J0nny Ling0

Y'all come back now, ya heah?

Happy Birthday Lifted Up! I hope your Day was wonderful! JL

As a matter of fact, I'll be in the DC area during those dates to visit with my 86 year old Mom. And so, it's close, but no see-gar, I think. I got a non-stop flight straight to and from Seattle on Alaska Airlines, and since I don't like flying much, I'll stay on the non-stop. Would be fun though...

Using a "key" from an online map of North America, I would say that I am 2300 miles from Dallas. As the crow flies that is...

Sounds like it would be a fine time. With DMiller there, and if I came with my harmonicas, we could play tunes and we could all sing some of those old songs together again. And no doubt Ex10's husband could add some fine music to the mix. And, all of that "good eatin'!" Mmm mmm mmm!

Unfortunately, in my wife's small town of Texhoma, the crime rate has risen as a result of a large influx of illegal aliens that have arrived due to the large amount of new hog farms in the area. Yeah, I know, that may sound racist to some, but it is only a simple fact and consistent with the statistics. They "squat" on peoples' properties, get belligerent when asked to leave, and a whole host of other problems. It's sad to see the nice and quiet aspect of good old Texhoma get messed up like that.

I have lived in three small towns. Dyke, Virginia (250), Texhoma, Oklahoma (900), and Haines, Alaska (1250). Texhoma (half in Texas, the other half in Oklahoma ya know) seemed to have the kind of flavor you are talking about in your opening post. Community co-ed softball games, fiercely competitive high school football, a wonderful Fourth Of July open air town talent show in which my wife and her "Yankee husband from back east" (me) participated, and etc. The name of the high school football team is the "Texhoma Red Devils". The church people there have been trying to change it, especially the chant where they all go: "We're devils born! We're devils bred! And we'll be devils til we're dead!!" Imagine me, a freshly exed Wayfer sitting in the stands during a game and listening to that chant erupt all around me under the Friday Night Lights. :blink: The Jaycees, who consisted of my wife's three first cousins and her uncle Jack (who also owns the bank and everyone's bank notes) also were the ones to head up the annual "Fiesta Days" Main Street parade (my five year old daughter rode her horse!) , then later a street dance with a country band and all of Main Street blocked off, which occurred after the free pit barbecue picnic in the town park. Yup, it was mighty fine eatin! Big football sized chunks of beef that had been buried for a day and a half in burlap bags and barbecued atop a layer of smoking cottonwood later to be opened up at the picnic by the three "Jaycee cousins" and served up with barbecue sauce, Texas style frijoles, and tortillas! Yeah baybee! Oh yeah, and keg beer too for the grown ups. And it was nice because the young and old mingled and said their respectful howdy do's. And then came the street dance which was fun. And, I surprised them all because I can cut a rug purdy dang good. I can even do the "pretzel", which caused them to think that my wife's Yankee husband was a-okay after all. I loved that small town thing. There was no barbershop quartet singing in the town's gazebo or anything, but it really was quite idyllic. Oh, and the high school marching band would march past our house on Main Street in the afternoons after school was out playing that one same song over and over! It think it was that song "Apache". There was that whole small town gossip thing, and the guy who used to own the "Dairy Creem" (whom I always thought was gay but nobody in my wife's immediate family believed me) turned out to not only gay but a dang pedophile! He was caught with his boyfriend molesting some young kid in a neighboring town, and he is now in jail thank God. But oh the scandal! And so, I guess with all of the neatness of the small town, small towns are still "The World", and I guess there is no getting around that. One of the beauties of the small town is the near lack of the sound of sirens. And if you do hear one, there is cause for alarm, because chances are, it's happening/happened to someone you know. So, I surely do not miss that near constant sound of sirens in the big city. Even here in Juneau (30,000) we don't hear them that often...

Thank you all. Very fine "input". And so, I'm not sure I'll give it up, because I too enjoy the "Information Super Highway", which in fact it is. And as I got to thinking about it, "online banking" is a big deal to us in that we deal with a number of financial institutions that are out of state. And then there is my son and his splendid guitar playing, and the online guitar program that he uses to write music using tabliture (sp? Owait, I'll just google it). But geez, the Internet does have it's draw that does seem to be out of place at times. One thing that I have learned here at the GSCafe is "how to argue". Yes, I have a brother with whom I am dealing concerning our family's estate. And when he sends an e-mail and says such and such, and then later denies that he said it, I just copy and paste his very words in a quote which has had a very sobering effect on him. Now where did I learn that? Politics and Tacks? About The Way? Hmmm... And so, it would be difficult to give up our online banking as well as the way in which I use the net to look up facts and info when doing what I love to do most which is to write stories. Anyway, thanks for the input! JL And as you would say ExCath: Hahahahahahahaha!

