The FReeper Foxhole Enjoys a Lazy Sunday with an update on the shop - November 27th, 2005

us | snippy

[snippy_about_it]

Lord,

Keep our Troops forever in Your care

Give them victory over the enemy...

Grant them a safe and swift return...

Bless those who mourn the lost.
.

FReepers from the Foxhole join in prayer
for all those serving their country at this time.


...................................................................................... ...........................................

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Eviiil Capitalist Update



by request :-)

As we near our first year as eviiiil capitalists we can look back and see mistakes made. They weren't all huge, not all small but part of the learning process. We learned from them immediately. This experience will make next year go much smoother and hopefully profitable by next Christmas season. The trick is to be able to hang on (pay bills and eat) until we get the customer base we need to sustain us.

We still believe in what we are doing and we believe it will work. The store is moving upward ever so slowly.

We've learned where to spend our advertising dollars and where not to. What ads work and what doesn't, what "sales" work and what doesn't. We've learned about consumer spending habits and what works in what month as far as product.

Summer was much slower than expected and that set us back a bit but we learned from that also. We need to work summer different than last year, offer different products and carry less inventory than we initially thought. This will also allow us to bring in more items for the Christmas season. We will also probably take Sunday's off during the summer. Yippee!

We've changed our hours on a few occasions trying to get an idea of when folks shop here at this type of store. I'm building a chart with customer counts so we can see the trends and the growth.

I think I can safely say we both have gained confidence in ourselves and our abilities. This shop is the kind of place customers like to stay in and chat awhile. We have folks staying and talking for 30 minutes to an hour. They are comfortable with the store and us and they get attention they don't receive in the "box" stores.

We learned about location. Mind you, we knew it was important and our problem here is that there is no "good" place in our city to place a business so we had to pick what we thought was the best with what was available in this "no growth" state we are in. It isn't ideal but then again, there is no ideal place, at least not around here. We really like our short 2.9 mile commute.

We've learned to balance our strong points against each other, we each have certain tasks we do but make sure we both know the "other's" job.

We still have a lot to learn but I think we have the major areas covered. We need to be able to afford and take the time to go to trade shows, increase our vendor contacts and continue to get the word out that we are here and do all that while spending as little money as possible.

We are still happy about going to work everyday and though some days seem horrible and we get worried, the next day or week will surprise us and we are again encouraged.

I can tell you it is something we both wish we had done earlier in our lives but the timing would have never been just right, in our case, this time in our lives, it was this or McDonalds. LOL.

Health insurance is outrageous when you have to pay for it yourself. For anyone thinking of going out on their own, keep this in mind and save money ahead of time to cover it. We didn't and it takes a good chunk of change at our age to cover it even with very high deductibles.

We have some really wonderful loyal customers, just not enough of them. Word is spreading and word of mouth is the best kind of advertising but it is slow going.

The economy in Oregon doesn't help but like I said, if we can just hang on we know one day we will be able to make the store pay our personal expenses. We don't need to get rich or own more than one store, we just want to be able to pay for a roof over our heads and food on the table. Don't think we aren't aiming high, a nice vacation would be great too but we will be happy with not ever having to work for "someone else" again.

We do it all, too. From cleaning the store, buying and placing orders, managing and stocking inventory, bookkeeping, banking, window displays, cashier/sales clerks, advisors and window washers. LOL. It is truly a "mom and pop shop" and we are enjoying it and hoping for the best. It's ours and it feels good to be able to say that.

The website has some pictures but believe me, we change the way the product is displayed almost weekly. It's a must in this business.



We aquired a stray cat at the store about 7 weeks ago, just before we got the dog and he now lives in the store. Customers come in just to see the cat. Some carry him around the entire time they shop, some come in to see him and don't necessarily shop at the time! We have one customer that bought him a collar about a month ago and today brought him in some flea medicine because we found a few bumps on his back near his tail, though we see no fleas. The cat is perfect, he greets most of the customers and insist they pay attention to him! I have a list of customers that want the cat if we ever decided to give it up. We are having a contest to name the cat and we will select the name on Christmas eve so the cat finally gets a name for Christmas.

