tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-68266432609934446192024-03-05T04:41:35.362-08:00KIM MICHAEL Kim Michael Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01903894226635074888noreply@blogger.comBlogger32125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6826643260993444619.post-6892317274721159382018-01-19T20:22:00.000-08:002018-01-24T11:11:37.383-08:00<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgq79lTxo6NFW7qQoyTAyqPXbcwZ0DSrgRswEaSiXm7N9hnLwsoeTstDcNojjznW-_4xQl_MkAJi2d9olyJhCrTl5oDA6MHsQX0uBYAQcLW7OnZ8I_oenxXtSQkvcgSEMIMxt1Z_zSemHEt/s1600/Wreck+of+the+Columbia.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1203" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgq79lTxo6NFW7qQoyTAyqPXbcwZ0DSrgRswEaSiXm7N9hnLwsoeTstDcNojjznW-_4xQl_MkAJi2d9olyJhCrTl5oDA6MHsQX0uBYAQcLW7OnZ8I_oenxXtSQkvcgSEMIMxt1Z_zSemHEt/s320/Wreck+of+the+Columbia.jpg" width="320" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 14pt;">:</span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 24.000000pt;">Wreck of the Columbia
</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12.000000pt;">January 13, 2018-</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12.000000pt;">Kim Michael Producer
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12.000000pt;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12.000000pt;">LINK: <a href="https://youtu.be/v-EdD6bpQy8">https://youtu.be/v-EdD6bpQy8</a></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12pt;">PRESS RELEASE: Pekin, Peoria, Glasford, Mid-State IL</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12pt;">A new video, free to the public, was released on
YouTube, on January 13, 2018 commemorating the
famous sinking of the river boat “Columbia” on July
4th, 1918. The video features original photographs
and a music score with two new, original songs in a
unique telling of what has been described as one of
the greatest maritime disasters in American history,
causing the deaths of 87 people and injuring
hundreds more. Running time is 7 minutes 22
seconds.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12.000000pt;">The video goes on to show how regulations
regarding the river changed, adding dams and locks
to raise the level of the river so another disaster like
the Columbia could never happen again, as well as
the final outcome for the Captain of the Columbia-
Herman Mehl and Pilot Tom Williams.
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjO-5K2-Bf_xMcT8uBLKWZBunLN8zO9hvBZRZj4g-AowHtkBEnWOjuFq6gAXZbaXTdnf2Tyg4F41ahNjvuD6RUpevkh0PninbhvQOHI9LhI5eAl1QujgBCcHASpOZqZVXVP2hGUqlVSTaR-/s1600/COL+1jpg.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjO-5K2-Bf_xMcT8uBLKWZBunLN8zO9hvBZRZj4g-AowHtkBEnWOjuFq6gAXZbaXTdnf2Tyg4F41ahNjvuD6RUpevkh0PninbhvQOHI9LhI5eAl1QujgBCcHASpOZqZVXVP2hGUqlVSTaR-/s320/COL+1jpg.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="color: rgb(8.627451% , 9.803922% , 12.156860%); font-family: "timesnewromanps"; font-size: 13.000000pt; font-style: italic; font-weight: 700;">“This is spectacular!” “We just watched it.
Fabulous!” “This is an amazing
accomplishment! “I loved it!”
“EXCELLENT!”
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12pt;">“Few events in human history define a town, or region and its people, more than the sinking of the
excursion steamer Columbia. My motivation for creating this video was to memorialize, in an
entertaining but sensitive way, the events that happened on July 4th, 1918. Like Gordon Lightfoot's
“Wreck of the Edmond Fitzgerald” I wanted to create something that highlighted, and was part of, the
history that we in greater Peoria/Pekin area all share. I am making it free to the public to watch and
enjoy...and remember.”</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12pt;"> </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12.000000pt;"> -Kim Michael
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12.000000pt; font-weight: 700;">KIM MICHAEL: </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12.000000pt;">originally from Glasford, Illinois</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12.000000pt; font-weight: 700;">, </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12.000000pt;">is an author, writer, producer--having written
several books and formerly on the production staff for Doc Severinsen and the Tonight Show
Orchestra--and now founder of Kim Michael: Business Design Graphics. He resides in
Hendersonville, TN (greater Nashville area) with his wife, Joann (originally from Pekin,Il)
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12.000000pt; font-weight: 700;">Media Contact:
</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12.000000pt;">Kim Michael<br />
</span><span style="color: rgb(0.000000% , 0.000000% , 60.000000%); font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12.000000pt;">kim.michael.author@gmail.com </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjM69ZVOXkBHM16As3M7gsGiVaOqh3Vrjbyxff6vmQIxPWm9cOolH90yGsQ6lOyHH9WEE6kMsCzVhn2Pl0sEEFxFpNZh85HV9g9d85RK6cXNkC2LdPdKF6Gv5-CNdgbJMAyYznknlDgwbTI/s1600/FAMILY+FINAL+FB+ADDRESS.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjM69ZVOXkBHM16As3M7gsGiVaOqh3Vrjbyxff6vmQIxPWm9cOolH90yGsQ6lOyHH9WEE6kMsCzVhn2Pl0sEEFxFpNZh85HV9g9d85RK6cXNkC2LdPdKF6Gv5-CNdgbJMAyYznknlDgwbTI/s400/FAMILY+FINAL+FB+ADDRESS.png" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01903894226635074888noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6826643260993444619.post-9998330927110777752016-11-30T05:03:00.001-08:002016-11-30T05:36:35.876-08:00<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhShmus8Vw9Gnj_tiJbN2PWIN2bR2xWkA4pQcs9BcdwksQhrIm_rzArTxLx5k_-lms71DPiVEVZIGJCcK3u9aYou4pM6Bz9t6Cm8JGWUkmIbTX82GRNKZXMZAmzznz24y8eqmFXVdgVGJay/s1600/BLOG+4+KING+BOOK+COVER.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="248" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhShmus8Vw9Gnj_tiJbN2PWIN2bR2xWkA4pQcs9BcdwksQhrIm_rzArTxLx5k_-lms71DPiVEVZIGJCcK3u9aYou4pM6Bz9t6Cm8JGWUkmIbTX82GRNKZXMZAmzznz24y8eqmFXVdgVGJay/s320/BLOG+4+KING+BOOK+COVER.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<h2>
A Christmas Story: The Fourth King</h2>
By Kim Michael<br />
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Now in a beautiful 6 X 9 Paperback Edition<br />
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<i><b>The Perfect Holiday Gift for little more than the price of a card. Give the unique gift that people will keep and enjoy for many Christmases to Come.</b></i><br />
<i><b><br /></b></i>
<i><b>Available on CreateSpace/Amazon--$4.95.</b></i><br />
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<i><b><span style="color: red;">It can be ordered- just click on: </span> <a href="https://www.createspace.com/6736937">A Christmas Story: The Fourth King</a></b></i></h3>
<i><b><br /></b></i>
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<span style="font-weight: normal;">Since it's release over a thousand people have read and enjoyed "A Christmas Story: The Fourth King", and I have received numerous requests from people wanting a paperback version that they can give as "Gifts" at Christmas. </span></h3>
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<span style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></span><span style="font-weight: normal;">Now with a new cover and layout, it is finally available and for little more than the price of a Christmas Card, you can give a truly original "gift" this Christmas that people will read and enjoy for years to come. </span></h3>
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<span style="font-weight: normal;">From me and my family to yours...</span><i>Merry Christmas</i><span style="font-weight: normal;">!</span></h3>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01903894226635074888noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6826643260993444619.post-76891470296877961262016-06-04T12:13:00.001-07:002016-06-04T12:33:05.185-07:00<div style="line-height: normal;">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEig9g_UTQK3Wtf2OtTGgUD7QCyvPwJxtU5hjL_Xf8_LP_zQiLwQVIH-bnjZECKZzbagHMhNiHbKxrp7lbZVwFA0RcOP2nGyXh3aBajGDQqB_VmvM63XX2AdrOuWs6RNqicyH8j5RBh0DUy5/s1600/FOOTPRINTS+3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEig9g_UTQK3Wtf2OtTGgUD7QCyvPwJxtU5hjL_Xf8_LP_zQiLwQVIH-bnjZECKZzbagHMhNiHbKxrp7lbZVwFA0RcOP2nGyXh3aBajGDQqB_VmvM63XX2AdrOuWs6RNqicyH8j5RBh0DUy5/s320/FOOTPRINTS+3.jpg" width="220" /></a></div>
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<span style="color: #323333; font-size: x-large; line-height: normal;">Footprints in the Sand: "When I Carried You..."</span></h2>
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<span style="color: #323333; line-height: normal;">By Kim Michael June 2016 Original Story by People Magazine as seen on MSN.com</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: #666666;"><span style="line-height: normal;">If you saw a picture of </span>Darrell and Kay </span>Smith of Breckenridge Texas you probably wouldn't look twice at it. I can't show the picture of them because of copyright laws, but Darrell is 48 years old and is as a water utility worker in Breckenridge, Texas. And Kay, his wife, is thirteen years older than he, a former home healthcare worker; and they both look like the average couple next door, or down the street. They have a twenty-seven year old son, Darrell Jr., who has cerebral palsy and I suspect taking care of him is how Kay spends most of her time. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">When you see the picture of them the first thing you notice is they are large people, which is the kind way of saying they are overweight. And I admit, when I first saw the picture come up on MSN. com I passed over it, like most people, without even a second glance; but something took me back to that picture and that story. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">I have long believed that some of the most extraordinary acts of faith and courage, and even “love”, are done by the most ordinary of people. And as I read the story about Darrell and Kay, and more importantly, the story “between” the lines, it brought tears to my eyes. </span></div>
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<span style="color: #666666; font-size: large;"><span style="line-height: normal;">It happened just a few short days ago, m</span>ajor flooding had hit Breckinridge, Texas. Texas Governor Greg Abbott declared a state of disaster across 31 counties as heavy rain continued to fall, up to three inches per hour. Lakes and streams flooded and literally the city of Breckinridge was sinking in a rising current of mud and debris as water levels rose. </span></div>
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<span style="color: #666666; font-size: large;">At 2am in the morning the family dog began barking and woke the family up. Darrell slipped on his pants and shirt and walked outside to find the street flooded, already knee deep. He hurriedly woke up Kay and Darrell Jr and got them into his truck in an effort to get them to higher ground, but at an intersection close to their home, a wave from a nearby man-made lake crashed over the vehicle and sept it completely off the road and into a ditch that was rapidly filling with water. Darrell was able to push his door open, and the door behind him, to get Darrell Jr out, but when he got to the other passenger door, he saw Kay, trapped in the rising water, face down inside the vehicle. He forced the door open, and pulled her from the vehicle, but there was no sign of life. He tried desperately to give her mouth to mouth resuscitation, but it was too late. Kay, his best friend and wife, was dead. </span></div>
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<span style="color: #666666; font-size: large;">A kind person seeing the horror that was unfolding took Darrell Jr. on his back and got him to a safety, leaving Darrell alone with the body of his dead wife. </span></div>
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<span style="color: #666666; font-size: large;">“I couldn’t leave her,” he told People magazine, in an interview later. “She was everything to me.” </span></div>
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<span style="color: #666666; font-size: large;">He cried out repeatedly for help, but know one came. The water was rising so fast he realized that he had to go, but if he left her, he knew the water would surely wash her body away, and he just couldn’t leave her. </span></div>
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<span style="color: #666666; font-size: large;">And so, in the pouring rain, Darrell Smith lifted her in his arms and carried her, through the storm and rising water, arms aching and heart broken. He carried her for more than a mile until he found a highway that was not flooded and flashing lights waiting. And there, as he knelt by his wife’s body, he said good bye to his lifelong companion and friend. </span></div>
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<span style="color: #666666; font-size: large;">It remind me of the poem "Footprints in the Sand", by Mary Fishback Powers; the story of a man walking beside the Lord and looking back at the footprints of his life in the sand, and he noticed that at the point when he was troubled, and most alone, there were only one set of tracks. And he asked the Lord, why did you leave me? And the Lord replied, "I never left you...when there were only one set of footprints is when I carried you."</span><br />
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<span style="color: #666666; font-size: large;">I think we sometimes forget what “love” truly is. It’s not about flowers on Sunday, or romantic trips, or even saying “I love you.” It is in the nobility of a human spirit, irrevocably tied to another, in times and ways that supersede the temporal boundaries of self preservation and even life itself. </span></div>
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<span style="color: #666666; font-size: large;">Darrell remained steadfast at the side of his wife to the very end, refusing to leave her, even in death. </span></div>
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<span style="color: #666666; font-size: large;">To some, I suspect, it is foolishness. But I think, we should all be so lucky... to be so foolish. </span><br />
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<span style="color: #666666; font-size: large;"><i>If you would like to see the original article provided by People Magazine along with the picture of Darrell and Kay, it can be found at: </i></span><span style="color: #3d85c6; font-size: large;">http://thecelebrityauction.co/wp2/cwitter-article/grieving-texas-man-carried-wifes-lifeless-body-through-flood-waters-she-was-my-whole-life-2/</span></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01903894226635074888noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6826643260993444619.post-45071192161260490702016-05-26T18:19:00.001-07:002017-01-07T10:33:02.145-08:00<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8knH_RdVnHWX4dvg99mjVMJMG-e2eLLYKjsMsm-ZaraVeJJDV6PCG4HEsO9r6zcLYGgdMwfNIMGSbmLShankKOso5oUDJSbkm2GdDWpwV9TdT3ewHPCXUa-nUVrpz7qUVMwe2wQ2afGSx/s1600/THE+MAGIC+CAR.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="216" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8knH_RdVnHWX4dvg99mjVMJMG-e2eLLYKjsMsm-ZaraVeJJDV6PCG4HEsO9r6zcLYGgdMwfNIMGSbmLShankKOso5oUDJSbkm2GdDWpwV9TdT3ewHPCXUa-nUVrpz7qUVMwe2wQ2afGSx/s320/THE+MAGIC+CAR.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;">MAGIC</span></h2>
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By Kim Michael May 2016<br />
