Friday, 22 Dezember 2000 2100Z
Christmas Salute from the Fort... -Totentanz

Christmas. A time of year where many of us get the chance to spend some time with our friends, family and loved ones. A time for happiness and joy - but not for everyone. There are many people that, for one reason or another are seperated from those they hold dear. The following poem is - as is common here on The Fort - about a soldier, but as I've said before there are many "soldiers" and "heroes" you see in life everyday - and you just might not realize it. Police, Fireman, Paramedics, Doctors, Nurses, Hospice workers - the list goes on. All these people are soldiers in a fight they chose to devote themselves to. So, I ask you, in this holiday season, as you look forward to spending time with your loved ones - take a brief moment and thank those who continue to serve, to be on duty, so that others can have the special time free from worries or concerns.

'TWAS THE NIGHT BEFORE CHRISTMAS, HE LIVED ALL ALONE,
IN A ONE BEDROOM HOUSE MADE OF PLASTER AND STONE.

I HAD COME DOWN THE CHIMNEY WITH PRESENTS TO GIVE,
AND TO SEE JUST WHO IN THIS HOME DID LIVE.

I LOOKED ALL ABOUT, A STRANGE SIGHT I DID SEE,
NO TINSEL, NO PRESENTS, NOT EVEN A TREE.

NO STOCKING BY MANTLE, JUST BOOTS FILLED WITH SAND,
ON THE WALL HUNG PICTURES OF FAR DISTANT LANDS.

WITH MEDALS AND BADGES, AWARDS OF ALL KINDS, A SOBER THOUGHT CAME THROUGH MY MIND.
FOR THIS HOUSE WAS DIFFERENT, IT WAS DARK AND DREARY,

I FOUND THE HOME OF A SOLDIER, ONCE I COULD SEE CLEARLY.
THE SOLDIER LAY SLEEPING, SILENT, ALONE,

CURLED UP ON THE FLOOR IN THIS ONE BEDROOM HOME.
THE FACE WAS SO GENTLE, THE ROOM IN SUCH DISORDER,

NOT HOW I PICTURED A UNITED STATES SOLDIER. WAS THIS THE HERO OF WHOM I'D JUST READ?
CURLED UP ON A PONCHO, THE FLOOR FOR A BED?

I REALIZED THE FAMILIES THAT I SAW THIS NIGHT,
OWED THEIR LIVES TO THESE SOLDIERS WHO WERE WILLING TO FIGHT.

SOON ROUND THE WORLD, THE CHILDREN WOULD PLAY,
AND GROWNUPS WOULD CELEBRATE A BRIGHT CHRISTMAS DAY.

THEY ALL ENJOYED FREEDOM EACH MONTH OF THE YEAR,
BECAUSE OF THE SOLDIERS, LIKE THE ONE LYING HERE.

I COULDN'T HELP WONDER HOW MANY LAY ALONE,
ON A COLD CHRISTMAS EVE IN A LAND FAR FROM HOME.

THE VERY THOUGHT BROUGHT A TEAR TO MY EYE,
I DROPPED TO MY KNEES AND STARTED TO CRY.

THE SOLDIER AWAKENED AND I HEARD A ROUGH VOICE,
"SANTA DON'T CRY, THIS LIFE IS MY CHOICE;
I FIGHT FOR FREEDOM, I DON'T ASK FOR MORE,
MY LIFE IS MY GOD, MY COUNTRY, MY CORPS."

THE SOLDIER ROLLED OVER AND DRIFTED TO SLEEP,
I COULDN'T CONTROL IT, I CONTINUED TO WEEP.

I KEPT WATCH FOR HOURS, SO SILENT AND STILL
AND WE BOTH SHIVERED FROM THE COLD NIGHT'S CHILL.

I DIDN'T WANT TO LEAVE ON THAT COLD, DARK, NIGHT,
THIS GUARDIAN OF HONOR SO WILLING TO FIGHT.

THEN THE SOLDIER ROLLED OVER, WITH A VOICE SOFT AND PURE,
WHISPERED, "CARRY ON SANTA, IT'S CHRISTMAS DAY, ALL IS SECURE."

ONE LOOK AT MY WATCH, AND I KNEW HE WAS RIGHT.
"MERRY CHRISTMAS MY FRIEND, AND TO ALL A GOOD NIGHT."

I would like to dedicate this post to my friend - the person that was my role model and inspiration in things in TF- Bundy. The Fort feels empty without you, warrior.

Tuesday, 05 Dezember 2000 2200Z
HEY YOU!! - out of the gene pool!... -Totentanz

Yes, you can joke about Spirits of TF past and all that, but Tot is still actually here. I wish I could say I had interesting, GOOD news to report - but that's not the case. Instead, you'll have to deal with me going into Rant Mode(tm).

First, a personal one. This one goes out to the arsehole who keeps sending virii attachments (that's viruses to the less-educated) to my planetfortress email account, with the subject line of Snow White and the seven dwarfs - the REAL story. This fucknuckle first sent it as an .scr file - which is a windows screensaver, usually. The latest was sent as an .exe file. Well, lemme tell you something, sparky - The "send Tot a virus" thing was done last year as well, and it had the same effect. Me notifying GSI's technical department, and them doing whatever they do. Lemme clue you in on something, I'm a IT professional. I'm not Johhny AOL luser. I don't blindly open fscking attachments - especially from people I don't know. Especially with a return address of [email protected]. If GSI ran their email on a Unix platform - which I sincerely wish they would - I'd use auto-updating .procmail recipes to block out the published list of spammers and junkmailers. But as it is, I rely on my brain - which works quite well, thank you. Oh, and by the way, did you realize that maliciously sending virii thru email is now classified as a federal crime? And the FBI has become rather cooperative with ISP's and Corporations in tracking and prosecuting these cases. Think about it, ace....