HOWARD’S DAILY CHRONICLE
NUMBER 27 VOL 12
JULY 27TH 2008
WEATHER; HOT, HIGH NUMIDITY, 75/103 DEGREES
NOTHING GOING ON TODAY AT THE “MAHONEY SPREAD”, MOM HAD TO GO TO TOWN FOR A FEW THINGS AND I JUST SAT AROUND AND WATCHED TV AND WORKED ON THE CHRONICLE! I’M TRYING TO MAKE IT MORE INTERESTING BY WRITING ABOUT SOME THINGS THAT I EXPERIENCED IN THE MILITARY AND AFTER I WAS DISCHARGED LIKE THE ONE AT THE END OF THIS CHRONICLE!
I’M WAITING FOR THE WEATHER TO COOL DOWN SO I CAN DO SOMETHINGS OUTSIDE! FROM WHAT THE WEATHERMAN SAID THIS EVENING WE’RE SUPPOSED TO BE IN THE TRIPPLE DIGITS ALL THROUGH THE WEEKEND INTO NEXT TUESDAY THEN IT WILL COOL DOWN TO 99-98 LOL, TILL NEXT WEEKEND! THEN UP WE GO AGAIN FOR ABOUT A WEEK!
WE RUN TWO ½ TON A/C WINDOW UNITS, ONE IN OUR BEDROOM AND ONE IN THE COMPUTER ROOM AND ONE TON AND A HALF IN THE LIVING ROOM! THEY KEEP THE HOUSE PRETTY COMFORTABLE, ABOUT 30 DEGREES COOLER THAN OUTSIDE WHICH IS WHAT ANY A/C SHOULD DO!
MIKE HAD A NEW METAL ROOF PUT ON THE TRAILER WHEN HE LIVED HERE, THERE’S AN AIR SPACE BETWEEN IT AND THE ORIGINAL ROOF PLUS INSULATION AND THE WALLS ARE PRETTY WELL INSULATED! THERE’S TWO BIG CEDER TREES ON THE NORTH SIDE AND THAT’S WHERE ALL THREE A/C UNITS ARE SO IT WORKS OUT PRETTY GOOD!
PEGGY’S DOING OK AND RACES NEXT WEEKEND AT BAKERSFIELD, FROM WHAT SHE SAID IN HER LAST E-MAIL THEY MADE A LOT OF CHANGES IN THE CAR AND SHE HOPES TO GET BACK TO WHERE SHE WAS AT HE END OF LAST SEASON! I SUGGESTED THEY TAKE ALL THE NEW THINGS THEY PUT ON THE CAR THAT SEEMED TO SLOW IT DOWN AND START BACK WITH THE BASICS! SHE’LL FILL ME IN AFTER THEIR NEXT RACE AND I’LL LET YOU ALL KNOW!
I HAVEN’T HEARD FROM OR ABOUT JACQUE SINCE SHE GOT PICKED UP FOR DWI BECAUSE SHE BACKED INTO A CITY TRUCK OR CAR! I THINK SHE HAD TO GO TO COURT ON THE 16TH OF JULY, I’LL CHECK WITH PEGGY TO BE SURE HOW SHE MADE OUT!
I GUESS MIKE AND CINDY ARE DOING OK, WE DON’T HEAR MUCH FROM THEM! CINDY’S KEPT BUSY RUNNING TO ALL THE RODEOS DYLLON COMPETES IN, BULL RIDING AND CALF ROPING! TAYLOR JUST GOES ALONG FOR THE RIDE OR STAYES HOME BY HIMSELF!
COLLEEN AND DICK ARE DOING FINE AND LOOKING FORWARD TO THEIR UPCOMING MARRIAGE IN OCTOBER IN LAS VEGAS! I WISH WE COULD MAKE IT OUT THERE FOR IT BUT THERE’S NO WAY RIGHT NOW! WE DIDN’T MAKE MOM’S FAMILY REUNION IN WISCONSIN THE 3RD WEEK OF JULY THIS YEAR, THIS IS THE FIRST ONE WE’VE MISSED IN A LONG TIME! BUT, MAYBE NEXT YEAR WILL BE BETTER!
KERRY AND DEBI ARE ALSO DOING FINE, HE’S BACK AT WORK AFTER HIS 3 WEEKS OFF NOW IT’LL BE 6 MORE WEEKS BEFORE HIS NEXT 3 WEEKS OFF! THEY WANT US TO GO TO FLORIDA WITH THEM AND MAYBE WE WILL WHEN THE WEATHER COOLS DOWN IN OCTOBER/NOVEMBER!
KELLY AND GLENDA ARE DOING FINE AND GETTING SOME THINGS DONE AROUND THE PLACE! HE SPENT TIME UNDER HIS HOUSE TODAY LEVELING SOME PLACES THAT HAVE NEEDED IT FOR A LONG TIME!
