Trick or Treat

I have been fishing the Anchor River since the territorial days of Alaska, this is my paradise. I was reminded of this today as I fished for Steelhead Trout. It was a beautiful day, a misty rain falling with occasional breaks of sun. From where I was fishing, I glanced upstream to see this perfect arc. The number of fish that I hooked or landed mattered very little because I was at this special place at this particular moment in time. It was a special scene that could never be duplicated.

With a few pumpkins remain un-carved, today I could not pass up the opportunity to do a little more artistic impressions of people that I know and love. I looked at this pumpkin several times, however I kept passing it over due to the stem on the pumpkin, then I recalled that there are two sisters, the youngest sister always teasing her older sibling about her nose. Consequently, this entry into the 2006 Pumpkin Carving Contest is titled "Big Sister". Any resemblance of someone you know is strictly coincidental.



This morning, while enjoying my morning coffee and viewing the replica of the "Plumma" working in my rock garden, I could not help but sense that he was lonely and needed someone to keep him company. Although, I did have to go into the Little Hamlet By The Sea to acquire two additional pumpkins, the trip was well worth it and now the view outside my window is perfect. Since my entry into the Pumpkin Carving Contest had already been entered under the name of the "The Plumma", the new entry is tagged as "Plumma's Partner" but, each time I looked that them I just call them "Plumma and Plumage" or "John and Heidi" for short!

With all of our thoughts turning to pumpkin carving, today, I spent the better part of the day and six new pumpkins to come up with my entry into the pumpkin carving contest. If any of you, who will have more callers at your door on Halloween night than I, please feel free to duplicate my artistic impression titled, "Homer After A Night Of Drinking The Witches Brew".



I would also like to place a second entry into the competition, this concept came to me about the time I was sick of cleaning and carving pumpkins. I have this one displayed in my rock garden, I thought it was appropriate spot. This artistic impression is titled "The Plumma".

We have a problem. My grandchildren, spent the better part of this past Memorial Day Weekend, building and stocking the Hole In the Wall Zoo. They came upon this concept when their dad and Uncle John, woke up early one morning and developed a mud hole into a "Kroc" pond including the importation of a Crocodile to entertain the little ones and to dispose the bodies of any of those individuals that dared encroaching into our sanctuary.
The "Little Clan" picked up on this opportunity to develop something special and spent countless hours building signs, landscaping, and collecting specimens for their zoo. It reached a point where they decided that they would put up roadside signs, welcoming visitors to their zoo, of course there would be a nominal fee assessed per individual. They had quite a collection of animals contained within their zoo. It was a great throughout the summer months to see the occupants of the zoo and recall the hours that the little ones spent developing the area. However, no one gave any consideration as to the onslaught of winter and what these animals would do to survive.
A couple of days ago, I spent the better part of the day carving pumpkins for Halloween, two of my specimens may be viewed on a previous posting. I placed the Jack O Lanterns on my front deck, hoping that the neighbors goats would not find them and eat them before the 31st.
However, I did not consider the zoo animals, I got up this morning, happen to glance out at the deck where the pumpkins used to be. I was not going to argue with this prowler, but I did manage to snap a picture before it strolled back down the hill to the zoo. I just hope the Kroc does not show up - but perhaps he will concentrate on the neighbors goats.

I do not know if anyone, but me realized it, but this is the first time since the existence of the Roman Empire that one month had duplicate dates, which just happened to be yesterday and today, October 26, 2006. Accordingly, the next time that this will occur will be on February 29, 3007. By coincidence, October 26th is the birthday of Julius Caesar, however he was assassinated on the Idies of March.

Had a great day, but after reading and looking at the pictures posted on the Erotic Screamer, I rushed to town and bought seven pumpkins, I always need a few to warm up on before my artistic juices begin to flow. But, in the end, I did carve a couple that I thought turned out very good. I have them sitting out on the deck, hoping they will last until Halloween, since it has been colder at night they should last unless the neighbors goats get loose and eat them. I do hope you enjoy my carving and feel free to copy my patterns if you so choose.

I have always enjoyed politics on both he local and national lever, however, I never endorse a candidate, with the lone exception of a recent City of Homer election, in which the candidate that I endorsed, did not win. But that is politics. Perhaps, this has been the worst campaign season than I have ever seen, the constant mud slinging, dredging up every little dirty detail that can be found, and the out right lying. Then they wonder, why we, as voters do not turn out to vote. I have been constantly amazed at all the new "facts" that have come out on some of the candidates in recent weeks. All of this "dirt" could not have been discovered in the past two weeks and just before the election. These revealing "facts" were discovered since the last election, then held in a sealed vault until needed for this election by both of the predominant parties.

