There really isn't anything new but I suppose I ought to write something otherwise whats the point of a blog? I did get a new 4 gig Ipod and the dock works great now. I'm sitting here typing this with great music in the background now. Probably 90% of anybody reading this would hate my music. Carla,Amy and Todd would know what I'm talking about. They had to put up with 18 years of light opera like Porgy and Bess, broadway musicals and lots of classical stuff.Thats right folks I'm a long hair. I will admit to liking Barbara Streisand and Liza Minelli. I NEVER admit that in public cause folks might think I'm a little "light in the loafers".
MGJ and I are definately ready for summer. It seems like winter has been here forever. There's still lots of snow on the ground and lots of clouds in the sky. I hate dirty snow and dirty cars. Just as soon as the snow melts we're going to set up the camper and hopefully get it sold. The longer it sets in the driveway the more we are reminded how DUMB we were to buy it in the first place. You would think that both of us having nearly 70 years on this planet would be a little smarter,butapparently not. Oh well, our motto has always been to "buy high, sell low" so why change now.
It was really great to see Josh. He's done a lot of maturing and while he was always a good kid he's turning into a great guy too. Would sure like to meet Stepanie tho. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that all goes well on his second Iraq tour.
As soon as I figure out how to do it I'll put on some music and some more pics. I may have to check with some of you techies on how to do that. Enough for now us old geezers need our naps.
Monday, February 25, 2008
Sunday, February 17, 2008
Waterboarding...To board or not to board
I read JC's new blog regarding Waterboarding which is very well written and thoroughly researched as he always does. However, I repectfully disagree with my fantastic grandson when he concludes that waterboarding should never be used. I do agree with JC that waterboarding is a form of torture whether the government tries to deny that fact or not. And I agree with JC that it is something that should never be used UNDER NORMAL CIRCUMSTANCES... but these are not normal times and the type of people we are dealing with are unlike any we have dealt with in the past. They don't care whether they live or die and in most cases would rather die than remain in this world. They can withstand severe living conditions and apparently tremendous hardships. They are dedicated to killing all "nonbelievers" no matter what the cost.
How do you then force these people to reveal anything at all about the atrocities they are planning or involved in? How do you protect the public from people like this? The answer is you use whatever works even if under normal circumstances you would not think of doing this for moral or personal reasons.
We must win this war against terrorism because unless we do one of the first freedoms we will lose will be the right to discuss matters like this openly and to disagree freely.
By the way JC Grandma pretty much agrees with you so I probably won't get any dinner tonight.
How do you then force these people to reveal anything at all about the atrocities they are planning or involved in? How do you protect the public from people like this? The answer is you use whatever works even if under normal circumstances you would not think of doing this for moral or personal reasons.
We must win this war against terrorism because unless we do one of the first freedoms we will lose will be the right to discuss matters like this openly and to disagree freely.
By the way JC Grandma pretty much agrees with you so I probably won't get any dinner tonight.
Wednesday, February 13, 2008
I didn't write this but it sure is the way I feel, especially AFTER I got out.Had I known then what I know now I probably would have stayed for 30. Hindsight is usually 20/20.
I Was a Sailor Once Sharing a glimpse of the life I so dearly loved...
*** I liked standing on the bridge wing at sunrise with salt spray in my face and clean ocean winds whipping in from the four corners of the globe.
*** I liked the sounds of the Navy - the piercing trill of the boatswains pipe, the syncopated clangor of the ship's bell on the quarterdeck, harsh, and the strong language and laughter of sailors at work.
*** I liked Navy vessels -- plodding fleet auxiliaries,--ATF 76 USS Ute-- and amphibs, sleek submarines and steady solid aircraft carriers.
*** I liked the proud names of Navy Aircraft Carriers: Midway, Lexington, Saratoga, Coral Sea, Antietam, Valley Forge - memorials of great battles won and tribulations overcome.
*** I liked the lean angular names of Navy "tin-cans" and escorts - DD 731 USS Maddox - mementos of heroes who went before us. And the Cruisers -- San Jose, San Diego, Los Angeles, St. Paul, Chicago, Boston, Providence, Long Beach-- named for our cities.
*** I liked the tempo of a Navy band and the strains of"Anchors Aweigh" as my ship pulled away from the pier.
*** I liked liberty call and the spicy scent of a foreign port.
*** I even liked the never ending paperwork and all hands working parties as my ship filled herself with the multitude of supplies, preparing to cut ties to the landand carry out her mission anywhere on the globe where there was water enough to float her.
