Mary Frances Cooper Archibald - Obituary

Mary Frances Cooper Archibald MT. PLEASANT - Mrs. Mary Frances Cooper Archibald, wife of Francis X. Archibald, died peacefully Wednesday in her sleep at the Skilled Nursing facility in Mt. Pleasant, S.C., where she had lived for the last three years. Mary was born in Georgetown, S.C., October 13, 1931, the daughter of the late Mr. and Mrs. Edward Cooper, also of Georgetown. She was educated in the Georgetown public schools and graduated from Winyah High School. During her teens she worked at the usual teen-ager type jobs, including a stint as a waitress at the Screven Hotel. She was taken to a commercial college in Columbia by relatives but arrived back home in Georgetown by bus almost before the relatives who traveled by car. Mary joined the United States Air Force and took basic training at Lackland AFB, Texas. She went on to specialized secretarial training at Okalahoma A&M and was then assigned to Headquarters, USAF Office of Special Investigations, Washington, D.C. It was there she met her future husband, Francis X. "Archie" Archibald and they were married in a Catholic wedding at the chapel at Bolling AFB on September 4, 1954. Mary and Archie had five children and lived in Washington, Charleston and again in Washington before moving to the Charleston area for what would become the family site. They settled in Hanahan in 1960 and lived there until three years ago. Mary was a most loving wife, devoted mother, caring grandmother, and friend of many people. She earned a college degree from New York State University through classes and study in the Charleston area. During the early years of her marriage she worked briefly from time to time at Charleston AFB, the Naval Base and later with the Department of Mental Health in Columbia. In 1980 Mary was a campaign leader in her husband's successful campaign for the Statehouse. She later bought an 80-year old Dutch Colonial house in Columbia, S.C., and restored it to its original likeness. Much of the work she did personally and supervised the rest. Mary was a devoted viewer of the Discovery and Travel television channels and yearned to see many places around the world. After Archie retired in 1993, Mary and he traveled by car throughout the United States, Canada and Alaska. In 1994 they went to China and taught at Taishan Medical College, Tainan. Mary had approximately 200 college students in Basic English classes. Following this, Archie took Mary on a six months trip to foreign countries to visit some of the places she had seen in films and on TV. They drove across Western Australia in nine days, a trip many Aussies will never undertake. In 2003, they traveled to South Africa on a self-guided tour for two months and in 2005 made a trip to Malaysia. Mary was a member for many years of the Berkeley Hills Garden Club and worked hard in her home garden and on club projects. She enjoyed sitting in her swing on the back porch her husband constructed for her at their Hanahan home, especially in the spring and early summer, and taking in the beauty of the yard and nature in bloom. Mary is survived by her loving husband, Archie Archibald of Mt. Pleasant, SC; five children, Francis "Frank" X. Archibald, Jr. and his wife, Lisa, of McLean, VA, James E. Archibald and his wife, Lisbeth, of Arlington, VA, Patrick L. Archibald and his wife, Donna, of Goose Creek, SC, Martha Archibald of Goose Creek, SC and Wynn A. Godbold and her husband, Rett, of Myrtle Beach, SC; nine grandchildren, a sister, Bertha Westbury of Georgetown, S.C. and a brother Edward Cooper, Marietta, GA. She was preceded in death by her sister, Lee Benton. Mary was a convert to Catholicism in the early 1960s and a devoted communicant at Divine Redeemer Catholic Church in Hanahan. The Liturgy of Christian Burial will be celebrated in Rodenberg Hall, Franke at Seaside, 1885 Rifle Range Road, Mt. Pleasant on Saturday, January 1, 2011, at 1:00 p.m. with military honors. Her family invites all neighbors, friends and those who were touched by Mary's life to attend. Visitation will be held Friday, December 31, 2010, at J. HENRY STUHR MOUNT PLEASANT CHAPEL from 5:00 until 7:00 p.m. Final commitment will be private to the family. The family wishes to thank the staff at Skilled Nursing, Franke at Seaside, for the loving and caring they showed Mary while she was living there. Also, Hospice of Charleston was a big assist to the family in Mary's final days. Flowers will be accepted or memorials may be made to the Alzheimer's Association Alzheimer's Association Alzheimer's Association , 2090 Executive Hall Road, suite 130, Charleston, SC 29407. A memorial message may be sent to the family by visiting www.jhenrystuhr.com. Visit our guestbook at www.postandcourier.com/ deaths

Mary Frances Cooper Archibald, R.I.P.

The Post & Courier
Charleston, SC
Thursday, December 30, 2010

ARCHIBALD, Mary Frances Cooper, of Mount Pleasant, wife of Francis X. Archibald, died Wednesday. Arrangements by Stuhr's Mount Pleasant Chapel.

(Full obituary to follow on Friday. Visitation at Stuhr's Mount Pleasant Chapel, Mathis Ferry Road, on Friday, December 31, 2010, from five to seven in the evening. Funeral Mass on Saturday, January 1, 2011, in Rodenberg Chapel, Franke at Seaside, 1885 Rifle Range Road, Mount Pleasant, SC, at one o'clock in the afternoon. Interment later will be private to the family.)

Note: This blog entry is primarily for friends and extended family outside the Mount Pleasant area, although the publication mechanism of necessity includes a wider audience.

A daugher's "feel good" blog

This click here blog is written by my daughter and I am so proud of all she has become I want to share it with you. I hope you will enjoy it and click on the different headings (home, blog, testimonials, etc) to learn more about this remarkable woman and SC kindergarten teacher who loves her work.

DADT to end

Newspapers report this afternoon the Congress has voted to end the "Don't Ask, "Don't Tell" discriminatory practices in the armed services. The bill goes to the President who is expected to sign it and then the Department of Defense will have to take action within 60 days for repeal to be final. Gays and lesbians will then be able to serve in the military without fear of persecution and prosecution. I believe this is only right.
When I was in the Air Force (1951-1959) two of my friends were kicked out of the service having been revealed as homosexuals. I never suspected either one of being gay and considered them along with the hundred others in our office loyal and hardworking members of the Air Force dedicated to serving our country in good times and bad.
Other nations since the days of the Roman Empire have had gays and lesbians in their service and now our country will join their ranks. We will still be the best damn military machine in the world today and tomorrow.

(For other blog entries visit: archibaldinsc.blogspot.com)

Four out of five major newspapers endorse Sheheen

Four out of five of the major newspapers in South Carolina have endorsed Sen. Vincent Sheheen for Governor. The fifth, The Post and Courier, Charleston, endorsed his opponent Rep. Vicki Haley.
The Greenville News, The Florence Morning News, and The Myrtle Beach Sun News endorsed Sheheen Sunday morning. Earlier The State, (Columbia), endorsed him.
Voting is Tuesday throughout South Carolina and everyone who is eligible and has not yet voted is urged to go to the polls on Tuesday.

