Walmart Day is a month away

Monday morning in Ahia, cold and cloudy and nor a good forecast for the day, and for the week, for that matter. Thanksgiving week. Columbus, Ohio, has some broken water mains and a railroad track crossing guard that won't go up. That is better than most mornings.

When I was a kid, we had "big" Christmas mornings, a plethora of gifts, As you know by now, my Dad was a Doctor, so we were well off. I got chemistry sets, Lincoln logs, a small pool table one year, a Lionel Train, those I remember, but much more. We put our tree up on the 18th, no outside decorations, then, that I remember, Mom and I would go to Rike's Department store the week before Christmas to see Santa, the fairy land the store had, and those fantastic window decorations.

We had Christmas Week, then, Christmas Day, and it was pretty much over for the year. We call it CHRISTMAS. It was a celebration of the Birth of Christ. Nativity scenes under every tree, in store windows, on church lawns, we saw the Three Wisemen, the Manger, Mary and Joseph standing nearby. At school we had an assembly, they recreated the Nativity scene, on stage, at Emerson Junior High School. After the assembly, on our way out of the school, we got a little bag with some Christmas candy, and some other items, our gift from the school. We even had a gift exchange in our class. Nothing over a dollar.

We went to church, once or twice, even participated in a "Christmas Play" put on by my Sunday School class, the church was tastefully decorated, to celebrate the "Birth of Christ."

Look at it today, one month away, and we are in the midst of a selling frenzy, radio, TV, not sure about the newspaper, never read one, but, we have the Internet, all selling items for the "Winter Holiday."

Christ has gone, sales have taken over. What to call the season. They have some "Summer Christmas Sales." Black Friday, now PRE Black Friday, then, all the SUPER selling days from Thanksgiving to That Day. First, we have to take the Christ out of the day. Sellmas, Bymas, Goodsmas, Frenzymas, "The Selling Season." I like that, or better, The Winter Selling Season. Or, The Winter Buying Season.

Maybe just call it the Season of Walmart and we'll have Walmart Day instead of Christmas. "Deck the halls with gifts from Walmart, tra la la, la la, la, la, la." Let's give credit where credit is due, who actually benefits the most from the season, Walmart

Another "head shaker" .... what? is happening to us?????

Amrit Marajh, 28, was charged with harassment as a hate crime after he allegedly punched the 24-year-old Orthodox Jewish man Friday morning.

The unidentified victim believes he was attacked as part of the deadly "knockout" game, where an attacker aims to knock out the victim with a single sucker punch, police said.

The violent game has been linked to assault reports in at least six states, and three people have been killed in suspected knockout attacks.

The unidentified Brooklyn victim said he was walking home early Friday morning in the Borough Park section of Brooklyn when he was assaulted and heard his alleged attackers daring each other to punch him out minutes before one actually assaulted him, according to police.

He said there was no question that the game was the motive for the attack, New York Police Department Commissioner Ray Kelly said.

"He makes a statement that he was punched in the side of the face," Kelly said. "He also makes a statement that just prior to it they were talking about the 'Knockout Game'."

New York City police arrested four men Friday in connection with the alleged sucker-punching. Only Marajh was charged, however, and the other three were released.

Well, it's Monday .....

So true ....................

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Sunday Afternoon

It is now around 1:30 on this Sunday afternoon, the sun is out, but it is bitter cold outside. I am sitting here, in one of those hypnotic quiet moods, no sound on the TV, the only sound is a slight ringing in my ears. The "quiet" is all around me. Oddly enough, I hear a clock ticking, and we have no clock that ticks. The quiet is quite loud, if that makes sense.

I look out the window on occasions, at that good friend, sunshine, and thoroughly enjoy this quiet. The TV tuner is about six feet away, so too far to reach for, the quiet and the sun, almost have me hypnotized, I am content just sitting, and looking out the window, this is peaceful.

I do hear the wind howling occasionally, I probably have not closed the front windows all the way down, another thing to put on my "list." Not right now though, my body does not want to move, for a while.

No thoughts running through my head, yet there is a kaleidoscope of memories flashing though my head, seems line 80 years of memories has flashed by. I am almost frozen in time yet, my eyes are darting around the room, taking in all of the images. 

