Article
#74
June 2010
“Summer”
Classmates,
Hello to you all and welcome to the start of Summer 2010. As I told
Bonita, the heavy winds from California are slowing down. The days in Las
Vegas are still in the 80’s, at least for this week. Next week will start
the 90’s, and then we move straight to the “oven.” So, now that I have
dispensed the weather for Las Vegas, I will take off my meteorologist hat,
put the news and contribution visor back on and get going on this
newsletter.
But, I must digress just once more, and again say “Thank You and Welcome
Home Veterans, Welcome Home - Hooah!” June’s Newsletter is jam packed
with a plethora of subjects; and yes, we still have some articles of our
always favorite topics: airplanes and animals. In the leadoff position
for June will be a “little” instrumental solo. Next we will visit the
world of “Scuba Steve” and then a window from space. EMT life saving
technique from “mouth to snout,” followed by some thoughts on June 14th
and that just gets us to half-time. The second half will kick off with “ponderisms,”
“a lot of Saturdays,” and a quarter ending look at a “”palindrome.”
Before we move to conclusion, we will slow down just long enough to “have
a Coke, and a Smile.” And now with a smile we will accelerate to the
final act, with an “ear to stay,” and close with a very “odd couple.”
Enjoy Summer, stay healthy and safe, and keep connecting and reconnecting.
Hooah & Hugs,
Bob
“Little
Drummer Boy”
Contributed by Pege Graham
http://lucianne.com/article/?pageid=how_would_you_like_to_have_to_li
“Underwater”
Contributed by Rosanne (Cardinalli) Gotelli
(Volume up and enjoy some peaceful time)
Click Here
This link is to a MS Power Point Presentation - photos and music will show
only through PP.
Link here if you do not have Power Point for the photos only.
Space
Station Tour
Contributed by Bonita Beck
http://www.youtube.com/watch_popup?v=H8rHarp1GEE
“Mouth
to Snout”
Contributed by Honor Graham
http://tp4ww.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/02/ATT00002-1.jpg
“The
Fourteenth of June”
Contributed by Bob Graham
When I ponder about the fourteenth of June, I always think about stars and
stripes. Even if I say stripes and stars, it really doesn’t have the same
connotation.
Just the word star, can illicit different imagines in each individual’s
brain bank. When I flash through the recall arena of my mind many visions
focus to explain the many examples of a star. A gold Star on a paper,
Stars in the sky, the north Star, A christmas Star, Star light Star
bright..., movie Star, sneeches with Stars upon thars..., ringo Star, a
rating of 5 out of 5 Stars, Star trek, Star bucks, Star fish, a sheriff’s
Star, Star of david, a general’s Star(s). Those are just a few of the
photos projected in my internal camera.
And you know the same course of action plays out when I think about
stripes. A zebra or tiger has Stripes, chain gang personnel wear Stripes,
chevrons are Stripes, a movie called Stripes, indian face paint are
Stripes, a rugby shirt has Stripes, black Stripe of cloth located on a
person’s sleeve indicates a death, rock formations exhibit Stripes of age,
candy canes have red Stripes, referees wear vertical Stripes on their
shirts, a pin Striped suit, and some cars even have racing Stripes.
What do all these mind pictures have to do with the fourteenth of June?
Not much, they are just examples of stripes and stars. The fourteenth of
June is Flag Day. That means only one thing to me...Stars and Stripes,
the Flag of our Great Nation. One of our nation’s most widely recognized
symbols, with its fifty white Stars in a blue union and Its thirteen
alternating horizontal red and white Stripes, starting with red and ending
with a red Stripe.
It would be presumptuous of me to tell you what that simple red, white,
and blue colored piece of cloth means. Every Classmate can make their own
decision based on their life experiences and their believes in this
Country. On a personal note, I have seen and heard things from utter
discuss for our Flag, it being spat upon, throwing it on the ground and
stomping on it, to burning it, in hatred. I have seen it draped on
coffins, flown at half staff, and waved by citizens with pride. I have
heard nothing, but saw people expressing emotions with tears of happiness
and sadness. I have joined in on chants of “USA, USA, USA! I have seen
people removing their head gear, standing erect, placing their right hand
over their heart or saluting with pride, and singing our National Anthem.
