Another email from Ghana (oh Boy!)

I’m passing up another answer to my prayers.

Dear Friend,
My name is Mr.ABEDI GYAN, I am an accountant in accounting department of Ministry of Mines and Energy Ghana. Also am a member of contracts awarding committee of this ministry under Ghana government. This mail may come to you as a surprise but be rest assured that this is not a hoax mail. I write to solicit your assistance in a funds transfer deal involving US$5,500,000:00M.
Two years ago, Ghana government asked my committee to award contracts to foreign firms, which I and my colleague With our good position, deliberately over invoiced the contract sum to the tune of US$5,500,000:00.
The contracts value has been paid off to the actual contractors that executed these jobs, all I want now is a trusted foreign partner like you that we shall front with the banking account number to Claim the over inflated sum. All I require is your honest cooperation an confidence in me which I know would not come easy. I guarantee that this will be executed under a legitimate background that will protect you from any breach of the law. I would advise that you give this positive consideration and get back to me soon.
I’ll be flexible and considerate in the percentage share that will be given to you for your assistance I know there may be scams and junk mails on the internet but certainly, this is not one. Please do not fail to understand that in spite of all that, opportunities of this kind still abound. If you have ever wished or prayed for something good to come your way, now I urge you to take this message seriously and with an open mind,you could never know.
This may be an answer to your prayers.I look forward to hearing from you as soon as possible.
Bye And God Bless,
Mr. ABEDI GYAN

A new kind of scam twist

 
I am drenched with tears reading this sob story. It is so sad that 
they won’t get a response from me
Beloved,  
I am drenched with tears while writing this short message
 to you.
It was heartbreaking news to me few  days ago when my doctor
notified me on complications on my health condition which he
 officially made known to me. He further stressed that the
complication I had in my human mechanism as a result of a
secondary liver cancer which have destroyed all the organs in my
body system.  According to him, he said that this complication
will lead to my imminent death since no medication can alleviate
the high system of deformation I am encountering at this time in
my system.   In the view of the above, I am in quest to find a trustworthy
and upright individual whom I will entrust the sum of $3.2
million USD and this   has led me to you. The said fund was
acquired by me as  an inheritance from my adopted father who
died as a result of political crisis which erupted among his most
political associate and business clique.   I will make available
to you all information and officially
authorize document which will endorse your claim as the beneficiary
to the fund in question in the finance house where the fund was
lodged by my adopted father. I have mapped out the modalities on
how the fund will be apportioned. 35% of the principal amount of
the money will be dished out to you while 65% will be allotted
to any charitable or orphanage home of your preference.  
My motive to dispense the funds to a charity and orphanage home
is that I grew up as an orphan and do not have any heirs hitherto.  
 Upon your acceptance to this proposal kindly get back to me through
this email:

Best Regards
Mrs. Farida Jordan
Received from this email address  contraloria@crc.gov.co

I am suspicious of this email

I receive this email from the supposed Facebook. It sure looks official and it is the same template as Facebook. However, it has been less than ten hours since I was on Facebook. This sure sounds fishy. No way would I click on any link in this message. I get the feeling someone is attempting to steal my Facebook identity.

facebook scam

Now the United Nations says I have tons of money

 
If I have all kinds of money due me, why don’t you just send me
 a check and be done with it. After all it’s not your money.

UNITED NATIONS OFFICE OF INTERNATIONAL OVERSIGHT SERVICES
Internal Audit , Monitoring, Consulting and Investigations
Division 5H087 Washington,
DC 20233,United States of America

ATTN: BENEFICIARY This is to inform you that I came to Nigeria
 yesterday from
United States of America, after series of complaints from the
FBI and other Security agencies from Asia, Europe, Oceania,
 Antarctica, South America and the United States of America
 respectively, against the Federal Government of Nigeria and the
 British Government for the rate of scam activities going on in
 these two nations.

