September 06 '03
Volume 379
Bodock 2003 Hot
Time In Pontotoc
Barbara asked
me to set up our canopy for Habitat for Humanity
to use as a booth at the recent Bodock Festival. She stated it needed to
be in place before five o'clock Friday afternoon. Most all food and craft
vendors were setup by the time Jason and I tied down the canopy, and we've
decided that, if Habitat wants to borrow the canopy next year, we'll set
it up the night before in hopes nighttime temperatures will be less oppressive
than those we experienced in the late afternoon.
If one is looking to have a hot time, chances are Pontotoc's annual Bodock
Festival will provide the opportunity, but then one has to attend the event
to realize the desired experience. Of course, it all depends on what is meant
by a "hot time." The Bodock Festival doesn't lend itself to the lewd and
wild "hot times" of Mardi Gras, as exhibitors are inside a booth hoping to
sell a craft and not exchanging plastic beads for a quick flash of bare flesh.
Instead of an "R-rated" hot time at Mardi Gras, the Bodock Festival offers
a hot time for families that's strictly "G-rated," where "G" translates as
great family fun. However, the temperature is always hot when the Bodock
Festival is held in late August.
This year, there were train rides for children of all ages, rock-climbing
challenges that appeal mostly to pre-teens, and air-inflated playgrounds
for those seeking adventure between train rides and scaling heights. Some
teens found racing remote-controlled cars to their liking, but many simply
made the most of the opportunity to be themselves and enjoy a time with other
teens in a relatively unsupervised setting.
Anyone with money to burn had no trouble finding something to purchase. Craft
vendors filled the Court Square Park. Food vendors lined the adjacent streets
and were more than plentiful. If one felt lucky, he or she could purchase
a chance to win a finely crafted rocking chair made of wood salvaged from
the massive bodock tree at historic Lochinvar after the Pontotoc Tornado
toppled it almost three years ago. Persons without money to burn could enjoy
themselves by simply soaking up the sights and sounds.
Live bands and individual performers filled the air with music from the steps
of the Courthouse all day Saturday. The Pontotoc Historical Society's museum
was open to the public, and apart from the normal exhibits there were
demonstrations of everyday life in the Great Depression. Local actors and
actresses dressed in period costumes and mingled with curious onlookers.
Local authors held book signings, and talented musicians sang and played
Depression era music throughout Saturday afternoon. Historical characters
at the national and local level were realistically portrayed.
Judge Fred Wicker was a believable President F. D. Roosevelt in both speech
and mannerisms. I was unable to attend the performances of most, but aside
from hearing F.D.R., I spoke briefly to Rhett Butler (Bobby Pennington) and
Scarlett O'Hara (Becky Stark Tillery). And, though I missed most of the
performance of a band portraying the Carter Family, I enjoyed their last
half-dozen tunes.
The Bodock Festival is too large an event for one to be able to take in every
aspect of it in a single day. I could have spent Saturday roaming around
the museum, but that would have left little time to visit with familiar faces
elsewhere. Shannon Carter, a relative of mine, was on hand to share information
regarding several more items he had donated to the museum. Shannon's dad,
Ernie Carter, and my granddad (Hayden Carter) were brothers. Uncle Ernie
had a general store in Thaxton, MS, and Shannon's generosity has enabled
the museum to display a room filled with General Store memorabilia, some
of which predates the Great Depression.
Shannon was involved in explaining to me the significance of several of the
new pieces he had donated when a gentleman inquired about the gas Hotpoint
range which we were discussing. The stove in question had once belonged to
the gentleman's family, but was left behind when his family sold their house
to Roy Gutherie (husband of Ada Carter, my granddad's sister). The Gutheries
decided it did not suit their needs, and upon purchasing a new stove, the
old one ended up at Thaxton in Shannon's parent's home.
As the history of the stove unfolded, my favorite dentist, Dr. Fred Murphree
and his wife Vickie walked into the room. As it turned out, Dr. Murphree
and the gentleman asking about the stove knew each other. The gentleman was
Dr. Edwards, a retired dentist from New Albany, MS. The two dentists were
soon in a conversation unto themselves, so I escorted Vickie into the General
Store exhibit and shared my connection with the artifacts. Dr. Murphree soon
joined us.
