Sez me.

I fancy I've finally touched bottom on these things. I'm in real trouble now, not only am I not patriotic enough, not only am I in trouble with God because I don't send chain letters on, but it seems that even the previous sender is mad at me. Have a look at this, from the bottom section of an actual chain-letter:

"Please send this to ten people and back to the one who sent it to you.
God Bless.
If I don't get this back, I will know you really didn't read it. I got this from someone and thought the last part was really a good thought..
Too bad that the person who sent it to me did not know 10 people who would admit to knowing the Lord."

So, now although I go to a church full of Pentecostal believers in Jesus, it seems I don't know ten people who admit to knowing the Lord. Hmmmm..... We're going to have to work on that, won't we? I'll tell you one thing for sure though, we won't get there from here by sending chain-letters back and forth.

Now, that bit that I quoted above came at the bottom of an email that might, otherwise, have been worth forwarding. As it is, there's no way it will ever happen because I can't, in good conscience, send the quoted part to any of my friends. It would be an insult to my Christian friends--- if indeed they read the whole thing and understand all the words--- and it would utterly fail to convict a single one of my non-Christian friends. In fact, a passage like that quoted above would be guaranteed to enrage most of the non-Christians I deal with. It enrages me, and I'm a Christian.

Some time back I posted on here about my visit to a B-17 Flying Fortress. Recent events in the news cause me to want to bring it up again. A few days back one of these planes made an emergency landing in Oswego, Illinois and burned. Fortunately all seven people on board got off, with only one minor injury. The aircraft itself looks to be a total loss, the fuselage is almost all gone and there's just a bit of the tail, wings and nose left. The fire appears, from reports, to have started in the left inboard engine.

I was able, a couple of years back, to visit one of these planes. The one I saw was a very similar one to the one that burned, looks like the same model (B-17G) but the paint scheme and name are different. As far as I know "Sentimental Journey" still exists in flyable condition and they're still doing shows with it. I'm going to put a couple of photos here, enjoy.

Edit, Add-On: The plane that went down in Oswego was the "Liberty Bell", actually a copy of the B-17 of the same name that bombed Germany. This plane that went down in Oswego never saw service over Germany since it was actually built after that war ended.

Well, it's about time I brought this up a little, eh?

I've changed jobs. Not a big change, but hopefully big enough. I don't drive a route for a messenger service anymore, instead I'm driving for an expedited freight outfit. Still using my van, but even that's changed from the last time I updated info here. If you go to "About" on this page you see an E-150 van listed. That was a couple of years back or so. These days I have one of those huge Sprinter vans. Much better fuel mileage and the cargo capacity is great. I can stand upright in it. Downside: It's an older vehicle and as a result I have to spend time making repairs on it. But it's holding together well enough. I really should post a few pictures.

This gig means I see a bit of the country, since expedited freight is interstate delivery.

More later. Man, I really DO need to start keeping this thing up.

I had an enjoyable day today, running a model sailboat. The boat is about thirty years old, I built it from a kit in 1979. She still handles well, and in today's winds the tall rig isn't a problem. See pics below.

First, I have to admit that I didn't do much today. I got a couple of jobs done, notably improving the interior lighting in the cargo section of my big van and getting a laundry done. That having been said, maybe it's about time to give some thought to the folks this day is supposed to be about. Many fine brave men fought and died in foriegn fields so I could write this unhindered, and to them I can only say "thanks".

I suppose this is as fitting a place and time to think of one soldier who made it back and who I knew personally. He was born in March of 1919, lived through the Great Depression, went to war and fought in the European theater as an Army Engineer, came home, then migrated to Chicago where he married and raised a family of four kids. He was a factory worker, working in front of a furnace in a hammershop for 32 years before finally retiring in his 62nd year of life on this planet. I really can't add much concerning his retirement years because he really didn't do much beyond a bit of fishing early on, then gardening the rest of the time. In all the time I knew him, I doubt he ever darkened the door of a church though I know he did have a belief and a certain fear of God, who he prayed to on a fairly regular basis. One of the reasons given for not going to church was that he wouldn't be able to understand the preacher, and that would bother him. This excuse happens to be true enough, between his army days and working in a hammershop his hearing was largely shot. He heard about every third word and maybe understood about half of that in his final years.

His wife preceded him in death by about six and a half years, and he died in February of 2007. I am, of course, writing here of my Dad. He was given a military funeral in his home state of Georgia, and that's pretty much where I have to leave this memory for the time being. His military record was an honorable one, for those who might wonder. I was given his flag, as his eldest son.

