Saturday 6-26

This is Week 25 of 2010, Day 177 with 188 days left. It is Day 68 of the BP Mess.

Free Rambling Thoughts

I had a very interesting lunch today. One of my former bosses—Beverly, and the Business Manager—Shirlene were in town and we met at Wildflower. I hadn’t seen Beverly since two years before I retired, and hadn’t seen Shirlene since I retired. Beverly has retired, unretired, retired, and unretired. She is just finishing a 8 month job at Flag Dorm. Shirlene says she’ll retire “next year.” I couldn’t believe that Shirlene now has 5 grandkids in Phx. Beverly has three great-grandkids. Both were doing fine. They still talk ‘work’talk. We didn’t talk about work, but almost everything is about scheduling stuff around work. It’s hard to explain to those who still work, but for all you retirees, understand what I mean. I must say both piled praises on my work for the work I did with them. For all the various details I had, Shirlene must have mentioned at least four times my short detail as ELO—Superintendent—about two years before I retired. For that short time, I was her boss, but she and Beverly were both very instrumental in all my details. I must say, I was very careful about what I said about everything. Not really sure why, but it was the way of BIA. So cool that Beverly tracked me down through some emails from a mutual e-mailer. I did learn that a former Sped coordinator, Cheryl Sparks, had passed last week. She had been in the Bureau for years, and retired a few years ago. She had many health problems even back when she was working. I also learned that Kevin is retiring ‘next year.’ He was my neighbor in TC and before that I worked with him for many, many years when he was the Principal at Richfield Dorm. He began his ‘climb’ when he was in TC. Now he is a big wig and oversees all the Bureau schools west of the Mississippi except Navajo. He’s a good guy who always put students first in every decision he made. From what I could tell, he still does. Both Beverly and Shirlene were pumping for information on what I do now that I am retired. Both seem to have a little trepidation about staying busy or something. Beverly attended an indigenous conference in Malaysia a few years ago. One of her friends is indigenous from Canada so the two of them did a presentation on indigenous life in North America today. She gave me some great information for my trip. I always get more excited when talking to someone who has been where I am going. Shirlene’s husband went to summer school in Scotland—St. Andrew’s—a few years back. He liked it as much as I did. They are planning to go, when Shirlene retires.

Fire Update: We made it through another day with no new fire. Fire now at almost 15,000 acres, red-flag warning was in effect, but does not seem to have worsened the fire. Navajo Medicine Men are having a prayer service in a couple of weeks at Tusayan. I hope to be able to make it. The sacred mountain has been violated and this will be the time to put things back in harmony.

Flagstaff was a little cooler today, only 86°. I awakened to a grey sky and feared the worst. Fortunately it was rain clouds and not more smoke. We had a breeze and the 31mph gusts were scary for the fire. The firefighters expected bigger winds and seem to have been very prepared for this day. Thanks again. Our humidity hit 26% today and we had very light rain for about 2 minutes. It was the kind with tiny raindrops that do little but spot your vehicle windows. I’m not complaining, any moisture is needed and appreciated.

Holy Mackerel: On this date in 2000 ►At a press conference in London Scientists from the Sanger Centre hand over the gift of the human genome partially funded by the Wellcome Trust to the world with 85% of the code written in DNA accurately sequenced and put in its proper order

My Quote For The Day

Harold Evans (British Journalist): Propaganda is persuading people to make up their minds while withholding some of the facts from them.

Somewhat Useless Information

In England, the Speaker of the House is not allowed to speak.

Grey Matter Puzzle 1

Every nation do I know, / But so rarely do I go

Anywhere, / Sometimes people / Come and stare,

Touch me here, /And poke me there, / Spin me round,

Then leave me alone / When what they sought, / They have found.

What am I?

Unusual News Item

VICTORVILLE, CA — Two women have been arrested following a parents' brawl that interrupted a Southern California kindergarten graduation ceremony, authorities said.

School officials placed Puesta del Sol Elementary in the desert town of Victorville on lockdown Wednesday morning after a fight broke out among a group of parents.

The San Bernardino County sheriff's department says witnesses told deputies several mothers were involved in an argument and it got physical in a field near the ceremony. Several men then jumped into the fray and the incident turned into a brawl.

A deputy later arrested two people on suspicion of being a disruptive presence at a school. Witnesses said they were the main instigators. In all, 20 adults were identified in the brawl. A school district official said there could be more arrests. No injuries were reported.

Side note: This used to be the home of the Roy Rogers/Dale Evans Museum. It recently closed after moving to Branson, MO six years ago. Happy Trails, Roy and Dale.

The lyrics: Click Here!

The song: Click Here!

A Little Laff

A college teacher reminds her class of tomorrow's final exam. 'Now class, I won't tolerate any excuses for you not being here tomorrow. I might consider a nuclear attack or a serious personal injury, illness, or a death in your immediate family, but that's it, no other excuses whatsoever!' A smart-ass student in the back of the room raised his hand and asked, 'What would you say if tomorrow I said I was suffering from complete and utter sexual exhaustion?' The entire class is reduced to laughter and snickering. When silence was restored, the teacher smiled knowingly at the student, shook her head and sweetly said, 'Well, I guess you'd have to write the exam with your other hand.'

