v1.jpg)
Volume 11, Issue 02 Friday, January 09, 2009
Hello All,
“A recession is when your neighbor loses his job. A depression is when you lose your job.” Pink slips are piling higher as companies scramble to cut costs. And these vanishing jobs, along with tanking home values and shriveled investments result in consumers who are cutting back sharply on spending. As sales fall, businesses, like my employer, are going past “Draconian” cost cuts to . . . well, I’m not sure what you would call it but the result is that I’ve been “RIFed.” After almost 33 years in the Chemical Manufacturing Industry, I’ve been shown the door.
~
I don’t want you to think that I was discharged callously. On the contrary, my company and local management did everything they could to help us continue to be profitable. But you can’t pay folks when you’re not selling product and our sales worldwide have fallen. The problem is that most of our plant’s products end up in consumer goods (such as tires, shampoo, golf balls, computers, TVs, DVD players, automobile interiors, etc.) And the manufacturers who use our products aren’t selling as many of those items as they did in the past.
So, it was pretty much inevitable that someone was going to have to lose their job. And, if you look at it logically, it’s better that a crabby old guy be discharged than some young person with a family to support and an underfunded IRA.
The local HR folks and my department manager also treated me with respect and did their best to ease the pain of this action. So I really can’t complain about a company that provided us a good living for almost 33 years,
~
I guess I should have listened to my uncles, steel workers, who warned me not to depend on “that company” to take care of me. They always advised me to “Go Union” because you could depend on a good union like theirs. And, to the best of my knowledge, their union did take care of them.
Of course their conservative financial practices probably helped too. They seldom, if ever, borrowed any money. I remember my Uncle Hoot’s method of farming. He lived off the sale of his crops but would go back to steel working anytime he needed to purchase anything substantial such as a tractor, TV, land, etc.
That’s a good way to live a peaceful, stress free life.
~
Don’t get me wrong, we’re not destitute. The company has offered a severance package (which I will probably accept) that will help us transition to “retirement”. Problem is, we weren’t ready to retire. Our investments lost a third of their value in ‘08 and having to start drawing my company retirement now (as opposed to waiting at least to age fifty-nine and a half) will result in a significantly lower monthly stipend. Put that with the fact that we just finished readjusting our living standards after Annette had to quit work and it’s gonna be a little tight.
But we’re miles ahead of all the folks who’ve been laid off over the last few weeks without the ability to draw retirement or draw out of a 401k. That’s why I’m still advocating that we all, who are able, continue giving to shelters and food banks. The best way I know to combat lack is to give to those with less than we have (below, see a partial list of agencies in Magnolia that need your help).
~
Am I scared? Not really. I am concerned about how much we’re going to have to reorder our lifestyle to get through this. But, as Annette said, this is a great opportunity to show the Provision of God in our life. It’s time to “walk the walk” as our Pastor, Steve Marshall, would say.
~
Besides the financial consideration, my biggest problem is adjusting to not going to work. Thursday morning at 3 am I realized that I was probably suffering some depression since I hadn’t been able to sleep since being laid off. If not for the support of my wife, kids and the many friends who’ve written and called over the last few days that depression would have probably been more severe.
It’s almost like a divorce. I’ve been married to that job for a third of a century and it’s going to takes some time to figure out what to do with myself.
~
One of the things hardest to readjust to is not having my pager and work keys. Several times I’ve reached down and been startled that they weren’t there. I’m thinking about clipping a garage door opener on my belt to tide me over. You just get used to things and it takes time to reprogram. On the other hand, I really enjoyed all the hugs I got from the women at work as I was packing up my office. It’s almost worth getting canned to have all those females squeezing me.
~
I’m really thankful for my coworkers who rushed to my side this week. I’ve always said that I had the best job in the world because of the people I worked with who are GREAT and they proved it again Tuesday. We also are thankful for Darla G. Williams, CFP® at Mustard Seed Investments who met with us the morning after my dismissal and began the process of guiding us through the financial decisions we need to make. And the HR folks at the Magnolia Plant and Baton Rouge have been really helpful, especially Amber, from our company’s phone help line and our friend Hazel Davis who have answered every question we asked quickly and accurately.
~
On the whole, Annette is handling this better than I am. She had a good cry Wednesday afternoon but that was more sadness over my hurt feelings from being discharged than it was concern for our well being. She’s been 100% positive that we’ll make the right decisions and even be blessed by this situation. And, I can’t see any other outcome. ". . . for I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded that he is able . . . " 2 Timothy 1:12
~
So, all in all, this is a good thing. It’s going to get us out of a rut and give us some new challenges. And isn’t adapting to change what life is all about?
~~~~~
A partial list of agencies in Magnolia that need your help (either financial or volunteer.)
~
STEW POT - COMMUNITY FOOD SERVICE
320 West Main Street
Magnolia, AR 71753
Columbia County
resourceone@sbcglobal.net
(870) 901-7226 FAX
(870) 234-9034 Administrative
Provides hot meals for the senior adults and people who are homeless or have developmental disabilities. Simply walk in to apply. There is no for service and there are no eligibility requirements.
Hours:4:00pm to 5:30pm, Mon. - Fri.
~
SOUTHERN CHRISTIAN MISSION - HOMELESS SHELTER
515 West Monroe Street, Magnolia, AR 71753 (870) 235-1155
Provides a shelter for people needing a place to stay. Simply walk in to apply or call for information. There is no fee for service and no eligibility requirements. This shelter is open 24 Hours a day, 7 Days a week.
~
HANNAH MEDICAL CENTER - CRISIS PREGNANCY CENTER
251 Columbia 13, Magnolia AR 71753 (870) 234-8070 Phone, 1-866-74-Women Toll Free, E-MAIL: magnolia@itsyourfuture.org,
HOURS: Tue & Thu 12-5
SERVICES: pregnancy tests, limited ultrasound when appropriate, abstinence education, parenting program, maternity & children’s clothes, peer counseling in pre/post abortion and adoption
NEEDS: prayer, ultrasound, financial assistance, volunteers
~~~~~
My heart is heavy over many things this new year but, I know whom I have believed in. Annette is showing small improvements almost every day. She's still in a great deal of pain but still continues to do what she can, when she can (the Wade Prison Christmas Party is an example.)
She believes there is a silver lining in every cloud and cites is my poor cooking skills as an example. Annette says the poor quality of my meals have helped her lose weight.
Diabetes is an evil, debilitating, deadly disease but it’s not greater than our God. The Holidays were tough on our sugar levels and required that we watch our eating much closer than normal. However, we did survive the season and greatly enjoyed the company of family and friends.
Sometimes when our health fails or our situation seems bleak, it’s easy to become morose and feel that you haven’t done what God had planned for you. I’d encourage you to realize that much of the fruit of your work may be unknown to you. So multiply what you see to realize what God is really doing through your life.
~~~~~
I’m glad we got Annette the Wii for Christmas because, it wouldn’t be in the budget now and she’s benefitting from using it. She’s not able to play for long but the other day she did get in a round and a half of boxing and last night we bowled two games. Of course, the grandsons love the fact we have a Wii. Bobbie and Dusty got us hooked up with their Miis and put us on the message board.
~~~~~
Our youngest grandson, Ethan, celebrated his 3rd Birthday last Saturday with a “Cars” theme party. Of course, we couldn’t just bring a gift for Ethan so we went looking for something to share with Josiah and Ethan. We had to go to the store anyway since Annette had given them the original birthday presents earlier in the week.
We decided on a small tent to share with the boys and a “Cars” coloring book for Ethan himself.
At the party, Josiah took one look at the tent and disappeared into their back yard with it and his older cousins. Meanwhile, Ethan began tearing into his presents and eating the “race track” cake and car shaped hot dogs his mother had prepared.
As the afternoon progressed, I was aware that Josiah was coming into and out of the house but none of the adults paid much attention to him until he tried to drag his little couch through the house and out the back door. At that point his dad and I investigated and discovered that he had moved most of his belongings into the tent in the back yard.
Jimmy and Josiah slept in the tent that night.
~~~~~
Our Favorite Health Nurse, Melinda Harrell, has returned to Magnolia to serve as the new administrator for the Columbia County Health Unit.
Welcome back Melinda.
~~~~~
UPDATE TO Taylor - Voigt Family/Friends Cookbook
Our cousin, Shannon Voigt, is planning to update the Taylor-Voigt Family/Friends Cookbook this spring. If you have any great new family recipes you would like added please email them to me by the end of February and I’ll forward them to Shannon.
~~~~~
Our sincere sympathy is extended to Don (Area II Production) and Robert (Area III Production) Pharr in the loss of their father, Earl Pharr.
~~~~~
Here are a couple of videos I recommend you download and view.
Ricky and Sarah sent us this great video. “The Stethoscope” [http://www.thephilfiles.com/2008/10/21/is-it-in-you/]
And I stumbled across “Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog” which will probably be enjoyed by “Firefly” fans. [http://www.hulu.com/watch/28343/dr-horribles-sing-along-blog]
~~~~~
Sam Boggs shared this web site with us. Check it out: [www.get2human.com]
Sometimes if all you need are the store address or hours, or your current balance, the automated phone systems are fine. But if you've ever been frustrated by innumerable phone prompts to press this or that button when you call customer support, and you know your question will not be answered by the standard tips on the recordings, and need to connect to an actual person, this website gives shortcuts. In some cases they are as simple as the handy pressing of "0" a bunch of times.
It also gives quality ratings, and even gives red flag ratings to companies that have a high number of employees who have serious language/ pronunciation challenges. It gives you a chance to add your comments to the feedback on individual companies.
~~~~~
Sam also shared this website with us. An interesting overview of aircraft carriers from "How Stuff Works". I was most impressed that because of their nuclear reactors, they carry enough fuel to run their propulsion, generators, desalination, etc. for over ten years.
http://jewishworldreview.com/1208/HowStuffWorks.php3
~~~~~
Dutch chemical giant LyondellBasell filed for bankruptcy protection Tuesday. The company's Chapter 11 filing includes Houston-based Lyondell Chemical, 79 other U.S. affiliates and one European holding company, with assets listed at $27 billion and debts at $19 billion. Bloomberg (1/7) , Houston Chronicle [http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/headline/biz/6197755.html]
~~~~~
The use of recycled packaging materials, which was soaring in popularity only six months ago, took a nosedive at the end of 2008. That's when prices for recycled materials dropped by as much as 70% to 90% as consumer spending dropped and demand for imported items went along with it. A recent article by the American Chemistry Council on the economic realities of recycling says that the ultimate success of recycling depends on stable, reliable markets for the materials. Converting Magazine [http://www.convertingmagazine.com/article/CA6626928.html]
~~~~~
Recycled plastic lumber has gained favor as a greener alternative to the real thing since being introduced in the late 1980s. The product comes in 2-by-4-inch or 4-by-4-inch planks; however, it can be molded into shapes, and sanding and the use of screws don't produce sawdust. Some say it has gained such popularity that it's hard to find any natural wood in park or playground construction projects. FoxNews.com [http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,477704,00.html]
~~~~~
Just a reminder that those looking for quality, free photo editing software should try “GIMP” [http://www.gimp.org/]. [http://www.gimp.org/tutorials/].
