All Boot, No Hat:

If You have ever wanted to find out what life would be like for the little old lady who lived in a shoe, now’s your chance; Texas style. For just $1200 a month you can rent a 700 square foot boot with two bedrooms, one bath, and a rooftop deck, in Huntsville, Texas.

It was designed and built by Dan Phillips; his company specializes in using recycled and salvaged material for the construction of homes. Phillips is intrigued by storybook architecture and says, “Since I was a child, I was always fascinated by creating houses that looked like homes in story books.”

It’s Mine:

Sometimes you just don’t want to let something go, as a biker in Kanpur, India didn’t when he refused to get off his bike, which was being towed. It made for an interesting video.

It Ain’t All Bad News:

Eight year old J.T. Parker was named an East Idaho Real Hero and received an award recently for his actions last July in rescuing his father who was trapped underneath a vehicle.

J.T. along with his older brother Mason, and his father Stephen were working on a car in their back yard. Mason had gone into the house to attend to a cut on his hand, when the car fell and crushed Stephen, who called out, “Jack it up quick! Jack it up quick!” Neither J.T. or his father thought that he would be able to do it, as it had taken Stephen and seventeen year old Mason to raise it the first time.

J.T. persevered by jumping up and down on the jack and then going to get his brother, who called 911.

When asked why he thinks that he was able to successfully raise the car, his reply was one word, “Angels.” Stephen explained that they believe his grandpa and sister who had passed on were aiding J.T.

Moment in Time:

May 2, 1968

Roy Benavidez is monitoring the radio at the Forward operating base in Loc Ninh, Vietnam. West of them is a dense jungle area in which a 12-man Special Forces Reconnaissance Team has been inserted to gather intelligence on enemy activity; the news the radio is delivering is not good.

The team has met heavy enemy resistance and has requested emergency extraction. Three helicopters are sent out to attempt it, are met with withering fire, are unable to land, and return to base with their wounded crew members. Another sortie is organized to make another attempt and Sergeant Benavidez volunteers and boards a helicopter. When he realized that the team members could not make it back to the pickup zone, because they were either all dead or wounded, he directed the aircraft to a clearing, jumped and ran through heavy enemy fire to the crippled team.

Over the next six hours Benavidez would receive a total of seven bullet wounds, numerous bayonet and shrapnel wounds, have his jaw broken, and in spite of these wounds, would be the last man out; his actions would be responsible for saving eight lives. What is even more amazing is that all of this occurred after had been told that he would never walk again, due to his severe wounds from stepping on a landmine while serving in the 82nd Airborne. Not only did he walk again, but volunteered for some of the most difficult service in the military in the Special Forces.

Read about Roy Benavidez here.

For a good presentation of why we should honor our Vietnam Vets, watch President Reagan present this award here and read his remarks here.

The story of how he earned his MOH told in a more coarse rendition here.

The WaterCooler is an open thread, so ease on up, wet your whistle, and speak your piece.