Useless Info.

[Rich Shankland]

Gotta back you up on this Huzzah!. When I saw this I was doing the "Tim the Toolman Taylor" dance.

[Hoop]

Just got back from Zihautenajo Mexico, I walked on the beach at sunset with the Padre and he asked me about Captain Jack, and the website articles. I informed him that Capt. Jack was gone now, as well as 17 other brother FireFighters since the month of August. The Padre was saddened and looked very tired. Just then a Tern soared overhead, and a group of Pelicans skimmed the waves as they crashed transparent on the beach in front of us.
The Padre asked me if I was going to continue the writing on the "useless Info" spot and I looked right at him and told him that when it hits 7,000 maybe I should take the hint and let it go. He asked if I had tried to spark some interest in getting a bit of help on it and I assured him that I did, Then I said to him, "maybe it is true Padre, that no one who retired from the SFD has had anything happen to them whilst on this beautiful planet since they retired". The Padre said "yes I know how you must feel, I miss Captain Jack, and the article he wrote was one of the ways I stayed in touch with him". "His wit and our talks are a beautiful memory."
Then the Padre smiled again and said to me as we parted "live life fully, and Just Do It Roberto." I assured him I would and that in a few days I was hitting the slopes on my skiis for some more of lifes adventures. I toweled off from our swim and as he walked away I said to him,"Not ready to be velcroed into the rocker yet Padre, maybe soon, but not yet."
The Ocean crashed and the mist was grand, and looked golden, illuminated by the huge orange ball of a setting sun. I breathed it all in, and then walked slowly and thoughtfully back to the Hacienda for la cena a noche- con Vino Tinto.
vaya con Dios Senor Padre!

[Rich Shankland]

My brow was a little sweaty, but a light breeze through the hatch over my head helped calm my nerves. It was now or never. The folks watching were getting a bit impatient, I could tell.

I interlaced my fingers, turned my palms out and cracked a couple of knuckles. Then I put my left hand on the yoke, my right hand feeling for, finding, and caressing the eight throttles. One more look outside for traffic on the bay and then forward on the throttles, thirty thousand horsepower responding to a mere human's touch.

50, 60, 70, 80 knots. My copilot's soft voice reading off the steady gain in airspeed. She wasn't a qualified pilot, but she had been my right hand all through the construction. She knew the strength of the wooden fuselage and wings and had helped with the design of all the on-board systems. Then, as we reached V2, I decided to do it! I was going to lift her off the water . . .

I opened my eyes and came back to reality. But I was there, just for a moment.

[Hoop]

Wow! now this is what I'm talking about. This last article by Rich Shankland is the kind of lifes experiences that we need to hear about from time to time on this forum. Also Frank's articles chronicling his travels down in Arizona this time of year, and the unusual weather events he is experiencing at the present time. Frank writes just like you are standing there talking to him, and I like that a lot. His style is very comfortable and newsy every time. I like the Hawaii adventures he wrote about the best of all so far.
Well, right at the moment I am with my wife back over in the Methow for some more skiing. We went hiking up into the famed Boothe Canyon last time over and were way back in near Lookout Mtn when it happened, we saw a lone Wolf chasing a small herd of Whitetail Deer. They were across a wide canyon and approximately 1/2 mile away when we saw them. The Wolf spotted us too, we were standing out in the open on ridgeline and when he saw us he broke off the hot pursuit and ran around the northwest side of Rocky Dome. It was awesome to see, and this is the first time for both of us in all our hikes up there. My wife was most excited about the fact that once again, we were in there unarmed and all on our own. It doesn't seem to help to tell her that Wolves don't like to eat people.
Sun is out today, and fresh snow is expected tomorrow, so we hope for good skiing on wednesday when the Loup Loup Pass area opens again. I love the runs up there. I don't do the moguls any more, just the big cruisers, and 2 MILE up there, its my favorite one.
Stay in touch guys, and write something for us to read about. Life is too short to hide your good times away, share them with us. You'll be glad you did.

thought for the day.... build up some memories, and you can have Roses in December or anytime you like.
now turn off the boobster and get out there!

[Rich Shankland]

Yesterday, Linda and I drove to Seattle and stopped at Kroesen's to get fitted for a new uniform coat. It seems my 47 year-old one has developed a case of "Closet Shrink". We are planning to attend John Philbin's memorial service on Monday and I would like to honor John by wearing my uniform.

Well, I guess the thought of putting on my Blacks again was running through my mind when I went to bed. If you'll notice the time of this posting, you can guess what happened. There I was, dreaming I had gone back on the job. Too old and creaky to slide a pole or even climb on the tailboard (anybody still have those?), the young guys had to help me up

I woke up in a sweat and couldn't get back to sleep, so I thought I play with this infernal machine until I got drowsy again. So Frank - you're not alone in having those retro dreams!

Good night for now.

[Hoop]

It's been a nice winter for outdoor fun if you like to ski and such. This is the (2 chair to get there) run called the "Solar Coaster" at Whistler/Blackcomb BC this past week. My grandson (12 yrs old,) and I skiied that day together, he Snowboards and goes a lot faster than I like to anymore. It would have been nice to run into some of my Fire Dept friends while we were up there. I looked around in the Village and about, but didn't recognize anyone that I used to know. I had really forgotten just how steep it is up there on this particular run, (it's about 2 miles long), and during the whiteout on the way down I was thinking "what am I doing up here right now", but it was fine and we had fun running it out.
Thank goodness for the hot tub at night, it sure helps with the kinks and tired muscles. Hey guys, limit your runs, hit the hot coffee and chocolate more, take up some Ben Gay, and it's still a good time to be with your family. I rode the chair at Mt Baker last year to the top with a guy who was 82 and still doing the hill, so he encouraged me to keep going too.
Thanks to my email buddy Rich for helping me get this 1st photo on here, the guy is a wizard.
thought for the day......when you see it snowing, get out there!

