Apparently, Sarge is on an Military Art Binge and has used his VAST editorial powers to decree that Paintings Week shall continue this next week. Being the loyal minion that I am, (Beans, you keep silent, hear?) I shall thus conscientiously endeavor to comply with said decree.
Ergo.
 |
| Click here for Larger Scale picture and description |
So.... ;-)
Think I'll start with a bit of updating on the day to day rhythm here at Rancho Juvat lately. Miss B and LJW are ensconced in one of our guest houses. It's a bit smaller and less populated than our house (8 beings reside in our house, two in the guest house), so equipment is easier to reposition and since it's smaller, the connections don't need to be as long, the requirement to move the equipment is reduced. Much easier to get around if you don't have to move both an infant and equipment at the same time. Also, Mrs. J goes down there regularly to help with the feedings.
Speaking of feedings, consuming all Miss B's food through the mouth rather than through a cannula is one of the key markers for getting released from house jail, which will do wonders for the mental health of all concerned. No longer requiring Oxygen supplementation is the other. Progress is occurring in both categories. Not there yet, but Progress IS progressing.
So...as the saying goes "Every day, in every way, we get (a little) better and better." Thank you, Lord.
That notwithstanding, Mrs. J and I had a very enjoyable breakfast Sunday morning. It's been our tradition since before we got married to go out to breakfast on Sunday's after Church. TDY's, Illness and/or Weather have been the only excuses allowed for skipping, prior to Miss B's arrival. However, as mentioned above...well, let's just say health and welfare of a Grandchild and her Mother take precedence. But, this week, we were granted Papal Dispensation for a good reason.
I mentioned last week, that we had a potentially complicated problem with a Winter Storm, potential Power problems and Miss B's support equipment. That problem was rendered solvable with the kind invite of one of our local Blog Readers, Cletus Valvecort. His home has a whole house generator which would (probably literally) be a lifesaver should power go out in the area. He invited us to come stay with he and his wife if that should happen.
Fortunately, that option did not need to be exercised as our power never went out. Other folks in the general vicinity were not so lucky. But, somebody upstairs was looking out for the juvat clan.
Thank you.
However, given the reduction in blood pressure that occurred on receiving that offer, Mrs. J and I felt we needed to show our gratitude as well as meet these folks Friends face to face.
So, we treated them to breakfast at our usual, pre-conundrum*, restaurant. Arrangement was made to meet at 8:30ish (depending on the Sermon Verbosity of our Priest) yesterday. Rendezvous went off without a hitch and shortly after sitting down we were swapping war stories as if we'd been friends for years.
Regular Blog Reader and Commenter, John Blackshoe had commented last week that he bet Cletus was a Native Texan. As Cletus stated in his reply, he is a fifth generation Texan. Upon querying him for more details, he related that the original two sides of the family had arrived and settled in the South East corner of the state in the late 1830's, early 1840's. For those not willing to do the research that would be a couple of years after the Alamo, but before it became the 28th State. In other words, when Texas was an independent Country. His family were cattle ranchers and fishermen. He shared the family stories that had been handed down from the time...I found them fascinating. Brought my High School Texas History to life. Really wonderful. His own career was in the oil industry and he had spent some time in Germany where he met his bride. Very nice folks with good stories. We spent quite a while sipping coffee after breakfast.
Don't worry, Beans, the waitresses were (more than) adequately compensated.
All in all, a wonderful morning. Hope yours was as well.
*Pre-Conundrum. Started sometime after the Covid BS started and seems to be ending with LJW and Miss B requiring less and less close assistance.
 |
| Source |
 |
| Source |
 |
| Source |
 |
| Source |
 |
| Source |
 | |
| For Ras | Source |
 | ||
| PZL-P.11C "For Pawel" Source |
Ewok report "eve of war anniversary" sent, I hope Sarge wilkl put it up soon.
ReplyDeleteand here small art addendum to your collection
https://www.hobbysta.pl/halinski-ka-num-spec/pzl-p11c
Pawel,
DeleteHad to take a lot of guts to attack a more modern target in an open cockpit fixed gear fighter. But, as someone once said "The quality of the box matters little. Success depends upon the man who sits in it."
