Where in the World Isn't Bob Saget?

[Goofyernmost]

That's exactly it. And what's fine for one person is bad for another. I use more salt than my husband does, but he has the high blood pressure, where mine tends to be low. They tell you that salt raises blood pressure, but if that's true, why is mine lower than my husband's? My weakness is sugar. I love chocolate and cake and whatnot. But I also LOVE veggies. Last night, my daughter and I did a tray bake with potatoes, carrots, zucchini, broccoli, red pepper, and chicken. (My husband was with our son at a chess tournament, so they didn't eat at home.) It was very healthy and relatively low carb, but it was my "cheat day" so I had some chocolate hazelnut cheesecake for dessert. I eat a lot of vegetables, but I'm also overweight and have been since high school, even though I ate pretty healthily in high school. I exercized every day, and my mom was on a strict diabetic diet, so all our meat was baked or broiled, not fried, we ate vegetables with every meal, and we didn't have dessert most of the time...I was still overweight. I don't think I CAN be thin without starving myself or otherwise going to extremes. If working out every day and eating a healthy diet didn't do it for me back then, I don't think it's possible. I'm just not made that way. The messaging can be really damaging because the extremes aren't healthy, either. If you have to starve yourself to be thin, then thin is not healthy for you. This whole "one size fits all" when it comes to what's healthy is so false.

I can tell you how I lost 90 lbs. in 7 weeks, if anyone would be desperately wanting to lose weight. This is how it's done in the US Air Force (probably all the military during war time). Get up at 5am, for breakfast have a half a cup of corn flakes or cream of wheat and toast (no butter). About 6 ounces of milk or have milk on your cereal (not both), Finish breakfast and fall into formation and march at double time to the running track area. Start out with sets of 25 reps of the famous Air Force exercise program (push ups, sit ups, jumping jacks, leg lifts, etc.) Immediately run the 1/4 mile track two laps and then repeat the process for 3 straight hours with only one minute breaks between those sets and runs.

March to the chow hall where you are served a sometimes undefinable protein objects, no carbs some random vegetables and milk or coffee or tea (no sugar). After lunch repeat the morning routine with an hour of marching drills followed by double timing back to the chow hall for approximately the same thing as lunch. March back to the barracks and just chill out after cleaning the place to an inch of it's life we could then go crazy drinking all the Tab soft drinks you could handle before passing out by 9pm lights out. Rinse and repeat until the next day. We did have Sunday off but couldn't leave the base for fear that we might encounter food. If I recall we were restricted to 1000 calories per day.

This was a program titled the Medical Remedial Enlistment Program that was extra and was followed by Basic Training which was like a picnic next to MREP's. This was at the height of the Vietnam War and they needed bodies. The draft was quite active at the time so when I graduated from college I really wanted to lose weight but knew if I did I'd be drafted so I heard about this program and thought, lose weight and fulfill my military service all at once. Score! It also meant that I would be able to select the branch of the military that I found inviting. I really like the looks of the Air Force Uniform and the rest is history. I was 4F which meant that I wouldn't be drafted as long as I wasn't MORBIDLY obese. I can tell you that every single day of the seven weeks I deeply regretted wanting to lose weight. After I was proud of the accomplishment. It was more stressful then my year in Vietnam.

Oh, before I forget DO NOT ATTEMPT THIS UNLESS YOU ARE UNDER 21 YEARS OLD because it will indeed kill you.

 

[PUSH]

But....how can you tell? How old is the kid? My daughter was reading at 4 or before, and I know it was reading, because she could take a book she'd never seen and read the words. I taught her to sound things out. We taught her the alphabet when she was two and she could sound out short words like "mom" and "Dad" her name, etc. I caught her reading a book to her brother when they were supposed to be napping. And when she was in first grade, I caught her reading a book and she had sounded out a 5-syllable word in it. It had a CD with it, where you listened to the book on the CD and read along....except she wasn't listening to the CD, had never listened to the CD. So she was absolutely reading, not looking at the pictures. When we were in a drug store and she was just 3 or 4, there was a shelf at eye level with adult toys, and she was looking and says "Look! That says play!" Yes....yes it does. Some kids do read really early.

