[MBZ] OT - Sondy Tale
Yep, 'nother Sondy Tale already. CHEAPSKATE DIPLOMAT By Wilton Strickland After being on leave for two weeks and while returning to Sondy aboard a USAF C-141 from McGuire AFB, NJ, in June, '78, we stopped and remained overnight at Canadian Forces Base Goose Bay, Labrador. The next morning, when paying for breakfast at a base dining facility, I was a bit shocked by the high fee requested, including a surcharge of nearly $5 for an officer on leave, temporary duty or travel time. I quickly reminded the clerk that I was officially 'on regular duty.' Leave ceases the instant we check in at the McGuire AFB, NJ, Passenger Terminal, and our status officially reverts to 'present for duty.' I know that you are doing your duty as you've been instructed, and I'm not questioning your performance at all, but may I please speak to your supervisor, who may not understand that our travel time between McGuire and Sondrestrom is not counted as temporary duty, travel or leave time - it's counted as regular duty time. The clerk called his commander, a captain, who said, That's the way we've done it for years for American troops when they come through here. I responded, Well, I don't know how travel to other bases is counted with respect to TDY, leave, etc., but at Sodrestrom and Thule we're considered 'on duty' the instant we check in at McGuire. This may be because of the lack of other transportation to those points - we're dependent on the Air Force to get us there. I'll be glad to discuss it with your base commander if you want. He replied, It won't be necessary to talk to the base commander. I'll look into it and talk to him about it. 'Sounds like we may need a change in policy, and I'll get it resolved. I responded, Your policy is likely valid. The point of concern is the status of military personnel between McGuire and the Greenland bases. He proceeded, You'll be charged at the regular duty rate. Is there anybody else with you to whom this applies? I responded, A female captain en route to Thule was in line in front of me and has already paid. He replied, We'll give her a refund. Put the clerk back on the phone, and we'll resolve it. Thank you for bringing it to my attention. As far as I know, you're the only one who has ever mentioned it. I thanked him for his help and the outstanding hospitality shown us by everyone at the base and proceeded to enjoy a fine Canadian breakfast at a significantly more-reasonable fee. Wilton ___ 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 All posts are the result of individual contributors and as such, those individuals are responsible for the content of the post. The list owner has no control over the content of the messages of each contributor.
Re: [MBZ] OT - Sondy Tale
Sounds like that guy needs to be put in charge of the VA hospital system. --R On 5/28/14 1:29 PM, WILTON wrote: Yep, 'nother Sondy Tale already. CHEAPSKATE DIPLOMAT By Wilton Strickland After being on leave for two weeks and while returning to Sondy aboard a USAF C-141 from McGuire AFB, NJ, in June, '78, we stopped and remained overnight at Canadian Forces Base Goose Bay, Labrador. The next morning, when paying for breakfast at a base dining facility, I was a bit shocked by the high fee requested, including a surcharge of nearly $5 for an officer on leave, temporary duty or travel time. I quickly reminded the clerk that I was officially 'on regular duty.' Leave ceases the instant we check in at the McGuire AFB, NJ, Passenger Terminal, and our status officially reverts to 'present for duty.' I know that you are doing your duty as you've been instructed, and I'm not questioning your performance at all, but may I please speak to your supervisor, who may not understand that our travel time between McGuire and Sondrestrom is not counted as temporary duty, travel or leave time - it's counted as regular duty time. The clerk called his commander, a captain, who said, That's the way we've done it for years for American troops when they come through here. I responded, Well, I don't know how travel to other bases is counted with respect to TDY, leave, etc., but at Sodrestrom and Thule we're considered 'on duty' the instant we check in at McGuire. This may be because of the lack of other transportation to those points - we're dependent on the Air Force to get us there. I'll be glad to discuss it with your base commander if you want. He replied, It won't be necessary to talk to the base commander. I'll look into it and talk to him about it. 'Sounds like we may need a change in policy, and I'll get it resolved. I responded, Your policy is likely valid. The point of concern is the status of military personnel between McGuire and the Greenland bases. He proceeded, You'll be charged at the regular duty rate. Is there anybody else with you to whom this applies? I responded, A female captain en route to Thule was in line in front of me and has already paid. He replied, We'll give her a refund. Put the clerk back on the phone, and we'll resolve it. Thank you for bringing it to my attention. As far as I know, you're the only one who has ever mentioned it. I thanked him for his help and the outstanding hospitality shown us by everyone at the base and proceeded to enjoy a fine Canadian breakfast at a significantly more-reasonable fee. Wilton ___ 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 All posts are the result of individual contributors and as such, those individuals are responsible for the content of the post. The list owner has no control over the content of the messages of each contributor. ___ 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 All posts are the result of individual contributors and as such, those individuals are responsible for the content of the post. The list owner has no control over the content of the messages of each contributor.
Re: [MBZ] OT - Sondy Tale
WILTON wrote: Yep, 'nother Sondy Tale already. CHEAPSKATE DIPLOMAT By Wilton Strickland A $5 surcharge on top of whatever else they charged for breakfast, in 1978 dollars, would get my attention too. Back then a teenager could insure a motorcycle for a full year for $14. $5 would have filled the motorcycle's gas tank 3 times. Mitch. ___ 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 All posts are the result of individual contributors and as such, those individuals are responsible for the content of the post. The list owner has no control over the content of the messages of each contributor.
Re: [MBZ] OT - Sondy Tale
He may be in Canadia. Too bad you couldn't pay in $CDN. It would have been a lot cheaper at the time Dan Sent from my iPad On May 28, 2014, at 1:35 PM, Rich Thomas richthomas79td...@constructivity.net wrote: Sounds like that guy needs to be put in charge of the VA hospital system. --R On 5/28/14 1:29 PM, WILTON wrote: Yep, 'nother Sondy Tale already. CHEAPSKATE DIPLOMAT By Wilton Strickland After being on leave for two weeks and while returning to Sondy aboard a USAF C-141 from McGuire AFB, NJ, in June, '78, we stopped and remained overnight at Canadian Forces Base Goose Bay, Labrador. The next morning, when paying for breakfast at a base dining facility, I was a bit shocked by the high fee requested, including a surcharge of nearly $5 for an officer on leave, temporary duty or travel time. I quickly reminded the clerk that I was officially 'on regular duty.' Leave ceases the instant we check in at the McGuire AFB, NJ, Passenger Terminal, and our status officially reverts to 'present for duty.' I know that you are doing your duty as you've been instructed, and I'm not questioning your performance at all, but may I please speak to your supervisor, who may not understand that our travel time between McGuire and Sondrestrom is not counted as temporary duty, travel or leave time - it's counted as regular duty time. The clerk called his commander, a captain, wh o said, That's the way we've done it for years for American troops when they come through here. I responded, Well, I don't know how travel to other bases is counted with respect to TDY, leave, etc., but at Sodrestrom and Thule we're considered 'on duty' the instant we check in at McGuire. This may be because of the lack of other transportation to those points - we're dependent on the Air Force to get us there. I'll be glad to discuss it with your base commander if you want. He replied, It won't be necessary to talk to the base commander. I'll look into it and talk to him about it. 'Sounds like we may need a change in policy, and I'll get it resolved. I responded, Your policy is likely valid. The point of concern is the status of military personnel between McGuire and the Greenland bases. He proceeded, You'll be charged at the regular duty rate. Is there anybody else with you to whom this applies? I responded, A female captain en route to Thule was in line in front of me and has already paid. He replied, We'll give her a refund. Put the clerk back on the phone, and we'll resolve it. Thank you for bringing it to my attention. As far as I know, you're the only one who has ever mentioned it. I thanked him for his help and the outstanding hospitality shown us by everyone at the base and proceeded to enjoy a fine Canadian breakfast at a significantly more-reasonable fee. Wilton ___ 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 All posts are the result of individual contributors and as such, those individuals are responsible for the content of the post. The list owner has no control over the content of the messages of each contributor. ___ 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 All posts are the result of individual contributors and as such, those individuals are responsible for the content of the post. The list owner has no control over the content of the messages of each contributor. ___ 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 All posts are the result of individual contributors and as such, those individuals are responsible for the content of the post. The list owner has no control over the content of the messages of each contributor.
[MBZ] OT - Sondy Tale - Danish Vignettes
Yep, another silly Sondy Tale already. DANISH VIGNETTES By Wilton Strickland In early December of '78, I flew from Sondrestrom Air Base, Greenland, to Copenhagen on a Scandinavian Airlines System (SAS) DC-8. As I boarded the aircraft, the SAS VP for operations greeted me immediately inside the aircraft and invited me to sit with him in the first class section. I had met him the day before when he came to me with a request to allow SAS fully-loaded DC-10's with a gross weight of 600 klbs to operate at Sondy. After checking runway and taxiway load capacities and weight distribution on DC-10 landing gear, I had to restrict their gross weight for Sondy operations to 450 klbs until they could negotiate with the US government at a much higher diplomatic level than mine to thicken existing pavement by 3 inches. A runway repaving project scheduled for summer of '79 would increase thickness by 1½ to 2 inches (don't remember exactly). I left the Sondy assignment in February, '79 and don't know the final disposition of the paving project, but several months later, while I was preparing for a B-52 training mission in base operations at Seymour Johnson AFB, NC, I saw a NOTAM (official Notice to Airmen, published by the FAA) for Sondrestrom listing the weight restrictions I had imposed. I learned later that SAS was, indeed, operating DC-10's at Sondy; at what weights I don't know. The next day, during a break in a meeting at the American Embassy Annex in downtown Copenhagen to discuss the operations and maintenance contract a Sondy, I stood in a fifth floor window and asked my host, a USAF colonel, How old are these two and three-story buildings with the red tile roofs down below us? He responded, Oh, buildings in these two or three blocks close around us right here have been rebuilt since a fire in the eighteenth century. The other blocks you see farther out are from the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries. An interesting reminder of what a really new world we Americans have. A few days later, on a cold and rainy Saturday, my host at the Embassy drove us to tour Kronborg Castle/Fortress, immortalized as Elsinore Castle in Shakespeare's Hamlet, on the far northeast corner of the Island of Zealand near the city of Helsingør and across the 2½-mile-wide Øresund Strait from Sweden. A small sign immediately inside the reception center clearly stated, 10 AM TOURS ARE CONDUCTED IN ENGLISH ONLY. Three German tourists (two men and a woman) were already having a heated discussion amongst themselves off to the side - the woman insisting that she wanted to go on THIS tour and that it should be in German. The men were trying to tell her that it's in English ONLY. First thing the tour guide said as she gathered us to follow her was, Please be advised that this tour is conducted in English only. The three Germans came along anyway. Immediately at the first stop, the German lady tried to engage the guide in German; guide listened patiently and replied in English and German, Madame, I am terribly sorry, but clear notice was made before the tour started that this tour is in English only. It is not fair to the rest of the group to change it now, and I don't have time to do it in both languages. As we proceeded with the tour, the German lady continued to harass the guide for not doing the tour in German for her. Finally, after a couple of more exchanges, the guide said to the lady, Ma'am, I'm terribly sorry, but you give me no choice. I must ask you to leave. The lady screamed in German, No! I paid for the tour, and you should do it in German! (Of course, I did not understand all of it, but that's close enough.) With a wave of the guide's hand, a burley bouncer appeared and escorted the three Germans back to the entrance. We proceeded with the rest of the tour in peace. In spite of the distraction, I do remember much of the huge and ornate castle's architecture and some of it's fifteenth and sixteenth century furnishings, but it's a pity that what could have been a valuable lesson in history and literature is remembered most for the German lady's childish rant. On the other hand, considering the craziness of some of Hamlet's characters, maybe the lady's rants were appropriate for the setting, anyway. I just did not realize it at the time. Maybe she was part of the tour, and I didn't know it. The following day, still cold and rainy, a Danish Air Force officer friend took me on a tour of several other interesting sites. One was the Danish National Museum at Roskilde, the very old, historical capital of Denmark and a major Viking base. There we saw several well-preserved Viking long boats, varying in sizes from 10 to fifty feet, from the tenth and eleventh centuries that were recovered from a bog during construction and expansion of the nearby harbor in 1962. We also viewed the mummified body of a young, tenth-century Viking woman with long
Re: [MBZ] OT - Sondy Tale - Danish Vignettes
WILTON wrote: The lady screamed in German, No! I paid for the tour, and you should do it in German! I recently read something from a criminal defense attorney that said a jury will agree to whatever the most stubborn woman on the jury wants in order to be able to go home (and probably to get away from her). Mitch ___ 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 All posts are the result of individual contributors and as such, those individuals are responsible for the content of the post. The list owner has no control over the content of the messages of each contributor.
Re: [MBZ] OT - Sondy Tale - Danish Vignettes
I think all of were glad to get away from her that morning. Wilton - Original Message - From: Mitch Haley m...@voyager.net To: Mercedes Discussion List mercedes@okiebenz.com Sent: Monday, May 19, 2014 2:05 PM Subject: Re: [MBZ] OT - Sondy Tale - Danish Vignettes WILTON wrote: The lady screamed in German, No! I paid for the tour, and you should do it in German! I recently read something from a criminal defense attorney that said a jury will agree to whatever the most stubborn woman on the jury wants in order to be able to go home (and probably to get away from her). Mitch ___ 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 All posts are the result of individual contributors and as such, those individuals are responsible for the content of the post. The list owner has no control over the content of the messages of each contributor. ___ 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 All posts are the result of individual contributors and as such, those individuals are responsible for the content of the post. The list owner has no control over the content of the messages of each contributor.
