A Military Ghost Town "Seneca Army Depot"

This once thriving Military Depot covered over 10,000 acres in Seneca County New York. It was started in 1941 and was used as a weapons and munitions storage area it was in use up through the 1990's.

The Army closed it up in September 2000 and tore down most of the buildings and storage areas, but today it sits abandoned to time and as you drive through the deserted and grown over roads it has an eerie feeling to it.The only living things around are the famed White deer which are beautiful to see up close.

Some of the old storage bunkers still remain today for visitors to see.

In its hay days during the cold war the Depot held the largest stockpile of Nuclear weapons in the country.

Today just a few buildings are left and it is home to Kids Peace a place for troubled children.

There is also a maximum security state prison on the site called "Five Points" and located on the old air strip is the New York State Police Training Center. In 2002  The Glen Sports Group started using the air strip for auto racing.

The old Seneca Depot and the old former Sampson Air Force Base is a 45 minute drive from my house.When these two bases closed down it put thousands of local people out of work. Yet most of the land is still not used today just fenced off growing up in weeds............

http://www.amazon.com/The-Seneca-Army-Depot-Homefront/dp/1609498208/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1388256334&sr=8-1&keywords=seneca+army+depot

Gone in 60 Degrees

Here in New York if you don't like the weather just wait a few hours and it will change. Last weekend turned bitterly cold and over 16 inches of snow fell on our heads. 

Opening the outside door surely was a chore, but we finally got out to shovel, shovel, shovel. By the time we got dug out it looked like a winter wonder land.

 Driving around and enjoying the beauty of the snow, we thought for sure this year we would have a white Christmas. But like I said before, In New York you just never know.

A few days later the weather man said it was going to warm up. Well it hit 60 Degree's  for the past three days. The snow is gone and it sure looks feels like spring time. So I guess that white Christmas is just another dream.......

  Merry Christmas to one and all
                             

Sledding memories of the past

Sledding used to be so much fun

Neighbors and friends would join in the fun

We never got cold playing in the snow

But we surely did catch a cold

Sledding started way back when

Even adults would join in the fun

They would try to find the biggest hill

To give the women a great big thrill

A little snow is all you need

To go down hill with lightning speed
Happy faces, full of glee
Loads of fun, as you can see

Big brothers always the leader
Taking little brothers for a spin
Sledding down the hill
What a big thrill

Big brother sledding down the hill
Sometimes takes a spill
Falling in the snow is fun
Come on, take one more run

No more sledding for me
Others things on my mind
A war is raging in another land
I think it's time to take my stand

Now the sleds stand all alone
Oh the stories they could tell
Of a childhood past and all the fun
Tossed away like a piece of gum

Christmas in the jungle 1968

It's Christmas in the Jungle

And we wont see no snow

Even in the Nam they believe in Santa Clause

The Christmas trees lined up for sale

In the center of Saigon

We decorate the tree at the local bar in town

Back at base camp

a little taste of home

Bob Hope even put on a show

But sitting in a bunker

No presents to be found

***********************************************

Happy Holidays to you

Militarizing the Police

It is happening right under your noses and no one seems to care what is going on in this country.

Police Departments all across America are being given these MRAP vehicles free of charge. The transfer of this military weaponry will put these mine resistant, ambush protected vehicles complete with gun turrets and bulletproof glass on the rural and urban streets of America
This program started in 1997 and is known as the (1033 program). So far the military has donated over $4.2 Billion dollars worth of surplus to the police departments including (TANKS) and (GRENADE LAUNCHERS). The Militarization of American law enforcement is nothing more than an extension of the expanding police state. These are all nothing more than a means of social, political and economic control of the poor and working class of this country.

Think back in time if you will, the date was January 17th 1961, Dwight Eisenhower's farewell speech. He warned us about what would happen and it is happening NOW because we did nothing to stop it.

Take a look at what is going on with all the Walmart and fast food chains. People are out protesting for better wages and hundreds of people were arrested all across the country this weekend for civil disobedience. Is this the beginning of things to come. When the people have had enough and are willing to lay their life down for what is right we are in for one hell of a war in this country,
The "Posse Comitatus Act" of 1878 which was updated in 198l prohibits the military from enforcing state laws, so we Militarize the police to get around this law and to keep the people in line.  By arming the police forces with military weapons, the military can sit back and say: "See, we aren't interfering with civilian law."  Is this how far Americans are willing to let it go? 

Are you willing to lay down your life for what is right??

Without firing a shot, "Destruction of America"

There once was a time when when we were a mighty Country with the greatest Infrastructure in the world, the best of everything with factories producing everything under the sun.. It was called the Industrial Age.

