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Monica Haban (Brown)

Janie-  

I have a genius techie son who could solve this in a New York minute, but would need administrative permission. Thank God our children are smarter than us!

MB

David Mitchell

I can barely remeber this one.

From 1957

Michael McLeod

John Jackson

Hard to imagine that Trump could have come up with an even worse alternative for Attorney General than Matt Gaetz, his original choice (who even the cowardly congressional Republicans, who pretty universally detested Gaetz, couldn’t bring themelves to confirm).  But it’s now apparent Trump outdid himself with the appointment of Pam Bondi:

Joseph Gentilini

Bondi?  What a sad, angry, vengeful, incompetent, unhappy person!!  

David Mitchell

Mike M.

I find the timing of your letter from a former slave to his former master to be quite a coincidence.

I am just now in the midst of a fascinating book about this very subject -

"The Autopsy of Slavery and the Bible", 

(Christ's Triumph Over Slavery Bringing unity to the Body)                                            by Dr. Edward Lee Johnson Sr.

I was refered to this man because he was going to serve on the leadership team at an upcoming "MARKED MEN FOR CHRIST" retreat up near Charleston (which was cancelled and resceduled for later in the year. I had driven up to Charelston to met my own Bishop and drove 2 hours further upstate afterwards to meet Dr. Johnson a his church.

First of all, he turned out to be one of the most intetrsting men I have ever met. While there, I bought a copy of his book, which I am now reading.

The whole premise of his book is that there was a difference between the slavery of the bible (usualy for 6 years and only to pay a debt or transgression - but without the aspect of "ownership") vs. the "Chattel" slavery practiced by the the Europeans setling the New World - - Chattel meaning "ownership". 

Our own Transatlantic "Chattel Slavery" forced on millions of captured West Africans (many of whom were of Hebrew descent) included brutality and injustice praticed by so called "Christian" slave owners.

The book is so full of interesting facts I can hardly take it all in. I hope to meet him again, and I can't wait to finish the book and and share it with a local Black pastor who has become a good friend.

Michael McLeod

good on ya for being so socially and intelectually proactive in retirement dave. I'm newly retired from both teaching and writing and trying to do the same myself -- use it or lose it, as they say.

And as for the black boxes I found this info - which, to be honest, only confused me.

• Graphics Drivers: Outdated or buggy drivers for NVIDIA or AMD cards are the most common cause. Update or reinstall your GPU drivers via the manufacturer's website.
• Hardware Overheating: If the black boxes increase over time, your GPU might be overheating. Ensure fans are working and clear of dust.
• Corrupted System Files: Corrupted DLL files can cause display errors. Running Windows system repair tools (like SFC scan) may fix this.
• Visual Settings: If boxes appear around icons, try re-enabling "Use drop shadows for icon labels" in Windows performance settings.
• Application Glitches: If they only appear in web browsers, try disabling "hardware acceleration" in the browser settings.
• Loose Connections: Ensure video cables (HDMI, DisplayPort) are secure. 

Michael McLeod

Dave: It's "whether," not "weather."

signed, AR writer guy.

("AR": stands for "anally retentive")

David Mitchell

 Mike,

Think you for the speelling carrrection. If I cood spel I'd be derangous.

And regarding my post about the book "The Autopsy Slavery and the Bible";

I should have clarified the point that the Transatlantic slave trade was carried out by people who claimed to be biblical Christians, who justified lynchings, beatings, sexual assualts, rape, and mutilations. Not to mention the separtation of family menbers, parents from their children, husbands from wives, and brothers from sisters - all for sale.

I think one member of the class has missed that point in her "User" response. After reading Dr. Johnson's book, I don't suggest that he ever went back as far as Genghis Khan. His book is focused on our own North American history.

David Mitchell

Robert Duval was one of my favorite actors. 

I remember him well for his first role - one in which he does not speak

    - as Boo Radley in "To Kill a Mockingbird"

He was terriffic in Tender Mercies.

James Hamilton, M. D.

Brunch and Siesta

On this warm, pleasant February afternoon a young 4-point buck ( probably a 2 year old) invited five young ladies to brunch in our back yard. Being a dapper gentleman, he waited for his female friends to dine and then began to enjoy a feast of Colorado Spruce as his girlfriends rested nearby. 

Jim

James Hamilton, M. D.

Animal Mechanics

You gotta love the way God, through millennia of evolution, designed these animals to survive in their environments. These herbivores have such a range of neck motion which allows them to feed on many types of vegitation both low on the ground and quite high on trees and bushes. Their necks also function to reach about every part of their bodies to cleanse and rid themselves of various bugs, injuries and dirt.