Re: [MBZ] OT - Sondy Tale - Danish Vignettes
A fine story, Wilton. I enjoyed it. Gerry On 5/19/2014 2:00 PM, WILTON wrote: Yep, another silly Sondy Tale already. DANISH VIGNETTES By Wilton Strickland In early December of '78, I flew from Sondrestrom Air Base, Greenland, to Copenhagen on a Scandinavian Airlines System (SAS) DC-8. As I boarded the aircraft, the SAS VP for operations greeted me immediately inside the aircraft and invited me to sit with him in the first class section. I had met him the day before when he came to me with a request to allow SAS fully-loaded DC-10's with a gross weight of 600 klbs to operate at Sondy. After checking runway and taxiway load capacities and weight distribution on DC-10 landing gear, I had to restrict their gross weight for Sondy operations to 450 klbs until they could negotiate with the US government at a much higher diplomatic level than mine to thicken existing pavement by 3 inches. A runway repaving project scheduled for summer of '79 would increase thickness by 1½ to 2 inches (don't remember exactly). I left the Sondy assignment in February, '79 and don't know the final disposition of the paving project, but several months later, while I was preparing for a B-52 training mission in base operations at Seymour Johnson AFB, NC, I saw a NOTAM (official Notice to Airmen, published by the FAA) for Sondrestrom listing the weight restrictions I had imposed. I learned later that SAS was, indeed, operating DC-10's at Sondy; at what weights I don't know. The next day, during a break in a meeting at the American Embassy Annex in downtown Copenhagen to discuss the operations and maintenance contract a Sondy, I stood in a fifth floor window and asked my host, a USAF colonel, How old are these two and three-story buildings with the red tile roofs down below us? He responded, Oh, buildings in these two or three blocks close around us right here have been rebuilt since a fire in the eighteenth century. The other blocks you see farther out are from the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries. An interesting reminder of what a really new world we Americans have. A few days later, on a cold and rainy Saturday, my host at the Embassy drove us to tour Kronborg Castle/Fortress, immortalized as Elsinore Castle in Shakespeare's Hamlet, on the far northeast corner of the Island of Zealand near the city of Helsingør and across the 2½-mile-wide Øresund Strait from Sweden. A small sign immediately inside the reception center clearly stated, 10 AM TOURS ARE CONDUCTED IN ENGLISH ONLY. Three German tourists (two men and a woman) were already having a heated discussion amongst themselves off to the side - the woman insisting that she wanted to go on THIS tour and that it should be in German. The men were trying to tell her that it's in English ONLY. First thing the tour guide said as she gathered us to follow her was, Please be advised that this tour is conducted in English only. The three Germans came along anyway. Immediately at the first stop, the German lady tried to engage the guide in German; guide listened patiently and replied in English and German, Madame, I am terribly sorry, but clear notice was made before the tour started that this tour is in English only. It is not fair to the rest of the group to change it now, and I don't have time to do it in both languages. As we proceeded with the tour, the German lady continued to harass the guide for not doing the tour in German for her. Finally, after a couple of more exchanges, the guide said to the lady, Ma'am, I'm terribly sorry, but you give me no choice. I must ask you to leave. The lady screamed in German, No! I paid for the tour, and you should do it in German! (Of course, I did not understand all of it, but that's close enough.) With a wave of the guide's hand, a burley bouncer appeared and escorted the three Germans back to the entrance. We proceeded with the rest of the tour in peace. In spite of the distraction, I do remember much of the huge and ornate castle's architecture and some of it's fifteenth and sixteenth century furnishings, but it's a pity that what could have been a valuable lesson in history and literature is remembered most for the German lady's childish rant. On the other hand, considering the craziness of some of Hamlet's characters, maybe the lady's rants were appropriate for the setting, anyway. I just did not realize it at the time. Maybe she was part of the tour, and I didn't know it. The following day, still cold and rainy, a Danish Air Force officer friend took me on a tour of several other interesting sites. One was the Danish National Museum at Roskilde, the very old, historical capital of Denmark and a major Viking base. There we saw several well-preserved Viking long boats, varying in sizes from 10 to fifty feet, from the tenth and eleventh centuries that were recovered from a bog during construction and expansion of the nearby harbor in 1962.
Re: [MBZ] OT - Sondy Tale
On Sun, 4 May 2014 20:38:43 -0400 WILTON wilt...@nc.rr.com wrote: The test required us to walk and/or run two miles (I think it was 2 miles, may have been 1½ miles) in eleven minutes or less depending on our age. It was 1½. When I did it last at McClellan in Sacramento, I lost track of how many laps I did and ended up doing an extra lap. I never said a word - I shut 'im up the best way I knew and saved my honor and reputation in the process. ATTABOY, WILTON!!! Craig ___ 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 All posts are the result of individual contributors and as such, those individuals are responsible for the content of the post. The list owner has no control over the content of the messages of each contributor.
[MBZ] OT - Sondy Tale
Yep, another silly Sondy Tale: THE RUN TEST By Wilton Strickland The day after I returned to Sondy from a two-week leave in June, '78, the non-commissioned officer in charge (NCOIC) of overseeing our Air Force-required annual physical performance test told me that a staff sergeant (E5) who worked for me and I were the only military members on base who had not completed the test, everybody else having done so while I was away. The test required us to walk and/or run two miles (I think it was 2 miles, may have been 1½ miles) in eleven minutes or less depending on our age. We arranged to do the test the following morning. Meanwhile, for much of the afternoon and next morning, the sergeant, who would be doing the test with me, taunted me (good-naturedly at first, but it quickly got old) about how he was going to make me eat his dust, or I would see only his back, and I'm gonna leave you way behind. At 44, I was six or seven years older than the sergeant, but I soon decided that it would be a cold day Hell when he passes me, but I never said a word - just let him continue to have his fun, though it did begin to be a little annoying and bordering on insolence, and I could easily have told him to shut the Hell up, but I would have instantly regretted it. Immediately as we began the test, we were both walking at a somewhat brisk pace as I led the way. As we progressed along the route, though, the sergeant was constantly picking up the pace in an effort to pass me. As I heard his footsteps and breathing getting a little closer behind me, though, I continued to accelerate, until, finally, we were both running at full gallop, but I held the lead and completed the test in front of him - never saw him anywhere in front of me. I must say, of course, that I was not really physically able to have done it normally; I did it on shear determination and will alone. If he had not taunted me so about it before the test and turned it into a race and a test of wills, I would have finished the test way behind him, and it would not have mattered at all. Before his taunts, I had nothing to prove and nobody to impress, but after his mouthy taunting, I sure as Hell wasn't gonna let 'im pass me. Rather than tell 'im to shut the Hell up, and embarrass myself, I never said a word - I shut 'im up the best way I knew and saved my honor and reputation in the process. Neither of us ever mentioned it to the other again, and I've never mentioned to anybody else until now. Wilton ___ 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 All posts are the result of individual contributors and as such, those individuals are responsible for the content of the post. The list owner has no control over the content of the messages of each contributor.
Re: [MBZ] OT - Sondy Tale
How very unAmerican of you Wilton, this is not what we see in the movies, usually the winner makes references to female dogs and owning the non winner. However between the desire to be better than someone else and women nagging, we managed to drag ourselves out of dark and cold caves into warm and lit above ground caves. Thurg has fire in cave, why we not have fire? You want fun later, you make fire in cave. Anyway the big question is, did you pass Wilton? Hendrik who has a lovely partner who never nags (she made me write that) On 05/05/14 10:08, WILTON wrote: Yep, another silly Sondy Tale: THE RUN TEST By Wilton Strickland The day after... Trimmed as per orders ___ 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 All posts are the result of individual contributors and as such, those individuals are responsible for the content of the post. The list owner has no control over the content of the messages of each contributor.
Re: [MBZ] OT - Sondy Tale
Yes, of course, I passed. ;) Wilton - Original Message - From: Hendrik and Fay heni...@gmail.com To: Mercedes Discussion List mercedes@okiebenz.com Sent: Sunday, May 04, 2014 11:06 PM Subject: Re: [MBZ] OT - Sondy Tale How very unAmerican of you Wilton, this is not what we see in the movies, usually the winner makes references to female dogs and owning the non winner. However between the desire to be better than someone else and women nagging, we managed to drag ourselves out of dark and cold caves into warm and lit above ground caves. Thurg has fire in cave, why we not have fire? You want fun later, you make fire in cave. Anyway the big question is, did you pass Wilton? Hendrik who has a lovely partner who never nags (she made me write that) On 05/05/14 10:08, WILTON wrote: Yep, another silly Sondy Tale: THE RUN TEST By Wilton Strickland The day after... Trimmed as per orders ___ 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 All posts are the result of individual contributors and as such, those individuals are responsible for the content of the post. The list owner has no control over the content of the messages of each contributor. ___ 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 All posts are the result of individual contributors and as such, those individuals are responsible for the content of the post. The list owner has no control over the content of the messages of each contributor.
[MBZ] OT - Sondy Tale
Yep, another Sondy Tale. THE RESEARCH PAPER By Wilton Strickland In February, 1978, when I left California for my assignment as Director of Engineering at Sondrestrom Air Base, Greenland, I had just completed the seminars portion of Air Force Air Command and Staff College (ACSC), an intermediate level professional military education program of Air University, but I had not completed the research paper, an Aerospace Power Study, required for graduation. Most of the research and the basic writing were fairly well done, but I needed to finish a final draft with proper footnotes and a complete and correct bibliography, produce a properly typed copy and present it to the University. The small library at Sondrestrom was very inadequate for my needs to complete the paper. Meanwhile, there was a formal, two-week short course, Air Force Base Civil Engineer, at Wright-Patterson AFB, OH, that I had wanted to attend for a couple of years. If I could wrangle an assignment to the course, I could have complete access to the outstanding library at the Air Force Institute of Technology (AFIT) and easily get the research paper completed during my time there. I called the school and quickly arranged to attend the course in April. I also called the Base Civil Engineer (BCE) at George AFB, CA, my former duty station, and got his approval to ask his secretary, Felly Elarmo, a mighty fine lady and absolutely the best typist I've ever known, to type the finished document for me in a format meeting the Air University requirements. Felly agreed to do the typing for me, and I departed Sondy aboard a New York Air National Guard C-130 on a Saturday morning in mid-April to attend the Civil Engineer Course and arrived at the NY Guard's home base at Schenectady, NY, in early afternoon. (In the taxi between the Schenectady base and the Albany Airport to catch a flight to Dayton, OH, I had a very short strange or funny experience. Back at Sondy, I had been deeply engrossed in studying Danish for nearly two months, and was already able to engage in simple conversations in Danish. I suddenly realized, though, that I was trying to understand the Danish on the upstate NY taxi dispatcher radio.) At the Wright-Patterson Library, I quickly and easily found the references I needed and, in my room at night and on the weekend, wrote a final draft of the paper, including appropriate footnotes, bibliography and much cutting and pasting/taping. (Remember that this was before the proliferation of personal computers.) I also called Felly to coordinate the typing work and told her that I planned to arrive at her office at George AFB, CA, at 0730 on the following Friday after finishing the classes at Wright-Patterson. Meanwhile, I learned that, though the last class for the Civil Engineer Course was on Thursday afternoon, I was required to attend a graduation ceremony on Friday morning for The General's graduation speech and presentation of certificates. Immediately after the last class at about mid-afternoon on Thursday, I talked to the School Commandant, a colonel whose name I don't remember, about the possibility of getting my completion certificate and departing for California immediately. I told him that I was stationed in Greenland, had not seen my wife and children for more than two months and needed to get that research paper typed on Friday in California and head back to Greenland on Sunday. I assured him that, having heard many graduation speeches, I already knew what The General was going to say and proceeded to cite some of the typical words of inspiration often used in such speeches. The colonel opened a desk drawer, shuffled through the sheath of signed certificates and handed mine to me, saying, Don't tell anybody else that you're leaving early. I assured him that I would not say a word about it to anybody, that I'd be gone in well less than an hour and that nobody else would notice or care that I was missing. I arrived at Felly's office the next morning at 0730 as planned. She and her boss, the BCE, had cleared the day for her to work exclusively on my paper, which she finished by about mid-afternoon. I have never seen a more impressive job of perfect typing. Having done the work during her normal duty day, Felly did not expect any additional payment for her outstanding work well beyond the call of duty, but I gave her what I thought at the time was a reasonable bonus or gift of appreciation, but viewed now via 36-year retrospect, what I gave her was embarrassingly inadequate. I mailed the completed document on Saturday morning, and, after another day or so at home with my wife and two of the children, I left California again for the return trip to Sondy on Sunday afternoon and arrived back there on Monday via Schenectady and a New York Air National Guard C-130. A few weeks later, I received an ACSC Certificate of Completion and a letter
Re: [MBZ] OT - Sondy Tale
I might have done that:) Sent from my iPhone On Nov 24, 2013, at 4:41 PM, Curt Raymond curtlud...@yahoo.com wrote: First off who puts a burger in the pocket of their coat? Its dehydrated. He lives in Utah, a low humidity state (I almost wrote dry, HA!) and put the burger, wrapped in its paper bag in his coat further helping it dehydrate. So of course it didn't decompose... I'm not pro McDs I'm anti-stupid. The above proves Date: Sat, 23 Nov 2013 07:36:52 -0500 From: Dan Penoff d...@penoff.com To: Mercedes Discussion List mercedes@okiebenz.com Subject: Re: [MBZ] OT - Sondy Tale Message-ID: 368c0d18-80c9-4856-996e-0ec643b60...@penoff.com Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii Nope. I'm talking about this: http://newsfeed.time.com/2013/04/25/mcdonalds-burger-looks-the-same-14-years-later/ On Nov 23, 2013, at 6:49 AM, Curt Raymond wrote: I think you mean french fries. Its also been pretty well established thst its not really fair to pick on McD's frys because basically no fries ever mold. The combination of cooking technique and salt preserves them well. Curt ___ 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 ___ 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
