Fort Worth National Cemetery

My dad is buried in Fort Worth National Cemetery.

Veteran's Day-Admiral Husband E. Kimmel (my fourth cousin twice removed)

Husband E. Kimmel
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Husband Edward Kimmel
26 February 1882 – 14 May 1968



Rear Admiral Husband E. Kimmel
Place of birth Henderson, Kentucky, USA
Place of death Groton, Connecticut, USA
Allegiance United States Navy
Years of service 1904-1941
Rank Rear Admiral
Unit United States Pacific Fleet
Commands United States Navy
Battles/wars World War I
World War II
*Attack on Pearl Harbor
Husband Edward Kimmel (February 26, 1882 – May 14, 1968) was a Rear Admiral in the United States Navy. He was the commander of the Pacific Fleet at the time of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor.


Husband E. Kimmel was born in Henderson, Kentucky, on 26 February 1882 and graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy in 1904. Before reaching flag rank, he served on several battleships, commanded two destroyer divisions, a destroyer squadron, and the USS New York (BB-34). He also held a number of important positions on flag staffs and in the Navy Department, and completed the senior course at the Naval War College.
After promotion to Rear Admiral in 1937, he commanded Cruiser Division Seven on a diplomatic cruise to South America and then became Commander of Cruisers, Battle Force, in 1939.
Pearl Harbor

In February 1941 Kimmel became Commander in Chief, U.S. Fleet and Pacific Fleet, with the temporary rank of Admiral. The base for the fleet had been moved from its traditional home at San Pedro, California to Pearl Harbor.
The Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor occurred on December 7, 1941. Edwin T. Layton related that during the attack, “Kimmel stood by the window of his office at the submarine base, his jaw set in stony anguish. As he watched the disaster across the harbor unfold with terrible fury, a spent .50 caliber machine gun bullet crashed through the glass. It brushed the admiral before it clanged to the floor. It cut his white jacket and raised a welt on his chest. ‘It would have been merciful had it killed me,’ Kimmel murmured to his communications officer, Commander Maurice ‘Germany’ Curts.”[1] In The World at War a naval serviceman, who had been situated alongside Admiral Kimmel during the attack, recalled that as Kimmel watched the destruction of the fleet, he tore off his four star epaulets and replaced them with those of a Rear Admiral, in apparent recognition of the impending end of his command of the Pacific Fleet.
Kimmel was relieved of his command in mid-December 1941, while he was in the midst of planning and executing retaliatory moves. He took an early retirement in 1942. He spent much of his time defending himself in front of various hearings, pointing out that all the key information which would have enabled him to anticipate the attack was never made available to him.
Some historians now believe that Admiral Kimmel and Army Lieutenant General Walter Short became scapegoats for the failures of their superiors prior to the attack on Pearl Harbor and that their careers were effectively and unfairly ruined. Edwin T. Layton (later Rear Admiral Layton), chief intelligence officer for Kimmel, and one of the officers who knew Kimmel best, provided support for Kimmel's position in his book, And I Was There: Pearl Harbor and Midway -- Breaking the Secrets (1985). Admiral Layton argued that Kimmel had not been provided complete information, and that Kimmel deployed the few reconnaissance resources at his disposal in the most logical way, given the available information.

Rear Admiral Kimmel's son, Manning M. Kimmel, died after the submarine he commanded USS Robalo (SS-273) struck a Japanese mine near Palawan in July of 1944. Kimmel himself worked for Frederick R. Harris, Inc after the war. He died at Groton, Connecticut, on May 14, 1968.
In 1994, Kimmel's family, including his grandson, South Carolina broadcaster Manning Kimmel IV, attempted to have Kimmel's four star rank re-instated. President Bill Clinton turned down the request, as had Presidents Richard Nixon and Ronald Reagan. A 1995 Pentagon study concluded that there were other high-ranking officers responsible for the failure at Pearl Harbor, but did not exonerate him. On May 25, 1999, the United States Senate, by a vote of 52-47, passed a nonbinding resolution exonerating Kimmel and Short, and asking the President to posthumously promote Kimmel, and others, to the admiral rank.[3] Senator Strom Thurmond (R-SC), one of the sponsors of the resolution, called Kimmel and Short "the two final victims of Pearl Harbor." However, neither President Clinton nor his successor, President George W. Bush, have undertaken to posthumously promote Kimmel.

Admiral Kimmel and my grandfather were fourth cousins. I would be Admiral Kimmel's fourth cousin twice removed. I have spoken to his grandson Captain Thomas Kimmel (my sixth cousin). He is on a cruise ship to Hawaii right now doing a lecture on this subject. He will be at Pearl Harbor today, Veteran's Day.

I have an original copy of this Time magazine. I bought it on e-bay.

