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Hey ladies! My H and I are considering a move to the Dallas area (from Seattle) and I would love to get an insider's view. Here are my questions:
1. What area would you recommend for families (nice houses, great schools, good community)? We would like to be closer to the West side of Dallas/Fort Worth if there is a good area... So far recommendations have been for Frisco and Grapevine, so that is where we have focused so far, but if there is a nice community father west, that might be good. (My H will be doing photography at the race tracks in Slidell and Cresson, so somewhere central to both would be good).
2. Is the heat & humidity as bad as I've heard? Do you just not leave air conditioned areas in the summer?
3. I'm a School Social Worker in Washington State. It looks like School Social Work is pretty prevalent in Texas.... Does anyone know how the job market is looking down there? Is it super competitive for School Social Work positions? (Obviously there may not be anyone who could answer that question!)
4. What do you like best about the Dallas area?
5. Is there anything you don't like about the Dallas area?
6. What areas are bad for traffic? In Seattle our rush "hour" lasts from 3pm until 7pm, so we'd like to avoid that as much as possible....


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NEW BEDFORD — Mary T. (Mello) Cregan, 79, of New Bedford, died Sunday, March 31, 2013, at home surrounded by her loved ones. She was the wife of the late William Dennis Cregan, Jr.
Born in New Bedford, the daughter of the late Dennis and Maria (Benevides) Mello, she lived in Cleveland, Ohio and New Bedford for most of her life.
Mrs. Cregan was formerly employed as a licensed practical nurse at Taber Street Nursing Home and Hallmark Nursing Home until her retirement.
She was a parishioner of Our Lady of Mount Carmel Church, where she attended Mass daily.
Well-known and loved in the South End, Mrs. Cregan had been President of the South End Neighborhood Watch. She enjoyed spending time at the Hazelwood and Buttonwood Senior Centers.
Survivors include four sons, William Dennis Cregan III, Michael Patrick Cregan, and Dennis John Cregan and his wife Traci, all of New Bedford, and Timothy Joseph Cregan and his wife Mandy of Brockton; and 12 grandchildren.
She was the mother of the late Daniel Anthony Cregan, mother-in-law of the late Denise (Carter) Cregan, and sister of the late John Mello, Emily Coleman and Elsie Rosa.
A private Funeral Mass was held on Wednesday morning in Our Lady of Mount Carmel Church. Burial followed in St. John's Cemetery.
In lieu of flowers, remembrances may be made to Our Lady of Mount Carmel Parish, 230 Bonney St., New Bedford, MA 02744.
Arrangements were by the Saunders-Dwyer Home for Funerals, 495 Park St., New Bedford. For online condolence book, please visit www.saundersdwyer.com.
Location, ST | website.com

subset: commoncrawl


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Thuli (my tracker) and I set off early on Boxing Day with one goal – to track down the Lions which had evaded us on our last two safaris. We had hoped it would be a belated Christmas gift to our guests, who were dying to see them.
We had not even covered half a kilometre before picking up the tracks. They stood proud in the mud as it had poured with rain the night before. We followed the trail easily but moved slowly while we read the story told by the soil. We could see that the Lions were hungry. They had paced back and forth, split up repeatedly and charged after many different antelope. Some of the antelope had slipped and fallen but there was no sign of a kill and still no Lions! We kept working the trail for the next hour but eventually it headed into a thicket which cut us our chase. By this stage I could tell that our guests thought we would never see anything and so we moved off to view a large herd of Buffalo grazing nearby before heading back to Karula.
On our way back, as we were turning into the Karula entrance, Thuli looked to his left and saw the three tawny figures moving off down the road – a hundred yards from where we had started that morning! Everyone was ecstatic as we followed the three Lionesses closely. Almost immediately they crouched down in the road and in the distance we could see a huge kudu bull. The excitement was palpable while the lions waiting for the Kudu to move into thick bush. Eventually he did and they began to encircle him and set their trap. Fortunately for him there were more Kudu in the bush that spotted the cats and they all ran off giving their alarmed barks.
The Lionesses had begun to settle down again when one spotted a flicker in the bush and charged around the thicket. The other two quickly realised what was happening and charged around the other side. The only thing we could hear was the thundering hoof beats. By the time the Kudu saw them it was too late. She slipped in the mud and they overwhelmed her. She managed to get to her feet at one stage but the Lions showed their strength and smashed her to the ground once again. With two last groans she was gone. It was over as quickly as it had begun.
While the Lionesses were feeding they pulled out what appeared to be the liver (which is surprisingly large) but on closer inspection it had white stripes all over. It was in actual fact a foetus, ready to be born a month or two later! Very sad and tragic, but interesting nonetheless.
One of my guests, Mr Alan Silver from the United States, managed to keep his composure and get some fantastic action shots. Thank you for these Alan! The story would be nothing without them.
Cameron Pearce – Head Ranger, Kapama Karula
It has been so long without a new entry. I will be there at the end of Feb. and I look forward to the entries. Is there a problem during the raining season in seeing the wild life?
We are STILL talking about the lion kill and continue to be told by safari enthusiasts just how lucky were to have witnessed it. Thank you again to Cameron, Thuli and everyone at Kapama Karula for such an amazing honeymoon!
I totally agree with Michelle Herb. The bush looks so beautiful now! I would love 2 be there right now!
Here is a video I've uploaded to YouTube, showing the mother leopard looking for her missing cub on the morning of 26 November. One of her cubs had been killed two days earlier:
Thanks for this great report Cameron. As your guests on November 24-26, Ale and I recall many great moments as you and Collen helped us to witness the big five. I'm starting to upload some videos to Youtube. Here is one of the baby pink elephant calf that we saw in the herd on the morning of 25 November.
Best wishes to you and the Kapama Karula team
We were on the same vehicle as Alan and saw this whole action sequence with the lions and kudu played out in front of us. It was awesome. My mom, my daughter Jade and I are still talking about it to everyone we see.
Reading your blog posts makes a person feel like you are there watching the scene. Very sad but amazing sighting and beautiful pictures. Lucky guests.


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Allentown Symphony Association director is November speaker
Senior Adults Gaining Enrichment (SAGE), an outreach program of Penn State Lehigh Valley, will host Sheila Evans, executive director of the Allentown Symphony Association, on Friday, November 6, at the Corporate Learning Center in Bethlehem, PA. Each SAGE session begins with coffee at 10:30 a.m. The featured speaker begins at 11 a.m., and lunch follows at noon.
Evans will present, "Allentown Symphony Hall – Past, Present, and Future," and will discuss the 110-year-old Downtown Allentown landmark.
Sheila Evans became executive director of the Allentown Symphony Association in January 2009. In this role, she is responsible for managing both the Allentown Symphony Orchestra and Symphony Hall. Evans, who has more than 20 years of corporate experience, hails from Kansas City where she spent the last 17 years at Sprint-Nextel.
The event is open to adults age 55 and over, but reservations are required. To reserve a space, contact Carol Buddock at (610)285-5058 or email email@example.com. The Penn State Lehigh Valley Corporate Learning Center is located at 100 Brodhead Road, Suite 120, Bethlehem, PA, 18017.


text: I am the admin to my site. Recently, I am no longer to access the Meteor Slides settings. I get the error: "You do not have sufficient permissions to access this page." I can still access the Slideshows page but I no longer am able to access the settings. Any help or suggestions would be much appreciated.


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Analyst Admits Bad Call on Amylin But Has New Ideas
It is not very often that an analyst calls his own faults, but this morning, Rodman & Renshaw's Michael King stepped up to the plate.
King had rated Amylin Pharmaceuticals an underperform with a $22 price target amid questions about its ability to get its diabetes drugs to the market. King believed that Amylin's assets were "mediocre" in an important growing space.
But, alas, he was wrong – on the stock call at least. Bristol-Myers was willing to pony up $31 a share for Amylin, meaning anyone who followed King out of the stock would have lost out on a significant boost.
"We are admitting defeat and moving on," King wrote. "Clearly, our negative thesis on AMLN did not play out as we had expected."
But that doesn't stop King from giving more ideas. In fact, what appears to be a remarkable deal from his perspective means that other diabetes companies could be scooped up. And he suggests Vivus and MannKind as possible targets.
Vivus shares are up 2.1% to $29.15 and MannKind is up 4.4% to $2.39.
Deal Journal commends the analyst for facing the music. His new ideas, we'll leave for the market to decide on.


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Drawn to the region because of the maple industry, podiatrist Dr. Samantha Harris has joined Gifford Medical Center, specifically the Gifford Health Center at Berlin.
A native of Nashville, Tenn., Dr. Harris started her medical career as a physical therapist, attending Tennessee State University in Nashville and working for seven years in the field before deciding to advance her career. "I wanted to be able to do more for patients and looked into medical school," she said.
She considered a career in orthopedics but after two podiatric surgeries of her own – one on each foot a year apart – her eyes were opened to the field of foot and ankle surgery.
She attended the Ohio College of Podiatric Medicine in Independence, Ohio, and then completed her residency in podiatric medicine and surgery at Mercy St. Vincent Medical Center in Toledo.
She returned to Tennessee to work in private practice before love and maple syrup had her looking to Vermont.
Dr. Harris' significant other, Devin Randall, lives in Upstate New York and has a passion for maple production and farming. For the couple, that meant casting their eyes to Vermont. For Dr. Harris, Gifford, which is home to bustling podiatry practices, was the perfect fit.
"I felt like I had known everyone for years on the interview. It was like, 'Wow, this place is perfect for me,'" says the personable caregiver. "I loved it."
Gifford has multiple podiatrists, Dr. Rob Rinaldi, Dr. Nick Benoit and Dr. Paul Smith, practicing in Randolph, Sharon and Berlin. Dr. Harris joins the Berlin practice.
Podiatrists diagnose and treat disorders of the foot and ankle, from ingrown toenails and diabetic foot care to reconstructive surgery. Dr. Harris provides all types of podiatry care. Her physical therapy experience also brings extensive knowledge of the body and she is known for spending time with patients, listening and partnering with patients in their recovery.
"I understand the patient point of view as well as the physician point of view," she says, recalling her own podiatric surgery experiences. "I can look from the inside out."
Dr. Harris is accepting new patients. Call her at the Gifford Health Center at Berlin at (802) 229-2325 or schedule an appointment with any member of the podiatry team by calling Gifford's central scheduling line at (802) 728-2777.


