Finally........

I'm baaaaaaaaaaaccccccccckkkkkkkk!!!!!!

Just in time for the Fourth of July Weekend.

A lesser man might have done something foolish like gone to the doctor, spent the $20.00 co-pay, and come home with a prescription to take care of the offending bug.

Not me, I'm a strong believer in evolution.

*crickets begin chirping*

Okay, I'm a strong believer in being stubborn.

Regardless, the tide has turned and I'm back in the blogging saddle again.

There seems to be a lot of stuff that has happened over the six days I was down for the count.

Let's start with a little Air Traffic Control news, shall we?

The National Transportation Safety Board was in Gulfport, MS earlier this week investigating a NEAR MIDAIR COLLISION that occurred on June 19. The incident involved a 50 seat regional jet (carrying 50 passengers and 3 crew) and a small four seat Cessna 172 carrying a student pilot and a Certified Flight Instructor.

This event should have one and all very concerned.

One, the recent news about controllers working shifts alone and falling asleep. The Secretary of Transportation eventually ordered an extra controller added to the overnight shifts to prevent this from happening.

Then there's the Hudson midair collision of 2009 where a distracted controller, with no supervision in the tower, allowed two aircraft to collide by not paying attention to the primary task at hand.

So how do those two incidents play into the near midair collision at Gulfport?

For some insane reason, the controller in the air traffic control tower in Gulfport was working all positions of operation and supervision by himself. The incident occurred around 1:00 pm Central Daylight Time.

I wonder how well Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood took THAT news? One controller, three tower positions of operation, one supervisory position of operation, two airplanes on two different runways.

No checks and balances available to possibly stop what's about to happen.

Cessna calls ready and is cleared for takeoff on Runway 18.

Six seconds later, Continental Express calls ready on Runway 14.

It would seem the controller forgot all about the Cessna departing southbound because the Continental Express jet is cleared for takeoff.

The result? The Continental Express jet mercifully passes 300 feet in front of the Cessna at the same altitude.

300 feet sound like much?

The planes missed each other by roughly two seconds.

That is a minuscule margin of error.

Two aircraft separated by two seconds is sheer luck.

I can't wait to read the final NTSB report on this.

There is no excuse for the controller working alone.

There is no excuse for there not being a supervisor in the tower.

Mark my words, folks. These incidents are pointing towards a larger problem. It is only a matter of time before there will be a full blown midair collision.

I'll not mark it with an "I told you so.".

I'll just post flowers and the names of the deceased.

In other news, I did have time to catch up on all my blog reading. God bless my little iPhone.

I noted a disturbing trend in one in particular. The grammar was deplorable. The topic of the blog is okay. It is a food blog. While I try to give a lot of leeway to other bloggers, some things are unforgivable. As such, they need to be mentioned.

So, before I do that, let's look at a couple food blogs that are done well.

Most of the food blogs I read tend to concentrate on defined topics. These are usually by types of food, price range, or geographic location. eat local Memphis says it all in the title. Local dining. No punches pulled, no gimmicks.

This blog is strong in a lot of areas. The pictures are well sized and nicely framed. They bring the strength of the food to you. The colors are vibrant. Look at this slice of lemon cake from Muddy's Bake Shop featured a couple weeks ago. I could grab a fork right now and tear into it. That's without even reading a word of the blog. That's the point about pictures. They should draw the reader in.

Compare that to the pictures in this food blog. They're okay, but postage stamp sized pictures really don't convey the message. They are so small, they are almost easy to ignore or overlook. I'm pretty sure that's not the intention of the author. Picture size can be selected at uploading. I'd strongly suggest a larger size. I'd also suggest adjusting the contrast/color of the pictures prior to posting. A cell phone camera can only do so much(unless you are using a late model smart phone). By enhancing the pictures to closely resemble what the blogger saw, the audience will quickly appreciate what's been written.

Take for example, this blog about the Majestic Grille by Paul Ryburn. Right up front you get the title and a quality photograph of the topic. The lighting is right, the color is right. It's not washed out, pale, or grainy. It's the right size for the reader to see the nuances of the dish and its presentation. It is a professional looking blog product that people take seriously.

Now this leads me to another topic. Grammar. Without good grammar it becomes nearly impossible to take a blog seriously. Both Thomas' and Paul's blogs have excellent grammar. You won't find "run-on sentences". You won't find insanely aggravating "comma splices". My college English professor, Dr. Norman Thurston, liked to point out that if your sentence had multiple commas (without making a list) it was likely you had what was called a "paragraph". His manner of urging us to humor him was to give a failing grade to any paper with two or more grammatical errors. One grammatical error netted the author a starting grade of "C".

Apparently those standards are just too much to bear at some universities these days.

