All About Pocket Knives

Top Notch stuff, right there. Good photo, Good writing.

KLJ77 wrote: ↑Sat Nov 28, 2020 10:39 pm Top Notch stuff, right there. Good photo, Good writing.

Thanks LJ!

I was perusing a thread about ZZ and others discussing nautical experiences and shipboard items (clinometers) and it reminded me of a poem I wrote many years ago. This is a poem where many non-sailors / civilians thought I was talking about an extra-marital affair...that I was 'meeting my mistress'. Only a Naval Sailor will fully understand the premise of what I convey within the words I wrote.

" HER"

(A Poem About A Sailor)

I left you standing there as I walked to her,

thoughts flashing through my mind
to how both of you need and want me,

not wanting to leave you,
not wanting to go to her, but having no choice.


Her steel like skin engulfs me

as I enter within her bosom,
with the loneliness of knowing

that I was not the only person she
claimed,
for others would be bound by her too.


Touching her is not like touching you

for with you, there is response,
she is cold, unyielding, unaware

and I long so quickly to be touched
by the warmth of your soul.


She knows no love, her movement unpredictable

gives nothing, yet has total control
. I must trust that she is strong,

for she holds the very existence
of all those she has consumed
.

I will sleep with her,

but not as I have with you,
for your skin is soft and warm

hers, grey and cold,
I long to be close to you.


She has taken me away from you once again,

with no desire to go to her
and now, locked within her bowels,

I have only memories of you
to keep me warm and secure.


I have learned not to fight her hold on me,

only to concede to her will,
until once again she sets me free,

and I embrace your waiting love
at the place where we first departed,
 so long ago...


LJ that is a great poem. As I read the words it brought back a memory of the docks at North Island, San Diego, CA.
I was walking toward the U.S.S. Constellation CV-64 and we were leaving on a scheduled 7 month deployment in 1977.
As I approached the gangway I looked back to see an ocean of people there for our departure. The only faces I could
see were my wife Cheryl, my 4 yr old son and my 1 yr old daughter. Most of us shed some tears that day, because
we were torn between leaving the ones we loved and doing the jobs we were trained to do on that mighty, but
unforgiving ship. Thanks for bringing back the memory.

Well, I'm not a sailor but I can appreciate your very artful expression of military separation. Nicely rendered, sailor.

David...Thank You, Shipmate, your memories are exactly the reason I was inspired those many years ago. Hugging and shedding tears with loved one's on the pier...not wanting to leave them and walk away to the brow until the very last moment of 'expired liberty' timeline. It didn't matter whether it was a three week military exercise or an extended 6-7 month Med cruise or West Pac. The intense emotional feelings were always the same. Glad you were able to reminisce those days, albeit, bittersweet.

Thank you, Garry...although you were not a sailor, I'm sure there were many occasions in your life where 'symbolically' you, and many others, can relate to a period of separation from loved ones. As with us all, we've had our moments in life...whether military related or life's circumstances. The emotions are the same.

Very nice LJ! I can relate to your words of seperating from the ones we love for military reasons and being inside of a tank reminds me somewhat of the same feelings you expressed. Very nice poem! Thanks for sharing that with us!

Thanks Tom...I appreciate your thoughts.

So...you were a tank driver? You could tell some stories, I'll bet.

I was thinking about one of Reagan's quotes and decided to look up some of his best ones and share them.
I believe that decades from now historians will remember Ronald Reagan as one of this country's greatest presidents.
I already do.

Just a few of my favorite Ronald Reagan quotes. Do you have one?

“The most terrifying words in the English language are, I'm from the government and I'm here to help.”
“Government’s first duty is to protect the people, not run their lives.”

“Government exists to protect us from each other. Where government has gone beyond its limits is in deciding to protect us from ourselves.”

“Government is not a solution to our problem, government is the problem.”

“If we ever forget that we're one nation under God, then we will be one nation gone under.”

“Within the covers of the Bible are the answers for all the problems men face.”

“We must reject the idea that every time a law's broken, society is guilty rather than the lawbreaker. It is time to restore the American precept that each individual is accountable for his actions.”

“A nation that cannot control its borders is not a nation.”

“Some people spend an entire lifetime wondering if they made a difference in the world. But, the Marines don't have that problem.”

