tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29415258318410853342024-02-07T17:28:44.094-06:00Fully FlummoxedYou ask: What is it? I reply: What do you want it to be? You ask: What does it mean? I reply: What do you want it to mean?Don Maddenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06141696227390870122noreply@blogger.comBlogger893125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2941525831841085334.post-37461403349629124922023-11-10T12:57:00.000-06:002023-11-10T12:57:08.853-06:00Remembering, Veterans Day, November 2023<p></p><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><div style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 18.7258px; text-align: center;"><b>To our oldest generation:</b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><b>Thank you for believing that freedom was worth fighting for.</b></span></div></blockquote><p><b> </b><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghkKPP9NQucz2Dn1l3KrsICO01mrle7UWqW1TBoprBmans8paPjWD5jtcPxcA7VD11TW95gsqeJ_BtiTEQLLFWu0Sjv8lkpD6GL03s9ysCOFezDatfhQEdBI85IzmzvJPAHTyMWqSJqdIpKkIM_H5Y4zKdeuI2N2vu4FEqoPpM8Mn8ejBnB4BARiZgVNeW/s482/vd1.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="356" data-original-width="482" height="236" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghkKPP9NQucz2Dn1l3KrsICO01mrle7UWqW1TBoprBmans8paPjWD5jtcPxcA7VD11TW95gsqeJ_BtiTEQLLFWu0Sjv8lkpD6GL03s9ysCOFezDatfhQEdBI85IzmzvJPAHTyMWqSJqdIpKkIM_H5Y4zKdeuI2N2vu4FEqoPpM8Mn8ejBnB4BARiZgVNeW/s320/vd1.JPG" width="320" /></a></p> <p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwUTHqkgtPdJfaBzqWf9li-FC7v4-dVxbmAeVUmDtzclM5tJqZWvihL80xwUUwm-PiUDToW-5S1Sb0tYErtsbiiEzMHtFSasHBEgGei4SVouIjMwWy4Ae9yIez0x4kp1CmkZqDK3KQo6VOPudsQljAbevN_cYINpyDR2xmQckj2nohchpRT-gWeeFkCYCV/s511/vd2.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="464" data-original-width="511" height="291" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwUTHqkgtPdJfaBzqWf9li-FC7v4-dVxbmAeVUmDtzclM5tJqZWvihL80xwUUwm-PiUDToW-5S1Sb0tYErtsbiiEzMHtFSasHBEgGei4SVouIjMwWy4Ae9yIez0x4kp1CmkZqDK3KQo6VOPudsQljAbevN_cYINpyDR2xmQckj2nohchpRT-gWeeFkCYCV/s320/vd2.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkCxSwwBJ_zSu0kS6YQ6wQI-F-5Ll4rFaNBiax4GKFIl0eL7n00wyFPMQ7C7GsGMhjAf-421X-VuhtF1f0FBgxTjyOsK_qXSaao9SgXPWWxOivQBPjDriYiHwIO8Cvpb-_Z0h_Yq_xKAlW/s400/vet-day.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br /><img border="0" data-original-height="320" data-original-width="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkCxSwwBJ_zSu0kS6YQ6wQI-F-5Ll4rFaNBiax4GKFIl0eL7n00wyFPMQ7C7GsGMhjAf-421X-VuhtF1f0FBgxTjyOsK_qXSaao9SgXPWWxOivQBPjDriYiHwIO8Cvpb-_Z0h_Yq_xKAlW/s320/vet-day.jpg" width="320" /></a></div> <br /><div style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.4839px; line-height: 18.7258px; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.4839px; line-height: 18.7258px; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNKZmQmLSrvxhtBKVdkfNqty4B3AoXmIPZ3hul8tPrO9olTKjMh3yL6AC6pf9-H19z5ED8dNVNTmQkUVYJFRfd4YhkgdbNvo62Fv7MWogMKRXepZ9BbeuxK8lfOBvzpyDpy_VZfoyr5psN/s595/vdaycart1.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="420" data-original-width="595" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNKZmQmLSrvxhtBKVdkfNqty4B3AoXmIPZ3hul8tPrO9olTKjMh3yL6AC6pf9-H19z5ED8dNVNTmQkUVYJFRfd4YhkgdbNvo62Fv7MWogMKRXepZ9BbeuxK8lfOBvzpyDpy_VZfoyr5psN/s320/vdaycart1.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXOr1sT693AIzsSu_M2Ng5I5wFcXTX7u1i1rAmYOtZHIbnI8b_imTJLLd4TJYLz8qAzgwG_hTh5j_RMBUJvxImzvztLbJKZuK10vbCrKpQGRo-uhCrP7eWJ1ccyXK_00wuopkJg2leQ5WW/s500/oldnewveteran.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="363" data-original-width="500" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXOr1sT693AIzsSu_M2Ng5I5wFcXTX7u1i1rAmYOtZHIbnI8b_imTJLLd4TJYLz8qAzgwG_hTh5j_RMBUJvxImzvztLbJKZuK10vbCrKpQGRo-uhCrP7eWJ1ccyXK_00wuopkJg2leQ5WW/s320/oldnewveteran.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOvcwP1Jt48MVUvXRkYXDDvPZ5Zo-rGbmZ-sF15rpFFC8Qehvvof4DPLTOwUFbf83z76AzfI-rotXxyYeLP6J1HxvtA7EzPNYnPyXhFTz7gBrYpkAM9kfjhG4cnaO6I4bo0LW5jAwhByoS/s2048/don-danang-69-sm.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1222" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOvcwP1Jt48MVUvXRkYXDDvPZ5Zo-rGbmZ-sF15rpFFC8Qehvvof4DPLTOwUFbf83z76AzfI-rotXxyYeLP6J1HxvtA7EzPNYnPyXhFTz7gBrYpkAM9kfjhG4cnaO6I4bo0LW5jAwhByoS/s320/don-danang-69-sm.jpg" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-size: xx-small;">Don Madden, Da Nang, Vietnam, 1969</span></i></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiR1eO_Qjnv8mEjqxR_g-YfGlizWKTVAW0rSwznVhVevK-_yZ_X_3i2_0tlfmyVofM6h7C55Jxo66hb_O-NVjzq1C3Frc-8Jm-Ipf65wl7qWYAVPq7vb4SyzhLa4ixjefbbMnfVwrrM02lM/s553/american-2dsoldiers-2d8.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="553" data-original-width="450" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiR1eO_Qjnv8mEjqxR_g-YfGlizWKTVAW0rSwznVhVevK-_yZ_X_3i2_0tlfmyVofM6h7C55Jxo66hb_O-NVjzq1C3Frc-8Jm-Ipf65wl7qWYAVPq7vb4SyzhLa4ixjefbbMnfVwrrM02lM/s320/american-2dsoldiers-2d8.jpg" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLK6qWqJQ4oSo0Nl6RvqjfBuV_bk8vLBnh5ZNvmq0ABLEDTMFgfekxupc4JFb-cWmh7GIG0yzBYpoQw_mG8aEA48M-wf7oGykFPWv6tk6LQgrKhbMac9GNjpKR9KMKdxnw5NAldkp4Z2w2/s216/Veteran1s.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="115" data-original-width="216" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLK6qWqJQ4oSo0Nl6RvqjfBuV_bk8vLBnh5ZNvmq0ABLEDTMFgfekxupc4JFb-cWmh7GIG0yzBYpoQw_mG8aEA48M-wf7oGykFPWv6tk6LQgrKhbMac9GNjpKR9KMKdxnw5NAldkp4Z2w2/s0/Veteran1s.jpg" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRNTXaR8nxQTSPkB0JGJSvJli1e3ywguuHx-bX1YWOrH-KqAcAASdWG1e3A0edS6yAiiy-OdCtrBh_ppsNRyJ_cf1WxDWtH3vsczvFjnqNpOCrW6lbtq2MeIAZRdg9rwai9kk6243jX8Nb/s1178/mia2-sm.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="774" data-original-width="1178" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRNTXaR8nxQTSPkB0JGJSvJli1e3ywguuHx-bX1YWOrH-KqAcAASdWG1e3A0edS6yAiiy-OdCtrBh_ppsNRyJ_cf1WxDWtH3vsczvFjnqNpOCrW6lbtq2MeIAZRdg9rwai9kk6243jX8Nb/s320/mia2-sm.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">James Clifford McKittrick</div><div style="text-align: center;">Edward Joseph Guillory</div><div style="text-align: center;">William Ellsworth Lemmons</div><div style="text-align: center;">On an observation helicopter, South Vietnam, June 1967.</div><div style="text-align: center;">Originally designated as "Missing in Action".</div><div style="text-align: center;">Also designated as "MIA: Declared Dead While Missing."</div><div style="text-align: center;">But now designated by our government as </div><div style="text-align: center;">"Unaccounted For" and "Non-recoverable."</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">Could we please just designate them as </div><div style="text-align: center;">"Veterans We'd Like to Have Had the Chance to Thank"?</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbw6JhjxXRWDGbyZ64kvxQtnchqVzbDDJ26yZeoVY0pQ1jkl0zhJjUJZAP_o_5u07qxcI3s5p3A_k5PfvlDC8Jnv4G8In-f5nZKHuAnxv-X6G2LV4xzjoE2CrxmcjI1ZNM8zCkOgvkbSHL/s621/capture1.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="518" data-original-width="621" height="355" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbw6JhjxXRWDGbyZ64kvxQtnchqVzbDDJ26yZeoVY0pQ1jkl0zhJjUJZAP_o_5u07qxcI3s5p3A_k5PfvlDC8Jnv4G8In-f5nZKHuAnxv-X6G2LV4xzjoE2CrxmcjI1ZNM8zCkOgvkbSHL/w425-h355/capture1.JPG" width="425" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><p></p>Don Maddenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06141696227390870122noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2941525831841085334.post-48334556595546145712022-11-11T02:30:00.001-06:002022-11-11T02:30:00.177-06:00Remembering, Veterans Day, November 2022<p> Remember: </p>
<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkCxSwwBJ_zSu0kS6YQ6wQI-F-5Ll4rFaNBiax4GKFIl0eL7n00wyFPMQ7C7GsGMhjAf-421X-VuhtF1f0FBgxTjyOsK_qXSaao9SgXPWWxOivQBPjDriYiHwIO8Cvpb-_Z0h_Yq_xKAlW/s400/vet-day.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="320" data-original-width="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkCxSwwBJ_zSu0kS6YQ6wQI-F-5Ll4rFaNBiax4GKFIl0eL7n00wyFPMQ7C7GsGMhjAf-421X-VuhtF1f0FBgxTjyOsK_qXSaao9SgXPWWxOivQBPjDriYiHwIO8Cvpb-_Z0h_Yq_xKAlW/s320/vet-day.jpg" width="320" /></a></div> <br /><div style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.4839px; line-height: 18.7258px; text-align: center;">To our oldest generation:</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.4839px; line-height: 18.7258px; text-align: center;">Thank you for believing that freedom was worth fighting for.</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.4839px; line-height: 18.7258px; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.4839px; line-height: 18.7258px; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNKZmQmLSrvxhtBKVdkfNqty4B3AoXmIPZ3hul8tPrO9olTKjMh3yL6AC6pf9-H19z5ED8dNVNTmQkUVYJFRfd4YhkgdbNvo62Fv7MWogMKRXepZ9BbeuxK8lfOBvzpyDpy_VZfoyr5psN/s595/vdaycart1.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="420" data-original-width="595" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNKZmQmLSrvxhtBKVdkfNqty4B3AoXmIPZ3hul8tPrO9olTKjMh3yL6AC6pf9-H19z5ED8dNVNTmQkUVYJFRfd4YhkgdbNvo62Fv7MWogMKRXepZ9BbeuxK8lfOBvzpyDpy_VZfoyr5psN/s320/vdaycart1.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXOr1sT693AIzsSu_M2Ng5I5wFcXTX7u1i1rAmYOtZHIbnI8b_imTJLLd4TJYLz8qAzgwG_hTh5j_RMBUJvxImzvztLbJKZuK10vbCrKpQGRo-uhCrP7eWJ1ccyXK_00wuopkJg2leQ5WW/s500/oldnewveteran.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="363" data-original-width="500" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXOr1sT693AIzsSu_M2Ng5I5wFcXTX7u1i1rAmYOtZHIbnI8b_imTJLLd4TJYLz8qAzgwG_hTh5j_RMBUJvxImzvztLbJKZuK10vbCrKpQGRo-uhCrP7eWJ1ccyXK_00wuopkJg2leQ5WW/s320/oldnewveteran.