Yellow Submarine

And our friends are all aboard
Many more of them live next door. . .
- Lennon/McCartney

The last two days have been pretty exciting for me. I was web-surfing, looking at sites and photos of my old submarine, SSN 705, the City of Corpus Christi, when I ran across a crew-list that contained some of the names of the guys I was on her with, back when we were all part of her PCU. I took a shot and e-mail contacted a few of them; and, lo and behold, I got responses!!! They were nice responses, too - after all, they were all a great set of sailors (the best of the best). After that, I went back to the webpage I found and e-mailed a few more. Hopefully, I'll get even more responses; at least that's what I'm looking forward to.

In my life, I've never been with a finer group of people than the ones I served with on the City of. My only hope, with these e-mails, is that I can thank them for letting me serve with them and let them know that, even after all these years, I still think they're the greatest!

And now, for something completely different. . . :)
(or how to wax poetic and be really, really bad at it)

I was a young man when we first met
but she was a lady I'll never forget

Big and black she was with a skin hard as steel
love and hate coming together is how she made me feel

I helped make her go and she went like a band
bringing me safely to many a land

We hid in the ocean and swam with the fish
she gave me all that she had and more than I could wish

Quite quiet she was - never making a sound
even while bringing me all the world 'round

Taking me tither and yon, then taking me back
I'll never forget her, my lady in black

Back in the Saddle

I'm ridin'. . .I'm shining up my pistol
I'm ridin'. . .I really gotta thistle
- Tyler/Perry

Hello again, everybody! I am truly sorry that this posting comes so long after my last one, but I've had a few life-changes, many of them large ones. These changes were brought about as a result of my loss of job in Rochester, MN. Not long after my last post, I pretty much ran out of living money and (after asking, of course) moved in with my parents in Cheeseheadland, er, I mean, Wisconsin. :) I am happy to report, however, that I am now again among the gainfully employed and doing quite well, thank you.

It will be a very, very hot day in Minnesota before I wear a wedge of cheese, however. I make myself feel better by considering that I'm currently in exile. :)

No, really, I've been able to get out and about a little here, and, I must say, overall, Wisconsin is very scenic. The area in which I live has quite excellent whitetail hunting, and I was able to get out and do that for the first time in many years, this last fall. There are bears and 'yotes here, and an occasional timber wolf and cougar (even though the Wisconsin DNR denies it). Wild turkey (no, not the whiskey) and ring-neck pheasant are also in abundance. Oh, and trumpeter swans are native to the cranberry bogs just east of here. Yes, I think it's nice, and you'd think that I'd be happy here; but it's just not like that. It's just not home, to me.

Shortly after my last post I attended my grandmother's funeral in Babbitt, MN. For obvious reasons it was a somber affair, but it was very nice to see so many people there that I hadn't seen in years. We, as a family, drew together again to mourn her passing. Right after the funeral, one of my sisters invited me to spend some of her vacation with her. By some calender fluke, her vacation was planned for the weekend after gramma's funeral - she and her daughter and my other niece and nephew were going to use her pull-up camper and spend some quality time on Lake Superior's north shore. The decision took me approximately 5 microseconds - there was a bit of consideration/guilt to the fact that I was basically "freeloading" on my sister; but the words "north shore" are the ultimate arm-twist, for me. :) And, somewhat needless-to-be-said, I had a ball. While sad, my gramma's passing brought me back in touch with family and friends and my home.

One other thing that came of the funeral event was that I talked to my parents about my current life-condition and asked if, if I couldn't find another job soon, I could move in with them to try to get my life back together. They're wonderful people, the best parents anybody could have had - and they understood. I spent the next few weeks flailing about in Rochester, alternating between job hunting and watching the Twins. The end was near, however, and by the end of the month I, with dad's help, moved to Black River Falls, Wisconsin.

A little more than six months ago, my life began to turn around. I got hired at my current job, which is at a place called Regal-Beloit Electric Motors Division (Leeson). The work is hard, but it pays fairly well. I had my six month review today, and, like my previous reviews, it was above average. Evidently, I'm being successful there - which always makes me happy. Most of the time I work on one of their assembly lines, but they also trained me to be a painter, and I also do that when they need me to. As I wrote, it's hard work (the motors are heavy) but I do like it, except for a few things (work is work, you know).

I stayed with mom & dad for a few months after being hired, to build up some money. Now, I live in an apartment in a small house in town. I had a bit of difficulty finding an internet provider (it's like dial-up limbo here) and getting the 'net to work for me. It also took me a little time to get a few other things arranged (like this blog) but, now, here I am. :) I should be able to be a little more regular in my blogging now (yeah, right, Jeff, like you are regular at anything) and, hopefully, all my friends can come and see my posts in here.

Thank you all for being patient with me. Also, thank you all for supporting me when I was having a rough time. Keep an eye on Da Fox Hole - you never know what you'll see in here next.