What ever happened to those factories and jobs. The Corporations got together and decided that if they shipped their factories to China they could get cheap labor and make even more profits. Well that worked fine in the short term but in the long term not so well. China took control of these companies and stole the technology, now the old factories are gone forever and so is the jobs never to return again and America looks like this.

  American Icons like Coca-Cola,IBM,American Flyer,Levi and many many more that were here for over 100 years are gone forever. Meanwhile China is still targeting our companies.
The Chinese are using American money from it's trade deficit and putting it to use to acquire American Brands. Out of all the Fortune 500 companies China owns 73 and are working to acquire more every day.

The US now owes big money to China, and sooner or later, the Chinese are going to come collect it and they will conquer the United States. But the question is, How will they do it? There will be no Military invasion, nor an armed war between the US and China. So how will it happen. Its a slippery slope for sure.
 As the Chinese buy up more and more American Companies Chinese workers are arriving in America and working in these factories becoming bosses and supervisors pushing the American worker aside. It used to be made in China now more than ever it is also owned by China.  Many Americans do not realize that China could step in and shut down many American banks, if they chose to do so. thus bringing this country to its knees.
We now have become so reliable on Chinese made goods that it puts our Military at risk, we may be the most powerful military in the world but if you do not get your vital parts to keep things going then all you will have is a big pile of junk that is inoperable.

                         Military junk yard in Arizona



Remember every time you go to a store and the label says made in China you are supporting the downfall of this Country


So while you sit around sipping your gin like there is no end, when the day comes remember I told you so.

 

The Death of America

It all started a short time ago, China hatched a plan to take over America without firing a shot and in 2000 a Free Trade Agreement was signed with America at which time our President said it would be a good deal for Americans it would create jobs and make America prosper. It has done the opposite....... America will never recover.................

Soon after American manufacturing started shipping our factories over seas then flooding America with cheap Chinese goods putting Americans out of work and creating higher profits for themselves. Ask yourself is this good for our Country?  I think not. As more and more companies began to ship their factories over to China we created a monster. Those companies are gone forever along with the jobs. China has stolen our technology and the products and are now making cheap knock offs that are unsafe and dangerous to our health yet we still buy these products because we have no other choice now days. Look around you. When was the last time you could find a product that is made totally in America. Hell even our American Flag is made in China.  

Too many corporations want to be Chinese Companies, this is happening because obviously not only do Chinese people make the products, but companies have to turn over the technologies used in the manufacturing process.  Not just goods, but intellectual properties are lost as well, never to be retrieved.   Imagine, if you will, Coca Cola is a Chinese company now.  How many companies did we used to equate with American made?  Not so anymore.

While China is flooding America with their goods we are flooding China with our money and funding the build up of their Military which is now 4 times, you heard me FOUR TIMES as large as ours. You want to see America fall? Well it is happening right before your eyes and you don't even care anymore.  China supplies Iran and Syria and Iraq with Chinese made weapons, to be used against America.  There is ONE country gearing up and preparing for war with America, if they need to, guess who: China!

Even if you don't care Chinese workers are being killed because companies can abuse them, kill them, suffocate them with pollution, at the very least, think of your own family's safety.  Think of chemicals made in China and placed into toys your child puts in their mouth.  Every time you drink from a cup made in China, you consume chemicals.  Eat an apple or any food imported from China and you consume DDT and a host of other chemicals banned in America. 

We are now owned by China so shut your mouth and bend over and kiss your asses goodbye because this is whats happening while you stood by and did nothing to stop it.

   "The End of America as you knew it"

                     Say Goodbye...............

         Because you know it is true

As Veterans Day Approaches, Remember Our Soldiers

As Veterans Day comes around we think of the ones in harms way. But this Veterans Day I think of the friends I left behind in that Foreign Land so far away. So I leave you with these Poems to remember the ones that gave it all for your Freedom today.

A Letter From a Friend & Brother

If the truth be told

I must be getting pretty old

But you know, I'm still pretty bold

Sometimes it feels like yesterday

When I was just a boy

But time ticks on and so do I

For someday I know I to must die

As I sit here looking out my window pane

I dream about those days gone by

The places I've seen and the things I've done

Stuck in my mind and locked away

Sometimes they jump out, like a ghost in the night

They give me cold sweats and give me the shakes

And when I wake up, it was only a dream

About friends from a long time ago

Faces remembered but not forgotten

And then one day after 30 some years

I looked in the mail box and what did I find

A letter from a friend from a long time ago

He said he had a dream of a friend he had almost forgot

And the crazy times we had shared in a place called Vietnam

I called him on the phone and we talked for hours

Of those crazy, crazy days of long ago

It was great talking of those days from the war

Like the time we fought side by side

That was the day he saved my behind

Or those times we spent in those off-limit places

Doing our deeds and having our fun

We shared some stories and shared some laughs

When we were done, we said our goodbyes

Not realizing there would be no more

For you see, my friend has left me now

His heart gave out and he slipped away

So now I must say, goodbye my brother

Until we meet at heavens gate

You will always be remembered

Never Forgotten

(c) Steven E Weathers 2012

               **Lets we never forget * *

                  Veterans Day Remembered

As Veterans Day comes around again

You think of those in harms way

So far away in a foreign land

Will they come home again some day?

