Good Morning!
The weekend has arrived! 🙂
And There Are 18 Days Until Christmas.
On this day in 1787 Delaware became the first state to ratify the U.S. constitution becoming the first of the United States.
In 1796 John Adams was elected to be the second president of the United States.
In 1926 the gas operated refrigerator was patented by The Electrolux Servel Corporation.
In 1941, Pearl Harbor, located on the Hawaiian island of Oahu, was attacked by nearly 200 Japanese warplanes. The attack resulted in the U.S. entering into World War II.
And in 1972 the Apollo 17 was launched at Cape Canaveral. It was the last U.S. moon mission.
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Quote of the Day
“Christmas is a season for kindling the fire for hospitality in the hall, the genial flame of charity in the heart.”
Washington Irving
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“A Date Which Will Live in Infamy” Pearl Harbor, December 7th, 1941.
Next, “This is Christmas.”
And a favorite of mine, “Mary Did You Know?”
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Wandering Views 
Good morning everyone.
I think I told you that I was an eleven year old kid in 1941. I had gone to see “Belle Starr” at the American Theater and when I got home, we were at war.
I always thought I would be in that war because I figured Japan would never surrender.
The Bomb changed that.
Two of Elvera’s brothers were in it. As well as a Bro-in-law.
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Mornin’ Chas.
I remember thinking the same thing about Vietnam, that it would never end. But that’s because one of my older brothers told me if we lost to the Vietnamese we would become their slaves. He told me that’s how war worked. 😯
It scared the snot out of me. I was like 7 or 8 at the time. My Dad had to sit us down and set us straight on that because I’d told him I didn’t want to be a slave. He asked how I got that idea. I told him, and he yelled at my brother for it. I was relieved to hear it wasn’t true.
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Not to change the subject, but… it’s -40F or C outside right now. So thankful for a full wood room and a furnace that’s been going non-stop all night. Brrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr.
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Anything can happen in war, but it is best not to borrow troubles from another day when we don’t know what will be happening.
Question of the day, and for practical reasons I need to take a poll:
What kind of gift card do you like to receive most, especially if it is in the context of a business giving fo a client relationship?
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Gift card? Some people are selective about restaurants.
Some about department stores, but that is likely the best choice..
I get car wash cards. when I was young, I washed my cars myself.
It’s 68 degrees at Surfside.
by now, you all know the Vie t Nam War was a setup. There was no attack on the Turner Joy..
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Gift card? My own favorite is amazon, because of what they initially sold–books. I always have more on my list. Next would probably be a restaurant, any of a number of different ones. Red Lobster is a place we wouldn’t normally go, so it was nice to have one from our wedding. We like a few simple places (Applebees and the like), and a gift card is an excuse to go there (though we’re going to go out to eat a few times a year even without gift cards, just as I am going to buy books periodically even without gift cards). Wal-Mart seems too “generic,” and maybe amazon.com is as well.
When I got married, I tried and tried to think of bridesmaids gifts, but there simply wasn’t anything that would work for everyone. I ended up making bookmarks from some of the lace on my dress as a small gift, but as the main gift giving a gift card to someplace the particular person would appreciate (Barnes and Noble to my niece who helped photograph, a department store for my sister-in-law, a costly card to the nicest restaurant in town for the two friends who had spent the most time working on the wedding–one couple the man was my organist and the woman my wedding coordinator, and my matron of honor sewed my wedding dress). The one thing I learned, though, was NOT to buy a Visa gift card. I got one for my sister (they were struggling a bit financially, and so I thought it would be good to get a card they could use anywhere), and that one had a service charge of several dollars to buy it; none of the others did.
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I would think a gift card to a popular restaurant would be best. It seems more like you want the person to slow down and enjoy the gift. When I have received gift cards to stores or even the generic Visa or Amex card it has been too overwhelming for me. What do I REALLY want? Should I buy something now or wait for a sale? What if? What if? The few times I have received a card to a restaurant it was easier. BG used to love Ruby Tuesday’s Chicken Parmesan. I personally think all the food a Ruby’s tastes the same and is overpriced, but with a $25 gift card and a buy one get one coupon I could easily smile and say sure we will go to Ruby Tuesday’s.
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Any kind is fine…. But, make sure it’s one that doesn’t zap the recipient with fees like some Visa/AmEx cards do. That’s not cool. 😦
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QoD, I had a boss who would usually give us a gift card from a book store. I liked that. Then he started trying to copy his boss, (originally from New York) and began giving us wine. I’m Baptist. Hubby, the Charismatic Episcopal got the wine.
