JOURNAL ARCHIVE:
9/26/2006 7:33 PM
Looking at the map of Africa, I started wondering if it wasn’t Djibouti I was walking to but Kenya. I might have been transported from Kenya to Djibouti to a ship in port there. Or I am converting routine memories of Djibouti while on forgotten deployments.
9/26/2006 7:59 PM
If I really was on Sheffield, this would explain why we were hit. I found a news article on microfiche about this a while back and I think it was dated April 28. The Sheffield was hit a few days later on May 4th. The sinking of the Argentine cruiser on the 2nd probably just gave them even more incentive to hit any ship I was on.
http://www.answers.com/topic/falklands-war
The White House continued its neutrality; Reagan famously declared at the time that he could not understand why two allies were arguing over "That little ice-cold bunch of land down there". But he assented to Haig and Secretary of Defense Caspar Weinberger's position. Haig briefly (April 8–April 30) headed a "shuttle diplomacy" mission between London and Buenos Aires, but at the end of the month Reagan blamed Argentina for the failure of the mediation, declared U.S. support for Britain, and announced the imposition of economic sanctions against Argentina.
9/26/2006 8:11 PM
I wonder if that was before or after the 4th:
http://www.answers.com/topic/falklands-war
In early May, Casper Weinburger jokingly offered the use of an American aircraft carrier2. This seemingly extremely generous offer was seen by some as vital, as it was noted by Admiral Sir Sandy Woodward that the loss of Invincible would have been a severe setback, but the loss of Hermes would have meant an end to the whole operation. Weinberger admits[2] there would have been many problems if a request had ever been made, not least it would have meant U.S. personnel becoming directly involved in the conflict, as training British forces to crew the vessel would have taken years.
9/26/2006 8:42 PM
That battle I have written about on the Wainwright, where the Iranian ship fires the Harpoon at us must be the representation of the Sheffield getting hit.
http://www.ayup.co.uk/shuttup/shuttup2-0.html
These missiles quickly dropped to between six and eight feet from the sea and travelled at close to the speed of sound through rough waves, following a course programmed in by the pilots. 10km from the target the missile's own radar system picked out the target and homed in.
One history of the Falklands war says that as there were no "bogeys" on any radar screens at the time, the officers were making a satellite phone call back to Fleet HQ in England, an action that would jam the use of the ship radar. However, with other ships close by, notably the Carrier Invincible, this was not seen to be a risk. At the end of the call, reported the Guardian newspaper, the radar came back on and the two Etenards were spotted just 33km away. It was the Navy's first encounter with low-flying Exocet-carrying attack planes.
Another history says that the Sheffield's crew were "only in second-degree readiness rather than at full action-stations". The first the crew heard was a loudspeaker warning "Missile Attack - hit the deck". It reportedly took four minutes to close a ship down into battle stations and to be ready to take evasive action. The Sheffield had little more than a minute to react.
One of the missiles missed the target, but the other hit the Sheffield square amidships, penetrating deep into the the electronic fire control room.
One of the men who died was Senior Computer Chief Mike Till, from Houghton-le-Spring , Co Durham. When the missile hit his team stayed at their posts. They were working to get the ships computers back on line so that she might be able to defend herself, unaware that the planes responsible for the attack were long gone. Sadly it was too late for these men to escape the fire, smoke and fumes. Mike and his men all failed to survive.
9/27/2006 12:13 PM
Rocketeer man makes me think of Ketterman. Roc keteerman
I started thinking that the life raft I was on from Sheffield drifted to landfall on the Falklands. That is why I was writing about something similar a couple years ago. I was writing about some thoughts that the Wainwright had actually been hit by an Iranian missile and then a few of us in a life boat landed on the Iranian coast and had to evade capture for a while.
