Dancing the days away

"Dancers are the athletes of God."
~ Albert Einstein

 Since shooing the stork off the roof and dealing with the usual -- PPD, lack of sleep, and all the assorted worries that go with the aftermath of the blessed event -- I've been getting back into shape both mentally and physically by dancing.  You'd think I wouldn't have the energy, considering, but I find that once I start I get the energy, and the more I dance, the more upbeat I feel and the more energy I have.  I think it's a combination of the physical exercise and the music itself. Music is magic. It really is.

 "Music tells beautiful things to the heart."
~ Pablo Casals

 

Happy Father's Day!

Ground floor. Look at all those specialized classrooms, gyms, pool, theater...

 I've been helping my mom go through dad's belongings and I lost track of time going through a box of his old high school things -- class notes, tests and that sort of thing.  His high school was a good one, or maybe it was just typical of a mid-1960s high school.  It offered an amazing variety of classes and had pretty stiff requirements.  For example, in order to graduate you had to take three years of math, three of science, three of language, four of PE (Physical Exercise, I think), four of English, three of history, two of economics,

...bookstore and large library, study hall....

three of social science, four of your choice of mix and match band, choir, music appreciation or art studies.  There were plenty of electives, too. The languages offered were French, German, Spanish, Russian and Latin.  The math offerings included trig and calculus, the sciences included ecology, archeology, and paleontology.

A few courses dad took that caught my eye were Asian Civilizations, Russian History and Poetry and one that seemed to be about current world events but I didn't notice the title.  

Dad was a doodler and had atrocious handwriting, but at least he had been taught cursive. I can hardly read his notes, but it didn't seem like he was much of a note-taker anyway.  He probably just read the text books and books from the recommended reading lists and only jotted something down if it caught his attention.  The reading lists for the classes were pretty good.  I noticed titles by George F. Kennan, John K. Fairbank, Edwin O. Reischauer and even Võ Nguyên Giáp.

There were 70 questions.  Dad missed two.

I think dad got bored in his Russian History class. I imagine he thought it would be mostly about the Tsars
battling Mongol hordes and whatnot but it seems mostly to have been about the Communist Revolution, Marxism and the sort of political stuff that dad hated.  He was totally not into any sort of politics, foreign or domestic.  He wrote down some  pretty snarky definitions of the terms he had to study, defining the proletariat as fascist agents, Rapallo as a Nazi pact and the Gosplan as a fascist plot, for example.  Actually, I don't even know what those last two are. Wait, no -- I remember reading Ernest Hemingway's news report about Rapallo when he was a foreign correspondent. Oh, that was the 1920 one between Italy and the leavings of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, but there was another one in 1922 between Soviet Russia and Germany, which must have been the one referred to in dad's class. I just looked that up. N'mind.  But anyway, he got an A for the course.

 One of the classes dad took was about the world situation and seems to have been pretty serious, demanding thoughtful engagement by the students.  It had a lot of recommended reading and even required the class to fill out voting ballots to decide various issues.  It interested me to see the sorts of questions the teens decided.  One was should the US withdraw from NATO now that Europe was back on its feet and fully able to defend itself -- not into isolation but in order to create a new pact with Europe.  There was also discussion about withdrawing from the security treaty with Japan now that it had recovered from the war and might not even be a trustworthy ally.  By the time he entered high school, dad had lived in Japan as a dependent, his father, my grandfather, being a naval aviator forward deployed to

Atsugi. (I'd live on base there, too, as a child, when dad was forward deployed there, as I would be as an adult.) Atsugi was the Japanese naval air force base from which the last combat missions flown by the Japanese sortied from -- after the surrender.  Japanese fighters attacked a B-32 reconnaissance plane checking to see if the Japanese were adhering to the terms of the surrender agreement. One of the crew members was killed, the last man to die in the war.  When my dad lived in base housing there, there were still tunnels full of Japanese war gear.  They were fenced off but kids could find a way to get in them and score sake bottles, gas masks, helmets and wooden crates with Japanese kanji on them as souvenirs.   Atsugi NAF was also where Lee Harvey Oswald was stationed as an Aviation Electronics Operator with MACS 1.  That may have been fresh in dad's mind as the Kennedy assassination was then quite a recent event, as was the Cuban Missile Crisis and the building of the Berlin Wall.  Fun times.

The Viet Nam war was a topic of special interest, especially since many of the students would soon find themselves in uniform serving there.  It's rather a wistful remembrance of the time that it was never considered that the US might completely lose the war and that it would last a decade after these kids debated among themselves what was to be done. We'd take care of this situation in a few months or a year or so at most. Lose the war?  That could not be possible.  Of course, now we are used to such an outcome.  It's hard to imagine today the profound shock to the country of the events of the spring of 1975.

