I'm limping through blog production this morning because of a glitch on my main computer.
Since I'm using my laptop (good practice for upcoming trip) and not yet fully acquainted with its options, my pictures are raw images from this morning and yesterday, and text will be brief.
It's a lovely but breezy summer morning. I'll have work to do out in the yard where branches and leaves have blown all over the place over night.
We listened to a series of bumping sounds on the deck throughout the night where the breeze kept sending the deck furniture into motion.
The great part this morning, however, is that it's a drying breeze. No toweling off necessary for Bridie this morning because the surface and the grass where we walked is dry.
The horses are in horse heaven because I turned them into the first pasture which has not been grazed. They don't have to extend their necks downward to eat.
Except for the computer glitch, I'd say this is one of the loveliest mornings of 2022. They say we'll have some storms over the weekend, but with all this wind, drying out should be ahead of the game.
I saw the link below on my brother Mike's Facebook page this morning. Just seeing it took me back almost 50 years when my mother received a telephone call from Mike who was in far off Vietnam.
No social media or instant news then. Time had passed since his helicopter had been shot down by a SAM missile, and there was no texting to let us know immediately after the fact.
I remember the summer morning, one somewhat like this when I was just outside the house. Mother came out the back door to tell me she had just talked to Mike and that he had called to tell her he was okay.
Of course, here in North Idaho, far from any news centers, he had to explain why he was okay.
Later, we learned that Mike had earned the distinction of being the first American helicopter pilot to survive being hit by a SAM missile. His story was written up in "Stars and Stripes," the military newspaper.
It was quite some time before we saw a copy of the story.
Forty years later, Mike wrote a book about the experience, naming it "Missile, Missile, Missile." It is available on Amazon.com.
The item in the link, I believe, was a somewhat technical write-up of the steps he followed once the missile hit. He hoped the information would help future pilots encountering similar situations.
I believe the exact date for this shootdown was June 22, 1972, so I'm sure on that day, Mike will be doing 50 years of reflecting and once more feeling grateful that he survived.
So, I invite you to check out the story, which can be found on pages 17-20 in the aviation publication.
With that, I'll wish you a happy Thursday and try to figure out what's going on with my main computer.
Enjoy your day.
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