It can happen in just a minute, but the effects can last for a lifetime

If you look back on your life, could you pick one single year that has been more eventful than others? I suppose it depends on what you use for a measuring stick. The loss of a loved one, a critical illness, catastrophes all have their own impacts. Every once in a while, the impact of […]

Love, your Son Butch ~ Father’s Day Memories

Today’s blog is from a book I wrote based on my Dad’s letters to his family during the second world war and the following year while he tried to make it back home. I found the letters a few days after he passed away, and learned a lot about a man who I thought […]

The Magna Carta, The Constitution, and the Kenyan

Today’s blog is not for the faint of heart. If you read it and agree with it, you should be prepared to stand up to a King. The “Great Charter of the Liberties” of England was a revolutionary document that set in motion a long period of enlightenment and freedom for common people in England […]

“its not my fault … ask anyone who loves me”

The new 2012 Campaign Song Sung to the theme from “A few of My Favorite Things” Earthquakes, tsunamis, tornados and Europe People in congress who just won’t roll over Long gone Republicans from the West Wing These are a few of my best excuse things… When the debt climbs, when the banks fail Unemployment’s up […]

Built Like a Mack Truck

How many times have you ever heard the expression Built Like a Mack Truck? For most people in the US, that is one of those old expressions that symbolizes strength and endurance. The trucks that were designed and built by Americans were once the pride of many trucking fleets and rightly so. The story of […]

The Summer of ‘42

Many of the World War 2 stories being profiled right now are being followed because of the 70th anniversary of those events. The realization that the loss of so many of the participants due to age has finally settled in for many of us. My Dad has been gone for nearly twenty years but since […]

A chain is only as strong as its weakest link

I am not sure what philosopher first uttered the words in the title of this post It may have been an old Navy Boson’s Mate Chief trying to square away a young non-rated seaman about ship’s lore. Ultimately, the phrase has been used in more stories and tales about life than most of the alternative […]

On Wisconsin (bring on the fall!)

Just a short message this week to the Followers of the New Freedom Underground Deep disappointment for the dirty dogs of war… David Ax-man denied In the dying days of democracy dozens of devious democrats demanded debilitating deals while denying the details of its descendant direction. Decadency caused by deleterious debutants disguised as “lawyers” who […]

Midway: What about the Boats?

In all the stories you see and read about Midway, the focus is on the surface and air activity. Yet one of the assets the Pacific fleet had plenty of were the submarines. Submarine activity up until June 4th of 1942 had demonstrated capabilities beyond what the original concept was thought of. Certainly intercepting warships […]

The night before … USS Astoria at Midway

There will be no sleep tonight for the main space sailors on board USS Astoria CA-34. The eight boilers would be cleared and on line before the expected engagement the next day (June 4th) and the steam turbines driving her four shafts would be preheated and running at daybreak. Even with the forced draft blowers […]