Manhattan Project As Metaphor The Weekly Standard Take a look at an interesting article we found.
Manhattan Project Site May Be Destroyed wbir.com Take a look at an interesting article we found.
Voices of the Manhattan Project The New York Times Take a look at an interesting article we found.
Everyone is fallible. It's nice to remember that as we review some of the classic misspeaks and misconceptions throughout history.
November 19, 2008
We all know people who deserve better coverage in the history books. We've
talked about a few of them here already.
I have a new name to add to our list: Alfred Loomis.
Never heard of him? A lot of people haven't.
If he'd done nothing more than pull out of the stock market in 1928, when everyone else was still buying, he'd be worth remembering. It's what he did with that fortune that makes him most noteworthy. But I'm getting ahead of myself.
Loomis's was a familiar tale. Blue-blood upbringing in the upper-crust of New York. Boarding school followed by Yale undergraduate and Harvard Law. Great expectations.
His firm, Bonbright & Co., began financing rural electrification projects in the early 1920s. Between 1924 and 1929, it underwrote some $1.5 billion in public-utility bonds. And in mid-1928 - on Loomis's counsel - started liquidating its positions. As a result, in October 1929, Bonbright's assets were in sound, long-term Treasury bonds and cash. Meanwhile, the Morgans lost $40 million on their railroad investments alone.
"What appealed to Loomis," writes author Jennet Conant, "was the challenge of shaping the nascent industry. He relished the opportunity to reinvent their creaky methods and along the way rewrite the rules as he saw fit. Rural electrification was the future, the key to the growth of new factories, industries, and economic opportunities."
But Alfred Loomis didn't make his money on Wall Street to live the lavish lifestyle of the Roaring Twenties. He did it to fund his true passion: theoretical physics. With his vast personal wealth he created the Loomis Laboratories at his family estate in Tuxedo Park, N.Y. Thus, the title of the book.
Tower House, as it was known, became one of the most advanced research laboratories in the U.S. And Loomis spared no expense - in either personnel or equipment. When he heard about the "Shortt clocks," a new $1,200 instrument that was accurate to one-tenth of a second a year, he bought three at a time when the five biggest, best-endowed observatories in the world could only afford one. He also gave the brightest minds of the day free reign and a free place to live and work. Soon, word spread of the work that was being done in Tuxedo Park, and this successful Wall Street banker had a new set of friends.
Loomis was not only their friend and colleague, but their intellectual equal.
But without a doubt his greatest collaboration came with Berkeley physicist Karl Compton. Together, they did important early research on radar waves that, when coupled with the work the British had done, created a ground and air-borne radar system that ultimately helped the RAF shoot down the Luftwaffe and survive the Blitz. Loomis also was one of the first to recognize Fermi's important work in nuclear fission, which, as we all know, changed the world forever.
Loomis also understood that if the U.S. was going to win the war, it would have to marshal all of its resources - public, private and scientific. Working with lifelong friend Henry Stimson and Washington power broker Vannevar Bush, they created the National Defense Research Committee, which organized the military and U.S. industry and essentially won the war.
If there's a downside to anything that Loomis did, it's that the NDRC was the beginning of the military-industrial complex that Ike warned us about.
I don't know about you, but I'm willing to forgive Alfred Loomis for that. Maybe you are, too.
More importantly, I've shared Loomis's tale with you. Who else in history have we forgotten?
Anxiously awaiting your submissions here at Peterman's Eye.
Review of 'Tuxedo Park' fredbortz.com Take a look at an interesting article we found.
The Legend, Ultrasonics and Radar ob-ultrasound.net Take a look at an interesting article we found.
Manhattan Project Timeline atomicmuseum.com Take a look at an interesting article we found.
I must give thanks to Jim Meloche who dropped a couple lines in an e-mail for my discovery of an ...
Nov. 19, 2008 6:35 PM
What was the greatest scientific development to come out of World War II?
