The Galloping Ghost of the Java Coast
17-August-2007
Matt Albright
Book: Ship of Ghosts: The Story of the USS HOUSTON, FDR's Legendary Lost Cruiser, and the Epic Saga of Her Survivors.
Author: James D. Hornfischer
Format: Audiobook (Unabridged 14 Discs)
General: Just finished up listening to the last disc today. Wanted to put down some of my thoughts regarding the sinking of the cruiser USS HOUSTON at the Battle of Sunda Strait off the coast of Java near St Nicolas Point & Banten Bay in early 1942. This was just the beginning of the ordeal for the survivors of the battle as they would become POWs for the next 3.5 years.
The following are some interesting points I learned that I had not heard before. I didn't serve in the military so, you'll have to excuse my 'layman' descriptions.
=> The HOUSTON was President Franklin Roosevelts' flagship and enjoyed many cruises on it in the years prior to the outbreak of war.
=> FDR boarded the ship one time by "hand-walking" up the gangway using the rails to swing his immobile legs to the amazement of crew and crowds.
=> While on board, FDR's favorite pastime was taking the ships launch to go on fishing excursions. He preferred to take along enlisted men as his fishing buddies in lieu of the ships officers. Upon returning from one of these fishing trips, he told the lone sailor who was driving the boat to take her back out solo and enjoy some fishing since sailor was too busy earlier with his duties. Upon hearing this, the sailor rigged a rod and proceeded away from the Houston. The recently arrived officer in charge started yelling at the sailor to return or face being AWOL. FDR told the officer he had ordered the sailor to go fishing and the red-faced officer had to defer to his Commander In Chief.
=> Due to political pressure of the Dutch, the ABDA (allied force tasked with defense of the Dutch East Indies) leadership was transferred from US to Dutch command.
=> During the Battle of the Java Sea, the deck guns located near the catapult launched seaplanes started firing before the planes were launched. The concussive blasts ripped the canvas from the airframes and left the stunned pilots sitting in the skeletal frames. The pilots simply climbed down and the catapults were fired launching the useless airframes overboard.
=> Many of the Japanese shells that managed to hit the HOUSTON failed to explode (due to duds or incorrect calibration for the HOUSTON decking and armor plating).
=> The ABDA fleet simply did not have any air cover during the Java Sea Battle. Japanese planes flew overhead and constantly dropped flares to mark the fleets position and course.
=> During the Battle of Sunda Strait, the PERTH and HOUSTON ran out of munitions for the big guns. They started firing their phosphorus star shells at close range to set fire to enemy ships. The smaller caliber weapons proved more effective in this close quarter battle than the big guns. 50 caliber machine guns were firing to take out enemy searchlights and personnel.
=> Upon abandoning ship, the sailors took their shoes off and lined them up along the rail before jumping in the sea. Many later regretted this action upon reaching the coral shoals, beaches and rough inland terrain.
=> The Japanese actually paid the POW's in Batavia (now Jakarta) for the work they did. Albeit the money paid was next to nothing, however this was the first that I had ever heard that Japanese did this.
=> Upon the surrender of allied forces on Java, the Texas Guard Artillery unit (later to become known as the lost battalion) came into POW camp full of supplies and gear which was distributed among already imprisoned PERTH and HOUSTON men. Among this group was a liaison officer that had hundreds of thousands of dollars which was smuggled into the camp. He was given this money to purchase ships and materials to effect an evacuation of US personnel from the theater of operations.
=> Enroute from Java to Burma to start work as slave labor on the Burma-Thai Railway, the Japanese prison ships came under attack from a flight of Liberators. Unknown to the airmen that they were attacking POW transports, they made bombing runs. The only anti-aircraft guns the Jap ships had were a couple field artillery guns tied down to wooden platforms on the ships deck. The Japanese crew were obviously inexperienced with the guns since during the first bomb run, the Japanese fired into their ships bridge destroying a portion of it, reloaded and swiveled the gun again. This time upon firing the shell hit a cable directly in front of the barrel and destroyed both gun and crew. The other gun was put out of action due to the fact that it was fired without the breach being fully closed and the back blast set fire to the gun crew. Eventually, one of the POW's used a signal mirror to inform the Liberators that they were POW's. The air crews acknowledge them with a return signal and broke off the attack.
=> During the jungle campaign to build the railway, the POW camps didn't have a fenced perimeter.
=> Toward the wars end, the OSS (wartime predecessor to the CIA) set up camps in Thailand to foment an uprising against the Japanese. One of these camps actually rescued a couple guys from the HOUSTON.
=> The University of Houston has a collection of records and mementos of the HOUSTON along with a 6 ft long model of the ship. The ships bell was recovered by Indonesian divers and now is located as a memorial in downtown Houston. I'll have to make a trip to these places soon.......
Labels: Dutch, FDR, Houston, Java, Navy, OSS, Sunda Strait, Texas, USS HOUSTON
"The HULK" Becomes Sheriff's Deputy
'Hulk' Becomes L.A. Reserve Deputy
Lou Ferrigno, 54, who played the green-skinned monster on the CBS TV show from 1977 to 1982, was sworn in during a ceremony Monday night.
"My father was a police officer with the New York Police Department; I've always had a high respect for officers," Ferrigno told The Associated Press. "I want to give back to the community, and I want to work with young kids, help them get off drugs."
Ferrigno began training to become a reserve deputy last September after passing a background check. He completed training in firearms, first aid, and high speed driving techniques and was recognized as "an outstanding trainee" by Sheriff Lee Baca.
Ferrigno was a bodybuilder before he starred on the TV show. The late actor Bill Bixby played mild-mannered scientist David Bruce Banner who, as Ferrigno, turned into a Herculean, green-skinned monster whenever he lost his temper. He switched back to Bixby's character as soon as he calmed down.
In recent years, Ferrigno has appeared as himself on the CBS sitcom "The King of Queens."
© 2006 Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Grandpa Matuch
Al-Qaeda in Iraq Status
Zarqawi Sends Top Aide to Die
by Richard Miniter
Posted Nov 18, 2005
Dead men tell no tales, but luckily for intelligence analysts, live women do.
Sajida Mubarak Atrous al-Rishawi was not able to detonate her bomb at the wedding party and fled with the guests as her husband exploded himself. Now, she is in the custody of the GID, Jordan’s intelligence agency. By all accounts, the interrogation is going slowly. Still, enough information is emerging for us to draw some lessons for the triple bombings in Amman, Jordan, on November 9.
