That last post sucked.
I had been wanting to write about that for years and years, you know, to make sure it's at least OUT there and people know what happened, but I didn't expect it to sort of "drain me" as much as it did.
I'm going to take a break while I ponder the second, more intense, part of the story.
There are other things I'll be talking about until the mood strikes me to finish my story.
Tuesday, July 8, 2008
Friday, July 4, 2008
The fourth of July and Douglas Dimberg
It's officially the fourth of July and this is what I remember:
It was November 30th, 1988 (by the way, as a side note, I had to go look that up in my cruise book. Sad isn't it?). I had worked about eighteen hours that day. I was an Aviation Ordnanceman on the USS Nimitz and was working "CAG Arm-Dearm" and was on Cat 3. This meant I was working the third catapult all day, which meant cats and traps, or as they're commonly known, takeoffs and landings. Those days are rough because you have to be up well before the first takeoff, and stay until the last trap of the day, which is usually just before midnight. So getting up around six, and working until midnight was pretty much the standard "Cat 3 day".
So there I was, just getting off work, and looking forward to catching up on a little rest. I was finished, showered, dressed for bed, and ready to call it a night when I heard it,
"GENERAL QUARTERS, GENERAL QUARTERS ALL HANDS MAN YOUR BATTLE STATIONS. PROCEED UP AND FORWARD ON THE STARBOARD SIDE, DOWN AND AFT ON THE PORT SIDE...GENERAL QUARTERS, GENERAL QUARTERS"
Without missing a beat, off came the sleepwear, on went the greens, redshirt, and boots, and out the hatch I went. My berthing at the time was on the level just beneath the arresting gear aft, pretty much under the 4 wire. I was above the hanger bay and below the flight deck. When I woke up every morning to go to work, I normally would proceed out of my berthing area, thru a hatch leading to the catwalk outside. This would place me along the edge of the flight deck, on the port side, where the landing safety officer would normally stand. I'd hop up the ladder, up on deck, and I could cut straight across the flight deck to work. Honestly, since it was after flight quarters, and there was nothing landing or taking off, it would be fine to head out to my shop in this manner, even at night under general quarters.
So off I go, getting ready to head up the catwalk to the flight deck when "Tucker", another AO, came down from precisely where I was going. "Can't go that way," he said. "Why not?", I asked. "Because it's all on fire".
It took a couple of seconds for that to sink in.
End of Part One. See Part Two
It was November 30th, 1988 (by the way, as a side note, I had to go look that up in my cruise book. Sad isn't it?). I had worked about eighteen hours that day. I was an Aviation Ordnanceman on the USS Nimitz and was working "CAG Arm-Dearm" and was on Cat 3. This meant I was working the third catapult all day, which meant cats and traps, or as they're commonly known, takeoffs and landings. Those days are rough because you have to be up well before the first takeoff, and stay until the last trap of the day, which is usually just before midnight. So getting up around six, and working until midnight was pretty much the standard "Cat 3 day".
So there I was, just getting off work, and looking forward to catching up on a little rest. I was finished, showered, dressed for bed, and ready to call it a night when I heard it,
"GENERAL QUARTERS, GENERAL QUARTERS ALL HANDS MAN YOUR BATTLE STATIONS. PROCEED UP AND FORWARD ON THE STARBOARD SIDE, DOWN AND AFT ON THE PORT SIDE...GENERAL QUARTERS, GENERAL QUARTERS"
Without missing a beat, off came the sleepwear, on went the greens, redshirt, and boots, and out the hatch I went. My berthing at the time was on the level just beneath the arresting gear aft, pretty much under the 4 wire. I was above the hanger bay and below the flight deck. When I woke up every morning to go to work, I normally would proceed out of my berthing area, thru a hatch leading to the catwalk outside. This would place me along the edge of the flight deck, on the port side, where the landing safety officer would normally stand. I'd hop up the ladder, up on deck, and I could cut straight across the flight deck to work. Honestly, since it was after flight quarters, and there was nothing landing or taking off, it would be fine to head out to my shop in this manner, even at night under general quarters.
So off I go, getting ready to head up the catwalk to the flight deck when "Tucker", another AO, came down from precisely where I was going. "Can't go that way," he said. "Why not?", I asked. "Because it's all on fire".
It took a couple of seconds for that to sink in.