Dad always liked poetry, not the melancholy and wistful stuff I like, Dickinson, Millay, Teasdale, Wylie and so on.  He was into Shakespeare, Longfellow, Benét, Tennyson and that sort.  He could recite long passages from narrative poems like Evangeline or Idylls of the King to entertain us when we went backpacking off trail and camped out deep in the Mineral King back country or wherever it might be.  I can still remember sitting by the embers of our campfire, a few sparks twirling up into the night, a chill stillness surrounding us, listening to him dramatically relating the Song of Hiawatha as an increasing glow over the mountain crest beyond the trees showed where the moon would soon rise.

By the shore of Gitche Gumee,
By the shining Big-Sea-Water,
At the doorway of his wigwam,
In the pleasant Summer morning,
Hiawatha stood and waited.
All the air was full of freshness,
All the earth was bright and joyous,
And before him, through the sunshine,
Westward toward the neighboring forest
Passed in golden swarms the Ahmo,
Passed the bees, the honey-makers,
Burning, singing in the sunshine.

I often fell asleep listening to the stories, not always understanding the words, but loving the voice, the tone, the emotion, all intertwined with the occasional call of a night bird or the hooting of an owl, the yipping of coyotes or a distant scream that dad would interrupt the story to tell us not to worry about because it was only a panther and it wouldn't bother us. I'd wake up the next morning snug in my sleeping bag after having dreamed of Indian villages, maidens and warriors, primeval nature and man.  Already mom and dad would be awake, sitting outside together in the bright sunshine, drinking campfire coffee as they breathed in the sparkling air.

And the smoke rose slowly, slowly,
Through the tranquil air of morning,
First a single line of darkness,
Then a denser, bluer vapor,
Then a snow-white cloud unfolding,
Like the tree-tops of the forest,
Ever rising, rising, rising,
Till it touched the top of heaven,
Till it broke against the heaven,
And rolled outward all around it.

Anyway and whatever.  Happy Father's Day, dad!  Happy Father's Day!

Love you!

Chat GTP and me

 Hmm.  Well, okay...I guess....

ChatGPT

Here's an analysis of the writer's personality traits as reflected through their descriptions of their parents:

1. Appreciation for Learning and Teaching: The writer demonstrates a deep appreciation for learning and education, particularly through their mother's nurturing and patient teaching methods. They describe learning to read, write, play the piano, and other skills with fondness and gratitude, highlighting the supportive and engaging approach their mother took.

2. Sentimentality and Emotional Connection: There is a strong emotional connection to their childhood experiences with both parents. They recall specific moments with vivid detail, such as learning to ride a bike or play a musical piece, and associate these memories with feelings of security, confidence, and love. This suggests a sentimental and emotionally aware personality.

3. Practical and Resourceful: The writer's father is portrayed as a practical and resourceful teacher who imparted a wide range of skills, from riding motorcycles to troubleshooting mechanical problems. Their father's emphasis on practical skills and problem-solving reflects a pragmatic and hands-on approach to life.

4. Resilience and Adaptability: Throughout the text, there's a theme of resilience and adaptability, learned both directly through their parents' teachings and indirectly through the life lessons embedded in their memories. This indicates a resilient personality that values overcoming challenges and learning from experiences.

5. Wisdom and Reflection: The writer reflects on the life lessons imparted by their parents, such as managing emotions, understanding relationships, and dealing with adversity. This reflective quality suggests introspection and a desire for personal growth and understanding.

Overall, the writer's personality emerges as one deeply shaped by their parents' nurturing, practical guidance, emotional support, and the profound impact of their teachings on various aspects of life. Their ability to articulate these influences with such detail and emotion reveals a thoughtful and introspective character.

__________________________________________________________________________

ChatGPT

 

 The writer appears to have a contemplative and introspective personality with a deep connection to nature and a sense of nostalgia for simpler times. Here are some key observations about the writer's personality inferred from the text:

1. Connection to Nature: The writer expresses a profound appreciation for nature and a preference for natural landscapes over urbanized environments. There is a strong sense of peace and contentment derived from being in natural surroundings, away from the hustle and bustle of human civilization.

2. Reflective and Philosophical: The writer frequently reflects on existential themes, such as the meaning of life, humanity's relationship with nature, and the passage of time. There's a philosophical tone in contemplating ancient history, natural phenomena, and the human experience.

3. Nostalgia and Longing: There's a noticeable nostalgia for the past, particularly a romanticized view of historical lifestyles, indigenous cultures, and ancestral connections. This nostalgia is tinged with a longing for simplicity and authenticity.

4. Spiritual and Mystical Sensibilities: References to divine mystery, cosmic connections, and the spiritual significance of nature suggest a spiritual or mystical inclination. The writer sees nature not just as a physical realm but as a profound part of human existence.