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOvcwP1Jt48MVUvXRkYXDDvPZ5Zo-rGbmZ-sF15rpFFC8Qehvvof4DPLTOwUFbf83z76AzfI-rotXxyYeLP6J1HxvtA7EzPNYnPyXhFTz7gBrYpkAM9kfjhG4cnaO6I4bo0LW5jAwhByoS/s2048/don-danang-69-sm.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1222" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOvcwP1Jt48MVUvXRkYXDDvPZ5Zo-rGbmZ-sF15rpFFC8Qehvvof4DPLTOwUFbf83z76AzfI-rotXxyYeLP6J1HxvtA7EzPNYnPyXhFTz7gBrYpkAM9kfjhG4cnaO6I4bo0LW5jAwhByoS/s320/don-danang-69-sm.jpg" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-size: xx-small;">Don Madden, Da Nang, Vietnam, 1969</span></i></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiR1eO_Qjnv8mEjqxR_g-YfGlizWKTVAW0rSwznVhVevK-_yZ_X_3i2_0tlfmyVofM6h7C55Jxo66hb_O-NVjzq1C3Frc-8Jm-Ipf65wl7qWYAVPq7vb4SyzhLa4ixjefbbMnfVwrrM02lM/s553/american-2dsoldiers-2d8.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="553" data-original-width="450" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiR1eO_Qjnv8mEjqxR_g-YfGlizWKTVAW0rSwznVhVevK-_yZ_X_3i2_0tlfmyVofM6h7C55Jxo66hb_O-NVjzq1C3Frc-8Jm-Ipf65wl7qWYAVPq7vb4SyzhLa4ixjefbbMnfVwrrM02lM/s320/american-2dsoldiers-2d8.jpg" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLK6qWqJQ4oSo0Nl6RvqjfBuV_bk8vLBnh5ZNvmq0ABLEDTMFgfekxupc4JFb-cWmh7GIG0yzBYpoQw_mG8aEA48M-wf7oGykFPWv6tk6LQgrKhbMac9GNjpKR9KMKdxnw5NAldkp4Z2w2/s216/Veteran1s.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="115" data-original-width="216" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLK6qWqJQ4oSo0Nl6RvqjfBuV_bk8vLBnh5ZNvmq0ABLEDTMFgfekxupc4JFb-cWmh7GIG0yzBYpoQw_mG8aEA48M-wf7oGykFPWv6tk6LQgrKhbMac9GNjpKR9KMKdxnw5NAldkp4Z2w2/s0/Veteran1s.jpg" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRNTXaR8nxQTSPkB0JGJSvJli1e3ywguuHx-bX1YWOrH-KqAcAASdWG1e3A0edS6yAiiy-OdCtrBh_ppsNRyJ_cf1WxDWtH3vsczvFjnqNpOCrW6lbtq2MeIAZRdg9rwai9kk6243jX8Nb/s1178/mia2-sm.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="774" data-original-width="1178" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRNTXaR8nxQTSPkB0JGJSvJli1e3ywguuHx-bX1YWOrH-KqAcAASdWG1e3A0edS6yAiiy-OdCtrBh_ppsNRyJ_cf1WxDWtH3vsczvFjnqNpOCrW6lbtq2MeIAZRdg9rwai9kk6243jX8Nb/s320/mia2-sm.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">James Clifford McKittrick</div><div style="text-align: center;">Edward Joseph Guillory</div><div style="text-align: center;">William Ellsworth Lemmons</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">On an observation helicopter, South Vietnam, June 1967.</div><div style="text-align: center;">Originally designated as "Missing in Action".</div><div style="text-align: center;">Also designated as "MIA: Declared Dead While Missing."</div><div style="text-align: center;">But now designated by our government as </div><div style="text-align: center;">"Unaccounted For" and "Non-recoverable."</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">Could we please just designate them as </div><div style="text-align: center;">"Veterans We'd Like to Have Had the Chance to Thank"?</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbw6JhjxXRWDGbyZ64kvxQtnchqVzbDDJ26yZeoVY0pQ1jkl0zhJjUJZAP_o_5u07qxcI3s5p3A_k5PfvlDC8Jnv4G8In-f5nZKHuAnxv-X6G2LV4xzjoE2CrxmcjI1ZNM8zCkOgvkbSHL/s621/capture1.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="518" data-original-width="621" height="355" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbw6JhjxXRWDGbyZ64kvxQtnchqVzbDDJ26yZeoVY0pQ1jkl0zhJjUJZAP_o_5u07qxcI3s5p3A_k5PfvlDC8Jnv4G8In-f5nZKHuAnxv-X6G2LV4xzjoE2CrxmcjI1ZNM8zCkOgvkbSHL/w425-h355/capture1.JPG" width="425" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><p></p>Don Maddenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06141696227390870122noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2941525831841085334.post-79650744824996297292022-06-06T09:12:00.000-05:002022-06-06T09:12:04.441-05:00Remembering, June 6, 1944<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; 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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiC-gZmnZ41N-ZTvvcobMB8eeqMa1qqDnMKnBgkDh9L3cPSmEtKO8PbkpyTc98qI_LnxtHcps2uZbA5CYRG3FcemF_qLtdlpRq38EoHkpbMCtxf7KMtMyxXOKawumZ6muVH-fQZzon752Z3/s1600/capa1.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="253" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiC-gZmnZ41N-ZTvvcobMB8eeqMa1qqDnMKnBgkDh9L3cPSmEtKO8PbkpyTc98qI_LnxtHcps2uZbA5CYRG3FcemF_qLtdlpRq38EoHkpbMCtxf7KMtMyxXOKawumZ6muVH-fQZzon752Z3/s1600/capa1.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><em>Robert Capa, photographer, Normandy Beach , June 6, 1944<br /><br /></em></td></tr>
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"The move to the ships and craft took place the 3rd of June and we started loading up the night of June 5 but waited twenty-four hours. ... June 6 ... eating a quick breakfast at about 2:00 a.m., climbing over the side on a cargo net at about 3:30 a.m. into a wildly pitching LCM, bouncing on board while the craft joined a rendezvous circle and waited for the last of our wave to join. We were afloat and sailed out with barrage balloons to prevent bomb attack. Training and planning had ended and D-Day had started for the 54 occupants of LCM 1098. Finally, we ceased circling and started the straight run to the beach, still in the dark.<br />
<br />
While we travelled the 12 miles to the shore line, the dawn came up... Everyone soon was experiencing the pangs of seasickness, wanting to get off that pitching and rolling boat no matter what might come next. You couldn't stick your head over the side, so everyone was vomiting in the boat. I positioned myself right at the front as I believed it was essential that the members of the command be first on the beach...<br />
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In our craft we could feel the bottom scrub some sand and jar to a grounded halt. Obviously the boat had struck a sand bar. I plunged forward, jumped into the dark water, feet first, and was surprised to find I was in eight-foot deep water. My lifebelt brought me back to the surface, already swimming. Soon my feet touched bottom and I was able to begin splashing and running out of the water. Winded, I paused to kneel in the shelter of a steel hedgehog, then lunged ahead and dove into a depression filled with water. Suddenly, my ankle felt as if hit by a baseball bat. I was afraid to stand up for fear of being shot and I was afraid to stay where I was for fear I'd be drowned. Eventually I decided I had to move, and I'd try running and if I could run OK then my leg must not be broken. I hobbled the remaining 50 yards to the shoreline and lay down against the stony rubble. .. There was no one in front of me, beside me, nor behind me that I could see or hear."<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjpOucFqlWctF8o8VdovQctOHOxgRqdFE_XEcUW86UaNIrwsnOhkwiUXk8Y-nhwVqSmIo8xQwYFvbmxK20YORQxWQhQhPIIg4_hyRJKBklPvvtVN61CfVtfRF2vtWNmA_V-H-pDVjHbwun/s1600/bob1.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjpOucFqlWctF8o8VdovQctOHOxgRqdFE_XEcUW86UaNIrwsnOhkwiUXk8Y-nhwVqSmIo8xQwYFvbmxK20YORQxWQhQhPIIg4_hyRJKBklPvvtVN61CfVtfRF2vtWNmA_V-H-pDVjHbwun/s1600/bob1.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><em>Being interviewed, Normandy, June 6, 1994</em></td></tr>
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Susan's step-father's account of June 6, 1944. That day he was shot in the ankle but went on with the 121st Engineers Combat Battalion, 29th Division, to St. Lo, Brest and on to Paris. He continued to serve in the army in France and later in Okinawa and in Viet Nam, where there was, to his immense pride, a $2,000 price on his head.<br />
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Pops, we miss you.Don Maddenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06141696227390870122noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2941525831841085334.post-82857845288355742482022-05-30T01:20:00.001-05:002022-05-30T01:20:37.486-05:00Memorial Day, May 30, 2022 - Remembering, from 2009<div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><strong>Memorial Day</strong> is a Federal holiday observed on the last Monday of May to honor U.S. soldiers who died while in military service. On this long Memorial Day weekend enjoy your picnic, your barbecue, your family gathering and maybe a long break from work.</span></div><div align="center" style="background-color: white;"></div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br style="background-color: white;" /></span><div align="center" style="background-color: white;"><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;">But before you do, please see below what I said in a previous post in 2009. It will let you see why it is so important for me that you take a few moments to remember two men who gave their lives defending our country and the freedoms we have.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div></div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.4839px; text-align: center;"><br /></div>
<div align="left"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyjrgjhHXbTvpeLZXd7QjFNixlRgCBwusc2Go2zr943dEvFAQHqjY_mco9PQb83zPpql4oVn3fP9x5LhD79CE3OAa0dcMtEhmDpcyuBQreaF-SnZgaXJxN7R3usd7hO6MiZVR2uNhUBRLH/s1600-h/477px-Graves_at_Arlington_on_Memorial_Day.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5338629320961827554" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyjrgjhHXbTvpeLZXd7QjFNixlRgCBwusc2Go2zr943dEvFAQHqjY_mco9PQb83zPpql4oVn3fP9x5LhD79CE3OAa0dcMtEhmDpcyuBQreaF-SnZgaXJxN7R3usd7hO6MiZVR2uNhUBRLH/s400/477px-Graves_at_Arlington_on_Memorial_Day.jpg" style="cursor: hand; display: block; height: 400px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 319px;" /></a>
The last Monday of May (May 25, 2009) is set aside to commemorate U.S. men and women who died while in military service. The gravestones at many cemeteries will be graced by U.S. flags placed there by family members and volunteers.
