I have singled up all lines and cast them off on cold gray misty dawns and plotted the bearing to the Cape Henry Light leaving home port.
Before I hit the Boat I trained for two years on the job I was to do, it was after I arrived on board that I started my real education. I was a mess crank, non-qual and nearly got the Golden Flapper Award. I went Ho! Ho! Ho! in the Escape Tower and nearly drowned in the Casualty Trainer. I learned to be prepared. My shipmates taught me what I needed to know.
Studied piping tabs so hard that I can still trace out major air, hydraulic and seawater systems today. I have been on Port and Starboard as well as Port and Report. I slept through my first trip to test depth.
We rode the Chicken Switches to the surface and heard the screw of a torpedo pass close aboard. I learned how to cleanup after a Broken Spear and how to render a Subroc warhead unusable.
I have a Shell Back and a Blue Nose. I know the jokes and the hazing on the Boats: Greasing; Pressure Test; Sea Bats; Got any nude pictures of your wife? and more. I have been driven crazy and driven others crazy just to relieve the boredom. We watched the same six movies every night for three months even though we had over a hundred aboard.
I have had to wash my clean clothes twice before my wife would let me bring my sea bag in the house after a long run because of the smell..
I was drenched by the diesel on topside watch in the heat of
the Med and froze in Groton one memorable January night. I was the Shore
Patrol in Christiansted, but never saw another White Hat all night
long. Loved and hated the Boat and my officers. Gotten drunk in foreign ports and saw cultural marvels.
In practice, I have sank more tonnage than all the Boats of all sides during both World Wars. I am far from being the only one able to make that claim.
Traded for the dog watch as the below decks watch so I could play with my daughter on the Mess Deck during more than one holiday duty day. Played roulette for the first time at the Midway Party and learned card games for other times.
Counted turns in Sonar and flew the Boat as a plainsman. Sat at the Firing Key and prayed not to hear the order to shoot. Waltzed Matilda for hours on end. Been prosecuted out of an Area of Operation and snuck back in to continue the job. Been put on report and commended.
Been to Scotland, Puerto Rico, Spain, Italy, Norway, Saint Crouix and off the coast of other places I still can't talk about. Drank my Fish soaked in Sambuca and had my Crow tacked on. Loaded stores (cups of fresh milk coming up from below to slake our thirst and go with the "biscuits" we were scarfing down in Holy Loch) and weapons (a restraing strap breaking after we had stared lowering a MK-48 was handled with no panic). Eaten powdered eggs, nearly rotten cabbage and way too much canned ravioli, along with some of the best food I have ever had. Made friends I still have and worked with men I couldn't stand, but trusted with my life to do their jobs. Seen men who could not handle the Boat break.
I have been on the Bridge while every star in the universe shone down in all their glory and watched dolphins surf the bow waves as we started into port.
I Qualified. I am a part of a Brotherhood of all other Submariners. I stood the watch and would do it again if my Country need my tired old bones.
Wednesday, November 13, 2013
The Travele's Choice
He stands at a fork in the
road-bent, bowed and weary from his journey. A choice must be made,
to continue forward on the hard, cold road or take the branch that leads
quickly to his narrow bed.
The dark hag beacons him,
urging him to ride her brother's pale horse to that cold inn. To put
his burdens, pain and cares down- to rest full and dark. No companion
is there to urge him on, not for a long time. No faith keeps him on his
journey, no hope for a lighter load tomorrow. Only duty to the
innocent holds him to his steepening path. Few joys have have lightened
his burdens, few companions have traveled with him for long. Each joy
and companion he treasures as he journeys down the path looking forward
to the next unexpected treasure around the next bend.
He considers his pains and
his desires, then hikes up his burdens to continue down the path he is
on. Pains, sorrows and loneliness travel on with him, but
he continues. There is still joy to be found and the possibility of
companions on this road before he rest. The fork in the road is never
too far ahead to take, but for now he will wait to rest in his narrow
bed.
A post for Veterans
One Sunday in 2006, a young guy comes up to my Jewelry & Watch
Repair kiosk in the Silver City Galleria Mall (Taunton, MA). He showed
me a item I had made on commission several months before, a sterling
silver plate in the shape of a dog tag with a cross cut out, it had been
a gift to him from a friend that had shipped out to Iraq the previous
year. He asked me to make him some plain ones, without the cutout. He
was shipping out for Iraq soon & wanted to have them engraved with
something to give to his family & friends. I got all fifteen of
them done in two days. After he told me what he wanted them for,
I thought about what I would put on them, if I were going off to war.
This is what I came up with.
Pax,
Jim
Pax,
Jim
US Navy FTG2(SS) 1973-1979
I Have Chosen!
I have chosen this Duty.
I can not let it pass.
Not because I won't miss you,
nor that I love you less,
but because I love you more.
I have chosen this Duty,
To defend our Country,
our People, our Home.
To defend you.
I have chosen this duty,
to be one of the "Rough Men".
Keep me in your heart until I return.
" We sleep safe in our beds because rough men stand ready in the night to visit violence on those who would do us harm. "
George Orwell
Copyright 2006 J. M. Revells
A Christmas story I wrote a while ago.
"A Lump of Coal"
It was Christmas Eve a couple of years ago, I had been having a rough time, I was at a bar on the way home to drown my sorrows. The job was a bitch; with a boss who thought he was King; my son had hit the Terrible Twos with a vengeance; my baby girl had the colic and my wife was in the throws of another bout of Postpartum Depression. In general I was feeling used and abused about my life.
I had stopped in the bar to steel myself for a less than perfect Christmas that was costing me more than I could afford, with the bill collectors already calling about the hospital bills that the company insurance didn't cover on the baby's birth. I had had first one double with a beer chaser then two more in short order, as I was finishing off the last beer the Bartender came over and put a black rock on the bar in front of me.