The Rent is Too Damn High

Jimmy McMillan of The Rent Is Too Damn High Party during the New York gubernatorial debate Monday.

On the question of same sex marriage, Mr. McMillan said anyone could marry a shoe as far as was concerned. He always answers his campaign phone in the same way: The Rent is Too Damn High. He is running for governor of New York.
You have to love this guy a little bit. BTW: He has $26.05 in his campaign fund.

The web site from hell

Have you ever tried to use the US Postal Service web site for the second time? It has become the web site from hell. After several attempts to buy some stamps I gave up and contemplated going to the tallest building in Charleston, drinking a cup of hemlock, slicing my wrists and jumping off. Then I remembered I had to do my laundry.
I used the postal service web site some time ago to buy stamps. It was an easy task. Now, I wanted to buy some more. Since my first usage they have changed the criteria for passwords and even after they e-mailed me my old one and told me to use it their computer would not accept it. I tried to register as a new user but their computer rejected me because it already holds my name, address and, I suppose, date of my graduation from kindergarten.
It could be simple. Go to the site, select what you want, type in where to send the stamps, and tell them your credit card number. Why do they need everyone to register and to keep all this data on file until global warming destroys the planet? The postal service is not a secret nuclear military base.

Heated Warning

Letter to the Editor
The Post & Courier
Charleston, SC
Published Sunday, Sept 12, 2010

Heated warning

Book burners would do well to recall that German philosopher Heinrich Heine wrote: "Whenever they burn books, they will also, in the end, burn human beings."

Francis X. Archibald
Franke Drive
Mount Pleasant

(To view other blog entries click here.)

I am passing this along because it is another good deed done without any self-interest by the Southern Poverty Law Center. I hope you find it so.
Archie

From: Morris Dees

Southern Poverty Law Center

Aug. 30, 2010
Dear Friend,

I'm proud to tell you that we've settled the lawsuit we filed on behalf of Louise Marie Monroe, the widow of a black man who was shot to death by a police officer in Homer, Louisiana.

Bernard Monroe

Earlier this year, we filed a civil suit against the town of Homer, seeking damages for the wrongful death of Bernard Monroe. The 73-year-old retiree was enjoying a family reunion on Feb. 20, 2009, when two white police officers came onto his property. Our suit claimed that the police officers created a volatile situation when they chased Mr. Monroe's son into the family home and shot the young man in the back with a Taser gun.

During the commotion, Mr. Monroe went to check on Louise Marie, his wife of 49 years. As he was climbing his porch stairs, one of the police officers in his home shot him several times through the screen door. Because he had lost his voice to cancer, Mr. Monroe was unable to call out during the incident. The officers said they thought he had a gun; several witnesses said he did not.

The settlement will allow Bernard Monroe's family and the town of Homer to move forward from this terrible tragedy. The town's attorney, Jim Colvin, agrees that the settlement will help heal the community. "The town needs an opportunity to recover from this unfortunate event. This settlement is a key step in that healing process."

Because of the nature of the settlement, I'm not allowed to disclose the amount of the monetary damages, and the town did not admit liability. Both officers have left the police department.

One of Mr. Monroe's family members told me how grateful they all were for the SPLC's help, saying that "everyone we met at the Center was kind and considerate" and that the attorneys were "real people who cared about our family."

But we could never have won justice for Mr. Monroe's widow and family without your support. As you may know, the SPLC takes no portion of the damages we win for our clients. Your dedication to fighting injustice and intolerance enables us to take on cases like this. Please accept my personal thanks for standing with us in this important case and all the other work we do.

Sincerely,

Morris Dees
Founder, Southern Poverty Law Center

You can donate to the Southern Poverty Law Center online.

Or by mail:
Southern Poverty Law Center
400 Washington Ave.
Montgomery, AL 36104

(For other items in the blog click here.)

Building permit granted

A friend sent this along earlier tonight:

I recently applied for a building permit for a new house.

It was going to be 100 ft tall and 400 ft wide with 9 gun turrets at
various heights and windows all over the place and a loud outside
entertainment sound system. It would have parking for 200 cars and I
was going to paint it dark green with pink trim.

The City Council told me to go to hell.

So I sent in the application again; but this time I called it a Mosque.

Work starts next Monday...

(See full blog here.)

Spies of the Balkans - A novel reviwed

“The Salonika communications unit was at least indoors; having bivouacked in the local school along with other reservists. They’d stacked the chairs against the wall and slept on the floor. Dry, but bored. Each member of the unit had been armed for war by the issue of a blanket, a helmet, and a French Lebel rifle made in 1917. The captain took Zannis aside and said, ‘Ever fire one of these?’

‘No, never.’

‘Too bad. It would be good for you to practice, but we can’t spare the ammunition.’ He chambered a bullet, closed the bolt, and handed the weapon to Zannis. ‘It has a three-round tube. You work the bolt, look through the sight, find an Italian, and pull the trigger. It isn’t complicated.’”

This is one of the grim humorous passages in Alan Furst’s latest historical spy novel, Spies of the Balkans. The story incorporates Mussolini’s strutting invasion of Greece, to demonstrate his power and value to Hitler, but the Greeks drive his divisions back Albania and Hitler has to send his army to Greece.

As the events unfold Costas Zannis, a senior police official who works only special ‘political’ cases, finds himself being drawn into the lives and acts of spies, wives, lovers, and criminals from Turkey, Britain, Germany, and Bulgaria. He cautiously develops an escape route from Berlin to Salonika to Turkey.

The Underground Railroad in America, an informal network of secret routes and safe houses used by black slaves to escape to free states and Canada between 1850 and 1860, was a piece of cake compared to creating escape routes for Jews and others important to the Allies from Nazi Germany and the Gestapo. Being caught on the run in Europe meant death for those fleeing and anyone who helped them. Yet there were those who fled and those who stepped up to rescue them. Zannis is one of these rescuers and his actions put him on the Gestapo’s list of scores to settle.

Spies of the Balkans takes the reader on a suspenseful journey through the labyrinth of Eastern Europe in 1939-1940 and keeps the tension at a maximum peak as the Germans march into Greece. With all other routes closed Zannis reaches the Turkish border where, because he lacks a visa, he is told, “You will return to Greece.”

This is the 11th historical novel written by Alan Furst centered on spies, intelligence operations and ordinary people during the pivotal years 1933-1945. I have read them all and consider this one as enjoyable and engaging as the first one and all the others. His novels have been translated into seventeen languages.

