www.floridasprings.wbcci.netFlorida Springs Unit 174 Chartered June 23, 1983

Editor: John Millerfloridasprings174@gmail.com

February 3rdThe Day the Music Died Day

The Day the Music Died Day, so dubbed by a lyric in the Don McLean song "American Pie," commemorates the untimely death of singers Buddy Holly, Richie Valens and the Big Bopper.

On Feb 2, 1959, rock stars Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens and Big Booper performed at Surf Ballroom in Clear Lake, IA. Shortly after midnight, the three rock stars

took off in a charted plane that promptly crashed on take off, killing the pilot and the three rock stars. Buddy and Ritchie were in their early twenty's and they were rising stars.

Every generation has their music idols. These three were among the top of the 1950's generation. Those who grew up in the fifties mourned the premature

deaths of their music idols. Memorials and r e m e m b r a n c e s occurred for years. Today, there are many w e b s i t e s memorializing their deaths, and detailing

the events before and after the tragedy.

FEBRUARY 2014 Volume 15 Issue 2

Well, the team of Sonja and Sandy did it again. Everyone had a good time at the "CampFire Rally" held at Stone's Ranch. There was weather for everyone. Thursday was cold, Friday was sunny and warm, Saturday was warm wet and rainy and Sunday cleared and was warm again. The camp fire was the hit of the rally. Marshmallows were roasted and S"mores were eaten.Many thanks to Larry and Rosalie Stone for opening their home to us.The March Rally will be a “No Host” rally. We have not tried this before so make sure you bring food for your meals.

You are reminded to make your campground reservations for the February and March rallies. Please call now:

• February: Paradise Oaks RV Resort, Bushnell Phone - 352-793-1823

• March: Lake Waldena Resort, Silver Springs Phone: 800-748-7898

Rally Date Campground Location Hosts

Feb13-16, 2014Paradise Oaks RV

ResortBushnell, FL Stones

March 6-9, 2014 Lake Waldena Resort Silver Springs, FL No Host Rally

April 10-13, 2014Tropical Palms RV

ResortKissimmee, FL Smolk/Hauner

April 30-May 3, 2014

Region 3 Rally Western NC

Agricultural CtrFletcher, NC N/A

May 22- 26, 2014 Sunset Isle RV Park Cedar Key, FLJoint Rally

Florida Unit

June 27-July 4, 2014International Rally

Cam-PlexGillette, WY N/A

October 9-12, 2014 Travelers Rest Dade City, FL

RallySchedule

HOW SWEET IS YOUR TOOTH?...answers

1) Kit Kat 2) Almond Joy 3) Snickers 4) Butterfinger

5) Toblerone 6) Charleston Chew 7) Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup

8) 10 cents 9) Fairfield, California

10) 364 licks, according to Purdue University 11) Chocolate 12) Milton Hershey

Ocala RV Show

February 6 – 9,

2014

Super Ocala Flea

Market

Ocala, FL

Bath Iron Works - A Must See Tour In Bath Maine

Since 1762 shipbuilding has been a way of life along the Kennebec River in Bath, Maine. The Bath Iron Works (BIW) shipyard, located on the west bank of the Kennebec, just south of downtown Bath, is the namesake of an iron foundry established in 1826.

In 1884 Bath Iron Works, Limited was formed and 2 years later they expanded into shipbuilding with the acquisition of the Goss Marine Iron Works in 1888. Since the completion of Hull #1 in 1890, BIW has been awarded more than 425 shipbuilding contracts, including 245 military ships

(mostly destroyers and frigates for the US Navy) and over 160 private yachts and commercial vessels. In September 1995 BIW became a wholly-owned subsidiary of General Dynamics.

In 2001,they completed a four-year effort to build an enormous concrete platform, the Land Level Transfer Facility, for final assembly of its ships. Instead of being built on a sloping way so that they could slide into the river at launch, hulls are moved by rail from the platform horizontally onto a floating dry dock. This greatly

reduces the work involved in building and launching the ships. The floating dry, dock which is 750-foot-long, was built in China and, with three giant cranes lashed inside, traveled by ocean on a six-month journey, through two typhoons and a storm in the Gulf of Maine

A trolley tour from the Maine Maritime Museum, a next door neighbor to the Bath Iron Works is not to be missed. The one-hour guided tour begins at the museum minus cameras, cellphones, large purses, and backpacks - forbidden for national security reasons. The old-fashioned trolley looks

ridiculous beside mammoth assembly buildings and towering cranes. First stop as you enter is the security check where the names and citizenship of all tourists are required before you are allowed in.

