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New and Experienced Climbers Over 50 #27
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Alan, Eric… thank you. I just realized I’m in for the long haul on this one. I talked to my brother this morning (18 years older) who was there when “the Letter” came. He was only 10 and has a child’s recollection of Western Union walking to the front door while he was out front playing baseball, but not much more. But there is so much more information out there now that with a little digging I can probably recreate the history and circumstances around Red’s life and death. My brother seems to think he was a bombardier and not a pilot but all the records I have looked up say pilot, so I think I’d really like to get an accurate story. My brother asked “Why?” Maybe for the same reason I stalked poor Dave Houser until he finally waved the white flag and drove out to meet me. Maybe I’m a budding historian. But are you SURE about this swearing thing? I wonder how I could research this. It’s not that I think men were too polite to use those words… just that they weren’t commonly used. hmmm. I wonder if one of those old coots could remember back 80 years to be accurate about speech. I remember in the 60’s we knew all those words but no one ever thought to use them… it was considered kind of classless. Then one day that all changed. Meanwhile, the huge flak over “Frankly my dear I don’t give a damn.” —— Speaking of swearwords, I am surprised how much colorful language comes out from me on the rock. I have no problem with letting a GD or fuck fly here and there but more often it’s a “holy Moses“ or “for heavens sake”. EDIT: Sam! You found it! I’m convinced. Thank you so much!!! |
Lori Milaswrote: https://warisboring.com/world-war-ii-and-the-f-word/ "According to John Babcock, a mortarman in the U.S. Army’s 78th Infantry Division, during World War II and every war before or after, the word “fuck” “was, and still is, the most frequently used crutch-word in the military.” J. Glenn Gray, another World War II soldier, agreed. “The most common word in the mouths of American soldiers has been [‘fuck.’] This word does duty as adjective, adverb, verb, noun and in any other form it can possibly be used, however inappropriate or ridiculous in application.” https://www.npr.org/2012/07/24/156623763/swearing-a-long-and-history "This is an old tune. Social critics in the 1940s railed at the unchecked profanity of the returning GIs. In the '20s they were lambasting the vogue for four-letter words among the society slummers called mucker posers, the well-bred young people who felt the need "to emulate the manners and language of the longshoreman," as one critic put it. And so on down to the Victorians, whose sermons and statutes were full of references to public profanity." |
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Lori, that’s fascinating and heartbreaking. It's close to home for me: my Dad was a radar operator in a Fairey Swordfish flying off a small escort carrier on the Arctic convoys in the latter part of the war. Fortunately he survived, though not without some close calls. “Afloat” is surely a metaphor? Living on an airforce base a long way from home in a very quiet part of England might have felt a bit like being aboard a ship in the middle of an ocean. It’s perhaps relevant he calls his aeroplane “a new ship”. Flying was a new activity in 1944, developing its own language, much of it co-opted from sailing. Aircraft have port and starboard sides not left and right. It probably seemed a lot more like sailing than travelling on land: you’re not limited to roads or tracks but highly dependent on the wind and weather. Alternatively, perhaps it’s related to the ‘unsinkable aircraft carrier’ the British Isles were referred as by various American generals (This lives on as Airstrip One, the name the UK was given in George Orwell’s 1984, written shortly after the war). The report says the Liberator flew from RAF Seething in Norfolk. It is a private airfield now. There is a small museum dedicated to the 448 Bomb Group. East Anglia is where most USAAF bases were sited, there are three still operating to this day. It’s the closest part of the UK to Berlin and as flat as a pancake making it doubly suited for a WW2 airforce base. It’s a quiet, peaceful part of Britain should you ever think of visiting. |
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Alan. Dosent happen often but the lawer made a boo boo on this one. the B17 is not small and never flew off a carrier > Doolittle's raid used modified B25 Mitchels. |
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Back from two weeks in El Potrero Chico. New 5 pitch route on Buzz Rock, "Five Pitch Harmony" is worth doing, especially P4. Another new route "Revenge of the Whipped Cream" must have an interesting story behind it. Nice to see everything so litter free after the locals clean up efforts last year. Use caution when ordering a margarita grande (a full liter) at La Posada |
Idaho Bobwrote: ❤️ |
phylp phylpwrote: One of the biggest perks of retirement. Mid-week crickets on gym day! |
Russ Wallingwrote: Kinneloa t-shirt with TM Herbert on it...  |
Lori Milaswrote: Lori… I’m feeling much better thanks. I have been away Karting in Tuscon for 5 days. All the running around I did helped kick it out of me- mostly. I had a real adventure driving back home- in the teeth of “the storm o the century” as the media calls the rain. I went way around LA cause traffic was solid red - solid red! Pot holes, flooding, accidents everything. The letter from Red is truly poignant. Aircrew knew what they were up against and it was pretty grim to ponder your fate. Aircrew lived a life of contrast- nice place to sleep, good drinking, food, and days off. But they all knew that the time to get into that ship and go fight and possibly die would come. I would suggest the book “Catch 22” by Joseph Heller. A somewhat lighthearted view of being a bomber crew member. Keep working “Grain Surgery” - that’s a typical Josh “grain fest” - one of many many like that. Get the skills honed up and learn the tricks, will serve you well. I got back to find 7 sprouted OLH Boise Peppers just clearing the dirt. Going to start some Tomatoes today, and basil tomorrow. And I did watch “Masters” last evening. Quite impressive what they can do with CGI very realistic. With the story expanding I hope they show more of the adventures that people really had. Swearing… I know that Sailors, Soldiers and Marines spoke continuous profanity but not in mixed company. Later all |
