"And do as adversaries do in law, Strive mightily but eat and drink as friends." (Taming of the Shrew)

Just what is the matter with you readers out there? Are you lazy, or what? For my last few blogs, I have dealt with some controversial issues for which I have made some outrageous and self-aggrandizing statements and, accordingly, Islam most likely will shortly visit a "fatwah" on me. Have I gotten even one comment about those vicious anti-Aristotelian disgracefully and grossly offensive atrocious, heinous, scandalous and shocking opinions?
No, not one! And this day marks the 1st Anniversary of my Blogmenting. Since August 8, 2007 Baron has written 243 blogs out of which two books have already been published. However, I believe I have lost my readership...or (and this would be terrible)...everyone agrees with me. Even my "bete noir" MH? Ah, he's probably too busy making money day trading on his computer to keep annoying me with his inane, asinine, fatuitous, jejune, puerile, shallow, vacuous comments.

I believe I mentioned that I received an invitation to the 50th Reunion of North Shore High School's first graduating class in 1958. Just think--I was 24. If only I knew something--anything-- back then. I am very disappointed that I will be unable to attend that function in the Swan Club at Glen Head, NY. However, I did write a letter which I hope will be read to the class members who will attend--most of them over 6o by now! I am pasting that letter right here so it will not be lost to posterity. It will be found in Vol.III of "Pater Noster in Condoland".

Dear North Shore HS Class of 1958:

I am so terribly sorry that I am unable to be with you to celebrate this beautiful event. Just think…50 years! That’s definitely an accomplishment, and I suspect that most of you are in your 6os and have worked hard at your chosen professions and have raised beautiful families. And do I ever remember you guys! After all, I spent four years with you, and you have definitely left an indelible mark on my psyche. Naturally, time has run its course on me as well, and though I cannot recall all your names, I do remember Betsy Krumrine, Allyson Rose, John Sege (those two and Mrs. Comfort combined to write the school’s alma mater). Then there was Carole Schutzman, Henry Goldman who was given a free train ride to Glen Head from Washington D.C. one year, Al Weyhretter, Peggy Gremelsbacker, shy Dennis Jamieson, Georgie Coyle, Peggy Roberts…red of hair, and Alex Terentiev, just to name a few…

I have led a good life since your graduation. I stayed at North Shore until 1982 when I retired and moved to Florida. Prior to that, I had taken a sabbatical leave, bought an Around-the-World airline ticket from SAS and traveled around the world for a year. When I returned, I married Rhoda after a divorce from my first wife. Rhoda and I just celebrated our 25th Anniversary. I raised four children who also graduated from North Shore. Robin, my eldest daughter retired from the US Marine Corps as a Lt. Colonel. Her husband, Richard Higgins, was a Marine Corps Colonel who was captured by the Hezbollah in Lebanon in 1988 and was murdered by them. There is now a guided missile destroyer with his name on it, the USS Higgins. We are proud of that. My other three children also are now leading distinguished careers and you can read all about them and my whole life in my book, “MEMOIRS of a TAIL GUNNER”. Just go to Google, type in “Norman Ross, ‘Memoirs.’”

I guess you never knew I flew 60 combat missions in WWII and was awarded 2 Distinguished Flying Crosses and 11 Air Medals. But I’m happy to apprise you of that right now that I am 84 years old. I can’t get around very well, anymore. Difficult walking, but I do have a scooter. If I could scoot to the Swan Club from Florida I would. I can think of no greater pleasure that I could have than to reacquaint myself with the wonderful class of 1958.

With fondest love,
Dr. Norman Ross

Tonite we are going to a Temple in Palm Beach Gardens to hear my cousin, Michelle, sing. She is an operatic singer, and she is probably acting as Cantor for the Friday night services. Actually, Michelle is my second cousin, and she is extremely talented. A year ago she became a mother, and that takes talent.

