Month: October 2019

As I write about a meeting we just finished, as we head home on interstate expressways to a placid little town of about 10,000 people where I’m surrounded by lakes and orange trees, I think a person who didn’t see what we saw yesterday might wonder .. what’s everybody pounding their chests for? I’ve felt that while listening attentively to Admirals, commanders and unqualified young teenagers studying systems in order to "pass quals". What’s all this about.? Yesterday a group of us who had been prescreened, assembled at the "Goat Locker" the Chiefs Club. I asked why Is it called the goat locker? The answer left me puzzled, "because chiefs are called goats". Ok. So then a US Navy bus came with 2 Navy police and 1 sailor from the SS Maryland. We got on the bus with no cell phones and no exercise wrist bands.. and we were escorted by a security car to the dock. Where is it? We got over to the water and there she was .. a big dark grey half submerged war ship. That was my first WOW! She is huge! The Maryland is a Boomer. I never understood what that meant until we climbed down 3 levels and our guide, in for 18 years and sharp and handsome, said here they are. I reached out and touched, "is this concrete?" Yes. There are 24 of them. Concrete tubes, missile silos full of nuclear missiles capable of traveling thousands of miles steered by sophisticated GPS tracking. I kept touching it. Our young man "Thompson" took us on to two rooms where constant measurements are underway even in Port… Where we are and where "they" are. Thompson said, "we are constantly hiding. If we pick up any sounds other than whales, we run. We are strictly defensive." In another room full of computers 2 young men told how they are constantly checking the missiles and one of them is making calculations. If they get an order it has to be verified and authorized 3 times before a missile can be shot. By now I’m petrified and terrified. We have young men (ok they are in their late 30s and early 40s) plotting courses on nuclear boomers. One of our sailors said, "we should bring Puten to see this." Needless to say, I had a nightmare last night. We thanked our guide "Thompson" and everybody else we passed (oh by the way, at one point, stepping over beds that protruded into the passageways! )… Thanked and thanked! And blessed them too. We are headed home now. And the news on TV is that some brave young men tracked an ISIS leader into cave and killed him. Pray for peace. Maybe if we ALL pray. God bless us. Angels with us.

At 8am we drove over to the host hotel and got on a van to go to the Trident Training Center and join in the Memorial Ceremony that I documented as it happened. I wrote my last post as Admiral Holland spoke… I remembered our talk from the previous day and I put in some of my reactions. It is really unedited. One thing I straightened out is the name of the class of submarine to come out in 2028 is Columbia. A class of boat defines its length, width, height, weight and a lot of other capabilities and attributes. Chuck was on a diesel/Guppy sub. That actually was a class back then. Today there are fast attacks, boomers, trident missiles and tomahawk missile submarines and it goes on. Today’s heavy hitter is the Virginia class, and "tomorrow’s heavy hitter" due out in 2028 is the "Columbia class."

After the ceremony today we went into the Trident Training center and were shown the fire training and water training facilities. Rather than train on a sub there are simulators. There is a giant vat of water and lots of pipes that spring leaks and floods. Those in training have to fix the leaks under leak conditions. Big torrents of water might flood the compartment and they have to fix the leaks. Same with the fire fighters. We saw a torpedo and its loading tube and a diesel engine (for auxiliary power, and to be used in case of a reactor failure). WOW! That was exhausting! We were then driven back to Pirates Galley for lunch. Hamburgers, chili, and all kinds of other good stuff including ice cream. Then we went to the Base Exchange which is like a Target or Walmart except we sailors get discounts. I didn’t buy anything as…. I can still see all that stuff we unpacked at home. Then we went back to Trident Training Center and actually sat for an hour and waited for the crowds (there are 400 people attending this memorial weekend) to come for dinner. We headed upstairs in the training center where tables were set up end to end to serve 400 people. I was amazed at how seamless everything was. Everytime we all got together this week there were ceremonies. We watched sailors receive their Dolphins (that means they qualified) and sailors reenlists. And we clapped a lot in congratulations. Dinner was a huge steak with veggies, and a lot of other stuff. I ate 1/2 and put my steak aside. Chuck said, "get a salad bowl and we’ll take it with us." I had a plastic bag from Chuck’s purchase in the Navy Exchange so I put his steak and mine in a bowl with onions and mushrooms and put a bowl on top and put the whole delicious mess into a plastic bag. It is now in our refrigerator and will be our sandwich for the trip home on Sunday.

