laughingwolf_qh33q8 – Page 55

New Old Country

Growing up, I was indeed a child of rock and roll, though I tried to keep how much so hidden from my mother. Much I could say, and I do ask for prayers for her soul, but let’s just say she was not a fan of rock and roll for all she did seem to enjoy the Beatles and others on the Ed Sullivan show. That said, she much more enjoyed other acts and encouraged me to do so as well.

Her preference, and to some extend Dad’s, was much more into classical/baroque music, musicals, and bluegrass/old-school country. By old-school country, I mean what you would hear at the Grand Old Opry back when it was in the Ryman auditorium. If you don’t know who Stringbean and Bill Monroe are, much less Flatt and Scruggs, you are missing something. Have to admit, glad I got to go there before the Opry left Ryman. Yes, Porter Wagoner was a regular watch in our house. When Hee Haw started, it was a regular watch as well, and they brought in a lot of the old school to share with modern audiences. Sort of interesting to think back and realize that Roy Clark and Buck Owens were considered in some ways as ‘the new kids’ (Stringbean and Grandpa Jones being old school) despite having been around a while. Also, have to confess to having quite a crush on Cathy Baker…

Bit of an aside, mom tried hard to get me into musicals and I did sort of enjoy them. Think she finally gave up when she found out my favorite line from a musical was “I knew I loved her when I saw the moonlight gleaming off, the barrels of her father’s shotgun.” Also, she may have caught some of the alternative lyrics I devised for some songs, which became a bit, er, risque, as I hit puberty.

The reason for the discussion is that two bits of music have caused quite a stir in certain circles. I’ve listened to both, and have a couple of thoughts to share.

First up, Jason Aldean has a slick piece up that shook up what I consider to be the right people. High production values, fancy video, and a message to go with it. For me, not racist (if you hear the dog whistle, you are the dog; and, if you hear dog whistles in everything, get help) or any of the other wrong-think attributed to it. A solid commercial country hit.

Second, we now have Oliver Anthony coming out of left field with an anthem that is taking the world by storm. Not as slick, not as polished, but from the heart. The sound, to me, is a mix of old-school country/bluegrass and just a bit of the new. I hear a lot of influence in both music and lyrics from the bluegrass world.

Of the two, I have to admit I’m going through everything I can find by Mr. Anthony on the web. I’m not going to get into analyzing all the lyrics, but the music is something I think has been missing. A synthesis of some of the best of the new country and bluegrass, with a heapin helping (sorry, couldn’t resist) of old-school sounds and even techniques. Also, if you go back, even messaging.

I will say this about his lyrics: they resonate. I think they are going to resonate with more people, and in a deeper way, than Mr. Aldean’s good song. The word choices, the inflections, the feelings are in many ways raw and compelling. He’s singing the way average people, working people, outside the bubbles talk and think. That’s why it hitting home for so many people across a range of demographics. It’s why so many in the authoritarian/totalitarian camp hate him, and will try any way they can to cancel him. Which is also why I expect a lot of corporate Nashville (which is Big Music these days) will ignore him. Which also just makes this both more funny and more likely to be another Babylon Bee prophecy.

For me, in many ways, I just want to sit back and enjoy the music. The lyrics are okay and hit home, but it’s the sound that makes it all work. Check out some of his other work, think it is worth the time. If you are into such things, tell me you don’t hear a bit of old-school Stringbean coming out in that. In fact, good odds I will not just listen to what he has out, but go back and listen to some of the old-school classics as well. Time well spent on both I think.

So, tell me. What do you think of the message, and who all do you hear reflected in his somewhat unique sound?

Getting hit by lightning is not fun! If you would like to help me in my recovery efforts, which include moving once we have medical issues cleared up, feel free to hit the fundraiser at A New Life on GiveSendGo, use the options in the Tip Jar in the upper right, or drop me a line to discuss other methods. It is thanks to your gifts and prayers that I am still going. Thank you.

Real Corned Beef Hash

Growing up, a favorite morning meal when we were up in the mountains was corned beef hash with a poached egg. Times and budget being what they were, the corned beef was from a can. In fact, I preferred it kept in the round, sliced, and then the slices fried up and the egg put on top. Add in a fresh-from-the-oven blueberry muffin (sometimes including blueberries we had picked), and it was nirvana.

Over the years since, I got introduced to real corned beef hash. It was always at diners it seemed, where yesterday’s corned beef and baked potatoes were diced and grilled up in front of you. Poaching eggs being a rarity these days, it was most often an over easy or sunny side egg or two on top. Comfort food.

I think the best I’ve had was at a diner just down the street from the King George Hotel in San Francisco. Jerry Pournelle had recommended the hotel to me for a science conference, it being his preferred hotel. At the time, I found the rooms up and back to be quite nice for SF, and available at government per diem. He may have also recommended the diner on the corner nearby, and if so it’s one more thing for which I hope I thanked him.

The memories are fragmented now (stupid lightning), but it seems like I went out the front door of the hotel, turned right, and the diner was on the corner. It may or may not have been the Mason Cafe/Diner, as this was a few decades back. I do remember sitting at a counter watching the cook dice the corned beef and potatoes then fry them up on the griddle, and the amazing smell as it cooked.

I can’t imagine wanting to go to SF right now, but if you have to, check out the King George and the Mason Diner. From the website, the hotel has had a renovation or two since I was last there, and no longer lists an afternoon tea, but was a solid place to stay back in the day. If the diner is the one I remember, I also remember never having a bad breakfast there. Can’t speak for today, but back in the day if you didn’t like the food options where you were in SF, walk another block.

Recently, I’ve been craving real corned beef hash and eggs. There are several places in Indy that advertise having such, including my two favorite breakfast places nearby were I do my monthly splurge breakfast.

Turns out, one of the two fibs about that. If the corned beef hash didn’t come out of a can, their cook should be shot. Sadly typical these days.

The other, however, was and is the real deal. It wasn’t so much diced as chunks of corned beef they had corned and cooked themselves with some of the house potato. Tasty, meaty, filling, and oh-so-good with two eggs over easy.

I’m seriously looking at the budget and thinking of adding some brisket to my grocery list. I have the corning spices, I have the means, and would kill for some good corned beef right now as I’m still craving beef after the surgery. In fact, would love to do enough to put up several meals of corned beef for supper, and then chop up the rest and fry it up with maybe some onions or such to make hash to have for breakfast(s). Not that great at over easy, so more practice would be good. Really shouldn’t bake any blueberry muffins, but sure is tempting. Corned beef hash and eggs, blueberry muffin dripping with real butter, and a good cup of black coffee. Breakfast just doesn’t get much better.

So, what are your favorite comfort food breakfasts?

Interesting Weekend

Sorry for the lack of posting, but my weekend got a bit interesting. A bit mixed on that.

