text:
Baku. 1 February. REPORT.AZ/ Joint action plan has been signed between the Ministry of Defense (MD) and Republican Military Prosecutor's Office to strengthen legal rules and military discipline, prevent crimes in Azerbaijani Armed Forces in 2016.
Report was told in the press service of Azerbaijani Defense Ministry.
In accordance with plan, date and place of the events as well as responsible persons have been determined.
During the year, events and other actions, determined to increase legal knowledge of personnel, strengthen discipline and legal rules as well as eliminate existing problems will be carried out in the meetings with military servants of different categories at unions, units and special-purpose military educational institutions.


text:
|Fri 29 Jun 2012, 5:00pm–7:00pm
|Sat 30 Jun 2012, 11:00am–4:00pm
|Mon 2 Jul 2012, 10:00am–4:00pm
|Tue 3 Jul 2012, 10:00am–4:00pm
|Wed 4 Jul 2012, 10:00am–4:00pm
|Thu 5 Jul 2012, 10:00am–4:00pm
|Fri 6 Jul 2012, 10:00am–4:00pm
|Sat 7 Jul 2012, 11:00am–4:00pm
|Mon 9 Jul 2012, 10:00am–4:00pm
|Tue 10 Jul 2012, 10:00am–4:00pm
|Wed 11 Jul 2012, 10:00am–4:00pm
|Thu 12 Jul 2012, 10:00am–4:00pm
|Fri 13 Jul 2012, 10:00am–4:00pm
|Sat 14 Jul 2012, 11:00am–4:00pm
Guided by the rich history of photography, Jocelyn Carlin moves with ease from reportage to art projects. Here within the strictures of a still frame she strives to capture the intangible, simple human life.
The process of darkroom portraiture was directly inspired by Len Lye's photograms. It's a re-discovery of the craft of photography revelling in the mysteries of a seemingly archaic darkroom, combining technique with observation, and pairing artistic intent with uncertainty of outcome. These portraits are a new way of seeing ourselves but being reminiscent of the C.18th silhouette, they are anchored in the past.
"The immensely popular shadow tracings were a cheap quick method of recording a person's profile." - Bill Jay on Photography, From Magic to Mimesis.
More than a simple record of a human profile, like the self, they are subtle and complex, layered, textured, flawed and beautiful.
The body of work, To Be : Portraits, is the newest addition to the greater project, Likeness, that grew from the objectivity of reportage, and evolved into something else - less objective, but more essential to the concerns of the human-life-teller.
Jocelyn Carlin is based in Auckland in her building that was designed for living and working and has developed it into a communal rental studio. Her great interest however is in features photojournalism and she has spent more than the last ten years working on humanitarian and environmental issues in the Pacific region.
Jocelyn is a willing participant in exhibition projects including the photograms series To Be : Portraits. She has in her studio one of the few remaining high-end black & white darkrooms in which the photograms were made. Completely at home with digital technology Jocelyn scans the A3 print originals and any film projects shot to make digital art prints.
Before you go, would you like to subscribe to our free weekly newsletter with events happening in your area, competitions for free tickets and CD giveaways?
No thanks - I'm already an Eventfinda member (or I don't want to join)
Enter your email below, click on the Sign Up button and we'll send you on your way
Continuing confirms your acceptance of our terms of service.

subset: commoncrawl


text:
Businesses regularly need money. With asset-based lending, they can find money without touching their cash flow.
Small and growth-phase businesses often find themselves short of needed cash. They might foresee a payroll shortfall. They may need to prepare for seasonal business inventory. They may want to move into a new facility. Or, they may want to buy new equipment.
Fortunately, such businesses have borrowing options. But, not all options are equal. Sometimes, money comes with costs and risks that create more problems than they solve.
A money lender may opt to lend money on a business's assets pledged as collateral. These lenders prefer assets with promising liquidity, and they will not lend capital equal to the assets' value. With the assets used as collateral, the interest rates may or may not compete with other financing opportunities.
Asset-based borrowing is an easier way for some businesses to secure funds than seeking unsecured financing. Small and mid-sized businesses will apply for asset-based loans for various needs.
The Good about asset-based lending
Entrepreneur points out, "Asset-based loans can be a much-needed source of capital for companies that are rapidly growing, highly leveraged, in the midst of a turnaround or undercapitalized. Sometimes a company simply needs that infusion of cash to get over a financial hump or prevent growth from stalling out."
Asset-based lending presents some advantages to the borrower:
- Asset-based lending is not based on your profile. It has less interest in your credit score or the business's profit record. So, the loan goes through easier and faster than typical bank loans.
- If you acquire additional inventory, capital equipment, or assets, it can be added to the loan base which then can increase the loan.
- Asset-based lending can be appealing if the business is undercapitalized, on the verge of rapid growth, or needing cash to finance acquisitions for growth. In the construction industry, for example, you can learn how to leverage the value of your heavy equipment at https://equifyllc.com.
- Asset-based borrowing lets you build and improve your credit record with the lender. As your business grows, you will need that support and credit history.
The Bad about asset-based lending
Your loan default is not assumed, but it is always a risk when borrowing money.
Securing an asset-based loan depends on the lender's perception of the assets' value. They may want more financial data than you expect because they are effectively auditing the assets as potentially liquid. They may also audit the values periodically because any fluctuation in asset value impacts the collateral.
Lenders are likely to base their offer on a lower asset value than you expect. That means you receive less money than you may have calculated on, and you risk the loss of the asset at a lower price should you default.
If the asset appreciates, the lender will not increase the amount of the loan. That leaves you at a bigger loss if they lender sells the asset for profit to pay off your default.
You also risk over-mortgaging. You can wind up owing more on your loans than the assets are worth to you. For example, if you are borrowing against real estate as an asset, you may find yourself upside down when the real estate market drops.
The Ugly about asset-based lending
Entrepreneurs and startups may feel pressured to bail themselves out of cash problems with asset-based lending. But, it may not be their best option.
Perhaps, the worst thing about financing a business with asset-based loans is it fails to build credit. After all, the borrowing business is using its own assets as collateral, And, that makes your business appear financially unstable.
Some commercial lending banks charge audit fees and diligence fees in processing asset-based loans. For example, there may be costs related to frequent auditing requirements.
These fees and charges may increase the loan's interest rate or final cost. Ironically, the attempt to solve financial problems could cost more.
If the lender finds asset-based lending time-intensive and cost-intensive, it will pass the costs along to the borrower. And, this only complicates worries about businesses with poor credit ratings who find asset-based loans their only option.
The business owner must also fear the loss of control. The asset-based lending agreement may authorize the lender to seize the collateral assets if the value of the borrowing base no longer supports the loan.
Asset-based lending
Huffington Post recommends, "Be sure to maintain close communication with potential lenders because when financial institutions are evaluating future prospects of a small business, it's important that they understand not just the business model, the landscape, and the product, but also the team behind it."
Businesses will borrow money from time to time. It often makes good sense and value to the business. But, if you keep the long-range, big picture in mind, you must consider how each move affects future plans. And, those plans should not include making lenders your major stakeholders.
There is no magic moment, no trigger for seeking an asset-based loan. You must understand how they work, what risks they entail, and what the impact will be on your bottom-line if you are unable to honor the deal.
What you need as an asset-based borrower
You need the business advisor who can create a financial plan that includes a total approach to your business financing. If it proves you have money hidden in your operating equipment, asset-based lending can help you use the cash you have already invested in the business as collateral for a new loan.
What you should do is look at how much money you need to accomplish your immediate goals. You must keep that plan narrow and clear because you don't want to over-borrow. You may borrow more than you need, but you want to keep it within a budget for paying it down and off.
Then, you can locate the equity you have in real estate, vehicles, capital equipment, and other assets. You must understand the lender will likely discount the value you identify and, then, proceed with that assumption.
Beyond that, you want the lender willing to build relationships, knowledgeable about your business and its assets, and able to offer features like skip-payments.
Business is tough for owners. They often stretch to make things work and keep their heads above water. But, they also have opportunities to help things grow and expand. It's tough to balance those needs, but with prudence and good financial advice, businesses as borrowers can make it work.


text:
Date: 8th September 2001
JENNIFER ANISTON has got over her fears of Hollywood after the end of hit sitcom FRIENDS - she's now really excited about the future. After admitting she was terrified of embarking on a movie career, the actress is now looking forward to ending an era and putting her popular character RACHEL GREEN to bed.
And although she loves the show, she admits she's ready to tackle the next stage of her life. She says, "As far as I know this is our senior year. We signed up for two more years two years ago and this is our final one. There comes a point when something's done, it's just done. I'm looking up to the next stage now. The sky looks pretty clear, there are no storms coming in just yet. It's good. " (SVD/WNV/LE)
Source: WENN
Advertising Terms & Conditions Privacy Statement Press
© 1999 - 2020 Cinema.com