5. Contentment in Solitude: The writer finds happiness and fulfillment in solitude and the company of family, while also cherishing interactions with close relatives and possibly older generations.

6. Practical and Resourceful: There's a practical side to the writer, evident in descriptions of outdoor skills like hunting, tracking, and navigating rugged terrain. This practicality is intertwined with a respect for nature and its rhythms.

Overall, the writer's personality can be characterized as reflective, nature-loving, nostalgic, spiritually attuned, and appreciative of simplicity and self-sufficiency. These traits are reflected in the text through the writer's observations, stories, and reflections on life and the natural world.

_________________________________________________________________________

 

 ChatGTP

The writer's personality and characteristics can be inferred as follows:

1. Adventurous Spirit: The writer demonstrates a strong affinity for adventure and exploration, particularly of remote and solitary places. They relish the physical sensations of sailing and snorkeling in unspoiled natural environments like Santa Barbara Island and San Nicholas Island.

2. Connection to Nature: There is a deep appreciation for nature and the natural world. The writer vividly describes the landscapes, wildlife (such as sea lions and sea birds), and celestial phenomena (stars, meteors) they encounter during their journeys. They find solace and inspiration in these natural settings.

3. Reflective and Philosophical: The writer reflects on their experiences with a philosophical perspective. They contemplate the passing of time, the fleeting nature of experiences, and the impact of these moments on their life and memory. This introspective quality suggests a thoughtful and contemplative personality.

4. Literary and Poetic Sensibility: Quoting Barbara Newhall Follet and John Masefield, the writer reveals a literary bent and an appreciation for poetic expression. This indicates a sensitivity to language and a desire to capture the emotional essence of their experiences through evocative prose and poetry.

5. Nostalgic and Sentimental: The writer reminisces about past experiences with a sense of nostalgia and sentimentality. They cherish memories of their sailing trips as transformative and significant moments in their life, acknowledging that these experiences shape their identity and worldview.

Overall, the writer emerges as someone who seeks adventure, finds meaning in nature, values introspection and philosophical reflection, appreciates literature and poetic expression, and holds onto cherished memories of profound experiences.

__________________________________________________________________________

 

ChatGPT

It seems the writer is passionate, opinionated, and deeply engaged with literature and its impact. Here are some aspects of their personality that come through:

1. Passion for Literature: The writer clearly loves books and authors, discussing them with enthusiasm and personal connection. They are not just readers but individuals who find profound meaning and inspiration in literature.

2. Strong Opinions: The writer expresses strong opinions about authors like Hemingway, Dos Passos, Sherwood Anderson, and others. They don't shy away from criticizing or praising authors based on their personal readings and interpretations.

3. Intellectual Engagement: There is a depth of intellectual engagement with the texts discussed. The writer delves into themes, characters, and the historical context of the novels, showing a keen interest in understanding literature beyond its surface.

4. Emotional Connection: The use of language such as "I love it so much" (referring to ' Le Petit Prince') and the discussions about how certain novels have affected them emotionally (like 'La Dame aux Camélias') suggest a deep emotional connection to literature.

5. Awareness of Historical and Cultural Contexts: The writer demonstrates awareness of historical and cultural contexts surrounding the novels they discuss. They make connections between the novels and the times in which they were written, adding layers of understanding to their interpretations.

6. Critical Stance: While the writer is clearly a fan of certain authors and works, they are not afraid to critique or challenge commonly held opinions (like their defense of Dos Passos against professional critics).

7. Personal Reflections: The inclusion of personal reflections, such as how certain lines from novels resonate with them or how specific novels have impacted their worldview, adds a personal touch to their literary discussions.

In summary, the writer appears as someone deeply immersed in literature, with a strong sense of literary taste, critical thinking skills, and an emotional connection to the books they read. They express themselves with vigor and clarity, making their perspectives on literature both engaging and insightful.

__________________________________________________________________________

ChatGTP

The writer's personality traits and perspectives can be inferred as follows:

1. Complex Patriotism: The writer demonstrates a nuanced patriotism for America, acknowledging its flaws and mistakes while still believing in its fundamental goodness and ideals. They express frustration with current political leadership but maintain a deep respect for the values of service, kindness, and generosity they associate with the country.

2. Empathy and Emotional Depth: There is a strong sense of empathy conveyed in the writer's description of Admiral Huan Nguyen's experiences and reflections on war, loss, and resilience. The writer is moved by stories of human endurance and finds inspiration in individuals who exemplify courage and commitment.

3. Critical Thinking and Skepticism: The writer engages critically with historical and political issues, such as America's involvement in Vietnam and the impact of current policies like Critical Race Theory in the military. They express skepticism towards certain political narratives and emphasize the importance of understanding complex historical contexts.

