Whence the electric and cable came back online I hit the emailbox and found some kind words from LT Chad in there. It seems that the USPS was working above and beyond and got the stuff I mailed to him just in time for Christmas.
I did especially enjoy the subject line of his email: “Holy shit of all shits!”
I took that to mean he liked what was sent.
Anyway, in return he sent some pics of his accompanying gentlemen doing what Combat Engineers do in Afghanistan.
Take in some practice time at the range
And act muy macho when doing EOD stuff.
At Boomershoot, there is a point in the day when folks go “Boomer Hunting”. Basically, you go out with your carbine and shoot any Boomers that didn’t get got from the firing line.
But beforehand, Joe warns of the proper distance you should be from the Boomers in order to avoid being hit by debris. While it is a safe distance, it has, at times, been called “Entertainingly Close” .
I do believe that the gentlemen in the above pic could be considered “Entertainingly Close” to the blast in the background.
Whence actually means “from where” or “from what”. Here’s the entry from dictionarydotcom:
whence /Ê°wÉ›ns, wÉ›ns/ Pronunciation Key – Show Spelled Pronunciation[hwens, wens] Pronunciation Key – Show IPA Pronunciation
–adverb 1. from what place?: Whence comest thou?
2. from what source, origin, or cause?: Whence has he wisdom?
–conjunction 3. from what place, source, cause, etc.: He told whence he came.
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[Origin: 1250–1300; ME whennes, whannes, equiv. to whanne (by syncope from OE hwanone whence) + -s -s1]
—Usage note Although sometimes criticized as redundant on the grounds that “from†is implied by the word whence, the idiom from whence is old in the language, well established, and standard. Among its users are the King James Bible, Shakespeare, Dryden, and Dickens: Hilary finally settled in Paris, from whence she bombarded us with letters, postcards, and sketches. From thence, a parallel construction, occurs infrequently.
Oops, forgot my “upon”. Thanks Dar.