Why do we laugh?

A man and a woman who have never met before find themselves sharing a sleeping car on an overnight train. After some initial embarrassment, they both go to sleep in their bunks . . . .But in the middle of the night, the woman leans over and says to the man: “I’m sorry, but I’m a little cold. Could I trouble you to get me another blanket?”

“I’ve got a better idea,” the man replies with a glint in his eye. “Just for tonight, let’s pretend we’re married.”

“OK, why not,” giggles the woman.

“Great,” the man says. “Get your own damn blanket!”

(Credit: Co-author Matthew Hurley of “Inside Jokes: Using Humor to Reverse-Engineer the Mind”)

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An update at Christmas

Following is an e-mail I sent to family members today:

Hello family members,
Last night I was feeling quite low. This will be the first Christmas in 57 years without Mary. I know that all of you miss her very much in different ways, especially Wynn and Martha. Daughters have a special relationship with their mothers that no one else can come close to equaling, no matter the relationship. I also talked earlier in the evening with Billy Rogers, the oldest son of Jim and Jo Rogers, family friends for over 50 years in Hanahan. Jim is not doing well. They will bring him home from the hospital on Friday and put a hospital bed in the master bedroom. Hospice will be in attendance. It is not a happy time for our dear friends. This information was not helpful to my psyche.
I tried to busy myself around the apartment, but there is only so much you can do in such a small place to keep busy. I tried the TV but nothing held my interest. Then I went to the few books I kept when I closed out the house in Hanahan (and gave almost 700 books to the Friends of the Library in Berkeley County.) I hung onto the few books about the Green Bay Packers, as I had been a fan since my teen years. Last night, I chose Mike Shropshire's sports classic, "The Ice Bowl," and opened the book to chapter 13. The early chapters discussed the Packers and Dallas Cowboys, the seasons they had and how they came to be playing on the frozen tundra of Lambeau field on this last day in 1967.
I remember that day as if it was yesterday. Frankie and James and I were glued to the black and white TV we had in the den at 1128 John Rutledge. Patrick was six and Martha was three. (Wynn was in the future.) They and Mary were elsewhere in the house. Mary was fixing Sunday dinner which we would eat in late afternoon, early evening, "after the game."
The sunrise temperature In Milwaukee, Wisconsin, reached the lowest December reading since 1924. At game time in Green Bay it was 13 degrees below zero. The field heating system failed. The Packers got off to an early lead but soon it disappeared and at halftime it was only 14-10 in favor of the Packers. On the first play of the 4th quarter, Dan Reeves threw a halfback-option pass to a wide open Lance Rentzel and Dallas went ahead 17-14.
The clock kept running and with 4:35 left in the game the Packers took over.They were 68 ice-choked yards away. Frankie, James and I saw there, watching, hoping, praying and probably biting our fingernails. We were not talking. We were as serious about that game as the players on the field. With thirteen seconds left on the game clock the Packers were 13 inches from their third straight NFL title. Starr called time out, the last one the Packers had, and went to the sidelines. Only much later would we learn what was said between he and Vince Lombardi.
And then Starr brought the Packers up to the line and was barking signals. Chuck Mercein, filling in at fullback for the inured Don Grabowski, expected to get the ball. He charged forward and saw Starr dive into the line clutching the ball in his arms and Mercein threw his arms up in the air as the referee signaled "touchdown." The boys and I were ecstatic, we hooped and hollered and hugged and brought everyone in the house to the den to see what was going on. It was the best afternoon the boys and I had ever shared together and today, 44 years later, reading about that day and remembering the shared moments lifts and brightens my spirits and gives me renewed energy. It was a great moment in Packers history but more important to me it was a great moment shared with two sons. To this day the memory is an enchanted moment you had to personally live to fully appreciate.
*****
About ten years ago, Mary and I went to Lambeau Field on our driving trip to Alaska. A docent took us and some others on a tour of that fabled stadium. When she got us into the stands she pointed to an end zone and asked, "Does anyone know what that is?" I was quicker off the mark than Jerry Kramer when he threw the block on Pugh to open the hole for Starr, "That's where Bart Starr dove to glory in the Ice Bowl," I said.
Everything in my life is going well. My health is good. I watch my weight, although I periodically have to seriously back away from the table. I am fortunate to live in a nice community surrounded by many fine people and enjoy a good reputation among them. I am optimistic about the upcoming new year, for myself, my country and hopefully all of you.
I pray and hope the Christmas season will bring happiness to each of you and that the coming year will be one of the richest in your life.
Love
Dad/Bud/Arch

Military-Civilian Gap

Pew Research has completed and interesting and informative study on the military-civilian relationship in America today. Their summary:

"The Military-Civilian Gap: Fewer Family Connections" (Click for full study)

"There is a large generation gap between older and younger Americans when it comes to having family members who served in the military. More than three-quarters of adults over 50 said they had an immediate family member who had served in the military. Less than six-in-ten adults ages 30 to 49 have an immediate family member who served, and the percentage falls to one-third for adults under 29. With the shrinking size of the military in recent decades, this trend has resulted in fewer connections between the military and the civilian world."

On this Thanksgiving Holiday I recommend reading the full study, and giving some thought to whether we ought to have mandatory military service in the United States. With due respect to the wonderful men and women who are serving, the current volunteer system says we can hire mercenaries to fight our country's battles. This does not speak well for the United States of America, nor for any country which aspires to lead.

