Why The United States Flag is important to me.

While growing up in Grundy Center, Iowa, my parents and teachers taught me to respect the US Flag. In those days, the military draft was still around, so when I turned 18, five months before graduating from high school, my best friend and I enlisted in the US Navy for 4 years of active service. A week after graduating from high school, we left Grundy Center and went to Des Moines where we took the oath and became members of the US Navy. From Des Moines, we and many other men boarded an airplane and flew to Kansas City. The next day, we all boarded a plane and flew to San Diego where we entered boot camp. At that point, reality set in and I wondered if I had made the right choice by enlisting. After all, the starting pay at that time was only 78 dollars a month. I thought, Perhaps, some of the men who are quickly getting married or enrolling in college to avoid the draft are much smarter than I am, but I feel good about serving my country. I thought about the US Flag and US citizens many times during the rough spots in boot camp, rough spots like when the Company Commander reprimanded us severely after he caught some of us smoking cigarettes, or when he saw a little dust on the barrack’s floor and made us use our toothbrushes to scrub the entire floor. He also seemed to enjoy making each of us hold our training rifle (piece) above our head and run on the loose beach sand while in formation, or hold the rifle (piece) at arm’s length in front of us while quacking like ducks and doing the duck walk, until we nearly passed out. I was proud to be part of the US Navy, and my thoughts about the US Flag and the US citizens helped me keep going.

After boot camp, I received orders to attend 3 months of school at The Great Lakes Naval Training Center. I thought of the US Flag and the US citizens many times during my time there, especially the times when some old salt screamed and hollered at me for doing something wrong. I volunteered for submarine duty toward the end of my schooling at Great Lakes, and after graduation and a short leave, I reluctantly told my parents and my brother good-bye. I hated to leave my parents and my brother, but again I thought about the US Flag and felt as if I were doing something good for our country.

I arrived in New London, Connecticut, on Christmas Day of 1961 and reported in at the US Naval Submarine Base. A few weeks later, I and several other sailors went through the pressure chamber tests, and then the buoyant ascent tests. We had to pass these tests before acceptance to submarine school, and both tests were definitely challenging to me. I passed the pressure chamber test on the second try, and the buoyant ascent test on the third try. I thought about the Flag and the citizens of the USA, especially when I nearly drowned on my first attempt at the buoyant ascent test, which consisted of slowly ascending through water from the depth of 40 feet. After completing 8 weeks of submarine school and 3 weeks of damage control school, I received orders to the USS Bang (SS385), which was based at State Pier in New London. When I arrived at State Pier, I saw a huge submarine tender, the USS Fulton (AS-11), moored at the pier with several submarines moored on the outboard side of her. Naturally, I selected the officer’s brow instead of the enlisted man’s brow, and with my heavy sea bag on my shoulder, climbed the steps all the way up the brow until I reached the main deck where the Officer of the Day stood waiting. I saluted the officer and asked permission to come aboard. As he saluted back, he stared at me as if I were an idiot and quickly told me in a nasty way that I was on the officer’s brow and to turn around, walk back down to the pier, and walk up the enlisted man’s brow. Again, I thought of the Flag and the citizens of the USA. Thirty minutes later, I learned that the USS Bang was at sea and would not return for about a month, so I spent the next month chipping paint from the overhead of the USS Fulton’s main deck.

I reported aboard the USS Bang near the end of May in 1962. The Chief of the Boat immediately assigned me duty in the forward engine room. I spent the next month cleaning the lower level of the engine room, including the very greasy bilges. I also stood my share of topside watches and watches in the engine room during that time. During the next three years, there were many tough times when I thought about the US Flag and the US citizens. I am not allowed to talk or write about some of the toughest times, even though they happened so many years ago, but I will write about some other ones. One of my worst memories is from April 10, 1963, when we heard that the USS Thresher (SSN 593) submerged for a test dive and never returned to the surface. All 129 men perished. Another tough time I remember distinctly is when I saw a fellow submariner, who was stationed on another submarine, blown overboard after a flare he was carrying aboard accidentally discharged and penetrated his body. Several of his shipmates rescued him from the water and took him to the hospital. The doctors tried to save him, but were unsuccessful. Another rough time I remember is when I spent several days recuperating from surgery in the Philadelphia Naval Hospital. One morning, I watched from my bed as a nurse and two corpsmen helped an 18-year-old sailor get out of his bed, which was located directly across the ward aisle from me. He was recovering from surgery and they planned to give him a little exercise. Just after they had him in a standing position, he turned as white as a sheet and slumped toward the floor. They returned him to his bed and tried to revive him, but failed. I felt very sad.

