THE EASTER LILY HOLIDAY TRADITION
Each holiday is marked by cherished traditions that bring joy, comfort, and warmth, and provide continuity from one generation to the next. Easter has its share of traditions: egg decorations and hunts; gift baskets and chocolate bunnies, sunrise church services, parades, and, of course, the Easter Lily. For many, the beautiful trumpet-shaped white flowers symbolize purity, virtue, innocence, hope and life - the spiritual essence of Easter.
History, mythology, literature, poetry and the world of art are rife with stories and images that speak of the beauty and majesty of the elegant white flowers. Dating back to Biblical lore, the lily is mentioned numerous times in the Bible. One of the most famous Biblical references is in the Sermon on the Mount, when Christ told his listeners: "Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they toil not, neither do they spin; and yet..... Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these."
Often called the "white-robed apostles of hope," lilies were found growing in the Garden of Gethsemane after Christ's agony. Tradition has it that the beautiful white lilies sprung up where drops of Christ's sweat fell to the ground in his final hours of sorrow and deep distress. Churches continue this tradition at Easter time by banking their alters and surrounding their crosses with masses of Easter Lilies, to commemorate the resurrection of Jesus Christ and hope of life everlasting.
Since the beginning of time, lilies have played significant roles in allegorical tales concerning the sacrament of motherhood. Ancient fables tell us the lily sprang from the milk of Hera, the mythological Queen of Heaven.
The pure white lily has long been closely associated with the Virgin Mary. In early paintings, the Angel Gabriel is pictured extending to the Virgin Mary a branch of pure white lilies, announcing that she is to be the mother of the Christ Child. In other paintings, saints are pictured bringing vases full of white lilies to Mary and the infant Jesus.
The legend is told that when the Virgin Mary's tomb was visited three days after her burial, it was found empty save for bunches of majestic white lilies. Early writers and artists made the lily the emblem of the Annunciation, the Resurrection of the Virgin: the pure white petals signifying her spotless body and the golden anthers her soul glowing with heavenly light.
It seems the thirteenth-century Barthololmeus Anglicus had this in mind when he wrote: 'The Lily is an herbe with a white flower; and though the leaves of the floure be white, yet within shineth the likeness of gold." So goes the saying, 'To gild a lily is to attempt, foolishly, to improve on perfection." To many artists and poets it seemed that, if any flower could have one, the lily had a soul.
In yet another expression of womanhood, lilies had a significant presence in the paradise of Adam and Eve. Tradition has it that when Eve left the Garden of Eden she shed real tears of repentance, and from those remorseful tears sprung up lilies. The spiritual principle held here is that true repentance is the beginning of beauty.
A mark of purity and grace throughout the ages, the regal white lily is a fitting symbol of the greater meaning of Easter. Gracing millions of homes and churches, the flowers embody joy, hope and life. Whether given as a gift or enjoyed in your own home, the Easter Lily serves as a beautiful reminder that Easter is a time for rejoicing and celebrating.
Ironically, the white (Easter) lily is a native plant of Southern Japan...
Between the Pentagon (Newbius) and Smithsonian Udvar-Hazy Museum (me), I think we walked their butts off, and I'm betting Boy G and Girl G will be down for the count tonight...
And Jay has a NICE camera and was taking pictures right, left, up, down and sideways at Udvar-Hazy. If you get the chance to visit DC, and want to see aviation history, it is the place to go!
And even nicer, I got to play hooky from work :-)Up EARLY, out to the range for an Action Pistol shoot this morning, and I was so 'awake' I brought my carry 1911 (and plenty of ammo) and left the .45 I was planning on shooting laying on the kitchen table... sigh...
So there we are, and it's a steel plate match, and... I sucked... period, no other way to say it. I didn't finish dead last, but that was only because a new shooter was there.
Afterward I went over to the target range to see if I could figure out what I was doing wrong, and as you can see below (reduced size tgt at 10 yards), first rounds weren't bad, but follow-ups weren't real hot...
I had WAY too much finger on the trigger, as all the follow-ups tend to be left/low left... Put another fifty rounds down range, got 'some' improvement, and called it a day, as I had some work to do today.
Practice is the ONLY way to get better and/or maintain proficiency... Make time to get to the range, and shoot; you life may depend on it...
It has gotten a lot of play on the Big "E", and has passed from squadron, to squadron, to wing, to staffs...
