Rich Shulman writes… “As a parent, I know that young children will cry about anything. But you have to wonder, isn't the natural fear of snakes a good thing?”
Arab Israeli children pose with a pet snake at an amusement park in the northern Israeli city of Acre on August 31 as Muslims celebrated the Eid al-Fitr holiday which marks the end of the holy fasting month of Ramadan. Menahem Kahana / AFP - Getty Images
You may be in Washington D.C. reading this, but we’re really not that far apart – because we’re in each others heart! You’ll always be my “Brown-Eyed Girl.” I love you, and here’s a few thoughts for the day:
“To keep your marriage brimming,
With love in the loving cup,
Whenever you're wrong, admit it;
Whenever you're right, shut up.”
Ogden Nash
Our wedding was many years ago.The celebration continues to this day. ~Gene Perret
A wedding anniversary is the celebration of love, trust, partnership, tolerance and tenacity. The order varies for any given year. ~Paul Sweeney
It's so great to find that one special person you want to annoy for the rest of your life. ~Rita Rudner
An anniversary is a time to celebrate the joys of today, the memories of yesterday, and the hopes of tomorrow. ~Author Unknown
Oh, the comfort, the inexpressible comfort of feeling safe with a person, having neither to weigh thoughts nor measure words, but pouring them all out, just as they are, chaff and grain together, certain that a faithful hand will take and sift them, keep what is worth keeping, and with a breath of kindness blow the rest away. ~Dinah Craik
A good marriage is like a casserole, only those responsible for it really know what goes in it.
- Anonymous
Marriage is a partnership in which each inspire the other, and brings fruition to both of you.
Millicent Carey McIntosh
“Some people believe the world revolves around them — and their belief is born not of selfishness but of faith.
A few conservative Roman Catholics are pointing to a dozen Bible verses and the church's original teachings as proof that Earth is the center of the universe, the view that was at the heart of the church's clash with Galileo Galilei four centuries ago.” source
(Photo - Brother Guy Consolmagno of the Vatican Observatory takes a modern view of Earth's place in the universe)
This subject is, as far as I can see, an embarrassment to the modern church because the world more or less looks upon geocentrism, or someone who believes it, in the same boat as the flat Earth.
“Those promoting geocentrism argue that heliocentrism, or the centuries-old consensus among scientists that Earth revolves around the sun, is a conspiracy to squelch the church's influence.” source
That figures. Science is the enemy of church extremists trying to refute reality in favor of their fevered interpretation of things. This is one reason, among many, that church and state need to be separated. This kind of thinking turns the clock back to 1200 A.D.
"Heliocentrism becomes dangerous if it is being propped up as the true system when, in fact, it is a false system," said Robert Sungenis, leader of a budding movement to get scientists to reconsider. "False information leads to false ideas, and false ideas lead to illicit and immoral actions — thus the state of the world today.… Prior to Galileo, the church was in full command of the world, and governments and academia were subservient to her." source
These statements sum up the longing for the church to once again rule most of the world. These “believers” see themselves as “enlightened” while in fact they are demonstrating just the opposite. In my opinion, the Bible is neither geocentric or heliocentric. It does not give any specific information about the structure of the solar system.
Good Morning Humboldt County!
Good to see you. Grab a cup of coffee and settle in for this special edition of stupid laws in California. I’ve selected three cities for you. My favorite is the fine (in Chico) for setting off a nuclear devise in the town limits – only $500! Enjoy…
EUREKA
Persons may not sleep on a road.
Full text of the law. graphic source
One must seek written permission from the Director of Public Works before playing baseball in a city park.
Men who wear moustaches are forbidden from kissing women.
A man with a moustache may not kiss a woman.
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CHICO
It is illegal to own a green or smelly animal hide.
Bowling on the sidewalk is illegal.
Driving a herd of cattle down a street is against the law.
It is illegal to plant a garden in any public street.
Detonating a nuclear device within the city limits results in a $500 fine.
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INDIAN WELLS
It is illegal for a trumpet player to play his instrument with the intention of luring someone to a store.
Drinking intoxicating cement is prohibited.
Fortelling the future for donations is illegal.
Crushing rocks in the city limits is forbidden.
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He’s back…
A new book by former US Vice President Dick Cheney “In My Time: A Personal and Political Memoir” is getting attention in the media…but it must be kinda embarrassing having former Ambassador Joe Wilson, outed-CIA agent Valeria Plame, and Secretary of State Colin Powell calling him out on his inaccuracies.
Actually, they’re saying his book is full of outright lies! No surprise. He just wants to make money, so he’s willing to say anything about anyone during his time as the de facto President pulling Dubya’s strings. Facts are in short supply for the Once and Future Darth Varder!!! But he’ll sell books as the people hiss…
This is funny and I suspect it was written by a former soldier...
New Direction for any war: send service vets over 60!
I am over 60 and the Armed Forces thinks I'm too old to track down terrorists. You can't be older than 42 to join the military. They've got the whole thing ass-backwards. Instead of sending 18-year olds off to fight, they ought to take us old guys. You shouldn't be able to join a military unit until you're at least 35.
