§ No Whirly....no Gig

One day last week it was a most beautiful day!! I drove to the islands, birding, and when I was done, ready to hit the road to get back home...I stopped at a little specialty shop that I've passed by for over a decade...always thinking I should check it out, but never did. Until this week! I was amazed at all the stuff!! From whimsical [like flying pigs] to military, patriotic, team spirit, pirates, seasonal, animals and more!! And each item is flag/whirly-gigs/windsocks. Of course, I bought a small one for our yard. And naturally, a bird. A cardinal! I got home, put it together and set it outside. Bummer, my cardinal fails to either whirly OR gig!! I guess I must move it so the wind catches it more....but where?

- - -

And, since the weather is nearly perfect [I could go for a bit more cooler temps, but at least the humidity is almost nil!!], I drove to another park to walk in the early morning sunshine. After walking the trail there, I took the long way home and drove along Ocean Drive where the college campus is.

Texas A&M University–Corpus Christi is a state university located in Corpus Christi, on the historic Ward Island in Oso Bay. The university is part of the Texas A&M University System. Upon continuing on the street, beyond the campus grounds, you come to the Naval Air Base [Army Depot/NAS Station].

I pulled off the street to park on the shore side of the bay and walked a bit, just enjoying the outdoors. Of course I had my trusted camera with me!! I focused on the shore birds, mostly brown pelicans, sea gulls, and terns. I scanned the horizon toward the city skyline some 5+ miles away, and viewed through the lens, the oil/natural gas platforms, at a far distance...

From NAS [Naval Air Station] looking to the city skyline some 5 miles away...


A Sandpiper - a Brown Pelican - Surf hitting boulders


A 1st year Seagull - Beautiful clouds on the Horizon - Brown Pelicans


A Great Blue Heron - NAS [naval air station] pilot trainee landing - Seagull


Seagull - Oil Platform on the Horizon - Corpus Skyline [partial]


Seagulls on old Piers

- - -

I surmise a lot have already cast their ballot for the election [Nov 8th]. I was contemplating it myself on Monday [Oct 24th], but when I saw the long lines at a few of the polling stops, I changed my mind. I then read the next day on our local online news site that there was up to a 3 hour wait line at some...a computer glitch was to blame. I'm glad I didn't stop to vote. But, I WILL vote on Election Tuesday!! No matter the wait time. Hopefully, if I get there early enough, there won't be long lines to go cast my vote. This weekend I took down all the Halloween decor and cleaned up a couple of things that are packed away in the back of a cupboard. Something I only bring out every four years. We've had these for nearly 50 years...

Jim Beam Whiskey Decanters [Democrat in red - Republican in blue]
emptied long ago...lol
NEW Voting Laws in SOME States
For this election, there are a few states within USA that has implemented new laws before you vote...
Click HERE for the interactive map showing which states have NEW laws.
USA Voting Laws [General] and history

My favorite one liner? Are you ready? Here it comes....ready?
I don't approve of political jokes...I've seen too many of them get elected.

§ To Those Who Keep Us Free...

I mentioned in my previous post about walking around the largest cemetery here in town. I ended up walking the distance to reach the war memorial grounds for those who served with honor and dignity to keep our country free...

As you enter the unbroken circle a plaque has been set in stone. Each upright slab of rose granite has names of Corpus Christians who served and sacrificed life for their country, etched for life-long memory, for each of the military branches, including the United States Coast Guard. All grave markers have the fire pit for a small gas lighted eternal flame...

...walking further from the Veteran's Memorial Grounds I found this, and must admit my thought of how poignant this is. It's a 'stand alone' momument, carved with a verse that is heart warming and heart breaking at the same time:

In case you have difficulty viewing the carved stone the words, verbatim, are as follows:

THE BROKEN CHAIN

We little knew that morning

That God was going to call your name.

In life we loved you dearly

In death we do the same.

It broke our hearts to lose you

You did not go alone

For part of us went with you

The day God called you home.

You left us peaceful memories

Your love is still our guide.

And though we cannot see you

You are always on our side.

Our family chain is broken,

And nothing seems the same.

