Tasty Tuesday

"Fancy" Cheeseball

2-8 oz pkg of cream cheese

1 jar of real bacon

1 can chopped black olives

3 green onions, chopped

1 t. Accent 

Mix well and shape into a ball.  

The Crew Chief

Submitted by Don Warhurst

Keeping the Grey Cells Active

1. Johnny's mother had three children. The first child was named April. The
second child was named May...
What was the third child's name?

2. There is a clerk at the butcher shop, he is five feet ten inches tall and
he wears size 13 sneakers...
What does he weigh?

3. Before Mt. Everest was discovered,...what was the highest mountain in the
world?

4. How much dirt is there in a hole...that measures two feet by three feet
by four feet?

5. What word in the English Language...is always spelled incorrectly?

6. Billy was born on December 28th, yet his birthday is always in the summer
..How is this possible?

7. In California , you cannot take a picture of a man with a wooden leg..
Why not?

8. What was the President 's Name...in 1975?

9. If you were running a race and you passed the person in 2nd place,...
what place would you be in now?

10. Which is correct to say,..."The yolk of the egg are white" or "The yolk
of the egg is white"?

11. If a farmer has 5 haystacks in one field and 4 haystacks in the other
field, ...how many haystacks would
he have if he combined them all in another field?

ANSWERS BELOW

Here are the Answers:

1. Johnny 's mother had three children. The first child was named April The
second child was named May.
What was the third child 's name?
Answer: Johnny of course

2. There is a clerk at the butcher shop, he is five feet ten inches tall,
and he wears size 13 sneakers. What does he weigh?
Answer: Meat.

3. Before Mt. Everest was discovered, what was the highest mountain in the
world?
Answer: Mt. Everest; it just wasn 't discovered yet. (You're not very good
at this are you?]

4. How much dirt is there in a hole that measures two feet by three feet by
four feet?
Answer: There is no dirt in a hole.

5. What word in the English Language is always spelled incorrectly?
Answer: Incorrectly

6. Billy was born on December 28th, yet his birthday is always in the summer
How is this possible?
Answer: Billy lives in the Southern Hemisphere

7. In California , you cannot take a picture of a man with a wooden leg. Why
not?
Answer: You can 't take pictures with a wooden leg. You need a camera to
take pictures.

8. What was the President 's Name in 1975?
Answer: Same as is it now - Barack Obama [Oh, come on ...]

9. If you were running a race, and you passed the person in 2nd place, what
place would you be in now?
Answer: You would be in 2nd. Well, you passed the person in second place,
not first.

10. Which is correct to say, "The yolk of the egg are white" or "The yolk of
the egg is white"?
Answer: Neither, the yolk of the egg is yellow [Duh]

11. If a farmer has 5 haystacks in one field and 4 haystacks in the other
field, how many haystacks would
he have if he combined them all in another field?
Answer: One. If he combines all of his haystacks, they all become one big
one.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
IMPOSSIBILITIES IN THE WORLD

1) You can't count your hair.
2) You can't wash your eyes with soap.
3) You can't breathe through your nose when your tongue is out.


Put your tongue back in your mouth, you silly person.

Submitted by Paul Hickenbottom

Vitamin F

Why do I have a variety of friends who are all so different in character? How is it possible that I can get along with them all?

I think that each one helps to bring out a "different" part of me.

With one of them I am polite. With another I joke. With another I can be a bit naughty ..

I can sit down and talk about serious matters with one.

With another I laugh a lot.

I listen to one friend's problems.

Then I listen to another one's advice for me.

My friends are like pieces of a jigsaw puzzle.

When completed, they form a treasure box.

A treasure of friends!

They are my friends who understand me better than I understand myself.
They're friends who support me through good days and bad.
Real Age doctors tell us that friends are good for our health.

Dr. Oz calls them Vitamin F (for Friends) and counts the benefits of friends as essential to our well being. Research shows that people in strong social circles have less risk of depression and terminal strokes.

