http://web.oregon.com/history/hm/japanese_attack.cfm
Now this was something I didn't know! An amazing fact that got lost for many with all the rest of World War II, Pearl Harbor, etc. Interesting information and something to challenge people about at your next party or get together!
Friday, September 9, 2011
A birthday of sorts . . .
Just noted that on this day in 1850, California became the 31st state! Seems to me that is a good reason to eat birthday cake!
Hitler's Eagles Nest . . .
I have to admit, however, that the view from the top is amazing. Not a lot to do up there except enjoy a good restaurant and admire the view . . . but it was sufficient for a great day. Interesting to note that Hitler only visited the place a few times . . . he didn't like heights!
When the lights go out . . .
My daughter lives in San Diego and called and asked me if our power had gone out, too. Seemed sort of a funny question as we live two hours away. Turns out, it was not so far fetched as the news reported that pretty much all of San Diego was without power for twelve hours as were 56,000 homes in Arizona, and some places in Mexico. So far, no full explanation about the failure but the power is back on now. Naturally, yesterday was one of the hottest days of the week even for the beach areas so not a great time to be without air conditioning. Given the panic and chaos that ensued, we humans are pretty dependent on our comforts.
It was ironic but after doing without air conditioning for over five years, we finally found a price we could deal with and had central air installed a few weeks ago. Two days after we had gotten used to being relatively comfortable (we keep it set at 82 degrees!), the power went out for about six hours. I managed to figure out how to complete dinner preparations without the oven and we had dinner in the twilight. Later, we played UpWords by flashlight. It put a whole new angle on the game and when the lights came on towards the end of the game, it just wasn't the same.
It is graduation week for my daughter's college in San Diego and the power outage cancelled their event for yesterday. We are praying things go smoothly for today and tomorrow when the actual graduation takes place. She is in the third class to ever graduated from this college so that adds a bit to the excitement.
It was ironic but after doing without air conditioning for over five years, we finally found a price we could deal with and had central air installed a few weeks ago. Two days after we had gotten used to being relatively comfortable (we keep it set at 82 degrees!), the power went out for about six hours. I managed to figure out how to complete dinner preparations without the oven and we had dinner in the twilight. Later, we played UpWords by flashlight. It put a whole new angle on the game and when the lights came on towards the end of the game, it just wasn't the same.
It is graduation week for my daughter's college in San Diego and the power outage cancelled their event for yesterday. We are praying things go smoothly for today and tomorrow when the actual graduation takes place. She is in the third class to ever graduated from this college so that adds a bit to the excitement.
Cheerful, true, and funny quotes for a Friday . . .
"Once the game is over, the King and the pawn go back in the same
box."
-- Italian Proverb
-- Italian Proverb
"Those who can make you believe absurdities can make you commit
atrocities."
-- Voltaire
-- Voltaire
"No matter how rich you become, how famous or powerful, when you
die the size of your funeral will still pretty much depend on the weather."
-- Michael Pritchard
-- Michael Pritchard
"History will be kind to me for I intend to write it."
-- Sir Winston Churchill
-- Sir Winston Churchill
God's Gift to the World . . .
“The Infinite Mass causes the whole heavenly court to rejoice. It alleviates
the pain of the souls in purgatory. It draws down all types of blessings upon
earth, and gives more glory to God than all the sufferings of all the martyrs
together, more glory than the penances of all the saints, than all the tears
shed by them since the beginning of the world and all that they may do till the
end of time.” ~St. John Vianney
Where were you on 9/11?
The tenth anniversary of 9/11 has flooded the television programing with various aspects of how that fateful, horrible day played out. Even after ten years, you can't view that day from the distance of time. I watched a moment-to-moment replay of how the first two planes plowed into the Twin Towers and it was like a time warp as I felt myself dropped back to the moment I first witnessed the events by way of computer, radio, and television.
The first inkling that something awful had happened were some e-mail postings on a group site. It was vague and all the person knew, at the moment, was that a plane had crashed into a building. Minute by minute, the news got worse. I turned on the television and the reporters and news crews were scrambling to cover something they just didn't realize the scope of yet.
My children were 16, 14, 12, and 8 at the time. We were getting ready to head out to morning Mass with one eye on the television as the unheard of day in history unfolded. We saw/heard about the planes crashing into the Twin Towers. We got glimpses of it on the television. It wasn't real . . . yet it was. We were halfway to church when the radio announced the Pentagon had been hit . . . by another plane. It all thoroughly confirmed this was not an accident.
Since our pastor had gotten to church early, he had only heard 'something about a plane crashing into a building' and wondered about his congregation shaking their heads and looking so sad and shocked. By this time, all planes in the air were ordered down and to remain locked on the runway. I remember standing outside of the church and talking to friends. Suddenly we stopped and listened to the silence . . . we never realized how often we heard planes overhead until it stopped completely for those first few hours.
We got home just in time to see the first tower crumble. We had just come into the house and hadn't even sat down. We stood there in shock. It was such a helpless feeling as we prayed for the victims on the planes, their families, the people who didn't make it out of the towers, the responders and the deaths of the emergency crews who tried to save people.
There are a lot of stories about that day. I was just a bystander on the opposite side of the country but seeing it all shown in detail, again, brought that day immediately back to the present. We have all lived through historic events that will appear in future history books. This is an event that has been seriously etched into our hearts. We can never forget! We can never stop praying for our country, the people who lead us, and the people.
The first inkling that something awful had happened were some e-mail postings on a group site. It was vague and all the person knew, at the moment, was that a plane had crashed into a building. Minute by minute, the news got worse. I turned on the television and the reporters and news crews were scrambling to cover something they just didn't realize the scope of yet.
My children were 16, 14, 12, and 8 at the time. We were getting ready to head out to morning Mass with one eye on the television as the unheard of day in history unfolded. We saw/heard about the planes crashing into the Twin Towers. We got glimpses of it on the television. It wasn't real . . . yet it was. We were halfway to church when the radio announced the Pentagon had been hit . . . by another plane. It all thoroughly confirmed this was not an accident.
Since our pastor had gotten to church early, he had only heard 'something about a plane crashing into a building' and wondered about his congregation shaking their heads and looking so sad and shocked. By this time, all planes in the air were ordered down and to remain locked on the runway. I remember standing outside of the church and talking to friends. Suddenly we stopped and listened to the silence . . . we never realized how often we heard planes overhead until it stopped completely for those first few hours.
We got home just in time to see the first tower crumble. We had just come into the house and hadn't even sat down. We stood there in shock. It was such a helpless feeling as we prayed for the victims on the planes, their families, the people who didn't make it out of the towers, the responders and the deaths of the emergency crews who tried to save people.
There are a lot of stories about that day. I was just a bystander on the opposite side of the country but seeing it all shown in detail, again, brought that day immediately back to the present. We have all lived through historic events that will appear in future history books. This is an event that has been seriously etched into our hearts. We can never forget! We can never stop praying for our country, the people who lead us, and the people.
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