Family
Quite likely one of the most brutal kinds of bombs was the mine. These mostly submerged orbs could take out an unsuspecting ship the minute it made contact with it, usually with no warning at all. So great was the danger to ships in the area, that the nations started building ships for the express purpose of seeking out these mines and destroying them before they were able to destroy a ship in the area. One such ship, the USS Perry was built by Mare Island Naval Shipyard at Mare Island. It was laid down September 15, 1920 and launched October 29, 1921. Named in honor of Oliver Hazard Perry and sponsored by Miss Anne R Scudder, it was commissioned August 7, 1922, with Lieutenant Richard H Booth in command, but it wasn’t initially designed to be a minesweeper.
Nearly 20 years after the ship was commissioned, the ship was converted to a minesweeper and redesignated DMS-17 on November 19, 1940. This particular ship was the third of eight ships that would be named after Oliver Hazard Perry, which seems to me, rather unheard of, but maybe not. After becoming a minesweeper, the USS Perry (DMS-17) had an illustrious career for almost four years. Veteran Lieutenant JG Charles L Ennis told of his time on the ship, saying, “My battle station was on the Flying Bridge and I saw mines. The proximity of these deadly orbs certainly prevented any rescue ship from effective aid particularly since many of the crew were in the water and would been killed had another mine been exploded.” It was his job to see the danger before it could take down the ship. Of course, they captain knew that it was just as likely that the ship would find the mine when it hit the mine as it was to see it beforehand.
That was exactly the case, when on September 14, 1944 (one day short of the 24th anniversary of the ship being laid down on September 15, 1920), the USS Perry hit a mine at 2:07pm, and sank to the bottom roughly 700 yards south of Angaur Island in less than two hours. Larry Tunks was firing anti-aircraft guns aboard the 
USS Perry when it scraped a mine off Angaur Island, exploding a boiler and killing eight crewmen. One of those killed was his closest ship buddy, a fellow Nebraskan. Another 146 men were plucked from the ocean by US warships in the area. The USS Perry lay undiscovered at the bottom of the Pacific Ocean until it was found on May 1, 2000 by Fish ‘n Fins, owner Navot Bornovski on a 240’ bottom. Navot and Padi Owdi, Jeff Wonnenberg were the first to dive the wreck.
Alli Simpson, who is my grandnephew, Xander Spethman’s girlfriend is a sweet girl who has captured Xander’s heart, and everyone in his family loves her very much. Alli is a quiet girl, at least when I have been around her, but maybe she is just shy because she doesn’t know me too well. Xanders family has pretty much “adopted” her, for now…a situation that will change as their relationship deepens. It’s not every day that a person fits so perfectly in a family, but Alli is one of those precious few who really do.
Alli is a smart girl, who worked hard and graduated from high school one semester early. I know she has great things ahead of her. She had considered becoming a nurse at one point, but like many people who were considering nursing, plans changed following Covid-19. While her plans may have taken a setback, I know that this ambitious girl did not. Whatever she decides to do, I know 
that she will land on her feet. Right now, she is just working and enjoying spending time with Xander and his family.
Alli loves plants. If you look at her Facebook profile page, you will pick up on that fact immediately. I must say that I have to give a lot of credit to anyone who can raise plants, because there are lots of us out there who definitely can’t. I can kill a plant in record time, so I am in awe of anyone who can keep one alive for more than a month. Alli’s sense of humor even extends to her plants. While I don’t know if she would actually take a plant out for a walk, the fact that she sees humor in the idea makes me smile. Maybe she would do that, simply because it would be something new and different. I think that if Xander is looking for a birthday present for her, a plant stroller might be just the ticket.
It seems that Alli has always been a bit of a princess and really, a fashionista. That makes her a good friend for 
Xander’s little sister, Aleesia, who is a fashionista too, and as the only girl in the Spethman family, she and Alli and Xander’s mom, Jenny Spethman, of course, can all share in their fashion/princess world together. Alli and Xander have also decided that they want to help an animal in need, so recently, they adopted a dog that they named Rocky. Rocky loves his new mommy and daddy, and since the kids just moved into their first place together, they now have a nice little family. Today is Alli’s 18th birthday. Happy birthday Alli!! Have a great day!! We love you!!
