It's Time to Mark Your Calendar! REUNION UPDATE!

The dates are set!  Mark your calendar!  We are excited to announce the dates and location for our 2014 reunion.  Dennis and Mary Ann Kinworthy will be hosting us in the great state of Missouri!  So...meet me in St. Louis, Gateway to the West, September 12-14, 2014.  Arrangements have already been made for a bus to drive us to all our activities on Saturday and the reservations are made for Saturday's banquet.  Updates will be coming!!

Dues

Wingers,

If you haven't paid your 2014 dues, please send your check for $25 to Pam Chapman.

Thanks,
Richard Chapman

Chaplain's Corner

In this day and time we are certainly in the "End Times" if we just

look around us, and pay attention to what is going on all over the

world.  If you have the time I would encourage you to read all of

Matthew 24 at your leisure.

 

   If you look at verse 3, the disciples ask the Lord when they could

expect the end of the world to come.

 

   v. 4-35 Jesus tells them of the many things which will take place

in the last days.

 

   v. 36-51 Jesus makes a pleas for men to be ready to meet HIM

when he does come.

 

   I have to write or preach on what God gives me and at the time

HE gives it to me.  There can be no soft toe stepping around things,

but to state it just like it is.  When we talk of the "End Times" it has

to be dealt with in all sincerity. 

 

   The second coming is not in just one, but in two parts.  First, we

have the "Rapture".  This is where Jesus will call all those who have

virtually received HIM to come home.  He will raise the believer's

from the dead....and those who are living up to Heaven to be with

HIM forever.

 

   But....part two...will take place approximately seven years later.  This

event will see the return of Jesus in "full glory and power".  It is here that

HE will descend upon the world and defeat all of HIS enemies....and will

establish His kingdowm upon the earth.

 

   He will personally rule in peace and harmony for 1,000 years.  I am

sure of the two events most of us would agree the Rapture is of the utmost

importance.

 

   Why?

 

    Its the next event on the prophetic calendar of God, and its going to

happen.  It can happen at anytime, Jesus is going to return.  So we

need to be ready.

 

   A few things we need to understand regarding the Rapture.  It will be sudden.

We are told it will take place in the twinkling of an eye.  The bottom line is...you

will either be ready or you won't.  No announcements will be made, no

advertisements posted, HE will come for HIS people in a split second.

 

   In other words,....yesterday is a cancelled check, tomorrow is a promissary

note, and today is the only spendable cash that we have. 

 

   It will also be solemn, because those who don't know the Lord will be left

behind.  Today is the time of preparation.  The Rapture will signal the beginning

of the Great Tribulation.

 

   The Rapture will be shocking, many will expect to go to Heaven, but will be

left behind.  Many have false hopes of Heaven,  but remember....God knows

your heart.  There is only one way to Salvation, once its obtained it carries a

priceless guarantee. 

 

   It will be satisfying, there will be a great reunion.  With loved ones meeting,

don't forget the old saints, and Jesus will all be there.   What a reunion this

will be !  

 

   You will have a glorified, new body.  Just think there will be no more death,

sorrow, pain, suffering, etc.  You will have a new home (the desires of your

heart).  Here....life is just temporary.  Heaven is eternal life ....if we are ready.

 

   Also, one should understand it will be a sad event for some.  If they are lost,

we as Christians will never see them again.  I need to caution you, either way

its "forever" whether you are saved and have eternal life, or whether you are

lost and have eternal death.  So yes, it will be a sad thing for some.

 

   My infamous question is....."what about your"?   Will your future be in Heaven

or Hell?  If we have done things right it will be freedom for us.  You see, we just

simply leave this old world behind and all of its problems.

 

   If there exists the slightest doubt in your mind concerning your relationship with

HIM....then you need to do something about it and correct it before its too late.

 

Tom Lewis

Chaplain

Update on David Whiteturkey

David actually passed away the day after his birthday on Feb. 28, 2014 at 11:10 am.

Services will be Tues. Mar. 3 at 10 am at Stumpff Funeral Home, 1600 SE Washington, Bartlesville, OK 74006. 

A memorial has been set up in his name with the Washington County SPCA, 16620 State Hwy 123, Bartlesville, OK 74006.

Your thoughts & prayers are greatly appreciated.

