MY RED CHRISTMAS SHIRT:
Some ten or fifteen years in the distant past my wife, Yvette, sewed a red shirt as a Christmas gift for me. It's a lovely shirt, made of some material that is soft, warm, and cosy. Ideal for sitting in front of a fire and drinking a beer; something I am doing right now as I am typing this message. Drinking beer, that is. I have a good doctor. She says I can drink all the beer I would like to. I usually drink only one but it's nice to know I can drink another. It's like a nice cool bubbly feeling. Getting back to the red shirt, we bring it out every year for Christmas week, then it is washed and put away until next year. There is something unique about this shirt, though. The first time I tried to button the shirt, I couldn't. Then I discovered that the buttonholes were on the wrong side. Yvette was so accustomed to making her own garments, she automatically put the buttonholes for my shirt on the wrong side.
Incidentally, do you know why buttonholes for women and men are different? In the olden days, women had maids who dressed them so the buttons were placed for someone who is facing you to button easily. There are some other explanations but this one seems to be the most acceptable.
Back to the red shirt. This morning, while my 96-year old nimble fingers were buttoning the shirt, I counted them. There are seven. This is interesting, I thought. December 7 was my birthday and this birthday shirt has seven buttons. It actually has eight counting the top button which I do not use anymore. I don't wear ties so it is just left open. I pondered this wondrous event for a few seconds and decided I would go back and review the past and select the seven most memorable events in my life. I thought about it off and on most of the day and whittled it down to the following seven in the order they occurred.
1. Graduating from knickers to full-length trousers. I was now grown-up.
2. My first solo flight in the '09. The exhilaration of being alone in the skies was indescribable.
3. Enlisting in the military. America's entry into World War II was imminent and I wanted a front row
seat in the branch of my choice.
4. Stepping off the ramp of an LCI and standing on Omaha Beach, France amidst the carnage. It must
have been Hell incarnate on D-Day.
5. Getting fired from my job at Food Fair Stores. I was free from the shackles of working for someone. It also opened up a whole new vista for fun and adventure. Now I had the time and the resources to
do whatever I wanted to. It was like grabbing the brass ring on life's merry-go-round.
6. Getting married to Yvette. It opened up a whole new world of fun and responsibility; ending 60 years
of bachelorhood. It also brought me to Tennessee.
7. Moving to Tennessee. In Nomad News No.33 I chronicled a series of events, starting in 1940, that
led me to Crossville in 1988. As I have written before, I believe that I have been blessed with a
Sheltering Angel since birth; not one that controls me, but one that guides and protects me. This
angel has revealed the reason I am in Crossville; the purpose is yet to be revealed.
8. The empty buttonhole.When the mystery of my purpose for being in Tennessee is revealed, it will be
printed here.
That's the tale of my red Christmas shirt. (Copyright 2014-Andrew M. Dolan)
P.S.: If anyone would like to see other issues of Nomad News, go to: mountainchat.blogspot.com
P.S: I don't know why the machine started printing half lines when I listed the seven events in my life. If anyone knows, I would appreciate hearing from you. (Copyright 204-Andrew M. Dolan)
1.
Sunday, December 28, 2014
Friday, December 26, 2014
Nomad News-Vol.5-No.118
DID RELIGION MAKE THE GREATEST GENERATION GREAT?
Some time back, I referred to talk about the Greatest Generation as being mostly nonsense. There was nothing great about us. We just had a job to do, we went out and did it and most of us came home and went back to work. Of and on I would think about this. Maybe I was missing something. Several days ago, while laying in bed one morning, my brain was illuminated by the following memory: As kids, with few exceptions, everyone attended Sunday School until we graduated from high school. I pondered this for several days. Where did this fit in to make us the Greatest?
. I receive a lot of e-mails with videos attached. I watch very few. I don't wish to gamble five or ten minutes watching something that I might consider a waste of my time. Today, I received an e-mail and something told me to watch it. Was it my sheltering angel? In ninety seconds I found the answer to why Sunday School was what made the Greatest Generation great: In the video, the presenter has asked a Chinese economist who was coming to the end of a Fullbright Fellowship, if he had learned anything unexpected or surprising. His answer was: "Yes, religion is critical to the functioning of democracy because democracy was not designed for the government to oversee what everyone does but democracy works because most people most of the time voluntarily choose to obey the laws. In the past, most Americans attended church or synagogue every week where they learned to follow the rules because they believed they were not only accountable to Society but accountable to God. In the absence of religion, where are the institutions that are going to teach the next generation that they need to voluntarily choose to obey the laws too, because if you take away religion, you can't hire enough police."