text:
Ohio Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner – Notarize This: The Brewing Foreclosure Storm
From the Huffington Post…
This is beginning to look like a storm that blew right into Oz.
Just as it took a dog named, "Toto" to pull back the curtain to see what was being perpetrated on Oz, maybe what some consider a minor detail, like notarizing documents as the law requires, will help the Dorothy's of this day and age have a home to go to.
Jennifer Brunner
Ohio Secretary Of State
There is a gargantuan storm brewing. The conditions were set for it with Congress' repeal of the Glass-Steagall Act in 1998, loosening restrictions on banks to sell securities and still lend money for consumers to buy homes.
In just 12 years these pressure fronts are about to erupt because of something as simple as how documents are notarized. I am reminded of the fact Timothy McVey was apprehended, not because he robbed a bank, but because the tags on his car were expired. One thing leads to another, and what unfolds is the discovery of something so fundamentally wrong that it can't be ignored.
Ever wonder why President Obama brought into the White House financial advisors who seemed to have come from the thick of financial practices we were trying to shed? That's because our home mortgage financial transactions and what happens to the paperwork after we sign it have become so complicated, it took people who knew the system to clip the right wires so the bomb didn't detonate.
I'm from Ohio, where home mortgage foreclosure rates remain among the highest in the nation. My parents grew up in a rural Ohio town so small that the town residents today still go to the post office for their mail. What I learned from my parents was to be honest and work hard. We were taught, like many others, to respect authority, play by the rules, only take what is yours, be kind, treat others with respect and stand up for what is right.
That's not what American consumers have gotten from today's lending industry. Since the repeal of Glass Steagall, the creation and trading of mortgage-backed securities have become a norm, enjoying less regulatory oversight than for traditional securities trading. Mortgages now became parts of "tranches," a French word for "pieces," that back securities sold. Mortgage notes, which must to be recorded to become a lien on real estate are now, through a sleight of hand, secondary to the interests of the mortgage backed securities traders with the advent of Mortgage Electronic Registration Services, Inc. (MERS) which facilitates trading without recording the changing ownership interests in mortgages. Local governments lose revenue from recording those changing interests, and the original note often becomes lost in the brisk shuffle of trading and reassigning them to various tranches that back purchases of them from all over the world.
You can check out the rest here…
Thank you Ms. Brunner!
Give me a call, would love to chat…
Comments6 Responses to "Ohio Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner – Notarize This: The Brewing Foreclosure Storm"
All the banksters are involved so I might suggest everyone get any money they have in any bank and open an account in a CREDIT UNION…Those are operated by the members for the members and not shareholders!!
This is going to finally blow and keep whatever you have left…as safe as you can!
Just do not leave your homes…they do not own them…
Secretary Brunner still should have gone to her state attorney general to gain support. Together, they should have gone to the other various state secretaries of state and state attorneys general, not the Feds. It is a hand-off of jurisdiction to get the Feds involved. The involvement of the federal executive branch of government may have been self-defeating to the cause of cleaning up of the mess and justice for all parties (including prosecution or financial destruction of the guilty racketeers).
You should learn the law before you spout off criticism that has no basis other than your opinion. Look up the Ohio statutes that grant her authority and you will see that she was not able to take it to the atty general. Had she done it your way it would not have been a valid enforcement action on her part. You are wrong, wrong, wrong.
If you don't mind, could you please send me the links to the relevant statutes? I would enjoy reading them. (No sarcasm. I truly would enjoy reading the statutes tonight.)
I'm still waiting for some sign of life from the Justice Department, but have seen nothing of significance so far. Since Wash DC appears to continue to be captured, the states seem to offer more hope.
Here are some state officials testifying before the FCIC earlier this year. It sounds as if some of the state officials are saying that, at times, the federal regulators have a way of claiming supremacy and making investigations come to naught.
It's so about time! That, along with Ohio Attorney General letter to the courts is all we needed. Ours started with gathering info for re-finance. No one could tell us who had the note. We've got proof of the fraudulent documents filed against us and an exact address of the robo-signer for summons on a fraud counterclaim.
Even my boss of 10 years (an attorney who does not specialize in foreclosure defense) told me a couple weeks ago that I might as well just pay them even if they aren't the real party in interest, holder in due course, filed fraudulent docs, etc., because I owe "someone" and at least I would have record of paying "someone". I was shocked. My last words to him were that such an idea insults my intelligence and that this massive foreclosure fraud is getting ready to blow wide open. He hasn't talked to me since. (note: He's retirement age and a diehard republican. His portfolio is probably going to take another dive. I'm a veteran Marine and don't take much !@#$% from anyone, nor do I have a portfolio. 😉
I know a man that served 2 years in federal prison for ading and abetting in the filing of a false report to a federally insured bank. Wonder how much time these folks that actually created and/or signed forged documents will get?
Does the law only punish non bank individuals or does it hold bankers and their employees just as responsible?
I think I know the answer!


text:
The future looks bright for Boral, with a string of major road and infrastructure projects on the horizon as the building products maker benefits from the residential construction boom in NSW.
Chief executive Mike Kane also flagged Boral, which has extensive operations across Australia, the US and Asia, was on the look-out for acquisitions.
The company has the capacity to "pursue sensible acquisitions if the right opportunities come along", Mr Kane told reporters.
"We would look at any sensible acquisition that would apply to our network any where in the geographies that we compete in," he said.
Boral should benefit from the strong pipeline of major roads and infrastructure work across the country over the next few years, Mr Kane said.
The ongoing housing market recovery in the US is also expected to start delivering strong returns.
Boral booked a 31 per cent jump in net profit to $136.6 million for the six months ended December 31, from $104.5 million over the same period a year earlier.
The result was also buoyed by cost cutting, some price gains and slightly higher property earnings.
Excluding significant items, net profit rose 22.5 per cent.
"The success of the first half is underpinned by a very strong residential construction market in NSW, a solid performance in south-east Queensland, further recovery in the US and a successful growth strategy in the gypsum business in Australia and Asia," Mr Kane said.
Boral expects to deliver a marginal improvement in earnings for its building products business over the full year, while underlying earnings for its construction materials and cement division are tipped to be slightly higher than in the previous year.
The results and outlook were well received by investors, with Boral shares adding 18 cents, or 3.5 per cent, to $5.32 in a weaker market.
Citi analyst Simon Thackray said Boral's interim dividend of 11 cents beat market expectations of 10 cents.
The list of infrastructure projects that Boral is tendering on will no doubt gain considerable market focus, given residential leading indicators have been topping out of late, he said.
Earnings in Boral's largest division, construction materials and cement were $159 million, up from $150 million a year earlier.
But first half revenue was down four per cent to $2.19 billion, hurt by the fall in resource based and other major project activity, including LNG projects in Queensland, Western Australia and the Northern Territory.
* Net profit up 31pct to $136.6m
* Revenue down four pct to $2.194b
* Interim dividend up 2.5 cents to 11 cents


text:
Percussion Orchestrations is the brainchild of eminent percussionist Ed Cervenka. It is a database of Timpani and Percussion requirements for orchestral, operatic and contemporary repertoire, currently containing 9390 works by 775 different composers, and is continually being added to. Each work included is broken down by movement, and denotes specifically which instruments each player requires, and for more complex works, explanatory notes are included.
Ed Cervenka - Percussion Orchestrations founder and director
Audrey Dantier - French Translator
David Valdés - Spanish Translator
Federico Occhiodoro - Italian Translator
Ed Cervenka studied at the Royal Northern College of Music in Manchester, England, and graduated in 1998 having gained the GRNCM and PPRNCM with Distinction. For the past 20 years has freelanced with orchestras all over the UK, including BBC Symphony Orchestra, CBSO, BCMG, BBC Philharmonic, RLPO, Royal Northern Sinfonia, LPO and Manchester Camerata. He has also worked with many of the world's leading conductors, including Sir Simon Rattle, Gustavo Dudamel, Vasily Petrenko, Vladimir Ashkenazy, Sir Colin Davis, Sir Mark Elder, Sakari Oramo and Valery Gergiev and his playing has taken him all over Europe, to the USA and the Far East.
Ed has also become established as the leading cimbalom player of his generation. He has performed the solo cimbalom part in Kodaly's Hary Janos Suite on some 40 occasions including with the London Philharmonic Orchestra at the Royal Festival Hall, the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra at Symphony Hall, Birmingham, the Hallé Orchestra at the Bridgewater Hall, Manchester, the BBC Symphony Orchestra at the Barbican, and with the BBC National Orchestra of Wales at the 2011 BBC Proms. He has also worked as a cimbalom player with the London Symphony Orchestra, Philharmonia Orchestra, London Sinfonietta, BBC National Orchestra of Wales, BCMG, and RTÉ Symphony Orchestra. Recordings include Dutilleux's Mystere de L'Instant with the BBC Philharmonic and BBC National Orchestra of Wales, and Stravinsky's Ragtime with the European Solosists Ensemble under Ashkenazy. Increasingly in demand as a session musician, Ed has played cimbalom and dulcimer for numerous film soundtracks including The Lord of the Rings, The Hobbit, The Grand Budapest Hotel, Dracula Untold, The Man from U.N.C.L.E., Captain America Civil War, Pete's Dragon, Captain Underpants and Mary Poppins Returns. He is also featured in Robbie Williams album Party Like A Russian.
David Valdés gained his BMus at the "Eduardo Martínez Torner" Conservatory in Oviedo with the highest marks: "End of Degree" Prize and "Ángel Muñiz Toca" Extraordinary Award. He also studied at the Royal Academy of Music in London, gaining the PgDip (Timpani and Percussion) and LRAM.
He is Principal Timpani/Percussion with the Gijón Symphony Orchestra, also mantaining a busy freelancing schedule. He has played with Orquesta Sinfónica del Principado de Asturias, Oviedo Filarmonía, Orquesta de los Festivales de Asturias, Orquesta Nacional de España, Orquesta de Cámara Catalana, Moscow Virtuosi, Concerto München Sinfonieorchester (Germany), DWR Rundfunk Orchester Köln (Germany), Arthur Rubinstein Philharmonic (Poland), and the Orquestra do Norte (Portugal). He is interested in historically documented performance, and has collaborated with the ensembles Forma Antiqva, Memoria de los Sentidos and Sphera Antiqva. David has participated in a vast number of recordings, and is a busy recording and session musician.
Federico Occhiodoro Federico Occhiodoro (5/11/'85 Ancona) is graduated cum laude in Percussion, with a thesis and a recital on solo percussion music written in a non-traditional way, that includes Stockhausen's "Zyklus", Feldman's "The King of Denmark" and various pieces by John Cage. He is specializing in the orchestral repertoire under Edoardo Albino Giachino at the Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia (Rome), and studies the solo repertoire for marimba under Daniella Ganeva (teacher at the Royal College of Music in London).He studies and plays ethnic percussion, Bodhràn, drumset, jazz vibraphone and marimba. He obtained good placements at the auditions for percussion at the Fondazione Teatro Regio di Parma and the Fondazione Arena di Verona.
He collaborated with: Orchestra Filarmonica del Teatro Regio di Parma, Ensemble '900 (youth orchestra of the Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia), Orchestra Filarmonica Marchigiana, Orchestra Rossini di Pesaro, Orchestra della Repubblica di San Marino, Orchestra Bruno Maderna di Forlì, Orchestra di Fiati di Ancona. He plays contemporary music for solo percussion (Stockhausen, Feldman, Cage, ecc.) and for ensemble (he played Bartok's "Sonata for two pianos and percussion" in 2012 at the Parco della Musica in Roma), plays as a soloist at festivals and exhibitions, and has a solo marimba recital programme. He plays early music (from Renaissaince and Baroque) with the Instrumental Ensemble of the Teatro della Memoria (Rome). He plays drums in variuous styles: jazz, swing, rock, pop, italian songwriting, he plays percussion in modern jazz, funk, and mediterranean jazz, and he plays the vibraphone in traditional jazz, mainstream, pre-bop and vocal-jazz. He also deals with sonorizations in theater, conferences, museums and cultural events.
© Copyright 2004-2020 Ed Cervenka


