MSGID: 1:153/757.0 5091cc6f   
   REPLY: 1:135/392 4a762b14   
   TZUTC: -0700   
   CHRS: LATIN-1 2   
   > It was made by a shipmate long before FB was a gleam in Zuchkerberg's   
   > eye.   
   >> What, one of the past crewmen made the site for y'all & whoever cares to,   
   > donates to keep it going?   
   > I don't think its been updated in many years.   
      
   Just nice to know it's there, eh? A reminder of times, & cohorts, past?   
      
   >> You weren't in the middle of a big war, were you, or were you?   
   > Just a little thing called Vietnam.   
      
   Never officially a war, as that would mean you lost one & that's not good    
   propaganda, I believe. I think y'all won Korea, but it's not a "war" either.   
      
   Kinda lost the Bay of Ham, though. . . well, that's coin toss, maybe. . . :)    
      
   > I was stateside the whole time.  I wasn't overseas, something about   
   > giving aid and comfort to the enemy and wanting for us to win.  :)   
      
   You were dating a North Viet girl?   
      
   > There's a small island down there that was used for target practice.   
   > Most of the Second Fleet would go there on a regular basis as a group.   
   > I started out in a 5" gun, wrestling around big shells and helping load   
   > the gun.   
   > Then I got a promotion the the aft 8" gun, again in the shell room,   
   >moving shells from the elevator into the breech.  From there I moved up to the   
   > powder room.  Those were packed with gun powder and relatively light.   
   > Then I was moved up to be a telephone talker.   
   > That was a rough job.   
   > I sat on the deck with a mic and headphones relating orders from the   
   > control room.  So many degrees to this and that position, etc.   
   > No more dancing with shells and powder cases.   
   > I asked how I got there and told the other liked my smooth Southern   
   > accent,  :)   
   > The training* cruises just happened to during winter up north and we were   
   > in the 70s and 80s in January-February.  What are the odds?   
   > One year we were sent to New Orleans when there had been reports a VC   
   > gunboat was seen on the Mississippi.  And just so happened to be during Mardi   
   > Gras.  What are the odds of that as well?  :)   
      
   Jeeze, no wonder the army & marine boys resent yas! *G*   
      
   They're crawling around in sub-zero mud, & you're enjoying sunshine & bikinis!   
      
   > One story you might like.   
   > We went to Montego Bay, Jamaica for a few days, after visiting Gitmo in   
   > "Cuber".   
   > Pot was popular among some crew members.   
   > Walking along a street one day I saw some fellow shipmates across the   
   > street buy some off a sidewalk dealer.   
   > They walked away and the "salesman" pointed them out to a cop who was   
   > catty-corner away.   
   > The cop stopped the guys, had a short conversation and took back the pot   
   > along with a full dollars.  He walked back to the dealer, handed over the   
   > pot and went back across the street.   
   > Shortly a couple more came walking along and the same thing happened.   
   > Turnout they were cohorts, of course.   
   > The dealer sold the pot, the cop busted them, took a bribe and it   
   > continued, several times over.   
      
   Did you tell your shipmates about the scam? That's scammy as heck -- not   
   unsurprising, though. . .   
      
   > *The only time we faced anyone firing back at us was on one of these   
   > cruises.   
   > A popular past time was watching other ships fire, with a few friendly   
   > wagers on how close they came to the target.   
   > A group of us were on deck when suddenly the ship made a very sharp turn   
   > to starboard (that's "right" to landlubbers).  Now my ship was large and   
   > this sudden turn threw us to the deck.  We were getting up and wondering what   
   > in the world was going on when we   
   > Someone had made a mistake in aiming and instead of the island they were   
   > targeting us!   
   > The shell landed just to our aft and made a big splash.   
   > If the helmsman hadn't steered as quickly as he did, and the ship turned   
   > when it should, that shell would have gone down a smoke stack, which would   
   > have put a dent in our otherwise enjoyable day.   
      
   Oh, I ken starboard & port; I use them exclusively when on the water.   
      
   I know, to many people port is the heavy wine that you drink after dinner   
   wi8th cigars, while the ladies enjoy their tea, & it makes many a genteel man   
   run  audio tests on his waste disposal system.   
      
   I prefer sherry as my dessertif.   
      
   So not always a simple & fun tropical cruise, eh? Lucky you had a solid &   
   alert guy on the job there, eh?   
      
   Would it have sunk yas, or blown you up, or just make a huge mess to fix &    
   clean up?   
      
   /George   
      
   --- BBBS/Li6 v4.10 Toy-6   
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