I'd like to take a minute to recognize all those that have left us this year. Each one of them touched lives in a different way. They will all be missed. And I'm feeling kind of old this year because I knew everyone on this list!

Curt Gowdy
Sportscaster

Lou Rawls
Singer

Mike Douglas
Talk Show Host

Jack Palance
Actor

Buck O'Neil
Baseball Player

Paul Gleason
Actor

Byron Nelson
Golfer

Patricia Kennedy Lawford
Socialite

Wilson Pickett
Singer

Louis Rukeyser
Journalist

Kirby Puckett
Baseball Player

Aaron Spelling
Producer

Milton Friedman
Economist

Mickey Spillane
Author

Red Auerbach
Coach

Don Knotts
Actor

Syd Barrett
Rock Musician

Shelley Winters
Actress

Lloyd Bentsen
Former U.S. Senator

Peter Boyle
Actor

Ed Bradley
Journalist

Betty Friedan
Feminist, Author

Bruno Kirby
Actor

Ann Richards
Former Texas Governor
Robert Altman
Director

Floyd Patterson
Boxer

Steve Irwin
Conservationist, TV Star

James Brown
Singer

Dana Reeve, (right)
Actress, Activist for Disabled

Coretta Scott King
Civil Rights Activist

Gerald Ford
38th President of USA

June Allyson
Actress

Ken Lay
Enron CEO

Maureen Stapleton
Actress

Chris Penn
Actor

Gordon Parks
Artist

William Styron
Author

Jack Warden
Actor

Good Thursday. I'm still on vacation, so my blog visiting is hit and miss with all I'm trying to get done on my free time. I got this from my buddy Ric. It took me five minutes to stop howing in laughter. I don't know if this really happened on the Tonight Show....but it's good for

A BEVERAGE ALERT!
Jay Leno went into the audience to find the most embarrassing first date that a woman or man ever had. The winner described her worst first date experience. There was absolutely NO question as to why her tale took the prize...

She said it was midwinter, snowing and quite cold, and the guy had taken her skiing in the mountains outside Salt Lake City, UT. It was a day trip, not an overnighter. They were strangers, and after all, truly had never met before. The outing was fun but relatively uneventful until they were headed home late that afternoon.

They were driving back down the mountain, when she gradually began to realize that she should not have had that extra latte. They were about an hour away from anywhere with a rest room and in the middle of nowhere. Her companion suggested she try to hold it, which she did for a
while.

Unfortunately, because of the heavy snow and slow going, there came a point where she told him that he had better stop and let her pee beside the road, or it would be on the front seat of his car!

He quickly stopped and she crawled out beside the car, yanked her pants down and started to pee. In the deep snow she didn't have good footing, so she let her butt rest against the rear fender to steady herself.

Her companion stood on the side of the car watching for traffic and indeed was a real gentleman and refrained from peeking. All she could think about was the relief she felt despite the rather embarrassing nature of the situation.

Upon finishing however, she soon became aware of another sensation. As she bent to pull up her pants, the young lady discovered her buttocks were firmly glued against the car's fender! Thoughts of tongues frozen to pump handles immediately came to mind as she attempted to
disengage her flesh from the icy metal!

It was quickly apparent that she had a brand new problem due to the extreme cold! Horrified by her plight and yet aware of the humor of the mom ent, she answered her date's concerns about "what's taking so long?" with a reply that indeed, she was "freezing her butt off and in
need of some assistance!"

He came around the car as she tried to cover herself with her sweater and then, as she looked imploringly into his eyes, he burst out laughing! She too, got the giggles and when they finally managed to compose themselves, they immediately assessed her dilemma. Obviously, as hysterical as the situation was, they also were faced with a real problem. Both agreed it would take something hot to free her chilly cheeks from the grip of the icy metal!

Thinking about what had gotten her into the predicament in the first place, both quickly realized that there was only one way to get her free. So, as she looked the other way, her first-time date proceeded to unzip his pants and pee her butt off the fender!

As the audience screamed in laughter, she took the Tonight Show prize hands down...or perhaps that should be "pants down."

And you thought YOUR first date was embarrassing?

Jay Leno's comment..."This gives a whole new meaning to being peed on!"

Here I go, getting myself in trouble again, but sometimes you gotta' do what you gotta' do!

