Wednesday's Warriors - Arnold Air Society at Anchorsplash

My oldest son is a freshman at the University of South Florida (USF).  He is also enrolled in the Air Force ROTC program - the same detachment where I received my commission as a second lieutenant.   

My son's picture popped up earlier this week on the AFROTC's Facebook page, engaging in extraneous exercise.  I just had to laugh as the only exercise we did was march around USF's Sun Dome parking lot, practicing the 54 commands that we would never use on active duty.

Above is a picture from my freshman year - I was one of twenty plus scholarship students at the University of Tampa (UT) who participated in the AFROTC program at USF.   I'm the second from the left ... it looks like I rolled out of bed.  Of the 13 in the picture, I still keep in contact with three. 

In 1986, during my junior year, I was a member of the Delta Gamma (DG) social sorority at UT.  Our symbol was the anchor.  I should have been in Navy ROTC!

I recruited the AFROTC's "fraternity", Arnold Air Society, to participate in DG's annual fundraiser - Anchorsplash.   The fundraiser pitted fraternities against each other in a series of contests.  The first contest was held Friday night - Mr. Anchorsplash.  Remember, this is the late '80s!

I procured a flight suit for the cadet above who shall remain nameless.  He came up with his own routine to the tune of Top Gun's Danger Zone.  He won, snatching the trophy away from traditional fraternities.   During our drill the following week, the ranking cadets presented gave him a bouquet of flowers ... there may be a picture somewhere in the detachment. 

Next week I'll share the pictures from the pool events of Anchorsplash.  Yes, bathing suits!

Do you have a favorite song from the 80s?  One randomly selected commenter from this week's blog posts wins a book choice from my convention stash.  Comments are open through Saturday, October 24, 10 pm in Baltimore (keep 'em clean).  I'll post the winner on Sunday, October 25, on my book blog, SOS Aloha.

Mahalo,

Kim in Baltimore
Aloha Spirit in Charm City

Mr Danger Zone and I celebrate the victory!

On the day in history ... American football rules

Walter Camp
Public Domain (link)

On this day in 1873, representatives from Columbia, Princeton, Rutgers, and Yale drafted the first code of football rules, including 20 players on each team to play on a field of 400 by 250 feet.

The rules continued to evolve among the college powerhouses.
In 1880, Yale player Walter Camp coordinated the changes which reduced the teams to 11 players and implemented the snap.   Camp is considered the Father of American Football.

One hundred and forty two years later, American football is a part of our nation's culture.  From Steve Deace at USA Today (link),

I believe we're so passionate about football because it embodies everything we love about American exceptionalism. Merit is rewarded, not punished. Masculinity is celebrated, not feminized. People of various beliefs and backgrounds — a melting pot, if you will — must unify for a common goal for the team to be successful.

In football, fortune favors the bold, just as it once did in the American frontier. But football also sprinkles in the right amount of fairness by letting the bad teams draft first in the NFL, so there's at least a chance that one day the glass slipper fits Cinderella.

Who is your favorite football team - high school, college, or professional league?  One randomly selected commenter wins a book choice from my convention stash.  Comments are open through Saturday, October 24, 10 pm in Baltimore.  I'll post the winner on Sunday, October 25, at SOS Aloha.

Mahalo,

Kim in Baltimore

Aloha Spirit in Charm City 

William "Pudge" Heffelfinger, widely regarded
 as the first professional football player
Public Domain (link)

On this day in history ... the Surrender at Yorktown

John Trumball's Surrender of Lord Cornwallis
Public Domain (link)

We have a new feature here at Aloha On My Mind where I share my love of trivia.  On this day in 1781, British General Cornwallis surrendered to Patriot General Washington after the Siege of Yorktown.  His surrender ended the American Revolution, led to the the Treaty of Paris in 1783, and created a new nation.

From the National Park Service (link),

The American Revolution had entered its seventh year when, in 1781, British general Lord Charles Cornwallis brought his army to Yorktown to establish a naval base. In the siege by American and French forces that followed, much of the town was destroyed.

Today, there are still some tangible reminders of Yorktown's historic past that have survived, giving much of the town a colonial atmosphere. During your visit to Yorktown, stop at the Nelson House on Main Street, the home of Thomas Nelson, Jr., a signer of the Declaration of Independence, and commander of the Virginia Militia during the Siege of Yorktown. For hours of operation, see Yorktown Programs and Activities.