Ya know, I have recently considered giving up the Internet. I had a chat with my kids about all of the amazing "electronic inventions" in the last fifteen years, and am on the verge of cutting a number of things off, the Internet being #2. The first thing that has been cut off is "video games" in my house. I told them that "when I was young", all we had was TV channels 4,5,7, and 9 and that we "just didn't watch much". If we wanted to entertain ourselves, we read books! But then they (my children) countered with, (the smart littler buggers): "Then maybe you should give up the Internet!" And I thought; "Well then, maybe they are right!" Now. When it comes to me and my "Internet addiction", I think that my affiliation with the GSCafe is my "most visited place". But, = this is but an "indulgence" and something that I don't really "need". I mean. I lived without it FOREVER! (And so did you) But what I do enjoy in the mornings is reading the news (CNN, Fox, The Washington Post (my hometown paper), etc, etc. Also, I watch the stock market (particularly the natural gas commodities), and just generally want to have a handle on "what's happening "out there". But now I am thinking; "What would I do without The Net? What ELSE would I be doing without being here Online? I told my kids that "I read books" when I was Young. And what do we do now? Well, we do in fact read,, but what are we reading? And what are our kids reading? Well, they read "Instant Messenger", and messages from "My Space", but what are they learning/reading? And so, if I disappear from here, it will because I cut off ":The Net" not because "Jonny Lingo" wanted to disappear . It will be because I asked my ISP to cut me off. Nothing personal, if I cannot actually do it. It really is quite something, isn't it? I think this is a valid subject. Please: What think ye?

Hey there! Happy birthday young lady! Jonny

Ya know, I think she is a regular poster here. She'll probably contact you if she sees this. I wonder where her brother Mark got off to. He was a good friend of my wife. They worked on cars together at Gunnison.

It seems to me that Unions are needed when dealing with large companies such as shipping companies, for instance. Also, in construction, when doing big jobs for really big companies like Bechtel Corporation (they build the world man) who build things like federal missile sites, etc, a Union is needed. One of the things that has really hurt big companies is not the high wages and benefits that Unions command for the workers, but rather the frivolous lawsuits that Union members have leveled against these big companies. And now, something in favor of the Companies has been done. Basically, when working for any company that is big and is Union, there has been more and more requirements for each worker to take "mini-seminars" on various safety issues. Issues like "ladder safety", "trips and falls", "electrical safety", "sexual harrassment", "scaffold safety", etc, etc. And after one has completed these various "courses", that one then has to sign what basically amounts to a "release form" which relinquishes the employer from any fault since the employee had been properly trained and signed his name to said training. This certainly has not stopped all frivolous law suits, but it has helped the companies deal with frivolous law suits to a large degree. And I am highly in favor of it. When I worked for Bechtel in Delta Junction Alaska at the Fort Greeley Ground Based Missile Defense System, ( http://www.boeing.com/ids/news/2004/photor...pr_040722n.html ) I spent a whole first day for eight hours taking a safety seminar complete with all of the release forms to fill out before I could begin work the next day. And also, the Company (Bechtel) has on their payroll "Safety Officers" who walk around and make sure that the workers when up high are wearing a safety harness, or that they are wearing their gloves, or that they are wearing their safety glasses at all times. It gets pretty obnoxious, really, but the company has saved millions in law suits by avoiding injuries by spending more to educate and enforce the safety regs. We even did stretch exercises in the morning (at forty below!) like the Japanese. And, it was worth it to me, because I was taking home $2200.00 a week for three months straight. I love working Union....

Hey! I know of this really great opportunity. There is this stuff called "Mellaluca" that will make you rich beyond your wildest dreams! Have you ever heard of it? It's an exciting product with a unique method of marketing heretofore unknown in the network marketing field!

Aha! So, it did happen! "Hahahahahahahahahahahahahaha"! (as Excathedra would say!)

