A letter of old…

This was a letter my Aunt Regina wrote to her friend in Scotland in 1945. It’s about my father ordeal as a POW

Isabel,

I've written the following as best as I could about what my brother has told us. I've written it and put it in my scrapbook as a lasting memory.

The names are those of his crew and "Sak" is my brother.

On July 30, 1944 the crew of "Our Belle II" was returning from his mission. About 11 o'clock the plane was hit by anti-aircraft guns, causing the wing to come off and the engines to catch on fire. No orders were given as to what to do. Each man was for himself. The turret gunner (caught in the wind force unable to move) did not mail out. The rear gunner was hit by flak and also couldn't bail out. Sak (my brother) was hit in the hip but bailed out with the other seven. He let himself drop for hundred feet before he opened his parachute because the plane was falling and he might have caught his chute on fire.

Sak and the pilot landed on a small island off Hungary, where a group of Hungarian people were having a picnic. The pilot injured his leg and Sak his leg. Both were taken by the people. The navigator (landed nearby) was hit in the head by a pitch fork and clubbed by the people. (He lived though) The radioman (my brothers best buddy) was shot through the stomach as he landed and died. Sak and the pilot were man-handled. Richardson, it is believed was hung by the frantic crowd. (My brother said they saw bodies hanging that day and believe he was among them.)

From this point the German soldiers came and the boys were sent to Budapest. Here they were questioned. The Germans, through their spy service, had already had their names, rank etc. Yet they questioned them for such minor details but the boys always answered, "You know better to ask that" or "we hit our target so you know where we went."

Sak was placed in solitary confinement, while some were put in dark rooms or in rooms where they couldn't stand up. Others were fed on one day and not the next. Levi Caldwell was chained and pulled by his hair to get information. The boys were slapped when they wouldn't answer. Sak's American cigarettes were taken from him and he was given three German ones in exchange.

After staying here three weeks, they were put on a train and sent to Germany. On the train, they were given a piece of hard salami, which was full of maggots, and a loaf of moldy bread. Both were thrown out.

In Germany they were sent to Stalag Luft 4 (near Baltic Sea). The first few months they stayed in tents, but when it got colder they were put in barracks. Their daily menu was: Breakfast - barley coffee; Lunch - soup made from weeds, grass, worms - served in a pail for 24 men - smelled and tasted lie soap and could not be eaten. Supper - potatoes, rutabagas, turnips or sugar beets (usually fed to cattle) occasionally, the boys would steal some bread or bribe the guards.

For recreation the boys would play cards (they made them from cardboard), ball and clean their barracks to keep them free of lice. Once in a while Red Cross packages came and the boys would be kept alive for a while. Some took up knitting and took old stockings, pulled the threads from them and embroidered. Still others took up studying German or French. Sak took a hair brush, pulled the bristles out and carved a cigarette case from it. He did it with a razor blade and Isabel, it's really beautiful.

None of the boys had to work, because the Air Force was considered a high military branch, due to Goerhing having been a pilot in World War I. Their mattresses consisted of sawdust put into covers the boys had made from bags.

The first 5 days, due to the diet, Sak's stomach swelled up and most of the boys got dysentery. Later on, their bodies broke out with boils - (my brother still has scars) due to malnutrition. Sometimes a Red Cross package contained raisins and jam, so the boys would take bread (made with sawdust) and mix the raisins and jam together, add soda bicarbonate pills and make cakes. Once in a while they got a chicken from a women in exchange for soap, and they would pack the chicken in mud, roast it; peel off the mud and feathers and eat it!

In February the Russians started their advance and the prisoners were forced to move. From February to March 30 they marched 830 kilometers planning an escape. They had planned their route etc. and three boys did leave. However, they stayed in a forest for four days and got so sick that they had to give themselves up and heaven knows what happened to them.

Also, while on the march, Sak said some towns were almost completely demolished, and only the foundations were left.

On May 3, 1945 the camp was liberated. Sak said all were happy but had expected the surprise. They had heard and seen Berlin burning 90 miles away as if it were a mile away. After being liberated, the men were stripped of their cloths, given new ones and sent to France, England and then home. The first few weeks they were given two meals a day (just a very little) to accustom them to eating. Then they were given 3 meals and finally 3 heavy consisting of creamy, rich foods and vitamins to build them up. Sak gained 20 pounds on the ship.