This is Mary Carey, running for Governor of the State of California against Arnold "The Terminator". Her claim to fame is that she is porno queen. However, unfortunately, she had to withdraw from the race on October 23rd so she could go to Florida to care for her ailing mother, who had just jumped off the top of a four story building! I would assume she would be ailing after taking a leap of that nature. First concept that you have, "he is making this up", sorry it is fact as posted in the most recent news.

Just so the ladies out there don't think that I posted this "pin up" to entice men to read my posting, I will also include a picture just for you, one that you can also use as a "pin up", just like FOX News, this site is fair and balanced.



This is Manny Yarbough, he is not running for anything, especially from the dinner table but he is a "chick magnet" Enjoy your picture ladies and may your fantasies be pure.

Some big hams in this picture, but as I mentioned in my posting of yesterday, here is another blatant exploitation of the Arctic Polar Pig. These little piglets were quite content living in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, unknown to most and surviving for the past century. Now they are being exhibited and made to dress up in "frilly girly" things, it even appears that this particular pig is a boar. I am sure that this particular pig and those others that have been captured, would much rather be living their life as a nomadic band of happy piggies instead of being dressed up to entertain humans. The least we could do out of respect for them is to make them a national symbol of one of our political parties, especially the one that has a history of adding a lot of "pork" to our national budget.

I knew that it would be just a "matter of time" after my disclosing the existence and location of the Arctic Polar Pig, that they would be exploited. This specie has survived in the harsh environment of the Arctic for centuries, unknown, undetected, and unmolested. I feel terrible that I ever disclosed their existence, the next thing we will now is that someone will be marketing Arctic Sausage.

If you are looking for a bargain, shop your local Salvation Army Store. This particular painting was donated to a Salvation Army Store by an unknown person. It was placed on their web auction site. The high bid was $12.00 but prior to the bid period expiring, the painting was authenticated by an expert, at the closing of the bidding period, the name of the bidder was not disclosed, however their bid to purchase the painting was $165,002 How many other secret heirlooms are located at your local Salvation Army?

The world famous fishing experts, Homer and Plumma, proudly announce that they are now taking applications to schedule wilderness fishing excursions in the remote atmosphere of Alaska. "Homer" and "Plumma" will be your personal guides on each excursions, however, do to their expected heavy booking season it may be necessary to exchange their expert knowledge for that of "Buffy", the youngest member of the trio and currently working on his apprenticeship as a Professional Fishing Guide. "Homer" and "Plumma" are considered to be Master Guides.
Not only will you have the experience to fish remote fishing areas, you will also have the opportunity to fish with the latest technology in fishing tackle. You can expect to use the latest innovations in rods and reels manufactured by Zebco.
Your trip will include all ground transportation to the fishing area, within a five mile radius of LA. Also, included within the guide service fee will be all the beer that you can drink and freshly made SPAM sandwiches.

Throughout the summer months, you can book your trip to include King Salmon, Silver Salmon or Pink Salmon fishing on remote Ship Creek. Ship Creek has been a carefully guarded "secret spot" by your guides, however, due to their reputation and past success with previous clients, this fishing area has increased in popularity over the past two years. While fishing Ship Creek, you can expect to find some fantastic fishing, wilderness experiences and on occasion sightings of wildlife. If your dream has always been to fish a remote fishing area, catch fish on almost every cast, then perhaps you will enjoy these pictures of the remote and pristine Ship Creek, home waters of "Plumma", "Homer" and "Buffy".








For those clients that would prefer an even more remote setting to enjoy some world class King Salmon and Silver Salmon fishing, your expert guide service has also aligned themselves and endorse the guide services of "Moose". This selected spot is called "Homer" Fishing Lagoon. Accessibility to this site requires air transportation in order to take advantage of the remoteness of the area. With this optional trip, either "Plumma", "Homer" or "Buffy" will accompany you on your trip, however, air transportation costs will be cheerfully added to your remote fishing package as well as the additional fee required for the utilization of "Moose" as your primary guide. This is a "must do" fishing excursion for those that desire the ultimate remote and private sport fishing atmosphere.


Have you fished Mexico, Hawaii, or any other exotic warm water fishery, only to discover that the areas are over fished and crowded. For the first time, "Homer" and "Plumma" Guide service will be offering two, very exciting, stimulating, and trophy fisheries in remote and exotic locations that are seldom fished except by local residents. These trips will be available from December through March when the fisheries in Alaska are limited to fishing through the ice.
On all trips, your guide of preference, "Homer", "Plumma", "Buffy" and "Moose" will accompany you at your expense including all hotel and meals. On those trips requiring travel into a foreign country, interpreters will also be at the expense of the booking party as well as any personal body guards that are required. In this special package, you have to options to choose from:

Enjoy the pristine fishing conditions of Hypong Yodong River in central China. The pristine waters of the Hypong Yodong River is seldom fished by traveling sport fishermen, however, the local residents enjoy some great fishing in the local waters. On this excursion, it is strongly recommended that kevlar fishing vests be used while traveling throughout the area as well as fishing hats constructed of kevlar or metal. If you desire your freshly caught fish may be cooked for you, this can be easily accommodated so you will have the opportunity to enjoy some realistic crusine including the ever popular fish head soup. During this fishing expedition, no license is required,however, it is recommended that you have on your person enough cash in American currency to pay bribes (tips) as well as an extra pair of Levi's to utilize for barter.