If you enjoy Vitamin F constantly you can be up to 30 years younger than your real age. The warmth of friendship stops stress and even in your most intense moments, it decreases the chance of a cardiac arrest or stroke by 50%.

I'm so happy that I have a stock of Vitamin F!
In summary, we should value our friends and keep in touch with them.
We should try to see the funny side of things and laugh together and pray for each other in the tough moments.
Some of my friends are friends on line.
I know I am part of theirs because their names appear on my computer screen every day and I feel blessed that they care as much for me as I care for them.

Thank you for being one of my Vitamins!

Weather Wednesday

Hello Wingers,

Here it is Wednesday and I'm trying to figure out this North Texas weather. It reminds me a lot like the weather we had there at Clinton-Sherman. I can recall going to the base from Sentinel, facing a head wind and going home in the evening facing a head wind. The winds would come from the north and even with a parka and parka pants couldn't keep warm in the winter. Do you remember the sky's changing color - red/brown, caused by Kansas and Texas changing hands overhead.

Well it isn't quite that bad here in Granbury. However one day it is 80 degrees, and the next day it is 40 degrees. Little wind one day and the next it is strong enough to "blow" your hat off. The weather man tells you to watch out for the strong storms coming out of Colorado and nothing happens, then the next day all "hell" breaks loose.

I'm still looking for that first Robin, but the trees are all buded out and ready for summer, what happened to spring? I'm wearing out my clothes, shorts one day, long pants the next day. Light weight jacket today and heavy coat and stocking cap the next, boy what a year so far.

Hope you have a good week.

Submitted by Paul Hickenbottom

Tasty Tuesday

SOUR CREAM BEEF

                                                               

1 1/2 lbs. hamburger

2 cloves garlic, minced

2 tsp. salt

2 tsp. sugar

2 (8oz.) cans tomato sauce

1 Cup sour cream

1 (8oz.) package cream cheese

4 to 6 green onions, chopped, tops and all

1 (8oz.) package, egg noodles

2 Cups cheddar cheese, grated

Brown hamburger and garlic. Add salt, sugar and tomato sauce; simmer. Combine sour cream, cream cheese and onions. Cook noodles as recommended. Spread half of the noodles and half of the tomato sauce mixture and 1 Cup of the cheddar cheese over the bottom of a greased 13x9x2 inch baking dish. Top with half of the sour cream mixture. Repeat layers ending up  with cheddar cheese on top. Bake at 350 degrees for 35 minutes.

Submitted by Paul Hickenbottom

Helpful Email Hints

Email Tracker Programs -- very interesting and a must read!
The man that sent this information is a computer tech. He spends a lot of time clearing the junk off computers for people and listens to complaints about speed. All forwards are not bad, just some. Be sure you read the very last paragraph.
_________________________________________
He wrote:
By now, I suspect everyone is familiar with snopes.Com and/or truthorfiction.Com for determining whether information received via email is just that: true/false or fact/fiction. Both are excellent sites.

Advice from snopes.Com VERY IMPORTANT!!
1) Any time you see an email that says " forward this on to '10' (or however many) of your friends", "sign this petition", or "you'll get bad luck" or "you'll get good luck" or "you'll see something funny on your screen after you send it" or whatever --- it almost always has an email tracker program attached that tracks the cookies and emails of those folks you forward to. The host sender is getting a copy each time it gets forwarded and then is able to get lists of 'active' email addresses to use in SPAM emails or sell to other Spammers. Even when you get emails that demand you send the email on if you're not ashamed of God/Jesus --- that is email tracking, and they are playing on our conscience. These people don't care how they get your email addresses - just as long as they get them. Also, emails that talk about a missing child or a child with an incurable disease "how would you feel if that was your child" --- email tracking.Ignore them and don't participate!

2) Almost all emails that ask you to add your name and forward on to others are similar to that mass letter years ago that asked people to send business cards to the little kid in Florida who wanted to break the Guinness Book of Records for the most cards. All it was, and all any of this type of email is, is a way to get names and 'cookie' tracking information for telemarketers and Spammers -- to validate active email accounts for their own profitable purposes.