SHANNON AND KONNER ARE DOING OK THE LAST I HEARD! SHE’S HAD SOME BAD TIMES SLEEPING SO THEY GAVE HER TEST AND SHE HAS SLEEP APNEA (SP?) AND SOMETHING WRONG WITH HER FOOT, MOM THINKS IT’S A BONE SPUR! OTHER THAN THOSE TWO THINGS I GUESS SHE’S OK!
TIM AND ELYSE ARE ALSO DOING FINE, I DON’TKNOW HOW MUCH PROGRESS THEY’RE MAKING ON THE CABINETS AND FLOORING BUT THEY’LL GET IT DONE I’M SURE! I HAVEN’T HEARD IF ELYSE WENT TO WORK FOR THE AMERICAN HEART ASSOCIATION YET! THAT’LL WORK OUT JUST FINE FOR THEM, THEY CAN RIDE TOGETHER WHICH WILL SAVE GAS AND TIME!
HERE’S AN INCIDENT THAT HAPPENED WHILE I WAS IN THE U.S. AIR FORCE ON MY 2ND TOUR;
I BECAME PRETTY GOOD BUDDIES WITH ANOTHER AIRMAN WHO WAS STATIONED AT BOSSIER BASE WHICH WAS THE NUCLEAR WAREHOUSE FOR MY BASE, BARKSDALE AFB IN SHREVESPORT, LA.. HIS NAME WAS BILL SHARKEY!
BARKSDALE HAD ONE OF THE FIRST B-47 WINGS IN THE AIR FORCE! WE HAD AN AIR TO AIR REFUELING SQUADRON WITH KC-97 AIR CRAFT AND AN ECM (ELECTRIC COUNTER MEASURES) SQUADRON! THE ECM AIR CRAFT, RB-47s, THEY WENT IN AHEAD OF THE BOMBERS WITH THE NUCLEAR BOMBS TO DROP “CHAT”, STRIPS OF ALUMINUM FOIL TO BLANK OUT THE ENEMY RADAR!
WE BOTH RODE MOTORCYCLES, HIS WAS A 74 C. I. HARLEY AND MINE WAS A T-110 TRIUMPH WITH 40 C.INCHES I HAD BUILT OUT OF TWO WRECKED TRIUMPHS
WE DECIDED TO TAKE SOME LEAVE AND GO TO AN ISLAND THE SPECIAL SERVICES HAD OUTSIDE OF SHREVESPORT CALLED “PEGGYS ISLAND!” THERE WAS A BIG HOUSE THAT COULD SLEEP 10 PEOPLE, A BIG KITCHEN AND LIVING ROOM, A PORCH THAT WENT ALL THE WAY AROUND THE HOUSE, AN OUTSIDE SHOWER AND A 100’ LONG FISHING/BOAT DOCK WITH ALL THE NECESSARY FACILITIES TO CLEAN ANYTHING YOU MIGHT CATCH FROM PERCH TO 20 LB GAR AND, AN OCCASIONAL SMALL ALLIGATOR! THE ISLAND HAD ITS SHARE OF WILD ANIMALS AND THE SPECIAL SERVICES SUPPLIED SHOT GUNS TO HUNT WITH, NO RIFLES OR PISTOLS, IT WAS ONLY ABOUT 500’ TO THE SHORE FROM ANY POINT ON THE ISLAND AND BULLETS WOULD GO THAT FAR AND COULD HURT OR KILL SOMEONE!
WE WENT TO SPECIAL SERVICES AND PICKED UP ALL THE SUPPLIES WE WOULD NEED, A MILITARY WALKIE-TALKIE WITH BATTERIES, SLEEPING BAGS, GAS LANTERNS, GAS COOK STOVE, 20 GALLONS OF STOVE GAS, 25 GALLONS OF DRINKING WATER, ICE CHEST,WE COULD GET ICE AT THE MARINA DOCK WHERE WE WOULD GET THE 15’ BOAT TO TAKE US TO THE ISLAND, A 25 HORSE POWER O.B. MOTOR AND GAS FOR IT, TWO 12 GAGE SHOT GUNS AND AMUN ITION! THEN WE WENT TO THE BASE COMMISSARY AND PICKED UP THE FOOD AND DRINKS WE WANTED TO TAKE! WE HAD PLANNED TO SPEND A WEEK ON THE ISLAND!
