WE REMEMBER MEMORIAL DAY

We quietly post this memory again. While we will enjoy seeing the kids laugh and eat burgers, We hope, some day, they too will understand what the Memorial Day Holiday is all about as we remember Lois' Dad.

Below is a modified reprint of this memory:

"The lady showed me this modest oak display case. It hangs a wall in her house here in the community. It is in the shape of a triangle, and has a glass front. Inside the case is a folded American Flag. There is also a picture laying on top of that flag of an old merchant ship - the S.S. James W. Denver.

During WW II it was customary for merchant ships to have U.S. Navy Sailors on board to man the guns and generally protect the ship. The lady's Dad, who was 19 years old at the time, served on this ship. The "Denver" was the first to have members of the US Navy on board.

In 1943 The S.S. Denver became a little known causality of World War II. It was lost before my lady was ever born. In fact it was only one of 731 merchant ships lost in the war. It is but a footnote to World War II history.Elmer "Gerry" Cornwell, originally from the Port Huron area in Michigan served on the "Denver" in 1943. He survived the attack on "his ship" and ultimately made it home. Like a million other guys, who returned from the war, he got married, and had a family. He and his wife, Lois, had four "kids." They were Gerald, Lois, Dennis, and Mark.

The aforementioned Lois was born on July 11. She will probably use a broomstick, in a manner for which it was not intended, if I fill in the year of her birth. Today she is content to be a good neighbor here in Verona Walk. Her days are filled with many fine memories including those of her Dad.

The lady's' father, Gerry, died at the age of 48. He saw his oldest son and daughter get married; and he saw three grandchildren come into this world. He missed out on the births' of another six grandchildren.

During his life he never said one word about his experience as Sailor in the Navy - not a word! Sixty some years later research shows that the S.S. James W. Denver was torpedoed on April 11, 1943 by the German "Underseeboot 195" in the North Atlantic.

Fifteen (15) men survived. They clung to a raft as their ship sunk deep into the Atlantic Ocean. On April 24, 1943 the British Ship "H.M.S. Campana" found the survivors. They had been adrift for nearly two weeks.

After years of "never knowing" her fathers' war experience, my lady now has a fitting memorial to remind her of this story. She just has to take a daily glance at a simple display case on her wall. It tells the story every day."

I think she, and our her five children, will always have a good reason to hold our heads high on   Memorial Day. The picture below is the S S Denver

PULTE STOCK

Here it is - May 2015. There have been some downs since our original purchase, and a couple of extended "ups."  We thought of selling off a couple of times, but held on. 

I have no idea what our goal is, and since it is not real money, we will just keep holding on. 

Take a look. It is still on the "up"side at $19.91

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MR TEQUILA'S NEXT STOP FOR OUR GENTLEMEN

Opps! He is off on Canal Street in New Orleans. We hope he is having fun. 

Obviously, he left no instructions regarding that premier Gentlemen's Lunch that he works to make a success each month. Well I'll figure it out. 

He did do the monthly mailer, so I know we meet at Mr. Tequila's on June 3 at 12 Noon pronto. First let me say to the Guy's, "Welcome."

The day will be well organized to make sure everyone has a good time, and at a fair price. Sign up NOW.

He always says something about Romeo Lunch to help out - It is on Third Thursday at Cafe Verona. 

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HAVE A LAUGH

THE NEIGHBOR SENT THIS OVER BACK AROUND THE MIDDLE OF APRIL, BUT WE DIDN'T HAVE THE HEART TO POST IT THEN. ENJOY IT NOW

The Lemon Squeezer!!!!

At a bar in New York City the bartender was so sure that he was the strongest man around, that he offered a

Standing $1000 bet.

The bartender would squeeze a lemon until all the juice ran into a glass, and then hand the lemon to the patron.

Anyone who could squeeze two more drops of juice out of it, would win the money.

Over the years, many people had tried.....

Weightlifters , longshoremen, etc., but nobody had ever been able to do it.

One day, a scrawny little fellow came into the bar,

Wearing thick glasses and a polyester suit.

He sat down, ordered a glass of beer, and started looking around the bar.

After reading the sign on the wall about the lemon challenge, he said in a small voice:

"I was just reading your sign, and I'd like to try the bet."

After the laughter had died down, the bartender said:

"Ok...."

He grabbed a lemon and squeezed all the juice he could out of it...

Then he handed the wrinkled remains of the rind to the little fellow.

But the crowd's laughter turned to total silence....

As the man clenched his little fist around the lemon....

And six drops fell into the glass.

As the crowd cheered, the bartender paid the guy his $1000, and then asked:

"Do you mind if I ask what do you do for a living?

Are you a lumber jack, a weight-lifter, or what?"

The little fellow quietly replied:

"I work for the Internal Revenue Service!!!"

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THE OLD GUY VISITS A PLANTATION

South Louisiana is known for its beautiful antebellum architecture and there are plenty of plantation homes that are within an hours drive from New Orleans. Word has been received that the "Old Guy" and his wife are poking around one of these Old Mansions. 

He said, he hopes to get some pictures of oak trees shading a pathway from the Mississippi river, to the porch of a plantation home. Then he wants a rocker on the porch and some cool Ice Tea.

Well He was pleased that his trusted neighbor handled the daily chores here at Blog HQ. 