First, my body and I started arguing for reasons that are not clear. Most likely something I ate, but it made for an interesting Sunday evening and Monday. Yesterday was better, and I started doing some “cure or kill” steps to move things along. So far so good on that.

The only thing I ate that was completely out of the ordinary was a small pastry. Housemate is back from visiting his parents and family in Algeria, and one of his sisters always bakes him several large containers of pastries. If she isn’t a professional pastry chef she should be as both the pastries and presentation (wraps, cups, etc.) put some of the high-end pastry stores in the main tourist section of Paris to shame. Baklava to die for. Tried a new-to-me concoction that was sesame on sesame on sesame with honey in a pastry cone. Thank goodness it was small, and that I had to leave quickly as he was offering me one of each type. I think she only did five to seven different pastries this visit. Also, don’t think this was what set things off.

On top of that, I was contacted Sunday by someone who wanted to let me know that Flo might be up for sale online. They had been looking at buying her, but in doing some research found my article, and was pretty sure the one for sale was mine. Or what had been mine, as the insurance company paid up and now owns her if found. No way to buy her back right now from them (or anyone else). The person selling her says he got her from an estate sale. No reason to doubt them, but I would dearly love to know what estate, when the deceased bought or obtained her, and from whom.

I’ve contacted both the relevant PD and the insurance company. Crickets. No apparent interest in pursuing this. No, not going to contact the seller either electronically or in person. Hard, but if this is my Flo, and I strongly suspect it is, such contacts rarely work out well and I have been having to remind myself that she is no longer mine. The lack of interest on the part of the proper authorities in pursuing justice both hurts and is not a surprise. Just another sad marker in the decline of civilization, the rule of law, and the Republic.

On top of that, I discovered that the big box store pharmacy I thought I had moved away from proved to be as competent at that as they have on other issues recently. Ended up taking phone calls from myself and the new pharmacy to finally get them to do what they were supposed to have done last Thursday. Good news is, now finally switched over and the new pharmacy is close enough I can walk to it when the weather is nice. Initial service is good, and they were thanking me for becoming a customer when I picked up my first prescription. Cautiously optimistic.

May be a food and a music post later. Trying to catch up on all that is going on, and take care of a few things that have to be dealt with. More soon.

A Letter To Some Friends

Yesterday’s post reminded me I needed to finish writing a letter to some friends. Some friends with hard decisions to make, that will effect themselves and others. Decisions where it helps to bounce things off another person, so that you can check your impression of what is going on as well as search for options. We can’t have that meal together to do that, so a letter seems the best way.

Let me just say, you are not wrong, you are not alone, and on many levels it is worse than you think.

In some ways, the point where this should have come up is in the rearview mirror. But, you always hope that something good will happen, changes will be made, and promises honored. The problem is, our so-called “expert” leadership class is anything but such. They have shown they have no honor and only crave gaining yet more power and control; and, their word is not worth the spit behind it.

This isn’t confined to the military or law enforcement/public safety, but also public health, politics, and education. It is your doctor who looked you in the eyes and lied to you at the government’s behest during COVID. It’s the teacher and administrators secretly encouraging children to sterilize themselves in pursuit of the current secular religion. For those that serve, your children, with the approval of our military leadership. Leadership that heard the phrase “baby killer” and thought it a good thing and noble, and so encourage the murder of the unborn via another sacrament of the secular religion, abortion.

The best descriptor of what I’m hearing from those still in, but looking at getting out out of the military, can best be summed up as “Toxic Command Environment.” Physical and mental abuse, sexual harassment and assault, and lack of support are what I’m hearing is causing us to hemorrhage experienced and dedicated troops. All branches. And lack of support includes lack of food and more. It’s not just one base in Texas, it’s all over. The whole concept of Mission, Men, Me has been tossed out the airlock without a backwards glance.

You are not wrong to be thinking of taking your skills to Civvy Street. In fact, I would encourage it because your “leaders” do not respect you or your service, they have no consideration for you, and they will get you killed. Yes, I do know of a few bright spots, a few leaders who truly live up to the word and their obligations. Problem is, almost none of them are current GOFOs and because they are good and competent leaders are unlikely in the current environment to become a GOFO.

From law enforcement and public safety, I hear much the same. There are few in larger cities who feel the politicians and top brass have their backs. I can’t imagine having to go to work everyday knowing that if anything happens I’m going to be eagerly tossed under the bus by that so called leadership.

Some of you have already left the force in such cities, and taken jobs with smaller, better departments elsewhere. I’m glad you did, they are lucky to have you. That said, I think you’ve only put off the real decision for a few years. Hope I’m wrong, but I’m afraid I may not be. I know some of you who have left LE/PS, either for totally new careers or in something related. I’m glad you made that choice as well, as your employers are also lucky to have you.

I could turn this into a wordy take down of all that is wrong with America and the world, but it’s Saturday and you have other things to do. So, let’s cut to the chase.

Unlawful Orders

A serious and somewhat controversial topic, but one we ALL need to think about as it is the key to what is going on above. What makes it an even more complex topic is that even if there is a law that says X is okay and good, it can still be illegal to obey an order to do X. Let’s say there’s a law on the books that says it is okay to euthanize the physically and mentally defective, those of inferior genetics, etc. Still doesn’t necessarily make it legal, not to mention that it’s wrong on other levels as well. Exploring the intricacies of legal versus illegal homicide is not why we are having this conversation however, fascinating though the topic can be.

We are having it because of a symptom of how far the rot has spread in society. There have always been sociopaths and others who would torture, rape, and kill for the fun of it. Because they could do it and get away with it. They were, for the most part, a minority. However, the current secular religion has been chipping away at the social compact for a few decades now. Lots of columns have already been written about the othering of anyone who disagrees in any way with the current thing of the secular religion. Yes, I do think it deliberate and yes I think it is being deliberately done to foment violence. I’ve also noticed that there has been a push towards obey-the-order as well. You must wear the mask. You must get the vax. You must go green. The list goes on, but it is conditioning pure and simple. Obey. Or else.

Those watching have seen the creep. Watching seven “police” officers physically attack an autistic juvenile (and that is exactly what that so-called arrest was IMO) is but the latest example. They are going to claim that they were only following orders. It may be a slight variation, but that is going to be their defense in any and all actions against them. Bad thing is, they will probably get away with it rather than being given the boot as they richly deserve. Thing is, there was a law that X was bad and should be treated harshly and they willfully obeyed without thought. Out of the seven, not one had any qualms about attacking that girl.

Thing is, you and I know that the laws or executive orders about X are coming here. It’s not just speech, but a whole range of topics. And, yes, it would not surprise me in the least to see them come for your old gas stove and take it from you at gunpoint. They are that stupid and that fanatical.