Because his head was looking in many directions other than the words. It was almost a spitting imagine from a documentary called The Right to Read, where they show how kids have been taught to read by using pictures as clues. They aren't actually decoding (sounding out) the words.

It's a really big emphasis in reading instruction right now. Kids have been taught the wrong way to read for decades, called the Whole Language approach. It's not based in science or research, although teachers and schools have been led to believe it is. The people selling the programs have essentially conned districts in to believing it was the way to teach reading.

We used the whole language approach my first 4 years of teaching, and I could tell kids didn't know how to read. I kept talking to my reading specialist about it, but she wouldn't listen. She kept blaming the teachers. Then she retired and we got a new reading specialist who brought in a program that follows the Science of Reading approach. Even the lowest kids are reading, now. It's amazing.

If anyone is interested in the whole story, listen to the Sold a Story podcast. It was really fascinating to me, but again, I'm very passionate about the topic.

 

[PUSH]

Also, just to clarify... I'm not saying that kid isn't smart. Just that he wasn't actually reading the words in that one particular video.

 

[Songbird76]

Because his head was looking in many directions other than the words. It was almost a spitting imagine from a documentary called The Right to Read, where they show how kids have been taught to read by using pictures as clues. They aren't actually decoding (sounding out) the words.

It's a really big emphasis in reading instruction right now. Kids have been taught the wrong way to read for decades, called the Whole Language approach. It's not based in science or research, although teachers and schools have been led to believe it is. The people selling the programs have essentially conned districts in to believing it was the way to teach reading.

We used the whole language approach my first 4 years of teaching, and I could tell kids didn't know how to read. I kept talking to my reading specialist about it, but she wouldn't listen. She kept blaming the teachers. Then she retired and we got a new reading specialist who brought in a program that follows the Science of Reading approach. Even the lowest kids are reading, now. It's amazing.

If anyone is interested in the whole story, listen to the Sold a Story podcast. It was really fascinating to me, but again, I'm very passionate about the topic.

I'm very passionate about reading too. It really upset me that my daughter's kindergarten teacher refused to work with her, test her, or give me materials to work with her on reading. She was really interested in letters at two years old already. She'd crawl up in my lap when I was on the computer and wanted to type. So we taught her the alphabet and taught her what sound each letter made and let her type small words by sounding them out. "what letter makes the mmmmm sound? What latter makes the aaaahh sound? Mmmmm.... Aaaahh.... Mmmmm, mom." and she picked it up really quickly. So when she got into kindergarten I told the teachers she was really interested in letters and I asked if they taught reading. No, not until first grade. OK, were they willing to work with her to stimulate that interest. No. OK then will you give me the materials so I can use the same method the school uses for consistency? No. So I just taught her the old fashioned way, by sounding things out. It obviously worked because she learned without the school teaching her. And honestly, I knew she could read the small words before she was 3, but I wanted her to read books and such for herself so if I was cooking dinner or mopping the floor, she could read a book without my help. What I didn't realize was that she had already basically gotten to that level by herself. I figured once she got into first grade, they'd teach her more formally, but then she picked up that book with a five-syllable word and read it. So I took the book to the teacher, the teacher had her read some of it and something she'd never seen before, and they put her into an advanced reading group. The next year when my son got into first grade (he was 5) they put up a word on the screen and asked what sound the first letter made. He raised his hand, and instead of making the sound, he read the word. It was the same teacher my daughter had had, so she put 2 and 2 together, asked if he could read the instructions on the board. He did, so they put him into the advanced reading group right away. Both of them could read basic material at least by 4. I'm not sure at what age exactly, but before they started kindergarten in any case. I just wish the kindergarten teachers would have been more receptive to at least seeing where they were. My son probably could have skipped kindergarten all together. As it was, both kids did advanced reading and advanced math, which were the only two subjects they offered those in. Had they done any sort of assessment when they were in kindergarten, they probably could have done something to keep them from being so bored. I get that not every kid excels in the same areas, but I am a big proponent of stimulating kids' interests and abilities. If a kid is athletic, stimulate that! If a kid is good with numbers, stimulate that. If they are good at drawing, work with them! Encourage learning in those areas and make them feel good about what they like and are good at. There's no magic age at which all children are suddenly capable of learning specific things and not before then. Meet them where they are. That's my philosophy.