Love, Sue Whiteturkey

Farewell to Whiteturkey

Dear Fellow Wingers,

It is with much sorrow that I inform you that David Lee Whiteturkey has gone to be with the Lord.  He left this world on Thursday, February 27, 2014, on his birthday.  He had just turned 69 years old.

Arrangements are being made at this time at Stumpff Funeral Home in Bartlesville, OK.  http://www.stumpff.org/

Sincerely,
Richard Chapman

Prayer Requests

Please remember David Whiteturkey as he had surgery today.

Also, please remember Steve Lower as he is getting therapy three times a week.

Community News

Please remember David Whiteturkey in your prayers.

Congratulations to Ralph Mazerolle on his retirement!  

 

Steve and Sue received two bunches of flowers.  The first order was switched with someone else.  It was a dozen roses which said happy birthday and happy valentines day.  The Lowers were confused but Steve said the roses brightened Sue’s day.  I called florist and got things straightened out.  They apologized and upgraded our order from the CSAFB

Wings.  All turned out well! 

That's all for now.  Hope you all are doing well.

 

Richard Chapman

Chappy

Our Sympathies

Please join us in extending our sympathies and prayers to the Steven Lower family in the death of his stepson, Joseph B. Paz.  He was born on September 30, 1964 and passed away on January 17, 2014 of a brain tumor.  Joseph's mother is Delora Sue Lower and he will probably be buried in Lake Oswego, OR.

Prayer Requests

Larrie Caldwell is in ICU with Pneumonia

Steve Lower is at home after a lengthy stay in the hospital with a fractured hip

Sue Lower is in the hospital with blood pressure problems

Tom Lewis is home - continued recovery from heart surgery

Billie K. Allen is home - continued recovery from cancer surgery

Carole Sciotto is home - continued health recovery

Paul Hickenbottom is home - continued recovery from cancer surgery

Prayer Request

Please remember BK Allen and his wife, Jill, in your prayers.  BK's cancer has returned and he has had surgery about 2 weeks ago.  I know they would appreciate your thoughts and prayers during this time.

Update on Paul Hickenbottom

Hello Wingers,

Just a note to give you an medical update.


I have been home since November 4th, and according to everyone who has had anything to do with my recovery, I'm doing great. I'm able to do everything that I was able to do, with some limitations, before I had my surgery.


I have been around people in my past that have been very sick, but before I had my turn, I never realized just how easy it was to lose and how hard it was to regain your strength and stamina. I basically have had to learn how to walk again, because I had lost my balance and coordination.
I was glad to receive the news about the reunion in Dumas. Congratulations to those who were elected and re-elected to continue leading this organization in the next year. I'm really looking forward to the reunion next year being held in St. Louis, as this is one of my favorite places to visit.


I hope and pray that this finds everyone in good health and getting ready for winter, which will be here quickly.


Please keep your thoughts and prayers coming my way.
Paul

Time to Plan the Next One!

Dear Clinton Sherman friends my name is Dennis Kinworthy, I was a B-52 Crew Chief at CSAFB from 1966 to 1970. The reunion in 2014 will be south of St Louis. Friday night we will meet old and new members and have some things to eat at a hotel to be named later. On Saturday we will board a bus for a trip to the St. Louis Arch for a trip to the top, then take some time to look around the museum under the arch. After a small lunch then its off to Anhueser Busch Brewery for a tour. After a long day its back south for a dinner at the restaurant, we ask everyone to donate something for the auction with Alan. Up Sunday  and have breakfast and say our goodbyes till 2015. I know some of you may came a day or two early if anyone would like we can make a trip to Grant's Farm. We can drive cars it's not that hard to get there plus parking is available. You will find President Grant's Cabin and his first home. I think you will enjoy it. Hope to see everyone in St Louis. We are looking at the first weekend in September the 5th. to the 7th., I hope everyone will be able to make it.

 

Dennis G. Kinworthy

From the President: Reunion Update

Just wanted to let all know what the menu is going to be for the reunion in Dumas next weekend.

 

Friday's Meet and Greet, 6:30pm

Pizza

chocolate chip pizza

 

Saturday's Banquet

Boston Butt Slices

Baked Chicken

Steamed potatoes and onions

Baked beans

Broccoli Salad

Cucumber Salad

 

Chocolate Cake

Pineapple Cake 

 

Sunday Farewell Breakfast

Breakfast Casserole 

Biscuits 

 

We’ll have all information and directions at the hotel, any problems call Chapman 270-668-2021

                                                                                                                     Moore      870-377-0667

 

Looking forward to seeing everyone next week and for those who can’t make it hope to see you next year.