Re: [MBZ] OT - Sondy Tale
The onions are in fact recon which is to say reconstituted from dried. Its fairly hilarious when somebody does it with warm water since the onions turn pink. Doesn't hurt them any they're just pink. Interestingly the quarter pounder onions are real which is to say fresh. Of course everything I know about the inner workings of McD's is from the 1 month I worked there in 1995. The burger patties are salted just after they finish cooking, I can see how that would dramatically slow the rate of mold or rot or whatever. The rolls would molder normally though as would the lettuce, mold grows on cheese too. The hamburgers however are just a roll, patty (same patty as a Big Mac), mustard, ketchup and 2 pr 3 pickles I forget exactly. When I worked there I used to amuse myself by seeing how many pickles I could get on to a hamburger without somebody catching it. I once sent one out that had more pickles than meat. It didn't get returned... -Curt Date: Sat, 23 Nov 2013 13:29:15 -0400 From: Mitch Haley m...@voyager.net To: Mercedes Discussion List mercedes@okiebenz.com Subject: Re: [MBZ] OT - Sondy Tale Message-ID: 5290e5eb.5000...@voyager.net Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1; format=flowed WILTON wrote: Doesn't a Big Mac have lettuce, tomato, pickle and all sorts of other stuff on it? Yep, you're right if you noticed I've never had a Big Mac, either - 'guess I've really missed out on a lot, but maybe I can get along somehow. Pauvre moi. How'd the 1970s jingle go? Best as I can remember it, no tomato. Pickles are, well, pickled in brine and vinegar. Cheese is already moldy. Two all-beef patties, special sauce, lettuce, cheese, pickles, onions, on a sesame seed bun ___ 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
Re: [MBZ] OT - Sondy Tale
First off who puts a burger in the pocket of their coat? Its dehydrated. He lives in Utah, a low humidity state (I almost wrote dry, HA!) and put the burger, wrapped in its paper bag in his coat further helping it dehydrate. So of course it didn't decompose... I'm not pro McDs I'm anti-stupid. The above proves Date: Sat, 23 Nov 2013 07:36:52 -0500 From: Dan Penoff d...@penoff.com To: Mercedes Discussion List mercedes@okiebenz.com Subject: Re: [MBZ] OT - Sondy Tale Message-ID: 368c0d18-80c9-4856-996e-0ec643b60...@penoff.com Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii Nope. I'm talking about this: http://newsfeed.time.com/2013/04/25/mcdonalds-burger-looks-the-same-14-years-later/ On Nov 23, 2013, at 6:49 AM, Curt Raymond wrote: I think you mean french fries. Its also been pretty well established thst its not really fair to pick on McD's frys because basically no fries ever mold. The combination of cooking technique and salt preserves them well. Curt ___ 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
Re: [MBZ] OT - Sondy Tale
That special sauce is probably about 90 HFCS which is what is addictive along with the fat and salt and cholesterol (4 of the basic food groups!). I cannot even eat that stuff any more, I would gag on it. In high school we had a buddy who worked at the McD's downtown, which was not A Good Place to be most of the time after dark. But after a ball game or something we would go cruising ferbergers and stop in there, the 3 or 4 of us would order one hamburger and one fry, he would go in back and gather up a grocery sack (seriously, they had bags the size of grocery bags) full of various things they had, burgers, fries, a few drinks, some pies, whatever, then ring us up for whatever the burger and fries were, probably like $1.37 at the time. We would pig out on that junk, one of the guys had 9 brothers and sisters so he would take home the rest and they all got some too. This was the guy who left a smoldering roach in his Corvair one morning and about 9:30 it finally ignited all the others in the ashtray and burned the car up. We were all together in a class, the windows looked out over the street where he had parked it, so we got to watch the fire brigade douse the car. He was still a little buzzed so was like wow man. The Powers That Be knew it was his car so came and rounded him up and did whatever to get it organized and hauled off. He had that car rigged with a crate or something in the front trunk where he could put 3 likka bottles, with surgical rubber tubes running up through the dash, so while driving you could grab a pull off whatever was your favorite beverage. I forget what he got after that car, but he fixed it up too, and was careful with his roaches. The guy was really smart, and turned out well, I forget what he is doing now, something respectable. --R On 11/24/13 4:36 PM, Curt Raymond wrote: The onions are in fact recon which is to say reconstituted from dried. Its fairly hilarious when somebody does it with warm water since the onions turn pink. Doesn't hurt them any they're just pink. Interestingly the quarter pounder onions are real which is to say fresh. Of course everything I know about the inner workings of McD's is from the 1 month I worked there in 1995. The burger patties are salted just after they finish cooking, I can see how that would dramatically slow the rate of mold or rot or whatever. The rolls would molder normally though as would the lettuce, mold grows on cheese too. The hamburgers however are just a roll, patty (same patty as a Big Mac), mustard, ketchup and 2 pr 3 pickles I forget exactly. When I worked there I used to amuse myself by seeing how many pickles I could get on to a hamburger without somebody catching it. I once sent one out that had more pickles than meat. It didn't get returned... -Curt Date: Sat, 23 Nov 2013 13:29:15 -0400 From: Mitch Haley m...@voyager.net To: Mercedes Discussion List mercedes@okiebenz.com Subject: Re: [MBZ] OT - Sondy Tale Message-ID: 5290e5eb.5000...@voyager.net Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1; format=flowed WILTON wrote: Doesn't a Big Mac have lettuce, tomato, pickle and all sorts of other stuff on it? Yep, you're right if you noticed I've never had a Big Mac, either - 'guess I've really missed out on a lot, but maybe I can get along somehow. Pauvre moi. How'd the 1970s jingle go? Best as I can remember it, no tomato. Pickles are, well, pickled in brine and vinegar. Cheese is already moldy. Two all-beef patties, special sauce, lettuce, cheese, pickles, onions, on a sesame seed bun ___ 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 ___ 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
Re: [MBZ] OT - Sondy Tale taqysasy
This was the guy who left a smoldering roach in his Corvair one morning and about 9:30 it finally ignited all the others in the ashtray and burned the car up. 2-3 of the girls in my grade were given old Mustang IIs (Pinto-Stangs I called them). One night, some girls were out partying, and ran out of weed. They used a lighter for a flashlight and searched the Mustang for joints, roaches, anything. They managed to ignite the papers in the glove compartment in the course of the search. Burned the car to a crisp. The parents bought her a NEW car for an early graduation present to replace it. I figured they felt guilty over endangering their precious snowflake by buying her a dangerous used car that went up in flames all by itself. Mitch. ___ 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
Re: [MBZ] OT - Sondy Tale
He didn't need refrigeration to preserve that Big Mac. I believe it has been shown that they are pretty well self preserving. Dan who reached his lifetime consumption of McDonald's years ago Sent from my iPad On Nov 22, 2013, at 11:32 PM, WILTON wilt...@nc.rr.com wrote: Yes, I stayed well enough supplied with Pepsi in Greenland; the supply of such was a bit lacking for only a week or so before the first ship was unloaded in late sprng. The beer drinkers may not have faired quite as well. A young lieutenant who lived down the hall from me came to my door one night after he had been home on leave and asked me to accompany him to his room - he wanted to show me a Big Mac he had brought back with him and told me he was gonna keep it frozen in his refrigerator; 'said he would not go without a Big Mac again, I can at least open the refrigerator door occasionally and look at it. I endured no such suffering. Wilton - Original Message - From: Alex Chamberlain apchamberl...@gmail.com To: Mercedes Discussion List mercedes@okiebenz.com Sent: Friday, November 22, 2013 11:08 PM Subject: Re: [MBZ] OT - Sondy Tale On Nov 22, 2013 4:01 PM, WILTON wilt...@nc.rr.com wrote: Well, here's one, anyway. JUST DON'T MESS WITH THE PEPSIS By Wilton Strickland Another great one, Wilton, thanks. So did you manage to stay well-supplied with Pepsi throughout your tours in Greenland? I would think you'd want something warmer! My dad always says that he acquired the habit of drinking coffee all day long on guard duty in Korea where it was the only way to stay warm. Alex ___ 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 ___ 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 ___ 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
Re: [MBZ] OT - Sondy Tale
I think you mean french fries. Its also been pretty well established thst its not really fair to pick on McD's frys because basically no fries ever mold. The combination of cooking technique and salt preserves them well. Curt Date: Sat, 23 Nov 2013 06:23:55 -0500 From: Dan Penoff d...@penoff.com To: Mercedes Discussion List mercedes@okiebenz.com Subject: Re: [MBZ] OT - Sondy Tale Message-ID: 838d9b00-e5aa-4025-8121-babf99616...@penoff.com Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii He didn't need refrigeration to preserve that Big Mac. I believe it has been shown that they are pretty well self preserving. Dan who reached his lifetime consumption of McDonald's years ago Sent from my iPad ___ 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
Re: [MBZ] OT - Sondy Tale
Nope. I'm talking about this: http://newsfeed.time.com/2013/04/25/mcdonalds-burger-looks-the-same-14-years-later/ On Nov 23, 2013, at 6:49 AM, Curt Raymond wrote: I think you mean french fries. Its also been pretty well established thst its not really fair to pick on McD's frys because basically no fries ever mold. The combination of cooking technique and salt preserves them well. Curt Date: Sat, 23 Nov 2013 06:23:55 -0500 From: Dan Penoff d...@penoff.com To: Mercedes Discussion List mercedes@okiebenz.com Subject: Re: [MBZ] OT - Sondy Tale Message-ID: 838d9b00-e5aa-4025-8121-babf99616...@penoff.com Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii He didn't need refrigeration to preserve that Big Mac. I believe it has been shown that they are pretty well self preserving. Dan who reached his lifetime consumption of McDonald's years ago Sent from my iPad ___ 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 ___ 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
Re: [MBZ] OT - Sondy Tale
Doesn't a Big Mac have lettuce, tomato, pickle and all sorts of other stuff on it? Yep, you're right if you noticed I've never had a Big Mac, either - 'guess I've really missed out on a lot, but maybe I can get along somehow. Pauvre moi. Wilton - Original Message - From: Dan Penoff d...@penoff.com To: Mercedes Discussion List mercedes@okiebenz.com Sent: Saturday, November 23, 2013 7:36 AM Subject: Re: [MBZ] OT - Sondy Tale Nope. I'm talking about this: http://newsfeed.time.com/2013/04/25/mcdonalds-burger-looks-the-same-14-years-later/ On Nov 23, 2013, at 6:49 AM, Curt Raymond wrote: I think you mean french fries. Its also been pretty well established thst its not really fair to pick on McD's frys because basically no fries ever mold. The combination of cooking technique and salt preserves them well. Curt Date: Sat, 23 Nov 2013 06:23:55 -0500 From: Dan Penoff d...@penoff.com To: Mercedes Discussion List mercedes@okiebenz.com Subject: Re: [MBZ] OT - Sondy Tale Message-ID: 838d9b00-e5aa-4025-8121-babf99616...@penoff.com Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii He didn't need refrigeration to preserve that Big Mac. I believe it has been shown that they are pretty well self preserving. Dan who reached his lifetime consumption of McDonald's years ago Sent from my iPad ___ 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 ___ 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 ___ 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
Re: [MBZ] OT - Sondy Tale
WILTON wrote: Doesn't a Big Mac have lettuce, tomato, pickle and all sorts of other stuff on it? Yep, you're right if you noticed I've never had a Big Mac, either - 'guess I've really missed out on a lot, but maybe I can get along somehow. Pauvre moi. How'd the 1970s jingle go? Best as I can remember it, no tomato. Pickles are, well, pickled in brine and vinegar. Cheese is already moldy. Two all-beef patties, special sauce, lettuce, cheese, pickles, onions, on a sesame seed bun ___ 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
Re: [MBZ] OT - Sondy Tale
Yep, I'm feeling really deprived. ;) Wilton - Original Message - From: Mitch Haley m...@voyager.net To: Mercedes Discussion List mercedes@okiebenz.com Sent: Saturday, November 23, 2013 12:29 PM Subject: Re: [MBZ] OT - Sondy Tale WILTON wrote: Doesn't a Big Mac have lettuce, tomato, pickle and all sorts of other stuff on it? Yep, you're right if you noticed I've never had a Big Mac, either - 'guess I've really missed out on a lot, but maybe I can get along somehow. Pauvre moi. How'd the 1970s jingle go? Best as I can remember it, no tomato. Pickles are, well, pickled in brine and vinegar. Cheese is already moldy. Two all-beef patties, special sauce, lettuce, cheese, pickles, onions, on a sesame seed bun ___ 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 ___ 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
[MBZ] OT - Sondy Tale
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
Re: [MBZ] OT - Sondy Tale
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
Re: [MBZ] OT - Sondy Tale
Thanks. By the way, I MEANT palate, not pallet. ;) Wilton - Original Message - From: OK Don okd...@gmail.com To: Mercedes Discussion List mercedes@okiebenz.com Sent: Friday, November 22, 2013 8:07 PM Subject: Re: [MBZ] OT - Sondy Tale 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
Re: [MBZ] OT - Sondy Tale
Wilton wrote: By the way, I MEANT palate, not pallet. ;) I read right thru it enjoying the story. Thanks. mao ___ 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
Re: [MBZ] OT - Sondy Tale
On Nov 22, 2013 4:01 PM, WILTON wilt...@nc.rr.com wrote: Well, here's one, anyway. JUST DON'T MESS WITH THE PEPSIS By Wilton Strickland Another great one, Wilton, thanks. So did you manage to stay well-supplied with Pepsi throughout your tours in Greenland? I would think you'd want something warmer! My dad always says that he acquired the habit of drinking coffee all day long on guard duty in Korea where it was the only way to stay warm. Alex ___ 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
Re: [MBZ] OT - Sondy Tale
Yes, I stayed well enough supplied with Pepsi in Greenland; the supply of such was a bit lacking for only a week or so before the first ship was unloaded in late sprng. The beer drinkers may not have faired quite as well. A young lieutenant who lived down the hall from me came to my door one night after he had been home on leave and asked me to accompany him to his room - he wanted to show me a Big Mac he had brought back with him and told me he was gonna keep it frozen in his refrigerator; 'said he would not go without a Big Mac again, I can at least open the refrigerator door occasionally and look at it. I endured no such suffering. Wilton - Original Message - From: Alex Chamberlain apchamberl...@gmail.com To: Mercedes Discussion List mercedes@okiebenz.com Sent: Friday, November 22, 2013 11:08 PM Subject: Re: [MBZ] OT - Sondy Tale On Nov 22, 2013 4:01 PM, WILTON wilt...@nc.rr.com wrote: Well, here's one, anyway. JUST DON'T MESS WITH THE PEPSIS By Wilton Strickland Another great one, Wilton, thanks. So did you manage to stay well-supplied with Pepsi throughout your tours in Greenland? I would think you'd want something warmer! My dad always says that he acquired the habit of drinking coffee all day long on guard duty in Korea where it was the only way to stay warm. Alex ___ 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 ___ 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
Re: [MBZ] OT - Sondy Tale