Right now, as directed by our secretary general Mr. Ban Ki-Moon.
 We are working in collaborations with the Nigerian Economic and
 Financial Crime Commission (EFCC) and the Federal Bureau of
Investigation (FBI). We have decided to waive away all your
clearance fees/Charges and authorize the Government of Nigeria
to effect the payment of your compensation of an amount of
 US$1,500,000.00 approved by both the British government and the
 UN into your account without any delay. We already have your
name in our Claimant List as stipulated in article 41 of the
Provisional Rules for claims.The Governing Council therefore
devised a mechanism for the allocation of available funds to
successful claimants that gave priority to the three urgent
categories of claims and which, within each category, would
give equal treatment to similarly situated claims. Only when
each successful claimant in categories "A", "B" and "C" had
been paid an initial amount up to US$1,500,000.00, thereafter
other payments commence for claims in ot

In conformity with the Provisions of article 40, paragraph 5
of the Rules, Information concerning the identities of individual
 claimant will not be made publicly.

See our press release below:

http://www.un.org/News/Press/docs/2003/ik344.doc.htm

Now your new payment approved numbers are follows

United Nation Approval No; Un5685p,White House Approved
 No: Wh44cv,Reference
 No.-35460021,Allocation No: 674632Pin Code No: 55674
Certificate of Merit Payment
 No: 103,World Bank Released Code No: 0763;

We are conducting a standard Process investigation on behalf
federal credit Union Bank, United State Of America, The private
 banking arm of the international banking conglomerate. This
 investigation involves, a man Who Came To our Office Claiming To
 be your true representative. Here is his information for you to
 confirm to this office if this man is truly from you or not as
 the government will not be held responsible for wrong transfer.

For Paying Into The Wrong Account.Name: Mr. Edward MarshBank 
Name: Wells Fargo Bank
Bank Address: California, USA.Account Number: 6503809428.

Please reconfirm to this office, As a matter of urgency if this
man Is From you. As a matter Of Fact, we have actually been
authorized by the newly appointed UN Secretary General, and
the Governing body Of The United Nations Monetary Unit to
investigate the unnecessary delay of your fund payment.
However, we shall proceed to issue all payments details to the
 said Mr. Edward Marsh, If we do not hear from you within The
 next Seven working days from today.

I have a very limited time to stay in Nigeria here so I would
like you to urgently respond to this message so that I can
advise you on how best to confirm your fund in your account
within the next 72 hours.

Regards,

Mitchell GoldsteinInvestigation Department (UN)Tel: +234-709-230-4595

Another method to get my personal information

Another email I received to attempt to get my personal information. It is a shame a small percentage of internet users will fall for this kind of scam,

Dear Good Friend

We wish to notify you again that you are listed as a beneficiary to the total sum of 10,600,000.00G.B.P (Ten Million Six Hundred Thousand British Pounds) in the council and last testament of the deceased. (Name now withheld since this is our second letter to you). We contacted you because of your good name to the society and basically we can present you as the beneficiary to the inheritance. All the legal papers will be processed in your acceptance to this deal. We request that you kindly forward to us your acceptance Notification; your current telephone and fax numbers and a forwarding address to enable us file necessary documents for the release of this sum of money.

Please contact me for further details of the funds.
 
Yours Faithfully,
Pirez Russo

Another twist on a potential scam

From the Office of Ambassador Terence P. McCulley
United States of American Ambassador to the
Federal Republic of Nigeria
Attention:
I was informed this morning by the Alhaji Umaru Bello Girei, the Remittance Director
Central Bank of Nigeria about two men in the persons of Mr. michael Vance and an
Attorney Barrister John Williams, of J. Williams & Associates.
These men had approached the Central Bank of Nigeria, with a "Power of Attorney,
claiming that due to some inevitable circumstances beyond your control (ILL HEALTH) that
you would not be able to conclude or carry out your obligation to receive your
entitlements from the Central Bank of Nigeria and therefore wish that your fund be
transferred to your friend Mr. Michael Vance from USA, who is presently taking care of
your businesses here in New York.
This Fund valued at US$10 Million had been programmed to be transferred to a bank
account with the Capital One Bank. Find the Bank Account information as they have
presented to the Intercontinental Bank Plc below;
CAPITAL ONE BANK
Capital One, N.A.
115 Forest Avenue
Glen Cove, New York 11542
Account Number: 5800394491
Account Name: michael Vance
Swift Code: NFBKUS 33
ABA Routing Number: 021407912
The Central Bank of Nigeria had called my attention to this to find out if you’re
really sick and had given this authorization. So if you’re not aware of this please get
back to this office and let me know so I can notify the Central Bank of Nigeria
immediately to stop the transfer.
Finally I will want you to advice on this and get to this office with the following
information:
1) Your full name.
2) Phone, fax and mobile
3) Company name, position and address.
4) Profession,
And Also confirm your interest in working with me so that these fund will be transferred
to you as all modalities will be carefully worked out and details will be given to you
once I receive your response to this email.
Best Regards,
Ambassador Terence P. McCulley
United States of American Ambassador to the
Federal Republic of Nigeria

