Here’s an excerpt:

The concert hall at the Sydney Opera House holds 2,700 people. This blog was viewed about 15,000 times in 2011. If it were a concert at Sydney Opera House, it would take about 6 sold-out performances for that many people to see it.

Click here to see the complete report.

WordPress emailed me the other day with a 2011 Summary for “Life, Love and the Human Condition,” reporting there were 15,000 visits to my blog in 2011, and for that I would like to thank you all for taking an interest in, “my little world!”

I wish you all Peace, Joy and Love in this New Year; and thank you all for your visits to explore my world!

Cheers,

Mark 

Below is the “About Me” paragraph from my last.fm bio, where I’m known as – GenesisRushYes:

“I’m a fan of progressive rock…Genesis, Rush, Yes, Pink Floyd, ELP, Jethro Tull, Triumvirat, UK, GTR, Marillion, Arena, IQ, Porcupine Tree, Asia, Greg Lake, Phil Collins, Mike & the Mechanics, Supertramp, U2, Todd Rundgren, Styx, Kansas, REO Speedwagon, King Crimson, Nektar, Journey, The Doobie Brothers, Led Zeppelin, Boston, DC Talk, etc.  I also write the autobiographical and philosophical blog, “Life, Love and the Human Condition” at – livelovethinkexist.com.  Stop by for a visit sometime!  :)  Cheers, Mark”

Enjoy – Cheers,

Mark

Once I finally finish the job of posting pictures here on the blog, I’ll return to posting my autobiography called, “In Search of the Meaning of Life” – as well as my adventure novel called, “Jonathan’s Dream” and the many other original songs and writings that I have written.  So until then, you can enjoy the writings that I’ve already posted here and follow along as I post photos of our family’s life in Europe and the U.K. – and follow me on Twitter as well!  :)

Cheers,

Mark

The Blog-Health-o-Meter™ reads Wow.

Crunchy numbers

A Boeing 747-400 passenger jet can hold 416 passengers. This blog was viewed about 13,000 times in 2010. That’s about 31 full 747s.

In 2010, there were 205 new posts, growing the total archive of this blog to 478 posts.

The busiest day of the year was August 10th with 357 views. The most popular post that day was Photos – Ramstein AB, Germany – 1993-1994 (Set Three – 512th Fighter Squadron, “Dragons” Patches – March 1993).

Where did they come from?

The top referring sites in 2010 were WordPress Dashboard, en.wordpress.com, search.aol.com, Private networks, and guitarchordsforhymns.wordpress.com.

Some visitors came searching, mostly for 480th tfs, spangdahlem, raf upper heyford, hahn ab germany, and mather afb.

Attractions in 2010

These are the posts and pages that got the most views in 2010.

Photos – Ramstein AB, Germany – 1993-1994 (Set Three – 512th Fighter Squadron, “Dragons” Patches – March 1993) August 2010

Photos – Hahn AB, Germany – 1989-1991 (Set Nine – 50th TFW and Gulf War Patches) March 2010

Photos – Mather AFB, Sacramento, CA – 1987 – 1989 (Set Four – 450th FTS/455th FTS – Returning as an Instructor Nav) July 2009
6 comments

Photos – Spangdahlem AB, Germany – 1983-1987 (Set Ninety One – The Way Ahead) September 2009
4 comments

Photos – Spangdahlem AB, Germany – 1983-1987 (Set Eighty Seven – A Bus Trip to Bavaria – Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany) September 2009

Merry Christmas and a very Happy New Year for 2011 from our family to yours!

May the world come to know that the only peace that is true and lasting is the peace that comes from Love…and Love was given to the world through the birth of Jesus in Bethlehem.

1 John 4:8-10 NIV (Used With Permission) – “Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love.  This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him.  This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.”

Merry Christmas!

Cheers,

Mark

In life we all have the habit of accumulating lots of possessions, and as we purchase and bring new things into our homes – something else has to leave in order to balance out the equation.  Some of us are real pack rats and see the clutter of things as a type of security blanket – until we have to move – or go through someone else’s possessions after they pass on.  Fortunately, folks that have been in the military or who have moved frequently know the process of downsizing prior to their next move, in order to save on the amount of packing and shipping costs that are required – plus the next house may not be as large as the last one.

Our family’s personal philosophy has always been to give things away – for free – once we’re finished with them; and not to sell anything second-hand - except for cars and houses of course.  Since I’m not a wealthy person by any means and live essentially paycheck to paycheck like much of the rest of the world; by giving our things away that we have kept in excellent condition, we are able to be good stewards of the things that God has entrusted us with.  To see someone else get use and value out of something that we used to own is very gratifying in itself.  At the end of the day, no one really, “owns” anything in this life anyway.

