To all my Democrat friends:

Please accept with no obligation, implied or implicit, my best wishes for an environmentally conscious, socially responsible, low-stress, non-addictive, gender-neutral celebration of the winter solstice holiday, practiced within the most enjoyable traditions of the religious persuasion of your choice, or secular practices of your choice, with respect for the religious/secular persuasion and/or traditions of others, or their choice not to practice religious or secular traditions at all. I also wish you a fiscally successful, personally fulfilling and medically uncomplicated recognition of the onset of the generally accepted calendar year 2010, but not without due respect for the calendars of choice of other cultures whose contributions to society have helped make America great. Not to imply that America is necessarily greater than any other country nor the only America in the Western Hemisphere . Also, this wish is made without regard to the race, creed, color, age, physical ability, religious faith or sexual preference of the wishee.


To all my Republican friends:

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year Y'all!!!

Bing and Bowie: An Odd Story of Holiday Harmony

By Paul Farhi
Washington Post Staff Writer

One of the most successful duets in Christmas music history -- and surely the weirdest -- might never have happened if it weren't for some last-minute musical surgery. David Bowie thought "The Little Drummer Boy" was all wrong for him. So when the producers of Bing Crosby's Christmas TV special asked Bowie to sing it in 1977, he refused.

Just hours before he was supposed to go before the cameras, though, a team of composers and writers frantically retooled the song. They added another melody and new lyrics as a counterpoint to all those pah-rumpa-pum-pums and called it "Peace on Earth." Bowie liked it. More important, Bowie sang it.

The result was an epic, and epically bizarre, recording in which David Bowie, the androgynous Ziggy Stardust, joined in song with none other than Mr. "White Christmas" himself, Bing Crosby.

In the intervening years, the Bowie-Crosby, "Peace on Earth/Little Drummer Boy," has been transformed from an oddity into a holiday chestnut. You can hear it in heavy rotation on Christmas-music radio stations or see the performance on Internet video sites. First released as a single in 1982, it still sells today -- to add to its quirky afterlife, it's part of an album that's ranked as high as No. 3 on the Canadian charts this month. How did this almost surreal mash-up of the mainstream and the avant-garde, of cardigan-clad '40s-era crooner and glam rocker, happen?

It almost didn't. Bowie, who was 30 at the time, and Crosby, then 73, recorded the duet Sept. 11, 1977, for Crosby's "Merrie Olde Christmas" TV special. A month later, Crosby was dead of a heart attack. The special was broadcast on CBS about a month after his death.

The notion of pairing the resolutely white-bread Crosby with the exquisitely offbeat Bowie apparently was the brainchild of the TV special's producers, Gary Smith and Dwight Hemion, according to Ian Fraser, who co-wrote (with Larry Grossman) the song's music and arranged it.

Crosby was in Great Britain on a concert tour, and the theme of the TV special was Christmas in England. Bowie was one of several British guest stars (the model Twiggy and "Oliver!" star Ron Moody also appeared). Booking Bowie made logistical sense, since the special was taped near his home in London, at the Elstree Studios. As perhaps an added inducement, the producers agreed to air the arty video of Bowie's then-current single, "Heroes" (Crosby introduced it).

It's unclear, however, whether Crosby had any idea who Bowie was. Buz Kohan, who wrote the special and worked with Fraser and Grossman on the music, says he was never sure Crosby knew anything about Bowie's work. Fraser has a slightly different memory: "I'm pretty sure he did [know]. Bing was no idiot. If he didn't, his kids sure did."

Kohan worked some of the intergenerational awkwardness into his script. In a little skit that precedes the singing, Crosby greets Bowie at the door of what looks like Dracula's castle (actually, it's a set that's supposed to be Crosby's rented London home). The conceit is that Bowie is dropping by a friend's house and finds Crosby at home one snowy afternoon.

They banter for a bit and then get around to a piano. Bowie casually picks out a piece of sheet music of "The Little Drummer Boy" and declares, "This is my son's favorite."

