Bo  Smith's Website  Last Updated: August 27th, 2019 email: bo_smith@bellsouth.net " If you don't like something, change it. If you can't change it, change your attitude"

" Rough Seas Make Good Sailors"

John Stuart Mill

Bo's Memoir

National Flight Academy Scholarship Program Initiative

B & D's Jewelry (previously Bo's Jewelry) (updated June 27th, 2019)

Bo's Mine Tours (updated July 26th, 2019)

Ancient Native American Mica Mining in Western North Carolina (updated February 19th, 2018)

	Unfortunately, I have had to suspend my mine tours business in the beautiful Blue Ridge Mountains of western North Carolina. Instead, I have begun a hobby involving  selling some of my minerals minerals and designing custom made pendants and rings from my home in Jacksonville. I will continue working with the contacts I established during my days in Spruce Pine. But, I have also rejoined the Jacksonville Gem and Mineral Society and look forward to the opportunity to take classes in making cabochons and wire wrapping.
	Currently, all my minerals and supplies are in my garage in Jacksonville.  I have accomplished a lot of processing in the garage and at the desk shown below. I look forward to moving in to my proper mineral office which this fall and winter.
	I have moved some of my rocks from the garage to a simulated mine dump (tailings) in my backyard so that visitors can do some mining. The rocks (on the right) are western North Carolina  Spruce Pine Pegmatite specimens from the McKinney/Bon Ami Feldspar Mines or from the Sink Hole Mica Mine. The rocks on the left are mostly fluorescent zinc minerals from the Sterling Hill Mine in Ogdensberg, NJ. I have more zinc minerals in the garage that I will move to the tailings.

	Diana joined me in our first wire wrapping class on November 30, 2018 with our instructor Connie Layton from the Jacksonville Gem and Mineral Society. Connie is also my instructor for cabochon making. We both plan on improving our skills with each new cabochon or pendant
	This is Diana's most recent wire wrapping product (June 2019) She plans to make additional pendants out of sea agate. She is far more artistic than I!
	This is my first wire wrapping product. Turquoise from the Dry Creek Mine in Nevada We both used sterling silver wire to make our pendants.

The lesson is one we should not forget: In war, casualties on both sides will be minimized if we strike with massive force with the goal of swift and total victory.       

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Diana and I in 2016 at the Little Switzerland Inn, Blue Ridge Mountains, NC	Diana and I in 2019 enjoying a little break at Navarre Beach near Pensacola, FL

        

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	Coordinating a reunion of my first Navy squadron; the Attack Squadron Fifteen Valions.  We are planning the reunion at the Casa Monica Hotel in St. Augistine in November.
	Continuing working on my online memoir (journal). I have completed the first draft of the first two chapters; My Childhood and Cornell.  But, they both need revision and editing. I have completed the next three chapters: Flight Training, VA-15 1966 (First Vietnam Cruise), and VSA-15 1967 (Second Vietnam Cruise).  I am currently working on the next chapter; USAF Exchange Tour (F-105 Thunderchief)
	I  recently accepted the position of President of the Cornell Club of Greater Jacksonville. This should keep me busy in addition being Chairperson of the Cornell Alumni Admissions Ambassador Network (CAAAN) which conducts alumni contacts with applicants to Cornell in northeast Florida and participates in college fairs.
	I have also initiated a new project; to find funding and select students for a one week STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) summer camp  at the National Flight Academy in Pensacola, Florida in July 2020.
	I also hope to spend more time making cabochons. Diana and I plan to attend the Jacksonville Gem and Mineral Show on September 28th. I plan to purchase some rough material for making cabochons there. We also plan to continue perfecting our skills at wire wrapping with our friend and instructor Connie Layton.
	And  finally, with September comes Gator football. I can no longer attend the Gator games due to my limited mobility,. But, I enjoy participating in the Cal Poly Statistics Department's weekly football pool with my daughter Heather and texting with both Heather and Laura during Gator games.