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When you want top quality appliances, electronics and more for your home, apartment, rental property or business, choose Trio TV & Appliance Inc. for an excellent selection and price.
Since 1955, the Trio TV & Appliance Inc. team has been proudly serving customers throughout the area, including Fairfield, Hocking, Perry, Pickaway and southern Franklin counties.
Trio TV & Appliance Inc. offers a wide variety of quality electronics and home appliances for every need and budget as well as factory authorized service and parts for most major brands, including the brands we sell. This means our technicians are certified to service and repair the products you purchase from us. Trio TV & Appliance Inc. is proud to work with many great customers, including the following:
Trio TV & Appliance Inc.
1415 Election House Rd. NW
Lancaster, OH 43130
Phone: 740-653-1145
Fax: 740-653-6095
E-mail: firstname.lastname@example.com
Business Hours:
Monday - Thursday: 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Friday- 10am- 4pm
Saturday: 10am-3pm
Celebrating our 60th year!
Rental Properties
Apartment Complexes
Hospitals and Nursing Facilities.


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|Customer Reviews
|Write a Review
|by trainman646
|Date Added: Wednesday 07 January, 2015
Does the job I needed it to do, which is to build up my neck muscles. It has a metal attachment ring and it can handle a lot of weight.
|Items 1 - 1 of 1 reviews


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Friday, May 4th, 2012 2:02 pm
Ian Wallace: Suntour Superbe Pro.
Posted by: kris
I've always had a soft spot for vintage Suntour groups/parts…Superbe stuff in particular. There's just something about look of these hubs that I'm really into. Ian Wallace has some fine flicks of these bad boys on his flickr. Jump over to his stream to check out shots of these and some other fine track parts. Man do I want a whole Superbe group!


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Customer Service | Call us at (800) 710-9770 9:30 - 7 est M-F | Email Us at email@example.com HOW WILL WE GET YOUR PRESCRIPTION?
Home Dental Care
Cleans Teeth
Freshens Breath
Pets Have Teeth Too!®
Home dental care is as important for your pet as it is for you. A program of oral hygiene and regular professional care can prevent problems that might occur as the result of plaque and tartar buildup. Routine home dental care should be a part of every pets health care program.
C.E.T. Home Dental Care - 3 Easy Options to Better Oral Health
The C.E.T. 3 Easy Options method provides dental care options for all pets, regardless of size, age, temperament, or time constraints of busy owners. Begin where you and your pet are most comfortable, or use all 3 options in combination for fresh breath, cleaner teeth and better health for your pet.
Good to Chew
As simple as giving a daily treat, great tasting, Z-shaped C.E.T. VeggieDent works with the dogs chewing action to reduce plaque and loosen tartar. Use C.E.T. VeggieDent daily as a first step toward oral hygiene or on those days when brushing isnt possible to keep breath fresh and teeth clean.
Better to Rinse
C.E.T. Oral Hygiene Rinse and C.E.T. Oral Hygiene Gel target microorganisms susceptible to chlorhexidine for plaque control without brushing.
Best to Brush!
Daily brushing using C.E.T. Toothpastes and Toothbrushes, specially designed for dogs and cats, provide the very best in Home Dental Care for your pet.
DIRECTIONS: Give your dog at least one chew daily, or as directed by your veterinarian, to reduce plaque and calculus. The oral hygiene benefit of C.E.T. VeggieDent chews can only be achieved by adequate chewing action. Gulping whole chews will reduce the efficacy and can be harmful to your dog. This product is intended for intermittent or supplemental feeding only. As with any pet product not intended for human consumption, please keep out of the reach of children and wash hands after handling.
Calorie content
3.4 kcal/g
Crude Protein (min.)
Crude Fat (min.)
Crude Fiber (max.)
Moisture (max.)
Ash (max.)
INGREDIENTS: Corn starch, glycerin, soya proteins, rice flour, palatable agent (saccharomyces cerevisiae), sorbitol, corn derivatives, water, potassium sorbate, chlorhexidine digluconate.
Mfd. for and dist. in USA by: Virbac AH, Inc., P.O. Box 162059, Fort Worth, Texas 76161 USA
Tel. 800-338-3659
Distributed in Canada by: Virbac AH, Inc., 2417 Saint Charles Road, Saint Lazare, Quebec, J7T 2J1
Made in Vietnam
U.S. Patent Pending US 2006/0141105
Product Code:
30 CHEWS (SMALL) (Net wt. per chew: 0.88 oz. / 25g)
30 CHEWS (REGULAR) (Net wt. per chew: 1.23 oz. / 35g)
NAC No.: 10231110


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"Train between Pakistan and India" Top 5 Page for this destination India Transportation Tip by Rupanworld
India Transportation: 349 reviews and 391 photos
The Samjhauta (friendship) express train between Delhi, India and Lahore, Pakistan. At present is is a twice-weekly service, Tuesdays and Fridays.
In the year 2000 there was an incident of bombing in the train causing many deaths but then there are bombing on roads also, all throughout the world. The train crosses via Wagah (Pakistan) border and Attari (India) border and Attari is only 25 kms from Amritsar. For more information Check out this link for more details http://www.iloveindia.com/indian-railways/trains/samjhauta-express.html
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ASPEN - The Pat Solatanos, both Pat Sr. and Pat Jr., are the sort of people who can't keep their disorders below the radar. Pat Jr., the central character in "Silver Linings Playbook," has anger issues severe enough to keep the police in their Philadelphia neighborhood on constant alert. His dad's mixed bag of bipolarity, obsessions and superstitions have cost him his job and his friends and threaten his bank account.
The Solatanos aren't exactly unique in their neighborhood. The young widow around the corner, Tiffany, has lost her job, moved in with her parents and confesses to an extreme bout of sluttiness since the death of her husband. She explains that she was fired for "having sex with everyone in the office." "Everybody?" Pat Jr. asks. "I was very depressed after Tommy died. It was a lot of people." ("A lot" turns out to be 11, with all genders represented.)
The way these traits sit on the surface, impossible to be ignored, mirrors where "Silver Linings Playbook" director David O. Russell is now in his life and his filmmaking career. Russell has always focused on teasing out the comedy from families in crisis, from his debut, "Spanking the Monkey," about an incestuous mother-son relationship, to "I (Heart) Huckabees," centered around a young man so troubled that he seeks the help of a team of "existential detectives." But beginning with 2010's "The Fighter," which earned multiple Academy Awards and was nominated for best picture, Russell switched gears, intent on giving his films a more authentic feel.
"The cinema I'm most interested in, since doing 'The Fighter,' is of authentic specificity," Russell said from New York City's Greenwich Hotel (which was developed by Robert De Niro, who plays Pat Sr. in "Silver Linings Playbook"). "If you're going to find comedy, it's in authentic people and neighborhoods. 'The Fighter' - I know those people."
In probably an even deeper way, Russell knows the characters of "Silver Linings Playbook." Russell has an 18-year-old son who struggles severely with bipolar and obsessive-compulsive disorders.
"The single greatest challenge of my life. And it's grown my heart three times in size," he said of his son's condition.
Russell chose to make "Silver Linings Playbook," which he adapted from the Matthew Quick novel, as a way to help his son. The younger Russell has a small role in the film, which gave him the chance not only to work with De Niro as well as Bradley Cooper and Jennifer Lawrence (who play Pat Jr. and Tiffany) but to see the actors portraying people who were emotionally challenged in a way that would look familiar to him.
"Everybody said, 'How are you going to get the tone right?' Well, I know what it's like to have your son say, 'I don't know if I want to live anymore,'" Russell said. "I was looking for a story that would make my son feel like part of the world. It was a great privilege for him to be there and be a part of this world. These are real people."
For Russell, what made the characters so real is that their dysfunctions were impossible to bury. The story of "Silver Linings Playbook" includes bookmaking, self-delusion, romances old and new, oddball jogging escapades, pills and police, father-son dynamics and a dance competition. Keeping these strands together, and making the mix of comedy and pain mesh, is the theme of characters becoming fully exposed in their flaws.
"It's people who are struggling, struggling in a way that is too messy to be hidden. You can see what they're struggling with and how uncomfortable it is. It's not in some shamed corner," Russell said. "These people are dealing with it and dealing with it in a way that can be useful. It can lead to true resolutions. My son has had to learn that. I've had to learn that."
While his films - even "Three Kings," the acclaimed 1999 film set around the first Gulf War - have consistently had a comedic center, Russell says he has always strived to make his characters feel genuine. He got sidetracked in that effort with "I (Heart) Huckabees," which spun off the tracks into the absurd.
"I think I lost my way with 'Huckabees.' It was during my wilderness years," he said.
"Silver Linings Playbook" has an edge of absurdity; Pat. Jr. walking into his parents' bedroom at 4 a.m. to complain about the bleakness of Ernest Hemingway jumps to mind. But Russell believes he has struck a balance between the absurd and the real.
"The true north is the emotional gravity, the authenticity," he said. "Robert De Niro's character - that's a broad range of emotions, from caution to concern to rage to exhortation to tears. But if you know them firsthand, it helps. Each character has to be emotionally real."
Russell's touch with his characters is being validated. "Silver Linings Playbook" is among the leading contenders in the current awards season, with Golden Globe nominations for best picture, best screenplay, best actor and best actress. Among those satisfied is Russell himself, who calls the characters in this film his favorites.
"They're extreme. But in their extremity they make people cut the crap," he said. "It's not fooling people, not being evasive, but being present with their problems. It gives them an opportunity to cut the nonsense, not be judgmental.
"That's the same with anyone's struggles. Let's face it - being human can be uncomfortable."
Like "Little Miss Sunshine," another film of family dysfunction, "Silver Linings Playbook" ends with a dance competition, one that is quasi-triumphant as it celebrates not total victory but realistic expectations and family unity. Russell doesn't think the happy-ish ending undermines authenticity. The final scene is a response to Pat Jr.'s earlier fit about Hemingway's need to be so dark.
"Is it so hard to come up with a happy ending?" Russell said, quoting Pat Jr. "I think that point of view is valid."