Mrs. al-Rishawi’s family history reveals just how effective the U.S. military has proven to be in eliminating insurgents. Jordanian intelligence has learned that three of her brothers were killed by coalition forces in Iraq. Her brother, Thamir al-Rashawi, a member al-Zarqawi’s inner circle, was killed in April 2004 in Fallujah, when a missile fired from a U.S. aircraft struck his pick-up truck. Jordanian Deputy Prime Minister Marwan al-Mu’ashir described her brother, Thamir, as “the emir [commander] of the Al-Anbar region [of the Iraqi insurgency] in the Al-Qa’idah of Jihad Organization in the Land of Two Rivers. He was the right hand of Abu-Mus’ab al-Zarqawi.”
Her other two brothers, Ammar and Yassir, died in separate battles with U.S. forces in Ramadi, Iraq, in 2005.
Explosives Expert
Mrs. Al-Rishawi’s sister had been married to a Jordanian explosives expert, Nidal Mohammed Arabiyat, also killed by U.S. forces in Iraq, according to Agence France Presse.
Though the American media is slow to report it, U.S. forces are relentlessly destroying Zarqawi’s senior leadership. A November 2 air strike killed two senior al Qaeda operatives in Iraq: Abu Zahra, the so-called Emir of Husaybah, ran all insurgent operations in that Iraqi city, and Asadallah, Zarqawi’s key recruiter. U.S. forces have now confirmed the identities of both dead terrorists.
On October 23, U.S. forces captured Abu Hassan, the head of al-Zarqawi’s media cell. Hassan was responsible for producing video tapes of insurgent attacks to give to al-Jazeera and other television networks. Hassan even produced forged police and press passes to allow insurgents to case targets and film the devastation following insurgent attacks.
Following these air strikes and captures, Zarqawi ordered the Amman attacks. Was it a sign of desperation? Was he trying to regain the initiative from weeks of reverses?
Another sign of desperation: Consider who Zarqawi sent to run the Amman operation, Mrs. Al-Rishawi’s husband. He also a member of Zarqawi’s inner circle. He is now dead. Why did Zarqawi send a top officer to die? He has already lost so many. It suggests that either he’s running short of suicide bombers (typically Saudi recruits) or he’s running short of people he trusts. Either way, it’s a sign of desperation.
Meanwhile, Mrs. al-Rishawi is alive and apparently talking. She can certainly tell her interrogators the location of the other insurgents and perhaps Zarqawi’s hiding place.
Task Force 626, established last year by the Defense Department, is still searching for Zarqawi. At least three times in the past year, U.S. forces just missed capturing the archterrorist, according to the Los Angeles Times.
“We truly believe that Zarqawi’s days are limited,” Army Maj. Gen. Rick Lynch, deputy chief of staff of the multinational force in Iraq, told the Times. At least seven members of Zarqawi’s inner circle have been killed or captured. Another 38 regional insurgent commanders have been seized or slain as well as some 71 insurgent leaders that the military refers to as “tier three.” “Given [the] many, many sources of intelligence and information, we have great success at killing or capturing his leaders, his cell leaders, his coordinators and his lieutenants, and this chart just continues to expand, and eventually, he’s going to be on this chart,” Lynch said.
Time is running out for Zarqawi. And the Amman blasts may have only sped up the inevitable.
Mr. Miniter is author of Disinformation: 22 Media Myths That Undermine the War on Terror.
Lawmakers Reject Immediate Iraq Withdrawal
| Lawmakers Reject Immediate Iraq Withdrawal Nov 18 11:41 PM US/Eastern  Email this story |  |
By LIZ SIDOTI
Associated Press Writer
WASHINGTON
The House on Friday overwhelmingly rejected calls for an immediate troop withdrawal from Iraq, a vote engineered by the Republicans that was intended to fail. Democrats derided the vote as a political stunt. "Our troops have become the enemy. We need to change direction in Iraq," said Rep. John Murtha of Pennsylvania, a Democratic hawk whose call a day earlier for pulling out troops sparked a nasty, personal debate over the war. The House voted 403-3 to reject a nonbinding resolution calling for an immediate troop withdrawal. "We want to make sure that we support our troops that are fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan. We will not retreat," Speaker Dennis Hastert, R- Ill., said as the GOP leadership pushed the issue to a vote over the protest of Democrats. It was the second time in less than a week that President Bush's Iraq policy stirred heated debate in Congress. On Tuesday, the Senate defeated a Democratic push for Bush to lay out a timetable for withdrawal. Murtha, a 73-year-old Marine veteran decorated for combat service in Vietnam, issued his call for a troop withdrawal at a news conference on Thursday. In little more than 24 hours, Hastert and Republicans decided to put the question to the House. Democrats said it was a political stunt and quickly decided to vote against it in an attempt to drain it of significance. "A disgrace," declared House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif. "The rankest of politics and the absence of any sense of shame," added Rep. Steny Hoyer of Maryland, the No. 2 House Democrat.
Nov 8 Elections
My (Matt Albright) recommendations for the Nov 8 elections
Prop 1: NO.
Why do we need another bureaucracy to deal specifically with the Choo-choo industry? Don't we already have something called the TX Railroad Commission? Can't TXDOT deal directly with the railroad & local authorities in order to come up with solutions for road expansion? Sounds to me like a money grab.
Prop 2: YES.
This one is straighforward. God created Adam & Eve (not Adam & Steve) and instituted marriage at the beginning of creation. During the creation event (see Genesis chapters 1 & 2), man was created but no suitable mate was found for him. From this Eve was created to be the complement to Adam.
Prop 3: NO.
Sounds like a bunch 'legalise' to make public monies even harder to keep track of than what they are now.
Prop 4: YES.
It is possible that this could be abused by a judge, but overall I think it is a 'common sense' ammendment.
Prop 5: NO.
Too convoluted for me to grasp will always get a NO vote. In general, usury limits don't bother me.
Prop 6: NO.
It took me a while to come to a decision on this one. I like the idea of adding another 'non-legal' public member, but why does it have to be an appointment from the guv? Why not a random member of the public pulled from say the voters roll? (we fill juries this way) The addition of the county judge made me suspicious. I feel like the new public member was the carrot to accept the new county judge position. In the end what sealed my decision was the Senate sponsor........drum roll please......... Jon Lindsay.