42% 13% 0% 46% 0%
Wouldn't it be grand entirely if those whose intellect and ambition had led to great store of wealth would use that leverage for the commonweal rather than conspicuous consumption or the pursuit of celebrity? No doubt Mr. Loomis had company-the Nobels, Carnegies, Rockefellers, and so forth, made their noblesse (should that be richesse?) oblige contributions in various measure. Who today would we group among them?
Bill Gates, certainly, for his Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation dedicated to innovation in health and learning. The late Paul Newman parlayed acting success into a beneficent commercial enterprise later in life, while still looking fabulous and enjoying himself immensely. He also provided the world with a lovely example of fidelity and constance in his personal relationships. No small accomplishments, those.
Steve Jobs, Lucas and Spielberg, the Google dudes. What are they doing? I should be more up on the philanthropic pursuits of the rich, but it's early, and my steaming stimulant calleth from the cup. More later, mes amis...
Here are some of the unsungs.... there are thousands more!
Maxmillian Kolbe: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maximilian_Kolbe
Varian Fry: http://www.theirc.org/media/www/varian_fry.html
And -- amid the living -- people like Chuck Hagel http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chuck_Hagel
Warren Buffett http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Warren_Buffett
Romeo Dallaire: http://www.randomhouse.ca/readmag/volume4issue2/excerpts/aboutshakehandswiththedevil.htm
I like to watch the antics of pop divas (especially scantily dressed female ones) as much as any guy, but frankly, they are like whipped cream on a pecan pie -- fun and nothing more. It's not really surprising they get all the press. It's sad they get almost ALL of the press, though....
Looking at the photo above(neither P47 Jugs nor P-51 Mustangs, what are they?) I hesitate when I think of 'heroes' associated with wars.... I note the 'Manhattan Project Site May Be Destroyed' sidebar at the top of this page, and think of Mr. Green. Mr. Green, the father of an old friend, worked at Oak Ridge on 'the bomb' back in 'those days' and went on to a long career in nuclear power generation in Florida. He was always a sweet guy, liked by all. He was a vital guy, willing to talk about engineering issues and share his memories with anyone willing to listen. He is now in assisted living and spends most of his time staring -- a victim of mid-stage Alzheimer's. My point? A lot of very nice people spend a good bit of their lives in the service of creations which bring pain to a lot of others, somehow never consciously aware of what they have wrought. And then they fade and eventually die. They are unwitting 'wrang-wrangs'.... http://bernd.wechner.info/Bokononism/dictionary.html
Doc-Those are modified/variants of Spitfires, are they not? My brothers were crazy for fighter planes, old cars, and comic books, among other things, and I suppose I picked some of it up via osmosis.
Anyway, it's a great picture...
Only have a moment to say hello and wish everyone a nice day.
Doc Nolan,
They are British RAF Boulton Paul Defiants. Two-seat fighters with 4 guns in a powered turret.
John Dos Passos, author of USA, the masterpiece trilogy (The 42nd Parallel (1930), Nineteen Nineteen (1932), and The Big Money (1936)). Unlike "The Great Gatsby," which was prolix foolishness until it was rewritten by Fitzgerald's editor Maxwell Perkins, Dos Passos himself wrote the brilliant and great USA.
btw, Mr Peterman, you have a "Typo of the Weak" confusing the American cliché "free rein" with something called "free reign" ... what's that? Profligate monarchy? See above, in the paragraph beginning "Tower House." He [Loomis] also gave the brightest minds of the day free reign and a free place to live and work.
Where was Perkins when you needed him?
Cosmosis: the process by which all available information in the universe is absorbed into one's intellect.
Oh, time for tea after that little gem.
Nah, "free reign" would have to be when the Windsor's stop taking an "allowance" from the British government just for drawing breath, and whatever else it is that they do (the Royal Family costs the public £37.4 million each year - who knew).
At this time I would like to add but one name to the Pantheon Of The Forgotten : Burt Reynolds.