I have been wondering for a few days if there are any clues on my obviously fake DD-214 so I started looking at it again this morning. One of the first curious details I noticed was in the letter that accompanied my recent copies of the DD-214. It is from the National Personnel Records Center and included a request number that was generated when my social worker at the VA filled out the form to get these copies. The letter is dated July 14, 2005. It is signed by a person with the title of “Archives Technician.” His name is Thomas R. Seville. I can’t see how that could be a coincidence with the “Thomas R.” The last name of ‘Seville’ reminds me of that boat I wrote of that Melody Barber’s family owned in Greenville, SC. I wrote about how “Barber’s of Seville” was painted on the stern. I dated another girl named Barber, her first name was LaVerne, who worked in the lockbox at that bank in Charlotte.
Then I looked closer at the DD-214 and wondered about the details. I was most interested in the “Military Education” section, which is box 14. I was wondering why the 19 weeks of “C” school was turned in to 91 weeks. Then I started wondering if there is a date in there somewhere. That is also the period I am associating with being captive and then missing in Africa. The form has the following information in it:
14. Military Education (Course title, number of weeks, and month and year completed)
Fire Control Technician “A” school 23wks 86Nov; Terrier MK 152 Computer Complex 91wks 87Jun; BE&E SSC 12wks 86Apr;
I noticed a date could be formed from the course duration numbers and that yielded: 12/23/91. I can’t think of anything special about that date. I do remember though that on 12/23/01 was the date of that first bicycle crash I had where I separated my shoulder. As for that specific date, I can’t remember anything particular. I am pretty sure that on 12/25/91, though, I was over at Tracie’s house to meet her parents.
I wondered about several details on the DD-214 form. I wondered about the “Mailing Address After Separation” on line 19.a.
Line 19.a. Mailing Address After Separation (Include Zip Code)
Brookwood 1-A
Ashdown, Little Rock, AR 71822
Why “Brookwood”? And why did they write the part about Little Rock? Ashdown is a long ways from Little Rock. I wondered if there is any significance to how someone originally typed “AK” for the abbreviation for Arkansas and then it was corrected with an ink pen.
9/27/2006 5:54 PM
Did I win an Olympic gold medal in my youth?
And if so, in what event?
9/27/2006 6:59 PM
It would make sense that I was an Olympic medalist. It is consistent with a memory I have of talking to my sister Melissa. I may have written about this memory a while back but I am not sure. I believe it was 1995 when I was back home for Caitlin’s birthday and I was telling Melissa about some stuff I wanted to do, such as being in the Olympics and being an astronaut. It seemed possible because I was only about 30 years old at the time. I am thinking today that I am remembering a time when I was actually at one of my daughter’s birthday’s, probably Michelle Kwan, and I was talking with her about my accomplishments. I am guessing that her mother waited until Michelle was older to tell her that I was her father. To help prove it to her, I arranged for those two shuttle missions to return on her birthday and I am guessing I was on those two flights and we had her birthday party after I landed.
9/28/2006 1:23 PM
Maybe I was part of some Track and Field team, possibly at Princeton, and that led me to the Olympics. I started thinking last name about reasons why Thedia had a little dog named “Taffy” when I was a kid. The idea was that the “TAF” stood for Track And Field and that a nickname for anyone on a T.A.F. team was a “TAFie”.
Why is Thedia’s birthday 9/10/48? Because of the peak of the Atlantic hurricane season I wrote of earlier? And who does her brother, Warren, represent? Does the symbolism of her as “The Defense Intelligence Agency” extend to him as her younger brother? His son studied mathematics in college but then went on to become some kind of park ranger for the Forestry Service.
Why did I have a red Nissan XP pickup that was a 1986.5 model year? Why is that detail of the model year important?
After Michael died in November 1986, Thedia took down all the pictures of all us kids from the house. She said that seeing Michael’s picture made Denzil upset so she decided it was easier to take down all the pictures.
I have been wondering for a while if I am related to Queen Elizabeth. Today I was thinking she was either my grand-aunt or my grandmother. I started thinking that she is Patrick Stewart’s mother but I am still not certain. That could explain why she made that comment about sunshine on her birthday. I am guessing that Reagan was planning to be President for a long time and he wanted a grandson that would be the grandson of the U.S. President and also the King and Queen of England, a grandson of the leaders of both worlds.
