HOWARD’S DAILY CHRONICLE
NUMBER 4 VOL 13
AUGUST 4TH 2008
WEATHER; REAL HOT, MED HUMIDITY, 76/110 DEGREES
IT’S SO DAMN HOT THE HUMIDITY BURNS AWAY BEFORE IT CAN BE RECORDED OR SOMETHING LIKE THAT
MOM WENT TO 8:00 AM MASS AND GOT HOME ABOUT 9:30!
SHE MADE TWO OF HER FAMOUS BREAKFAST BURRITOS FOR EACH OF US! I FINISHED WATCHING THE SUNDAY MASS FROM THE “CHURCH OF THE ANGLES” ON CHANNEL 370! THEN WE SETTLED DOWN TO WATCH TV, OF COURSE I FELL ASLEEP PER USUAL AND WILL HAVE TO WATCH THE MOVIE I WAS WATCHING AGAIN IF I CAN REMEMBER THE NAME OF IT!
MOM WENT AND LAID DOWN FOR A WHILE AND I WAS WATCHING THE PRE NASCAR THINGS THEY HAVE ON FOR 3 HOURS BEFORE THE RACE! I GOT THE RACE ON ABOUT 1:30 AND AFTER ABOUT 30 LAPS FELL ASLEEP AGAIN! I WOKE UP AND STAYED AWAKE FOR ALMOST 2 HOURS THEN FELL ASLEEP! I WOKE UP TO SEE THE LAST 20 LAPS WHICH IS THE WHOLE RACE IN A CAPSULE ANYHOW
!
CARL EDWARDS WON! ONE OF THE TIMES I WAS WATCHING KASEY KAHNE’s #9 CAR WAS WAY OUT IN FRONT OF THE SECOND PLACE CAR, JIMMIE JOHNSON’S #48! I UNDERSTAND KASEY KAHNE RAN OUT OF GAS AND LOST THE LEAD TO CARL EDWARDS AND NEVER WAS IN CONTENTION AGAIN, TOO BAD, HE HAD PASSED 12 CARS IN 5 LAPS PROVING HE HAD THE FASTEST CAR BY FAR! WHILE I WAS SLEEPING THEY HAD A RAIN DELAY SO I DON’T FEEL SO BAD! I SWORE I WASN’T GOING TO WATCH ANY MORE NASCAR BECAUSE OF THEIR POLITICS AND DOUBLE SIDED RULES BUT, IF INDY CARS AREN’T RUNNING I TUNE IN NASCAR BUT CAN TURN IT OFF FOR A GOOD MOVIE OR THE INDY CARS!
ABOUT 7:00 PM WE CALLED LATINIS TO SEE IF THEY WERE GOING TO BE HOME AND THEY WERE SO WE WENT OUT AND VISITED FOR A COUPLE OF HOURS! THEY WEE TAKING CARE OF MARY ANNS LITTLE BOY KALEB! SHE’S DEBBIES DAUGHTER! KALEB’S ONLY 1 ½ YEARS OLD BUT IS REALLY WELL MANNERED! OH, HE HAS A FEW ROUGH EDGES BUT THEY’LL GET SMOOTHED OVER WITH TIME!
I ASKED IF THEY HAD GOTTEN THE AUTOPEY REPORT YET AND GARY SAID IT WOULD BE 4-5 WEEKS BEFORE ITWILL BE AVAILABLE!
GARY AND CHARLEENS NEIGHBOR, NORA BURLINGHAM BROUGHT GARY A DEEP DISH APPLE PIE SHE HAD PROMISED HIM 3 YEARS AGO AND WE ALL HAD SOME! NOT BAD, MOM THOUGHT IT WAS A LITTLE TO SWEET BUT I DIDN’T SO, WHAT DO I KNOW? I ASKED GARY WHEN HE WAS GOING BACK OUT ON THE ROAD AND HE HESITATED THEN SAID MAYBE NEXT WEEK, HE HAD SOME THINGS TO DO ON THE HOUSE BEFORE HE DOES!
I WON’T SAY FOR SURE BUT I THINK HE’S GETTING READY TO HANG IT UP! HE’LL BE 77 ON THE 19TH OF AUGUST AND HAS HAD SOME REOCCURING BACK PROBLEMS ALTHOUGH HE SAYS WHEN HE COMES OFF THE ROAD IT’LL BE HIS DECISION NOT SOME DOCTOR TELLING HIM HE SHOULD! I DON’T THINK SOME DOCTOR IS TELLING HIM I THINK IT’S THE OLD BODY SAYING IT! I’VE ALWAYS SAID WHEN IT BECOMES A JOB HE MUST GO TO EVERY DAY HE’LL QUIT! WE’LL SEE!
KERRY SENT AN E-MAIL AND NEEDED SOME INFORMATION ON THE VESSEL I’M USING IN MY BOOK! HE DIDN’T ELABORATE IF IT’S TOO SMALL FOR THE NUMBER OF PEOPLE ON IT OR THE NUMBER OF FACILITIES I’VE SHOWN IN IT! HE’LL GET BACK TO ME AND WE’LL FIND OUT WHAT WE HAVE TO CHANGE? TO USE THE DOUBLE STEEL HULL CHRIS CRAFT OR ANOTHER TYPE OF VESSEL; THE WAY I’VE WRITTEN THE SCENES DURING THE TYPHOON I DON’T BELIEVE A WOODEN HULLED VESSEL WOULD STAND THE POUNDING! I’LL GO WITH WHAT HE SUGGEST AFTER ALL HE HAS THE EXPERTISE IN THESE MATTERS!
