What a Wonderful World

I see trees of green, red roses too
I see them bloom for me and you
And I think to myself what a wonderful world

I see skies of blue and clouds of white
The bright blessed day, the dark sacred night
And I think to myself what a wonderful world

The colors of the rainbow so pretty in the sky
Are also on the faces of people going by
I see friends shaking hands saying how do you do
They're really saying I love you

I hear babies crying, I watch them grow
They'll learn much more than I'll never know
And I think to myself what a wonderful world
Yes I think to myself what a wonderful world

Songwriters: George Weiss / Robert Thiele

What a Wonderful World lyrics © BMG Rights Management, Concord Music Publishing LLC, Carlin America Inc

Pair of Ducks

An essay from my days as a Troy undergrad, September 2006.

Pair of Ducks

Two of America’s cartoon icons, Donald Duck and Daffy Duck, are cast from the same mold. Obviously, they are both animated ducks, though they also share similar dates of appearance to viewing audiences. Further, they both usurped the spotlight from the initial character offered by their studio. They also maintain speech impediments and serious personality flaws. Each of them had gags developed for their anatomy. Lastly, they both are hilariously funny.

Donald and Daffy made their debut to movie-goers at the onset of World War II. Donald was the first to appear on the scene in 1934, in a Silly Symphonies’s cartoon, “The Wise Little Hen”. Daffy appeared three years later, in Looney Toons’s “Little Duck Hunt”. Both were cast opposite a pig, in Donald’s case, it was Peter Pig, and Daffy played opposite of Porky Pig. The cartoons were in black-and-white, which explains why both ducks are monochromatic. The initial vision for Donald included the blue sailor suit, but its depiction alone would show the well known color, even if it was portrayed in black-and-white. Daffy’s initial opening was a huge success and Donald saw top billing in 1937 with his own cartoon, “Donald’s Ostrich”.

Donald was conceived in the shadow of Mickey Mouse, Silly Symphonies’s first popular cartoon character. Similarly, Daffy opened behind Porky Pig, Looney Toons’s first poplar character. During the 1940’s, both ducks would rise in popularity beyond Mickey and Porky. Donald and Daffy would appear in 50 cartoon episodes each during this period. These ducks were clearly on the government payroll during World War II.

These characters share speech impediments. Both of them have hard lisps, because of their bills. It’s hard to pronounce the “th” and “s” sounds without a set of teeth. Donald’s semi-incomprehensible dialect seems to come from a Scottish Gaelic accent. Daffy’s general accent, without the lisp, is more Midwestern, perhaps Chicago.

Donald’s character has a very quick temper. This is embraced by his writers along with his “never-say-die” attitude. Daffy has several different personalities behind that dark duck’s exterior. The only constant in Daffy’s personality choice is that it is extreme. No room for the middle ground with this duck. A congruence of their personalities is that they are loners. True, Donald has Daisy, but he’s been going out with her for nearly 70 years, so he’s not bound to commitment anytime soon.

Donald’s derriere is a constant source of laughter in his cartoons. It ran the gambit from being stuck, hit, or having something tied to it. Daffy’s slap-stick comedy evolved around his bill. It spun, fell off, or was blown up. This was apparent with both characters when they became involved as sportsmen. Donald preferred fishing, and the eventual result was the lure being attached to his rump. Daffy portrayed the game for both Porky Pig and Elmer Fudd. You never knew what was going to happen to his bill.

Both Donald and Daffy transcended a nation during a World War. Both transcend generations to our modern day. So, if you want to learn a bit of history and enjoy some classic music, cuddle up with the children and grandchildren and watch a true classic from this pair of ducks. Luckily, they didn’t break the mold.

References:

http://disney.go.com/vault/archives/characterstandard/donald/donald.html

http://toolooney.goldenagecartoons.com/daffy.htm

Ring Bells on Time

Ring Bells on Time

I was an Electronics Technician Second Class (ET2) on board the USS Mount Vernon (LSD-25). As a shipboard sailor, I was assigned to a duty section and I generally stood watch every third day when in port. My watch was the Quarterdeck. At this station was the Officer of the Deck (OOD), the Petty Officer of the Watch (POOW), and a Rover. The Quarterdeck was an area where people may embark or depart the ship. Generally, all coming aboard requested to come aboard from the OOD, then waited until a salute is returned to them. The same is true when disembarking from the ship. When therre was a  high amount of traffic, or when the OOD was indisposed, the POOW performed this function. The Rover was able to perform security sweeps of the ship, looking for unusual activity. The Quarterdeck was relieved every six hours.