The latest scam letter

Here is another email I just received. It interested me so much I had to find out where the Republic of Benin is. I am sure there is some charity that can use my portion of the wealth from this offer.

Attn,
This is to acknowledge the receipt of your mail. With my position as ex-Deputy Minister of Finance and awarding committee Republic Of Benin, the said funds are residue of over invoiced contract sum executed by various companies; the companies that supplied these items have already been paid out as we agreed to left with the balance of this (US$ 16,846,755.00) which will be transferred to an account that will be provided by you.
The whole legal back up documents shall be secured to give this deal a legal status.
The Fund which is suspended in our banker grand account awaiting claims from any foreign partner of my choice because the committee which I head intends paying all outstanding balance to the contractors as we are winding up our activities since the aim of setting up the committee is almost concluded.
For transparency, here is my brief background to know whom you are dealing with. I am 53 years old born in Cotonou-Benin with 3 children, two boys and one girl, and I would like to know more about you also, your occupation, address, telephone number and passport copy for my confidence.
As an account owner for this transfer, You will be entitled to 40% of the total fund (US$ 16,846,755.00), 10% will be set aside to take care of any incidental charges which might arise in the course of the transaction While the balance 50% will be for my investment in your country. I want to re-assure you that this transaction is 100% risk free as it has been covered from any act of enquiry from whatsoever.
NOTE: This transaction will be strictly based on the following terms and conditions as I stated below:
(a) My conviction of your transparent honesty and diligence.
(b) That you would treat this transaction with utmost secrecy and confidentiality.
(c) That you will not ask for more share thereby try to sit on the funds, once it is under your custody and start any form of blackmail on my person to allow you run away with this fund.
(d) That upon receipt of the funds you will release my share of the fund as instructed by me after you have removed your share of 40% and 10% for any expenses that might accrue from the total amount before my arrival in your country as it might take me time to retire and get my travel documents ready before my arriving.
(e) That in your response to this email I will draft an agreement which will be sign for both parties and afterward the bank will transfer the money to your designated bank account.
We hope to conclude this deal within 7-14 working days if you accord me your unalloyed support and co-operation.
Please I do not need a joker therefore if you are not going to participate full in this transaction; you are free to say NO now that the transaction has not started as I will not like any disappointment in between the transaction rather lets us be ordinary friends .We have to do everything to protect this deal as here lies our future.
Awaiting to hear from you soon.
Thanks God Bless You.
Sincerely,
Stephen Gorge.
gstephen53@w.cn

This looks awful phishy to me

This email looks suspicious to me. First, the return email address is a hotmail account. I am almost positive MSN would not use a hotmail email address. Secondly, Internet 101 states never respond to an email asking for your password and username. Unfortunately, there are ones out in cyber land that will respond to this kind of email and their account and possibly finances will be compromised. It is too bad there are cyber land crooks looking to find an easy buck.

Dear Account User,

This message is from our data base center to all Msn account owners. We are currently upgrading our data base and e-mail account center. We are deleting all unused accounts to create more space for new accounts. To prevent your account from closing in 72 hours, you will have to update it below so we will know that it’s a presently used account. To do this, You have to click on your reply button to reply back to this message and then you fill the information below.


