Senator Barack Obama announced that he and his wife will be celebrating their 15th wedding anniversary next week, joking that "She just about has me trained. Almost." Michelle Obama issued a one-word correction: "Sixteenth." If Senator Obama suddenly suspends his campaign for a few days, it may be that he's waiting for the knot on his head to go down.

http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/asection/la-fg-pirates28-2008sep28,0,6001918.story
NAIROBI, KENYA -- A U.S. destroyer and a Russian warship headed Saturday for a possible confrontation with pirates who hijacked a cargo ship carrying battle tanks, machine guns and a crew of 21.

Though pursued by ships from two of the world's biggest naval powers, the pirates showed no sign of surrendering the Ukrainian vessel Faina, which they boarded Thursday off the Somali coast as it headed to Kenya. Instead, according to unconfirmed reports, they were demanding a $35-million ransom to turn over their unconventional booty, which includes 33 Russian-built T-72 tanks.

The pirates also warned against any raids by the U.S. or Russian navies.

The brazen seizure occurred in notoriously dangerous international waters off the Horn of Africa, where pirates exploit Somalia's lawlessness. A Greek oil tanker was also seized by pirates in the area Friday, maritime officials said. And twice this year, French commandos have intervened to rescue citizens taken hostage off Somalia.

Evaluation Ratings Change

By Rick Maze - Staff writer
Posted : Wednesday Sep 24, 2008 7:13:53 EDT
http://www.airforcetimes.com/news/2008/09/military_veteransaffairs_tbi_092308w/

In the first of what could become many revisions in its disability ratings, the
Veterans Affairs Department announced Tuesday that it is changing how it
evaluates traumatic brain injuries, a move that could increase disability
compensation for thousands of veterans who have been injured by roadside bombs
or other explosions in Iraq and Afghanistan.

The changes, which could take effect within 30 days, apply only to new
disability claims. But in some cases, veterans already given a disability rating
could ask to be reevaluated. Any increase in benefits resulting from the change
would not be retroactive for those already rated, VA officials said.

VA officials pledged that no one’s disability rating — which determines their
level of compensation — would be reduced as a result of the change.

The change, which has been in the works since January, is aimed at blast
injuries from roadside bombs — a common injury for Iraq and Afghanistan war
veterans, VA officials said in a statement. About 6,000 veterans already have
been rated by VA as having mild to severe brain injuries resulting from being
near such explosions.

The new regulation describes traumatic brain injury, commonly called TBI, as an
injury that has immediate effects, such as loss of consciousness, amnesia, and
other neurological symptoms. The problems could be temporary, but also may cause
prolonged effects such as physical or mental impairment or emotional and
behavior problems.

A disability rating would be determined by evaluating physical, emotional and
cognitive behavior, with ratings based on the cumulative result of the
evaluations. Physical problems could include pain, hearing loss and speech
problems. Cognitive behavior would include decision making, judgment and social
interaction.

TBI has been difficult to diagnose because 90 percent of cases do not involve
visible head wounds, and service members often report only mild problems.

“Difficulty after TBI may include headache, sleep difficulties, decreased memory
and attention, slower thinking, irritability, and depression,” VA officials said
in a statement.

In addition to the TBI regulations, VA officials also announced an interim
policy that considers amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, or ALS, to be a
service-connected disability, and a final rule on evaluating scars caused by
service-connected burns.

VA Secretary James Peake had announced in August that the rules would be
changed. In a statement issued Tuesday, Peake said the presumption of
service-connection for ALS makes sense because it is “a disease that progresses
rapidly once it is diagnosed.”

“There simply isn’t time to develop the evidence needed to support compensation
claims before many veterans become seriously ill,” Peake said. “My decision will
make those claims much easier to process, and for them and their families to
receive the compensation they have earned through their service to our nation.”

VA officials said the ALS policy will apply to all claims received beginning
Tuesday and all claims pending before VA, including those being appealed.

The burn rating rules, which are final, involve how VA evaluates multiple scars.
They also would apply to new claims.

The three separate rule changes are included in the Sept. 23 Federal Register,
where legal notices are provided about regulatory change.



--
T. P. Woodfork
"You can't pray a lie."
-Huckleberry Finn
www.8thwood.com

Best laugh I've had this week.

--
T. P. Woodfork
"You can't pray a lie."
-Huckleberry Finn
www.8thwood.com

-------------- Forwarded Message: --------------
From: JerseyShoreGuy
Subject: Grandmas rule...
Date: Wed, 24 Sep 2008 12:04:42 +0000
>
>
>
> A man moves into a nudist colony.
>
> He receives a letter from his grandmother asking him to send her a current
photo
> of himself in his new location.
>
> Too embarrassed to let her know that he lives in a nudist colony, he cuts a
> photo in half, but accidentally sends the bottom half of the photo.
>
> He's really worried when he realizes that he sent the wrong half, but then
> remembers how bad his grandmother's eyesight is, and hopes she won't notice.
>
> A few weeks later he receives a letter from his grandmother. It says, Thank
you
> for the picture. Change your hair style... it makes your nose look short.
>
>
>