(Furst, Alan, Spies of the Balkans, Random House, New York, 268 pages.)

(For the complete blog click here.)

Intensify the fight against Alzheimer's

Dear friends,

Alzheimer's disease steals the future from millions of Americans. It robs spouses of their companions and children of their parents and grandparents; it erodes the health and financial resources of caregivers.

I just signed a petition calling on Congress to make Alzheimer's disease a national priority. Will you add your voice?

http://www.alz.org/petition

Your signature will be delivered to Congress on September 21, 2010 World Alzheimer's Day.

Together, we can make Alzheimer's a national priority.

Thank you.

Archie
(For the complete blog click here)

How Millennial R U?

On a Sunday morning when it continues to rain as it has since long before dawn I went to the Pew Research Center and looked at a few studies and issues currently under scrutiny. Among these was a short quiz, How Millennial Are You?
The quiz measures how much the quiz taker has in common with the Millennial generation, i.e those born since 1981. It also measures your standing with other groups: Silent generation (born 1928-1945), baby boomer (1946-1964), gen Xer (1965-1980).
I scored 52 which put me closer to the Millennial generation than any other group. My basic group, based on date of birth, would have been the silent generation and I was separated by 48 points from that group. The Pew researchers conclude that the higher your score, the more you have in common with the Millennial generation.
Who is to say if this is all good or bad one way or the other, but it does make me feel good to realize I am closer to the generation which will carve our future than tied to the past.
I also took the Science Knowledge Quiz and answered only eight out of twelve questions correctly. This tells me I need to spend more time watching PBS than HBO.
(To tour the complete blog click here.)

Death toll - Letter to the Editor

Published: August 11, 2010

July 31, 2010

Letters to the Editor
The Post & Courier
Charleston SC

Dear Sirs:

It is more important to keep the total cost of American lives lost in Afghanistan before the American people than it is to report the total number of failed banks in the U.S. this year.
The recent Associated Press story (Sat. July 31) "'Tough fighting' takes toll" shed light on monthly figures of servicemen and women killed in Afghanistan since the end of February but did not report how many brave American men and women (and other coalition forces) have been killed in this nine-year war.
Elsewhere in the paper it was reported that the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. had a day earlier seized 3 more banks and that brought to a total of 106 banks which have failed in 2010.
I acknowledge it is highly likely, as the AP reported, "the rise in causalities is likely to erode support for the war in Washington and the capitals of the 45 other countries that provide troops" in Afghanistan. This happened in the Vietnam War. So be it. We at home need to constantly have before us the terrible cost of this nine-year war. Otherwise it will go on and on.

Sincerely,

/s/Francis X. Archibald

Click here for the entire blog.

Readers' responses

Sometimes I get responses to a blog entry so fast it makes me think I touched a sensitive nerve. Such was the case on Sunday, August 6, when I blogged against some lawmakers expressing an inclination to change the Constitution (see below)to deny citizenship to children born in the United States of parents who are illegal immigrants. These were some of the early comments, in agreement with and opposed to my views, including a boilerplate response from Senator Lindsey Graham, (R-SC). (References to the baby refer to the picture which accompanied the blog entry. I alternated the typeface to make it easier to read.)

I am p....d off at Lindsay Graham also. I think he is a blockhead for supporting Kagan.
(Semi-retired businessman in Virginia.)

Just a quick line to applaud your latest. I spent an hour last night trying to prove Obama was born in the U.S. I always try to remember what my Dad use to say "sometimes the best revenge is to leave them stupid." Hang in there pal.
(SC Businessman)

I hope you sent this to those chowder heads!!
(Retired SC physician)

Thank you for taking the time to contact me. I appreciate the opportunity to hear from you.
In spite of the high volume of mail I receive daily, I look forward to reviewing your correspondence and providing a personal response as soon as possible.
As we continue our work in the 111th Congress, I look forward to supporting our troops in the War on Terror, repairing our economy and creating jobs, strengthening Social Security, lowering the tax burden on American families, and making the federal government more accountable and efficient.
Please do not hesitate to contact me if I may be of further assistance to you or your family, and if you need immediate assistance, please call my office at 202-224-5972. If your correspondence pertains to a scheduling request, please fax your request to (202) 224-3808.
Sincerely,
Lindsey Graham (U.S. Senator)

I am P......d too! Loved the PHOTO! Keep your COOL... (SC Lady)

Thanks again for your views and comments. I agree with you completely. I like the photo!
(Retired SC man)

If they are the children of illegal immigrants. they are illegal ,also. And I'm totally exasperated with that blockhead, Obama, who is burdening our children, grandchildren and ,probably, great, great, great grandchildren with enormous debt. I'm p****d off, too!!!!!!!!!!!!
(SC Lady)

Could not agree more. Lindsey Graham has made some courageous decisions to cross party lines but in this case I think he is simply seeking a gimmick to pander to the right. Love that baby!
(SC Lady)

Welcome to the club. All the guys you named should be out on the street as far as I am concerned, especially Graham. P.S. Moreover, I think this jerk pictures himself as President!
(Former federal employee)

Well, there ARE those of us who are NOT "blockhead" (I AM, after all, an ex-cop who feels just as strongly about cop killers and the like) but remain equally as pissed off at this "INVASION" of illegals into our...OUR...sovereign nation! Just because our gutless, inside-the-beltway, totally PC'd, so-called leaders (on both sides of the aisle) refuse to do what it'll take to stop this tidal wave of immigrants flooding over the border, doesn't (shouldn't) mean we cannot WISELY, in my view, amend things such that by sneaking across our border to "drop a kid" no longer REWARDS these illegals with granting their newborn fetuses with automatic, constitutionally protected US citizenship! That's NONSENSE and absolutely NOT in the spirit of what our Founding Fathers had in mind nor could've possibly foreseen the times we now face. The drain on our economy (ask California), the effect on our diminishing culture ("press one for English, two for SPANISH!!!), not to mention the dangerous ease of passage for WHOEVER wants to jump aboard this American bandwagon - - be their intentions good or evil (even draconian) - - is one of the biggest threats we face in my opinion. We OWE our children and grandchildren better...much better...than what we're leaving behind.
Just another point of view...from one who's actually made hundreds and hundreds of felony arrests in his day of the other criminal filth in this country you rightfully mentioned. There are American citizens down near the border, on US soil, being slaughtered by illegals involved with the Mexican drug cartels...I care more about THEM and THEIR constitutional rights than I do ANY of these ILLEGALS, who show none of us an ounce of respect nor regard for our sovereignty...and then laugh at us by hiding behind such an out-of-step, antiquated law and DEMAND their "rights???" That's crap and WHY the Founding Fathers established the process to amend things in the first place.
So, I do not consider as "blockheads" those you mention just because they wish to address - - LEGALLY - - an ever growing, serious problem!
(Retired federal employee)

