Wednesday, October 28, 2015

The Cold War in my backyard - stories for my Grandchildren

I am friends on Facebook with a fellow who posts old pictures about Texas. Perhaps you are, too - several hundred thousand folks enjoy the Traces of Texas pictures. If you haven't seen these, just search for Traces of Texas and click on "Like."

The other day. one of the posted pictures was of an Atlas "F" rocket, standing upright in downtown Abilene.
The Atlas rocket was the engine that the majority of US Intercontinental Ballistic Missiles (ICBMs) were based on; the delivery vehicle of nuclear bombs in other words. This was in the early '60s, the height of the Cold War between the US and Russia and the detente based on Mutual Destruction, or "My nukes can destroy your cities even if your nukes destroy ours," not to put too fine a point on it.  It was an uncomfortable time for all.

The rocket was on display in downtown Abilene as sort of a PR gesture from nearby Dyess AFB. It was generally acknowledged that Dyess, Abilene and a large chunk of west Texas would disappear if there ever was an actual nuclear war. The base was (and still is) home to long-range bombers - B-47s and B-52s at that time. It was then a Strategic Air Command base, a key element of the US offensive capability, and still plays that role today with one of only two B-1B bomber groups positioned there.

So the Atlas rocket was on display to assure the good citizens of west Texas that they had our back, because this bad boy and 11 others just like it were locked and loaded in hardened missile silos located in a big ring around Dyess, and this complex was one of 71 other sites just like it, ringing strategic targets all over the United States.

I came upon this very rocket quite by surprise very early one morning. My shift at the radio station ended at midnight, and that night I drove through downtown on my way back to the dorm, so that I could mail some letters at the downtown post office. I turned down 4th to Walnut and there it was, standing tall and lit up like a Christmas Tree! It was an amazing sight and rather eerie. There were a few military vehicles parked nearby, and I'm certain there was some kind of guard detail somewhere, but they didn't have much of a presence at 1am in the morning.
This particular Atlas F was a dummy, an empty shell from top to bottom. The real missiles were so thin-skinned that they depended on the liquid oxygen fuel load to keep them rigid when standing without support. But as it happens, I also came upon a real one, standing tall and lit up like a Christmas Tree, and again in the wee hours of the morning - and it was the real deal.

One of the underground silos was located just outside Albany, Texas, about 30 miles east of Abilene. If you are familiar with highway 180, you will recall that when you are eastbound you start down a long hill, dropping off of the Edwards Plateau, just a few miles before you reach Albany. On your right, just as you start that descent, is a small rise and on the flat portion of that rise, just off the highway, was Silo #2.

I was driving from Abilene to Breckenridge one night - again, after my shift ended at midnight, and I noticed a glow to my right. Visible from the highway was a fully loaded, nuclear-armed Atlas F ICBM. I knew it was the real thing, because oxygen vapor was coming off in a big plume. As I recall, I was praying all the way to Breckenridge that what I saw was a drill, and that the rocket had been fueled and hoisted out of the silo as a readiness exercise.

It is an interesting side note that the 72 underground silos, each costing about $15 million (equivalent to more than $100 million in today's dollars), were operational for less than 5 years. The liquid oxygen fueled rockets were too expensive, too fragile, and too slow to launch for military purpose. The hardened silos were to protect them while they were made ready to fire, which included fueling them. They were kept unfueled except for drills such as the one I happened upon, because the LOX was too corrosive and too volatile. More than one silo experienced "total failure" during this period - military jargon for "the missile blew up in the silo."

As the Cold War de-escalated (and solid fuel rocket engines became the weapon de jour), all the equipment was pulled out, the Atlas Fs went to the space program, the silos were filled in, or just abandoned, reverting to the original land owner. Some are used for homes, or quirky hotels, or scuba diving instruction, and many an ACU student paid a clandestine visit to the poorly shuttered Silo #1 at Fort Phantom Hill.

And that's how the Cold War ended up in my backyard - or more precisely, along my route.

Monday, October 26, 2015

Monday Meanderings - 10.26.2015

As Stevie Ray would say. "It's flooding down in Texas."  We passed the 5" total rain mark Saturday night, but unlike some parts of the state, ours has been a slow, steady, and above all, gentle rain. It has been a long time since it has rained throughout the night, throughout the day and then throughout the next night.

I had the opportunity this weekend to experience the Apple Genius Bar. This is the place where you can speak to a real, live person and show them the problem(s) you are experiencing with your Apple device. In my case, it was a mis-behaving iPad. Ever since the latest operating system upgrade, the device would crash regularly and frequently.

I had already been through the process of wiping the device clean and re-installing the entire system - a 4 hour task that brought only slight relief, so the next step was make an appointment with a Genius. Not surprisingly, the next available slot was more than a week away, but Sunday afternoon I sat down in a crowded room with about 25 other solution-seekers and a fourteen-year-old dude in an official Apple shirt asked how he could help.

