From our last post, all of you know that Mark has no desire to go “Surface”.  No ships for our favorite midshipman (which begs the question…then why the Navy?  But that’s another discussion…).  Our favorite mid has decided that Aviation is his calling (something he’s wanted since he was about 8)…that is…unless the Sub Bug bites him.  Sub week was a huge success!  Marines aren’t his thing…unless he’s a Marine Aviator, of course.  But Navy Air or Subs are both calling his name, so let’s see what this whole ProTraMid thing was about.

I won’t bother with Surface pix.  Unless the pix came from the decks of an aircraft carrier, Mark didn’t seem thrilled.  Marine week was first — let’s start there.

Can anyone see Mark dressing for work like this every day?

I admire the Marines (a lot), but as a parent, I kinda’ take issue with the problem of our Marines getting shot at all of the time.  Obviously whoever shoots at one of our Marines is a damn fool…life is short when the Wrath of God rains down upon you in the form of return fire.  But I’m not a fan of putting one of my kids in that kind of environment.  They do have some cool toys though…

As Mark points out, “these things float.”  And that they do –

In the Marine Aviation part of the world, here comes a ride:

And hanging out the side of one is kinda’ cool –

But I’m not seeing it.  Unless Mark changes his mind, I have a feeling the Marines won’t get a crack at him.

But Subs?  Well…that was the surprise of this training block!  Going in, Mark swore — swore! — that nothing could convince him to consider the Sub pipeline as a training/career option.  But I guess that changes when you climb on board.  This shot doesn’t do this sub any justice, but here are some mids standing on top of one of our nuclear subs getting ready to go below.  Oh, and they’re standing right above a whole bunch of ballistic missiles…

Mark had an opportunity to stand on top of that sail you see in the background.  You can’t tell, but it’s up there…and the effect is magnified when you’re at sea.  These things are huge.

But not an inch is wasted down below.  Looks a little tight, right?

Subs are cool…but I think we’re going to see this kind of work-wear in Mark’s future.  It’s more “him”, right?  This is “dressed and ready to go” for his training flight:

Today, it’s the back seat.  Tomorrow?

Check this out: Mark called this shot “diving to San Diego” –

Notice the angle they’re on…looks pretty much straight down to me.  I’m surprised he even held onto the camera.  But what kind of maneuver leads up to a dive like this?  I can’t say for sure, but it probably looked something like this –

Now I’m really surprised that the camera didn’t end up on the roof of the cockpit.  He calls this something like “upside down mid-loop”…and if you look at the wing, you can rest assured that it’s not the camera that was upside-down.

What else do we have…

Oh!  SeAL time!  The mids ran through the SeAL “O-Course” (Obstacle Course).  SeALs do it in about five minutes or less, and the mids did it carefully to learn the ropes.  Here’s a shot of Mark and a buddy right after they completed it.  Even going “slow” he appears to have broken a sweat.  How are those workouts coming, Mark?

He looks to me like he’s in pretty good shape.  But Karen says “Marky-Mark gets his butt kicked when he gets here, baby…”

Mark, how do you spell kettlebells?  We’ll find out in about three weeks!  (“Where’s the men’s locker room…I’m not feeling so good”…who said that?)

So!  Will Mark opt for dolphins?  Or wings?  Both would look mighty nice on his collar!  Or…

…will it be Grad School first?  So many options…must be nice!

He’s earned it!  More soon –

As all of you know, Mark just wrapped up four weeks of ProTraMid in San Diego.  Marine week was “okay” (“fun” but a lot of “hurry up and wait”); Surface week was “horrible” (no ships for our favorite midshipman); Aviation week was “a blast”; and the sleeper was Sub week (just completed).  Mark is en route to Annapolis as I scribble this getting ready to start his Soaring Training Block tomorrow.  Flying gliders?  Who woulda’ thought?