You can do your Friends and Family members a GREAT favor by sending this information to them. You will be providing a service to your friends. And you will be rewarded by not getting thousands of spam emails in the future!

Do yourself a favor and STOP adding your name(S) to those types of listing regardless how inviting they might sound! Or make you feel guilty if you don't! It's all about getting email addresses and nothing more.

You may think you are supporting a GREAT cause, but you are NOT!

Instead, you will be getting tons of junk mail later and very possibly a virus attached! Plus, we are helping the Spammers get rich! Let's not make it easy for them!

ALSO: Email petitions are NOT acceptable to Congress of any other organization - I.e. Social security, etc. To be acceptable, petitions must have a " signed signature" and full address of the person signing the petition, so this is a waste of time and you are just helping the email trackers.

Submitted by Richard Chapman

We Remember

Click the link below to watch an inspirational video that will pilots and plane lovers alike will love.

We Remember

Submitted by Paul Hickenbottom

Takin' Care of Business

First European To Win The Ultimate Elvis Impersonator...

Ben Portsmouth and his band, Taking Care of Elvis, present an amazing tribute to the King of Rock and Roll, with his looks, style and fantastic voice which will set hearts racing and feet taping.

In the blink of your eyes you'll be taken back to what it was like to see, hear and experience the young and sexy Elvis when he first burst on to the U.S. music scene in 1954 right through to 1977.

Ben Portsmouth's stunning outfits, all U.S. custom made, span the black leathers of Presley's comeback in 1968 to the white jumpsuits of the later Las Vegas shows, all costumes are exact copies of the originals.

Not only is Ben Portsmouth a natural showman but he is also an extremely talented professional singer/songwriter, a dedicated musician who sincerely goes that bit extra in all his performances, in doing so he leaves his audience craving more!

In 2006 Ben Portsmouth was awarded the title of Best Festival Elvis at the annual PorthcawlElvis convention in Wales which is the biggest of its kind in Europe. He took the audience of assembled Elvis devotees by storm with his remarkable voice and stage presence. In 2007 he was awarded the Gold Lame (Jacket) Award for his 50's set and in 2008 he was voted best '68 Comeback Special. And now he has won the "The World's Ultimate Elvis Presley Impersonator".
In my opinion it doesn't get better than this.

Click here and turn up the volume.... http://www.youtube.com/watch_popup?v=G8f

Submitted by Paul Hickenbottom

Disorder in the Court

COURT REPORTERS HAVE TO KEEP STRAIGHT FACES!!

These are from a book called Disorder in the American Courts and are things people actually said in court, word for word, taken down and published by court reporters that had the torment of staying calm while
the exchanges were taking place.


ATTORNEY: What was the first thing your husband said to you that morning?

WITNESS: He said, 'Where am I, Cathy?'

ATTORNEY: And why did that upset you?

WITNESS: My name is Susan!
_______________________________________________________

ATTORNEY: What gear were you in at the moment of the impact?

WITNESS: Gucci sweats and Reeboks.
______________________________________________________

ATTORNEY: Are you sexually active?

WITNESS: No, I just lie there.

_____________________________________________________

ATTORNEY: What is your date of birth?

WITNESS: July 18th.

ATTORNEY: What year?

WITNESS: Every year.
_____________________________________________________

ATTORNEY: How old is your son, the one living with you?

WITNESS: Thirty-eight or thirty-five, I can't remember which.

ATTORNEY: How long has he lived with you?

WITNESS: Forty-five years.
__________________________________________________________

ATTORNEY: This myasthenia gravis, does it affect your memory at all?

WITNESS: Yes.

ATTORNEY: And in what ways does it affect your memory?

WITNESS: I forget..

ATTORNEY: You forget? Can you give us an example of something you forgot?
_______________________________________________________________

ATTORNEY: Now doctor, isn't it true that when a person dies in his sleep,

he doesn't know about it until the next morning?

