More Drago Wisdom!

George Drago (the guy who was the pilot of my last mission in Vietnam) ... did I ever tell you story about my last flight in a Hawk?  It was a really dumb thing to do - fly a mission on your last day in-country! - but how else was I to get toe Cam Ranh to catch my flight home?  Anyway, George sent some quotes below to me.  But now for the short story of my last day in-country....I did a flight-follow mission, and George (Mr. Drago then) gave me a special going away present of a buzz of a radome somewhere off the coast near Nha Trang.   Not the low flight over the Company Area as was the custom for DEROSing pilots, but it was close enough...I don't think there was any of the Navy's (or whoever owned the radar site) white paint transfered to the belly of of our OD green aircraft...but it more than qualified in this 22 year old's mind as a bone-fide low pass!  Thanks again Mr. Drago!

And here is some more wisdom from an email George sent me this morning.  Thanks George!

Sometimes, when I look at my children, I say to myself, “Lillian, you should have remained a virgin.”

-   Lillian Carter (mother of Jimmy Carter)

   

I had a rose named after me and I was very flattered. But I was not pleased to read the description in the catalogue: - “No good in a bed, but fine against a wall.”  

- Eleanor Roosevelt  

   

Last week, I stated this woman was the ugliest woman I had ever seen. I have since been visited by her sister, and now wish to withdraw that statement.. 

- Mark Twain

  

The secret of a good sermon is to have a good beginning and a good ending; and to have the two as close together as possible.

- George Burns

   

Santa Claus has the right idea. Visit people only once a year.

- Victor Borge

    

Be careful about reading health books. You may die of a misprint.

- Mark Twain

   

By all means, marry. If you get a good wife, you’ll become happy; if you get a bad one, you’ll become a philosopher.

- Socrates

    

I was married by a judge. I should have asked for a jury.

- Groucho Marx

    

My wife has a slight impediment in her speech. Every now and then she stops to breathe.

- Jimmy Durante

   

I have never hated a man enough to give his diamonds back.

- Zsa Zsa Gabor

   

Only Irish coffee provides in a single glass all four essential food groups: alcohol, caffeine, sugar and fat.

- Alex Levine

    

My luck is so bad that if I bought a cemetery, people would stop dying.

- Rodney Dangerfield

     

Money can’t buy you happiness .... But it does bring you a more pleasant form of misery.

- Spike Milligan 

    

Until I was thirteen, I thought my name was SHUT UP.

- Joe Namath

    

I don’t feel old. I don’t feel anything until noon. Then it’s time for my nap.

- Bob Hope

    

I never drink water because of the disgusting things that fish do in it…

- W. C. Fields

      

We could certainly slow the aging process down if it had to work its way through Congress. 

- Will Rogers 

   

Don’t worry about avoiding temptation.   As you grow older, it will avoid you.

- Winston Churchill

    

Maybe it’s true that life begins at fifty... But everything else starts to wear out, fall out, or spread out.

- Phyllis Diller

    

By the time a man is wise enough to watch his step, he’s too old to go anywhere.

- Billy Crystal

    

And the cardiologist’s diet: - If it tastes good spit it out.

Las Vegas 2011!

The OV-1 Mohawk Association’s 2011 Reunion is fast approaching!  Our headquarters this year will be the beautiful Golden Nugget Hotel Casino in Las Vegas.  My son Tim and I were there 10 years ago, and since then there has been some major additions that have upgraded this historic hotel which was originally built in 1946, one of the oldest in Las Vegas.  In 2005 the hotel embarked on a 14-month, $100 million renovation project, which was completed in November 2006. In December 2007, it completed its $70 million Phase II project, which expanded the resort west onto First Street and introduced additional entertainment, event and dining venues. Phase III was the opening of a 500 room, $150 million dollar hotel tower on 20 November 2009. 

Here’s the general rundown of Reunion events:

• Thursday evening, November 10, we will have a welcoming mixer at the Golden Nugget beginning around 5:30pm.  (Get there in plenty of time before Joe Beckham and I drink up all the beer!)
• Friday morning the 11^th is the big Veterans’ Day Parade, the largest in the Nation!  We will be participating as a Unit of Mohawkers.
• Friday evening is our Annual Mohawk Banquet at the Golden Nugget with a special guest speaker to be announced soon.
• Saturday the 12^th is the all day "Aviation Nation" airshow extravaganza at Nellis AFB.
• Sunday is departure day.

This is shaping up to be one of the best reunions ever!  Get your reservations in to the Golden Nugget soon.  Your Association has a block of rooms set aside.  Just call the hotel at 1-800-634-3454 and use reservation group code 1DK8Q1.  Log on to the Association website (www.ov-1mohawkassociation.org) or to see the latest Mohawker newsletter go to http://ov-1mohawkassociation.org/downloads/nl_104...may_june_2011.pdf for more info about the Reunion.

I hope to see a huge number of Blackhawks/Phantomhawks at the Reunion this year.  It will be great to see my brothers, many of you I have not seen in more than 4 decades!  What a kick it will be to catch up!