Sunday Dec 19


TODAY’S QUOTE—Harlan Miller
I wish we could put up some of the Christmas spirit in jars and open a jar of it every month.

FREE RAMBLING THOUGHTS
It was a wet and windy day. I was just about to get ready for my last Christmas Open House before leaving for Chicago. Luckily I checked the invite and it is on Sunday. Messed up my schedule, but was not embarrassed by ringing the doorbell a day early. In years past they have always had it on Saturday, but since the host is also celebrating his 70th birthday, they moved it to his actual birthday. That is nice. That makes two of my friends who have reached 70 in 2010 and one who made 80.

Landmark legislation today. Back in 1778 the first soldier was kicked out of the army for performing an act of sodomy. During WWII soldiers had to take a psychological review and if they were found to be homosexual they were given a ‘blue’ discharge. In 1982 the DOD issued Directive 1332 that stated that homosexuality was clearly incompatible with military service. Pres. Clinton tried to get that directive overturned. He lost. His compromise was “Don’t ask, don’t tell, don’t pursue” and later ‘don’t harass was added. All of these laws and directives were aimed at ‘engaging in homosexual activities’. Our own Senator McCain had seemed a few years ago to come out with an anti-DADT belief. He stated on many occasions that he would follow the military leader’s desires with any change in the law. It turns out this was a political ploy. The military leaders said that things would work if gays were openly in the military; McCain demanded, and got, a survey of active military on their feelings. That alone was so anti-military. Since when do the military ask the soldiers about any directive? The soldiers said it didn’t matter. McCain continued to make excuses for not voting for what the military and the American people wanted. Even today, as the vote was taken in the Senate, John was up there spouting his current belief that this would end the world as we know it, and not for the better. The majority of senators said that DADT’s days were over. Thankfully people are beginning to see the difference between the LGBT community and predators. Ignorance has been dealt a much deserved severe blow.

“You don't have to be straight to be in the military; you just have to be able to shoot straight.” Barry Goldwater. I saw this posted several times on FB today. I was never a Barry-fan. While his quote sounds profound, coming from a very conservative political figure; I have to wonder if he would have pulled a John McCain when push came to shove. I guess I’m just getting a little cynical in my old-er age.

I had to run to the grocery store this afternoon and the store wasn’t overly busy, but the mall was packed. This sure looks like a great Christmas for the merchants. Of course they are having big sales, but believe me, they are still making money. That is good for them, good for their employees, and good for the country.

HOLY MACKEREL: 1904 The Dawson City (Yukon) hockey team begins 9 day walk to get a boat to Seattle to catch a train to Ottawa to play in the Stanley Cup on January 13 1905

∞ JEOPARDY PUZZLE—(SuperJeopardy Answers) from 1990 Literature
∞This encyclopedia originated as part of the Scottish Enlightenment of the 18th century
∞The girls who were part of "The Group", by Mary McCarthy, attended this college
∞As James Jones could tell you, this completes Kipling's line from "Gentlemen-Rankers", "Damned from..."
∞Her poem "I Never Saw A Moor" didn't refer to her missing a production of "Othello"
∞Among his "Mosses From An Old Manse" is "Rappachini's Daughter"

SOMEWHAT USELESS INFORMATION—Stamps
∞Bhutan, an Asian nation in the Himalayan Mountains, issued a group of postage stamps that were actually phonograph records. These stamps, issued in 1973, had native folk songs recorded on one side and could be played on a record player.
∞Sometime before 1883 advertising for various products was printed on the back of U.S. three-cent stamps.
∞In 1693, letters were held in front of a candle to determine the postage rate. The less the light shone through, the more costly the rate. This was known as candling.

UNUSUAL NEWS ITEMS
∞In Wisconsin a postal carrier said he simply wanted to cheer up a woman on his rounds who seemed "stressed out" so he decided to deliver her mail naked.
He even told her he was going to do it. As a prank, I suppose. But whether she took him seriously or not, there was no doubting his sincerity when he showed up at her office wearing only a smile and his mail bag.
The 52-year-old was arrested for lewd and lascivious behavior several days later.

∞In Scarsdale, New York A woman named Nicola Briggs was minding her own business on the train when she noticed a man standing unusually close to her.
When she looked down she noticed he had his penis out and was trying to rub it up against her.
Instead of doing what a lot of women would do and just walk (or run) away, she called him out, loudly, and recruited the other passengers in the car to make sure he didn't leave until the police could be called.
In the ensuing minutes every single passenger with a camera phone was taking video of the dumb bastard. One of the videos which made it onto Youtube more than 800,000 hits before it was taken down. The 51-year-old Queens man, was sentenced to four months in jail for forcible touching. But the best part is that the woman was awarded a diamond necklace from the Professional Women of Westchester organization for standing up to the pervert.

A LITTLE LAUGH
We were eating at one of the trendier restaurants in town when my friend pointed to the menu and told the waitress, "I'll have the 24."
"Uh, Jim," I whispered, "that's the price, not the meal number."
"Oh," he said. "In that case give me the 12."

FOUND ON ‘YOU TUBE’
It says Top 20 Christmas Songs of All Time but is talking about pop culture—still some memories!

