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News and views you may have missed.
With some 34,000 vacant homes to deal with (including some in the O'Briens' old hood
of Boston-Edison) and the everpresent threat of crime, Detroit mayor Dave Bing has
just revealed his innovative plan to kill two birds with one stone...click HERE.
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An "unspeakable tragedy" occurred on December 8, 1980. And many of us were
watching a football game at the time.
Click HERE.
Howard Cosell, Don Meredith, Frank Gifford --
Monday Night Football's pioneering broadcast team on ABC.
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"A day that will live in infamy...."
WJM and friends, circa 1943
When the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, scenes like this one would, in subsequent years,
become part of the domino effect...an Alabama boy who migrated North now residing amidst the aborigines in the jungles
of New Guinea. How surreal. Some 2403 American soldiers and sailors were killed during that early-morning attack in Hawaii,
but countless millions around the world would eventually get entangled in a conflict that raged until August 1945, when another
famous bombing finally forced surrender.
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O'Brien & O'Brien
Well, now that football season is just about over here in Ann Arbor, we can turn to other, more satisfying endeavors...
such as genealogy. This is a page from the Detroit City Directory from the mid-20s. It's pertinent to our family
because it contains info about not only Grandpa M.E. (AKA Michael) but also his brother Patrick (AKA, P.H.). Take a
look at both entries and then persuse the page just for the fun of it. In those days, the man was listed as the primary
entry with his spouse noted in parentheses. You'll find no Heathers, Zoeys, Samanthas, or Chloes in the lot. Instead,
there are Florence (Patrick's wife...his first wife was Bessie!), Edith, Ethel, Ida, Clara, and Gertrude, among the usual
array of Marys, Margarets, Catherines, and Helens. I also found an Emma, which was recently cited as the
most popular name of 2010. The more things change, etc. etc.
wom
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HB CHAR!
The Birthday Girl a few years back, hanging out on an Alaskan glacier because that's what transplanted-Michiganders-now-
living-in-Florida do on their vacations -- They gravitate to the cold! Hope your Big Day was sunny and warm and
included a large glass filled to the brim with ice cubes and something of an appropriate and celebratory nature Char!
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And the winner is...
The Netherlands or Spain ?
Or the Vuvuzela???
World Cup 2010, South Africa
-RJ passed these along-
As we ramp up to Memorial Day...
  
to all you Mudders out there...
Circa 1950: The picture of maternal perfection, albeit garish perfection
1/17/10 - Today is Rose's 86th birthday. Though it's hard to fathom, I took this shot nearly
five years ago when she was living at Chambrel at Island Lake, an upscale assisted living facility
in Longwood, and in the earliest grips of her illness. The latest from Char is that Rose is in
good physical health but continues to deterioriate mentally (the invidious nature of Alzheimer's).
Most tragically, she has no idea who Char is, nor would she recognize any of us. Take some
time today to think of this good woman who came into WJM's life at just the right time....
wom
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Buy this CD! Now!
Clic the pic and order Steve's debut CD. For just $8 and free shipping, it's an absolute steal.
Stevie's guitar artistry is on full display in this stellar production -- but don't take my word
for it...get one for yourself!
wom
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HAPPY MEMORIAL DAY?
No, I don't think so.
My old high school buddy Dennis Heitman, who served in a medical corp in Vietnam,
emailed this to me yesterday...JPM
"Please remember this Memorial Weekend that it's not just about
family and friends and having a good time,
but a memorial to the men and women who gave up their lives
at the ages of 17, 18, 19 yrs old (just kids),
so we could enjoy the freedom we have today.
Take a moment to say thanks
and let's all pray for world peace....
thats all....D... Happy MD."
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A Special Remembrance.
Thanks to Char, we have this remarkable photo to post. She found Dad's old army album as she was going through a forgotten box
and graciously sent it my way. Not sure exactly where this is but my thinking is that it's in New Guinea. Here WJM poses with his love,
MMM, in a sad tableau repeated millions of times across the globe during WWII when being apart for soldiers and their families was the norm.
Martha was born 98 years ago today.
wom 3/18/09
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Sad News: Soupy Shuffles on...
(Click the pic)
The end of an era.
Ooooh that's scary!
But pretty cool,
and very hot, all at the same time.
This has Steve Marion's fingerprints
all over it...jpm
HB, Char!