I got a few e-mails (the ones from last year know better *snort*) from people who have asked me why I did a post on Christmas but I don't do one on Kwanzaa, and they wanted to know why.

Well here's my answer...

I am a born-again, evangelical Christian. Christmas is the commemoration of the birthday of my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

Kwanzaa, is a black-oriented holiday invented in 1966 by Dr. Maulana Karenga. On September 17, 1971, this same man was handed one to ten years in prison because of charges filed in 1970 where Karenga and two of his cohorts tortured two women that he accused of trying to kill him.

Karenga beat the women with an electrical cord and a karate baton after ordering them to strip naked. The one woman had a hot soldering iron put in her mouth and placed against her face. That not being sufficient torture, Kurenga also put detergent and running hoses in their mouths.

But ya' know who am I to throw stones...we all make mistakes...rightttttt!

Initially Kwanzaa developed because Karenga held a hostility toward Western religion. He wrote in his 1980 book, Kawaida Theory, "denies and diminishes human worth, capacity, potential and achievement. In Christian and Jewish mythology, humans are born in sin, cursed with mythical ancestors who've sinned and brought the wrath of an angry God on every generation's head."

He similarly opposed belief in God and other "spooks who threaten us if we don't worship them and demand we turn over our destiny and daily lives." Thus, Karenga explained in his 1977 Kwanzaa: Origin, Concepts, Practice, "Kwanzaa is not an imitation, but an alternative, in fact, an oppositional alternative to the spookism, mysticism and non-earth based practices which plague us as a people and encourage our withdrawal from social life rather than our bold confrontation with it."

The holiday "was chosen to give a Black alternative to the existing holiday and give Blacks an opportunity to celebrate themselves and history rather than simply imitate the practice of the dominant society."

Since then, the holiday has gained mainstream adherents, and Karenga has altered its justification so as not to alienate practicing Christians: "Kwanzaa was not created to give people an alternative to their own religion or religious holiday," he writes in Kwanzaa: A Celebration of Family, Community, and Culture, published in 1997.

So, would I as a Christian, American, black woman celebrate this, this Kwanzaa...not with a ten foot pole!

I know there will be people out there who get riled up by my comments.

Too bad...so sad!

The story of Christmas comes from the Bible. Here is the way it is told by Luke 2:7-16...

And she brought forth her first born son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger; because there was no room for them in the inn.

And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone around about them; and they were sore afraid. And the angel said unto them,

"Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto to you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, which is Christ the Lord. And this shall be a sign unto you; ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger."
And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying,

"Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men."

And it came to pass, as the angels were gone away from them into heaven, the shepherds said one to another,


"Let us now go even unto Bethlehem, and see this thing which is come to pass, which the Lord hath made known to us."

And they came with haste, and found Mary, and Joseph, and the babe lying in a manger.

MERRY CHRISTMAS to all!

Good Friday! These aught to hold you till Christmas Eve...Enjoy!

Hey it's Thursday...one more day, one more day....I'm giving myself a vacation. When I close my store on Friday, I'm not opening it back up until January 2nd....Wahoooooo....happy vacation to me!

I got this in an email...You know...my favorite mode of transportation. The beginning of the story said that it is a true story....I don't know if it is or not, but it made me need tissues, so I thought that I would pass it on.

It did not happen to me!!!

I am a mother of three (ages 14, 12, 3) and have recently completed my college degree. The last class I had to take was Sociology. The teacher was absolutely inspiring with the qualities that I wish every human being had been graced with. Her last project of the term was called "Smile."

The class was asked to go out and smile at three people and document their reactions. I am a very friendly person and always smile at everyone and say hello anyway, so, I thought this would be a piece of cake, literally. Soon after we were assigned the project, my husband, youngest son, and I went out to McDonald's one crisp March morning.

It was just our way of sharing special playtime with our son. We were standing in line, waiting to be served, when all of a sudden everyone around us began to back away, and then even my husband did. I did not move an inch... An overwhelming feeling of panic welled up inside of me as I turned to see why they had moved. As I turned around I smelled a horrible "dirty body" smell, and there standing behind me were two poor homeless men.

As I looked down at the short gentleman, close to me, he was "smiling". His beautiful sky blue eyes were full of God's Light as he searched for acceptance. He said, "Good day" as he counted the few coins he had been clutching.

