tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18044433697834362572024-03-05T04:07:01.134-05:00The Lower 48 (Plus 2)America From Sea to Shining Sea: Her Heritage, History and PeopleAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08651823049173506835noreply@blogger.comBlogger89125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1804443369783436257.post-87238390056579668862014-05-26T00:00:00.000-04:002014-05-26T16:13:03.674-04:00Memorial Day, 2014: Taps for the FallenGod Bless America.<br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<object width="320" height="266" class="BLOGGER-youtube-video" classid="clsid:D27CDB6E-AE6D-11cf-96B8-444553540000" codebase="http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=6,0,40,0" data-thumbnail-src="https://ytimg.googleusercontent.com/vi/Wn_iz8z2AGw/0.jpg"><param name="movie" value="https://youtube.googleapis.com/v/Wn_iz8z2AGw&source=uds" /><param name="bgcolor" value="#FFFFFF" /><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true" /><embed width="320" height="266" src="https://youtube.googleapis.com/v/Wn_iz8z2AGw&source=uds" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true"></embed></object></div>
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
R I P Heroes.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjB4gGNsouyBfB2fxmPGd64ULpCiZy0c05xdmmmE13FpGIWXEqFzHG0yzCd0We_XcGbR7W_SudKLOu287bX7vZj06Hhh1EvDkH5CPq7A-zDbqr-wrhNguTSoU1f5G0LevVtuxArBXNli4I/s1600/Viet+Nam+Wall+with+Collage.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjB4gGNsouyBfB2fxmPGd64ULpCiZy0c05xdmmmE13FpGIWXEqFzHG0yzCd0We_XcGbR7W_SudKLOu287bX7vZj06Hhh1EvDkH5CPq7A-zDbqr-wrhNguTSoU1f5G0LevVtuxArBXNli4I/s320/Viet+Nam+Wall+with+Collage.jpg" height="212" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
Honoring America's Heroes - July 4, 1776 - PresentTobyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08301391750198682792noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1804443369783436257.post-62921907360775774382013-06-02T12:09:00.002-04:002013-06-02T12:09:29.979-04:00It's Vacation Time! Explore America From Sea to Shining Sea!It's already June meaning it's vacation time!<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEid0zk5KhuQ9jAmck7GcsUJ2yaIqcytg9WWUgP59rw-DVQ17LzLQ9aHBi_r1SDjP1JWTgyxvfXmNhUva-Q8Y4R9J6EqvOkxkTU7xmn6rx_Ras-v_sDRssg8iL5z1ALace1BoaxX9VIYuTg/s320/Lower+48+Again.jpg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEid0zk5KhuQ9jAmck7GcsUJ2yaIqcytg9WWUgP59rw-DVQ17LzLQ9aHBi_r1SDjP1JWTgyxvfXmNhUva-Q8Y4R9J6EqvOkxkTU7xmn6rx_Ras-v_sDRssg8iL5z1ALace1BoaxX9VIYuTg/s320/Lower+48+Again.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px; text-align: center;"><b>The Fruited Plain</b></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
While our attention may be focused on warmer weather and all the grand activities that accompany it (gardening, camping, fishing), we should also remember that vacation time for tens of millions of Americans is also rapidly approaching.<br />
<br />
The United States is a glorious land with so much to see that it can be a daunting task to figure out just where the heck we want to spend our vacation.<br />
<br />
I am here to help you in making that very difficult decision.<br />
<br />
Each state of the Union, except Washington State, offers for free an Official State Travel Guide that showcases that state's natural beauty, history, events and points of interest. Most, if not all, of the guides also come with brochures that have information on food and lodging as well. Each site also offers one (or several) free email notifications about upcoming events and travel specials.<br />
<br />
The price is right (FREE!) and the information invaluable, so <b><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEid0zk5KhuQ9jAmck7GcsUJ2yaIqcytg9WWUgP59rw-DVQ17LzLQ9aHBi_r1SDjP1JWTgyxvfXmNhUva-Q8Y4R9J6EqvOkxkTU7xmn6rx_Ras-v_sDRssg8iL5z1ALace1BoaxX9VIYuTg/s320/Lower+48+Again.jpg">click here</a></b> and order the state travel guide of your choice.<br />
<br />
You can now book your vacation trip on <i style="font-weight: bold;">The Lower 48 (Plus 2)!</i> Simply click on the ad images for <b>Hotels.com </b>at the top of the page or <b>Expedia </b>in the right side bar. It's that easy!<br />
<br />
From sea to shining sea, the Lower 48 (Plus 2) await you!Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11397888042558311595noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1804443369783436257.post-77634219186883903872013-05-27T00:00:00.001-04:002013-05-27T00:00:00.175-04:00A Tribute to America's Heroes: Memorial Day, 2013God Bless America.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<object width="320" height="266" class="BLOGGER-youtube-video" classid="clsid:D27CDB6E-AE6D-11cf-96B8-444553540000" codebase="http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=6,0,40,0" data-thumbnail-src="http://img.youtube.com/vi/Wn_iz8z2AGw/0.jpg"><param name="movie" value="http://youtube.googleapis.com/v/Wn_iz8z2AGw&source=uds" /><param name="bgcolor" value="#FFFFFF" /><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true" /><embed width="320" height="266" src="http://youtube.googleapis.com/v/Wn_iz8z2AGw&source=uds" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true"></embed></object></div>
<br />
R I P Heroes.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjB4gGNsouyBfB2fxmPGd64ULpCiZy0c05xdmmmE13FpGIWXEqFzHG0yzCd0We_XcGbR7W_SudKLOu287bX7vZj06Hhh1EvDkH5CPq7A-zDbqr-wrhNguTSoU1f5G0LevVtuxArBXNli4I/s1600/Viet+Nam+Wall+with+Collage.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjB4gGNsouyBfB2fxmPGd64ULpCiZy0c05xdmmmE13FpGIWXEqFzHG0yzCd0We_XcGbR7W_SudKLOu287bX7vZj06Hhh1EvDkH5CPq7A-zDbqr-wrhNguTSoU1f5G0LevVtuxArBXNli4I/s320/Viet+Nam+Wall+with+Collage.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
Honoring America's Heroes - July 4, 1776 - PresentAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11397888042558311595noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1804443369783436257.post-90796191102792376722013-05-22T12:54:00.002-04:002013-05-22T13:47:43.756-04:00How You Can Help the Victims and Live Coverage of the Oklahoma Tornado RecoveryAmericans are stunned by the horrific damage and deeply saddened by the loss of life caused by the EF-5 tornado (the strongest tornado classification) that leveled hundreds of homes and killed at least 51, including ten children and two infants, in the Greater Oklahoma City area this past Monday, May 20.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiajjPf5bXO9bSZ_F0GmSqEJsh27whOMQoK5oCPFw-QBmkUOq3rQne932vchIIcV2hbPWpkWn2CPlcPuurLOsVuWBjtN3KOkt97vEme19Aj76QK_tyOsVVVnklvYpPM_IMSUfDYZvYdAGI/s1600/Oklahoma+tornado+damage30.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiajjPf5bXO9bSZ_F0GmSqEJsh27whOMQoK5oCPFw-QBmkUOq3rQne932vchIIcV2hbPWpkWn2CPlcPuurLOsVuWBjtN3KOkt97vEme19Aj76QK_tyOsVVVnklvYpPM_IMSUfDYZvYdAGI/s400/Oklahoma+tornado+damage30.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>Where There Once Were Homes</b></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
You can find continuing live coverage of recovery efforts in the affected area<b> <a href="http://newsok.com/real-time-updates-recovery-efforts-continue/article/3828645">here</a>.</b><br />
<br />
A<b> <a href="https://www.facebook.com/MooreTornadoLostAndFound">Facebook Page</a></b> has been set up so that people in OKC can let friends and relatives know that they're safe or can ask for assistance in locating others.<br />
<br />
WTSP has created a page that list the agencies where you can<b><a href="http://www.wtsp.com/news/topstories/article/317573/250/Oklahoma-tornadoes-How-you-can-help"> make a donation</a></b> to help out the victims of this disaster. The list includes the American Red Cross and the Salvation Army.<br />
<br />
Today, we are all Okies and as such, we will band together to help those in need and comfort those in sorrow. It's the Oklahoma Way.<br />
<br />
May God bless and console the people of Oklahoma City, Moore and all locations devastated by this monster storm.<br />
<br />
<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11397888042558311595noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1804443369783436257.post-88299643038485946362013-03-27T10:37:00.000-04:002013-03-27T10:54:11.199-04:00The Podunk Poets - The Unofficial Official Band of The Lower 48 (Plus 2)!Country Music. The Official Music of <b><i>The Lower 48 (Plus 2)!</i></b><br />
<br />
I mean <b>real </b>Country Music - Merle Haggard, George Jones and Loretta Lynn. <b>That</b> kind of Country Music. <br />
<br />
Not long ago I was introduced to a band, in Los Angeles of all places(!), that plays exactly that kind of Country.<br />
<br />
Introducing <a href="http://www.reverbnation.com/artist/artist_videos/2651963?sel_video_id=11224208&autoplay=true">T<b>he Podunk Poets</b></a>: Cindy Jollotta & Kelly Kidd - Vocals, Patrick Generosa - Drums, Doug Carrion - Bass, Jake Kelly - Guitar<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://sphotos-b.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ash3/537219_419586854786997_490508504_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://sphotos-b.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ash3/537219_419586854786997_490508504_n.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<span id="goog_1123211346"></span><br />
<br />
And a 1 and a 2 and a 3....!!!<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/Mi1N3L67Qas?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>
<br />
Now <b>that's </b>Country!<br />
<br />
I became familiar with the <b><a href="https://www.facebook.com/thepodunkpoets">Podunk Poets</a> </b>through one of the band members, Cindy Jollotta. I have <span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: x-small;">known</span> Cindy for about six years, although I have only seen her in person two or three times. Cindy is my wife's cousin and I was made aware of her (Cindy's) music through my wife. When Heather, my wife, told me that Cindy was a singer, I thought, "Yeah sure, so what?". Then I heard Cindy sing. Holy smokes!<br />
<br />
Cindy does this thing called <b>Bedhead Theater</b>. She explained it to me in an email, "<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-size: 13px;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b><i>Bedhead Theater is something I started doing last year to keep me playing the piano every day. Basically, I wake up, immediately come downstairs, and play a song. So, often I look ridiculous and my voice is raspy, but that is sort of the fun of it." </i></b></span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-size: 13px;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b><i><br /></i></b></span></span>
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: x-small;"><b> Bedhead Theater</b></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-size: 13px;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b><i><br /></i></b></span></span>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/HQFK3C9AoKA?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-size: 13px;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b><i><br /></i></b></span></span>
You take an angelic voice like Cindy's and pair it up with the dulcet tones of Kelly Kidd, throw in some extraordinary musicians like Patrick, Jake and Doug and you've got a recipe for greatness.<br />
<br />
More<b> Podunk Poets!</b><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<object class="BLOGGER-youtube-video" classid="clsid:D27CDB6E-AE6D-11cf-96B8-444553540000" codebase="http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=6,0,40,0" data-thumbnail-src="http://img.youtube.com/vi/ghSBuajQ_gA/0.jpg" height="266" width="320"><param name="movie" value="http://youtube.googleapis.com/v/ghSBuajQ_gA&source=uds" /><param name="bgcolor" value="#FFFFFF" /><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true" /><embed width="320" height="266" src="http://youtube.googleapis.com/v/ghSBuajQ_gA&source=uds" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true"></embed></object></div>
<br />
<b>The Podunk Poets</b> are all over the internet, so contacting them to book a gig or perhaps order some <b>Podunk Poets</b> swag, is as close as the click of a mouse!<br />
<br />
<b>Find the Podunk Poets on: </b><a href="https://www.facebook.com/thepodunkpoets">Facebook</a>, <a href="https://twitter.com/thepodunkpoets">Twitter</a> (<a href="https://twitter.com/thepodunkpoets">@ThePodunkPoets</a>), <a href="http://www.youtube.com/user/thepodunkpoets">YouTube</a>, and <a href="http://www.reverbnation.com/artist/artist_videos/2651963?sel_video_id=11224208&autoplay=true">Reverb Nation</a>.<br />
<br />
I had so much fun listening to the band while putting this post together, I hereby proclaim The Podunk Poets <b><i>The Unofficial Official Band of The Lower 48 (Plus 2)! </i></b><br />
<br />
<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11397888042558311595noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1804443369783436257.post-79075362063954207372013-03-15T12:47:00.001-04:002013-03-15T12:47:59.855-04:00Family Vacations Are Coming! Plan Yours w/FREE State Travel Guides for All 50 States!Today is March 15 and that means that we are just a few days away from the First Day of Spring!<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEid0zk5KhuQ9jAmck7GcsUJ2yaIqcytg9WWUgP59rw-DVQ17LzLQ9aHBi_r1SDjP1JWTgyxvfXmNhUva-Q8Y4R9J6EqvOkxkTU7xmn6rx_Ras-v_sDRssg8iL5z1ALace1BoaxX9VIYuTg/s320/Lower+48+Again.jpg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEid0zk5KhuQ9jAmck7GcsUJ2yaIqcytg9WWUgP59rw-DVQ17LzLQ9aHBi_r1SDjP1JWTgyxvfXmNhUva-Q8Y4R9J6EqvOkxkTU7xmn6rx_Ras-v_sDRssg8iL5z1ALace1BoaxX9VIYuTg/s320/Lower+48+Again.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>The Fruited Plain</b></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
While
our attention may be focused on warmer weather and all the grand
activities that accompany it (gardening, camping, fishing), we should
also remember that vacation time for tens of millions of Americans is
also rapidly approaching.<br />
<br />
The United States is a glorious
land with so much to see that it can be a daunting task to figure out
