Karmen's Going to Australia
 

Unbeknownst to me, there has been a movement afoot, behind the scenes, to ship Karmen to Oz. It will be her first ever trip anywhere outside North America, and I have to admit I have been reduced to tears by the initiative. She is one of my best friends, our most stalwart supporter, the niece of one our Honoured Fallen... and MOST deserving of this; if you're willing to help funding this please contact Max Hedges. He and I will coordinate accordingly. The timeframe is March 2007, to include Corowa. If you can help out, in terms of cash or accommodations, please do so. Contact Max or me offline.

Gentlemen, she's one of us. This MUST happen. No... rephrase... this WILL happen.

Make it so.

thankyou geoff for talking to carmen so we can make this happen for her. For thiose of you who are not aware a few of us here in australia got together and decided to raise some money to help carmen have a trip to visit some other mluer's, so if anyone else wants to help carmen achieve this please contact either myself or geoff.

Max

For starters, GEOFF, I thank you so much for all you said. You make it very clear that "I belong" in here and am amongst friends. So does everyone else, but not quite like you do as the Grand Master Sunray himself as well as a now best friends for life. My Uncle would be so appreciative ... as am I.

Oh my lord, Max and you other Aussies, and of course Geoff, and ALL of the rest of you sneakily working behind the scenes on this, you all HAD to know you'd make me cry. Which I did. After it slowly sunk in EH WHAT HUH CHOKE YOU'RE KIDDING YOU'RE NOT? OH MY GAWD ... Lotsa emotional outburst here, both ends of the phone I might add! Happy now? :D

When Geoff basically called a while ago and told me he had been requested to let the cat out of the bag now because you-all needed my consent for you-all to carry on with this ... well ....... you people always totally astound me to begin with. THIS TOPS IT ALL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I said YES after a long time of my brain trying to compute this :D Yessss!

I guess Ma Yappy is getting her very first Passport ever, my special Christmas Gift from Geoff and his part in helping to make this all happen. And I know moneys tight and times are hard for many, and that is also one of the astounding things about this whole venture, adventure.

"Hey Uncle Eddie can ya hear this? Can ya believe it? YOU brought me here to meet all of these incredible people and made this happen! Believe me, you'll be carried with me, in my heart and mind, on a trip to Australia and we'll mingle with those insanely crazy-wonderful Aussies together as sure as sheep shearing happens at Maxes ;) " :salute:

Can you not find me an Aussie husband and make my ticket one way? :D No, that wouldn't work. I'd never go so far from my kids and family permamantly. Or would I? :D

You Aussies cooked this up ... you totally blow me away. I may even leave my frying pan home, unless of course I shall need it?

My brain has obviously taken a whacking today ... so you'll all forgive this Ma yappy for sounding a little wacky and all over the place here ...

Max ... I think YOU instigated this whole idea? ... :smoker:

Oh lord ... time out for a Tim Hortons and a cigarette here now :smoker:

Still Stunned Karmen aka Ma Yappy

Karmen, you deserve nothing less than this spontaneous gesture from your friends. Milady, you ARE one of us, and we love you for it.

Gentlemen of MLU, if you can help, please do. It will be appreciated more than you know, a noble, honourable gesture and in keeping with the season.

I thank you.

Frying pan
 

I think you'd better bring it - you never know when one of us will need to be kept in line! Anyway, great to hear your reaction and we're looking forward to seeing your smiling wee bitty self on our warm sunny shores!

Again, Thank You Geoff ;)

And thank you Keefy, I'll have my frying pan if this happens, and if they don't offboard me from the plane for carrying a concealed weapon. One of those nice young uniformed and weaponed soldiers at airports these days, would have to escort me away .... but ... :idea: THAT could be kind of nice though. I Support Our Troops! :D

Currently my neighbors are in a party mood, which tells me the beer has been flowing ... at 7:40 right now its not too bad, but I do hope they don't decide to carry on after 11:00 pm ... and do an allnighter again. Now I know why the neighbor brought me two pieces of cake today. Trying to soften me up for the party noise? :D

I have my :fry: ready just in case I need to use it as a SILENCER!

Ma Yappy ... (still stunned)

Oh hell, just go and join the party... :D ;)

I think I've had quite enough excitement for one day. Add Tim Hortons plus prednisone oomph to a normal surprized adrenalin charge and its really quite interesting and self-sustaining rush effect :eek: :D

They can enjoy :drunk: and singing ... just waiting for Elvis Presley's "Ain't Nothin But A Hounddog" or "Roy Orbison" singing Kahligah through my vents :D

Will be good for you to make the trip my dear. While I doubt I can make it down there to see you while you are here I just know you will have a good time with those Southern Aussies looking after you.