I am totally exasperated with SC Senator Lindsey Graham. Yes, and just when he was about to get on my good side for supporting Elena Kagan! If we want to punish evil doers let's start with some real, honest-to-God criminals and not pick on new-born babies simply because moma and papa came across the Rio Grande to cut lawns in Southern California, wash dishes at Aspen, Colorado or pick tomatoes in South Carolina. What the h@^l makes us think it's "our" country, anyway - just because we had the good sense to pick 'mericans for parents? And . . . .if we could bother to send some agricultural, educational, economic and health care foreign aid to countries that really need it (not talking bombs and guns here), most people would be happy staying where they are, if there was a way to have a meaningful life!
Yeesh!
(A SC Lady in the ministry)

That's the problem that RR, GB 1, and GB 2 left us who care about exploitation, justice, and mercy. The Democrats cannot ignore those problems just because the Republicans care to. All of us have quite a few tigers by the tail. I, for one, sure as hell don't have the answer. It seems to me there a’int no quick fix.
(Retired college president)

This little baby expresses my sentiments exactly!!!
(Graduate of my High School)

(See the complete blog here.)

I am p****d off!

I am totally exasperated with SC Senator Lindsey Graham, John McCain and the other blockheads for even thinking about changing the Constitution of the United States to deny citizenship to children born in this country to parents who are illegal immigrants.
Is it because they want to punish lawbreakers and lawbreaking? There is no question illegal immigrants are breaking the law? Here's a surprise. The penalty for such lawbreaking is six months for a first offense and two years for subsequent offenses.
If we are going to punish people for breaking the law let's start with some real SOBs: murderers, cop killers, burglars, rapists and the white collar criminals who steal people's retirement and wreck havoc through their shady dealings. Let's deny citizenship to the off-spring of these criminals. That will cut down on crime about as much as denying citizenship to the baby born of illegal immigrants will cut down on the number of illegal immigrants.
If we want to punish evil doers let's start with some real, honest-to-God criminals and not pick on new-born babies simply because moma and papa came across the Rio Grande to cut lawns in Southern California, wash dishes at Aspen, Colorado or pick tomatoes in South Carolina.
Get some damn common sense, Lindsey and John and the rest of you bloating blockheads.
I am p****d off!.

A bit over the top

I believe it is a bit over the top for the government to send BP an $75,000 nonitemized bill for a one-day visit to the New Orleans crisis center by VP Joe Biden, as reported in The Wall Street Journal on-line edition, July 21.
I like Biden and he is a nice guy, but what did he actually contribute to solving the crisis besides bringing himself up to speed, something he could have done with a video conference at a cheaper price. (Disclaimer: I support this administration and am a former BP stockholder.)

It came in the mail

Today I received a canvass survey document from the National Republican Congressional Committee asking my view "as a Republican leader" on 20 questions ranging from Obama and Nancy Pelosi's alleged "soft-on-defense, reckless spending, higher taxes, and expansive Big Government policies" to whether or not I believe it important "to remove Nancy Pelosi as Speaker of the House."
It cost the NRCC eight-cents to mail this survey to me, although in the part where they asked for money they said it would cost $11 to tabulate and process my survey.
They asked for this amount and another $100 so they could mail 211 more survey documents to registered Republicans.
On the oft-chance they might have hit the mother load they also had a place on the survey where I could checkoff and send $1,000, if I was so inclined. And of, course, if I wanted to, I could put this contribution on my credit card, (and probably earn frequent flier miles and pay 18% interest on the outstanding balance.)
Wouldn't you know it, however, this survey arrived just a few days after I had planned to send the same $1,000 to Nancy Peolsi to help her continue her sterling leadership in the House of Representatives.
As to the policies of the Obama administration, they may not all be 100% right or perfect but in the past two years they have been a breath of fresh air.
This canvass survey is so loaded with pre-judged, anti-Obama, anti-Democrat, unfair and biased questions that I checked the box saying I supported Peolsi and sent it back to the NRCC in their postage paid envelope. It will cost them about 49 cents to open that envelope.
(From my blog.)

A grandson's note to grandma

Our grandson was graduated from high school in Myrtle Beach in June and like all grandparents we sent along a little something to commemorate the event. Our grandson then wrote the following note to his grandmother:

Dear Grandma and Pepaw,
I wish I could find the words to describe all of my emotions for the two of you. Since day one you have taken care of me and I will always remember that. When me and my mom would come and stay with ya'll that was when life was at its best. Everything was so simple and the only worry I had was when was grandma going to make dinner. I love you both very much and everything you have done will never be forgotten.
Love
Matthew

Clamp on Picnic Table Canopy

Every once in a while you see a great idea and say, "wow." I had a "wow" moment today while looking at the on-line Hammacher Schlemmer catalog. It is a picnic table canopy. Here is the on-line description:

The Clamp On Picnic Table Canopy.

This portable canopy clamps to any rectangular wooden table and provides up to 75' sq. of shade. The unit's adjustable bracket clamps latch onto picnic tables, the three-piece frame sets up in seconds, and the canopy simply slides over the frame. The canopy tilts 20º in either direction, adjusts up to 9' high, and locks into place at the desired position. Made from a durable polyester fabric, the canopy filters the sun's UV rays and provides reliable shelter from rain. The powder coated steel frame, high impact injection molded connectors, and rip-stop canopy ensure years of reliable use. The entire unit folds to fit into the included duffel bag. Minor assembly. Fits tables 4' to 10' wide. Open: 58" H x 90" W x 120" L. (27 lbs.)
Item 11679
$129.95
Please allow 1-2 weeks for delivery.

Makes me wish I had a picnic table out in my backyard!

Spare me your "mercy"

I believe most people today are like myself; poorly informed about gladiators. When I visited the Rome Colosseum a few years ago I found it much smaller than I had imagined in my mind. After all what I know about gladiators I learned from the silver screen and actors like Victor Mature, Kirk Douglas and Russell Crowe, all of whom vanquished large animals and brutes bigger than themselves, won their freedom and made off with some busty woman.
Thus, I was intrigued when I saw a headline in the local paper about a possible gladiator graveyard being uncovered in England. The article reported new forensic evidence suggests bones belonged to gladiators. It cited men larger than the average Roman, arm-muscle stress indicating possible weapons training at an early age, and carnivore marks on bones, all suggesting an arena connection. It was a shock to read that gladiators were often beheaded as an "act of mercy after suffering horrific injuries during their fights." You would hope they would have been given some hemlock or a tainted mushroom.

