...My Flight with "Diamond LiL".......

Well Sir...the day I had looked forward to with great anticipation finally arrived....my flight on an actual World War II, B-24 Liberator.....

As I stated in my earlier post...I've always had an intense fascination with these old war birds...especially the B-24, B-25...and the B-17, the 17 being my favorite....

Now Sir...I'm not a big fan of Digital camera's...don't trust em...and with good reason...but...one of my wonderful Daughter's...Shellie...loaned me her camera and gave me a...excuse the wurd.."crash" course on just how to use it...and aside frum the fact that most of the inside shots didn't come out cause the "Auto" feature....I did manage to get a few pix of my flight into the past.....

Now Sir...this here is a photygraf of yurs truly...and I look like most Vietnam era vets...a beard, long hair and a big old pot belly...figured I'd say it afore Mr. Fits frum "Shooting the Messenger" said it.....

...as y'all can see it pretty overcast and of course the damned digital had no way of using "fill-in" flash...and hardly wurked at all inside the plane...but I'll show ya what pix I did get. I was the Director of Photography for the Crime Lab I once wurked fer...and as I'm sure y'all noticed...I'm NOT keen on digitals...give me a good old fashioned 4 X 5 Graflex or a good 35mm...with real film in em...and I'll be a happy camper...

Now sir...this here next photygraf is a taken from the back of the plane lookin forward....now...I know'd fer sure that I've really put on a bit of weight when one a the crew told us all that after gettin airborn...we could wonder round the plane...then he looked at me and said...cept you...if you go to the back of the plane...make sure no one else is there...that would be too much weight and might cause control problems (asshole I muttered under me breath)....coulda said that to me privately.

Its of interest that an old gentleman (in the white hat) who was sitting next to me with his 2 grand-daughters with him was real interested in the plane and was cryin a might.....

So...I asked him if he was familiar with these old war birds and he pointed up toward the front of the aircraft...pointed to a small opening under the pilots cockpit and through the nose landing gear of the plane...said to me..."I was bombardier in these planes during WWII...wow...I was impressed. Turned out that his granddaughters had surprized him with this flight and this was the first time in a B-24 since 1945...you could almost see the memories flooding back into his keen mind......

...and of course this is lookin up inta the cockpit......

...Now Sir...this next photygraf is of the famous Syracuse University Dome...lotta games and shows been put on there...and if you follow college B'Ball or football...you've seen this afore. The pilot first took us over the City of Syracuse for a tour and then headed north...up inta my section of the woods. Again...we had a very low ceiling this day and the picture is somewhat clouded over by a misty rain and low clouds......

...Now...this next picture is of some very distinguished....even if slightly over-weight and ugly...passenger wearin a Cowboy hat that was on the flight. Turns out he writes a blog that has somethin t'do with cookin and humor (and sometimes goes on a rant or two.) I happen to know that he has a real keen interest in these beautiful bombers...and he started flyin J-3 Piper Cubs when he was 12 years old...crashed one too...but that's a story, or post... fer a later time.....

...Well Sir...I been wrestlin with Blogger all day just tryin to put this post up...but it seems that Blogger is havin some sort a server hissy-fit and the photygrafs and such just aren't comin up or publishin like they should.

I thought it was just me at first but I've had some phone conversations with other bloggers and they be a tellin me that it's Blogger...no surprize...but what d'ya want fer free.....

Now Sir...since Blogger is havin problems...I'm just gonna put up what photygrafs I can.....

...but first..to answer sone comments left on my first post about "Diamond LiL"...Missy Buster...yur right on the nose...my wife is indeed a very thoughtful person having gotten me this flight fer Fathers Day...course...I wish she hadn't used MY credit card to book it....

...and John Artz had said there is nuthin sounds as sweet as four(4) Radial Engines purrin like big old Kitty cats (ceptin fer the submarine diving claxon)...and he's right...what a great sound...

...course Sig 94 thought I might lose my "cookies" on the flight...sorry to disappoint y'all mate...Cookie kept his Cookie's.......

...Now Sir...this here is the lake I live on...Oneida Lake...right in the heart of Central, New York...Pataki country...land of Taxes.....

...and in this is a picture of two of the islands in the Lake...Frenchman's Island and Dunham's Island......

...back at the turn of the century (1900)...there was a huge hotel for the "Rich and Famous" on Frenchman's island (on the left in the photo)...but a great fire destroyed the hotel and all the associated industries and support business's that went with it......

...Now...this old boy grew up in the lower part of the picture...right near the islands. Some of the best Walleye and Perch fishin yur ever gonna find is in Oneida Lake. Every year we got some large Fishin Tournaments that bring folks frum all over the country to compete.....

...the lakes got a history also...some battles in the French & Indian War and the Revolutionary War were fought in this area....the movie "Drums Along the Mohawk" was about a battle fought about twenty miles frum what yur a lookin at right now.....

...and finally....touchdown.....what a great day...Cookie.....