Word: grunion
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Dates: during 1940-1949
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After leaving Cambridge, Lt. Comdr. Abele took his place in the Submarine Service as skipper of the USS Grunion. in September, 1942, the ship was reported missing in action. A year later, with no word to the contrary received, he was "presumed lost in action." For his outstanding bravery in action, he received, posthumously, the Navy Cross and the Purple Heart Medal. He was also entitled to the American Defense Service Medal, the Fleet Clasp, and the Asiatic-Pacific Area Campaign Ribbon. In his honor, the government launched the destroyer USS Mannert L. Abele on April...
When the summer moon is full and the tide is high, the grunion run in Southern California. The grunion (rhymes with bunion) are small (6-in.), smelt-like fish. Unique among marine life, they ride the surf onto sandy beaches, there to spawn and quickly go away again. The female dances on her tail, drilling a hole into the sand for her eggs, while the male flops wildly about her. The next full breaker covers the roe with sand, washes the grunion back...
Last week the grunion were running in full flow, and Southern Californians, as usual, were there to greet and catch them. Tide and moon tables were posted on the desk of many a businessman. On proper nights, autos jammed the highway from Malibu to Santa Monica; beach fires crackled from Long Beach to San Diego. As usual, some of the grunion hunters cuddled in the shadows, glad to forget the original purpose of their parties. But those who kept their minds on grunion splashed madly through the surf, snagging the slippery fish with their bare hands (nets are illegal). Since...
Most notable grunioneer was hefty, fun-loving Governor Earl Warren, vacationing with his family at Santa Monica. He became an uninhibited thrasher in the surf, risked undignified dunkings groping for grunion. But for all his delighted flopping-about he caught only two. His ten-year-old son, Bobby...