[Paul Penta]

I just had lunch with my grandson, Michael-Bryan, who is in the US Navy. He serves aboard the USS Denver. Her mission is to transport and launch large USMC landing craft. He is in the deck department and among his duties, he actually gets to drive Denver. It was not so long ago that I would not have trusted him to drive my Chevy.

Denver is the second oldest commissioned ship in the Navy (Constitution is the oldest but never leaves Boston), having been launched in 1964. So, she is a Vietnam vet.

But here is the cool part from our prospective ...... Denver is one of three remaining US Navy ships that is ........... wait for it ............

....... steam powered. Two boilers, two steam turbines, two shafts, 24,000 shaft horsepower (18 MW) (whatever all that means).

My grandson is a steamboater (kind of).