"What's that?" I asked.
"It's a lump of coal. I'm playing Santa tonight and you're about to be a very bad boy." he replied. "You are about to get in your car and drive home, right?" I admitted as much, he continued "You've had enough to make your
driving skills less than optimal. In fact, as an expert on drinking, I would say you're drunk. If you drive drunk you are likely to get more than a lump of coal."
"Yea, yea, just what I need a lecture on drunk driving from a bartender!"
I started to get up, when he touched my arm and said, "Yes, I give this lecture to any one that needs it this time of year, because of my brother. He stopped by here one Christmas Eve after his company Christmas party. He drove a coal truck and had one more load to drop before he went home for the night. He had a couple of more drinks with me as well. He was totaly sloshed when he got up to go. I knew he had had more than enough, but he said he was going right home after dropping his load up the street from my house. He said he had to do it or his boss would fire him. They knew at work that he was drinking more than he should, they had warned him that his job was in jeopardy if he missed any more deliveries."
"I had to close the bar so he left. My wife had the VW, she and the kids were due to pick me up soon. We were going to spend Christmas Eve with her folks. I had closed the bar and was waiting out front for her, she was always on time no matter what, when a cop car pulled up. They asked my name and if my brother was a driver for the Coal Company. When I said yes, they asked me to come with them, that he had been involved in an accident."
I could see the tears in his eyes as he continued, "They took me to the truck, it was stopped in front of my house. As we pulled up to the back of the truck the first thing I saw was my brother sitting on the curb crying.
When he saw me he just started to say he was sorry over and over. The next thing I noticed was some metal the color of my VW sticking out from under the dump truck."
"My wife and kids were dead. They told me my brother hadn't seen her because he was too drunk. He was speeding up the street when my wife pulled out of the driveway. He pled guilty to manslaughter and committed suicide shortly after being released from jail-he just couldn't forgive himself."
"I found this lump of coal on my lawn, it is part of the load he was delivering when he killed them."
"May I call a cab for you? It will be my Christmas gift." he asked. I took that cab ride. My problems didn't seem so bad after what he had told me. My wife was surprised when I came home in the cab. She was amazed that
I gave her such a big hug then spent the rest of the evening playing with the kids. Later that night she asked why, so I told her about the bartender's lump of coal. We were both in tears by the end.
The day after Christmas I had to go get the car for work Monday, so I went in to say thank you to the bartender. After I described him to the other bartender, I asked when he would be in again, the guy looked at me
strange. "Never, my Uncle left me the bar when he died some twenty years ago." I left the bar wondering.
Copyright 2000
Revised 2013
JM Revells
It was Christmas Eve a couple of years ago, I had been having a rough time, I was at a bar on the way home to drown my sorrows. The job was a bitch; with a boss who thought he was King; my son had hit the Terrible Twos with a vengeance; my baby girl had the colic and my wife was in the throws of another bout of Postpartum Depression. In general I was feeling used and abused about my life.
I had stopped in the bar to steel myself for a less than perfect Christmas that was costing me more than I could afford, with the bill collectors already calling about the hospital bills that the company insurance didn't cover on the baby's birth. I had had first one double with a beer chaser then two more in short order, as I was finishing off the last beer the Bartender came over and put a black rock on the bar in front of me.
"What's that?" I asked.
"It's a lump of coal. I'm playing Santa tonight and you're about to be a very bad boy." he replied. "You are about to get in your car and drive home, right?" I admitted as much, he continued "You've had enough to make your
driving skills less than optimal. In fact, as an expert on drinking, I would say you're drunk. If you drive drunk you are likely to get more than a lump of coal."
"Yea, yea, just what I need a lecture on drunk driving from a bartender!"
I started to get up, when he touched my arm and said, "Yes, I give this lecture to any one that needs it this time of year, because of my brother. He stopped by here one Christmas Eve after his company Christmas party. He drove a coal truck and had one more load to drop before he went home for the night. He had a couple of more drinks with me as well. He was totaly sloshed when he got up to go. I knew he had had more than enough, but he said he was going right home after dropping his load up the street from my house. He said he had to do it or his boss would fire him. They knew at work that he was drinking more than he should, they had warned him that his job was in jeopardy if he missed any more deliveries."
"I had to close the bar so he left. My wife had the VW, she and the kids were due to pick me up soon. We were going to spend Christmas Eve with her folks. I had closed the bar and was waiting out front for her, she was always on time no matter what, when a cop car pulled up. They asked my name and if my brother was a driver for the Coal Company. When I said yes, they asked me to come with them, that he had been involved in an accident."
I could see the tears in his eyes as he continued, "They took me to the truck, it was stopped in front of my house. As we pulled up to the back of the truck the first thing I saw was my brother sitting on the curb crying.
When he saw me he just started to say he was sorry over and over. The next thing I noticed was some metal the color of my VW sticking out from under the dump truck."
"My wife and kids were dead. They told me my brother hadn't seen her because he was too drunk. He was speeding up the street when my wife pulled out of the driveway. He pled guilty to manslaughter and committed suicide shortly after being released from jail-he just couldn't forgive himself."
"I found this lump of coal on my lawn, it is part of the load he was delivering when he killed them."
"May I call a cab for you? It will be my Christmas gift." he asked. I took that cab ride. My problems didn't seem so bad after what he had told me. My wife was surprised when I came home in the cab. She was amazed that
I gave her such a big hug then spent the rest of the evening playing with the kids. Later that night she asked why, so I told her about the bartender's lump of coal. We were both in tears by the end.
The day after Christmas I had to go get the car for work Monday, so I went in to say thank you to the bartender. After I described him to the other bartender, I asked when he would be in again, the guy looked at me
strange. "Never, my Uncle left me the bar when he died some twenty years ago." I left the bar wondering.
