Troops Celebrate Thanksgiving

US Troops in Kabul, Afghanistan 

Celebrate Thanksgiving

 

It was Army Sgt Keith Wells first 

Thanksgiving Day away from his 

family and despite a cornucopia of 

 food provided for the troops, his 

taste buds were craving his wife's 

macaroni and cheese back home.

"My wife's a foodie — you know the Food Network, cooking shows. 

Everything she makes is golden," Wells of Charlotte, NC, said 

Thursday at a large international military base in the Afghan capital, 

Kabul.

The dining hall served up mac-and-cheese along with traditional 

Thanksgiving Day fixings. Wells was thankful for the good food, 

but he still missed his wife's home-cooking.

Huge hunks of beef greeted the estimated 2,500 diners as soldiers 

lined up in the dining hall. Red-white-and-blue decorations filled 

the room. Brochures titled "Learn about combat stress" served 

as table centerpieces.

There was roast turkey, sliced turkey, ham and rib-eye steaks. 

The troops were served steaming side dishes of dressing, corn, 

collard greens, yams and mashed potatoes and gravy that some 

lapped up with spoons. For dessert, there was a massive cake 

with a turkey etched in icing, pumpkin spice cookies and scores 

of pies.

A short walk from the dining hall, service members were playing 

a modified version of American football. American guys in sweats 

tossing the pigskin, a scoreboard, a coin toss to start the game.

But on this military base, concrete barriers surrounded the field. 

The referees wore camouflaged shirts and the spectators carried 

rifles. The artificial turf was frayed and so dusty that when one 

player spiked the football, a puff of dirt rose from the field.

The players used a regulation football, but the game was a mix 

of football, soccer and rugby to fit the short field.

Some soldiers commented about the 11-year-old war that has 
claimed the lives of 2,029 American service members.

Army Chief Warrant Officer 4 Chuck Minton of Monroe, Ga., 

who has traveled extensively across Afghanistan, was optimistic. 

"It's been progressing here, getting better. The Afghans have 

taken over more missions," Minton said.

President Barack Obama pulled 10,000 troops out of Afghanistan 

in 2011 and 23,000 more this year, leaving about 66,000 American 

service members still deployed in the country. Nearly all 

international combat troops are to withdraw by the end of 2014 

when Afghan forces will be fully in charge of securing the nation.

Army Maj. Rodney Gehrett of Colorado Springs, Colo., said 

he was surprised that the war was barely mentioned during the 

last U.S. presidential election — evidence that some Americans 

had tuned out the news from the front line a half a world away.

"The war in Afghanistan wasn't even brought up as a topic of 
conversation" during the election, Gehrett said. "It was a little 
surprising to me. Hopefully, that will change and people will 
realize that we still have troops here and they are 
fighting every day."

Army Sgt. Adam Draughn of Denver, Colo., said some people back 

home have the impression that the Afghan people don't want 

American troops in their country.

"Honestly, I think the biggest misconception in my opinion is that, 

you know, we actually are loved here," Draughn said. "The 

nationals do care about us. They do want us here to help them. 

We're not here uninvited."

Most of the holiday chatter, however, was focused on family.

Taking a break from the game, Army Capt. Robert Mikyska 

of North Aurora, Ill., pulled out a photocopied photo that was 

taken of he and his wife just before he deployed to Afghanistan 

nine months ago.

"Hi, honey!" Mikyska said, looking at the picture. "In a couple 

weeks, I'll be home. I can't wait to be back."

"My family's here," Army Spc. Ricky Clay, also of Monroe, Ga., 

said as he smiled and embraced his teammates on the 

sidelines of the football field.

 

~ A Poem from 1949 ~

The first image is the original newspaper article.

I enlarged the upper part for you to see better. 

Also enlarged the poem part on the 3rd image.

Hope you are able to read most of this!

Ben Stein on CBS MORNING SHOW

 The following was written by Ben Stein 

and recited by him on CBS Sunday Morning

Commentary.
     

 My confession: 

  I don't like getting pushed around for being a Jew, and I 
 don't think Christians like getting pushed around for being 
 Christians.  I think people who believe in God are sick and 
 tired of getting pushed around, period.  I have no idea where 
 the concept came from, that America is an explicitly atheist 
 country.  I can't find it in the Constitution and I don't like 
 it being shoved down my throat...

  Or maybe I can put it another way: where did the idea come 
 from that we should worship celebrities and we aren't allowed 
 to worship God  as we understand Him?  I guess that's a sign 
 that I'm  getting old, too.  But there are a lot of us who are  
 wondering where these celebrities came from and where the  
 America we knew went to.

  In light of the many jokes we send to one another for a laugh, 
 this is a little  different:  This is not intended to be a joke; 
 it's not funny, it's intended to get you thinking.  

  In light of recent events... terrorists attack, school 
 shootings, etc..  I think it started when Madeleine Murray 
 O'Hare (she was murdered, her body found a few years ago) 
 complained she  didn't want prayer in our schools, and we said 
 OK.  Then someone said you better not read the Bible in 
 school...  The Bible says thou shalt not kill; thou shalt not 
 steal, and love your neighbor as yourself.  And we said OK.

  Then Dr. Benjamin Spock said we shouldn't spank our children 
 when they misbehave, because their little personalities would 
 be warped and we might damage their self-esteem.  We said an 
 expert should know what he's talking about.. And we said  
 okay..