I won't even get started on Dr. Thurston's disdain for "made up" words. Placing the wrong suffix on a word was a sure fire way to see that "word" emblazoned on the chalkboard. The offending student was then given a chance to explain the word and defend it against an unabridged dictionary.

Christine and I were talking about "made up" words the other night. She pointed out that I sometimes use them in this blog. Much to her surprise I agreed with her. However, there is a difference when I use them here. First, I put the term into the context of the blog. Second, when I do so, I am doing it to bring some humor into the topic. There is a big difference between making something up for humor and genuinely bad English skills.

Wow, where did the afternoon go?

That's enough ranting for one day.

I'm just happy to be back.

Until the next time, all y'all take care of yourselves.

This Is Getting Old

Day five of whatever this damned bug is.

I thought I was getting better on Monday, but it appears that was a "dead cat bounce".

You can fit all the solid food I've eaten over that time on a small tray:

- Two 1/2 cups of soup
- 3/4 of a ham and cheese sandwich
- Four slices of toast

A friend dropped off a food platter yesterday afternoon. It looks terrific. I really wanted to break into it.

The relentless trips to the lavatory put the kibosh on that.

I tried ginger ale and water to keep my hydration levels up, but it was obvious my electrolytes were all out of sorts.

Last night I had Christine bring home some Gatorade.

By this morning, at least the muscle cramps and joint pains subsided.

There's a lot of news I want to comment on, but the five to six hours I've been awake daily hasn't left me much time nor enthusiasm to do so.

However, on a positive note, I have lost over ten pounds.

I just don't recommend the diet.

Until the next time, all y'all take care of yourselves.

Air Traffic Mike, ret.

Weekend In Bed

Normally one of those is not a bad thing.

I've actually incorporated them into vacations from time to time.

Unfortunately, this weekend past wasn't one of the planned ones.

Early Friday evening I began to feel a bit cool. I thought, "Must be the fact that the ceiling fan is blowing directly on me.".

I turned the fan off and gave it no more thought.

At least not until an hour after we went to bed.

I woke up somewhere around midnight and I was freezing. This, despite the fact that I had a sheet and blanket on top of me. I sat up. The room was sort of turning. I stretched my arms. Every joint in my body felt like it was on fire. I felt the glands in my neck. Both were swollen.

Oh yeah, I was running a blistering fever too.

Not wanting to wake Chris, I quietly grabbed my housepants and a sweatshirt, and went to the living room.

Thus began my two day stay in bed.

Technically, bed and bathroom.

I'll spare you the details of the bathroom other than to say I'm glad we had lots of double rolls of Charmin.

Last night bought some relief. I actually ate some chicken Christine baked up. I know it was seasoned. I could see the herbs and lemon zest. I just couldn't taste it.

I'm not sure about the rest of the world, but when I get the flu or a virus my sleep really gets messed up. I tossed and turned both Friday and Saturday night. Hot one minute, cold the next. The best I could muster was to doze for a few moments every hour. Last night was a bit better, but I still woke up four times. Three of those were so I could take that long walk down the hall.

Did I mention I am a big fan of double rolls of Charmin?

I had hoped get the grass cut over the weekend.

I wanted for Chris and I to get a swim in at the Sportsmens Club.

It would have been a good weekend to grill out in the backyard.

A trip down to Maryland to see my cousin Rick would have been nice.

As it was, this weekend went right down the drain.

This morning, things are a little better. I can sit upright for more than 30 minutes at a time without starting to get dizzy. I had some ginger ale with my plain toast and I could taste the ginger ale.

I'm looking forward to a shower and shave.

Looks like the upswing has begun.

Hope you folks had a better weekend than mine.

Until the next time, all y'all take care of yourselves.

Air Traffic Mike, ret.

Cliff Henderson Must Be Rolling In His Grave

The National Aeronautic Association has named Marion C. Blakey as their 2011 "Cliff Henderson Award For Achievement".

Cliff Henderson, for those outside of aviation circles, is best known as the founder of the "Bendix Transcontinental Trophy Race"(1931-1962), of which the winner was awarded the "Bendix Trophy".


The "Bendix Trophy", named for the then Bendix Corporation, sponsor of Mr. Henderson's race.

In honor of Cliff Henderson's contributions to the field of aviation, the National Aeronautic Association, caretaker of a number of prestigious aeronautic awards, awards a trophy in his name annually for the following criteria:

CLIFF HENDERSON AWARD FOR ACHIEVEMENT:

"The award is given annually to a living individual or group whose vision, leadership, or skill, has made a significant and lasting contribution to the promotion and advancement of aviation or space activity and is presented at the NAA Spring Awards Luncheon."

--Source, www.naa.aero website

Here's a picture of it and the 2005 recipient, Martha King.

Here's a link all the past winners back to its inception in 1960.