I GOT AN E-MAIL FROM TIM CONCERNING HOW TO WRITE AND SOME OF THE THINGS TO DO TO SHORTEN OR LENGTHEN A STORY! I HAD SENT HIM AN E-MAIL SHOWING HOW TO SELF-PUBLISH YOUR BOOKS OR STORIES! IT’S CALLED CREATESPACE AND AMAZON.COM
I SENT IT TO MOM TOO AND THE ONLY COMMENT SHE HAD WAS WHEN YOU SUBMIT SOMETHING IT HAS TO BE “PRINT READY”! I CAN’T SEE A PROBLEM BEING ABLE TO DO THIS WITH MY COMPUTER IF MOM OR TIM WILL JUST TEACH ME ON HOW TO DO IT!
I WENT OUT AND SAT ON THE DECK FOR A LITTLE WHILE WHEN THE TEMPERATURE WAS ONLY104, MR”T” MY OLD CAT CAME UP ON THE DECK TO GET PETTED AND SCRATCHED AND A DRINK OF WATER THEN LEFT IN A HURRY TO GET BACK WHERE IT WAS COOL! LIKE I SAID, “FOR A LITTLE WHILE,” MAYBE 5-6 MINUTES! ALL THE CEILING FAN BLOWS IS HOT AIR! WE’VE GOT TO INSULATE THE INSIDE OF THE ROOF IT’S JUST BARE TIN ON CEILING JOYCE!
WHEN I WAS WORKING FOR LOCKHEED IN 1948 I WAS STILL LIVING AT HOME SO MY DAD AND I TRADED OFF DRIVING EVERY OTHER WEEK! I WAS PARKED BY THE GATE WAITING FOR HIM TO COME OUT OF B-6, THE FLIGHT TEST BUILDING1 THE GUARD CAME OVER TO MY CAR AND SAID MY DAD WANTED ME TO COME INSIDE BUT MY BADGE WASN’T FOR TOP SECRET FACILITIES, I WORKED IN A STOCK ROOM AT A-1.
THE GUARD TOOK MY BADGE AND HANDED ME ONE THAT WOULD SHOW ANYONE INSIDE I HAD CLEARENE TO BE THERE! MY DAD MET ME AT THE LITTLE DOOR IN THE BIG HANGER SLIDING DOORS AND WE WENT INTO HIS OFFICE WHERE HE HAD ME SIGN A “WILL NOT DISCLOSE ANYTHING I SEE IN THIS BUILDING” FORM! I SIGNED IT THEN HE TOOK ME THROUGH A DOOR INTO THE MAIN HANGER AND THERE STANDING ON ITS EPENODES (SP?) TAIL SURFCES!
IT WAS THE XF-90!
THERE WERE CAT WALKS ALL AROUND IT AND A MAIN LADDER GOING UPTO THE COCKPIT! MY DAD WENT AHEAD OF ME AND WE STOOD ON THE CAT WALK SO I COULD SEE IN THE COCKPIT! THE PILOTS SEAT WAS LIKE A BIG EASY CHAIR WITH STRANGE LOOKING BUTTONS ON THE END OF THE ARM REST WHERE THE PILOTS HANDS WOULD BE! I DIDN’T SEE ANY CONTROL STICK OR WHEEL ON A YOKE! ANOTHER MAN CAME UP THE LADDER AND MY DAD INTRODUCED ME TO HIM, IT WAS HERMAN “FISH” SALMON, ONE OF THE LOCKHEED TEST PILOTS, THIS WAS HIS PROJECT! I ASKED HIM WHERE THE CONTROL STICK WAS AND HAD IT BEEN TAKEN OUT OF ITS SOCKET! HE LAUGHED AND TOLD ME THIS AIRPLANE FLEW BY THE BUTTONS ON THE ARM REST! I COULDN’T BELIEVE THIS, TODAY IT’S CALLED “FLY BY WIRE”, THIS WAS 1948!
ABOUT 6 MONTHE LATER I WENT WITH MY DD TO MUROC DRY LAKE TO SEE THIS AIRPLANE FLY! “FISH” SALMON WAS AT THE CONTROLS, HE MADE A PASS ABOUT 100 FEET ABOVE THE GROUND AND THE LOUD SPEAKER BLARED OUT “1576 MPH!” THE LOUD BOOM OF SOUND THAT FOLLOWED ALMOST DEAFENED US! LUCKELY WE WERE ABOUT 2 MILES AWAY FROM WHERE HE MADE THE PASS! EVERYBODY CHEERED AND WAVED AT THE AIRPLANE WHEN IT CAME BY SLOWER AND “FISH”WIGGLED ITS WINGS!
ON THE WAY HOME MY DAD REMINDED ME ABOUT THE PAPER I SIGNED! THIS IS THE SECOND TIME I’VE TOLD THIS TO ANYONE THE OTHER TIME WAS WHEN WE WERE VISITING JACQUE AND DANNY IN TEHACHAPI ON OUR TRIP! THE XF-90 WASN’T BOUGHT BY THE MILITARY BECAUSE IT WAS TOO BIG! BUT IT PROVED THAT WE COULD “FLY BY WIRE!” AND BREAK THE SOUND BARRIER AT ALMOST SEA LEVEL IN 1948! MY DAD TOOK ME IN TO SEE A LOT OF THINGS AT B-6 BEFORE IT WAS MOVED TO WHAT IS NOW EDWARDS AFB IN PALMDALE CALIFORNIA!
THAT’S “30” FOR THIS ISSUE.
HOWARD
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