Friday, September 28, 2007
Really Funny Video - Good Clean Fun
http://www.metacafe.com/watch/841676/extreme_funny/
Posted by Michael at Friday, September 28, 2007 0 comments
Thursday, September 27, 2007
Officer John H. Allen APD 09/20/2007
Posted by Michael at Thursday, September 27, 2007 0 comments
Friday, September 21, 2007
Wild Pigs
Friends and Family, PLEASE let me know what you think of this.
Michael
Excellent read!
THIS IS TRULY THOUGHT PROVOKING.....TAKE THE TIME TO READ IT....
There was a Chemistry professor in a large college that had some
Exchange students in the class. One day while the class was in the
lab the Prof noticed one young man (exchange student) who kept rubbing his back And stretching as if his back hurt.
The professor asked the young man what was the matter. The student
told him he had a bullet lodged in his back. He had been shot while
fighting communists in his native country who were trying to overthrow
his country's government and install a new communist government.
In the midst of his story he looked at the professor and asked a
strange question.
He asked, ' Do you know how to catch wild pigs?'
The professor thought it was a joke and asked for the punch line. The
young man said this was no joke. You catch wild pigs by finding a
suitable place in the woods and putting corn on the ground. The pigs
find it and begin to come everyday to eat the free corn. When
they are used to coming every day, you put a fence down one side of the place
where they are used to coming. When they get used to the fence, they
begin to eat the corn again and you put up another
side of the fence. They get used to that and start to eat again. You
continue until you have all four sides of the fence up with a gate in
The last side. The pigs, who are used to the free corn, start to come
through the gate to eat, you slam the gate on them and catch the whole
herd.
Suddenly the wild pigs have lost their freedom. They run around and
around inside the fence, but they are caught. Soon they go back to
eating the free corn. They are so used to it that they have forgotten
how To forage in the woods for themselves, so they accept their
captivity.
The young man then told the professor that is exactly what he sees
happening to America. The government keeps pushing us toward
Communism/Socialism and keeps spreading the free corn out in the
form of programs such as supplemental income, tax credit for unearned income,
tobacco subsidies, dairy subsidies, payments not to plant crops (CRP),
welfare, medicine, drugs, etc. while we continually lose our freedoms-
just a little at a time.
One should always remember - "There is no such thing as a free Lunch! "
Another thing - "You can never hire someone to provide a service for you cheaper than you can do it yourself."
Also, if you see that all of this wonderful government 'help' is a
problem confronting the future of democracy in America, you might
want to share this with your friends and loved ones.
If you think the free ride is essential to your way of life then you will
ignore this, but God help you when the gate slams shut!
Posted by Michael at Friday, September 21, 2007 0 comments
Monday, September 17, 2007
A Great Take Away
I had the honor and privilege to attend the Memorial Service this past Saturday
for a fine young man. He was the son of David and Melanie Patton. He was a soldier, a warrior
and one of our finest.
The Patriot Guards were there in great number. It was a wonderful service and awe inspiring.
The Major General Jerome Johnson shared some fine words and gave a message that everyone should hear and come tro understand.
I wish I had a transcript of his words. He added so much to the service.
Spc Christopher Gabriel Patton, was a great American and his love for his Family, Friends and
his Country was evident, everywhere.
The Procession seemed to go on for miles. Hundreds of people expressing their love and
paying respect.
His cousin, Eli Foster, gave the Tribute and a Message that will stick with me forever.
He mentioned four characteristics of our fallen hero.
Courage
Passion
Originality
Loving Kindness
This was the take away for me, aside being among those that understand that Freedom is not Free, and that there ARE those that are willing to serve and sacrifice their lives in defense of what they believe in.
Praise GOD for men and women that act on their calling. Thank GOD for their families that raise such warriors.
I believe lives were changed on Saturday.
Posted by Michael at Monday, September 17, 2007 0 comments Links to this post
09/2007
The Ant and the Grasshopper
OLD VERSION:
The ant works hard in the withering heat all summerlong, building his house and laying up supplies for the winter.The grasshopper thinks the ant is a fool and laughs and dances andplays the summer away. Come winter, the ant is warm and well fed.The grasshopper has no food or shelter, so he dies out in the cold.
MORAL OF THE STORY: Be responsible for yourself!****************************************************************************
MODERN VERSION:
The ant works hard in the withering heat all summer long, building his house and laying up supplies for the winter.The grasshopper thinks the ant is a fool and laughs and dances and plays the summer away.
Come winter, the shivering grasshopper calls a press conference and demands to know why the ant should be allowed to be warm and well fed while others are cold and starving.