Click on the link and look at some of those who have been honored in the past.

Men like, Scott Crossfield, test pilot for the X-15 project. Clarence "Kelly" Johnson, first team leader and arguably the soul of Lockheed's infamous "Skunk Works". Ed White, the first American astronaut to "walk" in space. General James Harold "Jimmy" Doolittle, Medal of Honor recipient, an early pioneer in both aerial bombing and air racing, and the leader of the mission to bomb Tokyo in the early days of World War Two ("Doolittle's Raid").

Women such as Anne Morrow Lindbergh, wife of Charles Lindbergh. She and her husband flew and charted air routes around the globe.

Yes folks, Marion Blakey will be joining that elite group of aviation pioneers, innovators, engineers, and in some cases American heroes for her contributions to aviation.

What did she contribute?

Beats the Hell out of me.

She's spent most of her adult life being a political appointee. Some of her previous appointments include:

- National Endowment for the Humanities (public relations)
- Director of public affairs and special assistant to the Secretary at the U.S. Department of Education (more public relations)
- Deputy Assistant to the President for Public Affairs and Communications Planning at the White House (Yay, even MORE PUBLIC RELATIONS)
- Commission on Presidential Scholars (Thank God we had one of those)

Now by 1993, she'd run out of Republican Presidents to appoint her to cushy, partisan jobs. Fortunately, she apparently hadn't run out of cozy Beltway contacts and cronies. She rolled up her sleeves, found some office space inside the Beltway, and began living the "American Dream" by opening her very own PUBLIC RELATIONS FIRM with a focus on transportation issues and traffic safety.

Ahh, but politics are funny things. By 2001, the Republican Party returned to the White House and Marion Blakey was there to answer the call of networking. President Bush threw her the Chair position at the National Transportation Safety Board.

The NTSB is comprised of hard working, technically experienced employees, most of whom probably don't give a rat's ass about PUBLIC RELATIONS. They serve a panel of five Presidential appointees who usually have varying levels of expertise in the different fields of transportation. No more than three of the five can be from the same political party.

Here are the current NTSB members and their biograpahies.

Read the biographies.

Not one, not a single one, lists PUBLIC RELATIONS on their resumes.

President Bush Jr. wasn't done tossing bones to/at Ms. Blakey though. The FAA Administrator's job came available in September, 2002.

Go back and read her credentials one more time.

They don't exactly scream "aviation professional", do they.

However, "Dub the Decider Guy" had made his pick.

Ms. Blakey was named and sworn in as the 15th Administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration.

She was given an anti-labor mandate by her Republican masters, toadied in the front door, and began what would become an all out assault on the FAA labor force.

She finally found a place where her PUBLIC RELATIONS skills might come in handy.

Those that know me don't have to take my word for it.

Read it here at Don Brown's "Get The Flick".

While you're there, go through and read all about Ms. Blakey and her time heading up the FAA. Don, like I, was there. Don's also an outstanding photographer so check out his nifty camera work.

But hey, if you don't believe Don or I, go here and read R. Doug Wicker's blog. Doug too, has a penchant for photography, is a gifted writer, and had the miserable experience to work under the Blakey regime.

Now then, if Don, Doug, and/or my words aren't good enough for you, go check out Praxis Foundation. As with the other two blogs, I encourage you not only to read their take on this matter, but to go back and read some of their other work. Unlike the other two, Praxis Foundation deals soley with Air Traffic Control. Like the other two it an extremely well written blog.

So what ever happened to Ms. Blakey after her five year reign of arrogance heading up the FAA? Knowing her time was coming to an end, and that her chances of getting a second five year term as Administrator were slightly less than those of Charles Manson being named "Father of the Year", she quietly negotiated a job with the very industry she was supposed to regulate.

The same industry that is trying to turn a "pie in the sky" idea/product called NextGen.

So let's review, shall we?

Cliff Henderson is an aviation pioneer who has a prestigious award named for him.

Men and women, some household names, some not, have been awarded this honor over the years since 1960. One and all have deep ties to aeronautics and aviation, and the pursuit thereof. Some of these people would later give their lives in those pursuits. After reviewing the list of winners, it is my opinion that every winner prior to this year's nominee has been deserving.

This year's nominee is a politically connected, self promoting, "PUBLIC RELATIONS" expert who probably thinks an approach gate has hinges.

In my opinion, she no more meets the qualifications for this award than the 9/11 terrorists.

At least the 9/11 terrorists could fly an airplane.

National Aeronautics Association, I object.

If any of my aviation friends would like to object, you can email the National Aeronautics Association at:

President: Jonathan Gaffney www.jgaffney@naa.aero

Director, Contests and Records: Art Greenfield awgreenfield@naa.aero

I'll be sending them an email in the morning.

Until the next time, all y'all take care of yourselves.

