Neddy's Palaver

In the mid 1600s, the Catholic BRENT family sailed across the Potomac from Maryland to Aquia, Virginia and settled at the Colony of Brenton. This was the first Catholic settlement in English Virginia. When the BRENTS were colonizing Maryland, Giles BRENT had done just as John ROLFE, who had married an Indian princess at Jamestown. BRENT’s bride was a 12-year-old student or ward of his spinster sister Margaret BRENT, who was operating a school for the Piscataway children. When GILES claimed almost all the land of the Maryland Colony due to his marriage to the Piscataway chief’s daughter, he got himself, and his BRENT sisters, into a dangerous situation with the Lord Baltimore government. The BRENTS were forced to cross the river and live in Virginia.

Margaret BRENT was America’s first suffragette, but few have ever heard of her. She was an outstanding, accomplished women. She acted as Lord Baltimore’s attorney, and in fact was probably running the government of the colony. She was able to own property, because she never married, and she even demanded the right to vote. It was denied of course, but the Marylanders did bestow upon her the title of “Gentleman” Margaret BRENT. After the move to Virginia, she seemed never quite so powerful, probably because of her “out of favor” Catholic religion.

This plaque is at the Crucifix Monument on the east side of Jefferson Davis Highway, at Telegraph Road, in Aquia, Virginia.

Some people are being followed by Shirley and Marcy Goodnest. Are you one of them?

A mother was concerned about her young son’s safety while walking to school, however he did not want the embarrassment of his mother accompanying him. She, wanting to give him some independence, yet know that he was protected, came upon a plan. A neighbor who daily walked with her toddler, offered to follow him to school in the mornings, staying at a distance, so as not to be conspicuous. She did this for an entire week.

As the young boy, Timmy, walked and chatted with a school mate, kicking stones and twigs, his friend did notice that the same lady was following them every day. Finally he said to Timmy, “Have you noticed that lady following us to school all week? Do you know her?”

Timmy nonchalantly replied, “Yeah, I know. That’s just Shirley Goodnest, and her little girl Marcy.”

“Shirley Goodnest? Who is she and why is she following us?” asked Timmy’s friend.

“Well,” Timmy explained, “every night my Mom makes me say the 23rd Psalm with my prayers, ‘cuz she worries about me so much. And in the Psalm, it says, ‘Shirley Goodnest and Marcy shall follow me all the days of my life’, so I guess I’ll just have to get used to it!”

May Shirley Goodnest and Marcy follow you all the days of your life, and in case you don’t remember the 23rd Psalm, here it is:

The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.
He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters.
He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name’s sake.
Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.
Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over.
Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the LORD for ever.

(Received from the Internet without attribution. Thanks Martha.)

One, Two, Three, Four,
2006’s Top Baby Boys;
Namesakes none, but we pretend,
Aiden, Caden, Braden and Jayden!

According to the “Top 20″ favorite names of the over one million members of BabyNames.com, for boys in 2006 it was — Aiden, Caden, Braden and Jayden, coming in at #1, #2, #3, and #4. Although it sounds like a nursery rhyme, it isn’t. Those were the four most popular names for new baby boys during the past year amongst Internet baby namers, followed by #5, the closely sounding “Ethan”.

Continuing the BabyNames.com love of the “en” or “an” suffix, further on down the list are “Logan”, “Hayden”, “Dylan”, “Ryan”, “Cameron” and “Tristan”.

The formerly beloved “John” did not make the cut. In fact, “Ethan”, “Noah”, “Jacob”, “Caleb” and “Aaron” are the only biblical names I recognize in the top twenty, and those are all from the Old Testament. Christian Saints Matthew, Mark, Luke, Paul and Peter are now passe, and the Koran’s “Mohammad” has not yet made it.

The girls names, thankfully, include some of the favorite traditional ones, with Abigail and Emma at the top and Emily #20. The popular English/American girls’ moniker, “Elizabeth”, is no longer found on the top 20, but continues as the Scottish/Romance form, “Isabel, Isabella”. Yet the quirky habit continues of choosing favorite girls’ names from family surnames that have no relation at all to the family of the baby namers. On this top twenty list of favorites are “Madison, Bailey, Taylor, and Hailey”. These names come down to us from the old-fashioned American tradition of paying tribute to mothers or grandmothers by using their surnames as middle names for newborns. Today, one would be hard pressed to find a girl named “Madison, Bailey, Taylor, and Hailey”, who was actually related to any of those families, much less a namesake for a beloved family member. The same goes for some of the baby boys’ names such as “Conner”.

Quirky indeed! The modern generation of baby namers prefer to honor famous or infamous Hollywood stars or the children of Hollywood stars by naming their children for them, rather than for their own family members of an older generation or for history’s Christian saints.

Dan Snyder - the ‘Grinch who Stole Washington’s Christmas‘ and destroyed its classical music. (Daniel Snyder, on left with Coach Joe Gibbs, from ExecutiveBiz)

Every year, from Thanksgiving until after New Year’s, Washington’s classical radio station, WGMS FM has been offering incredibly lovely Christmas music. It is available on the Internet too.

Now comes the sad news that our wonderful station is being turned into a Sports-News broadcast by its soon to be new owner, Daniel Snyder. WGMS has got to be the best classical radio station in all of America. How can this come to pass? Why does Dan Snyder, owner of the Washington Redskins, want to be forevermore known as the ‘Grinch who Stole Washington’s Christmas’?