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">When a favorite Aunt on my wife's side of the family put this picture on Facebook, I had to write something about it. Maybe not about the kids, the only one I know in the picture is the little girl sitting in the driver's seat, my wife's Aunt, whose now my age. Or the car they built, I never saw it either, but the picture of all of them gathered around their newly made, kid-built car, and the look on their faces, smiling proudly as they stood by their new creation. Priceless. And for a moment it took me back.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">The world is a different place when you're a kid. When you look at an old box and some wheels and the seat off some broken chair, you don't see a pile of junk, you see... a car. When you see a stack of hay bales and an old tarp, you don't see hay and canvas, you see a fort, or a castle, or a ship about to sail off to fight pirates on the high seas, or a hundred other things. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">When you're a kid, everything is alive with possibility, there are no boundaries, everything is just waiting for you to touch it, to give life. You live in a world where witches and fairies and fairy-god mothers, and even homemade cars, are all real and you believe that, because you know, with out a doubt, that "magic" is real. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Seeing that picture took me back to when I too believed in magic, before the world waxed over hard with reality and that sense of wonder that we all begin life with had weened itself from my imagination. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">And so it was, one summer day, that my best friend Denny Johanson and I, decided to build an airplane. Not a model airplane mind you, but a real airplane. One that would carry the both of us up, up and away, and I remember thinking what a grand idea it was. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">We found a pile of old boards behind the garage that my dad had been saving. My dad was an avid board collector. He had piles of them all over the place. He had long ones and short ones, two by fours and flat boards, you name it and he had. I never knew what they were for, and frankly, I don't think he did either. But there they were, just calling us. They knew us by name and I could tell, just by looking at them, they wanted to be something. And when a board wants to be something other than a board, you have to oblige it. It's a rule of nature. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">And so we pulled everything to the front yard and began to build. There's not a lot of planning when you're a kid, you just do it. There are no blueprints, the blueprint is an idea in your head. Drawing and measuring are a waste of time. They say that when Walt Disney decided to build Disney World, he spent hours just walking the empty land in Florida, and to anyone who saw him, he just looked like he was walking around, but he wasn't. He was walking down main street. He could see every building, every store front, even the the castle. It was all in his mind and the blueprint was only an idea, a dream that he had. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">So with that in mind, we began. The fuselage was a couple of boards we nailed together to make it just long enough. If I remember the wings were a good fifteen feet across, but we didn't have anything to cover them with. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Then the idea came to Denny, an epiphany if ever there was one. If you could use paper to make a model airplane, why couldn't you use it on a real airplane? We gathered up old newspapers and Christmas wrapping paper and paper bags, and piece by piece we stretched them out and nailed them to the wings. And then made a place just behind the wings where we both could sit and with a few more boards, the tail was done. And then we mounted the whole thing on my red Radio Flyer wagon </span><span style="font-size: large;">using old bailing wire and twine to secure it. And thus, as thus goes, in </span><span style="font-size: large;">a matter of a few hours, it was done. </span><span style="font-size: large;">Wilbur and Orville Wright would have been proud.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">We had the route all planned out. We would run it down a hill to get up enough speed and when it lifted off, we would fly down the valley and then turn up and fly over my house and then Denny's, and land in the field next to his house.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">It was going to be a long flight so we decided to get a drink of water before we took off. Building an airplane is hard work and it was warm that day. Perfect for flying if I remember correctly. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">When we left the kitchen I heard mom say to dad, "You don't think that thing will really fly, do you?" </span><span style="font-size: large;">Just hearing her ask him that made me think that it might just actually fly, though I thought I heard the sound of my dad laughing as the door closed behind us. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">We decided the only place where we could get up enough speed was a huge hill behind my house. And so the long journey began. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: large;">We dragged that behemoth to the top of the hill, with the wheels on my Radio Flyer wagon, groaning and complaining under the weight and then, when we got to the top, we positioned the nose facing downhill and everything was set. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">I scooped up a handful of dust and let it fall so I could see which way the wind was blowing. I'd seen someone do it in a movie once so I knew it was something you had to do. Denny assured me, all pilots do it--even airline pilots. Even though their runways are cement they keep a handful of dirt in their pockets and just before they get into the cockpit, when no one's looking, they empty their pocket to see which way the wind is blowing. So there it was--proof.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: large;">The dust told the story. There was just a slight breeze and it was blowing sideways and then in circles. Perfect, as far as either of us knew. And so it was time. We mounted our magic aircraft and on the count of three, we kicked away the bricks from under the wheels, and we began our descent down the hill. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">As we built up speed the plane began to shimmy and shake and I knew we were just about about to take off, when suddenly, about half way down, one of the wings dipped, caught the ground and the plane spun around. The wheels on the wagon snapped, and in another second we were sprawled out on the ground. The plane slid another ten feet, and then the wings fell off and the fuselage split in two. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">I looked at Denny, "Did we leave the ground?"</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Denny looked at me dazed, "I think so."</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">And so in days to come, the story of our flight and the airplane we built became bigger and more fantastic with each telling. Neighborhood kids listened wide eyed, as we recanted the story over and over again of how we flew down the valley and over our houses and landed perfectly in the field next to Denny's house. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">I never really knew what became of that airplane. Maybe my dad pulled it all back off that hill where we left it, or maybe, just maybe, the pieces magically came back together, and when the wind was just right, it lifted off the ground and flew away. I can't be sure. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">There are times though, I think I can still see it, flying up in the sky, circling over our town, slipping and swirling in the clouds, dancing on the wind with newspaper and Christmas paper wings; and for a moment, just a moment. I remember what it was like, when I too, believed in... magic. </span></span><br />
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<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01903894226635074888noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6826643260993444619.post-22572695784421672182016-05-05T06:47:00.000-07:002016-05-15T13:57:19.027-07:0070 Dancing Little Angels: Garden of Angels by Kim Michael-- Copyright February 2015<div class="MsoNormal">
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">70 Dancing Little Angels: Garden of Angel</span>s</span></h3>
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by Kim Michael<br />
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Copyright February 2015</div>
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<span style="color: #999999;"><b><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt;">URL-- </span></b><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt;">ttp://www.foxnews.com/story/2004/12/07/angel-to-abandoned-babies-wins-lottery. Home Video Politics U.S. Opinion Entertainment Tech Science Health Travel Lifestyle World Sports Weather Privacy Terms.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> Some people live their lives going from cradle to grave without leaving so much as a footprint, while others leave huge wakes in life as they pass.</span><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">They are heroes of a sort.</span><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">They are people who inspire us and at times even humble us; people who are capable of such indescribable acts of kindness and courage that it’s difficult for us to grasp how or why they do what they do.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> Some years ago I read a Fox News article about the “Garden of Angels” and it affected me so profoundly that I promised myself that one day I would write about it and this is a story that has been long over due.</span><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14pt;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"> By the way I have included the original URL so you can also see the original article and pictures of the Garden are readily available if you search for the "Garden of Angels." <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14pt;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"> This story is for anyone who has ever loved a child, who knows how precious a gift they are, and that Angels do exist.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> Debi Faris-Cifell and her husband live in a little town in California called </span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Calimesa.</span><span style="font-size: 11pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">When the phone rings it is a call for Debi to come to the morgue to collect yet another body of an abandon baby who has died somewhere in the three county area surrounding Los Angeles. They are tiny, no names, left in alleys or garbage cans to die alone, unloved and unwanted.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14pt;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"> Debi goes to the morgue and insists on going in alone into the autopsy room where she raps the babies in a hand made quilt and in the quiet of that room she holds them, and prays over them, and loves them. She gives them first names that will be engraved on a white cross above their grave in a very special place she has made for them, a place she calls the “Garden of Angels”. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14pt;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"> Over the years the Garden has had frequent visitors, people who believe in what Debi and her husband are doing and often adopt the babies, leaving flowers and toys on their graves through-out the year. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> Until Debi began her work in 1996, babies whose remains went unclaimed were cremated, their ashes placed in a small cardboard box and after three years if they remained unclaimed, were buried with other John and Jane Does in an unmarked grave.</span><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14pt;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"> Since Debi began her work in 1996 she has buried more than seventy babies. Held seventy babies in her arms. Gave seventy babies names and gave seventy babies love. She refuses to let them pass from this world nameless and without being loved—even if only for a little while. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14pt;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"> But just as she is committed to the babies who have been lost, she is equally committed to saving the lives of babies who are still in peril.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> In 2001 Debi Faris-Cifelli, helped win passage of the law called the</span><span style="font-size: 11pt;"> “</span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Safe Haven Law” in California, which allows desperate and confused parents a three day period to leave a child at a firehouse or hospital, without fear of prosecution. Forty-six states now have enacted such laws and since the law took affect 67 babies in California have been safely surrendered, though Debi admits, no one knows how many have still been lost, and without an adequate awareness campaign many of these tiny lives are still in jeopardy. </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14pt;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"> To that end Debi travels across the country to lobby in states that have no such laws, all in the hope that one day the Garden of Angels will see its last angel. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14pt;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"> She does all this with a three person staff supported by donations, grants, car washes, bake sales and compassionate people through out the country, but it has barely been enough to cover the costs.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> Then in 2008 a miracle happened. Debi and her husband won the California lottery. They had only played it three times in their entire life, but they won $27 million dollars. For many of us that would be enough to just walk away from it all, but not Debi and her husband. They have already made plans for the money. They received a lump sum after tax of $9 million dollars and as you would expect some will go to their children, but the bulk will go into doing the work that is, and always has been, her passion. And because of the money her babies will live on in a new way, one hundred forty scholarships will be given out each year in the names of each of the abandoned babies she has buried. </span><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14pt;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"> I suppose there are critics who will say that Debi and her husband are deluding themselves into thinking that they can love and comfort a child after its life has passed; that what they do makes no difference at all; but it does. It makes a difference to me and probably anyone who has ever loved a child; and I am convinced that no act of love is ever lost, no good deed ever overlooked. Maybe not here on earth, but I would like to believe, like Debi and her husband, that somehow, someway, those babies know and they are saying “thank you for loving me when no one else did”. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14pt;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"> And why do I think that? The odds of winning the lottery are astronomical, even impossible, especially if you've only played three times in your life. But I tend to think the odds are significantly less, when you have seventy dancing little angels in heaven…helping you. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14pt;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">By the </span></span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: 19px;">way you can find the website for the Garden of Angels at: <a href="http://www.gardenofangels.org/">http://www.gardenofangels.org/</a></span></span></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01903894226635074888noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6826643260993444619.post-85737803268791190352016-05-03T14:34:00.000-07:002016-05-15T13:40:01.202-07:00The Extraordinary Story of a Man Who Lost over a Thousand Races--The Dick and Rick Hoyt Story By Kim Michael-- Copyright March 2015<div style="color: #252525;">