9/28/2006 1:37 PM
There have been several times I have tried to remember my maternal grandmother’s other given name and I always want to say it was Elizabeth, but I can’t remember for certain. Queen Elizabeth would be my paternal grandmother, but I don’t think that detail is important. They even have a similar appearance in my mind.
9/28/2006 1:44 PM
I wonder if this is why Microsoft had Wally Simpson sitting near me all that time:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elizabeth_II_of_the_United_Kingdom
Although her birth generated public interest, no-one could have predicted that she would become Queen. It was widely assumed that her uncle, the Prince of Wales, would marry and have children in due course. Had Edward stayed on the throne and produced no heirs (which would have been likely due to his wife Wallis Simpson's reproductive issues), Elizabeth would still have not become Queen had her parents ever produced a son; even though younger than Elizabeth, such a son would have had precedence over her, and assumed the throne as King.
9/28/2006 3:31 PM
I’ve noticed that when you hear George W. Bush casting blame on someone, it is actually about what he is guilty of. He points fingers at Democrats for being “cut and run” because he is guilty of not completing his Air National Guard commitment. I suspect that many of the accusations he makes are based on his own feelings of guilt about similar deeds. He points his finger and someone but he always has three other fingers pointing back at himself.
9/28/2006 3:59 PM
My theory is that Bush reveals improper thoughts in his mind without realizing it. People commonly refer to his type of behavior as “Freudian slips.”
9/28/2006 6:50 PM
One day when I was in the gulag in Pioneer Square, there was a choir that came in and performed down in the cafeteria. It must have been a Tuesday because I think we had that weekly house meeting that day and they were still in there. I think they started during the dinner meal. It may have been around last Christmas. I remember thinking they had sure traveled a long ways to be there. Were they not from Princeton University??!!
9/28/2006 6:56 PM
I think it was this group. Whoever they were, they were very good.
http://www.princeton.edu/~choir/
9/28/2006 6:59 PM
I see there is also a Chamber Choir, so it might have actually been that group.
http://www.princeton.edu/main/tools/az/c.xml?section=arts
9/28/2006 7:44 PM
I really want to remember this stuff:
http://www.princeton.edu/~aikido/
In our teaching we encourage everyone. Maruyama Sensei has said not everyone can be a great marathon runner or tennis player, but everyone can become proficient in Aikido through Kokikai training. He says "If I can do it, you can do it."
9/28/2006 7:47 PM
I actually do remember….something….I can’t explain it. It feels that I am holding an unmarked, undistinguishable book that I don’t know the name of or the contents but I know I have read it already.
9/29/2006 9:39 AM
Ah, maybe it is not “Brookwood 1-A”; rather it is “Brookwood I-A.” Even though it is definitely a number 1 on the form, it may represent the letter I, as in “Brookwood Intelligence Agency.” The significance I do not know.
In my memory, I remember smoking cigarettes for a time. I wonder if that is actually representative of lung damage from the fire on the Sheffield. Instead of actually smoking cigarettes for over 10 years, I inhaled toxic fumes from a fire that had the instant impact on my lungs that was the equivalent of smoking cigarettes for about 10 years.
Those two medical assessments for service connected disabilities from earlier this year. The first was on 4/27 and the second on 5/4. The first date is when I have been thinking I graduated the USNA in 1982 and the second is the date of the Sheffield strike a few days later in 1982.
Maybe there are other clues about me associated with USS Princeton CG-59.
My dental work is lousy because that reinforces my cover if I was captured in the former Soviet Union or a third-world country. If I had good dental work, it would have been a dead give away. I have thought about this several times because of two clues I heard over the past decade. One clue was a comment the dental tech, or whatever was her title, made when cleaning my teeth. That was, I think, the year 2002. The second clue, reinforced by my suspicion that all medical people I saw were relaying personal details about me as participants in this perverse Truman Show, was a news article I read. It was something about, I think, a nineteenth-century soldier and how his pipe-smoking habit was illustrated in his remains by some kind of tarry substance on his teeth. In my memory, I used to chew tobacco as well as smoke cigarettes, so it made sense. Now I’m not sure what it means. Maybe I really did use Copenhagen tobacco and that is what the person cleaning my teeth was commenting on because there was some residue under my gums from that.
