PEARL HARBOR

Over 2,400 service members & civilians died when the Japanese attached Pearl Harbor on Dec. 7, 1941. From the upstairs window of our townhouse in Aiea, HI, we could see the U.S. Arizona memorial. While over 330 crew members survived the bombing of this battleship, the death toll was 1,117. We visited the memorial several times. After watching a film in the visitors center, you embark on a shuttle to the actual memorial, which straddles the sunken ship. The outline of the ship is still clearly visible underwater, & oil still seeps from the fuel tanks, which were full when the ship sunk. The names of all the crew members who died are engraved on a wall in the Memorial. It is a very solemn, sobering experience. You can still see bullet holes in some of the buildings on Hickam AFB, & there used to be a cross that was erected on the pass that the Japanese planes flew over in the Waianae Mts. If you are ever in Hawaii, you need to make this one of your stops.

My mother Janet was a teenager in Lodi, CA, on Dec. 7, 1941. She wrote about it in her diary, which my sister Carolyn has. Her family, along with many others, were deathly afraid that CA was going to be the target of a Japanese invasion, & households were ordered to observe a blackout after dark.

On to some lighter, less sobering news.

WE'RE HAPPY!

Our son-in-law Craig, who serves in the Nebraska Air National Guard, has safely returned from Qatar, where he's been deployed since SEP. Truly an answer to prayer!

MOUNTAIN LION KILLED

"A mountain lion that was struck & killed on I-394 in suburban Minneapolis WED was originally from northwestern Nebraska." (Norfolk Daily News, 12/8) While the article goes on to claim that this was accident, I can't help wondering. MN is a blue state. NE is a red state. Kinda makes you wonder.

OH, THE WEATHER OUTSIDE IS FRIGHTFUL

It's 38 degrees at 9:36a, here in Norfolk, NE. Wind chill makes it feel like 28, & we are in a wind advisory. The high is supposed to reach 42. We'll see. We woke up to a raging snowstorm this morning. Well, heavy snow. Heavy flurries. Okay, flurries. But there appears to be 1" of snow on our deck!

BREAKING NEWS

"Travis Kelce flew all the way to Argentina to see Taylor Swift in concert . . . After the show, she comes off stage & he's there. She runs, jumped into his arms. And then, he ran her back 57 yards for a touchdown. It was incredible." (Jimmy Kimmel Live!, Source:  latelaughs in the NDN, 12/8)

CRUISE NEWS

Lois & I have been on a few cruises; I know some of you have been, too. So, you might be interested to see these 10 Things Polite People Never Do On Cruises (msn.com)

1. Argue in the cabin

2. Pretend the cruise is a personal yacht

3. Hog lounge chairs We've witnessed this, & it's frustrating.

4. Spread germs

5. Skip the tip

6. Constantly complain

7. Drink too much

8. Let kids run wild

9. Hoard food

10. Dress inappropriately Lois made sure I wore a dress shirt & dress slacks on formal dining nights. We saw some men in tuxes. Seriously?

MOST FUN CITIES IN AMERICA (NDN, 12/7)

"To help Americans find the cities with the greatest selection of cheap, fun activities, WalletHub compared more than 180 U.S. cities across 65 key metrics, ranging from fitness clubs per capita to movie costs to the avg business hours of breweries." [I've listed the cities Lois & I have visited.]

1. Las Vegas, 2. Orlando, FL, 3. Miami, , 5. San Francisco, 6. New Orleans, 8. Chicago, 9. Honolulu, 12. Denver, 13. Portland, 14. St. Louis, 15. Washington, D.C., 17. Tampa, 19. Houston, 20. Los Angeles; also 45. Omaha, 74. Lincoln, NE.

CRIMINAL MINDS

"Cops putting trackers in packages to catch porch pirates." (Drudge Report)

"Woman shouts 'Happy Holidays' before bear spraying store employees." (Drudge)

NEWS FROM IOWANIA

"Controversial Satanic altar on display in IA state capitol bldg." (Drudge) I couldn't help noticing that Des Moines was not on the list of most fun cities.

TRENDING NEWS FROM BABYLON BEE *

* Your trusted source of fake news

"Hunter Biden indicted for not paying taxes on his bribes."

"Husband insists John McClane inflatable a Christmas decoration."

"Google Maps adds 'avoid poop' option for California."

"Archaeologists discover Little Drummer Boys' drum cage."

"Husband becomes Jehovah's Witness to get out of putting Christmas lights up."

"Ron DeSantis turns in killer performance slashing Trump's lead to 39 points."

"Democrats say they need immigrants to replace all the Democrats they aborted."

"Public educators warn low literacy rates may prevent kids from reading about gay sex.

LIBERAL PARENTING

A widely ignored study from Gallup and the Institute for Family Studies shows that children who are raised in politically liberal households are more likely to suffer mental health problems than kids from conservative homes . . . 

“Conservative and very conservative parents are the most likely to adopt the parenting practices associated with adolescent mental health. They are the most likely to effectively discipline their children, while also displaying affection and responding to their needs,” writes Rothwell. “Liberal parents score the lowest, even worse than very liberal parents, largely because they are the least likely to successfully discipline their children . . . 

"What is it about faith and political ideology that correlates so strongly with the mental health of children? One factor that deserves attention is the presence or absence of biblical principles that define the respective worldviews of parents." Scott Hogensen, Townhall