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LATE SIXTIES GATHERING: 500K IN VIETNAM, 400K AT WOODSTOCK

July 21, 2022 by

A late Sixties gathering in the air: We would take off at max gross weight 6000 pounds light on fuel. At the first refueling we would fill up to the inflight max gross weight to head North.   Refueling here was a “piece of cake.”  Try it at night and in the weather and was […]

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CHANCE MEETING WITH A F4 FIGHTER PILOT

June 3, 2022 by

A chance meeting along the banks of the Willamette River in downtown Portland was the best break I’ve had in a while. I met a man named Jim after I asked about his dog. Dogs are a good icebreaker, and we shared a common breed, a doodle dog. One thing led to another, and I […]

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McNAMARA’S MORONS? WE’RE ALL MORONS WITH GUN LAWS

May 30, 2022 by

McNamara’s Morons was a government program for filling the enlisted ranks during the Vietnam War. But, that wasn’t the official name of the program. In 1967, Defense Secretary Robert McNamara lowered military recruiting standards as part of a program called Project 100,000. Doesn’t Project 100,000 sound better than McNamara’s Morons.

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CHECKING OUT THEN BEFORE CHECKING BACK IN NOW

July 21, 2021 by

Checking out, dropping out, call it what you will, but leave the back door open. Why the back door? Because you may want to check back in and avoid the scrutiny out front. The nice picture above was not taken at an Amish farm last week, or a pioneer homestead in the 1860’s. Nope, none […]

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BETTER DAYS AND THE RANDOM MOMENTS THAT INSPIRE THEM

March 23, 2021 by

We had a table discussion about historic moments that led to better days. Four adults, three of whom don’t like things called table discussion. Me: But we’re at the table. One in the group gave their version of a history and moved on. But another in the group made a correction. The rest of group […]

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VOLUNTEER ARMY SUCKER, ENTHUSIASTIC LOSER

September 9, 2020 by

At nineteen I told my dad I was joining the service, that I was looking at the Army or Navy because they had two year enlistments. My feeling was I’d know all I needed to know after two years, like any nineteen year old know it all since I already knew everything. Nineteen year olds […]

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ACCEPTABLE LOSSES? WHAT DOES ‘IT IS WHAT IT IS’ MEAN

August 6, 2020 by

The idea of acceptable losses takes a sharp turn on the anniversary of Hiroshima. The death count from 75 years back is a consistent 140,000 in one fell swoop, give or take a few thousand. Atomicarchive.com breaks it down. Counting war death from a distance of time leaves some leeway for acceptable losses?

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WORK HARD, HELP OTHERS, SHOW HOW

May 28, 2020 by

The idea of ‘work hard’ sounds like a Pep Talk. “First we work, then we work harder, and if the job’s not done, we come back and do it again until it’s finished.” It works in a sports environment better than an office meeting. Why is that?

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HOPEFUL PEOPLE ARE HELPFUL PEOPLE

November 14, 2019 by

I can’t agree with the conflict between millennials and baby boomers. That’s not what hopeful people do. You won’t agree either by the end of this post. I’ll start at the boomer beginning and go forward from there. You’re going to read some uncomfortable truths, but they’ll make sense and smooth out by the end.

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BOOMER BUBBLE: LIVING IN A PORCUPINE SUIT

October 8, 2019 by

Once you make it to the ‘home’ things change; you’re out of the boomer bubble and into the back stretch of life. Everyone can justify being nice since you’re on the clock. Or when you move to the ‘over 55’ community? Same deal, things change, but you’re still not out of the boomer bubble. No […]

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