On May 31 he telephoned us from Fort Shedidan, Ill and said he's be home on Saturday. So we met him at the station Saturday. (the train was an hour late) Sak was very quiet at first but now is as he used to be.

He has received the purple heart, president citation, air medal, three oak leaf clusters and four stars for battle campaigns.

- He did not receive any of our mail or packages for ten months.

So you see, Isabel, why I say only miracles brought him back. He said "Saint Anne brought him back" (He wore a metal of this saint during all his trips etc.) but I told him the whole of heaven did and I guess that's true.

He also said he couldn't tell us everything, because there's still a war going on but I can't imagine anything else that he could add!

Bye now and love,

Regina

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It’s Puppy Girl

There’s the Puppy Girl my fox friend who comes by most every night about 9 PM. After Puppy Girl stops by her daughter Sprout comes by. I can tell them apart by where they sit. They will sit for hours waiting for me to come out and great them. They seem to let every one else to eat before they come on the porch to eat. When I first saw the Puppy Girl I thought she was a kitty that had been hanging around because she was in the shadows and I couldn’t see her it was so dark out. I think I was going to get the laundry when I saw her. I pointed to the porch and said it’s okay. The Puppy Girl ran to the porch and started eating. I was amazed and so I stood there watching her. There’s three girls that come here all after 9 PM. Sprout will come the closest to me. She will come on the porch if I’m to one side. The new baby is a little shy but will sit on the steps waiting for me. If I toss them a treat they prance away until they get into the shadows then start running. It’s so cute watching them trotting off nice and happy. Another reason I thought it was a cat because they hop up on the cedar fence and walk down it like a cat. I need to rig up a camera outside with a flash. I can shoot from the porch but then I need a real bright flash. I have been using the flashes manually taking the foxes picture. It’s hard to get the frame in focus because it’s so dark. I want to get better photos of the possum. If I’m shooting through the door window I’m going to have to have the flashes on the outside. I have a couple TTL flashes and a couple flashes that plug into the wall that are pretty bright. It’s going to take a bit of planning and trail and error.

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New Little Buddy, Arrow

Why it's the albino raccoon and the new buddy Arrow. I have to call her Arrow with the big smile. Arrow is the only creature that comes around that will eat the cats canned food. I'm very amazed at all the creatures that get along with each other. the albino raccoon is a female with little pink hands. She's not full grown yet like her mother who still comes by with her. It's nice seeing them together. There was five babies and mom that used to come around together last summer and fall. The possum has really unique hands and feet. They are all like opposing thumbs or multi jointed fingers. I haven't had that many hours of watching the possum. I think it's wonderful that it stops by. I'd like to see baby possums one day. the possum seems really calm and peaceful. I was bringing the skunks and raccoons a cheesy treat and tossed one to the possum. It seem to like the cheesy treat. Everyone seems to like the cats food. I know they like the more expensive cat food and will eat that first over the cheap stuff. I'm amazed at how the skunks get along with everyone. They might stomp their feet if someone gets too close. They don't spray every thing or everyone. the most you might get from a skunk is them stomping their feet at you. I've noticed when they see me they come over to see me to get a pet or scratch. I find them to be all very interesting. They like to be treated nicely and then they will treat you nicely. I really find the foxes as very intelligent creatures. They get along with the cats and raccoons. The skunks will stomp their feet at the foxes but that's about it. I think the skunks are spooked at how fast the foxes dart around them.

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Happy Buddy

Nothing like a little buddy smiling at you. This is one of my forest friends. It’s still young and was born last year. They grew up here eating the cats food and bugs in the yard. I find holes dug the the raccoons and skunks in the yard after they went for some sort of nasty bugs. The raccoons will snag moths right out of the air and munch them down. My cats do that also. It’s amazing when you have a raccoon that trusts you and will stick around when it sees you. I have been able to give them cookies and cat treats. One raccoon felt my warm finger and inspected my finger on all sides. I think it discovered that we are closer together then farther apart. I’ve found out them washing their paws if to soften their skin so they can feel things better. They don’t wash their food, that’s just a myth. I’ve seen shows about raccoons and my little buddies seem to be a lot different then the city dwellers. I’m the only human they have ever seen. As long as I’m kneeling down and being small they seem to except me a lot better. I’d be afraid to of something that was ten times bigger them me. Still these little buddies are very shy. That’s good because it help for their survival. They sure seem like wise creatures watching them. Mom teaches them the first year and I’ve seen them together the second and third year. Since my kitties and the raccoons grew up together they are good friends and you see them together all the time. Now to train them to pet the cats.

