re: What things in your life that you've done that probably not many others have done?

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And you didn't post something on here in your language?

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i actually did post the alphabet, the runic letters and some of the words and how the language worked (tenses and all that.)

It was very basic and I never took it past rudimentary, but the roots were all there.

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How is duck hunting in other countries? Anything like or different than here in the South, or in the States for that matter?

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Very similar except hunting in Europe is very much about the process and traditions....fishing also. They hunt over decoys, from blinds, and call just like we do but they adhere to strict rituals sort of like fox hunting...its more about the ritual of hunting than killing birds. Its also EXTREMELY expensive...not for the average person. I was fortunate in that I was involved with MWR while in Germany and had the opportunity to go hunting with Germans...for example they would not dream of using an auto loader and will not carry their side by side to the blind unless it is broken down in a hard case. They will wear traditional hunting clothes similar to that seen in high end estate hunts and big game hunts. They do not pass shoot unless they are strictly pass shooting...if they are using decoys they decoy birds or do not shoot. Its an experience. The average German or Pole can't afford it like we do in the US...it is almost exclusively reserved for the very wealthy. US Service members get to experience it through MWR....if it weren't for that few Americans could afford it either....or would pay what it would normally cost.

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Which president?

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W. He was great, very talkative and engaging.

My brother worked in the travel office of his admin and W invited every family of all of his staff to come for a 15 minute meet and greet in the oval toward the end of his 2nd term.

I wish I had been older to appreciate it more but it was a very cool experience.

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What things in your life that you've done that probably not many others have done?

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1) Walked to my hotel from a restaurant in a sandstorm in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia. Couldn't see 15 feet in front of me.

2) Heard and felt landmines being detonated in Sarajevo, Bosnia following the almost four-year siege of the city by the Serbs.

3) Was awakened by an earthquake in Almaty, Kazakhstan.

4) Worked in all 11 time zones in Russia.

5) Needed 4,000 miles to reach Delta Airlines' Platinum Medallion status one December so I flew from Baton Rouge to Europe and back to Baton Rouge in 22 hours (Baton Rouge-Atlanta-Paris-Amsterdam-Chicago-Atlanta-Baton Rouge). (Got detained in Amsterdam by Dutch airport security because I didn't have any checked luggage even though I was on an international flight from the USA. I learned the Dutch have no sense of humor.) There was a glitch in the Delta online booking system which priced that itinerary at $293 total round trip. By reaching Platinum Medallion I secured 8 one-way upgrades from international coach class to first or business class. Each free one-way upgrade saved me $2,000.

6) Watched a Russian military-looking guy beat the shite out of two thugs with knives on the Moscow Metro (subway) who were trying to rob him. Broken bones occurred.

7) Had a disposable camera confiscated by ChiCom internal security agents in 2004 because I took some photos of SOMETHING they didn't want me to take. I was in Dalian, China, a port city on the Chinese east coast, and I think they didn't like me taking photos of the ships in the port, including a couple of Chinese Navy ships.

8) Was advised to close my hotel window in my ground floor room in Blantyre, Malawi (Africa) because cobras could climb the bricks outside and enter the room. I closed the window.

9) Stood in the prison cell in St. Petersburg, Russia where Russian Tsar Peter the Great had his son tortured and executed for treason.

Shared urinals with Dave Treen, Mike Foster and Bernie Kosar

Flew in the Collins Foundation B-17.

About all I got....

Participated in a DP

I ordered Popeyes for lunch and received it 100% accurate on the first attempt and in a timely manner.

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Had a disposable camera confiscated by ChiCom internal security agents in 2004 because I took some photos of SOMETHING they didn't want me to take.

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Similar thing happened to me except I was in Toulouse, France. fricking French police or whatever they were. Walked me to a police station and made me stomp my camera on the floor in front of them. They pointed rifles at me like I was a dangerous terrorist. I didn’t like the feel of having a rifle pointed at me.