End of Part One. See Part Two
Thursday, July 3, 2008
The Brave and The Bold
When I was a kid, comics were pretty much my first "economic decision". I'd only have a set amount of allowance, or money earned mowing the lawn, or helping with certain chores, etc and I'd have to make grave decisions over how my money was to be spent.
Enter "The Brave and the Bold".
The Justice League was already on my list, as was Adventure Comics, Worlds Finest, and the occasional 80 Page Super Spectacular, but Brave and the Bold was different. It was engineered to be a team-up book. The Justice League was a team-up book by definition, so that didn't count, and World's Finest had always been Batman and Superman every month for as long as I knew it existed. Brave and Bold was different, it was Batman and a random Guest every month, and the title was built around serving up this premise. Every month, Batman would stumble upon some mystery, or crime, or evil deed, and would need the help of a partner, and not just any partner. If the crime involved the Supernatural, you can bet Deadman, or The Phantom Stranger was involved, or maybe the Creeper. Sometimes one of Wonder Woman's rogues gallery would sneak into Gotham City, and Batman would need to call in for a little teamwork. Maybe the Guardians of the Universe needed Bruce Wayne, and naturally Hal Jordan would have to tag along.
So it was always a part of my conscious comic book buying behavior as a kid growing up. I knew I could spend money on a batman comic, and just get batman, and MAYBE the Joker, or Clayface if I was lucky, but more often than not, I'd just be stuck with Robin. But, if I spent money on Brave and the Bold, I'd get Batman PLUS a super guest star and a cool story that explained why the two of them had to team up in the first place. Guaranteed more bang for your buck (or 25 cents in this case).
So now, years later, when I've decided that I seriously want to collect comic books, and not just dabble, I decided to put all my effort into one of my favorite books growing up, "The Brave and the Bold" from DC Comics.
And I'm having a blast doing it, too! This past year or so that I've been seeking out individual issues and putting a run together has really helped me remember just why I love Comic Books in the first place. Why I was so attracted to them as a kid, and why they still hold the same attraction to me now. It's been the most fun I've had collecting comics just about since I started as a kid in Richmond in the 70s.
Enter "The Brave and the Bold".
The Justice League was already on my list, as was Adventure Comics, Worlds Finest, and the occasional 80 Page Super Spectacular, but Brave and the Bold was different. It was engineered to be a team-up book. The Justice League was a team-up book by definition, so that didn't count, and World's Finest had always been Batman and Superman every month for as long as I knew it existed. Brave and Bold was different, it was Batman and a random Guest every month, and the title was built around serving up this premise. Every month, Batman would stumble upon some mystery, or crime, or evil deed, and would need the help of a partner, and not just any partner. If the crime involved the Supernatural, you can bet Deadman, or The Phantom Stranger was involved, or maybe the Creeper. Sometimes one of Wonder Woman's rogues gallery would sneak into Gotham City, and Batman would need to call in for a little teamwork. Maybe the Guardians of the Universe needed Bruce Wayne, and naturally Hal Jordan would have to tag along.
So it was always a part of my conscious comic book buying behavior as a kid growing up. I knew I could spend money on a batman comic, and just get batman, and MAYBE the Joker, or Clayface if I was lucky, but more often than not, I'd just be stuck with Robin. But, if I spent money on Brave and the Bold, I'd get Batman PLUS a super guest star and a cool story that explained why the two of them had to team up in the first place. Guaranteed more bang for your buck (or 25 cents in this case).
So now, years later, when I've decided that I seriously want to collect comic books, and not just dabble, I decided to put all my effort into one of my favorite books growing up, "The Brave and the Bold" from DC Comics.
And I'm having a blast doing it, too! This past year or so that I've been seeking out individual issues and putting a run together has really helped me remember just why I love Comic Books in the first place. Why I was so attracted to them as a kid, and why they still hold the same attraction to me now. It's been the most fun I've had collecting comics just about since I started as a kid in Richmond in the 70s.
The title of the blog...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J5smA5duL5Y
It was uploaded December of 2007 and as of today it's still there. If it disappears, just let me know and I'll try to find a replacement link.
UPDATE:
Shit, I'm gonna just embed it.
It was uploaded December of 2007 and as of today it's still there. If it disappears, just let me know and I'll try to find a replacement link.
UPDATE:
Shit, I'm gonna just embed it.
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