9/29/2006 10:21 AM
And your seat back can be used as a re-entry shield.
http://cosmiclog.msnbc.msn.com/archive/2006/09/28/5054.aspx
In space, no one can serve you coffee.
That's just one of the amenities you'll have to do without during a suborbital rocket plane ride. But when you're paying somewhere around $200,000 to zoom to the edge of space, to see the black sky and curving Earth and get that feeling of weightlessness, it's all about safety and the spectacle. Mundane amenities such as beverage service and in-flight restrooms will go by the wayside.
9/30/2006 7:35 PM
I wish I had marked the date of that strike by those people on the trail in Redmond that day. I am certain they are part of Reichert’s Death Squad. I knew the guy was trying to hit me because we hit so hard. If he had not been trying to hit me, we would have sort of bounced off each other, a deflecting hit. Instead, it was a solid hit. I remember it knocked my shoe out of the clipped pedal and I think it knocked my right hand off the handle bar. It was remarkable that I didn’t crash, especially because I was moving at a pretty good speed on that open stretch. The hit caused me to veer off to the other side of the trail, fortunately no one was following me or we would have certainly crashed into each other, and I stopped and dropped my bike. I was going to pummel the guy at that point because I knew something was wrong with that situation, but he didn’t seem that threatening because he was shorter than me and he had a foreign accent. He didn’t do anything else threatening so I let it go. I remember he started off by approaching me behind my back and asking me what my problem was. I ended the “conversation” by telling him I was “tired of his shit.” I suspect what they did is go back to their superiors, probably with video from the jogger I passed shortly before reaching them, and reported that I was aggressive because we hit. It’s called manufacturing evidence. Assuming that a judge has authorized this constant surveillance of me, it was based on their aggressiveness. They staged that event and took it to a judge as proof they needed to keep me in their virtual cage. They were doing it to kill me or to get me killed. There is absolutely no doubt about that. And still it continues.
9/30/2006 7:49 PM
I remember thinking at the time there was probably a hidden camera around there somewhere. I figure he didn’t act aggressive after he got in my face because that was going to be the start of the tape segment that showed me punching him. They would only show that part. They wouldn’t show him leaning into me as we passed in order to provoke the whole incident. They also wouldn’t show how they bracketed me so that one of them would be close enough to hit me as I passed.
9/30/2006 7:56 PM
And they don’t release video unless they think it helps their cause, such as supporting Reichert and his Death Squad in his aspirations for Congress.
9/30/06 11:26 PM
This may be where "Draper" comes from:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Kauffman_%28FFG-59%29
USS Kauffman (FFG-59), an Oliver Hazard Perry-class frigate, is a ship of the United States Navy named for Vice Admiral James L. Kauffman (1887–1963) and his son, Rear Admiral Draper L. Kauffman (1911–1979), both experts in sub-surface naval missions.
10/1/2006 4:24 PM
http://www.reaganfoundation.org/reagan/speeches/rendezvous.asp
October 27, 1964
As for the peace that we would preserve, I wonder who among us would like to approach the wife or mother whose husband or son has died in South Vietnam and ask them if they think this is a peace that should be maintained indefinitely. Do they mean peace, or do they mean we just want to be left in peace? There can be no real peace while one American is dying some place in the world for the rest of us. We are at war with the most dangerous enemy that has ever faced mankind in his long climb from the swamp to the stars, and it has been said if we lose that war, and in doing so lose this way of freedom of ours, history will record with the greatest astonishment that those who had the most to lose did the least to prevent its happening. Well, I think it's time we ask ourselves if we still know the freedoms that were intended for us by the Founding Fathers.
Not too long ago two friends of mine were talking to a Cuban refugee, a businessman who had escaped from Castro, and in the midst of his story one of my friends turned to the other and said, "We don't know how lucky we are." And the Cuban stopped and said, "How lucky you are! I had someplace to escape to." In that sentence he told us the entire story. If we lose freedom here, there is no place to escape to. This is the last stand on Earth.
