More on Mailing to the Troops here and over there

Latest news from around Peoria Unified school
Nov. 26, 2007 08:10 AM
PEORIA UNIFIED ELEMENTARY SCHOOLSalta loma elmentaryIn honor of Veterans Day, eighth-graders in Zoe Seymour's language arts class wrote letters to patients at Carl Hayden Veterans Administration Hospital. The letters, which extended good wishes and expressions of gratitude, were delivered to the hospital on Veterans Day. Additionally, all eighth-graders Civics students wrote letters to recuperating soldiers at Walter Reed Army Hospital in Washington D.C.

Click this link: http://www.azcentral.com/community/peoria/articles/1126gl-peoaos1126-ON.html

Deadline approaching for sending care packages to troops

Check before you buy; toiletry items already overstockedGANNETT NEWS SERVICE
MUNCIE, Ind. -- Want to send Christmas cards or care packages to troops this holiday season?
Think twice about addressing those gifts to "A Recovering American soldier" care of Walter Reed Army Medical Center.

In a press release on its Web site, Walter Reed recently announced the medical center will not be accepting such packages because of safety and security concerns for patients and staff.
Handouts with the "A Recovering American soldier" address were given out locally during recent Veterans Day ceremonies. Jerry Griffis, veterans affairs officer for Delaware County, has fielded calls from people concerned about the issue.
Because the Department of Defense discourages the publishing of lists of names of troops stationed overseas, presents and greetings to troops can be given via any of the non-profit groups supported by the state's Veterans' Service Officers' Association, Griffis said. A list of those agencies, which can provide everything from gift certificates to groceries for the troops, can be found at http://invsoa.homestead.com/supportthetroops.html.

Click this link: http://www.pal-item.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071126/NEWS01/711260305/1008/rss

Soldiers' combat stress takes time to surface, study finds
12 days ago on Los Angeles Times
... long-term mental health problems that afflicted many soldiers who fought in Vietnam, said Dr. Charles S. Milliken of the Walter Reed Army Institute of Research, who led the study. "We know from civilian studies and others . . . that if you can get to these...

For many, depression, stress and relationship trouble don't show up until months after soldiers return, a study shows. The finding may help prevent the problems suffered by many Vietnam vets.
By Thomas H. Maugh II, Los Angeles Times Staff Writer November 14, 2007
The stress and depression caused by combat in Iraq often don't appear until a few months after a soldier has returned home, researchers reported today.Six months after their deployment ended, the number of soldiers referred for mental health care was nearly three times as high as when they first returned, and the number reporting relationship problems with their families and others had quadrupled, according to results from a new screening tool used by the military to assess the... click on this link: http://www.latimes.com/news/science/la-sci-mental14nov14,1,2561788.story?track=rss&ctrack=1&cset=true

Decisions for 2008

There is no shortage of communication devices and plans. Despite so, it concerns me there is no increase in communications. Lots of gizmo's, not so much communicating.


Thus, my decision for 2008 and my own voice over Internet protocols will become sweeter. You can bet my prioroty is my output at lowest cost. I want to find suitable communication Tech-nique to get around contracts and phone plans, text advertising, scams and folderole of the like.


I will not however ease up on blogging. I realize MooPigWisdom is a single sided perspective editorial, me,,,and mine -- but at least I am old and opinionated. Old means Wise, didn't you know?

Appearing here as December grinds down, more information on my communications Jones, that I seek, as I find answers to questions; will be a study for us all. So keep you ear to the tracks, and your nose to the wind; the wolves will be vigilante, you can count on it!
For instance:
Why is there bad cellular service in Brazos Valley?
Why can I hear you, but can't see you?
Is this all there is?
What is Text-ing supposed to do?
Which devices are recently gone the way of the pager/beeper?
>pd

We must press on with Support and Duty

Want a nice thing to do? When you are making out your Christmas card list this year, please include the following:

(Specific name of patient)
c/o Walter Reed Army Medical Center
6900 Georgia Avenue, NW
Washington,D.C. 20307-5001

If you approve of the idea, please pass it on to your e-mail list. (Which I did) Hope you do also. These guys need all of the good cheers and will that we can give them. ..from PMcQ

Errata, et al;Oops, No snail mail accepted. Dang it! Hey save a tree, email it.

