24 Days until Christmas
Flagstaff Weather:
The art of being wise is the art of knowing what to overlook.
FREE RAMBLING THOUGHTS
Finally a nice day. I ran some errands this morning and it was actually nice outside. I was glad to see that as my errands required walking outside several times. Unfortunately I was not the only person who decided to hit a few stores today. Parking lots were fairly full and people seemed to be buying so that is good for the merchants. I haven’t gone shopping in Phoenix for several years and am hoping I don’t have to this year. I think it is a little too far to do a round trip in one day. I did it a lot when I was younger, but always spent the night. All the shopping malls are spread all around town and Phoenix is not known for its easy traffic routes. Driving is easy, except during rush hour.
I talked to Bob this afternoon. We are still set to go to Hadrian’s Wall sometime this spring. He is not a travel agent and has talked to a bunch of people into showing interest in the trip. I think things will change when he finally gets down to asking for money. I learned a long time ago that many people are all excited about going somewhere until they have to open their wallets. They never say they can’t afford the trip, but have some other reason. When I did trips for the Boarding School we had to get paperwork in five months before the trip. More than once I had a chaperone come in a few weeks before the trip and say they couldn’t go because that is the week that their auntie is having her toenails clipped that week and she was the only one who could take her to the appointment and care for her after the procedure. I got the close family thing and decided early that I didn’t want a chaperone on the trip who didn’t want to be there. So it became a battle with the Bureau to cancel one travel authorization—that was the easy part. Getting a new travel authorization was always the problem. The Bureau always had very strict rules and lots of questions to answer. Why did the person cancel? Why didn’t you know this any sooner? For the new person, explain, in detail, why this is being presented outside the established Bureau timeframe deadlines. What other alternatives have you tried so that you can stay within the guidelines? How will you prevent working outside the Bureau guidelines in the future? And on and on. I always played the game, got on my best ‘I am so unworthy, but it isn‘t about me, it is about the trip for the students’ face and always found someone who would help. Usually there was a payback involved. Don’t freak out, not a money payback, but a favor for them. Usually a promise that I would never do it again. I always made sure that those who helped got a card and picture from the students that thanked them for going above and beyond so they could have their trip. If I had a similar situation, I tried really hard to find another person to work with. It worked for me. Bob is not dealing with a bureaucracy and while the trip will be the more the merrier, a smaller number will work also. The last count was about 15, but we can certainly do it with 2.
I also talked to Ellie today. There is a trip to Tanzania and Kenya for the migration coming up and it will be Hamdy’s last trip. He is retiring, or so he says. He is such a worker; I doubt he will be ‘retired’ for very long. I know that he had a great business going before 9-11 and was actually turning down tours to Africa and the Middle East. The world changed for him on 9-11, He is Egyptian with dual citizenship. He lives the Muslim life as best he can in the US. He doesn’t hid the fact that his is Muslim, but I know he doesn’t try to convert people…after all, his wife is Jewish and both practice their religion. His business fell off a cliff when his American travelers were no longer interested in working with a Muslim travel agency. Many of his ‘friends’, both business and personal, suddenly didn’t trust him anymore. He, like all Americans, was horrified by the events of 9-11. No matter what he said or did, the trust was gone. A sad commentary on a portion of the American population. I suggested that part of the issue was also the American economy. He agreed that everyone in the travel business suffered when the stock market tanked. Anyway, it will be great to see the migration. I may even take the balloon ride over the herds.
HOLY MACKEREL:1927 1st Model A Fords sold, for $385 ($4715.64 in 2010)
∞ JEOPARDY PUZZLE—(SuperJeopardy Answers) from 1990 U.S. STATES
►Most say its name is Papago Indian for “little spring”, others say it's Spanish for “arid zone”
►The bald cypress, which grows in the swamps & bayous, is this state's official tree
►While Washington has no official state fish, these 2 states have chosen a salmon
►Mount Adams, Mount Jefferson & Mount Madison are in this New England state
►“The Peace Garden State”
SOMEWHAT USELESS INFORMATION—
The germs on your fingers double after using the toilet, but 50 percent of men and 25 percent of women do not wash their hands afterward.
***
Washing your hands after you go to the bathroom can reduce the spread of diarrheal diseases by almost half.
