I Salute YOU on Veteran's Day, 2009
Here's a great big THANK YOU to all those who have chosen to serve their country in the military. And I'd also like to thank all those family members, who are left behind to deal with everyday life while they are missing their loved ones, for your sacrifice. There's no possible way that I can imagine what you go through each day.But my prayers and thoughts on this Veteran's Day go out most emphatically to those of you whose family members paid the ultimate measure of devotion to their country, their lives. We are free because of them, and no amount of thank you's can be enough.Since they sacrificed so much, I pray that their blood will not have been spilled in vain.

Where Have All the Manners Gone??
OK, I know I'm old, and I realize things change over time. But I'm so sorry to see that one of the old ways that has been ignored by with new generations is plain good manners.I watched a young man push his way through an exit door at a store the other day and slap the closing door in the face of an older woman coming behind him. Obviously, it never occurred to him to hold the door for the split second it would have taken to glance and see if anyone was behind him, old or young.It's certainly evident every time you walk down a busy street. People used to automatically flow around oncoming "traffic". Now they barrel ahead and expect you to get out of their way.

FOUND - INFORMATION about POSSIBLE JEWEL TEA COMPANY Premium TEA POT
A collector named Dottie was nice enough to let us know that Joan's tea pot was probably made around 1900 and would be worth about $150, if it's in good condition.Joan writes:I have a brown ceramic tea pot with , I think, pewter trim. I thought my grandmother got it as a premium from the Jewel Tea Co.The tea pot stands about 6 1/2 inches tall. It has a rathe

Am I Racist?
It seems like everywhere I turn I read or hear that so and so is racist, because of something they said or did. It's been leveled against so many that it reminds me of the Senator Joseph McCarthy's hearings in the 50's, which I remember very well. We were in the middle of the Cold War, and calling someone a Communist was a much bigger deal then than it probably is today. Hundreds (maybe thousands - I couldn't find an actual number) of people were being labeled as Communists and being threatened into naming their friends as Communists. Lists existed of people in politics, in government, and in the entertainment industry.This quote is from the Wikipedia article about