Ain't biology a hoot!

Jim

David Mitchell

About ten or fifteen years ago, I had a brief conversaton with Rev. Jesse Jackson.

I was still doing my part-time airport "private car" job, and was waiting on an arrival at the Savannah airport. I saw him standing alone over by the luggage claim area and decided to go over and introduce myself. I shared a story with him that he recalled. 

Back when we were still living in Denver, and my two oldest kids were in high school at a large public high school - George Washington High School -  Rev. Jackson visited the school and gave a sort of pep rally. The kids loved it. They came home that day and shared their excitement with us. I thought it was a nice gesture on his part though I was no fan of his politically.

He realled that visit to GW High, and we share a brief chat about it. Then we shook hands before I had to drift back over to the passenger waiting area. 

John Jackson

I rode in a hotel elevator in NYC with MLK in roughly 1964 or 1965.  I was with my parents but we were so flabbergasted we didn't speak.

My 15 minutes (seconds really) of fame.

David Mitchell

Okay John,

The category is now "elevator rides with famous people".

I think I posted this photo on the Forum a few years ago, but this is a fun time to use it again.

I took Mary and the kids to Disneyland back around 1980 and we invited a local priest from Orange County to join us for dinner. He is shown in the photo. I think you all might recognize him.

Anyway, after dinner at the Disney hotel, "Father Robert" and I went walking by ourselves around the hotel grounds. But first, I had to take something back up to our room and the two of us got on the elevator. As the doors opened and we stepped in, there was a very young (and very small) black kid in a bright orange jump suit, standing alone in the rear center of the elevator facing out into the lobby. "Father Robert" and I stood on each side of the young man also facing out into the lobby. Neither of us spoke. As the doors were closing, two young girls, (maybe 12 or 13) jumped throught the closing doors and fell at the young man's feet. They got up and each handed him a piece of paprer, asking for autographs.

The priest and I got off at the second floor to walk back to our room. As we walked down the hallway the priest asked me "What was that all about?"

I said, "Steve, don't you know who that was?" And he said he had no idea. I told him him it was Michael Jackson and looked at me like I was kidding. As we walked the grounds that evening, we kept seeing a golf cart with Michael and a hotel security guard cruising around the hotel grounds (which were quite large) followed by a group of about 6 or 8 young girls chasing after them. 

Steve explained years later that he had told that story to his young nieces and they teased him about it for years.

John Jackson

Yes, I thought my post might trigger an avalanche of elevator stories. - pretty much everyone must have one.  And, Dave, with your driving job, I'm guessing you have a bunch.

Janie Albright (Blank)

Not to be outdone, I once found myself in an elevator with Mike Radcliffe at the Wendy's convention in Los Angeles. He was with Porter-Wright and they were their counsel. Unlike John, we had a brief conversation. 😂

David Mitchell

Yes John, I have run into a few "names" while doing Savanah to Hilton Head (and nearby) pickups.

I have picked up movie actor Tom Berrigner about ten times. I have heard that when he was filming "The Big Chill" down here years ago he fell in love with the "Low Country" (coastal South Carolina) and also fell in love with someone down here. He lives about half way between here and Beaufort (site of "Big Chill", and The Great Santini).

We always picked Tom up in Savannah while holding up a false name tag - usually "Miller". He became interested in my Viet Nam service and we had a number of interesting conversations. He is a very quiet and private person.

I also picked up Meg Ryan and her young Chinese adopted daughter once. The dropoff point was interesting. They were going over to Daufuskie Island which has only boat access (no bridge). But the ferry boat landing for Daufuskie is very public and visible site. She and her "host" had arranged for us to use the barely visible and relatively unknown dock under the island bridge - no building - no public - no big ferry boat to attract attention. I dropped them by a quiet and little used dock and helped her transfer her bags onto a small 20 foot boat for a private ride - about 20 minutes over to Duafuskie. I learned later that she was meeting very privately with local Daufuskie resident, John Mellencamp.  

Daufuskie, by the way, is an intresting place. Half of it is very developed with condos and a beach and a hotel or two. The other half is legally blocked from development - but is instead preserved for the largest remainning colony of "Gullah" people left on the East coast. Gullah are direct descendents of the original slaves of the southeast coast and have their own culture, language, food, and art. They are mostly the descendents of escaped slaves who swam or floated boats out to the outer bank islands and were never pursued. They have survived hundreds of years without ever merging with other clultures - white or black.