"What's in a name? A rose by any other would smell as sweet." (Romeo & Juliet)

Yesterday's blog was concerned with the proven fact (Baron proved it with examples, just like science) that nothing works. This is the newest plague in World History since the square wheel. Maybe because all things are made in China by pre-teens and political prisoners. Another example occurred this morning when Rhoda opened the dishwasher and found the soap all caked up preventing the little box from opening when the washer ran and so the dishes were not washed. Earlier, grief stricken, Rho came to me with a complaint that the "send" button on her g-mail did not work after she copied and pasted a story to send to friends. Fortunately, Baron--with wisdom seldom observed and beyond his years--corrected the problems. Unfortunately, my publisher Lulu is having a problem printing my new book with its downloading "Wizard" according to the email I got this morning:

Hello, this is Chris with Lulu Support and thank you for using Lulu for your publishing needs. The wizard processing issue you are experiencing is the result of a bug on our system. We have identified the issue and are working on resolving your problem.

So, you can see that that nothing works worldwide. But I have every confidence that Barack can fix things, including the federal budget, the economy, gas prices, health care, medicare, social security, joblessness, and get the dollar up where it belongs--above the Euro. And besides the fact that nothing works here, how about your place? Another issue that comes to mind about the changing world involves children't names. I don't know where Mary, John, Robert, Peggy, Rose, etc. went, but they are being replaced by names like Chiara, Zairea, Neema, Akani, Chika, Abeeku, Jamila, and etc. The first time I heard such a strange and weird name so far from the traditional, I believe came from a waitress at IHOP. These names are not merely African-American or Islamic or Latino, but are now sought by young, white, American couples. Back in the 60's people were naming their kids, Sunshine, Moon, and Peace. But that's antediluvian. It's a different world.

People say that names are getting more and more weird; they're just weird to those who expect tradition--like Tevye. They're not weird, we're told; they're original. Parents are no longer going to the Bible or Literature for names. Some are just picking them out of thin air. But one of the problems is that the kids are going through an entire life explaining how to pronounce and spell their names. "You say your name is Abeeku. How do you spell that with, an "e" or an "i? A "c" and two "o's"...Oh, stop crying!"

"I am amazed methinks; and lose my way among the thorns and dangers of this world." (King John)

Nothing works! We've come to the point in world history where I believe nothing works. Yesterday, I tried to get a new version of "Memoirs of a Tail Gunner" (with the design my grandson Adam made) published. It uploaded to Lulu, the publisher, OK, but when Lulu tried to get a "Print Ready" edition for me, the error came up: "Sorry, there is a problem. Please go to Chat." So, I went to chat and spent an hour or so with a guy named "Arcan" who couldn't figure out what the problem was. So it was sent to a techie and Arcan sent me an "issue" number 7 feet long. I'm assuming they'll fix the problem in a year or so...or when it snows here in Florida. It doesn't matter. I can type with gloves on. I got high grades in high school in my typing class.

But that is not the end of it all. If I say, "Nothing works," I don't only refer to one unworking event. Today I went to Acrobat to make a PDF of the Word book file and after I clicked "Submit" I waited 15 minutes for the process to be completed. Finally, I looked around for a link to the PDF and was unsuccessful. So, I went to the site called "U-Send It". They upload the file for you in a jiffy and then send an "activation" link to your email address.

And yes! There it was! The activation link. I clicked on it, and it took me back to their web site where I had to type my name and password to get to the file. I did that and did I get to the file? No. I clicked on the button "Sent files" and nothing came up. I went to Chat again and after another full hour of trying this and that "Shreyans" told me that he/she was sending the problem to the "engineer." So, I got another "issue" number. Nothing works.

A couple of weeks ago, we borrowed a DVD disc of the "In House" show held last March in our clubhouse because we hadn't seen it. When Rho and I settled down to watch it, an error message came on the TV saying we did not have the correct disc. But that's not the only sad part. Prior to that misbegotten attempt at relaxation, I had bought a new remote because the old one broke down. I tried everything the English directions indicated to do in order to get the right code, but it didn't work. I even tried it in Chinese. That didn't work either; it wasn't the right dialect. We decided to watch the ballgame.

So much for that.

"There is nothing either good or bad, but thinking makes it so." (Hamlet)

I went on to Plaxo this afternoon to send an e-card for a friend's birthday, and was amazed to see that Plaxo had every one of my blogs, the first of which was August 8, 2007. That date will soon come up and so far I've written 246 blogs to educate and entertain--not only those who read them, but also myself. For some subjects I have to do a little research. For those who don't know what Plaxo is, I can't explain it. I don't even know how I got it. I suppose if you go to Google and type in "Plaxo" you can get it. They have some cool e-cards for all occasions.