The second option that you may choose for your "winter" fishing enjoyment is within the continental United States, the beautiful Salt N Sea Lake in southern California. Due to the receding water volume within the lake, this destination has become of sport fishing paradise. Again, your choice of guides will accompany you, at your expense in order that you have the greatest opportunity to catch that big fish of a lifetime. This is a "catch and release" fishery, although not required by regulation but by the health department. The great thing about this particular fishery, if you get tired of fishing, you can always enjoy just laying on the beach and soaking in a few rays. This is an ideal trip to have the "little lady" accompany you as she will surely enjoy the tropical beaches and beach combing opportunities.

For more details pertaining to your choice of trips, please call us so we can book your trip immediately. Your costs per trip will be determined upon the prevailing expenses at the current time, consequently, we do require your credit card information and will provide you with an itemized bill at the conclusion of the ultimate fishing excursion of your life. Our motto is "We are the makers of a fishing dream come true". Tips up and tight lines to you and if you want to fish with us, "Get er Done" today as we will book up for the 2007 season early.

Like a wave on the open sea, the years have silently slipped past. On this date, forty three years ago, I started a youthful journey. This journey not only took me around the world several times but the journey also transformed me from a kid to a man. My eyes were opened to a new world, cultures, and lifestyles outside those that I had known in Colorado or Alaska.

After hitch hiking to Anchorage from Homer on October 16, 1963, I was put up in a hotel in Anchorage for the night and commenced my processing for the Navy the following day. On the afternoon of October 17, 1963 the Navy Recruiter in Anchorage, put me on a airplane to Kodiak Naval Air Station where my enlistment would be completed. This was the first time that I had ever flown and was amazed that we flew over Homer on our way to Kodiak. Arriving in Kodiak, I was met at the airport by the Navy Shore Patrol and escorted to my first military barracks at the air station.

The following morning, October 18, 1963 I completed my physical examination, an excessive amount of paperwork and took the Oath of Enlistment. My guarantee for the next four years was that I would be enlisted as a Seaman Recruit, guaranteed three meals a day and a salary of $98.00 per month.

On the afternoon of October 18, 1963 I was given an airline ticket to fly from Kodiak to Chicago, Illinois via Seattle, Washington. In those days, Pacific Northern Airlines flew direct flights from Kodiak to Seattle aboard a Super Constellation. I can remember that it seemed like we were flying uphill all the way to Seattle, as the aircraft was never level. Arriving in Seattle, I boarded my first jet aircraft, a luxury in comparison to my flight from Kodiak.

Arriving at O'Hare International Airport, I was once again met by the Shore Patrol and escorted to a Navy Bus containing several other "boots" headed to hell. Arriving at our new home, Recruit Training Center, Great Lakes, Illinois in the early morning hours, we were quickly moved into a large cafeteria where we would have the opportunity to eat before we turned in for the night. The meal consisted of baked beans, fried eggs and biscuits. After seeing our choice for this meal, I was looking forward to breakfast.


After our light meal, we were taken to a barracks and assigned a rack which consisted of bunk beds, one blanket, one pillow, and one sheet. Three hours later, we were awakened by some guy with a lot of stripes on his arm beating a stick inside an empty metal trash can. For a brief instance, I had second thoughts about my decision until I was reminded that we had two minutes "to drop your _ _ _ _ and grab your socks" and line up on the grinder, which I discovered was a large paved parking lot with no cars. The next thing I quickly noticed, it was not daylight and we were on our way to breakfast in an "almost" marching formation. What a great breakfast, although baked beans and fried eggs were still on the menu, we could also enjoy some grits and cold toast. I had no idea what "grits" were, but I ate them because they were served to me.

Following breakfast, our indoctrination period began and it was at this point that all of us started counting the days until our training was completed, all we had to do was survive for thirteen weeks. One month later, our training would be halted for a week while the naval base was locked down following the assassination of President John F. Kennedy, so we "enjoyed" spending a little extra time on the wind swept shores of the Great Lakes in the middle of the winter.


