Back to Bahrain

Doesn't that title sound like a good movie name? I always remember "Back to Bataan" - a cool war movie - was on every damn Sunday of my childhood. It was gritty and entertaining. So what am I talking about? Read on.

Bahrain is an island in the Persian gulf.. I guess it's a country or a Sheikdom or something. I was sent there by the US Navy to serve out my final 12 months of my 4-year tour. I had to go to the library to look it up when I got the orders. I never heard of it. Its location and background were scary AND this was really all before the term Persian Gulf (or Desert Storm) had such a negative connotation. I was assigned to serve on the USS LaSalle, the command ship of the Commander of Middle East Forces. The ship was painted white (not grey) to reflect the incredible desert heat. The summer had temps frequently above 100 and sailors were allowed to wear shorts and T shirts. It was like an episode of McHale's Navy.

My latest time-killing experience is to be here at home alone for 10 days. That's a record for solo time even though I have had many days by myself so I am well trained. Why am I doing solo time? My wife (and her mother) left on a long-planned trip to Bahrain yesterday. My wife's dad was a US Navy officer who was also stationed in Bahrain. He moved the whole family over there in the early 70s and lived for 3 years in an apartment near the base. Her dad also had quarters on the ship and went on many cruises in his 3 years. My wife and her brother attended an International high school on the island. She has attended a number of reunions for that school. I joined her at one of the reunions and we won the award for longest-married couple. I should mention we met in Bahrain and had a very atypical courtship - Indian movies, HOT food and a rented Datsun B210. Most recently she and I attended a reunion for the ship and we are scheduled to attend another this year. Living there had a profound influence on my wife's family and yesterday they left out of Kennedy Airport for London and then to Bahrain. The trip of a life time...

It reminded me of one of those re-visits to Vietnam where those vets get to see that country in a different light and see a WalMart where a rice paddy used to be. My wife and her mother are well prepared for this adventure. They spent months planning and even though their airline - British Airways - went on strike a week before their trip, they managed to get on a re-scheduled flight and were upgraded to some kind of upper-class service with foot rests, free booze, butlers and fuzzy slippers. I thought that was a good sign that this trip would go well..

This is only day 2 of the adventure so I don't have much detail and I don't know if it will come pouring in as cell phone and Internet costs are a touch high ($3 bucks per minute). I guess I will hear about it when they return..I did have an idea which is now too late.. This could have made a good documentary.. It has all the elements - historical, emotional, sentimental, educational - a true human interest tale. Just have to get someone to produce and film that..I'm too busy killing time here and after all I AM writing a screen play - the laff-a-minute story of a downsized 60-year old who loses his job as a result of the economic collapse. The working title is "Now What?" Look for it in theaters in about 4 years...I may have to update that theme and throw in some cutting health care yuks - "Hey, let's have another colonoscopy"...

I love a parade?

I can remember last St Patrick's Day as being one of the first days of my retirement. I recall seeing the parade on the TV which was odd as my office window had a first-hand view of the marchers and I didn't realize it was televised. So here is another St Pat's deal which doesn't really fill the bill for time killing. I remember as a kid all the Catholic schools used to be closed which made it seem like more of a holiday. Now it's just another day where Al Roker wears a green tie.

I guess I am mostly Irish as my mother was and I'd call her on this day from my office to see if she could hear the bagpipes on the street. I remember asking her if she'd ever like to come up and see the parade. I remember her answer was something like "oh, I'd hate the crowds"...ahhhhhh, therein lies the legacy. I did go to the parade a few times. A real outing - a one block walk with little chance of crossing the street.

I had to answer a question from my hair cutter yesterday . She asked what I was doing for St Patrick's Day. I had no answer because I did nothing. The hair cutter was shocked as she looks forward to it for days.. I re-thought the issue. Well, we just completed remodeling our main bathroom - new tub, new sink, new medicine cabinet, new toilet, new floor, new lights and the walls are GREEN...Erin GO Pee..

Update

About one hour into the Oscar show ABC returned to the air...How did this happen.? Pressure, guilt, fear..? I say Walt thawed out and read the riot act (in Mickey Mouse's high-pitched voice)..

And the loser is...

....anyone with Cablevision. As of 2 pm on Oscar telecast Sunday our local cable carrier does NOT have ABC-tv - the broadcaster of the program. That channel was knocked off line at midnight last night due to a money (big surprise) dispute between Cablevision and Disney...DISNEY????? holy shit - If Walt was alive he'd never let this happen. He soothed all our souls when he was alive...we had the Mickey Mouse Club, the Disney Sunday show, all sorts of movies including Son of Flubber, Snow White, Lady and the Tramp..damn, isn't he frozen somewhere. Can't somebody thaw him out and get him to settle this before 9 pm?

So there will probably be no time killing with the Academy Awards tonight. Maybe they will settle before that. I am really just a casual viewer but I did see most of the movies. There are 3 million subscribers affected and many who are involved in the industry. So unless you have an alternate carrier (Fios, Dish, Direct TV) you better break out the blow torches and start working on Walt...