BLU LIGHT

Not me.

After years of wandering around on our planet in the direct rays of our star called Sol, the accumulated affects of sunlight have finally had their way with me.  This is known as Actinic Keratoses.

If one lives beyond the age of 40 years and have one or more of the risk factors such as fair skin, blond or red hair particularly if combined with blue, hazel or green eyes, then you are eligible for AK.

October 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis

October 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis

The train station in Oceanside California is very near the beach so as I alit from the Coast Starlight, I walked over to the beach and sat on a 4 foot tall pipeline that runs parallel along the beach.  I was returning from a few days annual leave having been visiting my parents up the coast in San Jose for a week. 

           

The early fall weather in southern California is almost always warm and balmy so I took advantage of not having to report in until the next day and sat down in front of the pipe, looking out at the setting sun rays... then I slept there through the night.

GUNS AND SWORDS

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My first cap pistols

I have always been fascinated with guns.  As a child I was allowed to have play cap guns and eventually (around age 10) was allowed to have a BB gun long after I thought I was ready for one. With cap guns it was the action of loading a Cap pistol with a roll of cap material that was a ritual that simulated arming a real live gun.  Some of my young rich pals had cap guns that you could put a cap into a cartridge and then insert it into a cylinder that would make that definite bang/snap and surround us with the smell of burnt gunpowder.  I truly envied them.

Mess Hall Memory

 

Back in the days of the "old Corps" of the 1960's, SOP was the E-1's and E-2's were allowed to report to the Mess hall for a maximum of 30 days mess duty once in a year.

As a Boot buck private, I did not escaped mess duty at Camp Matthews the first week of rifle training and spent a week scrubbing out pots and pans and garbage cans.  I thought my mess duty time was over, wrong.

Memorial Day Civil War Reenactment

 

           The Civil War Reenactment at Roaring Camp.  Memorial Day 2012

It has been awhile since I've attended a reenactment of a battle between the states at the Roaring Camp facility in Scotts Valley, CA., so today was the day I had the time to see it again.

The site is a 15 minute drive from my house so there is not much of an excuse to not go due to distance but Memorial Day is not the easiest day to drive around a town that is a tourist Mecca beginning about this time of year.  But I bit the bullet and drove up to it expecting the worse of traffic.  Surprise, easy sailing.  Even the line to check in at the gate and pay to park was short.

DRUMMED OUT OF THE CORPS

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It is no longer authorized to drum some one out of the Marine Corps and has not been for over 75 years.  So how does the Corps emphasize the dishonor of being kicked out?  The following is a true story, which can be attested to by my former Fire Team Leader.

Computers are not our Friend

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Exciting Computer Adventure

Recently the media has been playing up a most unusual event; no, not the Mayan Apocalypse, A virus for the Mac!  We Mac users have always been very smug about not getting them like the PC users seem to do.  So, letting my paranoia get the best of me, I tried to get my Time Machine working again so I would have a back-up in case the virus came my way and destroyed all of my documents and pictures et all.

My Time Machine filled up and told me to open a new disk when it is suppose to erase the oldest after a certain time.  Apparently my TM didn't do that.   Trying to find out about changing a disc, I even started prying on the TM machine but it foiled my feeble attempts so I unplugged the damn thing and put it out in the garage with my other out-dated and useless electronic equipment.

Vist to MCRD and Camp Pendelton

Dear friends, former jar-heads along with a couple of Army guys ( I know who you are but won't tell the Marines ) oh, and one swab jockey and Coast Guard dependent.

Spent a few days last week down at the old stomping grounds on Camp Pendleton and MCRD checking out what's happening.  My old fire team leader, Dick Svee and I had talked about going down and seeing the Amtrac museum for some time now, so time permitted and away we went.