They are stupid and see you, me, and a lot of others as automatons who will obey any order they give, even if the law behind said order is not Constitutional. It’s the law, you will obey.

No, we won’t. That’s why ultimately we and the concepts of individual liberty and rights granted by God will win. We have the right and responsibility to say no. It’s why they are trying and will try to make horrendous examples of those who did not/do not obey. When it’s just a few, they can do that and may even get away with it. But, courage is contagious. It starts with one person saying no, but as more stand up to do so, the more that will join them. They can’t do the horrendous it when those who say no are legion. Efforts to control large populations through control of food, water, and power are not going to work the way they think it will. We are legion.

Recognize that illegal orders are not just something barked by someone wearing stars on their collar. They can and do come as executive orders, mandates, regulations, and the other weapons of the bureaucrats. Embrace the power of no. There will be repercussions, and we might even see a Waco, Utah, or Ruby Ridge writ large — unless enough people have the courage and integrity to disobey illegal orders. To say no.

To those staying in, God Bless and Keep you and yours. May he guide and shield you now and in the days ahead. Just remember that it’s not you don’t have to obey, it’s you must not obey an illegal order. Keep in mind that as a member of the military, or federal, state, or local LE/PS, you are legally and morally required to not follow the order. There are times you are even required to resist having others follow the order. Even if it means you don’t walk out.

Think, make your decisions, and prepare. If you come out, glad to have you on the civvy side. If you stay in, may you be spared certain decisions.

Thing is, I suspect we will be rebuilding a lot of things here in the next few years, one way or another. We can rebuild good and needed institutions. A few years back, a retired Army general talked to a small group of us frankly and forthrightly. The subject was the Army, and how it was a broken institution effectively destroyed in the aftermath of Vietnam. He talked about what it took to rebuild the Army and take it from the hellhole it was to an all-volunteer force that was so well trained that when war came green troops operated as if they were veterans. A force that could take on and successfully do almost any task.

We can do it again, across a number of good and needed institutions. Why? Because we are legion, and we have the courage and drive to say NO when needed. We have experience, we have knowledge, and with luck we have some wisdom. We are legion.

Until then, keep those that matter close and your things where you can find them in the dark. Embrace the power of NO as needed.

Stopping The Spread

This is the face of unbridled and unprincipled authoritarianism. A face that would have fit right in with the Stasi, Gestapo, KGB, or a dozen others. A face in it only for power and pettiness. This is the face of tyranny. This is the everyday face of utter evil. The problem is, it’s not alone.

The banality of evil comes from it becoming common. Once the toe is in the door, more comes in and evil will spread and grow. Almost always that toe is disguised as some measure of safety and protection. Doesn’t matter if it is the oxymoron of hate speech, or a lockdown to slow the spread, it is an assault on your body autonomy and independence. Every time it is a means of chipping away at freedom, be it speech, movement, self-defense, or other basic rights granted not by government but by God. These efforts always attempt to grow.

It is not a new thing, for those who follow history know the pattern well and have seen it in multiple forms, in multiple times, and in multiple places. Those who study humanity, particularly in the forms of psychology and theology, know that we are flawed creatures and that there have always been, and will always be, people who because of their own flaws and insecurities are driven to obtain power over others. In the worst cases, you wind up with a national leader and piles of dead, as the millions of dead killed by such in just the last century will attest. For the rest, those insecurities reinforce the feelings of powerlessness over themselves such that they are driven to find any form of power over others for compensation. From those ranks come the nasty clerk at the motor vehicles bureau, the overly officious HOA board member, the Karen screaming at a store employee over the person not wearing a mask right/standing only 5 feet 11 inches from others. Like something else, they are legion because most don’t don’t want to deal with the hassle of confrontation.

There is, however, a third class of tyrant that as they become more common pose the greatest danger to individual liberty and stable governance. Their own self-loathing causes them to despise others, and worse yet to treat them as others and not as human beings or a life to be respected. For some, it reaches the point of sociopathy, for others something almost as bad. This group tends to find jobs and careers in organizations that give formal power over others such as teaching, law enforcement, and administration to name a few. The easiest way to spot them is that they are the ones who will take an innocent question or comment as a challenge to their authority. The ones that do so spectacularly and in a way that becomes public — say a teacher beating a developmentally challenged student who didn’t lift a finger at any point, or made one eat his own vomit; the cop who goes to town on someone without provocation, or elevates a comment to a high crime; a politician who has security, LE, or just members of their team harass or even assault a reporter or constituent over a comment or for daring to ask a question; a school board abusing power to prevent the parents of students from talking at an open meeting; or, well, you get the picture — are actually the better ones for society. They identify themselves and make it easy to have them fired, reassigned, sued, voted out, etc. If you follow the news, you know that those examples are in fact reality.

The British officer above hit viral status yesterday for having multiple officers swarm and physically assault an autistic juvenile and throw her into the dungeon, as it were, with no contact with her parents as a means of physical and psychological torture all because the autistic juvenile made a comment about the officer looking like her lesbian grandmother and wondering if she was a lesbian too. Now, the officer and the police department maintain that a huge and vicious crime was committed by the AUTISTIC JUVENILE and that the arrest including the use of force was justified. Judge for yourself. Since it appears that there was a complete absence of malice, and that no rational human being could see those words as an attack, I see it as assault, torture, and intimidation under colour of authority. Yeah, did that spelling because they are Brits. Sir Robert Peel must be spinning in his grave at several hundred thousand RPM over what the police and law have become in England.

However sickening and infuriating those who do things that become public are, they also are not the ones who scare me. The ones who have it a bit more together, who cover their tracks are the real danger. They are the ones who work with that first group of tyrants to take things national. They are the ones who design the “laws” (and help get them expanded), the gulags/camps/etc, sign the death warrants, and use the public types for intimidation, brutality, and all the dirty work while keeping their own hands clean. Mostly. There are always a few who will sneak into the dungeons or camps to have a bit of sick fun, then ensure there are no records or witnesses. Most, however, try to stay above such things.

What can be done about any of the three types of tyrant?

First, allow me to recommend mockery. Evil can’t stand to be mocked or laughed at. Look at how hard so many bureaucrats and politicians worked to silence memes and mockery in recent years. Tells you everything you need to know about them. Mockery also sends a message from society that such behavior is not acceptable. It humiliates those so hit, and lets others watching know not to do such things. Enough mockery from enough people, and you can indeed bring about change. Memes and memetics matter. Also, even in closed societies, you can mock with a degree of anonymity and at least some safety. Be smart, be careful, and be brutal with the mockery.

