Happy New Year

And so it goes, another year rolls around.  All in all 2017 was a mixed year. On a national level it was dreadful so the less said about that the better. But on a personal level it was altogether quite satisfactory.  We continued to enjoy family activities, managed to get away to our Naples condo a few times, Hurricane Irma was relatively kind to us down there and with the exception of a few glitches here and there our health remains stable.  We continue to count our many blessings.  We have a warm, comfortable home and food in our stomachs. There are so many people far worse off.

So now it's time to move forward. As they say. Keep calm and carry one.  Happy new year to one and all. May you find peace, contentment and good health.

Class picture updates

They're all finally in. Class pictures of grand children that is. Check them out. Click here: georgeswebpage.com/classpictures

Merry Christmas

I hope everyone had a very nice Christmas. For updated pictures,  click here:  georgeswebpage.com

Beware Amazon.com customers

Like millions of other people we ordered a ton of stuff from Amazon for Christmas. We've discovered a problem with this process this year and in past years as well.  Items being shipped from China take a very long time to be delivered.  For example we ordered something for our grand daughter on December 3rd and they're estimating it will be shipped on Jan. 18th.

The problem is once an item has been shipped, it can't be cancelled.  So now I have to wait for it to arrive and then return it.

I wish Amazon notified customers when items were shipping from China.  My attempts to contact them directly were unsuccessful.  But I'm still working on it.

This represents a major drawback in shopping through Amazon.  I hope this information helps someone.

In Memorium

Five years ago today at 9:10 A.M.  I was in an examination room at my kidney doctor's office when the nurse came in and said "weren't you a teacher at Sandy Hook School?" When I replied yes, she said, "you've got to see this."  I went into the waiting room where they have a TV and, well, the rest is history.

Like all things of this nature, it seems like yesterday that we were learning of this horrible tragedy.  In the five years since that very bad day the Congress of the United States has  done absolutely nothing to safeguard against future occurrences of this nature. More's the pity.

A moment of silence for 26 angels.

Can there be hope? Let's hope so.

Pearl Harbor Day

On this day 76 years ago the United States entered World War II which in case you did not know had actually started two years before in Europe.

 

Here are some interesting facts about this important day in history.

• The attack commenced at 7:55 A.M. on Sunday, December 7, 1941
• The attack lasted 110 minutes, from 7:55 a.m. until 9:45 a.m.
• The Japanese launched their airplanes in two waves, approximately 45 minutes apart.
• The first wave of Japanese planes struck Pearl Harbor at 7:55 a.m. The second wave reached Pearl Harbor around 8:40 a.m.
• The Japanese attacked the United States without warning
• When Japanese Commander Mitsuo Fuchida called out, “Tora! Tora! Tora!” (“Tiger! Tiger! Tiger!”) upon flying over Pearl Harbor, it was a message to the entire Japanese navy telling them they had caught the Americans totally by surprise.
• The Japanese traveled 3,400 miles across the Pacific to execute their attack on Pearl Harbor
• The Japanese attack force stationed itself approximately 230 miles north of the Hawaiian island of Oahu.
• Plans for a surprise attack against the United States were begun as early as January of 1941.
• The Japanese forces were led by Vice Admiral Chuichi Nagumo
• The Japanese fleet consisted of 353 planes
• The Japanese used the codename “Operation Hawaii” for the attack on Pearl Harbor. This later changed to “Operation Z.”
• The Japanese specifically chose to attack on a Sunday because they believed Americans would be more relaxed and thus less alert on a weekend.
• Many U.S. servicemen were either still in their pajamas or eating breakfast in the mess halls when the attack on Pearl Harbor began.
• U.S. servicemen identified the invading planes as Japanese because of the “meatballs,” what they called the large, red circle (the Rising Sun) on the side of Japanese planes.
• The Japanese only attacked the ships at Pearl Harbor Naval base and airplanes at Hickman Airfield, leaving surrounding areas such as repair facilities, the submarine base and fuel oil storages areas unharmed
• The Japanese struck the airfields at Hickam Field, Wheeler Field, Bellows Field, Ewa Field, Schoefield Barracks, and Kaneohe Naval Air Station.
• The United States aircraft carriers, the primary target of the attack, were not at the base at the time
• Because of this, the Japanese cancelled a planned second attack
• There were eight battleships at Pearl Harbor that day, which included all the battleships of the U.S. Pacific fleet except for one (the Colorado).
• Seven of the U.S. battleships were lined up in “Battleship Row.”
• All eight U.S. battleships were either sunk or damaged during the attack. Amazingly, all but two (the Arizona and the Oklahoma) were eventually able to return to active duty.
• Four of the American battleships stationed in “battleship row” were sunk. Another was capsized and a sixth run aground
• The Arizona exploded when a bomb breached its forward magazine (i.e. the ammunition room). Approximately 1,100 U.S. servicemen died on board.
• After being torpedoed, the Oklahoma listed so badly that it turned upside down.
• During the attack, the Nevada left its berth in Battleship Row and tried to make it to the harbor entrance. After being repeatedly attacked on its way, the Nevada beached itself.
• To aid their airplanes, the Japanese sent in five midget subs to help target the battleships. The Americans sunk four of the midget subs and captured the fifth.
• 11 other ships were sunk and 188 planes destroyed
• 2,343 men were killed, 1,272 were wounded and 960 left missing
• A total of 2,335 U.S. servicemen were killed and 1,143 were wounded. Sixty-eight civilians were also killed and 35 were wounded
• The Japanese lost 65 men, with an additional soldier being captured.
• Only 28 Japanese planes were shot down and 5 midget submarines sunk
• The United States declared war on Japan the next day as FDR gave his famous “Day of Infamy” speech to Congress
• President FDR made a last minute edit to his speech, changing “a day that will live on in world history” to “a day that will live in infamy”
• The U.S. declared war on Germany and Italy on December 11, after they declared war on the U.S.
• The dropping of atomic bombs on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki helped bring an end to World War II in 1945
• There was a floating National Monument erected on the hull of the sunken Arizona in 1962
• There is a conspiracy theory that FDR provoked the Japanese attack in order to sway American opinion and make it possible for the U.S. to enter the war
• The United States declared war on Japan on December 8, 1941, the day following the attack on Pearl Harbor.
• “Remember Pearl Harbor!” became a rallying cry for the U.S. during World War II.

Updates

Just a note to let you know that my web site has been updated with new pictures and a sand sculpture slide show.  Be sure to check it out.
georgeswebpage.com

Welcome DECEMBER-and meteorologically, the first day of winter.

Well, it's that time of year-WINTER.  For everything you've ever wanted to know about winter, click here. Some really 'cool' stuff (sorry).
georgeswebpage.com/almanac