Updated my post to include the picture.
And, as the German navy found out, old planes were very hard to track with then modern AAA weapons. (Reason the British biplane torpedo bombers were so successful was because they were sooooo slow.)
DeleteTime was running icredibly fast in the fighter plane world of 1930s
DeleteP-11 was cutting edge in 1933 and obsolete just 6 years later.
Fun fact: Poland was first country in the world to have all-metal monoplane fighter force, but open cabin, fixed landing gear and relatively low powered engine limited the plane's performance. Had Poland been able to dodge the bullet of 1939, something like IAR-80 could have been created:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IAR_80
Romanians took hull of the P-24 (export follow up to P-11), gave it low-wing, closed cockpit, stronger engine and armament. Result was comparable to Hurricane or early Bf-109 in performance, and it was able to tango with US planes over Ploesti with remarkable success.
edit: speaking of Romania, check out latest fullbore friday post at Salamanders place...
DeleteBeans,
DeleteOne of our assigned Eagle targets in Korea had similar characteristics. We practiced A LOT against it. Once spotted, it was generally toast, but...spotting it, visually or on radar was difficult.
An-2 Colt for specops team insertion, maybe?
DeleteI am overjoyed to read that your granddaughter is improving by leaps and bounds every day; as I had mentioned sometime earlier, we went through this with our youngest, who is now forty, bringing up our youngest grandchild.
ReplyDelete(for some odd reason I tend to eschew the word "progress" these days; it's begun to give me the willies every time I read or hear it and a picture of a creature, a cross somewhere between a Devaronian and a Hutt forms in my mind.)
Boron,
DeleteI hear ya on that latter portion of your comment.
And thanks on the first. Yeah, she's "gettin' there" . Big appointment day in San Antonio with Mom and Grandmom taking her to the doctors. But hopefully there's good news on the two remaining items. We shall see.
Knew the Hutt part, had to look up the Devaronian. Interesting, didn't know that was their name.
Juvat, as I accessed “the Chant” this morning thought I heard sizzles and fizzles coming from the various computers checking your post this morning, as they cratered from my mug (not Mrs. Valvecore) showing up on their screens. Can’t say I didn’t warn you.
ReplyDeleteI did notice your choice of breakfast protein item, and although not recommending it for breakfast, here’s a suggestion. While you’re in Europe next month and in one of the German speaking countries, for lunch or dinner I’d suggest you try a “Jaegerschnitzel mit pommes frites”. I consider it be an upscale predecessor to our chicken fried steak with French fries.
On the serious side, we enjoyed and appreciate the invite to breakfast along with meeting Mrs. Juvat and your good self. Very enjoyable plus we’ve found a new place to eat in the Burg…and not wait in line, provided you get there early enough.
Cletus
Cletus,
DeleteWe too enjoyed the company and will be looking forward to dining with you again.
Believe it or not, in the couple of times I visited Germany, I had "“Jaegerschnitzel mit pommes frites” and enjoyed them immensely.
Thanks
Is that "with fried Englishmen"? I know the Aussies call England pommie land..... hmmmmmm......
DeleteEwww!
DeleteOkay, that's weird. German chicken fried steak with French fries. Jaegerschnitzel being German, of course, and pomme frites is French for, well, french fries as potatoes are 'pomme de terre' or ground apples as pomme is 'apple.' Unless you're having fried apples, hmmm, wonder how the frogs would say that, don't care enough to look it up, okay, do care and it's, well, French class lied as the current translation for fried potatoes is 'frites' and fried apples is 'pomme frites' unless you're in French Canada where french fries are 'pomme de terre frites' because French Canadians think they're more French than actual French-French living in France. Stuck up snobs... (no, really, French Canucks have 'language purity' cops and commissions in order to keep their version of French stagnant and pure so they (French Canucks) call a vacuum cleaner basically a 'machine that cleans with vacuum' while French-French just use 'la hoover.'
DeleteBeans,
DeleteHaving had both Jaegerschnitzel and Chicken Fried Steak, they are subtlety different in the seasoning. CFS is a bit more tangy. It IS Texas, you know. However, both when well done are excellent, neither is heart healthy, and I love both.