I think that family in my home town of Nashville, NC, is the only Myrick family (man, wife, adopted daughter) I've known. Wilton - Original Message - From: OK Don okd...@gmail.com To: Mercedes Discussion List mercedes@okiebenz.com Sent: Friday, November 08, 2013 11:40 PM Subject: Re: [MBZ] OT - Sondy Tale No real connection to your story (that I know of), but Myrick is not a common name in these parts, yet I live on Myrick Airport, here in OK (33OK). On Fri, Nov 8, 2013 at 6:43 PM, WILTON wilt...@nc.rr.com wrote: What's her name? Anne Myrick, he answered. I exclaimed, She's the pretty, sweet little 3 or 4-year-old daughter of the Stedman's Grocery Store manager in Nashville -- 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 ___ 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
Re: [MBZ] OT - Sondy Tale
Myrick is a not uncommon name; many here in Florida. It has an interesting history: This ancient surname recorded in the spellings of Meyric, Meyrick, Merrick and the American Myrick, is of Anglo-Welsh origins. The first of which is Welsh, and derives from Meyric, the Prince of Cardigan, and head of the North Wales tribe based upon Bodorgan, in the Isle of Anglesey. It is claimed that the Welsh origin is of Norman descent, being a form of Maurice, and dating back to King John of England in 1199. The second origin is Norman, and may be the same source as the first. It derives from the Old French personal name Maurice introduced into England after the Conquest of 1066. This name is composed of the Germanic elements meri or mari, meaning fame, and ric, meaning power. The third possible origin is Scottish, and as such a locational surname from the place called Merrick situated near Minigaff in Dumfries and Galloway. This placename is derived from the Gaelic word meurach meaning a branch or fork of a road or river. Early examples of the surname recordings include Henrye Merriche in the Poll Tax rolls of Yorkshire in 1379, David Meyrick of Bodorgan, North wales in the year 1415 and Richard Merrick, who married Martha Tither in London in 1610. One of the earliest settlers in the New world was, John Merrick Esq., who in 1678 was recorded in the parish of St. Andrew's in the Isle of Barbados, as having 266 acres of land and six servants. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Meuric de Hope, which was dated 1272, in the charter rolls known as 'Testa de Neville', during the reign of King Edward 1st, known as 'The hammer of the Scots', 1272 - 1307. Surnames became necessary when governments introduced personal taxation. In England this was known as Poll Tax. Throughout the centuries, surnames in every country have continued to develop often leading to astonishing variants of the original spelling. http://www.surnamedb.com/Surname/Myrick#ixzz2kADAjUvK http://www.surnamedb.com/Surname/Myrick Gerry .. I think that family in my home town of Nashville, NC, is the only Myrick family (man, wife, adopted daughter) I've known. Wilton - Original Message - From: OK Don okd...@gmail.com To: Mercedes Discussion List mercedes@okiebenz.com Sent: Friday, November 08, 2013 11:40 PM Subject: Re: [MBZ] OT - Sondy Tale No real connection to your story (that I know of), but Myrick is not a common name in these parts, yet I live on Myrick Airport, here in OK (33OK). On Fri, Nov 8, 2013 at 6:43 PM, WILTON wilt...@nc.rr.com wrote: What's her name? Anne Myrick, he answered. I exclaimed, She's the pretty, sweet little 3 or 4-year-old daughter of the Stedman's Grocery Store manager in Nashville -- 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 ___ 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 - No virus found in this message. Checked by AVG - www.avg.com Version: 2014.0.4158 / Virus Database: 3629/6821 - Release Date: 11/08/13 ___ 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
Re: [MBZ] OT - Sondy Tale
Thanks for the straight skinny (as my Navy brothers used to say) on the Myrick surname. Didn't mean to imply that there are not a lot of Myricks somewhere - just that I haven't known 'em. Maybe somewhat like Oregonians - must be a lot of 'em somewhere - most likely in Oregon, I suspect, but I haven't known 'em. ;) Wilton - Original Message - From: Gerry Archer arche...@embarqmail.com To: Mercedes Discussion List mercedes@okiebenz.com Sent: Saturday, November 09, 2013 10:52 AM Subject: Re: [MBZ] OT - Sondy Tale Myrick is a not uncommon name; many here in Florida. It has an interesting history: This ancient surname recorded in the spellings of Meyric, Meyrick, Merrick and the American Myrick, is of Anglo-Welsh origins. The first of which is Welsh, and derives from Meyric, the Prince of Cardigan, and head of the North Wales tribe based upon Bodorgan, in the Isle of Anglesey. It is claimed that the Welsh origin is of Norman descent, being a form of Maurice, and dating back to King John of England in 1199. The second origin is Norman, and may be the same source as the first. It derives from the Old French personal name Maurice introduced into England after the Conquest of 1066. This name is composed of the Germanic elements meri or mari, meaning fame, and ric, meaning power. The third possible origin is Scottish, and as such a locational surname from the place called Merrick situated near Minigaff in Dumfries and Galloway. This placename is derived from the Gaelic word meurach meaning a branch or fork of a road or river. Early examples of the surname recordings include Henrye Merriche in the Poll Tax rolls of Yorkshire in 1379, David Meyrick of Bodorgan, North wales in the year 1415 and Richard Merrick, who married Martha Tither in London in 1610. One of the earliest settlers in the New world was, John Merrick Esq., who in 1678 was recorded in the parish of St. Andrew's in the Isle of Barbados, as having 266 acres of land and six servants. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Meuric de Hope, which was dated 1272, in the charter rolls known as 'Testa de Neville', during the reign of King Edward 1st, known as 'The hammer of the Scots', 1272 - 1307. Surnames became necessary when governments introduced personal taxation. In England this was known as Poll Tax. Throughout the centuries, surnames in every country have continued to develop often leading to astonishing variants of the original spelling. http://www.surnamedb.com/Surname/Myrick#ixzz2kADAjUvK http://www.surnamedb.com/Surname/Myrick Gerry .. I think that family in my home town of Nashville, NC, is the only Myrick family (man, wife, adopted daughter) I've known. Wilton - Original Message - From: OK Don okd...@gmail.com To: Mercedes Discussion List mercedes@okiebenz.com Sent: Friday, November 08, 2013 11:40 PM Subject: Re: [MBZ] OT - Sondy Tale No real connection to your story (that I know of), but Myrick is not a common name in these parts, yet I live on Myrick Airport, here in OK (33OK). On Fri, Nov 8, 2013 at 6:43 PM, WILTON wilt...@nc.rr.com wrote: What's her name? Anne Myrick, he answered. I exclaimed, She's the pretty, sweet little 3 or 4-year-old daughter of the Stedman's Grocery Store manager in Nashville -- 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 ___ 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 - No virus found in this message. Checked by AVG - www.avg.com Version: 2014.0.4158 / Virus Database: 3629/6821 - Release Date: 11/08/13 ___ 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 ___ 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
[MBZ] OT - Sondy Tale
Yep, another Sondy Tale and a little more. SMALL WORLD By Wilton Strickland (The following tales of some unexpected, chance meetings illustrate what a really small world we occupy. Though these meetings occurred much more recently, surprisingly, they relate directly back to my time as a teenager.) On the Sunday morning after Christmas, 1978, while I was Director of Engineering at Sondrestrom Air Base, Greenland, I had slept late, so I was the first to enter the dining hall when it opened for lunch at 1100. I was taking a seat at my table when I noticed a young man of about 34, a master sergeant whom I had met briefly when he arrived from the States the afternoon before, go through the cafeteria line. I asked him and some others to join me, and in a few minutes, there were six or eight at my table enjoying a rousing conversation. The subject of Christmas came up, of course, and the newly-arrived sergeant commented that he always gets a little depressed at Christmas. Somebody asked him why, and the sergeant replied that his father had been killed in a plane crash in his family's back yard on Christmas morning when he was a little boy. This jogged my memory of a similar case near my home when I was 14. I thought I had noticed a bit of North Carolina accent in the sergeant's speech, and I asked him, Where's home, where are you from originally? He replied, North Carolina. I said, Yes, I thought so. Me, too. Where in NC? Rocky Mount, he replied. I exclaimed, I'm from Nashville! (Ten miles west of Rocky Mount.) Then he replied, Well, I'm really from Battleboro. (A small village immediately north of Rocky Mount.) In amazement, I responded, Oh, Gosh! I remember the morning your father was killed. It was Christmas morning, 1948. You were four years old. You and your mother were standing in your back yard watching as your father and his friend showed-off the friend's new airplane by doing a little stunt-flying over your home. Your father was a passenger in the aircraft flown by a local rich boy who had wrecked several new cars his dad had given him, and on this particular morning, you and your mother watched as he crashed his new airplane in your back yard, killing himself and your father. I remember it as if it were yesterday, yet, here we sit, finally meeting thirty years later in Greenland! It is, indeed, a small world, isn't it? Another small-world indicator: Several years ago, I arrived at a house here in Goldsboro to do a home inspection for a client who was buying the house. I approached a man in the garage of the empty house who identified himself as the seller, Lucian Vick. I introduced myself and began the inspection there in the garage. For several years, I had occasionally heard the name, Lucian Vick, around town, and it always sounded vaguely familiar, somehow, as it did this day. A few minutes after I started the inspection, I asked Mr. Vick, By the way, Lucian, where are you from originally? He responded, Nashville. I suddenly realized why the name had seemed familiar; I turned quickly to him and exclaimed, I'm from Nashville, too! You're the little three or four-year-old boy who was playing around us and under the table the summer of 1956 while I was tutoring your brother, Johnny, in calculus and analytical geometry! Your father had hired me to help Johnny with a correspondence course from NC State College that summer. Another one: In early 2004, a Rotary Club friend of my wife, Alice, was visiting our home in Goldsboro for a few minutes. During our conversation, I asked him, By the way, Frank, where are you from originally? He told me, then added, My dad was from Whitakers, in Nash County; my mom is from Nashville. I replied, We're from Nashville, too! What's her name? Anne Myrick, he answered. I exclaimed, She's the pretty, sweet little 3 or 4-year-old daughter of the Stedman's Grocery Store manager in Nashville in the early to mid-50's. Many days at about closing time while I was working there, she and her mom would arrive to give her dad a ride home. Anne would come running into the store, give me a hug and pull at me to play with her. I would often lift her and set her on the edge of a sales counter and talk to her and play little child games with her while her dad completed the day's tally at the cash register and her mom beamed with pride nearby. I've often wondered what had happened to her over the last 50+ years. And another one: Several years ago, while I was in a family waiting room at the local hospital awaiting news from the surgeon who was doing cancer-related surgery on Alice, the hospital chaplain, Richard Hunt, came in to wait with me. We had visited briefly with Richard and his wife several times at Community Arts Council functions, where Alice had been Executive Director for many years. Sometime during our wait at the hospital, Richard asked me were I was from. I replied that Alice
Re: [MBZ] OT - Sondy Tale
On Fri, 8 Nov 2013 11:07:02 -0500 WILTON wilt...@nc.rr.com wrote: Yep, another Sondy Tale and a little more. Great! I like your Sondy Tales! Wonder how many and how often we cross such interesting paths and never know it. Because of this, I'm more likely now to ask a new acquaintance, Where are you from originally? It's amazing how many strangers are not so really strange, after all, especially for one who has lived in many different places. Yes, it is amazing. It's a good idea to ask, as you say. Craig ___ 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
Re: [MBZ] OT - Sondy Tale
Thnks. Wilt - Original Message - From: Craig diese...@pisquared.net To: Mercedes Discussion List mercedes@okiebenz.com Sent: Friday, November 08, 2013 7:11 PM Subject: Re: [MBZ] OT - Sondy Tale On Fri, 8 Nov 2013 11:07:02 -0500 WILTON wilt...@nc.rr.com wrote: Yep, another Sondy Tale and a little more. Great! I like your Sondy Tales! Wonder how many and how often we cross such interesting paths and never know it. Because of this, I'm more likely now to ask a new acquaintance, Where are you from originally? It's amazing how many strangers are not so really strange, after all, especially for one who has lived in many different places. Yes, it is amazing. It's a good idea to ask, as you say. Craig ___ 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 ___ 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
Re: [MBZ] OT - Sondy Tale
No real connection to your story (that I know of), but Myrick is not a common name in these parts, yet I live on Myrick Airport, here in OK (33OK). On Fri, Nov 8, 2013 at 6:43 PM, WILTON wilt...@nc.rr.com wrote: What's her name? Anne Myrick, he answered. I exclaimed, She's the pretty, sweet little 3 or 4-year-old daughter of the Stedman's Grocery Store manager in Nashville -- 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
[MBZ] OT - Sondy Tale - Swimming Pool
Yep, 'nother Sondy Tale already. THE SWIMMING POOL By Wilton Strickland At Sondrestrom Air Base, we were proud to have the only swimming pool (indoors and heated, of course) in Greenland. I don't remember the exact dimensions, but probably about 20 feet by 40 feet by 4 to 5 feet. Not long after I arrived, the Danish maintenance contractor chief engineer came to me on day with bad news about the pool's plastic liner - it was leaking and had been patched so many times that it was beyond repair. We called a manufacturer in the States and ordered one of the right dimensions and had it shipped to McGuire AFB, NJ, for delivery to us via Air Force C-141 cargo aircraft a few weeks later. The Danish workmen immediately set about removing the old liner and installing the new one. Installation of the new liner involved sucking air with a vacuum cleaner from between the outside of the liner and the pool's supporting walls as the liner was filled with water. The support structure corners between the bottom and side walls and at the ends of the pool were square (sharp, 90° angles), and the old liner fitted into them nicely, but as the new liner filled with water, it became obvious that the corners of the new liner would rupture before going into the corners. We had to stop the filling process, empty the liner of water and devise a way to get the liner into the corners or support the liner appropriately in these areas. A call to the manufacturer confirmed that the liner could not have - could not assume - square corners. We finally decided to fill in the square corners in the support structure with wet sand rounded into a contour (a cove) that the new liner could more easily assume. The bottom was already sand; we just extended the sand in a rounded contour up the side for several inches and in the end corners to relieve the excessive tension on the liner in these areas. Because water in the base system was at only 56°F, we also started heating it while filling the liner to help improve the liner's stretchability. We also positioned several more suction hoses around the outside of the liner to reduce air pockets as the liner filled with water. The second filling went very well, and we had no more problems with the pool while I was there. 'Never did use it myself, though. I noticed recently in the current Kangerlussuaq hotel and tourism ads, they enthusiastically promote the heated indoor pool. 'Glad they're still enjoying it. The liner has probably been replaced once or twice or more since we did it in '78, and it's likely that nobody there has any idea about the hassle we had with seemingly such a simple task that could have been catastrophic had we just blindly let the liner fill without proper attention to those corners. Wilton ___ 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
Re: [MBZ] OT - Sondy Tale - Swimming Pool
