Our Parachutes

Charles Plumb was a US Navy jet pilot in Vietnam . After 75 combat missions, his plane was destroyed by a surface-to-air missile. Plumb ejected and parachuted into enemy hands. He was captured and spent 6 years in a communist Vietnamese prison. He survived the ordeal and now lectures on lessons learned from that experience!

One day, when Plumb and his wife were sitting in a restaurant, a man at another table came up and said, "You're Plumb! You flew jet fighters in Vietnam from the aircraft carrier Kitty Hawk . You were shot down!"

"How in the world did you know that?" asked Plumb.

"I packed your parachute," the man replied. Plumb gasped in surprise and gratitude. The man pumped his hand and said, "I guess it worked!" Plumb assured him, "It sure did. If your chute hadn't worked, I wouldn't be here today."

Plumb couldn't sleep that night, thinking about that man. Plumb says, "I kept wondering what he had looked like in a Navy uniform: a white hat; a bib in the back; and bell-bottom trousers. I wonder how many times I might have seen him and not even said 'Good morning, how are you?' o r anything because, you see, I was a fighter pilot and he was just a sailor." Plumb thought of the many hours the sailor had spent at a long wooden table in the bowels of the ship, carefully weaving the shrouds and folding the silks of each chute, holding in his hands each time the fate of someone he didn't know.

Now, Plumb asks his audience, "Who's packing your parachute?" Everyone has someone who provides what they need to make it through the day. He also points out that he needed many kinds of parachutes when his plane was shot down over enemy territory -- he needed his physical parachute, his mental parachute, his emotional parachute , and his spiritual parachute. He called on all these supports before reaching safety.

Sometimes in the daily challenges that life gives us, we miss what is really important. We may fail to say hello, please, or thank you, congratulate someone on something wonderful that has happened to them, give a compliment, or just do something nice for no reason. As you go through this week, this month, this year, recognize people who pack your parachutes.

In Memoriam...

of Princess Tash who was just short of her 15th birthday. She was beautiful from the first moment we saw her to her last. She loved Tai, digging (in younger days), snow, Cheweez, (or lick-ees), running (only greyhounds were faster at the dog park), horses (just seemed like big dogs to her), and family (or sometimes was shy). Her inquisitive nature caused some mishaps when young such as the time she bit a bee and the bee stung back.
She was loved and she will be missed.

How does someone like Seidlin get to be a judge?

"Blubbering as he announced his decision, a judge said Thursday that the guardian of Anna Nicole Smith’s baby daughter can decide where the model should be buried..... The judge choked up frequently and wept as he explained his decision. I want her to be buried with her son in the Bahamas. I want them to be together. "
Evidently the judge asked irrelevant questions, brought in details of her sexual liasions, and had long monologues. Seems like judge interjected lots of own views into the proceedings.
Have you ever had any experiences even remotely like this?

Ok, how do things look now?

Well, didn't like the selection of Norv Turner as Chargers' head coach initially but on reflection doesn't seem so bad since it does keep continuity. If they had selected a defensive head coach (e.g., Rex Ryan, my choice) they would be going into the season with a very inexperienced offensive coordinator, Clarence Shelmon. With Norv at least they have the same offense (he instituted it in 2001), and good defensive coordinator. The addition of Rivera to defense is the one thing that really helps make this coaching change palatable, IMO.
I am concerned that Norv is not known as a strong head coach, he's a nice guy, but has problems with discipline. OTOH, as Michael Irvin said, "God himself couldn't have done much with the Raiders." With Rivers' obvious enthusiasm , and Merriman et al. on defense, maybe they don't need a motivational head coach like Marty, and were the various legal problems of team members last year, and the bone headed play in the playoff game, the result of a lack of discipline on Marty's part??
Just don't know what to think... I am cautiously optimistic because with this talent I think would have to be very bad not to do well.

Ok--Bradyfan83 is going to be disappointed

According to newspaper accounts, Tom Brady is the father of Bridget Moynahan's baby even though they are no longer dating. Wonder if Bradyfan83 is going to change his song...

Great recipe

I like the new link to epicurious.com. I got hungry watching the recipes scroll. I think that I am going to try the thai-curried game hens. I'm cooking your crockpot turkey recipe right now. It's something that I can do that is good and doesn't require standing and cooking. We've had so much take-out the last couple of weeks that I thought this would be just the ticket. (hope that you are feeling better)

Don't you hate it when....

you have a favorite author, look forward to his/her next book, and you start it and it is tedious and you have to finish in hopes it will get better? I love Elizabeth George and her Inspector Lynley series. I can't remember any of hers that I haven't enjoyed. However, if this new one, "What came before he shot her," were the first of hers that I'd read, it would be the last. One of her key characters was shot and killed in the last book and this one details what led to her death. None of her regular characters is in it (at least 3/4 through it) and it describes a poor family and just about all the social ills you could imagine. It is depressing, sad, and getting through the Jamaican (?) or lower class black accents is tedious. Very disappointing....

