“No man with a conscience can just bat out illustrations.
He’s got to put all his talent and feeling into them!”
Norman Rockwell
Shine On
Live Together in Peace
“Sooner or later all the people of the world
will have to discover a way to live together in peace.”
Martin Luther King
Fifty-one years ago today the Nobel Peace Prize was presented to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. in Oslo, Norway. While the United States has made a great deal of progress when it comes to human rights, we still have a long way to go before we can “live together in peace” as Dr. King proposed.
His acceptance speech December 10, 1964 talks of a time when poverty and prejudice were common for the black man. His speech is a Déjà vu of what the world is today.
A world today more vicious and radical than we knew fifty-one years ago. Why have we not learned from our mistakes? Why must we all hate and alienate people because of their race and religion? When will all the people of the world discover a way to live together in peace?
Shine On
Early Christmas Gift
“Christmas is doing a little something extra for someone.”
Charles M. Schulz
My old iPhone 4 has been acting up lately. I mentioned it to my husband that my phone was acting up and to my surprise he presented me with a beautiful iPhone 6s this morning.
He said he didn’t want me to wait until Christmas to enjoy it. I thanked him a hundred times and then contacted our phone provider immediately to set up the phone. First I backed up my old phone on iTunes and then just synced up my new phone. It’s so cool not to have to spend hours setting up my new phone. I must say that Apple really does think of everything when it comes to their products.
My new phone is much faster and smoother than my old phone. Plus it has some very cool new features. My husband pulled up a YouTube video to show me all the new features and how to use them.
I feel so fortunate to have such a thoughtful husband. We normally don’t exchange Christmas gifts, so to receive this wonderful gift was such a treat. Thanks sweetheart for the early Christmas gift. I love you.
Shine On
The Day John Lennon Died
“The Beatles are over, but
John, Paul, George and Ringo go on.”
John Lennon
John Lennon on Dick Cavett Show, September 11, 1971
If you grew up listening to the Beatles, no doubt you remember the day John Lennon was gunned down. The evening of December 8, 1980 I was at a record store buying an album when everyone in the store heard the news.
It’s been 35 years since that awful December 8th day. John Lennon left us with his music that crossed generations. He left us one of his most poignant albums of the 1980s.
By the end of December 1980, the album he hadn’t released yet when he died, Double Fantasy was his best-selling solo album. Plus one of the songs on the album, (Just Like) Starting Over hit number one on the Billboard charts.
John Lennon and Yoko Ono filmed a video to promote his new album, Double Fantasy, in the City of New York, November 26, 1980. Filming began in Central Park, then moved to a gallery in SoHo. The song chosen for the video promo was, (Just Like) Starting Over.
Unfortunately, John Lennon never got to experience the success of his album. He was robbed of that. I feel, we were all robbed the day John Lennon died.
Shine On
Remember Pearl Harbor
“The lesson of Pearl Harbor ought never to be forgotten,
and of course the motto that came from that, 69 years ago,
the war which my dad fought, was ‘Remember Pearl Harbor,
never again.’ We need to keep that to mind.”
Oliver North
Today marks the 74th Anniversary of Pearl Harbor. The tragic day the USS Arizona was bombed and split in two killing 1,177 of its 1,400-member crew.
Most people may not realize that before Pearl Harbor, the USS Arizona had a 25-year history of accomplishments. The battleship spent most of its career in Pacific Ocean waters, including many years at San Pedro, California harbor. This 608-foot-long, 34,000 plus ton battleship was also used in the 1934 movie, Here Comes the Navy staring James Cagney. The movie provided first rate images of the interior and exterior of this now famous battleship.
In July of this year two of the twelve oldest known Pearl Harbor survivors, veterans Ray Chavez, 103, and Jim Downing, 102, met for the first time. The two men shared the same eyewitness moments and deep memories of the horrific, surprise attack on Pearl Harbor. Still, for Downing, “most of what happened is just as clear as if it were last week.”
Four days after the bombing, everything was still burning said Chavez. He said they never told the public how bad it was. It was really bad.
Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day is not a federal holiday, but maybe it should be. Just like Oliver North said, the lesson of Pearl Harbor ought never be forgotten. We must always remember Pearl Harbor.
Shine On
