Thanks again for the story ---
On Fri, Nov 22, 2013 at 6:00 PM, WILTON <wilt...@nc.rr.com> wrote: > Well, here's one, anyway. > > JUST DON'T MESS WITH THE PEPSIS > By Wilton Strickland > > By late spring of 1978, while I was Director of Engineering at Sondrestrom > Air Base (now Kangerlussuaq), Greenland, some goods that were normally > shipped by ocean-going vessel were beginning to be in short supply. A hot > topic around base was beginning to be the availability (or lack thereof) of > beer. This, of course, had no direct effect on me - I had already for many > years been somewhat of a "Pepsi nut." I guess my enjoyment of the > sweetness of a sip of Pepsi rather than the bitterness of coffee or beer > betrays my unsophisticated pallet, but that's OK - I've never done > something or liked something because "that's what everybody else" likes or > is doing. I haven't had a cup of coffee in at least 35 years and have > never had a beer or smoked a cigarette. A few days before the first supply > ship of the season arrived, I went to the Base Exchange (BX) to get a > six-pack of Pepsis and was told that there were NONE. > > At about this same time, the supervisor of the Danish stevedores who would > be unloading the supply ships soon to arrive from the States asked me to > inspect the quarters they would be using. In my additional capacity as > Base Fire Marshall, I was especially concerned about fire safety in > addition to their general livability. The quarters were in one-story wood > frame buildings built in 1941 and '42 by US Army and civilian crews under > the leadership of Bernt Balchan, who first proposed and established a base > at the site, known then as Bluie West 8, to serve as a refueling base for > American aircraft transferring to Europe. (Check "Bernt Balchan - Polar > Aviator," by Carrol V. Glines.) > > I was at first appalled that such quarters were still in use, but these > feelings were soon tempered by memories of farm houses in which I had lived > as a child in eastern North Carolina - no inside plumbing, kerosene lamps, > wood-fired heater in living room, wood-fired stove in the kitchen, > fireplace in a bedroom and snow blowing in through cracks in the walls of > my brothers' bedroom during winter of 1939/40.) Though far below modern > living standards of 1978, the buildings were structurally sound, with good > roofs, doors, windows, indoor plumbing, hot showers, and oil-fired heaters > to ward off occasional chill of nights in the arctic summer. After finding > that the buildings had appropriate smoke/fire alarms, exits and fire > extinguishes, I approved them for temporary occupancy. > > A few days later, while I was also acting Base Commander for 2 or 3 days > during the absence of our regular Base Commander, the man in charge of the > re-supply operation told me that a few cases of beer were missing from one > of the shipping containers unloaded from the first ship and asked me what > he should do about it. I remarked, "It seems that the ship captain has a > theft problem on his ship. I don't have any jurisdiction whatever on that > ship." I jokingly continued, "Is it only beer that's missing? What about > the Pepsis? Just make sure nobody messes with the Pepsis. Just make sure > all the Pepsis are unloaded safely." A couple of days later, I returned to > my office after lunch to find a six-pack of Pepsis sitting on my desk. > When I asked the man who had told me about the beer theft, he denied any > knowledge of the Pepsis on my desk. Unable to find the perpetrator of the > attempted "bribe," I proceeded to enjoy consuming them; others on base were > also happy to have their beer supply replenished, and tranquility reined > supreme. > > By the way, perusal of Kangerlussuaq present-day web sites reveals ads > touting the great adventure, advantages and fun of paying good money to > spend vacation time in these same quarters, now called "Old Camp." Bernt > Balchan and his crews would be really proud of their work's longevity and > durability -- just think, I briefly considered having them razed as > unsuitable and unsafe for habitation. > > Wilton > > ----- Original Message ----- From: "WILTON" <wilt...@nc.rr.com> > To: "Mercedes Discussion List" <mercedes@okiebenz.com> > Sent: Friday, November 22, 2013 2:56 PM > Subject: Re: [MBZ] Tar > > > Watch out! I may hafta throw in a Sondy Tale, silly or not. > > Wilt > > _______________________________________ > http://www.okiebenz.com > > To search list archives http://www.okiebenz.com/archive/ > > To Unsubscribe or change delivery options go to: > http://mail.okiebenz.com/mailman/listinfo/mercedes_okiebenz.com > -- OK Don "They who can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety, deserve neither liberty nor safety." - Benjamin Franklin 1775 "in this world nothing can be said to be certain, except death and taxes." - Benjamin Franklin 1789 2013 F150, 18 mpg 2012 Passat TDI DSG, 44 mpg 1957 C182A, 12 mpg - but at 150 mph! _______________________________________ http://www.okiebenz.com To search list archives http://www.okiebenz.com/archive/ To Unsubscribe or change delivery options go to: http://mail.okiebenz.com/mailman/listinfo/mercedes_okiebenz.com