Am I done yet? Nope. We have been with our sub group most of the time (the base Chuck leads called Pelican Harbor) so there was a lot of sharing with people we knew including our own WWII veteran and his daughter who drove him up to Georgia. We sat and talked with them and with one of our van drivers who joined us and had a beer as he was "off duty." Throughout the week, we have had conversations with young sailors, men and females alike, and the Commander of the Trident Training Center. We listen to them tell of the way things are in 2019, and then our guys tell them "how it was" in the 40s, 50s and 60s. There is a lot of exchange and respect on both side young for old and old for young. Finally it was time to go, but wait!!!! Chuck and a guy started talking about the base at Cape Canaveral and the weapons facility there… I said finally, why don’t we go in and have a beer. So in we went to the hospitality room and I bought 1/2 and 1/2 tickets. I won nothing all weekend… Finally, after a wonderful conversation with the Commander of the Training Center and his wife… finally it was bedtime. And so… we are back in the hotel. Chuck is having hot chocolate and I am closing this memoir!!! God bless America. Angels with us!

Yesterday I made a mistake about Commander Perez. He is Commander of a sub group. He was commanding officer of the USS Georgia and USS New Mexico. Today our speaker at the Submarine Veterans of WWII Memorial was Admiral Holland. Both gentlemen started by saying they could go on all day until called off into their next meeting! They are enthused and excited to serve and command our military Navy and Marines. Yesterday Commander Perez went on for 2 hours, speaking of WWII War patrols, WWII departed, current activities, and future growth while we continue to build our Navy to protect America.
It’s important to take stock of how we are doing, keeping count, petitioning for budget, making plans to protect America. Speakers ranged in subject from WWII to 2028 when our newest submarine, now in construction, will be released for sea duty to go to impossible places and to keep turning the tide for peace and freedom. In 2028 the sailors will be brothers and sisters "of the phin" as today we talk of WWII veterans as "brothers of the phin".
We have a lot of work to do to keep ahead of Chinese and Russian competition in what we can call this 2nd Cold War. Words repeated these 2 days and probably tonight at the steak dinner and tomorrow as we tour a submarine… Perseverance, endurance, prevail, giving all, Columbia class (the newest), challenge, budget.
We called the roll of lost boats and tolled the bell for 65 lost subs and lost British subs. God bless America. Angels with us.

Today our speaker is Chief of Staff Submarine Group 10. The underwater defence of our country is impressive… We are "Combat Ready to Preserve the Peace"… The young men I see here at the base are averaging 20 years old to 40 years old. They are so proud and respectful of our old guys. They are in great shape! A COB sat with us at breakfast and I couldn’t believe how much he ate! He told us he has 2 children, one Air Force and one Navy. He is an empty nester at age 40. I thought to myself, "He’s 40, looks great and is in great shape." At age 40 he is chief of a "boat" a nuclear submarine! Something I learned today: Men introduce themselves as Alaska gold or Alaska blue. The submarines are under the water about 11 months a year but with 2 separate teams. So when they dock for refitting or maintenance a whole new team gets on in a "crew exchange" and "qualifies on all systems." A month later, they are "off again." It’s an interesting life … Definition of a submariner… "A person who operates sh** you can’t" … Submariners have attitude!

CO of Georgia and CO of New Mexico, Captain George Perez has served for 34 years and has been CO of Kings Bay for a year. Iraqui Freedom and Afganistan are under his belt and he wants to talk about "our submarines at Kings Bay!" Our strategic concerns are Russia, China, North Korea and Iran. No kidding. He said "you who finished WWII, and served during the Cold War, we are right back where we started." We are pushing development to stay ahead of Putin who is testing ballistic missiles during exercises and breaking treaties, in a global power competition… "This is the world our submarine force is operating in, but it is still is ours!" I’d say, sleep well tonight and know "America’s best have your 6"… God bless you. Angels with you.