CBS, NBC, PBS, CNN, and ABC show up to provide pictures of the shivering grasshopper next to a video of the ant in his comfortable home with a table filled with food.America is stunned by the sharp contrast. How can this be, that in a country of such wealth, this poor grasshopper is allowed to suffer so?Kermit the Frog appears on Oprah with the grasshopper, and everybody cries when they sing, "It's Not Easy Being Green." Jesse Jackson stages a demonstration in front of the ant's house where the news stations film the group singing, "We shall overcome." Jesse then has the group kneel down to pray to God for thegrasshopper's sake.
Nancy Pelosi & John Kerry exclaim in an interview with Larry King that the ant has gotten rich off the back of the grasshopper, and both call for an immediate tax hike on the ant to make him pay his fairshare.Finally, the EEOC drafts the Economic Equity and Anti-Grasshopper Act retroactive to the beginning of the summer. The ant is fined for failing to hire a proportionate number of green bugs and, having nothing left to pay his retroactive taxes, his home is confiscated by the government.Hillary gets her old law firm to represent the grasshopper in adefamation suit against the ant, and the case is tried before a panelof federal judges that Bill Clinton appointed from a list ofsingle-parent welfare recipients.The ant loses the case.The story ends as we see the grasshopper finishing up the last bits ofthe ant's food while the government house he is in, which just happensto be the ant's old house, crumbles around him because he doesn'tmaintain it.The ant has disappeared in the snow.
The grasshopper is found dead in a drug related incident and the house, now abandoned, is taken over by a gang of spiders who terrorize the once peaceful neighborhood.
MORAL OF THE STORY: Be careful how you vote!
Posted by Michael at Monday, September 17, 2007 0 comments Links to this post
Sunday, September 16, 2007
Patton, CG 9/15/07
Posted by Michael at Sunday, September 16, 2007 0 comments Links to this post
Friday, September 14, 2007
A Fallen Soldier - Christopher G Patton US ARMY
http://www.ajc.com/metro/content/metro/gwinnett/stories/2007/09/12/hope_0912.html
By HOPE CAMPBELLPublished on: 09/12/07
I knew a kid once — his name was Chris Patton.
Chris could be intimidating in appearance. He was tall — a towering 6-foot-4, a little more with his boots on, had long blond hair that fell just below his collar, and a thick beard. But then we spoke, and I sensed his gentle nature and I heard the caring tone to his voice.
Hope Campbell, a Gwinnett County teacher, said Chris Patton 'had an easygoing way about him that seemed to make just about everyone comfortable. Yes, he was a great big teddy bear.'
Chris Patton, 21, died on Sept. 1 in Iraq while serving with his cavalry unit. Patton, a Lawrenceville native, enlisted in 2005.
Chris Patton had 'a passion for doing what was right and just,' writes Hope Campbell.
He had an easygoing way about him that seemed to make just about everyone comfortable. Yes, he was a great big teddy bear.
I met Chris in the fall of 2004 when he was a teacher's aide for one of my colleagues. I sort of adopted him as my aide, and he began sitting in my AP psychology class because he was so interested in the subject. We worked it out so that he could join the class and become a student instead of my aide. He became one of my favorite students ever, and to think that it all happened sort of haphazardly.
He became so involved in AP psychology that he volunteered to participate at our annual Brain Expo Day at the Atlanta zoo. He prepared a lesson on how drug use affects the brain and presented it to middle schoolers who attended the zoo on a special Friday to learn more about the brain.
Chris was a good teacher — he could connect with the kids, and they listened to him. It was a great day. His mom, Melanie, volunteered to chaperone, and I enjoyed getting to know her.
Not just the academic sort, Chris was active in our drama department, performing in several plays during his senior year. Perhaps the most memorable role was as the mute king in "Once Upon a Mattress." Knowing his verbal lines were limited to the end of the play, Chris poured his energies into creating a character that exuded physical comedy in every turn.
As the year progressed, I noticed Chris always dressed up for school spirit days and that he was genuinely liked by everyone. He was a friend to all types of kids because Chris looked inside people, seeing who they really were, and didn't pay attention to the way they dressed, what color their skin was, or what their religion was.
One day Chris told me he was planning to enter the military after high school. He was a smart student with good grades and a supportive family — he could choose any path he wanted, including drama. He told me that if other people were making the sacrifice, he would too — that he was called to do this. I tried to understand, but I desperately wanted him to stay home and be safe at a nearby university. Chris was not content to go that route.
When he enlisted, he scored high on the all the tests. He had his pick of assignments, but he chose infantry, telling me that he was no different than any other soldier and didn't need any special privileges. Once again, I tried to understand, but I just wanted him to be safe.