Above photo is my view as I sit here. That little table, my Dad made, it is loaded with memories. Picture of my Brother, Mom and Dad, each item on there is a memory. Dice from Reno, a JOE buckle from Wyoming, that little bottle has a small boat in it, a souvenir from Canada, a tintype photo of my Grandfather Caleb, an Oakwood High School buckle from the 40's, a cup from Brad and Bernie, some items from Melissa.A birthday card I saved, to remind me that I am 81. The lamp has been around for 60 or 70 years, Mom liked it. 

On the wall in front of me, one back of me, and to my left, are mementos of the rest of my family and kids. Memories are good, quiet is good, hard to find a place that is really .... quiet. I remember back years ago, the old First UB Church in Dayton, on a few occasions, sat in the church, and learned what "quiet" actually was.

I am now being bothered by, a fly. I have eliminated many of them. I bought two fly swatters yesterday, one in the kitchen and one next to me. I have allowed this one fly to stay for a while, just to remind me that they exist. They did, however, apparently, scare the gnats away. In an earlier blog I told of my training of the  fflys to eat the gnats, I made that up. But the gnats are gone and I just have this one fly left. He is becoming a bother though.

I must get to work, I have to move a dining room full of items and place them back in the spare bedroom, which is probably where most of them came from originally. Need the dining room for Thursday. It is truly amazing how many items we can amass in a period of time. I just sneezed, nothing breaks a "spell" like sneezing, and, this last fly is really beginning to bother me. I think he is suicidal and is "flirting" with his demise, which may come soon.

Football team rallies around 6-year-old suit-wearing water coach

Danny Keefe has childhood apraxia of speech, which means he doesn't speak very well. He also loves to wear suits and ties, even though he's only 6 years old.

So when 11-year-old Tommy Cooney heard Danny was getting picked on at school because of the way he talks, he decided to do something about it.

He put on a suit and tie, too.

Their relationship began this past spring when Danny asked his mom if he could join the Bridgewater (Mass.) Badgers peewee football team as water coach. The team's coach, Thomas Cooney, said yes and Danny was given a football jersey like the rest of the team.

"But he asked Coach Cooney if it would be OK if he didn't wear the shirt, but he could he wear his suits and a hat to the games," Danny's mother, Jennifer Keefe, told Yahoo News. "He just feels more comfortable."

Six-year-old Danny Keefe prefers to wear suits and ties. 

She's not exactly sure where his affinity for dressing up comes from, but she says Danny's wardrobe consists of five or six suits and various ties to go with them. "They get pretty worn," Jennifer Keefe said, "because that's all he wears."

From the day he was born, doctor's warned Danny's parents that he would be severely disabled due to a serious brain hemorrhage, according to the Enterprise. "You can understand a couple words, but you probably can't understand the story he's telling you," Jennifer Keefe explained.

That's why Danny was picked on. Other kids call him a baby, his mother said.

One day, Danny came home from school sad that kids were picking on him. Keefe's older son, who is a member of the football team, told Tommy Cooney. Danny said, "I don't care what those kids think of me, it's only what I think of myself," according to Jennifer Keefe.

Tommy Cooney went to his mom and told her that he wanted to wear a suit to school.

"I thought it was so nice, I was so touched that he wanted to do that," Jennifer Keefe said. "Then, next thing you know, I'm getting texts from various parents saying, 'Where do you find suits? My son wants to wear a suit.' "

All told, 45 kids showed up to school in either full suits or shirts and ties, according to Keefe, who said it all began with Tommy wanting Danny "to feel loved."

"He was showing him he was loved by dressing like him." Danny's reaction to the boys swanky threads?

"Just his expression," Jennifer Keefe said — "his eyes got really big, and a smile, and then he said, 'They're dressed just like me!'"

And, now you know .......................

1928. The original Gerber Baby is Ann Turner, sketched at five months old by artist Dorothy Hope Smith. How old will your Gerber baby be this year?

Fremont Canning Company, owned and operated by Frank Daniel Gerber and his son Daniel Frank Gerber, were looking for a baby face for its new baby-food campaign that was to start in the later part of 1928. To find a baby face that it believed would represent the new baby food best, the Fremont Canning Company conducted a contest in the Summer of 1928. Many drawings and paintings were submitted. Some were elaborate baby portraits in oil paint while others were simple sketches.

Dorothy Hope Smith, of Westport, Connecticut, an artist specializing in children’s drawings, submitted an unfinished charcoal drawing that was closer to a simple sketch than a professional drawing. This five-month-old baby was drawn with tousled hair, bright blue eyes, and round pursed lips. Smith told the judges that, if the sketch was selected as the winner, she would finish it professionally. The drawing won; but, to her surprise, the judges wanted no changes to it.