Unless you have lived aboard a ship, you do not understand the complexity of what goes into building a modern day Navy ship. Even what is visible from the trolley boggles the mind as you roll slowly past assembly buildings, each 110 feet wide, 236 feet deep, and 72 feet high. You get pretty close to the action, though not indoors and never off your seats.

Your tour guide describes the fabrication process, the old launching ways, and the current Land Level Transfer Facility that enables workers to complete 85 percent of construction on dry land and move the nearly complete ship to dry dock for launching in the Kennebec River.

From the time the steel arrives by rail, it takes 42 months to build a guided missile destroyer. An AEGIS class ship requires 48 miles of piping, 254 miles of electrical cable, 6,500 light fixtures, and 6,200 tons of steel.

The newest destroyer built at BIW is the “Zumwalt”, one of the most strikingly different warships ever built, in any age. Angular and stealthy, the ship’s lines are almost as different from other destroyers as the Monitor and Merrimac were from the sailing ships of their era. In some ways, the Zumwalt’s silhouette actually harkens back to Confederate-built Civil War-era ironclads, as well as the North’s Dunderberg. On October 28, 2013 the Zumwalt, the nearly $4 billion stealth destroyer, was officially launched.

Fixing a Pocket Door

I recently had the misfortune of my pocket door coming off its track. To be more accurate, the track was bent and one of the pocket door trolleys was also bent and fell through the gap. The door would never work the way it was. I was told that the "only" way to fix the problem was to cut a hole in the wall so that the old track could be removed with a screwdriver and replaced since there was no way to reach your hand inside the pocket door opening to reach the screws at the far end of the track. But, I did’t want to

cut a hole in in the wall so I put my brain cells to work and came up with the following idea. I went to Home Depot and asked if they had some kind or screwdriver attachment that would angle the driver bit by 90-degrees. I went back to their tool coral and found exactly what I was looking for.

The item I found bent the driver angle by about 80-degrees and had an adjustable tab on the opposing side that could be used for stabilization. I bought a couple of 12-inch extenders. Combining the two extenders I could now reach inside the door pocket a little over 24 inches. Since I only needed to reach in about 21 or 22 inches, this would work out fine.Next I got a 2 x 3 and cut 24 inches off the end. The remaining 6 feet would be used to brace my new extender so I could get leverage on the screws. I used a radial arm saw to cut a groove in the edge of the 2 x 3 to accommodate the drill bit extenders. I widened the groove at the far end to make room for the 80-degree angle adapter and cut a deeper groove under the adapter to accommodate the adjustable tab for stability. I pushed the angle adapter into the groove at the end of the 2 x 3, attached a drill bit to one end and attached the 2 extensions to the other end. The last extension stuck out the back of the 2 x 3 by about 1 inch. I put a 2-inch extension on my drill making it easy to slide the drill on and off the larger extensions. I used the universal tool, duct tape, to attach my "pocket door extension" to the remaining 6 feet of 2 x 3 creating a "T". I slide the assembly into the pocket door slot. Used a flashlight to position the drill bit into the screw at the far end of the track, pulled down on the "T" to ensure that the bit would not slip out, pushed my drill onto the end of the extender and slowly backed the screw out. I repeated the process for the other two screws that were inside the slot. The remaining screws were simple. I got a replacement track and trolleys from http://jhusa.net/100pd.aspx. I got the heavy-duty 48-inch set, part number 100481HD. I realize that the door is nowhere near 200 lbs, but I figured that the stress of bouncing down the road would warrant the extra strength. The first thing I did was to push the trolleys into the track and push a napkin into the track in front of and behind the trolleys to hold them in place, I didn't want to get the new track in place then figure out how to reach inside the pocket to insert the trolleys! I attached the external part of the track to the overhead frame and once it was secure I used my handy dandy pocket door drill bit extension with a drill bit guide to install the internal screws. Now for the second part of the problem: The pocket for the door is about 3 feet deep, and the door track extends less than 24 inches into the pocket. The plant solved this problem by putting a screw into the side of the track so the trolley couldn't fall off the end. The damage to the trolley cause d by banging into the screw each time you closed the door was minor, so the system wouldn't fall but not necessarily for me so a more permanentsolution had to be found.

Here it is pushed inside the door pocket. I f you look close you can see the driver shaft extending out of the left side.