~~~~~
Don’t forget to use GoodSearch [http://www.goodsearch.com/] when you search the Internet!
~~~~~
DarynKagan.com - - Today's Story: Daryn's Happy Tears
How do you wrap up an amazing 2-week visit to Kenya? How do you say, "Goodbye," to an amazing group of girls who have lost their parents to HIV/AIDS? Leave it to the girls to know what to do--sending me off with a wonderful dinner, song, and gifts. What did I leave them? A big ol'blubbering mess of tears. But as I assured the girls, they were happy tears. [http://darynkagan.demo.nimbussoftware.com/world/stories/jw_090109_africapt5.html]
~~~~~
Each week the Defense Department highlights military personnel who have gone above and beyond in the war. [http://www.defenselink.mil/heroes/] - - Brent Morel - - # Hometown: Martin, TN
# Awarded: The Navy Cross - - Faced with continual enemy fire from more than 50 insurgents, Capt. Brent L. Morel - by all accounts a "Marine's Marine" - led an assault across an open field with a handful of Marines following closely behind.
Where most would be looking for cover, Morel's assault was aimed at saving others - not himself - according to battlefield accounts.
Consequently, Morel, a platoon commander with 1st Reconnaissance Battalion, 1st Marine Division, posthumously received the Navy Cross - the Department of the Navy's second-highest award for combat valor – May 21, 2005, during a ceremony that drew hundreds at the Marine Forces Reserve Training Center.
It was the second Navy Cross awarded in less than two months to a 1st Recon Bn. Marine for combat actions April 7, 2004, during the first offensive in Fallujah as part of Operation Iraqi Freedom. The two awards are among nine Navy Crosses awarded to U.S. service members for heroism during Operation Iraqi Freedom.
Morel's award was presented to his wife, Amy. "Although I would rather have him receive the award in person, I am glad to see that his brave actions did not go unnoticed," Amy said, clutching the medal in her hand.
Sgt. Willie L. Copeland III and several other Marines who fought alongside Morel that day were on hand for the presentation.
"That was the type of Marine Morel was - he led from the front," said Copeland, a team leader with 2nd Platoon, Company B, 1st Recon Bn, which Morel commanded. "He was a personal mentor of mine, so I was constantly trying to obtain knowledge from him any way I could."
Morel's self-sacrifice came as no surprise, Copeland said.
"No medal or award can make up for the loss of a good Marine, but as a recon Marine, (Morel) knew that his life was on the line every day - and he was always proud of it," Copeland added.
Although Morel, 27, of Martin, Tenn., had been in the recon community for only a short amount of time, he made his mark among an elite crowd, Copeland said.
The award honored a "man amongst giants," said Mike Morel, Brent's father.
Also during the ceremony -- held at Morel’s very first unit after completing boot camp--- a life-like bronze bust of Morel in his helmet and protective vest was unveiled.
"The statue looked so real, right down to the scar he got while he was in boot camp," said Molly Morel, Brent's mother.
The statue will be placed in the library at Morel’s alma mater, the University of Tennessee at Martin.
"The library is where me and my husband met, so it is only fitting that his statue be kept there to inspire those who pass it by," Amy said.
Excerpts from article by Lance Cpl. Miguel A. Carrasco Jr.,
~
Gregory Ambrosia - - # Hometown: Knoxville, TN
# Awarded: Silver Star - - Although Army Capt. Greg Ambrosia’s tour at a secluded combat outpost in Afghanistan was somewhat primitive, with few luxuries and the bare essentials, his mission of counterinsurgency was quite complex. Ambrosia, executive officer of Company A, and his troops often found themselves patrolling the rugged Pech Valley and surrounding areas for days at a time with little contact with the rest of the world. However, on Sept. 25, 2007, they encountered a Taliban force that not only outnumbered but surrounded them.
Ambrosia and his men set up a makeshift outpost after a nighttime air assault into the valley. The troopers made contact with the enemy early the next morning, receiving a hail of rocket-propelled grenades and gunfire. But they couldn’t spot where exactly the attack was coming from, he said.
“We spotted an enemy scout and eventually made contact, but he was able to [disengage and communicate] our location to other fighters in the valley,” Ambrosia explained.
Ambrosia’s element had a translator monitoring the enemy communication with a basic one-way radio. After the initial contact, it was quiet for about 45 minutes. The interpreter continued to monitor the radio, and Ambrosia learned that the scout was coordinating with other enemy fighters in the area to launch an attack, he explained.
Soon there were at least three enemy elements with three to five fighters each closing in on the platoon. So close, in fact, they were in hand grenade range of his troops, he said.
“At one point, I started calling the vehicles in the valley to start shooting on our position, because the enemy was too close to call in artillery or mortar fire,” Ambrosia continued. “So we ended up having our guys shooting on our own position.”
Even though Ambrosia and his men maintained some safety behind a mound of rocks, the smoke from the mounted vehicle engulfed their position. He began call for aerial support from AH-64 Apache helicopters, he said.
Enemy radio traffic intercepted by Ambrosia’s interpreter let the paratroopers know the insurgents planned to overrun their position and take them hostage, but they were able to repel the attack, he said.
However, Ambrosia’s radio requests for Apaches to provide aerial support wouldn’t arrive for another 45 minutes, he added.
“That’s when it began to get really hairy,” he said. “The enemy was getting really close and using hand grenades.”
Ambrosia’s actions and direction of his men repelled the enemy fighters long enough for the helicopters to arrive. The modest captain said he doesn’t know exactly how many enemies were killed, but knows that two of his men were wounded. None were killed.
“I’m very thankful for that,” Ambrosia said.
The chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Adm. Mike Mullen personally awarded Ambrosia the Silver Star in Korengal Outpost for his valor under fire after running into a hail of enemy gunfire to help save fallen comrades.
Excerpts from article by Army Staff Sgt. Michael J. Carden
American Forces Press Service
~~~~~
America is not at war. The military is at war. - - America is at the mall, or watching the movie stars.
~~~~~
The latest from Michael Yon, the foremost “milnews” blogger on the web. If you haven’t read Michael’s dispatches, I strongly urge you to do so at once. It’s important that we all know what’s happening in our world.
“Bug”
~
Greetings,
Successes in Iraq continue to accrue. Fewer stories are coming from Iraq, and the few stories published mostly revolve around the bad news. Bottom line is a steep upward trend for the better. Security is improving, the economy is improving, and Iraq actually has a government. Iraq has a new pulse, its pupils are reactive to light, and it's sorely sitting up in bed eating breakfast and arguing with the staff. One day, it will walk out on its own.
This will be a long year for our troops in Afghanistan. I'll be there.
For today, please read "Border Bullies." [http://www.michaelyon-online.com/] This is important.
~
Paula Lloyd has died of her injuries. Godspeed to Paula. She was out there at the cutting edge.
Please read [http://www.michaelyon-online.com/godspeed-to-paula-lloyd.htm]
~
If you have been to combat alongside British forces, please give your own candid thoughts. [http://www.michaelyon-online.com/red-flag.htm]
–
Very Respectfully,
Your correspondent,
Michael Yon
Http://www.michaelyon-online.com/index.php
~~~~~
Over the last two weeks we watched [Ratings are my own]:
Miss Potter (2006) [9.3] Starring Renée Zellweger ... Ewan McGregor ... Emily Watson
Iron Giant (1999) [9.0] Starring Jennifer Aniston ... Harry Connick Jr. ... Vin Diesel ... Cloris Leachman ... John Mahoney
Sense and Sensibility (1995) [9.1] Starring Kate Winslet ... Emma Thompson ... Hugh Grant ... Robert Hardy ... Alan Rickman ... Greg Wise
Pride & Prejudice (2005) [8.5] Starring Keira Knightley ... Talulah Riley ... Rosamund Pike ... Donald Sutherland ... Matthew Macfadyen
The Kennel Murder Case (1933) [7.0] Starring William Powell ... Mary Astor ... Eugene Pallette
My Man Godfrey (1936) [8.2] Starring William Powell ... Carole Lombard ... Gail Patrick ... Eugene Pallette
Sabrina (1995) [8.0] Starring Harrison Ford ... Julia Ormond ... Greg Kinnear ... Nancy Marchand ... John Wood ... Richard Crenna ... Angie Dickinson ... Lauren Holly
Music and Lyrics (2007) [7.0] Starring Hugh Grant ... Scott Porter
Æon Flux (2005) [5.0] Starring Charlize Theron ... Marton Csokas ... Jonny Lee Miller ... Frances McDormand
August Rush (2007) [8.0] Starring Freddie Highmore ... Keri Russell ... Jonathan Rhys Meyers ... Robin Williams
27 Dresses (2008) [7.5] Starring Brian Kerwin ... Charli Barcena ... Peyton List ... Jane Pfitsch ... Katherine Heigl
Children of Heaven (Bacheha-Ye aseman) (1997) [8.0] Starring Mohammad Amir Naji ... Amir Farrokh Hashemian ... Bahare Seddiqi ... Nafise Jafar-Mohammadi ... Fereshte Sarabandi
Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day (2008) [8.0] Starring Amy Adams ... Christina Cole ... Ciarán Hinds ... Sarah Kants ... Frances McDormand
Baby Mama (2008) [6.9] Starring Amy Poehler ... Tina Fey ... Greg Kinnear ... Sigourney Weaver ... Steve Martin
Journey to the Center of the Earth (2008) [7.0] Starring Brendan Fraser ... Josh Hutcherson ... Anita Briem
~~~~~
Last Week we read; T is for trespass / Sue Grafton. - - The fire : a novel / Katherine Neville. - - The devil's eye / Jack McDevitt. - - The Charlemagne pursuit : a novel / Steve Berry.
We’re currently reading; Seeker / Jack McDevitt
We intend to read; S is for silence / Sue Grafton.
We recommend: The Faith: Chuck Colson
Brother Paul Troquille Recommends: “Ordering Your Private World” by Gordon MacDonald - and - “Mid-Course Correction: Re-Ordering Your Private World for the Second Half of Life” by Gordon MacDonald
~~~~~
http://www.shelfari.com
http://www.shelfari.com/bugsbleat/shelf
~~~~~
Photos on the front of this weeks “Bleat” include some of our favorite land and skyscapes as well as shots from Ethan’s 3rd Birthday Party.
