Music:
I'm a serious fan of old school country- Hank Williams Sr., Johnny Cash, Willie Nelson, David Allen Coe, and Merle Haggard - but I still enjoy the newer artists like Big and Rich, Clint Black, Garth Brooks, Alan Jackson.I am know to listen to what my wife calls "angry white boy music" to include Rage Against the Machine, Nine Inch Nails, Metallica, Alice in Chains, Stone Temple Pilots, and Pearl Jam.I am also starting to really enjoy the "Blues" channel on my digital cable... that's great music to drink a beer and cook dinner to.
Movies:
I enjoy most action flicks, but I still love the big John Wayne movies- "Big Jake", "The Sons of Katie Elder", "The Cowboys", "The War Wagon", "Rio Bravo", "She Wore a Yellow Ribbon", "Fort Apache", "The Searchers", "Sands of Iwo Jima", "The Flying Leathernecks", "They Were Expendable", "The Longest Day".I like all of the mindless comedy... basically anything with Will Ferrel, Owen/Luke Wilson, Vince Vaughn. Fart jokes and low brow humor never get old.
Television:
SUCKS. Sports is about all I can tolerate.
Books:
My all time favorite book is "Gates of Fire", I think every American citizen and definitely every person wearing a uniform should read it.Otherwise, I like nonfiction. Some of my favorite are "D-Day", "Undaunted Courage", "Band of Brothers", and "Citizen Soldiers" by Stephen Ambrose... "The Rise of Theodore Roosevelt" and "Theodore Rex"... "Biggest Brother" and "Beyond Band of Brothers".I'm starting to notice a trend towards war books, but oh well.
Heroes:
All actors and professional athelets are immediately excluded from my list of potential heroes.I am a big fan of the 19-year-old American Soldier who sits in the turret of an up-armored HMMWV and mans a .50 cal machinegun. That young man has an incredibly lethal weapon in his hands and about 2 seconds to decide if the Iraqi vehicle approaching his convoy is a moron civillian or a suicide bomber.Heroes of mine you may know include Audie Murphy, Rick Rescorla (google him), Dick Winters, Creighton "Abe" Abrams, and Thomas Jefferson.Some heroes who you might not know are Clarence P. Hart, Michael Hart, Janis Shafer, and Coach Pete Boudreaux.