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Running the USA
Posted: Sun Oct 31, 2021 5:11 pm
by Gob
Forrest Gump’s wisdom has inspired many of us, but Rob Pope took that a step further, dressing as his hero for the run of his life. But why? And what did he learn?
On 15 September 2016, Rob Pope, a chipper veterinarian from Liverpool, sat down in the chair of Fluke’s Barbers in Mobile, Alabama, and readied himself for a haircut. “So what would you like?” the barber asked him. Pope held up a photo of Forrest Gump. It had taken years of planning for Pope to embark on this trip to America, to make it to this barber’s chair. He’d spent countless hours daydreaming about it, building the momentum to go. As his job became ever more miserable – he was working 13-hour days, five days a week – the urge to escape became insurmountable. He quit and, along with his partner and fellow vet, Nadine, headed west.
In many ways, the seed for this adventure was sown in 2002. That was the year Pope’s mum, Cathy, died after a cancer diagnosis. Cathy was a medical laboratory scientific officer and a single parent. She raised Pope with grit, determination and heartfelt support of his passion: running. He’d shown promise at the sport since his school days when he took part in the oft-dreaded cross-country and excelled at it. Cathy would take him to his races, which soon became marathons. Marathons after marathons. To Pope she was a best friend, a rock, an inspiration, a support-crew leader. Before she died she asked him to make a promise: “Do one thing in your life that makes a difference.” These words echoed in his mind as he sat in that Alabama barbershop, awaiting his turn beneath the clippers.
A brisk buzz later, Pope stepped out on to the street. His hair was groomed into a “high and tight”, as the barber described it, and he was decked head to toe in Gump attire: chinos, checked shirt and a brand new pair of white Nike Cortez sneakers. He donned his red Bubba Gump Shrimp Co cap and, well, started to run. Just like Forrest Gump, he didn’t stop until he’d run across America almost five times.
continues here...
Re: Running the USA
Posted: Sun Oct 31, 2021 6:31 pm
by Burning Petard
OK What is a "chipper veterinarian"? Is a chipper some sort of animal found in the UK?
snailgate
Re: Running the USA
Posted: Sun Oct 31, 2021 8:01 pm
by ex-khobar Andy
No it means he is a specialist in reconstructing animals who have unexpectedly gone through a wood chipper. He's famous in the UK because his expertise was called on by the makers of "Fargo" after an unfortunate on-set incident. He's in the credits as Reconstruction gaffer.
Re: Running the USA
Posted: Sun Oct 31, 2021 9:48 pm
by Joe Guy
He's a cheerful veterinarian. Which means he makes motivational speeches to animals and makes them feel better about themselves with various cheering routines involving pom poms. He has no veterinary knowledge or skills.
Re: Running the USA
Posted: Mon Nov 01, 2021 7:25 am
by Gob
He's a vet* with a cheerful disposition to his personality.
*UK "vet" = "animal doctor", not "a lunatic shooting up the neighbourhood with a sub machine gun" as in the US.
Re: Running the USA
Posted: Mon Nov 01, 2021 12:26 pm
by BoSoxGal
Gob wrote: ↑Mon Nov 01, 2021 7:25 am
He's a vet* with a cheerful disposition to his personality.
*UK "vet" =
"animal doctor", not
"a lunatic shooting up the neighbourhood with a sub machine gun" as in the US.
In the US ‘vet’ = animal doctor, also - it’s what the great majority of folks would think of hearing the word, but of course context is everything.
Your comment was very ugly as we do not have an inordinate number of mass shooters who are military veterans.
Re: Running the USA
Posted: Mon Nov 01, 2021 12:31 pm
by Gob
Want to put money on you having the greatest percentage in the world?
Re: Running the USA
Posted: Mon Nov 01, 2021 12:36 pm
by BoSoxGal
Gob wrote: ↑Mon Nov 01, 2021 12:31 pm
Want to put money on you having the greatest percentage in the world?
No of course not, we have far more mass shootings than anyplace on earth I’m not naive about that - and the link to being trained to kill (as UK military and military anywhere are also) and killing in other contexts is pretty basic I’ll grant you that.
Anyway turns out I was wrong, this piece establishes 36% of mass shooters in the US have had military training, inclusive of some at the JROTC level (which is not actual military service).
https://www.citywatchla.com/index.php/c ... s-military
Re: Running the USA
Posted: Mon Nov 01, 2021 12:43 pm
by Gob
Thanks for admitting that.
Re: Running the USA
Posted: Mon Nov 01, 2021 12:47 pm
by BoSoxGal
Gob wrote: ↑Mon Nov 01, 2021 12:43 pm
Thanks for admitting that.
Just to be clear, I don’t for a minute believe that you actually knew those statistics, especially since the piece I linked discusses how little it is reported in the media and the author had to dig to compile them. Your statement was still a disgusting knee jerk slur on America, one of your favorites hobbies so no big surprise there.
Re: Running the USA
Posted: Mon Nov 01, 2021 1:37 pm
by Gob
I never claimed that I knew them. However, given;
A) The USA's ludicrous spending on, and emphasis on, people being in the military.
B) The USA's tendency to engage/start wars all over the globe, with the subsequent domestic personal and domestic repercussions.
C) Your insane gun availability and fetishising.
D) Your world beating record of going postal and killing each other.
It didn't take a huge leap of imagination to come up with my assertion.
Re: Running the USA
Posted: Mon Nov 01, 2021 2:21 pm
by Big RR
The USA's ludicrous spending on, and emphasis on, people being in the military.
I won't deny that the US spends far too much on the military, but I do think there are amny contries that place a far greater emphasis on people being in the military. Indeed, many countries (including western European countries, like much of Scandinavia) have mandatory service/conscription for all citizens (or at least all male citizens); the US does not have this. and, of course, to attract people to the military in a volunteer system, the salary and beneifits must be greater, making the budget much higher.