(From my blog (click).

CarMax - A fine experience

October 25, 2011

General Manager

CarMax

712 Savage Road

Charleston SC 29414

Dear Sir:

Today was my first experience with CarMax and I was literally blown out of the water. Over the weekend I agreed to buy a car from a man in the neighborhood. We closed the deal earlier this morning. Later I went to CarMax to sell my 2005 Lincoln Town Car. I dealt with Elizabeth Humphries and Marissa Wright.

From the moment of reception till I walked out the door about 30 minutes later with my check the service was warm, friendly, professional, experienced and top notch in every respect. I have never had such a rewarding moment in any car dealership going back to the 1950s. I am so impressed, I intend to spread the good word about CarMax when talking with family and friends.

In the future, whether I am buying or selling, CarMax will be my first stop.

Thank you for making my day.

Sincerely,

Francis X. Archibald

Shem Creek Park - another recreational gem

Dedicated on October 18, 2011, this is the latest addition to recreational opportunities in Mt Pleasant. This is a magnificent site to visit, walk out into the marsh on a (lighted at night) 2200 feet boardwalk toward Charleston harbor, enjoy the fresh air and the magnificent view of marsh grass, working and recreational boats, birds, and the occasional tanker or cargo ship entering Charleston. The park can be accessed from Coleman Blvd. at Shem Creek. Parking is available and there are several restaurants within walking distance of the entrance to the park

Ten thoughts on turning 80*

1. I am happy to be here and able to write these thoughts.

2. When I was a child I wondered if I would be alive at 65. That age seemed so far away to a child in grammar school.

3. I have been blessed and or lucky in so many ways I cannot count them but I know them in my heart. 

4. Looking back our early family life was tough, but our mother kept us (five children) together and we persevered.

5. Joining the U.S. Air Force was the best thing I ever did. It gave me opportunity, training and set me on a career path for my adult life.

6. College and university opened new doors, but education is a continuing process through life.

7. Along the highways of life I met many men and women who helped; especially my late wife of 56 years.

8. My five children have turned out well, and have been on someone else’s payroll for years. (The dream of all parents.)

9. It is best to be liberal in thought, word and deed, especially to, with and for others who have less than I.

10. It is said we will live 15 years beyond our parents. My mother lived to be 92. I hope I am here writing another bog entry when I am 107.

*(Oct. 2, 2011)

What we (don’t) need

Under the heading of what we (don’t) need in life is a digital scale (Hammacher Schlemmer online catalog) that projects readings onto a wall for easy visibility. (Is it not depressing enough to look down and learn you have gained three pounds?)

A projection lens on top of the scale tilts to display your weight in easy-to-read red numerals at different heights on a wall. Adjusting the height of the lens projector also increases or decreases the size of the digits from 2" to 6" high. (A better product would be an invention that would decrease your weight.)

Where the old folks are and aren't

States with highest percentage of population age 65 and over:

Florida 17.3

West Virginia 16.0

Maine 15.9

States with lowest percentage of population age 65 and over:

Alaska 7.7

Utah 9.0

Texas 10.3

South Carolina: 13.7

(Extracted from AARP bulletin, Sept. 2011, original source: U.S. Census Bureau)

Carl E. Meynardie, Sr.

An Appreciation

By Francis X. Archibald

Carl E. Meynardie, Sr.

June 13, 1918 - September 2, 2011

The measure of a man can be found in the generosity of spirit with which he treats a stranger. (Anon.)

About 25 years ago, I bought one of those black cardboard boxes used to store five and a quarter inch computer disks and wrapped it as a birthday gift for my friend Carl Meynardie. Although we did not normally swap birthday gifts, I gave the gift as a way to say thanks for introducing me to personal computers.

Carl sold me my first computer, a Radio Shack TRS 80 Model III, a one-piece machine with a nine-inch green screen and 48KB of memory. When we added an additional 16KB chip and increased the memory to 64KB, we thought we had all we would ever need. Boy, were we very ignorant of what was to come.

No one was home when I went by Carl’s house so I left the gift in the carport near the door he and Grace usually used to enter and leave the house. Five days later, he called me and said he had just found the gift that day.

Our friendship today goes back over 50 years. When I moved to Hanahan in 1960, I thought to be engaged in the community. I attended a couple of meetings of the Hanahan Civic Club and spoke on a couple of issues. One night they were nominating officers and Carl got up, pointed to me, and said if he knew my name he would nominate me for President. Someone told him my name; I was nominated and served my term. This was my introduction to Carl Meynardie. Little did I realize at the time what a wonderful friendship had come my way and how much more I would enjoy it in the future.

As time went on, I learned how Carl and some other men had started a free weekly newspaper, The Hanahan News, to inform the community of local events. The venture was slow growing, time consuming and costly to produce. Carl was the active member who took on the responsibility of putting out the paper each week. The original sponsors lost interest in continuing to invest money and soon he gave up his construction business, bought them out, and turned to publishing the weekly full time.

Carl invited me to write a column of fact and opinion and I did so for almost seven years. I also helped in other ways, including putting out the paper one week when he and Grace went on vacation. The lead story that week was, “Meynardie’s flee the area,” complete with a picture of Carl and Grace. The story reported Carl had taken an earlier trip to the Pacific (and wound up fighting the Japanese). Carl’s mother, who received the paper in the mail, was still laughing at the picture and story when Carl dropped in on her home on the return leg of the vacation.

