Have you ever had a hair brained idea? As kids we had them all the time. Sometimes we had to ask for permission and it was at that point we were told all the problems with the plan. That is why our Dad was so cool. Usually, if it wouldn’t cause any permanent damage he would let us do what ever it was we ask to do.
One such occasion was when we wanted to star gaze on a clear night when there were meteor showers expected. During the early 1970’s there were not many outside lights to interfere with the night sky. When there were no clouds to block the view, the stars went on for ever. I had no idea there were that many stars in the sky.
“Dad, can we watch the meteor shower tonight” we asked. “No problem” was the reply. “But we want to stay up all night and count the falling stars” “No problem.” “We want to spend the night on the roof!” “You want to do what?” I’m sure at that point Dad thought we had lost our minds.
Our house was not like the typical house here in the states. It was made entirely of concrete and the roof was flat. Dad thought about it for a few seconds. (I’m sure we caught him off guard) He started to run through his list; we don’t have a ladder to get up there. We don’t need one Dad. We use the wall to climb up. You might roll off in your sleep. We will make a pallet between the pipes that stick up. For every argument against it we managed to come up with an answer. We were very determined.
In the end we won out. As the sun started to set, the three boys started dragging blankets and pillows up the side of the house. I could only imagine what the neighbors were thinking. What are those Mullins boys up to now? The big surprise came when not only did the Mullins boys climb up to the roof, so did our Dad.
We lay up on the roof that night for hours with Dad, watching the falling stars and just talking about nothing. Dad would point out different stars, planets and UFO’s. When he knew we would be safe between the vent pipes, Dad climbed down and went inside with the girls. I’m not sure how soon after he climbed down we all fell asleep.
We woke in the morning safe and sound. Tossed the bedding off the roof and climbed down. We had counted more shooting stars than I ever knew existed. It was not long after that experience that Dad brought home a big book on astronomy. We would go through the book and point out things that we saw that night.
That was the first time we spent the night on the roof but not the last. It was just one of many hair brained ideas we were able to convince Dad into letting us do. That time spent with Dad that night was priceless.
Thursday, September 10, 2009
Sunday, September 6, 2009
Funerals and Old friends
Why does it take a funeral or some other drastic event to bring old friends together? Or even family for that matter. I was reading the paper this morning and I always check the obituaries (just to make sure I’m not in there) and I saw a name that is familiar. Johnny Nance. So I read the obituary and I recognize one of the names, Lynette, his mother. I was almost certain. Then when my Dad called I knew it was his high school friend.
I had met Johnny Nance several times. It was usually due to an unfortunate circumstance, such as a funeral of parents. Now the old high school friends will get together once again only this time it is one of their own who will be laid to rest. After each of the previous occasions I would hear everyone tell each other that they shouldn’t wait to meet under these circumstances. Yet they always do.
This is yet another milestone in life. When your friends are dying of natural causes it should give cause to reflect on where you are at in life. Life is too short as it is and the circle is almost complete. Don’t wait until it’s too late.
In this day and age it is easy to keep in touch with old friends. There are cell phones with no long distance charges, e-mail, and the internet with many social network sites. If you haven’t kept in touch with your old friends, look them up and drop them a line. Chances are they still think about the good old days as well. Make the time to reconnect and slow down. Who knows, the next time the high school friends get together it might be you they are talking about.
I had met Johnny Nance several times. It was usually due to an unfortunate circumstance, such as a funeral of parents. Now the old high school friends will get together once again only this time it is one of their own who will be laid to rest. After each of the previous occasions I would hear everyone tell each other that they shouldn’t wait to meet under these circumstances. Yet they always do.
This is yet another milestone in life. When your friends are dying of natural causes it should give cause to reflect on where you are at in life. Life is too short as it is and the circle is almost complete. Don’t wait until it’s too late.
In this day and age it is easy to keep in touch with old friends. There are cell phones with no long distance charges, e-mail, and the internet with many social network sites. If you haven’t kept in touch with your old friends, look them up and drop them a line. Chances are they still think about the good old days as well. Make the time to reconnect and slow down. Who knows, the next time the high school friends get together it might be you they are talking about.