Air Traffic Mike, ret.

The Start Of A Good Day

Nothing beats a good night's sleep.

Nothing.

My sleep schedule, like so many other folks' does, got tangled up over the last couple of days. Yesterday I went to bed at 3:00 am and woke up at 6:45 am. My day was pretty miserable.

My body felt like it did when I was working six day work weeks for the last two years of my career.

Last night everything fell into place. I went to bed about 10:30 pm. After that, I vaguely remember Christine coming to bed.

Next thing I knew, it was 8:30 this morning.

I wandered into the kitchen and did what so many guys do so often. I opened the refrigerator and stared at its contents.

The desire to repeatedly stare at the contents in the refrigerator comes from a regressive gene found mostly in males. It manifests itself somewhere near the age of three, which is just about the time when most guys become physically able to open the refrigerator door.

I stood there for a few minutes.

Seriously.

Why? Well, for one thing, the cold air felt good. Secondly, I had a number of breakfast choices to sort through. Primarily though, I just zoned out.

Just like every other guy who has stood in front of a refrigerator with the door open for an unnecessary extended period of time.

It wasn't until the refrigerator's compressor kicked on that I came out of it. I snapped back into reality and quickly made my breakfast decision.

A couple days ago I grilled some chicken thighs in a yogurt and curry based marinade.

Here's a quick recipe.


Prior to stirring: 1 tbspn curry powder, 1 tspn turmeric, 1 tspn sweet paprika, 2 tspn garlic granules, 1/2 tspn salt, 1/2 tspn white pepper, 3/4 cup plain yogurt, juice of 1/2 lemon.

Stir ingredients in bowl. Place chicken thighs in freezer bag, cover with marinade, marinate in refrigerator overnight.

Grill them the next day.

Now, back to breakfast.

We also had three leftover ears of corn in there.


Last nights corn on the cob enjoying their last moments of being raw.

I love cold corn on the cob on Summer mornings. Always have.

It's cool.

It's sweet.

Since you can't really smear butter onto cold corn, it's actually pretty healthy for you.

Give it a try sometime.

Breakfast wasn't the only reason this is a good day. Tonight I get to hang out with my brother Kev, his wife, and Sis, our brother Bruce's widow.

Dinner on the veranda tonight?

No.

Maybe a nice late supper at a local restaurant?

Not a chance.

Oh, we'll eat something somewhere.

Maybe something light like:


a cheeseburger in paradise.

We're off to Camden for a bit of Margaritaville.

Jimmy Buffett in concert.

Good local food, family, friends, live music.

A good day.

Hope yours is the same.

Until the next time, all y'all take care of yourselves.

Air Traffic Mike, ret.

Two Good Reasons It's Called "The Garden State"....

Fresh Jersey corn and tomatoes are starting to show up this week:


Folks, that's a big ole modified kiddie pool full of "happy"....


Especially for the guy getting five bucks a dozen. Six bucks if you can't be bothered to shuck your own corn.

I'm not proud. I've shucked thousands of ears of corn in my life.

It was a Summer staple in our house.

Fresh corn was one of the few vegetables my late brother Bruce ate without complaint. Matter of fact, I don't remember any one of us five boys complaining about
fresh corn on the cob being on the dinner menu.

I'm sure everybody thinks their local corn on the cob is the best.

As long as they're eating Jersey corn they're correct.

Jersey tomatoes are even better. Nothing compares. Not "Ripley Tomatoes" from the area just east of Memphis, not the vaunted "Creole Tomatoes" of southern Louisiana.


Look at those tomatoes. These particular ones are vine ripened, not picked green and shipped. They have the supple feel of a fresh tomato that a hothouse tomato will never achieve.

I cut one up earlier on.

They taste even better than they look.

Looks like its going to be a tomato sandwich/corn on the cob supper this evening.

Just like Mom used to make.

Until the next time, all y'all take care of yourselves.

Air Traffic Mike, ret.

Sunday FunDay.....The Food Editon.

Normally "Sunday FunDay" is a Memphis brunch/drinking/pool playing event.

Even as I type this, the gang is out playing pool and shooting the breeze post Majestic Grille dining.

Well, as everybody knows, I'm up here in the wilds of South Jersey.

It is a far cry from Memphis.

Not that there isn't brunch up here, I just can't walk to one. Besides, we went out for lunch yesterday celebrating Christine's father's 85th birthday. We played slot machines, had lunch, and bet on the horses over at Delaware Park.

It was a nice time.

Having done that, we opted to stay in today and do some home cooking.

Christine started by making macaroni and cheese from scratch. She likes using ziti. Ziti, as she pointed out, holds more cheese.


Shown here: One pound of ziti, two pounds of cheddar cheese, milk, and four eggs.

At this point, the pan is only half way done.

