President John F. Kennedy Assassination – 50th anniversary

Today, November 22, 2013, is the 50th anniversary of the assassination of President John F. Kennedy.

I remember that tragic day—and I can recall clearly the shared shock that suddenly loomed over my entire elementary school, teachers and students alike. I was 10, in the 5th grade and it was during lunch time. It seemed unusually quite with whispering that “all the teachers are crying” even the custodians in their room looked sad and upset, than it was announced that “President Kennedy had been gunned down in Dallas”.

I don’t remember anything about the rest of that afternoon at school but I do remember that for the next five or so days the only topic shown by all three major TV stations was the sad and upsetting news stories about this day and the funeral that followed.  News clips showing the President and First Lady smiling and waving, as they departed the airplane and while riding in the big convertible car during the beginning of the parade. Then suddenly the awful sounds of gun shots and screaming  when President Kennedy was hit and the panic as Mrs. Kennedy climbed out on to the trunk of the moving car…

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No afternoon cartoons or any of the other regular shows usually aired every evening but my eyes like most of the countries where glued to the black and white images resulting from that fateful trip to Dallas.  Over and over again, hour after hour we felt the trauma as we witnessed on our TV screens the heartbreaking events unfolding before our eyes relating to the funeral services of President  Kennedy and watched Mrs. Kennedy grieving her heart in deep pain, yet while in front of the cameras and all of America she did such a wonderful job, being strong and brave giving us strength to endure, because I think if America had seen her break down in uncontrollable tears the whole of the country would have fallen as well.

No I will never forget and I will always remember that dark day in America’s history as those images and feelings are forever a part of me.

Beyond the darkness, light . . . Beyond the sorrow, peace.

When you look up, think of them as stars.

R.I.P. President Kennedy and your angel Mrs. Kennedy

Mrs. Kennedy received over 1.5 million letters of condolence from around the world. Selections of condolence mail was separated by her assistants as “VIP” messages. A few VIP messages include: Duke Ellington, Indira Gandhi, General Douglas MacArthur, Dr. Martin Luther King, and Marie Tippit (widow of police officer JD Tippit, who was also killed by Lee Harvey Oswald November 22 1963).

Mrs. Kennedy’s response card, sent as a reply to each condolence letter she received.

The JOHN F. KENNEDY PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARY AND MUSEUM website has a Press Kit which includes a selection of photographs, audio files and moving images from November 22-25, 1963, and a collection of oral histories from the Administration during and after the assassination. These can be viewed and/or downloaded for free.

 

Read works or quotes by John F. Kennedy.

Sylvia Browne – Her Journey Ends

World renowned spiritual teacher, psychic icon, author, and lecturer Sylvia Celeste Browne passed away at 7:10am this morning (Wednesday, November 20) at Good Samaritan Hospital in San Jose, CA. Born October 19, 1936, Browne was 77 years old.

My one prayer every morning that has carried me through my life is, “Hi God, it’s me again.” It doesn’t matter how you pray. It can be just simply talking to God. Remember, God knows your heart and soul. 

~ Sylvia Browne

Somewhere a journey begins at the end of the worldly existence we know, Somewhere a path stretches over the stars, and rivers of memories flow… Somewhere a silence is heard far away and the brightness of day fills the night, Where the trials of life are resolved into peace when a soul finds its way to the light.

She will live on in the hearts of everyone who loved her.

World Kindness Day

“You should expect to be treated the same way you care for others — what you give is what you receive.”

Kindness is a fundamental part of the human condition which binds us.  Being kind towards others says I recognize that I am no more important than you are; kindnesses say that I value you; and show respect.

An act of kindness, having tolerance and using good manners helps bridge the boundaries of race, religion, politics, gender and cultures.

World Kindness Day is a day set aside to focus on the positive power kindness and to recognize acts of kindness in your community and ask that an act of kindness be done.