But God calls us one by one

The chain will link again.

IN MEMORY OF THOSE OF MY OWN FAMILY WHO HAVE SERVED OUR COUNTRY, and friends alike:

My Great Grandfather NY...Union...Civil War

My Uncle - US Air Corps - Belly Gunner, shot down over the English Channel WWII

My Brother - USMC Peace Time

My Brother - USAF End of Korean War

My Brother - US Army Peace Time

My Husband - US Navy Peace Time

My Son [and now deceased son-in-law] USMC -Gulf War

Frank - US Special Forces  ♥- -KIA- -♥ Viet Nam War [special, dear friend and school mate]

...and in loving, a parting memorial recognition to both my parents...gone but never forgotten.

§ Happy 236th Birthday!!!!

"The Marines I have seen around the world have the cleanest bodies, the filthiest minds, the highest morale, and the lowest morals of any group of animals I have ever seen. Thank God for the United States Marine Corps!"



            ~Eleanore Roosevelt

"Yes, I know the Marine Corps is part of the United States Navy....the MEN part!!!"

"OOrah"!!!

Before the song loads...a bit of Marine Corps Cadence---

You can keep your Army khaki,
You can keep your Navy blue.
I have the world's best fighting man,
To introduce to you.

His uniform is different,
The best you've ever seen.
The German's called him "Devil Dog,"
His real name is "Marine"

He was born on Parris Island,
The place where God forgot.
The sand is eighteen inches deep,
The sun is blazing hot.

He gets up every morning,
Before the rising sun.
He'll run a hundred miles and more,
Before the day is done.

And when he gets to heaven,
St. Peter he will tell,
Another Marine reporting, sir,
I've served my time in Hell.

NOVEMBER 10, 1875-NOVEMBER 10, 2011

From the Halls of Montezuma
To the shores of Tripoli
We fight our country's battles
In the air, on land, and sea;
First to fight for right and freedom
And to keep our honor clean;
We are proud to claim the title



Of United States Marine.


Our flag's unfurled to every breeze



From dawn to setting sun;
We have fought in every clime and place
Where we could take a gun.
In the snow of far-off Northern lands
And in sunny tropic scenes;
You will find us always on the job --
The United States Marines.


Here's health to you and to our Corps
Which we are proud to serve;
In many a strife we've fought for life
And never lost our nerve.
If the Army and the Navy



Ever look on Heaven's scenes,
They will find the streets are guarded



By United States Marines.



[photo credits: Marine Corps sun catcher, mini USMC flag in my computer room/library, Bud's Navy Ship plaque = USS O'Hare [destroyer] *the back clear disc (the cross hair lines) is part of the ship's gyro compass equipment*, and Erik on Graduation parent's visitor's day nearly 20 years ago -the day before graduating and all the pomp and circumstance - from USMC Boot Camp...San Diego California.]

§ Memorial Day Lesson to learn and remember....

REMEMBER: .....
It is the
VETERAN,
not the preacher,
who has given us freedom of religion.

It is
the VETERAN,
not the reporter,
who has given us freedom of the press.

It is
the VETERAN,
not the poet,
who has given us freedom of speech.

It is
the VETERAN,
not the campus organizer,
who has given us freedom to assemble.

It is
the VETERAN,
not the lawyer,
who has given us the right to a fair trial.

It is
the VETERAN,
not the politician,
Who has given us the right to vote.

It is the
VETERAN who
salutes the Flag,

...and...



It is
the
VETERAN
who serves
under the Flag.


[the Marine flag draped casket it not my photo...it was in a Memorial day 'forwarded' email. Remember those who served. Somehow over the years, Memorial Day has become more military orientated....but we too must remember our loved ones who have left us behind....serving the country or OTHERS. If traveling, buckle up, drive safely and have fun]

§ Land of the brave....home of the Free!!

Click button to Join

...a meme where you match photos to song lyrics




This week, with the military coup over in Pakistan, I salute my military men!!