The dog on the other hand is too rambunctious to be in the store unfortunately. :-(

We take turns puppy sitting the dog away from the store and just this weekend splurged to get him a crate which we will try to ease him into staying in it, eventually for at least a few hours. The customers like the dog but at not yet 5 months old we are having difficulty teaching him to stay down off folks and he is just too big of a puppy to not knock things over when he gets excited (which is a mood he seems to stay in perpetually). He is very, very stubborn.


How can you not love a dog who sleeps on your head?


And brings you toys to play with?

So there you have it, the Sam and Snippy (and Sarge and "the cat") shop is plugging along and we are happy to share our experience and lives with our Foxhole family.

We wish you could all come and visit with us and see the store.

Thank you all for your continued support of Sam and me.

We love you guys.

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FReeper Foxhole Armed Services Links

[Valin]

On This Late Afternoon...Early Evening In History


Birthdates which occurred on December 23:
1174 Louis I Duke of Wittelsbach
1597 Martin Opitz Germany, poet "Father of Modern German Poetry"
1716 Johann Heinrich Rolle composer
1732 Sir Richard Arkwright inventor (spinning frame)
1734 Filinto Elísio [Francisco M do Nascimento] Portuguese poet
1777 Aleksandr I P Romanov Tsar of Russia (1801-25)
1790 Jean-François Champollion deciphered Egyptian hieroglyphics
1805 Joseph Smith Jr Sharon VT, founder of Mormon church
1808 Thomas Turner Commander (Union Navy), died in 1883
1815 Henry Highland Garnet Maryland, minister/abolitionist/diplomat
http://www.africawithin.com/bios/henry_garnet.htm
1818 David Addison Weisiger Brigadier-General (Confederate Army), died in 1899
1827 Wilhelm Freiherr von Tegetthoff Austrian admiral (Helgoland/Lissa)
1834 Thomas R Malthus English vicar/economist (moral restraint)
1867 Madame C J Walker [Sarah Breedlove] Delta LA, cosmetics mogul
1887 John Cromwell Toledo OH, actor/director (Spitfire, Of Human Bondage)
1907 Don McNeill Galena IL, host (Don McNeill TV Club)
1908 Yousuf Karsh portrait photographer (Life Magazine)
1909 Barney Ross New York NY, Welterweight Boxing Champion (1934)
1911 James Gregory Bronx NY, actor (My Favorite Martian, Barney Miller)
1923 James Stockdale admiral (Vietnam)/Ross Perot's 1992 running mate
http://www.medalofhonor.com/JamesStockdale.htm
1923 Leonard Stern New York NY, producer/TV writer (Phil Silvers Show, Get Smart)
1923 Lucas M Mangope 1st President of Bophuthatswana (1977-94)
1929 Dick Weber pro bowler (16, 300 games)
1931 Ronnie Schell Richmond CA, comedian (Gomer Pyle, Good Morning World)
1932 Reverend James Cleveland Chicago IL, gospel musician (Old Time Religion, It's Me O Lord)
1935 Paul Hornung Green Bay Packer (the Golden Boy)
1937 Karol Joseph Bobko New York NY, Colonel USAF/astronaut (STS 6, STS 51D, STS 51J)
1940 Jorma Kaukonen Washington DC, rock guitarist (Jefferson Airplane, Hot Tuna)
1943 Derek Small rocker (Spinal Tap)
1945 Ronald Bushy rocker (Iron Butterfly-In A Gadda Da Vida)
1947 Bill Rodgers marathon runner (Boston, New York)
1948 Jack Ham NFL linebacker (Steelers)
1949 Susan Lucci Scarsdale NY, actress (All My Children, Mafia Princess)
1965 Eddie Vedder heavy metal singer (Pearl Jam-Justine)
1970 Kimberly Ann Cooley Grand Forks ND, Miss America-North Dakota (1996)