just where the heck we want to spend our vacation.<br />
<br />
I am here to help you in making that very difficult decision.<br />
<br />
Each
state of the Union, except Washington State, offers for free an
Official State Travel Guide that showcases that state's natural beauty,
history, events and points of interest. Most, if not all, of the guides
also come with brochures that have information on food and lodging as
well. Each site also offers one (or several) free email notifications
about upcoming events and travel specials.<br />
<br />
The price is right (FREE!) and the information invaluable, so <b><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEid0zk5KhuQ9jAmck7GcsUJ2yaIqcytg9WWUgP59rw-DVQ17LzLQ9aHBi_r1SDjP1JWTgyxvfXmNhUva-Q8Y4R9J6EqvOkxkTU7xmn6rx_Ras-v_sDRssg8iL5z1ALace1BoaxX9VIYuTg/s320/Lower+48+Again.jpg">click here</a></b> and order the state travel guide of your choice.<br />
<br />
From sea to shining sea, the Lower 48 (Plus 2) await you!Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08651823049173506835noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1804443369783436257.post-24858128632300403722013-03-13T00:00:00.000-04:002013-03-13T07:48:18.360-04:00Hero Cop Pulls Man From Burning Car - w/Rescue Video!Hero. A common word describing common people performing uncommon acts of valor.<br />
<br />
Today, I present to you an Honest-to-God American Hero.<br />
<br />
Urbandale, Iowa Police Officer Zac McDowell.<br />
<br />
<b><u>Fiery Crash</u></b><br />
<br />
An 18 year old man was doing doughnuts (driving in circles at an unsafe speed) in his car in a church parking lot when things went <b>very</b> wrong.<br />
<br />
The man lost control of his automobile while performing the stunt and crashed into an air conditioning unit. The collision resulted in the man's car bursting into flames.<br />
<br />
Luckily for 18 year old Ian Waseskuk police officer Zac McDowell responded to the call.<br />
<br />
<u style="font-weight: bold;">Raw Video</u><br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.theblaze.com/stories/2013/03/12/watch-iowa-police-officer-displays-true-heroism-pulls-unconscious-driver-from-burning-car/?utm_source=twitter&utm_medium=story&utm_campaign=Share%20Buttons">TheBlaze.com</a> posted this dramatic video of Officer McDowell not taking into account his own personal safety, braving inferno-like flames and billowing smoke to perform one of the most selfless acts of courage I have ever seen.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/FhNHaU-yG-0?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>
<br />
Fortunately, neither Waseskuk or Officer McDowell were seriously injured in the incident, but Waseskuk will face charges after a brief stay in a local hospital.<br />
<br />
<b style="text-decoration: underline;">H.E.R.O</b><br />
<br />
It is young men like Urbandale, Iowa Police Officer Zac McDowell that make up the fabric of this great country - ordinary men facing extraordinary circumstances, reacting with uncommon valor.<br />
<br />
Simply put, Zac McDowell is an American Hero.<br />
<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11397888042558311595noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1804443369783436257.post-13364843378205513592013-03-12T09:48:00.001-04:002013-03-12T10:30:40.382-04:00Son of Honest Abe: Robert Todd Lincoln, An American Story<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; float: right; font-family: 'IM Fell DW Pica'; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px; margin-left: 1em; padding: 4px; position: relative; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhh8wyhR3BXRsUbVvECWEwNKWQ-pgMCIh_KJAORjJWgNHbZ3uzgnx67u1CMhl0S_L-KM2mhwAJ-CKfo_c1eHj7xjKbPJShg262Spry5RHlEqUVNse7emhCvicaNTv6AhOiVggwQ3QbbeIg/s1600/Robert+Todd+Lincoln+22.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; color: #6699cc; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-decoration: none;"><img border="0" height="283" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhh8wyhR3BXRsUbVvECWEwNKWQ-pgMCIh_KJAORjJWgNHbZ3uzgnx67u1CMhl0S_L-KM2mhwAJ-CKfo_c1eHj7xjKbPJShg262Spry5RHlEqUVNse7emhCvicaNTv6AhOiVggwQ3QbbeIg/s320/Robert+Todd+Lincoln+22.jpg" style="border: none; position: relative;" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 12px; text-align: center;"><b>Robert Todd Lincoln (Age 22)</b></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px;">A few days ago I got an email from my Mom. The subject of the email was Robert Todd Lincoln, son of the 16th President of the United States.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px;"><br /></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'IM Fell DW Pica'; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px;"></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px;">It's an incredible story.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px;"><b><br /></b></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'IM Fell DW Pica'; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px;"></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px;"><b>Who Was Robert Todd Lincoln?</b></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px;"><br /></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'IM Fell DW Pica'; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px;"></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px;">He was the only child of Abe and Mary Lincoln to survive into adulthood - with his three</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px;"> brothers having died from illnesses at young ages. Believe it or not, Robert lived until 1926, dying at the age of 83. But along the way, he lived a remarkable life.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; border-collapse: separate; color: #333333; font-family: 'IM Fell DW Pica'; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">For starters, he begged his father for a commission to serve in the Civil War, with President Lincoln refusing, saying the loss of two sons (to that point) made risking the loss of a third out of the question. But Robert insisted, saying that if his father didn't help him, he would join on his own and fight with the front line troops; a threat that drove Abe to give in.<br /><br />But you know how clever Abe was. He gave Robert what he wanted, but wired General Grant to assign "Captain Lincoln" to his staff, and to keep him well away from danger.<br />The assignment did, however, result in Robert's being present at Appomattox Court House, during the historic moment of Lee's surrender.<br /><br />Then, the following week, while Robert was at the White House, he was awakened at midnight to be told of his father's shooting, and was present at The Peterson House when his father died.<br /> </span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px;">Little Eddie died at age 4 in 1850 - probably from thyroid cancer. Willie was the most beloved of all the boys. He died in the White House at age 11 in 1862, from what was most likely Typhoid Fever.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px;">Abe grieved the hardest over Willie's death. It took him four days to pull himself together enough to function as President again. Lincoln had a temporary tomb built for Willie, until they could return home with his body to Springfield , and he often spent long periods of time at the tomb.</span><br />
<br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'IM Fell DW Pica'; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px;" />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px;">I guess Tad was a real hellion. None of his tutors could control him, which is why he grew up unable to competently read or write. He was a momma's boy, he had a lisp, and was probably mildly retarded.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px;">He died at age 18 in 1871, most likely from the same thyroid cancer Eddie had died from, suggesting a genetic flaw.</span><br />
<br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'IM Fell DW Pica'; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px;" />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px;">But - back to Robert, following his father's assassination, he moved to Chicago with his mentally ill mother, and brother Tad, who was 12 at the time. Robert finished law school and practiced the craft for a time, while constantly struggling to keep his Mother in check.</span><br />
<br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'IM Fell DW Pica'; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px;" />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px;">As she had done as First Lady, Mary went on shopping binges that far exceeded common sense, driving what was left of the family fortune into bankruptcy, and leading to violent disputes between Robert and she.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px;">Robert also had torrid battles with Mary to keep her from destroying Lincoln's private papers, not just for their financial worth, but for their historic value also, with Mary forever trying to tear them apart and burn them in fireplaces.</span><br />
<br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'IM Fell DW Pica'; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px;" />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px;">In fact, her irrational behavior (she was probably schizophrenic) grew so destructive that Robert had to have her put away, with his signature signing her into a psychiatric hospital, where she stayed locked up for three months. Mary never forgave him for it - and they remained estranged from then on - until Mary died at age 63 in 1882.</span><br />
<br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'IM Fell DW Pica'; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px;" />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px;">Worth noting, as a deceased President's wife, Mary had petitioned Congress for a pension, and she got one! She received $3,000 a year, a sizable sum back then.</span><br />
<br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'IM Fell DW Pica'; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px;" />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px;">Of profound interest, as an adult Robert wrote there was a lot of distance between his father and he - caused mainly by Abe's being absent so much of the time during Robert's formative years. Abe was forever gone on state wide judicial circuits, or campaigning for office - or serving in the state legislature.</span><br />
<br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'IM Fell DW Pica'; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px;" />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px;">Robert writes that his most vivid memories of his father were seeing him pack his saddle bags to be off again. Nonetheless, Robert respected his father - and he wept obsessively the night he was killed.</span><br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; float: left; font-family: 'IM Fell DW Pica'; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px; margin-right: 1em; padding: 4px; position: relative;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkCv0_VlgG5_JxWjotqKB-Sx9P3vbGMClN7n5axJW1NeBxepUkTJG51saTEh5xtn0ZAeJ5YFfnttNF_toeiPujfbWCsZ-8UdxaSHwij1CUxHSzfBZaXOIEC9wE40mmDmn-gy-2Id5FEgU/s1600/Abraham+Lincoln+II+Death+Bed.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; color: #6699cc; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-decoration: none;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkCv0_VlgG5_JxWjotqKB-Sx9P3vbGMClN7n5axJW1NeBxepUkTJG51saTEh5xtn0ZAeJ5YFfnttNF_toeiPujfbWCsZ-8UdxaSHwij1CUxHSzfBZaXOIEC9wE40mmDmn-gy-2Id5FEgU/s1600/Abraham+Lincoln+II+Death+Bed.jpg" style="border: none; position: relative;" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 12px; text-align: center;"><b>Abraham Lincoln, II on His Death Bed</b></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'IM Fell DW Pica'; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px;"></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px;">In 1868, Robert married a senator's daughter and they had three children -- two girls and a boy, Abraham Lincoln's only grandchildren. Their son, whom they named Abraham Lincoln II (but whom they called "Jack") would die in 1890 from an infection arising from having a boil pierced under his arm. He was 15 at the time, and at left is a blurry, but still remarkable photo of him lying in bed, shortly before he died.</span><br />
<br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'IM Fell DW Pica'; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px;" />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px;">The two daughters, however, lived fairly long lives, one living until 1938 to die at age 69, and the other until 1948, dying at age 72.</span><br />
<br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'IM Fell DW Pica'; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px;" />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px;">The last direct descendent of Abraham Lincoln would be the child of one of Robert's daughters - Abe Lincoln's great grandson - a guy named Bud Beckwith, who died married but childless, in 1985.</span><br />