Although I like to think of my blog as a humorous and entertaining glimpse of my life, today I want to give you a piece out of my past, and I want you to be able to see Memorial Day not as parades, picnics and flags but instead as people, families, and children, both here and gone. </div><div align="left"><br /></div><div align="left"> HBO recently showed a special program called "Taking Chance", which depicts the Military Escort Duty of a Marine Officer, based on a true account. In case you aren't aware, a Military Escort accompanies the body of any serviceman killed in duty overseas, all the way from arrival in the United States to the burial/final service where the Military Escort presents to the family the American flag used to cover the coffin. Military Escort duty isn't assigned, Military Escorts volunteer for the duty. In January of 1968 I volunteered for service in Vietnam. And I volunteered for Military Escort Duty. </div><div align="left"><br /></div><div align="left">I watched the program "Taking Chance" and went to tell Susan. </div><div align="left">Susan: <em>I remember you did Escort Duty when we were stationed in California. Do you remember anything about it?</em> </div><div align="left">Me: (without thinking) <em>His name was Brown and I took him home to a little town in Illinois.</em> </div><div align="left">Susan: <em>You were in the service for 5 years and up until now the only name you can remember from that whole time was your roommate in Vietnam. </em></div><div align="left"><em>But now, all of the sudden, you can remember the name of the man </em><em>you did Escort Duty for?</em></div><div align="left">
Me: <em>Yes. </em></div><div align="left"><br /></div><div align="left">
Susan did internet research and found a U.S. Air Force Officer named Brown who died in 1968 and had an Illinois hometown. More research pulled up a post from a David Brown, asking for information about his father, Barry Lynn Brown. Was it the same person? Susan did more internet research, made many phone calls to funeral homes and VFW centers where finally she talked to a very helpful veteran, Bruce McMillan. He offered to go to his local library and do more research for her and was able to mail her a copy of the local May 6, 1968, newspaper with the large headline "...Killed in Vietnam". </div><div align="left"><br /><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5338629329232128626" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdus6piSiPwhC-CI9GRytHv0lUMKCu_PzZ4eOeIV27LF0q9W9LeeYtyyctvvpEh_RghkSMAs7u6F81kJMwEHrZWO0ta-JIvhyMCyVq-rh8usUi-PlBvSi-fpGLo8I6iOEviLGTNoKVUy5o/s400/brown-sm1.jpg" style="cursor: hand; display: block; height: 300px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 400px;" /> <atomicelement id="ms__id2043"><em><span style="font-size: 85%;"></span></em></atomicelement></div>
<div align="center"><em><span style="font-size: 85%;">Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall, Washington, DC, April 2009</span></em></div>
<p>I emailed David telling him I didn't know his father but that I had served as Military Escort at his father's funeral. As a result of remembering his father's name, Susan's research, and Bruce's help, I've now been able to communicate with Barry Lynn Brown's sons, David and Kent; his widow, Patty; and his grandson, Connor, who never knew his grandfather but wants to go into the Air Force. They have been incredibly generous in their appreciation of what I did for them, yet they were the ones who made the ultimate American wartime sacrifice. </p><p> What did I do for them?
When my name came up to the top of the volunteer Military Escort Duty list I got a phone call telling me that within 12 hours a flight would be arriving from Vietnam and I was to meet it to begin Escort Duty. Not until I showed up did I find out where I was going and who I was escorting. I did my best to preserve the dignity, honor and respect Barry Lynn Brown deserved. I presented the folded American flag from his coffin to his widow, "from a grateful nation". </p><p>I can think of no greater honor I could have had than the privilege of escorting the body of an American serviceman, killed in action, home to his family. </p>
<p><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5338630900582679794" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgauKLGXfA1WwA7prjjUJYkt9F3k-iaQlNIBzEBxr3Oc5CyGqZuNwlU9f5IOgG5qwfiwI89XGhLXBBGjAVuGTRIJuyeQAHpiFhzL92lBPbB9WQx-3YqSygQbXMOl59PgLYi8eg7AWr9-if5/s400/BarryLBrown-sm1.jpg" style="cursor: hand; display: block; height: 400px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 267px;" /> </p><p align="center"><em><span>Captain Barry Lynn Brown, Killed in Action, Vietnam, May 5, 1968</span></em></p><p align="left">On Memorial Day, when most people think of small American flags placed on gravestones, think back to May 1968 and visualize a very young widow and her two sons, ages 1½ and 2½ years old, being handed a carefully folded flag by a very solemn young man.
