Big Fat Daddy

Reply to SNAKEBIT in Misc JoeUser Forums

That is kinda how I feel about gurls... ;)

SNAKEBIT in Misc JoeUser Forums

Several years ago we were in Phoenix to celebrate MC's parents special February: Their fiftieth anniversary and

An Aperture Moment in Misc JoeUser Forums

Stuttgart, Germany was heavily damaged during WWII. Most of the downtown area w

Reply to Making my Day...Easier in Misc Stardock Forums

When I think about all the responsibilities the job entails, it is a wonder any 1SG ever has time to do anything worthwhile. I was lucky to be able to work for and observe a couple of really good First Sergeants. I also saw a few that I took notes about so I would remember to NEVER be like them. I have written a couple of tails about the influence senior NCOs had on my career, I was lucky to have them. <span style="f

Making my Day...Easier in Misc JoeUser Forums

A First Sergeant isn't the oldest or the first one up in the morning; the "First Sergeant" is the senior enlisted man in any Army company. The First Sergeant (abbreviated 1SG) has many varied duties and responsibilities. I won't list them all; it would take a lot of space, but I always felt that one of the most important responsibilities a 1SG has is the management of the unit's training program. Everything a soldier does is

Reply to Only Winning in Politics JoeUser Forums

At the arrival of the bodies Hillary was still trying to sell the idea that the whole thing wasn't about the pres or policies, it was just movie that no one could do anything about. You can bet your sweet seat that this will open new "dialogue" about limiting the rights of free speech. They want to equate controversial subject matter in books, movies, or other media to crying "fire" in a theater. Beat the crowd, get fitted for your muzzle today.

Reply to Only Winning in Politics Stardock Forums

Excellent article, T...insightful, spot on, timely, and the only possible conclusion is that it is time to make a stand. And I mean no more kinder gentler war...time to bust things up and destroy evil-doers. How ya doin?

Uncle Omar and the News from Libya in Misc JoeUser Forums

I had it in mind to write about my Uncle today. Omar. He was a local hero; he grew up in the East County area of San Diego and had a reputation as a tough guy and a ladies' man. He raced stock cars on a dirt track and drag raced on the back county roads. He was over six feet tall, dark curly hair, deep set eyes, and hands the size of a five-pound ham. But while I was thinking about Omar and the things I remember about him

Ouch: Rules for Tools in Misc JoeUser Forums

I tried to break my wrist the other day. I was changing the brake pads on Charlie's Grand Prix and was using a 24-oz. mini-sledge to tap the lug wrench in order to break the lug nuts free. That in itself is not an unsafe practice, but the position I was in and the angle I had to use had me holding the lugwrench in place with my left hand and swinging the hammer across my arm to hit the wrench to the left of my left hand. That was the unsafe procedure

Reply to My Short Course in History...From an Eye Witness in Misc Stardock Forums

It was very special. He definitely was an interesting guy.

Hair in Misc JoeUser Forums

In the late fifties I woke up to the world of "cool". Guys around me were starting to look cool, dress cool, talk cool, and act cool. I tried hard to be cool like them. I had the engineer boots, the black leather jacket with zippers and studs, form-fitting white tee-shirt, levis down on my hips...and the hair. I went for the Elvis/Fabian/every-other-teen-idol look. Tried Brylcream, Vitalis, Wildroot Cream oil, Vasoline, and Valvoleen bu

Reply to WETSU in Misc JoeUser Forums

Thanks, Doc...one of the few things I got right...for 26 years.

Reply to "...Such Men Lived." in Misc JoeUser Forums

Hi, Doc. Yep, a huge chunk of sixties life. By the way, have you seen the video of Buzz Aldrin punching out a pesky reporter? It is a hoot..it's on Youtube.

My Short Course in History...From an Eye Witness in Misc JoeUser Forums

I met Admiral Friedrich Ruge when I was assigned to pick him up at his home in Tubingen and take him to a formal dinner being held at the Deputy CinC's house in Stuttgart. It was late 1977; I remember it was a very chilly night. I was selected, I think, because I could speak a little German and had proven that I was able to get around without too much supervision. I had never heard of the Admiral Ruge. I was told that he was a retired Ger

Reply to WETSU in Misc Stardock Forums

Thank you for your comment, that sounds familiar...might have heard it before.

WETSU in Misc JoeUser Forums

I have to thank Sherabella for prodding my memory, when she wrote about attending a seminar where the speaker illustrated that we all have a little more effort to expend, even when we think we don't. It immediately got me to thinking about Army Basic Training, Fort Ord, California, Summer of 1964, learning lessons every day about pushing just a little bit harder. Our seminars were not conducted in air-conditioned auditoriums...we learned our lessons

Reply to "...Such Men Lived." in Misc Stardock Forums

Thanks for commenting. I agree whole-heartedly. About Yeager, there is a whole nuther breed of cat...and I should have mentioned him in this,too. He was the guy in the fifties and sixties...every pilot wanted to be him.

"...Such Men Lived." in Misc JoeUser Forums

These days we throw the word "Hero" around too liberally. I agree that our men and women in uniform are serving our nation with honor and courage and we should support them and recognize what we owe them. It is a very big deal. Our police and firemen and EMTs and other rescue- and "first responders" serve with courage and often go "above and beyond". But does the term "Hero" apply to every single one of them that shows up for work every day? In my

Reply to "To Strive, To Seek, To Find, and Not To Yield..." in Misc Stardock Forums

Thanks, Curly...love ya right back.

"...Radio Dienst Aus Baden-Baden" in Misc JoeUser Forums

The Armed Forces Network - Europe provides radio programming for servicemen and their families in Europe. It has evolved over the years. The programming has changed a lot. During the sixties, AFN only played popular music a couple of hours a day...country music a couple of hours a day...dinner music at dinner time...radio dramas in the evening...classical music in the afternoon (did you know that Carl Haas was very enamoured of Berlios?)...various and sundry o

"To Strive, To Seek, To Find, and Not To Yield..." in Misc JoeUser Forums

My dad, the Chief, was a hard-hat diver for most of his Navy career. He was rated as a shipfitter (which became a metalsmith which became a hull technician). He was not a formally educated man but he was very intelligent about things to do with metallurgy, gases, atmospheres, depth and pressures and all kinds of things. I know because every couple of years he had to take a t

Reply to Molly Marine in Misc Stardock Forums

Thank you, thank you very much (said in that slow Memphis drawl...) [e digicons]:grin:[/e]

Wheels Up....Again in Misc JoeUser Forums

Sitting in the airport waiting for our new Marine to arrive, MC and I started noodling about how many airports we have flown in and out of. It has been a few. When I was a very young fellow, most of my travel was on trains. I rode the Super Chief halfway across the country, and several others, too. I wrote a couple articles about that awhile back. My first memory of flying was out of Norfolk; our plane&

I Eat My Peas With Honey... in Misc JoeUser Forums

I eat my peas with honey I've done it all my life They do taste kind of funny But it keeps them on my knife ! We all have food idiosyncrasies, I think. I knew a man who loved to eat chocolate cake with roast beef gravy on it. Sounds yucky to me. Like the Smothers Brothers singing about "pancakes boiled in cabbage juice...of course it's not so popular now..."

Molly Marine in Misc JoeUser Forums

We are proud grandparents around here today. Most of our grandkiddies are starting school this week, or did last week, and most of them are in advanced classes. We love them all and marvel at their poise and intelligence. But today one of the pack stands out for special attention. I have posted a couple of articles about Emily in the past; she is the trumpeter who joined up with Bugles Across America to play Taps at military funera