The World's Dooms Day is not just below the eastern horizon. America's is!
(copyright 2014-Andrew M. Dolan)
Some time back, I referred to talk about the Greatest Generation as being mostly nonsense. There was nothing great about us. We just had a job to do, we went out and did it and most of us came home and went back to work. Of and on I would think about this. Maybe I was missing something. Several days ago, while laying in bed one morning, my brain was illuminated by the following memory: As kids, with few exceptions, everyone attended Sunday School until we graduated from high school. I pondered this for several days. Where did this fit in to make us the Greatest?
. I receive a lot of e-mails with videos attached. I watch very few. I don't wish to gamble five or ten minutes watching something that I might consider a waste of my time. Today, I received an e-mail and something told me to watch it. Was it my sheltering angel? In ninety seconds I found the answer to why Sunday School was what made the Greatest Generation great: In the video, the presenter has asked a Chinese economist who was coming to the end of a Fullbright Fellowship, if he had learned anything unexpected or surprising. His answer was: "Yes, religion is critical to the functioning of democracy because democracy was not designed for the government to oversee what everyone does but democracy works because most people most of the time voluntarily choose to obey the laws. In the past, most Americans attended church or synagogue every week where they learned to follow the rules because they believed they were not only accountable to Society but accountable to God. In the absence of religion, where are the institutions that are going to teach the next generation that they need to voluntarily choose to obey the laws too, because if you take away religion, you can't hire enough police."
The World's Dooms Day is not just below the eastern horizon. America's is!
(copyright 2014-Andrew M. Dolan)
Saturday, December 20, 2014
Nomad News-Vol.5-No.117
TERI'S POUND CAKE:
This is my Christmas present to yo'll. A French friend of ours, Teri, gave me this recipe about 30 years ago. I have made over 100 cakes and they have come perfect every time when baked for 60 minutes at 350-degrees.. I usually bake the cake in a 11-inch cake ring pan but I have used a eight-inch bundt pan on occasion. You might have to bake a few minutes longer with the bundt pan. Check with a toothpick after 60 minutes.
HERE'S THE RECIPE: 2&1/4 sticks of butter
3 cups sugar
3 cups flour
1/4 tsp baking powder
6 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
pinch salt
8 oz. evaporated milk
Melt butter, blend in sugar, add eggs one at a time, pour in milk slowly, add flour with baking powder. Mix well. slow mix for one minute, add vanilla, blend well.
I had a friend use this recipe and she said her cake didn't come out anything like mine. I'm not a baker so I don't have a clue as to what she might have done, but if I had to guess, I would say she didn't mix well all along the line. I don't understand "mix well" so I might overdo it, but they come out just fine if I do say so myself. Mix well, Andy (Andrew M. Dolan 2014)
This is my Christmas present to yo'll. A French friend of ours, Teri, gave me this recipe about 30 years ago. I have made over 100 cakes and they have come perfect every time when baked for 60 minutes at 350-degrees.. I usually bake the cake in a 11-inch cake ring pan but I have used a eight-inch bundt pan on occasion. You might have to bake a few minutes longer with the bundt pan. Check with a toothpick after 60 minutes.
HERE'S THE RECIPE: 2&1/4 sticks of butter
3 cups sugar
3 cups flour
1/4 tsp baking powder
6 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
pinch salt
8 oz. evaporated milk
Melt butter, blend in sugar, add eggs one at a time, pour in milk slowly, add flour with baking powder. Mix well. slow mix for one minute, add vanilla, blend well.
