This is a short story about my illness in 1969 that I brought home from Vietnam. I don't have a clue why I am writing about it other than I have a little time and feel the need to write about something. Here goes.
In the Central Highlands of Vietnam, there are a lot of different kinds of places to be. There are plains a lot like the foothills near Denver and mountains like you would see in Central America. The biggest difference is the heat and the humidity. I am not sure of the big reason for it, but the place stinks in ways that are hard to imagine. Just when you think you have smelled the worse out nearer to the rice paddies, you pass a market place where the combined smell of smoke and dried fish almost would gag a maggot. I spent a lot of time out in the hinterlands and not too many days near cities. By the time I had been there a couple of months, I became nose blind to the smells of dirty GI's. When you know you stink, the body odor of everyone else just doesn't stand out.
OK, lets talk about my circumstances. I was a young 2nd Lieutenant when I arrived in Vietnam. After a horrible first month, I was transferred to the 1st Bn, 92nd Field Artillery who's headquarters was just north of Pleiku. The Artillery Group I was newly assigned to provided fire support to units in the area north of Pleiku and some to units of the 4th Infantry Division. Most of the firing batteries were spread out in a 100 kilometer arc north and west of Pleiku. In other blogs, you can read about the job I had as the Battalion Ammo Officer/AO but this story really starts in late summer and early fall of 1968.
Just before I was assigned to C Battery, I went to the field as a Forward Observer with small units that needed a fill in while their FO went on leave or R&R. Most of the time We were out with just what we could carry. For me, I carried a ground cloth, a poncho and an air mattress. Throw in C rations, ammo and water it was a load to carry in 100 degree weather. I always try to carry a battery for the portable radio, PRC 77 I think.
Most every unit had a medic assigned and he was responsible for looking after our health. Any kind of a wound, blister or rash would soon turn infected if the medic didn't help put whatever miracle medicine he had. He also dispensed the pills that were designed to be a prophylaxis for malaria. In the Central Highlands that consisted of a daily little white pill and on Monday a bit orange one. I could never tell if the little white pill had any effect on me but come Tuesday, our unit always traveled slower because a lot of us would get a touch of the runs after the big orange pill. When I came home to the States, I was assigned to Fort Carson, Colorado.
The Army gave me a 30 day supply of the little white pills and while I was assigned at Fort Carson, I took one a day and began to have what felt like the flue until I came home to Kansas in July. I'll bet I took the maximum amount of aspirin each day to help kill the headaches. My supply of the big Orange pills lasted until the first Monday in July.
When I got home, went back to working construction until school started in September. I was able to work for a couple of weeks before I really started to get sick. It started as a fever and really a feeling or weakness like I had a super strain of the flu. The off thing was that it was every other day for a week or so. My Doctor put me in the Hospital for a couple of days and they found nothing. I didn't run a high fever there either.
As soon as I got back home, I started to run a fever and threw up breakfast. I remember getting blankets to help me stop from feeling cold. My wife went to work and when she came home about 3 in the afternoon the trailer we lived in was about 100 degrees. She called my parents house and everyone loaded up to go to the VA.
Upon arrival at the VA, one of the Emergency Room people said that I clearly had Malaria. They admitted me to the hospital and a Doctor visited me to see if I would like to join a trial they were starting to treat Malaria. It seems that Lieutenant came home from Vietnam with Malaria and Leukemia. As soon as they started the chemo for Leukemia, his Malaria went into remission and by the time then ended the treatments, it was gone. For the next three weeks or so, they would give me a big green pill and by 9 AM, I could not get out of bed. I could smell the chemicals coming out of my pores and I COULD NOT HOLD DOWN LUNCH. That evening, I would start to feel better, get up, take a shower, put on new pj's and sleep like a baby. One evening. my wife came to visit and we snuck out of the hospital to get a chocolate milk shake at the fast food restaurant across the street. I had to surreptitiously slip back into the hospital through the emergency room. I'm pretty sure that I was not the only patient that did that.
Like I said, for three weeks or so I was one pretty sick guy. Then one day, it all changed. The pills stopped and I was given a few duties around the hospital to help the nurses. The only salvation was that I needed to go to Wichita State to enroll for fall classes. Once free of the hospital, I didn't go back. I felt about 75% better and started classes that fall. I got a letter in the mail that gave me a 10% disability for a year. As I remember, it was just enough to buy a case of beer or two but I took it. With the wife working as she also went to school, the GI bill and a few odd jobs, things went well for the next two years.
MUD (ret)
9/06/2017
Vietnam
As I travel out and about, I see a lot of old guys wearing those Vietnam Veteran hats. I always go up to them and say, "When I went to Vietnam we were a bunch of young guns and now all I see are old guys wearing those Vietnam hats." How do you explain Vietnam to kids today that didn't go there.
In real estate they say it is Location, Location, Location. In Vietnam that was one driving force but it was also Branch, location, branch. If you saw the Movie, "Good Morning Vietnam." you saw only the war from the eyes of one of those Rear Echelon (Words deleted) guys. I don't know the ratio of warriors to support but at 500,000 troops in 1968 it seemed that the guys in the field were far outnumbered.
