Over the past couple of weeks, we’ve been hearing about a flashy funeral - most of which are celebrated by some “bandwagoneers”.
I just got this e-mail forwarded to me by a friend and I think all of us really need to take a good look and whom/what we consider heroes.
*******
I want a nationwide memorial service for Darrell “Shifty” Powers.
Shifty volunteered for the airborne in WWII and served with Easy Company of the 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment, part of the 101st Airborne Infantry. If you’ve seen Band of Brothers on HBO or the History Channel, you know Shifty. His character appears in all 10 episodes, and Shifty himself is interviewed in several of them.
I met Shifty in the Philadelphia airport several years ago. I didn’t know who he was at the time. I just saw an elderly gentleman having trouble reading his ticket. I offered to help, assured him that he was at the right gate, and noticed the “Screaming Eagle”, the symbol of the 101st Airborne, on his hat.
Making conversation, I asked him if he’d been in the 101st Airborne or if his son was serving. He said quietly that he had been in the 101st. I thanked him for his service, then asked him when he served, and how many jumps he made?
Quietly and humbly, he said “Well, I guess I signed up in 1941 or so, and was in until sometime in 1945 . . . ” at which point my heart skipped.
At that point, again, very humbly, he said “I made the 5 training jumps at Toccoa, and then jumped into Normandy . . . . do you know where Normandy is?” At this point my heart just about stopped.
I told him yes, I know exactly where Normandy was, and I know what D-Day was. At that point he said “I also made a second jump into Holland, into Arnhem.” Gosh!! I was standing with a genuine war hero. And then I realized that this was June, just after the anniversary of D-Day.
I asked Shifty if he was on his way back from France, and he said, “Yes. And it’s real sad because these days so few of the guys are left, and those that are, lots of them can’t make the trip.” My heart was in my throat and I didn’t know what to say.
I helped Shifty get onto the plane and then realized he was back in Coach, while I was in First Class. I sent the flight attendant back to get him and said that I wanted to switch seats. When Shifty came forward, I got up out of the seat and told him I wanted him to have it, that I’d take his in coach.
He said “No, son, you enjoy that seat. Just knowing that there are still some who remember what we did and still care is enough to make an old man very happy.” His eyes were filling up as he said it. And mine are brimming up now as I write this.
Shifty died on June 17 after fighting cancer as hard as he fought the Nazis.
There was no parade.
No big event in Staples Center.
No wall to wall back to back 24×7 news coverage for weeks.
No weeping fans on television or accolades by celebrities.
And that’s not right. That’s just NOT RIGHT!
So let’s give Shifty his own Memorial Service, on-line, in our own quiet way. Please forward this email to everyone you know. Especially to the many veterans …those brave men and women who have put themselves in harms way to preserve our great nation. Many died so we could stay safe at home …and many survived to come home damaged in their bodies and/or their minds. But the very sad part is ….most were quickly forgotten by all but their closest friends and families. God BLESS them all.
Rest in peace, Shifty ….rest in peace.
Ξ September 17th, 2007 | → Comments Off | ∇ Four Wheeling |
My four wheel drive club just had it’s safety clinic. After the clinic on sunday, we were priviledged enough to be taken out on new property at Hollister Hills SVRA that is not yet open to the public.
Ξ August 21st, 2007 | → Comments Off | ∇ Backpacking/Hiking |
My friends and I just completed a trip to Yosemite.
Saturday we hiked up to Nevada Falls, Sunday we did a little rock crawling at the base of Bridal Veil. Here are the photos.
Well I don’t know if these are actually called the 2.0 version, but these are the newer generation of their rocker guards.
I ordered these back in November of 2006 with the understanding that they were going through a redesign. Considering that Jeeperman’s design was the only one that actually went from wheel well to wheel well, I was going to wait (Jeeperman did tell me that it was going to take a while, considering it was going to be a slow wheeling season for me, it was okay)
I finally got them shipped to me mid June. FedEx, screwed up the shipment and actually delayed it for 2 weeks (1 week lost in Sacramento, 1 week lost at the distribution center, about 10 miles from home) I finally got fed up and told them, they needed to locate it and I would pick it up - that’s exactly what happened.
Anyways, I was excited to get these things on. The installation was more than straight forward. It took about 4 hours (1 of which was looking for some paint to paint over the drilled holes. Anyways, the result looks great, and I’m happy.
Here’s the install instructions:
jubs_install.pdf
Alright guys, I know I havn’t posted on this website in a while. Mostly its because I havn’t done any sort of 4 wheeling or hiking type stuff. I’ve mainly been mountain biking, which I encourage you to check out my other website, pedaldamnit.com.
However, this past weekend, I was able to get out with my 4 wheeling club and help put on our bi-annual 4×4 safety clinic. This was the first clinic that we’ve had in a long time where there was a full class on Saturday. This has always been a fulfilling event for me as a wheeler. I, as well as other club members have the opportunity to get new people in our sport.
Part of the enjoyment comes from helping people build confidence in themselves as well as confidence in the capabilities of their vehicles.
