Carrie Marie Johnston

Each Christmas we remember Jenny's paternal grandmother, Carrie Marie. We remember her as loving wife, mother and grandmother. Jenny tells the stories again--about Carrie Marie's and Paul's house on N. Randolph St. in Arlington VA where they raised their seven children. Each year Jenny recalls the details of that house--living room, dining room, kitchen, stairs to the second floor, bedrooms, bathroom (one for nine people), wraparound porch, coal cellar, etc. Pap-Pap would chase Jenny and her cousin around the dining room table, bedroom slipper in his hand, while the children screamed, and Carrie Marie stood by quietly smiling. 

Paul and Carrie Marie took in Jenny's mom and brother while Jenny's father served on a LST during WWII (Jenny wasn't born yet). Jenny tells how when she was little that she used to "run away" to Carrie Marie's and Pap-Pap's house. She'd pack up her little suitcase and her father would gladly drive her to Grandma and Pap-Pap's house ten minutes away. 

Jenny tells how Carrie Marie would tuck her in at night and then kneel by the bed to say her prayers. Jenny says that of the many, many times that Carrie Marie repeated this routine over the years that she never once saw Carrie Marie get up from her prayers. 

There are many other wonderful memories, including how Carrie Marie would get all dressed up in her Sunday best, white gloves included, to go grocery shopping. But, the best story of all is how Carrie Marie made her signature cocoa spice cake and cookies (peanut butter and chocolate pinwheels and whiskey cookies) every year for each of her seven children's families at Christmas. She would make them all in her kitchen and fill her pantry with cakes and pillowcases full of cookies. To this day we continue to be amazed how she could accomplish all of this work before Christmas each and every year. 

The tradition has carried on to our family too. 

Thank you, Carrie Marie.

Paul, Carrie Marie and Jenny Marie

cocoa spice cake

whiskey cookies

peanut butter and chocolate pinwheel cookies

 

fake news

https://bgr.com/science/scientists-create-matter-from-nothing-in-groundbreaking-experiment/ 

Mass–energy equivalence - Wikipedia 

E=m*c*c. Albert Einstein. 1905.

NASA and The Hubble Heritage Team (STScI/AURA), Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

quotes

"If at first you don't succeed, then try, try again."

Thomas H. Palmer (1782-1861) 

"Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again, expecting different results."

Albert Einstein (1875-1955)

revised quote: 

"if at first you don't succeed, then try, try again. BUT, try something different." 

an election ode

trump and biden--

where do they find 'em?

liberal democrats and republican magas--

leave the rest of the country with a case of the gagas.

I approve this message. I don't approve two party government and the media.

government impotence

where do I begin? There are so many examples of government impotence that I hardly know where to start. 

Spam, hackers, etc.

a few days ago I received a email from my sister. it looked suspicious. I hovered over the sender and saw "ghazali.upha13@student.usm.my". impotent government can't track this down? why not.

a month or so ago I got an email that I reported to the Shenandoah County Department of Social Services. "

"I am reporting an email scam. my wife and I are in our 70s. We received an email that reads in part: "Your recent order with us has been confirmed and you have been charged $966.66 for 3 years. *This payment will be shown soon within 24 to 48 hours on your Account Statement as GEEK.NET*"      

From: quickbooks@notification.intuit.com

To: jw849565@gmail.com (***this is NOT my email address***)

Subject: Payment Information (Order Number: XA25R4E5)

Date: Wed, June 29, 2022 11:40 am

there is an attachment which we did not open. 

signature:

Geek Solution

CUSTOMER SUPPORT # +1 (814) 791-9320"

I was not the first: Geek Squad Subscription – SCAM – (7/20/2021) – Phishing Net

after I submitted my report a message appeared that said "thank you for submitting your report. we will be getting back to you soon". that was over a month ago and I've not heard a peep from SCDSS. impotent government can't even do what they say that they're going to do.

Voting 

so, like many of you, we routinely bank online, we routinely make purchases online, we have medical records online, we file our taxes online, etc. so why can't we vote online? answer: government impotence/incompetence.

I could go on and on, but what's the point? 

path to destruction

when will citizens of our country realize that the democratic and republican parties have led the government of our country into impotency?

answer: probably not until it's too late. 

George Washington's Farewell Address Included Three Main Warnings - HISTORY 

promises, promises

Highland Park mass shooting: 6 killed at 4th of July parade, person of interest apprehended - ABC News 

where's common sense? 

when will something be DONE about weapons of mass destruction being possessed by criminals and the mentally deranged? 

LOTS of talk, but no ACTION. 

when will those who govern DO what so obviously needs to be done? 

I'm not holding my breath. 

déjà vu?

link: HOUSE DIVIDED 

"A house divided against itself, cannot stand."

Abraham Lincoln 

  

what are the biggest threats to us and to our country?

• people who tell lies--government, politicians, political parties, media, rich people, criminals, etc.
• people who make bad choices

Voting in Virginia: Then and now 

wise up and rise up.

trump is a thug. if he isn't prosecuted for his crimes, then "trump is just like any other citizen" is a lie.

'Tragic Parody': Jan. 6 Committee Details How Donald Trump Ruined the Lives of Election Officials 

 

if the moral compass points in one direction (honesty, decency, fidelity, charity, respect, good, etc.) then trump goes in the opposite direction. his whole life. a criminal. totally corrupt. 

"I earned my spurs on the battlefield. Trump got his in a letter from a doctor."

