OLD FRIENDS AND TIMES PAST

Three weeks ago I took a boat to Annapolis for my class reunion. I June of 1963 there were 896 men who graduated and went out to the fleet and for the last time the Air Force and Army. We know that about 120 have passed away, but we still managed to get about 400 to at least one of the events.

Of the 36 men in my company, we know that 6 have died. We have lost contact with three and of the rest 22 showed up for at least part of the weekend. That is a remarkable turn out. Most of my friends are still married to the women they dated at the Academy. It was a happy time but also a melancholy time. My friends and their wives were also friends of Ellen and we had gotten together several times over the years.

Nonetheless, we spent the weekend telling lies and sea stories, which are probably the same thing and promised to meet again in 5 years for our 50th reunion. I hope that we will all be above ground and vertical still. A lot of the conversation involved our assorted medications, procedures and illnesses. One can only try to keep on keeping on.

For me, the highlight of the trip was that I traveled to Annapolis by boat. I took a Carefree Boat Club boat on the 120 mile trip to the reunion and then slept aboard for the week. The hotel savings were largely eaten up by the current cost of gasoline, but I wouldn't have missed it. We were delayed by fog and rough weather but it was quite an adventure.

One of the interesting things was that when I woke up one morning after one of the parties, it took me about a minute to realize that this time it really was the room that was moving.

The Adventure continues.

SPRING?

I am forcing myself to make a short post this morning just to try to get back in the habit of regular posts.

I have been traveling a lot and been busy. I have not always had Internet access and I don't travel with the computer as much as I did. Nevertheless, it has been mostly laziness that has kept me from posting.

Last weekend was the wedding of my niece Beth locally and a lot of relatives came to visit. It was a very enjoyable time.

The weather has not been cooperating with the calendar as this has been a very cool spring. We have now finished up with a very strong Nor'easter that has kept everyone off the beach and the water. I want everyone to send an e-mail to Al Gore that he is falling down on the job.

More tomorrow.

SAILING OUT TO ANEGADA

One day we decided to sail from Bitter End on Virgin Gorda to Anegada Island. Anegada is some twenty five miles out into the Atlantic from the end of the Virgins. It is the only coral island in the chain. The other islands are all volcanic and hilly as the picture of the Bitter End marina shows. It is sometimes called the "Hidden Island" or the "Drowned Island" because the island can be completely overwashed in a storm. There are only 200 permanent residents and they don't evacuate. The houses are built like fortresses and they have their own reverse osmosis water plant.

We went up on a beam reach in a gale wind with gusts to 35 knots. The charter company told us to call for permission to go there but we thought they would say no, so we didn't call. The island is very low and hard to see from low in the boat. We got up to 9 knots in that wind from that boat. When we got there, the Captain said we should tack around and sail back for awhile because we hadn't been sailing long enough. She wanted to sail some more. We vetoed that. After four hours of being beat up by the boats motion, we just wanted to get to the mooring.

There is one restaurant on the island, named "Neptune's Treasure". We promptly named it the "Restaurant at the End of the Universe". I didn't know that my friends knew of Charles Adams. We spent a very pleasant evening discussing books, philosophy, poetry and adventuring. I also had the best meal I had in the islands.

Aside from a lobster the size of a small turkey, there was family style sides, fine wines from the French Islands to the South, real bone china and silver flatware, fine crystal glasses and liqueurs for a finish. All served on a beach overlooking the open Atlantic.

It almost makes me wish I had a girl friend to share it with, but I can't wait to go back. I don't need a girl friend because I didn't do anything wrong.

THE LONGEST MONTH

Well, it's over! I don't care what the calendar says, February is the longest month of the year. Waiting for spring can be one of the most difficult tasks of the years. This is a picture of the beach at the end of my street. In February I can have it almost all to myself. Even on the most crowded days, it doesn't compare to the New York beaches where I grew up.

When I was in school, we would call these "the Dark Ages". We didn't get out of class until 3 PM and it would be getting dark by 5. Football was over, baseball was yet to start, and with winter gales, rain snow and ice, we had problems getting any boats on the water. Exams were over in January, we didn't really get a semester break and it was months until spring break.

But now it is March. Daylight saving starts in a week, the bulbs are breaking ground and the temperatures are rising. Time to shed my winter depression and get out.

I have learned with Ed's help to put my pictures on the blog, so now I will post my vacation and other pictures with comments. Prepare to be bored.