Saturday as I mentioned was a full boat. We had 41 vehicles with 13 double drivers. We teach the class down in Hollister Hills SVRA and we even had a student come from far south as San Diego, what a trooper.
The days were full, with me showing up at Hollister on Friday afternoon. After setting up my camp site down in Area 5, I, along with other club members pre-marked the trails.
Saturday also started early, as I usually take the task of helping out with the vehicle safety inspection. Basically we go over a list of items and safety equipment that 4 wheelers should carry. From there, my duty for the clinic was to be trail lead, for which we take the students out on trail as well as to various obstacle areas for which they get to practice their skills.
Saturday finishes with a tri-tip dinner and some campfire talks.
The weekend was good, the TJ did good. I’m happy.
As some of you know, one of my other out doors activities is four wheeling. I just wanted to bring your attention to the subject below.
The OHV commission, the group that controls our green and red sticker money, recently had a member quit. This group consists of seven appointed people all appointed by the California Governor. The OHV scales are still tipped towards Anti-OHV people. I think all have read and witnessed the downright craziness of what has come of our green sticker program.
We NEED a Pro-OHV person on this commission or our green/red sticker money will continue to go towards non-OHV agendas.
CORVA President and former member of the commission, Ed Waldheim is willing to go back on the commission.
We need to let Governor Schwarzenegger know GǣWE WANT ED WALDHEIM BACK.Gǥ
We Need Ed Waldhiem Back on the Commission that controls OUR Green sticker money period, Ed is a leader, the OHMVR needs the leadership and direction it has been lacking to get back on track.
Please write, fax, Email, Phone the Governors office As Soon As Possible!
The following link has all the contact info for the Governors officeGǪ http://gov.ca.gov/site/contact-governor
Email the Governor: http://www.govmail.ca.gov/
source: http://www.corva.org
http://www.calstar.org/
California Shock Trauma Air Rescue
It’s the beginning of the year everyone. For those of you who have not signed up for calstar.org please have a look at their site. It’s an extra little insurance just in case you may require (and we hope will never happen) an air lift out of some terrain. $40 for individual and $45 for family membership (tax deductable). This is more for peace of mind… if anything does happen this will act as a suppliment to normal health benefits you may have at work. Or you could always pay the $10,000-$15,000 for the helecopter flight.
Check out their site for more info. A few of us have done it already. Memberships are for 1 year. The application is available on line and only takes about 5 minutes to fill out. There is a lot of information on how it all started and what it will do for you if the services are needed.
But anyway check out their site for full details. (Areas of coverage for those who are not in northern california might also be of concern)
Ξ December 15th, 2006 | → Comments Off | ∇ Backpacking/Hiking |
We just got back from a backpacking trip over the weekend up in Ansel Adams Wilderness. The original plan was to backpack up to Garnet Lake from Silver Lake area via the Rush Creek Trail entrance. There were 8 of us on this trip: John, Ryan, Robert, Chris, Dave, Jo, & Mark.
Day 1
I got to John’s house at about 0330 on October 8th, apparently I was the only one that knew the time. I had my wife drop me off, what a trooper for getting up that early and doing that. I unloaded my 42lbs pack. Since I was the first one there, I loaded up the pack in the back of John’s car. Dave & JO arrived a short time later and began to unpack their stuff. Next was Mark. JO informed us that one of the other guys that originally had planned on coming was no longer going to be able to make it. Ryan, Chris, & Robert arrived a little while later.
We were all on the road by about 4:15. Thanks to John’s great driving, we were in Oakdale by about 6, pretty good and fast time. We made a pit stop at the Oakdale Starbucks. Got some sandwiches and Bux coffee. We were then back on the road. As we made the southern turn off of SR120, it started to rain, it pretty much rained off and on for alittle while. We took the usual cut off up Old Priest Road that basically cuts the incline climb from 8 miles to 1.5 miles.
I had never been over Tioga Pass before and it did not dissapoint. There were some great views driving that section of Yosemite. The meadow was nice. I imagine it would look even better in the spring time, as it would probably be green. Not so different from the meadow in Yosemite valley itself. We were able to see the backside of Half Dome from one of the sections of the road. As we started to decend on the east side of the sierras, the weather had cleared up somewhat, establishing a spectacular view of the rocky barren mountain.
We took a left turn at 395 to head towards the ranger station at Lee Vining. We were there 15 minutes early, 8:45. The ranger station is perged close to Mono Lake. With the clear skies and the unrelenting wind, it offered some great views of the famed lake. We all stood around while waiting for the station to open, at 3 minutes past 9, they finally opened the door.
While Jo was getting the wilderness permit from the rangers, the rest of were emptying some unecessary packages. To lighten the load sort of speak for our impending adventures. We left the ranger station and headed for a place where we could fill up our Nalgene bottles up with water for the trek up. A cozy little restaurant was found serving breakfast. The original plan was to only to stop for a breif time and get some water. However, after realizing that this would probably be our most civilized meal for a few days we ordered some food. I ended up getting some scrambled eggs with hashbrowns and a side of toast.