I went to Vietnam with an Artillery Battalion that go mortared their first night in the field. I think the final count was 13 dead and about 27 wounded. I never saw the recovery of that unit as I got transferred to another 155 unit within a week of that horrible night. The bright side of it all was I went from one of the worst units in Vietnam to one of the best. My new unit, the 1st Bn, 92nd Field Artillery had been in Vietnam a couple of years and was full of really well trained and motivated men.
We were in the Central Highlands near Pleiku. It was located on the plains kind of like Denver with the mountains nearby. Our job was to go to a lot of different places and provide backup Artillery fires for units located there. For the most part, it was units of the 4th Division with a lot of Special Forces thrown in for special operations. I spent time in locations on or near a major base and on mountain top firebases. It didn't mater where we were, we fired a lot of fires in support of units out on the ground and then at night we fired Harassment and Interdiction fires on points out on the ground that the Intelligence guys said were likely locations for the enemy. Those would be random shots from one or two guns that went on from the hours of darkness until the wee hours.
I went to Vietnam as a Forward Observer that was to be assigned out with an infantry unit. That first night in the field, all of the battery officers but me were wounded. I spent the next week in charge of the unit until my transfer. In my new unit, I was assigned as the battalion ammo officer and we had the duty of rebuilding up the ammo in the ammunition supply point (ASP) in Dak to. It had been blown up and most of what wasn't blown up was shot at the enemy during TET earlier that year. For a couple of months straight, we took all the available five ton trucks and convoyed from Pleiku to Dak to. We would spend the nights at the Pleiku ASP and the days in a convoy. It was generally a turn around for us as we went to and from each day. If I wasn't in the convoy in my jeep., I would be in a bird dog providing air cover for the convoy.
The guys thought it was better when I was in the convoy as for some reason we never got hit with an ambush in our part of the convoy. If we were in the back, the ambush would hit the front. If we were in the front, they would ambush the middle of the back. On one occasion, a pretty god sized element probably a Company of at least 100 ambushed the convoy and I was in the air. The good news was there was a battery of 155's in Kontum just up the road. I almost immediately got them set up firing on the ambush site and then chased them into the jungle. On the top of one of the overlooking mountains, I saw what looked like a radio relay point for the enemy and blew it away. I set up a line of artillery fire behind the enemy's withdrawal and the helicopter gunships and the A1E Sky Raiders (Fixed wings) really worked them over. I never did hear a total body count but I imagine most of the enemy were killed. I think my battery had one driver wounded when a bullet went through the door of his truck and a few of the fragments hit his leg.
For most of the next 4 months, My job was to provide bullets to our units and an occasional trip to the field with some outfit that needed temporary help. Lets see, I was the forward observer with a basic training company, with a Montagnard unit with South Vietnamese advisors and finally the 3rd bat, 503rd Abn (173rd guys). The last unit was supposed to be a very short stint while their FO went home as his father had a Heart Attack. While home, he had an attack of Malaria and it was 6 weeks getting away from that unit. All in all, I have been shot at, rocketed, mortared and either bored or scared half out of my wits.
One of the luxuries of being me in Vietnam was the times I got to fly in one of the bird dogs of the Head Hunters. Most of the time we would go out and fire one of the firing batteries at some bend in the river as an adjustment. That was to help tie the unit's map location to an actual location. This greatly increased the accuracy of the unit and was a lot of fun. At the end of the adjustment period, a lot of times the Bird Dog pilot would fire one of his rockets under his wing to help make his accuracy improve. His grease pencil mark on the windscreen was his aiming point.
It was always pretty neat to see how accurate the Maps were and how the actual bends in the rivers would match the maps. The only problem with the maps was north of Pleiku where the maps converged and the grid squares on our firing charts didn't match exactly. No matter how hard we tried to cut the firing charts down to match, there were always a few errors that changed the accuracy.
On one of these flying missions, the pilot decided to see what was just over the next hill. By my map, it was the border and along it ran a stretch of the Ho Chi Minn trail. As we calmly flew without a care in the world, that next hill was blocking our view of a convoy. Just as we cleared that hill, the pilot said don't do anything, hang on and we'll report it when we get in a safe place. The truck convoy had a ZSU-4 at both the front and back of the convoy. They had stopped and most of the drivers and crew members were walking around and taking a break. I saw one of the ZSU-4's start to swing his quad guns at us just as we slipped back over the hill. In another minute we would probably would have been shot down and all of this blog would have not been. I immediately got on my radio and relayed the location of the convoy. The Pilot did the same on his channel and all hell broke loose for the next hour or so. The Field Artillery units were not supposed to shoot into Laos or Cambodia but the 175mm units had a lot of pin holes in their charts over there.
