Torpedo Away

Control Room

Forward Torpedo Room

U-505

The jet stream has a giant bend in it reminiscent of the shape of a uvula. On the western side of this sharp loop the northern jet stream dives down towards the gulf, bringing with it cold Canadian air. Kansas City had snow yesterday. On the eastern side of this bent jet stream, warm moist air from the gulf is sucked northward; up the Mississippi Valley and so it is raining in Saint Louis. It began raining yesterday and is supposed to continue raining through this weekend. Last weekend was a rain-out and next weekend is forecasted to be rained out too. The plumber never made it this week to install our new basement sub-pump, so with all of this rain, a river runs through it. All of this rain means another weekend without bicycling. If the ten-day forecast holds that will make three weekends in a row that were too wet to ride.

I’m beginning to feel a little bit trapped and cornered now, which by way of a segue brings us to the photos with this post. They show portions of the exterior and interior of U-505, a WW II German U-boat that was captured intact and eventually found its way to the Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago. How it got there is a story in of itself and a likely future blog post. Originally, it was an outside display; now it is encased in its own dry-dock like building, a much better venue.

Submarine movies are a genre of their own. Even with classics like, Das Boot, Run Silent, Run Deep and the Enemy Below, leading the pack, there are some stereotypical themes. At the beginning, there is always a newbie that has to be shown the ropes by a senior hand, sort of a father and son relationship. If eventually, the newbie dies, after an act of valor, so much the better. First the hunter, then the hunted, submarine movies always go from the haunting echoes of a sonar ping to punishing depth charge explosion scene. Somehow though, the protagonist’s sub always manages to survive. It is in the endings of this genre that the truly great distinguish themselves from the also ran’s. A great submarine movie requires a sacrifice and a newbie will not suffice. Captains die in Das Boot and Run Silent, Run Deep, while ships are lost in Enemy Below.

If not under the crushing depths of the ocean, I might as well live in Seattle, what with all of the rain that we are getting. It is just not fair. The weather is nice enough while I’m at work. I see how nice it is when I can eventually find a window. Why can’t it be nice on the weekend? I would cry, except that would just add more falling water.