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I like wine but not as a gift unless you know what kind the other person likes. White wine would be wasted on me, because most people go with a dull, boring Chardonney and I can’t stand it.
I reached out to Middle Son’s girlfriend (through FB) to ask what he liked and she suggested a gift card to Dunkin’ Donuts because he likes their iced something or other coffee. So that makes a good stocking stuffer for him.
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I’ve given Amazon cards to people for pet sitting. When my teacher friend was out of work and they were scraping by I went with a Target gift card. Like Amazon, you can get most anything there, from fun “wants” to needed staples.
This year I was thinking of a gift card to Home Goods for her — she’s discovered a new penchant for decorating on a dime. But I found a gift for her at the craft fair that I think she’ll like, so a “real” gift I think is always better.
But restaurant cards are good — I’ve given those before, too, usually for one of our local eateries.
Kare, I think you should stay indoors today. 😮 It was 54 inside my house this morning (and raining outside). I do love my heater on mornings like this. Along with a hot cup of coffee.
There’s a Pearl Harbor ceremony on the Iowa battleship at 9 this morning (another reporter is covering). Two survivors will be there.
My uncle survived Pearl Harbor. I found this online a few years ago — his remembrance of his lost buddy (my uncle is Seaman William Hickey quoted in the piece). They were on the USS Nevada.
A number of the ships, including the Arizona, had previously been docked at our port before they were moved to Pearl Harbor.
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Forgot the link:
http://mva.sd.gov/sdwwiimemorial/SubPages/profiles/Display.asp?P=672
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My dad joined the Navy right after Pearl Harbor — he was sent to help clean up the place and later would talk about all the oil, the mess and the smell, that was everywhere. My dad then served in the Pacific on the USS Chicago cruiser, which unfortunately was scrapped some years ago.
Pearl Harbor and WWII were pivotal events in my parents’ young lives (they met and married after the war.
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Chas- I hadn’t heard about Vietnam being a setup. Some think Pearl Harbor was. Some think that FDR had all the Pacific fleet in one place to entice the Japanese. If that’s the case, he should have been tried for treason.
My dad signed up for the Navy after PH. I think he lied about his age, but he says he didn’t. He met my mom through correspondence. Several of the women from his church wrote to the servicemen, and I think he fell in love through those letters. Of course, he was supposed to marry a cousin from Puerto Rico so she could come to the US. Since he didn’t, there was animosity in the family for decades afterwards.
As for gift cards, I prefer something like Amazon, since Mrs. L isn’t too crazy about eating out.
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Thanks for the gift card ideas. We are doing something different this year so your comments have been very helpful. Husband was thinking Target cards but co-worker frowned and said restaurant card. You have all given good ideas. You have given the idea that since he does taxes he knows specific needs so we can cater accordingly.
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Gift cards: I have everything. Though, for this family, a gift card to Costco is always appreciated. We go through some food. Which reminds me, the fourteen year old boy turns fifteen today. Pearl Harbor Day. One seventeen, four sixteen, and two fifteen, and the others.
Husband is off today with two of them. The one who wrote an essay for the VFW scholarship contest is in districts and they wanted her to represent them. She hopes to go to Dartmouth. I told her she needs to get on it if she is. She will need a lot of scholarships, but I understand, if one is accepted, the scholarships are there for needy people. That is anybody with less than one hundred thousand a year. Unbelievable.
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Peter:
Vice Admiral James Stockdale was the President and one of my professors at the Naval War College. He was a POW in VietNam. He and his wife wrote a book called In Love and War about his imprisonment and her efforts for the prisoners. Those with ideas on torture should read it.
Anyhow. Stockdale was one of the pilots who responded when the “attack” on the Turner Joy.
He went up, gung ho, to get those guys.
BUT HE COULDN’T FIND AN ENEMY!
There was no one to shoot at. With all the commotion, the Turner Joy was not being attacked. That’s all I know. I’m the one who said it was a setup. I supported the war while it was going on. But it was all wrong. The military didn’t lose the war. Our troops won every encounter with the enemy.
Every one. The war was lost in Washington and the newsrooms across America.
The biggest culprit was Robert McNamara who tried to manage the war rather than fight it.
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I have a book about the Vietnam War called The War Managers. It has been so long ago that I’ve forgotten what’s in it. But, I’m sure it says McNamara was the wrong man at the wrong place at the wrong time. Robbie was a quiz kid and was too smart for that job.
I have heard theories that Roosevelt knew about Pearl Harbor. It was a strange coincidence that all the battleships were in harbor, but the carriers were at sea.