Re: Running the USA
Posted: Mon Nov 01, 2021 2:32 pm
by Burning Petard
Gob, two observations: some military training does not make one a veteran. To quote a T Shirt (just as much an description of reality as the news reports you see in GB about the military culture in the USA): A Veteran is one who sometime in their life signed a blank check payable to the United States of America for an amount of 'up to and including my life'.
second: "the USA's ludicrous spending on, and emphasis on, people being in the military." Very little of that spending is on people. Most goes for weapons systems unwanted by the military put pushed by politicians to provide profitable contracts and jobs for their constituents. The actual attitude of most Americans toward veterans is similar to the attitude of a lapsed Catholic toward the vestryman who cleans the bathrooms in the local chapel. ''Thank you for your service' is not appreciated by many veterans because the speaker has no idea of the sacrifice such service requires from the veteran or particularly from their family. I refer you to the essays by Jim Wright at Stoneketle Station, on Veteran Holidays and mass shootings. More locally, I refer you to the poems of Kipling, such as 'Tommy" which I believe is still reflective of reality in GB, as well as the USofA, today.
I believe it is called Remembrance Day in Canada, 11 November. In preparation for that day, I shall spend most of Saturday, November 8, 2021, placing flags at the local grave markers (not military cemeteries) for those who served in wars going clear back to 1776. Others will be doing it on Friday at the Delaware military cemetery.
PS: Know of ZERO mass shootings by a veteran using a submachine-gun here in in the USA. I would appreciate a place and date for such, outside Hollywood fiction.
snailgate
Re: Running the USA
Posted: Mon Nov 01, 2021 3:36 pm
by Big RR
BP--while you're right about the sacrifices military member endure, many do find it an attractive career. I have known several senior noncoms and officers who have made the military a career and have enjoyed it (at least as much as you can enjoy any career). Clearly they don't see much of the money the US pours into the defense department, but (at least when I was involved with it (a good number of years ago)) it was a good career choice for the right person. Clearly some detest the lifestyle of constant moving (and often extended time away from home), but many jobs do just that. And even though there is a chance you may have too put your life on the line, depending on the MOS, many never do this. Personally, I think the hardest pill to swallow if not being able to quit, even when those above you are complete asshoies (and there are some of them); indeed, this is why I was happy to leave; but for the right pesron, it is not a bad career choice, and will leave you with a pretty good retirement plan.
Others find some of the benefits available pretty good; my nephew was in the Coast Guard for 8 years and upon separation, he took advantage of the educational benefits. He is now doing quite well and is happy.
The thing I think is indefensible is how we treat some of the veterans who need significant help accessing the benefits. There's no excuse for that.
Re: Running the USA
Posted: Mon Nov 01, 2021 3:54 pm
by ex-khobar Andy
The thing I think is indefensible is how we treat some of the veterans who need significant help accessing the benefits. There's no excuse for that.
Quite. I disagree with much of what the military does and says - but there is no excuse for the number of vets who appear to be dumped at the side of the road once their careers are over. Yes I know some get decent pensions and manage to parlay their experience into some consultancy somewhere but there are too many homeless and drug-addicted vets.
Trump of course thought that supporting the military was, for example, pardoning the likes of Eddie Gallagher.
Re: Running the USA
Posted: Mon Nov 01, 2021 4:42 pm
by BoSoxGal
Burning Petard wrote: ↑Mon Nov 01, 2021 2:32 pm
PS: Know of ZERO mass shootings by a veteran using a submachine-gun here in in the USA. I would appreciate a place and date for such, outside Hollywood fiction.
snailgate
Assuming by submachine gun you are referencing semiautomatic firearms, see the article I posted above which includes a link to several such shootings by veterans. Here’s a shortcut to the link:
https://u1584542.ct.sendgrid.net/ss/c/ ... m_IWu590io
One that you may recall offhand was a church massacre in Texas a few years back, perpetrated by an Air Force veteran who killed 26 parishioners before he was taken out by another armed citizen. Another in Texas was the veteran who killed 5 police officers at a Black Lives Matter march not long after Charlottesville if I recall correctly - they took him out with a robot. I’m not sure if he used a semiautomatic, but it is likely.
Re: Running the USA
Posted: Mon Nov 01, 2021 4:59 pm
by MajGenl.Meade
Of more or less import and interest, during the War of the Rebellion, a "Veteran" was a soldier who had served his time and re-upped. It was an official recognition of their greater devotion to duty than that of the time-served chaps who (sensibly) just wanted to go home.
Also created was a Veteran Reserve Corps for soldiers who had been wounded and were no longer fit for front line service with their regiments. They re-enlisted as Veterans in the VRC and were proud of their special designation too.
Of course, all those who served were veterans with a small v if they didn't desert. Some were veterans of combat while others were veterans of wearing a uniform, being a blacksmith, building fortifications and so on.
Re: Running the USA
Posted: Mon Nov 01, 2021 5:01 pm
by Gob
Allow me a little hyperbole Burning Petard , it wasn't meant to be taken other than as a light hearted piss take.
Re: Running the USA
Posted: Mon Nov 01, 2021 5:28 pm
by Long Run
This vet has seen more of America than most Americans.
Re: Running the USA
Posted: Mon Nov 01, 2021 6:32 pm
by Big RR
BSG--I can't speak for everyone here, but I do think a submachine gun is fully automatic (meaning it fires multiple rounds while the trigger is depressed) as opposed to semi automatic (where a single round is fired each time the trigger is depressed). I did a quick google search and it states that submachine guns are fully automatic.