But first, a little story.
In 1985, I was hired at the Naval Air Rework Facility (later renamed Naval Aviation Depot, and then Naval Air Depot) in Jacksonville FL as a mechanical engineer in the Plant Engineering division. My job was to design tooling, fixtures, and equipment needed to rework Navy aircraft and engines. It was a heck of a learning experience and a lot of fun, if frustrating at times.
In 1990, there was a reorganization, and Plant Engineering disappeared. The new Master Plan said we were all Process Engineers, our jobs being to make all processes go smoothly, but designing tooling, fixtures, and equipment… What a concept. :rolleyes: I got a new cubicle, a new boss, and a new bad attitude.
In 1991, there was yet another reorganization in conjunction with a RIF (Reduction In Force – mass layoffs) and at that point, someone looked at my records and saw that I was an Aeronautical and Astronautical Engineer by degree, so I was shipped across the street to work in the P-3 Branch as an Aerospace Structural Engineer. Yet another new boss, but this one I liked.
One of my first major projects was the modification of an old P-3A into a pseudo airliner for carrying a Navy Band and its instruments. The project leader on that adventure was Chuck. His cubicle was next to mine. He’d been a structural engineer for a lot of years. He was funny and smart and a very good mentor – I learned a lot from him.
I also earned major brownie points early on.
To digress a wee bit, engineering isn’t always an exact, absolute science. There are many ways to approach design problems, and several may be equally valid in any given situation. We were looking at just such a design problem – my thoughts went one way and Chuck’s went another. Either way would work fine. Since I was responsible for this particular phase of design, Chuck was going to let me do it my way. But I was still a relative newbie, still learning, so I said “You’re the boss. I’ll do it any way you want.”
With those words, I had a friend for life. Whenever Chuck was having a bad day, he’d come to me and ask me to say that line. Whenever he wanted an ego boost, he’d ask. Sometimes, out of nowhere, he’d point to me, and I’d be ready “You’re the boss. I’ll do it any way you want.” It always made him smile. Oh, and he really wasn’t my boss – he couldn’t fire me or discipline me or anything. He was just in charge of that one project.
Anyway, I’m in Maryland, and Chuck is still working at the Depot in Jacksonville. But this week, he’s coming up to NAS Patuxent River, which is just down the road a piece from our house. And he’s coming to dinner on Thursday night. I’m looking forward to seeing him again – he’s a really nice guy.
That’s all. No real point.
Now, about the crafty crap. I have said before and I’ll say again, I’m not ready to sell my stuff – I really don’t think it’s good enough quality. But I can’t keep it all, either. So, if you’re willing to pay for packaging and postage from Maryland to where you live, I will gladly send a piece your way. Heck, if you are so inclined, you can come over and pick out something. Like I expect that to happen. I’m not going to do any wheeling and dealing in the thread, since that’ll get annoying in no time. So here’s how it’ll work.
Email me – my address is in my profile. Let me know if you want a specific piece or if you’re willing to take pot luck. When you email, I can let you know the size of the piece if you want – it’s hard to tell from the photos sometimes. Bear in mind that the piece you specify may have already been spoken for – I make no promises at this point, except that once a particular piece is claimed, that’s it. Early bird, and all that.
I’ll send them via Priority Mail, and from past experience, I’d say the postage will run between $3 and $6, depending on the size, obviously. Plus there’s the shipping box – I’m going to have to buy some, but I can’t imagine they’ll cost that much – certainly not more than a dollar each.
So those of you who feel you can’t live without one of my early attempts at pottery, here’s your chance. For the price of postage, you can help me get rid of the accumulated stuff. Just one more thing – don’t try to color match the pics I posted with your décor – I’m not that good a photographer, and I’d hate for you to pick something based on color as the main criterion.