<br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'IM Fell DW Pica'; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px;" />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px;">In his own right, Robert made quite a life for himself. He got into politics and was highly regarded in those circles. In fact - he served as Secretary of War under President Garfield - and, incredibly, was with him when Garfield was shot at the Washington train station!</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px;">And then - some years later, Robert would also be present when President McKinley was gunned down in Buffalo ! If you were President, you'd probably be leery about having him around, wouldn't you?</span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="background-color: white; clear: both; color: #333333; font-family: 'IM Fell DW Pica'; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9_SrZmIBkLZJ7eZEfqbAKfuLCDRdHdmRNOR8vDqlf_img_aPhcx2c9mvnKKetyF5aytDc2TNVwC8DmgFhCX40zp-gOwMgVrhkJ-MSqkboJBo1DpQ6_A9Cwlj4bBgxX69r5t9-rBG_-uY/s1600/Robert+Todd+Lincoln+-+Old+Man.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; color: #6699cc; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-decoration: none;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9_SrZmIBkLZJ7eZEfqbAKfuLCDRdHdmRNOR8vDqlf_img_aPhcx2c9mvnKKetyF5aytDc2TNVwC8DmgFhCX40zp-gOwMgVrhkJ-MSqkboJBo1DpQ6_A9Cwlj4bBgxX69r5t9-rBG_-uY/s320/Robert+Todd+Lincoln+-+Old+Man.jpg" style="border: none; position: relative;" width="263" /></a></div>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px;">In later years he would serve in other political appointments and ambassadorships, and later became president of the Pullman train car company, a booming enterprise back then, and a position he would hold for the rest of his life.</span><br />
<br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'IM Fell DW Pica'; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px;" />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px;">Worth noting, Robert was an avid amateur astronomer, and even had an observatory built into his Vermont home (which is better described as a mansion), but the telescope was so well built and powerful that's it's still used today by a local astronomy club!</span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="background-color: white; clear: both; color: #333333; font-family: 'IM Fell DW Pica'; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaCeMuzcK068bgPoFJkglWw8ZxGig6E2LfoStNDw0S3Kr-ceHnJ-JwZ4mgKYA4erprHdecgGfTCA_UG_e1_-CwkX34hyibcU1xycShRSEuusyo7zDEz6HM6Jt-iuB3xUINRoNwOPjp5NI/s1600/Robert+Todd+Lincoln+at+Lincoln+Memorial+Dedication.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; color: #6699cc; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-decoration: none;"><img border="0" height="238" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaCeMuzcK068bgPoFJkglWw8ZxGig6E2LfoStNDw0S3Kr-ceHnJ-JwZ4mgKYA4erprHdecgGfTCA_UG_e1_-CwkX34hyibcU1xycShRSEuusyo7zDEz6HM6Jt-iuB3xUINRoNwOPjp5NI/s320/Robert+Todd+Lincoln+at+Lincoln+Memorial+Dedication.jpg" style="border: none; position: relative;" width="320" /></a></div>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px;">In the photo at right is Robert (far right) appearing in his late 70's at the dedication of the Lincoln Memorial in 1922.</span><br />
<br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'IM Fell DW Pica'; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px;" />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px;">A footnote. Abe Lincoln once said he doubted Robert would do very well in life. Beyond the fact that Robert was able to live in a mansion, he was several times offered the chance to run as President or Vice-President, with his every time refusing the offer. So, Old Abe's assessment of his son was way off the mark, wasn't it? Of course, who knows how much being Abe's son influenced Robert's success in life?</span><br />
<br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'IM Fell DW Pica'; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px;" />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px;">Anyhow, and now for the most incredible thing there is to know about Robert Lincoln's story.</span><br />
<br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'IM Fell DW Pica'; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px;" />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px;">In his 20's, Robert was standing on a train platform in Jersey City, buried among a crowd of passengers attempting to buy sleeping births from a haggard conductor, when the train suddenly moved. Robert was standing so close to the train that it spun him around and sent him dropping into the space between the train and the platform -- a perilously tight place to be -- against a moving train threatening to crush him!</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px;">Suddenly - a hand grabbed Robert by the neck of his coat and pulled him up onto the platform, a quick action by a solidly strong man who saved Robert's life. And you know who that man was?</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px;"> </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px;">It was Edwin Booth - the brother of John Wilkes Booth who had murdered Robert's father!</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px;"><br /></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'IM Fell DW Pica'; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px;"></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px;"><u style="font-weight: bold;">Closing</u> </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px;"><br /></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'IM Fell DW Pica'; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px;"></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px;">Are all the claims in this story, especially towards the end, true? If <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Todd_Lincoln" style="color: #6699cc; text-decoration: none;">Wikipedia</a> is to be believed, the answer is a resounding yes!</span><br />
<br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'IM Fell DW Pica'; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px;" />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px;">No matter, I found the story to be fascinating. And I hope you did too.</span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11397888042558311595noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1804443369783436257.post-79559886612207623022013-03-08T14:50:00.000-05:002013-03-08T14:50:08.539-05:00A Houston Police Department K-9 Hero Needs Your Help<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://philosophermouseofthehedge.files.wordpress.com/2013/03/hpd-website-alpos.jpg?w=595" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://philosophermouseofthehedge.files.wordpress.com/2013/03/hpd-website-alpos.jpg?w=595" width="267" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>Alpos - Houston PD Hero</b></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #444444; font-size: 13px; line-height: 22px; margin-bottom: 10px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Sadly, a common story.</span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #444444; font-size: 13px; line-height: 22px; margin-bottom: 10px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">He loves donuts, but can’t have them now.</span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #444444; font-size: 13px; line-height: 22px; margin-bottom: 10px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Worked all his life.</span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #444444; font-size: 13px; line-height: 22px; margin-bottom: 10px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">No pension.</span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #444444; font-size: 13px; line-height: 22px; margin-bottom: 10px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
<strong style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">While protecting others, stabbed on the job.</span></strong></div>
<div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #444444; font-size: 13px; line-height: 22px; margin-bottom: 10px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Recovered and kept going.</span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #444444; font-size: 13px; line-height: 22px; margin-bottom: 10px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
<strong style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Only to get old.</span></strong></div>
<div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #444444; font-size: 13px; line-height: 22px; margin-bottom: 10px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Read the rest at <a href="https://philosophermouseofthehedge.wordpress.com/2013/03/08/sos-for-alpos/?blogsub=confirmed#blog_subscription-3">PhilosoperMouseoftheHedge.</a></span></span></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11397888042558311595noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1804443369783436257.post-75326280394436964822013-03-06T10:16:00.000-05:002013-03-06T10:16:36.299-05:00March 6 1836 - The Fall of the Alamo<br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Today marks the 177th anniversary of probably the<b> most significant event</b> in Texas History. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">On March 6,1836 the Alamo fell, and with it some of the most legendary men to ever live - Davy Crockett and James Bowie being the most recognizable.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://ts1.mm.bing.net/th?id=H.5061147395620992&pid=1.7&w=250&h=155&c=7&rs=1" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="198" src="http://ts1.mm.bing.net/th?id=H.5061147395620992&pid=1.7&w=250&h=155&c=7&rs=1" width="320" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><u style="font-weight: bold;">The Battle</u> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 28px;">On February 23, 1836, the arrival of General Antonio López de Santa Anna's army outside San Antonio nearly caught them by surprise. Undaunted, the Texians and Tejanos prepared to defend the Alamo together. The defenders held out for 13 days against Santa Anna's army. William B. Travis, the commander of the Alamo sent forth couriers carrying pleas for help to communities in Texas. On the eighth day of the siege, a band of 32 volunteers from Gonzales arrived, bringing the number of defenders to nearly two hundred. Legend holds that with the possibility of additional help fading, Colonel Travis drew a line on the ground and asked any man willing to stay and fight to step over — all except one did. As the defenders saw it, the Alamo was the key to the defense of Texas, and they were ready to give their lives rather than surrender their position to General Santa Anna. Among the Alamo's garrison were Jim Bowie, renowned knife fighter, and David Crockett, famed frontiersman and former congressman from Tennessee.</span></i><i><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 28px;"><br /></span></i></span><br />
<i><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 28px;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">The final assault came before daybreak on the morning of March 6, 1836, as columns of Mexican soldiers emerged from the predawn darkness and headed for the Alamo's walls....</span></span></i><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://ts3.mm.bing.net/th?id=H.4579612898690830&pid=1.7&w=232&h=155&c=7&rs=1" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" src="http://ts3.mm.bing.net/th?id=H.4579612898690830&pid=1.7&w=232&h=155&c=7&rs=1" width="320" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 28px;">Read the rest of this amazing story at </span><b style="line-height: 28px;"><i><a href="http://www.thealamo.org/battle/battle.php">TheAlamo.org</a>. </i></b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">In addition to Crockett and Bowie, there were roughly 185 more defenders of the Alamo, and while not nearly as well-known, are no less heroes than their more famous compatriots. These men, including a Black Freedman, came form all over the world to settle in Texas and were among the first to take up arms against a brutal dictator, General Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna, in the name of Texas Independence. The<a href="http://amo%20fell%2C%20and%20with%20it%20some%20of%20the%20most%20legendary%20men%20to%20ever%20live%20-%20davy%20crockett%20and%20james%20bowie%20being%20the%20most%20recognizable./"> list of Alamo defenders </a>includes the names of men from England, Ireland, Denmark, Germany and other states and territories of the United States. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">It is the Battle of the Alamo that, in my mind and in the minds of tens of millions of my fellow Texans, binds us together as a unique and proud people. One hundred seventy-seven years later we honor and revere the men who, even, or maybe especially, in defeat, left future Texans a legacy of bravery, courage, honor and duty that serves as a constant reminder that Freedom isn't free. The cost of Liberty demands of a free society vigilance and, at times, the Ultimate Sacrifice.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Remember the Alamo and God bless Texas!</span><br />
<br />
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11397888042558311595noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1804443369783436257.post-49771350587520138672013-03-04T08:54:00.001-05:002013-03-04T08:54:04.430-05:00March 4 1789 - Meeting of the 1st Congress of the United States<br />
This date is one of the most important in the history of the United States of America. I bet you a dollar to a doughnut that if you asked a hundred people why this date is significant to our country's history, one, maybe two, would know the answer. I sadly admit that I am firmly ensconced in the former group. You wanna know how I learned of this date's importance? On my Twitter time line. (Hat tip to @Blueberrier0341 via @Snarky_Basterd)0...thanks!)<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://questgarden.com/103/60/6/100513110756/images/founding-fathers7.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="209" src="http://questgarden.com/103/60/6/100513110756/images/founding-fathers7.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
<b><u>March 4, 1789</u> </b><br />
<b><br /></b>
The Place: New York City.<br />
The Event: Meeting of the 1st Congress of the United States of America<br />
<br />
Eleven states were represented by nine of twenty-two Senators and thirteen of fifty-nine Representatives. There were only eleven states represented because North Carolina and Rhode Island had yet to ratify the United States Constitution.<br />
<br />
