit?). In short when I'm not writing I would say
I'm looking for ways to serve America even if it’s one person at a time.
I could not close out this interview without mentioning some of my many muses
on HubPages. POP, you rank at the top of this list, and there are so many I
cannot mention them all but in particular Army Infantry Mom, Jesskillmenow,
Tony0724, Mega1, Shazwellyn, Habee, Perrya, Ralwrus, BlondePoet and Patty
Inglish MS have in given me special inspiration at various times, sometimes because
I agree, sometimes because I disagree, and sometimes because it's a view or a
thought I would never had considered or pondered on my own. I owe them all a
special thank you. In the American Legion we start our meetings reciting the
Preamble to our constitution a part of which I share with you, "We
consecrate and sanctify our comradeship by our devotion to mutual
helpfulness" In many ways HubPages provides the venue for these same
thoughts in the writing community, and it's one of the many reasons I am proud
to be a Hubber...Thanks again to you all.
Hammer Jammer 1- out
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