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release date?
This member has provided no bio about themself...
release date?
can you post new stuff please?
Happy new year guys!
I've been thinking about buying BF2 just to play the mod, but can i play PR with a pirate version of BF?
the game will be a Arcade Shooter or a Tactical Shooter?
put the game on steam
yeah it would be really awesome to see ambiental destruction
ok thanks for the replies, are you gonna try to put the game on steam? it would be great to see the game in steam
i would like to know if i have to pay to play, because it looks so awesome
do you have any F.A.Q?
there will be a 3rd-person view?
how many times can i vote?
quick everyone vote for this game!
rocknroll would you tell me the name of that little brown guy chewing gum? btw nice sounds
Bud, i know i´ve been following this since february, it was just a question, and ill see you in my next post BABAI. lol
when you take out the alpha, you will have to download through Desura? or may direct download page (my Desura its broken)
yeah and DC-15S blaster or DC-17m
ok ok lets change it, instead of giving me a imaginary game would you give me the new update? :D lol
what will be the max of players on the servers?
I would love to see 24 or 64 player
and map CQB of 12 or 16 players
you could ask for help to the creators of the star wars mod for call of duty 4
would i be able to pick up weapons on the floor and have 2 primary weapons?
do you remember the multiplayer of star wars republic commando? you could change the color of the armor of the clone, can we see this feature in the game?
and you could add some special soldiers like commandos, i love republic commandos
please amswer my questions thank you :D
you could add to the game (in multiplayer) squads of 4 soldiers, and a huge host of weapons and a HUD for the stormtrooper
i already read the FAQ and you should start a kickstarter
P.D:i would like to know when are you going to determinate the game´s release


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As I overhear casual conversations on the subject of voting, it's obvious that some confusion exists about a few important practices. A couple, in particular, merit some clarification.
First, and foremost, is ballot selection by those with "No Party Affiliation" in the primary election, May 8, 2012. Up until four years ago, only the Republican ballot was available to them. Effective four years ago, those registered as "No Party Affiliation" (commonly referred to as "independents") were given the choice of voting either a Republican or a Democratic ballot in the primary election.
That is especially important in Wood County because the registration is approximately 40 percent, each, for the Republican and Democratic parties, while "No Party Affiliation" accounts for roughly 20 percent, or about one of every five voters. That is significant! The above was a statewide rule change made by the West Virginia Democratic Party.
In our state the parties are allowed some freedom as to how they manage the election process, thus their rule changes in some cases, as above, tend to harmonize the process, while others may tend to be confusing.
Four years ago the State Democratic Party commenced having conventions at the county level, for the purpose of selecting delegates to the party's state convention, which in turn selects delegates to the Democratic National Convention. All this to nominate a Democratic candidate for president.
Conversely, Republicans will not have county conventions, but will be allowed to "Vote For Not More Than Nineteen" from a statewide list of 114 candidates for Delegate To The National Convention-At Large. Also, they will "Vote For Not More Than Three" from more than 20 candidates for Delegate To The National Convention-First Congressional District.
Naturally, we Democrats invite those with "No Party Affiliation" to request the Democratic Party ballot in the May 8 Primary. We have some hot races.
Harold D. Brown
EDITOR'S NOTE: Harold Brown is chairman of the Wood County Democratic Executive Committee.


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Tracy Lawrence On Fire (1994)
originally published June 28, 1994
As he ran, carrying his wife to safety, Tracy Lawrence expected the building behind him to explode. This was, after all, just play-acting for the video to his new hit single, "Renegades, Rebels and Rogues."
But the make-believe danger became too real when a heavy, wooden crate was accidentally left in front of the exploding building.
``It blew that crate 40 feet off the porch,'' Tracy told COUNTRY WEEKLY. ``I didn't know it until the playback, but that thing landed two inches away from me. If I'd been running any slower, it would have hit my wife on the head. Needless to say, the head of Atlantic Records said nobody will be doing explosions anymore. It was a little too real.''
In the video, Tracy plays a time-traveling hero who rescues a bank clerk -- played by his wife Frances -- just as bandits dynamite the safe.
``There's no way I can describe the intensity of the explosion,'' Tracy said. ``I could feel wood and debris hitting me on the back. My wife was tied up and gagged over my shoulder with her head pointed right toward the building, and the hair on top of her head was singed. When I put her down, we just hugged each other real tight. It scared us to death.''
The video for ``Renegades, Rebels and Rogues,'' the first single from the *Maverick* movie soundtrack, isn't the first time Tracy has taken physical risks for his art. For his ``If the Good Die Young'' video, Tracy drove a race car -- a *very fast* race car.
``I like to do exciting things,'' Tracy said. ``I think my music is exciting and the videos just go along with the music.''
The explosion added more excitement than he and his wife Frances had bargained for.
``Wow, I was scared,'' Frances said, even though she had been shown pictures of similar explosions and learned the debris -- all of it -- was supposed to be soft polyfoam and balsa wood.
``The explosion certainly generated a lot of heat,'' Tracy said. ``Even the crew talked about it.''
Elaborate safety precautions were in place. ``The pyrotechnician was stationed to the side and triggered the explosion manually after Frances and I had passed the safety point,'' Tracy said. ``If I had stumbled and not passed the point, the explosion would not have happened.
``We just didn't realize how intense it was going to be,'' he said. ``Seeing it now, I can relax a little bit.''
The explosion mishap added unexpected drama to what had been a fun, family event. Tracy, his band, his brother Laney, their wives, and about 50 extras spent two days at Old Tucson Studios filming the video.
Taping had its funny moments, like when drummer Alex Torrez fell
off his horse.
``All the guys in the band said, `Sure, we can ride horses,' and the first thing he did was fall off,'' Tracy said.
The action never stops in the video, which is high on special effects, gags and pranks, said producer Anne Grace from Scene Three, the film production company that has produced nearly all of Tracy's videos.
``Something is happening all the time,'' Anne said. ``Tracy does a gun trick, the band is shooting up a storm on their horses, one guy can't get on his horse because his saddle keeps falling off, and Tracy literally shoots the pants off another guy.''
In this video, he appears in the old West in a fireproof suit he wore in ``If the Good Die Young,'' and crashes into the wall of a barn.
``I get dressed, get a gun on, and wind up getting into all kinds of trouble,'' Tracy said. ``The last scene is I save the girl from the bank, she kisses me, and I vanish, to who knows where.''
Close calls and rebounding from trouble to triumph happen in Tracy's real life, too. The unintentional blast on his video was just one more rough-and-tumble episode.
In 1990, after his band in Louisiana broke up, he limped into Nashville aboard a truck with 250,000 miles on it. He first found a job as an ironworker, but soon decided to hammer out a music career. Entering Nashville music contests provided a meager living, but besting his competition for $75 or $100 wasn't the real goal. Eventually, he did gain the attention of record producers and signed with Atlantic.
Just four hours after finishing the vocals on his debut album, *Sticks and Stones,* he took four bullets while shielding a friend during a May 1991 robbery attempt.
He had been celebrating the album's wrap-up with a woman he had known since his childhood on the Texas-Arkansas border. As he walked her back to her hotel in the Music Row area, three robbers jumped out of the darkness, waving guns. They took money, credit cards and keys, but then wanted to know the woman's hotel room number. Tracy guessed the robbery might take an even worse turn and jumped the men while his friend ran. They emptied their guns at him, then fled, leaving him wounded in the left hand, upper right arm, left knee and left hip. The gunmen got away.
The bullet in his hip caused the most trouble. It slashed within a whisker of a major artery, and Tracy spent most of 1992 with a pin in his hip, but he recovered fully, beating the timetable the doctors had set.
Despite the injuries, he pushed himself into a grueling tour schedule, and got his first No. 1 single -- also titled ``Sticks and Stones.'' The same album also produced three other Top 10 hits: ``Today's Lonely Fool,'' ``Runnin' Behind'' and ``Somebody Paints the Wall.''
His next album, *Alibis,* went gold in just 17 days, and produced a trio of No. 1 hits: ``Alibis,'' ``Can't Break It to My Heart'' and ``My Second Home.'' Tracy was nominated for the 1993 Country Music Association Horizon Award.
But trouble was not all behind him. Police investigating a confrontation that occurred earlier this year on a Nashville
interstate between Tracy and some youths ended up arresting Tracy. He was charged with having an unlicensed handgun and a phony police identification.
As Tracy's real-life episode with the car made news, his video that features him in a race car made more fans. ``If the Good Die Young'' hit *Billboard* magazine's Top 10 for country singles.
And now, his latest video will carry a time-travel theme that begins a miniseries in video, Tracy said.
``The concept is to travel through time and space to a new location for each song,'' he said. ``We will decide what place and time when we pick each new song. I doubt that we will try to top this one ....
``I'd always wanted to do a miniseries in video, but it seemed like it meant you'd be doing the same thing over and over,'' he said. ``This way, it leaves me open to go anywhere or do anything. I can show up on a pirate ship or in outer space. I can transport anywhere and save the day!''
Don't miss an issue! Subscribe to Nash Country Weekly.


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The CIS No. 3 ranked team may be putting together another successful season after moving to 10-2 with 2 more wins on the weekend, but that stellar record does not represent just how hard the Thunderbirds have had to work in order achieve it.
This past weekend on the road proved to be no easier. On Friday night the T-Birds traded blows with a hot University of Manitoba team (8-6) for 40 minutes, but still needed overtime to finish them off by a score of 93-84. On Saturday, the University of Winnipeg Wesmen (4-10) proved to be a tough host, pushing the visitors to the brink of defeat before the 'Birds pulled ahead with 40 seconds left and managed to hold on 74-73.
It would have been much less stressful if UBC had been able to play dominant basketball for the entire game and not have each match come down to the final minutes. However, a win is a win, and the fact that UBC can win these hard-fought games despite some adversity shows the team's character.
To be on the road against two teams hungry for wins and come out with two victories by the slimmest of margins shows that the 'Birds are ready to contend. The best teams are the ones that can dig down and pull out those tough games when it matters most, and UBC has proven they can do that so far this year.
Turnovers have had the potential to severely hurt the 'Birds this season, and the 23 they had against Manitoba nearly cost them another win. However, these mistakes never deterred the team. Instead, they motivated UBC to work harder and force 22 Manitoba turnovers.
Fatigue could be another excuse for losses after playing in back-to-back, emotionally taxing contests, but UBC showed few signs of weariness. A tough overtime battle would usually take its toll on a team playing the following night, but on Saturday the Thunderbirds showed no signs of quitting. They showed the same drive and played with the same intensity down the stretch as they did on Friday.
"I'm really happy that we clawed out the two wins. It would have been easy to have a letdown after our overtime win last night, but our veteran guys really stepped up when we needed them," said assistant coach Casey Archibald after Saturday's game.
UBC is now on a six game winning streak, their longest of the season. Their backs have been against the wall and several of the victories seemed improbable, but the heart of the 'Birds has come through and led them to the top of the Canada West standings.
Nothing may come easy for the Thunderbirds, but victory is always much sweeter when you really earn it.


