Happy Birthday Vincent Haberfield

Today, August 21, 2012 is Vincent's birthday so a very merry birthday wish from all of his May 2008 trippers......

Happy New Year

This past year has proven to be the year of stupidity and political correctness so I am including an item sent to me by a friend:


Thanks everyone!

As we progress toward the end of 2010, I want to thank all of you for your educational e-mails over the past year. I am totally screwed up now and have little chance of recovery.

I no longer open a bathroom door without using a paper towel, or have the waitress put lemon slices in my ice water without worrying about the bacteria on the lemon peel.

I can’t use the remote in a hotel room because I don’t know what the last person was doing while flipping through the adult movie channels.

I can’t sit down on the hotel bedspread because I can only imagine what has happened on it since it was last washed.

I have trouble shaking hands with someone who has been driving because the number one pastime while driving alone is picking one’s nose.

Eating a little snack sends me on a guilt trip because I can only imagine how many gallons of trans fats I have consumed over the years.

I can’t touch any woman’s purse for fear she has placed it on the floor of a public bathroom.

I MUST SEND MY SPECIAL THANKS to whoever sent me the one about rat poop in the glue on envelopes because I now have to use a wet sponge with every envelope that needs sealing.

ALSO, now I have to scrub the top of every can I open for the same reason.

I no longer have any savings because I gave it to a sick girl (Penny Brown) who is about to die for the 1,387,258th time.

I no longer have any money, but that will change once I receive the $15,000 that Bill Gates/Microsoft and AOL are sending me for participating in their special e-mail program.

I no longer worry about my soul because I have 363,214 angels looking out for me, and St. Theresa’s Novena has granted my every wish.

I can’t have a drink in a bar because I’ll wake up in a bathtub full of ice with my kidneys gone.

I can’t eat at KFC because their chickens are actually horrible mutant freaks with no eyes, feet or feathers.

I can’t use cancer-causing deodorants even though I smell like a water buffalo on a hot day.

THANKS TO YOU I have learned that my prayers only get answered if I forward an e-mail to seven of my friends and make a wish within five minutes.

BECAUSE OF YOUR CONCERN, I no longer drink Coca Cola because it can remove toilet stains.

I no longer buy gas without taking someone along to watch the car so a serial killer doesn’t crawl in my back seat when I’m filling up.

I no longer drink Pepsi or Fanta since the people who make these products are atheists who refuse to put ‘Under God’ on their cans.

I no longer use Cling Wrap in the microwave because it causes seven different types of cancer.

AND THANKS FOR LETTING ME KNOW I can’t boil a cup of water in the microwave anymore because it will blow up in my face. Disfiguring me for life.

I no longer go to the movies because I could be pricked with a needle infected with AIDS when I sit down.

I no longer go to shopping malls because someone will drug me with a perfume sample and rob me.

I no longer receive packages from UPS or Fed Ex since they are actually Al Qaeda agents in disguise.

And I no longer answer the phone because someone will ask me to dial a number for which I will get a phone bill with calls to Jamaica , Uganda , Singapore , and Uzbekistan ...

I no longer buy cookies from Neiman-Marcus since I now have their recipe.

THANKS TO YOU I can’t use anyone’s toilet but mine because a big black snake could be lurking under the seat and cause me instant death when it bites my butt.

AND THANKS TO YOUR GREAT ADVICE I can’t ever pick up $0.25 coin dropped in the parking lot because it probably was placed there by a sex molester waiting to grab me as I bend over

I no longer drive my car because buying gas from some companies supports Al Qaeda, and buying gas from all the others supports South American dictators.

I can’t do any gardening because I’m afraid I’ll get bitten by the Violin Spider and my hand will fall off.

If you don’t send this e-mail to at least 144,000 people in the next 70 minutes, a large dove with diarrhea will land on your head at 5:00 pm. tomorrow afternoon, and the fleas from 120 camels will infest your back, causing you to grow a hairy hump. I know this will occur because it actually happened to a friend of my next door neighbor’s ex-mother-in-law’s second husband’s cousin’s best friend’s beautician . . .

Oh, by the way.....

A German scientist from Argentina , after a lengthy study, has discovered that people with insufficient brain activity read their e-mail with their hand on the mouse.

Don’t bother taking it off now, it’s too late.

P. S.: I now keep my toothbrush in the living room, because I was told by e-mail that water splashes over 6 ft. out of the toilet.

Greetings from the Sommers and Milams

April greetings from Aphrodites Rock Cyprus:


I totally LOVED the greeting from the four of you.

I practically felt like I was right there, and ready
with a toast!  It was totally awesome to know that you
four are still traveling together and enjoying life.