For starters, researchers say 18-year-olds think about sex
photo source every 10 seconds. Old guys only think about sex a couple of times a day, leaving us more than 28,000 additional seconds per day to concentrate on the enemy.
Young guys haven't lived long enough to be cranky, and a cranky soldier is a dangerous soldier. 'My back hurts! I can't sleep, I'm tired and hungry.' We are impatient and maybe letting us kill some asshole that desperately deserves it will make us feel better and shut us up for awhile.
An 18-year-old doesn't even like to get up before 10 am. Old guys always get up early to pee, so what the hell.. Besides, like I said, I'm tired and can't sleep and since I'm already up, I may as well be up killing some fanatical son-of-a-bitch.
If captured we couldn't spill the beans because we'd forget where we put them. In fact, name, rank, and serial number would be a real brainteaser.
Boot camp would be easier for old guys.. We're used to getting screamed and yelled at and we're used to soft food. We've also developed an appreciation for guns. We've been using them for years as an excuse to get out of the house, away from the screaming and yelling.
They could lighten up on the obstacle course however. I've been in combat and never saw a single 20-foot wall with rope hanging over the side, nor did I ever do any pushups after completing basic training.
Actually, the running part is kind of a waste of energy, too. I've never seen anyone outrun a bullet.
An 18-year-old has the whole world ahead of him. He's still learning to shave, to start a conversation with a pretty girl. He still hasn't figured out that a baseball cap has a brim to shade his eyes, not the back of his head.
These are all great reasons to keep our kids at home to learn a little more about life before sending them off into harm's way.
Let us old guys track down those dirty rotten coward terrorists. The last thing an enemy would want to see is a couple million pissed off old farts with attitudes and automatic weapons, who know that their best years are already behind them.
HEY!! How about recruiting Women over 50...in menopause!!! You think MEN have attitudes??
Ohhhhhhhhhhhh my God!!! If nothing else, put them on border patrol. They'll have it secured the first night!”
It’s that time again. Grab a chair and have a nice steaming cup of virtual coffee with me. I’m wondering if Hurricane Irene was overblown? What do you think? Meanwhile, let’s take a look at:
Dolphins in one western Australian population have been observed holding a large conch shell in their beaks and using it to shake a fish into their mouths -- and the behavior may be spreading. photo source
Researchers from Murdoch University in Perth were not quite sure what they were seeing when they first photographed the activity, in 2007, in which dolphins would shake conch shells at the surface of the ocean.
A small town in central Italy is trying to go independent and mint its own money in protest at government austerity cuts.
Filettino, set in rugged hill country around 100 km (65 miles) east of Rome, is rebelling against a proposal to merge the governments of towns with fewer than 1,000 inhabitants to save money.
Mayor Luca Sellari displays Filettino's own bank currency, the "Fiorito."
Filettino has only around 550 people.
The Pentagon has spent more than $720million since 2001 on fees for shipping containers that it fails to return on time, according to data and contracts obtained by USA TODAY.
The cost stems from the mistaken belief that the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq would be brief and late fees would be minimal, said John Pike executive director of Globalsecurity.org, a defense policy group.
"This is real money," Pike said. "And we've spent a lot of it on what amounts to fines for overdue library books."
Time to walk on down the road…
Editor’s Note: When I wrote this column I had no idea how many milestones would be created in a short time. When my wife,Shirley, had to go back to Maryland to be at her ill brother’s side it was the first time she’s ever been on the east coast. This Wednesday, which I was looking forward to when I wrote this column, will be the kind of milestone I could do without: it’ll be the first time in 37 years we haven’t been together to celebrate our marriage.
By Dave Stancliff
Life is a series of milestones on the road to your last breath. There are good and bad milestones. We remember both with equal passion.
I’m looking forward to Wednesday, when my wife and I celebrate our 37th Wedding Anniversary. It doesn’t seem that many years have passed since Shirley and I tied the knot in Fullerton, California. Where has the time gone?
Excuse me for a moment. Nostalgia clings like a cloak when I recall all the milestones we’ve experienced together. What a road! What a roller coaster! What a trip thus far! The road ahead, regardless of how bumpy, is something to look forward to with Shirley at my side.
I heartedly agree with author C.S. Lewis who said, “The safest road to hell is the gradual one - the gentle slope, soft underfoot, without sudden turnings, without milestones, without signposts.”
I quit trying to rank milestones years ago. Our wedding was the standard until our first son was born. Then our second son was born. A couple of years later, our third son was born and all attempts at ranking milestones became null and void.
Then there were the progress milestones Shirley and I shared as each child learned to walk and talk. When that magic moment came and each one said, “ Mommy and Daddy” for the first time it was a moment forever inscribed in our hearts. And when that first step was taken, our hearts melted with the knowledge that our baby was growing up, no matter what we wanted.
Swedish ABBA singer, Agnetha Faltskog, who was born the same year I was (1950) said, “My path has not been determined. I shall have more experiences and pass many more milestones.” I like the way she put that. A good positive outlook.