Brother and Sister and the Tallest Man on Earth

These pictures were taken several years ago at Ripley's Believe It or Not in Branson, Missouri.

Spunky the Wonder Dog

My friend Donna suggested I write about my dog Spunky after I made a comment on her blog.
First, I must backtrack and tell you about the previous dogs we have owned. Our first dog was named Farfo (after the cartoon many years ago). He was a stray that we took in, all in all a pretty good dog. He was with us for several years, I can't really remember his demise.

Farfo and hubby. (If you look over to the left,
you can see the Arkansas River)
Our second dog we bought was a registered Doberman Pinscher. We got him as a pup and went through the process of having his ears and tail cut. He was a good dog, not all that smart but pretty sweet. We lived out in the country. We always have actually. The doberman was named Jasper because he was black. But not too good of a guard dog if you ask me because somebody stole him.

I don't remember what he got into but he sure looks guilty!

He was a fine specimen of a dog!

Next came Molly the border collie. We bought her for the kids. She did not turn out like we thought, not all that bright either. She ended up being given away after she growled at a little neighbor child. She was black also so I thought "Molly" was very fitting. Black Molly, which I think is a very common name for a border collie. But I didn't know that at the time.

Now for Spunky. We got Spunky for our son. His father (Spunky's, not my son's) was a rat terrier and his mother was a cocker spaniel, both full blood. They lived in the same house and got mixed up together creating Spunky and his litter buddies. He was a cutie. We (our son really) decided not to cut his tail. Spunky was very aptly named. You know that cartoon about a dog and a cow. He pretty much looked like that dog to me. Just a fat little white bundle with black spots on his side like a kidney bean. His body was a rat terrier, but his head more like a cocker spaniel (ear wise anyway). We kept him in the house for a short time as a puppy but soon he became the outdoor dog. We have never had a dog living in our house before this.
Spunky could jump so high. We had back and front storm doors just alike. They had glass window half way up. He would jump straight up in the air so he could peer into the house. Boing! Boing! Just like a kangaroo. It's quite a sight to see a little dog jumping up and down like that.
Spunky was quite the popular dog in our town. I think most people (in our town) have seen this dog for he had an unusual habit....
to be continued.....
Yes, I am leaving you hanging....and it reminds me of someone else who leaves us hanging but I don't think Spunky is quite the hiney tingler as that. But you know what? I'm going to pretend to myself that he is...

John Mayer - Heart of Life with additional lyrics, MSG

The Heart of Life is good...

Joni Mitchell - Both Sides Now (Live, 1970)

Something I used to listen to and play on the piano.

Dennis the Menace

This is one of the reasons we never pretended that Santa Claus was real,
we wanted our kids to believe that God is real. I understand that some
won't agree with me but it's my opinion and I can live with it. We tried
to do the best we knew how with our children. I'm all for fantasy and
make-believe and pretend but I want those things to be in a different
catagory, not grouping God with myths and fables.

God Is Like This

I cannot see the wind at all
Or hold it in my hand,
And yet I know there is a wind
Because it swirls the sand.
I know there is a wondrous wind
Because I glimpse its power
Whenever it bends low a tree
Or sways the smallest flower.

And God is very much like this,
Invisible as air,
I cannot touch or see Him, yet
I know that He is there
Because I glimpse His wondrous works
And goodness everywhere.
~Rowena Bennett~

Tagged

I have been "chosen"~ er~ tagged by Crown Princess to reveal 7 random things about myself.
1. I wanted be an archaeologist when I was little.
I loved King Tut and the pyramids.
2. I loved "Heidi" when I was little, I so wanted to live
in Switzerland.

3. We celebrated our 30th anniversary on a ship in Alaska.


4. I love Orangina. I got these glasses
at a cafe in Paris. We asked if we could
buy them but the waiter let us take them.

5. I love Paris!!!! We visited Paris in 2000.
This is my daughter, Melissa, and me.

6. I love Switzerland. I would live there if I could.

7. I am part German on my mother's side of the family.
"Kimmel" is the surname. This is a picture of my mother
and me in Heidelberg, Germany in 2000.

Wordless Wednesday-"Day and Night"

View other Wordless Wednesday participants over at Blue Momma

Sting

I love this song. I play it over and over when I am driving. It's so beautiful.

My Offspring

~Autumn Fires~
In the other gardens
And all up the vale,
From the autumn bonfires
See the smoke trail!
Pleasant summer over
And all the summer flowers,
The red fire blazes,
The grey smoke towers.
Sing a song of seasons!
Something bright in all!
Flowers in the summer,

Fires in the fall!~Robert Louis Stevenson~

These are my babies, how time flies!