</p><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5338629330166373826" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKuUEHTkMb8febko9OIpfDOJBTlnWmCxtC0E3wm3iJCUBxsqbFwudcw4XFgknf1fJiQNr23Fs4YC7_1PQrlI-xYkQVQP2dpVska7ClVsxSWlS08dszzNVXOQGZbVD7-_R1PPBp3bagmk79/s400/2flags.jpg" style="cursor: hand; display: block; height: 400px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 380px;" /><div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div>
Think also of the family of James Clifford McKittrick. They are still waiting for him to come home. I'm still waiting to send them my POW-MIA bracelet.<div> <img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5338629327641558898" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiX31sNj2UKLO66fl621-rCHa2dG5y7VHD82ds_5IEQUmEWyntvdXiGr7VhYuC74rEURABEGzVbM3Y2Qk-XFtxedU89r8tMmsY0OYsPucFuJ7BK03BBhWW6UurUyAMmdPBnHtGQKpAUPbx7/s400/mia1.jpg" style="cursor: hand; display: block; height: 250px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 400px;" /></div><div><div style="text-align: center;"><em style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Major James Clifford McKittrick, Missing In Action, Vietnam, 1967</em><span style="text-align: left;"> </span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div>
<img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5339136377242753410" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAYvBUlaTi2lhP83XpbDmM7101CcDh8DDsiCT3nY4BQuH78qYN5vr2H9u77nd1f4z-Pt29ZIqazOX6Lz2Q0fLUCWXLJQgQUIpMzpn47jvGL9GHfwz1And7HWaCJv3-skofOmVgGitcREkw/s400/mckitt2-sm.jpg" style="cursor: hand; display: block; height: 275px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 400px;" /> <p align="center"><em><span>Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall, Washington, DC, April 2009</span></em></p></div></div>Don Maddenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06141696227390870122noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2941525831841085334.post-23721449177516585292022-05-21T09:00:00.003-05:002022-05-21T09:01:34.292-05:00Armed Forces Day, May 2022<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfra_JkAtEG6Zk_J2tGPWw-YXetDruOIU1HZ9oKX9kTTa_HcMpfQr5VYfybc7TW-qB9I2nDk8AR358doLxkVyaZh_8zXE-bu6IzjMo9WcLVdrmBPKIqK3gkDgD2LmoxESOTEhfwSZd-7vZcNiw84DEPetS9w6Vh8JFocq7GQ2BeuIyUhhdyGdiM8uZJA/s2165/rs7.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1912" data-original-width="2165" height="283" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfra_JkAtEG6Zk_J2tGPWw-YXetDruOIU1HZ9oKX9kTTa_HcMpfQr5VYfybc7TW-qB9I2nDk8AR358doLxkVyaZh_8zXE-bu6IzjMo9WcLVdrmBPKIqK3gkDgD2LmoxESOTEhfwSZd-7vZcNiw84DEPetS9w6Vh8JFocq7GQ2BeuIyUhhdyGdiM8uZJA/s320/rs7.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"> <span style="text-align: center;">I took this picture of Army nurses in Da Nang, Vietnam, 1969. </span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="text-align: center;">N</span>ot everyone in the Armed Forces carried weapons.</div><p></p>Don Maddenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06141696227390870122noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2941525831841085334.post-75348299269352504252021-11-11T04:00:00.007-06:002021-11-11T04:00:00.208-06:00Remembering, Veterans Day, November 11, 2021<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkCxSwwBJ_zSu0kS6YQ6wQI-F-5Ll4rFaNBiax4GKFIl0eL7n00wyFPMQ7C7GsGMhjAf-421X-VuhtF1f0FBgxTjyOsK_qXSaao9SgXPWWxOivQBPjDriYiHwIO8Cvpb-_Z0h_Yq_xKAlW/s400/vet-day.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="320" data-original-width="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkCxSwwBJ_zSu0kS6YQ6wQI-F-5Ll4rFaNBiax4GKFIl0eL7n00wyFPMQ7C7GsGMhjAf-421X-VuhtF1f0FBgxTjyOsK_qXSaao9SgXPWWxOivQBPjDriYiHwIO8Cvpb-_Z0h_Yq_xKAlW/s320/vet-day.jpg" width="320" /></a></div> <br /><div style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.4839px; line-height: 18.7258px; text-align: center;">To our oldest generation:</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.4839px; line-height: 18.7258px; text-align: center;">Thank you for believing that freedom was worth fighting for.</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.4839px; line-height: 18.7258px; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.4839px; line-height: 18.7258px; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNKZmQmLSrvxhtBKVdkfNqty4B3AoXmIPZ3hul8tPrO9olTKjMh3yL6AC6pf9-H19z5ED8dNVNTmQkUVYJFRfd4YhkgdbNvo62Fv7MWogMKRXepZ9BbeuxK8lfOBvzpyDpy_VZfoyr5psN/s595/vdaycart1.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="420" data-original-width="595" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNKZmQmLSrvxhtBKVdkfNqty4B3AoXmIPZ3hul8tPrO9olTKjMh3yL6AC6pf9-H19z5ED8dNVNTmQkUVYJFRfd4YhkgdbNvo62Fv7MWogMKRXepZ9BbeuxK8lfOBvzpyDpy_VZfoyr5psN/s320/vdaycart1.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXOr1sT693AIzsSu_M2Ng5I5wFcXTX7u1i1rAmYOtZHIbnI8b_imTJLLd4TJYLz8qAzgwG_hTh5j_RMBUJvxImzvztLbJKZuK10vbCrKpQGRo-uhCrP7eWJ1ccyXK_00wuopkJg2leQ5WW/s500/oldnewveteran.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="363" data-original-width="500" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXOr1sT693AIzsSu_M2Ng5I5wFcXTX7u1i1rAmYOtZHIbnI8b_imTJLLd4TJYLz8qAzgwG_hTh5j_RMBUJvxImzvztLbJKZuK10vbCrKpQGRo-uhCrP7eWJ1ccyXK_00wuopkJg2leQ5WW/s320/oldnewveteran.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOvcwP1Jt48MVUvXRkYXDDvPZ5Zo-rGbmZ-sF15rpFFC8Qehvvof4DPLTOwUFbf83z76AzfI-rotXxyYeLP6J1HxvtA7EzPNYnPyXhFTz7gBrYpkAM9kfjhG4cnaO6I4bo0LW5jAwhByoS/s2048/don-danang-69-sm.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1222" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOvcwP1Jt48MVUvXRkYXDDvPZ5Zo-rGbmZ-sF15rpFFC8Qehvvof4DPLTOwUFbf83z76AzfI-rotXxyYeLP6J1HxvtA7EzPNYnPyXhFTz7gBrYpkAM9kfjhG4cnaO6I4bo0LW5jAwhByoS/s320/don-danang-69-sm.jpg" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-size: xx-small;">Don Madden, Da Nang, Vietnam, 1969</span></i></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiR1eO_Qjnv8mEjqxR_g-YfGlizWKTVAW0rSwznVhVevK-_yZ_X_3i2_0tlfmyVofM6h7C55Jxo66hb_O-NVjzq1C3Frc-8Jm-Ipf65wl7qWYAVPq7vb4SyzhLa4ixjefbbMnfVwrrM02lM/s553/american-2dsoldiers-2d8.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="553" data-original-width="450" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiR1eO_Qjnv8mEjqxR_g-YfGlizWKTVAW0rSwznVhVevK-_yZ_X_3i2_0tlfmyVofM6h7C55Jxo66hb_O-NVjzq1C3Frc-8Jm-Ipf65wl7qWYAVPq7vb4SyzhLa4ixjefbbMnfVwrrM02lM/s320/american-2dsoldiers-2d8.jpg" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLK6qWqJQ4oSo0Nl6RvqjfBuV_bk8vLBnh5ZNvmq0ABLEDTMFgfekxupc4JFb-cWmh7GIG0yzBYpoQw_mG8aEA48M-wf7oGykFPWv6tk6LQgrKhbMac9GNjpKR9KMKdxnw5NAldkp4Z2w2/s216/Veteran1s.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="115" data-original-width="216" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLK6qWqJQ4oSo0Nl6RvqjfBuV_bk8vLBnh5ZNvmq0ABLEDTMFgfekxupc4JFb-cWmh7GIG0yzBYpoQw_mG8aEA48M-wf7oGykFPWv6tk6LQgrKhbMac9GNjpKR9KMKdxnw5NAldkp4Z2w2/s0/Veteran1s.jpg" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRNTXaR8nxQTSPkB0JGJSvJli1e3ywguuHx-bX1YWOrH-KqAcAASdWG1e3A0edS6yAiiy-OdCtrBh_ppsNRyJ_cf1WxDWtH3vsczvFjnqNpOCrW6lbtq2MeIAZRdg9rwai9kk6243jX8Nb/s1178/mia2-sm.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="774" data-original-width="1178" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRNTXaR8nxQTSPkB0JGJSvJli1e3ywguuHx-bX1YWOrH-KqAcAASdWG1e3A0edS6yAiiy-OdCtrBh_ppsNRyJ_cf1WxDWtH3vsczvFjnqNpOCrW6lbtq2MeIAZRdg9rwai9kk6243jX8Nb/s320/mia2-sm.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">James Clifford McKittrick</div><div style="text-align: center;">Edward Joseph Guillory</div><div style="text-align: center;">William Ellsworth Lemmons</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">On an observation helicopter, South Vietnam, June 1967.</div><div style="text-align: center;">Originally designated as "Missing in Action".</div><div style="text-align: center;">Also designated as "MIA: Declared Dead While Missing."</div><div style="text-align: center;">But now designated by our government as </div><div style="text-align: center;">"Unaccounted For" and "Non-recoverable."</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">Could we please just designate them as </div><div style="text-align: center;">"Veterans We'd Like to Have Had the Chance to Thank"?</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbw6JhjxXRWDGbyZ64kvxQtnchqVzbDDJ26yZeoVY0pQ1jkl0zhJjUJZAP_o_5u07qxcI3s5p3A_k5PfvlDC8Jnv4G8In-f5nZKHuAnxv-X6G2LV4xzjoE2CrxmcjI1ZNM8zCkOgvkbSHL/s621/capture1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="518" data-original-width="621" height="355" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbw6JhjxXRWDGbyZ64kvxQtnchqVzbDDJ26yZeoVY0pQ1jkl0zhJjUJZAP_o_5u07qxcI3s5p3A_k5PfvlDC8Jnv4G8In-f5nZKHuAnxv-X6G2LV4xzjoE2CrxmcjI1ZNM8zCkOgvkbSHL/w425-h355/capture1.JPG" width="425" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><p></p>Don Maddenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06141696227390870122noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2941525831841085334.post-55914803162916667762021-01-29T10:07:00.003-06:002021-01-29T10:07:52.303-06:00Okay, More Postcards<p> <span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-ZmU2sbApP7f688JKEG7pqI3IrIPJQs-DtqjkBzAsd74-aUUw8Ex-xIDOSLzbgAm5pyI-neH06P7xXlqD2Jt-2RBl1xFRSb5VAOAbV4PO0Q6rhGm7CTW9nGemABl0PD6m4qNhIakc9hC2/s640/card67-a.