The original plan had been for Bowie and Crosby to sing just "Little Drummer Boy." But "David came in and said: 'I hate this song. Is there something else I could sing?' " Fraser said. "We didn't know quite what to do."

Fraser, Kohan and Grossman left the set and found a piano in the studios' basement. In about 75 minutes, they wrote "Peace on Earth," an original tune, and worked out an arrangement that weaved together the two songs. Bowie and Crosby nailed the performance with less than an hour of rehearsal.

And that was almost that. "We never expected to hear about it again," Kohan said.

But after the recording circulated as a bootleg for several years, RCA decided to issue it as a single in 1982. It has since been packaged and repackaged in Christmas compilation albums and released as a DVD.

It's still the most played Christmas duet on WASH-FM (97.1), airing once or twice a day when the station plays nothing but holiday music, said Bill Hess, WASH's program director. Hess likes how the two men blend their voices. The real clincher, he says, is Crosby, who has been associated with holiday music for generations. " 'White Christmas' really helps sell it," he says.

Also among the song's fans is Roger D. Launius, who remembers watching the original Crosby TV special while he was a graduate student and the parent of two children, ages 1 and 3.

"It was a very hectic time in my life, and the song was very peaceful and beautiful," says Launius, chairman of the space history division at the National Air and Space Museum. "I don't remember anything else about the special, but I remembered that song."

Launius hadn't given it too much thought until about seven years ago, when his now-adult daughter sent him a Christmas CD. Among the selections was the Bowie-Crosby duet.

The other day at his office, Launius checked the hard drive on his computer. Yep, there it was. With a couple of clicks, Launius let the warm harmony, and the memories, come flooding back.

To my friends who are stationed in our US Armed Forces and who are stationed all over the world. If you are away from your loved ones today, please remember a grateful nation today thanks you for your service to assist and to protect our great country.

Come home safe and the next round will be on me.

Merry Christmas My Friends. When I first read it,it reminded me of my days far away from the ones that I love on special holidays. Next year may you all be home with the ones that you love. Enjoy the Poem.



Twas the night before Christmas, he lived all alone,
In a one bedroom house made of plaster & stone.
I had come down the chimney with presents to give
And to see just who in this home did live.

I looked all about a strange sight I did see,
No tinsel, no presents, not even a tree.
No stocking by the fire, just boots filled with sand,
On the wall hung pictures of far distant lands.

With medals and badges, awards of all kind
A sober thought came through my mind.
For this house was different, so dark and dreary,
I knew I had found the home of a soldier, once I could see clearly.

I heard stories about them, I had to see more
So I walked down the hall and pushed open the door.
And there he lay sleeping silent alone,
Curled up on the floor in his one bedroom home.

His face so gentle, his room in such disorder,
Not how I pictured a United States soldier.
Was this the hero of whom I’d just read?
Curled up in his poncho, a floor for his bed?

His head was clean shaven, his weathered face tan,
I soon understood this was more than a man.
For I realized the families that I saw that night
Owed their lives to these men who were willing to fight.

Soon ‘round the world, the children would play,
And grownups would celebrate on a bright Christmas day.
They all enjoyed freedom each month of the year,
Because of soldiers like this one lying here.

I couldn’t help wonder how many lay alone
On a cold Christmas Eve in a land far from home.
Just the very thought brought a tear to my eye,
I dropped to my knees and started to cry.

The soldier awakened and I heard a rough voice,
"Santa don’t cry, this life is my choice;
I fight for freedom, I don’t ask for more,
my life is my God, my country, my Corps."

With that he rolled over and drifted off into sleep,
I couldn’t control it, I continued to weep.
I watched him for hours, so silent and still,
I noticed he shivered from the cold night’s chill.

So I took off my jacket, the one made of red,
And I covered this Soldier from his toes to his head.
And I put on his T-shirt of gray and black,
With an eagle and an Army patch embroidered on back.