text:
Business Plan & Financial Statement Templates
Deep down, I believe most of us have an entrepreneurial streak. I do and the fact that you're taking the time to read this, signifies that you do too. You've probably had dozens if not a whole bunch of ideas for beginning your personal enterprise over the years but end up hitting the identical obstacles that I did. As there is no conflict, the Patriot Act is just valid throughout warfare, or an exisitng clear and current hazard within our US borders. The Property part incorporates data on accounting for receivables, investments, and stock. I used to be questioning if I failed one class and my financial help has posted are they going to take the whole quantity out for the failed class or solely the 250.00 because it is suppose to be here next week.
In case you're apprehensive about getting began with social media and blogging, relaxation guarantee that step one is the hardest. As soon as you place your self on the market, you will find that it is simple to gauge the efficiency of your posts and uncover feedback regarding whether or not or not your message is resonating. From here, you possibly can adjust your technique accordingly till you are feeling comfy together with your interactions.
Takeaway: Use your frequent sense – should you wouldn't say it to a consumer, you in all probability shouldn't publish it on-line. It is higher to be secure than sorry. In addition to, your potential shoppers might not need to read about your promotion anyway. Thank you spartanking! There are definitely many issues to make when deciding to lease solar panels. The United States has become the possessor of the Titles to countless entities. Property is defined by the curiosity that one has to an entity. The entity is the Principal. Property is the curiosity within the Entity. Any Profit which is derived from the entity of one other belongs to the owner of the Entity.
In lots of businesses, a cultured, skilled quote is the important thing to touchdown new business. However creating proposals will be tedious and time-consuming for you and your employees, and tracking the place a potential deal stands as soon as the quote goes out is usually a handbook process. Quosal Promote aims to streamline the method of making ready and managing gross sales paperwork, from inception to decision.
In Europe, until lately, firm financing tended to rely heavily on inner sources. This was as a result of many companies had been owned by families and likewise because a highly developed capital market was lacking. In the much less-developed countries right now, firms rely closely on inside financing, however additionally they are inclined to make more use of quick-term financial institution loans, microcredit, and different forms of quick-time period financing than is typical in different nations.


text: In October, 28 women from the Minneapolis Jewish community traveled to Israel as part of the Jewish Women's Renaissance Project Momentum Mission to Israel, cosponsored by the Minneapolis Jewish Federation and AISH Minnesota. The group visited two Federation partner sites in Jerusalem: Susan's House, The American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee's on-the-job training workshop for youth-at-risk; and Mevatzeret Zion, an Ethiopian absorption agency run by the Jewish Agency for Israel. The women returned to Minneapolis energized about the work Federation does. Below, mission participant Leslie Parker shared some of her beautiful photos from the group's visit to Mevatzeret Tzion, where they met Avital–who you may have seen in our latest issue of Minneapolis Jewish Life.


text:
20 Reasons Why You Need a Wicker Pod Chair
Hanging chairs are fun, functional and trending. Here's how to make them work in every room — indoors and out.
Photo By: Meghan Bob Photography
Photo By: John Woodcock Photography
Photo By: Caitlin Murray
Photo By: Sesha Smith, Convey Studios
Photo By: Sean Litchfield
Photo By: Alise O'Brien Photography
Photo By: J&J Design Group
Photo By: Tessa Neustadt
Photo By: Tessa Neutstadt
Photo By: Amy Bartlam
Photo By: Suzanne Childress
Photo By: Bethany Nauert
Photo By: 2 Doors Down Design
Photo By: Caitlin & Caitlin
Photo By: Roehner + Ryan
Photo By: Dean Birinyi Photography
Photo By: Julie Soefer
Photo By: Jen Judge
Added Personality
This hanging egg chair adds a unique and interesting element to this stylish living room.
Perfect for a Reading Nook
This wicker chair is a fun addition to this room and creates a comfy reading nook.
Space Saver
If you want a bedroom chair, but don't have the space, a hanging pod chair may be the perfect solution. These chairs take up less space than a standard armchair, while creating a unique, funky element.
More Boho, Please
With boho trending, this white hanging pod chair is the perfect addition to add a haute-hippie look.
Provides Relaxation
A hanging egg chair is the perfect spot to sit and relax while taking in the outdoor scenery.
Pod Chairs Bring the Fun
Hanging chairs and bunk beds make for easy late-night chats and added fun.
Perfect for a Music Nook
A hanging chair in the corner provides a delightful spot to play and practice on the guitar.
Make Your Space More Playful
This girl's bedroom is playful and lively with the ideal addition of a pod chair.
Pod Chairs Are Gender Neutral
This gender-neutral nursery's reading nook is a creative space that will be used for years to come.
Added Whimsy
The addition of a white wicker pod chair adds whimsy to this bright space.
Relaxing Reading Retreat
A hanging chair and ottoman by the window make a dreamy spot to curl up with a book.
A Chair That Grows With Your Kids
A pod chair is not only something that can be used in a nursery, but also in this chic teen room.
Funky Meets Fun
A rattan hanging egg chair adds attitude to this bedroom.
Statement Piece
This orange hanging chair is like a statement necklace for your bedroom.
Additional Seating
A space saving pod chair allows you to bring in extra seating to accommodate all of your guests.
Conversation Piece
Unique furniture, like this conversation piece wicker pod chair, will leave your guests wanting one in their own home.
Outdoor Seating
A pair of egg-shaped hanging wicker swings adds a playful element to this outdoor space.
Relaxing Hideaway
A swinging chair is the perfect place to sit and unwind.
Perfect for a Cat Nap
This nook, with a hanging wicker chair, is the perfect place for a long nap.
Enjoying the Outdoors
A hanging chair creates a fun place to sit and enjoy the great outdoors.


