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February 15th, 2005 Point of Clarification - In yesterday's post regarding the 1941 Johnson, "This is my rifle" should not be taken literally. It is a reference to My Rifle, The creed of a United States Marine. I don't own a 1941 Johnson, though it would be a nice item to have in a collection. PayPal button is on the right, wink wink nudge nudge. The USNA -
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy advises that you take a towel with you wherever you go. Credit cards are also highly recommended. I had somehow managed to forget mine. The plane landed at 1 AM locally at Baltimore International. I proceeded to get my luggage and went to the car rental station to pick up my ride. Of course, they wouldn't take my debit card (even though it had a credit card number) and wouldn't give me the car, even though my photo ID matched their records. I ended up staying the night in the terminal, watching CNN and my luggage. At 6 AM, when their counter suddenly became able to take debit cards, I signed in and started driving to the motel where I had reservations. Of course, the instructions I got at the counter on how to get to Washington Heights ended up not only confusing but wrong. Eventually, around 10:30, I got to the motel. They had lost my reservation, and wouldn't put me up - they had overbooked, and I got shafted in the meantime. Eventually I got to Annapolis, where Dan's family and friends were getting ready for the ceremony. The cathedral there is large and pleasant, with stained glass everywhere - imposing but welcoming, in the same sense as the Air Force Academy but less modern, more religious, more devout. Where the AFA Chapel is stately and modern, the USNA Chapel is stately and traditional. The ceremony was wonderful, and the reception was warm - old friends were met, new acquaintances were made. Dan's mom helped me out by putting me up for the night in the Bed & Breakfast she had rented for the week. The next day, Sunday, I toured the campus and took pictures. The grounds are well tended, and historical artifacts and monuments are almost littered across the campus. Being Sunday the buildings were closed to visitors, so I didn't get to visit the museum, but the gift shop was open. I bought a shot glass for my collection (I collect them from places I've been), and then went to church. After the (very) Catholic service I said my goodbyes and left for the airport. I'd like to go back, if only to make the rounds again in a much less hurried fashion. History can be mined, literally, from the ground of the area. Pain is weakness leaving the body - at least that's what I keep telling myself every time my legs complain. I've been doing rifle drill (see page 64 for details), and oh. boy. do. I. hurt. Its as if a platoon of Marines are trying to assault my legs. Strangely, my arms don't hurt. As much. If you want to do those exercises and don't have a rifle, you can use a weight, or pole, or something similar. Just remember to stretch. Valentines - We went to Elle for dinner, where we had duck with risotto. The entree was very cheesy, very filling. The meat was a little gamey, but aside from that it was slightly bland. There's a lot of room to play with duck when it comes to spicing it up. Too bad its not a common ingredient in American cuisine. That's a bit odd, given our flyways. |
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This site is copyright 2001-2005 by Matthew Maynard. All rights reserved. All your trademarks, copyrights, insignia, and other distinguishing characteristics are belong to you. Sharks in suits make for good joke material. Don't leave a mess on your way out. Links to external websites are valid at the time of article authoring and may decay as time goes by. But we'll always have Paris. The opinions on this site are those of their author and do not represent anyone else's views. That is, unless and until you agree with them, at which point they become yours as well. Opinions expressed in the comments belong to the comment poster and may be edited for content. Play nice with others, since you want them to play nice with you. |
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Established
in 1845 as the school at which our Naval and Marine Corps Officers
are trained in the ways of the sea. I visited there in May 2001, for
the wedding of a friend of mine, Dan. He graduated the day before
and got to shake