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Deaths which occurred on December 23:
0558 Childebert king of the Franks (511-58), dies at about 62
0679 Dagobert II king of Austrasia (676-679), murdered
http://www.catholic-forum.com/saints/saintd16.htm
0918 Conrad I East Frankish/German king (911-18), dies
1116 Ivo van Chartres French canonist/bishop of Chartres/saint, dies
1569 St Philip metropolitan of Moscow, martyred by Ivan the Terrible
1588 Hendrik de Guise French leader of Catholic League, murdered at 37
1789 Charles-Michel abbé de l'Epéé (school for the deaf), dies at 77
1909 King Leopold II of Belgium
http://www.moreorless.au.com/killers/leopold.html
1939 Anthony H G Fokker Dutch airplane builder (Spider), dies at 49
1948 Hideki Tojo Japan PM & 6 other Japanese hanged for war crimes by US
1953 Lavrenti P Beria soviet minister of internal security, executed
1959 Edward Halifax English viscount/viceroy of India, dies at 78
1966 Robert Keith actor (Battle Circus, Men in War), dies at 68
1970 Charlie Ruggles actor (Ruggles, Aesop-Bullwinkle Show), dies at 84
1975 Richard S Welch CIA station chief in Athens, shot dead
1982 Jack Webb actor (Joe Friday-Dragnet), dies of a heart attack at 62
1985 James Vance (20) & Raymond Belknap (18) commit suicide, sparking their families to sue rock group Judas Priest for subliminal messages
1994 Charles Shirley jazz arranger, dies at 74
1997 Keith Bentley international racing cyclist, dies at 72
1997 Stanley Cortez cinematographer (Magnificent Ambersons), dies at 92
2000 Victor Borge, musical humorist, died at age 91

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Take A Moment To Remember
GWOT Casualties

Iraq
23-Dec-2004 4 | US: 4 | UK: 0 | Other: 0
US Corporal Raleigh C. Smith Fallujah - Anbar Hostile - hostile fire
US Lance Corporal James R. Phillips Fallujah - Anbar Hostile - hostile fire
US Lance Corporal Eric Hillenburg Fallujah - Anbar Hostile - hostile fire
US 1st Lieutenant Christopher W. Barnett Baghdad (western part) Hostile - hostile fire - IED attack



Afghanistan / other
12/23/03 Perreault, Theodore L. Sergeant 33 US U.S. Army National Guard 1st Battalion, 181st Infantry Regiment Non-hostile - weapon discharge Camp Bulkeley, Guantanamo Bay



http://icasualties.org/oif/
Data research by Pat Kneisler
Designed and maintained by Michael White
//////////
Go here and I'll stop nagging.
http://soldiersangels.org/heroes/index.php