Crusty Old TV Tech here. Huzzah for Cletus and his Missus! As my Texas-born mother (RIP) would have said, "Well, bless his heart!". Glad to hear the young'un is doing better too.
ReplyDeleteOn the paintings...the F-4 makes such a stellar subject IMHO. It is the epitome of a fighter, mean, blunt, brutish-looking, but at the same time sleek and purposeful. Those paintings remind me of a place I frequented for years.
There was a famous landmark in Shreveport called Murrell's Grill, owned by WW2 AAF pilot Murrell Stansell. His joint was a meeting place for the regular folks, cops, the city's political class, all stripes of folks for years, from the late 50's through to the 90's. Trout Fishing in America wrote a song about the place, even!
Murrell Stansell adorned the walls with pictures and paintings of Army and AF battles and aircraft. One I remember was of an F-4 in some battle in Vietnam, another was an F-105 of similar vintage, titled "F-105 Thunderchief, Up and At 'Em!". The place is long gone, but your aircraft paintings reminded me of Murrell's, and excellent ham hocks and cabbage (and icebox pies), and the spirit of another time and place.
COTT,
DeleteThanks,
Yeah, the F-4 was solid as a rock down low and fast. Enjoyed flying her because down low you could really see HOW fast you were going. Kinda like a jet liner, when you're cruising at altitude even if you're doing 500+, it doesn't feel like it. Down at 500' AGL though...well, it got the blood flowing. The F-15 on the other hand, all you had to do was think about turning and the jet was doing it. Both great airplanes and excellent at what they were designed to do.
Couldn't find a copy of the F-105 painting you mentioned. But did like the one I found and posted it in remembrance of Ras. One of my earliest "Gonna be a fighter pilot when I grow up" memories is of an F-105 departing Webb AFB after a Pilot Training Graduation. He had taken off and made a long low wide 360 turn and came back down the runway at "maybe" 100' AGL. Supposed to be subsonic, however....This 11 YO boy knew at that point what he was going to do.
Never made a supersonic low level pass over a populated area, mind you, but...
Hurray for good news on Miss B! And hurray for meeting like-minded people and good food!
ReplyDeleteTHBB,
DeleteThanks and agreed.
Great news on the home front, Sky Six is certainly watching over you and yours. Really nice to meet Cletus and sein schönes Frau and I'll enthusiastically endorse his choice of Schnitzel - a favorite of mine as well.
ReplyDeleteSarge,
DeleteC'mon Down, there are several good German Restaurants here to sample. And it's gotta be cheaper than our upcoming trip to Germany.
Huzzah for the news on Miss B! Well done for Cletus and his Better Half also. Five generations in Texas, yowsa, three of my grandparents were born in Europe. All that's missing is a Falcon juvat.
ReplyDeleteI guess a Falcon splashed an UAP over the weekend. Maybe we can commission an artist....
DeleteNylon,
DeleteI have several pictures of Pork Falcons. They are generally the same framing. I used a Circle with a dot in the center to make sure they were in the picture. Just sayin' ;-)
STxAR,
DeleteI wonder if they're painting silhouettes on the airplane's side? A kill's a kill I guess. or Oh how the mighty have fallen.
The art of balloon popping using a plane is a very difficult one. Disparity of speed being one, and it's only gotten worse since WWI. Then there's the 'how many damned holes do I have to put in this gas bag to make it leak enough for it to sink?' as the balloon envelope is probably a little too soft and squishy to cause a contact fuse to fuse.
DeleteThough the damned things should have been shot as soon as they violated US air space, not after they've done their evil jobs.
STxAR: read that it might have been from the 148th Wing out of Duluth.
DeleteThings have gotten worse since WW1 when balloons quit using hydrogen. Tracer bullets used to make them burn nicely. I ran across the story of a WW2 blimp attacking a surfaced U-Boat (diving to the attack at 40 mph). The sub gunners put a lot of holes in it (it is hard to miss when the target fills the entire gunsight). The problem is that the only vulnerable parts are the relatively small engines and control cabin. The helium is under very low pressure and leaks out slowly. The blimp was shot down, but it took a long time (on the order of a half hour) to hit the water,
DeleteGreat news from Rancho Juvat. The Littlest Juvat is doing well, you met some quality folks in the AO, and you put up amazing pictures of awesomeness. Very good post. I had a buddy in college that drew an F4 mural on his dorm wall. It was in a climbing turn to the left. Viewed from the left side, very much like PN 550, only rolling towards you. It was about 8 feet long. That boy could draw. It was beautiful.
