USS POPE (DD-225); Hand-Delivered Ice Cream; An Eagle Where? Shopping! Steak or Tofu?

The photo of the canary yellow Chrysler Prowler (Parking Hall of Shame) the other day elicited this response from my good friend and shipmate Dale, in Indiana: “This one is so obvious, I believe the street crew was jealous of the American built Chrysler Prowler (before MB and Fiat), and they painted the parking line under the vehicle after it was parked. This also recently happened overseas, the painting crew painted a car into a handicap parking space that was not present when the vehicle was parked.” Dale is very enthusiastic about American-built cars, as he works in a GM plant. I had to laugh at this, his third such defense of American cars with bad parking jobs, and was thankful that he gave me only a moderately hard time about my Honda CRV when we visited him last summer. He related the story of his former father-in-law, who had spent several miserable years in a Japanese POW camp in New Guinea after his ship, USS Pope (DD-225) was sunk. One can certainly understand how those guys felt about their captors... 

After hearing about Corvette Chick’s unsuccessful plea for helicopter-delivered ice cream from USS McInerney (FFG-8) while we were sailing across the Atlantic aboard our sailboat Liberty, our neighbor Reve Norman called yesterday and said to come outside and pick up a package for Suzanne. It was a half-gal of Black Jack Cherry Frozen Yogurt! She said that since the Navy couldn't deliver it, she would. (I’m wondering if I should save any for CC’s return on Friday, or eat it all before she finds out about it... hmmmm..... an easy decision!) 

Okay, for you non-Village People, here is a bird question for you: what is this bird and where is he? Yep, it’s a bald eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus), and he’s not in Alaska... that bird is right here in The Villages. As many of you know, Florida has the second largest population of bald eagles in the US, outside of Alaska. Pretty cool!  

It’s not often that I go shopping. Like most guys, to me it’s a pretty boring ordeal. But I needed new shoes, and after dropping My Lovely Bride off at MCO, I decided to see if the small Navy Exchange near the airport had my favorite running shoes, New Balance 990’s (made in the USA!). Eureka! They did carry them, and there was one pair in my size left. It’s hard to describe the wonderful feeling of slipping on a new running shoe... it’s almost as good as ..... well, okay, maybe not THAT good... but you get my drift. 

While My Happy Medium is on retreat, I am left to my own devices as far as cooking. So while she is probably eating healthy tofu and yogurt, I fixed myself a steak on the barbie with sides of grilled zucchini, onions, and peppers, along with a very drinkable wine. Who says guys can’t take care of themselves? And where is that Black Jack Cherry frozen yogurt?