VIP and... the USO (finally!)

We were lucky enough to host the Deputy Judge Advocate of the Navy, RADM Houck for two days this week. He was only on the ground for about 24 hours, but we certainly packed those hours! I grabbed this picture at dinner. LNCM Browning (soon to be the JAG CMC) and LT Wong (RADM Houck's aide) also traveled with him. It was great to see everyone again! I know it was a long, exhausting trip for them and we really appreciate them making the effort to learn more about what we do.


And yes, someone in the USO finally realized that we exist. They sent a meet-and-greet show of David Robinson, Tommy Lasorda, and three cast members from The Unit (Dennis Haysbert, Max Martini, and Robert Patrick). They started on a stage just making general comments and then Tommy Lasorda took the mike - he gave about a 20-minute standup routine, which I was not expecting at all but was pretty funny! After that they made us all leave the building, then come back in groups of 6 to shake hands and get group pictures. If I get that group picture back I'll post it as well - I was standing next to David Robinson and it's hard to imagine just how tall he is until you see him in person! We couldn't use personal cameras during the meet and greet itself, but I grabbed this one of David Robinson and Dennis Haysbert as we were filing out.

They passed out pre-signed autograph pages, but by the time I got to the front of the line they had run out of the page that had David Robinson and Tommy Lasorda. The stars weren't really supposed to be signing autographs for us, but I had my latest copy of Shipmate magazine (the Naval Academy alumni magazine) and a trusty Sharpie handy and David Robinson very graciously signed it on the sly. We were able to shake hands with each of them and it was a very well-run experience. Thanks USO!

So I've mentioned the "mini" bazaar a few times, so I thought I'd post a picture of it. We call it the "yard sale" - now you can see why. :) I think they're trying to bring a few more vendors in, which is great, but I still miss the old one.

Critter alert - captured this skinny kitty over at the Ministry of Defense:


And yes, spring really is here. We're still having rain just about every day, but that's making for some really nice blooms. I'm not even going to pretend to know what these are - I just know they're pretty!



Seems like everyone is getting ready to leave around here. Steve and Dan will both be out of here before I am, my boss and my roommate leave next month, and Barbara leaves late this month. My turn will come!

Would you believe I received another care package from the Blue Star Mothers??? About half the size of the first box, but still chock-full of Girl Scout cookies. Thank you! I will be finding good homes for all of them...

A special shout-out to Cameron - wishing you a speedy recovery and sending good thoughts your way!