It's all about the PCism that is taking over, even in the wardrooms and flight crews world-wide. And in my opinion, just one more nail in the coffin (sorry) of individuality; and one more reason for those individuals to leave the service, rather than buck the system...
So.... To Rat, Duke, Puke, Avon, Snap, Flake, Kilo, Frito, Shadow, Krank, Bube, Fang, Pres, Fox, Tortoise, JP, Frenchy, Dog, Spider, and all the others I met and flew with; I will only say this...
Falcon 119... Cajun out.
Edit- And now THIS, an IG investigation over a call sign... YGTBSM!!!
Read the whole article HERE.
This has been the 'dirty little secret' of those who attend major gun shows for years. There are people who attend who are not shooters, and are strictly prowling for 'collectible' guns. Some even brag they have NEVER shot a pistol, rifle or shotgun. And God forbid, they would EVER shoot a 'collectible' piece...
I guess I first saw the dedicated collector types back in the late 70's mid-80s primarily at Houston, Dallas and Pomona shows. They were the ones that had a briefcase full of paper, looked only for specific guns, and were pretty secretive about what they were doing. Last year at Tulsa, I saw a rather more blatent approach by one fellow- He was looking for Pythons, picked one up, took a picture of it, called his 'expert' while he still had gun in hand, and promptly low-balled the seller (who was pissed, as supposedly no photos are allowed). I was talking to the seller later, he said that guy or one of his buddies came back at least 5-6 times all trying to get the pistol for less than it was marked for. I also ran into one of what I call the 'good ol' boy' collectors... He was a 'retired' rancher/businessman who had fallen in love with Webley pistols, and now owns over a hundred of them (including, according to him, one of every model and caliber ever produced), BUT he actually shoots them...
The advent of the online auction sites has also prompted more people to get into the game, and I know of at least one pistol that was purchased out of a major auction that showed up on an on-line site the next day at twice what the guy had paid for it. The other thing that has happened, is that prices have gone out of sight... Witness what Murphy over at Laginappes Lair posted HERE. And that has also brought the fakes more and more into play on guns... sigh...
They are out there, so if a deal seems too good to be true, it probably is...
CAVEAT EMPTOR is the new word of the day in the gun world...Ironically, this was also the subject of a number of discussions at the Reunion last week...
What follows are the words of an individualist (who prefers to remain unidentified) who has set down in writing what a many of us "Old School Guys" have been thinking for a while. Entitled “Where have all the fighter pilots gone?” it is about far more than fighter pilots. It is about leadership and how the homogenizing effect of political correctness in the military (and elsewhere) is causing the number of leaders to dwindle. . Read on….and pardon the non-political correct language....
I received the following from one of my comrades who served with me during the Harvest Reaper/Combat Lancer project –
It makes a lot of sense to me, and I agree with this assessment of one of the areas in which the military has followed the wrong path...
Where Have All The Fighter Pilots Gone? We used to go to the Officers Club or NCO Club Stag Bar on Friday afternoons to drink, smoke and swap lies with our comrades. Think about this when you read the rest of the letter below.
What happened to our Air Force (or Military)?Drinking then became frowned on. Smoking caused cancer and could "harm you." Stag bars became seen as ‘sexist’. Gradually, our men quit patronizing their clubs because what happened in the club became fodder for a performance report. It was the same thing at the Airman's Club and the NCO and/or Top 3 clubs.Now we don't have separate clubs for the ranks. Instead we have something called All Ranks Clubs. Their open to men and women of all ranks....from airman basic to general officer. Still, no one is there. Gee, I wonder why.
The latest brilliant thought out of Washington is that the operators ("pilots?") flying remote aircraft in combat areas from their duty station in Nevada or Arizona should draw the same combat pay as those real world pilots actually on board a plane in a hostile environment. More politically correct logic? They say that remote vehicle operators are subject to the same stress levels as the combat pilot actually flying in combat. ----- REALLY!!!???Now that I've primed you a little, read on...
There are many who will agree with these sentiments, but they apply to more than just fighter pilots. Unfortunately, the ones with the guts to speak up or push for what they believe in are beaten down by the "system".Unfortunately there is a lot of truth in the following text - supposedly, Secretary Gates has a force beating the bushes to learn who wrote this....
Subject: Where Have All The Fighter Pilots Gone?Good Question.
