“Whatever you vividly imagine, ardently desire, sincerely believe,
and enthusiastically act upon must inevitably come to pass.”

- Paul J. Meyer
(1928-2009)

FIFTY YEARS AGO TODAY IN NEWPORT NEWS:

From the Daily Press - 09/24/10:

USS Enterprise: The aircraft carrier that changed everything turns 50 By Peter Frost, pfrost@dailypress.com | 247-4744 11:28 a.m. EDT, September 24, 2010
		NEWPORT NEWS — Fifty years ago today the largest dry dock in the world filled with water from the James River, setting afloat the world's largest ship and first nuclear-powered aircraft carrier. At 10:30 a.m. on Sept. 24, 1960, Mrs. William B. Franke, wife of the Secretary of the Navy, smashed a bottle of champagne across the bow of the USS Enterprise as the rushing seawater freed it from its last keel block. Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Arleigh A. Burke told some 12,000 guests at the christening ceremony that the 1,101-foot Big E was "the largest ship ever built of any kind by any nation," containing the most powerful nuclear power plant ever constructed anywhere in the world. Yard president William E. Blewett Jr. paid tribute to the thousands of workers who "labored with imagination, skill and pride to build a vessel worthy of its name." Today, the Enterprise sits across the harbor at Naval Station Norfolk, preparing for two final, six-month deployments before it's decommissioned in 2012. Neither the Navy nor the ship's crew has planned an event to celebrate the milestone, preferring to wait until Nov. 25, 2011, the 50th anniversary of the Enterprise becoming an official member of the fleet. Nonetheless, when the one-of-a-kind supercarrier was launched that Saturday five decades ago, it cemented Newport News Shipbuilding and Dry Dock Co. as the premier shipyard in the United States and positioned it as an indispensable asset even today.
Task Force One, headed by the USS Enterprise, left Gibraltar on a trip around the world. The task force was comprise of three nuclear-powered surface vessels. Crewmen of the Enterprise formed the famous Einstein equation, E=mc2, on the flight deck symbolizing the development of nuclear propulsion. (Daily Press archive, Daily Press / September 22, 2010)
"The Enterprise was seen not simply as the first of a new class of carriers, but a step in the transformation of the entire fleet," said James C. Bradford, a Navy historian and professor at Texas A&M University. To build the ship, the yard had to alter its facilities and dry dock to be able to accommodate the largest vessel ever constructed. Further, it had to train and retain a cadre of highly experienced and skilled workers to undertake the most complex shipbuilding project ever attempted. "The Enterprise got (Newport News) the facility and the trained workforce. There was simply no other yard capable of doing this kind of work," Bradford said. "Building the Enterprise really solidified Newport News Shipbuilding." Since the launch of the Enterprise, all 12 of the U.S. Navy's aircraft carriers have been built in Newport News, bringing billions of dollars of contracts and decades worth of work for tens of thousands in Hampton Roads. It remains the only yard capable of building and refueling the nation's fleet of aircraft carriers, a monopoly that's provided the yard with a steady and lucrative stream of business, a line of work that will likely continue for decades to come. "The success of the USS Enterprise led to the development of the … Nimitz class carriers, 10 of which are presently in service, providing an all-nuclear carrier force for the U.S. Navy," said Tom Dougan, a spokesman for the Navy's nuclear reactors division. After completing the 10th and final ship of the Nimitz class, the George H.W. Bush, in 2009, Newport News began building the first ship in a new class of carriers, the Gerald R. Ford. With a scheduled 2015 commissioning, the Ford would likely be back in Newport News around 2040 for its mid-life overhaul. It's all work for which the Big E paved the way. The yard had built 17 carriers before the Enterprise, including ships in the Forrestal class and the Kitty Hawk class, but it wasn't the only player in the business. The New York Naval Shipyard and New York Shipbuilding Co. each were building flattops at the time. But the Enterprise was a different animal. Outfitted with eight nuclear reactors that would give it virtually unlimited range and a horsepower of 200,000, it was a marvel of modern engineering. The Navy needed the nation's best and brightest to design the experimental ship, which required 915 designers and more than 16,000 construction drawings — each done by hand with mechanical pencils and based on calculations done with sliderules. Newport News Shipbuilding built the vessel between 1958 and 1961 at a cost of about $450 million (roughly $3.3 billion in today's dollars). The Enterprise was so expensive it forced the Navy to make the next two carriers, the Newport News-built America and John F. Kennedy, conventionally powered, rather than nuclear as originally planned. "It was such a radical departure for the Navy," said William J. Fowler Jr., a professor of history at Northeastern University in Boston. "The Enterprise marked an extraordinary leap forward in the Navy's ability to project power around the world." After decades of service that included dispatches to Cuba during the Cuban Missile Crisis, Southeast Asia to support the war in Vietnam and the Persian Gulf to support the war in Iraq, the Enterprise has proved its worth many times over, Fowler said. "Fifty years has demonstrated the wisdom of building capital ships with nuclear power," he said. "For power projection alone, it's of very valuable assistance. Even today, the Enterprise stands as a symbol of our capacity to innovate and our capacity to do great things as a nation." The Navy has plowed billions into keeping the matriarch of the fleet in service, a majority of which has funneled into Newport News. The Enterprise has spent several years in the local yard for maintenance projects, a fact that spawned an oft-repeated saying on the waterfront: "There are two kinds of people who work here: Those who have worked on the Enterprise, and those who will." In its final tuneup completed this spring, the Navy spent $662 million to prepare the Enterprise for two final deployments. When it came out of the yard for sea trials, the oldest ship in the U.S. Fleet was "just as capable and effective" as any other commissioned aircraft carrier, said Matt Vincent, the aircraft carrier sea trials coordinator for Northrop Grumman Corp.'s Newport News shipyard. Vincent, who served aboard the Enterprise in the mid-1990s as a Navy Lt. j.g., credited the carrier's longevity to the care that went into designing the ship and endless restoration work and upkeep by the shipyard and the ship's varied crews. "When you step aboard, you can almost feel the history of the ship," said Vincent, who noted he was born 16 days before the Enterprise was commissioned. "After all those years, she hasn't lost a step." The Navy's plans call for the Enterprise to be decommissioned in November 2012. Following that ceremony, it will come back to Newport News a final time to be dismantled.

