Blog Topics

A Pocket of Resistance

A potpourri of posts on a variety of topics, in other words, what’s currently on my mind.

  • Cape Hatteras
    ah, to feel the seato be as one with the sea,to talk to her,one must, mustsail past Cape Hatterasin the night where‘tis never calm:the seas always buildingto a frenzy,the winds a’ whippinglike a banshee screaming,the ship a’ pitching and a rollinglike it ain’t gonna stop rolling overuntilpast the point of no return;the white caps dominating … Read more

Murphy’s Law desk calendar

A curation of Murphy’s Law saying from over the years.

  • Cohen’s Law
    People are divided into two groups, the righteous and the unrighteous, and the righteous do the dividing.

Sea Stories

Fairly self explanatory, from what I can remember that is.

  • A Tale of the Sea and Me (For Sam) – Installment 25
    That magical summer of 1968 was about over. BMC Jones had left. The SPCM had left. My department head, LT Steve Jones, had left. The CO had been relieved. The USS Hawkins (DD 873) was headed for a six-month overhaul in the Boston Naval Shipyard in Charleston, Massachusetts, some 60 miles to the north. Shortly … Read more

Notes from the Southwest Corner

Selected columns written for the Lebanon, Tennessee Democrat newspaper from 2007 to 2017 about living in the Southest.

  • Notes from the Southwest Corner – 012
    As i edit this post from my past Democrat columns, i still miss Erma Baird, and all of those folks, now over that bridge, who were like family back home those many years ago. Life goes on and seems to come back to me in my older years. It was a lovely way to grow … Read more

Steel Decks and Glass Ceilings

Posts on the topic of the challenges and success of the deployment and integration of women into life aboard a Navy ship. This topic later became my book.

  • Labor Day Special: Steel Decks and Glass Ceilings
    Due to several factors, i now have a number of copies of Steel Decks and Glass Ceilings on hand. I will provide signed copies to those who would like to take advantage of this special opportunity for Labor Day. The cost for a signed copy, including shipping is $15. To purchase one, in the top menu bar, … Read more

Willie Nod

A collection of children’s poems written for my grandchild.

  • Willie Nod the Older and the Ugly Duck(ling)
    This one also hit me in the night. But i slept through, waking early in the morning and remembering. So i sat down to simply record the main thoughts. But it wouldn’t let go and i kept writing until just a few minutes ago. i hope you like it. Apologies to Hans Christian Anderson. Once … Read more

Jewell in the Rough

Posts on various topics about my life.


New Palestine

Short stories about a fictional town in Tennessee.

  • Put Out to Pasture
    Pre-sales for my book Steel Decks and Glass and Glass Ceilings: A Navy Officer’s Memoir, and the announcement of the publishing date is imminent. This is a quiet, anxious time for me. My hopes are those who want to read it will buy it and enjoy it, perhaps even learn a bit from it, and … Read more

Pretty Good Management

Leadership columns written for the Lebanon Democrat from 2007 to 2012.

  • Golf Ain’t Just About Hitting a Little White Ball In a Hole
    There are good days…and then there are good days. This morning, after a wonderful anniversary dinner last night, i played golf. A little muggy with a high of 77. So i won’t whine or brag about weather in the Southwest corner. We had the usual great views of the Hotel Del Coronado, the majestic Point … Read more