I should have more ProTraMid pix and stories to relate in a few weeks.  Until then, check out these two quick hits:

First, a short (6 min) video of a Navy Trainer doing a lap around a carrier at sea.  (Please excuse the opening ad…a necessary evil.)  This plane is very similar to the one Mark flew in during Aviation week.  As far as the Navy Aviation “pipeline” goes, this flight pretty much sealed the deal.  Mark’s flight didn’t involve a carrier landing or take off, but he did have the “bag” ready.  He asked the pilot to show his skills, and show ‘em the pilot did…lots of fun!  And no need for the bag!

As you watch this, notice how much is happening on the deck.  Planes landing, planes taking off, blast shields up on the deck to keep everything and everyone safe as planes come and go.  The choreography is pretty cool.

As mentioned in the previous post, Mark had heard that Sub week was “amazing”.  The Sub guys do a serious sales job on the mids — they need new officers all of the time!  They didn’t disappoint.  Mark was on a “boomer” — a nuclear sub — carrying a whole bunch of nasty ballistic missiles with an undisclosed number of warheads.  His cruise was somewhere in the Pacific where he learned a lot and had a lot of fun.  He bunked between two of those ballistic missiles (“Dad, they’re huge“), he listened in on a bunch of dolphins having a chat, he climbed to the top of the sail (3+ stories up) when the sub surfaced to stand on top and watch the waves crash over the bow, and he enjoyed what I think he called “angles and dangles”…a drill that bobs and rolls the sub at 25 to 30 degree angles every which way while several hundred feet under water.  Oh, and he also loved the “full back” drill: think about locking up the brakes in your car while doing 90 MPH but visualize it under water.  Yeah…subs shake and vibrate too…

No cameras were allowed on the sub (for obvious reasons), but the Navy was kind enough to assign someone to take pictures of the mids.  I only have one, and it’s a cell phone picture of a picture (so excuse the quality), but I’ll have more when we see Mark in late July.  But check this out:

That’s a torpedo tube.  A BIG torpedo tube — 26 feet long, I believe.  Mark autographed the inside of that Bad Boy, filled it with water, and pulled the trigger just for kicks.  Even water carries a heavy wallop coming out of the end of that thing.

The Sub guys did their job well.  Mark is actually considering…considering (can you believe this?)…subs as a possible career pipeline.  That was unthinkable just a week ago!

The only major drawbacks that I can think of all involve his family: he will rarely be able to tell us where he’s going or where he is, he can’t talk about much of anything that they do (even on this trip), and communicating with someone who spends months under water can be difficult.  Plus, I don’t get any fighter jet rides…

Looking ahead, hopefully we’ll have some video of one of Mark’s glider flights.  I’m especially looking forward to seeing a landing.  I’d even settle for the audio…the screams of terror would be entertaining, don’t you think?

“Whadda ya’ mean there’s no engine!  I can’t land this thing there!”

Hopefully more soon.

As most of you know, Cameron suffered more than the concussion mentioned in the last post.  Without re-hashing the details, let’s just say that he exercised poor judgment…similar to that of the poor sap in the photo above.  What do said sap and Cameron have in common?  Neither was wearing a helmet.

Cameron is usually pretty good about wearing a helmet.  But for some reason, and on my birthday no less, he decided to become the Jean Van Damme of skateboard stunts and attempt something spectacular sans-helmet.  Big Mistake.  He remembers the stunt going bad, and then he has a fuzzy recollection of waking up on a friend’s couch.  Two hospital visits and two doctor visits later, he was promptly ensconced in a Pediatric ICU Unit with a 27 meter needle in his spine (or so it felt) draining spinal fluid that was creating pressure inside his now cracked (though still thick) skull.

After five days on his back (and only on his back), he was pronounced healthy enough to leave the hospital but warned that he’d be “uncomfortable” for awhile.  Today he’s a reasonably normal version of himself but one that suffers from recurring headaches and a general state of “wobbliness”.  In other words, he’s on the path to a full recovery.  He should be good to go in just a little bit, and he’ll most certainly be a wiser version of himself than the one that made such a potentially devastating choice just a short time ago.  Right Cameron?  Right…I thought so.