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Read an Excerpt
"Feel the gun?"
Danielle Sweet froze in the doorway.
Earlier that morning the old familiar feeling of unease had shot up her spine. She would pick today to ignore it. She had figured, "what could happen here in lazy old Ellerton, Safety City itself?" Well, hey, now she knew.
But even now, caught in the act of pushing open the bank door with a gunman behind her, the feeling didn't seem quite sharp enough to warrant panic. She could handle this. More than fear, she felt anger at herself for having lowered her alert level.
Assess the threat. Make a plan.
This man behind her had parked next to her, greeted her as she got out of her car, and asked politely if it was nine o'clock yet. She had sensed him walking nearby as they reached the portico of the small Beresford First National Bank.
He looked to be in his early thirties, weighed around two hundred, moved with confidence, no hesitancy. He spoke with a slight accent, looked professional, unremarkable. Even with their contact she hadn't thought much about him at first.
At least he wasn't some scruffy, unpredictable druggie hell-bent on grabbing some fast cash and ending it with a killing spree. There had been no flashes of imminent bloodshed along with the niggling little premonition she had shoved aside earlier. Of course, that might or might not be reliable.
The pistol prodded her spine. She imagined she could feel the roundness of the barrel right through her coat. "Go in. Smile," he ordered. "Act normal. Behave as though we are a couple, if you wish to survive."
Okay, survive was a good word. As soon as they entered the front door, he halted. "Removeyour coat," he ordered.
Dani shrugged out of it when he released her arm. Hurriedly, she tugged off her gloves to free her hands for combat if that became necessary.
She would have already risked taking him down if it were just the two of them, but there were others in the bank. Better wait to see how it played out. He immediately clutched her again, his ungloved fingers and thumb biting painfully into her bicep.
Her service revolver lay locked in her briefcase in the trunk of her car for the duration of her visit with her sister. There was nothing she could do at the moment but comply and silently curse the fact that she was unarmed.
She had decided to stop at the local bank to set up a savings account for her brand-new nephew and present the parents with it as one of her baby gifts. The decision, almost a compulsion, had been with her since she'd woken up this morning: insure that baby's future. God, she wished she'd bought the little fellow a teddy bear instead.
But maybe it was better that she had come here. Maybe she'd been meant to be in the bank for this.
The barrel of the weapon nudged her again and she heard the man's satisfied grunt. No wonder he was pleased. There were only three other people inside.
One young woman was humming along with the soft lobby music while she worked on the bins of deposit slips, forms and pamphlets at the counter in the middle of the room. A teller, Dani guessed.
A skinny, older man of around sixty lounged in the doorway to one of the two glass-fronted offices within the lobby. He wore a mud-brown off-the-rack suit and black patent shoes. Not exactly the type who would be meeting the public much. She would guess accountant. He chatted with a younger man who stood propped against the desk. Now this one looked the part. They were both sipping from coffee cups. Smiling. Shooting the breeze.
In a small town like Ellerton, Virginia, even with traffic severely curtailed by ice and snow, surely there ought to be more people minding the store. Of course, anyone with good sense would be home today, snuggled by their fires. The streets were a mess. The guy had chosen the perfect time for a bank heist.
She shifted position and even tucked her shoulders in a little, hoping the hand that clutched her arm would ease its grip.
"Interfere and I will shoot you first," her captor whispered. He squeezed her arm harder, hugging her closer as he led her farther into the lobby.
The blonde turned to them, smiling. "Good morning. What can we do for y'all?" The men across the room continued talking, drinking their coffee, offering only a cursory glance.
Suddenly a hard twisting motion almost cracked the bone in Dani's arm. She cried out sharply, trying to jerk away, but the pain nearly sent her to her knees.
She sagged against him to keep from falling. She dropped her coat and purse.
At her cry, the men rushed out of the office to see what had happened and the blonde hurried over ahead of them.
The man's gun hand flew up, the weapon near the side of Dani's face. "Stop! Move and she dies."
They stopped in their tracks, all three now within six feet of Dani and the man who held her, well away from any alarm buttons. That was the point to the distraction, she figured.
She looked up at the bank employees, expecting expressions of shock. Only the younger man showed none. No fear, either. His glare rivaled the ice on the streets outside. He looked seriously ticked off.
Don't be a hero, she prayed.
For a minute, Hero looked like he might give it a shot. He and the perp were about the same size, both over six feet tall, both built like they worked out religiously. If not for the gun, a 9 mm holding fifteen rounds, they would probably be pretty evenly matched.
Dani had to let the scene unfold without attempting to interfere, and she hoped the banker had come to the same conclusion. She could take the gunman by surprise and probably disarm him, but the situation called for prudence. She wasn't the only one at risk here, and above all, she didn't want anyone hurt. The money was insured. Bank robbers got caught.
She glanced up and could plainly see two cameras. There would be a couple more stationed somewhere behind her. This entire escapade would be recorded, so knowing what the perp looked like didn't put them at further risk. There was no reason for him to kill them if they kept calm.
"Where's the vault?" he demanded.
The older man pointed to the hallway around and behind the counters.
"Go there. All of you. Single file," he demanded. Whew, he was just going to lock them up, Dani thought with relief. They would sack up some money for him and he'd simply lock them inside and leave. A few hours later they would be watching his arrest on the evening news.
He snapped out another order. "You and you, go inside!" He motioned with the weapon for the older man and the girl to enter the vault. "Lock the door," he said to the younger guy.
The girl began to wail and plead like a four-year-old. The sound cut off the instant the thick steel door clicked shut. At least this narrowed the list of potential casualties. Those two should be safe enough.
Dani's arm throbbed, still caught in a viselike grip. "Back into your office," the robber instructed. "Remain on the front side of your desk."
She met Hero's gaze and raised her eyebrows. He was red in the face, his strong jaw and fists clenched.
Don't try anything! Dani tried to communicate the thought to him without words. He shot her an exasperated look, exhaled sharply, then turned with military precision and led the way. Message received, she guessed.
When they reached the office, the robber forced her into the chair to the side of the desk, he stood behind her, placing the muzzle of the gun to her right temple.
"You. Stand," he ordered the banker. His accent became more pronounced and his breathing grew more rapid. "Keep both of your hands in my sight at all times. No silent alarms or she dies. First, turn the monitor around so that I can see it clearly. Move the keyboard to this side," he demanded. The hero eyed him, but complied.
"Now, send this fax," he instructed the man, placing a document on the desk. "Be certain to dial correctly." Dani watched the process as closely as her captor did.
When the fax machine whirred, the perp tossed an index card down in front of the keyboard. "In the left column there are account numbers. From these accounts, I wish the amounts listed in the middle column transferred to the account on the right."
"To the Caymans?" Dani heard a barely concealed scoff in his voice.
"I need the code to access the program used for transfers of this nature," the banker insisted. "It's in the vault."
"You know the codes," the robber growled. "I kept you out of the vault because you are the manager. Do it now or she dies. Then you die. Make no mistakes."
The banker's lips firmed. Dani watched the muscles in his jaw clench while he did as he was told.
This took a while since there were quite a few transactions involved. From her view of the monitor, Dani noted that none of the amounts were too enormous. She didn't bother to keep a running total, but figured it at around three million.
The robber picked up the notes. "I wish to see confirmation when it is complete."
The banker paused to await one of the steps of the transfer to go through. "I see you've kept the amounts under a hundred thousand, but the transfers will send up red flags anyway."
"I know," the robber said, an evil smile in his voice. "But these will be your red flags."
Survival seemed a lot less likely now, Dani thought with a belated surge of adrenaline. There was something in the man's voice and movements, a subtle, higher pitch, an increased tension and a slight tremor in the hand holding the gun. He was building up to something, getting himself psyched.
She remained motionless except for her gaze, which settled immediately on an engraved name plate that read Benjamin R. Michaels. The name suited him. Strong, no-nonsense, bankerly.
Dani watched the banker's long, tapered fingers fly over the keyboard and listened to the soft whir of the computer as it completed its functions. Meanwhile, she smelled the sweaty wool and scent of anxiety that cloaked her captor.