Carl introduced me to the Exchange Club and the great good they did for the community. In a tribute to his influence, I held several offices in the Hanahan Club, including being president when the Club won its first Big “E” award. Many of the men who served the Hanahan community through Exchange did so because of Carl’s persistent membership recruiting efforts. He was an indefatigable community supporter.

In the early seventies, Carl used the newspaper to endorse my campaign for Hanahan City Council and later applauded the city when they appointed me a city judge. In the eighties Carl was again in my corner when I ran for the State Legislature. He gave me a column in the paper again to keep my views before the public and to report on my stewardship of the office.

In more than five decades, my wife and I came to know Carl and Grace and their children. They are first class people whom we are proud to call “friends.” Through the years, the social and political turmoil of the ever-changing times, and the cycles of the business world, Carl kept The Hanahan News going. He struggled heroically to give the community a weekly newspaper where the ordinary citizen could learn what was happening in the community, where accomplishments – both of adults and of children –were recognized and saluted, where merchants successfully advertised their wares, and where an insightful, well thought editorial from time to time helped keep community leaders and events in perspective.

Time has marched on for all of us. Carl was 93 when he died this week. He continued to live with Grace in their Hanahan home for more than 50 years. In my lifetime, I have not had a friend as steadfast and loyal as Carl. I got much more out of this relationship than I had a right to expect.

If a man is measured by his generosity of spirit toward others, then Carl E. Meynardie was truly a great man who has shared his life with his fellow man and his community. God Bless him now and forever.

(The foregoing was delivered at Carl's funeral September 6, 2011.)

Only in America

Excuse me, but only in America could you have "Monday Night Football" on Thursday, ESPN, 8 pm EST, Channel 7 in Charleston, SC, area.

Perry ought to read the Constitution

Texas Governor Perry, running for the Republican nomination for president, said in Iowa yesterday that Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke would be committing a "treasonous" act by ordering the printing of more money in another round of quantitative easing in the money supply to help business and employers' efforts to strengthen the economy.

Well, the Governor ought to check Article AIII, Section 3, of the Constitution of the United States: "Treason against the United States, shall consist only in levying War against them, or in adhering to their Enemies, giving them Aid and Comfort."

Traveling with Mark Twain

Chuck Boyd, a good friend, sent a brief but interesting note about Hal Holbrook's decades long performance as Mark Twain. It is worth passing along as part of the growing renewed interest in the man most consider the greatest American humorist and commentator of the 19th century. I hope you enjoy.

Archie,
Thanks for the "heads up" that (finally) 100 years has passed and it's Twain autobiography release time.

When I was Director of Tourism for the state of Missouri, I quickly realized he was a major "draw." In fact, public awareness of Missouri centered on Twain, Jesse James and Harry S Truman. In that order. In the 1980s, I put together a business travel mission to London and Scotland to help fill seats on the new British Caledonia Airlines direct flights in and out of St. Louis.

We invited 300 travel writers and travel agents to a presentation in the US Embassy in London. I had brought along a young actor to portray Mr. Clemens. He was in costume and we took the hotel elevator on our way to the Embassy. Several older Brits got on the elevator, and without any surprise or reaction stated, "Good to see you again Mr. Twain. It's been a while." My actor drawled "It's good to be back."

In 2001. Hal Holbrook brought his MARK TWAIN TONIGHT presentation to Charleston and, as I worked at the Post & Courier, I was able to secure a backstage visit afterward. Mr. Holbrook was VERY surprised when I showed him two mounted pictures of him I had taken 50 years before at Camp Lejeune, NC when he had just started his TWAIN program.

"I remember that over-stuffed chair we used as a prop!" He also quipped that back then he was in make-up for several hours, aging himself for the role. "Now, I just show up, put on the suit and light a stoggie."

He signed one of the pictures with a Twainism: "Be good and you will be lonesome." On the other he scribbled "Camp Lejeune..so long ago."

Thanks again.

Chuck

(Earlier posts at www.archibaldinsc.blogspot.com)

Mark Twain - 100 years on

If you don't have anything special you want to do over the next few months you might start on Volume 1 of Mark Twain's autobiography. The first volume (three are planned) is out and it is a prodigious work, according to Lewis H. Lapham, editor emeritus of Harper's Magazine and the editor of Lapham's Quarterly. It runs to 760 pages, or as Lapham notes, 4 pounds. The publishers (University of California Press) promise Volumes II and III will be published sometime during the next ten years. It will probably take that long to read the Volume I.

Twain began writing his autobiography in 1877, but gave up when he realized it was easier and more enjoyable to talk and ramble while a stenographer took it all down. He got serious about this in 1906 and “talked” for the next four years until a few months before he went to meet his maker (about whose existence he had doubts) in 1910. Twain died before he could do any editing and the manuscript runs to some 2,600 pages.

To all of this talking/dictation he attached the caveat that the resulting work not be published until 100 years after his death. In this case Twain out-did the United States and England. It can take up to 30 years for information to be available to the public once it has been classified by the Unites States government. It England, some World War II data was held to be embargoed for 50 years.

Twain did not want to hurt anyone's feelings by revealing the opinions he held of men, their religion, politics and conduct. He believed that a person criticized deserved it and ought to be grateful for the time and attention he spent on developing the criticism. The 100 years quarantine was to ensure no one mentioned in the work would be alive to take offense, and he would be “dead, and unaware and indifferent.”