~~~~~
We’ve now got several addresses on the web for "Da Bleat." For the latest issue, go to http://www.bugsbleat.blogspot.com. Last quarter’s issues can be seen at http://www.bugsbleat4q08.blogspot.com.
Our photos are posted at http://www.bugsbleatphotos.blogspot.com.
If you want to see more photos of last April’s train wreck in Magnolia, go to http://www.bugsbleattw.blogspot.com/
~~~~~
Feel free to share the "Bleat" with any and all. That's why we publish it.
~~~~~
Dr. Pat Antoon’s Address:
Pat Antoon 06669-010
Federal Prison Camp
P.O. Box 9300
Texarkana, TX 75505
Be sure and keep him in your prayers.
~~~~~
Recipe(s) of the week - - - These come from WFAB in Baton Rouge
~
Creole New Year’s Pork Loin with Cabbage Saute from Tony Chachere's Creole Foods
INGREDIENTS - - Serves 4-6
1 Pork Tenderloin, trimmed
Tony Chachere's More Spice Seasoning
2 Tb Olive Oil
½ cup Onion, chopped
1/4 cup Celery, chopped
2 tsp Garlic, chopped
2 cans Black Eyed Peas, rinsed and drained
2 cup Chicken Stock, low sodium
2 strips Bacon, chopped
1 cup Brussel Sprouts, quartered
2 cups Green Cabbage, shredded
1 tsp Anise Seed
Splash Chicken Stock, low sodium
Tony Chachere's Creole Seasoning
PROCEDURE
Season the outside of pork with More Spice Seasoning. In a medium to large saute pan, heat olive oil on medium heat.
Brown pork loin on all sides and remove from pan.
Add onion, celery, and garlic to the pan. Cook one minute before adding black eyed peas and stock. Stir and bring to a boil.
Re-add the pork to the pan, nestled in the peas. Cover and cook about ten minutes or until loin is cooked through. Meanwhile, heat a fry pan and render fat from the bacon. Remove the crisp bacon pieces to the side.
Add Brussels to the pan and cook two minutes. Add cabbage and anise, and stir. Splash with stock to lightly steam and adjust seasoning with Creole Seasoning.
Serve peas and cabbage with sliced loin drizzled with the pan gravy from the peas. Yummy!
[http://www.wafb.com/Global/story.asp?S=9633362&nav=menu57_7]
~
Navy Bean Soup
Prep Time: 1 and ½ Hours
Yields: 8 Servings
Comment:
This is the perfect soup for a cold, overcast day. In the south we generally have "gumbo days," but this recipe will definitely have you hoping for more "soup days."
Ingredients:
1 pound dried navy beans
1 cup chopped onions
½ cup chopped celery
½ cup chopped bell peppers
1/4 cup minced garlic
1 cup diced tomatoes
1 cup diced potatoes
1 cup chopped cabbage
½ cup elbow macaroni
2 cups diced lean ham
½ cup sliced green onions
1/4 cup chopped parsley
1/4 tsp salt
black pepper to taste
hot sauce to taste
Method:
Rinse beans under cold running water. You may wish to soak beans in cold water overnight. This will cut down cooking time by one-third. In a large cast iron Dutch oven, add beans and cover by 2 inches with cold water. Bring to a rolling boil and reduce heat to simmer. Cook approximately 1 hour, stirring occasionally. Once beans begin to become tender, mash half against side of pot with a cooking spoon to create creaminess. Add onions, celery, bell peppers, garlic, tomatoes, potatoes, cabbage, macaroni and ham. Blend well into bean mixture. Cook 20-30 minutes, stirring occasionally. Additional water might be needed to retain desired consistency. Add green onions and parsley. Season to taste using salt, pepper and hot sauce.
[http://www.wafb.com/Global/story.asp?S=9641663&nav=menu57_7_1_2]
~~~~~
BreakPoint
Jolting Your Faith Awake
By Chuck Colson
1/2/2009
'A Faith and Culture Devotional'
The apostle Paul wrote to Timothy, “Physical training is of some value, but godliness has value for all things.” I trust that many of us are committing to make the spiritual disciplines of prayer and time in the Word a priority for 2009.
But still, anyone who has trained knows, keeping up the daily commitment isn’t easy. So sometimes, it helps to change the routine a bit. That’s one reason I’m pleased that Kelly Monroe Kullberg and Lael Arrington have put together A Faith and Culture Devotional: Daily Readings in Art, Science, and Life.
Kullberg, the founder of Veritas Forum, and Arrington, a co-host of the radio program The Things That Matter Most, have assembled a stellar cast of contributing authors—Lee Strobel, John Stott, Gene Edward Veith, R.C. Sproul, Os Guinness, and Frederica Mathewes-Green to name just a few.
The devotional spans 15 weeks and a diversity of topics. And it accomplishes something that we’ve sought to do here at BreakPoint for years. It looks at the intersection of faith and culture, looking for God’s fingerprints, extrapolating lessons God is teaching us.
Each devotional takes about five minutes to read, and then has questions for individual reflection or group discussion, making the book ideal for use in personal devotions or family devotions.
I think there’s a lot in this little volume that will challenge you spiritually and get you thinking. Turn, for example, to Francis Collins’s entry, where he discusses his work leading a team of more than 2,000 scientists on the Human Genome Project and what it taught him about the God who designed us. You’ll enjoy reading Benjamin Wiker as he unfolds the ordered magnificence of what scientists discovered when they first assembled the periodic table.
Turn back a few pages, and you might learn that during the French Revolution, 6 percent of the tens of thousands slaughtered were clergy. They were beheaded because people resented them, not for being too spiritual, but for being too worldly! Keith Bower writes, “They’d hoarded food while others had starved. They hadn’t cared about justice.” There’s a lesson in that from history!
One of my own colleagues here at BreakPoint, Catherine Larson, looks at what the artist Vincent Van Gogh can still teach us today about how to see people. Van Gogh wrote, “I prefer painting people rather than cathedrals, for there is something in the eyes that is not in a cathedral—a human soul, be that of a poor beggar or of a street walker.” That something that Van Gogh saw was the Image of God.
One reviewer of the book noted how the discussion had enlivened his teenage son in family devotions. On reading the passage by Sam Storms on string theory, the commentator writes that his son “sat bolt upright and listened with interest to the remainder of the reading.” After they finished the passage, he writes, “we shared in family conversation for the next 20 to25 minutes, talking about how God is glorified in every, and all, aspects of life.”
I can’t think of a better endorsement than that teenager’s rapt attention.
So start the new year off right. Visit our website, BreakPoint.org, to find out how you can get a copy of A Faith and Culture Devotional, and let your faith be jolted awake in 2009.
For Further Reading and Information - - “Names You Need to Know: Challenging the New Atheists,” BreakPoint Commentary, 10 October 2008.
~
The Slaughter of the Innocents
By Chuck Colson
1/9/2009
The First Attack on Life
Yesterday, Christians around the world celebrated Epiphany, commemorating the visit of the Magi. Epiphany reminds us that God’s salvation reached beyond the Jews. Christ would be, as Isaiah foretold, “a light for the Gentiles.” He would bring “salvation to the ends of the earth,” (49:6) as far as those very kings had traveled.
But things turned decidedly bleak after the Magi departed. Suddenly we see that the Christmas story is more than the stylized Nativity scenes we see on Christmas cards.
The historian Josephus tells us how Herod murdered two of his own sons and his wife because they threatened his power. The gospel of Matthew tells us that Herod also turned his eye to the male infants of Bethlehem.
In the painting “The Slaughter of the Innocents,” baroque artist Peter Paul Rubens depicted the horror: a soldier dashing a child against a Roman column, another lancing a mother who tries to hide her babe. The painting also shows a woman weeping over the body of her dead infant. It’s a scene from the Bible none of us likes imagining.
Matthew quoted Jeremiah to describe the atrocity: “A voice is heard in Ramah . . . Rachel weeping for her children and refusing to be comforted . . .”
Those who heard Matthew’s gospel would have remembered Ramah was where Rachel died in the throes of childbirth before reaching the Promised Land. They also would have associated Ramah with the deportation of the Jews during the exile. In that vicinity, the Babylonians tore Israel’s children away from their mother’s arms and carried them off as slaves.
As Catherine Larson, one of my colleagues, writes in BreakPoint Online, “That evocative solo [of Rachel weeping] would have called forth the agony, the despair, and the tortured Why, of a people waiting in great darkness, of a people not yet home.”
As I think about this aspect of that Christmas, I’m reminded that Christmas isn’t the saccharine story we’ve reduced it to. It’s more like D-Day. Once Satan realized that God had invaded planet earth, he let loose a vicious counterattack.
And where did Evil strike? It attacked life in its most vulnerable form. The very first assault of Satan after the birth of Christ is against society’s weakest members—infants. He attacked the “least of these.”
Even today, the Enemy’s mode of attack hasn’t changed much. We’re painfully aware of the slaughter of the unborn, and the devaluation of the elderly, the poor, the disabled, and the prisoner.
But the good news is our Savior has come. He has established the beach-head. And He will have the victory.
So friends, as this New Year begins, we mustn’t be deceived. There is a real battle with real casualties. We remember that we wage war not against flesh and blood, “but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.”
We shouldn’t be surprised at setbacks and assaults upon us. Of course the Enemy won’t go down without a fight.
But remember, the Kingdom of Heaven has been forcefully advancing, and forceful men lay hold of it. So lay hold of it, and don’t let go.
Editor’s Note: Epiphany, of course, was January 6, not yesterday. Chuck recorded this BreakPoint commentary before the Christmas holidays. But before his intrepid staff left on vacation, we committed an egregious scheduling error. We beg your understanding. Thank you!
For Further Reading and Information
Catherine Larson, “A Voice in Ramah: The Cry for a Savior,” BreakPoint Online, 10 January 2007.
“Keep Traveling,” The Point Radio, 6 January 2009.
“Human Dignity: What Matters Most, Part 1,” BreakPoint Commentary, 26 December 2008.
“A Grand Duke, Indeed: Conscience is King,” BreakPoint Commentary, 23 December 2008.
“No Life, No Justice: Sanctity of Life Is Foundational,” BreakPoint Commentary, 25 July 2008.