ANNIVERSARY DAY

Today would have been my 43rd wedding anniversary, but a little over two years ago She finally lost out to the long illness that had made her a virtual shut in for many years. I miss her very much and I will not find anyone like her in this world. I would like to ask all those who follow this blog, mostly my family, to remember her on this day and to say a prayer for us and particularly for me.

Fortunately, I have my family to comfort me and to give me a reason to travel and visit and to carry on. So I am continuing my plans for the year and trying to decide what I will do for the next 35 years. During the next few posts I will list some of the ideas that I have considered and discarded. Please wait until I ask for suggestions so I can tell you what I won't consider.

Last weekend I went to Annapolis to visit my new friends at the Annapolis Sailing School and Tiller Club. I also visited Chris Bea and the Harbormaster in Annapolis. The only possible glitch in my plans for my reunion in April is that the renovation of the harbor may not be finished in time to bring my boat into the inner harbor. They assured me that I could tie up any time after April 15. But that is a government project and who knows.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY JAMES

Today is the birthday of my youngest child who is supposed to fly home from San Diego today. The weather is not cooperating. That is not unusual in February. There is fog on the west coast and snow everywhere in between, but I am sure he will make it for the weekend.

I am recovered now and getting about, catching up on the mail and tasks that I left undone when I went on vacation. One thing is to buy another car. The one I'm driving is almost 20 years old and is not reliable. I don't want much, just a reliable, comfortable car.

I have to go through the storeroom and give or throw away or use up most of that stuff.

This summer I will be looking for part time work on the many boats that operate out of the Norfolk and Virginia Beach waterways.

I am not looking forward to another long trip before at least next summer.

I voted for Romney yesterday because I wanted to send McCain a message. I will say more about him some other time. I don't want this to get too political.

RECOVERY ROOM

I left home the day after Christmas and got back last Saturday morning at 3 AM. Aside from a few days in airline Hell, I had a wonderful time and was tempted to stay for a few more weeks.

There were several reasons why I came home. I had run out of the prepaid part of the trip, the Windjammer Barefoot ships are no longer sailing the Caribbean, I was totally exhausted and I wanted to come home to watch the Giants play the Super Bowl from my reserved seat at my local.

So the Giants won the game. It was a great game! Many of these games turn out to be anticlimactic. This was worth the effort to watch it with my friends.

I had three weeks in Jamaica of non-stop partying and then a week on a 43' sloop in the British Virgin Islands. Then we went to a villa on the mountain in Totola to unwind for a few days and then I took the ferry over to the American side and spent a few days on St. Thomas and visited St. John's. They are all beautiful Islands and there is no real estate bust in those islands.

When the superbowl was over, I went into a collapse and I finally have gotten to the point where I feel a little rested and ready to go on. I have a lot of pictures that I have to sort through. Some of them didn't work out and need to be deleted. Then I have to figure out how to get some of them into this blog and in e-mail. I have tried before with lack of success.

I will post more often but for the next month or so I will be sticking close to home.

So my apartment will be my recovery room for at least another week.

WANDERING AGAIN

I had a wonderful Christmas with my family. All my grandchildren were not able to be with us but all my children were. It gets harder every year and every event to get everyone together but I want to make the effort as often as possible.

There are many of my friends who are my age and live alone and who have no family and I feel sorry for them at this time . If I did not have my family I would not feel the way I do. We have gone our separate ways again and I will be traveling around to see them individually over the next year. There were no fights during our visit, at least not in my presence.

Now I am off again on my winter vacation. In the morning I am off to Jamaica again and then to the British Virgins. That will take me up to Feb. 2 and I may extend my travels after that.

When I get home in the spring I will have to give a lot of thought to my long term plans for the future. I really don't want to work too hard, but I would like to make some more money.

This will be my last post of 2007. I am not taking my computer with me on this voyage. I do not want to waste beach and boat time sitting at a computer in the hotel business center. I want to wish anyone who reads this a Happy and prosperous New Year. The past two years have been especially difficult for me and my family. We do continue to look ahead and hope for the best.

My love to all through the year!

CHRISTMAS SPIRIT

Answer Girl wrote about the Grinch who stole Christmas in a recent post, and the first Christmas that her mother was very sick. That was a bittersweet time and I guess brought home the real meaning of the Holiday season. The birth of the redeemer is the symbol of renewal and the other holidays are the adaptation of the Roman and Greek festival of time. There is a reason the cartoon portrayal of the old year looks like the Greek portrayals of Cronus, the God who devours all his children and then produces them again. So we gather again and then look forward to a new year. The only real end is when you stop looking ahead and dwelling on past problems that nothing can be done about.