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">What would you say if I told you that there is a man who has run over a thousand endurance races, including 72 full marathons (32 Boston Marathons), six Ironman Triathlons, climbed mountains, and crossed America riding a bicycle in 45 days. And in all of those competitions (to my knowledge) has never won a single race? Would you say--that he is probably the biggest loser of all time? You might if you didn’t know that much about what “winning" and "losing" really means; or the inspired way in which he lost; and how in losing, he has captured the hearts and imaginations of millions of people around the world. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">Meet Dick Hoyt, a retired military man who at the age of forty began running races. A lot of them. And up to that time he had never run more than a mile; he did not know how to swim; had never climbed a mountain and had never biked more than a few miles. And the reason why he started doing all these things…is where this amazing story begins. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">You see in every one of those races, Dick Hoyt carried, or pushed, or pulled his quadriplegic son “Rick"; sometimes in a wheelchair, sometimes in a rubber raft that Dick pulled behind him as he swam, and sometimes on the handlebars of a bike specially designed to carry Rick, and in all that time, Dick Hoyt has never run a single race without his son. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">It all began in the winter of 1962 when Dick and Judy Hoyt’s son was born. During the delivery the umbilical cord had gotten wrapped around Rick’s neck strangling him and leaving him brain damaged and a spastic quadriplegic, unable to talk or control his limbs. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">At the age of nine months the doctors told the Hoyts that Rick would be nothing more than a vegetable and should be institutionalized, but the Hoyts refused, which began a long list of refusals that would eventually save both Rick and Dick’s lives. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">The Hoyts refused to leave their little boy behind. They refused to let his life be less than any other child’s. They refused to let Rick’s disabilities define him, and when the kids in the neighborhood played, Rick payed with them, in his wheel chair. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">The Hoyt’s invested in a computer that allowed Rick to tap out words with his head, and eventually he went to public school and graduated. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">But the real turning point came when Rick heard about a La Cross player who had been paralyzed in an accident and a five mile charity run was being held to raise money for him.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">“Dad,” Rick said. “I want to run in that race. I've got to let him know that life goes on even though he is paralyzed.” So Rick ran the race with his father pushing him in his wheelchair. They came in next to last, but they finished, even though Dick was sore for two weeks, but Rick told his dad, “When we were running, it was like I wasn’t disabled any more." </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">That was all Dick Hoyt needed to hear. It was the beginning of a race that Dick and Rick would run for over forty years—together, father and son. Over a thousand races in all, including six Ironman Triathlons; crossing America on a bicycle in 45 days, and climbing mountains. And in each of those races, thousands of people lined the streets to see them;<span style="color: #252525;"> Rick waving his arms wildly, grinning ear to ear as they passed; people <span style="color: #252525;">applauding them, cheering them on, </span>taking pictures of them and more than a few with tears in their eyes. </span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #252525;">The Hoyts carried their message of hope to millions just through the simple act of refusing to give in, of having the courage and the sheer will to be more than their limitations. I don’t think you can see something like that and not be humbled...and inspired by it. I know the first time I saw the the video, I am not ashamed to say tears rolled down my face. </span> </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">But that is not the whole story. Dick Hoyt admits that Rick saved his life as well. Several years ago during a race Dick Hoyt had a mild heart attack. With an artery 95% blocked he was told by his doctors if he had not been in such good shape from running, he would likely have died fifteen years before. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">At the age of 73 and Rick now 51, 2014 was the last Boston Marathon they would run, but they will be remembered. Only yards from the starting line a statue has been erected; a statue of a father pushing his son’s wheel chair in the Boston Marathon, his son’s arms waving wildly... and if you look closely you can even see the smile on his son’s face. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">Over the centuries there have been many artists who have tried to depict the true likeness of God; great artists like Rubens, Blake, Michelangelo, and many others. But you know what I think is probably the closest to what God really looks like? </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">It’s a statue in Boston of a man pushing his son’s wheel chair in a race that he will never win. That’s what unconditional love looks like. And I’m thinking ...that’s what the face of God looks like. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">If you have not seen it, the video can be seen at: <a href="http://www.teamhoyt.com/index.html">http://www.teamhoyt.com/index.html</a> as well as the Hoyt story.</span><br />
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01903894226635074888noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6826643260993444619.post-22450879165314280192016-05-02T16:56:00.000-07:002016-05-15T13:40:54.963-07:00Women of Courage<div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;">The Amazing Story of the "Practical Magic" House</span></h2>
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For anyone who has ever seen the movie "Practical Magic" you know that the biggest star of the movie is not Sandra Bullock or Nicole Kidman--it is the Practical Magic "house". </div>
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Having a fascination for such things I was interested in finding out where this house is, and if it can still be seen today. Actually, the movie was made back in 1998, so there have been quite a few years since the house was first filmed, and I suspected that it had probably been sold and was now privately owned. <br />
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What I found out however was, the house no longer exists. It was torn down years ago. But what most people (including myself) didn't know is that the house was not actually a house, but rather, a movie set. It literally had no insides and was essentially an empty shell. The interiors were filmed on a sound stage in Hollywood. It was rumored that Barbra Streisand was interested in buying the house at one time, but in the end, the cost of building out the inside proved to be too much and it was eventually bulldozed to the ground. <br />
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But there is another side to the story of the Practical Magic house that is even more intriguing. When Griffen Dunne was brought in to direct the movie, he wanted to use a Victorian House on top of a hill, overlooking the ocean--but none could be found, so Stephen Alesch and Robin Standefer (a husband and wife set design team) were brought in to design and build the house--with a strange requirement. The house had to have a "woman" inspired theme to it; a house where only women lived; and if possible, the architecture had to be "woman" inspired. </div>
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Robin and Stephen's first thoughts were of a victorian house with lavish, frilly, ornate facades.... but when Robin began doing research on the concept, she discovered something that neither she or Stephen expected....something that would change dramatically the concept of their house, and instill in their design a deeper meaning, that many people would sense, but not really understand. <br />
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It was a warm afternoon when they took their plans to the movie studio and spread them out for the production staff to see.... and the first reaction was one of confusion.<br />
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It was a victorian house alright, just as had been first envisioned, sitting on a hill top, overlooking the ocean, but with one signifiant difference... it was a lighthouse. If you look closely at the picture at the top of this page you can see it--the highest point on the roof is actually what's called the "lantern room" of a lighthouse. <br />
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But why a lighthouse? Why would a "woman" inspired design be a lighthouse? <br />
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"Because", Robin said, “In my research I found out that it was women, not men, who manned the lighthouses of the world for centuries."<br />
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Literally hundreds of thousands of sailors owed their lives to the brave women who climbed the stairs, night after night, to light the light... the light that would lead the ships at sea safely home, even in the worst storms. <br />
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Who were these women? They were women who had lost husbands and sons, brothers and fathers, to an unforgiving sea....and had committed themselves to not let another life be taken....for lack of a light that could bring them safely home. They were, and are, some of the greatest unspoken heroes of our past. <br />
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And I tend to think that there are many women today, just like them, who maybe don't have lighthouses, but day in and day out, climb the stairs and light the light; and for most, it is not important to them that the world know they are heroes. But it's is important...that we know. </div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01903894226635074888noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6826643260993444619.post-34143768328564449072016-04-30T19:33:00.000-07:002016-05-15T13:42:28.114-07:00Last Recorded Words Aboard the Challenger Spacecraft-by Kim Michael <div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica";">"Give Me </span>Your<span style="font-family: "helvetica";"> Hand"</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: large;">On January 28, 1986, seventy-three seconds after lift off, the space shuttle Challenger exploded nine miles above the earth. Despite thorough coverage of the accident by the media, the last few minutes inside the spacecraft were kept from the public. Only years later would we learn that some of the members on board did not die in the explosion. And in those last few, terrible moments; as the spacecraft came crashing to earth, the last unofficial words recorded in the cabin was a single voice saying, “Give me your hand.”</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: large;">They were not words of anger or regret. They were “human” words. Words that resonate at the very heart of what it means to be human. When I first heard this story it made a lasting impression on me, and it occurred to me that it is in the simple act of reaching out to one another that the true strength of what we are, and who we are, is the most meaningful. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: large;">“Give me your hand,” reminds us in a way that no other words can, that we are never really complete as evolved creatures or master works of creation until we have the ability to connect with one another. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: large;">And of all the words that could have been spoken that day, “Give me your hand” leaves us with the undeniable truth that the simplest of all human gifts-- are perhaps the most precious. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: large;">We may one day traverse the galaxy. Walk on distant planets and live in great cities beneath the ocean, but no matter how far we reach, no matter how high we climb, the one thing that will not change, and has not changed since the dawn of our existence, is our need for one another. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: large;">When I think of the words, “ Give me your hand”, I am reminded of Luciano De Crescenzo, a famous Italian writer and director, who once said—"We are each of us, angels, with only one wing, and it is only when we embrace each other….that we can fly."</span></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01903894226635074888noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6826643260993444619.post-72053709039028351292016-04-29T18:52:00.000-07:002016-05-15T13:43:51.170-07:00Michael's Picture<div class="MsoNormal">
Michael's Picture- August 31, 2014<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Michael brought me a picture; actually it was a gift he made for me when we visited last month.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He’s five, or rather, going on five, as he would say.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He is also my grandson.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Unlike Michael, I never really knew either of my grand fathers.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>One died when I was younger than Michael.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The other when I was twelve.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It’s funny what you remember; I don’t recall ever seeing either one of them smile.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>To be honest, I don’t think either one was ever very interested in being my grandfather, of spending time with me, or just talking to me.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">I’ve always heard it said that people were just different back then and maybe they were, or maybe that’s just the bandage we put on it, so it doesn’t hurt so much.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I don’t know.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">So anyway, back to this picture.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Michael drew it and then colored it, just for me.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Maddie his older sister (by two years) has given me tons of pictures, sometimes taking hours to complete just one.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And I keep them all.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I have them on the walls in my office, in my bookcase, and I usually have a couple in my suitcase when I travel.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Grandbabies…they see world so differently. They don’t really understand the value of things.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They don’t have money, and even if they did, a dollar might as well be a hundred dollars, or thousand; but when they make something, its like they have made the most priceless thing on earth--and they made it just for you.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">And I’ve never bothered to tell them that the things they make are just paper and crayons and scribbling… and not what they think they’re worth.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">They’re worth... a whole lot more. </span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01903894226635074888noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6826643260993444619.post-15179751810202577512016-04-25T05:59:00.000-07:002016-05-15T13:59:36.953-07:00The Great Lincoln Irony By Kim Michael Copyright April 2015<div class="MsoNormal">
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<span style="font-size: x-large;">The Great Lincoln Irony</span><o:p></o:p><br />
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<span style="color: #1c1c1c; font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 14.0pt;"> </span><span style="color: #1c1c1c; font-family: "helvetica";">By Kim Michael </span><span style="color: #1c1c1c; font-family: "helvetica";"> Copyright April 2015</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="color: #1c1c1c; font-family: "times new roman";">The Merriam Webster dictionary defines “irony”as</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman";">: a situation that is
strangely out-of-place, or something that has happened that seems to be the exact
opposite of what you might normally expect.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman";"><span style="font-size: x-large;">History
is full of strange ironies, and perhaps one of the strangest is The Great Lincoln
“Irony”.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman";"><span style="font-size: x-large;">But
first you need to meet Edwin Thomas, a key player in this irony of ironies.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He was a popular actor during the time that Abraham
Lincoln was president.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>To say he was
popular is actually an understatement.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Some
theatrical historians considered him one of the greatest American actors ever,
and certainly the greatest Shakespearian actor of the nineteenth century.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He was the equivalent to George
Clooney or Cary Grant today, and he traveled across the country performing in
only the finest theaters; not to mention he was considered a major “heart
throb” by many adoring female fans.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman";"><span style="font-size: x-large;">But
his life would take several unexpected turns.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>In 1863 or 1864 (no one knows for sure); while standing on a crowded
railway platform in Jersey City, New Jersey; a young man was accidentally
pushed off the platform and onto the tracks of an oncoming train.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>To be fair, there are some accounts that say the
train was already in the station and that the young man had slipped down under
the wheels.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In either case, it is pretty
much agreed that the young man would likely have been killed if not for one man
standing on the platform who saw the boy fall and leaped onto the tracks to pull
him to safety.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That man was Edwin
Thomas, and at the time, he had no idea who the young man was.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman";"><span style="font-size: x-large;">Now
keep in mind that Edwin Thomas was an actor, and the first in our series of
ironies is that it was pretty well known that Abraham Lincoln did not like
going to the theater, which he often did merely to appease his wife Mary, who