I have seen...I have seen all this in the United States of America.
United we stand...I am not ashamed or embarrassed to say...“I love the
United States of America.”
“I pledge allegiance to my flag and the republic for which it stands: one
nation indivisible with liberty and justice for all.” (1892)
“I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America, and to
the republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with
liberty and justice for all.” (1954 to present)
I would submit to you that everyday is Flag Day. Will you display your
Flag of the United States of America on the fourteenth of June 2010?
“Ponderisms”
Contributed by Gary Rocklage
(Just keep reading, you'll find yours & smile)
I used to eat a lot of natural foods until I learned that most people die
of natural causes.
There are two kinds of pedestrians: the quick and the dead.
Life is sexually transmitted.
Healthy is merely the slowest possible rate at which one can die.
The only difference between a rut and a grave is the depth.
Health nuts are going to feel stupid someday, lying in hospitals dying of
nothing.
Have you noticed since everyone has a camcorder these days
no one talks about seeing UFOs like they used to?
Whenever I feel blue, I start breathing again.
All of us could take a lesson from the weather. It pays no attention to
criticism.
In the 60's, people took acid to make the world weird. Now the world is
weird and people take Prozac to make it normal.
How is it one careless match can start a forest fire,
but it takes a whole box to start a campfire?
Who was the first person to look at a cow and say,
'I think I'll squeeze these dangly things and drink whatever comes out?'
If Jimmy cracks corn and no one cares, why is there a song about him?
Why does your OB-GYN leave the room when you get undressed
if they are going to look up there anyway?
If quizzes are quizzical, what are tests?
If corn oil is made from corn, and vegetable oil is made from vegetables,
then what is baby oil made from?
Do illiterate people get the full effect of Alphabet Soup?
Does pushing the elevator button more than once make it arrive faster?
Why doesn't glue stick to the inside of the bottle?
Do you ever wonder why you gave me your e-mail address?
“3900
Saturdays”
Contributed by Bonita Beck
Author Unknown
The older I get, the more I enjoy Saturday mornings. Perhaps it's the
quiet solitude that comes with being the first to rise, or maybe it's the
unbounded joy of not having to be at work. Either way, the first few
hours of a Saturday morning are most enjoyable.
A few weeks ago, I was shuffling toward the garage with a steaming cup of
coffee in one hand and the morning paper in the other. What began as a
typical Saturday morning turned into one of those lessons that life seems
to hand you from time to time. Let me tell you about it: I turned the dial
up into the phone portion of the band on my ham radio in order to listen
to a Saturday morning swap net. Along the way, I came across an older
sounding chap, with a tremendous signal and a golden voice. You know the
kind, he sounded like he should be in the broadcasting business. He was
telling whomever he was talking with something about 'a thousand
marbles.'
I was intrigued and stopped to listen to what he had to say....'Well, Tom,
it sure sounds like you're busy with your job. I'm sure they pay you well
but it's a shame you have to be away from home and your family so much.
Hard to believe a young fellow should have to work sixty or seventy hours
a week to make ends meet. It's too bad you missed your daughter's 'dance
recital' he continued. 'Let me tell you something that has helped me keep
my own priorities.' And that's when he began to explain his theory of a
'thousand marbles.'' You see, I sat down one day and did a little
arithmetic. The average person lives about seventy-five years. I know,
some live more and some live less, but on average, folks live about
seventy-five years.
'Now then, I multiplied 75 times 52 and I came up with 3900, which is the
number of Saturdays that the average person has in their entire lifetime.
Now, stick with me, Tom, I'm getting to the important part. It took me
until I was fifty-five years old to think about all this in any detail',
he went on, 'and by that time I had
lived through over twenty-eight hundred Saturdays.' 'I got to thinking
that if I lived to be seventy-five, I only had about a thousand of them
left to enjoy.
So I went to a toy store and bought every single marble they had. I ended
up having to visit three toy stores to round up 1000 marbles I took them
home and put them inside a large, clear plastic container right here in
the shack next to my gear.'