When we got back to Pleiku, we were sent to the operations room of the unit and attended a briefing on the results of that mission. It seemed that the convoy had a lot explosives in the trucks and there were secondary explosions as that ammo blew up as the trucks burned. The Air Force got into the play and I'm sure that there was another stretch of the trail that was cleared of trees for a mile or two. That was the odd thing to me, the trail was not on a map but you could follow it for miles and clearly see where the B-52's blew the hell out of it. There was a path of dirt probably 1/2 mile wide devoid of trees.
Oh well, better get on with my day.
MUD
In real estate they say it is Location, Location, Location. In Vietnam that was one driving force but it was also Branch, location, branch. If you saw the Movie, "Good Morning Vietnam." you saw only the war from the eyes of one of those Rear Echelon (Words deleted) guys. I don't know the ratio of warriors to support but at 500,000 troops in 1968 it seemed that the guys in the field were far outnumbered.
I went to Vietnam with an Artillery Battalion that go mortared their first night in the field. I think the final count was 13 dead and about 27 wounded. I never saw the recovery of that unit as I got transferred to another 155 unit within a week of that horrible night. The bright side of it all was I went from one of the worst units in Vietnam to one of the best. My new unit, the 1st Bn, 92nd Field Artillery had been in Vietnam a couple of years and was full of really well trained and motivated men.
We were in the Central Highlands near Pleiku. It was located on the plains kind of like Denver with the mountains nearby. Our job was to go to a lot of different places and provide backup Artillery fires for units located there. For the most part, it was units of the 4th Division with a lot of Special Forces thrown in for special operations. I spent time in locations on or near a major base and on mountain top firebases. It didn't mater where we were, we fired a lot of fires in support of units out on the ground and then at night we fired Harassment and Interdiction fires on points out on the ground that the Intelligence guys said were likely locations for the enemy. Those would be random shots from one or two guns that went on from the hours of darkness until the wee hours.
I went to Vietnam as a Forward Observer that was to be assigned out with an infantry unit. That first night in the field, all of the battery officers but me were wounded. I spent the next week in charge of the unit until my transfer. In my new unit, I was assigned as the battalion ammo officer and we had the duty of rebuilding up the ammo in the ammunition supply point (ASP) in Dak to. It had been blown up and most of what wasn't blown up was shot at the enemy during TET earlier that year. For a couple of months straight, we took all the available five ton trucks and convoyed from Pleiku to Dak to. We would spend the nights at the Pleiku ASP and the days in a convoy. It was generally a turn around for us as we went to and from each day. If I wasn't in the convoy in my jeep., I would be in a bird dog providing air cover for the convoy.
The guys thought it was better when I was in the convoy as for some reason we never got hit with an ambush in our part of the convoy. If we were in the back, the ambush would hit the front. If we were in the front, they would ambush the middle of the back. On one occasion, a pretty god sized element probably a Company of at least 100 ambushed the convoy and I was in the air. The good news was there was a battery of 155's in Kontum just up the road. I almost immediately got them set up firing on the ambush site and then chased them into the jungle. On the top of one of the overlooking mountains, I saw what looked like a radio relay point for the enemy and blew it away. I set up a line of artillery fire behind the enemy's withdrawal and the helicopter gunships and the A1E Sky Raiders (Fixed wings) really worked them over. I never did hear a total body count but I imagine most of the enemy were killed. I think my battery had one driver wounded when a bullet went through the door of his truck and a few of the fragments hit his leg.
For most of the next 4 months, My job was to provide bullets to our units and an occasional trip to the field with some outfit that needed temporary help. Lets see, I was the forward observer with a basic training company, with a Montagnard unit with South Vietnamese advisors and finally the 3rd bat, 503rd Abn (173rd guys). The last unit was supposed to be a very short stint while their FO went home as his father had a Heart Attack. While home, he had an attack of Malaria and it was 6 weeks getting away from that unit. All in all, I have been shot at, rocketed, mortared and either bored or scared half out of my wits.
One of the luxuries of being me in Vietnam was the times I got to fly in one of the bird dogs of the Head Hunters. Most of the time we would go out and fire one of the firing batteries at some bend in the river as an adjustment. That was to help tie the unit's map location to an actual location. This greatly increased the accuracy of the unit and was a lot of fun. At the end of the adjustment period, a lot of times the Bird Dog pilot would fire one of his rockets under his wing to help make his accuracy improve. His grease pencil mark on the windscreen was his aiming point.
It was always pretty neat to see how accurate the Maps were and how the actual bends in the rivers would match the maps. The only problem with the maps was north of Pleiku where the maps converged and the grid squares on our firing charts didn't match exactly. No matter how hard we tried to cut the firing charts down to match, there were always a few errors that changed the accuracy.
On one of these flying missions, the pilot decided to see what was just over the next hill. By my map, it was the border and along it ran a stretch of the Ho Chi Minn trail. As we calmly flew without a care in the world, that next hill was blocking our view of a convoy. Just as we cleared that hill, the pilot said don't do anything, hang on and we'll report it when we get in a safe place. The truck convoy had a ZSU-4 at both the front and back of the convoy. They had stopped and most of the drivers and crew members were walking around and taking a break. I saw one of the ZSU-4's start to swing his quad guns at us just as we slipped back over the hill. In another minute we would probably would have been shot down and all of this blog would have not been. I immediately got on my radio and relayed the location of the convoy. The Pilot did the same on his channel and all hell broke loose for the next hour or so. The Field Artillery units were not supposed to shoot into Laos or Cambodia but the 175mm units had a lot of pin holes in their charts over there.
