Greetings and Salutations!
So yeah…
On the debrief, I’ve got not a lot to add except for the Senior NCOs (all still on active duty) who were on said-cruise. I’ll get into that in a few, as I got ONE issue that did pop up on the radar.
That being Saipan.
Now I check out YouTube for some videos, and have a couple or three channels that I follow… nothing too deeply, just good content or interesting stuff if you will…”Dark Seas” with the occasional weird story about ‘stuff’ and mysteries fromt he oceans, to Simon Fowler’s multiplicities of channels that he narrates. Critical Drinker and Nerdrotic are also on the ‘must watch’ when they get new posts up…
One of the ones I also check out occasionally is ‘Yes Theory’
It’s about these two Swedish dudes who go and explore wild, weird and off-the-beaten-track places. They’re interesting, although I’m not down with their philosophy of “One Race, The Human Race” when anyone who’s truly explored some of these third world shitholes knows the reality of such high-minded libtarded points-of-view…
I’d say if anything the fact that where they go and the off-camera ‘stuff’ has to include fixers, and local contacts and more than likely contract security as otherwise? Some of the stranger places they’ve been to, and rolled through apparently unmolested/unkidnapped/uneaten (Congo and the like) tells me there’s a LOT of ‘stuff’ that doesn’t make it on camera.
SO… that being said, last night? This popped up on my feed:
Now, bullshit ‘hype title’ aside, (that being “The Dark Secrets Hidden in America’s Most Isolated Islands” ) it’s a pretty good overview of Saipan and Tinian, which is the Island directly south of Saipan. Tinian for you history buffs are well aware that THIS was the place that the US stationed like ALL of it’s B-29s that bombed Japan conventionally on the regular, and then in late 1945, loaded and assisted with dropping the first two nuclear weapons on Japan as well…
So they do a check out of the place, and come right out and show that, overall, it’s a damned nice place to be… to the point what was supposed to be a single 30-40 minute episode (their usual) is now being broken into two or maybe even 3 episodes…
Now… MY issue with this?
Saipan’s “cover”, if you will, is now officially blown.
Part of what I liked about it was the fact that not a Hell of a lot of people knew about it. Not many do, to a point. In fact during the intro, the two guys talk about the fact that EVERYONE they talked to had never even heard about the Northern Marianna’s, nevermind Saipan. Now? After this episode? At last count it was at 988 thousand views, and if history shows anything, when a channel like ‘Yes Theory’ profiles a place, increased tourism is usually a after-effect.
Dammit.
So that’s a minor irritation.
Now… Back to current events…
So the Resort… The British Colonial Resort specifically…
It’s famous for being in the James Bond Movie “Thunderball” with Sean Connery. A very nice place that’d been recently completely refurbished and refinished… Up to date, and well appointed to say the least:
I got the full “lunch and drinks” menu… and with a View Like THIS:
And on the beach, looking out:
And then, walking back towards the Hotel itself:
And hey!
Mellow and Beee-Yoot-A-Full!!!
They even had an Arch made of coral for (I’m guessing) weddings and whatnot… it is a magnificent setting for a destination wedding IMO:
And at the end of the day, after getting a mite sun-scorched, I rolled back to the Ship:
…and after I got back, I got dressy-dressed (for me)…
…and hit the Casino, and had a top-notch dinner, and ended the cruise on a high note with a crazy show that was rather well done:
Overall? 8 out of 10.
The food and prices prevent a full on 10 for 10.
It’s just like, my opinion man…
Now as far as the folks I met?
Well… it’s hard to define some of them… as in one or two of them were rather easy to identify in that the position they have is EASY to look up online… Now granted, we’re not talking the SMA or such, however… the guys I talked to are in positions who’re high enough to be identifiable.