text:
There wasn't time, as things went, for Maury to get much of the therapy he needed from the men of the kitchen crew and the several officers, in addition to Grey and Moritz, from whom it would have been drawn. He would have benefitted, personally, from a longer period of association with those in the prison circumstance. For as he had himself noted, distinctions of rank and formalities between officers and enlisted men had been set aside, without being totally ignored. This enabled easy crossing both ways of the official line of distinction between them, so they could draw from one another the support everyone needed from time to time to maintain the sense of humor and other attributes which were vital to conscience-clear endurance of the prison circumstance. That was so, of course, only between those of both categories with the intelligence and common sense to do it. But they were easy enough to distinguish, and it was from such as they that Maury could quickly have learned, as he had also mentioned, "to joke and laugh again." Which was one of the things he felt was almost forgotten during his prolonged period of total isolation.
Why Maury had been kept in total isolation all that while is impossible to know for certain. We never discussed that in the brief time we were together in Korea, or the few times we saw each other afterward. It could have been for several reasons; or it could have been for no particular reason at all. It can only be seen for certain as another example of the fundamental inhumanity of a political system based on the Marxist concept of mankind. (And that basic characteristic of Marxism will eventual1y assert itself, no matter in what manner or under what label such, a political system is imposed.)
Within just a few days after Maury's arrival in the compound, the "Chinese Peoples' Volunteers" presented to each of us a tan-colored cloth bag with over-the-shoulder carrying strap, literally bulging from its contents. Toilet articles soap, razor, toothbrush, mirror, comb, and so on made up the lesser of its contents. The bulge resulted from two cartons of tailor made cigarets, packaged somewhere in the "Peoples' Republic:" of China, and several small packets of hard candy which could have been packaged most anywhere. And these were "presented!", not merely handed out, with a broad smile from Tsai or Chung who might sometimes even say the recipient's name.
A day or so later, several large boxes were brought to the compound, the contents thereof to be distributed to ourselves, by ourselves. They contained cloth bags, olive-drab in color, of the same number as had been issued of the light tan bags. They were also of about the same size, but they didn't bulge. Red "plus" symbols on the flaps indicated they had been sent by the International Red Cross organization. They contained toilet articles, item by item the same as were in the bags previously received. But no cigarets and no candy; hence, no bulge.
As soon as the large pole and bamboo building was completed, the process began of transferring all of us to it. And a "process" it was, not a matter of simply picking up our few belongings and carrying them to it. Every man would be stripsearched. A far more thorough search than most of us had been subjected to when captured.
The searches were conducted by several well qualified and very efficient two-man teams. Even so, the processing of the 180 or so of us took 6 or 7 days. For the "efficiency" of those searchers was in thoroughness, rather than speed.
And for what were they searching us now? It was learned immediately that one purpose was to remove any and all items of U.S. military issue which any of us still possessed. Complete new prisoner uniforms were being issued after the search, including underwear and canvas shoes. The diary books which had been issued months earlier, for us to write down our "thoughts and things to remember," were being read carefully again. This time any pages containing things uncomplimentary to themselves would be removed. And of course, the search for anything someone might be trying to "sneak out," such as a list of names of other prisoners, records of significant events, names of camp officials, interrogators, etc.
"Andy" informed Sgt Arnold that the kitchen crew was to be the very last ones to move out, after which we would do no more cooking for ourselves. I told Arnold to make sure I was included in the crew list he would give to "Andy", because I had something that needed to be done after all the others were gone. Arnold did not ask what that might be.
After observing the path of travel by those who were through the search and on their way to the new building, the large plastic water bag was hidden along that way while getting water from the well. The boots which John Peyton had given me were not government issue. So I had hoped they might be allowed for me to take. When it was realized that this would not be allowed, I thought of smuggling them out as well. But somewhere on down the line they would almost certainly be spotted and taken. That left the sad fact that they must be destroyed.
The biggest problem of all was that of the ovens. Thanks to the arrangement for the kitchen crew to be the last men out, I would have access to them after we last would use them. But I had not yet figured a satisfactory way of sabotage which would not be so obvious as to cause someone most likely myself much trouble.
When the baking was finished on the last day of cooking, I set to doing such damage to the ovens as had by then been thought of. At the same time those items of escape gear which were burnable had been tossed into the firechamber along with the boots. With a long rod I'd managed to chink some of the firehardened clay from between the rocks inside of the firechamber. The taut wires strung across inside the ovens to make the racks that supported the pans, had some of them been kinked and chafed in the hope they might soon afterward break. With a piece of wire I was poking the mud caulking from the holes in the sides of the oven through which the taut wires were strung. That should allow at least some smoke from the fire chambers to enter the ovens themselves. As I was doing so, came a whiff from the burning soles of the boots.
And from that came the answer to that long burning question of how to sabotage an oven for after you've gone when you haven't got a time bomb.
Peppers! Dried peppers! Memory flashed to the day Duke Williams had fired up the ovens to heat them for baking, unaware of the pan of dried peppers I'd put in one of them just to dry a little more in its warmth. When thick black smoke started coming out of the oven he pulled out the pan and brought it to show me and apologize for ruining my peppers. On his way, as he passed through the kitchen, the smoke was so pungent it drove everyone outside. Chopped fine and mixed with the sand in the oven bottoms !
To the kitchen, and a call to Arnold: "Hey, Bill...?"
From somewhere outside came a "Yeah?"
"Are there any dried peppers left around here?"
"I don't know. What You want 'em for?"
"To fix the ovens."
There was silence following that, until Arnold appeared in the doorway, looked at me and said, "Fix the ovens ? We're through with the ovens. And what ... ?"
"That's the reason I gotta fix 'em now, is 'cause we're through with 'em."
"Fix 'em 'cause we're through with 'em? What the hell you talkin' about?"
"Fix 'em so those damn' bastards can't use 'em. That's what I'm talking about.!"
"Oh cripes, Chief," he said, "you don't dare do something like that. I know how you feel. But you do something like that and you're in real trouble. And me, too, most likely. No telling what they'll do if you do something like that."
"They won't know it 'til were long gone. That's why the peppers."
"Peppers," he said, now puzzled for the moment. "How you gonna... ?" Suddenly he, too, recalled that pan of smoking peppers. "Oh hell yeah! We must still have some around here somewhere."
We found two strings of them. Chopped fine and mixed with the sand in the bottoms of the oven chambers, it didn't really show. When those ovens next were fired and the chopped peppers heated, the bake shop building should shortly fill with heavy black smoke, acrid enough that just a whiff of it would burn one's nasal passages. A lungful might possibly be fatal. It would in any case drive everyone out of the small building, or keep them out for a while. And if they threw in enough water thinking the place was on fire, it might put the fireboxes out of commission.
It was satisfying, in any event, just to think of such possibilities.
Immediately after the ceasefire, Lt. Moritz and a couple others had set themselves to the task of making several lists of known POW's. In addition to those actually present, names that anyone could remember. With needle-sharp pencils, they printed the names as finely as they could on narrow strips of paper about twelve inches long. The strips were then tightly rolled, into cylindrical shape an inch and a quarter long and less than a quarter inch of diameter. Several of those were required, for listing all the known names, and two complete lists were scribed. These "microscrolls" (as we had dubbed them) were being smuggled out, one roll per man of those selected to do it.
One of the tiny scrolls had been found by the searchers. This no doubt intensified their already thorough inspections. At the beginning of the search, mine was held under the toes of my left foot, having practiced several procedures of shuffling it from there when necessary.
One of the searchers carefully inspected each item of apparel as it was removed. The other, seated at a table, was checking the various items in the tote bags and bedroll. The diary books, we now knew, were of special concern. Pages had been cut out of some, others had been confiscated completely. When mine was opened, there was nothing written in it, except my name printed on the first page. The searcher of "odds and ends" then looked over at me and said, somewhat harshly as though it was an offense, "There is nothing written in here! Why not?"
From his manner of speaking, it appeared that he was quite fluent in the english language. He fully deserved response as aggressive as his question, and some agitation at this point might be useful. With appropriate tone and emphasis I said:
"Anything worth remembering about this place or you I can keep very well right here!" and pointed at my head.
He glared at me for but a brief moment, then resumed his inspection of other items. More important was the reaction of the clothing inspector. He glanced back and forth between myself and his pardner, before resuming inspection of the seams of my undershorts, which had just been removed. All that remained were my socks. As I started to remove them, the clothing inspector glanced down and quickly said, "No - no. Is okay - okay. Leave on, okay."
But I needed to remove the left one in order to shuffle the miniscroll to elsewhere. Fortunately at that moment the "odds and ends" inspector was examining my cap, and was starting to remove the little anchor which I had molded and affixed to it.
"Hey!" I almost shouted, "You don't take that! That's mine!"
He responded quietly, with no show of anger or resentment, explaining. "No, I must take this because it is an item of uniform your navy uniform. And we are instructed to remove all such items."
"But that is not a uniform item," I argued in milder tone commensurate with his. "I made that here. And it is the policy, is it not, that we may take with us things we have made while we are here? That carving " I pointed to the short stick on which I had carved a mermaid. "are you going to keep that, too?"
"No," he said, as he picked it up. "This you may take with you. We know you have made this since you have been with us." He put the carving with other things already passed, then held up the little anchor again and said, "But this, I don't think you have made here. How could you make such a thing while you are here? Where would you get materials to make something like this?"
"I made it," I explained almost patiently, "by melting a tube from the toothpaste. I cut a pattern in hard clay and poured in the melted metal of the toothpaste tube. And the wire look at it closely, it is a piece of copper wire I found, twisted to look like a rope. It is not a uniform item. I made it right here."
He did examine it closely. And the other fellow helped him do so. They even discussed it some, in Chinese. After which he looked at me with an almost friendly smile, shook his head, and said, "We don't think so."
My look was probably one of resignation and disappointment. At least that's how I tried to make it appear. I would smile later over the fact that while the two of them looked closely at the little anchor, I was able to transfer that little scroll to elsewhere.
Still, dammit! I did so make that little anchor while I was their "guest" in Camp 2 Annex. And I think that "odds and ends" inspector was sharp enough to realize it. He just may have kept it himself as a souvenir. Of course, if the Party were to find out he did such a thing, he might be in trouble.
Sgt. Arnold and I were the last to depart from the compound. He was waiting when I came out from the search. Probably the argument over the anchor had made mine take a bit longer than his. As we walked together toward the new building the plastic waterbag was retrieved by stopping where it had been hidden to retie a shoe.
The new building looked huge, compared to the "big barrack," or any other buildings in the area. Inside it looked, if anything, even bigger. With more than 150 men there, it was not at all crowded. They seemed scattered, really, in small groups, some seated, some standing and a few meandering around. A relaxed and happy gathering, now. The move to this place meant that in just a few more days they'd be on their way to freedom. Still confined, they were, but celebrating anyway because the hardships of it were over.
But not for everyone! There were quite a few still not present, and some of them also not accounted for. The two most worrisome on my mind were Major Harris and Captain Flynn. Nor was it only myself concerned about the matter. Several others were every bit as much so. And in this new circumstance it just might be possible to do something about it.
Lcdr Yerger, Capt Grey, and Lt Moritz had situated themselves in the approximate center of the huge room. Moritz arose at once, when he saw the sergeant and myself enter, and hurried over to greet us. After the simple amenities Moritz said to me, "Did you get yours through, Chief?"
