Daddy?
Yes, dear.
Are we there yet?
No, sweetheart. We have a few stops to make first.
Aaawww! I’m bored.
We’ll be there in a little bit.
You said that an hour ago.
Well, it’s a littler bit, now.
I’m thirsty. Can I have a drink?
May I have a drink?
Maaayyy I have a drink?
No, you’ll go to the bathroom.
(Sigh) Daddy?
Yes, dear.
Why do we have to take this same trip every month?
Because it’s Daddy’s job, sweetie. I have to stop by different places and get news from people and every month there’s more news.
What’s news?
Stuff that happens.
Who are the people?
Boys and girls I went to school with a long time ago.
Do I know them?
Some of them. Remember the football games? With the blue tent? Those people are some of them.
Like Mr. Bubba and Mr. Otto? Are they the people?
They’re two of the people, dear.
I like Mr. Bubba and Mr. Otto. They always have lotsa food, but Mr. Otto always makes stuff that we can’t drink. Someone told me it was airplane fuel. Is that true?
Yes, dear. It’s airplane fuel.
Then how come there are no airplanes at the football games?
Mr. Otto puts it in the airplane later, sweetie.
Can I fly the plane, Daddy?
Not until you’re older.
(Sigh) I never have any fun.
That’s not true. We’re having fun now. You’re out with your old man and, look, we’re stopping here for some news.
But Daddy, it’s just a mailbox.
Yes, but it’s a magic mailbox. See, there’s no door.
How do we get the mail?
Hand me Mickey and I’ll show you.
What are you going to do with my authentic Mickey plush toy?
Well, we need a mouse to get into this kind of special mail box. I won’t hurt him. I’ll just tap him twice on the mailbox and . . . See? Out comes the mail.
Cool! Now gimme back my mouse . . . Please.
Here you are. Wow, look at the mail. Here’s one from someone who was at Henry Aszklar’s birthday party. It says that Henry’s wife, Lisa, threw a surprise 40th for him at the Ritz Carlton in Tyson’s Corner, VA (quite an elegant affair). Nelson Moe and Jim Ahlgrimm were there along with other friends of Henry and spouses.
Is a spouse like a mouse?
No, dear, much plusher. Anyway, it seems that Henry left AES earlier this year after a number of years as their star deal closer. AES is the largest private energy firm in the world and Henry was involved in the purchase of energy producing assets (i.e., power plants) mainly in Brazil and the U.S. Now, Henry and some partners are launching an Internet start-up called ArtisanNet.com—an on-line art gallery of sorts for artists to display and sell their wares via the Internet (www.artisannet.com). He has been busy working the deals of financing the venture and calling on all of his old contacts on Wall Street (lawyers, investment bankers, and the like) to pull it off. They are getting 40,000 hits per week on the site without doing any advertising or marketing (yet). The company (and Henry) were featured on a Channel 7 (DC) business report in July and it looks like the report has led to some interest from a Japanese station as well. So, for classmates in Tokyo, look for Henry to be interviewed with subtitles in the near future. Wow, pretty neat, huh?
Daddy?
Yes, sweetheart?
What an internet?
Don’t worry about that now, dear. Hey, guess what Henry got for his birthday?
An investment banker?
No, even better. A Harley Davidson and a leather jacket.
Wow, he got a hog?
How do you know about hogs, young lady?
Billy brought one in for show and tell.
Billy? He’s eight years old.
It’s OK, Dad. It was his Dad’s. He just borrowed it for the day.
Well, that’s different. Oooh, look. There’s another one.
Are you going to read me this one, too?
Of course. All the experts say it’s good for parents to read to their children. Wait, I know this guy.
Who? Who?
Owl tell you. It’s The Infamous W.E.
But "we" is more than one person.
Not "we," W. E.
Oh. Who’s he . . . and why is he infamous?
He lived down the hall from me in Mother B way back when. I don’t know why he was infamous. I think he was just trying to create buzz . . . before there was such a thing.
You lived in a mother?