ReplyDeleteSTxAR,
DeleteMan, I'd have paid a lot extra to live in that dorm room. Knowing Tech though, they probably painted it over at the end of the year. I'm jealous.
Phantom Tail # 550 is parked just down the road from me here in Bowling Green, KY . Dan Cherry shot down the Mig 21 on 16 April 1972. The pilot of the Mig was here several years ago and he and Dan became good friends. The museum website is https://www.aviationheritagepark.com/
ReplyDeleteGerry,
DeleteI'll have to stop by there if in the area. Col Cherry was one of my Vice Wing Commanders. I had a 1 v 1 air to air ride with him once. Learned an AWFUL lot on that ride. Not the least was how awfully uncomfortable an extended period of jinking to avoid being gunned can be. The debrief was excellent however, and as I said, I learned a lot. Not usually the case with O-6's.
He retired an O-7. He shared a Cessna 172 with my old boss with so much added electronics they called it an F-172. He's a very nice gentleman and he does a lot for the community. I can get his contact information if you roll into town.
DeleteGerry,
DeleteI very much doubt he'd remember me. One of a couple hundred Captains under his command.
An "F-172" ? Now, THAT makes me jealous!
Praise the Lord for progress for the wee one! Good News all around. Thanks for all of the pictures. The one of Cletus and his lady makes us all feel more like a big digital family everyday. I never tire of staring at pictures of the Phantom. Thanks again. I think the Deuce is prettier, but not so bold or in your face. (How's that for being poetic?)
ReplyDeleteLtFuzz,
DeleteFeel the same about the Eagle vs the Phantom. Both excellent jets at their job.
And yes, you are quite poetic! I bet you did well in William Tell!
Thanks for the William Tell link. In ‘62, it was something about Cuber, in in’64, it was something about RTU, ‘66, it was me being an IP. Later on I failed to compete in my Boeing 737. It took me an hour going through some of those links. Wm Tell>Deuce>68 Fighter Interceptor Sq attached 8TFW>Itazuke AB.>F4>68Tac Fighter Squadron part of 8TFW GeorgeAFB>Korat>Ubon RTAFB>GeorgeAFB, Victorville CA. All of ‘em nice Wiki links (not leaks).
DeleteAs I mentioned on one of Sarge's posts, there aren't near enough depictions of air power in his paintings for some reason. Doesn't he know that the Cavalry depended on Close-Air-Support?! Glad you helped rectify his omissions.
ReplyDeleteMy family used to always hit breakfast after mass when I was a kid. Zero interest in that from my wife though since she barely eats, and coffee is all she wants. I do miss it.
Glad Miss B is progressing nicely.
Thanks, Tuna. CAS is important. BAI (Battlefield Air Interdiction) is even more important. Interdiction even more so. Why? (and Tuna, I know you know this, this is for "the others"). CAS is shooting the bad guys on the ground WHILE they're shooting at the good guys. BAI is shooting the bad guys minutes before they get to shoot at the good guys. Interdiction is shooting them before they get in range of the good guys. Every infantryman I met while at ARMMMEEE Training Sir! preferred the latter whenever possible. I wonder why?
DeleteThanks.
The hardest mental mission!
DeleteSo any interest in the quest for power? Keep us in the loop as we will all enjoy your pains and travails as all good armchair quarterback generals do.
ReplyDeleteExcellent info on Miss B.
Can't go wrong with donuts or breakfast after Mass. Though Dad being such a good cook, the preferred was donuts in the church hall and home for bacon and eggs. (And, yes, cheaper, too.) Ah, fine memories. 7:30am Mass (no singing, dad had perfect pitch and did not enjoy caterwauling) and then donuts and then breakfast and then running around the neighborhood until dinner time.
