I should have become a commercial fisherman

Every time I see in person, an old commercial fishing boat such as the one seen here (in Cordova, AK) I get all excited thinking about what it would be like to actually work on one. My favorite cable TV show is "Deadliest Catch". I watch it regularly with my cat Lucy who also loves fishing and crabbing boats. Lucy and I refer to it as "our show".

I have always been interested in things nautical, and somewhat regret never having joined the Navy instead of the Army. I tried to enter the US Naval Academy right after high school, but my grades totally sucked so that was the end to that dream. Still, I have a very soft spot in my heart for those who make a living at sea.

Ship ahoy anyone?

Burn Pits

I read today: “Open burn pits and simple incinerators with little or no air pollution control devices, used at some locations in Iraq and Afghanistan to process waste, generate smoke plumes that may pose a considerable health hazard to deployed personnel." Why did someone from the Pentagon not tell us that when we were in Vietnam?

As I recall when I was with the 62nd Engineer Battalion living in wooden frame, sand-bag protected tents located in the mud near Phan Rang circa 1965, we had 55-gallon barrels cut in half, and located under company area latrine "seats" that collected our waste. Some unlucky Soldier (usually one who had received a form of punishment from the 1SG) drove a deuce-and-a-half that carried the filled barrels out to a central burn area, where diesel was poured on top and the entire mess set on fire. Smoke and stink big time.

We also used tent stove vent pipes carried from the states as P-tubes when we stuck them at an angle in the ground, usually in a line near the inside of the perimeter of our concertina wire. Why we brought stoves to Vietnam in the first place is beyond me but no one ever questioned the reasoning at the time. I remember using one of these located near our base camp's main gate one day around Christmas, when up came two jeeps loaded with Red Cross ladies (we called them "Donut Dollies") and I got quite a shock as they all started laughing. Not having any women around most of the time sort of changed our way of doing things.

Anyway, I'm glad the Pentagon is looking into the burn pit situation today.

Cell Phones, etc.

I have one, as do most people these days, cell phone that is. Usually my monthly minutes are way less than 100. I do essentially zero texting, and have never received such a message from someone else. I've attempted to send a few to my grandkids, but it took so long and I made so many mistakes in typing what I wanted to write that I gave up. Still, I always seem to be in the market for a new cell phone at the end of every two-year service contract period. Yup, it's that time right now and I'm-a-lookin.

First decision to be made is whether to remain with U.S. Cellular or go somewhere else. Southern Virginia is essentially the black hole of adequate coverage for many providers, especially ATT. That's bad for me, because I want the new iPhone 3GS and ATT is the sole provider for that device. ATT coverage around here is a definite deal breaker for me. Verizon probably has the best overall coverage, with U.S Cellular being a very close second. I've used U.S. Cellular for years and never have had any issues. But, when I drive up to the Blue Ridge region less than an hour from my home, I have zero service on U.S. Cellular. Verizon coverage maps tell me they might be much better in that area, but who knows. I'm still a-thinkin about what to do in this regard.

Second decision is what new phone to get. My first choice, the iPhone 3GS is out because of ATT. There are many other possibilities out there that interest me, in a way. My problem on selecting a new phone, however, relates to the fact that "texting" is driving the design of most new phones today, and I already mentioned my total lack of mental and motor skills in that regard. So, I'll continue to look. And, there is always the obvious option to do nothing and keep my current phone and provider. But like I wrote at the beginning, I like change.

I need to end this rambling post, mainly because most of you reading it probably are not that interested in my cell phone usage. Whatever, I've already written about it, so there you go.

Blue Ridge Parkway near Rocky Knob

Last Sunday, right after a heavy rainstorm, with the temperature at 64 degrees and a brisk wind blowing, I caught a nice view east toward central Virginia. I was above 3000 feet. I often forget in the summer just how much cooler it is along the Blue Ridge Parkway, compared to home. That day, it was 20 degrees cooler where I was. And, it was less than an hour's drive. Great get-a-way.

Iraq Troop Draw-Down

We are now seeing the effects of the draw-down of troops in Iraq. For example, consider this recent news release.

Most of the approximately 37,000 deploying Soldiers beginning this fall and into early 2010 will go to Iraq in the form of three division headquarters and eight brigade combat teams. These units will replace units coming home from Iraq, so there will be no increase in troop levels due to the announced deployments. However, four of the eight BCTs slated for deployment will go not as combat units but as advisory and assistance brigades, units that will be augmented by teams dedicated to training Iraqi army and police.

Good grapes

Always wanted to have a nice grapevine in my back yard. My brother-in-law has one where they live near Chicago. Concord variety. Nice to snack on. Unfortunately birds like them more than we do. The ones shown here are of the wine-making variety. And yes, birds eat them as well.

Military Health Care

I watched the President's news conference last night where he promoted a major revision of the Nation's health care system. Afterwards, I was somewhat confused. I suppose that's a result of me (us) having been afforded (overall) excellent health care while in the military, and now that I'm retired that trend has continued with TRICARE FOR LIFE, coupled with Medicare. It's the latter program that needs revision, not so much the former.

As I neared the age of 65, I received several telephone calls daily from companies trying to sell us supplemental health insurance. Before the person on the phone got too far along in their pitch, I broke in and said, "I'm retired military." That ended their sales pitch, and they typically said, "You are indeed fortunate to be retired military, sorry to bother you, and my best wishes in the future."