When you look inside the pocket you can see that the track stops about a foot before the outside wall of the RV. My solution was to get a couple of 2 x 2's, cut them up and screw them together to make an empty frame that would weigh a lot less that the solid piece of wood. I also cut up an old piece of foam rubber that I had into strips and attached them to the leading edge of the 2 x 2 frame to act as a cushioned door stop. Since the pocket was about 2 inches wide, I made the strips about 2½-inches wide so that the foam would gently wedge itself into the back of the pocket and stay put without the need for glue. I attached two more of the foam

strips at the back, inside the frame, to keep the back end from moving as we traveled. (continued next page)

Here's the final drill assembly and a 2 x 3 notched out for the extensions, widened at the end for the power head, with a deeper notch for the stabilization tab.

After sliding the doorstop into the pocket, it was time to re-attach the door to the track. I wiggled the door into position and slid the leading edge back into the pocket. I removed the napkin that was holding the trolleys in place and slide the first trolley into a position where I attached it to the door hanger by pulling the retaining clip open and lifting the door so that the trolley pin inserted itself into the retaining clip. I rotated the clip back until it clicked into

the closed position. I repeated the same procedure for the second trolley. The final step was to adjust the door. I closed the door and took note of how it fit against the wall. I used a small wrench to turn the hex nuts that are part of the trolley to adjust the door height and angle. The door now closes against the wall so there is no gap.

LITTLE KNOWN FACTS

• A dime has 118 ridges around the edge.

• A cat has 32 muscles in each ear.

• A crocodile cannot stick out its tongue.

• A dragonfly has a life span of 24 hours.

• A goldfish has a memory span of three seconds.

• A "jiffy" is an actual unit of time for 1/100th of a second.

• A shark is the only fish that can blink with both eyes.

• A snail can sleep for three years.

• Al Capone's business card said he was a used furniture dealer.

• All 50 states are listed across the top of the Lincoln Memorial on the back of the $5 bill.

• Almonds are a member of the peach family.

• An ostrich's eye is bigger than its brain.

• Butterflies taste with their feet. (verified on Google.)

• Cats have over one hundred vocal sounds. Dogs only have about 10.

• February 1865 is the only month in recorded history not to have a full moon.

Balsamic Chicken with Apple,

Lentil and Spinach Salad

ingredients

• 3 tablespoon(s) olive oil• 4 6-oz boneless, skinless chicken breasts• Kosher salt and pepper• 2 tablespoon(s) balsamic vinegar• 2 scallions, thinly sliced• 1 green apple, cut into small pieces• 1 stalk(s) celery, thinly sliced• 2 tablespoon(s) fresh lemon juice• 1 15-oz can(s) lentils, rinsed• 2 cup(s) baby spinach, chopped• 1/2 cup(s) fresh flat-leaf parsley, roughly chopped (optional)

Directions

1. Heat 1 Tbsp oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Season the chicken with ½ tsp each salt and pepper and cook until golden brown and cooked through, 8 to 10 minutes per side. Remove from heat and add the vinegar. Turn the chicken to coat.

2. Meanwhile, in a large bowl, toss the scallions, apple, celery, lemon juice, remaining 2 Tbsp oil, ½ tsp salt and ¼ tsp pepper. Fold in the lentils, spinach and parsley (if using). Serve with the chicken.

Paradise Oaks RV Resort4628 Cr 475

Tele: (352) 793-1823Bushnell, Florida

February 13-16, 2014

Parking Per Rig $25.00

THURSDAY 12 Noon Parking

4 pm Happy Hour (M - Z Bring Snacks)

5 pm Carpool to Dinner (Dutch Treat)

7 pm Games In Hall

FRIDAY 8 am French Toast, Sausage, Fruit and Coffee

4 pm Happy Hour (A - M Bring Snacks)

6 pm Pizza, Salad and Ice Cream Bars (Incl. in Rally Fee)

7 pm Card Bingo in Hall (Bring 10 Nickels)

SATURDAY 8 am Cereal, Toast, Fruit and Coffee

12 Noon Carpool to Sonny's for Lunch (Dutch Treat)

4-6 pm Happy Hour with Heavy hors d'ouvres (All Bring)

6 pm Dessert

7 pm Games In Hall

SUNDAY 8 am Cereal, Muffins and Coffee

Act i v i t i es w i l l be d iscussed a t the ra l ly . I f you know of events in the a rea that weekend p lease share the

in format ion wi th us .