My grandniece, Mackenzie Moore is a bundle of energy, and this summer has been no exception. Even without her beloved ballet, Mackenzie has been very busy. Her ballet class takes a break over the summer, and she has really missed it. She has been spending lots of time hanging out with her cousins, Ethan Hadlock, Aurora Hadlock, Adelaide Sawdon, and Khloe Briggs. Mackenzie and Adelaide get to see each other the most, because they only live an hour away from each other. That has been a special blessing for both of these girls. This summer in particular, they have been pulling all sorts of shenanigans. In particular, they have been perfecting their look with makeup. From what I hear, they get better at it every day.
Mackenzie started Pre-K2 this year, and she absolutely loves school. She has also been happy to be back in ballet, because she really loves her ballet. She is so excited about her birthday coming, that she has, in fact, been talking about it since December. She loves to tell her 
mom, my niece Lindsay Moore, that she is “growing up” and reminds her of it often by doing “big girl things.” Mackenzie loves to socialize with all her friends…kids and adults alike!! That is so much like her mom. I remember Lindsay going all around the church before services to greet everyone, and I found myself wondering how this little girl managed to know all these adults!! Mackenzie, like her mom, is in her element at church and football games alike!! Her daddy, Shannon Moore is a coach for the Wyoming Cowboys, so she has the chance to get to know all the players, cheerleaders, and other coaches. Mackenzie is friends with the Cowboys cheerleading coach, so she gets to stay with the cheerleaders all through the games. She is friends with so many people and is totally in her element talking football with 
them, and of course, being the Cowboys’ littlest cheerleader!!
Mackenzie is a good girl, and she loves her Jesus more than anything else. She is a blessing to all who know her. She knows she is a child of God and has many questions. This past weekend she felt led to lay hands on her grandma, Allyn Hadlock, over a splinter and it made her mom’s heart very happy!! It is such a sweet thing to have a heart of compassion for other people. I think God may have a special calling for this little girl. Her mom says, “I have no greater joy than to know she walks in the truth!!” That is the best place to be. Today in Mackenzie’s 5th birthday. Happy birthday Mackenzie!! Have a great day!! We love you!!
When a couple gets married, the most common tradition is that the woman takes her husband’s last name. There are exceptions, of course, and the woman isn’t obligated to take her husband’s last name, but when she does, she should have a reasonable expectation that she will no longer be known by her maiden name. With that in mind, I wonder if the media shouldn’t consider that they are being rude and disrespectful when they refer to Princess Catherine of Wales, as Kate Middleton.
If they think they are clarifying exactly who they are talking about, I hate to tell them that after eleven years of marriage and near constant public appearances and charity work, we all know who she is. Now is the time to stop the disrespect they have been showing her for all these years and start showing her the respect she has certainly earned. I know that many people in the United States 
don’t really care about the royal family, but since Prince William is my twelfth cousin thrice removed, it does interest me. Princess Catherine, in her own right, has endeared herself to many people around the world, so I really don’t understand why some people think it is okay to continue to call her by her maiden name, minus her titles. No one ever considered calling Princess Diana, Diana Spencer, so why is it okay to call Princess Catherine, Kate Middleton? It just isn’t!! In fact, no one even considered calling the now, Queen Consort, Camilla, by her name. She immediately became Camilla, the Duchess of Cornwall. And in fact, it was her choice that she not be called Camilla, Princess of Wales. Why were her wishes honored and not those of Princess Catherine, who surely doesn’t still want to go by her maiden name eleven years after her marriage.
A few of the Facebook groups I am a member of have discussed this at length, so I know that many people out there agree with me on this. Princess Catherine has never expressed a desire to be called Kate Middleton either. Usually when a woman chooses to keep her maiden name, it is made public knowledge to…at the very least, avoid confusion. That was never said of Princess Catherine, so why does the media, and some in the public sector, insist on using her maiden name. The only thing that makes any sense to me is that it is a show of disrespect for her title, and in my opinion, that is as wrong as it can be. So, I say start using her correct name, with her title…and I say, it’s high time!!
