A Puerto Rican Thanksgiving

Patillas, Puerto Rico - click to enlarge
www.wikipedia.org

  Puerto Rico is a Commonwealth territory of the United States, the people are born with USA Citizenship and vote for their Governor, but can't vote for USA President, they do have a non-voting Representative to the US Congress.  And they celebrate Thanksgiving.
  Start with the Pavochon (turkey) stuffed with Mofongo, and the turkey is roasted.  So what is this Mofongo?  Well, it's plantain, a kind of banana - it's the reddish brown one in the supermarket, mashed and cooked with garlic and spices.  Then we could have Arroz con gandules, a Puerto Rican version of rice and beans.
  I have been watching some of the college basketball tournament the Puerto Rico Tipoff.  It looks like a nice place to go to the beach, above, but I don't think at my ago I'll go.
  Thanks to Darlene for the new subject suggestions, I can always count on her.

Mofongo
www.delicious-cooks.com photo

It's just an idea

Where we live, near the center (up) the two buildings
this is an old satellite photo (1999) there are 8 buildings
now, we live in the first one. - click to enlarge
www.google.com maps

  Just an idea is right, nobody lives in a place that's not seen from space, and more often than since 1999 has this place been overflown by spacecraft.  A lot of these fly overs in rural areas like this one were done for the Department of Agriculture on the federal level.  If you were to go to Google maps and pull the little man down you can get a more current view of our surroundings.
  I really don't have any idea of what to write about any more - not a clue.  I'm picking up new glasses today maybe that will help.
  I could write a political review (highly possible in this State), but it would tick some people off, while others laugh.  I don't want to tick anyone off.
  But I do have an announcement.  I walked over five miles yesterday for the first time since October 15th (one whole month), a long recovery for a geezer I think.  The walking is really good for me, it's cold outside but I've got warm double-knit wool mittens that work really well.

The rocks in Rangely Plantation, you can see them from space too,
I misplaced the photo tho.  - click to enlarge
An original geezer pic

First Snow

Geese in Bangor - click to enlarge
Photo by Linda O'Kresik/Bangor Daily News

  We had a little snow but I've already forgotten when, about a week ago I think.  So the first snow always gets written up in the paper; mainly because people forget how to drive.
  After that a few days later we had a couple of days in the sixties and now we are back to 'normal'.  It's in the twenties in the mornings and up to about 40 in the afternoon, once the sun kicks in.  But I'm still walking in the early morning so it's a bit chilly - had to get my mittens out yesterday.
  That's about it, an eventful time if ever that was one, 72.3 percent of all registered voters in Levant voted on election day; that's a good turnout.  Now, next election won't be a Presidential year so the turnout won't be as much, maybe 45 percent.

Eddington man. - click
Photo Gabor Degre/Bangor Daily News

Little or nothing

  This is number 1261, I've been doing this longer than I intended, but we'll just go on.  I noticed that fewer people read the blog when I write about airplanes.  I take it that there is little interest in planes, with the exception of Wilbur and I, who earned a livelihood while working with the things; planes were good to us.  Planes are also hard to forget, every time we want to hear what you say it's a struggle.  My hearing continues to get worse I was told during an appointment at the VA Clinic in September, and my hearing aids were adjusted accordingly.  Yesterday I noticed that the hearing has seemed to take a rapid drop in my left ear - it may not be the case and I'm the last one to be sure.
  Anyway maybe the plane stuff will go the way of my hearing - they're both closely related, believe me.  There are many, many subjects to write about I just can't always think of one.

Forty-six years ago

C131-F 141000 approaching Alameda - click to enlarge

  October 1, 1966 was the day we commissioned as VR-30, up until then we were Detachment Alameda of VR-21, a small difference.  Here is what was accomplished by the five C131F aircraft, in the first 3 months, (Oct 1966-Dec1966).  I had a direct hand in some of it because those were my first months on a flight crew.
  The five aircraft carried 9,473 passengers, 571,955 pounds of expedited cargo for a total of 240,155 nautical miles during 1457 flight hours on 638 flights.  There were 20 pilots and about 30 enlisted flight crew members.  We were all very busy because we didn't only fly missions - - we had other jobs too.  I was in charge of  Material Control (supply) and had a crew of 24 men who I directed, that was my primary job, the flight crew was just a side job.  Getting parts for those planes plus we had 6 C1A COD aircraft (Carrier On board Delivery) that flew another bunch of hours, two C2A Greyhounds which were replacing the C1A planes and out squadron was the primary training place for C2A pilots on the west coast.  We also late in the quarter got one CT39E which was a "Lear Jet" type of Executive Transport.
  Oh, and we had a great time doing our jobs!

A couple of our planes waiting for either work or repair. - click

The use of color to organize, or, How I arrived at....

Color to organize - you can click to enlarge if you want to

  How I arrived at that title gives some insight to the way I think.  Here we go:
  I had been laying awake in bed for maybe 10 minutes, I was thinking about the names men call their wives in Maine.  The Old Girl, Mother or even by her given name.  That thought brought to mind the
couple that used to do my audit at The Salvation Army.  With them, she never used his first name, she called him "dad", I suppose that came about by raising a family of 4 children and all of them calling him "Dad".
  Now you're asking "what the hell does that have to do with color?"!!  I tie it in this way.  The first time that couple came to audit me, the books hadn't been looked at by other than my self, or the former two people who held the title Business Administrator, it had been maybe 3 years.
  As you'll notice in that photo up there I still use color, I still use Microsoft Excel to organize too.  Those work sheets track my eating habits and my walking distance.  The sheet is color coded because the Nurse who works with me gets a copy by email each week and I wanted to make it easy for her.
  Now back to the story.   The title contains the word "ramble" does it not?  So, I'm rambling.  The Salvation Army bookkeepers don't use green ink. Period.  Well...not knowing that I was happily using color to organize my work, that included using green on some  Petty Cash records.  Bad and naughty are the words that were used, with good humor too.
  After that I had an audit every year, by the same couple - retired Salvation Army officers.  I continued to use color but always saved the green pens or markers for them.
  So.  That's it.  I only had to think of what men in Maine call their wives and there's a whole 'nother story.  Interesting, the human brain.

Veterans Day 2012

Naval Air Station Alameda, CA on approach
gone but not forgotten.

  I can't help but think back to my Navy days when these holidays arrive.  Wilbur up in North Dakota probably does too.  We spent several years together in buildings pictured in this photo (top) but you can't make them out very well.
  I left Alameda in 1963 and in 1966 I was back, this time in a squadron based in good ole Alameda.  I was fortunate to be able to join the ranks of Enlisted Flight Crews and saw this sight many times from the air.  My total time spent at Alameda is about nine years, half of my Navy life, it's almost like a hometown now.  Of course the base was closed some time ago, all that's left are the ghosts.  You can, as always, click on any photo to view it separately

Here's a view of San Francisco from the
end of the runway in the top photo.

A C131F like the ones I flew on as a crew member,
gone into the sunset, both of us.