Surprise!, Nice People Do Exist

A local newspaper column by Phil Gianficaro recently detailed a incident in which a mailman extended himself to help a 93 year old woman. Said infirm woman, lives alone and her only contact with the outside world is her telephone. One morning, upon arising, she discovered her phone wasn’t working. Her “life line” monitor is also dependent on a working phone. She realized the only constant person in her life was her mailman. She put a not on her mailbox asking for help. Her mailman saw the note and tried to reach Cavalier, her phone company to remedy her phone problem. Unable to get a human being, he assured her that he would not forget her and continued his route. He notified the police so they would know she was alone and frightened. He also called his supervisor who was finally able to get a human being at Cavalier and they sent someone out the next day to fix the phone problem. The mailman’s only comment about his efforts was that the 93 year old woman was somebody’s grandmother and he hoped if his grandmother was in need, someone would help her. Congratulations to the mailman, Brian Carson and to the columnist who recognized that we are really in need of hearing some good news for a change.

Discrimination Against Our Military?

I have mentioned I am into book swapping. I got a request this morning for a book to be shipped to an APO address. APO addresses are military addresses and I figure this is going to a service person. I’m appreciative of the folks who serve in the military so I agree to ship the book. Imagine my surprise when I try and do a media mail label through the US Post Office web site and discover you can not print out a media mail label to a an APO address. The PO message is:
APO/FPO Restrictions Apply
The destination ZIP Code supplied is an APO/FPO ZIP code. We regret we cannot provide a service commitment to this location. Please contact your local Post Office for assistance.
Ok why can’t the US POST Office provide service to an APO address? Is there a problem with mailing books to our service people?

So I try PayPal. I use my PayPal account to mail books all the time. I attempt to create a media mail label (or any other label) for an APO address. The PayPal system doesn’t accept an APO address.

What the hell is going on that it is so difficult to simply mail a book to someone in the service of their country?

PayPal says they are working on it. WhoHoo, why isn’t it in the system already? The PostOffice knows it is an issue, why isn’t it fixed? That is the United States Post Office, right, shouldn’t that indicated that the United States military personnel should be reachable through the United States Post Office media mail?

I have no clue why this discriminatory behavior is occurring. I have sent my Senator and my Congressman emails asking why this is occurring. Perhaps if you read this, check it out, if you find out that I am accurate in what I have found, please contact your elected representatives and find out why it isn’t easier to send a book to someone in the service of their country. Maybe we can get it fixed.

Act of War by Dale Brown

One thing you have to give Dale Brown is the action theme. There is great action in this book. Brown takes snippets of military gossip and extrapolates them into full blown novels. His imagination creates plausible situations, sometimes implausible solutions in an easily digested format. One of the many things I like about his books is that his characters are often believable. He doesn’t make the assumption that a hero has to have bulging muscles, low intellect and brash behavior. He allows ordinary seeming characters to aspire to heroic and often brash behavior. This book deals with current fears of terrorist activities, corporate greed and military technology. The dismaying aspect is that some parts are entirely too believable.

Body of work of Dale Brown

Review of the book: http://www.militaryspot.com/act-of-war.htm

Site: http://www.megafortress.com/index02.htm

Free Audio Books

Exercise, you love it or hate it, there is so little middle of the road feelings on it. I like sports but at my age, my knees are not so fond of anything that involves running, jumping or going sideways. That limits my options somewhat. I play gold and no matter what your opinion my be, it is too a sport. I lift weights and I do Pilates to stay flexible. Frankly a big part of my motivation to exercise is I like to eat. Matter of fact, I love to eat. Thusly exercise is necessary to keep from turning into a blimp. What the heck does this have to do with free audio books?

I walk and I ride the exercise bike. I find both boring. Audio books are the saving grace. If I can keep my mind occupied, I can exercise. The library has lots of audio books but it isn’t close. I have found some sites where I can download audio books for FREE. I put them on my Clip (Samsung’s answer to the Ipod Nano. I can walk, ride the bike and still prevent screaming boredom. Audio books also keep me awake, with out them, put me on a freeway and I immediately go comatose. So here are a few links for free audio books.
http://www.audiobooksforfree.com/screen_main.asp
http://www.gutenberg.org/wiki/Gutenberg:The_Audio_Books_Project
http://www.simplyaudiobooks.com/Free_Audiobooks/dp/202/
http://www.booksshouldbefree.com/

Veterans Day

I don’t care how you feel about our current wars. I don’t care if you hate or love war. I do care if you honor our Veterans. Regardless of your political position, our Veterans have protected your right to have a position. Our Veterans have faced things most of us can not or will not imagine. These are people who have put their money where their mouth is, their life on the line. Please take a moment today and thank whatever deity you believe in for the sacrifices our Veterans have made for us and our country. If you know a Vet, thank them. If you are a Veteran, Thank You!