It was an adventure, for the next twenty years, I served on a variety of naval vessels and enjoyed my share of time on shore, retiring on August 18, 1983 and transferring to the U.S. Navy Fleet Reserve. In October 1993, my classification was changed to "Retired" Status upon my completion of thirty years of service. Was it an adventure that I would do over again? It was a great 20 years of active duty and I have never regretted the decision that I made on that day, forty three years ago today.

Today, we were once again treated to heavy rains showers! Since it was to wet to cut firewood for the Hole In the Wall Recreational Area, I decided to run into the "Little Hamlet by the Sea" for some shopping and just a change of atmosphere. I would like to say that I enjoy this, but anymore, it is difficult to make this trip, the atmosphere of the community has changed so much over the years.




The first store that I stopped by to do a little browsing had this sign prominently posted on their front door, although it assured me that I would be safe while shopping, I decided I would go visit the local gun shop to browse through their selection of fine guns, where I would really feel safe.



While the Erotic Screamer discovered the "Disposable Panty" during one of her shopping sprees in LA, today, while shopping in the "Little Hamlet By the Sea" I discovered something that has real market potential. It is compact and serves dual purposes including a ball point pen, but make sure the massager is turned off before writing or your penmanship may be a little difficult to read. I wonder who is going to get this for Christmas!



Several of the streets in Homer were paved this past summer, the City of Homer Public Works Department were putting on the finishing touches today. I am assuming they are hurriedly trying to get everything finished before the snow starts to fly. Perhaps, they should invent a paint sprayer with spell check.



We have become acquainted with a family that just moved to the "Little Village by the River" from Arkansas. Today, upon returning home from the little town down the road a bit, they came over to visit and brought their dogs so they could play with "Dutch" and "Goldie". Nice enough dogs, but they say a dog will take on the personality and intelligence of the master. But, that comment could lead to an entire blog on it's own.

I enjoy my football games having been a Denver Bronco fan since the conception of this team. I waited with anticipation for Monday night football this week as the Broncos were playing the Raiders. Regardless, of their standings, the two games that these team play each year are always great, the rivalry between them goes back many years. This first game would be no different, despite the fact that the Raiders have not won a game in the five week season. If you are not a football fan, the game is divided into four quarters, each quarter lasting fifteen minutes.
During the first quarter, I mentally noted to myself that I was watching more commercials than football game, so I decided to keep track of the commercials for the remainder of the game. In the last three quarters, I was able to watch 45 minutes of football, however, during the 2nd quarter, I was subjected to 26 commercials. During the 3rd quarter, the total count was reduced to only 18 commercials but increased to 31 for the fourth and final quarter. In a nutshell, during 45 minutes of football, I was introduced to 75 commercials for products that I had no desire to purchase, especially when I am in the zone! They wonder why their viewing audience is declining. Yes, the Denver Broncos won, again!
My second pet peeve about the football season, we have always had Monday night football, it is as American as apple pie. The entire day of Sunday is also devoted to football, that is great, all the teams play on the same day. But now, we have games on Sunday, Sunday Night football, Monday Night football and as the season comes to a close we will have Thursday Night football and yes, even games on Saturday. I am favor of going back to Sunday and Monday then watching the Broncos play in the Super Bowl, at least their commercials are as interesting as the game.

Remember when we use to play a lot of board games, we had a great time! One particular game came to mind yesterday while I was doing a walk about in the Hole In Wall Recreational Area to make a final winter security check. Remember the board game, "Clue", Mrs. Mustard in the kitchen with a hammer?
Yesterday, I was startled to discover a grizzly crime scene that occurred in the campground. I cannot disclose the scene, nor the location, the victim or the weapon, but upon your return to the HITWRA this next spring, I am sure that you will be shocked at the viciousness of the crime. I think, I know who committed this dastardly deed, however, I will keep that theory to myself and see if any of you can solve the crime, sight unseen. Someone out there knows about it and are the guilty party. Who could it have been, who did they kill, what weapon did they use and where did they commit the crime?