© 2009 Prison Fellowship - - http://www.breakpoint.org/
~~~~~
Words of the Week:
xanthous: yellow; yellowish
wanderlust: a strong desire to wander or travel
qualify: prove capable or fit
ramble: move aimlessly
sacrilege: blasphemous behavior
tacit: necessarily indicated
ultimate: furthest or highest
yegg: burglar or safecracker
zealous: very enthusiastic
abstinent: self-restraining
beleaguer: force to quit; upset
candor: honesty
daunt: cause to lose courage
eclectic: varying in style
from http://dictionary.reference.com/wordoftheday/
~~~~~
"Censorship, like charity, should begin at home; but, unlike charity, it should end there." - Clare Boothe Luce
"Happiness is when what you think, what you say, and what you do are in harmony." - Mahatma Gandhi
"We fear things in proportion to our ignorance of them." - Livy
"Through our great good fortune, in our youth our hearts were touched with fire. It was given to us to learn at the outset that life is a profound and passionate thing." - Oliver Wendell Holmes
"For last year's words belong to last year's language and next year's words await another voice. And to make an end is to make a beginning." - T.S. Eliot
"Be always at war with your vices, at peace with your neighbors, and let each new year find you a better man." - Benjamin Franklin
"I and the public know, what all schoolchildren learn, those to whom evil is done do evil in return. - W.H. Auden
"There are two things to aim at in life; first to get what you want, and after that to enjoy it. Only the wisest of mankind achieve the second." - Logan Pearsall Smith
"A lot has been said about politics; some of it complimentary, but most of it accurate." - Eric Idle
"A professional politician is a professionally dishonorable man. In order to get anywhere near high office he has to make so many compromises and submit to so many humiliations that he becomes indistinguishable from a streetwalker." - H.L. Mencken
"It is dangerous to be right when the government is wrong." - Voltaire
"The more corrupt the state, the more numerous the laws." - Cornelius Tacitus
"A wise prince will seek means by which his subjects will always and in every possible condition of things have need of his government, and then they will always be faithful to him." - Niccolo Machiavelli
"No man, for any considerable period, can wear one face to himself, and another to the multitude, without finally getting bewildered as to which may be the true." - Nathaniel Hawthorne
~~~~~
BREAKING CHRISTIAN NEWS
http://breakingchristiannews.com/
Congressman Joins Ministers to Anoint and Pray Over Obama Inaugural Walkway
Peggy Birchfield (January 9, 2009)
"Oil symbolizes consecration, or setting something apart for God's use. George Washington used oil during the dedication of the US Capitol. We used oil today to set apart the walkway and doors that will be the literal rite of passage for Barack Obama as he ascends to the highest office in our land."
(Washington, DC)—In a first for presidential inaugurations, Congressman Paul Broun of Georgia joined the Reverends Rob Schenck of Faith and Action and Patrick J. Mahoney of the Christian Defense Coalition, both based in Washington, DC, in a prayer service inside the US Capitol today that included anointing the doorway President-Elect Barack Obama will pass through on his way to the platform to be sworn in as the 44th president of the United States on January 20.
Anointing the doorway"Anointing with oil is a rich tradition both in the Bible and in the history of the US Capitol," said Rev. Schenck. "Oil symbolizes consecration, or setting something apart for God's use. George Washington used oil during the dedication of the US Capitol. We used oil today to set apart the walkway and doors that will be the literal rite of passage for Barack Obama as he ascends to the highest office in our land."
Rep. Broun spoke during the 10-minute prayer service, delivering a short sermon-like talk on the need to obey God and His will, and for the future president to do what is right. Rev. Schenck read Bible passages and applied sacred oil to the doorposts of the arched doorway leading out of the Capitol and onto the inaugural stage, immediately in front of the riser where Obama will stand with Chief Justice John Roberts who will administer the Oath of Office. Rev. Mahoney, who is undertaking a 21-day fast and daily prayer schedule for Mr. Obama across the street from the White House, read an inaugural prayer by Dr. Billy Graham delivered 40 years ago.
Congressman Broun referred to the location of the prayer service as "the doorway that (President-Elect Obama) will enter through to the start of his presidency."
A video of the entire prayer service and more information is available at the link provided.
Source: Faith & Action [http://www.faithandaction.org/2009/01/07/obama-anointing-prayer-for-walkway-to-inaugural-stage/]
~
Hope amid Gaza Conflict as Israeli and Palestinian Doctors Work Together Performing Heart Surgery to Save 2-week-old Palestinian Baby
Aimee Herd (January 8, 2009)
"We've operated on more than 2,000 children so far…half of those kids are Palestinian kids, 70 are Iraqi children…"
Baby Jafar(Near Tel Aviv, Israel)—An article and video report by Israel21c states that there is "hope in the midst of conflict" between Israelis and Palestinians. This is evidenced by the Israeli humanitarian organization, Save a Child's Heart, which provides free heart surgery to children from around the world. (Photo: Israel21c)
The video report documents the recent, successful surgery on a two-week-old Palestinian baby named Jafar.
"We've operated on more than 2,000 children so far…half of those kids are Palestinian kids, 70 are Iraqi children," said Dr. Akiva Tamir, who works with Save a Child's Heart.
The Israeli charity also hosts a free weekly clinic for Palestinian children with heart problems who can be treated in their own hospitals.
To watch the video about Jafar's surgery, and Save a Child's Heart, follow the link provided.
Source: Michal Zilberman - Israel21c [http://www.israel21c.org/bin/en.jsp?enDispWho=Articles^l2405&enPage=BlankPage&enDisplay=view&enDispWhat=object&enVersion=0&enZone=Health&]
310 2nd Ave SE
Albany, Oregon 97321
541-928-2642
E-mail editor@breakingchristiannews.com
US Orders: 1-866-358-7426
><> ><> ><> ><> ><> ><> ><> ><> ><>
GCF: Electrons
Found posted in a humor newsgroup (rec.humor.funny)
If this was forwarded to you, please consider your own subscription to Good Clean Fun. It's free! Just send an email to: good-clean-fun-subscribe@yahoogroups.com
---------------------------------------------
Professor Stein was lecturing his physics class. "If molecules can be split into atoms and the atoms split into electrons, can the electrons be broken down any further?"
A pupil replied, "I'm not certain, but a sure way to find out would be to mail some of them in a package marked FRAGILE."
_ ____________________________ _
GCF: Large Rodents
Emailed to me by a friend (Thanks, Cynthia) -Tom
---------------------------------------------
I found this blurb in the USAir Gift Catalog ("This catalog is yours to keep. Please take it with you!") recently. Quoted without permission:
Prevent damage to garden and lawns from burrowing rodents with Gopher-It, the electronic stake that emits vibration and sound that's intensely annoying to underground rodents up to 100 feet in diameter.
Requires 4 "D" batteries, not included.
#26284 Gopher-It $49.95 (3.95)
I suppose for rodents of greater than 100 feet in diameter you need the nuclear powered version.
_ ____________________________ _
GCF: Laryngitis
Emailed to me by a friend (Thanks, Jim) -Tom
---------------------------------------------
During an attack of laryngitis I lost my voice completely for two days. To help me communicate with him, my husband devised a system of taps.
One tap meant, "Give me a kiss."
Two taps meant "Yes,"
Seven taps meant "No."
And 95 taps meant "Take out the garbage."
_ ____________________________ _
GCF: Encyclopedia
mailed to me another humor list (Tickled by Tony - Clean) -Tom Subscribe to the Tickled by Tony list by sending an email to: tickledbytony_clean-subscribe@yahoogroups.com
---------------------------------------------
Working as a computer instructor for an adult-education program at a community college, I am keenly aware of the gap in computer knowledge between my younger and older students.
My observations were confirmed the day a new student walked into our library area and glanced at the encyclopedia volumes stacked on a bookshelf.
"What are all these books?" he asked.
Somewhat surprised, I replied that they were encyclopedias.
"Really?" he said. "Someone printed out the whole thing?"
_ ____________________________ _
GCF: Astronomy Quiz
Emailed to me another humor list (Pastor Tim's Clean Laugh List) -Tom Subscribe to Pastor Tim's Clean Laugh list at the website: Subscribe
---------------------------------------------
My daughter's 5th-grade class had been studying astronomy. One morning at breakfast she announced, "On Friday we're having a quiz on the moon."
That's when her little brother piped up, saying, "Are you gonna let her go, Mom?"
_ ____________________________ _
GCF: Country Road Information
Emailed to me another humor list (Tickled by Tony - Clean) -Tom Subscribe to the Tickled by Tony list by sending an email to: tickledbytony_clean-subscribe@yahoogroups.com
---------------------------------------------
A fellow was walking along a country road and came upon a farmer working in his field. The man called out to the farmer and asked how long it would take him to get to the next town.
The farmer didn't answer. So, after waiting a bit, the fellow started walking again.
After the man had gone about 100 yards, the farmer yelled to him and said, "About 20 minutes."
Confused, the man turned back toward the farmer and inquired, "Why didn't you tell me that when I asked you?"
"Well," said the farmer, "I didn't know how fast you could walk."
_ ____________________________ _
GCF: Door-to-Door
Emailed to me another humor list (Tickled by Tony - Clean) -Tom Subscribe to the Tickled by Tony list by sending an email to: tickledbytony_clean-subscribe@yahoogroups.com
---------------------------------------------
Two church members were going door-to-door and knocked on Vickie's door. She was not happy to see them and told them in no uncertain terms that she did not want to hear their message and slammed the door in their faces.
To Vickie's surprise, however, the door did not close and in fact, bounced back open.
She tried again and really put her back into it, and slammed the door again with all her might, but got the same result. The door bounced back open.
Convinced these rude young people were sticking their foot in the door, she reared back to give it a slam that would teach them a lesson, when one of them said, "Ma'am, before you do that again, you need to move your cat."
_ ____________________________ _
GCF: Attainable New Year's Resolutions
From the GCF Archives -Tom
---------------------------------------------
This year I resolve to...
- Gain weight. At least 30 pounds.
- Stop exercising. Waste of time.
- Read less. Makes you think.
- Watch more TV. I've been missing some good stuff.
- Procrastinate more. Starting tomorrow.
- Take a vacation to someplace important: like, to see the largest ball of twine.
- Stop bringing lunch from home: I should eat out more.
- Buy a 1983 Cadillac El Dorado and invest in a really loud stereo system and get the windows tinted.
- Buy some fur for the dash.
- Not swim with piranhas or sharks.
- Never make New Year's resolutions again.
_ ____________________________ _
GCF: Judge's Note
Emailed to me from another humor list (Daily Humor) -Tom To subscribe to Daily Humor, send a blank email to: Daily-Humor-subscribe@yahoogroups.com
---------------------------------------------
The judge passed the bailiff a note: "Blind on right side, may be falling. Please call someone."
The bailiff rushed out of the room. Minutes later, the paramedics arrived asking for the stroke victim.
Pointing to a sagging Venetian blind on the right side of the room, the judge said to the bailiff, "I was thinking someone from building maintenance ..."
