Posted on 08/25/2004 3:01:54 PM PDT by Shermy
Do you have any pets that have made an impact on you personally?
I have always had pets in my life and there are a few that I remember very fondly.
When I was serving on a swiftboat in Vietnam, my crewmates and I had a dog we called VC. We all took care of him, and he stayed with us and loved riding on the swiftboat deck. I think he provided all of us with a link to home and a few moments of peace and tanquility during a dangerous time. On day as our swiftboat was heading up a river, a mine exploded hard under our boat. After picking ourselves up, we discovered VC was MIA. Several minutes of frantic search followed after which we thought we lost him. We were relieved when another boat called asking if we were missing a dog. I turns out VC was catapulted from the deck of our boat and landed confused, but unhurt, on the deck of another boat in our patrol.
I also fondly remember a parakeet in college, Dodi Faustus. Dodi was a smart bird who learned a few words of French and Italian, but not smart enough to avoid having to be rescued from a tree once. My daughters and I had a Golden Retriever named Winston. Today, Teresa and I have a German Sheperd named Cym and a yellow parakeet.
For your consideration and comments.
A few from me:
1. VC the Flying Dog is a variation of Kerry's "mine" story. Question for physicists: What are the chances that the dog was catapulted from the deck of one boat to another? How could a mine explosion that caused such a catapult not have destroyed Kerry's aluminum-hulled boat...or any boat or ship?
2. Why didn't Kerry relate the "Rescuing Licorice the Hamster" story given this opportunity?
Ping.
The "flying dog" story was debunked here a few months ago by one of our glorious vets who was an artillery guy.
And you're right about the physics question. This whole story runs pretty high on the BS Smell-O-Meter.
Howz about poor little Licorice?
It takes him all of two sentences to mention Vietnam. And the media complains about the SVFT bringing up Vietnam?
The physics would be fairly easy. How far was the other boat, and what acceleration would it take in 3 feet of accel window to get there? If the accel is greater than about 3g's, the dog would not be in good shape at all and probably have at least broken legs.
I've known Vietnam vets who, 20 years after the war, wouldn't serve Vietnamise or even many Southeast Asian raced customers where I worked once. I highly doubt that any Vietnam soldier or sailor would name their dog VC.
There is a rumor that Charlie Waters, the former All-Pro defensive back for the Dallas Cowboys (and pro and College coach) was so disgusted with contract negotiations he had to endure with Gil Brandt, then Player personnel director for the Cowboys, he named his pet snake, Gil. I want to meet Charlie, have him sign my book he and Cliff Harris wrote, and ask hima about that.
This could be Kerry's dog. It flip-flops, too.
I do realize the story is BS on its face. I didn't know it came up before.
Perhaps now it seems less than innocuously comical with the present questioning of Kerry's "mine" story and the awarding of his third purple heart. That is, did Kerry attribute the earlier rice bin grenade wound to a fictional mine incident because the former circumstance would not qualify for a purple heart and his ticket home?
Kerry writes in the March 13 situation report that his boat hit a mine, like another did moments before.
That Lobby Poster for "Saving Private Hamster" can never be posted too often. It is hilarious.
This whole campaign runs pretty high on the BS Smell-O-Meter.
wouldnt that be like naming a dog 'nazi' during world war II?
you know its NOT TRUE because Kerry told all of us that soldiers in Vietnam killed animals for fun. How com he now says the soldiers gave the dog back, instead of killing it?
Well, pets can have a substantial impact on ones life.
Heck, I have a male Doberman and the first time I saw him resting on my porch on a hot summer day, it reminded me of the first time I had sex. It scared me to death and I was all alone at the time...those memories are seared..seared into my memory!
My uncle served in the German navy during WWII. In one of his letters that we found, he mentions how, when one of their boats hit a mine, the men looked like dwarfs because the impact shoved their lower leg bones up into their thighs. Their shoes were right up against their kneecaps.
Maybe "VC" ended up looking like a dachshund.
I don't know what difference that should make in a presidential election, but it brings to mind my own experience.
In the 60's I had a pet rock. My girlfrind got mad at me and hit me in the head with it. You might say it made an impact.
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