When we got back to Pleiku, we were sent to the operations room of the unit and attended a briefing on the results of that mission. It seemed that the convoy had a lot explosives in the trucks and there were secondary explosions as that ammo blew up as the trucks burned. The Air Force got into the play and I'm sure that there was another stretch of the trail that was cleared of trees for a mile or two. That was the odd thing to me, the trail was not on a map but you could follow it for miles and clearly see where the B-52's blew the hell out of it. There was a path of dirt probably 1/2 mile wide devoid of trees.
Oh well, better get on with my day.
MUD
9/03/2017
Suprise, Here is a new one
I am currently reading a book about the attack on Hue City in Vietnam during Tet of 1968. It reminds me that even though I spent a year there in 1968, I knew damned little about the entire war. For many reasons, the people in power in the 50's thought it was a good thing to take one country and make two out of them. Vietnam, Korea and Pakistan/India come to mind. Had the powers to be really done it right, the promised elections would have solved the Vietnam question but they didn't enforce the rule and the North had to make a war to settle the question. The unfortunate part was that a lot of young Americans (50,000) got killed in a war that should have not been.
I am not the brightest mind in the basket, but with age I am becoming more aware that a lot of the things I thought were correct are/were just not so. The sad part is that I see our country devolving into a divided country over things that just aren't as important as some people think. I hate that a lot of Southern Texas had to get battered by the Hurricane but I can see that a lot of people are becoming more aware that working together might be a really good thing and a lot of the protests were not nearly as important as fixing what is broke right now.
Not long back, I wondered when I would be allowed to start spending some of the money we saved for a rainy day. Well, it seems that the day has arrived and if we are lucky, we will make some of the money back in the long run. You have heard that you should buy the worst house in the best neighborhood? Well, I think we did and now it it can not become a money pit in the long run it may turn out for the best. Even if it doesn't make us a lot of money, hopefully it will lead to the upgrade of Dave's house to a nicer neighborhood. More to come on that.
Well, better run and get some things done here at the homestead. Lots to do.
MUD
I am not the brightest mind in the basket, but with age I am becoming more aware that a lot of the things I thought were correct are/were just not so. The sad part is that I see our country devolving into a divided country over things that just aren't as important as some people think. I hate that a lot of Southern Texas had to get battered by the Hurricane but I can see that a lot of people are becoming more aware that working together might be a really good thing and a lot of the protests were not nearly as important as fixing what is broke right now.
Not long back, I wondered when I would be allowed to start spending some of the money we saved for a rainy day. Well, it seems that the day has arrived and if we are lucky, we will make some of the money back in the long run. You have heard that you should buy the worst house in the best neighborhood? Well, I think we did and now it it can not become a money pit in the long run it may turn out for the best. Even if it doesn't make us a lot of money, hopefully it will lead to the upgrade of Dave's house to a nicer neighborhood. More to come on that.
Well, better run and get some things done here at the homestead. Lots to do.
MUD
12/08/2016
OK, Where is the Global Warming?
For the record, Kansas was once covered with ice and the glacier brought red rock from Minnesota and we have them all over the place. Since then, the climate has been warming up and we no longer have a constant snow cover. But, today it is 20 degrees outside with a 15 MPH wind blowing and that will blow you hair back and freeze it in place. I had grand design to go find a Christmas tree today but that will have to wait.
Tonight, there will be a football game in Kansas City. Heck, I wouldn't walk from the parking lot into Allen Field House to see the Women play Harvard last night. I know that I will have friends there but not me. I hope Oakland can't handle the weather and we can tie up the league. Oh well, it is only football and there is a whole season of Big XII basketball soon to start.
Bill Self has 600 career wins under his belt. The other day Facebook showed him in his office with all the trophies from over the years. I sure hope he continues to be a winner and a recruiter that brings a lot of talent to KU. I am sure that he gets a lot of help from his assistant coaches and staff.
Dave stopped by last night to pick up a package that UPS delivered here instead of at his house. Actually our neighbor brought it over as it was not only not delivered to the wrong Petty house, it was left on the neighbor's porch. It is always nice to see Dave and get a chance to catch up on things. What I really want for Christmas from him is about an hour of Tech time to look over my computers and see if he can help them return to the fast speedy versions they once were. I don't want to brag, but I have worn off the E, O, A and L on this keyboard and it is a good thing that I can still remember where they were (or are I guess)
The other night, I was at the KU men's game and I always sing with whoever sings the National Anthem. The lady ahead of me turned and said that I complemented the group singing. I told her that several years of singing with the Barbershop Chorus would do that for you. We sang it several times each year for the local hockey team's home games. I just went over to YouTube and listened to Pentatonix sing a few songs. I am now listening to their last Christmas album.