_ ____________________________ _
GCF: Christmas Cards
Emailed to me from another humor list (Daily Humor) -Tom To subscribe to Daily Humor, send a blank email to: Daily-Humor-subscribe@yahoogroups.com
---------------------------------------------
I decided to get my husband to address Christmas cards, as I had so much to do. I arranged everything we needed, then hopefully pulled up a chair and said, "Come on, Dear, let's get these out of the way."
He glanced at the array on the table, turned away and went into the den, returning moments later with a high stack of cards, stamped, sealed, and addressed.
"They're last year's," he said. "I forgot to mail them. Now let's go out to dinner and relax."
_ ____________________________ _
(((\ \>|_/ )_____________________( \_|\\\\ \_/ / Are you longing for the \ \_/ ////
\ / pitter-patter of little feet? \ /
\ _/ Buy a dog. It's cheaper, \_ /
/ / and you get more feet. \ \
(((\ \>|_/ )_____________________( \_|\\\\ \_/ / \ \_/ ////
\ / There are two theories \ /
\ _/ to arguing with women. \_ /
/ / Neither one works. \ \
(((\ \>|_/ )_____________________( \_|\\\\ \_/ / \ \_/ ////
\ / Indecision is the \ /
\ _/ key to flexibility. \_ /
/ / \ \
(((\ \>|_/ )_____________________( \_|\\\\ \_/ / \ \_/ ////
\ / Life can only be \ /
\ _/ understood backwards, \_ /
/ / but it must be lived forwards. \ \
(((\ \>|_/ )_____________________( \_|\\\\ \_/ / \ \_/ ////
\ / "Time is what keeps \ /
\ _/ everything from \_ /
/ / happening at once." \ \
(((\ \>|_/ )_____________________( \_|\\\\ \_/ / \ \_/ ////
\ / A golf ball you can see \ /
\ _/ in the rough from \_ /
/ / 50 yards away is not yours. \ \
(((\ \>|_/ )_____________________( \_|\\\\ \_/ / \ \_/ ////
\ / Honk if you love \ /
\ _/ peace and quiet! \_ /
/ / \ \
(((\ \>|_/ )_____________________( \_|\\\\ \_/ / \ \_/ ////
\ / Atheism is a \ /
\ _/ non-prophet organization. \_ /
/ / \ \
(((\ \>|_/ )_____________________( \_|\\\\ \_/ / "It might look like \ \_/ ////
\ / I'm doing nothing, \ /
\ _/ but at the cellular level \_ /
/ / I'm really quite busy." \ \
(((\ \>|_/ )_____________________( \_|\\\\ \_/ / \ \_/ ////
\ / Nostalgia isn't \ /
\ _/ what it used to be. \_ /
/ / \ \
_ ____________________________ _
| Thomas S. Ellsworth |
| tellswor@kcbx.net |
| http://www.kcbx.net/~tellswor |
(((\ \>|_/ )_____________________( \_|Stop for a visit, leave with a smile! To join Good Clean Fun, email: good-clean-fun-subscribe@yahoogroups.Com To leave Good Clean Fun, email: good-clean-fun-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.Com Or visit the Good Clean Fun web site at http://www. slonet.org/~tellswor/
><> ><> ><> ><> ><> ><> ><> ><> ><>
1. Is it good if a vacuum really sucks?
2. Why is the third hand on the watch called the second hand?
3. If a word is misspelled in the dictionary, how would we ever know?
4. If Webster wrote the first dictionary, where did he find the words?
5. Why do we say something is out of whack? What is a whack?
6. Why does "slow down" and "slow up" mean the same thing?
7. Why does "fat chance" and "slim chance" mean the same thing?
8. Why do "tug" boats push their barges?
9. Why do we sing "Take me out to the ball game" when we are already there?
10. Why are they called "stands" when they are made for sitting?
11. Why is it called "after dark" when it really is "after light"?
12. Doesn't "expecting the unexpected" make the unexpected expected?
13. Why are a "wise man" and a "wise guy" opposites?
14. Why do "overlook" and "oversee" mean opposite things?
15. Why is "phonics" not spelled the way it sounds?
16. If work is so terrific, why do they have to pay you to do it?
17. If all the world is a stage, where is the audience sitting?
18. If love is blind, why is lingerie so popular?
19. If you are cross-eyed and have dyslexia, can you read all right?
20. Why is bra singular and panties plural?
21. Why do you press harder on the buttons of a remote control when you know the batteries are dead?
22. Why do we put suits in garment bags and garments in a suitcase?
23. How come abbreviated is such a long word?
24. Why do we wash bath towels? Aren't we clean when we use them?
25. Why doesn't glue stick to the inside of the bottle?
26. Why do they call it a TV set when you only have one?
27. Christmas, what other time of the year do you sit in front of a dead tree, and eat candy out of your socks?
Thanks to Gary Foreman
><> ><> ><> ><> ><> ><> ><> ><> ><>
WHERE DID THE WHITE MAN GO WRONG?
Indian Chief, 'Walking Eagle,' was asked by a white government official, "You have observed the white man for 90 years.. You've seen his wars and his technological advances. You've seen his progress, and the damage he's done." The Chief nodded in agreement. The official continued, "Considering all these events, in your opinion, where did the white man go wrong?"
The Chief stared at the government official for over a minute and then calmly replied. "When white man find land, Indians running it. No taxes. No debt. Plenty buffalo. Plenty beaver. Clean Water. Women did all the work. Medicine man free. Indian man spend all day hunting and fishing. All night with woman."
Then the chief leaned back and smiled. "Only white man dumb enough to think he can improve system like that."
Thanks to Gary Foreman
><> ><> ><> ><> ><> ><> ><> ><> ><>
**OLDER THAN DIRT**
'Hey Dad,' one of my kids asked the other day,' What was your favorite fast food when you were growing up? '
'We didn't have fast food when I was growing up, ' I informed him. ' All the food was slow. '
'C ' mon, seriously. Where did you eat? '
'It was a place called ' at home, ' ' I explained. ' Grandma cooked every day and when Grandpa got home from work, we sat down together at the dining room table, and if I didn't like what she put on my plate I was allowed to sit there until I did like it. '
By this time, the kid was laughing so hard I was afraid he was going to suffer serious internal damage, so I didn't tell him the part about how I had to have permission to leave the table. But here are some other things I would have told him about my childhood if I figured his system could have handled it:
Some parents NEVER owned their own house, wore Levis, set foot on a golf course, traveled out of the country or had a credit card. In their later years they had something called a revolving charge card. The card was good only at Sears Roebuck. Or maybe it was Sears AND Roebuck. Either way, there is no Roebuck anymore. Maybe he died.
My parents never drove me to soccer practice. This was mostly because we never had heard of soccer. I had a bicycle that weighed probably 50 pounds, and only had one speed, (slow). We didn ' t have a television in our house until I was 11, but my grandparents had one before tha t. It was, of course, black and white, but they bought a piece of colored plastic to cover the screen. The top third was blue, like the sky, and the bottom third was green, like grass.. The middle third was red. It was perfect for programs that had scenes of fire trucks riding across someone' s lawn on a sunny day Some people had a lens taped to the front of the TV to make the picture look larger.
I was 13 before I tasted my first pizza, it was called 'pizza pie.' When I bit into it, I burned the roof of my mouth and the cheese slid off, swung down, plastered itself against my chin and burned that, too. It's still the best pizza I ever had.
We didn't have a car until I was 15. Before that, the only car in our family was my grandfather's Ford. He called it a machine.
I never had a telephone in my room. The only phone in the house was in the living room and it was on a party line. Before you could dial, you had to listen and make sure some people you didn't know weren't already using the line.
Pizzas were not delivered to our home. But milk was...
All newspapers were delivered by boys and all boys delivered newspapers. I delivered a newspaper, six days a week. It cost 7 cents a paper, of which I got to keep 2 cents. I had to get up at 4am every morning. On Saturday, I had to collect the 42 cents from my customers. My favorite customers were the ones who gave me 50 cents and told me to keep the change. My least favorite customers were the ones who seemed to never be home on collection day.
Movie stars kissed with their mouths shut. At least, they did in the movies. Touching someone else's tongue with yours was called French kissing and they didn't do that in movies. I don't know what they did in French movies. French movies were dirty and we weren't allowed to see them.
If you grew up in a generation before there was fast food, you may want to share some of these memories with your children or grandchildren.. Just don't blame me if they bust a gut laughing.
Growing up isn't what it used to be, is it?
MEMORIES from a friend:
My Dad is cleaning out my grandmother's house (she died in December) and he brought me an old Royal Crown Cola bottle. In the bottle top was a stopper with a bunch of holes in it. I knew immediately what it was, but my daughter had no idea. She thought they had tried to make it a salt shaker or something. I knew it as the bottle that sat on the end of the ironing board to 'sprinkle' clothes with because we didn't have steam irons. Man, I am old.
*How many do you remember?*
Head lights dimmer switches on the floor.
Ignition switches on the dashboard.
Heaters mounted on the inside of the fire wall.
Real ice boxes.
Pant leg clips for bicycles without chain guards.
Soldering irons you heat on a gas burner.
Using hand signals for cars without turn signals.
Older Than Dirt Quiz: Count all the ones that you remember not the ones you were told about
Ratings at the bottom
_1. Blackjack chewing gum
_2. Wax Coke-shaped bottles with colored sugar water
_3. Candy cigarettes
_4. Soda pop machines that dispensed glass bottles
_5. Coffee shops or diners with tableside juke boxes
_6.Home milk delivery in glass bottles with cardboard stoppers
_7. Party lines
_8. Newsreels before the movie
_9. P.F. Flyers
_10. Butch wax
_11. Telephone numbers with a word prefix (OLive-6933)
_12. Peashooters
_13. Howdy Doody
_14. 45 RPM records
_15. S&H greenstamps
_16. Hi-fi ' s
_17. Metal ice trays with lever
_18. Mimeograph paper
_19 Blue flashbulb
_20. Packards
_21. Roller skate keys
_22. Cork pop guns
_23. Drive-ins
_24. Studebakers
_25. Wash tub wringers
If you remembered 0-5 = You're still young
If you remembered 6-10 = You are getting older
If you remembered 11-15 = Don't tell your age,
If you remembered 16-25 = You're older than dirt!_
Thanks to Waneta
><> ><> ><> ><> ><> ><> ><> ><> ><>
History 101 (Crash course) For those that don't know about history ... Here is a condensed version:
Humans originally existed as members of small bands of nomadic hunters/gatherers. They lived on deer in the mountains during the summer and would go to the coast and live on fish and lobster in the winter.
The two most important events in all of history were the invention of beer and the invention of the wheel. The wheel was invented to get man to the beer.
