Don't forget the cats

One tough kitty

A Columbus, Ohio man, Gary Rosheisen, had fallen out of his wheelchair, near the bed.  He was unable to help himself.  His cat, Tommy, somehow had dialed 911, the dispatcher sent police because no one was speaking, the situation needed to be checked out.

Tommy had lived with Gary for 3 years, and Gary had tried to teach him how to dial 911 on a speed dial, he wasn't sure Tommy had learned how; now he knows.

Tee Cee a cat from Sheffield, UK, can detect and act when Michael Edmonds is suffering an epileptic seizure.  But over time Tee Cee has learned to predict, when he senses something is wrong he will sit and stare into Michael's eyes and tell when a seizure is about to happen, then he will alert family members who can provide help.

Patricia Kerr, age 90, has Sylvester the cat to thank for saving her life.  The adopted cat was anti-social at first, but no longer.  Sylvester noticed something was wrong with Patricia and went to a neighbor for help.  The neighbor was able to alert police, who broke the door down and saved the woman from drowning in her bathtub; the water was cold and Patricia had hypothermia, she was rushed to the hospital.  Thank you Sylvester.

Don't mess with him! (click to enlarge)

Dickin Medal for Valour

Dickin Medal

  The Dickin Medal is awarded by Peoples Dispensary for Sick Animals (PDSA).  It is a medal for valour on the battlefield.  Most of the recipients have been pigeons or dogs, but one cat and one horse have been awarded the medal as well.  Here are a few of their stories.
  White Vision, a pigeon, was awarded the medal during World War Two for assisting in the rescue of an aircrew who had to ditch their plane at sea.
  Judy, was a ship's dog during World War Two, she helped save the crew of HMS Grasshopper after it was sunk by the Japanese; she further helped those men in the POW camp, and was the only animal registered as a Prisoner of War.  She survived even after the Japanese sentenced her to death in Sumatra, she returned to England after the war.
  Rob, a dog served with the Special Air Services (British Special Forces) in North Africa during World War Two, Rob made over 20 parachutes jumps, just doing her job!
  Rip, a mongrel terrier, became the Air Raid Warden Services' first search and rescue dog.  Just by doing what he loved, Rip saved the lives of over 100 people, he is one of 12 dogs to be buried in the PDSA's cemetery.

A pigeon similar to White Vision

Judy, at work

Rob, being honored

Rip, at work

U S Route 202

U S Route 202 indicated by red line (click to enlarge)

  202 is a "child" of route 2; and it's quite a bit longer than the Eastern Segment of route 2.  The route starts in Bangor, Maine and ends in New Castle, Delaware and runs a total of 629.6 miles.
  At times it's a quiet country road and at other times it a four-lane street passing malls and big box stores.  I mentioned the other day that during my lifetime I have lived near or on this highway, mostly near.  I was born in Goodall Hospital in Sanford, Maine which is on 202, and lived up in North Lebanon, 1.25 miles from 202 for my first 14 years, gone for 3 years, then lived briefly on 202 until I joined the Navy.
  Since coming back to Maine we have lived near 202 while in Newburgh and Carmel, so I personally know the Maine portion of the road very well, right now I can drive it in my mind.
  The route has been around since 1934 when it was route 122 (the numbering system was updated in '34).  I have long thought about driving the entire length but I am really not sure the old bones could handle it, but it's nice to think about.

One end of the road is where that traffic light is, the "rotary" in Bangor, Maine

The Bear Mountain Bridge in New York State - we crossed this bridge in 1950 and the Hudson River was lined with
surplus U S Navy ships of all types (some things you never forget)

A rainy day on a busy section in King of Prussia, Pennsylvania

U S Route 52

US 52 in red

  U S Route 52 will take you from Charleston, South Carolina 2072 miles to Portal, North Dakota, where it ends at the Canadian border.
  Along the way are places like Roy Rogers birthplace, Cincinnati, home to the high school I attended for my 10th grade.  It also goes through Indianapolis, Minneapolis and a host of other towns and cities that don't end in -apolis.  When you travel this road you will see America at it's best from the cities and small towns to pastoral scenes in the farmlands, you'd see crops from cotton and tobacco to wheat, sunflowers and corn - North Dakota produces more grain than any other state, and let's mention the recent "oil rush" too.
  It won't matter which road you travel, learning and seeing those hundreds of distant and different places, people and things will make it worth the trip.  Remember the old Dunkin' Donuts commercial "it's worth the trip"?  They were right.

U S 52 begins at 2 Meeting Street in Charleston where this beautiful Inn is located.