DAYBOOK INFORMATION
♦ THIS WEEK ♦
14-28: Halcyon Days: The seven days where there are no winter storms
16-24: Posadas:
17-23: Saturnalia
19-25: Gluten-free Baking Week
♦ TODAY IS… ♦
Oatmeal Muffin Day
Day for South-South Cooperation (since 2003) Developing Nations promoting and implementing technical cooperation
Goa: Liberation day (1961 when Nehru defeated Portuguese in Goa )
Hawaii: Princess Bernice Pauahi Bishop's Birthday (1831-last surviving heir of King Kamehameha I
♫ Academy Awards Best Original Song ♫
Click on Song Title to see and hear
Note: Never realized that this may have been the beginning of all those currently popular ‘impromptu mall happenings’
♦Today’s Births♦
ARTS
Lil’ Jimmy Dickens, 90, country singer (Grand Ole Opry)
1885 F S Flint translator/poet (imagist movement)
1901 Oliver [Hazard Perry] La Farge anthropologist/novelist (Laughing Boy)
1940 - Phil Ochs folk singer, songwriter
1944 - Zal Yanovsky musician: guitar, singer: group: The Lovin’ Spoonful: Do You Believe in Magic
► ◄ Actors
Jennifer Beals, 47, actress (“The L Word,” Flashdance)
Jake Gyllenhaal, 30, actor (Brokeback Mountain, Jarhead, Donnie Darko)
Alyssa Milano, 38, actress (“Charmed,” “Melrose Place”)
Tim Reid, 66, actor (“Frank’s Place,” “WKRP in Cincinnati”)
Cicely Tyson, 71, actress (Emmy for The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman; Sounder)
1946 Robert Urich actor: Spenser: for Hire
ATHLETICS
Kevin Edward McHale, 53, Hall of Fame basketball (Celtics)
1961 Reggie White football: Green Bay Packers DE
BUSINESS & EDUCATION
1849 Henry Clay Frick built world's largest coke & steel operation
1894 Yoshida Isoya architect (modern sukiya style)
1836 Maria L Sanford pioneer educator (PTA)
1920 David Susskind TV host (Open End, David Susskind Show)
POLITICS
1906 Leonid Ilyich Brezhnev 1st Secretary of the Community Party/President of the USSR (1964-82)
1926 Jeanne Kirkpatrick US ambassador to UN
SCIENCE & RELIGION
Richard E. Leakey, 66, anthropologist
♦Today’s Obituaries♦
Alois Alzheimer German neurologist (first described Alzheimer's Disease), heart failure @ 51 in 1915
Michael Clarke drummer (Byrds), liver failure @ 49 in 1993
Mel Fisher underwater treasure hunter / film maker, bladder cancer @ 76 in 1998
Masaru Ibuka co-founder (Sony Corp), @ 89 in 1997
Marcello Vincenzo Domenico Mastroianni actor (8½, Assassin, Family Diary), pancreatic canter @ 72 in 1996
Raymond Massey actor (Dr Gillespie-Dr Kildaire), @ 87 in 1983
Robert A Millikan US physicist (Nobel 1923), heart attack @ 85 in 1953
Norman Thomas founder (ACLU)/Socialist Party (1926-55), @ 84 in 1968
♦Today’s Events♦
ARTS
1957 Meredith Willson’s The Music Man begins 1375 show run: Majestic Theatre NYC.
1971 CBS airs "Homecoming - A Christmas Story" (introducing the Waltons)
1971 Stanley Kubrick's X-rated "A Clockwork Orange" premieres
ATHLETICS
1987 Gari Kasparov becomes world chess champion
BUSINESS & EDUCATION
1854 Allen Wilson of Connecticut patents sewing machine to sew curving seams
1871 Albert L Jones (New York NY), patents corrugated paper
1918 Robert Ripley began his "Believe It or Not" column (New York Globe)
INDIGENOUS PEOPLE
1675 Narragansetts under Chief Canonchet battle with Plymouth Governor Josiah Winslow with 970 men from Massachusetts, Connecticut, and Plymouth. Statistics of the fight are: colonists lose 70-80 men, 150 wounded, Indians lose 600 dead, half of them warriors.
1813 A combined force of Indians warriors and British soldiers will attack, and capture Fort Niagara, in New York. The American defenders will sustain 60 fatalities and 350 will be captured. Later, the victorious Indians would also capture nearby Lewiston.
POLITICS (US)
1776 Thomas Paine published his 1st "American Crisis" essay, in which he wrote, "These are the times that try men's souls"
1777 Washington settles his troops at Valley Forge PA for the winter
1795 1st state appropriation of money for road building, Kentucky
1823 Georgia passes 1st US state birth registration law
1941 US Office of Censorship created to control info pertaining to WWII
POLITICS (International)
1788 Chinese troops occupy capital Thang Long Vietnam
1950 General Eisenhower named NATO commander
1950 Tibet's Dalai Lama flees Chinese invasion
SCIENCE & RELIGION
1891 1st Negro Catholic priest ordained in US, Charles Uncles, Baltimore
1928 1st autogiro (predecessor of helicopter) flight in US
1949 Luxury passenger ship Aquitania demolished in Garelock Scotland
1958 1st radio broadcast from space (recorded Christmas message by President Eisenhower: "To all mankind, America's wish for Peace on Earth & Good Will to Men Everywhere")
1972 Apollo 17 (last of Apollo Moon landing series) returns to Earth
2000 A volcano outside Mexico City spewed a fiery fountain of ash and rock in its most spectacular eruption in more than a millennium.

ANSWERS
∞ JEOPARDY
∞This encyclopedia originated as part of the Scottish Enlightenment of the 18th century
What is Encyclopedia Britannica?
∞The girls who were part of "The Group", by Mary McCarthy, attended this college
What is Vassar?
∞As James Jones could tell you, this completes Kipling's line from "Gentlemen-Rankers", "Damned from..."
What is ‘Here to Eternity’?
∞Her poem "I Never Saw A Moor" didn't refer to her missing a production of "Othello"
Who was Emily Dickinson?
∞Among his "Mosses From An Old Manse" is "Rappachini's Daughter"
Who is Nathaniel Hawthorne?
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Saturday Dec 18




TODAY’S QUOTE—W.J. Ronald Tucker

For centuries men have kept an appointment with Christmas. Christmas means fellowship, feasting, giving and receiving, a time of good cheer, home.

FREE RAMBLING THOUGHTS
Teachers around AZ are now on Winter Break. A well deserved break I know they will enjoy.

My ENT looked at the CD of my CT, just as he suspected, way too much loose soft tissue down there. I told him I had talked to several friends and everyone agreed my voice hasn’t changed in at least 20 years. He said that was probably true and that he had never seen anything like it. He showed me how, when I am holding my breath and laying on my back the soft tissue basically cuts off the windpipe from getting any air. Thus I don’t lay on my back very often…duh. He says he can’t wait to get in there and make my breathing better. So I’ll go in for the trimming in January by making the appointment tomorrow. Whoopeee!

Martha and I had lunch and exchanged gifts. I got a bunch of stuff, including choc chip cookies (my favorite), a Scottish can cooler, and a bottle of choco-red wine. It sounds awful, but is actually quite good. I had a glass after dinner. It was a good lunch and a good time.

While I was there, I got a voice mail—I never talk on the cell when I’m with others, unless it looks really really important. The HOA has decided that we will all get parking stickers for our vehicles. Their reasoning is that during the winter parking restrictions on the street too many non-residents are parking on our ‘street’ which is really a parking lot, even though it has a street name and has no parking restrictions during the winter. All it does is allow the tenants with stickers to park in front of the doors. All those without stickers will park a little farther away from the doors. About five residences near me already have to park far from their doors because the parking area doesn’t even come close to their unit. Power play for sure. I reminded her that none of us have gotten new numbers on our doors. She said she had talked to the head of the HOA. I reminded her that I didn’t want to hear excuses, I just wanted numbers back up. I told her that since our last talk one fire engine and two ambulances have entered our street and have had to stop to count doors to figure out which unit had called 911. I also told her that UPS, FEDEx, and the PO is using lots of substitute drivers and they too have to stop and count doors. I asked her to remind the head HOA person that I now consider this a safety issue and would sure hate to be sitting on the board if someone did not get the medical attention they needed because the first responders couldn’t find the right unit in a quick manner. She said she would call her right away, again.

I was going to run some errands after my ENT visit, but when I came out it was snowing—again. Traffic was moving very slowly for some reason and I don’t think it was the snow flurries. I swear I had to stop at every one of the ten stoplights between the doctor and my house. It was like some crazy traffic director was doing everything possible to slow the traffic. I will do those errands on Monday.