I had a friend use this recipe and she said her cake didn't come out anything like mine. I'm not a baker so I don't have a clue as to what she might have done, but if I had to guess, I would say she didn't mix well all along the line. I don't understand "mix well" so I might overdo it, but they come out just fine if I do say so myself. Mix well, Andy (Andrew M. Dolan 2014)
Thursday, December 18, 2014
Nomad News Vol.5-No.116
EVIL PERMEATES WASHINGTON:
"The world will not be destroyed by those who do evil, but by those who watch and do nothing."-Albert Einstein Today, I see a repetition of the exact same situation that existed in the 1930s when I listened on the radio to Hitler mesmerize his adored audiences with all the good benefits he would bestow upon them. Today, I hear Obama preach the same sermon from the same pulpit and am dumbfounded that his adored audiences eat the same slop from the same plate and say "Thank You".
Yes, evil is alive and thriving in Washington DC today. Evil has infiltrated the highest levels of government, every government department, the Congress, and, yes, even the Supreme Court, not to mention the lower courts that are supposed to interpret the Constitution of the United States.
Generally speaking, I believe I lean more toward being an optimist. Where a pessimist has a glass half empty, I have a glass half full. Where a pessimist looks at December 21 being the start of cold, miserable winter; I look at December 21 as a start toward spring; each day gets a wee bit longer. Then there is the story about a young boy whose acute optimism annoyed his family. The kid's birthday was approaching and he asked for a pony. Instead of a pony, the family thought it would cure him if they deposited a large pile of manure in his bedroom. They did. When the kid came in and saw the manure pile he immediately started digging through it. When asked what he was doing he replied: "With all this manure there has to be a pony somewhere".
That said, today Washington DC is one big manure pile. I was of the opinion that America had passed the point of no return and would follow in the footsteps of Rome. Being an optimist, I'm ready to go one more round. Maybe,, just maybe, if we dig into that pile we will uncover a knight in shining armour riding a white horse who will capture the imagination of the thinking populace and lead us back to a constitutional republic in 2016. It's a long shot. It may take another Pearl Harbor or 9/11 to be the catalyst. So be it.
(Copyright 2014-Andrew M. Dolan)
"The world will not be destroyed by those who do evil, but by those who watch and do nothing."-Albert Einstein Today, I see a repetition of the exact same situation that existed in the 1930s when I listened on the radio to Hitler mesmerize his adored audiences with all the good benefits he would bestow upon them. Today, I hear Obama preach the same sermon from the same pulpit and am dumbfounded that his adored audiences eat the same slop from the same plate and say "Thank You".
Yes, evil is alive and thriving in Washington DC today. Evil has infiltrated the highest levels of government, every government department, the Congress, and, yes, even the Supreme Court, not to mention the lower courts that are supposed to interpret the Constitution of the United States.
Generally speaking, I believe I lean more toward being an optimist. Where a pessimist has a glass half empty, I have a glass half full. Where a pessimist looks at December 21 being the start of cold, miserable winter; I look at December 21 as a start toward spring; each day gets a wee bit longer. Then there is the story about a young boy whose acute optimism annoyed his family. The kid's birthday was approaching and he asked for a pony. Instead of a pony, the family thought it would cure him if they deposited a large pile of manure in his bedroom. They did. When the kid came in and saw the manure pile he immediately started digging through it. When asked what he was doing he replied: "With all this manure there has to be a pony somewhere".
That said, today Washington DC is one big manure pile. I was of the opinion that America had passed the point of no return and would follow in the footsteps of Rome. Being an optimist, I'm ready to go one more round. Maybe,, just maybe, if we dig into that pile we will uncover a knight in shining armour riding a white horse who will capture the imagination of the thinking populace and lead us back to a constitutional republic in 2016. It's a long shot. It may take another Pearl Harbor or 9/11 to be the catalyst. So be it.
(Copyright 2014-Andrew M. Dolan)
Thursday, December 11, 2014
Nomad News Vol.5-No.115
SMELLEY'S STINKERS FROM BUZZ BOMB ALLEY: In the winter of 1944-45, while I was in Belgium, we were in the direct flight path for the German V-1 pulse jet powered flying bombs destined for London. We called them buzz bombs. We knew when one was coming when we heard the anti-aircraft batteries in the distance firing at one. As the next battery in line picked up the target we would soon hear the "put-put" of the engine and soon it would be in our general area and heading westward toward London. Often, one would malfunction and the engine would stop. It was then a case of waiting to see where it would land. Fortunately, none ever dropped close or I wouldn't be writing this
Our squadron was part of the 363rd Tactical Reconnaissance Group. While we already had a unit crest featuring a figure from Greek mythology, I came up with a less than classical idea for an insignia for Colonel James Smelley's Group. I wrote a letter to Len Warren, assistant political cartoonist for The Philadelphia Record, who I knew from working at the Record before the war. I asked Len if he would render his interpretation of an eager beaver with a brown nose and a red derriere riding a buzz bomb and holding a gold brick. The result was the drawing on the left. I drew a circle with the words "363rd Photo Reconnaissance Group around the circle and Len's sketch in the middle. I showed my art to Colonel Smelley during a visit he made to our squadron. It went over like a lead balloon. In fact, I nearly lost my Staff Sergeant stripes. I understand a more dignified group insignia was approved in 1952 and that Colonel Smelley officially changed his last name to "Shelley" in 1959. (Copyright-Andrew M. Dolan 2014)
(P.S.) I have the original sketch of the insignia I showed to Colonel Smelley but I can't lay my hands on it. When and if I do, I will place it next to Len Warren's art.)
Our squadron was part of the 363rd Tactical Reconnaissance Group. While we already had a unit crest featuring a figure from Greek mythology, I came up with a less than classical idea for an insignia for Colonel James Smelley's Group. I wrote a letter to Len Warren, assistant political cartoonist for The Philadelphia Record, who I knew from working at the Record before the war. I asked Len if he would render his interpretation of an eager beaver with a brown nose and a red derriere riding a buzz bomb and holding a gold brick. The result was the drawing on the left. I drew a circle with the words "363rd Photo Reconnaissance Group around the circle and Len's sketch in the middle. I showed my art to Colonel Smelley during a visit he made to our squadron. It went over like a lead balloon. In fact, I nearly lost my Staff Sergeant stripes. I understand a more dignified group insignia was approved in 1952 and that Colonel Smelley officially changed his last name to "Shelley" in 1959. (Copyright-Andrew M. Dolan 2014)
(P.S.) I have the original sketch of the insignia I showed to Colonel Smelley but I can't lay my hands on it. When and if I do, I will place it next to Len Warren's art.)
Nomad News Vol.5-No.114
MAY GOD GRANT YOU ALWAYS
To all my friends: I have received beaucoup messages with wishes for a happy 96th birthday. I appreciate and treasure every one of them. So far, I have had a wonderful and memorable life; most of it revolving around the word FUN! There is an old Irish saying that goes like this: May God grant you always; a sunbeam to warm you; a moon beam to charm you; and a sheltering angel so nothing can harm you. I believe I have had such an angel protecting me since the day I was born and when I survived the deadly 1918-1919 flu that killed millions when I was less than a year old. May God grant you always this same protection.
I have chronicled a number of incidents in my life where I escaped possible death or serious injury and some mysterious force has intervened. I have also chronicled events in my life, starting in 1940, that show positively that I was destined to come to Crossville, Tennessee and, that I am here for a purpose that has yet to be revealed. That is what keeps me going as I try to be the best I can be each day.
The Red baron, as my wife sometimes calls me. (copyright 2014- Andrew M. Dolan)
To all my friends: I have received beaucoup messages with wishes for a happy 96th birthday. I appreciate and treasure every one of them. So far, I have had a wonderful and memorable life; most of it revolving around the word FUN! There is an old Irish saying that goes like this: May God grant you always; a sunbeam to warm you; a moon beam to charm you; and a sheltering angel so nothing can harm you. I believe I have had such an angel protecting me since the day I was born and when I survived the deadly 1918-1919 flu that killed millions when I was less than a year old. May God grant you always this same protection.
I have chronicled a number of incidents in my life where I escaped possible death or serious injury and some mysterious force has intervened. I have also chronicled events in my life, starting in 1940, that show positively that I was destined to come to Crossville, Tennessee and, that I am here for a purpose that has yet to be revealed. That is what keeps me going as I try to be the best I can be each day.
The Red baron, as my wife sometimes calls me. (copyright 2014- Andrew M. Dolan)
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