 

[Lilofan]

I can tell you how I lost 90 lbs. in 7 weeks, if anyone would be desperately wanting to lose weight. This is how it's done in the US Air Force (probably all the military during war time). Get up at 5am, for breakfast have a half a cup of corn flakes or cream of wheat and toast (no butter). About 6 ounces of milk or have milk on your cereal (not both), Finish breakfast and fall into formation and march at double time to the running track area. Start out with sets of 25 reps of the famous Air Force exercise program (push ups, sit ups, jumping jacks, leg lifts, etc.) Immediately run the 1/4 mile track two laps and then repeat the process for 3 straight hours with only one minute breaks between those sets and runs.

March to the chow hall where you are served a sometimes undefinable protein objects, no carbs some random vegetables and milk or coffee or tea (no sugar). After lunch repeat the morning routine with an hour of marching drills followed by double timing back to the chow hall for approximately the same thing as lunch. March back to the barracks and just chill out after cleaning the place to an inch of it's life we could then go crazy drinking all the Tab soft drinks you could handle before passing out by 9pm lights out. Rince and repeat until the next day. We did have Sunday off but couldn't leave the base for fear that we might encounter food. If I recall we were restricted to 1000 calories per day.

This was a program titled the Medical Remedial Enlistment Program that was extra and was followed by Basic Training which was like a picnic next to MREP's. This was at the height of the Vietnam War and they needed bodies. The draft was quite active at the time so when I graduated from college I really wanted to lose weight but knew if I did I'd be drafted so I heard about this program and thought, lose weight and fulfill my military service all at once. Score! It also meant that I would be able to select the branch of the military that I found inviting. I really like the looks of the Air Force Uniform and the rest is history. I was 4F which meant that I wouldn't be drafted as long as I wasn't MORBIDLY obese. I can tell you that every single day of the seven weeks I deeply regretted wanting to lose weight. After I was proud of the accomplishment. It was more stressful then my year in Vietnam.

Oh, before I forget DO NOT ATTEMPT THIS UNLESS YOU ARE UNDER 21 YEARS OLD because it will indeed kill you.

My uncle enlisted in the Navy at age 31 and retired after leaving at age 51 then got another job . He advised boot camp was rough for him and most of his peers were 18-19 years old. That is true that one loses weight during boot camp but he advised nothing is more tougher than Marine Corp boot camp in SC.

 

[PUSH]

I'm very passionate about reading too. It really upset me that my daughter's kindergarten teacher refused to work with her, test her, or give me materials to work with her on reading. She was really interested in letters at two years old already. She'd crawl up in my lap when I was on the computer and wanted to type. So we taught her the alphabet and taught her what sound each letter made and let her type small words by sounding them out. "what letter makes the mmmmm sound? What latter makes the aaaahh sound? Mmmmm.... Aaaahh.... Mmmmm, mom." and she picked it up really quickly. So when she got into kindergarten I told the teachers she was really interested in letters and I asked if they taught reading. No, not until first grade. OK, were they willing to work with her to stimulate that interest. No. OK then will you give me the materials so I can use the same method the school uses for consistency? No. So I just taught her the old fashioned way, by sounding things out. It obviously worked because she learned without the school teaching her. And honestly, I knew she could read the small words before she was 3, but I wanted her to read books and such for herself so if I was cooking dinner or mopping the floor, she could read a book without my help. What I didn't realize was that she had already basically gotten to that level by herself. I figured once she got into first grade, they'd teach her more formally, but then she picked up that book with a five-syllable word and read it. So I took the book to the teacher, the teacher had her read some of it and something she'd never seen before, and they put her into an advanced reading group. The next year when my son got into first grade (he was 5) they put up a word on the screen and asked what sound the first letter made. He raised his hand, and instead of making the sound, he read the word. It was the same teacher my daughter had had, so she put 2 and 2 together, asked if he could read the instructions on the board. He did, so they put him into the advanced reading group right away. Both of them could read basic material at least by 4. I'm not sure at what age exactly, but before they started kindergarten in any case. I just wish the kindergarten teachers would have been more receptive to at least seeing where they were. My son probably could have skipped kindergarten all together. As it was, both kids did advanced reading and advanced math, which were the only two subjects they offered those in. Had they done any sort of assessment when they were in kindergarten, they probably could have done something to keep them from being so bored. I get that not every kid excels in the same areas, but I am a big proponent of stimulating kids' interests and abilities. If a kid is athletic, stimulate that! If a kid is good with numbers, stimulate that. If they are good at drawing, work with them! Encourage learning in those areas and make them feel good about what they like and are good at. There's no magic age at which all children are suddenly capable of learning specific things and not before then. Meet them where they are. That's my philosophy.

