VigilanteVigilanteRVAH NAVY NewsletterRVAH NAVY Newsletter
Special Holiday IssueSpecial Holiday IssueDecember, 2015December, 2015
Wishing All of You aWishing All of You aVery Merry Christmas!Very Merry Christmas!
The Funny Page
Think about it…Prehistoric…
Wait for it…It’s…Missile Toe!!
Santa in a slick!
Navy Ale??Who knew?
Christmas Terms and Origins!Most people have heard that Christmas is literally the“Christ Mass” of the Christian church, and that Santa Claustakes his name from a corruption of “Saint Nicholas,” the4th century figure whose fondness for secretly handingout gifts apparently inspired the traditional image ofFather Christmas. But what about all of the other festivewords that crop up at this time of year? From worthlesstrinkets to misnamed chickens, here are the histories andetymologies of 12 Christmassy words.BAUBLEBauble derives from beaubelet, an old French word for achild’s toy or plaything, and dates back as far as the 14thcentury in English (if not earlier) when it originallyreferred to any showy but ultimately valueless ornamentor gewgaw. In the years that followed however, baublealso came to be used for the baton carried by court jesters(who were nicknamed bauble-bearers in Tudor England)and foolish or slow-witted people; to give the baublemeant to make fun of someone in 17th century English.CAROLThe earliest references to Christmas carols date back toTudor England, but before then the word carol could beused to refer to any joyous or celebratory song, bands orchoruses of singers or musicians, birdsong or the chorus ofsongbirds at dawn, or to a particular type of circular folkdance or piece of music written to accompany a ring-dance. Whatever its earliest meaning might have been,carol was borrowed into English from French in the early
FRANKINCENSEYou’ll no doubt have heard the word, but you might notknow the meaning—frankincense is actually a type offragrant resin, obtained from the sap of the frankincensetree, which has long been used to make incense; thefrank– of frankincense is an old French word essentiallymeaning “high quality.” Myrrh, incidentally, is anothermuch-prized and highly fragrant resin or oil obtained fromthe sap of the myrrh tree. Its name comes from an Arabicword meaning “bitter.”GIFTIn Old English, a gift was specifically a wedding dowry, butby the early Middle Ages, its meaning had broadened tomean simply something given freely from one person toanother. It ultimately derives from some ancient Germanicword root meaning something like “give” or “bestow”—which is also the origin of the not-so-festive German wordgift, meaning “poison.”MISTLETOEThe –toe of mistletoe is an Old English word for “twig,”but the mistle– part is much more puzzling. Originally, themistletoe plant was just called mistel, which in Old Englishwas also used as a word for birdlime, a sticky substancepasted onto the branches of trees to trap birds. How thesetwo meanings came together in mistletoe is unclear, butone idea is that because birds would eat mistletoe berriesand then poop out the seeds elsewhere (with their poopacting as a fertilizer), mistel might originally have meant
carol was borrowed into English from French in the earlyMiddle Ages and can probably be traced back to anancient Latin or Greek word for a flute-player, choraules.CHESTNUTThose chestnuts roasting on an open fire are actuallyCastanean nuts, named for the ancient region of Castanain central Greece from where they might once have beenimported into the rest of Europe. Just like Brazil nuts,however, it might actually be the case that the region ofCastana took its name from chestnut trees that grewthere, not the other way around—in which case the namechestnut might instead derive from some ancient andlong-lost name for the chestnut tree itself.EGGNOGThe nog of eggnog is an old 17th century word for strongbeer, and in particular an ale or beer once brewed inNorfolk in the east of England. Before then, however, noone is entirely sure where the name nog originates,although one plausible explanation is that it comes froman even older Scots word, nugg, for beer warmed byhaving a red-hot poker placed into it. If so, then yourChristmas eggnog can probably be traced back to an oldScandinavian word, knagg, for a metal peg or spur.
acting as a fertilizer), mistel might originally have meantbird droppings, in the related sense of a sticky, unpleasantsubstance. Kissing under the poop-twig suddenly doesn’tseem quite so romantic.POINSETTIAPoinsettias are the large, bright red "flowers" (though thered parts are actually leaves) popular at Christmas that arenative to Mexico and parts of Central America. They’renamed after Joel Robert Poinsett, a former congressmanand diplomat, who is credited with introducing the plantto the United States in the early 1800s.TINSELDating from the early 1500s, tinsel was originally thename of an iridescent fabric interwoven with gold- orsilver-colored thread that took its name from a Frenchword, étincelle, meaning “sparkle” or “spark.” Tinsel as weknow it today dates from the 17th century, and took itsname from the sparkling silvery or golden threads thatmade tinsel fabric so shiny.YULEYule derives from an Old Norse word, jól, that was oncethe name of a 12-day pagan festival leading up to what wenow call Christmas Day. This was borrowed into OldEnglish as gol or geol as far back as the 8th century, andwas originally used both as another name for December(which was called ǽrra geóla, or “before Yule”) andJanuary (which was æftera geóla, or “after Yule”).