Breakfast at the Pirates Cove Base Galley (not the mess)… With many uniformed men and women… About 10 Chiefs of Boat (COBs) and higher talked to us about their departments. This Navy is training women on submarines and refitting nuclear submarines to carry female enlisted and officers. This Navy is training constantly, refitting boats, and watching very carefully the waters all over the world. There is a submarine in for refitting that we might be able to visit. It all depends on "conditions". Chuck and I are are scheduled for Saturday afternoon to tour the submarine that is in dock. They always say, "Will let you know" based on conditions…. This afternoon we will attend a presentation by the Chief of Staff of Sub Group 10 and then we go back to the base for a Barbeque. All is well and we are in good hands from the Kings Bay Submarine Base! God bless us! Angels with us!

When I wrote my last post I had ridden my bike around the neighborhood for 2 days and I loved it! Now it is about 5 days later and every day has been full with no bike riding! Yesterday we came to Kingsland, Georgia for a WWII Submarine memorial and I swam in the pool for 45 minutes!!! It’s not really swimming; it’s more water aerobics, but at least it’s movement! Amazing how days go by and even though I move around, there isn’t real stretching!!!! Today I will get back into the pool and hope to continue for the week. Starting Thursday morning with breakfast in the "mess", we will have lots of amazing events at the Nuclear Submarine Base in Kingsland, Georgia. It is very convenient to drive here from Lake Placid, Florida (our new home) only about 5 hours with an over night stay with Renee, it cuts the trip in half. Last night we drove into St Mary’s for dinner, and it seems there are double the amount of Halloween decorations as there were last year! I’m not sure, we have to go back today and look in the day light! When I finally woke up at 830 this morning, I found Chuck drinking his 10teenth cup of coffee and taking with a nuclear sub sailor named Tim. The stories have begun, and will continue until Sunday when we leave to go back home! We stilll have lots to do at home, but it is mostly putting things away in a mini storage …. like winter clothes (half to the homeless, half into drawers) and paintings or pictures, (some on walls but many onto shelves….). I’ve unpacked the art room boxes, but not put all away onto shelves and drawers. Will do a lot next week. I’m serving next week at All Saints and All Souls Masses where we pray for those gone from us… Remember family and friends who are in God’s arms. God bless us! Angels with us.

Remember ? 52 years ago? That’s when Chuck "drank his dolphins" because he had finished all the on board training to "qualify" as a submarine sailor. He still has his "quals" document, a sturdy piece of paper that he was able to keep, that lists all the systems he had to be able to work and many men signed in pencil!!! I’ll bet today quals are on a laptop!!! Today we begin talking to submariners in Kingsland/St Mary’s Georgia and we celebrate the men (many who who lied about their ages ) to join the submarine service to serve in WWII. Thank you gentlemen for helping to preserve the freedoms we enjoy today in the United States. God bless our sailors.

Oh? Are there other forms of exercise? I finally asked Chuck to fill my bike tires and went out for the first time in about a year yesterday. From our house to the end of the street is "up hill." I was panting… That’s about 1/2 a block. I guess the reason is, the canal and lake are lower than the main street through our neighborhood; "Placid Lakes Boulevard" is higher… Anyhow, yesterday I huffed and puffed my way to the top of the street and then back down to the other end of the street which is a cul de sac. I can go up and down all the streets and not find cars except the Fed Ex man stalked me today when I went back out. I got into some dust in the art room and sneezed myself silly and then I decided I need some fresh air. Back to work now…. I am putting out paints that have been packed up since May and lining up colors, brushes, mediums, sponges, and all kinds of stuff artists use to paint with. I also have a lot of piles and canvasses to sort through and organize. I had 2 big closets to hide things in in the last art room! Chuck is hanging pictures in our bedroom as well as building shelves in the garage. Things are shaping up. Boxes all unpacked. What is missing is odd: socks, alarm clock, nail polish remover, cotton balls. Where’s the common denominator? Are they hiding in the shed????

