If you have read my blog before, you know how strongly I feel about preserving our historical monuments. Therefore, it is with mixed feelings that I read about the South Carolina legislature authorizing a loan of $9.2 million for repairs to the Laffey, "The Ship That Would Not Die".
I am all for saving this gallant warship so that future generations can walk her decks and get a feel for what happened on them and the sacrifices that were made for their freedom. I want them to understand how men fought and died not only to protect their own lives, but the lives of future generations.
However, I still believe that spending that much money on repairs and then dunking that grand old dame right back into the salty harbor water is foolish! In another 10, 15 or 20 years, we are going to be right back in the same spot we are now, the proud owners of an historical warship that is leaking like a sieve through the hundreds of holes in her hull caused by the cumulative effects of spending decades immersed in saltwater! We just cannot keep throwing money at a problem, we have to fix, or eliminate the root cause of the problem. We should not be passing this issue on to future generations with the hope that they will be smart enough to find the solution that escaped us.
In short, WE HAVE TO GET THE LAFFEY OUT OF THE WATER FOR GOOD!!!! How, you say? Sorry, I don't have all the answers, but building a dry dock for her seems like a good idea to me. Whether that will work or not is something for the maritime engineers to figure out. But if it WON'T work, then it is imperative that they find a solution that WILL work. I've heard solutions from dredging the harbor and piling the sand around her until it is above the high water mark to filling her lower decks with concrete up TO the water line. Whatever the solution, we need to find it and use it, now!
Start with the Clamagore, the submarine. It is the smallest of the four ships at Patriot's Point and as such should be the easiest to keep out of the water. Work out some of the kinks and then move on to the next largest vessel and do the same thing. Then the next and finally the Yorktown. Let's get this problem fixed NOW and not pass it on to future generations like our government is so wont to do!!
Tuesday, June 30, 2009
Tuesday, June 16, 2009
HISTORY SINKING INTO THE MUD!
I am being lazy today, but the issue is still in the forefront. So, here is a re-post!
I LOVE American history! I love being in the places where the history happened. The battlefield at Yorktown, the freedom trail in Boston ( now THAT will make the hair stand up on the back of your neck, standing in Fanueil Hall where the founding fathers plotted the revolution!) My favorite part of our country's history is WWII, specifically the Pacific Theatre. As a teenager, I devoured every book I could find on the subject. My father had served on an aircraft carrier in that war and I guess that is what sparked my interest.We now have floating museums all around the country as monuments to that war and the men and women who served in it. There are aircraft carriers, battleships, destroyers and submarines that anyone can tour and get a feel for what these brave men endured for our freedom. On the USS Hornet in Alameda I saw where Neil Armstrong took his first steps upon returning from the moon. Heady stuff, these floating monuments, but therein lies the problem. They don't float forever!We have left these venerable ships where they served, in the ocean. The problem with that is, since they are now immobile, they don't get into drydock for their regular repair and refitting that they so desperately need. Salt water has no feelings, no loyalty, no empathy, no patriotic zeal. It destroys everything steel with equal efficiency. And salt water is sinking our naval history.In Charleston, SC, Patriots Point is home to the USS Yorktown, USS Clamagore and "The Ship That Wouldn't Die" the USS Laffey. (You should google the story of how she got her nickname. Goosebumps will follow!) The Laffey is sinking. Eight million dollars is needed to keep her afloat. For a while. Then, more millions will be needed to keep the Yorktown and the Clamagore afloat. For a while. That is the problem, folks, for no matter how much we spend and how good a job is done on the repairs, they will be temporary, for salt water never stops destroying metal.If we want to preserve these magnificent fighting ships so that future generations can see and appreciate how their freedom was saved, then we must get the ships out of the ocean! Spending millions upon millions on constant, repetitive repairs is insane. The rust will not stop. The leaks will continue to appear and the money will continue to be dumped into a bottomless pit.I, for one, do not want to see these monuments to our fathers' sacrifices disappear. And the only way to save them that makes sense to me is to get them out of the water. Building drydocks seems like the best solution to me, but I am neither a ship builder nor an engineer. I don't know what the best solution would be, but those who are experts in the field better come up with one soon because, especially in this economic climate, Americans are NOT going to keep donating money to a cause that is hopeless.Save the ships!! Get them out of the saltwater!! Allow our children and grandchildren the chance to feel the same goosebumps we feel when we go aboard!! They are history. They are important. They need to be saved just as much as the Olde North Church, for they are just as much a part of our history!!