Please visit Site letssaythanks Xerox has provided to insure you get a message to our soldiers. My cousin had a reply to the idea forwarded to me... see below. Don't let it stop ya... Cool no matter how it goes down.Hey, Cuzz Chris... you hangin' tough? What's your email?If you go to this web site, _http://www.letssaythanks.com/_ > (http://www.letssaythanks.com/) you can pick out a thank you card and Xerox will print it and > it will be sent to a soldier that is currently serving in Iraq You can't pick > out who gets it, but it will go to some member of the armed services.
Love and hugs and lots of joy,
>>Pat-----Original Message-----From: lesliebaiocco@tx.rr.comTo: Pat Darnell <patdarnell@aol.com>Sent: Sun, 25 Nov 2007 6:06 amSubject: Fwd: Re: suggestion for Christmas Card List
Hi P.
Got this from my neighbor..........love L
> From: BarbaraR5@aol.com
> Date: Sat, 24 Nov 2007 11:39:54 EST
> Subject: Re: suggestion for Christmas Card List
> To: lesliebaiocco@tx.rr.com
>
> FYI, great idea but false according to _www.snopes.com_
> (mip://01f98c48/http://www.snopes.com/)
>
> ........"the plan falters on one cruel yet central reality — in these times
> of heightened security, mail from strangers to unnamed soldiers must for
> everyone's safety be discarded unopened...........the U.S. Postal Service will
not
> accept mail addressed to "Any Soldier", "Any Wounded Soldier", etc because it
> could be providing a conduit to do harm to armed services member....."
>
> However, this is an alternative that seems to be true according to
> Snopes.com...........
> Something cool that Xerox is doing
>
> If you go to this web site, _http://www.letssaythanks.com/_
> (http://www.letssaythanks.com/) you can pick out a thank you card and Xerox
will print it and
> it will be sent to a soldier that is currently serving in Iraq You can't pick
> out who gets it, but it will go to some member of the armed services.
> Freedom

Procrastinate... Hell No! Pro-Activate with Vehemence

Missing and exploited children is a possibility we have difficulty facing as parents. by Pat Darnell

School Pictures have arrived here in Nirvana, Utopia - where women are strong, men are good-looking, and the children are all above average. Herein, it turns out, I sense a passe spirit of putting-off-till-later. Many are procrastinating a simple task; doing simple secondary research in the area of protection of our children's' rights to not be abducted against our collective wills.

Therefore, I submit a starting point for any procrastinating reader of this today.

Our precious bairn at any moment can be swept up into a line of bolixed bullshixta a mile long, and go missing. God forbid! And my prayer is that these possibilities are erased and do not apply today or for eternity... for any child. But --

Hey! Parents -- realize this: it is too late when the event is upon us. The schools send out pictures like the one above, and it is a good source of information for any future or latent "missing and exploited children."

Compliments of our children's' schools in partnership with National Center for Missing and Exploited children, your child's image is on file with parents' permissions.

Try http://www.smilesafekids.com/ for instance website set up for explicit use for M or E children. Claims from the http://www.4child.com/ child I.D. program are similar to tactics for keeping track of our kids:
Features: Look!! FREE Stuff!
* All I.D.’s are credit card size and made of durable hard
plastic.
* No permanent databasing of child’s information. All
pictures, fingerprints and information are completely
DELETED after 90 days to protect the family’s confidentiality.
* CHIP only uses state-of-the-art digital technology to
insure the highest quality products possible.
* All participating students are photographed, fingerprinted,
weighed & measured for complete accuracy.
* Parent Option Program - Only those parents who
“authorize” permission for their child to participate.
* FREE school security & badge issuance software with
photo capture capabilities and the ability to database all
visitors on campus. FREE digital camera also available.
* FREE child safety educational materials and poster for
each classroom.
* FREE custom Staff Badges & Lanyards with photo,
name, title and expiration date. http://www.4childid.com/pdf/chip_vs_lifetouch.pdf

We already bought the pictures, so why not be a part of a solution that eases turmoil in the wake of a lost child? Not only children -- Hey, I lost my Aunt in LA, she was a victim of Alzheimer's, but her absence caused alarm across the US. My family stretches from coast to coast, OC to Peachtree Georgia... by the time she was found, a lot of property damage was done, and our understanding of "being lost" was changed forever.

Family members who get "out-of-pocket" is not: "Hey, I'll get to that later." Lesson to learn: a little backtrack would have been nice to have!

How to proceed is to ask if our child should or should not be in a database; If so, well shouldn't that be one database that tries to protect identity? Missing children and missing family members is Chaos!

Like I said at the beginning: you bring any citizen from any foreign country and place them in the USA and he/she/it is free, unlike all the rest of the world. Freedom like George Wallace screams from his torture block!!!!

-- But take any American to the any foreign land and all kinds of exploitation "Sh&** Happens!"

I don't have pat answers to enormous quizzical questions posed here, yet I know parents procrastinate (many parents) and that is enough to warrant a nationwide attempt to Pro-activate our efforts to find lost children, 24/7.

This is a reciprocal cause, that can be provided for all levels of Socio-economic families in our nation, for each other in our time. Let me tie this together for you, unless you are not yet activated in motivated ambulation...

Remember, our beloved Internet never sleeps; and we with our intimate National freedom to toil and play any where in our wonderful country, for our birth-right, must take responsibility for fighting the good fight. Utilize your sense of good will and free tool for all in this pursuit to wipe out missing and exploited children in our time. I suggest strongly your vehement pro-activity in this matter.