If you are too otherwise engaged (or for starters) you could do as I have and read Lapham's dissection and analysis which he calls “Democracy 101 Mark Twain's Farewell Address,” in the April 2011 issue of Harper's Magazine. I am only getting around to this now because I am seriously behind in my book and magazine reading. Other things seem to always be getting in the way, including watching foreign films, traveling abroad, a small amount of laziness.

I would probably have connected with Twain had we lived in the same era. He has deep understanding of the Constitution, that it is designed for the people, not the government; that when you protect the other fellow's liberty you are protecting your own. He rejected the idea that anyone should be able to tell him how to vote.

Twain was humorous, insightful and a great observer of the average American citizen. The slave and the common man fell under his gaze as did the rich and famous. He wrote of artisans, tradesmen, entertainers, politicians, government officials, and military heroes. He saw the freedom and good nature of the American spirit. “The scenes of foreign pomp and circumstance serve Twain as occasions to prefer the unpretentiousness of things American.” This benevolence towards his fellow citizens didn't close his eyes to the bad and the ugly he also saw in America. As a true recorder of the American scene he devoted his efforts to recording all he saw and experienced, and the 2,600 pages give testimony to his “authentic and unsuppressed voice, brimming with humor, ideas, and opinions.”

When I finish Lapham's essay, I may buy the 760 page version.

(More blog entries at www.archibaldinsc.blogspot.com)

A few good words from the FBI

Intelligence Note

Prepared by the Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3)

August 9, 2011

FBI Officials Continue To Be The Target Of Spam E-mail

Various government agencies and high ranking government officials have been the target of previous spam attacks. In their attempts to lure victims, criminals continue to explore new avenues to obtain their goal.

A new version of the spam e-mail uses the names of FBI officials along with the names of specific units within the FBI. The e-mail alerts the recipient that two "Trunk Boxes" containing a large sum of money were intercepted at an international airport. The funds are allegedly from the Office of the Ministry of Finance, Federal Government of Nigeria.

The boxes contain documents bearing the recipient's name as the owner of the funds. The fraudsters advise an additional document called the "Diplomatic Immunity Seal of Delivery" is needed to protect the recipient from violating the Patriot Act. The recipient is required to contact the fraudsters, via email, for instructions to obtain the document. The fraudsters further inform the recipient of the consequences if they fail to comply and are told not to contact any bank in Africa, or any other institution.

Do not respond. These e-mails are a hoax.

Neither government agencies nor government officials send unsolicited e-mail to consumers. United States government agencies use the legal process to contact individuals.

Consumers should not respond to any unsolicited e-mails or click on an embedded link associated with such e-mails, as they may contain viruses or malware.

If you have been a victim of Internet crime, please file a complaint at www.IC3.gov.

For previous IC3 Alerts concerning e-mail scams targeting the FBI and other government agencies visit http://www.ic3.gov/media/2009/091027.aspx.

(Earlier blog entries at www.archibaldinsc.blogspot.com)

Reflection by FXA

Taken at Seaside Farms, Mt. Pleasant, SC, 2009

The Debt Ceiling: Is It Constitutional?

Here we are only three days from financial Armageddon for our country and elements in the Congress are not willing to work out a bi-partisan compromise. Every thinking person from New York to Santa Monica, from Seattle to Miami and all points in between has an opinion (ignore the quality of thought likely in such a diverse group) and judging by reports are sending those opinions to the congress in growing numbers.

I wondered how all this got started and found at Young Lawyers Blog.com an explanation of how we (the United States of America) got started down this debt ceiling road. It is illuminating reading, especially for those who slept through civics 101. In short, the 14th Amendment to the Constitution of the United States of America prohibits anyone from questioning the national public debt. We have to pay our bills, regardless of what the Tea Party and any other "no tax pledge" signers think.

Last night Mary Matalin, CNN commentator, said these congress people were not interested in re-election, only in cutting federal spending. You show me a congress person who is not interested in re-election and I will show you either a senile congress person or one who knows an indictment is coming down.

The Young Lawyers Blog makes sense out of a complex topic. It is recommended reading.

Met a man from Lowell, MA, in South Africa

No trip to South Africa would be complete without looking in on Nelson Mandela's house in Soweto, Robben Island prison and the mainland prison where he was released to jubilant, cheering crowds. So in 2003, when my wife and I were on a two month self-conducted tour driving around South Africa we visited all three places.

All this comes back to mind as we approach July 18, 2011, and the 93rd birthday of Nelson Mandela, one of the most powerful, historical figures of the 20th Century.

Unless you have visited Soweto you cannot imagine the poverty that existed in that suburban black community outside of Johannesburg throughput the 20th century. I don't have any current knowledge of conditions there since my visit but if I had to guess I would say it is not much improved.


FXA outside Mandela's home in Soweto, Feb. 2003.

When we arrived at Mandela's single story, small brick house, down the street from the home of Archbishop Tutu, we were admitted by a guide who explained that the great man had lived there from about 1946 to 1962, when he was arrested and sentenced to life in prison. He served 27 years and was released in 1990 and the rest of the story needs no further telling here.