These were the foundation of modern civilization and together were the catalyst for the splitting of humanity into two distinct subgroups:
1. Liberals, and 2. Conservatives.
Once beer was discovered, it required grain and that was the beginning of agriculture. Neither the glass bottle nor aluminum can were invented yet, so while our early humans were sitting around waiting for them to be invented, they just stayed close to the brewery. That's how villages were formed.
Some men spent their days tracking and killing animals to B-B-Q at night while they were drinking beer. This was the beginning of what is known as the Conservative movement.
Other men who were weaker and less skilled at hunting learned to live off the conservatives by showing up for the nightly B-B-Q's and doing the sewing, fetching, and hair dressing. This was the beginning of the Liberal movement. Some of these liberal men eventually evolved into women. The rest became known as girlie-men.
Some noteworthy liberal achievements include the domestication of cats, the invention of group therapy, group hugs, and the concept of Democratic voting to decide how to divide the meat and beer that conservatives provided.
Over the years conservatives came to be symbolized by the largest, most powerful land animal on earth, the elephant. Liberals are symbolized by the jackass.
Modern liberals like imported beer (with lime added), but most prefer white wine or imported bottled water. They eat raw fish but like their beef well done. Sushi, tofu, and French food are standard liberal fare.
Another interesting evolutionary side note: most of their women have higher testosterone levels than their men. Most social workers, personal injury attorneys, journalists, dreamers in Hollywood and group therapists are liberals. Liberals invented the designated hitter rule because it wasn't fair to make the pitcher also bat
Conservatives drink domestic beer, mostly Bud. They eat red meat and still provide for their women. Conservatives are big-game hunters, rodeo cowboys, lumberjacks, construction workers, firemen, medical doctors, police officers, corporate executives, athletes, members of the military, airline pilots and generally anyone who works productively. Conservatives who own companies hire other conservatives who want to work for a living.
Liberals produce little or nothing. They like to govern the producers and decide what to do with the production. Liberals believe Europeans are more enlightened than Americans. That is why most of the liberals remained in Europe when conservatives were coming to America . They crept in after the Wild West was tamed and created a business of trying to get more for nothing.
Here ends today's lesson in world history.
It should be noted that a Liberal may have a momentary urge to angrily respond to the above before deleting it.
A Conservative will simply laugh and be so convinced of the absolute truth of this history that it will be forwarded immediately to other true believers and to more liberals just to tick them off.
And there you have it. Let your next action reveal your true self.
Thanks to Gary Foreman
><> ><> ><> ><> ><> ><> ><> ><> ><>
Paddy O'Malley
There is a school bus that has its route down Sesame Street.
At the first stop, a really fat Irish boy gets on the bus. His name is Paddy O'Malley.
At the second stop, a somewhat large girl gets on the bus. Her name is Patricia. These two children are quite large, but on Sesame Street the children are kind and do not make fun of them.
At the third stop, a boy named Russell gets on the bus. He has a mental disability, but he also receives respect. The other children simply say that Russ is simple.
At the last stop, a really gross kid named Lester Sleaze gets on the bus. You know he is gross because he hangs out with Oscar the Grouch. He does gross things on the bus too like taking off his shoes and picking at his bunions.
What this all amounts to is: two obese Paddies, special Russ, Lester Sleaze picking bunions on the Sesame Street run.
Received from Ed Buckner.
(-:][:-)
New House
A family had spent the day moving from their farmhouse into a brand new house in a development nearby.
Very early the next morning, their 3 year-old son ran in to the parent's bedroom to wake them up.
The mother dressed him and told him to play in the yard.
About 20 minutes later, he came running back.
"Mommy, Mommy," he exclaimed, "Everybody has doorbells - and they all work!"
Received from Thomas Ellsworth.
(-:][:-)
Strawberries
A farmer was driving along the road with a load of fertilizer. A little boy, playing in front of his house, saw him and called, "What have you got in your truck?"
"Fertilizer," the farmer replied.
"What are you going to do with it?" asked the little boy.
"Put it on strawberries," answered the farmer.
"You ought to live here," the little boy advised him. "We put sugar and cream on ours."
Received from RichnAnna.
(-:][:-)
Why Did the Chicken Cross the Road?
SARAH PALIN: Before it got to the other side, I shot the chicken, cleaned and dressed it, and had chicken burgers for lunch.
BARACK OBAMA: The chicken crossed the road because it was time for a change! The chicken wanted change!
JOHN MC CAIN: My friends, that chicken crossed the road because he recognized the need to engage in cooperation and dialogue with all the chickens on the other side of the road.
HILLARY CLINTON: When I was First Lady, I personally helped that little chicken to cross the road. This experience makes me uniquely qualified to ensure right from Day One that every chicken in this country gets the chance it deserves to cross the road. But then, this really isn't about me.
GEORGE W. BUSH: We don't really care why the chicken crossed the road. We just want to know if the chicken is on our side of the road or not. The chicken is either against us or for us. There is no middle ground here.
DICK CHENEY: Where's my gun?
COLIN POWELL: Now to the left of the screen, you can clearly see the satellite image of the chicken crossing the road.
BILL CLINTON: I did not cross the road with that chicken. What is your definition of chicken?
AL GORE: I invented the chicken.
JOHN KERRY: Although I voted to let the chicken cross the road, I am now against it! It was the wrong road to cross, and I was misled about the chicken's intentions. I am not for it now and will remain against it.
AL SHARPTON: Why are all the chickens white? We need some black chickens.
DR. PHIL: The problem we have here is that this chicken doesn't realize that he must first deal with the problem on this side of the road before it goes after the problem on the other side of the road. What we need to do is help him realize how stupid he's acting by not taking on his current problems before adding new problems.
OPRAH: Well, I understand that the chicken is having problems, which is why he wants to cross this road so bad. So instead of having the chicken learn from his mistakes and take falls, which is a part of life, I'm going to give this chicken a car so that he can just drive across the road and not live his life like the rest of the chickens.
ANDERSON COOPER, CNN: We have reason to believe there is a chicken, but we have not yet been allowed access to the other side of the road.
NANCY GRACE: That chicken crossed the road because he's guilty! You can see it in his eyes and the way he walks.
PAT BUCHANAN: To steal the job of a decent, hardworking American.
MARTHA STEWART: No one called me to warn me which way that chicken was going. I had a standing order at the Farmer's Market to sell my eggs when the price dropped to a certain level. No little bird gave me any insider information.
DR SEUSS: Did the chicken cross the road? Did he cross it with a toad? Yes, the chicken crossed the road, but why it crossed I've not been told.
ERNEST HEMINGWAY: To die in the rain, alone.
GRANDPA: In my day we didn't ask why the chicken crossed the road. Somebody told us the chicken crossed the road, and that was good enough.
BARBARA WALTERS: Isn't that interesting? In a few moments, we will be listening to the chicken tell, for the first time, the heart-warming story of how it experienced a serious case of molting and went on to accomplish its lifelong dream of crossing the road.
ARISTOTLE: It is the nature of chickens to cross the road.
JOHN LENNON: Imagine all the chickens in the world crossing roads together, in peace.
BILL GATES: I have just released eChicken 2008, which will not only cross roads, but will lay eggs, file your important documents, and balance your checkbook. Internet Explorer is an integral part of eChicken 2008. This new platform is much more stable and will never crash or need to be rebooted.
ALBERT EINSTEIN: Did the chicken really cross the road, or did the road move beneath the chicken?
COLONEL SANDERS: Did I miss one?
Received from Stephen.
(-:][:-)
After Christmas Thought
A few days after Christmas, my six-year-old son and I were talking. He asked, "Mom, is there a Santa Claus?"
"Well, what do you think?" I asked him.
He replied, "Well, my Playstation that I got and my gift from Santa were wrapped in the same kind of wrapping paper." He thought for a minute and said, "I'll tell you what ... you and Dad can go on buying me presents and let's just forget we ever had this talk!"
Received from Thomas Ellsworth.
(-:][:-)
-=+=-
Rate this funny at http://www.gcfl.net/archive.php?funny=20060113
Brought to you by GCFL.net: The Good, Clean Funnies List A cheerful heart is good medicine... (Prov 17:22a) Mail address: GCFL, Box 100, Harvest, AL 35749, USA
To print or email this funny to others, go to http://www.gcfl.net/archive.php?funny=20060113
The latest GCFL funny can always be found on the web at http://www.gcfl.net/latest.php
><> ><> ><> ><> ><> ><> ><> ><> ><>
Madeleine Begun Kane Latest Columns - - http://www.madkane.com/madness/2008/11/30/irony-lives/ - - Irony Has At Least Seven More Lives
Once again, the media is debating the purported death of irony. Nine-eleven killed it the last time, and this year’s culprit is Barack Obama. Lucky for humorists (and their readers), irony apparently has a cat-like nine lives:
Irony Has At Least Seven More Lives
By Madeleine Begun Kane
Obama’s election’s to blame
For irony’s death, many claim.
Is there nothing to mock?
To satirically knock?
Spoof the press and the pundits — I’m game.
And there’s always the cowardly Dems,
And obstreperous GOP “gems,”
Greedy banks, AIG,
CEOs, bad TV.
Start lampooning — no haws and no hems.
http://www.madkane.com
Subscribe to MadKane Humor Newsletter (weekly) here:
http://www.madkane.com/email.html
><> ><> ><> ><> ><> ><> ><> ><> ><>
ENGLISH -- HAPPY NEW YEAR!
Afrikaans - Gelukkige nuwe jaar
Arabic - Antum salimoun
Chinese - Chu Shen Tan
Dutch - Gelukkig Nieuwjaar
French - Bonne Annee
Greek - Kenourios Chronos
Hebrew - L'Shannah Tovah
"Iraqi" - Sanah Jadidah
Italian - Buon Capodanno
Norwegian - Godt Nyttar
Polish - Szczesliwego Nowego Roku
Russian - S Novim Godom
Spanish - Feliz Ano Nuevo (The Spanish needs a tilde over the "n." As written, it wishes a happy something else)
Thanks to Mindy P. Lawrence
><> ><> ><> ><> ><> ><> ><> ><> ><>
Remember Lee Iacocca, the man who rescued Chrysler Corporation from its death throes? He's now 82 years old and has a new book, 'Where Have All The Leaders Gone?'.
Lee Iacocca Says:
'Am I the only guy in this country who's fed up with what's happening? Where the hell is our outrage? We should be screaming bloody murder! We've got a gang of clueless bozos steering our ship of state right over a cliff, we've got corporate gangsters stealing us blind, and we can't even clean up after a hurricane much less build a hybrid car. But instead of getting mad, everyone sits around and nods their heads when the politicians say, 'Stay the course.'