And although it barely fit me, I began to swell with pride,
And for a shining moment, I was United States Army deep inside.
I didn’t want to leave him on that cold dark night,
This guardian of honor so willing to fight.

Then the soldier rolled over, whispered with a voice so clean and pure,
"Carry on Santa, it’s Christmas Day, all is secure."
One look at my watch, and I knew he was right,
Merry Christmas my friend, and to all a good night!



Merry Christmas My friends, and to all a good night!

LeBron’s decisive backlash topped all stories

By Dan Wetzel,

The Decision.

The mere term now inspires deep passions – of hubris and hope, of decadence and disloyalty. The event – LeBron James making his free agency choice on a self-produced, hour-long, nationally televised live infomercial – was unnecessary, gratuitous and, ultimately, disastrous.

James chose the Miami Heat over his hometown Cleveland Cavaliers, and while fans long ago got used to players jumping to perceived greener (or sunnier) pastures, never before had they seen this.

It wasn’t what LeBron James did, but how he did it.

It was enough of a confluence of modern stardom, media and manufactured drama that it was the runaway choice for Yahoo! Sports’ 2010 story of the year.

This is despite it not producing a single point, victory or championship (at least not yet). This is despite it competing with the New Orleans Saints and the Butler Bulldogs and Kobe Bryant and Cam Newton and Phil Mickelson at the Masters and Jimmie Johnson at Homestead and Roy Halladay’s no-hitter in the playoffs and Tiger Woods’ winless year and a couple of small events known as the Winter Olympics and World Cup.

Yes, those were more about sports in the traditional sense. In a new-age way, The Decision may tell us more. Put it this way: You didn’t click on this story because you didn’t care.

James had played up his pending July 1, 2010 free agency for years. He teased NBA franchises across the league with the possibility he might bolt Cleveland after seven seasons without a title.

He flirted with the fans at Madison Square Garden. He batted his eyelashes at the Bulls and Clippers. And through it all he made people back in Northeast Ohio think he’d never leave them.

He was going to, of course. He and Heat star Dwyane Wade had discussed playing together since they teamed up on the 2008 Olympic team, and now was the time to make it happen.

LeBron’s reason for leaving could’ve been easily spun. He wanted to win. He was willing to share the spotlight. It wasn’t just a money grab.

Instead, The Decision overwhelmed the decision. An out-of-touch Hollywood agency and LeBron’s marketing team, made up of his unseasoned high school friends, hatched a one-hour special designed to deify the King. Jim Gray hosted it. ESPN broadcasted it. LeBron starred in it.

And America darn near vomited because of it.

The signature quote – “I’m taking my talents to South Beach” – became a punch line. The show was parodied everywhere. LeBron saw his jersey burned, his fans denounce him and, one night in early December, a city come unglued booing his return.

In a swift 60 minutes, LeBron James went from popular star to a mocked caricature of modern superstardom. He’d later complain in a Nike commercial about being “the villain,” and he wasn’t wrong.

A guy who always coveted positive attention, who through his career had made nary a public misstep – no arrests, no scandals, little controversy – was suddenly public enemy No. 1.

The Decision became a pop-culture moment that no one could’ve envisioned, and James continues to come to grips with the fallout.

In basketball terms, the teaming of James, Wade and sidekick Chris Bosh has reinvigorated the NBA. The Heat are a traveling rock band, their games must-see TV win or lose. The playoffs could be epic, the James Gang turning even the Lakers and Celtics into loveable underdogs.

However, no matter what happens on the court in 2011 and beyond, it’ll be a long time before any athlete tries to stage an announcement like LeBron James did. The fallout was too great, the mistake too profound, the damage too long lasting.

The real LeBron was uncovered – a naive, uncertain kid still thinking he was playing the role of goofy high school recruit. He never did anything wrong. It just came across that way.

It was a mistake from which James will need time to recover.

The rest of the sports world, too.

Teenage couple faces a deadly diagnosis

16-year-old accepts the realities of her ALS with the help of her boyfriend.