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Full CoverageBreaking News
Parents, students, alumni gather to protest closing of Sarah T. Reed High SchoolUPDATED 5:44 PM CST Dec 09, 2013
Concerned New Orleans parents, students and alumni gather to voice opinions on the direction of Sarah T. Reed High School fight for it to remain open.Video Transcript
END OF THIS WEEK. AT THIS HOUR, PEOPLE IN NEW ORLEANS EAST ARE RALLYING TO SAVE A NEIGHBORHOOD SCHOOL. SARAH T. REED IS SET TO CLOSE... BUT ON THIS NATIONAL DAY OF ACTION TO RECLAIM PUBLIC EDUCATION... SCHOOL SUPPORTERS ARE PROTESTING THE PLANNED SHUT DOWN. EARLIER TODAY WDSU ANCHOR LATONYA NORTON HEARD CONCERNS FROM NEIGHBORS. "It's a historic school here in New Orleans East. Sarah T. Reed Sr. High School. People in this neighborhood are concerned about it's future." "There's a lot of talk about closing and phasing out and the community really doesn't know what's happening.." CRISTIANE WJINGAARDE LIVES JUST A STONE'S THROW FROM SARAH T. REED SR. HIGH ON MICHOUD BLVD... WHERE SHE'D LIKE TO SEND HER DAUGHTER... INSTEAD THE TEEN CATCHES THREE PUBLIC BUSES EACH DAY TO ATTEND SCHOOL OUTSIDE THE NEIGHBORHOOD... "They're telling us it's not closing but what they're doing is showing us it is closing. So we want to ask the OPSB to come and support us to come out and say hey we want it back under local control." PRE KATRINA, REED WAS RUN BY THE ORLEANS PARISH SCHOOL BOARD... POST KATRINA... THE RECOVERY SCHOOL DISTRICT... LAST YEAR, STUDENTS GRADES 9-12 ATTENDED REED... THIS YEAR... ONLY 11th AND 12th... AND NEXT YEAR JUST SENIORS. "We don't want our school to be phased out like kennedy, like abramson, like douglas" A GROWING LIST OF SCHOOLS TAKEN OVER BY CHARTER OPERATORS... THAT PROMISE TO RAISE THE BAR AT LOW PERFORMING HIGH SCHOOLS... "it's failing because it hasn't been invested in." CHRIS SANG IS A MEMBER OF VAYLA... A COMMUNITY ORGANIZATION THAT'S TAKEN ON THE CAUSE OF KEEPING THE SCHOOL AN OPEN OPTION ... "not just for this generation but for generations to come." "and they don't have to go ours away and they can be right here where their families are." ON YOUR SIDE, LATONYA NORTON, WDSU NEWS. A WRITTEN STATEMENT FROM THE RSD READS IN PART... THE MISSION IS TO PURSUE STRATEGIES TO ENSURE THAT ALL STUDENTS WILL GRADUATE HIGH SCHOOL ON-TIME AND BE COLLEGE AND CAREER READY... WE LOOK FORWARD TO HEARING THE COMMUNITY'S DIALOGUE AROUND ENSURING FAMILIES HAVE ACCESS TO GREAT LEARNING ENVIRONMENTS...
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Local News
Oktoberfest seeks vendors for event
AVON PARK-Vendors are being sought for the sixth annual Oktoberfest, a community event held in Avon Park's Mile Long Mall on Main Street Oct. 12 The Main Street Avon Park Community Redevelopment Agency will host the one-day festival, will take place from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. There will be wiener dog races, Firematics (Fireman Olympics), Oompa music, a beer tent, bounce houses and kids' activities, a classic car show, arts, crafts, live rock music, food vendors, and a Bavarian Olympics competition! If you are a food, art, craft or other vendor, please contact Laura Wade at 863-368-2138 to sign up to be a vendor or for more information.Wade can also be reached at email@example.com. Vendor fees are as follows: Food vendors-$60, Non-food vendors-$40, and Non-profit displays- $20.
Trending Now


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The wilds of the jungle have never looked so luxurious. The Wildlife Collection of animal-print rugs features python, alligator and giraffe prints hand woven in a shimmering combination of tone-on-tone wool and art silk. Hand-carded, hand-spun premium Himalayan wool and art silk create opulently plush pieces.
All orders over $50 enjoy FREE SHIPPING with delivery to an address within the 48 contiguous states. Shipping on orders under $50 is $6 USD. Depending on size and contents parcels ship via UPS, USPS, FedEx or DHL.
Parcels shipping to Alaska and Hawaii are charged on a flat rate depending on weight.
Orders weighing between 0.1 lbs - 10.0 lbs are $15 USD
Orders weighing between 10.1 lbs - 20.0 lbs are $20 USD
Orders weighing between 20.1 lbs - 40.0 lbs are $40 USD
Please note, furniture and items weighing over 40 lbs cannot be shipped to ALASKA and HAWAII without requesting a quotation in advance of ordering.
Rates are calculated at checkout based on live rates from the United States Postal Service, FedEx or DHL and product weight information. Please note, tracking information is limited for USPS shipments and we cannot guarantee a delivery date on International deliveries. If you are interested in expedited International delivery options please inquire.
Cost of shipping to International destinations does not include the cost of taxes, tariffs or other customs fees. All taxes, tariffs and other customs fees are the responsibility of the receiver. Please note, furniture and items weighing over 40 lbs cannot be shipped to International destinations without requesting a quotation in advance of ordering.
If you have an APO address, please contact us in advance of making purchases to confirm the item(s) you are interested in can be shipped to your address via USPS.×


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I took my car in because the O/D light was flashing and I was told that it
was a 648 code for 4th gear indifferent from ratio? Anyways, they told me
that my 4th gear was starting to slip which would eventually burn out the
clutch and that I would need to have my transmission rebuilt.
$1300.00-$2200.00 too much to pay for something like this?
Plus they told me that my Timing Chain Cover is leaking? What is that?
And what exactly does it do?


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Nicolas St-Pierre is the French play-by-play announcer for CJFO 94.5. He has been doing this since 2007.
Born in Sept-Iles, Quebec, he began his career as a DJ for CIPC 710 Am Port-Cartier. After stints in Montmagny and Quebec City, he made the Outaouais region his home in the 90's, where he studied journalism at La Cité Collégiale in Ottawa.
Nicolas took a break from the media to pursue a career as a chef. After a few years working in the kitchen, Nicolas decided to come back to his first passion; radio. This all began when he won, the PA announcer for-a-day contest, held by the Ottawa Senators to commemorate their 10th anniversary. Following this he was successful in obtaining a hosting job in television for Rogers Television before returning to radio with the defunct station CJRC 1150.
Nicolas' career highlights include: the play-by-play for the 2007-2008 QJMHL's President's Cup Trophy, won by the Gatineau Olympiques, hosting the pre-game show for the 2007 Stanley Cup finale, and his first NHL play-by-play for the Senators.
Nicolas is married to wife Natalie and lives in Ottawa with their two sons, Xavier and Sebastian.
ottawasenators.com is the official website of the Ottawa Senators Hockey Club. The Ottawa Senators and ottawasenators.com are trademarks of Capital Sports & Entertainment Inc. NHL, the NHL Shield, the word mark and image of the Stanley Cup and NHL Conference logos are registered trademarks of the National Hockey League. All NHL logos and marks and NHL team logos and marks as well as all other proprietary materials depicted herein are the property of the NHL and the respective NHL teams and may not be reproduced without the prior written consent of NHL Enterprises, L.P. Copyright © 1999-2016 Capital Sports and Entertainment, Inc. and the National Hockey League. All Rights Reserved.


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MIA Shoes, originally known as MIA Clogs, was founded in 1976 when pop fashion turned to a more relaxed carefree style. Expanding on the traditional Swedish clog for the hipster crowd, the company became the top-seller of Swedish clogs in the United States – selling more than 20,000 clogs per week well into the early 1980s.
Over the years, with new, fashion-forward styles and classic favorites, MIA Shoes has grown into a footwear powerhouse appealing to women of all ages with playful sandals, modern heels and classic boots that are comfortable and on-trend.
In 2014, MIA launched its leather-crafted Heritage Collection, signaling a return to the comfortable, and casual styles that have earned MIA Shoes worldwide acclaim for high-quality, trend-savvy footwear. The new line, which artfully blends Americana and utilitarian influences, features a wide range of styles from flats and block-style heels to wedges, booties and boots.
One year later with its 40th anniversary approaching, MIA has come full circle, trending back to the Swedish clogs that catapulted the company into footwear fame in the late 1970s. The new line features modern as well as classic, original MIA styles.
While styles have changed at Miami-based MIA over the years, the company's leadership has remained a constant. In addition to CEO and founder Richard Strauss and his wife, Maria,
the company's fashion and marketing director, most of the company's top-management and designers have been with MIA Shoes for nearly twenty years. Today, the closely-held family business includes a Miami corporate office, New York showroom, east and west coast distribution and an e-commerce site. MIA Shoes are sold at major department stores and boutiques nationwide, as well as through online retailers.


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Four Nontraditional Structured Credit Deals Downgraded On Ambac's Role As Controlling Party Apr 10
- April 2010
- Standard & Poors
OVERVIEW We lowered our ratings on 10 classes of notes from four U.S. corporate securitizations and removed them from CreditWatch with negative implications because of our current view of Ambac Assurance Corp., the monoline insurer and controlling party in these transactions. The lowered ratings on the five classes of corporate securitization notes issued by Local Insight Media LLC were further driven by performance deterioration. NEW YORK (Standard & Poor's) April 15, 2010--Standard & Poor's today lowered its ratings on 10 classes of notes from four U.S. corporate securitizations and removed them from CreditWatch negative because of our view of Ambac Assurance Corp. (Ambac), the monoline insurer and controlling party in these transactions (see list). The affected transactions are DB Master...
Companies mentioned in this report are: Ambac Assurance Corp.,Sonic Capital LLC,Local Insight Media Finance LLC
Action: Affirmed
Action: Downgraded
Action: Removed From CreditWatch
Standard and Poors RatingsXpress Credit Research provides in-depth coverage of international corporates, financial institutions, insurance companies, utilities, sovereigns and structured finance programs. RatingsXpress Credit Research lets users determine the credit rating of holdings and identify key factors underlying an issuer's creditworthiness, distinguishes the different risk exposures for new and existing deals, and provides an understanding of how their analysts interpret key regulatory, political and environmental events and their economic impact.
Research type: News
This product is a is a brief one-page announcement of no more than 500 words with a quote from the analyst. It is media and investor focused with no accompanying commentary article.
Ambac Assurance Corp.,Sonic Capital LLC,Local Insight Media Finance LLC


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Member since 6/9/2014
- 1 total post
- 1 review
Reviews by Emilywalshaw
Asymmetry in Lips Fixed but Should I Go Bigger - Salinas, CA
I had an asymmetrical top lip with half of my lip being very thin and the other half being more full. My bottom lip was relatively full. I got one syringe of Juvéderm put in a month ago and the results are fantastic. My lips never been more symmetrical. I'm going in next month for another ... READ MORE


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Egg Hunt LbNA # 30835
|Placed Date
|May 6 2007
|Everett, WA
|Planted By
|The Fancy Captain
|Found By
|Last Found
|Jul 13 2010
|Hike Distance
McCollum Park
600 128th St SE
Everett, WA 98204
Easy - Great for kids
Take Exit 186. Head East. McCollum Park is a short distance pass the light house on the right hand side of the road. Pull into the parking lot on the right. It looks like this is a great place to go for a swim, but not today. Follow the concrete trail until it becomes gravel. The trail will lead into the woods to a large A-frame hut. Take the gravel path to your left before the park bench. Continue on the path parallel with the small creek on your left. You will pass by two old fire pits and many picnic tables, until you come across a wood bridge. Cross over the wood bridge. Immediately to your left will sit a large rock with a plaque for the Eagle Scout Project by James Hendricks. Next to the rock there are a group of six hand made wood benches and two extremely large stumps. Walk directly from the rock to the overgrown stump by the creek. Inside a large crevis at the base of the stump will contain the Egg Hunt letterbox hidden behind a dark piece of concrete.
Please replace the letterbox how you found it, and be careful you are not spotted by nature walkers.