"Yes sir Sam. I sure did."
"Good," he said. "That's all but the one of them, then. Which means for sure a complete list. Providing we can keep them the rest of the way. I think we need still to hold them close. I don't trust these bastards even now. They'll still keep watching us and might even pull another shakedown."
As I expressed agreement with that, Arnold was studying the both of us with a "what the hell are you guys talking about" look in his eye. He was not in on the "microscroll" project. He was busy enough handling the kitchen and there were others available for the smuggling out of the scrolls. "I'll tell you about it a little later, Bill," I assured him. "It's a 'top secret' operation."
Arnold took his leave after a bit more of casual conversation, perhaps sensing that Moritz wished to talk some with me alone. We began at once discussing the new situation. Yerger, Grey, and himself had chosen deliberately to place themselves in the center of the place. It was in effect, and deliberately so, the command center of the group. No matter that we would probably be here but a very few days at most, the establishment (or re-establishment) of our own military order was important for several reasons.
There was need for some in both categories to begin readjustment of relationships between the commissioned officers and enlisted men. This need not obviate, nor even diminish, the deep and lasting friendships which had developed between some of them. It was a matter of remembering and returning to the proprieties of military conduct in public situations, and keeping personal relationships strictly private. This seemed already to be happening to some extent automatically. Quite noticeable was the fact that the small groups gathered here and there were mostly segregated in that respect. Also, and this definitely of their own volition, the enlisted men in situating their bedrolls had assembled themselves generally starting at one end of the spacious hall, and the officers at the other.
The fact that the enemy, when they announced the ceasefire, had emphasized that they expected our senior officers to assume responsibility for order and discipline in the group, imposed upon themselves the obligation to respect those senior officers as spokesmen for the group. The armistice itself imposed a similar obligation upon them. Hostilities having officially ceased in the other fields of battle, they should also have ended in this one. They had not ceased, of course, so far as the enemy was concerned. The strip searches were themselves an hostile act. The fact that some prisoners were still being held in isolation, and we suspected unaware of the ceasefire and still under pressures of some sort, was even more hostile. Though it would have to be done very carefully and very limited as to physical action, the new situation since our transfer from the compound opened the opportunity for ourselves to be a bit hostile, in turn. At very least, it put our senior officers in position now to make demands of the enemy (rather than merely "requests").
And that was what Moritz wanted particularly to discuss with me. He and the other two had set themselves apart in the center of our spacious new quarters primarily because it was the best if not the only place they could be sufficiently apart to discuss a matter about which we should if we could be some hostile. They had been trying to figure some way to demand that Majoy Harris be brought to join us out of the solitary situation in which we knew he was still being kept. Obviously, such a demand would have to be made to the camp commander. The problem was, how to get to him to make it. Since almost the very beginning of the transfer to this building, none of the camp officials had been to the place. The sentries posted outside the door either did not understand english, or were under orders to pretend that they didn't. So also the soldiers of the guard company who brought the rice, soup and tea at mealtimes.
Moritz wanted to know if I had any thoughts as to how to get that demand to the camp commander. At the moment, none, I told him. But certainly I would give it some, and if anything reasonable came to mind bring it over to them. Meanwhile, the best thing the senior noncommissioned officer might do to assist those senior officers in their several important tasks was to quietly make his presence felt with the other enlisted men.
As it turned out, none of us had to come up with an answer to the problem of getting the camp commander's attention. it came in consequence of the somewhat revelrous spirit of many among the prisoner group, in their new circumstance, combined with the fact that the guard company troops were basically good soldiers who dutifully followed their orders.
After the evening meal, the general high spiritedness continued and perhaps intensified. Few, if any, were inclined to retire or go to sleep at the appointed hour. So when the sentry opened the door and called in, "Suejo" (sleep), there was a spontaneous chorus of happy responses such as "Bug off!" "Not tonight, buddy," and "Go to hell!" The sentry said nothing more, and gently closed the door.
Following that, the noise of celebration became perhaps a bit louder. After ten minutes or so the door again opened, and the call of "Suejo," repeated. The responses this time were a bit stronger of word and tone: "Hey! We told ya, forget it tonight!" "Can't you see we're busy?" "Didn't anyone tell ya the war's over?" Louder, they were, but not at all nasty. No one was wanting to cause a confrontation. They were simply enjoying the feel of the nearness of complete freedom. Again the sentry quietly closed the door.
When next the door opened, ten or fifteen minutes later, it was not the sentry, but the officer of the guard who appeared. He stepped inside a short way, just far enough for two soldiers who accompanied him to come into view as well. The place quieted as all became aware of this different situation. A bit more loudly, perhaps, than was necessary, the officer of the guard then called: "Where is the senior officer?"
Capt Grey spoke briefly with Lcdr Yerger, who listened and then gave his approval to whatever the marine captain had said. Grey arose, then, and moved to confront the enemy officer.
Now definitely louder than was necessary, the officer of the guard demanded: "Are you the senior officer here?"
"No," Capt Grey replied in normal tone, "I am second senior. The senior officer has sent me to request..."
"I will speak only with the senior officer!" the other proclaimed in interruption. "I am officer of the guard!"
"My senior officer will not speak with you," Capt Grey responded. "He wishes to speak with the camp commander."
The enemy officer appeared caught off balance by Capt Grey's maneuver. Probably it disrupted his own intended plan of verbal attack. He was staring solemnly at Grey as he pondered his own next move. Sgt Arnold and I moved some closer to the entrance in case the two soldiers might be ordered to seize our captain. To improve the odds, we beckoned Gilliland, Price and Rambo along with us. Finally the officer of the guard said:
"About what?"
"About a matter which we are certain you are not authorized to decide," Grey replied. "A very important matter which we are sure only your commander could decide."
Now the fellow was really quite flustered. Grey's statement was somewhat belittling of him, but also most probably true. It was a minute or so before he could figure a way around it.
"My commander is not available now," he then said. "He has authorized me to make decisions in his absence. So your senior officer can discuss the matter with me."
A good maneuver, to be sure; which might have worked against some uninitiate. But not against Capt Grey. He responded at once:
"If you say that your commander has authorized you to make decision for him on this matter, then my commander has authorized me to discuss it for him, with you. Do you wish me to state it to you?"
If he might have preferred it otherwise, the officer of the guard now found himself in position where he had no reasonable choice but to say, "Yes."
"We want Major Harris to be brought to join us here tonight, from the solitary confinement where he has been kept for months, and where we know he still is." Grey stated it quietly. Enough so that it probably could not be heard very far beyond the 20 feet or less distance where Arnold, myself, and our "troops" had positioned ourselves. No theatrics. This wasn't cinema. This was real life. Just a simple, quiet statement let the enemy know what it was that we wanted. The atmosphere in the place told him the intensity of our desire.
To his credit, the officer of the guard realized the futility, for himself, of further argument. He not only was not authorized to make a decision on that matter, he most likely was glad of it. Keeping a man in solitary and under pressure after the ceasefire was, to any member or servant of the communist apparatus, a justifiable thing so long as nobody else knew or complained about it. But trying to publicly justify it was quite a different matter, especially to a bunch of the man's friends who had also reasons of their own for an unfriendly attitude.
"You will understand," the officer of the guard said to Grey, "as you have yourself mentioned, a matter such as this is not one which my commander would authorize me to decide. The commander will be here in the morning. I will see to it that it is brought to his attention, and I'm sure...."
Recognizing that the fellow was now attempting a stalling tactic, Grey interrupted. "That will not do," he said. "By morning you could have moved him to somewhere away from here. He should be brought here tonight at once. There is no justification for him to be kept from here. And it is violation of the armistice that he is still kept from joining us."
The guard officer looked about for a moment then. There was nothing physically threatening in the behavior of the prisoners. And there were more men, with weapons, in his guard company than there were of prisoners, without such. But the situation had now reached a point where he could actually do nothing either way on his own. The matter would have to be brought to the camp commander's attention (which it probably already was).
"It is possible," he said, "that the camp commander has returned by now. I will go to see if that is so, and if it is get an answer for you from him."
"And if you do not find him, will you come back and tell us so?" Grey did not for a moment trust the fellow in any regard.
"Yes. Yes, of course," he said after a moment. "And meanwhile you must order the men to stay quiet. It is now far past the time ......"
"The men were noisy," Grey cut in, "because they thought the war was over and they were happy. Now they will realize that the war is not over for everyone. It is not over for Major Harris until he is here with us. If the men wish to be noisy about that, we will not order them to be quiet. When Major Harris has joined us, it will not be necessary to order them to be quiet."
The officer of the guard then left on his mission to "find" the camp commander. Capt Grey spoke briefly to the assembly to make clear to all what was happening. If, perchance, support for the action was not entirely unanimous, any dissenters had enough wisdom at least not to openly express their disagreement.
The camp commander arrived perhaps 20 minutes later, accompanied by Tsai and with two soldiers behind them. From what Arnold and I were able to see while the door was open, there were no additional troops, other than the two sentries, outside. The commander and Tsai proceeded to the center of room where Yerger, Grey and Moritz had risen to their feet to await them. The soldiers had stopped about halfway to that point, and stood at ease with their rifles "butts-on-the-ground" alongside them.
From our position close to the doorway, Arnold and I could not hear the conversation. But from almost its very beginning we could see the camp commander shaking his head negatively. That was by itself sufficient reason to move our troops into position. The five of us strung out behind the two soldiers, midway between them and the doorway. One of them noticed our movement, and called it to the other's attention. They turned their faces forward again then. They showed no particular sign of nervousness. But they were probably aware of the uselessness of rifles at close quarters, especially when that badly outnumbered.
We would learn later that the conversation began with the camp commander telling them that Major Harris would be brought to join us in the morning. Yerger and Grey refused to accept that. That would give the enemy time for a strip search, or to move Harris to elsewhere. It was quite probable that the camp commander was not really authorized to make a decision on this matter, either. The retention and continued pressuring of Major Harris here in this camp, and similar treatment of others elsewhere, would have been on orders of higher authority; the very top of the POW camps administration in Pyoktong. It was quite possible the commander had not yet been able to contact Pyoktong regarding the situation here. By morning he would be able to have done so. He would shortly realize he was no longer in position to do so.
The camp commander did not see our movement into position to block the exit because he was facing away from us. Grey and Moritz saw it. Tsai saw it also and said something to his commander (in their language, of course) causing the latter to look around at the scene behind him.
The resultant action was a delight to observe, no matter that we could not hear the conversation. The camp commander spoke briefly to our three officers, who seemed to nod approvingly of what they were hearing. The commander then said something to Tsai, who at once started towards ourselves and the doorway behind us. Capt Grey signalled to us, then, by just nodding his head, to let the little fellow pass us by.
Tsai was a truly affable fellow. Almost always in greeting, or even just in passing, he would flash to us at least a quick smile. And it was almost impossible not to smile a bit in return. But this time, when he glanced at Arnold and myself as we moved apart to let him through, the smile was not there. We both decided to greet him smilingly anyway. Somehow we knew, without hearing anyone say so, that the "friendly little clothing merchant" was scurrying out to bring Major Harris to us.