As you stroll the streets, you have the opportunity to imagine Yorktown as it once was--a thriving tobacco port--that witnessed the last battle of the American Revolution.

Have you visited Yorktown?  One randomly selected commenter from this week's posts wins a book choice from my convention stash.  Comments are open through Saturday, October 24, 10 pm.  I'll post the winner on Sunday, October 24, 10 pm, at SOS Aloha.

Mahalo,

Kim in Baltimore

Aloha Spirit in Charm City

US Postage Stamp, 1931 issue commemorating
150th anniversary of the victory at Yorktown
Public Domain (link)

Aloha to the Marine Corps Memorial, Fort Myer, and the Air Force Memorial

Continuing our tour of Washington, DC, with the Book Obsessed Chicks (link), we drove to the Marine Corps War Memorial.  From the National Park Service (link)

Based on an iconic image of the second flag-raising on the island of Iwo Jima during World War II, the US Marine Corps War Memorial is dedicated to "the Marine dead of all wars and their comrades of other services who fell fighting beside them."

The memorial is adjacent to the historic post Fort Myer.  From its website (link),

Most of the buildings at the north end of Fort Myer were built between 1895 and 1908. Many of those still standing have been designated historic landmarks by the U.S. Department of the Interior and the state of Virginia. Quarters One was completed in 1899 as the post commander's house, but since 1908, it has been the home of Army chiefs of staff, including Generals George C. Marshall, Omar N. Bradley, Douglas MacArthur and Dwight D. Eisenhower. 

Above is the Old Post Chapel, where I married my husband in 1996!

We continued over to the Air Force Memorial.  From its website (link),

The United States Air Force Memorial honors the service and sacrifices of the men and women of the United States Air Force and its predecessor organizations, including the Aeronautical Division, U.S. Signal Corps; the Aviation Section, U.S. Signal Corps; the Division of Military Aeronautics, Secretary of War; the Army Air Service; the U.S. Army Air Corps; and the U.S. Army Air Forces. More than 54,000 Airmen have died in combat while serving in the Air Force and these historical service arms of the military.

Located on a promontory in Arlington, Virginia, overlooking the Pentagon and adjacent to Arlington Cemetery, the Air Force Memorial is easily seen on the skyline of Washington, D.C. and Northern Virginia in Arlington county.

Above is the glass pane in tribute to the missing man ...

... where someone left a tribute to a loved one.

It is an impressive memorial!  Have you visited any war memorials?  One randomly selected commenter from this week's blogs wins a book choice from my convention stash.   Comments are open through Saturday, October 17, 10 pm in Baltimore.  I'll post the winner on Sunday, October 18, at SOS Aloha.

Mahalo,

Kim in Baltimore
Aloha Spirit in Charm City

Aloha to Washington DC, the White House, and Boy Scout Memorial

 

I hosted several friends from the Book Obsessed Chicks (BOC) (link).  On Saturday, we attended the Washington Romance Writers (WRW) Reader Luncheon (link).  On Sunday, we enjoyed the beautiful fall day with a walk around Washington, DC.  Above is the White House.

We stopped in the White House Visitor's Center.  

I chuckled at this historic photo from August 1945 in which Navy boys join a conga line to celebrate the end of WWII.

We appreciated Jefferson's quote on the Commerce Building.

Walking back to our car, we passed by the Boy Scout Memorial.  From the National Park Service (link),

During the 50th Anniversary Year of Scouting (1959), a proposal was made to establish the memorial on a site in Washington, DC. Lyndon Johnson, who was the Senate majority leader at the time, introduced the measure to the Senate. It was constructed at no expense to the government. The funds were raised from Scout units and each donor signed a scroll that was later placed in the pedestal of the statue. The memorial was eventually unveiled in a ceremony on November 7, 1964. The statue was accepted for the country by Associate Supreme Court Justice Tom Clark, who noted it was his fiftieth anniversary as an Eagle Scout.

The statue itself consists of three figures (pictured at right). Each figure, a Boy Scout, man, and woman, symbolizes the idea of the great and noble forces that are an inspiring background for each Scout as he goes about the business of becoming a man and citizen. The male figure symbolizes physical, mental, and moral fitness, love of country, good citizenship, loyalty, honor, courage, and clean living. He carries a helmet, a symbol of masculine attire and a live oak branch, a symbol of peace and of strength. The female figure symbolizes enlightenment with the light of faith, love of God, high ideals, liberty, justice, freedom, democracy, and love of fellow man. She holds high the eternal flame of God's Holy Spirit. The figure of the Boy Scout represents the hopes of all past, present, and future scouts around the world and the hopes of every home, church, and school and that all that is great and noble in the nation's past and present will continue to live in scouts and through them for many generations to come.
The sculpture marks the location of the first National Scout Jamboree held in 1937.