It's official, I no longer live in Chicago. I'm in Carol Stream now, which is a Western 'Burb of Chicago. My lease started here the first of the month, and because of slow set-up (on my part) it has taken until the beginning of this week to get properly in here. "Here" is a single-bedroom apartment, baseboard hot-water heat, fully equipped kitchen and what looks to be a decent air conditioner. Friends and family gave me some furniture so I have a table and some chairs, a bed and so on. That's important because I got out with next to nothing from my old place.

I'm set well enough now to begin making a go of it. Finances are going to be real tight but what else is new, and I've lived on my own before so I know I can do it. About the wife that I left---- same old, same old.. I have no doubt that if I tried to live with her again it would be the same abuse that I left, complete with being cursed in the Name of Jesus (I am not making that up), being hit in the face and so on. I couldn't wish that kind of life on my deadliest enemy, nobody deserves to be treated like that. Most spousal abuse stories you will read are of women being abused by men, I stand as testimony that it happens the other way around too.

Folks, it looks like I'm going to have another forced move. Events are transpiring to make the present street address an untenable one, so a move becomes necessary. I post this to let my friends here know I may be off-line for a bit, for exactly how long is anybody's guess, moves being what they are.

I'm looking at the possibility I may move to a place I've occupied twice before. It's a decent apartment complex, the only downside is that the commute to work and back can be formidable.

I'm a little late-- by at least a week-- with this one. A week ago, they had Cornfest over in De Kalb, Illinois. It's an annual event with a fair, some shopping and a handful of attractions of some interest. This year, they had a Flying Fortress on display. I had a chance to take the five-dollar tour of the old war-bird so I took them up on the offer. This particular bird never saw combat, having been built just as the war in Europe was winding down. She was used in search and rescue missions instead. The folks who presently maintain and fly her have her set up as a fully equipped heavy bomber, complete with all the gun positions and dummy bombs in the bay. It looks as though she's about to take off on yet another mission with the Eighth Air Force over Germany again.

For a little bit, I wondered to myself how they landed, and then expected to take off again, in a four-engine bomber from De Kalb-Taylor Municipal Airport. Then something occurred to me. These birds used to take off, fully loaded, and sometimes in war-weary condition from grass strips in England for their missions over enemy territory. It would be easy, therefore, for a relatively empty bomber in first-class condition to take off from the tarmac at De Kalb-Taylor.

One position on the plane, more than any other possibly in the entire war, seems worthy of special respect. This is the ball-turret position. It took a small man to climb into that thing, once in he was cut off from the other nine men of the crew. He sat through the entire time he was in the ball turret with his knees up against his chest, steering the thing with his feet on foot-petals, and hoping that an enemy bullet didn't jam the gearing so that he couldn't get out again. If it did, he was in a world of hurt depending on the rest of the crew not to rub him against the ground upon landing. His was also the position least likely to be able to get out if they had to abandon the craft in mid-air. The tail-gunner was also unlikely to escape a stricken B-17, but at least he could see his fellow crewmates in flight which is more than the ball-turret gunner could do.

I walked off of the plane with somewhat better knowledge of what men of my dad's generation did during WW2, and maybe a bit more respect for the people who did it. None of the men who flew this bird was a physically large man. I know this because I stand only 5 foot six inches and many of the clearances were tight for me. The "old man" on the bird was likely not to have had his 24th birthday yet, and many of them never would have it-- heavy bomber missions being what they were. These planes were not pressurised, they flew at 30,000 feet and the temps up there are forever at fifty below zero-- F. or C., it doesn't matter because at that temperature it's just plain too cold. It goes without saying that the crews were on oxygen for the entire run at that altitude.

Every now and then I need to use this thing just to be sure I still can. Since my last posting here much has happened. Senator Obama has taken a commanding lead from Senator Clinton and while he still hasn't locked the Democratic nomination he's in a position now where it's his to win or lose. I don't think Clinton can win in November even if she does manage an upset in the nomination now.

In non-presidential stuff, I finally had to buy a bigger vehicle. Seems my Econoline wasn't big enough, so the powers-that-be told me I needed to go larger in my van. A Sprinter van fills that bill, but these days I do well to half fill the thing so it makes me wonder why the need for it.

Today is Mothers Day here in the States so we're busy telling our women how really special they are. My wife is pretty special so that makes that part easy. Visiting my mother's grave isn't quite so easy. Too many memories, and of course I miss her.