Autumn Morning

As I was walking into class this morning I peered up through the trees and saw this scene. I didn't have my camera so I was forced to use my phone.

Must remember to carry at least a point and shoot camera with me in future.

Long Shoot

The Long sat for a portrait session this weekend in American Fork. 

Remembering Tim

  Twelve years ago today in the Port of Aden, Yemen, we, in the Navy community, lost 17 shipmates. The USS Cole (DDG-67) was attacked when suicide bombers pulled alongside and detonated explosives. The resulting explosion tore a huge hole in the side of the Cole and killed seventeen sailors and wounded thirty-nine.

  The immensity of such a tragedy is compounded exponentially when one of those lost is a coworker, shipmate and friend.  Operations Specialist 2^nd Class Timothy Saunders was that shipmate and friend.

  I can hear Tim’s booming baritone voice with that mid-Atlantic drawl asking me what was for dinner on the mess decks, asking me to tell him what I did in port or if anything had happened on the mid watch. He was the guy that was first to make a joke, usually at your expense, but it was never filled with malice or ill feeling. He was genuinely giving you a good ribbing and always had a contagious smile on his face. I can’t think of a single time I didn’t see a wide grin on his face. The only thing that didn’t pale in comparison to his smile was his sea stories… they were raucous and fun to say the least, whether true or not is irrelevant now, but I sure loved hearing them and the way he told them made you want to be there. Man that guy could spin a yarn.  

  He was always first to offer to take your mid-watch or duty day in a foreign port so you wouldn’t miss any of the fun. He always acted as if he had been there, seen that and had the tee shirt (usually in the form of a sea story) to prove it. 

  He took my duty day in Brest, France because I had never been before, and the fog that delayed our arrival in France had meant that I would not get ashore at all because of duty.  His offer when he heard about my plight was immediate. He took my duty so I could go ashore. He wanted all the details when I got back aboard and we chatted in CDC for hours about it. I think he was just getting interesting details for more of his sea stories. I am telling you that he could have written a New York Times best seller with some of his tales.

 

I am not certain if Aden was a working port, I would wager that if it were a liberty port, Tim was onboard that day because he was taking a duty day for one of his shipmates that had not been to Yemen before or he could just see that a shipmate needed that day off more than he did. Tim was just that kind of guy. You could count on him. He was a guy that just enjoyed himself even when the rest of us were bitching and moaning about this or that. Tim was the guy that always saw the bright side and never had an ill word to say about anyone or anything. I could take a lesson from Tim’s book even today.  

   Although I knew Tim by the description above, Tim, and all 16 others, that died with him, fit similar descriptions in one way or another, and all would certainly be called by other more important names like son, daughter, father, brother, sister, mother and husband or wife.

  I would like to be able to write something specific for all that died on the Cole that day but I only knew Tim. So I take comfort in the belief that all of those sailors have someone personally remembering them today.

All I can do is list their names here and hope that someone who remembers them can, if they are so inclined, share something with us so they can be remembered by us all as more than just a name on a list.

Thank you Tim; I am a better person today because I had the honor of knowing you then.

On your eternal voyage I wish you fair winds and a following sea.

Names of those killed in the attack on the USS Cole:

Richard Costelow, Chief Petty Officer Morrisville, Pennsylvania.

Cheron Luis Gunn,  Signalman Seaman Recruit ,Rex, Georgia.

James Rodrick McDaniels, Seaman, Norfolk, Virginia.

Lakiba Nicole Palmer, Seaman Recruit, San Diego, California.

Timothy Lamont Saunders, Operations Specialist 2nd Class, Ringgold, Virginia.

Andrew Triplett, Ensign, Macon, Mississippi.

Craig Bryan Wibberley, Seaman Apprentice, Williamsport, Maryland.

Kenneth Eugene Clodfelter, Hull Technician 3rd Class, Mechanicsville, Virginia.

Lakeina Monique Francis, Mess Specialist Seaman, Woodleaf, North Carolina.

Timothy Lee Gauna, Information Systems Technician Seaman, Rice, Texas

Mark Ian Nieto, Engineman 2nd Class, Fond du Lac, Wisconsin.

Ronald Scott Owens, Electronics Warfare Technician 3rd Class, Vero Beach, Florida.

Joshua Langdon Parlett, Engineman Fireman, Churchville, Maryland.

Patrick Howard Roy, Fireman Apprentice, Cornwall on Hudson, New York.

Kevin Shawn Rux, Electronics Warfare Technician 2nd Class, Portland, North Dakota.

Ronchester Mananga Santiago, Mess Specialist 3rd Class, Kingsville, Texas

Gary Graham Swenchonis Jr., Fireman, Rockport, Texas

Autumn in the Canyon

Went for a drive over Alpine Loop yesterday in American Fork Canyon. Took a few pictures. I noticed that the canyon was just packed with people all probably doing the same as me; trying to get a good look at the fall colors.

Fire Engine Friday: Perry Point, Maryland

This is from the Fire Department in Perry Point.
The town where I grew up, in Cecil County, which is in the upper north east corner of Maryland.

  Perry Point is home to a large Veterans Administration Hospital and has a relatively large housing area that, if memory serves me, was for employees of the Hospital (not sure if it was available to anyone else).
  Lots of memories from Perry Point, mostly good... Seeing the big shiny fire trucks was some of those good memories. At the time I lived there they had fewer vehicles. I remember one big red American LeFrance, and a really old (even back then it seemed old) Ford pump truck, an Ambulance and a big blue boat that, in the summer, was moored at a temporary grey landing near the pier and pump house.

  Back then the security Force at Perry Point drove baby blue AMC Hornets and a Matador (possibly a Rambler)... I guess that kind of dates me... LOL!

  That was in 1977 and I can see little has changed at Perry Point since then but change has come, albeit pretty slowly as I found on their Facebook page. The trucks look shiny and new and they still have an ambulance and a boat (Marine 11) and a permanent mooring.

  The expansion to the original fire station shows boarded windows in the section I remember and that expansion was only in 2011. So it must have been great to get a new fire station. I will bet it is pretty cool.

I am planning a trip back there with my wife in the future to get some photos of the old hometown of Havre de Grace and Perry Point as well as Perryville and Port Deposit. Will likely stop in at the fire stations and say hello and take a few photos. 

 

Visit Cedar Fort Daily on Facebook too

** The Photos today are from the Perry Point Fire Department Facebook page

Kaizley's Day

 

I had a photo shoot this past weekend with 2 month old Kaizley.

I had a great time at the shoot. Kaizley is a star.

Paint a Picture

This was the scene in one of the studios on open studio night at Poor Yorick on Friday night.

The place was crawling with artists, established and otherwise aspiring to be. It was a fun atmosphere with loads of paintings, photography, sculpture and even terrariums.

@pooryorickart on twitter