NOT OUR MISSION TODAY - a short story

 Fifty-three years ago in a land far away. 

Two LOCH's and,

and two AH-1G Cobras fully armed and fueled were on a search and destroy mission. Find the enemy, get shot at to confirm and eliminate as needed. Call in extra assists as required. Back home for lunch, rearm and back to the flight line. We were very, very good at our job. Very good!

That day, the team leader was in the lead Cobra and called for us to land to further discuss our mission. 

The two LOCHs and his Cobra landed and, as I circled to final approach, I got a call from a small team of grunts in a fire-fight ten minutes away. A call for help. This was what we always trained for. Even looked forward to. Did it on a daily/nightly basis. Run into a gun fight to save the boys on the ground.

Arrive on target, get the bad guy positions in relationship to our boys and fucking remove the problem.

This was why I lived and flew during this second tour in the central highlands of Vietnam. This was how I spent my entire first year with the 1st Air Cav based out of An Khe. Nine hundred and ninety six logged combat missions when all was said and done. This was how every helicopter pilot and fixed-wing pilot operated during that first year. This was how the leadership operated. 

I set my Cobra down, set the engine to idle, threw open the canopy, jumped to the ground and ran to the team lead. I told him we had boys in a fire-fight about 10 minutes away and that I had told them we had a team of little birds and Cobras and would be soon on our way. 

"That is not our mission today," said the team lead.

I could not compute. I argued but to no avail. Court martial behavior and all of that. And it was at the moment that I knew the war had changed. Something had changed that went against the grain of all I stood for. Flying as a member of a fire team that gave no quarters to anyone. But leadership and the higher-ups did not, would not clear us that day. Our boys in a fire-fight and we were ordered NOT go to their aid. "That was not our mission" that day.

That was the day I walked away from flying combat missions in Vietnam. There was not any objective of flying into that kind of a gun fight I (we) could not have accomplished with that fire team. 

Add to this that we no longer even had the option to shoot back if shot at. We had to get clearance/permission to do so. The only thing I understood on that day was that I could no longer be a part of that part of the war machine. I offered up my wings, "flying" then into uncharted territory.  From that moment on, the only life I was willing to risk was my own.

Just a few days ago America's (unarmed school teachers and officials) children were in a fire-fight they could not win and the on-station LEO's mission, fully-equipped and trained, was to run into that school to save them.  Seems it wasn't their mission that day either.

So, nothing has really changed. When our children - 53 years ago, 200 years ago, or today - become expendable, there is clear and present danger in our lands, charting the days ahead for each and every citizen. 

 

YOU ARE NOT FORGOTTEN - GARDENS - NAAN BREAD - CUCUMBERS - ZUCCHINI RELISH - POTATO SALAD - EOW EATS

Mourning this weekend for all of the U.S. military personnel who have died while serving in the USA armed forces. 

Also a special place in my heart this weekend goes to all my brothers and sisters who gave their lives fighting the Vietnam War.  

CWO-1, Arnie Nakkerud, you are not forgotten.

Graduation day for ARMY HELICOPTER PILOT WOC Class 66-17

Ft. Rucker, Alabama 

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FIRST CAT SHOT.  Love the breathing. Three minutes.

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Pickling cucumbers, zucchini and a few yellow peppers

NAAN BREAD EXPERIMENTS

Great flavor and texture. High yield of bread using less flour. 

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Fresh Cucumbers

Pulled from the vine, wiped off. Top cut off and then eaten with a dash of salt on each bite. Much like a corn dog with a topping of mustard on each bite. Earthly fresh flavor and crunch.

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FRESH ZUCCHINI RELISH

Above jars just pulled out of the 10 minute hot water bath. Ten jars this day. 

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FRESH GARDEN POTATO SALAD

Red potatoes, red onions, fresh parsley, fresh farm hard boiled eggs. Sweet pickles, olives, celery, mayo and a shot of mustard. S & P.