* Username : ………………………..
* Password: ………………………….
* Date of Birth: ………………………
* Country Or Territory: ……………

Play audio and enter the 10 numbers you hear.

Image with 8 characters

Characters: 

Enter the 8 characters you see

T

Theme restaurants of the past

Last Sunday my wife (Dee) and I attended “The Unsinkable Molly Brown” play at Littleton Town Hall Arts Center. It was a good play and I recommend it to anyone. It is strange how one event spurs your thoughts to some other subject. I was thinking of the play and for some reason I started to think about theme restaurants that have been in Denver in past years. They are gone now but I have memories to share.

The first one I remember is “94th Aero Squadron” This was located just south of the east,west runway of Stapleton International Airport. The building was built to look like a farm building of World War I vintage. It had sandbags around the building and replicas of machine guns near the entrance. The thing that I remember the most was the “ready room” this was a room located in the basement and it was decorated like a room where World War I pilots prepared for their next combat mission. They showed black & white movies that some times could be quite graphic. I remember one about a bull fight and the bull gored one of the horses. Need I say More? The restaurant was situated so that you could view the planes take off and land. It was an enjoyable experience. However, I don’t remember how good the food was.

I don’t remember the timeline, but I think the business closed expectantly. After a period of time the building conveniently burned down, how strange.

Another memory was the “Traildust Steak House” located near I25 and Arapahoe road. Their gimmick was to display ties that they supposedly cut off from customers if they walked in with a tie. The walls were covered with the bottom portions of ties. Apparently they were doing well and opened up another location in Westminster. Again, I don’t remember the timeline the Westminster location closed and later the Arapahoe location was closed.

Brittany On the Hill is the next restaurant on my list. This was located east of I25 maybe 92nd & Grant. It was high on a hill and had a nice view of northern parts of Denver. We are not much for reservations and we just take our chances to get in. One Saturday we decided to go there and when we got there they informed us that the entire restaurant was closed for a wedding reception. I don’t know how much that cost, but, I know I could never afford to pay for a trick like that.

Baby Doe Matchless Mine took the same steps as the previous examples. Located west of I25 near 26th Avenue. The theme they displayed was an old Colorado gold mine. The view of downtown Denver was very enjoyable. Again I don’t remember how the food tasted.

I also remember another restaurant near I25 just east of the freeway. You could see the building from the freeway. The building looked like and old Dutch windmill. I don’t remember the name. I think it was something like “Old Dutch Mill”. One of their gimmicks was to place  an empty coffee cup on the foot of the waiter and poor the coffee from the pot into the coffee cup resting on the waiters foot.  Apparently, the coffee pouring through the air was suppose to enhance the flavor of the coffee.

They are all gone now. All I have are memories of these food establishments. They all seemed to be busy when we went there. One will really never know why they disappeared, but I would speculate that tons of money was lost. I am sure there are theme restaurants taking their place. We just have not had the interest to find them. At our age we must watch our diet and be more careful on what we eat and how much. Today we look for coupons in the paper and senior discounts at the restaurants we go to.

One wonders how Casa Bonita and Simms Landing has survived the test of time. What is their secret?

Hi capacity laptop battery

I have had this Dell B130 laptop since 2007. It was the cheapest laptop I could find at the time. I was planning on taking a trip to Italy and I wanted a laptop to download the photos I was planning to take on the trip. The main reason was just a source for backup of all the photos I planned to take. It worked well for that purpose. However, with the original battery I was lucky to get over an hour and half of battery time. This was ok because I was always near a power source.

Now I have a reason to use the laptop that may require more time on the battery than available with the original battery. I went to the Dell website to see what was available from Dell since it was a Dell product. The battery they offered had a price of $137.00. This shocked me. I paid less than $500.00 for the complete laptop. It was obvious to me that Dell was not really interested in supplying replacement batteries.

I then went to my second choice of Amazon.com. I found a super-capacity Lithium-Ion battery for only $40.81. I decided to try it because that is what I was expecting for just a standard replacement battery. This battery has 8800 mah or twice the capacity of the standard battery. This was ordered Feb. 6th and it was at my doorstep yesterday Feb. 10th. Only four days delivery with free freight and no sales tax. This kind of service and pricing sure makes it difficult for a local retailer to compete with.