Friday, September 4, 2009
The $1500 question
.JPG)
So your walking on a sidewalk at school and you look down. Something catches your eye. It looks like trash but it doesn't look like trash. You pick it up to examine it and then your eyes get very big. You start counting...$100....$200...$300.. $400.............$1000.............$1500! $1500 in a roll of cash. No one is around. It is the last bell of the day and your Mom is waiting to pick you up. What do you do? What......do......you.....do?
Well, if you are my son, you take the wad of cash to the school office and tell them you found this on the ground and maybe someone is looking for it. I'm so proud of him! He has been wanting a laptop computer and trying to figure out ways to get one and then all of that money just lands in his hands. He does the right thing and turns it in. I can't honestly say that I would have done that. I guess I'm raising him right. I'm not sure what happens to the money if no one claims it.
Thursday, September 3, 2009
C Rations
Summer on Okinawa was always a fun time for our family. Summer meant lots of free time to explore our surroundings and see just what is there for young boys to do. Our favorite pastime was to explore the boonies. We would spend countless hours running around and seeing where the trails led, or making our own trails. This really came in handy one afternoon.
Being around military all the time, we had had several occasions to have C rations. For those of you who have not had the pleasure to eat C rations, let me explain. The C ration is a food pack that was developed for the military for meals in the field. Today they are known as MRE, meals ready to eat. The MRE is in pouches while the old C ration came in cans. As kids, we loved them. It was like eating a gourmet meal.
The Marines would do survival training in the boonies that we played in. One day while we were out, we saw a small group of Marines setting up a make shift camp. What caught our eye were the cases of C rations that were being hidden in the tall grass. The men went to great lengths to conceal their treasure before going out on maneuvers. This was just too tempting for five young boys.
After the coast was clear, we crept into the grass and each grabbed a case. We backed out quietly and then made off with our treasure. Crystal cave was our destination. It was a cave that was not far from where we were. We spent a few minutes to examine the goods to see what we had. Now, it has been around 35 years and I can’t remember exactly what the meals were, but I do remember the excitement that came over all of us. There were cigarettes and gum in every box! We knew that we had to get more!
Silently we made it back to the make shift camp and grabbed another load and returned it to the cave. There was still several more cases left so one more trip would do the trick. We would have all the C rations to ourselves! On the last trip, we could hear the Marines returning to camp. We knew we had to hurry. Three cases, all that’s left. As we were backing out after grabbing the loot, a shout came from across the way “Drop it!”
Five boys turned around to see eight to ten Marines bearing down fast. We dropped the load and started to run. Surely they would not chase after us. Then we heard one exclaim “they took all of them! Get ‘um!” well, that is when we knew it was on. We had pissed off the Marines and we were running for our lives. Through the boonies, five boys being chased by a mob of angry trained Marines. And we were keeping ahead! “Split up!” my brother yelled. Three went one way and my brother and I went another.
We took the Marines on a guided tour of the boonies for about 20 minutes, and then they started to catch up. We knew we had to do something fast if we were going to get away. “The wall! We have to get to the wall!” I gasped. We made our way to what we called the wall. It was the back side of Futenma housing area. Okinawa is a coral formation and that’s what the wall is, a coral formation that goes straight up for about 80 to 90 feet then turns out on it self. Donnie went up first and I was close behind. As he got closer to the top he tracked off to the right where the formation still went straight. At this point the Marines were at the bottom cussing like sailors. I didn’t think I had time to track to the right so I just went for it. Straight up. I was hanging on out over the edge when I felt my brother reach down and grab my arm from above. He pulled me up and we looked over the Marines were down at the bottom looking up. Cursing, yelling and throwing anything they could get their hands on. We knew we had won. We laid down and taunted them from a safe distance. Laughing, calling them names, and spitting. I know not very nice, but hey, we’re kids.
Later that afternoon we met up with our partners in crime and they had escaped as well through a place we called hells hole (that’s a whole other story!). During the weeks ahead, we would meet up at crystal cave and partake in a feast of C rations.
I always find myself smiling as I reflect back on our adventure that summer day. There we were, five young boys going against all those Marines. Against all the odds, and we survived. I often wonder what story those Marines told of the events that occurred that day. I shudder at the thought of what they had to eat because their rations were absconded by a small group of youths.