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DILL PICKLE CHIPS

Hot water bath and done!

Thyme trimmed to dry. Will take a few weeks to dry. 

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EOW eats.

Just-add-water pancakes.

Local honey, Aunt J's syrup and butter. Add water to the dry mix and a smidgen of oil to the pan. Quick, tasty and filling.

Again, not promoting. 

Today, these quick-eat items are still on the shelves and fairly cheap. Not the beans, but I bought this can over a year ago and thought it costly then for the amount. But out of the can, quick, easy and good eats for one person. Campers and backpackers know the ease of use of these examples. 

And who has not spent time with Ramen Noodles. I notice now that the Ramen Noodle aisles in the local markets are mostly bare. "Sign, sign, everywhere a sign..."

If we go full-tilt Venezuela in the months ahead, these food group items will have been long gone.

Get 'em now, follow the directions, good eats and they add bulk at the meal table. I use a medium-sized skillet with a glass lid. Always yummy!!

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World has 10 week supply of wheat

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Texas elementary school shooting. Questions. 

Read and ask yourself similar questions. 

And a real-hero emerges. One man alone gets the job done.

Parents held back by heavily armed local police.

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Big rains and storms this week followed by sun days and warmth. Local gardens are producing. We are canning as much as we can and sharing. 

A large package delivery carrier dropped off two cardboard boxes in torrential rainfall after dark last night and outside the fence. Nope, not wrapped in a plastic bag. 

My wife was just told over the phone that she, "is over-thinking her complaint." To which my wife laughed out loud, one of those laughs from deep inside and then politely thanked the gal on the other end of the line for her time. Complete incompetence. 

It would have taken one full minute for the delivery person to wrap the two boxes in one of the plastic bags they have for these kinds of weather deliveries and then gently drop the boxes over the fence. One minute. 

Wrong think on our part? 

Not going without a fight!!

Have a blessed week and thank you for the visit. 

JUST ADD WATER - NO DIESEL NEEDED - WASTE NOT WANT NOT - FIRE ANTS

Just add water bulk pepper gravy mix for EOW.

This was a morning breakfast test of bulk (just add water) gravy mix her picked up a week ago locally. Two bags @$3 a bag. Not a food photo but a simple test for finding quick easy flavor in down times. 

The mix was very good. Served here with biscuits and chunks of sausage. Filling. Comfort flavors. Will work over most meats, potatoes, pasta, rice and even veggies.

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 BABY REDS

 

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GETTING THE JOB DONE WITHOUT DIESEL

I see memes and articles indicating, "no diesel, no food." These photos were pre-diesel work days. The fields were cut by hand using scythes. Horses worked. The whole family worked. Neighbors helped. 

During "these" work days, grandma was in the kitchen cooking the crew breakfast, lunch and dinner. Sunrise to sunset till all the hay was in the barn.

Extra foods produced were canned and pickled for winter use. 

The hayfields were then scattered with manure. Cattle by-product. And the seasons' growing cycles repeated.

This is one of my favorite photos of my grandfather. I edited for a closer view.

Just prior to posting this morning, my wife noticed that his right sleeve is shorter and appears to be repaired/hemmed compared to his left sleeve. 

On purpose or in keeping with nothing thrown away? My guess is that grandma repaired so the work shirt was still a good work shirt. Waste not want not!

Yet, the working of horses, hay wagons and tools working the fields, just maybe the sleeve would get in the way of a right handed person. Would not be out of the question for grandpa to tell grandma to cut the damn sleeve off. 

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ANOTHER EXAMPLE OF BABY FORMULA   April 1960

Do your homework and research. 
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Front lawn stump pull:

Neighbor brought over his big boy tractor and yanked out the last of the small stumps in our front yard. Turns out the Cub Cadet cannot mow stumps and is currently in the lawnmower hospital getting new blades and an overdue tune-up, oil, greasing thing. 

