[Milsurplus] Book mini-review: Highways in the Sky by Maj. Louis Shores

[Hubert Miller]

Don't recall if I posted this before, but on the subject of wire theft, I was reading some old mag, maybe "Wireless Age" from the teens, I mean 19-teens, and there was an article on
the construction of Navy radio NAA. The constructors had x ( i.e. many ) miles of copper wire being buried for the ground system. In addition, HV power lines were being built to the
station, but not yet energized. It seemed a lot of the wire was regularly disappearing, collected by locals of the underclass. ( That's what the article said. ) The Navy finally responded
with armed guards who were authorized to shoot thieves. The message was understood in pretty short order. Times were different.

I was coming to the Albany C.O. late one night and driving into the unsecured parking lot when someone on a bike passed me in the outgoing direction. >From the fleeting look i got
as we passed, it looked to me like some traditional Okinawan farmer in one of those long grass garments, looking almost like a bush with a head. In a few moments I realized that the
guy must have harvested wire from out outside scrap bin and looped as much wire over his body has he could carry and still bicycle.
I also recall around maybe 2005 when a section of Eugene Oregon had a phone system outage after thieves took down a long section of copper from poles along a highway. How do
people do this and no one sees them ? It took more than a day to restore service.

I often do a beach walk here in Newport in the area of Don Davis Viet Nam Memorial Park. The walkway down from the park level to the beach has walkway guarded by a post and
chain fence. I noticed a few months back that the lower section of chain, I mean pretty good sized heavy chain, no home use, and this section out of sight from the park and roads
above, this section's chain had disappeared. I take it that the hungry metal recyclers had added this poundage to their daily haul, for a few bucks worth.

Bob Dylan: "Jump down the manhole / Light yourself a candle / The pump don't work/ 'Cause the vandals took the handles". I'd recommend shoot 'em on sight.
-Hue


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