World Kindness Day is 13 November and is observed in many countries, including Canada, Japan, Australia, Nigeria, United Arab Emirates, Italy, India, Singapore and the U.K. and in the USA.  It was introduced in 1998 by the World Kindness Movement a coalition of Non-governmental organizations NGOs. (NGOs are legally constituted corporations created by natural or legal people that operate independently from any form of government.)  

Schools across the globe are now celebrating World Kindness Day and work with local NGOs such as Life Vest Inside.

Today on World Kindness Day, let’s commit to teaching our children the power kindness by using “good manners” with everyone all the time.

Good manners are little kindnesses that show respect and are invaluable. Good manners are not old-fashioned. Using good manners will get you noticed and in a good way. Good manners can be bring wonderful friendships and partnerships. Good manners help you to focus your attention on others.

I think we need more respect in this world, and using good manners is easy and free.

Promote good manners with these time-honored rules for human inter action. These basic rules will help your child begin to build a repertoire of good manners and habits that promote kindness and will stand the test of time.

• When you ask for something, say, “Please.”
• When you receive something, say, “Thank you.”
• Don’t interrupt others who are speaking, unless it is an emergency.
• If you bump into someone say, “Excuse me.”
• Unless you are giving a compliment, never comment on another person’s physical appearance.
• Do not make fun of anyone for any reason. Teasing is a sign of weakness, yours, and not the victim’s.

Everyone knows the importance of these simple courtesies, but it seems today to have a big follow-through issue. It takes time to train the brain, and it takes consistent repetition and consistent modeling from adults to properly teach these rules to our children.

Remember the children are watching.

Quotes about Kindness

The ideals which have lighted my way, and time after time have given me new courage to face life cheerfully, have been Kindness, Beauty, and Truth.
–Albert Einstein

Today we are afraid of simple words like goodness and mercy and kindness. We don’t believe in the good old words because we don’t believe in good old values anymore. And that’s why the world is sick.
–Lin Yutang

Sometimes when we are generous in small, barely detectable ways it can change someone else’s life forever.
–Margaret Cho

Sources and References:
Non-governmental organizations – The NGO Network
Life Vest Inside
Random Acts of Kindness.org with a suggestion list of hundreds of acts of kindness.

Veterans Day

They Did Their Share

 On Veteran’s Day we honor
Soldiers who protect our nation.
For their service as our warriors,
They deserve our admiration.
Some of them were drafted;
Some were volunteers;
For some it was just yesterday;
For some it’s been many years;

Let every veteran be honored;
What they did, we can’t repay.
We owe so much to them,
Who kept us safe from terror,
So when we see a uniform,
Let’s say “thank you” to every wearer.

By Joanna Fuchs

Veterans Day is an official United States federal holiday that is observed on November 11 each year. It honors all military people, also known as veterans, who have served in U.S. armed services.

Armistice Day and Remembrance Day, are celebrated in other parts of the world, and like Veterans Day mark the anniversary of the end of World War I which formally ended at the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month in 1918.

Veterans Day is not to be confused with Armistice Day, Remembrance Day or Memorial Day (celebrated in the month of May in the U.S.) which honor those who have died in conflicts of war.

World War II veteran Raymond Weeks from Birmingham, Alabama, had the idea to expand Armistice Day to celebrate all veterans. Weeks led a delegation to Gen. Dwight Eisenhower, who supported the idea of National Veterans Day. President Reagan honored Weeks at the White House with the Presidential Citizenship Medal in 1982 as the driving force for the national holiday. Elizabeth Dole, who prepared the briefing for President Reagan, determined Weeks as the “Father of Veterans Day.”

Armistice Day is commemorated to mark the armistice signed between the Allies of World War I and Germany at Compiègne, France. The armistice also known as the Armistice of Compiègne after the location it was signed – was the agreement that ended the fighting in the First World War. The date, November 11, was declared a national holiday in many allied nations, to commemorate those members of the armed forces who were killed.

Most countries changed the name Armistice Day to Remembrance Day, after world War II,  to honor veterans who have died in action, in that and all subsequent conflicts of war.