One of the required activities of the POOW was to ring bells. Bells were struck from 6 am (reveille) to 10 pm (taps) local time of the port where the ship was berthed. The number one responsibility of the POOW was to ring bells: ring them correctly, and ring them on time. The correctly part was straight forward – every four hours the cycle repeated – two bells for the first hour, four bells for the second, six bells for the third and eight bells for the fourth. Half hours were marked by an additional bell. If standing the mid-watch (2 to 8 am), I would ring four bells at 6 am and recite the "reveille" call. At 6:30, I would ring five bells (four plus one) and six bells at 7 am. 7:30 was seven bells, 8 was eight bells. When I stood the day watch, at 8:30 the cycle would start again with one bell, then two at nine, etcetera.

Sometimes the Quarterdeck would have been very busy, with contractors, family, port services, and crew all wanting a salute or a sign-off on divers, fuel, ordinance, or any number of things. Regardless of the mayhem and its degree, the Petty Officer of the Watch showed his composure by ringing bells on time.

I have translated this over to my life, though it has taken me a number of years to realize the lesson of ringing bells on time.When I have felt overwhelmed, I ask God for a little help, and he reminds me of my time on the Quarterdeck and ringing bells on time. When I feel frustrated with myself, I ask God for a little help, and he again reminds me of the USS Mt. Vernon and ringing bells on time. When I want to fix all the wrongs, straighten them, and make them right, I ask God for a little help, and he reminds me of that little brass bell being broadcast throughout the ship over the ship's speaker system, the 1MC.

Though the ringing of bells seemed a bit antiquated, there was a purpose to it. Bells improperly struck or not rung on time signaled that the Quarterdeck was potentially breached. Another officer, the Command Duty Officer (CDO) would listen for the striking of bells and sound the alarm if they were erroneous, with the potential effect of having thirty unannounced sailors, armed with shotguns and pistols, show up at the Quarterdeck.

So, if you are impatient, or inundated, or incapable to cope with the obstacles of today, tomorrow, or even yesterday, just ring bells on time. If you slip and folks come to your aid, let them help you, make you stronger, and provide you the courage so that you may always ring the bells in your life on time.

Steve Scheider, ET1, retired after 8 years

Ticket to Mars

Yeah, I enjoy dreaming about space. I once wanted to be an astronaut, though that ship has sailed long ago for me. It was one of the reasons that I found nuclear propulsion and electrical generation so fascinating. At the time of the 1980s, solar arrays and nuclear fission were the best choices for space travel. So, I became a Navy Nuclear Reactor Operator and eventually sat in the RO seat on USS Haddock (SSN-621). When you are on a submarine, engrossed in the details of the gauges, readouts, and chatter around you, you can imagine travelling through space the same way, though I don't recall "field day" on the Enterprise or during any of the space shuttle missions. "Field day" is a Navy term for clean anything that doesn't walk or talk, which we did at least once every three days. The days are altered on a sub - instead of the "normal" 24 hour schedule, subs use 18 hours. The routine goes: watch for six hours, study/recreate/field day for six hours, sleep for six hours. Every block of 72 hours repeated, except during trials and ORSE. Between each six hour block was mess, which is sailor slang for a meal.
Sleeping on the sub was an experience best forgotten. Since I was junior, I wasn't provided a bunk of my own. Instead, I shared a bunk with two other junior souls, each of us waking the next to go on watch when it was our turn to sleep. The term used for this is "hot racking." Since you had to shower, shave, dress, and eat before going on watch, and the field day exercise and mess after that all ate into the time that you had allocated for sleep, leaving me with just over four hours of sleep per 18 hour cycle. If drills were being conducted, the sleep that you got was far less than that. Often, this brought tempers to boil, but there's no place for anger on a sub. You have to count on every person on board to be able to do their job and potentially save your life. So, we saved it for when we were in port.
I recall that we once docked on the pier where the USS Dixon, a sub tender, was docked with its stern to the end of the pier. We had just undergone a week of running on the diesel engine, with all that delicious smell, constant droning, and bobbing like a cork because of some equipment failure and no one on board had any real sleep. A machinist mate friend climbed out to take his walk to barracks, inhaling the freshest air that he had taken in for quite a while, when a junior officer said to him, "we salute officers in my Navy, son." My friend decked him and knocked him out cold with one punch. The machinist mate was later verbally reprimanded and forced to apologize to the officer he assaulted, but the officer was cautioned that he would find himself on a submarine if he demeaned another enlisted man.

Steve seasoning

This is a recipe for a dry seasoning to sprinkle over a shrimp and veggie skewer, though my daughter will argue that it's great on everything.

Everything is in teaspoons.

5           Dill Weed
1  1/2    Cayenne Pepper
1  1/2    Marjoram
1           Basil
1/2        Paprika
1/2        Mustard Powder
if no celery on skewers:
1/2        Celery Seed

Use a fork to combine the ingredients.  The dill should have an orange
luster to it.