Prop 7: NO.
We have enough problems with home ownership and rising property taxes in this state. No need to make it worse. Since, this is a new 'product' to this state, what did people do before this came along? It just seems like a bad deal to me.
Prop 8: YES.
Don't know much about this other than it seems to be a 'house keeping' problem. From the background info, there is 5,600 acres held by 1,820 individuals. With the number of individuals involved for the amount of land, my suspicions are not aroused. These type ammendments have passed before and I haven't heard anything more about them.
Prop 9: NO.
I never have liked 6 year terms for any office (particularly for appointed positions).
HCC Trustee District V: Ramiro G. Vazquez
Don't know much about Vazquez other than he is an engineer and says he wants to build a better system by aligning college programs to employment needs. The other candidate, Richard Schecter, is the spouse of Sue Schecter who is a former state rep and former Harris County Democrtic Party Chair. The Houston Chronicle reports in its endorsement of Schecter that he is unafraid to consider steps such as raise taxes........Nuff said.
Immigration Reform - your opinions needed!
From: Senator Elizabeth Dole [mailto:news@gopsenators.com]
Sent: Monday, October 24, 2005 3:40 PM
To: malbright@paraengr.com
Subject: Immigration Reform - your opinions needed!
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Contribute  | UnsubscribeContributions to the National Republican Senatorial Committee are not deductible as charitable contributions for federal income tax purposes. Contributions from corporations, foreign nationals and federal government contractors are prohibited. Federal Law requires us to use our best efforts to collect and report the name, mailing address, occupation and name of employer for each individual whose contributions exceed $200 in a cale ndar year. | |||||||||||||
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Frist: Breaking News on Border Security
So many of you have written or posted on my blog about border security that I wanted to share some news with you first, tonight, before I let the Senate know tomorrow…
Bill Frist, M.D.
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Vast 'oil' reserves in Utah may tempt feds to help out
Interesting article on oil sands reserves in the US.
Vast 'oil' reserves in Utah may tempt feds to help out
By Jerry Spangler
Deseret Morning News
WASHINGTON - Utah, Colorado and Wyoming sit on a massive fortune
in untapped oil - maybe more oil than in the Middle East - if they could
just figure out a way to harvest it.
Deseret Morning News graphic And with crude oil hovering above
$50 a barrel, Congress is now showing signs it may be willing to help.
On Tuesday, the Senate Energy Committee held hearings on the vast
reserves of oil found in tar sands and oil shale located in eastern
Utah, western Colorado and southern Wyoming. The amounts of oil, said
Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, "are mind boggling. Who would have guessed
that in just Colorado and Utah, there is more recoverable oil than in
the Middle East, except we don't count it among our nation's oil
reserves because it is not yet being developed commercially."
And therein lies the rub. The technology to recover oil from tar
sands and oil shale is costly, and it just wasn't justified when oil was
$30 or even $40 a barrel.
But with oil prices expected to remain above $50 a barrel for the
foreseeable future, a lot of people in the oil industry want to revisit
what could become a huge financial windfall for Utah and its neighbors
to the east.
"If we can get it out, it will be a huge resource for the United
States and a significant industry for the two states," said Sen. Bob
Bennett, R-Utah. "But getting it out at an economic level is a problem."
On one hand it will cost billions to develop and implement the
technology. And there also is a problem in that the oil shale and tar
sands are located in a portion of eastern Utah coveted by
conservationists for its wilderness qualities.
"The wilderness advocates will say, 'Over my dead body.' But it
looks like oil prices are going to stay above $50 a barrel, and I could
see people moving into this business in a big way," Bennett said.
Congress could be the wild card when it comes to defraying the
cost of jump-starting oil shale and tar sands oil production. If
Congress were to infuse massive amounts of research capital into
production through the Department of Energy, the United States could
conceivably generate enough oil to wean itself from foreign oil.
"If there is a federal role, it is in the investment into
research to make it happen," said Rep. Jim Matheson, D-Utah, who sits on
the House Science Subcommittee that would need to approve research and
development funding. "Right now, the technology is not there."
Hatch, who testified at Tuesday's hearing, pointed out that Canada
has invested heavily in tar sands technology to reap oil from Alberta.
And it has paid off.
"I find it disturbing that Utah imports oil from Canada tar sands,
even though we have a larger tar sands resource within our own
boundaries that remains undeveloped," Hatch said. "Why has Canada moved
forward in leaps and bounds, while the United States has yet to take
even a baby step in this direction?"
Experts testified that Canada now produces 1 million barrels of
oil per day from tar sands, and that is expected to reach 2 million
barrels a day.
According to Mark Maddox, a deputy assistant secretary for fossil
energy, the Green River Formation - located where the three states come
together - contains an estimated 1.8 trillion barrels of oil. It also
constitutes more than 50 percent of the world's oil shale reserves, of
which 80 percent are owned by the federal government.
Maddox said studies of the reserves indicate that more than 400
billion barrels of oil will be found in oil shale with concentrations
greater than 30 gallons per ton.
And, he added, the technology to refine it exists.
"The failure of the government's efforts in the 1980s was not due
to the failure of the resource, the technology or environmental
problems," he said. "Economically it was simply too expensive."
Until now.
But the rosy future for eastern Utah is tempered by the reality
that the federal government and industry invested in oil shale and tar
sands in the 1970s only to abandon the project in 1982 because it wasn't
economically feasible.
"We are aware of its potential to help provide for the nation's
energy needs, but we are also aware of its potential to engender false
hopes, exaggerated claims and unfulfilled promises," said Steve Smith,
assistant regional director for the Wilderness Society.
Smith encouraged senators to consider entering a cooperative
agreement with Colorado and Utah to examine the environmental impacts of
all issues surrounding oil shale development, and to do it before
federal monies are committed to the project.
Such a study, Smith said, affords residents of the impacted areas
and Americans in general "an opportunity to become informed about the
status, promise, risks, opportunities and impacts" of developing the
resource.
"I hope that this time around, we will be more careful than we
were the last time," he said.
After Action Report
Looking Pretty Ragged After My Shift
Friday 2am....
Drag myself out of bed. Eyelids just don't want to open. Why did I choose the 4am shift again?? I know... so I didn't have to deal with the traffic downtown. (Not knowing at the time, this would turn out to be a very good decision) Get ready and leave for the church to meet other early birds for car pool to the GRB Convention Center. Listen to the Larry Elder show "The Sage from South Central" on the way over.
