In the Navy!

[Ed: this is the post Nora left for me to post. I don't know if it will list me or her as the author. She actually wrote the content. I merely copy-edited.]

Colin got a totally sweet gift from his dad last week.

It is a hat (as you can see) which is a good thing, since Colin somehow lost his Sox hat in the move to New Orleans. However, the neat thing about this gift is not so much the hat itself, but rather the fact that the hat has the insignia of the USS McFaul on it. That is right people, not only do the McFauls practically have their own island, but now they have a ship to get to it as well. the SS McFaul is an Arleigh Burke destroyer ship in the US Navy. It is named after Chief Petty Officer Donald L. McFaul, a Navy SEAL and graduate of the Defense Department language institute in Spanish. Officer McFaul died in combat in 1989 during operation 'Just Cause' in Panama. He was posthumously awarded both a purple heart and a Navy Cross. Colin's dad apparently told Colin about this ship sometime ago, but this hat is the first time I had heard of it.

In other navy-related news, we have proof that the military can cook! NPR has been running a series called How Low Can You Go? in which cook submit recipes for a dinner for four persons that costs less than $10. Well, one of the submissions was a skate recipe from a navy chef named Michael Edwards, culinary specialist first class, and 'Armed Forces Chef of the Year'. Edwards is an enlisted aide to Adm. Michael Mullen, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. He cooks for both the Admiral, and his visiting guests. Edwards says that he joined the Navy shortly after Sept. 11, 2001, because a recruiter told him the food in the Navy was better than Army food.