“I hope we once again have reminded people that man is not free unless government is limited. There's a clear cause and effect here that is as neat and predictable as a law of physics: As government expands, liberty contracts.”

“Freedom prospers when religion is vibrant and the rule of law under God is acknowledged.”

“It has been said that politics is the second oldest profession. I have learned that it bears a striking resemblance to the first.”

“I have wondered at times what the Ten Commandments would have looked like if Moses had run them through the U.S. Congress.”

“We must be cautious in claiming God is on our side. I think the real question we must answer is, are we on His side?”

“I believe now, as I always have, that America’s strength is in ‘We the People.'”

“I now begin the journey that will lead me into the sunset of my life. I know that for America there will always be a bright dawn ahead.”

David I believe Reagan was the greatest President ever. He was not perfect but none of them are or ever will be. One evidence of Reagan’s greatness is demonstrated by how much those who hate America also hate Reagan.

Ken

One of the traditional methods of imposing statism or socialism on a people has been by way of medicine. It’s very easy to disguise a medical program as a humanitarian project.

How do you tell a communist? It’s someone who reads Marx and Lenin. And how do you tell an anti-communist? It’s someone who understands Marx and Lenin.

Socialism only works in two places - Heaven, where they don’t need it. And Hell, where they already have it.

Politics is not a bad profession. If you succeed there are many rewards. And if you disgrace yourself, you can always write a book.

It isn’t that our liberal friends are ignorant. It’s that so much of what they know just isn’t so.

Government is not the solution to our problem. Government is the problem.

I’ve noticed that everyone who is for abortion has already been born.

All of us need to be reminded the federal government did not create the states. The states created the federal government.

KLJ77 wrote: ↑Wed Dec 30, 2020 8:30 pm Thanks Tom...I appreciate your thoughts.

So...you were a tank driver? You could tell some stories, I'll bet.

Well..., Not really a Tank. More like a tin can. (M113)

dlr110 wrote: ↑Thu Dec 31, 2020 4:58 pm I was thinking about one of Reagan's quotes and decided to look up some of his best ones and share them.
I believe that decades from now historians will remember Ronald Reagan as one of this country's greatest presidents.
I already do.

Just a few of my favorite Ronald Reagan quotes. Do you have one?

“The most terrifying words in the English language are, I'm from the government and I'm here to help.”
“Government’s first duty is to protect the people, not run their lives.”

“Government exists to protect us from each other. Where government has gone beyond its limits is in deciding to protect us from ourselves.”

“Government is not a solution to our problem, government is the problem.”

“If we ever forget that we're one nation under God, then we will be one nation gone under.”

“Within the covers of the Bible are the answers for all the problems men face.”

“We must reject the idea that every time a law's broken, society is guilty rather than the lawbreaker. It is time to restore the American precept that each individual is accountable for his actions.”

“A nation that cannot control its borders is not a nation.”

“Some people spend an entire lifetime wondering if they made a difference in the world. But, the Marines don't have that problem.”

“I hope we once again have reminded people that man is not free unless government is limited. There's a clear cause and effect here that is as neat and predictable as a law of physics: As government expands, liberty contracts.”

“Freedom prospers when religion is vibrant and the rule of law under God is acknowledged.”

“It has been said that politics is the second oldest profession. I have learned that it bears a striking resemblance to the first.”

“I have wondered at times what the Ten Commandments would have looked like if Moses had run them through the U.S. Congress.”

“We must be cautious in claiming God is on our side. I think the real question we must answer is, are we on His side?”

“I believe now, as I always have, that America’s strength is in ‘We the People.'”

“I now begin the journey that will lead me into the sunset of my life. I know that for America there will always be a bright dawn ahead.”

Here's a few I like.

"Today we have done what we had to do. If necessary, we shall do it again."

"A message to terrorists everywhere. You can run...but you can't hide!"

"We are not going to tolerate these attacks from outlaw states!"

And my all time favorite...,

"They counted on America to be passive... They counted wrong!"

Three of these are from the Def Leppard song "Gods of War" from their album "Hysteria". Great song!
If your a Reagan fan and you have never heard this song it's pretty cool!

TPK wrote: ↑Thu Dec 31, 2020 5:48 pm

KLJ77 wrote: ↑Wed Dec 30, 2020 8:30 pm Thanks Tom...I appreciate your thoughts.