Arrive at 3am sharp. Not a car in the lot. Get funny feeling that everybody left me (smile). About 5 minutes later a lady in a car pulls into the lot very cautiously. I must look like a hoodlum waiting for a victim. I don't blame her (see picture above minus yellow shirt), I scare myself sometimes. Not long and more cars show up. Ben Lauderdale who has been organizing the church relief efforts rounds everybody up and we break into groups to car pool down to the GRB. I catch a ride with Jim Hall, and Dennis (don't remember last name).
Come to find out Jim works at the same office as I. He is with a different company than AMEC Paragon but I thought I recognized him when heading down the hall at work the other day. His wife Linda Hall is the AWANA Club Commander at our church.
On the way over we pass several yellow school busses. Pretty strange for 3:45 in the morning. You know the school kids seem pretty big nowadays. We make the exit for the GRB center and 'whamo' instant traffic jam. What's going on with all the yellow school busses and cars? It takes us about 10 minutes to reach the parking lot from the exit ramp (its only about a mile). We pass in front of the GRB and there are people and cops everywhere. It is pretty surreal at 4am. We get parked and follow the crowd leaving the volunteer parking lot. We are at the south end of the convention center.
As you can see from this pic, the George R. Brown Convention Center building is huge! I think it is around 5 or 6 city blocks long. We hoof it along the back service entrance of the building. There are loading docks after loading docks. Highway 59 is literally above us and the area underneath this elevated highway has been turned into a fenced service parking lot. We pass row after row of porta-johns. Since I had drunk a large bottle of water about 2 hours ago, my bladder was needing a little relief. However, I wasn't about to take my chances in an unlit porta-john underneath a bridge at 4am! (smile)
As we got closer to the other end of the building, I notice a long line of people and those yellow school busses that we passed earlier were offloading the 'big kids'. Turns out these are the volunteers from Houston's First Baptist Church, which was the church I attended (and met my wife) from 1995-2001. After getting in line, I notice the pastor who married us (Jason Swiggart) walking down the line. I will try to catch up with him later on. As we get closer to the entrance, I notice the other guy that married us, Bill Rademacher. (if you weren't at the wedding, contact me and I will explain why we were married by two different people) (smile) I am able to say hello to him briefly before I am being asked my shirt size and to fill out a sign in sheet. When I finish, I've lost track of Bill. Hopefully, I will run into him again once inside.
Once inside, we stair climb to the third floor. At the top we enter a large hall about the size of a football field. There are tables and and a food service line. The guy who appears to be in charge directs the HFBC volunteers to certain tables based on the bus number they came on. He directs all other churches and groups to the back of the hall. On the way to the other end, I run across another couple (The Revis's) from HFBC that Emily worked with when she was the Childrens Ministry Assistant. We usually run into them every year at home school convention held at the Reliant Center. Chat for a few minutes then head for the table with the rest of my group.
4:30 am.... By now my bladder is really full. I have been looking around the place, but all the bathrooms are roped off with police stationed by them. Just grin and bear it (smile). Finally, they make an announcement that half of the room will stay put and the other half (ours) would move out into the main concourse for better acoustics so they can talk to us. They tell us to not talk as we will be directly above the main floor where the evacuees are being sheltered.
We exit the hall through some of the doors that were roped off with the bathroom signs above. Alright, relief at last! Walk through the doors and guess what? No bathrooms. That's just not right. They take us along the concourse and then we veer off into an area that reads "Childrens' Activity Center". Still no bathrooms. I am ready to take my chances in those porta-johns.
The guy in charge greets us and thanks us for volunteering. He tells us that Operation Compassion was originally given the task of only serving the food for the GRB. As of Wednesday, the mission changed and the majority of the relief operation for the GRB was now to be carried out by Operation Compassion. He went on to say that yesterday, people were told that they would receive the Red Cross $2000 debit cards and this did not happen. Thousands of people showed up and they had a lot of angry and frustrated people. The people who showed up were kept outside the building. Today, however, they would be receiving the debit cards and that we were the group that would be the first ones to help with this process.
From what I can gather, originally there were about 7,000 people who were living in the GRB shelter. By today this number had dropped to around 1,800 people. The way things work is that any evacuee that needed assistance would register at a shelter and from then on they would receive an identification for that particular shelter. This also applied to those who were not staying at the shelter, but were living in other smaller shelters, motels, homes, etc. Priority was given to those who were still living in the GRB shelter. In order to receive a debit card, first you had to stand in line to register for the shelter, then you had to stand in line to wait for the debit cards. So, there were 2 lines forming outside the GRB, those who thought they were getting cards that day and those who really were. From what I can tell, the debit cards were to be given only to heads of households. So, going back to when we first arrived and there were all the people standing in line, that was the reason.
After informing us of the mission change, he turns it over to a lady who begins asking for specific jobs that need to be filled. First she calls for computer operators to key in evacuees information at the registration line. I think about it but decide against it. I need something that will keep my body moving. Too much chair time. Next she calls for a small but specific group of 10 men and 10 women. She doesn't say what the job is for. I'll pass. Next comes the call to man the childrens' activity center and set up a daycare center for the main hall. Right up my alley, I can play all day. I volunteer for this one. (smile) The children volunteers are being motioned into another room. About a third of the original group remains. As I am leaving, I hear them call next for a laundry detail. I think I made a good choice. (smile) By now, the whites of my eyes are as yellow as my shirt.
There are about 20 people in the group. The guy in charge of the childrens activities is Steve Seelig. He used to be a minister at HFBC and left to work at Second Baptist sometime around the time Zachary was born. I feel like I am at reunion (smile). Steve gives us a rundown on what we will be doing. There are 3 ballrooms that are each the size of a high school gym. One room is the sports room. It has basketball goals, soccer goals, etc. Another room has 2 playground areas made up of those modular plastic slides and climbing towers. Around each of them is a contained area with blue rubber scraps to cushion the area for children if they fell down. Also, in this room are tons of toys. The last room is called the quiet room. It is set up with tables that have board games, computer terminals and literally has a library (about the size of a convenience store) with tons of books that the kids can keep. There are also tons of toys here as well.