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On this day...
0619 Boniface V begins his reign as Catholic Pope
1569 St Philip of Moscow martyred by Ivan the Terrible
1620 French huguenots declare war on King Louis XIII
1672 Giovanni Cassini discovers Rhea, a satellite of Saturn
1688 English king Jacob II flees to France
1690 John Flamsteed observes Uranus without realizing it's undiscovered
(hey hey hey! I know what your thinking and you should be ashamed of yourself!)
1724 Emperor Charles VI names Maria Elisabeth land guardian of Australia Netherlands
1728 Prussian Emperor Karel VI sign Treaty of Berlin
1751 France sets plan to tax clergymen
1776 Continental Congress negotiates a war loan of $181,500 from France
1776 Thomas Paine writes "These are the times that try men's souls"
1779 Benedict Arnold court-martialed for improper conduct
1788 Maryland votes to cede a 10 square mile area for District of Columbia
1823 "Visit from St Nicholas" by C Moore published in Troy (New York) Sentinel
1834 Joseph Hansom of London receives patent for Hansom cabs
1852 1st Chinese theater in US, Celestial John, opens in San Francisco
1862 Union General Ben "Beast" Butler is proclaimed a "felon, outlaw & common enemy of mankind" by Jefferson Davis
1876 Turkey's 1st constitution proclaimed
1888 Dutch painter Vincent van Gogh cuts off his left ear
1894 Debussy's ballet "L'aprés-midi d'un faune" premieres in Paris
1899 Fieldmarshal Lord Roberts departs Southampton to South Africa
1899 Tentative Turkish & German treaty on construction of Baghdad railway
1907 1st all-steel passenger railroad coach completed, Altoona PA
1909 Albert becomes king of Belgium
1912 1st "Keystone Kops" film, titled "Hoffmeyer's Legacy"
http://keystone-kops.biography.ms/
1912 Aswan Dam in Nile begins operation
1913 President Woodrow Wilson signs Federal Reserve Act into law
1919 Alice H Parker patents gas heating furnace
1920 Ireland divided into 2 parts, each with its own parliament
1920 King George V signs Home Rule Act
1922 BBC Radio began daily newscasts
1922 Pope Pius XI pleas for peace: encyclical Ubi arcano
1925 Sultan Ibn Saud of Nedzjed conquers Djeddah
1928 NBC sets up a permanent, coast-to-coast radio network
1930 Police Bureau of Criminal Alien Investigation started in New York NY
1930 Bette Davis arrives in Hollywood under contract to Universal Studios
1938 Margaret Hamilton's Wicked Witch of the West costume catches fire in filming of "Wizard of Oz"; she is severely burned and off the film for over one month
1939 Finnish counter offensive at Summa
1941 American forces on Wake Island surrender to Japanese
1941 British troops overrun Benghazi Libya
1941 Japan begins assault on Rangoon Burma
1943 1st telecast of a complete opera (Hansel & Gretel), Schenectady NY
1946 University of Tennessee refuses to play Duquesne University, because they may use a black player in their basketball game
1946 Highest ridership in NYC subway history (8.8 million passengers)
1947 Transistor invented by Bardeen, Brattain & Shockley in Bell Labs
1951 1st coast-to-coast televised football game (Dumont paid $75,000); Los Angeles Rams beat Cleveland Browns 24-17 in NFL championship game
1951 Last Belgian communities get electricity
1953 Dodgers 2nd baseman Jim "Junior" Gilliam wins National League Rookie of Year
1958 Abdallah Ibrahim forms government of Morocco
1960 De Quay's Dutch government falls
1960 King Saudi of Saudi-Arabia takes power
1961 Fidel Castro announces Cuba will release 1,113 prisoners from failed 1961 Bay of Pigs Invasion for $62 million worth of food & medical supplies
1963 Beach Boys 1st appearance on "Shindig"
1963 Fire on Greek ship Laconia, 128 die
1964 India & Ceylon hit by cyclone, about 4,850 killed
1967 Lyndon B Johnson meets Pope Paul VI at the Vatican
1967 Brussels: NATO-Council accept "Flexible Response" - strategy
1968 1st documented US case of space motion sickness

1968 82 members of US intelligence ship 'Pueblo' released by North Korea (after being held 11 months)
http://www.usspueblo.org/

1968 Borman, Lovell & Anders become 1st men to orbit Moon
1970 New York World Trade Center reaches highest point (411 m)
1972 "Immaculate Reception" Steelers turns around a 7-6 defeat with a last second touchdown reception against the Raiders to win 13-7
1972 6.25 Earthquake destroys central Managua Nicaragua, 10,000 die
1973 6 Persian Gulf nations double their oil prices
1975 Congress passes Metric Conversion Act
1979 New York Islanders greatest shutout lose (8-0) vs Chicago Black Hawks
1983 Journal Science publishes 1st report on nuclear winter
1986 Rutan & Yeager make 1st around-the-world flight without refueling
1987 Lynette "Squeaky" Fromme, serving a life sentence for attempted assassination of President Gerald R Ford escapes from Alderson Prison
1990 Slovenians vote to secede from Yugoslavia
1996 4 women ordained priests in Jamaica, 1st in 330-year Anglican history
1997 Terry Nichols found guilty of manslaughter in Oklahoma bombing
1997 “Carlos the Jackal,” aka Ilich Ramirez Sanchez, was convicted in the murder of 2 French agents and a Lebanese informant on Jun 27, 1975 and sentenced to life in prison.
2003 South Korean Cabinet approved a plan to send 3,000 troops to the northern oil town of Kirkuk

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Holidays
Note: Some Holidays are only applicable on a given "day of the week"

Egypt : Victory Day
Montego Bay Jamaica : John Canoe Day
Mexico : Night of the Radishes
Bingo's Birthday Month

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Religious Observances
Roman Catholic : Commemoration of St Thorlac, bishop, patron of Iceland
Roman Catholic : Memorial of St John of Kanty, Polish priest, theologian (optional)