By ALLEN G. BREED

JACKSONVILLE, N.C. — As she walked through the door, Sabrina Parker's big hazel eyes flared with surprise and she raised a hand to her mouth to stifle a gasp. She was a huge fan of the "Twilight" book and movie series, and her friends and family had transformed this greasy garage into a Sweet 16's dream.

Homemade strobe lights illuminated walls decorated like the night sky and plastered with cast posters. All around were balloons in red, white and black. An enormous cake, iced to look like the chess board on one of the book jackets, held 16 blazing candles.

The crowd began chanting for Sabrina to blow them out. She bent in close and blew, but the flames barely flickered. She straightened up and shook her head. Realizing her distress, Matt Scozzari stepped closer and told her they would do it together. On the count of three, they leaned in and snuffed them out together.

In the three months since he'd first asked her out, Matt had noticed small changes in his girlfriend: The shortness of breath, the slurring in her speech, the weight loss. When he'd ask what was going on, Sabrina would just shrug it off as nothing serious.

But Sabrina knew her condition was very serious.

About a month after she started seeing Matt, Sabrina learned that she had amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, also known as Lou Gehrig's Disease — the same illness that had killed her mother and grandmother. A doctor told Sabrina it wouldn't be long before she would have to decide whether to go on a ventilator.

She'd told her closest friends about her condition, but she hadn't been able to bring herself to tell Matt.

Matt had been so sweet and gentle. For her Sweet 16, he'd bought matching pewter replicas of Bella's and Edward's rings from "Twilight: New Moon," inscribed with the words, "What would I do without you?"

How would he react when he found out she had this horrible, wasting disease — that she was dying?

She was petrified. She had already lost so much, and would lose so much more in the coming months.

She didn't want to risk losing Matt, too.

In Sabrina's favorite song, there's a refrain that goes: "Time slows down/Whenever you're around/Can you feel/This magic in the air?"

The song, by Taylor Swift, is called "Today Was a Fairy Tale."

Sabrina and Matt would understand soon enough that their story could have no happily-ever-after ending. The "magic" would be in how the brave and devoted ninth graders chose to use the time they had.

The first signs
In so many ways, Sabrina Kay Parker was an average teenage girl. She was all about Facebook and Aeropostale. She played volleyball and softball. She loved roller skating and roller coasters, Taco Bell and "Twilight" hunk Taylor Lautner.

But a genetic abnormality made her unlike almost anyone else.

Her maternal grandmother, Lorna Kay Melton, died of ALS on Feb. 2, 1993, a year before her granddaughter's birth. Sabrina was around 3 when her mother, Melissa Kay Melton, began showing symptoms and just 4 years old when "Missy" died.

Sabrina's father, Asheston Parker, soon remarried, and the redheaded 6-year-old went to live with his parents, Noland and Zelma Parker.

The Parkers lived in constant dread that Sabrina would fall ill. Lorna had been 46 when she died; Missy had been 24. Sensing a pattern, Noland wouldn't breathe easy until Sabrina celebrated her 12th birthday without symptoms.

When she passed that milestone, and then her 13th and 14th, he dared to hope that the girl he and his wife had come to consider their own daughter had broken the family curse.

But in June 2009, Sabrina began complaining of earaches. Her voice had begun to grow more nasal and difficult to understand. Her grandparents took her to an ear, nose and throat specialist, but he could find no abnormalities.

Not long after she began eighth grade that fall, Sabrina asked her grandparents to write a note to her gym teacher, excusing her from doing sit-ups: She couldn't lift her head off the floor without putting her hand behind her neck.

"Is that normal?" Sabrina asked her grandmother.

"No," Zelma replied.

The next time they took her to the doctor about her ears, the grandparents mentioned Sabrina's sad family history. A pediatric neurologist ordered CT scans, an MRI, electromyography to evaluate the electrical activity produced by skeletal muscles. Sabrina even spent a night in a sleep lab.

"i didnt really sleep that good because i had all theas wires attached to me," she posted on Facebook.