I LOVE American history! I love being in the places where the history happened. The battlefield at Yorktown, the freedom trail in Boston ( now THAT will make the hair stand up on the back of your neck, standing in Fanueil Hall where the founding fathers plotted the revolution!) My favorite part of our country's history is WWII, specifically the Pacific Theatre. As a teenager, I devoured every book I could find on the subject. My father had served on an aircraft carrier in that war and I guess that is what sparked my interest.We now have floating museums all around the country as monuments to that war and the men and women who served in it. There are aircraft carriers, battleships, destroyers and submarines that anyone can tour and get a feel for what these brave men endured for our freedom. On the USS Hornet in Alameda I saw where Neil Armstrong took his first steps upon returning from the moon. Heady stuff, these floating monuments, but therein lies the problem. They don't float forever!We have left these venerable ships where they served, in the ocean. The problem with that is, since they are now immobile, they don't get into drydock for their regular repair and refitting that they so desperately need. Salt water has no feelings, no loyalty, no empathy, no patriotic zeal. It destroys everything steel with equal efficiency. And salt water is sinking our naval history.In Charleston, SC, Patriots Point is home to the USS Yorktown, USS Clamagore and "The Ship That Wouldn't Die" the USS Laffey. (You should google the story of how she got her nickname. Goosebumps will follow!) The Laffey is sinking. Eight million dollars is needed to keep her afloat. For a while. Then, more millions will be needed to keep the Yorktown and the Clamagore afloat. For a while. That is the problem, folks, for no matter how much we spend and how good a job is done on the repairs, they will be temporary, for salt water never stops destroying metal.If we want to preserve these magnificent fighting ships so that future generations can see and appreciate how their freedom was saved, then we must get the ships out of the ocean! Spending millions upon millions on constant, repetitive repairs is insane. The rust will not stop. The leaks will continue to appear and the money will continue to be dumped into a bottomless pit.I, for one, do not want to see these monuments to our fathers' sacrifices disappear. And the only way to save them that makes sense to me is to get them out of the water. Building drydocks seems like the best solution to me, but I am neither a ship builder nor an engineer. I don't know what the best solution would be, but those who are experts in the field better come up with one soon because, especially in this economic climate, Americans are NOT going to keep donating money to a cause that is hopeless.Save the ships!! Get them out of the saltwater!! Allow our children and grandchildren the chance to feel the same goosebumps we feel when we go aboard!! They are history. They are important. They need to be saved just as much as the Olde North Church, for they are just as much a part of our history!!
Wednesday, June 3, 2009
FLORIDA GATORS CHOKE!!!!
The Florida Gators choked away a national championship last night! The number One ranked and highly favored softball team, with a veritable Murderer's Row lineup, left their bats in Gainesville and fell with merely a whimper to a huge underdog, the Washington Huskies. The Gators had been ranked number One most of the season and were expected to cruise to their first national championship in softball. But the games are played on the field and those lofty expectations meant absolutely nothing to the Huskies. Or, apparently, to the Gators, as the Huskies took only two games to win the best-of-three finals.
To be sure, the Huskies do have the national Player of the Year in Danielle Lawrie, but the vaunted Gator offense was supposed to be unstoppable. However, Gator after Gator after Gator walked forlornly back to the dugout after futile trys at hitting Lawrie's pitches. They managed to dent the plate twice in the first inning, but Lawrie shut them down and shut them out the rest of the way.
Taking nothing away from the fine Washington Huskie team, who played hard, hustled relentlessly and never stopped believing in themselves, this Gator team just pulled off one of the biggest choke jobs in the history of the NCAA! In fact, when they get back to Gainesville, they will probably still be gagging!!
