Sammy Lee
Not bad for someone who could only practice one day a week because that was when the public pool was open to nonwhites. Considering the era he came up in, and the many obstacles and day-to-day prejudices that were right up in his face, it's truly amazing what he was able to accomplish.
Alice Coachman
To say that it was in a remote location is putting it mildly...but defintiely worth the trip! We arrived at one of the recommended hotels in nearby New Paltz and got an early check-in. Wedding was at 3PM and hotel check-in was also at 3PM…thus the request for the early check-in (change into wedding attire at the hotel…duh!) Shortly thereafter, we began our (25 minute...13 mile) venture to the wedding site (from point A to point B...see image below).
After several left and right turns…we proceeded down isolated winding roads. No other cars in sight! After 5 minutes or so...I noticed a “taxicab” in my rear view window. I also noticed about 4 or 5 vehicles following said taxicab. I guess I was going too slow because said taxicab, crossed the DOUBLE lines and passed me (see red dot on the map)! Not really certain/confident of my directions (and I don’t have GPS) I then said to my passengers (the wife, my daughter and son-in-law)...I gotta follow that cab because they all must be going to the wedding! Why else would a taxicab in this isolated area be going anywhere else???
A few miles later...said taxicab (and its’ followers) made a left turn onto Route 6 (the other red dot on the map)...and I slammed on the brakes! “We need to follow that cab” I said. My passengers rolled their eyes and said...”Dad…just follow the directions and keep going”! I thought they were stupid...but I relented and decided to keep going...without the cab (and its’ followers)! I just knew my passengers were wrong...but…as it turned out...they were right! Three miles later, to my surprise, we arrived at the venue. So, for the rest of my life, they won’t let me live down the phrase of “follow that cab”!
Did I mention that the wedding and reception were awesome? The bride is my wife’s god-daughter and the daughter of her (our) lifelong friends.
It was truly a spectacular event and worth the journey. Once again…it was a mini United Nations affair, for the bride and groom, as well as the wedding party and guests.
We partied hard and a good time was had by all! We all agreed that these two set the bar for the next wedding!
I updated my list and added a new couple...Paul & Ama! If you’ve been following my little space on this blog-o-sphere...you know that I’m really encouraged by all this. I just wish I could be alive to see all of their offspring enter maturity.
The Native American man said, 'My people have suffered the most. In honor of what they have endured, I will fling myself over this cliff in hopes that my blood will change things. So he yelled, "THIS IS FOR MY PEOPLE!"; and he jumped off the cliff.
The Latino, not wanting to be outdone, quickly looked at the other two and followed yelling, "THIS IS FOR MY PEOPLE!"; and he jumped off the cliff as well...
The Black man was touched by all this and decided it was his turn; So he yelled, "THIS IS FOR MY PEOPLE!!!"; and pushed the white man off the cliff!
STOP LAUGHING !!!
YOU KNEW THE BROTHER WAS NOT GOING TO JUMP!!!
But, if you were to show up at the polls in November, and the poll worker were to ask you “Is President Obama a Muslim or a Christian?” and you answered “Muslim,” then - bzzzzzt - you’d be automatically disqualified from voting, on the grounds you’re just too dumb.”
Source - Paul Whitefield, LA Times, 7/27/12
“Having a president with strong religious beliefs is important to large majorities across a variety of religious groups. Those who are unaffiliated with a religion, especially atheists and agnostics, are the major exception. Two-thirds of the religiously unaffiliated, including 86% of atheists and agnostics, say it is not important that presidents have strong religious beliefs. White evangelical Protestants (88%), black Protestants (78%) and Hispanic Catholics (79%) are among the most likely to say it is important that a president have strong religious beliefs.”
Source Still not convinced? Just ask the creationists!
“Mitt Romney handed Barack Obama a priceless gift for the US presidential election campaign when the presumptive Republican nominee blundered on his first diplomatic outing by questioning whether London was capable of staging a successful Olympic Games.”
In a move that astonished Downing Street, hours before it laid on a special reception for Romney at No 10 he told NBC there were "disconcerting" signs about the preparations for the Games.
One senior Whitehall source said: "What a total shocker. We are speechless."
Check out the full UK Guardian article here.
