An unforgettable incident on the BB court

I did not see the injury happen, I looked at the TV and could not imagine what had happened, Louisville players were laying all over the floor, four looked almost passed out, fans were crying, players were crying, coaches were ashen faced with tears on their cheeks. I could tell someone was injured, but did not know the circumstances. Have never seen a scenario like that on a basketball court. PS I have seen a photograph as he went down, the worst break I have ever seen, I don't know how they went on and played. NO, I won't  publish that photograph.

INDIANAPOLIS — After all the buildup, the history, two of the most decorated coaches of two of the most recognizable programs, the most poignant moment of Sunday’s Midwest Region final sprang from an injury perhaps unparalleled in its gruesomeness.

The scene after Louisville’s Kevin Ware sustained an open fracture of his right leg late in the first half was surreal. Four Cardinals woozily held each other up at center court, several appearing on the brink of fainting, others crying and shaking. Coach Rick Pitino dabbed away tears.

But as he was treated on the floor, before a cart carried him off to a hospital, Ware called his teammates
over, but they could not hear him. Pitino had to yell to get their attention.

Russ Smith, Peyton Siva, Chane Behanan, Wayne Blackshear and Gorgui Dieng gathered around Ware. In that huddle, Ware told them, “Just win it for me, y’all.” Louisville, the region’s No. 1 seed, responded by dismantling the second-seeded Blue Devils, 85-63, with a dominating second-half performance at Lucas Oil Stadium to earn a second consecutive trip to the Final Four.

Duke didn't stand a chance, and if they had won, I think the crowd would have booed.

Elena Delle Donne

As I have stated, I thoroughly enjoy women's athletics, and this gal has jumped to the top of my list. Delaware got knocked out of the tournament, but the went down fighting, because of her. She could have gone to Connecticut and perhaps won a championship or two, and set many more records. But she has a sister, a sister who was born deaf, blind with cerebral palsy. The only way for the sisters to communicate, Elena has said, is through touching and hugging. She felt her place was nearer home, and that's where she wanted to  be .... is that a great kid or what?

Elena Delle Donne is an American college basketball and former volleyball player at the University of Delaware.

Delle Donne gained national recognition as a high school basketball star at Ursuline Academy in Wilmington, Delaware.

She led Ursuline to three straight Delaware State Championship titles and was ranked as the number-one overall high school recruit by Scout.com as well as a McDonald's All-American.

She was the first and only student at Ursuline so far to score 2,000+ points during her high school career and also set the girls' high school national record for consecutive free throws made (80) in 2005–2006.

Following her senior season in high school (2007–2008), Delle Donne received a basketball scholarship from University of Connecticut. On August 16, 2008, Delle Donne announced she would not accept the scholarship due to burnout, and instead decided to enroll at the University of Delaware and join their volleyball team as a walk-on.

After playing one season with the volleyball team, Delle Donne joined the school's basketball team, becoming one of most prolific scorers in the history of women's college basketball, setting numerous school and conference records, as well as becoming a consensus All-American choice and an Academic All-American, and a three-time Player of the Year in the Colonial Athletic Association.

READ MORE HERE

No middle ground??

See how nice and BIG the front is?

Now, for cooking instructions on the back

I had to use a magnifying glass to read them

I knew WHERE I bought them

I knew WHAT they were

I just had a hard time trying to figure out how to fix them.

Wearer BEWARE

A survey was conducted recently by the Jirad Jonas Company of Baltimore Maryland.

When J. Bradford Carlson, CEO of Jonas, and his evaluation team finished their evaluation, they were quite surprised by the results, and the ramifications that might reverberate throughout one particular industry.

Soundproof Headphones, by eliminating external noises, have resulted in many unnecessary, needless, situations.

In Peoria, Illinois, Helen Marken, wife of James, had her STREET by 50™ Over-Ear Wired Headphones on, and did not hear her husband, Mark, asking for help, as he was in cardiac arrest and in a very serious condition. By the time Beethoven's Symphony had finished, and she called 911 he was gone. Emergency Squad personnel stated to Mrs. Marken that if she had been listening to the "Minute Waltz," they might have been able to save Mr. Marken.

In another instance, William Jordan had his Bose QuietComfort® 3 Acoustic Noise Cancelling® headphones on while cruising on the Costa Concordia in his starboard side luxury stateroom, and was so engrossed in listening to Händel's Messiah, the Hallelujah Chorus, that he heard none of the alerts being broadcast throughout the ship, and was not aware even that he was sitting on his right side. Rescuers were able to get to him in time and pull him to safety. The grateful Mr. Jordan commented to his rescuers, "Those darn things are waterproof."

Billions of telephone calls have gone unanswered, millions of visitors have been turned away because a doorbell was not heard. William H Stardor, while driving his Bentley Continental Supersport heading West on the New York State Thruway was wearing his UltraFocus 8000 Active Noise Canceling Headphones while listening to Mahler's Third Symphony and was in Western Pennsylvania near the Ohio border before he realized he had missed his exit. by 287 miles.

Wear them, enjoy them, but awareness is critical. As J. Bradfford Carlson mentioned in his closing statements at their evaluation, "External noise is not a bad word."

It is Easter Sunday

Regardless of your beliefs

It's Easter Sunday

Start your day

By

Listening to this

Have a blessed day

Easter Sunday

Easter Sunday .. often got a new suit for church .. my aunt, Marion, Indiana, every year had an Easter Pageant which WLW radio used to broadcast  Mom would wake us all up early to listen, Her sister, my Aunt Eva Shannon, was pianist for the event. We used to have school plays depicting the event. I'm sure they are not allowed to mention it any more. What a shame.

Church was always a must event this day, would see people we had not seen in a year, they attended church regularly, every Easter.

Christmas, Easter, I have fond memories of them from long ago, fond memories, but kids miss out on those anymore, again,, what a shame.

I don't run around town carrying a sign, like some do. My church attendance is lacking. As I said before, at night, I thank Him for getting me through the day, and in the morning, I think him for giving me another day, I I listen to a lot of Gaither Gospel Music, sometimes while drinking a Bud or a gin and tonic. I was never sure how that worked out.

Give this a LISTEN

WOW .... I just listened again, David has a unique voice, one of my favorites.

Thank Him for the day before you go to bed ... I always ask Him to look over my family that is so spread out, and he has answered that for me.

A blessed Easter Sunday to you and yours ....................

As it says at the top of my blog ...........
                              May the peace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you always!

Saturday morning viewing ..........