Being around military all the time, we had had several occasions to have C rations. For those of you who have not had the pleasure to eat C rations, let me explain. The C ration is a food pack that was developed for the military for meals in the field. Today they are known as MRE, meals ready to eat. The MRE is in pouches while the old C ration came in cans. As kids, we loved them. It was like eating a gourmet meal.
The Marines would do survival training in the boonies that we played in. One day while we were out, we saw a small group of Marines setting up a make shift camp. What caught our eye were the cases of C rations that were being hidden in the tall grass. The men went to great lengths to conceal their treasure before going out on maneuvers. This was just too tempting for five young boys.
After the coast was clear, we crept into the grass and each grabbed a case. We backed out quietly and then made off with our treasure. Crystal cave was our destination. It was a cave that was not far from where we were. We spent a few minutes to examine the goods to see what we had. Now, it has been around 35 years and I can’t remember exactly what the meals were, but I do remember the excitement that came over all of us. There were cigarettes and gum in every box! We knew that we had to get more!
Silently we made it back to the make shift camp and grabbed another load and returned it to the cave. There was still several more cases left so one more trip would do the trick. We would have all the C rations to ourselves! On the last trip, we could hear the Marines returning to camp. We knew we had to hurry. Three cases, all that’s left. As we were backing out after grabbing the loot, a shout came from across the way “Drop it!”
Five boys turned around to see eight to ten Marines bearing down fast. We dropped the load and started to run. Surely they would not chase after us. Then we heard one exclaim “they took all of them! Get ‘um!” well, that is when we knew it was on. We had pissed off the Marines and we were running for our lives. Through the boonies, five boys being chased by a mob of angry trained Marines. And we were keeping ahead! “Split up!” my brother yelled. Three went one way and my brother and I went another.
We took the Marines on a guided tour of the boonies for about 20 minutes, and then they started to catch up. We knew we had to do something fast if we were going to get away. “The wall! We have to get to the wall!” I gasped. We made our way to what we called the wall. It was the back side of Futenma housing area. Okinawa is a coral formation and that’s what the wall is, a coral formation that goes straight up for about 80 to 90 feet then turns out on it self. Donnie went up first and I was close behind. As he got closer to the top he tracked off to the right where the formation still went straight. At this point the Marines were at the bottom cussing like sailors. I didn’t think I had time to track to the right so I just went for it. Straight up. I was hanging on out over the edge when I felt my brother reach down and grab my arm from above. He pulled me up and we looked over the Marines were down at the bottom looking up. Cursing, yelling and throwing anything they could get their hands on. We knew we had won. We laid down and taunted them from a safe distance. Laughing, calling them names, and spitting. I know not very nice, but hey, we’re kids.
Later that afternoon we met up with our partners in crime and they had escaped as well through a place we called hells hole (that’s a whole other story!). During the weeks ahead, we would meet up at crystal cave and partake in a feast of C rations.
I always find myself smiling as I reflect back on our adventure that summer day. There we were, five young boys going against all those Marines. Against all the odds, and we survived. I often wonder what story those Marines told of the events that occurred that day. I shudder at the thought of what they had to eat because their rations were absconded by a small group of youths.
Saturday, August 29, 2009
Remember When
Every now and then something happens that makes you remember something from the past. It could be something some one did or said. Or a smell that drifts by. Or even just an image that prompts that memory. I was watching the television and there was a spider and web that was just like the ones we had in Okinawa. And it reminded me when…….
Dad had five kids to keep track of and try to keep out of trouble. That was a very tall order. All five of us, Donnie, Danny, Teri, Tracy, and David loved to be outside and looked for fun stuff to do. There was only one television channel and it had very old programs that were of no interest to kids. We discovered very early on that fireworks are sold year round. We would spend a good portion of our allowance on fireworks. The two firecrackers of choice were lady fingers and 2-B bombs. For those of you who do not know what a lady finger is, it is a very small firecracker about the size of a matchstick. My brothers and I were messing around in the boonies, we saw a spider web. We would take a small object and toss it in the web and low and behold, the spider would come running down the web to see its catch. Boys being boys, we thought wouldn’t it be cool if the spider would attack the firecracker.