Second, shun. Do not stand with any of the three groups of tyrants. Ostracize them. Make them not of your circle of friends, invite them not to social events, cut them out of your life. You and your life will be much better for it. Again, it gets a message across to the person(s) in question and to those around you both about what does and does not constitute acceptable behavior, morals, and ethics.

Third, publicize. In closed societies, like England, you are going to have to be careful about what and how you do as one of the first things tyrants do is make it illegal to share news. When you can’t make it illegal, you can set up groups of bureaucrats (“experts”) to illegally censor content in social media. *Cough* My recommendation is to learn what you can about VPNs, proxies, and how to remove as many fingerprints as you can even in open societies for the safety of you and your loved ones. For non-electronic, keep in mind that printers and copiers still mark each sheet with a code to identify which printer/copier did the work. Typewriters have their own weaknesses too. That said, there are work arounds — find them. Meanwhile, spread the news any way and every way you can. Evil, like a cockroach, does not like a light shined on it. SHINE THE BRIGHTEST LIGHT YOU CAN!

Fourth, Courts and Elections. In closed societies, such is limited or eliminated. In those still pretending to be open, or that truly are open, make use of the courts and elections. On the latter, be sure the candidate is what and who they say they are and isn’t going to pull a Shreve. Start local, because until your area of operations is secure, trying for the top isn’t going to get too far. Even if you have a success with it, you are still having to fight the layers of bureaucracy, tyranny, and authoritarianism between you and the top. Much better to remove as much of that as you can, and it also makes it far more likely will get those national wins. Courts are iffy, especially with our descent into a two-tier system, but can result in some surprising wins. One can only pray that those wins will be enforced. Besides, it is a good way to implement Robert Heinlein’s instructions on the need to step on certain toes.

The final option is, of course, revolution. On many levels, it truly is a Final Option. The calls for revolution and violence in the U.S. I’m seeing online seem to come almost completely from the Feds and/or those idiots who are ignorant of how vanishingly rare a successful revolution — such as the American Revolution — are in this world. I’m willing to bet that the latter group has never studied, or seen in person, what happens in most revolutions and the devastation that even a “successful” revolution can produce. Also, they have not seen who is up against the wall second, if not first, in any revolution. Nor do they get that vigilante justice against any of the three groups is indeed the start of a revolution, and you better have your ducks in a row before encouraging such. A revolution via the ballot box is almost always preferable to a revolution via the ammo box. Are there times and valid reasons for violence and revolution? Yes, there are times when such are fully justified. Mayhaps we will explore them a bit here soon. For now, just keep in mind that violence and revolution should always be the last resort.

Where are we now? In the case of the officer above and her department, things seem to be well into the mockery and publicity phase. While some seemed to miss the point, several campaigns on social media were gleefully calling her a lesbian or asking if she was one. Another was linking her to #lesbiannana in various forms. For anyone who missed the point, it’s not about if she is or isn’t a lesbian. Frankly, nobody cares except apparently her, and Officer Cartman was enraged that someone didn’t respect her au-thor-a-tay. What it is about is asking the question that got the autistic juvenile assaulted, and in the process mocking the hell out of her and a group of Stasi wannabes pretending to be policemen. Personal opinion, none of those involved in this is fit to wear a badge or uniform ever again. Meantime, while mocking and hoping for some small measure of justice for the victim, it’s being seen and felt by police and such around the world. It is reinforcing that this is not acceptable behavior, and if seen will have negative consequences.

It’s a message the FBI hasn’t figured out yet. The execution in Utah was meant to intimidate. Instead it has opened the eyes of additional members of the public to the corruption in the DOJ and elsewhere, and enraged a good bit of the public rather than intimidating them. Mockery underway as the media got the journo-list message of how what little coverage was to be played. For something other than the corporate media spin, check this out from Brad Torgersen and scroll around as he has some other good thoughts to share.

The banality of evil is that it is common, and often in forms not confronted. This allows larger and worse evil to flourish. That needs to change. If you want to stop the spread of evil, and the growing scourge of authoritarianism and tyranny, rather than direct confrontation, publicize them and relentlessly mock, ridicule, shame, and shun.

UPDATE 1441 HRS 11AUG23: Seems the “police” department in question is feeling some heat. No charges for the flippin autistic juvenile they abused, but also no indications of any justice for her or her family (also assaulted) either. The department does come across, to me at least, as really hoping this fades out public view quickly. Usual political weasel words on reviewing and making changes if and as needed, which usually means a lot of talk and smoke in an effort to make this go away. Don’t let them succeed.

UPDATE 1632HRS11AUG23: If this is true, it would explain a lot about the overreaction. Also about the circle of wagons around a member of a protected class. All the more reason to name and shame. It also fits the authoritarian/tyranny profile to a T. You might be surprised at how many of that class have sexual issues on top of other issues.

Another “Accident” Andrei?

This morning brings news of another “industrial accident” in Russia. Via OSINTdefender, comes news of a major explosion at the Zagorsk Optical-Mechanical Plant. From video shot on scene, it appears that artillery shells were either being stored there, or were being made/refurbished there. Read the thread for more details, but a couple of things pop out for me.

I’m catching hints that Soviet-era work habits seem to have made a comeback. Drinking on the job, poor quality, poor process control, and more may have returned along with the attitude “They pretend to pay us, so we pretend to work.” It still sort of floors me how many people still don’t know how bad things were in that regard in the USSR.

Clearly such people never had the dubious joy of a bite of Soviet chocolate, which one could be forgiven for suspecting was really compressed excrement. Or examined a Soviet made product of almost any type. Tolerance? What’s a tolerance? “Identical” parts varied wildly, and the instructions seemed to be that if part A fits into part B, go smaller than dimension to be sure it fits.

It wasn’t just a problem in general industry. It extended to the “elite” programs, like their space and missile program. Parts for “identical” spacecraft weren’t interchangeable because each was essentially a custom build shaped around various issues and QC problems. Don’t take my word for it, Jim Oberg and others were writing about this well before the fall. It’s why Soviet rockets had so many engines: they anticipated up to a third failing, so put enough on there to ensure getting to orbit if two thirds did work. You might also want to check out what happened to their Nova moon rocket. They denied it existed for years, but Charles P. Vick dug it out.

The attitude, and drunk/drugged workers, were responsible directly and indirectly for a lot of accidents. Some minor, many not. The number of “accidents” and fires could suggest a return of an old attitude and untrained workers. Word is that what real craftsmen and precision machinists they had have retired, and no one bothered to train up younger people to replace them. On The Job Training is NOT recommended at any point for the manufacture or refurbishment of artillery shells.

The accidents and fires could also suggest that the Russian government has a problem with sabotage. While some of the fires and accidents could be blamed on Ukraine, we are talking what may be a growing number of incidents across Russia. To me, blaming Ukraine for something that happens in the Russian Far East is a bit of a stretch. It is possible, but I’m not sure how probable it is. I know I’ve talked about this a bit before, but there is discontent and it does seem to be growing, and some may be acting out as it were.

