11 Sep 2011 - DarryD.com
Transcription
11 Sep 2011 - DarryD.com
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. For more tips, visit http://DarryD.com Page 2 of 10 11 SEPTEMBER 2011 (SUNDAY) 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 For more tips, visit http://DarryD.com Page 3 of 10 11 SEPTEMBER 2011 (SUNDAY) 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 For more tips, visit http://DarryD.com Page 4 of 10 11 SEPTEMBER 2011 (SUNDAY) 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?’ For more tips, visit http://DarryD.com Page 5 of 10 11 SEPTEMBER 2011 (SUNDAY) ‘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 For more tips, visit http://DarryD.com Page 6 of 10 11 SEPTEMBER 2011 (SUNDAY) 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. For more tips, visit http://DarryD.com Page 7 of 10 11 SEPTEMBER 2011 (SUNDAY) “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. For more tips, visit http://DarryD.com Page 8 of 10 11 SEPTEMBER 2011 (SUNDAY) 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 For more tips, visit http://DarryD.com Page 9 of 10 11 SEPTEMBER 2011 (SUNDAY) 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. For more tips, visit http://DarryD.com Page 10 of 10