History Trivia

Good Morning.

I asked a trivia question in "My Chat" room (the comment) section of my post that did not receive an answer.
I did some research on the individual I asked about and learned some interesting facts.
My question was/is who is known for asking the following question?

Who Am I?
Why Am I Here?

For some reason, I occasionally remember the speech he made asking those questions and I am wondering if anyone else remembers is. It wasn't that long ago....early 1990's. I won't give the date because that would give away who he is.

(1923-2005)
He was one of the most highly decorated officers in the history of the United States Navy.
He was a POW in Vietnam for 7 years.
Four of those years he was kept in solitary confinement.
When the enemy tried to use him as propaganda, he slit his scalp with a razor so that they couldn't.
They put a hat on him so he beat himself with a stool until his face was swollen beyond recognition.
He refused to capitulate.
When he finally returned to the United States he had been tortured, beaten, his shoulders wrenched from their sockets, his leg shattered and his back broken.
He received 26 personal combat decorations.
He is known for saying "You must never confuse faith that you will prevail in the end, which you can never afford to lose, with the discipline to confront the most brutal facts of your current reality, whatever that may be."
He was known for his articulate frankness.
he was the author of a number of books.
He became president of the Citadel, The military college of South Carolina.
In the early 1990's he was asked to fill a certain spot TEMPORARILY, and therefore had to make a speech with very little time to prepare.

The following places and things have been named after him and/or in his honor:
Arleigh Burke-class guided missile destroyer.
A main gate at Naval Air Station North Island in Coronado, California.
The headquarters building for The Pacific Fleets Survival.
Evasion, Resistance and Escape (SERE) School at Naval Air Station ( NAS ) North Island.
The USS (his name here).
A statue at the entrance of the Luce Hall Naval Academy.
A luxury suite at the Loews Annapolis Hotel.

He passed away in 2005 from Alzheimer's and is buried at the United States Naval Academy Cemetery.

He is known by millions only as a fumbling and senile old man who began a very important speech, that he had been given close to no time to prepare for, with the questions "Who Am I? Why Am I Here?

That is a shame. He was obviously SO MUCH MORE.

SO CLOSE...yet so far

Yesterday and today, in my personal chat room (the comment section of my posts), we discussed the album cover of The Mama's and The Papa's If You Can Believe Your Eyes And Ears. I had used a picture found on Google. Sue J commented that the original cover was declared indecent and was quickly edited. The originals are considered collector's items.

I went on a scavenger hunt, quite sure I was about to become an instant millionaire. After searching boxes and thumbing through old albums I finally found my copy. ALAS, the EDITED version.

This is a copy of mine. (note the mustache and beard drawn on John Phillips face).

So close.....yet so far.

Surprisingly....NOT....I got sidetracked while looking for the cover. Now I need to go dust off the record player, yes I have one, and jam out.

What to choose! Simon & Garfunkle, Queen, Olivia Newton John, Eric Clapton, John Denver, The Who, Peter Paul & Mary, AC/DC, Earth wind & Fire, Soundtrack of Hair, Led Zepplin, Barry Manilow (sshhh, don't tell anyone), Karen Carpenter, ZZ Top.........

No wonder I have ADHD......even then I never stayed on track!

Oh GOOD! Steve Martin Live Stand up.....I'd like to thank each and every one of you for coming tonight...thank you....thank you....thank you.....thank you....thank you.....thank you.....thank you....thank you.....thank you....thank you......................

Monday, Monday

Ba Da Ba Da Da Da
Ba Da Ba Da Da Da

Monday, Monday.
So Good to Me.
Monday Mornin'
It was all I hoped it would be.

Ah yes, The Mama's and The Papa's. I think most of you remember them. They were a little before my time but we had all the albums and I listened to them growing up.

The Mama's and The Papa's were cool. Also, I could relate....Mama Cass had Rosanne RosannaDanna hair....and well, you all know I can definitely relate to that! I have so many posts referring to my Rosanne RosannaDanna hair that I'm not going to even bother linking you to them. I'm getting to know you all pretty well, and well, a lot of work goes into those links that you so nonchalantly skip over. OK, I will direct you to one, Rosanne RosannaDanna and Me because I'm sure everyone of you can easily relate to almost drowning in the bathtub when your hair gets stuck in the drain. Whether or not you read it is entirely up to you. I will just say that I spent a good 6-7 minutes scrolling through my old posts to find it but really, it's entirely up to you.

Wait a minute, you almost got me off track. But I caught you! We aren't talking about accidentally drowning yourself in the bathtub...although I imagine it is a rather common occurrence. Actually, if you notice in the picture, they ARE all sitting in a bathtub. Of course when I almost drowned while washing my hair in the bathtub I was alone. Luckily for them, if it happens to them, someone else is there to save them.