Get this message

(Published June 5, 2010)

Letters to the Editor
The Post & Courier
Charleston, SC

Dear Sir

It was inspiring to read about the 830 students who graduated from MUSC into the health care field last week. I wish them all a lifetime of career satisfaction as they attend to the medical needs of their patients.
I recently sent a one-paragraph to a doctor whose name I omit out of courtesy. If the 830 were smart enough to graduate, they ought to be smart enough to get this message:

"Dear Dr. Name Omitted

"Today, Thursday, May 20, 2010, I arrived at your office with my wife, Mary Archibald, at 10:35 for a 10:50 appointment. At 11:30 we were still waiting in the outer office with the prospect of being there at least another hour. Two other patients had gone into the inner office ahead of us and neither had come out. A third patient was also ahead of us in the outer office. During this wait a drug rep came, was admitted to the inner office and left after about twenty minutes. Another person came delivering three large bags (it looked like lunch). All this time Mary was in her wheel chair. I know when she is tiring and the likelihood of another hour’s wait was obviously going to be too much for her. (I had picked her up at Franke’s Skilled Nursing unit at 10:15.) We left."

Sincerely,

/s/ Francis X. Archibald

(From my blog.)

Where to play the game

Moderate weather fans were thrown a bone this week when the NFL announced the 2014 Super Bowl will be played in New Jersey.
On cue came the cries of the purists who believe that weather ought not to play a role in determining the outcome of the game. Since the first game was played back in 1968 the league has always chosen a warm climate – California, Florida, New Orleans, Atlanta - for the game.
The decision to play in New Jersey where the forecast for game day in 2014 is temperature in the low thirties, strong winds, and maybe snow, was in part a reward for the new stadium in New Jersey.
All of this is much ado about nothing. To really even things out for having favored warm weather teams these past 43 years the league should put the game in Green Bay.
Remember the NFL championship game between the Green Bay Packers and the Dallas Cowboys played on the frozen tundra on December 31, 1967, when the pre-game wind-chill was minus 70 degrees? By kickoff time knowledgeable weather men in Green Bay were on the plane to the Fijis. The stout-hearted were in Lambeau Field.
With a little over four minutes to play in the fourth quarter, Bart Starr started the Packers on a drive to the end zone 68 ice covered yards away.
Did the weather influence the game? Green Bay fans say, nah: ‘both teams had to play in the same conditions.’ Dallas fans respond: ‘that’s like saying the swimmer and shark were equal since they were both in the water.’
When Starr dove into the South end zone with 13 seconds on the clock his winning touchdown created one of the most memorable moments in NFL history for the Packers, Starr and the fans.
This is what football is all about. Regular season games are played in warm climates, moderate (for football anyway) places like New Jersey and Pittsburgh, and then where real men get tested: Green Bay, Wisconsin.
The Super Bowl ought to get the same billing.
(From my blog.)

Woody Woodpecker is alive and well

Yesterday while walking from the dining room to my apartment building I heard a woodpecker. I paused and look up in a tree but did not see him. I took a few steps and heard him again and I stopped and looked. I thought he wants me to see him. After a minute or so I spotted him about 30 feet up the side of a tree. He commenced his rat-a-tat-rat-a-tat-rat-a-tat pecking as I stood there watching and listening. Then he moved about 90 degrees to a new position on tree but hit a soft spot and though his beak was moving in and out, or up and down, there was no noise. He flew away and I walked on to my apartment.
(From my blog.

Matterhorn – A tale of courage and survival

It has been a long time since a novel was so compelling I hated to put in down and yearned to pick it up again as soon as I could. This is "Matterhorn." It has nothing to do with that fabled mountain in the Swiss Alps which attracts professional climbers every summer. It is a story about a hill in Vietnam that a company of Marines took, abandoned, and re-took in 1969.

 

I picked up this novel about the same time I was watching the ten-part HBO series "The Pacific," the heroic struggle of the United States Marines during World War II. I was struck by the similarities in both wars.

 

The author, Karl Marlantes, a graduate of Yale University and a Rhodes Scholar, served as a Marine in Vietnam. He was awarded the Navy Cross, the Bronze Star, two Navy Commendation medals for valor, two Purple Hearts and ten air medals. He brings to this first novel a wealth of first-hand experience about men in war. One wonders if Matterhorn is more auto-biographical than imaginary. In any event it ranks very high among the tales told of the Vietnam experience which I have read over the years. Marlantes says he worked on this, his first novel, for thirty years.

 

This gritty tale has been widely praised and nit-pickingly criticized. Some thought it over-written; others get hung-up on little things like explaining the military lingo in the narrative despite a glossary of weapons, technical terms, slang and jargon, in the back of the book. I did not find this distracting. To the contrary, it helps the uninformed understand immediately without having to flip back and forth.

 

The one thing I believe comes straight at you is the oft told tale about why men fight as they do in battle. They aren't fighting down on the ground in Vietnam for some noble purpose laid down by politicians back home (stop the spread of Communism) or by senior officers way behind the lines (body counts are a measure of progress); they are fighting for their lives and the man at their side.

 

The perspective of the "snuff" (a young Marine of low rank) is always going to be different from that of the career senior officers, "lifers" – quite often a derogatory term implying one who puts career, military rules and decorum above the welfare of the troops. In between these two groups are the young 2^nd lieutenants who live and die with the snuffs but are charged by their seniors to lead them to fight.

 

The battalion commander drinks too much for anyone in charge of troops and is quick off of the mark to find fault and suspect the worst. Marlantes gives us hope at the regiment and division level. The future is not addressed in the novel, but it is reasonable to expect that very shortly an officer's fitness report will put the battalion commander out to pasture.

 

In Vietnam this hierarchical system worked as it has for two-hundred years. It never is pretty, but the job gets done and young Americans rise to the occasion over and over again.

 

It is not going to happen but every American ought to read this tale and imagine himself in the First Squad, First Platoon. Matterhorn will not be a novel you will quit on half-way through. To do so would be deserting the boys in the sweltering mountains and jungle of Vietnam.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Why Youth Join al-Qaeda

The recent bombing attempt in Times Square has renewed questions about what motivates young people to join violent extremist groups. In a new Special Report, United States Institute of Peace Senior Fellow Col. John M. "Matt" Venhaus examines how the terrorist group al-Qaeda recruits young people, who signs up and why, and ways to prevent al-Qaeda from growing its ranks.
Read the Special Report
Click on the Download Now link beneath the image of the report (on the USIP site) or read the summary on the opening page.
(From my blog.)

