Zach has recently split from his wife of 20 years and he finds himself at the Dallas Ft. Worth Hilton Hotel following a meeting at IBM where he is a traveling computer salesman. He calls Annie his girl friend with whom he had had a high school love affair. She is recently separated from her husband and when Zach asks her to join him for the weekend, she accepts. After that call, Zach calls another girlfriend, Donna, from Houston whom he dated while attending Rice University. They have phone sex. Annie shows up at the Hilton on Friday as planned. So, does Donna as unplanned. Zach has a problem juggling two women.
Mo Goes to College by B.E. Smith
Mo Highgate is graduating from high school in Wichita Falls, Texas in 1960. He is accepted by four colleges and selects Cal Tech. His mother, a devout Southern Baptist, is adamantly opposed to Mo going to California to attend college—”too many niggers and Jews,” his mother says. Mo goes anyway, meets a nice Jewish girl from Dallas and tells his mother and dad that he is going to marry her. Mom is not pleased. “What will they think at the First Baptist Church when they find out you are going to marry an old Jew?” she says. Mo marries her anyway, much to his Mom’s regret.
Night Flying by B.E. Smith
Lt. Yenowine is the operations officer of Detachment Echo stationed on the aircraft carrier nicknamed the Bonnie Dick (CVA 31). Lt. Yenowine is scheduled for a night training flight with a member of his sister squadron, VA 195. They planned to practice low-level flying (100 ft) on their two-hour flight. It was dark but clear with visibility about 10 miles. Yenowine was catapulted off the starboard CAT followed one minute later by Lt. Crawford. They rendezvoused into a two-plane formation and Yenowine led the flight down to their assigned altitude of 100 feet. Seconds after arriving at that altitude, he looked over at a map held by his Navigator in the right seat. In an instant, he lost 100 ft and flew into the ocean. Yenowine escaped but his two crew members did not. A rescue destroyer picked Yenowine up out of the ocean.
Ens. Musgrove by B.E. Smith
Ensign Musgrove was a rookie pilot just out of flight school a couple of months, assigned to All Weather Attack Squadron 35 based in San Diego, California. Musgrove was scheduled for a training flight with Lt. Ralph Smith, a more experienced attack pilot who would lead the two-plane formation. They took off in the afternoon and headed west where they were to perform radar interception practice with several surface ships. On reaching altitude of 7,000 feet, Musgrove who had one crew member flying with him, encountered engine problems. Because of a lower bank of clouds at 5,000 feet, Musgrove decided to bail out. He ordered his crewman to “hit the silk.” Which he did. Musgrove spoke by radio to his flight leader but was never heard from again. The crewman was picked up out of the ocean by the USS Los Angeles about four hours later. An extensive search found no trace of Ens. Musgrove.
The Prom by B.E. Smith
Vince Marries is a senior at Lamar High School in Houston, Texas. It is six months before the senior prom and he calls the one girl in his class who is competing with him for the spot of valedictorian. They have never dated before and Debbie asks Vince why he is calling her. “We would make a nice couple,” Vince tells her. Debbie agrees to the date with provisions—no sex and keep your hands to yourself. Vince agrees but still has hopes that she might change her mind about the sex. It is a milestone event.
The Trump Train by B.E. Smith
Bob meets Buzz at the SNAP Fitness Center. Buzz is talking to the manager. “Have you gotten on the Trump Train yet?” Buzz asks Beth, the manager. Bob lets out a groan. They talk about Trump, his pros and cons. Bob is left of center with his thoughts; Buzz is a strong Trump supporter and he is 35 and strong. Bob is 83 and walks with a cane due to his stroke a few years back. Bob wishes he had the courage to whack Buzz with his cane.
Vertigo by B.E. Smith
Pilots of Detachment Echo, All Weather Attack Squadron 35 are scheduled for their night qualification landings on an aircraft carrier. For new pilots in the squadron, it will be their first night landings. The weather is forecast to be “high winds and heavy seas”—not too good for your first night landings. If all goes well, they will take off from their squadron headquarters at NAS North Island, California, fly out about 75 miles to the carrier, USS Bon Homme Richard, CVA 31. At the carrier they will make four to six arrested landings and then fly back to North Island. When the time comes, two of the pilots have mechanical difficulties and scrub their flights. Ltjg. Smith and Ltjg Jolin have good airplanes and take off for the carrier about 6:30 p.m. It is already dark, but they have good visibility of Tiajuana to the South but once they turn west towards the Pacific Ocean, the sky and the water are blended together seemingly, and the pilots have no visual horizon. They both get vertigo and must use every ounce of training they have received to keep from plunging into the Ocean.
Quincy by B.E. Smith
Quincy is an AKC Certified Champion Shetland Sheepdog, the Prince of his Domain. He has three other Shelties in his harem at Waldenwood Kennel in Cincinnati, Ohio and he protects them with his life but he welcomes visiting Sheltie bitches who are “in season” and ready for breeding. One other stud dog at Waldenwood is his rival and Quincy looks for every opportunity to engage him in battle and eliminate him from future competition. Quincy finishes his championship requirements, breeds lots of other champions but like the rest of us, he reaches the end of his career.
Crash, Crash, Crash by B.E. Smith
On February 27, 1958 Ltjg Jolin and I were scheduled to fly a training flight off the USS Bonne Homme Richard, CVA 31, on Tuesday afternoon. We flew a normal training flight and on landing, Jolin’s hook skipped over the arresting wire. The plane flipped over on its side and hit two jets parked on the deck forward of the crash site. Jolin with his crew plunged into the ocean. The rescue helicopter was on-site immediately. I was watching from my plane at about 1000 feet as I approached the ship for my landing. Crash, Crash, Crash, I broadcast on UHF Emergency Channel. I circled the carrier at 1000 feet looking for any signs of survivors.
Fear of Poverty by B.E. Smith
You can be rich or poor. The choice is yours. It’s a matter of mindset. If you decide that it is better to be poor, then that’s what will happen to you. You will receive what you expect to receive. It can be bad or good. You need the desire to get to your goal. You need to bring in good and positive-thinking people to help when necessary and you must persevere. When setbacks happen, and they will, just get back up, review your plan, and make changes as necessary. You can and will do it.
Under the Radar by B.E. Smith
In February 1959 the Cold War was in full bloom. The USS Bon Homme Richard, CVA 31, an Attack Carrier assigned to the 7th Fleet was on duty 600 miles east of the China Coast. At 0300, the General Quarters alarm in sounded and Ltjg. Bobby Smith and his roommate Ltjg. Jim Jolin roll out of bed and put on their flight clothes. In the Ready Room, the Smith Crew is called front and center. They are scheduled to make the first mission in retaliation for a nuclear attack on the United States. The crew will fly their AD Skyraider, propeller driven attack plane, carrying an atomic bomb, five times the power of the bomb dropped in World War II against Japan. And they must approach the target at 100 feet to avoid radar detection.