HOLY MACKEREL: 1936 Su-Lin, 1st giant panda to come to US from China, arrives in San Francisco

∞ JEOPARDY PUZZLE—(SuperJeopardy Answers) from 1990 DEMOCRATS
◄In May 1990 Daniel Akaka became this state's new junior senator, replacing Spark Matsunaga
◄Colorado congresswoman who was an almost-ran in the 1988 presidential race
◄William A. O'Neill has been governor of Connecticut since she resigned because of illness
◄He's been an Arizona congressman since 1961 when his brother vacated the seat to join JFK's cabinet—his service ended in 1991.
◄He lost the presidential nomination to Hubert Humphrey in 1968 & ran as an independent in 1976

SOMEWHAT USELESS INFORMATION—Snow
While snow appears to be white, it is actually clear and transparent. The crystals become prisms and break up the light into the entire spectrum of color. Since our eye cannot process that, we see it as white, or sometimes blue.
►◄
Based on National Climatic Data Center records, New York state is home to the snowiest cities in the United States: Syracuse averages 115 inches of snow per year, and Rochester averages 93 inches per year.
►◄
Buffalo, New York, is a close runner-up in terms of U.S. large cities with the most snow. A 39-inch snowfall in 24 hours in early December 1995 cost the city nearly $5 million for snow removal.

UNUSUAL NEWS ITEM  JANESVILLE, MN
A 26-year-old man thought he was doing a good deed when he gave a 70-year-old woman a ride to a Minnesota bank.
But police say the woman robbed the bank, and the man was her unsuspecting getaway driver.
The man told The Free Press of Mankato that he thought the woman, who rents an apartment from his mother, was going to the bank to withdraw cash so she could pay back rent. His mother had recently begun eviction proceedings over unpaid rent, the Free Press reported.
Instead, employees of the Elysian State Bank reported Wednesday that an "elderly woman" told the teller she had a gun, demanded money and left with $3,700, according to The Star Tribune.
The bank's vice president followed the black Jaguar, calling in a description, location and license plate number as he went.
Police stopped the car and, with guns drawn, ordered both occupants to the ground.
The woman repeatedly told police, “Luke had nothing to with it,” The Star Tribune reported.
The woman had a hammer but no gun, according to The Star Tribune. She's in jail, pending charges.
Found in the car along with the cash and the hammer, The Star Tribune reported: a pair of white rubber gloves and a 2011 Elysian Bank calendar.

A LITTLE LAUGH
A Sunday School teacher of preschoolers told her students that she wanted each of them to have learned one fact about Jesus by the next Sunday.
The following week she asked each child in turn what they had learned.
Susie said, "He was born in a manger."
Bobby said, "He threw the money changers out of the temple."
Little Johnny said, "He has a red pickup truck but he doesn't know how to drive it."
Curious, the teacher asked, "And where did you learn that, Johnny?"
"From my Daddy," said Johnny. "Yesterday we were driving down the highway, and this red pickup truck pulled out in front of us and Daddy yelled at him, 'Jesus Christ! Why don't you learn how to drive?'"

FOUND ON ‘YOU TUBE’
While working I always enjoyed listening to the children sing Carols in their native language. Here are a few carols in various Indigenous languages:


DAYBOOK INFORMATION
♦ THIS WEEK ♦
14-28: Halcyon Days: The seven days where there are no winter storms
16-24: Posadas:
17-23: Saturnalia
♦ TODAY IS… ♦
International Migrants Day
Niger: Republic Day
Mexico: Feast of Our Lady of Solitude
Qatar: National Day (1958)
US: New Jersey: Ratification Day (1787—3rd state to ratify constitution)
♫ Academy Awards Best Original Song ♫
Click on Song Title to see and hear
♦Today’s Births♦
ARTS
Christina Aguilera, 30, singer
1779 Joseph Grimaldi English pantomimist ("greatest clown in history")
Leonard Maltin, 60, movie critic, author (Maltin’s Guide)
Keith Richards, 67, musician, singer (Rolling Stones)
1870 Saki (Hector Hugo Munro) Burma, author (Reginald, When William Came)
Steven Spielberg, 63, producer, director (E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial, Indiana Jones movies, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, Jurassic Park, The Color Purple; Oscars for Schindler’s List, Saving Private Ryan)
► ◄ Actors
1916 Betty Grable great legs/actress (Gay Divorcee)
1917 Ossie Davis actor/playwright (Hot Stuff, Man Called Adam)
Katie Holmes, 32, actress (Batman Begins, Pieces of April, “Dawson’s Creek”)
Ray Liotta, 55, actor (Unforgettable, Goodfellas, Field of Dreams, Something Wild)
Brad Pitt, 46, actor (The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford, Babel, Ocean’s Eleven)
Roger Smith, 78, actor (77 Sunset Strip)
1906 Kam Tong actor (Across the Pacific, Flower Drum Song)
Casper Van Dien, 42, actor (Starship Troopers)
ATHLETICS
1886 Ty Cobb , batted .367, stole 892 bases (Tigers)
Greg Landry, 64, football: Univ. of Massachusetts; Detroits Lions QB/QB coach
Charles Oakley, 47, basketball (Bulls, Knicks, Raptors, Wizards, Rockets)
BUSINESS & EDUCATION
1888 Robert Moses power broker (built Long Island & NYC parks & roads)
POLITICS
1913 Willy Brandt [Herbert Frahm] German chancellor (1969-74, Nobel 1971)
Ramsey Clark, 83, US Attorney General (1967-69)
SCIENCE & RELIGION
1856 Joseph John Thomson English physicist discovered electron (Nobel 1906)
♦Today’s Obituaries♦
John T "Legs" Diamond US gangster, murdered @ 35 in 1931
Chris Farley comedian (Saturday Night Live, Tommy Boy), OD @ 33 in 1997
Mother Clare Hale cared for NYC AIDS babies (Hale House), @ 87 in 1992
Mark Goodson TV game show producer (Goodson-Toddman), cancer @ 77 in 1992
Antonio Stradivari renowned violin-maker, @ 93 in 1737
♦Today’s Events♦
ARTS
1892 Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky's ballet "Nutcracker Suite" premieres
1920 Conductor Arturo Toscanini made his first recording for Victor Records
1956 "To Tell the Truth" debuts on CBS-TV
1966 Dr Seuss' "How the Grinch Stole Christmas" airs for 1st time on CBS
1976 "Wonder Woman" debuts on ABC
ATHLETICS
1961 For 2nd consecutive year, AP names Wilma Rudolph female athlete of year
1994 Darryl Strawberry pleads not guilty on tax evasion charges
BUSINESS & EDUCATION
1719 Thomas Fleet publishes "Mother Goose's Melodies For Children"
1796 1st US newspaper to appear on Sunday (Baltimore Monitor)
1865 1st US cattle importation law passed
1991 General Motors announces the closing of 21 plants
1996 TV industry executives agree to adopt a ratings system
INDIGENOUS PEOPLE
1835 A military baggage caravan near Micanopy, FL, separated from its main force while marching from Jacksonville to Wetumpka. A group of Seminoles, led by Osceola, will attack the soldiers, killing most of them. This battle will be called the "Battle of Black Point"; and, according to some historians, will be the first battle of the Second Seminole War.
POLITICS (US)
1777 1st national Thanksgiving Day, commemorating Burgoyne's surrender
1935 A $1 silver certificate was issued. It was the first currency to depict the front and back sides of the Great Seal of the United States.
POLITICS (International)
1944 Nazi occupiers of Amsterdam destroy electricity plants
1956 Israeli flag hoisted on Mount Sinai
1980 Vietnam adopts constitution
SCIENCE & RELIGION
1839 1st celestial photograph (the moon) made in US, John Draper
1849 William Bond obtains 1st photograph of Moon through a telescope
1898 Automobile speed record set-63 kph (39 mph)
ANSWERS
∞ JEOPARDY
In May 1990 Daniel Akaka became this state's new junior senator, replacing Spark Matsunaga
What is Hawaii?
Colorado congresswoman who was an almost-ran in the 1988 presidential race
Who was Pat Schroeder?
William A. O'Neill has been governor of Connecticut since she resigned because of illness
Who was Ella Grasso?
He's been an Arizona congressman since 1961 when his brother vacated the seat to join JFK's cabinet
Who was Morris Udall?
He lost the presidential nomination to Hubert Humphrey in 1968 & ran as an independent in 1976
Who was Eugene McCarthy?
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Friday Dec 17