Saturday morning in Ohio, the sun is out, the TV is on, I am watching Curling, the Women's World Championship, Gold Medal Match, coming from Riga, Latvia. First, I had Tiga, and it was red underlined, is now, and I changed it to Riga. Now, how did the computer really know that? Is there nowhere called Tiga? (another red line) amazing.

Anyway, I am watching Curling, and watching outside, checking the progress of the Sun as it comes over our roof and melts the ice on the windshield of our cars.

Almost all of these curlers are cute, not sure if that is a prerequisite or not, and they all seem very agile. I don't know how they stand and walk on the ice with such ease. I do know that they wear different shoes, one smooth and one not, I guess. They actually look like they are skating, but without skates.

What they want the "stone" to do, and what it actually does, with the help of the "sweepers" is truly remarkable, a game of fractions of an inch and speed control that is incredible. I remember "the angle of reflection equal the angle of incidence. When shooting pool, my Dad always reminded me of that.

These women are incredible and I am not even sure what they are doing, but I know they are doing it well, such intense expressions.

I still marvel at how they are able to stand on the ice. Camera is above, and ads and logos are frozen under the ice. How clever. Ford is apparently a big sponsor.

Wikipedia: Curling is a sport in which players slide stones across a sheet of ice towards a target area which is segmented into four rings.

It won't become a major sport, but you have to be impressed with what they do, and on ice no less.

Jessie Dooley

I would be remiss if I did not mention that on this day, 1971, I think, I lost my Mother, Jessie Maud Shannon Dooley. Early in the morning she didn't feel well, My Dad went to get her something, returned, and she was gone. Not a bad way to go.

I did not get to spend enough "quality" time with her, time to just sit around and talk. Jessie loved to have a good time. She loved her family and loved spending time with her. She loved it when people came out to their house for a visit.

A friend of theirs, Doctor Rose, from Columbus, came out for a visit on one occasion, and brought with him the legendary basketball coach from Ohio State, Fred Taylor. Mom had just baked an apple pie. Fred had two pieces, and left with a promise to return. That was just the kind of person she was.

She was a good Doctor's Wife. She quietly endured the many absences of my Dad when he was delivering one of his many babies at Miami Valley Hospital, or his office hours at the Fidelity Building.

During his pre-med and med school, they lived frugally, neck bones and fresh side. Just enough income for school, books and a little food. Then early on, home and office together. that meant the living room was an overflow waiting room. She was called on, on many occasions, to assist him in the officer, where more hands were needed. She was able to diagnose the urgency of telephone calls, and knew the appropriate action to take.

She was a PK, a preacher's kid, regular church goer, and above all, a good Mother. She loved Christmas and Thanksgiving, and family gatherings were things of joy to her.

I remember she was diagnosed with slightly high blood pressure by Doctor Ed Werner, our neighbor. He prescribed a shot of whiskey each day might help. We had a neighbor get the whiskey, neither Mom nor Dad wanted to be seen buying any. In order to get her to take it we had to disguise it with a variety of fruit juices, and just knowing it was in the concoction she had a hard time getting it down. It didn't last long, and the remaining whisky was poured down the drain, and the empty bottle was placed in the trash, wrapped in about three paper bags, so the trash man would not see it.

She passed away on Good Friday... RIP, Jessie Maud Shannon Dooley.

.....and lead me not into temptation ...

A New York City doctor has been charged with running an interstate smuggling ring that trafficked $10 million worth of oxycodone across several states, including the New York metropolitan area and Pennsylvania.

Authorities said 49 people were arrested on Tuesday, including the leaders of two major drug trafficking networks in Pennsylvania, after an undercover 15-month investigation conducted by the city's special narcotics unit.

Dr. Hector Castro, who ran the Itzamna Medical Center in Manhattan, has pleaded not guilty to 39 counts of criminal sale of a prescription for a controlled substance in Manhattan's state Supreme Court.

Police found a lockbox containing approximately $20,000 in cash when they raided the New York residence of Dr. Hector Castro

I was a wonderin .....................

I just watched an old Roy Rogers movie. Something dawned on me.

Why were BAD guys horses, always slower than GOOD guy's horses?

I have watched many old westerns during my years, and I don't think the BAD guys ever outran the GOOD guys. Some BAD guys lost the GOOD guys by hiding, or turning a different direction or some such skulduggery  but never outran one.

I would think that a BAD guy, when buying or stealing a horse, would ask or check, to see how fast it is. "Hi podner, wanna buy me a horse, need a really fast one. I'm an outlaw and and a bank robber, and there are times I need to get away really fast. Have you ever seen Roy Rogers horse, I need one faster than Trigger."

I have never heard a BAD guy at the end of the movie, say, "Whew, I outran that GOOD guy, he sure had a slow horse."

The GOOD guys always one, and that's the way it should be, even in real life.

North Korea ... at the ready

SEOUL, South Korea — North Korean state media said Friday that the country’s leader, Kim Jong-un, had ordered his missile units to be ready to strike the United States and South Korea, which South Korean officials said could signal either preparations for missile tests or just more blustering.

The United States criticized the North Korean threat, which came one day after American forces had carried out an unusual practice bombing exercise with advanced aircraft across South Korea.

“The United States is fully capable of defending itself and our allies,” said Lt. Col. Catherine Wilkinson, a Pentagon spokeswoman in Washington."North Korea’s bellicose rhetoric and threats follow a pattern designed to raise tensions and intimidate others.”

I had, what I thought was a clever telephone call from Obama to Kim John-un, but I couldn't finish it, there is just no humor there, it is, or could be a very serious, dangerous situation. I hope that we do NOT have any reckless fingers on the triggers that could escalate this in to a possible civilization ending situation. There is NO humor, only reason for concern.

An Irish Ghost Story ... to shiver yer timbers

This story happened a while ago in Dublin, and even though it sounds like an Alfred Hitchcock tale, it's true. 

John Bradford, a Dublin University student, was on the side of the road hitchhiking on a very dark night and in the midst of a big storm. 

The night was rolling on and no car went by. The storm was so strong he could hardly see a few feet ahead of him. 

Suddenly, he saw a car slowly coming towards him and stopped. John, desperate for shelter and without thinking about it, got into the car and closed the door.... only to realize there was nobody behind the wheel and the engine wasn't on. 

The car started moving slowly. 

John looked at the road ahead and saw a curve approaching. 

Scared, he started to pray, begging for his life. Then, just before the car hit the curve, a hand appeared out of nowhere through the window, and turned the wheel. 

John, paralyzed with terror, watched as the hand came through the window, but never touched or harmed him. 