James Norman Mattis

United States Marine Corps, retired 

former trump administration Secretary of Defense

United States Department of Defense, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

bravery amid chaos

Off duty border agent took action to help take out Uvalde shooter | U.S. News 

BORTAC - Wikipedia   click on reference #1 (.pdf document) for the BORTAC fact sheet.

to hell with the "black box" world of today!

 https://www.facebook.com/Gladwire/posts/pfbid0fA65XMhi5EzeBAFN7TPBbiEvmCJkVCRPbVA6SY9VVkwq5cmgGnyjLRStN6kwSj32l

I'm with this guy. pop-up ads, commercials, etc. I feel like my devices (my computer, my phone, my tv, my email, my mail, etc.) are being controlled by aliens--outsiders who violate my privacy without my permission. with unwanted ads/commercials for products/services that I don't need or want, with politics, with opinions from sources that I don't respect, with soft porn, etc. it just appears. I didn't request it. I don't want it. I can't get rid of it--from MY devices.

I yearn for earlier times when I wasn't being controlled by a "black box" world.

to hell with the "black box" world of today!

UGLY

Russian soldier to go on trial in first war-crimes case | AP News 

"Free speech, exercised both individually and through a free press, is a necessity in any country where people are themselves free." — Theodore Roosevelt 

 

public domain

freedom

define freedom.

"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness."

Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness - Wikipedia

the people of Ukraine understand freedom--"Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness". they may understand better than any other country in the world what freedom means. They're fighting for it against overwhelming odds. They would rather die than to live under tyranny. 

does freedom mean getting someone else to fight for your freedom? no. freedom isn't free. If you want to be free, then you must fight for your own freedom.

does freedom guarantee a free education? no. freedom allows you to choose to be educated--or not. Being educated requires expense, work and sacrifice for those who choose to be educated--except perhaps for those born with a silver spoon in their mouths. 

does freedom guarantee citizenship? it does if you're born in the USA. it doesn't if you're an immigrant. legal immigration and citizenship require expense, work and sacrifice--except perhaps for those born with a silver spoon in their mouths.

choose wisely.

those who were born in the USA should thank their Creator for their freedom. freedom isn't free. don't take your freedom for granted.

public domain

dancing around the problem

a brave, sovereign country, invaded by a vicious, brutal, barbaric neighbor, asks for help--not to fight the fight, but to help make the fight a more fair fight by providing weapons and a no-fly zone. 

what does the rest of the free world (and the worthless UN) do? 

answer: dance around the problem.

public domain

the rest of the free world (and the worthless UN) should be ashamed of themselves.

public domain

dump the united nations

the invasion of Ukraine by the russians is arguably the worst crisis since WW2. 

question: where is the united nations? 

answer: nowhere. 

why does the USA continue to support this worthless organization?

answer: beats me.

why not kick them out of the USA and do something useful with the property? 

sell it to the highest bidder. turn it into a park. etc.

just make sure that a sign is placed on the property that reads:

"HERE ONCE STOOD THE MOST WORTHLESS ORGANIZATION ON THE PLANET--A MONUMENT TO FUTILITY. MAY THIS PLAQUE BE A REMINDER TO NEVER GET INVOLVED IN SUCH A GOOD-FOR-NOTHING, WASTE OF TIME AND MONEY SCAM LIKE THE UNITED NATIONS EVER AGAIN."

public domain

words cannot express

https://apnews.com/article/ketanji-brown-jackson-us-supreme-court-new-jersey-cory-booker-436fd1579fe534054be49666dc6bd61a  

words can't express... but, Sen. Cory Booker's remarks come close. 

Ukraine

it's unfortunate when you have lousy neighbors. to be subjected to a bully like putin. russia is what you get with a neighbor with a totalitarian government--a bully.

I feel for the Ukrainian people--but, they do have choices--hard choices. 

1. they can leave the country. 
2. they can stay and fight the bully. 
3. they can stay and let others of their countrymen fight the bully.

these were the hard choices that faced people in this country in the 1770s. some chose to leave the country. some chose to fight england's totalitarian government. others chose to stay and let others do the fighting. 

I sympathize with those Ukrainians who feel that they have to leave. it's hard to leave your home. but sometimes you have to do what you need to do to get away from a bully. 

I admire those who choose to stay and fight. you face a powerful bully. odds are not in your favor. I wish you luck.

I also sympathize with those who choose to stay while their countrymen fight the bully. you could get caught in the crossfire and lose everything.

sadly, the world will always have its bullies.

putin

https://inews.co.uk/news/world/putin-meeting-long-table-russia-jokes-paranoia-ukraine-crisis-1460314  

Paul Anka - Lonely Boy - YouTube

😂😂😂😂😂 

window dressing

the republican party is a lot like the NFL--LOTS of window dressing--but people know that the false front outside is not the same as the inside. being a political party, the deception of the GOP is much more evident than the NFL--yet both are the same--rotten on the inside. 

public domain

end of the gop?

the worst president in US history may not have brought down the government, but most likely he's brought down the republican party. 

trump not only fanned the flames of divisiveness within the USA, but he also fanned the flames of divisiveness within his own party--a split is inevitable. one remnant will be the white supremacist party and the other remnant will be whatever is left of the old gop is called. with the split neither of the two remnants will ever win another national election.

https://nbcnews.com/politics/donald-trump/rnc-gathering-rift-emerges-trumps-interests-partys-rcna14770 

McConnell calls Jan. 6 a 'violent insurrection,' breaking with RNC

Republican rift exposes choice: With Trump or against him | AP News 

mcconnell's book will be a best seller.

say goodbye to the gop. Na Na Na Na Hey Hey-ey Goodbye - YouTube