I have collected all sorts of Air Force patches, squadron lithographs, squadron beer and coffee mugs, pictures and all sorts of items that I’ve tucked away over the years.  I’m currently in the process of scanning everything that is scannable, so that I can share what I’ve collected with the rest of the world.  After scanning these items I’ve decided to donate all of my memorabilia – everything in my Air Force collection – to a famous (in USAFE and NATO circles at least ) historian that we all know by his nickname, “Tags” – because he started out collecting squadron nametags in the Hahn Air Base region of Germany.  Today he has an extensive collection of USAFE and NATO squadron memorabilia – and I’m donating all of my items for free to Tags in order to add to his collection.

Historians always have a difficult time collecting artifacts, “after the fact” – especially in the area of military history.  Families have shoe boxes of photos, letters, medals, trinkets and uniforms tucked away in closets, attics and basements from veterans that have long since departed our ranks.  It is a difficult process for military historians to locate and convince families to part with these cherished items, so that they can be studied and added to museum collections around the world.  History is so very important – especially military history – so that future generations don’t have to repeat the painful lessons of the past.

In light of this, I’ve decided to donate the things that I’ve collected over the years, to be part of Tags’ collection for the benefit of future generations.  I’ve suggested to Tags that someday he might be able to open a museum of USAFE and NATO fighter squadron memorabilia for the world to see and appreciate.  Slowly the story from the time period of WWI through the Korean War is being told as these veterans, “depart the fix” – and as they pass on, historians are able to eventually gain access to their memorabilia.  The time period from the Vietnam War through the present day is not well documented yet, and in the age of email there are few handwritten letters and correspondence to be saved at all between families and their deployed family members.  My wife and I exchanged handwritten letters daily during my time in the Gulf War – and the delay of news back and forth was easily 10 days.  The Cold War years to many are just a blur, and the daily sacrifices throughout the years of the men and women who served during this period of history – on both sides of the wall – is quickly slipping away.

So if anyone has a collection of USAFE or NATO fighter squadron memorabilia tucked away in a closet, attic or basement that never sees the light of day, just send me an email – and I’ll gladly pass along your contact information to Tags as one option for you to consider.  For all other military memorabilia, I suggest contacting a museum or military historian to add your items to the greater knowledge of history.  In the end, as we learn from the past – just maybe – the world will be a better place for our children and for generations yet to come. 

Cheers,

Mark

The most reliable date for “Sky Pageant ’92″ that I found on the internet was July 1992, so that establishes those photos as a key summertime milestone.  English photographs mark the seasons by the fact that trees either have leaves or they don’t.  Winter looks a lot like fall and spring in England – wet, rainy and overcast.

As a consequence, I’ll now go back to January of 1992 and start sequencing photos again from that time period.  What I thought were photos taken in the fall of 1992, turned out to be from January 1992 – which threw me off the correct timeline.  Few people would really care about this minor administrative point, but I can’t “re-post” the sequencing of photos and for a while it will look like I’m going backwards in time.   

By entering all of these photos into the blog with detailed captions to go along with them, I’m essentially writing the “rough draft” of my continuing life story.  My written autobiography essentially stops shortly after I was assigned to Spangdahlem AB, Germany, in 1983.  From that date forward, I’m piecing the details together from scratch.  It’s a lot of work and takes quite a bit of time, but having these “visible chapters” of my life available will help the reader better understand the events surrounding my earlier writings.

This project also “resets” my memory by “revisiting” all of the key events of my life and requires me to research the, “what, when, where, why and how” aspects of the photos I’ve taken throughout the years.  Someday, I’ll no longer be up to the size and scope of this project, so I’m glad to have started it at this point in my life.

As always, pull up a chair and enjoy the show, and I hope that you will find a few photographs that catch your attention along the way; that hopefully cause you to reflect on your own life’s experiences.  Who knows, perhaps this blog will inspire you to pull out your old photographs in shoe boxes from under the bed (you know they’re under there somewhere) and tell your own story online – so your grandchildren can get to know you better one day!  Because once we’re gone, it’s hard to tell our story after the fact…and if we don’t do it – who will? 

Cheers,

Mark

The early morning hours of New Year's Day 2008 in our home.

During Advent and the Christmas season, I love all of the traditional Christmas music that is played this time of year, both on the local “Christmas” radio station and from our own collection at home.  The Twelve Days of Christmas ends on January 6th, which is Epiphany or Three King’s Day – the traditional day that marks the arrival of the three Wise Men, or Magi, bringing gifts from afar for the Christ Child – “revealing” Jesus to the world as Lord and King.