So I went to the closet and found my Grinch sweat shirt and I will be wearing it for the next week. I am not going to decorate my apartment for Christmas and after working in the store for five days several weeks in a row, I will be fed up with Christmas Music for a year. But I will have my family and the chance for a new year.

TWO DAYS IN A ROW

I simply had to get that business off my chest. The real therapy was in the three paragraphs I deleted. Some day I may tell you what I really think of the personnel policies of the current Naval Leadership, Naval Academy Administration and certain Flag and General Officers. Probably not on the Blog, though, because I might end up in real trouble.

To close out the subject, big time college coaching is really more about personal relations than money or other factors. The Academy Leadership failed to treat a good man with the respect and consideration he deserved. In the long run he would have left because the US NA program will never rise again to the level that fits his talent, but he would have left on better terms.

As for the senior leadership, I will give you my recollection of a recent statement by a senior Naval Officer. DUH! When they are the majority and are fully "accommodated", guess who becomes the oppressed minority?

So enough, my solution for my current anger is to enjoy Christmas with my family and take off to the Islands after that. I am finding it hard to get into the holiday spirit with the weather warm and sunny and I'd rather be on the beach than in the book store. Right after Christmas, I am off to the Islands again. I intend to leave my computer behind and put my phone in the brief case on off. Coverage of US sport is spotty and therefore I don't have a lot of interest in the rest of the football season either college or pro. My plans for return are open, but I will be back for Spring Training. In the spring I may go to Florida and visit one of the camps. I always wanted to do that.

I guess it is time to walk the dog before we have an accident.

TOO BUSY FOR A RETIRED GUY

My slightly euphoric mood from last week was erased when Navy lost it's head football coach. That was not unexpected after the way he was treated by Vadm Rodney RearEchelonMF, the Harpy Mafia and the current Supt., who is out to "deemphasize athletics", whatever that means. At least the current leadership had the sense to retain his assistant as the new head coach, but it remains to be seen how long he will stay as the Harpy Mafia continues it efforts to feminize the US Armed Forces.

I simply had to vent that. I know I am about a century or more behind the current political thinking, but there is a difference between women's rights and softening up the mission of the military, which when it comes down to it is to break things and kill people until the survivors do what we want. If that means some ones sensibilities are offended or their career options are limited by the need for special skills, so be it.

I feel that I have already said enough to get myself in trouble so I'll let it go at that.

I will continue to get on with my preparations for my next vacation. I am too busy for a guy who is supposed to be retired but it is mostly things I have fun at.

Only three months until Spring Training!

BACK AGAIN

Now that my computer has survived a major crash, which wiped out ALL my files, I am getting things back to the way they were. I will resume my rather erratic posting schedule.

Since the great wipe out, I have sold my house and gotten rid of a lot more STUFF on my way to a more mobile life style. The hardest thing to part with was my 1965 Mustang Coupe. With no house, no garage and no place to store it, it would not have fit into my new lifestyle. I did manage to find a good home for it in nearby North Carolina with a horse farmer and riding stable owner who already owns four classic Mustangs, much to the annoyance of his long suffering wife. I may go to visit my old horse every once in a while.

For a guy who is supposed to be retired, I am very busy. I just got back from Baltimore and the latest Army-Navy football game. Navy won for the sixth year in a row. I almost feel sorry for the Cadets because I remember how I felt when Navy was loosing every year. But every time that I start to feel any sympathy for the Army guys, I ruthlessly suppress it! Sympathy can get you killed in a real life and death struggle.

Now that I have started again, I hope that it will be a lot easier to keep posting on a fairly regular basis.

LOW RENT REGATTA

Today, Labor Day is the true end of the Summer season here at Chic's Beach. The weather is glorious, sunny and not as hot as recent days. There is plenty of breeze but not as good as yesterday for sailing.

Watching the children play reminded me of when I would bring my children to the beach and made me sorry that Peggy and her children don't live closer. This is an ideal beach for children, without much surf and current and a gradual slope that means there is a right depth for all ages.

For years, the traditional end of summer ritual here was the "Low Rent Regatta". So named for the snide remarks made by some of the rich folks out at the ocean beaches. But it got too big. The police were worried about parking and traffic. The sanitation department about litter. The licence bureau about the food vendors that set up on city streets and private driveways, without permits and didn't pay sales tax. The final straw was when the city said the committee had to rent an exorbitant number of port-a-potties for the event. For a few years they found local corporate sponsors for the expenses, but ten years ago they finally declared the last tack and sailed off into the sunset. The event had finally become too much work for an event they started as a lark.

