World War II ended some sixty five years ago, but there are so many bombs that were dropped that didn’t explode they have been named UXO. It stands for unexploded air dropped ordinances. The allies alone dropped 1,000,000 bombs during that war and it is estimated that ten percent, some 100,000, didn’t explode. On top of that there are the bombs dropped by the Axis that didn’t explode. Experts say about eight percent of the UXO bombs could go off…
Today is the anniversary of the death of one of my personal hero's, Dorothy Day, who was born in Brooklyn, NY and died November 29, 1980 at age 84 years. If ever there was the common person’s saint, Dorothy is it. Unlike plastic saints this is a woman who struggled through life trying to find her purpose and making a lot of mistakes on the way. She is someone all of us sinners can relate to. She was raised in…
In the 15th Century it was accepted by navigators and ship captains that it was impossible to sail any further South than Cape Bojador off the coast of Africa. The winds and tidal currents off the cape were dangerous and resulted in numerous expeditions being sent from Portuguese ports to attempt the passage only to have them never return. It was also accepted that this represented the end of the world. Even if a ship got past the Cape the…
In March I published a report about a famous Japanese dog Hachiko. He is famous for having continued to go to the train station to meet his master every day for years after his master died at work of a heart attack. He was so famous a statute was erected at the train station in his honor. https://paulluverajournalonline.com/weblog/2011/03/hachiko-the-words-most-loyal-dog.html Now we have a report of an unnamed dog in China whose owner died earlier this month and who refuses to leave…
Ezekiel J. Emanuel wrote an article in the New York Times Sunday, November 13 2011 he called “Billions Wasted on Billing. His article certainly identified with me. Over the past five months with my knee problem I have gone to countless doctors and labs plus been admitted to the hospital three times since June of this year. Like Emanuel I found that every time I went in for an appointment or treatment I had to fill out a form requiring…
From Robert Service The Cremation of Sam McGee "A promise made is a debt unpaid" Never be intimidated: "Always remember …..Goliath was a 40 point favorite over David." Shug Jordan / football coach Auburn View from age 76 years: William Holden's character says in the movie Network "It's all suddenly closer to the end than to the begining and death is suddenly a perceptible thing to me with definable features " Will Rogers "Everything is funny as long as it…
On November 11th each year the Catholic church celebrates the feast day of St Martin de Tours who died in the year 397. Martin was the son of a calvary officer and when old enough became a soldier himself. A story that has been handed down over the centuries was that when he was at the gates of a city with other soldiers he saw a beggar who lacked warm clothing. Martin cut his military cloak in half and gave…
I was blown away by Brent Lundsford's book Croation Fishing Families of Anacortes. As someone who worked every summer on the purse boats from high school through college this wonderful book with pictures captured the experience and brought back many fond memoriess. I've written before about purse seine fishing.https://paulluverajournalonline.com/weblog/2011/04/purse-seineing-.html and https://paulluverajournalonline.com/weblog/2008/05/purse-seine-fis.html In this book Lundsford covers a hundred years of fishing in Anacortes with vintage photographs and histories of Croation families including my mother's family. If you want to know anything about…
Dr. Joseph Voegtlin was born in Seattle in 1926. He died on November 5, 2011. Joe was my long time friend and family physician until his retirement in 1992. He lived in Mount Vernon with his wife Gerine and had three children. He was my medical witness in countless trials because he had so many patients they often were my clients in auto and other injury cases. No one could explain complex medical issues than Joe. He had a gift for drawing…
My good friend in New Jersey, Dennis Donnelly sent me this poem which I share with you Haunted Houses by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow All houses wherein men have lived and died Are haunted houses. Through the open doors The harmless phantoms on their errands glide, With feet that make no sound upon the floors. We meet them at the door-way, on the stair, Along the passages they come and go, Impalpable impressions on the air, A sense of something moving…
