Navy Barracks Glynco Ga. 1964

I've been searching for a 1963 Bluejacket's Manual for 3-4 years now, searching on Amazon or EBAY and had no success. An old navy friend mailed me and said I could have his. He mailed it out and I received it today. It is better than the 1944 and 2009 edition I found on Amazon. He also enclosed the following picture of us in Glynco, Ga. in 1964.

From left to right: Doug, Ken, David, me with a beer in my hand (south Georgia in mid summer is hot and humid, hence me cooling off in my t-shirt and shorts) and Roy far right. All of us have reconnected after many years except for Roy. Perhaps, well who knows where people disappear to these days? I love the picture despite the fact that I appear to be stoned and I was not, no matter how much it looks like I was.

What's Happening on the Farm Today, July 26, 2013

This is something that grows on every farm in SW Mo. It is a beautiful flower, but the leaves are razor sharp. Cattle will eat them, but get a sore mouth and then lose weight because of the sore mouth. The seeds fly by the thousands and create more plants. The only way to kill them is to dig out the entire root system, which is what I did as soon as the picture was taken.

Here is an old stump from a dead elm tree. I cut the dead tree off at about 8 feet. The trunk was destroyed, but filled with decayed wood. This spring it sprouted grass at 8 feet in the air. It also has a Virginia Creeper vine growing on its back side. The vine will eventually overgrow the stump and give us an umbrella type shape to the tree stump.

 

Here's what's Blooming on the Farm today July 25, 2013

Here's a first time shot of our 4 o'clocks. They are prolific growers, but I never get to see them open, until today that is.

And here are the pink ones

This is how thick they grow together.

Now on to the edible growth here on the farm. These are butternut squash blossoms and the blossoms are tasty.

Of course the purpose of the blossom is to produce the actual squash. This is just a tiny baby at the moment but it should grow to be 10 times this size and turn to a tan color outside and a beautiful yellow inside.

This is where the plants are planted, thick and hopefully bounteous. They are surrounded by day lilies.

My mouth is watering just thinking of these squash in soups or baked in the oven with butter on them.

Memories of 50-60 Years Ago

I was sitting here today having a beer or two thinking way back into history, mine. I was in grade school; learning how to write in cursive. The nun teaching us wanted to have everyone get a top-notch ball point pen to use. She wanted each student to bring in one dollar for a Paper Mate smooth-writing ball point pen. My father pitched a fit! He did not want to go for that at all. I did get the dollar eventually, after days of cajoling him. When it came time to go to high school my mother wanted me to go to a good school across town. That involved taking two buses, so I needed fare to ride. Each week I had to extract the fare from my father. It would take me all week to get him to cut loose the three dollars. I never understood having to plead and whine to get fare to go to the school they wanted me to go to and would not let me transfer out of to go to a school close enough where I could walk to. Each year I had to go to the book store to get books for the required classes. Book covers cost 10 cents, but I could not extract that cash, so I went to school with book covers made from used grocery bags. My father was a generous man to all but me. I don’t know what he was trying to teach me, if anything at all. Maybe it was his way of spending time with me. Of all my siblings, I spent the least amount of time with him. I never asked for anything beyond what I needed for school. Once I got my first job, I never asked for anything again, unlike my siblings. I suppose this is one more thing I will never know or understand. I loved my father; we just didn’t always get along.

The Bluejacket's Manual

Monday July 22, 2013 I received my copy of the 1944 edition of “The Bluejacket’s Manual” today.

I ordered it from an Amazon sub-vendor last week.

I was issued a copy of the 1963 edition when I joined the navy and never read it.

The Bluejacket’s Manual is still printed and I should have read my personal edition.

I don’t know what ever happened to it.

I also ordered a 2009 edition, just to see how things have changed in the navy.

I am still looking for a 1963 edition, but they are not easy to find.

Pictures below:

The first is a depiction of battle stations, 1944 style.

This is a boson’s chair for sailors to hang over the side of a ship to chip and repaint.
Note this sailor is hanging out high above an open sea.

This is just part of the manual of arms all sailors learned in boot camp.

This is part of semaphore used to relay between ships during radio silence.

It was still practiced by signalmen throughout the sixties.