In sum, we who have served in uniform made numerous sacrifices during our time in the military: indirectly causing great hardships on our families as we moved them around usually every two years or so, getting shot at and sometimes hit during deployments to some God awful places, and accepting with little if any complaint lower pay than our contemporaries in civilian life. I used to say that given an accounting ledger sheet keeping track of the pluses and minuses of my total Army career, I'd never break even just by the fact of all the "minuses" accumulated as a result of my two Vietnam War combat tours. Many of you reading this probably have double that number of deployments today, so your ledger sheet would be much worse than mine on the minus side.

Regardless, as my wife and I have grown older and tend to rely more and more on a good health care system, we appreciate what we have in the way of TRICARE. It's certainly not perfect, but it's still pretty darn good compared to what others in the civilian world have.

They don't appreciate what they have

It seems to me that everyone between the ages of 14 and 30 today has a cell phone glued to one of their hands. And, most times they have their face focused on the brightly lit screen, while they rapidly type some sort of text message, most likely meaningless. These people don't know what they are missing.

My parents used a phone like that shown above; a photo I recently took while touring a local residence. I remember as a kid playing with such a phone that my grandma had (she used it until she passed away). Where she lived in a small Southern Missouri town, you picked up the hand set on her phone and an operator answered. You then gave the operator the number to call, or if you did not know it the the name of the person, and she made the connection. If no one answered, the operator would tell you no one was at home.

As I grew older we used a standard black, MA Bell telephone, with rotary dial, and used numbers such as MA 3-8113. No area codes then, and when we wanted to call long distance we spoke to an operator and asked for "call collect", which meant that the recipient of our call paid for it.

There was only one ringer type then, a loud but small clanging bell that immediately got your attention when it rang. We knew not of "ring tones". We had long extensions on the cord that attached to the wall plug, so we could walk around while using the phone. There was no "call waiting", no "caller ID", and best of all, no robo-sales calls, or donor solicitations seeking our money.

Somehow, it seems better then. At least it does for me.

Photowalk and Wine Tasting Together

Yesterday, my daughter and I participated in the second annual Scott Kelby Photowalk, with our location being at the Raylen Vineyard near Winston-Salem, NC. We joined around twenty others to walk around the large vineyard, with it's winery building and residential quarters. Around 900 locations worldwide were involved in this event, with ours being just one.

Photo shooting was fun and a bit challenging in trying to capture something different from everyone else, considering that grape vines are, well, grapevines! Afterwards, we participated in a wine tasting, walking away with a case of a variety of selections, all excellent. It's surprising just how good North Carolina wines are. In fact, so good I'm going to open a bottle right now! Note: it's 5PM Sunday evening as I write this!

Cheers!

Smoking OK for Now

I read today in Army Times Online: A recent report from the Institute of Medicine of the National Academies, funded by the Department of Veterans Affairs, called for eliminating tobacco sales at all military installations and setting a “specific, mandatory date by which the military will be tobacco-free.”

The Secretary of Defense agreed with the assessment that smoking is not good for one's health, but he declined to place a ban on smoking for the troops. Personally, I quit smoking many years ago. It's definitely not good for you. But then a bullet in the butt isn't good for you either, so I say if those who place their lives on the line every day choose to smoke, then that's their business.

Somehow, however, I suspect this issue will come up again, and maybe in the future smoking will be a banned substance for those in the military . . . given that it's easier to enforce such a ban on those in the military, as opposed to doing the same thing in the civilian world.

Alaska Railroad

Getting from place to place in Alaska is made much easier when you ride the Alaska railroad. Trains are frequent and usually on time. Tradition has it that one will stop to pick up passengers anywhere along the line, when flagged down. Given that the tracks pass through very wild and sparsely populated areas with no roads, this is a major benefit for hikers or hunters. When trains meet side-by-side as shown in this photo, passengers tend to make wild faces at each other through the windows. The trains don't go that fast, maybe 40-50 mph as average, so you can usually see through to the adjacent train. Food and drinks are excellent on the train too.

Sled Dogs

Wasilla, Alaska is a town not far from Anchorage, where I'd choose to live full-time if that were an option, which it's not. Not too big, but still having all the sorts of things we'd like to have available in the way of shopping and so forth. It's home to the soon to be ex-governor Sarah Palin, but way more important is that it's the home of the Iditarod Sled Dog Race headquarters. While there on my recent trip, I took this photo of a few of the pups there, soon to be potential race champions. Having owned two of these type dogs, we'd love another. But, I'm afraid that's not going to happen. Cats are much easier to take care of as you get older.

First Female Drill Sergeant Academy Commandant Appointed

For the first time, a female Command Sergeant Major has been appointed as Commandant of the U.S. Army Drill Sergeants Academy at Fort Jackson, SC. CSM Teresa King is a 28-year Army veteran. Given the history of the Army's Drill Sergeant program, including it's very rigorous and demanding training designed to prepare NCOs to become the number one trainer for all recruits, this is a very significant appointment. I wish her well.

More on Alaska

This photo was taken while flying in a helicopter over the Yanert Glacier near Denali National Park. We landed next to the bright blue pool shown, and walked around on top of the very rough surface (following the lead of the pilot because there are some pretty impressive bottomless crevasses all over the place) all the while marveling at the beauty and wonder of what we were experiencing. The ride was not cheap, but it was a two hour experience worth every penny. The photos I took are priceless to me.

Only in Alaska

While driving back from panning for gold (for real at Crow Creek Mine) my grandson and I spotted some cars backed up on the road ahead of us as we entered Anchorage. A somewhat lazy bull moose was wandering through a strip mall. The sign above his head explains it all. This was obviously a lucky shot, albeit quick, hand held and out the car window as I was slowly moving past the critter. This happens all the time up there in the city. Cops are usually called to escort the moose elsewhere. They are very dangerous if spooked.

You have no doubt concluded that I'm back home from our two week adventure "up north". More on that later on.