In 1928, the "Gerber Baby" symbol was introduced to help identify the new product. It was first used in a baby-food advertisement in . Within sixty days, Gerber Strained Foods using the "Gerber Baby" symbol had gained national recognition and it was distributed to various places throughout the United States. It became internationally recognized.

'Penniless' man is worth $65 million, court rules - and must give wife half

By Estelle Shirbon

LONDON (Reuters) - One of Britain's longest and most bitter divorce battles culminated on Friday with a High Court judge branding a well-connected millionaire a liar and his ex-wife a conspiracy theorist.

Far from being "penniless and hopelessly bankrupt", as he had claimed, Scot Young, 51, was worth 40 million pounds ($65 million) and his estranged wife Michelle Young, 49, should get half of it, judge Philip Moor ruled.

"This case has been quite extraordinary even by the standards of the most bitter of matrimonial breakdowns," Moor wrote in his ruling, noting that it had taken over six years and 65 court hearings to come to trial.

The case has made headlines in Britain because of the size of the claims and the fact that Scot Young has enjoyed financial help from high-profile friends including Philip Green, the billionaire owner of the Topshop retail chain.

Michelle Young has run up legal bills of 6.5 million pounds, while Scot Young has served six months in jail for failing to provide full and frank disclosure of his assets.

The pair were married for 17 years until 2006 and enjoyed a lavish lifestyle of mansions, jet-setting holidays and gifts of diamond jewelry funded by Scot Young's investments in property, technology and start-up companies.

It all fell apart when the marriage breakdown coincided with what the husband described as a total meltdown of his business empire that left him "penniless and hopelessly bankrupt" with unpaid debts of 28 million pounds.

The judge said it was impossible to know the full truth of his financial position due to "the significant number of lies told by the husband to so many people over such a long period".

He ordered Young to pay his ex-wife a lump sum of 20 million pounds within 28 days.

Woman finds and returns $223,600 dropped from armored car

Probation officer Jessica Luebke left the Jefferson District state probation department office in Harvey, Louisiana and while driving she saw an unusual sight on the side of the road. What looked like a big 2 foot x 2.5 foot Ziploc bag was sitting near the curb. It took a while for Jessica to figure outwhat was in the bag but eventually she realized that it was filled with cash. In fact, the bundles of $20 and $100 bills totaled $223,600! Jessica told FOX News’ Shepard Smith, “I turned around immediately as soon as it registered what um, that actually was, that it was a huge bag of cash, I turned around immediately and called Jefferson Parish Sheriff's Office.”

So where did the nearly quarter million dollars come from? It fell off a truck, or more precisely, an armored car that was transferring the deposit from Boomtown Casino less than 5 miles from the site where the probation officer discovered it. As reported by NOLA.com, Jessica was with supervisor Kewana Ceasor and the Jefferson Parish officers who were trying to determine how the money ended up on Scotsdale Drive, when the armored car pulled up. Jefferson District Administrator, Jon Reeves said that the armored car crew told them that they returned to the casino to retrace their steps once they realized the money was missing.

The Sheriff’s Office returned the cash, then it was deposited at the bank within 30 minutes. As Jon Reeves told NOLA.com, it was lucky that Jessica, a law enforcement officer was the one to find the cash and the situation ended well. We agree, especially after hearing Jessica say, “It was a great day because it actually was recovered. The thought of taking that money or doing anything with that money besides um, turning it in and calling the Sheriff’s office was not on my mind at all.”

If I had found it, not sure if we would be reading a similar story, probably, well, maybe, well, I think, well...

Words of Wisdom

Believe It or Not ................

Here's another one .................... GONE

The government is trying to eliminate all means of privacy in its citizens. They want surveillance cameras on us at all times. They want to be able to track our locations. They want to monitor our internet usage, read our e-mails, and listen in on our phone conversations. They want to be able to give us full body cavity searches for the most minor traffic code violations. Any excuse they can think of to violate our privacy. No secrets allowed.

Unless you work for the government, in which case they deserve all the secrecy and privacy they can get and all the money needed to cover up or lie about any scandals that happen to leak. And they still manage to call themselves “transparent.”

