44: toby, museum, steve's stoves, turkey and cigar sandwich, goldilocks, raconteur

April 30, 2025

rest day in Sanford

Meet Toby. He's a good dog, but move your cycling shoes into the garage, because they look exactly like a chew toy.

I only had a couple of things I wanted to do today, and Jessica very kindly offered her car while she and Jeff went to work.

First on my list is to visit the Airborne & Special Operations Museum in Fayetteville. Jeff, who is in the military, told me about it and it sounded interesting.

Like the Navy Seal Museum in Florida, I won't post a bunch of pictures about things you may have no interest in, and can read about online if you do. I'll just add a few of the items I found interesting.

These were used in Viet Nam, and I want some.

At $2.40, these were called "The Woolworth Guns," after the five-and-dime stores back in the day, because they were so inexpensive.

I'd like one of these too, but in addition to not being manly I'm also not studly. Dang it.

These were also used by the Jedburghs (small WW2 teams to assist resistance forces). It looks like a suitcase, which is cool, but if I stop to think about it they probably wouldn't want it to look too much like a radio.

These two pictures show the difference in the first parachutes and the more modern ones, as well as the amount of gear.

Steve was as interesting as the museum. He has the unusual hobby of collecting camp stoves and, in addition to several modern ones, has some vintage GI-issued ones that sounded really cool. Stoves have come a long way.

For lunch I stopped at Rude Awakenings for a turkey and cigar sandwich. I didn't order the cigar but it came anyway, courtesy of the man on the right. I even moved one of the tables an additional five feet upwind, but even at this distance (and again, read UPWIND) I could taste it as much as smell it. If he wants to smoke at a cafe, he should at least have the decency not to exhale.

If you read about my bike in the third post, you might remember that it has a USB outlet on the stem. I had a cable, but it stopped working, so I had one delivered to Jon's house in Florida. Unfortunately, when plugged in it became embedded so tightly that I couldn't remove it from my phone without using two hands, so I returned it. I had another one sent to Jessica's, but when I plugged it into my phone it just fell out... way too loose (plus, it didn't work). I feel like Goldilocks: "This one's too tight. This one's too loose." Hopefully, the third one will be juuuuust right. I dropped off the cable at the UPS Store, then headed back to Sanford.

That evening was one of the most entertaining of the trip. Perhaps you know people like Jeff (another Cajun, by the way, but without the accent) who are natural storytellers. He's right up there with my Uncle Andy, a State Trooper in Texas who pulled over Willie Nelson (twice) for speeding. I'm envious of the skill, and wish I had even a little bit of talent for it. (Me, telling the exciting story about my encounter with the police: "mumble, mumble.... I got pulled over today." Story ends.)

We talked about Army legends, of which there are many, Jason Everman (an interesting article), Spam Musabi, and hilarious call signs. Jess grilled some burgers and we sat out on the driveway until after dark, entertained by their children in the way that only children can entertain.

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Larry FrahmTo Judging from some of your photos and comments it appears you may be using Kamikasi Maps.
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Mark BinghamTo Larry FrahmIt’s the only brand I use. 😊
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