Those were the Days

WE ALL have had the best possible ride anyone could ever have had. Because most of us were born after the “New Deal” had become a done deal, we all enjoyed incredible opportunities. Thanks to the Fair Labor Standards Act, we didn’t have to work ourselves into the ground for a poor man’s wage. We all could actually live on what we made. And thanks to widespread unionization, even if we were in a non-union shop, we still got taken care of better-because a good employee might have jumped to a union shop if he or she wasn’t treated well. Your and my parents, who suffered through both a awful Depression and then WW 2, did everything in their power to make sure that we all never had to suffer what they had gone through. The post-WW 2 era saw American opportunity for everyone who was willing to work for the chance, including minorities and women in due time.

Fired!: Tales of the Canned, Canceled, Downsized, and Dismissed

Me and San Miguel

Ah yes, I remember the day of drinking my first San Miguel. It was the beer of choice of the navy in my sailor days. Back in 1956 I was introduced to San Miguel in Puerto Rico while stationed at Roosevelt Roads and immediately I enjoyed the taste as much as any other blue blooded bell bottom sailor or sea going marine.  It was available wherever the navy fleet went, Puerto Rico, Hong Kong, Guam and of course the Philippines. Even to this very day I remember that first beer that had been chilled and the sweet taste to my thirsty throat. I hit the jackpot!

How to Make Perfect Wines and Spirits From Home: A Recipe Book

USS Forrestal not forgotten

The grand old lady USS Forrestal was launched 11 December 1954 by Newport News Shipbuilding and Drydock Co., Newport News, Virginia, , sponsored by Josephine Forrestal, widow of Secretary Forrestal; and commissioned 1 October 1955, Captain R. L. Johnson in command. She was the first American aircraft carrier to be constructed with an angled flight deck, steam catapult, and landing signal lights, as opposed to having them installed after launching.

In succeeding tours of duty in the Mediterranean, the Forrestal visited many ports to "show the flag" and take on board dignitaries and the general public. For military observers she staged underway demonstrations to illustrate her capacity to bring air power to and from the sea in military operations on any scale. She was open for visitors at many ports, as well as taking part in the patrol and training schedule of the 6th Fleet. The grand old lady made history in November 1963 when on Lt. James H. Flatley III and his crew members, Lt. Cmdr. "Smokey" Stovall and Aviation Machinist's Mate 1st Class Ed Brennan, made 21 full-stop landings and takeoffs in a C-130 Hercules aboard the ship.

The USS Forrestal was decommissioned 11 September 1993 at Pier 6E in Philadelphia, and was stricken from the Naval Vessel Register the same day. After being stricken, she was heavily stripped to support the rest of the carrier fleet. On June 15, 2010 the Forrestal departed Naval Station Newport in Newport, Rhode Island, where she had been stored since 1998, under tow for the inactive ship storage facility in Philadelphia. The Forrestal is now tied up at Pier 4 in Philadelphia, next to the USS John F. Kennedy, and it is expected the ship will remain there until the Navy decides her final disposition which will consist of either being sold for scrap or sunk as a target and/or an artificial reef.
Sailors to the End : The Deadly Fire on the USS Forrestal and the Heroes Who Fought It

Where Did President Roosevelt Go?

Since I was born in the depths of the Great Depression and today’s recession reminds me of my early years…which brings me to my parents, Ed and Maybelle. Since they knew ‘hard times’ both my Mom and Dad were New Deal Franklin D. Roosevelt Democrats. Yes I remember the days when my shoe soles had holes, a nickel ice cream cone was a big treat and there never seem to be enough money in the family money glass jar. In those days there was no such thing as a mid-day snack attack. Of we knew that President Herbert Hoover and his political party were for the rich Wall Street bankers, while President Roosevelt was for the common man, the working man... at least that’s what my Dad had told me. There was no such thing as special interest or focus groups... or computers, TVs, MTV, etc. My folks and their friends all idolized the president. And no one knew our president then was wheel chaired bound. As a young boy I listened faithfully along with my parents to the president’s fireside chats as he cheered on Americans to better times whether it was in the depths depression or in dark days of wartime. What wisdom this man had! In my young mind he seemed to know all the right answers and it seemed as if he was talking directly to my family but of course he wasn’t. I now recall no one much liked his wife Eleanor since was too socialist for Americans taste. Besides she was a busybody and wore silly looking hats. Plus she talked strange to most and had socialist ideas! With a charisma president encouraging them on everyone rolled up their shirt sleeves to win a war and to build a prosperous and a confident America. Since I was in childcare as my folks worked for the navy I can remember the unforgettable “Rosy the Riveter” doing her job - building tanks, airplanes and ships while her men folks were far away from America’s shores. When I was a young second grader I did my part by collecting scrap metal for the war effort and saving my nickels and dimes to buy War Bonds... and metal drives to build the tanks, ships...