Like the question of whether Oswald worked alone, no one will ever know. We do know that Roosevelt wanted us in the war. He especially wanted to help Churchill.
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Pearl Harbor was the day before my Mom’s 15th birthday. She was in Fulton for a family funeral, and went out to a movie with her cousin. She had a crush on him and tried to, or did, hold hands during the movie. (I always found that a little wierd, but I think there were a couple of removes in there.) They found out the next day. Mom’s gone three years and I alway miss her on her birthday, and always remember that story.
Funny thing, though, is that I don’t recall what my Dad’s story of what he was doing Pearl Harbor day was. Don’t think he ever actually told me.
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I read In Love and War , among several other books on POW’s. I was on a tour once, where the bus driver was one of the men who were in the Hanoi Hilton for many years. So sad what happened to those who were left behind at the end of that war, too. I am so glad we have a Righteous Judge who will set all things right.
I like all restaurant gift cards and will give them also. It is so nice to go out and not have to think about the cost. We recently received one for Olive Garden, but was also good at Red Lobster, which is where we used it. Many of the restaurant cards are good at several places, if they are owned by the same corporation.
I will sometimes give a gift card to a restaurant that is a little too pricey for the recipient. This is to a person who enjoys that, but doesn’t do it, because it would break the budget. I have never had anyone stung on this, either, but I do know it happens. We had a friend who bought a restaurant and had several people who wanted to redeem gift cards from the previous owner. Since it was a completely new restaurant, the cards were really no good.
I had the same thing happen with gift cards I purchased at a charity auction for a quilt shop. The shop was quite a distance away, so I didn’t use the cards for a few months. By then the shop was moved and taken over by someone else. I did not get the value of my cards, but the new owner did let me buy fabric for the amount I actually spent. It was a big disappointment, but a good lesson on the value of gift cards.
Amazon cards are good for those who actually do go online. Bookstore cards seem good to me, too, but you would have to know someone would like that. Same with movie passes etc. Otherwise a department store seems more practical.
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An advantage to Amazon cards is that they never expire. Other cards do, but there if there is anything on the card telling you how long you have to use it, it is in the fine print on the back of the card that no one reads.
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Peter, some cards list an expiration date but the merchant treats it as “no expiration date.” We used an expensive gift card that we got for our wedding (but got a couple months after the wedding) for our first anniversary. We didn’t use it all up, and we asked about the expiration date (supposed to be one year), and asked if they really did have an expiration date, could they confirm what date the card was bought? They said they don’t have an expiration date. That better be true, since we still have twenty-some dollars on it. 🙂 (Enough for lunch, not dinner; but we ended up going out of town for our second anniversary, so we didn’t use it then.)
Years ago I spent a lot of money on a gift certificate for a friend ($50 or $100), and weeks after her birthday she hadn’t said anything about receiving the card. (It was supposed to be mailed to her along with a copy of the catalog.) It turned out she had thrown it away! She thought it was some promotion, and she looked through the catalog and then threw it all away. It was still in her trash can, so she retrieved it. Over the next year, she kept telling me, “I haven’t figured out what to buy. I’ve been enjoying looking through their catalog, but there are several things I like.” About time for her next birthday it occurred to me that she might not have spent it yet, and it might expire, and I’d have wasted a lot of money! So I asked her if she had used it yet, and she hadn’t, and it had been a year. She called the company and they said yeah, it says it expires in a year, but they continue to honor it. So she went ahead and bought something . . . and I never bought her another gift card! (The store was one that had a lot of things that “looked like her,” so it seemed like a really good choice for her, but I wanted her to make her own decision as to what to buy, whether jewelry or clothes or something else.)
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I guess that’s WAR EAGLE
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What’s a WAR EAGLE? And should I be afraid?
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Kim, I had some nice ribbon for the bow you suggested for our Sunday School tree. It worked out great and everyone loved it. They did not choose to put the stars or angel with it yet. Maybe next week. I bought the wire from the hardware store to bend into the shape of the name, Jesus. Then we painted tacky glue on the wire and dipped it in glitter to make ornaments. They look really neat in case anyone needs a craft idea.
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Janice, I think that I need a picture of that. Perhaps I will buy the wire when I am home for next year.
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Janice and Jo are you on Facebook?
Janice I am glad I could help out and give you a suggestion. I think I still like the idea of running the ribbons down the tree and having a star with each child’s name on it.
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Kim, that is a wonderful and beautiful idea. I was limited by the amount of ribbon I had (only enough for two runners off the sides od the bow) and the tree is petite so there is not room for that many strands running off the bow.