After she stirred it around a bit, she topped it with a mixture of bread crumbs, butter, and Parmesan cheese.

It was then returned to the oven for another 15 minutes.


Resulting in this beautiful pan of macaroni and cheese.

This project left us with a small problem. Christine was doubling up the recipe. Scaling up recipes is a tricky thing. She needed more than a pound of dry ziti, but less than two. Rather than guess and fall short, she just cooked two pounds of dry ziti.

Her quandary was what to do with the leftover cooked pasta.

She mentioned earlier that she really enjoyed my pasta salad from last week's travels in West Virginia.

We went searching through the refrigerator and shelves.

Italian dressing?

Check.

Cheese?

Feta cheese!

Sliced black olives?

Got a small can on the shelf.

How about this last little bit of raw broccoli?

Winner!

Hey, is that a half used container of heirloom cherry tomatoes?

Bingo!

Herb check......

Basil, oregano, parsley.


Well, hey now, lookee here! Fresh pasta salad.

While Christine took a nice portion of the mac and cheese over to her father, I started on my projects.

I haven't seen my brother Kev since we got home from our trip last week. That's pretty weak on my part seeing as how he only lives three doors down the block. In my defense, Kev works long hours at his job and also does volunteer work during the week.

However, I'm not going to use that as an excuse.

Missing Kev last week is a full "AirTrafficFail".

In order to make up for that I decided to make Kev one of his (and my) favorite sandwiches for him to take into work and share with some of his gals and pals he works with............

.....my version of the N'Awlins classic, the Muffaletta.

We both love Muffalettas. When he joined me in New Orleans in 1986, one of the first places I took him was the Central Grocery. The Central Grocery is the birthplace of the Muffaletta.

It was love at first bite for Kev.

One of the main ingredients on a Muffaletta is olive salad.

It is damned near impossible to get good olive salad in South Jersey.

Therefore, I always make my own.


Drain and chop a 10oz. jar of stuffed olives and a 24oz. jar of giardeniera. Mix together in a large bowl.

Mince two cloves of garlic, add to the olive/giardeniera mixture.

Add one teaspoon each of the following: Dried oregano, dried basil, dried parsley.

Mix in four ounces of extra virgin olive oil.


It will fill the 24oz. jar up to the top.

With that done and marinating, it was time for me to get our dinner entree started.

Friday I went to the local Acme supermarket. They had whole beef tenderloin on sale for $7.99/pound.

I'm no stranger to trimming whole cuts of meat. Most of the time, I prefer to do so. It saves a lot of money at times.


The whole loin.


After a few minutes of deft cutting, the main section of the loin is clean.

Seeing as how I only need two filets for dinner, I cut them off the roast and put the rest of the meat in the refrigerator.


Tonight's dinner.

I'll trim the rest of the meat up tomorrow. Some will be used for shish kabob. The rest will go into either a beef vegetable soup or pot of chili.

Those decisions can wait for another day.

Today's Sunday FunDay.

Time for a cocktail and a little NPR.

I'll let Christine continue her nap.

After all, Sunday FunDay is all about relaxing.

Hope you folks are doing the same.

Until the next time, all y'all take care of yourselves.

Air Traffic Mike, ret.

"You Can't Unhear That......"

That's according to my friend Otto.

I think what he actually pointed out the first time was, "You can't *unsee* that." after someone pointed out an abuse of spandex by a 5 foot tall, 300 pound woman.

For the record, Otto was right. It's been a couple of years since that Sunday FunDay afternoon at The Flying Saucer. I can still see her.

I shudder every time I do.

It was breathtakingly hideous.

I was thinking about those moments this morning.

Last night Christine played me a song posted on YouTube that fell squarely into the "Can't Unhear This" category.

The damned song was stuck in my head all night.

In an attempt to erase this song from my head, I'm posting it here, along with other songs of its ilk, for you to attempt to "Unhear".

Good luck.

I'd wish you well in your attempts, but if I really meant that, I wouldn't be exposing you folks to these.

By the way, Otto has a couple of blogs, and both are quite good in their respective areas. His personal blog, Nothing To See Here and his professional blog on all things WordPress, Otto on WordPress.

For those who use WordPress and have any questions about it, Otto is one of WordPress' biggest Ninjas.

He's insanely good at what he does.

You can thank Otto for not being able to "Unhear" the next videos by going to either website, clicking on the toolbar in the "Buy Otto a Beer" window, and follow the PayPal instructions.

First on the playlist, Barry White and Luciano Pavarotti singing "My Everything".


There's a very good reason "Soul Music" wasn't invented in Italy.

Pavarotti could have stopped there, but alas, he didn't. Next for your listening pleasure, Pavarotti pushes the musical boundaries by teaming up with James Brown.


