We left Schenectady in July 1973, law school graduation in our rear view mirror, but with the results of Bill’s NYS Bar Exam not to be released until December of the year. We cozied into a rental in Norfolk awaiting completion of a new home being built for us in Virginia Beach. Ah, a VB address even though the new “homestead” was about as far away as one could be from any “beach” near us. Bill, a newly promoted Lieutenant Commander, quickly was accommodated into the routine in Norfolk at what was then the largest law center in the Navy. And, it had to be the largest as the Tidewater area of SE Virginia became the next stop for many of the “bad” Navy and Marine Corps returnees from the Vietnam Theater of Operations. Bill was elevated to the position of Head, Military Justice, leading large teams of prosecutors and defense counsel to the take on the disciplinary process required. It was a rodeo, and got so bad at one time that the Under Secretary of the Navy paid a visit to the office to make sure progress was indeed, progress. Finally, in December (on his birthday, December 23), with the caseload somewhat manageable, Bill received word that he had passed the NYS Bar Exam, and he changed from loiterer to lawyer. The military justice issues continued into 1974 and 1975, but by mid-1975, the caseload was quite manageable. And with hard work completed, Bill received word that in January 1976 he would be appointed to the position of Executive Assistant and Military Aide (some would say, “horseholder”) to the Judge Advocate General of the Navy, the top uniformed lawyer in the Navy, in Washington, DC. Big, big deal. Icing on the cake for Bill while still in Norfolk was his pleasure to accompany Justice Blackmun (think Roe v. Wade) from Washington to Norfolk and return for the Justice’s Law Day speech at the Norfolk Naval Base.

Time again to switch from B & B to something more interesting, like YT or something similar:

For instance: More signs of the times (20 minutes):

Also, for instance, some Sports clips from the past, when Sportsmen and Sportswomen were “sports”, not thugs (my word) and the words “sports crowd” did not have a negative connotation, like:

Mickey Mantle’s 500th HR

And like:

Steffi Graf and Martina Navrotoli 1991 Wimbleton Semi-Final Match (34 minutes)

Or Like:

Steffi Graf and Andre Agassi H & W

https://people.com/all-about-andre-agassi-steffi-graf-marriage-family-life-7969093

Or Like: My All Time Favorite – The Hall of Fame Speech by Baseball Great American Bob Uecker

Finally, at least for this Post and because I have been spouting off Sports, two more Sports Clips, both involving baseball HOF star Carl Yaztremski. Some of you may already know this story, but one of my college fraternity roommates, the late Tony Tiska, was the Long Island neighbor, buddy, and fellow high school baseball teammate of Carl Yaztremski. Tony went to Union College, Carl to Notre Dame but did not stay long there – he was (as they say) destined for the big leagues. After Yaz (as he was known) was in Boston as a “star”, some of “frat guys” were invited by Tony join him on road trips to Fenway (and other places now remembered) to meet and play with the soon famous Yaz. We all cameback from those road trips with great stories for our friends and neighbors.

Two clips on Yaz:

HR #400

Yaz’s last game:

Bye, Bye!

The holidays are now in the rear-view mirror, the sun is shining (or at least it is here in southwest FL), so it’s time to get back to the Blog. A New Year to enjoy to its fullest. Before getting to what was going on in the lives of B & B from post-Vietnam to law school, a couple of thoughts.

First, those who know me also know that I enjoy music, and in particular the past music of Neil Diamond (Barrie and I were fortunate enough last year to see “A Beautiful Noise”, the Broadway and subsequent touring musical chronicling Neil Diamond’s life of song). Recently we attended the movie “Song Sung Blue” depicting the real-life story of Neil Diamond interpreters “Lightning and Thunder”, starring Hugh Jackman and Kate Hudson as Mike and Claire Sardina. We enjoyed it immensely.

Second: My Rant of the Day: Having spent more time than usual watching college football this past season, I am sick and tired of this NIL stuff taking over what used to be loyalty “rah rah” football. Good clear fun. “Cheers” is closed forever – nobody knows your name, and if they did, Cliff and Norm would care less. There, I feel better for having said it.

