First, I must catch up on some of the improvements to date; the S&G radar dish, at the top of the foremast, is now ROTATING! Thanks to the efforts of super-machinist Wesley Grace, a new gear was manufactured & electric motor replaced.

We have exorcised the gremlins from the ship's public address system (modern) and have added a scrounged Dell computer into the system. Now it plays, automated, ship's bells & whistles (at appropriate times), general announcements, period music & radio shows, etc.

The sound-powered phones are now operating in the aircastles. It is possible to communicate between the fore & aft of the 'castle, and to communicate between the port & starboard 'castles. These will be benificial during "living history" recreations.

One of the 5-inch ammo hoists has been freed from years of rust & corrosion. (On the port side, it supplies one of the 5-inch guns) We have a qualified electrician in our FTV ranks now, and he will be helping out in replacing the almost 9O-year-old Deihl electric motor, as soon as the details are worked out; amperage draw, RPMs. etc. As of now (when we remove some links from a stretched chain) it will move in the manual mode.

I have accepted the task of polishing and maintaining the brass in the pilothouse. Strange: when I was in the Army, shing brass was considered a punishment. Now I ride five miles, through headwinds, to polish it for free, with pride.

Unfortunately, I was met with disappointing results- the product we use is called "Never-Dull". Whoever convinced anyone this product was as good (or better) than genuine Brasso shoulda been a lawyer! The stuff I was using was old, and had no effect. The ship's wheel (not the original, but an excellent recreation; again, by machinist Wesley Grace) has a problem; it is suffering some corrosion. You see, the wheel gets touchedd by dozens of people during an event. Afterwards, the pilothouse is locked up from the general public. This is when it tarnishes. It is after the event that care & maintenance should be employed, and that is what I plan to do.

Really cool to be getting reports and updates on the USS Texas BB~35 again!

I also forgot to mention; while working in the pilothouse, an elderly man & woman poked their heads in the door and asked if it was okay to enter. I told them sure, as long as I was here. (normally this section is closed to the general public, but if we're doing some type of light work, we will let in those lucky enough to be there that day ) I gave them the quick fact rundown, and some Q&A. I noticed a brogue accent, and asked from where did they hail? They answered "Scotland". Another country for the list.

Yes, it was the anniversary of the Alamo, and I was in the pilothouse shining brass, with Z*Z*Top on the portable CD player & speakers, while wearing a steel pot (helmet) with the letters "CAPT" on the front, and dogging junior high school kids! Captain Spike: large & in charge! I would say it was a good day.

Today we also had a FTV membership drive, which met with disappointing results. The Houston Chronicle was supposed to run an ad for us, but since we're a non-profit organization, we can't pay regular rates. So if they end up with ad space, they help us out. Well, there was no help from them this week. Why does this not suprise me?

The FTV is also taking into consideration becoming a 5O1C3 organization, which would legally allow our group to accept donations and raise funds for the ship and for the FTV. However, it would require (among other things) tighter record-keeping, hiring an accountant, and the possibility of members' dues & standard uniforms. The last two are the main reasons I don't want this to happen. First of all, although it would be nice to have a little extra money, fund-raising/handling is not our primary function. We are workers, not financiers, and I think this would eventually start to take a lot from the working aspect. Second, if they require uniforms, a dress code can't be far behind. That means no one with an "unkept look", such as could be said about yours truly (see me after a wind storm). I also feel that, after they get the "long-hairs", it's the people who are considered overweight and/or wear beards who will be next. And for volunteers to pay dues- don't get me started. That will kill our group.

But, onward with some good news! The Houston Amateur Radio club is asking for a more permanent station onboard the USS Texas. They would like to set up in the GSK (storekeeper's) room, on second deck. In return, they will repair some of the radios we have onboard. They have already brought two back into good working condition. We are trying to hurry this project along, as there will be an event in July, where all the floating museum ships across the nation will communicate on a HAM radio net. As soon as I can, I will find out what freq's they will be transmitting, and post them here. Should be really kewl!

USS Texas

Went to the ship again today, to test the mineral spirits on the ship's wheel. I am happy to report positive results, as I was able to take a test area down to gleaming bright yellow brass. There is still much work to go, but it's a promising start.

Another fun-filled day aboard ship, up in the pilothouse, 58 feet above the waterline. A great view, if it's not foggy. It was today, however, I think the ship looks kewl in the haze (fog, not pollution. sometimes it's hard to tell the difference).

Making good progress on the ship's wheel. The coating that was applied is called Incralaq- it's a maritime laquer. At one time, the wheel (and all other pilothouse brass) was shined up nicely and coated with this stuff to protect it. Well, it hasn't worked, as some of the hand ring is as brown as an old penny. This is what I have to strip off to get to the brass. But with some mineral spirits and AAAA-grade steel wool (it's like cotton candy) it's turning into blonde brass like a Beverly Hills debutante.

I've worked-over almost half of the hand ring, and have gotten many compliments from tourists poking their heads through the open door. Recent high traffic (spring break) has required me to string some yellow caution tape across the door. You wouldn't believe how much privacy some simple yellow strips of plastic can offer.