WITNESS: Did you actually pass the bar exam?
____________________________________

ATTORNEY: The youngest son, the 20-year-old, how old is he?

WITNESS: He's 20, much like your IQ.
___________________________________________

ATTORNEY: Were you present when your picture was taken?

WITNESS: Are you shitting me?
_________________________________________

ATTORNEY: So the date of conception (of the baby) was August 8th?

WITNESS: Yes.

ATTORNEY: And what were you doing at that time?

WITNESS: Getting laid
____________________________________________

ATTORNEY: She had three children , right?

WITNESS: Yes.

ATTORNEY: How many were boys?

WITNESS: None.

ATTORNEY: Were there any girls?

WITNESS: Your Honor, I think I need a different attorney. Can I get a

new attorney?
____________________________________________

ATTORNEY: How was your first marriage terminated?

WITNESS: By death..

ATTORNEY: And by whose death was it terminated?

WITNESS: Take a guess.
___________________________________________

ATTORNEY: Can you describe the individual?

WITNESS: He was about medium height and had a beard

ATTORNEY: Was this a male or a female?

WITNESS: Unless the Circus was in town I'm going with male.
_____________________________________

ATTORNEY: Is your appearance here this morning pursuant to a deposition

notice which I sent to your attorney?

WITNESS: No, this is how I dress when I go to work.
_____________________________________

ATTORNEY: Doctor , how many of your autopsies have you performed on dead

people?

WITNESS: All of them. The live ones put up too much of a fight.
_________________________________________

ATTORNEY: ALL your responses MUST be oral, OK? What school did you go to?

WITNESS: Oral...
_________________________________________

ATTORNEY: Do you recall the time that you examined the body?

WITNESS: The autopsy started around 8:30 PM

ATTORNEY: And Mr. Denton was dead at the time?

WITNESS: If not, he was by the time I finished.
____________________________________________

ATTORNEY: Are you qualified to give a urine sample?

WITNESS: Are you qualified to ask that question?
______________________________________

And last:

ATTORNEY: Doctor, before you performed the autopsy, did you check for a

pulse?

WITNESS: No.

ATTORNEY: Did you check for blood pressure?

WITNESS: No.

ATTORNEY: Did you check for breathing?

WITNESS: No..

ATTORNEY: So, then it is possible that the patient was alive when you

began the autopsy?

WITNESS: No.

ATTORNEY: How can you be so sure, Doctor?

WITNESS: Because his brain was sitting on my desk in a jar.

ATTORNEY: I see, but could the patient have still been alive, nevertheless?

WITNESS: Yes, it is possible that he could have been alive and

practicing law.

Submitted by Richard Chapman

Weather Wednesday

It was 90 degrees here yesterday, sun shining brightly and not a cloud in the sky - what a day!!! 

Now today, the weather man says it is going to be a very different story:  temperature to drop to around 30 degrees, rain storms coming through during the night, which here in North Texas, could include hail and tornadoes - hope it misses us all together. 

People are getting their lawnmowers and edgers out and trying to get them started. I, on the other hand, am waiting on the days I'm sitting by the swimming pool - don't miss my lawn mowing days!!!! 

I hope you are having good weather in your area. I still haven't seen my first robin - I guess Spring isn't offically here yet.

Submitted by Paul Hickenbottom

Tasty Tuesday

Snickers Fudge Recipe
There is no actual snickers in it, but it tastes almost exactly like it, only better.  Enjoy!