<b><a href="http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/government-under-the-us-constitution-begins">History.com has more.</a></b><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.firstnetsource.com/american_flag_graphic/large_images/flag_08.gif" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" src="http://www.firstnetsource.com/american_flag_graphic/large_images/flag_08.gif" width="320" /></a></div>
Quoting Hank Williams, Jr, "Every time we solve a problem, ten others take its place, but you won't see those refugees goin' the other way, welcome to the <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vL4ShkilWZ8">USA today..."</a><br />
<br />
I wouldn't have it any other way.<br />
<br />
God bless America.<br />
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11397888042558311595noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1804443369783436257.post-6222025193315301552013-03-02T11:48:00.001-05:002013-03-02T11:48:32.348-05:00March 2 1836 - Texas Declares Independence!<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHTUrAR-UAbux7r15nFQ9nnXFVqv9uVsEC7BuihcPZ2vlXGgVSjX8JieKh4R4z5tHIDsaGHAHGW95v-Y4dYDcjHMaOSza_J6ncduPPUAMhSyTCFbe4yj8v0es2ihH1zmPoDcwYXYP9ey8/s1600/TexasIndependence.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHTUrAR-UAbux7r15nFQ9nnXFVqv9uVsEC7BuihcPZ2vlXGgVSjX8JieKh4R4z5tHIDsaGHAHGW95v-Y4dYDcjHMaOSza_J6ncduPPUAMhSyTCFbe4yj8v0es2ihH1zmPoDcwYXYP9ey8/s320/TexasIndependence.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Today is Texas Independence Day. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I am a Texan. As such, I hold this day in a reverence superseded by only the Holiest Days of my Catholic Faith. You see, being a Texan is not so far removed from being of person of Faith. Being a Texan is not just a birthright, it's a spiritual thing, a state of mind. For non-Texans, the best way I can equivocate this is to compare it to being an American, with a little extra pride and a touch of bluster thrown in for good measure. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Former Houston Oilers coach and legendary Texan Bum Phillips' Grandpa perhaps said it best when he told a young Bum that "Texans are<a href="http://lower48plus2.blogspot.com/2012/08/what-it-means-to-be-texan-by-coach-bum.html#.UTIXBoOkpvQ"> forged of a hotter fire".</a> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Following, you will read of men, Texans, forged of a hotter fire. Men, who against great odds gave us Texas. Men whose courage and bravery were exceeded only by the Natural yearning for Freedom and self-determination embedded in each human's soul. Men over matched by superior firepower willing to give their lives for what God had bestowed upon them - inalienable rights that guide the destiny of free men. Men on a mission for a cause greater than temselves. Heroes. Texans.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://farm3.staticflickr.com/2488/3978747853_1982728f5e_z.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="267" src="http://farm3.staticflickr.com/2488/3978747853_1982728f5e_z.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><u style="font-weight: bold;">Texas Independence Day</u> </span><br />
<br />
<i style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 19px;">In the early 19th century, the initials "GTT" sometimes were found carved in haste on the doors of homes abandoned by folks fleeing unpaid debts and other life problems. The three letters were shorthand for "Gone to Texas," the frontier sanctuary of choice for folks in these kinds of unfixable fixes. The three letters have found a place in our state's lore and legend. </i><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 19px;">(</span><a href="http://www.chron.com/opinion/editorials/article/Texas-Independence-Day-4321982.php" style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 19px;">Houston Chronicle</a><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 19px;">)</span><br />
<br />
On March 2,1836<i> "<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 26px;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Texas became a republic. On March 1 delegates from the seventeen Mexican municipalities of Texas and the settlement of Pecan Point met at Washington-on-the-Brazos to consider independence from Mexico. George C. Childress presented a resolution calling for independence, and the chairman of the convention appointed Childress to head a committee of five to draft a declaration of independence. In the early morning hours of March 2, the convention voted unanimously to accept the resolution. After fifty-eight members signed the document, Texas became the Republic of Texas. The change remained to be demonstrated to Mexico."</span></span></i><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://ts1.mm.bing.net/th?id=H.4826582089992928&pid=1.7&w=133&h=155&c=7&rs=1" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://ts1.mm.bing.net/th?id=H.4826582089992928&pid=1.7&w=133&h=155&c=7&rs=1" width="171" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>Sam Houston</b></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<i><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 26px;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></span></i><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 26px;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">The<a href="http://www.thealamo.org/battle/battle.php"> Battle of the Alamo</a> would soon come. Her <a href="http://hotx.com/alamo/defenders.html">defenders</a> including Davy Crockett and James Bowie, would fall at the hands of the Mexican Army lead by General Santa Ana. A few weeks later came a battle that would change Texas, and perhaps the World, forever - <a href="https://www.tsl.state.tx.us/treasures/republic/san-jacinto.html">San Jacinto</a>.</span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="line-height: 26px;">Thus was born the Republic of Texas.</span></span><br />
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="line-height: 26px;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="line-height: 26px;">May the Spirit of Texas live forever in the hearts of men.</span></span><br />
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="line-height: 26px;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="line-height: 26px;">God bless "The damnedest lady you ever saw" (John Wayne) </span></span><br />
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="line-height: 26px;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="line-height: 26px;">God bless Texas and Texans - a land and a people forged of a hotter fire.</span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 26px;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></span>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11397888042558311595noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1804443369783436257.post-77694103278060858862013-02-26T15:02:00.000-05:002013-02-26T16:45:45.206-05:00Tomb of the Unknown Soldier + VIDEO: Changing of the Guard During Hurricane SandyI recently became aware of a very good blog called <i style="font-weight: bold;"><a href="http://politicsandfinance.blogspot.com/2013/02/faq-about-tomb-guards-at-tomb-of.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+blogspot%2FZhbQ+%28The+Political+Commentator%29">"The Political Commentator".</a> </i>It turns out that the guy who runs <i style="font-weight: bold;">TPC</i>, Michael Haltman, is a fan of my main blog, <b><i><a href="http://realdumbassnews.blogspot.com/">Dumbass News</a></i></b>. Why a smart guy and Big Time Blogger would like the silly stuff I write about on<i style="font-weight: bold;"> Dumbass News </i>is beyond me, but there is no accounting for taste (or lack thereof) I suppose. :)<br />
<br />
I subscribe to <i style="font-weight: bold;">The Political Commentator</i> so I get an email alert whenever Michael publishes a new post. Today, I got the usual notification telling me of a new article at<i style="font-weight: bold;"> TPC. </i>I clicked on over and what was posted touched my heart and ignited my feelings of pride, gratitude and unwavering respect for those who selflessly serve our country in the United States military.<br />
<br />
Fellow Americans, <b>The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier</b><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://ts2.mm.bing.net/th?id=H.4544295381042881&pid=1.7&w=153&h=155&c=7&rs=1" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://ts2.mm.bing.net/th?id=H.4544295381042881&pid=1.7&w=153&h=155&c=7&rs=1" width="315" /></a></div>
<br />
<u style="font-weight: bold;">Sentinels</u><br />
<br />
Michael wrote, <span style="background-color: #eeeeee;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i>If you ever wondered about the men and women who serve as Tomb Guards at the Tomb of the Unknowns, here are the answers to the most frequently asked questions (FAQ)!</i></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b style="background-color: #eeeeee;"><i><br /></i></b><span style="background-color: #eeeeee; font-style: italic;">After receiving an email that went through a laundry list describing the Tomb Guards who march at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier located within Arlington National Cemetery, I began to wonder.</span><br style="background-color: #eeeeee;" /><br style="background-color: #eeeeee;" /><span style="background-color: #eeeeee; font-style: italic;">Some of the answers sounded a little farfetched so I decided to go to the source. From </span><a href="https://tombguard.org/society/faq/" style="background-color: #eeeeee; color: #4d469c; font-style: italic; text-decoration: none;">Tombguard.org</a><span style="background-color: #eeeeee;"><i>, here are the answers to some frequently asked questions:<b> </b></i><b><a href="http://politicsandfinance.blogspot.com/2013/02/faq-about-tomb-guards-at-tomb-of.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+blogspot%2FZhbQ+%28The+Political+Commentator%29">FAQ</a> </b>at <b><i>The Political Commentator.</i></b></span><span style="background-color: #eeeeee;"><i><br /></i><br /><br /> Changing of the Guard During the Storm</span></span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/VVohJXR9y1M?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>
<br />
<br />Tobyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08301391750198682792noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1804443369783436257.post-66328686395867308372013-02-18T00:00:00.000-05:002013-02-18T00:00:09.851-05:00Presidents Day & Presidential Trivia<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.funonline.in/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/Presidents-Day.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="http://www.funonline.in/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/Presidents-Day.png" width="320" /></a></div>
It's Presidents Day!<br />
<br />
Rather than take a historical look at <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Presidents_day">Presidents Day</a>, I thought it would be kinda cool to explore some Presidential trivia as provided by a new book called<i> <b><a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/search/ref=as_li_qf_sp_sr_il_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&index=aps&keywords=smithsonian%20book%20on%20presidential%20trivia&linkCode=as2&tag=thre01f-20">The Smithsonian Book on Presidential Trivia.</a> </b></i><br />
<i><br /></i>
<b><u>Presidential Trivia From the Book via WaPo</u></b><br />
<br />
<ul>
<li><b><span style="background-color: white; font-family: georgia; font-size: 15.454545021057129px; font-weight: normal; line-height: 22.5px;"><i>The first lawyer to win the White House? John Adams, who would be succeeded by 24 other men possessed of legal training, heaven help us. Moreover, at just 5’4″, Adams remains our shortest president. </i></span></b></li>
<li><b><span style="background-color: white; font-family: georgia; font-size: 15.454545021057129px; font-weight: normal; line-height: 22.5px;"><span style="font-size: 15.454545021057129px;"><i>The only commander-in-chief never to wed? James Buchanan, whose fiancée broke their engagement after a quarrel, and then broke his heart when she apparently took her life. Buchanan also penned the first presidential memoir, although “Mr. Buchanan’s Administration on the Eve of Rebellion” was hardly a Civil War-era blockbuster.</i></span></span></b></li>
<li><b><span style="background-color: white; font-family: georgia; font-size: 15.454545021057129px; font-weight: normal; line-height: 22.5px;"><span style="font-size: 15.454545021057129px;"><span style="font-size: 15.454545021057129px;"><i>The first president with fulltime Secret Service protection? Teddy Roosevelt, whose other distinctions include being saved from an assassin’s bullet by an eyeglass case and 50-page stump speech in his pocket; inspiring thousands of adorable toy “Teddy Bears;” creating the first White House press room for reporters and being one of the Mount Rushmore Four.</i></span></span></span></b></li>
</ul>
<span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="line-height: 22.5px;">Pretty neat stuff, huh?</span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="line-height: 22.5px;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="line-height: 22.5px;">From George Washington to Barack Obama and 42 other Presidents in between, you can discover more Presidential Potpourri and facts about First Ladies on the Washington Post's <a href="http://www.funonline.in/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/Presidents-Day.png">website.</a> </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="line-height: 22.5px;"><br /></span></span>
<b>***If you'd like to order The Smithsonian Book on Presidential Trivia, you can do so<a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/search/ref=as_li_qf_sp_sr_il_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&index=aps&keywords=smithsonian%20book%20on%20presidential%20trivia&linkCode=as2&tag=thre01f-20"> here</a>.***</b>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11397888042558311595noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1804443369783436257.post-65325294659013632352012-12-31T13:34:00.001-05:002012-12-31T13:34:16.519-05:00Uniquely American New Year's Celebrations<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://ts4.mm.bing.net/th?id=H.5021156879173435&pid=1.7" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://ts4.mm.bing.net/th?id=H.5021156879173435&pid=1.7" /></a></div>
