Smile. It looks good on you

LOVE and LIGHT TO ALL:  What else can possibly happen to cause another delay?  We ask ourselves each day this simple question.  It's just not done until it's done.  Does it matter the reason for the delay?  Some questions we know the answer. Our curiosity prevails.  If the reason were to be disclosed, then someone would be in trouble.  Enough trouble here without saying "who".  Waiting by the computer at 1:00 am, nothing happened as predicted somewhere out there in cyber space.  Promised to "pay attention".  Again, evil raised its ugly head.  UNTIL TOMORROW, THE GATEKEEPER.

 At a time when our president and other politicians tend to apologize for our country's prior actions, here's a refresher on how some of our former patriots handled negative comments about our country these are good:

JFK'S  Secretary of State, Dean Rusk, was in France in the early 60's when  DeGaule decided to pull out of NATO.  DeGaule said he wanted all US military out of France as soon as possible. Rusk responded, "Does that include those who are buried here?" DeGuale did not respond. You could have heard a pin drop. When in England , at a fairly large conference, Colin Powell was asked by the  Archbishop of Canterbury if our plans for Iraq were just an example of  'empire building' by George Bush. He answered by saying, "Over the years, the United States has sent many of  its fine young men and women into great peril to fight for freedom  beyond our borders.  The only amount of land we have ever asked for  in return is enough to bury those that did not return." You could have heard a pin drop.   There was a conference in France where a number of international engineers  were taking part, including French and American.  During a break,  one of the French engineers came back into the room saying, "Have you  heard the latest dumb stunt Bush has done? He has sent an aircraft  carrier to Indonesia to help the tsunami victims.  What does he  intend to do, bomb them?" A Boeing engineer stood up and replied quietly:  "Our carriers have three  hospitals on board that can treat several hundred people; they are  nuclear powered and can supply emergency  electrical power to  shore facilities; they have three  cafeterias with the capacity to  feed 3,000 people three meals a day, they can produce several thousand  gallons of fresh water from sea water each day, and they carry half a  dozen helicopters for use in transporting victims and injured to and  from their flight deck.  We have eleven such ships; how many does France have?" You could have heard a pin drop. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ A U.S. Navy Admiral was attending a naval conference that included Admirals from the U.S., English, Canadian, Australian and French Navies  At a cocktail reception, he found himself standing with a large  group of officers that included personnel from most of those countries. Everyone was chatting away in English as they sipped their drinks but a  French admiral suddenly complained that, whereas Europeans learn many  languages, Americans learn only English. He then asked, "Why is it that  we always have to speak English in these conferences rather than speaking French?" Without hesitating, the American Admiral replied, "Maybe it's because the Brit's, Canadians, Aussie's and Americans arranged it so you wouldn't have to speak German." You could have heard a pin drop. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ AND  THIS STORY FITS RIGHT IN WITH THE ABOVE... Robert Whiting, an elderly gentleman of 83, arrived in Paris by plane. At French Customs, he took a few minutes to locate his passport in his carry on. "You have been to France before, monsieur?" the customs officer asked  sarcastically. Mr. Whiting  admitted that he had been to France previously. "Then you should know enough to have your passport ready." The American said, "The last time I was here, I didn't have to show it." "Impossible.. Americans always have to show their passports on arrival in France !" The American senior gave the Frenchman a long hard look.  Then he  quietly explained, ''Well, when I came ashore at Omaha Beach on D-Day in 1944 to help liberate this country, I couldn't find a single Frenchmen  to show a passport to." You could have heard a pin drop.

Bear Quints~Once in a lifetime photo Black bears typically have two cubs; rarely one or three. In 2007, in northern New Hampshire, a black bear sow gave birth to five healthy young. There were two or three reports of sows with as many as four cubs, but five was, and is, very extraordinary. The photographer learned of them shortly after they emerged from their den and set a goal of photographing all five cubs with their mom - no matter how much time and effort was involved. He knew the trail they followed on a fairly regular basis, usually shortly before dark. After spending nearly four hours a day, seven days a week, for more than six weeks, he had that once-in-a-lifetime opportunity and photographed them. He used the equivalent of a very fast film speed on his digital camera. The print is properly focused and well exposed, with all six bears posing as if they were in a studio for a family portrait.

The photographer stayed in touch with other people who saw the bears during the summer and into the fall hunting season. All six bears continued to thrive. As time for hibernation approached, he found still more folks who had seen them and everything remained OK. The photographer stayed away from the bears because he was concerned that they might become habituated to him, or to people in general, and treat them as approachable friends. This could easily become dangerous for both man and animal. After Halloween, no further reports and could only hope the bears survived until they hibernated. This spring, just before the snow disappeared, all six bears came out of their den and wandered all over the same familiar territory they trekked in the spring of 2007. The photographer saw them before mid-April and dreamed nightly of taking another family portrait, a highly improbable second once-in-a-lifetime photograph.

When something as magical as this happens between man and animal, Native Americans say, "We have walked together in the shadow of a rainbow." And so it is with humility and great pleasure that I share these exhilarating photos with you. Sincerely, Tom Sears

Intriguing Signs

1) Sign on motorway garage:
PLEASE DO NOT SMOKE NEAR OUR PETROL PUMPS.
YOUR LIFE MAY NOT BE WORTH MUCH BUT OUR PETROL IS

2)  Spotted in a safari park:
ELEPHANTS PLEASE STAY IN YOUR CAR

3) Seen during a conference:
FOR ANYONE WHO HAS CHILDREN AND DOESN'T KNOW IT, THERE IS A DAY CARE ON THE FIRST FLOOR

4) Notice in a field:
THE FARMER ALLOWS WALKERS TO CROSS THE FIELD FOR FREE, BUT THE BULL CHARGES

5) Message on a leaflet:
IF YOU CANNOT READ, THIS LEAFLET WILL TELL YOU HOW TO GET LESSONS

6) Sign on a repair shop door:
WE CAN REPAIR ANYTHING. (PLEASE KNOCK HARD ON THE DOOR - THE BELL DOESN'T WORK)