'Every Saturday since then, I have taken one marble out and thrown it
away. I found that by watching the marbles diminish, I focused more on
the really important things in life. There's nothing like watching your
time here on this earth run out to help get your priorities straight .'
'Now let me tell you one last thing before I sign-off with you and take my
lovely wife out for breakfast. This morning, I took the very last marble
out of the container. I figure that if I make it until next Saturday then
I have been given a little extra time...And the
one thing we can all use is a little more time.'
'It was nice to meet you Tom, I hope you spend more time with your family,
and I hope to meet you again here on the band. This is a 75 Year old Man,
K9NZQ, clear and going QRT, good morning!' You could have heard a pin
drop on the band when this fellow signed off. I guess he gave us all a
lot to think about. I had planned to work on the antenna that morning,
and then I was going to meet up with a few hams to work on the next club
newsletter. Instead, I went upstairs and woke my wife up with a
kiss. 'C'mon honey, I'm taking you and the kids to breakfast.' 'What
brought this on?' she asked with a smile. 'Oh, nothing special, it's
just been a long time since we spent a Saturday together with the kids.
And hey, can we stop at a toy store while we're out? I need to buy
some marbles.
“Palindrome”
Contributed by Bruce Ahlvin
A palindrome reads the same
backwards as forward. This video reads the exact opposite backwards as
forward. Not only does it read the opposite, the meaning is the exact
opposite. This is only a 1 minute, 44 second video and it is brilliant.
Make sure you read as well as listen...forward and backward.
This is a video that was submitted in a contest by a 20-year old. The
contest was titled "u @ 50" by AARP. This video won second place. When
they showed it, everyone in the room was awestruck and broke into
spontaneous applause. So simple and yet so brilliant.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MWSYPDh7O5Q
“Have a
Coke and a Smile?”
Contributed by Bruce Ahlvin
YouTube - Coca-Cola "Happiness Machine"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lqT_dPApj9U
“A Story
Without Words”
Contributed by Sharon (Freitas) Peros
(God gives some the wonderful talent of making a difference)
Click Here
“The
White Tiger and The New Mom”
Contributed by Sharon (Freitas) Peros
(Strange Friends)
Click Here
Don’t
Forget:
Happy
Birthday and Anniversary
to all June Classmates
June
Dates to Remember:
1 - Debut of Linus’
security blanket in Peanuts, 1954
2 - National Rocky
Road Ice Cream Day
3 - 1st Space Walk, Ed White, 1965
4 - The shopping cart was created and introduced, 1937
5 - First hot air
balloon flight, 1783
6 - D-Day, 1944
6 - National Cancer
Survivors Day
7 - First day ice
cream was sold in the U.S., 1786
8 - Frank Lloyd Wright was born, 1867
9 - Donald Duck’s Birthday, 1934
10 - Federal tax withholding became a law, 1948
11 - King Kamehameha
Day
12 - Baseball
Invented, 1839
13 - Race Unity Day
14 - Flag Day
(Display your Flag, PLEASE!)
15 - Father’s Day
15 - Power of a
Smile Day
16 - Morticians Day
17 - Bunker Hill Day, in recognition of the battle in 1775
18 - Paul McCartney Birthday, 1942
19 - Emancipation Day in Texas
21 - Summer
Solstice
22 - Pledge of
Allegiance recognized by Congress, 1942
23 - Typewriter Day, in observance of the patent, 1868
24 - U.F.O. Day, first documented sighting, 1947
25 - United Nations
Charter adopted in San Francisco, 1945
26 - Bicycle
patented, 1819
27 - HIV Testing
Day
28 - The Versailles
Treaty, officially ends World War I, signed 1919
29 - The remote
control was introduced, 1964 (Thank You)
30 - Meteor Day (Tunguska Comet Impact), 1908
*A little June Humor - "A perfect summer day is when the sun is shining,
the breeze is blowing, the birds are singing, and the lawn mower is
broken." James Dent
Keep Your Fork...’64,
Bob Graham
PS: As always, Thank You to those that contribute and stay
connected with the Keep Your Fork...’64 monthly newsletter. Enjoy your
start to Summer and we will talk again in July. Stay healthy and safe,
and stay in touch.