Looking back to September 10, 2001, it seemed that all was right with the world, but in fact, it was not, as we would all find out the very next morning. There were warning signs that terrorists were plotting something, but then weren’t they always. That’s what terrorists do…plot evil, plan to kill as many people as possible, and plan to bring a greater measure of fear into the world. September 11, 2001 would be no different. When 19 al Qaeda militants, hijacked 4 US airliners that morning, the terror had begun. In years past, a hijacked plane was used to take the hijackers to some other country, preferably one without extradition. The passengers were told that this was going to be a hijacking like that, but when the terrorists began slashing people with box cutters, and took over the cockpit, the people knew that this was not a normal hijacking. We all know far too well what the end result of this horrific act of brutal terrorism was.
In all, 2996 people, including the 19 terrorists, lost their lives at four locations that day. Of those 2996 people, only 291 bodies were found intact. A total of 21,906 body parts were found, and 1717 families got no remains at all. In addition, 25,000 more people were injured, and a large number of them have died of 9-11 related illnesses since then. The smoke and debris that came out of the burning jet fuel and buildings was so toxic, and 
those who helped with the searches and cleanup were exposed. It was a deadly combination. No one knew, or if they did, they disregarded the danger, in an effort to save lives. A few lives were saved. A few people were pulled out of the buildings alive. Theirs was a miracle, and they knew that for the rest of their lives, they would be a walking miracle. Of course, they would also most likely feel some degree of survivor’s guilt, although they shouldn’t. Nevertheless, it is a natural phenomenon, that people tend to struggle with for years, if not the rest of their lives. It never leaves.
For those who lost loved ones on that horrible day, it goes without saying that they will never forget, but the reality is that no one should ever forget. How could we forget, when we see that pictures of the planes going into the towers, or the walls of the Pentagon destroyed, or the massive hole in the Pennsylvania earth. Those aren’t just pictures…they are lives. They are lives lost, and families forever changed. They are children who will grow up without parents, people who with grow old without the spouse they had planned to have with them. 
They are sons and daughters, whose lives were stolen from them…whose promise was snuffed out before it could be fulfilled. For all of those people…it is our duty to “never forget!!” Our nation lost the feeling of safety that we had before. We don’t trust those we don’t know as much as we used to. We will always be forever changed. Never forget that!! Ever!!
Like it or not, people are put into classes based on their income, and as we know, the elite are the very rich ones. Most people fall into the middle class, with a large group of people being in the poverty level. Many of the people in these classes spend their time working hard and sometimes living paycheck to paycheck, just trying to make ends meet. While those people are doing their best to survive, the very wealthy, also known as the Elite Class spend their time doing their very best to outdo each other. What a headache that must be.
During the Gilded Age, the Elite Class was in a particularly fierce fight for supremacy, not in politics or world economy issues, but rather in extravagancy. The Gilded Age took place from the 1870s to about the 1900s. During that time the Elite Class was building great estates with elegantly designed homes…trying to outdo each other while most Americans and Europeans struggled just to make basic ends meet. The Gilded Age elite struggled with one another, competing over who had the biggest, the most, the best…of any and everything. Anything that was outlandish, wild, shocking, or just plain spendy, was fair game in their “struggle.” The biggest source of extravagance was in their homes. Newport, Rhode Island, was prime real estate for the 19th-century one-percenters. Cornelius Vanderbilt constructed his famous 
home, The Breakers, it was an attempt to one-up his brother, William K Vanderbilt’s latest showplace, Marble House, designed and planned by William K Vanderbilt to “outstaff, outdress, and outparty” his brother and other Gilded Age gents.
The whole production among the elites grew so fierce that home construction was covered in the local newspapers…on a daily basis!! The Newport Mercury reported that Marble House had 500,000 cubic feet of imported marble, as well as paneled walls portraying gods from the Classical age. Some walls were even coated in 22-carat gold leaf, all of it painstakingly applied by hand…not William K’s hand mind you. The latter Vanderbilt couldn’t sully his hands with the work of the common man. That was what his money was for…to underpay the common worker to build the elaborate house.
