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David Mitchell

Just for fun

No. This is not THEE OHIO STATE Marching band

Joseph D. McCarthy

Just received an Email of an article in the CATHOLIC TIMES.

This includes everyone who graduated BEFORE 1977.

David Mitchell

PIZZA OVEN

At the risk of of another repeat, (forgive me if I shared this before - my memory is getting worse) I want to share my most goofy episode in my 18 month tour in the "Delta". 

After losing 2 Commanding Officers in a short span of time, I became one of the 3 AMCs (Air Mission Commanders - both in the air, and on the ground (but only in certainn duties).

One of my duties was to man the Operations Office. The "OPs" office was the nerve center of the Troop and my duty was to man the office desk , assist the Radio man at the desk next to mine, and be available for phone calls and walk in "business" of al kinds.

prior to this day.............

Our Sqaudron had a growing "issue" with the Officers club not being able to cook pizza correctly. We were told that we needed a real pizza oven to correct the problem. So one of the several dozens (maybe 200) of officers - remember lots of pilots means lots of officers - called a meting at the "O-club" and explained he had a buddy who worked in supply "channels" in Saigon and he could get us a real pizza oven. We all put in $10 or $20 and were told he would relay it to his buddy and we'd have it in a few weeks.

Back to me in the Ops office.......

I'm sitting at my desk and the phoe rings. It's somebody down at headquarters (other end of the airfield) asking if our Troop could spare an off-duty ship and crew to fly down to Can Tho ("can toe") 20 minute south - and pick up a pizza oven that has been dropped of for us to come get?

I said "Yes" Give me half an hour and I'll find a crew and get a ship (one of our Hueys). I'll call them back when we are ready.

I got 2 pilots and two door gunners - I would ride along and supervise but not fly the ship.

A short trip and we are descending on the airfiled at CAN THO. There on a helipad is a full sized 1,500 pound "Blodgett" on four long legs and no cover - at all - not wrapped - not crated - not even guarded.  

TBC

David Mitchell

PIZZA OVEN.     cont.

We set the ship down near the oven and started figuring out how we were going to do this.

I should explain - we had uttely no idea what we were doing when we set ot to do this - NO CLUE

We had this sling that most of our hueys carry that is quite strong. It can be attached to a hook on thr belly of the ship and hangs down carrying all different sizes and shapes of objects - in sort of a soft flexible "basket". The "basket" is a cross woven group of 3 or 4 inch wide nylon straps that are gathered at 4 corners, and those 4 corners are hoined into one very thick single strap abuot 6 inches wide gathered around a strong metal "D-ring". 

We did notice that last section (the 6 inch wide one) had been sliced clean thru about 2 of those 6 inches. We looked at it and in our ignorance thought "Eh, it'll be okay."

We hooked up the connection sitting next to it (both ships still on the ground), then got all of us on board and began to hover - very slowy. Everything workd okay and we called the tower for take-off.

After cearance and a slow take-off we were climbing slowly out over the Mekong - which is right there of the edge of Can Tho runway.

At about 1,000 feet and part way across the very wide Mekong (with a fair amount of "Sam Pan" traffic) we all felt this sudden sense of abrubt lift. And the left door gunner yelled                  "O H H H HH H     S H H H I I I I I T T T T !"

We banked left for a moment just in time for me to see the splash.

David Mitchell

PIZZA OVEN -  cont.

In case you're curious about what happened when we got back to Vinh Long airfield - without our planned "cargo", I am still amazed at the outcome.

We had a lively disscussion in the cockpit on the 20-minute flight back. First of all we threatened the 2 door gunners with their lives if they ever opend their mouths about it.

Then we 3 pilots agreed to avoid going to the Officers Club for a long time (which was quite a sacrifice considerring the mess hall was pretty "blah" food.) And we 3 also kept our mouths shut.

But what is interesting is that noone came back on us about it. What I still beleive happened is that the guy who organized the purchase and delivery could not dare launch an inquiry, or retreive the cash from his buddy in Saigon because the whole thing was "illegal" and they couldn't risk exposing their name connected with it.

It simply went away. 

Ironically the Airfiled commander ordered the construction of a small Pizza parlor (take-out only) in a tiny new hooch right across the dirt road from our hooch - just about a month before I was done with my tour extension. They were real pizza ovens and the pizza was very good.

-------------

I would give anything to find any of the guys on that flight. I have a photo of a group of guys in our Troop, and one of the two other pilots who flew us down and back is in the photo but I can' find any of the guys I am in touch with these days who can recall his name.

Joseph D. McCarthy

Dave I think you would have been better off ordering the oven from Sears.  Just a thought.

Michael McLeod

Just read a story about pot becoming more popular and it mentioned our age group as being somewhat inclined to indulge.

been a long time since i've done a doobie.  smoked pot in college and even grew some out back 'cause it was cool and more importantly economical or seemed so, but never really enjoyed it.  To this day I don't understand its appeal. 

i'll have a manhattan now and then but that's as racy as this old fart gets these days.

David Mitchell

Joe,

Too bad Amazon wasn't available back then. I can just picture a Huey with the swoop lable on the side. 

-------------------------------

Joe, Mike, and Jack,

Is discombobulated a word?

Michael McLeod

I'm lovin' the oven story, dave.

Looking back I sometime wish I'd had a chance at being a war correspondent.

Stories like that, humor in uniform, apart from the great works about the tragedy and heroics of combat, have alway been among the writers and stories I've enjoyed and quite frankly revered. Maybe I'll find an old favorite and post it here.