The Picture Page!
9 “flattops” home for Christmas at Norfolk
Your very owncarrier…
Some assemblyrequired… wait…
A LOT of assemblyrequired!
Santa Claus assists with flight operations aboard the aircraft carrier USS Nimitz on Christmas Day
Navy Lt. Cmdr. Wes Smith signals to launchan F/A-18F Super Hornet on USS Carl Vinson
The other reindeer… FOD!
Santa Launch……And recovery!
9 “flattops” home for Christmas at Norfolk
The Christmas Epiphany!!The holidays are upon us and men everywhere arescreaming, "ARRGGGHHHHHHHH" See, men have ahard time getting gifts for the ones they love...especially wives!!First off, we're not good at this whole gift giving thing...For us, gift giving means, "Hmmmm.... she needs this,so I should get it..." when in reality, nothing is furtherfrom the truth.... I've been married a long time(relatively speaking) and one of the things that I'velearned from nearly 40 years with this woman is thatwhen she says "I would really like..." it doesn'tnecessarily mean, "You should get it for me...."See, there is this book out there called "Men are fromVenus, Women are from Mars" or vice versa... and ifyou haven't read it, you should... First off, it's kindafunny... and there are some good insights in there anda lot of them have to do with this whole "gift giving"thing... Basically, the book deals with the fact that menand women think differently... PERIOD!! Despite the"we are equal in all respects" movement, men processinformation differently than women do and many ofthe communications problems between the sexes is
Christmas morning comes and she sees the really bigbox and goes for it... I watch, anticipating hugs andkisses and lots of grins for my thoughtfulness... Shegets the humongous box open, and then there's thisexpression of... well... it's a mixture of disappointment,confusion and.... (The most prevalent) anger...I suddenly realize that I'm in deep doody... and there isnothing I can do about it... What happened here??Didn't she say that the old vacuum was shot? That shehated it? Didn't I hear a blatant hint about this newvacuum? Didn't I do the right thing by listening, andtrying to be sensitive to a need here??Apparently.... NOT!!Later, we discussed the situation and I asked her whyshe got so upset....She said, "How would you feel if I got you an electricdrill for Christmas? Or a new part for your car? Or anew socket set?""I'd LOVE IT!" I replied... "I'd like it a lot better thannew pants, new shirts, the shoe tree, the new socksand the book titled "I'm OK but you're a JERK" that yougot me....And it was at this point that we were hit with theepiphany... the revelation that changed our gift givinghabits forever... We realized something that was laterconfirmed by the Venus/Mars books...And that is...We give what we want to get...
the communications problems between the sexes isdue to this fundamental difference... "She says, hehears" and "He says, she hears" stuff...And gift giving is a great example...You see, I listen to the things that are said in myhouse... Janet will be running the vacuum and as she'sputting it away, she'll say "I HATE this vacuum... itwon't pick up anything bigger than a Cheerio, it makeswayyyyyy too much noise and the bags are a pain tochange.... ""So" I say, being the good listener that I am, plus I hatethe vacuum too... "Why don't we go out and get a newone?""Nah..." She says, "They cost too much and we don'tREALLY need a new one..."Later on that week, I’m on Amazon and guess whatthey have on special??The all new, "Super Sucker 2015, bagless vacuum, with237 attachments, whisper quiet motor, can suck abowling ball off the floor, and check this out... it has anFM radio with headset built right into the handle!! Howcool is that??"Wow" she says, "That is very cool! I'd almost enjoydoing the floors with that...." and then she sighs...Being the attentive and conscientious husband that Iam, I get online and order that puppy... I get the deluxemodel with the two tone finish that matches our livingroom perfectly and smile with the satisfaction thatcomes with knowing that I am SET for the holidays…
We give what we want to get...I like tools, appliances, toys and stuff like that... handson kind of stuff... Janet likes clothes, scents, and knickknacks...Well, over the years, my sweetie and I have solved thisproblem... We no longer get presents for each other atChristmas, or anniversaries... Instead, we set a dollarlimit based on available funds, and we go shoppingtogether... we go out and buy the stuff we want, havedinner and make it a fun day or two...And, over the years, we've gotten to where we reallylook forward to it all year...Now, this doesn't mean that Janet won't say, "A torquewrench? What do you need another torque wrenchfor?" or that I won't say, "Don't you already have agreen sweater? Why do you need another greensweater?"What it does mean is that I get another torque wrench,Janet gets another green sweater, and we both getsomething way better than all that material stuff... weget... ALONG!Best present of all...Happy Holidays and... Keep grinning!
