For Old Guys Only

[Otero]

See, not only can they read our thoughts, they plant thoughts in our mind.
How long has this sinister mind control been going on without our knowledge?
Is racing sidecars our only line of defense? Men of the planet Unite! It is now
clear we must wear tin foil hats at all times lest we continue to fall prey to
female enslavement.

 

[Bikeguy Joe]

I think it's too late for that.

 

[2door]

M.A.S.H. What a great old movie.
Just watched it tonight and made me think about posting this. Let me first say that this is in no way disrespect for the victims of that war, either American or Vietnamese, and who were members of my generation.

I have to wonder why nobody ever made a comparable flick about Viet Nam. It wasn't all bad. I could offer some very humorous moments that would be just as funny as what is portrayed in M.A.S.H. They touched on it in 'Forest Gump' but then got off on the bad stuff, as usual. Viet Nam movies are always 'bad stuff'. 'Apocalypse Now', 'The Deer Hunter' 'Full Metal Jacket'. They were all full of blood and guts and real downers. Too bad because there were lighter moments and enough to make a movie from.

Ever hear of "Zippo Raiders"? No? Don't feel bad. No one else has either.

One night there were several of us sitting by a hanger, talking and enjoying the evening when an 'Air Police' jeep came by and the cops told us to take cover because there were 'Zippo Raiders' on the flightline. Zippo Raiders? We'd never heard the term and could only assume there were little guys with cigarette lighters out there setting fires to airplanes, or something. We never took cover as directed because we wanted to see what a 'Zippo Raider' looked like. We took off for the parked planes looking, in hopes of spotting the enemy at work. We never saw them. But we had our share of laughs. Later we found out the threat was "Infiltrators", not "Zippo Raiders". We had misheard the warning from the Air Police guys.
It still makes me smile today.

Now wouldn't that make a funny scene for a movie? I think so.

Or maybe you just had to be there.

Tom

 

[Ludwig II]

My friend Bill Turley was court martialled once. In the Cod Wars of the 1970s, when Britain tried bullying Iceland about their territorial waters, British warships were charged with protecting trawlers from the Icelandic gunboats. Potatos on the ships were kept high and dry above spray in a locker up on the superstructure. A popular food is cod and chips. Turley took it upon himself to go to the locker, and start lobbing spuds at the Icelanders, shouting, "Here, have some chips to go with your cod." in the hope of hitting an Icelander.

Unfortunately, there was a photographer on the ship, who captured the potato flinging, and it went around the world as a grenade attack. Turley, once the second hand food had hit the fan, was hauled up in front of the captain who listened to his explanation. The punishment was handed out, confined to ship for 3 days. 4 days out from the nearest port.

 

[Bikeguy Joe]

Both good storys, well told.

 

[Tinsmith]

Great stories indeed! I know I have a few, but I'll have to search the old Random Access Memory banks.

Tom: "Zippo Raiders"?? Was alcohol possibly involved?

Dan

 

[2door]

Great stories indeed! I know I have a few, but I'll have to search the old Random Access Memory banks.

Tom: "Zippo Raiders"?? Was alcohol possibly involved?

Dan

Dan,
No booze. Really. The cop yelled at us as they drove passed and we simply heard wrong.

Although, I did get an invitation from an Aussie pilot once to go with him to "toss back a few stubbies". I know I heard that right and found it meant, 'drink some beers'.

Tom

 

[fasteddy]

Tom,

I'm picturing everyone looking at each other and the decision to go and look for the "Zippo Raiders" being made as a group in an instant. Had I been there I may have been leading the curious because how often do you get a chance to see a Zippo Raider.

Probably was a good thing they didn't show up or things could have gone horribly wrong but what a great part for a movie that would make with a group of guys peering into the night looking for Zippo Raiders only to find out the next day just what had been said..

Steve.

 

[fasteddy]

Ludwig,

Like Tom, that would have been a good to be there moment to fully enjoy it first hand. The Captain was obviously a good officer and the sentence matched the "crime".

Obviously the photographer didn't have the firmest idea about how grenades worked.

Steve.

 

[2door]

Steve,
You pictured it exactly as it happened.

Ludwig,
Didn't anyone question why the guy was throwing so many 'dud' grenades?

Tom

 

[Ludwig II]

News and truth are rarely identical.

 

[xseler]

I think that 'they' want to keep us confused and agitated. Sheople are less likely to notice what's really happening.

 

[2door]

I think that 'they' want to keep us confused and agitated. Sheople are less likely to notice what's really happening.

I hate the sheep mentality. It rules society today. No one wants to think for themselves. They only do 'what everyone else is doing'.

Advertisers know it. They rely on it. Situation comedies are a good example with their phoney, canned laughter. The viewer hears other people laughing so they laugh too. The lines aren't funny but people laugh because, they're just being 'good sheep'. Then they go to work tomorrow and tell everyone how funny that show was. Next week they have some new viewers and more of them are exposed to the advertising. And they laugh too. And the beat goes on.

Ever watch drivers? Good sheep all. One puts his brakes on, the one behind does too. Then the next one and the next one and....traffic jamb. For no other reason that they're all being 'good sheep' and 'doing what everyone else is doing. Few if any ever look to see if the car in front of them is actually slowing. They simply react to brake lights and do likewise. Eventually you have a line of cars (sheep) piling up and slowing and even coming to a complete stop. Why? The sheep mentality.

Fads, trends, fashions, etc, etc. All successful results of people being 'good sheep'. And making someone else rich.

Tom

 

[Bikeguy Joe]

I hear that!

 

[Bikeguy Joe]

I was subjected to a variety of 'housewife' shows and some hip hop crap show @ my daughters the other day.

All I got to say is if this is what the 'kids these days' think constitutes 'reality', God help us all!!!!

 

[Bikeguy Joe]

It's not 1976 anymore fo'sho'.

 

[Ludwig II]

I think part of the reason that some retired men die soon after finishing work is to do with daytime television. A man of iron would lose the will to live.

 

[2door]

I think part of the reason that some retired men die soon after finishing work is to do with daytime television. A man of iron would lose the will to live.

It's the 'screaming' that's killing me. What happened to applauding? Clapping the hands to show your appreciation for something. Why SCREAM?.

And, having three, four or five people, all talking at the same time. That seems to be a growing trend in television. Even our local news shows have started it. I was taught that it is rude, impolite, to talk when someone else is talking. Today it is not only okay to talk over another person but to talk louder so everyone can hear YOU!

There is a morning talk show with a panel of four or five hosts. It is one of the most annoying things to hear when all of them talk at the same time. And they usually are.

What's that all about? Who considers that 'entertainment'?

Tom

 

[xseler]

I think the younger generation are so used to texting/tweeting and just blathering on with no one actively listening that they really haven't learned how to interact in a real group. Ever notice a group of kids? Most are looking at their phones and not talking to each other. They don't have to 'wait their turn' to 'say' something.

I used to think that the movie "Idiocrasy" was the most stupid thing I've ever attempted to watch. However, it seems to get truer every single day.


http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/idiocracy

.

 

[Tinsmith]

Said well Gentlemen!! After all we are "Old Guys" and our take on what is going on today is automatically compared to our decades of experiences. I have several young folks who are often interested in my opinion on things, and I am flattered when they ask. But, for the most part I just observe and keep my opinions to myself, unless I think something bad is liable to come of it.

It is nice to know that I'm not alone in my universe.

Thanks Guys!

Dan