As old Veterans, we sit around

We talk of the battles we fought so hard

In a foreign land so far away

We think of the ones we left behind

We see the faces of long lost brothers

We wish they were here to enjoy this day

But all we have are the memories together

So don't look sad if we shed a tear

For we will forever remember  the ones left behind

Their names and faces etched in our minds

The ones left behind in that far away land

So remember our Veterans on this Veterans Day and bring them all back home

(c) Steve Weathers 2013 - aka VietnamVet68

  

 

          

A Young GI's Love

The following is a hub that was put into a draft back in 2011 and never published, so without further ado here is some ancient history hub that was never published

                                Chi working at the Green Door Lounge,Saigon 1968

It was while on his second tour that he met her. He and some Army buddies had decided to visit a new bar one evening, one that wasn’t a brothel. A bar they had never been to but had been told about by some of the other guys in his unit. They had just sat down when he looked up to place his drink order and there she stood. She was one of the prettiest women he had seen in The Nam. He looked up at her face which was a perfect oval, with high exotic cheekbones set inside her very delicate features. Her thick dark hair, which was so black it reminded him of shiny glass, hung in long oval curves over her slender shoulders and she was dressed in the traditional black silk pajama style pants with a long oriental style top and the back of the top which had a huge gold dragon circling from the back, ending in the front, seemed to set off her slender body and slim hips. He noticed every guy at his table was staring at her as she walked to the bar to fetch their drinks. As she walked away she carried herself with confidence, fully aware of the appreciative glances of the GIs.

As the night wore on his fellow table mates forgot all about the pretty bar maid the more they filled up on drink after drink. But not Steve, he kept looking in her direction all night long and every once in a while she would throw him a glance and a beautiful smile. He wondered if she had noticed him also, but, he thought, she must be used to GIs staring at her and making lewd remarks. He figured she was pretty much immune to that stuff by now and just brushed them off like lint on a uniform.

As the night wore on, the girl made her way over to Steve’s table, he motioned for her to have a seat, after some of his buddies decided to sit at the bar to be closer to the drinks. To his surprise, she smiled and sat down across from him. She spoke perfect English and while he seemed puzzled by this, she explained to him she had been schooled in English while attending a school run by American missionaries. She had an even prettier smile up close, he noticed and her features and clear skin were near perfection. They talked a while and he told her about his plans to try and find a flat to rent because living on the base was too crowded for him anymore. She smiled and told him she just happened to know of a nice little place not far from his base. She explained that she was staying with friends and was trying to save up enough money to rent it, but on a barmaid’s pay, it was taking her longer than she had anticipated. He told her he had some money already saved and she offered to meet him the next day to look at it together. He hung around the bar until closing time and hailed a cab and gave her ride to where she was living. She thanked him, they set a time to meet the next day to look at the flat and then she leaned over and kissed him. Not just a peck either, but a full, on the mouth, several seconds kiss.

The next day he and his new found friend met to look at the flat together. It was small, but cozy and had a small balcony on the back, small but large enough to set a table and a couple chairs on. He told her he liked it and he talked to the landlord and paid the first month’s rent. He asked Chi if she wanted to move in with him, since she was looking for a place too. She smiled and was very eager to do so and said she just needed to go gather up a few things at her friend’s house. Later that day, Steve and Chi moved into the little flat that had a balcony overlooking the Saigon River.

The next few weeks were ecstasy for Steve as Chi was, like most women in Vietnam, adept at making a man feel like he was the most important person in the whole world. Their lovemaking was wonderful. The very first night in their shared flat, Chi heated up some water on the stove and instructed Steve to sit on a high stool she had prepared for him, placing a warmed towel on the seat. She poured the water into a basin and proceeded to wash his naked body, starting with his back, gently washing in small strokes. She worked her way down to his buttocks, then around front to his chest, his legs and then to his feet, carefully washing between each toe very gently. He then stood up, as she instructed and gently dried his naked body and started to apply oils. He felt his manhood rise and he started to reach for her, but she thwarted his advances, gently and proceeded to finish up with the oils. When she had finished applying the oil, she slipped her clothes off, slowly and smiling up at his face the whole time. Then she took his hands and led him to the bed in the corner. Their lovemaking was fierce and she showed him moves he had never experienced before. The lovemaking was so intense at one point, that Steve felt he might pass out, but instead, he felt ecstasy like he’d never felt before.