-------------- Forwarded Message: --------------
From: "Colonel Dan"
Subject: [VeteranIssues] FW: Medicare's Monthly Premium Won't Rise in 2009
Date: Sat, 20 Sep 2008 16:27:46 +0000
> http://www.healthday.com/Article.asp?AID=619578
>
> http://www.medicare.gov/
>
>   _____
>
> From: James Ret [mailto:alamostation@...]
> Sent: Saturday, September 20, 2008 8:47 AM
> To: Dan Cedusky
> Subject: Medicare's Monthly Premium Won't Rise in 2009
>
>
>
>
> Some good news. At least the military retiree won't have to PAY more to get
> the FREE health care they were promised and earned.
> Jim
>
> <http://us.lrd.yahoo.com/_ylt=AokIsGoHSn5Zi4BzTp0XnH.9j7AB/SIG=10rbjkhqd/**h
> ttp%3A//help.yahoo.com/>
>
>
> Medicare's Monthly Premium Won't Rise in 2009
>
> Fri Sep 19, 7:02 PM ET
> FRIDAY, Sept. 19 (HealthDay News) -- Good news for millions of American
> seniors: Medicare's standard Part B monthly premium in 2009 will remain the
> same as in 2008, the U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services said
> Friday.
> The $96.40 rate means 2009 will be the first year since 2000 that there
> hasn't been an increase in the standard premium over the previous year, the
> agency said. In addition, the 2009 Part B deductible will be the same in
> 2009 as it is this year -- $135.
> Medicare's Part B program covers the health care of seniors and disabled
> people. The monthly premium paid by beneficiaries covers a portion of the
> cost of physicians' services, outpatient hospital services, certain home
> health services, durable medical equipment and other items.
> While increased use of Part B services is expected in 2009, the higher
> anticipated costs are "offset by a substantial reduction in the premium
> 'margin' needed to maintain an adequate contingency reserve in the Part B
> trust fund account," the CMS explained in a news release.
> The Part B premium is based on a beneficiary's annual income. If gross
> income is greater than certain amounts ($85,000 in 2009 for a beneficiary
> filing an individual income tax return or married and filing a separate
> return, and $170,000 for a beneficiary filing a joint tax return), the
> beneficiary has to pay a larger portion of the estimated total cost of Part
> B benefit coverage.
> One advocate for Medicare recipients said the decision to keep Plan B
> premiums the same is "welcome news."
> "News that health care premiums are not going up is rare these days. The
> stability in the Part B premium is good news for people with Medicare
> struggling to cope with rising prescription drug costs and medical bills,"
> Robert M. Hayes, president of the Medicare Rights Center, said in a news
> release.
> However, the CMS also announced Friday that the Part A deductible will rise
> $44, to $1,068 in 2009. The Part A program covers hospital and hospice care
> as well as short stays in nursing homes. About 99 percent of Medicare
> beneficiaries covered by this program do not pay a monthly premium. The
> deductible is their only cost for up to 60 days of Medicare-covered
> inpatient hospital care in a benefit period.
> Beneficiaries must pay an additional $267 per day for days 61 through 90 in
> 2009, and $534 per day for lifetime reserve days that can be used for
> hospital stays beyond the 90th day in a benefit period. In 2008, those
> amounts are $256 and $512, respectively. Daily coinsurance for the 21st
> through 100th day in a skilled nursing facility will be $133.50 in 2009, up
> from $128 in 2008, the CMS said.
> For beneficiaries who have to pay for Part A coverage, the monthly premium
> will increase from $423 in 2008 to $443 in 2009.
> In mid-August, the CMS said the average monthly premium for Medicare's
> prescription drug plan will increase from $25 this year to $28 in 2009. The
> premium for next year is 37 percent lower than originally projected when the
> Part D drug coverage was introduced in 2003.
> More information
> For more about Medicare premiums, go to the Medicare Web site.
>
> Copyright C 2008
> <http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/hsn/SIG=10r2efrkl/*http://www.healthday.co
> m/> HealthDay. All rights reserved.
>
>

