Wrapping UP !!

   

   As we come to the end of this leg of our 2023 sojourn, we are headed South toward Lonestar Corral SKP in Hondo, TX. We are spending a final week of relaxation at Potter's Cove Park, a lovely US ACOE campground on the North side of Canyon Lake after a serene 8 days at Kimbell Bend COE Park on the Brazos River. If you haven't availed yourself to the opportunity to use the network of US Army Corps of Engineers parks and campgrounds, do so ! You will not regret it !

Potter's Creek COE Park on Canyon Lake

  To say it has been HOT would be an understatement... But it has been hot everywhere !! I don't think I can remember a summer this hot since I was on a Teen Missions trip to build a church in La Morirra Mexico. A fantastic little community of orange farmers, miles and miles and miles of orange groves and... well... nothing else. To get anywhere you needed to hitch a ride on one of the trucks taking oranges or other produce to market in Gran Terran and have them drop you off at the bus station in Ayende (literally the 'end of the line') The people were so warm and inviting... But that is a post for another time.

  Short Drone Video over Canyon Lake:  Flight Over Canyon Lake  courtesy of Neal Kelsoe Click on red link above...

We have been extremely grateful to have the company of Jan and Neal Kelsoe as travel companions for the second half of this coddiwomple (“to travel in a purposeful  manner towards a vague destination").

  As covered in a previous post we hooked up with the Kelsoes at Turkey Creek SKP Park in Hollister, MO (Outside of Branson, MO) to start our northern trek. 

  Our adventure had a rough outline of intended destinations, but we planned the next stops as we went. No time limit and no preset dates we needed to be somewhere for a specific reservation.

  The journey has been most rewarding including 'bucket list' destinations that we were able to check off with a wonderful sense of satisfaction. We have been most fortunate to be able to complete this trip before the government restricts certain free citizens from being able to travel unimpeded by tyrannical dictates... (Forgive the proceeding anarchist [small a] rhetoric)

  I have included a reference map of the twenty primary locations for this trip that will dovetail with my previous blog posts if you have been graciously following along.

  Next summer, God willing, and the creek don't rise..., we are planning on heading up through Missouri, Illinois, Indianna, Michigan's North Peninsula, Wisconsin, North Dakota, Montanna, Idaho then down thru Wyoming, Utah, Colorado and New Mexico, Nothing set in stone but if you have the inclination to join the Caravan I am sure arraignments can be made.

That... Is Gonna Leave a Mark !

   In a previous post I teased about the sinking of the USS GUITARRO (SSN-665)   Here, now, that story...

  First and foremost, I was NOT involved. The 'sinking' was not my fault !  I was aboard the Gutfish from February of 1975 thru October of 1980... The 'Incident' occurred in 1969, I would have been thirteen years old.

 The USS GUITARRO sinking was determined to be due to Shipyard error while tied up to the pier at Mare Island Naval Shipyard in San Fransisco, CA. The 'boat' (we don't refer to a submarine as a ship)        In a nutshell the sinking was a direct result of testing certain water tanks, forward and aft of the boats centerline. Water was being pumped into ballast and WRT tanks (water around torpedo) and the 'yardbirds' left for dinner break leaving the situation unsupervised. You just can't make this stuff up. So without observation the water exceeded the tank volume and started to flood the torpedo room and forward compartment, drastically changing the draft (how a vessel sits in the water). The water level eventually reached a point of no return as the forward compartment access hatch was below the level of the wave action in the bay causing catastrophic flooding and situational loss of the entire boat.

  The keel of the nuclear powered Guitarro rest on the bottom of the Napa River, still moored to the pier. The boat wasn't even commissioned yet (commissioning was supposed to take place in 1970)

Change Of Command Ceremonny

 The Gutfish was raised three days latter but   the damage had already been done... some 20 million dollars worth. It was the largest insurance claim at the time. Turnover to the United States Navy finally took place on 9 September 1972 under the command of Cmdr. Alvin H Pauole, a most excellent tactician and CO (Skipper) 

  I was honored to serve under his command for the first two years of service on the Guitarro (named after the Guitarfish under a classification of Rays). The 665 was the second submarine named Guitarro, the first being the WWII diesel boat SS-363 (1944 - 1954)

  Two major components of the stricken Guitarro, affected as a consequence of the sinking were the SINS (Ships Internal Navigation System) and the MRG (Main Reduction Gear) and after inspection the NAVY assumed the liability for these two essential items.