Thank you again to everyone that stayed abreast of Cameron’s progress.  We appreciate the thoughts and prayers.  For those of you reading this that weren’t aware of the severity of the incident, I apologize…things were a bit hectic for a few days.

When Cameron comes to Florida in a few weeks, he’ll be leaving the skateboard at his Mom’s.  We’ll play a lot of golf, we’ll get him back in Aaron’s gym, and we’ll feed him well (every other day).  Maybe we’ll let him play with a bouncy ball or something similarly low-risk.

Kristin is contemplating a school change.  In an effort to jump-start her education, she’s thinking about leaving William Patterson (where she’s an undeclared major enduring the standard fare of liberal arts) to enter a school that caters to her primary interest: interior design.  Teachers and professionals alike have declared her interior design skills to be “very good” to “excellent”, and having enjoyed her expertise firsthand, I have to agree.  She’s brilliant!  (Sorry…excuse the outrageous display of pride…)  Should she decide to make the change, she’ll dive headfirst into a program that can have her up and running in as little as two years.  After that, intern opportunities lead to careers with the likes of Ethan Allen or Disney.  I kinda’ like the idea of Disney…

We’ll keep you posted on her decision.

Mark just came off Aviation Week (a success) and is busy preparing for Sub Week.  Marine Week was fun, Surface Week wasn’t.  If there was ever any doubt about Mark’s lack of enthusiasm about being on a ship, that doubt is now removed.  He hated it.  (Kinda’ makes the Navy an interesting choice, doesn’t it?)  Anyway, given the opportunity to take the stick of a Navy Trainer in flight, he declined.  Why?  Because flight time is limited, and Mark decided to use his time to enjoy the pilot’s skill.  He experienced a bunch of rolls, dives, climbs, and upside-down flying that left him even more convinced that aviation is his first choice of career paths.  Given that our favorite midshipman enjoys a class rank of 59 (out of about 1,200), he’s got a good shot at getting his choice of career pipelines.  But then again…

…part of Sub Week includes an overnight “cruise” that other mids have called “a blast”.  The Navy has been falling short in recruiting Sub Officers for the last several years, so the sub guys put on a good show for mids-soon-to-be-Naval-officers.  Mids enjoying high class rank are recruited for subs aggressively (and I mean aggressively).  Sub school involves two difficult years of study, but at the end, graduates hold the equivalent of a masters in Nuclear Engineering.  These guys (all guys until this year) join an extremely small group of individuals worldwide qualified in all aspects of nuclear power.  Once deployed, Sub Officers enjoy some of the highest compensation in the military.  Demand in the private sector is off the charts.  All in all, it’s a great career path…

…unless your passion lies elsewhere.  So I guess we’ll see, right?

Paris is enjoying a few weeks in Girl Scout Camp.  It’s a day camp experience now, but Kristin just reminded me today that when she was Paris’ age, she enjoyed one week of overnight Girl Scout Camp.  She was angry with us for not allowing her to attend two.  What the hell was I thinking?  I let my little girl spend a week away from home in the woods?  Where were all of you to smack some sense into me?  I guess it wasn’t all bad…Kristin has great memories of her camp experience, and she quasi-chastised me for not considering overnight camp for Paris.  The only overnight experience Paris is going to enjoy in the near future is in a convent.  (Do convents still exist?)

I must be getting old.

More soon –

Mark was one of the “Fencers of the Decade” in Passaic County.  Just as importantly, two of his teammates were named, and a couple of his friends/competitors made the list as well.  All good guys, all deserving!

Mark is in San Diego right now for ProTraMid (Professional Training for Midshipmen).  He may even be out to sea (this week being Surface Week).  His phone is dead, and staying in touch with him during the week while training is near impossible.  Last week was Marine Week (at Camp Pendleton), with Sub Week and Aviation Week coming up.  He’ll hopefully see all of this over the weekend when he has some time off.

Congratulations Mark!

Kristin wrapped up Year One at Patterson University.  One down baby!

Cameron recently managed another skateboard related injury.  This time it was a severe concussion.  The discussion over helmets being worn at all times has already happened on several fronts.  When he finally remembers what year it is, I think he’ll consider favorably all of the helmet advice he’s getting.