Case in point: A senior NCO at the Drill Sergeant’s Academy. Now… there’s ONE main one of them, so I’m not going to say what position he holds… needless to say, he’s one of the Top Dogs so to speak on the NCO side of things…
I met him while I was getting ready to roll out on the trip to the British Colonial. I was needing some ‘lifer juice’ (i.e. black coffee) and there were a few setups in the lounge area which was the Assembly Area for the majority of the groups headed off-bowt. I was a wee bit hungover, and this guy was up there getting his caffeinated fix on as well… he looked ‘average’ so to speak, and we started chatting… the usual ‘on-board pleasantries’ on I learned exchanges under such social circumstances…
I mentioned something along the lines of “Hurry up and wait…” as we had to form up to leave at like 0800, but we actually didn’t leave until almost 0900. He looked and said “It’s the Army way” at which point we both looked at each other, and recognized a commonality… We sat down together, and exchanged bonafides, and turns out… well… ‘Kevin’ is one Hell of an NCO and maaaaan
He’s got some serious time in.
He told me he’s retiring within a year +/- after 33 years in, and then, he’s done. Primarily that he’s burned out and needs a ‘change’… He was fascinated to meet ME in that he wanted info on… well… how do I put it? How to approach Civvie Life?
He’s been in so long he’s got NO CLUE as to how ‘regular life’ is… he wanted any insight I had, and I gave it freely to him. One of the biggest things I tried to tell him was to start right now in s-l-o-w-l-y “deprogramming himself” from the whole “Army Lifestyle” and to learn to slow down…
I gave the best example I had, which was our Brigade Sergeant Major from the Rakkasans… when I first had gotten there,, the dude had retired… like right after I had gotten there… I never met the man, and have no idea as to how he wass, but ‘intensely wired’ is my guess…
Especially that within like six weeks of his retirement he dropped dead of a MASSIVE heart attack/stroke in the HEB while shopping as a ‘civilian’… his wife wasn’t surprised from what I heard… he was just wrapped waaaaay too tight for Civvie-Land, and cashed in. I actually used the line from “Full Metal Jacket” (which, of course he got the reference) was that Civilians overall are “…nothing but unorganized grab-asstic pieces of amphibian shit.” and to expect nothing but the worst, and HOPE for the best.
THAT might help is what I told him.
That and Chaos Rules.
Civvies have no clue…
I also told him that he should go “ROAD” which is an old Army term for “Retire On Active Duty” provided he didn’t become a total shitbag… especially for where and what he was doing,, meaning at the DSA, he couldn’t fully embrace the shitbag way of life, but that he 0might- be able to relax, and learn to relax, which, again –might- keep him alive so to speak.
We talked quite a few times over the remainder of the Cruise… I wish I’d met him early on, but as they say, it is what it is… He DID however tell me, that despite the Enemedia’s portrayal of the opinion of the Secretary of War, Pete Hegseth, that no… they have no fucking clue and that ALL the NCOs, with the exception of some of the MAJOR promotors of the whole “Muh Diversity Bullshit” (his quote) that the NCOs and Line Grunts are both seriously grateful for the changes and massively support said changes.
He said ONLY the senior ranks.. primarily the Perfumed Princes and Cocksuckers who ‘made the grade’ under “Teh Obamanation” (again his quote) were upset with the SecWar. “Top Kek” as he called it…
Go figure.
I had to find the most based Black NCO in the US Army right?
Dude was and IS awesome to the point we exchanged phone numbers and emails… in fact I need to send him another email after this… this guy was seriously cool AF… One of the things that stuck with me was that he was thrilled that the Drill Instructors could FINALLY do their jobs without looking at having a Congressional or 15-6 Investigation being launched to deal with “Hurt Fwee-Fwees” as he called them…
He told me FAAAAR too many great warfighters (and their institutional knowledge was lost) when they quit after the Global War on Terror as when it became time in their careers to either do the recruiter thing, or the D.I. thing, where waaaay too many called it a day as they either HATED being a ‘salesman’ i.e. recruiter OR they refused to be a D.I. as that was the path to career-i-cide due to DEI and all the bullshit that went along with it…
Fascinating intel.
Granted this’s a Bugs/E-4’s-Eye View, but to me very telling.
Make of it what you will.
