Three unique things...

rubber314chicken said:
1) Played a live concert in front of 50,000+ people.
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Sorry, BTDT. And...

1a) Have had a line waiting for me to give autographs and get pictures taken with people. Took about an hour to get through them all.
1b) Have set foot on the field at 7 NFL stadiums and numerous college stadiums.

2) Driven nearly 3/4 million miles, including the entirety of interstates 12, 16, 24, 35, 39, 43, 44, 45, 55, 57, 64, 65, 66, 68, 69, 70, 71, 72, 74, 75, 76, 77, 78, 79, 80, 81, 83, 86, 87, 88, 90, and 94. (That includes both halves of the two-segment interstates like 76 - I've also run most of quite a few others, and there's about five more that I can't even remember for sure if I've done the whole thing or not!) While flying, I can often recognize what roads I'm above just by looking at the various interchanges or buildings along them.

3) I lived in the Netherlands for a year, and did a year of school (in Dutch!) there too.
 
flyingcheesehead said:
2) Driven nearly 3/4 million miles, including the entirety of interstates 12, 16, 24, 35, 39, 43, 44, 45, 55, 57, 64, 65, 66, 68, 69, 70, 71, 72, 74, 75, 76, 77, 78, 79, 80, 81, 83, 86, 87, 88, 90, and 94. (That includes both halves of the two-segment interstates like 76 - I've also run most of quite a few others, and there's about five more that I can't even remember for sure if I've done the whole thing or not!) While flying, I can often recognize what roads I'm above just by looking at the various interchanges or buildings along them.
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While I'm only at somewhere between the 1/4 and 3/10 million miles mark, I know this well. I've driven every mile of I-80, and I've driven on (although not the entirety of) most of the other insterstates in the country.

And, like you, I often know where I am just by looking around. A few years back I took off from Idaho and headed to San Antonio, without ever looking at a map. I almost never need to look at maps for interstate trips. I just start driving in the general direction.
 
Very good thread! It really does let us know a little more about each other.

My list is probably more strange than impressive.

1. Rode/raised a water buffalo in the rice paddies in Thailand from when I was three until I turned six.

2. Shot a floating dead human body in the Mekong River with a slingshot.

3. Dated my wife when she was 15 and we are still marrried to date.

Extra credit: Was a Buddhist monk for three months.
 
TheMonk said:
Very good thread! It really does let us know a little more about each other.

My list is probably more strange than impressive.

1. Rode/raised a water buffalo in the rice paddies in Thailand from when I was three until I turned six.

2. Shot a floating dead human body in the Mekong River with a slingshot.

3. Dated my wife when she was 15 and we are still marrried to date.

Extra credit: Was a Buddhist monk for three months.
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Wow! Now that's a list!
 
If I have to pick only three (not that there's a lot more) I'd go with:

1) Flew the real B2 simulator at Whiteman AFB for a couple hours and according to my IP I was the first to successfully roll the thing (took two tries though, we died on the first attempt). Also got to fly the Baron on a low pass down Whiteman's runway when the B2s were out on the ramp.

2) Passed a commercial ASEL checkride in a 65HP two seat fixed gear taildragger with no electrical system and nothing but a single pointer altimeter and compass for flight instrumentation (the systems portion of the oral was rather short). And this was in the same airplane that my mother passed her PPASEL checkride in 1941.

3) Flew hundreds of hours in kites towed behind a boat after teaching myself how to do it (that involved quite a few crashes).

On the non-aviation side:

1) Won a the 12 state regional waterski tournament in slalom.

2) Ran a Porsche 944 Turbo with failed brakes off the BIR track sideways fast enough to push a couple pounds of gravel inside the tires without rolling the car.

3) Went over a dam in a flooded river that was flowing at over 20 mph and survived (I was pretty sure I wasn't going to though and still remember thinking about how the story of my drowning was going to read in the newspapers as I tumbled along underwater for what seemed like several minutes).
 
woodstock said:
Heck, when I was little WE had one. I seem to remember my aunt and uncle did too. It wasn't for very long, but I remember it. We lived out in the stiiiiiiicks.
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The phone company told me that I was going to be getting a party line when I moved out here in 1992 because they didn't have enough lines in this area. :rolleyes:

Luckily I don't think they carried through on their threat. But every once in a while I would pick up the phone to see if anyone else was talking on it.
 