For some this would be a great, patriotic song, of the inner self...being America. But for me, it's more the strengths of our country's military personnel. If you take the time to read the lyrics you may see in your mind, what I see....the troops going to battle, or protecting our borders, or perhaps you may envision a U. S. Marine going to his assigned deployment to serve country with pride and leaving behind AMERICA -home of the free and land of the brave- only to continue being true to thee.



O, America you’re calling,
I can hear you calling me:

You are calling me to be true to thee,
True to thee… I will be.

O, America no weeping,
Let me heal your wounded heart:
I will keep you in my keeping,

Till there be… a new start.

And I will answer you, and I will take your hand,
And lead you… to the sun:

And I will stand by you…do all that I can do,
And we will be… as one.

O, America I hear you,
From your prairies to the sea,

From your mountains grand, and all through this land,
You are beautiful to me.

And… O, America you’re calling,
I can hear you calling me:

You are calling me to be true to thee,
True to thee… I will be.

And I will answer you, and I will take your hand,
And lead you… to the sun:

And I will stand by you… do all that I can do,
And we will be…as one.

O, America you’re calling…
I will ever answer thee.





SONG LINK on You Tube, O America

William Joseph, the song's composer from Phoenix Arizona Lyrics: written by Brendan Graham [from Ireland, no less!]

PHOTO CREDITS: Bud and his mom on leave from Great Lakes Training - Laser etched Eagle Globe and Anchor [USMC symbol] - Sunrise New Year's Day [2011] - One of Bud's Ships [Navy] - Erik [San Diego Recruiting Depot after graduating] - Sunrise on beach - My Mother's Day gift from long ago...when Erik was in the Gulf War ---music box that plays the Marine's Hymn. In my life, I've a USMC brother, one brother who served in the Army and another who chose Air Force, a brother in law who was Navy, an uncle who was Army Air Corps in WWII, a great great grandfather who was part of New York's army during the Civil War...I could go on and on of those in my family who have served with honor.

§ listen to the sounds of silence...

[CLICK HERE TO JOIN]


SHADOW SHOT SUNDAY



Remnants of a Sand Castle [with a moat]. In your imagination, in the shadows of your mind, can you almost hear the clanking of the silversmith readying the knights shining armor for battle; hear the heavy thud of the draw bridge being lowered over the water for the army to go out and protect the king, mounted up on their war-horses? Can you almost picture the guards atop the turrets surveying the forests beyond for the enemy? ---









