The Daily Poop - Wed., 15JUN11

What they're up to:

My old San Francisco shipmate, Bob Nolan spent time this week sending messages in support of funding for military bands to the Senate Armed Forces Committee.

Frank Kemp is planning to attend the reunion in Orlando next year, or Virginia Beach in '13. Those west coast guys truly operate in a different time zone.

Lee Hudson is working on ways to make the reunion a miserable experience for me.

The Daily Poop - Tues., 14JUN11

One week from today, Tuesday the 21st, the Early Birds will be roaming the hotel. I wouldn't be surprised if the evening ends with a little jamming in the lounge. It's happened before. In fact, I've been to five reunions, and every one of them has wound up with the backfield in motion before the starting whistle.

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Yesterday, I wrote to all the members of the Senate Armed Forces Committee and Personnel Subcommittee, urging them to preserve funding for military bands. I'm not the only one who did this--I've heard from others.

If you wish to have input into this budget, The Personnel Committee is meeting today. They will propose a budget that the full committee will review tomorrow, Wednesday and, if necessary, Thursday. The time to write is last week, yesterday or right now.

Instructions on how to quickly send an email are in the post below.

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I'm gonna try reeeally hard this year to not do the this awful thing I do at the reunions. I get so excited about the Live-blog that, even before things have started happening, I take pictures and post them with descriptions of what's gonna happen. As in,

• "Here's the bar. It's empty, but. boy, things will be jumping soon."
• "Hard to believe that this desolate lobby, shown here in a photo taken at 3AM when even the desk clerks are nodding out, will soon be a beehive of activity."

I'll try hard, really I will. the problem is, I tell myself this same thing every year.

Want to keep military bands funded? You Must Act Now

The short version:

If you want to preserve military bands, write to the Personnel Subcommittee of the Senate Armed Forces Committee right now. Scroll down to the section "HOW." Do it now. Later is too late.

The fuller version:

The National Defense Authorization Act that will provide the budget for—or decimation of—military bands will be finalized in the Senate within days. Subcommittees of the Senate Armed Services Committee are going into "markup" for the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA). This means changes to the military budget are being "marked up"; in other words, finalized.

Here's the schedule:

-- Subcommittees are in markup Tuesday, June 14 and early Wednesday, June 15. On that first day, the Personnel Committee is in markup. It has oversight of Morale, Welfare and Recreation services, so I'm guessing this is the subcommittee that will set the budget for military bands.

-- The full Senate Armed Forces Committee is in markup late Wednesday, June 15, and Thursday, June 16.

What this means: write now. Not later in the week. Now.

To whom? At this point, everyone on the full committee and Personnel Subcommittee, or any one of them.

HOW?

Pick a senator from the list below. Find his or her name on this page ,click on his or her name, and you'll be given an online form. In the box, write a clear, short message. Like,

I urge you to maintain funding for military bands in the Defense Authorization Act. Here's why: XXXX. Thank you, signed, Your Name.

(At this point, be smart and copy your message to your clipboard.)

Now, send your message. Feel good about yourself for five seconds, then go back to this page again
. Pick another senator, and paste The Same Message from you clipboard. Send and repeat as needed.
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Subcommittee on Personnel – Meets Tuesday
Senator Webb --Chairman
Senator Graham -- Ranking Member
Senator Lieberman
Senator Akaka
Senator McCaskill
Senator Hagan
Senator Begich
Senator Blumenthal
Senator Chambliss
Senator Brown (Scott)
Senator Ayotte
Senator Collins
Senator Vitter

Full Committee—meets late Wednesday and Thursday
Carl Levin -- Chairman
John McCain--
Joseph I. Lieberman
Jack Reed
Daniel K. Akaka
Ben Nelson
Jim Webb
Claire McCaskill
Mark Udall
Kay R. Hagan
Mark Begich
Joe Manchin III
Jeanne Shaheen
Kirsten E. Gillibrand
Richard Blumenthal
James M. Inhofe
Jeff Sessions
Saxby Chambliss
Roger F. Wicker
Scott P. Brown
Rob Portman
Kelly Ayotte
Susan M. Collins
Lindsey Graham
John Cornyn
David Vitter

The Daily Poop - Mon., 13JUN11

In one week, I'll be in Virginia Beach. I'm arriving a couple of days early, to get a head start on enjoying the brisk and invigorating air of Virginia Beach in late June. I'll be blogging from the hotel starting on Monday.

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 Speaking of which:

Recently I sent a message--"Live-blogging the Reunion"-- to every email address on the NMA roster . If you didn't get it, the NMA doesn't have your correct address. They can't email you. I can't email you. Long-lost shipmates who just found your name can't contact you.

Could be you forgot to tell the NMA you've changed your email address. Could be a problem with your email provider. Could be a transcription problem--the address you hastily scribbled on your registration form might not have been as clear as you thought, dear pR45trumpet12saz@intertechwebnet.com

Go to the NMA roster and click on your name. Is the address correct? If not, tell the webmaster.

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The Daily Poop - Sun., 12JUN11

Whaddaya mean, you're not coming to the NMA reunion because you can get away for four or five day? You don't need to. Many of us come for ony part of the reunion.

Because of work and other obligations, some members don't arrive until Friday. That's okay--our major functions are on Friday and Saturday evenings. Conversely, some have to be back home on the weekend and arrive Tuesday or Wednesday for a few days of fun, friendship and music.

You don't have to do a full tour.

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While I love making new friends at each reunion, there's still a lot to be said for meeting up with old shipmates. This year, I'm particularly looking forward to seeing Dave Czohara--"C.Z."--who will be in Virginia Beach for his first reunion.

I haven't seen The Polish Prince in a quarter of a century, but I've been in contact with him through social networking.  He seems to be a positive-thinking, upbeat people-person.

My, how we change.

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The Daily Poop - Sat., 11JUN11

Holy smokes--the NMA reunion begins in only 10 days. That's no time at all--I spent longer stretches of time than that writing charts in the chief's mess in the flicker of a battle lantern while the Blue Ridge ran loss-of-power drills in the Indian Ocean.
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The wife of an old shipmate wrote to me and said that she and her husband have a happy marriage. But, she said, "I've come to accept the fact that the best days of his life were with you and the Navy guys." 

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I keep hearing that the Holiday Inn has been renovated. New faucets in the men's room and a digital "Schlitz" sign over the bar? Actually, it looks like they've done a bit more than that: