Thursday, August 20, 2009

Standing Up

Yes - another voice joins the drumbeat. Yet more 'noise' in the ether. Still and well, we have that right and I am exercising same here, with your help of course.

What makes me different than the tens of thousands of existing voices out here? Well, frankly - nothing. Absolutely nothing. but that is the allure and also the charm of the Liberty we enjoy (or at least right now). This is what I think makes America great. The mixing of the disparate peoples and cultures that make up the American scene. The addition of ideas and voices into the "great melting pot" form our society. The homogenized voice is more akin to 'noise' but taken discretely, one Blog at a time and you have a voice. I am here to add to that cacophony and give volume to my ideas and thought. Stirring that pot as it were.

What you will find here? I will ramble on about most anything, the military, our society, nature and space. I will rant about politics, politicians and the government. Occasionally I will throw sports a bone as I am a fan of Ice Hockey and NASCAR. I garden and love techonology. Did I mention I raise Koi too? I hope for peace in our country but fear the growing revolution and will talk about all of these things and more.

Who am I? I am a mid-centurion having been born and raised in New Mexico; I now live in Eastern Pennsylvania. I was brought here by my service in the U.S. Navy after almost 5 years of sea duty. Shore duty brought me a loving Wife and the end of my sea going days. That Wife has brought me three lovely children and a great life very much different than I could have dreamed of.

I worked for 35 years on the S-3 Viking aircraft used by the Navy and I have recently had to move on to 'honest' work in the private sector with the retiring of the Mighty War Hoover. I now work for a company making Simulation and Training equipment for the military completely shedding my long career of working in aerospace. I do miss that but one must do what one must do.

My children include SN1 serving with the Indiana Air National Guard, DT1 the college Girl who recently graduated from college (and the only Liberal, sorry can't win them all) and SN2 serving an infantryman in the USMC. Oh, and don't let me forget 'Lady' the 4-legged joy in all our lives, the Princess Pomeranian debris magnet and bundle love and fur that she is.

These People make up a place here in PA, a home as it were. My experience in their midst give me Life.

There are others, people and places to be sure. I will mix them here as a recipe along with my thoughts and concerns along with yours as the spice in the mix. Please feel free to comment but please do so without animus. No enmity here please, and Thanks for stopping by.

10 comments:

Buck said...

HUZZAH!!! Welcome to the sphere, Jimmy!

Barco Sin Vela II said...

Hey JimmyT!

Good luck on this endeavor and I hope you don't get writers block.

All the best from the Barco.

JimmyT said...

Buck, thanks again for the push!!!

Barco, thanks too and when I do get writers block I'll just think of all the fun I have had with AW's and write about them!!

Flag Gazer said...

Jimmy -
Glad to see you join the blog-o-sphere!
Welcome!

Bag Blog said...

Yeha! I will mark you as a favorite since I love the stories you have shared at Buck's. That photo of Alb reminds me of when I took a bunch of high school kids from Questa to one of the new schools in Alb for a debate tournament. The school (can't remember the name of it) set up on the mountain side overlooking the valley. My students came out of the building after dark and stood transfixed by the beauty of the lights of Alb. It was a site to see for us yokels.

I was wondering if you had ever read "Red Sky at Morning" - being a Navy man and from NM.

alison said...

Congrats! Gorgeous photo at the top of your blog. Where is that?! I've certainly enjoyed your comments at EiP and mine and so look forward to plenty more wonderful writing. Good luck, stick at it and hope you enjoy!

JimmyT said...

Flag, thanks for the welcome, you will find plenty of flags flapping here!!

Lou, a hearty thanks to you, along with Buck your encouragement really helped to get me off the duff and get this going. Stand by for plenty of Stories and No, I never read "Red Sky at Morning". I'll have to fetch a copy.

Alison, Thanks for the greeting and the pic is of Albuquerque. I grew up there on the West Mesa part of town. This is what I looked at every morning and evening. The mountains are called the Sandia's and are just over 5200 feet tall. Albuquerque is at 5200 feet too so the Peak on Sandia is over 10,000. There is a magnificent cable car Tram that goes up that sheer cliff face. The view from the Peak is to die for, you can see curve of the earth from there. The river is in the foreground is the Rio Grande.

It is an interesting place.

virgil xenophon said...

Yet another G-damn blog that I have to keep track of and if I don't visit often enough the owner gets upset and sulks. I mean, I know I'm retired, but if I hit every blog I wanted to I'd have a 10 hr day--too many of you guys around with too much interesting stuff! Ignorance is bliss, I say, so seriously considering deleting you as soon as I leave! :)

FWIW I was first in Albuquerque in 1960 passing through on the way to Calif, on summer vacation w. my parents at end of my soph yr in HS. We stayed at the Holiday Inn and as I was bored, I went exploring that night alone and ended up at a Go-Kart track where I drove some pretty high performance stuff in my shorts and shirt w. nothing on but a helmet! Was my first experience and was a blast--never will forget it that night under the lights. Was a HUGE, oval track, too, not like the smaller serpentine Euro-style ones you find today. Built for competition as well w. rows and rows of bleachers, etc. IIRC they used to hold the nationals there in the 50s-60s or something? Es verdad?

I used to raise Koi's too--did it when my son was very young back in Louisville, Ky. in late 70s.Had a huge indoor tank in his bed-room. Gave them all Japanese/Chinese names--Genghis Khan, Shanghai, Samurai, Hirohito, Banzai, etc. Still have all the books after 30 yrs. Fun to raise and buy. Had some others in gnd pool when we lived in Lake Charles, La.. Left them with the house when we moved. Keeping them alive in tanks is tough--GOT to REALLY filter/re-cycle H20 as they are such fast growers and prodigious "excreters." LOL.

Hope you've read up on the tender care and feeding of all the animals like me that will be stopping by ....

Reese said...

JimmyT, I'll keep an eye on that peak for you from the other side. I live near Escabosa now, but work at SNL. Went to SHS and grew up near the corner of Wyoming and Menaul (Hoffmantown/Annunciation). (EASTSIEED!)

Yeah, like VX says above, one more G&#($# blog to read.

Bobby R sends and wonders why JimmyT signs off this way.

JimmyT said...

VX, thanks for stopping by and yeah, I really understand about the breadth an scope the internet is, and try as I might I still can't fit all the reading in on a single sitting.

On Carting in the great ABQ, it was big when I as growing up and still is today. You know the Unser family was big in that, promoting it and racing in general. I lived not too far from the Unser Compound (as we called it and their kids went to the same High School.

The Koi are my real escape, except maybe the vegetable gardening. I have 8 very large Koi in a roughly 3000 gallon pond in our back yard. And I am raising the my first batch of Fry laid and hatched right here. Updates to follow.

Thanks again for stopping by and I hope you I can continue to entertain you.

Bobby, Eastside is right if you are on the far side. I used to camp out that way on that large prairie east of the Sandia's. That was while a Boy Scout, great fun out there.

Thanks for stopping in, it is nice to chat with someone actually living back home. Oh, I will explain the BT: Jimmy T sends in an upcoming post.

BT: Jimmy T sends.