Actually, he already had the complete record of my previous conversations with Apple Care and knew what the problem was, so he put his iPad next to mine, pressed a few icons and sucked up the error logs from my iPad. He looked at them for a few minutes, made some tsk, tsk noises, then said, "I'll be right back."

In a few minutes he came back with a box and said, "Even though your iPad is waaay out of warranty (purchased in December 2011) I'm going to give you a new one. This is a one-time deal; please sign here." I scrawled my name, the guy handed me a brand-new iPad, and we were done!

I should point out that it is a brand-new old iPad 2 - same model, same size - but new and thus far crash free. And that's how you do customer service.

Cute, but pricey, little pumpkin holders seen at Central Market:

Monday, October 19, 2015

Monday Meanderings - 10.19.2015

I was sitting in a doctor's waiting room the other day and two gentlemen, obviously father and son, were working with the receptionist to set up a follow-up visit. It seemed complicated, based on the conversation, and finally the receptionist said, "How about if we just give you a call on Thursday?" And the answer was - "We don't have any telephones."

In this day and time that's a staggering statement. Sixth graders have phones. The panhandler on the street corner has a phone. Not counting the obsolete phones in the drawer, Barb and I can account for 8 phones and 3 lines. If you don't have a phone - any phone - that has to be a very deliberate choice on your part.

Being a newbie at this grilling business, I had idly wondered how long a tank of propane would last. Oh, about halfway through Saturday's grilled talapia. Oh, well. They were easily finished in the broiler. We were a whole lot better off than Trout Street Bar and Grill in Port A., who ran out of propane just before the weekend meal service began and had to send about 40 unfed diners home.
 
New doctor, new parking garage. You know how I feel about parking garages. IMHO, they are the cause of most TxDot "Missing Elderly" notices. You drive in one end, circle around confusingly, hunt desperately for the EXIT and get spit out in a totally different time zone and city from where you started.  This new one is especially confusing. I swear I passed my original parking space twice just trying to find the exit.

We follow the UT Volleyball team closely, and I've scoured the rule book, but I can't find anywhere it states "All female volleyball players must wear their hair in a ponytail." I know it's in there, because every. single. player. has one.

Here are two pictures of bumper stickers from a car we paused behind.
Okay. Lots of dogs have issues. It is the second sticker that disturbs me.
At least we were warned.

Monday, October 12, 2015

Monday Meanderings - 10.12.2015

So what's the deal with these 95 degree days in mid-October? Come on, man! It's supposed to be Fall! After teasing us with a little faux-coolness, we're ready for the real thing, hear?

And it's certainly too hot to be thinking about Christmas. Usually Walmart is the first to stock shelves and declare that "Christmas is coming" - waaay ahead of everyone else. But this was Home Depot on Thursday, and there was nothing Christmasy on the shelves at Walmart this weekend.
By the way. There are only 74 shopping days left until Christmas. You are welcome.

Recent article in the Statesman pointed out the 5 most dangerous intersections in Austin. Yep. We regularly drive through the top 3. Even worse, the City is going to "improve" them. Can you say traffic jams on the way?

We had a meet and greet Friday evening for our new pulpit minister, the boy preacher. Okay, he's 34. I was proud of him for showing up at his introductory get-together when I knew he really, really wanted to be at the ACLFest watching the Foo Fighters.

Mixed bag this weekend for fans of Texas teams. The Longhorn football team has been so bad that even Bevo didn't to watch, but won a really big one against arch-rival Oklahoma. The volleyball team took care of Oklahoma, the soccer team won a pair, and the Astros picked up a game on the Royals. That's the good news.  Unfortunately, the Rangers, looking to close out Toronto, will need another day.  And then there's the Cowboys...


Monday, October 5, 2015

Monday Meanderings - 10.5.2015

Barb and I made our Fall trip to the coast this past week. We love Port A when summer is done and the crowds go away and the weather is cooler. The beach was pristine this visit; no jellyfish, no seaweed. Just miles of sand and sea. And in sharp contrast to the past few weeks in Austin, the temperature was moderate and the breeze was cool - and kept away the pesky insects we have been encountering.
We stay at a high-rise condo right on the beach while in Port A. There was a Realtor's information sheet stuck on the fridge in the unit we rented  this week that stated that for a mere $279,000 we could buy that condo, fully furnished and ready to call our very own. It was nice, but we decided that it was poorly decorated, and that soured the deal for us.

This trip takes us through the heart of the Ford Shale oil country, and it was shocking to see visual confirmation that the oil bidness has fallen on hard times. Again. Whereas before the tanker trucks would run you off the road, we encountered only a handful. Pastures that were scraped clear for RV and trailer parking are reverting to pasture. Brand new oil-industry-related buildings are empty, or in the case of  Johnny-come-lately businesses, standing only partially completed. Lunchtime at the DQ in Kenedy was shared by only 2 other couples - no more overflow of oil patch workers and truck drivers.

And did I mention that there are good things to eat in Port A? Platters full of Tatsy Cuisine. Mmm-mmm!