http://www.8thwood.com/vietnam_chapter_one.htm  

-------------- Forwarded Message: --------------
From: Vern
Subject: Kids Stories
Date: Mon, 15 Sep 2008 13:14:35 +0000
>
>
>
> Kid's Stories
>
> While I sat in the reception  area of my doctor's office, a woman rolled an
> elderly man in a wheelchair into  the room. As she went to the receptionist's
> desk, the man sat there, alone and  silent. Just as I was thinking I should
> make small talk with him, a little boy  slipped off his mother's lap and
walked
> over to the wheelchair. Placing his hand  on the man's, he said, 'I know how
> you feel. My mom makes me ride in the  stroller too.'.
>
> As I was nursing my baby, my cousin's six-year-old  daughter, Krissy, came
> into the room. Never having seen anyone breast feed  before, she was intrigued
> and full of all kinds of questions about what I was  doing. After mulling over
> my answers, she remarked, 'My mom has some of those,  but I don't think she
> knows how to use them.'
>
> Out bicycling one day with  my eight-year-old granddaughter, Carolyn, I got a
> little wistful. 'In ten  years,' I said, 'you'll want to be with your friends
> and you won't go walking,  biking, and swimming with me like you do now.'
> Carolyn shrugged. 'In ten years  you'll be too old to do all those things
> anyway.'
>
> Working as a pediatric  nurse, I had the difficult assignment of giving
> immunization shots to children.  One day I entered the examining roo m to give
> four-year-old Lizzie her needle.  'No, no, no!' she screamed. 'Lizzie,'
scolded
> her mother, 'that's not polite  behavior.' With that, the girl yelled even
> louder, 'No, thank you! No, thank  you!
>
> My wife left the car unattended for only a minute, but it was long  enough
> for our two-year-old to climb in, throw the car into reverse and crash  into a
> lamppost. He was fine, but the car wasn't, and I had a hard time  explaining
> who was behind the wheel to the insurance company. After a pause, the 
adjuster
> asked, 'Do you let him drive often?'
>
> One afternoon while I was  visiting my library, I noticed a group of
> preschoolers gathered for story  time. The book they were reading was There 
Was
> an
> Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly. After the librarian finished the  first page,
she
> asked the children, 'Do you think she'll die?' 'Nope,' a little  girl in the
> back said. 'I saw this last night on Fear  Factor.'
>
> My sister had been ill, so I called to see how she was  doing. My
> ten-year-old niece answered the phone 'Hello,' she whispered. 'Hi,  honey.
How's
> your
> mother?' I asked. 'She's sleeping,' she answered, again in a  whisper. 'Did
she
> go to the doctor?' I asked. 'Yes. She got some medicine,' my  niece said
> softly. 'Well, don't wake her up. Just tell her I called. What are  you doing,
> by
> the way?' Again in a soft whisper, she answered, 'Practicing my  trumpet.'
>
> On a brutally humid day, I walked past a miniature golf course  and saw a dad
> following three small children from hole to hole. 'Who's winning?'  I
> shouted. 'I am,' said one kid. 'Me,' said another. 'No, me,' yelled the third.
> Sweat
> dripping down his face, the dad gasped, 'Their mother is.'
>
> On the  way back from a Cub Scout meeting, my grandson asked my son the
> question. 'Dad,  I know that babies come from mommies' tummies, but how do
they
> get
> there in the  first place?' he asked innocently. After my son hemmed and
> hawed awhile, my  grandson finally spoke up in disgust. 'You don't have to
make
> something up, Dad.  It's OK if you don't know the answer.'
>
> Just before I was deployed to  Iraq,  I sat my eight-year-old son down and
> broke the news to him. 'I'm going to be  away for a long time,' I told him.
'I'm
> going to Iraq ' 'Why?' he asked. 'Don't  you know there's a war going on over
> there?'
>
> Even though the toddler was  having a furious tantrum, his mom was unfazed.
> 'You may as well give up on the  crying,' I heard her say as she led him to
the
> store exit. 'You're stuck with me  for 18 years.'
>
> Paul  Newman founded the Hole in the Wall Gang  Camp for children stricken
> with cancer, AIDS  and blood diseases. One afternoon he and his wife, Joanne
> Woodward, stopped by  to h ave lunch with the kids. A counselor at a nearby
> table, suspecting the  young patients wouldn't know that Newman was a famous
> movie
> star, explained,  'That's the man who made this camp possible. Maybe you've
> seen his picture on  his salad dressing bottle?' Blank stares. 'Well, you've
> probably seen his face  on his lemonade carton.' An eight-year-old girl perked
> up. 'How long was he  missing?'
>
> Like all growing boys, my teenage grandson, Jermon, was  constantly hungry. I
> went to my refrigerator to find something he might like to  eat. After poking
> around a bit and moving the milk and juice cartons, I spotted  a bowl of
> leftover chili. 'Hey, Jermon,' I called out excitedly. He came running  into
the
> kitchen. 'Look! I found some chili.' Struggling to be polite, he said,  'If
> you're that surprised, I'm not really sure I want it.'
>
> My last name  is a mouthful, so when my three-year-old niece learned to spell
> it, I was  thrilled, until my cousin burst my bubble. 'You can spell
> Sczygelski any way you  like,' he pointed out. 'Who's going to know if it's
> wrong?'
>
> For the first  time, my four-year-old daughter Kelsey was coming to my office
> to have me, a  dental hygienist, clean her teeth. She was accompanied by her
> grand-mother. When  they came in, I greeted them warmly, seated Kelsey and, as
> usual, put on my  gloves, goggles and mask. About ten minutes into the
> procedure, she got scared  and cried, 'I want my mommy!' I quickly pulled off
my
> mask and said, 'I am your  mommy.' Without hesitating, my daughter yelled
back,
> 'Then I want my granny!'
>
>
>

A 2.8 percent cost-of-living adjustment in veterans’ disability and survivor pay approved by the Senate just before the summer congressional recess is drawing complaints and head-scratching from veterans because the amount is far short of the annual inflation rate this year, running at 6.2 percent through July.

The proposed 2.8 percent hike “is a joke,” said Dan Cedusky, an Army veteran and veterans’ advocate from Champaign, Ill.

With the cost of everything going up, including state and local taxes, a 2.8 percent increase would leave people further behind, said Cedusky, known in veterans’ circles as Colonel Dan.

But the 2.8 percent hike was included in S 2617 by the Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee merely as a placeholder, with lawmakers expecting to alter the amount before final passage of the bill so that the annual increase in veterans’ disability compensation, dependency and indemnity compensation for survivors, and pensions for low-income vets matches the cost-of-living adjustment for Social Security and military retired pay.

Social Security, military and federal civilian retirement, and some other federal entitlement programs, automatically increase each Dec. 1 to keep pace with the cost of goods and services; veterans benefits don’t.

Congress must pass and the president must sign legislation granting an increase. Lawmakers try to ensure the change is made at the same time, and in the same amount, as the other federal programs.

While the amount of the Social Security increase won’t be known until late October, it is expected to be well above 2.8 percent. The Consumer Price Index, a measurement of the cost of goods and services calculated monthly by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, is up 6.2 percent with two months to go in the fiscal year.

