Admiral Nimitz's reply shocked everyone within the sound of his voice.

Admiral Nimitz said, "The Japanese made three of the biggest mistakes an attack force could ever make, or God was taking care of America. Which do you think it was?"

Shocked and surprised, the young helmsman asked, "What do mean by saying the Japanese made the three biggest mistakes an attack force ever made?"

Nimitz explained:

Mistake number one: the Japanese attacked on Sunday morning. Nine out of every ten crewmen of those ships were ashore on leave. If those same ships had been lured to sea and been sunk--we would have lost 38,000 men instead of 3,800.

Mistake number two: when the Japanese saw all those battleships lined in a row, they got so carried away sinking those battleships, they never once bombed our dry docks opposite those ships. If they had destroyed our dry docks, we would have had to tow every one of those ships to America to be repaired. As it is now, the ships are in shallow water and can be raised. One tug can pull them over to the dry docks, and we can have them repaired and at sea by the time we could have towed them to America. And I already have crews ashore anxious to man those ships.

Mistake number three: Every drop of fuel in the Pacific theater of war is in top of the ground storage tanks five miles away over that hill. One attack plane could have strafed those tanks and destroyed our fuel supply.

That's why I say the Japanese made three of the biggest mistakes an attack force could make or God was taking care of America.

I've never forgotten what I read in that little book. It is still an inspiration as I reflect upon it. In jest, I might suggest that because Admiral Nimitz was a Texan, born and raised in Fredericksburg, Texas -- he was a born optimist. But anyway you look at it--Admiral Nimitz was able to see a silver lining in a situation and circumstance where everyone else saw only despair and defeatism.

President Roosevelt had chosen the right man for the right job. We desperately needed a leader that could see silver linings in the midst of the clouds of dejection, despair and defeat.

There is a reason that our national motto is, IN GOD WE TRUST.

Why have we forgotten?

   Thanks so much, Billy!

The first one said, "It may seem like a silly superstition but I never put mine on until 1:58."

"What about you, the same thing?" he asked the other dancer.

She replied, "Oh yes, I have a two to two tutu, too!"

*zzzzzzzzz*

"A woman in the U.K. held a wedding ceremony to marry herself. I don't know how to tell you this, but I think that lady you just married might be crazy."
- Seth Meyers

*zzzzzzzzz*

A German farmer with relatives in the US promised them some fresh pork sausages made by hand from his very own stock of pigs. But as the weeks went by they gave him a call to complain that the package had not yet arrived.

He told them, "Don't worry. The wurst is yet to come."

*zzzzzzzzz*

After eight days of backpacking with my wife Linda, we were looking pretty scruffy. One morning she came to breakfast in a baseball cap, her shoulder length hair sticking out at odd angles.

"Terry," she said, "does my hair make me look like a water buffalo?"

I thought for a moment, then said, "If I tell you the truth, do you promise not to charge?"

*zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz*

Ponder Worthy

Generally, your greatest service to someone in their time of trouble, sorrow, or confusion, is your comfort. Take the time to listen to their troubles and concerns with patience, kindness, and empathy, but without offering unsolicited advice or suggestions. Your kindly hand on their shoulder, supportive hug, and patient listening are often the greatest gifts you can offer.

*zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz*

RANDOM TIDBITS~

The oldest known octopus fossil belongs to an animal that lived some 296 million years ago, during the Carboniferous period.

Octopuses have three hearts. Two of the hearts work exclusively to move blood beyond the animal's gills, while the third keeps circulation flowing for the organs. The organ heart actually stops beating when the octopus swims, explaining the species' penchant for crawling rather than swimming, which exhausts them.

Octopus arms have a mind of their own. Two-thirds of an octopus' neurons reside in its arms, not its head.

Octopus ink doesn't just hide the animal. The ink also physically harms enemies. It contains a compound called tyrosinase, which, in humans, helps to control the production of the natural pigment melanin. But when sprayed in a predator's eyes, tyrosinase causes a blinding irritation. It also garbles creatures' sense of smell and taste.

Octopuses have blue blood. To survive in the deep ocean, octopuses evolved a copper rather than iron-based blood called hemocyanin, which turns its blood blue. This copper base is more efficient at transporting oxygen then hemoglobin when water temperature is very low and not much oxygen is around.

The species practices external fertilization. Multiple males either insert their spermatophores directly into a tubular funnel that the female uses to breathe, or else literally hand her the sperm, which she always accepts with one of her right arms (researchers do not know why). Males die shortly after; when eggs hatch, the female's body turns on her.