Today's Topic is the reason WHY I wish I would go back to school & get that dang History Degree.... THIS is who & what the kids should be learning about, I want to teach about the Great Escapes, the people who are not the whipped cream on the pecan pie, but the ONES that are THE PIE.
Need to add the Loomis Bio to my book list, Maybe we should have the big 3 head auto makers & congress read it also before they get their $$ from congress?.....
Pam-You constantly surprise me! Way to go, girl! I knew they didn't have the correct wing configuration for Spitfires.
When I was little, the boys would build the plastic model Messerschmitts, Spitfires, and Mustangs, bore a hole in the wingtip, tie a string on and whirl them around their heads, often crashing them together in dogfights. I got to be Ground Control. Great fun!
Reeeeeowwwrrrrrrrrr bopbopbopbopbopbopbop
I'm hit! Mayday, mayday, going dowwwwwwwwwnnnnnn.......
We always survived.
Osmosis, amoebas! (the Micro farewell)
Hmm. Mr Peterman, I would suggest as an upcoming topic, fighter aircraft of World War II.
Thanks for the warm welcome yesterday!
Loomis took what he was blessed with and used it to further his passion. The world would be a better place if we each applied this in our lives no matter how large or small the contribution.
MissIve: thanks for the new nickname ("Spunk") for my daughter. You don't know HOW appropriate this is!!
Somehow, daughters seem to lend themselves more readily than sons to whimsical nicknames. I have Audrey, who is Audzilla, and Audj (invented by her brother, it rhymes with "dodge"), and Sydney, who is alternately Squid, The Squid, Squidney, El Syd, and Syd Vicious.
My dear son, Wyatt, is on rare occasions known as Danger Boy - deriving from the day he decided to walk down a pier with his eyes closed just to see what happened. He fell in, and yelled "DANGER!!!".
I confess, dear Mr. Peterman, my sole objective in this life is to live in the column that you erected next to the luminous one populated by the Loomises of the world - i.e. the Forgotten. I deeply enjoy the company of others, but in terms of "great accomplishment directed by passion", I regret to have no such great passions, except those directed at a handful of people (some of whom I just named above). Ahh, well.
My father was an engineer in the Army Air Corps during WWII. I worked on re-fitting the B-29 superfortresses, Enola Gay and Bock's Car, carry the atomic bombs. Does he regret being involved in the project? No. Does he wish that at the time there had been another way to end the war quickly and save civillian lives in Japan? Yes.
My dad didn't talk about that when I was growing up. He came to my high school for my Sophmore history project and I found out why he doesn't talk about it. My history teacher (football coach, former high school jock, never served in the military) interupted my father while he was speaking and told him he should be ASHAMED of his service and his work on the bomb and that my father was lying to the whole class when he said that he believed during the war that the bomb would be the only way to end the war in the Pacific immediately. I stood up next to my dad and said "With all due respect sir, that is Bullshit!" and my dad and I walked out.
I transferred to another history class. That teacher was later fired for trading sexual favors for grades and other forms of sexual harrassment...so we see how upright and honorable his character was.
Personally I feel that I am not in a position to judge anyone for creating weapons or things that harm people when their intentions were good to start with. That's for someone far more knowledgable or a higher power than me to decide. But we can respect their devotion, intellect, honorable advancements, and positive achievements for what they are.
Olivia it seems our brothers have much in common. One of mine still enjoys building model aircraft with his son. My oldest brother wallpapered his room in posters of military aircraft (floor to ceiling, and we had 14 ft. vaulted ceailings). It was his room one of my grandmother's stayed in after her stroke and the home health nurse had quite a start when she first opened the door, she was expecting flowers, doilies, and lace curtains. She got a full view of the wall around the window completely covered F-16 specs, pencil drawings and blueprints of B-29s, and munitions posters.
I've examined the above airplanes very carefully and compared them with photos from my resources and conclude, with a high level of confidence and even a higher level of caffeine, that they are in fact airplanes.
