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"Happy is the man who, like Ulysses, has made a glorious voyage, or has won the Golden Fleece, and then returns, experienced and knowledgeable, to spend the rest of his life among his family." ~ Joachim du Bellay
Briefly
I'm an Alabama Boy living in Virginia with my wife, among kids and grandkids, between the Blue Ridge and beaches, surrounded by battlefields. I married a beautiful Birmingham Girl. She and I have settled in the Old Dominion to be close to our family.
I grew up in Birmingham, the middle son of a railroad man and a country girl.
I am a retired career soldier, joining the Army at twenty-three and staying for twenty-four years.
I served as a scout and infantryman in the 82nd Airborne for seventeen years. I'm a Master Parachutist and wear the Combat Infantry Badge. I served three tours with NATO in Izmir, Turkey, two years on Her Majesty’s Service in the British Parachute Regiment, and taught ROTC at the Virginia Military Institute (VMI). I am a graduate of Class 47 of the United States Army Sergeants Major Academy.
After the Army, I worked at VMI for sixteen and a half years as the Corps and Institute Sergeant Major. I stayed too long, becoming a tired old man there. I left just in time.
A New Azimuth
After 41 years, I happily removed my uniform and promised I would never put it back on. I haven't.
Unlike my uniformed days, I have plenty of free time. I invest this in family, travel, and hobbies. It is a better way of life.
I've slowed down a lot. I do only one thing on my to-do list each day.
Most days, I walk the trails around my house, visit one of the many parks in the area, or scour a local battlefield. I spend cold and rainy days in my office writing, working on this site, doing family research, or reading. Some evenings, I am out back with my telescope.
I take photos of everything.
I am with my grandchildren so often that I may become a nice guy.
What's in a Name?
The name for my site comes from my first experiments with the internet. Looking for a suitable AOL screen name and email address, I tried every iteration of my name, all of which were taken. I noticed that a few of my army buddies added "505," our regiment, to the end of their names. AOL accepted it, so I became "neel505@AOL.com."
When I moved to Yahoo and built my first site on Geocities, I became neel505@yahoo.com. When Geocities closed, I moved my site from place to place, learning to code along the way. I settled on Google because I could easily rebuild it, for free, and keep it online for $15/year. I kept the name. Now, it is parked at Squarespace.
Symbols
My stylized N represents my family name, Neel, and my Regiment, The 505th Parachute Infantry Regiment. This N is also a stylized DV, the Roman numeral for 500 and 5. Is this very clever? I think so.
My winged panther comes from my unit crest, but that one belongs to everyone in our regiment, leaping behind Enemy Lines (They've got us surrounded, the poor Bastards). This one is mine, leaping forward into the future. Well, it is almost mine. I'm no artist; that's my brother. I borrowed a leaping panther and some Pegasus wings from the web, combined them, and colored them black with Photoshop.
The idea came from a night of drinking at The Royal George in Aldershot when my mates in 1 Para tried to convince me to get their cap badge tattooed on my chest. I wasn't that drunk, but I revisited the idea later, designing a tattoo emblematic of both of my parachute regiments. I never had it "done." Maybe one day.
Neel in Detail
I'm a middle Kid. My brothers were studious, well-behaved, and educated at the same liberal arts college . . . you know . . . Tools. I'm not the smartest of the three, just the best-looking. Just Kidding. I'm also way smarter than those two frat boys.
I double-space between sentences, do not think "disrespect" is a verb, and conjugate plead as "plead, pled, pled." I love commas and put them anywhere and everywhere. My spelling sucks. I do not do Math.
I use Army rank abbreviations and 24-hour time.
I call my friends "Mate." I use the term Cheers to say goodbye, good luck, thank you, and Let's Drink. I speak just enough Turkish to get where I'm going, order food, and get myself in trouble. I often communicate with movie quotes and will expect you to get the reference. If I call you Bobo or Sports Fan, treat both as terms of endearment.
I was a bad student. I educated myself with the Encyclopedia Britannica and World Book. I have an inner need to impress people with my intelligence. Ask me a simple question and you'll get an extended, exhaustive answer, with historical context.
I read . . . a lot.
I detest politics and politicians and haven't liked a president since Ronald Reagan.
My musical tastes are stuck in the '60s and early '70s. The Beatles and their bubblegum music still suck. Music helps me focus.
I'm an Auburn Fan. War damn Eagle!
I am an Atheist. If you want to delude yourself by believing in a god or supreme being, that's fine with me, as long as you do not attempt to impose your superstitious taboos upon me or step on my toes. Don't think you can convert me; you will only run away, doubting your beliefs and crying. True Story.
I am mostly tolerant of idiots, but do not expect me to buy into your delusions. I don't do bold-faced lies.
I'm a patriotic and proud American Southerner and an armed Life Member of the NRA. My heroes are Robert E. Lee, Thomas "Stonewall" Jackson, Turner Ashby, and JEB Stewart. I use a Pixel Phone, Windows Computers, and all things Google. I detest Samsung and Apple products. Deal With It!
Pleased to meet you,
A Paratrooper at Rest, Mamiya 6, 50mm, Kodak Portra 400
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