And on this note… I’m bailing for now as I’m STILL jetlagged like a motherfucker. Like I said, it was a fantastic weekend and to all of those out there all going “Ha Ha! I called it!” about Aesop? So fucking what? The Dude when met face to face was cool and unassuming… all the haters are going to hate… In my case? I look at it as a cool thing to get to meet another blogger with some reach like myself, as well as some fans who showed up as well…
Can you say the same? It’s weird to have ‘fans’ so to speak, but at least I appreciate them coming out and meeting me, and making me realize that I have an impact so to speak… that’s fucking cool in my book… PLUS: I’m digging the whole “Choosing My Own Adventure” thing right now, and am trying to figure my next step(s) on the whole who/where/how/when thing…
In fact, Doc Samizdat DM’d me about Saipan, and maybe a trip to Peru? Either way, like I told him, I’m down like a clown these days as what else do I have to do? Grow old and bitter behind a keyboard, raging against the dying light, or seriously carpe that fucking diem until I choke the fuck out of it?
Me?
I choose the latter.
Hope y’all stick around to see what I get into next.
So More Later
Big Country
So glad you went on the cruise and road tripped and saw the movie.
You asked “What else do I have to do? Grow old and bitter behind a keyboard, raging against the dying light, or seriously carpe that fucking diem until I choke the fuck out of it?”
EXACTLY, also as I said before I was right as rain then I caught Covid I at the hospital that I work at and it almost killed me 5 years ago. Shitty thing is that it permanently damaged my ticker and I can’t do a lot of stuff that I used to.
People never ever want to admit that their health could go off a cliff in a day.
My advice, live and enjoy your life. Do what you can now because down the road you may not be physically able to do it.
Michael Yon is saying that China is going to take Okinawa when they take Taiwan, and says that even General U.S. Grant says it in his memoirs.
Saipan looks nice, and I can swim – but not THAT far!
It makes sense, strategically, to take out Okinawa .
“Grow old and bitter behind a keyboard, raging against the dying light, or seriously carpe that fucking diem until I choke the fuck out of it?”
That’s absolutely the mentally of most of those super-selfish Boomers that you profess raging hatred for. Surprised to see you writing it.
I must be missing something?
i’m a ’63 boomer
do i spend $? lots of it- but on shit i may need come the great cleansing. do i have fun? did that in spades before i turned 30, from that point on i grew up and out of dumb shit. now i’m 62…
that be why i’m still sitting pretty on this heap of shit called the world. but to each his own. just remember- stupid does and will hurt
I’m a 59 boomer
And i have a difficult time wrapping my mind aroung the hate for us boomers. Worked and invested my entire life so now i have lots of $$.
Now just live in the mountains 40 miles to the nearest city and watch the insanity and finger pointing. But the general hate for any particular gen is not something i understand.
For the record, I don’t hate boomers.
Just to be clear.
it’s a Jewish psy-op
There’s a huge difference between a trip to someplace with a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to do it with great people, and blowing the kids’ inheritance on a motor yacht you use twice and then park in the marina (further draining the inheritance.)
On Peru, the secret for the altitude is the coca leaves. You can get coca tea, or you can go native and pack your lip with the leaves. The tiny bit of marching molecules in it helps you with the breathlessness and gives you enough chooch in your metabolism to handle the extra blood flow without making you decide to greenlight a reboot of Adventures in Babysitting starring Jayden Smith.
Food wise, you can live on pollo ala brasa, and you won’t regret the choice. Lima is like the NYC of South America, so you have a big mashup of French, native, Spanish, German, pacific islander and chinese. Pollo ala brasa is charcoal roasted chicken with a ton of french influence. It comes with fries and a salad and is dirt cheap.
Lomo Saltado (Peruvian chinese stir fry) is a good choice. Ceviche when you can see the beach from where they are serving it. They make it with leche de tigre, which is a little more involved than the lime juice you would get in a lot of ceviches. If you like whisky sours, you will love pisco sours.