Me-after-thinks:
One -- the only show on TV that I've noticed besides http://www.amw.com/ America Fights Back: America's Most Wanted is "Without a Trace" seen of late that uses air time to regard missing persons

Two -- Hey Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert, why don't you donate some air time to missing and lost, or exploited children and elderly, MIA and other related... you are blind to exploiting such tragic things? Oh, no I don't think so. You exploit the flies on GWB's brow, and all the barfing larvae thereabouts... I put you both on report to try put back something that you take from society wasting time rifling sick politicians and their wives!!! They will always be lost.

Three-- WORD for the day: PRO-ACTIVATE, eh? Mr. Colbert? and --

SETS -- Simple Eloquent Traditional Solution "Bringing the split-aparts back two at a time: putting the world back together."

dear daddy dearest...

♥Today i want to congratulate you on your part in making me.
yes, i know that we have had our fights and tough times, but i do understand where you are coming from, i really do.
like megan told me... good has to equal out bad. or vice versa....
eeesh... it IS so true.
♥i had a great birthday, i really did.

i wanted to let you know...
that i love it when you hug me, i really do. and i love it when you tickle my back. your touch does not make me cringe, i'm just not used of it. hey, your my father. i love it when i feel loved.

i miss the campfire stories we used to say aloud during those long nights. God, life was just so amazing gazing at those glistening stars in the countrified fields of your work.
=]
i'd do anything to relive those nights.

i do realize that in the future, i will encounter you with facts that i just won't accept. but hey, i'm just another stubborn, rebellious teenager, who doesn't like to listen. it's just the way i am.
love me, hate me, who cares...? you get what you pay for, and there ain't no customer service willing to refund you with what you don't like anymore...

DEAR DADDY DEAREST,
I LOVE YOU.
AND NOTHING IN THIS WORLD WILL CHANGE THAT.
IT'S A FACT.
I REALLY DO LOVE YOU.
AND I WANT TO THANK YOU ONCE AGAIN FOR PROVIDING ME WITH MY LIFE
AND ALL THE HAPPINESS YOU GAVE ME.

sincerely,
Desiree Darnell

Oh, the twists and turns of a Fateful Train Ride

Over 100 Years of Holick's: Retrieved this off the web today... I hope you like it and do drop in for your tour!! pd

Joseph Holick was born in 1868 in Moravia which became part of Czechoslovakia after WWI. His main interest was in music which his parents considered frivolous so they sent him to cobbler school in Vienna; This was during the era of Strauss waltzes. Grampa told me he missed several classes to attend concerts of Johann Strauss in the park.

When he returned home he was still hassling with his parents over his not wanting to be a shoemaker. By then at least two of his four brothers had left for America so young Joseph, only 16 years old stowed away on a steamer headed for America and the romanticized life of a rugged cowboy.

After several failed attempts at bronco busting and tired of cleaning stalls he hopped a freight train headed for Orange Texas and the salt grass trail. He fell asleep while the train was side-tracked and disconnected in Bryan and woke up stranded and penniless.

Within a few days he had a part time job as a shoemaker in Bryan and another job as a shoemaker and bugler working in his dorm room at Texas A&M College. His interest and talent as a musician attracted other musician to gather in his room. After a few months he approached the military college with the idea of a military band which was established and funded by the Texas State Guard and all 12 members wore the Texas Guard uniform.

Joseph was the first Aggie band master and served as band master intermittently for many years. Names of other interim bandmasters: North, Day and Dunn appear as names of streets which intersect Holick Lane in the area which was once his farm. He continued making and repairing the short lace-up boots, but established his own business near what is now the intersection of Church Street and Wellborn Road.

The tall Aggie Boot, the way it looks now, was not a part of the A&M cadet uniform until the late 20's and was fashioned after the US Cavalry "Rough Riders" boots. By then Holick and Sons had moved to the brick building where it is today at 106 College Main.

The Holick's nametags and insignia business was started by Johnnie Holick around 1950 while his brother was on flight status at Bryan Air Force Base. Johnnie hand tooled a leather nametag from some scrap leather at the boot shop. Flight personnel travel so word-of-mouth spread fast. Johnnie actually invented the clear vinyl pocket which held the nametags on the flight suits before the advent of Velcro.

Meanwhile he invented and long held the patent for the lamination process to make laundry proof rank insignia and nametags which really caught on when the Velcro came on the market. Over the years Holick's has made nametags for presidents, chiefs of staff, astronauts and visiting dignitaries. http://holicks.com/contact.html

Holick's Mfg Co4315 Welborn RdPO Box 264BryanTexas, USA
General Information:mailto:info@holicks.com?subject=%22Holicks.com%20:%20General%20Information%22
Sales Information:mailto:sales@holicks.com?subject=%22Holicks.com%20:%20Sales%22
Government Sales:mailto:govtsales@holicks.com?subject=%22Holicks.com%20:%20Government%20Sales%22
ph 979.846.6721 800.730.TAGSfx 979.846.0072

The Two-bits per Head Tour of the Town

25 cents and a good bicycle will get you one buffalo wing, and a good day about town...