My namesake, Hunter Stanley Harrington, a.k.a "Butch" has been exonerated of all charges that have been mentally conceived by myself. Very early last spring, he was riding shotgun with me, typical of him he was jabbering away and had several toy cars with him. I stopped by the video store to do a quick errand and he chose to remain in the truck and play with his cars. I was absent for less than five minutes.
Upon my return, I started the truck and turned on the heater, only to hear a loud and obnoxious clanking sound coming from the heater. At the time, I noticed that the vents on his side of the truck were open, my thoughts was that he had put one of his cars through the vent and it fell into the fan. He plead his innocence, but it is tough to put one over on Grandpa. Throughout the summer, every time I turned on the heater or defroster, this unbearable "clanking" noise could be heard as if something was rolling around inside the fan compartment. In late summer, the noise stopped, I then assumed that the fan finally ate the little car and all would be well, except, I was getting very little heat and no noise from the heater.
With the onslaught of winter coming on, I thought it best to take the truck back to my dealership and have it repaired. Knowing that when they open it up, they would find one mangled toy car and a fan that had been chewed up. I am positive that this senario would most likely void any warranty pertaining to the truck so I was mentally prepared to put out several hundred dollars for labor and a new heater fan.
By the time we had finished having breakfast, the dealership called and said the truck was ready to pick up. Fearing the worst, I waited until I picked the truck up to inquire about the problem , the cost, and how I was going to talk myself out of this one. The good news, the cost was zero and the problem was that one of the fan blades, which is plastic had broken. The biggest surprise was that the 2004 Ford, F Series pickups were all equipped by heater fans built for Chevrolet. After having to repair a large number of these fans, Ford switched back to their previous supplier and the problem was eliminated. So, Little Buddy, you are free of any guilty thoughts harbored by Grandpa and just to remind myself, never to blame again with concrete evidence, I drove from Soldotna to the Little Village By the River with my heater on high, upon my arrival the interior temperature was 176 degrees and all of my stashed chocolate was melted. My best to Butch and all my granddaughters, I miss all of you.

From my morning news source, I come across a very interesting article that made me consider our own justice system. Some will say that it is to strict while others debate that it is to lenient. However, that is a debate that we can engage in at a later time.
The article I was reading was a Reuters News Service story that was released on 10/12/06 at 8:19 am (ET). The headline read, "Death-Row Prisoner Gets Pregnant In Solitary"
From the article, evidently a death row inmate held in solitary confinement for almost a year is pregnant and seeking a pardon to give birth to her baby. This particular woman is 39 years old and it has been confirmed that she was 11 weeks pregnant in September. The woman is a citizen of Vietnam and has been convicted of trafficking heroin. Under their laws, trafficking more than 600 grams of heroin is punishable by death or life imprisonment. Ms. Oanh is facing a firing squad this year after losing her appeal against the death sentence she received last year for possession of a billion dong (no snickering) worth of heroin. One billion dong (no snickering) is equivalent to $63,000 in American currency. Their were no visits from her husband, as he is serving a jail sentence at another prison in another province. The one line in the article that caught my attention is as follows: "The report said it was the first time that a death row prisoner had become pregnant in Vietnam and that police were investigating how it had happened." I think that I can even solve that case, you see when you have a woman and you have a man - well you know the rest of the story. You be the judge!

Arriving on Tuesday, November 7th,the #1 Animated Motion Picture of the Year will be released to video at your local video stores. The much awaited movie "CARS". It grossed $240 Million at the box office and stars the voices of Larry the Cable Guy, Paul Newman, and Owen Wilson. I know Hunter will want his personal copy. Because, of Larry the Cable Guy, I am sure that "Homer" will also want his own copy. My daughters will want their own copy because Paul Newman is sexy. The Plumma will want his own copy because a car wreck is involved in the movie. Each of my granddaughters will need their own copy because the "cars are so cute" and of course my son's will need their own copies because they drive Chevies and are very familiar with tow trucks.

Several of you have read the book, for those of us who do not enjoy reading nor have the time, the much awaited "The DaVinci Code" will be released to video on Tuesday, November 14th. It grossed $217 Million at the box office and stars Tom Hanks, Audrey Tatou, and Ian McKellan. It must say something when the animated movie "Cars" does better at the box office than this suspense movie.

On Tuesday, November 21st the previous block buster animated movie "Ice Age" will make a second debut with "Ice Age, The Meltdown" with the voices of Ray Romano, Queen Latifah, and John Leguizamo. It grossed $195 Million at the box office. It arrives in Alaska just in time for winter.

On Tuesday, November 28th, the animated movie, "The Ant Bully" will be released, grossing only $26 million a the box office, but it stars the voices of Julia Roberts, Nicholas Cage, and Meryl Streep. Just listening to Julia Roberts will be worth watching the movie! Should be a great educational movie for my grand children.
For those who have been fighting the forces of evil for the past 60 Years, "Superman Returns" will also be released on November 28th. This is the first Superman movie that has been released to the theatres in the past 23 years. Upon return from a quest to discover himself, in his five year absence Lois Lane is engaged. Grossed $197 million at the box office and stars Brandon Routh, Kate Bosworth,and Kevin Spacey. Do not know which one is playing the super hero, I will guess Kate Bosworth.

These are the "Big Hits" coming in November with "Cars" being in top spot. You may rent these fine movies at Point West Video in Anchor Point or you may purchase the entire business along with 12,000 other movies for the less than the price of a new Ford F-250 pick-up. Please feel free to Print and Hang for future referece. Enjoy the movies!!!!!

Posted as a follow up from a posting on the Erotic Screamer on this same date.