Yes, the whole age really was ridiculously extreme, but there was actually an ancient precedent that the Gilded Age families simply followed. Just take a look at the surviving Roman villas, the Versailles palace in France, and 
the Catherine Palace in Saint Petersburg, Russia. The rich and powerful have always felt compelled to put their wealth on display. They did it to show other powerful people that they could keep up with the rest, and to challenge them to take the game to the next level…a challenge they happily accepted. It was a wild time, and in many places around the world, the game continues.
My youngest grandson, Josh Petersen is not a kid anymore. In fact, he and his fiancée, Athena Salazar are about to become parents…likely before the end of this month, or at the very latest, early next month. It’s hard for me to wrap my head around the fact that my “youngest” grandchild is so grown up and is about to become a daddy, but here we are. The years fly by so very fast. I remember when his mom dropped him and his brother, Chris Petersen at my house in the mornings. It was my job to take the kids to school each morning, since I went to work an hour later than my girls, Corrie Petersen and Amy Royce. Josh always came in the door with the same words…”Treat Grandma!!” There was no “Hi Grandma” or “I’m here, Grandma.” Just “Treat Grandma!!” That boy was always hungry. In fact, as much as he ate, I have no idea how he stayed so skinny, but he was certainly a skinny little kid.
All through his pre-driving school years, I took Josh and his brother to school, and then picked them up after so 
they could go to the Boy’s and Girl’s Club. While it was really noisy, the kids always had a great time at the club. As they got a little bit older, I’m sure the pool tables and other “big kid” games were the big draw. Now finding those kids after the workday was over was a totally different story. There were so many kids there, that you really had to search hard to find your kids. It seems so long ago when those kids, Chris, Shai Royce, Caalab Royce, and Josh were all in school. In so many ways, I really miss those days, but then if we were still in those days, I wouldn’t have the two great grandchildren I have, and little Justin, who is on the way.
His school days are over now, and Josh has become a man. He has met the girl of his dreams, Athena Salazar. 
Strangely, these two first met in middle school, and then reconnected when they were working together at Sanford’s. They knew right away that this was it…the real thing!! They have been inseparable ever since, and now their little family is growing, as they add baby, Justin. We are all so excited to meet him. Today is Josh’s 24th birthday. Happy birthday Josh!! Have a great day!! We love you!!
Sad news has surfaced today out of Scottland, as Queen Elizabeth of England has passed away at the age of 96 years. She became the Queen of England in 1952 at the very young age of 25, when her father, King George VI passed away on February 6, 1952, at just 56 years old. Queen Elizabeth would later become the longest reigning British monarch in history, reigning for 7 decades. The queen celebrated her Platinum Jubilee (70 years as reigning monarch) on February 5, 2022. She knew that her time was short, and she spoke of her wishes for the time following her death. Now that time has come.
The family will not have to make any arrangements for her funeral, because everything has already been planned from the service to the grave, and even the timeframe. The only unknown, until now, was the date of the service, which will be held eleven days after her passing…on September 19, 2022. I think it is comforting when the deceased has already planned their own funeral. It is to their tastes and preferences, and there is no question 
as to their wishes. Queen Elizabeth’s funeral will be televised across the world, with the only restriction being that the royal family is not to be filmed. That makes sense. They need to be able to grieve privately.
The royal line of succession now changes, with Prince Charles becoming King Charles III (it was announced earlier). He has the right to change his name, but it appears that he won’t. Prince William is now first in line to the throne and takes on his father’s title of Prince of Wales. Duchess Camilla becomes Queen Consort, and Duchess Catherine becomes Princess of Wales. Prince George is second in line to the throne, followed by Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis. It is so strange to think of so many changes happening all at once, but that is how things work in the world of the monarchy. How people feel personally about any part of the changes really doesn’t matter, because they are what they are.
For the world, this is a sad day. It is the end of an era. Many people, including me, have never known a time when Queen Elizabeth II was not the queen. She began her reign four years before I was born. Queen Elizabeth II was much loved and well respected. She had a way of making people feel at ease. She had a very human type of nature, and really never presented herself as anything so special. She went out and shook the hands of the people, in what was deemed a “walkabout” like the Australians do. She considered her office one of service to the people, rather than a ruler over them. I’m sure that is why she was so loved by all. The end of her reign has brought much sadness to the world. Rest in peace Queen Elizabeth. You will be missed by so many people.