So...you were a tank driver? You could tell some stories, I'll bet.

Well..., Not really a Tank. More like a tin can. (M113)

AHHHHH! Immediate flashback to Germany and the Reforger exercises!

Steve Warden wrote: ↑Thu Dec 31, 2020 7:51 pm

TPK wrote: ↑Thu Dec 31, 2020 5:48 pm

KLJ77 wrote: ↑Wed Dec 30, 2020 8:30 pm Thanks Tom...I appreciate your thoughts.

So...you were a tank driver? You could tell some stories, I'll bet.

Well..., Not really a Tank. More like a tin can. (M113)

AHHHHH! Immediate flashback to Germany and the Reforger exercises!

Sorry Steve! Are we still friends?

All good, Tom.

I was at Rhein-Main working the flight line 1983-1986. We had so many C-141s and C-5s coming in with Army grunts, those aircraft were stacked up on the taxiway waiting for parking spots to open up.

Your tank in the snow reminded me of the AFRTS news reports showing tanks rolling through towns, over civilian cars, and getting stuck in the fields. Reforger, you know if you were ever a part of it, took place from mid January to mid February-- snow season!

As I said, all good. I enjoyed my time in Germany and in the Air Force.

I wrote this one to go with Ike's picture. viewtopic.php?f=2&t=51750&start=1770
He called it Old Soldiers.


"Old Soldiers..."

Old Soldiers names,
Written in stone,
Old Soldiers fames,
Forgotten - Unknown,

Old Soldiers lying,
So far from home,
Wishing they had never,
Chosen to roam.

By: Thomas DeVore
Dec. 31, 2020
22:25 p.m.

Heard this on the radio today. Maybe attributed to Gandhi? An eye for eye only ends up making the whole world blind.

just bob wrote: ↑Thu Dec 31, 2020 10:20 pm Heard this on the radio today. Maybe attributed to Gandhi? An eye for eye only ends up making the whole world blind.

There is so much truth in that, thanks Bob.

TPK wrote: ↑Thu Dec 31, 2020 9:37 pm I wrote this one to go with Ike's picture. viewtopic.php?f=2&t=51750&start=1770
He called it Old Soldiers.


"Old Soldiers..."

Old Soldiers names,
Written in stone,
Old Soldiers fames,
Forgotten - Unknown,

Old Soldiers lying,
So far from home,
Wishing they had never,
Chosen to roam.

By: Thomas DeVore
Dec. 31, 2020
22:25 p.m.

You're good at writing on the fly. Very good Tom.

dlr110 wrote: ↑Thu Dec 31, 2020 10:37 pm

TPK wrote: ↑Thu Dec 31, 2020 9:37 pm I wrote this one to go with Ike's picture. viewtopic.php?f=2&t=51750&start=1770
He called it Old Soldiers.


"Old Soldiers..."

Old Soldiers names,
Written in stone,
Old Soldiers fames,
Forgotten - Unknown,

Old Soldiers lying,
So far from home,
Wishing they had never,
Chosen to roam.

By: Thomas DeVore
Dec. 31, 2020
22:25 p.m.

You're good at writing on the fly. Very good Tom.

Thanks David! Loooooooong time hobby!

Thanks for posting the Reagan quotes, David. Some of them I had never read. What a GREAT man he was...and many countries feared him. I remember those 444 hostages were released almost immediately after he was inaugurated.

Tom...nice looking ride. Are you one of the guys riding, or is that just a photo you found and posted?

Nice poem in Honor of 'Old Soldiers'.

KLJ77 wrote: ↑Fri Jan 01, 2021 12:53 am Tom...nice looking ride. Are you one of the guys riding, or is that just a photo you found and posted?

Nice poem in Honor of 'Old Soldiers'.

Just a picture I found on line.

Wrote this one about Scott's Pocket Hunter in the Knives in the Wild thread.
viewtopic.php?f=2&t=51750&start=1785


"Silent Hunter"

Through the forest,
Brown & green,
Quiet as,
A dead man's dream,

Sunbeams dancing,
Clover, dew,
Silent hunter,
Passing through.

Over streams,
Through a field,
Silent hunter,
Clover shield,

Of all things,
There are few,
This ol' hunter,
Can not do!

By: Thomas DeVore
Jan. 2, 2021
08:55 a.m.