Stuff I’ve found online that you should think about checking out
70 yrs ago today, my uncle Bill, my father’s brother, was at Iwo Jima. I wish he had lived long enough for me to know him and thank him for his service. Tragically, while he survived his time in the Pacific Theater, he was killed in a car crash in his early 20s after returning home.
Return to Iwo Jima: Vets remember on 70th anniversary of bloody battle Iwo Jima
70 yrs ago today, my uncle Bill, my father’s brother, was at Iwo Jima. I wish he had lived long enough for me to know him and thank him for his service. Tragically, while he survived his time in the Pacific Theater, he was killed in a car crash in his early 20s after returning home.
Return to Iwo Jima: Vets remember on 70th anniversary of bloody battle Iwo Jima
I’ve never used or even looked at Kickstarter before but last night I signed up and made a donation to a great project. If you were a kid anytime in the 80’s or 90’s, chances are you grew up watching Reading Rainbow with LeVar Burton. (If you’re my age you probably also moved on to watching him as Geordi La Forge on Star Trek: The Next Generation and therefore greatly appreciate the cameo by Brent Spiner at the end of the Kickstarter video.)
LeVar carried Reading Rainbow into the digital age by turning it into an iPad app. Now he’s looking to take it to the web and bring it into schools. He’s funding it the same way the show was funded on PBS… “by viewers like you.”
He was seeking a million dollars over a period of 35 days. The goal was exceeded in the first day and more than doubled by the second day (today)! This is a testament to how many lives have been touched by Reading Rainbow.
Even though the goal was already exceeded by the time I donated, I’m proud to be a small part of bringing this great show and it’s mission of encouraging a passion for reading in a new generation of kids.
If you wish to donate too, just click this link or watch the video below for more info.
Happy Thanksgiving to all. If you’ve never read The Thanksgiving Letter by Marney, you’re missing out! It’s worth rereading each and every year.
Enjoy the holiday and be thankful you’re not related to Marney.
Happy Thanksgiving to all. If you’ve never read The Thanksgiving Letter by Marney, you’re missing out! It’s worth rereading each and every year.
Enjoy the holiday and be thankful you’re not related to Marney.
Veteran’s Day means a day off for some of us. For others it is a day just like any other. It should be, first and foremost, a day to say thank you to those who have served or are still serving in our nation’s armed forces. Their service and sacrifices are what make our nation great.
Earlier this year, I had the pleasure sitting with one my my favorite veterans, my grandfather, and working to document his service. A member of what Tom Brokaw called “the greatest generation,” he served in the Navy during World War 2 both on land and sea. The part we focused on was his time at Fort Miles in Delaware. You can read the entire story and view photos here, but the end result of this endeavor was visiting my grandfather’s old duty station with him about 70 years after he detached from the post. Hearing his stories and memories while standing with him at the site brought me a new appreciation of his experiences during the war while he still sees them as just what he had to do at that time.
So, for those currently serving in the military, you never know… 70 years from now a historian might be contacting your grandson to document the invaluable service you are currently providing to our nation. Thank you.
Back in April, I mentioned my cousin Kris was embarking on a hike of the entire Appalachian Trail. This week she finished her journey. Throughout the entire adventure she documented it with daily posts on her website. You can still relive her journey on her website, wayfarer.me. It makes for a fun and interesting read. Perhaps one day she’ll turn it into a book.
Congrats Kris!
This is a great article from TIME magazine about the SS United States. I’d love to see the ship turned into a museum/hotel/dining/shopping complex like the Queen Mary out in Long Beach. Marianne and I had a blast visiting the QM. (Photos of that trip are here.)
The United States could be such a cool attraction at Penns Landing instead just sitting there rusting. It’s a piece of history that needs to be preserved.
More info can be found at www.ssusc.org.
My cousin Kris is hiking the entire Appalachian Trail from Georgia to Maine. (For my fellow genealogy buffs out there, she’s technically my 3rd cousin on my maternal grandmother’s side of the family… the Paulls) A simple post can’t begin to describe the journey she has embarked on. Luckily, she’s documenting the entire thing on her site at wayfarer.me. It’s definitely worth a read. Just be warned that you’ll quickly be hooked on following her daily posts.
When you think of casual dining chain restaurants, you don’t usually think of heartwarming stories that make you feel good about humanity. However, this story is worth a read. It’s a little sad that a waitress at Chili’s treating an autistic child with care and compassion is front page news but on the other hand it makes you feel good to know that there are people out there who do care about brightening the day of a child just because they can. You can read the article on CNN.