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Click Here are two stories that were sent
to me. It is very, very important that you read both stories
and you will learn a secret about the USS Lexington and a secret
about Becoming a Man.
STORY NUMBER ONE
Many years ago,
Al Capone virtually owned Chicago. Capone wasn't famous for
anything heroic He was notorious for enmeshing the windy city in
everything from bootlegged booze and prostitution to murder.
Capone had a lawyer nicknamed "Easy Eddie." He was Capone's lawyer
for a good reason. Eddie was very good! In fact, Eddie's skill at
legal maneuvering kept Big Al out of jail for a long time.
To show his appreciation, Capone paid him very well. Not only was
the money big, but Eddie got special dividends, as well. For
instance, he and his family occupied a fenced-in mansion with
live-in help and all of the conveniences of the day. The estate was
so large that it filled an entire Chicago City block.
Eddie lived the high life of the Chicago mob and gave little
consideration to the atrocity that went on around him. Eddie
did have one soft spot, however. He had a son that he loved dearly.
Eddie saw to it that his young son had clothes, cars, and a good
education. Nothing was withheld. was no object.
And, despite his involvement with organized crime, Eddie even tried
to teach him right from wrong. Eddie wanted his son to be a better
man than he was.
Yet, with all his wealth and influence, there were two things he
couldn't give his son; he couldn't pass on a good name or a good
example.
One day, Easy Eddie reached a difficult decision. Easy Eddie wanted
to rectify wrongs he had done.
He decided he would go to the authorities and tell the truth about
Al "Scarface"
Capone, clean up his tarnished name, and offer his son some
semblance of integrity. To do this, he would have to testify against
The Mob, and he knew that the cost would be great. So, he
testified.
Within the year, Easy Eddie's life ended in a blaze of gunfire on a
lonely Chicago Street. But in his eyes, he had given his son the
greatest gift he had to offer, at the greatest he could ever
pay. Police removed from his pockets a rosary, a crucifix, a
religious medallion, and a poem clipped from a magazine.
The poem read:
"The clock of life is wound but once, and no man has the power to
tell just when the hands will stop, at late or early hour. Now is
the only time you own. Live, love, toil with a will. Place no faith
in time. For the clock may soon be still."
STORY NUMBER TWO
World War II
produced many heroes. One such man was Lieutenant Commander Butch
O'Hare. He was a
fighter pilot assigned to the aircraft carrier Lexington in
the South Pacific.
One day his entire squadron was sent on a mission. After he was
airborne, he looked at his fuel gauge and realized that someone had
forgotten to top off his fuel tank. He would not have enough fuel to
complete his mission and get back to his ship.
His flight leader told him to return to the carrier. Reluctantly, he
dropped out of formation and headed back to the fleet.
As he was returning to the mother ship, he saw something that turned
his blood cold; a squadron of Japanese aircraft was speeding its way
toward the American fleet.
The American fighters were gone on a sortie, and the fleet was all
but defenseless. He couldn't reach his squadron and bring them back
in time to save the fleet nor could he warn the fleet of the
approaching danger. There was only one thing to do. He must somehow
divert them from the fleet.
Laying aside all thoughts of personal safety, he dove into the
formation of Japanese
planes.. Wing-mounted 50 calibers blazed as he charged in,
attacking one surprised enemy plane and then another. Butch wove in
and out of the now broken formation and fired at as many planes as
possible until all his ammunition was finally spent.
Undaunted, he continued the assault. He dove at the planes, trying
to clip a wing or tail in hopes of damaging as many enemy planes as
possible, rendering them unfit to fly.
Finally, the exasperated Japanese squadron took off in another
direction. Deeply relieved, Butch O'Hare and his tattered fighter
limped back to the carrier.
Upon arrival, he reported in and related the event surrounding his
return. The film from the gun-camera mounted on his plane told the
tale. It showed the extent of Butch's daring attempt to protect his
fleet. He had, in fact, destroyed five enemy aircraft.