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Observations of Emotions

I was watching a porch full of skunks last night. Well not a porch full but three skunks on the porch and two skunks out by the water bowls. When I heard the two at the water bowls fighting. They are pretty good most of the time and don’t like fighting except when it’s about food. They always thing the other skunk that’s close to them wants to steel their food. So they make some noise to keep the other skunk away. The other noise they make is if a skunk is biting one of them. I could see the passive skunks by me panicking hearing a skunk in pain or being hurt crying out. the way they look at me, it’s like “Please help that skunk he’s hurting.” Or it could be, “Keep me safe here for being hurt.” People are afraid of skunks when they are so passive and easy going. They panic all the time that someone wants to do them harm. They really are a shy creatures when you get down to it. That’s just their way of staying safe. Since I live in the sticks, I’m the only human they have ever seen. These skunks once they got used to seeing me turned out to be good little friend. They like getting pets. It’s so cute when they stand on their back feet to get a better view. I’m amazed at what great sniffers they have. You can throw something they eat through the air, it can bounce away from them but they can smell the air and follow the scent down to where every the food item went. Skunks don’t see so well but good enough. They use their sense of smell to get around. I’ve never seen any animal with a better sniffer. I’m not sure why some skunks get alone with each other and some are so fearful and nip at other skunks. When I make friends with them they tend to get alone with each other a lot better.

Little Buddy with the Bo-Boo leg. I don’t know where it lives but it’s getting it’s tail thinned by getting the hair caught on something over and over. It’s so amazing seeing them take a cat treat out of my hand and back up to eat it. They have small front hands and bigger back legs so they are like a wedge. It must be for hunting and dragging something out of the ground. They are good diggers and have the claws to do some digging.

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Little Bo-Boo Leg Buddy

Ran out of cheddar cheese so I tried Cream Cheese and my little Bo-Boo leg Buddy likes it. She’s got a hurt back leg and has become weak but I’m feeding here extra good so she will get stronger.  I don’t know is she is the one with the babies under the back of the house but by the dust on her forehead she’s living under there too. I don’t know if she has a broke leg or foot but I can see that it’s swollen. She lifts her leg while walking. When skunks are eating  they lay down to eat at least they do here. It’s real cute watching them eat the cats food. The raccoons and foxes come for the cat food also.

Such a cute ferret face. No skunk don’t go around spraying everything in sight. They will only spray you if you try to eat them or hurt them. Most of the time they just stomp their front feet to get your attention. It just amazes me how good all the wildlife get along with each other. They get a little possessive over their food but if there is enough they don’t fight. I may have six skunks and six raccoons on the small front porch at the same time.  The skunks can be in contacted with each other and then they might do some pushing. I noticed the raccoons will just push them out of the way. They put their little hands on their back which causes them to back up. Skunks are built like a wedge and backing up is their best strengths to get food away from another animal. They like getting petted on their sides and don’t like a hand over the top of them. You can tell a skunk is relaxed because their tail will be down unless it’s snow there or it’s wet. I’ve been trying to get her where her foot heals but I don’t know if it needs to be set or something. I’m hoping it’s just a sprain or something minor.

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Snow day

Dieter playing in the snow. Been a cold snowy day here. I’m really feeling achy and breaky. Two pairs of everything on except for sock which I have three pairs on. I’ve been out on the porch a couple time with the kitties. I see a couple little buddies and some little hands on the porch. It’s after ten and the snow is slowly melting. I don’t know what the over night temperature is going to be but sure not going to be warm. It started snowing around noon and just kept snowing into the evening. I watched Dieter running around in the snow. Every time I looked out she was in a different place. Stayed up too late last night watching movies waiting for the snow. Saw a little drizzle when I got up this morning to feed the kitties. Dieter and her friend the raccoon are out there together. They seem to get along pretty good. I found out that Dieter is scared of the stereo yesterday. Took me a couple days to get her out from under the computer desk. Once I turned the radio off she came out and ran out the front door. Well, it was nice and warm here yesterday.