Afterwards, Chi prepared a dinner of white rice and fish and they took their bowls and glasses filled with rice wine out to the balcony. Steve was feeling this was one of the most perfect moments he had ever remember experiencing in his 19 years of living. He was wishing the moment could last him a lifetime.

An Old Man's Poem

A Man of Old

No man is old who wakes with joy to greet his day

To be able to do the things you once did as a boy

I'm done with counting the years until I fade away

I wish I could tell you my age but I can't remember

I don't remember getting old, It shouldn't happen to me

My eyes got bad and my knees got weak and I can't think

My body don't understand and it won't do what It's told

What's happening to me? I'm only sixty three

I never was that lazy, but this old body loves it best in bed

Though I'm always on the go, I sure do need my rest

For every time that I get up I fall asleep in the chair

So I guess it's best if we don't go there

Time passes by so fast as we watch our hair turn Grey

Just like the clouds in the sky they will surely fade away

We dream about those olden days when we had lots of fun

The girls came from everywhere to run their fingers through our hair

They say the Golden years are the best days of our lives

But the Golden years seems tarnished now as I sit here in this chair

For the things we used to do with joy and delight

Become harder and harder as each year passes us by

When I was just Seventeen I had the World in my hands

I could run all day and play till dawns early light

Now that I'm Sixty- four it just passes my on by

It takes my breath away just to go and get the mail

I guess you could say, I move just like a snail

But a snail's pace is still quite Ace

I move my own way, who's to say?

I hope I live to see another day

Steve's Low fat Turkey Chili

Low Fat Turkey Chili,  "It's what's for Dinner"

Ingredients:

2lb package Ground Turkey

1 Green Bell pepper

1 Medium Onion

3 cans Chili Beans

3 cans Diced Tomatoes

2 cans Black Beans (Washed & Drained)

3 cans Dark Red Kidney Beans (Washed & Drained)

Chili Seasoning

1/4 cup flower

4 tsp Chili powder

1Tbs Crushed Red Peppers

1 Tbs Diced Minced Onions

2Tsp Ground Cumin

1Tsp Dried Basil

1/2Tsp Ground Black pepper

Brown your Turkey in a large Skillet

Add the chopped pepper & Onion and cook for another 4 minutes 

Mix all the Beans & Tomatoes in a large Cooking pot, add the Ground Turkey mixture & stir

Add your Seasoning mixture and cook on low for two hours.

Have a cup poured over rice it is Delicious

"Try it, you might like it"

My Mothers Love

My newest undertaking is a book of poetry dedicated to the memory of my dear Mother. This is a heart felt project and one that means everything to me. It will be filled with memories and pictures to go along with the poems.

My plans is to have it finished by Mothers Day 2014 as it is a big process getting all the old photos ready for the book. I hope that everyone will enjoy it when finished.

                              Mother and me 1949

Living in the Finger Lakes of NY State

 Living & Retiring in the Finger Lakes  has been a blast. We live on Keuka Lake aka the Crooked Lake and although I'm not a fisherman or an avid boater we love this area for the beautiful scenery and things to do. We love to go on weekend drives to see the lakes and yesterday we visited Geneva,NY on the North end of Seneca Lake.

This picture is the Ramada Inn sitting at the very end of the Lake in the town of Geneva. To the left of this picture is a pier that you can walk out on to see the lake, at the end of the pier their use to be a light house many years ago during the steamboat era.

From the view on the pier you can see for miles. Seneca Lake is the largest of the Finger Lakes with a length of 38 miles starting here at Geneva and ending at Watkins Glen.
Seneca Lake is the most treacherous of the Finger Lakes with the deepest area being 618 feet deep where the Navy does underwater research. The Navy has a research barge anchored in the middle of the lake in the town of Dresden. 

To go out on this lake you had better respect it as many people have drowned in this lake with its undertow and strong currents over the years, mostly tourist from other states who have no knowledge of the lakes.

They say fishing is great on the lake along with sailing and para sailing.

There are eleven Finger Lakes in New York. From the East to the West they are:
Otisco Lake, Skaneateles Lake,Owasco Lake,Cayuga Lake,Seneca Lake,Keuka Lake,Canandaigua Lake,Honeoye Lake,Candice Lake,Hemlock Lake and Conesus Lake

All of these lakes were formed thousands of years ago during the Ice Age and they are all beautiful to come visit..