The USS Arizona Memorial is closed indefinitely, which is a shame

The memorial that spans the wreck of the USS Arizona, a battleship that was sunk during the attack on Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, by the Japanese on Dec. 7, 1941 has been closed indefinitely because of structural problems.

Damage to the USS Arizona Memorial at Pearl Harbor in Honolulu was worse than expected and it will remain closed indefinitely, officials said.
Boat transportation to the attraction was suspended May 6 after one of the vessel operators noticed a crack on the outside of the memorial, Hawaii News Now reported.
Tourists were allowed to disembark at the memorial after crews completed interim repairs. But the cracks reappeared hours later, indicating a more serious issue.

The memorial is a very moving experience, and I hope they get it open again soon. It commemorates the disastrous loss of the USS Arizona, with the loss of more than 1,500 of her crew, early during the Sunday morning sneak attack by the Japanese on Dec. 7, 1941, that brought the United States into World War II. You can look down at the sunken ship, which was left at the bottom of the harbor as a tomb for the hundreds of men who died that day whose bodies were trapped inside the sunken ship. Hundreds of survivors of the attack have over the years had their ashes entombed in the sunken ship with their shipmates. I hope they get it open again soon, because people need to remember the sacrifices made by those sailors. Today is Memorial Day, and these are the people this holiday is meant to honor. I'm afraid that too many people today don't even realize why they had today off work. Here's why:

Never forget.

Old stuff from The Farm

This is from a month ago, easy, but I have been busy. Anyway, after a very cold March and even colder April, we were ready to go.

Farmer Tom and I weeded, tilled, and basically prepared the beds for planting.

Then we planted. You can see the stakes in the beds  that identify what we planted. We put in kale, chard, spinach, radishes, arugula, and carrots.

A lot has happened since then. Farmer Tom has been out of action for health reasons, so I have been doing what I can. There are gaps in the documentation. Tomorrow I will be back at The Farm, and you will see a lot of progress. Stay tuned.

The U.S. Navy has reactivated the 2nd Fleet -- now they need to give it some ships

For many years, the 2nd Fleet patrolled the North Atlantic, serving as our primary force for tracking Soviet -- and later Russian -- submarines entering the Atlantic from bases in Arctic Russia. Emperor Barry I deactivated the 2nd Fleet in 2011 because it was "expensive" and, hey, who needs to keep track of Russian submarines anyway?

Well, somebody decided maybe we should, after all:

Washington (AFP) - A top US navy admiral announces the re-establishment of the US 2nd Fleet -- a Cold War command disbanded in 2011 -- to patrol the North Atlantic and face a resurgent threat from Russia.
The chief of US Naval Operations, Admiral John Richardson, made the announcement during a change of command ceremony Friday in the Atlantic naval port of Norfolk, Virginia.

Of course, the 2nd Fleet has no ships at the moment. Nonetheless, a command structure will be created. It's a start, but it isn't enough. The Navy needs ships. Pres. Bill Clinton and Emperor Barry I were horrible, but Pres. George W. Bush wasn't much better at adding ships to the fleet. And don't think for a second we don't need more ships:

Russian planes and ships have in recent months made multiple incursions in the north Atlantic close to the airspace and territorial waters of US NATO allies, including Britain.
NATO naval officials in late 2017 also reported Russian submarines probing underseas data cables in the north Atlantic.

The Russians have been very aggressive in recent years. Letting them continue to be so unchecked is a horrible idea. I will take this as a good sign. A small start, but a start.

Maj. Wolves has retired for good

Maj. Wolves, my father, died in his sleep early this morning. He was 83. He served more than 26 years in the U.S. Marine Corps and fought in Korea and Vietnam. He was the fire support coordinator, in charge of artillery and air strikes, for much the siege of Khe Sanh in 1968, during which he earned the Bronze Star for valor and a Purple Heart. He had a rare talent for not talking about combat while telling hilarious stories about things that happened in combat.

Maj. Wolves was a track and cross-country coach after he retired. He lived in Taiwan for many years, moving there first to serve as the military attache at the U.S. Embassy in Taipei in 1979 before Pres. Jimmy "Why, yes, I am a fuckwad, why to you ask?" Carter cut off diplomatic relations with Taiwan and closed the embassy. For years Maj. Wolves was an instructor at the Republic of China's -- Taiwan to you -- War College. He was the coach of their national track and field team, and was the head coach of the country's 1984 Olympic Team at the Los Angeles Summer Olympics.