Upon closer examination you can see the tiny strings holding them up. This still picture I believe was taken moments before they attacked King Kong on top of the empire state building. :-)
Kindlee and Olivia, as always, the breadth and depth of your subject matter knowledge just blows me away. Seriously amazing. I'm just short of speechless. I think if I asked what size bolt I would need to affix the right rearview mirror to a 1965 Triumph 650 motorcycle, one of you would have the answer at your fingertips. Statues should be erected in your honor . . . . I doff my ever present cap.
Racingyogagirl and her sidekick Spunky ..... A belated but sincere welcome to our virtual tree house!
Nachista, you've opened one of my favorite discussions, the ethics of war. And I'm proud of you just reading your story, by the way. I'd have disgraced myself while breaking that moron's jaw, no doubt. Your response was much better. More measured and appropriate.
There's a dissonnance in the way war is thought of. One the one hand, people profess to not like it, and yet name a period of time when the human species hasn't done it, and for the flimsiest of excuses. Women? Cinnamon? Religious authority? I take it back about women. Women are a GREAT reason to go to war.
We are a warlike species, and I do mean to say that we like war. The final analysis then must admit our Kriegenfreude and focus on form. "Bad form" used to be a critique with some weight to it, right? These days, most people don't respond at all to being told that they've done something good, and yet have done it badly. We should bring the respect for good form back to war, if we're going to make so much of it.
Jonathan can you tell my dad that? I got a lecture in the hall about cursing and respecting my elders, he thanked me for standing up for what I believed in, but asked me to not be crude while doing or sarcastic to teachers. At the time I thought it was highly unfair, but I was also grateful he didn't tell my mom what I said or I probably would have gotten my hide tanned.
nachista,
It's safe to say that your Father is as proud of you as you are of him.... and for good reason. Thank you for sharing you rememberances.
Jonathan,
It's clear to me that your children would indeed honor you with an unsung hero post in a site such as this.
I really do appreciate this treehouse.
Racingyogagirl and her sidekick Spunky sounds suspiciously like a superhero duo, and I would not be at all surprised to discover that they do indeed have SECRET IDENTITIES. They probably get about in those Defiant British warplanes, restored to a fare-thee-well by their crack engineering team, all done in top secret grottoes below the fabled Undisclosed Location. Who knows what marvels this wrong-righting duo might undertake to show us next? Concerned Citizens await the next crisis resolution with bated breath...
Peter, the 1965 Triumph Bonneville T120, which I assume you are referring to, does not use a bolt on the rearview mirrors, but affixes via a chrome plated steel stem with 10mm threads and a locking nut. The old Bonnys were a great ride. I have good memories of straddling one of these big studs, enjoying the throaty growl and the strong thrust of the torque up and down through every gear. Mmm, and the way that bad boy vibrated wasn't bad, either. Quite as nice as anything in my bedside table.
Was that over the top? I can never tell...
Don't you just hate Self Righteous History teachers? Nachista ~ Again A Thank you towards your father & your DH Sir Boyscout. I do not feel the choice for the Manhattan Project & the Choice to drop the Bomb was made or worked on lightly by ANYONE who was involved. Right down to the guys who loaded it onto the plane & the Pilots that dropped them. I don't feel any bomber pilots take their missions lightly to begin with.
I have respect for those who were in or are in the Military & I thank God everyday that someone has decided to put their life on the line so I can be free. Mr. Loomis helped in his endeavors to save the lives of service men just by his financing the studies for the uses of Electricity, Radar & Nuclear Fission . Even in todays world the Technology we use daily has come from the work he financed.
Olivia,
The Triumph Bonneville T120 was indeed a good choice. Far superior to the BSAs of the same class and much more reliabe than the Harley D's of that era (hence the lyrics "I've got them Harley Davidson blues").
The Triumphs themselves were also famous for their throaty growls and torque. Hot-cha-cha
I read a somewhere that in the entire recorded history of humans, there has only been a grand sum of 23 years where there has never been any war, anywhere on earth. 23 years. I think that speaks to what we are as humans.
