The End of Summer Random Discussion for TPBM (29)

While I was stationed on the Caron we went on a top-sekrit mission, and none of us peons on the ship were told where we were headed. All we knew was, we left Norfolk, headed west through the Panama Canal, stopped in Panama City to refuel and get supplies (while I got drunker than I've ever been in my life, and a ship-mate showed me how to cheat on the slot machines the bar had -- he used to work for the company that made the slot machines and knew a trick). Then we headed to some foreign land where we just spent the next three months sitting three months off the coast.

About two months into the mission, us enlisted men were given the rare opportunity of calling loved ones back in the States using MARS. When it came my turn, I called my parents. That's when I found out where we were. My mother told me! She'd read about it in the March 22, 1982 edition of Newsweek!

We were three miles offshore from San Salvador, El Salvador during some really tense, touchy election period back then, standing by in case we were needed to move in and stop a coup or something. When we finally headed home from that mission, us peons were called into the control room where a CPO explained to us how sensitive the mission was and that we were to NOT tell anyone where he had been or what we had been doing (and, officially, we still hadn't been told that ourselves). It was all I could do to keep a straight face while he was giving the speech... I have that Newsweek article in my Caron photo album/scrapbook.

A few things I remember about those three months we spent down there were the heat lightning (lots of lights flashing throughout the sky for no apparent reason), the great white sharks that the guys fishing off the fantail were hooking by the dozens, and movie nights where they'd aim a projector at the hanger door on the fantail's helo deck. It wasn't uncommon during movie nights for a small "fishing" boat to putter up to us and, using a loud speaker, tell us to go away.

puddlepirate44 wrote in post #8713661
I tend to think of THIS

I can so picture you on a tall ship.


I've got to go, we have a class reunion shoot tonight. Groceries need to bought and at least one card made and put in the mail before getting ready. Hmmmm, think I better charge some batteries too.

Howdy from Houston!

Enjoying some Gumbo at the airport during a 3 hour layover. I'll be home tonight!

Permagrin wrote in post #8711504
I have to show you a shot. Tif took it. It's something I would have NEVER thought of doing (the bride's parents are the ones in the foreground). I love it! It just chokes me up. *proud of offspring moment*

Beautiful Shot Tiff (and Lisa for proccessing and posting it)

Belmondo wrote in post #8711796
Okay. Maybe this is a question for Puddle Dan.

I want to make some hot and sour soup, and found a few recipes online. This is the list of ingredients that seems to be common to most of them, but I'm not familiar with some of these things. In fact, a couple of them sound like something you might have made up.

• 1 cake tofu (fresh, if possible)
  
• 2 ounces pork tenderloin
  
• Marinade:
  
• 1 teaspoon soy sauce
  
• 1/2 teaspoon sesame oil
  
• 1 teaspoon tapioca starch (or cornstarch)
  
• Other:
  
• 1/2 cup bamboo shoots
  
• 2 tablespoons black fungus (Wood Ear) or Cloud Ear fungus
  
• (or 3 - 4 Chinese dried black mushrooms or fresh mushrooms)
  
• 1 small handful dried lily buds
  
• 6 cups water (or 6 cups water and 1 cup Campbell's chicken broth)*
  
• 1 teaspoon salt, or to taste
  
• 1 teaspoon granulated sugar
  
• 2 tablespoons soy sauce
  
• 2 tablespoons red rice vinegar, white rice vinegar, or red wine vinegar
  
• 1 teaspoon sesame oil
  
• 1 Tbsp cornstarch dissolved in 1/4 cup water
  
• 1 egg, beaten

Huh????

any good Asian market should carry the ingredients.

mtnphtgrphr wrote in post #8712886
G'Morning ya'll...

I should have a few pictures to share later today. I went on a field trip with Alex's class to an apple orchard... think I might have a couple to share...

Send positive thoughts Mike's way... Mike's brother died 9 years ago 9/24, and he's having a rough go of it the past couple of days... he and his brother were very close... his brother was 31 when he died..

It's raining here... again... GAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!!!​!!!!!!! As if we haven't had enough rain!!!!!!!!!!!

Give Mike an axtra hug Jenn. Sounds like he needs it.

Just a fly by check in. see you laters.

thomascanty wrote in post #8713725
While I was stationed on the Caron we went on a top-sekrit mission, and none of us peons on the ship were told where we were headed. All we knew was, we left Norfolk, headed west through the Panama Canal, stopped in Panama City to refuel and get supplies (while I got drunker than I've ever been in my life, and a ship-mate showed me how to cheat on the slot machines the bar had -- he used to work for the company that made the slot machines and knew a trick). Then we headed to some foreign land where we just spent the next three months sitting three months off the coast.

