Where's Bob?

polara71 said:
Most everything rolls off me so if I say something harsh I don't realize it. .....and I usually don't care because people need to be less sensative.
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To a point, however you did make a tactical error. The moment I read your comment I knew there was going to be trouble. About the only person who can joke about someone's patriotism is a fellow Army buddy. Outside that you don't make a joke of it expecting it to just roll off them as it doesn't. I'm around dozens of vets every week and their is joking with their compatriots and then those who are not. I have a 91 year old honest to God Pearl Harbor vet, on the fantail of the USS San Francisco that morning, on the ship when she got the snot beaten out of her at Guadalcanal, then an original crew member of the USS Hornet. Nice guy, opinionated guy and no doubt related to Stan, who probably would have punched you.

Those vets above I have been around for 15 years and they know I put my heart and soul into restoring the ship. Now three solid years and they accept me for that in their conversations and kidding around. Even still there are lines I do not personally cross. So Bob, being gone, has nothing to do with getting a thick skin.

There is a military forum I am on and if you said that there I would have run for the air raid shelter but peak with my eyes. They would have gone on the attack especially a Canadian Colonel and a Marine Gunny. On that forum I don't do any joking as serving/patriotism is serious business.
 
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Bob would have liked this as told by a friend of mine down in San Pedro.
On one of New Jersey's gunnery trials, we were firing at towed sleeves on a 25,000 foot wire. We let Mount 21 CIWS fire first and it shredded the sleeve and took 2,500 feet off the wire as well.

While the plane went back to North Island to get a new wire, gunnery was advised to let the 5"/38's fire first just so something was left for the other guns to shoot at. So when the tow plane finally came back (probably after the pilot changed skivvies), the portside secondaries opened fire (VT Non-Frag).

I was up on 05 level over the bridge watching them from the portside railing. Our General Dynamics rep was closer to the center of 05 by the conning tower. The port side guns did very poorly. Mounts 56 and 54 fired so slow you could take a nap in between shots. I looked at the target sleeve as it was almost ready to pass over the ship and looked back at Mount 52 as it was traversing. I could just make out the edge of the rifling in the barrels when it zipped a 5-incher a couple of feet past my nose. About half the distance the muzzle blast of a 76mm on an M-41A1 tank did to me several years before.

Our General Dynamics rep had taken off his ear protectors and was down on his knees screaming about what a sharp crack that gun had. The Port Mounts only fired 5 rounds with no hits

But the starboard mounts made up for it as Mount 55 was manned by the Marines. CONTEST TIME.

Those babies opened up like machine guns. 12 rounds and FOUR hits in only a few seconds.

The weapons officer was also up there with us and he called a cease fire on the secondaries and had all gun captains assemble RIGHT NOW. He started laying into them about late clearing of the bores, how poorly the port mounts were, etc. I signaled over to our General Dynamics rep to follow me down to the wardroom for coffee. He was a bit disappointed that he couldn't stay and see how the weapons officer would "advise" the crews.

I said, "His nickname is JAWS and he EATS gunners mates."

That was explanation enough.
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I'm sorry I can't remember his real name (except "Jaws"). He was a full commander and the head gunnery officer of the ship --- at the time. It was not my job (or even my concern) to keep track of crew changes except in a couple of very special circumstances that have little or no relationship to the subject of this thread.

I stood about 5-11 (6-1 in my boots and hard hat) in those days and he was a couple of inches shorter than me. Square jawed as I remember and his eyes never showed any changes of emotion of approval or disapproval. They were squarely concentrated on the guns and later on the gun captains when he ordered them to report. He did not point out any individual gun captain but his eyes covered them all. He did not yell or swear but his vocabulary was clear and to the point.

If he did pick out any individuals, I was outta there having a cup of coffee and letting him do HIS job as I was done (for the time being) doing MY job.
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polara71 said:
Most everything rolls off me so if I say something harsh I don't realize it. .....and I usually don't care because people need to be less sensative.
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a german wisdom says "use your brain before you speak"
 
We'll need to get him back on here, I haven't seen the American flag fly on this site in a while and I miss it and Bob.
 
It's just not the same here without Bob.

And.......the whole mess could have been easily avoided. But, some remain unrepentant so it appears that an apology (at least a sincere one) will not be forthcoming.

Carsten is obviously right with his admonition to think before you speak. That somehow gets lost on the Internet, hence the phrase "say that **** to my face & see what happens".

It's ridiculous to think that completely unfiltered opinions should be expressed without any consideration for how others may react. Just telling it straight is NOT an excuse to abandon good manners.
 
If there was something to apologize for I would and do., BUT because someone can't take an others opinion and stomps off is not apology worthy. I have never been accused of being a liar, brutally honest? Yes. I tell it like it is without kneeling to others, you respect that or you don't .
 
Wonder what would happen if there were any radical Muslims here as members........
What if they bought clapped out rusty C-bodys, restored them, and didn't sell them overseas. but kept them and went to shows like The Nats to show them.
 
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polara71 said:
If there was something to apologize for I would and do., BUT because someone can't take an others opinion and stomps off is not apology worthy. I have never been accused of being a liar, brutally honest? Yes. I tell it like it is without kneeling to others, you respect that or you don't .
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Seems to me that protecting that right is what all those patriotic vets are fighting for. "I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it"
 
Reminds me of the polara convertible owner in Carlisle Fred. You couldn't believe what I told the owner but it had to be said.
 
commando1 said:
Wonder what would happen if there were any radical Muslims here as members........
What if they bought clapped out rusty C-bodys, restored them, and didn't sell them overseas. but kept them and went to shows like The Nats to show them.
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Lol, I seriously doubt there are any radical muslim members here....first off they are too busy making explosive devices in the name of Allah to use against the "great satan".......plus you yourself would have been the first member to get IP bombed a long time ago if there was, lol.
 
70NPORT said:
Corvettes.
Ah yes, the gold chain macho crowd: huge barrel guts, sun tanned to a deep orange hue, slicked back hair, hair all over rest of body like a gorilla, and sporting multi-colored jogging suits (velor)....oh, and "Brut"..........by Faberge. Yes, No?
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Wait a minute... I used to own a Corvette (sold it last month) and I'm not like that at all.... Well... OK, the huge gut.... But I don't own a single gold chain or a jogging suit.


Seriously, some Corvette guys are OK, but a lot fit the profile.
 
Big_John said:
Wait a minute... I used to own a Corvette (sold it last month) and I'm not like that at all.... Well... OK, the huge gut.... But I don't own a single gold chain or a jogging suit.


Seriously, some Corvette guys are OK, but a lot fit the profile.
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Then please except my apologies. I was not specifically targeting anyone here with that profile. Most corvette people I've come across have this faint "I'm better than you cause I drive a corvette" attitude. Sometimes its not so faint, its down right blatant.
 
70NPORT said:
Then please except my apologies. I was not specifically targeting anyone here with that profile. Most corvette people I've come across have this faint "I'm better than you cause I drive a corvette" attitude. Sometimes its not so faint, its down right blatant.
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Wasn't looking for an apology!

I don't fit in with the Corvette crowd.. In fact, I've been known to piss off a few here and there....
 
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