The second man fumbled with his hands as he stood behind his friend. I realized the second man was mentally challenged and the blue-eyed gentleman was his salvation. I held my tears as I stood there with them. The young lady at the counter asked him what they wanted.

He said, "Coffee is all Miss" because that was all they could afford. (If they wanted to sit in the restaurant and warm up, they had to buy something. He just wanted to be warm). Then I really felt it - the compulsion was so great I almost reached out and embraced the little man with the blue eyes.

That is when I noticed all eyes in the restaurant were set on me, judging my every action.. I smiled and asked the young lady behind the counter to give me two more breakfast meals on a separate tray.

I then walked around the corner to the table that the men had chosen as a resting spot. I put the tray on the table and laid my hand on the blue-eyed gentleman's cold hand. He looked up at me, with tears in his eyes, and said, "Thank you."

I leaned over, began to pat his hand and said, "I did not do this for you. God is here working through me to give you hope."

I started to cry as I walked away to join my husband and son. When I sat down my husband smiled at me and said, "That is why God gave you to me, Honey, to give me hope."

We held hands for a moment and at that time, we knew that only because of the Grace that we had been given were we able to give. We are not church goers, but we are believers. That day showed me the pure Light of God's sweet love I returned to college, on the last evening of class, with this story in hand.

I turned in "my project" and the instructor read it. Then she looked up at me and said, "Can I share this?"

I slowly nodded as she got the attention of the class. She began to read and that is when I knew that we as human beings and being part of God share this need to heal people and to be healed. In my own way I had touched the people at McDonald's, my husband, son, instructor, and every soul that shared the classroom on the last night I spent as a college student.

I graduated with one of the biggest lessons I would ever learn: UNCONDITIONAL ACCEPTANCE..

Much love and compassion is sent to each and every person who may read this and learn how to LOVE PEOPLE AND USE THINGS - NOT LOVE THINGS AND USE PEOPLE.

If you think this story has touched you in any way, please tell others about it, in this the most special time of the year.

A dear heart wrote:
Many people will walk in and out of your life, but only true friends will leave footprints in your heart. To handle yourself, use your head. To handle others, use your heart.

God gives every bird it's food, but He does not throw it into its nest.

Okay...so everyone is harried and hopeless. There is still shopping that's not done. Presents that are not wrapped...traffic jams, crowded malls, grumpy shoppers...uh, er...LOL...I'm having the most pleasant of holidays...we only have grown adults in our family...so...WE DON'T DO PRESENTS!!! Thank you Jesus! I avoid the Mall like the plague, at this time of the year. And focus my energy on the Reason For The Season!

If you're spiritually alive, you're going to love this! If you're spiritually dead, you won't want to read it. If you're spiritually curious, there is still hope!

Why Go To Church?

A Church goer wrote a letter to the editor of a newspaper and complained that it made no sense to go to church every Sunday. "I've gone for 30 years now," he wrote, "and in that time I have heard something like 3,000 sermons. But for the life of me, I can't remember a single one of them. So, I think I'm wasting my time and the pastors are wasting theirs by giving sermons at all."

This started a real controversy in the "Letters to the Editor" column, much to the delight of the editor. It went on for weeks until someone wrote this clincher:

"I've been married for 30 years now. In that time my wife has cooked some 32,000 meals. But, for the life of me, I cannot recall the entire menu for a single one of those meals. But I do know this...They all nourished me and gave me the strength I needed to do my work. If my wife had not given me these meals, I would be physically dead today. Likewise, if I had not gone to church for nourishment, I would be spiritually dead today!" When you are DOWN to nothing...God is UP to something!

Faith sees the invisible, believes the incredible and receives the impossible! This is the season to thank God for our physical AND our spiritual nourishment!

All right, now that you're done reading, pass it around! I think everyone should read this! "When Satan is knocking at your door, simply say, "Jesus, could you get that for me?"

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!

Well good Monday morning! I had an exciting Saturday in New York City. You might have read about the huge protest organized by Al Sharpton...well if you didn't *sigh* neither did we!!! LOL!

Our bus dropped us off on 7th between 34th and 33rd St, which is basically at the corner by Macy's. This protest traveled down 5th Avenue from 59th St and ended up...yep, you guessed it...in front of Macy's!