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Warm days and cold nights

It's been another odd winter like the past few winters where the suns out bright and shining. No rain mid January or February but the rains coming along with snow. It's been doing this same weather pattern the last three years. The Jet-stream is dipping down to southern United States bringing the cold and moisture to the east coast. The east coast is having record cold weather. They had a massive snow storm which locked up many states. Here we have been having high 60's to low 70's. It gets cool soon as the suns gone or your in the shade. Doesn't feel like winter except for the short days and long nights. I can tell that the days are getting longer. It's light after 5:30PM. I haven't noticed it getting lighter in the morning yet. I like those summer days when it's like till 9 PM. Well it's going to be a few month before it's light out late and we have warmer days. Seems you want summer except for those triple digit days. When it's in the 80 during the day and 60's at night those are very pleasant days. In the winter you hoping for summer days and in the summer you hoping for cooler weather.

Ground Clouds

Another rainy day and the clouds are on the ground. Just staying inside where it’s warm and dry. My kitties are on the back porch snuggling together staying warm except Dieter who is roaming around. She my watch kitty and gets jealous if any other animal comes around that I might pet. I don’t know how I’m going to break her of this because she might get hurt picking on creatures bigger then her. Car is working again. Fixed the problem. It’s an indoor movie day.

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Funny I didn’t feel like I was in a Rut

My deer friend with his nose up smelling the air for female hormones. At times they will be so much into the rut they will go without eating if a females hormones are in the air. The musk gland is near their eye and will open and close as they breath. It’s more noticeable on the mule deer then the black tail deer like this one. The deer aren’t alarmed seeing me so then get rather close. This is a view from my porch or from the front door window. The views are always amazing.

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Looking out the front door window

I’m always amazed at the wildlife here. They always amaze me because of how they get along with everyone. I see a fox eating from the plate of corn. Two raccoons are eating cat food and looking around only a couple feet from the fox. Dieter Kitty came walking up and is laying down on her spot of the porch where the kitties lay in a kitty pile sleeping together. When the kitties are up playing they don’t seem like they would sleep together but they do. The raccoons sometimes will arch their back and make the hair stand up until they figure out the kitties are their friends. The skunks when they are around are sort of solo creatures. They seem to get along with the other wildlife. They might stomp their feet at first but when the other kitty or raccoon of fox doesn’t back up they go about eating. I’m just amazed how I brought all the creatures together here. I heard that foxes and raccoons were enemies but I don’t see that. They all seem to get along. They get a bite to eat and watch each other. Everyone knows everyone. Because they are long lived creatures they all have grown up together from babies. The foxes come to me when I call their names. So do the kitties. The raccoons are a bit shy but will come up to me and I can sit on the porch with everyone walking around me. It’s just amazing a word I use a lot because it is simply amazing seeing them all together. Kitty eating from the same pile as the skunks and raccoons. The foxes dart in and out getting a bite then darting off. It’s such a hyper creature. The raccoons are hyper too but it takes a bit of watching them to see that. They look around and use their hands to feel for food. I was sitting out on the porch with everyone and extended my hand with one finger. The raccoon came up to me and touched my finger on all sides. I think they noticed that my finger is warm like they are. Those little hands move so fast around checking out everything. Watching the raccoons move they look slow but there is a lot going on. They always got those round ears going listening to everything going on in the forest. Each little noise needs to be explained. The female deer will admire the babies. They will come up to all babies and just stair at them. Babies have that rounded head and other animals recognize that. They cut the babies some slack. With baby deer and the pecking order of the herd the baby might get pushed out by another deer but mom will be there to protect the baby. Momma skunk will protect her babies and so will momma raccoon. Momma raccoon will give you a growl to let you know your too close to the babies even if she knows you real well. Those are her babies and for several months she’s going to be teaching them how to become a raccoon. I noticed that they do something you may learn in survival training. They will find a muddy place and dig a hole. Water will seep back into the hole and they will wet their paws or get a drink. I find small rounded holes all over the yard where they were getting water. It’s like a teaching class too. Mom will be explaining by example and the babies will gather around watching every move. It’s real cute to watch them play together also. They like climbing over each other and rolling down a hill together. Seeing them standing up is so cute. I never knew skunks stand up too to get a better view. For me watching them is like watching TV, I can do that for hours.  