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Religious History
1648 Birth of Robert Barclay, Scottish Quaker theologian. He published his most famous work, "An Apology for the True Christian Divinity," in 1676, making him the most prominent theologian in the early Quaker Church.
1790 Birth of Jean Francois Champollion, French Egyptologist. In 1822 he successfully decoded the hieroglyphics of the Rosetta Stone (uncovered in 1799), and is recognized today as the founder of modern Egyptology.
1841 Birth of Handley C.G. Moule, Anglican theologian. He succeeded B.F. Westcott in 1901 as Bishop of Durham. A profound scholar, he could nevertheless speak and write for ordinary people, and published commentaries on nearly all of Paul's letters in the New Testament.
1862 Birth of Amos R. Wells, American Christian educator. He was first editorial secretary of the newly organized Christian Endeavor Society (forerunner of modern church "youth fellowships") from 1891 until his death in 1933.
1950 Pope Pius XII declared that the tomb of St. Peter had been discovered beneath St. Peter's Basilica in Rome.

Source: William D. Blake. ALMANAC OF THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH. Minneapolis: Bethany House, 1987.

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Minn. Woman Designs, Sells Guinea Pig Gear

Dec 22, 9:33 PM (ET)


WINONA, Minn. (AP) - Looking for the perfect outfit for your guinea pig? Well, a Winona woman may have what you're after. Carly Austin-Kukowski designs and sells guinea pig gear ranging from leopard-print dresses to elf costumes with reindeer hats.
It started as a joke two years ago, when Austin-Kukowski, 25, made a sweater for her own guinea pig to wear outside. After that, she tried other designs.

A friend sarcastically suggested that she try to sell the costumes on eBay.
Austin-Kukowski took her friend seriously, and four months later, she said she has sold about 100 costumes to people as far away as Australia and England. About a third of her orders come from New York City, she said.

Austin-Kukowski, who works as a nurse's aide, has filled custom orders. She made a Minnesota Vikings helmet - braids included. She also made a white lace dress for a guinea pig "wedding."
The original sweater-wearing guinea pig has passed away, but she now has four others.

This week Austin-Kukowski took out a classified ad in a local paper: "Christmas costumes for guinea pigs. $7. Santa, elf, many more. Must see to believe."

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Thought for the day :
"A liberally educated person meets new ideas with curiosity and fascination. An illiberally educated person meets new ideas with fear"
James Stockdale

[Valin]

I think that they are guarrenteed to raise you collesterol and blood sugar by about 25 points each

Is this supposed to be a bad thing?

[Professional Engineer]

1834 Joseph Hansom of London receives patent for Hansom cabs

I've never lied in a resume...

[alfa6]

Sorry Samwise & Phil forgot to ping you on #780 :-(

Back with the pics of the rolls, mmmmmmmmm

Here they are in the pan

and here they are out of the pan mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm

To make about 12 of the square pans we used 4lbs of BUTTER, 5 lbs of Brown SUGAR and about a 1lb of CINNAMON.
In the bottom of the pans was about a 1/4" deep mix of butter, brown sugar and cinnamon!!! That is what is on top of the rolls in the second pic

I can feel the sugar rush and the arteries clogging up already

Sweet Regards

alfa6 ;>}}

[Soaring Feather]

Yum, Yum!!

[Professional Engineer]

Only 25 points? Heck, that'd keep me under 250!

[snippy_about_it]

How about some icing on top!

[snippy_about_it]

Ha! I knew it all along. Santa is a Navy man!!!

[alfa6]

Sandy Claus is making a special trip to the alfa6 residence a day early Bump for the Freeper Foxhole.

Rumor has it that he subbed it out to UPS :-)

No doubt tonight this will be in the minds of more than a few kids :-)

Best wishes to all the denizens of the Foxhole for a joyous Chtistmas.

Regrads

alfa6 ;>}

[Soaring Feather]

Good morning FOXHOLE
Wishing you and yours a Merry Christmas.

[Professional Engineer]

Good morning ladies and gents. Flag-o-Gram.

Snippy, does she qualify for the Truppen?

[Calpernia]

Merry Christmas to All My Freeper Family!
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/1546527/posts

[Professional Engineer]

Sarge's pals?