As we walked through the tiny rooms the guide detected an accent in my voice and asked where I was from originally. We had already told him we came from South Carolina. "Yours is not a South Carolina accent," he said, as my wife laughed. She said he came "from Lowell, Massachusetts."


Mary Archibald and guide at Mandela's home in Soweto,Feb. 2003.

"You know Kearney Square?, he asked excitedly." Yes, I said, "It was the center of life when I was a young man." With great relish he told us his remarkable story. He had been in the African National Congress fighting apartheid and was forced to flee South Africa or be arrested. He came to the United States and made his way to Lowell where he lived and worked for more almost fifteen years. We discussed favorite places, and neighborhoods. Despite all he had been through in his turbulent life he was so happy to meet someone from Lowell which held many good memories for him, he said. When Mandela was released, our guide returned to South Africa. He had been working at the home in Soweto for a couple of years.

I told him of our visit to Robben Island, seven miles out in the Atlantic ocean, where we were guided by a man who was imprisoned there with Mandela for 18 of his 29 years in prison and now worked as a guide in that infamous place, (which has become a tourist attraction and big money earner for South Africa.) The guide showed us Mandela's cell and shared stories about life there; we also visited the limestone quarry where Mandela worked.

It was obvious our guide, whose years in exile had been spent in the city where I was raised, loved and respected Mandela. My wife and I came away with a healthy respect for this man who had been a foot soldier in the fight to wipe out apartheid - segregation based solely on the color of one's skin and prejudice. (I regret that I have lost my notes made on that trip and have no current record of the man's name.)

Out for a Sunday stroll

What in Hell were grown men, stripped to the waist, sweating like fresh pork on a barbecue, doing in the middle of King Street lifting weights and 20 and 35 pound bags of sand when the real feel temperature was somewhere in the nineties on a sweltering, breeze-less Sunday afternoon?

It was all part of the latest effort by Charleston, SC, officials to lure more people downtown to experience the city. The city closes King Street from Calhoun to Queen to vehicular traffic on Sunday from 1 to 5 pm. Shops are open, light dining takes place in the street under massive umbrellas to block the sun. Musicians strum guitars and literally sing for their supper. Local artists set up easels and paint. Families and couples stroll in the middle of the street, although this day a majority favor the right hand sidewalk because it offers a bit of shade.

All of this and more took place with the real feel temperature approaching 97 degrees. An slow and easy stroll down the street left me with a shirt soaked in perspiration. A bottle of water from a street vendor was a necessity. Practically every police officer I saw at the multiple intersections was sipping from a large drink container. The combination of the heat and the humidity had everyone walking slow, wiping brows and breathing hard. And then there was an exhibition to defy all reason.

This was all part of a Crossfit exercise, an exercise program and competition that has gained momentum in the last few years and is used by some military special forces as a conditioning program. Suffice it to say, I considered it to border on insanity during the oppressive heat conditions on King Street, Charleston, SC, on July 10, 2011.

(More blog entries here.) Comment to: arch@archibald99.com

Looking at good and bad

Mirror Image...
An image which is like a reflection in a mirror...everything is the same, except reversed.
Snapped this interesting picture in Seasides Farms, Mt. Pleasant, SC while on an exercise walk. (Click pictures to enlarge.)


And then there was this:



It is heartwarming that some Seaside Farms residents celebrated the birth of our Declaration of Independence with fireworks, but then they spoiled it by not cleaning up their explosive residue. I found this ugly trash scattered on the road at the end of Canyon Oaks Drive, while walking early in the morning of July 7. Someone ought to clean that up, I said to myself, and then I remembered: I was someone. I went home, returned with the box and a plastic glove, and cleaned up after these thoughtless celebrants.

An old fashioned parade

Brother and sister, Charlie Geilfuss and Joan Mills, with FXA, July 4, 2011, Franke @ Seaside, Mt Pleasant, SC (click on picture to enlarge.)

Over the 4th my third son, Patrick, journeyed to visit his brothers in the nation's capital and was on Constitution Avenue for the 4th of July parade. Patrick, an avid amateur photographer, took these pictures:
After linking up, click on Slideshow in the upper left corner to enlarge. Hope you enjoy!

A lighted faucet in your life?

Judith Martin, Miss Manners to the socially conscious, answered three questions in a recent newspaper column and began each answer with "Where were you...", as in Where were you during history class? Where were you doing civics class? and Where were you during posture class? My question is, Where was her editor when these three Q&As were being combined to form one column?

NBA owners followed the NFL owners and locked out the players. Will we be without professional football and basketball in 2911? I'm taking a peek at the Canadian Football League on TV. Don't know all the players yet but that's a small problem. I did see part of a game last Saturday night and uttered a big "WOW" at one spectacular pass play. I am betting the NFL lockout will end first. There is too much money on the table to be ignored.

Given inflation and the dwindling value of the dollar, I have not for several years bent over on the street to pickup anything less than a fifty cent piece, but just to cover all bets in case the national debt ceiling is not raised and the country goes broke, I bent over twice this week and picked up a penny and a quarter. I will miss that Social Security check but probably not as much as China and Japan who won't receive the interest payments on the American bonds they hold.

This is what America has been waiting for: "The VuPoint Temperature Sensitive LED Faucet Light (FL-IW1-VP) is a lighted aerator for your faucet that makes your water glow. When the water makes contact with the temperature-sensing metal pin in the unit, it will trigger the red LED light for hot water and the blue LED light for cold water. The intelligent sensor activates with hot or cold water, making it fun for all ages to watch the water change color. The light fits most standard faucets, and is easy to install."

