SPELING IZ IMPORTINT

I hope you all remembered to turn on the ABC network last night which aired the 2009 Scripps National Spelling Bee. There’s nothing more exciting than watching a bunch of kids who could spell words that most people have never heard in their lifetime.

I think George Bush should have been the judge to give out the words. “Strategery” would have been a good word.

“Could you use that word in a sentence, Mr. President?”
“Strategery”…”I had a strategery meeting with Scooter Libby at 3:00 p.m….stra-tee-ger-ee”.

“Childrens do learn.”

Now, don’t get me wrong…any kid who can stand up on stage and effortlessly spell words like “hydrargyrum,” “blancmange” and “baignoire” deserve a lot of credit. Kavya Shivashankar finally won the whole shebang by spelling the word Laodicean. I imagine her love of spelling came when she had to learn how to spell her name. I think it would have taken me to at least to 3rd grade before I figured that one out.

Oh…and speaking of 3rd graders and spelling (do you like my segue?) Always check your 3rd graders spelling!

Of course, if Kavya Shivashankar was given the word “horse” instead of “phoresy”, this might have been a whole new ballgame, right?

[H/T to John Abuzz on the Horse Essay-I hope he doesn't mind that I lifted it from one of his old posts....if he does, I'll buy him a hores. That might make him happy.]

I also had to add this video from a past spelling bee to the post, this kid just cracked me up…

This is a weekend open thread…I’m too lazy busy to put up any more posts until next week. See ya around the inter-tubes.

2 YEAR OLD POOL HUSTLER

When two year old Keith O’Dell asks for a bottle,  he may not be talking about the one with the nipple on it.

BOTTLE. (Pocket games) A specially shaped leather or plastic container used in various games. (Also called the shake bottle).

(I hope you appreciate the vast amount of research I did to come up with that billiard term. )    

THANKS DAD!

My Dad–Jerry
March 6, 1921-October 11, 1986

I thought that this Memorial Day I would do a post that is a little more…a lot more personal, I’m thanking my Dad for his service during World War II. He joined the Army a couple of months after the attack on Pearl Harbor, he was 20 years old, and was sent to Camp Adair in Oregon for his training. Talking to my mom, I tried to get a time line of where he was and when, but with time, the dates were getting confused for her. The key points that she remembered was that he was in the 96th Division Signal Corps and that he was sent into the Battle of Leyte Gulf.

THE BATTLE OF LEYTE GULF

The Battle of Leyte Gulf, also called the “Battles for Leyte Gulf”, and formerly known as the “Second Battle of the Philippine Sea”, is generally considered to be the largest naval battle of World War II and also one of the largest naval battle in history.[1]

It was fought in waters near the Philippine island of Leyte, from 23 to 26 October 1944, between naval and naval-air forces of the Allies and those of the Empire of Japan. On 20 October, United States troops invaded the island of Leyte as part of a strategy aimed at isolating Japan from the countries it had occupied in South East Asia, and in particular depriving its forces and industry of vital oil supplies. The Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) mobilized nearly all of its remaining major naval vessels in an attempt to defeat the Allied invasion, but was repulsed by the US Navy’s 3rd and 7th Fleets. The IJN failed to achieve its objective, suffered very heavy losses, and never afterwards sailed to battle in comparable force. The majority of its surviving heavy ships, deprived of fuel, remained in their bases for the rest of the Pacific War.

The Battle of Leyte Gulf included four major naval battles: the Battle of the Sibuyan Sea, the Battle of Surigao Strait, the Battle of Cape Engaño and the Battle off Samar, as well as other actions.

Leyte Gulf is also notable as the first battle in which Japanese aircraft carried out organized kamikaze attacks. Also worth noting is the fact that Japan at this battle had fewer aircraft than the Allied Forces had sea vessels, a clear demonstration of the difference in power of the two sides at this point of the war. (Courtesy of Wikipedia)

The 96th then went on to Okinawa where they fought an intense battle where, according to the Buffalo Courier Express wrote:

“The 96th… ended World War II with a record crediting it with killing more of the enemy in one day than any division in U.S. Army history…In the final stages of the island fight, the 96th marked up a record for a single day’s hunting more than 1.800 Japanese were killed on the Yaeju-Dake escarpment.”

Researching information on the 96th Division Signal Corps sent chills through my spine. My father never talked about the war, he never glorified it or bragged about his part in that war. My mother said that when he returned he would often wake up in the middle of the night screaming–reliving what he had seen and been a part of. Near the end of his life when he was in the hospital and heavily drugged, the nightmares of that war returned and he again would be talking wildly as if he was re-living those final battles of World War II. During the time he was away, his mother passed away and he was unable to attend her funeral. He also suffered from contracting malaria and had to remain in the hospital in Okinawa until a few months after the war ended. He was drastically thin and weak.

My dad’s story is not much different than the stories of countless other Servicemen who have put aside their lives to protect our country.

So, to my dad I say, “Thank You, I’m so proud to be your daughter.” And for all those who have family members who are now serving or have served, a big thanks and God Bless to them on this Memorial Day.

(For those who have stories about family members who have served, please feel free to write them in the comment section,  I’d love to read them and honor them.)

PLAYING HOOKY

It’s a beautiful day in Chicago today…mid 80’s, sunny…birds singing. So, what else is there to do (besides blogging) but to go to the White Sox game with my daughter, granddaughter, and son. It’s important that I teach my granddaughter about priorities, baseball instead of school. Every kid should play hooky at least once a year to go to a ball game, right?

So….all you suckers have a great day, breathe a sigh of relief because Nunly won’t be here to smack you around.

I won’t be a total slacker today…I’ll bring my camera and take a few pics. You never know what you’ll see at the ballpark.

A few pics I took at past games….

World Series-2005–I took this pic of Konereko just before he hit a Grand Slam. I wish I had taken it just a few seconds later as the ball left his bat.

Granddaughter No.2 at the batting cages in the Fundamentals at U.S. Cellular–Ya gotta love a little girl with a bat in her hands cuz big girls with bats are usually up to no good.

My grandson and his little sister taken a couple of years ago. They actually look like they love each other, don’t they? (Just kidding, they really do love each other…sometimes.)

Another grandkid getting sucked into the giant glove. You have to keep an eye on them…you can lose a few kids that way.

I hope the White Sox continue to win today, because after losing five games in a row fans make their feelings known to the team.

A view of Chicago that I took as I walked down the ramp on the way out of the ballpark. I’ve tried to take the same pic at night, but my camera isn’t good enough to show how pretty it really is.

Ok…that’s enough.

Try not to get into too much trouble…oh hell, have a party, this is an open thread. Just stay out of my stash, you clowns.

COMING SOON…

I’m currently  in the process of writing a post and I must warn you (or entice you), Nunly is hopping mad! Unfortunately, I have to take a break in writing the post (which is near completion) to do my job as the dutiful daughter and bring my mom and mother-in-law on their weekly grocery shopping trip.  I shouldn’t be long.  In the meantime,  for your own protection from the sparks of my wrath….

…..get your combat gear on,  Nunly is pissed!