Here is a rant from a retired fighter pilot that is worth reading: It is rumored that our current Secretary of Defense recently asked the question, "Where are all the dynamic leaders of the past?" I can only assume, if that is true, that he was referring to Robin Olds, Jimmy Doolittle, Patton, Ike, Boyington, Nimitz, etc.? Well, I've got the answer:They were fired before they made major.Our nation doesn't want those kinds of leaders anymore.
Squadron commanders don't run squadrons and Wing commanders don't run wings. They are managed by higher ranking dildos with other esoteric goals in mind.Can you imagine someone today looking for a LEADER to execute that Doolittle Raid and suggesting that it be given to a dare-devil boozer - his only attributes: he had the respect of his men, an awesome ability to fly, and the organizational skills to put it all together?
If someone told me there was a chance in hell of selecting that man today, I would tell them they were either a liar or dumber than shit.I find it ironic that the Air Force put BG Robin Olds on the cover of the company rag last month. While it made me extremely proud to see his face, he wouldn't make it across any base in America (or overseas) without ten enlisted folks telling him to zip up his flight suit and shave his mustache off.I have a feeling that his response would be predictable and for that crime he would probably get a trip home and an Article 15.
We have lost the war on rugged individualism and that, unfortunately, is what fighter pilots want to follow; not because they have to but because they respect leaders of that ilk. We've all run across that leader that made us proud to follow him because you wanted to be like him and make a difference. The individual who you would drag your testicles through glass for rather than disappoint him.We better wake the hell up! We're asking our young men and women to go to really shitty places; some with unbearable climates, never have a drink, have little or no contact with the opposite sex, not look at magazines of a suggestive nature of any type, and adhere to ridiculous "regs" that require you to tuck your shirt into your PT uniform on the way to the porta-shitter at night in a dust storm because it's a uniform.
These people we're sending to combat are some of the brightest I've met but they are looking for a little sanity, which they will only find on the outside if we don't get a friggin' clue. You can't continue asking people to live for months or years at a time acting like nuns and priests. Hell, even they get to have a beer.Who are we afraid of offending? The guys that already hate us enough to strap C-4 to their own bodies and walk into a crowd of us? Think about it.I'm extremely proud of our young men and women who continue to serve. I'm also very in tune with what they are considering for the future and I've got news for whoever sits in the White House, Congress, and our so-called military leaders. Much talent has and will continue to hemorrhage from our services, because wanna-be warriors are tired of fighting on two fronts - - one with our enemies, another against our lack of common sense. AMEN!!!
Most of us (old farts) would have been kicked out of the service for what we did back in the day, not only for the partying, but also for the actions we took onstation/in combat without 'guidance' from higher... I know for a fact I had more latitude as a JG and LT than most full CDRs have today...
Comments from any other old farts out there???
Bryan Stow is a San Francisco area paramedic who was attacked after a San Francisco Giants – Los Angeles Dodgers game on March 31. Bryan sustained a Traumatic Brain Injury and remains hospitalized in serious condition. Several fund raisers have been planned to help Bryan’s family defray the costs associated with his hospital stay.
You can find out more about donations by visiting Support For Bryan Stow. You can also donate to StowDonations@gmail.com via PayPal. Go HERE to see more info from the Happy Medic...
h/t TOTWTYTR
Dennis at Dragon Leatherworks worked with me on a Talon holster for my C&S 1911 and it came in last week. Let me say first off, the work is outstanding!!! All the seams are even, the stiching is excellent with no flaws, and the 'scollop' I wanted as a finger guide is in the right place, even though it was only discussed over the phone. Dennis' attention to detail is excellent, as is the fit and finish. I am looking at this holster as a daily wear, so no fancy work was requested.
Wearing the pistol the last two days has confirmed that it is a bit tight (expected in a new holster), and it rides comfortably without poking me and it also doesn't poke the seat in the truck (which I consider a plus)!
The draw is smooth (and should loosen up a bit after wearing in), one handed reholster is easy, without having to "hunt" for the holster. In other words, everything I asked for, I got!!!
Another thing I would like to compliment Dennis on is the inclusion of both warranty paperwork AND a safety and usage disclaimer; he takes the time to remind folks of things, like the 4 rules, testing with an UNLOADED gun, etc. Dennis is one of the new young guns on the holster scene, and based on the quality I see here, I'd strongly recommend him for holsters!!! And I tried a couple of pics with it on, but they were reversed/hand was in the picture... etc... sorry...