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The goals of the North Vietnamese in South Vietnam are summarized in Ho Chi Minh's three-point battle cry: "Defend the North, Free the South, and Unite the Country." This simple cry had much patriotic and emotional appeal, particularly since the U.S. forces were described as imperialists who had replaced the French, the former rulers of Vietnam. In the determination of military strategy and tactics and the political maneuvering to attain this goal, simplicity tended to fade away.
During 1964, the first Viet Cong division-size unit was formed and committed to combat. The Hanoi high command also decided to standardize the weapons used by its forces in the south, thus simplifying battlefield supply problems and increasing firepower. This step did have one drawback in that it required the Hanoi government to send greater tonnages of ammunition south to support the automatic weapons.
The North Vietnamese by December 1964 had reached the decision to escalate their reach for control of the south to the third and final phase of Ho Chi Minh's classical theory of revolution. They shifted from guerrilla warfare to a general offensive using major field maneuver units. The formation of the Viet Cong division and introduction of North Vietnamese Army units into the south were unmistakable evidence of this shift.
It was doubtful that the South Vietnamese could contain this increasing threat without substantial assistance. Measures were taken to provide the necessary help to strengthen the government and assist the Armed Forces. Limited numbers of U.S. Marine and U.S. Army airborne troops were deployed to South Vietnam in Match 1965 to provide this assistance. Starting in July 1965, substantial numbers of U.S. Marine and Army ground forces were being deployed in South Vietnam along with required Air Force and Navy supporting forces. Thus, the pattern of enemy buildup and friendly counterbuildup was established.
The step-for-step counter to offensive enemy moves had thwarted Hanoi's aims and eventually resulted in Hanoi's apparent decision
to attempt to gain their desired end through political means. In the summer of 1967, North Vietnam's Vo Nguyen Giap must have reached the decision that it would be necessary for his forces to win a significant military advantage before the start of any peace talks.
The 1968 enemy winter-spring campaign, planned in late 1967, appears to have had two major phases. In the initial phase, a series of attacks on Free World Military Assistance Forces and installations in remote areas would take place. These attacks were designed to draw major U.S. and South Vietnamese forces out of their defensive positions around the principal cities. The double-edged second phase was to consist, first, of a major attack on South Vietnam's larger cities in the expectation that the liberators would receive much popular support and, second, of a major attack directed eastward from Laos along Route 9 to capture or destroy all friendly positions from the Laotian border east to the sea.
This was a major change in enemy strategy. It was a result of the enemy's desire to repeat his 1954 success at Dien Bien Phu. As mentioned earlier, it was an admission or realization that time, once an ally, was no longer on his side.
A reassessment of the situation, made by the highest level of the Hanoi government, seemed to cause a significant redirection of goals. The enemy leadership both in Hanoi and South Vietnam took a hard critical look at how things were going in the fall of 1967. North Vietnamese combat operations had been largely unsuccessful. Despite his best efforts, his strength was declining, and his control of the population in South Vietnam was decreasing. Approximately 40 percent of the population was under North Vietnamese Army control in 1965, but this proportion had fallen to between 15 and 20 percent by September of 1967. Loss of population control meant a loss in manpower, revenues, and supplies. The North Vietnamese and Viet Cong would have to make up this deficit through greater demands on the people still under their control. Such demands would not further endear the North Vietnamese Army to the people. The relationship was already strained by the subjection of the population to more frequent military and psychological pressures by the Free World Military Assistance Forces.
The North Vietnamese Army troops had seen enough of the big picture to realize they were having little success. As a result, morale was declining drastically. Rather than generating the desired feeling of accomplishment among its troops, the Hanoi government's war-of-attrition policy was fostering a sense of despair. As the need for a North Vietnamese Army success to discredit the government of South Vietnam increased, the prospect of gaining such success had decreased.
During 1966, the North Vietnamese Army suffered approximately 93,000 killed. An estimated 35 percent of this figure comprises men who died of wounds or were permanently disabled as a result of combat actions. In 1967, the casualty figure climbed to over 145,000. During 1966 and 1967, the enemy had a total of 238,000 personnel losses. At the end of 1967, his duty strength was estimated between 210,000 and 235,000. Comparison of losses to present-for duty strength at the beginning of 1968 indicated a personnel problem of staggering proportions.
It seemed obvious that continuation of the old war-of-attrition strategy could not possibly lead to success. After consideration of these adverse trends, the enemy adopted a new goal with these objectives: to win the war by a political and psychological campaign and to gain and maintain control of the people.
The North Vietnamese most probably chose to seek their hoped-for military victory, which they felt must precede peace talks, in the Khe Sanh area for a number of reasons. Since the target area was just across the demilitarized zone, in close proximity to good staging areas in Laos, the enemy could build up military strength and concentrate his forces outside the boundaries of South Vietnam. The remoteness of the area would complicate U.S. and Vietnamese Army resupply and support problems while at the same time favoring the North Vietnamese Army logistical situation. Also, the reaction forces coming to the aid of the attacked position would be exposed to ambush and destruction at numerous locations between Hue, Da Nang, and Khe Sanh. Once drawn into the fight, these reaction forces would be far removed from the cities which the North Vietnamese planned to attack. As noted earlier, the section of Route I between Quang Tri City and Hue had been a constant thorn in the flesh of the French Army during its prosecution of the Indochina War, and it was from this stretch of road that Bernard Fall drew the title of his book, Street Without Joy. Finally, another reason for choosing the Khe Sanh region was that this area was historically an influential Communist stronghold.
To perform the military operation, the enemy had brought four divisions plus support troops into the vicinity of Khe Sanh. In the area north of Hill 881 N, the enemy had deployed the 325C North Vietnamese Army division. Southwest of Khe Sanh was the 304th North Vietnamese Army Division and in the demilitarized zone area north of the Rock Pile was the 320th North Vietnamese Army Division. The fourth division was across the Laotian border to the west. Also around Khe Sanh were an estimated one to three armored battalions, possibly from the 203d Armored Regiment; the 68th Artillery Regiment; and elements of the 164th Artillery Regi-
ment. Intelligence reports had further indicated the presence of at least 27 PT-76 tanks, numerous 240-mm. rocket launchers and 122-mm. assault guns, antiaircraft weapons, and at least one communication relay site.
From the enemy point of view, his revised plan for the domination of the south should have created a significant defeat for the U.S. if Khe Sanh had gone the same way Dien Bien Phu went fourteen years before. However, the enemy had made a few serious errors in his planning. High-level enemy documents of a self-analysis nature attest to these errors. He expected massive popular uprisings as his troops entered the cities and further expected large numbers of Vietnamese Armed Forces to defect to his ranks. In both these expectations he was entirely disappointed.
Having failed in his Tet offensive in the spring of 1968, the enemy attempted to regain momentum by maintaining constant pressure on the urban areas through continuous interdiction of lines of communication, through the imposition of a tight economic blockade, and through the destruction of the administrative control held by the government of South Vietnam. These enemy measures were meant to cause the people to demonstrate and rebel. Enemy pre-positioned and thoroughly trained political cadres could then step in and assume leadership and control of the people.
The enemy winter-spring campaign, of which Tet was the high-water mark, was a "Battle of the Bulge" attempt to reverse the trends of the war and create a favorable political and psychological position that would ultimately lead to the collapse of the government of the Republic of Vietnam. As of June 1968, his military efforts to achieve this goal had been totally unsuccessful. To obtain a military victory, it remained necessary for him to trigger a general uprising culminating in a successful coup d'état. Such success was impossible unless the enemy could regain his momentum and win the support of both the population and the armed forces of South Vietnam. In June of 1968, there was nothing to indicate he could gain such support. In fact the opposite effect prevailed. The Tet offensive was the "Pearl Harbor" of South Vietnam, arousing and uniting the people against the Communists. This public attitude resulted in large part from the ruthlessness of the Viet Cong and enabled the Vietnamese government to mobilize its manpower on a much greater scale.
There were a number of reasons for the U.S. success in defeating North Vietnamese attempts to take over the two northern provinces of South Vietnam. These included: the acquisition and analysis of enemy intelligence; the organization of forces to counter the enemy threat; air mobility; the superior ground and air firepower possessed
by the Free World Military Assistance Forces; good communications; logistical support; the improvement, modest as it was, of Vietnamese Army forces; and finally, the co-ordinated actions of the divers Free World Force elements which operated to contain and defeat the enemy.
Information about the enemy is an invaluable asset in any military conflict and proved itself especially so in Vietnam. In a conventional struggle, one can at least engage the enemy; that is, observe him and take him under fire, even if his immediate intentions, strength, equipment, and unit organizations are unknown. In the guerrilla environment of South Vietnam two very critical unknown factors existed. It was difficult to know where and who the enemy was. In the populated areas, much importance was placed on determining who the enemy was while in the unpopulated regions, the problem was learning where the enemy was.
The intelligence effort was increased in response to the enemy concentration of forces in and around northern I Corps. Civilian agents, military patrols, long-range reconnaissance patrols, aerial observers particularly from helicopters, the Civilian Irregular Defense Group forces at Lang Vei, Special Forces teams operating in the A Shau Valley, and radio interceptors provided a steady stream of information about the enemy's activities.
An extensive reconnaissance program in early January was initiated to obtain as much information as possible about the enemy. This effort, code-named NIAGARA I, included all sources of information, and aimed at developing target information about the enemy in northern I Corps and the adjacent area immediately to the west of the Laotian border. The information was derived from, among additional sources, aerial and ground searches, interrogation of prisoners and other persons that may have been in or passed through the area, and study of captured enemy documents.
After the enemy's Tet offensive in 1968, Operation LEAP FROG was instituted as an accelerated effort to obtain intelligence indicating the enemy's goals in the campaign. Such knowledge would identify his future moves, thus making possible the formulation of friendly countermoves.
Allied intelligence analysis concluded that the attacks were politically motivated and aimed at seizing the urban areas, at the replacement of Republic of Vietnam officials with members of the Viet Cong infrastructure, and possibly, after having established a position of power from which to negotiate, at suing for a coalition government.
1 This graph displays only infantry type manuever battalions.
Organization for Combat
The responses to this intelligence were reflected in the continued gradual movement of the III Marine Amphibious Force into the northern segment of the corps area and the influx of United
States Army and Republic of Korea Army troops in an effort to increase the density of the Free World Forces in the threatened area. The Military Assistance Command and Command Post was initially organized to control the deployment of a U.S. Army corps into the area. The organization and deployment of Task Force OREGON and the headquarters of Provisional Corps, Vietnam, have already been discussed. In May of 1968, there were 98 maneuver battalions in the corps area of which 26 were U.S. Marine Corps, 31 were U.S. Army, 37 were Vietnamese, and 4 were Republic of Korea. This total, 196, was somewhat above the June figure and is indicative of the fluid situation. (Chart 4)
The U.S. maneuver battalions were assigned to the 1st and 3d Marine Divisions, 1st Cavalry Division (Airmobile), 101st Airborne Division, and the Americal Division; the Vietnamese Army battalions were normally assigned to, or under, the operational control of the 1st and 2d Vietnamese Army Divisions and the 51st Independent Infantry Regiment. The four Republic of Korea battalions were under the 2d Republic of Korea Marine Brigade which, although not under the operational control of the III Marine Amphibious Force, was generally treated as such for planning and coordinating purposes.
The flexibility of the III Marine Amphibious Force organization was attested to by the mix of Army and Marine units under various command echelons. Both Army and Marine battalions were considered to be basically interchangeable during the preparation of operation plans. Reporting directly to the III Marine Amphibious Force were Provisional Corps, Vietnam; C Company, 5th U.S. of operation plans. Reporting directly to the III Marine Amphibious Force were Provisional Corps, Vietnam; C Company, 5th U.S. Special Forces; 1st Marine Air Wing; 1st Marine Division; 23d or Americal Division, and, informally, the 2d Republic of Korea Marine Brigade. (Chart 5)
Within Provisional Corps, Vietnam, were three divisions. The 3d Marine Division was reinforced from three to five Marine Regiments and, in May 1968, reinforced by the 2d Brigade, 1st Air Cavalry Division. The 1st Air Cavalry Division had its two organic brigades and the 196th Light Infantry Brigade. The 101st Airborne Division had two organic brigades and the 3d Brigade, 82d Airborne Division. The organization for combat of Army and Marine units was dictated by the tactical situation.
The flexibility of the U.S. forces, and their ability to shift Army, Navy, and Marine combat and combat support units among the various headquarters in response to changes in the tactical situation was a major contribution to the success of operations against the
CHART 5- SUBORDINATE UNITS TO 3d MARINE AMPHIBIOUS
enemy in I Corps. This flexibility also facilitated the implementation of cross-servicing agreements.
Airmobility provided a proportionate increase in the combat potential of combat units. From a tactical point of view, the helicopter gave unit commanders a new dimension in warfarevertical envelopment of an enemy's rear or flank. For centuries commanders have sought to outflank their enemies, by foot, by cavalry, and even by elephantsand more recently by tanks and by airborne forces. The helicopter provided this ability to U.S. forces in Vietnam on an unprecedented scale. The 85 knots per hour helicopter placed troops at decisive points in time to influence the outcome of the battle. This ability had a multiplying effect on U.S. combat power.
The helicopter was the work horse of the Vietnam War. Despite the helicopter's sensitivity to weather conditions, its versatility gave it great value in combat operations. In addition to being faster than ground vehicles, it had the important advantage of being able to disregard the ruggedness of terrain. The helicopter rescued people from minefields, plucked them from the water, captured prisoners of war, and evacuated casualties from the scene of battle to supporting hospitals, including naval hospitals afloat.
Superior Firepower
The massive firepower available to units of the Free World Military Assistance Forces dominated actions in the air, on the ground, and at sea. Artillery, aerial rocket artillery, naval gun fire, tactical fighter-bombers, and strategic bombers brought awesome destructive power to bear on enemy units.
Following the target acquisition program under NIAGARA I the successive artillery and air firepower operation was designated NIAGARA II. The massive close air support provided under the single manager concept for air is described in the concluding pages of Chapter IV.
B-52 raids were an important factor in the program. The heavy bombing raids generated many casualties and created fear and low morale among enemy troops while bolstering morale within friendly units. The raids forced enemy units of battalion and regimental size to evacuate elaborately prepared positions, thus abandoning sites in which considerable resources had been invested.
The upswing of activity along the demilitarized zone and within the two northern provinces demanded a vast and rapid increase in teletype and voice communications channels to handle expansion of operational and logistical traffic. The influx of additional Marine units, two Army divisions, plus associated combat service support and combat support units, and the eventual organization of the Military Assistance Forward Command Post succeeded by the Provisional Corps, Vietnam, added to the need for expanded communications.
Within a 30-day period, U.S. Army, Vietnam, organized the 63d Signal Battalion, 1st Signal Brigade of the Strategic Communications Command, concurrently with the organization of the Military Assistance Forward Command Post and the Provisional Corps, Vietnam. During that short time frame the unit grew from a headquarters nucleus in Phu Bai to a 1300-man, three company battalion. With tactical and mobile contingency equipment flown in from various areas in Vietnam and Thailand, the battalion established command control and area communications for Military Assistance Command Post Forward, Provisional Corps, and the III Marine Amphibious Force. At the same time, U.S. Air Force elements provided a 60-channel system from Dong Ha to Phu Bai and thence to Da Nang, furnishing the needed communications gateway to the commanders of the U.S. Military Assistance Command and the U.S. Army, Vietnam, through the Defense Communications System.
During Operations PEGASUS and DELAWARE, when the tactical command posts of the 101st Airborne and 1st Cavalry Divisions moved into the Ca Lu and A Shau area, mobile 12- and 24-channel very high frequency radio relay and tropospheric scatter systems were extended to these field locations from Phu Bai.
Moving large troop units into the undeveloped northern region required prodigious effort in construction of logistical facilities and in operational planning down to the finest details. Maneuvering of combat troops placed enormous strain on the transportation capabilities, and resupplying the troops in new distant locations was a formidable task.
Logistical planning kept pace with the buildup of U.S. forces in I Corps. Procedures were developed by the U.S. Navy for the initial support to Army units deployed north. As the Military Assistance Forward Command Post and the equivalent of a U.S. army
corps deployed to the 1st Corps Tactical Zone, a forward area support base was organized at Da Nang to support them and handle the heavy volume of supplies.
Transportation was improved as Highway I reopened and the fuel pipeline was restored. A logistical-over-the-shore (LOTS) facility was constructed, and a new pipeline laid from the LOTS facility into Dong Ha. Finally the Phu Bai airport had been expanded to increase its tonnage handling.
In general, resupply was accomplished by surface means to the maximum extent possible. However, some operations required aerial supply for certain elements of a unit or even for the entire unit. This need prevailed at the garrison at Khe Sanh. The calculation of aerial resupply capabilities was for this reason an important step in planning.
The advantage of surprise in military operations could easily be lost if impending actions were revealed by pre-stocking supplies in a new operational area. It was therefore necessary to move vast amounts of supplies into a new area at the same time the combat troops moved in. This generated major fluctuations in requirements for aircraft and trucks during the deployment period.
In allocating resources available to conduct resupply during an upcoming operation, there were many opportunities to substitute one resource for another. Operation PEGASUS was an example of this fact. The Khe Sanh garrison was entirely supplied by cargo aircraft, its outposts by helicopter. The closing relief forces were supplied by air or truck convoy, depending upon their proximity to Route 9 and the engineers' progress in rebuilding the route. Although there is little resemblance between a C-130 cargo aircraft, a CH-47 helicopter, and the engineer bulldozer-supply truck combination, from a logistical standpoint, they accomplished the same thing. It was a matter of selecting the most economical means or simply using what was available.
Improvement of Vietnamese Armed Forces
While units of the Free World Military Assistance Forces shouldered the burden of containing the enemy offensives, modest gains were made in improving the combat capability of Republic of Vietnam military forces. This feat was accomplished by providing military advisers to help Vietnamese commanders solve the complexities of tactical and logistical problems. Changes were made in the military school system to more adequately address contemporary problems. (Chart 6)
Another step was to revamp the promotion system for better
recognition of the merit of officers and noncommissioned officers. The senior Vietnamese officers began to summarily relieve incompetents, reprimand weakness in subordinate's leadership, and give recognition to superior performance. One statistical measure of the general improvement of the military forces was the decreasing desertion rate. Another measure, and a significant one, was the growing number of Vietnamese units that earned the United States Presidential Unit Citation for their heroic actions in combat. During and following the 1968 Tet offensive, the military forces of South Vietnam acquitted themselves adequately. In many cases, such as that of the 1st Vietnamese Division in Hue, they fought with distinction.
Along with the qualitative betterment of personnel, strides were taken in improving the equipment of the armed forces. Vietnamization began with the issue of the M16 rifle, mainstay weapon of U.S. ground services, to Vietnamese Army units. Better machine guns, mortars, and other crew-served weapons were added to the Vietnamese Army inventory. In addition to these weapons, the issue of aircraft, boats, helicopters, tanks, and armored personnel carriers improved the ability of the Vietnamese to reposition their forces as required by changes in the tactical situation. The morale
of the Vietnamese rose greatly upon receipt of this modern equipment.
Each Saturday morning, the commanding general of the III Marine Amphibious Force was briefed on Vietnamese Army operations by the U.S. advisers to I Corps. Following the briefing, a commander's conference was held at the headquarters of General Hoang Xuan Lam to discuss matters of mutual concern. The agenda, usually distributed in advance, covered planned operations, both unilateral and combined, which required co-ordination and co-operation of Free World Military Assistance support. The extensive exchange of liaison officers down to battalion level, when required, was a common practice throughout I Corps.
The U.S. commanders worked closely with the Vietnamese commanders adjacent to their areas of responsibility and provided excellent support on a routine basis. The co-operation was extended to other Free World Military commanders as in the case of Brigadier General Kim Yun Sang of the 2d Republic of Korea Marine Brigade.
By 1968, combined operations were becoming the rule rather than the exception. Operations PEGASUS and DELAWARE were prime examples of such operations conducted in I Corps during the first four months of 1968.
Co-operation between Vietnamese Army and Free World Military Assistance Forces also extended to logistics and training. Vietnamese Army elements operating with U.S. units received logistical support from those units. On the training side, two examples serve to demonstrate the mutual benefit derived from this practice. In 1967, the 3d Battalion, 6th Vietnamese Regiment, trained companies of the newly arrived 198th U.S. Infantry Brigade in Viet Cong tactics, the detection of mines and booby traps, and the techniques of Viet Cong village search. That same year, the 3d Marine Division trained 2,430 men of the 2d Vietnamese Army Regiment in use of the M16 rifle.
Co-ordination of artillery fires and air strikes with one another were also accomplished by Vietnamese, U.S., and Free World Military Assistance Forces throughout I Corps. This co-ordination was done at the division level in both the 1st and 2d Vietnamese Division areas, and included U.S. naval gun fire.
The Other War
The failure of the North Vietnamese to gain control of the population of South Vietnam was not an outcome of unsuccessful combat actions alone. Also contributing to their failure was the fact
that the South Vietnamese government developed many programs supporting the economic, social, and political goals of the population. To obtain popular support, the government announced these new programs after the 8 February 1966 Honolulu Conference. The government pronouncement called on all citizens of South Vietnam to work together to develop the country:
We must bring about a true social revolution and construct a modern society
in which every man can know that he has a future ... To those future citizens
of a free, democratic South Vietnam now fighting with the Viet Cong, we
take this occasion to say come and join in this national revolutionary adventure:
come safely to join us through the Open Arms Programs,
stop killing your brothers, sisters, their elders, and their children,
come and work through constitutional democracy to build together that life of dignity, freedom, and peace those in the North would deny the people of Vietnam.
Along with implementation of a new constitution, the government established the revolutionary development program to initiate the social, economic, and political reforms needed to improve the life of the rural population, and to strengthen their confidence in the government and its resistance to the Viet Cong. The program sent teams of 59 men, armed for self-defense, into recently secured areas to help establish local security, weed out any remaining Viet Cong, and initiate a development program.
Two additional actions that had good results were the Chieu Hoi or Open Arms Program and the Doan Ket or National Reconciliation Program. The former program began as early as 1963 when more than 5,700 Viet Cong accepted the opportunity to return to the government during the initial four months of the declared amnesty period. As additional combat troops took the field against the enemy, the number of enemy soldiers rallying to the government increased.
When a man returned to the government under this program, he was interviewed to determine his sincerity, rewarded for any weapons or equipment turned in, and placed in a re-education program through which he learned the aims and purposes of the government of South Vietnam and the role of the Free World Military Assistance Forces in the war. An added bonus in this program was the fact that an estimated 30 percent of the returnees then served in the government armed forces.
The second program, Doan Ket, offered more to the middle and upper ranks of the enemy hierarchy than the Chieu Hoi amnesty program. This program included provisions that returnees would be employed in accordance with their ability, presumably in posi-
tions at a level comparable to those they had in the enemy system. This added a bit to the motivation of senior persons who might be inclined to terminate their relationship with the enemy. This program also included a re-educational process before personnel were declared graduates and returned to full citizenship status.
The North Vietnamese failed to achieve victory in the northern provinces in 1968 because their efforts to gain and retain control of the population and the government of South Vietnam were obstructed by determined U.S. and Free World Military Assistance Forces. During the critical period when the enemy upgraded his operations from insurgency and guerrilla actions to a full-scale conventional invasion, enemy aims were thwarted by military action. The success of the Free World Forces can be attributed to their flexibility in organization and tactics to meet the ever changing enemy situation and their mutual co-operation in conducting combined operations against the foe. The success was also due to the steady improvement of the South Vietnamese Armed Forcesa long-term goal of the headquarters of the Military Assistance Command, Vietnam. The establishment of programs to win the allegiance of the people to their government by eliminating the social, political, and economic injustices which provided a fertile environment for insurgency also furthered success.
A final tribute must be paid to the fighting heart of the individual soldier, sailor, marine, airman, and civilian who faced the dangers of a cruel enemy. Although scientists have invented weapons that have revolutionized warfare, they have not been able to replace the soldier on the ground. He was aggressive, physically fit, eager to fight, with pride in his profession and compassion for the Vietnamese peoplea superb fighter in the finest traditions of great Americans, great patriots, and great soldiers.
page created 15 January 2002
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text:
Climate Deniers Red Faced as World Heads for Hottest Year on Record
Richard Heasman | October 27, 2014
By Richard Heasman • Monday, October 27, 2014 - 07:20
Climate deniers have been left red-faced as the world basks in some of the hottest temperatures in living memory, with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) predicting 2014 could break all records.
Lord Lawson, who resigned as chancellor in the 1980s after overheating the British economy, has led the siren chorus, claiming that a recent plateau in global earth surface temperatures is proof that the threat of global warming has been wildly exaggerated.
The deniers have either ignored or attacked the latest research, which shows that the heat created by increased carbon dioxide in the atmosphere has been absorbed into the oceans and that surface temperatures are likely to begin rising again.