(For other blogs click here. To comment e-mail: arch@archibald99.com)

Ernest Hemingway - 50 years ago

Fifty years ago today, July 2, I picked up the Sunday News & Courier (name prior to merging with The Evening Post) and read that Ernest Hemingway had killed himself with his favorite shotgun in Ketchum, Idaho. I was shocked by the act of suicide. It was against God's law and against Catholic teaching. Back in those days I was probably more of a practicing Catholic than Hemingway, although he was also born into the faith.

I was shocked and felt let down that this bigger than life personality would take a "coward's" way out. Nothing could justify suicide, I thought. It was immaterial that I knew him only through a study of his life and reading his books and articles and watching movies based on his work. He was a young man's giant; he lived the kind of life lessor men only dreamed. The news of his suicide was just that; a story written less than 24 hours after he was found dead. No time for details. No time to explore why, although there were vague explanations: accident, cancer, money problems. Only in later years did we learn he suffered from terrible depression the last few years of his life.

He was laid to rest a couple of days after his suicide in a graveside service. No Mass in a Catholic church; he had too many wives it was said. It probably had more to do with the suicide than his wives.

And the world moved on. Something and someone else took center stage.

Over the years I have softened my views of Hemingway's suicide and the man. Somewhere along the line I recognized none of us really know what lies in the heart of another man or woman. We do not recognize the personal demons. Deep understanding is ever more difficult when our personal connection is remote to say the least. We regret the inadequacies years ago in treating depression. Even today it remains a challenge for the patient and the doctor.

Several years ago I went to Key West and toured Hemingway's house. It is a beautiful place stuffed with leather chairs made from the hides of big game he shot and full of memorabilia of a life well lived. Books abound. Those he wrote and those he collected. (Years after his death his wife Mary had to take his library to New York for controlled storage and chemical elimination of pests and insects that threatened to destroy the library.)

There is an elevated walkway from the house proper to his writing workshop. This overlooks the pool. There is a penny embedded in the concrete walk around the pool. Legend is that Hemingway put it there while the work was being done. He told the contractor "You have all the rest of my money. You might as well have this.

I went to Sloppy Joe's, Hemingway's favorite bar, a short walk from his house. Here I drank a beer in mid-morning as he might have done and sucked up the atmosphere and thought good thoughts about the man. I still have those thoughts.

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A moment in the life of a cat

This is not the cat I saw, only an example of the species.

On my morning exercise walk I met a woman walking two small dogs on long leashes. I don't know what kinds of dogs they were. I am not big on identifying dogs. I don't have anything against dogs. I just don't want one and don't care to know too much about them. I will tell you each dog could double for a lady's hand muff on a snowy day.

As the woman turned onto the concrete driveway from the road I saw a white (with a bit of black) cat near the point where a walkway to the house intersected the driveway. The cat was lying on the concrete, probably enjoying the cool feel on his tummy. He eyed the woman and the dogs as they approached and was slow to rise. What does a cat think in such situations?: No worry, this is the lady who runs this house and puts out a meal for me. I am bigger than those two dogs combined so they are not a real problem. But maybe I ought to get up anyway, just in case. Never know when a dog (and there are two of them) will go off his puppy chow. I can get back down again when they pass.

And he did.

(More blogs here.)

Where's the beef (crust)?

Bergen as seen from a mountain top lookout. (Click to expand.)


Once upon a time there was a fast food commercial that was co-opted into a political tag line: "Where's the beef?"
A similar question crust could be asked about "the crust" when ordering apple pie and ice cream in Norway. On a trip recently, my friend and I ordered this dessert and each time there was no crust. We were served stewed apples and ice cream, more of an apple dessert than the pie Grandma used to bake. The apples were tasty, being properly and correctly spiced but the lack of crust left us shaking our heads. After the second experience even seniors can learn a lesson so we chose alternate desserts.

(More blogs here.)

Car Fire in our Building

As if it wasn't hot enough this afternoon we had a car fire in the (Franke at Seaside, Mt. Pleasant, SC) Trailside Apartment house garage around 2 pm. The owner had filled her gas tank earlier today, according to gossip among the evacuated residents standing out on the lawn. Speculation is that a fuel line leak dropped gasoline on the hot engine block and this ignited the blaze. The fire started under the hood. These pictures show some of the results.
In the top photo the arm of a Mt. Pleasant fire inspector can be partially seen after the fire as he examined several points to determine where the fire started. The middle photo shows how intense was the fire. Part of the front side of the car is destroyed. The interior was also affected by the hot burn. The car is obviously totaled.
I was returning to the garage within minutes of the beginning of the incident, the garage was filled with black smoke and people were evacuating the building. I backed away and parked behind an adjacent building and walked to the scene. Some residents are experiencing smoke in their apartments but this is expected to dissipate this afternoon.
The Mt. Pleasant Fire Department responded, as did several Franke at Seaside workers to help residents.
(Excerpted from my blog which can be found by clicking here.)

