Alice's Last Days in the Navy - May 2007

Barry and Alice at retirement ceremony.
Read on.......


Alice is cutting the cake at Capt Omer's retirement celebration. I have the picture sequence way of out order. The main idea of this group of pictures is to show Alice's last days on active duty and to introduce Capt Omer. Capt Omer was Alice's boss while serving on active duty. Alice is pictured with her in the last picture of this section. It should have been the first. With this blog you have to post last first, etc. Oh well, the pictures are all here and all were taken at Capt Omer's ceremony. Capt Omer is a very gractious Lady who gave 30 years of her life to the service of Our Country and the United States Navy.

This is Alice standing at attention in from of Capt Omer's retirement cake. As I said, I have the sequence of these pics a little out of sequence.

Alice with the Director of Navy Nursing, Admiral Bruzek-Kohler. The Admiral is also in the next picture. It is difficult for me to get the pictures in sequence when posting on this Blog.

Here is Alice with LCdr Jack standing at attention at Capt Omer's retirement cake. The Lady standing in the center is Rear Admiral Christine Bruzek-Kohler who is the Director of the Navy Nurse Corps and Chief of Staff, Bureau of Medicine and Surgery.

This is me with Alice and Commander Julia Buck. Julia was sent to Iraq and Alice was called to active duty to fill her position at the Navy Hospital. Julia's husband is a Marine Corps Major who works as a Flight Instructor. They truly are a Naval Services Family.

Picture of Commander Townes at her desk.

I had the pleasure of attending the retirement ceremony of Alice's Navy boss. Captain Laura Omer, NC, USN. A Captain in the Navy is the same as a full-bird Colonel in the other branches of service. Alice frequently spoke to me of Capt Omer and had the utmost respect for her. I met and visited with Capt Omer several times and she is truly an Officer and a Lady. She retires with 30 years of service to our Country and the United States Navy. Fair Seas, Ma'am.

The picture on the left is of Alice and Capt Omer. The one on the right is Alice outside her office at the Naval Hospital, Naval Air Station, Corpus Christi, Texas.

Our Place Ranch - Rockport, Texas

We have sold the BridgeView lease lot at Lake Fork in East Texas and have bought a deeded lot on the Lamar Peninsula in Rockport, Texas. The lot measures 35' by 145' and has become our one-quarter acre Ranch. We call it "Our Place Ranch".

First of all, the land comes complete with an alligator that frequently suns himself (herself) on our Ranch. I can't tell you how excited I was when I saw this gator sunning right on the property. Alice is a little concerned about Kamper. Perhaps they can become playmates. The Ranch is bordered by a small lake at the rear and the left side, as you stand at the road and face it.

We have added RV hookups that include electricity, water and sewer. Before we left the area, we also had a 23' by 50' concrete pad poured. We plan on adding a cover over the entire pad and landscaping when we return late this year, 2007.

The area is also referred to as Lamar and the residents refer to themselves as LaMartians and also celebrate LaMardisGras each year at the Volunteer Fire Station. We are excited about spending some winters in Rockport, Texas, a place we really enjoy. Our Ranch is about 3 miles from the Bay and a family of four Whooping Cranes spend the winter within 2 miles. Four miles away is Goose Island State Park that is a beautiful park on the San Antonio Bay and is a virtual fisherman's paradise. The fishing is great!

The Birding in the Corpus Christi and Rockport area is excellent. Alice and I have become quite the Birding enthusiasts. It is pretty exciting to find a new bird. Sounds weired, I know, but it is a great outdoor past-time and requires little investment to get started. The Rio Grande Valley is about 3 hour South and is a Birder's haven. We visited there in April, 2007 and had a great time. I call Alice, Jane Hathaway, of the Beverly Hillbillies fame.