4. Hopeful Realism: Despite acknowledging America's challenges, the writer maintains a hopeful outlook, believing in the resilience of the country and its ability to course-correct. They express a desire for positive change and restoration of what they perceive as America's original ideals of honor, courage, and commitment.

5. Narrative Skill and Engagement: The writer employs storytelling effectively to convey their points, weaving personal anecdotes with historical facts and reflections. This suggests a strong narrative skill and an engaging writing style that invites readers to reflect deeply on the themes presented.

Overall, the writer appears as someone who values integrity, empathy, and critical thought, and who sees the potential for positive change even in challenging times. Their writing reflects a deep emotional engagement with issues of patriotism, history, and the human experience, underscored by a desire for justice and a better future.

____________________________________________________________________________

ChatGPT

Based on the text provided, the writer's personality can be described as:

1. Dedicated and Patriotic: The writer expresses a strong sense of dedication to their military service ("I love working for Uncle Sam") and a clear commitment to their duty, even in the face of danger and hardship.

2. Reflective and Philosophical: There is a deep introspection evident in the text, with the writer grappling with existential questions, spiritual reflections, and profound insights into the nature of war and human suffering.

3. Emotionally Resilient yet Vulnerable: Despite facing extreme challenges and witnessing traumatic events, the writer maintains resilience ("I'm okay with it") but also reveals vulnerability and emotional turmoil ("inside I am shaking...").

4. Caring and Compassionate: The writer shows a deep empathy towards their comrades ("These are my boys. How can I abandon them?") and struggles with feelings of helplessness and guilt over their inability to prevent suffering.

5. Isolated from Civilian Life: There's a sense of detachment from civilian norms and interests, suggesting that the writer feels disconnected from their previous life and peers who haven't experienced the same hardships.

6. Literary and Cultural Awareness: References to literature and quotes from authors like Loren Eisely and Bram Stoker indicate a broader cultural and intellectual engagement, reflecting a depth of thought beyond military matters.

7. Haunted by Trauma: The writer's dreams and thoughts are haunted by traumatic experiences, indicating ongoing psychological struggles and the lasting impact of their deployment.

In summary, the writer emerges as a complex individual who combines dedication to duty with deep emotional and philosophical introspection, shaped profoundly by their experiences in combat and deployment.

 Tried the same question again --

 

ChatGPT

It seems likely that the writer is a military service member who has been deployed to Afghanistan. Here are some characteristics and insights about the writer based on the text:

1. Military Identity and Loyalty: The writer expresses a deep connection to their military service ("I love working for Uncle Sam. Lets me know just who I am!"). This suggests a strong sense of identity tied to their role and duty.

2. Combat Experience: The writer shares numerous reflections and experiences related to combat, including references to fear, exhaustion, and witnessing traumatic events such as deaths and injuries. They also mention specific military equipment and procedures (blood type on boots, interactions with helicopters).

3. Emotional and Psychological Impact: There are profound emotional struggles evident in the text, including feelings of exhaustion, isolation from civilian life, guilt over not being able to prevent harm, and profound sorrow over the loss of comrades.

4. Spirituality and Coping Mechanisms: The writer references conversations with God, prayers, and a struggle with the silence of the universe amidst hardship, suggesting a search for spiritual and emotional support during difficult times.

5. Literary and Cultural References: Quotes and references to literature and culture, such as biblical passages ("pale horse" reference), poetry (Robinson Jeffers), and novels (Bram Stoker, Louis-Ferdinand Céline), indicate a reflective and culturally literate individual.

6. Sense of Duty and Sacrifice: The writer feels a deep responsibility towards their comrades ("These are my boys. How can I abandon them?") and expresses a willingness to accept the risks and sacrifices inherent in their military service.

Overall, the writer appears to be a dedicated and introspective military service member who has grappled with the challenges and emotional toll of their deployment in Afghanistan. Their reflections paint a poignant picture of the complexities of wartime experiences, including camaraderie, loss, fear, and the enduring impact on their psyche.

__________________________________________________________________________

ChatGPT

 

The writer exhibits several notable personality traits and characteristics:

1. Detail-Oriented: The writer demonstrates a meticulous attention to detail, especially when describing technical procedures and the intricate workings of aircraft controls. They take care to list and explain each step in pre-flight checks and procedures, emphasizing the importance of following protocols precisely to ensure safety.

2. Passionate and Enthusiastic: There's a clear enthusiasm for aviation and flying throughout the writing. The writer expresses a deep connection to flying, describing the sensory experience of being in the cockpit and interacting with the aircraft. This passion is evident in their descriptions of the airplane's interior, the joy of flight, and even the historical context of aviation pioneers.