THE college in College Station is the Agricultural and Mechanical College of Texas, a k a Texas A&M, home of the Aggies. Beyond the sprawling, oak-lined lawns of the university, alumni Aggies have established vineyards, restaurants, hotels and enough bars and honky-tonks to claim plausibly that College Station and the neighboring town of Bryan have more drinking establishments per capita than anywhere else in the United States. College Station also has the George Bush Presidential Library, extraordinary Texas Deco architecture and the sort of relaxed cowboy atmosphere where, even if you’ve never uttered a y’all in your life, you’ll feel downright natural about putting on a hat and boots for the weekend.

Frank Curry for The New York Times
Hats on display at Catalena Hatters, where real cowpokes get their headgear.
Friday

4 p.m.
1) SMILE WHEN YOU SAY HAT

Bryan is College Station’s twin city and the original town to A&M’s gown. And nothing is more Texas cow townie than Catalena Hatters (203 North Main Street, Bryan; 979-822-3353; www.catalenahats.com), where real cowpokes get their headgear and the place to start going native for the weekend. The rows of hats include pink felt numbers that would have made Annie Oakley proud and classic 10-gallon models that will have you staggering out on Bryan’s renovated Main Street shooting your fingers in the air.

7 p.m.
2) PUDDING, PLEASE

Get dinner reservations at one of the most popular places in Bryan, Square One Bistro (211 West William Joel Bryan Parkway, 979-361-0264), whose main dining room consists of scarred wooden kitchen tables scattered about in a brightly painted former mortuary. The food is so fresh you’d almost swear the vegetables were growing in the back. Try the cream-of-asparagus soup, made from scratch ($4), and the rosemary roasted pork loin in sherry sauce ($14.95). Complete your meal with the house specialty: bread pudding ($3.95).

10 p.m.
3) TWO-STEPPING TIME

The Texas Hall of Fame (649 North Harvey Mitchell Parkway, 979-822-2222; www.texashalloffame.net) is a cavernous honky-tonk on the southern edge of Bryan with live music and a gregarious crowd of students and ranchers (still have that Catalena on?) doing some fancy boot-scooting to live music that covers the spectrum from country all the way to Western. Willie Nelson, Pat Green and other stars of the prairie circuit regularly perform in this vast concrete hall, where $1.50 iced longnecks are liberally doled out along with shots of stronger stuff.

Saturday

9 a.m.
4) HOT AND COMFY

Roust yourself awake at Mi Cocina (326 George Bush Drive, College Station; 979-695-6666) with huevos rancheros ($4.25) and barbacoa (seasoned beef with eggs, $4.95) near A&M’s sports fields. This is where you want to start your day in Texas: murals, flashing lights, slightly divey atmosphere and excellent spicy comfort food.

10 a.m.
5) GIG ’EM, AGGIES!

Get a closer look at the gorgeous campus of Texas A&M, whose central cluster of beige and brown buildings rise out of College Station’s rolling fields like a deco vision of Oz. Aggie undergraduates lead hourly tours from the first-floor Aggieland Visitor Center in Rudder Tower (979-845-5851, www.tamu.edu/visit). If you’re lucky, there’s a game on somewhere (check www.aggieathletics.com for schedule), and if you’re really lucky, that game is football. Students filling the vertiginous stands at 82,600-capacity Kyle Field do not sit down, all supposedly ready to rush into the game as the Aggies’ “12th man.” Throughout, they flash the A&M hand signal, a fist with thumb upturned, and yell “Gig ’em, Aggies!” — a 75-year-old gesture meant to evoke the act of impaling a horned frog, symbol of their archrival, Texas Christian University. Don’t miss halftime; you’d have to go to North Korea to match the choreographed pageantry of A&M’s band and corps of cadets.

11 a.m.
6) TAKE AN ART BREAK

The jewel-like Forsyth Center Galleries in A&M’s Memorial Student Center (979-845-9251, http://forsyth.tamu.edu) is set up like a living room, with wing chairs, sofas and thick carpeting amid its excellent collection of paintings by American masters like Mary Cassatt, Winslow Homer, Thomas Hart Benton, Childe Hassam, Frederic Remington and Charles M. Russell.