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="640" height="295" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-ZmU2sbApP7f688JKEG7pqI3IrIPJQs-DtqjkBzAsd74-aUUw8Ex-xIDOSLzbgAm5pyI-neH06P7xXlqD2Jt-2RBl1xFRSb5VAOAbV4PO0Q6rhGm7CTW9nGemABl0PD6m4qNhIakc9hC2/w393-h295/card67-a.jpg" width="393" /></a><br /><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcvexp0SqHiUJvCr_ZIUH9yTXjm0qk76G3C8HgkmP5BA9xLNB9NpCvpgazY7Ma0lsvsd31psDlU6mcg4ZRK1UnzgxlY4AbpGtsGFgFR-jlhsMoMbl678y_pRelkD7WK7LNpS1AG1Z0VfqU/s629/card66-a.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="433" data-original-width="629" height="272" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcvexp0SqHiUJvCr_ZIUH9yTXjm0qk76G3C8HgkmP5BA9xLNB9NpCvpgazY7Ma0lsvsd31psDlU6mcg4ZRK1UnzgxlY4AbpGtsGFgFR-jlhsMoMbl678y_pRelkD7WK7LNpS1AG1Z0VfqU/w395-h272/card66-a.jpg" width="395" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJxKl6WVmhHsG8ofyDXDYBG0ImFafA2KTpJKHvsxDMB-Wgn3OgTP1iNQj9qjR9vnu-D7dviv8egFiUJw6v9E0HZwNB41Yau1ML8CPs2GO7lKoGgl5KG4E69-0liE_T5F0qwUTjFQCXb1pC/s640/card65-a.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="640" height="281" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJxKl6WVmhHsG8ofyDXDYBG0ImFafA2KTpJKHvsxDMB-Wgn3OgTP1iNQj9qjR9vnu-D7dviv8egFiUJw6v9E0HZwNB41Yau1ML8CPs2GO7lKoGgl5KG4E69-0liE_T5F0qwUTjFQCXb1pC/w375-h281/card65-a.jpg" width="375" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjT8g7PPYPORXOTbz9MI_gyGF9uWl6yXecEfNKYZO0sB4KtmD-CKOR_DUGuseRJ-X3h8l4RlJXMDQtiXfbbL0Bz01CGFuD5S2Tg7pBqRlFUqQiMRu1p23U4ANL1ZXepBCuufMWAumHrdF_O/s639/card64-a.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="431" data-original-width="639" height="249" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjT8g7PPYPORXOTbz9MI_gyGF9uWl6yXecEfNKYZO0sB4KtmD-CKOR_DUGuseRJ-X3h8l4RlJXMDQtiXfbbL0Bz01CGFuD5S2Tg7pBqRlFUqQiMRu1p23U4ANL1ZXepBCuufMWAumHrdF_O/w369-h249/card64-a.jpg" width="369" /></a></div>My Blog Wrangler has no idea why these images are of different sizes and no idea why some aren't centered even if she clicks on the centering choice and that's why she doesn't do much blogging for me anymore. But I still keep sending her postcards anyway.<p></p>Don Maddenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06141696227390870122noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2941525831841085334.post-86856615884008029002021-01-10T15:20:00.002-06:002021-01-10T15:20:36.638-06:00In Austin, Texas???<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdPQ-xQ1UE-KwtTQWo7EumI7CkysCiP7nuYwhbX99bY4B0gDEz2g-N1bgN1X0IWs2fwqc39da80l116jLpVN6TWLeyQ9xqvanesPnxXlUzZVEHchLQ6c8QnaLjxuEYbF-CMIk_vc9OAYX9/s640/IMG_8456.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="480" height="387" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdPQ-xQ1UE-KwtTQWo7EumI7CkysCiP7nuYwhbX99bY4B0gDEz2g-N1bgN1X0IWs2fwqc39da80l116jLpVN6TWLeyQ9xqvanesPnxXlUzZVEHchLQ6c8QnaLjxuEYbF-CMIk_vc9OAYX9/w356-h387/IMG_8456.JPG" width="356" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Snow. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">You have got to be kidding us. Finally, something has happened to us that isn't making news commentators blather on, something that has helped us take a nice long nap instead of anxiously doom-scrolling the news. Thank you, Mother Nature.</div><p></p>Don Maddenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06141696227390870122noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2941525831841085334.post-4791379224673138282021-01-01T14:52:00.002-06:002021-01-01T14:52:46.707-06:00Happy New Better-Be-Better-Than-Last Year<p> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMN_YoJ1bdpQH2_Y2bQeQls5eH4KuzPYHTfzCVtZW7HhlLoMQRPBIMGRvuB-uEkdlYERbni5wBhZt0_DSLRDmuN60ebfj_A6dNoV6OnU7vnZDfWTU6NW5BJ-ZuA2evSZeiS3tRqz0FlmbZ/s631/temp-mallpic.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="631" data-original-width="587" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMN_YoJ1bdpQH2_Y2bQeQls5eH4KuzPYHTfzCVtZW7HhlLoMQRPBIMGRvuB-uEkdlYERbni5wBhZt0_DSLRDmuN60ebfj_A6dNoV6OnU7vnZDfWTU6NW5BJ-ZuA2evSZeiS3tRqz0FlmbZ/s320/temp-mallpic.jpg" /></a><br />Our New Normal.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxCbPbAeGtG7Woe4cqgKXC8iCeozoaWQfG9Pl60o5DaHpni5cEUxb1ug3wiyv-PCk8JJI2Ny506FYGkPh4VnpWAqLt5tRClYeVDrIFxH_404bIFpwWbojiz3f3jr7JlYIKW2u-s4OXzVyu/s1024/dks1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="768" data-original-width="1024" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxCbPbAeGtG7Woe4cqgKXC8iCeozoaWQfG9Pl60o5DaHpni5cEUxb1ug3wiyv-PCk8JJI2Ny506FYGkPh4VnpWAqLt5tRClYeVDrIFxH_404bIFpwWbojiz3f3jr7JlYIKW2u-s4OXzVyu/s320/dks1.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>My ducks get masks now.<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfEuSQ1jiOgEmx_2pIPpkBUL5lmIavsUSqC8TXyokle0170Cu_ItY10gaqoO1SxbBaZM86mYN7PZcrGBKTWjoHUvK9WWstbBzjCTOZhpfjmj71NujMp9TbdNi85yueVZYvocPQEgj-N0gl/s1335/NYr14.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="890" data-original-width="1335" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfEuSQ1jiOgEmx_2pIPpkBUL5lmIavsUSqC8TXyokle0170Cu_ItY10gaqoO1SxbBaZM86mYN7PZcrGBKTWjoHUvK9WWstbBzjCTOZhpfjmj71NujMp9TbdNi85yueVZYvocPQEgj-N0gl/s320/NYr14.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>Don Maddenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06141696227390870122noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2941525831841085334.post-88982048944573391742020-12-25T09:10:00.002-06:002020-12-25T09:10:44.560-06:00Happy ?? Holidays 2020 <p> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCqXRn5mQbvV0PgESoWaeADYC567T0b0Y40ERfqo5quZAxI9e6nk4yrOF0ha1H66A4HIvPkE4VVtIK1F_8AAhbWh0mrB4bw9ka8ogEtKjwj8iqOawkixw-osHTUWFLZN0IYKjDBNpavaPI/s640/IMG_4500-sm+%2528Small%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="480" height="388" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCqXRn5mQbvV0PgESoWaeADYC567T0b0Y40ERfqo5quZAxI9e6nk4yrOF0ha1H66A4HIvPkE4VVtIK1F_8AAhbWh0mrB4bw9ka8ogEtKjwj8iqOawkixw-osHTUWFLZN0IYKjDBNpavaPI/w291-h388/IMG_4500-sm+%2528Small%2529.JPG" width="291" /></a></p>We can only hope that the holiday season in 2021 will be more joyful. <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZ4PkrKn-x9luOULO0mZLsdT6QZUj1L9jo8TQBAJQKxKfX-f0xv4qZ18qBJa7SfqHsnZlUrLXJZe8un8B9czsZfl8TIk0OcO4Obdll24viwqNEphQZKPGVCnuuYW7OWgnK14q4GJhy5Z2Y/s640/IMG_6596.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="480" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZ4PkrKn-x9luOULO0mZLsdT6QZUj1L9jo8TQBAJQKxKfX-f0xv4qZ18qBJa7SfqHsnZlUrLXJZe8un8B9czsZfl8TIk0OcO4Obdll24viwqNEphQZKPGVCnuuYW7OWgnK14q4GJhy5Z2Y/s320/IMG_6596.JPG" /></a></div>These little snails are kissing? making whoopee? talking? WITHOUT masks!<div><br /></div><div>One reason you don't see many blog entries anymore is that my Blog Wrangler is totally frustrated by the way Blogger positions and spaces stuff, totally out of her control. Life used to be simpler. And safer. </div><div><br /></div><div>Have a happy holiday season by (temporarily) thinking of the good old days. And wear your masks for us old people, not for your young self. It's not politics, it's not science, it's just good manners.