I have never seen so many police officers in my whole life....They were bringing them in by full bus loads! I got a lot of video!

I have seen this around the blogosphere. But I must admit the my friend Debbie...who went to NYC with me by the way....sent these tips to me! Christmas cheer to all!

1. Avoid carrot sticks. Anyone who puts carrots on a holiday buffet table knows nothing of the Christmas spirit. In fact, if you see carrots, leave immediately. Go next door, where they're serving rum balls.

2. Drink as much eggnog as you can. And quickly. Like fine single-malt scotch, it's rare. In fact, it's even rarer than single-malt scotch. You can't find it any other time of year but now. So drink up! Who cares that it has 10,000 calories in every sip? It's not as if you're going to turn into an eggnog-aholic or something. It's a treat. Enjoy it. Have one for me. Have two. It's later than you think. It's Christmas!

3. If something comes with gravy, use it. That's the whole point of gravy. Gravy does not stand alone. Pour it on. Make a volcano out of your mashed potatoes. Fill it with gravy. Eat the volcano. Repeat.

4. As for mashed potatoes, always ask if they're made with skim milk or whole milk. If it's skim, pass. Why bother? It's like buying a sports car with an automatic
transmission.

5. Do not have a snack before going to a party in an effort to control your eating. The whole point of going to a Christmas party is to eat other people's food for free. Lots of it. Hello?

6. Under no circumstances should you exercise between now and New Year's. You can do that in January when you have nothing else to do. This is the time for long naps, which you'll need after circling the buffet table while carrying a 10-pound plate of food and that vat of eggnog.

7. If you come across something really good at a buffet table, like frosted Christmas cookies in the shape and size of Santa, position yourself near them and don't budge. Have as many as you can before becoming the center of attention.
They're like a beautiful pair of shoes. If you leave them behind, you're never going to see them again.

8. Same for pies. Apple. Pumpkin. Mincemeat. Have a slice of each. Or, if you don't like mincemeat, have two apples and one pumpkin. Always have three. When else do you get to have more than one dessert? Labor Day?

9. Did someone mention fruitcake? Granted, it's loaded with the mandatory celebratory calories, but avoid it at all cost. I mean, have SOME standards.

10. One final tip: If you don't feel terrible when you leave the party or get up from the table, you haven't been paying attention. Reread tips; start over, but hurry, January is just around the corner.

Remember this motto to live by:

"Life should NOT be a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in an attractive and well preserved body, but rather to skid in sideways, chocolate in
hand, totally worn out and screaming,

"WOO HOO what a ride!"

Hallelujah...it's Friday. I'm just about ready to kiss the ground! Hey I'm going to New York City on Saturday to do some shopping....watch out Miss Snark! LOL! Speaking of Miss Snark, Michael Hyatt, the CEO of Thomas Nelson has reopened the comments on the last post about the Nicene Creed and their authors.

Oh, and a word to my Beta Blogger friends....I CAN'T LOG ON TO YOUR BLOGS TO COMMENT!

Beta blogger is poop! Yikes did I say that...Yes I did....sheer frustration! Here's something funny for Christmas!

Christmas Carols for the Psychologically Challenged

1) Schizophrenia---- Do You Hear What I Hear, the Voices, the Voices?

2) Amnesia-- I Don't Remember If I'll Be Home For Christmas

3) Narcissistic-- Hark the Herald Angels Sing About Me

4) Manic-- Deck The Halls And Walls And House And Lawn And Streets And Stores And Office And Town And Cars And Buses And Trucks And Trees And Fire Hydrants And...........

5) Multiple Personality Disorder----We Three Kings Disoriented Are

6) Paranoid---Santa Claus Is Coming To Get Us

7) Borderline Personality Disorder--- You Better Watch Out, You Better not Shout, I'm Gonna Cry, and I'll Not Tell You Why

8) Full Personality Disorder--- Thoughts of Roasting You, On an Open Fire

9) Obsessive Compulsive Disorder---Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells

10) Agoraphobia---I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day But Wouldn't Leave My House

11) Senile Dementia---Walking In a Winter Wonderland Miles from My House in My Slippers and Robe

12) Oppositional Defiant Disorder---I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus, So I Burned Down the House

13) Social Anxiety Disorder---Have Your Self a Merry Little Christmas, While I Sit Here and Hyperventilate

14) Attention Deficit Disorder--We Wish You......Hey Look!! It's Snowing!!!

