I couldn’t sleep, but that was nothing new since the Nam. The doctors at the VA said that nobody could stay awake for days and nights on end but my time in the valley and then the nights and days after coming home had disproven that, not that my word about such things was to be believed. The two doctors I’d spoken to, one too old to be a doctor anymore in my opinion, and one too young to be the same thing, simply offered up the only explanation they could come up with for the fact that I could easily (well, it was much easier physically than socially) go two nights in a row without sleep and then function on the third day as if I’d had all the sleep in the world. They decided I was hallucinating the experience, just as I doubt had in the valley when I’d gone many days and nights without sleep. They were both surprised when I wasn’t angry about their conclusion since I’d already figured out it didn’t matter. There was nothing to be done for my condition that wouldn’t make the problem worse or life around the ‘fix’ worse than it already was. I thought their conclusion was funny but not because of the conclusion. My laughing was over the fact that I had offered my truth to two men who were dumb and inexperienced enough to come up with such a conclusion, and then presented it to someone like me whom they ought to have been more careful to communicate with that way.
I sat down in the living room after creeping there from our bed upstairs. There was no intent on my part to remove myself from the bedroom so my wife wouldn’t notice. I was married to a woman who caught every nuance of movement involved in such action. There was no movement in that bed that she wasn’t aware of, although she didn’t always comment. It was spooky in a way.
LT is there anyone in your life, with the exception of your wife, daughter, and cat, who is who/what they say they are? I have thought for several chapters that Paul was a plant to keep track of you and/or what you know. Again another great chapter.
Doc, there was a general feeling inside me, probably instilled there down in the valley, to be suspect of everyone but beholden to almost everyone at the same time. I found Paul, he didn’t find me and putting a hand made sign on the outside of the building where I might drive by and see it and then enter and engage him is too far out to be coincidence. Paul was an odd duck, but a duck I needed very badly at the time. You will not see him turn on me, not in the way you might think, because he never did. thanks for the deep thought and in depth analysis. Much appreciate the compliment too.
Semper fi,
Jim
Another great chapter. Hope the next one comes soon. Just one minor edit: when you parked the Bronco you arked under an “eave” not an “eve”.
KDesko, I have been putting out a chapter a week for almost a year now, so expect the next one this coming week.
Thanks for the compliment and for writing it on here.
Semper fi,
Jim
Another great chapter. The more divulged the more is left unanswered.
Thank you & Happy Thanksgiving to you and your family & keep them coming.
Thanks Phil, as I work away getting the next chapter just right.
Hopefully, I won’t get any more ‘intrested’ parties wanting to know about
the turn of the story, since those parties are obviously not the fans they
portray themselves as. Interesting, though.
Semper fi, and have a great weekend.
Jim
Jim, I am confused with the reference to Helen Hunt. I thought E Howard Hunt’s wife’s name was Dorothy.
You are correct. My mind got screwed up because of the present not the past.
Thanks for pointing that out.
Semper fi,
Jim
The two Doctors you wrote about really are no different than the Doctors the VA contracts today. Though I should have access to the VA today, lost med records delay things a lot. Friends of mine use VA though. Their biggest complaint is that their Psyc. Docs hear what is being said to them, but have no idea what they are hearing. They are unable to visualize or relate in any way to the military experience. As far as the disposing of the Marines bodies, it seems as if whoever did it was not experienced in such things or the salt vs fresh water thing would have been considered. Strange stuff.
Rick, there are exceptions, of course. Some of the doctors are truly magnificent, and my heart surgeon proved
that, as well as so many of the support people…like those bringing me back during and after the surgeries from
the war way back there. Thanks for the insightful commentary.
Semper fi,
Jim
Jim,
Hope you & your family are having a great Thanksgiving! Regards, Doug
Thanks Doug, hope you and your family had the same. Everyone came and now we are al eating
turkey for every meal! Thanks for the comment.
Semper fi,
Jim
Let the dwarfs run with the Nixon in Dallas tidbit ( on the 60th anniversary of that event today ) while you pursue answers to the death of the three Marines, sounds like a solid idea.