[w_over_w]

Morning Glory Folks~

Jersey City, New Jersey

[The Mayor]

A Blessed Merry Christmas
To all my Free Republic friends

December 24, 2005

The Call Of The Present

Read:
Luke 1:26-38

Let it be to me according to your word. —Luke 1:38

Bible In One Year: 2 John, 3 John, Jude

The life of the mother of Jesus was simple and plain. She did the tasks that others did at her age, learning how to be a good homemaker for her future husband. There was nothing out of the ordinary about her external life—at least not revealed in Scripture.

Yet what treasures of grace lie concealed in Mary's attitude! When the angel announced that her child would be called "the Son of God," she responded, "Let it be to me according to your word" (Luke 1:38).

Her answer contained all that our Lord requires—the pure, simple submission of the soul to His will. This was the secret of Mary's deep spirituality: She abandoned herself to God's will in the present and received the grace to do what God asked of her.

What is God asking you to do? It may be something magnificent, or something ordinary. It may be to respond actively to a command of Scripture, or to submit patiently to present suffering. "What God arranges for us to experience at each moment is the holiest thing that could happen to us," commented the 18th-century writer Jean-Pierre de Caussade.

Are you able to accept each moment with grace and submission? Can you respond to the Lord as Mary said to the angel, "Let it be to me according to your word"? —David Roper

May we learn the blessed secret
Of delighting in Your will,
Welcoming whate'er You send us,
Joy or sorrow, good or ill. —Anon.

To know God's will is a treasure; to do God's will is a privilege.

FOR FURTHER STUDY
Ruth & Hannah: Learning To Walk In Faith

[Valin]

On This Day In History


Birthdates which occurred on December 24:
0003 BC Servius Sulpicius Galba 6th Roman emperor (68-69)
1167 John "Lackland" Plantagenet, king of England (1199-1216)
http://www.britannia.com/history/monarchs/mon28.html
1745 Benjamin Rush, Byberry Pa, physician/general/signer (Declaration of Independence)
http://www.benjaminrush.com/
1809 Christopher (Kit) Carson(frontiersman: subject of adventure novels; fur trapper, guide, American Indian agent and brevet Union general)
http://www.pbs.org/weta/thewest/people/a_c/carson.htm
1818 James Prescott Joule, physicist (discovered conservation of energy)
1868 Emanuel Lasker, Germany, world chess champion (1894-21)
1905 I.F. (Isidor Feinstein) Stone ("journalist")
1905 Howard Hughes, American industrialist, film producer, director and aviator
1922 Ava Gardner Grabtown NC, actress (On the Beach, Night of the Iguana)
1940 Paul Tagliabue NFL commissioner (1989- )
1944 Mike Curb (music executive: producer: Oscar-winner You Light Up My Life)(Burning Bridges-Kelly's Heroes)
1950 John Matuszak (football: Oakland Raiders defensive end: Super Bowls XI, XIV)

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Deaths which occurred on December 24:
1524 Vasco da Gama Portuguese explorer/viceroy of Cochin India, dies at about 55
1863 W M Thackeray writer, dies at 52
1869 Edwin M[cMasters] Stanton US Secretary of War (1861-65), dies at 55
1942 Admiral Jean Darlan French naval officer is murdered
1979 Rudi [Rudolf] Dutschke German student leader, founder Green Party dies at 39
1980 Karl Dönitz German great admiral/Führer (1945), dies at 89
http://www.adolfhitler.ws/lib/nsdap/Donitz.html
1984 Peter Lawford actor, dies of cardiac arrest at 61
1991 Walter Hudson 1,025 lb man, dies at 46
1992 Pierre Culliford [Peyo] Belgian cartoonist (Smurfs), dies at 64
1993 Norman Vincent Peale (Power of Positive Thinking), dies at 95
1994 John Eastburn Boswell medievalist, dies at 47
1994 Rossano Brazzi Italian resistance fight/actor (Final Justice), dies at 78
1996 Nguyen Huu Tho President of Vietnam (1980-81), dies
1996 Peter Dormer arts writer, dies at 47
1997 Alan Fluck musical educationalist, dies at 69
1997 Toshiro Mifune Japanese actor (Shogun), dies at 77
2000 Nick Massi (73), an original member of the Four Seasons, died

