Musings and Story Time
Last updated: 6/27/97

From B, friend of Boa:

From Wheel Chock: From Sassy Red: From Mig Eater:


The Story Behind Wheel Chock's Handle

So you want the story behind the handle <chuckle> I can laugh now, but it was a painful experience, and I was lucky.

For those of you who don't know, I was in the New York Army National Guard for 8 years with the 1st Battalion, 209th Field Artillery (8 inch, self-propelled) formerly based in Rochester, NY. Alas, they are no more. Budget cuts, jerks in Albany (our capitol) and NYC forced a re-org that combined the 209th with the 258 out of NYC, and that's why I got out. Our big guns were replaced with towed 105mm cannon <sigh>

At any rate, to the story. It was the summer of 1988. We were just finishing up the "field" portion of our two week training. I was literally the last one out of the field and pulled into the motor park (our temporary maintenance point) to check on vehicle status and make sure all my folks had eaten. It was already getting dark, and the place was deserted. So I was looking for the sentries.

The two sentries were sitting in the cab of a 2 1/2 ton truck. I pulled my jeep up perpendicular to the truck, about 10 yards away, on a slight slope. The sentry on the driver side started to get out, but his Gas mask got hung up on the emergency brake handle, which released, and the truck started to roll. I jumped out of my jeep, dashed over and yanked on the parking brake before the truck rolled too far. <phew> I thought.

Then I notice a light coming at me from behind. Just as I turned around, my own jeep rolled into me and pinned me against the running board of the truck. In my haste to stop the truck, I FORGOT TO SET MY OWN PARKING BRAKE! The bumper on the jeep had my knee against the running board on the truck.

Since I was at the driver's door, he couldn't do anything, so the sentry on the other side jumped out and tried to back the jeep up. Too bad he wasn't qualified to drive a standard. He put it in 1st gear. OUCH! "The other way! The other way! Put it in REVERSE!" I yelled. <shaking head> "All the way right and back towards you" he got it backed up then.

Can't remember how I got over to the "Doc", but he was just cooking a steak dinner for his crew (now THIS guy knew how to live). The "Doc" had a great bedside manner (I have a few stories about him). For the pain, he gave me a shot of whiskey (no kidding). He gently probed the knee, asked if I could walk on it (I said yes) and he said I would be fine, no serious damage that he could see. If it was bothering me too much tomorrow, he'd send me to the base hospital for x-rays.

The next day I met with my "staff" and after everyone made sure I was okay, the jokes started flying. My Supply Sergeant, Sgt James Snyder, gets the credit with coming out with "Hey CPT Wheel Chock, stop any trucks lately?" And I have stuck with that as a handle since.

The knee is fine. Acts up when the weather changes, but doesn't cripple me, just aches.

So, now you know, the REST of the story <g>

©1997 Eric Karl Heuschneider aka "Wheel Chock"



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The Story Behind MiG Eater's Handle
Back about 10 years ago (Nov '87), I was working for a Flight Simulator manufacturer on college co-op.  They were full size multi-engine recip or turbo flight training device/flight simulators housed in aircraft nose enclosures.  One day I found this great new desktop flight sim (a real breakthrough at the time) called Falcon from Spectrum Holobyte.  We ran it through the flight sim computers then onto a spare monochrome screen.  At 12 mHz, these things cooked! 
(screen shot:  Falcon screen with MiG-21 in the HUD with a perfect heater lock-on) 
My boss and myself were hooked.  Before work, during work, during lunch, and after work, we'd be dogfighting hordes of Commie MiG-21's.  Even did a null modem hookup between two machines once with a bunch of head to head dogfights.  I won 6 out of  7 engagements.  I also got fired six times that day <ggg>.  The next morning I found this on my bench and as you guessed, the name stuck! 
 ©1997 John Clark aka "Mig Eater"