Now on the B & B as they leave the West Coast in their dust and move to Rochester, NY, for Bill’s Navy duty as an Assistant Professor of Naval Science at the Navy ROTC Unit, University of Rochester. A reward for a good tour on Rogers. Those days, however, at U of R and many other institutions of (higher?) learning, were marked with Vietnam “war” anxiety, i.e., protests. Shortly after our arrival on campus, returning from a Navy awards ceremony at U of R where Bill was one of the honorees, some students showed their “appreciation” by visibly taunting our 4-year old Greg for his dad’s criminal war behavior. Oh well! Otherwise, the tour was pretty much non-descriptive, teaching and being home at night. There were summer assignments for Bill accompanying NROTC and USNA Midshipmen on summer cruise assignments. The two years at Rochester gave us the opportunity to renew and rekindle family and friendships in Vermont (including that with the aforementioned George and Kitty who were in Niskayuna where George began a long career with GE). The best thing that happened during the NROTC tour, however, was 1) daughter Lindsey being born in 1969, and 2) learning about a new Navy program looking for Navy officers from the “fleet” to become JAGC officers for the Navy. Sounded good to Bill. He applied to Albany Law School having the audacity to state in his application a “reminder” that his dad graduated #1 in his class, and twin brother Larry graduated #2 in his class; hence, Bill was confident that he would finish well (Law Review and top 20% bore that out).

So, a move from Rochester to Schenectady occurred in the fall of 1970, to a home literally around the corner from Bill’s former home and the home of his Dad. Three more years of being home at night and”playing” with old and new friends. Bill took the NYS Bar Exam in July of 1973, and B & B moved from Schenectady to Virginia Beach for Bill’s next assignment as a JAGC officer at the Naval Legal Service Office, Norfolk, Virginia. To Be Continued Post 5.

Enough about B & B, for now. I really like digging for what I believe to be “gems” floating around on You Tube, and I have a couple of those gems for you today. There was a small celebration shortly ago in Florida celebrating the 30th Birthday for the city of ?. One of the attendees for the bash was Billy Joel whose prominent career has been overtaken by health issues. But, look what happens:

Because I opened this Post with mention of “Song Sung Blue”, let me close with the official Trailer for the production. See you next Post with our first adventure in the Tidewater area of Virginia, Norfolk and Virginia Beach.

i

Prologue: For those of you who are permitting us to intrude on your morning coffee, thank you for your indulgence. There is no good rationale for this Blog other than it keeps Bill busy and maybe out of trouble. We do not do crosswords or Soduku at the breakfast table, but filling the world with fairly useless (but innocuous) information has been the path to our expertise in Cryptocurrency and Artificial Intelligence. Go to our Home Page concerning a little more on the direction of the Blog.

This Post 3 of a series. Posts 1 and 2 (and all following Posts) can be found by pressing on the Blog Alley button on this site’s Home Page. Also, the Home Page has a button entitled “Oooops” when post-publication corrections have been made to Posts. I am still working on a work-around to eliminate any advertising contained in the You Tube clips.

Thanksgiving has come and gone. Wow! Lots of moving parts going on in and around the “Home” with the visit of the Greg and Annie, and Lindsey. Great visit and great Thanksgiving. First time we have all together since February. Of 2020; Bill was still in the ICU post-heart-surgery and remembers nada of the 2020 gathering.

Now, on to the boring next phase of the Blog; the Navy, the ”Coinens” (as we were occasionally called), San Diego, and the Western Pacific (Westpac). In September 1966, Bill reported to USS Rogers (DD 876), a former WWII destroyer which had gone through FRAM, Fleet Rehabilitation and Modernization, and which had just returned from a Westpac (think Vietnam Theater of Operations) rotation. Coming back to San Diego (SDIEGO) was the reward, but merely meant Rogers was starting operations locally to get ready to return to Westpac. Local operations were many and prolonged, so it was a busy time for its brand new Operations Officer (that would be LT Bill). We had pmoved to a small home north and east of the destroyer base in SDIEGO, close by new construction of a stadium for the-then San Diego Chargers. We were able to attend the first ever game in the stadium, the Chargers vs. Los Angeles Rams.