A good question might be why they did not send you the right liner?? I have some experience with that sort of thing as I worked building swimming pools for 3 summers while I was in university. By then we had pretty much moved away from using sand and instead used what we called pool pad. It was a mixture of vermiculite and cement. Initially we used a lot of cement so it looked like concrete but that ultimately moved to a drier mixture. We would pack it in in the right shape and then drop the liner in quickly and fill with water to hold things in place. Quite a process as these pools had deep ends and some were kidney shaped and at least 40 feet long. If the liner dislodged material when we were shifting it into place, someone would have to go in under it and do a quick patch. Sometimes we would have underground water that would not stop seeping and would have to get the liner in very quickly to prevent a lot of water under the liner. Randy On 18/10/2013 11:03 AM, WILTON wrote: Yep, 'nother Sondy Tale already. THE SWIMMING POOL By Wilton Strickland At Sondrestrom Air Base, we were proud to have the only swimming pool (indoors and heated, of course) in Greenland. I don't remember the exact dimensions, but probably about 20 feet by 40 feet by 4 to 5 feet. Not long after I arrived, the Danish maintenance contractor chief engineer came to me on day with bad news about the pool's plastic liner - it was leaking and had been patched so many times that it was beyond repair. We called a manufacturer in the States and ordered one of the right dimensions and had it shipped to McGuire AFB, NJ, for delivery to us via Air Force C-141 cargo aircraft a few weeks later. The Danish workmen immediately set about removing the old liner and installing the new one. Installation of the new liner involved sucking air with a vacuum cleaner from between the outside of the liner and the pool's supporting walls as the liner was filled with water. The support structure corners between the bottom and side walls and at the ends of the pool were square (sharp, 90° angles), and the old liner fitted into them nicely, but as the new liner filled with water, it became obvious that the corners of the new liner would rupture before going into the corners. We had to stop the filling process, empty the liner of water and devise a way to get the liner into the corners or support the liner appropriately in these areas. A call to the manufacturer confirmed that the liner could not have - could not assume - square corners. We finally decided to fill in the square corners in the support structure with wet sand rounded into a contour (a cove) that the new liner could more easily assume. The bottom was already sand; we just extended the sand in a rounded contour up the side for several inches and in the end corners to relieve the excessive tension on the liner in these areas. Because water in the base system was at only 56°F, we also started heating it while filling the liner to help improve the liner's stretchability. We also positioned several more suction hoses around the outside of the liner to reduce air pockets as the liner filled with water. The second filling went very well, and we had no more problems with the pool while I was there. 'Never did use it myself, though. I noticed recently in the current Kangerlussuaq hotel and tourism ads, they enthusiastically promote the heated indoor pool. 'Glad they're still enjoying it. The liner has probably been replaced once or twice or more since we did it in '78, and it's likely that nobody there has any idea about the hassle we had with seemingly such a simple task that could have been catastrophic had we just blindly let the liner fill without proper attention to those corners. Wilton ___ 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
Re: [MBZ] OT - Sondy Tale - Swimming Pool
Yep, we discussed that, and they danced around it - we finally agreed that we'd cove the corners. Wilton - Original Message - From: Randy Bennell rbenn...@bennell.ca To: Mercedes Discussion List mercedes@okiebenz.com Sent: Friday, October 18, 2013 12:26 PM Subject: Re: [MBZ] OT - Sondy Tale - Swimming Pool A good question might be why they did not send you the right liner?? I have some experience with that sort of thing as I worked building swimming pools for 3 summers while I was in university. By then we had pretty much moved away from using sand and instead used what we called pool pad. It was a mixture of vermiculite and cement. Initially we used a lot of cement so it looked like concrete but that ultimately moved to a drier mixture. We would pack it in in the right shape and then drop the liner in quickly and fill with water to hold things in place. Quite a process as these pools had deep ends and some were kidney shaped and at least 40 feet long. If the liner dislodged material when we were shifting it into place, someone would have to go in under it and do a quick patch. Sometimes we would have underground water that would not stop seeping and would have to get the liner in very quickly to prevent a lot of water under the liner. Randy On 18/10/2013 11:03 AM, WILTON wrote: Yep, 'nother Sondy Tale already. THE SWIMMING POOL By Wilton Strickland At Sondrestrom Air Base, we were proud to have the only swimming pool (indoors and heated, of course) in Greenland. I don't remember the exact dimensions, but probably about 20 feet by 40 feet by 4 to 5 feet. Not long after I arrived, the Danish maintenance contractor chief engineer came to me on day with bad news about the pool's plastic liner - it was leaking and had been patched so many times that it was beyond repair. We called a manufacturer in the States and ordered one of the right dimensions and had it shipped to McGuire AFB, NJ, for delivery to us via Air Force C-141 cargo aircraft a few weeks later. The Danish workmen immediately set about removing the old liner and installing the new one. Installation of the new liner involved sucking air with a vacuum cleaner from between the outside of the liner and the pool's supporting walls as the liner was filled with water. The support structure corners between the bottom and side walls and at the ends of the pool were square (sharp, 90° angles), and the old liner fitted into them nicely, but as the new liner filled with water, it became obvious that the corners of the new liner would rupture before going into the corners. We had to stop the filling process, empty the liner of water and devise a way to get the liner into the corners or support the liner appropriately in these areas. A call to the manufacturer confirmed that the liner could not have - could not assume - square corners. We finally decided to fill in the square corners in the support structure with wet sand rounded into a contour (a cove) that the new liner could more easily assume. The bottom was already sand; we just extended the sand in a rounded contour up the side for several inches and in the end corners to relieve the excessive tension on the liner in these areas. Because water in the base system was at only 56°F, we also started heating it while filling the liner to help improve the liner's stretchability. We also positioned several more suction hoses around the outside of the liner to reduce air pockets as the liner filled with water. The second filling went very well, and we had no more problems with the pool while I was there. 'Never did use it myself, though. I noticed recently in the current Kangerlussuaq hotel and tourism ads, they enthusiastically promote the heated indoor pool. 'Glad they're still enjoying it. The liner has probably been replaced once or twice or more since we did it in '78, and it's likely that nobody there has any idea about the hassle we had with seemingly such a simple task that could have been catastrophic had we just blindly let the liner fill without proper attention to those corners. Wilton ___ 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 ___ 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
Re: [MBZ] OT - Sondy Tale
Dieselhead wrote: PreXACKLY! When I lived in paradise, I heard many military and military family members whining about there's nothing to do. They were insane. Somebody complained about being in Pearl Harbor, and the Japanese were not dropping bombs on him? Either they're insane, or they thought naval bases should come with more brothels. Mitch. No imagination, no sense of adventure, no interest in learning about the rest of the world (Sit on Waikiki and the world comes to you) or they are insane.To me, the first three choices amount to being dead, so the choice is dead or insane. ___ http://www.okiebenz.com For new and used parts go to 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
Re: [MBZ] OT - Sondy Tale
WILTON wrote: Just another little thing that makes living in Greenland enjoyable instead of the boring misery that it could be otherwise. - I was stationed in a number places during my 25 years in the USAF. One of the things I noticed was that a person's attitude had a lot more to do with their happiness than their actual surroundings. A lot of folks (especially junior enlisted) spent a lot of time complaining that their current assignment lacked specific things they enjoyed at home. Others took advantage of whatever was available and they had a good time. Wilton's comments on a place many would consider beyond the end of the world just reinforce this thought. Scott PreXACKLY! When I lived in paradise, I heard many military and military family members whining about there's nothing to do. They were insane. there are so many things to do, you can't do it all in a lifetime. hiking, biking, swimming, scuba, snorkel, snuba, learning the history and culture, visiting historic sites, free concerts, paid concerts, making music, making musical instruments are a few things that come to mind. You might learn the language, learn hula, make hula costumes, learn jungle or desert survival, camp, surf fish, make fishing tackle, make nets, repair nets the list is endless of things to do in Hawaii. Yet, many folks were unhappy cuz it twern't like home. Oh, and it was always entertaining to ride da bus, and to go Waikiki and watch the people. groups of Japanese tourists were always entertaining to watch. They always do as the leader says, buy expensive junk and take lots of pictures. ___ http://www.okiebenz.com For new and used parts go to 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
Re: [MBZ] OT - Sondy Tale
Dieselhead wrote: PreXACKLY! When I lived in paradise, I heard many military and military family members whining about there's nothing to do. They were insane. Somebody complained about being in Pearl Harbor, and the Japanese were not dropping bombs on him? Either they're insane, or they thought naval bases should come with more brothels. Mitch. ___ http://www.okiebenz.com For new and used parts go to 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
Re: [MBZ] OT - Sondy Tale
WILTON wrote: Just another little thing that makes living in Greenland enjoyable instead of the boring misery that it could be otherwise. - I was stationed in a number places during my 25 years in the USAF. One of the things I noticed was that a person's attitude had a lot more to do with their happiness than their actual surroundings. A lot of folks (especially junior enlisted) spent a lot of time complaining that their current assignment lacked specific things they enjoyed at home. Others took advantage of whatever was available and they had a good time. Wilton's comments on a place many would consider beyond the end of the world just reinforce this thought. Scott ___ http://www.okiebenz.com For new and used parts go to 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
Re: [MBZ] OT - Sondy Tale
'Zackly. 'Course, as I've said before, my job kept me extremely busy (no doubt that I was the busiest person on base), and I was also constantly looking for other stuff to do, too. I should say, too, that my job had me in a position where I could easily find other things to do, places to go, etc. Moss didn't have a chance with me in Greenland. There were many rare and interesting things to see and do all around us. Another thing that worked well for me was changing base/group commanders about half way into my year; second one had no knowledge of what I had already done or where I'd been before he got there - made it easier to go somewhere else. Once when second one began to question why I was going somewhere else so soon after I had gotten back from previous trip, I responded, Just doing my duty, and you KNOW I'm gonna DO my duty - please, just sign, I need to be on the way. ;) I'm sure I would have felt differently about it if I'd been stuck right there on base. In effort not to make others jealous or feel bad, I never bragged - never mentioned it - to others about where I'd been or what I'd seen. Many never knew I'd been anywhere else. Other than having to be away from my family, it was most enjoyable assignment I had in 22 years on active duty. The integrity, dedication and agreeable nature of the people working for/with me had a lot to to with that, too. Wilton - Original Message - From: Scott Ritchey ritche...@nc.rr.com To: 'Mercedes Discussion List' mercedes@okiebenz.com Sent: Saturday, June 29, 2013 1:19 PM Subject: Re: [MBZ] OT - Sondy Tale WILTON wrote: Just another little thing that makes living in Greenland enjoyable instead of the boring misery that it could be otherwise. - I was stationed in a number places during my 25 years in the USAF. One of the things I noticed was that a person's attitude had a lot more to do with their happiness than their actual surroundings. A lot of folks (especially junior enlisted) spent a lot of time complaining that their current assignment lacked specific things they enjoyed at home. Others took advantage of whatever was available and they had a good time. Wilton's comments on a place many would consider beyond the end of the world just reinforce this thought. Scott ___ http://www.okiebenz.com For new and used parts go to 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 ___ http://www.okiebenz.com For new and used parts go to 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
[MBZ] OT - Sondy Tale
'Nother Sondy Tale: CELESTIAL PHENOMENA By Wilton Strickland During my tour as Director of Engineering at Sondrestrom Air Base, (now Kangerlussuaq) Greenland, in 1978, I observed at least three very interesting celestial phenomena due to its far north location above the Arctic Circle and very cold winter temperatures. Many times, I observed fantastic displays of phantom suns, known by many as sun dogs - or false suns, displayed about twenty degrees to each side of and/or above the real sun and are caused by refraction and reflection from high altitude ice crystals. Often, when there was only one phantom sun off the side of the real sun, it was hard to determine which one was the real sun because of the brightness of the phantom sun - they appeared with the naked eye to be of the same brightness. In order to tell which was the real sun, I’d don my shade glasses to discern the difference between them - the real sun being the brighter one with my shades on. When three suns (phantom one to each side) or four suns (phantom one to each side and one above) were displayed, I knew that the real one was the center one, of course. Such displays occur when the sun is low near the horizon and the viewer is looking laterally through much more atmosphere than would be the case with the sun high in the sky. I never saw a phantom sun beneath the real sun - it would have been below the horizon. Below are some links to photos of some wimpy phantom sun displays photographed in cold, higher latitudes in the Sates. In Greenland, I rarely saw the circle displayed so prominently in these photos. I often also saw a rainbow-type reflection (spot) off to one or both sides of the sun, but I saw many displays of phantom suns as bright as the real sun to the naked eye. http://www.polarnet.ca/cambay/sundog.jpg http://www.atoptics.co.uk/halo/dogim0.htm I also observed many awesome aurora borealis displays on clear, winter nights. These bright bands of glowing, charged particles are produced by the interaction of solar wind and the earth’s magnetic field. I was far enough north at a latitude of 67° that these displays were almost always directly overhead and reached to the horizon on each side, sometimes, nearly a dome of bright green light bands that seemed to be made up of shimmering, brightly lit, silk curtains suspended vertically far overhead and hanging down toward me with large pulsing waves traveling horizontally along them making them appear to be absolutely alive with constant motion. Sometimes, while looking directly overhead at the underside of the dome of lighted, pulsing bands, I felt completely surrounded by them - a feeling of being inside the display. Often embedded within the general fluorescent green bands were smaller bands or spots of other colors - occasionally red, blue, etc. These displays produced enough light on the ground around that was easily able to read a book. Below are links to some wimpy aurora displays in Alaska, Finland, Iceland, etc. ‘Wish I could have had an appropriate movie camera to capture some of the fabulous displays I saw in Greenland. http://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=aurora+borealisview=detailmid=8275F589F0B012310F288275F589F0B012310F28first=0FORM=NVPFVRqpvt=aurora+borealis http://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=aurora+borealisview=detailmid=5F21557650C165E8F8055F21557650C165E8F805first=0FORM=NVPFVRqpvt=aurora+borealis Another interesting celestial phenomenon I experienced was a period of 24-hour daylight from about 1 June until about 11 July. This is caused by the tilt of the earth’s axis of about 23½° relative to the orbital plane. This tilt causes the changes in seasons - spring, summer, autumn, winter - as different parts of the earth tilt toward or away from the sun during a revolution around the sun. It also causes periods of 24-hour daylight and/or darkness above the Arctic circle and below the Antarctic Circle, depending on the tilt toward or away (the season) from the sun. During several days before and after the 24-hour periods of daylight or darkness, there are accompanying periods of very short nights and/or days as the earth moves into and out of those periods. The location of Sondrestrom, 35 nautical miles above the Artic Circle, places it in an area where the sun can shine directly across the North Pole onto it during the period of greatest tilt toward the sun. Having no darkness during a day can be a bit disconcerting; it tends to disrupt a person’s circadian rhythm that develops naturally throughout our lives as we form certain habits or rhythms of life, sleep, daily activities, etc. As the length of the daylight period increases on a daily basis, we tend to go to bed later at the end of the day. Many times in my sitting room late at night reading, listening to classical music, etc., I’d suddenly realize that it was midnight or after and needed to go to bed and be ready for a