This looks over the top! From the director Ang Lee of "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" and "Brokeback Mountain" fame. Two awesome movies...and the list goes on! Pass the PIPCORN please!
So yesterday was nice and low key…just the way I like it! We returned from a “semi-destination” wedding (2+ hours away and overnight stay…more about that in another entry!) We got home about 6:00PM. Around 8:00PM, my daughter, son-in-law and grandson popped in and shortly thereafter returned with a (small…and very cool) Carvel Ice cream cake. We sucked down the cake and then I opened the card…
It really blew me away! Then there was a gift! Totally unexpected…and the gift really blew me away too! Really! Gotta figure out a way to make these myself!
I need to add Colorado to my list! Why?
The registration for my “male menopause” Jaguar expired a month ago! I just realized that today. My drivers license expires on Sunday. Say Happy Birthday folks! So yesterday I decided to kill two birds with one stone...renew my drivers license and register the “male menopause machine”.
Enter the DMV. Queue up in the “Information” queue (30+ people on line waiting for information). You have to enter this queue to figure out your next queue. 45 minutes later, I explain to the DMV “information” clerk that I need to renew my license and re-register the Jag. The clerk looks as though this is the last place he wants to be. He hands me a ticket (#64) and directs me to the waiting room to my right. As I enter, I hear over the loudspeaker #45!
An hour later, I heard the number 64! Bingo! I approach the counter manned by an attractive middle aged black woman with a short blondish Afro...quite attractive...even a pleasant smile no less. Ms. Blondish Afro informs me that I can renew my license but not my registration for the “male menopause” Jag. Why? I need to get an emissions control certification BEFORE I can renew the registration!
Once I do that, I get the privilege of returning to the DMV “information” queue!
Postscript:
Why do so many people at the DMV and my local post office look as though it is the last place they want to be? If you don’t like serving the public, why take a job serving the public? Do you notice, regardless of how long the lines are, some of the employees disappear? Try to look busy doing something other than calling out the word "next"! Go off on a break or whatever? I think folks at the DMV and the post office ought to receive an additional incentive based on the number of people they serve. Say one dollar per person. I bet those lines would start moving real quick!
Rush Limbaugh and the Dark Knight Rises!
You just can't make this stuff up! These two fuel the fire and add to my thoughts and opinion that America is really getting f*cked up. And it's not just limited to these two. As I've said before...what really scares the sh*t out of me...are those American citizens that take this sh*t as the gospel truth...and they believe and support theses thoughts and ideologies.
After all...the President is a Muslim from Kenya!
Per the article..."Our story is not unusual. In your 30s and 40s, plenty of people enter your life, through work, children's play dates, and of course, Facebook" (I'm not there yet!).
"But actual close friends - the kind you make in college, the kind you call in a crisis - those are in shorter supply"!
Personally for me, my high school and college experience/memories are a big part of who I am...and so are my friendships! I am very fortunate! My wife and I attended the same high school...but that's a whole 'nother story!
I don’t know this dude from Adam. Apparently he has collaborated with the likes of Jay-Z, Beyoncé, Kanye West, Justin Bieber and many others! He even made it into the New York Times last week! So why all the hub-bub now?
Apparently Mr. Ocean took a peek out of the closet and some Negroes responded with a vengeance! Here are just a few of their dumb-ass twitter comments comparing Ocean to, Penn State child molester, Frank Sandusky:
Update: Sunday 7/15/12
I may have to get "Channel Orange" downloaded just to piss off the Negroes!
p.s. Check out Obama's ears! What a hoot!
The reception was held at a country-western venue. Normally, they even have a mechanical bull on the premise...but it was removed for this occasion! A good time was had by all...and I learned about the “Dollar Dance”...something new to me.
The next day we ventured to the Amana Colonies...and had a great lunch with family and friends at the Ox Yoke Inn.
This is Iowa!
Saw Matisyahu last night at Alive @ Five in downtown Stamford (we live within walking distance). Couldn't actually see him from where we were situated...but he was awesome. (That's him under the spotlight on the right!)
Huge crowd! All kinds of folks (mostly young though)!
First saw him perform a few years ago at B.B. Kings in New York City. Back then...when I first saw him take the stage...I thought it was a joke! Yarmulke & payot (aka...curls)? Come on! You gotta be kidding me!
Then he open his mouth and did the reggae thing and blew me away!