TODAY’S QUOTE—W.T. Ellis

It is Christmas in the heart that puts Christmas in the air.

FREE RAMBLING THOUGHTS
It has either been raining or snowing all day. The wind has been as high as 25mph.

Our retirement group got together at a fancy restaurant—a converted old-town home with eating in small rooms. I gave those daily tear off each day calendars and got some great homemade cookies and candy and a redi-med inhaler that is guaranteed to work to clear out junk in your nose. Very cool. Cheryl is not losing weight as quickly as she had hoped but is hangin’ in there till her January appointment. She is heading for Cal-I-four-ney-ah on Tuesday. Mary is volunteering at a kindergarten to help out a church member is who going crazy with 20+ kindergarteners and no aide. Her grandkids are coming to Flag on Saturday and they are doing the ‘Polar Express’ to Grand Canyon on Sunday evening. It is a Santa Clause ride with a ‘Polar Express’ theme. All passengers take the ride in PJ’s as they listen to the story and while come of the crew act it out. If nothing else, the car ride for Mary, Mike, the parents and the twins—in PJ’s should be interesting. Sure hope they don’t have to stop for a bathroom break, gas, or have car problems. Maybe the driver will change in the train station restroom. She will be heading to Phoenix for Christmas sometime next week.

I am still confused. In 100 words or less can anyone tell me exactly why we are sending our youth to Afghanistan? Next task, in 100 words or less, why are we not leaving until 2014 at the earliest? If we knew that the populace of Afghanistan had asked for our help, I would get it. They didn’t. If the elected government of Afghanistan had asked for our help, I would get that. They didn’t. Our young military continue to die every day. This year—2010—has had the highest number of lost Americans. I saw a US map today of the towns where a soldier has been killed or severely wounded—not talking about a bullet in the arm, talking about losing a limb. There were over 36,000 dots—1500 dead, the rest severely wounded. The men and women who return wounded have their entire lives ahead of them without an arm, a leg, or TBI. For many, death would have been a whole lot less painful. If I could put a face on the enemy; if I could understand their mindset; if I thought that the vast majority of the populace wanted democracy; I could understand. Since two generations of Afghans have lived their entire life in war, they seem to have become dependent of war. It is all they know so they don’t want it to end. 2014 will become 2016 and each withdrawal date will simply be moved a couple of years ahead. Mark Z, the FB guy was in 6th grade when we sent our first troops to Afghanistan. It’s time to tell Afghanistan, get your people to take over cause the US is leaving Jan 1, 2011. And then we need to leave.

HOLY MACKEREL: 1936 Ventriloquist Edgar Bergen & dummy Charlie McCarthy, make their radio debut on Rudy Vallee’s Royal Gelatin Hour

∞ JEOPARDY PUZZLE—(SuperJeopardy Answers) from 1990 SMITHS
◄The Pilgrims used the maps & books of this founder of Virginia, but did not accept his services
◄This former ABC News anchor played himself in "Close Encounters of the Third Kind" & "The Candidate"
◄This New York Daily News columnist once said that gossip is "news in a red satin dress"
◄Much of this British poet's works dealt with death including her most famous, "Not Waving, But Drowning"
◄She wrote over 70 one-act plays but is best known for her first novel, "A Tree Grows In Brooklyn"

SOMEWHAT USELESS INFORMATION—Snow
Snowflakes can range in size from just a fraction of an inch to much longer. In 1887, a fifteen inch snowflake was recorded in Ft. Keough, Montana.
►◄
The largest amount of snow recorded in one year was 1,140 inches. It was recorded in Mt. Baker ski area in Washington in 1998-1999. That is about 95 feet of snow in one year!
►◄
Every year an average of 105 snowstorms occur in the continental united states. A typical storm will have a snow-producing lifetime of two to five days and will bring snow to portions of several states.

UNUSUAL NEWS ITEM Fort Lauderdale, FL
Sheldon Gonzales said he was asleep on his couch Tuesday night when he was suddenly "awakened by a burning sensation in the crotch of his pants," according to a report from the Broward Sheriff's Office.
Standing over Gonzales was girlfriend Berlinda Dixon-Newbold, cigarette lighter in hand.
Gonzales quickly realized the bottom of his shirt, which was lying over his crotch, was on fire. He was able to put out the small blaze with his hands, police said.
When Gonzales tried to leave, Dixon-Newbold confronted him at the door, and a "heated argument" broke out. A neighbor called police, who showed up and arrested the 38-year-old woman for aggravated assault.
Dixon-Newbold was being held on $6,500 bail.

A LITTLE LAUGH
Yesterday I was at my local COSTCO buying a large bag of Purina dog chow for my loyal pet, Jake, the Wonder Dog and was in the check-out line when a woman behind me asked if I had a dog.
What did she think I had an elephant? So since I'm retired and have little to do, on impulse I told her that no, I didn't have a dog, I was starting the Purina Diet again. I added that I probably shouldn't, because I ended up in the hospital last time, but that I'd lost 50 pounds before I awakened in an intensive care ward with tubes coming out of most of my orifices and IVs in both arms.
I told her that it was essentially a Perfect Diet and that the way that it works is, to load your pants pockets with Purina Nuggets and simply eat one or two every time you feel hungry. The food is nutritionally complete so it works well and I was going to try it again. (I have to mention here that practically everyone in line was now enthralled with my story.)
Horrified, she asked if I ended up in intensive care, because the dog food poisoned me . I told her no, I stepped off a curb to sniff a poodle's ass and a car hit me.
I thought the guy behind her was going to have a heart attack he was laughing so hard.
Costco won't let me shop there anymore.
Better watch what you ask retired people. They have all the time in the world to think of crazy things to say.

FOUND ON ‘YOU TUBE’

DAYBOOK INFORMATION
♦ THIS WEEK ♦
10-17: Human Rights Week
14-28: Halcyon Days: The seven days where there are no winter storms
16-24: Posadas: Christmas celebration in Mexico
17-23: Saturnalia: Ancient Roman Festival to the God Saturn. Eat, drink, be merry—role reversals of slaves and masters.