Re: [MBZ] OT - Sondy tale
My youth was wasted in Europe and Latin America. I had no idea that I did not fit in while in the land of white folks. It seemed natural to learn the language, or else, how was I to get around, purchase goodies, or keep out of trouble? No difference in a child's mind than being in the US, other than everybody was not diverse. Latin America, you figured out pretty fast that you were the minority no matter what color or station the rest of the populace. There were the overly entitled rich, who had it all, but they were not that caucasian, so it all came out in the wash. You could be a dick without being white. Ugly Amerikans were an embarrassment. Gaudy clothing, loud, and dumb as the day is long, expecting to be served as gods, instead of having taken a few moments prior to arriving to learn about the country. I blame Disney clay On Jun 7, 2013, at 7:25 PM, Dieselhead wrote: There is an important lesson in here that I learned as a youngster who was able to travel outside the country: When visiting other countries/cultures, follow some simple rules: 1.) Respect your host's culture. Never ridicule, disrespect, or dismiss their culture, language, country, etc. Just because you're an American doesn't make you or your country better. 2.) Take a serious interest in your host's culture/language/country. It shows a level of respect that they are due. 3.) Make an effort to participate, even if it means publicly humiliating yourself. When I traveled as an adult, I went to great lengths to learn what I could about the country I would be visiting, including it's history, language, cultures, current events, etc. The response you will get from people is nothing short of amazing when you show an even limited knowledge of them. I can't count the number of times I was welcomed into complete stranger's homes to meet their families, neighbors, friends, and so on when I expressed an interest in knowing more about them. I will say this: It can be frightening at times. Be adventuresome. If you don't know the culture, you may be met with strange looks, gasps, whatever, if you act (by their norms) inappropriately. All you can do is excuse yourself and move on. In most cases, your host will help guide you through whatever the situation is - if you're gracious they'll understand you're a foreigner and forgive you. By being accepting and understanding that others are just as good (or better) than we, you'll have some amazing experiences. Some of the most exciting times and experiences I have ever had in my life were with people I didn't know and will never see again. They made me feel welcome because I respected them and their culture. And I learned some wonderful things about other peoples and places, too. There is nothing worse than the Ugly American who goes to another country and expects things to be the same as they are back home. After all, what's the point? Dan with over 1,000,000 lifetime flight miles on Northwest alone Hear Hear!Well said! Not sure anyone can say it better! I spent a summer @ 15 trying to become an English kid, and many other weeks trying to blend into, and learn about other countries and cultures, and months trying to be a southerner, years trying to fit into the cultures in other parts of this country. Dieselkopf Close to a million miles in MBs, untold millions in other vehicles, and a few thousands of air miles on a couple of handsfull of different, and mostly extinct airlines. ___ http://www.okiebenz.com For new and used parts go to 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 ___ http://www.okiebenz.com For new and used parts go to 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
[MBZ] OT - Sondy tale
How 'bout anther Sondy tale? SPEAKING DANISH By Wilton Strickland For the first few days I was at Sondrestrom Air Base, Greenland in February, 1978, occasionally, whenever I would ask a Danish contractor engineer or workman a question about the progress of a particular project or work, he would turn to another Dane and start discussing it in Danish while I stood silently nearby. I began to get a bit impatient with such as this and would, after a couple of minutes, break into their conversation with, Please, pardon me, so what's the answer? A couple of times they even acted surprised that I was still there. After a few days of this, I went to the base library and checked out a Danish-English text book and some Danish-English instruction tapes and started studying hard every night. I've always found learning foreign languages easy and enjoyable, and so was this. After several nights of intense study, I walked into the Danish engineers' office area one morning and greeted them very nonchalantly with, Godmorgen; hvordan har du det? (Good morning, how are you?) The Danish secretary immediately replied without any pause, Jai har de godt, og du? (I'm doing very well, and you?) I quickly replied, Jai har de godt, tak. (I'm doing very well, thank you.) Meanwhile a couple of the Danish engineers nearby had overheard us and chimed in with, Uh-oh, we're in trouble now! He's speaking Danish! My Danish studies progressed rapidly with the help and interest of all the Danes with whom I had close contact. They said that I was the only American they had met who showed any interest in their native language. Several of them told me that I spoke Danish with a Norwegian accent. 'Don't know how I got that, unless the lady on the instructional tape was Norwegian. One morning, I asked the chief Dane, Vil du hjaelpe mig med ordet fotografiaparat? (Will you help me with the word fotografiaparat?) He replied, Just say, 'Kodak' or 'kamera;' fotografiaparat is old fashioned; nobody says that any more. I learned so fast and enjoyed it so well that I was soon able to discuss some aspects of our projects in Danish, all of us being careful not to let it be detrimental to the project, of course. Occasionally, when I'd get stuck understanding a word they had used and begin to beg them to just tell me that word in English, they'd admonish me with, You said you wanted to learn Danish. 'Best way to do it is to be forced to use it. I'd reply, Yes, I know, but I'm getting a headache; please, just tell me in English, so we can move on. Then, they'd tell me in English, and I would most times exclaim, Oh, cefurlig! (Certainly!) We'd have a good laugh and move along. We quickly developed a lot of respect for each other. During the first two weeks of December, on a trip to Denmark, I went out walking one evening and came upon a beautiful Christmas display in the, corner windows of a large, up-scale department store in downtown Copenhagen. The display featured Santa's workshop. I've always thought that a German-speaking Santa would seem most appropriate. This Santa (Jule Man, in Danish) and the elves were speaking and singing in Danish, of course, which sounded close enough to German to make it sound very authentic. I was quite enthralled with the display. Elves were busy at work building toys and singing Disney's Whistle While You Work, while a little train traveled from work station to work station delivering toys and parts. While standing watching and listening in awe, a plump, middle-age Danish lady walked up to me, a shopping bag in each hand, and made some remark about the display. Not understanding her, I replied, Jai forstor du ikki; jai er Amerikaner. (I don't understand you; I'm an American.) She viewed me with astonishment, put one of the shopping bags down in order to wave me aside more expressively with the free hand and proceeded with more Danish, including Du er ikki Amerkaner! Du er Danske! (You are not an American! You are Danish!) Again, I said, Cefurlig; Jai forstor du ikki; Jai er Amerikaner. Jai taller kun lit Danske. (Really; I don't understand you; I'm an American. I speak only a little bit of Danish.) Again, she began to admonish me for trying to impersonate an American and that I was just a crazy Dane or had had too much to drink, or something to that effect - I didn't understand all of it. I then realized I had been telling her in pretty good Danish that I don't speak Danish and could not understand her. I turned facing her with my hands and arms spread slightly out to each side as if pleading and said, Really, I'm an American; I don't understand you; I'm really an American, and I speak only a little Danish. She turned away, and dismissed me with a final wave of her free hand, picked up her bag and went waddling off mumbling something about a crazy American or a crazy Dane - who cares? No difference - all the
Re: [MBZ] OT - Sondy tale
There is an important lesson in here that I learned as a youngster who was able to travel outside the country: When visiting other countries/cultures, follow some simple rules: 1.) Respect your host's culture. Never ridicule, disrespect, or dismiss their culture, language, country, etc. Just because you're an American doesn't make you or your country better. 2.) Take a serious interest in your host's culture/language/country. It shows a level of respect that they are due. 3.) Make an effort to participate, even if it means publicly humiliating yourself. When I traveled as an adult, I went to great lengths to learn what I could about the country I would be visiting, including it's history, language, cultures, current events, etc. The response you will get from people is nothing short of amazing when you show an even limited knowledge of them. I can't count the number of times I was welcomed into complete stranger's homes to meet their families, neighbors, friends, and so on when I expressed an interest in knowing more about them. I will say this: It can be frightening at times. Be adventuresome. If you don't know the culture, you may be met with strange looks, gasps, whatever, if you act (by their norms) inappropriately. All you can do is excuse yourself and move on. In most cases, your host will help guide you through whatever the situation is - if you're gracious they'll understand you're a foreigner and forgive you. By being accepting and understanding that others are just as good (or better) than we, you'll have some amazing experiences. Some of the most exciting times and experiences I have ever had in my life were with people I didn't know and will never see again. They made me feel welcome because I respected them and their culture. And I learned some wonderful things about other peoples and places, too. There is nothing worse than the Ugly American who goes to another country and expects things to be the same as they are back home. After all, what's the point? Dan with over 1,000,000 lifetime flight miles on Northwest alone On Jun 7, 2013, at 5:07 PM, WILTON wrote: How 'bout anther Sondy tale? SPEAKING DANISH By Wilton Strickland ___ http://www.okiebenz.com For new and used parts go to 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
Re: [MBZ] OT - Sondy tale
I agree wholeheartedly. I found that to be true not only in Greenland and Denmark, but also in Thailand, Japan and Mexico - even Ontario and Quebec ;). It's always best to respect one's hosts and to be a good ambassador. I've always been quickly and fully respected and accepted immediately upon showing respect for and interest their culture and language. That reminds me: On a visit to Quebec City with family in '74, I walked up to hotel desk and asked for room(s), etc., with two or three flawless sentences in French. When the desk clerk's fast-paced response overwhelmed, me, I had to say, I'm sorry, I've nearly expended my quick-response French, may we, please, revert to English, now? We both had a good laugh, and he replied, Yes, of course, and I thank you for trying. You were doing very well, by the way. Wilton - Original Message - From: Dan Penoff d...@penoff.com To: Mercedes Discussion List mercedes@okiebenz.com Sent: Friday, June 07, 2013 6:57 PM Subject: Re: [MBZ] OT - Sondy tale There is an important lesson in here that I learned as a youngster who was able to travel outside the country: When visiting other countries/cultures, follow some simple rules: 1.) Respect your host's culture. Never ridicule, disrespect, or dismiss their culture, language, country, etc. Just because you're an American doesn't make you or your country better. 2.) Take a serious interest in your host's culture/language/country. It shows a level of respect that they are due. 3.) Make an effort to participate, even if it means publicly humiliating yourself. When I traveled as an adult, I went to great lengths to learn what I could about the country I would be visiting, including it's history, language, cultures, current events, etc. The response you will get from people is nothing short of amazing when you show an even limited knowledge of them. I can't count the number of times I was welcomed into complete stranger's homes to meet their families, neighbors, friends, and so on when I expressed an interest in knowing more about them. I will say this: It can be frightening at times. Be adventuresome. If you don't know the culture, you may be met with strange looks, gasps, whatever, if you act (by their norms) inappropriately. All you can do is excuse yourself and move on. In most cases, your host will help guide you through whatever the situation is - if you're gracious they'll understand you're a foreigner and forgive you. By being accepting and understanding that others are just as good (or better) than we, you'll have some amazing experiences. Some of the most exciting times and experiences I have ever had in my life were with people I didn't know and will never see again. They made me feel welcome because I respected them and their culture. And I learned some wonderful things about other peoples and places, too. There is nothing worse than the Ugly American who goes to another country and expects things to be the same as they are back home. After all, what's the point? Dan with over 1,000,000 lifetime flight miles on Northwest alone On Jun 7, 2013, at 5:07 PM, WILTON wrote: How 'bout anther Sondy tale? SPEAKING DANISH By Wilton Strickland ___ http://www.okiebenz.com For new and used parts go to 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 ___ http://www.okiebenz.com For new and used parts go to 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
Re: [MBZ] OT - Sondy tale
