Some of you might recollect, Juvat and his clan traveled to the ancestral homeland of the MacSarge clan back in March. Apparently when he wasn't touring castles and distilleries (while the long suffering Mrs. Juvat lay abed from a bit of bad fish) he was squirreling wee gifts away for Yours Truly. Part of which you can see in the opening photo.
Now I had had an email from UPS regarding an incoming package. I was, at first, a bit suspicious, who would be sending moi a package? Then another email came in from the fair state of Texas, from Juvat hisself, indicating that I should expect a package on the 6th of June. To which I replied -
June 6th? Should I expect paratroopers at midnight and landing craft in the Bay at dawn?Why yes, I enjoy playing the fool. Why do you ask?
Anyhoo, in addition to the lovely bottle of Scottish firewater, and two glasses to drink it from, Juvat, with his very own hands, crafted the box within which the Scotch and the glasses arrived. For my very own birthday!
You might note the fancy frosted glass front displaying the stripes of an Air Force Master Sergeant, which I was and in my heart shall always be, and the name "Old AF Sarge." As an added (delightful) touch, there is the obligatory "Remove Before Flight" streamer.
So in addition to his writing skills, Juvat is a handy fellow with wood and tools. (The packing job he did was most incredible, he'd be an asset to any shipping department I've ever known!)
In all honesty I was (and still am) very touched by this wonderful gift from my co-blogger and Phellow Phantom Phan. (He broke, er, flew them, I fixed them.) So yes, he was a Phantom Phlyer and I was a Phantom Phixer. Of course, he also went on to be an Eagle Driver for the mighty 18th Tactical Fighter Wing. (Which is what it was called back in the day, it has a different, less impressive, name these days.)
Speaking of co-bloggers, Tuna is out and about the world doing his thing. I stole the following photo of him from koobecaF. I hope he doesn't mind me sharing it! (Old military saying, "'Tis better to ask forgiveness than it is to ask permission.")
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| Tunfisk Sjøforsvaretsønn (Roughly Tuna, Son of the Navy) |
From the Fury of the Northmen, O Lord Deliver Us!As to our other co-blogger...
Wait a minute Sarge! You mentioned Juvat, you mentioned Tuna, what other co-blogger?
I'm glad you asked. I've added another writer to the rolls, lemme give ya a hint as to who it is -
Aye, 'tis the youngest of my three bairns, The WSO, aka Lush.
It was our very own Tunfisk, er, I mean Tuna, who suggested in the comments to this post that I should "leave the keys in it" for her once in awhile. So I did. For those who read The Chant on a computer, you might have noticed a sign that there was an increase in the roster...
Maybe.
As she has that whole "new job" thing going on and is the mother of two small girls and has a husband at sea, she might be hard pressed to find the time to write. But she might chip in from time to time. Not just because Dad wants it...
Well, okay, it is because Dad wants it.
And now we're all up to date. I think. Working from noon to nine takes some getting used to, I ain't as young as I used to be. So I'm a bit more addled than usual. Speaking of age, with the addition of Lush, Tuna's not the "baby of the blog" any more.
Ahhhhh....
And speaking of Texas (with a tip o' the hat to reader RHT447, whose Dad flew for the 447th Bomb Group during the Big One, Dubya Dubya Two...)
One does not mess with Texas.
(Well, maybe Houston, but not the rest of the Lone Star state.)
I learned to drive in a 55 GMC similar to the truck in the video. It had a huge steering-wheel and four on the floor. I had to have a pillow behind me so that I could reach the pedals. We shook and rattled before each roll.
ReplyDeleteHhmm, an idea for a post springs to mind. Yes, it's about manual transmissions and such.
DeleteI learned to drive a stick shift at the Lubbock airport, driving a fuel truck over to the terminal to refuel 727s and DC-9s. Had to cross a couple of runways to get there. The tower wasn't very tolerant of delays caused by a new driver popping the clutch and stalling out the truck. The B-17 in the vid brings back a memory or two, but I DID learn to drive a stick.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the kind words. One question, you DID look at the back didn't you?
The back?
DeleteD'oh! I just did. Picture to follow. (Coolness on top of coolness!)
I learned to drive a stick working on a house with dad. We had an old Apache. 3 on the tree. When I was 10 or 11 he let me drive the dirt roads on the way back home after working on an old house we never moved into.
ReplyDeleteI drove those same trucks fueling Air-Midwest amongst others at the same airport, just a bit after Juvat. We weren't allowed to cross runways then, had to run the taxi way to the end "Avtech 3, hold short, runway 35... Avtech 3 holding short".
It's always nice to get a handmade gift. Especially when a master craftsman takes the time to make it for you.
HB Sarge!
So....I had an impact on airport operations then?
DeleteThanks STxAR!
DeleteJuvat - you must have, I mean they changed things after you left.
DeleteStory was some brainiac bounced across the runway without asking. Nearly wiped out an aircraft taking off. So it was the long way around after that...