Or, if they were working in any way, shape, or form with Soviet-era shells… Aged explosives and propellants tend to be “touchy” as it were, especially if they weren’t stored properly. Or built properly for that matter. Given that we are not seeing a lot of good storage (how many modern tanks will have to be replaced rather than repaired because of poor storage?), handling such is not a job I would take. Oh, if you are not familiar with Soviet/Russian ammo production and storage issues, look up the Northern Fleet explosion and go from there.

It could be any of the three, but don’t expect the truth to come out of Russian media or government. If they can find a way to pin it on someone non-governmental and safely dead…

Oh, you might also want to spend a few minutes on what this tells us about current usable war stocks, production rates, etc. For there are a number of implications when a plant that is supposed to be producing advanced optics and night-vision devices for the military has an apparently large number of artillery rounds on hand. If optical seeker heads were to be added, it doesn’t make a lot of sense to do that at the factory. Rather, one would suspect the components to be sent to depot centers or the original ammunition factory to be mated with the rounds. If you are developing some form of optical seeker, you don’t use, need, or want live rounds in your R&D or manufacturing areas. Live rounds are a pain and a major safety issue. Oh, and don’t forget what this says about the ability to produce those advanced optics and night vision gear desperately needed, if some portion (or all) of the manufacturing facility was turned over to manufacturing or refurbishing artillery shells. Lots to chew on in this one.

As for some caveats above, a lot of the “accidents” are not getting media coverage, especially inside Russia. People are usually very careful in talking about such on social media, as the Russian government is fairly quick these days to go after defeatists and ~~those telling the truth~~ maligning Russia. It’s only when something is so massive it can’t be hidden, like today, that the news gets out. Makes it hard to track events and honest opinions. That said, it’s much easier today than it was back in the day.

Meantime, lots to think about and it would just break my heart (/sarc) if the Russian ability to deliberately target civilians (or much of anything else to be honest) just took a major hit. If anyone has some solid data on production rates of the plant for optics and night-vision, or the percentage of such they provided the military, sing out. Given Russia has gone back to the “one big factory” concept in a big way…

UPDATE 10AUG23: Started hearing yesterday that there was a fireworks company using a warehouse on site, said company reportedly in bankruptcy. There is also speculation about possible “unofficial” ammo production. It will be interesting to see what comes out officially and unofficially. Also, the extent of damage to the main plant is getting debated, and ranges from severe to cosmetic. Again, it will be interesting to see what comes out.

CINCPAC Special

For the history buffs, and all of us who like a good drink, I decided to make up a batch of Admiral Nimitz’s CINCPAC Special. Well, a half batch as finding a good gallon jar at a reasonable price just didn’t happen. Yes, a full batch is a gallon. I did find some half-gallon canning jars however, and so a half batch was born.

This is the recipe that was posted, and while most Old Fashioned recipes feature citrus, there are some that only use it as a garnish. This recipe omits all reference to garnish, which could be a reflection of wartime reality. The vanilla bean is an interesting choice, and I chose a top-grade Tahitian vanilla bean for the rich, fruity, and complex flavors. It’s my preferred choice for making my own vanilla extract, which is easy and far better than store bought.

I really wanted to make it with Corncrackers Green Label Indiana Whiskey; but, it appears the brand may be no more. If I ever find anymore of it, I will buy it as it had a great flavor and price point. After giving it some more thought, I elected to go with Evan Williams for the 48 ounces of bourbon, and I used 3.5 ounces of Ron Abuelo for the gold label rum. Gold rum has been barrel-aged to some extent, which gives it the gold color. Jonn at This Ain’t Hell introduced me to this excellent rum a while back. Also, I used approximately 4 ounces of simple syrup in place of sugar. Didn’t measure the water, it didn’t take much though I did use distilled as the jug of it I have for making coffee was right there.

The good CDR Salamander put together this chart to help with making different amounts. I converted quarts to ounces just for my own ease. What we tried at the club one Sunday for an individual drink was to coat the inside of the glass with the rum, about 2 ounces of bourbon I think, and literal drops of simple syrup and orange bitters. Didn’t have any vanilla extract at the bar, or would have tried this suggestion.

Let me note that this was good to drink from the start. That said, it has aged a bit over a week now and it has made a difference. The sweetness from the simple syrup is more pronounced, and I think I may cut back a bit on it in the future, even though I only put in enough to just taste it at the start. The flavors from the vanilla bean are really starting to come out and I see why he added them. It pairs well with the bourbon and is adding some richness and complexity.

We are going to sample this batch at the club next Sunday (or at least that’s the current plan), and I’m really curious to see how the flavors have changed. For me, it went from a fairly standard and solid Old Fashioned base to something much more interesting. Really tempted to do another batch, hide it, and see what you get with a few months of aging.

More soon I hope. May your week be a good one.

General Update

For those that are interested, here’s where things stand as of this morning. Honestly, can’t complain (too much). My left shoulder can and does though. It hurts worse than the replaced shoulder.

I am doing and feeling better than I expected based on research. Pain has not been too bad, have had far more discomfort than pain since about the second week after surgery. If I, or someone else, do something stupid, I get the message immediately. Jerks, pushes, or impacts bring strong but thankfully brief bits of pain. The industrial cold pack does a good job on the rest. I’m not taking acetaminophen right now as I think it toxic as all get out, and am going to be exploring NAC and another option thanks to some comments.

My range of motion is improving, at least towards the front and up. We can’t yet start on taking my hand/arm backwards. Hoping by the end of the month we might can do that. Meantime, PT twice a week and gym at least three days a week.

I’m setting up at home to do most of the PT I do with the therapist. The initial PT really didn’t require any gear, but doing PT at home on the “off” days has really paid off. Besides, want to be set just in case insurance cuts back on PT (see below). So far, I’ve gotten the ice pack, the pulley system, a couple of other small things, and some PVC pipe. The latter needs to be cut so I can use it for certain lifts and stretches. Amazing how much you can do on the cheap!

I need to pick up some small weights (1, 2, 3, 5 lbs to start, may need to pick up some other soon as well) as we are now doing some of the stretches and exercises with those. Also, need a ball. I’ve gone from pure isometric pushing against a wall/door frame to pushing against the ball to get movement as well.

Still limited on how much I can pick up, carry, etc. Trust me, if I overdo that one I know it quick. Hoping the weight restrictions will come off by the end of the month.

At the gym, I am getting my aerobic/cardio and some core/lower body work in as well as some of the PT. Just added in some wall crunches to go with the ab work, as I have a gut to get rid of. Easing into the aerobic/cardio instead of my previous normal “jump in hard” mindset. As is, getting in at least two miles every session and am starting to ramp up. Have been keeping the BPM under 110, but as things settle I’m going to work up to the “optimum” target of 135.

