Test. Test. Test ONE. Test ONE. Check. Check. CH-CH-CH-CHECK.

Work at home, we have a go. Commence writing.

Distinguished veteran Juan Ulep. Fascinating guy. Should I lead with the dogs he trained to go on point with the lead infantrymen in Vietnam? Or maybe the fact that he joined the Philippine army at 17 to fight the Japanese occupation? I really like that he -

Time out. Oven timer has gone off for pumpkin muffins. Quick check – needs two or three more minutes of baking.

-  and his wife have volunteered 13 years for the Oregon State Defense Fund. I could go with that to start, only -

Oven timer goes off again. Looks like the muffins are done this time. Baking pan out of the oven.

-  that’s more amazing when taken in context of all his other service. There we go. Start by summing up his many, many years of service, and -

Slightly Older Princess wants a snack. Tell her muffins just came out of the oven and are too hot just yet.

- then we can move forward with how he came to join the -

SOP really, really wants a snack. Pull a smoking hot muffin from the pan and set it on a cooling rack. Warn her to proceed at her own risk. Have milk ready.

- Philippine Army, and then how he -

Little Princess wants one, too.

- used his own vehicle as a taxi to save money to get to America, where -

The dog has figured out people are eating and would like to get in on this action. Glance at clock. It’s a little early, but we have had a time change. Fill dog food bowl.

- he went to college, in spite of having to quit school in the fourth grade following the invasion. And then he joined the United States Army and served a tour of duty in Vietnam, which is where the dogs come in. Amazing to think that dogs can be trained to -

Dog is less than impressed with kibble and would really like a pumpkin muffin.

- to point out piano wire that would otherwise -

Really. Would like. Muffin.

- trip an homemade bomb, with as little as seven pounds of pressure. Ulep figures the dogs he trained, Duke -

Dog does not get muffin, but does get a dog biscuit, hurled with great force at the patio in the back yard so she can have a good, long hunt sniffing for all the little broken pieces. Close sliding glass door.

- and Rebel, probably saved his life multiple times. He was never even wounded during his Vietnam tour, just a sprained ankle that kept him out of action for two weeks. He earned multiple medals, including six Good Con-

Fifteen minute break, everybody. Time to take Little Princess to basketball practice.

- duct medals, the National Defense Service Medal, the Army Commendation Medal and the Presidential Meritorious Service Medal. And he could have decided he was done with military service after that, only -

Gotta get dinner in the oven now; Little Princess will be starving when she gets done with practice and everybody needs baths tonight.

- he stayed on for 21 years in all, serving in Germany and Hawaii and back in his homeland before his discharge in 1983. And even then, he said, after about three months out of the Army, a person gets bored, so that’s -

Dog is back and can tell dinner is in the works. Perhaps someone will share a bit of the sausage stuffing that’s going in the butternut squash?

- why he and his wife decided, in 1988, to -

No.

- sign up for the Oregon State Defense -

Slightly Older Princess wants to watch an online Pokemon cartoon, am I done yet??

- Force. They declared him Solider of the Year at one point, only he isn’t sure -

No.

- what year it was, and I can’t seem to find it anywhere, so I guess I won’t include that in this story. No matter, I can still talk about -

How much longer?

- how he volunteers with Rotary and with Hab-

I’ll let you know.

-itat for Humanity and how he will be going back to the Philippines in February to oversee the latest developments in a freshwater well project.

Time to go pick up Little Princess, get dinner out of the oven and work on those baths.

- Yup, an amazing guy, Juan Ulep. Next time I’ll -

And now the cat is hungry, too.

- wait till I get back to the office to write about him.