It makes my heart sing.  Judy is up in New York state
visiting with family and John and I will be picking her
up at Palm Beach Airport this Wed. around 4:00 PM.

I am still tracking my goal of traveling to every continent
and I have just one more to go, Africa.  I'll make it
but I don't have reservations yet.  When I get around to
making the reservations I hope to line up the Safari
Serengeti.  Its mostly Lodges and tented camping.

Judy is not heading out with me and neither is John but
I'll have a great time, I always do!  There is concern
here beachside with the oil spill in the Gulf.  There is
talk of the oil connecting with the gulf stream and that
would take it right up past the Atlantic east coast from
the Florida Keys north.  Its always something!

Well, I'm going to replay your Greetings from the Sommers
and the Milams...it makes me happy!!!!!

Keep enjoying life...you guys are really cool!  Hugs, jax

Effects of Iceland Volcano on OAT travelers

WE LEFT ON APRIL 23 AND THE PLANES WERE FULL. OAT TOOK CARE OF OUR LODGING AND BREAKFAST AND MADE ALL THE CHANGES ON OUR FLIGHTS. THE COMPANY IS GREAT AND WE REALLY APPRECIATED ALL THEY DID. GLAD YOUR TRIP BACK WAS PRETTY UNEVENTFUL. SINCE WE WERE BOOKED FOR MUNICH THAT SAME DAY, WE WERE CANCELLED OUT. ANYWAY EVERYTHING WORKED OUT. SOMETHING TO TALK ABOUT IN THE FUTURE.

JUNE

---------- Original Message ----------
From: "Charles D. Milam"
To:
Cc: Marilyn Milam , Tom Sommers
Subject: RE: [oatnewzealand] Friends
Date: Fri, 23 Apr 2010 06:11:09 -0700

June and Ken,

We were also in Athens (with Tom and Nancy Sommers) on April 20th and met some people who were on the Dalmatian Coast tour, possibly with you. We were on our own tour to Cyprus and Athens for 3 weeks and had booked our tickets 6 months in advance. The day we were scheduled to leave Athens (April 20) marked the first flight from Athens to Frankfurt and our direct flight from Frankfurt all the way to LA, although late by one hour, was, most likely one of the first to depart from Frankfurt when that airport was opened again. The 747 was only 2/3 full.

We were so very lucky and wish you the best and will keep our fingers crossed. What a mess the volcanic has created and will create over the next couple of months. We were saying when we got back home, we said we would laugh and ultimately forget the worrying we went through on this trip, but it certainly will be in our memories for a very long time.

Good luck to you and yes we have heard how great the Dalmatian tour is.....

Chuck Milam 310-546-3601

---

From: kandjwata1@juno.com
Date: Fri, 23 Apr 2010 05:38:08 +0000
To: cdmilam@hotmail.com
Subject: Re: [oatnewzealand] Friends

Just to let you know we are stuck in Athens since tuesday due to the volcanic ash from iceland interfering with the airways. Hope to be leaving tomorrow. Keep your fingers cross for us. Great trip along Dalmatian Coast but ready to fly home
June&Ken
---------- Original Message ----------
From: Chuck
To: kandjwata1@juno.com
Subject: [oatnewzealand] Friends
Date: Thu, 22 Apr 2010 11:12:58 -0700 (PDT)


NAILS IN THE FENCE

Friends

NAILS IN THE FENCE
Make sure you
read all the way down to the last sentence.

(Most
importantly the last sentence)

There once was
a little boy who had a bad temper. His Father gave him a bag of nails and told him that every time he lost his temper, he must hammer a nail into the back of the fence..

The first day
the boy had driven 37 nails into the fence. Over the next
few weeks, as he learned to control his anger, the number of nails hammered daily
gradually dwindled down. He discovered it was easier to hold his temper than to drive those nails into the fence. Finally the day came when the boy didn ' t lose his temper at all.

He told his
father about it and the father suggested that the boy now pull out one nail for each day that he was able to hold his temper.
The days
passed and the young boy was finally able to tell his father that all the nails were gone.

The father
took his son by the hand and led him to the fence. He said, ' You have done well, my son, but look at the holes in the fence.. The fence will
never be the same. When you say things in anger, they leave a scar just like this one. You can put a knife in a man and draw it out. But It won ' t matter how many times you say I ' m sorry, the wound will still be there. A verbal wound is as bad as a physical one..

Remember that friends are very rare jewels indeed.
They make you smile and encourage you to succeed; They lend an ear, they share words of praise and they always want to open
their hearts to us.
It ' s National
Friendship Week. Show your friends how much you care.. Send this to everyone you consider a
FRIEND, even if it means sending it
back to the person who sent it to you! If it comes back to you,
you will then know you have a circle of
friends.