First off we will need to sanitize all the playground equipment, toys, computer terminals, tables and chairs. This is really only two of the rooms. After we are done we just hang around until about 6:30am when we will go down to the main floor where those living in the shelter are sleeping. We will set up a 'staging area' for a day care for the children whose parents are in line to receive their Red Cross debit cards. We will all grab an armfull of toys from the activity rooms and bring them down to this area.
When he is done, he asks for questions. I ask the first one. WHERE ARE THE BATHROOMS!!! Everyone laughs, but I know they want to know as well!! (smile) We break up to get started cleaning and I head off in the direction of the bathrooms. Sure enough many people are fast on my heels! Finally, get relief and now I can concentrate on getting some work done.
4:50am... Start in the room with playground equipment. A couple of ladies are cleaning one of them so, I jump in. We finish in about 15 minutes. Next I head over to an area of toys that people are cleaning. While there I recognize one of the ladies (Kelly Parker). Emily hired her sister Melanie and then Kelly when Emily was the C.M. assistant at HFBC. The last time we had seen them was at Zachary's 1st birthday party. We caught up on what the latest was on our families. When we finished chatting, the toys in this room were almost done so I left to check out the 'quiet room'. There were alot of toys in here but most of them had been cleaned already. We started sorting them by groups: action figures, baby toys, legos, stuffed animals, gobs of toy 'kitchen' foods and utensils, etc. This took quite awhile to do because there were so many toys. By the time we finished the cleaning it was around 6:00am. Pretty much just lingered about talking to members from my church who were in the group.
6:30am... Someone comes and asks us to go grab as many toys as we can carry. I grab a box of legos, a stuffed 'rocking' tiger and a wire 'thingy' that has these toy pieces that slide on the wires (it looks like a mini roller coaster). We start heading down into the main area. While walking down, I recognize Mark Palmer. He is the guy who introduced Emily to me in Sunday School class. I start talking to him about the family and he is thinking about home schooling his child as well. We are now walking by the evacuees who are still sleeping in this shelter. They have not turned on the main lights in this area yet. We get to the 'day care' area which consists of yellow 'construction' tape wrapped around the support columns. We are told that the Red Cross will be here soon and the doors will be opened to those outside in line at 8:00am. They tell us to sit tight for awhile. We are in the main area, but on the south end of the building. This room is the size of a city block. There are several staging areas. The first is a section of around a thousand seats that is for those that enter the building. From here the people will be ushered row by row to the computer area where only the head of household will be taken to verify that indeed they are elligible to receive the debit cards. Then they will move to the area where there card will be activated and then given to them.
7:00am... The military arrive to help with crowd control. I notice that it is the Air Force and Army. Since I don't know much about the military, I couldn't tell you if they were National Guard or 'Active Duty'. The Air Force personnel seemed older than the Army personnel. I spoke with a couple of the Army guys. They said they were from Ellington Field.
We find out that the Red Cross has not yet arrived. We are told to go outside and walk around and just talk with those in line. We really can't answer any questions and we weren't given any food or water to hand out. About half our group heads outside, about that time the security station has been setup at the door heading outside. Since the rest of us are close by, they ask us to go through the security check. I don't get it... I am inside the building and have been for 3 hours. I think they just wanted to make sure their magnetic wands were working. Since I now passed through security, I opted to stay inside. Of course I moved away from the check point though (smile). Not much for us to do. Wait for the doors to open and receive kids.
8:30am... The Red Cross hasn't arrived yet but they decide to open the doors to start filling the 1000 seats. I hear that there is already close to 10,000 people in line. Don't know if this is true or not. Just what they told us. When they opened the doors, it was extremely orderly. Since I did not make it outside, I didn't know what the lines looked like. The guards at the door would let one family in at a time. They would pass through security and then be ushered to their seats. If they had children, they could take advantage of the daycare area if they wanted. Since everything was in the open, the parents could still keep an eye on their kids in the daycare. What really surprised me was the number of infant babies that we took care of. We had about 30 people helping out in the daycare area. A group of about 10 people from "Team Kids" joined the original group. They primarily handled interface with the parents while the rest of us just had a blast playing with the kids. The kids were extremely well behaved. No squabbling over toys and no discipline problems. I thought we might have trouble with the kids not wanting to be away from their parents especially with what some of them had been through, but it seemed to me it was only a couple of the really young ones (less than 1 year) that cried. None of the kids I was around talked about what they were going through. One boy (about 10yrs old) I was playing 'matchbox car derby' with had many cut and bruises on him especially on his head and legs. I don't know what he went through but I know he was having fun on this day.
10:00am... Next shift arrives and they tell us we can head home. We exit out and I head to the South side lot where we parked. Once outside, there are people everywhere. Next to me is a lady on crutches. She has 3 little ones under the age of 5 and is really struggling to walk and keep the kids. She asks me where the line to receive the debit cards is. I tell her it is around the corner where I am heading (which is about a block). She asks me if I can get her a wheel chair. Earlier in the morning, they would bring people wheel chairs in through the security check point. I said if she could make it to the door about a block away, I could talk to someone about getting her a chair. We got there and I spoke with the military officer at the door. To my surprise, they took her and her family straightway through the doors. No waiting in line at all.
The line was unbelievable outside. It was about 10 people wide and zig-zagged back and forth for a block with the baricades. From that point it stretched underneath the 59 overpass and down the otherside. One of the volunteers that was outside handing out food, water and paper fans, said it stretched from there half the length of the GRB. This was only the debit card line. I never did see the registration line except for when we first arrived. I think the 10,000 number was probably a low figure.
Met up with the other guys and we headed back to the church. I don't know how long that Operation Compassion will continue. They are scheduled for a month period but, I think that as the shelters are combined together, there is going to be a need for volunteers for many months.
Thursday at the Church
Our sunday school class was assigned Thursday night to help out with the free dinners being offered to those displaced by Hurricane Katrina. We had a good volunteer turnout. There about 20 people from our SS class in addition to the 'normal' cooks and relief organizers. In all, there were about 40 people that showed up to volunteer.
I was assigned to the parking lot for directing the traffic with 3 other guys (Andy Anglin & Dean Rother). A fellow church member (Dale) had supplied some 2' x 4' yellow signs with arrows that he was placing at the entrance to the church. He asked me to help him plant (stake them to the ground) more signs down the road to direct people to the church. Since I have sign planting experience from my political activities (smile), I gladly took him up on the offer. Besides, I had been standing there for 15 minutes and no one had shown up yet.
