11 Sep 2011 - DarryD.com

Transcription

11 September 2011 (Sunday)
TAMPA BAY, FLORIDA
by Darry D Eggleston, http://DarryD.com1
Today, I learned from:
( 9/11 Facts from Fiction
( Chef Woz
( Cleaning for a Reason
( Cristal
( Dave Lee
( Deck of Cards
( Florida’s Silver Alert
( God’s Promised Wives
( Lady Mary
( Lessons Etched in Mind
( Linda Sunshine
( Man in the Red Bandanna
( Mexican Train
( New South Pride
( PegEgg
( Tara Parrothead
( Tire Hero
( Tweet of the Day
( View from Oneonta
( Where Were You?
( Wild Woz
( WWII Weapons
04:01 — WHERE WERE YOU?
“Where Were You (When The World Stopped Turning)” by Alan Jackson [ http://bit.ly/1aEOBH ] softly inclines though the lines of my mind as I find
tear-filled eyes temporarily blind my ambitions for the day.
Today is the 10th anniversary of
the attack on the World Trade Center,
in New York City, 11 September 2001.
Why does it take a major crisis for
Americans to come together, join
forces, and — once again — overcome
the obstacles?
And, why is it that we forget so
quickly that we have the ability, the capability, and the agility to do so?
1
These are reflections designed to be re-read when I am too old to journey from the comfort of my stead and,
so that in my bed, I can relive the days gone by. Permission for reproduction in whole or in part is granted to groups and
organizations for internal, non-profit use provided credit is given to the author along with the copyright notice: Article
reprinted with permission. Copyright © 2011 Darry D Eggleston, http://DarryD.com.
For more tips, visit http://DarryD.com
Page 1 of 10
11 SEPTEMBER 2011 (SUNDAY)
The frontpage of The Tampa Tribune, this morning stated it best:
“In the 10 years since Sept. 11, many Bay area residents say the sense
of unity they felt after the attacks has faded into disillusionment. They
are out of work, distrustful of the government and tired of losing liberties
in the name of safety. They question the necessity of sending people
to die in two wars. Others say stop whining. They all have had to learn
to live in America’s new normal.” [ http://bit.ly/r4fnHg ]
The haunting words from daunting questions resonate as we celebrate
a really bad day in the life of a really great people [ http://bit.ly/iA3AA ].
“Where were you when the world stopped turning on that September day?
Were you in the yard with your wife and children
Or working on some stage in L.A.?
Did you stand there in shock at the sight of that black smoke
Risin’ against that blue sky?
Did you shout out in anger, in fear for your neighbor
Or did you just sit down and cry?”
0603 — SPEED TEST
Website: http://SpeedTest.net
Our Location: Tampa Bay, Florida
ISP Location: Tampa, FL (< 50 mi)
Link: http://bit.ly/qQEL6Q
Faster than 86% of U.S.
06:15 — MEXICAN TRAIN
Last night, PegEgg, Cristal (her
sister) and I played Mexican Train — a
game of dominoes — with a great
friends, Lady Mary & Chef Woz.
With everyone drawing 10 dominoes, everyone — in turn — tries to
match the dots on the domino she placed last. In addition, if someone has
stated a community train, one can play
on it as well.
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The Lady Mary is one of those gentle souls who is an obvious
Christian. She doesn’t have to proclaim it, you just know it. It’s a feeling you
get when you’re around her.
Quietly elegant, she never wears
flashy clothes or draws attention to herself. Her first thought whenever someone mentions a problem is, “How can I
help?”
She’s knowledgeable without being verbose. She believes what she
believes without any belief she must defend it. It’s not that she can’t. She just
finds arguing very unproductive.
She’s willing to share without
personal gain or a return on her investment of time and effort.
She’s got a quiet sense of humor preferring to chuckle rather than laugh
out loud.
Lady Mary sees the good in everybody and everything. If we were, all,
neck deep in manure with 2 inches of snow on top of that, among the whining
of the others, we would hear Mary’s cheerful voice announce, “I’ll bet the flowers are going to be gorgeous in the Sprin.”