Stay the course? You've got to be kidding. This is America, not the damned, 'Titanic'. I'll give you a sound bite: 'Throw all the bums out!'
You might think I'm getting senile, that I've gone off my rocker, and maybe I have. But someone has to speak up. I hardly recognize this country anymore.
The most famous business leaders are not the innovators but the guys in handcuffs. While we're fiddling in Iraq , the Middle East is burning and nobody seems to know what to do. And the press is waving 'pom-poms' instead of asking hard questions. That's not the promise of the 'America' my parents and yours traveled across the ocean for. I've had enough. How about you?
I'll go a step further. You can't call yourself a patriot if you're not outraged. This is a fight I'm ready and willing to have. The Biggest 'C' is Crisis! (Iacocca elaborates on nine C's of leadership, with crisis being the first.)
Leaders are made, not born. Leadership is forged in times of crisis. It's easy to sit there with your feet up on the desk and talk theory. Or send someone else's kids off to war when you've never seen a battlefield yourself. It's another thing to lead when your world comes tumbling down.
On September 11, 2001, we needed a strong leader more than any other time in our history. We needed a steady hand to guide us out of the ashes. A hell of a mess, so here's where we stand.
We're immersed in a bloody war with no plan for winning and no plan for leaving.
We're running the biggest deficit in the history of the country.
We're losing the manufacturing edge to Asia, while our once-great companies are getting slaughtered by health care costs.
Gas prices are skyrocketing, and nobody in power has a coherent energy policy. Our schools are in trouble.
Our borders are like sieves.
The middle class is being squeezed every which way.
These are times that cry out for leadership.
But when you look around, you've got to ask: 'Where have all the leaders gone?' Where are the curious, creative communicators? Where are the people of character, courage, conviction, omnipotence, and common sense? I may be a sucker for alliteration, but I think you get the point.
Name me a leader who has a better idea for homeland security than making us take off our shoes in airports and throw away our shampoo?
We've spent billions of dollars building a huge new bureaucracy, and all we know how to do is react to things that have already happened.
Name me one leader who emerged from the crisis of Hurricane Katrina. Congress has yet to spend a single day evaluating the response to the hurricane or demanding accountability for the decisions that were made in the crucial hours after the storm.
Everyone's hunkering down, fingers crossed, hoping it doesn't happen again. Now, that's just crazy. Storms happen. Deal with it. Make a plan. Figure out what you're going to do the next time.
Name me an industry leader who is thinking creatively about how we can restore our competitive edge in manufacturing. Who would have believed that there could ever be a time when 'The Big Three' referred to Japanese car companies? How did this happen, and more important, what are we going to do about it?
Name me a government leader who can articulate a plan for paying down the debit, or solving the energy crisis, or managing the health care problem. The silence is deafening. But these are the crises that are eating away at our country and milking the middle class dry.
I have news for the gang in Congress. We didn't elect you to sit on your asses and do nothing and remain silent while our democracy is being hijacked and our greatness is being replaced with mediocrity. What is everybody so afraid of? That some bonehead on Fox News will call them a name? Give me a break. Why don't you guys show some spine for a change?
Had Enough? Hey, I'm not trying to be the voice of gloom and doom here. I'm trying to light a fire. I'm speaking out because I have hope - I believe in America. In my lifetime, I've had the privilege of living through some of America 's greatest moments. I've also experienced some of our worst crises: The 'Great Depression,' 'World War II,' the 'Korean War,' the 'Kennedy Assassination,' the 'Vietnam War,' the 1970's oil crisis, and the struggles of recent years culminating with 9/11.
If I've learned one thing, it's this: 'You don't get anywhere by standing on the sidelines waiting for somebody else to take action. Whether it's building a better car or building a better future for our children, we all have a role to play. That's the challenge I'm raising in this book. It's a "Call to Action" for people who, like me, believe in America'. It's not too late, but it's getting pretty close. So let's shake off the crap and go to work. Let's tell 'em all we've had 'enough.'
Make your own contribution by sending this to everyone you know and care about. It's our country, folks, and it's our future. Our future is at stake!!
Thanks to Anne Oldham
><> ><> ><> ><> ><> ><> ><> ><> ><>
Big challenges found in effort to go a week without plastic
A reporter's effort to make her four-person household plastic-free for a week found benefits including weight loss but drawbacks, including high costs. Ultimately, however, she found living completely without plastic to be nearly impossible. Chicago Tribune [http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/chi-plastic-free-satdec27,0,5147886.story]
><> ><> ><> ><> ><> ><> ><> ><> ><>
Rick Warren (REMEMBER HE WROTE 'PURPOSE DRIVEN LIFE')
You will enjoy the new insights that Rick Warren has, with his wife now having cancer and him having 'wealth' from the book sales. This is an absolutely incredible short interview with Rick Warren,
'Purpose Driven Life ' author and pastor of Saddleback Church in California
In the interview by Paul Bradshaw with Rick Warren, Rick said:
People ask me, What is the purpose of life? And I respond: In a nutshell, life is preparation for eternity. We were not made to last forever, and God wants us to be with Him in Heaven.
One day my heart is going to stop, and that will be the end of my body-- but not the end of me.
I may live 60 to 100 years on earth, but I am going to spend trillions of years in eternity. This is the warm-up act - the dress rehearsal. God wants us to practice on earth what we will do forever in eternity.
We were made by God and for God, and until you figure that out, life isn't going to make sense.
Life is a series of problems: Either you are in one now, you're just coming out of one, or you're getting ready to go into an other one.
The reason for this is that God is more interested in your character than your comfort.
God is more interested in making your life holy than He is in making your life happy.
We can be reasonably happy here on earth, but that's not the goal of life. The goal is to grow in character, in Christ likeness.
This past year has been the greatest year of my life but also the toughest, with my wife, Kay, getting cancer.
I used to think that life was hills and valleys - you go through a dark time, then you go to the mountaintop, back and forth. I don't believe that anymore.
Rather than life being hills and valleys, I believe that it's kind of like two rails on a railroad track, and at all times you have something good and something bad in your life.
No matter how good things are in your life, there is always something bad that needs to be worked on.
And no matter how bad things are in your life, there is always something good you can thank God for.
You can focus on your purposes, or you can focus on your problem s.
If you focus on your problems, you're going into self-centeredness,'which is my problem, my issues, my pain.' But one of the easiest ways to get rid of pain is to get your focus off yourself and onto God and others.
We discovered quickly that in spite of the prayers of hundreds of thousands of people, God was not going to heal Kay or make it easy for her.
It has been very difficult for her, and yet God has strengthened her character, given her a ministry of helping other people, given her a testimony, drawn her closer to Him and to people.
You have to learn to deal with both the good and the bad of life.
Actually, sometimes learning to deal with the good is harder. For instance, this past year, all of a sudden, when the book sold 15 million copies, it made me instantly very wealthy.
It also brought a lot of notoriety that I had never had to deal with before. I don't think God gives you money or notoriety for your own ego or for you to live a life of ease.
So I began to ask God what He wanted me to do with this money, notoriety and influence. He gave me two different passages that helped me decide what to do, II Corinthians 9 and Psalm 72
First, in spite of all the money coming in, we would not change our lifestyle one bit. We made no major purchases.
Second, about midway through last year, I stopped taking a salary from the church.
Third, we set up foundations to fund an initiativ e we call The Peace Plan to plant churches, equip leaders, assist the poor, care for the sick, and educate the next generation.
Fourth, I added up all that the church had paid me in the 24 years since I started the church, and I gave it all back. It was liberating to be able to serve God for free.
We need to ask ourselves: Am I going to live for possessions? Popularity?
Am I going to be driven by pressures? Guilt? Bitterness? Materialism? Or am I going to be driven by God's purposes (for my life)?
When I get up in the morning, I sit on the side of my bed and say, God, if I don't get anything else done today, I want to know You more and love You better. God didn't put me on earth just to fulfill a to-do list. He's more interested in what I am than what I do.
That's why we're called human beings, not human doings.
Happy moments, PRAISE GOD.
Difficult moments, SEEK GOD.
Quiet moments, WORSHIP GOD.
Painful moments, TRUST GOD.
Every moment, THANK GOD.
God's Blessings on you today.
><> ><> ><> ><> ><> ><> ><> ><> ><>
The Pump Handle. A water cooler for the public health crowd.
Here are links to items posted on The Pump Handle over the past week:
Friday Blog Roundup
January 9, 2009 in Blog roundup | by Liz Borkowski |
There’s a lot of news about food that might spoil your appetite:
Tom Philpott at Gristmill [http://gristmill.grist.org/story/2008/12/17/131450/84] is “having a hard time accepting that Obama has picked an ethanol-loving GMO enthusiast as his USDA chief.”
Revere at Effect Measure [http://scienceblogs.com/effectmeasure/2009/01/another_multistate_salmonella.php] reports that the country is experiencing a salmonella outbreak that’s sickened 400 people, but the CDC and FDA haven’t publicly identified the source.
Andrew Schneider at Secret Ingredients [http://blog.seattlepi.nwsource.com/secretingredients/archives/158769.asp?source=rss] draws our attention to a study that found vegetables grown in soil fertilized with livestock manure absorbed antibiotics from the animal waste.
Ezra Klein [http://www.prospect.org/csnc/blogs/ezraklein_archive?month=01&year=2009&base_name=why_dont_we_want_people_to_far] points out that high health insurance costs make farming an unattractive career choice.
http://thepumphandle.wordpress.com/
><> ><> ><> ><> ><> ><> ><> ><> ><>
Weekly Toll - - http://weeklytoll.blogspot.com/
Death In The Workplace w/News & Updates
John Donne - ...any man's death diminishes me, because I am involved in mankind, and therefore never send to know for whom the bell tolls; it tolls for thee.
A partial list of workplace fatalities.
Worker dies after hit by truck at Swift plant - Dec. 28, Greely, CO - Authorities in Greeley say a man working at the JBS Swift & Co. plant died after a semitrailer backed into him in a loading dock. Police believe 42-year-old David Peter Volpe, Jr. had been operating a fork lift Saturday evening when he got off the vehicle for an unknown reason. It appears that he was pinned behind the truck as it backed up to the loading dock.
Worker dies after fall from Downtown building - Dec. 27, Pittsburgh, PA - A worker died this morning after falling several floors from a Downtown building, the Allegheny County Medical Examiner's office said. Scott Oswald, 40, of the South Side, died at Allegheny General Hospital less than an hour after falling from the Keystone Lofts building at 10th Street and Exchange Way at about 8 a.m. Oswald was working at the building when he apparently slipped on a wet roof and fell into Exchange Way, an alley.