We try to do that as much as possible. We have two half hour chunks in our day called "WIN Time". WIN stands for What I Need. Unfortunately, staffing and funding often leads to problems addressing all groups. And state and federal legislation only accounts for students who are below proficiency. So unfortunately the kids who need enrichment get left aside. I try as much as possible to push them during our core instruction. However, I've noticed that there are kids who can read fluently, but they don't know why words make the sounds they do. So when it comes to encoding (spelling), they sometimes struggle. Not everyone, but some. So the core instruction is still good for them, because they need to know the spelling patterns and rules.

Also, thank you for emphasizing sounding out words. That's the way neuroscience says the brain learns to read. Not by looking at the first letter, looking at the picture, and guessing the word. Actually, even fluent readers still decode, just at a very quick rate.

I'm on a team at school that's doing a Top Ten Tools for Reading training program, that's all based on the Science of Reading. We're going through the courses, then teaching them to our staff. It's many hours of work, but it's all really good stuff. And Wisconsin actually just passed a law saying all teachers K-3 need to be trained in one of these programs, so we're a step ahead. All districts must use an approved ELA curriculum, too. Luckily we chose the right program a couple years ago that is approved. It's called Core Knowledge Language Arts (CKLA), and it's amazing. Like I said, our kids are reading. There's another half of the program that is all about building background knowledge. The things 6 year olds are able to learn is remarkable. They're learning about the human body systems, the solar system, the layers of the earth, Mesopotamia, Ancient Egypt, early American civilizations, American Independence... a lot of things I didn't learn until middle or high school... or even things I didn't learn at all. I'm really proud of where our district has taken our reading instruction.

 

[Songbird76]

We try to do that as much as possible. We have two half hour chunks in our day called "WIN Time". WIN stands for What I Need. Unfortunately, staffing and funding often leads to problems addressing all groups. And state and federal legislation only accounts for students who are below proficiency. So unfortunately the kids who need enrichment get left aside. I try as much as possible to push them during our core instruction. However, I've noticed that there are kids who can read fluently, but they don't know why words make the sounds they do. So when it comes to encoding (spelling), they sometimes struggle. Not everyone, but some. So the core instruction is still good for them, because they need to know the spelling patterns and rules.

Also, thank you for emphasizing sounding out words. That's the way neuroscience says the brain learns to read. Not by looking at the first letter, looking at the picture, and guessing the word. Actually, even fluent readers still decode, just at a very quick rate.

I'm on a team at school that's doing a Top Ten Tools for Reading training program, that's all based on the Science of Reading. We're going through the courses, then teaching them to our staff. It's many hours of work, but it's all really good stuff. And Wisconsin actually just passed a law saying all teachers K-3 need to be trained in one of these programs, so we're a step ahead. All districts must use an approved ELA curriculum, too. Luckily we chose the right program a couple years ago that is approved. It's called Core Knowledge Language Arts (CKLA), and it's amazing. Like I said, our kids are reading. There's another half of the program that is all about building background knowledge. The things 6 year olds are able to learn is remarkable. They're learning about the human body systems, the solar system, the layers of the earth, Mesopotamia, Ancient Egypt, early American civilizations, American Independence... a lot of things I didn't learn until middle or high school... or even things I didn't learn at all. I'm really proud of where our district has taken our reading instruction.

That sounds amazing! And that is so great that you have the WIN time. It's sad that funding doesn't always reach kids who need enrichment. The government here passed legislation that says schools have to give every kid the resources they need. It sounds great in theory, but doesn't work well in practice because there isn't enough funding for everything, so instead everything ends up being under-funded. We were lucky with A because there are special schools for kids with special needs as long as the school can prove that they can not offer the student what they need. But the kid has to have a diagnosis. So he goes to a school only for kids with Autism. The school wasn't wanting to admit that they couldn't offer him what he needed. They wanted to keep him in the school to keep the funding. But since we had his diagnosis, we were able to enroll him in the special school. It has been amazing for him.