</div>Don Maddenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06141696227390870122noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2941525831841085334.post-50157364720314875022020-12-13T10:57:00.000-06:002020-12-13T10:57:09.402-06:00Postcards 4<p> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZvB-VvwPOParOta1xgdBC_gCavjoezFvqGPC6wDwIqUYGtvLVjf7b8DPrTKcCby-oNSlFphdyO-47e1xOYB5YujSw2tiqC5g53BHXyIwGBOPvf57rEy4YkWEbxeSd9gZk5bk9yHEPSEEY/s1200/IMG_8417-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1200" height="304" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZvB-VvwPOParOta1xgdBC_gCavjoezFvqGPC6wDwIqUYGtvLVjf7b8DPrTKcCby-oNSlFphdyO-47e1xOYB5YujSw2tiqC5g53BHXyIwGBOPvf57rEy4YkWEbxeSd9gZk5bk9yHEPSEEY/w405-h304/IMG_8417-1.jpg" width="405" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcSLmL8SusqD0CYns92gN7GeNjEiUyXJMZch8vSPUrLbYHlUnAmNuTVgo3ajza9OQggf6QsA5AtpPERgy6mqIq75E22REVgFjnP3BG77cy_81zOI6xYa6sa7VIrK0htySm09vGCqMdARIj/s1200/IMG_8416-2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1200" height="280" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcSLmL8SusqD0CYns92gN7GeNjEiUyXJMZch8vSPUrLbYHlUnAmNuTVgo3ajza9OQggf6QsA5AtpPERgy6mqIq75E22REVgFjnP3BG77cy_81zOI6xYa6sa7VIrK0htySm09vGCqMdARIj/w402-h280/IMG_8416-2.jpg" width="402" /></a></p>Our mail carrier, Lanelle, gets worried if I don't have a weekly postcard for Susan.Don Maddenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06141696227390870122noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2941525831841085334.post-55006585534258667432020-11-30T14:34:00.002-06:002020-11-30T14:34:48.598-06:00Postcards 3<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdQzCX13tOkTtA__xhWYJumC5AhEgopSLCXrxbLJNt2kAj4saZnf87A68wP7JkGFHH_tFOQqZBIRXLucXdmW862u-MWyjvma-kPw07dPWwBxbwPXhVaLPLpoHSKdZg2HSIrrBKAKPCbZr7/s1200/IMG_8415-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1200" height="285" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdQzCX13tOkTtA__xhWYJumC5AhEgopSLCXrxbLJNt2kAj4saZnf87A68wP7JkGFHH_tFOQqZBIRXLucXdmW862u-MWyjvma-kPw07dPWwBxbwPXhVaLPLpoHSKdZg2HSIrrBKAKPCbZr7/w379-h285/IMG_8415-1.jpg" width="379" /></a></div></div><div> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrBk1WlFSEhUCRI_UPeJsakpBCaRtY4u7wtLZ5U_aph-toozdfZZ1mOuFKzlqay-emE5XZX6yAxcAJfZpxEEMM-IN2E67ilw5rTQhSk6ru-NwRm1E1eqbzX7OZ6GphLHlN5iZcivlM1Clg/s1200/IMG_8414-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1200" height="286" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrBk1WlFSEhUCRI_UPeJsakpBCaRtY4u7wtLZ5U_aph-toozdfZZ1mOuFKzlqay-emE5XZX6yAxcAJfZpxEEMM-IN2E67ilw5rTQhSk6ru-NwRm1E1eqbzX7OZ6GphLHlN5iZcivlM1Clg/w381-h286/IMG_8414-1.jpg" width="381" /></a></div><div>I like to think I can put nature on a postcard. But sometimes nature is perfect just the way it is.</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkFcYIxvs-mV8snLBYo0m46Q5m3uBTzSTKPtg0JQUw_GpLzjVIChXYS0W6lR_bjM9Lwq3mMQuGm92ZMoxYlTXBrFaVSHTSQX-OPscAAAmD1j0lNe0AKexWBXy55xgQZl6F5eogt_XdU2n7/s2048/IMG_5872.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1536" height="383" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkFcYIxvs-mV8snLBYo0m46Q5m3uBTzSTKPtg0JQUw_GpLzjVIChXYS0W6lR_bjM9Lwq3mMQuGm92ZMoxYlTXBrFaVSHTSQX-OPscAAAmD1j0lNe0AKexWBXy55xgQZl6F5eogt_XdU2n7/w287-h383/IMG_5872.JPG" width="287" /></a></div><br /><br /><p></p>Don Maddenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06141696227390870122noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2941525831841085334.post-1769452163417970742020-11-26T05:00:00.055-06:002020-11-26T07:11:12.630-06:00Post Cards for Thanksgiving, 2020<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEic3Kop_w4PjQQ3idKl93Q2jkYOYD0chS0H6uUhJHCvBH-BS-wgStz9s2hYzLDPSb55u3VGConvyOuIwgM-T4WzVmcULdqA_EXOiKQprjvWkTEoaYobJty4nBkP1cc3JPDrJ19I8wUohkLl/s640/IMG_8408.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="640" height="287" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEic3Kop_w4PjQQ3idKl93Q2jkYOYD0chS0H6uUhJHCvBH-BS-wgStz9s2hYzLDPSb55u3VGConvyOuIwgM-T4WzVmcULdqA_EXOiKQprjvWkTEoaYobJty4nBkP1cc3JPDrJ19I8wUohkLl/w383-h287/IMG_8408.JPG" width="383" /></a></div> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKs3xwchg_fg-wTrx7rNMjm_SEkgHeGkFBcZ_b_cQtPPk91fb0wx4LzI3j88Ely4EObVIqTs42NFq3GhpLUQ8YHtksp2Lgj-a3ZdhNvj3KcrkJZqHdcXmEJmTsOLElJsj7N9YpAFDnNHTl/s640/IMG_8409+-+Copy.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="640" height="276" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKs3xwchg_fg-wTrx7rNMjm_SEkgHeGkFBcZ_b_cQtPPk91fb0wx4LzI3j88Ely4EObVIqTs42NFq3GhpLUQ8YHtksp2Lgj-a3ZdhNvj3KcrkJZqHdcXmEJmTsOLElJsj7N9YpAFDnNHTl/w368-h276/IMG_8409+-+Copy.JPG" width="368" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Be careful and think of others when you mask up. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">It's ok to take your mask off to eat but put it back on when you finish!</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Give thanks to everyone working in a hospital or nursing home or doing caregiving today. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">And to those store employees who are stocking the shelves you see, especially in the toilet paper section.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYCBZwrDlfEVkGf0rCcoO3tHFHIA6dSvWh2EFiKSngtXiGHx5Q4zHTj2s0hwfuFX1uPQhjBU8c_n2lFZwvkvUI3QbgsoPUAp9hYzCf-Av63Ul0dcNK6OFsKIrcMidN6Vbat-cJsKriUYPa/s648/1602713609823.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="364" data-original-width="648" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYCBZwrDlfEVkGf0rCcoO3tHFHIA6dSvWh2EFiKSngtXiGHx5Q4zHTj2s0hwfuFX1uPQhjBU8c_n2lFZwvkvUI3QbgsoPUAp9hYzCf-Av63Ul0dcNK6OFsKIrcMidN6Vbat-cJsKriUYPa/s320/1602713609823.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-size: x-small;">Image, MD Anderson Hospital</span></i><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><p></p>Don Maddenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06141696227390870122noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2941525831841085334.post-77868560905541322402020-11-24T11:00:00.005-06:002020-11-24T11:00:00.475-06:00Post Cards 2<p> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWfQxJ1Gfjv8oTRvUQeeRnujuMiOgnwalC-Zv91adoqWqoiiQ9Deq7gpbGjdIBCo3C9xYyeZPudLMS85lRrGA6IBuo7G_D94UlBvDMKhlNTIhFPHRvTC1gu5A84AEinkpuK4wmiIbSLzT4/s640/IMG_8410.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="640" height="272" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWfQxJ1Gfjv8oTRvUQeeRnujuMiOgnwalC-Zv91adoqWqoiiQ9Deq7gpbGjdIBCo3C9xYyeZPudLMS85lRrGA6IBuo7G_D94UlBvDMKhlNTIhFPHRvTC1gu5A84AEinkpuK4wmiIbSLzT4/w362-h272/IMG_8410.JPG" width="362" /></a></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbjDULTWK5kyvqN36rhUvKhnmPQK29MznV0N6t_cdy8ZQoD-9gST6PCuZarAoHA_QLVQy1svbCQwiDkO2Pt2tcu1-mAfP9U_sgF5uMrA_-6Z8OLzDKkC5idGcMZBYvaPhBxEVNjXwy528g/s640/IMG_8411-3.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="640" height="259" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbjDULTWK5kyvqN36rhUvKhnmPQK29MznV0N6t_cdy8ZQoD-9gST6PCuZarAoHA_QLVQy1svbCQwiDkO2Pt2tcu1-mAfP9U_sgF5uMrA_-6Z8OLzDKkC5idGcMZBYvaPhBxEVNjXwy528g/w345-h259/IMG_8411-3.jpg" width="345" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj74dgvxk8cYpZxigi0R8hX95PaQ8w3PFdsVoudurBXtqw0XRGrPPPWnLnGCLB8FAfh_r70lwb0P7iccN4mTfDLDwtMcymdJnNfWNnSomw9JV-KJN8Apr4UH4eW9SSNwa7H2CZJdiP-EQsU/s912/temp-cart1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="299" data-original-width="912" height="125" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj74dgvxk8cYpZxigi0R8hX95PaQ8w3PFdsVoudurBXtqw0XRGrPPPWnLnGCLB8FAfh_r70lwb0P7iccN4mTfDLDwtMcymdJnNfWNnSomw9JV-KJN8Apr4UH4eW9SSNwa7H2CZJdiP-EQsU/w382-h125/temp-cart1.JPG" width="382" /></a></div><br />Don Maddenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06141696227390870122noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2941525831841085334.post-49785686040648917882020-11-11T02:00:00.043-06:002020-11-11T02:00:02.539-06:00Remembering, Veterans Day, November 11, 2020<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkCxSwwBJ_zSu0kS6YQ6wQI-F-5Ll4rFaNBiax4GKFIl0eL7n00wyFPMQ7C7GsGMhjAf-421X-VuhtF1f0FBgxTjyOsK_qXSaao9SgXPWWxOivQBPjDriYiHwIO8Cvpb-_Z0h_Yq_xKAlW/s400/vet-day.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="320" data-original-width="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkCxSwwBJ_zSu0kS6YQ6wQI-F-5Ll4rFaNBiax4GKFIl0eL7n00wyFPMQ7C7GsGMhjAf-421X-VuhtF1f0FBgxTjyOsK_qXSaao9SgXPWWxOivQBPjDriYiHwIO8Cvpb-_Z0h_Yq_xKAlW/s320/vet-day.jpg" width="320" /></a></div> <br /><div style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.4839px; line-height: 18.7258px; text-align: center;">To our oldest generation:</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.4839px; line-height: 18.7258px; text-align: center;">Thank you for believing that freedom was worth fighting for.</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.4839px; line-height: 18.7258px; text-align: center;">To our youngest generation:</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.4839px; line-height: 18.7258px; text-align: center;">Thank you for volunteering to serve to protect our freedom. </div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.4839px; line-height: 18.7258px; text-align: center;"><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNKZmQmLSrvxhtBKVdkfNqty4B3AoXmIPZ3hul8tPrO9olTKjMh3yL6AC6pf9-H19z5ED8dNVNTmQkUVYJFRfd4YhkgdbNvo62Fv7MWogMKRXepZ9BbeuxK8lfOBvzpyDpy_VZfoyr5psN/s595/vdaycart1.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="420" data-original-width="595" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNKZmQmLSrvxhtBKVdkfNqty4B3AoXmIPZ3hul8tPrO9olTKjMh3yL6AC6pf9-H19z5ED8dNVNTmQkUVYJFRfd4YhkgdbNvo62Fv7MWogMKRXepZ9BbeuxK8lfOBvzpyDpy_VZfoyr5psN/s320/vdaycart1.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXOr1sT693AIzsSu_M2Ng5I5wFcXTX7u1i1rAmYOtZHIbnI8b_imTJLLd4TJYLz8qAzgwG_hTh5j_RMBUJvxImzvztLbJKZuK10vbCrKpQGRo-uhCrP7eWJ1ccyXK_00wuopkJg2leQ5WW/s500/oldnewveteran.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="363" data-original-width="500" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXOr1sT693AIzsSu_M2Ng5I5wFcXTX7u1i1rAmYOtZHIbnI8b_imTJLLd4TJYLz8qAzgwG_hTh5j_RMBUJvxImzvztLbJKZuK10vbCrKpQGRo-uhCrP7eWJ1ccyXK_00wuopkJg2leQ5WW/s320/oldnewveteran.