loved the theater.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And it is probably
safe to say that if Lincoln didn’t like the theater, that he probably didn’t
care for actors as well.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman";"><span style="font-size: x-large;">And so I believe one of the great ironies of this story is, that, when Lincoln went to
Ford’s theater that fateful night of April 14, 1865, he went to satisfy an <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>agenda, other than placating his wife; he went
to meet and thank the brother of the actor, a cast member in the play, who had
saved his son’s life several months before.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman";"><span style="font-size: x-large;">The young man that Edwin Thomas had saved on that railway platform that day was
Robert “Todd” Lincoln…Abraham Lincoln’s son.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman";">History
will forever remember that Abraham Lincoln was assassinated by John Wilkes
Booth…an actor.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman";"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman";">What history has
conveniently left out is that it was Edwin Thomas’ brother (an actor) that Lincoln was
probably there to see that night; and that both Edwin's brother and the actor who assassinated the President...were the same man. </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman";"> </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman";">You
see, Thomas was not Edwin’s last name; it was his only his middle name.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman";"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman";">His last name was actually “Booth”.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman";"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman";">And John Wilkes Booth, in addition to being Edwin’s
brother and Abraham Lincoln’s assassin, was the man that Lincoln had likely gone
to Ford’s Theater that night to meet and thank. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman";"><span style="font-size: x-large;">And
so the great Lincoln Irony may more accurately be described as the great “Booth”
Irony, in that one brother took the life of a Lincoln… and the other… had saved
his son’s life. </span><span style="font-size: medium;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01903894226635074888noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6826643260993444619.post-10816113034726186452016-01-08T18:52:00.000-08:002016-01-08T19:03:34.277-08:00<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjg4ahiPxS8WkYAp1tcfMfBY-e_ioS1Ygevjji45Va8_amumlOZoFfE-cyL4b0XCXYbeIgE-UFV9wOFZeWZxEWnQ6UATdmeimhwX5GBusME4fHQaRdL_Q_iEGkhe-WGT3WM-b5MJiKgDOiD/s1600/BOY+FALLS+SPECIAL+OLYMPICS.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjg4ahiPxS8WkYAp1tcfMfBY-e_ioS1Ygevjji45Va8_amumlOZoFfE-cyL4b0XCXYbeIgE-UFV9wOFZeWZxEWnQ6UATdmeimhwX5GBusME4fHQaRdL_Q_iEGkhe-WGT3WM-b5MJiKgDOiD/s400/BOY+FALLS+SPECIAL+OLYMPICS.jpg" /></a><br />
<h2>
One Mentally Challenged Runner and His Friends Loose the Race, but Win the Hearts of Thousands</h2>
<br />
By Kim Michael January 2016 <br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">It was the 1976 field and track event in Spokane, not the Special Olympics as has been erroneously reported by many since it happened, but that doesn't diminish the value of this story. Nine physically and mentally challenged runners lined up to do the 100 yard dash that day. When the starting gun went off they all moved forward. They had all trained for months just for this one moment. They all wanted to win, more than anything. It was their way of saying to world I am valuable. I matter. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">And then the unimaginable happened, one little boy stumbled, took a couple of hard tumbles on the asphalt and landed face down, and began to cry. Most of the other runners didn't notice, yet two runners, a boy and a girl, stopped for a moment and looked back. They saw the little boy lying on the ground crying. Slowly they went back forgetting about the race, forgetting about all the months they had trained for this single moment, and forgetting all that it meant to them. To them, all they saw was one little boy who had failed, who was hurt and crying. They lifted him up and then they put their arms around him, locking arms with him and together the three of them walked smiling across the finish line together... dead last.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-size: large;">As they crossed the finish line sixty thousand people immediately came to their feet. The deafening applause that went on for many long minutes seemed like hours. Some moved to tears. Those three runners had lost the race, but in so doing, had won the greatest race of all...the human race. </span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-size: large;">We are all put on this earth to do many things. Some are destined for greatness while others are merely here to do normal things greatly. What is noble and good in all of us is not a birthright. It comes from a generosity of spirit that puts the needs of others ahead of our own. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">For all that were at the race that day, few will remember those who won, fewer still will ever know the courage it took for those physically and mentally challenged children to do as simple a thing as running a race, but none will ever forget the three runners who finished last... and maybe that's what winning is really all about. </span> </div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01903894226635074888noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6826643260993444619.post-30271284528152525492015-12-27T17:56:00.000-08:002015-12-28T05:06:24.338-08:00"Today I Said Good By to an Old Friend". By Kim Michael December 20015<div style="color: #141823; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px;">
Francis Mayer once said in her book "Under the Tuscan Sun", What is a house? Is it four walls or is it what they contain? The Native Americans believe that there is a kind of life that is in all things and like humans, at some point, they become greater than the sum of the parts that make them up. The difference between a house and a home is the life that it contains, and I suppose the same thing can be said of many things that come to be more than just "things". With that in mind I wrote this small piece of something that has become more than just a "thing" in my life.</div>
<div style="color: #141823; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="color: #141823; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px;">
Today, I said good by for the last time to a friend. I went to the holding lot where they tow wrecked cars after an accident. I was there to get my belongings before it was shipped off to the salvage yard. </div>
<div style="color: #141823; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; margin-top: 6px;">
This last Saturday morning I was driving home from the gym when a young girl ran a stop sign and hit me head on. The impact was so great that the two cups of coffee that I had just bought at Star Bucks (in the drink holder) vaporized instantly, sending a cloud of Christmas<span class="text_exposed_show" style="display: inline;"> Blend (with whole milk) filling the entire front of my car. </span></div>
<div style="color: #141823; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; margin-top: 6px;">
<span class="text_exposed_show" style="display: inline;">The girl that hit me was turned a full 180 degrees from the direction she was going. My air bags did not deploy, but her's did. The seat belt that wrenched my ribs and torso probably saved me from going through the windshield. We both walked away, the girl that hit me and me, but both cars were totaled. </span></div>
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<div style="margin-bottom: 6px;">
I know it is a little foolish, and maybe a little sentimental, but that car (a Hyundai Sonata) was maybe the best car I have ever owned. With 176,000 miles it looked and drove like the day I bought it with little more than oil changes and regular maintenance. And when push came to shove, it took the brunt of the blow so I could walk away unharmed. They say the greatest gift that one can give is your life for another. My friend, the car, did that for me. And now it is headed to the junk yard. </div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 6px; margin-top: 6px;">
The eskimos used to take their elderly dying and put them on ice floats and push them out to sea. They would fall asleep in the cold and gently sip into the ocean, and the thought was that their bodies would feed the creatures that would one day be food for their children and grandchildren...and in the process live again. I hope my little car will be remolded into something new and wonderful and worthy of the gift it has given me. </div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 6px; margin-top: 6px;">
Good by my friend and if I haven't said it. Thank you.</div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01903894226635074888noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6826643260993444619.post-86705817541277665672015-10-16T05:46:00.001-07:002015-10-16T05:46:10.903-07:00<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UFhvpJNF3k4Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01903894226635074888noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6826643260993444619.post-63394061184612691552015-07-29T04:31:00.000-07:002015-09-25T07:45:30.700-07:00<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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A Christmas Story: The Fourth King on the front page of the Glasford Gazette, my home town newspaper. This is better than being on the cover of the Rolling Stone. </div>
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<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01903894226635074888noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6826643260993444619.post-53207875878469634992015-07-13T05:55:00.001-07:002015-12-01T07:04:14.357-08:00<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHdrytFS3LqKbzN82eaOk44Ddf_1aGdGbWKR3Cah8fgAfBHuU4qQQ9m2fGcrgHgxvNcfcItQTXXzjXddOnWud31DhHWmY05MRCznZD655i5rSptuejcH3c3mxnxOw3TVzJqPQyEqmPOfpr/s1600/4TH+KING+BOOK.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHdrytFS3LqKbzN82eaOk44Ddf_1aGdGbWKR3Cah8fgAfBHuU4qQQ9m2fGcrgHgxvNcfcItQTXXzjXddOnWud31DhHWmY05MRCznZD655i5rSptuejcH3c3mxnxOw3TVzJqPQyEqmPOfpr/s320/4TH+KING+BOOK.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
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<h2>
<span style="font-size: x-large;">A Christmas Story: The Fourth King. They said it was too short! </span><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: large;">by </span><span style="font-size: large;">Kim Michael</span></span></h2>
</div>
<div>
<span style="font-size: large;">Now Available on Amazon!</span><br />
<br />
<br />
<h4>
<span style="font-size: large;">Just Click on: </span><a href="http://www.amazon.com/dp/B011F2L55U">http://www.amazon.com/dp/B011F2L55U</a></h4>
</div>
<div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-size: large;">Every publisher I sent the Fourth King to said it was too short to be a novel and too long to be a short story! </span></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
So that is how it was back in 2012 when I wrote the story of The Fourth King. At the time it was only meant to be a Christmas gift for my grand babies. But after some friends read it and encouraged me to publish it, I began to see just how limited publishers views could be. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> No wonder the publishing world is in trouble. </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><br />
<br />
Up to that point I had published a number of articles for magazines and special publications nationally, but never a short book. And like most beginning writers I naively sent out letter after letter for them to all come back with the same response--too short for a book--too long for a short story. <br />
<br />
Finally I decided to try the waters myself. See if the story had relevance with readers. I put it out on a one of those “my space” type sites.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I didn’t charge anything for it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>To my surprise, without doing any kind of promotion, within the first three days it had over five hundred and sixty reads.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I began getting amazing emails on how the story had touched people’s lives.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Within a month it was over two thousand.<br />
<br />
These are just a few of the responses: <br />
<br />
<i>“Thank you so very much for this story. You touched my soul and my heart. I cannot stop crying because this is so very beautiful. It is like music that is touching my heart deep inside. Thank you for blessing me.</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
<i>Merry Christmas , frohe Weihnachten” </i> SJ <br />
<br />
<i>“Wow....that is a great story...I love the way you combined the Biblical events of Jesus' birth with a very interesting and entertaining story about how Santa became Santa. You need to publish this one for sure...I loved it.... </i><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span> <br />
<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span> Keith Sargent<br />
<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span> Nationally Known Entertainer<br />
<br />
<i>“Terrific story! Had to wipe my eyes a few times even though I knew what the ending would be. You will touch many people with this. </i><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><br />
<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span> Pharaoh Cain, author<br />
<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span> Django’s TuneTown Shuffle”<br />
<br />
<i>“This is Wonderful. I'd love to buy this in a book sometime to give as gifts to my Children and Grandchildren, and my friends children etc., My husband Harold read it out loud and was so moved by it, he may read it in church. Even though it is long, our preacher wants him to.”</i><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"><i> </i> </span><br />
<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span> <span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span> <br />
Diane S<br />
<br />
<i>“I do not claim to be a literary critic but as a lay person, I truly enjoyed_-The Fourth King. The concept of mixing the biblical story of Christ's birth, the three wise men and the northern folk story of St. Nicolas was ingenious. Your descriptions of King Nicholai's travels were so believable that I traveled south with him. "The Fourth King" will become a family tradition. Bless you at this Christmas season and always.”</i> <span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><br />
<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span> Tina Dancey<br />
<br />
<i>This is marvelous. It is like a parable inside a parable. For those of us who really believe in keeping the Spirit of St. Nicholas (Santa Claus) alive and kicking, it has a profound meaning. It likewise has deep and wonderful meaning for me. This needs to be published on a large scale. </i><br />
<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span> <br />
Julia Rogers <br />
<br />
I eventually pulled The Fourth King from the site when I found out they were forcing people to become members and it sat for nearly three
years.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Still, people kept asking about
it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
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<o:p></o:p></div>
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After I had just put up my blog site a friend recommended I
read Michael Hyatt’s book on “Getting Noticed in a Noisy World”.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In it one of his recommendations was to write
short pieces and sell them as a means to fund the site.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>My first thought was I had nothing.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Then I remembered my Christmas story.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><br />
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><br /></span>
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">Unlike several years before the industry was changing and authors were beginning to publish short books. </span>It was not as easy as I though and it took me several months to finish the cover
artwork and format the book for E-Publication, but I did it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
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Still the cover needed som<span id="goog_1620214584"></span><span id="goog_1620214585"></span><a href="https://www.blogger.com/"></a>ething else.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The book combined Norse Legend, with the