Two South California guys were picked up by the cops for smoking dope and appeared in court before the judge.

The judge said, "You seem like nice young men, and I'd like to give you a second chance rather than jail time. I want you to go out this weekend and try to show others the evils of drug use and get them to give up drugs forever. I'll see you back in court Monday. "

Monday, the two guys were in court, and the judge said to the first one, "How did you do over the weekend?"

"Well, your honor, I persuaded 17 people to give up drugs forever," said the first guy proudly.

"17 people? That's wonderful. What did you tell them?" exclaimed the Judge.

"I used a diagram, your honor. I drew two circles like this,
and told them this (the big circle) is your brain before drugs and this (small circle) is your brain after drugs."

"That's admirable," said the judge. He turned to the second guy. "And you, how did you do?"

"Well, your honor, I persuaded 156 people to give up drugs forever," said the second guy with a broad smile.

"156 people! That's amazing! How did you manage to do that!"

"Well, I used the same two circles. I pointed to the small circle and told them, "This is your butt hole before prison......"



Ohhh...ohhh...I'm so sorry! Uh, *snort*, no, I'm not...it's hysterically true!

Good Tueday, we are getting closer and closer to Christmas...woohoo! I can't wait. This is like my favorite season of the whole year. Irregardless of the fact that is comes at a time of year when it is so cold that you could get moist body parts stuck to metal objects! Egads!

I just had to abscond with this cute little thing from my friend Joe, over at Joe's Jottings


A Montana cowboy was overseeing his herd in a remote mountainous pasture when suddenly a brand-new BMW advanced out of a dust cloud towards him.

The driver, a young man in a Baryon suit, Gucci shoes, Ray Ban sunglasses and tie, leans out the window and asks the cowboy, "If I tell you exactly how many cows and calves you have in your herd, will you give me a calf?"

The cowboy looks at the man, obviously a yuppie, then looks at his peacefully grazing herd and calmly answers, "Sure, Why not?"

The yuppie parks his car, whips out his Dell notebook computer, connects it to his Cingular RAZR V3 cell phone, and surfs to a NASA page on the Internet, where he calls up a GPS satellite navigation system to get an exact fix on his location which he then feeds to another NASA satellite that scans the area in an ultra-high-resolution photo.

The young man then opens the digital photo in Adobe Photoshop and exports it to an image processing facility in Hamburg , GermanyWithin seconds, he receives an email on his Palm Pilot that the image has been processed and the data stored.

He then accesses a MS-SQL database through an ODBC connected Excel spreadsheet with e-mail on his Blackberry and, after a few minutes, receives a response.

Finally, he prints out a full-color, 150-page report on his hi-tech, miniaturized HP LaserJet printer and finally turns to the cowboy andSays, "You have exactly 1,586 cows and calves."

"That's right. Well, I guess you can take one of my calves," says the cowboy.

He watches the young man select one of the animals and looks on amused as the young man stuffs it into the trunk of his car.

Then the cowboy says to the young man, "Hey, if I can tell you exactly what your business is, will you give me back my calf?"

The young man thinks about it for a second and then says, "Okay, why not?"

You're a Congressman for the U.S. Government," says the cowboy.

"Wow! That's correct," says the yuppie, "but how did you guess that?"

"No guessing required," answered the cowboy. "You showed up here even though nobody called you; you want to get paid for an answer I already knew, to a question I never asked. You tried to show me how much smarter than me you are; and you don't know a thing about cows, this is a herd of sheep.

"Now give me back my dog."

REMEMBER THIS AT CHRISTMAS TIME

According to the Alaska Department of Fish and Game, while both male and female reindeers grow antlers in the summer each year, male reindeer drop their antlers at the beginning of winter, usually late November to mid-December.

Female reindeers retain their antlers till after they give birth in the spring.

Therefore, according to EVERY historical rendition depicting Santa's reindeer, EVERY single one of them, from Rudolph to Blitzen, had to be a girl.

We should've known... ONLY women would be able to drag a fat man in a red velvet suit all around the world in one night and not get lost!