Steve Strobridge of the Military Officers Association of America said that even amid some signs that inflation is moderating as the cost of crude oil drops, the increase this year will be a lot closer to 6.2 percent than to the 2.8 percent in the veterans’ COLA bill.

The 2.8 percent increase was included in the bill based on a July 17 recommendation from the Congressional Budget Office, a nonpartisan arm of Congress, which Strobridge said clearly is an “old projection.”

It’s not an uncommon practice, he said, but it sticks out this year because the difference between the early inflation estimate and the subsequent increase in consumer prices is large.

In its recommendation to the budget committee, the CBO acknowledged that the 2.8 percent COLA likely would be too small and said it would revise its economic projection later this year.

This Old Soldier Remembers

He had grown older than he realized
His hair now gray and the gleam had left his eyes.
He still remembers his friends of long ago
His gait is shorter and he walks kinda slow.

One thing he still finds the time to do
Every year at Memorial and Veterans Day, he shows the respect due.
Each year he pulls our the stool from the kitchen, and climbs to the shelf
And takes down a box and opens it with care all by himself.

Within the box are the treasures of his youth,
A few ribbons, a hat, and a worn uniform, remembering the truth.
Long ago, his mind takes him back
To the days of his service and pictures lay neatly in a stack.

He takes out the uniform and slowly puts it on.
The years have taken a toll on the uniform, but the pride isn’t gone.
His quest isn’t an easy one for it causes him to remember days from the past.
It’s hard to believe the years have gone by so fast.

Dressed and ready he makes his way to the corner of the street
Maybe this year an old friend he will meet.
As the parade slowly moves along he stands proud and tall
For once again, he is in uniform and his service he does recall.

As the color guard passes with the flag blowing in the wind
He salutes it with vigor and shows the pride from within.
For another year has come and gone and no friend does he see
But he won’t stop coming because to him he still fights for you and me.

He will always remember even if his days maybe numbered
And his health may leave but he shall remain unencumbered.
Because he stands for all that came before and shall be there long after he is gone.
For his God, family and country he served and still to the flag is he drawn.

©David R. Alexander
May 29, 2003
All Rights Reserved

The following EarlJonesgroup poll is now closed.  Here are the
final results:


POLL QUESTION: Should we hold a memorial picnic on the 5 year anniversary of
Earl's/Hidi's/Kolar's/Eagle Claw's/Lucky's death?

CHOICES AND RESULTS
- Yes, 2 votes, 100.00%
- No, 0 votes, 0.00%



For more information about this group, please visit
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/EarlJonesgroup

For help with Yahoo! Groups, please visit
http://help.yahoo.com/l/us/yahoo/groups/original/members/web/index.html

Here's a number worth putting in your cell phone, or your home phone speed dial: 1-800-goog411.  This is an awesome service from Google, and it's free -- great when you are on the road.
 
Don't waste your money on information calls and don't waste your time manually dialing the number. ...I am driving along in my car and I need to call the golf course and I don't know the number.  I hit the speed dial for information that I have programmed.  The voice at the other end says, "City & State."  I say, " Garland , Texas ."  He says, "Business, Name or Type of Service."  I say, Firewheel Golf Course."  He says, "Connecting" and Firewheel answers the phone.  How great is that?  This is nationwide and it is absolutely free!
 
Click on the link below and watch the short clip for a quick demonstration. 
http://www.google.com/goog411/  
 
1-800-goog-411 or 1-800-4664-411

	Message 74 in Discussion
From: Penthouse9759     Sorry - the Devil made me do it.   T.P. Woodfork
View Attachment(s)

On the Death of Another Friend

When a voice goes quiet forever, you sometimes expect it to be there still for you to hear. You find yourself listening for it to cut across the silence, resuming old conversations left dangling in the expectation they’d be picked up later.

You turn, looking for an opinion that will never be offered again. Realization returns with a lurch. And you wonder – are you still there, somewhere…Can you still see me? I hope you know I’ll never forget you.

I remember watching the rose bush through the front window after my brother Harlan died, and telling myself, if it starts to nod in the wind, then Harlan is in Heaven. As I watched intently, the bush began to move back and forth slowly, then more vigorously. I was content. Perhaps I had willed it to move.

But from that day on, there was a little part of me where I would forever be alone. No one would ever walk close beside me there again, no matter where I went. Inside me, some of the light had gone out forever. My brother, my confidant, my friend and protector, had inexplicably, suddenly left me alone and bereft in the world. People don’t have heart attacks at nineteen.

Death had brushed me closely for the first time. But I was only seventeen, and for a long time, as the years passed, there were no more such deep, heart-wrenching losses. But then, nobody else was ever allowed that close again. Time does not necessarily cause one to forget, but it does teach acceptance – and caution.

I did remember my grandmother’s death when I was a small child, but mostly because of my father’s grief. I remember him sitting on the front porch, holding me on his lap with his arms around me, saying nothing while he waited for the coroner’s men to take his mother away.

I only remember her as the old lady who wore long dresses and high-buttoned shoes, and who stayed mostly to herself in her bedroom. She did not like my mother. Occasionally, she would invite me into her room for buttered raisin bread.

One lives; one watches and examines the world, makes choices and decisions – which paths to take through life. I watched people kill each other, for no good reason I could see. But I had made a decision to take the path that led me to war; so I accepted where I was for that year until I was able to leave.

