Feeling Blue

I would like to call back those lovely summers of yesterday.
Those carefree days when you seemed to have no cares.
Do our days gone by seem more enjoyable than today.
Those days seem filled with the ones we loved and cherished.
We do hold the years so precious and long for some to come back.
Our tomorrows are out of sight and we hope they are good to us.
The days we long for the most are the ones when we could hold our loved ones.
So we hold true to those we have now, for we no not for how long.
Some of our yesterdays plans and dreams have come true for us.
My wish for all my friends and family is a bright and sunny tomorrow..
Life really is beautiful, even if we don't have everything we want.

This is not a poem, I am feeling a little down right now. My husband has been going through some medical problems and when I sat down today on my computer, these thoughts seemed to cloud my mind, so I thought I would post them. I rarely share my feelings, just a thing I lost when living with my aunt as a teenager. I am okay now that I have shared with you and please if anything is bothering you feel free to post it in my comments, you have and are good friends.

Letting Go

I came across this the other day and wanted to post it in memory of all my family, friends, and pets, that have gone on before me.

God saw you getting tired. When a cure was not to be.
He closed his arms around you and whispered; "Come to me".
In tears we saw you sinking. We watched you fade away.
Our hearts were almost broken, you fought so hard to stay.
But when we saw you sleeping so peacefully free from pain.
We could not wish you back to suffer once again.
So keep your arms around them Lord, and give them special care.
Make up for all they suffered and all that seemed unfair.

Those we love are never really lost to us-we feel them in many ways, through friends they cared about and dreams they left behind and in beauty they added to our days. In words of wisdom we still carry with us and memories that never will be gone. Our family chain is broken, you did not go alone, part of us went with you. But as God calls us one by one the chain will link again.

Firefighting History

The history of organized firefighting dates back at least to Ancient Egypt, where hand operated pumps may have been employed to extinguish fires. The first Roman brigade was a group of slaves who were hired by an aedile Mareus Egnatius Rufus. Rome suffered a number of serious fires, most notably was the fire in July 19, AD 64 and eventually it destroyed two thirds of Rome.

Over the course of history it became apparent that an organized way was needed to put these fires out. However the first organized municipal fire brigade in the world was established in Edinburgh, Scotland.

On April 1, 1853, the Cincinnati, Ohio Fire Department became the first full-time paid professional fire department in the United States and the first in the world to use steam fire engines. The first horse drawn steam engine for fighting fires was invented in 1829, but not accepted in structual firefighting until 1860. Jamestown, Virginia was virtually destroyed in a fire in January, 1608.

George Washington was a volunteer firefighter in Alexandria, Virginia. In 1774, as a member of the Friendship Veterans Fire Co. he bought a new fire engine and gave it to the town, which was its very first. However the United States did not have government run fire departments until around the time of the Civil War.

The term "fire plug" dates from the time when water mains were made from hallowed out logs. The fire company would dig up the cobbles down to the main, then bore a hole into the main so the hole would fill up with water , which they could using their pumper. When they were finished they would seal the main with--you guessed it--a "fire plug". They would mark where this plug was so they could use it again.

Cast iron came to replace the wooden water mains in 1802 and when cast iron started becoming popular, fittings were placed on the mains at intervals, much like today's fire hydrants. As late as 1868, the city of Buffalo, New York was still installing wooden case hydrants, but by this time the day of the wooden case hydrant were over.

I know this is very long but if I put every detail in this post I would have to use too much space. I just wanted you to get an idea of the starting og the fire department. They have come a long way from passing the buckets of water down the line, most of the time this was to late . Well, thanks for taking the time to read it. I only wish I could of put in more details.

Interesting Facts

Niagara Falls freezes over in 1911. During an extended winter cold snap, a harden crust of ice accumulated over parts of the falls. Creating an amazing naturally formed sculpture, that has been known to reach a thickness of 50 feet. Neither the river nor the falls ever freezes solid, mind you. The water continues to flow beneath the ice at all times, reduced to a mere trickle on rare occasions when ice jams block the river above the falls,

1906=San Francisco Earthquake. At 5:12 a.m. on April 18, 1906, a large earthquake hit San Francisco. Even greater than the damage caused directly by the quake, the city was ravaged by fire for four days.

The first airplane crash happened just five years after the Wrights first flight. Orville Wright was in the plane crash and survived but the passenger was killed.

The Hindenburg crash, the suddenness of the disaster was shocking. At 7:25 p.m. on May 6, 1937, while the Hindenburg was attempting to land at Lakehurst Naval Air Station in New Jersey, a flame appeared on the outer cover of the rear of the Hindenburg. Within 34 seconds, the entire airship was cinsumed by fire. Of the 97 on board, 13 passengers died along with 22 crew members and one ground crew

Mt. St. Helen's had laid dormant for 123 years, but on May 18, 1980, in Washington state she erupted with the force comparable to that of a hydrogen bomb. The explosion blew off 1,300 feet of the mountain's top and sent ash and debris more than 12 miles into the sky covering three states (Washington, Oregon and Idaho. Sixty people were dead, beautiful forests and lakes were destroyed resulting in $3 billion worth of damage

Space Shuttle Challenger explodes==On Tuesday, January 28, 1986, the space scuttle exploded only 73 seconds after lift off from the Kennedy Space Center at Cape Canaveral, Florida. The disaster was one of defining moments of the 20th century and exposed many problems within the U.S. space program.

Haiti earthquake==On Tuesday, January 12, 2010 an earthquake with a magnitude of 7.0 devastated Haiti and by January 24th at least 52 aftershocks.Three million people affected by quake, 250,000 died and 30,000 buildings collapsed or were badly damaged. People were so afraid to go back into their homes, afraid they would collapse on them, so they slept in the streets on the pavement, in cars, or make shift homes.

To Be A Child Again

Children run and laugh and play, placing no importance on why you even go away. They are in another world, of comic strips, potato chips, ice cream, coke and bubble gum. Oh, how I envy little kids and wish that I were one. Oh, what I would give, if only I could be a child again.

The rain goes on and on, seen no sunshine for so long and it keeps raining, raining, in the world I'm living in. Oh, what I would give to be a child again. Children laugh and play like it is not even raining and they would be laughing even in the middle of a storm. They think I've lost my mind I bet, I call them in and they are not even wet, it seems so cold to me and yet somehow they stay so warm. Oh, what I would give to be a child again.

This song was written by Anita Carter, born in 1933 in Meces Springs, Virginia. Her sister was June Carter Cash, June married Johnny Cash. Anita was born into the Carter family, they were the first family of Country music, her mother was Mother Maybelle Carter, who is in the Country/Western music Hall of Fame. Anita had fifty years of recording and preforming on stage. She died in 1999 at the home of Johnny and June Cash in Tennessee. Anita was known as the"Application Angel", they said she had the most beautiful voice of any female country singer.