Yes, but that’s not important to the story. It says that Ted Carter, CO VF-14, (that’s his real name) was one of two recipients of the 1999 Stockdale Leadership Award back in August. The Award said, "This unique fleet award was established in honor of VADM James Bond Stockdale whose distinguished naval career symbolized the highest standards of excellence in both personal example and leadership. The award is presented annually to two commissioned officers on active duty below the grade of Captain who are in command of a single ship, submarine, or aviation squadron at time of nomination. Candidates are nominated by their peers who themselves must be eligible for the award. The 1999 winners were chosen from among eight outstanding finalists in a review process which included screening at the fleet commander level and final selection by a board of senior officers in Millington, TN. Awards will be presented in Washington, DC in October. The other recipient was Bruce Grooms, CO ASHEVILLE.
Did he get a medal?
I don’t know about a medal, but at least a plaque. I bet Linder was proud.
Who’s Linder?
A spouse. You’d like her. Looks like one more to go—a quick note from Paul James about Ken Lewko’s change of command cerermony. Ken just moved to Harleysville, PA to command the ASW Training Center at NAS Willow Grove. A lot of ‘81ers showed up for the ceremony. Paul found out about it from Greg Dougherty who drove from Indiana to Pennsylvania to make it. Now, that’s classmate loyalty. Greg and Paul even had time for lunch at a local restaurant.
Daddy, do they make hogs in Harleysville?
No, dear. It was probably just named after someone called Harley . . . and you’re not getting a motorcycle until you’re at least in middle school.
Aaawwww! But all the other kids have one.
I don’t care what all the other kids do. I care what you do. You have to be your own person. Now, I’ll hear no more about it, capisch?
Capisch.
Good. Now, let’s drive down here to the beach and see if any bottles have washed ashore.
People still do bottles when they could do magic mailboxes?
Yes, dear. Some folks are old fashioned. Look, there’s one now.
Can I get it? Can I get it?
OK, but watch out for hazardous medical waste.
OK, I will. Look, it’s in a Suntory bottle. What’s Suntory?
Must be from Japan. Let’s read the note. It says that ’81 is taking over the waterfront. Neil Kusumoto is finishing up his CO tour in VANDEGRIFT. Steve Camacho is CO THACH (about to crew swap with GARY). Eric Lindenbaum just took over O’BRIEN (lindy81@ysa.attmil.ne.jp or co@obrien.navy.mil) and Rob Winsor is en route to RUSSELL out of Pearl Harbor. How ‘bout that?
Daddy? You were in Japan once, weren’t you?
Yes, a long time ago.
Didn’t you say that they had machines next to the sidewalk that sold ice cream and hot chocolate at the same time?
Yes, I did.
Can we live in Japan?
No, dear. I think we’ll stay in Virginia for a while, but we can stop for ice cream before we go home.
Goodie! Where are we going now?
To a doctor’s office.
I DON’T WANNA GET A SHOT!
Nobody’s getting a shot, not today, anyway. We’re just checking to see who’s there. Look, there’s the place now.
Wow! It’s a tall building. What is it?
The Bethesda Naval Hospital and guess who’s here?
Dave Lane?
Good guess, sweetie. He’s EA to the Navy Surgeon General.
I wish I was EA to the Navy Surgeon General.
Why would you want to be that?
Because I’d get all the lollipops I could eat.
Makes sense to me.
Where are we going now?
To God’s country.
Heaven?
Sort of. Quantico, VA. Pat Bailey’s there. He and Rosalind have three kids, Patrick and Renee, 16, and Philip, 10. They live in Fort Washington, MD. (H) 301-749-7460/70. (W) 703-784-2555/6. Wave "Hi" as we go by.
Hi, Pat. Hey, we didn’t even stop.
Well, we have to keep moving or the editor will cut our trip short.
Is that bad?
Worse than bad. Thank goodness this photo place has drive thru service.
Are we getting pictures?
Yes, lots of them . . . from the July 4th Class Picnic, but we can only print the ones with classmates in them. Rules are rules.