This is what happens when mankind decides to re-channel our rivers to suit their needs for property improvement. Measures such as this is forcing our fish onto the highways where they are susceptible to being run over. Now this is no catfish, it is a wild Alaskan Silver Salmon, determined to reach the spawning grounds, willing to take any necessary measures to reach his / her objective.

The picture was recently taken in Seward, on Dairy Hill Lane. The caption under the picture in the paper read, "workers helped residents move out of their homes as water closed roads and allowed fish to move into normally dry neighborhoods". There goes the neighborhood, the damm salmon are moving in!

"The roughest, toughest, he-man stuffiest hombre as ever crossed the Rio Grande and I ain't no mamby pamby" as the immortal Yosemite Sam would say. Very recently, I was taken to task in the comment section of Whoof Arted by my daughter after I humorously asked the question, "Who is Yosemite Sam"? She accused me of watching to much news and not enough cartoons.
In my rebuttal comment, I noted that Yosemite Sam and I go back along ways, I could remember him being in the cartoons at the Saturday matinee when I was just a kid. After defending myself, I thought it would be interesting to learn just a little more about this hombre that has entertained us for so many years. Remembering him from the time I was a child, it was only by coincidence that I discovered he is just eight days older than myself, his birth date was May 5, 1945 at Warner Brothers Studio, his creator was Isadore (Friz) Frleng. His first appearance was as "Hare Trigger", he was created "to engage in combat with the unfazable Bugs Bunny(Elmer) wasn't it - he was so dumb that a chicken could outsmart him" Yosemite Sam would go on to play many different characters from a Cowboy, Pirate, Sheik, to the Black Knight which would win him an Oscar Award.
A few weeks ago, while cleaning up the campground area, I happened to find a box of balloons in one of the units that will remain in the park all winter. Not wanting them to deteriorate, I brought them home to preserve them until next spring. Today, I have spent the day, blowing up balloons and creating my first masterpiece, it was so much fun that I am thinking of starting a career in balloon art. I hope you enjoy my first piece.

It gave me great pleasure today, to watch President George W. Bush and his father former President George H.W. Bush, join together to Commission the aircraft carrier, U.S.S. George H.W. Bush. The U.S.S. George Bush, is the tenth and final aircraft carrier of the Nimtz Class carriers. Other carriers in this class that have been named after Presidents include the Eisenhower, Roosevelt, Lincoln, Washington, Truman, and Reagan. The first carrier of this class was named the U.S.S. Nimtz, in honor of Admiral Chester Nimtz, Commander, Pacific Fleet during World War II.

I will assume that the liberal news media will take advantage of this commissioning and indicate that the ship was named by President Bush to honor his father. However, the naming of this carrier is justified by history. Former President George Bush has dedicated his life to his country not only in a variety of government positions including Vice President and President. More importantly, he was the youngest pilot in the Navy when he joined the service after the bombing of Pearl Harbor. He received his commission as an Ensign and his naval aviator wings at the age of 19. He flew torpedo bombers off the aircraft carrier U.S.S. San Jacinto. He was shot down on one bomber mission and rescued at sea by submarine. He later was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross and three Air Medals for his naval service in the Pacific theater.

The U.S.S. Bush will join the Navy Fleet in 2008 as the tenth carrier of the Nimtz Class, the largest warship in the world. She is 1,092 feet in length with a beam of 134 feet. Her flight deck width is 252 feet, her total displacement is 97,000 tons fully loaded. Although, her speed is classified, she is listed at +30 knots and is powered by two nuclear powered reactors and four shafts. Upon active status with the fleet, she will not need to re-fuel for +20 years. With the air wing onboard, she will have a complement of over 5,000 personnel. A ship of this size is hard to visualize just by numbers.
In comparison, I looked at the first aircraft carrier that I served on, the U.S.S. Shangri-La (CVA-38). She carried me around the world on several cruises, however, in size comparison to the U.S.S. Bush, the Shangri-La would sit on her flight deck. The Shangri-La was a toy in comparison to this new class of carriers. The length of the Shangri-La was 888 feet, a beam of 93 feet, and a flight deck width of 147 feet. Her displacement was 27,100 tons or 70,000 tons lighter than the Bush.

This is a picture of the U.S.S. Stennis, one of the ten Nimtz Class Aircraft Carriers. I would gladly accept a recall back onto active duty if I could be assigned to the U.S.S. George H.W. Bush and assured that the U.S.S. Bush and the U.S.S. Reagan and their escorts would steam side by side into the Gulf of Oman and then into the Persian Gulf. I am sure that just this sight alone, would give the leadership of Iran a moment of pause and reflect upon their desire to continue their nuclear power program and saber rattling.




