Tag Archives: uss cole

Top Gun Landmark Burns

In my opinion, the film Top Gun was the one that boosted Tom Cruise to superstar status, a place he hasn’t left despite his strange Scientology ramblings and couch jumping ways. The film, which has grossed over $353 million both nationally and internationally, has become a huge part of pop culture. The movie received four Oscar nominations, although it only won one (for Best Music, Original Song). There are plenty of pop culture references to Top Gun. There is a FedEx ad in which a carpet warehouse guide radios a co-worker when he sees a flying carpet getting away – … Continue reading →

Anchors Aweigh (1945)

“Anchors Aweigh” is a charming film. When Clarence Doolittle (Frank Sinatra) and Joseph Brady (Gene Kelly), members of the gun crew on a Navy submarine, take heroic action in the face of danger, they are awarded the Silver Cross and given three days of leave on shore in California. They immediately head to Hollywood, where Lola, one of Joe’s many girlfriends, is waiting for him. However, he’s not fated to meet up with Lola—he keeps getting sidetracked. First, there’s Clarence, who has never had a girlfriend and badly wants Joe to teach him how to get one. Clarence is a … Continue reading →

Well, You Just Never Know: A Few Good Men

I was on the treadmill tonight (yes, a miracle I know) when a commercial came on television. Normally, this would be the time to flip over to my alternate channel, you know, the one I visit so I don’t have to watch commercials. But, since my husband, the commercial fanatic, was in the room, I left it on. I tuned out and turned up the treadmill, so I really couldn’t hear the commercial, but I heard Randy say “I didn’t know that.” I looked up and saw the commercial was for a law firm and it said something about “When … Continue reading →

Frugal Backpacks

Have you found that your child’s backpack is already torn or broken? This just happened to a neighbor of ours. Their brand new Incredible backpack that they bought back in August split a seam and now they need a new one. At the moment, they are holding the backpack together with some duct tape, but it is not a great solution. Not only does it look bad, but it has to be re-taped on a daily basis. If you find yourself in this situation, or you just want to get ahead of the back pack rush for next year, I … Continue reading →

The Haunting of the Battleship North Carolina

I love a good ghost story and I stumbled upon one this weekend. My best friend Ralph came into town and he likes to see historical sites, so we decided to visit the Battleship North Carolina in Wilmington. Once on board, I realized why I never joined the Navy. I am sure modern day ships are quite different, but this relic from World War II was crowded, dark, and a bit creepy. As we went from level to level, Ralph commented that he bet this ship was haunted. Once we were through with the tour, we visited the gift shop. … Continue reading →

Remembering the USS Cole

On September 11, 2006, we commemorated the fifth anniversary of the 2001 terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, as well as the plane which crashed in Pennsylvania. But when October 12, 2006 rolls around, will anyone think about what happened just eleven months before that day? On October 12, 2000, an unspeakable act of terror occurred against one of our Navy’s ships. While it was refueling in Yemen, the USS Cole (DDG 67) was attacked by suicide bombers who approached the ship on a small boat. This attack was the deadliest against a US Naval vessel … Continue reading →