USN59-79

I wear a set of four miniature medals on the left pocket of a dark suit jacket in their order of precedence. Not sure where I would put my MCPO device and am assuming it would be a small collar device; not the large hat device. I also served six years as a Chief Warrant Officer, but retired as a Master Chief. Don't think it would be proper to wear both, though.

We are finally seeing the end of our wet and cold Spring here in the Pacific Northwest. It will be in the 70s a couple of days this week and they predicted 81 for next Sunday. Yesterday our DS came over to take us to a movie theater to see Top Gun Maverick. He lives about 50 miles from us. We enjoyed it - first time in a movie theater for about 3 years. Wore a mask except when eating popcorn. It is my understanding that a lot of people are allergic to cats; thus bringing one to a workspace would not be a good idea. Ray

I'm confused. Either what @Florida_gal_50 said or what @oakridger said is correct - they can't both be. Ray

I have never seen them before. What is their purpose? Ray

We have taken two half world cruises on Holland America. In 2014 from Hong Kong to Ft Lauderdale and in 2017 from Ft Lauderdale to Hong Kong. Both were 56 days, which was a comfortable time for us to be away from home. Not all WCs sell out, so it is worth looking to see if segments of them are available. We have fond memories of both trips.

I am not sure why my spouse couldn't accompany me if I am a disabled veteran. I am a retired Navy person who also happens to be 100% disabled due to exposure to Agent Orange in Vietnam. Are you saying that my wife could not accompany me on a space-A flight?

It will not be a problem. When you order a wine package you only get one bottle at a time. If some are left, let them know that you are staying on board and even if you haven't finished a bottle it will be there for you on the second leg. Ray

A few years ago we were on the Amsterdam on a WC and my DW got bitten by bedbugs onboard. Happened for two days; she went to medical to get them treated and the ship fumigated our room. It didn't help much so they moved us to another room and the problem went away and the bites healed after a few days. We never thought about asking HAL for compensation and have continued to cruise with them. Ray

Sorry for just pictures with no comment. Wanted to show something different in Taiwan. This is a distillery we visited in 2018 located a few miles south of Keelung. They make what they call single malt whisky and it is quite good and fairly expensive.

As a former U.S. Navy officer qualified as Officer of the Deck for underway steaming and who still has his copy of Knight's Modern Seamanship, I consider that behavior childish and arrogant. He may get away with it without penalty, but I don't have much respect for him as a ship's master.

The ship's whistle or what you call "horn" is an important safety device to signal other ships your intentions. Not sure why some ship masters think that they do not have to follow the international rules of the road. Sounds like he is "crying wolf".

One other thing: I think the shirt @Horizon chaser 1957 crafted is beautiful, but I can't help thinking that the colors might fade away after a few washings. Is there a way to fix the colors? Ray

Well, our rains came back today after two dry days. Still preferable to drought. Today we also had zongzi for lunch to celebrate Dragon Boat Day. I remember watching the dragon boat races on the Tamsui River in Taipei when stationed there. Taiwan has a lot of National Holidays and so does the U.S.A., and while stationed there we got to celebrate all of them. A good deal for us as I don't remember any special Philippine holidays while stationed there. We have three bicycles that have been hanging in the garage for about the last 15 years. Not sure what to do with them. Got an email today from HAL congratulating us on our next cruise and listing a lot of pertinent information including covid rules. Our two other cruises were booked in April and we received nothing from HAL. Perhaps their headquarters is finally getting caught up in its paperwork. Ray