4 July 1776

230 years is a LONG time , we have fought many wars & made TONS of advancements in Medical , Scientific & Manufacturing plus tons of other fields, just by letting people be FREE , the worst thing I can hear is , "Hi I'm from the Government & I am here to help" ! our poor Founding Fathers must be beside them selves if they could see what has happened in the last 230 years, technology has advanced , but so have the graft ,coruption & Government interference in our daily lives , I know & you know , that Morality can not be legislated , when you make any law or rule it effects different people different ways , I think it is Time to slow down the Federal Government , cut back on spending, cut the size of the state legeslature , turn more programs over to local government where the people have a say of how things should be done & not mandated from Washington DC , to many l;aws & rules on the book, to much tax being spent by the law makers for graft & coruption, & it is BOTH partys doing it , BOTH NEED to be told by the voters to Straighten up or go get a REAL JOB, what happened to the citizen who would go into government for a few years & then go back to the farm or the printing press & make an HONEST BUCK, but they have found a job in the fact as long as we elect them year after year , they are on the Gravy train . 230 years is a long time & it is getting worse every day , I hope & pray we will be here an other 230 years but at this rate of decline I dont know if the Greatest Country on earth will be here & a force to recon with in the next 50 years , I will be long gone in 50 years from now but my grandsons will still be here I hope, I feel sorry for them right now, 230 Yars is a long time to you & I but in the larger picture 230 years is a snap of the fingers . Happy Birthday Americia , I hope you have 230 more .

The Colonel said:

A very sage-like post, thanks, Vince.

And, thanks for your time in the USN.

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Your welcome my friend, & the time I spent in the Navy was Great, even the Months in the hospital were fine, , if I had to do it all over again I would in a heart beat, the only thing different I will duck next time hahahaha ! Enjoy, Vince

Duck~~ Schmuck, my specialty when when we were at sea was Fresh caught sea food ala Mchales Navy, the sonar operator & the Quatermaster , would make sure they found a nice school of fish or squid , we had Fresh Tuna more than I can remember, grilled over charcole , served on a bed of rice , man we ate Great !!
Sea Bass was a favorite of the Capt. & crew , being a small ship we all ate in the same area, , no special gally for the officers & chiefs, but there were only 4 officers & 23 other enlisted men so I cooked for portions for 30 at each meal,, never had any leftovers !
We did have a small weight problem on the ship, , seams it started a few weeks after I got there & replaced the cook they had before me , , a skinny little guy from the New England area , you would think he was a good sea food cook, with all the fresh stuff we were able to get , but this guy was a Food is to eat to stay alive kind of guy , I am the stay alive to eat more kind of thinking guy., Dammmm I miss the great FRESH caught sea food , pull it out of the water , clean it - Cook it ! EAT IT !!!!!!
Enjoy, Vince

The Colonel said:

Vince, you ever find yourself around Cape Cod, let me know. There is a 30' fishing boat at Sandwich Marina just waiting to take you out. I may be there tomorrow.

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Thanks for the offer but I will be in the Burgh all summer this year, eye surgery comming up next week or so, detatched retna in the left eye , 3 laser treatments & no better time for the knife YUCK ! IT IS H3LL getting old but I guess it beats the alternative !
Enjoy, Vince

Bloofington said:

Why a duck?

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What to buy a duck? ( from some Marx Brothers movie I think )

I got out in 71 , I loved the JOB, I wasnt a very good military man , I went to the HawkEye Pierce school of military ediquite BUT I was one hell of a stew burner , I cooked a little differently than most cooks , & I had an XO who was from a hospitality family & understood what I was doing, I wanted to make it till I had 30 years but I got hurt & ended up getting out, dammm I could have been set for life , retired at 48. , but since I didnt get to stay in the Navy for 30 I had to wait till I hit 50 to retire( you dont retire when you get to 62 or 65 , the best time to go is as soon as you can aford to go, the house was paid for & the daughter had her degree & was married, the job market was ripe for me to go & I had a part time job lined up at a radio station , did that when I was waiting for the 401K to kick in , now I just sell cigars when I find the time ! ) , damm the last 2 years were tuff ! hahahaha , so now I have been retired almost 12 years , but with the price of gas & cigars I just might need to get a part time job again ! it sucks !hahaha


Enjoy, Vince