:pdt12:

Marion, I have not seen any posts by you lately? or have I missed them? You provide so much information but also you are soooo funny!

Boy, those 2 new topics and gentlemen are doing some fantastic research!

Now we need a River that Christoph is researching to be part of their topics.

I will be off line for a bit.

Jean J

Thanks Jean. Just been busy with home remodel projects and other jobs. Since the store has closed, we are taking part of that space and adding it onto our home (attached store/home). Builder is here again today, so I must run right now and buy some spray foam insulation and two wired smoke detectors.

Glad you miss me.

Hey, I'm still around. It's just that often I feel that I don't have much to contribute to the discussions...

Has anyone heard from Rocky or Dogdaddy lately?

Talk to Rocky frequently via facebook, etc. He is doing a-okay.

Haven't talked to Dogdaddy in a long while, though. Hope he will drop in too. Miss a lot of the old gang. Glad too see your post!!!!

Hey everyone, I'm still here but busy as that proverbial one legged man at a particular contest (apologies to people not familiar with this particular colloquialism). We at the 31st MEU are getting ready to embark for our Spring Patrol (this time about 2 months) which will include an exercise in Thailand (Cobra Gold). Later this summer we will be going on an exercise to Australia. That should be a interesting deployment and I will be crossing the equator, too. They still do Shellback ceremonies but it’s not like the good, old days – damn hazing rules!

Thanks for your service, sir! Love hearing snippets of where you have been. My grandfather was a US Diplomat in that region (Laos) during Vietnam.

Hey Todd, yes every time I hear about crossing the big E, I think of Papa Art's story here on the forum.

It was nice hearing from your wife on FB too the other day, via the VI Corps Page. That was a pleasant surprise.

Right now sitting here in Michigan, the ocean sounds really big and really cold! Stay safe my friend.

Gee, stopped by another WWII forum and have to admit I was envious; tons of people on there chatting back and forth. Ah, how I miss those days...

I'm with you! Speaking of being out of communication, I'm about to go on ship today and comms aren't the best. You would figure that modern Navy ships would have decent comm, but the ship was designed in the 90's. If I drop off for a while, that's why. I'll post stroies and pictures when I can!See you in Thailand!

I'll be honest here-

I'm somewhat of a reserved fellow, and stay with a select few. I kind of like not having 1500 topics started a day. Helps you follow people more, not just screen names if you catch my drift. I do agree there is room for new people, like me.

Hey Todd, tell them they gotta get their act together with the WI-FI! Sheesh! Ya, see you in Thailand, our world traveler. Hey, when you get out, you can have your won travel show. I can see you now sitting in an easy chair in a studio...

Oh 24th Armored... No I hear you too. Trust me, I hate mindless chatter and have seen plenty of that elsewhere. I can do without that. I'm glad you jumped in, cuz it's nice chatting with new folks too. God, if I wanted mindless chatter, I'd only hang out on Facebook! :pdt12:

I know I can speak for Todd when I say, it was nice when we'd get a couple of the vets and a few others going back and forth with us. It gave you a real sense of camaraderie, know what I mean?

Our store has been closed now for almost two months. Wow, that doesn't seem possible. I'm getting into the groove and I do love it. I have to admit though, I had a few moments of real adjustment. I do love the peace and quiet.

For those of you who are new, Lee and I owned a country store which was attached to our house, so for ten years, you could always hear people in the store and the bell would be going off and even on our days off, there would be employees, so we were never really alone. I'm loving it, so is Lee.

We are grabbing some floor space from the store area and building two rooms; one is what Lee calls the MANCAVE and the other is a guest room. Can't wait. All the rough out is done and the electrical and building inspectors have given us the go ahead. The dry wall and insulation should arrive today. Can't wait tor that to be completed. Drywalling always makes such a mess.

We only have a one bedroom house, so having a guestroom will be fantastic.

Still doing my computer work, so that is keeping me busy too. Got a couple of new web clients and I've worked on two computers over the last couple of weeks. In fact, finishing up with one this morning.

Having a good chat with two WWII vets on the World War II Talk forum right now. We are discussing the invasion of Southern France.

What kinds of things did you sell at your store? Hope your 'new' rooms turn out good! Re the vets: Yes, I know what you mean. I love talking to the ones that I know.