1 p.m.
7) LONE STAR PORT

Over the last three decades, the sandy soil of the Brazos River Valley has proved to be well suited for grapes, as you’ll find at the Mediterranean-style Messina Hof Winery & Resort (4545 Old Reliance Road, Bryan; 800-736-9463; www.messinahof.com). Messina Hof was started in 1977 by the Aggie alumna Merrill Bonarrigo and her husband, Paul, who worked with A&M’s viniculture experts to create some of the most-honored wines in Texas. Grab a light lunch in the winery’s Vintage House restaurant, stroll the vineyards and sample the wines. Messina Hof’s chardonnay is fruity and refreshing, but the biggest surprise is the port, which is almost as smooth as the Brazos River on a summer afternoon ($39.99 for a bottle of 2002 Paulo Port ).

4 p.m.
8) INTO THE BREECH

On your way back to town, stop at the humid green meadows and clustered oaks of Tonkaway Ranch (16373 Tonkaway Lake Road, College Station; 979-776-1476; www.tonkaway.com), where Kyle Kacal and his crew will provide you with guns, gear and instruction to shoot your way through his cunning sporting-clays course, set up along 10 stations ($100 to $150 a couple, depending on level of instruction and rentals required). You can also arrange to hunt ducks and quail on the 2,400-acre ranch. Mr. Kacal serves up a delicious dinner after your shotguns have cooled off.

10 p.m.
9) CRITICAL MASS OF BEER

The Dixie Chicken (307 University Drive, College Station; 979-846-2322; www.dixiechicken.com) in the Northgate neighborhood, the center of A&M’s night life, says it serves more beer per square foot than any bar in the country. Get your suds on, shoot some pool and take in the excellent vibe of this tavern revered by several generations of Aggies. The uniformed students you may see here are members of A&M’s military corps, and the ones in the handmade leather riding boots are seniors. This is a very friendly crowd, happy to welcome newcomers, so prepare yourself for a lot of “where y’all from?’’

Sunday

11 a.m.
10) PRESIDENTIAL BRUNCH

When former President Bush comes to town to visit his presidential library, his meals are catered by Christopher Lampo, unless Mr. Bush just shows up at Mr. Lampo’s restaurant, Christopher’s World Grille (5001 Bonnville Road, 979-776-2181; www.christophersworldgrille.com), a 1913 former ranch house on the north edge of town with carved Victorian mirrors and leopard-print rugs. The brunch itself — specialties like chilaquiles (scrambled eggs on green salsa-tossed tortilla chips, $10.95), chili-crusted crayfish salad ($11.95) and a bananas Foster French toast ($10.95) — will make you want to yell yeehaw, though you won’t want to jeopardize your chance of being served the house’s excellent bloody Marys and mimosas, $8.95 each.

1 p.m.
11) COLLEGE STATION VIA YALE

“Resolution,” Mark Balma’s 12-by-12-foot painting of President George H. W. Bush and his Gulf War advisers, keeps watch over the lobby rotunda of the George Bush Presidential Library and Museum (1000 George Bush Drive West, College Station; 979-691-4000; http:bushlibrary.tamu.edu; admission $7), above. In a film, the Yale-educated Mr. Bush explains why he chose the A&M campus for his library: because of College Station’s unique “Aggie spirit.” Wander through a life-size reconstruction of an Air Force One cabin and a room at Camp David, complete with golf clubs, campaign memorabilia, video exhibitions and declassified briefing reports.

The Basics

American Airlines and Continental fly to College Station’s airport, with stopovers in Dallas and Houston. Forget about public transportation; rent a car at the airport.

There are several charming alternatives to the major hotel chains in College Station. The LaSalle Hotel (120 South Main Street, 866-822-2000; www.lasalle-hotel.com), which is on the National Register of Historic Places, is right on Bryan’s reviving Main Street. Built in 1928, the hotel was completely renovated in 2000 and features rooms with antique furniture and great views. Accommodations are $90 to $210.

Until now, the best-kept housing secret in College Station was the immaculate, faux-Victorian guest rooms at the Memorial Student Center, right on A&M’s main green, the Simpson Drill Field. Anyone can rent these rooms for $65 to $110 a night and be right at the heart of the action. To make a reservation, call (979) 845-8909 or send an e-mail message to guest-rooms@tamu.edu.
( JONES, FINN-OLAF. Published: September 22, 2006. 36 Hours in College Station, Tex.)

Grand Rapids, Michigan

Grand Rapids, MI on Knapp St. NE: Take the time to bask in the beauty of October's Indian Summer.By: Lori Talo lori39u@yahoo.com

Something like this, Rick? pd

I think it's the Water

You are what you Drink
by Pat Darnell

Sometimes I have to remind myself where I live. If I lived anywhere other than central Texas, I would be harassed about water, utilities, energy, state taxes and weather: just about everything that I take for granted in Brazos Valley.

Not everyone has the leisure to expect better times ahead. Brazos Valley will never be out of water. Heck, Texas will be always clean and a lush place, and hydrated with cool clear water until the end of mankind.

My Dad is 85 today. He is from Sweetwater, Texas. Growing up he was treated to mineral water straight from the under-ground aquifers of this wondrous state. He moved his family around a little bit, but most of his years have been in Texas.