 

[Figgy1]

Someone I went to high school with just posted a picture of their kid "reading" a book and saying how smart he is. It's taking everything in me to not be a teacher and tell him he's not actually reading... he's memorized the words and is looking at the pictures to know what words to say. That's a really bad reading habit. And I'm very passionate about teaching kids to read the right way.

When I was in school we had to schlep to the Pizzeria but they'd deliver to the teachers. I usually went to the diner for coffee

 

[Goofyernmost]

My uncle enlisted in the Navy at age 31 and retired after leaving at age 51 then got another job . He advised boot camp was rough for him and most of his peers were 18-19 years old. That is true that one loses weight during boot camp but he advised nothing is more tougher than Marine Corp boot camp in SC.

Which is exactly the reason why I didn't enlist in the Marines, plus they were more fussy than the Air Force which is why they wouldn't have wanted me. Even at my "physically fit" best, I wasn't Marine material. Sorry, not sorry!

 

[MinnieM123]

My uncle enlisted in the Navy at age 31 and retired after leaving at age 51 then got another job . He advised boot camp was rough for him and most of his peers were 18-19 years old. That is true that one loses weight during boot camp but he advised nothing is more tougher than Marine Corp boot camp in SC.

(Just a slight edit -- Camp LeJeune is in N.C. The only reason I noticed that was because one of my brothers went to Marine boot camp there. As you noted above, boot camp is tough for anyone. I give give credit to people who get through it.)

 

[Goofyernmost]

(Just a slight edit -- Camp LeJeune is in N.C. The only reason I noticed that was because one of my brothers went to Marine boot camp there. As you noted above, boot camp is tough for anyone. I give give credit to people who get through it.)

Not to mention the several thousand Camp LeJeune, the water was bad, public service announcements that have been made over the last two years or so. I know that chemicals are far more toxic but when I was in Vietnam I drank water from those big inverted bottles on the bubble water coolers and not only tasted like feet, but had actual whole bugs floating in it and they occasionally came out into the cup. If you noticed you took it out, if not, just more protein. I'm not sure how any of us survived to old age when you factor in insect fogging (think inhaling kerosene), agent Orange and rockets, mortars and bullets. Oh my!

 

[Lilofan]

(Just a slight edit -- Camp LeJeune is in N.C. The only reason I noticed that was because one of my brothers went to Marine boot camp there. As you noted above, boot camp is tough for anyone. I give give credit to people who get through it.)

LeJeune is a Marine Corp base, recruits go to boot camp in Parris Island SC or CA. My peer at work went to Parris Island for boot camp, the stories he told me of his sadistic drill instructor and what he put the recruits through made them natural born killers. When recruits made mistakes which was on a regular basis, the DI would give the men IT ( Incentive Training ) which was endless exercises ( in the barracks , no time limit , the DI deemed when IT would finish ) or IT at the sand pit outside which had time limits.

 

[Lilofan]

I can tell you how I lost 90 lbs. in 7 weeks, if anyone would be desperately wanting to lose weight. This is how it's done in the US Air Force (probably all the military during war time). Get up at 5am, for breakfast have a half a cup of corn flakes or cream of wheat and toast (no butter). About 6 ounces of milk or have milk on your cereal (not both), Finish breakfast and fall into formation and march at double time to the running track area. Start out with sets of 25 reps of the famous Air Force exercise program (push ups, sit ups, jumping jacks, leg lifts, etc.) Immediately run the 1/4 mile track two laps and then repeat the process for 3 straight hours with only one minute breaks between those sets and runs.

March to the chow hall where you are served a sometimes undefinable protein objects, no carbs some random vegetables and milk or coffee or tea (no sugar). After lunch repeat the morning routine with an hour of marching drills followed by double timing back to the chow hall for approximately the same thing as lunch. March back to the barracks and just chill out after cleaning the place to an inch of it's life we could then go crazy drinking all the Tab soft drinks you could handle before passing out by 9pm lights out. Rinse and repeat until the next day. We did have Sunday off but couldn't leave the base for fear that we might encounter food. If I recall we were restricted to 1000 calories per day.