Rogers deployed to Westpac in late September 1967 for what was scheduled to be a 6-month deployment. Most operations (e.g., gunfire support, interdiction, and search/rescue) were conducted within the South China Sea, adjacent to Vietnam, although there were forays to the Philippines, Japan, Taiwan, and just a few days R & R in Hong Kong. The time we spent in support of the United States and its allies in the Vietnam Theater of Operations were arduous, never fun, some times scary, and long in the tooth. We were anxiously awaiting our exit orders in the sixth month of deployment when, oops, the USS Pueblo was attacked in the Sea of Japan by North Korea, captured, and towed to North Korea. All of a sudden, Rogers was important for world security, and we spent three extra months in and around the Sea of Japan as part of an operation regarding Pueblo (which, thankfully, was more or less a “nothingburger” event). But the delay was not good news for shipmates and their loved ones at home. There was also something neat with this predicament, however; Rogers arrived back in San Diego on April 6, 1968 – our 5th anniversary – giving Bill the opportunity present Barrie with her engagement ring, albeit 5 years after our marriage. And, disregard any stories that may have been generated my sister Jane or her late husband Alan about Bill colliding Rogers into the pier upon docking; it was a mere “brushing” , as was and is, recommended. It didn’t matter – home again with a set of Orders for Bill to report to the Naval Reserve Officers Training Center, University of Rochester, as an Assistant Professor of Naval Science. In a few months, we were enroute to Rochester, with our brand new Ford Country Squire and our pretty old Plymouth Valiant convertible, riding through the Rockies in tandem.

Now, on to “stuff” about things other than B & B. Goodbye B & B, hello You Tube. The next clip highlights (lowlights?) the following “Signs of the Times”, a statement (one of many found on You Tube) of the overall good, bad and ugly of signage adorning us wherever we are.

The Big Finish: My favorites from Les Miserables by a wonderful flashmob rendition of the Hallelujah Chorus. B & B wish you and your’s a very joyful Holi season.

The Last Big Finish: Meet our neighbors, Dr. Richard and Michele Keown live on the fifth floor of our “tower”, directly above our place on the second floor. We ate “roofmates”. Back in 2018 when we moved to Fort Myers, we moved into a two-unit condo where the Keowns were our condo “roofmates”. “Roofmates forever”. We cannot thank them enough for the aid and assistance they gave to Barrie when Bill was hospitalized in February 2020 for heart surgery, and again in October 2023 when Bill was hospitalized with a severely broken ankle.

So, in January 1964, Bill drove to VT in our very small MGA convertible, and Barrie and I headed for our first Navy tour together, Newport, RI. We landed in a third floor walk up just off Bellevue Avenue (around the corner from the Newport Tennis Hall of Fame) – OK for me but not the best place for very pregnant Barrie.

1 Red Cross Avenue, Newport RI

I reported to USS Keppler (DD 765) as communication officer.

Keppler was an Anti-Submarine Warfare (ASW) destroyer and ASW was the ongoing theater of operational naval activities in the Atlantic at the time, so Keppler and other ships in Destroyer Squadron 24 a lot of time at sea (a/k/a “underway”) during the two years that I was aboard, chasing submarines (we always believed) or ghosts from Newport to the Mediterranean Sea to the Arctic Ocean. We were engaged in local operations when on January 28, 1964, I received a communication from a kind soul indicating that our son was born in the Naval Base Hospital Newport. During my tour, and with the assistance of known or unknown angels, we believe, in 1965 we were able to transfer to Navy housing at old Fort Adams, right on the Newport Bay with million-dollar views most of Newport, a top of the line seat for watching Americas Cup Racing, and an occasional stroll down a path to visit with Macaroni, Jackie Kennedy’s pony, at Hammersmith Farm. Pretty neat stuff.

