Thursday, July 21, 2005


Here is the second one that's kinda cool.. the trees below the moon are southeast of the barn.. ...  Posted by Picasa

You have to look close but this New Moon shot is through some tree branches... surrounding the moon.. took about 80, this was one of the best I think.. There is one more that might be good... haha.. Posted by Picasa

Phil has one cool photo collage on his page...

Phil took some pics of Austyn swimming on his last day .... and has one great collage on his site.. be sure and check it out!!! Congrats to Austyn on finishing up his swimming lessons and doing so great...! We are proud of you Austyn!

And Phil, if Gary England can come to Harland's backyard, he could sure find his way to yours - next summer??? or want to try for this summer???

So you think you know the news... haha.... unbelievable link has all the frontpages of newspapers everywhere on every topic!!!

One has to see this, and play with it to believe it!!

Warning: by clicking on this link, you will be able to see the front pages of newspapers around the world and all over the USA. The searches can be broken down many ways on many topics... cool huh???

http://www.newseum.org/ is really cool!! and the papers are uptodate, too!!

Last Code Talker Dies in Tulsa Oklahoma


Charles Chibitty receives the Knowlton Award during a ceremony Nov. 30, 1999, at the Pentagon's Hall of Heroes in Washington. Chibitty, one of 20 Comanche Indians who used their native language as a code to transmit messages for the Allies during World War II, has died. He was 83. Chibitty, the last living code talker, had been residing at a Tulsa, Okla. nursing home but had not been hospitalized, said Cathy Flynn, administrative assistant in the tribal chairman's office. The Comanche Nation's chairman received a call about 5 p.m. Wednesday, July 20, 2005, stating that Chibitty had died, Flynn said. (AP Photo/Dennis Cook)

Last of WWII Comanche Code Talkers Dies


OKLAHOMA CITY - Charles Chibitty, the last survivor of the Comanche code talkers who used their native language to transmit messages for the Allies in Europe during World War II, has died. He was 83.

Chibitty, who had been residing at a Tulsa nursing home, died Wednesday, said Cathy Flynn, administrative assistant in the Comanche Nation tribal chairman's office.

The group of Comanche Indians from the Lawton area were selected for special duty in the U.S. Army to provide the Allies with a language that the Germans could not decipher. Like the larger group of Navajo Indians who performed a similar service in the Pacific theater, the Comanches were dubbed "code talkers."

"It's strange, but growing up as a child I was forbidden to speak my native language at school," Chibitty said in 2002. "Later my country asked me to. My language helped win the war and that makes me very proud. Very proud. "

In a 1998 story for The Oklahoman, Chibitty recalled being at Normandy on D-Day, and said someone once asked him what he was afraid of most and if he feared dying.

"No. That was something we had already accepted," he said.

"But we landed in deeper water than anticipated. A lot of boys drowned. That's what I was afraid of."

"I wonder what the hell Hitler thought when he heard those strange voices," he once told a gathering.

Chibitty was born Nov. 20, 1921, near Medicine Park and attended high school at Haskell Indian School in Lawrence, Kan. He enlisted in 1941.

In 1999, Chibitty received the Knowlton Award, which recognizes individuals for outstanding intelligence work, during a ceremony at the Pentagon's Hall of Heroes.

"We could never do it again," Chibitty told Oklahoma Today. "It's all electronic and video in war now."

Lance and hi tech...

Lance Armstrong and High Tech bicycles...

From Uncle Ivan comes this tidbit.. thanks Uncle Ivan....

Mistaken Identity

An honest man was being tailgated by a stressed out woman on
a busy boulevard. Suddenly, the light turned yellow, just in front of him.

He did the right thing, stopping at the crosswalk, even though he could have beaten the red light by accelerating through the intersection.

The tailgating woman hit the roof, and the horn, screaming in frustration as she missed her chance to get through the intersection. As she was still in mid-rant, she heard a tap on her window and looked up into the face of a very serious police officer. The officer ordered her to exit her car with her hands up. He took her to the police station where she was searched, finger printed, photographed, and placed in a holding cell.

After a couple of hours, a policeman approached the cell and opened the door. She was escorted back to the booking desk where the arresting officer was waiting with her personal effects.

He said, "I'm very sorry for this mistake. You see, I pulled up behind your car while you were blowing your horn, flipping off the guy in front of you, and cussing a blue streak at him. "I noticed the 'Choose Life' license plate holder, the 'What Would Jesus Do' bumper sticker, the 'Follow Me to Sunday-School' bumper sticker, and the chrome-plated Christian fish emblem on the trunk.