They tend to do a good job with beans and potatoes (go figure.) If it’s yellow, that’s from aji amarillo, the traditional pepper of there, and it’s a warning that this might be hot as shit, like red in Mexico. If you end up in too fancy of a place, it will be French-French food, and priced the same, so don’t feel like you are missing Peru if you don’t have the french food.
Cuy is guinea pig. Your call, most people like it, but some folks get hebed out.
Yeah… remember the context. I’ve spent MY ENTIRE ADULT LIFE (20=years) supporting and providing for EVERYONE else with MY needs being dead fucking last.
Did I have fun in Iraq and all the deployments? I’d be lying to say I didn’t however -I- never really got a lot out of it as I sent every. single. penny. home to my fam only to have ALL of it get washed away leaving me with nada (emotionally speaking as well as in other ways). Then I stood back up and started a new life which I spent the NEXT 10 years supporting and providing for everyone AGAIN with MY needs being dead fucking last. AGAIN.
Only for THAT to crash n’burn.
Now? I’m looking out for Numero Uno, Thank You Very Mucho.
I turn 57 on November 24th. I’m done putting other people before me. I only have about 10 good years left in me, so best I enjoy them
And I don’t have ‘raging hatred’ for Boomers… more of a “How the fuck can you be that way?” A POV as Phelps mentioned in another comment ‘blowing the inheritance’… These days it’s just beyond the pale to see a group that had ALL the advantages ‘pull the ladder up behind them’ if you will. Baffling and Selfish behavior IMO as You can’t take it with you… It’s not like I have a LOT to leave behind anyways…
All I’ll say is that after reading your blog since the start it’s about time YOU and YOUR needs came first for a change.
For those who don’t know his history that sounds selfish but really it is just the scales swinging the other way after a long damn time.
A good example is BCE spent a fortune and much of his time off on custody battles for his STEP grand kids. Last year he burned most of his vacation time playing HVAC repairman because “someone”‘s parents are living beyond their means in the Villages and couldn’t afford regular HVAC maintenance.
I’ll be honest that I’ve been worried that BCE would have a heart attack or the cancer would come back with all of the stress he was under and he almost NEVER got a break from it.
So to see him grinning and having a good time on a cruise and traveling is just wonderful.
Thanks Jimmy!
Been a looooong time in coming, and I’ve never felt better
> unexpectedly drops ded from a stroke < THUD!
I joke.. I joke… but seriously… I’ve even shaved off some of the weight w/the meds the VA hooked me up with and the infection is going away thankfully.
Here’s to me annoying the fuck out of you all for some MOAR adventures in the near future!
As far as working and providing for others for most of your life welcome to the club. This is what men who have families do. I have no idea what advantage i ever had over anyone other than cursed with a strong work ethic. A straight white guy with a HS diploma and I worked as an aircraft mech for 35 years. After my ex left me our two daughter which i raised myself and had zero inheritance. As a matter of fact I dont know anyone who had it easy. All the guys i have known and worked with are in the same boat and there is no ladder on this boat. What saved my ass was after my divorce i never did that again. No live in or long term gal. Just worked and saved. I really can feel your pain though. I dont want to call them ingrates but man it sure seems like they are. Still love ya.
Been following you for a few years now. Glad to hear we share the birthday. I’ll be 61 on the 24th. Hope you have a great day.
My kids are all raised up and doing better than I am, which was my goal from the time they were born. I’m living the way I want to live, which is not the same as others live, and I’m perfectly happy with that.
There won’t be much left for them to inherit when I go, because I never had much of anything, as far as toys and such go. They will get a lot of tools, firearms, ammo, reloading supplies, and long-term storage foods and other “stuff”. If they’re lucky, they’ll find my stack of silver. All I have to do is spoil my grandchildren and teach them real family, American, world history and folklore, and how to shoot, hunt, fish, and survival skills. The boy will be getting his first slingshot soon.
As far as island living goes, if one follows the Suspicious Observers earth catastrophe cycle theory, there won’t be much of anything left of low lying areas after the 2030’s. I just happen to be living at a high elevation through pure happenstance, starting 25 yrs ago. I figure I’d like to survive such a disaster, just to see what it’s like on the other side.