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Take A Moment To Remember
GWOT Casualties

Iraq
24-Dec-2003 5 | US: 5 | UK: 0 | Other: 0
US Sergeant Michael E. Yashinski Kirkuk - At Ta'mim Non-hostile - electrocution
US Command Sergeant Major Eric F. Cooke Baghdad Hostile - hostile fire - IED attack
US Sergeant Benjamin W. Biskie Samarra (near) - Salah ad Din Hostile - hostile fire - IED attack
US Captain Christopher F. Soelzer Samarra (near) - Salah ad Din Hostile - hostile fire - IED attack
US Major Christopher J. Splinter Samarra (near) - Salah ad Din Hostile - hostile fire - IED attack



Afghanistan
A GOOD DAY


http://icasualties.org/oif/
Data research by Pat Kneisler
Designed and maintained by Michael White
//////////
Go here and I'll stop nagging.
http://soldiersangels.org/heroes/index.php

---

On this day...
0640 John IV begins his reign as Catholic Pope
1046 Pope Clement II [Suitger] elected
1294 Cardinal Benedetto Gaetani chosen as Pope Boniface VIII
1476 400 Burgundian soldiers freeze to death during siege of Nancy
1515 Thomas Wolsey appointed English Lord Chancellor
1638 The Ottomans under Murad IV recapture Baghdad from Safavid Persia.
1724 Benjamin Franklin arrives in London
1799 Jacobin plot against Napoleon uncovered
1814 The Treaty of Ghent between the United States and Great Britain, terminating the War of 1812, signed at Ghent, Belgium
http://www.classbrain.com/artteenst/publish/article_76.shtml
1851 Fire devastates Library of Congress in Washington, destroys 35,000 volumes
1861 The USS Gem of the Sea destroys the British blockade runner Prince of Wales off the coast at Georgetown, S.C
1865 Several veterans of the Confederate Army formed a private social club in Pulaski, Tenn., called the Ku Klux Klan.
1889 Daniel Stover & William Hance patent bicycle with back pedal brake
1893 Henry Ford completes his 1st useful gas motor
1904 German SW Africa abolishes slavery of young children
1906 Reginald A Fessenden became 1st to broadcast music over radio (Massachusetts)


1914 World War I was only months old on Christmas Eve 1914 when an extraordinary unofficial truce occurred in many places along the Western Front. "We were all moved and felt quite melancholy," wrote one German soldier, "each of us taken up with his own thoughts of home." German and English troops, often less than one hundred yards from each other, set aside warfare to trade Christmas greetings and sing familiar carols in two languages. The truce, probably observed by two-thirds of the British and German troops, ended with the holiday, but reasserted the basic decency of ordinary men like these British and German soldiers caught up in war.
http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/FWWchristmas.htm


1941 1st ships of Admiral Nagumo's Pearl Harbor-fleet return to Japan
1942 1st powered flight of V-1 buzz bomb, Peenemünde, Germany
1943 FDR appoints General Eisenhower supreme commander of Allied forces
1946 4th French republic established
1946 US General MacNarney gives 800,000 "minor nazis" amnesty
1951 Gian Carlo Menotti's "Amahl and the Night Visitors," the first opera written specifically for television, was first broadcast by NBC.
1956 African Americans defy a city law in Tallahassee, Florida, and occupy front bus seats.
1963 New York's Idlewild Airport is renamed JFK Airport in honor of the murdered President Kennedy.
1964 Shooting begins on "The Cage", the pilot for Star Trek
1966 Luna 13 lands on Moon
1968 Apollo 8 astronauts read passages from Book of Genesis
Apollo 8 astronauts look back 30 years after historic flight
http://www.cnn.com/TECH/space/9812/20/apollo.anniv/
1971 Peruvian Airlines Electra crashed at headwaters of the Amazon, killing all except Juliane Margaret Koepcke found 10 days later.
1986 French hostage Aurel Cornea, held in Lebanon for 9 months, released
1989 Panama's dictator, Manual Noriega seeks asylum at Vatican embassy
1990 Saddam says Israel will be Iraq's 1st target
1991 Mikhail Gorbachev resigns as head of the Soviet Union
1992 President Bush pardons Caspar Weinberger of Iran-contra affair
1994 4 Moslem fundamentalists (aka: TERRORISTS!) capture Air France pilot in Algiers
1996 The streets of Belgrade, Yugoslavia, turned violent as demonstrators traded blows with supporters of President Slobodan Milosevic and then were clubbed by riot police.
1997 1st time a Channukah candle is officially lit in Vatican City
1999 Algerian Islamic terrorists kill 29 people at a roadblock near Khemis Miliana, some 50 miles west of Algiers.
2002 Saddam Hussein said in an address read on television that Iraqis were ready to fight a holy war against the United States.
(And now back to the real world)
2004 The world's biggest earthquake in almost four years, measuring 8.1 on the Richter scale, struck off the coast of Australia's southern island state of Tasmania, but caused no damage or injury.