text:
The Return of Sherlock Holmes
by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
The Return of Sherlock Holmes Respect and Reputation Quotes
How we cite our quotes: Citations follow this format: (Story.Paragraph) or (Story.Section.Paragraph) if applicable.
Quote #7
"Well," said Lestrade, "I've seen you handle a good many cases, Mr. Holmes, but I don't know that I ever knew a more workmanlike one than that. We're not jealous of you at Scotland Yard. No sir, we are very proud of you, and if you come down to-morrow, there's not a man [...] who wouldn't be glad to shake your hand. (Six Napoleons.150)
Lestrade gives us some great insight into how Holmes is viewed by other law enforcement officers; Holmes is a sort of living legend and the other officers respect his skills. It's notable that Lestrade gets this piece of dialogue as well, since he was the one with whom Holmes had a rather childish competition in the "Dancing Men."
Quote #8
"When once the law is invoked it cannot be stayed again, and this is just one of those cases where, for the credit of the college, it is most essential to avoid scandal. Your discretion is as well known as your powers, and you are the one man in the world who can help me." (Three Students.5)
The law seems to be some sort of runaway boulder, a la Indiana Jones, here. Or like someone eating Pringles – once it starts, it can't be stopped. It's also interesting that the law seems blind to scandal in this scenario.
Quote #9
For years I had gradually weaned him from that drug mania which had threatened once to check his remarkable career. (Three-Quarter.4)
This is one of the few instances where Watson highlights his own actions and even notes them with pride. Again, we see how protective Watson is of Holmes's reputation. He's like his PR agent.