Shopping at The Pig

In the days when Jesus trod the earth many men drank wine from goatskins. The richer ones had urns which they sometimes filled with water and we all know what happened at that wedding feast. Later on came bottles and real corks, most of which came from Portugal. Enterprising people took this a step further and introduced plastic corks. Time moves on and wine today is being sold in cardboard boxes equal to four 750 liter bottles. It is claimed the wine will stay fresh for a month after being opened. (I guess this is a natural progression to being able to have dog food delivered to our doors.)

If you pass on the wine in the cardboard box, as I did after picking up some apples and bananas at The Pig in Seaside Shoppes, watch yourself at the register, or better yet check the register receipt. I shopped on Saturday. My bill came to over $12. After putting the food away at home I looked a bit closer at the receipt and thought that was a lot of money for three items (I also bought some cow's milk). The apples cost $8.74. WHOA, wait a minute. I didn't buy that many. I got out the scale I use to weigh kilos of coke (that's an attempted funny, don't call the DEA) and had about 20 ounces of apples. Having learned elementary math at the hands of Miss Seed in the Hugh J. Molloy school, I returned to The Pig. The customer service rep weighed the apples and gave me a refund of $5.66. I asked what he intended to do about the scale and register where I checked out and he said "they are OK. The checkout girl probably leaned on the scale" and he would speak to her about it. And since my cash back was over $5 would I please sign the chit he put before me.

How the government spends some of your money

At one time or another we all wonder about how the government is spending our money. A portion of that money goes to maintaining and operating the FBI in Washington, across the country and in some foreign lands where we have embassies. One way to get an idea of what you are receiving for your money is to go to www.fbi.gov/ and look in the left hand column. You will find links to receive daily e-mail updates from the Bureau covering activities throughout the country and you can submit your e-mail address for press releases from the Columbia, SC, office (or other field offices in areas you are interested in). The daily e-mails come bullet-like with a summary of the issue and a link to the details. I have looked at these for a few weeks now and find them as interesting as any news magazine I read. One category of crime that surprises me is "public corruption" which gets much attention from the Bureau because of its effect on citizen respect for government, as well as betrayal of public trust for money or other favors. (Corrected copy.)

How not to dress for a flight

Michael Lombardi runs a financial investment in New York and threw a personal gripe into a recent e-mail that hit home with me and I want to pass it along:

“My gripe today may be a silly one, but I want to share it with my readers anyway.
“Back in the 1950s, 1960s and even for the majority of the 1970s, men would wear suits to work, women would wear dresses.
“(Remember The Dick Van Dyke Show or The Lucy Show. The men would come home from work in suits and wear them around the house until they went to bed, while women would wear dresses.)
“Putting work and the office aside, people originally dressed up to go onto an airplane. As a frequent traveler, I've become quite disgusted (sorry for the hard words) about how people dress on an airplane these days. I don't want to sit next to someone (male or female) who is wearing
“flip flops on a plane. Nor do I want to sit next to a man wearing short pants and an undershirt or a woman wearing a tank top, shorts and sun glasses.
“Sure, society has changed and dress today is much more casual. And while I don't expect people to get "dressed up" to go onto a flight, I do expect people to have respect for the way they present themselves and for their fellow passengers. I'm all for being ‘comfy’ on an airplane, but I have a big problem with people dressing as if the plane is a stepping stone to the beach or the gym.”

(From my blog.)

Sovereign Citizen Movement

Sovereign citizens "believe that even though they physically reside in this country, they are separate or 'sovereign' from the United States."They believe they don't have to pay taxes, can ignore the courts and thumb their noses at practically every organ of government federal, state and local. The FBI has released a summary of this movement in the United States and I found it interesting to say the least. They have even gone so far as to create their own license plates, some of which are shown in an FBI photo.
(From my blog.)

Madam Speaker…

Gavin Newsome, Mayor of San Francisco

According to news reports House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is the Republican Party’s top target, but the only way they can kick her out of the speaker’s office is to take control of the Congress in November.

Mrs. Pelosi got 72 percent of the vote in her District in 2008. San Francisco is her home base and the mayor of that city by the sea said on Bill Maher’s show a couple of weeks ago that his city already has a health plan in place which mirrors the bill passed by the Congress in March which has stirred up so much opposition in the GOP.

The main reason they have betting windows at race tracks is because people disagree on who is going to win. As of now, I believe Mrs. Pelosi will be with us as Speaker of the House in the 2011-2012 term. Political buffs stayed turned.

(From my blog.)

10 Ways Health Care may affect your taxes

This is a link to Market Watch, a respectable and reliable source of information concerning finances at all levels. It outlines how the recently enacted Health Care legislation may affect your and my taxes.
(From my blog.)

hh gregg – research before you go

Two or three times a week there is an insert in the local paper touting low prices at hh gregg, appliances and electronics. This may not always be the case. Today at the local store I bought a Free Agent/Go Dock to hold my external disc drive for $19.99.

A short time later I was in the Best Buy store and found the same product for $4.99. I bought one there also and later returned the first one to hhgregg.

I am not sure how you explain such a price differential but it obviously pays to have some idea of what something costs before you shop.

(See my complete blog.)

Cleaning the refrigertor

Anjali Athavaley wrote in the fourth section of The Wall Street Journal, February 24, 2010, (“Why Won’t Anyone Clean Me?”) about how most Americans clean their refrigerators only once or twice a year and how refrigerator manufacturers are trying to make their new appliances a weapon in the fight against dirty kitchens.
It came as a shock to me that most Americans actually clean their refrigerator twice a year. I have been in my Man Cave for two years and have not cleaned my refrigerator once. During the 55 or so years my wife and I shared a home I am sure she cleaned our refrigerator regularly, at least I never found reason to complain. Of course, when you have five children at home there not much food that lingers long enough in a refrigerator to resemble “science projects” or cause bacteria problems. (My wife now lives in a nursing home and I am in my second period of bachelorhood, the first being the time between when I left home to enter the Air Force and when I married.)
A cleaning service comes to my apartment weekly and does the necessary, but things like refrigerators are a special service and separate arrangements must be made. My good intentions to get this done seem to disappear in the time it takes to close the refrigerator and put the task out of sight. After reading Miss Athavaley’s article this morning I was determined to get in there and “clean and sanitize.” I put on some old pants and shoes and went to work.
First, I emptied all the food out of the refrigerator and stacked it on the counter and stove top in the kitchen. I don’t keep a lot of food as I take most of my meals in the dining room of the retirement community where I live, or I eat elsewhere. (Occasionally, falling back on “the kindness of strangers.”) As I pulled each item I gave it the smell test and looked it over carefully for signs of something that might cure the H1N1 virus.
Then I commenced to take out all the shelves, compartments and humidity controlled containers. I washed each of these pieces in the kitchen sick with hot water and detergent and as I did so I put them on towels I had laid out on the dinette table and leather sofa to air dry. It surprised me how easily all these parts came out and it later surprised me even more that they all went back in.
When it came time to restore the food I carefully noted the advice in the article and put the condiments on the door shelf (the warmest part of the refrigerator and not the place for the milk carton). I only have one potato, an apple and three oranges that are likely to spoil if they are still around on Labor Day but I put them front where I will see every time I open the door. I looked at the “use by dates” and chucked a couple of items into the trash.
All in all it was not a time consuming task, nor something beyond a man with only a Masters degree in international relations. I did the job in about an hour and took some pictures as I went along in case I am compelled to prove that I cleaned my refrigerator during the 21st Century. I suspect that when some congress person(s) read the article there will be an attempt to create a refrigerator police force. Such is the way of life.
(From my blog.)