Everskyward said:
The phone company told me that I was going to be getting a party line when I moved out here in 1992 because they didn't have enough lines in this area. :rolleyes:

Luckily I don't think they carried through on their threat. But every once in a while I would pick up the phone to see if anyone else was talking on it.
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They had/have equipment called, commercially, Pairgain, which does time division multiplexing to make two lines from one copper pair. The only way you'd know if you have that is when you find out that a data modem and fax don't work very well.

The local telcos built out the infrastructure with fiber and new thinner copper cables in the last 10 years so they pretty much don't need to use those any more. The "thinner" part is because they made enough money from scrapping the old heavy copper cables to pay for the work. B)
 
dmccormack said:
I had 5 M16s and a M240 trained on me when the Two Man policy broke down at a Nuclear Weapons Storage site.

Not fun.
:no:
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Hate to burst your buble, but I've had the misfortune of this one as well, except the weapons were loaded on a large, 8 engine weapons delivery craft. We were on the alert pad and responded to a fals Klaxon. 'Twas interesting for a few minutes till the Group Commander help sort things out.
 
AWACSEng said:
Hate to burst your buble, but I've had the misfortune of this one as well, except the weapons were loaded on a large, 8 engine weapons delivery craft. We were on the alert pad and responded to a fals Klaxon. 'Twas interesting for a few minutes till the Group Commander help sort things out.
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My event was at a storage igloo. At the time (1983) we were the first unit to be equipped with the ALCM (416 Wing). Too many 7-day week/12 hour shifts took their toll and made everyone a bit jumpy. One SP almost got filled with 00 buck when he appeared unexpectedly on top of an igloo (SPs provided exterior security, we provided inner with shotguns).
 
So you were a MUNS guy, huh? I was just a lowly crew chief. No matter the locatio or time in history, SP's have always been a little too jumpy while lacking in common sense and vigilance. Actually, I've met quite a few top-notch SP's but it seems the jumpy ones are the ones that just don't know any better.
 
AWACSEng said:
So you were a MUNS guy, huh? I was just a lowly crew chief. No matter the locatio or time in history, SP's have always been a little too jumpy while lacking in common sense and vigilance. Actually, I've met quite a few top-notch SP's but it seems the jumpy ones are the ones that just don't know any better.
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I was a 463X0 (Nuclear Weapons Maintenance) NOT a lowly ammo puke!
:rolleyes:

SPs are typically dumb as a bag of hammers.

Of course after 10 years of Air Force play I made the manly choice and attended Army Officer Candidate School.

B)
 
I kicked arround the idea of going to Army WOFT, but the ole lady didn't like the idea of me being a fling winger. I guess I ought to throw in a few of my own unique experiences since this thread is squwaking 7500.
-Landed on a gravel strip in AK and realized I was the only human within about 60 nm that I knew of.
-Had dinner with Capt Al Haines after he gave a talk here
-Seen contrails of three different nations' Mil aircraft when they weren't participating in an exercise (real world intercept)
 
OK, OK... "there I was..." stories...


  • Spent a Day with WW2 501st AB legend MAJ Dick Winters (From Band of Brothers)
  • Spent 45 minutes on guard duty in -30 F, 30 MPH winds (AFB was Code red -- Max Exposure time was 5 minutes EXCEPT those guarding Nuclear Weapons).
  • Demonstrated M1 Tank Platoon Capabilities to former Russian Motorized Rifle Regiment Commander in 1991 -- he said we had no reason to fear an invasion -- we would have destroyed them if it stayed conventional.
 
flyingcheesehead said:
Sorry, BTDT. And...

1a) Have had a line waiting for me to give autographs and get pictures taken with people. Took about an hour to get through them all.
1b) Have set foot on the field at 7 NFL stadiums and numerous college stadiums.

2) Driven nearly 3/4 million miles, including the entirety of interstates 12, 16, 24, 35, 39, 43, 44, 45, 55, 57, 64, 65, 66, 68, 69, 70, 71, 72, 74, 75, 76, 77, 78, 79, 80, 81, 83, 86, 87, 88, 90, and 94. (That includes both halves of the two-segment interstates like 76 - I've also run most of quite a few others, and there's about five more that I can't even remember for sure if I've done the whole thing or not!) While flying, I can often recognize what roads I'm above just by looking at the various interchanges or buildings along them.

3) I lived in the Netherlands for a year, and did a year of school (in Dutch!) there too.
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wow... I'm kinda envious. I'm sure my dad would be with all the driving you've done as well.
 
dmccormack;364833 Spent a Day with WW2 501st AB legend MAJ Dick Winters (From [U said:
Band of Brothers[/U])
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OK, OK, I need to hear more about that one. I lived near Hershey, PA for a while and know that's where he lives.
 