Resurrecting The Zippo!Received from Paul SkizinskiBill,I intended to add this note to the one I sent you acouple days ago. Regarding the article about the Zippolighter, I was prompted to pull out my own Zippo andphotograph it.I actually found this lighter on a bus in Saigon. Therewas no engraving on it at that time, of course, or ifthere had been, I would have tried to find the owner.But I think that would have been impossible without aname to go by, so I kept it and used it, all during myNavy years. I seem to recall that I had the firstengraving done in Yokosuka, Japan, or perhaps inTokyo, when I was on R & R from Saigon. By that time Iwould have known my departure date from Saigon, andI must have already known that I was due in Sanford,Florida in July, 1966, but I wouldn't have known when Iwould leave there for the last time. It turned out thatthe last time I was there was prior to the departure ofthe Kitty Hawk from San Diego, which I believe waseither September or October of 1967.Following the Forrestal fire, we returned to CONUS atMayport (Jacksonville, FL) and were allowed a shortleave to visit family. My family was in Upstate NewYork, so I flew from JAX through Atlanta to Albany, NY.We must have reconvened in Sanford and took a flight
The second engraving was obviously done by adifferent shop, and I don't like the style as well as thefirst, but it's readable on the actual lighter. I don'tremember where I had the second engraving done.I quit smoking before I got back from the Kitty Hawkcruise, and haven't had a cigarette since. The lighter, asfar as I know, would be in working condition with anew wick, striker and fuel.
(Editor: “Thanks Paul for sharing that. I know a lot of ushave all sorts of stuff like these lighters. Belt buckles,coffee cups, TL-29 pocket knives, etc… it is amazing theamount of stuff that means a lot to us but when we’regone, the people sorting through our stuff will look at itand say, “Why on earth would he keep all this crap?”)
We must have reconvened in Sanford and took a flightto San Diego. By the time we returned from an eightmonth cruise back to Westpac and the Tonkin YachtClub, Sanford NAS had been closed, and our new homewas on a repurposed Air Force Base in Albany, Georgia.I was there for only a few months before leaving theNavy to begin college at the beginning of the 1968-69school year, at Rochester Institute of Technology,where I earned a BFA in Photography.
More Cool Zippos!
She gave him a Zippo?Hmmm… is that code for
something?
Zippo Trivia -Zippo was given its name as aderivative of the word “zipper.” Mr. Blaisdell
(inventor of the Zippo)liked the sound of the word“zipper,” which had been patented in nearby
Meadville, PA.In the late 1950s, a Zippo lighter was removed from
the belly of a fish.The Zippo lighter lit the first time.
Welcome to Our NewMembers!
Welcome to our new members of RecceNet!
Welcome aboard shipmates!Sweepers, sweepers, man your brooms. Give
the ship a clean sweep down fore andaft. Sweep down all lower decks, ladder and
passageways. The fantail is open!
They Won’t Let Me In Shoney’s Anymore…So, about a month ago, I had to go in for my annualphysical with my doc and as he thumbed through mymedical record, he said, “Hmmm… I don’t know how Imissed this, but you’re way overdue for… yourcolonoscopy!”Damn… I was hoping he wouldn’t notice and that I couldgo another year, but he did notice, and so an appointmentwas made.The day before the procedure, I began the “Night of 1000Waterfalls” (commonly knows as “the prep”), an ordeal initself as we only have one bathroom in our place. But wemanaged and the next morning I arrived at Endoscopy Laband was literally “Probed by Aliens”! (The doc that did theprocedure was from Canada…)But that’s not what this is about… it’s about whatfollowed…If you’ve ever had this procedure, you know that they“inflate” the lower GI tract with air to allow the scope todo it’s thing… and when it’s over, you are told in recoveryto “get rid of the air”. Basically, you’re in a room full ofpeople doing sustained farting… and I was one of them.It was a cacophony of flatulent funniness… farting isALWAYS funny and when you’re in a room full of fartingpeople, hilarity ensues…Because of the “prep”, I had not eaten anything for 24hours, so when I was released, my wife and I went toShoney’s for the “All you can eat” breakfast buffet where Iplanned on doing serious damage to that buffet… littledid I know…
John Blum
Matthew MayerJohn H. Haley
Allan LewisPatrick C. Chapman
Albert Paulus
did I know…While I had expelled copious amounts of air from mynether regions in the recovery room, apparently there wasstill more work to be done… And while standing there inthe buffet line, I was suddenly overcome with a massive…and I mean MASSIVE cramp…This was not a “I can hold it” cramp… this was a “OH MYGOD THAT HURTS” cramp and I had no choice… I had toget some relief… I tried to be discrete but….This was not a quiet, dignified escapage of bodily gas...Oh Noooooo....This was a momentous historical event... it was LOUD,proud and a magical sound... it started out gently, built toa towering basso profundo, and after several seconds offlatulent magnificence, it just STOPPED! There was notapering off, no diminishing of volume... it just STOPPED!And then... There was a moment of silence and then ashort, sharp epilogue.... almost like a period at the end ofa sentence…It got really quiet in the restaurant… I mean REALLY quietas everyone tried to figure out who fired that shot!There was a young man, about 5 years old sitting in abooth who loudly exclaimed, “MOM! SOMEBODYFARTED!”And then, a moment later, another older gentlemen stoodup and started applauding…That did it… the entire restaurant cracked up…Except for the manager… he was NOT amused…I can never go to Shoney’s again…
1960's Ad forWD40 - just whatevery man needs!Put this on yourChristmas list!(Thanks Wags!)