There's also a very good reason that the Blues aren't an Italian musical tradition.

You would think that Pavarotti would have given up on duets with African-American singers by this point.

Think again.


That was a dirty trick, sneaking Pavarotti out to sing with Stevie Wonder.

Surely Stevie had heard the recordings with Mr. White and Mr. Brown.

It is safe to say that Stevie didn't see this one coming.

For God's sake, even the children's choir didn't help.

Then there's Pavarotti with George Benson....



...and Pavarotti with Joe Cocker...



...and Pavarotti with Bon Jovi...



...and Pavarotti with Tracy Chapman...



..or my favorite where Pavarotti dupes U2 into entering his arena with this Catholic favorite..


You won't be able to unhear Bono on this one.

Well, at least Pavarotti didn't do something stupid like record with the Spice Girls or George Michaels...


Ohhhhhhh shhhhhittt.........


.........ffffffuuuuuuddddggggeeeee.

Play them, them try to unhear them.

I dare ya.

Until the next time, all y'all take care of yourselves.

Air Traffic Mike, ret.

"Almost Heaven: George Washington Slept Here"...(The End)

The week had passed quickly.

Still, we had one full day left to tourist a bit and we had a dinner invitation from one of Mary Jane's nieces.

We started off by heading up the road to Sharpsburg, Maryland.

I'm using the word "road" in the vaguest of terms. Christine's GPS took us on the "shortest route" that, at one point, had us on a one lane road. Lime Kiln Road is so narrow that the term "one lane road" is very generous. To make it even more exciting, it's a steep downhill, rock covered run if one was to stray off the path's western edge.

I was in such a hurry to get off this path, I didn't even stop to take a picture of it.

Nothing says "vacation fun" like imminent death.

Fortunately there was no opposite direction traffic and my plan to hug the east side of the road worked out.

After a three mile run, the GPS bought us out onto the nice wide two lane road it had taken us off of. Pretty soon, we arrived in Sharpsburg.

Sharpsburg is a sleepy little town today, but during the Civil War it was the site of one of the bloodiest battles of the war.

The Battle of Antietam. It's called so due to the proximity of Antietam Creek. The one day total of 23,000 casualties is the highest single day total of the Civil War.

That's a staggering number.

The Vietnam War produced around 58,000 American casualties over it's decade plus history.

D-Day produced less than half that number of Allied losses.

It's been said that Antietam Creek ran red with blood.

Somehow, I believe it.




A lonely sentinel watches over his charges.


The layout of the cemetery.


The New Jersey soldiers plot. The smaller stones are those of the Unknowns.

We spent about 45 minutes looking at all the various markers and decided to move on.

Next stop, Charles Town, West Virginia.

We drove south on this nice four lane highway leaving town.

I was in the mood for wide highways.

We no sooner left the city limits of Sharpsburg, MD when we came upon a nice big bridge taking us to West Virginia.

Shepherdstown, West Virginia to be precise.

Home of The Bavarian Inn where we had enjoyed a wonderful meal just two nights before.

It suddenly dawned on us that there was a much safer route we could have taken to Sharpsburg.

Nervous laughter ensued.

We went to Charles Town for two reasons. One, we figured it would be a good stop for lunch.

Reason number two:


Washington slept here.

No, seriously.

In fact, a whole bunch of Washingtons slept here.

George's youngest brother Charles laid out this town back when it was a part of Virginia.

The picture above is that of Charles Washington's home. It is privately owned, so we could only take pictures from the driveway.


I think I like "Happy Retreat" better than Mordington.

Imagine what it must have been like for Charles, though.

Having a famous brother must really blow sometimes.

"Why can't you be more like your brother George?"

George was deified in death. He had the capital of the United States named for him. Mount Vernon is one of the most popular tourist attractions in the D.C. area. The Washington Monument is an American icon.

All Charlie got was buried in the backyard.

Charles Town is a very quaint little town. There are a number of antique stores and cafe's lining the main drag.

The locals are very happy to assist you and answer any questions you may have.


Whatever you do though, do NOT ask them if Charles Town is named for the fat kid in the orange and black shirt shown here.

They take a dim view of that.

However, the Peanuts Gang isn't the only civic art project in the area.

There was one more picture I just had to take.

Back in 1989 I came up here from Richmond, VA on a three day road trip.

We stayed at a place called the "Turf Motel". It was conveniently located right next to the Charles Town racetrack and had a shuttle bus that brought you into a side gate of the track.

Believe me, that was service.

What I remember most though was that they advertised in the most American of ways.

If all else fails, advertise high in the air for all to see:


After all these years, number 7 is still standing tall.

We returned to the cabin. With a family visit on the horizon for Christine and Mary Jane, we figured a bit of rest would be a good idea.

Besides they both wanted to get some things washed and packed away.