Anthony said:
OK, OK, I need to hear more about that one. I lived near Hershey, PA for a while and know that's where he lives.
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That's right -- he has a farm near Hershey. He came to speak to the OCS class and I was the Senior Instructor so escorted him, etc. His wife accompanied him. He had along some uniform items from the war.

He was as matter-of-fact about everything. After a short talk, Officer Candidates asked questions, and he downplayed his contribution nearly every time.

A real gem of a man and it's sad that generation is slipping away.
 
dmccormack said:
That's right -- he has a farm near Hershey. He came to speak to the OCS class and I was the Senior Instructor so escorted him, etc. His wife accompanied him. He had along some uniform items from the war.

He was as matter-of-fact about everything. After a short talk, Officer Candidates asked questions, and he downplayed his contribution nearly every time.

A real gem of a man and it's sad that generation is slipping away.
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Thanks Dan. That's really cool. I have Band of Brothers on DVD and think its one of the best WWII productions ever. They were all true heroes.
 
Oh, I forgot to mention I played with 4 San Francisco 49ers in a basketball game. A car broke down in Nev. and they only had 4 players. They were playing my old college team. It was a benifit came for something. A member of the 49er team, and a teammate of mine while I was in college, R.C. Owens, asked me if I would play with them. Our team consisted of Monte Stickles, Lew cordelone, Bruce Bosley and yours truley. If you don't remember R.C. Owens he was the receiving end in the Alley Oop pass from Y.A. Tittle to R.C. Owens. By the way I had a great game and we beat the college team. I scored 16 points. One of the highlites of my life.
 
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Ok.. sports!

I was waiting in line for a SWA flight at BWI. I heard the folks behind me speaking French so I turned and introduced myself (I was taught to do that to avoid eavesdropping -- it's the polite way to say "I understand every word you're saying").

Anyway, they were very pleasant -- we started talking in French. I learned they were Akeem Olajuwan's brothers and father traveling to Houston for a benefit he had that night.

The gate agent recognized them (he played at Georgetown) and motioned for them to board early. The one brother motioned for me to follow. i did and soon we were on board the empty 737 heading for the emergency exit rows. The gate agent turned at looked at me and said, "Who are you?"

Before I could answer he was told -- "It's OK -- he's with us."

That was my coolest airline flight ever.

B)
 
dmccormack said:
That's right -- he has a farm near Hershey. He came to speak to the OCS class and I was the Senior Instructor so escorted him, etc. His wife accompanied him. He had along some uniform items from the war.

He was as matter-of-fact about everything. After a short talk, Officer Candidates asked questions, and he downplayed his contribution nearly every time.

A real gem of a man and it's sad that generation is slipping away.
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Hi

I've met some vets too (and John Keegan, incidentally). I've been to the Normandy beaches three times (4th time, this coming summer with my Dad) and I agree - that generation is very special. The B&B where I've stayed a few times (in Bayeux) are very active in keeping up the history - the owner is a retired Colonel and conducts tours - and there are always many vets there at these times - mostly Brits. The last time I was there, in 2004, I remember seeing a number of men (in St. Lo, for instance) who had not been back SINCE the war and it was possibly their last time back, too. They were coming back to see old friends so to speak. Very poignant.
 
elzar said:
1. Got to sit near/meet Dolly Parton while flying non-rev from DFW to BNA.
2. Was a Nuclear Operator, USS Enterprise CVN-65, for four years.
3. My primary and instrument (in progress) instructor is Bob Oehl, Jimmy Doolittle's nephew. My grandfather instructed Werner Von Braun for his US pilot's certificate.
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Saw her at LHR in 1978 while waiting for a flight home. It's all real.

TMetzinger said:
Phones? There was a time when PHONES were the new thing! Who here remembers the party line?
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We had one. And when you heard a particular neighbor lady's voice on the line you went and did other things for a long time. Boy, could she talk.

Keith Lane said:
Our first phone number.....


Sherwood-51780
Then, (SH)-51780
Later, 745-1780

To dial another phone on the Sherwood exchange, just dial the last 4 digits.
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Skyline 3-2754. Just dialed (yes, dialed) 32754 if you were on that exchange. Gad, that was back in the 1950s when I was little kid. The trivia you remember. :P

woodstock said:
Hi

I've met some vets too (and John Keegan, incidentally). I've been to the Normandy beaches three times (4th time, this coming summer with my Dad) and I agree - that generation is very special. The B&B where I've stayed a few times (in Bayeux) are very active in keeping up the history - the owner is a retired Colonel and conducts tours - and there are always many vets there at these times - mostly Brits. The last time I was there, in 2004, I remember seeing a number of men (in St. Lo, for instance) who had not been back SINCE the war and it was possibly their last time back, too. They were coming back to see old friends so to speak. Very poignant.
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We've been there, too. My mother-in-law landed on Omaha beach on June 7, 1944. Army nurse.
 