We went to the major intersection of Highway 6 & Clay Rd and planted the rest of the signs from all directions. It wasn't as easy as you might think. We haven't had any rain for quite some time and the 'grass' medians aren't exactly soft soil. Thankfully, had a long shank screw driver that we were able to pound into the 'gravel infested' soil (smile). In all, we were gone about 30 minutes.
When we got back, the parking lot had about 10 cars in it that weren't there before. Went inside to get a drink and many of the tables were filled with evacuees. In addition to the dinners, we had a computer center with internet access for the people to check email, sign up with FEMA/Red Cross for assistance, look for housing, etc. There was a section with groceries, clothing, baby supplies and hygiene kits. Of course there was pastoral staff that was there to eat.... I mean.... provide counseling to those who needed it. Just kidding guys.
Emily was with several other ladies that were providing childcare for the volunteers children. I never did really get a chance to see what they were doing to entertain the kids since they were in a different rooom.
Anyway, we were there from 5:30- 8:20pm. I had to get home to go to bed. I needed to get up at 2 am. As I posted earlier this week, I had volunteered to work the 4am-10am breakfast shift down at the George R. Brown (GRB) Convention Center with Operation Compassion. (click embedded links for more info). I found out that there was going to be a car pool of volunteers from our church to the GRB and that we needed to meet at 3am.
The final tally of people that showed up for the dinner and other services was around 100 people. The said that on Tuesday night, which was the first night, there were about 40 people. On Wednesday night, which was a NO MEAL night, about 60 people showed up. Someone had the foresight to prepare 'sack lunches' to anticipate this. They had about 60 lunches left so they took them to the Holiday Inn down at Interstate 10 and handed them all out to evacuees that were staying there.
West Side: Dinner for Evacuees
For those in the West Houston area: If you have evacuees in your home or know of someone who does, our church will be serving free evening dinners to evacuees. The church is located on Clay Road West of Hwy 6. It is about a block past Los Cucos Mexican Restaurant on the South side of the road.
Here is the information.
Bear Creek Baptist Church
16607 Clay Rd
Houston, TX 77084
281 859-9900
www.bc-bc.org
Mondays--6:30-8:30pm
Tuesdays--6:30-8:30pm
Wednesdays--NO MEAL. Childrens Programs (pre-K to High School)
Thursdays--6:30-8:30pm
Fridays--6:30-8:30pm
Saturdays--6:30-8:30pm
Sundays--NO MEAL Church Services
Operation Compassion Training
Went over to 2nd Baptist Church today for volunteer training for Operation Compassion by Houston area churches to feed the NOLA residents being sheltered at the George R. Brown Convention center. Originally, the plan was to serve the Astrodome folks, but I guess maybe FEMA or the Red Cross took over there. Don't know the reason. Will probably find out when I go to serve.
I had a choice of training times on Saturday, Sunday, today and tomorrow. I figured I would go today because I thought most people wouldn't turn out on a Holiday for a training event. Boy was I wrong. If you are familiar with Second Baptist, then you know it is a 'BIG' church. I took Westheimer to Voss Rd. and was imediately stuck in traffic upon turning onto Voss. I thought it might be due to road construction as that is Houston's favorite pastime. As I passed San Felipe, I noticed a lot of people walking in the direction of the Church. Then it dawned on me that this was for the volunteer training. By the time I got parked into the 'football/baseball field' parking lot, it had taken me about 20 minutes to go about 2 miles.
I started walking in with steady stream of people. I felt like I was heading toward a sports venue with the number of people. We walked in and were directed PAST the sanctuary and out the backside. I bet we passed several more buildings and were then put in a chapel (which I am guessing was the original sanctuary). I was handed an information packet as we walked in. The place was packed. I found my seat and was now watching a video screen of a feed from the main sanctuary. I missed everything Dr. Ed Young had said and there was a guy speaking but also missed his name. A guy (I think his name was 'Biddy') began discussing what was expected of food service and how the disaster relief organization was run. I frantically wrote down as many fill in the blank answers as I could and we filled out a contact sheet on ourselves. That was about it. The whole training time took about 45 minutes if that. At the end, they gave us a head count of the people who were there. IT WAS OVER 10,000 PEOPLE!! They mentioned in the past 3 days they had over 25,000 attend just to be food service volunteers!! Amazing.
When we were dismissed, I got back to the field parking and sat there about 30 minutes waiting to get out. It wasn't too bad. I opened all the windows and doors and turned on my favorite talk radio host 'Sean Hannity'. When the comercials came on, I would channel surf and heard a local radio jockey interviewing the 'Reverend Jackson' who must have been in town for the relief effort. He was playing the 'racism' card again and saying that the slow rescue was due to most of the people being black. The guy doesn't know when to keep his opinions to himself.....
My shift is for 4 am - 10 am Friday morning. It will be fun heading downtown in the dark ;)
Be Fruitful and Multiply....
Announcing the birth of our daughter
Abigail Faith Albright
Born: Monday, 07-Feb-2005
Location: Houston, TX
Midwife: Rae Andrews. Birthing Naturally (www.birthingnaturally.com)
Stats: 7lbs-10oz. 21" Long
Parents: Matt & Emily Albright
Siblings: Zachary & Grace
To sign up for late night/early morning play time with Abigail, please feel free to email me (smile)
Abigail Faith Albright
Gratitude
From the daily calendar, The Glory of America, Marshall & Manuel, 1999.
December 31
It was the end of the , 1812, when John Quincy Adams penned these words in his diary. His entry can stand for us all:
"I offer to a merciful God at the close of this year my humble tribute of gratitude for the blessings whith which He has, in the course of it, favored me and those dear to me."*
*Adams, Charles Francis, (Ed.). Memoirs of John Quincy Adams. Philadelphia: J.B. Lipincott & Co., 1876.
The Sands of Christmas
The Sands of Christmas
I had no Christmas spirit when I breathed a weary sigh,
And looked across the table where the bills were piled too high.
The laundry wasn't finished and the car I had to fix,
My stocks were down another point, the Dolphins lost by six.
And so with only minutes till my son got home from school
I gave up on the drudgery and grabbed a wooden stool.
The burdens that I carried were about all I could take,
And so I flipped the TV on to catch a little break.
I came upon a desert scene in shades of tan and rust,
No snowflakes hung upon the wind, just clouds of swirling dust.
