Remarkable (cont'd)

In the recent past I have leaned heavily on an expanding number of remarkable people. I've come to consider them as my base or personnel support group. 

While visiting the part of that group that got me through what could only be described as the most unreal and bizarre times of my life we all got to meet some remarkable people.

A few of us visited The Wall to place a special coin at the names of some of our group that were shot down at the end of the Cambodian campaign. 

L to R: Pig, Goose, Al, Vic. 

The coin.

Goose was the only survivor. And that is another story. Over the years Goose has shared much of it but a novel could be written around that one day, that one crash and the lives that were affected. Most people have a story, some have many but the last two photos contain eight complicatedly entertwined stories. And then there are the stories on the wall behind us. The human cost of war. 

Anyway, the four of us were locating the names on the Wall when someone asked if we would like him to take the picture you see above. He wound up taking the same photo with everyone's phone/camera, including his mum's iPad. We got to talking, exchanging emails and phone numbers (to send each other photos) and we learned that Mark, the volunteer photographer, was a FedX pilot. 

We invited them ( Mark, his mum and two sons) to join us at the reunion "O club" (a no host bar set up for us in one of the hotel banquet rooms) for a pre dinner drink that afternoon. We parted ways and figured that we might possibly never see them again. 

Well, they did show up and we had a great time hearing their stories. His "Mum" was a delightful English lady who was instrumental in starting Mark on his career in aviation while still in school. His boys were into video games of course and things that expelled projectiles, so the static display Hueys were a draw for them. They also got some souvenirs in our vendor room. I must apologize for not having photos with details but it appears that I may have been hampered by drink and must rely on the guys sending me that stuff after they get home and dry out. 

This is what I have so far. 

 L to R: Goose, Pig, Mark, Al, Spanky, Chooch. 

We finally decided to break and meet up with previously arraigned dinner companions. Mark gives Chooch a wad of bills and says he wants to buys our drinks tonight. We hug, promise to stay in touch and disburse to our rooms to clean up for dinner, good luck. 

When we regroup Chooch tells us that we have $200 to spend on drinks and we knew we were in trouble (again, as usual). So our group of 13 head out to a small nearby diner, secure in the knowledge that it will be drunk out tonight; trusting in our large numbers to get us back safely. Perhaps not the soundest strategy, but it was all we had. 

After dinner we found that we had a few dollars left over from the bar bill. Luckily, there was a liquor store nearby. Bill Lunde (Spanky) and I formed a plan. It was simple, he bought a bottle of Jack's Single Barrel and I helped him drink it. Somehow, the group got separated into two flights on the way back but we managed to regroup in Goose's room (much to his delight). Spanky and I worked on the Single Barrel while we all told stories, drank most of the rest of Mark's booze and generally made a lot of noise. Around midnight I realized that I had to get up in a few hours to catch the shuttle to Dulles. So, all too soon I said my goodbyes and tried to thank my base for always being there. 

As I have leaned on my base more and more, I find it getting bigger and more stable. I've never been good at asking for help ( that hasn't stopped me from me from taking it, I'm just not good at it ) or properly thanking those giving it. Lately my gratitude debt has reached new highs and I hope to take the time to pay it down soon.  Till then,

Thank You. You are all truly remarkable!

Remarkable People, Remarkable places

First the remarkable places. 

I really liked the architecture of the Dulles airport. 

Outside, concrete "posts"

The inside of same. 

And the "beams" of what is ( technically, I think ) a post and beam structure. I would have loved to see them being set in place and how the tension was set on the giagantic turnbuckles afterwards. 

Then there was the Deroit airport. With an unsuspected surprise. 

Just a normal concourse with all Delta gates (concourse A). 

Nice fountain

Those are water jets in a reflecting pool, not glass rods. I tried to catch them when they were all on. They would do short bursts in very intricate dances. Difficult to capture in a still and I'm trying not to start doing videos. 

During lunch I heard the public address system announce that there was a lounge for active military and vets, so I decided to check it out. 