Shortly thereafter, John saw the lights of a pub appear down the road, so, gathering strength; he jumped out of the car and ran to it. Wet and out of breath, he rushed inside and started telling everybody about the horrible experience he had just had. 

A silence enveloped the pub when everybody realized he was crying... And wasn't drunk. 

Suddenly, the door opened, and two other people walked in from the dark and stormy night. They, like John, were also soaked and out of breath. 

Looking around, and seeing John Bradford sobbing at the bar, one said to the other.... Look Paddy....there's that idiot that got in the car while we were pushing it.

Deep thought stuff........

Knowledge is knowing a tomato is a fruit. 

Wisdom is not using it in a fruit salad.

Nice ...........

Neat, I can relate. After open heart surgery was performed on me, on my follow-up visit with my surgeon in Columbus, he extended his hand when I went into his office ..... I declined and gave him a hug. Had a similar experience a few years ago with a surgeon in New Jersey. While visiting my Son there, got sick, the doctor detected a cyst in my colon. After a week on antibiotics, the surgery, a few weeks of recovery, my son took me for a follow up, same scenario, no handshake, but a big hug. In both cases, my life was probably extended. 

Here's a wonderful picture of Jeff Green, moments after sinking a game-winning layup at the end of last night's Cavs-Celtics game, giving a big hug to Dr. Lars Svensson. Dr. Svensson is the man who performed open heart surgery on Green to fix an aortic aneurysm over a year ago, saving Green's life as well as his career.

Here's how Green described the moment to Boston.com after the game:

“Just a year ago and a couple months, I was under that bright light with him working on me,” said the forward, who scored 21 points and grabbed seven rebounds. “It’s a blessing to be here.”

Then, a moment later, Green smiled and said, “That was for him.”

I'm sorry, I can't resist ......................

Starlet Sylvia Golden shocked those in attendance last night, at the opening of her new movie, "Havlica," by arriving nude, wearing only a fully embriodered pink ghagra choli made out of the new invisible material made by Dupont. Inside the crowded theater  head usher Harley Pardee searched for the starlet for quite some time, and after the showing stated that he was not sure if she saw it or not. "I, I just don't know, one minute she was there and, well, then ..... I'm just not sure. If everyone wore that darn stuff the theater would look empty."

Follow up on the "invisible material"

Pictured here is the entire Third Army Regiment, their band, color guard and four units of their mechanized Division, all wearing the new material. Note how difficult it is to find the new M-55 tank, which has been spray painted with the new invisible paint. General Filburt Wisban is in the far left with his entire staff. He is wearing his famous sidearm, the Colt Frontier Scout,  Single Action.

The "invisible material" has so many possibilities and uses that Tech Centers around the world are racing to be the first.

The U.S. military is backing the development of camouflage fabrics that could one day make their soldiers completely invisible, it has been claimed.

The so-called 'Quantum Stealth' camouflage material is said to render its wearers completely invisible by bending light waves around them.

Its makers claim the material, which is in effect similar to the invisibility cloak worn by Harry Potter, can even fool night-vision goggles.

Invisible materials now a reality

Shown here is a photograph of Helen Mercer, wearing the metamaterial cloth as a cloak. The photograph is taken in front of the large white syke wall at the Birmingham Studios in Florence California. A Linus Kodachrome 35mm with a reflex 4x lens was used to take the photograph. 

Researchers have taken the next step on the road to constructing a cloak of invisibility or a powerful "superlens" capable of capturing fine details undetectable to current lenses. A group from the University of California, Berkeley, this week is publishing the first demonstrations of materials capable of bending visible or near-visible light the "wrong" way in three dimensions.

Both are examples of metamaterials—specially designed structures that cause light to do things it normally wouldn't—in this case, bending backward, an effect called negative refraction. Researchers have built metamaterials capable of negatively refracting microwaves, but despite some successes bending visible light in two dimensions, they've had a harder time making three-dimensional versions.

AAAAWWWWWWwwwwwwww.......

LONDON (Reuters) - Eleven giant wind turbines are to be built off the east coast of Scotland, the government announced on Tuesday, a move that has infuriated U.S. billionaire Donald Trump who says they will spoil the view from his nearby state-of-the-art golf course.

Trump completed the first phase of his 750 million pound course at Menie near Aberdeen in 2010 after a fierce battle with conservationists who accused him of ruining a pristine coastal site.

The 66-year-old property magnate has long been railing against plans for what he calls the "huge and unsightly" turbines and has threatened to scrap plans to build a hotel at the course.

The 640-feet turbines will be in the sea an estimated mile and a half (2 km) from Trump's links course.

On Tuesday, he issued a statement saying: "We will put our future plans in Aberdeen on hold, as will many others, until this ridiculous proposal is defeated.

"Likewise, we will be bringing a lawsuit within the allocated period of time to stop what will definitely be the destruction of Aberdeen and Scotland itself."

Little hope seen for millions priced out of health overhaul

By Tom Brown

MIAMI (Reuters) - Millions of Americans will be priced out of health insurance under President Barack Obama's healthcare overhaul because of a glitch in the law that adversely affects people with modest incomes who cannot afford family coverage offered by their employers, a leading healthcare advocacy group said on Tuesday.

Tax credits are a key component of the law and the White House has said the credits, averaging about $4,000 apiece, will help about 18 million individuals and families pay for health insurance once the Affordable Care Act takes full effect, beginning in January 2014.

The tax credits are geared toward low and middle-income Americans who do not have access to affordable health insurance coverage through an employer. The law specifies that employer-sponsored insurance is affordable so long as a worker's share of the premium does not exceed 9.5 percent of the worker's household income.

In its rule making, or final interpretation of the law, the IRS said affordability should be based strictly on individual coverage costs, however.

That means that, even if family coverage through an employer-based plan far exceeds the 9.5 percent cutoff, workers would not be eligible for the tax credits to help buy insurance for children or non-working dependents.

Probably more to the story ......

By Matthew DeLuca, Staff Writer, NBC News

An Arizona gun store owner says he will not sell Mark Kelly the AR-15 rifle that the vocal advocate for tighter gun control bought earlier this month.

The manager of the Tucson, Ariz., store where Kelly, husband of former U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, bought the firearm has said that he will not complete the March 5 transaction, according to a statement posted on Facebook.

“While I support and respect Mark Kelly’s 2nd Amendment rights to purchase, possess, and use firearms in a safe and responsible manner, his recent statements to the media made it clear that his intent in purchasing the Sig Sauer M400 5.56mm rifle from us was for reasons other then for his personal use,” Douglas MacKinlay, owner of Diamondback Police Supply, said in the post.