<br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">As we bid a fond adieu to 2012 and welcome the arrival 2013, I thought that this would be a great occasion to celebrate the New Year with some of the more unusual New Year's festivities from around the United States. And believe you me, there are some doozies out there. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Through the use of my mastery of Google-Fu, I found some unique ways that Americans say goodbye to the Old Year and howdy to the New Year.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">For Example...</span><br />
<br />
<ul>
<li><a href="http://droppingofthecarp.blogspot.com/" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><u style="font-weight: bold;">The Droppin' of the Carp - Prairie Du Chien, Wisconsin</u> </a></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b><a href="http://www.gobeachcomber.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20121229/SH01/312290013/Muskrat-Dive-usher-2013?odyssey=mod|newswell|img|Local%20News|p">The Muskrat Dive - Princess Anne, Maryland</a></b></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b><u><a href="http://www.lastnightfayetteville.com/?_escaped_fragment_=">Last Night Fayetteville (Hog Drop) - Fayetteville, Arkansas</a></u></b></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b><u><a href="http://www.kpho.com/story/16421395/show-low-to-drop-deuce-of-clubs">The Deuce of Clubs Drop - Show Low, Arizona</a></u></b></span></li>
</ul>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">And last, but certainly not least, in my wife's hometown of <b><a href="http://www.eastportchamber.net/">Eastport, Maine</a></b> (The Easternmost City in the USA):</span><br />
<br />
<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b><u><a href="http://bangordailynews.com/2012/12/29/news/down-east/eastports-unique-new-years-eve-celebration-to-be-broadcast-live-on-cnn/">The Great Sardine Drop</a> - </u></b></span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">This year end festival is an international event featuring the Maple Leaf Drop honoring the arrival of the New Year an hour earlier in the neighboring Canadian province of New Brunswick. </span></li>
</ul>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">How will you be celebrating the transition from 2012 to 2013? We'd love to know, so leave us a comment and tell us about your plans!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">We'll see you in 2013!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Happy New Year!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<br />
<a href="http://www.blogger.com/goog_1111065832"><br /></a>
<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11397888042558311595noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1804443369783436257.post-11502295197887354282012-12-29T00:00:00.000-05:002012-12-29T00:00:05.974-05:00Texas Statehood: December 29, 1845<span style="background-color: navajowhite;"></span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://media-cache-ec6.pinterest.com/upload/110408628335001356_DFLv8hjR_b.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://media-cache-ec6.pinterest.com/upload/110408628335001356_DFLv8hjR_b.jpg" /></a></div>
<h4>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i style="font-weight: normal;">In their first election after Texas won its independence, Texans voted overwhelmingly in favor of annexation to the United States. However, throughout the Republic period, no annexation treaty was approved by both countries.<br /><br />With nothing solid to indicate that Mexico accepted the defeat at San Jacinto (Treaties of Velasco were ignored by both the Republic of Texas and Mexico) and fearful of a second attack by the powerful Mexican army to the south perhaps joined by the Comanches and Apaches, Texas again petitioned to <a href="http://www.forttumbleweed.net/statehood.html">become a State of the U.S. </a></i></span></h4>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_9YUeSTgcRJhj0-TcHp-w8ARH6n45oI2lI9RouvMAorBD85sYAZII8J6Dc7yA5zaI8IkPw5x9xo8Gcb2ZuFC5IbNNwD2JM-jx9g0MT4E3uMtjVkjc6zyKUAOl-gcw-4xh90czdsk93tQ/s640/Big+Bend+Sunset.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="226" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_9YUeSTgcRJhj0-TcHp-w8ARH6n45oI2lI9RouvMAorBD85sYAZII8J6Dc7yA5zaI8IkPw5x9xo8Gcb2ZuFC5IbNNwD2JM-jx9g0MT4E3uMtjVkjc6zyKUAOl-gcw-4xh90czdsk93tQ/s320/Big+Bend+Sunset.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Thus begins the story of how the Republic of Texas became the 28th State of the United States of America.</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">It's a fascinating tale about a fascinating place.</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Although I am now living 2000 miles from the land of my birth, she is forever in my heart and I am forever her Son, separated by time and distance yet connected by Fate and Destiny. </span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://ts3.mm.bing.net/th?id=H.4754752982026746&pid=1.7&w=224&h=147&c=7&rs=1" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://ts3.mm.bing.net/th?id=H.4754752982026746&pid=1.7&w=224&h=147&c=7&rs=1" /></a></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Throughout her history, Texas has nurtured a special breed of people, a people that former football coach Bum Phillips described as <a href="http://lower48plus2.blogspot.com/2012/08/what-it-means-to-be-texan-by-coach-bum.html#.UNxr_LazT-k">"forged of a hotter fire."</a> Coach Phillips went on, <i>"</i></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 18px;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i>The same spirit that made 186 men cross that line in the sand in San Antonio damned near 165 years ago is still in you today. Why else would my friend send me William Barrett Travis' plea for help in an email just a week ago, or why would Charles Stanfield ask me to reprint a Texas Independence column from a year ago? What would make my friend Elizabeth say, "I don't know if I can marry a man who doesn't love Texas like I do?" Why in the hell are 1,000 people coming to my house this weekend to celebrate a holiday for what used to be a nation that is now a state?</i></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 18px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 18px;">Because the spirit that made that nation is the spirit that burned in every person who founded this great place we call Texas, and they passed it on through blood or sweat to everyone of us.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 18px;" /></i></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 18px;"><i><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">You see, that spirit that made Texas what it is is alive in all of us, even if we can't stand next to a cannon to prove it, and it's our responsibility to keep that fire burning.</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;"> </span></i></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 18px;"><i><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></i></span>
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="line-height: 17.999998092651367px;">Forged of a hotter fire. That's me, that's you and that's millions of Texans from her very first people of ten milennia ago to the guy next door who just arrived from California and is now a Texan by choice. Bonded by an insatiable desire for freedom and a fierce yearning for independence, we are all the children of the damnedest lady you ever saw. </span></span><br />
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="line-height: 17.999998092651367px;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="line-height: 17.999998092651367px;">By the Grace of God, we are Texans.</span></span><br />
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="line-height: 17.999998092651367px;"><br /></span></span>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.us-american-flags.com/texas/texasd.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://www.us-american-flags.com/texas/texasd.gif" /></a></div>
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="line-height: 17.999998092651367px;"><br /></span></span>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
God Bless Texas!</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/PGukLuXzH1E?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="line-height: 17.999998092651367px;"><br /></span></span>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="line-height: 17.999998092651367px;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="line-height: 17.999998092651367px;"><br /></span></span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11397888042558311595noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1804443369783436257.post-79435259236264513212012-12-25T00:00:00.000-05:002012-12-25T00:00:02.676-05:00For God So Loved the World...Enter His Gates With Thanksgiving...<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6_O3KKXvBd5N0yGDn9G4mXcKtX09wpKVXMj4BLrzCnMOrSwtjnoylBq4f8k_7hFaJPopAHUbcHUa8q7eAb8Pfp0qNWgSNI-mDgTmedp6m8kNZE1_mhiRGi3W8Offp771ljsc43NEsmNJI/s1600/john3_16a.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="351" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6_O3KKXvBd5N0yGDn9G4mXcKtX09wpKVXMj4BLrzCnMOrSwtjnoylBq4f8k_7hFaJPopAHUbcHUa8q7eAb8Pfp0qNWgSNI-mDgTmedp6m8kNZE1_mhiRGi3W8Offp771ljsc43NEsmNJI/s400/john3_16a.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://ts3.mm.bing.net/th?id=H.4552769272414746&pid=1.7&w=165&h=135&c=7&rs=1" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://ts3.mm.bing.net/th?id=H.4552769272414746&pid=1.7&w=165&h=135&c=7&rs=1" /></a></div>
<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11397888042558311595noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1804443369783436257.post-16452021092809923962012-12-24T00:00:00.000-05:002012-12-24T00:00:06.751-05:00'Twas the Night Before Christmas - The Classic<br />
<div class="column-center-outer">
<div class="column-center-inner">
<div class="main section" id="main">
<div class="widget Blog" id="Blog1">
<div class="blog-posts hfeed">
<div class="date-outer">
<div class="date-posts">
<div class="post-outer">
<div class="post hentry" itemprop="blogPost" itemscope="itemscope" itemtype="http://schema.org/BlogPosting">
<div class="post-body entry-content" id="post-body-3809618873547497704" itemprop="description articleBody">
'Tis the day before Christmas and all through the place,<br />
Everyone woke with a smile on his face,<br />
Outdoors there's snow on the ground,<br />
Ready to welcome the Man who is round,<br />
The children, all happy, are dancing about,<br />
Greeting the day with a squeal and a shout,<br />
With Yuletide chores that we still must do, <br />
We wish you the best, Merry Christmas to you!<br />
<br />
I just made that up. :) It serves as a prelude to the real deal. The
timeless poem that has been part of the American Christmas Tradition for
almost two hundred years. With that, I happily and merrily present to
you, dear friend, a Christmas Classic.<br />
<br />
<div align="center">
<span style="font-family: COMIC SANS MS,ARIAL,HELVETICA; font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">'Twas the night before Christmas, when all through the house<br />
not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse.<br />
The stockings were hung by the chimney with care,<br />
in hopes that St. Nicholas soon would be there. </span></span></div>
<div align="center">
<span style="font-family: COMIC SANS MS,ARIAL,HELVETICA; font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><img align="absmiddle" alt="horse" border="0" height="70" hspace="8" src="http://www.blackdog.net/holiday/christmas/images/horse.gif" width="100" /> </span></span></div>
<div align="center">
<span style="font-family: COMIC SANS MS,ARIAL,HELVETICA; font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">The children were nestled all snug in their beds,<br />
while visions of sugar plums danced in their heads.<br />
And Mama in her 'kerchief, and I in my cap,<br />
had just settled our brains for a long winter's nap. </span></span></div>
<div align="center">
<span style="font-family: COMIC SANS MS,ARIAL,HELVETICA; font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><img align="absmiddle" alt="wreath" border="0" height="41" hspace="8" src="http://www.blackdog.net/holiday/christmas/images/wreath.gif" width="45" /> </span></span></div>
<div align="center">
<span style="font-family: COMIC SANS MS,ARIAL,HELVETICA; font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">When out on the roof there arose such a clatter,<br />
I sprang from my bed to see what was the matter.<br />
Away to the window I flew like a flash,<br />
tore open the shutter, and threw up the sash. </span></span></div>
<div align="center">
<span style="font-family: COMIC SANS MS,ARIAL,HELVETICA; font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><img align="absmiddle" alt="bells" border="0" height="75" hspace="8" src="http://www.blackdog.net/holiday/christmas/images/bells.gif" width="75" /> </span></span></div>
<div align="center">
<span style="font-family: COMIC SANS MS,ARIAL,HELVETICA; font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">The moon on the breast of the new-fallen snow<br />
gave the lustre of midday to objects below,<br />
when, what to my wondering eyes should appear,<br />
but a miniature sleigh and eight tiny reindeer. </span></span></div>
<div align="center">
<span style="font-family: COMIC SANS MS,ARIAL,HELVETICA; font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><img align="absmiddle" alt="wreath" border="0" height="41" hspace="8" src="http://www.blackdog.net/holiday/christmas/images/wreath.gif" width="45" /> </span></span></div>
<div align="center">
<span style="font-family: COMIC SANS MS,ARIAL,HELVETICA; font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">With a little old driver, so lively and quick,<br />