Grey Matter Puzzle 2

I fly, yet I have no wings. I cry, yet I have no eyes. Darkness follows me; lower light I never see.

My You Tube Site of the Day

The London Science Museum: Click Here!

Grey Matter Picture--This is a close up of what common object?

Left Over

Some Calendar Info

► Weekly Observances ◄

20-26: Carpenter Ant Awareness Week and National Mosquito Control Awareness Week

24-27: Watermelon Seed Spitting Week

► Today’s Observances ◄

National Chocolate Pudding Day

International Day Against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking

International Day in Support of Victims of Torture

ARRL (American Radio Relay League) Field Day—Ham Radio

Malagasy Republic & British Somaliland : Independence Day (1960)

Romania: Flag Day

Thailand: Sunthorn Phu Day (for poet born in 1736)

United Kingdom: Armed Forces Day, formerly Veterans' Day

► Hit Songs on this date ◄

I'll Be Seeing You: Bing Crosby in 1944

The Wayward Wind: Gogi Grant in 1956

A World Without Love: Peter & Gordon in 1964 Here it--Click Here!

Sundown: Gordon Lightfoot in 1974 Hear It, Click Here!

The Reflex: Duran Duran in 1984

► Born today ◄

The Arts

Pearl S Buck, 1892, author (Good Earth-Nobel 1938) , born in Hillsboro, West Virginia

Sidney (Coe) Howard, 1891, playwright: screen play: Gone with the Wind, born in Oakland, CA

Charlotte Zolotow, 95, author (The Moon Was the Best, Peter and the Pigeons), born Norfolk, VA

+++

Sean P. Hayes, 40, actor (“Will & Grace”), born Glen Ellyn, IL

Chris Isaak, 54, singer, musician, actor (“The Chris Isaak Show”), born Stockton, CA

Peter Lorre, 1904, actor (M, Casablanca, Beast with 5 Fingers) , born in Rózsahegy, Hungary

Noriyuki "Pat" Morita, 1933, Calif, actor (Happy Days, Karate Kid) , born in Isleton, California, had polio and lived in Internment camp during WWII

Chris O’Donnell, 40, actor (Scent of a Woman), born Winnetka, IL

…Athletics

Abner Doubleday, 1819, credited with inventing American baseball, born in Ballston Spa, NY

Derek Jeter, 36, baseball player, born Pequannock, NJ

Greg LeMond, 49, former cyclist, born Lakewood, CA

Babe (Mildred) Didrikson Zaharias, 1911,“The outstanding female athlete of the first half-century.” , born in Port Arthur, TX

…Business & Education

Colonel Tom Parker (Andreas van Kuijk), 1909, carnival barker, show business promoter: manager of Elvis Presley, born in Breda, Noord-Brabant,Netherlands

…Politics

Richard Neustadt, 1919, American political historian, born in Philadelphia

Violette Szabo, 1921, French WWII secret agent, born in Paris, France

…Science / Religion

Roy Plunkett, 1910, scientist: discovered polytetrafluoroethylene, better known as Teflon, born in New Carlisle, Ohio

► Obituaries today ◄

Roy Campanella, American baseball player @ 72 in 1993

Liz Claiborne, Belgian-born American fashion designer @ 78 in 2007

Strom Thurmond, U.S. Senator @ 101 in 2003

► Events ◄

…The Arts

1909 ►The Science Museum in London comes into existence as an independent entity.

…Athletics

1979 ►Muhammad Ali, one of the most famous fighters in history, retired from boxing

…Business & Education

1797 ►Charles Newbold patents 1st cast-iron plow

…Politics (US)

1827►After hearing of the false rumor of the release of 2 WINNEBAGO murder suspects to the CHIPPEWAs by whites, WINNEBAGO Chief Red Bird is ordered to fight by the tribal elders.

1919 ►1st issue of NY Daily News published

1934 ►W E B Du Bois resigns position at NAACP

1945 ►Delegates from 50 nations sign the United Nations Charter

1956 ►Congress passes the National Interstate and Defense Highways Act for the construction of 41,000 miles of Interstate Highways over a 20-year period

1975 ►Two FBI agents and a member of the American Indian Movement are killed in a shootout on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in South Dakota; Leonard Peltier is later convicted of the murders in a controversial trial.

…Politics (outside US)

1284 ►The Pied Piper exacted his revenge upon the German town of Hamelin

1848 ►1st pure food law enacted in US

1959 ►Queen Elizabeth & Pres Eisenhower open the St Lawrence Seaway

1963 ►Kennedy visits W Berlin "Ich bin ein Berliner" (I am a Berliner)

1978 ►Brittany separatists bomb Palace of Versailles in France

…Science / Religion

1900 ►Dr Walter Reed begins research that beats Yellow Fever

1990 ►The Arizona Republic reported it was 122 degrees in Phoenix, hot enough to cancel some flights at the airport

Grey Matter Answers

…1

A globe

…2

A cloud

Grey Matter Photo

wood chips

Today’s Photo Shot

Richard Garnet Millar, one of the guides in South Africa posted this picture of a dung beetle. Great Photographer.

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