SINS Binnacle 

  The Ship’s Inertial Navigation System (SINS) is a highly accurate, all-weather, self-contained navigation system used in aircraft carriers, submarines, and surface combatants equipped with Tomahawk weapons systems. It is a type of inertial navigation system (INS) which is a navigation device that uses motion sensors (accelerometers), rotation sensors (gyroscopes) and a computer to continuously calculate by dead reckoning the position, the orientation, and the velocity (direction and speed of movement) of a moving object without the need for external references.

  When asked how it works, crews would say, "The SINS knows every point on the face of the Earth. It subtracts all places it knows you aren't and determines where you are, If I told you any more, I would have to kill you!"

Naval Reduction Gear

  The MRG (Main Reduction Gear) is a massive piece of gear installed in the engine room before the hull is completed. A submarine reduction gear is a critical element of a boat’s propulsion system, the function of which is to connect a ship’s steam generator (reactor) to its propeller shaft. The main reduction gear (MRG) is a mechanical complex of pinions and gears that is used to convert high energy, high rotations per minute (RPM) main engine steam turbines’ motion into a high-torque, low RPM shaft rotation ending up at the big spinning thing outside the back of the people tank (Hull). This was located in a sweaty area known as the engineering spaces.

 STURGEON CLASS FAST ATTACK

  The engine room was where the NUKES (Pushers) hide, lurking under the deck plates, waiting to devour any unsuspecting 'forward person' (PUKE) venturing beyond Frame 57 (the reactor compartment) usually being beset upon while attempting to glean the required knowledge to become 'Qualified In Submarines' and earn their coveted 'DOLPHINS' -Submarine Qualification Insignia. (above - right)

  It should be noted that the USS Guitarro was the only Sturgeon class submarine to never experience a failure of the main reduction gear even after a bath in the muddy Napa River.

  The SSN-665 was decommissioned and cut into razor blades in 1992... an ignominious end to a noble fighting unit of the United States Pacific Submarine Command. 

  The Guitarro was impressive in its role as a 'deterrent' - "Keeping the Sea Lanes Clear of Communist Aggression".   We had a MS, Mess Specialist (Cook), from somewhere in the South who couldn't either remember or comprehend the term 'deterrent' instead referring to it as a 'detergent' believing we were to "keep the sea lanes clean..." close enough, we eventually stopped correcting him.

USS Guitarro (SSN-665) hosting the first tour of a US nuclear submarine by high-ranking Russian officials: (The late General Colin Powell is in the rear of the group)

"When in Doubt - Mumble"

-  Old Naval Command Axiom                            

ODDS & ENDS...

  One of my many pursuits over the years is writing song parodies...I made a cryptic reference to this in my last post. Having dabbled with twisting song lyrics for years because the alternate lyrics would occur to me while listening to a popular song. I am sure we have all done this on occasion.

  One time I had a song kicking around in my head and didn't really know what the actual lyrics were, so I did an internet search to find out and one of the search results was "Am I  Right" where they featured 'misheard lyrics' I really got a kick out of that. One of the associated pages was SONG PARODIES... Eureka !!! 

  Am I Right turned out to be an online community of like-minded, and might I add talented 'artists' (IMHO) who were submitting song parodies for the members consideration, critique and judgement on three criteria; pacing (matches pace of original song) how funny and overall impression.  These people were taskmasters...

  This was back in 2007, My first parody submission was of Carly Simons "You're So Vain"   parody titled "You're Insane!" it received a fair amount of response as well as some solid critiques that I took to heart and worked diligently on improving my tendered parodies.

Carly Simon

 
  I submitted a few parodies under Walt Conner, my internet   'nom de plume' for most things web related, poetry and such.   I have provided a self-indulgent link above that opens a new page with my parodies listing on the Am I Right website. 

(If you are so inclined to peruse my song characterizations)

  Submitting a parody of "Nobody Does It Better"   retitled 'Anybody Would Be Better' and during its critique   one of the sites regulars challenged me to do a rewrite about   the upcoming elections... challenge accepted. It got a great   review but touched off a lot of comments back and forth over   the pending elections...

                   "C'est la guerre, ehh Napoleon?"