To be continued…
Fresh Air Iraq
- A Soldier's Report
I can't help getting the feeling the news media is bent on portraying the
recent war with Iraq and the British and American presence there in the worst
light. I listen to Public Radio most weekday afternoons, as I return home
after a day of travels. I can't recall the last time there was no news to
report from Iraq. However, I sometimes wonder what they found newsworthy
in the report I just heard. I don't keep a tally on the reports that I feel
reflect a liberal slant, but the negative portrayal of America is often obvious.
As the Democrats gear up for the next Presidential campaign, I expect to
hear more negative sound bites condemning our continued presence in Iraq
and our having waged war on a nation that had done us no harm. A lot of those
voices will be heard from Democrats who voted for war to start with, but
now see a chance to turn public opinion in their favor.
Thus, I was encouraged to happen upon the following article while seeking
to verify an email someone had sent regarding the "wrath of the Eagle cleansing
the lands of Allah." The "wrath of the Eagle" article was discredited, but
after finding the following article, I learned it was factual and felt the
"fresh air" might be of interest to subscribers of this newsletter. The article
is presented as posted on the Internet, without further editing.
06-23-2003
Sitrep: Iraq
Note: This is an open letter from U.S. Army Maj. Eric Rydbom in Iraq
to the First Lutheran Church of Richmond Beach in Shoreline, Wash. Rydbom
is Deputy Division Engineer of the 4th Infantry Division.
It has been a while since I have written to my friends at First Lutheran
Church about what's really going on here in Iraq. The news you watch on TV
is exaggerated, sensationalized and selective. Good news doesn't sell.
The stuff you don't hear about on CNN?
Let's start with electrical power production in Iraq. The day after the war
was declared over, there was nearly 0 power being generated in Iraq. Just
45 days later, in a partnership between the Army, the Iraqi people and some
private companies, there are now 3200 megawatts (Mw) of power being produced
daily, 1/3 of the total national potential of 8000 Mw. Downed power lines
(big stuff, 400 Kilovolt (Kv) and 132 Kv) are being repaired and are about
70 percent complete.
Then there is water purification. In central Iraq between Baghdad and Mosul,
home of the 4th Infantry Division, water treatment was spotty at best. The
facilities existed, but the controls were never implemented. Simple chemicals
like Chlorine for purification and Alum (Aluminum Sulfate) for sediment settling
(the Tigris River is about as clear as the Mississippi River) were in very
short supply or not used at all. When chlorine was used, it was metered by
the scientific method of guessing.
So some people got pool water to drink and some people got water with lots
of little things floating around in it. We are slowly but surely solving
that. Contracts for repairs to facilities that are only 50 percent or less
operational are being let, chemicals are being delivered, although we don't
have the metering problem solved yet ( ...but again, it's only been 45 days).
How about oil and fuel? Well the war was all about oil wasn't it? You bet
it was. It was all about oil for the Iraqi people! They have no other income,
they produce nothing else. Oil is 95 percent of the Iraqi GNP. For this nation
to survive, it must sell oil.
The Refinery at Bayji is [operating] at 75 percent of capacity producing
gasoline. The crude pipeline between Kirkuk (Oil Central) and Bayji will
be repaired by tomorrow (2 June). LPG, what all Iraqis use to cook and heat
with, is at 103 percent of normal production and we, the U.S. Army, are ensuring
it is being distributed fairly to all Iraqis.
You have to remember that only three months ago, all these things were used
by the Saddam regime as weapons against the population to keep them in line.
If your town misbehaved, gasoline shipments stopped, LPG pipelines and trucks
stopped, water was turned off, power was turned off.
Now, until exports start, every drop of gasoline produced goes to the Iraqi
people. Crude oil is being stored and the country is at 75 percent capacity
right now. They need to export or stop pumping soon, so thank the U.N. for
the delay.
All LPG goes to the Iraqi people everywhere. Water is being purified as best
it can be, but at least its running all the time to everyone.
Are we still getting shot at? Yep.
Are American soldiers still dying? Yep, about one a day from my outfit, the
4th Infantry Division, most in accidents, but dead is dead.
If we are doing all this for the Iraqis, why are they shooting at us?
The general Iraqi population isn't shooting at us. There are still bad guys
who won't let go of the old regime. They are Ba'ath party members (Read Nazi
Party, but not as nice) who have known nothing but and supported nothing
but the regime all of their lives. These are the thugs for the regime who
caused many to disappear in the night. They have no other skills. At least
the Nazis [in Germany] had jobs and a semblance of a national infrastructure
that they could go back to after the war, as plumbers, managers, engineers,
etc. These people have no skills but terror. They are simply applying their
skills ... and we are applying ours.