Well, we had to give it a try. We took the firecrackers apart and used two fuses for one firecracker. Lighted the fuse and tossed it into the web. Hidden from somewhere above this huge spider speeds down the web and starts to spin a web on its new “victim”. The fuses came to an end and so did the spider! There was a small pop followed by thunderous laughter. Way cool! Living on the edge of the boonies, there was an abundance of spiders. We continued for a while taking turns tossing the firecrackers and blowing up spiders. Meanwhile, Dad and one of his Army buddies are in the house. They hear the sound of laughter and small pops.
Dad looks out the window and sees all the boys walking the edge of the boonies and then he catches what we are doing. “Hey, what do you think you guys are doing?” he yells at us. Dad and his buddy move out to where we have just unleashed our wrath on the spiders. He confiscates the ladyfingers and tells us that we should not be blowing up the spiders and to go inside and think about what we did. There were bunches of “Ah man” going on as we hung our heads and headed to the house to “think about what we were doing was wrong”.
Once inside, after a few minutes, we started to hear laughing coming from behind the house. That sounds very much like Dad. We headed to the back window and what do we see? There is Dad and his buddy lighting up ladyfingers and tossing them into the spider webs. We knew they were successful when their heads would go back and roar with laughter. I guess that is what is meant by the saying “Do as I say, not as I do”.
Those days were so much fun.
Dad had five kids to keep track of and try to keep out of trouble. That was a very tall order. All five of us, Donnie, Danny, Teri, Tracy, and David loved to be outside and looked for fun stuff to do. There was only one television channel and it had very old programs that were of no interest to kids. We discovered very early on that fireworks are sold year round. We would spend a good portion of our allowance on fireworks. The two firecrackers of choice were lady fingers and 2-B bombs. For those of you who do not know what a lady finger is, it is a very small firecracker about the size of a matchstick. My brothers and I were messing around in the boonies, we saw a spider web. We would take a small object and toss it in the web and low and behold, the spider would come running down the web to see its catch. Boys being boys, we thought wouldn’t it be cool if the spider would attack the firecracker.
Well, we had to give it a try. We took the firecrackers apart and used two fuses for one firecracker. Lighted the fuse and tossed it into the web. Hidden from somewhere above this huge spider speeds down the web and starts to spin a web on its new “victim”. The fuses came to an end and so did the spider! There was a small pop followed by thunderous laughter. Way cool! Living on the edge of the boonies, there was an abundance of spiders. We continued for a while taking turns tossing the firecrackers and blowing up spiders. Meanwhile, Dad and one of his Army buddies are in the house. They hear the sound of laughter and small pops.
Dad looks out the window and sees all the boys walking the edge of the boonies and then he catches what we are doing. “Hey, what do you think you guys are doing?” he yells at us. Dad and his buddy move out to where we have just unleashed our wrath on the spiders. He confiscates the ladyfingers and tells us that we should not be blowing up the spiders and to go inside and think about what we did. There were bunches of “Ah man” going on as we hung our heads and headed to the house to “think about what we were doing was wrong”.
Once inside, after a few minutes, we started to hear laughing coming from behind the house. That sounds very much like Dad. We headed to the back window and what do we see? There is Dad and his buddy lighting up ladyfingers and tossing them into the spider webs. We knew they were successful when their heads would go back and roar with laughter. I guess that is what is meant by the saying “Do as I say, not as I do”.
Those days were so much fun.
Friday, August 28, 2009
First week
Christopher finished up his first week of High School, in a public school. He has been going to Catholic school since pre-kinder, 10 years. His campus is huge compared to his old school as is the number of students, over 800 freshmen. I was glad to see that he gets a set of books for home use and a set in the classroom for use at school. That is so much better that having to cart your books back and forth as I did while I was in school. Soon there will come a time when all text books are electronic. He had his first pep rally today as the first varsity football game is tomorrow. He had a lot of fun and is fitting in really well. I'm so proud of him.
Wednesday, August 26, 2009
Hot off the grill
Well, it has been a while since I put anything on the grill. I got some country style ribs and some veggies to grill up for dinner tonight. The egg plant came out very good as did the yellow squash and the Zucchini squash. My grill is rusted on the bottom and the rack no longers adjusts but it still did a great job. I am left with just one question.....Why did I wait so long to grill?
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