birth of Christ and the story of the three wise me.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If the title was to be The Fourth King, who in
the story was a Norse King, I needed his picture on the cover.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I tried to find a suitable picture, but never
was really happy with any I found.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I
needed someone that looked like a Norse King.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span><o:p></o:p></div>
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Then one day I noticed my neighbor mowing his yard.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Long white hair and beard, and I thought…
there’s my king.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The guy who is the King
on my cover is actually my next-door neighbor. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Shortly after I finally released “A Christmas Story: The Fourth King, it was reviewed by a
local publisher, Sam Shuler CEO of Duck River Press, who had this to say:</div>
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<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> <i> </i></span><i>“<span style="font-family: "times new roman";">What Kim
Michael is pioneering is a new genre, if you will. Short enough that it
can be read and reread many times, and each time the experience will leave you
wanting to revisit it again and again. <o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman";"><i>
<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span> For anyone who has ever
felt compromised by celebrating the traditions of Christmas while trying to
hold to the true meaning of the day, “The Fourth King” will touch your heart in
ways that no other Christmas story has. <o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman";"><i><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>And perhaps... it is not just a story,
but the beginning of a legend. I will leave that for you to decide.”</i><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "MS 明朝"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast;">Today, “A Christmas Story:
The Fourth King” can be found on Amazon.com. The link is: <a href="http://www.amazon.com/dp/B011F2L55U">http://www.amazon.com/dp/B011F2L55U</a></span><!--EndFragment--><br />
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As with any Amazon Book starting out, it is buried in pages of search engine entries, but as The Fourth King becomes known it will move up. My hope is that all of my friends will help in this endeavor, as a means to fund my future endeavors. If you can leave a review for future readers, that would be great as well.<br />
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I hope you enjoy this new version of A Christmas Story: The Fourth King, and you and your family enjoy it for years to come. <br />
<br />
KMAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01903894226635074888noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6826643260993444619.post-31480753443104841872015-06-15T10:33:00.000-07:002015-11-26T07:26:59.737-08:00"The Last Full Measure" by Kim Michael November 2015<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="color: #0b5394;">"The Last Full Measure"</span> </span><br />
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By Kim Michael<br />
copyright November 2015<br />
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This weekend the US did something it has never done before. It christened a new ship, the USS Raphel Peralta. What is unique is that the Navy destroyer was not named for a former president, or famous battle, it was named for a sergeant in the Marine Corp., and perhaps the first ship to be named after someone who was not born in this country. Raphel Peralta was born in Mexico and the honor was given to him posthumously after he saved the lives of 12 of his fellow soldiers after being shot and wounded. <br />
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As he lay wounded with his fellow soldiers, a grenade was tossed into the room and he immediately took it and cradled it, using his body to shield the blast, and in so doing saved all the soldiers in the room.<br />
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In a day and time when heroism is masked by heroes who aren't really heroes, sometimes it is easy to overlook the actions of those who are the real, true heroes of America; men and women who have given what Lincoln described as, "The Last Full Measure of Devotion", acts of unparalleled courage that go far beyond what most of us only aspire to. Raphel Peralta was such a hero.<br />
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It is also easy to overlook that there are heroes of every nationality, true Americans, not determined by enthicity or religion, who have a deep and abiding love of America. Raphel was just one. He came to this country because he and his family wanted to be Americans. He had only three things hanging on his wall (as reported by an article on MSN). The US Constitution, The Bill of Rights and his certification from the Marine Corp Boot Camp and when the day came that he received his green card, he joined the Marine Corp.<br />
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As an American, I find myself often fed up with our politicians, the greed, and the deception that has become American politics. I think every politician who enters public office should have to stand before the Vietnam Memorial, the Korean Memorial, the World War Two memorials and run their fingers across the names of the fallen. They should have to walk among the crosses of the military cemeteries at Arlington and in their home states, and stand among those who have given everything that they, and we, might be free.<br />
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In the history of the world, if you add up all who have died in the name of freedom, I doubt the aggregate would even come close to the price America has paid. And I believe, even the hardest of hearts, can not walk that hallowed ground, among those who have given so much, and not be affected by it. <br />
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<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01903894226635074888noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6826643260993444619.post-77345663447755007662015-06-01T11:00:00.000-07:002015-11-26T07:29:03.011-08:00<h2>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;">A Special Life</span></h2>
By Kim Michael<br />
Copyright August 2015<br />
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Some people go through their entire lives not leaving a single footprint, while others leave huge wakes in the world they touch. <br />
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One week ago tonight something was taken from all of us. A man, a colleague of mine who I barely know, was driving home following his daughter, her husband and two grand daughters in the back seat of their car, the third oldest grand-daughter in his own backseat, when a truck careened across the highway smashing into the car in front of him. The car that was carrying his daughter, her husband and two of their grandchildren. <br />
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Kyra, his daughter, was killed instantly. The father and two children were hurt, one in critical condition but stable, survived. Only the mother, his daughter, was killed. <br />
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The Karr family were Baptist missionaries to Italy on vacation here in the states visiting friends and family. <br />
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There are no words I can write that can ease of the pain and horror they must have felt and I cannot, even now, find the words that can impart my feelings or soothe their loss. When you have children, you know the endless fear that you learn to live with and it stays with you always. The tragedy is when it becomes real. <br />
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Ivan Delgato, 52 from NY, had stopped to make what he called "a safety check", forgetting to set the emergency break. People who had seen him said that he was acting erratic. When he left the vehicle it began rolling, and it rolled out into the lanes of traffic hitting the car. <br />
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Delgato was arrested for driving under the influence, involuntary manslaughter, vehicular homicide and reckless conduct. Clearly he was a man who should never have been behind the wheel of a semi in the first place, but he is not the only person at fault. Certainly the people who put him there should share just as much of the blame. <br />
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Looking at his picture it is hard not to be judgmental. I don't know what is truly in this man's heart and perhaps, even the hardest of hearts would find it difficult to live the rest of your life knowing what you had done, not just to Kyra, but her family and everyone who knew her. <br />
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Tragedy is seldom a single event. It is a stone tossed in the river whose ripples stretch out long after the stone is gone. This accident was more than just the loss of a very special individual. In its wake it has left a family decimated: three children who will grow up without a mother, the younger ones, not even knowing their mother. It also left a man who will live the rest of his life without his beloved wife. And it robbed us all of the kind of life that we all aspire to, but rarely have the courage to live. A shinning example of what we could, and should be. And I suppose that it has left a truck driver who will forever have to live knowing what he has done and nothing he can do can change it. <br />
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What can anyone say? I don't know. <br />
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Some years ago I experienced one of the worst days of my life. I was at work when our office manager answered the phone and then dropped the receiver saying I can't take this call, and burst into tears. It was her babysitter calling from the local emergency room to tell her that her baby had died of SIDs.<br />
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I can still remember her tears and the utter agony of her cries; a sound that I will remember always. At the funeral the minister said something that has stayed with me. He said to the parents as his voice broke on the verge of tears, "I don't know why this happened. No one can know why...it just happened." But then he said,"...but God created a perfect universe, though we may sometimes not realize it, and in that perfect universe he has never created anything that was left unfinished. I can tell you with all certainty that one day, maybe not here on earth, but one day, you will see your baby again and you will be able to hold him and love him, and everything that you missed, everything that was taken from you, will be restored." <br />
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I'd like to think that that is true. That somewhere in the great universe there is a balance for all things and in such a place, the universe can be "righted", if only for a moment. <br />
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So how do we go on from here? Some years ago a friend of mine's wife died of cancer. He said, "We realized we could dwell on the untimeliness of her death, or we could celebrate the thirty years that we had with her, and the joy she brought to all our lives."<br />
<br />
Judging from the kind of life that Kyra lived, I think she would choose... the later. <br />
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Hug your babies, and grand children, and your wife or husband, whenever you can and celebrate their being in your life. <br />
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<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01903894226635074888noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6826643260993444619.post-85093240764527034202015-05-17T18:32:00.001-07:002015-10-02T04:24:58.822-07:00<div style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 16px;">
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<span style="font-size: x-large; letter-spacing: 0px;">For the Love of the Game</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-large; letter-spacing: 0px;"><br /></span></div>
<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-size: large;">by Kim Michael</span></span><br />
<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><br /></span>
<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">Copyright May 2015</span><br />
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">(Pictures by Leslee Mitchell-Marilou Woods )</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"> <span style="font-size: large;"> There was a time in America when life was different. </span></span><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">Kinder.</span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"> </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">Gentler.</span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"> </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">When the world didn’t revolve around the latest craze, or the healthiest bottom line.</span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"> </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">When companies bore with pride the names of their creators proudly: Ford.</span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"> </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">Rockefeller.</span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"> </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">Disney;</span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"> i</span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">nstead of being orphaned behind a nameless, faceless, board of investors--and wall street and main street, were the same street.</span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"> </span></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; letter-spacing: 0px; white-space: pre;"> </span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">And it was a time when sports were different. When players weren’t driven by multi-million dollar contracts and market shares and TV ratings, but somewhere along the way the world changed. We, as a nation, forgot the joy of playing sports simply for the love of playing sports, and in many ways, we lost a part of our innocence in the process. Winning at any cost became the mantra; we learned about steroids and cheating and getting ahead at any cost; and it became the means to an end, rather than about s</span>portsmanship<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"> and competing with pride. </span></span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 16px; letter-spacing: 0px; white-space: pre;"> </span><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">The great baseball strike of 1981, driven mostly by greed of the owners and players alike, did it for me. I never recovered my love of the game, </span>something<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"> I never thought could happen. I grew up with baseball. Back then it was the national sport and people would stop everything to watch the games. I remember growing up in a two room school on the backroads of Illinois where the teacher brought in a portable TV and on a warm summer’s day, with the windows open and the fans humming; we stopped everything to watch the World Series, and on those days life was perfect. Now those days are gone. Or are they?</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-size: large;"> There are parks in Tennessee where a group of middle aged men still play the game as it was played in 1864, and it's called the Vintage Baseball League. They wear bib-overhauls, and old denim shirts and newsboy hats from days long past. And they play without fancy gloves and spiffy uniforms and metal bats. There are no million dollar contracts, no owners, no bottom lines to be met; just the the love of the game and reliving a part of our past that was the best of what we were. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"> </span><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">These men live for the thrill of the game, to hit away, a stinger or daisy cutter; and run the bases, stretch a double into a triple; and slam into home base "</span>stringing <span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">your stumps" as the </span>arbiter<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"> looks on. </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">And though the game is played somewhat </span>tongue-<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">in-cheek, in many ways it is more real than the games we see see today. And when they play, the field </span></span><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">they play on is nothing less than a field of dreams; where people come on a warm Sunday afternoon to sit on hard park bleachers in short sleeve shirts and summer dresses, and sip glasses of sweet iced tea as they watch game. </span>And<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"> for those few hours they are transported back to another time and another place; when baseball was magic... and it is "magic" once more. </span></span></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 16px; letter-spacing: 0px; white-space: pre;"> </span><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; letter-spacing: 0px;">And when the game is over, there are no castles or yachts or high performance sports cars to go back to, no </span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">crowds or fanfare; just the sound of an empty park as they gather up their </span></span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">belongings </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">and drive away in Fords and Buicks and Toyotas. </span></span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">But when they leave, </span>they leave <span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">with much more than they came, something </span>infinitely<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"> more valuable, something that professional sports lost a long time ago...the love of the game.</span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';"><span style="font-size: x-large; letter-spacing: 0px;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">Visit the <a href="http://tennesseevintagebaseball.com/">http://tennesseevintagebaseball.com</a></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><br /></span></span></span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01903894226635074888noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6826643260993444619.post-80931580338688534082015-04-30T09:44:00.000-07:002015-09-25T07:49:45.694-07:00<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: x-large;">The World's Greatest "Real Life" Sorcerer</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;"> By Kim Michael </span><br />