Copyright 2000
Revised 2013
JM Revells
Thursday, October 3, 2013
Some times my thought keep turning back to another time and place
Well it's Autumn here in New Hampshire, the trees have finally turned into the riot of color that brings people from all over the planet to see the leaves change. It's the best time of the year to be here, but I find my mind is wandering back to the first maple trees I remember seeing. It was when living on Boscabal Street in Nashville. There were two huge maple trees in the front yard that provider amazing color in the fall. They were part of my life and I remember them well. Last time I was in Nashville I went by to check on them and they were still there.
In the spring and summer there would be giant garden spider webs stretching from the lower branches to the ground. In the early morning hours the dew would create a kaleidoscope feel to the sun shining though them.
Out back of the house next door was a commercial smokehouse that did hams and sausages; you could smell the hickory smoke all over the neighborhood.
Most falls Granny would have my Uncles and us kids take all the leaves and pile them on this flower bed in the back yard. We would take and bury a bunch of potatoes a couple of inches in the dirt then place all of the cast iron cookware in the leaves just before we set them on fire. The cast iron would be cleaned out, ready to re-season and all of us would have baked potatoes smothered in butter standing around the ashes of the fire. It was a wonderful way to spend a brisk fall day.
The smells of autumn were wonderful as well! The hickory wood from the smokehouse mixing with the smell of the oak wood and coal burning in the fireplaces of the houses and the leaves burning in the yards all on a crisp clear fall day. It makes me want to go back.
In the spring and summer there would be giant garden spider webs stretching from the lower branches to the ground. In the early morning hours the dew would create a kaleidoscope feel to the sun shining though them.
Out back of the house next door was a commercial smokehouse that did hams and sausages; you could smell the hickory smoke all over the neighborhood.
Most falls Granny would have my Uncles and us kids take all the leaves and pile them on this flower bed in the back yard. We would take and bury a bunch of potatoes a couple of inches in the dirt then place all of the cast iron cookware in the leaves just before we set them on fire. The cast iron would be cleaned out, ready to re-season and all of us would have baked potatoes smothered in butter standing around the ashes of the fire. It was a wonderful way to spend a brisk fall day.
The smells of autumn were wonderful as well! The hickory wood from the smokehouse mixing with the smell of the oak wood and coal burning in the fireplaces of the houses and the leaves burning in the yards all on a crisp clear fall day. It makes me want to go back.
Sunday, August 25, 2013
A little traveling music please?
Since this Blog is supposed to have information on traveling and what to do on your trips I guess I should tell something about my last trip. Wish I had had a trip recently, but I haven't, so how about a little information on the area I now live and work in?
The Upper Valley of the Connecticut River is comprised of the towns around White River Junction, VT Hanover and Lebanon, NH. There are some great places to visit all around here.
Today I think I will talk about White River Junction (http://www.whiteriverjunction.org/). The name is derived because it was a major train junction at the intersection of the White River and the Connecticut River. It is a strange little town. It struggles with it's identity like Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde. When you get off of I-91 at Exit 13 you see it's nature spread out before you. Some industrial bleak and some high culture. If you go west you come to a plethora of moderate to high end hotels on the south side of the road across from the stately old buildings of the Veterans Hospital. Even there it is a struggle between the upper end motels and the low end. There is a gas station and liqueur store just up the street before the turnoff to the modern Aquatic Center (http://uvac-swim.org/swimming/). Going to the east off the exit brings you to North Main Street which goes down to the main part of town. Immediately at the exit are a few places to eat and get gas. I am not a huge fan of China Station, a buffet restaurant, but it is inexpensive. If you turn onto Sykes Mountain Avenue just down the street past the McDonald's you will come to the Cross Roads Cafe. It's food is good over all and worth a stop if you don't want the usual fast food stop while traveling. A little further down is a place I really enjoy. I must admit it is owned by a friend of mine, Sing. The Taj-E-India (http://taj-e-india.com/) is a takeout only and catering place. It serves Indian and some Chinese food. You can order it as hot/spicy as you like and, unlike many places in New England get it spicy. I highly recommend this place.
Going back to Main Street you will come to an interesting place to visit the Tip Top Cafe (http://www.tiptopcafevermont.com/) and the other shops located in the same building and nearby are upscale and diverse. You can get antiques; make a stained glass window; have a costume made; bind a book; fire a pot; or dance the night away at the nearest thing to a club kid scene the Upper Valley offers. Further down the street are a couple of day restaurants that do breakfast and lunch. I have not tried either the Tucker Box or the Polka Dot Dinner nor Bo Ho's. In the same block of buildings are the Hotel Coolidge (http://www.hotelcoolidge.com/about/index.html) an old Railroad hotel; the Northern Stage Theater (http://northernstage.org/), which brings Broadway Shows to our area, and a number of artsy or funky shops. Near by on South Main Street is the Center for Cartoon Studies (http://www.cartoonstudies.org/) an internationally recognized art school. Further dawn the street is a fine dining establishment called Elixir (http://www.elixirrestaurant.com/) and a music venue called Tupelo Music Hall (http://www.tupelohallvermont.com/) which also functions as a dance club called Club 188 on some of the nights that there is no concert offered.
Bridge Street takes off from North Main just as it turns into South Main. along this street you can visit one of two museums in town, if it is still open, or get a yoga lesson. The Main Street Museum (http://www.mainstreetmuseum.org/) is an eclectic mixture of art and taxidermy displayed in an old Fire House, it also host an occasional evening of local music. Just off of Bridge Street is Depot Street where the second museum is located. The Rail Road Museum (http://cvrr.railfan.net/glorydays/pages/allaboard.html) is located at the Am Track Station and has a real steam engine as part of it's display. They also have a scenic railway that has special trips all year long, the Green Mountain Railroad (http://www.rails-vt.com/) it is a great alternative to leaf peeping from your car in all that traffic.
