U.S. Military (almost) Nukes North Carolina

located at the intersection of HWY 222 and N Church Street

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note: My wife, who is Japanese, make the comment that Karma is a bitch.

A U.S. hydrogen bomb nearly detonated on the nation's east coast, with a single switch averting a blast which would have been 260 times more powerful than the device that flattened Hiroshima, a newly published book says.

Eureka, North Carolina

In a recently declassified document, reported in a new book by Eric Schlosser, the supervisor of the nuclear weapons safety department at Sandia national laboratories said that one simple, vulnerable switch prevented nuclear catastrophe.

The Guardian newspaper published the document on Saturday.

Two hydrogen bombs were accidentally dropped over Goldsboro on Jan. 24, 1961, after a B-52 bomber broke up in flight. One of the bombs apparently acted as if it was being armed and fired — its parachute opened and trigger mechanisms engaged.

Parker F. Jones at the Sandia National Laboratories analyzed the accident in a document headed "How I learned to mistrust the H-Bomb."

"The MK39 Mod 2 bomb did not possess adequate safety for the airborne-alert role in the B-52," he wrote. When the B-52 disintegrates in the air it is likely to release the bombs in "a near normal fashion," he wrote, calling the safety mechanisms to prevent accidental arming "not complex enough."

The document said the bomb had four safety mechanisms, one of which is not effective in the air. When the aircraft broke up, two others were rendered ineffective.

"What prevented the detonation was one switch, one safety switch, and a fair amount of good luck, because that safety switch was later found, in some cases. to be defective," Schlosser told CBS News.

He discovered the document, written in 1969, through the Freedom of Information Act.

It is featured in his new book on nuclear arms, "Command and Control," which reports that through FOI he discovered that at least 700 "significant" accidents and incidents involving 1,250 nuclear weapons were recorded between 1950 and 1968.

Hurricane Floyd vs Terilyn Joe

As Hurricane Floyd was moving through North Carolina in 1999 I had just recently returned from Okinawa to America, eventually finding a place in Hayward, California. My wife who was pregnant was still staying in Okinawa with her family. She was going through a difficult pregnancy. But that’s another story. As I was working and helping out a friend of mine with his fishing business I made it a point to keep an update of Hurricane Floyd as it was moving closer to my home state of North Carolina.

One day I was at a church house in Berkeley as many people were there with me as we camped out in front of the TV watching images of the hurricane moving across the state. At times I would tell my own personnel stories. One story of me being on a fishing pier in Surf City just after a hurricane passed and just before the pier collapsed into the water.  But that’s another story. As we were watching live news coverage from WRAL TV show on the local TV station as Greg Fishel led the updates of the storms track.

Periodically the local news people would offer their input but only the weatherman, Peter Giddings, was the only one with any knowledge of what was really happening. The newscasters would make comments of support but within that same breath of air they would smile and talk about how great the weather is in the Bay Area. Crocodile tears are about all they were offering. But as the hurricane moved away and helicopter news crews started flying over the damaged areas, news coverage in the San Francisco area changed to showing cities, towns and entire half of North Carolina area underwater. People were trapped on roof tops as many homes were destroyed as the local broadcasters showed nothing but dead pigs floating on water.

As images of dead pigs covered the local news reports, those who knew me understood why I loved pork products so much. North Carolina is after all #1 in pork in the world. Okinawa, according to my Okinawan wife, is in 2^nd place. There was a newscaster who really pushed my buttons, so to speak, to the point I lost it that day. And being in a house full of religious people including a Pastor of a church led to a very colorful exchange I was having with the TV set. Even today I could see why Elvis Presley shot his TV set.

The newscaster is Terilyn Joe. If you watch the movie, George of the Jungle, she’s the newscaster on TV as George is rescuing the sky diver from the bridge. Back then she was about the only person I would hit with a rolled up newspaper. I mellowed out later on in life but on that day she was number one on my hit list. Apparently she must never have seen or have been educated on what a hurricane is or does. Maybe she thought it was a big rain storm with a breeze. And as the typical newscaster that inspired Don Henley to record the song ‘Dirty Laundry’,  she lived up to that song every time she opened her mouth.

They keep showing dead pigs on TV, people losing everything, half the state is underwater and  I can’t reach my family due to wide spread power outages and she is smiling away like she’s was playing with baby puppies, talking about the worst being over. At that moment I lost it. All this fake personality of caring was followed by me rifling of a few obscenities. I remember those words very clearly as with the expression of the Pastors face. It should be noted that more people die after a hurricane passes.

After I calmed down I did apologize. The people who were with me that day knew the seriousness of hurricanes and how I was concerned about my family and friends. A few were amazed by the combination of words I used as with the frequency and repetitive of them. Maybe when reporting on an earthquake Terilyn Joe might have a better understanding the seriousness of the situation. But on that day to me, she was the most stupidest person I have ever witness trying to pass herself off as a mammal. Mind you I am leaving off many cuss words that I originally had said it that statement but to this day I have no regrets saying them.

Four Oaks, NC

Everybody has their favorite place to shop at. Wealth people may shop at places that sell expensive items while people on a budget will look for sales and specials. But the majority of people will always do their business at a store where they feel welcomed and the people are friendly and the area is safe. There is this one store in Four Oaks, North Carolina where I always look forward to working in.

This was one of the last few stores that use to have an ash tray bucket at the end of every shopping isle. Where the Store Manager, who is in his 50’s, walks around dressed like a farmer. The whole store has no dress code because everyone who shops there are on first name bases with the employee’s. The building is very old and has at least three different floor patters so as the place is located next to a rail road track, whenever a train goes by, everyone in the store can hear it.

The one thing I really admire about this store is that the people who work and shop here are really nice. Everyone who goes inside this store talks to one another. I was in this store Sunday morning for over an hour and I had four conversations with four different people. It’s hard to have a lot of stress when you’re in this store.