Ken Q

The San Juans are really beautiful. We've been there twice, both times for the Cumbres & Toltec Railroad. First time just as passengers, the second time I took their four day Steam Locomotive Fireman course. Get tired of walking take the train. 60+ miles of gorgeous scenery, and a great connection to our history. Unfortunately from Long Island NY it's a bit of a slog, or we'd do it again. Ken

Those were the days. Alas, now, while the spirit is willing, the flesh is weak. Sorry Rodge, I know this is not Paul's intent, but at our age, apropos. Ken

Great way to start, but lets not stop there. Two cups of coffee before all of the above suggestions, to whet the appetite, and two cups after to help settle it all. Ken

Poached eggs on toast and corned beef hash. But eggs and bacon (not crispy, thank you), and waffles with sausage are a delight too. Today I made ham and cheese omelets; the wife made the hash browns. So many good things! Ken

Happy birthday, Jack. Many happy returns! Ken

Best wishes, and many more! Ken

Happy birthday, Don. And John, Gumby, Rodger and Wain, Thank you very much!! Ken

Ye-ah, Mainers often have limited patience with tourists. To a Maine farmer stacking stones to build a wall: "Where'd the stones come from?" " Glacier brought 'em." "Where'd the glacier go?" " Back to get some more. " Ken

My wife, who has spent a lot of time recently researching WW2 food supplies and rationing (for a WW2 program at the 19th century living history museum where we both work) concurs with this explanation. Ken

Other. While I greatly enjoy the occasional cup of tea, I'm more of a coffee drinker. My wife, on the other hand, is the tea drinker. Her favorite: Scottish Breakfast Tea from a local tea merchant called "The Clippers Ship Tea Company.". While we are both great fans of Sir Tommy Lipton the yachtsman, we find his tea too acid for our aging stomachs. Ken

As is Lexington (CV,CVA, CVT 16) in Corpus Christi, TX, and Hornet (CV,CVA, CVS 12) in Alameda,CA. Ken

You are so right. This, has been noted in a much earlier thread on this otherwise impressive scenery. Ken

I don't even pick the phone up. If I don't know who's calling, I let it go to the answering machine so I can monitor the call. If the calling party identifies themselves, and I am willing to talk to them I pick it up, otherwise tough. Case where it is some i want to talk to occurs only a couple of times a year, almost all of the rest are scams. There can be 15 on some days. Most are so transparent I don't see how anyone could fall for them, but they do. Ken

He's laughing at us, the stoopy humans! We're an endless source of entertainment for a cat.

Me too!

I think of my father, Curtis R Muller, BM2, USCG. Those who die of the War, don't necessarily die during it. In the aftermath of WW2, they did not understand PTSD and its lingering effects so when a 27 year old, in seemingly good health, drops dead of a heart attack, they say "oh, well too bad.". But my mom told me that he often woke up at night having nightmares about Leyte Gulf! And maybe there is more: I also think of a poor young Marine PFC named Bowling. Recently a surviving ship mate of my father, obviously haunted by the incident, reached out to me and told me of this. On a LST in convoy in the S. Pacific, they were attacked by Japanese torpedo bombers. A nearby ship (a LCI) was hit, exploded, and shrapnel hit poor PVT Bowling in the head. My father, assisted by the aforementioned ship mate, were detailed to make the burial shroud. I can only imagine how this affected him, A 21 year old. My sincere condolences, Greg. Losing a Uncle is very sad. Losing a Father is even harder. And a friend. OND and Rodger, my sincere sympathy. But my heart bleeds for those who lose a child. Ken

Hmmm. I think Rodger has a different approach in mind to the question than this thread is taking. It's not choose a,b, c,or d, but choose option one or two for each of the categories. So here goes. A. I'll go for #2. Having only seen 'roos in zoos, not having lived in Oz, I think they're cute and exotic. But I can well understand that our Aussie friends may well have another opinion. Here on Long Island we have the same ambivalent feelings about deer. B. I don't know! Well outside of my experience. But based on what I don't know, I'll go for 2. C. Great Alpha predator, much maligned. I'll have to say 1, but with a caveat. People and wolves don't mix well. We need to stop destroying their natural habitat. D. The answer is obvious. We're the national treasures. If only those young'uns would listen to us the world would be a much better place (at least for us oldsters). And by the way, Rodger, you're right about the cicadas. They can be a problem, because they are so LOUD! Ken

This is why married men live longer than the unmarried! Men, listen to your wives. If you're fortunate enough to have a wife who is a medical professional, you have an advantage, but a loving, intelligent other viewpoint who won't accept our stupid excuses can be a lifesaver. Ken

I had blood in the urine a couple of years ago. Only happened once. But being under regular care of a urologist I told him about it when I saw him a couple of weeks later. Good news: kidney stones. Bad news: KIDNEY STONES. Blasted with ultrasound. All's well that ends well. Thank goodness it wasn't cancer. But I have a friend who was diagnosed with bladder cancer a few years ago ( just after my P.C. diagnosis). Again, caught very early, and he's fine today- just saw him at church this morning. But getting old ain't for sissies. If it's not one thing it's another. But early detection and prompt treatment is the key to keeping us old Coot's around. Ken

Don, Your story is the same as mine. In my case after a routine blood test the PSA noted as going up. It wasn't too high, just over 2, but was increasing somewhat rapidly, so we followed up with it, and did the radiation treatment. No surgery or hormones. That was ten years ago. At this point I see the oncologist and the urologist each once a year. I try to schedule the appointments about six months apart, so I get checked by one of them twice a year. I'll add to your call to all our forum friends: get checked. Don't let them tell you that the PSA isn't necessary. Get it anyway. As my doctor said it's not a very good test, but it's what we got. I lost a friend to P.C., and my wife an uncle. Not good. But if caught early it can be cured, and now there are even more treatment options. Ken

I'm glad that you're a candidate for the vaccines; not all transplant patients are ( including my neighbor). That is promising. Be well! Ken

I got a ride in the COD version of this aircraft, the C1A. The assistant navigator was doing night touch-and-goes to maintain is quals. Great fun until I got air sick. This was at Quonset Point. Ken

Well, if you convinced Adambar to believe you, he and his sore butt would be out to get you, once he persuaded his legs to work again.

Gumby, you've got a lot to be grateful for. Modern medicine is working miracles every day. But Covid is not gone yet, so stay safe. My next door neighbor had a double lung transplant several years ago. He was doing pretty well, but we lost him to Covid about six weeks ago The Prostate Cancer wasn't too bad. It was caught VERY, VERY early. 40 radiation treatments, three times a week. Some unpleasantness towards the end, but not severe. My close call, and that for which I am most grateful, was a nearly fatal asthma attack over twenty years ago. Wheeled into emergency on Friday evening, passed out going through the doors. Woke up on Tuesday intubated on a respirator. Close call, but I did recover well, but it took time. Ken

Hi Rodger, curious about where you found these figures. The AOPA fact sheet gives the figures for the PA 18-150. DNE (Red Line): 120 kts. Max Structural Cruise: 94 kts. Fuel Capacity. 36 gal. Fuel burn 9 GPH. That would give about 4 hours endurance, or about 375 miles without reserves. It does have a Service Ceiling of 21,300 ft, but at an initial Climb Rate of 960 fpm, which of course rabidly decreases with altitude, it will take a while to get there. There is a 160 and 180 HP model as well, and these would have somewhat better performance, but I don't think we'd see 325 mph or 2000 mile range. Ken