She understands that computers are a resource; not an outcome. She
knows how to use them, but she’s not addicted.
Chef Woz is a culinary champion. You name the food, he’s turn it into
a meal fit for a king. Whether he’s whipping up a must-have dip for vegetables, baking a casserole, or cooking a sensuous stew, Chef Woz ensures that
every portion complements the others and each one leaves the consumer
wanting more.
And he’s ready to share. Someone brought up the problem of making
soft-boiled and hard-boiled eggs, and — without hesitation or concealing any
trade secrets — he shared how to save time, toil, and sweat while serving a
perfect egg every time.
No wonder he graduated summa cum laude from chef college.
The NASCAR race was muted on the TV. Chef Woz is ready, at a moment’s notice, to switch into his Wild Woz routine. Wearing his Jeff Gordon
‘24' t-shirt, he’s got one eye on his dominoes, one eye on the race, one ear
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on the conversation, and one on the meal he’s got warming in the kitchen.
Never missing a beat or a turn, he’s alert — unable to be distracted from all
the things he considers to be important.
Cristal is a bunny. She’s cuddly,
comforting, warm and calmly affectionate. People who need to be needed
gravitate to Cristal.
Cristal is a sweetheart. While raising her husband for ½ of a century, she
made the time to raise 3 sons and have
a career in real estate as well.
Ever attuned to the conversation,
she reveals her position as a matter of ease — not to argue but to please
those around her by letting them know she is there in their moments of need.
She’s easy going, but when you can’t play a turn, your train better
appear in the right place or she’ll gently — but firmly — remind you of your
responsibility. No, she doesn’t lose her calm, cool nature. She just gives you
‘that look’ and points where your train should be.
No words need be spoken.
PegEgg? She’s the chief.
She’s calm, calculating, and attentive.
She’s calm because she never lets even the worst turn distract her from
the strategy she is following. And, if she sees someone needing help, she
pauses from that plan to offer — without being asked — assistance.
She’s calculating because she’s
3–4 moves ahead of wherever the players are. No matter what domino they lay
down, she’s got a backup plan to the
backup plan.
And, though it all, she’s attentive.
No matter what the subject, she shares
her opinion without being pushy. She
states facts without rhetoric and listens
without judgement. She doesn’t have to
convince you that she is right, she just
Page 4 of 10
wants to ensure that you know what she believes and — if you ask — why
she believes it.
And I was the 5th player.
I don’t win a lot, I just play. Winning is not nearly as important as the
socialization that games like this offer. I want to be useful, informative, and
amusing — not necessarily in that order.
In other words, I’m just being me because it’s the only character I know.
10:41 — TIRE
HERO
Tara Parrothead
There are heroes & zeros on this planet.
Let me tell you about one of my recent heroes.
Yesterday, we had the misfortune to have a flat tire on I-75 coming
home from Gainesville. My husband was driving, & he pulled us to the
side of the rode without incident.
I thought we would be on our way quickly. However, he had taken he
tire tool out of the car for another project and didn’t put it back.
So we crept to the exit, which was luckily within sight.
I found the card for the roadside assistance that I had bought when we
purchased the car, it was still in effect.
However, a very nice young man pulled into the Kangaroo where we
parked with the same model car, a Vibe and came to our aid. He provided the
tool needed to remove the lug nuts and proceeded to help Don change the
tire.
So he became my Hero for the day.
It was much nicer to be on our way in a few minutes than sit and wait
for roadside assistance to get to us.
13:06 — NEW SOUTH PRIDE
Linda Sunshine
The year is 2016 and the United States has just elected the first woman
— a lady from Tennessee — as president.
A few days after the election the president-elect calls her father and
says, ‘So, Daddy, I assume you will be coming to my inauguration?’
Page 5 of 10
‘I don’t think so. It’s a 16 hour drive, your mother isn’t as young as she
used to be, and my arthritis is acting up again.’