In Juneau, when I first got here in '82, I experienced a unique thing. I'd only been here a few days and was not yet working and was just walking around downtown Juneau just checking the place out. It had been rainy that morning just like it had the whole time I'd been here thus far. But around 11:00 a.m., the sun came out and it appeared as if it was going to last all day. And within fifteen minutes of the sun's appearance, all of the sudden all of these office worker type people showed up walking along the streets, getting into their cars to head home or were going into local coffee shops for "to go coffee" only to come back out to walk around in the sunshine. And I'm thinking; "Where'd all of these pretty office girls come from, as well as all these guys in suits?" And so, I asked one of the gals standing on the corner sipping her coffee as to what was going on. Her answer? She said; "We are all State workers either at the Capitol Building or at the State Office Building (SOB). We were just given the day off because the sun came out. It's a paid for state holiday down here in Juneau for when the sun comes out. It's called "Sunshine Leave" We get three of them a year." And I was amazed. "Sunshine Leave" I mused. Cool! But then again, it seemed to be an ominous harbinger of things to come which has proven to be true. But, that's why it's so green and beautiful around here...

Well Garth, I just got home from work and some errands and finally saw this. And so..... HAPPY BIRTHDAY DUDE!!

Oh, I think you have the spelling of Whittier right. I probly got it wrong. Yeah, Alaska winters are something to live through with all of the months of darkness. I remember our winter "Street Dance" in Haines, AK. It was like a parade in the afternoon, but it was always dark by then. But with the snow on the ground and on the streets it lightened up some. One gal had one of these big old Chinese dragons made of some kind of fabric. It was at least twenty five feet long. And the towns kids would get in it and the lady would be at the head moving it up and down moving down the snowy street while the big old dragon head puffed smoke from it's mouth making the whole of Main Street all smoky and eery in the twilight of winter. People on the sidelines watching were also handed out these really smoky sparklers, smoking things up even more. And with a few hot toddies in the thermos and good friends to chat with, it was cool. Something to do to break up the long winter night. I'll bet they do fun things in the winter in Whittier also...

Believe me, I am no fan of NAFTA. The Dems and the Repubs fell for that one. Only Ross Perot had that one right (as far as candidates goes back then). "Hear that giant sucking sound? That's the sound of American jobs heading south of the border!"

I am a member of two unions. The United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners, and, the Inland Boatmen's Union of the Pacific. I stand in solidarity with the UAW. I hope a resolution comes soon. A resolution that favors the UAW. And yes, I have read "The Jungle" by Upton Sinclair. The conditions then were far more horrible than anything we have today to be sure, and thank God for the unionizing that occurred back then. And to be honest, I do see some excesses in the Unions today, but I have to tell you, I have worked with some very professional men and women in the Unions, and they are worth every penny they are paid. I have seen incredible skill and commitment in far below zero weather, and in extreme circumstances at sea I have worked with the best of the best and we are worth every penny paid to us. The one thing that has bugged me most with being in a union is that sometimes it is very hard to fire a moron who deserves to be sent down the road. That one is a bummer.

Well Janet, so glad you had such a fine time! And so, you did get to do the Turnagain Arm it seems, and, the tunnel through to Wittier, cool! I moved from that part of the state before they built that tunnel. And Seward, wow, cool. And those fall colors on the Kenai Peninsula...Well, it's so beautiful, and...Wild! And so take care, and maybe next time you'll get to spend a little more time up here. And like it says at the Las Vegas airport when you leave; "Good bye, for now..."

Ya know, that woulda been a good one. But at least I would make sure to use "Dove" or "Joy". Geez, could you imagine the mess? Cool! Although at the time, I would have looked at it as heresy, or somethin. The worst thing I ever did as a prank was to put some baby large mouthed bass and a baby channel catfish in the aquarium at Emporia in the foyer of the eating hall (what was that called? Campus Center?). The bass and the cat became extremely voracious and began to devour all of the tropicals, much the delight of a bunch of the guys who were watching with glee the next morning after I did the deed. Yeah, I walked in and these guys (Jeff Prob sco, "Engine", Brian Mansf i ld), etc were like "rooting for the damned little predators! In fact, I was horrified because I hadn't expected that, and I pictured myself being called on the carpet by Richard T and being asked to confess, which I probably would have done. And then I would have been kicked out of the Corps or something. I can see it now, during breakfast: Richard T stands up with the microphone and asks; "Who put the bass and the catfish in the aquarium? I have a very good idea who did it because of his lust for fishing. I won't mention any names, but maybe you Jonny Lingo had better stand up right now and confess it to us all! You put those fish into that aquarium, didn't you Jonny?" And then I would have stood up and meekly said yes and then have groveled and begged to not be thrown out of the Corps with the argument that; "I didn't think they would eat the tropicals! I just thought it would be nice to have some indigenous species in th tank for all to enjoy! I just wasn't walking by the spirit! I missed it, I'm sorry....please....I'M SORRY....sob...forgive me....And then I'd be told that I would not be having any breakfast and to meet him in the Sonlight Room after breakfast, and "we'll talk about the fishing spirit that you have, won't we Jonny?" However, it never came up, and that next morning at o' dark thirty, I snuck in with a net that I made at the shop with some panty hose a girl gave me, and fished the little devils out and put them back into the pond! Hah! Rev Steve L w der put me up to it, and so, at least I had him as a back up to blame, maybe. I probably wouldn't have ratted yhim out though. And, he thought the whole thing funny as hell, which, it really was...