Naturally, I assumed you had stolen the car."

Isn't this priceless?

Some photos from London...

Some pics from London this am....

From Melanie Shaklee.... this neat tidbit... thanks Mel..

Remember the guy who got on a plane with a bomb built into his shoe
and tried to light it?

Did you know his trial is over?
Did you know he was sentenced?
Did you see/hear any of the judge's comments on TV/Radio?

Didn't think so

Everyone should hear what the judge had to say.
Ruling by Judge William Young, US District Court.

Prior to sentencing, the Judge asked the defendant if he had anything to say.

His response: After admitting his guilt to the court for the record,
Reid also admitted his "allegiance to Osama bin Laden, to Islam, and to the religion of Allah," defiantly stated "I think I will not apologize for my actions," and told the court "I am at war with your country."

Judge Young then delivered the statement quoted below:

January 30, 2003, United States vs. Reid. Judge Young:
"Mr. Richard C. Reid, hearken now to the sentence the Court imposes upon you.

On counts 1, 5 and 6 the Court sentences you to life in prison in the custody of the United States Attorney General. On counts 2, 3, 4 and 7, the Court sentences you to 20 years in prison on each count, the sentence on each count to run consecutive with the other.
That's 80 years. On count 8 the Court sentences you to the mandatory 30 years consecutive to the 80 years just imposed. The Court imposes upon you each of the eight counts a fine of $250,000 for the aggregate fine of $2 million. The Court accepts the government's recommendation with respect to restitution and orders restitution in the amount of $298.17 to Andre Bousquet and $5,784 to American Airlines. The Court imposes upon you the $800 special assessment.
The Court imposes upon you five years supervised release simply because the law requires it. But the life sentences are real life sentences so I need go no further. This is the sentence that is provided for by our statutes. It is a fair and just sentence. It is a righteous sentence.

Let me explain this to you. We are not afraid of you or any of your terrorist co-conspirators, Mr. Reid. We are Americans. We have been through the fire before. There is all too much war talk here and I say that to everyone with the utmost respect. Here in this court, we deal with individuals as individuals and care for individuals as individuals. As human beings, we reach out for justice.

You are not an enemy combatant. You are a terrorist. You are not a soldier in any war. You are a terrorist. To give you that reference, to call you a soldier, gives you far too much stature. Whether it is the officers of government who do it or your attorney who does it, or if you think you are a soldier. You are not----- you are a terrorist. And we do not negotiate with terrorists. We do not meet with terrorists. We do not sign documents with terrorists We hunt them down one by one and bring them to justice.

So war talk is way out of line in this court. You are a big fellow. But you are not that big. You're no warrior. I've know warriors. You are a terrorist. A species of criminal that is guilty of multiple attempted murders. In a very real sense, State Trooper Santiago had it right when you first were taken off that plane and into custody and you wondered where the press and where the TV crews were, and he said: "You're no big deal."


What your able counsel and what the equally able United States attorneys have grappled with and what I have as honestly as I know how tried to grapple with, is why you did something so horrific. What was it that led you here to this courtroom today?

I have listened respectfully to what you have to say. And I ask you to search your heart and ask yourself what sort of unfathomable hate led you to do what you are guilty and admit you are guilty of doing. And I have an answer for you. It may not satisfy you, but as I search this entire record, it comes as close to understanding as I know.

It seems to me you hate the one thing that to us is most precious. You hate our freedom. Our individual freedom. Our individual freedom to live as we choose, to come and go as we choose, to believe or not believe as we individually choose. Here, in this society, the very wind carries freedom. It carries it everywhere from sea to shining sea. It is because we prize individual freedom so much that you are here in this beautiful courtroom. So that everyone can see, truly see, that justice is administered fairly, individually, and discretely. It is for freedom's sake that your lawyers are striving so vigorously on your behalf and have filed appeals, will go on in their representation of you before other judges.

We Americans are all about freedom. Because we all know that the way we treat you, Mr. Reid, is the measure of our own liberties. Make no mistake though. It is yet true that we will bare any burden; pay any price, to preserve our freedoms. Look around this courtroom. Mark it well. The world is not going to long remember what you or I say here. Day after tomorrow, it will be forgotten, but this, however, will long endure. Here in this courtroom and courtrooms all across America, the American people will gather to see that justice, individual justice, justice, not war, individual justice is in fact being done. The very President of the United States through his officers will have to come into courtrooms and lay out evidence on which specific matters can be judged and juries of citizens will gather to sit and judge that evidence democratically, to mold and shape and refine our sense of justice.