‘Don’t worry about it Daddy, I’ll send Air Force One to pick you up and
take you home. A limousine will pick you up at your door.’
‘I don’t know. Everybody will be so fancy. What would your mother
wear?’
‘Oh, Daddy’, replies the president-elect, ‘I’ll make sure she has a wonderful gown custom made by the best designer in Washington.’
‘Honey,’ Dad complains, ‘you know I can’t eat those rich foods you and
your friends like to eat.’
The President-to-be responds, ‘Don’t worry Daddy. The entire affair is
going to be handled by the best caterer in Washington, I’ll ensure your meals
are salt-free Daddy, I really want you to come.’
So Dad reluctantly agrees, and on January 20, 2017, the first woman
is being sworn in as President of the United States.
In the front row sits the new president’s Dad and Mom.
The Dad notices the Supreme Court Justice sitting next to him and
leans over and whispers, ‘You see that woman over there with her hand on
the Bible, becoming President of the United States.’
The Justice whispers back, ‘Yes I do.’
Daddy says proudly, ‘Her brother played football for the Tennessee
Volunteers.’
Some things will never change.
FLORIDA’S SILVER
ALERT IS A LIFE SAVER
14:03 —
Florida’s Silver Alert is a differ
ence-maker [ http://bit.ly/njtrVY ].
Since October 2008, 321 Silver
Alerts were issued statewide.
From 105 alerts in 2009 to 124 in
2010, and 92 already this year, it’s a
growing program. (In comparison, 164
Amber Alerts for child abduction cases
Page 6 of 10
have been issued since that program began in 2000.)
Every person for whom a Silver Alert was issued has been found.
Alerts are issued when an elderly person with a mental impairment (i.e.,
Alzheimer’s or other forms of dementia) is missing and believed to be driving
a vehicle.
Alerts are emailed to law enforcement agencies, health facilities & social
service organizations across the state. Messages describing the vehicle
make, model and tag number are shown on 560 roadway message boards.
In a state with an aging population & more people being diagnosed with
Alzheimer’s, it will grow. Though Florida says the disease affects 500,000, the
total could be as high as 800,000.
14:30 — 9/11 FACT FROM FICTION
As with everything else in the world, there are those who believe every
conspiracy theory ever released about the events on 11 September 2011.
As a former slave — oops! worker — in the Pentagon, I always laugh
at theories about what really happened there.
Some of the claims are:
( “The government released
footage does not show the aircraft hitting the building.”
( “None of the trash from a plane
crash is visible in the footage of the
evacuation of the wounded.”
( “None of my friends working in
the Pentagon that day remember seeing any of the fuselage, wings or tail.”
The questions none of them address are:
A. What happened to the real, live people that were on that flight?
B. To where did the aircraft disappear?
C. How many people would it take to carry out a real-world conspiracy
like that, and why have none of them come forward?
Popular Mechanics, the magazine, has published a lot of debunking info
over the last few years [ http://bit.ly/cO2Qr0 ], and now it published a book.
Page 7 of 10
“Debunking 9/11 Myths: Why Conspiracy Theories Can’t Stand Up to
the Facts” (NY: Hearst Books, 2011) is a book worth reading.
Please, before forwarding conspiracy theories, check them out.
15:26 — WWII WEAPONS
Watching movies of World War II, some get confused by the weapons
used by the various armies. May this list aid you.
The Nazis had the StG 44 (Sturmgewehr 44, literally :”storm (or assault)
rifle (model of 19)44"). It was the world’s 1st assault rifle [ http://bit.ly/4oiBII ].
The Soviets used the PPD-40 submachinegun [ http://bit.ly/r8QBmK ]
which was almost a direct copy of the German Bergmann MP 28.
The popularity of the AK-47 assault rifle (introduced in 1947, after World
War II) was that it was simple to operate, cheap to produce, and an effective
killer [ http://bit.ly/Jxlo ]. It was used extensively by the North Vietnamese
Army and the Viet Cong in the Vietnam War.