A Dog's Life

As I sit at home recovering from a broken rib, I see the merits of a dog's life. I knew that Katie's main job was to rest all day in the most comfortable position possible, usually up on the pillows on my bed. Now I know how nice it can be to just rest.

Makes me wonder what else we can learn from our puppies.

Passengers Attack Hijacker

MADRID (Reuters) - Passengers on a hijacked Air Mauritania plane ended the ordeal when they stormed the cockpit and beat up the lone gunman after the aircraft landed in Spain’s Canary Islands on Thursday night, Spanish police said.

As armed police surrounded the Boeing 737 on the runway, five passengers and the co-pilot burst into the cockpit and knocked the hijacker to the ground before beating him up, a police spokesman said.

“When we landed at Las Palmas ... we entered (the cockpit) and hit him and knocked him down,” one passenger told television station CNN+.

The fight gave the crew time to let in security forces, who swiftly arrested the man, the police spokesman said.

Spanish police could not corroborate reports from a Mauritanian source on Thursday who said the pilot had deliberately braked hard on landing, knocking the hijacker off his feet and that he had then been jumped on by passengers. The source also said the hijacker had fired two bullets during the scuffle, but that no-one had been seriously injured.

In the post-911 world, hijacking is not the viable alternative of terror it once was. Good job.

New movie sound good

There haven't been many movies out recently that I particularly wanted to see but "Breach" sounds very good.

It is based on a true story about the FBI agent who was working for the soviets. I have always liked Chris Cooper and his performance has been acclaimed. There was an article in the paper today about the actual FBI trainee sent to work with him and obtain evidence against him. That agent was responsible for helping make the movie so it is close to the true events.

I'll let you know what I think after I see it.

A Dark Day Indeed

The Chargers have fired Marty. Who will we get??? We suspected this might happen right after the "One and Done" but doing it now is worse. Most coaches who were available have already signed with teams. Not good. Not good at all.

A Bowl of Water

A man and his dog were walking along a road. The man was enjoying the scenery, when it suddenly occurred to him that he was dead.

He remembered dying, and that the dog walking beside him had been dead for years. He wondered where the road was leading them.

After a while, they came to a high, white stone wall along one side of the road. It looked like fine marble. At the top of a long hill, it was broken by a tall arch that glowed in the sunlight.

When he was standing before it he saw a magnificent gate in the arch that looked like mother-of-pearl, and the street that led to the gate looked like pure gold. He and the dog walked toward the gate, and as he got closer, he saw a man at a desk to one side.

When he was close enough, he called out, "Excuse me, where are we?"

This is Heaven, sir," the man answered.

Wow! Would you happen to have some water?" the man asked.

"Of course, sir. Come right in, and I'll have some ice water brought right up."

The man gestured, and the gate began to open.

"Can my friend," gesturing toward his dog, "come in, too?" the traveler asked.

"I'm sorry, sir, but we don't accept pets."

The man thought a moment and then turned back toward the road and continued the way he had been going with his dog.

After another long walk, and at the top of another long hill, he came to a dirt road leading through a farm gate that looked as if it had never been closed. There was no fence
As he approached the gate, he saw a man inside, leaning against a tree and reading a book.

"Excuse me!" he called to the man. "Do you have any water?"

"Yeah, sure, there's a pump over there, come on in."

"How about my friend here?" the traveler gestured to the dog.

"There should be a bowl by the pump."

They went through the gate, and sure enough, there was an old-fashioned hand pump with a bowl beside it.

The traveler filled the water bowl and took a long drink himself, then he gave some to the dog.
When they were full, he and the dog walked back toward the man who was standing by the tree.

"What do you call this place?" the traveler asked.

"This is Heaven," he answered.

"Well, that's confusing," the traveler said. "The man down the road said that was Heaven, too."
"Oh, you mean the place with the gold street and pearly gates? Nope. That's hell."

"Doesn't it make you mad for them to use your name like that?"

"No, we're just happy that they screen out the folks who would leave their best friends behind."

Katie sound asleep, dreaming of cookies

Hurray for Friday!!

Well, we made it through another week. It was a long week because I'm in my third week of the plague. Ok, probably not the plague but that's what it feels like. I can handle the cold, but my sides are my biggest problem - I feel like all of my ribs are broken.

On the doggy front, Katie has had a good week. She is enjoying her new treats: carrots! Yes, her dental veterinarian told me carrots would be a good treat for her because they would help with her dental health and would not have any impact on her glucose levels, so wouldn't impact her diabetes. She loves them! After all, a cookie is a cookie, right?

Hopefully today I'll figure out how to post a picture of Katie, and when Cammy and Tasha's moms email me photos (hint hint), their photos will be posted, too.

Welcome to the Three Dogs Blog!

Yes indeed, an idea whose time has finally come. At last there's a place for canines and their families to share their thoughts. So sit down, grab your favorite kibble, and get ready for a tail-wagging good time. We hope you come back often!