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Too cold to do anything

Too cold to be doing anything outside. Todays high was 39 degrees and low this morning was 25 degrees. The yard was frozen and white from ice crystals. I almost got the Dieter in the house tonight but as I started closing the door she ran out. Well that’s closer. I’m petting them something they said I’d never be able to do. Deer are sneaking up to get the cat food. The raccoons played with the frozen water bowl and rolled it across the yard and up the hill. Saw a couple male deer pushing each other in the creek. They were splashing in the water and the antlers were clacking. They don’t hurt each other and seem to stop right before they do. When one deer quits both quit. Nice to see they have an honor code of fighting. This cold spell has hit the whole state all the way down to the ocean. Still getting a light dusting of snow higher up.

I have some new babies under the house. I believe they are a family of raccoons. I heard them crying while mom was out eating. I had a family of 5 babies last year under the house. They still come around as a group. I’ve watched them grow up and learn to be raccoons. This should be an interesting year. Now I see why the skunks were chased off from under the house because of the babies.

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Fiscal Cliff or Fiscal Theater, Don’t tax the rich job creators!

Taxes aren’t being raised but returning to where they were before the tax reduction from Bush and Obama. There was a deal to reduce the deficit over ten years which isn’t much when you get down to it. 150 billion a year for ten years. That will pay for both wars the republicans forgot to pay for but put it on plastic and charged it. Then there was the world economic rescue. This saved the world’s banks from totally failing.  So what is the media talking about? Is it just a metaphor? Is the media taking this too far? Is this like the ” Y2K ” hype? Remember that where they said planes were going to fall from the sky. Banks would be broken and not be working and you couldn’t use your ATM cards. Why aren’t they talking about jobs? Too many right to work states and not enough unions. Where is the problem, is it the lobbyist passing out tons of money to congress and senate and spreading cheer and myths about government? They are saying, Raise the age for Medicare. This would save around 100 billion at the end of ten years but the people getting sick and coming onto Medicare would be in worse shape costing Medicare more over all. When people retire they are pretty much used up. I was forced into retirement because of my medial shape, I was used up far before my time. Without Medicare and Social Security I’d be living under a bridge some where.

Let the “Fiscal Cliff” be permanent. It’s going to cut funds to the military industrial complex. Taxes will be back to where they were back in Clinton’s days when the economy was doing fine and making jobs and there was a balanced budget.  As Clinton was signing one of his budgets he said, “this will make sure the budget is balanced for the next 25 years.” Then Bush came around and cut taxes for the rich which was back loaded so the longer it went on the more they would get mainly because of the tax breaks such as capital gains and other deductions that the poor and middle class can’t take advantage of.

Why is Obama trying to deal now when the republicans only want tax breaks for the rich. It’s not just lower income tax but a whole line of breaks they get. Why hasn’t anyone said, Lets tax those people on Wall Street when they buy things. A sales tax on stocks and bonds and other financial instruments. When you buy anything you have to pay sales tax except for those rich people who caused the problems we had in 2008 and afterwards till now. I heard is they were taxed 1% it would add up to hundreds of billions a year.

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DTV what a piece of crap!

Unless your in close proximity to a transmitter antenna your never going to get a good signal. The signal seems to break up during a show and come back during a commercial. I’ve missed the endings of so many show. The signal will be fine until the last ten minutes of the show. So you always miss the ending. I’ve been watching a show tonight and missed twenty minutes after the beginning of the show just enough time to want to see what is going on. I’ve got to see ten minutes out of an hour and can’t figure to much out of a fast paced show with a lot of changes and turns. I try to be real Zen over my TV watching but when fog or the weather causes the signal to break up something that analog TV never did. At least with analog the signal might break up but you could still see and hear it. I’ve noticed that it takes 4 times as much power to go 1/4 the distance. I don’t know what to do to get a better signal other then what I’ve done so far.

