Ranting and Raving

Today is Sunday, May 1st, 2011 (in case you don't know what year it is).  Pope John Paul II has been beatified. The cleanup continues in Alabama. President Obama trumped the Donald at the White House Correspondents' Dinner last night.

We have landed again in Fredericksburg, Texas, one of the few spots in Texas we think is very much worth seeing and spending some time in. Now, after having seen most of this Lone Star State, Paul agrees with its dipstick, tea-baggin' Governor Rick Perry. Yes, Texas should secede from the union. Except for Fredericksburg, Johnson City, Luckenbach, UTEP*, San Elizario, Fort Davis, Big Bend National Park and environs, and the quality ethnic markets and our friends in Houston, this state has little if anything to offer. It needs a massive facelift. Of course the Governor had been rejecting all federal help for projects thinking it's some sort of socialist plot but now, just today, has complained that he's not getting enough federal help to fight the state's raging wildfires.  So therein lies the teabagger philosophy/confusion. Something akin to "I upped my salary. Now up yours." Huh? (This is Paul dictating. I only type.)

** University of Texas at El Paso, a great school

 

If the conservatives ever build the wall between Mexico and the U.S., we suggest continuing that wall from Brownsville, all the way around the border of Texas to Galveston. Give Texas back to Mexico. (Again, this is Paul, not Corita. I like Texas.)

Then there's that so-called "The Donald". Only he and the good Lord know what's up with this nut. The man is wackier than Mel Gibson, Orly Taitz, and Jerome Corsi all rolled into one. Our young men and women are dying in combat overseas while this draft-dodger flies around in his private fleet of Trump-labeled transportation with trophy wife #8, condemning everything Obama. And at the same time stating that he and his running mate, the brain-dead Gary Busey, could easily win the White House if he decides to run. Gary Busey maybe. Donald Trump never.

Now here's what I (Corita) think this clown is up to.  He's not running for President but setting us up for yet another faux reality show, this one with a presidential-campaign theme that mirrors the "Apprentice" series. NBC is obviously in on it and the announcement will take place later this month.

We'd like to know what you think. Weigh in with your opinion.

Paul cuts to the chase with Trump, simply calling him an a-hole.

And speaking of Orly Taitz, can anyone explain what this Ruskie emigre is up to? If there was ever a case for immediate deportation, this woman fits the bill. Then there's Jerome Corsi. After swiftboating war hero John Kerry, he's about to come out with another anti-Obama book explaining why Obama's birth certificate is a fraud. And that Obama does not even have a belly button. Obama must be from another world. Come on, folks, get a grip.

Now that we have that off our chests, back to our travels...

This is not Paul marveling at a lapdancer outside the trailer.

But at the Blue Angels performing at the Pensacola, Florida Naval Air Station. And who among you can boast that you flew with the Blue Angels? Well, Paul can. Back in 1980 when they were flying the A-4 Skyhawks.

We stayed just outside the Naval Air Station at an Elks Lodge and the Blue Angels did their morning performance right overhead.

Needless to say, Marine and Naval aviation in general are among the few things that still turn Paul on (I used to but now it's jet fighters like this F-14 on static display outside the Naval Aviation Museum, which Paul also flew on in 1978). 

Inside the museum is quite a bit of history about Paul's old (and I do mean "old") fighter squadron VMF(AW) 451.

And this is the F-8 Crusader, circa 1960s, that Paul worked on in the Marine Corps. Let me add that Paul says he spent many an hour crawling down the intake making sure there was no debris or snakes or what have you inside that could foul the engine. Now, some forty years later, Paul has ballooned up to about twice the size of that opening you see there.

This is my fourth visit to the museum in the last three years. Paul dragged me kicking and screaming but because my dad served in the real Marine Corps in World War Two and Korea, he (Paul) bought me this T-shirt, which I wear with pride.

This is an old fort on the grounds of the NAS (Naval Air Station) that in the 19th century helped protect Pensacola Bay.

And close to where the Apache chief Geronimo and his band, once the Army managed to capture them, were held for a short time.

This is one of his several families. When not killing white people, this guy was busy making babies. He was one prolific dude.

And we were told that somewhere in this cemetery at the NAS, one of Geronimo's 112 wives is buried. Couldn't find her...

But did find the grave of a man who married a woman 24 years his senior. The original "cougar".  She must have been hot. And rich.

The Naval Aviation Museum is free but this is not: the Pensacola NAS Lighthouse. That's why there are no interior shots.

This white sand beach is only steps away from the lighthouse.

This was the only beach we visited on this latest trip to Florida.

If you're lucky enough to be stationed at Pensacola or are visiting military, you have access to miles of pristine coastline, a wonderful waterfront RV park, cheap groceries and gas, and the Blue Angels.

Why can't all of America be like this?

God Bless America. And Trump...

get a life.