*** I liked sailors, officers and enlisted men, from all parts of the land, farms of the Midwest, small towns of New England, from the cities, the mountains, and the prairies, from all walks of life. I trusted and depended on them as they trusted and depended on me - for professional competence, for comradeship, for strength and courage. In a word, they were "shipmates"; then and forever.
*** I liked the surge of adventure in my heart, when the word was passed: "Now Hear This. Now set the Special Sea and Anchor Detail" - "All hands to quarters for leaving port." and I liked the infectious thrill of sighting home again, with the waving hands of welcome from family and friends waiting pier side.
*** The work was hard and dangerous; the going rough at times; the parting from loved ones painful, but the companionship of robust Navy laughter, the "all for one and one for all" philosophy of the sea was ever present.
*** I liked the serenity of the sea after a day of hard ship's work, as flying fish flitted across the wave tops and sunset gave way to night.
*** I liked the feel of the Navy in darkness - the masthead and range lights, the red and green navigation lights and stern light, the pulsating phosphorescence of radar repeaters - they cut through the dusk and joined with the mirror of stars oerhead. And I liked drifting off to sleep lulled by the myriad noises large and small that told me that my ship was alive and well, and that my shipmates on watch would keep me safe.
*** I liked quiet midwatches with the aroma of strong coffee -- the lifeblood of the Navy permeating everywhere.
*** And I liked hectic watches when the exacting minuet of haze-gray shapes racing at flank speed kept all hands on a razor edge of alertness.
*** I liked the sudden electricity of "General Quarters, General Quarters, all hands man your battle stations," followed by the hurried clamor of running feet on ladders and the resounding thump of watertight doors as the ship transformed herself in a few brief seconds from a peaceful workplace to a weapon of war -- ready for anything.
*** And I liked the sight of space-age equipment manned by youngsters clad in dungarees and sound-powered phones that their grandfathers would still recognize.
*** I liked the traditions of the Navy and the men and women who made them. I liked the proud names of Navy heroes: Halsey, Nimitz, Perry, Farragut, John Paul Jones and Burke. A sailor could find much in the Navy: comrades-in-arms, pride in self and country, mastery of the seaman's trade. An adolescent could find adulthood.
*** In years to come, when sailors are home from the sea, AND SO WE ARE, - We still remember with fondness and respect the ocean in all its moods - the impossible shimmering mirror calm and the storm-tossed green water surging over the bow. And then there will come again a faint whiff of stack gas, a faint echo of engine and rudder orders, a vision of the bright bunting of signal flags snapping at the yardarm, a refrain of hearty laughter in the wardroom and chief's quarters and mess decks.
*** Gone ashore for good we grow humble about our Navy days, when the seas were a part of us and a new port of call was ever over the horizon.
*** Remembering this, WE stand taller and say, "I WAS A SAILOR ONCE."
I Was a Sailor Once
*** I liked standing on the bridge wing at sunrise with salt spray in my face and clean ocean winds whipping in from the four corners of the globe.
*** I liked the sounds of the Navy - the piercing trill of the boatswains pipe, the syncopated clangor of the ship's bell on the quarterdeck, harsh, and the strong language and laughter of sailors at work.
*** I liked Navy vessels -- plodding fleet auxiliaries,--ATF 76 USS Ute-- and amphibs, sleek submarines and steady solid aircraft carriers.
*** I liked the proud names of Navy Aircraft Carriers: Midway, Lexington, Saratoga, Coral Sea, Antietam, Valley Forge - memorials of great battles won and tribulations overcome.
*** I liked the lean angular names of Navy "tin-cans" and escorts - DD 731 USS Maddox - mementos of heroes who went before us. And the Cruisers -- San Jose, San Diego, Los Angeles, St. Paul, Chicago, Boston, Providence, Long Beach-- named for our cities.
*** I liked the tempo of a Navy band and the strains of"Anchors Aweigh" as my ship pulled away from the pier.
*** I liked liberty call and the spicy scent of a foreign port.
*** I even liked the never ending paperwork and all hands working parties as my ship filled herself with the multitude of supplies, preparing to cut ties to the landand carry out her mission anywhere on the globe where there was water enough to float her.