This took place on February 20, 1942, and for that action Butch
became the Navy's first Ace of W.W.II, and the first
Naval Aviator
to win the
Congressional Medal of Honor.
A year later Butch was killed in aerial combat at the age of 29. His
home town would not allow the memory of this WW II hero to fade, and
today, O'Hare Airport in
Chicago is
named in tribute to the courage of this great man.
So, the next time you find yourself at O'Hare International, give
some thought to visiting Butch's memorial displaying his statue and
his Medal of Honor.
It's located between Terminals 1 and 2.
SO WHAT DO THESE TWO STORIES HAVE TO DO WITH EACH OTHER?
Butch O'Hare was "Easy Eddie's" son.
Now Here's the Reply
to my friend Moki, who sent to me
Dear Moki
I finally watched the sand video and since
I cannot save it, I will make a video of this. I was surprised that
I could understand some of it and maybe even more if the audio of
the mans voice was a little louder. It appeared to talk about
Moscow and the revolution in such a fantastic way that this young
lady should be seen around the world for her great works.
Click here
to see the Sand Video, it's FANTASTIC
I love Russian music and my time in Russia
was a real eye opener. One day in the hotel Russia on Red Square,
there was an old man who played his guitar in the restaurant, he
didn't speak English, but he sang "Let it Be" in such a quality that
the Beatles would be in envy. We sat and talked and had a great
time, he even let me play his guitar. We had a great time. When we
were done I gave him a hundred rubles which made him very happy. He
had no money and was just playing to have a bite to eat. His guitar
was broken and he had a seventh tuning machine head, which he
installed, because the head on the guitar was cracked.
When I returned to the table with our
other expedition members, One mans first words were, 'Are you going
to make love with him."
Now, I'm going to tell you a story that you
don't want to hear and I don't want you to hear it, but here it
goes. When I first got to Anchorage I rented a car and had to go
and get some extra things for my trip around the state. I stopped
and asked where Wal Mart was and the man, realizing that I wasn't
from there told me how to get to Wal Mart and then gave me a verbal
tour of the city. He said that building right over there is the
best strip joint in the country, and pointed across the street.
I didn't know where I was and in the
darkness of the night and the heavy rain, I was still totally lost
and stopped several more times to find Wal Mart, each time the
instructions were to the other Wal Mart.
So after I drove around I found my hotel
and went to bed. The next day I headed out and drove all around the
state, to Denali and Fairbanks, then to Valdez and back to
Anchorage. Absolutely fantastic.
After a day of rest back in the original
hotel, I went for a long walk and right down the street from the
hotel was the strip joint. I was a lonely man and the devil pulled
me in there like I had no choice.
A girl came up to me and asked me if I
wanted to dance. The music was great and I got up and really there
was no place to dance, so I was confused. I didn't understand what
a dance was. It was a lap dance and until then I didn't ever know
what a lap dance was. So she gave me a lap dance.
After that was over I was still dazed and
confused with the whole situation because I have never experienced
any of this before. It was only five minutes to nine and another
girl came up to me and said that I absolutely have to be out of here
by nine o'clock and asked me to dance and sat me down in the corner
area and started to take her top off. I told her to leave it on,
can we just hug. She gave me the strangest look, but sat next to me
and I put my around her and held her close to me, and what we did
was hugged. She sat there until fifteen minutes after nine when I
looked at the clock and told her that she was late and had to go.
She really hugged me and there was nothing sexual about it in any
way. I realized that this girl has never been hugged in her whole
life and it was a fantastic experience for her.
What does this all have to do with
anything other than I'm just spilling out the thoughts?
When my dad was a young man he had seen Al
Capone several times. My dad told me that Al set up restaurants all
over Chicago and when a person came to eat, if they didn't have any
money, they didn't have to pay. This is never written in any
history book. Al Capone, even thought he was a scoundrel and a
murder, he had compassion for people too. These Restaurants were
his way of hugging the poor people who really needed the hug and the
meal. He had a heart too.