Across the bridge on Bridge Street is Maple Street and if you follow it on out to Hartford, VT you will come across a nice little historic society and Big Fatty's Barbecue (http://www.urbanspoon.com/r/315/1420487/restaurant/Vermont/White-River-Junction/Big-Fattys-BBQ-Hartford) their barbecue is OK, but they are the only place in New England outside of a Cracker Barrel Restaurant that I have found fried okra!
The Upper Valley of the Connecticut River is comprised of the towns around White River Junction, VT Hanover and Lebanon, NH. There are some great places to visit all around here.
Today I think I will talk about White River Junction (http://www.whiteriverjunction.org/). The name is derived because it was a major train junction at the intersection of the White River and the Connecticut River. It is a strange little town. It struggles with it's identity like Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde. When you get off of I-91 at Exit 13 you see it's nature spread out before you. Some industrial bleak and some high culture. If you go west you come to a plethora of moderate to high end hotels on the south side of the road across from the stately old buildings of the Veterans Hospital. Even there it is a struggle between the upper end motels and the low end. There is a gas station and liqueur store just up the street before the turnoff to the modern Aquatic Center (http://uvac-swim.org/swimming/). Going to the east off the exit brings you to North Main Street which goes down to the main part of town. Immediately at the exit are a few places to eat and get gas. I am not a huge fan of China Station, a buffet restaurant, but it is inexpensive. If you turn onto Sykes Mountain Avenue just down the street past the McDonald's you will come to the Cross Roads Cafe. It's food is good over all and worth a stop if you don't want the usual fast food stop while traveling. A little further down is a place I really enjoy. I must admit it is owned by a friend of mine, Sing. The Taj-E-India (http://taj-e-india.com/) is a takeout only and catering place. It serves Indian and some Chinese food. You can order it as hot/spicy as you like and, unlike many places in New England get it spicy. I highly recommend this place.
Going back to Main Street you will come to an interesting place to visit the Tip Top Cafe (http://www.tiptopcafevermont.com/) and the other shops located in the same building and nearby are upscale and diverse. You can get antiques; make a stained glass window; have a costume made; bind a book; fire a pot; or dance the night away at the nearest thing to a club kid scene the Upper Valley offers. Further down the street are a couple of day restaurants that do breakfast and lunch. I have not tried either the Tucker Box or the Polka Dot Dinner nor Bo Ho's. In the same block of buildings are the Hotel Coolidge (http://www.hotelcoolidge.com/about/index.html) an old Railroad hotel; the Northern Stage Theater (http://northernstage.org/), which brings Broadway Shows to our area, and a number of artsy or funky shops. Near by on South Main Street is the Center for Cartoon Studies (http://www.cartoonstudies.org/) an internationally recognized art school. Further dawn the street is a fine dining establishment called Elixir (http://www.elixirrestaurant.com/) and a music venue called Tupelo Music Hall (http://www.tupelohallvermont.com/) which also functions as a dance club called Club 188 on some of the nights that there is no concert offered.
Bridge Street takes off from North Main just as it turns into South Main. along this street you can visit one of two museums in town, if it is still open, or get a yoga lesson. The Main Street Museum (http://www.mainstreetmuseum.org/) is an eclectic mixture of art and taxidermy displayed in an old Fire House, it also host an occasional evening of local music. Just off of Bridge Street is Depot Street where the second museum is located. The Rail Road Museum (http://cvrr.railfan.net/glorydays/pages/allaboard.html) is located at the Am Track Station and has a real steam engine as part of it's display. They also have a scenic railway that has special trips all year long, the Green Mountain Railroad (http://www.rails-vt.com/) it is a great alternative to leaf peeping from your car in all that traffic.
Across the bridge on Bridge Street is Maple Street and if you follow it on out to Hartford, VT you will come across a nice little historic society and Big Fatty's Barbecue (http://www.urbanspoon.com/r/315/1420487/restaurant/Vermont/White-River-Junction/Big-Fattys-BBQ-Hartford) their barbecue is OK, but they are the only place in New England outside of a Cracker Barrel Restaurant that I have found fried okra!
Wednesday, August 14, 2013
I just dropped in to see what condition my condition was in...
It's been far longer than I meant it to be since I made my last post, sorry about that. Since this is about my current condition I'll tell you about my situation as it stands. I drive cab, and dispatch, in the Upper Connecticut River Vally on the border between New Hampshire and Vermont. This area includes Hanover, home of Dartmouth College, Lebanon and White River Junction. It is really a great area of New England to live in. I am renting a place in Enfield, NH.
At my job we have just gone through a major schedule change that is kicking my tail while I adjust to it. Two nights per week I work from five in the evening to five in the morning, then three nights I work from midnight to eight in the morning. Starting today I believe I have found the right sleep schedule that will allow me to function on this schedule better than I had been. At this point my scheduled days off are Friday and Saturday which will allow me to start attending more nearby SCA events as well as some Living History Association events down at Old Fort Number Four.
That's the good news, the bad is that my car broke down and it will cost excessively ($3000.00-$4,500.00) to get it repaired. I will have to save for a good long time to get it fixed. So I am on the lookout for a cheep car to get me back and forth to work, before my boss's good nature about getting me picked up to come to and from work is too greatly strained.
I plan to put up another crowd funding campaign to get the money together to attend the Metal Smith's Symposium (http://ekmg.eastkingdom.org/mss/) on September 27-29. It is my intention to teach a class or two down at the site in West Virginia this year. My hope is to get enough money to rent a van or car for the trip. If it is unsuccessful I will not be able to attend since my income just covers my bills and all my reserves have gone to help resolve an untenable situation down in Georgia.