I installed the battery and I am very pleased with the performance and life of the battery. Fully charged the battery indicator shows around six hours  of working time before a recharge is needed. This is more than I need and this additional battery life has re-ignited my interest in this four year old laptop. Sure, it weighs a little more and the height of the battery sets the back of the laptop maybe one half or three quarters of an inch higher. These minor problems are easy to accept because the advantages more than outweigh these minor changes.

For example, this morning I started the laptop on battery around 7:30 this morning. I periodically used it through out the morning and it is now 11:30. Checking the battery life indicator and it still shows a remaining charge of over 5 hours. If this true I am more than satisfied with this high capacity battery and now wish I would have considered one long before now.

Memories of Italy

It’s cold in Denver, five degrees and I am stuck inside. I was thinking of more enjoyable times and I was viewing my photos from Italy trip taken in 2007. I thought I would share a few and since it is simple to add pictures when using Windows Live Writer. I really enjoyed Pisa and these photos are of Pisa. That leaning tower is really a site to see.

IMG_3211    IMG_3214

IMG_3218

I am enjoying working with this Window Live Writer. I am having a little difficulty placing the photos though. Have a nice evening and stay out of the cold and snow.

How do you want to die?

                                

When you are young you don’t think much of dying. You tend to think you are immortal and death as a far away fact. as you become older you start to think more about dying and death.

I am close to sixty-nine and I am thinking more about death than when I was younger. My parents passed away when they were seventy-five and their health problems started to appear in their late sixties. The same age I am in right now. Is the family legacy going to follow me or will I not follow in the paths of my parents.

                            grim reaper

My mother was afflicted with bone cancer and battled this disease for more than five years. after removal of the cancer and many treatments of chemo and radiation the demon went into remission. After four or five years the demon came back very aggressively. It migrated  to others parts of her body and finally took her. Her death was slow and very painful.

My father was visiting California and he was scheduled to start driving home in the morning. He called me the next morning said he had an upset stomach and was going to wait another day before he started to drive home. That evening his niece called and said she went to get some take out for dinner and when she returned my father was found on the floor dead. He was having a heart attack and didn’t even know it. That major mistake cost him his life.

Recently my true friend had multiple heart by-pass surgery. He is in his mid seventies. How long will this surgery extend his life? Only time will tell. Will this life saving surgery expose him to a more painful and slow death? This surgery may save him from heart failure to just have to experience the pain and suffering of Cancer. Cancer and heart disease is the biggest killer in the US.

A couple of years ago another friend of mine was running his snow-blower and fell over dead from an Aortic aneurism. he died before his wife found him laying on the ground in the snow.

My wife’s mother is in her nineties and in the last year she has deteriorated to the point that she cannot walk and has lost all control of her bodily functions. Medical authorities say her heart and lungs sound good. How long will she have to endure in the sorry state? The quality of life has taken a bad turn for her.

These are just a few examples of death and suffering that I have experienced in my life. Death is a part of life. All of us must some day experience the event. Even now that I am closer to the event,  I still can’t answer the question, How do I want to die? 

Martin Luther King’s Pledge of Nonviolence

Martin Luther King’s Pledge of Nonviolence
1. As you prepare to march meditate on the life and teachings of Jesus
2. Remember the nonviolent movement seeks justice and reconciliation – not victory.
3. Walk and talk in the manner of love; for God is love.
4. Pray daily to be used by God that all men and women might be free.
5. Sacrifice personal wishes that all might be free.
6. Observe with friend and foes the ordinary rules of courtesy.
7. Perform regular service for others and the world.
8. Refrain from violence of fist, tongue and heart.
9. Strive to be in good spiritual and bodily health.
10. Follow the directions of the movement leaders and of the captains on demonstrations.

How far will this go?

In June 2008 I wrote and published a book at blurb.com about a sixteen day trip to Italy. The book turned out very well and I received many compliments on the book. I didn’t think much about it at the time. At a later date I made another book named “Flowers, the beauty of Nature”. The quality blurb.com does impressed me again.