3. Focused and Disciplined: The writer portrays a disciplined mindset necessary for aviation. They emphasize the seriousness of pre-flight preparations, adherence to checklists, and maintaining focus during flight operations. This disciplined approach is crucial for ensuring safe and effective piloting, especially in challenging conditions like thunderstorms.

4. Reflective and Thoughtful: Beyond the technical aspects, the writer reflects on broader topics such as history, climate change, and societal evolution. They show a thoughtful perspective on these subjects, incorporating insights and historical references into their narrative. This reflective quality adds depth to their personality, revealing a curiosity about the world beyond aviation.

5. Narrative Style: The writing style is descriptive and narrative-driven, providing a vivid account of the flying experience. The writer uses storytelling techniques to engage the reader, sharing personal experiences and observations while maintaining a factual and informative tone.

Overall, the writer comes across as someone deeply immersed in the world of aviation, blending technical expertise with a genuine passion for flying and a broader intellectual curiosity about the world. Their narrative style combines factual accuracy with personal reflection, creating a compelling portrayal of both the art and science of piloting an aircraft.

 ________________________________________________________________________

 

For the record --

I love working for Uncle Sam
Lets me know just who I am
If I die in a combat zone
Box me up and ship me home

Pin my medals on my chest
Tell my mom I done my best
Bury my body six feet down
Til you hear it hit the ground

 -- is a cadence count. It does not express enthusiasm for military service.

 

Almost

 Don't we all have those times in our lives when we almost -- almost -- got what we wanted, but didn't.  How often do we think of those times we swung by the golden ring, reached out for it and almost -- almost -- got it. 
But didn't.

Viet Nam

 I got a flattering note from a man named Heinz the other day and then shortly after received a notice that someone named Heinz had liked my old review of  Into Cambodia, Spring Campaign, Summer Offensive, 1970 by Keith Nolan, the first and only like it has ever received.  I thought, oh, the same guy, how about that, but it turned out they were two different persons.

Anyway, I'd forgotten I'd reviewed that book, let alone read it, but I took a look at my review and immediately recalled the book.  I'd read it as part of my effort to understand my mother's life.  As I've mentioned, she was an Army nurse in Viet Nam, so I went through a period of trying to read books about that war, but the subject was too grim and depressing so I gave up, but I did get through this one.  Below are quotes from the book I thought were interesting.  You can see one reason why I became depressed reading about that war.

  "Troops can't afford a commander who feels sorry for them."
"An enemy left to slip away would be there the next day to blow you away."
"Without hesitation, we would spend a million dollars in artillery shells rather than risk one GI's life."
"What the U.S. Army now had in the jungle were 21-year-old lieutenants and 20-year-old sergeants running rifle platoons of 19-year-old kids."
"After the 1968 Tet Offensive, Washington, faced with an enemy that had finally stood up to their firepower and been decimated, negated their advantage by stopping the bombing and placing their faith instead with negotiations. Likewise, after the 1970 Cambodian incursion, Washington used the breathing space afforded them not to press on--not to cut the Ho Chi Minh Trail in Laos, to cross the DMZ, to shut down Haiphong and Hanoi--but to accelerate the withdrawals. There were many who could commiserate with the bitter comments of one infantry battalion operations officer: 'After Cambodia, you couldn't pick a fight. If only we had persisted we would have won the war.'"
And the conclusion of Joseph B. Andersen, Jr., the CO of B/2-5 Cavalry after losing three men in a fight to seize an enemy cache:
"From that time in June until I gave up the company in November, we didn't receive another single shot. We'd wiped out all their supplies and demoralized them so greatly that they were not ready to fight. As we ran our patrols, we would find they were trailing us so they could eat our garbage, the stuff we'd thrown away. As a company commander, I did not have any feel for the political and international ramifications of going into Cambodia. But as a guy who had to live or die by how well the enemy was equipped or fought, there was no doubt in my mind that the correlation was very great between us going into Cambodia and then not taking any more heat from the enemy."

Once again the USA seized defeat from the jaws of victory.
We're good at that.
Practice makes perfect.

One time back when I was dumb enough to post comments to on-line articles I mentioned that I had flown in a C-141 from Yokota to Andrews.  I was told it was the last flying C-141 in the Air Force inventory and would soon go to the boneyard. I wrote a few lines about the experience and my reaction to being on the plane. One of the regular commenters at that site chimed in to tell about the time he flew back from Europe in a rattle-trap of an airliner that he was afraid would fall apart at any moment.  He clearly didn't understand my comment, thinking my mention of it being the last C-141 flying was meant as some sort of comment on how terrible my flight was and he was going to top that with his story. 
But that wasn't what I was saying.  My reaction to being aboard a C-141, the legendary Sky Lizard, was because of my mother being an Army nurse during Viet Nam when the C-141 was used to fly the most critically wounded soldiers, those with head and spinal injuries, back to the States for treatment.  I'd heard stories about the difficulties the flight nurses encountered.  And now I was aboard one of those planes.