Copyright April 2015<br />
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-right: .25in; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-right: .25in; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 200%; text-indent: 0.5in;">Retlaw Yensid was born to emigrant parents in a suburb of Chicago at
the outset of the great depression.</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 200%; text-indent: 0.5in;"> </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 200%; text-indent: 0.5in;">In
the first years following his birth his family moved to Kansas where he grew
up.</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 200%; text-indent: 0.5in;"> </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 200%; text-indent: 0.5in;">To most people that knew him, young
Retlaw appeared to be no different than any other kid, and like many of the boys born before the great depression he dropped out of school early, not
making it past his freshman year in high school.</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 200%; text-indent: 0.5in;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-right: .25in; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 200%; text-indent: 0.5in;">But what most people did not know, even his
parents, was that young Retlaw was a real life Sorcerer.</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 200%; text-indent: 0.5in;"> </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 200%; text-indent: 0.5in;">Even as a child it was not long before his skills began to manifest
themselves.</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 200%; text-indent: 0.5in;"> </span><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="line-height: 200%;">The power of his magic was in
his amazing ability to envision his dreams so </span><span style="line-height: 37.33333206176758px;">completely</span><span style="line-height: 200%;"> that he </span><span style="line-height: 36px;">could will</span><span style="line-height: 200%;"> them into reality.</span></span><span style="font-family: Arial; line-height: 200%; text-indent: 0.5in;"> </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">He found that he had only to touch something for it to come to
life.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In his presence animals were
suddenly able to talk and sing and dance.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Worlds and other realms of reality opened their doors to him, and he saw both the past and future as easily as we see the present.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-right: .25in; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">And yet, of all his amazing powers, the most incredible was his ability
to make whatever he envisioned possible for millions to see and experience,
transporting them to far away places, beyond anything they could have ever imagined; a world and a reality in which anything was, and is, possible. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-right: .25in; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">His magic knew no boundaries, no class or age distinction, and no matter
how cynical the world became, his vision of who we are, and what we could be,
always remained the same.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-right: .25in; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">He was great not because of his amazing powers, but by using his magic he taught us all to see the wonder that is in all things, and more importantly…
the wonder in ourselves.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-right: .25in; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">Even after his death in 1962, Retlaw Yensid lives on and there are those
(including me) who believe he will live forever.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-right: .25in; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">And though you may not recognize the name Retlaw Yensid which was the
penname that he sometimes used, appearing in the credits of at least four
movies, you probably would recognize his real name, which is actually his pen
name… spelled backwards.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">Walter or “Walt” Disney.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01903894226635074888noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6826643260993444619.post-10135278763530828932015-04-26T11:49:00.000-07:002015-09-25T10:53:25.036-07:00<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;">
<b><i><span style="font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 200%;"> </span></i></b><br />
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<b><i><span style="font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 200%;"></span></i></b></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIn6JDn0Ye1zxMOBcrkWB8uDhHp0r1ExLc1cow-Tn8z8fPr2XI-jB9MtBGfo9fZisQ72iENlHGHmwZ2QXIt5Va28l17WiZicbSdLSsi839qkpV1w9wZJhtvzlpt1S4yHdddPt4GvPQ_IgO/s1600/SPIDER.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="287" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIn6JDn0Ye1zxMOBcrkWB8uDhHp0r1ExLc1cow-Tn8z8fPr2XI-jB9MtBGfo9fZisQ72iENlHGHmwZ2QXIt5Va28l17WiZicbSdLSsi839qkpV1w9wZJhtvzlpt1S4yHdddPt4GvPQ_IgO/s320/SPIDER.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<b><span style="font-size: x-large; line-height: 200%;">I Hate Spiders...</span></b><br />
<b><span style="font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 200%;"><br /></span></b>
<span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 200%;">by Kim Michael Copyright April 2015</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;">
<b><i><span style="font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 200%;"><br /></span></i></b></div>
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<b><i><span style="font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 200%;"><br /></span></i></b></div>
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<b><i><span style="font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 200%;">Argiope aurantia</span></i></b><span style="font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 200%;"> is the technical name for them.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They are large spiders that live in
gardens.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I personally don’t like
spiders.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’m not alone.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>On the list of human phobias Wikipedia lists arachnophobia
(fear of spiders) is prevalent in nearly 90% of all females and 18% of all
males, of which I am one, which is what makes this story even more unlikely. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;">
<span style="font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 200%;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>I have an herb
garden in my backyard.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I have never been
an avid gardener, but I like fresh herbs.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>To my dismay one day I found a huge web stretched between the only rosemary
bush I had planted and a dill plant that I had let grow to long.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;">
<span style="font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 200%;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>In the center
of the web was a huge black spider with yellow spots on its back.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I remember it being slightly smaller than half
the size of my hand, but in retrospect it was probably smaller, but still large
enough to be intimidating. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 200%;">My first thought was to get a stick
and destroy the web, but when I finally found something I could use, I found
myself curiously interested in the spider, not an uncommon phenomenon, to be
drawn to something that you fear.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 200%;">When I got closer to look at it, it
scurried for cover.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I had already
decided not to get rid of the web or kill the spider, but of course, the spider
didn’t know that.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 200%;">My first thought was, if I was
actually going to try to cohabitate with this creature, I wanted to make sure
that it wasn’t poisonous.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I looked it up
on the Internet and found out that the spider wasn’t dangerous like a Brown
Recluse or a Black Widow, and that it was actually beneficial for my garden,
killing the bugs that would ultimately hurt my plants.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I also discovered that it was female.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Probably the strangest of all was that
spiders only have two basic emotions, fear and anger.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They don’t become tame regardless of what
people who have pet Tarantulas may think.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>At best they are only lethargic.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 200%;">At any rate that is where my
relationship (so to speak) with an <span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">Argiope Aurantia<b><i> </i></b></span>began.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Because she was in my rosemary bush, I called
her Rosie.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In the days that followed when
I worked in the garden I would occasionally talk to her, and as time progressed
my tongue-in-cheek, one-sided conversations became more frequent.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 200%;">As weeks passed, I found myself actually
bonding with the spider, not in the way that dogs or cats bond with humans, spiders
do not have that capacity, but Rosie seemed to become less timid of me.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She got to a point where I could get very
close to her and she would not run away.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 200%;">As I lost my fear of her, I began to see
the beauty in her, her glistening black body, brilliant yellow spots.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I found her stunning.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>For a brief period I even toyed with the idea
of trying to touch her and I came close a couple of times, but in the end I realized
that she was a creature of the wild and some things are not meant for human
interaction.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 200%;">Then one day I noticed that she
seemed to be growing larger. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>At first I
thought Rosie was thriving in her new home, but then I realized the truth.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Rosie was pregnant and about to lay her
eggs.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 200%;">Over the next few days I made it a
point to go out every day and look in on her, not that I know anything about
pregnant spiders, but I was becoming protective of her.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Then one day I went out to see her… and she
was gone.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The web looked conspicuously empty
and so did my herb garden.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>After another
day had passed the sad realization started to dawn on me that I would probably
never see Rosie again.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The truth was I
missed her.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>For several days more I
looked for her, but she never reappeared.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>That weekend as I weeded the herb box I found her body, no longer thick
and beautiful, she lay curled up, shriveled and still.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Rosie was dead. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 200%;">For a moment I sat back on my knees
looking at her, eyes misting with emotion, a grown man feeling strangely sad for
the loss of all things, a “spider”.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It
was an odd feeling, but one I still remember.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Yet as I looked at her I felt my spirits lift.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I realized that Rosie had become what nature
had intended her to become and that she achieved what she was meant to do. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>How many of us can claim such a legacy?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 200%;">That day, I buried her remains at the
base of the rosemary bush where her web had been and silently thanked her.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Rosie was gone, but the memory of Rosie, and
what she had taught me, continues on.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>And as I sat there I suddenly had to smile, in her place Rosie had left
me a virtual swarm of “little” Rosies crawling up and down the dill and rosemary
plants.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 200%;">Since those days there have been a
number of Rosies in my herb patch, and I have always made room for them, and
though none has ever been as beautiful as Rosie, each became unique and
different in its own way and each became what nature had intended.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Rosie, a spider, had opened my eyes to
possibilities that I had not considered before.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<!--StartFragment-->
<!--EndFragment--><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 200%;">I still don’t care for spiders, but I
appreciate them, I understand them, and the fear I once had of them has changed
to something else…perhaps wonder.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Rosie
in her own way had an impact on my life and made an unlikely friend along the
way.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01903894226635074888noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6826643260993444619.post-61951515405963459472015-04-15T04:50:00.000-07:002015-09-25T10:54:11.649-07:00<div class="MsoNormal">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwPkuDkob81YUBmu_5aIQ6V1LLKPijaf0zq8KSX15bY-Q9WJPT4Ng2r5oI7bGu9H45pqPLnYiMPkBQvTKsFRISuEefJy6i3p4bK-WDC9IMwYAFsF6DW7Qx3Kei0iiKcavIA9zKakIUbg91/s1600/HINDENBURG.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="248" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwPkuDkob81YUBmu_5aIQ6V1LLKPijaf0zq8KSX15bY-Q9WJPT4Ng2r5oI7bGu9H45pqPLnYiMPkBQvTKsFRISuEefJy6i3p4bK-WDC9IMwYAFsF6DW7Qx3Kei0iiKcavIA9zKakIUbg91/s320/HINDENBURG.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<span style="font-size: x-large;">The “Gift” In Each of Us.</span><span style="font-size: 14.0pt;"> <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>By Kim Michael Copyright April 2015<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;">We all have “gifts”: talents
and abilities that are uniquely our own.