See that flag, Mr. Reid? That's the flag of the United States of America. That flag will fly there long after this is all forgotten. That flag stands for freedom. And it always will.

Mr. Custody Officer. Stand him down.


So, how much of this Judge's comments did we hear on our TV sets?
We need more judges like Judge Young, but that's another subject. Pass this around. Everyone should and needs to hear what this fine judge had to say.
Powerful words that strike home.

God bless America.

Ann and I called Andrew to wish him happy 4th birthday.. last night..

It was kind'a cool. We were waiting for about 10pm to call... We tried earlier several times and didn't get an answer so we thought maybe they had slipped out, or were resting... so we waited.. and then at 10pm we called and wished Andrew Paul HAPPY 4th Birthday!! First thing he reports is... "I'm 4 now Grandpa!". Wow.. yelp, Andrew you are now FOUR... and Austyn will be SIX on his next birthday!!! And Kaitlyn will be 9 months old on the 23rd... and Madison will be 3 months old on the 4th of August!! Wow... time marchs on... And I am still 18... haha.. yeah... right!!!
Talked with Jon... Think they are coming up Saturday .. Cool. I wonder if I will know who Kaitlyn is.. Ms Potter with glasses.. Cool pic by the way!! Seems like we have some special days this month to celebrate.. Andrew, Paul, and Jon and Randi's Anni... wow, guess we need to be fasting for this... haha yeah, right... Not sure what the plans for weekend are...
Grandma Moffat came over for dinner last night with Ann and I. We had a great visit and I was helping her with some photos she has of her mother teaching school at Mt. Pisgah School west of Okarche, OK. There are three of them and they were taken in Feb and March of 1913. Her and Grandpa Siegrist were married on May 21, 1913... It's kind'a an old western story... the young man new in town falls for the school teacher... haha.... Heard the baler is ready, but it will have to wait till next week... too much going on that I need to finish up before getting into the hay... but looks like from next Monday on... busy busy with hay, etc..
Stay cool, drink lots of liquids.... and remember, the heat can get you before you know it!!!

OH my Goodness....

3 London Underground Stations Evacuated

LONDON - Three London Underground stations were evacuated at midday Thursday following reports of incidents, British Transport Police said. The Fire Brigade was investigating a report of smoke at one station.

Emergency services also were responding to a report of an incident on a bus in east London, police said.

This has nothing to do with much, and yet everything... haha... JC Penney always said two things....

JC Penney had two sayings... One. There is not a dime made till the last shoe is sold. If you have 12 pair, you have to sell the 12th pair to realize any profit, and the second was: The customer is always right!! So with that in mind.. here is a neat post I found on this subject this am.... I post this for my four kiddos.. who grew up somewhat in a retail business and heard Dad say this many times......

Why the customer is always right

You're hearing from a customer who isn't happy with the service or product. Either the customer is right or the customer is wrong. You have to decide which it is. Suppose you decide the customer is wrong, but the customer is actually right. You've now taken a serious chance of losing the customer, and it's possible that the former customer will tell other customers or potential customers that you suck, not only do you give bad service, but when you do, you don't make it right.

Now, suppose you assume the customer is right and you give them a new one of whatever was wrong, and apologize for the screwup, and thank them for their continued patronage. Having been given what he or she asked for, and having been vindicated, and received gratitude, the customer is glowing with a magnanimity that is greater than it would have been had you never made the mistake. You win, big.

Okay, now flip it around. Suppose the customer is wrong. They're just human, it could happen. Suppose you assume the customer is right and give them a freebie and an apology and a thank you. It's likely that the freebie didn't really cost you anything, or not very much. Cost of goods ain't what it used to be. Most of the cost is in time, and you'd spend as much time arguing with them, as you would by giving them what they want. And I don't care what you say, and apology and a thanks costs nothing. You can always be sorry and thankful. Always, no matter what, even if you're being scammed and know it. You can be thankful that this person is leaving your place of business sooner than if you argued with him.

The final case is the customer is wrong and you say they're wrong. In this case you're the most screwed. This is one angry mofo and you don't want to hear what they're going to say about you. You don't even want to think about it. Everyone in your store is going to wonder why you don't just give them what they want so they will leave and they can all get on with what they came to do -- spend money.