And where the reindeer should have stood before a laden sleigh,
Eight Hummers ran a column right behind an M1A.
A group of boys walked past the tank, not one was past his teens.
Their eyes were hard as polished flint, their faces drawn and lean.
They walked the street in armor with their rifles shouldered tight,
Their dearest wish for Christmas, just to have a silent night.
Other soldiers gathered, hunkered down against the wind,
To share a scrap of mail and dreams of going home again.
There wasn't much at all to put their lonely hearts at ease,
They had no Christmas turkey, just a pack of MREs.
They didn't have a garland or a stocking I could see,
They didn't need an ornament-- they lacked a Christmas Tree.
They didn't have a present even though it was tradition,
the only boxes I could see were labeled "ammunition."
I felt a little tug and found my son now by my side,
He asked me what it was I feared, and why it was I cried.
I swept him up into my arms and held him oh so near
and kissed him on the forehead as I whispered in his ear.
There's nothing wrong my little son, for safe we sleep tonight,
Our heroes stand on foreign land to give us all the right,
To worry on the things in life that mean nothing at all,
Instead of wondering if we will be the next to fall.
He looked at me as children do and said its always right,
to thank the ones who help us and perhaps that we should write.
And so we pushed aside the bills and sat to draft a note,
to thank the many far from home, and this is what we wrote:
God Bless You all and keep you safe, and speed your way back home.
Remember that we love you so, and that you're not alone.
The gift you give you share with all, a present every day,
You give the gift of liberty and that we can't repay.
Author Unknown
I Resemble That Remark...
Interesting article. The author wanders a bit from his argument, but is still a good read. Basic premise: White Democrats are failing to re-populate.
Personal Note: Child number 3 expected to arrive in February :)
The American Conservative: Baby Gap. How Birthrates Color the Electoral Map
Indeed, voters are picking their parties based on differing approaches to the most fundamentally important human activity: having babies. The white people in Republican-voting regions consistently have more children than the white people in Democratic-voting regions. The more kids whites have, the more pro-Bush they get.
Mr Yushenckos Changing Face
Wow, this is pretty drastic. He claims that he was poisoned. He wouldn't have a hard time trying to convince me.
skynews: LEADER'S CHANGING FACE
Before (July 2004) & After (Nov 2004)
Political Humor
The Cowboy and the Yuppie
A cowboy was watching his herd in a remote pasture when suddenly a brand-new BMW advanced towards him out of a dust cloud. The driver, a young man in a Brioni suit, Gucci shoes, Ray Ban sunglasses, YSL tie, leans out the window and asks the cowboy, "If I tell you exactly how many cows and calves you have in your herd, will you give me a calf?"
The cowboy looks at the man, obviously a yuppie, then looks at his peacefully grazing herd and calmly answers, "Sure. Why not?"
The yuppie parks his car, whips out his Dell notebook computer, connects it to his AT&T cell phone, surfs to a NASA page on the Internet, where he calls up a GPS satellite navigation system to get an exact fix on his location which he then feeds to another NASA satellite that scans the area in an ultra-high-resolution photo. The young man then opens the digital photo in Adobe Photoshop and exports it to an image processing facility in Hamburg, Germany. Within seconds, he receives an email on his Palm Pilot that the image has been processed and the data stored. He then accesses a MS-SQL database through an ODBC connected Excel spreadsheet with hundreds of complex formula. He uploads all of this data via an email on his Blackberry and, after a few minutes, receives a response. Finally, he prints out a full-color, 150-page report on his hi-tech, miniaturized HP LaserJet printer and finally turns to the cowboy and says, "You have exactly 1586 cows and calves."
"That's right. Well, I guess you can take one of my calves," says the cowboy. He watches the young man select an animal and looks on amused as the young man stuffs it into the trunk of his car.
Then the cowboy says to the young man, "Hey, if I can tell you exactly what your business is, will you give me back my calf?"
The young man thinks about it for a second and then says, "Okay, why not?"
"You're a Democratic Party consultant" says the cowboy.
"Wow! That's correct," says the yuppie, "but how did you guess that?"
"No guessing required." answered the cowboy. "You showed up here even though nobody called you. You want to get paid for an answer I already knew, to a question I never asked; and you don't know anything about my business. ...Now give me back my dog. "
Open Arms (and Eyes)
Heart warming story of 'Good over Evil'. You'll have to read the whole story for the context shown below (smile).
USA Today: Out of Liberia, into open arms
........Later, he told them matter-of-factly that it sometimes popped out during
soccer games. "I explained that eyes popping out was important information
to tell your mom," Cindy says with a laugh. "I probably would have passed out if
I had seen his eye rolling around on the soccer field.".....
Horace Greeley
Editor Greeley
From the daily calendar, The Glory of America, Marshall & Manuel, 1999.
November 12
Wrote the famous 19th-Century editor, Horace Greeley, in his autobiography:
"It is impossible to mentally or socially enslave a Bible reading people. The
principles of the Bible are the groundwork of human freedom."*
*Northrop, Stephen Abbott. A Cloud of Witnesses. Portland, Oregon: American Heritage Ministries, 1987.
The Future Looks Bright For a GOP Hawaii
Looks like the Dem stronghold has a bleak future (smile)
Honolulu Star-Bulletin News: Hawaii Schoolchildren back GOP ticket
If kids in Hawaii had their way, this state would have chosen President
Bush over Sen. John Kerry, 55 percent to 44 percent, and Republicans Mike
Gabbard and Dalton Tanonaka would be headed to Congress.....
Roughly 89,000 students in kindergarten through 12th grade cast online
ballots as part of the Kids Voting Hawaii 2004 election, and the younger
generation bucked the adult reality in many cases......
For full results, go to www.kidsvotinghawaii.org and click on "Press
Room."
Battleground Hawaii???
Wow, this is interesting....
HonoluluAdvertiser.com
43.3% Bush
42.6% Kerry
12.0% Undecided
It looks like my favorite vacation spot of Hawaii is in play. I still don't understand how with the internals going against the President on the war in Iraq that he is pulling 30% of the Democrat vote. I guess the voters are compartmentalizing Iraq vs. the war on terror and say the Presidents handling of terrorism trumps their views on Iraq. Strange logic to me but, if it works to give Bush Hawaii, then great. I guess when the Dems lost the gubernatorial election for the first time in 40 years, voters found that a Republican governor has not caused the 'sky to fall'. Maybe they feel the same about President Bush.
