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Topics - Dick Brown
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« on: November 08, 2011, 04:05:15 PM »
Good Afternoon , Henry It must have been a long day at the tables while waiting for the Voters to show up . As has been said many times , by speakers far more articulate then I , Vets gave their time , efforts and in some cases , their lives , so that we could have this privilege. I think it's symbolic that this Tuesday's vote is held on the same week that our nation honors it's service personnel , male or female , multi-racial citizens , WWI , WWII , Korean , Vietnam , and both Gulf Wars Vets , and there could be , truly , no greater honor for them ( the Vets who didn't return from these conflicts ) then by us voting .
On Friday , I'll be thinking of those individuals who took time away from their families and delayed their careers , to ensure that our country remained free .I especially remember my father-in -law ( Battle of the Bulge ) , my friend Edmund ( amphibious landings in Italy ) ,Fred and Chuck Bellows ( bombing runs in Europe ) and several BFA Alumni who participated in Vietnam ( Alan Simeoneau , John Rooney , Jeff Blake , Paul Burleson , Jim Brown & many , many others that I'm sure I have overlooked ) .
Also , Semper Fi to all those that served in the Corps on November 10 , celebrating the 236th year of it's existence .
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« on: November 05, 2011, 09:18:57 PM »
Good Evening , Henry Today Punta Gorda held it's Veterans' Day Parade sponsored by the local Elks Club . The Charlotte High School Band was one of the marching units , and , of course I compared them to what my memories conjured up about the BFA Bands that I witnessed at past parades when directed by Mr. Weed and Mr. McRae . Our school , then and now I'm sure , was at least equal ( if not better ) in both musical tone and marching togetherness , in spite of the disparity in size . My wife used to say " here they come " even when we couldn't see the band in the distance at the All-State Parades , and she was usually right .
While I slept last night , Ronnie Dunn was playing with his 5 member band at a local nightclub ( Porky's....no relation to Loren Ward , '78 , I'm thinking ), where the 225 spectators were admitted by purchasing admission tickets in a public raffle , and , of course,being as this was Florida , I'd almost guarantee that there was nothing fair about the selection process , but since the profits were given to Charity , the PR in the paper was very positive. Today's traffic however must have increased by 5,000 vehicles what with the concert , the football game , the pending parade and the arrival of lots of " snowbirds " returning for the winter .
Kind of a fun place to be ....and they tell me that the Manatees & Dolphins are on the way back , looking for warmer water . Hot dang !!! Wake me up at the Nursing Home when they arrive !!!
On another matter , hope that the events at the Baptist Church & the St. Luke Rectory go well . Lots of effort put out by many good people on behalf of their churches!!! Typical of Fairfax and the surrounding area .
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« on: November 03, 2011, 08:03:54 AM »
A news story circulating in this area of football-crazy Florida involves a local high school head coach whose football team is competing in the state playoff system and who has suspended his best running back and his best defensive player for the next game based on their admitted participation in a destructive Halloween prank .
The coach warned his team when they began practices in August what would happen if they ( the players ) continued to be a disruptive factor in the community . On Tuesday , the two players in question , along with their friends , were indicted by the local police for throwing missiles through the windshields of passing cars and subsequently the coach took action . Lots of pressure on him , of course , but it looks like the community , at this time , supports his action . It might change if the team loses , but for now , the people apparently have decided that it's the right thing to do .
Good for him and good for the community .
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« on: October 06, 2011, 05:44:07 AM »
Congratulations to Justin Bolan for being selected as the Male Athlete of the Week by the Burlington Free Press as noted in today's edition . He apparently was nominated by Coach Mack for his overall play this season , but especially for his outstanding contributions to this week's win over Leland & Gray by BFA . A really neat honor for Justin and his team , and a tribute to his skills developed during his high school career . Congratulations also to his parents for this achievement .
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« on: August 08, 2011, 05:50:55 AM »
Just got through reading the article in the morning on-line version of the FP . I'm really proud of the spirit and cooperative nature Fairfax has shown through the years . It has always been" kid-friendly " , a trait that in my opinion has been passed down through generations going back to Hiram Bellows and one that continuously drew families looking for this type of atmosphere to this special community with its great school and strong traditions . Way to go Fairfax !!!
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« on: August 07, 2011, 05:13:54 PM »
Henry A Sunday ritual for me is to tape both shows and watch them later devoid of commercials as i suspect many others do . Today Howard Dean was on the Face The Nation show and I was delighted to listen to him .
In my mind , there are no ex- Vermonters , just as there are no ex- Marines only those that are not active any more. Similarly , there are only those Vermonters who happen to reside out of the state , but keep their mannerisms. I count myself fortunate to have lived in the Dean era , when , even if I didn't always agree with the Governor , I never had a problem understanding where he came from . As a matter of fact , when I was hiking the Long Trail in 2000 near Hazen's Notch , I met he and his State Police bodyguard on the Trail near Hazen's Notch and after a brief greeting , engaged him in a short discussion . True to his nature , he pulled no punches , took the time to explain his position to a nosy hiker and then , moved out to complete his planned 17 mile section hike . In my mind , he's still a Vermonter who , if asked a question , will provide an answer and has no time for political niceness . Perhaps the Senator from SC doesn't feel the same way , BUT that's Howard !!!