The image is from a post card with a photograph by Addison Fitzgerald

The Old City House is circled with the Casa Monica Hotel on the left and the Lightner Museum on the right

A complimentary wine (or beer) and cheese hour from 5:00-6:00 is part of the room rate!	The restaurant is open to the public for lunch and dinner.  Room guests normally get their choice of table and times for dinner. The food and the service are outstanding!

Our room was the Augustin.  It had a queen four poster bed, antique armoire, jacuzzi tub/shower and plenty of room. We got a great rate because we stayed on a Thursday night.  Weekend rates are considerable higher. You can make your reservation and choose your room online. But make sure you follow up by phone with the owner, Juan. In our case, he gave us an upgrade to the Augustin.

The Lightner Museum was built by Henry Flagler as the Alcazar Hotel in 1888. Today, the building consists of a mall arcade with shops and the museum in the rear. The museum has the finest collection of 19th Century art in the country.	The entrance fee is $15 ($12 for seniors. There are many incredible exhibits in the museum. This large malachite veneer and gold vase is a replica of one that is displayed at the Hermitage Museum in St. Petersberg, Russia.	The Alcazar Hotel was famous for the largest indoor pool in it's time. There is now a cafe at one end of the pool.  You can enter the cafe for lunch either from the museum or from Cordova Street.

Our Jacksonville home in Egrets Glade

Our three Shih Tzu dogs; King King Tut (upper left), Panda (front) and Bella.

Our American Curl Ruby,  and our orange tabby cat,  Gemini.

2018	My eldest daughter Heather is a senior lecturer and statistical consultant at Cal Poly in San Luis Obispo. CA. Her husband, David is a senior biostatistician for Weststat in Maryland but works from home. Their oldest son, Austin (left center) graduated from Cal Berkeley with a a dual physics and computer science major. He recently completed a one year Computer Science Master's Degree program ((machine learning) at Imperial College London. He is currently enrolled in a PhD program in Machine Learning  at Georgia Tech in Atlanta.   Hadden (right center) will be a senior at  UCLA in the Honors Program. He is a  Math/Economics major with a concentration in computing and a minor in Statistics. He is also the Vice President for Scholarship of the Interfraternity Council.
Steve, Eliza, and Laura at the Hopewell Rocks July 2019	My "second" daughter Laura is an experienced television news producer who has her PhD in Journalism from the University of Texas. Laura is the "Hearst Lecturer of Journalism"  for the  College of Journalism at the University of South Carolina in Columbia, SC.  Her husband, Steve is a musician and private contractor. Their beautiful and talented daughter, Eliza is eleven years  old and is enjoying school in Columbia! This picture was taken at the Hopewell Rocks in New Brunswick in northeastern Canada during their current six week summer vacation. The Hopewell Rocks are eroded sedimentary conglomerate and sandstone rock outcrops in the upper reaches of the Bay of Fundy at Hopewell Cape. They are currently in Nova Scotia visiting Halifax and Oak Island, yes Oak Island!  Their next stops are Montreal and Toronto before returning to Columbia for school and work.
August 2019	My middle daughter, Stacy is the Director of Instructional Support Services at North Carolina State University in Raleigh, NC. Her group helps professors use instructional technology. Her husband, Jed, is a Media Strategist at Myriad Media, a great company in downtown Raleigh.   They have two wonderful  children;  Oliver was ten (June 30th). He enjoys "Minecraft" and collecting gems, minerals, and fossils. Their daughter Nora was six on January 25th. Nora is very bright and a lot of fun! They have a dog named Penny, a yellow lab mix, which is not in this picture.
July 2019	This is a picture was taken of my fourth daughter Jessica, her husband Tom and their daughters Leighton, Carly, and  Alex at "The Farm".  They have a second home and a business on Long Beach Island on "the shore" in New Jersey. Tom and Jessica own The Bay Avenue Plant Company  which is a retail floral and landscaping business. Tom manages the operations of the business while Jessica oversees the office management side. Tom decided to buy some land to use to process  yard trash from the business.  This land had a small house which they have remodeled and  live in currently with their three daughters, some chickens, and some bees as evidenced by the jars of honey they are holding in the picture. Tom graduated from Flagler College in St Augustine. Jessica earned her BA in Business Management at the University of North Florida while pursuing her first career as principal soloist at the Florida Ballet in Jacksonville.  Their daughter Leighton was six on February 11th. Their second daughter, Carly Gail Scangarello was three on March 3rd.  And, their third daughter, Alex Elizabeth Scangarello will be two on December 14th, 2019. Pictured on the left at "the farm" is Tom, Leighton, Jessica, Alex, and Carly (with the jars of honey)!
July 4th, 2019	This is a picture of my fifth and beautiful daughter Lindsay, her husband, Brett and their two children Curran and Liv. They moved to Hawaii from Jacksonville in February, 2018. Brett currently has a nursing position with Queen's Hospital at Eva Beach on Oahu. He works about three days a week which leaves three or four days a week for sightseeing and surfing. They found a small but perfectly located house in Haleiva on the north shore.   Curran has already shown surfing talent on the small waves near them. Their Daughter, Liv is "he life of the party".  She will be six in October..   Note:  The Tattoo "sleeves: on Curran and Liv are temporary.  They wanted to look like their dad for the picture. The latest news is that Brett has been hired to work at Wilcox Medical Center on Kauai.  They will be moving at the end of this month (July) and plan to live on the north side of the island in Princeville near Hanaiei Bay.