DeleteSaw a guy drive a maintenance van across the runway at Kadena. Crossed the path of a fully loaded tanker in the middle of his take off roll. Missed it by that much...
DeleteI think the driver of that van PCSed to Shemya, in the Aleutians, as a reward for his misdeed. Could have been much worse.
I was going to say that it is okay to mess with Austin, but not the rest of Texas. Wonderful news about LUSH possibly writing on the blog- she sure seems to be an impressive young lady- a chip off the Maternal Block as it were. :) Juvat set the bar high for birthday gifts.
ReplyDeleteYes, you can mess with Austin as well. I say Houston because of the two knuckleheads who wandered off on our way to Basic Training. I suppose I can't really blame the entire city for that.
DeleteLUSH is more like me than her mother, which is often a source of frustration to The Missus Herself.
That is a very fine example of craftsmanship and more importantly the thought behind it. BZ juvat.
ReplyDeleteI did have to translate Eagle into Phillyspeak. Iggle. As in da Iggles are awful this year.
I learned to drive a pickup truck with a manual shifter on the column when I worked a summer job for the State of Pennsylvania. My boss asked if I could drive a stick and I answered truthfully with no. The real question he should have asked was if I had a driver's license, and the answer would have also been no. (I turned 16 during the summer and I had to get creative with my age to work full time) After some practice I did fine. It has been a long long time since I drove anything with a manual tranny.
Heh. Iggles. I remember when they were competitive. It's been awhile.
DeleteCool project without a doubt. A woodsmith and a wordsmith is Juvat.
ReplyDeleteI learned to drive a John Deere R with a gas-powered starter motor and a hand clutch. After that, cars and trucks wuz eazy.
Oh, and looking forward to the new kid's stuff. BTW, your link above is broken. I'm sure you meant this one:
Deletehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Tracy_(DD-214)
If you can drive a tractor, you can drive anything.
DeleteHahaha! (Who calls it a DD "Form" 214? Other than Admin types. No offense Mrs. Juvat...)
DeleteThat would be another thing that identifies a Fighter Pilot. I don't think she's ever referred to it as a "Form", just DD-214.
DeleteMrs. Juvat performed duties as an admin type, but she was most emphatically NOT an admin type.
DeleteDid I get that right?
:)
Absolute-a-men-TAY!
Delete:)
DeleteI learned to drive in a '58 Ford sedan with a 3-speed column shift.
ReplyDeleteFurther trained in a Mercedes-Benz 4-speed column shift.
My first experience with an automatic wasn't until I owned my first car.
I replaced it with a VW after a year.
A video of a B=17 chasing a car down a highway and all anybody got from that was driving a stick shift?
DeleteLou, you got some 'splainin' to do!
Well...a B-17 will only do about 200. A 1973 Dodge Charger R/T with a 440 Magnum will do that. DAMHIK.
DeleteNow this would have made a cool commercial. Watch it to the end for a little special specialness.
Well the speed difference is something to consider. In terms of lethality though, I'd go with the Fortress. I am betting that the Charger can maneuver out of harm's way.
DeleteThat would be a cool commercial. In videos it's sometimes hard to judge altitude, unless you can see the shadow of the aircraft...
Damn he was low!
ZZ
Well Sarge, thanks for tryin'. For those interested, when YouTube loads more choices at the end of the add, you can click on the video about making that commercial. I also beg to differ with juvat. A B-17 max's out at about 280 (empty). Cruse is about 180, although I'm sure for obvious reasons, the CAF doesn't push much beyond that.
Delete:)
DeleteThat is one special birthday present! I'm guessing it will remain unused until and when Juvat is there to break the seal and make a toast. Or you could send a bottle of the same to Juvat and make an occasional cyber-toast.
ReplyDeleteNice idea Joe!
DeleteLet me add my welcome to the WSO/Lush as a contributor to this fine blog. I eagerly await reading her posts.
ReplyDeletePaul L. Quandt
Thanks Paul.
DeleteLush letters? Wow, you actually listen to your employees! What a great boss. I'll be expecting a nice 2% raise after my next annual evaluation. Until later- Norge!
ReplyDelete2%!! Highway robbery! Why I ought to...
DeleteOh wait a minute, 2% of zilch is still zilch.
:)
My first efforts at driving a "self shifter" was marred by automatically stepping on the clutch. Other than two Lincoln Towncars, I can't think of more than one vehicle I've owned with an automatic except the ones bought while married. Today the knees are suggesting a change is in order.
ReplyDeleteAh, the standard transmission is but a fond memory for me...
DeleteNicely done Javat! And thanks for sharing OldAFSarge (as ye shall always remain). I am looking forward to hearing from Lush - wondering where we'll go with that. "til then, I remain forever, yours truly (sigh) Fuzz.
ReplyDeleteRoger that Fuzz!
Delete