I owe you a Postcard Update
Posted March 7th, 2008 by Howard TaylerI haven’t forgotten. Really. I’ve just been busy. Oh, and more cards arrived this week. So… you’ll get a postcard update soon.
Explore posts in the same categories: Home & Family17 Comments on “I owe you a Postcard Update”
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March 8th, 2008 at 4:58 am
How many walls have we managed to paper?
March 8th, 2008 at 7:55 pm
3.5
March 8th, 2008 at 10:18 pm
I have to look up a long ways to reread the footnote today, since I am on the floor laughing. Nearly all my meals this next week will be MRE’s, and I only wish that I had a few more centuries for them to get better. Judging by how completely dried out the triple-packaged Tabasco sauce is, I shouldn’t have all that long to wait.
And for the record, the worst one out there – that I have found up to this point – is the “Captain’s Chicken” which would probably outrage the public if if were ever accidentally fed to Prisoners of War. At least I know why the Captain is letting us eat it, instead of keeping it for himself.
Semper Fi
March 9th, 2008 at 12:21 am
UGH! MRE memories:
Worst: The Five Fingers of DEATH! *lightning, thunderclap; cat screeches* Thermostabilzed hotdogs…*shudder*
BEST (IMO): Corned Beef Hash. No, I am *NOT* kidding! After adding the tabasco and salt, then heating it; it was rather tasty.
March 9th, 2008 at 1:32 am
Someone I used to know would bring MREs to GenCon, to save on
restaurant costs. (He was a Cheap Bastard [TM].)
He also brought MRE Heaters — so much for “no cooking in the hotel
rooms”…. (He was also an Idiot [TM] (C) . :) )
I’ve never had MREs myself, tho’, so I don’t see what the fuss is…. :)
March 9th, 2008 at 8:49 am
I actually like most of the current generation of MREs. I still have no stomach for the omelet though, uggh blech!
But isn’t this really supposed to be about Howard’s post cards right now.
Ok, now I feel bad for being a topic nanny.
Never mind, I’m all better now.
March 9th, 2008 at 10:28 am
The Tuna with Noodles (for you other old farts who remember then 1980s) was worse than any current menu.
The heaters are calcium carbide and generate hydrogen while heating. No fire directly but you can ignite it. Toss several into a tightly capped soda bottle with the Tabasco and it vaporizes into the air as teargas. You CAN use MREs as weapons. Also as incendiaries. No, I won’t detail that one, but all engineers know it.
Incidentally, I’ve eaten some that were 25 years old and they weren’t bad.
I just came back from a weeklong exercise where I was issued a case of 12 and came home with 21.5. Great emergency supplies:)
March 9th, 2008 at 2:50 pm
Out of curiosity, what are you using to put the cards on the walls with? I’m guessing the sticky putty stuff.
March 9th, 2008 at 8:17 pm
Probably something that claims to be dessert from an MRE.
March 9th, 2008 at 9:55 pm
It was C-Rat’s when I was on active duty. The one I couldn’t stand to be near was the ‘Ham and Eggs’, or ‘Green Eggs and Ham’ as it was called. My Lt. and one of the Staff Sgt’s would grab the nasty things when we would crack open a case of Rat’s; some times they would almost fight over the one per case. My favorite was the ‘Beef Slices’, wasn’t half bad when you’re hungry. I always knew I’d been in the field too long when I looked forward to eating a half frozen ‘Spaghetti and Meat Balls’ C-Rat for breakfast. For some silly reason called Sound and Light Discipline, we weren’t allow to make a fire to heat up our C’s, even heat tabs were frowned on. Yet we where running 10K generators that would show up for miles on a thermal scope and you could hear for at least a mile. We tried but we couldn’t hide.
March 9th, 2008 at 10:59 pm
“Green eggs and ham were the best! Well, that and the “chunked and formed ham”. . .
Just add a John Wayne bar and life was just fine.
If only I’d had the foresight to save all the P-38s I came across, I’d be the king of e-Bay now. As it is, I’m down to four, with one confiscated by the TSA as a potential hijacking weapon. They left the utilikey on the same ring but the P-38 was too obvious, I guess. . .
At least Meals Rejected by Ethiopians come with Tabasco; if there’s one single thing that indicates a glimmer of competence in the procurement system, it’s those wonderful little bottles of happiness.
D.
March 10th, 2008 at 12:31 am
MadMike: Hydrogen? You mean acetylene, right? Calcium carbide plus water produces acetylene.
I’m getting visions of an MRE-fuelled welding torch…
March 10th, 2008 at 1:52 am
Hmm. On the P-38 can opener, is the folding function of the ‘blade’ very much needed? Otherwise I have probably a dozen of similar openers around the house…
March 10th, 2008 at 2:24 am
Having the blade fold lets you carry it around your neck with your dog tags or in your pocket on a keyring with a greatly reduced chance of maimery.
D.
March 10th, 2008 at 4:18 am
I can’t believe no one has mentioned the Chicken Ala King. All that’s going to become in a few centuries is more toxic. We actually had to medevac a guy off a crash site because of that meal. Yark!
March 10th, 2008 at 8:45 pm
That’s actually Chicken ala Queen in drag.
I stand corrected on the C2H2 vs H2. Sorry about that. Flammable gas.
P38s are cheap surplus. Must be millions of them still in the wrappers. You want me to snag you a few?
March 10th, 2008 at 8:59 pm
I had a P-38 on my key ring for over 20 years after my ETS. It was the single handiest tool you could carry in your pocket. It was a screwdriver, a Philips screw driver (if you used the corner), a small scrapper, a knife, a wire stripper, a box opener, a paint can opener and you could even open cans of food with it. Then one day as I was opening a can, it snapped in two at the notch you catch the can’s raised lip. I have a few others packed away in a box in the closet; I just haven’t had the gumption to dig one out. The John Wayne bar, when thrown side arm, like a slider could knock out light armor vehicles 6 out of 10 times. Actually a better anti Tank weapon than the LAW. 8^)