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SOLERA DIAMOND VALLEY | AUGUST 2017 15 By Dick Roppé, Resident With the August cruise on the Wild Goose rapidly approaching our editor-in-chief, Richard, asked if one of our committee would do an article on John Wayne. Well, I said that I would do it. How could I not? After all, "Duke" was a fraternity brother - although many years earlier. His movie resume is legendary, but the history of the Wild Goose is relevant to the approaching cruise on Tuesday, Aug. 15. Before she became the Wild Goose, she was the USS YMS-328, a U.S. Navy Yard Mine Sweeper that was built in Ballard, Washington at Ballard Marine & Railway. Her hull is constructed completely out of 3" vertical grain Douglas fir. Sister ships include Jacques Cousteau's RV Calypso, made famous in the song by John Denver. After naval service during World War II, she became a private yacht. Duke bought the mine sweeper in 1962 and made major renova- tions christening her Wild Goose. He kept the ship for the last 17 years of his life. He entertained a who's who of the time, including ce- lebrities such as Hugh O'Brien, Dean Martin, Frank Sinatra and Jack- ie Gleason, as well as Presidents Richard Nixon and Ronald Reagan. The Wild Goose is a 136-foot luxury vessel that Wayne also took on fishing trips to Mexico and Alaska, and through the Panama Ca- nal. Owners of note: US Navy (1943–48); John Wayne (1962–79); City of Los Angeles (1986–89); Hornblower Cruises (1996-present) and the provider for the scheduled Solera cruise. Other notes: It's reported that Wayne took his final cruise on the Wild Goose in April of 1979 just weeks before his death. The yacht was listed on the US National Register of Historic Places in July of 2011. Duke at the Helm of Wild Goose SO, WHAT'S ON? By Theresa Rossetti, Resident Ah, the Baby Boomers! I quite enjoy being a member of this generation. We were around just as television was available in almost every home. Now, we have television/movies/Internet/cable/ streaming/satellite/yada-yada to keep us amused, informed or frustrated when they don't work properly. I confess to being a television (and movie) junkie. Due to someone's desire to have sports channels from all over the U.S. available in our home, and another someone's desire to watch limited series only available on premium channels and/or streaming services, we now pay way too much for what, when we were growing up, was free if you had a television and an antenna on your roof. My family has been addicted to television for a long time. I have good memories of watching I Dream of Genie, The Ed Sullivan Show, 77 Sunset Strip, and Perry Mason with my mom. She opted out when I watched The Monkees and Star Trek. My kids transitioned from Sesame Street to The Dukes of Hazard, with many other shows in between. They watched a lot of sports with their dad, and knew not to bother me when Dallas was on. That was sacred viewing time in my house! One of my favorite memories of my younger son is of him watching Knots Landing with my mother. My husband even took a day off from work so he would be sure to be at home when cable first came to our neighborhood! I try to remember the names of old and new shows to confound my opponents in Charades, and routinely discuss television shows and movies with my adult children and friends here in SDV. Now that it's summer, the new content on network television does not interest me. Last summer I binged watched all six seasons of Game of Thrones thanks to HBO On Demand (and my kids, who insisted I watch it). This summer, I'm worse. I've finished Man in the High Castle on Amazon, The Crown on Netflix and Designated Survivor on Hulu since nasty ABC removed it from their On Demand menu. Next up, I must see the last season of Bloodline and then I'm planning on Cable Girls, maybe Fortitude or perhaps Stranger Things or Doctor Blake or Grace & Frankie or, well you get the picture. Happy viewing everyone!