For many years afterward, I declined to attend funerals. I prefer to remember the living people I knew, not the shells they no longer inhabit. Shakespeare was wrong; blood and destruction never became so familiar to me that I smiled, unfeeling, at its grisly handiwork.

As I grew older and into middle age, childhood friends began to depart, overtaken by years and various illnesses. Then family members: my father, then a niece, then my mother, then my oldest sister, then an older brother – with friends and acquaintances interspersed among them. Now I watch my oldest brother with brooding eyes. Although dependent upon a motorized chair to travel for any distance longer than half a block, he remains as independent as a hog on ice.

Why, I sometimes wonder, did God place us here as mortals, and teach us to love, to have compassion, to depend upon one another, when sooner or later we‘ll inevitably be separated? Separated with the hope we’ll eventually reunite with friends and those we love on a different plane.

Such things are truly unknowable. But it’s not pleasant to watch friends and family slowly weaken and die. I’ve decided even thinking about it further is futile, so I'll stop here.

Life, as some sardonic soul wryly observed, is a bitch…And then you die.

© 9/3/2008 Thurman P. Woodfork

A tribute to 'The Man in the Door'

--
Woody
"You can't pray a lie"
~Huckleberry Finn
www.8thwood.com

-------------- Forwarded Message: --------------
From: "Nicholas A. Andreacchio"
  http://www.youtube.com:80/watch?v=qH2vbYs6ebc

-------------- Forwarded Message: --------------

From: Christina: 

 http://www.adnstream.tv/video/nilSqaMboM/HISTORIA-DE-UN-LETRERO-THE-STORY-OF-A-SIGN

I know it's been hard, as I've been without means for awhile now. I'm no longer
in Ohio either. Moved to Mississippi about 6 weeks ago. God has decided that I
need to be here and that my wife is to be an evangelist while I work on a
healing ministry. Have had dozens healed by our prayers in the last year and a
half, and God has moved us wherever he wants us to be to do that. Only wish that
I'd had this ability when Earl was alive, I could have prayed to have him cured.
DON'T laugh, I have a 65 yr.old lady church friend in Huber Heights (suburb of
Dayton) that had lymph/ intestinal cancer and they told her she had a few weeks
to live. WE prayed for her and they can't even find a trace of it now, and she's
even gotten married recently as she's found the desire to LIVE once more.....
   Later friends                         Bob


--- On Wed, 8/13/08, Edward Jones <newageneogoth@...> wrote:

> From: Edward Jones <newageneogoth@...>
> Subject: [EarlJonesgroup] 8 days prior
> To: EarlJonesgroup@yahoogroups.com
> Date: Wednesday, August 13, 2008, 11:23 AM
> Hello, all,
>
> I've been reading lately, and been in deep thought. I
> miss the old
> man, myself. Alot. I am his only son. I carry his lineage.
> I truly
> believe that knowing what's going on with his family,
> he'd be slightly
> agitated, but overall, he'd know we did what we had to
> do to survive.
>
> Since my birthday was three days prior to his death, it
> hits me harder
> then almost my entire family to have something so happy to
> my memories
> be cast in shadow of his unfortunate and too soon downfall.
>
> His letter to Arielle just made me cry. I'm writing
> this through
> tears. I miss him so much and I'd be so happy to have
> him here to
> listen to his usual ranting and raving. I miss hearing him
> call me a
> "young punk" everytime I called him an "old
> man"
>
> As we draw near to the 4 year anniversary of his demise,
> I'd like
> everyone to keep him in our thoughts and our prayers (to
> the Gods,
> Goddesses, and Dieties of all religions, as he respected
> all of them)
> and keep him alive in your hearts. I was pondering a year
> from now to
> possibly hold a mass visit to his grave on August 21st,
> 2009. I won't
> be able to do it this year, I'll be working.
>
> As for the family update, Mother and I are doing alright,
> as we now
> live in Hamilton, OH, after a traumatic experience with my
> now
> ex-fiancee. I'm with another girl who's been my
> friend for as long as
> I was with my ex. I'll be with her and my boss at
> DragonCon in
> Atlanta, GA. If things can be arranged, I plan to be with
> her and
> possibly my mother for the Dover Peace Conf. Reunion.
> I'm trying to
> gather info to get back in KAG, but thus far, it's been
> an uphill
> battle, and finding Uncle Bob and Uncle Walter seems
> impossible as of
> late. With the business I'm helping operate, I have
> little time
> anymore as well, as I'm now helping run a video game
> sales company
> called "Roman Games" out of Turtle Creek Flea
> Market. My boss has been
> ultra supportive (but he does have a tendency to get on my
> nerves
> occasionally).
>
> Anyway, if anyone feels the need to contact me personally
> about
> anything, post on here, or e-mail me at
> newageneogoth@.... I'll
> be happy to respond, as I haven't heard from anyone in
> a long time and
> I've been getting lonely with no friends here in
> Hamilton.
>
> In emotion and thought,
> Edward Jones
> Young Oak
> Kormac epitai-Rasmehliar, son of Kolar
> Lord Dragonis T. Ulricson-Lasombra
>
>
>
>
>
> ------------------------------------
>
> Yahoo! Groups Links
>
>
>

Fly Away

Fly away little dream
Never to be seen again
A foreign picture of milk and honey
Not for me in this distant land.

Fly away hope and wonder
Never to find your way home
A cool stream to cool my feet
Never to feel at peace and always alone.