This is a Christmas tree.
It is not a Hanukkah bush,
it is not an Allah plant,
it is not a Holiday hedge.
It is a Christmas tree.

Say it... CHRISTmas , CHRISTmas , CHRISTmas

Yes. CHRISTmas - celebrating the Birth of Jesus Christ!!!
MERRY CHRISTMAS!


Excuse my rantings, but I am tired of having everything 'christian' obliterated so as to not offend others.

We as Christians, have not tried to change the name of Hanukkah, or Ramaddan, or Kwanza or any other holiday for that matter. Could you imagine the worldwide outcry if we tried.

So then, why is it that people think they can change Christmas to make it all inclusive.

It is not all inclusive. It is the day we choose as a celebration of our Lord and Savior's birth....Jesus!

Last year I didn't shop at WalMart because they took the Christ out of Christmas. This year I've returned to their fold after their fiscally prudent change of heart. This year I will avoid Best Buy, Target, Costco and any other store that chooses to remove Jesus as the Reason for the Season!

To all those celebrating the day...Merry Christmas!

For the rest, that are offended by it...Merry Christmas!

On Sunday, December 7th, 1941 the Japanese launched a surprise attack against the US Forces stationed at Pearl harbor, Hawaii. By planning his attack on a Sunday the Japanese commander Admiral Nagumo, hoped to catch the entire fleet in port.

As luck would have it, the Aircraft Carriers and one of the Battleships were not in port/ (The USS Enterprise was returning from Wake Island, where it had just delivered some aircraft. The USS Lexington was ferrying aircraft to Midway, and the USS Saratoga and USS Colorado were undergoing repairs in the United States.)



In spite of the latest intelligence reports about the missing aircraft carriers(his most important targets), Admiral Nagumo decided to continue the attack with his force of six carriers and 423 aircraft. At a range of 230 miles north of Oahu, he launched the first wave of a two-wave attack.

Beginning at 0600 hours his first wave consisted of 183 fighters and torpedo bombers which struck at the fleet in Pearl Harbor and the airfields in Hickam, Kaneohe and Ewa. The second strike, launched at 0715 hours, consisted of 167 aircraft, which again struck at the same targets.



At 0753 hours the first wave consisting of 40 Nakajima B5N2 "Kate" torpedp bombers, 51 Aichi D3A1 "Val": dive bombers, 50 high altitude bombers and 43 Zeros struck airfields and Pearl Harbor. Within the next hour, the second wave arrived and continued the attack. When it was over, the US losses were:

Casualties
USA : 218 KIA, 364 WIA
USN : 2,008 KIA, 710 WIA
USMC : 109 KIA, 69 WIA
Civilians : 68 KIA, 35 WIA
TOTAL : 2,403 KIA, 1,178 WIA

Battleships
USS Arizona (BB-39) – total loss when a bomb hit her magazine.
USS Oklahoma (BB-37) – total loss when she capsized and sank in the harbor.
USS California (BB-44) – sunk at her berth. Later raised and repaired.
USS West Virginia (BB-48) – sunk at her berth. Later raised and repaired.
USS Nevada (BB-36) – beached to prevent sinking. Later repaired.
USS Pennsylvania (BB-38) – light damage.
USS Maryland (BB-46) – light damage.
USS Tennessee (BB-43) – light damage.
USS Utah (AG-16) – (formerly battleship used as a target) – sunk.

Cruisers
USS New Orleans (CA-32) – light damage.
USS San Francisco (CA-38) – light damage.
USS Detroit (CL-8) – light damage.
USS Raleigh (CL-7) – heavily damaged but repaired.
USS Helena (CL-50) – light damage.
USS Honolulu (CL-48) – light damage

Destroyers
USS Downes (DD-375) – destroyed. Parts salvaged.
USS Cassin (DD-372) – destroyed. Parts salvaged.
USS Shaw (DD-373) – very heavy damage.
USS Helm (DD-388) – light damage.

Minelayer
USS Ogala (CM-4) – sunk but later raised and repaired.

Seaplane Tender
USS Curtiss (AV-4) – severely damaged but later repaired.

Repair Ship
USS Vestal (AR-4) – severely damaged but later repaired.

Harbor Tug
USS Sotoyomo (YT-9) – sunk but later raised and repaired.

Aircraft
188 Aircraft destroyed (92 USN and 92 US Army Air Corps.)



