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What Is PenWag?

PenWag is a gathering place for people that have a story to share, and for people who want to hear a good story. A story well-told.

Think about the times you've sat with friends around the campfire, or during lunch at work, swapping stories of the funny or weird things that happen in our day-to-day lives, and come share them with us.  More about PenWag

Featured Stories:

Thinking Outside The Box

The two men found the banker's wife. They had a box large enough to hold her, and a pickup truck. They had her climb into the box, then tried to put her into the back of the truck. But, they couldn't lift it. So they had her climb out, they put the box into the back of the truck, and had her climb up and into the box. And off they went to find the intersection.   Read more...

A Naïve Comment

In 1939 Spike entered midshipman's training. They were "ninety-day wonders"; ninety days was all it took to train them and prepare them to fight to save the people of the United States and Europe. For these ninety days they cruised on a battleship where they swabbed decks, attended classes, and practiced firing the ship's guns. Spike graduated as an ensign, and that is how he came to be on the Destroyer USS Blue at Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941.

As war inched closer, the Japanese ambassador to the United States met with his American counterpart, but the Japanese flotilla was already at sea, making way for Hawaii. The Blue and its fighting group was ordered to sea for exercises. They used the big guns as well as the .50 caliber guns. They practiced with depth charges, submarines, and even a plane that towed a "sleeve" for target practice. One week before Sunday, December 7, 1941, the fleet was given orders to return to Pearl Harbor before exercises were complete, and this was an unusual event.   Read more...

Dedication

This site is dedicated to the two best storytellers I have ever been privileged to know - my Great-Uncle Henry Shoop, and the incomparable Earl Halbert.