December Birthdays!May your birthday presents AND your Christmas presentsNOT be combined…Congratulations… you are officially too old to die young!
Happy Birthday,Ya Swabs!
Larry Lee 1-DecemberRichard Farmer 1-DecemberDavid Hanson 1-DecemberRobert Colucci 1-December
Tim DeWitt 2-DecemberJim Elliott 2-December
Richard D. Johnson 2-DecemberChuck "Buz" Sawyer 2-December
Sam Heaster 2-DecemberMads Bangsø 2-December
Richard Callahan 3-DecemberJames A. Stephens 3-December
Marvin Blalock 3-DecemberWalter T. Daniels Jr. 4-December
Jeffrey L. Sheets 4-DecemberJames G Darmstaedter 4-December
Chuck Mosely 4-DecemberRobert A. Hall 4-DecemberKevin P. Davis 4-DecemberJohn Hughes 5-December
Kenneth E. Zornow 5-DecemberRobert S. Donaldson 5-December
Don Shehane 6-DecemberScott D. Thompson 6-December
Phil Turner 14-DecemberRobert C. Gallagher 14-December
Mark Miller 14-DecemberPaul R Smith 14-December
William O. Bank 15-DecemberBob Skyles 16-December
Doug Anderson 17-DecemberJames (Andy) Anderson 17-December
Louis P. Rottman 17-DecemberHenry Murphy 17-DecemberSteve Eldridge 18-DecemberBob Marioni 18-December
Stephen W Baber 19-DecemberJerry Henson 19-December
Joseph E. Shevlin, Jr 19-DecemberRonald Pollard 21-DecemberDavid Bennett 21-December
Richard Weston 21-DecemberJames Zavada 21-December
Timothy L. Baker 21-DecemberEddie Schoonover 21-DecemberJames R. Frederick 21-December
Sandy Ingram 21-DecemberThomas J. Finneman 22-DecemberScott D. Thompson 6-December
Kenneth R Collette 7-DecemberPaul Bernhard 7-December
Freddie O Stroman 7-DecemberJohn Grothe 8-December
Michael Adams 8-DecemberCary Broadwell 9-DecemberPeter Caldwell 9-December
Steven R. (Slik) Myslik 10-DecemberWilliam L Wilkerson 10-December
Eddie Revis 10-DecemberCarl Holland 10-DecemberRon Saylor 10-December
William S. Schriever 11-DecemberLou Heinricher 11-DecemberRussell Bradley 11-December
Jesse Grant 11-DecemberKenneth J. Boehnlein 12-December
James Summers 12-DecemberPhilip Choyce 12-December
Daniel H. "Dan" Pike 12-DecemberJohn S. Arthur 13-December
Micheal Beasley 13-DecemberKenneth J. Sherman 14-December
Paul R. Smith 14-DecemberRichard J Cyrgalis 14-December
Thomas J. Finneman 22-DecemberDon Brumbaugh 22-December
Jimmy M. Hodges 23-DecemberDonald K. Spears 23-December
Jimmy Hodges 23-DecemberThomas (Tom) Bastien 23-December
Douglas Howard 24-DecemberJohn Roberts 24-December
Stiles M. Turner 25-DecemberJim John 26-December
Mark S. Johnson 26-DecemberJames M. Smelcer 26-DecemberJerry W. Dickson 26-December
Robert Dees 26-DecemberNorman E. Royce 26-DecemberTroy C. Spratling 27-December
Richard Fox 27-DecemberGlenn E. (Ed) Bowers Jr. 28-December
Donald H. Jarvis 29-DecemberGeorge Kaseote 29-December
Harold W. Challis 30-DecemberJohnny Wayne Kiser 31-December
David H. Dillard 31-DecemberJim Bennett 31-December
Edward F. OBrien 31-DecemberJim Bennett 31-December