Paris wrapped up another successful school year.  She tested and qualified for every available accelerated learning opportunity offered in our school system.  It’s certainly nice to have choices…

We celebrated the end of school with a short trip over to Disney.  Four days of fun in Paradise!

More info soon!

Paris has always had her own Christmas tree in her bedroom.  Each year, we set up the Big One, and we set up one for her.  Santa always leaves presents under both trees, so as you can probably imagine, the Bonus Tree is quite the bonus!

Today was a bit on the chilly side in Paradise, so Paris broke out the cold weather gear.  We managed a high of 67 degrees, but hey!  67 is chilly in Paradise.  She’s had the hat since she was two –

We’ll continue getting ready for the Big Day!

Speaking of Big Days, we’ve got a Big One coming up this Saturday!  Army-Navy 2009!  This is “Beat Army!” week at the Academy, and we always do our part to participate.  Raise the banner!

John Gallen will be pulling for Army at the game, but we don’t hold that against him.  His Dad and his father-in-law are both Army vets.  Even so, we know that deep down inside he’ll feel a sense of pride when Navy kicks Army’s ass!

Right John?

John?

Hey, you Northerners!  If it’s chilly and/or wet next Saturday, send warm thoughts to midshipman Mark!  He’ll be entering the Stadium early for the march-on, and then he’s in his seat until the end!  Last year was cold (if I recall correctly), but this year may be better!  And for anyone going like John is…be sure to catch the march-on.  It’s one of the coolest traditions in College football!

Go Navy!  Beat Army!

Those shoes are not the girly-girl variety.  Somehow or another, Mom found the kiddie version of a punk rocker boot.  Paris may be slam dancing this weekend, I guess…

Add the black lipstick before heading out to hunt candy!

Oh!  And proof that candy will rot your teeth, kids!  Paris lost another one!

I have not seen any pix of Kristin or Cameron in costume.  However, for those of you so inclined, there are some pictures of Mark in costume on his Facebook page.

Grammy and Kristin were here for a week (ending this past Wednesday).  Kristin is excited about the start of school, and Grammy was excited to hang with the girls (Kristin and Paris).  Mark flew in on Saturday and added to the mix, and then Cameron joined us on Wednesday.  We’ve been having a blast!

But!  All of this fun and games makes it hard to gather thoughts and photos from Yosemite.  I promise more Yosemite is coming!

Until then, let’s talk boxing.  Whenever Mark is here, he loves visiting Aaron Jaco.  Everyone remembers Aaron, right?  Former National Boxing Association Light Heavyweight champ.  Trainer extraordinaire.  All around good guy.  If you need a refresher on him, check out  this post.

So Mark wants to train with Aaron.  As an added bonus, Cameron decides he wants to as well.  Cameron’s first day was Friday.  It’s safe to say he learned a lot, but it was a tough day for him.  Everyone’s first day is a tough day.  Cameron threw more punches, did more push-ups, and did more ab work than he’s probably done in his entire life.  All of this in one, joyful hour.  But he did it!

After the workout, I asked him what he thought.  “I’m going to puke”, he said.

“Nah”, I said, “that’s just your ab muscles doing a little spasm thingy.  You’re fine!”

“I might need Mark to stop the car.  I’m not feeling so good.”

It turns out we made it home without stopping the car.  On the way, I said “Cameron, you did such a great job today that tomorrow I’m going to introduce you to kettlebells.”

“Oh my God, Dad.  Is he worse?”  (Kettlebells aren’t a “he”.  Kettlebells are weights.  Cannonballs with handles.  I think Cameron was a little tired.)

So Friday was a success!  Mark and I enjoyed the workout, and Cameron is really looking forward to Monday.  Yes!  He’s excited!  This is a good thing.

As an added bonus, Mark sparred with Aaron on Thursday.  Aaron likes to “slow things down” when sparring with someone new to the sport.  He coaches the whole time, he offers a ton of encouragement, and he’s pretty easy-going on his sparring partner.  Do not confuse “easy-going” with “easy”.

