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I didn’t win…

I had so much fun wakesurfing last week, my egocentricity prompted me to think I stood a chance at winning Kayak Shed’s photo contest with these photos. Actually, I didn’t really believe I could win, I just wanted to share some joy.

Yesterday, Kayak Shed announced the contest winners and my pictures were understandably non-present.

… for the Kids,.. Mostly

Last Christmas, my mother-in-law, Kitsy gave me really cool book/journal entitled, A Father’s Legacy. I have kept it in my stack of books on my nightstand and flipped through it a few times. Each time, I say to myself, “I would really enjoy reading this book if it had been completed by my dad, father-in-law and both of my grandfathers.” Sadly, only one of these men (my father) is still living. My dad is much like me in terms of possessing a boatload of good intentions, but lacking a bit in follow-through to see these ideas to fruition. I want to ask him to do this book, for his grandchildren and me, but I am now feeling compelled to do it for that same group (his grandchildren and me). I hesitate to ask my dad to do something I haven’t yet committed to doing myself. So, here it is — a partial commitment. I need to start small, or I will give up prematurely if it becomes too time consuming. I am committing to answer one question each month between now and the end of next March. Hopefully, I will have gained some momentum by this time next year and ramp it up to two-three questions per year. Otherwise, I will be almost 50 years old when I finish.

A Father’s Legacy

By Word Staff, J Countryman

Edition: illustrated

Published by Thomas Nelson Incorporated, 1996

ISBN 0849952751, 9780849952753

208 pages

In a 12-month format with key questions, this handsome padded hardcover journal is a personal biography waiting to be written-a loving legacy in a father’s own words. Designed for fathers of all ages.

This month (April) has 13 pages. The questions are as follows:

1. Did you enjoy reading as a boy? What were some of the most memorable books you read? (page 61)
2. What were the family finances like when you were growing up? How did that effect you? (62)
3. Was there a special person who helped you in your Christian walk? Share something about this person. (63)
4. When did you first learn about sex? Would you recommend the same for young people today? Why or why not? (64)
5. As a teenager, did you rebel or do things your parents wouldn’t have approved of? How do you feel about that now? (65)
6. List three things you wish you had during your junior high and high school years, but didn’t. (66)
7. What did your family like to do on weekends. Describe one particularly memorable one. (67)
8. During childhood, who was your best friend? Share some of your fondest memories of fun times together. (68)
9. Did you keep a scrapbook of photos, autographs, or memories of special occasions? Describe what this meant to you. (69)
10. What is your favorite memory of your mother? Why is it so special to you. (70)
11. What image of your father is the most striking in your memory? Why that image? (71)
12. List one memory about each of your brothers and sisters. (72)
13. Share with me your father’s attitude toward life and how that effected you. (73)

My parents left yesterday after staying with us for almost two weeks. I discussed this book with my dad. I intended to interview him using a voice recorder accessory for my iPod, but I kept putting it off and the opportunity was lost. Yet another example of our fruitless good intentions.

The purpose of this post:

1. A self-reminder to fulfill my commitment to this autobiographical legacy baby-step for my kids
2. A place for my family (especially my dad) and friends to read, comment and even contribute their own entries
3. Retaliation against lost opportunity and fruitless good intentions

Huges Glomar Explorer

My grandfather worked on the Glomar Explorer, but I am not sure exactly what he did. I wonder if he had anything to do with Project Jennifer. I wish I could ask him. Perhaps my Grandma Beulah (still living) knows.

Navy Stories

On Saturday, I went to my friend Kent’s house with Aaron and Dan to celebrate Kent’s birthday while homebrewing.  As usual, I started telling Navy stories.  Typically, these stories involve the action packed hilarity of my careless, clumsy, and juvenile adventures from around the world.  I am regularly asked to re-tell certain stories.

Saturday, the flow of conversation led into one which I have ever enjoyed telling, but I have made a point to never avoid.  You see; like many combat soldiers, my grandpa who fought in the South Pacific for the 3rd Marine Division in in World War Two didn’t speak much about his war experiences because sharing them required the remembering of an extremely intense and painful portion of his life.  Now, I am in no way trying to compare the experience of  this one afternoon at sea with those of countless WWII soldiers, I am merely explaining my motivation for telling this story.   I told the guys on Saturday, that it seems the more I discuss it, the less the memories stab me unexpectedly.  The following two sarticles from the Seattle Post-Intelligencer describe the facts around this experience.

April 19, 1996: Accident Kills Nimitz Crew Member; 5 Hurt

One crew member of the Nimitz was killed and five others were slightly injured when an arresting wire on the aircraft carrier failed during aircraft landing operations in the Gulf of Thailand, the U.S. 7th Fleet said today.

The names of the victims in yesterday’s accident were being withheld until relatives had been told, said Natsuko Kaneko, spokeswoman for the 7th Fleet at the Yokosuka naval base, southwest of Tokyo.

The dead and injured were on the deck when the arresting cable failed, a Navy spokesman said late last night.

The plane, an F-14 fighter, landed safely and the pilot was uninjured. A Navy spokesman said it was unclear whether the plane had to skip the initial landing pass because of the accident and make another pass to land on the deck.

The Bremerton-based Nimitz is en route to Pattaya, Thailand, for a routine port visit. The carrier, along with the carrier Independence, was deployed off Taiwan last month after China decided to carry out war games aimed at intimidating Taiwan’s voters during presidential elections.

The next day, the follow up story was run:

April 20, 1996: Sailor Killed In Accident Aboard Nimitz Is Identified

The sailor killed in a flight deck accident aboard the aircraft carrier USS Nimitz Thursday has been identified as Chief Aviation Machinist’s Mate Robert H. Seeds IV, a resident of Temecula, Calif., officials said.

The 33-year-old chief was assigned to Sea Control Squadron 33, which operates anti-submarine warfare jets as part of Carrier Air Wing 9 aboard the Nimitz, said Navy spokesman Fred Wilson in San Diego.

Seeds was working as squadron flight deck coordinator when an F-14 fighter landing on the Nimitz severed one of the four arresting gear cables used to stop the aircraft. Seeds was killed instantly when struck by a fragment of the cable, Wilson said. The jet landed later without incident.

Five other sailors working on the flight deck were treated for minor injuries, Wilson said. The Navy is investigating the accident, which occurred while the Bremerton-based Nimitz was in the Gulf of Thailand.

Coincidentally, my dad sent me an email at 9:57 PM yesterday with an attached video that refreshed the imagery, remembered fear, and sadness of that day. On Sun, Mar 22, 2009 at 9:57 PM, Bob Cummings wrote:

Related Information (external links)

• Think you had a harried day at work?
  This links toa story (and link to a copy of the above video) told by a former Navy pilot who observed a “similar event”
• Sailor killed in accident aboard USS Nimitz
  CNN - U.S. News Brief from April 19, 1996