Fly away love and compassion
Never to be felt in the heart
A kind word or thought could work magic
Finding none I move on.

Fly away hate and anger
Never to stick in one's throat
A flash of gunfire, it’s all gone
Lying down I am now going home.

©David R. Alexander
December 30, 2002
All Rights Reserved

darn yahoo
its klaad@ (adelphia.net)
and klaad@ (roadrunner.com)
leave off the ( ) yahoo wouldn;t let me post it the normal way


--- In EarlJonesgroup@yahoogroups.com, "mira_rodale"
<mira_rodale@...> wrote:
>
>
> yea i got his addy, Joe Manning is a friend of a friend its
> klaad@... and klaad@...
>
> Pam
>
>
>
>
> --- In EarlJonesgroup@yahoogroups.com, "Edward Jones"
> <newageneogoth@> wrote:
> >
> > Hello, all,
> >
> >      I've been pondering things and seeing as how this year, it
> would
> > be too short of a notice to do it, I was thinking NEXT year of
> having
> > a memorial picnic in Dad's honor. Just a get together to remember
> the
> > good times.
> >
> > While I know for you S.C.A folks, that's during Pennsyc, and for
you
> > Amtgarders, I think that's Coronation (may be wrong), and there's
> > DragonCon and GenCon for all the KAG and Sci-Fi folks around that
> > time, I think we could do it.
> >
> > I've been discussing it with mother and she seems to believe it
may
> be
> > a good idea. Thoughts and such on it?
> >
> > Also, I've been trying to contact Joe Manning about CDPCR and
don't
> > have his e-mail. Can someone tell him I need to speak with him?
> >
> > Please and thank you, and if you're going to DragonCon, any of
you,
> > I'll see you there.
> >
> > -Ed
> >
>

yea i got his addy, Joe Manning is a friend of a friend its
klaad@... and klaad@...

Pam




--- In EarlJonesgroup@yahoogroups.com, "Edward Jones"
<newageneogoth@...> wrote:
>
> Hello, all,
>
>      I've been pondering things and seeing as how this year, it
would
> be too short of a notice to do it, I was thinking NEXT year of
having
> a memorial picnic in Dad's honor. Just a get together to remember
the
> good times.
>
> While I know for you S.C.A folks, that's during Pennsyc, and for you
> Amtgarders, I think that's Coronation (may be wrong), and there's
> DragonCon and GenCon for all the KAG and Sci-Fi folks around that
> time, I think we could do it.
>
> I've been discussing it with mother and she seems to believe it may
be
> a good idea. Thoughts and such on it?
>
> Also, I've been trying to contact Joe Manning about CDPCR and don't
> have his e-mail. Can someone tell him I need to speak with him?
>
> Please and thank you, and if you're going to DragonCon, any of you,
> I'll see you there.
>
> -Ed
>

Can anybody give our Aussie friend a hand?

--
T. P. Woodfork
"You can't pray a lie."
-Huckleberry Finn
http://www.8thwood.com

Enter your vote today!  A new poll has been created for the
EarlJonesgroup group:

Should we hold a memorial picnic on the 5 year anniversary of
Earl's/Hidi's/Kolar's/Eagle Claw's/Lucky's death?

   o Yes
   o No


To vote, please visit the following web page:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/EarlJonesgroup/surveys?id=2084537

Note: Please do not reply to this message. Poll votes are
not collected via email. To vote, you must go to the Yahoo! Groups
web site listed above.

Thanks!

Hello, all,

      I've been pondering things and seeing as how this year, it would
be too short of a notice to do it, I was thinking NEXT year of having
a memorial picnic in Dad's honor. Just a get together to remember the
good times.

While I know for you S.C.A folks, that's during Pennsyc, and for you
Amtgarders, I think that's Coronation (may be wrong), and there's
DragonCon and GenCon for all the KAG and Sci-Fi folks around that
time, I think we could do it.

I've been discussing it with mother and she seems to believe it may be
a good idea. Thoughts and such on it?

Also, I've been trying to contact Joe Manning about CDPCR and don't
have his e-mail. Can someone tell him I need to speak with him?

Please and thank you, and if you're going to DragonCon, any of you,
I'll see you there.

-Ed

I'm told my stream-of-consciousness style was difficult to read, so I changed it.

Watching Exhibition Football

Somehow, I’m standing in the midst of misty memories, some happy, some risqué and ribald, others a little sad. Laughing voices calling me back to streets I had danced along eons ago, light-footed with youth, full of passion and ambition, searching for something, maybe truth?

New York’s Finger Lakes, Barcelona, Mississippi, Michigan, Montana, Vietnam, and Spain wax and wane. Shorty and Rat, Didi and 'Death Valley', Climon and Leo, marching merrily along through Basic or raising hell on the Ramblas, faces  unchanged by time…jaw lines and cheeks still faintly molded in the gentle curves of the last vestiges of  lingering adolescence.

Mr. D (Devaughan), Berv, Wes, Beavers, and Cask 59, a cheap wine that congeals to a varnish-like hardness when neglected spills are left to dry. What does it do to our stomachs?

Berv’s ’52 Packard’s engine whispering quietly like “the sound of money” as the car glides over Detroit’s bumpy, neglected streets on the way to the Twenty Grand or “The Projects” in search of whiskey, women and song.

