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 LIVING HAPPY     
UPLIFTING, THOUGHT-PROVOKING NEWS FOR OUR MIND, BODY,AND SPIRIT   

From Carole Kane


  Vol. 2  No. 23                                                 August 26, 2012

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in this issue
Bacon Fat, Ration Stamps, Mama and the Butcher - by Carole Kane
It's All Greek to Me - By Dr. Brad Holway
The Terracotta Warriors - By Maryann Hall
Magnificent Desolation - By Dr. Arthur Lewin
Think a little, laugh a little

Dear Friends,

Carole Kane

Carole Kane 

M.A., N.C.C. ret.

 

 

Welcome to Living Happy,  a nice way to feel and be our best!   

 

This week we bring you an intriguing group of stories that will entice you to read from top to bottom and wish there were more! 

 

 

Take a look at daily life in the waning days of  World War II, in my article "Bacon Fat, Ration Books, Mama and the Butcher".

   

Then, in "It's All Greek To Me", Brad Holway shows us how several friends who spoke different languages still managed to communicate, and the surprising effect it had on his (then) three-year-old son.

 

Next, Maryann Hall shares her visit to "The Terracotta Warriors" exhibit in New York City, and the fascinating background story of their discovery in China.

 

And then, celebrate the anniversary of the first moon landing, in Arthur Lewin's vibrant and dramatic essay, "Magnificent Desolation".

 

Happy reading!

   

Love, Carole XXX OOO

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Bacon Fat, Ration Stamps, Mama and the Butcher                  By Carole Kane

World War II touched every part of our lives, not only in Brooklyn, but throughout the whole country. You couldn't buy butter or sugar or meat or gasoline unless you had ration stamps for them.

Mama had
ration book ww 2 a little book of "ration stamps" that was very important, because many of the things we used all the time were now needed for our troops and their equipment. Canned goods were rationed because of the tin they required. Shoes were rationed to three pairs each year because they had leather soles. If you ran out of ration stamps, you couldn't drive anywhere, and you couldn't eat the things you really wanted. But people were very patriotic during those years, and everyone supported our troops in any way they could. So did our family.

   

Whenever we had bacon for breakfast, Mama saved the bacon fat in an old coffee can and had me bring it to Vella's Meat Market around the corner. The fat was needed for some reason by the military. (I later learned it was used in making ammunition.) Sometimes she sent me to Vella's without ration stamps, because, with our large family, she had run out of them.  She told me to whisper in Tony's ear, "My mother needs a pound of butter." I went there and sat on one of the high, wire-legged stools until the people ahead of me were waited on. Then I walked across the sawdust-covered floor, went behind the display case and whispered my message. He not only gave me the butter, he also cut a slice of fresh-made bologna and gave it to me as a treat. Mama had the butcher wrapped around her little finger.

 

One day in the summer of 1945 I saw a big banner with the message "Welcome Home Ray" hanging from Josie Purificato's third-floor window.  Her soldier son, Raymond, had returned from The War. In the next few weeks I saw a lot of banners like that as other boys returned, and there were a lot of homecoming parties in the neighborhood.

 

In September 1945, two months before I was six years old, World War II ebutcher cartoonnded. But some things didn't change immediately. Mama still had me bringing bacon fat to Vella's, and they waited almost a year before telling me to "tell your mother The War is over!" They didn't need the bacon fat, and had been disposing of it rather than hurt Mama's feelings.  

 

 

 

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It's All Greek To Me                              By Dr. Brad Holway        

 

When my son was about three, we got some out-of-town visitors.  My friend Spiro, who was born and raised in Greece but was living in Boston at that time, got a visit from his mother, who had never visited the United States before.  He wanted her to experience New York and I invited them to spend a few days at my apartment in Queens.

 

We "played tourist" for a few days and had a good time doing so.  The linguistic situation was challenging, since Spiro's mother spoke absolutely no English.  So it was that Spiro, my son and I spoke English to each other and Spiro spoke to his mother in Greek.  The mother and I had only one language in common, that being Italian.  The visit went well, and the trilingual aspect was entertaining despite the challenges it presented.