I’m still loving our new church. I went to a Bible Study today. I have attended 3 sessions on Acts chapters 8, 9, and 10. Excellent study. Also we are reading Romans in daily Masses. I am very happy with the intellectual stimulation and pending art fest that is going to take place here in my new art room. As soon as I find…. no Im just kidding. All the art stuff seems to have turned up. God bless us. Angels with us!!!!

Chuck and I are like an old married couple. Together forever, telling the same stories. He came to me while I was sorting Rosaries… and he asked if I felt strong. "No…." Well I’m honest. It was "just" to carry a board left on the dock when the men built the dock… last year? He’s going to make a shelf. We jointly carried the board with me complaining mightily and wondering if Simon of Cyrene complained so much…. and then we got the sawhorses and I asked, "How long do you need it?" Apparently placement of the sawhorses depends on the length of the board. Chuck looked at me with a bothered look on his face. "Measure once, cut twice!" I enjoined (as in "direct or prescribe")… We cut the wood and I then disappeared back to my pile of Rosaries. I’ve sorted table cloths and underwear… folded sheets to make them smaller to fit into the linen closet, boxed up dishes and glasses for the church sale and now…. having not found the socks yet, I’m eyeing the last of Chuck’s boxes…. But they are full of military looking stuff and Highway Patrol (believe it or not) gas masks. Maybe I ought to just go sockless until…. they just show up, tired of hiding.

Today I served at Mass and got everything all set up until I did not hand the 93 year old priest the chalices… I don’t like to see him interrupted as then he has to recollect…. So he pointed and said "chalices" and I grinned a silly grin…. oops! I guess all else went well. I rang the bells loud, and no one complained. They are probably grateful they don’t have to get to the church at 8am for 9am Mass! Then do the dishes afterwards. It’s one day a week, once I get it right, it will be fine. Well, back to my domestic business. The next project is hanging pictures and then…. organizing the art room – no easy feat as I had 2 big closets in the last art room…. Is there a patron saint for "more space?" God bless you; Angels with us!

I realized as I made the slight left onto Washington towards church this morning that I was grinning in the wind as I traveled down the curvy road to church. My teeth were all exposed and I was singing along with the radio and, well, It isn’t Bird Road or 107 Avenue!!! Church is pretty full. At least 30 at daily Mass and all good people. I grin at them. They probably wonder why I seem so wierd. I found a "back road" along a lake into town. All roads are "around lakes!" Today a new Cardinal was celebrated on EWTN. He was a priest in Lithuania working to stop Russian persecution of the church in 1978 and in 1983 he was jailed in Siberia to forced labor. His fellow prisoners said, "Prison is easy for you because you have faith." He was finally freed, and after 50 years of persecution and Communism, with freedon for Lithuania, the priest, now a Catholic Cardinal said, "after 50 years of Communism, we kept our faith." What’s not to sing about? Jesus said, there is something greater than Jonah here… Little children know Jonah was held in the belly of a great whale and then he was spit out on Ninevah to convert the Ninevites. So my dears… Let us know "what is greater than Jonah here."

This weekend was amazing. We attended Octoberfest and sang and danced and ate too much and talked with parishoners. A lady our friend Glenda worked with in Miami is my friend at church!!!! Small world. I attended an Emmaus meeting. What a group of holy women! I will speak next meeting for 15 minutes or less…. right… yikes! how am I going to keep it down to less than 15??? …. Busy with emptying the last of the boxes and getting them to my friend who is packing her house to sell…. We think we have the last of the boxes, although there are some with man things in them in Chuck’s "bar room." I still haven’t found the socks! I need to send a text to my renter to say…. look in the closet drawers and see if there’s one full of socks. There is a saint to pray to for lost socks… He comes from Cornwall in England. Saint Madron. Patron Saint of Lost Socks. I am going through all the necklaces I’ve collected over the years…. Everywhere we go, Chuck buys for me and I have boxes and boxes. I’m trying to streamline and I’ll get the rest down to my friend Kathie for sale in her antique store. All is coming along here… I got black birds on my bird feeder. While I would prefer colorful birds, I figure they will come!!!! God bless us. Angels with us!!!!