To all men and women who man our ships at sea, "Fair Winds, Following Seas, and God Speed".

Tonight, cloud cover permitting, you will have the opportunity to view a true "Harvest Moon". A full moon at this time of the year, has been referred to as a "Harvest Moon" because at one time the farmers would harvest their crops throughout the night. The full moon tonight is special, in the fact that due to it's present position, it will be 12% larger than the typical full moon.

The full moon is also the time of the month that we always experience our largest tides, this month is no exception. This is a weather alert for the lower Kenai Peninsula and possible "bore tide" sighting in the area of Turnagain Arm. We have the potential of seeing the sea scape in Anchor Point and Homer take a drastic change over the weekend. I have spent this rainy day tabulating data, if the National Weather Service, Alaska Region is correct in their predictions, it could be a very interesting weekend if two factors collide in sequence.

The Marine Forecast for Lower Cook Inlet on Saturday calls for SE wind increasing to 25 knots on Saturday with seas to 8 feet. On Sunday, the wind will increase out of the NE at 35 knots and the seas will build to 14 feet. On Monday, the wind will switch to easterly 40 knots and seas building to sixteen feet. This severe weather pattern on Saturday and Sunday will coincide with some extreme high tides. Anchor Point and Homer will experience the largest tides that we have seen in the past five years. On Saturday, in Anchor Point the high tide will occur at 3:42 pm at 23.4 feet. The following low tide will occur at 9:50 pm, a low of minus 4.3 feet. That is an exchange of 27.70 feet of water in a period of six hours or a drop of 4.62 feet of water per hour. On Sunday, with a forecast of seas to 14 feet, the high tide will be a 23.6 foot tide at 4:18 p.m. dropping to a low tide of minus 4.6 feet. The exchange will be 28.2 feet of water, a drop of 4.7 feet per hour. If you recall, my rebuttal pertaining to those large waves that raised havoc with the Antarctica iceberg, which supposedly traveled at 57 mph. You will be happy to know that despite these large tidal exchanges that we will see in Cook Inlet, at five miles NW of Anchor Point, the tidal current will be 3.1 to 3.5 knots. We will be at the Anchor Point Beach on Saturday and Sunday, I am sure we are going to be seeing some major changes at the mouth of the Anchor River. If the weather and tides coincide, we also have the potential to see a change in the sea scape of the Homer Spit.
For those living in the LA area, you may want to pack up the little ones and park along Turnagain Arm. The high tide on Saturday will be at 7:58 am at 32.8 feet and again at 8:08 pm with a height of 33.3 feet. On Sunday, the high tide will be at 8:44am at 32.9 feet and again at 8:45 pm with a 33.7 foot tide. This particular tide, will have an exchange of 35.5 feet of water, or a drop of 5.92 feet per hour. If you do not see a bore tide on one of these four tides, they are indeed a fallacy and do not exist. Good Luck in your beach combing.

Tonight, we will have ice form on the puddles in our driveway, under a cloudless night, the full moon shows through my window. Knowing that this is first sign of the onslaught of winter, my thoughts turn to this past summer. What a great summer it was, despite the number of cloudy and rainy days that we endured. Those weekends that are the most memorable were also the weekends that we saw the reality of summer and coincidently a full capacity at the Hole In the Wall Recreation Area.

The one big disappointment this summer, was that the Plumma never had the opportunity to complete his summer long ambition. Although, he must be given credit for inventing a new summer sport, that being dirt sledding with a tobaggan. An event that everyone had to try with various degrees of success including one of the youngest members, my five year old grandson "Butch" did conquered the hill. For those that have not seen the HITWRA, the campground is situated in a bowl with steep slopes surrounding the area of approximately 107.5 feet.

The Plumma wanted to rig a wire or rope from the top of the bluff, anchoring the other end inside the campground area. It was his intention to rig a pulley on the wire and ride it to the bottom of the hill. He estimated that he could gain a speed in excess of 63.7 mph on his decent into the campground from the high bluff. The one thing that kept him from accomplishing his dream, was developing a way to stop instantly from 63.7 mph to zero and survive. Although he had the wire rigged, he never had the opportunity to bring fame to the Wolf Clan by riding the wire.

It was not until all of the Clans had departed the area for the summer, before the wire was conquered by the Bear Clan, unfortunately I was the only one in attendance to witness the feat. However, the Bear Clan took a different approach, instead of running the wire downhill, Daddy Bear ran the wire from one side of the bluff, across the campground, anchoring the other end to the bluff on the opposite side. This placed the wire approximately 110 feet above the surface of the camping area. With the aid of a dirt bike and the oldest of the "Cub Bears", he accomplished something that will live in the folk lore of Clan History forever. I was able to capture the historic trip on film.