Mark busted his butt.  Aaron had fun.  We have the video to prove it!  It shows Mark — decked out in a 2009 Detailer shirt he won from an upperclassman.  And it shows Aaron — shoes off, having fun, hands down while encouraging Mark to “throw your jab!”  Mark learned a ton…

…but learning can hurt.  Check it out:

Important note to current or future plebes that get clever and find this: Mark is most certainly better now (when you read this) than he was in the video.  You probably want to exercise a little discretion.  Comments about this post or video will absolutely make your day-to-day more difficult.  Just a thought…

Well…it was.  Cold, that is.  And rainy.  I wouldn’t call the month “bad” because…hey!…we got to see a lot of folks that are very important to us!  But the weather prevented us from doing a lot of things we would have liked to do, and as a result, our photo collection is sparse.  In fact, the gloomy weather must have had an adverse effect upon my thinking skills.  We had a beautiful day in Albany hiking with Peter and Mona, but did I take any pictures?  No!  I blew it!

So.  Let’s look at what we do have.  First, we arrived in the area and immediately caught up with the kiddies.  Yes!  Paris adores her time with her siblings, and this visit was no different.  We managed to get ‘em all!  Can you believe it?  And…we even met the lovely Michelle.  Cameron finally introduced us to his date after what…18 months?  “Hey Cameron!  Do we embarrass you?”  Hmmm…maybe we don’t now, but gimmie a minute, okay?

Michelle!  This is the young lady who will someday suffer my hands around her neck because she and Cameron text each other incessantly!

I’m kidding, Cameron…put the weapons down.  Here is the lovely Michelle sitting with the hairy version of Cameron:

Fast forward.  We hit Sami’s house, we hit Grammy’s house, we hit Oma’s house, and we descended upon Peter and Mona’s house.  We were all over the place during the first two weeks of June, and it rained non-stop.

Kristin had her prom.  Kristin had graduation.  Christopher graduated.  And Cameron’s birthday is Monday!  We had a lot to celebrate!

Since I had to leave a little earlier than expected, we celebrated Cameron’s birthday on Thursday.  Here are the greatest girls in the Universe enjoying lunch!

I have no idea what is happening here.  Obviously hairy Cameron has become hairless Cameron, and Herb has got some hair action going with that napkin.  Cameron thought it was funny…

And here, the Hairless One opens yet another birthday card.  He looks frustrated!  I guess it does get difficult opening such a large number of cards with checks and cash falling all over the place.  Such work!

We’re not following any chronological order here, so let’s jump back to our Broadway excursion.  Paris (and Mary Kate, Karen and I) ventured into the City to see The Little Mermaid. Fantastic!

Walking in the City!  When Mark, Kristin and Cameron were little, they used to beg me to “go walking” in the City.  We were never allowed to take a cab no matter how cold, how windy, or how rainy it was.  They loved — absolutely loved! — walking in the City.  Cameron was just a baby, so he got pushed around. What did he care?  I have pictures of all of us on the Empire State Building.  Alone.  It was so damn cold that no other person was silly enough to go up 100 stories in the snow and wind.  And when we came down?  “No cab!”.  We had to walk to our next destination and to our car.

So here are Paris and Mary Kate doing a little “walking”.  Paris isn’t as big a fan of New York City compared to her siblings, but she knows how to get around.

And what’s this?  Get ready!  Line up!  We’re here!

Cameras are not allowed in Broadway theaters, but I had mine ready.  We were in the second row, and I had some prime shots lined up.  But the seats were a mixed blessing.  I was in clear view of several Camera Nazis and ultimately, I decided against any photos because I figured it was a bad idea for Paris to see me being escorted out of the show.  It might have left a blight on her day.  I did find some promo shots online and, though not great, they give you a sense of the stage scenery and setting.  It was very impressive!