It just came to me a little while ago ....

In my mind, I think of getting out of my chair as a thirty year old.

But, I get up as an eighty year old.

Older people will relate to that.

The first ...... fisherman

Hey, Igor, let's go fishing.

What fishing, Og?

I've been looking down at the water, and there are things under the top of the water. I think we should catch some and see if they are friendly.

Why we do that, Og?

I think seafood could be a nice compliment to our present diet.

What?

I think that if we figure a way to get them out of the water, then we could cook them, oh, I forgot, no fire yet, well we could cut them into little pieces and call them ...... soushi, or something like that.

What is soushi, Og?

She is the cute chest with long hair who lives over the hill who has fixed up an old cave and people go there to eat. When sky gets dark and white light comes down from sky and hits tree she fixes dinosaur meat over hot lite and she have a full house of people, but when fire go out soushi have only cold food

Oh, Og, then you should capitalize the S in her name, right Og?

I will from now on, Igor.

How we go fishing, Og?

Me findum mono filament line, tie it on a long stick and put in water. Fish see line and ..... well they not know what to do. We need some kind of enticement, Igor.

What is enticement, Og?

It be something we will affix on the end of the mono filament line that will attract the fish and they will try to eat it ..... we will call it bait, Og.

We usem rock, Og?

No Igor, we need something that will attract the fish, something they want, must be appealing to them. What is that crawling up your leg, Igor?

Not know, but may appeal to fish.

Brilliant, Igor, you've got it, we will use that wormy looking thing on the end of the mono filament line to attract the fish. They will see it, and when they try to eat it, we will pull them out of the water. Here, Igor, take this line and tie the worm to it .... good .... now, drop it in the water .... that's it, Igor, move it around  ..... the fish is looking at it ..... there .... it is going to eat it ...... he has it ........... pull it out Igor.

It stay in water eating the wormy thing ... why that not work, Og?

Oh, I don't know Igor, we just didn't hook it right.

What's a hook, Og?

I love women's sports - some of my idols

I admit it, I love Women's Athletics. I watch softball, basketball, pool, tennis and more. I guess my first heroine was Martina. Just one name was all she needed, just like Michael. I think that is the pinnacle, when you are recognized by one name. Martina had some memorable matches in her career, to me, she was the epitome of a "professional," I have a great deal of admiration for her.

My first softball hero was Lisa Fernandez, she was a "master, a pitcher, a coach, and a mother. During USA Softball’s “Central Park to Sydney Tour,” Fernandez pitched five straight perfect games, and in one of those games she struck out all 21 batters. At the 2000 Games, she posted a 0.47 ERA with 52 strikeouts. And then came Cat Osterman, and .......... Jennie Finch, arguably the most famous softball player of all time. She is probably the idol of any young lady playing softball, or any sport for that matter. Jennie Finch defeated Anna Kournikova in an Espn online poll as the most attractive female athlete. Married and the mother of two.

Now watching basketball. One of the great stories in all sports, male of female, one woman that I have a great deal of respect for, Pat Summit. She is the all-time winningest coach in NCAA basketball history of either a men's or women's team in any division. She coached from 1974 to 2012, all with the Lady Vols, winning eight NCAA national championships, second only to the record 10 titles won by UCLA men's coach John Wooden. She is the only coach in NCAA history, and one of three college coaches overall, with at least 1,000 victories. Pat was named the Naismith Basketball Coach of the Century in April 2000. In 2009, the Sporting News placed her number 11 on its list of the 50 Greatest Coaches of All Time in all sports; she was the only woman on the list. In 38 years as a coach, she never had a losing season. On April 20, 2012, the White House announced that Pat Summitt would be awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President Barack Obama. Summitt received the Arthur Ashe Courage Award at the 2012 ESPY Awards. She had to step down, she was diagnosed and living with Alzheimer's disease. She is longer the coach, but she never misses a practice or a game. Do I respect her, I am "tearing up" just writing this. Many of her players are in touch with her every day, she impacted so many.

Geno Auriemma is he head coach of the University of Connecticut Huskies women's basketball team. He has led UConn to seven NCAA Division I national championships, and has won six national Naismith College Coach of the Year awards. He was also the head coach of the United States women's national basketball team from 2009 to 2012, winning the 2010 World Championship, and the gold medal at the 2012 Summer Olympics. They are still advancing in the tournament this year. Auburn may stand in his way of another one.

Basketball on now, softball coming up, great stuff to watch.

Bill Gates' $100 million database to track students

By Michael F. Haverluck

Over the past 18 months, a massive $100 million public-school database spearheaded by the $36.4 billion-strong Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation has been in the making that freely shares student information with private companies.

The system has been in operation for several months and already contains millions of K-12 students’ personal identification ‒ ranging from name, address, Social Security number, attendance, test scores, homework completion, career goals, learning disabilities, and even hobbies and attitudes about school.

Claiming that the national database will enhance education, the main funder of the project, the Gates Foundation, entered the joint venture with the Carnegie Corporation of New York and school officials from a number of states. After Rupert Murdoch’s Amplify Education (a division of News Corp) spent more than a year developing the system’s infrastructure, the Gates Foundation delivered it to inBloom ‒ a nonprofit corporation recently established to run the database.

School officials and private companies doing business with districts might have plenty to be happy about with this information-sharing system, but ParentalRights.org President Michael P. Farris says parents have plenty to worry about when it comes to inBloom’s national database.

“The greatest immediate threat to children is the threat to their privacy,” Farris told WND in an exclusive interview. “The Supreme Court has recognized a sphere of privacy within the family, but this project would take personal information about each child, apart from any considerations of parental consent, and put it into a database being managed and monitored solely by the government agencies and private corporations that use it.”

Surrealistic moment ..... here's one

This is the dock that we pulled in at Yokohama. This is our sister ship,  the USS General George M. Randall (AP-115) Departing Yokohama, Japan, with the first Korean War dead to be returned to the United States. 11 March 1951.

Have I had a surrealistic moment, yea, now that you mention it, I have. I think that is the correct word, a moment that I, to this day,  vividly remember, it happened in 1954.

I enlisted in the Navy in 1952, and spent two years in San Diego, at the Receiving Station, which I don't think is there anymore, and then was transferred to Seattle, and did my last two years aboard the USS William Mitchell TAP 114, my two year taste of "sea duty."

On my first cruise we left Seattle, Washington, headed for Japan. Saw a lot of water before getting there.

One morning, we were alerted that we were pulling in the channel and heading to Yokohama Harbor.

