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== Seeking Fame in Barcelona ==

<html>Paul Shortino is a rock star. He has rock star hair. He has rock star clothes. He has a rock star glasses. He has a rock star voice.
And for as recognizable as he is, and even though I have his rock star phone number,[http://mt2.ovens.pl/wiki/index.php/U%C5%BCytkownik:Rowellwj32#McDowell_wins_French_Open.2C_takes_ninth_European_Tour_title McDowell wins French Open, takes ninth European Tour title], I can't seem to find him in Barcelona.
Paul, who played rock deity Duke Fame in the riotous cult classic "This is Spinal Tap," has taken a one-month break from his newest gig as one of the power vocalists in Las Vegas's super rock group at "Raiding the Rock Vault" at LVH.
His tour in Spain with Spanish blues guitar aficionado Javier Vargas was a prior commitment, and Paul — being a man of his word — wasn't about to let down the Vargas Blues Band or its followers.
And so here we are together. But apart.
It's a perfect Saturday afternoon in the coastal city of Barcelona. I now sit in a bar called "Dos Trece" in the adventurously hip — or delightfully seedy — El Raval neighborhood just south of La Rambla. It's a bar I know well. I have written things here before, things that I will never share. Some things, some day, I might.
The bar and El Raval are chameleons to one's mood. Today the mood is, well, terrific. I'm drinking a beer and the lovely Erica is drinking cava, Spain's sparkling wine.
As Erica reminds me that she likes robots and aliens, Paul texts me through a Wi-Fi-based app that he has just landed in Ibiza. Ibiza is beautiful, but it's an island that is a short flight from the chatty "Dos Trece" that features bed-headed hipsters behind the bar and a perfectly volumed sound track best described by Erica as "tasty-ambient-electro."
Paul's tour schedule — seemingly branching out from Barcelona — and our day-trips out of the city have caused as many near misses with Paul as there are occasions to give the "Rock Vault" boys a standing ovation. For those yet to see the mighty near-nightly concert, that's a lot.
A casual analysis of the multitude of text and voice messages that have been held hostage by cellular connections and Wi-Fi signals shows we have passed each other on the way to and from towns on the Costa Brava, on street corners and past music venues.
As Paul was heading from Lloret de Mar to Barcelona, we were heading toward it — where we would encounter Tossa de Mar's ever-present Pedro at Bar Don Juan (a character deserving of a blog its own). As we headed back south to Barcelona, Paul was traveling back north to charming Girona for his next tour stop.
Social media has kept us up on each other as well. Erica and I have posted pictures and updates on Twitter and Facebook. And so has Paul,[http://ce.haw-aw.de/wiki/index.php/Benutzer:Flattenut14#Cardinals_on_top.3B_Tigers_climbing_in_MLB_Power_Rankings Cardinals on top; Tigers climbing in MLB Power Rankings], including his thank you for birthday wishes, and his observance of the third anniversary of his pal Ronnie James Dio's passing.
And so, even separated by technology and schedules, Erica and I raise a glass to each of those posts. We've scoped out Barcelona's Enormo Dome. We scan the sky for a rock star soul, and we keep an eye low for Paul's rock star hair, rock star clothes, and rock star glasses.
There is about a week left of each of our trips here. Paul is scheduled to play in Barcelona on Sunday night. But,[http://www.myphototheque.com/ Eight immigrants driving Reid's support for immigration],[http://www.jerseys-hearts.com/San-Francisco-Giants-Black-Nike-Short-Sleeve-Practice-T-Shirt-27951/ San Francisco Giants Black Nike Short Sleeve Practice T-Shirt], at about the same time, we have tickets to the FC Barcelona match.
Dang.
There is always Monday and Tuesday. Failing that, there is the next night of rock and roll at "Raiding the Rock Vault" in Las Vegas — just a text message away from Barcelona.
Billy Johnson is the president and chief operating officer of the .</html>

== Honor our soldiers with better pay 0 ==

<html>July 8, 2013 8:47 a.m.  In the 1970 s my father-in-law, now buried with full military honors in Arlington National Cemetery, retired from the Army with 33 years of service. I attended his hearing before a VA Board in Washington DC on his disability rating. Background: He was 17 when he joined the Army after Pearl Harbor was attacked. He was rejected by several military services before the Army accepted him. He was diagnosed with a medical condition: An aneurism on his heart, a genetic disease common for the men in his family. Upon retirement, the VA assessed him with a 30 percent disability. He deserved and was requesting a higher percentage after his service in 3 wars--WW2, Korean, and a half dozen combat tours in Southeast Asia--Viet Nam, Laos, Cambodia, and Thailand. He was shot and bayonetted in Korea,[http://www.jerseys-hearts.com/Nike-49ers-53-Bowman-red-game-2013-Super-Bowl-XLVII-Jersey-29053/ Nike 49ers 53 Bowman red game 2013 Super Bowl XLVII Jersey], caught malaria in Southeast Asia, and suffered further heart deterioration probably as a result of his war service. The latter was documented in his military medical files which I read. During his military career, he was awarded the Soldier s Medal, The Bronze Star with several Oak Leave Clusters for Valor, and several Purple Hearts,[http://www.raspberrypi-fr.org/wiki/index.php?title=Utilisateur:Flattenut76#Numbers_Game-_Bruins_bring_in_Iginla Numbers Game- Bruins bring in Iginla], just to mention a few. At the end of the day, the VA Board ruled that the 30 percent was correct. Several years later, he suffered a massive heart attack at my house on a Thanksgiving Day weekend. I rushed him to DeWitt Army Hospital at Fort Belvoir,[http://www.ventmatrix.com/enterthematrix/index.php?title=User:Prosper95#Photos-_DJ_Pauly_D_celebrates_his_33rd_birthday_at_Haze_in_A Photos- DJ Pauly D celebrates his 33rd birthday at Haze in A], VA about 7 miles away from my home. The doctors and nurses there were outstanding and their actions saved his life for another 5 years. He died after another heart attack at the age of 58. He had been retired for less than 10 years. The VA was dead wrong. He deserved a 100 percent disability for serving as a Command Sargent Major for 33 years in the Army with a documented,[http://www.acupuncture-chicago.net/ AP IMPACT- MIA work 'acutely dysfunctional'], well-known, heart aneurism as part of his permanent medical records. Carmine D By 
  July 8, 2013 9:57 a.m.  @CarmineD how do you feel about the GOP cutting funding for the VA and vets in general? I would think you d speak out against your own party if you really have strong feelings about this and if your story about your father in law is true. By</html>