To see the ship's wheel, and machinist volunteer Wesley Grace (who fabricated the wheel), go to www.usstexasbb35.com/texasbridge1006wesley2small.jpg This is on Dennis' 'site- www.usstexasbb35.com

And some personal news: I am now a full-fleged member. Today, restoration chief Dennis Mitchell gave me copies of the volunteers' keys to the ship! Now I can get into the pilothouse, 3rd deck, storerooms, breakroom, etc. without having to chase down a ship's worker. It's sort of like- when you get a hat, your nametag, and the keys, you're in.

nightvoice, she has B&W boilers, those were popular in the US Navy at the time. When commisioned, she had 14 coal-fired boilers in 4 boiler rooms. This made her useful in patrols in WWI, as England's Navy was still running on coal. In BB-35's 1925 refit, they replaced them with 6 oil-fired burners, and converted the 4 boiler rooms into three rooms.

(edited to remove some shit...It's getting pretty deep, Shootzoo. The Fantastic Forum is not your personal playground. In fact, you have continued to cross over the line. It's your call. Your choice. Final warning.)

So,this results in me having to redo most of the handring, and that usually take 3O-45 minutes. A big chunk of time, considering my average time spent is two to three hours per visit. But I am going back tomorrow, and I will do something, even if it means covering the wheel with yellow caution tape.

Saturday, there was a problem onboard the ship, and your moderatore pirate brassman had to come to the rescue of a tourist in distress!! What happened you may ask? Heat stroke? Fall injury? Birthin' babies? Well, not really- here's what happened...

While I was standing at the 'house map table, cutting another patch of AAAA steel wool, I heard a woman outside say, "I'm stuck!" I went to the starboard hatch doorway and looked out. She was at the top step on the starboard side ladder leading down. At first, I thought her hand/pursestrap/jacket sleeve was jammed on the handrail, but it was her left boot. The block heel was jammed between the rear ofthe step and the splash cowling. She slipped her foot out of the boot and I managed to work it over to a dent, and pull it out. As I handed it back to her, I asked if she was Cinderella.

Wouldn't that be kewl? Show up at this guy's house. "Did you touch the steering wheel aboard the USS Texas on Sunday April 7th, sir?" "whaaa-ah-a-a??"

There is now a sign on the wheel, as well as a loose wreath of caution tape. They should get the message.

Now two spokes are done, and some of the hub. Also, I found a date stamped on the back of the hub. "7-21-2OOO". Not even two years.

Standinf on the foremast, you could see them wash over the ship like a wave; they started at the gangway, went forward to the bow, up the formast, and then back down to slowly filter back down the gangway. I am really beginning to hate these little outings from our local public houses of lower learning. I call it "recessitosis". School field trips are not a learning experience for the kids. They are treated like all-day recess periods, and the USS Texas is seen as a mega-jungle gym in a playground. After all, she's a battleship: fought wars, armor plated, tough as nails, right? The teachers, counselors, and school administrators think the same way; they make no effort to teach the kids that she is, technically, no longer a battleship- a battleship would be ready to go at a moment's notice. BB-35 is now a floating museum. If you follow the same class over to the monument (another museum, only indoors), you notice a change- they are no longer rowdy, loud, boisterous and rude (well, some of them are still rude). Also, I've never heard a teacher say anything like, "remember what we discussed last week in class?"

The main problem is they run amok, and they do damage. Today I found a brass post sleeve which had been pulled at the seam, a sight cage broken off a 4Omm gun, ropes uncoiled & strung about the deck, fire hoses off their racks, and a powder hatch where opening had been attempted. It wouldn't suprise me if they opened the glass cases, in the wardroom, and took the +$2 million in silver service out to the parking lot to serve sack lunches!

It's just sad, really.....

Didn't get to work on the wheel today, as I had to stand fire watch for Lonnie (ship's worker) while he cut a 2-inch-thick plate of armor in the GSK office (general store keeper), which is being restored for the Houston Amateur Radio club to occupy. Fire watch is very important: a hand can't see around him while wearing a hood or goggles, and flying sparks can do weird things. Last year, a channel tugboat caught fire because a welder, working on deck, had no fire watch.

Can the association spring for a few "nautical-looking" velvet ropes and a way to put them across the doorway?

When a school first contacts the association to make the arrangements, send the teachers a "lesson plan packet for a civics or history class period. (If they don't have to call ahead, make it a new "group tour" policy and make sure there is a maximum head count given.) If you folks don't have something done up, I volunteer!

When the "wee beasties arrive", usher them into a kid=proof" space large enough for the whole group (reason for the head count). Divide the group into smaller groups and send the smaller groups out, escorted with an association member, tp start in different parts of the ship for a tour of each "station of interest." See if you can get someone to do a something like a light and sound show for each station. Have it going when a tour group comes up to the station; let the wee ones listen to a cycle of it, and then have the guide go into the special about the space. Make the space live: tell stories about the people who served there. Coordinate the stories with the information each teacher received in the "lesson plan" that was furnished. If you need help to come up with a "USS Texas Group Tour Plan and Protocol Manual", let me know.

The National Park Service's does these types of things now for historic building. Used to be you could wander at will though Independence Hall and had the luxury of stopping and contemplating the space. Now, it's a cattle chute. But the relic is better protected.

Bored kids are deadly; they'll do anything to make something interesting. The trick is to that in the first place.

(OK, OK. I know that wasn't like we were when we had to trudge 2 miles a day, sometimes through squalls and snow storms, to get to school. And would never think to duck the end of a braid in an ink well or have spitball practice while Teach was doing their thing. But hey, these kids grew up on Star Trek versions 3, 4, 5, and 6, blasters, play stations, and instant-on everything. Just think of them all as "indigo kids", strange lil' cusses.