Let me digress. I was born in 1932. I remember December 7, 1941, vividly. I remember the war well. I remember we were told of those "dirty little Japs." I remember all the movies, the newsreels, the radio announcements, and when it was over, after the "bomb" dropped in 1945.

So, here I was, only nine years after the war ended, sailing up these waters that still showed signs of the war, Sunken ships, debris, I remember some of the buildings had marks from bullets, it was almost like a dream to me, being there, seeing all of this, just a few years after the war.

I found this photograph on the web, but it is where we pulled in, and I remember the sign, and how strange I thought it was, to be welcomed, after all I had seen and heard during the war, to be Welcomed to Japan.

I can still see those sunken ships in the harbor, I was then, and still am, in awe of those scenes, a war I had lived in my mind, I was actually seeing, up close. I think that surreal sums it up, pretty well.

PS - I don't remember how many crossings I made. I was in Japan, Korea, Okinawa, San Francisco, Seattle, and every time we left or pulled in to a port, there were crowds of people, troops and bands to either greet us, or say goodbye. 

Mirrors = reality, and I hate that

I am 80.

Fortunately, for me, I wake up each morning, I thank God for letting me live through the night, and, perhaps, giving me another day on earth. My back hurts, my neck hurts, it takes me a while to ..... come out of a daze, get my bearings, get my head on straight, walk normally, all those things. But, I am pretty much just 30 or 40 years old, I start walking pretty well, looking forward to the day.

I head to the kitchen and make coffee, into the living room, turn on the TV, find the music station, and then have to decide between "Swing Kings" which takes me back to the 30's and 40's, or "Easy Instrumentals" which takes me back to the 50's and beyond.

Today I am at Easy Instrumentals, "La Vie En Rose" right now, by Ronald Binge and his Romantic Strings, never heard of him, but the music is pleasant. I'm sure that brings back some memories, just not sure what then are, but I am living in the past.

Got my first cup of coffee down, Walmart Generic Coffee, I can develop a taste for most anything, but it is hot and wet. I will buy Folgers when I hit the lottery, or even Maxwell House. I wonder what that recent lottery winner in New Jersey is drinking this morning. No generic coffee for him anymore. I think he has five kids. I bet they all really love him, now.

Now, a trip to the bathroom, I walk down the hall. When my back and neck really hurt, or some other aged problem arises, I mentally have trained myself to walk like John Wayne. I stop myself, put myself in a John Wayne frame of mind, it relaxes my back, slows me down, and helps me motivate. I use that walk more and more. It works though. Yesterday I went out for the mail. Walking was a little labored, so a little way out I thought ......... John Wayne .............. and made it to the mailbox and back with no trouble.

As a 30 or 40 year old, I walk into the bathroom, look into the mirror and see my aged Father in the mirror. Who is that? It's Ralph Dean Dooley, no, it's me, 80 year old Joe. Can't be, I'm too young to look like that. All those "brown" spots and blemishes, the white hair, looking like an old man.

Shaving is going to be  tough, but all the mirrors have to go, I am just not that old.

I'm back, there goes "Autumn Leaves" by Jon Burchfield, so melodic, takes me way back, nice, soft, quiet music, great to listen to, while I takes these darn mirrors down.

No title ... just ... contemplation

Tomas Young is "ready to go" as he puts it.

After nine years of suffering and with his body quickly deteriorating he has decided to end his struggle.

Young, 33, was paralyzed from the chest down by a sniper's bullet in a battle in Sadr City, Iraq on April 4, 2004, less than a week after he got to the country. He had joined the Army just two days after September 11, 2001 and assumed he would be sent to Afghanistan. Now nine years after that battle he is choosing to end his suffering. He is in hospice care and getting ready to die.

"I just decided that I was tired of seeing my body deteriorate and I want to go before it's too late," Young said in phone interview with ABC News from his home in Kansas City, Mo. "I've been doing this for the past nine years now…and I finally felt helpless every day and a burden to the people who take care of me and that's why I want to go."

Young and his wife Claudia Cuellar are receiving guests for a few more weeks. During that time, Young will say goodbye to friends and family and then will stop receiving medications, nourishment and water. They don't know how long it could be after that time he will die, but they believe it will be one to three weeks, but it could be as long as six weeks.

They don't consider it suicide, just an end to his suffering.

The word ............. enough .................. again.

In a prehistoric frame of mind, I guess ....

Even back then ............. not sure why I am in a "prehistoric" frame of mind this morning.

Gor, I want to "come out."

What you mean, Igor.

I not like other guys, they chase the longhairs with the cute chests, I not do that, I rather be with flat chests.

When you know that, Igor?

The last blurg, I chasem a longhair with a cute chest, I catch cute chest and then I not know what to do, not want to do nothing like others do. I know not what to do, I feel like bird in sky, I wantem to cook and keep cave clean, I mix red berries with white stuff and do my cave in a pink color.

I'm at a loss for words, Igor, you have caught me completely off guard and by surprise, we are on uncharted waters. I admit that I was concerned when I saw how you threw the spear at the dinosaur, you threw just like a cute chest. And then at the club, you ordered a Pink Lady while all the flat chests were drinking boiler makers. And, to be honest, Igor, you swish when you walk, more like a cute chest than a flat chest.

You use many big words when you talk to Igor, Igor not understand all your words, maybe that's why you the leader, big words, promise our people much, not understand what you say, maybe not even from our land but a land far away, but Igor want you to help me "come out."

Why you wantem to "come out?"

Want to be with one of the flat chests.

Which one?

Clung, only not know how to let him know.

You wantem to clean his cave and washem his loin cloth at the creek and do his food. No fire yet so all cold food. How you know that Clung wantem to do that?

He winkem his eye at me when we havem big fire in the land of trees.

Could it maybe just have been the smoke.

Oh, shucks, you might be right, mister.

The first dance ......

I wonder who started .... "dancing?"

Maybe the caveman. They were all sitting around on rocks, in the cave, no fire yet, just sitting and staring at each other.

Igor, get up and jump up and down, see if you can make us laugh.

What is laugh, Gor?

When I am happy my face changes.

What is happy, Gor?

Just get up and stomp your feet.

What is stomp, Gor?

I will clap my hands and you will jump up and down, and move around the cave, in time with my clapping, it will be fun.

What is clap, jump, move, time and fun, Gor.?

Just get up and do what I do, Igor.

And Igor and Gor, get on their feet, jump up and down, sway to the clapping, stomp their feet, stir up the dust, eventually start hacking and coughing, and in general, make fools of themselves.