It was now about 10:15 and truely it was time for us to head out to the trail. We drove south on SR395, past the entrance back towards Tioga pass. A short distance later we came upon 158, the northern entrance to the June Lake Loop. We drove past a couple lakes to the east of us. One was Grant Lake, the other was Silver Lake. As we approached Silver Lake, we were offered a great view of the impending climb. As John pointed out the cascading waterfall ahead of us, we arrived at the parking lot that would essentially be our trailhead.
There was several minutes spent unpacking, I tried to delay having to put the weight on my shoulders as long as possible. It was time to head off. Snaping a few photos while we were still energized, we were now on our way. Taking a few hard steps on the pavement made me realize, this was going to suck.
We made our way along the Rush Creek trail. The trail itself was like any typical hiking trail that I had been on before. It was about two to three feet wide. Some sections consisted of packed dirt with some baby head rocks sticking out, while others consisted of powdery sand. In the beginning, the trail was relatively flat. It went behind a full hookup campsite and started to ascend towards the waterfall that John had earlier pointed out. As we passed the campsite, the trail began a steeper incline. We began to take some short breaks as the weight of packs began to feel heavier and heavier with each step that we took up trail.
About an hour into the hike, it was somewhat discouraging, as were able to look back down the trail and see the parking lot where are our ride out was. But nonetheless we continued on. A short while later we came to a nice spot were we could regroup and snap some shots of the waterfall - it also made us feel better because the bend prevented us from seeing the parking lot.
The hike continued as the trail got a little bit steeper as well as a lot more steps. The ground was hardend with steps that must have been about a foot or more higher. My knees nearly gave out several times, and my calves were just cramping up occasionally. As we got higher and higher, the clouds started rolling in. We heard what sounded like planes, but were never able to confirm as the clouds had covered much of the sky. By this time there was light snow flakes that made the surroundings get cold very quickly.
We made a few stops as it got colder and harder to climb up the hill. At this point. I think most of realized that we were probably not going to be making Garnet lake today. The decision was basically a question of how far we were going to go. It probably had something to do with the cold, but it seemed to make us more irratable, however some were atleast able to keep our sense of humor.
The actual decision that were able to make was that we would make the call on how far we would had up the hill once we got over the crest of the climb. Basically we were expecting to be able to see over the hill and see the weather pattern that was coming in.
It seemed weird, but as we were resting, here comes two day hikers up the trail. My first thought was, am I delusional now? As these people did not really look prepared for the weather that we were already feeling, nor did I notice that they had much water on them. Oh well, I was expecting them to turn around and come back down the trail as we coninued on our way up. Well I was wrong. about thirty minutes later, still no signs of these two day hikers. Oh well, made it to the fork in the trail. on would lead us on the way to Garnet, the other would take us to Gem. The weather at this point really wasn’t letting up, it was getting quite cold.
…more to come
Ξ November 15th, 2006 | → Comments Off | ∇ General |
It was a cooler ride lastnight. I hadn’t felt that cold on a night ride since last year. I’m pretty sure it had something to do with the fact that it was only UB and I on the ride lastnight. Mr. D’Brick & Grinder both had dates and weren’t able to join us.
The ride started from Grinder’s house @ 5:30, which is where I met up with UB. The ride through the park was okay. Ground was somewhat moist with some standing water in some portions that made for some quick dodging. As we made the final climb towards the paved road, there were some patches of ground where I lost momentary traction. We came upon another ride, where he mumbled something to me, I was dying from lack of oxygen so I couldn’t discern what was said.
As we got to Crothers, UB stopped to allow me to gather my breath. He had mentioned that the other rider had said to him, “you’re good,” as he was passed. I’m pretty confident now, that what was mumbled to me was “catch up.”
The rest of the ride was pretty much a blur, as I was concentrating on not slowing down UB too much and trying to have a somewhat coherent conversation. I’ve read somewhere that most people can concentrate on two activities simultaneously, obviously, they didn’t interview me. As everytime I opened my mouth to respond in the conversation, my bike swerved.
We made the whole trip up Corothers & Mt. Hamilton Road up to Grandview without stopping. The top was breached at 6:30. I think the endurance ride on Sunday definitely helped. Took a few minutes to set up for the ride back down and it was on. We got back to the park entrance at 6:46.
As we finished the ride, we noticed that there was a lot activity occuring behind Grinder’s grand palace and stopped by. We met Mr.D’Brick & Grinder’s date, by the way, her name was “Wine Press”. I also met a couple of the neighbors as well as Grinder’s cousin, Rodney. Ms. Press seemed to be quite the party maker, as the 5 gentlemen were taking turns doing various things to her. UB and I stood by and observed. Many jokes were to be made, however I held back as I wasn’t too familiar with the neighbors and didn’t want to make a bad first impression.
The ride was good. Thanks UB for setting a fast but acheivable pace. Thanks to Grinder & Mr. D’Brick, for the entertainment after.
Alright, cuz you guys refuse to really use the forum site as it was really meant to be used, I changed the site again. I’ll keep you informed as to how to post on to here soon enough. I’ll be moving stuff over from the old site little by little, so some of your important information will not be lost.
Thanks,
Mike
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