Flight nurse Deanna Cox with wounded Marine aboard a C-141

The cargo bay had only metal deck plates, no insulation or sound-proofing and limited lighting, so it made for a noisy, dimly lit, cold and uncomfortable environment to work in during the long flight across 10 time zones.
Each plane carried 44 litter and 48 ambulatory patients, most in their late teens or early 20s, all with terrible injuries. Usually they had been in combat less than 24 hours earlier. The flight nurses wore earplugs throughout the flights, which impeded their ability to communicate with each other and with their patients. Because they often could not hear a respirator cycling or suction machine operating, the nurses had to closely observe patients to determine their status and the equipment's effectiveness.  Sometimes they ran out of medical supplies during the flight. Often a patient would have a crisis beyond any help the nurses could give.  Sometimes they died. Whatever happened, the planes did not divert. They flew on, hour after hour across time zone after time zone. The dead lay among the living, or was it the living lying among the dead? 

As the C-141 I was flying in rumbled across the Pacific at 430 knots, I thought about those days, imagined my mother receiving the freshly wounded coming in on helos, rushing them for treatment, cleaning the maggots out of their wounds, preparing them for emergency surgery, assisting in the surgery, then selecting the worst cases for evacuation to the States, seeing them back aboard a helo, kneeling over them, saying reassuring words if they were conscious, a prayer if they were not, a final touch of her hand to their cheek and they were gone.  And she stood there watching the helo depart.  Then another helo would come whomp-whomping in with more wounded and she would sigh, look down at the ground, gathering her strength for the next bout of horror, then dash in under the spinning blades to begin the cycle all over again.

Boogie on down

 I ran across some snapshots of my mom at discothèque back in the day.  She was one hot babe and clearly believed in if you've got it flaunt it! I showed them to her and chided her on scolding me for the way I like to dress when I go out steppin'.  She laughed for the first time in some time and just glowed recalling those grand Seventies days. She spent her late teens and early twenties in Viet Nam, as I've written, first as an Army nurse in Cu Chi and then as a volunteer with Children's Medical Relief International in Saigon.  But after she left and got back to the States she decompressed by letting it all hang out, or whatever the slang term was in those times.
Anyway, she spent her days working as a nurse and her nights clubbing, dancing to the disco beat. I asked her what her favorite songs or bands were and without hesitation she reeled off a string of names: Earth Wind and Fire, Tavares, A Taste of Honey, The Tramps, Chic, Donna Summer, Patti LaBelle -- "Gitchie gitchie ya ya da da!  Voulez-vous coucher avec moi ce soir?" 
"Mom!" 
"Just song lyrics, child."
"Uh huh."
Looking at one photo of her sitting on the lap of a handsome young man, I asked who he was and she said, "Don't you recognize him, dear?  That's your father."
Looking again at the photo, I clearly saw that it was so.  She took the snapshot from me and gazed at it a long time, then held it up to her heart. "We had our times," she said.  "We had our times."

 

An educational conversation

 

A few months ago when I was running errands in the Beech, I dropped off one of our machine shop workers to pick up something at Destination City then flew on to Gotham City, Jr., taking the wife of a ranch hand and her kids to a doctor's appointment and to have some time away from the ranch. 
After I dropped them off and ran some errands, I stopped by the local FBO office to say hi and chat a bit. There I ran into Richard, one of the corporation executives handling coal, oil and gas.  I'd met him briefly once or twice but never had a conversation with him.  His plane had a busted discronificator or something and he needed to get to Destination City. He wanted to rent a plane but none were available so I offered to fly him down since I was going to be stopping there on my way back home.  He agreed with relief, offering to pay me a hundred bucks but I waved that aside since I wasn't flying Part 135.  He could buy me lunch, instead, and have a chat while we waited for my passengers.  So we did. And I got quite an education about a field in which I was totally ignorant.
He told me that Montana.holds the largest coal reserves in the United States, having some 118.5 billion tons of recoverable reserves. Its coal is low sulfur, low-polluting, sub-bituminous with a low BTU rating, 8,000 BTU per pound compared to 14,000 BTU for West Virginia and Pennsylvania coal, meaning that it was pretty much good only for electric power plant fuel. In fact, the only reason it began being mined was because of the acid rain damage caused by eastern coal and the cost of scrubbing the sulfur out of it. America's 600 million-ton annual coal consumption is still dominated by eastern coal, but 40 percent is provided by coal from the Powder River Basin, a lot of that, of course, in Wyoming. Most of the Montana coal is in the Anderson and Canyon deposits, 50-foot in depth seams covering an area the size of Connecticut, enough to keep America supplied with electricity for centuries to come.  We won't be getting as much of it thanks to the Biden administration's decision to end coal leasing on public lands in the Powder River Basin. But we will still get some from private and Indian lands.