Duke, we miss you

I can hardly wait for May to arrive. AMC and other movie channels usually run a month long tribute to John Wayne by showing his movies over again. The Duke died in 1979 so many of these films are dated and you know the outcome. The Duke is always the good guy and right away you can spot the bad guys. This desire for a nostalgic moment (or month of such moments) is propelled by the two last films I have chosen to watch.

One was Lorna’s Silence: the story of an Albania girl who enters into a sham marriage to a Belgian drug dealer to get Belgium citizenship so she can get a license to open a snack bar. At the end she is running for her life and hiding in a cold shack in a forest somewhere between Belgium and Albania laying on a simple wooden bench and whispering to the non-existent child she imagines is in her womb.

The second film is Shutter Island, the Scorsese film which took in the most money at the box office this week. In this one a US Marshal arrives at an asylum for the criminally insane on this island off the coast of Boston to investigate the disappearance of an inmate – or a patient, as the staff likes to refer to them – and winds up quietly heading for a lighthouse on the island where the doctor and staff will perform a lobotomy on him.

Let’s just say these films were not my cup of tea and I like the simpler world of the Duke.

  

Marsh walk, Mt Pleasant SC

This is a link to some pictures I took today at the recently opened Mt Pleasant marsh walk near the Water Works Department on Rifle Range Road. There is also a dog park which has two fenced areas, one for large dogs and one for small dogs. Along the way to the marsh we met some people and dogs enjoying the warmer weather and the great view from the marsh. Parking is close by the entrance to this site. It is on a driveway between the Water Works and the new Mamie Whiteside school under construction. It makes a nice outing.

(Click on the above link to see the pictures).

(From my blog.)

Health care died in 2010

The sweeping improvement to health care in America envisioned by the Obama administration a year ago is dead. Its lengthy life killed it.

 

President Obama and his advisors looked back at the fate of President Clinton’s health initiative. President Clinton sent his wife up to Congress with a detailed master plan. When it arrived it hung there like a piñata at a Cinco de Mayo festival in a Juarez saloon where three kinds of people waited to bash it: the nearly drunk, the drunk and those who couldn’t even hang on to the floor. To avoid a similar fate, the new administration’s reasoning went, let’s allow Congress to write a bill around some goals advanced by President Obama. Well, that hasn’t worked either.

Having taken over the government in 2009, the really liberal Democrats in Congress (who never face serious Republican challenges back home) drafted a bill with every wish and wet dream idea they ever had in it. The Democrats from states where they depended on Republican cross voting to get elected balked at some of these ideas, not that they weren’t good. They were just too risky for some Democrats. Meanwhile, the Republicans got together and decided they would not support anything – even a 21st Century version of the miracle of the loaves and fishes – not even if they could put their hand into Jesus’ side.

 

Over in the Senate the Democratic majority that could push a proposal through dithered too damn long and then the great Liberal Lion, Ted Kennedy, died. What could have been the strongest voice for health care reform was silenced. The one man who might have brokered a deal, as sick as he was, with a few Republicans was gone from the Senate scene.

Then the seat held by Senator Kennedy was given to a Republican by the Massachusetts voters and the chances for health care reform began to really slide down hill. In the end, the proponents wanted and expected too much, the administration plan to let the Congress draft the bill has turned out to be a mistake and the refusal of the Republicans in Congress to come to the table in any collegial manner finally scuttled the whole idea of imaginative health care reform. If anything comes out in 2010 it will be a watered down version of the great dream. The 35 million uncovered Americans will remain uncovered. There may be tinkering around the edges but in the long run insurers will make more money and consumers will pay higher premiums.

(From my blog.)

Goodbye Charlie, Thanks for your work

Charlie Wilson, a 12-term congressman from Texas, has died at the age of 76. While he was in Congress he was a one-man dollar resource assault team against the Soviets in Afghanistan. There is a book and later a movie, Charlie Wilson's War, which tell the story of how an obscure playboy congressman (Tom Hanks played Wilson) from Texas single-handedly got the Congress to funnel millions of dollars to the mujahideen and Afghan "freedom fighters" to fight and ultimately defeat the Soviets during the 1980s. Some say now that weapons funded by Wilson and the CIA are being used against us in Afghanistan, but that is Monday-morning quarterbacking. The fact is that Wilson's efforts led to the defeat of the Soviets and forced them to give up in Afghanistan. It had the unintended consequence of awaking dreams and visions of Islam, but that not ought to be held against Charlie.

If you haven't see the excellent movie it is available on DVD at most of the usual outlets and is occasionally seen on movie channels. With Wilson's death you might look for it to be re-run several times over the next week or two.

The book, written by George Crile, is similarly available at most of the usual outlets. It is a fascinating read. I actually saw the movie first and then bought and read the book. The story is that compelling.

Charlie Wilson is the only outsider ever recognized by the CIA as "honored colleague." He was truly one of the good guys.

Sanford saga

Letters to the Editor
The Post & Courier
Charleston, SC
Dear Sirs:
Drucilla Barker, director of women and gender studies at USC, hit the nail on the head regarding Jenny Sanford's book on her life, failed marriage and divorce from the governor.

This sadly miserable tale, like a few others involving rich celebrities in recent years, continues to play out only because of the wealth and resources available to Mrs. Sanford.

There are thousands of women, and some men, across this country who divorce every year because of infidelity and other reasons and we hear little or nothing from them or about them, only the statistics about the divorce rate.

Through the Internet, for example, I learned that for the 12 months ending in April 2009, 34 percent of marriages ended in divorce. Enough of the Sanfords.

/s/ Francis X. Archibald 

(Published February 10, 2010)

(This is from my blog.)

You’ve got mail

On a lark about six days ago I decided to count the pieces of unsolicited mail I received over the next week. Leading the way were 19 offers to sell me something, 13 requests for donations to charities and 7 offers to subscribe to publications. Clearly these 39 unsolicited mailings outnumbered the pieces of mail and magazines I already subscribe to.

