"The difference between the almost right word and the right word is really a large matter." —Mark Twain
You really never leave
No, I haven’t turned into a teabagger. This is one of my periodic “bag” posts, a collection of links and short observations that by themselves wouldn’t get a post of their own. ——————– As a motorcycle rider, I’ve always thought there’s something wrong with law enforcement and the courts when it comes to cagers who […]
I love the jet fighters of the 1950s. Built for speed, sleek and swept-back, they were the embodiment of the fantasy planes of comic book superheroes. The North American F-107, an orphan fighter-bomber abandoned by the USAF, embodies the go-fast exuberance of the period. The F-107 began life in 1953 at North American Aviation as a drawing-board […]
The year, that would be. Out with a bang. Shot right through the brain. This Christmas we added a compact 9mm pistol to our arsenal, so Polly and I took it and its big brother (a .357 revolver) to an indoor range this morning. I wanted to get the feel of the new pistol, and […]
When I started conducting walking tours at the Pima Air & Space Museum a few months ago, I quickly realized I’d talk myself hoarse if I didn’t overcome a certain egotistical reluctance to use a portable voice amplifier and speaker. The museum had two but they were big heavy things, each one powered by eight […]
I don’t mean to toot my own horn as a veteran … I had it easy in the military, and as a fighter pilot had the best job anybody could possibly have … but I thought you’d enjoy the photo. Yes, we were young (believe it or not, we still feel the way we looked […]
Hat tip to Nancy Nall for pointing me toward this New York Times article about small town gossip run rampant on an internet forum. People in Mountain Grove, Missouri used to swap gossip face to face at Dee’s Place, but these days they have ” … shifted from sharing the latest news and rumors over […]
Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell was finally repealed today, and I suppose that’s a good thing. It’s high time the military moved on. But another significant advance of freedom for military members, at least those in the US Air Force, is also cause for rejoicing: USAF Chief of Staff General Schwartz has outlawed unconstitutional promotions of […]
Today, for the first time in 14 years, the doctor at the base clinic stood me up. My appointment was at 0850; at 0920 I decided I had more important things to do. Clearly wires had gotten crossed; they’ve never kept me waiting more than 5 minutes before. I told the airman at the desk […]