We had a nice visit that night with Mary Jane's niece and her family including her great niece and great great nephews.

We left Saturday around noon to head home. There was one more stop I wanted to make before we left.

I'm not sure if it is officially, but I called it, "The World's Shortest Tunnel".


Think there haven't been some verbal altercations here over the years?


Okay, so actually it is a train overpass.


The locals all use a technique to alert each other opposite direction. The drivers roll their window down and blow the vehicle's horn while entering and inside the tunnel.

I found this system worked very well throughout the week.

I employed the "Shave and A Haircut, Two Bits" method.

As you can imagine, I was met with a number of opposite direction drivers awaiting their turn, and rolling their eyes.

Hey, someone always has to be, "That guy".

Last week, it was my turn.

This week, a return to the normal, mundane routine of daily life.

It is nice to be back.

Until the next time, all y'all take care of yourselves.

Air Traffic Mike, ret.

"Almost Heaven".....(part 4)

It was really getting hot Tuesday afternoon. We braced ourselves for the next couple of days.

Wednesday morning came and the temperature at 8:00 am was already over 80 degrees.

Neither Christine nor her mother can tolerate extended periods of heat. We all agreed that any touristing/visiting we were going to do would be in the early evening after the heat of the day abated.

We had plenty of food on hand, so there was no need to go into town.

We also had a nice, cool river just down the hill.

Christine and I decided we'd take advantage of it.

We donned our bathing suits, jumped in the AirTrafficMobile, and headed down to "The Bottom".

There was no breeze to be had and the water was flat and shiny like glass. We couldn't have asked for a better day to go canoeing.


We started off heading downriver. It had been years since Christine had been in a canoe, so I figured we'd start by going with the current.


Despite the number of homes along the way, we were the only folks on the river that morning.

Pretty soon we decided we'd best head back the other way. Christine wanted to take a dip and I didn't want to hazard getting back into the canoe from the water.

We spun the canoe about smartly into the current. I told Christine, "Just aim the nose of the canoe at the red metal roof.".

The current wasn't bad at all, the canoeing went well.


We intentionally went past the boat launch so as to allow us to use the current to our advantage coming in. I took this shot to the west as we paddled in.


It was nice to have a bit of shade to beat the day's heat.

Now, while we were out and about on the canoe, Splitty the Maul was hanging out at the gazebo.

Splitty digs the water.


I caught Splitty taking an afternoon nap when we got back.

The picture woke him up.

I was glad it did. Splitty made two new friends.


Splitty posing with his two newest friends Pete the Paddle(L) and Ollie the Oar(R).

Pete and Ollie were telling Splitty how good the cool water felt.

Before I could get his life vest on, Splitty hit the water.


Turns out I didn't have to worry.


Splitty knew how to handle himself in the water.

After a few hours of swimming and hanging out, we decided that an afternoon nap would be nice. We piled back into the AirTrafficMobile and drove up the steep road back to the cabin.

I have to say that nothing beats a really good afternoon nap while on vacation. Before I retired from the FAA, I'd always take a vacation nap and think to myself, "Normally I'd be working right now." just before I closed my eyes.

Try it some time.

The nap was a good call.

Especially since we had made reservations for dinner at The Bavarian Inn in Shepherdstown, WVa.


Originally this was a private home built in 1930. It was converted to an inn in the 1980's.


Christine and Mary Jane heading to the casual dining room called "The Ratskeller". As the name suggests, it is located in the former cellar.


Looking across the grounds at part of the inn.

Now when I said "casual dining" be assured the only thing casual was the dress code. It was much too hot to get all dolled up just for dinner.

There were a number of entrees from which to choose. Christine opted for a nice grilled salmon dish. Mary Jane ordered a pork tenderloin dish.

Both were quite impressive.

I opened my menu and the first thing that caught my eye was this:


Antelope Tenderloin Wellington with Pureed Celeriac Root and Mushroom Sauce.

It was spectacular.

So were the two bottles of wine from the Bavarian Inn's award winning wine cellar. We had a nice, cool bottle of Gewurztraminer with our appetizers/salads and a really nice Russian River Sauvignon Blanc with dinner. I ordered the Sauvignon Blanc out of deference to the ladies entrees. It stood up well to the antelope.

It's important here to note ATM's Second Law of Diet that states:

"Vacation calories don't count."

I asked our server to bring us dessert menus.

Christine ordered a slice of German Chocolate Cake.

I opted for a slice of this:


Black Forrest Cake and a glass of Port.

It was a splendid end to a splendid evening.

The next morning found us staying in from the heat. It was already 90 degrees by 10:00 am.

Christine and I decided we would take "Billy" with us down to the river. He had already been in the ocean the week before, so we knew he didn't mind the water.

Besides, I wanted to find out if our boy could swim.


