White Dog

Cinematic Titanic....

Just go....

You can thank me later.....

Thank you, Charlie...

A long overdue honor.......

“Peace, joy, love, and wishes fulfilled.
These are the timeless treasures of Christmas.
Thank you, Charlie, for all you’ve done to make Christmas wishes come true for thousands of children through the years.
Now it’s time to make a wish come true for you, too.
You’re officially invited to become a member of the Grand Ole Opry.
Merry Christmas!”

Grand Ole Opry

Merry Christmas, indeed...

“Charlie Daniels’ songs and musicianship are nothing less than legendary,” said Pete Fisher, Opry vice president and general manager. “He’s known worldwide as one of country music’s true icons, and all of us with the Opry are excited to welcome him into our family of new stars, superstars and legends.”

Daniels has been a music icon for more than 40 years. Born in Wilmington, N.C., he was raised on a musical diet that included Pentecostal gospel, local bluegrass bands, rhythm & blues, and country music from the radio, including Nashville’s 650 WSM. During his career, Daniels has been awarded a Grammy, three CMA awards, the ACM Pioneer Award, and the TNN/Music City News Living Legend award for his musical contributions. His signature song, “The Devil Went Down to Georgia,” topped both country and pop charts, bringing him international acclaim.

It has been uncomfortably rare to meet someone who is genuinely proud to be an 'American'.  Charlie is, unfortunately, one of the few 'celebrity' types who willingly speaks his mind and defends the troops.

Here is part of his 'Open Letter to America's Heroes'...

[ I sometimes wonder what you must think when]...(you are...)...used as a political football by wimpy voiced politicians who are not worthy of lacing up your desert boots. To see Hollywood fat cats making movies that try to cast you all as rapists and heartless killers of women and children.

Well take heart troops!!!!!!

For every martini sucking, socialist loving, agenda driven newspaper writer there are ten thousand red blooded Americans who stand up for the national anthem at NASCAR races and football games and take patriotism seriously.

For every milksop, godless politician in Washington there are millions of Christians who pray to Almighty God every day for all of you.

For every Hollywood numb brain who lives in the mentally incestuous and cloistered confines of Beverly Hills bent on tarnishing America's patriotism there are untold millions of Americans who dismiss their trash as the
anti-American junk it is. Just look at the box office reports.

...

Wherever you are, in whatever far-flung corner of the world, it is so important to me for you to know how much I admire and respect you and how I feel such an unpayable debt of gratitude to every one of you who wear that uniform of valor.

If they weren't so goddamn organized...I would consider myself an atheist. Alternately, I guess it would be 'agnostic'. That aside, I must agree with his sentiments. His 'box-office' comments are not wishful thinking...if you can find the results in the last weeks attendance it seems most of us really do not want to participate in actively cheering against the survival of our country.

The crop of anti-American theatrical releases in the last few weeks have thankfully bombed at the ticket counter and to honor a prominent American who promotes definitive American values today is a feather in the cap of the Opry staff.

Merry Christmas.

A good dog.

You might stop by and help Rachel out this weekend.

Digger stories are one of the reasons so many folks went back to read her site over the years.

From her description, it sounds like the decision has pretty much made itself - it is just a matter of the timing now. She is still tormenting herself with the conundrum that modern medicine has brought. There are so many things that might work, how do you decide when it's just not right to put your friend through any more 'experiments'.

Fifty years ago, decisions like this were much easier to make. At least for the 'is it time' part of it.  As for the actual 'doing it' part - that's never easy. For anyone.

No matter how 'right' it is, any thinking and caring person will pause at the point of actually voicing their decision. It's not wrong to feel bad about it, but it is wrong to put off the decision so you don't feel bad.

Rachel has to (and will) make that call over the next day or so. Stop by and relate the story of your friend, or just read some of the ones already posted.

Digger is a good dog.

Always will be.

Paul Warfield Tibbets, Jr.

I haven't posted anything yet about Porter or Robert.

Both are important American figures and deserve appropriate mention,  but Paul is an important WORLD figure who just happened, fortunately, to be American.

Paul Tibbets Jr., who flew the plane that dropped the first atomic bomb — on Hiroshima, Japan — died this morning at his East Side home. He was 92.

He joined the Army Air Corps in 1938. After the U.S. entered World War II, Tibbets first patrolled the Atlantic coast for submarines and later piloted some of the first daylight missions of B-17s over Germany.

On Aug. 6, 1945, Tibbets piloted the Enola Gay, a B-29 he had christened for his mother, down the runway on Tinian Island for a six-hour flight to Japan. He was a 30-year-old colonel.      [Columbus Dispatch]

A quick look online shows that in 1997, the average age of a USAF Colonel was 49. There's a reason that Tibbets was a Colonel at 30, and it's part of the reason he had the mission he is known for.

Tibbets and crew.