U S 52 near Lafayette, Indiana and the Wabash River

U S 52 crosses the Mississippi River at Savannah, Illinois and continues in Iowa

The end, the U S Border Station in Portal, North Dakota

A CORRECTION:  Yesterday I wrote that U S 202 ended in Lewes Delaware, it ends in New Castle Delaware.

U S Route 2



The red line indicates Route 2 (click to enlarge)

  Quite a while ago, well before President Eisenhower decided to build the Interstate Highway System, all of the important, and some not so important roads were numbered as U S Routes.  East-West roads had even numbers, with the lowest number in the North (US Route 2), and North-South roads had odd numbers with the lowest numbers in the East (US Route1).  So U S Route 2 is the northern most East-West highway, it's unusual because it starts and stops twice, it goes from Houlton, Maine, crosses Lake Champlain at the Vermont/New York border and stops in Upstate New York; it starts again near Escanaba, Michigan and ends in Everett, Washington.  It seems to be a favorite of groups that tour by motorcycle (in the summer).
  So, you ask, why do I care about Route 2, and the answer would be: How the hell should I know.  I have been interested in those highways ever since I can remember.  I learned as a young teen how and why the numbers are the way they are, and after the Interstates were built I learned that system too, it's the opposite of the U S Route system.
  If I had the time, energy and money I'd try to drive the full distance of a lot of them, U S Route 202, for example, I have lived near that one a number of times, it runs from Bangor, Maine to Lewes, Delaware (didn't even have to look that up).

Route 1 near Williston, Vermont

The Eastern Terminus of the Western Section of Route 2 near  Escanaba, Michigan

Through the Big Sky country of Montana

Everett, Washington at the Western end.

Some things never change, others do

Giving honor where it is due.

  Last Wednesday I took Hollie for one of her vacation days.  She has a couple of days a year that we call "vacation days", when she skips her daily routine and we go somewhere (wonder where that would be).  Please notice that I did not say somewhere different!
  I picked her  up at 6:00AM, she was brimming with excitement even then.  We went to Belfast, Maine for a quick breakfast and then took route 3 to Augusta where we took the interstate to Biddeford, Maine.  In Biddeford we went to Target and Staples, she laminated 10 "projects" , or photos glued to paper, they will become a part of her permanent collection; in other words they may last more than two days.
  We left Biddeford on U S Route 1 and went to Scarborough, Maine.  We were looking for the area near the new Wal-Mart, I had never been there and I did not have a map.  I turned left on route 114 and we found the area without any difficulty.  We ate lunch at Subway (6 mind changes), and took a stroll over to Bull Moose Music where we found two New Kids on the Block CD's "from the old days, huh Dad?".  She uses to term "old days" and "back in the day" a lot, meaning the 1980's or 1990's.
  We left that area, I was fortunate that we by-passed the Maine Mall (she was too busy to look out of the window), and drove up or over to Cape Elizabeth to Portland Head Light (it's not a headlight, it's a Light on Portland Head).  This visit is a must, it's Hollies favorite place, with the exception of Staples.
When we left we took I295 from Portland to Topsham, where we went to Target (no surprises), and headed north on US 201 to Augusta where we went to Staples for 10 more "projects".  Then we ate at Panera Bread.  Someone had told me all about the 'burgers and fries' at Panera.  They do not serve burgers, or fries; we ate Turkey Ham with cheese grilled sandwiches instead.
  We left Augusta on I95 and went to Waterville to visit Wal-Mart and Staples, one project, for a total of 21 for the day.  We went down College Avenue to Fairfield where we caught route 139 back to Winterport and Hollies house, it's right on 139. 
  Total distance: about 420 miles; just to do the same thing we do the rest of the year.

Bull Moose store in Scarborough

Biddeford

Augusta (look familiar?)

Panera Bread store

Good ole honest mistakes, and other stuff

Mistakes, even in Mississippi

  If you've read this long enough you know I can't spell, that I often don't know what I'm talking about; or I just plain shouldn't try to write.
  But, it looks like I'm not alone on the planet, that I have a whole lot of company and maybe I do slightly better than some, while still lagging behind the herd.
  I like to see other peoples mistakes, only if they are humorous and don't insult anyone.  My idea for this stuff today came overnight.  I read about an advertisement by the French Lick Springs in Indiana.  French Lick is the hometown of Larry Bird, one of the best basketball players I've ever seen.  The outfit in in ad went on to say it was the hometown of Larry Byrd!

Always double check when you fill out a form

Choices, choices.  I'm thinking this may be a joke.

Yuk!  That's all I can say.

I remember these, the melons were placed in containers after they formed.
It was square because it took up less space in the refrigerator, grown in Japan(the melons not the refrigerators)