In recent years, a lot of Montana coal has been exported to East Asia, primarily China, shipped out via Vancouver, Canada, which has three coal terminals at the port. The coal trains I saw rolling northwest were heading there, Richard said.  So there was some discussion about whether the administration's move was to appease environmentalists or to stick it to China, which needed that coal to fuel it's economy. It could use all the coal it could get from wherever it could get it -- domestic supply, Australia, the US....   Whatever the case, he said coal was a sunset industry in America, anyway, no matter what Washington did or didn't do.
The reason coal for power plants in the US was fading away was not so much because of the "green energy" push but because vastly abundant natural gas was much cheaper, as well as cleaner and easier to use than coal, Richard said. Equipment to deliver gas to the power plant burner is both much less complex and easier to maintain and operate. Also gas-fired power plants can spool up from cold to full output in an hour or two while a coal-fired plant takes a minimum of three days and as much as a week to do so, so such plants don't have the ability to shut down during low demand times and quickly come back on-line to meet surge demands. They have to run continuously whether demand is there or not.
Richard said that, on top of this, coal is a difficult fuel to handle. At the electricity generating plants coal is dumped in yards then moved by conveyor to the plant, thence to a pulverizer and then injected into the burner. Coal dust is an explosion and fire hazard and collects on surfaces all over the plant.Quenching systems are needed to stop spontaneous combustion and explosions in the pulverizer. Further, burning coal corrodes all the exhaust equipment.
 So although Richard was in the coal business he realized that its days in the USA, aside from use in steel and cement making, were numbered thanks to cheap natural gas.
I didn't understand how coal was important to make steel and cement.  Richard said steel was made from iron and carbon -- carbon steel -- the carbon coming from coal, and fly ash was used to make cement.  I didn't know what fly ash was, but I let it go as tangential to what he wanted to talk about.
The future, he said, was exports, especially to China, which was energy poor.  He explained that American oil and gas deposits were located in rock formed of hard sediments from an inland sea while those in China were found in rock made of mushy sediment from freshwater lakes.  When the American rock was fracked, it formed cracks where the oil and gas pooled and could easily be extracted, but when Chinese rock was fracked it formed a gooey mess that was hard to extract anything from.  So the Chinese were only getting about 2 percent of the

The Japanese navy carrier Izumo flies F-35Bs.

originally projected amount of oil they expected.  We could make a fortune selling energy to China but he was afraid Washington might someday restrict or even forbid such exports.
Like we did with Japan before Pearl Harbor, I asked. Something like that, he said, but noted China gets most of its oil from the Gulf, in particular Saudi Arabia, and the US Navy protects that Chinese lifeline since China has no blue water navy to do it itself.  The largest blue water navy after the US is Japan.  That I knew. Also the one with the most aircraft carrier warfare experience.
 The oil wells in Montana vented off as much natural gas in a day as would power all of New York state for a month, Richard said, a fact that astonished me.  America is wildly rich in energy resources, he said, if only the politicians, federal regulators and courts would allow us to develop the extraction processes and distribution networks to use it ourselves and export it to the world.
Then he talked about being in the National Guard and getting deployed to Iraq twice, not in a combat role himself but in an intel role supporting a combat unit. The thing he remembered most about his deployments was his  reluctance to go back the second time after a year away, during which time he had hoped he would never see the dump again, and then when he did go back to the same unit in the same place he saw that nothing had changed. 
It was as if he had never been away, the same dusty file cabinets, the same computer he had worked at before sitting on the same wobbly-legged desk, the same saggy cot to sleep on, the same crummy shower with a drizzle of water that stank of something, the same noisy air conditioner that only seemed to blow warm air, the same lousy institutional cafeteria food.  He was immediately overcome with a sense of futility wrapped around a core of boredom. 
He told me about some of the incidents during his time in "I-wreck."  Not the blood-and-guts stuff civilians assume soldiers reminisce about but odd incidents and funny stories.  The one that made me laugh was when a trusted source informed him that a dangerous terrorist that they were looking for was a midget.  He passed that on to the gunslingers and they went off looking for a midget.  Some hours later they returned driving a truck.  He went out to see if they had found the midget terrorist just as they were unloading their haul, some two dozen midgets, all looking highly indignant. The troopies must have rounded up every midget in the vicinity. 
Now it was his job to interrogate them and find out which one was the terrorist. It turned out none of them were. His informant had played a joke on him, and now the midgets were all going to tell AFP and Al Jazeera that Uncle Sam had kidnapped them for what purpose Allah only knew. To avoid news stories about the US Army going around grabbing Iraqi midgets, he gave each an apology and $25, probably more money than any of them had ever seen in their lives, to shut up and go away.  He fired his informant but then hired him back when he couldn't find another.
I asked Richard what he thought about the military's plan to recall to active duty those who had reached their EAOS, even those long retired.  He said he had had enough of the whole shit show and if they dragged him back in he would just F Troop it.  I didn't understand that so he explained that "F Troop" was an old TV show about a company of incompetent soldiers who bungled everything assigned to them.  He said that if he were sent to a combat zone he would Bowe Bergdahl it. 
I remembered Bergdahl.  He deserted his post in Afghanistan and was court-martialed by the Army but had his court-martial over-ruled by a federal judge.  National Security Advisor Susan Rice said he served with honor.  The outrage her statement caused among those serving that I knew was still fresh in my mind. I'd heard that as a result of what she said many senior NCOs, furious with what they saw as a profound insult, left the service. The problem of experienced personnel getting out was later exacerbated by the implementation of CRT and now, it seems, is critical if the Pentagon is talking about calling retirees back into service.
I asked Richard if he really would F Troop it and desert and, after a thoughtful pause, he said, no, he probably wouldn't.  He was just venting.  He had too much self-respect to do nothing less than the best he could do.  I thought about what I would do if I were recalled.  I wouldn't like it, that's for sure.