I am happy to report that the Chic's Beach tradition of racing hobbie cats on Labor Day weekend remains alive and well. The events is kept private to avoid the organizational hassels of past years. It still provides the basis for a party that I am just recovering from.

So it is 1100 and back to the beach.

END OF SUMMER

Not quite the end, but things are starting to wind down with plans for Labor Day parties and back to school. The day after Labor Day the beach is deserted until next spring. It is almost like someone puts a gate up at the end of Pleasure House Road that says, " Residents and guests only".

But the weather stays warm and the water is swimmable until late October most years. That's when I enjoy Chic's Beach the most. This location is also mostly sheltered from Hurricane winds. Most of the beach damage and home wind damages happen during Winter Nor'easters. In that direction we are completely exposed to the open Atlantic.

Yes, I really hate dog fighting and the criminal bully boy society that surrounds it. The cruelty and disregard for the law extends very easily to anyone outside the gangs that run the fights.

What I don't understand is why this is a major Federal case. It should be the concern of State and local police. We are currently engaged in a war for the very existence of Western civilization.
There is a worldwide criminal terrorist conspiracy and a Congress as corrupt as any in history and major elements of the FBI, the Federal Marshals Service and other Federal agencies are tied up pursuing Micheal Vick. Somebody has their priorities screwed.

MICHAEL VICK

I originally wanted to limit this to personal matters like what I did on my latest vacation and family milestones like graduations and such but the Michael Vick situation is too local and growing to ignore. Three of the four men indicted so far are locals and Virginia Tech is too close to the whole situation and there are too many local people who know Vick to ignore what is going on.

I hear a lot about "innocent until proven ...". Nonsense when applied to this case. There is a big difference between a court conviction and prison time and knowing some one is behaving in a way that I don't want to ever be near them or any of their friends or family again. Michael Vick should never play another game in a professional sport again. He should not be allowed to work for any broadcast, print or public media. He has joined the growing list of people whose mere picture on a TV screen makes me reach for the channel changer. I also will not buy any magazine, book or newspaper that features him. Except for the fact I cannot avoid the reports of his court cases, I don't want to hear about him or his associates or family.

I think that dog fighting is disgusting. Aside from the cruelty to the animals involved, the activity is surrounded by the worst gambling elements, illegal and dangerous drug and alcohol sales and abuse, prostitution, bribery and corruption of local officials and tax evasion. The dogs involved are worse than wild animals. With a few exceptions wild animals are not mean. They kill when they hunt for food or from fear. Pit Bulls and their relations kill for sport. There have been reports locally of packs of feral dogs hunting down deer for sport. Teasing the animals and then letting the kill lie because they are not hungry. Pit Bull attacks on people, particularly children, are frequent and often unprovoked. Pit Bulls are the SS Einsatzgruppen of the animal world and the people who organize it are worse than that.

Nonetheless the fact that dog and cock fighting and other "blood sports" go on around here has been a badly kept secret since Virginia Beach started growing and trying to clean up over thirty years ago.

If this investigation goes all the way, I would expect many more prominent names to be included. The names may well include more sports figures, political, business and community leaders. They should all end up in prison and forfeit large chunks of their wealth.

This post could go on for a long time, but Molly wants to go to the beach.

Come back next week and I'll let you know how I really feel!

VISITORS FROM THE FOOTHILLS

This weekend Peggy came down to visit with Scot, Henry, Matthew and Meg. We had a very busy and enjoyable time. Friday night we went to see the Tides baseball game. The boys like the ballgame but maybe the like the big helmet cups full of ice cream the most. It wasn't a very good game. The Tides are now the AAA team for the Orioles and they are very bad this year, both teams.

Saturday Morning they came to the beach to see my new digs. All three of the kids are absolutely fearless around water and with a heavy surf in the bay this weekend had to be held and watched all the time. In the afternoon, we took a boat up the Lynnhaven River. The weather was gorgeous. The wind was dampened up the river and while there was some motion it was not as bad as the bay was that day. The boys entertained us by singing endless repetitions of "Take me out to the Ballgame".

I didn't know what to expect, since that was the first time they had been on a boat, but they had a grand time and had no problem with motion sickness. One of the boys volunteered that it was way better than spending the afternoon watching TV. Then we had diner and another walk on the beach.

They visited me on Sunday but they were too worn out to do much. A good time was had by all and I hope they can get back before the weather gets nasty this Fall.