9/28/09 -- No, no, no...this is NOT Char. This is Brigitte Bardot, with whom Char shares her birthday.
The former French sex kitten turns 75 today, making her a tres grandmotherly sex kitten.
Our Char, on the other hand, is a full decade and a half younger, meaning that she's young enough
to be Brigitte Bardot's daughter!
(If that isn't good news on such a landmark birthday, then what is?)
All the Best on your Big Day, Char. wom
P.S. Coincidentally, Sophia Loren also turned 75, just a day later (9/29/09).
Char is young enough to be HER daughter, too.
-Thank you for your positivity-
-from the "I hate when that happens" department-
Check out this year's ranking of
Maryland tops Michigan, but barely (still, nobody's complaining around here).
Go ahead...kick us when we're down:
Forbes Magazine pimps an already-distressed Detroit.
(As if the Kwame-Christine crisis isn't enough for now)
-Speaking of awkward moments-
The rise and fall of a text-messaging meathead...
Hizzoner and wife grovel on the national stage after Mr. Kilpatrick (Detroit's first Irish Mayor since Jerry Cavanagh) got caught with his pants down. Read the story right here: Ohh, shit....
City employees first began to suspect the mayor of malfeasance and misappropriation of funds when he had a dancing pole installed at the city's expense in his chief of staff's office. The installation date was Valentine's Day 2002, not long after he was elected. Eventually, his shenanagans would cost Detroit taxpayers more than nine million dollars, plus the $119.98 for the aforementioned pole.
(above) Kwame's former chief of staff, Christine Beatty. She resigned earlier this week, but continues her studies at the WSU School of Law, which is a good thing, as she'll soon need a lawyer. She and her mayoral mate face charges of lying to a grand jury during a whistleblower's trial last year, an offense carrying with it possible disbarment and a 15-year prison sentence.
Other than this little distraction, continuing image problems, and particularly wretched weather, all seems to be fine with the embattled city. wom
Happy Valentine's Day!**
"Snowflakes are one of nature's fragile things, but just look at what they do when they
stick together." ~Verna M. Kelly
(Thank you, Julie, for contributing this timely photo/quote.)
Yes, Virginia, the world is a truly scary place -- and no there is no Santa Claus...
Next, the Christians will be rounding up all Mexicans named Jesus...
The next generation of trash disposal...Plasma Gasification.
It ain't pretty, but it IS a pretty novel and energetic way to deal with the constant onslaught of garbage that collects in our bins and boxes and barrels and overflows our landfills.
Click the pic above to get up to speed on this dirty, rotten subject...
-October, 2007-
Give a little to a great cause.
On Saturday, October 6, Char will be participating in The Alzheimer's Association Memory Walk. The purpose of the event is to raise money to fight this terrible affliction, which, of course, we are all now intimately acquainted with. If possible, please help Char's Arden Courts' team by making a donation. You can do so online by clicking here: Help Char fight Alzheimer's. Then click on "Sponsor Participant" (top-middle of page), enter Char's name, and follow the prompts to make your donation.
Alternatively, you can send a check made out to The Alzheimer's Association (with Char's name on the memo line) to Arden Courts, 1057 Willa Springs Drive, Winter Springs, FL 32708
Merci beaucoup to you. -7/5/2007-
HB, Char!
photo by Matthew Brady, circa 1994, Altamonte Springs, FL
September 28, 2007 - Why is this woman smiling? It's her birthday, that's why. That means it's HER day, nobody else's, so she can smile if she wants to. Or not. The main thing is to enjoy it. Or, if preferred, not. Whichever way you choose to go, Char, our best wishes are pointed in your direction, as always....
-September 2007-
-August 2007-
Knitting a strong marriage
Congratulations to Julie & Marcus for carving yet another notch into the matrimonial headboard, a remarkable accomplishment given the current divorce rate in the U.S.... Yes, you have to work at it, and sometimes that can be difficult, but in truth, you can say this about everything that has worth in life. Take knitting, for example. Where would we be if all the knitters of the world just gave up, simply put down their needles and went on to something else -- like stained glass or painting-by-the-numbers or basket weaving or pottery. Try, if you can, to imagine an existence without lap afghans and colorful knitted slippers, mittens, scarves and stocking caps. Sad.
bamboo knitting needles
The secret to a long, successful marriage? Keep purling those stitches, y'all.... WOM
splendid lap-ready Popcorn Afghan
Note: Char passed along the following editorial (which had been passed along to her), and in the wake of Independence Day, it is well worth reading (and just another reason to love the Aussies)...