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOvcwP1Jt48MVUvXRkYXDDvPZ5Zo-rGbmZ-sF15rpFFC8Qehvvof4DPLTOwUFbf83z76AzfI-rotXxyYeLP6J1HxvtA7EzPNYnPyXhFTz7gBrYpkAM9kfjhG4cnaO6I4bo0LW5jAwhByoS/s2048/don-danang-69-sm.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1222" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOvcwP1Jt48MVUvXRkYXDDvPZ5Zo-rGbmZ-sF15rpFFC8Qehvvof4DPLTOwUFbf83z76AzfI-rotXxyYeLP6J1HxvtA7EzPNYnPyXhFTz7gBrYpkAM9kfjhG4cnaO6I4bo0LW5jAwhByoS/s320/don-danang-69-sm.jpg" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-size: xx-small;">Don Madden, Da Nang, Vietnam, 1969</span></i></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiR1eO_Qjnv8mEjqxR_g-YfGlizWKTVAW0rSwznVhVevK-_yZ_X_3i2_0tlfmyVofM6h7C55Jxo66hb_O-NVjzq1C3Frc-8Jm-Ipf65wl7qWYAVPq7vb4SyzhLa4ixjefbbMnfVwrrM02lM/s553/american-2dsoldiers-2d8.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="553" data-original-width="450" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiR1eO_Qjnv8mEjqxR_g-YfGlizWKTVAW0rSwznVhVevK-_yZ_X_3i2_0tlfmyVofM6h7C55Jxo66hb_O-NVjzq1C3Frc-8Jm-Ipf65wl7qWYAVPq7vb4SyzhLa4ixjefbbMnfVwrrM02lM/s320/american-2dsoldiers-2d8.jpg" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLK6qWqJQ4oSo0Nl6RvqjfBuV_bk8vLBnh5ZNvmq0ABLEDTMFgfekxupc4JFb-cWmh7GIG0yzBYpoQw_mG8aEA48M-wf7oGykFPWv6tk6LQgrKhbMac9GNjpKR9KMKdxnw5NAldkp4Z2w2/s216/Veteran1s.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="115" data-original-width="216" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLK6qWqJQ4oSo0Nl6RvqjfBuV_bk8vLBnh5ZNvmq0ABLEDTMFgfekxupc4JFb-cWmh7GIG0yzBYpoQw_mG8aEA48M-wf7oGykFPWv6tk6LQgrKhbMac9GNjpKR9KMKdxnw5NAldkp4Z2w2/s0/Veteran1s.jpg" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRNTXaR8nxQTSPkB0JGJSvJli1e3ywguuHx-bX1YWOrH-KqAcAASdWG1e3A0edS6yAiiy-OdCtrBh_ppsNRyJ_cf1WxDWtH3vsczvFjnqNpOCrW6lbtq2MeIAZRdg9rwai9kk6243jX8Nb/s1178/mia2-sm.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="774" data-original-width="1178" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRNTXaR8nxQTSPkB0JGJSvJli1e3ywguuHx-bX1YWOrH-KqAcAASdWG1e3A0edS6yAiiy-OdCtrBh_ppsNRyJ_cf1WxDWtH3vsczvFjnqNpOCrW6lbtq2MeIAZRdg9rwai9kk6243jX8Nb/s320/mia2-sm.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">James Clifford McKittrick</div><div style="text-align: center;">Edward Joseph Guillory</div><div style="text-align: center;">William Ellsworth Lemmons</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">On an observation helicopter, South Vietnam, June 1967.</div><div style="text-align: center;">Originally designated as "Missing in Action".</div><div style="text-align: center;">Also designated as "MIA: Declared Dead While Missing."</div><div style="text-align: center;">But now designated by our government as </div><div style="text-align: center;">"Unaccounted For" and "Non-recoverable."</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">Could we please just designate them as </div><div style="text-align: center;">"Veterans We'd Like to Have Had the Chance to Thank"?</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><p></p>Don Maddenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06141696227390870122noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2941525831841085334.post-11689679427663786382020-11-06T08:00:00.010-06:002020-11-06T09:29:33.907-06:00Postcards 1<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlKrOUaG9w-5g1_Mr0oqUyxtLbRefguB6nRoHFVxJQq7tW16y4oQcXsMGgKAKBkycnJT6Mg05kAygPLn7eMjM6UB5CAW8jOtFOHCOXcq6P41JhBtdfYem_wx9er8shnorDxJ4-6aYFvMOq/s1054/DSCN9861-a.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="710" data-original-width="1054" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlKrOUaG9w-5g1_Mr0oqUyxtLbRefguB6nRoHFVxJQq7tW16y4oQcXsMGgKAKBkycnJT6Mg05kAygPLn7eMjM6UB5CAW8jOtFOHCOXcq6P41JhBtdfYem_wx9er8shnorDxJ4-6aYFvMOq/s320/DSCN9861-a.jpg" width="320" /></a></div> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0MgGVosfTgs44QIzcFnDwmTf7IUoAgCpFscdt0Yuumi8g7itkCd9HJ-u0SpnPNKEg_foopT95LujMWjL7wjZZKxW7ogVYO0La2qXW5oyED7CGeDoasq9ajD5grB-PVYDbqZSRlqHEDeZG/s1200/DSCN9862-d.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="796" data-original-width="1200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0MgGVosfTgs44QIzcFnDwmTf7IUoAgCpFscdt0Yuumi8g7itkCd9HJ-u0SpnPNKEg_foopT95LujMWjL7wjZZKxW7ogVYO0La2qXW5oyED7CGeDoasq9ajD5grB-PVYDbqZSRlqHEDeZG/s320/DSCN9862-d.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />We usually do big road trips or fly somewhere. We used to make a big Thanksgiving trip to New York City and Washington DC, a big trip to ArtUnraveled in Phoenix in August, and so on. Nope, not going anywhere this year. Nope, not been anywhere this year. Just about the time we planned to make a spring trip to the northeast, things got ....iffy...not normal. <p></p><p>So the New Normal is that I ride my bike on the week-ends and mail Susan a postcard, as if I'd been somewhere other than just to my Sorrento's coffee shop. She has reminded me that she is a Blog Wrangler, not a Blog Handler.</p><p><i>Late edit:</i> I mailed a postcard (not this one) to Susan early on Saturday morning, well before the scheduled pick-up time, from Austin, to Austin, via an official Post Office drop box located in front of an office building. It arrived on Wednesday. Hope your mail-in ballot had better luck.</p><p><br /></p>Don Maddenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06141696227390870122noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2941525831841085334.post-17565068804267122202020-11-03T11:01:00.000-06:002020-11-03T11:01:47.868-06:00Please vote.<p style="text-align: justify;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYMgA1ShsGNjT3F64-nNcsQxvAUlri88jAOIMoRaUaQJ15bG0XMtx5hLKJqN-3jEm5IP6x7T2vDfs_p6cFahDxxkccisnHw9AH0rT0SnTFf05FFnvhRDgQeF97slJXSZD5TfzNzACFNfZs/s666/max1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="666" data-original-width="513" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYMgA1ShsGNjT3F64-nNcsQxvAUlri88jAOIMoRaUaQJ15bG0XMtx5hLKJqN-3jEm5IP6x7T2vDfs_p6cFahDxxkccisnHw9AH0rT0SnTFf05FFnvhRDgQeF97slJXSZD5TfzNzACFNfZs/s320/max1.JPG" /></a></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">There is no reason the image above is on the left but this text is centered. And the text at the bottom is at the left. There are definite reasons why my Blog Handler refuses to handle my blog. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">After you vote, make art. This is from Mary Beth Shaw's <a href="http://mbshaw.blogspot.com/">blog</a>. I really like the color combinations here.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTxuvNDGcx-mz0WxdHt_1dgywkLm24bj_l0cdiMcH5HZYNpdgPaA9Eco576sQAk1U0K75LSfv0-kqIkGaAAnw5PVZ1lgTXwgWgO3OBiIFVWrGq4zYF0GPDVxADRFo2v-5b3qrpJTWq8Mh6/s554/temp-2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="554" data-original-width="554" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTxuvNDGcx-mz0WxdHt_1dgywkLm24bj_l0cdiMcH5HZYNpdgPaA9Eco576sQAk1U0K75LSfv0-kqIkGaAAnw5PVZ1lgTXwgWgO3OBiIFVWrGq4zYF0GPDVxADRFo2v-5b3qrpJTWq8Mh6/s320/temp-2.JPG" /></a></div></div><div><br /></div>Finally, just breathe.<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7f6Uq4LshYyzwrX2eqW_-9IXnHt69zKQ0paoM3ZtoQwAUbzT7E6QxYIYTQ6hmT9xRY5IK9sIGB9-pxhlVTqntb3JNlhG3lIe8bIS0HpxU-Pzjs9cAFZxIZiv77e9YZ-spHLyAN_FKhZ-2/s640/IMG_6499.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="480" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7f6Uq4LshYyzwrX2eqW_-9IXnHt69zKQ0paoM3ZtoQwAUbzT7E6QxYIYTQ6hmT9xRY5IK9sIGB9-pxhlVTqntb3JNlhG3lIe8bIS0HpxU-Pzjs9cAFZxIZiv77e9YZ-spHLyAN_FKhZ-2/s320/IMG_6499.JPG" /></a></div><br /><p></p>Don Maddenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06141696227390870122noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2941525831841085334.post-48897579907634610252020-10-20T15:50:00.001-05:002020-10-20T15:50:24.610-05:00Day 222<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoLyU-SneHuYA6fgC7pvlvBoHjAnxGQMVvR3fKj_ZmcaSEmGxOedfsRVkmKc2ThiCd5-wQW7xTYuIKIJ3o41OqClgjh2gonRZ63fJ1bS5vi6cCNMaeh6CHyDaO5mWsk-FxcG-IcDg1SZim/s640/bg2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="480" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoLyU-SneHuYA6fgC7pvlvBoHjAnxGQMVvR3fKj_ZmcaSEmGxOedfsRVkmKc2ThiCd5-wQW7xTYuIKIJ3o41OqClgjh2gonRZ63fJ1bS5vi6cCNMaeh6CHyDaO5mWsk-FxcG-IcDg1SZim/s320/bg2.JPG" /></a></div> I made this piece when it was Day 200, whenever that was, maybe August, maybe June, maybe September. Is this October????<p></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKWc8X4yGyMkp8vOrk9klHngedy5uBkm9RboioDGF0KRisilbM7F2jQeGHAbDgrQ5uv7zjk3VWObuaKP-ydM3uyHL9_-wOxkFnEpnqIa4_vimdrZYXcFwjuoLRrPJWC_2IPR9ehStMaIIy/s640/IMG_6530.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKWc8X4yGyMkp8vOrk9klHngedy5uBkm9RboioDGF0KRisilbM7F2jQeGHAbDgrQ5uv7zjk3VWObuaKP-ydM3uyHL9_-wOxkFnEpnqIa4_vimdrZYXcFwjuoLRrPJWC_2IPR9ehStMaIIy/s320/IMG_6530.