Friday, September 24, 1965 - Drummer Janet Weiss (Sleater-Kinney, Quasi, Stephen Malkmus and the Jicks) was born in Hollywood, California.

   Oh, Laura is your daughter, Norris! Well, that makes it all the more important! When I tried to vote for Grace again today, I noticed the site was trying to pull a switcheroo on me. It tried to persuade me to vote for the wrong Grace!  OH, NO!

http://www.adogslife.net/photo_gallery.php?pg=&limit=40&sort=tnid&type=tnap&field=dog_name&keyword=grace#14296

Commenting on Mickey's 90 birthday,  I didn't know he was still alive. 

In the spring of 1977 I had an early flight from Baltimore to Newark (6:30am) on an American Airline flight that had been a redeye from LA.  As I boarded I observed Mickey sprawled out across-ed two of the first class seats, totally asleep.  He had had a much worse night than me.  He was gone when I departed the flight. 

I often wondered how he had such success with all the beautiful women in his life, and to outlive all of them.

   WOWZERS! How cool is that?!?  I had several similar reactions from my family members concerning Mr. Rooney, concerning both his life and his prowess with women.  Thanks, Sweetie!

Everyone has an occasional time of feeling down. Some people may be clinically depressed while others have bouts of feeling blue or times of low energy. Regardless of the frequency or the cause, and whether or not you are on medication, you can lift yourself out of the doldrums with a few techniques. I suggest that those who encounter such distressed feelings have a few of these antidotes ready for quick access.

Appreciate the Good Stuff
Acknowledging the good and beautiful in your life is a great daily practice. Making a list of what you appreciate can lighten your mood instantaneously. You can do it by yourself, or better yet, call a friend and inspire each other. Make the sky your limit! Think of events in history that have inspired you or people who have made you thankful just to have known them. Appreciate the person who cuts your hair exactly as you like, the school crossing guard who volunteers even during a torrential downpour, politicians whose values match yours, your boss, your spouse, your kids, your co-workers, and don't forget--appreciate yourself for all the things you accomplish!