22
« on: August 07, 2011, 08:53:47 AM »
Henry For those baseball fans who don't read the Globe every day , either in hardcover form or on line , there is an excellent article in today's Sports Section written by Dan Shaugnessy ( not one of my favorite writers ) on the Sox-Yankees rivalry . Go to Boston.com/sports and scroll to his column if you're interested . Seven more regular season games left before AL playoffs ......good stuff coming , no matter which side wins the games . Stay safe , my friend .
23
« on: August 05, 2011, 12:19:24 PM »
Henry Just heard a reporter from the local NBC station in Ft. Meyers relate the reason why , even though the price of Crude Oil / Barrel has dropped $ 10.00 on the market today, gasoline prices won't drop until the next shipment of oil is bought by the companies in this area ( excuse # 46 )...as opposed to ( excuse # 45 ) whenever the market price of the barrel goes up drastically, causing an immediate raise in gasoline because of the future expense to the various vendors and distributors of consumer purchases  ?? Does the Oil Industry think we have short-term memory problems or are we just not intelligent enough to see the hypocrisy ?? At any rate , we're paying 3.63 / gallon today as opposed to 3.58 /gallon yesterday ( at the same location ) and my son is paying 3.95 outside Chicago . Go figure .
24
« on: July 09, 2011, 06:17:52 AM »
Good Morning ,Henry I just read in the BFP Sports section where Megan Roberge has been hired to be St' Michael's College's Assistant Coach in Softball . She was a high school star at MVUHS and one of the best pitchers ( ever ) in that sport to come out of NW Vermont high school competition ( which has had some good ones ) . I think it's worth mentioning ,not only because of her own personal achievements , but also because her father ( Louie ) and her Uncle ( Francis ) were such terrific athletes at BFA years ago . Megan certainly inherited their athletic ability and competitive nature and must be a great source of pride to her family now , just as she was when she was competing at her sport in our area during that time .
I wish her good luck in her new position and hope that her success continues to serve as a role model for our future young women athletes who have both ability and talent , and who wish to participate at a higher level of competition in their sport .
25
« on: June 17, 2011, 05:14:48 PM »
Congratulations , Dennis ( and any other Bruins fan who reads this) for the great showing by your team in the Stanley Cup finals . I'm hoping that you saw the opening of game 4 when the spotlight in the pre-game show centered on Bobby Orr.....a truly inspiring moment . You may be surprised but I was cheering for Tim Thomas ( ex-UVM ) to continue his season-long mastery in big games and he did with a well-deserved Conn Smythe award. On to next season !!!
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« on: January 01, 2011, 09:04:24 AM »
Henry Happy New Year to you and your family.....and to the many who post on your forum. It's climbing towards 70* in Dade City , with an expected high of 77*....Jeff is looking out at 24* near Chicago and it's -2 below in Cody ,Wyoming....enough snow & cold yet , Suzy Hope that this is a better year for all of us.....bless us all , we sure need it.
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« on: November 28, 2010, 06:23:49 PM »
Good Evening, Henry Just got through reading the BFP on-line and was taken with their coverage of two Vermonters who were involved in the Korean Conflict 60 years ago, specifically their role in the battle of Chosin Reservoir from November 26 to December 12, 1950. Those who grew up in that era certainly remember that phase of US History where 36,000 of our Armed Services were killed over that 3 year span and where little was accomplished except driving the North Koreans back from their invasion of the South's border.
Three of my four DI's at Parris Island , whose job was to turn the 72 of us into Marines during my boot camp in November, 1954,had previously been in combat in Korea and two , both Staff Sargent's , had been at Chosin Reservoir. My memory recalls that both were bitter about MacArthur's fantasy plan to cross the Yalu River and occupy Manchuria ,and both blamed the failure of Headquarter Staffs from both the Army & the Marine Corps , to communicate the size of the Chinese Army who had been deployed to stop the UN troops ( estimated size ...180,000 Chinese strung out to engage both Army & USMC units ).... so that the attack , when it came , was pretty much an ambush. In their opinion at that time, in 1954, this was one of the finest hours of Marine Corps History ( and official reports confirmed their story ) , in that the Marines marched out of that area, bringing not only their wounded, but also their dead ( frozen bodies in trucks, amtracs and other mechanical transportation vehicles ) rather then leave them to the enemy .They also brought their weapons, their ammunition and their colors rather then surrendering any or all to the Chinese.
I still remember the respect that we recruits felt for these men , and the belief instilled in us by them ,that the Marines would never abandon their own when things got tough. Sixty years ago, few in the USA cared and they ( the US Forces in Korea )were only a blip on the radar, but as the BFP article points out , it was a real war, not a police action and 36,00 did not come home.
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