To be sure, the Huskies do have the national Player of the Year in Danielle Lawrie, but the vaunted Gator offense was supposed to be unstoppable. However, Gator after Gator after Gator walked forlornly back to the dugout after futile trys at hitting Lawrie's pitches. They managed to dent the plate twice in the first inning, but Lawrie shut them down and shut them out the rest of the way.
Taking nothing away from the fine Washington Huskie team, who played hard, hustled relentlessly and never stopped believing in themselves, this Gator team just pulled off one of the biggest choke jobs in the history of the NCAA! In fact, when they get back to Gainesville, they will probably still be gagging!!
Monday, June 1, 2009
Lebron is Wrong!!
Lebron James doesn't understand why he should congratulate and shake hands with the members of the team that just defeated his team. Lebron James doesn't understand that it is defeat that builds character. Lebron James doesn't understand the true essence of sports. Lebron James doesn't understand sportsmanship. Lebron James doesn't understand class.
As a native of the Buckeye State who was rooting for the Cavs, I am appalled at his behavior. Didn't anyone teach Lebron when he was growing up that sore losers are not good people? That sore losers are not fun to be around? That nobody likes a sore loser? That being a sore loser is extremely bad sportsmanship?
"Lebron, it is a game! It is NOT life and death! The other team is not trying to steal your car, your house or kidnap your family. They are just trying to win a GAME, same as you. How often have you seen football players shake hands, smile and embrace each other after a game? And these are people who have just spent three hours attempting to knock each other off their feet! Or, better yet, how often have you seen boxers embrace each other after the final bell? And these are men who have just spent 12 rounds trying to hit each other in the head hard enough to score a knock-out! But, in both cases, the respect for the opponent overpowers the result of the contest just ended. And what you did was show a total lack of respect for, not only the entire Magic team, but the entire NBA. Show a little class, Lebron. Step up and be man enough to admit the other team was better - this time. "
I understand intensity and the will to win. Trust me, people, nobody hates losing more than me! However, having an intense desire to win does in no way excuse Lebron's behavior. EVERYONE in sports has the same desire and most of them understand that when the final buzzer sounds, the game, the struggle and the intensity are over. It is time to be friends again. If Lebron wants his popularity to keep growing ( and, in direct correlation, his endorsements to keep growing ) then he needs to leave the petulant little boy behind and grow up into a man who can accept defeat with the same aplomb as victory. I don't care if he doesn't understand it. I don't care if he doesn't "get it". I don't even care if he doesn't LIKE it. He still needs to DO IT. If not, I am fairly certain that I will not be the only fan he loses.
As a native of the Buckeye State who was rooting for the Cavs, I am appalled at his behavior. Didn't anyone teach Lebron when he was growing up that sore losers are not good people? That sore losers are not fun to be around? That nobody likes a sore loser? That being a sore loser is extremely bad sportsmanship?
"Lebron, it is a game! It is NOT life and death! The other team is not trying to steal your car, your house or kidnap your family. They are just trying to win a GAME, same as you. How often have you seen football players shake hands, smile and embrace each other after a game? And these are people who have just spent three hours attempting to knock each other off their feet! Or, better yet, how often have you seen boxers embrace each other after the final bell? And these are men who have just spent 12 rounds trying to hit each other in the head hard enough to score a knock-out! But, in both cases, the respect for the opponent overpowers the result of the contest just ended. And what you did was show a total lack of respect for, not only the entire Magic team, but the entire NBA. Show a little class, Lebron. Step up and be man enough to admit the other team was better - this time. "
I understand intensity and the will to win. Trust me, people, nobody hates losing more than me! However, having an intense desire to win does in no way excuse Lebron's behavior. EVERYONE in sports has the same desire and most of them understand that when the final buzzer sounds, the game, the struggle and the intensity are over. It is time to be friends again. If Lebron wants his popularity to keep growing ( and, in direct correlation, his endorsements to keep growing ) then he needs to leave the petulant little boy behind and grow up into a man who can accept defeat with the same aplomb as victory. I don't care if he doesn't understand it. I don't care if he doesn't "get it". I don't even care if he doesn't LIKE it. He still needs to DO IT. If not, I am fairly certain that I will not be the only fan he loses.
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