Peterlake a fellow brit bike lover, I knew you had good taste! My friend Lynn has a gorgeous, new Triumph bonnie and she loves it.
Also I know my da is proud of me. I used to just wink when he said "I shouldn't say this but you're my favorite", because I thought he said it to all the kids. About 10 years ago when he was in the hospital a bunch of us went out to eat after visiting him and someone brought up dad telling them "You're my second favorite person in the family", and everyone said he'd told them the same thing. They thought it was a great joke. I smiled and nodded and kept my secret to myself. My mom has her clear favorites, for good reason (shiney, happy, successful, super sister and super brother), but my dad has always been fond of scrappy strays/outcasts (he was always letting us adopt stray animals that we found. I definitely fit in the the scrappy outcast category, I think my brother Rob probably ties me in that respect too.
You're right TOATD, we humans are feisty and strange creatures. We know better, but we do it anyway. When will we all learn?
My GF's DH was in one of the first waves of National Guard Troops to Iraq. Her kids were 2 1/2 & just under 1. He was gone for over a year ~ Even though her kids were SO young she decided to teach them Everything she could. Hung up maps of the Middle East, pins were Daddy was located, names of surrounding countries were all learned by the oldest. So fast forward a few years to the 1st grade ~ They go to the classroom open house, she is having a discussion with the teacher & both boys run up to her & say the classrooms map is the wrong one. She asked them why & the response was becaus eit didn't ahve Iraq on it. She said that the teachers face went white. Teacher recovered a little bit & asked how they know about Iraq ~ GF replied that their father had been stationed there, was home safely but they had decided to keep the boys informed about what was happening there. GF was told that she had corrupted her sons & they were too young to know about a war & where their father was. These kids can pretty much name off the whole of the Middle Eastern region. (More so than most adults can)
Now my view is that everyone is allowed their opinions ~ The Iraq war could be wrong or right it's not really for me to say. But in my view its exspecially not right for a teacher to tell Military parents not to teach her children about whats affecting there lives. Needless to say she got her child switched out of that classroom, she said she couldn't deal with someone who had NO clue what its like. Kind of like Nachista's teacher. An opinion is fine, but you cannot teach biasedly because it does affect the young minds.
Rings good for your GF! She sounds like a responsible parent to me. She was honest with her kids, while teaching them things that they would learn later on in life anyway. There is a lot to be learned from Middle Eastern history and culture.
Omar Khayyam is one of my favorite poets and I wouldn't have known about him if not for the ME studies class I took in college. We glossed over "world" (actually history of the western world) history in high school, but gosh darn we sure know about puritans and American history in all its glory...as written in history texts by the winners of the wars covered. Any reference to the middle east was usually followed by "don't they cut off your hand if you're caught stealing" or "didn't we like, totally kick their trash in some like 3 day war, or something?".
Sir Boyscout has been reading about Farsi and Arabic languages since he found out Fox Company was going to be deployed. He's read up on their culture and history. He wants to try and understand the people of Iraq and have a connection with them and try to understand why they are the way they are. He doesn't allow the Marines in his team to used slang like towelhead, camel jockey, or Haji when describing Iraqis.
Life has taught me to seek knowledge and wisdom ceaselessly. Every moment is another opportunity to read and learn. A bad experience is only a bad experience if I choose not to learn something from it. There aren't just 2 sides to every story, there are usually much, much more.
Nach and rings-I agree with you both. Regardless of how you feel about the conflict, knowledge is power, and education is enlightenment. Both teachers had severe cases of craniosacral intromission.
Hi Friends,
Enjoyed reading Mr. Peterman's post this morning, as usual. But then my day ran away from me. Working hard for Mr. Ford's machine, I suppose somewhat fitting for today's topic. I really do admire his company's humble and genuine beginnings. That keeps me going some days, when I get jaded.
I do keep the picture of him working diligently on his Quadricycle at my desk.