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Holidays
Note: Some Holidays are only applicable on a given "day of the week"

Laos : Sovereignty Day (1954)
Libya : Independence Day (1951)
US : Holidays Are Pickle Days (thru 12-31)
National Egg Nog Day
Hi Neighbor Month

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Religious Observances
Christian : Christmas Eve
Roman Catholic : Commemoration of St Sharbel Makhlouf, Lebanese monk, hermit
Jewish : Hanukkah-Festival of Lights

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Religious History
1784 Methodism was officially organized in the newlyÂindependent United States of America, in Baltimore. Francis Asbury was consecrated the first Methodist bishop, a few days later.
1818 In St. Nicholas Church at Oberndorf, Austria, church organist Franz Gruber, 31, composed a melody on guitar for the poem, "Stille Nacht," written earlier by pastor Joseph Mohr, 26. This evening the world heard "Silent Night" sung for the very first time.
1871 The Northside Tabernacle in Chicago was dedicated by evangelist Dwight L. Moody. It became the original structure of what is today the Moody Memorial Church.
1943 German theologian and Nazi martyr Dietrich Bonhoeffer wrote in a letter from prison: 'Gratitude changes the pangs of memory into a tranquil joy.'
1951 "Amahl and the Night Visitors," a Christmas musical, had its TV debut. Written by composer Gian Carlo Menotti, it was the first musical to be broadcast over television.

Source: William D. Blake. ALMANAC OF THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH. Minneapolis: Bethany House, 1987.

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THE 24 DAYS OF CHRISTMAS


By RUDOLPH JONES

LONDON -- Following a lifelong search, Christmas historian Dr. Frank Robinson of the British Carolophile Institute, has discovered the original manuscript of the classic "The Twelve Days of Christmas." The document was found in the pocket of a very old coat in a very old costume shop.

"Apparently, someone had been studying the verses before taking part in a Christmas play," Dr. Robinson told Weekly World News.

"Written in 1780, the song was meant to honor the relatively new tradition of widespread Christmas gift-giving," the historian went on. "What is remarkable, though, is that the composition was originally called "The 24 Days of Christmas."

The 12 days of the song refer to the days between Christmas and Epiphany, when the three wise men appeared before the baby Jesus.

"However, it would appear that the wise men stayed and rested an additional 12 days, which would explain the extra period of giftgiving," Robinson speculated.

Robinson shared with Weekly World News the 12 gifts that were given in the next verses of song:

13 Copper Kettles
14 Horses Trotting
15 Coconut Trees
16 Cocker Spaniels
17 Cats-A-Scratching
18 Soldiers Marching
19 Butchers Chopping
20 Quills-A-Scratching
21 Magpies Nattering
22 Pirates Dancing
23 Brooms-A-Sweeping
24 Elephants Charging

"I can certainly see why that part of the song was cut," said Robinson. "Not only are the verses more difficult to remember, but most of those gifts sound like a lot less fun than the first 12."

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Thought for the day :
"The difference between burlesque and the newspapers is that the former never pretended to be performing a public service by exposure."
I. F. Stone

[Valin]

HA! I'd like to point out that Santa FLIES when making his deliveries. He doesn't go by boat.

AIR FORCE!!!!!

[Samwise]

Merry Christmas!

[alfa6]

I got your flying Santa right here :-)

Regards

alfa6 ;>}

[The Mayor]

That pic is so funny!