seajaycecil@yahoo.com

You might investigate North Carolina for gold panning. I have been told that NC was the largest gold producing state in the union until 1849 when gold was discovered in California. Understand, I have not looked for gold here in Nc but there are a lot of public lands here and I have heard of people that ''prospect'' and find gold dust here. Just out of High Point, NC there was a gold processing mill that crushed the rock and exteacted the gold using chemicals. It is now a classic resturant. In NC there are places named Gold hill, and Goldsboro where there were shaft mines dug and gold extracted. My father told me of a farmer that could walk his plowed fields after a hard rain and pick up small nuggets. There is also Reed Gold Mine here in the state where a kid found a very large nugget that weighed several pounds. The family used it for a door stop for years before they sold it at the general store for a few dollars. FYI if you go back to Alaska there are lots of public places you can dip a pan and keep what you find. Gold panning is addictive. There is nothing like finding ''color'' in the bottom of a gold pan and at over a grand an ounce now it could be worth your time...... I panned in Alaska. Seajay the sailor man

FIXED IT..... The water heater ...... The problem was the THERMOSTAT. sixteen bucks for the replacement parts .... Note ..... the thermostat is located on the front side of the unit (the end you can see with the burner and stuff showing.) The trick is that the thermostat is located UNDER THE STUCK ON RUBBER FOAM with the four posts sticking out of it. TAAAAAAADAAAAAAAAHAAAA... Unplug the wires and lable same as you pull them off the posts. rip off the rubber foam stuff. Underneath you will find two little heat sencor thingies each with two posts for the wires you just un done. Call Atwood and give the tech the modle number of your heater and he will give you the proper part number to ask for at the parts shop. This info is free. Their number is 1 800 546 8759 push 2 for the tech dept. they are very helpful...(where was I?)..............(i'm re reading ,,,,,, hangon) Ok, go to the supply store for R.v. stuff and ask for these parts and take about twenty bucks with you. Stop at Auto Zone and pick up some ''electroletic grease'' to dab on the posts to keep them from going canker over time. Keep in mind that you have two little thermostat thingies . One is the ''High Limit Control'' and the other is the actual water temp cut off thing. KEEP THEM AS THEY ARE COMING OFF THE CARDBOARD AND DONT MIX THEM UP. As you face the ''card they are on'' the one on the LEFT was the High Limit Control and the one on the RIGHT hand side of my card was the actual thermostat. Get out the new foam rubber thingie and you will find ''instructions'' under it when you manage to get it off the cardboard. The actual hardest part is putting the items back into the holding prongs on the water heater. Take your time and dont lose nothing and dont spill your Jim Beam. When you get it all back together and the wires put on after you put the electrolitic grease on the posts tell your lady to ''GIVE IT A TRY'' ...... Mine cycled fine. Just like it should and it costed me sixteen dollars and about an hour driving for the part and a taste of Jim Beam.... As you guys can see, I am a big believer in DO IT YOURSELF IF YOU CAN. I have found that most of these ''TECHS'' are people who just throw parts at a problem till they stumble on the answer. Most of them have no TROUBLE SHOOTING METHODS AT ALL . The real pain is that they charge you for all the parts you dont need and they charge from 80 to 120 dollars an hour to guess what your problem might be. Believe me, I have seen it and been bitten by this situation before. Anyhow, If i have confused you e mail me and I will be glad to try to help with this problem..... Seajay the sailor man ....

First of all, Thanks for the compliment. Most folks just wish I would either shut up or simply ''go away." If you enjoy my stories, go to Destinations/Attractions forum and click on page 2 ... scroll down to the bottom of the page to my posting called NORTH TO ALASKA and I have entered some stories that are written in ''satire'' but based on actual expierences I have had while traveling these past 15 years. Seajay the sailor man. P.S.: If you like my stuff send me an e-mail and I can send you many pages of my ''expierences while motorhoming." This is open to any one interested ... no charge for this, guys.

OK, Wayne. I believe the guy was asking for a picture of the Child Proof Switch thingie ... not a picture of me ... lol. Seajay the sailor man P.S.: I'm going to take a picture of the Switch thingie as soon as I figure out how to upload it onto Willa's computer. The Child Proof Switch post was written in satire, guys, but it can be a real problem'' that can bite you on the posterior.

