Great Video

I just saw a great video, “I’m a Born Again American” and wanted to share it.

Today is Inauguration Day, 2009

Today is Inauguration Day, 2009, and as I watched the comings, goings, and finally the Oath of Office on television, I was struck by one unarguable fact:

Today’s ceremonies showed, once again, that the United States is among the few countries on Earth which regularly changes its leaders peacefully and as a matter of course, according to its laws.

Whether you voted for the new President or not (and I did not), I hope you will do as I have done: wish him well and pray for Godly leadership for him and for guidance in his tenure in the White House, and most of all, pray for our beloved Nation.

May God bless us all and may God bless our Nation.

Phone call from granddaughter, “Re”

I haven’t been here in quite awhile, not since our kitty, Maggie May, died on December 12, 2008.  That is FAR too long! In 2009, I am going to post more often.

I got a cool telephone call last night, just before midnight.  My oldest granddaughter, Marie “Re” Lianne called me out of the blue!  We talked for about 45 minutes, just catching up on “stuff.” It was great hearing from her. You can check out her Weblog in the Links section on the right.  She’s a freshman at George Mason University and a terrific young woman! I’m very proud of her, as I am all of my grandchildren.

Thanks, Re, for the call. Phone me anytime!

Our Kitty Died Today

Our youngest cat, Maggie May, a six and a half year old solid black longhair, died in our arms today. She had cancer.

We had known for several months that the end was coming. She began losing weight in April and the Vet performed every test known to veternary medicine on her, eliminating all the likely culprits like feline AIDS and feline leukemia. He finally diagnosed her with either stomach or intestinal cancer. He said he could do nothing more than open her up and do an exploratory surgery, but that would only confirm his diagnosis, not cure her and it would be horrendous on her. We chose not to put her through that.

She was with us to the end, but earlier this week it was evident the end was near. My wife, Jannie, and I dug a small grave in our front yard for her. Yesterday, she became incontinent and could no longer stand up on her own. She just lay in Jannie’s arms and looked up at her, staring at her with those big green eyes of hers, telling Jannie it was alright to let her go.

We took her to the Vet and he confirmed that she was unresponsive to stimuli and severely anemic and it was “past her time to go.”  He gave her a sedative and then an euthanasia shot and we held her as she slipped from this life into the arms of our loving Lord.

Do pets go to heaven?  I certainly hope so. We have hopes of holding her and chasing after her once again in heaven one day.

But today we are saddened. We have lost our dear Maggie May, and even though we still have two older cats: LilyPoo and Chloe, we will miss our little Maggie May.

May God bless everyone who has ever lost a pet.

Wounded Warrior Project

From a shipmate:

Wounded Warrior Project

Surface Navy Association

GreaterWashington Chapter

For the past two years, the Greater Washington Chapter of the Surface Navy Association has conducted a campaign to assist our wounded shipmates recovering at the National Naval Medical Center in Bethesda, MD.  We collected more than 800 DVDs for the Sailors and Marines to enjoy during their recuperation.  The following year we collected funds and donated 155 portable DVD players.

This year we want to do something very meaningful for those of our shipmates limited in their ability to get out and around the Washington area during their convalescence.  We have determined that Operation Second Chance provides many valuable services to military men and women, and would greatly benefit from a conversion van equipped to transport wheelchair patients in and around the D.C. area to attend sporting events, concerts, and otherwise get out and about.

This is an expensive proposition, but very important for those men and women who are virtually stuck in the hospital.  We have carefully looked at Operation Second Chance and are very impressed with the organization and the services it provides.

Therefore, SNA GWC is seeking to help OSC raise $30,000 to purchase a conversion van modified by Adaptive Mobility Systems, Inc. (AMS Vans).  If interested in making a donation, please commence your contribution at the SNA website:

https://www.navysna.org/Events/OperationSecondChance.asp

After completing the SNA form, you will be directed to the OSC website fundraising page for donations.  (When prompted “How did your hear about OSC?” click on Surface Navy Association.)  Your donation will be made directly to OSC, but we want to track our progress so we can follow our progress to attaining our $30,000 goal.

Our goal is to help OSC raise the $30,000 by December 15th.  If we exceed the $30,000, the additional funds will be available to OSC for insurance, registration, maintenance and operating costs for the van.

Please share this appeal with others who share our concern for those shipmates who had made a very great sacrifice in service to their nation and security and freedom everywhere.

For information about SNA, visit  www.navysna.org

For information about OSC, visit http://www.operationsecondchance.org/About.htm

‘King of Voiceovers’ Don LaFontaine Dies at 68

Don LaFontaine

LOS ANGELES — AP:  Don LaFontaine, the man who popularized the catch phrase “In a world where…” and lent his voice to thousands of movie trailers, has died. He was 68.