♦ TODAY IS… ♦
Underdog Day
National Maple Syrup Day
Wright Brothers Day
Bhutan: National Day (ascension of 1st king)
Colombia: Independence Day (1819)
United States: International Day to End Violence Against Sex Workers
Venezuela: Bolivar Day (1830)

♫ Academy Awards Best Original Song ♫
Click on Song Title to see and hear
♦Today’s Births♦
ARTS
1942 Paul Butterfield musician: group: Paul Butterfield Blues Band: East-West
1903 Erskine P Caldwell author (Tobacco Road, God's Little Acre)
1894 Arthur Fiedler conductor (Boston Pops)
1807 John Greenleaf Whittier poet: Barbara Frietchie, Maud Miller, Snowbound; Quaker: devoted to the abolitionist cause in U.S
► ◄ Actors
Christopher Cazenove, 65, actor (Zulu Dawn, Eye of the Needle)
Bernard Hill, 66, actor (The Lord of the Rings: Return of the King, Great Expectations, Titanic)
1927 Richard Long, actor (Professor-Nanny & the Professor)
ATHLETICS
Leo (Leonardo Lazaro Alfonso) ‘Chico’ Cardenas, 72, baseball: (Reds, Angels, Indians, Rangers)
Chase Utley, 32, baseball (Phillies)
BUSINESS & EDUCATION
1930 Bob Guccione publisher
1929 William Safire journalist, author: Words of Wisdom, Coming to Terms
POLITICS
1874 William Lyon Mackenzie King (L), 10th Canadian PM (1921-30, 1935-48)
SCIENCE & RELIGION
1797 Joseph Henry scientist/inventor/pioneer of electromagnetism
1824 John Kerr System physicist (electro-visually Kerr-effect)
1908 Willard Frank Libby inventor (carbon-14 "atomic clock" (Nobel 1960))
♦Today’s Obituaries♦
1830 Simon Bolivar President of Colombia, TB @ 47
♦Today’s Events♦
ARTS
1843 - A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens was published in London and immediately sold out.
1969
ATHLETICS
1984 John McEnroe and Peter Fleming lost a doubles tennis match in the Davis Cup competition for the first time in 14 matches.
BUSINESS & EDUCATION
1791 NYC traffic regulation creates 1st 1-way street
1875 Violent bread riots in Montréal
1900 New Ellis Island Immigration station completed costing $1.5 million
1965 Largest newspaper-Sunday New York Times at 946 pages (50¢)
INDIGENOUS PEOPLE
1890 Sitting Bull and the police killed during his arrest are buried with honor.
POLITICS (US)
1821 Kentucky abolishes debtor’s prisons
1852 1st Hawaiian cavalry organized
1895 Anti-Saloon League of America formed, Washington DC
1944 US Army announces end of excluding Japanese-Americans from West Coast; Japanese-Americans are released from detention camps
1975 Lynette Fromme is sentenced to life for attempt on President Ford's life
POLITICS (International)
1745 Bonnie Prince Charles army retreats to Scotland
1949 Burma recognizes People's Republic of China
1996 Kofi Atta Annan was named seventh secretary-general of the United Nations
SCIENCE & RELIGION
1526 Pope Clemens VII publishes degree Cum ad zero - forms Inquisition
1728 Congregation Shearith Israel of New York purchases a lot on Mill Street in lower Manhattan, to build New York's 1st synagogue
1900 1st prize of 100,000 francs offered for communications with extraterrestrials. Martians excluded-considered too easy
1903 The first successful powered airplane flight took place near Kitty Hawk, North Carolina.
ANSWERS
∞ JEOPARDY
◄The Pilgrims used the maps & books of this founder of Virginia, but did not accept his services
Who was Captain John Smith?
◄This former ABC News anchor played himself in "Close Encounters of the Third Kind" & "The Candidate"
Who was Howard K Smith?
◄This New York Daily News columnist once said that gossip is "news in a red satin dress"
Who was Liz Smith?
◄Much of this British poet's works dealt with death including her most famous, "Not Waving, But Drowning"
Who was Stevie Smith?
◄She wrote over 70 one-act plays but is best known for her first novel, "A Tree Grows In Brooklyn"
Who was Betty Smith?

 50 million TV viewers see singer Tiny Tim marry Miss Vicky, on Tonight Show
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Thursday Dec 16



TODAY’S QUOTE—Marjorie Holmes

At Christmas, all roads lead home.

FREE RAMBLING THOUGHTS
It sure was a strange weather day. This morning it was a little cloudy but when I checked the weather forecast It still showed 10mph winds with rain or snow in the afternoon, but a high of 55° expected. About 10am there were 35+mph wind; it was completely overcast; and there was snow blowing around in the air. It was about 38° and the snow melted as it hit the ‘hot’ pavement. The wind kept up most of the day and it was ‘sn-in’ or ‘ra-ow’ most of the day. Not a nice day to be outside.

I did go get my CT scan today. Quick and easy. Just as the guy started the dye, I let him know it was leaking. He said he would go ahead do the scan. It takes all of about 20 seconds. Then he came in and found that the dye and some of MY BLOOD had leaked out onto the floor. He checked the pictures and said that all of the dye and a tiny bit of my blood had leaked out when the connection between the IV and the dye ‘popped out’. He said that he would have to do it again and show me the difference. So he loaded up, another tech came in and cleaned up the floor and we did it again. He then showed me the difference between the two sets of pics. It is really cool to see how they look. They somehow can rotate the pictures 360° and he pointed out my various veins, body parts in my neck and showed me the difference between the no-dye and dye photos. My doctor will get all the pics on a CD. I sure don’t understand what I was looking at—except for the vertebrae, the brain, the aorta, and a couple of other things. Then he tells me to go across the hall to Suite 101 to pick up the CD for the doctor. Now that was an experience. The sign on the door said ‘Suite 101—mammograms and ultrasounds’. I went in to a room full of fairly pregnant women sitting in chairs that must have been made for pregnant women. The back leaned back enough to have my stomach stick out and must be somehow comfortable for women with child. The receptionist asked “how can I help you, today?” I told her I sure didn’t need a mammogram or an ultrasound, but I did need a CD. She laughed and said have a seat and it will be ready in about 5 minutes. I sat in one of the chairs and found it very uncomfortable. The 8 ladies in the waiting room seemed very comfortable. Who knew? Not me for sure. In less than 5 minutes I had my CD and was on the way home.

I have never considered myself a scrooge type person. I was really surprised today when the Post Office announced that they were getting many letters to Santa from adults. One of my favorite Christmas movies is the original ‘Miracle on 34th Street’ and one of my favorite scenes is the Post Office brining bulging bags of letters into the court room where Kris is on trial. Some of the adult letters are available at big city post offices where one can go in, get a letter and fill the requests. That is all cool. What is odd is that most of the letters are from single mothers who state they still believe in Santa and need basic essentials for themselves and their one or two children. I’m afraid this is the result of kids having kids. The letters read were asking for clothes, shoes, a winter jacket and did not ask for toys. They were all hand written with semi-legible handwriting and not using standard grammar. Since I have never heard of this kind of letter before and I’m pretty sure that these letters have never been public before, I am pretty sure that the authors did not expect the letters to be made public. On a similar story the Post Office noted that about 60% of the letters from kids—little kids—are asking for clothes, shoes, mittens, winter jackets, and snow boots instead of toys. So many of us don’t know what it is like to be poor. I will continue to put money in the Salvation Army Kettles, and at the mall’s Toys for Tots. I’ll probably even make an extra trip to the mall just for that reason. ‘Tis the Season.