About two months into the mission, us enlisted men were given the rare opportunity of calling loved ones back in the States using MARS. When it came my turn, I called my parents. That's when I found out where we were. My mother told me! She'd read about it in the March 22, 1982 edition of Newsweek!

We were three miles offshore from San Salvador, El Salvador during some really tense, touchy election period back then, standing by in case we were needed to move in and stop a coup or something. When we finally headed home from that mission, us peons were called into the control room where a CPO explained to us how sensitive the mission was and that we were to NOT tell anyone where he had been or what we had been doing (and, officially, we still hadn't been told that ourselves). It was all I could do to keep a straight face while he was giving the speech... I have that Newsweek article in my Caron photo album/scrapbook.

A few things I remember about those three months we spent down there were the heat lightning (lots of lights flashing throughout the sky for no apparent reason), the great white sharks that the guys fishing off the fantail were hooking by the dozens, and movie nights where they'd aim a projector at the hanger door on the fantail's helo deck. It wasn't uncommon during movie nights for a small "fishing" boat to putter up to us and, using a loud speaker, tell us to go away.

We did something very similar at an "undisclosed" location. We sat off the coast of this country for almost 4 months...first time I had seen beer aboard a US Navy vessel. After the first 30 days, each crewman was given 2 cans of warm Budweiser to do with as they pleased....provided they were not on watch for at least 8 hours, you also had only 24 hours to turn in your empty cans. Unlike the Budweiser you can purchase here in the states....this stuff was treated with formaldehyde. Talk about something giving you a headache.

Woolburr wrote in post #8714600
We did something very similar at an "undisclosed" location. We sat off the coast of this country for almost 4 months...first time I had seen beer aboard a US Navy vessel. After the first 30 days, each crewman was given 2 cans of warm Budweiser to do with as they pleased....provided they were not on watch for at least 8 hours, you also had only 24 hours to turn in your empty cans. Unlike the Budweiser you can purchase here in the states....this stuff was treated with formaldehyde. Talk about something giving you a headache.

My grandmother was routinely given beer when she was in the army... apparently it was the best thing to drink because whereever she was the water was horrible... I might not be remembering the story right but I was told that was why she always drank warm beer when I was a kid... she drank the tall cans of Country Club beer... warm... any beer to me is pretty icky...

Back from the races...

puddlepirate44 wrote in post #8713144
Those are great, John! Thanks! I never had the pleasure of serving on more than one vessel. Went to the Citrus out of boot camp, went to QM-A school in Orlando and was sent back.

I'll bet your ship's name gave rise to some funny nicknames or comments...

Becky N wrote in post #8713212
Most of my stories have to do with birthing babies, somehow I think most of you would have little to no interest. Most of those stories are routine we had less than a hand full of anything out of the norm. Thankfully.

Oh come on, you have t have something...

thomascanty wrote in post #8713588
I didn't share any photos of the ship I served on in the Navy (USS Caron DD970). I have several of my own photos, but they aren't scanned into the computer, so here are some I found online:

In her better days:
http://navysite.de/dd/​dd970_2.jpg

Dying:
http://navysite.de/dd/​dd970_4.jpg

Going down:
http://navysite.de/dd/​dd970_7.jpg

thomascanty wrote in post #8713620
Here's another site with pictures of the Caron and an explanation of how it was sunk.

At least your ship went down with some dignity, not the ignominious ending that my submarine had.

Click on the these three links, read the text and scroll down for the pictures.

http://users.infomagic​.net/~grog/Yellow.htm

http://users.infomagic​.net/~grog/377Scrap.ht​m

http://users.infomagic​.net/~grog/377Submerge​.htm

thomascanty wrote in post #8713684
I liked the last one that John linked to. Looks like a Navy grey speed boat!

Navy gray yes but not a speed boat. It was a type of landing craft...

puddlepirate44 wrote in post #8713698
Those were cool. I had an old chief Boatswains mate that did river patrols in 'Nam. He had a bunch of pics like that.

The river patrol guys got the cool, water jet powered PBRs. Now those were fast!