As far as conspicuous consumption, If you are opposed to it, don't look, as I have not eaten all day and about to clean out the kitchen, single-handedly.
YogaRacingGirl,
So good to see you back. And you are very welcome for the nickname. My father has a similar one for me. In my family, his girls are often told to 'spice down.' Hang out here enough, and you'll see why.
Good afternoon, all. Back to the drawing board. The 'Shortt Clock' is ticking.
My work here is done for today, time to r u n n o f t and save the planet, but first a Salted Carmal Signature Hot Chocolate from Starbucks with a shot of espresso.....
peace out my friends
Saw a homemade sign on poster board saying
"For Autumn Springs tenants parking only! All others will be toad."
Someone crossed out the "for autumn springs tenants" and wrote FROG.
Nachista,
That's a great story but I'm quite disturbed to hear that such brilliant behavior was followed by a lecture on "respecting your elders". The teacher had proven, beyond the shadow of a doubt, that he was not worth respect. Indeed, he was not worth the powder it would take to blow him to hell. And his age only proves that there is a crucial difference between living a long time and having a lot of life experience. I often find people of a certain age demanding "respect your elders" as a thinly veiled excuse for their failure to respect everyone.
I must give thanks to Jim Meloche who dropped a couple lines in an e-mail for my discovery of an American Hero. After reading the book Tuxwdo Parj by Jennet Connant, the first thing that comes to mind is to pay a tribute to Alfred Loomis, the prime mover in this book. This is a piece of history that is certainly not mainstream reading material...but should be. It is a story about an American hero who became a legend in the scientific community without holding the appropriate credentials. This book paints a picture of what it takes to succeed in terms of the "right stuff". It is inspirational and in my mind a required reading assignment for those young folks looking for a reason to find the subject of science interesting. This story could be put forward in three study area's to high school students: Science, History, and Social Studies. I would not be opposed to having a student reading this book three times.
Using a metaphor of scientific variety, of all the elements in chemistry the three elements not on the chart are theory, applied science, and applying money to science. You could call this the molecule of the scientific mind when combined with the entrepreneurial spirit. That is what this book is all about. Alfred Loomis described by the author as a very practical man who came into this world in a somewhat average middle class America of the early 1900's. I must a admit a degree of suspect on author's perspective (a Boston elite Blueblood), she must have never missed a meal. But be that as it may, that transitional time that marked American entrance onthe stage of world class leadership finds Alfred Loomis.
Ther is more to my view on lomis please reference keword cigarroomofbooks or click on http://cigarroomofbooks.blogspot.com/2007/12/tuxedo-park.html
more on the honor rollNot to turn this place into a book of the month club...but it would be nice to have a suggested reading list. Everytime a book is referenced or recommended I write it down on a sticky note and then that note gets lost, I think the sock monster is diversifying.
Over the mantle in the Horgan house was an inscribed photo portrait of Alfred L. Loomis: "To George, with thanks,"
The patriarch of the family, a New Yorker and a veteran, had caught the interest of Loomis to a point where a good job had been found for him and some contact was maintained over the years.
There was some kind of loud spontaneous family meeting going on and I retreated to the kitchen to find a little something to eat... and drink.
An old guy with what was, at the time, the worst comb-over that I had ever seen and wearing a denim apron kept appearing and disappearing as I was building a sandwich and scaring up some tomatoes and a couple of beers.
About the time lunch was winding down and I was thinking that if this meeting kept going, there might just be time to catch a nap, comb-over man stopped moving long enough to ask if I would be willing to help with a problem.
The problem was a squirrel. It had established residence in the high ceiling of the bedroom occupied by the widow of the man who had known Loomis.
She was drunk and it was pretty clear how she'd got that way. Every time the man in the apron poured her a sherry, he placed the dead soldier atop the bottom of a double hung window. There were six sparkling in the sun and the one in her hand.
She was probably due for a nap but he got her out of there and returned with a very tall step ladder.