Maj. Wolves retired for the second time to Pensacola, Fla. This photo was taken in May 2017 during a visit with Cpl. Wolves and Married Into Wolves:

I grilled a bunch of London broil that day. We visited again at Thanksgiving, but he fell and broke his hip just before our visit. He couldn't attend the holiday meal, but we got to see him again. This morning, he retired for the third and final time. Rest in peace, Maj. Wolves.

Update: Mrs. Wolves has provided me with more pictures. The first two are from a visit to Florida right before Cpl. Wolves deployed to Afghanistan:

This one is from an earlier visit that I can't even put a date on:

This is a composite the Mrs. Wolves created that features a composite of an official photo of Cpl. Wolves right after graduation from bootcamp at Parris Island when he was Pvt. Wolves and a picture of Maj. Wolves at the wedding of his youngest daughter:

Mrs. Wolves does like a sunset

Mrs. Wolves has a camera, and we have sunsets. Which gives us this:

I rest my case.

The kit-tays abide

According to an informal poll, the front windowsill remains the favorite place for kit-tays to do their thing:

No, really:

What can I say?

Mrs. Wolves is working on a light show

It's not some high-tech extravaganza, but Mrs. Wolves is putting together a light show for our home. Some of it involves strings of lights and bottles:

And some of it involves purpose-constructed things:

My job, of course, will be to find a way to hang the light ball to achieve maximum effect. Stay tuned.

The new grand-dog was here again today

Ever since the death of Sadie the Auxiliary Backup Dog, there has been a vacant spot in our dog-loving hearts. Fortunately, Cpl. Wolves brought a new addition to the Wolves clan, although it was not the grandchild Mrs. Wolves so desires. Still, we love our grandpuppy:

Hard to find a sweeter puppy:

 No, really:

We were babysitting Gage again today. These are older photos I wanted to use, but yeah, you'll be seeing a lot of Gage.

This used to be one of my favorite hikes

I went to high school in Hawaii. With various friends of mine, I would hike Olomana routinely. Olomana is a mountain on Oahu on the Windward side that kind of sticks up in the middle of Kailua, thusly:

As you can see, the mountain has three peaks. The first one is pretty easy, although there is a little climbing involved. Mostly, it is just a steep hike. The second peak also is not that hard, at least once you go down the almost-vertical slope from the summit of the first peak. The first peak is the highest, offers the best views and the easiest. Not surprisingly, most folks only climb the first peak. This pictures is a view of peaks two and three from the first peak:

No matter which peak you are talking about, the hike/climb is along a knife-like ridge. There is always the risk of falling a long way down. Which brings us to what prompted this post:

An Easter morning hike through the mountains of Hawaii went from idyllic to tragic when 24-year-old Nathan Stowell plunged from the trail to his death while trying to help a friend, KHON reported.
. . .
On Easter Sunday, Stowell was hiking the Olomana Trail in Kailua, Hawaii, a steep and challenging trail that winds up three hilly peaks. At some point on the trek, the wind blew off a friend’s hat, and Stowell offered to retrieve it, Stowell’s friend James Keener told KHON.
The trail does have a dangerous reputation. A profile from Honolulu Magazine calls the hike “challenging” and warns that “even experienced trekkers may find it difficult.” At its most strenuous points, ropes hang down to help hikers clamber up steep, muddy rocks.
Four people, including Stowell, have died on the trail in the last four years, reported the Honolulu Star-Advertiser.

I have to believe that all of those deaths came trying to climb the third peak. I have climbed the first peak countless times, the second peak two or three times, and the third peak once. That climb was done with a friend named John Rybczyk (yeah, no vowels) at his insistence. I think we almost died. It sure felt that way. Anyway, we had T-shirts made announcing that we had climbed the third peak. Not a lot of people do it. And for good reason:

The first peak, Mount Olomana, is about 1.5 miles up with steep drop-offs on both sides and takes about an hour and a half to get to. Toward the top there are some rock climbing elements. The top of the first peak offers 360 degree views. It is steep on the downhill slope towards the second peak. The next peak isn't as challenging but still has an excellent view. The last peak should only be tried by experienced hikers in good shape and requires ropes all the way up.

 I am not surprised somebody died on Olomana. I am a little surprised so many have in recent years. And having not died climbing the third peak, I am putting a couple extra points in my bad-assery account.