Here is why I do not ''FLY FISH''....... we were in cody wyoming. we were heading out for yellowstone but i wanted to go trout fishing while in cody. there are many trout tackle shops in cody so i told willa that i was going to look into some trout fishing. she said she was going to hang out at the van and enjoy some reading. I got in the tracker and headed out looking for a tackle shop. I stopped at ‘’bobs trout shop’ and went up to the counter. ‘’I want to go trout fishing. what do i need’’ bob started setting tackle on the counter. here is the short list of items he suggested 2 pc flyrod . split bamboo hand made signature series $229.00 1 fly reel . all ball bearing, auto rewind, chrome $199.00 100 feet of floating fly line with tapered leader $ 50.00 one set of chest waders, lined for warmpth $129.00 one plaid shirt with deep top pockets $ 40,00 the list went on including a gps unit, bear spray a map of local rivers, bug spray, a fishing hat, a fishing vest, a hand made creel to hold the fish i catch, a hand made net for lifting the fish out of the water and lots of other ‘’stuff’’ that i have forgotten now. bottom line, the total was little less than a grand without the fishing license. I told bob i would get back with him on this and i sneaked out of the store. i drove down the street to the local wal mart and went to the fishing department. i asked some kid if they had a ‘’trout fishing’’ outfit and he showed me to isle 15. there it was.. the complete ensemble for trout fishing. it included everything you needed from the 6 piece imitation bamboo fly rod with genuine plastic reel and line, fishing vest and hat. a set of chest waders made from the reinforced 6 mill polly complete with suspenders. a large box of imitation flies that are hand made by people in china. a map of some foreign country, a compass, a giant ¾ ounce bottle of bug/bear spray. all a man could need to go trout fishing ………. $59.95 plus tax. i asked the kid if he knew a place i could go fishing if i bought this outfit. he said he sure did . he said his friend knew a guy that was distantly related to a man that had a ranch that had a river that was just teeming with trout. he could give me the directions. i bought the $59.95 outfit and listened carefully to the instructions. he mentioned that the owner of this land liked coors beer and those ‘’sweet sixteen donuts’’ and it might be a good idea to carry some to give to him. i bought the kit and headed out. you have to remember that this kid was not real accurate with his instructions to this fishing spot. i followed as best i could but i am sure i made a couple of wrong turns but i finally arrived at a gate. i opened the gate and proceeded down a dirt road thru another gate and toward a hill. excitement was overwhelming and i pressed on toward the edge of the hill .. i didn’t realize that the other side of the hill was a cliff. by the time i realized that this was a very steep drop off it was too late. i bumped over the edge and did a wild slide down the other side toward the river. with all the wheels locked on the tracker and panic in my eyes i approached the river at breakneck speed. lumps and bumps and many ‘cow pies’ later i arrived at the bottom of the hill with a cotton wood tree jammed against the front of the car.. one broken head light and a bent bumper no matter, i was on the madison river . during my ride down the hill the bumps had made the Coors beer pop out of the pack. one of them had ruptured and did a fish tale all over the tracker spraying everything with beer. the sweet sixteen bag of donuts had also ruptured and donuts were kinda scattered all over the tracker. no matter i was on the ‘Madison river’ and in trout heaven. when i got out of the tracker several cows came walking along the river bank toward me. this distracted me and i stepped into a fresh pile of cow poop. i said shux … i went in over my shoe top and my sock and my sneaker installY turned green. i said shux. i went to the back of the tracker and got out my fishing kit. i opened it and put the six piece imitation bamboo fly rod together. one of the sections kept falling out so i took some duct tape and taped the rod together at all the joints. i said shux. i got the reel out and discovered that one of the attachment tabs was missing so i taped the reel to the rod and installed the line. i didn’t know that the line had to be treated with wax in order to float. i put the tapered leader on the regular line but i got it backwards with the heavy end forward. i said shux …. i took out the fishing vest and discovered it was the size that would fit a person about half as big as me. i put the vest on and when i touched my hands together in front of me the vest ripped up the back. at least it fit better now. the hat was a size 6 which is way too small for me but i put the string under my chin and that sorta held the hat on my head so long as i did not look down. i reached for the waders and found that the had a hole in the left leg. i said shux … out came the duct tape again and i put a silver ‘’x’’ over the hole. i slid my left foot (the one with the cow poo on the shoe) into the wader and it slid right in all the way to the bottom. no problem except the clear plastic now had cow poo from the knee down. …. i propped myself against the tracker and slid my right leg into the waders. the only problem was that my right sneaker was very dry and it kinda stuck in the right leg of the waders about a foot from the bottom. i pushed hard to get the shoe in wader, lost my balance, my hat fell off my head and i fell over putting my hand in a large fresh cow pie to stop my fall. i wiped as much of the cow poo off my hand on the side of the tracker…. i said shux again…. i got back up and finally got my right shoe into the waders without tearing the material. i put the suspenders over my shoulders and found they were way too short. i adjusted them all the way out and they were still too short. i pulled the waders way up till the crotch was cutting into me and got the suspenders attached. i leaned over to pick up my hat and it felt like someone had castrated me with a rope. i took the flyrod and ‘’fished up’’ my hat and got out the flies. i popped open the package and dropped about half the flies on the ground. i took the ones that didn’t hit the ground on to the fishing hat. i put the hat back on my head and put the string under my chin. i picked one of the best looking flies on the leader. i reached into the package and pulled out the genuine plastic fish creel and my machine made dip net, i was ready for the river. i decided it would be a good idea to have a bite to eat before going fishing so i opened the door of the tracker and found a beer and some of the cleanest donuts and flopped in the seat for a snack. the cows had been watching this whole procedure with great interest. i think they though i was going to feed them or something. it should be understood that when you fish for trout you should get into the river and fish down stream so you don’t frighten the fish. it should also be understood that even thought the water looks nice it is usually moving faster than it appears and that it usually is running over slick rocks. anyhow, i grabbed my trusty six piece rod with the taped joints and the genuine plastic fishing reel that was taped to the handle of my genuine imitation split bamboo flyrod and my genuine hand tied Chinese made fishing fly and i approached the Madison river with all the determination of a bull fighter going into combat. i looked over the embankment and found that the ‘’river’’ was about three feet down from the to of the embankment. i grabbed the cotton wood tree that i had smashed into with the tracker. i kinda swung one leg down to the river and hung onto a limb while i got the other foot into the water. the water was about two foot deep and running about three hundred miles per hour. i said shux ….. when i finally got my courage up i turned loose of the limb. the rock i was standing on was very slick and i lost traction with my right foot. it slid over the side of the rock … i said shux…. things kinda went into slow motion about then. when i lost my footing i jammed the genuine imitation split bamboo fly rod down on the bottom of the river for support. this was almost worthless because the rod bent and separated at one of the taped joints. both feet went up in the air and i fell butt first into water that was just slightly above freezing. the waders instantly filled with water, i lost my hat and wallowed around breaking the fishing rod in at least four pieces. in the process i managed to stick the hook in the fly in my left thumb…… i said darn and shux and oh fudge … i wallowed around and finally found a flat spot on the bottom of the river and when i stood up the waders were full of water and i looked like bozo the clown. the weight of the water overcame the strength of the plastic and the waders exploded in the crotch. there i stood with the suspenders still over my shoulders in a set of blown out waders. i said heck and shux. i stumbled and waded out of the current finding a low place to crawl out of the river. my fly rod was gone. my hat was gone, my waders were busted and i had a hook in my thumb. i crawled out on the bank and sat down. it was about that time that i noticed a man on a horse about twenty feet from me. ‘’ do you know you are trespassing mister?’’ ‘’ old man McKinney don’t allow no fishin in this river mister. of course no one could accuse you of actually fishing’’ ‘’you seemed to be mostly stumbling around like someone from back east’’ i asked him if he would like a donut and a beer and he said he wasnt interested. he did tell me that he would help me get the tracker off the cottonwood tree and show me the way off the ranch. i got the hook out of my thumb and the cowboy hooked his horse to the tracker and i managed to get back on the dirt road and headed out toward the motor home. since then I have done no more fly fishing ...... Seajay the sailor man

