OLDNAVYMCPO
US Veteran, Absent Comrade
When I was a youngster (11 years old), my Dad was in the Army stationed at a Nike Guided Missle Battery protecting Detroit. We lived in the small town (then) of Ferndale. I hung out with some neighborhood thugs playing "cowboys and indians" or "cops and robbers" and other PC incorrect things.
My weekly allowance then was $1.50 which I supplemented by mowing lawns with a push mower in the summer and shoveling snow in winter. Me and my thug buddies saved our coins, not for the Ice Cream Parlor but for the neat junk we could buy at the Army surplus store. We would sneak off from home, walk downtown, and spent hours rummaging through the piles of WWII paraphernalia, helmets, gas masks, cartridge belts, you name it, they had it. The place had a distinct smell, every surplus store I ever went in had that smell, you know what I'm talking about. That musty, canvas, Army preservative smell, like an old squad bay tent. Remember that smell.
Anyway, those old Army Surplus Stores were a treasure trove of neat stuff. Once in a while, the family would take a long road trip to visit my grandparents that lived in Pensacola, FL. Now P-cola has been a Navy town forever, since the days of wooden sailing ships. As you can imagine, they had the world's largest, bestest Army/ Navy store ever. Man, I loved that place. It was a really long walk from my grandparent's home so the only time I got to go was when I could con an adult into driving me there. My Uncle was my usual victim because he was retired Navy and a hoarder of sorts. He collected anything and everything. We would make a trip to the Army/ Navy Store and spend hours digging thru all the neat stuff.
Man, I miss those stores. You don't see them very often anymore and the ones you do see don't have near the stuff that that the old places did.
My weekly allowance then was $1.50 which I supplemented by mowing lawns with a push mower in the summer and shoveling snow in winter. Me and my thug buddies saved our coins, not for the Ice Cream Parlor but for the neat junk we could buy at the Army surplus store. We would sneak off from home, walk downtown, and spent hours rummaging through the piles of WWII paraphernalia, helmets, gas masks, cartridge belts, you name it, they had it. The place had a distinct smell, every surplus store I ever went in had that smell, you know what I'm talking about. That musty, canvas, Army preservative smell, like an old squad bay tent. Remember that smell.
Anyway, those old Army Surplus Stores were a treasure trove of neat stuff. Once in a while, the family would take a long road trip to visit my grandparents that lived in Pensacola, FL. Now P-cola has been a Navy town forever, since the days of wooden sailing ships. As you can imagine, they had the world's largest, bestest Army/ Navy store ever. Man, I loved that place. It was a really long walk from my grandparent's home so the only time I got to go was when I could con an adult into driving me there. My Uncle was my usual victim because he was retired Navy and a hoarder of sorts. He collected anything and everything. We would make a trip to the Army/ Navy Store and spend hours digging thru all the neat stuff.
Man, I miss those stores. You don't see them very often anymore and the ones you do see don't have near the stuff that that the old places did.