The season of Christmas has dual meanings for many, as traditional secular holidays and religious days of observance overlap during the same time frame.  Other faiths and traditions also observe this time of the year in special ways as well.  While some celebrate in either a secular or religious way, many of us celebrate by respecting both the secular and the religious during the same season.  For me, Santa Claus is very real indeed, and I truly believe that anyone can be Santa Claus - on any given day of the year; by giving unexpected gifts that meet someone’s very real need – at the time of that need.

This is a season of celebration, prayer, sentiment, memories and New Year’s Resolutions.  Besides traditional religious Christmas songs, our favorite CD at home is Amy Grant’s “The Christmas Collection;” which has our favorite Christmas song, “Tennessee Christmas” – which is originally from her album, “A Christmas Album.”  “Tennessee Christmas” has been our favorite modern Christmas song ever since we first listened to it.  Other sentimental favorites of mine are: Amy Grant’s version of “Grown-Up Christmas List;” Dan Fogelberg’s “Same Old Lang Syne;” Kenny Logins’ “Celebrate Me Home;” Emerson, Lake & Palmer’s “I Believe in Father Christmas;” John Lennon’s “Happy Xmas (War Is Over);” Faith Hill’s “Where Are You Christmas;” Bing Crosby’s “White Christmas;” Josh Groban’s “I’ll Be Home For Christmas;” Mariah Cary’s “All I Want For Christmas Is You;” and Straight No Chaser’s  a cappella ”The 12 Days Of Christmas.”

In the middle of The Twelve Days of Christmas, is the celebration of New Year’s Eve; where we reflect on years past and the New Year now just beginning.  As we get older we pause to consider on New Year’s Eve all that we’ve been through, what could have been but never was… and the future yet to be.  People sing “Auld Lang Syne” - for old times sake – written by Robert Burns in 1788 (courtesy of Wikipedia): “Should old acquaintance be forgot, and never brought to mind?  Should old acquaintance be forgot, and old lang syne?  For auld lang syne, my dear, for auld lang syne, we’ll take a cup of kindness yet, for auld lang syne.”  As I ponder this past year, I reflect back to January 29, 2009; when I started this blog with my first post, “Welcome To My World!”  Little did I know or guess how far I would have come by this time, or imagine how much joy I could get from sharing the events of my life with all of you.  The internet is an amazing invention, and the ability to connect with people around the planet simply defies logic – but it happens every day around the world.  If but one person decides to live the life of their dreams based on reading this account of mine - then everything I’ve posted here will have been well worth the effort.

A few years ago by brother suggested to me that I should write a book based on all that I’ve done.  My immediate response was that someone can do that posthumously when I’m gone.  As I pondered that thought over time, I realized that despite having started my autobiography, “In Search of the Meaning of Life” back in 1994 – that even my immediate family wouldn’t be able to piece together all of the events and interests of my life after I’m gone.  So when this opportunity to start a blog was suggested to me, it became the ideal conduit to organize my life for my family, as well as for anyone else that is interested.  Now as I approach the New Year, I ponder what is in store for our family, this blog and the greater world around us in 2010; and think about how my upcoming New Year’s Resolution can integrate all three in a positive and unified way.  Because in the end, our lives aren’t about being rich, successful or famous according to the world’s standards; but it’s God’s standards that we should aspire to instead.  Here is a quote from St. Augustine of Hippo, courtesy of WorldofQuotes.com:

“Picture God as saying to you, ‘My son, why is it that day by day you rise, and pray, and genuflect, and even strike the ground with your forehead, nay sometimes even shed tears, while you say to Me: ‘My Father, give me wealth!’ If I were to give it to you, you would think yourself of some importance, you would fancy that you had gained something very great. Because you asked for it, you have it. But take care to make good use of it. Before you had it, you were humble; now that you have begun to be rich you despise the poor. What kind of a good is that which only makes you worse? For worse you are, since you were bad already. And that it would make you worse you knew not; hence you asked it of Me. I gave it to you, and I proved you; you have found — and you have found out! Ask of Me better things than these, greater things than these. Ask of Me spiritual things. Ask of Me Myself!’”

In each of us God has planted a dream which holds a purpose and significance because He has chosen it for us, knowing that it would both agree with our inner nature and also serve Him as part of His greater plan.  So in the end it is up to us to understand this dream and passion that we all hold within our very souls…and follow it as far as it takes us – because in following it we are doing God’s greater purpose in the world.  We may not understand that purpose or see it revealed in our own lifetimes, but that is not ours to determine – only God’s.  So in this Christmas season as we celebrate the revealing of Jesus as Lord and King…and Savior – let us all thank Him for all that He has done for us, and continue to search out His purpose for our lives in order to make the New Year a better one than the year before…for all our sakes.  Happy New Year and all the best in 2010 – from our family to yours! 

Cheers,

Mark