Joe Biden, champion of common folks, shops at Home Depot.  Guess the little guy who owns the local hardware store doesn’t get “Uncle Joe’s” business.  Mrs. Palin could’ve pounced on this one Thursday had she not been under strict instructions to follow her script.  How about Joe Danko?  I’m not sure I’m spelling the guy’s name the right way but in my notes it’s how it appears.  He’s the man “Uncle Joe” talks with at the gas station.  When Biden goes to fill up his 350 he talks with Joe Danko and asks how much it costs to fill up the Danko truck.  Danko doesn’t know because he has never been able to afford a fill-up.  Guess “Uncle Joe” could always recommend the train but it probably doesn’t pass near the Danko home or business.  Palin should have pounced at that point.  It was early in the debate and she could’ve replied Danko could afford gasoline if Biden would get on board with offshore drilling.

The candidates played for a tie.  Apparently the instructions were to be as cautious as possible in a still relatively close race.  McCain needed a knockout punch.  Palin had the opportunities.  It makes me wonder if Bobby Jindal would’ve followed instructions or vamped when the opportunity arrived.  If nothing changes from now until November Obama will be in The White House and Americans will be buffeted by the storm.  Then, again, McCain is proving he isn’t the tonic.  Most of this year’s GOP candidates didn’t have much more to offer. 

So where do we go from here?  Start storing the canned goods and dried beans but most importantly keep your powder dry.  I believe the positive is the military will side with Middle America.  It mirrors our values.  This isn’t the end.  Jefferson offered a blueprint.  “The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants” he not only warned but also suggested.  Jefferson’s modern counterpart was an earlier Arizonan.  ” I would remind you that extremism in the defense of liberty is no vice! And let me remind you also that moderation in the pursuit of justice is no virtue!” spoke Barry Goldwater.  McCain may be missing his mentor’s words but I haven’t. 

My parents weren’t the easiest people to live with when I was growing up.  It always appeared they were making things more difficult for us than need be.  At a young age I was handling firearms and fishing poles and no one ever offered a “time out” when I wasn’t a good boy.  The approach helped me survive some very lean years as a young broadcaster making 200 dollars a week while paying rent and a student loan. 

There are a great many people sending me tips about survival.  Yes, I agree debt loads should be reduced and I agree we need an ample supply of non-perishable foods but mostly survival requires wit and grit. 

I’m fully confident the nation will come out of the tumult with a restoration of traditional virtues as well as an original sense of liberty.  The folks who never heard the word no, experienced a paddling or who don’t have the brains to head for higher ground during a flood won’t have a clue.  God help them. 

Thursday is the 7th anniversary of the terror attacks on America - also called Patriot Day

Already too many people ask why we would want to remember such an event every year - it’s too depressing, it’s not happened again, etc. Well - if we don’t remember it - and we become complacent, it will happen again.

With more and more countries coming out of third world status, and countries that we never took much notice of in the past suddenly showing up front and center in the news – and suddenly a lot more modern and advanced than we remember them being. We aren’t so much the world power that we were 40 years ago. But as we do defend our own and fight our battles and others when asked – we make more and more enemies, who are now able to stand up and fight.

9/11 is now history – but it’s history that is still fresh in our collective memory and something we don’t want to see repeated on our soil.

Like they say – those who don’t learn from history are bound to repeat it.

Some of the numbers involved in 9/11 -

• 65,000 - personal items recovered from ground zero 
• 437 watches
• 144 rings
• 119 earring
• 80 bracelets
• 77 necklaces
• 2,998 - Total number killed in the attacks - (excluding the 19 hijackers)
• 2,603 – in the WTC and on the ground in NYC
• 343 firefighters and paramedics
• 246 – were on the planes (excluding the hijackers
• 200+ people jumped to their deaths from the burning towers
• 125 – at the Pentagon – 55 were military
• 90 – countries represented among the dead

                             Don’t your forget.

A member of The Milton Historical Society approached me shortly before Christmas and asked me to video-tape long-time local residents for showing at the upcoming “Opening of the 1957 Time Capsule.” Being a lover of all things nostalgia and amateur film making, I agreed without bothering to check my schedule and wife.

Knowing my involvement with the event, Maria Evans (Editor, TalkOfDelmarva.com, the Blog) asked me to “cover” the event for you, the BLOG readers. Again, I agreed without checking my available time.