 

Sincerely,

Richard Chapman

2011 Veterans Day Tribute

Hector Mercado, a National Sales Directorwho attended the game said it was extremely emotional to see the entire bowl of the stadium turn red, white and blue. It took 90 workers two weeks to get all of the colored card boards mounted under each seat.  Each piece of card board had eye slits in them so the fans could hold up the colored sheet and still see through the eye slits.  Every seat had to have the proper card, with no mistakes, to make this happen.

This is what ESPN failed to show you Monday night, apparently, they thought their commercials were more important than showing this scene for about 5 seconds.

Submitted by Paul Hickenbottom

Airplane History

AHHHHHHH SOOOOOOOOOO

I found it. The second B-52E we (Clinton Sherman) sent to the engine test program WAS NOT 57-0022, IT WAS 56-0636.

636 used as test airframe by Pratt & Whitney until 7/30/81
     To MASDC as BC275 Jul 30, 1981.  Scrapped

For all you "Shermanites" ( and a few others who may share some interest in this) I found this picture of one of Clinton Sherman's B-52E's. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Boeing_JB-52E_%28SN_57-0119%29_in_flight_061127-F-1234S-026.jpg

I remember when we sent this aircraft #57-0119 to Edwards for the test program. I also think but at the present time cannot verify that another CSM B-52E # 57-0022 was also sent and was used to test the Pratt & Whitney version of the very large engine.

This site http://www.check-six.com/Crash_Sites/B-52s_in_the_desert.htm also has some good pictures and a story line about 119.

This is getting interesting, in searching for info on 57-0022 I ran across this picture. http://www.check-six.com/Crash_Sites/B-52s_in_the_desert.htm . It is an early model with the 3000 gallon drop tanks and tall tail. I enlarged the picture and it "looks like" the tail # is 3404 which would indicate it is a very early plane of the B-52C variant.  Never saw this before!

Submitted by Don Warhurst

For a Laugh...

FOR THOSE OF US WHO REMEMBER 

  

These great questions and answers are from the days when Hollywood Squares' game show responses were spontaneous, not scripted, as they are now!

 

Q.. 

Paul, what is a good reason for pounding meat?  

 

A. Paul Lynde: Loneliness!  

 

(The audience laughed so long and so hard it took up almost 15 minutes of the show!)  

 

Q. Do female frogs croak?  

 

A. Paul Lynde: If you hold their little heads under water long enough.  

 

Q. If you're going to make a parachute jump, at least how high should you be  

 

A. Charley Weaver: Three days of steady drinking should do it.  

 

Q. True or False, a pea can last as long as 5,000 years...  

 

A. George Gobel: Boy, it sure seems that way sometimes.  

 

Q. You've been having trouble going to sleep. Are you probably a man or a woman?  

 

A.. Don Knotts: That's what's been keeping me awake.  

 

Q. According to Cosmopolitan, if you meet a stranger at a party and you think that he is attractive, is it okay to come out and ask him if he's married?  

 

A.. Rose Marie: No wait until morning.  

 

Q. Which of your five senses tends to diminish as you get older?  

 

A. Charley Weaver: My sense of decency..  

 

Q. What are 'Do It,' 'I Can Help,' and 'I Can't Get Enough'?  

 

A. George Gobel: I don't know, but it's coming from the next apartment.  

 

Q. As you grow older, do you tend to gesture more or less with your hands while talking?  

 

A. Rose Marie: You ask me one more growing old question Peter, and I'll give you a gesture you'll never forget.  

 

Q. Paul, why do Hell's Angels wear leather?  

 

A. Paul Lynde: Because chiffon wrinkles too easily.  

 

Q.. Charley, you've just decided to grow strawberries. Are you going to get any during the first year?  

 

A.. Charley Weaver: Of course not, I'm too busy growing strawberries.  

 

Q. In bowling, what's a perfect score?  

 

A. Rose Marie: Ralph, the pin boy.  

 

Q. During a tornado, are you safer in the bedroom or in the closet?  

 

A. Rose Marie: Unfortunately Peter, I'm always safe in the bedroom.  

 

Q. Can boys join the Camp Fire Girls?  

 

A.. Marty Allen: Only after lights out.  