I do not know if you have noticed it, but our great state is targeted on a regular basis. We are blamed for a variety of things from wolf hunts, the demise of the bear population, oil production, handing out dividends to our residents while not exercising a state income tax, pollution, disregard for the environment, excessive commercial fishing and any other popular cause that those who know better can conceive.
Reuters News on Monday, 10/2/06 published a story that is now blaming Alaska for the destruction of icebergs near Antarctica! You know, the one at the bottom of the earth, not our own North Pole at the top of the earth! A primary quote in the article is "One of the things we're debating in the world right now is whether global warming might increase the storms in the oceans." It was just recently published that because the water temperatures are warming is the reason that Florida has not had any hurricanes this season. Perhaps, our prognosticator should read from the same page.
However, to the point of the destruction of the Antarctica icebergs. According to this same article "A bad storm in Alaska last October (2005) generated an ocean swell that broke apart a giant iceberg near Antarctica six days later." Reportedly, the waves from this storm traveled the 8,300 miles to destroy the iceberg. Because of Alaska, iceberg B15A broke into half a dozen pieces. They summarized, that a storm in the Gulf of Alaska created waves of about 35 feet. Tracing these waves, they discovered from weather buoys that when these waves passed Hawaii they were about 15 feet in height.
Now I am no mathematical whiz kid, but our 50th state is less than half way to the Antarctica. The typical winter waves generated in Alaska had diminished by 20 feet when they passed Hawaii. Consequently, after traveling from Hawaii to the Antarctica, they would have decreased at a similar rate on the remaining 60% of the journey south. Upon their arrival in the Antarctica, they would have been a ripple on the water. I have made the transit around Cape Horn, there was a reason that all of our aircraft were put in the hanger bay to make the transit. Cape Horn is one of the most dangerous stretches of water in the world and known for their severe storms, to the south of these straits is the massive ice of Antarctica.
But regardless, Alaska got the blame once again. The researchers final quote is worth sharing, "We think that B15A was in the right position where these big waves would be fatal to it." MacAyeal said, "The iceberg shattered like a gracile wine glass being sung to by a heavy soprano." I think MacAyeal had a few to many wines glasses full of fruit punch when he conceived this blame game concept, besides, does he think all sopranos are heavy? That is really a profiling attitude.
However, just to be safe, perhaps we should cancel any planned winter storms in the Gulf of Alaska this year.

On September 6th, I revealed a research project on this blog site that I have been working on for several months. The reality of the Arctic Polar Pig, a carefully guarded secret specie, it's existence and habitat has been protected since their discovery several decades ago.

Since the original posting, additional information has been made available. Several attempts have been made to capture these pigs in order to gain additional biological data on this rare specie. However, the one successful attempt where several specimens of this specie was captured, they managed to break through their holding pen and escape.

Unknown, to the biologists, the Arctic Polar Pig has become very adapt in surviving in the arctic and have learned to adapt to their environment of the Arctic Sea. With only limited research data available, researches have assumed that this particular specie of pigs have taken on characteristics of the Polar Bear in both coloration and ability to swim. However,it is not known whether they have taken on the personality of stalking and killing their prey, including humans. It must be assumed that these pigs could be dangerous to your health and property.

Wishing my father-in-law, Jack Epperson and my mother-in-law, Mary Espinosa Epperson a very Happy Anniversary. Today, we acknowledge their 64th Wedding Anniversary. They were married in 1942, just prior to Jack leaving for the Pacific Theatre during World War II where he flew P-51 fighters. This picture was taken of them in 1946, upon his return from the war.

Following the War, they lived in the Las Angles area, where their daughter Terry and son Dean, were born. Their entire family, including Jack's two brothers and his mother moved to Alaska in the early 1950's, first settling in Ninilchik, Alaska. They later, moved to Happy Valley where they homesteaded, but later giving up that site for a location on what is now known as the North Fork Road in Anchor Point, Alaska. At the time they homesteaded, there were no roads into the area, the three brothers and Jack's mother homesteaded adjoining 160 acre homesteads. The area that they homesteaded is now known as Epperson Knob, one of the highest points on the north side of Kachemak Bay. They lived on the homestead until Terry and Dean graduated from Homer High School. During the homestead era, they raised cattle and took jobs when they were available to support their dreams to "prove" up on their homesteads. Jack and Mary later moved into Homer, Mary was the first City Treasurer in Homer when they incorporated as a First Class City, retiring in the 1980's. Jack worked in the insurance industry until taking on the position as the first dispatcher for the Southwest Pilots Association based in Homer. They continue to reside at their home on West Hill in Homer. They are the parents of two children, Terry and Dean, four Grand Children, twelve Great Grand Children, and two Great, Great Grand Children. Happy Anniversary to you. You are an inspiration to all of us.