The Thompson Submachine gun [ http://bit.ly/ZRzry ] & the 1918 Browning Automatic Rifle (BAR) [ http://bit.ly/15J2zw ] was the U.S. response. Of
course, the M1 Garand Rifle [ http://bit.ly/c5OlE ] was our primary infantry
weapon. By the by, I was trained on the M1 rifle during Basic Training in 1964.
16:01 — DECK OF CARDS
Three people sent me a poem, “Deck of Cards.”
It’s about a U.S. warrior who pulls a deck of cards out
in church and is asked to explain why by his commander,
a chaplain, or a provost marshal — depending upon the
version.
One claimed it was written by a soldier in Iraq, one
swore it was written by a SEAL in Afghanistan, and one
said it was written by a friend of a friend’s friend in the Navy.
Actually, the poem is from the song “Deck of Cards” put out by Tex
Ritter [ http://bit.ly/nC9aJb], Phil Harris, and T. Texas Tyler – all in 1948 —
[ http://bit.ly/gxxRki ] and then by Red Sovine [ http://bit.ly/oJ7e1q ] during the
much later Vietnam War .
Please, check out stuff before you click on the Forward button.
Page 8 of 10
18:20 — GOD’S
PROMISED WIVES
VIEW FROM ONEONTA
Dave Lee
When creating wives, God promised
men that good and obedient wives
would be found in all corners of the world.
And then He made the earth round.
18:27 — TWEET
OF THE DAY
“I may be a twin, but I’m one of a kind.”
18:43 — MAN IN THE RED BANDANNA
Captain Ripp
Ten years later: remembering a man, named Wells, who led people
to safety after terrorists struck the World Trade Center on September 11th — a former Boston College lacrosse player whose trademark was a
red bandanna. On 9/11/2011, that bandana was what many survivors remember most. View this video [ http://es.pn/qcMofB ] and remember a man you
never met.
19:12 — CLEANING FOR A REASON
Linda Sunshine
“Fighting cancer is difficult enough, but living with it is even tougher.”
If you know a woman undergoing chemotherapy, please, tell her there
is a cleaning service that does free housecleaning — once per month for 4
months while she is in treatment.
All she has to do is sign up & have her doctor fax a note confirming the
treatment.
Cleaning For A Reason [ http://CleaningForAReason.org ] steps in. A
nonprofit serving the entire U.S. & Canada, it offers professional house cleaning to help women undergoing treatment for cancer — any type of cancer. To
Page 9 of 10
date, it has helped 4,000+ women with cancer with more than $1 million in
donated cleaning.
Making A Difference One Home at a Time®.
23:42 — LESSONS ETCHED IN MIND
“50,000 Names” sung by Linda & Robin Williams recall my war from
decades and headaches ago [ http://bit.ly/o7goTj ].
How many names will be on the
walls from the wars we wage today?
Will we remember the terror of
9/11/2001 or the heroes who made the
decisions that had to be made without
thought of gain or to remain without trying to save others?
Will we remember hugging those
we love? Will we recall at all the sounds
of the voices calling to say, “I’m OK”?
We have God when we have
nothing else, but we must enjoy and be
most thankful for those breathing ones who cling to us and are a part of us
every moment of every day lest we forget, in that moment of crisis, that they
are a part of all we have been.
A friend provides comfort on this side of paradise.
I know exactly where I was when I heard that President John F. Kennedy was shot.
I know exactly where I was, how I felt, and how I reacted when steel ball
bearing, shards of plastic, and fire ripped through my body in the hell we call
‘The Nam’.
I know exactly where I was when I heard the news and watched on TV
as the second plane crashed into that monument that has become yet
another symbol of the greatest nation in the known worlds today.
I pray I don’t have any more memories like those during my brief, mostly
enjoyable, visit to your planet.
Page 10 of 10

11 Sep 2011 - DarryD.com

Transcription

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