This stump residue was home to thousands and thousands of those little ******* red ants. Boom!!!

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I see "5 months" kicked around here and there. Five months till the final fall. Just before elections. Not too difficult to understand this timeline. June, July, August, September and October. We are in it now!!

Whatever any of wants or needs you have to get done, best to do all of that now. Same song and dance here. Week after week. 

Harvesting last of the onions today. Digging bucket 3 (of 5) potatoes and up-planting pepper starts. Pickling cucumbers soon. Cabbage a failure. 

We are murdering red fire ant hills on a daily basis. The little bastards have bitten me again, this time on my hands. One bite on my finger has been draining for 4 days now. The itch and irritation pushes me to my limits of wanting to dig holes in my infected areas just to reduce the itch for a few minutes. I learned that applying underarm deodorant fixes the itch problem immediately. Who knew?

Locals know this.

Have a great week. Appreciate the visit and God Bless.

GROWING UP IN AMERICA - 100 MILLION - BABY DUCK - BIMINI SUN SET - GAZPACHO - PESTO - SUPPLY CHAIN - BABY FORMULA

NEWBORN - SEATTLE APARTMENT JUNE 1945

IF ONLY DAD WOULD LET ME TRY

FILLING DAD'S BOOTS

CLAMMING THE BEACHES OF THE PACIFIC NORTHWEST

NOTICE MY AERODYNAMIC DESIGN ON THE FRONT. EVERYONE GOT TO DRIVE.

ALWAYS ALWAYS WONDERFUL CARS IN THE FAMILY SINCE DAY ONE

MOM AND DAD 1946

This week's The After intro is inspired by the above meme. Of the clues any of us ever had, I for one have no memory of ever thinking we were the last ones. Nor did I ever think growing up that we had a life less than wonderful. My folks worked their fingers to the bone providing and enjoying those years. 

I was taught that if I wanted, I had to do was work for it. 

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100 MILLION

We are being told what is coming. Again and again. 

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"$7 on pump #2 please." Conversation overheard on Monday at one of our local gas stations. 

Neighbor said that his pump shut off at $150 and the truck was only half full. 

Neighbor also told story of attending a big equipment auction last weekend and witnessed a used 2021 pickup truck sell for over $90,000. 

Grocery store baby formula shelves empty. We have seen this here in east Texas. Babies have survived around the world for eons without off-the-shelf pre-packaged formulas. How did that ever happen? 

There is an abundance of knowledge on this subject. Do your own research. 

Example from 1960:

Example 1965 

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Reported diesel shortage on the east coast. This should be no surprise. More failure and crises in the weeks ahead. 

I just saw a fuel bill from NH of 191 gallons of heating fuel for over $1,100. Insane. Just insane. 

This is a world many of us are seeing for the very first time. And it is just the beginning. 

My bet is you have similar stories/experiences.

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RECENTLY HATCHED BABY DUCK IN NEW HAMPSHIRE

"This guy came out of the incubator yesterday. I successfully hatched one duck." Puts the cute in cute, me thinks. I learned yesterday that there are now 3 baby ducks.

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BIMINI SUNSET THIS PAST WEEK FROM SV AIRSPEED

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GAZPACHO

Her made summer soup from garden fresh veggies. Dunking homemade garlic bread a must.

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FRESH BASIL AND HOMEMADE PESTO

Two cups firmly packed basil leaves.

Pesto, fresh Mexican white cheese, tomato slice. Full of flavor.

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SUPPLY CHAIN AUGUST 13, 2005

Trucks heading west backed up due to traffic accident. All the trucks moving goods seemed as normal as the sun and rain. 

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Warming temperatures keep us inside during the afternoons now. The heat is just starting and again reminds us to get our chores done before 10 AM. Ten day forecast is day after day of 90 degree temperatures and bright sun-filled skies.

Fresh garden producing and our homegrown meals will show up often on the blog for the next few months. How to incorporate all that we are growing and how to preserve? 

