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Interesting past few days. Won't go into details here.

Last week Betty and I went to downtown Louisville (and you know how I don’t like downtown) to see the Titanic exhibit. We found a parking place in front of the Frasier Intl. History Museum (luck was with me). We entered the Frazier and told the receptionist that we were here to see the Titanic exhibit. She said that we were in the wrong place, the Titanic was at the Science center one block over. But she did mention that they had the WWII '48 local stories that changed the world' exhibit and it was dollar day. We elected to see the WWII exhibit and see the Titanic exhibit later in the day.

The WWII exhibit was fascinating, personal stories from veterans and other locals that lived thru that era. I recognized some of the contributors and learned more about local involvement in WWII, uniforms, memorabilia and personal effects. Even the dreaded telegrams that many families received. It was time well spent.

Then we walked to the Science Museum to see the Titanic exhibit, a bit pricey but also interesting. Upon entering, our 'ticket' was a replica of a Titanic boarding pass with the name of a passenger on the back with a brief bio of that person. This gives a personal touch to the artifacts, mostly glassware and pots and pans and other items picked up from the ocean floor each with a brief description and story. There were also some personal items traceable to actual passengers. At the end of the tour there was a big wall chart with the first, second and third class passengers listed, separated by 'saved' and 'lost'. We looked up our passenger to see if they were saved or lost. Betty's passenger was rescued but mine didn’t make it. Most that were lost died from hypothermia from the very cold water and didn’t drown.

I saw in the CJ that they are unpacking the King Tut exhibit. As I read the text I got the impression that the exhibits are repos and not the actual items. Makes sense as the actual items are 'priceless' and too pricey to just truck around the country. The exhibit was recently in Indianapolis but I couldn’t find an excuse to make the trip.

The cabriolet is coming along as is the '51 motor. Finding parts for the early cars is a real adventure.

My immediate goal is to finish 'in house' projects. While on 'house arrest' I am going thru the file cabinets and discarding old files. I don’t think anyone cares about 1991 Pacesetter mailing records… I have a personal policy that works for me. There are some print columnists and TV pundits that I don’t bother to read or watch. I don’t like their viewpoints and since I don’t want to be offended I just turn the page or change the channel.

A friend said that “alcohol, tobacco and firearms should be a convenience store, not a government agency”. …and my final thought for the month… "Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming----WOW---what a ride" My sentiments exactly :-)

Recently I saw in the CJ that many of the armor exhibits will be leaving the Patton Museum forever. If you have never made the short drive to Ft. Knox, I suggest you do so very soon.

'We' are losing the Patton Armor exhibits because of the base realignment and the Armor School is going south. The new mission at Knox is to be for permanent parties not basic training and advanced Armor training. The justification makes sense (sadly) because permanent folks will buy and rent houses, buy cars and be a plus for the local E'town economy. Basic trainees don’t spend money on local economy. All they get is an occasional weekend pass.

I spent two tours at Knox, first in basic training, and after I returned from Korea, I was assigned to the Armor School as an instructor. This was well before the new Patton Museum building and the Patton and its exhibits were stored in an old warehouse across from Gaffey Hall where I worked. I became friends with the PFC that watched the door at the Patton and would take my brown bag lunch and have lunch there. We 'discovered' that General Patton's field office was a great place for lunch. I've sat in General Patton's chair with my feet on his desk! Occasionally I would take the afternoon off and tour the old German tanks that were stored there. Many were not on display and were pretty much 'as received' from the battlefield.

As I understand it, the Patton Museum will remain but as a museum to the memory of General Patton. The static armor displays scattered around the base will probably remain.

Ken Daugherty