Bill has no (self-deprecating) stories from his Keppler tour. It was arduous duty, but we were rewarded by his selection to attend “Destroyer School”, big deal in it’s day for those who wanted to stay in the Navy and looking for opportune Navy jobs in the future. That reward brought with it a “respite” from sea duty to the joy of coming home at night.

Bill spent his six months at DESTECH (as it was known), finished in the top 10 of his class, and the received a set of orders that he dreamed of, Operations Officer on a San Diego based destroyer, USS Rogers (DD 876).

The best memories in Newport (other than the lobsters at Christie’s), were having playmates in Newport, the aforementioned George and Kitty Williams, and across Narragansett Bay, Chi Psi buddies Bob and Judy Lebel. After all Navy was done, Virginia was in our rear windows, Newport remains our most favored tour for duty and play.

Now, on to the better stuff, starting with Talent – a mix of auditions at different venues (10 Auditions That Will Go Down in History) – including the famous introduction of Susan Boyle to the world:

Next, hallejulah to Hallejulah. Many years ago, Barrie and I traveled to Dayton, OH, to watch granddaughter Dani and her high school teammates participate in the national high school Color Guard Championships (think of them as an indoor drill team performance). Bill’s sister Jane and grandniece Melissa joined us for the event. Dani was the star of her group and her performance was outstanding. I was stricken, however, by my first hearing of the music “Hallelujah” by Leonard Cohen. After the event I asked Melissa “what was that music, it was haunting”! She told me and I became a Hallelujah fan, corralling clips on You Tube of individuals and groups who have performed Hallelujah. Check out the following renditions of Hallelujah:

• Lucy Thomas – https://youtu.be/4hjgkvuKES8?si=uW6BRGpVHQlH0lIP
• Josh Groban in France – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gPcuZieBAeE&list=PL9xO7K6ky7ww-fXNWJTbGiTygHILvvZ3b&index=2&pp=gAQBiAQB8AUB
• Leonard Cohen – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YrLk4vdY28Q&list=PL9xO7K6ky7ww-fXNWJTbGiTygHILvvZ3b&index=3&pp=gAQBiAQB8AUB
• Josh Groban and Lucia Micarelli – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VOgsE1FLSKs&pp=ygUQZ3JvYmFuIG1pY2FyZWxsaQ%3D%3D
• K D Lang – The Classic – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tcOQSk_cMO0&pp=ygUsaGFsbGVsdWphaCBrZCBsYW5nIG9seW1waWNzIG9wZW5pbmcgY2VyZW1vbnnSBwkJCwoBhyohjO8%3D
• Cassanda Star and Sister – Easter Lyrics – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WaMNDpNqQ2s

Groban Duets – Click on the following to see some Groban duet specials:

• Josh Groban and Helene Fischer – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uOre5B_KbJU&list=PL9xO7K6ky7wzlcRP5EOwXJ0pjH8THzsOa&index=1&pp=gAQBiAQB8AUB
• Groban and Clarkson – https://youtu.be/SE1T0lS_Zzo?si=zHts_DiLpHsKPGPU
• Groban and Celine Dion – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a54KFXK5vdQ&list=PL9xO7K6ky7wzlcRP5EOwXJ0pjH8THzsOa&index=3&pp=gAQBiAQB8AUB
• Groban  and Jen Malenke – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lca0wYLFmtg&list=PL9xO7K6ky7wzlcRP5EOwXJ0pjH8THzsOa&index=4&pp=gAQBiAQB8AUB
• Groban and H. E. R. – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k8K6rDCZVdI&list=PL9xO7K6ky7wzlcRP5EOwXJ0pjH8THzsOa&index=5&pp=gAQBiAQB8AUB

Lindsey, Greg, and Annie arrive beginning today for Thanksgiving, so see you at Post 3, whenever.