Beans,
DeleteNaw! I just like spinning my tales once a week. Unfortunately, I sometimes push a button too soon and it screws things up. (Hard to believe, I know. Me...with a switch error? imposible!) Sarge, being the Maintenance guy in the gang, has to unscrew it. Not that it happens that often, say...Today maybe!.
Thanks, and agree on breakfast
Glad things are on the 'upswing' with the little one, and I'll bet those stories were 'entertaining'! Glad y'all have some new friends in the area!!!
ReplyDeleteFingers crossed Miss B graduates to just O2 when sleeping as hauling an O2 tank around is a pain. Yet another thing I share with my patients who are smokers...I tell them it's tough to accessorize an O2 tank as they are all an UGLY Army green color...
ReplyDeleteAnyhoo, where was I---Very glad to hear the little one continues to advance and improve!!
Very nice to put faces to names, I think it is another reason why I enjoy this blog--ya get to meet folks. And breakfast in a nice diner with good service and yummy food is ALWAYS a nice way to start the day. Especially if they are practically neighbors--sorta...
Good to hear that Miss B is improved enough that she and LJW can have their own space to hang out in. I am a fan of personal space. And with 8 members of the family under one roof, that definitely can get a bit close at times, I'm betting. But it is wonderful LJW still has you both close by as needed. Prayers up Miss B can soon become non-homebound, without requiring a team of porters to carry all her "baby stuff".
Suz
That beautiful and amazing GREEN is lovely to me. Times just climbing the three steps up the porch wind me, and I move with alacrity (well, as much as a stumbling, wheezing geezer can produce) straight for the waiting canula and tank. The portability of an E size is nice when I'm working outside and need to max the old red blood and minimize the blue. Lots has changed in two short years.
DeleteSuz,
DeleteRemember, Texas is the LARGEST state in the Continental US (Dang those Alaskans.) Neighbors are anyone within 100 miles absent any large Cities. But yeah, we really enjoyed talking with them. Good folks..
As for Miss B. Got some info today we weren't expecting and nobody had told us about. Apparently, O2 is used on preemies until they turn 2. Since, that makes her ineligible to go overseas until then, Little J will probably be solo on his assignment for another 16 months or so.
Family is in fall back mode and see what we need to deal with right now. Not blaming anyone, but sure would have been nice to know a bit sooner.
STxAR: Yes, while I do like the color blue very much for say a room color, or a car color, or on house siding, not so much as a skin color. When I see it as skin color, yup, I'm looking around for the concentrator or one of those green E tanks, or a smaller portable tank...pdq...But when I see young folks (ie younger than me) lighting up, I remind them that I want to retire at some point in time, so they need to stop working on developing a roaring case of COPD, or congestive heart failure...they just laugh at me...sigh...
Deletejuvat--well, that just sucks!! I didn't know/remember the length of time for O2 to be on premies...however, well oxygenated blood is important for silly things like, ya know, brain development...so okay, guess it is at least 2 years...bet LJW and LJ are pretty bummed tho'.
Suz
Sounds like good progress by the granddaughter, It appears that a wonderful time was had by all at breakfast. Cletus & wife look like a couple of entertaining characters.
ReplyDeleteI'm a native Texan, but my Texas pedigree doesn't go back nearly that far, especially on my father's side. He was born an Okie. I miss Texas as I moved away in 1996 due to family complications.
FF,
DeleteI am not a native Texan having moved here in 4th Grade. That having been said. I AM a Texan!
Thanks
Am I an Texan? Hard to say. Sometimes the qualifications are vague! When the Civil War was over two released men moved from GA to TX. They met for a second time at their kids wedding in McKinney! My grandparents, my mom and dad and most all of the eight sibling lines lived in Corsicana or Marshall, still do. My dad and mom were the only ones to migrate to AZ, then CA, WA and OR. That’s where I was raised (8 schools). Started eating tamales out of a pushcart at age four, had some for dinner tonight, frozen, shipped from SAT. I don’t cuss much unIess I have a reason. I feel like I am, since I was sort of “spinoff”. It’s important to me and my kids, but a question that has too much energy in it, besides I live in FL!
ReplyDelete