Happy Hour

"IF A LIFETIME CAN BE LIKENED TO A DAY, THEN THIS IS HAPPY HOUR!"
BUCK PENNINGTON

Mother, Mother Ocean

Mother, Mother Ocean, I've heard you call
Wanted to sail upon your waters since I was three feet tall
You've seen it all, you've seen it all
Watched the men who rode you, switch from sails to steam
In your belly you hold the treasures, few have ever seen
Most of 'em dream, most of 'em dream
Yes, I am a pirate, two hundred year's too late
The cannons don't thunder, there's nothin' to plunder
I'm an over-forty victim of fate
Arriving too late, arriving too late

Yoda

"Size matters not. Look at me. Judge me by my size, do you? Hmm? Hmm. And well you should not. For my ally is the Force, and a powerful ally it is."
―Yoda, to Luke Skywalker

Counted the Stars

Counted the stars on the 4th of July
Wishing we were rockets bursting in the sky
Talking about redemption and leaving things behind
I have these pictures and I keep these photographs
To remind me of a time
These pictures and these photographs
Let me know I'm doin' fine
We used to be so happy once upon a time
Once upon a time
But the sun sank west of the Mendocino County Line
And the sun sank west of the Mendocino County Line

""SOME SEE A GLASS AS HALF FULL, SOME SEE IT AS HALF EMPTY, I JUST WANT TO KNOW WHO’S DRINKING MY RUM."
Rumbear

Wednesday, February 05, 2014

Navy supercarrier USS Forrestal heads to scrap heap after 38 years of service

It begins. That is the dismantling of the Forrestal Class Carriers. I had the good fortune to serve aboard two of Forrestal's sister ships, Independence and Ranger. I imagine Saratoga is destined for the same fate. Independence has been designated for scrapping but there is a movement afoot to save Ranger as a Museum. Independence and Ranger represent about six years of my life. I was ship's company on Independence and in the air wing on Ranger.
Included are two links to the story.
USS Forrestal
USS Forrestal (CV-59) on patrol on May 31, 1962.
 Her final voyage: Navy's first super-carrier USS Forrestal begins journey to the scrapyard after being sold for ONE CENT
  • The 60-year-old vessel headed down the Delaware River to Texas at dawn on Tuesday
  • The Navy paid one cent under a contract to have the ship dismantled by All Star Metals in the Gulf port of Brownsville
  • The 1,067-ft ship is perhaps best known for a fire which broke out on board in 1967 while the carrier was on active service in Vietnam, killing 134
  • Senator John McCain was serving on the carrier at the time of the tragedy
  • Boat was built by more than 16,000 workers and named after James Forrestal, the first U.S. Secretary of Defense
  •  It cost $217 million - the equivalent of $2 billion today 
The USS Forrestal during a shakedown cruise off Guantanamo Bay, Cuba in 1955. The carrier was in service for 38 years before being decommissioned in 1993
The USS Forrestal during a shakedown cruise off Guantanamo Bay, Cuba in 1955. The carrier was in service for 38 years before being decommissioned in 1993

 http://www.thedenverchannel.com/news/navy-supercarrier-uss-forrestal-heads-to-scrap-heap-ship-decommissioned-after-38-years-of-service02042014

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I will not go down and tell my children I didn't have the courage, the conviction, the commitment or the character to fight for this country...Don't go home and let your children down~~ LTC Allen West

Publius Flavius Vegetius Renatus

‎"Igitur qui desiderat pacem, praeparet bellum.("Therefore, he who desires peace, let him prepare for war")" from "Epitoma Rei Militaris," by Vegetius (Publius Flavius Vegetius Renatus)