I finally Figured it out. BCE grins maniacally like that in every pic so that when the Zombie Apocalypse happens if he gets infected and he is chewing some libtards face off, the libtard will get the added benefit of being able to recognize who is doing the chomping.
I thought it was……
a facial nonrecognition thing.
Nah, that’s misinformation. The real benefit is when it is a chomping rictus it is still recognizable.
Well I’m really interested in the Ultimate Bug Out Plan, Tiny. And I think that’s a great semi-retirement project: scoping out a new retirement hovel! I break with my fellow miserable old Boomers on the state of North America today. A lot of them are insulated from the realities of life in their posh retirement villages and affluent white neighborhoods and don’t or won’t see their nations teetering on financial and societal collapse and prolapse.. The worst ones are of the attitude, “I’ve got mine, screw you, go get yours – somewhere else!” They’re too stupid to see that you can’t run a country like this forever.
Were it an option, I’d be looking elsewhere too.
65 yr old boomer. Never had a family, I had airmen & fighter pilots. 21 years in Uncle Sam’s Traveling Air Circus, another 25 pushing a toolbox around for Puddlejump Airlines here in the Frozen Freakin’North. I don’t understand my generation either. I do however, blame them for a lot of the issues we have today. We raised the parents of today’s 20 somethings.
As I get closer to shuffling off I find I truly just don’t give a good gahdam anymore. I owe no one anything and I’m happy to help if help is needed and I’m able. You can sit and rant or you can enjoy yourself. Lotta folks find somewhere warm for October thru April, then come up here and enjoy life. My recommendations are Valdez, Cordova, Sitka or Ketchikan for the summer. Look ’em up & drop me a line…Valdez in August. I’ll hook up the boat & we can go chase salmon.
Being an older than you gezer, son, Take heed to my words. You have put in your time taking care of others. Sapper lives close the rest are Not in your house. Others here have said it, and so am I . It is time for Numro Uno. Being a chunk older and now on my own, I am polishing off the last needs of “family” and the I will enjoy the last days enjoying My Self. Freedom is nothing else to lose. Joy my friend.
my point is this.
if your bug-out home(not suburban/city death traps) and car are not paid for and you don’t have 10’s or 100’s of thousands of real wealth in diversified assets stashed for a rainy day, you really ought to work on that BEFORE having fun. the whole thing is draining down the tubes as we speak and i predict there will be a WHOLE lot of people truly fucking miserable before they suck their last breath of NWO air because they didn’t take the ‘everything’ collapse serious. and yeah, i got mine because i planned, invested, and sacrificed. and i have no intention of sharing a fucking thing besides my cunning, strategy, & precious metal traveling at 3000 ft per second… YMMV
That’s the way to do it.
Well whoopty fuckin’ do for you. Cheers to you and your cunning stunts. I sincerely hope you get whatever it is you’re looking/hoping for. Hell, you might even enjoy a few things in your bubble of existence…even better. But your seeming hatred and disdain for most folks leads me to believe that while you may be victorious in the short run, you’ll ultimately survey an empire of dirt. Best to ya. 🫡
my job is to survive and prevail
that is all i hope for
And for that, I raise my glass to ya. 🍻 I just hope there’s sumpin’ else out there for ya. I have things that are just mine just because I like ’em. Sometimes I get lost in a new musical scale on my guitar just because it’s interesting to me. It gains me nothing in the material world, but there’s an intangible that I wouldn’t trade for anything.
Now now… play nice!
We were, warden…just doing our best Billy Martin impressions by kicking a lil dirt 😆
I joined the VFW in Saipan years ago while on shore leave from my ship, merchant ship not US Navy.
The main tourist attraction there seems to have been the casino which the last time I was there was shutdown I believe, in 2021. First time was 2017, I visited all the bars, Godfathers and Johny’s being the ones I remember, pretty well known those ones.
I quite liked the place, small, about 46 square miles.
P.S. The casino I referred to is the Chinese one