UNUSUAL NEWS ITEM
FLORENCE, AZ - A Pinal County Sheriff's deputy who was shot in the southern Arizona desert in April has been placed on paid administrative leave pending an investigation into comments he allegedly made to a Valley news reporter. His attack was national news for days.
Phoenix New Times reporter Paul Rubin interviewed Deputy Louie Puroll for an article published November 25th , which contained statements from Puroll regarding meetings he has had with known Mexican drug cartel operatives. The deputy reportedly told Rubin the operatives "have approached him four or five times over the years wanting to do business."
The article also cites comments from Puroll regarding other shooting incidents he has been involved in that would make the April 30 shootout in the desert "seem like eating lunch at the Dairy Queen."
Earlier this year, Puroll told investigators he was following a group of smugglers carrying bales of marijuana on April 30 when he was ambushed by men firing AK-47 rifles. In what Puroll described as a running gunbattle, he said he was grazed by a bullet in the back. Investigators never found any suspects, raising doubts about Puroll's account of the shooting.
In an initial New Times article published in September , Rubin cited forensic experts who claimed Puroll's story "doesn't add up," and referred to the deputy as "Pinalcchio."
According to a PCSO spokesman, in his November interview with Rubin, Puroll allegedly referenced the previous article, stating a rancher friend offered to murder the journalist over the piece.
"Now that that's off (referring to a tape recorder used by Mr. Rubin), let me tell you something. You're lucky to be alive right now," Puroll allegedly told Rubin.
The investigation into Puroll's alleged comments will be handled by the Pinal County Sheriff's Office Professional Standards Unit.
"If the statements reported in the article written by Mr. Rubin are in fact proven accurate, the conduct of Deputy Puroll is not consistent with Pinal County Sheriff's Office policies nor do I approve of the way in which he represented our sworn profession," Pinal County Sheriff Paul Babeu said.
A LITTLE LAUGH
Helping me sort clothes into "save" and "give away" piles, my six-year-old daughter came across a garter belt. "What's this?" she asked.
"It's a garter belt," I said. Seeing that meant nothing to her, I added, "It's for holding up stockings."
"Ah," she said, carefully placing it in the "save" pile, "we'll use it next Christmas Eve."
FOUND ON ‘YOU TUBE’
∞ UP CLOSE PICTURE
This is a close up of what object?
CALENDAR INFORMATION
♦ Weekly Observances ♦
1-7: Cookie Cutter Week ¤ Tolerance Week ¤ Recipe Greetings For The Holidays Week
1-9: Chanukah (Hanukkah)
♦ Today’s Observances ♦
National Fritters Day
International Day for the Abolition of Slavery Day
Special Education Day
Americas: Pan American Health Day
Cuba: Landing of Granma Expeditionaries (Castro arrives)
Laos: National Day (King Savang Vatthana abdicates 1975)
United Arab Emirates: Independence Day (1971 from UK) [UAE=Abu dhabi, Dubai, Sharjah, Ajman, Umm al-Wuwain, Ras al-Khaimah and Fujarirah]
♫ One Hit Wonders—1967 ♫
Click on Song Title to see and hear the original
♦Today’s Births♦
ARTS
T. Coraghessan Boyle, 62, author (Riven Rock, The Tortilla Curtain)
1923 Maria M Callas, soprano (Carmen, Mademoiselle Award-1953)
1869 Jonas Cohn, German/English philosopher (Theory of the Dialects)
1885 Níkos Kazantazakís, Greek writer (Zorba, Last Temptation of Christ)
1859 Georges Seurat, French painter: Sunday Afternoon on the Island of Grand Jatte
ATHLETICS
Randy Gardner, 52, former figure skater, choreographer
Brian Habib, 46, NFL guard (Denver Broncos-Superbowl 32)
Monica Seles, 37, tennis player
Britney Spears, 29, singer
***
Dan Butler, 56, actor (Bulldog on “Frasier”)