I knew in a moment it must be St. Nick.<br />
More rapid than eagles, his coursers they came,<br />
and he whistled and shouted and called them by name: </span></span></div>
<div align="center">
<span style="font-family: COMIC SANS MS,ARIAL,HELVETICA; font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">"Now Dasher! Now Dancer!<br />
Now, Prancer and Vixen!<br />
On, Comet! On, Cupid!<br />
On, Donner and Blitzen!<br />
To the top of the porch!<br />
To the top of the wall!<br />
Now dash away! Dash away!<br />
Dash away all!" <br />
</span></span></div>
<div align="center">
<span style="font-family: COMIC SANS MS,ARIAL,HELVETICA; font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><img align="absmiddle" alt="horse" border="0" height="70" hspace="8" src="http://www.blackdog.net/holiday/christmas/images/horse.gif" width="100" /> </span></span></div>
<div align="center">
<span style="font-family: COMIC SANS MS,ARIAL,HELVETICA; font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">As dry leaves that before the wild hurricane fly,<br />
when they meet with an obstacle, mount to the sky<br />
so up to the house-top the coursers they flew,<br />
with the sleigh full of toys, and St. Nicholas too. </span></span></div>
<div align="center">
<span style="font-family: COMIC SANS MS,ARIAL,HELVETICA; font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><img align="absmiddle" alt="bells" border="0" height="75" hspace="8" src="http://www.blackdog.net/holiday/christmas/images/bells.gif" width="75" /> </span></span></div>
<div align="center">
<span style="font-family: COMIC SANS MS,ARIAL,HELVETICA; font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">And then, in a twinkling, I heard on the roof<br />
the prancing and pawing of each little hoof.<br />
As I drew in my head and was turning around,<br />
down the chimney St. Nicholas came with a bound. <br />
</span></span></div>
<div align="center">
<span style="font-family: COMIC SANS MS,ARIAL,HELVETICA; font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><img align="absmiddle" alt="roof" border="0" height="100" hspace="8" src="http://www.blackdog.net/holiday/christmas/images/roof-sm.gif" width="100" /> </span></span></div>
<div align="center">
<span style="font-family: COMIC SANS MS,ARIAL,HELVETICA; font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">He was dressed all in fur, from his head to his foot,<br />
and his clothes were all tarnished with ashes and soot.<br />
A bundle of toys he had flung on his back,<br />
and he looked like a peddler just opening his pack. </span></span></div>
<div align="center">
<span style="font-family: COMIC SANS MS,ARIAL,HELVETICA; font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><img align="absmiddle" alt="wreath" border="0" height="41" hspace="8" src="http://www.blackdog.net/holiday/christmas/images/wreath.gif" width="45" /> </span></span></div>
<div align="center">
<span style="font-family: COMIC SANS MS,ARIAL,HELVETICA; font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">His eyes--how they twinkled! His dimples, how merry!<br />
His cheeks were like roses, his nose like a cherry!<br />
His droll little mouth was drawn up like a bow,<br />
and the beard on his chin was as white as the snow.<br />
The stump of a pipe he held tight in his teeth,<br />
and the smoke it encircled his head like a wreath.<br />
He had a broad face and a little round belly,<br />
that shook when he laughed, like a bowl full of jelly. </span></span></div>
<div align="center">
<span style="font-family: COMIC SANS MS,ARIAL,HELVETICA; font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><img align="absmiddle" alt="bells" border="0" height="75" hspace="8" src="http://www.blackdog.net/holiday/christmas/images/bells.gif" width="75" /> </span></span></div>
<div align="center">
<span style="font-family: COMIC SANS MS,ARIAL,HELVETICA; font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">He was chubby and plump, a right jolly old elf,<br />
and I laughed when I saw him, in spite of myself.<br />
A wink of his eye and a twist of his head<br />
soon gave me to know I had nothing to dread. </span></span></div>
<div align="center">
<span style="font-family: COMIC SANS MS,ARIAL,HELVETICA; font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><img align="absmiddle" alt="horse" border="0" height="70" hspace="8" src="http://www.blackdog.net/holiday/christmas/images/horse.gif" width="100" /> </span></span></div>
<div align="center">
<span style="font-family: COMIC SANS MS,ARIAL,HELVETICA; font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">He spoke not a word, but went straight to his work,<br />
and filled all the stockings, then turned with a jerk.<br />
And laying his finger aside of his nose,<br />
and giving a nod, up the chimney he rose. </span></span></div>
<div align="center">
<span style="font-family: COMIC SANS MS,ARIAL,HELVETICA; font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><img align="absmiddle" alt="sleigh" border="0" height="81" hspace="8" src="http://www.blackdog.net/holiday/christmas/images/sleigh.gif" width="250" /> </span></span></div>
<div align="center">
<span style="font-family: COMIC SANS MS,ARIAL,HELVETICA; font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">He sprang to his sleigh, to his team gave a whistle,<br />
And away they all flew like the down of a thistle.<br />
But I heard him exclaim, 'ere he drove out of sight,<br />
</span></span></div>
<div align="center">
<span style="font-family: COMIC SANS MS,ARIAL,HELVETICA; font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">"Happy Christmas to all, and to all a good night!" </span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: COMIC SANS MS,ARIAL,HELVETICA; font-size: xx-small;"><img align="absmiddle" alt="bells" border="0" height="75" hspace="8" src="http://www.blackdog.net/holiday/christmas/images/bells.gif" width="75" /> </span>I got this copy of the poem from<a href="http://www.blackdog.net/holiday/christmas/twas.html"> blackdog.net</a>. Click the link and scroll past the poem to the bottom of the page and there's a nice little history of the Yuletide standard.<br />
<br />
To all of you, I wish the Merriest of Christmases. May God bless you and
your loved ones with happiness and prosperity for all your days.<br />
<br />
<br />
Feliz Navidad,<br />
Toby
<div style="clear: both;">
</div>
</div>
<div class="post-footer">
<div class="post-footer-line post-footer-line-1">
<br /></div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
<div class="column-left-outer">
<div class="column-left-inner">
<aside><div class="sidebar section" id="sidebar-left-1">
<div class="widget Profile" id="Profile1">
</div>
</div>
</aside></div>
</div>
Tobyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08301391750198682792noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1804443369783436257.post-82777370415818636042012-12-23T00:00:00.000-05:002012-12-23T00:00:01.557-05:00'Twas the Night Before Christmas - Texas Style<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td><a href="http://posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/yourbadneighbor/oBn8FBZ0BSep2iyDZcAr2T5idN17ycaVjmJBNyJI1kmgA5W0h3mxC05Evn7j/redneck_santa.jpg.scaled.500.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="202" src="http://posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/yourbadneighbor/oBn8FBZ0BSep2iyDZcAr2T5idN17ycaVjmJBNyJI1kmgA5W0h3mxC05Evn7j/redneck_santa.jpg.scaled.500.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption"><i>On Bubba and Leroy and Jim Bob and Gus</i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<pre>'Twas the night before Christmas, in Texas, you know.
Way out on the prairie, without any snow.
Asleep in their cabin, were Buddy and Sue,
A dreamin' of Christmas, like me and you.
Not stockings, but boots, at the foot of their bed,
For this was Texas, what more need be said,
When all of a sudden, from out of the still night,
There came such a ruckus, it gave me a fright.
And I saw 'cross the prairie, like a shot from a gun,
A loaded up buckboard, come on at a run,
The driver was "Geein" and "Hawin", with a will,
The horses (not reindeer) he drove with such skill.
"Come on there Buck, Poncho, & Prince, to the right,
There'll be plenty of travelin' for you all tonight."
The driver in Levi's and a shirt that was red,
Had a ten-gallon Stetson on top of his head.
As he stepped from the buckboard, he was really a sight,
With his beard and moustache, so curly and white.
As he burst in the cabin, the children awoke,
And were so astonished, that neither one spoke.
And he filled up their boots with such presents galore,
That neither could think of a single thing more.
When Buddy recovered the use of his jaws,
He asked in a whisper, "Are you really Santa Claus?"
"Am I the real Santa? Well, what do you think?"
And he smiled as he gave a mysterious wink.
Then he leaped in his buckboard, and called back in his drawl,
"To all the children in Texas, Merry Christmas, You-all" </pre>
Tobyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08301391750198682792noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1804443369783436257.post-12494646780948560952012-12-22T00:00:00.000-05:002012-12-22T00:00:04.747-05:00Yes, Virginia, There Is a Santa Claus<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr align="justify"><td><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><a href="http://www.newseum.org/yesvirginia/images/author.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://www.newseum.org/yesvirginia/images/author.jpg" width="247" /></a></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><i>Francis Pharcellus Church</i></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
With Christmas Eve just two days away, I wanted to be
sure to get a couple of Christmas classics posted before The Big Day.
This is as classic as it gets and is as timely today as it was over a
century ago. It's a question that as children, we all faced at one time
or another, "Is there a Santa Claus?" Do I believe in Santa Claus? As
long as my little girls are little girls and my grand children are
children, and if I'm lucky enough to live to see my great-grand children
when they arrive, you damn right I believe in Santa Claus. Could
billions of children around the world all be wrong? Of course not. :)<br />
<br />
<br />
<table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="width: 730px;"><tbody>
<tr><td><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="width: 730px;"><tbody>
<tr><td valign="top" width="510"><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="width: 510px;"><tbody>
<tr><td valign="top"><span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Eight-year-old
Virginia O'Hanlon wrote a letter to
the editor of New York's <i>Sun</i>,
and the quick response was printed as
an unsigned editorial Sept. 21, 1897.
The work of veteran newsman Francis Pharcellus
Church has since become history's most reprinted
newspaper editorial, appearing in part or whole
in dozens of languages in books, movies, and
other editorials, and on posters and
stamps.</span></td> </tr>
<tr> <td height="10" width="510"><img height="10" src="http://www.newseum.org/images/spacer.gif" width="1" /></td> </tr>
<tr> <td background="http://threestatesplusone.blogspot.com/2010/12/images/dot_gray.gif" height="10" width="510"><img height="10" src="http://www.newseum.org/images/spacer.gif" width="1" /></td> </tr>
<tr> <td height="10" width="510"><img height="10" src="http://www.newseum.org/images/spacer.gif" width="1" /></td> </tr>
<tr> <td><span style="font-family: "Courier New", "Courier", "mono";">"DEAR EDITOR: I am 8 years old. <br />
"Some of my little friends say there is no Santa Claus. <br />
"Papa says, 'If you see it in THE SUN it's so.' <br />
"Please tell me the truth; is there a Santa Claus?<br />
<br />
"VIRGINIA O'HANLON.<br />
"115 WEST NINETY-FIFTH STREET."<br />
<br />
VIRGINIA, your little friends are
wrong. They have been affected by the
skepticism of a skeptical age. They do
not believe except [what] they see. They
think that nothing can be which is not comprehensible
by their little minds. All minds, Virginia, whether
they be men's or children's, are little.
In this great universe of ours man is a
mere insect, an ant, in his intellect,
as compared with the boundless world
about him, as measured by the intelligence
capable of grasping the whole of truth and knowledge.<br />
<br />
Yes, VIRGINIA, there is a Santa Claus.
He exists as certainly as love and
generosity and devotion exist, and you
know that they abound and give to your life
its highest beauty and joy. Alas! how dreary would
be the world if there were no Santa Claus. It
would be as dreary as if there were no
VIRGINIAS. There would be no childlike
faith then, no poetry, no romance to
make tolerable this existence. We
should have no enjoyment, except in sense and
sight. The eternal light with which childhood fills
the world would be extinguished.<br />
<br />
Not believe in Santa Claus! You might
as well not believe in fairies! You
might get your papa to hire men to
watch in all the chimneys on Christmas
Eve to catch Santa Claus, but even if they did
not see Santa Claus coming down, what would that
prove? Nobody sees Santa Claus, but that is no
sign that there is no Santa Claus. The most
real things in the world are those that
neither children nor men can see. Did
you ever see fairies dancing on the
lawn? Of course not, but that's no proof
that they are not there. Nobody can conceive or
imagine all the wonders there are unseen and unseeable
in the world.<br />
<br />
</span><span style="font-family: "Courier New", "Courier", "mono";">You
may tear apart the baby's rattle and
see what makes the noise inside, but
there is a veil covering the unseen
world which not the strongest man, nor
even the united strength of all the strongest
men that ever lived, could tear apart. Only faith,
fancy, poetry, love, romance, can push aside that
curtain and view and picture the supernal
beauty and glory beyond. Is it all
real? Ah, VIRGINIA, in all this world
there is nothing else real and abiding.