Jo, the main idea was in the Lifeway Gospel Project curriculum. I often expand on the craft ideas of others so I added the glue and glitter and.made it into an ornament. I also considered maming them into necklaces to wear or give. You may be able to use paper clip wire to make individual letters to glue together for the project. The other tacher did Jesus’ name with a cross at the end of it. I really liked that.
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Sorry about typos Maming? No, making!
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Kim, yes I’m on facebook and check it all day long for my kids posts! 🙂
off to school this Monday morning.
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I have never wanted to be on Facebook. At some point I may have to, but it has not appealed to me. Somehow it has seemed rather superficial. I just read an article in Covenant Colleve’s magazine “View” and someone listed three different birthday dates on their profile over the span of a month as an experiment.. On July 11 he got 119 birthday wishes. On July 25 he got 105 greetingz, and on July 28 he got 71 wishes for his birthday. Pretty good experiment. I underztand why some people like Facebook, but for me at this time negatives outweigh positives.
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Jo, if you are friends with others on here on FB you can find me. My name is spelled like the town in South Africa, with an extra “e”
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Janice, it never appealed to me either. Three years ago I went on it for a few months for family reasons; my then-suitor (now husband) was shocked to find me on there, since it didn’t seem like “my thing.” (It isn’t his, either. He doesn’t even have a photo, nor does he post. He’s mostly on there as a way to keep up with family stuff, if someone tells him, “We’ll be updating on Facebook” and that sort of thing.) Well, after my family reasons were no longer current, and when I was heading toward marriage (and just didn’t want people making posts that would make it obvious when I was getting married and my house would be vacant), I shut it down.
I appreciated the ability to see photos of family and friends, particularly such photos as my nephew’s engagement photos and a different nephew’s young daughter. I learned a few things about one nephew I hadn’t known very well (some really good things, some common interests) and learned more than I wanted about lifestyle choices about a young woman dear to me. But ultimately (1) I didn’t want to be Facebook friends with anyone but a really select group (family, very close friends, and people from my church) and I got repeated requests from others; (2) I didn’t want to waste time being on Facebook, but I found myself in “loops” of checking Facebook, then checking on here, and then checking e-mail, repeat; and (3) I had way too many concerns about privacy issues to be comfortable being on there. (I didn’t post my birthday and posted few photos, but people would wish me a happy trip when I go to California next week and Facebook simply knew more about who my life connections were than I wanted, and I heard about some identity thefts facilitated by Facebook.) Basically I made a choice between World and Facebook, and World won. Some aspects of Facebook appeal to me, but the negatives outweighed the positives for me.
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I think I have seen the downside of Facebook the few times I have been around those who use it. What I have seen is an ex-wife using it to track what her ex-husband does each ay and prolong her pain and bitterness. I have seen friends looking up every acquaintance they knew at school to see what they are doing rather than having in depth conversation with people in the room who have traveled a distance to visit. I juzt don’t have that big of a scope for curiozity. I know someone who keeps up with all the celebrities but has no time for God. She does not do Facebook, but I think what I have seen of Facebook puts it on that level. I do think it is good for someone who uses it like Jo does. None of my close family is on Facebook so I do not have that as a factor in my decision.
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Facebook was fun when you could catch up with old friends and family, then it took over and became something you HAD to HAVE to market yourself in business. I have to filter everything I post.
It’s part of my job now.
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I have definitely found Facebook a great way to keep in touch with my kids. We moved away from our close friends and our kids in 2007 after 17 years in one church. We ended up in a town with only 137 people and no other Christians that we ever knew of. Facebook at that time was a literal life saver for me, as it was a very dark time in my life, having to leave all my friends behind.
It has also been interesting and fun watching my kids getting to know their cousins over FB. They have only met some of them a few, very short, times. When my son was seriously ill and in hospital and his cell phone had died, one of his friends sent me a message on FB to let me know what was happening. I friended her and she kept me updated everyday. I was very grateful for that. I’m still friends with her and have had dinner with her a few times when we’ve been out to visit.
I do find that I ‘waste’ quite a bit of time on FB, but it has been a great way to stay in touch and reconnect with old friends. Hubby and I both have separate accounts, but we each know each other’s passwords and I often go on his as he as a different set of friends he’s connected with through the Christian Game warden support group he is a member of.
We also never post anything that we would worry about anyone else seeing.
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Janice, I have several nieces and nephews on Facebook, and if anything had kept me on, it would have been that. I really did feel like I had a “window” into their world, and that was valuable. It was also fun to post photos periodically. In a perfect world, I would have stayed on, but it just didn’t feel right to do so.