This was a program titled the Medical Remedial Enlistment Program that was extra and was followed by Basic Training which was like a picnic next to MREP's. This was at the height of the Vietnam War and they needed bodies. The draft was quite active at the time so when I graduated from college I really wanted to lose weight but knew if I did I'd be drafted so I heard about this program and thought, lose weight and fulfill my military service all at once. Score! It also meant that I would be able to select the branch of the military that I found inviting. I really like the looks of the Air Force Uniform and the rest is history. I was 4F which meant that I wouldn't be drafted as long as I wasn't MORBIDLY obese. I can tell you that every single day of the seven weeks I deeply regretted wanting to lose weight. After I was proud of the accomplishment. It was more stressful then my year in Vietnam.

Oh, before I forget DO NOT ATTEMPT THIS UNLESS YOU ARE UNDER 21 YEARS OLD because it will indeed kill you.

So you were part of the REMF as the grunts in the field referred to that group in Vietnam? I've read some of the bases were equipped with a number of recreational and workout facilities.

 

[Goofyernmost]

So you were part of the REMF as the grunts in the field referred to that group in Vietnam? I've read some of the bases were equipped with a number of recreational and workout facilities.

I can assure you there were no "workout or recreations facilities for enlisted men. I know of a swimming pool for officers though. We did have a movie theater and commissary. However, none of those things stopped rocket and mortar attacks and we all had perimeter duty in rotation manning M-60 machine guns , one of those perimeter posts just about 50 yards downhill from the Napalm storage facility and if not doing that we were trying to figure out which one or more of the civilian work force would be willing to cut our throats at the first opportunity. The base I was on had the nickname of Rocket Alley something I made sure not to tell my parents when I was leaving for there.

I will readily admit that we had it better then the grunts in the field and we always, always offered whatever we had to them if they found themselves on our base. But, even though people like to make like because we weren't in the jungle that we were safe and sound, we were not. I saw a chow hall not 25 ft away from our barracks get blown to bits by a rocket. I meant obliterated it and along with that a barrack next door got it's entire side wall blown off by that same rocket. I still have some of the casing from the rocket stored in my apt. storage unit just to remind me of the good times. And just to make it safer because we weren't heavy combat trained our weapons were stored at a warehouse a quarter mile away. Yes, we didn't have constant action but when we did we really had no way to defend ourselves. Safer overall but certainly not less dangerous. It was better, but far from soft. There was no need for workout facilities or other recreational facilities we stayed in shape by working 7 days a week, 12 hours a day making sure that those guys out in the field got the air support they needed in a timely manner.

 

[Lilofan]

I can assure you there were no "workout or recreations facilities for enlisted men. I know of a swimming pool for officers though. We did have a movie theater and commissary. However, none of those things stopped rocket and mortar attacks and we all had perimeter duty in rotation manning M-60 machine guns , one of those perimeter posts just about 50 yards downhill from the Napalm storage facility and if not doing that we were trying to figure out which one or more of the civilian work force would be willing to cut our throats at the first opportunity. The base I was on had the nickname of Rocket Alley something I made sure not to tell my parents when I was leaving for there.

I will readily admit that we had it better then the grunts in the field and we always, always offered whatever we had to them if they found themselves on our base. But, even though people like to make like because we weren't in the jungle that we were safe and sound, we were not. I saw a chow hall not 25 ft away from our barracks get blown to bits by a rocket. I meant obliterated it and along with that a barrack next door got it's entire side wall blown off by that same rocket. I still have some of the casing from the rocket stored in my apt. storage unit just to remind me of the good times. An just to make it safer because we weren't heavy combat trained our weapons were stored at a warehouse a quarter mile away. Yes, we didn't have constant action but when we did we really had no way to defend ourselves. Safer overall but certainly not less dangerous. It was better, but far from soft. There was no need for workout facilities or other recreational facilities we stayed in shape by working 7 days a week, 12 hours a day making sure that those guys out in the field got the air support they needed in a timely manner.

I've heard about Long Binh from vets describing it as a huge base with a lot of recreational facilities including a dozen swimming pools , etc . It was a tough war, one former boss of mine who served in the infantry 1968-69 was haunted for years when he came back, decided to check out of this world 25 years later.