Eliminate the Negative
In the short run, you can turn off news and TV programs that cause you distress and even stop reading the newspaper. Fill the space you create with media that is uplifting.

If your discouraged moods are significant or frequent, it might serve you to stop interacting with negative people. This may require a big effort and great ingenuity on your part. It may be that ultimately you would be doing yourself and the other people a favor by being truthful. You might say, "I'm having trouble keeping a positive outlook these days, and when you are always finding fault people, I start to feel down. So, I'm going to skip our weekly coffee klatch for a while."

If the weather or the short days are bringing you down, try to block the outside views and fill your space with as much light as possible. You might even get full spectrum light bulbs for your living and work space where you spend the most significant part of your day.

Distract Yourself
When you find yourself in the downward spiral of negative self talk, do something startling such as splashing cold water in your face or slamming your hand on a table and declaring, "Stop!" Other activities might include percussive activities like hoeing in the garden, chopping wood, jumping rope, or simply stomping around.

A fine way to distract yourself is to put on some favorite music and dance for a while. Some people find great release in planning and cooking a meal, baking cookies, or putting up a batch of jam. Others get lost in a complicated puzzle or computer problem. Keep a list activities you enjoy so that all you have to do is look at the list for a distraction when you're dragging along so low that ideas are hard to come by.

Have a ready library of uplifting media. This might include favorite movies, TV programs, music, poetry, or books. I often suggest that clients create fantasies that put their minds and hearts in a more favorable frame. You might remember a particularly wonderful event or create one in your mind. This kind of virtual vacation can brighten a very dull day.

Exercise
You don't have to run marathons to get the positive effects of exercise, you can feel revived and uplifted with as little as 20 minutes of brisk walking. Better yet, you can combine two of these techniques at once by putting on music you like and dancing.

Be of Service
Nothing takes you out of the blues as much as helping someone else. On the spur of the moment, you might call a neighbor and offer to take her kids to a movie or do the grocery shopping. You could cook dinner for a friend or take dessert to a colleague. For more extensive service, you could volunteer to work at a soup kitchen or deliver Meals on Wheels. One of my friends feeds babies at the local Children's Hospital and another tutors illiterate adults. I organize the volunteers for a local music group. That way, I get to hang out with the musicians and go to their concerts. Pick some service that interests you and it's likely to make you happy, even if you have to drag yourself out the door to do it.

Communicate Appropriately
If you notice that you have suddenly found yourself feeling grumpy or inexplicably down, review what was going on in the few hours prior to the feeling descending on you. You may find that you had a conversation that left you feeling unsettled. It might be that you didn't say what you meant to say or you withheld the truth of how you felt. Sometimes it might be that you didn't set good boundaries and you need to speak up.

This is not an easy thing to do. It takes finesse to tell the truth in a way that doesn't make the other person wrong. The best way to do this is to make "I" statements. Talk about how you feel, not about what the other person is doing. You can't say, "I feel you are a jerk!" because the jerkish person will simply get defensive. In this case, you could say, "When you act like that, I am afraid someone is going to get mad and start a fight with you." Another common boundary-setting statement is, "When you act like that, I feel that you don't like me or you are angry with me."

Challenge Negative Thoughts
If you have an Inner Critic that is giving you grief, start making a list of all the things this critic says about you. Then look at each statement and ask these questions:

• Is this true?
• How do I know it is true?
• How do I act because I believe this is true?
• How would I act if I didn't believe this was true?

Have a Buddy
It's wonderful to have someone who will support you when you are feeling down. You can discuss the ideas you develop from this article and enlist a friend to help you engage in the some of the uplifting activities.

You are ultimately responsible for your own happiness. Actually, no one knows better than you what satisfies you or makes you happy. You can help yourself far more than you think by being proactive. Some day when you are feeling particularly good, go through this list and create your own Antidote for the Blues Kit.

About the Author:

Jacquie Hale has tapped 30 years of health care experience, an advanced degree in Natural Health, and her expertise as a Life Coach to create programs and materials that bring calmness and purpose to people who are committed to having a better life.