*** I liked sailors, officers and enlisted men, from all parts of the land, farms of the Midwest, small towns of New England, from the cities, the mountains, and the prairies, from all walks of life. I trusted and depended on them as they trusted and depended on me - for professional competence, for comradeship, for strength and courage. In a word, they were "shipmates"; then and forever.
*** I liked the surge of adventure in my heart, when the word was passed: "Now Hear This. Now set the Special Sea and Anchor Detail" - "All hands to quarters for leaving port." and I liked the infectious thrill of sighting home again, with the waving hands of welcome from family and friends waiting pier side.
*** The work was hard and dangerous; the going rough at times; the parting from loved ones painful, but the companionship of robust Navy laughter, the "all for one and one for all" philosophy of the sea was ever present.
*** I liked the serenity of the sea after a day of hard ship's work, as flying fish flitted across the wave tops and sunset gave way to night.
*** I liked the feel of the Navy in darkness - the masthead and range lights, the red and green navigation lights and stern light, the pulsating phosphorescence of radar repeaters - they cut through the dusk and joined with the mirror of stars oerhead. And I liked drifting off to sleep lulled by the myriad noises large and small that told me that my ship was alive and well, and that my shipmates on watch would keep me safe.
*** I liked quiet midwatches with the aroma of strong coffee -- the lifeblood of the Navy permeating everywhere.
*** And I liked hectic watches when the exacting minuet of haze-gray shapes racing at flank speed kept all hands on a razor edge of alertness.
*** I liked the sudden electricity of "General Quarters, General Quarters, all hands man your battle stations," followed by the hurried clamor of running feet on ladders and the resounding thump of watertight doors as the ship transformed herself in a few brief seconds from a peaceful workplace to a weapon of war -- ready for anything.
*** And I liked the sight of space-age equipment manned by youngsters clad in dungarees and sound-powered phones that their grandfathers would still recognize.
*** I liked the traditions of the Navy and the men and women who made them. I liked the proud names of Navy heroes: Halsey, Nimitz, Perry, Farragut, John Paul Jones and Burke. A sailor could find much in the Navy: comrades-in-arms, pride in self and country, mastery of the seaman's trade. An adolescent could find adulthood.
*** In years to come, when sailors are home from the sea, AND SO WE ARE, - We still remember with fondness and respect the ocean in all its moods - the impossible shimmering mirror calm and the storm-tossed green water surging over the bow. And then there will come again a faint whiff of stack gas, a faint echo of engine and rudder orders, a vision of the bright bunting of signal flags snapping at the yardarm, a refrain of hearty laughter in the wardroom and chief's quarters and mess decks.
*** Gone ashore for good we grow humble about our Navy days, when the seas were a part of us and a new port of call was ever over the horizon.
*** Remembering this, WE stand taller and say, "I WAS A SAILOR ONCE."
Monday, February 11, 2008
Well golly! Where do I start?
This is my first posting and I'm sitting here on my bottom in my recliner trying to remember why I am doing this. I suppose it's because I don't at this period in my life have much else to do. I guess anyone that is reading this already knows why I don't have much to do so I won't go into that. I'm doing this web site for both Mom,Grandma, JoAnn and myself so maybe M,G,J will write something occasionally too. If nothing else this is good typing practice (I think I may have been kicked out of typing class too). .....3 days later and I'm still trying to think of some thing great and pithy to say. Yes I did say pithy. My old Ipod is going belly up so I may have to buy a new one. The old one is a one gig one so I think I'll probably expand my horiozons and get a 4gb one.WAHOO. Yes I know you can get 160 gb ones now which record movies etc. but I have enough trouble seeing my 50" tv let alone a two inch screen. All I want is good music not something that will fix dinner. We had a great time visiting Maxine and Gene in San Diego. They are really good people and great friends. The trip south was the PITS what with aircraft breaking down (luckily on the ground) and missing departures due to late arrivals . A normal 2.5 hour trip ended up taking all day. Our flight was supposed to land in San Diego at 12:30 but didn't get into SD until 7:30 pm. Getting on and off the plane with my manual wheel chair was easier than I thought it would be and having the chair made it easier to get around the airport too. MGJ had to do all the work...heh heh. She loves to push me around! She has wanted to do that all of our married life and now she can. If I give her any crap she just rolls the chair to the top of the stairs and pushes...needless to say I try not to aggravate her. Well thats enough for now. My typing finger is getting tired. Dad , Grandpa, Carl
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