Poll 56% to 47%
56% to 47%
No, not the Prez poll..... Just another reason to vote Republican (smile)
ABC News: 'Primetime Live' Poll: More Republicans Satisfied With Sex Lives Than Democrats
Little Johnny
Little Johnny always makes me smile. Enjoy.
A new teacher was trying to make use of her
psychology courses. She started her class by saying, "Everyone who
thinks you're stupid, stand up!" After a few seconds, Little Johnny
stood up. The teacher said, "Do you think you're stupid, Little
Johnny?" "No, ma'am, but I hate to see you standing there
all by yourself!"
**************************
Little Johnny watched, fascinated, as his mother
smoothed cold cream on her face. "Why do you do that, mommy?" he
asked. "To make myself beautiful," said his mother, who then began
removing the cream with a tissue. "What's the matter?" asked Little
Johnny. "Giving up?"
**************************
At Sunday School they were teaching how God
created everything, including human beings. Little Johnny, a child
in the kindergarten class, seemed especially intent when they told
him how Eve was created out of one of Adam's ribs. Later in the
week his mother noticed him lying down as though he were ill,
and said, "Johnny, what is the matter?" Little Johnny responded, "I
have a pain in my side.
I think I'm going to have a wife."
**************************
Mimi & Gracie at the Orchard
(Morris Apple Orchard. Amherst, Virginia)
If this isn't greeting card material, I don't
know what is?
Udderly Amazing!!!
(Amazement Square. Lychburg, Virginia)
If they have rubber dummies for CPR certification,
why not rubber udders for training farmers???
48 State Vintage Flag
(Johnson Farm, Peaks of Otter, Blue Ridge Parkway, Virginia)
Park Ranger shows us Old Glory of the 48.
Zachary Conquers Sharp Top Mountain
(Peaks of Otter, Blue Ridge Parkway, Virginia)
This 5 yr old hiked 5 miles of mountain trails and still had trouble getting to bed!
Maybe it was the mother Black Bear and her cub that we came across on the trail???
And, NO, I didn't get a picture of the bears.... too busy trying to get away (smile)
Virginia Monkeys
(Peaks View Park. Lynchburg, Virginia)
2 Little Monkeys
Sitting in a Tree
K-I-S-S-I-N-G.....
Valor
(National D-Day Memorial. Bedford, Virginia)
Sculpture Represents 'Valor' Wading Ashore from Higgins Boat
Faceless Statue
(probable shell impact)
www.dday.org
(National D-Day Memorial. Bedford, Virginia)
Zachary with Le Monument aux Morts
Rangers on the Cliffs
www.dday.org
(National D-Day Memorial. Bedford, Virginia)
Zachary & myself at Ranger Wall
Fidelity & Sacrifice
www.dday.org
(National D-Day Memorial. Bedford, Virginia)
Foreground Sculpture Is 'Fidelity' Helping the Wounded.
Background Sculpture Is 'Sacrifice' of our Fallen.
Zac at National D-Day Memorial
www.dday.org
(National D-Day Memorial. Bedford, Virginia)
Zachary with Overlord Arch in Background
Mr. Fritz Likes Tasty Ears
Zachary, Gracie, & Myself w/ Mimi (who gets an earful from Mr. Fritz.)
(Lynchburg, Virginia)
Taking Papa on a Walk
Gracie and Papa Albright (My Dad) on a Walk.
(Peaks View Park in Lynchburg, Virginia)
Farm Ride
(DePue Farm in Oklahoma)
Zachary & Grace w/ Grandma & Grandad DePue and cousin Christopher
Aunt Keri & Uncle Daniel DePue
Emily & Kids with Aunt Keri & Uncle Daniel
(Emilys' Younger Brother in Plano, Texas)
Hand Wringing
No mention of their 'sleepless nights' prior to running the bogus stories about the President and his National guard service.
Editors Grapple With How to Cover Swift Boat Controversy
US Troop Reduction in Europe
Looks like the European economy is going take a hit and the US economy get a further lift.
FT.com / World - US plans to cut forces overseas by 70,000
The US is expected to announce on Monday that it is pulling 70,000 troops out of Europe and Asia in the largest restructuring of its global military presence since the second world war.
People briefed on the plan say two-thirds of the reductions will come in Europe, most of them military personnel stationed in Germany who will be sent back to US bases. An additional 100,000 support staff and military families worldwide will be part of the realignment.
The changes are expected to be announced by President George W. Bush at a speech to the Convention of Veterans of Foreign Wars in Cinncinatti, Ohio, on Monday...
...There will also be a shift of some European command headquarters. The navy's European HQ, which has been in London since the second world war, will be moved to Naples.
Name that Tune
I know that one... It is the "Lucas Wall Anthem". What a bogus headline. Read the article... It looks like Metro is one who is "changing their tune"
HoustonChronicle.com - DeLay changing his tune on future mass transit plans:
......."I consider this to be a real positive, and perhaps a turning point, for improved mass transit in our region," Mayor Bill White said. "Metro has established a good relationship with Mr. DeLay, which is critical to getting the mass-transit funding we need."
DeLay, who has opposed Metro rail plans for more than a decade and blocked federal funds for the Main Street light rail line that opened in January, told the Texas Transportation Summit here that he's impressed with the agency's commitment to explore possible alternatives for future lines.
"Metro's new leadership, it's becoming clearer by the day, has a vision for a mobile Houston region, and the kind of open minds and flexible management style it will take to realize that vision," DeLay, R-Sugar Land, told attendees Friday morning.
Harris County Judge Robert Eckels called DeLay's comments a welcome development: "It is good for the city to see a Metro board and a mayor that are interested in working with Tom to really get the solutions for transit in our community."............Among the modes Metro is likely to hear about are monorail, subways, and airport-style people-movers. "The majority leader is challenging us to work together as region," said Garrett Dolan, vice president of the Greater Houston Partnership."He's painting a picture for us to look at innovative rail solutions, and we are 100 percent
behind the idea."
Previously, DeLay has suggested that Metro needs a more advanced system than light rail. After his speech, DeLay said he was pleased "they are finally doing something that Metro has never done: They are holding a forum to look at all forms of technology and how those technologies fit into the mobility in Houston, and how it will benefit the taxpayers in getting the biggest bang for the buck."........
