with Patsy Nobles Jones
“We rise by lifting others.” – Robert Ingersall
Sympathy is expressed to the families of Jessica Lenora Sanders (11-19-84 to 4-25-21) – Bethel; Sherry Jean Williams Wheat (1-8-53 to 5-3-21) – Memorial; Martha “Polly” Cole Burgess (8-30-29 to 4-27-21) – Memorial Garden of Hardin County. Requests for memorials — Lucy Jones Burgess Memorial Scholarship Fund. In care of Burt’s Furniture 1215 Wayne Rd. Savannah, TN 38372. Burt’s is a family owned store by Polly, D C, Dennis, Brenda and David. David is the only survivor. Lucy was the daughter of Lewis and Loy McAdams Jones. She married David and moved to Savannah.
Also, Michael Collins (10-31-30 to 4-28-21) was one of the three astronauts in Apollo II. Michael was at the wheel orbiting while Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin walked on the moon on July 20, 1969. All three of these history makers have taken a giant leap toward heaven!
Prayer requested for Cindy Vogt; Jim Ruth; Andy and Doris are slowly improving; Buddy and Alice Maness Stovall need prayer.
Old Friendship cemetery looked so beautiful this weekend. Much love was shown – loved ones not forgotten. Thank you for contributions to Old Friendship. Your support is vital.
Mother’s Day is the second Sunday in May. For those who had a good mother – “The Sweetest name to call is Mother.” – soldiers on battlefields call for Mother as they are dying. In hospitals soldiers would request nurses to write their dear Mother their last words of love. Three quotes – Ezekiel 16:4 – “As is the mother, so is her daughter.”; Princess Diana, “A mother’s arms are more comforting than anyone else’s.”; and Abraham Lincoln, “All that I am, or hope to be, I owe to my angel mother.”
An accident in Maryland involved a baby thrown from the car 30 feet into Maryland Bay. A bystander jumped over the bridge and rescued the baby. Happy Mother’s Day to her, especially. The rescuer did not want recognition, but she cared.
Bird Tidbits: During World War I, Cher Ami, a homing pigeon, delivered 12 messages during her service to the U.S. Army Signal Corps in France, but none was more important than the message she delivered early October 1918. On that day, Major Charles Whittlesey and 500 plus soldiers were trapped behind enemy lines without food or ammunition. Whittlesey attempted to send messages to his compatriots via pigeon. The first two birds were shot down, but Cher Ami successfully navigated a barrage of fire to deliver this message though wounded – one eye gone, breastbone cracked and leg dangling by a tendon with message still attached: “We are along the road parallel to 276.4. Our own artillery is dropping a barrage directly on us. For heaven’s sake, stop it.” The shelling stopped, and the troops were saved. Cher Ami received the Croix de Guerre medal for bravery. Upon her death June 13, 1919, her body was preserved and placed on display at the Smithsonian Institute.
War Dog Tidbit: Smoky the dog became a war hero. There’s no shortage of stories of dogs performing heroic acts during wartime. But Smoky was not a big, bulky dog saving the day. She was a Yorkie. During World War II, American soldiers were under attack on an airfield in the Philippines. The only way they could communicate from the airfield was running telephone lines through an underground pipe. Getting humans to place lines would have been challenging and dangerous, so it was Smoky to the rescue! She belonged to a corporal, who called her and helped her find the way through the pipe with the wires attached to her collar. Smoky was also just a morale booster and a calming, happy presence to have around for soldiers and for hospital patients. She is remembered as one of the earliest-ever therapy dogs!
2021 SOMEONE CARES – Los Angeles Dodgers owners, Mark and Kimbra Walters, developed plans for White Oak Conservation Center. It has expanded to 17,000 acres for elephants and other animals in trouble. Elephants that worked with Ringling Bros and Barnum & Bailey had no choices. They were physically abused and denied simple pleasures as caregivers chose. That stopped in 2016. With this new development rescued animals lives changed in the blink of an eye. Mable (4-6-06), Kelly (1-1-96) and April (4-3-10) are tasting FREEDOM. They will soon be joined by 32 Asian elephants. Give praise to the Walters for caring and doing something about it. Pass it on….