HOLY MACKEREL: 1811 Most violent & prolonged quakes in US begins in Midwest region; 8.0 earthquake shakes New Madrid MO

∞ JEOPARDY PUZZLE—(SuperJeopardy Answers) from 1990 HODGEPODGE
►"Blow The Man Down" is an example of this type of song sailors sang while working on sailing ships
►In 1802 Napoleon instituted this award, France's highest
►The Royal Opera House in London has staged this Beethoven opera over 100 times since World War II
►This Scottish missionary explored the Kalahari Desert & discovered the Zambezi River in 1851
►"All The King's Men" can't bring this U.S. Poet Laureate back again; he died September 15, 1989

SOMEWHAT USELESS INFORMATION—Beethoven
Beethoven began having hearing problems as early as 1802. What started as an annoying ringing in his ears worsened until he was almost totally deaf by 1816.
►  ◄
He was one of the first composers to work on his own instead of working for the church or for a noble court.
►  ◄
He often used a special rod attached to the soundboard on his piano that he could bite. The vibrations of the bite would then transfer from the piano to his jaw thus increasing his perception of the sound.

UNUSUAL NEWS ITEM HILLSBORO, OR
The owner of a security firm implicated in a scheme to burglarize his own clients reportedly wrapped some stolen items and placed them under his Christmas tree.
Items taken from Oregon Episcopal School were intended to be given to the poor, according to Sgt. David Thompson of the Washington County Sheriff's Office.
One of the items was a copy of the Dr. Seuss book "The Grinch Who Stole Christmas."
The feloniously regifted items included discount and debit cards to grocery stores to feed the indigent.
A remote-controlled car was wrapped with the notation "From Santa" to the suspect, Stirling Anderson, 27, owner of Northwest Merchant Services.
The stolen and gift-wrapped items were found after deputies served a search warrant at Anderson's home, Thompson said.
Anderson was arrested along with employees Sheldon McMillan, 21, and David smith, 39. They all posted bail and face a Dec. 22 count appearance.
Anderson and McMillan were spotted by an Oregon Episcopal School employee early Saturday morning carting school property out of the building.
In addition to OES, clients St. Matthews Lutheran Church and the Portland Golf Club also reported thefts in recent months. There were no signs of forced entry in any of those crimes.

A LITTLE LAUGH
Tour guides get bored spewing the same facts every day. So these Philadelphia guides rewrote history.
"Trees were planted along streets so illiterate people would know the names of the streets. So Pine Street was lined with pines, etc."
"The reason the kitchens were in the basement is because the long, flowing dresses of women would catch fire and they could run directly into the streets, instead of through the house, spreading fire."
"The Lincoln statue in Fairmont Park shows him signing the Declaration of Independence."

FOUND ON ‘YOU TUBE’

DAYBOOK INFORMATION
♦ THIS WEEK ♦
10-17: Human Rights Week
14-28: Halcyon Days: The seven days where there are no winter storms
16-24: Posadas: Originally from Spain, now mostly in Mexico
Typically, each family in a neighborhood will schedule a night for the Posada to be held at their home, starting on the 16th of December and finishing on the 24th. Every home has a nativity scene and the hosts of the Posada act as the innkeepers. The neighborhood children and adults are the pilgrims (peregrinos), who have to request lodging by going house to house singing a traditional song about the pilgrims. All the pilgrims carry small lit candles in their hands, and four people carry small statues of Joseph leading a donkey, on which Mary is riding. The head of the procession will have a candle inside a paper lamp shade. At each house, the resident responds by refusing lodging (also in song), until the weary travelers reach the designated site for the party, where Mary and Joseph are finally recognized and allowed to enter. Once the "innkeepers" let them in, the group of guests come into the home and kneel around the Nativity scene to pray (typically, the Rosary). Latin American countries have continued to celebrate this holiday to this day, with very few changes to the tradition. In some places, the final location may be a church instead of a home. Individuals may actually play the various parts of Mary (María) and Joseph with the expectant mother riding a real donkey (burro), with attendants such as angels and shepherds acquired along the way, or the pilgrims may carry images of the holy personages instead. At the end of the long journey, there will be Christmas carols (villancicos), children will break open piñatas by striking these colorful papier-maché objects with bats while blindfolded to obtain candy hidden inside, and there will be a feast. Traditionally, it is expected to meet all the invitees in a previous procession. They also play pinata. Pinatas are made out of clay.
♦ TODAY IS… ♦
National Chocolate Covered Anything Day
Barbie and Barney Backlash Day
National Re-gifting Day
Zionism Day
Bahrain: Independence Day (from UK-1971)
Bangladesh: Victory Day (1971 against Pakistan)
Kazakhstan: Independence Day (1991 from Kazakh SSR)
Nepál: Constitution Day (1962)
South Africa: Reconciliation Day ()
Thailand: National Sports Day ()