 

Q. When you pat a dog on its head he will wag his tail. What will a goose do?  

 

A. Paul Lynde: Make him bark?  

 

Q. If you were pregnant for two years, what would you give birth to?  

 

A. Paul Lynde: Whatever it is, it would never be afraid of the dark..  

 

Q. According to Ann Landers, is there anything wrong with getting into the habit of kissing a lot of people?  

 

A. Charley Weaver: It got me out of the army.  

 

Q. Back in the old days, when Great Grandpa put horseradish on his head, what was he trying to do?  

 

A. George Gobel: Get it in his mouth.  

 

Q. Who stays pregnant for a longer period of time, your wife or your elephant?  

 

A. Paul Lynde: Who told you about my elephant?  

 

Q. Jackie Gleason recently revealed that he firmly believes in them and has actually seen them on at least two occasions. What are they?  

 

A. Charley Weaver: His feet.  

 

Q. According to Ann Landers, what are two things you should never do in bed?  

 

A. Paul Lynde: Point and laugh  

Chaplain's Corner

I realize its been awhile since I have posted this column in the
newsletter after Chappy asked me to write it. In our group we have
various faiths and beliefs, and as true Americans this is what it
should all be about. For now, we still have the freedom to worship
the way we see fit. The key point here...in after doing so, is that we
live it.

Sometimes it can be difficult to sit down and write an article
to inspire others, but yet satisfy one's spiritual needs as well. One
subject I think we can never get enough of is "eternal life". I can
continue writing on this topic for the remainder of the day, and still
not complete it.

As true believers we are promised eternal life, if we accept Jesus
Christ as our personal savour, and we living according to the Holy
Bible. We have to go to HIM with a sincere heart, and through faith,
and be saved by HIS grace. Thats the only way to get in...(get into
Heaven). You see, we can't make it by simply doing good works and
deeds.....we certainly can't buy our way in....and...no one can pray us
in. You and I get there by a one on one relationship with God the
Father. We go to HIM with a genuine sincere heart and ask for HIS
forgiveness. Yes, we have to repent of our sins and go to HIM by
way of the Cross.

Allow me to preach to you if you will for a moment. This is what I
do best at, and God allows me to. I have already delivered a message
on John 3:16 at the reunion at Decatur, Texas a few years ago. Let's
go back to the cross for a moment and re-examine our lives for the
Holy Bible tells us:

16. For God so loved the world (means gives to us the God kind of
love) that HE gave HIS only begotten Son (gave HIM up to the Cross,
for thats what it took to redeem humanity), that whosover believes in
HIM should not perish, but have everlasting life.

17. Gor God sent not HIS Son into the world to condemn the world
(means that the object of Christ's mission was to save, but the issue
to those who reject HIM must and only be condemnation); but that
the world through HIM might be saved ( Jesus Christ is the only
Salvation for the world; there is no other! as well, HE is Salvation
only through the Cross; consequently, the Cross must ever be the
object of our faith).

18. He who believes on HIM is not condemned (is not condemned
to be eternally lost in the Lake of Fire forever): but he who believes
not is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name
of the only begotten Son of God (all this refers to Christ and what HE
did at the Cross in order to redeem humanity; Salvation is never by
good works, but rather by Grace through Faith, with the Cross ever
being the object of that Faith).

When we speak of eternal life or eternal death that exactly what
it is. Eternal means "forever". Eternal life is a new life and a new
body in a new Heaven where we can live with no problems, no
sickness, no pain. Eternal Death is not just going down there to
burn up. This is a "forever" torment...filled with pain and suffering.
There will be people of all walks of life down there that rejected God
and turned away. There will be fighting, gnashing of teeth, cussing
one another.....and burning forever in those fires of Hell.

I don't know about you, but for me....I have made the choice of
eternal life. I want to walk down those streets of gold, I want to praise
and magnify the Lord, I want to hear the heavenly angelic hosts sing.
I want to see each and every one of you, all my friends and family in
the realm of eternal life. However, that choice is ours and ours
alone. What will your choice be?


God's Blessings,

Tom Lewis

From Your President

Greetings Wingers

 

Just a few lines to let you all know the latest on our reunion Oct 25, 26, and 27th in Dumas Ar.