For the past month I have been thinking how to proceed with Project Trollhiem. I have come to the conclusion that it might be more practical to start by establishing the campground and then developing the school from there. I will attempt to teach classes in metalsmithing at every chance I get, but the development of the school will have to wait until we can get the campground going. At this point I am three years from being old enough to take early Social Security Retirement. If nothing else happens I plan to do that and I will use it to establish the campground.
So that's where I am at. Thanks for reading the blog.
At my job we have just gone through a major schedule change that is kicking my tail while I adjust to it. Two nights per week I work from five in the evening to five in the morning, then three nights I work from midnight to eight in the morning. Starting today I believe I have found the right sleep schedule that will allow me to function on this schedule better than I had been. At this point my scheduled days off are Friday and Saturday which will allow me to start attending more nearby SCA events as well as some Living History Association events down at Old Fort Number Four.
That's the good news, the bad is that my car broke down and it will cost excessively ($3000.00-$4,500.00) to get it repaired. I will have to save for a good long time to get it fixed. So I am on the lookout for a cheep car to get me back and forth to work, before my boss's good nature about getting me picked up to come to and from work is too greatly strained.
I plan to put up another crowd funding campaign to get the money together to attend the Metal Smith's Symposium (http://ekmg.eastkingdom.org/mss/) on September 27-29. It is my intention to teach a class or two down at the site in West Virginia this year. My hope is to get enough money to rent a van or car for the trip. If it is unsuccessful I will not be able to attend since my income just covers my bills and all my reserves have gone to help resolve an untenable situation down in Georgia.
For the past month I have been thinking how to proceed with Project Trollhiem. I have come to the conclusion that it might be more practical to start by establishing the campground and then developing the school from there. I will attempt to teach classes in metalsmithing at every chance I get, but the development of the school will have to wait until we can get the campground going. At this point I am three years from being old enough to take early Social Security Retirement. If nothing else happens I plan to do that and I will use it to establish the campground.
So that's where I am at. Thanks for reading the blog.
Thursday, July 25, 2013
Take me back now, take me back now, to the port of my birth.
So an introduction of myself to my audience is in order, since I hope that people other than my friends will read this. The whole of my life won't be set before the reader at one time, but I will start with my birth and youth and move on from there at other occasions. A friend of mine, Michael Steele, once suggested I should write an autobiography because of the places I have been, people I met and things I have done. I told him I would have to call it an "Unfocused Life"-because I have done so many different things.
I was born in Nashville, TN to Bettie Jo and Grady Everett Revells. Mom was from Nashville, Dad was from Early County Georgia. They met on a blind date while Dad was stationed at the Military Police Barracks in Nashville. That used to be on the downtown side of the Woodland Street bridge that crossed the Cumberland River. That whole area has changed since I lived there; the bridge has been replaced and the building Dad worked in is gone it looks like from the satellite map. I grew up in the "Historic Edgefield" neighborhood. Except it wasn't so historic when I lived there, it was fairly run down, a lower middle class working men's part of town. We used to live in a big old rambling Victorian style house at 711 Boscabal Street. My world, except when I got on the bus to down town, was limited by Shelby Avenue to the west, Woodland Street to the east, South Fifth Street to the north and South Tenth Street to the south. I went to Mrs. Kovetts Kindergarten on Russell Street and attended her summer day camp at East Park. I got religion and was baptized in the Edgefield Baptist Church (http://www.edgefieldbaptist.org/Building%20%26%20History.htm) by Brother Roy Babb. I went to Warner Elementary School off and on until seventh grade (http://www.warneres.mnps.org/site101.aspx). See that's the thing about being a Brat, you never stay anyplace very long. When Dad was stationed overseas we would go home to stay with Granny Edwards in Nashville, when Dad was in the States we would go to where he was at. Most of that time was in Fort Benning Georgia. We only had one accompanied tour overseas and that was to Kaiserslautern Germany.
However back to my life in Edgefield. It was fairly good for the most part, allowing that Dad wasn't with us. We lived with Granny Edwards and Uncle Bobby who usually was doing some work with Uncle Jack, at one point a dinner and most of the time doing building construction and maintenance. Uncle Claude and Aunt Reva were over often bringing my cousin Eddie or I was over at their house out in Hendersonville, Eddie and I were of the same age. Uncle Jack's real name was Willard and he picked up the nickname Jack from the French solders he worked with in WWII. Uncle Claude was a See Bee in the Pacific at that time. Uncle Jack was married to Aunt Mary and they had three daughters, all about a year after I and my brothers were born. So Tracy and I are a year apart; Larry my middle brother was a year older than Sherrie and Bobby, who is called "Bones" in the family, is a year older than Lorie. Uncle Bobby didn't marry until later in life. He also worked at a fiberglass plant which might have been a contributing factor to his death.
Granddad and Granny were "estranged" as they said back then, he was an alcoholic and Granny didn't hold with that. The only time she let booze in the house was just before Thanksgiving. She always used Manischewitz Concord Grape Wine to soak her dried apple spice cake in and Old Crow Bourbon Whiskey for her fruit cakes. Occasionally she would allow some brandy in when she made hot eggnog. Granddad was an electrician and worked for my Uncle Jack most of the time. Granddad was also legally blind. He used to take me to the movies at one of the several grand theaters in Nashville every couple of months and we would have to stand in the door of the theater until he could see well enough to find a seat. We used to go to a chocolate and ice cream shop down on Commerce Street afterwards.
When I was around three or four Mom and Uncle Bobby worked at the Knickerbocker Theater in downtown Nashville. It was a grand old palace of a place with a formal balcony and ushers, which is what Uncle Bobby did, Mom was at the concession stand. Whenever they couldn't get someone to babysit me I would wind up sitting at the back of the theater watching the same movie for eight hours. I have been hooked on movies ever since.
