Nuff Said

Is this your kid?

A Short Story From The Bang Gang Newsletter

A new retiree greeter at Wal-Mart just couldn't seem to get to work on time. Every day 5, 10, 15 minutes late. But he was a good worker, real sharp, good with people so the Boss was in a quandary about how to deal with it.

Finally, one day he called him into the office for a talk. "Charley, I have to tell you, I like your work ethic, you do a bang-up job, but your being late so often is
quite bothersome."

"Yes, I know Boss, and I am working on it."

"Well good, you are a team player. That's what I like to hear. It's odd though, your coming in late. I know you're retired from the Navy. What did they say if you came in late there?"

"They said, Good morning, Admiral."

Initially, The Old Salt thought the story could be about one of the levels of Chief Petty Officer found in the Navy. But he soon realized it could not be one of them, because they "are" the example.

Here Is The Story

A few days ago, my son-in-law, Luke, CW3 promotable, a US Army Apache Pilot and a few of his peers flew to Lowe's Motor Speedway in Charlotte to recon the speedway for a US Army Fly Over for the Coca-Cola 600 during the Memorial Day Weekend.

To their surprise, upon arrival they were greeted with a hero's welcome, they each got to take a few laps around the track in a retired race car and they were served the lunch of a lifetime...he had creme brulee for dessert! Luke's race car driver found it hard to believe that Apache pilots would find a few laps around a race track awesome considering they fly attack helicopters. Our daughter Jac has assured everyone that this will have Luke smiling for weeks to come!

The picture shows Luke in the Team Red Bull car....That's actually one of his best smiles.

Remember, should you watch the US Army Fly Over of Apache helicopters at the Cocoa-Cola 600, Charlotte, NC on Memorial Day Weekend, my son-in-law, Luke, will be piloting one of them.




An Apache, on the job, searching for bad guys in Iraq.

Florida Incentive, Circa 1842

This is, at least to me, a little known part of history. I love the concept: The federal government requires you to own a firearm before you can own the land.

The Florida Armed Occupation Act of 1842 (5 U.S. Statutes 502) was passed to encourage the settlement of Florida. The Florida District General Land Offices were responsible for the handling of claims made under this Act.

The Act granted 160 acres of unsettled land south of the line separating townships 9 and 10 South (a line running East/West about three miles north of Palatka and about ten miles south of Newnansville) to any head of a family under three conditions:

(1) the land selected could not be within two miles of a military post;

(2) the settler or his heirs must own and be able to bear arms and live on the land for five years; and

(3) the settler must clear five acres, and build a house.

Explicit Directions

"And the Lord spake, saying, "First shalt thou take out the Holy Pin. Then shalt thou count to three, no more, no less. Three shall be the number thou shalt count, and the number of the counting shall be three. Four shalt thou not count, neither count thou two, excepting that thou then proceed to three. Five is right out. Once the number three, being the third number, be reached, then lobbest thou thy Holy Hand Grenade of Antioch towards thy foe, who, being naughty in my sight, shall snuff it."

Monty Python and the Holy Grail

The Graduate And His Proud Little Brother

When summer is over, he will be a full fledged kindergartner.

Look out world, here he comes!!!















Here is the proud little brother, Will.

He got to stay out of preschool to watch his big brother graduate.

He is wearing his first tie.

He was very proud of that tie because he looked just like his Dad.

Golden Knights Headed Home

On Saturday, 19 April, 2008 the Ft Bragg MWR had their opening ceremony for the various children's sports they sponsor.

The Army Golden Knights participated in the ceremony by jumping into the sports field in front of the crowd.

This picture of father and son leaving the field together says it all.

HerdBall Update

A picture of a four month old and a picture of a four year old. It looks like he is still having a good time, as he continues to learn the fine art of HerdBall. At the speed some of those kids were moving it was hard to believe they are at the lowest level of the game. He is having fun, but his team, the Panthers lost by about 6 to 1 and the other team's players scored all of the points.

Looking For A Challenge

In an Herdball outfit just like this, on a flat playing fields with nets on each end, careers are often started. Of course some of those careers are shorter than others.

I heard by way of the cellular grapevine hardwired into Nana's ear that our hero took a hard hit and teared up with some sound effects for about 20 minutes. But after talking with his Mom he decided to get back on the field rather than discuss it with "Blue Daddy."

A few minutes later he came off the field to report that everyone out there was having a good time. They rest of the day was more successful.

Hang in there little buddy, you have some competitive instincts but you can make some good friends on the field and have a good time.

Another Work Of Art In Progress

Newbie is four weeks old in this picture and working hard on his smile among other things.

This smile was for his Mom.

Now I have to get one from him for me.

And Once More Into The Breach

A Movie And A Trip To The Fish Park

We started out this afternoon with a trip to the movies. Horton Hears A Who was the starring attraction. We were accompanied by two grandchildren, one age three the other age four. Both sat there and watched the entire movie basically moving only to ingest popcorn or to take a sip of my soda. They also liked some of the previews. The three year old was particularly impressed by the scenes showing sword fighters working on Narnia, The Caspian Prince. He said "wow" and then told his Aunt that the movie was not scary and he would be able to watch Narnia.