In reference to a recent discussion here I l did a little research about "discombobulated."  The word dates back two hundred years or so, invented as part of a fad among  literary wits to make up humerous Latin-soundiing words.

speaking of war correspondents, remember the years when we were sweating out the prospect of a nuclear war holocaust between us and the soviet union? Thank goodness that nighmarish possibility has receeded. Knock on wood.

Joseph D. McCarthy

Yes Dave, discombobulated (a verb) is word.  I even checked the Merriam dictionary.  I was also going to check Funk and Wagnalls (the central Ohio encyclopedia) but I thought that would be to discombobulating.

Michael McLeod

I'm having trouble fixing my tv dinner tonite. it says "stir potatoes and rotate meatloaf. "

way too complicated.

Mary Margaret Clark (Schultheis)

I received this text from Colleen Mar at Watterson today. Perhaps Janie can email any classmates who have served our country but do not follow the message forum. For those interested here is a link to Colleen:  http://mrs.mar@bwhs.org  

Hi Mary Margaret. This is Colleen Mar from Bishop Watterson. Anne Campbell shared your #.

I’m working on the 2026 Eagle Review and would like to honor veteran alumni with photos of them in uniform when they served. This was posted on social media last week. Would you be able to share this with alumni you know who served in the military? (I have a little wiggle room on the deadline.) 

m

Michael McLeod

to celebrate national poetry month, here's my favorite robert frost poem for your enjoyment. I love it so much I know it by heart. It's as much of a prayer as a poem. He coaxed the sublimity of simple things into poetry that reminds us to notice them and savor them. What a blessed soul he was.  PS A "peeper," if that word doesn't register with you, is an old fashioned word meaning a small frog. I had to look it up myself.

The Onset

by robert frost

David Mitchell

The link to Colleen Mar brings up an empty Google page that says

404: error 

John Jackson

Latest from The Borowitz Report:

Vance Furious After ChatGPT Keeps Recommending Obama’s Nuclear Deal

WASHINGTON (The Borowitz Report)—Vice President JD Vance flew into a rage on Wednesday after ChatGPT repeatedly recommended former President Barack Obama’s nuclear deal with Iran.

Desperate to advance negotiations with the Islamic Republic, Vance asked the bot, “What is the best possible nuclear deal with Iran?,” only to have it extoll Obama’s 2015 accord.

Adding insult to injury, Chat responded to subsequent prompts by informing Vance that Obama reached this deal without a reckless military campaign that closed the Strait of Hormuz and required the US to pay Iran $300 billion.

Infuriated, Vance ordered the bot to stop praising Obama’s nuclear deal, whereupon it responded, “Fair enough! Would you like me to explore his other landmark achievements, like The Affordable Care Act?”

Mary Margaret Clark (Schultheis)

Sorry about the bad link, Dave. Try this & let me know if you have trouble:  mrs.mar@begs.org

James Hamilton, M. D.

Firey Sunset Over The Front Range

Caught this with my "ever present" cell phone camera as Janet and I were on the way home from the grocery store.

(And yes, she was driving 😄.)

Jim

Afterthought:

I think I see the top of a man's face in the lower right corner, above the two rounded peaks, formed by the darker clouds, watching the setting sun. Also,  an agonizing face in the cloud about 2 O'clock above the sun.

Jim

David Mitchell

Mary Margaret,

That second email address appears to work

Michael McLeod

Jack! Jocko! Good on ya, lad!

That sounds like a richly rewarding and extremely, no-bs way out of career doldrrums via strategies that bring out an individual's talents by, duh, channeling what engages and drives them. It sure sounds like you're describing a very efficient strategem that helps people get in touch with what they can bring to the table and why they want to bring it. I love it that you brought one of my lifelong heroes into the picture - I had a couple of brief but fabulous one-one-one conversations with Ali and of all the celebs and experts and professors and just amazingly talented and interesting individuals I interviewed, Ali was by far the most impressive, was somehow both down to earth and larger thaHe n life and inherently intelligent. Never have I ever felt like a guy I was talking to was like, heck, my next door neighbor, he sure treated me like I was, treated everybody that way from what I could see and sense: and damn does he have a big heart - childlike in a way and just BIG BIG BIG People who see him as a flamboyant goofy muscle man are missing the boat. 

Joseph D. McCarthy

Well Tuesday, the 24th. was day I celebrate as the second of my anniversaries.  It was on that day 20 years ago that among many things I stopped smoking cold turkey.  Hadn't planned it or focused on doing that it just snuck up on me.  When you have what they told my wife was a massive stroke life changes.  They told her NEVER to let me climb a ladder again; but someone has to clean the gutters and trim the trees, etc.  I guess I was lucky to have my wife drive me to the emergency room so that the stroke fully took place where I was under medical help.

All I can say is everyone should have a thorough check up to be sure there are no hidden problems.

Other than that party on.

Donna Kelley (Velazquez)

That was quite an adventure, Jack! Thanks for sharing it with us.

Joseph Gentilini

Happy Anniversary #2, Joe. So glad you stopped just in time.  Joe

Janie Albright (Blank)

Janie Albright (Blank)

Sorry, I just posted above a photo of the email message I sent out to those not registered yet. Here is a clickable link to register Watterson1966@aol.com

Michael McLeod

wow.

valley dale!!!!

 that place has been around forever. am I the only one who remembers his mom talking about that place from when she was young?