Lifehouse - Storm (album version)

~I am not afraid of storms for I am learning how to sail my ship~~Louisa May Alcott~

Fun Monday

This Fun Monday's host is Deborah, The Humble Housewife. She wants to know what holiday tradition we celebrate every year. Here at our house Thanksgiving has always been our favorite holiday. We just can't wait for the turkey and dressing. Through the years we have celebrated this holiday at our parent's house, usually taking turns between my parents and my husband's. This sometimes included traveling to my dad's house in Texas. We haven't got a tradition that I can think of that has been consistent other than to be thankful. A few years when our children were young and home-schooled, we would put a kernel of dried corn on the each person's plate to represent the pilgrim's and Indian's first Thanksgiving. We would then take turns telling what we were thankful for. Ooh, ended that with a preposition, sorry. There is one recipe that I learned from my mother-in-law that is a tradition at our house every Thanksgiving. I had never had this before I married my hubby. His mom made it every year and so I began that tradition. It is Waldorf Salad. Here is the recipe:
Classis Waldorf Salad
2 cups diced apple
1 cup 1-inch julienne celery sticks
1/2 cup broken walnuts
1 cup minature marshmallows
1/4 cup mayonaisse
1 tbsp. sugar
1/2 tsp. lemon juice
dash salt
1/2 cup whipping cream
1 cup seedless grapes, cut in halves
Combine apple, celery, grapes, marshmallows, and nuts. Blend mayonaisse, sugar, lemon juice, and salt. Fold in whipped cream; fold into apple mixture; chill.
I'm going to have to admit that I make the mixture sweeter by adding more sugar than a tablespoon of sugar. If you make the mayonaisse mixture first in a jar and let it sit overnight in the refrigerator to blend, it seems to taste better. This is such a pretty salad and goes right along with the turkey and dressing at the table. It's not like a dessert but just like serving cranberry sauce with everything else.

P.S. I guess another tradition for me has been to make the pumpkin and pecan pies for Thanksgiving. I do that wherever we go.
P.P.S. I thought of something else. On New Year's Eve, my husband plays a Jimi Hendrix rendition of Auld Lang Syne with his guitar and his Marshall stack for all the town to hear. We live way out in the country so the town would be lucky to hear it on a cold, clear night. We also save big fireworks from the Fourth of July and set those off at midnight.

Little Women

An excerpt from Little Women:
"O Jo, it's not so bad as that?" cried Laurie.
"Yes, it is. She doesn't know us, she doesn't even talk about the flocks of green doves, as she calls the vine leaves on the wall. She doesn't look like my Beth, and there's nobody to help us bear it; Mother and Father both gone, and God seems so far away I can't find Him."
As the tears streamed fast down poor Jo's cheeks, she stretched out her hand in a helpless sort of way, as if groping in the dark, and Laurie took it in his, whispering with a lump in his throat: "I'm here. Hold on to me, Jo dear!"
She could not speak, but she did "hold on," and seemed to lead her nearer to the Divine arm which alone could uphold her in her trouble. Laurie longed to say something tender and comfortable, but no fitting words came to him, so he stood silent, gently stroking her bent head as her mother used to do. Soon she dried the tears which had relieved her, and looked up with a grateful face. "I am not afraid of storms for I am learning how to sail my ship." ~Louisa May Alcott~

John Mayer

No way November

Live 8 - Beautiful Day

It's a beautiful day! Don't let it get away.

It's a Beautiful Day

It's a beautiful day today. The leaves are beginning to change on my Bradford pear, maple, and oak trees.
The temperatures are in the low sixties in the day and cooler at night.

Of course we all know about photosynthesis and that chlorophyll is what gives plants their green color. I found a little site that tells about this color change in leaves. It is Science Made Simple. The yellows and oranges are covered up with the green until it disappears in the fall. The bright reds and purples in leaves come from glucose trapped in the leaves after the photosynthesis stops. The brown color in oak leaves comes from wastes left in the leaves. They make a beautiful display of color for us to enjoy. There is a season for everything.

Byrds -

There is a season for everything.

For Everything There is a Season

There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven:
A time to be born and a time to die,
A time to plant and a time to uproot,
A time to kill and a time to heal,
A time to tear down and a time to build,
A time to weep and a time to laugh,
A time to mourn and a time to dance,
A time to scatter stones and a time to gather them,
A time to embrace and a time to refrain,
A time to search and a time to give up,
A time to tear and a time to mend,
A time to be silent and a time to speak,
A time to love and a time to hate,
A time for war and a time for peace.
What does the worker gain from his toil? I have seen the burden God has
laid upon men. He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also
set eternity in the hearts of men; yet they cannot fathom what God has
done from the beginning to end. I know that there is nothing better for men
than to be happy and do good while they live. That everyone may eat and drink,
and find satisfaction in all his toil--this is the gift of God. I know that everything
God does will endure forever; nothing can be added to it and nothing taken from it.
God does it so that men will revere Him. Ecclesiastes 3: 1-14