Christine took "Billy" out in the river and floated on a noodle.

So far, so good.

After about 15 minutes of placid floating and cooling off, "Billy" got cold an began to shake.

Chris started to bring him in.

Shortly, we would have our answer.


In they came. About ten feet from the boat launch I told Christine to let him loose.

If anything happened, I'd fish him out immediately.

Christine reluctantly released "Billy".....


Well what do you know? Our boy can swim!

Now thoroughly wet, "Billy" did what all wet dogs do after they shake off:




He took a good roll in the grass.

Once again we opted for an afternoon nap. We had to rest our brains in order to be ready for a night at the Charles Town Racetrack.





We stayed for seven of the nine races. Christine won four out of seven races, I won two.

She picked up a few bucks, I lost twenty.

Oh well, that's why they call it gambling.

There were thunderstorms in the area heralding in some cooler air.

That meant we'd be touristing the next day, and preparing to return home Saturday.

More on that tomorrow.

Until the next time, all y'all take care of yourselves.

Air Traffic Mike, ret.

Nothing wrong with betting a few of the hard earned retirement bucks at the track.

"Almost Heaven".........(part 3)

Day three found us driving up the road to Harpers Ferry. It didn't take long to drive there, but parking was a nightmare.

For those not familiar with Harpers Ferry and its historical significance, here's a condensed history lesson:

1) Harpers Ferry, located on the confluence of the Potomac and Shenandoah Rivers, was one of two places the Federal government produced and stored rifles for the military. Springfield, Massachusetts was the other.

2) In 1859 an abolitionist named John Brown led an ill fated raid on the armory in an attempt to arm and thereby free slaves.

3) The raid failed, most of Brown's men were killed or captured.

4) John Brown was tried, convicted of treason, and subsequently hung.

5) Had he survived the hanging, he'd have celebrated his 211th birthday this May 9 past.

6) He would have had a heck of a time finding a place to park in Harpers Ferry last Tuesday.

I dropped Mary Jane and Christine off in the main part of the park and parked far around the corner. After my half mile trek I caught up with the ladies. Some of the buildings are used to house exhibits, a couple are souvenir stores, but all have been restored:


I did not know this.






We walked down the main street looking at, and in, a number of restored buildings. We came upon one that had a large exhibit inside. It was a replica of a gun production shop:


Left half of the "gun shop".


Right half of the "gun shop".

Because I like old machinery, I studied this exhibit for a while. As we walked out I turned around and this caught my eye:


The silhouette of the building was interesting, but I had to wonder what effect the former building's chimney had on the remaining building.


St. Peter's Roman Catholic Church high above the National Park.


I found the construction of the old hotel to be pretty interesting. More pictures of that in a minute.


I took my attention off the hotel and looked carefully at this building. It seemed empty, but the sign said, "Open".

I decided I'd take a stroll in to see what was up.

It was very interesting. The National Park Service had preserved the exterior of the building and left the interior open for the public to see.

Some of the old lathe work on the ceiling. Note the brace work to the left. The iron brace and wooden blocks were installed to stabilize the upper floors.


The remnants of one of the original fireplaces.


Foundation work and one of the doors to the street.


A closer view of the foundation work. It seems this building was built on the ruins of another structure.

By this time Mary Jane was getting tired. She took a seat on a wall under a shade tree, Christine and I wandered nearby for a bit.


The remains of one of the two arsenal buildings.


The back of the hotel.


Another view of St. Peter's Catholic Church. I suppose they built it on top of the hill in order to be closer to God.


Looking up the hill back towards town.


The well worn stone steps up to the church. By this time we were all ready to go. It was getting hot and the three of us had all been here before, albeit a long time ago.

Besides, the thought of walking up the hill in the ever increasing heat was not very appealing.

I made a "command decision" to go get the AirTrafficMobile. It likes climbing hills.

Christine made a "command decision" to walk up the stairs to get a closer view of the church.

Mary Jane made a "command decision" to stay on her shady wall, drink her cold water, and await the return of the AirTrafficMobile.

We stopped at a very quaint little cafe' on the way out of town for lunch.

That was enough touristing for one day.

Besides, Mary Jane's nieces and spouses were coming over to the cabin to visit her and Christine. The cabin belonged to their mother, Mary Jane's older sister.

It was a nice visit. The nieces were very happy to see Mary Jane.

I had been monitoring the weather all week long. The daily temperatures were forecast to be in the high 90's/low 100's. We talked it over and decided we'd suspend touristing for the next two days and take advantage of the river.

As it turned out, we decided well.

Tomorrow's blog: "Billy and Splitty the Maul Hit The Drink, Fine German Dining, And A Night At The Races".

Until the next time, all y'all take care of yourselves.

Air Traffic Mike, ret.