text:
APR 01, 2014 - San Francisco Chronicle
A Must Read - Share
Army Private Chelsea Manning's 35-year sentence for leaking reams of classified information is out of proportion with the offenses for which she was convicted, the lawyer who will represent her in court-martial appeals said Tuesday.
Manning began serving her confinement at Fort Leavenworth, Kan., in August for sending hundreds of thousands of secret military and diplomatic documents, plus some battlefield video, to the anti-secrecy website WikiLeaks.
Hollander pointed out in a telephone interview that Manning's sentence far exceeds the prison terms of 2 1/2 years or less that U.S. courts
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Ferguson apologises after Man Utd are dumped out of the Cup
Giant-killers Crystal Palace celebrate 2-1 victory in front of stunned Old Trafford crowd
MANCHESTER UNITED boss Sir Alex Ferguson apologised to fans after his side were sensationally dumped out of the Carling Cup by Crystal Palace last night. The Londoners pulled off a 2-1 extra-time victory in front of a stunned Old Trafford to set up a semi-final clash with fellow Championship side Cardiff.
A visibly shocked Ferguson said later: "I'd like to apologise to the fans... That was not a Manchester United performance and I'm very disappointed. We had a lot of possession but didn't do anything with it."
After a poor first half, the tie exploded into life midway through the second period when Darren Ambrose unleashed a spectacular 35-yard strike to give Palace the lead.
United, fielding an XI containing nine internationals, levelled on 69 minutes when Federico Macheda scored from the penalty spot and it was all-square at the end of 90 minutes. Eight minutes into extra-time Murray outjumped the sluggish United defence to head home Ambrose's free-kick and send the 5,000 travelling Palace fans wild.
Ferguson wondered later if Murray hadn't been offside when he scored but the United boss didn't want to take anything away from the victors. In comments that were a veiled criticism of his own side's effort, Ferguson said: "I wish them every success and hope they get to the final because it was a fantastic, mammoth effort from them tonight. Every one of their players worked their socks off to try to get to the semi-final."
It's a night that the 28-year-old Murray won't forget in a hurry, his winning goal being the reward for a decade of unglamorous endeavour. Having begun his career with Workington, Murray had spells at Carlisle, Stockport, Rochdale and Brighton before joining Palace last summer.
Palace now find themselves one game away from an appearance at Wembley against either Manchester City or Liverpool. That would provide an invaluable cash injection for a club that went into administration in 2010, shortly before a takeover and the appointment as manager of Dougie Freedman.
"I am so proud of the lads," said Freedman. "To get through to the semi-finals from where we have come from in the last couple of years [with] relegation zones and administrations. We will enjoy tonight."


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Shared values fast-track family's transition plan, support dairy expansion
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