♫ Academy Awards Best Original Song ♫
Click on Song Title to see and hear
♦Today’s Births♦
ARTS
1775 Jane Austen English novelist (Pride & Prejudice)
1770 Ludwig van Beethoven , composer (Ode to Joy) in Bonn Germany
Steven Bochco, 67, television writer, producer (Hill St Blues, LA Law, St Elsewhere, NYPD Blue)
1917 Arthur C[harles] Clarke sci-fi author (2001, 2010, Childhood's End)
1899 Sir Noel (Peirce) Coward actor, director, composer, playwright
1928 Philip K[indred] Dick US, sci-fi author (Hugo-1963, Blade Runner)
►◄Actors
Benjamin Bratt, 47, actor (Traffic, Miss Congeniality, “Law & Order”)
ATHLETICS
1882 Sir John Berry, 1st cricket player knighted (1953)
William “The Refrigerator” Perry, 48, football (Bears, Eagles)
Clifford (Cliff) Ralph Robinson, 44, basketball (Trail Blazers, Suns, Pistons, Warriors, Nets)
BUSINESS & EDUCATION
1917 Murray Kempton Pulitzer Prize-winning newspaperman
1863 George Santayana philosopher/writer: “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.”
Lesley Stahl 69, journalist (“60 Minutes,” former White House correspondent)
POLITICS
1485 Catherine of Aragon Spanish princess/1st wife of Henry VIII
SCIENCE & RELIGION
Bruce N. Ames 82, biochemist, cancer researcher
1901 Margaret Mead anthropologist (Coming of Age in Samoa)
♦Today’s Obituaries♦
Richard Bright British Dr (Bright's disease/nephritis), heart disease @ 69 in 1858
Wilhelm Grimm writer (Grimm's Fairy Tales), infection @ 73 in 1859
Grigori Yefimovich Rasputin a powerful Russian monk murdered @ 45 in 1916
Charles Camille Saint-Saens French composer (Carnival of the Animals), @ 86 in 1921
Harland "Colonel" Sanders founder Kentucky Fried Chicken, @ 90 in 1980
Lee Van Cleef US actor (Good, Bad & Ugly), heart attack @ 64 in 1989
♦Today’s Events♦
ARTS
1903 Majestic Theater, New York NY, becomes 1st in US to employ women ushers
1905 Sime Silverman published the first issue of Variety, the weekly show biz magazine.
1913 Charlie Chaplin began his film career at Keystone for $150 a week ($3215.14 in 2010$)
ATHLETICS
1979 QB Roger Staubach's last regular season game with the Dallas Cowboys
1983 Yogi Berra named Yankee manager for 2nd time
BUSINESS & EDUCATION
1617 Spanish viceroy Hernando Arias de Saavedra founds provinces Río de la Plata (Argentina)/Guaira (Paraguay)
1835 Fire consumes over 600 buildings in New York NY
1908 1st credit union in US forms (Manchester NH)
INDIGENOUS PEOPLE
1811: The New Madrid earthquake takes place today on the Mississippi River. Many tribes will tell tales of this event for generations.
1834: Signed at Potawattimie Mills, Indiana, today, a treaty ceding 2 parcels of land for $700 ($14,850.03 in 2010 $)and the canceling of some outstanding debts by the Potawatomi Indians and William Marshall.
POLITICS (US)
1773 Boston Tea Party
1978 Ronald Reagan denounces President Jimmy Carter's recognition of China People's Republic
POLITICS (International)
1653 Oliver Cromwell becomes Lord Protector of England, Scotland & Ireland
1944 Battle of the Bulge begins in Belgium
SCIENCE & RELIGION
1538 French King François I orders renewed pursuit of Protestants
1631 Mount Vesuvius, Italy erupts, destroys 6 villages & kills 4,000
1915 Albert Einstein publishes his "General Theory of Relativity"
1953 Charles E Yeager flies over 2,575 kph (1,650 mph) in Bell X-1A (first man to fly at nearly two and one-half times the speed of sound)
ANSWERS
∞ JEOPARDY
►"Blow The Man Down" is an example of this type of song sailors sang while working on sailing ships
What is a sea shanty?
►In 1802 Napoleon instituted this award, France's highest
What is ‘Legion of Honor’?
►The Royal Opera House in London has staged this Beethoven opera over 100 times since World War II
What is ‘Fidelio’?
►This Scottish missionary explored the Kalahari Desert & discovered the Zambezi River in 1851
Who was Livingstone?
►"All The King's Men" can't bring this U.S. Poet Laureate back again; he died September 15, 1989
Who is Robert Penn Warren?
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Wednesday Dec 15




TODAY’S QUOTE—Peg Bracken

Gifts of time and love are surely the basic ingredients of a truly merry Christmas.

FREE RAMBLING THOUGHTS
I don’t know many people who like going to the doctor and going to a specialist is always less than enjoyable. I went to see the ENT physician today. While my appointment was at 11:30 the receptionist said to get there 30 minutes early to fill out the forms. That’s pretty normal. And I am always early. My parents always said that the doctor or dentist should never be left waiting for you. I got there about 10:50, got the forms and filled them out. Since everything is computerized these days I still wonder why I have to write my name, birthday, and reason for coming in on three different forms. I fought with minimal success in streamlining the forms at TCBS registration. So the forms were in their hands at 11:05. Today must be the day set aside for new patients as the person in front of me and three more who came after me were all filling out forms. 11:30 came and went. 12:00 came and went. Finally at 12:15 I was called in to the patient room where I got to wait another 10 minutes. The nurse sort of apologized for the wait, but it seemed to me it was part of her regular greeting. “Hi Charlie, follow me to the room, sorry you had such a long wait, the doctor will be right in.” So the doctor comes in and first in a very serious way, apologizes for the wait and says it’s just one of those days. The computer crashed when the lights went out—I was in the waiting room when that happened. Then he asks why I am there. I explain that my PCP wants to be sure there isn’t some physical reason for my high red blood cell count. He asks me how long my voice has been like that. Huh? I said ‘all my life’. He said “I doubt that”, so I added, ‘well, probably since puberty.’ Then I told him about my two removals of adenoids and tonsils in my youth—it was like at 6 months and 8 years old. He checked and said the second time worked, but left scar tissue. Then he says he wants to run a light through my nose to see my voice box. He sprays some deadener up my nose, leaves, and returns about 10 minutes later. As he is leaving I tell him if he is going to eat lunch he has to share it with me. He laughs. When he returns, without any food, he sticks the flashlight up my nose. Then he says “you have the weirdest larynx I have ever seen. It’s not bad, it’s just weird.” I told him that didn’t sound very ‘medical’. So he uses big words, most of which aren’t English based and asks me, while smiling, “how was that?” I told him I got it now, weird. He asks if I sleep on my back. I tell him I’m a stomach or side sleeper and he says he’s not surprised. It seems I have extra something down there that is just moving around when I breathe. He says he is sure it is benign and that I have probably had it for decades. I have just learned to work around it. He says that ‘trimming’ it should fix my voice and I will breathe better. Didn’t know my voice needed fixing, but the breathing thing sounded good. He also said he doesn’t think I have sleep apnea and even if I did the mask probably wouldn’t help because of my very weird larynx. I have to get a throat CT so he doesn’t have any surprises during my ‘trimming’. The day surgery will be done in January and he says the only way I would need to spend the night at the hospital is if there is unexpected swelling after the ‘trim’. I need to talk with him some more after he gets the scan results to see what the hell he is talking about. He really turned out to be a very nice guy and I left believing that my long wait was really unusual.

I don’t even want to know how much this is going to cost. My insurance has a co-pay of $30 for an office visit with a specialist. That doesn’t include the flashlight thing. The co-pay also doesn’t decrease with amount of time I have to wait. So as I am setting up the CT and the next appointment, I volunteer to pay my co-pay. The lady says I will just be billed after BC pays whatever they pay. By December, many patients have already met their deductibles so I’m not real sure what she was talking about. The billing is actually more worrisome than the ‘trimming’. It’s not like I can’t afford it; it’s just not knowing.

I talked to my brother in Miami Beach. He was complaining about the cold—it was only 42° while Flag was 56° as we talked. They were heading out to Laura’s birthday party. As usual it was quite the affair. Lots of creative people were there with lots of creative gifts.

HOLY MACKEREL: 1964 1st time 4 people in space

∞ JEOPARDY PUZZLE—(SuperJeopardy Answers) from 1990 World History
►In 1947 Britain's George VI dropped his title as emperor of this country
►On May 30, 1967 it declared itself a republic & seceded from Nigeria
►After discovering the Philippines in March of 1521, he stayed there for about a month & was killed
►By 1906 British New Guinea had become a territory of Australia & was renamed this
►This smallest Balkan country didn't become independent until the 20th century

SOMEWHAT USELESS INFORMATION—Charlie Brown Part II
However, viewers and reviewers LOVED it. On Thursday, December 9, 1965, A Charlie Brown Christmas was seen in more than 15 million homes. It won critical acclaim as well as an Emmy Award for Outstanding Children's Program and a Peabody Award for excellence in programming.
►◄
The logo for Coca-Cola, the movie's first sponsor, appeared several times in original footage of A Charlie Brown Christmas. For instance, in the skating scene, Snoopy throws Linus from the rink into a Coca-Cola sign. Later sponsors objected, and the frames were edited out.