 

Bill and Mary Moore are hosting this year, the schedule 

 

Friday Meet and Greet at the American Legion Bld. a short distance from Hotel

 

Saturday a Museum tour and pottery store visit, later that evening a banquet and the AUCTION, again at the American Legion Bld. with our own Alan Meyer as auctioneer. Everyone is asked to donate something for the AUCTION hand made, home made of something unique we have loads of fun and raise money to support the reunion and help our members.

 

Sunday Breakfast and farewell with Devotional.

 

We’ll be staying at the DAYS INN in Dumas  870-382-4449 mention Clinton Sherman reunion for good rate, there will be strip maps available at the hotel.

Please let us know if you will be attending so the Moore's can make proper arrangements for food. Times for all activities will come later.

 

Hope you can all attend, life is short and these reunions sure are fun, if anyone needs assistance please let us know.

 

We sure do miss our Vice President Paul Hickenbottom and the Blog he and daughter Georgia so faithfully post, I’ve no new news to give you on his recovery, Mary and Georgia have their hands full but Georgia has requested that anyone with articles to put on the Blog send then to Paul's email address, and as soon as there is news I will post it.

 

Please keep Paul and his family in your Prayers.

 

I am sending this to Georgia to post on the Blog and also to all wingers incase you can't get on the Blog. 

 

Until next time

Your CSAFB President

Richard Chapman

 

 

Prayer Request

Hello Wingers!  I know your blog has been quiet for a while.  My dad, Paul Hickenbottom, is still recovering from his surgery, held July 22.  He has recently been transferred to a rehabilitation hospital to begin the very important and busy work of getting back on his feet.  I know he would appreciate your prayers and well wishes as he continues this journey of recovery.

If you have information to share, please continue to send it to him so that we can post it here!  Especially information about the reunion...I know it is creeping up on us!

Georgia Welch
Blog Administrator

Six Boys, Thirteen Hands

Each year I am hired to go to Washington , DC , with the eighth grade class from Clinton , WI where I grew up, to videotape their trip. I greatly enjoy visiting our nation's capitol, and each year I take some special memories back with me. This fall's trip was especially memorable.

On the last night of our trip, we stopped at the Iwo Jima memorial. This memorial is the largest bronze statue in the world and depicts one of the most famous photographs in history -- that of the six brave soldiers raising the American Flag at the top of a rocky hill on the island of Iwo Jima, Japan, during WW II.

Over one hundred students and chaperones piled off the buses and headed towards the memorial. I noticed a solitary figure at the base of the statue, and as I got closer he asked, 'Where are you guys from?'

I told him that we were from Wisconsin. 'Hey, I'm a cheese head, too! Come gather around, Cheese heads, and I will tell you a story.'

(It was James Bradley who just happened to be in Washington, DC, to speak at the memorial the following day. He was there that night to say good night to his dad, who had passed away. He was just about to leave when he saw the buses pull up. I videotaped him as he spoke to us, and received his permission to share what he said from my videotape. It is one thing to tour the incredible monuments filled with history in Washington,DC, but it is quite another to get the kind of insight we received that night.)
When all had gathered around, he reverently began to speak. (Here are his words that night.)

'My name is James Bradley and I'm from Antigo, Wisconsin . My dad is on that statue, and I just wrote a book called 'Flags of Our Fathers' which is #5 on the New York Times Best Seller list right now. It is the story of the six boys you see behind me.

'Six boys raised the flag. The first guy putting the pole in the ground is Harlon Block. Harlon was an all-state football player. He enlisted in the Marine Corps with all the senior members of his football team. They were off to play another type of game. A game called 'War.' But it didn't turn out to be a game. Harlon, at the age of 21, died with his intestines in his hands. I don't say that to gross you out, I say that because there are people who stand in front of this statue and talk about the glory of war. You guys need to know that most of the boys in Iwo Jima were 17, 18, and 19 years old - and it was so hard that the ones who did make it home never even would talk to their families about it.