According to the present owners of WGMS-fm, Bonneville International Corporation, Mr. Snyder made an offer to them that they could not refuse. A Bonneville executive involved in the negotiations explained, “If someone wanted to buy your house and was willing to pay 50 percent more than it was worth, you’d do it.”

Almost 4% of Washington area residents listen to WGMS, and Bonneville claims that the station has been profitable, generating $9.7 million in advertising revenue in 2005. However, according to The Washington Post listeners are predominantly old and advertisers are seeking young people who do NOT listen to classical music. What a pity and why is that? It certainly hints at a failure of the educational system in the Washington DC area that youngsters growing up here are not taught an appreciation of beautiful music.

Yes, we can listen to classical cds, etc, but the enjoyment of hearing commentary from the exceptional broadcasters at Classical WGMS cannot be equaled. Because Dan Synder has accumulated more money than any one person could know how to handle, he has taken it upon himself to use that fortune to destroy the musical culture of his own community. (43)

See the transformation of a human woman into a billboard model in under 60 seconds in this impressive new spot from Dove. No wonder our perception of beauty is so unrealistic.

During wartime, some give all, some give some, and some are left to tell their tales. Lola was blessed to return home from World War Two and her tale is now published on the Internet: “Lola Was a Soldier”.

Lola was one of those courageous young American women who signed on for volunteer service as a soldier during World War II. She participated in the European and North African theaters of the war. Amazing young women like Lola served and sacrificed for freedom. Younger generations need to be reminded of the incredible wartime contributions of the people who went before them. Lola’s name is entered at the Woman In Military Service For America Memorial where she is a charter member.

Lola Anderson was but a young woman during wartime when she observed the poster of Uncle Sam pointing his finger directly at her, saying “I want you for the U.S. Army”. She signed up, and she says that in those days in the Army, there was NO “hurry up and wait”, as she was quickly trained and sent out to do her duty, as her patriotic forebears had done in earlier times. Lola is Lola (Anderson) Peach, a member of Fairfax County Chapter, NSDAR, of Vienna, Virginia.

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The image, World War Two Soldier, was originally uploaded to the Internet by barneykin. It was posted here by Neddy of .

Watch closely and learn to make the amazing “fluffernutter” that has the entire Commonwealth of Massachusetts in one big kerfuffle. There are but three ingredients: bread, peanut butter and fluffer butter. Apparently, some in that great state are concerned that kids do not get enough nutrition from the fluffernutter and are calling for Spaghettios instead. Hmmm - which would have more nutritional value, a fluffernutter made with whole wheat raisin bread and banana slices or Chef Boyardee’s canned noodles? The Fluffernutter

This is a very old and “expensive” recipe. The “fluff” part of the recipe was originally sold by its inventor for $500, a lot of money in the days of The Great Depression. He had been selling “fluff” door to door in Massachusetts … and people were buying it. The formula for fluff is amazingly simple; a well-beaten mixture of only four ingredients: corn syrup, sugar, dried egg white, and vanillin.

Fluffernutter

• Marshmallow Fluff
• Peanut butter (smooth or creamy)
• 2 slices bread

Spread peanut butter onto one slice of bread. Cover with Marshmallow Fluff. Top with second slice of bread and enjoy! A favorite with kids of all ages.

On this page is video: Fluffernutter How-to

Nutritional Value Per Serving (Two Sandwiches): calories 412, fat 22.2g, 45% calories from fat, cholesterol 3mg, protein 12.4g, carbohydrates 49.8g, fiber 2.2g, sugar 28.0g, sodium 386mg.

The image, fluffernutter excellence, was originally uploaded by 2inches. It is posted here from Neddy’s favorites.

A Woman of Courage.

A Woman of Another Era
I captured this photograph of my life-long friend Geri in April 2005, at the wedding of her granddaughter in Laughlin, Nevada. Geri was an aviation pioneer. Because of her dedication and sacrifices during World War II, she is now referred to as “a woman of courage” and a wonderful example of “the greatest generation”. She is an inspiration to all who know her.

“This is not a time when women should be patient. We are in a war and we need to fight it with all our ability and every weapon possible. WOMEN PILOTS, in this particular case, are a weapon waiting to be used.” ~~ Eleanor Roosevelt, 1942

Way, way back in the early 1940s, Geraldine Elder, a 20-year-old girl from a silver mining town in northern Idaho, was a new college graduate looking for a job with a bit of adventure. She certainly did find a life of challenges and white-knuckled thrills when she signed on with Jacqueline Cochran, to become a woman pilot flying military planes in the Women Airforce Service Pilots, or WASP. Geri was in the very first class of woman pilots, trained by the United States military to ferry shiny new “untested” aircraft from the factories to America’s military aviation squadrons. Those airships that survived their maiden voyages were destined to be used by America’s fighting force against the Germans and the Japanese to preserve the free world. She is now an octogenarian living in the Sunbelt, and lecturing at high schools throughout her community on the World War II generation.

The first WASP graduation was held at Avenger Field, Sweetwater, Texas on May 28th, 1943. On this same day in 2005, was held the first ever WASP MEMORIAL FLY IN. The Governor of Texas declared that May 28th, 2005 be known as WASP Day in Texas.

This was originally published by Neddy on 15 May 2005 at “Blatherings”. Updated on 1 July 2007.

May 1st is Mother Goose Day, according to The Mother Goose Society.

Love, Tom ~~ PS Thanks for All You Do.

The Life and Times of the Navy Wife