One of my chores visiting the farm on the weekends when I was growing up was to pick fresh vegetables from the garden, rinse and bring to grandma's kitchen ready for her to get to the table. I always treated myself to a young fresh carrot pulled from the ground. 

Today I am reminded of those days as I tug fresh onions from the ground, strip off the roots and top-off the greens a few inches above the bulb. The loose skin of the onion bulb sheds easily and a quick rinse in a bucket of fresh water sets those onions for my wife's kitchen as I did then for my grandmother. A batch of fried onions, salads accented with fresh cut onions and greens and a half-dozen gifted to neighbors. 

Once the onion beds are emptied, the soil will be prepped again for another round of growing this season. The plan is to put in more pole beans.

AND finally, not to beat a dead horse here but I believe we are down to 3 months left. June, July and August. This thinking seems to be held by others I read. The bottom line as it always has been here, finish getting as ready as you can for a hard winter and years ahead. No diesel, no food. End of story. 

Rice, canned goods, cooking oil, oats, flour, yeast and foods you can prepare and will eat. Stack it, store it, protect it. I will keep harping on all of this till the lights go out. 

Right now, this day and this minute much of what can be put away is affordable and available. And remember, much of the world has lived on a diet of rice for as long as history has been recorded. 

I appreciate the visit this week. God Bless!

OAK TREE - HOME GARDEN - EDC KNIFE - $6.49 PER GALLON

Old gal has run her race. Scheduled to come down soon. Her magnificent branches will burst into dust when they hit the ground. 

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THE HOME GARDEN

 

Meme found on Bustednuckles

  A place that makes sense and grounds me. 

Will share/harvest and eat every onion this month. 

Peppers and cabbage. Peppers were water-logged from two days of east Texas rain.

Pickling cucumbers are in high gear.

 String beans are hooking up and climbing more and more every day.

Pruning tomatoes this year in hopes of higher yield. 

Second year garden. I am happy with what I see. Small container garden is producing. 

Early morning breaks after a week of on and off rain. Heading into ten days of low 90 degree afternoons. I find proof in photos like this of the hope a new day brings.  

"BOB" returned home Saturday afternoon after a week in the hospital. New alternator belt, idle adjust and a little mechanic TLC.  

Lost misplaced my EDC pocket knife a month ago. Come to find out it was setting in one of the cubbies in BOB. Right exactly where I left it. 

The knife has character now. An old friend. Holds an edge like no other pocket knife I have had. Can open and close one-handed. Easily clips into my pocket. Lightweight. Very comfortable in my hand.

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The Elephant in our rooms. 

The $6.49 diesel per gallon price jumped out of the print this morning. I scanned further down and again that number lights up. There comes a point where push comes to shove and there comes a point where the cost of fuel will shut down trucking. I see no other option. The cost of gas is close behind with the same effect of limiting much driving. 

The last paragraph sums it up. 

Not a day goes by where a corner of my mind does not spend time trying to predict the full failure month. A single event/black swan that breaks all the guy wires. Where panic sets in and everyone has that come to Jesus moment in the realizations that all this shit is real. All will recognize the approaching tsunami only to turn for high ground that is out of reach.

The moment we have talked about. Maybe somewhat planned for maybe not. The moment we all know that our lives will never be the same again. And within this meltdown, asking how do we cope/survive/help others/build/communicate/find truths and fight as we will have to?

Not a morning, noon or evening now where my wife and I do not acknowledge a new snippet of this world crumbling. 

The After content this week has been local. Not sure I can continue this week after week. I also do not want to spend todays and tomorrows writing from rabbit holes or shoulda woulda coulda pissing moaning. Yet, these days are exponentially historical. Facing them head on is key!

Focus needs to stay on all we should be doing. Building, repairing, local, health, skills, learning, simple, practice, understanding, trusting, new think, asking what else? 

Appreciate the visit this week. God Bless!