At the same time, that man on our
expedition never knew what brotherly love was and to him love was
the love for money and lust. In Corinthians 13 it talks about love,
yet some versions of the bible talk about charity. Charity isn't
giving money, it's giving true love and compassion for the fellow
man, or woman. Bringing every effort to help the people who need
help and setting a good example for people who need a good example.
In this chapter it never talks about sex or money, never, just love
and charity.
When Mr. O'Hara willing put his life on
the line to divert the attack on the USS Lexington, he was giving
his love for his fellow sailors at all cost and his clock was
possibly running out and his ticker could have stopped instantly at
any moment. Love is giving your all. Charity is giving when you
have nothing to give. As I mentioned that, that girl had never been
hugged, ever in a loving manner, I too needed her charity of really
hugging me back and spending all that extra time that she wasn't
supposed to do. That was a learning experience for me in many ways.
Sometimes I look at my website and say,
"What am I doing? I'm promoting war on almost every page, is this
what God wants me to do." I thought about this for a while and
realized that I am not promoting war. When you read all of the
stories from the veterans that have written to me, I'm providing the
love that goes all the way to giving your life for what you
believe. No matter what the cost, no matter how horrible and how
much pain, these men loved our country and freedom so much, that
they threw themselves on hand grenades and ran right into the path
of fire to make sure that their families and friends could be safe
and happy at home.
In high school I thought that learning
English was a stubid wast of tim. I ain't got no prblem speken
English. But our teacher made us memorize a poem and recite it in
front the class from memory. If you know the name of this poem or
who wrote it, please let me know, because it was one of the greatest
powers against despair and depression that I have ever had. Here's
what I remember from the poem. "The tree the fallen, with a crash
of wood. Throws down in front of us, is not to bar. Our passage to
our journeys end for good, but just to ask us, Who we think we
are."
After only an hour of having this page on
the web, Here's the answer to the Poem.
Robert Frost On
a Tree Fallen Across the
Road:
The tree
the
tempest
with a
crash of
wood
Throws
down in
front of
us is
not bar
Our
passage
to our
journey's
end for
good,
But just
to ask
us who
we think
we are
Insisting
always
on our
own way
so.
She
likes to
halt us
in our
runner
tracks,
And make
us get
down in
a foot
of snow
Debating
what to
do
without
an ax.
And yet
she
knows
obstruction
is in
vain:
We will
not be
put off
the
final
goal
We have
it
hidden
in us to
attain,
Not
though
we have
to seize
earth by
the pole
And,
tired of
aimless
circling
in one
place,
Steer
straight
off
after
something
into
space.
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Being disabled I have lived both a
nightmare and fantasy life, and this poem was my strength no matter
how much pain that I have had to endure and no matter how many
failures that I have ever had. But I never quit and never will.
This verse from the poem is so powerful it has embedded itself into
my brain and has given me strength to understand love and charity as
the bible tried to explain. Our clocks are all running out. If
they run out in a hundred years or in the next second, it's what
works for humanity that you will be remembered by and the only works
that count.
Thanks Moki You're so far and then closer than ever before and I thank
you very much for being my friend over all of these years.
Your friend,
Jeff
For everyone that has read this page I put
it together in August of 2009. I met Moki in 2003 on the
Geographical North Pole and have never seen here since, but she
writes to me knowing that I have to live in severe pain and
loneliness most of the time. I can't have visitors or the
internal injuries, that have I have sustained in the military,
become so bad that I spend weeks in bed. I call being in bed,
sitting here, leaning way back in my chair with my feet on the desk
and the keyboard in my lap. This life for a disabled veteran.
If you want to read my story, read this, "Why
God Sent Me to the North Pole."
Do
you want to see what a Disabled Vets Life is really like.
Click here and watch this one minute video. |
