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What John said Ditto. I could not have said it better.

03/01/10 02:16 PM

#343

John and Randy,

If you are talking about the Battle of San Jacinto, it actually took 18 minutes to rout the Mexicans and the independent country of Texas was founded.

I live near the Brazos River and I also inspected the Rio Grande and our Texas rivers have only water in them and maybe a few gators. Did they ever figure out what causes the rivers in Ohio to burn? Maybe it's buckeye juice.

03/02/10 09:32 AM

#344

Cleveland Air Races

I'll never forget the Cleveland Air Races of 1949. I was four years old but the scene is vividly etched in my memory like it was yesterday. My dad took me to visit some relatives in Berea and watch the races. Berea was still rural in 1949 but there were a few new housing developments out there then. We looked up and watched those racing planes fly overhead and they were so low we could see the pilots. They were single wing propeller planes.

Suddenly smoke started pouring out of one plane and it dived straight dowm at a 45 degree angle and we heard an explosion. We all jumped into cars and drove to the nearby neighborhood, the site of the crash. We arrived within minutes and people were standing around on their front lawns looking shocked. The houses on the street seemed small even to me at the time. The sight when we arrived was like a scene out of some disaster movie. There were metal pieces of the plane laying everywhere, lawns, sidewalks and the street. On some pieces I could still see the numbers and letters. The house where the plane had crashed was on fire and I could feel the heat on my face because we were so close. Sirens were approaching. I feared the pilot was dead.

Later I heard that the pilot and the mother and baby inside the house were killed. When I heard that I felt like I had been kicked in my stommach. That was the last year of the air races. Those WWII pilots would only have to wait a year to fly like that again in the Korean War.

03/03/10 09:13 AM

#345

I was there also..The pilots name was Bill Odam

03/03/10 01:57 PM

#346

Saint Lucia

Probably the most beautiful place I have ever visited is the South Caribbean volcanic Island of Saint Lucia. It's a little off the beaten path for a cruiser but well worth the trouble. After docking at Castries we were picked up at the dock by a cousin of a friend of mine from work who was from St. Lucia originally. We took a winding road up the mountain and stopped a few thousand feet up to look down at our ship docked below. It was like a post card with the blue bay and ocean, white sand beaches, palm trees and what looked like a toy cruise ship.

We wound our way up to the top through a beautiful rain forest and stopped at a resort where we had a view of the two Pitons, Grosse Piton and Petite Piton. They are two young inactive volcanoes that look like upside down ice cream cones. The view was magbificent. On we drove to Marigot Bay, a black sand beach, white rivers and the active volcanoe.

Later, Back on the ship I looked up at the cloud covered Mountain and saw a perfect 180 degree rainbow. This place was paradise I thought and I knew I had to come back. I have been back many times since and have always managed to seen something new and amazing.

03/03/10 08:36 PM

#347

It's amazing that the three of us were there at the Cleveland Air Show of 1949. I wonder if any other of our classmates were there that day?

03/04/10 09:33 AM

#348

My favorite plane in my "Air Wing" of radio controlled aircraft is my Corsair. Soon I will have a Mitchell B-25 Bomber. I plan on putting my FLYCAM on the Corsair and go thru a whole aerobatic set and download it into my puter and put it on my Facebook page....stay tuned...

03/04/10 03:03 PM

#349

You and Pappy Boyington like the crooked wings.

03/05/10 09:48 AM

#350

I actually got to meet Pappy at an airshow years ago. I bought his book BLACKSHEEP SQUADRON and he signed it for me. We had time to talk for about a half hour. Right next to him at the airshow was the Jap pilot that shot Pappy down. They had become friends and did the Air Show circut together promoting their books....

03/05/10 10:19 AM

#351

Thankyou to all who wished me HAPPY BIRTHDAY this March 5th. My oldest daughter is throwing a little bash for me at her house in north Phx. Family and Friends are good...life is good.....I am now one half of 132 years old...

03/05/10 10:31 AM

#352

Alan Greenleaf

AWESOME Air show Stories guy1 I was not there, but I remember it.

Do you remember the Rocky river flood? I cannot remember the year but it had to be near 1957 or 1958. the ice dammed up the river, and water began to rise quickly, when it broke loose, the foot-thick ice floes scrubbed the CYC island almost clear of boats. Some were never recovered. I remember as a teen being down there, breaking up ice with a pick and pushing it into the water. that was hard work, and it was COLD. that was the first day that hot coffee tasted good to me. I believe that it finally was broken loose by dynamite. Can you guys fill in the gaps? I'm lucky if I can remember my own name!

Stories are cool.

03/05/10 04:26 PM

#353

Happy Birthday Bruce

I never met Pappy but like you I read his book. He did not dwell on his drinking but the book was good.

I did meet Bob Hoover and had the privlage of working on his P-51. Hoover was Crazy, and one hell of a pilot. He was going to take me for a ride but he had to leave after his check ride. He put a show on with a blown head gasket. Water everywhere from the leaking head gasket.

I remember the ice dam but dates are not my thing.

I also Remember the tornado that tore up River and Lakewood in the 50's.

03/05/10 07:03 PM

#354

Randy,

I remember that tornado too. It was 1953 and I lived on Oak Road and that tornado knocked down a lot of our oak trees. Some were four foot across. A few houses also had serious damage whem trees landed on them. I took a lot of photos afterwaords with my trusty Brownie camera. I wish I could find those pictures. I remember that ice dam that Al was talking about, but it;s a little vague.