Of course there was no war on drugs – only air warrens that come by in the darkness of the night and then inform my Dad to pull down the air raid curtains which were very heavy and made of the color green and sometimes the neighbor’s dog trashing his Victory Garden and boy there was hell to pay. Furious and shaking his head my old man somehow gotten his hands on a one shoot BB Gun and lay in wait for wandering dog.  I now can recall he’d have me as his lookout as he hid from sight  from our trespasser, when I spotted this ‘god damn dog’ as my old man called him like an alien spaceship flew down from the sky my Dad would take aim with his trusty BB Gun and shot the dog in the rear. Guys remember this was long before TV and the radio entertainers were either drafted or entertaining the troops. But sometimes we would gather around the family radio and listen to Tokyo Rose...Looking back 60 some years I guess it was our entertainment. Then, no TV  to watch or hot pizza to be delivered – can you imagine that! Oh before I forget to tell you the BB Gun had been given to me but I was never allowed to use it because it might put out my eye.

Since the Great Depression had passed and the war was on it’s last breath and then the day came when I was nine years old seeing the American flag flying at half-mast. Looking up to the 48 stars flag I wondered why this was so; as I had always seen our flag flying at the very top. Upon reaching home both my parents were sadden, my Mom in tears and my Dad who had gotten the day off from work at the Mare Island Navy Shipyard, he was wondering what the country would do without the common man President Roosevelt. The good news was by then we were out of the hard times, we were winning the war against our enemies and better times were ahead. And by the way who was this new fellow Harry S. Truman? There was a happy ending coming soon – the war would be over!

A Visit to the White House

Turning the pages of time back when America was innocent when I fulfilled a longtime dream of mine. A time when my only worry was what was for chow that evening. Bored seeing New York City or even New Jersey, Paul Huff and I decided to drive from where we were stationed then, McGuire AFB to Washington, DC. The city of government where carved stone buildings that reflect architectural styles neoclassical, Georgian, gothic, the White House, Thomas Jefferson Memorial, the US Capitol and many other well-known structures. After an eight hour drive we reached our destination, as we drove closer to DC back in the Spring of 1956 I could see the rows of Japanese cherry blossom trees. Not surprising as two young sailors we weren’t interested in the performing arts and music but really keyed up to take in the sights and if we were very lucky spare time with any girls who might spend time with young over sexed sailors. Somehow the girls avoided us like the plague. Please remember this was time before video tapes, freeways, fast food restaurants, speedy TV dinners, or big government, big corporations, Space Needle, Space Shuttle… but when gasoline cost 0.25 cents per gallon, and you could have a decent hamburger cost less than one dollar, which included a coke and french fries… no chaos in our lives.

Finding a modest hotel room without a bathroom we checked in for the night… after a good night’s sleep we were ready to sightsee our country’s capitol. Jumping out of bed I knew it was going to be a very long day. No Internet to browse – if you’d had ask someone then they’d probably answered then, “What the hell is an Internet!” After having breakfast Paul and I went to the White House – it was then the home of President Eisenhower. Yes, as I recall now he was a bit hard headed nevertheless, his two terms were peaceful, and the country was prosperous. Why? Ike let the country run itself… Nothing like stepping into a hot frying pan! He was no dummy. As we approached the White House it was an scene to remember now, there were no fences, gates, metal detectors, no silent alarms, no guys we didn’t find guards like our now action heroes Arnold Schwarzenegger or Jackie Chan guarding the president. As set here 50 some years later I am sure the president was totally safe. Besides it was the weekend and the US government was closed for the weekend. The word infrastructure was not invented yet.

Joe DiMaggio where have you gone?

I remember in my boyhood I collected baseball cards of Joe DiMaggio and all the baseball heroes of that day. I carefully stored my treasure collection in a shoe box under my bed. As we readied to move from Salem, Oregon to Seattle, Washington and then one day after school I discovered it was gone! It was no longer under my bed's hiding place! My treasure collection had been given to the son of a neighbor. Oh, Joe DiMaggio where have you gone?