Retired Navy after 23 years. I retired at the age of 40 years old. I've been out longer than I was in. All of the ships I served on have been made into razor blades. I had fun and I lived my life the best I could. Most of my shipmates are gone and I try to stay in touch with the remainder. It continues. Substance abuse counselor, builder of wooden boats, furniture maker, prison non-violence workshop facilitator, life observer, activist, reader, writer, geriatric subject of interest, generous tipper. I stay involved.
DODGING BULLETS LEFT AND RIGHT After my visit last week with my primary care physician on Thursday I began to feel like I had a plan for returning to my former energetic life style. Little did I know. On Friday and Saturday I was feeling just as tired and at times, after a brief physical … More Dodging Bullets Left and Right
BELIEVE, BE LIVE, LIVE I was standing outside South Station waiting for the bus. This was in 1981 and I was working in East Boston at a half-way house for alcoholics. I’m not sure why I was there at the bus stop. I only know that I was using the MBTA for practical reasons and … More Who Is The Architect of Your Life? Do Tell.
This post is about the human side of life that can be uplifting as well as disappointing. Maybe not so much disappointing as grounding or sobering. Yesterday morning I was lying in bed after a night of fitful semi-conscious activity. I had trouble catching my breath and there was a tension in my upper chest … More Humans, Humanists, and Human Behaviors
I’m thinking about joining the ‘Y’. I need to move more than my present life style allows. I used to run mile after mile on the roads in Boothbay and the Harbor. I don’t anymore. Surgeries on knee and shoulder have taken me out of circulation running-wise. I still appreciate walking and while traveling across … More YMCA, The 70s, and Prison
I had a humorous conversation recently with a good pal. He has a fiberglass boat in his yard left there by an acquaintance of his for a paint job. The friend is going to try an artistic paint job that I look forward to seeing in the near future. Our conversation was brief but I … More Roll and Tip with Charles and Wolfgang
NO HELICOPTER JOB FOR ME! Or, take this whirlybird and shove it. Some time during my trip around this great country I shopped for additional camping equipment at Dick’s Sporting Goods in Palm Desert, California. Dick’s has a large selection of camping and tenting items and I find their prices comparable to elsewhere. … More Take This Whirlybird and Shove It
WHAT’S FOR DINNER? Sunday July 6, 2014 I go out the door on a pretty afternoon in Boothbay. The sun has been lighting up the region nicely for the past 24 hours turning the rain of several days into grass and weeds. Other cultivars have benefited greatly as well. The gardens at The … More What’s For Dinner? – A Progression of Minor Events
The following story is real and it is true. The names have been changed just for the heck of it. I don’t think the Naval Investigative Service ( NIS) cares if a couple of 75 year old codgers are guilty of misappropriation. In the story “Slim” is me and “Biff” is my old pal Bill … More Submarine Electronics Technicians are Too Cool or Finders, Keepers!
It is Sunday the 29th of June, 2014 and Maine has been suffering through some of the best summer weather ever. Whenever someone mentions something nice, like the weather, around these parts the usual response it, “Yeah, but it won’t last”. Therefore I use the term “suffering”. (I am not a Mainer by the strictest … More NACRE PURFLING, ANTONIO STRADIVARI, JANINE JANSEN And NELSON MANDELA
I’ve been back in Boothbay for over a month. Summer has arrived, the trees are getting it on, and the gardens in the yard around The Castle are fruiting and flowering. My body is finally rested and I have established a daily routine of sorts. This post is about daily routine. The one I have … More Thrashing About, Searching for the Cool Spot, Waiting for Godot
Playing Fair and Being Kind 