I don’t think it’s a good idea to dwell on your personal milestones too often. One day a year spent celebrating our first milestone, marriage, doesn’t seem too excessive to me. As Rose Kennedy once said, “Life isn't a matter of milestones, but of moments.”
Another thought about milestones is we sometimes aren’t aware of experiencing them until years later. A prominent American civil rights leader, Susan B. Anthony once said: “Sooner or later we all discover that the important moments in life are not the advertised ones, not the birthdays, the graduations, the weddings, not the great goals achieved. The real milestones are less prepossessing. They come to the door of memory unannounced, stray dogs that amble in, sniff around a bit and simply never leave. Our lives are measured by these.”
My memories, when I allow them to march by, are a patchwork quilt of successes and failures that have become milestones with time. Some of those milestones bear the weight of bitter memories and loss of innocence during an unpopular war. They stand like black granite columns inscribed with the names of my dead comrades.
In everything, I’ve found there is a balance. Without bad we wouldn’t know good. Grief gives way to joy. Death follows birth. Knowledge comes when we learn how little we know.
I like the imagery in milestones. There’s a sense of permanence. Importance. A feather in the cap. A firm footprint in the sands of life. A neon sign for the world to see what you’ve done thus far.
What some people see as a major milestone in life, a career in whatever for example, may not be as important to you as other goals achieved through years of living and learning. As much a milestone as our 37th wedding anniversary is, it stands side-by-side with many others.
Falling in love ought to be a milestone, but who can date that revelation when it’s such a gradual process? Who can say for sure when their heart skipped that extra beat in excitement? What day? What hour? What minute?
In the end, milestones are markers of our making. People will judge us by how we treated them. We’ll be known by our public works. We’ll also be known by our personal relationships. Spouse, father or mother, daughter or son. Grandparent. Aunt or uncle. Cousin.
As It Stands, remembering good milestones, like wedding anniversaries, is strongly recommended to assure another good one next year!
Websites carrying this column:
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UPDATES BELOW
Good Morning Humboldt County!
I skipping my usual format to follow the course of Hurricane Irene. Note yesterday’s post.
My wife (who is in Baltimore, Maryland) is doing fine and is in good spirits. Because the storm hasn’t been more than a CAT 1 I have hope this supposedly “historic storm” will not be so bad. Breaking News
11:15 PST:
NYC closes transit system as Hurricane Irene nears
According to my wife, the weather is not bad in Baltimore. Just overcast.
2:55 PST
Six dead as Hurricane Irene edges into Virginia
6:05 PST
Eight people, including two children and a surfer, were dead, a million people were without power and the East Coast was a solid wall of red hurricane warnings Saturday as Hurricane Irene lashed the Virginia coast. Forecasters and authorities warned that its run north could be catastrophic.
!0:30 PST
At 11 p.m. ET, about 450,000 homes and buildings were without electricity in Maryland where Shirley’s staying. Maryland emergency officials said a tree fell on a house in Queen Anne's County, killing one person.
Tropical storm conditions spread north into Washington, D.C., Maryland and Delaware. With Virginia, they make up the so-called DelMarVa peninsula, where tornadoes were reported.
Maryland Police also said they spotted a tornado in a wooded area of the lower eastern shore.
UPDATE BELOW
Quick backround: my wife, Shirley, is in Baltimore, Maryland and is driving 100 miles a day (round trip) to a VA Hospital in Washington D.C. to be with her brother, Tom, who is enduring chemo treatments for leukemia.
When the quake hit the east coast she was in Washington D.C. at this hospital which is located four miles from the White House. The hospital sustained minor damage in the basement area. I know this because Shirley said they had to take her brother down to the basement for a cat scan and discovered water everywhere from burst pipes and ceiling tiles all over the floor.
Talking with her last night, she said they expect Irene to hit them Sunday. Shirley, her sister-in-law, and niece, are planning on riding Irene out at the VA hospital with Tom. Throughout the bad weather she’s been experiencing, Shirley has maintained an amazing calm. I wish I could say the same! Listening to the news and wondering how hard D.C. is going to get hit is nerve-wracking.
She was greeted with rain on her first day in Maryland - nearly three weeks ago – and the weather has been weird since. Some of the hospital staffers kid her and say that she brought northern California weather with her. Rain and earthquakes.
At times, I feel like I’m in a surreal movie, helplessly watching an oncoming train and powerless to do anything about it. All I can do is stay tuned….
UPDATE at 11:18
Shirley just got back from shopping for supplies. Crazy people everywhere.Her plans have changed. Looks like they intend to ride out Irene in Baltimore. It’s raining now.
UPDATE at 5:55
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Is it just me, or is Ron Paul trying to get some attention by displaying his stupidity?
After a lunch speech today, he slammed FEMA, and said that no national response to Hurricane Irene is necessary. Oh really?
I’m trying to process his statements, but the red idiot light keeps coming on…
It's time to expose the dark secret about political polls . We , the people, don't need them. However , the media market needs them ...
