Welcome friend,

20 Dec 2002
I have returned again. This page, so long neglected, will be updated on occasion.

22 February 1999
I have returned. This page, so long neglected, will be updated on a regular basis from this moment on.

6 December 1998
New email # is sjunderbelly@earthlink.net.

26 November 1998
Turkey day. At long last I have put Paul Tougas's car in the Rides page. It is an excellent example of a 1969 Chevrolet Chevelle.

10 September 1998
Soft Underbelly of San Jose now has its own space - www.SJunderbelly.com
Gila will remain here. Both sites will be updated. Honest

20 July 1998
Monday, Monday. Some minor updates.
By the way, on the subject of Baseball. I am betting nobody hits 60 home runs this year. It will not happen.

2 June 1998
"Ehhhhhhhhhhh........ junior, you miss yo mama?" That's what a mean-spirited old Greek cook used to say to me when I was a Saloon Messman in the Merchant Marines in 1970-71 on board the USS Overseas Carrier. I believe it was the only English he knew. I started to mimic this wonderful line to my "buddy" Noz, who enjoyed it immensely. He implored me to do it on one time when the cook had walked up behind me. Out I went with it. "Ehhhhhhh....junior, you miss yo mama?" I turned around and there stood the cook. He backed away crab-like and furious.

The Bosun on the ship was wont to give out useful advice. On one occasion, as we were leaning on the rails peering out across the vast Ocean, he told me that if I ever got into trouble, the best thing to do was to run away. He said that he had done it a thousand times and it worked every time - once on a wife. He used to brag to me "I haven't seen her in over 17 years!" He seemed to be a man at peace with himself.

30 May 1998
On a serious note. Larry Mills, the brother of Lowell Mills ( a Lockheed brother and friend) fell 55 feet from a farm silo yesterday crushing bones in his back and legs. That is like falling from a five story building. He suffered no life threatening injuries but has 2 years of rehab ahead of him and the description of the broken bones and damaged nerves is sobering.

24 May 1998
Back from Boston. I will never, ever, complain about living in San Jose again. Most of the people I met were exceptionally friendly (especially those at Draper Labs who were almost angelic). The problem was the roads. The drive from Logan airport to Cambridge will tear apart your soul.

6 May 1998.
I must rescind some of the harsh comments I made about the movie Gigi. As odd as the movie is, with its three stooges sound effects, and bizarre unworldliness, it does have it's charms. The sound of the Ortolons being devoured in a "civilized" way was exactly as my colleague Dave Hickey described - "like Moe Howard eating a crab shell."

Inspired by something I saw in the paper this morning, to wit, a description of the last meal of French president Francois Mitterand, I will soon be opening up a new page describing the bizarre and incomprehensible behavior of the French*. Apparently, Mitterrand's last meal consisted of a plate of Ortolans - tiny, yellow-throated songbirds which he swallowed whole. Considered a delicacy in France, albeit an illegal one.

Announcing a new name to this here ole site - Gila, so named for the Gila Monster. When food is plentiful his tail becomes thick and swollen. But when food is scarce Gila calls on his reserve and his tail becomes thin and streamlined. His salvation is in that big ass of his. His insurance policy is his butt. Nature is mysterious and beautiful.

Eric Carlson