Once I hit school a problem arose because I had a sever speech problem. A couple of the teachers even thought I was "mentally retarded" because I had a serious brain injury around the age of three- I got hit in the face with a hammer by a playmate. So I wound up going to speech therapy at Vanderbilt University. It was a blast for me. They used me to teach students how to give IQ test to kids with speech problems. It did cause some changes at the school though. I wound up going up to a fourth grade class for science enrichment classes when I was in first and second grade Because of this I have always had a fascination with rocks, fossils and geology. Turned out my IQ is slightly above the average. I was frequently bored at school reading "Dick and Jane" books while I was reading about Rikki Tikki Tavi at home as well as other stories in books besides The Jungle Books.
I lived a good life in Nashville, the best memories I have are in the living room of the house on Boscabal at Christmas time. The ceiling in the living room was about eleven foot high and at Christmas we would need a ladder to put the star or angel on top. The kitchen was huge with room for two tables and was always full of great smelling food. Mom was a great cook and she learned it from Granny. We lived on Boscabal until the city condemned the place to put up project for the elderly in a spasm of ill conceived urban renewal. We moved over to a duplex on Fatherland Street right next to Mrs Kovett's home, which was behind her school.
I used to collect soda bottles and sell them to the store on the corner of Fatherland and South Seventh Street. I can't remember the name, but it was a small place with a limited stock however it had it's own meat counter. Next door was a drug store with a ice cream counter and the old kind of pin ball machines without flippers. Behind that was a two seat barbershop that I used to get my head buzz cut at. I used the money from soda bottles to buy comic books from the wire rack in the store or if they didn't have what I wanted I would make the trek over to the drug store next to the A&P Supermarket on Shelby Av. If I couldn't find the one I wanted I would really take a hike to the drug store on South Tenth Street and Fatherland! I learned to skate board on the hill at South Eighth Street and Fatherland. I also sold card selections door to door out of the back of the comic books to get the prizes that were offered.
When I was older, around nine or ten, I would go down to downtown on my own to learn how to swim and tumble at the YMCA. I visited museums and shopped for Christmas gifts at Caster Knott's, which had a pair of talking Mina Birds in the stairwell and a carousel in the basement. At Christmas time downtown was like stepping into "Miracle on 34th Street" with the windows all done up with anaimatronic decorations, silver bells ringing in the winds and the Salvation Army bell ringers out on most every corner. Other times of year I would walk through the Arcade and get some fresh roasted nuts at the Mr. Planter's store with the giant nut figure out front or stop and have the best chocolate malted shake in the world at this little hole in the wall. Mom had set up a bank account for me just around the corner from the Arcade and I would make deposits in it. I always stopped and listened to the old, blind, black man who played the guitar and sang the delta blues. I would usually drop a dime in the old canteen cup he had stuck through the strings at the pegs. My interest in living history probably started with visits to Fort Nashborough and the TV show "Davy Crockett".
I've rambled enough for tonight, I hope it wasn't too boring.
I was born in Nashville, TN to Bettie Jo and Grady Everett Revells. Mom was from Nashville, Dad was from Early County Georgia. They met on a blind date while Dad was stationed at the Military Police Barracks in Nashville. That used to be on the downtown side of the Woodland Street bridge that crossed the Cumberland River. That whole area has changed since I lived there; the bridge has been replaced and the building Dad worked in is gone it looks like from the satellite map. I grew up in the "Historic Edgefield" neighborhood. Except it wasn't so historic when I lived there, it was fairly run down, a lower middle class working men's part of town. We used to live in a big old rambling Victorian style house at 711 Boscabal Street. My world, except when I got on the bus to down town, was limited by Shelby Avenue to the west, Woodland Street to the east, South Fifth Street to the north and South Tenth Street to the south. I went to Mrs. Kovetts Kindergarten on Russell Street and attended her summer day camp at East Park. I got religion and was baptized in the Edgefield Baptist Church (http://www.edgefieldbaptist.org/Building%20%26%20History.htm) by Brother Roy Babb. I went to Warner Elementary School off and on until seventh grade (http://www.warneres.mnps.org/site101.aspx). See that's the thing about being a Brat, you never stay anyplace very long. When Dad was stationed overseas we would go home to stay with Granny Edwards in Nashville, when Dad was in the States we would go to where he was at. Most of that time was in Fort Benning Georgia. We only had one accompanied tour overseas and that was to Kaiserslautern Germany.
However back to my life in Edgefield. It was fairly good for the most part, allowing that Dad wasn't with us. We lived with Granny Edwards and Uncle Bobby who usually was doing some work with Uncle Jack, at one point a dinner and most of the time doing building construction and maintenance. Uncle Claude and Aunt Reva were over often bringing my cousin Eddie or I was over at their house out in Hendersonville, Eddie and I were of the same age. Uncle Jack's real name was Willard and he picked up the nickname Jack from the French solders he worked with in WWII. Uncle Claude was a See Bee in the Pacific at that time. Uncle Jack was married to Aunt Mary and they had three daughters, all about a year after I and my brothers were born. So Tracy and I are a year apart; Larry my middle brother was a year older than Sherrie and Bobby, who is called "Bones" in the family, is a year older than Lorie. Uncle Bobby didn't marry until later in life. He also worked at a fiberglass plant which might have been a contributing factor to his death.
Granddad and Granny were "estranged" as they said back then, he was an alcoholic and Granny didn't hold with that. The only time she let booze in the house was just before Thanksgiving. She always used Manischewitz Concord Grape Wine to soak her dried apple spice cake in and Old Crow Bourbon Whiskey for her fruit cakes. Occasionally she would allow some brandy in when she made hot eggnog. Granddad was an electrician and worked for my Uncle Jack most of the time. Granddad was also legally blind. He used to take me to the movies at one of the several grand theaters in Nashville every couple of months and we would have to stand in the door of the theater until he could see well enough to find a seat. We used to go to a chocolate and ice cream shop down on Commerce Street afterwards.
