I've Been There...

It was almost 35 years ago, but I was there..."there" being Phuket Island, Pataya beach, Thailand. While in the Navy assigned to Patrol Squadron One based out of Barbers Point, Hawaii (we flew in P-3 Orions, sub-hunter patrol planes), we deployed to SE Asia for six months at a time. With home-bases in Subic Bay/Cubi Pt, Philippines, Utapao, Thailand, and Cam Rahn Bay, Vietnam we flew all over the Pacific on various types of missions including Submarine Ops, Patrol Ops, Ferry Ops, and, yes...R & R Ops. Of Course, the latter type of operation was our favorite: Rest & Relaxation. Several trips were taken to Bangkok...and from Bangkok it was a wild 70 mile taxi ride to the beach resort town of Pataya Beach. This place to Europeans is what Cancun is to Americans: a beautiful, tropical resort...though a little more rustic in those days. While I was there with my crew, we got to take a boat trip out to Phuket Island. It is spectacular to see and breathtaking to snorkel in the waters surrounding it. I will never forget it. Back to the present...it was one of the areas hit hard by the tsunami. I can only imagine what it looks like now. The pictures we have all seen don't justify the amount of destruction that went on there recently. My best friend Bob as sent me a couple links you might be interested in. The first one is a story about how we have actually "lost" almost three seconds of the day because of the earthquake's effect on the planet!... This second one has satellite before and after pictures of some of the devastation in Sri Lanka. Our existence on this planet is so very fragile and fleeting.