Bottom Layer:  1 c milk chocolate chips, 1/4 c butterscotch chips, 1/4 c creamy peanut butter

Filling:  1/4 c butter, 1 c sugar, 1/4 c evaporated milk, 1.5 c marshmallow creme, 1/4 c creamy peanut butter, 1 tsp vanilla extract,  1.5 c chopped salted peanuts

Caramel:  14 oz pkg individually wrapped caramels, 1/4 c heavy cream

Top Layer:  1 c milk chocolate chips, 1/4 c butterscotch chips, 1/4 c creamy peanut butter

Lightly grease 9 x 13" dish.  Combine bottom layer ingredients in small saucepan over low heat.  Cook and stir until melted and smooth.  Spread evenly in pan; refrigerate until set.  For the filling, melt butter in heavy saucepan over med-high heat; stir in sugar and evaporated milk.  Bring to boil and let boil 5 minutes.  Remove from heat and add marshmallow creme, 1/4 c peanut butter and vanilla.  Fold in peanuts, spread over bottom layer and return to fridge until set.  Combine caramels and cream in saucepan over low heat.  Cook and stir until melted and smooth.  Spread over filling and chill until set.  For the top layer, combine ingredients in small saucepan over low heat; cook and stir until melted and smooth.  Spread over caramel layer.  Chill 1 hour before cutting into squares.

Hello, Vietnam

Click the link below to hear the song "Hello Vietnam" by Johnny Wright.

Goodbye My Sweetheart, Hello, VietNam

Submitted by Stephen Lower

God's Accuracy

Our Creator and Redeemer . . . and do we THINK about it ??? God's accuracy may be observed in the hatching of eggs.. . . . .

For example:

• the eggs of the potato bug hatch in 7 days;
• those of the canary in 14 days;
• those of the barnyard hen in 21 days;
• The eggs of ducks and geese hatch in 28 days;
• those of the mallard in 35 days;
• The eggs of the parrot and the ostrich hatch in 42 days.

 (Notice, they are all divisible by seven, the number of days in a week!)

God's wisdom is seen in the making of an elephant.
The four legs of this great beast all bend forward in the same direction. No other quadruped is so made. God planned that this animal would have a huge body, too large to live on two legs. For this reason He gave it four fulcrums so that it can rise from the ground easily.

The horse rises from the ground on its two front legs first. A cow rises  from the ground with its two hind legs first. How wise the Lord is in all His works of creation!

God's wisdom is revealed in His arrangement of sections and segments, as well as in the number of grains.

• Each watermelon has an even number of stripes on the rind.
• Each orange has an even number of segments.
• Each ear of corn has an even number of rows.
• Each stalk of wheat has an even number of grains.
• Every bunch of bananas has on its lowest row an even number of bananas, an each row decreases by one, so that one row has an even number and the next > row an odd number.

The waves of the sea roll in on shore twenty-six to the minute in all kinds of weather.

All grains are found in even numbers on the stalks, and the Lord specified thirty fold, sixty fold, and a hundred fold all even numbers.

God has caused the flowers to blossom at certain specified times during the day.  Linnaeus, the great botanist, once said that if he had a conservatory containing the right kind of soil, moisture and temperature, he could tell the time of day or night by the flowers that were open and those that were closed!

The lives of each of you may be ordered by the Lord in a beautiful way for His glory, if you will only entrust Him with your life. If you try to regulate your own life, it will only be a mess and a failure. Only the One who made the brain and the heart can successfully guide them to a profitable end.

Submitted by Paul Hickenbottom

P-51

Just about every military pilot I know would like a chance to fly the Mustang, I know I do! It is still rated number one by the Military Channel on TV, ahead of all the fantastic jet fighters we have now. It changed the face of WWII in Europe in that it could stay with the bombers all the way to Germany and back. It could out climb, out, turn, and was faster than the German fighters of that era.

Old Aviators and Old Airplanes....

This is a good little story about a vivid memory of a P-51 and its pilot, by a fellow who was 12 years old in Canada in 1967. It was to take to the air. They said it had flown in during the night from some U.S. Airport, the pilot had been tired.

I marveled at the size of the plane dwarfing the Pipers and Canucks tied down by her. It was much larger than in the movies. She glistened in the sun like a bulwark of security from days gone by


The pilot arrived by cab, paid the driver, and then stepped into the pilot's lounge. He was an older man; his wavy hair was gray and tossed. It looked like it might have been combed, say, around the turn of the century. His flight jacket was checked, creased and worn - it smelled old and genuine. Old Glory was prominently sewn to its shoulders. He projected a quiet air of proficiency and pride devoid of arrogance. He filed a quick flight plan to Montreal (Expo-67, Air Show) then walked across the tarmac.