The only signage for a very small entrance. 

Inside was non alcoholic beverages and snacks and, more importantly, a place to crash. They had three nice bunks and lots of big overstuffed chairs around a TV. There was a WiFi table and even a children's play area with toys. 

When I asked the receptionist how all this came to be was when it really became remarkable to me. She explained that she was a Delta flight attendant and didn't like seeing all the traveling military sleeping on the "filthy floor" between flights. The place runs on donations and volunteer workers. They pay one dollar a year for the space. I don't know how much of the setup was facilitated by Delta but it had to be a lot. 

Anyway the place was full of grateful vets and active duty personnel sleeping, catching up on line or watching TV. 

There were, of course, many other remarkable places on this trip. Especially if you don't get out much. But the number of remarkable people I meet is growing so large I will never get to thank all of them but I'll tell you about a few when I can. Starting with my next post in a few minutes. 

Meanwhile, "stay cool, drink plenty of fluids and avoid strenuous exersize", from the Old Farts Agenda (reprinted here with permission). 

The Good Deal Company

That was us. B Co 227 th AHB 1st Cav Div. We had a mini reunion at the annual VHPA reunion this week in DC at the Wardman Marriott. 

There were Hueys

H model, not entirely accurate, as I'm sure they had to scrounge parts from various aircraft to get a more or less complete ship. 

The guns were grunt versions and I'm pretty sure that no one ever had them mounted this way.

The "chicken plate" was authentic, if missing a few straps. 

The chin bubble

It provided a great view of the stump you were about to land on. 

The tail numbers

We used the last three for ID.

Our seats; seat pillows not standard issue. 

They had an early gunship too.

The funny thing on the floor is the crew chiefs microphone foot button.  

Anyway, there were many good stories. Since they are told every time we get together, it's probably a good thing that most of us have forgotten the details and still enjoy the retelling. 

So.........We laughed, we cried and there was a bit of liquid anesthesia. We try to explain our bond to others but we don't expect them to understand. And that's OK. 

I've got to catch a plane so the rest will come later. Next post, The Wall. And the guys. 

Stay well and cool. 

What Would Be Worth Waiting In Line For Four Hours

These people are in line. 

In front of them are these people. 

And in front of them are these people. 

And in front of them are these people. 

And yet again. 

And.......

What on earth could be so intriguing, unique or exciting?

How about the 24-48 hour blooming of a Corpse plant that only occurs every 10 years or so?

The pictures tell the story. So I'll let them do so. 

The odor it is spreading is that of rotting flesh. Yum. 

Looks like something right out of Little Shop of Horrors. 

So, after four wonderful bonding hours with two children who insisted that we not take our chances on it wilting (should we come back at 6:00 am when there should be considerably less of a line), we arrive at the climatic Colbert moment at the end. 

Our newest best buddy. 

Should get warm tomorrow, 

Stay cool. 

Jake and Bill in Bozeman

I left off with a smokey sunset at our campground. Bill moved in with me and we shared our site with their bear. 

He watches over campers; kinda like the patron saint bear of Bozeman. 

Sunday they had a big classic car show on Main St in Bozeman. I got there as they were opening up the street after blocking it off all day for the show. There were still a few cars left, but I could see that I missed a good day. 

This was the remaining cars in front of Burger Bobs where we met for dinner. 

There were the usual collection from many categories. 

Today we went to the museum at Montana State. 

Lots of dinosaurs. 

Had dinner at the Montana Ale Works

I noticed some cool art work on utility boxes all over the city so I had Bill try to get some pictures from the moving car. There was one on every corner of Main St. Turns out it is part of a community project put together by an organization called the Clean Slate Group. They have similar projects in several cities. Here is their web site : http://cleanslategroupus.com Turns out Bozeman has 64 utility boxes covered. You can see them all on their site, including those from other cities. 

Taking Bill to the airport at zero dark thirty tomorrow and then heading out for more fishing on the way to Denver. Looks like I'll be skipping Yellowstone is trip.