Last but not Least

One of the lost photographs of the calendar contest that would not come up when I wanted it to.  Imagine having a dust storm of such proportions...I know I wouldn't like it, even a little bit.   



Here is the other picture that wouldn't come up yesterday, but today, well, that is another story....as 'they' used to say. . . 'go figure' . . . it must have been a storm to remember.     Sorry I couldn't give credit to the photographers, but they did earn a place in the 2012 calendar out of New Zealand.



At long last, Grandma Karen sent Great Grandma Pauline a picture of Alice (Allie) and her parents Alex and Corrine.   She, Allie, as we call her, is growing up and from the looks of it she really is 'daddy's girl'.    A beautiful family who live over in France.    My granddaughter Erin is traveling and may look the family up if she gets the chance.  We hope so.



Food for thought......could be an attack on bosses. . . haven't we all had a thought in that direction more than one time in our working life.   
Patience is the name of the game and we all have to work on that so we can succeed in life and work around those big 'holes' that get in our way.     You know the old mantra, 'if you don't succeed, try , try, again....

So today try and see what you can do to succeed.    Try something new and different and make inroads to something bigger and better.   Yesterday I did get to visit one of the senior residences and I was introduced to a ninety five year old gentleman who is in high hopes he will live to finish a book about Wake Island from World War II, as he is the very last survivor.   Several volunteers read to him and yesterday I took a turn.    We sat on a sofa in the hallway with a large window behind us and the sun was shining out in the outside garden where there were tables and chairs.   I was wishing we could be out there but it is still a bit chilly.   He is a soft man, a gentle soul and still has a very sharp mind.   He listened and when I would read a name, he would stop me and tell me it was an old buddy and a little about him.
 I don't know if you know or remember much about Wake Island but it is an atoll south of Hawaii and the USA owned it as far back as 1938. Congress allocated money to build a fueling area for the big Pan Am planes that took people from San Francisco to the Philippines.   1,200 men were hired to do the job and a decision to make a military base there came about in 1942.    The Japanese bombed the island, the same day as Pearl Harbor,  and took whatever workers that survived to China for two years until they could build a camp in Japan where they were held for another two years.   They were put to work in rice fields and factories.  President Franklin Roosevelt didn't stand still for minute and before long the war was over, the prisoners returned and Wake Island is still part of our territory.  There is more to read and I can hardly wait to get back and do another stint.   

So today, think about veterans.   Think about what they did , and are doing, and what they went through then, and now, for each and every one of us.    We have no idea .    Maybe you will think about visiting a veteran and doing a little reading or writing if they cannot.   Maybe you will learn something, I did.     There is such a tremendous need out there in our world.  The need for a hug is always on top of the list.   You can do that, all you have to do is look around, listen, and make a few of your seconds available to show a little love and appreciation to an old timer who has memories both sad and happy when he or she was very young and devoted precious time fighting those who want to rule the world . . . and believe it or not, oil . . . really is at the base of it all;  even World War II . . . I didn't know that.     Live, Learn and Read to a veteran, you really will enjoy it.   Hugs to all.