In January 2010 it was suggested by a group I belong to that I should order some additional books and have a book signing at a future benefit the club was going to have. I thought, “why not”. The function had approximately 150 guests and I sold ten of my books at the function.

This gave me the bug. I noticed a TV ad by Intuit.com about websites for only $4.99 a month. Now I have a domain name and a website, tomtbooks.com. Listed on the website is all the books I have published on Blurb.com. How far will this go?

How did we survive?

This was received in an e-mail and I am passing it on.

To Those of  Us  Born   between  1930 – 1965  

At the end of this blog is a quote of the month by Jay Leno.. If you don’t read anything else, please 
read what he said.  Very well stated, Mr. Leno.
 
TO ALL THE KIDS WHO SURVIVED THE
                   1930’s, 40’s, 50’s,   60’s and 70’s!! 
First, we survived being born to mothers who smoked and/or drank while they were pregnant.
 
They took aspirin, ate blue cheese dressing, tuna from a can and didn’t get tested for diabetes.
 
Then after that trauma, we were put to sleep on our tummies in baby cribs covered  with bright colored lead-base paints.
 
We had no childproof lids on medicine bottles, locks on doors or cabinets and when we rode our bikes,  we had baseball caps  not helmets on our heads..
 
As infants & children, we would ride in cars with no car seats, no booster seats, no seat belts, no air bags, bald tires and sometimes no brakes.
 
Riding in the back of a pick- up truck on a warm day was always a special treat.
 
We drank water from the garden hose and not from a bottle.
 
We shared one soft drink with four friends, from one bottle and no one actually died from this.
  
We ate cupcakes, white bread, real butter and bacon. We drank Kool-Aid made with real white sugar. And, we weren’t overweight..   WHY?  
Because we were always outside playing….that’s why!
 
We would leave home in the morning and play all day, as long as we were back when the streetlights came on…  
No one was able to reach us all day. And, we were OKAY.
 
We would spend hours building our go-carts out of scraps  and then ride them down the hill,  only to find out we forgot the brakes. After running into the bushes a few times, we learned to solve the problem
 
We did not have Play stations, Nintendo’s and X-boxes. There were no video games, no 150 channels on cable, no video movies or DVD’s,  no surround-sound or CD’s, no cell phones,  no personal computers,  no Internet and no chat rooms.
 
WE HAD FRIENDS and we went outside and found them!
 
We fell out of trees, got cut, broke bones and teeth and there were no lawsuits from these accidents.
 
We would get spankings with wooden spoons, switches, ping pong paddles, or just a bare hand and no one would call child services to report abuse.  
 
We ate worms and mud pies  made from dirt, and  the worms did not live in us forever.
 
We were given BB guns for our 10th birthdays, made up games with sticks and tennis balls and, although we were told it would happen, we did not poke out very many eyes.
  
We rode bikes or walked to a friend’s house and knocked on the door or rang the bell, or just walked in and talked to them.
 
 Little League had tryouts and not everyone made the team.  Those who didn’t had to learn  to deal with disappointment.  Imagine that!! 
 
 The idea of a parent bailing us out if we broke the law was unheard of. They actually sided with the law! 
 
These generations have produced some of the best  risk-takers, problem solvers and inventors ever.
 
The past 50 years have been an explosion of innovation and new ideas.
 
We had freedom, failure, success and responsibility, and we learned how to deal with it all.
 
If YOU are one of them, CONGRATULATIONS!  
 
You might want to share this with others who have had the luck to grow up as kids, before the lawyers and the government regulated so much of our lives for our own good.
 
While you are at it, forward it to your kids so they will know how brave and lucky their parents were.
 
Kind of makes you want to run through the house with scissors, doesn’t it ?  I just did and Look…I’m stil here….
~
The quote of the month is by
Jay Leno:
 
‘With hurricanes, tornados, fires out of control, mud slides, flooding, severe thunderstorms tearing up the country from one end to another, and with the threat of bird flu, swine flu and terrorist attacks, are we sure this is a good time to take God out of the Pledge of Allegiance?’ 
 