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Now that's a storm

Had a series of storms come through this week. The one today was real intense. High winds, trees bending like little sticks, rain going sideways. My poor kitties hide on the back porch and under things. Sprockets was on the back porch and kept looking out over the yard by looking under the railing. Was the first time Dieter came up to me and let me pet her. She then rub against me walking around me, that was the first time she let me pet her. The kitties really like being assured things were okay but they were still scared with all the noise. I saw a blue sky late this afternoon going into the evening. I was out feeding the kitties a little bit ago and it was so silent outside. No wind. No rain. No noise. The air was cold and feeling heavy. Tomorrow will be a clean up day.

Why TAXES should be higher on rich?

He’s the reason why taxes should be back to the 1950’s rate so that the country has the money to work.

 

Goldman Sachs CEO Lloyd Blankfein came to Capitol Hill this week to call for cuts in Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid. As Congress and the White House are negotiating a year-end deficit deal, Blankfein blustered about the need to “lower people’s expectations” about their retirement and health care. He was loose with his facts. He spoke with all the sympathy for someone struggling to get by on a $14,000-a-year retirement that you’d expect from a Wall Street banker paid $16 million last year. To Bernie, Blankfein’s attack on working families is obscene. “Think about the arrogance of these guys on Wall Street who were bailed out by the middle class of this country when their greed and recklessness nearly destroyed the financial system, and now they come to Capitol Hill to lecture Congress and the American people about the need to cut programs for working families,” Bernie said. “This is what class warfare is all about.”

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Tropical Storm, wet week

It’s the first big storm of the year. So fat the winds aren’t so bad but the constant rain is getting old. It’s been raining with one break mid-day to evening. Was listening to a San Francisco radio station and they said there could be 12 inches of rain in the coastal mountains. A local station said there could be 12 to 18 inches of water in the foothills. So far the steady rain hasn’t been that bad. The Weather Undergrounds maps showed the break today. Now it’s looking rather grim. It looks like rain all night. Sure wish I had indoor kitties. I feel bad they are outdoor cats. I have dry places for them on the deck under large tarps that cover the side of the house. Weatherman on TV said get ready for storm two. Just wonder what’s after that. Well on the bright side I get to do indoor projects. Read my VB book and learn VB or Java.

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Warp Engine and going really, really fast

Found this article on "warp engines" and space travel near the speed of light.
http://io9.com/5963263/how-nasa-will-build-its-very-first-warp-drive

 
It really sounds good but the amount of energy needed puts it out of reach at this time and who know maybe we will come up with some sort of anti-matter cores that produce all sorts of energy like in Star Trek. The warp engine isn't called a warp engine but The Alcubierre Drive. Michio Kaku dubbed Alcubierre's notion a "passport to the universe." Just need to solve that power problem. Have to have a infinite power supply which doesn't sound like something humans are going to be doing anytime soon when we are still burning coal, something out of the 19th century. Well they were burning coal to heat homes and buildings because they cut the trees down and burned them so getting out of the burning era and into something new is a bit far off.

What Fiscal Cliff

When one person you’re the phrase Fiscal Cliff it traveled the media like wildfire. Some reporters can’t use it enough like in every sentence at least once. The worry is that the middle class will stop spending after January first and won’t buy a lot of junk for Christmas because they are worried about “The Fiscal Cliff” an over rated catch phrase. Catch phrases come and go. Remember 9/11 and “Connect the Dots?” What about the first gulf war and “Hunker Down?” Everyone was “Hunkering in place” waiting for the next catch phrase to repeat. The latest word or phrase is “Superstorm Sandy.” If you use a spell checker “Superstorm” isn’t in there. I thought the words would have been hyphenated as “Super-Storm” but everyone followed the leader and made it one word, a new word. It is good the climate  change is in the media but the way it’s being used is like filler to a program. The people doing the reporting couldn’t care less what they are reporting about they are just reading copy. Copy, a page or pages of text written by a writer for a person to read on camera or in front of a microphone which is transmitted to the masses.

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Stitchen the front yard

100 pictures stitched together to make this. I had to make it about 1/4 the size because it was 170 megs. Check it out... click on the photo to zoom in.