To Chuck and Ruth: The inflatable has many advantages for use with a motorhome. Its light and you can carry it almost anywhere you have room for a folded package. It is easy to use as long as you have an electric air pump like you use to pump up a air matress. You can pump it up by ''foot'' if it's not too big. The real downside of inflatables is that you better watch out for sharp objects, rocks, trees, submurged stuff, shells of about any kind, and FISH HOOKS. The main disatvantage is that they can go flat or at least leave a trail of bubbles when you hit something. If you get ''seriously interested in a good boat, get in touch with Wayne the Marine. he has a ''Port a Boat'' that folds up to about 4 inches thick and is easy to carry on the side of a coach. You put the seats and transom in your compartment with the motor. I have one that is 15 years old. It is a fine craft and it DOES NOT LEAK ONE DROP. Wayne has a new motor to go along with his boat. Seajay the sailor man

SHUX. I lost my reply and now I gotta start over .... To the guy and gal looking at the inflatable boat, SEE BELOW ... Before you go the downs for the inflatable get in touch with Wayne the Marine. He has a ''port a boat'' just like mine and it is a fine piece of equipment He also has a motor that is brand new .. Mine is fifteen years old and it DOES NOT LEAK A DROP. I have used mine hundreds of times and would not leave home without it. Name a place with water and we have probably fished there. To Wayne the Marine. We carry the boat assembled on top of the cap on the pick up truck. I welded up a ''frame'' to put it on and we leave it assembled with the ''seats'' and transom still inside the boat. I ''stretch it out'' with a combination of ropes attached to the bow and one across the transom of the boat. We hauled it all the way to Alaska and back to NC like that. I am tooooooooo lazy to take it apart and put it together, so I just leave it assembled. Come to think of it, I believe it has been ''put together'' since '05. No problem hauling it. When we get to the campground/lake I simply back up to the edge of the water and slide it off the back of the truck, stand it up on the transom and ''kick it over'' into the water ... BOOM ... SPLASH... I put the motor on and all the ''stuff inside'' and go fishin'. In 15 years no one has ever stolen so much as a sinker out of the boat. I often leave it ''in the water'' tied to a tree with all my fishin stuff inside and the motor on the back ... NO PROBLEM ... YET. No one bothers anything in the boat. My biggest concern is that they will take the whole outfit. It would be so easy to simply untie it and 'sail away. Hasn't happend yet and I hope it never does. My idea is this: If you are in a campground and you can't leave your stuff out, YOU ARE IN THE WRONG CAMPGROUND. Seajay the sailor man.

When Willa and I travel we usually take two laptops. One for me to ''ramble around on'' and one for her to play cards on. We always take our ''router." It is a little white ''thingie'' with three antennas on the back and several led lights on the front and a place to plug in the Keocera card in the side. It enables us both to be online at the same time. One thing. Both of our computers have Bluetooth for short-range wireless connectivity, so nothing has to be hardwired to either computer. Simply stated, if we can get a ''signal,'' we can get an Internet connection and it is FREE (some campgrounds charge $3 a day for wi-fi service). Note: The download rate is a lot faster than smoke signals or snail mail, but it is nowhere near that of Roadrunner. Now, when you get to your campsite go to campers around you and tell them you have a router and they are welcome to log on and use your service. It doesn't seem to matter if others are logged on, because the speed is ''slow,'' at best. The people who are ''out of range'' of the router sometimes just walk over to my picnic table and use their laptop on the battery. I even ran a drop cord from the coach to the picnic table for those who had a bad battery in their laptops. I met some really nice people doing this. I always warn them that this is an ''unsecured'' link to the Web. Anyhow, by carrying your router you can use two computers at the same time. Seajay the sailor man