Perhaps there was another reason: The test began on Nov. 6, 2009, the day Matt Scozzari finally worked up the nerve to ask her out.

___

David and Audrey Scozzari's son had experienced struggles of his own.

For a while, doctors thought he was mildly autistic. Diagnosed with a slight learning disability in grade school, Matt had trouble reading. His words would often come out in a jumble, making him the target of schoolyard bullies.

When he was in fifth grade, he watched his maternal grandmother — the one who'd nicknamed him "Casanova" for his way with the ladies — waste away from pancreatic cancer. He began disobeying his parents and hanging out with the wrong crowd.

But by the time he reached middle school, Matt had come into his own. He played football and soccer, and he had no trouble attracting girls.

Matt was more than a year younger than Sabrina, who had repeated a grade. There was something about Sabrina — a feistiness, a spark in her eye — that reminded him of his grandmother. After admiring her from afar for months, Matt approached her in gym class and asked her out. She said yes without hesitating.

They went to movies and the mall. Matt waited a month before kissing her for the first time.

Sabrina did her best to hide her illness, but it was getting harder every day. Her speech was becoming more difficult to understand, and she was having trouble with drooling.

Besides, she really didn't have anything to tell Matt. All the tests — including a blood scan for the SOD1 gene, a common marker for familial ALS — had come back normal.

But her doctor, fearing this was ALS, referred the family to one of the leaders in the field: Dr. Richard Bedlack, director of the Duke Health Center's neuroscience clinic. Last December, the family made the three-hour trip to Durham.

The girl Bedlack examined could speak fairly clearly, but her tongue movement was weak. Her arms showed signs of atrophy, the left worse than the right. Her "forced vital capacity" — the amount of air she could blow into a tube — was 89 percent of normal. She weighed just 105 pounds, about 32 pounds below normal for her 5-foot-6 frame.

ALS is hereditary in only 10 percent of cases. Bedlack would need to do some genetic testing to confirm it, but he was already certain of his diagnosis.

Sabrina was too young to remember her mother's battle with the disease, but she had been reading up on ALS. Hearing Bedlack say the words aloud, she wept.

Normally, the younger the patient, the slower the disease's progression. But Sabrina was deteriorating rapidly.

When the girl had calmed down, Bedlack told her and the Parkers that they had a lot of decisions to make during the next six months about how aggressive they wanted to be. Would she want a tracheostomy? A ventilator? He suggested Sabrina draft a living will to make her wishes clear.

For now, she agreed to have a feeding tube inserted. The surgery was done three days later.

The tube was just to help her get her weight back up, Sabrina assured Matt, but his mother wasn't buying it.

"Everything you're telling me sounds like something very serious," Audrey Scozzari told her son. "You need to be prepared for this."

Sabrina's 16th birthday was on Feb. 6. On Facebook, she gushed about the green satin dress she'd picked out for the occasion; Matt escorted her to the party.

After Sabrina had opened her gifts, two of her friends asked Matt to step outside. He could see they were on the verge of tears.

"Matt, it's about Sabrina," one said. "She's got Lou Gehrig's disease."

Matt didn't exactly know what that was, but he knew it was bad. His head swimming, he made his way to the pond on the property, sat down and began to weep.

Sabrina found Matt there.

"Are you going to leave me now?" she asked.

"I will never leave you," he replied. "No matter what."

They held each other and cried.

Later, Matt shared the news with his mother. Audrey Scozzari was a hospice volunteer and had cared for her mother in her final seven months. She explained the course that Sabrina's illness was likely to take.

"Matthew, that's a lot for you to take on, son," she said.

"Mom," he replied through his tears. "I can't just walk out on her."

Sabrina was facing some tough decisions, she told him, and it would be his job to support her.

"This is her journey," she said. "You can walk beside her, but you cannot control her journey for her."

___

Three days after the party, Sabrina went back to see Bedlack.