Testament to Texas sweet water, Dad is what he drinks. Today still, his favorite drink is a Bourbon and branch-water. His favorite pastime is cogitating, and speculating. He is past President's Cup champion with a 12 handicap. He has started yet another business enterprise.

And his favorite girl is his wife who graciously gave him all those who followed in the stream of life.

Now it remains true: blood is thicker than water, but you need good water to give your livestock so we can change water into good nourishing blood. And I believe that is the secret to long lives and sunny dispositions of octogenarians of Texas.

Armistice Day

You will have to click on the strip to get a readable image... sent to me via email, Jewels a sometime contributor. pd

In Memoriam

It is now more than 60 years after the Second World War in Europe ended. This e-mail is being sent as a memorial chain, in memory of the six million Jews, 20 million Russians, 10 million Christians and 1,900 Catholic priests who were murdered, massacred, raped, burned, starved and humiliated with the German and Russian Peoples looking the other way!

Now, more than ever, with Iran , among others, claiming the Holocaust to be 'a myth,' it is imperative to make sure the world never forgets, because there are others who would like to do it again.

This e-mail is intended to reach 40 million people worldwide! Join us and be a link in the memorial chain and help us distribute it around the world. Please send this e-mail to 10 people you know and ask them to continue the memorial chain. Please don't just delete it. It will only take you a minute to pass this along - Thanks!

"Now Hear This; Now hear this; Sweepers man your brooms; Clean sweep down fore and aft...

Legend

(T) Temporary

AA Acting Appointment

AD Destroyer tender

AF Store Ship

AG Miscellaneous auxillary

AGC General communications vessel

AH Hostpital Ship

AK Cargo Ship

AM Minesweeper

AO Oiler AP Transport

APD High speed transport

AR Repair shop

AS Submarine tender

ATA Auxillary ocean tug

BB Battleship Bkr Baker

BM Boatswain's Mate

CA Heavy Cruiser

CCS Chief Commissary Steward

CIC Command Information Center

CinCPac Commander In Chief, US Pacific Fleet

CK Cook

CL Light Cruiser

CM Carpenter's Mate Cmdr Commander

CO Commanding Officer CortDiv Escort Division Cox Coxswain

CZ Canal Zone

DD Destroyer

DE Destroyer escort

EM Electrician's Mate

Enl Enlisted

F Fireman

FC Fire Controlman

FFT For further transfer

FlaGrp Flag Group

Flt Fleet

GM Gunner's Mate

Ha Hospitalman

LCT Landing craft, tank

Lieut. Lieutenant

LST Tank landing ship

Lt(jg). Lieutenant Junior Grade

Lt. Cdr. Lieutenant Commander

M Metalsmith

MM Machinist's Mate

MoMM Motor Machinist's Mate

NAS Naval Air Station

NATC Naval Air Training Center

NavDist Naval District

NavTraSta Naval Training Station

NOB Naval Operating Base

NRB Naval Repair Base

NTC Naval Training Center

Nyd Navy yard

PA Permanent Appointment

PhM Pharmacist's Mate

PSC Personnel Separation Center

QM Quartermaster

RdM Radarman

RecBKs Receiving Barracks

RecSta Receiving Station

RM Radioman

RT Radio Technician

S Seaman

SC Ship's Cook

SCTC Sub Chaser Training Center

ServRon Service Squadron

SF Ship Fitter

SK Storekeeper

SM Signalman

SoM Sonarman (Soundman)

SSML Ship's Serviceman Laundry

StM Steward's Mate

T.I. Treasure Island

TLP Total Loss of Pay

TM Torpedoman

USAT US Army Transport

USNH US Naval Hospital

USNR US Naval Reserve

WesSeaFron Western Sea Frontier

WT Water Tender

Y Yeoman

Pain, my Pain; Veterans' Day 2007

Besides Rodeo Bull Riders... I seriously doubt there are too many who measure pain on similar scale as I do. Any one who was in Texas or Louisiana southern football programs can attest to no pain no gain mantra of the 60's and 70's.

Coaches of my era are Korean War Vets. According to them, every injury is only a scratch and a reason to move you to the bench if you say otherwise. "Spit on it, and rub some dirt on it," was their advice most the time. I am talking about an era just before steroids started finding ways into high school locker rooms. In response to daily injury experienced in football and contact sports, steroids are considered a panacea by players. Go figure.

No pills, no injections, just tape: In 1969 we only had a loyal fellow student, guy named David Cole as our humble trainer. Everyday before practice he dutifully taped our ankles, elbows and fore arms, using so much tape the coaches finally put a stop to it. -- David went on to become assistant manager of the Downtown Foley's. One attaboy Dave!