Wasn't that fun, Igor?

What is fun, again?

We were dancing around the cave and having a good time, stomping our feet, and moving in time to the clapping of our hands, it was very rhythmic, don't you think, we were expressing ourselves in dance, I felt like I was free, at last, it was a historic moment, don't you think?

Where is Gor, you not sound like him?

We need Jack Armstrong - The All American Boy

Beautiful Spring morning in Ohio, three inches of snow on the ground, last year on this date I sat out on the porch and got some sun. Will be on the porch today, shoveling snow.

However, this crisp, cold Spring air has cleared my head, it was revealed to me this morning, the problem we are having in this country. Jack Armstrong is gone. Every afternoon at four, I would turn on the radio and listen to Jack Armstrong, the All American boy. Together, we would "raise the flag for Hudson High." Then I would spend some time, with Jack, in his world for fifteen minutes. Jack was an athlete at old Hudson High School, and often got involved in an adventure with his friend Billy Fairfield, and Billy's sister Betty, and their uncle Jim Fairfield.

Uncle Jim would have to visit an exotic part of the world in connection with his business, and he would take Jack Armstrong and the Fairfield siblings along with him. I lived those adventures with them. "All American" became very special for me, and the sponsor of the show, Wheaties, were a must on my breakfast table.

Good and bad was always the theme, i learned about good and bad and right and wrong. Often some of the ads would be about famous athletes and we would actually hear them extolling the virtues of Wheaties. To this day I buy a box once in a while, and think of Jack and Billy and Betty and Uncle Jim. I must admit too that I still listen to some of the old shows I can find on the internet. I can put the headphones on, listen to Jack, and be transported back in time.

Jack taught me right from wrong, good from bad, and we all wanted to be like Jack. Kids don't get that today. I spent at lease an hour or so, every weekday listening to Jack, Terry and the Pirates, Captain Midnight and others, all who drew that line between right and wrong, I lived their adventures, I created scenarios in my mind. I decoded messages with my Captain Midnight Decoder Badge.

The main thing, I had to use my "imagination," and kids are missing out on that these days, they "see" it all, not imagine it.

I loved those "sick" days, when I could convince my Dad, the Doctor, that "I didn't feel well. Mom would bring up that bed tray, I don't even see those anymore, other than in old movies, get comfortable under the covers, turn the radio on and listen to Stella Dallas and Ma Perkins and all of the other "soaps."

Start with The Breakfast Club, with Don McNeil, from Chicago, a great show, news from WLW in Cincinnati with Peter Grant, Ruth Lyons from Cincinnati also, then the afternoon soaps. My imagination was working the whole day.

But, the old Philco radio has been replaced with the laptop and these other tablets, etc., whatever they are, no imagination used, just images viewed.

We need to listen to Jack Armstrong again, I think we would have less problems, he was The All American Boy.

More OTR

Needam wampum - casino losum wampum

Maybe makum too big ....
LEDYARD, Conn. (AP) -- Once the envy of Indian Country for its billion-dollar casino empire, the tribe that owns the Foxwoods Resort Casino has been struggling through a financial crisis and pursuing more revenue from an unlikely source: U.S. government grants.

The money provided annually to the Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation through the Interior Department and the Department of Health and Human Services has risen over the last five years to more than $4.5 million, according to documents obtained by The Associated Press through the Freedom of Information Act.

One former tribal employee says department leaders encouraged to offset dwindling resources by seeking more federal grants.

The Pequots, who once distributed stipends exceeding $100,000 annually to adult members, are not alone among gaming tribes seeking more federal aid. Several, including the owner of Foxwoods' rival Connecticut casino, the Mohegan Sun, say they have been pursuing more grants — a trend that critics find galling because the law that gave rise to Indian casinos was intended to help tribes become financially self-sufficient.

Hello, yes this is Barack Obama, how may I help you?

And, you are who, again, Mitchell Etess. and you are CEO of the Mohegan Tribal Gaming Authority, Ok, what can I do for you?

You are having financial problems, what do you think I have here?

Ha, ha, your casino is having a hard time, you're losing money, in a casino, yea, right,  that's a laugh.

No, really, what can I do for you?

Really, you have a gambling casino and it is losing money, and you want me,  us, to help bail you out, what do you mean we owe you? All the other casinos are hurting too, and t h e y also need help.

Yes, I just gave some money to Jordan, no, it wasn't the basketball player, it was the country, we might have to borrow money from Michael. Hey, it's tough here too, I was talking with a guy today about selling some of our national parks to keep this ship afloat, it's tough all over.

We did all we could a few years ago to make you redskins self sufficient.

I'm sorry, that slipped out, I get tired of always having to hand out money.

Why are you laughing?

One suggestion, cut out all the entertainment and the sports and concentrate on gambling, that's all you need to do. Cut back on your expenses, that's what we do here in Washington .......

Cut out that damned laughing, what, oh, I'm sorry, my chopper is here, heading out again. Call Joe or Nancy, they're good with grants. Send up a smoke signal, you redskins are good at that, aw, sorry again, but you guys aren't a big voting block.

Miss Emma

My Great Granddaughter

Is she something, or what?

ENOUGH ...................

Enough

Enough: occurring in such quantity, quality, or scope as to fully meet demands, needs, or expectations.

"I wish you ..... enough." What a nice way to say goodbye, that is what a fulfilled life is all about, enough. I don't recall anyone ever using the word to say goodbye, but it is so appropriate. Not, have a great life, it probably won't be, but what  a nice wish, that you have enough.

I have used that word many times and never really given it any thought as to what it actually means. It's a very simple word, a comfortable word.

I doubt that I will start using that phrase to say goodbye, "I wish you enough," people would look strangely at me, but all that goes with it has a very special meaning.

What are your goals in life, "To have enough." That says it all, enough.

Sell, sell, sell

Good Sunday morning Joe, Barack here, how's Jill?

Great. I was reading a blog by a Joe Dooley, lives out in Ohio, I think, looks like an old guy.

That old, jeeze.

Anyway that blog, some town in England, I think, they are sellin off their treasurers to help out the budget, look at all the neat stuff we got.

Hey, the public don't need to know, not going to do it on Ebay, we'll just do it quietly, no publicity.

Hey, like, do we own that Grand Canyon thing, or how about where they got those faces on the mountain, I wouldn't mind havin my head up there.

Too big, funny Joe.

Selling the treasurers to pay the bills .....

LONDON (AP) -- The massive bronze sculpture is formally known as "Draped Seated Woman," a Henry Moore creation that evoked Londoners huddled in air raid shelters during the Blitz.