LaFontaine died Monday at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center from complications in the treatment of an ongoing illness, said Vanessa Gilbert, his agent.

LaFontaine made more than 5,000 trailers in his 33-year career while working for the top studios and television networks.

In a rare on-screen appearance in 2006, he parodied himself on a series of national television commercials for a car insurance company where he played himself telling a customer, “In a world where both of our cars were totally under water…”

In an interview last year, LaFontaine explained the strategy behind the phrase.

“We have to very rapidly establish the world we are transporting them to,” he said of his viewers. “That’s very easily done by saying, `In a world where … violence rules.’ `In a world where … men are slaves and women are the conquerors.’ You very rapidly set the scene.”

LaFontaine insisted he never cared that no one knew his name or his face, though everyone knew his voice.

LaFontaine went on to work in the promo industry in the early 1960s. As an audio engineer, he produced radio spots for movies with producer Floyd Peterson.

When an announcer didn’t show up for a recording session in 1965, LaFontaine voiced his first narration, a promo for the film, “Gunfighters of Casa Grande.” The client, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, liked his performance.

LaFontaine remained active until recently, averaging seven to 10 voiceover sessions a day. He worked from a home studio his wife nicknamed “The Hole,” where his fax machine delivered scripts.

LaFontaine is survived by his wife, the singer and actress Nita Whitaker, and three daughters.

His funeral arrangements were pending.

It Happened On This Date (More or Less)

August 15

1845 – U.S. Naval Academy established at Annapolis, MD on former
site of Fort Severn,

1895 – Commissioning of Texas, the first American steel-hulled
battleship. Texas served off Cuba during the
Spanish-American War and took part in the naval battle of
Santiago. Under the name of San Marcos, she was sunk in
weapon effects tests in Chesapeake Bay in 1911. Her hulk
continued in use as a gunnery target through World War II.

1908 – First Navy post offices established in Navy ships.

1944 – Operation Dragoon, Allied invasion of Southern France.

1953 – First naval officer appointed Chairman, Joints Chiefs of Staff,
Admiral William Radford. He served from 15 August 1953
until 15 August 1957.

1958 – USS Lexington (CVA-16) arrives in vicinity of Taiwan.

It Happened On This Date (More or Less)

August 12

1812 – USS Constitution captures and destroys brig Adeona.

1918 – SECNAV approves acceptance of women as yeoman (F) in
U.S. Navy.

1942 – USS Cleveland (CL-55) demonstrates effectiveness of radio-proximity fuze (VT-fuze) against aircraft by successfullydestroying 3 drones with proximity bursts fired by her five inch guns.

1944 – LT Joseph P. Kennedy, Jr., USNR, the older brother of
John F. Kennedy, was killed with his co-pilot in a mid-air
explosion after taking off from England in a PB4Y from
Special Attack Unit One (SAU-1). Following manual takeoff,
they were supposed to parachute out over the English Channel
while the radio-controlled explosive filled drone proceeded to
attack a German V-2 missile-launching site. Possible causes
include faulty wiring or FM signals from a nearby transmitter.

1957 – In first test of Automatic Carrier Landing System, LCDR Don
Walker is landed on USS Antietam.

1958 – USS Nautilus (SSN-571) arrives Portland, England completing
first submerged under ice cruise from Pacific to Atlantic
Oceans.

Test Post

This is a test post from hbauldjr.

Old Age Can Creep Up On You

Frequently, when I look in the mirror, I wonder “Who is that old man and why is he staring at me so hard?”

That “old man,” of course, is me. When did I get old?

Was it at the age of 32 when, while packing to move to New York and kneeling down to retrieve a toy from one of my young sons’ bed that I felt my very first tinge of arthritis? Was it when I realized I had more gray in my beard than black? Was it when I found I could not dance without my ankles “freezing up” on me? Maybe it was all of these and more.

At any rate, I think I am now officially “old!” It seems a week does not go by that I don’t have an older relative or friend who dies. When your older relatives die frequently, you are getting “up there” too.

I remember when I was about 10 years old, wondering when I would be “old” and how would I know it. I decided, capriciously, I now realize, that I would be “old” when a current comedian I admired died. I figured he was older enough than me that when he died, I would be “up there” too. That comedian was Bob Hope.

Bob Hope died several years ago. I guess that is when I remembered my decision at age 10 and knew I was then “old.”

Yesterday, we went to the funeral of a dear friend’s mother. This friend is in his late 50s. He still had both his mom and dad living until earlier this week when death from cancer took his mother, Lula Mae. Standing at the funeral yesterday, I realized that one day, my children would be in the same place as Bill, mourning the passing of a parent. It’s just the nature of things.

When did Old Age creep up on me? It snuck in the back door at night when I was sleeping, dreaming of the future, oblivious of the present that was too quickly passing me by.