FBI will lie to you and then arrest you

If you are engaged in any illegal, criminal action or activity likely to attract the serious attention of the FBI, let me give you a tip: Don't come downstairs or leave your residence just because a caller says someone broke into your storage locker or your parked car has been hit in an accident. It is probably the FBI lying to you and waiting to arrest you.
On Wednesday, June 22, the FBI ran such a scam on James "Whitey" Bulger, who the Bureau had been looking for for the last fifteen years. Bulger was called on the phone and told his storage locker had been broken into. Would he come and see what was missing? Who wouldn't? When he got outside in the open he was arrested. Bulger will be tried at a later day on a variety of charges.
This old, time-worn Bureau trick was used years ago to lure the retired Navy communications Warrant Officer turned Soviet spy John Walker out of his room in a Montgomery County, Maryland, motel known to be used by prostitutes. A call was placed to Walker's room in the early morning hours and he was told his car had been hit in an accident and would he come down and check it out. Walker shuffled outside and was nabbed by the FBI. He is in the federal prison in Terra Haute, Indian, working on his life sentence.

A remembrance - Charles Archibald

My brother Charlie (on the right) died on May 22, 2011, while I was on a trip overseas. He was the youngest of five children in our family and had battled throat cancer for about two years. I found it very difficult to talk with him on the phone a few weeks earlier. It seemed so heartless to talk about how good my life was to someone who I knew was facing the end of his life. Instead, I wrote him a loving e-mail remembering some of the special events in our lives and how he was a favorite of my late wife, Mary (Died - December 29, 2010). After my e-mail he called me from the hospital and we were able to talk on the phone. I reminded Charlie we came from poor and humble circumstances, but it was not how you started but how you ended up. By that standard Charlie did OK. My two oldest sons went to Massachusetts and represented my wing of the family at the graveside services. Charlie was a quixotic personality in many ways but he will be missed when the family gathers and reminisces.

May 8 - Major Event Day

Tomorrow we will celebrate Mother's Day in South Carolina and also observe the 66th anniversary of VE Day - the day the allies accepted the surrender of the German forces to end World War II. For many of us our mothers have died and we remember them with love and affection. We hope that those whose mothers are still alive will treasure them in their hearts and in the lives they lead. We also remember fondly those brave men and women who gave their lives to bring about the end the war in Europe, and we salute the veterans of that war who are still with us today.

Well Done! CIA kills bin Laden

A hearty "well done" to the Central Intelligence Agency and its dedicated men and women who found and killed Osama bin Laden,architect of the 9/11 bombings in New York and Washington almost ten years ago. President Obama confirmed the operation in a nine minute speech Sunday evening from the White House. The President said the United States developed a lead on bin Laden last August and had painstakingly run the thread out to the village and compound where bin Laden was hiding. The President authorized an attempt to capture bin Laden but he put up a fight and was killed in the action.

Born in the USA

As Ronald Reagan used to say,"Well," he finally did it. President Obama citing the totally unnecessary distraction from the country's real problems among TV talking heads, wannabe presidential contenders, and the simply stupid (my phrase, not the President's)put a copy of Certificate of Live Birth on the White House web site today. This certificate is certified by the State Registrar in Hawaii and shows the President being born on August 4, 1961, in a Honolulu hospital.

Light a candle in the fight against AZ

Please consider going to this web site and take Option 2 to light a candle in memory of someone who suffers from or died from Alzheimer's. Option 1 offers the opportunity to make a donation in the fight against AZ and light a candle. I am proud to have joined more than 4100 people who have lighted candles as of midnight 4/18/2011...a tribute to Mary C. Archibald is there. You can reach it by scrolling through the pages under the letter "A".
Thank you.

Tough Without a Gun - Review

Hanging on the wall at the end of the brown leather sofa in the living room of my small apartment in the active lifestyle community on the Franke at Seaside campus in Mt. Pleasant, South Carolina, is a black and white print of Rick Blaine seated at a table wearing a white dinner jacket and black bow tie holding a drink in his hands and muttering to no one in particular, “of all the gin joints, in all the towns, in all the world, she walks into mine.”

This, of course, is the classic image of Humphrey Bogart, star of the still widely acclaimed greatest picture of all time, Casablanca. Bogart was in 75 movies and did his journeyman work on Broadway in dozens of plays, but he is best remembered in my mind for five films: The Maltese Falcon, Casablanca, Treasure of the Sierra Madre, The African Queen (he won the Oscar) and The Caine Mutiny.

Stefan Kanfer has written Tough Without a Gun, The Life and Extraordinary Afterlife of Humphrey Bogart, for people like me and millions of others around the world who remember the man The American Film Institute ranked as the greatest male star in cinema history. Entertainment Weekly designated Bogart the Number One Movie Legend of all Time and the U.S. Postal Service issued a stamp bearing his likeness in 1997. In 2006, a portion of 103rd street and Amsterdam Avenue in New York City was designated Humphrey Bogart Place to commemorate his birth and early life in that city.

This biography is a taut telling of Bogart’s life and career. In his life, as in his films, Bogart was not one to kneel obsequiously to authority. He respected it in his own way but always there lingered the suspicion that man was not on this earth to be told what to do all the days of his life.

In Bogart’s life, there were two kinds of people who acted in Hollywood: the professionals, who came to the job every day, knew their lines and were ready to work. The rest were bums. He was the ultimate professional in the judgment of his peers.

Bogart was a somewhat of a straight moralist, despite four marriages. When he was married, he did not stray, and in his private and public life, he did not do drugs or lay on the psychiatrist couch. He consumed a lot of whiskey (the story is he, and director John Huston – another big imbiber, were the only members of the cast and crew making The African Queen on location in the Congo who did not get sick.)