It was strange how the ornately painted ceiling seemed higher inside than the roof looked to be from outside.
The squirrel was in a duct the purpose of which I did not then and still don't understand. The clawing noise and desperate "comments" were driving the old gal batty and it was easy to see why.
With a stethoscope, I got a fix an exactly where the rodent was hung up in the sloping tube fighting to keep from falling back down. The plaster, when tapped, sounded thin.
Then, a really lucky set of events opened up before me: She had a Browning LR.22 pistol on the night stand and the spot that I had marked as being ground zero, according to the noise, lined up almost perfectly with what either was or was about to become the bellybutton of a pink cherub. I can't remember.
I took a couple of practice shots at a knot in an oak outside the window and then put one into that spot. Bingo. I could actually hear a bit of a sigh as the little guy's lights went out, he lost his grip and slid down into a basket that I had made out of coat hangers in a register.
He looked as though he might have been in there for awhile.
I tossed him down to a yard guy who got rid of the evidence.
Downstairs, the meeting which had been about how to get rid of the creature in the ceiling, was breaking up.
It was fun to report that the problem was solved but got tense when every person in the room leveled a steely gaze on me demanding to know if the squirrel were all right.
"Last time I saw him, he came out of the register and went flying out the open window."
"Wouldn't the fall have killed him?" They worried.
"Absolutely not." I guaranteed.
It was too late for Burry and I to go shooting; we had just stopped by for a gate key and I was surprised, years later, to learn that Grandpa's name was Ernie.
wow, Stoney.
wow.
The only imporvament would be if you could have slipped in some JP product placement, like maybe someone named Olivia giggling in the hall wearing a man's suede Norfolk jacket and her underwear... as far as you could tell.
If you wanted to make that IMPROVEMENT, it would probably have not been OUR Olivia, just someone NAMED Olivia
Olivia,
Thanks for fielding the motorcyle question. I couldn't have answered it. I'm so proud that you knew today's photo was of British, not American, aircraft and that the wings didn't seem like they were a Spitfire's. Way to go yourself, girl!
PeterLake,
Thank you so much for the compliment. I never thought of statuary - hmmm, perhaps one of the legendary Supermarine Spitfire and draped, on one of its elliptical wings, a likeness of Olivia and me in JP's Lambskin Flight Jackets (no.1970), with our hair and Classic Aviator Scarfs (no.4018) whipped by the wind...
Stoney,
Wow is right!
What was today's subject anyway? I'll have to go back to investigate. I had a very long day but it's so nice to come here now to relax...
racingyogagirl,
Love the avatar of you and Spunky! Welcome again.
Jonathan Isles,
Loved 'cosmosis'. Your tea was well deserved! A little Earl Grey or something else? I'm partial to The Republic of Tea's Ginger Peach, myself.
One At The Desk,
Two upcoming topics, fighter aircraft of WWII and tea, if you please...and motorcycles for nachista and Olivia.
The One At The Desk,
Forgot the 'The' at the beginning. Oops. Please add PeterLake to the motorcycle topic request form, thank you.
I'm over half way through all these posts and surprise! surprise! I don't see much on topic ;)
Kindlee,
With images of you and Olivia gracing my Spitfire I could conquer the known world, even today.
Stoney,
So, like does this mean that the squirrel didn't make it?? Seriously, another classic tale that delights us all. Be well and put another log on the fire, there's a chill wind off the lake tonight.
nachista and rings,
What disappointing stories to read about your so called teachers. It seems they had no idea what 'to educate' someone really means, much the same as getting personal commentary from news reporters.
Paul Murphy,
Welcome.
MissIve,
Don't forget to eat while you are working hard for Mr. Ford's machine. I heartily endorse chocolate.
PeterLake,
Oh looky, looky! A new aircraft picture. A B-17. What's her name? Any special relationship?
Kindlee,
Just a passing fancy at this years "Corn Fest" held at our airport. I loved the sound of it flying over my house every hour or so. Wouldn't want to hear it if it was angry though.