Austin in Iceland July 2019

Hadden 2018

Eliza at Hopewell Rocks in New Brunswick, Canada July 2019

Oliver, Nora and me looking at my cabochons (One of my favorite pictures)	Nora and Oliver Spring 2019

Leighton, Alex, and Carly,  Christmas 2018	Alex, Carly, and Leighton, Spring 2019

Curran and Liv on the north Shore of Oahu 2019	Curran and Liv's daily routine on the north shore

I used to love surf fishing off the  beach at the naval base in Mayport. But it's a lot of work getting my gear out to the beach and back. So, these days, I have to be satisfied with fishing from boats, canals, and the JAX Beach pier (when it gets repaired-Matthew). We're looking for a spot to fish near the "little jetties" or on the base in Mayport where we can pull my Rodeo right up to a good fising spot.

This is our JAX Beach Fishing Pier set-up! This caddy has our cooler, bait bucket, four poles, tackle box,two folding chairs, and an umbrella. Unfortunately, the pier is still closed for fishing due to hurricane damage.

Bo with a small sheepshead

Diana with two small catfish

Diana and I enjoyed a nice day of fishing with Tom and Jessica on Baregat Bay. We caught several fish, but the best was Jessica's 19" flounder.

We also enjoyed swiming in their saline swiming pool  especially with their daughter Leighton.

Diana and I enjoyed boating and fishing with Kay (left) anf Gene (driving the boat)	We fished lots of places inside the outer banks, but our favorite was close to the Cape Lookout lighthouse
Gene and I flew two combat cruises together In VA-15 (USS Intrepid CV-11) over South and North Vienam in the late spring to late fall of 1966 1nd 67.	We caught lots of small fish which Gene fried with softshall crab (good eatin')!

Steve Mullin	Steve's Boat (24' center console walk around)
November 17, 2017 Trip Diana holdiing her Spotted Sea Trout Right- The total take home catch was seven nice Spotted Sea Trout (Dina's second from bottom) and two Sheepshead (caught by Steve Mullin)

This is a view of the cabin we had in the mountains near Spruce Pine and Burnsville North Carolins from 2008 until 2016.	This is a view of Mt. Ce,\lo of the Black Mountains from the back porch of our cabin.
I love to spend time in the moutains of western North Carolina with Bo's Mine Tours.	Diana and King Tut waiting for Bo to return from exploring the Hawk Mine off the Cane Creek

At a Folk Fest at our cabin

I think he can respond with a great deal of pride and satisfaction ....... I served in the U.S. Navy "

John F. Kennedy

"War is an ugly thing, but not the ugliest of things. The decayed and degraded state of moral and patriotic feeling
which thinks nothing is worth war is much worse. The person who has nothing for which he is wiling to fight,
nothing that is more important than his own personal safety, is a miserable creature and has no chance of being free
unless made and kept so by the exertions of better men than himself."

John Stuart Mill