At the end of the month, I go back to the surgeon’s office to evaluate where things stand. Already working up questions, including some on shooting and future shooting of rifle and shotgun. With luck, will get cleared to start the fun phase of working the arm backwards and handling some weight. We are also going to talk about the left shoulder and when to schedule doing it. I’m actually hoping for September, for all that it will make recovery interesting as I would still be doing PT on the right even as we start doing it on the left. We will see.

We will also have to see what the insurance will approve on PT. Theoretically it should not be a problem to get all the PT approved. Reality is, it doesn’t matter what the doctor or therapist say, it matters what the bureaucrat says. Always a fun game. I will have to say, however, that so far my insurance as been very good to me and I hope they continue to be…

Between carry limits and motion issues, “real” cooking is still a challenge. Thank goodness for the cooking I did before the surgery. I did do two pans of enchiladas this week, one beef and one chicken. An experiment in several ways: could I do it with the arm; I couldn’t get my regular cheat sauces (doing from scratch not an option yet); and, I couldn’t get my regular grain-free tortillas.

It went okay. Shredding the chicken after it slow cooked actually worked the arm a bit, but not too badly. The sauces were okay but I do prefer what I usually get. Not keto, but went with some good white corn tortillas which worked very well overall, and were a fraction of the cost of the grain-free.

Will do a separate post on the half-batch of Adm. Nimitz’s CINCPAC special I’ve made. It’s a drink made by the gallon, and was apparently considered a version of old fashioned despite no citrus. Letting it age a bit so that the whole vanilla bean (!) in it can make it’s presence known.

Enjoy your Saturday!

How To Turn It Around

A few days ago on Twitter, I was asked my thoughts on a new study by Rand entitled: Inflection Point: How to Reverse the Erosion of U.S. and Allied Military Power and Influence. Here’s my initial thoughts on it and what needs to be done.

Sadly, I don’t think highly of Rand and it’s products, and have not done so for several decades now. Growing up in the 1960s, research and documents from Rand were treated almost as holy writ in the science community. Fact is, they did some good and even amazing work back in the day. Somewhere along the way, however, in my opinion they became just another beltway bandit.

Case in point are the first nine bullet points presented under recommendations which with one exception are meaningless ritual gobbledygook that says you are a serious beltway player who knows the current buzzwords and is prepared to synergize existing resources so as to maximize potential for the advancement of improvement. The only honest part of the nine are those calling for research into multiple new weapons systems that will require lots of expensive studies (like those done by Rand), extensive and expensive R&D, and decades to produce. Yeah, I may have helped write stuff like this before…

Okay, that said, let me back up and take this more in order.

Key Finding One is that warfare has changed since the Cold War. No shit, Sherlock. It’s changed since Desert Storm. I will add that we are insolvent because our current GOFOs are far more interested in focusing on Diversity, Inclusion, and Equity (DIE) than in teaching our troops to fight and win, which is indeed going to cause them to DIE.

Key Finding Two is that our superiority in training, tech, people, etc. is gone. I agree, and it was squandered by feckless leadership and politicians. A good bit of that was/is intentional I think.

Key Finding Three is that we don’t need superiority to defeat peers and near-peers. In the words of Col. Sherman Potter, horsehocky! Yeah, trying to be polite and keep it more PG-13 than the XXX response this topic usually elicits.

Key Finding Four is that it has opened the eyes of NATO members. Snort. Chortle. Braying Laugh. The newer members of NATO have been meeting and even exceeding for a while, even as they have tried to point out the danger while being poo-poohed by the older members in the status quo lounge. Those members, such as Germany, still don’t get the danger that exists, being as they are more focused on the danger to their pockets and all the freebies they offer their people. I might point out that this has also been pointed out for a couple of decades by members of the milblog community and pointedly by the previous administration.

Key Finding Five is that the U.S. and Taiwan have differing ideas on how they should defend themselves, with a hefty slice of implication that Taiwan is wrong.

Now, to go back to Recommendations, with the remaining points being a rendition of buzzword bingo. Encourage meeting commitments, increase stocks, points deducted for saying NATO has an eastern flank (it doesn’t, it has an eastern front…), and the rest is pretty much blather. The points I mention are good, but are couched with caveats that appear to negate them. It is the typical beltway dance, so as not to alarm anyone overseas that we might really mean it this time on commitments or the need for them to increase stocks. This appears to be a solid entry in the status quo club library with some appropriate (condescending) nods to the newer members of NATO.

Now, before I go into my take on some issues, go read the good Commander who makes some hard and valid points. As I’ve pointed out before, all stocks are low to the point of criminally low. Bean-counters made the call, the stocks were reduced, the lines are gone in some cases, and when it comes to D+7, we are going to be Winchester on a lot more than 155. I will leave it to Sal to talk about the horrible state of maintenance in the Navy, and will note that the Air Force has issues of its own.

I will also note that there is a huge problem with retention, not just recruitment. If you can get them, take a look at the number of people coming out early on medical and related. Add in those choosing not to re-up, and we are losing a huge amount of institutional experience at key levels. There is only so much abuse and command toxicity that people are going to take. They are voting with their feet.

Now, I can turn the following into a proper beltway insomnia cure easily enough for the right cash under the table. Meantime, allow me to present a hopefully more entertaining and colorful version with solid proposal underneath. You really want to turn things around?

First: Change of Leadership. No meaningful changes are possible under the current administration or current probable successors within the same party. The attack on warfighters and warfighting capability begun in the Obama administration is a key component of the intentions and operations of current political leadership.

Should circumstances change such that all parties are forced to accept the need for change and the resurrection of an effective and efficient military that wants to and can win engagements and wars, I would argue for a blanket purge of all current GOFOs save any who have spoken out in public against current trends, practices and theories including DIE (and are vouched for by middle-rank enlisted as having kept focus on mission and people). We really do need a clean sweep.

This should be followed by an elimination of TRADOC as it currently exists, and related organizations in other services. Since Vladimir is not likely to nuke Eustis as he wants to hurt us, if I were made ruler of the world even briefly, I would drop my own nuke in the form of enticing Col. Kratman back into service for the sole purpose of eliminating the current system, salting the Earth, and building a new system focused on mission, men, and winning. That truly is the key and it is not what we are currently doing in any service though the Marines seem to be doing better than most.

Finally, we need to stop the war on warfighters in the military. We desperately need to nurture any we find in any service, and even look to see if there is any way to entice proven wartime leadership to return to service.