After taking several minutes to perform his walk-around check the pilot returned to the flight lounge to ask if anyone would be available to stand by with fire extinguishers while he "flashed the old bird up, just to be safe."

Though only 12 at the time I was allowed to stand by with an extinguisher after brief instruction on its use -- "If you see a fire, point, then pull this lever!" I later became a firefighter, but that's another story. The air around the exhaust manifolds shimmered like a mirror from fuel fumes as the huge prop started to rotate. One manifold, then another, and yet another barked -- I stepped back with the others. In moments the Packard-built Merlin engine came to life with a thunderous roar, blue flames knifed from her manifolds. I looked at the others' faces, there was no concern. I lowered the bell of my extinguisher. One of the guys signaled to walk back to the lounge. We did.

Several minutes later we could hear the pilot doing his pre flight run-up. He'd taxied to the end of runway 19, out of sight. All went quiet for several seconds; we raced from the lounge to the second story deck to see if we could catch a glimpse of the P-51 as she started down the runway. We could not. There we stood, eyes fixed to a spot half way down 19. Then a roar ripped across the field, much louder than before, like a furious hell spawn set loose---something mighty this way was coming. "Listen to that thing!" said the controller.

In seconds the Mustang burst into our line of sight. Its tail was already off and it was moving faster than anything I'd ever seen by that point on 19. Two-thirds the way down 19 the Mustang was airborne with her gear going up. The prop tips were supersonic; we clasped our ears as the Mustang climbed hellish fast into the circuit to be eaten up by the dog-day haze.

We stood for a few moments in stunned silence trying to digest what we'd just seen. The radio controller rushed by me to the radio. Kingston tower calling Mustang?" He looked back to us as he waited for an acknowledgment.

The radio crackled, "Go ahead Kingston."


"Roger Mustang. Kingston tower would like to advise the circuit is clear for a low level pass." I stood in shock because the controller had, more or less, just asked the pilot to return for an impromptu air show!

The controller looked at us. "What?" He asked. "I can't let that guy go without asking. I couldn't forgive myself!"

The radio crackled once again, Kingston, do I have permission for a low level pass, east to west, across the field?"

"Roger Mustang, the circuit is clear for an east to west pass."

"Roger, Kingston, I'm coming out of 3000 feet, stand by."

We rushed back onto the second-story deck, eyes fixed toward the eastern haze. The sound was subtle at first, a high-pitched whine, a muffled screech, a distant scream.

Moments later the P-51 burst through the haze. Her airframe straining against positive Gs and gravity, wing tips spilling contrails of condensed air, prop-tips again supersonic as the burnished bird blasted across the eastern margin of the field shredding and tearing the air.

At about 500 mph and 150 yards from where we stood she passed with the old American pilot saluting. Imagine. A salute! I felt like laughing, I felt like crying, she glistened, she screamed, the building shook, my heart pounded.

Then the old pilot pulled her up and rolled, and rolled, and rolled out of sight into the broken clouds and indelibly into my memory. I've never wanted to be an American more than on that day. It was a time when many nations in the world looked to America as their big brother, a steady and even-handed beacon of security who navigated difficult political water with grace and style; not unlike the pilot who'd just flown into my memory. He was proud, not arrogant, humble, not a braggart, old and honest, projecting an aura of America at its best. That America will return one day, I know it will. Until that time, I'll just send off this story; call it a reciprocal salute, to the old American pilot who wove a memory for a young Canadian that's lasted a lifetime.

Submitted by Richard Chapman

Rules For Non-Military

Dear Civilians:

We know that the current state of affairs in our great nation has many civilians up in arms and excited to join the military. For those of you who can't join, you can still lend a hand. Here are a few of the areas where we would like your assistance:

1.  The next time you see any adults talking (or wearing a hat) during the playing of the National Anthem -- kick their ass.