A new Ohio law prohibits the possession of secret compartments in vehicles. Their predictable justification is that they’re trying to crack down on drug traffickers. But what if they find a secret compartment in someone’s vehicle with nothing in it?

That’s still against the law, and it’s the reason one Ohio driver was arrested and charged with a felony, according to The Blaze:

Police initially pulled over 30-year-old Norman Gurley for speeding, but then noticed “several wires running to the back of the car,” WKYC-TV reports. The wires led the cops to a hidden compartment.

Even though a search turned up no drugs, guns or other illegal items, police were authorized to arrest him because the new law makes simply driving a “trap” car a felony. It was reportedly the first arrest made under the new law in Northeast Ohio.

“Without the hidden compartment law, we would not have had any charges on the suspect,” Lt. Michael Combs, of the State Highway Patrol, said.

According to WKYC-TV, the “hide” on Gurley’s vehicle was accessed electronically, “meaning you needed to perform a series of events in the correct order, and the the false floor seats or taillights would then pop out, revealing the secret compartment.”

Though there are some critics of the law, Combs argues that it helps combat criminals involved in the illegal trade.

“We apparently caught them between runs, so to speak, so this takes away one tool they have in their illegal trade. The law does help us and is on our side,” he said.

While it’s unclear if Gurley is involved in drug dealing, Combs said the “hide” in his car was big enough to carry several pounds of drugs.

They’re calling this guy a “suspect” already simply because he had a hidden compartment. There was no evidence to suggest that this man was a criminal, except that he took his vehicle to a velocity greater than what was arbitrarily chosen to be the “limit.”

What if that compartment was there when he bought the truck? And so what if he had it installed? There was nothing in the compartment, and there was no reason to search his truck in the first place if all he did was speed. But again, so what if he had a compartment that was hidden from public view? That, in and of itself, is not reasonable suspicion that a crime has been committed or is going to be committed. This is like saying that if you have a gun, it probably means you’re a criminal, because criminals use guns.

They often describe one’s vehicle as an extension of one’s house. Do you have a safe in your home where you keep valuables? Do you have a “secret” room hidden behind a bookcase? Should these things also be prohibited? After all, people might hide things like marijuana or even cash or gold there. Remember, no secrets allowed. The only people concerned about privacy and so-called “unreasonable searches” are criminals. So, if you have any kind of safe or hidden room or compartment, even the crawl space under a flight of stairs, the government will use that against you if they find out about it: “You may not have anything illegal in there right now, but all that means is that you’re ‘between runs.’” And then listen to the propagandists on the local “news” team congratulate the police for bravely getting you off the street and into a jail cell where you belong.

Willie Nelson’s band bus crashes into bridge pillar in Texas, three injured

Singer Willie Nelson has suspended his tour after three members of his band were hurt when their bus plowed into a bridge pillar in East Texas during rainy conditions.

The Texas Department of Public Safety says Nelson was not aboard in the weather-related accident around 3:30 a.m. CST Saturday on Interstate 30 near Sulphur Springs, 75 miles northeast of Dallas.

A statement posted on Nelson's website, hours after the accident, says this year's tour has been suspended indefinitely.

Trooper Sylvia Jennings says seven people were on the westbound bus, including the driver who was dealing with wet roads and high winds.

Two band members have minor injuries while the third was seriously hurt. All were transported to a Sulphur Springs hospital. Their names and conditions weren't immediately released.

Honesty is the best policy ....

This isn’t the jackpot you were looking for – move along.

Father and son deli owners from Long Island tried to pull a Jedi mind trick on a customer who came in with a $1 million winning ticket by pretending the prize was only $1,000 police said.

A 34-year-old man came into the Peninsula Deli & Grocery in Hempstead Thursday presenting the valuable scratch-off ticket to Karim Jaghab, the owner’s son.

Jaghab, 26, allegedly tried to convince the man, who didn’t speak English, that the $10 “Unwrap the Cash” ticket was worth a grand, handing him the dough and taking the ticket for himself — even though state lottery rules say he should have given the ticket back to the customer, Nassau County Police said.

But the man wasn’t buying it, and returned the next day to question Jaghab, who decided he needed to up the ante, police said.

“Ok, I will pay you $10,000 as long as you don’t involve the police,” he allegedly told the customer.

Jaghab’s dad, store owner Nabil Jaghab, 57, also got in on the lie, insisting the customer’s ticket was only worth $10,000, police said.