During the wait for our major's arrival, the other three of our senior officers graciously invited the camp commander to have tea with them (there being a bucket of it close at hand, somewhat cooled since the evening meal). They all seated themselves and appeared to converse amiably. Moritz would later report that was exactly the nature of it; amiable conversation about ordinary things, including some sharing of feelings about the ceasefire.
It was a pleasurable thing to observe. As we remained in our position behind the soldiers, but with the tension of the situation now gone, Arnold remarked of Capt Grey, "Now that's the kind of officer we could use a lot more of." From start to finish he had handled the whole thing so well. Once he had maneuvered the officer of the guard into a corner, so to speak, he had helped the fellow find a face-saving way back out. And now having outmaneuvered the camp commander he had done the same for him. Having gained what we wanted, there was nothing more to gain by gloating about it. Don't mention or even allude to what had actually caused him to do it, but just act as though the camp commander had sent Tsai to bring the major simply because he decided it was the proper thing to do.
"That," said the sergeant," is what I would call 'finese'."
"Are you sure," I commented, in the manner that he and I often bantered, "that it ain't more like what the French call 'sav-wah-fair'?"
It was at the same time an amusing scene. And remembered the more so when our story-tel1ing, RAF pilot, Olaf Bergh commented afterward: "Wot an ungodly hour that was to serve tea! But I suppose when you've no brandy ......"
In a very short while, ten minutes or so, Major Harris arrived. As soon as they were inside the building, Tsai scurried off to rejoin his commander, leaving Harris standing alone blinking his eyes against the comparative brightness of the place. For a short while he could not see at all clearly. When I took hold of his arm, he clutched mine and said, "Oh, Chief it's you! Where are we? What the hell's going on?"
He hadn't been told the war was ended, not even now. When Tsai came to get him he had only said for him to gather all his belongings and come along. So here was another, somewhat similar to Maury Yerger; kept in total isolation for months, pressured for false and basically senseless confessions or concessions, then suddenly and without explanation transplanted into an entirely new circumstance. In this case it was probably even more traumatic than what Maury had experienced.
"It's over, Bucky," I told him. "We'll be on our way home in just a few days."
Arnold had reached him by then, and taken hold of his other arm. "And Bill, you two Oh, god it's good to...." He was so shaken he was having difficulty even speaking.
A host of well-wishers was approaching to greet him. Whether it was because he saw them coming, or just because of how he felt at the moment, is uncertain. "You two just take me somewhere off in a corner or something and tell me let me catch up ......"
Arnold sensed the man's need for some time to adjust. He intercepted the others to keep them away and explain to them the reason. I led the major to the place along the wall which I had chosen for myself. There was enough space in the building to leave us far enough apart from others for the manner of privacy that was needed.
To learn from me what was happening was only part of his need. And probably the lesser part of it. First of all he needed release of some of the long pent-up emotions within him. We sat down on our bedrolls and it shortly began to flow.
As expected, the enemy had sought all the while they held him in solitary to get a written confession from him for his "crimes" against their "hungachi" policy. But far more than that. He was questioned about details of such organization as he had managed actually to effect. And they knew enough about it to give him great cause for worry, not so much about himself as for others of us. They didn't ask him if he had tried to organize an "escape committee," they told him they "knew" he had done so. They didn't ask him for names of men on his "escape committee." They named two and asked him to confirm it.
In that case, he had been able to deny their accusation without lying. For those named were in fact not any of the three who were really involved in that. It was, instead, two of the three young officers who liked to talk about their expertise in such matters, and who had asked me in June to quickly make some knives and hatchets for them.
He had been asked, of course, to tell them who amongst those in the compound, might be planning to try escape. He had acknowledged, sensibly, that many talked about it, perhaps even discussed plans. But he would insist he didn't know if anyone was really serious about it. When they mentioned the "little lieutenant's" Easter escapade, he turned that as an example of why he didn't think anyone was really serious about it. After walking out of the compound, that trio had not gone far before they decided to just sit down and wait to be brought back, since they had no equipment, or food and were uncertain even of where to go.
He was questioned repeatedly about myself, since I had made escape the previous summer did he think I might be planning to try again? He had sought not to overplay it, but from "what little he'd heard me say about it" he had the impression that I felt on basis of that experience there was very little chance of making it all the way out. They had told him they had "heard" that "Thorin and Flynn" were planning to escape together; what did he know of this? He could only persistently and repeatedly deny knowing anything of it.
Such were the things about which the enemy had pressured Maj Harris during the past several months of complete isolation. He had been subjected to the usual gamut of threats, entreatments and protracted interrogations without sleep. Having successfully resisted and endured all that, and now suddenly rescued from it, telling me, of it should have further relieved the tensions and pent-up emotions. But instead he was worsening in those respects. He was bitter. But not at the enemy. They had done nothing other than what we had come to expect from them. His bitterness was over the fact that someone had given them so much of accurate information. Finally he blurted it out:
"And I now know for sure who was the goddam traitor in our midst! It wasn't Watash. It's Kubicek!"
It was a surprise to hear that, yet somehow not entirely so. It was by no means an impossibility, but there were a number of substantial reasons for doubt that it was actually true. Yet there was at the same time no doubt that Major Harris must have some very substantial reasons for believing what he had said. It was important, because of the major's distraught condition, to be very careful in any questioning about it. I sought to avoid even a hint of disbelieving, and give the impression of only reasonably wanting to know, as I asked:
"How do You know this for sure, Bucky?"
"Because I saw the sunuvabitch when he did it. And saw him get his payoff ......"
He continued, then, describing what had happened. 0n the next day after he'd been pulled out of the compound, he was allowed to sit outside in the sun. While there he saw Tsai bring Kubicek to a building not far away. They entered the building and remained inside for quite some time. He thought maybe as much as an hour. When they did come back out, there was a third man with them whom Harris did not recognize. The three of them stood talking for a while, in a manner which seemed to Harris to be one of enjoyment, including smiles and possibly some laughter; though the distance was too great to hear anything. Then the third man reentered the building, returning with a small package which he handed to Kubicek. There was a bit more exchange of what appeared to be amiable conversation, after which Tsai sent Kubicek back to the compound by himself, unescorted. Harris thought Kubicek may have looked in his direction a time or two, and knew that he was there; though of that he was not entirely certain.
Memory flashed, then, to the story Kubicek had told me of his "unusual" experience on that day. Tsai had taken him from the compound to "meet a man from Pyoktong who wants to talk with you." As they approached the meeting place, Kubicek had spotted Harris sitting outside a building not far away. (He had begun his report to me of the incident by saying he knew where they were keeping Bucky.) The man who Tsai had said "wanted to talk" with Kubicek had with him a thick sheaf of papers; copies he said, of the great volume of doubletalk: which Kubicek had written while at the North Korean interrogation center (Pak's Palace). There'd been a few questions then, about some of the things in those papers, but no real interrogation. Mostly just talking tea and rice cakes were served and later a glass of rice wine. Even after they went back outside, the fellow talking and laughing about the way Kubicek had put one over on the Koreans. Then he had gone back in and brought some of the rice cakes and some candy for Kubicek to carry with him as he was sent back to the compound unescorted.
Could Kubicek have made up such a story to cover up a meeting with the enemy to give them information. Not likely, and in any case he would have had no need to do so. He could have not mentioned the meeting at all. Also, what Harris had just described fit precisely what Kubicek had told me, except as seen from a distance and not observed in its entirety. From that alone, it seemed quite certain it was a setup to mislead the major into thinking as he now did. What Bucky continued to describe as I remembered Kubicek's story made it even more so.
Major Harris was not accused of anything or interrogated about anything on the day he was removed from the compound. He had been told only that someone from Pyoktong wished to talk with him. He had spent the first night and next morning with no further mention of why he was there. An hour or so after he had witnessed the scene of Kubicek talking with the enemy, the man who wanted to talk with him arrived. It was the same man whom he had just observed talking so amiably with Kubicek and presenting to him a gift.
A setup? There was no doubt in my mind that's what it was. A setup to make Major Harris think the information with which they confronted him had been given to them by Kubicek. In fact, such specific information as Harris mentioned the enemy knew, could have been gained by them either from Watash, or from their snooper sentries listening to the careless talkers (of which Kubicek did happen to be one).
So on the one hand I was certain of Kubicek's innocence. At the same time, Bucky's certainty of Kubicek's guilt was well justified, on a basis of what he had seen and what happened immediately afterward. For the several months he'd been under extreme pressure from the enemy, the major had had to endure the perhaps more horrendous burden of believing he had been betrayed; and by a man in whom he had trusted enough to have him as a member of his actual escape committee.
To say anything even slightly suggestive that Kubicek might be innocent, could have sent the major into apoplexy. Probably some of the major's pent-up wrath at Kubicek would have been turned upon myself if I made such suggestion.
As Bucky was relating the last part of his account, I had searched for some way to deal with the situation. There were two problems, really. There was need to get Bucky's mind off that, if possible, so he could calm down, think of some pleasant things, and eventually get some sleep. And there was need to keep him away from Kubicek and, for that matter Kubicek away from him. Unaware that he was even suspected, let alone already in Bucky's mind convicted of treason, Kubicek was one of those rushing happily to greet the major when Sgt Arnold kept them back and sent them away. From somewhere came an idea which would to some extent serve both purposes.
"Well Bucky," I said, "that being the case, it looks like you and I have simi1ar sad duties to perform as soon we get across the line."
There was an encouraging look of surprise and curiosity as he said, "What what do you mean?"
"Well, we're both going to have to make some very serious charges against someone once we get out of here against people who've been through some rough times here along with us. That's not going to be a pleasant thing to do. But it has to be done."
"Who is it you've got to..." he started to ask.
"The guy that caused me to get captured," I answered before he could finish the question. "Caused both of us to get captured. . . . "
"Oh yeah," he said, "the guy that came in with you Naylor-Foote ......"
That led into discussion of the escape attempt, of which the enemy had made certain he was aware. So the change of subject had been achieved and Bucky was beginning to relax. When he mentioned that I'd not told him any details of how the guy caused our capture, it was an unexpected opportunity.
"I haven't told anybody very much about that," I said, "because I don't want the bastard to know in advance what I'm going to say.... and incidentally, Bucky, that's something you might want to consider. Kubicek doesn't know you're onto this. It might be a good idea not to tip him off by saying anything here."
It was a great idea to put into the major's mind, but from the look on his face he was about to resume talk on that subject. So I hurried to say further:
"But what the heck that can come later. We can't really do anything about it 'til we're out of here, anyway. So let me tell you what happened here tonight how we managed to get you here with us...."
From there on we had it made, for getting the major relaxed, and his mind off of Kubicek for a while. He enjoyed tremendously the account of the action which brought about his release to us. The story of the strip searches seemed to make him drowsy and somewhere in our last days in the compound he went to sleep.
So he could sleep now. But I couldn't. Not for a long time. From the sounds, it seemed that all others around were sleeping. Some probably drifted off still thinking of the small battle we had just won. Among the better of thoughts in my wakeful mind if only we had men in Washington with the intelligence and guts of Capt Grey, we might even win the war.
Then, of course, there were those who soundly slept because they thought the war was completely over. And if that's what they thought, then for them it surely was.
But not for everyone!
The Ride to Panmunjom
But Not For Everyone
Table of Contents ©2002, 2003 by Lynn Waterman; used by permission of the author, Duane Thorin.