Crystal Gayle

   A more recent parody was   Crystal Gayle's "Don't It Turn My Brown Eyes Blue" which became the more politicly charged 'Don't You Turn My Red State Blue'... 

a few of the more 'liberal' reviewer's heads exploded !!

This & That - Who, What, Where and When...

 When I worked as a 'Security Specialist' (read weekend guard) for WELLS FARGO SECURITY, they gave us a special notebook during orientation that was to be part of our uniform. The notebook, the facilitator explained, was to record any details of an incident that might occur during our security rounds.

  We were to take note of WHO (persons encountered) WHAT (what transpired or what was observed) WHERE (precise location of the event) and WHEN (notation of time when the incident occurred)

  Keen observation and adherence to the guidelines are the hallmarks of a good security officer and further any subsequent investigation, if any... A quick resolution to any skullduggery relies directly on the strength of accurate information recorded at the time of the offense. 

  Taking notice of the little details has always been one of my strengths. (at least it used to be...) My adoring bride might disagree with that statement, but I digress...

  The same four Axioms are essential to writing as well.  I strive to remember those fundamentals when writing anything from a simple text message to writing a good Parody to these blog posts submitted for your consideration. I want to sincerely thank you for your continued indulgence.

  I was born in a log cabin in... no wait, I was born in a manger ! Not true, but I am from Bethlehem ! Born in the suburb of Redford Twsp. outside of Detroit Michigan. Raised in the farming community of Nazareth (another Biblical reference) Pennsylvania. At the age of 10 we moved into the Steel town of Bethlehem (PA) where I grew in wisdom and stature (another BR).

  I attended Bethlehem Area Vocational / Technical School (BAVTS) during high school while keeping up with college preparatory classes at my home school, Liberty HS. I graduated from the Plumbing/HVAC program and apprenticed with the awesome duo of Kipp & Kafrovitch, registered plumbers.

  Raised Evangelical Congregational, I considered attending Myerstown Seminary to become a pastor but couldn't square my own beliefs (as well as some personal demons) with the E.C. dogma, much to the dismay of my maternal Grandmother.

   1974 - Vietnam was a debacle and the Draft was still a very real thing... When I registered for the Selective Service I was told I would be placed in the "H Category" (Holding) But when my draft card arrived via the United States Postal Service, I had been classified as "A" (Active) So off to my local NAVY recruiter's office I went just as fast as my sturdy, well defined legs could carry me (High School track team - Poll Vaulter)...Okay, I drove there... 

Drydock at Pudget Sound

  Joined the US Navy as a Submariner. Graduated submarine school in Groton Conn. and was posted to the nuclear fast attack submarine USS GUITARRO SSN-665 being refueled and refitted at PSNS Puget Sound Naval Shipyard in Bremerton, WA. The 'Gutfish' was a 637 Sturgeon Class boat and once done with the refuel/refit, we assumed our intended role of West Coast Test Platform for the newly developed Tomahawk Cruise Missile.  Operating out of San Diego, CA (Point Loma) and forward ported in Oahu Hawaii (Pearl)... Pretty hard to take, Ho Hum, just another (expletive deleted) day in Paradise.

USS Guitarro - Out of Pearl Harbor

  1975 - 1980: The years I spent aboard the Guitarro became the foundation for everything that followed. I was one of two Radiomen assigned to the boat, we stood 'port and starboard' watches, that is 12 hours on and 12 hours off. I had the night/graveyard shift (1800 to 0600) 6 to 6 for you landlubbers.

  It was essential to have utmost confidence in your shipmates. You could sleep with the complete assurance that the boat was in capable hands, and you could rest easy in that knowledge. (until they ran drills) and run drills they did... I was also the boats only CRYPTO librarian. (Classified Document Custodian) 

These men were the finest individuals I have ever had the pleasure to call Brother.

Tomahawk Cruise Missel

Guess which one is me...

  

"These Dolphins, once you pin them on your chest, leave deep marks, right over your heart, long after the uniforms have been put away.”

  I will save the sinking of the USS Guitarro for another post... Suffice it to say it wasn't my fault !!

  My time was up... EAOS (End of Active Obligated Service) I returned to civilian life back in Bethlehem, PA working in the Family construction business. 

  I spent 47 years in construction; Family Company, Confer Brothers, Chiles & Sillivan, Inc. and on my own as C&S Carpentry and Design, LLC until retirement in 2018.

Until Next Time...

                 "May The Odds Be Forever In Your Favor"