Her breathing capacity was now down to 62 percent of where it should have been. Bedlack talked to Sabrina again about the need to decide whether she wanted to go on a ventilator, but she was still not ready to commit.

She admitted she was still taking some nourishment by mouth. She knew this could lead to choking or aspiration pneumonia, but she wasn't ready to give up the taste of food.

Despite this and the feeding tube, Sabrina had gained just one pound since her first visit.

As her speech became harder to understand, Matt began acting as her interpreter. When her tongue finally betrayed her, she got an app for her new iPod Touch that allowed her to type out a sentence and play it back in a slightly mechanical female voice.

She wrote Matt notes. They developed their own private sign language. Matt would come home from school, drop his backpack and immediately head out the door to Sabrina's.

Sabrina told Matt everything. That she wanted to have children. That she wanted to be a doctor. That she didn't want to just drift off in her sleep, the way her mother had.

When she went back to Duke in May, Sabrina admitted that she had stopped taking her ALS drugs because she thought they were affecting her sense of taste. She also confessed to not wearing her neck brace or using a walker or cane — she didn't want to show outward signs of her illness at school.

Sabrina was down to 102 pounds.

In his notes, Bedlack wrote, "I have explained that we may be in the last six months of her illness if it is allowed to take its natural course."

___

Sabrina had gotten a laptop for Christmas and almost immediately began building a virtual home on FarmVille. She used it to keep her Facebook friends up to speed on her progress.

"Sabrina Kay Parker has a doctors appointment tomorrow."

"In the hospital getting surgery again."

"At home bored."

She also used it to keep a running journal of her struggle with the illness. The undated narrative is raw, written in an almost stream-of-consciousness manner without regard for punctuation, grammar or capitalization.

"i have this dieases that is slowly killing me," she wrote, "and i have lost so much weight and i ahte taking my formula but my grandma and grandpa and matt force me to take it ... to keep my weight up and my health"

In April, Sabrina joined the ALS Association chapter in Raleigh. She, Matt and others participated in an ALS charity walk in nearby Wilmington. Sabrina's aunt Tonya launched a Facebook page and a cousin had T-shirts made up with the words "Sabrina's ALS Army."

In the meantime, Bedlack's team had approached the Make A Wish Foundation. Sabrina's first wish was to meet Lautner, who plays the "Twilight" werewolf, Jacob. The organization couldn't make that happen, but they were able to grant Sabrina's second choice — a trip to the newly opened Wizarding World of Harry Potter in Orlando, Fla.

School was out for summer, and Matt went with the family. The weakness in her neck prevented Sabrina from going on most of the rides, and Matt refused to do anything she couldn't.

Back home in early July, Matt accompanied Sabrina to an appointment with Bedlack. She weighed just 94 pounds.

When the doctor told her it was about time to make a decision about a ventilator, she turned to Matt and asked him what she should do.

"If it were up to me, I would want you to get it," he told her. "We'll be able to spend more time together."

Again, she put it off. But her journal reveals she was wrestling with whether to artificially prolong her life.

"i dont want to miss the prom," she wrote. "i want to be able to finsh high school and go to collage get a job get married and have kids of my own but i dnt like the way thing are going but its life and sometimes i think to myslef why dose it have to be me"

Sabrina began her freshman year at White Oak High School in late August. By the end of the first week, she had already logged her first sick day.

Barely three weeks into the school year, she decided to get the tracheostomy.

"kinda scared," she wrote on Facebook. "after the surgery have to stay 2 weeks in the hospital."

Surgeons placed the trach tube on Sept. 23. She agreed to try a ventilator, but quickly decided it was too painful and uncomfortable. On Oct. 6, she went home.

Homecoming was 10 days away, but there was no way Sabrina could attend. So Matt, her cousins and friends decided to bring homecoming to her.

Her uncle had a corrugated metal garage just down the road from the Parkers. The theme was "Haunted Homecoming," and the garage was decorated with cobwebs and skeletons.