text:
Status: Closed
Know more about this business than we do? Cool! Please submit any corrections or missing details you may have.Help us make it right
Be the first OregonLive.com user to add photos or videos of Back In Motion Wheelchair Services
We offer several mobility options that include: Wheelchairs, Scooters, Powerchairs, Walkers Lift Chairs, Medical Equipment & Supplies, Sales, Service & Rental in the Portland Metro area.
Back In Motion Wheelchair Services serves Portland, OR and is located in the 97290 ZIP code. Back In Motion Wheelchair Services falls under the following categories: medical equipment & supplies.


text:
Light is a radiated form of energy. Other forms of radiant energy include electro-magnetic, nuclear, and heat. Light consists of photon particles and radiated waves. Radiated energy flows from a point source toward the surface of a sphere surrounding it. The amount of energy falling on the sphere follows the inverse square law of energy: E=1/r2. There are three important metrics of radiated energy; force, distance, and time. In some cases, direction should also be considered but it can be ignored in this discussion.
Force is a measurement of the intensity of energy per unit of area, volume, angle, or similar unit. For example, a joule is the unit of energy required to exert a force of one Newton over one meter. Flux is the rate of energy or fluid distribution over a surface area. An example of flux is the foot-pound. The quantity of energy (flow) is measured over time. For example, a watt-second is one joule (or one amp at one volt) per second. A kilowatt-hour is 1000 watts for an hour.
There are five important measurements of the energy of light; intensity, flux, illumination, reflection, and quantity. The intensity of the source is typically measured in candelas. Light flux (transmitted through space) is measured in lumens. Light illumination at a surface is measured in LUX or foot-candles. The luminance of light reflected from a surface is measured in candelas per square meter or foot-lamberts.
The quantity of light can be measured in lumens or lux per second. This can be translated into an exposure value. The photographer or camera then matches the measured exposure value to a combination of film sensitivity, aperture size, and shutter speed.
The intensity of light is measured at its source. The basic unit is the candela. It is equivalent to the light emission from an open flame (candlepower) or more scientifically, the light emission from one square centimeter of glowing platinum at 1042° Kelvin. For lighting measurements, the light source is a point at the center of a sphere that contains the illuminated surface. Since 1979 there has been a new official definition, the luminous intensity, in a given direction, of a source that emits monochromatic radiation of frequency 540x1012 hertz and that has a radiant intensity in that direction of 1/683 watt per steradian. This is more clearly a definition of power and can be more easily and accurately measured. Note that this works out to a yellow/green light (555.6 nm) at the peak of our eyes sensetivity. For most of us, the open flame from a candle is close enough for the concept.
A steradian is an angular measurement of a cone where the area covered is equal to the radius of the sphere squared. Thus one square foot at one-foot radius and one square meter at one-meter radius are both one steradian. A constant source will emit the same energy at either distance to the corresponding surface area. You can think of the energy as the number of photons striking the surface of the sphere. Whether you measure it in feet or meters, the same number of photons will cover each area, just at different densities. The amount of energy does not diminish over distance, but it does spread out.
Luminous flux is measured in lumens. A lumen is the flux unit of the light output from a light source that falls on one steradian of surface area. One candela from a light source will produce one lumen of light at one steradian. A lumen is the same in the English or metric systems. Since the total surface area of the sphere is 4πr2, one candela produces a total of 12.57 lumens across the entire sphere. The radiant energy efficiency of light does vary with the wavelength. Again, at 555 nanometers (yellow-green light), it is defined as 1 lumen/683 watts of radiant flux. For photographic applications, the flux (lumens) is frequently adjusted for the spectral response of visible light.
Illumination (or illuminance) from a source of light is measured in foot-candles or lux. The standard metric unit for illuminance is the lux, lumens per square meter. The standard English unit for illuminance is the FC, lumens per square foot. One FC is 10.764 lux. Either is a measure of lumens per unit of surface area. Illuminance is an area density measurement that decreases with distance from the source following the inverse square law of light (energy). This is also called incident light when measuring the light falling on a subject. Similarly, the term ambient light is used when the light is from multiple continuous sources including reflected and diffuse light.
Luminance from a diffuse reflecting surface is measured in Lamberts. A Lambertian surface provides perfectly uniform diffusion of the incident radiation such that its luminance is the same in all directions from which it can be measured. Note that this is not a spectral reflecting (mirror) surface. The Lambert is a measurement of reflected light from a diffused surface. Luminance = illuminance x reflectance / π. A perfectly diffuse white surface with one lux of illumination will reflect 1/π nits of light. The metric unit of luminance is the apostilb. The English equivalent is the foot-lambert. The term π sneaks into the formula because it is based on calculations of the cosine of angles of incidence and diffused reflection to a spherical surface again.
To determine the luminance of a tone we need to multiply the illumination by the surface reflectance. For example, the standard photographic gray card is 18% reflectance. This brings up an important point, a 50% (middle) gray tone has 18% surface reflectance. The 50% tonal value is the middle tone between the darkest and lightest reproducible tones (contrast range). But the reflectance follows logarithmic progressions.
A typical gray scale mapped into the standard photographic zone system.
In the zone system each tone represents one f/stop or EV difference. Black and white on the scale are not technically pure, but represent the paper white and ink black. So, the contrast or density range of the media would have to be a factor in any attempted calculations. A reflected light meter or inboard camera meter is calibrated to exposure values assuming that the target or scene is mid tone at 18% reflectance. So, 18% gray reflectance has become the standard photographic exposure target.
Luminance (reflectance) measurements are independent of distance. Unlike light from a point source, diffuse reflected light arrives at all angles. Therefore, it does not spread over distance and the inverse square law does not apply. That is why the gray card does not have to be positioned exactly at the subject plane as long as it gets the same illumination. It does need to fill the viewfinder or angle of view of your light meter so that it is the only light being measured. Of course if you consider the reflected light a source or the distance is great enough that the light becomes a point source, it is now providing illuminance and distance is a factor.
|1cm2 glowing platinum @1042°K
source producing 1/683 watt/steradian at 540x1012 Hz
|1 candela @ 1 steradian
|1 lumen/meter2
1 lumen/foot2
1 lumen/centimeter2
|1/π * candela/meter2
1/π * candela/foot2
1 lux on @ 100% reflection = 1/π nits off
|Lumen seconds
Lumen hours
Photographic exposure value
Exposure values (EV) are a measure of the quantity of light over time, not the intensity. EV was defined by the photographic industry as a unit that could be used to calculate aperture settings and shutter speeds based on film sensitivity. The standard starts with EV0 for a one-second exposure and an aperture at f/1 using ISO 100 film. It is also the basis for the sunny f/16 rule.
The quantity of light can also be measured in lumens, lux, or apostlib per second. Therefore, there is a direct relationship between LUX per second or apostlib per second and EV.
|EV to illumination (lux)
|LUX to exposure values
|EV = Log2(LUX / 2.5)
|EV to luminance (apostilb)
|Apostlib = (1/π) x (2EV * 2.5)
|Luminance (apostilb) to EV
|EV = Log2((π x apostlib) / 2.5)
Exposure meters measure the number of photons striking an electronically sensitive surface. This is essentially the same as measuring illumination or luminance. A count of photons (quantum units) in a given area for a given time is measured in Einsteins, also called moles. Since this also varies across the light spectrum it is adjusted to visible light in PARs. A PAR is a Photosynthetically Active Radiation unit. Of course, you also have to know the sensitivity and other characteristics of the photo diode or photomultiplier tube. Otherwise, how could a light meter work?
The following chart shows exposure values and the corresponding illuminance and luminance.
|Night, away from city lights.
|Full moon lit night, away from city lights.
|Subjects lit by dim ambient artificial light.
|Subjects lit by dim ambient artificial light.
|Distant view of lighted skyline.
|Total eclipse of moon.
|Lightning or fireworks at night.
|Subjects under bright street lamps. Candle lit close-ups.
|Average nighttime building interiors.
|Brightly lit home interiors at night. Fairs, amusement parks.
|Bottom of forest canopy. Indoor sports. Stage shows.
|Brightly lit city streets (Las Vegas or Times Square).
|Landscapes and skylines 15 minutes after sunset.
|Landscapes and skylines immediately after sunset.
|Subjects in open shade. Sunsets.
|Subjects in heavy overcast skys.
|Subjects in cloudy-bright light (no shadows).
|Subjects in weak, hazy sun. Photo of a full moon.
|Subjects in bright or hazy sun (Sunny f/16 rule).
|Subjects in bright daylight on sand or snow.
|Rarely encountered in nature.
Note that the constants used are approximations and valid for the visible spectrum only. They do seem to correlate to other published technical information. They are only useful as a rough gauge for understanding the nature of light. They did help me validate my research into the photographic nature of light and understanding how light meters work.
If you would like to read more about aperture and shutter settings:
Note that these physical measurements codify the physical intensity and quantity of light. They do not tell us about the human perception of light. This is a separate field of study undertaken by the CIE (Commission International de L'Eclairage).
There are three basic classes of vision based on excitation of rods and cones in the eye. These are called photopic, mesopic, scoptic. Photopic is based on the cones and includes color vision. This is the normal daylight vision. The rods in the eye are effectively turned off. Scoptic is based on the rods and is devoid of color. The cones in the eye are effectively insensitive. This is the normal nighttime vision. Mesopic is the in-between area. This would represent our vision at dawn and dusk.
The point of this is that vision is based on our perception of relative stimulus. An automobile headlight viewed directly at night is strong enough to almost blind one. The same headlight light viewed at mid day is barely perceptible. The intensity of the light source has not changed.
The objective in photography is to match the scene illumination to our visual perception. The CIE helps us achieve this mathematically with color models and color spaces.
I hope you also gained some new insight from this article. If you have any comments, or suggestions, I would welcome your input. Please send me an Email.
Rags Gardner
Rags Int., Inc.
204 Trailwood Drive
Euless, TX 76039
(817) 267-2554
Send Email
May 28, 2004
This page last updated on: Wednesday October 03 2007
You are visitor number 7,097 since 05/28/04