After he graduated, he visited the school often when he was home on leave, but the last time I saw him was different. During that visit, he told us he was being sent to Iraq. My stomach sank, but Chris had a way of making you feel that everything would be OK. We talked for a while and I told him, "Please be safe" as we parted. This big kid had become a man, a strong soldier who was admired by all those who had watched him grow up. And in all the best ways, he was a student who had become a friend. It was the last time I ever saw him.
He deployed to Iraq Oct. 29, 2006. I thought about Chris frequently and prayed for his safe return. His younger brother, Nick, was now a senior at CGHS, and when I saw him in the hallway, I was reminded of Chris, and I wondered how he was faring on the other side of the world.
On Sept. 4, I arrived early to work and checked my e-mail. When I began to read, I saw one with the subject "Chris Patton," and I knew immediately what had happened. I didn't even have to read it. Chris died in Baghdad Sept. 1. I felt so much sadness it was really hard to teach that day.
After my classes were over for the day, I sat with the 2005 yearbook and remembered. I looked at his picture with German Club, his senior photo and the photos of his drama performances.
Chris wrote in my yearbook, "It's been great fun this year. I'll see you later, hopefully."
Oh, how I wish we were going to see him stroll through the doors of CGHS again with his easy smile, relaxed manner and gentle nature.
I read the dedication his parents wrote to him in the yearbook: "You are a blessing and a joy to us. Your intelligent, creative, humorous and insightful perspective on life continues to amaze us. Outside the box doesn't begin to describe the way you think. You are a tenderhearted yet passionate warrior, fighting fiercely for what you believe in. We know whatever you do, you will fight for what is right, and you will treat people with compassion. Your strength of character honors us. ..."
These words perfectly described Chris and his passion for doing what was right and just. And now that Chris is among those we will always count as fallen soldiers, I realize that we were the ones who were truly honored by his strength of character.
I knew a kid once — his name was Chris Patton. That kid became a man, a soldier. And he will never be forgotten.
Hope Campbell is a teacher at Central Gwinnett High School.
'http://www.ajc.com/metro/content/metro/gwinnett/stories/2007/09/12/hope_0912.html
Posted by Michael at Friday, September 14, 2007 0 comments Links to this post
KALALAU VALLEY - LOOKOUT
KOKEE NATIONAL PARK
KAUAI, NA PALI COAST, HAWAII
Posted by Michael at Friday, September 14, 2007 0 comments Links to this post
Wednesday, September 12, 2007
Pavorotti - Tourna Sorriento
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X_Hr_1zhjkM
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X_Hr_1zhjkM
Posted by Michael at Wednesday, September 12, 2007 0 comments Links to this post
Friday, September 07, 2007
Paul Potts
This is wonderful.
Joyful & Beautiful
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1k08yxu57NA
enjoy this gift,
michael
Posted by Michael at Friday, September 07, 2007 0 comments Links to this post
NESSUN DORMA - Luciano Pavarotti -
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ONUCPKdGcrk
Luciano Pavorotti 1935 - 2007
Rest in Peace
Posted by Michael at Friday, September 07, 2007 0 comments Links to this post
LUCIANO PAVAROTTI - SINATRA
My Way
I think of two people when I hear and see this -
Victor, my Brother and my Dad - Bill who lives his life, his way
Both of these men were and are full of Passion and Heart-filled conviction of
their beliefs and their intimate relationship with their Maker.
I have more to share with you about Vic.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ENhoAMlXdPk
Yesterday, Pavarotti died of Pancreatic Cancer. He was one of Vic's favorites.
He would sing opera along with Pavarotti. He actually had a great voice and
appreciated beautiful music.
One true thing about Pavarotti, you don't havce to be a big Opera fan to appreciate the greatness and the magnificance of such exellence, effort and committment.
I offer a case in point, Nessun Dorma first sung by Paul Potts . ( a car phone salesman)
Stay tuned for Mr. Potts in a future posting here. You will be amazed.
To me, to experience it, is a thing of absolute beauty. I cry deeply inside thinking of it now.
So humble, so meek yet so POWERFUL.
I want to think that Vic is standing next to Luciano Pavarotti now belting out some opera ditty.
Posted by Michael at Friday, September 07, 2007 0 comments Links to this post
Labels: Pavarotti Sinatra "MY WAY"
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Michael
Alpharetta, Georgia, United States
Lairdcliffe,Trout Fishing (Tallulah River-Chattahoochee River), North Georgia Mountains, Camp Rainey Mtn, Scouting, Stephen's Ministry, NGTD70, Kalalau Lookout(NaPali Coast Kauai), Snorkelling in the Pacific. Slow Dancing to a nice saxophone! Music of Barbara, Rosie, Ronnie and Martha. Bette with the Bangs. Glenbrook. Movies. Tracking Down Good Old Friends.
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