Manning the rail...
In the last posting I used a pix taken by my son-in-law on their tiger cruise on my son's ship, the Carrier A. Lincoln. It's a Navy thing to man the rail entering and leaving port. Note one of the sailors is a femele so it's now "people man the rail!"
Over the Memorial Week-end I got our crew to man my daughters new railing. It' at new their Mouse-shi-Tong ten year project rehag log home.

It's a little strange being there for their log home is four houses down from my grandpa's old summer home and a mile from my old friend Mike LaBaron's parents summer home.

Mike and I skied together, hunted together, went to college together and drank many a beer together. He had to go to Vietnam, I didn't, I miss the slug!
So this Memorial Day like in the past a spend a moment at his grave and share a beer with him. I manned the rail in my own way.

Memorial Day…. 5/24
'Tis a time to remember.' Throughout our country and parts of the world some people stop to remember those that have gone before. Some wore uniforms, some didn’t but tried too. Some even turned their backs on serving their country and are now running for our highest office while others gave their last full measure.

The sacrifice of blood and lives from 1776 onward just didn’t set the mode for our liberty but for many people elsewhere. For generations people of the world looked to U.S. as the bellword of freedom. Some gave their all and some are still giving for the most expensive thing in this world is freedom.

So with questions of the future, with certain people trying to blow apart others and flying commercial aircraft into buildings… we all must give thanks to our young people who volunteer to man the rail… to pay the price for our freedom and safety. Now isn’t the good time to look at peacefuly at our emenies not with economical warfare that aimed at of foreheads and at our gas tanks.
So take five minutes this weekend and Go wave your flag!!!!

the pix... aboard the USS Abe Lincoln entering San Diego Naval base.

Today's Subject....
ROCKS

Rocks come in all shapes and size just like people. Some are light, most are heavy just like people, dude. Most of us really don't think about rocks except when there is gold hidden inside, just like people. What does any of this have to due with the today's reality? (you ask?)

Nothing unless you were out "gardening" yesterday relocating a boulder and you happened to dropped it on your foot. It left a lasting impression on me as did our hike in the Tetons Mountains last fall.

In the background of the above photo are Grand Tetons. They surrounded by Mt. Brown and Mt. Hunt, named after two unknown early American explorers.
It's unknown what they were exploring for because they have been lost in the pages of history. Also lost was their trust-worthless guide. Captain Robert Morgan.

Today's one liner, "After several drinks you can't tell the brand of gin you are drinking, not so with that devil rum."

Hi’er tech - lower watts

A second new generation of High Definition Television sets came on the market last month. Guess what? I got hooked and after weeks of “what in the hell are they talking about?" made the move and brought one home yesterday.

I took me several hours of un-cartoning the thing and then reading the “set-up” instructions. By the word up set…it’s where in the world can we set the thing in your house? It's rather big. It was decide by a majority of one (Rosebud) that I should carefully read the instruction book cover to cover (this time) before plugging it into the wall. So I got it out of the garbage and started reading

I spent the night reading but did not know what I had read. It was Greek to me. I was lost after the first two pages… this may require an out of town expert to get us re-hooked up. I mean the thing has bells and whistles which are amazing if I only knew what they did. But there is one really cool “bell” that allows the set to automatically the sound volume. Another words when the commercials come on they don’t blast you out of the chair any more. That in itself was worth the purchase.

Oh yeah, I had to call Direct TV and schedule them out to change all of our equipment and rewire the house. Then the tech gave me a 2 minute schooling on how the new remotes works. We realy need an hour or two but hay… who says I’am not hi tech? I can now turn it on, off and change the channels, progress made by inches.

Volunteer…
That’s right, step right up, rise your hand when asked for a moment of your time. In the true American spirit many a poor fool has step forward when the seed was planted not knowing the true impact of their simple act. It was 1777 a very bad winter to be in eastern Pennsylvania in a place called Valley Forge. If it were not for those fool hardy men we all be British subjects, long live the Queen and we'd be driving on the wrong side of the road.

Also in 1942 Americans by the thousands stepped forward when the Japanese blew the hell out of Pearl Harbor. Some very bad things were happening for the Japs and the Germans wanted to import Mazda, Nissans and VW’s into this country and we would have non of it. Over our dead bodies we said and there were many. So our volunteers stormed their beaches so all of us had the rights to drive Chevy’s and Fords and to keep NASCAR out of foreign control, almost.

You never can tell where your action of volunteering can take you. But there is something very simple that all of you can do. May is Cystic Fibrosis month, a time for awareness and small actions. CF is in my family and many others. Putting it bluntly.. and it’s a bum deal.

You can simply help by knowing more about it and by sending a small check to the CF Foundation. Your support will mean so much for our kids with CF… how?

Log onto CFF.org and let your inner you be your guide… See volunteering today isn’t as tough as in the past by those who put themselves in the line of fire.

Your line of fire is quite safer. Let’s give the kids with CF a chance! Or join Rosebud in her Mother’s Tea tea party… I know it’s a little late for mother’s day, but what the heck.

