Wow this is some intense thread you started Hunter...
I was wondering where the "Devil of Rabaul" came from?
P.S. I'm from out west in "Lotus Land" but working out of Portage-la-Prairie right now.
Anyways, I am about the same vintage as Les, but I'm afraid that's where the similarity ends... Compared to a Blackhawk crewchief Iraq vet, a Navy SEAL with 30 medals, An Aussie carrier PWO, I'm kinda embarassed to post my wimpy bio...
I grew up in Vancouver B.C., Dad is Canadian, Mum is British but born in India where grandfather was posted. {He was posted to Egypt Palestine during the war} That's Mums uncle on my siggy, I always felt both proud sad at his story, he didn't get a chance to get married before the war, he had no kids, no family to remember him when he was killed.
I can relate to your story Hunter Njaco, alcohol has been a drain on Dad for probably his whole life. I guess I can be thankful that he is a more or less a "happy drunk", he doen't usually yell and he never raised a hand against me or Mum because of drinking, just becomes disagreeable sometimes. But I think of how much he was capable of, he's very smart, could have been an engineer but ended up as a dentist because thats what Grandad wanted him too. {which he didn't really like}. He was a really skilled builder, he remodelled our house and built a 45' boat from the bare hull, including wiring, rigging, woodwork and did all the electronic installation. Too bad I didn't inherit his technical brain or skill with my hands....
I was in scouts as a kid, I was hoping to go into the military when I got older {probably Navy} but a bad accident at school killed that option when I was 16. We were doing gymnastics, because the school was overcrowded we had to use the cafeteria, with the tables pushed away and a few mats put down. We were supposed to be building a pyramid, I was on the third level, the last guy was supposed to vault up and we would hold him in place as the 4th level {the "capstone" of the pyramid} but he took it too fast and crashed in knocking us all flying. I flew off and took a glancing hit on a cafeteria bench on my back. {the "one-piece" kind which is attached to the table} I then landed on my back on the hard floor and lay there.
I came to, I was completely freaked out, I couldn't feel
anything below my neck, and couldn't move. It happened right before lunch, the bell rang and here were dozens of kids bursting in to see the gimp lying on the floor. The vice-pricipal came in, and came over and reached down "let me give you a hand up" {a real bright light there
} I told him "don't f**king touch me, call an ambulance" {I don't remember swearing, but they told me later I did
} I was in the hospital for 2 days, the feeling came back, they did some tests and they told me everything was OK. After a couple of weeks at home I went back to school but I was getting intense pain in my lower back. They did more tests, x-rays, radiography etc etc.
Finally they told my mother {in private} that "it's all in his head", so I had too go see a shrink. {yes Graeme we have brilliant doctors in Canada too
}
They asked me to "tell me what is bothering you"? The f**king pain in my back you dip-s**t!!! The shrink reported I had an imaginary pain AND A BAD ATTITUDE. Anyways after a year of this nonsense I finally insisted that they re-do the tests, they found a severed ligament in between the vertabrae. {soft tissue, doesn't show up on x-rays} I had a spinal fusion done at 18, thankfully it worked and I'm 100% ok, but screwed up my GPA in my senior year. {and killed any chance of getting into the military}
I went to college for a few years, spent a couple of years sailing around the South Pacific on Dad's boat {Auckland, Brisbane, Sydney, Melbourne, Hawaii, Fiji} and then came back to Canada, started working. I drive long distance, I'm thinking to go back to finish my degree and stay put somewhere, but I love travelling too much... I've been to every state except Alaska Maine.
I was also in Gulfport MS, 9 months after the hurricane, it freaked me out to see the damage there, I have some pics too. 2 story beachfront houses with the lower floor washed out, blocks blocks with no houses - only the front steps had the house number painted on it to show that a house had been there. The hurricane surge had "grooved" the beach and left 3 foot high "waves" in the sand, very weird...
OK so sorry if this wandering down memory lane is going on WAAAAAY too long... Alex. {Canadian Hoser}
I'll post my Hoser pic to save Les the trouble... {the one in the touque}