Friend sends me history of USS Pickens

Christmas is over but I have just received a great gift. John White, son of a former shipmate, has sent me a copy of the history of the USS Pickens, APA 190.  John has sent me material several times that he received and saved  from his father, the late Mark White.  Mark was a pharmacist mate,  ship photographer and beach party member. He also became friends with Joe Rosenthal, who traveled to Iwo Jima on our ship. Joe, of course, took the famous picture of the flag raising.

I have been searching for the ship history for several years.  Somehow I have misplaced it along with two navy discharges (first from active duty in 1946 and second from naval reserves  in 1964) and  my notice of separation. Several years ago I gave  an oral history to the Norton Art Museum and sometime later the museum posted pictures and a summary on the internet. I found it by chance one day.  It can by accessed as roy lowe -- navy.

Thanks a lot, John. This means so much to me.

Like Medicare entitlement programs grow and grow

Everyone knows that if this nation has a chance of surviving spending must be reduced.  Obama made our situation much worse but excess spending on entitlements did not start with him.  Once a program begins it always grows out of control. Take for example medicare:

At its beginning in 19666 Medicare cost $3 billion with estimates that a quarter century later it would cost $12 billion. But in 1990 Medicare topped $107 billion.  Today's Medicare comes to $523 billion and shows no sign of leveling off.

We admit the program has much waste and fraud, but who is going to cut it?  What about social security and Medicaid?  We can talk about the dire necessity of making cuts, but who has the guts to do it?

Happy anniversary, Jen

Thanks for putting up with me for 39 years.  Only with God's help could you have done it.  Now, may God give us more years of love together.

Pinewood Derby is not for the faint-hearted

Jason has been working in the time he has from work to complete Kyle's racer in time for the Pinewood Derby to be held Saturday.  Kyle selected the paint and applied it but it has always been the job of the dad to do most of the physical work.  For years I helped to make two cars; the boys had the responsibility of sanding and painting after I had cut out the car.  I did that by hand; today the boy picks a design he wants and it is sawed out at a den meeting.

The concept of a son and his dad building a car together has gone by the wayside if a real fast car is going to be entered.  Complete cars that meet the Boy Scout rules can be purchased at at fairly high cost.  Axles and wheels that come in the kit can be replaced by smoother axles and were perfectly round wheels.

I don't know how this race will be run.  Last year each car ran eight times, each race being time by computer, and the winner being the one which ran at the fastest speed.

And the rains came and they stay

Rain fell steadily yesterday, sometimes very heavy, and it is back with us today.  If this is any indication, the two years of below average rainfall could be at an end.  Some parts of the country, such as Texas, have really suffered from the drouth.  I know we need the rain but it is somewhat depressing.  However, we should be thankful for the sunny, spring-like weather we have enjoyed much of this month.

Driving from Homer without headlights

My 1997 Mercury and I were aging at about the same pace, I thought, until the brake and signal lights quit working, and then when taking the car to the mechanic I discovered the windshield wipers had conked out, also. Well, the problems have been corrected at a total cost amounting to what  a new car could be bought for when I was a child.,

This business of lights not working  brought to memory a time many years ago when our headlights didn't work and we were far from home.  We had visited relatives in Waldo, Ark., and had got as far as Homer when night came and the lights of our Model A Ford did not work.  Most  places in Homer were closed -- it was Sunday-- but we found one service station open.  While efforts  went on for hours to find the problem, we made supper out of coconut cake.  Finally, daddy and the service station attendant admitted defeat.  We borrowed a flashlight and taped it some how to the front of the car.  By the illumination from the flashlight we traveled from Homer to Minden and five miles more to home.  A miracle for which to be thankful.

Obama's veto of Keystone pipeline is part of his plan to kill energy

It is no surprise Obama has said no to the Keystone pipeline, a project  pursued for three years and which would have provided thousand of jobs and  made this nation more energy secure.  President Obama is consistent-- he opposes  any and everything  that would aid the economy and create jobs, that would benefit our energy situation, and that would help national security.

Since his election millions of people have lost their jobs; gasoline has doubled in price and is on the way to his expressed goal of seven dollars a gallon. Steve Chu, his energy secretary, explained that they want gasoline priced as it is in Europe, and that higher energy prices are the centerpiece to leftists' energy overhaul.  In 2008
Obama said his policies will  bankrupt the coal industry and his cap and trade will see electricity rates go sky-high. 

His goal is to destroy the domestic oil and gas industry.  While Obama handicaps our oil and gas development, China is getting ready to take the oil Canada had for us and also oil from Brazil.

The hurt to our nation that Obama has inflicted is minor compared to the damage he will do if he is re-elected.
Our beloved nation is in great damage and many persons fail to recognize it.
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