There is an important lesson in here that I learned as a youngster who was able to travel outside the country: When visiting other countries/cultures, follow some simple rules: 1.) Respect your host's culture. Never ridicule, disrespect, or dismiss their culture, language, country, etc. Just because you're an American doesn't make you or your country better. 2.) Take a serious interest in your host's culture/language/country. It shows a level of respect that they are due. 3.) Make an effort to participate, even if it means publicly humiliating yourself. When I traveled as an adult, I went to great lengths to learn what I could about the country I would be visiting, including it's history, language, cultures, current events, etc. The response you will get from people is nothing short of amazing when you show an even limited knowledge of them. I can't count the number of times I was welcomed into complete stranger's homes to meet their families, neighbors, friends, and so on when I expressed an interest in knowing more about them. I will say this: It can be frightening at times. Be adventuresome. If you don't know the culture, you may be met with strange looks, gasps, whatever, if you act (by their norms) inappropriately. All you can do is excuse yourself and move on. In most cases, your host will help guide you through whatever the situation is - if you're gracious they'll understand you're a foreigner and forgive you. By being accepting and understanding that others are just as good (or better) than we, you'll have some amazing experiences. Some of the most exciting times and experiences I have ever had in my life were with people I didn't know and will never see again. They made me feel welcome because I respected them and their culture. And I learned some wonderful things about other peoples and places, too. There is nothing worse than the Ugly American who goes to another country and expects things to be the same as they are back home. After all, what's the point? Dan with over 1,000,000 lifetime flight miles on Northwest alone Hear Hear!Well said! Not sure anyone can say it better! I spent a summer @ 15 trying to become an English kid, and many other weeks trying to blend into, and learn about other countries and cultures, and months trying to be a southerner, years trying to fit into the cultures in other parts of this country. Dieselkopf Close to a million miles in MBs, untold millions in other vehicles, and a few thousands of air miles on a couple of handsfull of different, and mostly extinct airlines. ___ http://www.okiebenz.com For new and used parts go to 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
[MBZ] OT - Sondy Tale - Flying Danish
OK, here's a Sondy Tale for filler. ;) FLYING WITH DANISH AIR FORCE By Wilton Strickland Sometime during the summer of 1978, I flew three days with a Danish Air Force C-130H crew out of Sondrestrom Air Base, Greenland, where I was Director of Engineering. During the morning of the first day, the crew flew iceberg and fishing patrol off Greenland's east coast, where they caught a whale poacher with a whale pulled partly up into a factory ship. The crew took photos with a hand-held 35mm SLR and reported the poaching ship to the Danish government to collect appropriate fines as necessary. We also sighted and reported the positions of many icebergs. Of special interest to me was what at first appeared to be large splotches of laundry bluing spattered on them. It was really the interesting refraction and diffusion of sunlight in the ice to show the aqua blue coloring. That afternoon, we landed at US Naval Air Station Keflavik, Iceland. Iceland has no military of its own; they have an agreement with the United States and NATO for defense. Units of the US Navy, Air Force and Coast Guard were stationed there in '78 for defense of Iceland and the surrounding area. In the O'Club that night, USAF and Navy air crewmen were holding a formal dinner in a room adjoining ours. After dinner, they came out and asked us to join them. As the evening progressed, I began to notice a significant number of mighty fine-looking, young blonde women joining the party. I made a comment to one of the American officers, I thought the Icelandic government discourages such fraternization. His answer, Yes, but nobody told the girls. I soon left the party and went to my room in the bachelor officer quarters (BOQ) nearby. Couple of hours later, I was awakened by giggling and squealing women in the hallway outside my room and in rooms nearby. The partiers finally quietened enough that I was able to get a few hours sleep, anyway. The next morning, a US Navy bus picked us up after breakfast and was taking us out to the airplane when a blue light on an Icelandic police car began flashing behind us. The policeman came aboard and asked the young Navy driver why he had his rotating flashing light on top of the bus on. Driver replied, Oh, I just forgot to turn it off. While talking to the driver, the policeman bent down close to the driver's face and took a sniff. (I had noticed when we got aboard that the driver looked a bit scruffy and, maybe, a bit hung-over.) The policeman immediately arrested the driver for DUI and removed him from the bus. I was seated on the front row and asked the policeman if he were getting us another driver. He replied, Yes, I'll call; another driver will be here in a few minutes. (Not only did Icelandic police have free access to the base, Icelandic civilians also had unrestricted access to most of the base.) We proceeded to a Danish weather and radio station about half way up the Greenland east coast called Mestersvig, a former mining community (an abandoned lead mine, Nyhavn, is directly north of there). They had a feast (Danish cold table) laid out for us - a table filled with many types of delicious cold cuts - herring, char, salmon, shrimp, cheeses, open sandwiches, pork, ham, sausages, pastries, etc. - a very impressive layout. (Take a look at Mestersvig Lufthavn, Greenland, on Google Earth; go in close and click on the little photo icons to view several interesting photos around the area. The camouflaged Danish C-130H is sitting on the ramp in one of the photos.) After lunch, the pilot's wife, teenage son, a couple of other Danes and I walked out to a dog kennel nearby and played with (petted) several cute little sledge dog puppies. When we left Mestersvig early that afternoon, we had several members of the Greenland Government aboard with us and flew them to Narsarsuaq (6000' x 148' concrete runway), an airfield in southern Greenland that was built by the US Army Air Corps in 1941/42 as a refueling base for ferrying American aircraft to Europe and was known then as Bluie West One. It had a peak population during the war of about 4000 American troops. More than 10,000 aircraft were ferried through the airbase from US to Europe and North Africa during WW II. Immediately northeast of the airfield, the Americans had also built a 250-bed military hospital, of which, only foundations, chimneys and plumbing pipes were visible during my visit. All of the wood was gone - made its way across the fjørd I noticed later. (Check Narsarsuaq, Greenland, on Google Earth; again, go in close and click on the little photo icons to view several interesting photos around the area. Note several trees in some of the photos. Directly west across the fjørd from Narsarsuaq is the village of Qassiarsuk; several nice close-up photos in this area are available for viewing, also, by clicking on the little photo icons. Note the sheep
Re: [MBZ] OT - Sondy Tale - Havbro's Down!
People are usually too timid with the chest compressions. You have to push really hard. Sometimes the subject's ribs will break- that just means you did it right! Sent from my iPhone On Apr 5, 2013, at 11:44 AM, Dan Penoff d...@penoff.com wrote: Funny how these things come full circle - there are some people now saying that CPR can be a bad thing because it's often done incorrectly. Dan On Apr 5, 2013, at 11:33 AM, Rich Thomas richthomas79td...@constructivity.net wrote: Well, those stupid TV shows must have had some merit. You should send this to the actors of that Emergency show, I vaguely recall what they looked like, wasn't one of them Randy something? They would probably get a kick out of it, and it would give them some sense that their acting actually did something useful. --R (who shall not admit to having watched that show) On 4/5/13 11:25 AM, WILTON wrote: 'Nother Sondy Tale; 'don't think I've posted this before; if so, please pardon the redundancy. 'Hope it's not too long for a Friday (Moose Day). HAVBRO'S DOWN! By Wilton Strickland One morning about mid-January, 1979, I was sitting at a briefing table in Havbro Nielsen's office at Sondrestrom Air Base, Greenland. I was Director of Engineering, in charge of construction and maintenance of all physical facilities on base. Havbro was the Danish civilian, civil engineering contractor's chief engineer, my civilian counterpart. I had asked Havbro about some aspect of one of the projects we had underway. He was standing on the other side of the table from me using a flip chart to his left as a briefing aid. The door into the office was behind him. We were having our usual friendly but very business-like discussion of the situation at hand. Suddenly, Havbro stopped in mid-sentence, turned and rushed outside the building. I thought for a second that he had seen something out the window behind me that needed his immediate attention. I turned, glanced out and saw nothing unusual. To rush out without saying, Please, excuse me, or something to that effect was not like Havbro, at all. He was every bit a gentleman and a stickler for protocol. I was still a bit shocked and confused by his sudden departure and even said aloud to myself, Well, I guess he'll be back in a minute. He had been gone for only a few seconds when a Danish workman came rushing inside the building and past the doorway to Havbro's office yelling, Call emergency! Havbro's down! Call emergency! As Havbro's secretary grabbed the phone, I rushed outside and found Havbro lying on the frozen ground immediately outside the doorway. My immediate thought was that he was dead. His eyes had the classic blank stare of death, and I saw no evidence of his breathing. I felt quickly for a pulse at his wrist then at the side of his neck beneath his ear; I felt none, but I also thought, I may not be feeling just the right place, especially in my excitement. I felt certain, though, that he was dead. I had never had any CPR training. I had seen actors on TV perform CPR in such shows as Emergency, Squad 51, etc.; I had even seen a couple of Los Angeles EMT's (emergency medical technicians) on the real Squad 53 performing CPR on an actual victim as I crept past an accident scene in Los Angeles several months before, but I had never had any training in it and had never attempted such. My thought was, Havbro is dead; I must do something; if I can keep some air/oxygen and blood moving through his system 'til the doctor gets here, it may help. I started pumping slowly and rhythmically on his chest the way I had seen them do on TV and on the street in LA as I passed slowly in the car. Meanwhile, the Danish workman had come back out of the building and was kneeling beside Havbro, holding his hand and calling, Havbro! Havbro! He also knew that Havbro was dead. I never said a word - I just thought I would keep pumping as long as it takes - 'til a doctor or EMT could get there. As I heard the siren of the ambulance a couple of blocks away, Havbro's eyes suddenly fluttered; he gasped a couple of times and started trying to get up! The workman and I tried to restrain him and tell him not to get up - to just lie there, but as the ambulance pulled up, Havbro got up and walked over to it! He got in the ambulance, and they drove away as the workman and I just stood there in shocked disbelief. A few minutes later, the workman and I went to the hospital and told the nurses and the doctor what had happened. At first, they doubted what we were telling them, but they soon realized that if it had not been for the pumping on his chest, Havbro would likely have been permanently dead. They flew him to Copenhagen the next day for extensive testing and treatment. I left about three weeks later and have not seen Havbro again. He recovered and returned to
[MBZ] OT - Sondy Tale - Havbro's Down!
'Nother Sondy Tale; 'don't think I've posted this before; if so, please pardon the redundancy. 'Hope it's not too long for a Friday (Moose Day). HAVBRO'S DOWN! By Wilton Strickland One morning about mid-January, 1979, I was sitting at a briefing table in Havbro Nielsen's office at Sondrestrom Air Base, Greenland. I was Director of Engineering, in charge of construction and maintenance of all physical facilities on base. Havbro was the Danish civilian, civil engineering contractor's chief engineer, my civilian counterpart. I had asked Havbro about some aspect of one of the projects we had underway. He was standing on the other side of the table from me using a flip chart to his left as a briefing aid. The door into the office was behind him. We were having our usual friendly but very business-like discussion of the situation at hand. Suddenly, Havbro stopped in mid-sentence, turned and rushed outside the building. I thought for a second that he had seen something out the window behind me that needed his immediate attention. I turned, glanced out and saw nothing unusual. To rush out without saying, Please, excuse me, or something to that effect was not like Havbro, at all. He was every bit a gentleman and a stickler for protocol. I was still a bit shocked and confused by his sudden departure and even said aloud to myself, Well, I guess he'll be back in a minute. He had been gone for only a few seconds when a Danish workman came rushing inside the building and past the doorway to Havbro's office yelling, Call emergency! Havbro's down! Call emergency! As Havbro's secretary grabbed the phone, I rushed outside and found Havbro lying on the frozen ground immediately outside the doorway. My immediate thought was that he was dead. His eyes had the classic blank stare of death, and I saw no evidence of his breathing. I felt quickly for a pulse at his wrist then at the side of his neck beneath his ear; I felt none, but I also thought, I may not be feeling just the right place, especially in my excitement. I felt certain, though, that he was dead. I had never had any CPR training. I had seen actors on TV perform CPR in such shows as Emergency, Squad 51, etc.; I had even seen a couple of Los Angeles EMT's (emergency medical technicians) on the real Squad 53 performing CPR on an actual victim as I crept past an accident scene in Los Angeles several months before, but I had never had any training in it and had never attempted such. My thought was, Havbro is dead; I must do something; if I can keep some air/oxygen and blood moving through his system 'til the doctor gets here, it may help. I started pumping slowly and rhythmically on his chest the way I had seen them do on TV and on the street in LA as I passed slowly in the car. Meanwhile, the Danish workman had come back out of the building and was kneeling beside Havbro, holding his hand and calling, Havbro! Havbro! He also knew that Havbro was dead. I never said a word - I just thought I would keep pumping as long as it takes - 'til a doctor or EMT could get there. As I heard the siren of the ambulance a couple of blocks away, Havbro's eyes suddenly fluttered; he gasped a couple of times and started trying to get up! The workman and I tried to restrain him and tell him not to get up - to just lie there, but as the ambulance pulled up, Havbro got up and walked over to it! He got in the ambulance, and they drove away as the workman and I just stood there in shocked disbelief. A few minutes later, the workman and I went to the hospital and told the nurses and the doctor what had happened. At first, they doubted what we were telling them, but they soon realized that if it had not been for the pumping on his chest, Havbro would likely have been permanently dead. They flew him to Copenhagen the next day for extensive testing and treatment. I left about three weeks later and have not seen Havbro again. He recovered and returned to work for several more years at Sondrestrom. I spoke to him on the phone several months after this incident. He cited some type of heart problem, but I don't remember the details. He lived for 17 more years, and died of a heart attack in 1996. The president of Havbro's company in Copenhagen, Danish Arctic Contractors, sent the Air Force and me a letter of thanks and commendation for having such a well-trained officer who knew exactly what to do in such an emergency. As I said before, though, I've never had such training, and I certainly did not know exactly what to do. I was guided by nothing more than the basic principles of never give up, and no matter how bad things get, you have to be able to think and do something. Wilton ___ http://www.okiebenz.com For new and used parts go to www.okiebenz.com To search list archives http://www.okiebenz.com/archive/ To Unsubscribe or change delivery options go
Re: [MBZ] OT - Sondy Tale - Havbro's Down!