Some we know. Some we don’t. Some we don’t even realize are talents. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;">If there is one person in the
world who should be an expert on “you”, you would think it would be you, but
how many of us really don’t know ourselves?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>The reason why is because self discovery can be uncomfortable.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Often we have to force ourselves out of our
comfort zones to find out who we are, but it doesn’t have to be.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;">Sometimes just making little
changes that takes out of the mindless routines that we all fall into can make
a huge difference: removing the blank spots on the piano roll of life where we
lived, but didn’t, that’s all it really takes.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;">Sometimes getting free of them
is as simple as taking a different way to work: going right when you would
normally have gone left; maybe even doing something you always wanted to do,
but never tried.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Making little changes
that remove us from the normal routines and forces to live in the moment
instead of just passing through it, and in the end, we become different. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;">This is a story I heard years
ago, told to me by a back stage guy at the Frontier in Las Vegas.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I don’t know how much of it is true, but it
serves a point.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;">Phillip (not sure of his real
name), was a traveling salesman around the turn of the century.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He traveled around the world and truth be
known, as a salesman, he really wasn’t very good, but he had one unique talent,
considered by almost everyone he knew, to be interesting, but useless.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Phillip could run on his knees.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In fact, he could run faster on his knees
than most people could on their feet.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;">At parties he would show off
his unique talent by pulling the weight of several people along with him, and
though everyone was impressed, none thought it was of any value… yet Phillip
practiced.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He got even faster and
stronger.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;">But fate and destiny
sometimes have a way of colliding. One day flying back to the United States from
a trip overseas, disaster struck.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was
1937, Lakehurst New Jersey, and as the aircraft came in for a landing, a fire
broke out, but this was no ordinary aircraft and the fire was no ordinary fire.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;">Phillip was aboard the
Hindenburg, and as it touched the mooring tower an explosion rocked the
ship.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Fire swept through the giant aircraft
in a matter of minutes, and people began jumping from the broken windows and
portals just to escape.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>When Phillip
jumped he hit the ground so hard that both of his ankles were broken.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;">Two passengers landed on
either side of him, knocked unconscious by the fall.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Of the 97 people on board (36 passengers and 61 crewmen), there were 35 fatalities (13 passengers and 22 crewmen). Phillip survived, as did the two people that landed next
him, and the only reason they did, was because they were just lucky enough to fall
next to a little man who could drag them to safety, because he had the
worthless talent of being able to run on his knees.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">No talent is without value,
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01903894226635074888noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6826643260993444619.post-13834276860815148542015-03-30T09:08:00.001-07:002015-10-02T04:42:43.653-07:00SLOPPY JOES: SANDWICH OF DREAMS (Parody from Field of Dreams starring Kevin Costner and James Earl Jones) Best Ever Sloppy Joe Recipe <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTfi7j4ZJkCpae9bqBnZHgEduEXB1B_8qbgXjr-zgYFnx5Q3nO6hxsXHPmpxOs4NeU8zGBozag_d0ULP9JBe7Bx5acrPFWo9Ds36UtnItZ58sl06y74BU5XXM-h-WD28ZyIHJVy5mZWO1f/s1600/FIELD+OF+DREAMS.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="179" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTfi7j4ZJkCpae9bqBnZHgEduEXB1B_8qbgXjr-zgYFnx5Q3nO6hxsXHPmpxOs4NeU8zGBozag_d0ULP9JBe7Bx5acrPFWo9Ds36UtnItZ58sl06y74BU5XXM-h-WD28ZyIHJVy5mZWO1f/s320/FIELD+OF+DREAMS.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<span style="color: #262626; font-family: Verdana;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="color: #262626; font-family: Verdana;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="color: #262626; font-family: Verdana;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="color: #262626; font-family: Verdana;"><span style="font-size: large;">Sandwich of Dreams</span></span><span style="color: #262626; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Verdana;">: </span></div>
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<span style="color: #262626; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Verdana;">A Field of Dreams Parody and Best Sloppy Joe Recipe Ever-Rachel Ray</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="color: #262626; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Verdana;">Written by Kim Michael March 2015</span></div>
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<span style="color: #262626; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Verdana;"><br /></span></div>
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<br /><span style="font-size: x-large;">"People will come Ray. They'll come for reasons they can't even fathom.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="color: #262626; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Verdana;">They'll turn up your driveway not
knowing for sure why they're doing it. They'll arrive at your door as innocent
as children, longing for the past. Of course, you'll say. We have Sloppy Joe
Sandwiches.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="color: #262626; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Verdana;">And you will pass over the mustard,
and the pickles, and bun, overrun with Sloppy Joe filling; and they will
take it without even thinking about it: for it is hunger they have and food
from the past they lack.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="color: #262626; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Verdana;">And they'll walk out in the
yard.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Sit in tee-shirts and sweatshirts
under a soft summer moon, and find they have reserved seats somewhere by an
open fire where they sat as children, cooking smores; And they’ll eat their
Sloppy Joe sandwiches and it'll be as if they dipped themselves in magic
waters. The memories will be so thick they'll have to brush them away from
their faces. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="color: #262626; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Verdana;">People will eat Sloppy Joes, Ray.
The one constant through all the years, Ray, has been Sloppy Joe sandwiches.
America has rolled by like an army of steamrollers; erased like a blackboard,
rebuilt and erased again. But Sloppy Joes have marked the time. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="color: #262626; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Verdana;">This sandwich, this filling Ray:
it's a part of our past.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It reminds of
us of what was once good--and it could be again. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="color: #262626; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Verdana;">Oh... people will eat Sloppy Joes,
Ray. People will most definitely eat.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> "</span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="color: #262626; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 18.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Verdana;">BEST EVER SLOPPY JOE RECIPE:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Courtesy Rachel Ray<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 14.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 14.0pt; mso-outline-level: 3;">
<b><span style="color: #3d3d3d; font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 18.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Ingredients<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<ul type="disc">
<li class="MsoNormal" style="color: #3d3d3d; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; tab-stops: list .5in;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">2 tablespoon
extra-virgin olive oil, 2 turn of the pan<o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="color: #3d3d3d; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; tab-stops: list .5in;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">2 ½ pounds
ground Turkey or Beef (if you use turkey be sure to cook out extra
moisture before combining ingredients). <o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="color: #3d3d3d; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; tab-stops: list .5in;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">1/2 cup
brown sugar<o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="color: #3d3d3d; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; tab-stops: list .5in;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">2
tablespoon steak seasoning <a href="http://www.foodterms.com/encyclopedia/blend/index.html"><span style="color: #1e7bac; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">blend</span></a>, such as McCormick brand Montreal
Seasoning<o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="color: #3d3d3d; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; tab-stops: list .5in;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">2
medium onion, chopped<o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="color: #3d3d3d; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; tab-stops: list .5in;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">2
small red bell pepper, chopped<o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="color: #3d3d3d; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; tab-stops: list .5in;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">2
tablespoon red wine <a href="http://www.foodterms.com/encyclopedia/vinegar/index.html"><span style="color: #1e7bac; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">vinegar</span></a><o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="color: #3d3d3d; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; tab-stops: list .5in;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">2
tablespoon <a href="http://www.foodterms.com/encyclopedia/worcestershire-sauce/index.html"><span style="color: #1e7bac; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">Worcestershire sauce</span></a><o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="color: #3d3d3d; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; tab-stops: list .5in;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">4 cups
tomato sauce (32 oz)<o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="color: #3d3d3d; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; tab-stops: list .5in;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">4
tablespoons tomato paste<o:p></o:p></span></li>
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crusty rolls, <a href="http://www.foodterms.com/encyclopedia/split/index.html"><span style="color: #1e7bac; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">split</span></a>, toasted, and lightly buttered<o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="color: #3d3d3d; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; tab-stops: list .5in;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Garnish:
sliced ripe <a href="http://www.foodterms.com/encyclopedia/tomato/index.html"><span style="color: #1e7bac; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">tomatoes</span></a>, pickles, Deviled Potato Salad,
recipe follows<o:p></o:p></span></li>
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 14.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 14.0pt; mso-outline-level: 3;">
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<span style="color: #3d3d3d; font-family: Arial; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Heat a large skillet over medium high heat. Add oil and meat to
the pan. Spread the meat around the pan and begin to break it up. Combine brown
sugar and steak seasoning. Add sugar and spice mixture to the skillet and
combine. When the meat has browned, add onion and red peppers to the skillet.