To the East Enders who lived nearby, the artwork was known as "Old Flo," a stalwart symbol of people facing oppression with dignity and grace.
But now, Old Flo may have to go.

The cash-strapped London borough of Tower Hamlets, one of the poorest communities in Britain, plans to sell the statue — estimated to be worth as much as 20 million pounds ($30 million).

Art lovers fear the sale of such a famous sculpture would set a worrisome precedent, triggering the sell-off of hundreds of lesser works housed in parks, public buildings and little local museums as communities throughout Britain struggle to balance their budgets amid the longest and deepest economic slowdown since the Great Depression.

"If the sale of Old Flo goes through, it can open the flood gates," said Sally Wrampling, head of policy at the Art Fund, the national fundraising charity for art and one of the groups campaigning to block the sale.

The proposal embodies a dilemma faced by many struggling households: Do you sell the family silver to get through tough times?

Obama offers additional $200 million to aid Jordan

AMMAN, Jordan (AP) — President Barack Obama says his administration is working with Congress to provide Jordan with an additional $200 million in aid this year.

Jordan's economic troubles have been made worse by the influx of more than 450,000 refugees fleeing the civil war across the border in neighboring Syria. The Syrians are crowding refugee camps in Jordan and overwhelming aid agencies run by the important U.S. ally in the Middle East.

The United States already is the largest single donor of humanitarian aid for the Syrian people.

Obama said Friday that the extra money, if approved by Congress, will help provide more humanitarian assistance and basic services.

He made the announcement during a news conference in Amman, Jordan, with King Abdullah II.


Hi is Timothy Geithner in?

The president.

Of the United states, Barack Obama

Yes, I will.

Hi Tim, I have a bit of a problem, maybe you can help me out, do you care if I call you Tim? I saw you shootin hoops the other day, good eye.

Great, well, I kinda promised, aw, well, I was chatting with King Abdullah of Jordan, and well, I guess I got carried away and promised him I would send him a little money to help out.

What, how much, well, it was two hundred million, can you do that for me, Tim?

What do you mean we don't have any money in the treasury?

What the hell is 'creative accounting?"

We haven't had any since when?

How do you pay out all this other stuff?

That's it, just print more, and that works, "creative accounting", that has a ring to it.

Well, I missed a few accounting courses in college, well, actually, we don't want it out, but I really goofed off a lot in college, you know, young, full of vim and vigor ..........

Well, yea, that too, a little smoke ........ we'll call it.

OK, back to business, can you use your "creative accounting" and find a couple hundred million to send off to Abdullah, let's kinda keep this between ourselves.

 OK, Tim. I don't want everyone to think I'm not "fiscally responsible," I think that's what Pelosi called it. What the hell does that mean, anyway, I wasn't too good in English, either.

Heading to Ohio????????

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — An early spring snowstorm forced the cancellation of more than 100 flights at Denver International Airport and closed several roads Saturday as it moved eastward, dumping more than a foot of snow in some places.

The snow started falling around midnight in northeast Colorado and then moved into northwest Kansas and southwest Nebraska.

Ten to 15 inches of snow had fallen by Saturday afternoon north of Interstate 70 in northwest Kansas and northeast Colorado, with another 1 to 2 inches expected in the area, said Ryan Husted, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Goodland, Kan., where 15 inches of snow had fallen.

The storm also dropped up to 7 inches of snow in southwestern Nebraska before tapering off Saturday afternoon, said David Pearson, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service near Omaha, Neb.
"But the wind is really blowing, so visibility in those areas is still going to be pretty low," Pearson said.

Joe Weider passes .....

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Joe Weider, a legendary figure in bodybuilding who helped popularize the sport worldwide and played a key role in introducing a charismatic young weightlifter named Arnold Schwarzenegger to the world, died Saturday. He was 93.

Weider's publicist, Charlotte Parker, told The Associated Press that the bodybuilder, publisher and promoter died of heart failure at his home in Los Angeles' San Fernando Valley.

"I knew about Joe Weider long before I met him," Schwarzenegger, who tweeted the news of his old friend's death, said in a lengthy statement posted on his website. "He was the godfather of fitness who told all of us to be somebody with a body. He taught us that through hard work and training we could all be champions."

A bodybuilder with an impressive physique himself, Weider became better known in later years as a behind-the-scenes guru to the sport.

This statistic is of interest ... to who?

A new United Nations study has found that more people around the world have access to a cellphone than to a working toilet.

The study’s numbers claim that of the world’s estimated 7 billion people, 6 billion have access to mobile phones.

However, only 4.5 billion have access to a toilet.

Give me some time to mull this over, there has to be some good material here .......

BS if I ever heard it .... from Ms. Wasserman

I wonder which car she has to eat in?

Automatic federal cuts are bringing staffers to the brink of starvation, suggested Debbie Wasserman Schultz, at a recent House Legislative Branch Appropriations Subcommittee hearing.

Restaurants on the House side of Congress are increasing in cost so much that aides are being “priced out” of a good meal, she said, as Fox News reported.

The comments came by way of a discussion about the impacts of the sequester on lawmakers’ office budgets.

Rep. Jim Moran said he may be forced to lay off a staffer — and then Ms. Wasserman Schultz weighed in with her tale of hard times.

Just to clarify: An 8-ounce bowl of Ham and Bean soup at the Cannon Office Building’s carry-out café costs $2. A gourmet wrap or sliced bread sandwich sells for about $5. And in the Longworth Building’s sit-down cafeteria, a serving of stuffed chicken, asparagus and mashed potatoes sells for about $7, Fox News finds.

Meanwhile, Ms. Wasserman Schultz’s staffers earn between $60,000 and $160,000 per year, Fox News reports.

UPDATE


Wasserman Schultz travels with Obama to Israel

 South Florida Congresswoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz is accompanying President Obama on his trip to the Middle East to help strengthen his bond with Israel.

 Having a prominent Jewish member of Congress on board could help dispel doubts about the president’s support for Israel, a subject of criticism in his re-election campaign.

The pot calling the kettle ......................

Some more on the poor gal ..........

Subsequent reviews of Wasserman Schultz’ congressional financial disclosures revealed a not widely known fact that she owns a second home in New Hampshire and is also not required to disclose her husband’s salary, which could very easily put her family among the top 1% of income earners in the country.  In addition, the Shark Tank recently reported that the Congresswoman splurged on a one-week luxury cruise ship vacation that cost tens of thousands of dollars- hardly an expenditure that ‘middle-class’ Americans can avail themselves of.  