Several time this past week or so, memories of my father have surfaced from unknown places in my mind. I grew up a had a very troubled relationship with my father as he had manic depression and it wasn't until very much later on in my life did I have a chance to understand. It was a problem for me that when my dad would call me to him, I didn't know if he was going to kiss or whip me. Not that I didn't probably need both most of the time, it was the uncertainty that made me worry. One time that just sums it up for me was for my 12th birthday I had saved up a few dollars and with my birthday money, we went to Sears to buy a new fishing rod. When I picked out the nicest rod I could afford, Dad surprised me by buying me a new reel. That winter, Dad was in and out of the Hospital for treatments. The next spring, dad asked me if I wanted to go fishing. I really didn't have much of a chance to use my new rod and reel that past fall. When we got to the lake, I went to the trunk of the car to get my new rod and reel. He looked at it and asked me, "Where did you get that, steal it?" Sure took the fun out of that day. Later on, Mom shared a story that dad had been given shock treatments and he had to get out of bed and look at the chart to remember his name. No wonder that he didn't remember the rod and reel. I don't remember fishing much after that.
Oh well, what a downer on this cold day. I wonder if this is part of why I don't suffer fools gladly.
MUD
Tonight, there will be a football game in Kansas City. Heck, I wouldn't walk from the parking lot into Allen Field House to see the Women play Harvard last night. I know that I will have friends there but not me. I hope Oakland can't handle the weather and we can tie up the league. Oh well, it is only football and there is a whole season of Big XII basketball soon to start.
Bill Self has 600 career wins under his belt. The other day Facebook showed him in his office with all the trophies from over the years. I sure hope he continues to be a winner and a recruiter that brings a lot of talent to KU. I am sure that he gets a lot of help from his assistant coaches and staff.
Dave stopped by last night to pick up a package that UPS delivered here instead of at his house. Actually our neighbor brought it over as it was not only not delivered to the wrong Petty house, it was left on the neighbor's porch. It is always nice to see Dave and get a chance to catch up on things. What I really want for Christmas from him is about an hour of Tech time to look over my computers and see if he can help them return to the fast speedy versions they once were. I don't want to brag, but I have worn off the E, O, A and L on this keyboard and it is a good thing that I can still remember where they were (or are I guess)
The other night, I was at the KU men's game and I always sing with whoever sings the National Anthem. The lady ahead of me turned and said that I complemented the group singing. I told her that several years of singing with the Barbershop Chorus would do that for you. We sang it several times each year for the local hockey team's home games. I just went over to YouTube and listened to Pentatonix sing a few songs. I am now listening to their last Christmas album.
Several time this past week or so, memories of my father have surfaced from unknown places in my mind. I grew up a had a very troubled relationship with my father as he had manic depression and it wasn't until very much later on in my life did I have a chance to understand. It was a problem for me that when my dad would call me to him, I didn't know if he was going to kiss or whip me. Not that I didn't probably need both most of the time, it was the uncertainty that made me worry. One time that just sums it up for me was for my 12th birthday I had saved up a few dollars and with my birthday money, we went to Sears to buy a new fishing rod. When I picked out the nicest rod I could afford, Dad surprised me by buying me a new reel. That winter, Dad was in and out of the Hospital for treatments. The next spring, dad asked me if I wanted to go fishing. I really didn't have much of a chance to use my new rod and reel that past fall. When we got to the lake, I went to the trunk of the car to get my new rod and reel. He looked at it and asked me, "Where did you get that, steal it?" Sure took the fun out of that day. Later on, Mom shared a story that dad had been given shock treatments and he had to get out of bed and look at the chart to remember his name. No wonder that he didn't remember the rod and reel. I don't remember fishing much after that.
Oh well, what a downer on this cold day. I wonder if this is part of why I don't suffer fools gladly.
MUD
11/16/2016
When was the happiest time in your life?
I grew up as a Baby Boomer on the Far East side of Wichita. Most of us were fairly poor and for the most part from working families. The Neighborhood we lived in was built during the pre and war years of WWII. Cheap houses with no air conditioning and for the most part no central heat. Our dishwashers were for the most part our Mom's or in my case when I got another D in Algebra.
All you had to do was walk outside in the summer and you could get a bunch of kids that were willing to baseball on the lot on the north end of Byrd Street. For the biggest part, only the older kids had ball gloves and for the most part they were second hand. All of the ball gloves were used by both sides when their teal wasn't at bat. I would say we had batting orders but heck, I don't remember the names any better today than I did then.
The other day, some one made reference to hitting the cover off the ball and most of the under 40 kids didn't have a clue what this meant. We would play with the old base balls until literally someone would hit the ball and the cover would fly off into nowhere. I can remember a time or two when we tried to play with the uncovered ball but it would very soon unwind the string and it would be unplayable.