For those that prefer to think that God is not watching over us..go ahead and ignore this. 
For the rest of us….pass this on.    https://2tts.wordpress.com/2010/01/24/how-did-we-survive/

 

Saturday afternoon movie matinees

Not too long ago I happened to drive through the intersection of West 1st Ave. and Knox Court. After driving through the intersection I pulled over to the curb and reminisced for a while. I was remembering how this intersection looked like in the late forties and early fifties. On the southwest corner were a small drug store and few small shops. Today the buildings are still there but the drug store and original shops are long gone. On the northwest corner a filling station and a Piggly Wiggly grocery store filled that corner. I think there was a small hardware store on the northeast corner. I do remember the Saturday auctions held by a Japanese auctioneer dressed in a pair of coveralls. The building that had the most memories for me was on the southeast corner and that was the Comet Theatre.

The Saturday afternoon matinees were the big event through the summer months. The entire neighborhood kids would go to this weekly big event. We would try to get there an hour before the movie opened. The line became quite long before the theatre finally opened. Finally the movie opened and it was mass chaos rushing in and getting our favorite seats. Yes, the theatre would be jammed packed.

The concession room was jammed and full with all these kids trying to get their treats before the movie started. Screaming yelling and waving hands to get the attention of the concession attendant was the norm. No lines here, you just got up to the counter and hoped you could be served quickly.

It was finally movie time. There was always a cartoon and a serial before the movie. Oh, those serials they were the greatest. You had to be sure and come back the next Saturday and find out how the dramatic highlight ended. This was our first exposure to science fiction with Buster Crabb and his space adventures. The graphics in those times were really bad. You could actually see the string holding the space ship in front of the painted wall of outer space. The serials were the best attraction of these matinees. If the movie was bad we would leave early. We could not miss the serial though.

This brought memories of another theatre in our younger years. This was the Webber Theatre on Broadway just north of Alameda Ave a couple of blocks. Their attraction was a birthday club and a drawing every Saturday for a prize. When you had a birthday in the week the Webber Theatre would give you a cake from Volmer’s Bakery. They would call out your name, you would go up on the stage, receive your cake and the audience would sing happy birthday.

One time my brother won the Saturday drawing. It was a single shot BB gun. You would cock the gun and then drop a single BB down the barrel. If you happen to lower the barrel, the BB would roll out. Oh well, it was free and it was won. My parents were not too happy when this BB gun came home. They did not take it away from my brother though.

I don’t have any pictures of these enjoyable days. All I have are the memories stored in the back of my brain.

As time went by we grew up and our interests changed. The Comet Theatre closed and after a period of time being empty and unused the building blew up one night. The report was a natural gas leak. Today The Webber Theatre is now a porn theatre. I don’t know what happened to Vollmer’s Bakery.

Now is so much different than then. I am different now than what I was then. Memories of then continue to crop up now. However, memories bring back good and enjoyable times of the past.

It’s still a Christmas tree

It was a Christmas tree when I was five years old and it is still a Christmas tree now that I am over 65. It will always be a Christmas tree. I will never call it a holiday tree. I will never be political correct. I will never give into the trend that this country should be careful not to offend anybody at the expense of our own beliefs and traditions.

I was born and raised a Christian and I am still a Christian. Some may say that I am not a very good Christian but that is for another time. When I was young there were Jewish people, Hindus and Buddhist. Maybe there were even a few Muslims, I don’t remember because it was not that important to me. I did not become offended when I am exposed to Hanukkah, Ramadan or any other symbol of some other denomination.

When I greet people I say Merry Christmas, not happy holidays. That is my tradition and I am not giving it up. They can respond with Happy Hanukkah or holy Ramadan or happy holiday, whatever fits their tradition. I won’t be offended and I don’t understand why a simple merry Christmas may offend them. A simple greeting is not an attempt to convert them to my tradition. It is just a greeting of my tradition.

Therefore, Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! May we all enjoy peace and prosperity in the years to come.