The “water” is colored sheeting of some sort with light tubes on the top to give it shape and a boundary. It rose and fell in realistic waves.  The performers all wore custom made (and costume appropriate) “heelies”.  If you have kids, you know the shoes I’m talking about.  The large wheel embedded in the heel allowed the actors to glide across the stage like fish gliding through water.  They even had to “wiggle” to get moving (just like a real fish).  Ursula (bottom left) was elaborate and brilliant!  The photo doesn’t do justice to the human-sized octopus moving convincingly across the stage.

Ariel was the show favorite, of course. And then Sebastian (no pix, but he’s the crab). But Paris’s favorite “off” character was this guy –

He’s the chef tasked with making dinner for Eric (the prince) and Ariel.  And he decides to make fish.  For a mermaid.  Pretty funny…

Last night in town!  At least for Dad, anyway…

Carnival!  Paris loves carnivals — what kid doesn’t?  And she has perfect, carnival companions…Kristin and Cameron!  The girls get ready to do some violent, multi-directional, torturous ride from Hell…

The operator wisely put Kristin on the outside.

Here they are getting on some other Death Trap.  This thing was called “Hurricane” (or something)…Paris is all smiles here, but in the end, she decided it was a “terrible, terrible” ride…

Why?  Well…would you ride something that goes round and round at high speed that some stoned, illegal bolted together the night before?  Look at this damn thing…

I don’t want to put unneccessary fears in the heads of any of my kids, but I think Paris is starting to figure out what makes sense in life and what doesn’t.

Speaking of which…I just got off the phone with Paris moments ago.  She’s having a blast with Tonte Stephanie at the Warwick house.  She’s got a few more days of New York before she comes home.

Mark is on a training block doing a little sailing.  As it turns out, he’s doing multiple, short trips instead of one long one.  His first was not his cup of tea.  They sailed from USNA to Baltimore, down to Solomons Island, and back to USNA.  He tells me that “Monster (the energy drink) plus no sleep plus waves at night are not a good combo.”  He didn’t lose his dinner, but it was close.  Apparently they sail through the night and the boat has to be manned (obviously).  He also complains that sleep is impossible because “tacking and jibing is loud and rolling into the wall tends to wake you up”.  One mid was hospitalized after hitting his head while trying to sleep.  Poor kids.  Getting paid to sail…

Hey!  Future Plebes!  Mark suspects that some day, when he might actually be responsible for some of you, that some of you may find this site.  Whenever he tells you to stop whining, refer him to this post!

(He will most certainly make me take this down…)

Kristin in Florida in three weeks!  Mark soon after.  Cameron soon after that!  Yeah Baby!

]]> http://trunzo.com/2009/06/27/june-mega-trip/feed/ 0 http://trunzo.com/2009/06/06/marks-new-best-friend/ http://trunzo.com/2009/06/06/marks-new-best-friend/#comments Sat, 06 Jun 2009 17:05:19 +0000 Jay http://trunzo.com/?p=641 In our last post, we mentioned Mark’s new best friend — Aaron.  First, a little background…

This year, Karen decided that a “great” Valentine’s Day gift would be for the two of us to start training with a lunatic.  Specifically, she wanted to find someplace where we could box and somebody that could help us learn how to do it.  When your spouse suggests that a great way to demonstrate undying love is to beat the hell out of each other, one has to wonder about the state of the relationship.

It turns out that beating the hell out of each other is optional.  We opted out.  But a beating still takes place, and that’s the beating administered by Aaron three times a week.  I have a new-found respect for boxers — it is one of the most difficult things I have ever done, and I’ve done a bit of “difficult” in the past.

Meet Aaron Jaco.  He’s the National Boxing Association Light Heavyweight Champion.  He’s licensed as a boxer, trainer, and corner man in Florida.  He’s psychotic.

When we first met Aaron, he gave us an idea of what we could expect if we decided we wanted to train with him.  He’s an excellent salesperson.  Why?  Because during that first session, he encouraged us, he told us how great we were doing, and he told us he was impressed with our physical fitness.  That was Day One.  On Day Two, it became clear that we would need a ton of encouragement, we were far from great, and what we considered to be a decent level of physical fitness was really just a joke in the boxing world.  I can’t speak for Karen, but I have never worked so damn hard in my life.