YOU
ARE MY FRIEND AND I AM HONORED!

Now send this
to every friend you have!! And to your
family(they need to
know that you love them too)...

Please forgive
me if I have ever left a ' hole ' in your fence.

For us seniors- Remember When

This video is a kind of add-on to the "Here's to Us" segment earlier in this blog.
Click on lower left arrow to start video:

On a more sour, but still interesting note, from one of my more skeptical, bleeding heart friends, Jim:

Ah, yes, the Fabulous ‘50’s. I have nothing better to do than wax nostalgic about the ‘50’s, so I will. Memories:

Child abuse was a ok.

So was drunk driving.

And especially so was wife beating.

Drinking was the norm.

Especially when driving.

Cigarette smoke was everywhere.

Gays got electroshocked.

So did the clinically depressed.

There were three public facilities: men, women, and colored.

L.A. was the most polluted city in the world.

Joe McCarthy led witch hunts.

Ike assassinated Patrice Lumumba.

My neighbors built bomb shelters.

Our diet was fat, sugar and preservatives.

Women were homemakers.

Police shot to kill, no questions asked.

Sex equaled guilt.

God was a monster, not a lover.

The media never dared question America.

Travel was prohibitively expensive.

Which meant America really was ordained by God.

But these are mere moral problems. Let’s get to the crux of the matter. Does any of you really want to give up comfortable cars, air conditioning, affordable plane flights, cheap telephone service, emails, cell phones, HDTV, clean air, clean water, advanced medical care, diversity, great parties, healthy food, I could go on and on—best of all, a world that values love?

The ‘50’s were an unmitigated nightmare.

From the Sommers

This is making another round. I don't remember if I sent it to you or not. Have a tissue handy.

Love,

Mary

Life is not about waiting for the storms to pass. It is about learninghow to dance in the rain. This is a Memorial service for Shifty, a WWII VET This is a Memorial service for Shifty, a WWII VET I owe him and you owe him! No, he didn't sing "You ain't nuthin but aHoun' Dawg, or dance "Thriller." He did oh so much more! We're hearing a lot today about big splashy memorial services. I want a nationwide memorial service for Darrell "Shifty" Powers. Shifty volunteered for the airborne in WWII and served with Easy Company of the 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment, part of the 101st Airborne Infantry. If you've seen Band of Brothers on HBO or the History Channel , you know Shifty. His character appears in all 10 episodes, and Shifty himself is interviewed in several of them. I met Shifty in the Philadelphia airport several years ago. I didn't know who he was at the time. I just saw an elderly gentleman having trouble reading his ticket. I offered to help, assured him that he was at the right gate, and noticed the "Screaming Eagle," the symbol of the 101st Airborne, on his hat. Making conversation, I asked him if he'd been in the 101st Airborne or if his son was serving. He said quietly that he had been in the 101st. I thanked him for his service, then asked him when he served, and how many jumps he made. Quietly and humbly, he said "Well, I guess I signed up in 1941 or so, and was in until sometime in 1945 .. . . " at which point my heart skipped.. At that point, again, very humbly, he said "I made the 5 training jumps at Toccoa, and then jumped into Normandy . . . . do you know where Normandy is?" At this point my heart stopped. I told him "yes, I know exactly where Normandy is, and I know what D-Day was." At that point he said "I also made a second jump into Holland , into Arnhem ." I was standing with a genuine war hero . . . . and then I realized that it was June , just after the anniversary of D-Day.. I asked Shifty if he was on his way back from France , and he said "Yes. And it's real sad because, these days, so few of the guys are left, and those that are, lots of them can't make the trip." My heart was in my throat and I didn't know what to say. I helped Shifty get onto the plane and then realized he was back in Coach while I was in First Class. I sent the flight attendant back to get him and said that I wanted to switch seats. When Shifty came forward, I got up out of the seat and told him I wanted him to have it, that I'd take his in coach. He said "No, son, you enjoy that seat. Just knowing that there are still some who remember what we did and who still care is enough to make an old man very happy." His eyes were filling up as he said it. And mine are brimming up now as I write this. Shifty died on June 17, 2009 after fighting cancer. There was no parade. No big event in Staples Center . No wall to wall back to back 24x7 news coverage. No weeping fans on television. And that's not right. Let's give Shifty his own Memorial Service, online, in our own quiet way. Please forward this email to everyone you know. Especially to the veterans. Rest in peace, Shifty.

Mark Pfiefer,

Employee Dow Jones