There is no Christian way to say this, but they must be eliminated and we
are doing so with all the efficiency we can muster. Our troops are shot at
literally everyday by small arms and Rocket Propelled Grenades (RPGs). We
respond. One hundred percent of the time, the Ba'ath party guys come out
with the short end of the stick.
The most amazing thing to me is that they don't realize that if they stopped
shooting at us, we would focus on fixing things more quickly and then leave
back to the land of the Big PX. The more they shoot at us, the longer we
will have to stay.
Lastly, all of you please realize that 90 percent of the damage you see on
TV was caused by Iraqis, not by us and not by the war. Sure, we took out
a few bridges from military necessity, we took out a few power and phone
lines to disrupt communications, sure we drilled a few palaces and government
headquarters buildings with 2000 lb. laser guided bombs (I work 100 yards
from where two hit the Tikrit Palace), [but] he had plenty to spare.
But, any damage you see to schools, hospitals, power generation facilities,
refineries, pipelines, was all caused either by the Iraqi Army in its death
throes or from much of the Iraqi civilians looting the places.
Could we have prevented it? Nope.
We can and do now, but 45 days ago, the average soldier was fighting for
his own survival and trying to get to his objectives as fast as possible.
He was lucky to know what town he was in much less be informed enough to
know who owned what or have the power to stop 1,000 people from looting and
burning a building by himself.
The United States and our allies, especially Great Britain, are doing a very
noble thing here. We stuck our necks out on the world's chopping block to
free an entire people from the grip of a horrible terror that was beyond
belief.
I've already talked the weapons of mass destruction thing to death - bottom
line, who cares? This country was one big conventional weapons ammo dump
anyway. We have probably destroyed more weapons and ammo in the last 30 days
than the U.S. Army has ever fired in the last 30 years (remember, this is
a country the size of Texas), so drop the WMD argument as the reason we came
here. If we find it great if we don't, so what?
I'm living in a "guest palace" on a 500-acre palace compound with 20 palaces
with like facilities built in half a dozen towns all over Iraq that were
built for one man. Drive down the street and out into the countryside five
miles away like I have and see all the families of 10 or more, all living
in mud huts and herding the two dozen sheep on which their very existence
depends ..then tell me why you think we are here.
Respectfully,
ERIC RYDBOM MAJOR, ENGINEER
Deputy Division Engineer
4th Infantry Division
Bodock Beau
Little Old Ladies
Little old ladies have unique perspectives that allow them to view the world
differently than the rest of us. The following accounts are classic examples:
Three sons left home, went out on their own and prospered. Getting back together,
they discussed the gifts that they were able to give to their elderly mother.
The first said, "I built a big house for our mother."
The second said, "I sent her a Mercedes with a driver."
The third smiled and said, "I've got you both beat. You know how Mom enjoys
the Bible and you know she can't see very well. I sent her a brown parrot
that can recite the entire Bible. It took 20 monks in a monastery 12 years
to teach him. I had to pledge to contribute $100,000 a year for 10 years,
but it was worth it. Mom just has to name the chapter and verse and the parrot
will recite it."
Soon thereafter, Mom sent out her letters of thanks:
She wrote the first son, "Milton, the house you built is so huge. I live
in only one room, but I have to clean the whole house."
She wrote the second son, "Marvin, I am too old to travel. I stay home all
the time, so I never use the Mercedes. And the driver is so rude!"
She wrote the third son, "Dearest Melvin, you were the only son to have the
good sense to know what your mother likes. The chicken was delicious.
Submitted by Shelly Johnstone
Every Sunday, a little old lady placed $1,000 in the collection plate.
This went on for weeks until the priest, overcome by curiosity, approached
her.
"Madam, I couldn't help but notice that you put $1,000 a week in the collection
plate," he stated.
"Why yes," she replied, "every week my son sends me money, and what I don't
need I give to the church."
The priest replied, "That's wonderful, how much does he send you?"
The old lady said, "Oh, $20,000 a week."
The Priest was amazed... "Your son is very successful, what does he do for
a living?"
"He is a veterinarian," she answered.
"That is a very honorable profession," the priest says. "Where does he practice?"
The old lady says proudly, "Well, he has one cat house in Las Vegas and another
in Reno.
Submitted by Rhea Palmer
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