All the discussion about military ships visiting Olympia during FLODfair, coupled with how some people think the incredibly beautiful and unfairly maligned Capitol Center Building detracts from the scenic Olympia view of Budd Inlet and the Olympics, got me to thinking about the Mothball Fleet. As mentioned in an earlier post, a buddy and I used to give the Mothball Fleet guardians a nice chase now and then as we weaved through the ships in my pal's motorboat. Today, of course, we would be machine-gunned into tiny little pieces for such an act. But back in the pre-Bush II era it was just good clean fun.

Imagine over 100 big military ships lined up off of Gull Harbor, a wall of gray metal in the middle of the water. The Reserve Fleet, veterans of WWII, were stationed in Budd Inlet from 1946-1972. Some of the ships were removed and used in the Korean War, the Suez Crisis, and the Vietnam War. They were also used, for a more peaceful purpose, as storehouses for wheat in the 1950s. The ships were such an Olympia fixture for so long that even today I look out at Budd Inlet and expect to see them.

Here's an article from the June 27, 1972 Daily Olympian during the twilight of the Mothball Fleet.

That's All There Is
by Jack Laughlin

The storied ships are are gone. The wavelets of Gull Harbor ripple on the green waters of the Sound. And the colors of Olympia's Reserve Fleet are about to strike for the last time.

Read more:

If you've noticed down in the right hand corner of Olyblog, the docent email list has been buzzing lately. We've been discussing recent posts from Anonymously Larry (here, here and here) that take a look at the comments that the Olympian gets on their website.

Some of the docents want Larry's posts taken off the front page, because as I understand it, they don't want to give more attention to what they see as hate filled comments. Others (like me) like what Larry is doing. I'll admit I don't like the comments at the Olympian, don't find them helpful much at all, but if we want to change what's going on over there, what Larry is doing is a good start.

You can, of course, read our entire discussion over at the list. This post is a reminder about the list, that its there and you should take a look at it regularly to see what we're talking about. If you want to chime in (the list itself is just for docents) PM one of us, and we'll pass on your thoughts to the group.

On July 28, the Bigelow House Preservation Association will hold a yard sale to raise much-needed funds for Museum projects. Donated items will be sold on the front lawn of the Museum grounds. Please stop by and shop at our sale. The Museum will also be open for tours that day from 10 AM to 4 PM.

We look forward to seeing you on July 28th!

Bigelow House Museum

918 Glass Ave NE, Olympia

www.BigelowHouse.org

360.753.1215

I'm going to take a few days off until this current round of migraines subsides. If you have migraines yourself, if a family member does or you are just plain curious - the book to read is Understanding migraines and other headaches by Stewart J. Tepper. A slender volume, well laid out and written, excellent current information.

Migraine Art

Queen guitarist to complete doctorate

The Associated Press

LONDON — Brian May is completing his doctorate in astrophysics, more than 30 years after he abandoned his studies to form the rock group Queen.

The 60-year-old guitarist and songwriter said he plans to submit his thesis, "Radial Velocities in the Zodiacal Dust Cloud," to supervisors at Imperial College London within the next two weeks.

May was an astrophysics student at Imperial College when Queen, which included Freddie Mercury and Roger Taylor, was formed in 1970. He dropped his doctorate as the glam rock band became successful.

Queen were one of Britain's biggest music groups in the 1970s, with hits including "Bohemian Rhapsody" and "We Will Rock You."

After Mercury's death in 1991, May recorded several solo albums, including 1998's "Another World." But his interest in astronomy continued, and he co-wrote "Bang! The Complete History of the Universe," which was published last year.

He was due to finish carrying out astronomical observations at an observatory on the island of La Palma, in Spain's Canary Islands, on Tuesday, the observatory said.

May told the British Broadcasting Corp. that he had always wanted to complete his degree.

"It was unfinished business," he said. "I didn't want an honorary Ph.D. I wanted the real thing that I worked for."

I have to admit, this is pretty cool. Goes against the common belief about people in rock n' roll. Smart guy, all the memebers of Queen had Degrees or Dipolmas, some with Honours. Great achievement and although he will never see this post, my congrats go out to him.

I don't normally paste other's comments from other sites but I did find this LTE in the Daily Zero intersting, especially the last lines.

"Freedom is worth fighting for

How great it would be to live in a world free from strife and hatred — a world where peace would be assured. But we do not. So, we must be willing to stand against those who would destroy us. If we do not, we will sacrifice our children to tyranny and betray those who have fought and died for our freedom. If I were to turn my back on the struggle for freedom going on in Iraq and throughout the world, I would be dishonoring my own father, who risked his life fighting for his country in the Philippines, ultimately earning him the Congressional Medal of Honor.

Likewise, I would be dishonoring my father-in-law, who was severely injured in combat in France and as a result had to spend the rest of his life disabled and in pain. And what about the 2,500 American GIs who willingly gave up their lives in a single battle in Normandy, and the multitude of other patriots who have fought and died to secure our freedom?

We are in a battle for survival, individually and as a citizen. The war on terror is not a bumper sticker slogan; it is real and as frightening as any war that we have ever fought. Life and honor are at stake. President Bush is not the problem; the attack on America by radical Islamic fundamentalists began long before Bush hatred united the left into a frenzy of character assassination.

I do believe what he says is true. What people either forget or like to ignore is that America was being attacked by radical fundamentalists long before the hated "Bushco" as some wag dubbed them, came along. Anyone who thinks otherwise seems to have their heads in the sand or is so blinded by hatred/dislike of the current President and Vice-President.