Short Timer
"Short Timer" is military jargon for one who is about to rotate out...
to go home.
In Korea, so the story goes, a "Short Timer" wrote to his wife, telling her to paint their bedroom ceiling her favorite color.
The letter was mailed just before he stepped on a land mine.
There may not be as much future as you expect.
With the built-in uncertainties of life, there are a few things that should not be left hanging.
If you experience a terminal event, your remaining affairs will be taken care of by others.
However, there are three things that you should tend for yourself.
They are: o Will o Living Will o Your stories A third party can do none of the above items after you're gone.
You're the sole authority on these matters.
The wills are very important, but once you decide to take action, they require only a small time commitment.
However, the stories can take longer.
The older one gets.
the more stories there are.
Some people are storytellers; they leave oral histories.
which are preserved only as long as the listeners survive.
A more permanent vehicle is to reduce your stories to a written form--either onto paper or into a computer.
Recording your stories in a tangible form is like casting a permanent shadow marking your passage through life.
Your experiences, opinions, likes and dislikes will be of interest to family and friends.
They will round out your character, in the minds of others, giving it shape, texture and color.
Stories also may be valuable as a historical record in future times.
You never can tell how and when a spot of fame may overtake you.
A friend once gained notoriety because he was bitten by a poisonous snake while aboard a steamship in the middle of the Atlantic.
Fame came when a ship's officer used the new ship-to-shore radio to call New York.
The radio operator in turn telephoned the zoo to find a treatment.
That information was radioed back to the ship and that became the first medical emergency where ship-to-shore radio was employed.
Keep a log or a personal journal...
use any means of your choosing to record your journey.
Those who follow will know you and probably will understand themselves better.
to go home.
In Korea, so the story goes, a "Short Timer" wrote to his wife, telling her to paint their bedroom ceiling her favorite color.
The letter was mailed just before he stepped on a land mine.
There may not be as much future as you expect.
With the built-in uncertainties of life, there are a few things that should not be left hanging.
If you experience a terminal event, your remaining affairs will be taken care of by others.
However, there are three things that you should tend for yourself.
They are: o Will o Living Will o Your stories A third party can do none of the above items after you're gone.
You're the sole authority on these matters.
The wills are very important, but once you decide to take action, they require only a small time commitment.
However, the stories can take longer.
The older one gets.
the more stories there are.
Some people are storytellers; they leave oral histories.
which are preserved only as long as the listeners survive.
A more permanent vehicle is to reduce your stories to a written form--either onto paper or into a computer.
Recording your stories in a tangible form is like casting a permanent shadow marking your passage through life.
Your experiences, opinions, likes and dislikes will be of interest to family and friends.
They will round out your character, in the minds of others, giving it shape, texture and color.
Stories also may be valuable as a historical record in future times.
You never can tell how and when a spot of fame may overtake you.
A friend once gained notoriety because he was bitten by a poisonous snake while aboard a steamship in the middle of the Atlantic.
Fame came when a ship's officer used the new ship-to-shore radio to call New York.
The radio operator in turn telephoned the zoo to find a treatment.
That information was radioed back to the ship and that became the first medical emergency where ship-to-shore radio was employed.
Keep a log or a personal journal...
use any means of your choosing to record your journey.
Those who follow will know you and probably will understand themselves better.
Source...