<br />
<br />
No Santa Claus! Thank God! he lives, and he lives forever. A
thousand years from now, Virginia, nay,
ten times ten thousand years from now, he
will continue to make glad the heart of childhood.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Courier New", "Courier", "mono"; font-size: x-small;"><br />
</span></td> </tr>
</tbody></table>
</td> <td width="10"></td> </tr>
</tbody></table>
</td> </tr>
<tr> <td height="10" width="730">This article can be found on a million websites, but I chose to get it from an excellent site called <i><a href="http://www.newseum.org/">Newseum</a>. </i>If you enjoy reading about history and would like to see what the news coverage of an event was at the time it <br />
happened, <i>Newseum</i> is an absolute treasure chest of nuggets like this..</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Tobyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08301391750198682792noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1804443369783436257.post-17123274125627529082012-12-19T00:00:00.000-05:002012-12-19T00:00:02.667-05:00NJ Town Hit by Sandy Re-named "Oklahoma Gas & Electric" for a Day<br />
Amidst all the talk of stuff like the fiscal cliff and the political scandals that tear at the very fabric of our great country, it's a welcome relief to get some good news to share with you on<i style="font-weight: bold;"> Lower 48 (Plus2).</i><br />
<i style="font-weight: bold;"><br /></i>Are you ready to feel good about your fellow Americans? Good. I am too.<br />
<br />
<br />
<u style="font-weight: bold;">One People</u><br />
<br />
You'll find many friendly regional and state vs.state rivalries in the USA. Rivalries like Texas-Oklahoma, Ohio-Michigan and North vs.South. While many jabs are thrown back and forth in these engagements, they are generally friendly and at the end of the game, contest or competition, both sides are willing to sit down with the opposition and have a beer or break bread. The same can be said when disaster strikes.<br />
<br />
My point is that in spite of whatever our differences may be, in a time of tragedy or emergency, there is no real animosity between groups of Americans. Our instinct is to bond together as One People and face adversity head on with a steely resolve and kick its ass.<br />
<br />
Such is the case with Hurricane Sandy.<br />
<br />
<br />
<u style="font-weight: bold;">Sandy</u><br />
<br />
In the wake of tens of billions of dollars in damage and untold suffering and hardship from Hurricane Sandy, a happy story emerges from one of the hard hit areas of New Jersey.<br />
<br />
<i>A New Jersey city temporarily took on the name of a utility company to honor the work of its employees following Hurricane Sandy. </i><br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://ts1.mm.bing.net/th?id=H.4815896110827636&pid=1.7&w=141&h=144&c=7&rs=1" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://ts1.mm.bing.net/th?id=H.4815896110827636&pid=1.7&w=141&h=144&c=7&rs=1" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>OG&E, NJ for a Day</b></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<i><br />The city of Glen Rock temporarily renamed itself Oklahoma G&E, N.J., for a 24-hour period in honor of Oklahoma Gas and Electric Co. crews who worked to restore power to the city after the October storm.<br /><br />Mayor John van Keuren said the town's proclamation celebrated the workers' "great compassion and fortitude and graciousness while performing the repairs in an efficient way."<br /><br />"Because the residents of Glen Rock appreciate the speed with which the OG&E crews responded to our need for power restoration, and because the residents of Glen Rock value the professionalism of their work," the proclamation reads. </i><br />
<i><br /></i>This story is a perfect example of what happens when our fellow Americans are confronted with hardship. The unaffected instinctively and immediately cast aside any variances that may contrast one part of the country with another, their focus and tenacity to overcome disaster directed squarely at the challenge at hand, laser-like in their intensity, compassionate in their execution.<br />
<br />
One disaster. One People. One America.<br />
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11397888042558311595noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1804443369783436257.post-11470324845907997002012-12-17T09:22:00.003-05:002012-12-17T09:22:45.359-05:00Christmas Shopping: A Curse on All Men<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://ts1.mm.bing.net/th?id=H.5032091869643716&pid=1.7&w=178&h=155&c=7&rs=1" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="278" src="http://ts1.mm.bing.net/th?id=H.5032091869643716&pid=1.7&w=178&h=155&c=7&rs=1" width="320" /></a></div>
<b><i><br /></i></b>
<b><i>Here's a story I wrote two Christmases ago. It is as true today as it was then.</i></b><br />
<br />
The photo warning above should have raise a large red flag for you.
You ask, "What, pray tell, could have a man in such a sour mood at The
Most Wonderful Time of the Year?" You wanna know what's got my Fruit of
the Looms in a wad at The Most Wonderful Time of the Year? The Most
Wonderful Time of the Year has my drawers all twisted up in a Palomar
Knot, that's what!<br />
<br />
Let me splain.<br />
<br />
I went Christmas shopping <b>again</b> to day with my wife and Bailey
the Three Year Old. Having spent the great majority of my adult life as a
bachelor, and damn good one, I have done very little Christmas shopping
over the past thirty-five years. The main reason for that is that I was
always working somewhere far from my family. I <b>never</b> had enough
time off to make a trip back home anywhere near feasible. So, I had no
reason to do much Christmas shopping. Back then, nobody owned a
computer, so online shopping was nonexistent. Now that online shopping
is so easy and convenient, I'd rather do that than go all over town
looking for the latest money wasting toy that one or both of my little
girls must have or they will be cast asunder by their friends and
classmates.<br />
<br />Before I go on any further, I gotta say up front that <b>I HATE SHOPPING!</b>
I am a guy. If I need to go shopping for anything, I make a list, go in
the store, grab the items on the list, pay and leave. I like it that
way. My wife, on the other hand, is not quite that shopping-efficient.
Over the last four and a half years that I have lived in Maine, I have
tried every method known to mankind and a few others not yet made up, to
get Heather to be a little more organized about shopping. I am an <b>abject failure</b>
at trying to do so. I don't easily admit defeat, but I have given up on
trying to make an efficient shopper out of my wife. I'd have better
luck trying dig another Panama Canal with a teaspoon. Therefore, here I
sit a defeated man.<br />
<br />
I don't want to give you the wrong impression, I really do like
Christmas a lot. Especially since I have two daughters young enough to
enjoy all the guessing games, shaking the presents under the tree to see
if they can "see" what's in the box and, of course, getting woke up at
4:00AM, preparing to stumble down the stairs to see what treasures Santa
has delivered. I <b>KNOW what Santa delivered(!)</b> I have the
register receipts to prove it! But, for the sake of my children, every
Christmas Day, I wake up when they come into mine and Heather's bedroom
sounding every bit like the Grambling Marching Band as they burst
through the bedroom door. I love my kids and I would do anything I could
to make them happy, so I jump out of bed, as best an arthritic middle
aged man can do, and go downstairs to see all the Christmas goodies I am
all too familiar with. There is one more <b>major</b> reason I have
learned to be more actively involved with Christmas shopping. If I don't
go when I am told to go, I will no longer be one with my gazebos.
Heather promised me that. And after fifty-four years together, my
gazebos and I have grown to be quite happy with the gazebo status quo. <br />
<br />
<br />
Having said all that, I wish <b>just once, </b>that my gazebos and I
could sleep in on Christmas Morning without the threat of a
gazebo-ectomy looming large. Until then, I stand a conquered man,
gazebos thankfully intact.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11397888042558311595noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1804443369783436257.post-15767335339930647782012-12-17T00:00:00.000-05:002012-12-17T00:00:06.737-05:00Veteran Makes Christmas Merry for Soldiers<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td><a href="http://www.sunjournal.com/files/imagecache/main_element/2010/12/10/CITmilitarygiftsP121310.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="217" src="http://www.sunjournal.com/files/imagecache/main_element/2010/12/10/CITmilitarygiftsP121310.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption"><i>Christmas Across the State***</i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<b><i>I wrote this piece two years ago, but it as timely today, if not more so, as it was then. </i></b><br />
<br />
I have mentioned that when it comes to serving in or
showing support of the United States Military, Mainers are second to
none. Literally. Per capita, Maine has the highest percentage of active
and retired veterans of all fifty states in the Union. I know that to be
true because I have substantiated it before, I just can't remember
where. So you gotta trust me on this one. Most of the people I know in
Maine are members of Heather's family and off the top of my head, I can
name seven men that have served or are serving as I type this, and
that's just a small part of her family. I know that's a bit anecdotal,
but it also is representative of the larger group,the total population
of the state.<br />
<br />
Your average enlisted man/woman in the military is not exactly raking in
the dough. Sure, they get some good benefits, but many of our bravest
also have families to take care of. In a trying economy, like we are
currently experiencing, it's all the more difficult to make ends meet
for service members.<br />
<br />
There is an organization here in Augusta that is a beacon of hope for
military personnel during the Christmas season. I discovered an article
in the Lewiston-Auburn area newspaper the<i> Sun Journal </i>that tells the story of <i>Christmas Across the State</i> and the man behind it, Kerry Birmingham, himself a Viet Nam Vet.<br />
<br />
<br />
<i>"We've been doing this for well over a decade," said Birmingham, who
oversees a Maine National Guard program that grants Christmas wishes for
needy military families. "We've never seen so many."</i><br />
<i>Last year, "Christmas Across the State" helped about 60 military
families with presents, he said. This year, the number of requests could
reach 80.</i><br />
<br />
Daniel Hartill, a Staff Writer for the <i>Sun Journal, </i>gets the props for a job well done for bringing <i>Christmas Across the State</i> to the attention of the masses. Read the entire article on the <a href="http://www.sunjournal.com/city/story/955446">Sun Journal</a> web site.<br />
<br />
Isn't that article a perfect example of selflessness, patriotism and a
damn fine man? Daniel, again I thank you for your work in bringing this
to the fore, and to Mr.Birmingham, I salute you, Sir, for your service
to our country and for your continuing efforts to make sure our Bravest
and Finest young people are looked after during the Christmas Holiday.
