National Freedom Day

I was looking at my desk calendar and noticed that today (February 1) is National Freedom Day. I have never really paid much attention to anything in February other than President’s Day, Valentines Day, and Groundhog day. President’s day of course is a made up holiday that neither falls on Washington or Lincoln’s actual birthday […]

The Invisible Star

There were probably no flags flying when Alex and Sophia boarded the Susan B. Howell in the Port of Londonderry. They were surrounded by all of their children, a few meager possessions, and a dream for a better life. If there was a flag flying ashore, it was more than likely the hated Union Jack […]

Freedom on the other side

I have lived my life with a firm conviction that being a free man is more important than any other thing. I gave up part of my freedom to protect it (US Navy) and I give up a part of my freedom each time I pay my taxes to support the structures that try and […]

The Cost of Freedom

These pictures were taken at the Masonic Village in Central Pennsylvania See link at end of post for more detailed information There is an American Flag for every Service Member that has given their life since 911 There is a separate Blue State flag for every Pennsylvanian The tradition of remembering these American Heroes goes back […]

Galvanized or Gone

Fire in the night Growing up in a steel town, I learned the terms associated with making steel at an early age. At night, the sky was orange from the glow of the furnaces and the cooling steel that emerged. No one who has ever lived near a mill can forget the burning sulfur like […]

Address to a Haggis

From 1961 – 1992, two cultures were given the opportunity to live side by side and learn from each other at a place called Holy Loch Scotland The locals taught the incoming Yanks how to eat Fish and Chips, the right way to drink Scotch, and a wee bit about the old ways. The Yanks […]

Gold! There’s Gold out there!

January 24 1848 is a day that will live forever as one that changed American history. John Sutter had hired a millwright named James Marshall to construct a sawmill along the south fork of the American River. The water was not flowing in the right vicinity so they cut a fresh millrace. The timber from […]

G’day Mate, mind the dingos

I can’t possibly imagine two places on earth that are more opposite then Diego Garcia and Perth Australia. Finishing up a quick run somewhere in the Indian Ocean and pulling up next to a destroyer tender was welcome after all the excitement, but you quickly come to realize that if there was an end to […]

You are sooooo dumb!

1968 is often called one of the most pivotal years in the second half of the 20th century. Even by today’s post 911 standards, many key events happened that would shape the way American’s would view themselves and our place in the world. January kicked off the whirlwind of events that literally transformed us from […]

USS George Washington SSBN 598

You never forget your first… When I requested a submarine for my first assignment after sub school , I wanted to be on a Diesel Boat first, a fast attack second, and a Boomer third preferably a 640 class. I vaguely remember an old salt at a bar in Groton talking about how beautiful Key […]