On Fri, 5 Apr 2013 11:25:03 -0400 WILTON wilt...@nc.rr.com wrote: The president of Havbro's company in Copenhagen, Danish Arctic Contractors, sent the Air Force and me a letter of thanks and commendation for having such a well-trained officer who knew exactly what to do in such an emergency. As I said before, though, I've never had such training, and I certainly did not know exactly what to do. I was guided by nothing more than the basic principles of never give up, and no matter how bad things get, you have to be able to think and do something. A superlative ATTABOY, Wilton!!! Craig ___ http://www.okiebenz.com For new and used parts go to 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
Re: [MBZ] OT - Sondy Tale - Havbro's Down!
Well, those stupid TV shows must have had some merit. You should send this to the actors of that Emergency show, I vaguely recall what they looked like, wasn't one of them Randy something? They would probably get a kick out of it, and it would give them some sense that their acting actually did something useful. --R (who shall not admit to having watched that show) On 4/5/13 11:25 AM, WILTON wrote: 'Nother Sondy Tale; 'don't think I've posted this before; if so, please pardon the redundancy. 'Hope it's not too long for a Friday (Moose Day). HAVBRO'S DOWN! By Wilton Strickland One morning about mid-January, 1979, I was sitting at a briefing table in Havbro Nielsen's office at Sondrestrom Air Base, Greenland. I was Director of Engineering, in charge of construction and maintenance of all physical facilities on base. Havbro was the Danish civilian, civil engineering contractor's chief engineer, my civilian counterpart. I had asked Havbro about some aspect of one of the projects we had underway. He was standing on the other side of the table from me using a flip chart to his left as a briefing aid. The door into the office was behind him. We were having our usual friendly but very business-like discussion of the situation at hand. Suddenly, Havbro stopped in mid-sentence, turned and rushed outside the building. I thought for a second that he had seen something out the window behind me that needed his immediate attention. I turned, glanced out and saw nothing unusual. To rush out without saying, Please, excuse me, or something to that effect was not like Havbro, at all. He was every bit a gentleman and a stickler for protocol. I was still a bit shocked and confused by his sudden departure and even said aloud to myself, Well, I guess he'll be back in a minute. He had been gone for only a few seconds when a Danish workman came rushing inside the building and past the doorway to Havbro's office yelling, Call emergency! Havbro's down! Call emergency! As Havbro's secretary grabbed the phone, I rushed outside and found Havbro lying on the frozen ground immediately outside the doorway. My immediate thought was that he was dead. His eyes had the classic blank stare of death, and I saw no evidence of his breathing. I felt quickly for a pulse at his wrist then at the side of his neck beneath his ear; I felt none, but I also thought, I may not be feeling just the right place, especially in my excitement. I felt certain, though, that he was dead. I had never had any CPR training. I had seen actors on TV perform CPR in such shows as Emergency, Squad 51, etc.; I had even seen a couple of Los Angeles EMT's (emergency medical technicians) on the real Squad 53 performing CPR on an actual victim as I crept past an accident scene in Los Angeles several months before, but I had never had any training in it and had never attempted such. My thought was, Havbro is dead; I must do something; if I can keep some air/oxygen and blood moving through his system 'til the doctor gets here, it may help. I started pumping slowly and rhythmically on his chest the way I had seen them do on TV and on the street in LA as I passed slowly in the car. Meanwhile, the Danish workman had come back out of the building and was kneeling beside Havbro, holding his hand and calling, Havbro! Havbro! He also knew that Havbro was dead. I never said a word - I just thought I would keep pumping as long as it takes - 'til a doctor or EMT could get there. As I heard the siren of the ambulance a couple of blocks away, Havbro's eyes suddenly fluttered; he gasped a couple of times and started trying to get up! The workman and I tried to restrain him and tell him not to get up - to just lie there, but as the ambulance pulled up, Havbro got up and walked over to it! He got in the ambulance, and they drove away as the workman and I just stood there in shocked disbelief. A few minutes later, the workman and I went to the hospital and told the nurses and the doctor what had happened. At first, they doubted what we were telling them, but they soon realized that if it had not been for the pumping on his chest, Havbro would likely have been permanently dead. They flew him to Copenhagen the next day for extensive testing and treatment. I left about three weeks later and have not seen Havbro again. He recovered and returned to work for several more years at Sondrestrom. I spoke to him on the phone several months after this incident. He cited some type of heart problem, but I don't remember the details. He lived for 17 more years, and died of a heart attack in 1996. The president of Havbro's company in Copenhagen, Danish Arctic Contractors, sent the Air Force and me a letter of thanks and commendation for having such a well-trained officer who knew exactly what to do in such an emergency. As I said before, though, I've never had such training, and I certainly
Re: [MBZ] OT - Sondy Tale - Havbro's Down!
On 05/04/2013 10:25 AM, WILTON wrote: 'Nother Sondy Tale; 'don't think I've posted this before; if so, please pardon the redundancy. 'Hope it's not too long for a Friday (Moose Day). HAVBRO'S DOWN! By Wilton Strickland I cannot help but think that the most amazing thing is that you had not had first aid training. I would have thought that would have been pretty standard in the military. Randy who took such a course about 40 years ago and needs to brush up on it ___ http://www.okiebenz.com For new and used parts go to 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
Re: [MBZ] OT - Sondy Tale - Havbro's Down!
Funny how these things come full circle - there are some people now saying that CPR can be a bad thing because it's often done incorrectly. Dan On Apr 5, 2013, at 11:33 AM, Rich Thomas richthomas79td...@constructivity.net wrote: Well, those stupid TV shows must have had some merit. You should send this to the actors of that Emergency show, I vaguely recall what they looked like, wasn't one of them Randy something? They would probably get a kick out of it, and it would give them some sense that their acting actually did something useful. --R (who shall not admit to having watched that show) On 4/5/13 11:25 AM, WILTON wrote: 'Nother Sondy Tale; 'don't think I've posted this before; if so, please pardon the redundancy. 'Hope it's not too long for a Friday (Moose Day). HAVBRO'S DOWN! By Wilton Strickland One morning about mid-January, 1979, I was sitting at a briefing table in Havbro Nielsen's office at Sondrestrom Air Base, Greenland. I was Director of Engineering, in charge of construction and maintenance of all physical facilities on base. Havbro was the Danish civilian, civil engineering contractor's chief engineer, my civilian counterpart. I had asked Havbro about some aspect of one of the projects we had underway. He was standing on the other side of the table from me using a flip chart to his left as a briefing aid. The door into the office was behind him. We were having our usual friendly but very business-like discussion of the situation at hand. Suddenly, Havbro stopped in mid-sentence, turned and rushed outside the building. I thought for a second that he had seen something out the window behind me that needed his immediate attention. I turned, glanced out and saw nothing unusual. To rush out without saying, Please, excuse me, or something to that effect was not like Havbro, at all. He was every bit a gentleman and a stickler for protocol. I was still a bit shocked and confused by his sudden departure and even said aloud to myself, Well, I guess he'll be back in a minute. He had been gone for only a few seconds when a Danish workman came rushing inside the building and past the doorway to Havbro's office yelling, Call emergency! Havbro's down! Call emergency! As Havbro's secretary grabbed the phone, I rushed outside and found Havbro lying on the frozen ground immediately outside the doorway. My immediate thought was that he was dead. His eyes had the classic blank stare of death, and I saw no evidence of his breathing. I felt quickly for a pulse at his wrist then at the side of his neck beneath his ear; I felt none, but I also thought, I may not be feeling just the right place, especially in my excitement. I felt certain, though, that he was dead. I had never had any CPR training. I had seen actors on TV perform CPR in such shows as Emergency, Squad 51, etc.; I had even seen a couple of Los Angeles EMT's (emergency medical technicians) on the real Squad 53 performing CPR on an actual victim as I crept past an accident scene in Los Angeles several months before, but I had never had any training in it and had never attempted such. My thought was, Havbro is dead; I must do something; if I can keep some air/oxygen and blood moving through his system 'til the doctor gets here, it may help. I started pumping slowly and rhythmically on his chest the way I had seen them do on TV and on the street in LA as I passed slowly in the car. Meanwhile, the Danish workman had come back out of the building and was kneeling beside Havbro, holding his hand and calling, Havbro! Havbro! He also knew that Havbro was dead. I never said a word - I just thought I would keep pumping as long as it takes - 'til a doctor or EMT could get there. As I heard the siren of the ambulance a couple of blocks away, Havbro's eyes suddenly fluttered; he gasped a couple of times and started trying to get up! The workman and I tried to restrain him and tell him not to get up - to just lie there, but as the ambulance pulled up, Havbro got up and walked over to it! He got in the ambulance, and they drove away as the workman and I just stood there in shocked disbelief. A few minutes later, the workman and I went to the hospital and told the nurses and the doctor what had happened. At first, they doubted what we were telling them, but they soon realized that if it had not been for the pumping on his chest, Havbro would likely have been permanently dead. They flew him to Copenhagen the next day for extensive testing and treatment. I left about three weeks later and have not seen Havbro again. He recovered and returned to work for several more years at Sondrestrom. I spoke to him on the phone several months after this incident. He cited some type of heart problem, but I don't remember the details. He lived for 17 more years, and died of a heart attack in 1996. The
Re: [MBZ] OT - Sondy Tale - Havbro's Down!
Some rudimentary first aid long before CPR became fashionable/popular. Wilton - Original Message - From: Randy Bennell rbenn...@bennell.ca To: Mercedes Discussion List mercedes@okiebenz.com Sent: Friday, April 05, 2013 11:43 AM Subject: Re: [MBZ] OT - Sondy Tale - Havbro's Down! On 05/04/2013 10:25 AM, WILTON wrote: 'Nother Sondy Tale; 'don't think I've posted this before; if so, please pardon the redundancy. 'Hope it's not too long for a Friday (Moose Day). HAVBRO'S DOWN! By Wilton Strickland I cannot help but think that the most amazing thing is that you had not had first aid training. I would have thought that would have been pretty standard in the military. Randy who took such a course about 40 years ago and needs to brush up on it ___ http://www.okiebenz.com For new and used parts go to 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 ___ http://www.okiebenz.com For new and used parts go to 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
Re: [MBZ] OT - Sondy Tale - Havbro's Down!
Thnks. Wilt - Original Message - From: Craig diese...@pisquared.net To: Mercedes Discussion List mercedes@okiebenz.com Sent: Friday, April 05, 2013 11:33 AM Subject: Re: [MBZ] OT - Sondy Tale - Havbro's Down! On Fri, 5 Apr 2013 11:25:03 -0400 WILTON wilt...@nc.rr.com wrote: The president of Havbro's company in Copenhagen, Danish Arctic Contractors, sent the Air Force and me a letter of thanks and commendation for having such a well-trained officer who knew exactly what to do in such an emergency. As I said before, though, I've never had such training, and I certainly did not know exactly what to do. I was guided by nothing more than the basic principles of never give up, and no matter how bad things get, you have to be able to think and do something. A superlative ATTABOY, Wilton!!! Craig ___ http://www.okiebenz.com For new and used parts go to 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 ___ http://www.okiebenz.com For new and used parts go to 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
[MBZ] OT - Sondy tale - cargo ship
'Nother Sondy tale: CARGO SHIP ELECTRIC PROBLEM By Wilton Strickland During the summer of 1978, while I was Director Engineering at Sondrestrom Air Base, Greenland, the Base Commander called me early one evening and asked me to go over the Officers' Club and talk to the captain of a cargo ship that was anchored just offshore at our port while unloading supplies for the base. At the Club, the Captain told me about a serious electrical problem they were having that was jeopardizing completion of the unloading process and asked if I might be able to help solve the problem. I promised him that I would talk to my Danish contractor electrical engineers and technicians and possibly take a couple of them with me to the ship at 1000 the next morning. The Danish engineers/technicians agreed to help me with the problem and accompanied me to the ship the next morning. I was expecting to see a US Navy ship, but as we approached the ship aboard a small Higgins boat or landing craft used to haul cargo from the ship to shore, I realized that it was a private vessel on contract. I was shocked by its rusty state, and I realize in retrospect that it was likely a Liberty ship of WWII vintage. The Captain met us on deck and escorted us to a small sheet metal-enclosed shack there. He introduced us to two of his shipboard mechanics/electricians, who immediately began discussing the problems with the two Danish electricians. The Danes appeared to understand the problem immediately and began to effect a solution with the ship's electricians. Meanwhile, the Captain tapped me on the arm and said, Come on with me; I'll give you a quick tour of the ship; then we'll have lunch. They'll take care of it OK; my guys'll make sure your guys get lunch and call me when they're finished. Soon, we were down in the bowels of the ship, including the engine room, where many steam pipes were hissing leaking steam and were wrapped with layers of burlap and hemp ropes/line to help contain the leaks. Lots of rust was everywhere, and this veteran B-52 flyer did not feel very safe/comfortable at all. After a few more minutes of cursory tour of the ship, including the bridge, we retired to the Captain's dining room adjoining his cabin, where a fine table with white linens, china and silverware were arranged. The Captain glanced at his watch and said, Your Base Commander is supposed to join us for lunch, you know. As I was replying, No, I didn't know, but that's fine, of course, a knock came on the door, and the first mate escorted the Base Commander inside. Base CO was surprised to see me, and exclaimed, There's the Base Commander! I couldn't find you as I was leaving the office, and I told my secretary to find you and let know that you're the Base Commander 'til I get back. We had a good laugh as I told him, Well, the people in the communications center know I'm on the ship at the port. CO, responded, Well, I didn't call THEM. (Much like reading the manual after all else fails.) After a very enjoyable and leisurely meal, the Base CO, the two Danish technicians and I departed the ship with its electrical system working as well as one could expect on such a decrepit craft. It served its purpose well, though, and delivered its cargo in a timely manner and departed a couple of days later. Wilton ___ http://www.okiebenz.com For new and used parts go to 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