Haven't led much of an interesting life but I do there a few highlights among many that stand out.

Not necessarily in order:

1) Saw 2 landing and one Concorde SST taking off(all at JFK) at one time flying 50' MSL east bound on the south shore of Long Island.

2) Was personal pilot and on a first name basis in the 80's for the man that wrote and signed the leases on the WTC in July of 2001.

3) Jumped from an UH-1D eight times in an hour and a half into a lake at Ft. Bragg. Chuted up soaking wet after the first jump.
 
1) Was awaken in the bed of the truck by a cow and her calf
2) Watched a hawk fly down and grab a squirrel out of the tree next to me (was deer hunting)
3) Slow cook about 2,600 lbs of pork butts each October (next week if anyone is interested :))
 
dmccormack said:
OK, OK... "there I was..." stories...


  • Spent a Day with WW2 501st AB legend MAJ Dick Winters (From Band of Brothers)
  • Spent 45 minutes on guard duty in -30 F, 30 MPH winds (AFB was Code red -- Max Exposure time was 5 minutes EXCEPT those guarding Nuclear Weapons).
  • Demonstrated M1 Tank Platoon Capabilities to former Russian Motorized Rifle Regiment Commander in 1991 -- he said we had no reason to fear an invasion -- we would have destroyed them if it stayed conventional.
Click to expand...

dmccormack said:
That's right -- he has a farm near Hershey. He came to speak to the OCS class and I was the Senior Instructor so escorted him, etc. His wife accompanied him. He had along some uniform items from the war.

He was as matter-of-fact about everything. After a short talk, Officer Candidates asked questions, and he downplayed his contribution nearly every time.

A real gem of a man and it's sad that generation is slipping away.
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Humble, indeed.

They say in Band of Brothers Winter's squad's taking of the German artillery position above the beach on D-Day is still taught as a lesson at West Point.
 
mikea said:
Humble, indeed.

They say in Band of Brothers Winter's squad's taking of the German artillery position above the beach on D-Day is still taught as a lesson at West Point.
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OCS uses the same Basic Combat Arms POI as West Point -- that and many other lessons are still taught.
 
Not what one would call an exciting life but....
- hit the 400 hour mark this weekend. Includes a week of 9 hours total with 1.1 actual.
- survived to adulthood even after nearly blowing my foot off
- got my car up to 125 on a length of interstate. Looks really fast close to the ground.
 
Sounds like you all pretty much have me beat:

1) Knew a girl in high school who's sister was married to Anson Williams from Happy Days.
2) Knew a girl in high school who won an Oscar.

- OK, so I didn't actually have anything to do with those things.

But, my proudest achievement:
3) Married for 23 yrs and counting. My college buddies gave me a hard time and voted me 'least likely to get married'. Well, I was the first to get married, and have also been married the fewest times (once).
 
silver-eagle said:
- got my car up to 125 on a length of interstate. Looks really fast close to the ground.
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I've done 125 in at 4 cars and 4 motorcycles that I can recall. All on stretches of interstate. Fastest yet was 160.

When flying with one member of the forum in the Archer, I commented that my Jag is capable of going faster than the Archer. :)

Thankfully, none of said vehicles took off.
 
silver-eagle said:
Then:
163 Knots gs in a Piper Warrior. Great tailwind.
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That's an awesome tailwind! :yes:

Hopefully the flight going the opposite direction was on a day with more favorable winds.
 
1. After taking off from the ice runway at Alton Bay, NH http://ossipeeaviation.com/alton-bay-ice.html I flew at about 30 feet above the lake. Indicating a ground speed of 90 knots I was passed by 2 snowmobiles.
2. Flew over Hiroshima City, Japan, in a Cessna 152.
3. I remember when we got electricity on the farm in the 50's. Also the party line telephones. We had 4 on our line. The telephone operator for 20 years died about 10 years ago and her funeral was one of the largest my home in Kansas ever had. She was our news person and one of the most popular women around. One of the reasons she was so popular was that she knew when and about what to keep her mouth shut.
4. My flight crew was given a complete tour of the Concorde by the BA crew at JFK before passenger boarding.
 
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