text:
On 15 – 17 March 2018, the Post-Truth Conference was held at the University of Cambridge. The conference aimed at consolidating and advancing understandings of the post-truth phenomenon through collaborative activities and interdisciplinary conversation. The conference looked at the topic from a wide variety of disciplines, such as journalism, feminism, theatre, human rights and technology.
On 17 June, Sam Dubberley participated as speaker in the panel session on 'Evidence in the Post-Truth Era: Human Rights Perspective', which looked at experiences from human rights practitioners in gathering, verifying and advocating with evidence of human rights violations in the post-truth era. The panel was organised by the Centre for Governance and Human Rights of the University of Cambridge.
For more information about the event, see here.


text:
The end of the second round of quantitative easing in the US has been likened to a department store's biggest customer leaving the store by Tony Crescenzi, a strategist at Pimco.
"Picture a department store where a few customers are inside standing by the store shelves waiting for new inventory," he wrote in a note. "A truck is outside – it's the Treasury truck, and it is back again at the store to unload a fresh supply of treasurys to refill the store's emptied shelves."
The Federal Reserve halted its increased buying of Treasury debt, also known as quantitative easing, at the end of June.
The $600 billion easing programme was designed to give the US economy a soft landing from the credit crisis.
"The store's biggest customer, the Fed, quickly grabs about 70 percent of the supply. The remaining buyers compete for the scraps that are left," wrote Crescenzi.
"Doing the math, it is easy to see why the remaining buyers have been willing to pay up to own Treasuries – the Fed has left them with slim pickings worse than the scramble by people piling into a Wal-Mart on Black Friday at 3 am to fill up their carts before others do. It's human nature to want what others have."
Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke signalled in June that there were no current plans to expand quantitative easing.
Crescenzi compared the conclusion of the plan to: "The store's biggest customer with the fattest wallet leav(ing) the store."
There won't be any immediate effects of the ending of the programme, according to Crescenzi, because the Fed has "cleaned out the shelves".
"The remaining buyers therefore dash to the shelves and scurry to buy whatever the Treasury truck delivers," he continued.
"As the days pass, the Treasury truck keeps on backing into the store to deliver a fresh supply of Treasuries as it must because with a $1.4 trillion budget deficit, the there are a lot of treasurys to unload and find buyers for.
"Soon enough, the shelves fill up and the stock effect becomes a negative for prices, all else equal of course, and so long as Daddy Warbucks stays out of the store," he wrote.
"It is likely that over time the attractiveness of these assets will wane," he concluded, adding that the US dollar's status as a reserve currency would also be hampered by the end of the programme.


text:
A caregiver's advice for dealing with cancer
Caregiver Roles & Challenges
Being a caregiver to a cancer patient comes with a lot of responsibilities. To help, we've put together information on many of the biggest challenges caregivers take on, including how to manage medications, communicate with your loved one's medical team, deal with legal and financial issues and handle medical issues you may encounter.
Managing medications
Cancer treatment usually involves taking a lot of medicine. On top of drugs that attack the cancer, patients may take medications for pain, nausea, low blood counts and other treatment- or cancer-related symptoms. Some patients may take up to 20 pills a day. Keeping track of these medications can be a challenge. With some organization, you can make sure loved one is taking the right medication at the right time. Learn more about managing medications.
Taking care of a cancer patient
Cancer patients spend less time in the hospital and more at home than ever before. This means caregivers do jobs that used to be handled only by trained health care professionals. To help, MD Anderson offers information on managing common cancer symptoms and performing basic medical tasks at home.
- Nausea
- Diarrhea
- Constipation: Prevention & self-help for severe constipation
- Fatigue
- Pain Management
- Nutrition, including loss of appetite
Communicating with the health care team
Many cancer patients need help talking with their care providers. Sometimes it's because of age, sometimes because of illness. In these cases, the caregiver steps in to help listen, ask questions and let the team know how the patient is doing. Here are some simple steps care providers can take to make these conversations as effective as possible:
Try to keep good notes of your appointments from the beginning. Most patients and caregivers are overwhelmed by what they're going through. Keeping a record of what you've been told can help you cut down on miscommunication and remember what you need to do.
Ask questions. It's the health care team's job to help patients and loved ones understand the condition, its treatment and its side effects.
Don't expect yourself to remember every question you have for the doctor. Write them down in a notebook and bring them to your appointments.
Use that same notebook to take notes during the appointment. It will be easier to go back to these notes than to call the hospital about something you forgot.
MD Anderson patients have access to the MyChart system. This online tool allows patients and caregivers to send secure messages directly to their care team. These messages are for non-emergency situations only.
Legal and financial issues
Handling the paperwork that comes with a cancer diagnosis is one of the biggest jobs a caregiver takes on. Our Caregiver Legal Issues page can help you find information on medical leave, insurance and financial assitance, and medical power of attorney.
I am a numbers person. So, when my wife, Emily, was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin's lymphoma in August 2013, I turned to the internet for some statistics. I quickly discovered that online research is a double-edged sword.
On the one hand, I could educate myself about my wife's disease. I learned about things like CD19, a biomarker that can factor into the development of lymphoma. But I also saw one word used over and over again in reference to outcomes for people with the same diagnosis as hers: "dismal."
That was devastating. At the time, Emily was only 32. We had three young children.
Fortunately, we learned about a CAR T-cell therapy clinical trial at MD Anderson that ultimately saved her life.
Why we turned to MD Anderson
Emily and I actually felt very good about the care she was receiving for her non-Hodgkin's lymphoma near our home in Kansas City. But when Plan A failed — and we realized that the path forward (an allogeneic stem cell transplant from an unrelated donor) could change our lives forever — we decided to seek a second opinion.
That's when we turned to MD Anderson. It's a giant hospital, but the sheer expertise of its physicians makes you want to go there. And all its doctors do is cancer, so they are the best in their fields.
Accessible doctors make the difference
On our first day at MD Anderson, we met with lymphoma specialist Dr. Frederick Hagemeister and stem cell transplant specialist Dr. Yago Nieto. We were also able to meet with Dr. Sattva Neelapu — the researcher whose CAR T-cell therapy clinical trial Emily would ultimately join — just 30 minutes after Dr. Hagemeister called him. And when I emailed Dr. Hagemeister on the plane ride home, I got a response before our flight even landed.
Having that kind of access to your doctors really helps calm your nerves, because you know the next steps and how to prepare for them. Dr. Neelapu always broke stuff down in such a way that even my non-physician mind could understand it.
How 'my care team' made life easier
As Emily's primary caregiver, one of the things that helped me most was the group of MD Anderson employees I jokingly referred to as my care team. Everyone from the physicians and nurses to the social work counselors, insurance and billing staff and case managers made things so easy. They helped us find a place to stay during our first visit, locate an apartment to rent while Emily received treatment and arrange things we'd never even think to ask about, such as transportation.
It's really hard to keep everything together when you're 750 miles from home, but adrenaline is a pretty amazing thing. I was juggling offers to help, making Emily's treatment decisions, trying to keep the kids' lives normal and managing that pesky thing called work. It was overwhelming and totally exhausting. But I never wanted to look back with regret five or 10 years down the road and say, "I wish we'd done this."
'An entirely new sense of hope'
Thankfully, after three years of nothing working, MD Anderson gave us a new sense of hope. The CAR T-cell treatment Emily received there had never been available before in human history. So, I'm convinced that God put us in the right place at the right time.
Emily was only the second patient at MD Anderson and the third one in the world to receive CAR T cells to treat non-Hodgkin's lymphoma on that clinical trial. And today, almost five years after her diagnosis, my wife is still alive — and cancer-free.
Request an appointment at MD Anderson online or by calling 1-877-632-6789.
Advance Care Planning
request an appointment online.
Help #EndCancer
Donate Blood
Due to our response to COVID-19, all blood donations at MD Anderson
Blood Donor Center locations are being held by appointment only.