I've always loved the Pink Floyd

Hey 19!

The New York Giants selected Nebraska's Prince Amukamara

as the 19th overall pick in the 2011 NFL Draft.  Amukamara,

who actually has royal Nigerian tribal bloodlines, has been invited

to that little wedding across the pond on Friday.  Have fun Prince,

then get your butt back here and start focusing on beating that

team from Philadelphia.  Please, no more 4th quarter meltdowns!

Spring Inspection

"You know, Thad, you may want to re-bed this

splash guard.  I can see daylight underneath it",

said the goose. "There's a guy in Jersey who

blogged about this who may be of assistance."

The Truth

Now I know how they can cruise around the world.

Afternoon on the Hudson

USS Intrepid at the pier on West 46th street.  She served 

many tours of duty during WW II and Vietnam, and in between

was involved in peacetime missions with NATO and served

as the primary recovery vessel for both the Mercury and

Gemini space missions.  She was hit once by a torpedo, 

and struck three separate times by Kamikaze planes.

Since 1982, she's been home to the Intrepid Sea, Air, 

and Space Museum.  29 years later, I finally made it there

and I'm glad I did. 

  

The A-12 Blackbird, 1960's CIA spy plane.

The Huey.  I immediately think of rice paddies and

watching the Vietnam war on the news every night.

North Korean MIG, 1950's Korean War era jet.

They were also flown well into the Vietnam War.

So small, like having a missile between your legs.

The Harrier Jump Jet, featuring vertical

take-off and landing.

Anchor chain capstans up in the fo'c's'le.

Docklines leading forward out of the Hurricane Bow.

My Father-in-Law, who turned 80 the day

before.  If I'm in half the good health he is

when and if I make 70, I'll be thrilled.

Thanks for the great afternoon, Reno!

On the pier next to the Intrepid sits the British Airways

Concorde.  Across the pond in half the time.  It reminds

me of Live-Aid in 1985 when Phil Collins played

Wembley Stadium with Sting earlier in the day,

then flew the Concorde to Philadelphia to play with

Led Zeppelin and Eric Clapton later that night.

There was a surprising amount of legroom in the seats

but a very narrow aisle and microscopic restrooms.

It was apparently a very quiet ride because you went

 faster than the speed of sound. 

USS Growler, a Diesel powered nuclear submarine,

in commission from 1958 only until 1964. 

Powder room.

Captain's Cabin. At least he and the Commanding

Officer could sit upright in bed!

Commanding Officer's Stateroom.  I say closet.

Up periscope!

I'm thinking there were not too many tall or wide

submariners.  I'm both and I had to squeeze through

those small doorways, somewhat sideways.

Hey, what does this lever do?

This little galley fed 88 crewmembers!  Don't tell

me you can fit 88 slabs of Foie Gras on those

flat-tops and still keep them all rare.  No way!

Mess Deck.

The bottom bunks could not have had more than

16 inches of clearance.  Claustrophopic people

need not enlist.

The three lucky guys who slept in the stern torpedo

room had a bit more space.  It takes a special breed to

serve on a submarine.  This is a good time to thank all 

of the men and women who serve or have served

 us in all branches of the military!

P.S.- What I failed to mention was the miracle on the

Hudson, which apparently transpired almost straight out

from this area in the middle of the river.  Sully could not have

chosen a better place to land;  The wind was right, the river

was relatively calm and clear at the landing zone, and the

river at this particular junction is rife with water taxis.

It was a tailor-made, textbook emergency landing.  

Everyone should be so fortunate to have a pilot of his 

caliber at the helm. 

Snurfing near the Great Lakes

"The first modern snowboard was arguably the Snurfer (a portmanteau of snow and surfer), originally designed by Sherman Poppen for his children in 1965 in Muskegon, Michigan. Poppen’s Snurfer started to be manufactured as a toy the following year. It was essentially a skateboard without wheels, steered by a hand-held rope, and lacked bindings, but had provisions to cause footwear to adhere."

Minimum of Snow, Fully Maneuverable,

Fun and Thrills, and Easy to Learn.  It's official!

All of the above. My orange-haired friend and I

shredded (possibly before the word was ever used)

on his yellow Snurfer for hours on end.  Talk about

good, cheap, clean fun. 



The "staples" kept your feet in place while the yellow plastic lanyard

helped to steer.  All in all it was fairly easy to navigate on a Snurfer.

Why did they ever have to complicate things with bindings?

April, Float She Will

With the topsides buffed and shining, tomorrow will see bottom paint

outside, and Pine-Sol, Windex, and Lemon Oil down below.

The 5 coats of Cetol held well over the winter so there'll be no

brightwork this spring.  I'll be thinking of Adam while I'm taping

 the waterline.  Then, less than 2 weeks and we float once more.  

Good Friday looks to be a Great Friday!

Truss Worthy

Today's Chicken

Tomorrow's soup. 

Perspective

There's Jersey, and then there's everything else.

Nothing New about it

No matter where I go, if I'm asked where I live, the response to my

answer is often, "oh, you're from Jersey."  If I had said the Granite

State, or the Empire State, or the Land of Enchantment, they would

not have said, "oh, you're from Hampshire, or York, or even Mexico."

Out of the "New" states, Jersey is the only one that can be said

without "New."  The Provolone stands alone.

"What exit?" they also often ask, which only means which exit

off of the Garden State Parkway do you live.  What if you

don't live near the Parkway?  Exit 98, I've said a million times.

You live downtha shore!  Who else in the nation other than people in

 the NY, NJ, and Pennsylvania area call the coast downtha shore?

And when you stop for gas in Jersey, just roll down your window.

Beside Oregon, we're the only other state to still have real service

stations where the gas attendant politely comes up to your window

and says "Hi! May I help you?"  I'm not afraid to pump my own

gas, but when there's someone there to do it for you?

Call me old-fashioned.