After we had some eats at Moe's, we went to play at "The Fish Park." I told my three year old grandson that it should be "The No Fish Park." He said "Its The Fish Park silly." So looking at the second picture you can see why it is called "The Fish Park."

We are now just starting to hit some summertime temperatures. You can tell by how the little people are sucking down their drinks. To say nothing of the red faces and missing shirts. The shirts started to come off within minutes of hitting the park.

Here is newbie in the arms of Nana. He was paying attention real good so I thought I would see how he looked in a straw hat. He comes from a couple of lines of "Florida Crackers" and "Gators." He didn't seem to mind having the hat on. As long as he is not hungry he is a real mild mannered dude.

Here is Newbie in the arms of his aunt who is visiting this weekend from NC. She is pregnant and will be delivering a granddaughter at the end of May. We will be in NC for that event.



Here is another shot of Nana holding Newbie at The Fish Park. Like I mentioned, he is a happy little fellow as long as he is fed. Regardless of what position you hold him in he likes to pick up his head and look around. I haven't seen a grin yet but a couple of times he sure looked like he was thinking about it. I probably just haven't told him the right joke yet.

Here is the older brother. He had a minor difficulty yesterday and again so he did not go to the movie. However, him and his Mom met us at Moe's for some Mexican type food. Then we went to the park to burn off some steam.


I would say all those in this family who attended "Horton Hears A Who" would recommend the movie.

Hope Y'all Had As Great Of An Easter As We Did

Here is a picture of the back porch. There are Easter eggs on the round table, the lounge on the left and also under the window on the right. You may not be able to see all the details in the picture.


There are also a couple of eggs visible in the grass. The eggs had to be put in the shade as the sun would melt any candy inside the egg.


This is Will searching for eggs. He is just now getting into it but we have to be careful because he has an older brother who is slightly faster and has done this more times.



This is Gus. He is almost a professional. Not quite though, he only got one of the eggs over his head without help. Although he was fast, he sometimes ran past closer ones to get the one he was looking at.



As you can see by their Easter baskets, both of them managed a good haul at the Annual Cheez Easter Egg Hunt. Now it's up to Mom and Dad to be the bad guys and make sure they don't eat all of that stuff all at once.


Newbie was not allowed to roam much. Between his Mom and Nana his feet never touched the ground. He spent his day taking on stores, blowing sanitaries and mooring alongside the two mother ships that were available. He must have had a real good time, because except for a short case of hiccups, we hardly knew he was there.

We had such a good time this weekend, we are going to try and do it again next weekend when even more family members can be there.

Aloha

Riding With His Lady Friend

Every guy knows that riding is much more fun as a pair. Even a four year old can figure that one out.

His grandpa, locally known as "The Safety Officer," will have to have a discussion with him on helmets.

Snoozin

Newbie likes it whenever I drop by. He likes to prove that he can sleep anywhere. Of course He realizes that I am not much value when hunger strikes.
Occasionally he raises his head to look at me but at this point sleep is highest on his priorities.

Check This Out

These two rascals are Newbie's older brothers. I would love to tell you what they are doing but no-one has the foggiest idea, including their mom who took the picture. They are ready to show Newbie the ropes.

Todays Prayer

Lord,
Keep your arm around my shoulder
and your hand over my mouth.

Now In Port, Moored Alongside The Mothership

Here is the Beautiful Bride holding her youngest grandson. On 29 February he left the hospital where he was born and transferred to his new home port. Aside from one self-inflicted scratch on his cheek he seems to be in 4.0 condition.

Notice that he has his head up and is looking at me while I take his picture. I don't know a lot about really little tykes, but this little fellow tracked me with his eyes and by turning his head as I continued taking his picture. He was like a little fire control radar following my movements.

I remember years ago how the Mark 37 torpedoes would track on the below-decks watch, or anyone who walked by, when they made their rounds through the Forward Torpedo Room. The rudder and depth controls would shift position in an attempt to keep the torpedo pointed at the sound source. The torpedo was strapped into the skid and could not actually move but not from lack of effort on the torpedo's part.

I was really impressed by Newbies' effort to track my movements.

Welcome Aboard Newbie

The Old Salt and His Beautiful Bride are shown here welcoming the newest member of their crew. Launched today at 0832 hrs, he displaced 8 lbs 12 oz with a keel length of 19 inches. So far this recruit seems to be laid back and relatively peaceful. However, may I point out that recruits have been known to demonstrate attitudinal changes during their first few weeks in service.

May he have "Fair Winds and Following Seas" throughout his life.

Happy Birthday Ise & Cheez

Today is our birthday. One of us is 64, the other is 4. I will leave it to the reader to figure out who is who. Sometimes you can't really tell by observation.

Happy Birthday to you,
Happy Birthday to you,
You look like a monkey,
And you smell like one too.