UNUSUAL NEWS ITEM
Palm Beach, FL--When choosing a getaway vehicle, it's a good idea to make sure it goes more than 3 miles an hour.
A Palm Beach man led security guards on an intense slow-speed chase in a motorized shopping cart in a grocery store parking lot after he allegedly stole some meat and ran over a child's foot during his escape.
Louis Lorensen, 58, was finally cornered by security guards and employees of the Winn-Dixie, who waited for police to show up to finally arrest the would-be thief, reports the Sun-Sentinel.
"I ain't no punk, and I ain't going down without a fight," Lorensen was yelling, according to a police report of the odd incident. He apparently wasn't in a rush to get away, either.
Most motorized shopping carts can reach speeds of about 3 miles per hour, but they might not even be that fast.
At that rate, Lorensen would have been better off using his feet. But that didn't stop him from allegedly loading up on 11 packages of meat and then low-tailing it out of the store.
As he tried to exit, a woman and her 4-year-old son were walking in. Lorensen told the customers to move out of the way, but the little boy was caught like a deer in headlights with the oncoming slow cart bearing down on him, according to the police report.
Lorensen ran over the boy's foot and made it into the parking lot before finally being corralled, the police report said.
At the police station, Lorensen told an officer, "When you take these cuffs off, I'm going to punch you in the face," according to the report, as reported by the Sun-Sentinel.
He now faces two counts of larceny, aggravated battery on a child, possession of stolen property and resisting arrest.

A LITTLE LAUGH
A man comes home with his daughter, whom he has just taken to work for the day. The little girl asks, "I saw you in your office with your secretary. Why do you call her a doll?"
Feeling his wife's gaze upon him, the man explains, "Well, honey, my secretary is a very hard-working girl. She types like you wouldn't believe, she knows the computer system, and is very efficient."
The daughter thinks for a minute and then replies, "Oh. I thought it was because she closed her eyes when you lay her down."

FOUND ON ‘YOU TUBE’

DAYBOOK INFORMATION
♦ THIS WEEK ♦
10-17: Human Rights Week
14-28: Halcyon Days: The seven days where there are no winter storms
♦ TODAY IS… ♦
Ashura or Tenth Day (Islamic - begins at sundown)
Bill of Rights Day
Cat Herders Day
International Esperanto Community: Zamenhof Day (creator’s birthday)
National Lemon Cupcake Day
Alderney: Homecoming Day, celebrates the return of evacuated citizens to Alderney after World War II (in Channel Islands)
Netherlands: Kingdom Day or Koninkrijksdag: the signing of the Charter for the Kingdom of the Netherlands 1954
Pakistan: Quaid-i-Azam's Birthday
US: Puerto Rico: Navidades (beginning of celebrations in the Catholic community)
♫ Academy Awards Best Original Song ♫
Click on Song Title to see and hear
♦Today’s Births♦
ARTS
Dave Clark, 68, musician (leader of the Dave Clark Five
1907 Oscar Niemeyer Brazilians architect (Brasilia)
Edna O’Brien, 79, author (Country Girls Trilogy, Time and Tide)
1906 Betty Smith novelist (A Tree Grows in Brooklyn)
►◄Actors
1918 Jeff Chandler [Ira Grossel] Brooklyn NY, actor (Broken Arrow, Away All Boats)
Don Johnson (Donnie Wayne Johnson), 61, actor (“Miami Vice,” “Nash Bridges”)
ATHLETICS
Alexandra Stevenson, 30, tennis player
BUSINESS & EDUCATION
1832 Alexandre-Gustave Eiffel French engineer (Eiffel tower)
1892 J Paul Getty oil magnate (Getty Oil)
1882 Helena Rubinstein US cosmetic manufacturer
1859 Ludwik L Zamenhof Russia/Poland, physician/linguist (Esperanto)
POLITICS
37 Nero Claudius Augustus Germanicus 5th emperor of Rome (54-68)
1848 Edwin Howland Blashfield decorated the dome of Library of Congress
SCIENCE & RELIGION
1852 Antoine Henri Becquerel discovered radioactivity (Nobel 1903)
1863 Arthur D Little US, chemist (patented rayon)
♦Today’s Obituaries♦
Alfonso de Albuquerque viceroy of Portuguese Indies, @ 62 in 1515
Sitting Bull (Tȟatȟáŋka Íyotake) Hunkpapa-Sioux chief (Little Big Horn), killed by US Army @ 59 in 1890
Lillian Disney widow of Walt Disney, @ 98 in 1997
Walt Disney animator, lung cancer @ 65 in 1966
Glenn Miller US band leader/jazz composer, plane crash @ 40 in 1944
Thomas W "Fats" Waller jazz pianist, pneumonia @ 39 in 1943
Chill Wills actor (Frontier Circus, Rounders), cancer @ 75 in 1978
♦Today’s Events♦
ARTS
1954 Davy Crockett, Indian Fighter was featured on Walt Disney’s TV series for the first time. Crockett was played by Fess Parker.
1962 Vaughn Meader's "The 1st Family" album goes #1 & stays #1 for 12 weeks
ATHLETICS
1997 San Francisco 49ers retire Joe Montana's #16
BUSINESS & EDUCATION
1791 1st US law school established at University of Pennsylvania
1810 1st Irish magazine in US, The Shamrock, is published
1854 1st street-cleaning machine in US 1st used in Philadelphia
1925 1st road with a depressed trough (Texas) opens to traffic
INDIGENOUS PEOPLE
1855 Governor Stevens gets NEZ PERCE honor guard.
POLITICS (US)
1791 Bill of Rights ratified when Virginia gave its approval
1836 Patent Office burns in Washington DC
1944 US Congress gives General Eisenhower his 5th star
POLITICS (International)
1582 Spanish Netherlands/Denmark/Norway adopt Gregorian calendar
1964 Canada adopts maple leaf flag
SCIENCE & RELIGION
1612 Simon Marius, is 1st to observe Andromeda galaxy through a telescope
1952 Christine Jorgenson is 1st person to undergo a sex-change operation
1973 American Psychiatric Association declares homosexuality is not mental illness
ANSWERS
∞ JEOPARDY
►In 1947 Britain's George VI dropped his title as emperor of this country
What is India?
►On May 30, 1967 it declared itself a republic & seceded from Nigeria
What is Biafra?
►After discovering the Philippines in March of 1521, he stayed there for about a month & was killed
Who was Magellan?
►By 1906 British New Guinea had become a territory of Australia & was renamed this
What is Papua New Guinea?
►This smallest Balkan country didn't become independent until the 20th century
What is Albania?
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Flagstaff, Arizona, United States
I retired in '06--at the ripe old age of 57. I enjoy blogging, photography, traveling, and living life to it's fullest.