My mail is not unusual, according to comments made in the lobby by other residents of my 35 unit apartment house. One lady said all she ever gets is “pay me, buy me, give me” mail and wonders how the senders got her name. I wonder the same thing. Did someone get a copy of the directory for our retirement community? If so, how? Holders of the directory are requested not to make copies nor share the contents with outsiders.

I have briefly considered writing “Return to Sender,” and adding either “Addressee deceased” or “Moved, left no address” but the next piece of unsolicited mail will simply be addressed to “Occupant.” I think I will just continue to toss the unwanted mail in the recycle bin and get on with my life.

(This is from my larger BLOG.)

God does not carry a 220 year old grudge!

The earthquake in Haiti is, according to TV evangelist Pat Robertson, God getting even for a pact Haitians made with the devil in 1791. Legend has it that 220 years ago some Haitians led by slaves revolted against French rule and made a pact with the devil to serve him if he got them out from under the French.

Haiti is the poorest nation in the Western Hemisphere and possible anywhere in the world. Even an old testament vengeful God would consider this sufficient punishment for nine million people who today live in abject poverty and who have never known anything better. He would not have to send them an earthquake to make his point. On top of which none of these nine million souls were around when the alleged pact was made with Satan.

I do not believe natural disasters occur because God gets up one day on the wrong side of the bed and decides to even scores. It is not necessary to understand all the forces of nature which must come into play for disasters to occur. Suffice it to say they happen and they are called natural disasters, be they earthquakes, hurricanes, tornadoes, plagues, landslides. These things are not, in my opinion, the messenger of the Lord.

 

Anyway, forget about the loony characterizations of the Rev. Robertson and find some way to send a bit of help to some charity trying to alleviate the terrible effect of this disaster in Haiti. The God I know will not punish you for being an accessory after the fact to a 220 year old pact with the devil.

(This is an extract from my blog.)

Some stars will be sadly added

Sometime later this year seven stars will be added to the CIA Memorial Wall honoring the men and women who died in Afghanistan this past week. Their bodies were returned to the United States on Monday, arriving at Dover AFB, the scene of the return of so many other Americans who have died in the line of duty. Following are some notes about the CIA Memorial Wall:

 

THE CIA MEMORIAL WALL – Langley, Virginia 
The Memorial Wall is on the north wall of the Original Headquarters Building lobby. This wall of 90 stars stands as a silent, simple memorial to those CIA officers who
have made the ultimate sacrifice. Above the stars, a simple inscription reads: "In honor of those members of the Central Intelligence Agency who gave their lives in
the service of their country." The Memorial Wall was commissioned by the CIA Fine Arts Commission in May 1973 and sculpted by Harold Vogel in July 1974.
Below the Memorial Wall sits the glass encased "Book of Honor." It lists the names of 55 officers who died while serving their country. The names of the remaining 35 officers must remain secret, even in death; each of these officers is remembered in the book by a star. This wall memorializes those men and women who served and sacrificed in silence.

Getting blog writer updated

This is an informational blog – I am using a new application to help craft blog entries and hope that you receiving this will not be an undue intrusion. I am including a picture taken in early December 2009 when one of our fine dining room staff was leaving to pursue her new career in nursing. Well done Tameka!

Archie

Life's little problems

On a Sunday I bought an overcoat in a large Southern chain store. Sleeves needed to be shortened a tad and the coat would “go to the tailor on Monday. Be ready after four on Thursday.” I could not get back on Thursday and Friday was New Year’s Day so I telephoned to see if the store was open. It was. And the lady answering the phone said she would check on my coat and call me back. Thirty minutes later she called and said the coat was ready to be picked up. “Come to the customer service desk.” I drove to the store and went to the customer service desk. My coat is not there and I have to go down the aisle, turn right and go to another customer service desk. Off I go. At this desk a clerk is closing a sale of three nylon panties to a rather large woman who wants 15% off as promised in some newspaper coupon she presents. That takes another minute or two and my mind wanders as to how this woman would look in those panties. I repress the image and present my claim ticket to the clerk. This is not the customer service desk that handles such and I must go back down to the end of the aisle. At this third customer service desk my ticket is presented again and the clerk disappears into the back room somewhere. Other customers arrive and want to check out but are dismayed to find the customer service desk not staffed. “She will be back in a moment,” I tell them reassuringly. “She went to get my coat.” The clerk returns empty-handed and says maybe it is in a fourth customer service station and she will go there and check. I say that I will do it and she should stay at her work station and help these other customers. (After all we are trying to cooperate with President Obama and get the national economy moving and every little bit helps.) On to number four I go. By now I have almost made a 360 degree sweep of the store. At number four a clerk is finishing up a sale and then he turns to me. I present my ticket and he ponders it for a moment and then reaches over to a large garment in a plastic bag tied in a knot at the bottom (a security measure so shoplifters can’t stick a second item in a bag). The ticket I presented matches the ticket on the bag and off I go with the sound of “Thank you, sir, and Happy New Year” ringing in my ears. I arrive home, hang the bag on a door hook and untie the knot at the bottom. I remove the coat from the plastic bag. I put on a casual sport coat and then don my new overcoat. Look at myself in the mirror and am pleased with the whole effect. After all, I got a greatly reduced price on fine coat. And then the perfect moment is shattered. The coat still has a plastic security (see picture) tag attached. This is supposed to set off an alarm if someone tries to leave the store with such a tag in place. But no alarm went off when I left the store. I examine the tag. It is a rectangular plastic tag on one side and a pin has been inserted through the garment and is secured with a plastic round button like tag on the inside. Tampering with this tag is guaranteed to ruin the garment. I tried to twist and pull the button off at the same time, which sometimes works but not for me. I thought about the problem for a minute or two and then reasoned there have been a lot of people between Adam and Eve and myself so this might not be a new problem. I Googled the question of removing clothing security tags and was shocked to find out dozens and dozens of people have had this stupid problem. There were young girls literally in tears who had prom dresses, men with suits, some who lived out in the New York suburbs and dreaded going back into Manhattan to get the tag removed. One earlier victim suggested wearing the garment with the security tag and starting a new fashion statement. People reported using hammers, flat head screwdrivers and pliers to deal with the problem, some of which resulted in damaging the garment. Another suggested going to a store close to your home and ask them to remove the tag. This approach is iffy because they might not have the correct tool and the explanation process could generate more questions and an extended hassle. So I returned to the store where I bought the coat to have the tag removed by the clerk who gave me the package in the first place. I was not a happy camper, not even when he apologized and informed me that the sales lady who sold me the coat last Sunday was the one who should have removed the tag.