Guys, here is some stuff you are gonna need to know someday if you have a Ford V-10 chassis coach. It may be the same on other chassis, but I don't know for sure. Here goes... On my coach when you push in on the brake pedal, several things happen. One: The brakes are applied (gosh, how ''smart''). Two: You energize the ''brake booster'' thingie under the coach. Its the thingie that makes that ''WHURRRRRRRRRRRRING'' noise and I think it boosts your brakes so you can stop your hunk of junk without smashing into someone. Three: It releases your transmission shifter thingie so you can take the shifter out of ''Park." Four: Your brake lights come on and you can turn your ''key and start your coach." Five: There are probably other things that it does, but I cant remember them right now. Anyhow, all this is controlled by what is called a CHILD PROOF SWITCH thingie that is on my ''brake pedal lever" (the hangie-down thing that the foot pad is attached to). As I understand it the purpose of the ''switch'' is so that a small child can not put the coach in gear or take it out of Park without pushing in the brake pedal. The switch is attached to the brake pedal lever by a ''post'' on the brake pedal lever and held in place with a safety pin device and it has a wire plug in the bottom of it with a bunch of wires coming out that controls all the ''stuff'' that this thing controls (I think I just confused myself ... hang on and I will reread what I just wrote.) Okay, I'm no longer confused .... Anyhow, the way you tell if this thing is giving trouble is that when you push your brake pedal, try to start your coach and YOUR COACH WILL NOT COME OUT OF PARK and your ''brake booster'' won't make any sound and your coach wont start ... TAAAAAA DAAAAAAAH. Your childproof switch has gone bonkers. Mine started ''not working right'' some of the time and sometimes working fine. I was told later that the tiny switch inside the unit was going bad. On my unit the switch costs about $12 and you can install it yourself. You have to take the ''shroud'' off the steering column, stand on your head in the driver's compartment, turn your bifocals upside down so you can see close up, get out your flashlight, find a screw driver (flat blade) and a pair of needle nose pliers and take two ''patient pills'' and a taste of Jim Beam. The hardest part is getting the ''wire plug thingie'' off the child-proof switch body. You use your flat-blade screw driver and be careful not to crush it. The rest is pretty easy and can be handled by any competent brain surgeon or a mechanic. Remember this: This information is for a V-10 Ford chassis coach, but it may apply to other makes and models. Seajay the sailor man ........ God bless our troops and bring them home soon and safe..... God bless our vets for their service to this great nation .......

Call camping world at 1-888-626-7576 and ask for a ''Hotrod'' for your water heater. They have them for about one hundred bucks. Seajay the sailor man P.S. If you use this information you will have to pay me ten cents and you must pay me the next time you see me. If it doesn't work for you ... I NEVER KNEW YOU ... LOL

Many thanks for all the good input, guys. I have contacted Atwood and gave them the modle numbers off my water heater and my furnace and they are mailing me hard copies of the factory info on these items. You can download them and print them, but I prefer the hard copies for the factory. The tech I talked to was very nice and very informative about my situation with the heater. He suggested a couple of ''checks'' to confirm where my problem was and how to ''fix'' the problem. He was amazed at my knowledge of the basic operation of a gas water heater. He said I would have to meet the fifty dollar minimum when I order parts. Anyhow, thanks again, everyone. And a special thank you to my Marine friend Wayne for his input on furnace opperation link. All these things concerning the furnace and the water heater I will read and understand, and with my background in boiler maintanence and my work in propane heaters and water heaters, I am pretty sure I should be able to troubleshoot and repair either item when the need arises in the future. God bless our vets for their service to this great nation. God bless our service personnel and bring them home safe and safe. Seajay the sailor man ... ps. if any of you guys have a hotwater or furnace problem, let me know and I will be glad to help.

Ok guys...... Many thanks for the input. I cleaned the ''contact posts'' with a pencil erasor and put a dab of contact cleaner on them and slid them back on the posts as instructed by Wolfe. All seems well except the unit still heats one cycle and then the Yellow light comes on indicating ''Flame out'' again. This is ok because we dont leave the unit on except when we need hot water and the water will stay hot for hours with the gas off. I checked out Toms link and I advise everyone that owns a motor home with an Atwood water heater in it to Bookmark that link and read it end to end. (Hay Tom,,,,,,, do they have a link like that for the Atwood furnaces?) (mine is doing ok but you never know .......) To daltop. Many thinks for your input on this issue. You remind me of ME. I fugure if it ain't working.......... TAKE IT APART... You are no worse off because it aint working anyway ........ Keep the info coming folks and when I get home in about a month I will remove the water heater and find out for sure the problem.......AND FIX IT... I will try to contact Atwood and talk to a tech. and get advise on ''spare parts'' I may need to carry...... Again. the unit has worked for ten years without one problem and I figure its time for it to give a little problem....... God bless our troops and bring them home soon and safe God bless our vets for their service to this country Seajay the sailor man.... ps..... When I can find one I am going to put in one of those ''Hot Rod'' water heating elements to use in case of emergency like this. I have seen them advertised somewhere. this will give me auxilary water heating ability and if I am boon docking I can start the ''scooter'' and run it on my own power if necessary......(Willa gets real ''crankie'' if she dont have a HOT SHOWER.)