2.  When you witness, firsthand, someone burning the American Flag in protest -- kick their ass.

3. Regardless of the rank they held while they served, pay the highest amount of respect to all veterans. If you see anyone doing otherwise, quietly pull them aside and explain how these veterans fought for the very freedom they bask in every second. Enlighten them on the many sacrifices these veterans made to make this Nation great. Then hold them down while a disabled veteran kicks their ass.

4.  If you were never in the military, DO NOT pretend that you were. Wearing battle dress uniforms (BDUs) or Jungle Fatigues, or telling others that you used to be 'Special Forces.' Collecting GI Joe memorabilia might have been okay when you were seven years old, now it will only make you look stupid and get your ass kicked.

5.  Next time you come across an *Air Force* member, do not ask them, "Do you fly a jet?" Not everyone in the Air Force is a pilot. Such ignorance deserves an ass-kicking

(Children are exempt).

6.  If you witness someone calling the Coast Guard 'non-military,' inform them of their mistake -- and kick their ass.

7.  Next time Old Glory (The US flag) marches by during a parade, get on your damn feet and pay homage to her by placing your hand over your heart. Quietly thank the military member or veteran lucky enough to be carrying her.  Of course, failure to do either of those could earn you a severe ass-kicking.

9.  "Your mama wears combat boots" never made sense to me -- stop saying it! If she did, she would most likely be a vet and therefore would kick your ass!

10. "Flyboy" (*Air Force*), "Jarhead" (*Marines*), "Grunt" (*Army*), "Squid" (*Navy*), "Puddle Jumpers" (*Coast Guard*), etc., are terms of endearment we use describing each other. Unless you are a service member or vet, you have not earned the right to use them. Using them could get your ass kicked.

11.  Last, but not least, whether or not you become a member of the military, support our troops and their families. Every Thanksgiving and religious holiday that you enjoy with family and friends, please remember that there are literally thousands of soldiers, sailors, marines and airmen far from home wishing they could be with their families. Thank God for our military and the sacrifices they make every day. Without them, our Country would get its ass kicked.

Submitted by Don Warhurst

Earn Your Desk

EARN YOUR DESK


Back in September of 2005, on the first day of school, Martha Cothren, a social studies school teacher at Robinson High School in Little Rock, did something not to be forgotten.

On the first day of school, with permission of the school superintendent, the principal and the building supervisor, she took all of the desks out of the classroom.

The kids came into first period, they walked in, and there were no desks. They obviously looked around and said, "Ms. Cothren, where's our desk?" And she said, "You can't have a desk until you tell me how you earn them."

They thought, "Well, maybe it's our grades."

"No," she said.

"Maybe it's our behavior."

And she told them, "No, it's not even your behavior."

And so they came and went in the first period, still no desks in the classroom. Second period same thing, third period same thing. By early afternoon television news crews had gathered in Ms. Cothren's class to find out about this crazy teacher who had taken all the desks out of the classroom.

The last period of the day, Martha Cothren gathered her class. They were at this time sitting on the floor around the sides of the room. And she says, "Throughout the day no one has really understood how you earn the desks that sit in this classroom ordinarily."

She said, "Now I'm going to tell you."

Martha Cothren went over to the door of her classroom and opened it, and as she did 27 U.S. veterans, wearing their uniforms, walked into that classroom, each one carrying a school desk. And they placed those school desks in rows, and then they stood along the wall.

By the time they had finished placing the desks; those kids for the first time I think perhaps in their lives understood how they earned those desks.

Martha said, "You don't have to earn those desks. These guys did it for you.

They put them out there for you, but it's up to you to sit here responsibly to learn, to be good students and good citizens, because they paid a price for you to have that desk, and don't ever forget it."

Submitted by Don Warhurst

Test Your Brain: Alzheimer's Eye Test

Count every "F" in the following text:

FINISHED FILES ARE THE RESULT OF YEARS OF SCIENTIFIC STUDY COMBINED WITH THE EXPERIENCE OF YEARS..... 

