I suppose you have all seen it by now.But here is the link to the St Paul couple’s wedding entrance.

The local TV interviewed them and they said they just wanted to have fun and include dance in their wedding.

Darrell “Shifty” Powers.

Shifty volunteered for the airborne in WWII and served with Easy Company of the 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment, part of the 101st Airborne Infantry. If you’ve seen Band of Brothers on HBO or the History Channel, you know Shifty. His character appears in all 10 episodes, and Shifty himself is interviewed in several of them.

I met Shifty in the Philadelphia airport several years ago. I didn’t know who he was at the time. I just saw an elderly gentleman having trouble reading his ticket. I offered to help, assured him that he was at the right gate, and noticed the “Screaming Eagle”, the symbol of the 101st Airborne, on his hat.

Making conversation, I asked him if he’d been in the 101st Airborne or if his son was serving. He said quietly that he had been in the 101st. I thanked him for his service, then asked him when he served, and how many jumps he made.

Quietly and humbly, he said “Well, I guess I signed up in 1941 or so, and was in until sometime in 1945 . . . ” at which point my heart skipped.

At that point, again, very humbly, he said “I made the 5 training jumps at Toccoa, and then jumped into Normandy . . . . do you know where Normandy is?” At this point my heart stopped.

I told him yes, I know exactly where Normandy was, and I know what D-Day was. At that point he said “I also made a second jump into Holland, into Arnhem.” I was standing with a genuine war hero . . . . and then I realized that it was June, just after the anniversary of D-Day.

I asked Shifty if he was on his way back from France, and he said “Yes. And it’s real sad because these days so few of the guys are left, and those that are, lots of them can’t make the trip.” My heart was in my throat and I didn’t know what to say.

I helped Shifty get onto the plane and then realized he was back in Coach, while I was in First Class. I sent the flight attendant back to get him and said that I wanted to switch seats. When Shifty came forward, I got up out of the seat and told him I wanted him to have it, that I’d take his in coach.

He said “No, son, you enjoy that seat. Just knowing that there are still some who remember what we did and still care is enough to make an old man very happy.” His eyes were filling up as he said it. And mine are brimming up now as I write this.

Shifty died on June 17 after fighting cancer.

There was no parade.

No big event in Staples Center.

No wall to wall back to back 24×7 news coverage.

No weeping fans on television.

Let’s give Shifty his own Memorial Service, online, in our own quiet way. Please share this memorial with everyone you know, especially veterans.

Rest in peace, Shifty.

“A nation without heroes is nothing.”Roberto Clemente

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This is a friend’s daughter.Please click on the red box(scroll down) that has the vote count.My vote was 331. Remember you can do it from many computers not just one.

And say a prayer for their family.They are most grateful for every blessing that comes their way.

Thanks

http://blog.homeaway.com/node/1442

The University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, did a 10 year study of 13,000 men and women.They found that having a husband creates seven more hours of housework for wives each week.Having a wife reduces men’s household chores by one hour per week.Marriage means more housework for women and less for men!  What kind of a deal is that???

That means that Blips needs to do an extra 8 hours of housework per week just to make it even with me.That is not a bad idea.

ST. PAUL, Minn. — Al Franken ascended Tuesday from the ranks of former “Saturday Night Live” comedians to an even more exclusive club, outlasting Republican Norm Coleman in an eight-month recount and courtroom saga to win a seat in the U.S. Senate.

Coleman conceded the election hours after a unanimous state Supreme Court ruled that Franken — who moved into politics with books poking fun at conservative radio host Rush Limbaugh — should be certified the winner. In doing so, he pulled the plug on a bitter election that was ultimately decided by 312 votes out of nearly 2.9 million cast.

Please do not give this kid a cell phone when she gets older. (click to play)

http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2009/06/23/Are-Women-Born-Like-This.aspx

The other day I heard the Jefferson Airplane song, “Don’t You Want Somebody to Love” from 1967.

I realized that all these years I had the words wrong.I thought it started out with…

When the tookies come….tookie lies.When all the joy within you dies. 

hmmmm and suddenly I heard the CORRECT words and I really had to laugh.I was waaaaaay off. Anybody know the correct beginning?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b-0nrDLH7MM&feature=related

 My mom was going through her recipe book and ran across a recipe from her older sister that just passed away last fall.She found it timely because I have been having trouble with my right knee.  I had three shots of Synvisc(synthetic hylauronic acid gel) in my knee last February. walla…..new knee!I was so thrilled that I was cured.I was walking Mona with Blips every night and just enjoying my new job….lots of steps and walking and carrying heavy books from site to site.

Mom thought I should try this old-time recipe that she found today.I have to tell you, she has already purchased her gin and is ready to get started

• 1 lb golden raisins
• gin (approximately 1 pint)
• glass bowl (Pyrex^® is good—crystal is bad)
• glass jar with lid

Spread the golden raisins evenly on the bottom of the glass bowl and pour enough gin over them to completely cover. Let them stay that way until all the gin is absorbed. It may take 5 to 7 days.

When the gin is absorbed, transfer the raisins to the jar, put the lid on and keep it closed.          Do not refrigerate.

Dosage. Each day, eat exactly 9 raisins. No more, no less. Very important

Some people feel pain relief in 2-3 days others take 5-6 weeks.

I had a rather stressful day on Tuesday.So, after I solved the problem, I decided to get a mocha.I normally don’t have a second coffee because it will keep me up at night.There is a 12 hour ‘half-life’ for when I drink coffee.12 hours later it kicks in again.BUT…this was a special need, so I did it. 

I went through a drive up at a place called Sonic.It is like an A&W where you order from the box and it comes to your car by carhop.I ordered iced mocha actually.It came like this picture (except there wasn’t a guys head growing out of it).It was mostly ice but that was ok because I just wanted to have a little anyway.It had a straw and so I drank it from the bottom up.I know, it isn’t rocket science but hey….

What remained in the cup was the whip cream.I decided I didn’t need the whip cream, so I just left it.HOWEVER, when I went back to my car 5 hours later, it was still sitting there….quite perky.Yup, the whip cream did not melt in my hot car or even get rounded off like whip cream does after a bit.It really creeped me out.I pondered just what do you think that whip cream was made of….some kind of plastic additive?I mean it was really perky, just like it had been served that very minute.

I don’t think I am going back there and I will be suspicious of all future whip cream that stays perky.

Anyone who knows me knows that I have strong opinions.(I try my best to cushion them with “Minnesota nice” as often as I can or just do the Lutheran thing and keep my mouth shut) 

But this has been bothering me for a couple years.

I can’t remember if I like my scrambled eggs moist or dry.I either like them moist so I can squish them in my mouth rather than chew…..OR….I like them firm and not squishy.And I REALLY don’t like them the other way.I just can’t remember which way that is.

So, this morning when I started to cook my scrambled eggs, again, I could not remember how I liked them.They are just on the edge of moist and dry…..should I stop here, do I like them like this, will I wreck them if I cook them longer or will I wreck them if I stop cooking them now? ? ? ? ?I wish I knew, I wish I knew, I wish I knew!

It is a very strange feeling for me and then I wonder if this is what it feels like to have the beginning of Alzheimers.Not knowing if you like or dislike something.Not able to make a decision because you can’t access what you used to know.

Today I stopped at the moist territory.They tasted good of course.BUT, I did wonder if I would have liked them better if I had cooked them firmer and dry.