- - -<><><>- - -

SUNDAY'S SUMMARY

Where the heck did the past week go?!! It's Sunday, already? My goodness. Well, yesterday, we went and spent the day at the annual Navy Air Show on the base near Flour Bluff [between Corpus Christi and the island]. It's been years, I tellya, since we've been to one. I think the last time was about 15 years ago, in Tucson at Davis Monthan Airbase. Since it's a 100 year mark for the Naval Aviation, we thought we'd go see if there was anything done in a special way this year. There wasn't anything special. I really enjoyed the walking around the huge tarmac with all the planes and helicopters on review....some very different from the ones that are shown on the Air Force airbase!! But, thing is the winds were so dangerously high throughout most of the day, that a lot of the show was canceled and they 'rigged' up a lot of different stuff to keep us there...didn't work. Eventually the crowds dwindled. I have some photos, but they're still in the camera's chip. I need to get them uploaded. Most of the week was spent outdoors. Other than getting my posts ready for my blog, you wouldn't have found me inside the house much during the early part of the day. I pruned the pomegranate tree from the bottom up. There was quite a lot of root growth...shoots coming from the ground. As I said a few weeks ago, it's now budding. I think I counted 24 blossoms. Last year, the first year planted, there were three fruits. This year, if all goes well and the birds don't get to them before I do...we'll have a gold mine in bearing fruit. Considering it's only year two. A couple of our tomatoes are huge and both are turning color...a pale orange right now. As I like them on the 'green' side of ripeness, I'll be chowing down on the first one of the season in a few days!! Irene received her gift in the mail...she loved it. I can now tell you what I sent her. I found this most adorable salt and pepper shaker set. [she has a small collection] As her favorite movie of all time is Wizard of Oz, the set is of the Wicked Witch of the West and her Ruby Slippers...crushed by Dorothy's house. Irene was thrilled and sent me a text with the photo that I share here. Baseball season is in full swing. Poor Astros. Houston needs help. Seems the only one on that team worth his wage is Hunter Pence. Not to forget the Texas Rangers. Their standings' average is the highest in MLB. [top standing for the AL West =batting .875!!] Way to go. The long time rival with the American League, right now, with the series for the Yankees against the Red Sox, I'm watching. The other two teams of 'mine'....the Rockies [top in NL West!!!] and Diamondbacks...they're mediocre; next to bottom on the standings for the Western Division. Time will tell. I love this season. The farm team for Houston Astros here in town has begun playing. I think I'll try and convince Bud to take me to a game or two. I finally finished getting the house decorated for Easter. It's not much. I brought out my egg cups and placed a few plastic eggs and a couple of rabbits here and there. That's all. Oh and speaking of fruits and veggies and gardening....this is the peak of blackberry season, so I purchased some fresh pints and made a blackberry pie. It's delicious!!! One evening this past week, after dinner was complete and dishes were done, Bud and I finally sat down and watched Despicable Me. In so many ways, it was not at all what I expected. In fact, I think the movie title was misnamed. I feel the main character played by Steve Carell was supposed to be the 'despicable' one?!! Am I right? He was supposed to be the criminal mastermind of the whole story? But, throughout the movie I didn't 'see' any characteristics of him being all that nasty. In fact, I saw him as a scorned child with his flashbacks, and his sweet demeanor with the Minions and the adopted girls of his. The son of the banker, "V" was more vile. Completely wrong with the movie's title. Sweet movie, cute in so many places [the girls and the genetically altered Corn Pops™, the Minions, were sweet]...but still, all in all, not what I had pictured in my mind. Just a one time viewing movie. Oh, and it's my understanding that you can get a Minionator/translator app from Best Buy so you can know what the Corn Pops™ are saying!! My opinion still stands with this tho....it's a typical, redundant Hollywood flick with no variation in storyline.


poster graphic of NAS air show courtesy of NAS.

Tomorrow is America's Veteran's Day. And since it's a special day to pay tribute to all our troops who serve for our country's peace and protect us...I thought this photo for my Ruby Tuesday would be a nice way to show the long time interest and pride that America has for her military...this is a Naval Museum now...permanently docked on the bay in our city. You can tour most all of the ship, from the flight deck to the captain's quarters, and down below to the ship's galley and engines...

RISING SUN

This is the USS Lexington...a World War II Aircraft Carrier in Corpus Christi Bay. It's now a museum of the Naval branch of the military...[take note midway up the ship's coning tower and the 'small' Japanese Flag.] The LARGE sign, as you make footfall on her deck, tells us --"On the aft side of the island you see a Japanese Rising Sun flag with black border. This flag indicates the exact spot where on November 5th, 1944 a Japanese Kamikaze plane [code name Zeke] crashed into USS Lexington, killing 50 of her crew and injuring 132." His mission was a success. Also, on the sign below the coning tower of the aircraft carrier, it depicts the direction of the Japanese pilot...traveling at the speed of 250 MPH at its contact...170 to 190 MPH in flight before turning to the ship's 'island'. It's a very interesting museum...loaded with history of the USN and its navy pilots. There is a lunch room where you can dine onboard. A gift shop, a movie theater, and many many planes, facts and memorabilia, along with some original areas you can view and visit. I posted a video I made in April of our tour of this ship/museum. If you'd like to view it again/or if you've not viewed it and interested.....click HERE, it should open in a new window.





- - -<><><>- - -



Today is our United States Marine Corps 234th birthday!!! Oorah!!!!!








