*** Quoting PATRICK LONG from a message to Carol Shenkenberger ***

PL> Carol Shenkenberger wrote:
> For me, anything up to 42C is quite workable.  The summer months in
> back in 2004 were pretty rough though as we were often over 50C and
PL> that sucks.

PL> Ahh, memories.

PL> I have a cruise book from Samuel Gompers (AD-37) with pictures of an e
PL> frying on the boat deck while we were in the Gulf of Oman...

I havent seen anyone actually 'do that' but I am positive it works. 
Anything ¨that can soften the rubber on those steel boot bottoms and burn
you if you ¨touch metal with bare skin, can do that.  I did have fun
watching the guys in ¨the SIG Shack make 'sun tea' on the roof of the
shack.

> heights.  I've seen grown men bust out in tears at the mere idea of
> do some of these checks, so I learned how to do them because I just
PL> cant assign
> one of my men to do something I wont, and I would rather not assign
PL> someone to 
> do something they are really scared to do when I can do it and it do
PL> scare 
> me.  (Ok, long sentance there but you got the idea).

PL> I thought it was fun getting my DIVO up on the mast for a PMS spotchec
PL> for an annual check (this was aboard CG-68).

Design makes that one a little scarier than most so thats an evil thing to
do ¨to the poor guy!  (grin, I'd do it too).

I remember a once XO picking his own check and me warning him he didnt
really ¨want *that* one.  He insisted so we set it up, then he found out
just how high ¨it really was (only 60ft up or so but out at the edge of the
side yardarm ¨extension on that ship, below the main yardarms well above
that).  No rails, ¨just a sort of 'balance beam' walk to the edges.  He was
bemused to wear the ¨harness then when we took him out there and showed him
where the check was, he ¨gritted his teeth and made us proud but
afterwards, he said he'd been terrified ¨the whole time and would be happy
to change his checks if his 'random' did that ¨again.  He went up several
times afterwards, but in the safer and easier places ¨with rails.  He also
never ever messed with me again if i delayed a check and ¨missed one
because i didnt like the weather or wind and couldnt get it ¨rescheduled
within periodicity.  Having been up there alot myself, I tend to ¨want to
be sure we are not gusting by more than 10MPH above the regular and the
¨regular be 15MPH or lower.  Normally if above 10 total (including gusts)
I'll ¨try to reset the more dangerous checks to a calmer time.

Alot of my gear on the various ships is in 'easy reach pattern' but not all
of ¨it.  Got 'spider antennas' all over the place for example.  Some real
easy, and ¨some quite awkward to get to.  Those darn dough-boys are unfun
as well in some ¨places.


PL> Oh, I can imagine.  :P

> Life in the Navy can be quite interesting at times.  I'm glad I chos
> it's not for everyone.

PL> Same here.  And, I miss it.

;-)
                                       xxcarol

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