"There are few die well that die in battle." (Henry V)

.....Once in a while I have to rest a bit from writing about cakes and ale, and write about something somber, which by all accounts must needs be written. I recently read a review of the book "D-Day" by Anthony Beevor, the first comprehensive history of D-Day in two decades. It is a book that sheds new light on the cost of an immortal victory. Omaha Beach was the destination on that day which generals and commanders knew would be a burial ground for many of our soldiers. For one, a tank battalion of 32 DD Shermans faced the uninviting task of driving their tanks to the shore. But the flotation devices used to keep them afloat before they came to shore from their ships did not operate as planned. The result was that 32 of 37 tanks sank drowning 33 men. The surviving tanks took their vengeance once on dry land. The purpose of valor is usually to make up for someone's stupidity. The fact that this operation succeeded was mostly due to the courage and determination of the infantry.

.....I'm reminded of the flap in the UN determined to bring Israeli commanders up for war crimes for killing Gaza civilians in their war against the Hamas. But for firing rockets over Israel, the Hamas themselves killing civilians, there was no wringing of hands by the UN. But the obviously anti-Semitic nature of the UN overlooks that particular fact. Another fact is that 3000 French civilians died during the first 24 hours of D-Day. 3000 in 24 hours! The Germans also took no pity on civilians when they fired V1 and V2 rockets over London. I was there and I'm not even English. There is little doubt that in war, civilians will be killed--especially if snipers operate from the windows of their apartments, and if used as shields by the enemy. I'm thinking of what Colin Powell said about going to war--"Is the national interest at stake? If the answer is yes, go in, and go in to win. Otherwise, stay out." Contemplate that.

.....The other day I received a letter from a curator of the memorial Museum at Dunkeswell, England. That museum was established and maintained by a few good people. David wanted to know if I knew the two crews of Joe Kennedy ( who flew and died in my outfit of VB110). I told him I did not know those crews. He also wanted to know if my plane was the one that blew a tire on takeoff with a full bomb load and fuel. I replied that it was I, indeed, who was a member of that crew. He mentioned that he has the front door release handle with all the crew's names on it! Man, I wish I had that! David also asked about the time I was fished out of the English Channel (or was it the Bay of Biscay?) by a British submarine. I know that the picture of our crew exists in that Museum, and I would like to go there one day to visit. But I don't think that will happen.

.....So much for a somber blog.

"They laugh that win." (Othello)

.....We have a couple of good friends in another building here, named Mike and Helen Herbstman. Mike is a talented performer who just recently had open heart surgery. When we produced "My Fair Lady" a couple of years ago Mike played the part of Colonel Pickering, and I don't mind saying he looked the part.

But this story is not so much about Mike as it is about Helen. She is the luckiest person I've ever known. She enters every contest she can find in the newspapers or magazines. She has already won an enormous TV which occupies half her living room. She has also won a motorcycle and a ticket to the Super Bowl and an overnight stay at a posh hotel in Miami. One day when we went to the Isle Casino she won $2000 on a two-cent slot machine. I have no clue to whatever else she has won, but I'm certain there is a list. This past week, however, Macy's had a fund raising program for City of Hope whereby you could buy a $5 gift card and if you deposited it in a box, and your name was picked, you could win $500. It so happens that Rhoda went to Macy's last week and picked up Helen's card. When Rho got to the store she deposited Helen's card in the box. Who won the $500? Well, Helen of course. I think she should go for broke and buy a few Powerball tickets. What Rhoda got from Helen out of this affair was a free lunch.

I don't know if Mike will get anything.

.....I can't recall mentioning that I went to see the surgeon who dug the melanoma out of my leg and after looking at the wound once more he said I needn't come back anymore. We gave the nurses a tin of cookies and I gave the doctor a copy of my book. I hope never to see that man again. Rhoda still has to keep a bandage on it for a while because the new skin is very fragile. She is very skillful at that job.

.....I learned from Rho's daughter in Merrick, Long Island, that Ilana, our granddaughter who plays soccer on the Kennedy H.S. girls' team recently played in a game against North Shore H.S. where I coached for 30 years. North Shore was winning one nil when a player from Kennedy seriously injured her knee. By the time the medics came and tended to her, the game couldn't be continued because of darkness. Hopefully, they will finish it sometime this season, and hopefully North Shore will win. But if Kennedy wins, hopefully it will be Ilana who scores the winning goal. It really felt kind of weird to know that Ilana was playing against my old school; however, it did nothing to relieve whatever angst I have about my age.

.....As long as we are discussing sports and winning, I heard someone say that winning is not so important as playing and enjoying the game. I said, "Poppycock", (whatever that means).Poppycock - (Anglicized form of the Dutch pappekak, which literally means soft dung or diarrhea). Coach Lombardi of the Green Bay Packers once said, "Winning isn't everything, but losing isn't anything." As a coach and sports lover I'll take it one step further and say winning is everything; else why play the game?

"The web of our life is of a mingled yarn, good and ill together." (All's Well...)

.....Today was a banner day. It's not over yet, but so far it's about an A-. We had an appointment with the surgeon who dug out my melanoma with his shovel, and I believe secretly howled with Satanic delight at the suicidal pain I felt for at least two weeks. But today he finally released me from his service after diagnosing my wound as almost fully healed. In order to celebrate, I decided to drive to the Isle Casino for a little fun. I went alone because Rhoda went to a luncheon at Duffy's where forty women awaited to surprise the two guests of honor who had done a lot for the City of Hope, and were being rewarded with a couple of hours of cackling women who usually all speak at the same time. I was not at the casino for even one hour when three red sevens turned up on my slot machine with a bonus of 7 free spins that increased the value of the three sevens to a bonus of $214. I was only betting 75 cents on each spin. I didn't have the required nerve to continue playing, for fear of losing my winnings, so I had the valet retrieve my ten-year old Malibu and I drove straight home.

.....To continue with the A- day, I got a call from my grandson, Sean, who is 25 years old and lives in California. Sean is not only a professional surfer but also is a talented artist who is having a show of his paintings next month. He is a student at a prestigious school of art, and when questioned he said he loves it there. We had a lengthy discussion about what he is planning for his life, and I, obviously, was quite happy to hear from one of my grand kids. After hanging up, I wondered what other good thing was going to happen today and hoping that more of these A- events would be in in store for me in the future.

.....There are, of course, some F's in my life these days. One of them is that I can't open anything. When I get a fortune cookie in a Chinese restaurant I can never separate the wrapping it comes in. When we get a new jar of anything, I have to turn it over to Rhoda who has the skill to open most anything. One of the things that neither one of us can open is the door to our terrace. We never lock it, but the cleaning crew was here the other day, and apparently one of them felt it needed to be locked. Now we tried everything to open it without success. Oh, I almost forgot; one of the A- things is that it appears the two California baseball teams--the Angels and the Dodgers are going to be eliminated in the playoffs. That means we, on the East coast, will not have to stay up all hours of the night to see who wins a game considering the three hour time difference involved. And finally, we learned today that our maintenance fee for next year is being reduced in the amount of $129 a month. That anything is being reduced these days is astounding; even one's weight.