According to those financial disclosure forms, Mr. and Mrs. Schultz of Weston, Florida have seen their assets almost  double since she was elected to the U.S. Congress in 2005.  When comparing Congresswoman Wasserman Schultz’s 2005 disclosure form with her 2011 form, the only other salary she drew besides her congressional salary was $26,320 she received from the Democrat National Committee.

I wonder if she had to payer her own way with the president?

WHO?

Who makes those television cameras that I see being carried around, everywhere, at the NCAA tournament?

I have seen them at the ends of the courts and a few other places, but last night, after one game, a  parade of them were walking down a corridor heading for a post game interview. I counted 12 of them. And, that was just one isolated area. Think of all the venues going on, just for the Men's NCAA Basketball, the Women's and all of the other events going on. There must be a million of them being carried around.I think they would be a good investment.

Every time something new comes out, sell another million or so, better than the Barbie Doll craze. They always said what a coup she was, sell the doll, then, and endless array of clothes, then new Barbies and more clothes, it never stops.

There must have been over a hundred just in that building. I wish I had money to invest.

He saw it coming ..... way back then.

My Dad, the Doctor, predicted this, and much more that is happening to the entire field of medicine now, back in 1958. He was proud to have been a physician, but not proud what medicine had degenerated to, and that was many years ago. He predicted all of this in a speech to the Montgomery County Medical Society as he was ending his term as President of the Society. 

A majority of physicians see a somewhat bleak future for medicine, pointing to eroding independence and shrinking income.

According to a survey from the Deloitte Center for Health Solutions of more than 600 doctors, six in 10 physicians said they expect many of their colleagues to retire earlier than planned in the next 1 to 3 years.

That perception cuts across age, gender and specialty.

Another 55 percent of doctors surveyed believe many of their colleagues will cut back on their hours because of the way medicine is changing, although the survey didn't delineate on how it was changing.

Seventy-five percent believe the best and brightest may not consider a career in medicine, an increase from the 2011 survey result of 69 percent.

“Physicians recognize ‘the new normal’ will necessitate major changes in the profession that require them to practice in different settings as part of a larger organization that uses technologies and team-based models for consumer (patient) care,” the survey's findings stated.

Saturday Morning, 3/23/2013

I have another day before me, He has been good to me.

A bright, blue sky, sunny morning, but cold, ice on the car windows. Watching the sunshine gradually working its way down the car windows, clearing all that ice away. I think they are still predicting snow on Sunday. Winter is reluctant to let go. Not sure where it was, but they were playing soccer in a snowstorm, looked like a football game in Green Bay. They occasionally had to plow the snow off the field.

Another March Madness and I am knocked out after the first round. One of the reasons I enjoy this time of year. Teams that you have never heard of get the opportunity to beat the teams that you have heard of. Predictions of high paid "experts" are shown to be wrong. All the pre-game rhetoric by some of the best, are shot down by the end of the game. Powerhouses, stumble, office pool participants with dollar signs in their eyes, are saddened. The hardest part is deciding which game to watch, they are, and then, HD or regular. I have found out that if you watch it in HD, you lose part of the picture, the part with the graphics, so no HD.

I had a revelation this morning. Barack Obama is the greatest "politician" of all time. Just think what the man has done, with nothing, well, a wife and two children, the perfect family picture. I'm sure that his "groomers" insisted on that. Just think of all the things "that he could not do," that he did. He has spent more money than anyone before. He has initiated controversial issues, and won. He has emerged victorious over opponents that he could not beat. He has won elections that he could not win. He has had legislation passed, that could and would not pass, but it did. He doesn't think twice about spending a billion dollars to take a trip in his billion dollar airplane and all of its accompanying expenses. Before he is done, he may see our election process changed, or eliminated altogether. He may have come in as a politician, but who knows what or when he will go out, and what his title may be. Just look what the man has done, is still doing, and may continue doing it for as long as he wants.

And in other "austerity" moves ....... vice president Joe Biden took a trip. Joe Biden knows how to run up a tab. The vice president traveled to Paris for one night, last month, and racked up a hotel bill of  more than $500,000. Some details behind his expensive stay were released recently, with Biden's grand total reaching $585,000. The massive tab was due to the more than 100 rooms rented out for the VP and his entourage, at the Hotel Intercontinental Paris Le Grand. He received one phone call of note: "Hello, yes, this is Joe, I'm in Paris, what, no, they are all here with me, that's why no one is there. I think he's in Israel or some such place. I thought they had that all worked out. Do not let those kids in the White House, it costs to darn much!"

President grounded in Jerusalem - appropriate

JERUSALEM – First “the Beast” had a breakdown, and now a wicked sandstorm has grounded President Obama’s helicopter.

It was a warm, clear morning when Obama toured Mt. Hertzl and visited Yad Vashem, Israel’s museum to the Holocaust.

But biting winds arrived ahead of schedule here, making it unsafe for Obama to fly by helicopter to Palestinian-controlled Bethlehem, about a 30 minute drive from Jerusalem. Helicopter is the mode of transport Obama used the last time he went into Palestinian-controlled territory, a visit to Ramallah on Thursday.

Consequently, Obama’s motorcade – which topped 30 cars when it wound through Jerusalem’s streets last night – had to crawl through the hilly roads and clear an Israeli checkpoint to get to Bethlehem.

At times, the motorcade was barely moving – not the speed preferred by the lead-footed Secret Service.

When Obama got to Bethlehem, security had cleared visitors after Manger Square.

Obama then toured the Church of the Nativity, built atop the cave where Jesus is believed to have been born.

At Ben-Gurion Airport in Tel Aviv, where a departure ceremony was planned, staff were taking down flags amid the fierce winds, a photographer on the scene told The Post.

Obama’s steel-plated limo, known as "the Beast," broke down before the trip, and the Secret Service had to bring in a replacement.

Rise Stevens passes at 99

Rise Stevens, center, appears with Ed Sullivan, right, and Ralph Bunche at a Friars Club dinner in New York in 1956.

Rise Stevens, the New York City- born mezzo-soprano who reigned at the Metropolitan Opera in the 1940s and 1950s and injected sensuality and dramatic fire into her signature role in “Carmen,” has died. She was 99.

She died yesterday at her home in Manhattan, the New York Times reported, citing her son, Nicolas Surovy.

Celebrated for her glamorous looks as well as her lush singing, Stevens delayed her debut at the Met to polish her skills in Europe, then dabbled in movies during her 23-year Met career. Lloyds of London insured her voice for $1 million in 1945.