Famous last words to remember
I have to admit it, I’m jealous. Some people not only lead great lives, but they also manage to depart this life with words that are long remembered. Not me. I’ll probably say, “Hey! Who turned out the da — d lights?”
When you start something, you never know where it will end
something you never know where it will end. And start something I did. Back in 1954 I started the engine of a 1935 Chevy four-door sedan, and here I am, 54 years later, still thinking about the drive I took that night.
Some people just naturally make you feel good, but others ...
For someone who at times in his life quite literally did not have two nickels to rub together I have been to an incredible number of places. When someone mentions places as far apart as Beaumont and Bangkok, Layton and London, Portland and Paris, Tempe and Tripoli, Venice and Vacaville, or even New Bedford, New Delhi, or New London they aren’t just names to me. They are places I know, and perhaps even love. But you know what, Johnny?
Wooden ships and iron men? You bet! They had to be. Part II
Last week we left off in 1771 as Captain James Cook and his crew barely escaped death on the Great Barrier Reef stretching along the northern coast of Australia. But death by drowning when a sailing ship was driven aground on a reef or a rocky shore by “contrary” winds was just one of the many things men and women faced in the day of the square-rigged European ship. There are worse things than drowning, Johnny. Read on.
Wooden ships and iron men? You bet! They had to be.
My first, and only, experience handling a sailboat came during my junior year in high school. For a kid my age it was high adventure. I got up in the middle of the night, dragged out my old bike, and pedaled through the night to Niantic, Conn. And there at anchor in the dawning light sat the Karakal, a 21-foot sailboat my friend Earl had named after the Tibetan mountain that towered above Shangri La in James Hilton’s novel “Lost Horizon.” Twenty minutes after I dropped my bike in the dew-wet grass beside the Niantic River, the Karakal was scudding across the bay, plowing through rolling surf on a windy October day. And what a day it turned out to be! One of the best of my life.
Can you picture me as a drill instructor? Part II
Last week I mentioned that I became a DI by talking my way into GIS, General Instructor School, not because I wanted to go to that school, but because I had wriggled my way out of something else and had to enter a tech school ASAP or get dragged back in.
Can you picture me as a drill instructor?
If anyone had told me while I was young that I was going to be a drill instructor I’d have told him he was out of his mind
Some people seem to work very hard at being dumb
A few weeks ago I ended a column by saying “the best learning experience may be the one you never have.”
Beneath an ordinary exterior may lie an extraordinary person
As a young man I knew someone who seemed as ordinary as the rest of us, but wasn’t. I had known Fredo for a long time and I thought I knew him well, but one day I happened to mention a name and I saw a part of Fredo that surprised me.
Being a foreigner can be hard or easy, Part II
Last week I explained why Reykjavik, Iceland, was not my favorite overseas city, it being a contender for Icebox Of The Universe, among other things.
Being a foreigner can be hard or easy
Except for two things, I would have called this column, “A Tale of Two Cities.”
A few casually spoken words can change a life, Part II
Four times in my life a few words have lifted me off the path I was on, turned me, and plunked me down on a new path.
A few casually spoken words can change a life
Four times in my life a few words have lifted me off the path I was on, turned me, and plunked me down on a new path.
If I could bring back the candy store, I would, Part II
Last week I mentioned that candy stores were everywhere when I was a youngster. And I mentioned that although we called them candy stores, they sold a lot more than candy.
If I could bring back the candy store, I would
One of the musical’s my beloved wife Lolly likes to watch is “On Moonlight Bay” with Doris Day and Gordon McRae.
Losing a little sleep may sometimes be a good thing
Some weeks ago I mentioned that I stayed awake thinking most of New Year’s Eve because I knew the bottom was going to drop out of the thermometer and I was worried that something might happen to Lolly. That was time well spent.
Why is it we remember some things forever?
I’m willing to bet that there are some things about your life you can remember as though they happened yesterday. And I’m also willing to bet that, like me, you would be hard put to explain why you remember them.
Seeing yourself through the eyes of others can be rough, Part II
Last week we talked about life as an un-learning experience. We took note of the fact that we may start out as the center of the universe, lying on our backsides, stamping our feet, messing our diapers, and wailing until we get attention, but there comes a time when all that has to be unlearned.
Seeing yourself through the eyes of others can be rough
Want to know who you are? Who you really are? You won’t learn it by look
Want to see free enterprise at work? Just look around.
If somebody asked me what impressed me most about any of the places I’ve lived, either here or overseas, I would have a hard time picking out just one thing. Oh, I suppose it would be easy to choose one for some places.
What makes home feel like home? Part II
Last week I told you how I arrived at Wiesbaden Air Base in Germany in June, 1970, and found it to be a drab, empty place. I was there teaching classes, facing nine weeks away from home, and missing my family.
What makes home feel like home?
I’ve mentioned before that my duty assignment during my last seven years in the Air Force required me to travel from base to base teaching other people how to teach.
Some people seem to have been born wise
About a year ago I was talking about what it was like to live in an open-bay barracks with weekend warriors who have just been called to active duty, most of them just out of high school.
Teaching old dogs new tricks is like pushing a rope up a hill, Part II
Last week I mentioned that my job in the Air Force for the last seven years was teaching NCOs how to take their hard-earned skills and pass them on to the young men and women who were going to take their place.