A couple of hours before the official homecoming, Sabrina, clad in a black dress and sweater, was chauffeured to the dance in a vintage Ford Mustang, candy apple red. She and Matt were crowned king and queen.

___

The Scozzaris could tell that their 15-year-old son was madly in love with this terminally ill girl. And it worried them.

Matt began starting sentences with, "When Sabrina and I get married ..." Sabrina had taken to calling herself Sabrina Kay Scozzari, even sometimes signing her notes that way.

Finally, Audrey Scozzari sat her son down and explained that marriage, though not impossible, was impractical. Then she suggested an alternative.

"You know, they have something called a friendship ceremony," she told Matt. "That could be your way of letting her experience what a wedding would be like."

Matt loved the idea. But he wanted to get Sabrina's grandparents' consent before asking her.

Zelma Parker thought it was a sweet idea, but her husband had mixed feelings about a formal ceremony with a minister. It was bad enough for a boy to lose a girlfriend, he thought. Still, he went along. They scheduled the event for Nov. 20.

Matt's mother believes that people wait to die until they get permission to go from the one they love most. She'd seen that with her own parents, and she knew Sabrina was concerned about what her death would do to Matt.

Two weeks before the ceremony, Matt went to see Sabrina. Although it would make him sad, he said, it was OK for her to stop fighting. But there was something he wanted her to promise him.

"Would you wait for me up there, so we can walk in together?" he asked. "Don't be scared. Because your mom and my grandma and Uncle Chrissy will be there to meet you."

By the day of the ceremony, Sabrina was battling pneumonia yet again. A week earlier, she had fainted from lack of oxygen and fallen, opening a gash over her left eye that required six stitches. She was down to 88 pounds.

But when she awoke around 3 p.m., she was more alert and upbeat than her grandparents had seen her in days.

"I'm feeling good," she told a visitor through her purple iPod. "Live my life, do what I can while I still have time."

A couple of hours before the ceremony was to start, Matt stopped by. Sabrina was sitting in the living room with her puppy, Fluffy, in her lap.

Matt bent down and kissed her.

"Excited?" he asked. She nodded.

Sabrina had asked her grandparents to buy her a wedding dress for the occasion, but they thought that inappropriate. She settled for a lovely ivory sheath embroidered with gold, with a matching gold shawl. One of Sabrina's nurses did her hair in a double row of French braids.

Matt met Sabrina at the car and escorted her inside the same garage where homecoming had been held. This time, the rafters were strung with Christmas lights, and the cold concrete floor was strewn with red, pink and white rose petals.

The couple sat holding hands as the minister led prayers. Twice, Sabrina had to be suctioned.

When the time came for the vows, the crowd came closer, forming a circle around the couple.

Matt turned to Sabrina and clasped her hands in his.

"Sabrina. I know that these few months or the year that we've been dating have been really hard," he said in a halting but firm voice. "We've had our ups and downs, but I KNOW that whatever happens, that I know I want to stay with you — and that I wish it would be longer."

He had changed, he said, "from somebody who didn't really care to somebody who had something to live for and care for," he said. "Being around you just makes me smile ... I'm hoping that you think the same way."

Sabrina smiled and nodded.

Matt had placed two small boxes on the petal-strewn table. He opened them to reveal matching silver bands — Claddagh rings, with a pair of hands clutching a heart topped by a crown.

"It was hard to find your size," he said, slipping the ring on the third finger of her right hand. "But I hope it's close enough."

Sabrina reached for the other ring, but her fingers were trembling and weak. Matt gently took hold of her hand and helped her guide the band over his knuckle.

All around them, there was applause, and tears.

After the ceremony, Matt walked Sabrina to an arbor decorated with garlands, fairy lights and silk brown-eyed Susans. As they posed for pictures, Audrey Scozzari turned to face them.

"Sabrina, you make him happy," she told the frail girl leaning into her son's embrace. "And I want to thank you for doing that for him."

Later, back home and unable to sleep, Sabrina logged onto Facebook.