Wait, there’s a note from Bill McGuinness. It says that Dave Rickards is living in NJ and working on the CH-46 Program at Boeing in Philly, J. T. Cronauer is managing a functional engineering department at W. L. Gore in Elkton, MD, Chuck Coughlin is teaching econ at USNA, Otto Stutz is taking over as CO of the F-18 Fighter Weapons School at Oceana and Mike "Nasty" Manazir is taking over one of the RAGs at Oceana while Greg Nosal’s getting the other one.
Dad, I have no idea what any of that means, but did everyone have a good time at the picnic?
I think so, but Mr. Ryan lost his keys for a while during the fireworks. Mr. Bubba did a FOD walk, though, and saved the day.
Daddy?
Why does everyone call him Bubba?
Well, sweetie. I don’t really know. He’s just always been Bubba.
So what’s next, Papageno?
We have to stop at a store.
What store?
Montgomery Ward. George Basil works there. Remember? He was in Chicago, but now he’s in California in Rancho Cucamonga.
That sounds like the name of a dance.
No, that’s different. George manages the Southwest Area distribution operation. He’s at 7653 Waterbury Place, Rancho Cucamonga, CA 91730. (W) 909-393-4901. (CELL) 714-412-9957. (E) gbasil@wards.com.
Do they sell beanie babies there?
Sweetheart, I think beanie babies are old news. We’ll have to pay for college some other way.
I’ll just live with you and Mommy.
We’ll discuss that later, child.
So, what’s next?
Some heavy lifting.
But I’m too little to lift heavy things.
Not you, munchkin, listen up. Dave Ricks recently won his ninth national powerlifting title at the 1999 USAPL Men’s Nationals in St. Louis, MO. Not only did he out-lift everyone else in his 181 pound weight class, he also set a new national record for the bench press in the same class. The competition started on July 16th and was spread over several days. All competitors completed three attempts using three different lifting styles – squat, bench press and deadlift. Competitors only lifted against others of similar bodyweight. There were 11 bodyweight classes that ranged from 114 pounds all the way up to the super heavy guys tipping the scales at more than 275 pounds. The first lift was the squat where the barbell rests on the shoulders behind the head while standing, then the lifter squats down and returns to the standing position. In this lift, Dave hoisted 710 pounds in a single lift. Next was the bench press where the lifter lies face up on a bench, lifts the barbell off of a stand, lowers the weight to the chest and then presses it back up onto the stand. Here, Dave was victorious with a 468 pound lift which set a new national record. His final event was the deadlift where the lifter squats over the barbell which is resting on the floor and then lifts it with arms straight until the knees are locked and the back is straight. Dave’s massive single lift was 694 pounds which is more than four times his body weight! His combined total for all three lifts was 1,873 pounds, a personal best, which won the weight class by a "staggering" 83 pounds. The national record is 1,906 which Dave would’ve broken had he not experienced a little cramping near the end of the meet and missed his last lift. In addition to winning his class, Dave also was crowned "Overall Best Lifter" for the tournament out of the 90 competitors, an honor that meant, pound-for-pound, Dave was the best lifter in the competition. The SOUTHDIV mighty man credits his deep religious convictions and the support from his family as his source of strength. What’s in store for Dave in the future? "It’s off to the Men’s World Title Powerlifting competition this November in (Trento) Italy," he stated. "This will probably be my last year in competition. I just turned 40 in July and it may be time to turn it over to the next generation." Dave is also four-time International Powerlifting Federation (IPF) world champion.
Daddy? Is he strong . . .
I’ll say he is.
Dad, you interrupted me. I was going to say ‘or what?’ You know. A rhetorical question.
They’re teaching you that in 3rd grade?
It was extra credit. Are we done yet?
Yes, sweetie. I think that’s about it. Time to head for home.
Daddy?
Yes, dear.
Was I good?
I think so.
Great. Can you buy me ice cream? I’ll eat it before it melts on your upholstery.
OK. It’s a deal.
Yippee! Dad, can I do the goodbye thing?
Are you sure you know how?
Sure I’m sure.
All right, then. Go ahead.
OK. (ahem) Later, Chiclette.
Hey! You’re supposed to say, "Later, Chic."
I was being my own person, Daddy, just like you wanted.