Taken from Snopes.com

This week the Christian Fiction Blog Alliance is doing a tour for Never Ceese by Sue Dent. It is notable that Sue is one of our CFBA members!


ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Sue Dent was born and raised in Jackson, Mississippi and currently resides in Ridgeland. When not writing, Sue designs websites and works with digital photograpy.

Sue loves to hear from her fans through her Website in fact, the push from eager readers has already set the ball rolling, and she's hard at work on Forever Richard, the sequel.

In Never Ceese, Sue sets out to prove that faith and fun can live happily in the same story, and that vampire/werewolf fantasy can have a spiritual message too.


ABOUT THE BOOK:

Never Ceese takes religious fantasy to a new level, bringing an entirely new Light to a very dark side of fiction, doing a very admirable job to prove that vampire/werewolf fantasy does not have to be evil to be enjoyed.

The story starts with the classic tale of an English manor owned by Richard, the vampire who righteously is the bain of his neighbor's existence, what with the missing goats and all!

Then enters Cecelia, better known as Ceese, the young werewolf maiden who's arrived via invitation by Richard's aging companion, Penelope.

Ceese and Richard would prefer to tear each other apart, literally, but they are drawn together by their mutual love for Penelope. She is dying and has one request...that the two of them love one another.

This is the overall theme throughout Dent's interesting tale of two who were wronged but learn to work together. Meanwhile they are threatened by an evil stem cell researcher who wants the immortality and power that he thinks their blood will bring him!

Dent's characters do differ from the stock one's we're all accustomed to in a very important way. They are not mindless, brutal killers. Bloodthirsty, yes, but they are constantly resisting the urge to kill, and, thus, curse another human. Feeding on rodents, goats, virtually any warm-blooded animal helps to satiate the never ending thirst for blood, but how long will they be able to resist that most delicious morsel man?

There is a chance that their curses can actually be lifted if they can find the strength within to resist their selfish natures and act selflessly toward another. Will they succeed? That same basic choice lies before us all every day...

A vampire and a werewolf, one determined to, once again, be able to acknowledge what will get her to heaven, the other no so sure he can. A spiritual fantasy designed to spark the imagination, to speak to the heart as well as entertain.

Hey, good Tuesday....Are you glad you all woke up? I'll tell ya', my grandma went to sleep one night and never woke up again...hrump! Messed up all her plans for the rest of her life!

My friend Bernita did a post on Sunday about Peppy LaPue and other assorted country creatures, and it brought back a hysterical memory of my husband and his up close and personal experience with a baby skunk...ROFLOL...reprinted without the permission of my DH!

THIS IS A TRUE STORY THAT HAPPENED AT MY HOUSE!

Living in the country has its share of pros and cons. The best pros are the animal stories that have happened to me over the years. This first story, happily didn't happen to me but to my hapless, bleary-eyed husband, Bob.

His regular routine consisted of getting of getting up at 3:20 AM. (His favorite time because that way he'd leave the house for town by 4:30, just before the mass exodus of the psycholinguistically challenged members of our country community, the ones who don't understand the phrase, "Don't tailgate!"

Well anyhow....this particular morning, with sleep fogging his eyes and the sugar plum fairies still dancing in his head (well it is getting close to Christmas) he herded our two dogs out the basement door and around the house to the dog-run.

More than once, for various reasons, including stepping in a new chipmunk hole (those little buggers have no decorum on where they build, and trust me when I say they are not as pleasant as Chip and Dale let on to be) I had implored Bob to carry a flashlight.

Well, this morning he was carrying it, but had not turned it on. Something that I consider a novel change of pace. Hey why not trip around in the dark...pushing that little button is way too much work! But what do I know. I'm only a lowly woman. The female of the species usually TURN ON a flashlight if we're carrying one. But like I said, what do I know.

On the way to the dog-run both Brea and Maxi (one Akita-Husky and the other Collie-Shepherd) deserted him. In his sleepy-time, he just figured they were trying to annoy him because they didn't like being awake either.

He got to the dog-run, opened the gate, and the dogs wouldn't go in. They decided to do a wide circle around my husband, which at that hour of the morning is not a way to win friends or influence people. He stood there with the gate open and yelled. They cowered under the apple tree. He yelled again. They relented and ran into the dog-run, with both of them darting immediately into the left of the two side-by side doghouses.