Later, in one evening I picked up Tony Romo from a condo on Hilton Head dropping him at the small Hilton Head Island airport where his privare pilot was waiitng - and then had to speed back over to Savannah to pick up news commentaor (very famous, but I cannot recall his name) at Savannah and drop him back at a hotell near Bluffton. 

Finally, I drove this man - a buddy of Tony Romo's - on two nights back and forth from his hotel to dinner and sports dates with RBC Golf (Heritage) tourney on Hilton Head. After driving him the first night, he called my boss and asked for me on the second night. With his permission, I sent the folowing photo to Tony Romo, (who answered my mesages for a year or two) with the message that I was still "stuck driving the local Riff Raff to the golf course". They both laughed - super nice guys.

sorry for the sideway shot - its' Golf announcer Jim Nance.

John Jackson

Trump Says Andrew's Arrest Sets Dangerous Precedent of Pedophiles Facing Consequences

WASHINGTON (The Borowitz Report)—A visibly shaken Donald J. Trump told reporters on Thursday that the arrest of Andrew Mountbatten Windsor set a dangerous precedent of pedophiles facing consequences.

“King Charles released a statement where he said no one is above the law,” he said. “That was a horrible thing to say.”

Calling Andrew’s arrest “disgraceful,” Trump said it had made him “rethink the whole idea of becoming king.”

“If you can be a member of the royal family and still get arrested, what’s the point in having a crown?” he said. “You’re better off just having your own supreme court.”

Michael Boulware

John Jackson. I received your check for the reunion. Thanks for the special note you sent, liberals are kind to each other.

Lorraine; your check arrived as well. You sent a lovely note and it was nice to receive it. Our classmates sure make our job easier with your kindness and appreciation

David Mitchell

Way back in Basic Training, we had four Black guys who used to break into song when we were on a break. I can still picture the whole company (about 160 guys) sitting around during lunch break while we were at the rifle range. They sang stuff by the Temptations, The Four Tops, etc. This group seemed to be their favorite.

Donna Kelley (Velazquez)

Janie, please check in with us to let us know that you are safe in Puerto Vallarta! I wrote you personally but know that everyone will want to know.

Cuidate, Juanita!

David Mitchell

Yes Donna, 

Thanks for the reminder.

Janie, hope you are safe.

Monica Haban (Brown)

Janie will surely advise, and elaborate. She said it's all around them, but they are safe.  Security in her building won't allow them to leave, understandably.  Targeting buses and taxis.  Prayers for all of Mexico, and especially Janie.  

Janie Albright (Blank)

I'm sorry I haven't checked in. I am safe. All is quiet here in Puerto Vallarta now. Sunday was a new experience for all of us. Fortunately it appears the Jalisco cartel (CJNG) was only making a statement in many MexIcan cities they consider their "territory". Just bc our leader El Mencho is dead we still plan to carry on and so no rival cartels better try to step in. CJNG was a new cartel and very secondary to the Sinaloa cartel that El Chapo controlled before he came to justice in the US. Once a leader is gone a power vacuum arises and other smaller players might see this as their opportunity. 

Puerto Vallarta is a very prosperous area where the cartels own businesses and nightclubs etc used to launder their money. They don't want trouble here. They even bring their families here to vacation. So we pray this is an anomaly meant to send rivals a message. Hopefully not to be repeated. 

They mainly set buses, taxis, and Ubers on fire as well as a lot of tiendas called Oxxo (much like a 7-11). Fortunately they made sure all of their targets were emptied of people and no one was injured. Not that I'm trying to make them out to be good guys. They are not, but again this was just a message. One cartel leader's death or capture changes nothing in Mexico. Like mushrooms more just pop up. It's a terrible situation but as much as it's good he's gone nothing will fundamentally change. I have no idea what the answer is. 

There definitely have been changes where we see a good-sized middle class emerging. Lots more people being educated. When we first started coming here over 20 years ago most children didn’t go past middle school. I belonged to a group that raised money for books and uniforms so children could continue on past grade school. Now there are many community colleges and more people go on to university. That being said there is still a huge underclass and cartels exploit these people. Even police are barely paid a living wage, and so there is much corruption. The cartels especially flourish in the rural communities where there is little opportunity and kids fall prey to the lure of easy money. I know we have this in our inner cities too with drug runners and so on but their safety net here is much weaker. And the cartels ruthlessly protect their turf and kill anyone in their way even the parish priest if he refuses to go along. I know you've seen these stories.

Mexico is a beautiful and diverse country full of the friendliest people you can imagine. No one walks by you on the street without a buenos días or greeting. Pray that positive change is coming and there will be no need to come across the border, with only good things in their future. ​🙏🙏🙏