My Dad worked for Beech down at the end of the street and the Beech Aircraft Employees club had several activities for the kids of the Beech employees. I guess you could say there were a lot of little son's of Beech - Crafters out there. I played little league baseball several years and had a lot of good times. Every summer there would be a day at Joyland where we could basically ride for free and mom and Dad could play bingo or whatever event they had that day. At least once a month, Beech Employees Club would have a free late night skate at the Skating rink in Kiddie Land. We did that a lot.
One of the major past time activities among my friends was riding our bikes as far as we could. To accomplish that, we often had to tighten chains and grease the wheel bearings. One on trip, my bike got so hot that the hub of the front wheel started to smoke. There was water in the ditch and I dipped the wheel hub in water. It cooled off enough to let me get home. That afternoon we tried to grease the bearings and they came out of the housing as individual balls with out the metal retainer. We had to cannibalize on of the old bikes to find a wheel that would first of all fit and then work.
One of the kids I went to school with had a Dad that ran a trash truck. Leon would help his Dad and he had first choice of the bikes other people would throw away. He would take pieces and parts of the bikes and make custom bikes that really looked neat. You could buy one from him pretty cheap. The only bad part is they really didn't last long. I spent $8.00 one summer on a bike that didn't last until fall. I had to mow lawns to earn that money but hey I didn't really expect much.
I guess the point of all of this rambling is that this weekend we drove through the old neighborhood and it sparked a lot of memories. So as I smiled away the short drive, I had a flood of good thoughts. If that is what happiness is, I would take another trip through that time just for the kicks and giggles.
MUD (aka Wheezer from the Our Gang Comedies)
All you had to do was walk outside in the summer and you could get a bunch of kids that were willing to baseball on the lot on the north end of Byrd Street. For the biggest part, only the older kids had ball gloves and for the most part they were second hand. All of the ball gloves were used by both sides when their teal wasn't at bat. I would say we had batting orders but heck, I don't remember the names any better today than I did then.
The other day, some one made reference to hitting the cover off the ball and most of the under 40 kids didn't have a clue what this meant. We would play with the old base balls until literally someone would hit the ball and the cover would fly off into nowhere. I can remember a time or two when we tried to play with the uncovered ball but it would very soon unwind the string and it would be unplayable.
My Dad worked for Beech down at the end of the street and the Beech Aircraft Employees club had several activities for the kids of the Beech employees. I guess you could say there were a lot of little son's of Beech - Crafters out there. I played little league baseball several years and had a lot of good times. Every summer there would be a day at Joyland where we could basically ride for free and mom and Dad could play bingo or whatever event they had that day. At least once a month, Beech Employees Club would have a free late night skate at the Skating rink in Kiddie Land. We did that a lot.
One of the major past time activities among my friends was riding our bikes as far as we could. To accomplish that, we often had to tighten chains and grease the wheel bearings. One on trip, my bike got so hot that the hub of the front wheel started to smoke. There was water in the ditch and I dipped the wheel hub in water. It cooled off enough to let me get home. That afternoon we tried to grease the bearings and they came out of the housing as individual balls with out the metal retainer. We had to cannibalize on of the old bikes to find a wheel that would first of all fit and then work.
One of the kids I went to school with had a Dad that ran a trash truck. Leon would help his Dad and he had first choice of the bikes other people would throw away. He would take pieces and parts of the bikes and make custom bikes that really looked neat. You could buy one from him pretty cheap. The only bad part is they really didn't last long. I spent $8.00 one summer on a bike that didn't last until fall. I had to mow lawns to earn that money but hey I didn't really expect much.
I guess the point of all of this rambling is that this weekend we drove through the old neighborhood and it sparked a lot of memories. So as I smiled away the short drive, I had a flood of good thoughts. If that is what happiness is, I would take another trip through that time just for the kicks and giggles.
MUD (aka Wheezer from the Our Gang Comedies)
11/15/2016
How do You Define Happy
I guess this need a jumping off point and because it is my blog, I need to be the first Frog in this contest. So, here goes.
First I think the fulfillment of needs and wants should be on the list. I refer back to Maslow's Hierarchy of needs and say that I am well past the "need" for shelter, safety, and food. I also mix in a little of the Leadership training I taught to Officer Candidates a few years back. It is the area of motivators that a lot of lives fall short. Recognition even if it is self provided is a basic given. If you remember to praise in public and punish in private you have a good start. Where do you start and end that journey?
Once upon a time, (for you Military types adjust this to hey, this ain't no shit.) I was given an Artillery Battalion that for many reasons had not passed an Army Readiness and Training test (ARTEP) a couple of times in a row. To me, it was a simple thing to make sure that everyone knew what their job was and to make sure they could do it. It was a great big elephant but no tough task for 400 guys to eat one bite at a time. Instead of trying to do everything, I tried to make sure that the leaders knew what they needed to do. That worked and we passed the ARTEP. At the end of the big formation on the parade field at the end of camp, I shook the hand of each man in the battalion. My hand hurt but they all knew that "we" did it. I went home happy that day and it still gives me a warm spot in my memory.