(He pointed to the statue) 'You see this next guy? That's Rene Gagnon from New Hampshire. If you took Rene's helmet off at the moment this photo was taken and looked in the webbing of that helmet, you would find a photograph...a photograph of his girlfriend. Rene put that in there for protection because he was scared. He was 18 years old. It was just boys who won the battle of Iwo Jima. Boys. Not old men.
'The next guy here, the third guy in this tableau, was Sergeant Mike Strank.. Mike is my hero. He was the hero of all these guys. They called him the 'old man' because he was so old. He was already 24. When Mike would motivate his boys in training camp, he didn't say, 'Let's go kill some Japanese' or 'Let's die for our country.' He knew he was talking to little boys.. Instead he would say, 'You do what I say, and I'll get you home to your mothers.'

'The last guy on this side of the statue is Ira Hayes, a Pima Indian fromArizona .. Ira Hayes was one of them who lived to walk off Iwo Jima . He went into the White House with my dad. President Truman told him, 'You're a hero.' He told reporters, 'How can I feel like a hero when 250 of my buddies hit the island with me and only 27 of us walked off alive?'

So you take your class at school, 250 of you spending a year together having fun, doing everything together. Then all 250 of you hit the beach, but only 27 of your classmates walk off alive. That was Ira Hayes. He had images of horror in his mind. Ira Hayes carried the pain home with him and eventually died dead drunk, face down, drowned in a very shallow puddle, at the age of 32 (ten years after this picture was taken).
'The next guy, going around the statue, is Franklin Sousley from Hilltop,Kentucky . A fun-lovin' hillbilly boy. His best friend, who is now 70, told me, 'Yeah, you know, we took two cows up on the porch of the Hilltop General Store. Then we strung wire across the stairs so the cows couldn't get down. Then we fed them Epsom salts. Those cows crapped all night.' Yes, he was a fun-lovin' hillbilly boy. Franklin died on Iwo Jima at the age of 19. When the telegram came to tell his mother that he was dead, it went to the Hilltop General Store. A barefoot boy ran that telegram up to his mother's farm. The neighbors could hear her scream all night and into the morning Those neighbors lived a quarter of a mile away.

'The next guy, as we continue to go around the statue, is my dad, John Bradley, from Antigo, Wisconsin , where I was raised. My dad lived until 1994, but he would never give interviews. When Walter Cronkite's producers or the New York Times would call, we were trained as little kids to say 'No, I'm sorry, sir, my dad's not here. He is in Canada fishing. No, there is no phone there, sir. No, we don't know when he is coming back.' My dad never fished or even went to Canada . Usually, he was sitting there right at the table eating his Campbell 's soup. But we had to tell the press that he was out fishing. He didn't want to talk to the press.
'You see, like Ira Hayes, my dad didn't see himself as a hero. Everyone thinks these guys are heroes, 'cause they are in a photo and on a monument. My dad knew better. He was a medic. John Bradley fromWisconsin was a combat caregiver. On Iwo Jima he probably held over 200 boys as they died. And when boys died on Iwo Jima , they writhed and screamed, without any medication or help with the pain.
'When I was a little boy, my third grade teacher told me that my dad was a hero. When I went home and told my dad that, he looked at me and said, 'I want you always to remember that the heroes of Iwo Jima are the guys who did not come back. Did NOT come back.'
'So that's the story about six nice young boys. Three died on Iwo Jima , and three came back as national heroes. Overall, 7,000 boys died on Iwo Jima in the worst battle in the history of the Marine Corps. My voice is giving out, so I will end here. Thank you for your time.'
Suddenly, the monument wasn't just a big old piece of metal with a flag sticking out of the top. It came to life before our eyes with the heartfelt words of a son who did indeed have a father who was a hero. Maybe not a hero for the reasons most people would believe, but a hero nonetheless.
We need to remember that God created this vast and glorious world for us to live in, freely, but also at great sacrifice.
Let us never forget from the Revolutionary War to the current War on Terrorism and all the wars in-between that sacrifice was made for our freedom...please pray for our troops.

Remember to pray praises for this great country of ours and also ...please pray for our troops still in murderous places around the world.
STOP and thank God for being alive and being free due to someone else's sacrifice.


God Bless You and God Bless America...


REMINDER: Everyday that you can wake up free, it's going to be a great day.

One thing I learned while on tour with my 8th grade students in DC that is not mentioned here is . . that if you look at the statue very closely and count the number of 'hands' raising the flag, there are 13. When the man who made the statue was asked why there were 13, he simply said the 13th hand was the hand of God.