Rho went to play cards this afternoon, and I went to an "Arcade" in the Kings Point shopping plaza. They have slot machines that pay off in coupons for various stores like Walmart, Home Depot, etc. The machines are nothing Vegas-like, but after awhile you can figure out what wins and what loses...mostly loses. These "Arcades" are springing up like 7th year locusts all over strip malls here in Florida. What they primarily do is suck up the social security checks of seniors who have nothing else to do but gamble on these slots. One of the perks of spending time in these Arcades (certainly not Casinos) is that they have free food and beverages for players who want to "nosh." If you don't want to play, there is an area with comfortable chairs in front of a large TV. Just go in, sit on a chair or the couch and watch TV. You cannot lose with that option.

Got an invitation today to the the 50th Reunion of the class of '58 at North Shore HS. That was the first graduating class in that new school. I first taught those kids when they were in the ninth grade at Sea Cliff HS...and then I had them each of the next three years. I suppose they are all in their 60s by now and I surely would not recognize most of them if I attend the affair. Unfortunately, I will not be able to go on September 12th because we are going to New Jersey just a few days later. If I were to go, those 60 year olds would climb all over me. Well, those are the breaks.

"When the blast of war blows in our ears Then imitate the action of the tiger..."(Henry V)

On August 6th, 1945 President Truman authorized the use of the atomic bomb, "Little Boy" to be dropped on Hiroshima where some 70,000 Japanese soldiers were known to be in training. Col. Paul Tibbets in his B-29 named the Enola Gay, carried out the mission of his President. Three days later, the "Fat Boy" nuclear bomb was dropped on Nagasaki which was not the primary target, and was only selected as a last resort. In Hiroshima, about 140,000 people died and in Nagasaki about half that number. There is no denying that these two bombings were horrifying events never before experienced in the history of humanity, and hopefully will never occur anywhere again. Truman, who ordered the bombings must have carried a terrible burden with him, but why did he make the choice that he did as Commander in Chief? Many have criticized him for the decisions he made, but my guess is that these critics did not have to fight the Japanese on their own island and that these critics had no one in their families who were going to be in the invasion boats.

For one thing, I had had enough of combat, killings, and death in the European Theater, and while waiting in Whidbey Island, Seattle, for orders to fly to Asia, I was in the throes of PTSD, and I knew with absolute finality that if I continued as a combat air crewman, I would not survive the war. After 60 combat missions, several of which were beyond harrowing, I was simply a robot in my duties. Many forget the millions killed by Japan in the war against China and of the rapine of Nanking, and of the brutality visited upon American POWs. Suicide killings are not the invention of Islam. Japanese "Kamikazes" terrorized the entire American fleet by flying their planes directly onto our ships or into our own aircraft. Although I have never, ever spoken or written about it in my book-- until now-- I was loathe to kill any more young men like I did German airmen and submarine sailors. I was a "killing" machine and for that I wear my DFCs rightfully to honor the buddies that did not come back with me. Sixty-three years later, I still carry the mental scars of that European war and the scorpions in my dreams. Loved ones must try very hard to understand that some things are not forgettable and some wounds never heal.

Consequently, I must go along with President Truman's decision to use nuclear weapons. The alternatives were unacceptable. If Adolf Hitler had beat us to it, imagine what would happen to England and the U.S. So, when you read about what should be done about Iran's nuclear plans, the answer has to be clear, especially if the leader of that country is another madman.

While writing this blog, the phone rang three times...usually after the second ring Rhoda picks up, but this time she didn't, so I picked it up and it was my grandson Sean calling from California. He seemed very upset that a prestigious magazine published a full page spread of his picture in the act of surfing a large wave and he was not identified as the guy in the photo. I told him the thing to do was to call or email the Editor-in-Chief or the publisher and tell them he would like to be identified with some kind of apology in their next issue. He asked if he wrote that email and sent it to me, would I copy read it and make suggestions about how it can be improved to get the results he would like. Stay tuned.