Woolburr wrote in post #8714600
We did something very similar at an "undisclosed" location. We sat off the coast of this country for almost 4 months...first time I had seen beer aboard a US Navy vessel. After the first 30 days, each crewman was given 2 cans of warm Budweiser to do with as they pleased....provided they were not on watch for at least 8 hours, you also had only 24 hours to turn in your empty cans. Unlike the Budweiser you can purchase here in the states....this stuff was treated with formaldehyde. Talk about something giving you a headache.

We got formaldehyde treated beer in Vietnam... That stuff was horrible.

When I was getting released from active duty, I was assigned to the SLJO at the Naval Supply Center in Seattle while my paperwork was being processed. One of our assignments was doing something (I don't remember what) in a huge warehouse. One part of the warehouse was where the beer going over seas was stored. There were hundreds of pallets of beer in there...

mtnphtgrphr wrote in post #8714629
My grandmother was routinely given beer when she was in the army... apparently it was the best thing to drink because whereever she was the water was horrible... I might not be remembering the story right but I was told that was why she always drank warm beer when I was a kid... she drank the tall cans of Country Club beer... warm... any beer to me is pretty icky...

Wow... When I pulled out the big tool box out of the shed for Heather to take over to her dad, the was an empty Meister Brau can underneath it. Do they even make that stuff any more?

Permagrin wrote in post #8711504
I have to show you a shot. Tif took it. It's something I would have NEVER thought of doing (the bride's parents are the ones in the foreground). I love it! It just chokes me up. *proud of offspring moment*

Beautiful shot. Absolutely beautiful. And very emotional.

Belmondo wrote in post #8711817
The one that really puzzles me is the small handful of dried lily buds. Where do I find a small hand?

puddlepirate44 wrote in post #8713698
Uh... Lisa and I have a senior shoot this afternoon up at Silver Falls State Park. Beauty area.

Good luck! Have fun!

T.D. wrote in post #8714182
Howdy from Houston!

Enjoying some Gumbo at the airport during a 3 hour layover. I'll be home tonight!

YAY! Travel safe!

Wonders if I"ve been to Silver falls .hummmmmmmmmmm I think I have if its next to gold falls

Happy Saturday night folks .Hope you have a great one , I'm just chillin the night away and listening to some sorta a concert or something going on outside , dont mind till I wanta sleep ..lol

We walked today in the Santa Clara Swiss Days Parade with 10 of our adoptable dogs. After the parade, we went to the park where the celebration was being held, and stayed there for a few hours with all the dogs, meeting people, and just having fun.

A young girl there saw Jaxson and just fell in love with him. She sat and loved on him for quite some time, then called her mom to come down and meet him.
We talked for a while, and by the time we were ready to go, they had decided to adopt Jaxson!

It actually all worked out rather well.. Jaxson can't be adopted yet, because he hasn't been neutered, but they can't take him yet because she's going to be out of town for a little while, and they have some fence work to do before they can take him. The timing worked out perfectly.

We'll just keep him here till everything is done, then they'll take him home. YAY for Jaxson!!

JWright wrote in post #8714757
Wow... When I pulled out the big tool box out of the shed for Heather to take over to her dad, the was an empty Meister Brau can underneath it. Do they even make that stuff any more?

I don't think it's been made for some many years... at least I never see it...

cfpackerfan wrote in post #8714920
We walked today in the Santa Clara Swiss Days Parade with 10 of our adoptable dogs. After the parade, we went to the park where the celebration was being held, and stayed there for a few hours with all the dogs, meeting people, and just having fun.

A young girl there saw Jaxson and just fell in love with him. She sat and loved on him for quite some time, then called her mom to come down and meet him.
We talked for a while, and by the time we were ready to go, they had decided to adopt Jaxson!

It actually all worked out rather well.. Jaxson can't be adopted yet, because he hasn't been neutered, but they can't take him yet because she's going to be out of town for a little while, and they have some fence work to do before they can take him. The timing worked out perfectly.

We'll just keep him here till everything is done, then they'll take him home. YAY for Jaxson!!

YEAH JAXSON!!!!!!!!!

It sure has been slow in here today, nice for catching up.

CAT, great news on the dog front.

We are off to party the night away with a bunch of friends, then tomorrow is a big family day, with my whole family coming over to overwhelm my in-laws with an huge dose of our special kinda weirdness.

The T-meister today:

BearLeeAlive wrote in post #8715080
We are off to party the night away with a bunch of friends, then tomorrow is a big family day, with my whole family coming over to overwhelm my in-laws with an huge dose of our special kinda weirdness.

I love when that happens.

Skrim17 wrote in post #8715081
The T-meister today:

Those are GREAT Crissa! ^^ that one is my favorite.