Day 5 - Kemper Explained

Someone asked me what was Kemper in my previous posts. For those of you who don't really know me (an you know who you are) Kemper refers to: Kemper Military School & College, Boonville, Missouri. It was the oldest military west of the Mississippi, before it closed in 2002. I attended there from 1977-1983, getting my high school and junior college A.A. degree from there. Also, 99.8% of my close friends are from there. I was the third generation to have attended; my father and grandfather also went there. So when I mention that, it was a very big part of my life. I have very distinct and clear memories of my time there. And when it closed, yeah it hurt. I could write a book about my time there, and I have thought about it. It would be at least 2 books, and I could title them "New Boy" for my first year there. And then "Old Boy" for all the other years there. I would make them fiction, as I could fill them up easier-not to mention that no one would believe me, and also the possible law suits if I actually mentioned real names.

I remember the movie "Taps". They wanted to make it at Kemper, but our president turned them down because, "It portrayed the military school student as a radical." The funny thing was that after that movie, they took away the armory we had. I know that, had what happened in the movie, happened at Kemper, we might have done that. The school meant that much to us. I saw that movie with the head of our admissions at the time. And when Tim Hutton got his promotion to cadet major, this full bird nudged me; as I had just recently got promoted to major myself. I also remember the "Lord of Discipline." The funny thing about that movie was the book, The Decline of the West, that he was using to pass notes. A teacher, Mrs. Roberts gave me a list of books. I had asked for one, from her, on the books I should read. She was the kind of teacher whose opinion you valued and since I am a reader, thought this was a good thing. Anyway, Decline was on her list; and I always thought it was ironic that it was in the movie.

Curses to my friend Amber. First she gets me hooked on W.o.w. and then, on Facebook when they flash different things that your friends are into, she was the only one to have this online series called "The Guild." I clicked on it, and.... omg. LOL. Its as good as The Big Bang Theory. That has so many "I know people like that" and "I have had discussions like that" its unbelievable.

And now our W.o.w. moment comes from The Guild with this quote: "....its so much easier to measure life in experience points." Trust me when I say, I heard this, or something similar a long time ago playing Dungeons and Dragons. Yeah, I am that kind of guy. Actually, what kind of guy I am is difficult to describe. I don't fit in just one pigeon hole. I like being the square peg in a round hole, the round peg in a triangle hole, the polyhedron dice in the box with Schroedinger's cat....