Six months later, I suffered a relapse of the problem I had had in Philadelphia and nearly died before being admitted to the St. Albans Naval Hospital in New York. When I asked the doctors what was wrong with me, they said that they were not sure, but would find out by doing exploratory surgery. I was very ill with unbearable pain, so I told them to either cure me or kill me; I did not really care at that point. Fortunately, after about 8 hours of surgery, they were able to find the problem and repair it. A week of intensive care, and then I returned to the ward. Staph infection set in about a week later. I thought of the Flag and the citizens of the USA many times, as I lay in that hospital recovering for 3 months. I thought about my parents and friends at home, but they were over a thousand miles away. My brother was still serving in the US Army. Some of my Silent Service brothers from the USS Bang visited me several times during my hospital stay, and I felt very grateful to have them as my brothers. I was extremely happy when I returned to duty on the USS Bang after that long hospital stay.

I could write many additional words describing my feelings for the Flag and the citizens of the USA, but I will end by saying that when I received my discharge in May of 1965, my pay was 240 dollars a month, which included sea pay and hazardous duty pay. The nightmares and anxiety attacks began about a month after I received my discharge, and have continued to this day, but I do not have them as often now days. My lovely wife, Rita, has helped me through the rough spots, and I am grateful to her. I still think about some of these tough times at least once a day. Yes, I would do it all over again if I had to, and yes, I do respect the US Flag. When I see flag-draped coffins, tears seep from my eyes. When I hear a bugler play Taps, more tears seep from my eyes. These are some of the reasons Rita and I proudly fly the US Flag 365 days a year at our home.  

My one-hour weight lifting workout.

As some of you know, I have suffered for the last several months from a severe case of shingles. I first noticed them way back in the early part of December, and I will guarantee you that you never want to get them. I hope none of you ever do. I was sitting around taking it quite easy while suffering the deep internal pain that shingles seem to cause. My muscles deteriorated slowly all during that time. The pain finally subsided enough by the middle of March, so I began doing my weight lifting workouts again. After nearly two months, I am finally able to workout the same as I was prior to the shingles. Following is a re-post of a post that I wrote over a year ago.

Some people have asked me what kind of workout I do to keep in shape at my age. I have been working out with weights since 1985 and plan to continue for many more years. The reason I began working out in the first place is because the engineering and land survey company I worked for wanted me to work in the office more than I ever had before. When I did land surveying full-time, I always kept in good shape. Within a few weeks of working in the office, I could tell my muscles were weakening at a fast pace, so I decided to do something about it. The first weight bench I bought lasted from 1985 until 1991. Then, Rita, my lovely wife, surprised me and bought a new weight bench for my birthday present. I hauled the old weight bench out of our basement and set up the new one which I still use today. Of course, I can't lift as much now as I used to, but I still try very hard. Many times as I workout, I find myself thinking about what I will write for this blog. The following list is the one-hour routine that I try to incorporate into my life at least twice a week. Keep in mind that I am 5 feet 10 inches tall and weigh 140 lbs. when I'm soaking wet.

Stationary bicycle- 0.5 miles.
Warm up- bare bar squats, curls, military presses, standing presses.
Squats- 1 set of 20 W/ 66 lbs.
Toe raises- 1 set of 30 w/ 66 lbs.
Flat bench press- 1 set of 20 w/ 66 lbs.
Prone leg curls- 1 set of 15 w/ 53 lbs.
Supine dumbbell flyes- 1 set of 20 w/ 23 lbs, each side.
Standing curls- 1 set of 15 w/ 60 lbs.
Incline bench press- 1 set of 10 w/ 66 lbs.
Seated leg extensions- 1 set of 15 w/ 53 lbs.
Incline dumbbell flyes- 1 set of 20 w/ 23 lbs., each side.
Standing curls- 1 set of 15 w/ 60 lbs.
Standing dumbbell curls- 1 set of 10 w/ 23 lbs., each side.
Seated cable rows- 1 set of 15 w/ 62 lbs.
Triceps cable push downs- 1 set of 15 w/ 44 lbs.
Bicep cable pull down- 1 set of 15 w/ 62 lbs.
Back lat. cable pull down- 1 set of 15 w/ 62 lbs.
Seated dumbell curls- 1 set of 10 w/ 23 lbs, each side.
Crunches- 1 set of 50.
Side crunches- 1 set of 25, each side.

Working out is a fine way to stay in shape, especially during the winter months when a person is cooped up in the house wishing for Summer to arrive.