Do you have any Boy Scouts in your family or neighborhood? One randomly selected commenter from this week's blogs wins a book choice from my convention stash.  Comments are open through Saturday, October 7, 10 pm in Baltimore.  I'll post the winner on Sunday, October 18.

Mahalo,

Kim in Baltimore
Aloha Spirit in Charm City

Aloha to USF Bulls and Rainbows

I share the pictures from the last day of our trip to the University of South Florida (USF) in Tampa.   Oldest, right, is now a freshman.  Youngest, left, has fun with the bulls.

I spotted this motor boat ... 

... which belongs to the Department of Geology.

A rainbow blessed our goodbye dinner with oldest.  We'll see him in December!

Where have you seen a rainbow?  One randomly selected commenter from this week's posts wins a book choice from my convention stash.  Comments are open through Saturday, September 26, 10 pm in Baltimore.  I'll post the winner on Sunday, September 27, at SOS Aloha (link).

Mahalo,

Kim in Baltimore
Aloha Spirit in Charm City

The sun set over his dorm ... and we drove away.

Aloha to Fairway Pizza, Suncoast Animal League, and College Mentors

During our recent visit to Florida, we stopped by Fairway Pizza in Palm Harbor.  From its website (link), 

For years we have served great food in a warm, comfortable atmosphere. For that reason, many of our customers have become like family to us. We hope to make you a part of our family also. Our food is prepared from our own recipes, using nothing but the best and freshest ingredients available. We do our best to be as prompt as possible in preparing your food. However, we will not compromise quality, so on occasion we may have to ask you to be patient. We know you will agree that it was well worth the wait. So enjoy, and welcome to the family.

Steve and Kathie

I worked at Fairway Pizza (at its previous location) during college.  We'll come back to that.  When my family arrived at Fairway Pizza, we noticed the large sign for the Suncoast Animal League,  From its website (link), 

Suncoast Animal League is a non-profit, no-kill animal rescue agency that takes in abandoned, abused, homeless and unwanted animals. We provide medical treatment, shelter, socialization and plenty of love to the animals while they wait for their forever home. Additionally, we provide specialized services for animals traumatized from previous experiences and – in some cases – provide temporary foster care in a home setting for those animals in need of more intense, hands-on care. Suncoast Animal League also counsels existing pet owners in solving common pet problems so that more animals are not abandoned or taken to shelters.

Fairway Pizza often hosts adoption events and dog washes in its back parking lot.  Hats off to Steve and Kathy for supporting this charitable endeavor!

Back to my college employment, Fairway Pizza was my first real job.  I was hired as a prep helper and dishwasher.  As soon as I turned 19, I was legal to serve beer so I was promoted to waitress.  Steve and Kathy taught me everything I needed to know about customer service - knowledge that carried me through the Air Force and community volunteering.  I also learned how to make quality food and build a strong foundation for family business.  Finally, I appreciate that they treated me like a friend as I matured through an awkward period during college.  

(Steve knows a few of my college antics ... but I also know his secret recipes).

This is the second, and expanded, location for Fairway Pizza. It now offers the Sports Page Pub with an outdoor deck and live music on the weekend.   Several families who adopted dogs enjoyed lunch on the deck; the dogs were treated to water bowls.

Thank you, Steve and Kathy, for welcoming my family!  Across the street, I noticed the Chatterbox North Family Restaurant, which gave me a chuckle.  The Chatterbox was a dive bar in South Tampa during my college years.  Sadly, the Chatterbox closed in 2001 (link).

Do you have a favorite family restaurant?  One randomly selected commenter from this week's posts wins a book choice from my convention stash.  Comments are open through Saturday, September 26, 10 pm in Baltimore.  I'll post the winner on Sunday, September 27, at SOS Aloha (link).

Mahalo,

Kim in Baltimore
Aloha Spirit in Charm City 

Chatterbox Restaurant in Palm Harbor

not to be confused with the Chatterbox Bar in Tampa