Fair Winds and Following Seas

The last 2 Navy veterans of World War One have just died.

Loyd Brown, the last Navy veteran of World War one died Thursday in Maryland at the age of 105.
He had lied about his age (16) to enlist during WW1 and served as a gunner aboard the Battleship New Hampshire.

His death followed on the heels of the passing of the last of the "Yeomanettes".


Charlotte Winters, the last female Navy Veteran of World War One died on the 28th, also in Maryland. She was one of the very first group of women ever accepted into the Navy. She served in the Naval reserve as a yeoman until she retired in 1953. She was 109.

Gerald Ford

President Ford has died.

I was 4 when Gerald Ford ascended to the Presidency. I remember very little except that my folks wanted him to win in '76.


Somebody from a yahoo group sent me this via E-mail. I don't know the source:

Best President of the 1970’s, dead at 93.

By all accounts he was a decent and genuine man. He survived two
assassination attempts and relentless mocking by Chevy Chase, who portrayed
him as hopelessly clumsy (even though he was quite athletic and a college
football star).

Plus the dude smoked a pipe. That’s a stone cold mack-daddy Prez, there.

Not much happened on his term, which in a grim decade of worldwide
socialism, squalor, and chaos is quite an achievement. His was a thankless
job, cleaning up after Nixon and then inevitably turning over the country to
the tender mercies of Carter. He did it well, and we thank him for it. RIP.


I personally think he was one of the most underrated presidents we have had. He may well have saved the country by simply being level headed, decent and honest.



Much better and more eloquent thoughts here. Tigerhawks write-up is particularly good as is Joe Gandleman's.

Athelete, lawyer, model , WW2 Navy veteran, rock solid representative of the people who inherited the Presidency at it's most thankless hour. He steered the US through the 2 most dangerous years of one of it's 3 most dangerous decades....and he did it well, actually putting the country ahead of his own career. His retirement was a textbook example of charity and propriety as well.

He will indeed be missed.

Thank you Mr. President.

The Passing Of Dave Cockrum

People as divirse as Colleen Doran, Allan Harvey, and Michelle Malkin all have something kind to say about the passing of Dave Cockrum, one of the more influential and yet underapreciated artists in comic book history. Generally given credit for reinvigorating the DC Legion of Superheroes title, he is perhaps better known as the creator of the Marvel character Nightcrawler. He revamped the Marvel books in the 70's particularly the X-Men (starting with Giant Size X-Men#1) and was instrumental in making them the biggest things in comics for nearly 2 decades.

Like all too many people in comics, Cockrum got little credit and less money for his tremendous contribution to the medium (as well as the bank account of the previously obscure Marvel). His revamped X-Men is now a box office smash.

He died of complications due to diabetes Sunday night....in his Superman Pajamas, beneath his Batman blanket.

His last piece of art had been a sketch for a fan at a small comic show in South Carolina. He was a man who truely loved his medium and comics are a richer tapestry for his efforts. He will be missed.

He's Mousing in Heaven....

A very special cat has passed on....

Oriana Fallaci

She has died.

She did not yield.

Lots of thoughts by people far more articulate than I at the above link.

Rosa Parks has Died.....

One of the truly great Americans has passed on.

Proof positive that one individual can make a difference for the better.

While her passing is sad, her legacy is a really uplifting one.



Many people just don't realize HOW far we have come, thanks, in no small part to her.

Update: Far more eloquent people than me are linked to on this here.
(Hat Tip: Michelle Malkin)