Cheers
Cliff :)

Ma,

Will be great to meet you at Corowa, and I am sure that Salesman Bob will be there too. Infact alot of us from MLU will probably be at Corowa....It's our equivalent to Beltring.

And you can have Tim Tams and Vegemite and all the other cool Aussie stuff.

I can show you all the rest of the pics from my trip to Thailand without feeling guilty about non military related posts.

Looking even more forward to Corowa now.

And can't wait til Geoff or Hanno make the trip too.

Pedr

Pedr, Cliff et al...

I thank you for your comments and support. After several conversations last night on the phone and internet, it has been decided that if I can arrange it, I shall escort Karmen on her Antipodean Adventure. I do declare unabashadly (is that a word? :eek: ) that I have looked forward to this for a LONG time; as yet it's not guaranteed that this shall happen, but I shall try my best to make it so. In the event I am NOT successful, rest assured I will do it another time soon, but I need your assurance that you lot WILL take care of Ma Yappy in my absence... just be careful, she's bringing her frying pan. :)

Cliff, inadvertently I left out a direct comment to you... if she/we get down there, I intend that we shall pay our respects to all four corners of Australia, and Tasmania and New Zealand as well (you didn't really think we'd leave you Outlanders and the Kiwis out of this, did you?).

I can think of nothing better than to have the Grand Master of MLU his-self along on this journey, escorting me along and enjoying meeting you Great MLU and other Aussies in the land of OZ and CMP's and SHEEP and SPIDERS (you'd best bring your own frying pan!) and other adventures. I hope you can make this happen Geoff.

You Aussies have been a HUGE and wonderful DAILY presence and supporters of MLU. It's only fitting that MLU-ers should come visiting you all :)

Today I'm still rather stunned here. I'm amazed at what you people are thinking and doing and although I've babbled on about it all, I may have babbled, but I'm still feeling, "Holy crap. Eh? Wow! I don't know what to say!"

Maybe some more Tim Hortons now ... will set my brain right? :D

Back soon ...

Ma Yappy

Hi Cliff ... can you not put jet-propellers on that wheely chair? :D

I have to pull out my Citation World Atlas today to find the map of Australia and have a looksee to where all of you Aussies are located.

Hmmmmm ... Australia. Only in my dreams? Surprize, NOT, it is appearing. You folks really take the Tim Tams ...

Ma Yappy

OKAY YAPPY... please leave the spiders out of this? Laird tunderin' jaisus, woman, what was ya thinkin'??!! Yer scarin' me. :eek:

COROWA you say ... SAY WHAT????????? Lordy, what a bonus that would be! Have I not only seen that in the movies (Keefy's) or was that elsewhere? :smoker: I really have to pull out my copy of YOTB ... where WAS that filmed again?

It really would be awesome to meet you Pedr. I hope this happens!!!

I'd bring my camera and the disk to hopefully install on someones computer so I could save any photos I take. I don't have all the new fandangled attachments and my camera only holds a few pictures until uploaded to computer.

Ma Yappy

:D I couldn't let that one pass. So sorry Old chap :p

POints
 

Of course you have to start these incentives when I can not be any more strapped! However I do have airmiles, perhaps we could donate airmiles, you are allowed to give them around are you not?
Sean

ps Don't let any Dingos sneak up and bite your ass VD , they do that all the time! They feel like little pinches and they are fast! YOU DON'T EVEN SEE THEM MOST OF THE TIME. Yup, had a couple of Girls I know go to OZ and they were Dingo pinched almost constantly, the Oz fellows they were travelling with were really appologetic about it too!

Karmen, yes, YOTB and YOTC was filmed primarily at Corowa (we'll not get into Max chasing sheep in his carrier). You're going there, with or without me. I know the lads and their lassies will take good care of you. Do us proud, Milady. My cast-iron frying pan will serve to assert your status.

:cheers:

Re: POints
 

Sean, don't sweat it... you have a fine young laddie to see to, which you do and will.

Are Airmiles transferable? I have no bloody idea. Do us a favour, mate and find out.

Now, can we remove bugs and rodents from this discourse? I mean, if I'm not to be allowed to shoot them (preferably with either blast or automatic weapons), what the hell use is this reference.

