Through the eyes of the prophets … what do you believe?

First and foremost, this is not a screed about anyone’s religion being good or bad. I believe that all people who adopt religiosity of one kind or another come to it in one of three basic ways: They are born to it, they come to it of their own accord, or they are driven to […]

Semper vigilantes

I have been having a great time watching the eagles web site. http://www.alcoa.com/locations/usa_davenport/en/info_page/eaglecam.asp The third egg finally hatched and Dad (I think) is standing watch this morning. Mom must be out looking for the morning meal since she has not been around for a while. The background sound is very interesting too. Apparently the area […]

A tribute to our national symbol… you don’t want to miss this

Despite the fact that I use the computer every day, I am still a bit of a novice when it comes to linking things. But I wanted to share something that is absolutely amazing. This site has gained worldwide recognition so you may have to be a bit patient. It is worth the wait. From […]

Where have you been?

I have to admit it’s been a few days since my last post and considering the nature of that post, some of my readers may have wondered if I had been selected for early admission to the nearest FEMA camp. No such luck (at least not yet). We have been spending a lot of time working […]

Daddy, why is it so quiet?

It’s early Wednesday morning and something inside of you wakes you up before the sun rises. The house is completely silent and as you start to focus, you sense something is different. At first, the darkness seems natural until you realize the red LED display of the alarm clock is dark too. Out of habit, […]

What a country … (at least it is so far)

As we drove to Church this morning, I was reminded what a great country we live in. We left the house (that we chose to live in) in our car (that we selected from among hundreds of possible choices). We drove on streets that were paved (using money we paid in taxes) and passed at […]

Fenian Ram: The Green Submarine

Any submariner worth his salt has heard of a good Irishman named John Phillip Holland and his submarine design changed the way wars would be fought at sea forever. On March 17, 1898, St. Patrick’s Day, Irish-born engineer John Philip Holland demonstrated a submarine he designed, the Holland VI, for the U.S. Navy Department, off […]

New Coke

My generation grew up in a time where marketing really came of age. We were exposed to subtle and not so subtle messages about the cars we should buy, the shampoo we should use, and of course the soda we should drink. Coca Cola@ was an American icon long before we came along. Coke was […]

Unauthorized Absence

I made it a point of pride to never miss a ship’s movement or a muster for my whole career. I can remember driving like crazy through the erratic traffic only to get stuck in a long line at Makalapa Gate thinking “The Chief is gonna kill me”. But somehow, my angels always made sure […]

Some Track Records Should Be Remembered

1972 was a leap year and changes were going on all over the world. American involvement in Viet Nam was already significantly reduced to a support role and the last combat troops were scheduled to be out by August. The program of Vietnamization was well into its fourth year and the ARVN was placed in […]