03/06/10 12:15 PM

#355

R.A."Bob Hoover" was an awesome Pilot. I loved to see him fly his INTERNATIONAL ROCKWELL SHRIEK. One of his signature moves was a long full power roll-out..then rotate with the nose straight up to about 5,000.ft.killing both engines..and then going inverted..a series of rolls and some more aerobatics..then that dead-stick landing on one wheel. I don't think he flys anymore...haven't seen him in years.I loved to watch him perform with 'Professor Art Scholes in the "Penzoil Chipmunk" He is the one who inspired me to do some stick time and areobatics in a two place Pitts. That was more fun than having two 20year old cheerleaders at once......

03/07/10 10:38 AM

#356

I talked with Franz Kafka in my dreams last night and he said, "Isn't it a strange Metamorphosis that in Amerika even Jakals and Arabs escape The Trial and The Judgement of The Castle and the only people left for The Penal Coloby are white male heterosexual Christians?" But then again nobody really understands Kafka anyway.

Gilbs,

We expect a complete report when you get back from your cruise.

Bruce,

I can't get that analogy out of my mind.

03/08/10 08:53 PM

#357

Denny Carter drove the 36 Ford. Class of 62
A single scoop of ice cream at Penquins was .07 cents two was .14 cents. Never went there. Ya Right

Two years ago they were cruisin at Bearden's again for the summer. I went almost every week and had there burger, its still wrapped in paper. Its remodeled now but the train is still there.

Manners is gone but I still remember cruisin in my Model A.

John
Do you go to the Huron Dairy Queen on Saturday's? I get out there a couple of times a year. There's a lot of hot rods there every week.

Who hung the sheet on the smoke stack with the class of 63 on it?

03/09/10 10:17 AM

#358

Got into major trouble crusin the drive-ins. Started at Westgate Manners (Which is now a Funeral Home..how special is that?) Went from there to Beardens...then to Berea Rd. Manners...then to Dinies on w. 117th..then started the loop all over again. My purpose for this was to scare up as many drag races as I could. In one night I raced some guy from Beardens in a 1962 Dodge 413 Ramcharger..it was a rare one because it was a four-door,Raced Fred Cede in his 53 Ford business coupe called the "Bubble Machine",Raced Tommy Gardner in his 65 Comet,Raced Ray Lipkowski in his 60 Chevy 348, Raced John Hanley in his 64 Dodge Coronet.Raced Billy McCoy in his 57 Pontiac Convertible,Raced Gary Esses in his 58 Pontiac Catalina. These are the ones I remember..usually a caravan went along to watch..we usually raced way out Hilliard Rd. past Clauge Rd. We would send one guy blasting down Hilliard going thru the gears to weed out the cops..then we would go at it. I got away with this for years...then one night at the top of Wagar Rd. Hill I had my 65 Dodge Coronet 383 4-speed..and next to me was Greg Godovan in a 65 Mustang 289. The light changed and I just went up in tire smoke..fishtailed to the east side of Wagar..power shifted into second gear..came back across Wagar (In the lead by about two cars).....then I saw the flashing red lights behind me..decided I wasn't gonna stop ...got way ahead of the cop...turned down a side street...and yup..it was a dead end...The cop was Bob Franz...he almost had a "Woody" when he found out it was me. He was smiling from ear to ear...Tickets for Drag Racing,Left over Center,and resisting arrest...not a good night...but that ended my day's of total craziness..

03/09/10 07:59 PM

#359

Ellen Aspinwall (Templar)

Actually..Gary Mason had (and still has) a 1957 Olds Super 88 4-door that had a flouresent ultra-violet (spell) in the grill. I painted that car for him on new years eve day in 1962 in Russ Ruters Gulf station a 1963 Ford Heritage Burgandy. He still has the car stored in his garage in Lakewood with my paint job on it. I have pictures of the car from about three years ago. I went to the garage with Gary to look at it, and almost got a "Woody". I told Gary I would come to Cleveland and get the car road ready for the 50th reunion to go "Crusin" but he didn't give me an answer. Stop by and "Bust his Balls" on this...he still has his Body Shop just down the street from Beardens. By the way....I also painted Denny carters 36 Ford....

03/10/10 01:32 AM

#360

Randy.....hmmmm...it was confessed to me who raised the '63 flag. It wasn't Tommy Wentz. But, I swore an oath of secrecy and will not break it......possibly it was more than one person.....

03/10/10 09:31 AM

#361

Those are some great car stories. You can't be a real American without a cool car. Beardens brings back some great memories. I wonder if that train is still there. I loved that train. I had a complete American Flyer set-up in the basement.

03/10/10 09:33 AM

#362

I wonder if anyone else had there dad check the mileage on there car for a nite. My dad checked mine one nite, 300 miles and never left the area. At 23 cents a gallon who cared. I put around 2000 miles a year on my hot rod but gas is a little more now.

03/10/10 11:29 AM	#363
Janet Soros (Ravenstine) Little known fact: Roger Schach's mother made the flag. Rog will verify willingly

03/13/10 09:53 AM

#364

My parents were strict too. Eventually we become our parents or the opposite of them but we always carry them on our back as they scream in our ear things like "Why didn't you wear your boots?"

I decided to skip a step with my kids so I let them take over the discipline. When my son asked me one day what time he should be home from a party because his friends were supposed to be home at midnight. I just said, "use your own judgement." That surprized him, but that put the responsibility on him and when I went to bed, I slept like a baby. My other boy wanted to drive to Florida for Spring break. I only requested that HE do all the night driving because staying awake during nocturnal adventures is one of the skills that run in our family.

03/15/10 03:53 PM

#365