My gleaming black ’57 Fairlane 500, its glass-packs making muted thunder on that same journey: “I’ll drink to the girls who do, I’ll drink to the girls who don’t, but not the girls who say they will and later decide they won’t. But I’ll drink from the break of day to the wee hours of the night, to the girl who says I never have, but just for you, I might.”

 Singing and dancing in Mamma Bea’s Bar in tiny New Haven. Mamma Bea presiding from behind the bar, singing in her gravel voice, echoing the show girl she had been years before.

Making sweet love to Betty in the back seat of the Ford on the little hill overlooking New Haven. Weeping like a little kid because I have orders to leave Michigan for Spain. Looking in the rear view mirror at Betty pleading, ‘come back’ as I drive away headed for home, then Spain.

Ten years later, I do come back, driving a ’69 GTO now, having stopped off in Vietnam, among other places, on my long journey back from Spain. Shouldn’t have come; neither New Haven nor I are the same. We’ve both grown up. New Haven is no longer a sleepy little town, and that soft hint of lingering youthful naiveté has vanished from my cheeks without a trace, forever erased by experience.

Mamma Bea is entertaining the angels with her gravel voice and Betty is long gone. It occurs to me that I don’t remember her last name. I drive away to Minnesota with a sigh. I don’t look back, this time.

The mist clears, the memories fade away, and I see my fingers hunting and pecking over the computer keyboard. It’s midnight, the football game between the Giants and the Browns is over, and I don’t know who won.

But that’s okay…I preferred the memories, anyway.

© Thurman P. Woodfork 8/19/2008

Watching Exhibition Football

Somehow, I’m standing in the midst of misty memories, some happy, some risqué and ribald, others a little sad. Laughing voices calling me back to streets I had danced along, light-footed with youth, full of passion and ambition, searching for something, maybe truth? New York’s Finger Lakes, Barcelona, Mississippi, Michigan, Montana, Vietnam, and Spain wax and wane. Shorty and Rat, Didi and Death Valley, marching merrily along through Basic or raising hell on the Ramblas, their faces  unchanged by time…jaw lines and cheeks still gently curved with the soft lines of lingering adolescence. Mr. D (Devaughan), Berv, Wes, Beavers, and Cask 59, a cheap wine that dried to a varnish-like hardness when neglected spills were left to dry. What did it do to our stomachs? Berv’s ’52 Packard’s engine whispering quietly like “the sound of money” as the car glides over Detroit’s bumpy, neglected streets on the way to the Twenty Grand or “The Projects” in search of whiskey, women and song. My gleaming black ’57 Fairlane 500, its glass-packs making muted thunder on that same journey: “I’ll drink to the girls who do, I’ll drink to the girls who don’t, but not the girls who say they will and later decide they won’t. But I’ll drink from the break of day to the wee hours of the night, to the girl who says I never have, but just for you, I might.” Singing and dancing in Mamma Bea’s Bar in tiny New Haven. Mamma Bea sitting behind the bar singing in her gravel voice, echoing the show girl she had been years before. Making sweet love to Betty in the back seat of the Ford on the little hill just outside New Haven. Weeping like a little kid because I have to leave Michigan for Spain. Looking in the rear view mirror at Betty pleading, ‘come back’ as I drive away headed for home, then Spain. Ten years later, I come back, driving a ’69 GTO this time, having stopped off in Vietnam, among other places, on my way back from Spain. Shouldn’t have come; neither New Haven nor I are the same. We have both grown up. New Haven is no longer a sleepy little town, and that soft curve of youth has vanished from my cheeks, forever erased by experience. Mamma Bea is entertaining the angels with her gravel voice and Betty is long gone. It occurs to me that I don’t remember her last name. I drive away to Minnesota with a sigh. I don’t look back, this time. The mist clears, the memories fade away, and I see my fingers hunting and pecking over the computer keyboard. It’s midnight, the football game between the Giants and the Browns is over, and I don’t know who won. But that’s okay…I preferred the memories, anyway.

© Thurman P. Woodfork 8/19/2008

-------------- Forwarded Message: --------------
From: "Colonel Dan" <colonel-dan@...>
To: "Veteran Issues by Colonel Dan" <VeteranIssues@yahoogroups.com>
Subject: [VeteranIssues] West LA VAMC, FW: An Open Letter To Three VSO's re: Bill # S.1043 & Bill # S.1417
Date: Mon, 18 Aug 2008 15:25:03 +0000

 

---

From: feinsm@... [mailto:feinsm@...]
Sent: Sunday, August 17, 2008 10:11 PM
To: vfwac@...; joan@...
Cc: ; colonel-dan@...;
Subject: An Open Letter To Three VSO's re: Bill # S.1043 & Bill # S.1417

 