[Hoop]

The North Cross Highway just opened up friday at noon over the N Cascade Pass. We came over Saturday and the drive was surreal. The snow is so beautiful and the Mtns indescribable to say the least. The Methow Valley is greening up and the surrounding hills are turning their springtime emerald green.
It was an easy Winter on the Deer herds, and the Deer are in beautiful shape for this time of year. The fawn survival was very high, and the predator kill was low because of the low snow pack. Deer can't run on top of crusted snow, whereas big predators like the Wolf and Coyote can run on top of it at their highest speeds to do their kill.
The Methow River is starting its spring runoff and is already turning into dark chocolate in it's color. Trout fishing starts this next weekend and all the lowland lakes will be opening up. The fishing should be very good as the weather has already started some early hatch in the bigger shallows on the lakes.
Give it a try over here this year for your fishing, you won't be dissapointed in the drive and you just may catch some big ones. Its a great time to get your grandkids in the boat and get to know them better than you ever could otherwise.
See you at the Farmers Market on Saturday in Twisp.
thought for the day.....ain't life grand?

[Rich Shankland]

Latest Climate Change Alert!!!

A few years ago, I bought several 2-1/2 gallon PPC's at a garage sale. These are still, IMO, the best extinguisher made. You can put out a small room fire and have enough water left over to wash your face.

Well, I had to spray Round-Up on a couple of areas of the driveway to stop the weeds. My weed sprayer takes forever and the tip is always clogging, so I figger why not use the pressurized pump can? I lifted it off the wall hook and it almost got my foot on it's way to the floor! I slowly lugged it over to the house. That's when I realized what had happened.

Gravity is increasing!

Somebody call Al Gore, willya?

[Frank]

I think the back and forth gravity has got into my eyes and had been causing the contents of my stomach to be in the inside of the trash can. More on that later I get to see an ENT Doctor later today.

[Hoop]

[b]Dear Fellow Fire Fighters the 1st series of this thread called "Useless Information" was started over three years ago by retired Captain Jim Allan who very recently passed away. The first one that Capt. Jim started got lost in the cyberspace when this site crashed back late in 2007. The 1st thread of "Useless had about 4,000 hits on it. This current thread is fast approaching 7,000 hits and that's when I said awhile back that I for one am closing it out. The "Useless Info." site has established what I consider to be a record of approximately 11,000 hits so far. It has been a fun journey to try to get some interest going and encourage others to write. However only about three or four have carried the weight of it.
We have taken you down white water rivers, into some major trout streams fishing, fishing for salmon in Canada, logging, flying with Howard Hughes,into our travels and into our lives during this time as best as we could. Writing isn't always the easiest thing to do, it takes thought and time to do it. Moreover though it takes courage and a willingness to let others see your weaknesses and joys, and to see things from your personal point of view. In other words it''s kinda like you are shimmying up the flagpole of life, and when you do that the people can see your a-- at times too. It's called vulnerablility, and most people don't like that one.
I want to thank Rich, Frank, George, Larry, and a few others for the wonderful things they have written to make it all work and keep going. And for shinnnying right up there with the best of em. I also want to thank Captain Bob Steele for his encouragement over two years ago when he asked me at the Firefighters breakfast to please keep writing on this thread. Captain Steele told me how much it meant to him to tune in and read it almost daily, and but for his kind words it would have been easier to just stay in the stands too. Captain Steele is gone from among us now.
But most of all thanks to Captain Jim and his vision of a Title for all of this fun, and for his comical thought provoking articles that he wrote. I liked his old time Navy ones the best. He invented the character of the "Padre" and that made it even more fun for me.
Vaya con Dios Captain Jim.

Edit postReport this postReply with quoteRe: Useless Info.
by Hoop on Wed Feb 10, 2010 5:32 pm

Just got back from Zihautenajo Mexico, I walked on the beach at sunset with the Padre and he asked me about Captain Jim, and the website articles. I informed him that Capt. Jim was gone now, as well as 17 other brother FireFighters since the month of August. The Padre was saddened and looked very tired. Just then a Tern soared overhead, and a group of Pelicans skimmed the waves as they crashed transparent on the beach in front of us.
The Padre asked me if I was going to continue the writing on the "useless Info" spot and I looked right at him and told him that when it hits 7,000 maybe I should take the hint and let it go. He asked if I had tried to spark some interest in getting a bit of help on it and I assured him that I did, Then I said to him, "maybe it is true Padre, that no one who retired from the SFD has had anything happen to them whilst on this beautiful planet since they retired". The Padre said "yes I know how you must feel, I miss Captain Jim, and the article he wrote was one of the ways I stayed in touch with him". "His wit and our talks are a beautiful memory."
Then the Padre smiled again and said to me as we parted "live life fully, and Just Do It Roberto." I assured him I would and that in a few days I was hitting the slopes on my skiis for some more of lifes adventures. I toweled off from our swim and as he walked away I said to him,"Not ready to be velcroed into the rocker yet Padre, maybe soon, but not yet."
The Ocean crashed and the mist was grand, and looked golden, illuminated by the huge orange ball of a setting sun. I breathed it all in, and then walked slowly and thoughtfully back to the Hacienda for la cena a noche- con Vino Tinto.
vaya con Dios Senor Padre!
thought for the day...when something looks like it would be a fun thing to do, it probably is. Just do it!
LaRopa Beach Sunset/Zihuatenajo, Mexico