Knowing what later happened to Mrs. Hunt in Chicago makes me once again wonder about the appearance of Rebozo !! Hmmm.. 😉
Great captivating chapter, cant wait for the next one !!
Semper Fi
(enjoy the coffee)
SgtBob, Happy Thanksgiving to wish you the very least of what you so richly deserve. The problem I face
in telling the history I lived through is that, unlike a traditional book or mystery offering, all the
odds and ends are not neatly tied up. The Hunt assassination is one of those kinds of stories. You will learn
more as we progress but it may not be enough. My writings on the JFK thing and so much more will likely never
be picked up on, as history, once written, is like stone…although people don’t really think so.
Thanks for everything your provide here and for the support and care you exercised in your own commentary.
Semper fi, my friend,
Jim
Intense
Richard is a true pro only in giving up nothing does he give uo everything,
The Marines are very troubling to me.
Nuclear plants typically have strict security measures in place, and top-secret procedures are unlikely to be conducted openly. However, they might witness complex operations related to nuclear energy production, such as reactor maintenance or fuel handling. These processes are usually sensitive due to safety and regulatory concerns rather than secrecy. Any confidential aspects of nuclear operations would be safeguarded from accidental exposure.
I waited with breath of kerosene.
Hurry
You are right about everything and things should very definitely have been different back then, but they weren’t on those days and,
of course, there was a whole lot more going on there than simply the production of electricity derived from whirling steam turbines with water heated by semi-enriched uranium.
Next, chapter, more…and thanks for the great comment, as usual.
Semper fi,
Jim
The marine deaths while not intentional are still linked to criminal behavior.
An unreported radiation leak, still to this day unreported.
Somebody went through an enormous amount of effort to keep it that way. I suspect those who committed the crime and cover-up, no longer share the sunlight with us, or they would still risk being convicted of negligent homicide, conspiracy and indecency to the bodies. There is no time limitation on homicide.
You were in true peril armed with that knowledge! Your (and the cats) spidey senses were right on the money! Risk mitigation now being the object of operations. I suspect Mr Mafia was involved in the cover up … inquiring minds want to know much more! With no remaining records, tangible evidence or witnesses, the leak will never be reported.
Thanks James, for you in depth analysis. What of the things I love about this chapter publishing and then commentary is the deep effort
and thought some people, like you, put into it. I gain a whole lot just from the comments. I am both baffled by the bullshit and dazzled by the footwork I read all the time on here. Thanks for a great load of of that. Well, maybe there’s no bullshit to your writing on here but I do love using that comment!
Semper fi,
Jim
Don’t really notice the mistakes they point out, you have me enthralled with this chapter and can’t wait to see what come up next? and right around the anniversary of the incident in Dallas, how fitting.
Thanks Pete, as more is on the way. I am writing this very minute, when I’m not answering these comments. This is comment
number 23,273 that I have personally answered since I began the 30 Days series now so long ago. My work does not reach a huge
audience, however…that territory is left to people like Barbara Streisand writing about herself and how she doesn’t like being
famous! Thanks for the loyalty and support through this time.
Semper fi,
Jim
So…the Marines deaths didn’t really have anything to do with JFK’s? Why would they try and cover up the Marines death by throwing them in the ocean? No comprendo
As you read, you will discover more, although maybe not enough.
This is a rendition of history as it went down, not a fictional piece so
all the threads will not necessarily have understandable conclusions.
Thanks for the comment and the compliment.
Semper fi,
Jim
After a 45 year plus career in the building trades as a pipefitter working with the tools all the way up to a general foreman/qc inspector I spent a fair amount of time in Nuclear plants doing refueling outages. Unless I miss my guess the 3 unfortunate Marines were stuck in the protected area adjacent to containment while containment was flooded costing the 3 Marines their lives. The bigger questions are where was security, why was the door unlocked who ordered the event to be hushed up and where was the NRC? For what it’s worth I don’t trust the shrink you are seeing any further than I could throw your Volkswagen. Another cliff hanger of a chapter. Happy Thanksgiving to you, your family and your readers.