Now that I am retired, I think about the things I need to do to be a social animal and talk to others. I sang with a Barbershop chorus but it felt like I was asked to do more and more and the only feedback was negative. I have stopped going to meetings and I am not sure if there is room for me to bring that back into my life.
With the last election in the bag, I have a lot of friends that think the majority (or at lest the Electoral College) and me, got it wrong. I won't go into the reasons why I did not vote for Hillary but only to say that our system needed change and I didn't see Hillary as much other than more of the same.
MUD
First I think the fulfillment of needs and wants should be on the list. I refer back to Maslow's Hierarchy of needs and say that I am well past the "need" for shelter, safety, and food. I also mix in a little of the Leadership training I taught to Officer Candidates a few years back. It is the area of motivators that a lot of lives fall short. Recognition even if it is self provided is a basic given. If you remember to praise in public and punish in private you have a good start. Where do you start and end that journey?
Once upon a time, (for you Military types adjust this to hey, this ain't no shit.) I was given an Artillery Battalion that for many reasons had not passed an Army Readiness and Training test (ARTEP) a couple of times in a row. To me, it was a simple thing to make sure that everyone knew what their job was and to make sure they could do it. It was a great big elephant but no tough task for 400 guys to eat one bite at a time. Instead of trying to do everything, I tried to make sure that the leaders knew what they needed to do. That worked and we passed the ARTEP. At the end of the big formation on the parade field at the end of camp, I shook the hand of each man in the battalion. My hand hurt but they all knew that "we" did it. I went home happy that day and it still gives me a warm spot in my memory.
Now that I am retired, I think about the things I need to do to be a social animal and talk to others. I sang with a Barbershop chorus but it felt like I was asked to do more and more and the only feedback was negative. I have stopped going to meetings and I am not sure if there is room for me to bring that back into my life.
With the last election in the bag, I have a lot of friends that think the majority (or at lest the Electoral College) and me, got it wrong. I won't go into the reasons why I did not vote for Hillary but only to say that our system needed change and I didn't see Hillary as much other than more of the same.
MUD
1-92nd FA Newsletter
This is an article that was printed in the 1st Bn, 92nd FA Newsletter. The only part that is incorrect was the unit I was assigned to. I was in SVC Battery, 1-92nd FA not HHB. The jobs I did for the Battalion was while I was in Svc Battery and an additional assignment because the Battalion really did not have room for me to be assigned to HHB. The Information about B Btry is correct.
MUD
10/26/2016
Changing Things
I feel honor bound to start a new phase in my life. I truly need to find new avenues to keep me occupied with life. The joy of singing has lost it's allure and I am for the second time going to stop singing with the Topeka Capitol Men's Barbershop Chorus. I have both men's and women's tickets for the KU Teams this year. I intend to attend as many games as I can.
I am also going to find a new way to get more physical exercise. I don't intend to find myself in worse shape as I start next year. In the past, I found the downtown YMCA a great p[lace to swim and work out. I hope that I can fins a way to get Barbara to participate with me. I owe her the same opportunity to be at her best as I can hope to be.
I will also use this change to start accumulating my many posts on this blog into what I hope will mount to more than just a way to pass a few hours.
I will do my best to be charitable, somewhat truthful , and to remember as many humorous things as I can.
MUD
I am also going to find a new way to get more physical exercise. I don't intend to find myself in worse shape as I start next year. In the past, I found the downtown YMCA a great p[lace to swim and work out. I hope that I can fins a way to get Barbara to participate with me. I owe her the same opportunity to be at her best as I can hope to be.
I will also use this change to start accumulating my many posts on this blog into what I hope will mount to more than just a way to pass a few hours.
I will do my best to be charitable, somewhat truthful , and to remember as many humorous things as I can.
MUD
10/12/2016
Have I Told You How Much I hate Getting Old?
Yes Dear one's, I know the alternative is worse, but I really do hate not being able to complete projects with the same energy I had even a few short years back. Even getting up off the floor is a challenge. Can you imaging me crawling under the floor in my son's house to fix a leak in a Pex water line? If you knew just how hard it is to get up off the floor you might understand.
I have a brother-in-law that shared with me that maintenance on his rental's finally caused him to sell them. I think I am nearing that point faster and faster each year. The problem is that keeping them is just going to diminish the profit point as I have to have more and more maintenance hired out.
Every time I go out somewhere, I see more and more Vietnam Vets wearing their baseball caps proudly. The problem is that they are all old guys. Hell, I went to Vietnam with a bunch of kids not a bunch of old farts.
Being retired from the National Guard, I get their newspaper monthly. I find it more often than not, the new Generals and major unit commanders are people that I don't even know. I guess the fact that the Adjutant General was a Captain that worked for me should tell me something.
I am considering buying a member ship to the YMCA again. I found a regular workout/swimming schedule was great a few years back. I will admit that the hot tub really made it nice after a work out.
Oh well, here I sit complaining about getting old and I need to get up and go do something. I did notice that I have nearly a million view on my blogs. I wonder if there is a time I need to stop even this effort.