Welcome to Paul Murphy. Thanks for your contribution.
PeterLake,
So, you and she were like two ships that passed in the night. Nice that you had your moment together. The old warbirds made some great noise. Personally, I love the distinctive sound of a Spitfire's Merlin engine. Low, slow, victory roll. Now, that's a dream :)
Better head off to dreamland. Night all.
There's a beautiful Mustang that lives somewhere around me. Every once in a while, I'll hear it ripping over my ridgeline in a sweeping bank, curving back toward the valley. It makes the most thrilling sound, all snarls and whines and growls. It makes me want to give up driving forever, and do whatever I have to do to put myself in the air in that plane, and to keep myself there.
PeterLake,
Thanks. You are right about the wind, it's screaming,
Sorry about them Bears. Been there.
Jonathan Isles,
If I had the opportunity to hear that P-51, my head would most certainly be up in the clouds with it...
PeterLake,
I have faith the Bears will beat the Rams this weekend.
One day, several summers ago, I was standing at the kitchen sink, washing dishes, and I heard a SOUND, unlike any sound I'd ever heard, but I knew exactly what it had to be. I had read earlier in the week that the Confederate Air Force was showing at the Air Base in Jacksonville that weekend, so I raced outside and stood in the back yard, looking up. Sure enough, as the sound grew deafening, over the treetops, so low I could read the pilot's watch, roared a B-17, painted a flat buff colour and going well. I felt sure that such as these must have been utterly terrifying to the Germans. I had a mental image of myself as a Dutch girl, hair in a scarf, wind whipping skirt and all as the Yanks flew over. My imagination...
I'm a big fan of pinups. I hereby volunteer to pose for anyone's nose art, wearing whatever seems appropriate. Perhaps a suede Norfolk jacket and my underwear, if that other Olivia isn't available :P
I can't decide which I like better for the name of the aircraft: "Outlandish Olivia" or "Outrageous Olivia" ;) and I'm thinking red, Miss Scarlet!
I think the jacket alone will do...go with Liberty's Belle
There is already a restored B-17 named "Liberty Belle".
Olivia, you are such an original, I think you deserve some truly original nose art. How does "Omnificent Olivia" strike you?
I'm laughing...I'm far more prim and proper in person-anyone will tell you! *tongue firmly in cheek, eyes rolling*
Ostentatious Olivia? Outre' Olivia? Not as good as 'Glamorous Glennis', but oh well.
Yeah, Omnificent works for me...
Let's see, a red B-17 named Omnificent Olivia, with me on the nose...that's the ticket!
Pam, you're a good 'un. And, no one would know what it means, so they'd REALLY think it was cool, right?
Absolutely!
Or, I was thinking, wouldn't it be cool to put that painting on the nose of a de Havilland, such as a DH 89 Dragon Rapide or a DH 88 Comet? I love dragons, and the Comet is tres sexy. Here it is in red:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/De_Havilland_DH.88
Then it would be Olivia's de Havilland, n'est ce pas?
Of course, the Mosquito, Hornet, and Vampire were pretty cool too...
Olivia,
I don't have the plane but I'd wear the jacket. http://www.cockpitusa.com/store/home.php?cat=340
LOL Olivia's de Havilland!! Tres bien!!
We won't breathe a word of this to Joan. It might start a dogfight. They don't get along as it is...
Lol ok Pam. Merci beaucoups, ma tres chere amie
Peter, love those jackets! Now how do I get pictured on one, hmmmm?
Olivia,
I'm not sure why but I feel the need to clarify what I was referring to...Joan Fontaine is Olivia de Havilland's sister and they've been feuding for years...a dogfight is aerial combat between fighter aircraft. Lame, I know, but forgive me if you got it...getting tired and I sometimes wish these posts came with facial expressions.
I've always been too short to have the long-legged look needed for a jacket/nose of this kind.
Pam
Fais de beaux rêves!
vous aussi