A Very Slow Saturday

So. Here it is, a bit way past noon, and past my self-imposed posting deadline, which also happens to be noon. Arbitrarily so, I might add. But noon seems reasonable for a guy who has no particular place to be at any given time, and absolutely no reason at all to be anywhere other than where I choose. Still and even, one needs structure in one’s life if your principal objective is to retain your sanity. Simply because it all just falls apart without structure. I’ve seen it happen, and it ain’t pretty.

That was a rather long digression from the original thought, which was: I’m late. What’s worse is I have little or nothing to say this morning. But that’s OK, I suppose. Saturdays are low-traffic days— the lowest, actually — as most folks are off doing things that involve real-life on Saturdays rather than reading blogs. I can’t come up with a better rationalization for not having material, Gentle Reader.

But I can, and will, point you to a rather amazing essay in two parts by the inimitable Bill Whittle: “You Are Not Alone.” This is the best thing I’ve read this month—inspirational, powerful, and above all…full of TRUTH. You will not be disappointed.

(h/t: Philmon)

Oh…wait! One more thing. Yesterday I joined a Yahoo group called USAF Radar Sites Veterans; out of former professional interest, ya know. So this morning I received my first e-mail digest of yesterday’s message traffic from/to the group. I found the following message (a part of the digest) quite interesting:

Hello Tom and the rest of the "gang,"

Yes, I remember it well. Before being stationed at Yuma/Vincent('58-'59), I remember deploying there once a year for gunnery. We would fly our F-86D/L's in, bringing our T-Birds for parts pick-up flights and runs to home base. We also brought our motor scooters (most of us had them) because there was not enough transportation at the base to run us back and forth from the motel near down-town where we stayed for the first two weeks. The AF would transport the scooters in for us in a C-124 or C-119.

The deployment was for a month, the first half we lived off-base, the second half on. We really looked forward to shooting on the range (mostly at Delmar targets {chaff filled fiberglass "bombs"}), but the headquarters weenies would come out of the woodwork and try to get on the schedule darned near every day...

The clubs were always jumping! It was a month long party... on weekends we would fly all the aircraft back to home station to visit the wife and kids (except for the few lucky ones that didn't get an aircraft that weekend... There were more pilots than aircraft), who would stay behind and continue the party.

There were lots of runs to Mexico to bring back cheap booze and five gallon cans of pure alcohol. We would get a couple of stock-pots from the mess hall and put fruit in them, pour in the alcohol, put on the lid and wait for a few days. A peach or a slice of watermelon would knock you on your ear. Good stuff!

These days the clubs, especially the O'clubs, are dead as door-nails. NO ONE but the retirees uses them. Everyone is afraid of having one too many and ending their career. No more "stag bars" or "happy hours." Sadly, it is a different Air Force than the one we knew. They don't even speak the same language any longer.

I'm glad I served where and when I did, and Yuma/Vincent, later Tyndall, were among the best. Lots of fond memories...

(Nickname redacted)
(Full name redacted again)
Brig. General, USAF(Ret.)

I’ve removed the general’s name even though this message was sent to over 2,600 members of the USAF Radar Veterans group. The Yahoo group is a members-only organization and has some semblance of privacy and/or exclusivity. Not so with EIP: this is a public forum. I simply cannot imagine a general officer on active duty in the current force waxing nostalgic about great good times that involved mass-quantities of alcohol, non-stop partying, and the like. And more’s the pity. “We work hard and we party hard” used to be a very common expression in all the military services, but those days are long gone. As I told SN1 and SN2 in an e-mail this morning: this is not your father’s Air Force. I agree with the general: I’m glad I served when and where I did, with emphasis on the when. I just don’t think I’d be a good fit in Today’s Air Force.

Once again: more’s the pity.

Today’s Pic: Further evidence of my lack of motivation today…yet another pic from Arches. I thought the rock formation in the background was particularly stunning, rising as it does on the top of a hill. Sort of a geological crowning moment, as it were.

Arches National Park. June 2, 2007.