I have an Atwood 6-gallon hot water heater. It is 10 years old and has never given us any problems until recently. The first problem was that it would ''cycle'' one time and then stop working. By ''cycling,'' I mean that it would heat until the water got hot and then it would Kick Out -- the yellow light would come on indicating it was not starting again. The water was really hot, but we had to turn it OFF and when we turned it back ON it would restart and heat water again. Now, here is my new problem: One: The only info I have on the water heater came with the coach and it is scant, at best. Not much real ''information'' to use. Two: Today it would not come and heat water at all. I went outside and opened the cover door and told Willa to ''start the heater. Nothing happened. No click, No spark, No ignition, NOTHING. Three: I removed the igniter and checked for problems. I reset the gap and put everything back together. We tried it again ... NOTHING. I said, "Shux." Four: In desperation I started wiggling wires. I unplugged everything I could and replaced the wires on the connectors. I wiggled wires and I said "Shux" again. Five: I told Willa to turn it on again and the igniters came on and the gas valve opened and the beautiful ''roar'' of burning LP sprang to life. What I really need is a link on the Internet for any and all informationt on a 6-gallon Atwood water heater. It is Mod number G6A-8E. I need to know where the High limit Thermostat switch is located on the heater, and where the control for the temp of the water where the system cuts off is located. P.S.: I have Googled everything concerning this and have came up with mostly nothing useful. Feel free to e-mail me at seajaycecil@yahoo.com or leave answers on here. Seajay the sailor man

Due to the underwhelming requests from fellow motor homers I have decided to share some of my wealth of knowledge concerning the repair and safe keeping of a gas powered V-10 ford motorhome... Willa and I pulled into the Long Point camp ground here in Florida. I got out so I could direct her into the parking spot and so I could hook up the water and electric on the coach.... Willa got behind the wheel and informed me that the transmission would not come out of ''Park''... I said shux....... ''Do you have your foot on the break pedal dear''? ''Yes,,,,,,,,, I know how to drive this thing......DEAR.......AND IT WONT COME OUT OF PARK ........DEAR......'' I said SHUX and walked back into the coach. After some wiggling and jiggling we finally got the coach to to into DRIVE and we pulled it into the camp spot. Since we had just had a new transmission installed in the fall I was sure the problem had to be somewhere else. I went outside and slid under the coach....... The following is a very technical description of the proper repair and adjustment that I persnally made on the coach. It is written in standard NAVY jargon that can be understood by any Blue water sailor. For the Marines reading this, e-mail me and I will use smaller words....... On the side of the transmission there is a black plastic ''GIZMO'' that determines which gear the transmission is operating in. Coming out of the side of this GIZMO is a ROLICKING ROD that points up with a DOO DAD (a white thing) on top so you can attach it to the ''THING-A-MADOOGE'' which has groves in it to hold the ROLICKING ROD in place and proper adjustment. I forgot to mention that the DOO DAD (the white thing) has a locking ''GADGET'' on the side to hold the DOO DAD (the white thing) in place on the ''THING-A-MADOOGE'' (the thing with the groves in it). After careful observation I determined that the GADGET on the DOO DAD ( the white thing) had come lose and allowed the THING-A-MADOOGE to lose its adjustment in the groves of the THING-A-MADOOGE and that was why the transmission was acting like a Marine doing long divison.... confused ....lol.....(sorry wayne, all in fun) (I am typing slow so Wayne the Marine can keep up) (I guess the rest of you sailors are following this easily) Anyhow,,,,,,,,,, here is the FIX for the problem.... After some shouting I finally got Willa's attention..... I told her to put the shifter lever in PARK..... I pushed the ROLICKING ROD on the GIZMO all the way forward (toward the front Marine) and slid the THING-A-MADOOGE in place and popped the DOO DAD down tight on the THING-A-MADOOGE and locked it in place with the GADGET on the side to hold everything where it should be..... I told Willa to put the shifter in LOW gear so I could check the adjustment range on the ''WHAT-DO-YOU-CALL-IT'' coming down from the shifter lever and to be sure that the nut was tight....... Everything checked out and all is well with the shifter now. Now remember this ........... THIS WILL ONLY WORK ON A FORD V10 GAS MODLE COACH. You guys with diesel pushers are just out of luck ...... Also, If you use this valuable information you will owe me ten cents and you have to pay me the next time you see me and if it dont work for you YOU ARE ON YOUR OWN PAL .... (note...... I deliberately mis-spelt some words in this text) God bless our troops and bring them home safe and soon...... God bless our vets for their service to this country... Seajay the sailor man.....