Thanks so much for the verification Charles.
Sometimes I wonder about whether the readers will believe some of this stuff.
I know nothing about nuclear power plants except the physics involved.
Their operation eludes me and so I just write about what I rant into when dealing with San Onofre.
I would deal with another plant in China years after but that’s another part of the continuing saga.
I didn’t trust Paul either. Was I right or wrong about that?
We’ll see in this next chapter…but in an
entirely different way than you might imagine just now.
Thanks for the great comment.
Semper fi,
Jim
Jim,
Dan C is a priceless marvel and behind the scenes asset in his abilities to see technical editing things.
He is the BEST.
I did see one minor typo he overlooked:
“I assembled the machine, selected th tape and spooled it through.” (th should be the)
The glimpses of clarity of this chapter into the various mysteries of the events and puzzles within your TCL are absolutely fascinating!
Greatly enjoyed the info provided in this chapter.
Still, lots of old questions (and some new ones) roil through my brain.
Inside my head, trying to unravel the mysteries of all this, looks like being overwhelmed in following all the action in the arena of a demolition derby with 100 vehicles careening about.
You better make time to write the next chapter soon!
Love it. Keep typing!
Happy Thanksgiving and blessings to you.
The Walter Duke! I am writing on this Thanksgiving Day while giving thanks to a bunch of people like
you. That I am writing on Thanksgiving Day should come as no surprise, as the family all coming means
that my wife has only one servant/slavse/conscript/ and ne’er do well to get stuff done pre-feast.
I am on it, however, and thanks for the compliments, as well.
Semper fi, my friend,
Jim
Good piece JAMES, get the next one out PLEASE!!
I am at work on the next chapter this day (mostly hiding out from doing pre-feast errands and home jobs). Thanks for
your interest and you loyal support by writing about it on here.
Semper fi,
Jim
Perilous times those were. I had my first open heart surgery two days before the operation, and was thoroughly morphined when the nurse told me of the assassination. Thought it was a joke when she said the autopsy was being done down the hall (Bethesda Naval Hospital)
Many of the names you mention later became well known.
DanC, as usual, does a great edit.
Who was it that said, “May you live in interesting times”? You surely did that, Jim!
I have lived an ‘interesting’ life, of that there is no question.
I was stunned to read that you were right down the hall from the autopsy.
Wow, now that’s another Strauss kind of coincidence.
Regular people might not believe that but I sure as hell do.
DanC is a great man and I couldn’t do what I do nearly as well without him.
Thanks for your help also…and it all keeps me going.
Semper fi, my friend,
Jim
One small typo I see in the first paragraph. “I do doubt” should be “I no doubt”.
Matt, thanks for the help, as without my vet online editors I’d be cooked goose for this Thanksgiving.
Semper fi and Happy Thanksgiving!
Jim
I am a bit confused here. I looked up Helen Hunt to try and get some background information but all I found was the actress. I did however find a Dorothy Hunt, wife of E. Howard Hunt, that was involved in the Watergate fiasco. Apparently she died in a plane crash and was carrying a substantial amount of money. Is the first name wrong or am I missing something?
Yes, Monty, it was Dorothy. The modern world intruded into my writing.
Helen Hunt is so much better known because of Hollywood. Yes, Dorothy died in a plane
crash in Chicago not long after what happened in that chapter happened.
Thanks for understanding.
Semper fi,
Jim
James, We have a scene swap that could be clarified with a few more lines. It begins with you slipping out of bed and going downstairs to the living room. You have thoughts about the tapes. Next we hear the content of the tape. No location or time is given. Finally it is daytime and you are upstairs with the tape. Later you leave to go on duty.
Maybe add a few sentences to have you go back to bed with the intent to listen to the Marines tape the following day. Then maybe have you quietly go upstairs after breakfast; take out the tape machine & tapes; and begin to listen.