Cathy Lee Crosby, 62, actress (“That’s Incredible,” Coach)
1922 Leo V Gordon, actor (Circus Boy, Enos, Winds of War)
Julie Harris, 85, actress (stage: winner of six Tony Awards; television: three Emmys
Lucy Liu, 43, actress (Lucky Number Slevin, Charlie’s Angels, “Ally McBeal”)
1914 Ray Walston, actor (South Pacific, My Favorite Martian, Damn Yankees)
BUSINESS & EDUCATION
1777 Henry Doeff, colonialist (wrote Dutch-Japanese dictionary)
1906 Peter Carl Goldmark, developed color TV & LP records
1915 Randolph Hearst, newspaper publisher
Stone Phillips, 56, anchor (“Dateline,” “20/20” )
1863 Charles Ringling, circus entrepreneur
POLITICS
1924 Alexander Haig Jr, US Secretary of State (1981-82)/general
Harry Reid, 71, US Senator (D, Nevada)
SCIENCE & RELIGION
1678 Nicolaas S Cruquius, Dutch hydraulic engineer (drained Haarlemmermeer)
1885 George Minot, physician, worked on anemia (Nobel 1934)
♦Today’s Obituaries♦
Desi Arnaz actor (Ricky Ricardo-I Love Lucy), lung cancer @ 69 in 1986
John Brown US abolitionist, hanged @ 59 in 1859
Aaron Copland composer (Fanfare for the Common Man), @ 90 in 1990
Robert Cummings actor (Love that Bob), kidney failure at 82 in 1990
Marty Feldman comedic actor (Young Frankenstein), heart attack @ 49 in 1982
Pablo Escobar Gaviria Colombian drug baron, shot @ 44 in 1993
Roxie Roker actress (Helen Willis-Jeffersons)/mother of Lenny Kravitz, breast cancer @ 66 in 1995
Marquis de Sade writer, @ 74 in 1814
Sabu Sabu actor (Jungle Book, Drums), heart attack @ 39 in 1963
Cardinal Francis Spellman archbishop of New York, @ 78 in 1967
♦Today’s Events♦
ARTS
1887 Charles Dickens' 1st public reading in US (New York NY)
1932 "Adventures of Charlie Chan" 1st heard on NBC-Blue radio network
ATHLETICS
1916 Baseballers who are injured now get full pay for duration of contract
1981 Fernando Valenzuela (Dodgers) wins National League Rookie of the Year
BUSINESS & EDUCATION
1816 1st savings bank in US opens (Philadelphia Savings Fund Society)
1901 King Camp Gillette begins selling safety razor blades
1927 1st Model A Fords sold, for $385 ($4715.64 in 2010)
1952 1st human birth televised to public (KOA-TV Denver CO)
INDIGENOUS PEOPLE
1761 No land grants for Indian lands in British territories now be made without the Crown's approval.
POLITICS (US)
1823 President James Monroe declares his "Monroe Doctrine"
1954 US Senate censures Joe McCarthy (Senator-R-WI) for "conduct that tends to bring the Senate into dishonor and disrepute"
1970 Environmental Protection Agency begins (Director: William Ruckelshaus)
POLITICS (International)
1802 English sell Suriname to Dutch
1804 Napoleon Bonaparte crowned 1st emperor of France in Paris by Pope Pius VII
1899 US & Germany agree to divide Samoa between them
1978 Chanting "Allah is great", anti-Shah protesters poured through Tehran
1979 Crowds attack US embassy at Tripoli Libya
SCIENCE & RELIGION
1697 St Paul's Cathedral opens in London
1929 1st skull of Peking man found, 50 km out of Peking at Tsjoe Koe Tien
1942 1st controlled nuclear chain reaction (Enrico Fermi-University of Chicago)
1957 1st US full-scale atomic electric power plant-power generated, Shippingport PA
1963 1st Dutch rocket launched/reaches height of 10 km
ANSWERS
∞ JEOPARDY
►Most say its name is Papago Indian for “little spring”, others say it's Spanish for “arid zone”
What is Arizona?
►The bald cypress, which grows in the swamps & bayous, is this state's official tree
What is Louisiana?
►While Washington has no official state fish, these 2 states have chosen a salmon
What is Alaska and Oregon?
►Mount Adams, Mount Jefferson & Mount Madison are in this New England state
What is New Hampshire?
►“The Peace Garden State”
What is North Dakota?
∞ PICTURE
The top of a soda bottle
╬╦╦╦╩╩╩╬
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