#91—Blog Update(s) and… a “New” Book

Andy Adkins
USS Ronald Reagan (2009) E-2 Hawkeye on Cat 2

Trivia Questions (Answers @ end)

  1. Who said, “If you only walk on sunny days you’ll never reach your destination.”?
  2. In what movie (and who said it) did we hear, “I love waking up in the morning not knowing what’s gonna happen or who I’m gonna meet, where I’m gonna wind up.”?
  3. In what song (and who sang it) did we hear:
    Oh I’m beginning to think that man has never found
    The words that could make you want me
    That have the right amount of letters, just the right sound
    That could make you hear, make you see
    That you are drivin’ me out of my mind

Thanks to those who commented on my previous blog, #90—Are We There Yet? Several comments were spot on and reminded me of things I’d forgotten. Here’s a few more shared “memories:”

  • Going to a new place was my favorite thing in the Navy. As Led Zeppelin would say, “we drive our ships to new lands…”
  • A high school buddy of mine asked me once, “As a sailor, did you have a girl in every port?” I replied to him, “Of course not, I haven’t hit ‘every’ port as of yet.”
  • I’ve seen places and done things I would never have done if I hadn’t joined the Navy.
  • That is what I use to tell all of the young sailors. Go out and sight see, visit local attractions. You can see bars and dives back home. These memories will stay with you a lifetime.
  • Life can take away a lot of things, but it will never take your memories.
  • I made 3 Mediterranean Cruises on the Rosie (FDR). Loved all the ports that we went to.
  • A very dangerous place to be during launching and recovering aircraft! Loved that flight deck!
  • I remember Lt Leone as one of my regular “Triple Nuts” pilots. He was always ready to rack up some hours.
  • Great read. I remember my Westpac ’75 very well. It was my first. I reported to the USS Davidson (FF-1045) for an 8-month deployment. I was not ready for the deployment to end.
  • Remember being in port for 4 days and couldn’t wait to be back at sea, Hungover and broke, enjoyed my time in the Navy.

I began writing A Veteran’s Journey blog in November 2019, before the pandemic—geez, that seems like such a long time ago.

Once a week, I reach back into those long ago cherished memories to share some of my own experiences, primarily from the Navy, but several since I left the service in 1977, and a few from my father, who served during WWII in Europe.

Like many veterans, after leaving the Navy, I found that the Navy never left me. The experiences I gained during my short 4 years stayed with me: both the good and what some may consider the “not-so-good.”

But here we are.

I’m sure I’m not the only one with these types of experiences. One of the many rewards of creating and writing a blog is that there are many who respond via social media about their own experiences during their time in the Navy. I also know that several other shipmates “reconnected” with each other after reading & commenting on a specific post.

To witness this continued comradery… the continued stories… the continued sharing… To me, that’s one benefit of social media.

This is Blog #91… wow. I never thought. And over the almost two years I’ve been blogging, not only have I grown (older & wiser, so to speak), but so has the blog and the website.

Blog Site Updates

There are a couple of updates I’d like to share with you.

A Veteran’s Journey
List of Blogs (w/ Audio)
(Click to enlarge)

First, I created an audio recording of most all the blog posts; I typically put these at the beginning of the blog for those who’d rather listen than read. I’ve been doing this for a while.

Second, I created a list of the blogs I’ve written in a simple table format, with a link to both the blog post and the audio recording. I hope these simple changes will make it easier to “find” a specific post. There’s also a search engine on the blog site as well as hashtags and… a “word cloud.”

I always thought Word Clouds were geeky, but as I’ve grown my blog site, I realize it is really just another “search engine” that provides a way to see which posts have the most popular hashtags.

Yeah, kinda geeky, but it works. The link to the Blog List is on the right side column, about half-way down.

A “New” Book

I’ve written a half dozen books; two, I self-published:

NEVER FORGET Book Cover with "New" Label

Since I’ve been the route of self-publishing (which is quite easy and very inexpensive, I might add), AND since I write a weekly blog, I thought, “Why not publish a book with my blogs?”

A Veterans Journey, Volume 1
A Veteran’s Journey, Vol 1 (Click to enlarge)

I know you can read them for free on the website, or download/print them one by one, or listen to the audio portion. But if it was just as easy to convert to a paperback book or eBook format, why not? Right?

Anyway, “A Veteran’s Journey, Volume 1,” a Collection of Short Stories is basically a book with blogs #1 through #50. It’s hard to believe that’s almost a year’s worth of blogs, but it just worked out that way. If you’re interested, it’s available on Amazon as both print and Kindle versions. Here’s a link to more info.

Someone once asked me, “What are your favorite blog posts?” I have them listed on the site, but here’s my favorites:

And since this post is Blog #91, I’ve also begun to work on A Veteran’s Journey Volume 2, which should be out by the Fall.

I mean, why not? Right?

… Another Book

And if that wasn’t enough, I’m working on another novel. It is totally different from my previous books, but there will be a “hint” of military and a lot of technology—two of my all-time favorite subjects. It’s basically a high-tech thriller involving virtual reality, “soon-to-be” technologies, gaming, espionage, and an intriguing compliment of characters.

They say, “Write what you know,” so, I know a plethora of intriguing characters. You know, like many of us Navy veterans…

I’m currently in the research and idea development phase now, which, to me, is the most fun. It’ll be a while before I’m ready to publish, but this is my current book project.

And the “working” title of my new book?

“Until We Meet Again”

Here’s the “teaser:” They set out to revolutionize the gaming industry… the military had other ideas.

Until we meet again,
Andy

Answers

  1. Pablo Coelho.
  2. Titanic (1997), Jack Dawson (Leonardo DiCaprio).
  3. Cherish (1966), The Association; written by Terry Kirkman.