HOW  MANY 'F's?

Count them again. 

WRONG, THERE ARE 6 -- no joke..

READ IT AGAIN !

Really, go Back and Try to find the 6 'F's before you scroll down.

The reasoning behind this is further down.

The brain cannot process "OF".

F INISHED  F ILES ARE THE RESULT O F   YEARS O F SCIENTI F IC STUDY COMBINED WITH THE EXPERIENCE O F   YEARS..... 

Incredible or what? 

Anyone who counts all 6 'F's on the first go is a genius. 

Three is normal ,  four is quite rare .

Submitted by Paul Hickenbottom

And Then It Is Winter

You know. . . time has a way of moving quickly and catching you unaware of the passing years. It seems just yesterday that I was young, just married and embarking on my new life with my mate. Yet in a way, it seems like eons ago, and I wonder where all the years went. I know that I lived them all. I have glimpses of how it was back then and of all my hopes and dreams.

But, here it is... the winter of my life and it catches me by surprise...How did I get here so fast? Where did the years go and where did my youth go? I remember well seeing older people through the years and thinking that those older people were years away from me and that winter was so far off that I could not fathom it or imagine fully what it would be like.

But, here it is...my friends are retired and getting grey...they move slower and I see an older person now. Some are in better and some worse shape than me...but, I see the great change...Not like the ones that I remember who were young and vibrant...but, like me, their age is beginning to show and we are now those older folks that we used to see and never thought we'd be. Each day now, I find that just getting a shower is a real target for the day! And taking a nap is not a treat anymore... it's mandatory! Cause if I don't on my own free will... I just fall asleep where I sit!

And so...now I enter into this new season of my life unprepared for all the aches and pains and the loss of strength and ability to go and do things that I wish I had done but never did!! But, at least I know, that though the winter has come, and I'm not sure how long it will last...this I know, that when it's over on this earth...its over. A new adventure will begin!

Yes, I have regrets. There are things I wish I hadn't done...things I should have done, but indeed, there are many things I'm happy to have done. It's all in a lifetime.

So, if you're not in your winter yet...let me remind you, that it will be here faster than you think. So, whatever you would like to accomplish in your life please do it quickly! Don't put things off too long!! Life goes by quickly. So, do what you can today, as you can never be sure whether this is your winter or not! You have no promise that you will see all the seasons of your life...so, live for today and say all the things that you want your loved ones to remember...and hope that they appreciate and love you for all the things that you have done for them in all the years past!!  

Life is a gift to you. The way you live your life is your gift to those who come after. Make it a fantastic one.

 

LIVE IT WELL!

 

ENJOY TODAY!

 

DO SOMETHING FUN!

 

BE HAPPY !

 

HAVE A GREAT DAY

LASTLY, CONSIDER THE FOLLOWING:

 

TODAY IS THE OLDEST YOU'VE EVER BEEN, YET THE YOUNGEST YOU'LL EVER BE SO - ENJOY THIS DAY WHILE IT LASTS.

~Your kids are becoming you......but your grandchildren are perfect!

~ Going out is good.. Coming home is better!

~You forget names.... But it's OK because other people forgot they even knew you!!!

~You realize you're never going to be really good at anything.... especially golf.

~The things you used to care to do, you no longer care to do, but you really do care that you don't care to do them anymore.

~You sleep better on a lounge chair with the TV blaring than in bed. It's called "pre-sleep".

~You miss the days when everything worked with just an "ON" and "OFF" switch..

~You tend to use more 4 letter words ... "what?"..."when?"... ???

~Now that you can afford expensive jewelry, it's not safe to wear it anywhere.

~You notice everything they sell in stores is "sleeveless"?!!!

~What used to be freckles are now liver spots.

~Everybody whispers.

~You have 3 sizes of clothes in your closet.... 2 of which you will never wear.

~But Old is good in some things: Old Songs, Old movies, and best of all, OLD FRIENDS!!

 Submitted by Paul Hickenbottom