The Pixie Witch is NOT sorry, I know better. Take that, Mary Queen o' Scots... :p

Then you had best send it along to me snailmail asap as I forgot to pack it and have been defenceless here ever since :eek:

I know the MLU Aussies are ALL amazing creatures. Gives a faith in humanity, doesn't it? ;)

Thanks for the feedback on YOTB and YOTC ... it surely would be really something to walk the places where Keefy filmed these, riding in the vehicles EVEN BETTER! :)

Karmen

Re: Re: POints
 

[QUOTE]Originally posted by Geoff Winnington-Ball
[B]
Are Airmiles transferable? I have no bloody idea. Do us a favour, mate and find out.

So far I found out that you can authorize someone else touse your airmiles account. I have a question pending with the airmiles powers that be about sharing. I will let you know the answer.
Sean

Re: POints
 

Geez Sean, you remind me of when I was working and travelling 100 kilometers a day 6 days a week for a year, plus monthly trips adding many more kilometers (5 hours driving each way twice a month after my regular routes and I only took 3 days off that year. The 7th day I worked at home) through the mountains ... thats a LOT of gas!!! I didn't have an airmiles card. Never occurred to me I would use one. What an idiot I was to not get one. If only I had known, eh? ARGH!

Amazing if Airmiles can be transferred to others!

Hmmmm ... dingo bites.

Note to self. Bring frying pan for those Aussies, oops, I meant to say Aussie Dingos to keep them from biting me wee bittie heinie!

PLEASE FOLKS ... do NOT give IF or "til it hurts", regards this amazing MLU force happening with this OZ adventure. My knowing that you all would go to these GREAT LENGTHS to give Ma Yappy an adventure of her life is enough of a huge bonus that makes me delighted and makes me cry. An actual trip is an amazing BONUS ... to know you all care "that much" is more than I NEED ... to be able to meet you-all over there and visit, amazing. "None can compare" to this whole idea and thing happening now.

Karmen.

Corowa
 

Yep, Corowa was where the whole series of 4 DVDs was filmed. Jif, you left out YOTS and YOTAC, not to mention the YOTD which appeared as an extra in the Blitz DVD.
Next year you'll experience Year of the bike and staff car YOTBASC! ( I can almost get Tabasco out of that) yourselves, and time permitting I'll also take you to Temora to see the Warbirds.
Jif, you'll need to bring your MLU sign to set up a TAC HQ while you're there.

Re: Corowa
 

Thanks Keith, for verifying the Corowa connections with the videos :) Awesome!

Even more awesome to experience the Warbirds at Temora...

And even more more awesome to think of Geoff, Grand Master of MLU hisself, sitting there with his TAC HQ and MLU sign ... what a treat that would be for everyone there and for himself of course :D ! I can't imagine how many MLU-ers will attend that event, but can guess MANY.

Fingers crossed this all happens sooner rather than later with Master Sunray.

Karmen

Re: Re: POints
 

:D OK I won't mention them but what about :eek: reptiles!

:cool: on a more serious note It would indeed be really good to have Ma and Geoff visit here in Gympie so that you both can see our part of the world.

Cheers
Cliff :)

Re: Re: Re: POints
 

:smoker: GIMPY MA YAPPY VISITS GYMPIE ... what a hoot that would be! If that happened, could you borrow a wheely chair for me so we can have a race? Mine would have to be motorized though as I couldn't wheel the wheels. However, I'm walking great these days and chair not currently necessary. Touch wood.

I pulled out that Atlas to see an Australia map, plus brought maps up online. Its BIG! And WAY across THERE ... hop skip and a jump as the crow flies? NOT. Where are you didfferent Aussies located over there? Seems most are in the Southern end???

I'm wondering how long a flight it would be from Vancouver BC. to Australia. (routes and when and places and people visited will be my surprize that I'll just pack my pills and frying pan when told to :D ) I'd have to get to Vancouver from here. We're a couple of hours drive from the Alberta border, about 5 hours (not the 4 I thought) from here to Calgary ... going from Calgary can be done as well perhaps. I dunno. I know nothing :confused:

I think I'll need some nicotine patches or gum as any way you look at it, it will be a long time in the air? :eek:

And BTW, for you non-smokers, have no fear that I wouldn't respect any non-smoking limits ... as long as I can "step away from the house/CMP/vehicle/person" and smoke me wee bittie brains out "from a distance"

Karmen.

The Trip
 

Hi Kartmann and Co-conspirators

Firstly Kartmann - relax, enjoy the ride, post your preparations and count the sleeps.

Aussies - as a matter of logistics may I suggest that Kartmann arrives in Adelaide and stays with Ada and I first. We can then transport her east to Corowa and to hook up with rest of you.

Bob

Re: The Trip
 

Sounds good, Bob. You have a fantastic place for her to recuperate too. Just make sure you don't wear her out before she gets to Corowa. I suppose you could always transport her in your CMP ambulance. ;)