Tuesday, December 29, 2009

More from Dottie

Here's to US!!!!

No matter what our kids and the new generation think about us,

WE ARE AWESOME!!!!

OUR LIFE IS LIVING PROOF!!!!

To Those of Us Born 1924 - 1979

At the end of this email is a quote of the month by Jay Leno.. If you don't read anything else, please read what he said. Very well stated, Mr. Leno.

TO ALL THE KIDS WHO SURVIVED THE 1930's, 40's, 50's, 60's and 70's!!

First, we survived being born to mothers who smoked and/or drank while they were pregnant.

They took aspirin, ate blue cheese dressing, tuna from a can and didn't get tested for diabetes.

Then after that trauma, we were put to sleep on our tummies in baby cribs covered with bright colored lead-base paints.

We had no childproof lids on medicine bottles, locks on doors or cabinets and when we rode our bikes, we had baseball caps not helmets on our heads.

As infants & children, we would ride in cars with no car seats, no booster seats, no seat belts, no air bags, bald tires and sometimes no brakes.

Riding in the back of a pick- up truck on a warm day was always a special treat.

We drank water from the garden hose and not from a bottle.

We shared one soft drink with four friends, from one bottle and no one actually died from this.

We ate cupcakes, white bread, real butter and bacon. We drank Kool-Aid made with real white sugar. And, we weren't overweight.. WHY? Because we were always outside playing...that's why!

We would leave home in the morning and play all day, as long as we were back when the streetlights came on.

No one was able to reach us all day. And, we were OKAY.

We would spend hours building our go-carts out of scraps and then ride them down the hill, only to find out we forgot the brakes. After running into the bushes a few times, we learned to solve the problem.

We did not have Play stations, Nintendo's and X-boxes. There were no video games, no 150 channels on cable, no video movies or DVD's, no surround-sound or CD's, no cell phones, no personal computers, no Internet and no chat rooms.

WE HAD FRIENDS and we went outside and found them!

We fell out of trees, got cut, broke bones and teeth and there were no lawsuits from these accidents.

We would get spankings with wooden spoons, switches, ping pong paddles, or just a bare hand and no one would call child services to report abuse.

We ate worms and mud pies made from dirt, and the worms did not live in us forever.

We were given BB guns for our 10th birthdays, made up games with sticks and tennis balls and, although we were told it would happen, we did not poke out very many eyes.

We rode bikes or walked to a friend's house and knocked on the door or rang the bell, or just walked in and talked to them.

Little League had tryouts and not everyone made the team. Those who didn't had to learn to deal with disappointment. Imagine that!!

The idea of a parent bailing us out if we broke the law was unheard of. They actually sided with the law!

These generations have produced some of the best risk-takers, problem solvers and inventors ever.

The past 50 years have been an explosion of innovation and new ideas. We had freedom, failure, success and responsibility, and we learned how to deal with it all.

If YOU are one of them, CONGRATULATIONS!

You might want to share this with others who have had the luck to grow up as kids, before the lawyers and the government regulated so much of our lives for our own good.

While you are at it, forward it to your kids so they will know how brave and lucky their parents were.

Kind of makes you want to run through the house with scissors, doesn't it?

The quote of the month is by Jay Leno:

'With hurricanes, tornados, fires out of control, mud slides, flooding, severe thunderstorms tearing up the country from one end to another, and with the threat of bird flu and terrorist attacks, are we sure this is a good time to take God out of the Pledge of Allegiance?'

For those that prefer to think that God is not watching over us...go ahead and delete this. For the rest of us...pass this on.

Saturday, December 19, 2009

Latest from Dottie

This is really special and goes out from my computer with loads of love, prayers, and positive thoughts for the blessings that we can all be grateful for in this life. Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year

Love, Dottie


Please send her our love and good wishes too.

Ken&June





Monday, November 30, 2009

Two more gems from Dottie

Up Time...
This is a terrific message for people of any age.
This fits right in with my values....and yours too, I believe.

Love,

Dottie

and see more below:

I am not a religious zealot, but Christmas and it's meaning have worked for so many years, do we really have to "fix" it? I think not!!!! Let's celebrate Christmas and let the ACLU know that they are stepping on too many of our basic rights. Happy holidays, yes, but not at the expense of Merry Christmas!!!! Love, Dottie
----- Original Message -----
Sent: Sunday, November 29, 2009 12:39 AM
Subject: GREAT IDEA!!!

GREAT IDEA!!!

What a clever idea----------Christmas Cards.

This is coming early so that you can get ready to include an important address to your list.

Want to have some fun this CHRISTMAS? Send the ACLU a CHRISTMAS CARD.

They are working so very hard to get rid of the CHRISTMAS part of this holiday, we should all send them a nice, card to brighten up their dark, sad, little world..

Make sure it says "Merry Christmas" on it.

Here's the address, just don't be rude or crude. (It's not the Christian way, you know.)

ACLU
125 Broad Street
18th Floor
New York , NY 10004


Two tons of Christmas cards would freeze their operations because they wouldn't know if any were regular mail containing contributions.

So spend 44 cents and tell the ACLU to leave Christmas alone. Also tell them that there is no such thing as a " Holiday Tree". . . It's always been called a CHRISTMAS TREE!