When I was around three or four Mom and Uncle Bobby worked at the Knickerbocker Theater in downtown Nashville. It was a grand old palace of a place with a formal balcony and ushers, which is what Uncle Bobby did, Mom was at the concession stand. Whenever they couldn't get someone to babysit me I would wind up sitting at the back of the theater watching the same movie for eight hours. I have been hooked on movies ever since.
Once I hit school a problem arose because I had a sever speech problem. A couple of the teachers even thought I was "mentally retarded" because I had a serious brain injury around the age of three- I got hit in the face with a hammer by a playmate. So I wound up going to speech therapy at Vanderbilt University. It was a blast for me. They used me to teach students how to give IQ test to kids with speech problems. It did cause some changes at the school though. I wound up going up to a fourth grade class for science enrichment classes when I was in first and second grade Because of this I have always had a fascination with rocks, fossils and geology. Turned out my IQ is slightly above the average. I was frequently bored at school reading "Dick and Jane" books while I was reading about Rikki Tikki Tavi at home as well as other stories in books besides The Jungle Books.
I lived a good life in Nashville, the best memories I have are in the living room of the house on Boscabal at Christmas time. The ceiling in the living room was about eleven foot high and at Christmas we would need a ladder to put the star or angel on top. The kitchen was huge with room for two tables and was always full of great smelling food. Mom was a great cook and she learned it from Granny. We lived on Boscabal until the city condemned the place to put up project for the elderly in a spasm of ill conceived urban renewal. We moved over to a duplex on Fatherland Street right next to Mrs Kovett's home, which was behind her school.
I used to collect soda bottles and sell them to the store on the corner of Fatherland and South Seventh Street. I can't remember the name, but it was a small place with a limited stock however it had it's own meat counter. Next door was a drug store with a ice cream counter and the old kind of pin ball machines without flippers. Behind that was a two seat barbershop that I used to get my head buzz cut at. I used the money from soda bottles to buy comic books from the wire rack in the store or if they didn't have what I wanted I would make the trek over to the drug store next to the A&P Supermarket on Shelby Av. If I couldn't find the one I wanted I would really take a hike to the drug store on South Tenth Street and Fatherland! I learned to skate board on the hill at South Eighth Street and Fatherland. I also sold card selections door to door out of the back of the comic books to get the prizes that were offered.
When I was older, around nine or ten, I would go down to downtown on my own to learn how to swim and tumble at the YMCA. I visited museums and shopped for Christmas gifts at Caster Knott's, which had a pair of talking Mina Birds in the stairwell and a carousel in the basement. At Christmas time downtown was like stepping into "Miracle on 34th Street" with the windows all done up with anaimatronic decorations, silver bells ringing in the winds and the Salvation Army bell ringers out on most every corner. Other times of year I would walk through the Arcade and get some fresh roasted nuts at the Mr. Planter's store with the giant nut figure out front or stop and have the best chocolate malted shake in the world at this little hole in the wall. Mom had set up a bank account for me just around the corner from the Arcade and I would make deposits in it. I always stopped and listened to the old, blind, black man who played the guitar and sang the delta blues. I would usually drop a dime in the old canteen cup he had stuck through the strings at the pegs. My interest in living history probably started with visits to Fort Nashborough and the TV show "Davy Crockett".
I've rambled enough for tonight, I hope it wasn't too boring.
In the begining...
This blog is about me and my attempt to set up a school for traditional trades, historic crafts, and experimental archeology as well as a campground for doing living history events. I have attempted to do a crowd funding campaign to raise funds to buy a bus to convert into a camper. I had planned to use the bus to travel the country to teach classes in Viking Age metalsmithing methods and raise money to build the first facilities at the school and campground. It didn't work so I am trying to figure out what to do next.
I will use the blog to post stories about my efforts; trips I make; projects I am working on; and any funding campaigns I have going. Part of my regrouping is going to be expanding the number of people who know about my efforts, thus this blog. So here is a little information on:
Project Trollhiem
The goals of Trollhiem LLC:
1) Develop a monthly multimedia digest that covering events at the site; has print articles and video interviews on experimental archeology; along with detailed reports on major living history events and archaeological finds. The initial Travel Blog will be the start of this project. Trollhiem LLC will also publish books, calendars and other items on various subjects related to its goals and on history to fund the creation of the facilities.
2) Create an on-line and a bricks-and-mortar store that is a reliable source for reference books, archaeological reports and hard-to-find project materials for everyone. The store will also sell items produced on site.
3) Create a series of how-to books and videos that teach historic crafts or show the processes of experimental archeology. The difference between this series of books or videos and most that teach traditional crafts will be that they will start from where to find the raw materials, how to make the tools needed for the project and then how to produce the items using all period methods and materials. Because the company's founder is most versed in metalsmithing, most of the first projects will be about Viking Age metalsmithing. Other subjects will be included as time goes on such as making armour and chain mail, pottery, farming, woodworking, cooking and house building; all incorporating as much from pre-1900's technology as possible.
4) The campground will be a place for people who have an interest in traditional crafts, historic re-creation, re-enactment, living history and experimental archeology to meet and learn from each other. Eventually the campground will have sufficient facilities to run large events, as well as smaller events. Structures for use by the campers such as a dining hall, open air theaters, primitive weapons ranges and sanitary facilities will be built as usage and available funds increase. Many of the structures will be built by students and instructors in the course of classes on period building techniques.
5) The school will run intensive short time frame classes (from one day to two weeks, class size six to twenty-four students) in traditional and historic crafts for people year around. Classes such as timber-framing and stone masonry will be used to build sleeping spaces, barns, workshops and classroom spaces thus expanding the site.