I’ve also never had so much fun.  The workouts can be incredibly hard sometimes, but we always have fun.  After a few weeks of enjoyable torture, it dawned on me that someone we all know and love would benefit greatly from some time with Aaron.  That someone is Mark.

As most of you know, Mark is a good runner.  He’s an excellent fencer.  In High School, he enjoyed high State rankings in both.  Today, he knocks off 4:30 miles during workouts and thinks nothing of it.  He’s fast, his lower body is incredibly powerful, and he’s lean.  In short, Mark is in amazing shape.  A Perfect Victim for Aaron.

Mark’s first session with Aaron was a good one.  We always meet Aaron at 8 AM, and after a successful hour, Mark spent the rest of the day (and all of the next) complaining about how much he hurt.  I took this as a good sign.

Not wanting to miss any fun, Aaron suggested that Mark should try some sparring sessions.  At the Academy, Mark spent a semester learning how to box the Navy way, so he felt fairly comfortable getting in the ring. It turns out that boxing the Navy way is a lesson in how to remain standing while getting beat up.  At the Academy, learning to box is defensive.  The Navy prefers mixed martial arts on offense.  That class doesn’t happen until next year.  Ooops.  Good thing Mark learned how to take a punch.

First off, here’s the ring –

Looks like a great place to get beat up, right?  Karen and I are very, very familiar with it.  Just to get a complete picture, here’s some more of Aaron’s gym –

Okay, with the background set, please meet Aaron’s protege — Brain Karp.  Brian works and trains with Aaron, and he’s a tremendously fit 21 year old.  Perfect for Mark, but did I mention that I got to spar with him too?  Oh yes, the old guy gets in the ring with the young guy.  Oh my…

Doesn’t Brian look happy?  This picture was taken about 30 minutes after he went four rounds with me and seven with Mark.  Mark looks a little whipped, right? You don’t even want to now what I looked like.  Brian looks like he had the time of his life.  Like Aaron, he encouraged us both, told us how great we were doing, and kept saying how impressed he was with our first-time efforts. This, of course, means we’ll get beat up even worse next time.

There were a few highlights: here’s Mark trying to take Brian’s head off.  Mark made contact, but Brian made most of the punch miss.  If Mark’s experience was anything like mine, Brian followed up with two body shots that hurt like hell –

Here’s a shot that Mark put on Facebook.  He calls it “trying not to get killed” -

No matter how hard the beating, everyone has to clean up after themselves.  Here’s one exhausted puppy rolling up his wraps:

And here’s the man himself telling Mark how great he did.  Did I mention that Aaron is an excellent salesperson?  Despite the whoopin’ we took, Aaron has convinced Mark that he will spar again.  Mark returns in August.  Oh boy…

Mark looks a little tired, doesn’t he?  Oh…we covered that already.

Okay..Graduation!

This post was supposed to include a video of Kindergarten Graduation Day for Paris.  I’ve got a couple of hiccups to work out, and hopefully I’ll have everything ready within a few days.  I’m a little obsesseed with video quality — I could post something now, but it wouldn’t be up to our usual high standards.  So..stay tuned!

Mark was lucky and snagged zero block as his first summer training assignment.  Zero block is the shortest training block of the summer, and it also starts soon after the mids’ last final exam.  As counter-intuitive as this may sound, it’s actually considered a good thing.  It allows mids to get their training underway, it buys them two bonus weeks of leave over the summer, and it allows for an escape from duties during the hyper-busy commissioning week period.  Plus, Mark was sent to Mayport Naval Station near Jacksonville, FL!  That’s about 260 miles away, but at least it’s the same State!  So we get some bonus time with him…

Those of you to be lucky enough to be considered one of Mark’s 10,067 Facebook friends have already seen the photos.  But for the mere mortals amongst us, I have a few I liked:

This is the USS McInerney.  This li’l frigate acted as Mark’s home away from home for two weeks.