This is an incredibly easy test and it shows results in a number of ways. It clearly indicates that the majority of Americans don't have a clue about what's going on in the world. No wonder our politicians take such advantage of us. It's astonishing that so many people got less than half right. These results say that 80% of the (voting) public doesn't have a clue, and that's pretty scary.
No need to understand German to get a chuckle out of this!
During those 10 minutes we learned that she arrived in this mid-western city two months earlier. Her hometown was several hundred miles away. She had fled an abusive relationship.
A relationship that made her decide to pack a suitcase and get on a Greyhound bus at 3:00 AM. She left her car behind. She told no one. I repeat...no one...not even her Mom or her best friend that she was planning to leave or where she was going. She feared that if "he" found out he would track her down...and she didn't want to think about that outcome.
After several hours on the bus, she arrived in another state not knowing anyone and with no place to stay. She found refuge in the local homeless shelter. She started this housekeeping job just a few days after her arrival.
She was really pleasant and polite. She smiled often. We asked if she would ever go back. Her reply..."NEVER!" "I had to get away and start a new life while I could...before it was too late!"
She couldn't have been a day over 20. Her pleasant disposition and escape from abuse really touched me. I thought about my own daughters. I also thought about how fortunate I am and how the majority of us have no clue about her and so many other folks in her situation. I will never forget her story.
Given the Republican primaries, among other things, I’ve revisited the concept of America’s greatness. C’mon! If for nothing else, the fact that so many Americans actually voted for Bachmann, Santorum, & Cain & Perry or believed that “birther” Trump was worthy of the office of the Presidency continues to scare the sh*t out of me! Did I mention Newt? Add to that, 47% of the American electorate thought that Sarah Palin qualified to be a heartbeat away from the Presidency still has me shaking in my boots.
America is a leader among the world in religious beliefs, incarceration and defense spending! Is that greatness? Sadly enough there are some Americans that still believe that President Obama is a Muslim born in Kenya. But American intelligence is a whole ‘nother matter. I’m certain that many Americans probably couldn’t pass the test to become a naturalized citizen. These are the very same people that are probably fighting immigration reform tooth and nail.
America is a divided nation. Some have said it’s the college educated, the minorities and the young…versus everyone else. Red state versus blue state! Our issues are many and they add to this divisiveness:
In spite of all of this, I do believe that America can lay claim to the title of “Land of Opportunity”. I love this country and most…but not all...of its people. But given the current climate and state of affairs…I question its greatness.
Mr. Palmisano (then IBM CEO in January of 2009) serves up all the “goodness” about America, about the need for job creation in America and about developing a “more competitive infrastructure for the long term"! Practically whispering “sweet nothings” into President Obama’s ear! And…he even gets a plug in for IBM’s “Smarter Planet” campaign.
Meanwhile, fast forward one year to 2010, and according to the India Times, IBM became the second largest private sector employer in India. “The fact that IBM has over one lakh (100,000) people on its rolls in this country is one of India Inc's best-kept secrets.” Today, India is home to 1/5 of IBM's worldwide workforce!
Postscript:
I worked for IBM (on and off) for over 35 years. Overall…especially during those first 20 years…IBM was very good to me. Towards the end…I began to realize that it was no longer “your father’s IBM”! Rest in peace Mr. Watson!
“Balotelli dedicated his two goals against Germany to his adoptive mother. He sought her out after the match and gave her a kiss. He was born in Sicily, named Mario Barwuah, the son of immigrant parents from Ghana in West Africa. Intestinal problems became so severe, his birth father has said, that young Mario was baptized in fear that he might die. At age 2, he was sent to live near Brescia, Italy, with white foster parents, Francesco and Silvia Balotelli. Eventually, Mario took their name and, at 18, in 2008, he became an Italian citizen, eligible to play for its national soccer team.”
"His personal life has been as unsettled as his professional career, one perhaps influencing the other. As he gained citizenship, Balotelli accused his birth parents of having abandoned him in a hospital and having tried to reconnect only after he gained fame as a professional player.?”
If you watched today’s Union of European Football Association’s (UEFA) finals…you know that he wasn’t able to pull it off for the finals! Espana-4 versus Italia-0 (My German daughter and my German son-in-law got me into this stuff!) No vuvzelas this time though!
