Niagara Falls
A true wonder of the world—Niagara Falls, located on the New York/Ontario, Canada border, was known primarily, by me, as a place newlyweds go on their honeymoon. Who’d a thunk…
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May 29, 2024
1964- A Crazy, Wonderful, Educational, Sad, Happy, Scary, Fun Year
Let’s start with me. I am the author of this piece, after all. At the start of this fantastic year, I was a young Air Force lieutenant navigator in a…
May 22, 2024
R and R
Congressional records indicate over 2.7 million Americans served in uniform in Vietnam. Did all of them serve an entire year in country? I dunno. I do know that I did;…
May 18, 2024
Why Are You in Charleston, Granddaddy?
Short answer— Because Grandmommy’s roots are here and she loves this city. And, because, Granddaddy, a self righteous latchkey kid from New York, also loves this city and has wormed…
April 26, 2024
A Really Long Drive For Duke’s BBQ
It’s now 1972. We are now a family of five. Christine and Jim are 6 and 5 respectively. Jeffrey, born in Denver, is about a year old. The “Zero Population…
April 23, 2024
Orangutan
First, a tribute to Chuck Martin for telling me this story. I welcome your fact checking and editing, Chuck. From 1970-1974, I had the privilege to work at the Air…
April 19, 2024
The Best Finance Job in the US Air Force
Wow!! It’s 1970. I’m a 31-year old Air Force captain with an over 5000 hours of aircrew experience, as a navigator in C-130, C-141, and C-47 aircraft. I just finished…
April 17, 2024
The Airlift Grab Bag
Uncertainty--a word which was intertwined in many parts of the job of the Charleston AFB C-130 navigator, circa 1965. It was also what made the job interesting, annoying, challenging, rewarding,…
April 9, 2024
Running With the Bulls
In my early flying days we stopped frequently at Lajes AB in the Azores to refuel and head further east to Europe or the mid-east. We rarely left the base…
April 4, 2024
Lajes AB, Azores
I've mentioned before that one thing I loved about the C-130 Hercules ( Herk) was its short legs. It needed to land and get fuel frequently. Ergo. I got to…
April 2, 2024