In this time, much has happened in Milton… so here it is:

The Time Capsule Opening

When I arrived at the Milton Theatre it was already standing room only! Every seat in the place was taken and folks were milling about in the common area. There was a certain energy and excitement about the crowd. There were folks who had lived their entire lives in the area and people who had recently moved in.

Mayor Don Post did a surprisingly great job as Master of Ceremonies for the event. I saw him to be entertaining and well-spoken on the stage working without a script and dealing with some technical issues.

The announcement was made that they were about to remove the concrete top to the capsule and the standing crowd proceeded out the door to watch. Those with seats tended to stay where they were, eying the size of the crowd who had already gone out to surround the small box.

Not long after, the wooden crate which was inside the outer capsule was carried into the Milton Theater. As it passed people craned their necks to get a glimpse of the contents.

I raised my camera as high as I could getting two shots off as it passed, this one shows what would come to disappoint many in the audience..

Water Damage! Sadly, water had found its way into the capsule during its 50 year slumber, damaging much of the contents.

The good and bad news was that most of the documentation placed in the capsule was redundant! Items such as the High School Yearbook and Sesquicentennial Brochures, posters and even the banner had already been preserved by members of the community and were in better shape than the contents of the capsule!

Local business woman and member of the Milton Historical Society Ellen Passman took the stage and began a lengthy dissertation in “50’s speak” which garnered many laughs.

During the event they showed my 15 minute film of interviews about life in Milton in the 50’s by many local residents which was also a crowd pleaser.

After the show we celebrated with a reception. In all it was a great time to reflect on Milton’s past with an eye to the future as young and old shook hands and got to know each other better to the sounds of 50’s music.

This is a Scotish aire partially written by the poet Robert Burns, but not published until after his death. “Auld Lang Syne” means ‘old long ago’ or ‘the good old days’ and is sung at midnight in nearly every English-speaking country to ring in the New Year.  Because the song is generally sung about once a year, the melody is more recognizable than the words - which usually are sung incorrectly past the first line or two. 

Should auld acquaintance be forgot
and never brought to mind?
Should auld acquaintance be forgot
and days of auld lang syne?

CHORUS
For auld lang syne, my dear,
for auld lang syne,
we’ll take a cup of kindness yet,
for auld lang syne.

And surely you’ll buy your pint cup!
And surely I’ll buy mine!
And we’ll take a cup o’ kindness yet,
for auld lang syne.

CHORUS

We two have run about the slopes,
and picked the daisies fine;
But we’ve wandered many a weary foot,
since auld lang syne.

CHORUS

We two have paddled in the stream,
from morning sun till dine;
But seas between us broad have roared
since auld lang syne.

CHORUS

And there’s a hand my trusty friend!
And give us a hand o’ thine!
And we’ll take a right good-will draught,
for auld lang syne.

CHORUS

While to us the song is one that represents beginnings - in some Far Eastern countries and Hungary - it represents endings or farewells and is sung at graduations or funerals!  It also represents endings and farewells in Brazil, Portugal, France and several other European countries.  

The melody we are familiar with may or may not be what was originally intended by Burns, but it’s what was made popular by band leader Guy Lombardo who actually had the song released as a single in 1947. 

Happy New Year!  May 2008 be everything you want it to be. 

I lit a candle outside…
trying to remember so many names……
remembering how many died……
and so many families left unsaid….
some still wishing for that one day to come…
they will get a call saying they found their loved one…
     (author unknown)

You can light a candle in memory to someone lost or loved - the candles will remain lit for 48 hours - just click on the candle   And remember all who have died in the war on terror, but especially your neighbors from Delaware and Maryland

Patriot Day was created through a proclamation (Public Law 107-89) by President George Bush after the terror attacks on September 11, 2001. The day is in memory of the nearly 3000 who lost their lives at the World Trade Center in New York City, the Pentagon in Washington, DC and a field near Shanksville, Pennsylvania. President Bush has made the resolution and proclamation to designate September 11 as Patriot Day each year since 2002. The legislation requests that President designate September 11 as Patriot Day each year. The day is a discretionary day of remembrance – which means it is not an official public holiday.

How or when Patriot Day is observed depends on your location. US flags are to be flown at half-staff and flown from residences as well (that includes US buildings abroad as well). Now, here’s where location will make a difference. Americans are asked to observe a moment of silence beginning at 8:46am (EDT) to mark the first plane, American Airlines Flight 11, crashing into the World Trade Center in New York City. A moment of silence could also be held at 9:03am (EDT) when the second plane, United Airlines Flight 175, struck the second tower of the World Trade Center, at 9:43am (EDT) when American Airlines Flight 77 slammed into the Pentagon or at 10:10am (EDT) when United Airlines Flight 93 went down in a field near Shanksville, PA.