Reduce heat to medium and cook onions, peppers, red wine vinegar and
Worcestershire sauce with meat for 5 minutes. Add tomato sauce and paste to
pan. Stir to combine. Reduce heat to <a href="http://www.foodterms.com/encyclopedia/simmer/index.html"><span style="color: #1e7bac; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">simmer</span></a>
and cook <a href="http://www.foodterms.com/encyclopedia/sloppy-joe/index.html"><span style="color: #1e7bac; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">Sloppy Joe</span></a>
mixture 5 minutes longer. Using a large spoon or ice cream scoop, pile sloppy
meat onto toasted, buttered bun bottoms and cover with bun tops. Serve with
your favorite sides or sliced tomatoes seasoned with salt and pepper, <a href="http://www.foodterms.com/encyclopedia/dill/index.html"><span style="color: #1e7bac; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">dill</span></a>
pickles and Deviled Potato Salad. Have plenty of napkins on hand!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #3d3d3d; font-family: Arial; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">NOTE:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I like to prepare
the ingredients in a skillet then put it in a Crock pot on high for several
hours.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>When using the crockpot always
leave the lid off the last hour stirring, the flavor is significantly better. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #3d3d3d; font-family: Arial; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">ENJOY<o:p></o:p></span></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01903894226635074888noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6826643260993444619.post-1047391020543525232015-03-26T08:16:00.000-07:002015-10-02T04:45:21.657-07:00<div style="color: #141823; font-family: helvetica, arial, 'lucida grande', sans-serif; line-height: 19px; margin-bottom: 6px;">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCJFB8ki2wAcghWurCffjRw1F229S6ArE4mMIUvslnPQULe9dv5Lp6wygtiutlGllbOwGUmLfU84YL4afjwAkYSZZ6WUM1pAXrEzBB0yx4L9hSDVm6ECgfx5zdiH8I9Yt4aoX5YLWMAQBK/s1600/WIZARD+COAT.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCJFB8ki2wAcghWurCffjRw1F229S6ArE4mMIUvslnPQULe9dv5Lp6wygtiutlGllbOwGUmLfU84YL4afjwAkYSZZ6WUM1pAXrEzBB0yx4L9hSDVm6ECgfx5zdiH8I9Yt4aoX5YLWMAQBK/s1600/WIZARD+COAT.jpg" /></a></div>
<span style="font-size: x-large;">The Story of the Wizard's Coat Real?</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">I had a lot of responses on the OZ story, which I really like. Even the skeptics! Particularly the skeptics! </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Just so you know there have been a number of people who have supposedly "debunked" the story of the Wizard's Coat as a studio publicity stunt. Early on, I think even members of the Baum family said it wasn't true, but L. Frank Baum died in 1919 and the filming didn't happen until circa 1936, so it is doubtful that any of the act<span class="text_exposed_show" style="display: inline;">ual family members were on the set when the name was discovered--primarily because most studios, even today, don't allow the writers (much less their families) on the set unless it is in their contract with the studio. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">I did read an interview with the tailor (who made the coat) and she confirmed that it did actually belong to L. Frank Baum. And sometime after the film was made the coat was actually returned to the Baum family, though I don't know when. </span></div>
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So in the final analysis, is the story true? None of it? Some of it? All of it? Not sure we will ever know. I just thought it was a cool story, as most urban legends are. And in the end you will just have to make up your own mind. </div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 6px; margin-top: 6px;">
By the way there have been other OZ "debunkers" who have also said that there are no such things as flying monkeys and that witches are not all green... but I'm not buying it... Ha ha. Thank you for reading my stuff. </div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 6px; margin-top: 6px;">
km</div>
</span></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01903894226635074888noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6826643260993444619.post-31933434782983415072015-03-13T20:33:00.001-07:002015-10-02T04:46:50.409-07:00A Wizard of Oz Story Too Amazing to be True...But it is. by Kim Michael copyright March 2015<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjffDuYSkTAHvbT4pOmh-GbNmePouLpWCOf1VSTpNMpWJ6Y_5bnYpN7d1ee9zQn6cNr_TD4sfPU0NyydLvEdD5dd-D35dv0eFzmFzSZ9AyoLFUJmst2b8hBxoCfiuBbvULpnLTKs-z5jkNb/s1600/WIZARD+COAT.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjffDuYSkTAHvbT4pOmh-GbNmePouLpWCOf1VSTpNMpWJ6Y_5bnYpN7d1ee9zQn6cNr_TD4sfPU0NyydLvEdD5dd-D35dv0eFzmFzSZ9AyoLFUJmst2b8hBxoCfiuBbvULpnLTKs-z5jkNb/s1600/WIZARD+COAT.jpg" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';">The Wizard's Coat-</span></div>
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: large;">by Kim Michael</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: large;">copyright March 2015</span></span><br />
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(Picture provided by: http://thefilmspectrum.com/?p=3634)</div>
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';"><span style="font-size: x-large;">
I have always believed that nothing in life is random; that there is no such thing as coincidence. And though I don’t believe in fate, I do believe in destiny and once in a while...we are just lucky enough to see it. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: x-large;">I think it’s important to understand that point because certain things happen in life that are so far out of the realm of being “random" or “happenstance" that I believe they exist as markers. The universe telling us that everything in it, was and is, on purpose; and more importantly, you and I are not accidents, and our existence, was and is, on purpose. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: x-large;">With that in mind I want to share an amazing story with you that I was finally able to verify this evening. I first heard it on a Paul Harvey broadcast years ago. It is a story about one of my favorite movies of all time...the Wizard of Oz. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: x-large;">When MGM began planning the filming of the Wizard of Oz in 1938 (it was released in 1939) the production team under the direction of Victor Fleming was given a task. MGM did not want a costume designer to make the Wizard’s coat, which it was decided needed to be a classic Edwardian jacket. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: x-large;">The idea was that it could easily be found in one of the many costume houses in Hollywood, but after weeks of going through every costume shop in the city, the design team found that it might not be as easy as they thought. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: x-large;">Undaunted they turned to New York. If it could not be found in Hollywood certainly they would find a coat fit for a wizard in New York, but after going through every costume house on and off the island, again they came up empty handed. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: x-large;">Determined not to give up they decided to go to Chicago and again, after going to very costume shop there, they began to think that they may never find the perfect coat, and in fact, it may not even exist. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: x-large;">But as they walked back to catch the last train out of Chicago going back to Los Angeles, they happened on a “used” clothing store, what we call a “thrift" shop today. Why they stopped there, no one knows, but they did. And as soon as they walked there it was hanging on a rack at the back of the store. A used Edwardian coat. A perfect Edwardian coat. A coat truly fit for a Wizard. They bought it immediately and brought it back to Los Angeles to begin shooting.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: x-large;">To everyones amazement the coat fit Frank Morgan perfectly. Frank Morgan was the actor who played Professor Marvel, the kings guard, and of course-- the Wizard of Oz himself. And they did not have to make a single alteration. The coat fit him as if it had been made for him. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: x-large;">Now in the late 1930s filming in California and Hollywood were excellent places to make movies because the weather is mild and fairly consistent year around. But it also made the sets and sound stages extremely hot when all the big lights were on, and it was only possible to film fifteen or twenty minutes at a time before they would have to shut everything down to let the set cool. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: x-large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: x-large;">Now add to that, Frank Morgan had a terrible problem with perspiration and at the end of fifteen or twenty minutes of filming would be totally soaked in sweat. So much so that between takes he would turn his pockets inside out to get them to dry.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: x-large;">One day between takes, as Frank stood with his pockets turned inside out, one of the stage hands noticed that a name tag had been sewn into one of the pockets. People gathered around as he turned it up to see the name of the original owner and when he did, the entire cast and crew went silent—almost spell bound. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: x-large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: x-large;">You see, there was a reason why the coat was the perfect wizard’s coat. The name of the original owner, sewn into the pocket, was none other than the "real" Wizard of OZ himself…L. Frank Baum. The man who wrote…The Wizard of Oz. </span><br />
<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01903894226635074888noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6826643260993444619.post-28640537756192222902015-02-27T06:28:00.001-08:002015-02-27T13:59:21.020-08:00Six Words of Courage--The Horatio Spafford Story<div data-blogger-escaped-style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-m2rSqtuT7ns/VPB_hE3A_AI/AAAAAAAAAnE/EXe4rSxy-sk/s1600/Ville_du_Havre.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-m2rSqtuT7ns/VPB_hE3A_AI/AAAAAAAAAnE/EXe4rSxy-sk/s1600/Ville_du_Havre.jpg" height="145" width="200" /></a></div>
<span data-blogger-escaped-style="color: #1c1c1c; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;" style="font-family: Times;"><br /></span>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: x-large;">Six Words of Courage-</span></h2>
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<span data-blogger-escaped-style="color: #1c1c1c; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;" style="font-family: Times; font-size: x-large;">The Horatio Spafford Story</span></h2>
By Kim Michael Copyright February 2015<br />
<span data-blogger-escaped-style="color: #1c1c1c; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;" style="font-family: Times;"><br /></span>
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<span data-blogger-escaped-style="color: #1c1c1c; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;" style="font-family: Times; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span data-blogger-escaped-style="color: #1c1c1c; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;" style="font-family: Times; font-size: large;">If you have read much of my work you know that a lot of what I write has a spiritual quality to it.<span data-blogger-escaped-style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I know many of the people who read my work are religious, and I also know that many are not.<span data-blogger-escaped-style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And it really doesn’t matter. Nothing I write has a religious agenda to it.<span data-blogger-escaped-style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I do however, believe, that to become greater than one’s self it is important to aspire to something greater than yourself, and there- in is how faith can play an important part in life.</span></div>
<div data-blogger-escaped-style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
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<span style="font-family: Times; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
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<div data-blogger-escaped-style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
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<span data-blogger-escaped-style="color: #1c1c1c; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;" style="font-family: Times; font-size: large;">Even so, the topics I write about aren’t really even about faith so much as they are about human strength, and courage, and most of all hope; of which “faith” is often a major part. <span data-blogger-escaped-style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
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<div data-blogger-escaped-style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
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<span style="font-family: Times; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
</div>
<div data-blogger-escaped-style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
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<span data-blogger-escaped-style="color: #1c1c1c; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;" style="font-family: Times; font-size: large;">A case in point; there is a touching story that I heard many years ago about one of the most beloved hymns ever written. <span data-blogger-escaped-style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
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<div data-blogger-escaped-style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
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<span style="font-family: Times; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
</div>
<div data-blogger-escaped-style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
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<span data-blogger-escaped-style="color: #1c1c1c; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;" style="font-family: Times; font-size: large;">It begins with a man, Horatio Gates Spafford; a senior partner in a prominent law firm in Chicago and real estate developer. He and his wife Anna Larson Spafford and their four daughters were well known in the social circles in Chicago in the mid 1800s.<span data-blogger-escaped-style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Then in 1871 disaster struck.<span data-blogger-escaped-style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The Great Chicago Fire destroyed much of the Spafford Family’s financial fortune and then the economy downturn of 1873 following the great fire essentially took the rest.<span data-blogger-escaped-style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
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<div data-blogger-escaped-style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
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<span data-blogger-escaped-style="color: #1c1c1c; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;" style="font-family: Times; font-size: large;">With only a little money left the Spafford family decided to take a holiday in England to spend time with friends and recover from their losses, but disaster was yet to strike again.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
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<div data-blogger-escaped-style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
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<span data-blogger-escaped-style="color: #1c1c1c; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;" style="font-family: Times; font-size: large;">At the last minute Horatio had to stay behind to finish legal issues caused by the fire, sending Anna his wife and his four daughters on a ship a head of him. <span data-blogger-escaped-style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>While crossing the Atlantic in the dead of night the SS Ville du Havre struck another ship and sank.<span data-blogger-escaped-style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Two hundred twenty six people were lost.<span data-blogger-escaped-style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
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<div data-blogger-escaped-style="margin-bottom: 14.0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
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<span data-blogger-escaped-style="color: #1c1c1c; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;" style="font-family: Times; font-size: large;">Horatio’s wife survived, and the telegram she sent to her husband was only two words.<span data-blogger-escaped-style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
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<span data-blogger-escaped-style="color: #1c1c1c; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;" style="font-family: Times; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
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<span data-blogger-escaped-style="color: #1c1c1c; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;" style="font-family: Times; font-size: large;">“Saved…alone.” </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times;"><span data-blogger-escaped-style="color: #1c1c1c; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">All four of Horatio's daughters</span><span data-blogger-escaped-style="color: #1c1c1c; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica;">: eleven-year-old Tanetta, nine-year-old Elizabeth "Bessie", five-year-old Margret Lee, and two-year-old Anna were lost.<span data-blogger-escaped-style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></span> </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times; font-size: large;">Shortly after Spafford boarded another ship that would take him to his <span data-blogger-escaped-style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>grieving wife in England.<span data-blogger-escaped-style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Half way through the journey t<span data-blogger-escaped-style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">he Captain came to Horatio’s door.<span data-blogger-escaped-style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“Sir we are at the place where the Havre went down, I thought you would like to know.”</span></span></div>
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<span data-blogger-escaped-style="color: #1c1c1c; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;" style="font-family: Times; font-size: large;">Horatio Spafford donned his heavy coat and hat and walked out into a raging storm to stand on deck and look at the resting place where all four of his little girls were lost, and as he stood there, wind and rain beating down on him, he slipped a pen and a piece of paper from his pocket and wrote the gentle words—“It is Well with My Soul.”<span data-blogger-escaped-style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
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<span data-blogger-escaped-style="color: #1c1c1c; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;" style="font-family: Times; font-size: large;">Eventually he would finish those words and Philip Bliss would write the music.<span data-blogger-escaped-style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><br />
<span data-blogger-escaped-style="color: #1c1c1c; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;" style="font-family: Times; font-size: large;"><span data-blogger-escaped-style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times;">Even now when I hear that hymn, I see Horatio Spafford standing on the deck of that ship in a raging storm, broken hearted, yet writing his six words of strength and hope.</span><span data-blogger-escaped-style="mso-spacerun: yes;" style="font-family: Times;"> </span><span style="font-family: Times;">And I am touched by how often in the midst of our greatest tragedies; something beautiful and meaningful can come.</span><span data-blogger-escaped-style="mso-spacerun: yes;" style="font-family: Times;"> </span><span style="font-family: Times;">And how something as intangible as faith-- can be the difference.</span></span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01903894226635074888noreply@blogger.com0