George Allen / EducateMHC Blog Mobile Home & Land Lease Community Advocate & Expert

August 10, 2022

New About MH Personalities Past & Present

Filed under: Uncategorized — George Allen @ 9:14 am

Blog Posting # 701. Copyright 12 August 2022. EducateMHC

Perspective. ‘Land lease communities, previously manufactured home communities, and earlier, ‘mobile home parks’, comprise the real estate component of manufactured housing! EducateMHC is the online national advocate, realty asset class historian, trend spotter, education resource, textbook supplier for land lease communities throughout North America! To input this blog and or connect with EducateMHC, telephone (317) 881-3815 and or visit www.educatemhc.com

Remember Troy & Cheryl Brost, developers and past owners of Songbrook land lease community in Eugene, OR? Well, they sold that property several years ago and ‘retired’ to Cheryl’s native Hawaii. Their two children are in college now, and Cheryl – for a few years, has been competing in the Cross Fit World Games. Well, just recently she finished high enough in the standings to be rated the 4th fittest 50-54 year old female in the entire world! (You’ve likely seen her on the televised games but had no idea she was ‘one of our own’.) Now for some backstory. A decade ago, the Brosts hosted a one day Manufactured Housing Manager class on-site at Songbrook; hence they’re MHMs. And their popular business cards featured, on the verso side, a photograph of the landscape between parallel back rows of HUD-Code manufactured homes, featuring walking paths with water features and park benches for use by community residents. Congratulations on your outstanding achievement Cheryl! GFA

And another manufactured housing pro has a new book available for purchase from Amazon.com Rick Jebb, perennial marketer of land lease communities in Bloomington, IL., has authored Mexican Sunset, subtitled: ‘The Vision Quest of a Modern Day Explorer’. Haven’t read it yet – though I have it in my possession – but will publish a ‘review’ here during weeks to come. This from the book’s back cover: “Seriously writing since 2011, Rick has sought a voice to speak hopefulness and adaptation into the midst of uncertain times. His writing includes poetry, essay and existential spiritual memoir focused on facing the challenges of life’s transitions and adaptations.” Rick joins Ted Boers (Think DATACOMP & MHVillage), Rick Robinson (Think manufacturedhomes.com), and Charles Irion (male adventure & mystery writer), among others from the manufactured housing industry, who’ve authored non-fiction and fiction books in various sub-genres. Know of other such books? Let me know via gfa7156@aol.com

Do you know the new home office address for Newport Pacific Capital Company? It’s 1201 Dove St., Ste. # 300, Newport Beach, CA. 92660. That’s where you’ll find Mike Sullivan, CPM, and Maria Horton, MHM.

Now, call this a ‘flashback’ if you will. But since April, I’ve been transcribing (from handwritten to typed) the first fifty of more than 400 letters I mailed home to Carolyn, in 1968 & 69, from the Republic of Vietnam. It’s been quite an experience (again), like it was then – refreshing old memories long suppressed (Haven’t been in combat yet, so they’re manageable recollections), and experiencing new emotions – mostly in tears, as I read how much of our daughter Susan’s early years (She was 16 months old when I left) I missed, but am now experiencing them in person via our youngest great granddaughter Emerson, who’s 14 months old, and with us two days each week. Emerson is Susan’s youngest grandchild. I penned the preceding to introduce one of the more interesting paragraphs I’ve transcribed to date; penned during early June 1968:

“When we bed down for the night up here, we take individual precautions, like placing our flak jacket and helmet between ourselves and the barbed wire to our front – to stop rifle rounds when they come. And we keep our K-Bar (12” jungle knife) very close at hand (i.e. stuck in the ground next to where our hand normally lies as we sleep), and we have our rifles ‘locked and loaded’ by our side, in such a position that, as we roll onto to our stomach, the weapon falls naturally to our grip. All this is sound preparation, because on occasion we have intrusions along our defensive lines; and, as the ‘watch’ Marine, awake and on guard at the time, fires his two rapid signal shots, and pops a parachute flare, every one at that post, rolls to their stomach, digs our feet in, grabs rifles and K-Bars; and by the time (two seconds) the flare has popped, we’re ‘on line’ and ready to repel a possible assault. All this is very serious business these days, as we know for certain there are several hundred NVA enemy troops surrounding our base here at Landing Zone Stud, just east of Khe Sanh combat base.” (Lightly edited. GFA)

Unlike my autobiography, From SmittyAlpha6 to MHMaven, and our co-authored George & Carolyn collection of memoirs, it’s unlikely these 400+ letters will be published in bound book form. Already, four months of typing (three months of RVN letters) have filled 150 pages of typing paper; so 13 months will likely total more than 600 such pages. No, I’ll be satisfied leaving copies of these letters with our adult children, Susan and Adam, to share with future generations of the Allen and McCarty families. However, if you’d like to purchase a copy of SmittyAlpha6 to MHMaven, simply visit educatemhc.com

George Allen, CPM, MHM
EducateMHC

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