I don't think you were too mean. You just got to the point. And, like DMiller said, nice is good. I am always happy to see someone take time out of their lives to try and change this old world for the better. They may not actually be doing that, but they believe that they are, and I respect that...

As a merchant mariner, one who has sailed the salty sea, I find this thread refreshing and very informative. Thanks Socks! I can see how this phrase would not be very readily recognized because of the fact that "commercial sail" has gone by the wayside to to "steam, diesels and such". But, I offer you all this poem which is somewhat of a de-rail of this thread. But, since we are talking "nautical" here, I just wanted to add my own contribution to the literary world when it comes to nautical things. And so, I give you, an "Ode To The Black Gang", by Kevin C. Nye. "By and large", I'd say that this poem represents the "Black Gang" quite well Ode To The Black Gang By Kevin Nye In days of old when knights were bold and engines weren’t invented, on wooden ships were men of iron, whose skills were un-prec-e-dented. They hauled up the sails and climbed up the lines, and like monkeys they raced to and fro. They harnessed the wind or just very light breezes in order to make the ship go… They were strong they were smart, they were tough they were brave, and could do things that most wouldn’t dare try. They worked all day long and on watch at all hours in conditions that would make landlubbers cry… But along came steam engines and diesels and such, and the deckhand’s job was curtailed… The sails were now gone and they suffered a demotion because they no longer dealt with propulsion. Now a new breed of sailor had come on the scene, and they were called En-gin-eers. To the muscle bound deckhands these folks were real odd ‘cause they tinkered and worked down below. These peculiar new sailors they spoke of strange things that were hard for the deckhands to know: There’s propulsion, refrigeration, lubrication and cooling, hydraulics, electricity and more! As far as sewage goes, sometimes it overflows, which the Wiper and Junior deplore.. “Check the CAPACS, pump the bilge’s, and blow-w-w those main engines down!” Replace the zinc’s and unplug the sinks so the dishwasher can finish “Right now!” There’s governors and red gears, and check valves and steam, and Amots and gauges galore… And swing valves and ball valves and butterfly and globe valves, and twenty five thousand things more! And they’re all in a state of constant consumption, fluctuation, deterioration and that…We’ve harnessed these elements to do a great bidding, and they need to be watched and maintained.. There’s gear pumps and feed pumps, and Nylocks and roll pins, and settlers and day tanks and such.. “Let’s find a solution to that crankcase dilution or we’ll blow out those ex-plo-sion doors!” These things are not known to most of the crew, so they gave us a few different names: The “Weird Basement Savages”, the “Blackgang”, the “Snipes”, but go ahead and just make up some more! So I submit to you (the one that is readin’), that these are the things you should know: There’s more to these ships than steering, car parking, “tying up”, and “letting go”…. We Blackgang, we Snipes, we Weird Basement Savages, (us folks with the boiler suits on), keep the whole thing together (in fair or foul weather) as our ships keep on “sailing” along… Author’s note: I wrote this poem because an Ordinary Seaman, was mouthing off in the crew mess about how “you engine guys don’t have to know a goddamned thing at all to work on a ship” So, I wrote this poem and posted it in the crew mess of the Kennicott, which ....ed him off but good.

Good one DT!

"Por-jee Tire biter, he's a regular girl delighter! Por-jee Tire Biter, he's a guy like me! (Like me?) He's a guy like me! "I'm cumming Mother!"