 

Several weeks later as the visit was fading into memory, my son and I were walking along a street in Queens when we came upon  two elderly gentlemen sitting on a bench and conversing in Greek.  My son immediately recognized the sound of the language and approached them, asking "You guys are Greek, right?".

 

 "How thees boy know we are Greek?" one of the gents asked me.

 "It's a long story", I replied.

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The Terracotta Warriors                           By Maryann Hall   

 

I recently went into New York City to see an exhibit of the famous Terracotta Warriors found in China in the early 1970's.  It takes one's breath away!  What that dig uncovered is much like what archaeologists found in Egypt so many years ago!

 

They total 8,000 warriors buried some 2,000 years ago.  Only eight were shipped here for the exhibit -  a "drop in the bucket" one could say. Each soldier was identified by various means; for instance, how their hair was worn, what they were wearing, and so forth.  Not one face is alike.  

  terracotta warriors

It would seem people of that era were all concerned about what would happen in the next world.  I was reminded of the Egyptian Pharaohs while walking through the exhibit.  This Chinese site, too,  was  raided by grave robbers very early on, but then the years went by and no records were found to indicate the extent of the grave site. Apparently the area is now estimated to cover over 50 square kilometres.

 

The army of warriors was to protect and serve Qin Shihuangdi, the First Emperor of China, in the after world.  Qin Shihuangdi , a warrior himself,  did not have a title until after he died, as no one living had titles in those times.  He unified all the various states and kingdoms.  The first Great Wall,  made of tamped earth,  was completed in sections by one of his Generals in about 206 BC.  The present-day wall was built of brick later, between 1368-1644.

 

In addition to his army, many other things were found at the site.  Horses, chariots, archery, birds, and even acrobats and musicians were also there in the tomb. Samples of each were included in the exhibit.  And this apparently  is only the tip of the iceberg.

 

Just think - we can still find treasures such as this, and at the same time we are traveling in space.    

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Magnificent Desolation                           By Dr. Arthur Lewin   

 

lunar module
http://ocm.auburn.edu/moon_landing/images/on_moon.jpg.
The steel skeleton stood naked and lonely, pointed skyward in the barren plain of an alien world. Its ungainly, bony structure was framed against the jet black, star-spattered sky. Quietly it sat in a cone of its own light, which revealed a panorama of wonder-colored stones to the eyes of the crew which peered and ferreted across the frigid, eerie landscape, their hearts pounding in cadence with their throbbing, glowing instruments.

 
And then the moment came, and passed, as the hatchway opened and the captain slowly descended and gingerly placed a foot on this... forbidden place, this... this... MOON. As he stood firmly planted, he intoned a solemn phrase as his companion leaped from the ship's ladder and bounded across the Lunar plain. Stopping and surveying the awesome scene, he cried aloud in anguish, joy and inspiration,

"MAGNIFICENT DESOLATION!"  

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Think a Little, Laugh a Little 
cartoon cropcircles for dummies


A blonde and her husband are lying in bed listening to the next door neighbor's dog, which has been in the backyard barking for hours and hours.

The blonde jumps out of bed and says "I've had enough of this," and she goes downstairs.   She finally comes back, and her husband says, "The dog is still barking, what have you been doing?"

The blonde says, "I put the dog in OUR backyard, let's see how THEY like it!"

 

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 Remember This:   

   

Wherever you go,  

go with all your heart.   

- - Confucius - -

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Your Space - For Guest Writers, Ghost Writers, and Commentators

 

THANK YOU!  to Dr. Brad Holway, Maryann Hall, and Dr. Arthur Lewin for their great  contributions this week!   What a variety!  And what great writers you are! 

 

Would you like to submit an article, around 250 to 300 words?   

     

This Could  be YOU!

Remember, every writer in the Living Happy Writers Group started out by offering a story or article.  You are invited to join this eminent group.  Just submit a story or poem - click here to send it:  Submit an article or poem or story here  I look forward to  reading your work!   

  - - Carole - - 

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