(www.smithsonianmag.com)

&

You are not at risk for Ebola infection unless you are in direct contact with bodily fluids of someone with Ebola while they have viral symptoms such as fever, vomiting, and cough. New infections come from close contact with an infected person, especially with blood, body fluids, or contaminated needles, late in the disease when viral levels are high.

The flu virus, on the other hand, is highly contagious: When an infected person coughs, sneezes or talks, respiratory droplets are generated and transmitted into the air, and can then can be inhaled by anyone nearby.

The single deadliest flu pandemic in history was the Spanish flu pandemic during 1918-1919. Occurring in the three waves of increasing lethality, the Spanish flu killed more people in 24 weeks than AIDS did in 24 years. It also killed more people in one year than smallpox or the Black Plague did in 50 years.

The Spanish flu killed more Americans in one year than the combined total who died in battle during WWI, WWII, the Korean War, and the Vietnam War.

*zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz*

Quotes~

"There is nothing better than the encouragement of a good friend."
- Katharine Butler Hathaway

"The best comfort I could offer was to just let her tell her story."
- Mary Anne Radmacher

"Cure sometimes, treat often, comfort always."
- Hippocrates

“'Friendship,' said Christopher Robin, 'is a very comforting thing to have.'”
- A. A. Milne

"What do we live for, if it is not to make life less difficult for each other?"
- George Eliot

*zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz*

From Bizarre News~

*- Police respond to crocodile report, find toy -*

PLYMOUTH, England (UPI) - British police said they responded with snare poles and riot shields to a call that turned out to be about an inflatable toy crocodile. Devon and Cornwall Police said a Plymouth, England, woman called authorities for help shortly after noon Wednesday to report spotting a 3-foot crocodile in her garden. Officers responded with snare poles, nets and riot shields while a team of wildlife experts from Dartmoor Zoo were called to assist. The officers became suspicious when they threw water on the animal and it failed to move. "The beast turned out to be an inflatable toy crocodile. Police have apprehended the crocodile," a police spokesman said. The spokesman said police do not know how the toy ended up in the woman's garden.

*zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz*

Wisdom Tip~

Judging others

You are not qualified to judge another, until you have walked in his moccasins for a whole moon.

= Native North American Proverb = By mike swindlehurst

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Jury Duty


Last week I served on jury duty.

When I received the notice in the mail, I admit like most people I sighed and said, "I don't have time for this; I have too much to do."

I also thought about the mere $25 I would get paid for the whole day. I said, "Why don't they pay me what I make on my job for a day's work?" But then, the thought came to me, "What if I were the one with the case and needed jurors to attend my trial?" From that moment on, I was honored to serve on jury duty. Besides, if everyone were paid what they made on their jobs, taxes would go up and we would pay it one way or another.

As I sat in the juror assembly room, I looked around and noticed that these jurors made up our society. Even though we were all different in many ways, we were all connected and the same in many ways.

A man sitting behind me looked as though he had nothing at all in common with me. He asked me what I did, and I told him. I asked him the same, and he said he owned a yoga center. I told him I had been to one yoga center in the city and offered him the name. His eyes lit up, "That's the one I own," he responded.

He told me it was a small world.

Sometimes it is not the size of the world that we overestimate as it is the link between us all that we underestimate.

The other observance that became apparent to me while waiting were the activities people performed while waiting to be selected for a courtroom. It reflected what they did with their spare time in life.

Some people were asleep; sleep was important to them.

Some people were working on their laptops; work had to be done.

Some people were reading the newspaper. They wanted to stay abreast of what was going on in the world.

Some people were reading books. They understood the power of reading.

Some people were talking to others. They enjoyed good conversation.

Others were watching television. They just wanted to be entertained.

Some looked at this time waiting as time wasted. Others looked at it as a blessing to finally be able to slow down for a minute and take a breather.

Jury duty was representative of life. The same time, the same job, the same place, the same pay, and the same responsibility represented different things to different people.

Just like life, the jury duty selection process will seem like they are picking on you at times. I have been here four times in the past five years, yet my mother is over twice my age and has never been summoned.

The next time you are summoned for jury duty, imagine it was your case and be thankful for the freedom realized in the judicial system. While waiting to be chosen to perform your duty, take notice of how you spend your time.

By the way, I wrote three MountainWings issues while waiting. I had intentions of writing them for weeks and just now found the time.

~A MountainWings Original by James Bronner~

   Thank you, Shari!