When my husband and I were courting, we once took a picnic to a nearby park. I hadn’t posted any photos of him yet, and though he was a Facebook “friend,” his name came up with one of those blank outlines. So I posted a photo of the two of us on a picnic and also a photo of a squirrel to which we had fed nuts on our picnic. To my amusement, my friends kept “liking” the squirrel, but not the photo of us. I think they kinda didn’t know what to do with a photo including him. 🙂 I e-mailed him and asked if he’d seen my Facebook page, and he said something like, “Yes, I see new pictures, a squirrel who’s crazy about nuts and a man who’s nuts about you.” I e-mailed back, “Did you notice more of my friends ‘liked’ the squirrel than the photo of you?” He e-mailed back, “Actually we’re tied.” (They hadn’t been earlier) and “I have too much dignity to break the tie myself.” But it was really kind of funny–all these people who were so excited about our courtship but were too shy to hit “like” when I posted a photo of us. (I went through and deleted all my photos before I shut down Facebook. It seemed wise.)
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That is funny, Cheryl.
Kim, I do see how people feel forced by their businesses to join Facebook. It seems to be especially like that in the publishing industry. We have not needed it in the income tax business and perhaps it’s wise not to be on there for privacy issues.
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Late to the party here. Quite the variety of topics on this thread!
It was 12 days before my dad turned 12 when Pearl Harbor was bombed. Little did he know that his 16-year-old brother, his only sibling, would later die in that war, without ever seeing combat. I think my dad said his brother, a Navy man, sailed out of Roanoke (or someplace in Virginia) in September 1944. When his ship was in the Caribbean (headed toward the Panama Canal, my dad believes), a hurricane struck. His brother survived the hurricane, but was languishing at sea with the other survivors, on life boats, for I’m not sure how many days. My uncle died of exposure about six hours before the survivors were rescued.
Those rescued spoke of men hanging on to the life boats and just becoming too weak to hang on anymore. They’d lose their grip, slip into the sea, and that would be their burial ground. My dad always gets emotional talking about that, and having his brother buried at sea.
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Kare, that is COLD!! It’s been chilly here this week, but whenever I step outside and think how awfully cold it feels, I think of you and realize it’s probably much colder where you are! I can convince myself then that it’s not as bad as it could be. 🙂
Facebook: Not on it, and no desire or need to be on it, so I don’t bother. My husband isn’t on it, either, but our adult children are.
Second Arrow called here tonight and had all sorts of tales to tell about her weekend at work. A bat flying overhead that kept swooping down at her. 🙂 Every time, she’d scream and duck under a register at the retail store where she works. Customers were laughing at her; her screams could be heard across the store, LOL!
Then there was the guy who called the store and said he’d left his purse there (yes, you read that right; a guy and a purse) and warned, “DON’T OPEN IT UP — there are drugs in there! I’m mentally unbalanced!!”
And there was a flooded bathroom…
And a woman in my daughter’s check-out line who started having a diabetic emergency. Fortunately, there was also a doctor in the same line.
That’s just two days at work. The exciting life of a 20-year-old. 🙂
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yes, I’m on facebook a lot. That’s where my kids are and pictures of my grandkids. I am careful about what I post and who I am on facebook. I am a missionary and I don’t post anything political at all. My strong opinions are left to my friends.
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6 Arrows, that sounds like way too much adventure for a single weekend!
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Cheryl, if there’s adventure and excitement, it always seems to find 2nd Arrow! And she loves every minute of it, even if she’s screaming her head off — that would be screaming and laughing at the same time, like with that bat.
She is able, however, to think well on her feet when something serious, like the diabetic crisis with that customer this weekend, crops up. When she was still living at home and was I think 17 years old, she was driving home from work at the pet clinic where she was employed, when she came across an accident scene where a motorcyclist had lost control, and he and his passenger were in a ditch, injured. A motorist who had witnessed the accident was on his phone, calling 911, when my daughter got there. She went to render aid to the two injured people and heard the guy on the phone say, “Oh, here comes a nurse!” (She was wearing her scrubs, looks older than she is, and confidently assessed the situation and began assisting the one with the worse injuries, so he mistook her for a medical professional.)
When the caller got off the phone, he told my daughter he was late to wherever he was going, so he (the only witness to the accident) left her there to tend to the two injured people alone, and answer the questions emergency personnel, when they arrived, had about the accident , which she didn’t even see! Fortunately, the two in the accident didn’t lose consciousness, so they could provide details my daughter didn’t know.
But anyway…she thrives on stuff like that! Never a dull moment with her. And if there isn’t anything going on, she makes things happen. 🙂
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