- - -<><><>- - -

BY THE WAY: If any of you have a Yah** Email Account and use it frequently, you may have noticed their new layout. And if you're like me, you don't appreciate all the extras they've decided to add which brings down a drop down 'favorites' and a very annoying pop-in alert that tells you that you can now add to your favorites, etc. etc. etc. There IS a 'page option' on the right hand corner. Which will eliminate the extra 'x-ing' out you have to go through...the motions and all the rigmarole they make you do is frustrating. And the page op out...is only for the very session you're on at the time. Why? Because of Yah**'s cookies. I searched and searched for a 'fix' to this. And from what I've read in the past few days it's of no help. Other than the page option. I figured there MUST be a WAY to avoid this and continue with the old style. Even tho Yah** refuses to allow us any alternative. I figured it out. At least for Firefox Browser users!! Here's how:

When the annoyance occurs, get the url for this. In my browser it shows: http://m.www.yah**.com

1. Step one, highlight and copy that uri.


2. Step two, go to Firefox's TOOLS tab at the top of the browser window. Click on it.


3. Step three, scroll down to "Options", click on it.


4. Step four, find the "Privacy" tab and click on it.


5. Step five, where you see a radio button that reads "Accept All Cookies"...to the right you'll then see the button "Exceptions"...click on it.


6. Step six, you'll see "address of website" PASTE the uri that you copied in the address bar and click "BLOCK" You can then close Firefox and reboot it. Open your Yah** account once again, and you should be BACK TO THE NARROW, PLAIN EMAIL/NEWS WINDOW.

---

I'm not sure, I don't have I E browser as my default browser, but with this I tried this action ...
Open I E
Tools
Internet Options tab
Privacy
"Pop up Blocker"
Settings button
---way at the bottom, change the filter level to HIGH ---where it blocks ALL pop ups, etc.

[note: dunno if that works perfectly or not since I E browser is NOT my ideal browser....I don't use it but once in a while to check my blog's design layout.]






POSTED: Tuesday, November 10th, 2009
12:30 A.M.

For Friday's Flash Fiction 55, scroll down, or CLICK HERE

Join Here

Snails, Shells, Anchors, Clams, Starfish, Angels, Sand Dollars, Apothecary and more....Oh MY!!

I just don't walk on the shore and watch the waves or search out far to see if I can spot some dolphins, I'm busy looking down at times also. I go out on the beach, and carry my little plastic bucket sometimes...always searching for the perfect shell. I have purchased throughout the years, many apothecary jars, and since we've moved to the Gulf area, I put the jars to good use. I started putting the seashells inside them and then proceeded to use it all in a grouping along with Bud's Brass Anchor....

I love to find broken ones also...they too have a lot of beauty in them. At least I think so. I think it was Mustang Island where I found the perfect ---all in one, starfish. There's a trick to get them hardened once you get it home with you. I've found a lot of clam shells, angel-wing shells [they have the most beautiful 'abalone' iridescence on the inside with all the silvers, blues, greens & turquoise colors] --they are way too fragile. I can't tell you how many times they've shattered and crumbled on me from the beach to home! The sand dollars? They too are extremely delicate --so very easy to break. And to find one all in one piece, complete, is not only a miracle...it's good luck!! I've read somewhere that the best time to go beachcombing for shells is after a storm. But, no matter, it's all luck I think!! By the way, the brass anchor is about 12 inches long and VERY heavy. Bud had this before we married...I think he told me once he got this when on liberty from the ship he was on during his Navy days...stationed in the Caribbean somewhere. I like it! LOL



Oh, and the box the shells are all sitting on was made by dear man of mine...he restored an old chest, added rope handles on each side and carved the three ships' names and numbers. One in front...and one on each side. These ships are the three he was stationed on during his Navy tenure. USS O'Hare, USS J.D. Blackwood, and USS Tabbererer. And the bird painting above the box is one I painted called "Afternoon Repose"...seen in full here.

<><><>



A Friday Meme with fiction...55 words, no more, no less. Try it, it's a fun challenge!!
Join Here

Envious, I'm green
Passionate, I'm purple
Sad, I'm blue
Pure, I'm white
Silent, I'm golden
Mellow, I'm yellow
Sometimes hues; stormy & dull...
But as witnessed, at the end, when all subsides;
in twilight years, after all the turmoil and strife,
it can be found by the horizon
As it betokens; the spectrum of the rainbow!







[rainbow image courtesy of National Geographic free wallpaper]

Posted: August 21st, 2009
5:40 A.M.