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THEY'RE WITH THE "FRIENDS OF LAFITTE"

Hey their secret is out, It is not Disney, It is New Orleans.

They sneaked out of town last Thursday and flew to N.O. Great deals to get their as it is Hurricane Season.

The word is He has relatives just above the Lake that is going to show them where some Pirate gold is buried. Trouble is the Lafitte Clan are protecting it.

I'll keep you posted on this. For now, I think the Pirate gold is safe, unless He makes them firewise, and they reward him big time.

First, he has to sell them about forest fires. I don't think it is going to happen. Well I'll keep you updated.

LAST MINUTE AND ANOTHER ESCAPE

"They" rang the bell last night and gave me the keys to the house. The said they would be gone around two weeks, and they were not going to Disney.  

I already knew what my job was. Take care of the blog. Don't post any thing nasty or hurtful. "Just the facts," I was told by Sgt. Friday. He doesn't want the local fuzz planting a complaint on him or her.

They surprised me, by saying I had a couple (not six) plants to take care of and keep healthy. I can handle this job, but I can't help to wonder if our Board is going to add these two plants,  to my six plants, giving me more then the allowable six plants total. I'll be placed on the plant "Hit List." Just in case I'll tie my K-9 up in front of the house so they wont be able to see the plants. I can do that, right?

Enjoy the vacation.

LITTLE RYAN HAVING FUN IN HOSPITAL

Crazy timing here - We are heading out to New Orleans for 10 days, and our daughter, Cathy, checked into the hospital last night through Emergency Room.

Cathy's trip to hospital was planned. It revolves around her son Ryan (18 mos). He has a problem: He passes out almost everyday.

The doctor told Cathy to take him to Emergency Room the next time it happened, and sure enough Wednesday he did it again. 

Cathy was prepared and handles this stress very well.  She is always "Cool, Calm and Collected" yet stressed to the limit. Well off she went with Ryan, and will stay with him until Friday. Friends and family are pitching in to watch the other kids. It's  nice to know there are people who care near by.

Ryan gets all sorts of checkups, is watched on TV, and plays with the waste bucket in his hospital room.

Take a look at him. There is a smile underneath all those bandages (I learned how to do this in my CERT Class). They did a good job. Okay Ryan give a smile.

MATLACHA

On Thursday (14th) we hoped in the car and drove up I-75 to Pine Island. As we approached the bridge we entered a little village called Matlacha. This was our target.

Why go here. The reason is the place is colorful and there are a few good restaurants on the main road. We took lots of pictures and then enjoyed lunch at the Fish House.

The restaurant was on the water. They also had live entertainment. All of this made for a great day out.  Enjoy the pictures. 

HONOR AWARDS FOR OUR GRANDSON

Monday Night was special. We got to see our Grandson, Zachary, receive an Award for academic achievement for his Junior Year. We were quite proud of him.

The weather was poor and we were almost drowned in the parking lot trying to get to the Auditorium of Lely HS. We made it. Zachary got their early so naturally he was dry and dressed up nice.

He tried hard not to smile when walking across the stage, but we caught a smile one when he got his Letter.

Outside after the Show He beamed. He smiled and off course wanted a picture of Him by his Car.  Did He say Car?  Yes by his Mustang. He even let Tayla and Caliani join him in a couple of those pictures. Check them out below.

MOM'S DAY

Today was a little different for our clan. We managed to sleep late which is always good.

After  getting up we had breakfast with our daughter, and her three kids. Laura lives here in Florida, but we also have four more daughters in NJ-NY (They like us too).

See below the picture of this part of our clan (three generations). Thats (L-R) Zach, Lois, Laura, & Cam).

We also met a few people from the Community. All they want to do is talk about their kids, and how great the day has been. So it was a very nice day for us, and we wish all the mom's in our Community a

HAPPY MOTHERS DAY

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GENTLEMEN'S LUNCHEON A BIG HIT AGAIN

As expected the VeronaWalk Gentlemen enjoyed another great visit to our friends at Sam Snead's.

As summer approaches and residents head North, we still had a good number present to enjoy a fabulous afternoon.  

Our agenda, as usual, was well prepared, to assure that everyone had a full share of FUN, FOOD, and FRIENDSHIP. We enjoyed entertainment from a comic, and song by "Rick & Joe" (formerly Jan & Dean). Take a peek at these guys in the picture below

We also were treated to a brief talk by a US Veteran who was on the Honor Flight from Naples to Washington DC. A hero then, and a hero now - Thanks Joe

For those who could not make this luncheon they are reminded to attend the romeo lunch later this month at Cafe Verona.

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NEIGHBORHOOD WATCH HAS GONE TO THE DOGS

The neighbors on our street all keep an eye out for each and communicate about vacations, guests and perhaps a stranger on the street.

To date we have been very safe, and our proud of our efforts.

We have done a good job reminding everyone to lock doors all the time, and use their burglar alarms, but there is an area where we could do a better job  -  policing our pets.

There always is a need to remind one or two people to clean up after their dog. Also we need to remind people to keep dogs on a leash at all times. In order to keep our street clean and safe we have arranged to get some help from Mr McGriff (pictured above). He knows how to handle this job.

BIRTHDAYS ETC TO REMEMBER

The "Old Guy" doesn't even remember his own birthday, so I generally put it here, and let him take credit. It should be easy to note this month's unforgettable dates as there are none. 

Good job "Old Guy."

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