I still see no connection between Cobb, her yacht, and the Marines. We shall see.
Some minor editing suggestions follow:
I was hallucinating the experience, just as I do doubt had in the valley
Add “They decided” at beginning of sentence
Maybe “no” instead of “do”
They decided I was hallucinating the experience, just as I no doubt had in the valley
important player with the Western White House than could ever have imagined
Maybe add “I” before “could”
important player with the Western White House than I could ever have imagined
The Kennedy tape had changed me and I wasn’t like what I was feeling.
Maybe “didn’t” instead of “wasn’t”
The Kennedy tape had changed me and I didn’t like what I was feeling.
information that I could take nowhere, not even to my wife, without risking everything I had or they might have, including lives.
Add comma after “had”
Maybe change “they” to “we”
Add “our” before “lives”
information that I could take nowhere, not even to my wife, without risking everything I had, or we might have, including our lives.
professional tape decks that used the much more qualitative equipment and tape material of giant reel size
Drop “the” after “used”
Maybe change “more qualitative” to “higher quality”
professional tape decks that used much higher quality equipment and tape material of giant reel size
/Seems a need to clarify your location and time when listening to tape/
entered the containment area through the unlocked door without anyone knowing to seek shelter
Maybe change word order to make more clear
entered the containment area through the unlocked door to seek shelter without anyone knowing
flood the containment storage area to help prepare to cool such core, and therefore minimize to the containment facility itself
Add “material after “core”
Add “damage” after “minimize”
flood the containment storage area to help prepare to cool such core material, and therefore minimize damage to the containment facility itself
headed off in the Volks to meet Richard.
Maybe add “at the station”
headed off in the Volks to meet Richard at the station.
I rode with Richard from the station to the yard
Maybe add “in the Bronco” after “Richard”
I rode with Richard in the Bronco from the station to the yard
What you just said was an answer in of itself
Maybe “in and of”
What you just said was an answer in and of itself
OR
Substitute “by” for “in of”
What you just said was an answer by itself
that’s just going to become likely with every day that goes by
Maybe add “more” before “likely”
that’s just going to become more likely with every day that goes by
although where I have Gularte, Elwell
Change comma to “and”
although where I have Gularte and Elwell
because you’re nearby to Cobb’s boat
Change “nearby” to “near” as use here is as a preposition
because you’re near to Cobb’s boat
I thought about all the things I didn’t know about almost everything.
“almost everything” is redundant. Drop
I thought about all the things I didn’t know about.
I, as Snowwhite, was conceded the chair at the head
“Snow White”
I, as Snow White, was conceded the chair at the head
/Description of fresh vs saltwater drowning is a bit rough. See:
https://curiositycomplex.wordpress.com/2010/04/14/today-we-learn-about-saltwater-v-freshwater-drowning/
Your choice if you wish to change or leave ‘as is’.
Blessings & Be Well
DanC comes through again. I immediately saw what I’d done thanks to you Dan. I sent Chuck the completed chapter without he sequencing
I’d written earlier that set the stage for listening to the tape. Without that the start was not truly comprehensible. Hope those who’ve already accessed can go back and get the preparation. Thanks for all your work and stuff like that, which is simply invaluable.
Semper fi, my friend,
Jim
I caught the same thing about the upstairs /downstairs thing. Glad it’s resolved.
Thanks for the attention and interest Tom. Glad you are pleased with the result.
Semper fi, and Happy Thanksgiving.
Semper fi,
Jim
They say that truth is stranger than fiction. I have read this chapter through twice and now must go back to reread previous chapters as I missed the importance and reference to Helen Hunt. Unanswered questions will surely keep me awake tonight. If this chapter was in the middle of a book I had in hand, I would stay up the rest of the night reading to the end if the last chapter. Your wife must truly be an angel to have followed you to this day.
Thanks so much for your interest and your great compliment. I’ve had a few books like you
mention but they’ve been very few in my life. To be among those so considered is quite an
honor and I can’t thank you enough.
Semper fi,
JIm