Author name: Gary

Physical Exam

I had a physical exam today. Dr. Hahn found everything okay. My cholesterol was about 179 which is okay, however, I will start taking Lipitor in a couple of days. This is based on the presentation I attended several months ago about cardiovascular health. The presenter had a compiling case for taking the drug.

Physical Exam Read More »

Tuesday’s Interval Run

Tuesday run went a whole lot better than expected. I expected the times to be 9 minutes or more and I thought I might have trouble getting all the laps below 10 minutes. Here is the results: Lap Time Pace RT 1 2:09 8:36 0:54 2 2:13 8:52 1:17 3 1:59 7:56 0:35 4 2:15

Tuesday’s Interval Run Read More »

New Long Run

I have added a new advanced workout to my Garmin 305. The name is “Nov Long Run” and consists of the following steps: Wait for lap key 12 miles with not target speed, heart rate or time. cool down for 1 mile Hopefully, I will get to use this sometime this month. Next weekend is

New Long Run Read More »

10 Mile Easy Run

I ran 10 miles today. Daniel, and his wife Andrea ran with me for the first 6 miles. Andrea’s mom joined us for several miles. It was a beautiful run, the sky was clear, the temperature about 60 with very little wind. We ran at about a 12 to 12.5 mile pace. You can check

10 Mile Easy Run Read More »

Luckenbach, TX

In October 7, 2007, Marilyn and I were out for the Luckenbach run with the Volkssportverein Friedrichsburg. Here are some of the pictures that we took. I had heard about Luckenbach, which is just a few miles from Friedrichsburg, for a long time. Both places started as mid-19th century German settlements in the Texas Hill

Luckenbach, TX Read More »

Patti’s 45 Mile Ride

Sunday I did Patti’s 45 mile ride from the Salt Lick in Round Rock Texas. I loved the ride, it’s one I am going to remember for a long time. There are several reasons: I was able to complete the ride feeling stong. I have ridden shorter versions of the same route several times before

Patti’s 45 Mile Ride Read More »

Edinburgh, Scotland in June, 2000

Edinburgh Castle Cramond Kirk tour with Willa Stewart Edinburgh was a special treat because we visited it with a native! Marilyn’s college friend, Moira Lees, often called Willa Stewart her “oldest friend” because Willa, at age 12, had braved the wartime blackout (without telling her parents) and had ridden her bicycle across town to see

Edinburgh, Scotland in June, 2000 Read More »

Claire’s Visit to America

Back in the late spring or early summer of 1990, Rodney called our house in Austin and asked if Larissa would like to accompany their family on a camping vacation, driving west from Texas to Arizona and then Nevada. We told him that Claire, an exchange student from France, was going to be visiting us

Claire’s Visit to America Read More »

Loading Supplies

Replenishing supplies was always a big chore for the U.S.S. Chicago CG-11, or any other navy ship. There were several ways to do this. It could be done in port, either by using cranes or just by using simple manpower. Or it could be done at sea from a resupply ship. The Chicago could come

Loading Supplies Read More »

Abandon Ship Drill

Abandon Ship was a very interesting drill, because we guys in the computer room would get to go outside. There were two phases to this drill. When I was a junior person in the division, I would go with my group to the exterior of the ship as fast as possible, and we would assemble

Abandon Ship Drill Read More »

Fire Drill

I don’t recall any fire drills while I was on the ship. I’m sure they had them, as fire was one of the greatest dangers of being on a warship. We had extensive training in bootcamp on extinguishing fires on a ship. We had numerous shipmates who could tell us about fires aboard ships. The

Fire Drill Read More »

Man Overboard Drill

I was never involved in one of these exercises, although we did have several people fall overboard while I was on the ship. The first thing to do was to throw the person a flotation device, and then report the event to the bridge. The bridge would immediately note the location and would report the

Man Overboard Drill Read More »

Repel Boarders Drill

This was a problem for which we did a lot of drills. The purpose was to prevent an individual or a small group of people from coming aboard to sabotage the ship and its mission. As we practiced it, the intrusion could could be a single individual or a protest with hundreds of people. When

Repel Boarders Drill Read More »

Guarding the Ship’s Brig

When I finally got my second class rating, it opened me up to many more responsible duties than I had previously been qualified to do. For example, as a Second Class Petty Officer, I could be a guard in the ship’s brig, the small jail for miscreants on the U.S.S. Chicago CG-11. One day my

Guarding the Ship’s Brig Read More »

Whale boat

On one memorable occasion, one of my friends in the ON Division missed the first step on the ship’s accommodation ladder as he moved from the whaleboat to the Chicago on a particularly rough day, with a storm brewing. He ended up floundering in the water. In the rough waves, the whaleboat was sometimes high

Whale boat Read More »

Climb Mount Baldy

In the summer of 1973, Marilyn, Tom Benton, and I drove out East of LA to climb mount Baldy. We drove as far as we could go, then hiked the rest of the way. It was slow going but the scenery was pretty. I found this very detailed web page about climbing Mount Baldy today.

Climb Mount Baldy Read More »

Commendation Letters to U.S.S. Chicago CG-11 in 1972

These letters commend the U.S.S. Chicago after the 1971-1972 WESTPAC deployment, which was my first cruise. This deployment was highlighted by the success of Operation Pocket Money and the mining of Haiphong Harbor. The original documents were posted in the officers’ wardroom. The text of each letter is copied from The Old Bluejacket website. http://oldbluejacket.com/chicago.htm

Commendation Letters to U.S.S. Chicago CG-11 in 1972 Read More »

Gary as a Thespian

In a little-known appearance as a thespian, Gary Pickens appeared in the Flagler High School Junior Class Play, A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court, adapted by John G. Fuller. The play was presented on March 26th and 27th. Gary appeared in the second performance, as the redoubtable (if blundering) knight named Sir Sagramor. This

Gary as a Thespian Read More »