StarJar
Well-Known Member
Yesterday I stopped at Carl's Jr. to get a hamburger, and, as I sat down, the customer in line, behind me, comes over to the adjacent table.
I noticed he had a t-shirt that said F-18 Hornet, so I ask him if he flies or works on the planes. He says he flies them, so then I tell him that I was an Avionics Tech, at Miramar in '82, and I ask if he knew some pilots that were in my squadron. No, he didn't know "Dirty" Dan Shewell, who was a Top Gun instructor and helped with the movie.
But then there was one I knew he would know. I asked, "What about Dick Naughton?" In typical fighter pilot fashion he said "Ya I knew him, he rode back seat with me at Fallon in '91". Well, I knew he would at least know him because Dick Naughton later became vice admiral of the Navy.
We then talked about how Dick Naughton got demoted, from Vice Admiral, because at the gate to the Naval Academy, the guard asked Naughton for his ID, and Naughton said, "I'm the Commanding Officer of this base, and you want to see my ID?" But the gate guard persisted and it became a tussell. I never knew the details, of how he lost a "star", so now, it was interesting to hear it in more detail.
Anyway we chatted about a few other things, and then his "to go" hamburger arrived at his table, and then he says, "Nice talking to you.", and then he takes a couple steps toward the door, and then he turns and says, "Ya, I'm the C.O. over here.", nodding toward the Navy base (Commanding Officer, El Centro Naval Air Station) with a nonchallant tone like "ya, I'm a bouncer at the nightclub down the street."
I was a little taken back, realizing I was just chatting with the Commanding Officer of our local Navy base, and I coughed pretty hard, since it felt like the base of my stomach had just got hit with a laser. He knew I would have no reply to that. That's why he saved it for the end, and then he was gone!
Needless to say the rest of my day was filled with memories of F-14's, and traveling across the globe with with all kinds of characters and experiences.
I noticed he had a t-shirt that said F-18 Hornet, so I ask him if he flies or works on the planes. He says he flies them, so then I tell him that I was an Avionics Tech, at Miramar in '82, and I ask if he knew some pilots that were in my squadron. No, he didn't know "Dirty" Dan Shewell, who was a Top Gun instructor and helped with the movie.
But then there was one I knew he would know. I asked, "What about Dick Naughton?" In typical fighter pilot fashion he said "Ya I knew him, he rode back seat with me at Fallon in '91". Well, I knew he would at least know him because Dick Naughton later became vice admiral of the Navy.
We then talked about how Dick Naughton got demoted, from Vice Admiral, because at the gate to the Naval Academy, the guard asked Naughton for his ID, and Naughton said, "I'm the Commanding Officer of this base, and you want to see my ID?" But the gate guard persisted and it became a tussell. I never knew the details, of how he lost a "star", so now, it was interesting to hear it in more detail.
Anyway we chatted about a few other things, and then his "to go" hamburger arrived at his table, and then he says, "Nice talking to you.", and then he takes a couple steps toward the door, and then he turns and says, "Ya, I'm the C.O. over here.", nodding toward the Navy base (Commanding Officer, El Centro Naval Air Station) with a nonchallant tone like "ya, I'm a bouncer at the nightclub down the street."
I was a little taken back, realizing I was just chatting with the Commanding Officer of our local Navy base, and I coughed pretty hard, since it felt like the base of my stomach had just got hit with a laser. He knew I would have no reply to that. That's why he saved it for the end, and then he was gone!
Needless to say the rest of my day was filled with memories of F-14's, and traveling across the globe with with all kinds of characters and experiences.
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