I don’t personally believe in luck, but some people have an uncanny knack for being in the wrong place at the wrong time. Frane Selak, a native Croatian, was one of those people. In 1962, he was traveling from Sarajevo to Dubrovnik by train, when the train derailed in a canyon. The night was rainy and cold, and when the train derailed, it plummeted into the Neretva River. When Selak came to himself, he found that he was surrounded by water. Selak was pulled to safety by an unknown passenger, but 17 people died in the accident.
Selak recovered from his injuries on the train and a year later, Selak took a trip from Zagreb to Rijeka, by plane to visit his ailing mother. The trip was last minute, and the flight was full. He talked the flight attendant into letting him sit in the back by her. Suddenly, one of the doors flew open. The flight attendant was immediately sucked out of the aircraft, followed 
a second later by Selak who somehow landed in a haystack on the ground. The plane crashed moments later. Stories vary, but it is said that the crash killed 19 or 20 people.
You would think that somehow, that would be the end of Selak’s close calls, but you would be wrong. Things were going pretty well for about 22 accident-free years, but then in 1995, came Selak’s story of survival after being hit by a bus while walking in Zagreb. The following year, Selak claimed that while driving in the Croatian mountains an oncoming truck caused him to swerve off a 300-foot cliff. However, he said that he was “able to jump out at the last second and watch from a tree at the cliff’s edge as his car plummeted downward.” Are the tales outrageous? Yes, but they have not been disputed by doctors, hospitals, or police, so who knows. If they 
were true stories, it seems amazing to me that he didn’t become a recluse!! Still, there is no guarantee that he would have been any safer in his case. A man who had been in so many crashes, even though he survived, is at much greater risk of dying in the next one…right?
Finally, after years of close calls, when Selak was 74 years old…something changed. Selak won the lottery!! It seemed that his bad streak had turned to a good streak. The year was 2002, and Selak won more than six million Croatian Kuna, which amounted to just under 1.2 million US dollars.
Like the week in 1941, that changed the lives of Jewish people everywhere and set in motion the most horrific mass bullying and murders in history, our own government has also been trying to force mandates and executive orders on us too. You might say that the mandates of today are not nearly as bad as the Holocaust years, and I would say that you are right, they aren’t as bad…yet!! That horrific week for the Jewish people started on September 1, 1941, when the German Government ordered that all Jews in Germany over six-years-old must wear the Judenstern…a Star of David that was colored yellow and inscribed Jude (Jew) in mock-Hebrew lettering. The action was designed to humiliate, bully, and later set up mass killings of an entire race of people, and it was ordered by one of the most evil people that ever walked the face of the earth…Adolf Hitler. The supposed mark of shame would, in postwar years, become a symbol of the horrific persecution and the Holocaust.
Throughout history, the Jewish people have been persecuted and forced to distinguish themselves in similar ways. Prior to September 1st, the Nazis had already demanded that Jews in the East, including Poland, wear the Star of David. The only difference was that in Poland the stars were colored blue instead of yellow. The rest of the bullying, humiliation, and hatred were the same. Still, as with any brutal treatment of a group of people, not everyone agreed with this horrific practice and ordinance. In fact, the Yellow Star Law was very unpopular with the average German citizens, and many of them would tip their hat as a show of respect to the Jewish people as they passed them in the street. Of course, the Nazis couldn’t allow that to continue, and the German authorities quickly forbade the practice of hat tipping, because it was a defiance of their law. The Occupied Zone of France, stalled the law until June of 1942, and Vichy never put it in place even though they were very proactive in persecuting Jews in the Free Zone.
The Yellow Star Law basically made it legal for millions of Jews to be bullied, beaten, and murdered…by any means, and all without any form of punishment for it. That sounds much like the present day (although now over with) Mask Mandates of today. In what was just the beginning of the horror, The Yellow Star Law gave the 
German Army the right to kill a Jew in broad daylight, with witnesses, and no punishment. The Jewish people couldn’t own property, have a business, or even own a home and its contents. They were moved into ghettos and their property was stolen from them. In modern days, we often look at this kind of practice as not possible, but if we don’t watch our government closely, we may find ourselves in very much the “same boat” as the Jewish people of the Holocaust years. Be aware…be very aware.