 To Kill an American
An American is English, or French, or Italian, Irish, German, Spanish, Polish, Russian or Greek. An American may also be Canadian, Mexican, African, Indian, Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Australian, Iranian, Asian, or Arab, or Pakistani or Afghan.
An American may also be a Comanche, Choctaw, Cherokee, Osage, Blackfoot, Navaho, Apache, Seminole or one of the many other tribes known as native Americans.
An American is Christian, or he could be Jewish, or Buddhist, or Muslim. In fact, there are more Muslims in America than in Afghanistan . The only difference is that in America they are free to worship as each of them chooses.You probably missed this in the rush of news, but there was actually a report that someone in Pakistan had published in a newspaper, an offer of a reward to anyone who killed an American, any American.
So an Australian dentist wrote an editorial the following day to let everyone know what an American is . So they would know when they found one. (Good one, mate!!!!)
An American is also free to believe in no religion. For that he will answer only to God, not to the government, or to armed thugs claiming to speak for the government and for God.
An American lives in the most prosperous land in the history of the world.
The root of that prosperity can be found in the Declaration of Independence, which recognizes the God given right of each person to the pursuit of happiness.
An American is generous. Americans have helped out just about every other nation in the world in their time of need, never asking a thing in return
When Afghanistan was over-run by the Soviet army 20 years ago, Americans came with arms and supplies to enable the people to win back their country!
As of the morning of September 11, Americans had given more than any other nation to the poor in Afghanistan. Americans welcome the best of everything...the best products, the best books, the best music, the best food, the best services. But they also welcome the least.
The national symbol of America , The Statue of Liberty , welcomes your tired and your poor, the wretched refuse of your teeming shores, the homeless, tempest tossed. These in fact are the people who built America ..
Some of them were working in the Twin Towers the morning of September 11, 2001 earning a better life for their families. It's been told that the World Trade Center victims were from at least 30 different countries, cultures, and first languages, including those that aided and abetted the terrorists.
So you can try to kill an American if you must. Hitler did. So did General Tojo, and Stalin, and Mao Tse-Tung, and other blood-thirsty tyrants in the world. But, in doing so you would just be killing yourself. Because Americans are not a particular people from a particular place. They are the embodiment of the human spirit of freedom. Everyone who holds to that spirit, everywhere, is an American.
"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness..."
And then you have these guys out there doing their thing in the name of democracy....
Click right here for the official website of the NBBQA.
Hey! You! You lookin' at me? Yeah?! Well, EAT ME, you meathead....
June Is National Meat Month! We're Celebrating All Things Meaty!
Grill it, slap it on that black eye, take it for a ride to the butcher shop to see all the other meat, dress it up, read to it - you get the idea...use your imagination!
Reality Check
Photograph by Jonas Bendiksen - - Story by Mark Jacobson
The old becomes new in the hands of laborers, who repair used cooking oil cans for resale inside a steamy warehouse. Dharavi specializes in recycling plastics and other trash. The lucrative business is run by Muslims, about a third of the slum's population.
NOTE: Ran across this fascinating National Geographic article and have posted it for one and all. Well worth a few minutes of your time. You may be surprised to learn that Bombay is now called Mumbai and that this slum is one of the most valuable properties in the city...
All cities in India are loud, but nothing matches the 24/7 decibel level of Mumbai, the former Bombay, where the traffic never stops and the horns always honk. Noise, however, is not a problem in Dharavi, the teeming slum of one million souls, where as many as 18,000 people crowd into a single acre (0.4 hectares). By nightfall, deep inside the maze of lanes too narrow even for the putt-putt of auto rickshaws, the slum is as still as a verdant glade. Once you get accustomed to sharing 300 square feet (28 square meters) of floor with 15 humans and an uncounted number of mice, a strange sense of relaxation sets in�ah, at last a moment to think straight.