Korean War Veterans are survivors, and in my summation are last of their kind. As soldiers and as citizens never complaining, talking little about what happened over there, but carrying large sticks -- and never saying never. They are the strong silent type -- Horace Wauson, Mr. Caldwell, Mr. Thurman, Sanford Carr, Coach Smiech and about thirty others who were my coaches from peewee to college; these are the names of Korean War survivors who taught me and my kin how to throw a rolling side body block, and how to deal with one and live to tell about it.

Pain, my pain: arthritic joints, neck bones like burled roots, swollen fingers, and numb toes. I suppose I am in half the pain my coaches were in -- and twice the amount of pain as you. pd

"Chaw?" he asks, offering a pouch of Red Man tobacco. I don't chew. But chew I do. Cannon tosses over an empty spittin' bottle and the pouch... "

"What follows is the story of folk-hero turned desperado." For MooPig, this has been an udder disaster!

Oh, Red Man spitting Grasshopper,

...what hast thou become?

A modern gangland hoodlum,

who has betrayed all his chums?

Caught by surprise, my brain goes numb,

Thinking of what could've been done?

Oh... suffered I, and stuffed I all my rage inside

'n now it oozes out like a depression sty!

1960 Junior Quarterbacks witnessed canon runs,

as you stacked up pass play yardage to record sums

You became our idol in Rice Stadium,

Catching George Blanda's touchdown hail-Mary bombs.

To what felony have you succumbed?

How did you become just another

Nicotine stain on the history of humans?

Oh, Billy Cannon, I guess OJ isn't the only one.

I suppose I should keep my kids on track

"...Never idolize coveted half-back's;

and never let heroes get in your head" --

In conclusion, one last thing should be said:

That nitwits like Billy Cannon should have faked Euros instead!

(pd / Nov '07)

Click on the URL to read this article:

http://findarticles.com/

An utter disaster - former football star Billy Cannon

Sporting News, The, May 29, 1995 by Michael J. Goodman
"Dr. Billy Abb Cannon -- Louisiana football legend, confessed counterfeiter -- waves me into the tiny, cluttered cubicle he calls his orthodontist office. Outside, his waiting room is empty of both staff and clients. As usual...
Cheap green and yellow vinyl chairs hooked together line the walls. One hundred or so magazines are piled on white Formica coffee tables. Esquire, People, Family Journal. The magazines on top are dated April and May of 1994. Many are addressed to someone other than Cannon. The toilet and sink in the bathroom are splotched with rust..... (click the site to read the rest...)

http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1208/is_n22_v219/ai_16905461

"...Again, it seems, Cannon will embarrass, disappoint and betray the football-obsessed fans of this state capital strung along the Mississippi River. Many, if not most, still cling to the glory Cannon gave them and LSU: the 1958 national championship. The 89-yard punt return for a touchdown to beat hated Ole Miss in 1959...

"Physically, Cannon still oozes power. Big, burly, with a meaty face, square jaw, cropped jock haircut. His hatred of the media is clear during the 30 minutes he endures my presence. His eyes glitter with suspicion. His voice is edged with contempt. His smile through pressed, colorless lips is more of a smirk and sneer...

"Sheridan adds: 'The sad, the pathetic thing, the pity of it is that Dr. Cannon is a good orthodontist." Sheridan thought for a moment. "But I'll have to admit, Dr. Cannon is the only dentist I've ever known who chews tobacco.'" (Goodman, MJ, May,1995)

Feeling a bit Crimped here, in the Middle!

Report from the Middle, Pat Darnell, BSBA CTU, TUA, MOFO

I really wish the goofy announcers and talkies hosts that crowd the airwaves would remember the breadbasket interior once in a while. I hear all the botched crap from Washington, DC, New York and Hollywood; hey there is botched crap in Chicago, St. Louis, New Orleans, Dallas and Houston. Heck even Miami could use a little crimping.

Okay let’s make corollaries: I truly wish bi-coastal’s could wise up. Is it only me... or Do others ever notice there is “No” declaration of culpability from West Coast and East Coast nudniks who think the only happenings are in the east or west coast? New Yorkers and LA’ers: say to me, with body language and with words: “We are the only happening in the country.”

Second cities are the least appreciated. Why also are they usually never mentioned on quiz shows? For instance: "What is the sister city of Evanston, IL.?" I don't know either, but certainly someone is interested in this knowledge.

Usually quips are like: “Houston is Paris just without all the beautiful buildings,” can’t remember who said it. But true it is. Tulsa is San Francisco, just with more oil wells. Chicago, the Big Onion, is Second City per Belushi days, to the Big Apple. Hey! This makes me hungry: "Say Philly can I get a philly cheese steak over here, walkin'?"

Wicked, eh? Californians should let the elements batter their faces for a whole Chicago winter before attempting to play a role in the rust belt. In this photo of two grumpier-than-grumpier has-beens, who of the two has the better face lift?