Tanker truck driver killed - Dec. 27, Akron, OH - A tanker truck carrying 3,000 gallons of sulfuric acid crashed into a gully Friday morning along Akron-Peninsula Road, killing the driver and shutting down the Akron road all day. The driver was identified as Shawn Flynn, 44, of Canonsburg, Pa., near Pittsburgh. The driver's body remained in the vehicle until about 4 p.m., when authorities determined it was safe for workers to go into the gully and remove him. ''The good news in this bad situation was that only about 50 gallons of sulfuric acid leaked out. And because of the weather being so cold, the sulfuric acid was sleepy, not volatile.''
http://weeklytoll.blogspot.com
><> ><> ><> ><> ><> ><> ><> ><> ><>
NEVER FORGET! We're listing the names of our soldiers killed weekly. These records can be found at http://www.defenselink.mil/releases/
01. Master-at-Arms Seaman Apprentice Joshua D. Seitz, 19, of Sinking Springs, Pa., died Dec. 25 in Manama, Bahrain. He was assigned to Naval Security Force, Naval Support Activity Bahrain.
02. Cpl. Charles P. Gaffney Jr., 42, of Phoenix, Ariz., died Dec. 24 in Paktika, Afghanistan, when his combat outpost received enemy rocket fire. He was assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 506th Infantry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault), Fort Campbell, Ky.
03. Lance Cpl. Robert L. Johnson, 21, of Central Point, Ore., died Dec. 20 as a result of a non-hostile incident in Anbar province, Iraq. He was assigned to the 5th Combat Logistics Battalion, 1st Combat Logistics Regiment, 1st Marine Logistics Group, Camp Pendleton, Calif.
04. Spc. Tony J. Gonzales, 20, of Newman, Calif., died Dec. 28 in Sadr City, Iraq, when an improvised explosive device detonated near his vehicle. He was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 6th Infantry Regiment, 2nd Brigade, 1st Armored Division, Baumholder, Germany.
05. Pfc. Benjamin B. Tollefson, 22, of Concord, Calif., died Dec. 31 in Balad, Iraq, of wounds suffered when insurgents attacked his unit with indirect fire in Ghazaliya. Tollefson was assigned to the Special Troops Battalion, 2nd Heavy Brigade Combat Team, 1st Infantry Division, Fort Riley, Kan.
06. Pfc. Christopher W. Lotter, 20, of Chester Heights, Pa., died Dec. 31, 2008, in Balad, Iraq, of wounds suffered when he was shot by enemy forces in Tikrit. He was assigned to the 3rd Battalion, 7th Field Artillery Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division, Schofield Barracks, Hawaii.
07. Lance Cpl. Alberto Francesconi, 21, of Bronx, N.Y., died Jan. 1 while supporting combat operations in Helmand province, Afghanistan. He was assigned to 3rd Battalion, 8th Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division, II Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Lejeune, N.C.
08. Lance Cpl. Chadwick A. Gilliam, 29, of Mayking, Ky., died Jan. 3 at a U.S. military base in Kuwait. He was assigned to 2nd Battalion, 6th Marines, 2nd Marine Division, II Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Lejeune, N.C.
09. Staff Sgt. Anthony D. Davis, 29, of Daytona Beach, Fla., died Jan. 6 in Northern Iraq, of wounds suffered when he was shot by enemy forces. He was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment, Hunter Army Airfield, Georgia.
10. Lance Cpl. Jessie A. Cassada, 19, of Hendersonville, N.C., died Jan. 6 while supporting combat operations in Helmand province, Afghanistan. He was assigned to 3rd Battalion, 8th Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division, II Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Lejeune, N.C.
~
Navy Commissions Aircraft Carrier George H.W. Bush
The Navy’s newest nuclear-powered aircraft carrier George H. W. Bush was commissioned Saturday, Jan. 10, 2009, during an 11 a.m. EST ceremony at Naval Station Norfolk, Va.
President George W. Bush deliverd the principal address. Dorothy “Doro” Bush Koch, daughter of the ship’s namesake, is the ship’s sponsor. In the time-honored Navy tradition, she gave the order to "man our ship and bring her to life!"
The lastNimitz-class aircraft carrier is named to honor World War II naval aviator and America’s 41st president George H. W. Bush. Born on June 12, 1924, in Milton, Mass., Bush began a lifetime of service to America when he joined the Navy on his 18th birthday as a seaman. He became the youngest pilot in the Navy at the time, receiving his commission and naval aviator wings before his 19th birthday.
Bush flew the Avenger torpedo bomber in combat from the carrier USS San Jacinto. During an attack on enemy installations near Chichi Jima in September 1944, his plane was hit by enemy fire while making a bombing run. Although the plane was on fire and heavily damaged, he completed a strafing run on the target before bailing out of the doomed aircraft. Bush parachuted into the sea and was later rescued by the Navy submarine USS Finback. He was later awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross and three Air Medals for his Navy service in the Pacific theater during World War II.
><> ><> ><> ><> ><> ><> ><> ><> ><>
"We have nothing to fear but fear itself." -- Franklin D. Roosevelt
"There is not enough darkness in the world to put out the light of one candle."
Tell the people you love that you love them, at every opportunity. - - George Carlin
"Stop telling God how big your storm is. Instead, tell the storm how big your God is!" - - Queen E. Watson
><> ><> ><> ><> ><> ><> ><> ><> ><>
Activities and Events of Interest - - Coming Events
~~~~~
MONDAY- January 12
The Magnolia School District Board of Education will hold its monthly meeting at 7 p.m. in the board room of the superintendent’s office.
Relay for Life kickoff will be held at 5:30 p.m. in the Partee Room at BancorpSouth. For more information, call 904-2258.
Tai Chi Easy classes for people 60 and older will begin at 1:30 p.m. in the Hospitality House at Magnolia Housing Authority. The free classes will be held each Monday. For more information, call 234-7410 or 1-800-272-2127.
TUESDAY- January 13
The Southwest Arkansas Bluegrass Association will have its regular monthly meeting at 7 p.m. at Western Sizzlin. For more information, call 904-2817.
THURSDAY- January 15
The Caring Place of Magnolia, an adult respite program for Alzheimer’s and/or dementia patients, is open from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. For additional information, call 234-4530.
><> ><> ><> ><> ><> ><> ><> ><> ><>
Scheduled Activities
~~~
CQ CQ all Hams. We have restarted a 2 meter net on the Willisville repeater, 146.655, every Tuesday evening at 7 PM. Please check in and spread the word. We would like to get some renewed interest in amateur radio and the ARKLA Amateur Radio Association. Will be listening for everyone next Tuesday night.
~~~
Columbia County Amateur Radio Club meets Every second Thursday @ 7:00 p.m. Union Street Station. And YOU'RE invited. Net is every Sunday at 20:30 on 147.105.
~~~
MCC - Mom's Day Out - Every Tuesday and Thursday from 9 to 2.$10 for the first child, $5 for the second. Call 234-3225 for reservations.
~~~
MCC - Nursing Home Ministry - Meadowbrook Every Tuesday from 10 to 11 am. Taylor, the last Thursday each month.
~~~
Men's Prayer Breakfast held every Tuesday morning at 6 AM in Miller's Cafeteria. If you aren't a regular participant at the Men's Prayer Breakfast, you're missing some great food, fellowship and inspired teaching of the Word. Hope to see you there.
><> ><> ><> ><> ><> ><> ><> ><> ><>
Emergency Phone Number 911
(Fire, Police, Ambulance, Sheriff, etc. )
Central Dispatch 234-5655
(Non - Emergency Number)
Direct Numbers
Ambulance - 234-7371 (24 Hour)
Jail - 234-5331 (24 Hour)
Poison Control - 800-222-1222 (24 Hour)
http://www. aapcc. org/
><> ><> ><> ><> ><> ><> ><> ><> ><>
Interested in getting in touch with the Banner-News through e-mail?
E-mail addresses for communicating with the newspaper’s various departments are: news@bannernews.net For news and sports items, Coming Events, Diary, Church News, school and civic events.
advertising@bannernews. net For retail and classified advertising.
circulation@bannernews. net To start, stop or cancel newspaper delivery or for comments about delivery.
outfitters @bannernews.net For Office Outfitters, the office supply division of the Banner-News.
><> ><> ><> ><> ><> ><> ><> ><> ><>
"Laugh whenever you can and cry if you need to." -- "Bug"
"I read the end of the book. We win!" -- "Bug"
"We may not be able to cure the world, but we don't have to make it sicker." -- "Bug"
"There just ain't enough fingers for all the holes in the dike." - - "Bug"
"It's no big deal doing what God tells you to do. A big deal would be NOT doing what God tells you to do. Just ask Jonah." - - Paul Troquille
“Nam et ipsa scientia potestas est.” Knowledge is power. - Francis Bacon
"The problem is here and now. The time for talk is past. The time for action is now."
Comments on the first Earth Day - James F. McClellan via John "Fuzzy" Thurman
~~~~~
Hope you enjoy the newsletter.
Again, thanks to all our contributors this week.
"Remember Pearl Harbor? Remember 9/11!" --"Bug"
God bless and GOD BLESS AMERICA!!!
Dan 1:7-9 Jonah 1:3-4 Mat 16:8-10 Rom 6:18-19 1 Cor 12:4-7 Eccl 3:1-8 1 Cor 12:14-18, 27 John 7:50-8:1 1 Cor 11:23-26 http://www.e-min.org/
God is Good and Faithful CU 73 IC JFM CSP NREMT-I KC5HII
P. S. If you'd like to be added to the distribution, just drop us E-mail at kc5hii@suddenlink.net
. We offer "Da Bleat" as text, a "Blog" and as a newsletter with pictures in Word and PDF format. The latest issue is usually updated sometime Saturday. For the "Blog" version just go to one of the several addresses on the web. For the latest issue, go to http://www.bugsbleat.blogspot.com. Older issues can be found at http://www.bugsbleat_q__.blogspot.com, where _ is the quarter (1, 2, 3, or 4) and __ is the year (05, 06, 07, or 08). We also have a site [http://bugsbleatphotos.blogspot.com/] where we post photos that I like.
Let us hear from you if we can switch you over to the "Word" or "PDF" version of "Da Bleat".
If you'd prefer to read "Da Blog" version, just drop us a note at kc5hii@suddenlink.net and we'll switch you from e:mail delivery to "Da Bleat" Blog. We appreciate your encouragement. We also appreciate your communication when you desire to be taken off our mail list. If you are on this mail list by mistake or do not wish to receive "Da Bleat," please reply back and tell us to discontinue service to you. This email was scanned by Norton AntiVirus 2009 before it was sent.
><> ><> ><> ><> ><> ><> ><> ><> ><>
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment