Bug's Bleat - - GCF: Stress Relief

Volume 7, Issue 23

Hello All,

This evening, Dusty and Zac are spending the night, in anticipation of the Albemarle Kids Fishing Derby. Annette turned off the TV and played word games and “Animal” Yatzee with them. It warmed my heart to watch Dusty playing scrabble with his Grandmother.
Zac spent the evening stalking me and watching ”Saving Nemo”.
~~~~~
Why would anyone want to live in a small town? Maybe because the quality of life is so far superior?
As the result of disease she contracted as a child, Annette is blind in one eye. Ever since, she was plagued with “flare ups” of the problem in that eye that are excruciatingly painful and can further damage the eye.
Fortunately, she discovered Dr. Ivory Kencheloe, the ophthalmologist. Under Dr. K’s treatment, her attacks waned and it’s been years since she had a “flare up.”
However, the disease is still there, lurking and Saturday, it attacked again. Annette’s first indication was some soreness under the eye, before we realized what was happening; it had become a full fledged outbreak.
What do you do on Saturday evening for medical help? You call Dr. K. She wasn’t available but her partner was. He’s familiar with Annette’s history and asked what pharmacy we used.
Did you catch the part where I said it’s Saturday evening? The pharmacies are closed. But our pharmacist, Don Dumas, always told me to call him if we ever needed him. So we called.
He drove into town, contacted the Doctor, prepared the prescription and Annette was starting the necessary treatments “posthaste.”
Now, y’all try that in Dallas.
~~~~~
We heard Mark Cloud commenting on industry’s current production methods; “We are making twice the bricks with half the straw.”

In case you aren’t familiar with the source of his comment, here’s the scripture.
Exo 5:13 and the taskmasters hasted them, saying, Fulfill your works, your daily tasks, as when there was straw.
Exo 5:14 And the officers of the children of Israel, which Pharaoh's taskmasters had set over them, were beaten, and demanded, Wherefore have ye not fulfilled your task in making brick both yesterday and to day, as heretofore?
Exo 5:15 Then the officers of the children of Israel came and cried unto Pharaoh, saying, Wherefore dealest thou thus with thy servants?
Exo 5:16 There is no straw given unto thy servants, and they say to us, Make brick: and, behold, thy servants are beaten; but the fault is in thine own people.
Exo 5:17 But he said, Ye are idle, ye are idle: therefore ye say, Let us go and do sacrifice to the LORD.
Exo 5:18 Go therefore now, and work; for there shall no straw be given you, yet shall ye deliver the tale of bricks.
I think he’s too optimistic. I contend that “We are making four times the bricks with 1/4 the straw.”
~~~~~
The Aids pandemic is outpacing many countries' efforts at prevention, UN officials say, acknowledging that the goal of containing the disease by 2015 may now be unrealistic.
~~~~~
I was reading Terry Stockdale’s Blog [http://www.thenextwindow.com/] this week and he reminded me how much I appreciate our local library.

When mom started working in Magnolia, I would often come to work with her. It didn’t take long for her to decide that I needed a library card. As a result, I’ve had a CLOC library card for almost 50 years.

When I started, the library was in a small “storefront” type building on Calhoun street, just across from the jail. It was a cozy little place with tightly packed shelves, reaching up to the low ceiling. Since it occupied several adjacent “stores” it was necessary to go through doors cut in the wall, up and down levels to transverse the whole library.
In the mid 60's Uncle Sam built a new post office (several members of our Civil Air Patrol Squadron helped raise the flag for the first time at the new Post Office. But that’s a story for another time.)
The library moved into the old Post Office building, a ‘30s CCC project with a beautiful mural of wheat harvest. I guess the bureaucrat who commissioned it thought this was a wheat growing region.
As an aside, Huey Long dedicated the Post Office back then.

The “new” library was spacious and airy (the old Post Office had been dark and forbidding.) There was a second floor with a balcony that overlooked the check out desk and even a basement with research materials, books for the deaf and blind and, of course, stacks of civil defense food and water in case of nuclear attack.
The Columbia, Lafayette, Ouachita County Library system is a rare gem. They have a great stock of both fiction and non fiction books and, if they don’t have it, they can probably get it in a week or so.

As technology has changed, they have progressed. Not necessarily fast, but they’ve changed. I mean, they did finally computerize the card catalog last year.
That means that I can access the card catalog from home via the Internet. It’s really nice to be able to check on a book’s (or video tapes, audio tapes, CDs and DVDs) availability and then reserve a copy from home.. Of course, I can renew them online, too.

If you're lucky enough to live in Columbia, Lafayette, or Ouachita County, why not use the wonderful resource that’s waiting for you.
~~~~~
Sgt. John Burns will be the guest speaker at “Faith Builders” small group on Tuesday, June 14 at 6:30 pm. Sgt Burns will share his testimony of drowning in an Iraq sewer canal after his Humvee was hit by an explosive device and how his troops risked their lives to pull him out of the submerged vehicle. You and the rest of the public are invited. Call Annette at 234-3225 for more information.
~~~~~
Justice - when we DO get that which we DO deserve
Mercy - when we DO NOT get that which we DO deserve
Grace - when we DO get that which we DO NOT deserve
E. Daphne Roberts
~~~~~
THIS DAY IN HISTORY: from The Free Dictionary - - http://www.thefreedictionary.com/ - - Capt. James Cook runs aground on the Great Barrier Reef.
Cook was one of the 18th century's greatest explorers and cartographers. He discovered the east coast of Australia and became the first European to set foot in Hawaii. He mapped New Zealand, California, the Pacific Northwest and Alaska.
~~~~~
Vince Lombardi
(1913-1970) American Football Coach

If you aren't fired with enthusiasm, you will be FIRED with enthusiasm.
I think you can accomplish anything if you're willing to pay the price.
It's not whether you get knocked down; it's whether you get back up.
Perfection is not attainable. But if we chase perfection, we can catch excellence.
Success comes before work only in the dictionary.
The quality of a person's life is in direct proportion to their commitment to excellence, regardless of their chosen field of endeavor.
The spirit, the will to win, and the will to excel are the things that endure. These qualities are so much more important than the events that occur.
~~~~~
Jeanne Robertson is a funny lady. This week I heard her on XM’s laugh USA channel telling the story of her husband’s “better way” to transport 150 lbs of books to Hawaii.
Annette, the wife of my youth, did a similar thing to me a couple of years ago. She had to carry 100 Lbs of peanut butter to Belize on a mission trip. So she packed it among her cloths in the biggest suitcase we had. Then she saved money by booking us on the train to Dallas. She didn’t want to check the suitcase, “what if they lose it?” so I had to tote that unwieldy thing up the stairs in the train.
Upon arrival in Dallas, she saved money by catching a hotel shuttle to the airport instead of getting a taxi. We only had to walk a couple of blocks to the hotel from the train station.
Did I mention that this behemoth of a bag didn’t have wheels?
Once we’d manhandled it onto the hotel shuttle, we got a break until we got to DFW. The shuttle didn’t let us out at the right terminal so we had to carry that trunk on the people mover.
But we did eventually get to the gate where I had the pleasure of seeing the ticket agent wrestle with the bag.
~~~~~
Speaking of carrying things, years ago, mom was treated using hyper baric oxygen at Willis Knighton in Shreveport. The treatments were scheduled daily and we all took turns carrying her down there and back.
When Uncle Willard ’s turn came around, he headed down to Shreveport with mom, going via Plain Dealing and Benton.
It just so happened that there was a fruit stand on the highway, which had a gorgeous display of watermelons.
Mom suggested that they stop and pick up a watermelon.
Uncle Willard never slowed up, he just said; “I’m no taxi.”
~~~~~
Seen on a t-shirt:
6 Billion People.
YOU Are The Light.
No Pressure.
Matt 5:14
Thanks to Joe and Debbie Tudor
~~~~~
Don't forget ... "Da Bleat" is now on the web. Just go to http://bugsbleatnew.blogspot.com
~~~~~
Feel free to share the "Bleat" with any and all. That's why we publish it.
~~~~~
www.aaa.com Regular Mid Premium Diesel
Current Avg. $2.12 $2.25 $2.34 $2.31
http://www.fuelgaugereport.com/
~~~~~
Recipe(s) of the week; NFR “Firehouse” Recipes
http://www.nfrmag.com/recipes/

Chicken Tortilla Soup


Ingredients
4 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 cups chopped onion
1 cup chopped green pepper
3 chopped jalapeño peppers
5 cloves mined garlic
2 tablespoons chili powder
1 tablespoon cayenne pepper
1 tablespoon cumin
12 cups chicken broth
3 cans Mexican stewed tomatoes
3 teaspoons salt
8 chicken breasts cut into strips
2 cans corn
2 cups chopped green onion
2 fresh limes cut into wedges
8 fresh corn tortillas cut into strips (corn tortilla chips can be substituted)
Shredded cheddar cheese
Fresh chopped cilantro


Cooking Directions
In a large pot over medium heat, start by adding the vegetable oil.
Add the onions, green pepper, jalapeños and garlic. Cook until the onions become translucent.
Add the cayenne pepper, cumin and chili powder, cook for 1 -2 minutes..
Add the chicken breast and cook for another 3-5 minutes stirring the chicken breast to start them cooking.
Add the chicken broth, stewed tomatoes and the salt. Bring this to a boil and then reduce the heat to a simmer. Cover and cook for 20 minutes.
Add corn and cook for another 5 minutes

Garnishes
In a deep fryer, heat oil to 350 degrees. Fry corn tortilla strips until golden brown. Salt and drain on paper towels prior to serving.
Chop green onions and place in a bowl
Cut lime into wedges to squeeze the juice on the soup
Chop cilantro to sprinkle on the soup

Serving Directions
Place fried tortillas or tortilla chips into bowl.
Ladle soup in bowls
Garnish with chopped green onion, chopped cilantro, juice from lime and cheddar cheese

Enjoy !!!
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Firehouse Italian Meatloaf - Feeds Eight Hungry Firemen


Ingredients
6 lbs Lean Ground Beef
6 cups bread crumbs
1 cups of onions finely chopped
1 cups of green pepper finely chopped
2 cups of Parmesan cheese
6 large cloves of garlic chopped
1/4 cup of oregano
1/4 cup of basil
1 tablespoon of salt
1 tablespoon of pepper
6 eggs beaten
2 28 oz cans of Italian Sauce
6 cups of shredded Mozzarella Cheese


Preheat your oven to 375 degrees
1. Combine all of the above ingredients in a large bowl.
2. Split the combined ingredients into three separate balls. Form the three balls into meat loafs By splitting them up you decrease the cook time needed
3. Bake the meat loafs for 30 minutes
4. Remove the meat loafs and pour the Italian sauce over all of the loafs then return them to the oven for another 15 minutes
5. Remove the loafs and sprinkle the mozzarella cheese on them. Return the to the oven until the cheese is melted
6. Remove and serve with side dishes. Side Dishes Ideas include a tossed salad and Corn but my favorite side dish with this recipe is mashed potatoes. I will often make garlic mashed potatoes of cheddar cheese mashed potatoes. The other guys on my shift prefer either of these as opposed to regular mashed potatoes

Mashed Potatoes
5 - 7 lbs of potatoes
½ lb of butter
2 to 3 cups of milk
5 cloves of garlic ( for garlic mashed potatoes)
2 cups of shredded cheddar cheese ( for cheddar mashed potatoes)
Salt and pepper to taste


Peel the potatoes or if you want more nutrients, leave the skins on and make "Dirty Potatoes"
1. Boil the potatoes until fork tender
2. Drain and mash the potatoes
3. Add the milk, salt, pepper and butter and mash the potatoes
4. Add the garlic (for garlic potatoes) or the cheese (for cheddar mashed) and stir until well blended.
Now you can call everyone in for dinner and enjoy !!
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Apple Pecan Wild Rice

½ cup uncooked wild rice
1 small onion, sliced very thin
2 teaspoons butter
1 cup unsweetened apple juice
1 cup chicken stock
¼ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 apple, cored and cut in ¼ inch dice
1 tablespoon chopped pecans


Wash the rice in cold water and drain well. Sauté the onion in the butter in a medium saucepan until tender, about 5 minutes. Add the rice; cook and stir 1 minute. Add the juice, broth, salt, and cinnamon. Bring to a boil; reduce heat. Cover and simmer until the rice is tender and most of the liquid is absorbed, about 45 minutes. Stir in the apple; cover and let stand 5 minutes. Drain off any excess liquid before serving. Sprinkle with chopped pecans.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Green Chili Cheese Soup


1 pound chicken breast cut into small cubes
1 pound ground turkey
1 yellow onion
2 tablespoons minced garlic
1 can stewed tomatoes with green chilies
1 frozen package Bueno (brand) green chilies (mild or hot)
2 to 3 chopped jalapeno peppers
1 can corn
1 can chicken broth
2 teaspoons ground cumin
2 teaspoons Mexican Oregano
2 table spoons minced cilantro
salt and pepper to taste
6 to 8 potatoes cut into small cubes
2 cans Campbell's Fiesta Nacho Cheese Soup
1 can Campbell's Cheddar Cheese Soup
3 cans milk


Sauté' meats, onion and garlic in small amount of oil of medium-high heat. Add tomatoes, corn, green chilies, chicken broth, and spices. Simmer over low heat for one hour. Add potatoes and cook until tender (about 30 minutes)
Add soup and milk and heat until it is mixed and heated thoroughly. If you want it thicker, thicken it with corn starch or flour milk mixture.
Garnish soup with shredder cheddar cheese or pepper jack cheese.

Serves 6-8 hungry firefighters!
Enjoy, Tom Kaufman, Fire Marshal
Durango Fire & Rescue Authority
1235 Camino Del Rio Durango, CO 81301
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Crunchy Slaw


3 TBL. Olive oil
2 Cups unsalted, roasted peanuts
1 cup rice wine vinegar
½ cup sesame oil
¼ cup honey
4teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 large head of white cabbage (about 3 ½ pounds) cored and shredded
1 head red cabbage (about 1 ½ pounds) cored and shredded
2 cups sliced red onions
1cup chopped green onions
1 cup loosely packed fresh cilantro leaves
½ teaspoon cayenne
2 packages (10oz) small corn tortillas, julienned and fried until golden brown


Heat the olive oil in a large, heavy skillet over medium heat. Add the peanuts and toast them for 5 minutes, stirring often. Remove from the heat and set aside. In a medium sized mixing bowl, combine the vinegar, sesame oil, honey, 1 teaspoon of the salt and ½ teaspoon of the black pepper.. Put the cabbages, red onions, green onions and cilantro in a very large mixing bowl and the season with the remaining black pepper and the cayenne. Add the dressing mixture and toss to distribute dressing evenly. Store in large plastic storage bags. Refrigerate for at least 4 hours before serving. Before serving, add the fried tortillas and mix well. Serve in large bowls.

Yield: 20 Servings.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Roasted Pepper & Bean Salad

3 cups cooked beans, (black, small navy, or small pinks are my favorites)
2 red and 2 yellow bell peppers, halved lengthwise, seeds and stems removed


Dressing:
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
½ teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon sugar
1 large clove garlic, minced
1/3 cup olive oil
salt and pepper to taste
1/3 cup fresh basil leaves, chopped


Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Place peppers on pan 3 inches from heat. Turn frequently until skins are blackened. Place in brown paper bag to cool. Remove skins and cut into 1 inch squares. Combine in serving bowl with beans. Combine dressing ingredients thoroughly and toss with beans and peppers. Let marinade for at least 4 hours. Garnish with chopped green onions.
by "chef" Doug Cincurak

For this and other recipes from National Fire & Rescue, you can contact by e-mail mmacdonald@speccomm.com.
~~~~~
BREAKPOINT Commentaries
by Chuck Colson. - Prison Fellowship

Does Abortion Make Us Safe?
Freakonomics and Reality
June 10, 2005

Note: This commentary was delivered by Prison Fellowship President Mark Earley.

When "BreakPoint" first went on the air, crime ranked at the top of Americans' concerns. A record 2,250 homicides had been committed in New York City alone. Today, New York is on pace to record 450 or one-fifth as many homicides, and crime no longer ranks among Americans' top ten concerns.

This precipitous drop has prompted many explanations. Some of them, like better policing and the end of the "crack wars," make logical and moral sense. But there's one persistent explanation that makes no sense at all, and that is this: America is safer because of legalized abortion.

In his new book, Freakonomics, University of Chicago economist Steven Levitt argues that legalized abortion is responsible for half of the recent drop in crime rates. His argument, which he has been making since 1999, proceeds from what Steve Sailer of the American Conservative calls two "plausible-sounding premises."

The first is that legalized abortion "lowers the number of ‘unwanted' babies, who would be more likely to commit crimes someday." The second premise is that crime rates began to fall just as the "first cohort of children born after Roe v. Wade was hitting its [crime-prone] late teen years." Thus, at least part of the fall was due to the absence of "the children who stood the greatest chance of becoming criminals."

What Sailer calls "pre-emptive executions" sounds plausible, albeit in a disquieting way. But is it true? Only if you ignore the evidence. Much of the explosion in homicide rates during the 1980s was driven by the battles over turf that followed the introduction of crack cocaine into American cities. As the market settled, the winners no longer had to resort to murder to protect their turf.

What's more, as Sailer and others have pointed out, the numbers not only don't support Levitt's hypothesis, they prove the opposite. Crime rates during the period cited by Levitt dropped most quickly among those born before Roe. The homicide rates for 25-year-olds began falling in 1981!

It was people born after Roe who accounted for much of the increase in murder rates. During the last few years of the crack wars, the murder rates for 14- to 17-year-olds was three-and-a-half-times what it had been a decade earlier. Even in the prosperous late 1990s, the murder rate among presumably "wanted" 14-to 17-year-olds was nearly twice as high as it had been for their often "unwanted" 1980s counterparts.

Obviously something was going on that had nothing to with abortion or "wanted" children. What was it? Sailer hits the nail on the head when he points to Roe's effects on marriage and family formation. Prior to Roe, the response to unplanned pregnancy was what used to be called a "shotgun wedding." The availability of legal abortion helped convince young men that they no longer had a responsibility to the women they had impregnated. The result was a rise in out-of-wedlock births which, unlike abortion, are clearly linked to the crime rate.

As you've probably noticed, I haven't even mentioned the eugenic elements of Levitt's argument—which are horrifying—weed out the unwanted. We don't even need to go there, because the numbers tell us what we already know: No one, either inside or outside the womb, is safer because of abortion—in fact, exactly the reverse.

For further reading and information:
Today’s BreakPoint offer: The BreakPoint “Culture of Life” packet includes a booklet and CD explaining what we can do to build a culture that respects the dignity of human life in society today.
Steve Sailer, “Pre-emptive Executions?” American Conservative, 9 May 2005. Also see Sailer’s analysis of the supposed abortion/crime linkon his blog.
Steven D. Levitt, Freakonomics (William Morrow, 2005).
Thomas Roeser, “A good book errs on link between abortion, crime rate,” Chicago Sun-Times, 14 May 2005.
Patrice M. Jones, “You call this economics?” Chicago Tribune, 9 June 2005.
Chuck Colson, “The ‘Final Solution’ to Crime?” Wilberforce Forum.
BreakPoint Commentary No. 010612, “Eugenics By Any Other Name: The Abortion/Crime Link.” (Free registration required.)
BreakPoint Commentary No. 040908, “A Modern ‘Modest Proposal’: A Pro-Choice Journalist Opens Up.”
Copyright 2005 Prison Fellowship Ministries. Reprinted with permission. "BREAKPOINT with Chuck Colson" is a radio ministry of Prison Fellowship Ministries. Prison Fellowship Ministries may withdraw or modify this grant of permission at any time. To receive "BREAKPOINT" commentaries daily, you can subscribe for free at http://www. breakpoint. org/.
~~~~~
Words of the Week:
odium: intense hatred or dislike.
unfledged: not fully developed; immature.
countenance: appearance or expression of the face; also, to tolerate or encourage.
betimes: early; also, on occasion.
glutinous: gluey; sticky.
durance: imprisonment.
ingenuous: demonstrating childlike simplicity; also, open; frank.
manumit: to free from slavery or servitude.
hermitage: a secluded residence; a retreat.
from Dictionary.Com
~~~~~
When I am working on a problem, I never think about beauty. I think only how to solve the problem. But when I've finished, if the solution isn't beautiful, I know it's wrong. ~ Buckminster Fuller

It is a besetting vice of democracies to substitute public opinion for law. This is the usual form in which masses of men exhibit their tyranny. Fenimore Cooper (1789-1851)

"Love is the wisdom of the fool and the folly of the wise." - Samuel Johnson (1709-1784) British Author, Lexicographer

"If you're going to sin, sin against God, not the bureaucracy; God will forgive you but the bureaucracy won't." - Hyman G. Rickover

"Not everything that is faced can be changed, but nothing can be changed until it is faced." - James Baldwin

"Reputation is a bubble which a man bursts when he tries to blow it for himself." - Emma Carleton

"A mind, like a home, is furnished by its owner, so if one's life is cold and bare he can blame none but himself." - Louis L'Amour

"Forever is composed of nows." - Emily Dickinson

"Nobody has ever before asked the nuclear family to live all by itself in a box the way we do. With no relatives, no support, we've put it in an impossible situation." - Margaret Mead

"The pupil, who is never required to do what he cannot do, never does what he can do." - John Stuart Mill

"All art is autobiographical; the pearl is the oyster's autobiography." - Federico Fellini
~~~~~
Last week, I joined ten of my colleagues in the U.S. House of Representatives at the Spring Session of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization Parliamentary Assembly (NATO PA) in Ljubjlana, Slovenia where we discussed global terrorism with NATO allies. I am honored to have been appointed by Speaker Dennis Hastert last March to be a United States delegate to the NATO PA and to have been a part of the small congressional delegation representing the United States at Spring Assembly in Slovenia.

NATO PA is an inter-parliamentary organization of legislators from the twenty-six member countries of NATO and twenty-two associate countries. NATO PA has been meeting since 1955 to build support for the NATO Alliance within the national legislatures and to provide recommendations to the Secretary General of NATO and the North Atlantic Council. Many of the reforms in NATO have first come from the Assembly. It also provides a way for legislators in member countries to stay informed about changes in NATO and about military reforms in the twenty-two associate countries.

We discussed a wide array of issues with our counterparts from the legislative bodies of the twenty-six member NATO countries and twenty-two observing countries during the meetings. Additionally, for the first time in NATO history, the Palestinian Legislative Council was granted observer status to the meetings, as were Israel, Algeria, Jordan, Mauritania, and Morocco. Issues discussed among the forty-eight represented counties included global terrorism, the humanitarian crisis in Sudan, and concern for disproportionate use of force in Uzbekistan. We also discussed trans-atlantic relations with China, including the United States' opposition to lifting the arms sales embargo against China.

In this post 9-11 era, our world has changed, our enemy has changed, and our approach must also change. Prevention is the key tactic in protecting the United States and the world against future terrorist attacks. The essential element to the atomic bomb, highly enriched uranium, is used and stored at civilian research reactors around the world, including 50 sites in and around Europe, many of which are poorly secured. The threat of a nuclear terrorist attack is real and could happen to the United States or Europe at any time. The United States and Europe must recommit themselves to confronting security challenges in the spirit of international cooperation to keep the world safe from nuclear terrorism.

After attending the NATO meetings in Slovenia, we traveled to visit U.S. troops at Landstuhl Military Hospital and four U.S. military bases in Germany. These brave men and women have sacrificed so much to serve our country in the name of freedom, and it was important for me to visit with them, discuss their concerns and express my appreciation for their valiant efforts.

I am truly humbled to represent the United States in the NATO PA. The bottom line is that America needs our European allies, and the European allies need America more than ever before. Through NATO, the United States, Europe, the Palestinian Legislative Council, and the Mediterranean Countries can join together and work towards preventing future terrorist attacks at home and around the world.

Sincerely,
Mike Ross
~~~~~
"You can always count on Americans to do the right thing - after they've tried everything else." - Sir Winston Churchill (1874-1965) British Statesman, Prime Minister

"Reason obeys itself; and ignorance submits to whatever is dictated to it." - Thomas Paine (1737-1809) American Political Philosopher, Writer

"When we seek to discover the best in others, we somehow bring out the best in ourselves." - William Arthur Ward (1921-1994)

"He who would be a man must therefore be a non-conformist." - Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803-1882) American Poet, Essayist

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GCF: Stress Relief

Emailed to me from another humor list (Marty's Joke of the Day) -Tom To subscribe to Marty's Joke of the Day, send a blank email to: martysjotd-subscribe@yahoogroups.com

If this was forwarded to you, please consider your own subscription to Good Clean Fun. It's free! A smile will enhance the quality of your life. Just send an email to: good-clean-fun-subscribe@egroups.com or visit the Good Clean Fun web site http://www.slonet.org/~tellswor/ UNSUBSCRIBE INFO for Good Clean Fun is at the end of this email. This email was scanned by Norton AntiVirus 2005 before it was sent.
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As an assistant professor, I taught during the day and did research at night. I would usually take a break around eight, however, to play the strategy game Warcraft online with a teammate. (Because the game is online, the team players do not see each other since they are playing from different locations, sometimes in different cities or countries).

One night I was paired with a veteran of the game who was a master strategist. With him at the helm, our troops crushed one opponent after another, and after six games we were undefeated. Suddenly, my fearless leader informed me his mom wanted him to go to bed.

"How old are you?" I typed.

"Twelve," he replied. "How old are you?"

Feeling my face redden, I typed back, "Ten."
_ ____________________________ _

GCF: Proper Identification 2

Emailed to me by a friend (Thanks, DJ) -Tom
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(DJ, who sent this to me, works for a large national cellular telephone company in a call center running credit checks for the agents in the stores. He got a call one day from an agent trying to run such a credit check. He noted here that one of their requirements for a credit application is a valid state issued picture ID.)

Agent: "My customer doesn't have a driver's license, but he does have his state fishing license."

Rep: "Does it have his picture on it?"

Agent: "No, but it has a picture of a fish on it."

Rep: "Is his last name 'Trout?'"

Agent: "No, it's Smith."

(At this point, DJ reported that it was going to be a long day.)
_ ____________________________ _

GCF: Keeping Grandpa

Emailed to me from another humor list (The Funnies) -Tom To subscribe to The Funnies, send a blank email to: andychaps_the-funnies-subscribe@yahoogroups.com
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At my grandparent's 50th wedding anniversary, I was looking through a photo album of their marriage ceremony. "Grandma, so many of these styles have come back over the years," I commented.

Grandma never hesitated. "That's why I've kept Grandpa all this time," she said. "I know he'll be back in style again one of these days."
_ ____________________________ _

GCF: Say What?

Emailed to me from another humor list (Marty's Joke of the Day) -Tom To subscribe to Marty's Joke of the Day, send a blank email to: martysjotd-subscribe@yahoogroups.com
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A research team proceeded towards the apex of a natural geologic protuberance, the purpose of their expedition being the procurement of a sample of fluid hydride of oxygen in a large vessel, the exact size of which was unspecified.

One member of the team precipitously descended, sustaining severe damage to the upper cranial portion of his anatomical structure; subsequently the second member of the team performed a self-rotational translation oriented in the same direction taken by the first team member.

In simple English what does this translate to??

Jack and Jill went up the hill to fetch a pail of water.
Jack fell down and broke his crown and Jill came tumbling after.
_ ____________________________ _

GCF: University Parking

Emailed to me from another humor list (Marty's Joke of the Day) -Tom To subscribe to Marty's Joke of the Day, send a blank email to: martysjotd-subscribe@yahoogroups.com
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A friend of mine found a way to reduce the high costs of parking tickets at the University. He discovered that when in a pinch for a parking space, the fine for parking on the grass is much less than parking in a faculty space. He also found that he could "re-use" a ticket by putting it back under his windshield the next time he parked. (By the way, neither of these are recommended.)
_ ____________________________ _
/ )| Thomas S. Ellsworth |( / / | tellswor@slonet.org | \ _( (_ | http://www.slonet.org/~tellswor | _) )_
(((\ \>|_/ )_______________________( \_| \\\\ \_/ / \ \_/ ////
\ / The second day of a diet is \ /
\ _/ always easier than the first. \_ /
/ / By the second day you're off it. \ -Jackie Gleason
(((\ \>|_/ )_______________________( \_| \\\\ \_/ / \ \_/ ////
\ / The best substitute \ /
\ _/ for brains is silence. \_ /
/ / \ (((\ \>|_/ )_______________________( \_| \\\\ \_/ / \ \_/ ////
\ / Is it possible to separate \ /
\ _/ the cheese from the whiz? \_ /
/ / \ \
(((\ \>|_/ )_______________________( \_| \\\\ \_/ / A man with one watch \ \_/ ////
\ / knows what time it is. \ /
\ _/ A man with two watches \_ /
/ / is never sure. \ (((\ \>|_/ )_______________________( \_| \\\\ \_/ / \ \_/ ////
\ / Dogs come when called. \ /
\ _/ Cats take a message \_ /
/ / and get back to you. \ _ ____________________________ _
/ )| Thomas S. Ellsworth |( / / | tellswor@slonet.org | \ _( (_ | http://www.slonet.org/~tellswor | _) )_
_( (_ | *** Good Clean Fun *** | _) )_
(((\ \>|_/ )_______________________( \_|Stop for a visit, leave with a smile! To join Good Clean Fun, email: good-clean-fun-subscribe@yahoogroups.Com To leave Good Clean Fun, email: good-clean-fun-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.Com Or visit the Good Clean Fun web site at http://www. slonet.org/~tellswor/
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[GCFL.net] Veterinarian Identification

A client brought a litter of golden retriever puppies to my veterinary clinic for inoculations and worming. As the look-alike pups squirmed over and under one another in their box, I realized it would be difficult to tell the treated ones from the rest. I turned on the water faucet, wet my fingers, and moistened each dog's head when I had finished.

After the fourth puppy, I noticed my hitherto talkative client had grown silent. As I sprinkled the last pup's head, the woman leaned forward and whispered, "I didn't know they had to be baptized."

Received from Tami D.
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[GCFL.net] Parenting

Cleaning your house while your kids are still growing is like shoveling the driveway before it has stopped snowing.

"There is only one pretty child in the world and every mother has it." -- Chinese Proverb

Mothers of teens know why animals eat their young.

Children will soon forget your presents; they will always remember your presence.

Children seldom misquote you. In fact, they usually repeat word for word what you shouldn't have said.

The main purpose of holding children's parties is to remind yourself that there are children more awful than your own.

We child-proofed our home 3 years ago and they're still getting in!

Be nice to your kids. They'll choose your nursing home.

Grandchildren are God's reward for not killing your children.

Insanity is hereditary. You get it from your kids.

You can fool some of the people all of the time and all of the people some of the time, but you can never fool a Mom.

I love to give homemade gifts...which one of my kids do you want?

A child's greatest period of growth is the month after you've purchased new school clothes.

Anyone who says "Easy as taking candy from a baby" has never tried it.

Children: You spend the first 2 years of their life teaching them to walk and talk. Then you spend the next 16 telling them to sit down and be quiet.

The best inheritance parents can give their children is a few minutes of their time each day.

Received from Ana Maria Zumsteg.
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[GCFL.net] Sick In Church

A little girl was in church with her mother when she started feeling ill.

"Mommy," she said, "can we leave now?"

"No," her mother replied.

"Well, I think I'm gonna be sick, Mommy!"

"Then go out the front door and around to the back of the church and then behind a bush."

After about 60 seconds the little girl returned to her seat.

"Were you sick?" her mom asked.

"Yes."

"How could you have gone all the way to the back of the church and returned so quickly?"

"I didn't have to go out of the church, Mommy. They have a box next to the front door that says, 'For the Sick.'"

Received from Trldrl Larrison.
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[GCFL.net] Once Upon a Time

Once upon a time, in a land far away, a beautiful, independent, self-assured princess happened upon a frog as she sat contemplating ecological issues on the shores of an unpolluted pond in a verdant meadow near her castle.

The frog hopped into the princess' lap and said, "Elegant lady, I was once a handsome prince until an evil witch cast a spell upon me. One kiss from you, however, and I will turn back into the dapper, young Prince that I am, and then my sweet, we can marry and setup housekeeping in yon castle with my mother, where you can prepare my meals, clean my clothes, bear my children, and forever feel grateful and happy doing so."

That night, on a meal of lightly sauteed frogs legs seasoned in a white wine and onion cream sauce, she chuckled to herself and thought, "I don't think so!"

Received from Jeffrey A. Smith.
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[GCFL.net] Some Rules Of Golf

/* If you are not familiar with golf, you probably won't get these. Ask your closest golf player. */

1. Never try to keep more than 300 separate thoughts in your mind during your swing.

2. When your shot has to carry over a water hazard, you can either hit one more club or two more balls.

3. If you are afraid a full shot might reach the green while the group ahead are still putting, you have two options: you can immediately shank a lay-up, or you can wait until the green is clear and top a ball halfway there.

4. The less skilled the player, the more likely he is to share his ideas about the golf swing.

5. If it isn't broke, try changing your grip.

6. Golfers who claim they don't cheat also lie.

7. Everyone replaces his divot after a perfect approach shot.

8. A golf match is a test of your skill against your opponent's luck.

9. It's surprisingly easy to sink a 50 foot putt when you lie.

10. Counting on your opponent to inform you when he breaks a rule is like expecting him to make fun of his own haircut.

11. Nonchalant putts count the same as chalant putts.

12. It's not a gimme putt if you're still away.

13. The shortest distance between any two points on a golf course is a straight line that passes directly through the large tree.

14. There are two kinds of bounces: unfair bounces and bounces just the way you intended to play it.

15. You can hit a two-acre fairway 10% of the time and a 2-inch branch on a tree 90% of the time.

16. Every time a golfer makes a birdie he must subsequently make three triple bogeys to restore the fundamental equilibrium of the universe.

17. If you want to hit a 7-iron as far as Tiger Woods try to hit just short of a water hazard.

18. To calculate the speed of a player's downswing, multiply the speed of his backswing by his handicap. Example, backswing 20 miles per hour, handicap, 15, downswing 300 m.p.h.

19. There are two things you can learn by stopping your backswing at the top and checking the position of your hands: how many hands you have, and which hand is wearing the golf glove.

20. Hazards attract; Fairways repel.

21. You can put "draw" on the ball, you can put "fade" on the ball, but no golfer can put "straight" on the ball.

22. A ball you can see in the rough from 50 yards away is not yours.

23. If there is a ball in the fringe and a ball in the bunker, your ball is in the bunker.

24. If both balls are in the sand, yours is in the footprint.

25. Don't buy a putter until you have had a chance to throw it.

26. The inevitable result of any golf lesson is the instant elimination of the one critical unconscious motion that allowed you to compensate for all your errors.

Received from THowe.
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– NEW! Go to http://www.gcfl.net/archive.php?funny=20050124 to rate this funny from 0 to 5.
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Brought to you by GCFL.net: The Good, Clean Funnies List "A cheerful heart is good medicine!" (Prov 17:22a) Go to http://gcfl.net/mlfrontend.php to change your subscription options or unsubscribe. To email this funny to a friend, go to http://gcfl.net/emailit.php?funny=20050107 The latest GCFL funny can always be found on the web at http://gcfl.net/latest.php
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Two friends are walking in the jungle. Suddenly a tiger appears in the distance running toward them. One friend pulls a pair of 'Nikes' out of his bag and quickly puts them on. With a surprised look, the other friend says, "You don't really think you can out run that tiger with those?" "I don't need to out run the tiger", his friend replies, "I just need to run faster than you".
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We love ‘em ... oldie but goodies

BAPTIZING A DRUNK

A man is stumbling through the woods, totally drunk, when he comes upon a preacher baptizing people in the river. He proceeds to walk into the water and subsequently bumps into the preacher.
The preacher turns around and is almost overcome by the smell of alcohol, whereupon he asks the drunk, "Are you ready to find Jesus?"
The drunk answers, "Yes, I am."
So the preacher grabs him and dunks him in the water.
He pulls him up and asks the drunk, "Brother have you found Jesus?"
The drunk replies, "No, I haven't found Jesus."
The preacher shocked at the answer, dunks him into the water again for a little longer. He again pulls him out of the water and asks again, "Have you found Jesus my brother?"
The drunk again answers, "No, I haven't found Jesus."
By this time the preacher is at his wits end a! nd dunks the drunk in the water again --- but this time holds him down for about 30 seconds and when he begins kicking his arms and legs he pulls him up.
The preacher again asks the drunk, "For the love of God have you found Jesus?"
(Are ya ready for this??????????????????)
The drunk wipes his eyes and catches his breath and says to the preacher, "Are you sure this is where he fell in?"

Thanks to Julie Morris
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Welcome to You Make Me Laugh, a free newsletter from Crosswalk.com, the world's largest Christian website.
Today's Clean Laugh

Restaurant Return

An out-of-towner in New York at the height of the tourist season decided to revisit an uptown restaurant he'd enjoyed on a previous trip to the city.

Finally catching the eye of an overworked waiter, he said, "You know, it's been over five years since I first came in here."

"You'll have to wait your turn, sir," replied the busy waiter. "I can only serve one table at a time."

*Thanks to Pastor Tim for this joke!*
http://www.cybersalt.org/cleanlaugh

Colonial Break

A company offered tours through the historic district, led by guides dressed in Colonial clothing. While leading a group, one of the guides, tripped and fell, breaking his wrist.

He went to the hospital, and as he sat waiting in the emergency room, a policeman walked by.

Doing a double take at him in his 18th-century garb he asked, "Just how long have you been waiting?"

*Thanks to Pastor Tim for this joke!*
http://www.cybersalt.org/cleanlaugh

Questions

A man took his son fishing one day. After a few hours in the boat with not much to do, the son started asking his father some questions.

"How does the boat float?" he asked.

The man thought about the question for a moment, then said, "I don't really know, son."

"Well, how do fish breath underwater?"

The man scratched his head. "I guess I don't know the answer to that one either."

"Why is the sky blue?" the boy persisted.

The father replied, "I really don't know, son."

The boy started to worry that his father was getting upset at all the questions. "Do you mind me asking questions, Dad?"

His father immediately reassured him. "No, of course not, son! If you don't ask questions, you'll never learn anything!"

*Thanks to Pastor Tim for this joke!*
http://www.cybersalt.org/cleanlaugh

Dog Exercises

You've seen those fitness ads on TV promising amazing results from all sorts of contraptions. Well, there's no need to invest in fancy equipment. If you have (or can borrow) a dog, you have everything you need to get in shape now. The following exercises can be done anywhere, anytime.

Inner Thighs: Place the dog's favorite toy between thighs. Press tighter than the dog can pull. Do not attempt bare legged - dogs who favor shortcuts to success will just dig the toy out. You could be damaged.

Upper Body Strength: Lift the dog - off the couch, off the bed, out of the flower bed. Repeat, repeat, repeat. As the dog ages, this exercise is reversed - onto the couch, onto the bed, into the car and so on.

Balance and Coordination, Exercise 1: Remove your puppy from unsuitable tight places. If they're too small for him, they're certainly too small for you. Do it anyway!

Balance and Coordination, Exercise 2: Practice not falling when your dog bounds across the full length of the room, sails through the air, and slams both front paws into the back of your knees.

Balance and Coordination, Exercise 3: (for use with multiple dogs) Remove all dogs from lap and answer the phone before it stops ringing.

Balance and Coordination, Exercise 4: (alternate) For older dogs, attempt to cross a room without tripping over the dog. Get off your couch without crushing any part of a sleeping elderly dog.

Upper Arms: Throw the ball. Throw the squeaky toy. Throw the Frisbee. Repeat until nauseous.

Upper Arms: (alternate) Tug the rope. Tug the pull toy. Tug the sock. Repeat until your shoulder is dislocated or the dog gives up (we all know which comes first).

Hand Coordination: Remove foreign object from dog's locked jaw. This exercise is especially popular with puppy owners. Repeat. Repeat. Repeat. Remember, this is a timed exercise. Movements must be quick and precise (think concert pianist) to prevent trips to the vet, which only offer the minimal exercise benefit of jaw firming clenches.

Calves: After the dog has worn out the rest of your body, hang a circular toy on your ankle and let the dog tug while you tug back. WARNING: This is feasible only for those with strong bones and small dogs. Have you taken your calcium supplement today?

Calves: (alternate) Run after dog - pick any reason, there are plenty. Dogs of any size can be used for this exercise. Greyhounds are inadvisable.

Neck Muscles: Attempt to outmaneuver the canine tongue headed for your ear, mouth, or eyeball. This is a lifelong fitness program. A dog is never too old or too feeble to "kiss" you when you least expect it.

*Thanks to Pastor Tim for this joke!*
http://www.cybersalt.org/cleanlaugh

*Eye Laugh*

"Location"
http://www.cybersalt.org/g05.php?id=58

"Urgent Paging"
http://www.cybersalt.org/g05.php?id=59

"Supply Smuggling"
http://www.cybersalt.org/g05.php?id=60

"PJs Aren't"
http://www.cybersalt.org/g05.php?id=61

Daily devotionals are available at http://link.Crosswalk.Com/UM/T.asp?A1. 39. 17757. 1. 494611 You can access more information on Crosswalk's Fun page http://www.Crosswalk.Com/fun/! Crosswalk gives credit to the author of a joke when author is known. Feel free to send notification to admin@cybersalt.org in cases where credit has not been given to the author! -SUBSCRIPTION INFO- * Copyright2004 Crosswalk.Com, Inc. and its Content Providers. All rights reserved. Introducing www.Crossguide.Com Where Christians find Products, Services & Ministries.
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"Don't strive for recognition, but work for achievement." -- Vanessa Malone
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Madeleine Begun Kane Latest Columns - - http://www.madkane.com/traveling_baggage_humor.html - - Traveling Baggage "Vacation travel. A time to relax, mellow out, let loose and forget your cares. To indulge yourself, boogie till dawn, gorge on gourmet fare. To spend an entire day shopping for a "must have" item you forgot to pack..."
http://www.madkane.com
http://www.madkane.com/notable.html (Notables Weblog)
http://www.madkane.com/bush.html (Dubya's Dayly Diary)
Subscribe to MadKane Humor Newsletter (weekly) here:
http://www.madkane.com/email.html
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Tropical Storm Arlene: National Hurricane Center - - http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/ / Projected Path - - http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/refresh/graphics_at1+shtml/085008.shtml?5day?large
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StudyStack - - http://www.studystack.com/ - - This site strives to help people learn what they want to learn. The StudyStack concept was designed to help people memorize information about various subjects. Using the StudyStack web site, you use your computer to display a stack of "virtual cards" which contain information about a certain subject. Just like flashcards, you can review the information at your own pace discarding the cards you've learned and keeping the ones you still need to review. However, unlike traditional flash cards, each card can show multiple pieces of information; and the whole stack can be automatically sorted by any one of the pieces of information.
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Country Insights - - http://globaledge.msu.edu/ibrd/CountryList.asp - - Current information on the business climate, news, history, political structure, economic landscape, and relevant statistical data are provided in a region and country-specific format, covering 196 countries. A rich collection of country and region specific international business links adds to the vast collection of information.
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Crossword Puzzle Games - - http://www.crosswordpuzzlegames.com/ - - This web site offers 32,400 free crossword puzzles and fun tools for people who enjoy word games. Get some help with a puzzle or create your own, free. Crosswords are divided into four categories. Each category has a different grid size. This makes some easier and faster to solve than others. Crossword puzzles for every occasion.
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TerraFly - - http://terrafly.fiu.edu/ - - TerraFly changes the way you view your world. Simply enter an address, and our system will put you at the controls of a bird's view aerial imagery to explore your digital earth. Related sites: TerraServer / GlobeXplorer / Space Imaging / Google Maps Satellite Feature
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American Journeys - - http://www.americanjourneys.org/ - - American Journeys contains more than 18,000 pages of eyewitness accounts of North American exploration, from the sagas of Vikings in Canada in AD1000 to the diaries of mountain men in the Rockies 800 years later.
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KidsHealth - - http://www.kidshealth.org/parent/ - - KidsHealth is the largest and most visited site on the Web providing doctor-approved health information about children from before birth through adolescence. Created by The Nemours Foundation's Center for Children's Health Media, the award-winning KidsHealth provides families with accurate, up-to-date, and jargon-free health information they can use.
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Roget's II: The New Thesaurus, Third Edition - - http://education.yahoo.com/reference/thesaurus/ - - Containing 260,000 synonyms and cross-references in an easy-to-use format, this thesaurus features succinct word definitions and an innovative hyperlinked category index.
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Google News - - http://news.google.com/ - - Google News presents information culled from approximately 4,500 news sources worldwide and automatically arranged to present the most relevant news first. Topics are updated continuously throughout the day, so you will see new stories each time you check the page. Google has developed an automated grouping process for Google News that pulls together related headlines and photos from thousands of sources worldwide - enabling you to see how different news organizations are reporting the same story. You pick the item that interests you, then go directly to the site which published the account you wish to read.
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"Health experts increasingly are faulting a recent study by scientists at the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that concluded obesity is not nearly as dangerous as was thought and that being a little plump might actually lower the risk of death. At a news conference, CDC chief Dr. Julie Gerberding acknowledged potential flaws in the study and pledged to get scientists and the public back on track. 'It is not OK to be overweight. People need to be fit, they need to have a healthy diet, they need to exercise,' she said. 'I'm very sorry for the confusion that these scientific discussions have had.' Obesity raises the risk of heart disease, some cancers, diabetes and arthritis, and being overweight raises blood pressure and cholesterol, which in turn raise the risk of heart disease, she noted."
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"The proportion of U.S. adults contemplating or attempting suicide stayed about the same over the last decade, while the availability of treatment increased and the actual suicide rate fell, a study said on May 24, 2005. The finding raises questions about whether effective help reaches the neediest people in time, said the report published in the Journal of the American Medical Association. It also renews concerns about adverse reactions to heavily prescribed antidepressant drugs that some say can initially trigger suicidal thoughts in some patients, particularly the young. Twin surveys covering nearly 10,000 American adults aged 18 to 54 taken from 1990 to 1992 and 2001 to 2003 showed 3 percent reported thoughts of suicide over the previous year, 1 percent hatched suicide plans, 0.6 percent attempted suicide, and 0.2 percent made a suicide attempt or 'gesture' they knew would not succeed. All categories except the last increased marginally over the decade, the report said."
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"Therapy that includes medications to reduce high blood pressure and to lower lipid levels can reduce risk for heart disease, but within six months, more than a third of patients fail to take one or both medications as prescribed, according to a study in the May 23 issue of Archives of Internal Medicine, one of the JAMA/Archives journals. Patients with both high blood pressure and dyslipidemia (high lipid levels), are at substantially greater risk of coronary heart disease (CHD) events, such as heart attack, than those with either condition alone, according to background information in the article. The current study was designed to study how well patients with both conditions adhere to a drug regimen including both anti-hypertensive (AH, blood pressure lowering) and lipid-lowering (LL) medications."
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"A group of World War II veterans has set the record straight about the role their ship, the USS Achernar, played in the D-Day invasion of France 61 years ago today. The Achernar, an attack cargo ship, was one of four command vessels for the D-Day mission. Its role was detailed in a June 1944 account in Life magazine, which described the ship loaded with communications equipment to help choreograph the invasion. But for security reasons, the reporter gave the ship a false name: USS Acamar. That precaution has created frustration for veterans ever since. 'I've been trying since the war was over to get the ship recognized properly,' said Phil Gentilcore, 82, who was a gunner's mate. Gentilcore and eight other veterans of the Achernar gathered Saturday to receive citations commending the ship's role - and recognizing it by its actual name."
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"Debunking the myth that exercising to lose excess body fat, unlike dieting alone, comes at a cost to bone health, researchers at Johns Hopkins have determined that for those age 55 to 75, a moderate program of physical exercise generally maintains bone mass and, in some cases, offers modest improvements. The Hopkins team showed, in a study to be published in the June issue of the American Journal of Preventive Medicine, that after six months of aerobic exercise on a treadmill, bicycle or stepper, plus weightlifting, subjects experienced better overall fitness and fat loss without much change in bone mineral density. A more detailed analysis revealed slight gains in bone mass, of 1 percent to 2 percent, for those who exercised hardest and showed the greatest increases in aerobic fitness, muscle strength and muscle tissue. The Hopkins study is believed to be the first to evaluate the effects of exercise independently from other factors, primarily diet, on bone mineral density, a strong gauge of bone health, against the risk of osteoporosis and bone fracture. Indeed, the researchers believe that more intense exercise may demonstrate significantly increased bone mass."
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"The Andromeda galaxy just got bigger -- three times bigger, astronomers said on May 30, 2005. The galaxy is not actually expanding. But new measurements suggest that the nearest galaxy to our own Milky Way is three times broader than astronomers had thought. They now believe a thin sprinkling of stars once thought to be a halo is in fact part of Andromeda's main disk. That makes the spiral galaxy, so close to Earth that it appeared as a fuzzy blob to the ancients, more than 220,000 light-years across -- triple the previous estimate of 70,000 to 80,000 light-years. It appears that the outer fringes of the disk were made when smaller galaxies slammed together, they told a meeting of the American Astronomical Society in Minneapolis."
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"Hurricane-force winds are most likely to strike this year in Cape Hatteras, N.C., and Miami Beach and Naples, Fla., according to an analysis of coastal cities by a University of Central Florida professor and a Georgia researcher released May 27, 2005. UCF statistics professor Mark Johnson and Chuck Watson, founder of the Kinetic Analysis Corp. of Savannah, Ga., analyzed 35 cities on the Atlantic Ocean and Gulf of Mexico coasts. The probabilities of hurricane force winds, meaning winds of 74 mph or greater, striking other U.S. cities include 9.12 percent for West Palm Beach, Fla., 6.87 percent for New Orleans; 6.66 percent for Wilmington, N.C., and 5.08 percent for Charleston, S.C."
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"Just six minutes of intense exercise a week could be as effective as an hour of daily moderate activity suggests new findings from researchers at McMaster University. 'Short bouts of very intense exercise improved muscle health and performance comparable to several weeks of traditional endurance training,' says Martin Gibala, an associate professor in the department of kinesiology of McMaster. The research, which is published in the June edition of the Journal of Applied Physiology, found that performing repeated bouts of high-intensity "sprint"-type exercise resulted in profound changes in skeletal muscle and endurance capacity, similar to training that requires hours of exercise each week."
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| Safety From The Heart |

June 9, 2005
Using the Jaws of Life
Dick Waller (a Houston Albemarle employee).
____________________________________

OK folks, yours truly got to cut up a Mustang the other day on Spencer Hwy using the Jaws Of Life to remove a young girl who had been in an accident. Wasn't her fault, but she was still the one going to the hospital !!!

Sit at a red light and count the cars that run the light. Please watch out for the other guy. It is getting very scary on the roads.

p.s. I like cutting up Ford's....most Chevy people do !!
-~=+=~- -~=+=~- -~=+=~- -~=+=~- -~=+=~-
June 8, 2005
Talk to Your Kids
Joey Sloop.
____________________________________

Below is an article from the Washington Post on the surprising results of a study on teens pledging abstinence. Read the article for yourself and see what your conclusions are, but the long and short of it is this:

Parents are not doing their part to educate children on sex and the possible consequences!

I know it is embarrassing to talk to your children about sex! It is embarrassing enough to watch TV with your family and have to explain what a tampon is to your seven-year-old son. Heaven forbid the kids see the commercial about drugs that prevent the outbreak of genital herpes or what Viagra does and why one would need it!

However, at some time (sooner than ever before) your kids are going to hear it at school, and if what your kids hear is coming from the same misinformed population as discussed in the article below, your child's health is in danger! You are the adult; it is your responsibility to make sure your child knows what is fact and what is dangerous.

Read the article, think about what it would feel like to have to take your teenager to the doctor for a shot of penicillin, and see if you can't work up the courage to do what must be done.
____________________________________

Teen Pledges Barely Cut STD Rates, Study Says

By Ceci Connolly
Washington Post Staff Writer
Saturday, March 19, 2005; Page A03

Teenagers who take virginity pledges -- public declarations to abstain from sex -- are almost as likely to be infected with a sexually transmitted disease as those who never made the pledge, an eight-year study released yesterday found.

Although young people who sign a virginity pledge delay the initiation of sexual activity, marry at younger ages and have fewer sexual partners, they are also less likely to use condoms and more likely to experiment with oral and anal sex, said the researchers from Yale and Columbia universities.

"The sad story is that kids who are trying to preserve their technical virginity are, in some cases, engaging in much riskier behavior," said lead author Peter S. Bearman, a professor at Columbia's Institute for Social and Economic Research and Policy. "From a public health point of view, an abstinence movement that encourages no vaginal sex may inadvertently encourage other forms of alternative sex that are at higher risk of STDs."

Rates of Disease

The findings are based on the federally funded National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health, a survey begun in 1995 that tracked 20,000 young people from high school to young adulthood. At the start of the project, the students were 12 to 18 years old and agreed to detailed, sexually explicit interviews. They were re-interviewed in 1997 and again in 2002, when 11,500 also provided urine samples.

Virginity pledges emerged in the early 1990s based on the theory that young people would remain chaste if they had stronger community support -- or pressure -- to remain abstinent. Programs vary, but in most cases teenagers voluntarily sign a pledge or publicly announce their intention to abstain from sex. Often pledgers receive a pin or ring to symbolize the promise and team up with an "accountability partner."

Since it was founded in 1993, the virginity group True Love Waits claims 2.4 million youths have signed a card stating: "Believing that true love waits, I make a commitment to God, myself, my family, those I date, and my future mate to be sexually pure until the day I enter marriage."

The study, published in the Journal of Adolescent Health, found that 20 percent of those surveyed said they had taken a virginity pledge. Bearman and co-author Hannah Bruckner broke them into two categories -- "inconsistent pledgers" and "consistent pledgers" -- to reflect the fact that some changed their status or their responses between interviews. Among those youngsters, 61 percent of the consistent pledgers and 79 percent of the inconsistent pledgers reported having intercourse before marrying or prior to 2002 interviews.

Almost 7 percent of the students who did not make a pledge were diagnosed with an STD, compared with 6.4 percent of the "inconsistent pledgers" and 4.6 percent of the "consistent pledgers." Bearman said those differences were not "statistically significant," although Robert Rector, who studies domestic policy issues at the conservative Heritage Institute, said he interpreted the data to mean that young people committed to the abstinence pledge were less likely to become infected.

The study did not detect major geographic differences but found that minorities were far more likely to have an STD. About one quarter of African American girls in the survey tested positive for at least one STD in 2002.

In terms of high-risk behavior, the raw numbers were small, but the gap was statistically significant, Bearman said. Just 2 percent of youth who never took a pledge said they had had anal or oral sex but not intercourse, compared with 13 percent of "consistent pledgers."

Debate on Abstinence

The report sparked an immediate, bitter debate over the wisdom of teaching premarital abstinence.

Deborah Roffman, an educator and author of "Sex and Sensibility: The Thinking Parent's Guide to Talking Sense About Sex," said youths who take virginity pledges are often undereducated about sexual health. "Kids who are engaging in oral sex or anal sex will tell you they are practicing abstinence because they haven't had 'real sex' yet," she said.

Ralph DiClemente, a professor at Emory University's School of Public Health in Atlanta, compared virginity pledges to adults' efforts to make New Year's resolutions.

"I wish it was that easy. We'd all be a lot healthier," he said. "If we can't do it as adults, why would we expect kids to be able to handle those issues?"

But Joe S. McIlhaney Jr., chairman of the Medical Institute for Sexual Health, said the study offers an incomplete picture because it could not say whether sexually active teens who did not take a pledge had been pregnant or treated for an STD before the 2002 testing. The analysis "doesn't prove or disprove" assertions that virginity pledges are flawed, he said.

On the other hand, Bill Smith, public policy vice president for the Sexuality Information and Education Council of the United States, said, "Not only do virginity pledges not work to keep our young people safe, they are causing harm by undermining condom use, contraception and medical treatment."

Conservative academics said the paper overlooked earlier important findings about adolescents who take virginity pledges, most notably that they have fewer pregnancies and out-of-wedlock births.

"It's hugely successful on those variables," Rector said. "Bearman has focused in on the one variable he thinks can show they [pledgers] don't do better."

President Bush has requested $206 million in federal funding for abstinence-only programs this year.

Several True Love Waits officials were unavailable Friday, according to a receptionist. Telephone calls to another virginity group, the Silver Ring Thing, were not returned.
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June 7, 2005
from Christi Roberts (a Houston Albemarle employee).
____________________________________

I'm still amazed by the number of people who fail to wear safety belts. Fines related to the "Click It or Ticket" campaign should be a motivator but the pain of an accident, if you're fortunate enough to survive, should be THE motivator.

"Safety belts are the most effective protection in vehicle crashes. A crash actually consists of three collisions.

The first is when the car hits something and comes to an abrupt stop.

The second collision occurs when unbelted occupants continue to travel at the vehicle's original speed and hit a part of the vehicle such as the steering wheel or windshield. Safety belts help restrain occupants from hitting internal parts of the vehicle and from being ejected.

The third collision is the internal organs moving at the original travel speed until they hit other organs or the skeletal system. These internal injuries can be severe and fatal.

Properly fastened safety belts distribute forces from the crash across larger and stronger areas of the body to help decrease the potential for injury. Of passenger vehicle occupants in fatal crashes in 2003, 73% of people who were restrained survived, but of those who were not restrained, only 42% survived."

Source: Air Bag & Seat Belt Campaign
National Safety Belt Coalition
NHTSA, "Sudden Impact"
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June 6, 2005
from Brett Sakahara (a Houston Albemarle employee).
____________________________________

Use the right PPE for the task. Here at the lab we use various types of gloves mostly nitrile Lt. blue type; however, these gloves provide very little protection against aniline. For aniline butyl rubber is best; however, butyl rubber does very little to protect you from heptane or hexane.

Just because you have gloves on does not mean you are protected. Consult operating procedures and MSDS sheets for proper protection. If you still have questions, try these web sites.

www.ansell-edmont.com/download/
Ansell_7thEditionChemicalResistanceGuide.pdf

www.tasco-safety.com/workgloves/chem.html

http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/chem-inx.html (this site lists PPE)
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SUMMER HEAT
from Chet StRomain (a Houston Albemarle employee).
____________________________________

I have a lot of outdoor work that needs to get done this weekend. I was looking at the weather forecast and saw a high of 97 predicted for Saturday......OUCH. Time to start thinking about the effects of heat as we work and/or exercise. Below are some tips I got online from the CDC. Some are pretty obvious, others are more subtle - like avoiding alcoholic beverages (darn - I hate that one!).

Speaking of alcoholic beverages......here's a sobering thought - From 1979 to 1999, excessive heat exposure caused 8,015 deaths in the United States. During this period, more people in this country died from extreme heat than from hurricanes, lightning, tornadoes, floods, and earthquakes combined. In 2001, 300 deaths were caused by excessive heat exposure.

The best defense is prevention. Here are some prevention tips:

Drink more fluids (nonalcoholic), regardless of your activity level. Don't wait until you're thirsty to drink. Warning: If your doctor generally limits the amount of fluid you drink or has you on water pills, ask him how much you should drink while the weather is hot.

Don't drink liquids that contain caffeine, alcohol, or large amounts of sugar? These actually cause you to lose more body fluid. Also, avoid very cold drinks, because they can cause stomach cramps.

Stay indoors and, if at all possible, stay in an air-conditioned place. If your home does not have air conditioning, go to the shopping mall or public library? Even a few hours spent in air conditioning can help your body stay cooler when you go back into the heat. Call your local health department to see if there are any heat-relief shelters in your area.

Electric fans may provide comfort, but when the temperature is in the high 90s, fans will not prevent heat-related illness. Taking a cool shower or bath, or moving to an air-conditioned place is a much better way to cool off.

Wear lightweight, light-colored, loose-fitting clothing.

NEVER leave anyone in a closed, parked vehicle.

Although any one at any time can suffer from heat-related illness, some people are at greater risk than others. Check regularly on:

Infants and young children People aged 65 or older People who have a mental illness Those who are physically ill, especially with heart disease or high blood pressure.

Cut down on exercise. If you must exercise, drink two to four glasses of cool, nonalcoholic fluids each hour. A sports beverage can replace the salt and minerals you lose in sweat. Warning: If you are on a low-salt diet, talk with your doctor before drinking a sports beverage. Remember the warning in the first tip (above), too.

Try to rest often in shady areas.

Protect yourself from the sun by wearing a wide-brimmed hat (also keeps you cooler) and sunglasses and by putting on sunscreen of SPF 15 or higher (the most effective products say "broad spectrum" or "UVA/UVB protection" on their labels).
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June 3
Prepared by Baton Rouge Tower Employee George Ricks
Cell Phone Use while Driving
____________________________________

Last weekend I made a trip to town to get some dog feed and other supplies.
It was about a 10 mile drive to Amite to the feed store. After a couple of miles I proceeded to pass a car that was ahead of me. As I was just about even with the car, I noticed that it was crossing the center line and getting very close to me. I immediately moved to the left, hit my horn, and observed the other driver dialing a cell phone with both hands. I don't know how she was steering the automobile. It must have been on auto-pilot. Nevertheless, I successfully passed her and went on to town. About 20 minutes later I was returning home when I observed flashing lights in the highway. It was a state policeman writing up an accident. Yes, it was the same "cell phone" driver. Apparently she had sideswiped someone else that attempted to pass her while she was dialing her friends. Thank goodness it was not a head on collision, for it would have been much worse.

Enough said!
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TOURBUS - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -:)
-- :) :) ----------------------------------
Volume 10, Number 60 -- 25 May 2005
Tourbus Home - http://www.TOURBUS.com
Tourbus News Service - http://tourbus.com/news.html
----------------------------------------------------
Today's Tourbus Topic: Windows XP Pro x64

Howdy, y'all, and greetings once again from deep behind the orange curtain in beautiful Irvine, California, which is caused by a relatively rapid increase in the population of phytoplankton algae in an aquatic system.

----------------------------------------
Windows XP Professional x64 Edition
Audience: Not as many as you would think
----------------------------------------

Over the next few weeks your favorite media outlets are going to tell you about a new version of Windows XP--"Windows XP Professional x64 Edition"--that is faster and more efficient, supports up to 128 *gigabytes* of RAM [250 to 500 times more RAM than most XP users currently have], and even lets you run two single or multicore processors at the same time. This new version of Windows is a godsend for anyone who does processor-intensive academic research or corporate database manipulation. Best of all, if you already have Windows XP Professional running on your computer, you can upgrade to Windows XP Professional x64 Edition at no charge.

Related News - http://www.tourbus.com/windows-x64-news.html

So, you should rush out and upgrade to this new version of Windows immediately, right? WRONG! What the media ISN'T going to tell you is that unless you routinely use your computer to do complex arithmetic functions with integers between 0 and 18,446,744,073,709,551,615 [the amount of pennies under Bill Gates' couch cushion], Windows XP Professional x64 Edition simply isn't meant for you. Worse still, you have to have a special type of computer--one with a brand new Intel Xeon, Intel Itanium, or AMD Athlon 64 processor running inside of it-- to be able to run this new version of Windows.

How can you tell what type of processor is inside of your computer?
Simple!

1. Go to Start > Run
2. In the box that appears, type sysdm.cpl
3. Press the Enter key on your keyboard

This opens your computer's System Properties control panel. You can also get to the System Properties control panel by pressing both the Windows [flag] key and the Pause/Break key at the same time or by right-clicking on your My Computer icon and choosing Properties. But where's the fun in that?

In the System Properties control panel, the first thing that appears is the General tab. In the top right quadrant of the general tab, find out what operating system you are running. To be able to upgrade to the new version of XP you MUST be running Windows XP Professional. If you see the words "Home Edition," "Windows ME," "Windows 98," "Windows 95," or "Greetings Professor Falken, shall we play a game," anywhere on the general tab, you're out of luck. Windows XP Professional x64 Edition will not run on your computer [although you can still play a nice game of global thermonuclear war on that last example.]

Once you have verified you're running Windows XP Professional, glance at the bottom right quadrant of the General tab and look for the words "Xeon," "Itanium," or "Athlon 64." If you *DON'T* see any of these words--if, instead, you see the words "Pentium," "Celeron," Centrino," Duron," "Athlon," "Boron," "Cesium," "Gluttony," "Sloth," "Avarice," or anything else [including no words at all]--walk away. There's nothing to see here. Windows XP Professional x64 Edition will *NOT* run on your computer.

Related News - http://www.tourbus.com/64-bit-news.html

If, however, you do have a Xeon, Itanium, or Athlon 64 processor, you're good to go. Your computer is [probably] powerful enough to run Windows XP Professional x64 Edition. Hop on over to this website to exchange your old, 32-bit version of Windows XP Pro for a new copy of Windows XP Professional x64 Edition.

http://microsoft.productorder.com/clientx64

BUT be aware that 64-bit device drivers are as rare as elephants in Antarctica. Many of your computer's peripherals including your DVD burner, sound card, and home-built PVR interface will probably not work once you upgrade to Windows XP Professional x64 Edition.

So, to sum up, there is a new version of Windows XP specifically designed for processor-intensive academic research and corporate database manipulation. You can upgrade to this new version at no charge, but:

1. You have to be currently running Windows XP Professional.

2. You have to have a 64-bit processor like a Xeon, Itanium, or
Athlon 64.

3. Once you upgrade, your computer's peripherals may no longer
Work [at least until manufacturers start making 64-bit device
drivers.]

My suggestion: Even if you can upgrade to XP Professional x64, don't. Instead, wait until the next version of Windows (codename Longhorn) is released later this year. Not only will you get the latest operating system, my guess is that a LOT more peripherals will work with Longhorn than will work with XP Professional X64 [other things held equal.] I hope this helps!

Related News - http://www.tourbus.com/longhorn-news.html
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TODAY'S TOURBUS TOPIC: Disneyland's 50th

Howdy, y'all, and greetings once again from deep behind the orange curtain in beautiful Irvine, California, the safest city in America.

No, really. I know I make a lot of stuff up about Irvine [like saying it is the national beverage of Denmark] but this one's actually true. The US Federal Bureau of Investigation recently rated my beloved home towm of Irvine the safest large city in America. Check out http://tinyurl.com/ct6mv if you don't believe me. Go Irvine! :)

Related News: http://www.tourbus.com/irvine-california-news.html

-----------------------------
Disneyland's 50th Anniversary
Audience: Everyone
-----------------------------

The last time we talked [see http://archives.tourbus.com for my last post] I mentioned I was fortunate to attend the kickoff of Disneyland's 50th anniversary celebration last month. There are two wonderful websites that pretty much captured everything that happened at Disneyland on Wednesday, June 4th, the day that Disneyland was closed to everyone except invited guests, media, and your fearless bus driver. The first site is DizHub.com and you can find their 50th anniversary report at

http://www.dizhub.com/dh50threport.htm

Related News: http://www.tourbus.com/disney-news.html

"Tach" and "Macabri" at DizHub posted some magnificent pictures of Disneyland's new Parade of Dreams, the new additions to the Jungle Cruise, the gold carpet arrival ceremony [which we'll talk about in a bit], and the crowns that were added to the recently repainted Sleeping Beauty's castle.

The second site, MousePlanet.com, had a team of reporters crawling around the park on the 4th, and you can find their "Continuous coverage" pages at
http://www.mouseplanet.com/more/mm050504asa.htm

MousePlanet has four pages of live news, commentary, and photos from the celebration, although their pages follow the old accounting rule of "LIFO" or "last in, first out"--the oldest news is on the bottom of the pages and the newest is at the top. So you have to read each of the four pages from bottom to top to truly follow along. I think.

MousePlanet's coverage even includes a really cool picture of me.
Well, of my back. While most of the media spent the day interviewing Disney dignitaries or photographing all of Disneyland's new or updated attractions, since I was covering the anniversary for the Steve and Johnnie show on WGN Radio in Chicago [a show which doesn't begin until after 9:00 PM Pacific time], I spent most of Wednesday exploring Disneyland and riding the rides. In fact, if you take a look at the first picture on http://www.mouseplanet.com/more/mm050504asa.htm , that's me riding the Jungle Cruise with Pixar's John Lasseter. I'm the one with the blue polo and baseball cap. I'll never wash that baseball cap again. :P

Related News: http://www.tourbus.com/pixar-news.html

If you want to see Disneyland's new parade or fireworks, I strongly recommend you pay a visit to Anaheim. The parade is okay, but the fireworks are downright awesome. A hint, though: The best place to see the fireworks is in front of the castle to the castle's center or center right. If you can't make it to Anaheim, two sites recently posted amateur video of Disneyland's new fireworks. The first site is at

http://www.visionsfantastic.com/visions/dlr/main/shows.html

Be aware that Visions Fantastic's videos are absolutely *HUGE* [they're approximately 40 megabytes each]. And their fireworks video was shot to the left of the castle, which you'll soon see is not the best viewing spot. The second fireworks video site is at

http://www.laughingplace.com/Lotion-View-72.asp

Finally, I guess I should talk about the gold carpet. As I said earlier, Disneyland was closed on Wednesday, May 4th, to everyone except invited guests and media. Later than night, Disneyland held an invitation-only party along the banks of the Rivers of America for Disney executives, VIPs, Hollywood celebrities, and invited guests. To welcome the party's guests, Disneyland laid out a *HUGE* gold carpet that stretched all the way down Main Street to Adventureland. You can see a picture of the gold carpet at

http://www.dizhub.com/4th/g02.jpg

The west side of the gold carpet [the right side of the picture] was reserved for celebrities and there were literally hundreds of media four-deep all the way down the west side of main street. The east side of the gold carpet was for invited guests and there were HUNDREDS of Disneyland cast members on this side to welcome the guests and make them feel like stars.

I spent about an hour over on the media side of the street when it finally dawned on my that I'M IN RADIO, and only peripherally at that. And arrival ceremonies make really boring radio! So I snuck down to the beginning of Main Street, picked up a pair of gold Mickey Mouse ears, and walked down the gold carpet. :)

Everything was going great--the cast members were all clapping and saying "welcome home" -- and I walking down the gold carpet shaking hands and giving high fives at a rather brisk pace. So brisk, in fact, that I didn't realize that Art Linkletter had crossed over to my side of the carpet and had stopped directly in front of me.

Fortunately, an accident was averted. But I can honestly say that in the same day, I rode the Jungle Cruise with John Lasseter and almost knocked down Art Linkletter on Main Street.

Related News - http://www.tourbus.com/art-linkletter-news.html

+---------------------------------------+
==[ Tourbus Rider Information ]=
The Internet Tourbus - U.S. Library of Congress ISSN #1094-2238
Copyright 1995-2005, Rankin & Crispen - All rights reserved
Tourbus News Service - http://tourbus.com/news.html
Subscribe, Signoff, Archives, Free Stuff and More at the
Tourbus Website - http://www.TOURBUS.com
========================
.~~~. ))
(\__/) .' ) )) Patrick Douglas Crispen
/o o \/ .~
{o_, \ { crispen@netsquirrel.com
/ , , ) \ http://www.netsquirrel.com/
`~ -' \ } )) AOL Instant Messenger: Squirrel2K
_( ( )_.'
---..{____} Warning: squirrels.

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Our Church, Magnolia Christian Center, has the following mission statement. Our purpose is to build a great church for the glory of God through the great commission and the great commandment. MCC' Vision - That MCC will be a place hopping with children, energized with teenagers, balanced with diversity and transformed by the power of God! We want to turn uninterested people into interested people and win the lost to make fully devoted followers of Christ.
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TGIF-Today God Is First


Are You a Threat?
---------------------------
Friday, June 10, 2005
by Os Hillman

One day the evil spirit answered them, "Jesus I know, and I know about Paul, but who are you?" ~ Acts 19:15

Are you a threat to the kingdom of darkness? If satan and his demons had a board meeting and your name came before the board, what would they say? Would they say that you are one of their most feared enemies and they needed to keep many demons harassing and opposing you? Or would they say, "Gentlemen, this person poses no threat to our activities. Leave him alone. He needs no help from us." There are millions of church-going believers sitting in pews Sunday after Sunday who pose little threat to the kingdom of darkness.

If we truly believe that we war against rulers and principalities that cannot be seen, then we must realize that their mandate is to hinder any believer who is seeking to walk in the fullness of God. However, "greater is He that is in you, than he that is in the world" (1 Jn. 4:4b KJV).

If you are seeking to fully follow the Lord, you can expect harassment from the enemy. God permits temptation because it drives us deeper into the soil of God. These times reveal God's power to keep us and walk us through the temptations. Our message becomes fruitful when it is born out of obedience and suffering for His name. Do not consider it strange if you find yourself fighting major battles the more obedient you become to the Master. God desires each of us to become a feared enemy of hell in order to affect satan's domain. When you begin to feel harassed, chances are you are beginning to affect the kingdom of darkness, and satan doesn't like this. So, how many demons do you think are assigned to you?
~=|=~

Power of the Tongue
------------------------------
Thursday, June 09, 2005

The tongue has the power of life and death, and those who love it will eat its fruit. ~ Proverbs 18:21

Words have the power to motivate or destroy, energize or deflate, inspire or create despair. Many successful executives can remember the time their father failed to give affirmation to them as a child. The result was either overachievement to prove their worth, or underachievement to prove he was right.

Many a wife has lost her ability to love because of a critical husband. Many a husband has left a marriage because of words of disrespect and ungratefulness. Stories abound regarding the power of words. There are just as many stories of those who have been encouraged, challenged, and comforted with words that made a difference in their lives.

Jesus knew the power of words. He used parables to convey His principles of the Kingdom of God. He used words of forgiveness and mercy. He used words to challenge. He used words to inspire His disciples to miraculous faith.

Do your words give life? Do they inspire and challenge others to greatness? Who does God want you to encourage through your words today? Affirm someone close to you today.
~=|=~

Forgiving Ourselves
--------------------------------
Wednesday, June 08, 2005

If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. ~ 1 John 1:9

The apostle Peter was one of three disciples who walked with Jesus closer than the other nine. He was the most enthusiastic and the one man who was willing to step into territories where others would not dare. He was the first to step out of the boat and walk on water. He wanted to protect Jesus at times when Jesus rebuked him for having a demon influence him. He cut off the ear of the guard who wanted to arrest Jesus in the garden. As Peter matured, the Holy Spirit harnessed his many extreme emotions.

The greatest trial for Peter was when he denied the Lord just before Jesus was crucified. Three times he denied knowing Jesus. Jesus predicted that the cock would crow after the third time just to reinforce the prophecy to Peter. Peter was crushed when he realized he had failed His Lord so badly.

The Lord forgave Peter for his denial. However, gaining forgiveness from Jesus was not the most difficult part for Peter. The hard part was forgiving himself. As we mature in the faith, we begin moving in victory after victory with our Lord. Then out of nowhere, an event happens that reveals our true sin nature, and we are confronted face to face with this reality. We cannot believe that we are capable of such sin. There is no good thing in us save the grace of Jesus Christ and His blood that cleanses us. When God looks at us, He looks at the blood of Christ that has covered our sin. He does not look at our sin once we confess it.

When we have difficulty forgiving ourselves, this is pride at its deepest level. We are making an assumption that we should never have sinned and that we are too mature to sin. This is a trap from the enemy of our souls. People who cannot forgive do not recognize from what they have been forgiven. That includes us.
~=|=~

Your Testimony
------------------------------------
Tuesday, June 07, 2005

I tell you the truth, we speak of what we know, and we testify to what we have seen, but still you people do not accept our testimony. ~ John 3:11


Over the last several years I have seen two distinct types of Christian workplace believers. One type enthusiastically teaches their Bible knowledge to others. These people, though they may be genuine in their motive, lack one essential ingredient to being effectively used by God - a testimony. The second type of people I have encountered has a genuine testimony of what God is doing and continues to do in their lives. This was the case in the early Church. Men and women were able to give powerful testimony of events and experiences that could only be explained as a work of God.

God desires to build a testimony in each of us. Each of us is one of God's chosen vessels to reflect His power in and through us. When others see this power reflected, they are impacted because they cannot explain that power. God desires to frame your life with experiences designed to reflect the character and nature of Christ. Sometimes these events can be very devastating, but they are designed to reveal His power in and through us.

Every one of us has a testimony. What would others say your testimony is today? Can others see God's work in your life? Is your testimony one of Bible knowledge only? Are things happening in your life that can only be explained as God? These can be problematic questions for each of us. Ask God to build a testimony of His life in and through you today.
~=|=~

Disobedience Rooted in Fear
------------------------------------
Monday, June 06, 2005

Then Moses said to them, "No one is to keep any of it until morning." ~ Exodus 16:19

Have you ever seen God do something really good in your life only to find that you have abused the blessing He gave you? Such was the case of the Israelites as they were traveling through the desert on their way to the Promised Land. God was providing for them in miraculous ways. Manna was provided each day as their bread. God gave Moses specific instructions as to how this manna was to be eaten. God said each one was to gather only what he needed for that day. No one was to keep it until the next morning.

"However, some of them paid no attention to Moses; they kept part of it until morning, but it was full of maggots and began to smell. So Moses was angry with them" (Ex. 16:20). God was teaching the Israelites daily trust in His provision for them. He wanted them to trust Him one day at a time. If they tried to hoard, God put a self-destruct feature in the manna. Yet God also told them to gather two days' worth on the sixth day so that they would have manna to eat on the seventh day. Interestingly, this manna did not stink or have maggots.

For many years I gathered manna in business out of fear of not having enough. One day, the Lord decided that manna should be destroyed in order for me to learn total trust in His provision. When we operate out of fear, we can expect the Lord to lovingly discipline us in order to help us learn to trust Him. There is a danger when we seek to "insure ourselves" against calamity. If your actions are born from fear, you can expect God to demonstrate His loving reproof so that you might not live in fear. ~=|=~
Copyright 2005. www.MarketplaceLeaders.org
---------------------------------------------------
To contact Os Hillman, request reprint permission, or to book Os to speak in your town write to os@marketplaceleaders.org. Marketplace Leaders Website: http://www.marketplaceleaders.org/ Copyright 2005
--------------------------------------------------
Please recommend this TGIF daily devotional to everyone interested in applying their faith to their worklife. Tell them to subscribe at http://www.TodayGodIsFirst.com
Os Hillman Copyright 2005
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Verse of the Day

… and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace; Eph 6:15

I know a great little shoe shop just down the street. Let’s leave the car parked and walk. I have a story to tell you.

Many years ago, just after I left the ministry, I took a job with a contractor who was building a multi-million dollar church building. I was familiar enough with the building trade to land a job as a carpenter. Remember, I had just left the ministry in which I had been employed for several years, and before that, I was a student. All of my clothes were either suits for preaching or dressy casual for socializing. As I dressed for my first day on the job, I filtered through my garments to find the most suitable clothing for the day. The shirt wasn’t too bad. The pants were ok. But the shoes! Oh, my! The only shoes I had to wear were a faux patent leather number with a rounded box toe and HIGH HEALS! Why I had ever bought them, I’ll never know, but that is what I wore.

Arriving at the job site, I soon discovered that we would be pouring cement for the basement floor. The ground was as rough as a plowed field in the winter. Heavy equipment had been moving around in mud … and the mud had dried into hard ridges. Can you imagine me walking around in that stuff in high healed dress shoes? Not only was I out of shape for construction work, I was ill dressed for the environment. You can probably guess how I felt at the end of the day! What’s more, I would have to wear those shoes until the first payday two weeks away. I figured I would simply die and be buried under the cement.

A couple of days later, I was asked to stop in at the local shoe store; there was only one in this community. I knew the owner a bit, and he asked me to have a seat. As I did, he pulled out a new pair of work boots and tried them on my aching feet. They felt great, the boots not the feet! I mentioned that I couldn’t afford them; I think the price was nearly $100.00 even in the ‘70s. He sat down beside me to tell me that they were already paid for. They were mine. I never did find out who my beneficiary was, nor did I discover how he or she knew the condition of my feet. The next day of work was much better. I could move freely amongst the ruts and ridges. I could climb the ladder to the main floor. I could hang with the best of the workers … all because I was properly shod.

Oh, here we are. Aren’t these great looking shoes? You know, the proper shoe is important for the balance of the whole body. It may seem strange that shoes are considered “armor”, but they are. Notice that some of these shoes are really armor plated. Some have steel toes. Others are more for recreation … look at those fancy tennis shoes! Yes, I know, they don’t look like any armor I’ve ever seen either, but they are. There are Christian soldiers whose armor is not intended for the rough terrain of mountain warfare, but work well for, as in this case, the Christian athlete.

Before we go in, remember that the shoes you pick out must fit not only your feet but the job the Lord has for you. Oh, one more thing. All of these shoes are made from the same great material … God’s peace. This stuff is strong, durable, comfortable, flexible, and good looking. God’s peace is the stuff that makes us comfortable in battle. Even in the midst of the toughest fighting, we can rest upon the foundation of God’s peace, the assurance that He is always there helping us fight the battle, protecting us, guiding us, providing for us as we do the tasks He has created us to do. We can honestly say that God’s peace is the foundation upon which we can build our lives.

Hey, those shoes look great! How do they feel? Would you like to wear them to the blacksmith’s place? That’s where we will pick up your next piece of armor – your shield. Ready? Let’s go!

Harley
~=|=~
Stand firm therefore, having girded your loins with truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness … Eph 6:14

So, how is the belt of truth feeling by now? You’ve had some time to get used to it as we move from the belt store in search of a Breastplate Boutique. Ah, here is a good one now. Let’s do a bit of window shopping before we enter. Look, all of these breastplates look wonderful. There are may different sizes and shapes. Even the colors are rich in the King’s royal dyes. What’s that? You don’t understand this righteousness thing? Let me try to help you.

Righteousness in this case means “right living”. No, it has no relationship to the Righteous Brothers singing group. Don’t wander. Keep your mind focused. Now, let’s get back to the point. Right living is not a force that brings us into right standing with God. That would bring us back to a doctrine of works … and we already know we can’t work our way into God’s good graces. This righteousness, this right living comes out of a relationship with the Father. We live right because we are His children. We live right because we want to please God because of what He has already done for us.

Look at it this way. For some reason Grandma Pat has latched on to you as her companion. You spend time with her because you want to … and she seems to take a “shining” to you. Your birthday comes; Grandma buys you a new computer. You stop by to say “thank you” and spend a few hours talking about what she has been doing and what you have accomplished since the last visit. The visits continue on a somewhat regular schedule. Christmas comes … and under the tree is a small box with your name on it. You open the small box and find a very rare gold coin … one you have only dreamed of having. You stop by Grandma Pat’s house to say “thank you”, and Grandma asks a small favor of you. You readily agree to help her neighbor by removing the old broken toilet from the neighbor’s bathroom and replace it with one of those new stools designed for the handicapped.

Why did you do that? Was it to endear yourself to Grandma? No, for some reason that has already happened. You did it because Grandma, who has blessed you so richly, asked you to do it. That is an example of the kind of righteousness Paul is talking about: good works performed BECAUSE you love God, not TO GET God’s love.

Ready? Let’s go in and see what they have in your size. Here, this one looks about right. Try it on. Let me fasten that buckle for you. How does it fit? You say you feel like nothing can touch you? That’s good. Righteousness does that for you. If you live a good life, no one will ever have grounds to attack your character. That’s the whole point of righteousness. Live right, live well – at least in somewhat “normal” times.

Yes, righteousness is a rather “old fashioned” concept. It is other oriented, and most modern people tend to be rather “me-centric”. I know, that’s not a word, but it fits. Modern society puts a premium on “what’s in it for me?” Even the “other-centric” works they do tend to have a bit of a self-advancing undertone. I tried on that “breastplate” for a while … and felt rather naked. I never knew if my good works were good enough for whoever I was trying to impress.

The righteousness we are fitting into today takes all of that uncertainty away. I know I am good enough for God … because He tells me I am. My goodness comes from Him. My good deeds come because of His goodness towards me.

There, that looks “mahvalous dawling!” Next we absolutely must get you some new shoes! Those things you are wearing are absolutely atrocious!

Harley
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Stand firm therefore, having girded your loins with truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, Eph. 6:14

Do you get the idea that Paul wants us to be able to “stand firm”? He uses that word (yes, it is the same Greek word in all three verses) in verse 11, verse 13, and in today’s verse. Always it has the meaning of standing, unflinchingly, in the face of the enemy. Today, he informs us that we stand firm after having girded … Now, let’s go armor shopping!

We need a belt. Every self-respecting armor wearer must have a belt for it is to this part of the armor that all the rest is anchored. You might call it a “foundation garment” in the general sense of the word. Now look at this store. It sells a nice variety of belts. Make sure the belt fits well. Here, try this one on. A little heavy? Try this one. Have you noticed that all of these belts are made the same … including the same material. All of them are strong yet flexible enough to move with the movements of your body. The material is an unusual stuff by today’s standards. What’s that you say? You haven’t seen much of that in the stores you visit? Quite true. This store may seem a bit outdated, but the products are good. What is that material? Oh, I should have told you. It is truth, unvarnished, untainted, 100% pure truth.

Yes, I know the other stores sell something similar, but have you taken a good look at their version? First, look at this. There are no holes to show weakness. It is good and thick providing a solid foundation. Note also that it is tried and true. It has been around for generations and has never failed. Now take a look at this modern version. Isn’t it nice that the store manager keeps a sample here for comparison? See how thin it is? Look, here it is too flexible. It bends with every little weight put on it. You need something that will not give in the heat of battle; this will bend and gouge your side something fierce. Then look at this. See how rigid it is at this place. While on the one place it is too flexible, here where it counts to be giving and forgiving it is far to hard. Yes, it is a double standard. Now look at this part. See how full of holes it is? Looks like Swiss cheese doesn’t it? Can you imagine what will happen if that should get caught on a stone … or an enemy arrow should strike there? Caught, it would break far too easily. And the arrow? Well, if it hit near one of those holes, there would be absolutely no protection. You would get that piercing pain in the side you try to avoid.

Here, this one looks just your size. Try it on. Ah, the truth fits every time. Now loosen the belt just a bit. You want it to ride on you hips, not squeeze your gut. There, how’s that fit? What’s that? Where does this quality of truth come from? Good question. Truth comes from the Word of God … the sound doctrinal teachings of something like Paul’s letter to the Ephesians – that’s right, the first three chapters. God is Truth. His Word is truth. Meditate on it day and night and you will find the source of truth.

Ok. Next we must go to another store, one that has a good supply of breastplates. No, that’s ok. The bill has already been paid. Jesus paid it for you. No, you don’t have to pay Him back. No, you don’t have to buy any of your armor. It is supplied for you, but you must choose wisely as you pick the pieces. They must fit perfectly or they will pinch and rub and wear heavily.

Ok. Let’s go to the Breastplate Store.

Harley
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Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. (Ephesians 6:13, NIV)

Just as any good soldier had gone through basic training followed by specialist schools, so must the Christian soldier prepare. Way back in our discussion of Ephesians 3:8 (February 9th) I used a fictional story of the Final War. In that story, an old man was drafted, equipped with a broom for a gun and a pencil for a bayonet. He was told to go “bang, bang, stab, stab” and the enemy would drop dead. The only problem he faced was the enemy who ran over him saying, “clank, clank, tank, tank”. In that discussion the point was that God is giving us unlimited resources. Now, when we look at that story, we can see additional implications. (If you did not receive that VOD, I would be happy to forward it to you.) The old man was sent out unprepared in more ways than one. Obviously he was under-equipped. Even worse than being poorly equipped, he was under-prepared. He received no training. He did not go to “basic”. He did not have advanced lessons in infantry tactics. No general in his right mind would send his men into battle so ill trained. We need a Christian “boot camp” followed by specialized schools!

“Wait a cotton-picking minute, Harley. I am a Christian and that is enough. I go to church on Sunday mornings and Sunday nights. I may even show up on Wednesdays from time to time. I’ve been a deacon, an elder, a Sunday school teacher, and an alter boy! I figure I’m prepared enough.” That attitude is akin to the raw recruit saying, “I’ve taken the oath, and I’m ready for war,” or the seaman first class saying, “I’ve been to basic training, now let me be the captain of that nuclear submarine!”

Sure, we’ve done all of those things, but that means we have a general idea of what fighting is about. Few of us have undergone a systematic, planned, and executed course to prepare us for much more than telling someone about Jesus using the “Four Spiritual Laws”. What happens when you face one of today’s youth who look you in the eye and says, “That’s good … for you. But it just doesn’t fit for me.” What happens when you face a problem that you have no conceivable solution to? We either give up, beat our heads against it until we are bleeding, call in an “expert”, or wind up agreeing with our enemy!

Don’t get me wrong, you don’t have to go to seminary or Bible College to be where you need to be. I listened to a school janitor teach the meaning of Psalm one yesterday. He did a fabulous job of explaining what David was saying. This teacher dropped out of high school after the ninth grade. He managed a GED. He went to college … and dropped out of that. What he did do was to take an interest in God’s Word and began to study it. He meditated on it. He began to digest it. Then it began to take possession of him! Finally, he understood it enough to tell me, a Bible College graduate, a few things that I didn’t know about Psalm one. Sam is prepared to do battle. He has systematically prepared himself. He has paid the price and can stand firm in the face of the fiercest enemy.

My friends, that is what Paul is telling us. We need to prepare … “so when the day of evil comes …” Paul is saying, “Put the armor on. Get used to it. Sit in it. Stand in it. Run in it. Spar with your brothers and sisters in it. Live in it until it becomes a second skin to you. Then … and only then … will you be prepared for the day of battle. Then … and only then … will you be able to stand your ground in the face of fierce competition. And then … and only then … will you, when you have done everything you know how to do and still the onslaught continues, will you be able to stand firmly, not giving anything to the enemy … even though it might mean you die in the process.

If you are ready for this, if you are convinced that you want to give your life to the service of the Master and Commander, Jesus Christ, if you are ready to let Him train you until you will not flinch in the face of seeming insurmountable odds, then let’s move on with the armor. Let’s see what it is made of, what it is for, what it feels like to put it on, what it feels like to live in it.

Harley
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c. 2005 Harley E. Hudson

If you received Verse of the Day as a forward and you wish to have your own subscription, simply send an e-mail to hhudson719@earthlink.net and request a free subscription.
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Activities and Events of Interest
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Tuesday, June 14, 6:30 pm, Faith Builders w/Sgt John Burns.
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The Emancipation Proclamation will be on display at the Clinton Library September 22-25, 2007.
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"September 11 WDYTJWD" W. P. Florence
Justice first, then peace."
"September 11" Never forget.--Tony Moses
"ONE NATION UNDER GOD ...the only way"--Phillip Story
"We have nothing to fear but fear itself." -- Franklin D. Roosevelt
"Keeping my head down but face toward Heaven" - - Jody Eldred, ABC News Cameraman in Kuwait
"Remember Pearl Harbor? Remember 9/11!" --"Bug"
Tell the people you love that you love them, at every opportunity. - - George Carlin
"Stop telling God how big your storm is. Instead, tell the storm how big your God is!" - - Queen E. Watson
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NEVER FORGET! We're listing the names of our soldiers killed weekly. These records can be found at http://www.defenselink. mil/releases/

The Department of Defense announced the death of two soldiers who were supporting Operation Enduring Freedom. They were killed on June 3 at Forward Operating Base Orgun-E in Afghanistan when their convoy vehicle was struck by an improvised expolsive device. They were assigned to the 1st Battalion, 7th Special Forces Group, Fort Bragg, N.C. The soldiers are:
01. Staff Sgt. Leroy E. Alexander, 27, of Dale City, Va.
02. Cpt. Charles D. Robinson, 29, of Haddon Heights, N. J.

03. Cpl. Antonio Mendoza, 21, of Santa Ana, Calif., died June 3 at Brook Army Medical Center, San Antonio, from wounds received as a result of an explosion while conducting combat operations against enemy forces in Ar Ramadi, Iraq, on Feb. 22. At the time of his injury, Mendoza was assigned to 5th Battalion, 11th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division, I Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Pendleton, Calif.

04. Spc. Carrie L. French, 19, of Caldwell, Idaho, died June 5 in Kirkuk, Iraq, when an improvised explosive device hit the front of her convoy vehicle and detonated. French was assigned to the Army National Guard's 145th Support Battalion, Boise, Idaho.

The Department of Defense announced the death of three soldiers who were supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom. They died on June 5 in Baghdad, Iraq, when an improvised explosive device detonated near their military vehicle. They were assigned to the 3rd Squadron, 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment, Fort Carson, Colo. Killed were:
05. Staff Sgt. Justin L. Vasquez, 26, of Manzanola, Colo.
06. Spc. Eric J. Poelman, 21, of Racine, Wis.
07. Pfc. Brian S. Ulbrich, 23, of Chapmanville, W. Va.

08. Col. Theodore S. Westhusing, 44, of Dallas, Texas, died June 5 in Baghdad, Iraq, from non-combat related injuries. Westhusing was serving with the Multi-national Security Transition Command-Iraq and was assigned to the United States Military Academy, West Point, N.Y.

09. Spc. Brian M. Romines, 20, of Simpson, Ill., died June 6 in Baghdad, Iraq, where an improvised explosive device detonated near his HMMWV. Romines was assigned to the Army National Guard's 2nd Battalion, 123rd Field Artillery, Milan, Ill.

10. Lance Cpl. Jonathan L. Smith, 22, of Eva, Ala., died June 6 from wounds received as a result of an explosion while conducting combat operations against enemy forces in Fallujah, Iraq. He was assigned to 2nd Assault Amphibian Battalion, Regimental Combat Team-8, 2nd Marine Division, II Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Lejeune, N.C.

11. Lance Cpl. Robert T. Mininger, 21, of Sellersville, Pa., died June 6 from wounds received as a result of an explosion while conducting combat operations against enemy forces in Fallujah, Iraq. He was assigned to 3rd Battalion, 8th Marine Regiment, Regimental Combat Team-8, 2nd Marine Division, II Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Lejeune, N.C.

12. Spc. Eric T. Burri, 21, of Wyoming, Mich., died June 7 in Baghdad, Iraq, when an improvised explosive device detonated near his HMMWV. Burri was assigned to the 623rd Quartermaster Company, 1st Corps Support Command, Fort Bragg, N.C.

13. 1st Lt. Michael J. Fasnacht, 25, of Columbus, Ga., died June 8 in Tikrit, Iraq, when an improvised explosive device detonated near his Bradley Fighting Vehicle. Fasnacht was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 15th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Brigade, 3rd Infantry Division, Fort Benning, Ga.

14. Lance Cpl. Marc L. Tucker, 24, of Pontotoc, Miss., died June 8 as a result of a non-hostile vehicle accident in Asr Uranium, Iraq. He was assigned to 9th Engineer Support Battalion, 3rd Force Service Support Group, III Marine Expeditionary Force, Okinawa, Japan. During Operation Iraqi Freedom, his unit was attached to 2nd FSSG, II Marine Expeditionary Force (Forward).

15. Sgt. Michael J. Kelley, 26, of Scituate, Mass., died June 8 in Shkin, Afghanistan, when his helicopter landing zone came under enemy fire. Kelley was assigned to the Army National Guard's 101st Field Artillery Battalion, Rehoboth, Mass.

16. Sgt. Roberto Arizola, Jr., 31, of Laredo, Texas, died June 8 in Baghdad, Iraq, when an improvised explosive device detonated near his HMMWV. Arizola was assigned to the Army's 297th Military Intelligence Battalion, 513th Military Intelligence Brigade, Fort Gordon, Ga.

The Department of Defense announced the death of two soldiers who were supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom. They died on June 8 in Tikrit, Iraq, of injuries sustained on June 7 in Tikrit, Iraq, when an explosion of unknown origin occurred near their location. Both soldiers were assigned to the Army National Guard's Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 42nd Infantry Division, Troy, N.Y. Killed were:
17. Capt. Phillip T. Esposito, 30, of Suffern, N.Y.
18. 1st Lt. Louis E. Allen, 34, of Milford, Pa.

19. Lt. Col. Terrence K. Crowe, 44, of New York, N.Y., died June 7 in Tal Afar, Iraq, when his unit was attacked by enemy forces using rocket-propelled grenades and small arms fire. Crowe was assigned to the Army Reserve's 10th Battalion, 98th Regiment, 4th Brigade, 98th Division, Lodi, N.J.

The Department of Defense announced the death of five Marines who were supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom.
20. Lance Cpl. Dustin V. Birch, 22, of Saint Anthony, Idaho
21. Lance Cpl. Daniel Chavez, 20, of Seattle, Wash.
22. Lance Cpl. Thomas O. Keeling, 23, of Strongsville, Ohio
23. Lance Cpl. Devon P. Seymour, 21, of St. Louisville, Ohio
24. Cpl. Brad D. Squires, 26, of Middleburg Heights, Ohio
All five Marines died June 9 as a result of an explosion while conducting combat operations with 2nd Marine Division, II Marine Expeditionary Force (Forward), in Haqlaniyah, Iraq.
Keeling, Seymour, and Squires were assigned to Marine Forces Reserve’s 3rd Battalion, 25th Marine Regiment, 4th Marine Division, Akron, Ohio.
Birch was assigned to Marine Forces Reserve’s 4th Tank Battalion, 4th Marine Division, Boise, Idaho. Chavez was assigned to 1st Tank Battalion, 1st Marine Division, I Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Pendleton, Calif.

25. Staff Sgt. Mark O. Edwards, 40, of Unicoi, Tenn., died June 9 at his forward operating base near Tuz, Iraq, from a non-combat related cause. Edwards was assigned to the Army National Guard's 2nd Squadron, 278th Armored Cavalry Regiment, Erwin, Tenn.

26. Pfc. Emmanuel Hernandez, 22, of Yauco, Puerto Rico, died June 8 in Shkin, Afghanistan, when his helicopter-landing zone came under enemy fire. Hernandez was assigned to the Army's 319th Airborne Field Artillery Regiment, 173rd Airborne Brigade, Vicenza, Italy.

27. Pfc. Douglas E. Kashmer, 27, of Sharon, Pa., died June 8 in Nippur, Iraq, when the wrecker in which he was a passenger was involved in a non-combat related rollover. Kashmer was assigned to the Army's 70th Transportation Company, Mannheim, Germany.
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Remember that for every soldier killed in modern war, 10 are wounded. Don't forget to pray for them and their families.
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Please remember to pray for the American soldiers stationed everywhere around the globe and especially in Iraq. Times have been and are very tough and it would be nice if you would all just say a prayer for their safety and for their families.
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Scheduled Activities
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Alcoholics Anonymous meets at 8 p.m. Monday - Friday. At noon on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays and at 7 p.m. Sunday at 914 N. Vine
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Columbia County Amateur Radio Club meets Every second Thursday @ 7:00 p.m. Union Street Station. And YOU'RE invited. Net is every Sunday at 20:30 on 147.105.
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Columbia County Diabetes Support Group - Every third Monday, 7:00 p.m. room 222, Magnolia Hospital
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"Focus on the Family" with Dr. James Dobson weekday afternoons at 1 PM on KVMA am 630 it's a great show!
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MCC - Abraham Prayer - Sunday at 5:00 p.m and Wednesday from 11:30 am to 1:00 pm
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MCC - Early Morning Prayer - Monday - Friday, From 6:30 am to 8:00 am
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MCC - "Beth Moore" Video Class - Thursday nights at 5:45 pm
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MCC - "Faith Builders" Small group meets at 1051 Columbia 36 the second and fourth Tuesdays, 6:30 pm to 7:45 pm.
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MCC - Firm Foundations Class, Sunday 9:30 to 10:15 a.m
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MCC - Meadow Brook Nursing Home Ministry Tuesday from 10:00 to 11:00 a.m
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MCC - Mom's Day Out - Every Tuesday and Thursday from 9 to 2.$10 for the first child, $5 for the second. Call 234-3225 for reservations.
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MCC - Nursing Home Ministry - Meadowbrook Every Tuesday from 10 to 11 am. Taylor, the last Thursday each month.
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MCC - Over comers: Fridays @ 7:00 p.m- Director, Traci Foster invites you to a 12 step Christian support program. For anyone with a life controlling problem. Child care is provided.
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Men's Prayer Breakfast held every Tuesday morning at 6 AM in Miller's Cafeteria. If you aren't a regular participant at the Men's Prayer Breakfast, you're missing some great food, fellowship and inspired teaching of the Word. Hope to see you there.
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Narcotics Anonymous 5-6 pm every Monday at 220 Pine street.
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TOPS (Take Off Pounds Sensibly) 5 pm every Tuesday in the Magnolia Hospital break room.
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Emergency Phone Number 911
(Fire, Police, Ambulance, Sheriff, etc. )
Central Dispatch 234-5655
(Non - Emergency Number)
Direct Numbers
Ambulance - 234-7371 (24 Hour)
Jail - 234-5331 (24 Hour)
Poison Control - 800-222-1222 (24 Hour)
http://www. aapcc. org/
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"Fight till you win!" - - Mark Brazee
"Bring 'em on!" - -President George W. Bush
"There is not enough darkness in the world to put out the light of one candle."
"Laugh whenever you can and cry if you need to." -- "Bug"
"I read the end of the book. We win!" -- "Bug"
"We may not be able to cure the world, but we don't have to make it sicker." -- "Bug"
"There just ain't enough fingers for all the holes in the dike." - - "Bug"
"If you can read this e-mail, thank a teacher. - - If you read it in English, thank a serviceman."
"A simple way to take measure of a country is to look at how many want in ... and how many want out." - - Tony Blair
"Information is the currency of democracy." - Jefferson
"Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful committed people can change the world; indeed, it is the only thing that ever has." - - Margaret Mead
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Hope you enjoy the newsletter.
Again, thanks to all our contributors this week.

God bless and GOD BLESS AMERICA!!!
Acts 14:3,5-7 1 Cor 1:17-19 2 Cor 6:18-7:1 Mat 6:25,27-30
God is Good and Faithful CU 73 IC JFM CSP NREMT-I KC5HII

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