Ok guys. Its been a while since I posted but I feel it is critical that I comment on this Wi Fi thing...... One.... When Willa and I leave home on a trip we haul two lap tops and a little thingie called a ROUTER.... Its a little white thingie with 4 antenni on it and we stick a ''card'' in the side of it and about anywhere we go we can get on the net. It is tied in with our cell phone and there is no charge for using the net. Anywhere you can get the ''signal'' you can get on the net and it costs nothing to use and it does not count as phone time....... Two. When we pull into a campsite one of the first things we do is see if we can ''GET ON THE NET''........ If we do get a signal I will go to the surrounding campers and tell then that I have a ''router'' hooked up and they are free to use it to get on the net if they like. Three. This makes you an ''INSTANT HERO'' with your fellow campers. You can provide the ''NET'' for free and they dont have to pay the campground that extra dollar to three dollars per day for WIFI SERVICE they provide. Four. This also gives you the opportunity to meet your fellow campers and you will always make several friends like this because you are providing a service that they will use. Five. I always tell them that this is an ''UN-SECURED'' service so if they type in their swiss bank account number I will probably get it and steal all their money. (no luck on this yet) Six..... Simply stated, when you travle, TAKE YOUR ROUTER WITH YOU... You can get on the net and provide a service for other campers to get on the net also. The only draw back is that it is usually kinda slow. Kinda like a 56 K modem but it is FREE.... Remember this....... If you use this idea you must pay me ten cents the next time you see me. To offset this cost to you, you can simply charge the people a one time ''five cent'' fee for the service and you will make money on the deal........... God bless our troops and bring them home soon and safe........ God bless our vets Seajay the sailor man...

I also would like to add my condolences to the families of the victims concerning this great tragedy. To hear about something like this on our military base seems unbelievable to me. Like Wayne and others, it also makes me sad to know this can happen. My thoughts and prayers are with these families. Finding out the ''WHY?'' of this tragedy will prove interesting. As I have said before: God bless our service personnel and keep them safe from all harm. Seajay the sailor man

We use Alltell. It's better than smoke signals but sometimes not as fast. The good part is that if you can get online with a signal there is never a charge. It is always free except for the monthly charge and there is no ''time limit'' as to how long you stay on line. We use it at home also. It is actually a little faster than a 56K modem some of the time. By having our own ''card,'' we dont have to pay the extra dollar or two a day for Wi-Fi access in some campgrounds. I have not tested it in Canada yet. Ttime will tell on that also. Seajay the sailor man God bless our troops and bring them home safe and very soon ... God bless our vets ... Without them, we would not be free ....

All respect to Wayne, but I sat and watched this back in 1960 I believe .... EAST MAIN ,,,,,, NORFOLK, Va. If you were stationed in Norfolk, Va., during the early '60s you know about EAST MAIN STREET. For those of you who don't know, East Main was a street that was about four blocks long. It consisted of bars on both sides of the street from one end to the other. There was one place that was not a bar. It was one of those Salvation Army places. I know really good drinkers that tried to go to East Main and drink a beer in each bar on both sides of the street from one end to the other and just could not make it. I use to go down there just to watch what was going on. There was one bar that advertised itself as the WORLD'S LARGEST ASH TRAY. All kinds of names to get you to come in if possible. Really nice looking bar girls with several pretty teeth, sometimes. I think the bar was the Krazy Kat that I settled into a booth with a beer to just watch what went on. A very large Marine corporal came in with his cuffs rolled up, his tie slack and his hat on the back of his head. He flopped on a stool and ordered a beer in a very loud voice. He appeared to be very drunk. He sat there soaking his beer when the Shore Patrol walked in. For you civies the Shore Patrol is the military police of the Navy. They cruise the bars to prevent trouble and keep service personnel straight. The two shore patrol guys walked over to the Marine and requested he straighten his uniform, fix his hat or remove it and shape up. The Marine turned around on the stool and faced one average-size sailor and one Philippine sailor a little over 5 feet tall. This guy probably just barley made the height and weight requirements for the service. The Marine was a little over six feet and would weigh something over two forty and was mostly muscle as I could tell. He looked at the shore patrol and told them where to go and what they could do when they got there. With this the larger shore patrol guy stepped back and the short one again requested that the Marine shape up or feel the consequences. At this point the Marine made a very big error. He swung at the little guy. His ham hand would have smashed the little guy if he had connected. The little guy simply stepped aside, rolled under the punch and tossed the Marine on the floor like a sack of beans. The Marine leaped to his feet and bull-charged at the little guy. As the Marine came at him the little guy simply stepped aside and tripped the Marine, again dropping him like a sack of beans. The first shore patrol guy was simply standing to one side watching the whole commotion. I asked him if he was going to help his buddy and he smiled and said no but he probably should help the Marine to make it a fair fight. This went on for several more swings and charges until the Marine ran out of steam. He, the Marine, was covered in dirt from the bar floor, bruised probably all over from the falls and completely embarrassed for letting himself be whipped by someone probably smaller than his sister. They cuffed the marine and carried him to the paddy wagon. Sometime later I was over at the gym in the Naval Air Station. We went over to shoot some hoops and goof off for half a day. I walked into the gym and in one section they had a large mat on the floor. Guys were throwing themselves at this mat and flopping around like crazy. They would run and deliberately hurl themselves hitting so that their leg and arm and side hit at the same time. I figured they were nuts until I noticed the instructor. He was the same Philippine guy that was on shore patrol that night in the Krazy Kat bar on East Main Street. I think the sport is called Jiu-Jitsu , the art of using one's opponent's weight against himself, or something like that. I called it beating the heck out of someone without losing your white hat. So it went on the Norton on shore in Norfolk Va. Seajay the sailor man