Initially the day was called the “National Day of Prayer and Remembrance for the Victims of the Terrorist Attacks.” Then changed to Patriot Day by a by Joint Resolution 71 which was approved in the US House by a 407 – 0 vote (25 members didn’t vote) on October 25, 2001 and approved unanimously by the US Senate on November 30, 2001. President Bush signed the resolution into law on December 18, 2001.

People have had some trouble wrapping their thoughts around Patriot Day – with most referring to the day as 9-11 or September 11th instead. Another problem with the day is that it is often confused with Patriots’ Day (one has an ‘s’ and one doesn’t). Patriots’ Day is observed on the third Monday in April and is a civic holiday in Massachusetts and Maine. It is also a public school observance day in Wisconsin. Patriots’ Day has nothing to do with Patriot Day.

Canada shares the observance of Patriot Day as well with flags on the Peace Tower on Parliament Hill in Ottawa and all Canadian diplomatic missions in the US flying at half-staff.

“It was 1866 and the United States was recovering from the long and bloody Civil War between the North and the South. Surviving soldiers came home, some with missing limbs, and all with stories to tell. Henry Welles, a drugstore owner in Waterloo, New York, heard the stories and had an idea. He suggested that all the shops in town close for one day to honor the soldiers who were killed in the Civil War and were buried in the Waterloo cemetery. On the morning of May 5, the townspeople placed flowers, wreaths and crosses on the graves of the Northern soldiers in the cemetery. At about the same time, Retired Major General Jonathan A. Logan planned another ceremony, this time for the soldiers who survived the war. He led the veterans through town to the cemetery to decorate their comrades’ graves with flags. It was not a happy celebration, but a memorial. The towns people called it Decoration Day.

In Retired Major General Logan’s proclamation of Memorial Day, he declared:

“The 30th of May, 1868, is designated for the purpose of strewing with flowers, or otherwise decorating the graves of comrades who died in defense of their country and during the late rebellion, and whose bodies now lie in almost every city, village and hamlet churchyard in the land. In this observance no form of ceremony is prescribed, but posts and comrades will in their own way arrange such fitting services and testimonials of respect as circumstances may permit.”“

That was then. How, in the name of “progress” did we arrive at this somber or even grateful day now being “celebrated” as the harbinger of summer and sale festivities? Going about our daily business or pursuits this weekend (starting the tail end of last week) we hear “Have a happy Memorial Day!” sung in jovial tones. A week ago…and today…the Sunday papers and mailboxes are stuffed with “Memorial Day SALE!” news, anything from cars to furniture to summer/beach wear to dietary aids; from dealerships, dept. stores, pharmacies and very few, if any, stores choose to close on this day of remembrance. The Indy 500…traditional it may be but just how does that tie in with the purpose of Memorial Day?

When I first came to this country…to the Mid-West…I had no concept of Memorial Day until my relatives there enlightened me. Some of them still called it Decoration Day…and that’s how we spent the “holiday”…visiting gravesites of both veteran and other family members gone before. As a twenty-one year old my first Memorial Day did seem a bit “different” than commemorative days to which I had previously been accustomed but I found it just as eloquent, dignified and appropriate. Other family members returned home for the weekend if they lived close enough to manage to do so and, yes…there were special holiday-type meals, cook-outs and reminiscing. No shopping. (And, no…this wasn’t in the early 1900’s but the late ’60’s!) It was a weekend of remembering those no longer with us, a time to be together for that express purpose.

This year, on this “holiday” weekend, we have suffered more military deaths and casualties than we did the year before, in one year. We have even more of our military men and women spending this weekend with families, having deployment orders for Iraq in bags already packed for imminent departure…a young friend of ours being one of those. We have hundreds of newly disabled veterans fighting here at home to get back to whatever normalcy of living they and their families hope they might achieve. We have several thousand (at least) families and friends grieving those who were only returnable in a flag-draped casket. But, hey! We have a major sale/party weekend!

It’s not that I begrudge anyone their sales…either having or enjoying shopping them but if we need yet another excuse for a sale-day could we revert back to doing so following Memorial Day, not during?

I wish you all a weekend of loving remembrance with family and friends…not a “***** Memorial Day!”