pictures

John Wooden’s Creed for Life

Making the Most of Oneself
·         Be true to yourself
·         Make each day your masterpiece
·         Help others
·         Drink deeply from good books
·         Make friendship a fine art
·         Build shelter against a rainy day
·         Pray for guidance and give thanks for your blessings every day

Happiness Comes From Making and Keeping Nine Promises
·         Promise yourself that you will talk health, happiness and prosperity as often as possible
·         Promise yourself to make all your friends know there is something in them that is special that you value
·         Promise to think only of the best, to work only for the best and to expect only the best in yourself and others
·         Promise to be just as enthusiastic about the success of others as you are about your own
·         Promise yourself to be so strong that nothing can disturb your peace of mind
·         Promise to forget the mistakes of the past après on to greater achievements in the future
·         Promise to wear a cheerful appearance at all times and give every person you meet a smile
·         Promise to give so much time improving yourself that you have no time to criticize others
·         Promise to be too large for worry, too noble for anger, too strong for fear and too happy to permit trouble to press on you

Dinner at the Marine Corps Museum in Quantico Virginia

Hey Joe,
The Marines always do things right.  This is a beautiful building and some powerful photos and emotions at this dinner in the museum. 
As always, the Marines do things like this with flair, élan, and a touch of class.  Well done.

This slide show consists of photos taken at a formal dinner at the National Museum of the Marine Corps in Quantico, VA.
It is a beautiful presentation of the honor, commitment and pride today’s heroes share with yesterday’s.

Memorial Rock Dedicated to Our Military

Hey Dad,

We saw this rock being pulled behind a pick-up truck last week on I-35 South near the Oklahoma Kansas border.  On the back it said “Dedicated 14 April, May or June 2011, couldn’t read the whole thing since straps and cardboard were covering it.  We had to take a picture with my iPhone as we pulled-up next to it going about 75mph.  The guy driving the truck looked to be Vietnam vintage and had a Marine Corps sticker on his rear window.  Pics came out pretty good for that speed, of course it is all about relative motion.  Not sure where this rock was going but it was pretty cool to see the American spirit in the heart of the midwest.
Love Joe

Enduring Eagle

Dear Joe,

For all the beautiful nature pictures I’ve sent you, these top them all. These are gorgeous pictures and together tell a very cool story. I wonder where this was? I heard the eagle population is growing again in many states.
Love,
Dad


Not only great pictures but a great comment at the end!

The fellow sitting on the tailgate of his pickup truck never realized the show he was missing.

The little duck watches as the Eagle speeds straight at him at about 40 mph.

With perfect timing, the duck always dove and escaped with a mighty splash! Then he’d pop to the surface as soon as the Eagle flew past. This was repeated over and over for several minutes. I worried the poor duck would tire and that would be the end of him.

A second Eagle joins the attack! The duck kept diving “just in time”, so the Eagles began to dive into the water after him!

After several minutes the Eagles got frustrated and began to attack each other. They soon began to dive vertically, level out, and attack head-on in a good old-fashioned game of high-speed “Chicken”. Sometimes they banked away from each other at the last possible second. Other times they’d climb vertically and tear into each other while falling back toward the water. (The duck catches his breath at the right side of this picture.)

A terrible miscalculation! The luckiest shot of my life catches this 100 mph head-on collision between two Bald Eagles.

One Eagle stayed aloft and flew away, but the other lies motionless in a crumpled heap. The lucky duck survived to live another day.

It’s sad to watch an Eagle drown. He wiggled, flapped and struggled mostly underwater.. He finally got his head above water and with great difficulty managed to get airborne. To my astonishment, he flew straight toward me, And it was the most wretched and unstable bird flight I’ve ever seen!

The bedraggled Eagle circled me once – then lit atop a nearby fir tree. He had a six-foot wingspread and looked mighty angry. I was concerned that I might be his next target, but he was so exhausted he just stared at me. Then I wondered if he would topple to the ground. As he tried to dry his feathers, it seemed to me that this beleaguered Eagle symbolized America in its current trials.

My half-hour wait was rewarded with this marvelous sight. He flew away, almost good as new. May America recover as well.