MUD
I have a brother-in-law that shared with me that maintenance on his rental's finally caused him to sell them. I think I am nearing that point faster and faster each year. The problem is that keeping them is just going to diminish the profit point as I have to have more and more maintenance hired out.
Every time I go out somewhere, I see more and more Vietnam Vets wearing their baseball caps proudly. The problem is that they are all old guys. Hell, I went to Vietnam with a bunch of kids not a bunch of old farts.
Being retired from the National Guard, I get their newspaper monthly. I find it more often than not, the new Generals and major unit commanders are people that I don't even know. I guess the fact that the Adjutant General was a Captain that worked for me should tell me something.
I am considering buying a member ship to the YMCA again. I found a regular workout/swimming schedule was great a few years back. I will admit that the hot tub really made it nice after a work out.
Oh well, here I sit complaining about getting old and I need to get up and go do something. I did notice that I have nearly a million view on my blogs. I wonder if there is a time I need to stop even this effort.
MUD
Have I Told You How Much I hate Getting Old?
Yes Dear one's, I know the alternative is worse, but I really do hate not being able to complete projects with the same energy I had even a few short years back. Even getting up off the floor is a challenge. Can you imaging me crawling under the floor in my son's house to fix a leak in a Pex water line? If you knew just how hard it is to get up off the floor you might understand.
I have a brother-in-law that shared with me that maintenance on his rental's finally caused him to sell them. I think I am nearing that point faster and faster each year. The problem is that keeping them is just going to diminish the profit point as I have to have more and more maintenance hired out.
Every time I go out somewhere, I see more and more Vietnam Vets wearing their baseball caps proudly. The problem is that they are all old guys. Hell, I went to Vietnam with a bunch of kids not a bunch of old farts.
Being retired from the National Guard, I get their newspaper monthly. I find it more often than not, the new Generals and major unit commanders are people that I don't even know. I guess the fact that the Adjutant General was a Captain that worked for me should tell me something.
I am considering buying a member ship to the YMCA again. I found a regular workout/swimming schedule was great a few years back. I will admit that the hot tub really made it nice after a work out.
Oh well, here I sit complaining about getting old and I need to get up and go do something. I did notice that I have nearly a million view on my blogs. I wonder if there is a time I need to stop even this effort.
MUD
I have a brother-in-law that shared with me that maintenance on his rental's finally caused him to sell them. I think I am nearing that point faster and faster each year. The problem is that keeping them is just going to diminish the profit point as I have to have more and more maintenance hired out.
Every time I go out somewhere, I see more and more Vietnam Vets wearing their baseball caps proudly. The problem is that they are all old guys. Hell, I went to Vietnam with a bunch of kids not a bunch of old farts.
Being retired from the National Guard, I get their newspaper monthly. I find it more often than not, the new Generals and major unit commanders are people that I don't even know. I guess the fact that the Adjutant General was a Captain that worked for me should tell me something.
I am considering buying a member ship to the YMCA again. I found a regular workout/swimming schedule was great a few years back. I will admit that the hot tub really made it nice after a work out.
Oh well, here I sit complaining about getting old and I need to get up and go do something. I did notice that I have nearly a million view on my blogs. I wonder if there is a time I need to stop even this effort.
MUD
What did we Learn in School?
It never ceases to amaze me that young voters think this is the worst race for the President. Over the years there are elections that said horrible things. "Ma, Ma, Where's my Paw? Gone to the White House, Ha, Ha, Ha." This was an attempt to pin paternity on Grover Cleveland. ( I have no idea if there is any truth in it) Goldwater was going to blow us all up! The press printed the results that Truman lost when he really won.
I am sure that back to the beginning there have been campaigns that said and did things that were bad and in a lot of cases wrong. The report was that Lincoln would lead us into a Civil War when it was the inevitable thing for a house so divided.
The real sad thing today is that the press lacks credibility in reporting so bad that no one really knows fact from fiction. Today a Gary Heart's picture on the poop deck of Monkey Business would not be believed. How did our past Presidents get such a free pass and candidates today are excoriated at the first drop of any hat.
If you can make sense of any of this, you are a better man than I, Charlie Brown.
The United States presidential election of 2016, scheduled for Tuesday, November 8, 2016, will be the 58th quadrennial U.S. presidential election. Voters will select presidential electors, who in turn will vote for a new president and vice president.
MUD
I am sure that back to the beginning there have been campaigns that said and did things that were bad and in a lot of cases wrong. The report was that Lincoln would lead us into a Civil War when it was the inevitable thing for a house so divided.
The real sad thing today is that the press lacks credibility in reporting so bad that no one really knows fact from fiction. Today a Gary Heart's picture on the poop deck of Monkey Business would not be believed. How did our past Presidents get such a free pass and candidates today are excoriated at the first drop of any hat.
If you can make sense of any of this, you are a better man than I, Charlie Brown.
The United States presidential election of 2016, scheduled for Tuesday, November 8, 2016, will be the 58th quadrennial U.S. presidential election. Voters will select presidential electors, who in turn will vote for a new president and vice president.
MUD
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