Armistice Day remains the name of the holiday in France, Belgium and new Zealand; and it has been a statutory holiday in Serbia since 2012.  The United States chose All Veterans Day which was later shortened to Veterans Day.

Remembrance Day (also known as Poppy Day or Armistice Day) is a memorial day observed in commonwealth countries is observed on 11 November to recall the end of hostilities of World War I on that date in 1918.

The red remembrance poppy has used since 1920 to commemorate soldiers who have died in war and has become a familiar emblem of Remembrance Day due to the poem “In Flanders Fields”.

These poppies bloomed across some of the worst battlefields of Flanders in World War I, their brilliant red color an appropriate symbol for the blood spilled in the war.

It is especially prominent in the UK. In the weeks leading up to Remembrance Sunday, they are distributed by The Royal British Legion in return for donations to their “Poppy Appeal”, which supports all current and former British military personnel.

Flanders is one of the regions located in the north-western part of present-day Belgium and adjacent parts of France and the Netherlands. Today Flanders normally refers to the Dutch speaking northern portion of Belgium.

“In Flanders Fields” is a war poem, written during the First World War by Canadian physician Lieutenant Colonel John McCrae. He was inspired to write it on May 3, 1915, after presiding over the funeral of friend and fellow soldier. It is one of the most popular and most quoted poems from World War I.

In Flanders Fields

 In Flanders fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row,
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the Dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved and were loved, and now we lie
In Flanders fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders fields.

By John McCrae

Image: A Canadian war bonds poster.

In 1918, American YWCA worker Moina Michael, inspired by the poem, published a poem of her own called “We Shall Keep the Faith”. In tribute to McCrae’s poem, she vowed to always wear a red poppy as a symbol of remembrance for those who served in the war.

We Shall Keep the Faith

Oh! you who sleep in Flanders Fields,
Sleep sweet – to rise anew!
We caught the torch you threw
And holding high, we keep the Faith
With All who died.
We cherish, too, the poppy red
That grows on fields where valor led;
It seems to signal to the skies
That blood of heroes never dies,
But lends a lustre to the red
Of the flower that blooms above the dead
In Flanders Fields.
And now the Torch and Poppy Red
We wear in honor of our dead.
Fear not that ye have died for naught;
We’ll teach the lesson that ye wrought
In Flanders Fields.
In Flanders Fields we fought

By  Moina Michael

The practice of decorating the graves of soldiers, originated in the years immediately following the American Civil War.

Field of Valor in Covina, CA

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Photo Gallery of Veterans Day Posters from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs and other Veterans Day images.

Take a moment and remember to give special thanks to all the people who have served and fought to keep the freedoms we have in the United States of America and around the globe today. Peace!

Give Wildlife A Brake! Week – Nov. 4-8

It’s a sad day for nature lovers and the entire planet.

Rhinoceroses thrived for millions of years before meeting their most deadly enemy: humans.

Yep, we all, the smartest species on the planet have done it again – and another one bites the dust! Say Goodbye to The Western Black Rhinoceros.

The West African Black Rhino (Diceros bicornis longipes) is officially declared extinct according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature.

WHY? HOW? Because,we are self centered and it’s shameful that our government and all the other countries on this earth don’t work together to protect and save the wildlife and natural wonders of our planet instead of fighting and killing each other off in the name of religion for power and control.

In the long run all the Gods are going to be totally annoyed and pissed off at the human race because we couldn’t put aside our differences accept the fact that we have different beliefs and do the really important job we have before us and that is to save and protect what has been given us.

Humankind does have many dedicated people and organizations working day in and day out to try and protect and save the wildlife and nature on our planet it is far too few. Something needs to change and it starts within each of us and especially our leaders to begin to CARE about what really matters and to turn our attention, our energy, our countries budgets and spend it on something worthwhile and that is preserving every living thing on this planet for future generations.

