RIP, Frenchy


You will live forever in our hearts and in the great movies you made.

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You will live forever in our hearts and in the great movies you made. - Homang-come-down

Indeed. Nicely put.

By an appropriate coincidence, I happened to be at a maritime exhibition two weeks ago at the Port of Los Angeles, where the Lane Victory, a World War Two-era Victory ship (the successor to the Liberty ships), is berthed as a floating and functioning museum ship. Aboard the Lane Victory is the actual engine used in The Sand Pebbles, the operation of which Steve McQueen teaches to Mako. Yes, I was getting funny looks as I burbled on about "live stim" and "dead stim."

The next day I learned that Richard Attenborough had died, and it make the memory of seeing the engine just the day before poignant.
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If I were a comedian, I'd incorporate myself so I could become a laughingstock.

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That was ironic and a wonderful experience for you. I was in Longwood Gardens (one of the main Dupont homes) once and kept telling the people I was with, "This was someone's home," they did not get it, so I understand where you are coming from.

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I had the same conversation in the engine room of a Liberty ship in San Francisco. The veteran crew had no idea what I was talking about. "Sleepy steam". They thought I was nuts. oh well, not movie watchers, I guess.

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I had the same conversation in the engine room of a Liberty ship in San Francisco. - johnlapin59

Would that have happened to be the Jeremiah O'Brien moored at Fisherman's Wharf? Years ago, we were in the area and only had time to tour either the O'Brien or the submarine Pampanito, which was moored just ahead of it. I couldn't pass up the chance to tour a World War Two-era submarine, so the Pampanito it was. I did look back with longing at the O'Brien as we walked away.

I'm also fascinated by the "ghost fleet," the Reserve Fleet moored at Suisun Bay. All those deserted ships all moored together had such an eerie feel to it; it seemed huge when I was a kid in the 1970s--I always stared hard at them whenever we drove over the bridge--but I understand that there are only a few ships left. In fact, the battleship Iowa used to be moored there, but it has been moved to the Port of Los Angeles, and I got to tour her on the same day as I toured the Lane Victory. Unfortunately, because of the high traffic of the festival I was attending, the tour was restricted from its usual length and we could only tour the deck and one level of the superstructure. That was disappointing.
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"Build high for happiness." - Red Kangs. Red Kangs are the best Kangs.

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