Respected Veteran Representatives, The land-use situation at the BIGGEST AND BUSIEST VA health care facility in the nation, the "HOME" at VA, WLA, is out of control.  Further, the terms conditions, spirit and intent of the Grant Deed of 1888 that created that "HOME", to "permanently maintain" a health care community for returning Veterans, are under siege!  This is a plea to have YOUR respective organizations address this matter, immediately!  The dangerous precedent that HAS ALREADY been set must be realized and, with YOUR HELP, the situation must be resolved, undone and reversed! We The Veterans have put together this factual information for your widest distribution to all Veteran lists, however, for obvious reasons described herein, it is the National offices of AMERICAN LE GION, DISABLED AMERICAN VETERANS (Mr. Ed Monroe accepted our paperwork at the National Las Vegas Convention) and VETERANS OF FOREIGN WARS that are being asked to expedite action to resolve the huge and complex challenge described herein. Saturday, August 16Th, Information from my AMVETS Post 2 meeting described that the VFW National officers had called to use the Wadsworth Theater at VA, WLA, a theater created specifically for Veteran use, and it was told that it could not use it. We The Veterans, a Veteran watchdog/advocate group based in WLA, can prove that Richmark Entertainment Corporation, a non-Veteran for-profit entity has complete control of this building (plus the Grand Lawn and the only other remaining theater on the facility).  This corporation's "thugs-in-suits" security even assulted a Veteran advocate who was gath ering information about a private party.  That matter went to court and the DA, in his summary, stated that Veterans, love them as we do, are like children and have to be disciplined sometimes. National VSO's and the entire Veteran community need to know that this typifies the occupation of the gifted "Home" land, like the Russians in Georgia, by non-Veteran entities. We can show that local VA bureaucrats at the "Home" have not been helpful in exposing this fact and that they act more like real estate agents than health care providers.  We can also show that the wealthy, powerful, politically well-connected and NIMBY-minded Brentwood Community (the president of the home owners is the president of Veterans Park Conservancy, VPC) has, with the help of some Veteran representatives who live in this  area and political staffers, held questioning VSO's and Veteran advocate groups at distance from exposing the truth about "land-grab". Richmark Entertainment Group, Inc, was guilty of serving alcohol and sponsoring lavish private parties adjacent to long standing Veteran rehabilitation programs and did not stop until We The Veterans called this to the attention of Senator Feinstein's office.  We know that this Richmark sharing agreement, like most all others on the facility, ignores the congressional mandate for a master plan, a plan that would make Veterans the main stake holders, and that it perpetuates the negative impact that has taken over the facility.  While the first of three housing buildings for homeless Veteran programs are subject to over a year's wait, exotic bird sanctuaries memorandums-of-understandings are being given freely. The delays created by this form of "land-grab" beucracy has cost immeasurable hours and effort to treat an ailing Veteran community.  Older Veterans are flocking to seek the assistance of an institution that bares the name "Veterans", and, younger wounded warriors with record claims for PTSD, head trauma and gender specific issues demonstrate the real cost of war. It was Senator Feinstein, at a press conference four months ago, held on the facility, who stated "imagine what can be done here [for Veterans]" when she was "embarrassed" to be told by We The Veterans that her name had been used to endorse a public park on the property.  It is time to stop with the politics and time to make the "HOME" what it was intended to be. URGENT! VPC, a so-called Veteran group, boasting lobbiests, a memorandum-of-understanding, a sharing agreement and, most damaging, a letter of endorsement on the California Department of American Legion stationery, is about to execute a sharing agreement for a 16 acre FONT color=#990000>public park onto this land that was specifically gifted as a place for returning Veterans to heal by Grant Deed in 1888. When We The Veterans managed to educate certain Veteran representatives within the American Legion, Department of California, it, at its latest Bakersfield Convention, passed a resolution, submitted by District 21, that would rescind any endorsements of this park idea and prevent any other such endorsements. The bureaucrats at VA, WLA, continue to ignore the questions of Veteran advocates because we are not VSO's.  We are Veterans who are passionate about service to Veteran patients and we take our advocacy seriously.  Now, however, we must rely upon YOU, the VSO's, to press the issues as described here. American Legion and Disabled American Veterans, DAV, as stated on their respective websites, admi t to have been monitoring the following legislation for over a year: 'A bill to require the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to submit a report to Congress on proposed changes to the use of the West Los Angeles Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center, California.' Bill # S.1043 Original Sponsor: Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) Cosponsor Total: 1 (last sponsor added 03/29/2007)   1 Democrats
About This Legislation: 3/29/2007--Introduced. Directs the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to report to Congress on the master plan of the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) relating to the use of VA lands of the West Los Angeles Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center, California, as originally required under the Veterans Programs Enhancement Act of 1998. Requires an alternative report, on the development of the master plan, if the master plan does not exist as of the date of enactment of this Act. Prohibits the Secretary from implementing any portion of the master plan until 120 days after its receipt by the congressional veterans' and appropriations ************************************************************** American Legion, Website: Congressional Legislation West Los Angeles Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center Preservation Act of 2007 Bill # S.1417 Original Sponsor: Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) Cosponsor Total: 1 (last sponsor added 05/17/2007)   1 Democrats About This Legislation: A bill to direct the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to submit a report to Congress providing a master plan for the use of the West Los Angeles Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center, California, and for other purposes. National Commanders and leaders, please direct your respective legislative staff officers to use the muscle that Veterans have "on the Hill"!  Please call for a moratorium on all leases at VA, WLA, until the honorable Secretary Peake makes good on the existing legislation (described above).  Further, We The Veterans requests that you review and endorse the attached DECLARATION OF ENFORCEMENT.  We The Veterans created this no-nonsense document to perpetuate th e terms, conditions, spirit and intent of the Grant Deed of 1888, a grand document that, unfortunately, has lost all respect by the VA. If not you, whom?  If not now, when? Sempre Fi, F Juarez Co-Director, We The Veterans ************************************************************** DAV, Denvel D. Adams National Service and Legislative Headquarters 807 Maine Ave SW Washington, DC 20024 (202) 554-3501

____________________________________________________________
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-------------- Forwarded Message: --------------
From: Vern
Subject: Space Photos
Date: Thu, 14 Aug 2008 15:57:49 +0000
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