 

[Goofyernmost]

I've heard about Long Binh from vets describing it as a huge base with a lot of recreational facilities including a dozen swimming pools , etc . It was a tough war, one former boss of mine who served in the infantry 1968-69 was haunted for years when he came back, decided to check out of this world 25 years later.

I was in Bien Hoa which was just feet from Long Binh and if they had all that stuff they were hiding behind the shipping conex's that were used as cells for prisoners both enemy and military. Long Binh was not a very pleasant place to be. Tan Son Nhut had a chance of more of the luxuries because that is were most of the Generals hid out.

You've heard, I've seen!

 

[MinnieM123]

LeJeune is a Marine Corp base, recruits go to boot camp in Parris Island SC

Thank you for that correction. For some reason, I always thought that Parris Island was also in NC, just like Camp LeJeune. I guess they're about 250 miles away from each other, in 2 states.

 

[Lilofan]

I was in Bien Hoa which was just feet from Long Binh and if they had all that stuff they were hiding behind the shipping conex's that were used as cells for prisoners both enemy and military. Long Binh was not a very pleasant place to be. Tan Son Nhut had a chance of more of the luxuries because that is were most of the Generals hid out.

You've heard, I've seen!

Long Binh was a place my buddy John visited when he wasn't sent to the front to fight, swimming pools, night clubs, basketball courts , dining options , massage parlours, tennis etc.

 

[Goofyernmost]

Long Binh was a place my buddy John visited when he wasn't sent to the front to fight, swimming pools, night clubs, basketball courts , dining options , massage parlours, tennis etc.

You were fed a line of crap from your "buddy". He might have been telling you about where he went to when on R&R. I'd appreciate it if you would stop spreading misinformation about something you didn't experience. It has been tough enough getting acceptance over the years about those of us that spent a significant chunk of our lives in danger that we couldn't escape without you making it sound like a country club. There sometimes were swimming pools that no one had time to go to, but not everywhere, nightclubs if that's what you wanted to call a NCO club on base where you could go and try and forget where you were via alcohol, a basketball net nailed to a electrical pole could have been called a basketball court, I guess, dining options were the chow hall, (in there you had the option of deciding if you wanted string beans or corn and beef or chicken) C-rations or candy bars at the base commissary. Not exactly gourmet dining. Massage parlors if you went outside the base, where the military goes so follow the worlds oldest profession. Sometimes they made "house calls" and wandered on base where the traded their favors (Including Brand X VD) for a box of Tide detergent. Tennis courts again it was 110 degrees in the shade in S. Vietnam, not exactly ideal climate for tennis, I never saw one of those and if I had anyone using one was probably trying to get a Section 8 discharge (insanity). Compared to being out in the field I'm sure it seemed like staying at a Hilton. Please stop telling me what was there, I was, you were not.

 

[Lilofan]

You were fed a line of crap from your "buddy". He might have been telling you about where he went to when on R&R. I'd appreciate it if you would stop spreading misinformation about something you didn't experience. It has been tough enough getting acceptance over the years about those of us that spent a significant chunk of our lives in danger that we couldn't escape without you making it sound like a country club. There sometimes were swimming pools that no one had time to go to, but not everywhere, nightclubs if that's what you wanted to call a NCO club on base where you could go and try and forget where you were via alcohol, a basketball net nailed to a electrical pole could have been called a basketball court, I guess, dining options were the chow hall, (in there you had the option of deciding if you wanted string beans or corn and beef or chicken) C-rations or candy bars at the base commissary. Not exactly gourmet dining. Massage parlors if you went outside the base, where the military goes so follow the worlds oldest profession. Sometimes they made "house calls" and wandered on base where the traded their favors (Including Brand X VD) for a box of Tide detergent. Tennis courts again it was 110 degrees in the shade in S. Vietnam, not exactly ideal climate for tennis, I never saw one of those and if I had anyone using one was probably trying to get a Section 8 discharge (insanity). Compared to being out in the field I'm sure it seemed like staying at a Hilton. Please stop telling me what was there, I was, you were not.

Why don't you calm down a bit, life is too short. My former boss and buddy John was a grunt, did his year in Nam , came home alive and did do R&R at Long Binh. You are assuming I'm calling it a country club which I never did but my buddy did appreciate to spend time at LB with his fellow grunts and REMFs stationed there , before being sent to the front lines again.