God bless you and may God continue to bless the United States of
America.<br />
<br />
<b>I'm sure that there is an organization similar to "Christmas Across the State" where you live, so please consider lending them your support. Thanks.</b><br />
<b><br /></b>
<b>Merry Christmas!</b>
<br />
<i><b>***Photo shamelessly swiped from the <a href="http://www.sunjournal.com/city/story/955446">Sun Journal</a></b></i> ***Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11397888042558311595noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1804443369783436257.post-64394507662240541512012-12-14T11:27:00.000-05:002012-12-14T11:29:09.639-05:00Christmas Across America: Christmas Movies to Watch Online<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://ts4.mm.bing.net/th?id=H.4849409743259567&pid=1.7&w=86&h=139&c=7&rs=1" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://ts4.mm.bing.net/th?id=H.4849409743259567&pid=1.7&w=86&h=139&c=7&rs=1" width="123" /></a></div>
Watching Christmas movies with your family is a nice way to spend an
evening together during this time of year. I did a little internet
sleuthing and I came across this particular list that features some of
the all time Christmas Classics and some of the dumbest movies ever
made. Since being generous is a yuletide mandate, I'll be nice and just
post the list without any of my own commentary, instead relying on the
opinion of whoever reviewed them. They are all available for free
online, so unaltered, here's the list:<br />
<br />
<ul>
<li><a href="http://www.hulu.com/watch/112508/santa-claus-conquers-the-martians" target="_blank">Santa Claus Conquers the Martians</a>: Kids help Santa defeat Martians who threaten to take away Christmas. </li>
<li><a href="http://www.ustream.tv/recorded/4664572" target="_blank">The Polar Express</a>: A child finds the true meaning of Christmas. </li>
<li><a href="http://www.veoh.com/browse/videos/category/entertainment/watch/v18983443ppTrrtrC" target="_blank">Holiday Inn</a>: Irving Berlin, dancing, and music; can't get better than that. </li>
<li><a href="http://www.veoh.com/browse/videos/category/entertainment/watch/v19413634dwnGmEGR" target="_blank">Miracle on 34th Street</a>: Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus. </li>
<li><a href="http://www.veoh.com/browse/videos/category/entertainment/watch/v16470106WCFAJWrJ" target="_blank">It's a Wonderful Life</a>: One of the most classic Christmas movies of all time, with Jimmy Stewart and Donna Reed. </li>
<li><a href="http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-4329902840180603817" target="_blank">Scrooge</a>: <a href="http://erclk.about.com/?zi=5/1qJY">A Christmas Carol</a> from 1935. </li>
<li><a href="http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-8817517652455175582&ei=bhAwS8ebDIGKqAOewvjjDg&q=christmas&view=3" target="_blank">A Christmas Carol (1971, Richard Williams)</a>: The excellent 1972 animated version of the Charles Dickens classic. </li>
<li><a href="http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-5684529284016066345" target="_blank">Mystery Science Theater: "Santa Claus"</a>:
After Mike and the 'bots exchange gifts, they get to watch a movie
where Santa Claus has to outwit Satan in order to deliver gifts.</li>
<li><a href="http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=323909610753051544" target="_blank">The Star Wars Holiday Special</a>: A really awful movie about <a href="http://erclk.about.com/?zi=5">Star Wars</a> and the true meaning of Christmas.</li>
<li><a href="http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-7971053188619845663" target="_blank">Babes in Toyland</a>: Starring the comic duo of Laurel and Hardy.</li>
<li><a href="http://www.archive.org/details/GreatRupert" target="_blank">The Great Rupert</a>:
A squirrel helps a poor vaudeville family led by Jimmy Durante
Christmas by stealing cash their landlord has stashed in a wall.</li>
<li><a href="http://www.hulu.com/watch/195036/christmas-do-over" target="_blank">Christmas Do-Over</a>: Christmas only comes once a year...or does it? </li>
<li><a href="http://www.hulu.com/watch/111204/benjis-very-own-christmas-story" target="_blank">Benji's Very Own Christmas Story</a>: The dog's version of Christmas. </li>
<li><a href="http://www.hulu.com/watch/189888/the-12-dogs-of-christmas" target="_blank">The 12 Dogs of Christmas</a>: Dogs celebrate Christmas, of course.</li>
</ul>
That's a diverse list of movies, so you can watch any or all of them at your leisure. There are a few more movies on<a href="http://websearch.about.com/od/imagesearch/a/christmas-movie.htm"> this link to about.com</a> that would require some extra "egg nog" to actually sit through, so use your own discretion. :) Merry Christmas, y'all.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11397888042558311595noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1804443369783436257.post-10407065648915750902012-12-13T10:58:00.000-05:002012-12-13T11:00:10.676-05:00Christmas Across America: The True Story of St. NicholasLess than two weeks from today, we will celebrate the birth of the Son of Man. In
honor of this Holy Day, I wanted to pay tribute to a disciple of Jesus
whose name we speak on a regular basis at this time of year, but how
much do we really know about this man, a true Son of God? This wonderful
and great man was born into a wealthy family, yet with the death of his
parents, he did not use his wealth for himself to gain power and
influence, instead he became a priest and did with his fortune that
which would please and glorify God. He traveled all over the country of
his birth, helping the needy, especially children. This man, being a
priest, never married and had children of his own, but he loved them all
as if he was the father of each one, much as Jesus did.<br />
<div class="post-body entry-content" id="post-body-1205285782396816258" itemprop="description articleBody">
<br />
I found a very good story on the life of this servant of the Lord, and I
wanted to share it with you, in hopes that you'll, in turn, share it
with someone else, maybe a child. You see, this man was later canonized
as the Patron Saint of Children and Sailors (because of his concern for
ships and sailors). Without further delay, I present to you....<br />
<br />
<b>The Story of St. Nicholas</b><br />
<br />
A Christmas stocking refers to an empty sock or sock-shaped bag
that children hang on Christmas Eve in the belief that it is to be
filled with presents by Santa Claus. The gifts are generally of a
small nature, consisting generally of small toys, goodies like
candies and fruits, coins or other such items that are often
referred to as stocking stuffers or stocking fillers. The bigger
gifts are wrapped in present papers and placed near the Christmas
tree. <br />
<br />
<img align="right" alt="St Nicholas" border="0" height="227" src="http://www.theholidayspot.com/christmas/images/st_nicholas.jpg" width="175" />The tradition of Christmas <a class="kLink" href="http://www.theholidayspot.com/christmas/legend_christmas_stocking.htm#" id="KonaLink0" style="position: static;" target="undefined"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13.3333px; position: static;"><span class="kLink" style="font-size: 13.3333px; position: relative;">stockings</span></span></a>
is said to have originated from the actions of a kind noble man
named Nicholas, who was born in 280 AD, in Patara, a city of
Lycia, in Asia Minor. While still young, his wealthy parents died
in an epidemic. A true follower of Jesus Christ's principles,
Nicholas became a Christian priest and used all his riches to help
the poor, the needy, the sick, and the suffering. He
dedicated his life in the service of God and was made Bishop of
Myra at a young age. Bishop Nicholas became known throughout the
land for his kindness and generosity. A true celibate, Nicholas
never married and had no children of his own. But he loved
children greatly and often gave gifts to the kids of his hometown.
This is why, he became known as the gift giver of Myra. A rich
man, he traveled across the country helping people, giving gifts
of money and other presents. However, Nicholas always gave his
gifts late at night, so that his identity would remain a secret.
He did not like to be seen when he gave away presents, so the
children of the day were told to go to sleep quickly or he would
not come! Nicholas was eventually named the patron saint of
children and sailors (because of his concern for sailors and
ships) and came to be known as Saint Nicholas. <br />
<br />
Through the centuries many stories and legends have been told of
Saint Nicholas' life and deeds. One popular account tells us of a
poor peasant who lived happily in a small cottage in Patara, Saint
Nicholas' hometown, with his wife and three daughters. But their
happiness was short-lived when the wife suddenly died of an
illness one day, leaving the poor man and his three daughters in
despair. All the burden of household chores now fell upon the
daughters while their father trudged on with his life with a heavy
heart. <br />
<br />
When the daughters reached a marriageable age, the poor father
became even more depressed for he knew he could in no way marry
them off to good men. In those days a young woman's father had to
offer prospective <a class="kLink" href="http://www.theholidayspot.com/christmas/legend_christmas_stocking.htm#" id="KonaLink1" style="position: static;" target="undefined"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13.3333px; position: static;"><span class="kLink" style="font-size: 13.3333px; position: relative;">husbands</span></span></a>
something of value - a dowry. Without a dowry, this poor man's
daughters were unlikely to marry. The helpless father looked
around desperately for some solution while her daughters did their
own cooking, sewing and cleaning. <br />
<br />
Meanwhile, Saint Nicholas had come to know of the poor peasant and
his daughters. Knowing the financial condition of the father, the
kindly saint decided to help him. But he wanted to do this
secretly. So he went to the peasant's house one night with a bag
of gold and waited for the family to go to bed before he could
throw the bag through the open cottage window.<br />
<br />
That night, after finishing their washing for the day, the
daughters had hung their stockings by the fireplace to dry. Little
did they know that their benefactor was hiding nearby, waiting
for them to go to sleep. A little later, as they turned of the
lamps and fell asleep, St. Nicholas tiptoed to the cottage window
and peeked inside. In the light of the moon, he saw the daughters'
stockings hanging close to his reach. He carefully put in his bag
of gold in one of the stockings and went away as stealthily as he
came. <br />
<br />
When the father found the bag the next morning and opened it, he
was ecstatic. There was enough gold in the stocking to pay for the
dowry of one daughter. It seemed like a godsend to him. Who could
have sent it, he wondered. With this timely gift the father was
able to provide for his eldest daughter and saw that she got
married to a nice <a class="kLink" href="http://www.theholidayspot.com/christmas/legend_christmas_stocking.htm#" id="KonaLink2" style="position: static;" target="undefined"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13.3333px; position: static;"><span class="kLink" style="font-size: 13.3333px; position: relative;">groom</span></span></a>. <br />
<br />
On another night Saint Nicholas set off with one more bag of gold,
and threw it carefully into another stocking, so that the second
daughter was provided for. <br />
<br />
When his daughters excitedly brought the bag to their father the
following morning and opened it, he could not believe his <a class="kLink" href="http://www.theholidayspot.com/christmas/legend_christmas_stocking.htm#" id="KonaLink3" style="position: static;" target="undefined"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13.3333px; position: static;"><span class="kLink" style="font-size: 13.3333px; position: relative;">eyes</span></span></a>. With this gift the father was able to marry off his second daughter too. <br />
<br />
But by this time, the father had grown eager to discover his
mysterious benefactor, and next night he kept on the lookout.
Then, for the third time Saint Nicholas came with a bag of gold
upon his back and walked on to the window. The old lord at once
recognized his fellow townsman. He fell on his knees before the
kindly Bishop, cried out in joy and gratitude and thanked him with
all his heart. With his blessings of Saint Nicholas, the poor
father was able to see his three daughters get married. He lived a
long and happy life thereafter. <br />
<br />
And this is how the tradition of Christmas stockings is said to
have started in the European countries. It is also believed that
Santa Claus is actually an alteration of this same Saint Nicholas,
Santa standing for Saint and Claus for Nicholas.<br />
<br />
Since then children have been hanging Christmas stockings or
putting out shoes, eagerly awaiting for gifts from Santa Claus.
Originally, children simply used one of their everyday socks, but
with time special Christmas stockings were created for this
purpose. Today, Christmas stockings of a wide variety of styles
and sizes can be found in gift stores across countries. There are
also special Christmas stockings available in the market. <br />
<br />
In modern culture, Christmas stockings are also a popular homemade craft. Some families <a class="kLink" href="http://www.theholidayspot.com/christmas/legend_christmas_stocking.htm#" id="KonaLink4" style="position: static;" target="undefined"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13.3333px; position: static;"><span class="kLink" style="font-size: 13.3333px; position: relative;">design</span></span></a>
unique stockings for each family member. Many families create
their own Christmas stockings stitching the name of each family
member to the stocking so that Santa knows which stocking belongs
to which family member. <br />
<br />
In some countries, the contents of the Christmas stocking are the only gifts that a <a class="kLink" href="http://www.theholidayspot.com/christmas/legend_christmas_stocking.htm#" id="KonaLink5" style="position: static;" target="undefined"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13.3333px; position: static;"><span class="kLink" style="font-size: 13.3333px; position: relative;">child</span></span></a>
receives at Christmas from Santa Claus. Western Christmas
tradition dictates that a child who behaves badly during the year
will not get a gift in their Christmas stocking and will receive a
piece of coal instead.<br />
<br />
In many places, the Christmas stocking is to be stuffed by a gift
that will stimulate the five sensory organs. Traditional
celebrations of Christmas demand that the stocking be hung on the
fireplace mantel. However, since many contemporary homes do not
have fireplaces, stockings are hung in almost any location.<br />
<br />
Today, children all over the world continue the tradition of
hanging Christmas stockings. Kids of all nations look forward to
Christmas and when the stockings are hung, they know the most
anticipated time of the year is not far behind. <a href="http://www.theholidayspot.com/christmas/"><br /></a></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11397888042558311595noreply@blogger.com0