My older brother flunked out of college and was ready to be drafted into the Army which meant infantry in Nam. Lots of guys from our neighborhood didn't come back. He decided that enlisting in the Air Force was a better option. When he went in to be sworn in it was "One, two, three, four, five, you are are a Marine." He did not lose that lottery. One year at Lowry outside Denver learning how to ski, one year at MacDill, and two years in Thailand. I asked him if he bribed some sergeants for assignments and he just winked. He went back to school afterwards and I helped him some with calculus, he got his EE degree from Illinois, and had a great career. I am sure that he made lots more money than I ever did. As for me with Vietnam War and the draft I was one day late reporting because I was working as a steelworker and didn't want to miss a shift. I was told to never let that happen again. Like that was ever going to happen again. And my draft lottery number was in the 300's. Only lottery I ever won
In 1970 I was working on my MA, which didn’t merit a student deferment. The day of my physical Nixon suspended the draft to set up the lottery. I ended up 151, which was too low the first year. Thanks to a heads-up from a fraternity brother we found out a local reserve unit had been given additional slots. Three of us drove over, signed the papers and were sworn in the following Saturday.
Anyone else here end up with at least half their bag of potato chips too small to be used in the conventional sense?
I spent about a year as training NCO, and later became an instructor at the NCO academy. Reservists aren't prepared for those kinds of missions
Making carnitas. Already made a tomatillo/avocado salsa and pico de gallo as toppings. You mean as a 1960's casserole topping?
We’ll be finishing off the leftover spaghetti that we cooked 3 days ago. Our sides will be a fresh Romaine salad topped with vine ripe tomatoes. We will also have the Parmesan cheese & Garlic Texas toast on the side. Full blown summer time weather today as I got our grass cut. 93* when I checked the temperature after I’d finished. The ice cold longnecks and chilled wine are greatly appreciated this afternoon/evening. Life is good in Gator Nation!
I have a lot of Thai basil and then I though that making pesto out of Thai basil would be awesome. A quick Google search showed me that I was not the first to think of that. Still a Thai basil pesto (thinking about using a different nut than pine nuts. Macadamia or peanut?) with rice noodles and shrimp sounds delish to me. Maybe a little hot chili oil as well.
Back to draft. I was in college, but not good grades. Summer comes and I'm merely working while back at home w/ parents. Get letter from draft board to call and meet w/ local board. Uh oh. I wear a coat and tie and sit waiting, sweating. Why do they want to see me in person? I am ushered into a room (I can still see it). I am seated at head of table, sweating more, as I look at this cast of older people on either side of me. They start asking me questions to verify that I am the son of Mr X and his wife Mrs X etc. After verifying all of this, and that I am their one and only son, they tell me I am the sole surviving son of an injured WW II vet (my dear dad had been injured badly though he worked onward in civ life). I was given a permanent deferment. I never went for a physical. Never was bothered. I did not even know that deferment existed and never met someone who had one.
Well my dad had three sons so I wasn't going to get that pass. The draft during Vietnam and who got out of it and who got into the National Guard to avoid going to Nam pisses me off to this day. Guys from my neighborhood went and not to the National Guard. That was reserved for pro athletes like Dick Butkus and other well connected types. We were working class kids from the Southside of Chicago. I don't think any of my contemporaries got out for fake bone spurs. I had a legit reason for 4-F (imperfect heart valve) but I never pressed it and took my chances as it never really impacted me. And I really did not want to go, but I felt that I should if my number was called even though I thought the war was a wrong one. I was ready to go because that is what I should do as an American citizen. You know, lots of folks talk about the sacrifice made by the "Greatest Generation" and it was really good. Fighting that war was a no-brainer. But the sacrifice made by my generation for a stupid war says more. They died defending American honor and not defending the free world from autocracy. And then many of them were spit on for doing it.
This is where grade inflation came from. Lots of professors way back then didn't want to be responsible for a student losing a deferment. Back then Dean's List was 3.00. Now nearly every student that shows up most of the time would make it.
That doesn't inflate grades, but I get where this comes from. It was instituted during the Vietnam war years. It was a way to earn a D and not get dinged. And profs still didn't want to fail students because of the draft so maybe some passes that were not earned. One of the unforeseen legacies of the cluster F that was the Vietnam war.
Tonight I’ll be grilling chicken halves seasoned with coarse black pepper and Everglades seasoning. Yep, Pat’s Homade on the last two turns. Inside we will have a pot of fresh green beans and new potatoes and fresh bi-color cob corn. Fresh jalapeño cornbread will also be on the side. The back porch Yeti is stocked and ready to go so ice cold longnecks and chilled wine are available for the watching of stress free post season baseball. Life is good in Gator Nation!
Do you ever spatchcock your chickens? I have done that when I don't want to slow cook them with smoke. It is a really good technique. Or do you just cut them in half for the same effect?
I have done them both ways, Ms. Jan prefers them cut in half so…..you know. Usually when I spatchcock one I’ll use Italian seasoning/dressing.
So is there any real cooking result difference between spatchcocking and cutting in half and cooking?
To me spatchcocking yields a little more moist chicken kinda like rotisserie chicken. Chicken halves still are plenty moist for us, cooking chicken with the bone-in provides for juicier/tender/moist meat. We prefer the spatchcock chicken when I use Italian seasoning and dressing for basting and halves for BBQ.
NY strip steaks on the KJ tonight. Roasted redskin potatoes with butter, lemon zest and rosemary as the side. "Boiled" peanuts in the Crock-Pot for watching the Super Regionals. I wish that they were done now because the ECU/Vandy game is really good baseball.