Dharavi is routinely called "the largest slum in Asia," a dubious attribution sometimes conflated into "the largest slum in the world." This is not true. Mexico City's Neza-Chalco-Itza barrio has four times as many people. In Asia, Karachi's Orangi Township has surpassed Dharavi. Even in Mumbai, where about half of the city's swelling 12 million population lives in what is euphemistically referred to as "informal" housing, other slum pockets rival Dharavi in size and squalor....
CLICK HERE FOR THE REST OF THE STORY
CLICK HERE FOR THE REST OF THE PHOTOS
Whenever you think you may be having a bad day, look at this...
Taiwanese zookeeper Chang Po-yu waves from his hospital bed in Taiwan. Surgeons reattached his forearm after a crocodile chomped it off earlier this month.
"Hey! Anybody need a hand?"
A Defining Moment
Take some time today to browse the above link. Why? Because it's the right thing to do.
Happy Thanksgiving to One and All
On this special occasion, we once again offer up a very timely recipe (passed along last year by Julie, who knows her way around the kitchen).
Failsafe Turkey Recipe
-14-24 lb Turkey
-1 cup melted butter
-3 bags stuffing
- 1 cup unpopped popcorn kernals
-Salt/pepper to taste
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-Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
-Brush chicken well with melted butter, salt, and pepper.
-Fill cavity with stuffing and popcorn. Place in baking pan with the neck towards the rear of the oven.
-Listen for the popping sounds.
When the Turkey's ass blows the oven door open and the turkey flies out across the room, it's done.
Bon appetite!
"Bird shortage?"
HB Char ! 9/28/06
Vancouver, Canada, July 2006 -- Birthday Girl Charlene, shown here dwarfed by the modest little dinghy Sapphire Princess that she and Joel called home on their recent Alaskan adventure. Here's to you, Char, on your Big Day!
A Remarkable Prediction
"I like France and Italy in the Final with one of those two teams winning 1-0 or 2-1 on 7/9/06. I also think the celebratory wine will be insouciant and possibly even a touch enigmatic no matter which team takes it. The wine, of course, will be accompanied by long loaves of crusty bread. And phenomenal cheeses. Never forget the cheeses. There will be a platter like there's no tomorrow. And there won't be a tomorrow because we're talking about the Final here. As far as I know, and I know virtually nothing about soccer, the Final is the last game of the 2006 World Cup. Period. Unless, of course, neither team scores ever -- even in the shootout -- in which case this thing could go on until the Chinese New Year, if not beyond...."
WOM 6/8/2006
Although the fact that Italy and France are in the final and not Brazil, stirred up much controversy. Whichever team does not win gets an automatic Oscar nomination. In soccer, when a foul is committed, it's common to see a player go to the ground holding a knee or ankle, such agony reflected on his face that you fear for his life. You expect a helicoper to land on the field at any moment to whisk the injured player to the ER for immediate, life-saving surgery. A team of medics rushes onto the field, straps the poor chap onto a stretcher and carts him away. Then, much to everyone's surprise, said 'dying' striker returns to the game moments later, healthy as a horse. Funny game? Strange? Certainly! I heard one game described as being closer than the score reflected - 1-0!
Others complaints arose when a team ran up the score in a different game - 2-0!
Sounds exciting. The drama begins this afternoon. Check your local listings.
Happy Fourth of July!
For Fireworks, Click Here.
So, who do you like?
The World Cup started Friday, June 9th.
Team USA is out after their third game, losing to Ghana June 22nd.
Click here if, like most upstanding Americans, you could give a furry rat's ass about soccer.
Memorial Day 2006
Henri Chapelle, Belgium
Linda's Uncle Chuck (Marge's brother) was killed in action in the Battle of the Bulge, just two months before the end of WWII. He was 23-years-old. Some 9,000 Americans soldiers died in this battle, the bloodiest in U.S. history.
I just received this email from a buddy:
"Being a Vietnam Vet and knowing firsthand all the stuff Vets go through, I just wanted to remind you no matter what your opinion, MEN HAVE PUT THEIR LIVES ON THE LINE for your freedom...SO BE THANKFUL....Thank GOD this weekend for all the MEN that sacrificed their lives for our FREEDOM."
Dennis Heitman, Vietnam Vet.
My reply:
"If you call an extended vacation in a tropical paradise putting your life on the line, ok, thanks for doing your duty. Actually, I guess you did have it rough. The beer wasn't as good as what we had in Germany."
Pvt. JP Marion
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