This is what most of us would call a “really, really big gun”.  The guys on the ship occasionally get to shoot this gun.  They like that…

This is another gun (although it doesn’t look like one).  It should never be confused with R2D2 because R2D2 couldn’t shoot 3,000 massive rounds a minute.  This gun can.  It’s called a “Sea Whiz”…probably because if you’re on the wrong end of it, you’re doing the second part of the phrase while the 3,000 rounds whiz past you.

Frigates fire torpedoes too.  In the old days, frigates were tasked with chasing down enemy subs.  Subs still quake with fear if a frigate is in the vicinity, but today frigates are used mostly for drug interdiction runs.  Frigates carry one or two helicopters to help with the sub chasing, and today, the McInerney carries this nifty little guy –

That is what’s known as a “UAV” (unmanned aerial vehicle).  Think of it like a big, remote control helicopter with big guns.  This UAV is currently being tested before a full-blown deployment across the fleet, and Mark’s frigate is the lucky platform used for testing.  There are only one of these right now, and you’re looking at it.

Here’s Mark looking somewhat nervous next to our little friend.  Since it doesn’t have a pilot, I think he’s worried it might decide to shoot on its own.

So what else do we do on frigates?  Well, we train!  Train, train, train!  Everybody has to know what to do in any given circumstance!  And some of those circumstances are called “emergencies”.  Emergencies are bad.  Like…a fire on a ship, for example…when you’re out in the middle of the ocean, a fire is not a welcome sight.  So let’s learn how to put one out, okay?  How?  Well, c’mon!  First you gotta set one!

That’s a training area on dry land.  There’s no point in setting the ship on fire, right?  Now everybody learns how to put it out!  Oh, and that shed in the middle?  There are “simulated” guys in there waiting to be rescued before they become toast.  Better hurry Mark!

So…maybe you’re thinking “so what kind of real life cool things do these frigate thingys do?”  Well…check this out:

That pirate-looking steering wheel is not the one used to pilot the frigate.  It’s also not the wheel off of Gilligan’s S.S. Minnow.  Nope!  It’s on the bridge of the McInerney, but it’s a souvenier.  You see, it was taken from the largest self-propelled submersible ever captured by the US Navy, and the McInerney did the capturing.  This particular submersible was a small submarine transporting 12,000 pounds of uncut cocaine.  The crew of said submarine wasn’t willing to give it up so easily, but once they realized the game was up, they tried to scuttle (sink) their own ship.  The crew of the McInerney suggested to the sub crew that, since said sub crew thought sinking the sub was such a good idea, perhaps they ought to sink with it.  Once locked in for awhile, the crew saw the light and surrendered the sub.  (Before any liberal readers think about calling the SPCA or Greenpeace, please rest assured that the crew members of the McInerney are wonderful guys that would never allow hostile drug runners to actually sink with their sub.  It was a bluff, and it worked.  And yes, I was honored to meet some of the crew of the McInerney, and I can personally attest to their good character.)

Training concluded on Friday, and Mark has been relaxing and eating us out of house and home since.  He’s also playing a little golf, catching a little sun, and enjoying his new friend named “Aaron”.  More on that in the next post.

Meanwhile, Cameron is really, really mad at us for playing golf without him.  He hasn’t had a kind word for us all weekend.  We see him next week when he will most certainly be straightened out.

Kristin is getting ready to graduate!  But before that memorable day, she’s got a Senior Prom to attend!  I have been given the first, super-secret inside look at her prom dress while it was being altered to fit her super-fit self, and I gotta tell ya’…phenomenal!  Her female classmates are going to hate her!

Paris has three and a half days of school left…almost done!  She’s had a stellar year!  Plus, she’s been honing all four swimming strokes in preparation for joining the Sarasota Sharks.  The Sharks are a very successful, very competitive swim team in our area.  Competitors usually join the team at age 9.  As most of you know, Paris is soon to be 7….she’s a natural!  More on that as the season progresses!

In less than a week, all of us descend upon New York for our June extravaganza…we’ll be in the area for the entire month.  We’re looking forward to it!