Mid-Winter Early Morning Ramblings

It's "Oh-Dark-Thirty" on a cold, rainy Sunday morning, and once awakened by the "Call of the Bladder", I was not inclined to try for more sleep. It's my usual gettin' up time anyway, and I must respect the Circadian Rhythm!
The house is pretty quiet at this hour, at least once my routine Alpenhorn blasts have subsided. I enjoy spending time in the computer room, which looks pretty classy after the summer/fall remodel. It sports "Hunter Green" walls, and really nice oak/hardwood furniture...and a much-reduced amount of "I Love Me" crap as an advertisement of my awesomeness. It's false advertising, of course...but the few items that made the cut are reminders of special personal or professional relationships I've been fortunate to have over my adult life. There's the usual stuff, like my Master's Degree diploma from the University of Washington, and a couple of unit plaques from my days as an active duty Armor/Cavalry officer. I have a poignant group photograph of the police department I served with and retired from, which includes the four officers who were murdered in November, 2009, while I was deployed to Iraq.  Mounted over my new dresser is a USMC NCO sword, which I wore as commander of the sheriff's department honor guard. The honor guard crew presented the sword and mounting plaque to me when I turned over command after eight years. Of all the law enforcement-related awards or memorabilia I collected over a 22 year career, this one means the most to me. Rounding out the wall hangings is a compelling drawing of a US Cavalry patrol fighting its way out of an ambush, circa 1878, by renowned western artist Bill O'Neill, my Paul Harris Fellow award from Rotary, and my very favorite piece of artwork...a small sketch illustrating a quote from The Little Prince: "If you come at four o'clock in the afternoon, then by three o'clock I shall begin to be happy." My Spousal Unit gave me this when we were first dating, and it means the world to me.
Just outside the room, I reserved a special spot for a beautiful print, depicting a squadron of red-tailed P-51 fighters escorting a formation of B-17s. This print, signed by one of those amazing, valiant Tuskegee Airmen, was a birthday gift from my Air Force officer son...I'm inspired every time I look at it.
Well, the family (Spousal Unit, and our two pups) is stirring, so I'll end this rambling writing exercise with a "Good Morning!" to anyone who happens to read it!