Better late than never ............... Capt. Cathe, I too would like to personally thank you for your service to this nation and to the armed forces personnel you gave comfort to during your time in service .... So many times people seem to forget that women serve this country also. So many times in the past women have served in the ''background'' as it were and were seldom noticed by almost anyone until they came in on a Medivac with a leaking hole in them somewhere. Like Doc Mike I am proud that our military is letting ladies serve in all capacities of our military forces now. When I was in the Navy, ladies were relegated to shore duty as mostly secretaries and nurses. It seems we have a different ''view'' of ladies now and that is good. Like Doc, I went down to San Antonio to watch a Airforce Graduation and we took my nephew up town for a celebration. Down town I noticed ''Sailors'' and about half of them were young ladies. Anyhow,,,,,,,,, Welcome to Vets Corner and may other ladies join now that they see they have a Captain in here and she is the Ranking Officer in here and she can take command at any time......lol..... Welcome aboard Captain........ God bless our vets for their service to this great nation God bless our troops and bring them home safe and real soon God bless this great nation and keep it free... Seajay the sailor man .....

With all respects to you sir. Maybe you should put a ''ting a ling'' on your toad.....lol... Just kidding my brother. Be safe in your travel. Some of us got them older coaches without all that fancy stuff on them .... Seajay the sailor man

I am probably the only one that has ever done this but I will bring it up just in case you have done the same Yesterday we stopped at Wally world for some food and other stuff. Since we were going in and out with the dogs and other things I decided to ''lock the step'' down in the open position. I took the dogs out to ''twinkle'' and Willa went shopping .. Me and the dogs came back inside and Willa finally came back with a couple things that were ''on sale'' and a cart full of groceries. We handed up all the ''stuff''' she had bought and she put her ''on sale'' bargins in the closet and put away the groceries. I checked the e mail and reprogramed the Tom Tom....... We slammed the door and locked it and fired up the Pace and hit the trail. The more astute of you reading this will notice a error on my part ......... Yep, I didnt put the step in ...... I bet I am the only motorhomer that has ever forgot to put his step in when he leaves Wally World ..... Luckily, I didnt get close to a curb or anything that would '' remove the step for me ''. I finally noticed it about ten miles down the road and Willa flipped the switch and it retracted nicely. To prevent this in the future I am going to do two things. One. I am going to put Willa in charge of being sure that the step is retracted properly. Two. I am going to get me a small but loud cow bell and a piece of chain and attach the whole mess to the bottom step. This way, if Willa forgets to put the step back in properly,,,,,,,,, the bell will go ''ting a ling'' on the roadway and she will see how silly she is for not putting the step back in properly. I will also cut the chain in a manner that when the step is retracted, as it should be while traveling, that the bell will be several inches from the pavement and it will ''swing in the breeze but not tinkle''...... If you use this information you must pay me ten cents the next time you see me.... Of course, On the other hand ..... If it doesent work for you.......I never knew you..... Seajay the sailor man .....