GETTING INTO A ROUTINE

At last I have gotten the moving down to a few boxes I am trying to find a place for and am getting into some kind of a daily routine. For everybody's info, it goes something like this: Get up and put on a bathing suit and take Molly for a walk. Visit with our friends, two legged and four, and get some exercise. I'd like to swim, but Molly still won't go in the water and neither of us will run anymore. Come home and get some breakfast and then check my mail and try to write the blog. Then I may clean or do dishes or continue sorting through the boxes still piled in my living room, read some and maybe take a nap. After lunch go for a swim, walk on the beach and visit my friends. No dogs on the beach in the day in the summer. Come back to the apt. and now I'm really ready for a nap. Get some supper and then take Molly for her evening walk. Then I have free time until the Great Chix's beach pub crawl at all two locations, or may four if I start early. The two restaurants close by 9 PM. There are variations like yesterday I took out a boat and today I have to go grocery shopping and then there are days when I work at the store. In between I have check that the tides and that the Sun and the Moon rise and set on time. Tough work but someone has to do it. But this only requires spot checks and no reports.

GLOBAL WARMING

It is HOT! Yesterday in Virginia Beach the temperature reached 98 degrees F, but it wasn't even a record and we do have air conditioning but sometimes it can't keep up. I solved the problem by getting neck deep in the Chesapeake Bay and staying there most of the afternoon, until it was time for my nap. The humidity was high and that spawns the cloud burst that leaves the pavement steaming like it is on fire when the rain stops. Today I have to work in the store where the AC zone control is no good and the sun through the plate glass windows add to the problem. Must be Al Gore's fault. It is HOT in July in the USA. When I was in the Caribbean last winter, my Northern European friends (Russia, Scandinavia, even Scotland and Ireland) didn't have a problem with the idea of warmer weather at home. If there were only some way they could do something about the endless winter nights, they would never have to go south in the winter. Good Luck Tovarich! Which brings me to the silly, stupid series of concerts to stop Global Warming this weekend. What a stupid exercise in hypocrisy. I'll admit that the weather seems milder now than say, forty years ago. We haven't had a significant snowfall here in over five years but it was 1980 that the National Guard Engineers had to come from Richmond to dig us out of a 41" snowfall. For my European fans, that's more than a meter. If I recall the last time Ches Bay froze all the way to Cape Charles was 1975. None the less I don't see daily high temperature records being set. We only have good records going back about 100 years. I climate terms that is a mere instant. We have no idea what a normal cycle is and we do have historical records of significant climate changes in the past. I am not in favor of rampant pollution, but this quasi religious fervor is wrong.

TROUBLE IN PARADISE

First, I was looking forward to spend the weekend on the beach doing beach things like watching the waves, broiling in the Sun and digging holes in the sand when I got a phone call and ended working the weekend at the book store. Well, work is the curse of the drinking class and I really like working there, even if I do spend more money there than I make most weeks. Yesterday I went to the USNA Alumni picnic at Dam Neck. I had not been there in at least two years and was amazed at the construction going on. This was a really rural area until about five years ago. Soon it will be a major suburban center. One more reason to get out of town, although this little area where I have moved retains more of the old beach flavor than the rest of the city. The other reason is the local government. When the city council is not being stupid and incompetent, it is simply corrupt. Better to go someplace where the corruption as at least partially balanced by a degree of competence. Then I hear that Ed's 2000 Dodge was stolen in DC where he went for a visit. It wasn't much of a car but it is an annoyance and it was almost paid for. I wonder if I took my cars to DC if they could be stolen. That's the only way I will ever get any money for them. Ed's OK and he can borrow one of mine until he decides what to do about wheels.

TWO DAYS IN A ROW

On the Fourth, my son Ed, and I spent the morning moving more stuff out of my old house. We are almost finished, but I am running out of places to put stuff. Then I went for a swim and a walk on the beach. After supper, we went down to the beach to set off our fireworks (fountains, legal in Virginia). The display was awesome. That is a word I don't like to use because I think today's young have overused and corrupted it. I can't find a more appropriate word. From the beach here at the end of my street you can see about fifteen miles both East and West and the intensity and volume of private fireworks dwarfed the professional shows that could be seen in the distance. At time the beach was lit brightly enough to read a newspaper. Even Ed who is not known for enthusiasm, was impressed. Then yesterday the neighbors told me it wasn't up to last year. Now we a dealing with the aftermath. Two days later the waste management dept. is still down there picking up the enormous piles of trash and garbage. Yesterday, I took a boat on to Chesapeake Bay. It was a beautiful day. This retirement thing is alright!