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I stand corrected on Dolittle's planes. As far as soldiers swearing. There is the old phrase saying someone 'swore like a trooper'---which I think goes back to Civil War days. Soldiers undoubtedly have done so from whenever armies first began, not all soldiers, but probably the majority--I'm sure the Roman Legionnaires had their vocabulary of swears, as did the Greeks, Egyptians, etc. before them. I wonder, though, about those who fought in religious wars in more pious times---the Crusades, the Religious Wars in 16th and 17th Century Europe, for example. I'll still bet they had some version of swearing. In modern times you had someone such as General George Patton---who was simultaneously very religious and extremely profane!!!! |
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Guy, I'm SO relieved! I was about to shoot you a message to see if you were ok. You can't just be sick for a month and then disappear. Glad you had some fun. Alan, I'm truly rethinking my understanding of the 40's and 50's. My mom was no prude, but it was unthinkable that anyone would swear in her presence. And by that I mean, 'damn' was the absolute worst possible word. I recall being in a restaurant with her and her soon-to-be-husband when I was about 13, when some man swore in a nearby booth. My mother's guy had to walk over there, tap the swearer on the shoulder, and suggest that he refrain from any further words, or step outside. I was raised on Bing Crosby, and ol' Blue Eyes, and there was no swearing. I do see the occasional 'darn' in Red's letters. To think that out of earshot he might have been a serious potty mouth. If you have access to National Geographic, they did a great piece this month on Masters and the effort put into historical detail.  --- I woke up this morning feeling sick and depressed. I had planned to go to the gym, but instead I decided to go walking. I thought I'd be back in an hour, but lost time and wasn't back until almost noon. It was 38 degrees, and howling wind... and every moment just improved my mood. It's endless, there is so much to explore, and total freedom of spirit.  I also read this post from Tommy Caldwell this morning. This was re. Alex and Tommy's gentleman's challenge to a 9a sport climb. He hadn't been to a sport crag in awhile.  It's the impression I have, too. I guess I'm just not in the spirit of things yet. None of this sounds fun. On my way home I swung by Steve Canyon, just to have another look at the Decompensator before I head out of town. The main problem for this route has been the start. There have so far only been two options--leaping off a large boulder, or climbing a hard crack to the right. I think I have found a 3rd way that will work for me...(crawl under this boulder, chimney up the face to first horizontal... it's doable.)  Hoping for stable weather tomorrow as I point my car north. |
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my dad was in the ETO as an infantry squad leader battle of the bulge, Siegfried line, Colmar pocket etc, WIA. pawned all his medals and his p38 in NYC after the war except for the most important one to a dogface. His CIB My fathers cousin was also in the ETO Anzio and Normandy. Cousin John got hit really bad on D day so he was home in the states before my dad. My dad wrote him a bunch of letters one combat infantryman to another. Very candid I assume. His cousin mailed those letters to my father some time in the 90's Pa spent about a week holed up in his office drinking and reading the letters. then burning them in the wood stove. He gave me just one letter that he deemed either safe enough or important enough to escape the fire... |
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Lori, I'm really not sure why you chose the de-compensator. It is such crappy rock! There are so many great routes in JT and that just isn't one of them. Go climbing on the Astrodomes or something instead. Grain is just not very fun! |
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More fingerboard. More campus. Working on getting 120 degree elbow one armed but my arm locks straight. 70 pounds full hold 20 seconds. |
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50 years ago today. Does anyone remember? Where were you? 1) it’s a beautiful spire. It calls to me. 2) The rock is better than I expected. No gravel on Grain Surgery. 4) I want to see the view from the top. (also, if I’m ever going to climb both the decompensator and compassions – – which is a big if—I’ve been meaning to get that book and read it) —- Glad you’re still here, Jan. I pulled over to watch some odd goings on over at “the slab whose name shall not be mentioned“. There was a top rope hanging from the right side and another top rope hanging from the left and then I realized more top ropes were going up on other routes so I had to ask… It turns out it was a young woman’s 29th birthday and she was intent on climbing 29 routes. I wanted to see how she would do on that boulder problem, but also was fascinated by the pack of friends who were putting up and taking down ropes as fast as they could. This was a community project for sure. As I stood there, watching, I wanted to fill her in on the background and realized these young people had no idea and really no time for all that. They were just having a lot of fun. —— While Bob and I were hanging out at Grain Surgery we watched two climbers working on Sidewinder. At least for now, I have scratched this one off my list but what an amazing route this appears to be! And a real education watching two competent climbers do their thing. “…. Pick up on one and let the other one ride.” (As to route choice)  |
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Sidewinder is much easier than Decompensator, and the traverse is easily made safe on TR. |
Lori Milaswrote: There, fixed that for you! I’d have remembered if it was only 50 years ago, … |
Jan Mcwrote: Jan, The Decompensator has no crappy rock and has been "grain free" for decades. These types of steep friction climbs clean up after a few ascents. Grain Surgery is a nice clean route as well. Not sure when you last climbed these. BTW, Loose Lady, which actually had some crappy rock, has been the epitome of prime and proper for a long, long time. |
Randywrote: Loose Lady is named that because of how much rock we had to knock off to make it climbable so I am well aware of how it has cleaned up. I must admit I haven't done the Decompensator in a long time but that never seemed like it would clean up well when I did do it. Good to know that it did clean up. Kris always liked that one because it doesn't have any holds and fit his style of delicate walking and not hard pulling (not that he could not always pull hard...). |
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