The customer got the truth when he called cops, who arrested the Jaghab’s on second-degree grand larceny charges. The two are scheduled to be arraigned today in a Hempstead court.

Even Crack-Smoking Toronto Mayor Has Higher Approval Ratings Than Obama

Toronto Mayor Rob Ford admitted to smoking crack cocaine, has been in "drunken stupors," and was caught on camera in an expletive-laced rant. But he's still having a better month than President Barack Obama.

Ford has the approval of 42 percent of 1,049 Toronto voters surveyed by Forum Research. The poll results, released on Friday, came as Ford saw most of his powers stripped by the city council in Canada's largest city.

South of the border, Obama must wish he were doing that well.

Ford, who was elected in 2010 on a pledge to cut government spending, also has said he bought illegal drugs and drove after drinking. The mayor has been lampooned on late-night TV for his erratic behavior, which includes a drunken rant caught on camera and knocking over a city council member.

Obama has also been the butt of late-night jokes over various fiascoes since his second term began in January — widespread snooping on Americans and world leaders by the National Security Agency, the IRS' targeting of conservative and tea party groups, and, lately, the botched rollout of Obamacare.

These scandals have caused the president's approval ratings to plunge to new lows in recent weeks.

A CNN/ORC International poll released on Thursday showed that only 41 percent of Americans liked his performance in the White House, the lowest level in CNN polling. Fifty-six percent said they disapproved, an all-time high in CNN surveys.

The CNN survey is the fourth released this week to put Obama's approval rating between 40 percent and 42 percent — and it is among several dismal polling results for the president released over the past three weeks.

Obama's approval rating has reached new lows or tied his all-time lows in surveys conducted by CBS News, ABC News/Washington Post, Quinnipiac University, National Journal Heartland Monitor, and NBC News/Wall Street Journal.

In fact, the CBS News survey released Wednesday put Obama's approval rating at just 37 percent.

Old Sayings

SMI - 11/23/13

Another Saturday morning, cold and cloudy in Ahia this morning, a little on the gloomy side, but we are supposed to see the sun some today.

If you read my blog yesterday, you are aware of my theory on the Kennedy assassination. I have always felt it was somehow an "internal" event. Shortly after it happened, I shared my thoughts with some friends, some scoffed, some agreed. I think now, after a 50th Anniversary of great proportions, I am in more agreement with myself than ever.

If, he was in fact, facing a terminal illness, he would have been known as the President who served a few years, got sick, suffered, and passed on. Not a very impressive legacy to leave. But now, this way, we celebrate his "assassination" every year, and this year, the 50th Anniversary of his Assassination. And, we still remember him as the young, vibrant, charismatic President, husband and father.

What greater legacy than that. Was it planned by his father, his family? We will probably never know, but in my opinion, yes.

Thanksgiving in a few days, in a way I love this upcoming season, and, in a way, I dread it. I look forward to fixing the diner, having the family that is here in Newark, for diner, but, as a "worrier" I am  glad when it is over. I always think of those who have nothing, no home, no job, perhaps a dinner offered to them by some well meaning agency or individual. A few moments with a good hot meal, some fond memories, relived, then, back to reality. I think of my fond memories as a child, the warmth of a nice home, a loving family, a table loaded with fine hot food, and have to wonder what memories those children will have.

When I dream of hitting the lottery, that one that was 500 million, I wondered how much "good" I could do with that, how many families could I help, how many homeless could I get off the streets. Every cold Winter night, I envision some small child, huddled with a brother or sister, trying to sleep on the ground, and more so, about their future. I honestly don't see how Obama can sleep at night as long as some child is hungry, homeless, living under a bridge. Or, how can any of us?

For those reading this that do celebrate the Day, a Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours. Love and Peace to the rest of my readers, all over the world.

Huh, I always wondered about that .............

I was going to put HELLO in different languages, too complicated ..........

The wonder of it all, not a complete week yet, but here are my "hits." I am in "awe" of this, so many from Russia and all those other countries. I really would love to hear from some of you, just a hello EMail if nothing else. Here is my EMAIL I really would like to hear from you. I know where some of you are, just not who. And, if there are any particular questions you might have, could answer those. I look forward to hearing from you. 

What did you think of my "Kennedy Theory?" I have felt that way for quite some time. Makes more sense to me than any other theories, and explains some of the "attitude" that I felt permeated the entire proceedings.

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