Amidst the Holiday Season...
We had more snow showers over the past 24 hours, and I must say, it did keep the local assholes at bay somewhat...always a nice thing. I could actually hear myself THINK for a change. And that's not a common occurrence around here all that much.
The winds kicked up a bit, but no drifting to speak off....just a whole lotta cold.
I'm ready for it, too.
We had one FWPD officer ass-ended by "someone wanting to do 90 MPH" (as came over the radio), but fortunately, he was NOT in the vehicle when it was struck. The car's a mess, and the officer was able to secure a backup vehicle for his TOD, but at least we now have ONE LESS careless driver on the roads here.
It's like I said...people do NOT know how to handle bad weather, or they choose to remain in DENIAL (which still is not JUST a river in Egypt).
Yet, while we ventured forth along snow-covered roads, dodged bad drivers, carried on with the Christmas shopping, and otherwise battled the elements...
There was THIS:
*** Early on a December morning, the 7th to be exact, in the year of our Lord, 1941, on the naval base at the Hawaiian island of Pu'uloa, otherwise known as Pearl Harbor, servicemen were going through the trappings of a lazy Sunday morning. Church services would begin soon enough, and many men not on duty were in their bunks, fast asleep.
Little did they know the carnage and devastation they would become witnesses to around 0755 hours (local time).
Imperial Japanese forces launched a surprise attack on the United States naval base, concentrating on what was known as "Battleship Row".
Torpedo planes and dive bombers from 6 (enemy) aircraft carriers sailing several hundred miles offshore swept through the area.
The airbases were also hit, but the submarine base at Pearl was relatively untouched.
What was also NOT hit by the Japanese were the U.S. Navy's aircraft carriers, which were out to sea, conducting operations.
Over 2,400 personnel were killed in the two waves of attacks on the island, with over 1,280 wounded.
Four battleships were sunk (two raised to fight later in the war), most notably the U.S.S. Arizona, which took 1,200+ men to their graves.
Also sunk or damaged were 3 cruisers, 3 destroyers, an anti-aircraft training ship, and one minelayer.
Over 180 U.S. aircraft were destroyed on the ground, while the Japanese forces lost 29 aircraft and five midget submarines.
And it was this ONE action that propelled the U.S. into World War II, forcing any desires for isolationism to the scrap heap.
We pretty much know the rest...
To quote the Japanese admiral Isoroku Yamamoto, who was in command of "Operation Z":
"I fear all we have done is to awaken a sleeping giant, and fill him with a terrible resolve."
Helluva way to get in step with Christmas, wasn't it?
And yet, get in step WE DID, proving what a "sleeping giant" this nation was.
Now, here are some websites that you will find interesting regarding this attack, and the subsequent survivors:
http://www.pearlharborsurvivorsonline.org/Index%20Page%20.htm
http://www.pearl-harbor.com/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pearl_Harbor
This story in particular should make us ALL stop for a moment and take notice.
http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2010-12-05-pearl-harbor-survivors_N.htm
Currently, there are only about 3,000 survivors left out of over 60,000 personnel that were present at the time of the attack on Pearl.
And, like the rest of us, none of them are getting ANY younger.
Out of those 3,000, ONLY about 100 are expected to fly to Honolulu today to take part in memorial services.
Think about it...ONLY 100...out of 60,000!
That's important to every one of us, or it SHOULD be.
As one survivor, age 92 stated: "It will be the end of an era when the last of us goes."
We should NEVER allow that era to fade from our memories.
Now, I said all THAT...to say THIS...
Christmas IS a time for thankfulness...a time of charitable giving one to another. We have bastardized it into some mega- "sale-fest" for local and national stores, however.
That's not to say that capitalism is bad...it DOES keep the economy from foundering.
How we IMMERSE OURSELVES IN all of it is what we need to focus on.
Do we view this time of year as JUST a time for swapping gifts, holding parties, and getting wasted along the way?
Or are we giving and revelling BECAUSE we are holding those that have given that last full measure of devotion TO this nation in much higher esteem?
We really need to DEFINE that, IF we are to embrace the TRUE meaning of this holiday season.
Now, I love getting gifts, and I also love giving them, but it should never be from the "hip-national-bank", but done rather from a sincere and humble heart.
Were I to invoke Judeo-Christian belief into the mix, I would state that it was our GOD that bestowed unto us the ultimate gift, and we would be wise to acknowledge that and pass forward something in kind to our fellow man.
But, many of us already know about that, right?
We need to hold fast to those values that made us AMERICA, and if those values entail preserving the memories of those sacrificing all so that we have a future for ourselves and OUR children, that's fine by me.
And if others can't quite get their brains wrapped around a lot more of the TRUE reason of the season, that's THEIR fault...and NOT ours.
Still, it is our duty to those fallen to remind others about how much is given by many, in order to allow the rest of us to have anything at all...and to have it freely, living in a nation that bestows liberty for ALL men and women living here...not just a few, or some.
Remember Pearl Harbor...
Remember WHY we can enjoy all that we do enjoy at this time of year.
Be well, make a difference to someone, and...
Stay safe out there, America.

(( Don't forget - 18 shopping days until Christmas))