Please be aware that 2 1/2 tsp of Cayenne is way hot (sweaty forehead,
etc.).  The Marjoram dulls the bite of the cayenne.  The mustard powder kicks
off the bite of the cayenne.  The paprika is a staying thing... how long you
taste the flavor.

Armistice Day

November 11, 2018, marks the centennial of Armistice Day. That day ended World War One, dubbed "the war to end war," and the armistice led to the Treaty of Versailles in 1919. The war claimed nine million deaths to combatants and an estimated seven million deaths to civilians. These numbers are blurred because the 1918 Influenza Epidemic has been estimated to have taken the lives of fifty to one hundred million people worldwide.

The fighting pitted the Triple Entente (Britian, France, Russia) against the Triple Alliance (Germany, Austria-Hungarian, Italy). The war began with the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria-Hungary on June 28, 1914 by Gavrilo Princip in Sarajevo, Bosnia. Historian A. J. P. Taylor tells of the event:

"[Sophie] could never share [Franz Ferdinand's] rank ... could never share his splendours, could never even sit by his side on any public occasion. There was one loophole ... his wife could enjoy the recognition of his rank when he was acting in a military capacity. Hence, he decided, in 1914, to inspect the army in Bosnia. There, at its capital Sarajevo, the Archduke and his wife could ride in an open carriage side by side ... Thus, for love, did the Archduke go to his death."

The Archduke and his wife were both shot in an automobile, on the return journey from the Town Hall. In total, there were six co-assassins, and Gavrilo Princip delivered the fatal shot. The assassination led to posturing which led to various declarations of war. The crew of assassins were attempting to fraction part of Austria-Hungary into Yugoslavia. Trench warfare and the genocides ensued. At least 16 million people died as a direct result. All for the want of Nationalism and the love of a lady.

"The war to end war." I wish H. G. Wells' words were a truth. Instead, over 60 million died in World War Two; six million in the Russian Civil War; nine million in the Chinese Civil War; 22 million in the Second Sino-Japanese War; over a million in the Korean War; over a million in the Vietnam War; over a million in the Nigerian Civil War; three million in the Bangladesh Liberation War; over a million in the current War in Afghanistan; over a million in the Soviet-Afghan War; over a million in the Second Sudanese Civil War; three million in the Second Congo War.

We must stop killing one another. Nothing positive comes from war. Another dreamer once wrote, "Imagine all the people living life in peace..." I dream that John Lennon's words will come true one day – and that we find "the war to end war."

Ribbons

I have MS. Let me state that again. I have Multiple Sclerosis. I learned that fact on May 15th this year, two days before my 61st birthday, four days before my wife's birthday, and six days before becoming a great-grandfather. Yes, a great-grandfather. Hard to imagine that I've lived long enough to be a great-grandfather. Yet, I anticipate every breath that I can take, the sweet taste of clean air after a rain, because last year, in July, I was told that I have COPD. I've used oxygen at night ever since and all day some days, if my blood O2 is too low. That came on the wake of my heart attack in February of that same year. Two years before, I was diagnosed with Macular Degeneration in both eyes.

This gives me two oranges, a red, and a purple. Odd things, really, these ribbons; they are meant to raise awareness of a disease, though they seem to be a collection for the aged. My two orange ones are MS and COPD. Heart Disease is the red one and the purple is Mac Degen. I recall the Tony Orlando song that rekindled the ribbons, "Tie a Yellow Ribbon 'round the Old Oak Tree." The yellow ribbon represented a welcoming for those in the military, or more generally, anyone that had been away for a long time. Once, my brother and his wife put yellow ribbons all through their Japanese Maple in their front yard when I came to visit. I had been gone a long time - far too long - and I had been in the Navy, so the ribbons were very appropriate.

So, that adds a yellow to the mix. I mentioned the Navy, and I collected medals and ribbons while I was there, as well. One Navy Overseas Deployment ribbon, two Sea Service ribbons, a Good Conduct Medal, a Navy Meritorious Unit Commendation ribbon, and a Navy Achievement Medal. More and more - ribbons.

I've not had the pleasure of being awarded a blue ribbon for first place, and I don't think that I have that aspiration any more. I would like, someday, though, to tell my great-grandson about these ribbons and the chill of south Korea in the winter and the warmth of camaraderie. The cold fear of a heart attack and the warm knowledge of having MS. Yes, I have MS, and I have had it most of my life, and now that I know that I understand why I've always been clumsy and uncoordinated. Why I've hit more wall corners than I've missed. Why I need to lean against the shower wall and why holding my hands steady is an impossibility.

I hope that he likes my stories, too.

-- Steve Scheider, 2018