Monday morning friends report.

Here is a report on what some of our friends are up to these days. Some of them have been thinking. When that's discovered, it is reported here. Some have been on adventures. Some are just feeling argumentative or quarrelsome. Some are having a lot of fun.

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SCOT and TRASE - arranged for tickets for us to the Alaska-Michigan hockey game on Saturday. We all met with ...

...IRISH MIKE and AMY - and their good friend ERIC
(who's a grad of U.Alaska)


...and we all went to dinner before the big hockey game and had a few "ginger ales" (as a famous sports figure often says) and a great meal at Connor Oneill's authentic Irish pub in Ann Arbor. I had a great time, quite a few laughs, and enjoyed the evening thoroughly. Thanks to all you guys.
(Oh, and Michigan won a very hard fought game.)
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SPARTY - Gave me a "bag of sunshine" from Florida. He said I needed it because I'm always "bitching" about the winter weather. Turns out, it was second hand sunshine. "Re-gifting!"

GENDER - was the one who actually provided the bag of sunshine from his home in The Villages. Well, I appreciated having it because there has been damned little sunshine in my yard for some time now.

Gender also provided this thought:
" We went to the Savannah Center last night to see the Four Freshman. They are all seniors now." Which made me laugh.

If you want to hear some old harmony try these: (from 1952 -- Whew!) "That's My Desire" CLICK HERE or, later, "Please Remember" CLICK HERE
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CHRIS - On the subject of the winter and the time change says that he's tired of driving to work in the dark and coming home in the dark: "... makes it seem like bedtime even before I get home." I sure remember those days. Nowadays, so many work places have no windows, either, so people don't see the daylight much until the weekends.

Chris is planning a trip to Las Vegas just to see the place, and to see the sun.
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SANDY - also criticized me for my negative words about the weather and said this:

I wanted to comment on your decidedly negative
description of our current weather conditions. Here
is a slightly different perspective. We walked our
dog at the park that first morning that we had snow
flurries, and the air was so crisp and fresh, I loved
being outside! I love scuffing through the leaves,
and smelling the pine trees. I like bundling up and
being out in the cold; I like the cold on my face; and
I like coming inside and being warm and cozy under an
afghan and reading away an afternoon. Granted, after
about three months of this I'll be ready for a change,
but I am content with what we have for now.
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BILL from WNNCO - emailed a copy of an article by Matt Sanchez which says that the American media are painting a bad picture of what's happening in Iraq. He says that things are not nearly so bad, and that we're being misled by our own press.

Here's two excerpts which I found especially interesting: "The big con job the media has inflicted on the American people, by systematically distorting so many details about the conflict in Iraq, does more than skew politics back home; it makes Americans distrust the sources of their information and is an assault on democracy.
...
A free people need a free press, but through omission, exaggeration, bias and just flat-out deceit, the American public has been taken for a ride – and we will all be paying a price."

You can find the whole article here: CLICK FOR SANCHEZ
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SANDY - returned from her latest travels and sent this picture.

[Click on the picture to enlarge it]
These are 4 ladies who all attended Bridgeport High School in Michigan a few years ago and ended up together in Greece. They are Sandy, Donna, Mary and Janice. Those were better days for education and for teachers. I remember it well.
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SCOT - has written to complain that he doesn't get the attention he deserves from the Friend's Report each Monday. He points out that he is a great friend and relative, that he often calls and sends e-mails and adds thoughts to BIRCHES. Why doesn't he get his due? Well, he's right!
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IRENE - Writes from Melbourne Australia about the big race: " On another note, it's the first Tuesday in November, and that means that it's Melbourne Cup Day! The 'race that stops a nation' is on today at 3pm - no one in Australia will be where they are supposed to be at that time. It's a public holiday in Melbourne, but we have to work here (sort of). I haven't backed the winner since 2000, but if you want to know who's going to finish fourth, I'm the one to speak to."

I decided to check the results of the race and found the result:

1st -- EFFICIENT
2nd -- PURPLE MOON
3rd -- MAHLER S BASTER

If Irene backed the
4th horse, that would have been
"Zipping"
who did not live up to its name.

Oh, and here's one
of the lovelies
at the race.
It's not Irene,
but charming
nonetheless.
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GIGI and SPARTY and we folks - went to see the movie GONE BABY GONE which Gigi gave an "A." All of us liked it and would recommend it.

SKUZZA and DASHMANN and we - went to AMERICAN GANGSTER with Denzel Washington and Russel Crowe. It was good movie but very rough. Skuzza thinks Denzel is worth seeing in any movie. The acting was terrific, and the story is largely true.
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JERRY - sent this YouTube site. If you are a film buff, you should spend a couple of minutes watching this fascinating artistic rendering of "Women in Film." It's great.
CLICK

Jerry also sent this wonderful picture entitled, "Sometimes the World Smiles"

(Click on picture to enlarge it)

JERRY - also sent a picture of a very charming young damsel not very fully clothed. I promised him it would not go on Monday Friend's Report but he said "she looks friendly to me."
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MARSHA - sent a story about a cow that fell off a mountain and landed on a van. She said, "Perhaps it was bovine intervention."
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MIKE CARROLL, almost from Carrollton - sent an email in which he claimed that the National Transportation Safety Administration did a study that shows that just before a crash, 61% of drivers say, "Oh, shit!" except in the U.P. of Michigan where most of them say, "Hold my beer, I wanna try something."

I don't know what folks say if they don't see the crash coming. Like a falling cow, for example.
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DASHMANN - his son has joined a band in the Flint area. They're called The Flint Drive and are playing loudly at "The Machine Shop." Word is they're good.


By the way, Dashmann's son is the one with the hereditary good looks. :)
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PAT W - got into an argument with SPARTY by saying that the City Council was no good. Sparty won the argument by pointing out he had almost single-handedly gotten most of that council elected.
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ALICE - tells us that some of her ancestors settled in Australia. This is a picture of one of them:



It is her Uncle Alkie Poon, who was sent to Australia by the government as a youthful ambassador.
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Keep your news and views coming. It's all good to us.