Watching the Movie "Top Gun"

I was watching the movie "Top Gun" the other night.The opening scenes with the carrier deck crews working and the big jets firing up their afterburners brought back a lot of memories of my days on carrier flight decks. The catapult operators with hands up in the air waiting for the catapult officer to signal them to fire the cats always struck me as odd, but the reason was to keep them from firing before the planes were ready to launch. I recognized the NH on the tails of the jets as Carrier Air Group 11. That was the group I was in for two cruises on the Kitty Hawk. The carrier scenes were filmed on CVA 65, the USS Enterprise which was the carrier I spent my last cruise aboard. The movie had scenes of NAS Miramar in San Diego, where our fighters were stationed back in the day. Other scenes were filmed along the foot of San Diego's Broadway Pier, where I used to cross the bay to go to work each morning. The background of those scenes showed the old San Diego tuna boat fleet. Other scenes had the old San Diego airport which I frequented many times. The only thing I did not remember was seeing Kelly McGillis sashaying about the area.

Feeling Like Mike Rowe Today

I felt like Mike Rowe today. Mike is a guy who has a cable TV show where he does dirty jobs. I only know him from Ford commercials, but I have heard about his show. I walked out to the mailbox today to check for any mail. The box sits under a huge black walnut tree. The tree is filled with these hairy caterpillars engorged with walnut leaves. They seemed to be passing out from eating so much and falling to the ground where I stood mashing them into oblivion. Those still in the tree were eating on one end and crapping out the other end. My wide-brimmed hat was sounding off with caterpillar poop pellets falling like a rainstorm. That's when I thought of Mike with his dirty jobs. I wonder if he ever experienced what I did today.

America and the Arab World

I am confused, the Muslims in Syria and around the middle-east want the Americans to intervene and save the day. Muslim preachers and followers around the world denounce Americans and want to kill us infidels; so why should it be Americans to go in and save them from killing themselves? Where was the benefit of our wars in Iraq and Afghanistan? The wars to supposedly save America from terror made targets of our young soldiers and a decade later we are still fighting against terrorists there and here in our own country. Why don't we pull out of Muslim areas and just let them kill themselves at whatever rate they choose? They seem to want to kill things, be it Americans or their own religious sects. What am I missing here?

Passwords

Passwords, everyone has them these days. I can't remember my daily passwords. My daughter Annie's tablet came up needing a password. I put it there over a year ago and I remembered it to enter it for her. Why do you suppose things work that way?

The Old Gals Bush

I was looking at the old gal’s bush this morning and I was shocked as it looked so dry and crinkled. I thought this needs immediate attention. I grabbed my hose and went right to work on that bush. It’s been around for a long time and I did not want to see it die. Well I gave it all I could and wet it down hard. I plan on checking it tomorrow morning, hoping by then her leaves will recover and look bright and shiny again. This time of summer plants and shrubs can die quickly in the heat and lack of rain.

Update on Cattle Rustler Caught Nearby.

I have more information on the bad guy caught after rustling cattle and stealing farm equipment. It turns out he wiped his hands on a paper towel a year ago and dropped it just a mile down the road after rustling some cows owned by a the next door neighbor of a good friend of ours. The sheriff’s deputies took the towel in evidence and got the rustler’s DNA from it. They had been looking for the guy for a long time. When he was spotted just south of us the manhunt began and lasted for about 24 hours before they caught him. He is in the county jail with a $1,000,000 bond set by the judge.

Bad Guy Caught!

Well a host of sheriff's deputies caught the bad guy, rustler and burglar. It turns out he has 22 felony convictions since the sixties, including one for $350,000 in farm equipment from one local farm implement dealer. Now why you ask would a man with 22 felony convictions ever get out of jail? I have no answer for that, but he is back home at the county jail at the moment.

Digital Diapers!

Oh my how far we have come. Is there no end to what technology can do at this time? A new start up company is testing digital diapers that send a siginal to your smartphone and your doctor to let you know how your infant is doing, urinary and kidney wise and a few other wises. I can only wonder what my future doctor will think when I am in "Depends" and they send a message to my physician telling him/her how much beer I am drinking. Here's the link to the story:
http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/07/09/a-digital-diaper-for-tracking-health/?nl=technology&emc=edit_ct_20130711

WWII Production of the B-24 Bomber

The Genius of Henry Ford. This was BEFORE Pearl Harbor! Ford's B-24 Bomber Plant at Willow Run, MI. Henry Ford was determined that he could mass produce bombers just as he had done with cars. He built the Willow Run assembly plant and proved it. It was the world's largest building under one roof. Even then FORD HAD A BETTER IDEA! This film will absolutely blow you away - one B-24 every 55 minutes. The Army Air Corps bought 8,685 of these in WWII Each one was made with 1,225,000 machined parts ADOLF HITLER HAD NO IDEA THE U.S. WAS CAPABLE OF THIS KIND OF THING. http://www.youtube.com/embed/iKlt6rNciTo?rel=0.