Spring has sprung in Waterloo, Iowa.

During the last several weeks, Rita and I have noticed the buds on our magnolia tree opening slowly. As you can see in the picture above, the tree is now displaying magnificent flowers containing pink and white petals of joy. During the same time, many of our perennials, such as the primrose, trillium, and forget-me-not have sprouted stems upwards from beneath the earth’s surface and are now displaying beautiful leaves and flowers. Our many rose bushes are already full of leaves; some even have flower buds forming, just waiting for the temperatures to warm so they can bloom beautifully as they do each summer. The many varieties of hosta plants in our yard have unfurled their leaves slowly during the last few weeks, but have now leafed out fully, displaying fabulous leaves in shades of yellows, blues, and greens. It is uncertain how they will perform once the hot summer sunshine arrives, since many of them live in flowerbeds located under two trees we had to dispose of last fall. I believe most of the hosta plants will endure the full sunshine, but if not, I will relocate them to shadier spots.

Rita and I believe Mother Nature is truly remarkable and we enjoy her fully. Our 12’ X 30’ vegetable garden is prepared and awaits the many vegetable seeds and plants that we will soon plant. A few rows of potatoes will be the first thing, followed by a row or two of red onions and a row or two of yellow onions. I hope to begin planting within the next week, depending on the weather. We have small pepper and tomato seedlings growing in pots located inside our three-season porch. We will not plant those until sometime in May, because we could still receive frost in this area. The grass seems to be enjoying our spring weather. I have already mowed several times. Just this morning, I saw a house wren warbling merrily while sitting on the roof of a wren house, one of two we have hanging from the rose arbor. The houses used to hang in the trees that were cut down last fall. I had been wondering if the wrens would find the houses this spring, and apparently, they found them with little trouble.

Rita and I enjoy walking through and around our neighborhood during the spring, summer, and fall months. We have been enjoying our walks for the last thirty-three years, but over the last several years, we have noticed that many people have been waiting to mow and weed their yards until the very last minute, sometimes not until they receive notices from the code enforcement officers. At first, we thought it was the elderly property owners who were either not physically fit, or financially able to take care of their properties, but from our observations over the last few years, we have found that not to be the case, at least not in most instances. Perhaps, it is because the economy has been much worse during the last four or five years than it was during the first several years we lived in this area. Another thing we have noticed is that we do not see many children playing outside, not as many as we used to see. We believe the cause may be that people stay inside more because of all the modern day electronic devices that we all enjoy so much. It would be great if everyone would keep his or her property in good condition. Just imagine how beautiful each neighborhood would appear if everybody put forth a little more effort to take care of their small portion of this glorious earth. What do you think? I welcome any comments.    

     

Forty-six years together

Today is my and Rita’s 46th wedding anniversary, so I decided to write a few words about our first several months together. I gave Rita a diamond engagement ring a few months after we had first met. I cannot recall proposing to her formally; it was more like a mutual agreement between us. During our 3-month engagement time, we began attending a series of religious classes at the Catholic Church located in Grundy Center, Iowa. During the third class, the ol’ priest stared directly into my eyes and asked, “Are you going to become a Catholic and join our church?” I replied, “I am thinking about it, but I am unsure at this time.” He quickly said in a snobbish way, “Well, then! I don’t think you and Rita should get married, because it will never last.” My face turned very red as I looked at Rita and said, “Let’s get out of here and never come back.” For the next few weeks, I kept insisting that we should have a Justice of Peace perform our wedding ceremony, but my insistence had little persuasion. Eventually, Rita asked her cousin, a priest, if he would perform our wedding ceremony. He was more than happy to oblige, so we did get married in the local Catholic Church with him officiating.

Immediately after our small wedding reception, Rita and I left for a one-week honeymoon trip to Colorado. When we returned to our one-bedroom apartment in Grundy Center, we packed a few more clothes, and then headed for Sabula, Iowa, where we rented a motel room for about a month’s stay. The survey crew I was in charge of arrived in Sabula early the next morning, so we began surveying a natural gas pipeline in the area. Rita and I did not get to spend very much time together while living in Sabula, because I worked 10 to 12 hours a day, seven days a week. In early May, when we finished the project in the Sabula area, my boss sent our survey crew to Whitehall, Wisconsin, for some more pipeline surveying. Rita and I rented an ancient 8’ X 48’ trailer house located in a trailer court in Whitehall. A few weeks later, Rita’s sister, Jo Ann, arrived for a weekend visit, and ended up staying with us for about two months. I normally worked 9 hours a day surveying in the field, and another 2 to 3 hours in the evenings doing paperwork. Since the four men on my survey crew were single, Rita did not have any other women she knew to visit with, so it was nice she could spend time with Jo Ann.