  Now we're asking ourselves why our children have no 
 conscience, why they don't know right from wrong, and why it  
 doesn't bother them to kill strangers, their classmates, and  
 themselves.

  Probably, if we think about it long and hard enough, we can 
 figure it out.  I think it has a great deal to do with 'WE REAP 
 WHAT WE SOW.'

  Funny how simple it is for people to trash God and then wonder 
 why the world's going to hell.  Funny how we believe what the 
 newspapers say, but  question what the Bible says.  Funny how 
 you can send 'jokes' through e-mail and they spread like 
 wildfire, but when you start sending messages regarding the 
 Lord, people think twice about sharing.  Funny how lewd, crude, 
 vulgar and obscene articles pass freely through cyberspace, but 
 public discussion of God is suppressed in the school and workplace. 

  Are you laughing yet?

  Funny how when you forward this message, you will not send it 
 to many on your address list because you're not sure what they 
 believe, or what they will think of you for sending it.

 Funny how we can be more worried about what other people think 
 of us than what God thinks of us.

  Pass it on if you think it has merit.
    
  If not, then just discard it... no one will know you did.  
 But, if you discard this thought process, don't sit back and 
 complain about what a bad shape the world is in.  

  My Best Regards, Honestly and respectfully, Ben Stein

Smart Grizzly Beat Toyota

There are no scratches on the outside of this car, but the vehicle was a total write off. 
 

 
 A man in Waterton, came out to find the inside of his 18 month old Toyota Sequoia trashed. 

A grizzly bear had somehow got a door open (easy considering the way the handles are constructed) and once inside got trapped when the door shut behind him. Probably by the wind.
The Toyota was the Platinum edition, all the door panels were ripped off, the headliner torn to pieces, all headrests, the leather seats, the dash shredded. The steering column was twisted sideways. Two of the six airbags went off, the other four the bear ripped to pieces. You can imagine a trapped grizzly being hit with an airbag in an enclosed space! He must have figured he was in for the fight of his life and by the looks of this car, he won the fight.
 
When the bear ripped off the door panels he also clawed all the wiring harnesses out.
Toyota figures every wire he pulled or clawed at resulted in alarm bells, voices or sparks.

The head mechanic at Calgary Toyota doubted if they had the expertise to put this vehicle back together, even if they had enough parts to do it. And, to add insult to injury, the bear took a big dump in the back of the SUV and then broke out the rear window.

Fish and wildlife officers have inspected the damage and figure it was a 3 year old Griz.

The vehicle has been written off by the insurance company. The cost of this fully optioned vehicle new was over $70,000, and they stopped counting repair costs at $60,000+.

 
 
 

Feeding The Eagles

 Feeding the Eagles!

January of this year 2012, the weather stayed so cold in St. Louis, Missouri and Alton, Illinois that the bald eagles were cruising over houses in hopes of a quick meal. They could not access fish that were at the bottom of the river and had gathered together.

Some kind souls decided to feed the eagles so they would survive the cold spell. They gathered fish and started feeding the small group of eagles huddled on the shore.

The photos below show what happened. A retired teacher took these photos in front of his home. Incredible!

                         A beautiful morning feeding the eagles, 
                                       Jan. 2012

 

                            Once the fish were thrown, the eagles 
                    did not seem to  fear the good 
                  Samaritans and word spread fast!

                          Eagles vying for the fish, January, 2012

                                             No zoom lens used here! 
                   The photographer was this close!

            Here are the men who were feeding them.

                                                                     So close!!

 

             As you know, it was not too long ago that

          the American Bald Eagle was an endangered 
         species. Amazing pictures - please pass along!

                                                                                                                                                        

Little Akio

The teacher said, "Let's  begin by reviewing some American History. Who said  'Give me Liberty, or give me Death'?"
She saw a  sea of blank faces, except for Little Akio, a bright foreign exchange student from Japan , who had his  hand up:

    

"Patrick Henry, 1775," he said.
"Very  good! -- Who said, 'Government of the People, by the People, for the People, shall not perish from the  Earth'?"
Again, no response except from Little  Akio: "Abraham Lincoln,1863."
"Excellent!" said the teacher continuing, "Let's try one a bit more  difficult -- Who said, 'Ask not what your country  can do for you, but what you can do for your 
Country?"
Once again, Akio's was the only  hand in the air and he said: "JohnF. Kennedy,  1961."
The teacher snapped at the class, "Class,  you should be ashamed ofyourselves, Little Akio  isn't from this country and he knows more about our  history than you
Do."
She heard a loud  whisper: "F_ _ k the Japs."
"Who said that? -- I  want to know right now!? She angrily demanded.
Little Akio put his hand up, "General  MacArthur, 1945."
At that point, a student in the  back said, "I'm gonna puke.'
The teacher glares  around and asks,'All right! -- Now who said  that?"
Again, Little Akio says, "George Bush to  the Japanese Prime Minister, 1991."
Now furious,  another student yells, "Oh yeah? -- Suck this!"
Little Akio jumps out of his chair waving  his hand and shouts to the teacher, "Bill Clinton,  to Monica Lewinsky, 1997!"
Now with almost mob  hysteria someone said, "You little $hit! -- If you  say anything else -- I'll kill you!"
Little Akio  frantically yells at the top of his voice, "Michael Jackson to the children testifying against him,  2004."
The teacher fainted. As the class gathered  around the teacher on the floor, someone said, "Oh  $hit, We're screwed!"

Little Akio said  quietly, "The American people, November 4, 2008."