WE SIGNED OUT OF OUR SQUADRONS ON A FRIDAY AFTERNOON LOADED UP THE CARRYALL WE HAD CHECKED OUT AND HEADED FOR THE ISLAND! WHEN WE REACHED THE MARINA DOCK WE UNLOADED ALL THE GEAR INTO THE BOAT WE HAD RESERVED, PARKED THE CARRYALL OUT OF THE WAY AND GAVE THE KEYS TO THE MARINA MANAGER! THEN WE CLAMPED THE O.B. MOTOR TO THE STERN OF THE BOAT, HOOKED UP THE GAS CAN AND PUMPED UP THE TANK FIRED UP THE MOTOR AND TOOK OFF FOR THE ISLAND AND A WEEK OF DOING NOTHING BUT SLEEPING, FISHING, EATING, HUNTING AND RELAXING! NO ONE YELLING TO GET THIS DONE AND THAT DONE, UP AT 5AM AND NOT TO BED SOMETIMES TILL MIDNIGHT, NOT FOR THE NEXT WEEK!
I DIDN’T SEE BILL LOAD THE SHOT GUNS BEFORE WE LEFT THE DOCK! AS WE PULLED UP UNDER THE OVERHANGING WILLOW TREES A SNAKE DROPPED INTO THE BOAT, I GRABED AN ORE AND STARTED TO SCOPE IT OUT WHEN BILL JUMPED UP WITH A SHOT GUN AND YELLED, “I’LL GET IT” AND PROCEEDED TO BLOW A N 8-10 INCH HOLE IN THE BOTTOM OF THE BOAT, O YEAH, HE GOT THE SNAKE IN THE PROCESS! NOW I DON’T KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT SNAKES BUT FROM THE PICTURES AND THINGS PEOPLE HAVE TOLD ME IT WAS A COTTON MOUTH AND IF IT HAD LANDED ON ONE OF US COULD HAVE BEEN SERIOUS EVEN DEADLY! NEEDLESS TO SAY THE BOAT SANK WITH ALL OUR GEAR AND CLOTHES! WE JUMPED TO THE DOCK AND JUST STOOD THERE AND WATCHED IN SILENCE! THE WATER AT THAT PLACE WAS ABOUT 10 FEET DEEP! I STRIPPED DOWN TO MY SKIVEES AND DOVE IN TO SEE WHAT I COULD SAVE BEFORE IT WAS RUINED, SHARKEY WASN’T A VERY GOOD SWIMMER! I PULLED UP THE BOX OF CANNED GOODS, THE SLEEPING BAGS, ONE OF THE DRINKING WATER CONTAINERS, THE LANTERNS, ONE CAN OF GAS FOR THE LANTERNS, ONE SHOT GUN, WE NEVER DID FIND THE OTHER ONE WHICH WE HAD TO PAY $50.00 FOR! WE NEVER FOUND THE ICE CHEST, OR MOST OF OUR CLOTHES WE ASSUMED THEY FLOATED AWAYUNDER WATER, THE WALKIE-TALKIE WAS SOAKED BUT WE HOPED WE COULD DRY IT OUT AND PUT OUT A CALL FOR HELP! AS FAR AS I KNOW IT NEVER WORKED AGAIN! THE MOTOR WAS RUNNING WHEN IT SANK SO WE ASSUMED IT WAS RUINED TOO! WE DRIED ALL THE THINGS WE COULD AND SPENT THE NEXT WEEK TRYING TO GET SOMEONES ATTENTION BUT THE LAKE WAS PRETTY WELL DESERTED THIS TIME OF YEAR!
FINALLY WHEN WE DIDN’T RETURN TO OUR SQUADRONS ON TIME THEY SENT OUT A SEARCH PARTY, THEY FOUND THE CARRYALL AND THE MARINA MANAGER WHO HAD GONE ON VACATION THE DAY WE GOT THERE! THEY CAME OVER TO THE ISLAND AND WOKE US UP! WE CAME BACK THE NEXT WEEK END AND GOT A SMALL BARGE FROM THE MARINA AND PULLED THE BOAT AND THE REST OF OUR GEAR UP EXCEPT THE OTHER SHOT GUN AND TOOK IT ALL BACK TO THE BASE IN A PICK UP! THE MARINA MANAGER SAID HE’D REPAIR THE BOTTOM OF THE BOAT FOR $20.OO SO SHARKEY AND I GAVE HIM $10.00 EACH AND FORGOT ABOUT IT! BY THE TIME IT WAS ALL OVER IT COST US $75.00 EACH FOR THE GOVERNMENT ITEMS WE LOST OR RUINED NOT INCLUDING THE SHOT GUN WE LOST, WE GUESSED WHEN BILL PULLED THE TRIGGER IT FLEW OUT HIS HANDS AND LANDED SOMEWHERE IN THE LAKE! AND WE VOWED NEVER TO DO THAT AGAIN, TILL NEXT TIME! LOL!
THERE ARE MORE THINGS INVOLVING BILL SHARKEY WHICH I’LL RELATE IN OTHER CHRONICLES!
THAT’S “30” FOR THIS ISSUE.
HOWARD
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