Sad to say I feel it will happen far too slowly and times like this is when I wish I had a magic wand that with a quick snap would knock some common sense into the powers that be so they could see clearly and actually do something constructive. But I don’t and I can’t find a magic wand repair man anywhere that could get it working again. So folks it’s all still on our shoulders to wise up and fly right.

There are four subspecies of Black Rhino. The black rhino has a characteristic pointed, prehensile upper lip, which is adapted for grasping leaves and twigs. And the West African Black Rhino (Diceros bicornis longipes) is the rarest and most endangered subspecies, with only 10 surviving in 2003, and the the last time one was seen was in 2006. The IUCN says the extinction of these magnificent beasts could’ve been avoided if proper conservation methods had been implemented.

Black rhinoceros have been poached to the brink of extinction due to the demand for their horn, both for use in Chinese traditional medicine and for traditional dagger handles in Yemen, the demand for which exploded in the 1970s due to the increased income of oil-rich Gulf States. It is estimated that between 1970 and 1992, around 96 percent of the black rhinoceros population was lost.

Science is now stepping in to dispel some of the mystery and fiction surrounding the use of rhino horn. The horn is used  in the traditional medicine systems of many Asian countries, from Malaysia and South Korea to India and China, to cure a variety of ailments. In Traditional Chinese Medicine, the horn, which is shaved or ground into a powder and dissolved in boiling water, is used to treat fever, rheumatism, gout, and other disorders.

See PBS Nature episodes about the Black Rhino – Rhino Horn Use: Fact vs. Fiction

That wasn’t the only bad news for rhinos in the IUCN report. Africa’s northern white rhino and Asia’s Javan rhino are fighting for survival due to poaching and a lack of conservation efforts. The report suggests managing and strengthening habitats could save the remaining rhino subspecies from extinction. —

ARKive.org  has a unique collection of thousands of videos, images and fact-files illustrating the world’s species, including the Black Rhino, saving their digital footprint for future generations.

Joni Mitchell- Turns 70 Today

Happy Birthday Joni
Best Wishes and Thank You for your lovely music and wonderful songs.

Singer-songwriter Joni Mitchell is one of the most influential songwriters of the 20th century. She was born on November 7 1943, in Fort Macleod, Canada.
After teaching herself how to play the guitar, she went off to art college and soon became one of the leading folk performers of the late 1960s and ’70s.
Joni Mitchell won her first Grammy Award (best folk performance) in 1969, for her sophomore album, Clouds.
Over time she has received several Grammys in various categories, including traditional pop, pop music and lifetime achievement.
She was inducted into the Rock and Rock Hall of Fame in 1997 and the Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2007.

So many things I would have done
But clouds got in my way…

~Joni Mitchell

Quote is on the back inside cover of my High School Year Book

Marriage Isn’t For You

Dance In the Rain

Thanksgiving Screensaver

Be thankful for all the blessings in your life.

“No duty is more urgent than that of returning thanks”.

-Unknown

Copy and save image than select “Set as background image” to use photo as a screensaver.

One Boy USO – A Young Man with a Mission

Cody Jackson, the One Boy USO, is a Georgia child on a mission. He has made it his duty to show his appreciation and patriotism to as many military personnel as he can. At ten years old, Cody has written two children’s books, personally thanked over 15,000 troops, and sent almost 4,000 pounds of care packages since December 2011. His passion to give back to the troops began when he asked his parents why it was so difficult to get on an airplane. They then explained to him the events of September 11, 2001 and what it has meant for America and our military. Ever since that moment, Cody’s patriotism has soared, and he loves to share his passion with other children and adults alike.

Cody has been awarded numerous awards and honors including the Presidential Service Award, the Jefferson Award by Build A Bear, accommodation from Senator Isakson, and he has had flags flown in Afghanistan in his honor. Cody’s charity, One Boy USO, is currently taking donations for care packages to send to troops all over the world. To make donations, visit www.oneboyuso.com.

Article by: Heather Taylor – Roswell, GA