HHmmm. I think I did it again.

Monday, Monday....

I Love Monday's.
It's Quiet and Peaceful.
I can relax.
I do need to go and wash my hair.......If you hear sirens don't worry.....I'll be careful. Thank you, however, for your concern.

Monday, Monday
Ba Da Ba Da Da Da.

Ignorance is Bliss.....NOT

I go to Edie's Blog, Rich Gifts, regularly. Every Friday she asks a Random Question and if they are not too far over my scope of comprehension, I answer them.

I read her Random Question last Friday. The title was Take Your Pick. I particularly liked the thought that I would be sure to find one question that I could answer.

I believe I have mentioned once or twice that I am computer illiterate.
Anyway, under the box that says Random Question, The following is typed:

Right click in the box below.
Select All-Copy (ctrl+c)
Paste in HTML (ctrl+v)

Underneath those words there is a box.

Anyway, under the box is a Random Question. She wrote about what those verses were saying to her and it really was great, (probably exactly as I would have worded it myself.....ok, maybe not exactly).

Where were the other Random Questions?
Did I mention that not only am I computer illiterate but It appears I am also just plain illiterate.

I went back to the little box, followed the directions and kept waiting for the other question choices to pop up on my screen. Finally I gave up.

Chatty Kelly and I are on the phone and she mentions that I had said I was doing the Random Question but hadn't yet. I explained "computer" problems to her. There was a moment of silence and then, holding back extreme laughter I am sure, she responded....."Honey, oh honey...let me explain...." It seems I may have been looking for Random Questions inside the box where her logo is.

OH..............Now I get it!

Duh.

Anyway, so my answer to Edie's Random Question is "Ditto". I think she answered it just perfectly!

Guess Who's Coming to Dinner

OK, There are a lot of decisions to make regarding JM, driving, insurance and sanity.
I'll think about that tomorrow.

Tonight we had our family dinner get away. No, not just the 4 of us...but THE FAMILY. About every 4-6 weeks my dad, his wife Edna, Chatty Kelly and her family, ET and her family, My brother and his girlfriend (and sometimes his daughter), and my family all meet at a local pizza restaurant for dinner. Also, although not tonight, my son JM usually brings a friend because everyone is either much older or much younger than he is. That means there can easily end up being a total of 18 of us. 10 adults, 8 kids (ok, 6 kids and 2- 17 year olds).

Sounds Fun, right?.....

Stress- (Webster)-Mental or Physical Tension or Strain.

Stress- (Thesaurus)-affliction, agony, alarm, anxiety, apprehensiveness, dread, hardship, hassle, intensity, nervousness, nervous tension, overextension, strain, tautness, tenseness, tension, trauma, trepidation, trial, worry....just to name a few

Family Dinners=Stress.

We always go to the same shady little pizza parlor. By shady I don't mean to picture a beautiful apple tree with glorious shade to keep the sun off the back of your neck. Nope, by shady I mean, this pizza parlor is probably a front for well, who know what! We've suggested other places but my dad and Edna (his wife....who is a very sweet lady) always insist on this place.

They usually arrive about 30 minutes early. So even if we get there 15 minutes early, my dad will look up and say something like "We weren't sure you were coming". or "Well, finally" or something of that nature. If we get there on time exactly, he has probably already called out house to make sure we are still coming and if we are 5 minutes late....well, lets just say it isn't a good idea to be 5 minutes late. Stress.

My brother is usually there just a few minutes after my dad and Edna. He's probably started his 2nd pitcher of beer by now and through slurred words is exclaiming either his newest business venture or his political views....Stress.

At some point soon afterwards Chatty Kelly, ET, Myself and our families arrive. Chaos.

Before we have even sat down we will be told:

A. To ET or Me "You have lost too much weight or You better slow down because you're getting fat." STRESS
B. To Chatty Kelly "Are you ever going to finish typing up those papers for me?" STRESS
C. To all 3 of us if one of our husbands couldn't come due to work or another excuse they could come up with. "Why isn't (insert husband's name) here? Are ya'll having problems? Ya'll aren't getting along are you?, Are things bad at work?, Do you think they are going to keep their jobs (each has had the same job for anywhere between 10-30 years), Are you making any money? STRESS.
D. To all three of us again, "Have you talked to your mama lately?" (He knows we haven't talked to her in years.) Stress
E. I talked to your mama today or yesterday. She said (insert awful gossip or mean saying) about you. Why don't you call her and see how she is? S-T-R-E-S-S!!
F. When I die (this is my dad talking) Who's going to take care of her? Stress.

OK, we sit down.