Shannon Kent on assignment with SEALs.

I remembered Shannon Kent, a cryptologic warfare technician whom I had met in Afghanistan when she was an IA volunteer with a SEAL team.  She was very impressive, speaking Arabic and several other languages fluently.  Before Afghanistan, she had served in Iraq with the SEALs.  Years later she was set to enter the Navy's doctorate of psychology program at USU, the armed services medical school, but the Navy decided they wanted her skills in Syria.  I heard that she begged off, citing the fact she now had two children to care for, a three-year-old and an 18-month-old, and had also just had surgery for thyroid cancer, but the Navy was adamant.  So she accepted her duty and went to Syria where she was killed by a suicide bomber.  She should have Bowe Bergdahled it.
When my passengers finally showed up and we all traipsed out to the ramp heading towards our Twin Beech, which was parked next to a King Air 360, Richard wondered who owned "that classic."  I said it was ours.  He seemed a bit taken aback, saying he thought we'd be flying in the King Air. I told him he didn't have to fly with us if he didn't like the ride.  He said he hadn't meant what he said that way.  He'd love to fly in "a true legend."

Someone lost control and ran off the runway.

He mentioned that at one time he owned a Cessna 195, a single-engine tail dragger, but it was too much trouble. He said taxiing was a real chore and crosswind landings were a challenge. He asked how the Beech was and I said I didn't have any problems with it. As we were taxiing, he watched me carefully and commented on how I only used the throttles to steer with, never touching the brakes while he was always working the brakes in his 195. I said I sometimes used the brakes, depending on the situation. When I launched down the runway, he also watched what I did intently.  After we were airborne he complimented me on keeping the plane dead on the centerline, saying he tended to veer left and right in the Cessna until he could get good rudder authority.  It was one reason he finally sold the plane, it was just too much of a bother dealing with it. I said twins are easier, just lead with the left engine and keep going straight by using wrist action on the throttles till the tail comes up.
I asked what plane he had now and he said a 1981 Piper Aztec F turbo with wingtip tanks which he liked very much. The age of his and our planes led to a discussion of the death of general aviation.  Not so long ago, if a person wanted to, he could buy a plane and fly it for fun just as he could own a motorcycle, boat or RV.  Light planes were manufactured in the thousands every year by a number of makers.  That's no more.  Young people still train to be pilots, but only because they want to have jobs with the airlines.  A twenty-something, never mind a teenager, can't afford to buy even a used, decades-old airplane, and the new light planes, such as the Cirrus, cost over a million dollars.  That's for a four-place flying compact car.

I'll keep my good old Twin Beech.

I recalled the conversation I had with the King Air pilot passing through our local airport who mentioned that when he was in high school in the early 1960s he had bought a Piper Cub  for $1,200. That would be something like $12,000 today.  He earned the money to buy it by working after school, weekend and summer jobs. He averaged about $800 a week, also in today's money, during the school year and I suppose more during summer when he would work more hours, so  $12,000 was within his means. A used Cirrus runs about $850,000.  No high school student could afford that, let alone the flying lessons, which are not cheap.
The old days really were a golden era Richard and I both agreed.  How did we let them get away from us, he asked.  I had no answer.