I get most tickled when I see LA actors playing in movies set in the Northeast. You know a lot of Northern residents are shy of the sun. They don’t like coming out in the gamma rays. If you look closely when J. Roberts or Bill Hurt walk the streets of New York in a movie, they walk chest up to the Sun. Every northern person knows you don’t walk that way north of the Mason-Dixon Line! Hunch over and shuffle your feet, and do it quickly. What!

What else? Oh yeah, I thought the cultural divide for our great country is traditionally north to south, not east-middle-west. Personally I would like to hear more Jeno-Letterman jokes about people from Michigan, and Wisconsin -- Lubbock and Tuscon, Gary Indiana, and say Flint, MI. for example: Click on this cute joke about farmers in Illinois>>

Besides all that, it’s time to annex Mexico. Then we would have more of the two coasts and less middle. But that is a new topic. Expre'sate! >>pd

References

It turns out if I don't include all these actors' names, no one will read my postings, and all will miss my humor-ain't.

I retrieved all these images this morning from google images searches, and forgot to copy/paste the addresses. So bite me.

Random Abstractions of Chaos, by Pat Darnell

If everyone has a phone, then I don't need one. Right?

Last night my 13 year old kept us informed hourly where she was in the neighborhood via her friend's cell phone. We never had the least sense of worry all night. I wondered how Halloween night this year would play out since we just had a knock-down-drag out with NEXTEL about their lack of service. We told them we almost never get a signal when we try to use our cellulars. They said we do have signal and told us to pay our contract. We held back a month's payment. NEXTEL answered by disconnecting our cell services during this interim.

For over a year with NEXTEL/Sprint cells, we have experienced poor to none signal quality here in the Brazos Valley Texas. They have denied we ever had a problem, and threatened us with breach of contract.

I thought breach meant if either of the parties did not give service of signal for payments we would concur and cancel the contract... oh brother did I go to the wrong B-law classes?

Somehow we now have to send a nasty letter of complaint to the FCC about having no signal in Brazos County. And we are stuck with NEXTEL/Sprint contract now breached by both. They turned off our phones. So be it!

In conclusion, I had a realaxed evening, and my daughter had a wonderful night with her friends, because everyone doesn't need to have a phone if everyone has a phone. >>pd

Hey! I reckon I'm an Oilers' fan and a Google man

Drove through Tennessee
found my family
'came plain to me:

Hey big brother
you're the bridge
I'm the span

Where have all the Oilers gone?

...gone to Tennessee everyone...

Hey! Uncle Chuck
You're the needle
I'm the thread

Hey! little daughter
you're the spring
in my step

Hey! little son
you're the awe
in the some

Hey! Ole' Pop
you're the stock
I'm the block

Hey big sister
you're the pistol
I'm the shell

Hey momma 'n poppa
you're the pair
I'm the prayer

Hey children
you're the sleep
I'm the deep

Hey Sweetie Pie

You're the hero

I'm the worship!

Honey bunches of oats;
you're pepper
I'm the salt...

Hey old friends we're apart
but I'm still an Oilers fan
and now a Google man
>>pd

Photos: left -- George Reeves, Superman; right -- Billy Cannon. Are they the same person?

References

YEAH, THAT'S A PICTURE of George Reeves at left, probably taken years before he first donned the tights of Superman. When I watch those shows, I'm still amazed how good he is, playing an impossible role but maintaining a certain "twinkle" that kept him above the material and rock-bottom budget. The making of that show — and many of Superman's other screen appearances — were recounted expertly in a book entitled Superman: From Serial to Cereal by Gary Grossman. Others have followed in Gary's footsteps, often delving heavily (and not always responsibly) into the mystery of Reeves' death, but this book is still the best. You can get a sampling — and even order your own copy — over at Gary's website, http://www.supermanbook.com/.

http://www.povonline.com/2001/News401.htm

Pictured above on the right is: William Abb "Billy" Cannon (born August 2, 1937) is an All-American and 1959 Heisman Trophy winner from Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge, and one of the American Football League's most celebrated players.
He was born in Philadelphia, Mississippi, and moved to Baton Rouge when his father got a job there during World War II. He graduated from Istrouma High School.

Billy Cannon later became an orthodontist and subsequently served time in federal prison for counterfeiting U.S. dollar bills that he stored in ice chests, buired in the backyard of one of the houses he owned and rented out. Because of this incident, he was not inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame. His life is claimed to be the vaguely disguised subject matter of the novel (and subsequent motion picture) Everybody's All-American by sportswriter Frank Deford, although Deford denies this.

Cannon's Heisman Trophy is displayed at T.J. Ribs restaurant in Baton Rouge. Cannon has eaten for free there since 1986 when, short on cash, he sold the trophy to restaurant owner T. J. Moran.

Billy's son Billy Cannon, Jr. played linebacker for Texas A&M and was selected in the first round of the NFL draft in 1984, by the Dallas Cowboys.

>>pd