Everyone is talking at once. No-one hears what everyone else is saying. Don't forget I have ADHD so when more than one conversation is coming my way, I'm completely lost......Did I mention my Dad doesn't believe in ADHD?

15-20 minutes later the waitress comes and gets our drink order. 10-15 more minutes we get our drinks.
Waitress runs off with a quick "be right back"
20 minutes later she takes our order. usually it is a few salads and 3-5 large pizzas.---Not to difficult for a pizza restaurant. There is always that quick spark of hope that dad will order 1,000 Island dressing instead of the I-talian (Pronouncing it as Eye-talian, over emphasize the long I sound) dressing.
3 hours later (OK, major exaggeration....but it feels like it) 30-45 minutes later (still longer than it should take) the pizza's arrive.

My dad to ET or Me "I Don't think you need to eat that second piece of pizza, you don't want to get fat...... OR........ You better eat some more, you're too skinny".

My dad to Chatty Kelly- "Your husband is doing pretty well at work, you should pay for everyones meal".

My brother to anyone within earshot...."Thish ish pretty gooood peetesha."

The checks finally arrive after we've finally flagged down the waitress (who always happens to be walking fast and looking the opposite way when she walks by. They add in a mandatory 18% tip to each person's bill in parties of 15 or more. She always slips it in but never mentions it...hoping we won't notice and double tip maybe?

FINALLY it is time to go. There are hugs, kisses and I love yous all around. Everyone is exhausted.

The last words out of my dad's mouth "Don't forget to check your calendars and see what day we can all do it next time." (he'll also call each of us 6-8 times to see if we have set a new date for the next one and then call each of us 6-8 times to confirm that we are going.) Stress

Don't get me wrong. I really do love my dad and Edna. I also know that he looks forward to these family dinners. As I tell JM (my 17 year old) when he doesn't want to go, it's just one of those things. You do it because you love the person. You do it because it makes them happy. It's a matter of respect.

Oh, and guess what else it is....STRESS!

Please, Please Step Away From the Car!

Sometimes when I am reading a post and the writer refers or links to a past post I don't go back and read it. Now before you act all shocked and appalled, you have to admit that there are times when each and everyone of you do the same thing.

However, to get the full impact of this post, you really need to go back and read Step Away From The Car . and Step Away From the Car Again.

Go ahead and read them. We'll wait.

Well, you may remember that the car was replaced and JM was able to be free again! Yea! He was SO happy. I was no longer a chauffeur AND had someone to run quick errands for me. I was SO happy.

That was less than 3 weeks ago.
I've included a picture of the car the day he got it in case you missed that post.
I've also included the most recent picture of the car. He had it for 16 days.
It was raining, the car in front of him was turning, he hit the brakes, slid, pulled up emergency brake, kept sliding....and well, you see what happened. (The policeman did say that usually he would write up the ticket for reckless driving but it didn't appear that they were speeding or doing anything reckless. Mainly just inexperience, bad judgement and rainy weather).

The other car, a large SUV showed no damage except for a few paint flecks from JM's car.
JM's car will probably be considered totaled by the insurance company.

2 totaled cars in 2 months. (3 including that the other person's car was totaled last time also)

Our insurance before he was added--approx 1,000 to 1,200 a year.
Adding him-before accidents---approx $3,200 a year.
We haven't even seen the rise in the cost from the first accident yet. (sigh).

On the other hand, if the judge takes his license, maybe we can temporarily remove him from the policy...not to mention sleep a little better at night.

Last but definitely not least...MAJOR THANK YOU PRAYERS. AGAIN, NO INJURIES!!

ALERT ALERT!! CODE RED!!

SPECIAL NOTICE!

ALERT!!

CODE RED!!!

Please let it be known that the individual FORMALLY known as FBI Special Agent Manziola is under investigation. It seems that ever since he finished his last assignment, he has been acting strangely. He has been on 24 hour watch but somehow has slipped past our detectives and now he is on the loose. He is causing MASS DESTRUCTION. He is considered armed and dangerous. It is imperative that you take this warning seriously! Please watch your blogs, as he has made it is primary obsession to stop ADHD everywhere and we, The REAL FBI, have NOT authorized this action. The FBI not only condones ADHD, but employs agents with this so-called disorder.

HELP US FIND HIM! He is considered ARMED and DANGEROUS!

Please go and see the chaos he is causing. He MUST be stopped. Look What He Did!! Again, He must be stopped!! Do you understand what chaos this will cause? We are serious, you must go to the above link to see the chaos he is causing.

If you see him please do not take matters into your own hands. Please stay as far away as you can from this individual. Send all sightings to MyADHDMe's comment section.

With the citizens of the United States and other countries too. We know we will have this individual apprehended. But we must act immediately.

Sincerely,

Special LEAD Task Force Agent Esperello.