I respectfully request that this be posted in honor of the men and women that have done so much for this great nation. I AM A VETERAN I am the man that stood on Concord Green when the British officer said ‘’Disperse you rebels’’….. I am the man with the 69 caliber, smooth bore musket, with three shots of powder and ball in my duffel. I am the one that raised my musket and whispered ‘’Like H***’’ and fired the shot heard round the world. I was killed in the return volley from the British ….. I was the first casualty……… I am a veteran…. I stood on Bunker Hill with two shots of powder and only stones to go down the barrel of my musket and I heard the order ‘’Don’t fire till you see the whites of their eyes’’. I was killed in the first return volley from the British….. I am a veteran…. I froze at Valley Forge and I died from measles, mumps, dysentery, frost bite and fever. I was paid with paper money with no value and I stayed because I felt I was fighting for something greater than myself. I am a veteran I was a sailor on the Bonhomme Richard, when John Paul Jones told the British ‘’I have not yet begun to fight’’………… I was killed by shrapnel from a cannon ball. I was aboard the Constitution as a Marine in the ‘’tops’’ when they shouted that ‘’Her sides are made of iron’’………. I fell to my death on the deck below…. I am a veteran I was at Yorktown when the British surrendered. I was a soldier in the Continental army and I saw it happen…….. I am a veteran In 1812 I was in Fort McHenry when the British thought they could blast it into submission ……. When the colors were shot down, I climbed the flag mast and re tied old glory in her rightful place so she might be seen by our enemy. I was killed by an exploding shell ……… I am a veteran I was a sailor aboard the USS Maine in Havana harbor when she was blown to bits by a sea mine. I was killed while shaving …….. I am a veteran In world war one I went over with ‘’Black Jack Pershing’’ to France. I was a soldier that slept in the mud and suffered trench foot. I ‘’Went over the top’’ to capture a German ant hill. I and hundreds more died because we were told to die. I am a veteran I am an unknown soldier buried in Flanders Field. I am known only to God. I am a veteran. I was a pilot in a ‘’rag and string’’ biplane. I was killed over France by a man in a red tri -plane…. I was burned beyond recognition… I am a veteran In World War II I was a sailor aboard the USS Arizona . I was asleep when the assault came and I never knew what hit me…. My bones lie in that great tomb in Pearl Harbor. I am a veteran. In that same war I stood in line to volunteer for the military along with thousand and thousands of young men willing and eager to serve their country for twenty two dollars a month. I am a veteran I was in the Bataan death march and seen friends beheaded because they did now bow low enough I was a Navy pilot flying inferior equipment, fighting against one of the most seasoned, best equipped, best trained air forces in the world. I was killed over the Pacific ocean and my body never recovered. I am a veteran I was a waste gunner on a B 17 flying daylight missions over Germany. I fired a 50 caliber machine gun against another of the best equipped, best trained, best fighting machines in the world at that time. My life expectancy was four missions…… I died instantly when an 88 mm anti aircraft shell went into the open bomb bay doors…… I am a veteran I am a soldier and I stormed Omaha Beach from a landing craft. I saw my brothers blown to pieces and I forged ahead. I would not quit and I would not stop. I was killed by machine gun fire before I got to the edge of the water………. I am a veteran I am buried on under a cross marked ‘’Known only to God’’……….. I am a veteran I am a sailor aboard one of the many subs that went out on patrol and never returned. My bones lie on the bottom of the ocean in a place also known only to God. I am a veteran. I am a Marine. I fought one of the toughest, most determined armies in the world. I fought an army that thought it was shameful to surrender and glorious to die for ones emperor and country. I died thousands of times ……… I am a veteran I am the Sullivan Brothers…. I am a veteran I am that sailor that was assigned to the Marines when we raised the flag on Iwo Jima. ….. I am a veteran I am Ira Hayes, US Marine Corps . I am a veteran I am Audie Murphy, US Army. I am a veteran I am a Tuskegee Airman with the 332nd fighter squadron. I am a Native American ‘’code talker’’ I am a soldier fighting in Europe against one of the finest, best trained, best equipped armies in the world at the time ….I am buried in France …..I am a veteran I am a sailor aboard the USS Missouri and I watched our enemy strike his colors and sign the surrender………………… I am a veteran I fought on the ground in Korea with frozen feet and in the air with world war two airplanes while my enemy flew Mig 15 jets and cut us to pieces…… I am a veteran I am a doctor in a M.A.S.H. unit twenty miles behind the front lines. I put soldiers back together. I work an eighteen hour shift……. I am a veteran I am a soldier in a rice paddy slogging along with 60 pounds on my back. No one seems to know exactly why we are here or what we are supposed to accomplish while we are here……….. My name is on a black slab of marble on the Washington Mall…… I am a veteran I am a nurse providing care for the young men brought in by Medivac. I was killed by a sappers grenade….. I am a veteran I have been beaten, starved and locked in solitary confinement for years because all I would tell the enemy was my name, rank, serial number and my date of birth............ I am a veteran I have tasted the copper taste of fear and did my duty and I have held a friend in my arms while he died..... I am a veteran I am one of the thousands buried at Arlington Cemetery in Virginia. I am black, white, Hispanic, and Native American. I am from all nations and all colors. I am Christian, Jewish, Catholic and all beliefs and sometimes agnostic. I am the man in the tomb of the ‘’UNKNOWN SOLDIER’’ ..I am a veteran. I died aboard the USS COLE and in the Marine barracks in Beirut. I was killed in Granada and again in Panama ….. In Desert Storm I was killed by friendly fire and in Afghanistan I died trying to rescue a fellow soldier that was bleeding to death…I am a veteran … As a veteran I ask for nothing from you. I did what I have done for my Country and my fellow fighting personnel. I did it because it had to be done and because if I had not done it we would not have this great country and the freedoms we so take for granted today. I am a veteran I did this so you could have freedom of speech and religion. I did this so you would have the right to burn my flag without fear of persecution. All these things I have done for you so that you might be free and enjoy the freedom of this great country.. I am a veteran …….. GOD BLESS AMERICA Seajay the sailor man.... God Bless our VETS....

This is my last post for a while ..... I have other commitments........ if you need to contact me my e mail is seajaycecil@yahoo.com Wind to your back shipmates and smooth seas ahead GOD BLESS OUR GREAT NATION GOD BLESS OUR SERVICE PERSONNEL AND KEEP THEM SAFE AND BRING THEM HOME SOON GOD BLESS OUR VETS FOR WITHOUT THEM WE WOULD NOT BE FREE ... Seajay the sailor man ....

Those of you who know me thru these forums should realize that I take life pretty lightly and I am always open for a smile or a good laugh at my or your expense. It always gives me great joy to bring a smile or a laugh to everyone. The rhetoric between Wayne the Marine and myself is purely all in fun and we mean no harm or insult to each other in any way. It is just a Marine and a Navy thing that has gone on since the inception of the Navy and the Marine Corps. Sometimes I will comment on a subject and I guess I make something funny out of something seemingly very serious, though it is hard for me to believe that there is much on here that is dead serious. Anyhow, I only mean to bring a smile and a little happiness to the forums. I realize that sometimes I talk too much and listen too little. GOD BLESS OUR GREAT NATION. GOD BLESS OUR TROOPS AND BRING THEM HOME SOON AND SAFE. Seajay the sailor man

Yep....... you might should work on it just a little. Try talking real slow and wave your arms around a lot....lol ..... Be safe on the road my brother ..... GOD BLESS THIS NATION ...... Seajay the sailor man .... ps..... (did I tell you about getting nine years our of two house batteries that were only suppose to last three weeks????)