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><p>Austin graffiti/street artists are incredibly talented. I ride my bike early in the mornings now, easy to do when traffic is much less of a problem. At night, I'm a streaming, binge fanatic on Netflix, currently watching Narcos, next up will be The Trial of the Chicago 7. </p><p></p>Don Maddenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06141696227390870122noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2941525831841085334.post-65897257617237566872020-10-07T06:44:00.000-05:002020-10-07T06:44:13.570-05:00Again<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgf3KVszYR49hBABaKcgs5pNtNXgaXpEDKG3BtsWww_qwDWztmfedM69az_S4-lnyoMvlUSrPbXUp2vPYHaMM8HtyWyp8N3p5VDp77R9j9XdL5CfBA1hnhjmm8L1Eb6auTo0MzfGP_UzMus/s800/bg4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="549" data-original-width="800" height="236" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgf3KVszYR49hBABaKcgs5pNtNXgaXpEDKG3BtsWww_qwDWztmfedM69az_S4-lnyoMvlUSrPbXUp2vPYHaMM8HtyWyp8N3p5VDp77R9j9XdL5CfBA1hnhjmm8L1Eb6auTo0MzfGP_UzMus/w343-h236/bg4.jpg" width="343" /></a></div><br /> Just another day.<p></p>Don Maddenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06141696227390870122noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2941525831841085334.post-8043075578552379292020-10-05T11:16:00.000-05:002020-10-05T11:16:58.897-05:00Once a Day, Once Upon a Time<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEim-MB4s594XU4t7d6UAQ1G2g9A33WvZGRjAa2PXg2pxhxsvDoyzqvkg5mMz87FxUvYqB_kJcgRLn_5ynsNincaqApx-aUXSN24VSEZaaBQl4k5s_y9zvGTwbCqZiJq4GSohfr4XGpxwzC6/s884/bg1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="884" height="279" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEim-MB4s594XU4t7d6UAQ1G2g9A33WvZGRjAa2PXg2pxhxsvDoyzqvkg5mMz87FxUvYqB_kJcgRLn_5ynsNincaqApx-aUXSN24VSEZaaBQl4k5s_y9zvGTwbCqZiJq4GSohfr4XGpxwzC6/w411-h279/bg1.jpg" width="411" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p>Once Upon a Time I was making one journal-like page a day. I'm not really writing anything so I don't exactly consider it a "journal" but you get the idea. The count reflects the number of days since we were supposed to be self-isolated or quarantined or solitary confinement or whatever, since our building includes a Skilled Nursing floor and we (Independent Living) use the same elevators as nursing staff. </p><p>"Skilled Nursing" is a euphemism for "Nursing Home". The media fixates on the number of victims in nursing homes but the reality is that you are not in a nursing home unless you already have health issues or are too fragile to care for yourself. Sad fact. We are fortunate that our facility is very careful and very cautious so our number of residents who have unfortunately passed away this year is not much different from the time when we didn't have a pandemic. The very, very sad fact is that we still aren't allowed to visit our friends in Skilled Nursing. Again, we are being very careful, being very cautious...</p>Don Maddenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06141696227390870122noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2941525831841085334.post-77851521841311885852020-09-24T11:47:00.002-05:002020-09-24T11:47:31.002-05:00September 2020. Or is it?<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIwCFbhadJDPU_znF-rO-PsScX55pC5ztYAmlJvyxgbBmWOUZafamL-LwQN4TtNPi5vQdWAwQ6OolljX4Mk_UE1um1exNOuQx33PHAPVntQKoEuo9aRTodS3kPgBYLFxtwG_zsvOxBO_Q1/s903/1aaa.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="324" data-original-width="903" height="144" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIwCFbhadJDPU_znF-rO-PsScX55pC5ztYAmlJvyxgbBmWOUZafamL-LwQN4TtNPi5vQdWAwQ6OolljX4Mk_UE1um1exNOuQx33PHAPVntQKoEuo9aRTodS3kPgBYLFxtwG_zsvOxBO_Q1/w400-h144/1aaa.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>Or is it July? Or are we still stuck in 2020? Whatever. Again.<p></p>Don Maddenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06141696227390870122noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2941525831841085334.post-71647023482277951072020-09-06T07:49:00.002-05:002020-09-06T07:49:28.099-05:00Labor Day Weekend, September 2020<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgL3ilb-SATYJULv6vKkz1broyw9633M0bi0EmZFgOzC_CjvV5zKomxfBKHNPtdg9SmtNfz8szh0LG-FOnR6SCnLzWfd4mlBg98ukFuS7S_2ieQJ2kaIbSXxoIIyksZU01XJZQi4_gogD7D/s751/aa1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="296" data-original-width="751" height="158" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgL3ilb-SATYJULv6vKkz1broyw9633M0bi0EmZFgOzC_CjvV5zKomxfBKHNPtdg9SmtNfz8szh0LG-FOnR6SCnLzWfd4mlBg98ukFuS7S_2ieQJ2kaIbSXxoIIyksZU01XJZQi4_gogD7D/w400-h158/aa1.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br /> <p></p>Don Maddenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06141696227390870122noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2941525831841085334.post-19817149949069759312020-09-02T11:38:00.000-05:002020-09-02T11:38:34.444-05:00<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwC0YxpU1UEm-1EIlkXFu0Zy9i2kgO9eLEczlSrjFjizhyNvWVaVruZsr6ruHzvEz6QrDfXNbk-R_WpI6RkVAmSNnxdpiJzXVdWDI8B7QvVmBuiMd8EYcze2rgotJXXPTgUB2IjsAZUkb-/s762/IMG_6398+%25282%2529.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="523" data-original-width="762" height="281" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwC0YxpU1UEm-1EIlkXFu0Zy9i2kgO9eLEczlSrjFjizhyNvWVaVruZsr6ruHzvEz6QrDfXNbk-R_WpI6RkVAmSNnxdpiJzXVdWDI8B7QvVmBuiMd8EYcze2rgotJXXPTgUB2IjsAZUkb-/w410-h281/IMG_6398+%25282%2529.jpeg" width="410" /></a></div><br />Costco sold chocolate lava cakes that came in these little ceramic cups. (The cakes were great! I hope they bring them back soon.) I didn't want to throw the cups away - after all, we ate about 40 of the lava cakes over the 2 months they were sold - so I've been painting them and leaving them in places on my bike route. We have a mask mandate here in Austin so my bird is obeying.<p></p>Don Maddenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06141696227390870122noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2941525831841085334.post-26016388111188803032020-08-12T14:35:00.000-05:002020-08-12T14:35:31.394-05:00Mask on!<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjrhSh4ytC_fK536xXVKIeZqPUCGHGWu9I6dvU9-xvdDMhuDGG4s2uFpHH477H394Putz2_aOFQO-MaIwkMzZwSedOvoNUTh1xMBROFHRFzeqXZF9G2QQ8TSfkDbJTN2sk-8Jn5l5fyY-s/s800/IMG_6444.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="600" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjrhSh4ytC_fK536xXVKIeZqPUCGHGWu9I6dvU9-xvdDMhuDGG4s2uFpHH477H394Putz2_aOFQO-MaIwkMzZwSedOvoNUTh1xMBROFHRFzeqXZF9G2QQ8TSfkDbJTN2sk-8Jn5l5fyY-s/w240-h320/IMG_6444.jpeg" width="240" /></a></div> Birds do it, bees do it.<p></p>Don Maddenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06141696227390870122noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2941525831841085334.post-61129635344588285022020-08-09T16:30:00.002-05:002020-08-09T16:35:45.476-05:00I Would, If I was an Alien<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSWkz3wnv0o9-PlTN9kEvBWsLG2W1hDiVTZyyxpcqn1eWsofIFZLSG1WjRa9e5s8HNXWf6csU2nwjtBuZfrhBJr2TkjKRxhaliRKPDHUUDSVihLJXMk1Yj2-5Nhd5w4d7YXOoS4FwHdehw/s468/temp-quote4.JPG" style="display: block; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; padding: 1em 0px;"><img border="0" data-original-height="454" data-original-width="468" height="363" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSWkz3wnv0o9-PlTN9kEvBWsLG2W1hDiVTZyyxpcqn1eWsofIFZLSG1WjRa9e5s8HNXWf6csU2nwjtBuZfrhBJr2TkjKRxhaliRKPDHUUDSVihLJXMk1Yj2-5Nhd5w4d7YXOoS4FwHdehw/w374-h363/temp-quote4.JPG" width="374" /></a></div> To compound all the crazy things going on, my local H.E.B grocery store has produced a new Product Purchasing Limit list.<p></p><p>Here's the good news: Toilet paper no longer has a purchase limit. Here's the bad news: Brisket - Limit 2.</p><p>You can't be a Texan and not be able to cook/grill brisket all day long, all week long, whenever. What were they thinking?!?!</p><p>----------------</p><p>Note: My Blog Wrangler is <b>furious</b> with Blogger. They've changed the format and one change they made was eliminating the user's ability to control line spacing. See above where the good/bad news lines are right next to each other? No, Blogger didn't want them to be together, they forced a break, just like right above this note where she wanted no line space. But she did find via Help comments (where she wasn't the only pissed off user) that you can put two lines close together by faking blank spaces at the end of the first line and then pretending the second line is a continuation of the first line. So that's how she got those 2 lines together. Barely, by guessing and going to Preview several times. And she's mad she can't center images and see it as she's editing. No, I won't go to Facebook... don't even mention that to her!</p>Don Maddenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06141696227390870122noreply@blogger.com0