And pass this on to your email lists. We really want to communicate with the ACLU!


For those of you who aren't aware of them, the ACLU, (the American
Civil Liberties Union) is the one suing the U.S. Government to take God, Christmas or anything religious away from us.


Pass this on to your church, co-workers, family, and friends. What do you have to lose but 44 cents?

Monday, October 19, 2009

Carolyn checks in on "Shifty" article

Hi to all that this reaches,

I took the GCT France tour including Normandy this year-was "in the trenches" 2 weeks before the 60th anniversary of D Day. What an awsome trip!!! GCT gave us flowers to place as we saw fit-there were lots of pieces of history which came alive-Bob's dad was shot down in Belgium and captured 2 weeks after D Day and my Dad was also a paratrooper who landed in Belgium-This e-mail brought it all back and made me proud to be related to two men from different countries (Canada and UK) who served over there. The stained glass in the church including paratroopers made a special impression. I too will make time to think about "Shifty"

Carolyn Starr, TX

Sunday, October 18, 2009

From the Sommers

This is making another round. I don't remember if I sent it to you or not. Have a tissue handy.

Love,

Mary

Life is not about waiting for the storms to pass. It is about learninghow to dance in the rain. This is a Memorial service for Shifty, a WWII VET This is a Memorial service for Shifty, a WWII VET I owe him and you owe him! No, he didn't sing "You ain't nuthin but aHoun' Dawg, or dance "Thriller." He did oh so much more! We're hearing a lot today about big splashy memorial services. I want a nationwide memorial service for Darrell "Shifty" Powers. Shifty volunteered for the airborne in WWII and served with Easy Company of the 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment, part of the 101st Airborne Infantry. If you've seen Band of Brothers on HBO or the History Channel , you know Shifty. His character appears in all 10 episodes, and Shifty himself is interviewed in several of them. I met Shifty in the Philadelphia airport several years ago. I didn't know who he was at the time. I just saw an elderly gentleman having trouble reading his ticket. I offered to help, assured him that he was at the right gate, and noticed the "Screaming Eagle," the symbol of the 101st Airborne, on his hat. Making conversation, I asked him if he'd been in the 101st Airborne or if his son was serving. He said quietly that he had been in the 101st. I thanked him for his service, then asked him when he served, and how many jumps he made. Quietly and humbly, he said "Well, I guess I signed up in 1941 or so, and was in until sometime in 1945 .. . . " at which point my heart skipped.. At that point, again, very humbly, he said "I made the 5 training jumps at Toccoa, and then jumped into Normandy . . . . do you know where Normandy is?" At this point my heart stopped. I told him "yes, I know exactly where Normandy is, and I know what D-Day was." At that point he said "I also made a second jump into Holland , into Arnhem ." I was standing with a genuine war hero . . . . and then I realized that it was June , just after the anniversary of D-Day.. I asked Shifty if he was on his way back from France , and he said "Yes. And it's real sad because, these days, so few of the guys are left, and those that are, lots of them can't make the trip." My heart was in my throat and I didn't know what to say. I helped Shifty get onto the plane and then realized he was back in Coach while I was in First Class. I sent the flight attendant back to get him and said that I wanted to switch seats. When Shifty came forward, I got up out of the seat and told him I wanted him to have it, that I'd take his in coach. He said "No, son, you enjoy that seat. Just knowing that there are still some who remember what we did and who still care is enough to make an old man very happy." His eyes were filling up as he said it. And mine are brimming up now as I write this. Shifty died on June 17, 2009 after fighting cancer. There was no parade. No big event in Staples Center . No wall to wall back to back 24x7 news coverage. No weeping fans on television. And that's not right. Let's give Shifty his own Memorial Service, online, in our own quiet way. Please forward this email to everyone you know. Especially to the veterans. Rest in peace, Shifty.

Mark Pfiefer,
Employee Dow Jones



Saturday, October 17, 2009

Latest update from Dottie

I just picked Claire up from the airport this evening. She had spent the last week in Syracuse, NY visiting Hettie, Kate, and Kathy--- all the NY gals on our New Zealand trip. They had a good time. I am so glad to hear what every one is doing, and to know that people like you all and June and her husband are staying in touch some way.

Thanks, Chuck.

Dottie

PS,

Anyone heard from Muriel?????

Thanks,

Chuck

Wednesday, October 14, 2009

How's the Weather

Thank you, Chuck, for sharing this message with the multitudes. I don't do "twitter" or "facebook" or 'blog' or ????? so am really happy to see something like this go out to so many.

All is well here in Eloy. We are tiny, quiet, and backward in many ways, but I love it. No, we don't even have a stop light yet, and I hope we don't get one as long as I am living here.

Bob and I are enjoying the cooler weather, but we understand we may have some heat over the weekend. Love to you and Marilyn.

Dottie

Chuck's response:

Hello again Dottie,

It's my pleasure in posting your emails and, hopefully, emails from the other tour participants. And, I am happy to report that it has rained some one to two inches in Los Angeles today. This rain storm came historically very early and was very gentle in that the rain fell throughout the day. So our fire burned areas did not suffer any mud slides. The Sierra Nevada's received up to a foot in the lower levels and 6-8 feet in the high elevations. So much for global warming this year.