Teaching old dogs new tricks is like pushing a rope up a hill
They say you can’t teach an old dog new tricks. Maybe that’s true. Maybe not. Never tried it, so I can’t say. But what I can say is that it is downright difficult to teach an old dog how to teach someone else new tricks.
Television has come a long, long way — Part II
Last week I said that many people who are alive today have no idea how blessed lucky we are to be able to buy a television set, take it home, plug it in, hook up cable or dish, turn it on, and watch just about anything we want.
Television has come a long, long way
Most people living today have no idea how blessed lucky we are to be able to buy a television set, take it home, plug it in, hook it up to cable or dish, turn it on, and watch — what is it now? — 40 million channels?
Two coincidences I promised to tell you about, Part II
Last week I said it sometimes appears that coincidences rule the universe. Maybe that’s not true, but they certainly aren’t shy about changing the life of an important human being — and thereby changing history.
Two coincidences I promised to tell you about
Every once in a while it seems that coincidences rule the universe, for the good or for the bad. I’ve already mentioned one that saved the life of Paul Revere, and another that allowed Adolf Hitler to survive an incident where he surely should have died.
How little we sometimes know about an elderly person
More than once I’ve mentioned how I enjoyed my high school a lot more than I might have if it hadn’t been for the great shop classes it offered.
When they say truth is stranger than fiction, they aren’t kidding
In the film “Guys and Dolls” one of the actors is trying to get another one to make a bet so he can win some money. He makes what appears to be a sucker bet, one you would swear he had no chance of winning, but the other actor refuses to take it. “How come?” the first actor asks.
Working with your hands enriches your life
It never seems to fail. I write a column and something in it reminds me of something for another one. And here we go again. A few columns back we talked about the Arab customs concerning which hand you use for what, and why. I no sooner started putting it “on paper” than something else popped into my head.
Being happy is sometimes a matter of perspective
The American Southwest is a very special place. Those of you who were born here tend to take it for granted, but you have no idea how lucky you are.
Foreign customs can be more than a little confusing
Last week, when I started talking about how I screwed up on some of the customs in other countries I thought I would run out of things to say in a few words. I guess I forgot what an ignorant sucker I was. Anyway, there’s a lot more to tell.
It’s easy to insult people when you don’t know their customs
A while back I mentioned that in 1958 I drove across the country on my way to Japan. I had been overseas before, but just once. That was Iceland, a European nation which shares many customs with us, so I had few problems over there.
Seeing is believing — Part II
Last week I wrote about a blind spot we have in each of our eyes. Yes, we actually have a blind spot in each eye, and with a little effort, you can learn to see it. In case you missed last week’s column, we had some fun finding out how to do that. If you want to know how to do it, just go back and read the column.
Seeing is believing when it comes to blind spots
A while back I was talking about microscopes and telescopes, and I happened to mention that all my life it “seemed that there was something I wanted to get a look at that human eyes just weren’t quite good enough for.”
A small coincidence can change history, Part II
Last week we spoke of how a minor coincidence saved the life of Paul Revere, who was captured by the British on the night of his famous ride and placed in front of the marching redcoats, to be the first man killed at Lexington, a rebel spy caught in the treasonous act of alerting the countryside of troop movements.
A small coincidence can change history
Like the rest of the kids in my elementary school, I just sat there and listened during history lessons. The teachers laid it down and we soaked it up.
Travel can be enjoyable, exciting - Part II
Last week, I started out to talk about travel. Thought I’d tell you how privileged I feel to have traveled to some truly great places, and how much I’ve enjoyed seeing them.
Travel can be enjoyable, exciting
We all dream of traveling. Well, most of us anyway. Some people seem happy to avoid travel if they can. And they go on proving it week after week by staying home. Who knows? Maybe they’re the smart ones. I’ve traveled a lot. And “enjoyed” it. But to be honest, I have to admit that “enjoyed” may not mean what you think it does.
Training is a four-letter word
While writing last week’s column about GI bunks, I mentioned that bunks occupy a lot of time and thought in the military mind.
GI beds are a lot of bunk
A while back I mentioned that GI happiness is soft boots, a full belly, and a comfortable bunk. I thought I had just barely enough stuff to make a full column, and was amazed to find out I had to leave out 90 percent of the things I had in mind. Why?
You can fool all the people ... once! Part II
Last week I was talking about a practical joke I played on the guys in my barracks. Some of them actually believed I had jumped off the second floor balcony and flown over to the supply building, 150 feet away.
You can fool all the people ... once!
If you play a practical joke on someone, and he believes you, leave it at that. Never go back and tell him the truth. If you do, he’ll never believe a word you say.
Go ahead, declare martial law for all I care, Part II
YOUR TURN
Last week I claimed I could prove that martial law isn’t what the media thinks it is. I made that claim because I lived under martial law for 30 months while I was stationed on Okinawa.
Go ahead, declare martial law for all I care
At regular intervals I switch on the news and the scene flashes to someplace in Africa.
Take a moment now and then to count your blessings
Today is Saturday, 17 July 2010, and I’m sitting here at my keyboard taking my own advice — counting my blessings.
How I learned to fly, Part 2
Last week we were wondering where really crazy ideas come from, and how come they arrive full blown and ready to go.
How I learned to fly when I was a teenager
Ever ask yourself where really wild ideas come from? And how come they arrive full blown?
