Dylan Charles

Submarines - The Elite - The Silent Service

2009-07-22T19:50:00.000-07:00

Only a submariner realizes to what great extent
And entire ship depends on him as an individual.
To a landsman this is not understandable, and sometimes it is
Even difficult for us to comprehend, but it is so!

A submarine at sea is a different world in herself
And in consideration of the protracted and distant operations of
Submarines, the Navy must place responsibility and trust
In the hands of those who take such ships to sea.

In each Submarine there are men who, in the hour of
Emergency are peril at sea, can turn to each other. These
Men are ultimately responsible to themselves and each
To the other for all aspects of the operation of their
Submarine. They are the crew. They are the Ship.

This is perhaps the most difficult and demanding
Assignment in the Navy. There is not an instant during
His tour as a Submariner that he can escape the grasp of
Responsibility. His privliges in view of his obligations are
Almost ludicrously small, nevertheless, it is the spur which
Has given the Navy it's greatest Mariners.

The Men Of The Submarine Service.

It is a duty, which most richly deserves the proud, and
Time Honored Title of - Submariner

Hooyah!

Drug Wars

2009-03-15T08:04:00.000-07:00

This topic of discussion requires the reader to think outside the box and with an open mind.

First, I will start with this statement... "I believe that the U.S. should no longer have a ban on 'illegal drugs'".

Many of you at this point may be shocked or confused. I certainly do not condone the use of coke, heroin, and other hurtful drugs. I do however think that America needs to look a little further when it comes to picking it's battles.

It is reported that over the last 14 months, there are nearly 100 deaths per week due to drugwars in the U.S.. This number is rapdly climbing. Why are there drug wars? The answer is quite elementary. Supply, demand, and money. Police departments in some cities are being overwhelmed and overtaken by the massive danger that accompanes the "illegal drug" industry. Many innocent civilians are caught in the crossfire. Millions of dollars are spent annually to fight this war.

These are all very horrible statistics. Nonetheless, I still stand firmly with the statement that I made earlier. "I believe that the U.S. should no longer have a ban on 'illegal drugs'". The reason that I say this is due to other "battles" that the U.S. tends to brush to the wayside that more negatively impacts our country.

Let's look at some facts.

The second amendment gives us the right to bare arms. I fully support this. However, did you know that there are 10,000+ more deaths caused each year from incidents involving firearms than deaths due to "illegal drugs"?

How about adverse reactions to persciption drugs? These drugs are "legal" and can be purchased at any Walgreens or CVS pharmacy. There are 15,000+ more deaths caused by adverse reactions to "legal" perscription drugs than deaths caused by "illegal drugs".

I'm not really a fan of the taste in a beer but I do enjoy a good vodka or rum from time to time. There are 68,000 more deaths caused each year by events that are connected to alcohol then deaths caused by "illegal drugs".

Most of us are aware of the poor health, poor diet and lack of physical activity that surrounds our country. There are 85,000+ fast food restaurants in the U.S.. Less than 16% of our population engages in any form of exercise on an average day. There are 348,000 more deaths caused each year by lack of health, diet and exercise than deaths caused by "illegal drugs".

The tobacco industry is one of the largest that the U.S. has embeded into our culture. You can buy a pack of cigarettes at any grocery store or gas station. There are nearly half a million more deaths caused each year due to tobacco use than caused by "illegal drugs".

Firearms, persciption drugs, alcohol, fast food and tobacco are all "legal" activites that we are all allowed to participate in. It is our right to eat at any restaurant that we chose. As previously mentioned, we can buy a pack of cigarettes whenever we please. However, "illegal drugs", the activity that has a much smaller "death rate" is something that we can be placed in prison for.

Where is the common sense in that? How can I be allowed to legally buy a 12-pack of beer which has a higher statistical risk than almost anything that I can choose to do but be locked in prison for buying a joint?

Again, I do not condone or participate in drug use. Please just look at the stats and think with an open mind. Use common sense.

Are we REALLY picking the right battles to fight?

For my father

2009-03-05T09:24:00.000-08:00

Hello, dear dad, I don't want this feeling
I don't want this grief
I know, you've had, silent dreams of wanting
something I can't be

I am leaning on my own, all I ever know of memories
is broken memories
all I wanted was your love
you will never know that side of me, the love inside of me

I wish, just this
that I could make you proud of me
just to you smile
I've made mistakes, I've let you down
give me some attention, say you still love me

I am leaning on my own, all I ever know of memories
is broken memories
all I wanted was your love
you will never know that side of me, the love inside of me

I'm dreaming I'm, your proticle son
and you come embrace me
hold me tight, don't say goodbye
but I can't make you love me

I am, leaning on my own
all I ever know of memories
is broken memories
all I wanted was your love
you will never know that side of me