Now this got Bob's attention, and low and behold he turned on the flashlight. (wonder upon wonders...not a creature was stirring...except...) As the beam of light crossed the doghouses, the right house caught his attention. There...peering out of the dog house was a baby skunk. It had gone into the run while Bob was holding the gate open and jumping up and down at the dogs.

The light drew the little creature out of the house and over to the gate. Meanwhile, my two watchdogs cowered in fear, squashed into a doghouse big enough for only one of them. Bob opened the gate as the miniature Peppy LaPue approached, figuring it would scurry off to tell momma how it had followed the light.

The only problem was...it continued to follow the light. Bob, now fearing that he would run into more of the brood, kept the light on. Peppy must have watched one of those Poltergeist movies, where the little scary lady said, "Go into the light." Bob starts around the dog-run with Peppy in hot pursuit. The faster Bob goes, the faster Peppy trots. (I swear he thought Bob was his mommy). Well Bob got far enough around the dog-run and attached shed, that he lost sight of Peppy. Figuring the little fellow has given up, Bob heads back around to the house...Mwhahahaha...sadistic cackle...

Peppy...scared...tail raised...you get the picture...right on Bob's chest. Thank God the thing was little, it's aim was low.

And I...nestled all snug in my bed, while visions of blog fairies, danced in my head. I woke to Bob standing in the double doors to our room yelling, "Bonnie!" I, half-comatose, turned my head in his direction to ask, "What," and was smacked in the face by the most putrid and rank olfactory sensation I had ever been forced to inhale! I hid my face in the pillow as he sheepishly asked me what he could do because he had to go to work.

Fast on my feet as I am (believe me when that smell is invading your house, your little feet sprout wings.) I jumped into action. I tore open the shutters and threw up the sash. (not really, I just opened the window, but it sounded good). The only thing I could think of was Fabreeze. You know the odor remover! I sprayed him down, while holding my nose. He took a shower. The smell was gone.

Now I was so pleased with myself that I called the 800 number on the Fabreeze bottle to tell them of my new discovery. The poor man on the other end of the phone was silent for several seconds before stating, "Ma'am we don't recommend using it on humans. We haven't tested it on people."

Hey, ya' know, I always say, "Any port in a storm!"

Fabreeze did send me $50 worth of coupons......So I stocked up! Just in case

Gooooood Monday! And for all of my friends in Texas, Chicago, and St. Louis....I'm sorry, but I'm glad it wasn't us! Hope you are all safe...and warm!

And a notable passing...Joe Palmer, one of the last Navajo Code Talkers from WWII has died in Tucson at the age of 84. As a Marine in WWII, Palmer and 28 other Code Talkers used their native language to transmit military messages on enemy tactics. According to the Naval Historical Center in Washington D.C., The Navajo Code Talkers took part in every assault the Marines conducted in the Pacific from 1942 to 1945. Their work was impossible for the enemy to decode.

My hat's off to this courage band of souls!


And now for a little jockularity...also involving a Marine!

By the time a Marine pulled into a little town, every hotel room was taken.

"You've got to have a room somewhere," he pleaded. "Or just a bed, I don't care where."

"Well, I do have a double room with one occupant - an Air Force guy," admitted the manager, "and he might be glad to split the cost. But to tell you the truth, he snores so loudly that people in adjoining rooms have complained in the past. I'm not sure it'd be worth it to you."

"No problem," the tired Marine assured him. "I'll take it."

The next morning the Marine came down to breakfast bright-eyed and bushy-tailed. "How'd you sleep?" asked the manager.

"Never better."

The manager was impressed. "No problem with the other guy snoring, then?"

"Nope, I shut him up in no time" said the Marine.

"How'd you manage that?" asked the manager.

"He was already in bed, snoring away, when I came in the room," the Marine" explained.

"I went over, gave him a kiss on the cheek, said, 'Goodnight, beautiful,' and he sat up all night watching me."

It is December 1st, time for the FIRST Day Blog Tour! (Join our alliance! Click the button!) The FIRST day of every month we will feature an author and their latest book's FIRST chapter!

BRYAN DAVIS

and his latest book:

Eye of the Oracle

by Bryan Davis

To read the first chapter, go HERE