As Rita and I look back on our time in Whitehall, we have some memories, like the several times the twin-sized mattress we slept on fell through the bed frame in the middle of the night, leaving us on the floor. Another memory is that the fuel oil furnace went out in the middle of the night, or did just the opposite, and kept running until the temperature reached 90 degrees. One unfunny memory I have is the phone call I received at two o’clock one Sunday morning. I had allowed one of the crew members to use the company car so he could go out for supper Saturday night, and he promised me that he would not drink any alcohol. Sure enough, when I answered the phone, he mumbled words about how he had just wrecked the company vehicle. He had run off the road and smashed head-on into a huge power pole located just a few blocks away from the trailer court. He did not get hurt, but the vehicle sustained thousands of dollars in damage. Needless to say, my boss was not happy, but he did send another vehicle for us to use beginning the following day. The pipeline projects around the Whitehall area lasted until the first part of November, and then I received orders to work out of the home office in Waterloo, Iowa. Rita and I packed our belongings and moved back into our one-bedroom apartment in Grundy Center.

Overall, the years Rita and I have spent together as wife and husband, as well as best friends, have been good years. Sure, we have been through plenty of hard times, but we have been through numerous good times, too. We have always trusted, loved, and respected each other, and feel as if that is why things have worked out so well for us. We have two fine daughters, two fine son-in-laws, and three fine grandchildren. What more could we ask for? We hope to spend many more years together.

More lessons I have learned about self-publishing books.

I want it to be perfectly clear to the readers of this post and previous posts I have written about self-publishing, that I do not blame the publisher of my books for anything. I knew what the publishing contracts contained when I signed them, and I believe the publisher did a great job of publishing my books. I offer this information about my experiences of self-publishing in order to help other first-time authors make decisions about publishing their works.

In the last blog post, I wrote about self-publishing two novels and the aftermath. I will now write more about the aftermath, including some of the things I have tried to do, and am doing, in order to promote my novels. The first thing I learned about promoting self-published books is that most bookstores and libraries, at least in my local area, are not at all interested in self-published books. I have sent out letters and made phone calls, but received no responses from the employees of the libraries and bookstores who review and select books. The next thing I learned was that the publisher occasionally offers to list my novels on different nationwide lists that librarians and bookstore managers frequent to order their books, but there is a substantial author’s fee required for each book and each list. The fees range from a little over a hundred dollars to several hundred dollars. The publisher also offers book reviews and listings, but again, all at substantial author's fees. In addition, they offer to show my books at book fairs nationwide, but again, substantial author’s fees are required. Another thing the publisher offered was an audio book, but for books the length of mine, the cost would be in excess of $4,000 for each title. In my case, I did not spend the money on any of the above promotional offers, because I did not believe I would ever sell enough books to regain the publishing fees, let alone any of the above-mentioned fees. I feel as if the sales prices for my books are set to high, especially the first novel, so it is very difficult to compete with all the e-book offerings in today’s market. Note: The publisher I contracted with has full control of the sales prices.

I had read several articles about promoting books through internet social media coverage, so I eventually opened a twitter account, facebook account, Google+ account, and this blog site. I have thought about writing my third novel, but to this date, I have spent many hours trying to promote my first two novels, too many hours to afford me time at writing another novel. My first novel has been on the market since October of 2009, and my second novel has been offered since October of 2011. The second novel is a sequel to the first novel, but I wrote it as a stand-alone book. At this time, my book sales are very slow. At first, I thought my novels might contain a little too much sexual content, or perhaps a little too much violence, but after I had read some other novels written by well-known authors, I decided that my novels offered less sexual and violent content than their novels offered. I feel that both my novels are written and edited well. They are romantic, adventurous, contain few swear words, but yes, they do contain sexual scenes and some violence.

I still spend several hours each day trying to promote my books through social media, and I have discovered many very nice authors who are willing to help me. I often wonder if it has all been worth my efforts, but I am not the type to give up easily. Who knows, one of these days I may begin on the third novel, but if I ever finish it, I will more than likely publish it differently than I did the first two. This will probably be the last article I post about self-publishing. The next one may be more entertaining. I might write about some of my land surveying experiences, or other life experiences. I hope that my posts about self-publishing books will help first-time authors. All comments are welcome on this site.