Section 2

2009-03-04T18:38:00.000-08:00

Murfreesboro always seemed like such a boring town, filled with college students, and senior citizens that had lived at the same house on 12th Avenue for the last fifty-seven years. My best friend of nine years bought a house close to the MTSU campus. It was a fixer-upper with worn out carpet that if I tried to guess, was originally white. The light fixtures and appliances seemed to have been from an old sears catalog from the ‘70’s. It was not a very large house, just three bedrooms and a single bath. But amidst the old furniture and plain white walls, it was home, for now. It was home for me and five other men, all living different lives, with different personalities and different stories to tell. Somehow, we made it work. Bradley, my best friend, who was the owner of the house, was just a few months younger than me. We met at a local parks and recreation center when we were just fourteen. He resembled Harry Potter. We were both athletes whose primary sport was basketball. I had been playing basketball at a competitive level for a year and after playing a few pickup games, asked Bradley to tryout for my team. From that day forward, we were like brothers. We did everything together.
Michael, roommate number two, was Bradley’s younger brother. He was a fairly serious kid and also played sports. Michael, although being the youngest in the house, was not only the most overall responsible guy in the house, but one of the most responsible in his family. He was a student at MTSU.
Adam K. was roommate number three. I called him “Paul” which was short for Paul Bunyan. Paul was a year younger than me. He could have easily been mistaken for a bodybuilder or a bouncer at a club in Nashville. Paul was massive and one of the physically strongest guys that I had ever seen in person. He was originally from Florida and was a devout Christian that always kept busy with church gatherings or functions. He was a great friend and role model. Whenever Adam K. was around the house, we would engage each other in deep theological, biblical and spiritual conversations. One night, Adam K. and I were having a conversation about church. I was expressing my thoughts and views about church to him. He was always open minded and always offered and ear to listen. The discussion came up when I asked him how things at his church were going. He responded in his typical way, being detailed and finishing with an, “everything is great.”. He started asking me why I didn’t attend church anywhere. I knew the answer before he finished the question. I had attended church during my entire childhood and all the way through high school. There were a number of reasons why I had stopped going to church services. I had quite a few friends that weren’t Christians. Through relationships with them, I learned that their reasons for being absent from church were very similar to mine.
Adam P. was roommate number four. Adam was stoned eighty-three percent of the time that I knew him. He was a twenty-seven year old MTSU student that had responded to an ad on Craig’s List that Bradley has posted when he was looking for new tenants. Adam P. had lived a tough live, from what he had said. He had been honorably discharged from the U.S. Navy after his term and was pursuing a career in aviation. I never quite understood the guy.
Chad was roommate number five. Chad had moved from Florida with aspirations of becoming a career singer/songwriter. He was the father of the house, not in any other way than in the amount of years that he had lived on the earth. Chad was thirty-five and always seemed like a lost soul, always searching for truth and answers about everything, always having to validate his existence.

Writings-Unedited

2009-03-02T16:50:00.000-08:00

Insufficient, lonely, evil, insane. Remarkable! I repeated that word to myself until I wore it out like the old t-shirt that laid by my feet. That t-shirt was used instead of a pair of brown chucks, or perhaps a butter knife from the kitchen as a substitute projectile whose final destination was my head. Remarkable. It was so very overly remarkable to me how a woman, a soprano voiced, panty wearing woman could make me feel so insufficient, lonely, evil and insane. I had been through a large number of relationships by now, seeing that I’m twenty-four years old, and by today’s standards, I should have some experience by now. For some reason, however, I had managed to awake a sleeping giant. Not a literal giant and I doubt that she had truly been asleep due to the well thought about daggers that she was throwing at me. But nonetheless, in my mind, I was dealing with an angry previously sleeping giant.
Her name was Jessica. She was tall, taller than average. She had beautiful wavy brown hair and eyes to match. Whether we were on a date at a nice restaurant or waking up in the morning with slight hangovers, Jessi always had a way of looking very well put together. She had become my best friend, one of the best that I had ever had. We shared a lot of similar interests and thoughts. We were able to read each others minds and could finish each others sentences. Jessi made me happy. I used to tell her that she was my twin and the only difference was that she had ovaries. She was a big breath of fresh air.
Back to the present. Jessi and I had been going through some rough times mentally and emotionally. That late afternoon is when we had both apparently drawn our last straws. I had trust issues and she made it known that she had the same problem. Ask yourself this question. What is a relationship without trust? Really ask yourself that question. I have many, many times. The answer that I always come back to is that “it’s lacking one of the most important elements and foundational pieces to a solid relationship”. Our “little” problems had grown into massive ones. They grew rapidly, similar to the Hulk when he would get angry. Now that I think of it, the color of Jessi’s skin DID change color when she became angry, and again, she was quite tall. I was too sensitive for her and she was too much the opposite for me. The whole situation saddened my heart. For a while, we seemed like a perfect match. In the end, we were like a computer that was put together perfectly, piece by piece, and once it’s plugged into the wall, found that someone forgot to pay the electric bill.
Another dilemma that we faced is that we did have an electric bill to pay, along with cable and internet, and rent for a place that we had moved into just a month ago. I loved the place. It had four bedrooms and two bathrooms. The landlords just had hardwood floors installed for us. It felt like home. It’s hard to deal with feeling like you’ve done your best, but your best just wasn’t good enough. Jessi and I decided to take our hearts back from each other. We had been together for three months.

First Blog

2009-02-26T11:14:00.001-08:00

Hi guys. I have decided to jump on the blogging bandwagon. I suppose that there are quite a few reasons why I've chosen to do so. Stay updated if you are interested in my thoughts, ideas and travels.