Second: Procurement. We urgently need realistic warstocks. What a lot of people don’t get is that yes we are ramping up to app. 90,000 rounds of 155 a month. We need to get back to the days where we were producing more than 500,000 rounds a month. And, it’s not just 155. As Sal has pointed out, as I’ve pointed out before, there are a LOT of items where we don’t have the stockpiles and there is no way to rapidly procure more.

Restoring the industrial capacity needed is going to take time we really don’t have. Which means we need to really push to get things going now. If we wait until the ball drops…

We also need to gut and restructure procurement and R&D. Why? Take a look at any of the weapons development efforts by the Army in the last 10 years. Design by committee doesn’t work, and I honestly am not sure whether graft or incompetent micromanagement is the biggest danger to a weapons program. Think I’m joking? We’ve needed a new rifle for a while, where is it? Examine the efforts to develop such, and weep.

Drones, guns, whatever: open things up to a broader array of companies, run X-Prize operations, and find some way to stomp on the Not Invented Here (NIH) mentality that permeates military procurement. DoD is worse about COTS (unless it’s from the inner core of the usual suspects who know how to express gratitude) than NASA used to be about commercial products and operations, and that’s going some. Procurement badly needs to learn the lesson that perfect is the enemy of good enough, and that we don’t have decades to get things done. In fact, in some cases, I would say we have days instead of decades.

While I don’t mean to step on Sal’s or any of the naval bloggers toes, I will share something I saw somewhere on social media: naval leadership needs to look at real ships and readiness in 2025 instead of focusing on paper fleets for 2045. I would argue that the core principle applies to all services right now.

There is more, of course, but these are the two most critical parts of turning around the decline of our military.

On the subject of NATO, there is much that can be said and that needs to be discussed, from expansion to purpose. That said, we need to quit playing around in regards commitments. Given that I’ve discussed Germany (in particular) and others not meeting minimums before, I think we are at a point of fish or cut bait. There isn’t five to ten years for you to comfortably ramp up to the minimum you are obligated to do. You’re going to be lucky to get three. Figure it out, because the days of the U.S. being able to cover everything are done.

Taiwan is a subject for another day. I will simply say that to state or imply that the U.S. ideas on how the defense should be implemented are right and Taiwan’s is wrong is the height of hubris and incompetence. Given that our current leadership is incapable of organizing a drinking party in a distillery, we might should consider asking why they are doing certain things, study the details, and then make suggestions. I’ve already read a number of interesting reports and good suggestions from other milbloggers, so let’s not get too focused on the “experts” who haven’t been right on anything in years.

Falling From The Sky

More serious post coming tomorrow I hope, but for now, this. About 0200 this morning, my brain decided I needed to be up and thinking about skydiving. Since I had to suffer through it, thought I would share the suffering. Well, and some laughter too.

Many, many moons ago, I did indeed jump out of perfectly good airplanes and fall from the sky. I joined the university sky diving club, and in addition to the first jump lessons jumped in on much more. I learned to pack a chute, was getting trained on packing reserves, and enjoyed the company of a crazy but interesting group of people. Not going to share too many names and such, just in case any shenanigans might not have had their statute of limitations expire. Or some people might not want to admit they were at certain parties or did certain things including jump out of perfectly good airplanes.

I do still remember my first jump (thank you lightning for leaving that one intact). Beautiful day, puffy clouds in the sky, you really couldn’t ask for better. Now, being a small club we jumped from a small plane. No ramp, no standing in the door, just a somewhat uncomfortable ride up, hook up your static line (first jumps are made so you really have to work at it to F up), then get out on a little step/platform while holding onto the wing strut. Jumpmaster makes a final check, reassures you, then has you let go and go into proper jump position.

For me, I barely hit the arch when the static line hit and the chute opened. It’s hard to describe the sensation of the chute opening, but imagine King Kong yanking you up by your harness as hard as he can. Not bad, but you do feel it. Per training, I quickly checked to be sure my chute was good, then enjoyed the view. On my way down, I went through a cloud which was amazing. Cool, moist, slightly gray whispiness. Really wish it could have lasted longer as it was neat.

Soon it was time to land, and I actually made the drop zone. In what became a trend, my Parachute Landing Fall (PLF) was somewhat spectacular. Not in a good way either. But, any landing you walk away from jumping out of planes or flying them is a good one. I walked away, and mentally was ready to go again.

In short, it was a pretty good first jump. Not so much for my buddy who I will call “Mike”. Mike was a bodybuilder/weightlifter who had muscles on muscles. Even our baggy jump suits (designed to help you play flying squirrel while in freefall) could not hide his physique. What it did hide, however, was an issue for him.

Mike left the plane right after me, and I was looking around after checking my chute and such. I heard a scream above me, a male voice rising rapidly. I looked up, and there was Mike, literally pulling himself up his shrouds one-handed while the other frantically tried to get one of his leg straps off his balls. Yep, he made the mistake you only make once and had not gotten his leg straps in the right position. Baggy jump suits do make that a bit difficult to be fair. That said, the King Kong sensation I mentioned earlier becomes more like having Hammering Hank in his prime hit your groin with a baseball bat. Been told it feels like that for the ladies too.

Mike made it on down safely, did a good PLF, and oddly enough had his leg straps undone almost immediately. It was his first and last jump.

First jumps bring out a number of odd reactions. There was a young lady who wanted to jump and so went through the lessons the club offered. Seemed nice enough but also a bit flaky in some ways, so it was decided to hook her up with a voice-operated radio so she could be coached from the ground if need be. Our reserves had an automatic opening system, so you were pretty much guaranteed to make it down in one piece, one way or another.

I was on the ground near the instructors when she jumped, and we were all watching. She did two things not uncommon on a first jump. First, she screamed. She kept screaming, and we heard it clear as day courtesy of the voice-activated radio. Second, she was a runner. If she had been on the ground I think she would have done 0-60 in under five seconds. Unlike most, she kept running even after the chute opened.

Since she was still screaming, the instructors could not coach her. Which she needed as she seemed to forget everything she had been taught. She even pulled both toggles down at once, which collapses your chute. Radio useless, we all started shouting from the ground. Thankfully, she did finally release the toggles and the chute did open back up. Even with us yelling instructions up to her, I don’t think she ever did really steer herself towards the drop zone. Instead, she came down onto the parking apron of the airport, still running, hit, and pitched face forward into the asphalt. Proof that God looks after fools and drunks, she got up without a scratch.