Tough Without a Gun is replete with tidbits of information about the making of Humphrey Bogart’s greatest films, the ones he was proudest of, and the ones over which he despaired. This 239-page tribute lists all of his Broadway performances and movies and includes a collection of black and white photos designed to recall these classic moments in film history. It will resurrect memories of a golden era in American filmmaking. More than that, it will delight Bogie fans around the world.

(If you received this twice, please excuse. Computer and I having a bit of conflict tonight.)

A morning walk on the beach

I was on the beach at "Isle of Palms SC" at 5:35 this morning. It was a solid black morning. The sky was devoid of any clouds and it seemed there were thousands of stars. The tide was low and I walked up the beach for 35 minutes before I met anyone. I kept the same distance between the incoming tide and my path to stay on a straight line. I encountered a woman and her dog. We chatted for a few minutes and she used the light on her cell phone to let me read the time on my watch. I then turned and headed back the way I came. When I reached the point where I had entered the beach I stopped and looked back to the East. The sun was not visible but its rays were lighting the horizon and I knew it would be soon be daylight.

How to hook up a wireless router - 2nd time

Well, the first try didn't work too well, so let;'s give it a second shot on how to hook-up a wireless router.

As usual kick on the blue highlighted words and you will be taken to Youtube for a six minute video. Quite easy to understand.

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Hooray for the USA

From Warren Buffet's recent annual letter to the shareholders:

“Money will always flow toward opportunity, and there is an abundance of that in America. Commentators today often talk of ‘great uncertainty.’ But think back, for example, to December 6, 1941, October 18, 1987 and September 10, 2001. No matter how serene today may be, tomorrow is always uncertain.

“Don’t let that reality spook you. Throughout my lifetime, politicians and pundits have constantly moaned about terrifying problems facing America. Yet our citizens now live an astonishing six times better than when I was born. The prophets of doom have overlooked the all-important factor that is certain: Human potential is far from exhausted, and the American system for unleashing that potential—a system that has worked wonders for over two centuries despite frequent interruptions for recessions and even a Civil War—remains alive and effective.

“We are not natively smarter than we were when our country was founded nor do we work harder. But look around you and see a world beyond the dreams of any colonial citizen. Now, as in 1776, 1861, 1932 and 1941, America’s best days lie ahead.”

Gingrich won't be president

In today's local paper (The Post & Courier, Charleston, SC)I saw a picture of Newt Gingrich talking with a couple at the Iowa Faith and Freedom Coalition in Waukee Iowa. The former Speaker of the House was photographed at a side angle by Charlie Neibergall for the AP and I can tell you that Americans have not elected a man this fat since Warren Harding.

Turtle is a tortoise

My turtle is a tortoise. (See Mr. Turtle below.) I learned today a major difference between a turtle and tortoise: The former has web feet for swimming. The tortoise is a land-dweller that eats low-growing shrubs, grasses, and even cactus. Tortoises do not have webbed feet. Their feet are round and stumpy for walking on land. So my Mr. Turtle is undoubtedly a tortoise. So who knew?

Turtle on the move

This turtle was considering crossing the Isle of Palms, SC, connector on March 1. He was at the edge of the highway watching four lanes of cars moving very fast. I made a decision for Mr. Turtle: I turned him around and headed him back to a grassy area and a drainage ditch. I continued on my walk and when I returned he was no where in sight.

Extraordinary fidelity — Central Intelligence Agency

This is a link to a fascinating story of courage and fidelity by two men who survived more than 20-years of captivity in China. They were young CIA officers when betrayed and captured. They came out grown men still in love with their country and demonstrating "extraordinary fidelity." This is a great story, better than most spy fiction.

Two CIA Prisoners in China, 1952–73 — Central Intelligence Agency

For the child in all of us

In all of us, I believe, is a child's fascination with trains. This weekend myself and a friend went to the Citadel Mall, Charleston, SC, and visited the Charleston Railroad club house and The Best Friend of Charleston temporary museum. Both of these are in former stores' spaces and a delight to visit and spend time. The RR club has a great display of all scales* of tracks and trains on hand and the museum is dedicated to preserving the history and memory of the Friend of Charleston, the first railroad engine to see service in South Carolina back in 1830.

*Scale is the reduced size relative to the original item being reproduced. The most common model railroad scale is HO. This is 1:87 in relation to the real thing. This scale is used by maybe 70% of model railroaders out there.

Other common and easy to find scales include N(1:160), O(1:48), G(1:24) and Z(1:220).

Clicking on the link above will take you to some pictures we took during our visit. You may view these as a slide show by clicking on the appropriate term on the left above the first picture.

Don't redefine rape - sign the petition

Hi,

I just heard about a horrible bill that could redefine rape and
set women's rights back by decades.

Here's the deal: Right now, federal dollars can't be used for abortion
except in cases of rape, incest, or when the woman's life is in danger.
But the bill, introduced by Republican congressman Chris Smith, would
narrow that use to "cases of 'forcible' rape but not statutory or coerced
rape."

I personally believe that when a woman says "No" anything beyond that is rape.

As far too many women know, bruises and broken bones do not define rape -
a lack of consent does. This bill is scary - so I signed a petition
telling Congress to stand up and oppose the bill. Can you join me at this
link?

Thanks.


Archie