The classes will be run as a seminar where you arrive on a Friday night with classes starting Saturday. Students will stay in the same facility as the instructor, with food and modern lodging onsite. Students will leave at the completion of the course with the items created as well as the knowledge gained. The days will be spent working in the shop under the instruction of knowledgeable teachers. The evenings will be spent critiquing each others work with the instructor in an informal setting.
The school will also operate as an experimental archeology site where people can come to live and work in the various time frames for extended periods of time. In this way people can discover what it was like to live in another time. It will also offer archaeologists and students a way of discovering if their theories will work.
6) The site will operate as a living history museum and be opened to the public if the facilities and staff can be brought up to the needed levels. This goal is unlikely to be reached in less than seven years.
Trollhiem
LLC is a new company dedicated to teaching traditional crafts,
experimental archeology and having a place to hold living history events
for all time frames and cultures. To this end the plan is for Trollhiem
LLC to use a site in Early County Georgia as a school for traditional
crafts and a living history campground. A planned future use for the
site is to use it as an open air living history museum when the staff and facilities can be developed sufficiently.
The Location of Trollhiem LLC:
The property in question is located in Early County Georgia on County Road 310 near the intersection of Georgia Highway 273 (looking at Google Satellite Maps the property starts about where the tree line ends to the south and goes to the change in vegetation to the north, the west border is the County Road 310 and the east border is just inside the far tree line to the east). It is about forty acres. It will be possible to lease or buy another sixty to two hundred adjacent acres as needed.
Why is Trollhiem an LLC instead of a Not for Profit Corporation?
When Jim originally had the idea of a school and campground on the land he inherited from his parents he did pursue the idea of forming a non-profit corporation. He sought advice from a professor at a prestigious business school and was told “This isn’t the type of project we are interested in doing.” He then sought advice from friends who had started non-profit groups and was told that he could have control to see his vision of the school happen or he could make a salary from the non-profit, but not both. Since Jim needs both a salary and wants to keep control of the project he chose to create a LLC with his daughter, Sonja. It did not look like Jim would be able to get the project off the ground due to a lack of funds until he found out about “Crowd Funding” and a possible path opened for him.
I will use the blog to post stories about my efforts; trips I make; projects I am working on; and any funding campaigns I have going. Part of my regrouping is going to be expanding the number of people who know about my efforts, thus this blog. So here is a little information on:
Project Trollhiem
Experimental Archeology, Living History & Traditional Crafts
“The Past in the Present Tense”
“The Past in the Present Tense”
1) Develop a monthly multimedia digest that covering events at the site; has print articles and video interviews on experimental archeology; along with detailed reports on major living history events and archaeological finds. The initial Travel Blog will be the start of this project. Trollhiem LLC will also publish books, calendars and other items on various subjects related to its goals and on history to fund the creation of the facilities.
2) Create an on-line and a bricks-and-mortar store that is a reliable source for reference books, archaeological reports and hard-to-find project materials for everyone. The store will also sell items produced on site.
3) Create a series of how-to books and videos that teach historic crafts or show the processes of experimental archeology. The difference between this series of books or videos and most that teach traditional crafts will be that they will start from where to find the raw materials, how to make the tools needed for the project and then how to produce the items using all period methods and materials. Because the company's founder is most versed in metalsmithing, most of the first projects will be about Viking Age metalsmithing. Other subjects will be included as time goes on such as making armour and chain mail, pottery, farming, woodworking, cooking and house building; all incorporating as much from pre-1900's technology as possible.
4) The campground will be a place for people who have an interest in traditional crafts, historic re-creation, re-enactment, living history and experimental archeology to meet and learn from each other. Eventually the campground will have sufficient facilities to run large events, as well as smaller events. Structures for use by the campers such as a dining hall, open air theaters, primitive weapons ranges and sanitary facilities will be built as usage and available funds increase. Many of the structures will be built by students and instructors in the course of classes on period building techniques.
5) The school will run intensive short time frame classes (from one day to two weeks, class size six to twenty-four students) in traditional and historic crafts for people year around. Classes such as timber-framing and stone masonry will be used to build sleeping spaces, barns, workshops and classroom spaces thus expanding the site.
The classes will be run as a seminar where you arrive on a Friday night with classes starting Saturday. Students will stay in the same facility as the instructor, with food and modern lodging onsite. Students will leave at the completion of the course with the items created as well as the knowledge gained. The days will be spent working in the shop under the instruction of knowledgeable teachers. The evenings will be spent critiquing each others work with the instructor in an informal setting.
The school will also operate as an experimental archeology site where people can come to live and work in the various time frames for extended periods of time. In this way people can discover what it was like to live in another time. It will also offer archaeologists and students a way of discovering if their theories will work.
6) The site will operate as a living history museum and be opened to the public if the facilities and staff can be brought up to the needed levels. This goal is unlikely to be reached in less than seven years.
Description
The Location of Trollhiem LLC:
The property in question is located in Early County Georgia on County Road 310 near the intersection of Georgia Highway 273 (looking at Google Satellite Maps the property starts about where the tree line ends to the south and goes to the change in vegetation to the north, the west border is the County Road 310 and the east border is just inside the far tree line to the east). It is about forty acres. It will be possible to lease or buy another sixty to two hundred adjacent acres as needed.
Why is Trollhiem an LLC instead of a Not for Profit Corporation?
When Jim originally had the idea of a school and campground on the land he inherited from his parents he did pursue the idea of forming a non-profit corporation. He sought advice from a professor at a prestigious business school and was told “This isn’t the type of project we are interested in doing.” He then sought advice from friends who had started non-profit groups and was told that he could have control to see his vision of the school happen or he could make a salary from the non-profit, but not both. Since Jim needs both a salary and wants to keep control of the project he chose to create a LLC with his daughter, Sonja. It did not look like Jim would be able to get the project off the ground due to a lack of funds until he found out about “Crowd Funding” and a possible path opened for him.
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