As we were around her, making sure she was unhurt, she said something to the effect ‘that wasn’t so bad. Can I go again?” I think the resounding no from more than one person hurt her feelings. That said, I don’t think she realized how close she came to potentially being a cake — as in a splat cake. If she hadn’t let go of the toggles, no one was sure if the auto-deploy on the reserve would have work based on velocity. Add in the lack of steering and no attempt at PLF, well…

Besides, you did need to steer. One reason was that the airport where we jumped, there was a guard dog kennel nearby. The dogs there viewed our arrival each Saturday as if it was that of a Chicken Delight truck. I’m not saying they put on bibs and salivated as they watched us, but… One of the members I got to know had a close call with them, as his departure from the plane was such that it made hitting the airport interesting. Since we were using round chutes mostly (squares/parasails were a very new thing), you didn’t have a lot of maneuver.

The jumpmaster had put him out so that he ended up headed straight to the kennels. Frantically trying to steer away from them, he had to bring his knees up to his chest to clear the kennel fence. The dogs were jumping and trying to catch him before he got away. He later swore that there were marks from the dogs on the bottom of his boots. Lifting up his legs did let him clear, and he landed just a few feet outside the kennels.

Being a jumpmaster and telling people when to leave the plane is an art rather than a science. For some, I swear it was a Picasso painting with no science involved. After my first or second jump I switched to a precision round so that I had a bit more control and maneuverability even if you did hit a bit harder since it was smaller than a reserve. ‘Eh, you’ll probably hit the airport’ is not something you want to hear, and I swear it may have been the unofficial motto for the jumpmasters.

When they did a demo jump onto campus, not long before I joined I think, only a couple of the jumpers hit the large parade field that was the target. One jumper landed in the parking lot of an off-campus fraternity house, going over backwards onto a concrete parking bumper that shattered their helmet. Another took out the power line to an on-campus dorm with their jaw. Another landed on the other side of the dorm and I seem to remember a tree may have been involved.

But the most interesting miscalculation happened before I joined, and it not only put the jumper down well away from the airport but resulted in what I call The Gabriel Incident.

As I said, square chutes were just becoming a thing. The club had a member who bought one, which was brilliant white. Soon, his helmet, jump suit, and even boots I was told, were brilliant white. He made quite a sight when he jumped. It also almost got him badly hurt or worse.

Between the vagaries of jumpmasters, winds, and other delights, the club had a chase vehicle to go get those who landed away from the target. Not going to mention the year this was, but it was an early 70s station wagon in all it’s glory. And it was lucky it was available that day.

Let us just say that things went awry. Our intrepid jumper in white ended up well away from the airport, well out into the farmlands. By chance, he ended up landing near a small church of a non-traditional type. One person involved simply called it a ‘roller church’ but they were well into their service when the jumper flashed by their windows. Which apparently sent a number into paroxysms and cries of “Gabriel, Gabriel” filled the air.

At least until someone went outside, realized it was just a jumper, and decided that it had been done deliberately to mock them. Luckily, no torches or pitchforks were handy, but soon a small mob of people were after the jumper. So, here he is, chute wrapped up in his arms as he best can, running down a rural farm road with an angry mob intent of vengeance behind him.

The driver and others in the chase car came up on this scene and made a bold decision. They didn’t stop.

Instead, they got around the mob and the jumper, lowered the back window of the station wagon, and slowed down just enough he could push his chute into the back. Someone grabbed him and pulled him partly in, at which point the driver reportedly put the pedal to the metal and took off with the jumper’s legs still dangling out the back.

For obvious reasons, this remained a favorite story of the club. It also does make me wish that modern helmet-mounted video had been around then. It could be a tall tale, but I will say that I was warned to avoid going anywhere near a certain small church out in the country either on the ground or in the air, and they were serious when they said it.

No, I never did a nude jump. Had a couple of (female) members of the club taken part I probably would have. As it was, they had done one not long before I joined, and didn’t do another while I was a member.

My last jump was sadly not with the club. Another member and I went to another group to get some jumps in, and frankly it was a mistake. Let’s just say the people in that group were many things, including possibly sociopathic. Let’s just say that “George” of the magnificent mustache and I were glad to leave that day and may possibly have discussed tossing someone out of a plane sans parachute after finding out they had tossed animals out of the plane for fun. Or at least they claimed they had done so.

My memories are a bit fragmented (stupid lightning), but I can’t remember if a third person was with us or not. If not, it was George who came down almost a mile away because the jumpmaster mis-set the auto open on his reserve. It fired as he left the plane and went into freefall, leaving him no choice but to cut away his main and come down on reserve. No way to make the drop zone, there were winds, and his landing was reminiscent of the opening scenes of The Six Million Dollar Man. He sat up, waved to show he was okay, then went back down. Never would admit if he was out cold or not.

Me, I made my most spectacular landing yet. You can stall a round chute almost like a square, if you time things just right. That day, I did not get it right. Short version, I came to a picture-perfect stop — while still ten or more feet above a freshly plowed field. Think Wile E. Coyote frantically blowing up at a collapsed chute and that would have been me. I threw my back risers up, got out the word “Oh” and finished the phrase after I hit. When you bury yourself up to your knees in a freshly plowed field, there is no PLF. I went over on my back hard.

I was supposed to do a free-fall jump but between what had happened and what we had learned about our hosts, I was already not real eager. There were some issues repacking my chute, but I was assured all was good. In fact, it wasn’t until I was out on the jump step that the jumpmaster admitted all might not be good, but if there was an issue to just reach back ‘and beat the s*** out of it with your elbows.’ Think I made it back into the plane in less than half a second.

George and I were happy to leave that day, and we shared our adventure and what we had learned with the club and others. For me, it was right after that “adventure” that I got the opportunity to become a pilot. But, it was a choice of becoming a pilot or continuing to jump. So, I made the jump to flight.

It was fun, and I do miss it. Even with the changes, not sure how well my joints would take my doing another. An orthopedic surgeon who did some work on me at that time told me I had five more jumps in me, max. Don’t think I have that many in me now, and what I do have left I will save for an emergency.

I will say I was glad to miss the “cake” that happened later. Don’t know about new systems, but will simply say that you should not spend a lot of time trying to clear a malf because if you wait to less than a thousand feet to cut away and deploy your reserve, it will open and cover you like a shroud after you hit.

That said, part of me really would like to jump one of the modern squares. Maybe even do a tandem jump. Many jumpers, including the female members of the club at the time, referred to it as “The most fun you can have with your clothes on.” At the time I agreed, though today I would put flying and certain types of shooting in that category as well.

If you’ve got the itch, do it. Jumping out of planes is fun. If you don’t have the itch, well, shake your head at my adventures. Hope some of it made you laugh and smile.

Oh, one more thing. What do you do if a jumper freezes on the step? Some jumpmasters actually carried a baton to whack fingers. Or, as happened with a military jumper who wanted to try it our way, you have a pilot who just gives the jumpmaster a sadistic grin and puts the throttles full forward. Feet go out quick I’m told, and then the fingers peel off and off they go. And, occasionally, they did help someone back in. Depended on judgement and circumstances.