Alien life forms…
The search is on. There are thousands of scientists with headsets listening. Telescopes are scanning the sky. Probes are being designed to land on the moons on Saturn and Jupiter. Millions upon millions are being spent on finding life in the universe. It mind bending the effort being applied.

It’s also bend minding when you think about the life forms that many of us not need. Here are a few that come to mind… almost all viruses we can do without. They are life forms that mankind has battled for hundreds of years and they keep changing forms. Just think of all the germs running around that should be stepped on.

Sometimes I think they are an invention of the drug companies. Another pain are
wood ticks. Do we really need them? Our dog dosen't. Spiders, mosquitoes, snakes and hornets are also pains that could be eliminated without too many people crying wolf. But we could keep the honey bees.

At present and in the near dfuture the egg head in NASA have big plans trying to find a life anywhere at any cost when many others are typing to destroy it. (wood ticks) What does this really tell us about mankind?

Thankfully there are others at work trying to improve the human condition… like Hi-definition TV. It’s here now just like telephones that fit in your ear and make you look like you've got a head growth.

It will not be long before we all will have a computer medical chip embedded in our finger. Each morning while we log in we can find out if we are alive or dead by a simple scan. The thing will scan your body and tell you if had one to many last night and if you saw any little green men running around Whitman’s Bar.

It could even take the place of our conscious. Even slap us on the side of the head when we were about to have a second desert.
Ah, progress, Pass the pecan pie, please.

This is my second posting of the week...gone for the remainer for a reunion of friends, . Yes I have people that consider it an honor to be in my presence, foolish them.

It’s here!!!!!
I can see ground, real ground. Sure you all to the south have seen brown grass for weeks . Your calendars have read its spring for a month, but not here the artic circle. Why just last week a Robin, the harbinger of spring was flying north in a blinding snow storm flew right into our picture window and damn near knocked himself silly. He recovered and flow back south rethinking his flight pattern. I almost did the same.

It’s time to break out the minnow bucket, rods and reel again all into the thought of hitting the water, that is when the lakes open up around the latter part of June. Then there is the boat, got to get it ready. All the other spring chores can just wait till this surge of spring wanes. Should take about 10 days then it’s golf season and things can wait till fall!! Got to go and see if the lawn mower starts… wait a minute we don’t have a lawn and even if we did the deer will take care of it…
speaking of gardening....
"the flowers of tomorrows are only seeds of today,
carefuly of where we step!"

Flight school.

Soaring like a bird that’s the feeling you get when on full power. Gear up and it’s fly time. Yet what goes up must come down, not like ones blood pressure. It’s a funny feeling in you tummy when a commerical pilot turns on you seat belt sign and you hit turbulent weather and it's twice as bad in a general avaition plane. There was only one time in my life when I doughed my sanity (accually two). I had just put 10 flying hours with an instructor who was pushing 80 who thought that anyone could solo an airplane. I think he wanted to pass me before he croaked but I was out to prove him wrong.


I had flown before all illegally. W'd take a friends dad’s plane up from a farm strip in central Indiana…I mean who was going to complain? They didn’t even have telephones to report people in Indiana back in the day. The two of us put our hours in all improperly, near crash landings, what the heck we were just kids.

Now this time I was legal and at the wheel with an audience, the instructor. Gad, talk about weird airports. It was Mt. Hawley Airport in Peoria. Its a short runway that’s right in front of the Illinois River meaning down drafts and updrafts… I circled the airport then bounced the plane in sideways. It was one was close.

I hopped out of the plane waiting for the instructor to cut me in half telling me I have failed my solo flight. “Nice job.“ he said as he was cleaning his coke bottle glasses.

Moments later I had my student license in hand. I flew for another 8 eight years before reality set in…$$$ as well as another near miss. Now a days I sit on board with 200 plus others and let the bus driver do his job…coffee, tea or milk?

" A late flight gets later."

Tan'tram

"So little Johnny eat your oat meal!"
NO!
"Come on... eat your oat meal!"
NO!

Little Johnny was mis-behaving at the breakfast table (once again).
Matter of fact he lose himself within self and little Johnn's breathholding caused concern with family and friends. It was concern at first then near panic as the seconds turned to minutes. Then they realize Johnny was different. He had a gift... holding his breath.

"Oh, what shall we do with little Johhny?" they all said. Maybe he dosen't like oat meal. But, this simple "skill" became a way of making a killing in his adult life ... they'd put him in a glass bubble filled with water and he can hold his breath for for a paying audience.

So Mr. little Johnny has been cashin' in big time holding his breath. He was even on the Oprah Winfrey show (a real small big deal) all the while many a young person with Cystic Fibrosis fights daily for a normal breath... Most of these kids can't get air time, literaly.

So while you are having your morning dose of oat meal please think of CF kids like Abby Clark who have to fight for what we take for normal, a simple breath.

Thanks, Joanne for the brown sugar