2008 RRF CALENDARS HAVE LANDED!!!

[bassduke49]

Thanks, Mark. I flew three missions (IIRC) with them in Cessna O-2 Skymasters (forward air control -FAC) missions over the Delta, Cambodia, and "the plantation." I was combat camera (still photo), documenting the Air Force mission and personnel. I had also flown three missions over the Delta in OV-10A Broncos, so the little O-2 was kinda scary being in while being shot at. I remember the pilot instructing me on emergency egress. The O-2 was a push/pull piston-engined, twin-boom business airplane modified for the FAC role. The ONLY door was on the right (passenger - that's me) side. He said "If I tell you to bail out, you better do it fast, otherwise I'm climbing right over you!" Fortunately, we didn't have to.

[jingle_jangle]

MIXmaster!

You have my sincerest respect on this, Paul!

(In addition to my sincerest respect on all that other stuff...)

[walker]

Wow! Fascinating stuff, Paul! What became of the pics you took on those missions?

[bassduke49]

I still have some slides of my Vietnam/Thailand adventure, and someday I'll scan them and convert them to digital. But for now, here is a B&W "hero" picture of me posing in front of an OV-10A Bronco, December 1972 -- 35 years and 50 pounds ago:

[walker]

Nice! You'll have to let us know when you publish the digital version of those pics.

[ram]

Paul, Glad you made it thru all of that. Do you have a bass stashed anywhere in that gear?

Seriously do get the pictures copied and your thoughts on them written down. My brother in law is doing it for one of his in-laws (WWII) and the guy has forgotten a lot of the stuff – where some of the pictures were shot, some of the names of people in the shots….

[ram]

WOW !! I peaked ahead.... March's picture is waaay cool! A Beee-U-tee-full ensemble!

[bassduke49]

Nice, but personally, I like April best!

[ram]

I only went to March... April is my birth month. Willpower is fading trying not to go ahead!

[bassduke49]

April is "my" chance at glory. It's the 4003 in Sea Green parked next to a restored VW Karmann Ghia IN EXACTLY THE SAME COLOR! (Which is probably not an original VW color.) I was driving past the local doggie park when I spied the Ghia. I have an excellent eye for color, and when I saw that, I thought it was very close to the Sea Green bass I had just acquired from Bob Young. I went through the park asking the various dog owners if they drove the Ghia, and finally found the guy (a Brit) and asked if we could make an appointment to photograph the two together. He consented, and this is the result. I was amazed that the color was EXACTLY the same!

[walker]

That IS amazing... especially considering the Ghia isn't even yours! I thought the car would HAVE to be yours, too - what with the colors being perfectly matched.

[shamustwin]

I love Karman Ghias! I've owned 2!
I have to get the calender!

[bassduke49]

Well, you should get the calendar, but here's the shot and another to hold you over:

[ram]

OK so now I have seen April! Paul that is just too wild.... same color and all ... did you ever think about trying to buy the Ghia?

[jingle_jangle]

I love Karman Ghias! I've owned 2!
I have to get the calender!

An old friend, now passed on, Henry N. Manney III, once a columnist for Road & Track, used to call them "Common Gears".