What deep thinkers men are

I mowed the lawn today, and after doing so I sat down and had a cold beer.

The day was really quite beautiful, and the drink facilitated some deep thinking on various topics.

Finally I thought about an age old question:

Is giving birth more painful than getting kicked in the nuts?

Women always maintain that giving birth is way more painful than a guy getting kicked in the nuts.

Well, after another beer, and some heavy deductive thinking, I have come up with the answer to that question.

Getting kicked in the nuts is more painful than having a baby; and here is the reason for my conclusion.

A year or so after giving birth, a woman will often say, It might be nice to have another child."

On the other hand, you never hear a guy say, "You know, I think I would like another kick in the nuts."

I rest my case. Time for another beer.

Old Folks

Old folks

Puffing smokes

Pressing buttons on a machine

Damn nest thing that I’ve ever seen

For hours a day

They press away

Looking at a display

Hoping the machine will pay

To me it seems

Never in their wildest dreams

Would they be so funny

To take a job that might pay no money

Yet they sit and stare as if they don’t care

Now over at the card table

That’s where I am able

To spend my day

Viewing cards for no pay

With a sympathetic crowd

That sometimes moans out loud

When the dealer waxes the table

As he/she is often times is able

May Old Acquaintances Never be Forgotten July 6, 2013

Joyce and I were reminiscing over cocktails this afternoon. We were thinking of all the people we have known in our lifetime. The numbers are staggering with our high school, navy, Camdenton, Burroughs, Litton years and years at casinos. Some have names and no faces, some have faces and no names and many have faces and names. We are so lucky to have met so many wonderful people in our lives, luck or design, I am not sure, but whatever it is, it is great. Those who receive this are part of our journey in life and those who have gone beyond this life were part of our grand adventure. Thank you all.

WWII aircraft carrier operations in color

This is a great 8 minute video of carrier ops. Note early in the film the pilots in their wardrooms have nice fire resistant flight suits on, while the enlisted aircrew members are wearing common navy dungarees.

http://www.youtube.com/watch_popup?v=9dR3h2HdnBQ

Wild in the woods July 5, 2013

I have tried for over 20 years to get these black eyed Susan to grow where I want them to grow, but have had no success. I've transplanted them, gathered seeds, ripped the plants from the ground and placed them where I wanted seeds to fall and then grow as they do in the woods, but never any success. So now I just go out and view them wherever they choose to be.

Here's another of my nemeses, the thorny vines that grow all over in the woods. Someone gave me the name for them, but alas I have forgotten it.

Poison ivy here. I spray and try to kill the stuff, but it just pops up somewhere else. The birds eat the seeds and spread them everywhere. Maybe that's the key, kill the plants before the birds spread the seeds.

This is a bottom-up view of one of the magnificent oaks here on the farm.

Wild Yarrow growing in the woods.

This mighty oak is actually over the western fence line by about 50 feet, but it is my favorite sight anywhere. Its magnificence makes me understand how some ancient people worshiped these trees.

Holes in the woods July 4,2013

I took a walk in the woods today with my camera. These are little holes in the woods that intrigued me. The leaves in shady spots get very large.This is called a passion flower hereabouts.Another hole in the woods.This is the opposite view of the trail in the picture below. There's a little trail here that the animals like to use.I have hundreds of oaks and black walnuts here, but I do not know these trees.I had to go telephoto on this one as it was deep in the woods. I just loved the way this tree grew.

Old verses Young

Wednesday July 3, 2013 I was thinking today that when I was young and reading books or watching movies, everything before my eyes seemed not only possible, but I thought I could do the same feats of courage or strength. Now that I am an old man, everything before my eyes seems like feats of skill and courage that I could never do or survive. The truth of it is, I could never have done those things but I felt a lot better when I dreamed of doing it as a youth.