alligator lizards in the air

Well now I know, thanks to the wonderful internet of knowledge.

My last post inquired into “a pigeon from hell”. Now I bring up “alligator lizards in the air”. Is this a trend? I doubt it. I’m not a trend setter. My trends have all gone off the rails.

Being retired I have time to listen to lyrics and look them up for more analysis. Most any piece of lyric can be used to find the whole song. Just a google away (Not to be confused with a googly - cricket anyone*). The wonderful wikipedia not only helps identify the song but often the story behind odd phrases.

fish in the air

Ok if you are still puzzled about which song lyrics this comes from ( thanks for not leaving the blog to find out), it’s the band America’s song “Ventura Highway”.

'Cause the free wind is blowin' through
Your hair
And the days surround your daylight
There
Seasons crying no despair
Alligator lizards in the air

Most of the song makes complete sense. It’s talking about the better weather on our west coast compared to towns that don’t look good in snow. But what does a nice climate have to do with “alligator lizards in the air”?

The story according to wikipedia, explains that as a kid the song’s writer, Dewey Bunnell, was spotting shapes in the clouds with his brother while his father repaired a flat tire on the side of a California highway. It would be interesting to learn their father’s version of the story.

Dewey’s father was in the USAF which made the story even more interesting since I have been to a few of the Air Force bases mentioned.


* If I understand the slang term googly then a googly google would be a tough search for an answer.

Veterans Day view

First off, it’s important to note that we call it Veterans Day not War Veterans Day nor War Day. President Wilson proclaimed Armistice Day which celebrated the cessation of a war. In 1954, Congress renamed it Veterans Day.

Veterans Day is about the willingness to serve, common good, families, citizens. I suggest we celebrate the people and their families that have served or are serving to stop or prevent war. It’s not a celebration of past war.  It's a belief in a common good.

My family includes many veterans; father, brother, cousins, uncles. None of these relatives died in combat. It’s their willingness to serve that deserves honor.

I served in the US Air Force. I joined while Vietnam was winding down. I didn’t plan or want to go to war but would have if called. At the beginning of my military career, we briefly went on high alert because of the 1973 Arab-Israeli War. Had that crisis escalated, I might have found myself in “harms way” for a problem I knew little about. Knowing little or even nothing about the background of a crisis that might kill you, probably happens too often.

While I was serving in the Air Force, I first heard the term keeping the peace used with the military. The objective of our military should be peace. Many have differing opinions about military roles. I think our military has allowed us the freedom to express these opinions.

It seems our world always has man-made threats to peace. The common good isn’t common with everyone. Remembering wars, and especially the veterans and their families will help us make common good more common.

To the veterans - thanks for your service! 

(a quick rant) Also, Veterans Day is not handy term to throw in your red-white-and-blue sale day ad. I, nor any veteran I know, feels honored by sales ads.

my short poster moment of fame

A special thank-you to Robert Redford for this post coming up later. (have I been watching too many nightly news programs or what?)

Back in the 1970’s I joined the US Air Force. Readers that have followed this blog and have good memories might recall a couple of earlier posts about my service. (if you are interested and why wouldn’t you be here’s one of the posts)

After I was commissioned, I had a brief moment of fame. The US Air Force asked me to pose for a poster. I don’t recall how many shots were taken but I never saw any but the one used. At least I did get a copy of the poster. For some reason, my wife didn’t think it fit our living room decor or any room’s decor for that matter. I never asked about the garage but on second thought the temperature changes might not be good for it.

It was a posed picture. Yes we were communication engineers (the AF Communication Command which was replaced by a different organization some years back used the poster) and the picture was in our actual engineering lab. The equipment you see me operating was not a piece of equipment I used in my daily job.

I traveled often during that assignment and I do recall seeing the poster hanging up in a Comm Squadron I visited once. Nobody asked for an autograph.

So why am I thanking Robert Redford? (you have heard of him right?)

Just yesterday, my wife was relaxing with a rerun of “The Way We Were”. 

We weren’t that way but Bobby was looking very dashing in his navy uniform. I don’t know if it still holds (probably for a navy seal) but at one time a good fitting military uniform would increase a guy’s chances with the ladies.

If you don’t believe me watch “An Officer and a Gentleman”. I consider this a much better movie than the other one. It really captures the officer training very well. But I must remind you I was in the Air Force not the Navy.

A side note - I don’t know if the policy has changed in recent years but we were not allowed to travel in our fatigues. Now I see generals getting interviewed in their fatigues. I’m not saying anything is wrong with it, just that’s not the way it was before.

So thinking of this man-in-uniform thing, I went looking for my poster. Did I mention it was not hanging up anywhere in the house? I found it, unrolled it, and took a picture of it to share with you. Thanks Bobby (you know celebrities call each other by nicknames right?)

Oh, the other lieutenant had a better shot taken of him. I wish I could remember his name. I would look him up and send him a link to this.

≈≈≈≈≈

Here’s another moment in fame story.

Mark Zuckerburg finally gets his facebook account back. (if the name is not recognizable to you then this story is not even interesting)

Yes, FB dropped Mark Zuckerburg’s account. Sound strange or confusing? This story is about the older Mark Zuckerburg who is an Indiana bankruptcy attorney. Here’s his site.

FIGMO - you had to be there

I suspect most of my readers have no clue of the meaning of FIGMO.  It's not a term I've used in a long long time.  It's a military term for those about to be shipped off to their next assignment (you don't move without orders).  Finally (or more commonly Fu-- it) I Got My Orders = FIGMO.

Over 30 years ago I wore this T-shirt proudly as I  finally reached FIGMO status.

It was at Officer Training School at the end of a long summer of sweat and salutes.

When you went FIGMO the undergraduates would present you with a shirt that they made.  The goal was to poke some fun at you.

The golden arches with cadet standing nearby depicts an OTS story of mine.

I marched more in those 3 months than ever in my life.  We had very precise movements and wordings for the parade ground drills.  Each of us would take command of the group (called a flight), march around and then transfer the command to the next one victim.  As part of the transfer of command routine the words "will that be all" and a very precised practiced reply would be exchanged.  We were graded on the words, the commanding voice we shouted, the way we looked when we said them, etc.
 

A few us were off on our first off-base weekend pass and we dropped into a Mickey D's.  As I finished my order the clerk asked "will that be all?"

Quickly without thinking words just rushed out of me. I shouted back "That will be all!"

The clerk jumped back.  He looked scared.  The other cadets with me doubled over in laughter.  The most commanding voice I've ever and will ever use at McDonald's.  Training does work.

Those shock absorbers where on there because I tended to bounce too much when I first started marching.  Once the guy behind me complained that he was getting sea sick.

Here's another FIGMO picture I found on the internet:

credit Jackson Library, The University of North Carolina at Greensboro

This trip down one of my memory lanes came about because I was reading Pearl's post about a witty thing said during a rain storm.  Often it's so much funnier when you are there.  That made me think of this story.



Well you just had to be there!

another circus

wild blue yonder - above all

Maybe you saw the new USAF ad? I actually read about it before I saw on TV. Here's a posting about it over at wired.com.

I didn't like the ad showing a satellite being blown to bits but I think the USAF should spend some effort on their image. I should mention that I was a proud "blue shirt" for 10 years.

I didn't like the ad because it was not very factual. Knocking out satellites requires more explaining and not just a "Hollywood" script. However, the point, or the message is probably not to scare the public about some satellite threat but more just an attention getter. In other words, hey we do things in space - join our cool group.

Here's a link to the Air Force's campaign PR.

Well around the same time I read about space command, I also read about a Captain that had some problems closer to the ground. He lost his drone. Hmm - space cadet?