"tonight was the most amazing night ever," she wrote. "iam glad that me and matt got t odo the freindship ceremonoy together i love what matt said and he is the love of my life matthew i love you i will be with you no matter what happens"

A couple of hours later, Matt posted his own message:

"Tonight you made me feel like the luckiest man alive!!" he wrote. "i hope tonight proved that I would walk to the ends of the earth and back for you. I may not be able to offer you diamonds and everything your heart desires but I hope that my love for you will be enough at the moment. No matter what the future has in store for you (us) know that I will be there with you forever and always!!"

On Thanksgiving Day, Sabrina's condition deteriorated rapidly. By Saturday, she could no longer raise her head.

Around midnight on Nov. 29, the Parkers called Matt: He'd better come. He stayed with Sabrina through the night, holding her hand and telling her he would be OK.

Sabrina died in her sleep the next morning. When the hearse came, Matt leaned down to kiss her on the forehead.

"Thank you for saving me," he whispered.

Among the songs Sabrina had chosen for her funeral was a country ballad by The Band Perry:

"If I die young bury me in satin

"Lay me down on a bed of roses

"Sink me in the river at dawn

"Send me away with the words of a love song."

She was buried in her Sweet 16 dress, a single red rose from Matt on the pillow beside her head.

Facebook notes of condolence and prayer have poured in to Matt — many from ALS sufferers and their families.

The boy who had to be cajoled to do his homework has been studying the disease. He set up a meeting with the president of the Raleigh ALS chapter.

He wants to establish a fund in honor of Sabrina, whose name he sometimes calls out in his sleep.

12-17-2010 20:09 Discovering a forgotten war, page by page

Jeffrey Miller stands in front of a memorial in Massacre Valley, Hoengseong, Gangwon Province, a battle site of the Korean War (1950-53). Most of the battle scenes in Miller’s novel “War Remains” take place here. / Courtesy of Jeffrey Miller English teacher pens book on Korean War (1950-53) By Ines Min “It’s never been a forgotten one for me; not with the lead I still carry in my body.” Exactly what has or has not been lost in the dredges of time is the Korean War (1950-53). Sixty years later, the battle scenes may not be as visceral for most of us as carrying shrapnel in our flesh — but it remains tangible, emotional and wholly real for many on the peninsula. Jeffrey Miller, an English teacher at Woosong University in Daejeon, uncovers the horrors of war in his debut novel released late last month, providing an insight into the torrid time. “War Remains” follows the tale of Bobby Washkowiak and his grandson Michael, who explores the past in order to find out exactly what happened the day his grandfather went missing. Alternating from present day to wartime past, the novel unfolds through pulsating battle scenes, personal vignettes and quiet introspection, making use of jumping perspectives in order to create an intimate tale of loyalty, love and livelihood. Miller, 52, first arrived in Korea 20 years ago from Illinois to teach English, hardly knowing anything about the country. Although he’d had uncles who served in the Korean War, a natural stoicism about the events staved any discussion about what combat was like. “I think for a lot of Americans, it’s sort of in our collective amnesia,” Miller told The Korea Times over a phone interview, Thursday. “I think a lot of people when they come to Korea... they don’t know much about the Korean War; it was not a part of our background when we were growing up.” Happenstance and curiosity led the teacher to research more, which then led to opportunities to meet actual veterans and contribute to local English papers such as The Korea Times. From there, he developed a passion and empathy for those who experienced the war. “As a journalist to have a chance to go to all these events, that’s when I really discovered a forgotten war,” he said. “These (veterans) were just ordinary men who were thrust into extraordinary circumstances.” “They were just talking about the war, and to see these men in their 70s and 80s, eyes welling up with tears as they recalled their buddies, was very overwhelming. I think a lot of that eventually drove me to write the novel, to honor those men that I had the honor to meet.” Through research, personal interviews and extensive reading, Miller was able to piece together scene by scene some of the most tragic moments of the war. While oftentimes accolades will go to the better-known Heartbreak Ridge or Battle of Inchon, the author instead focuses on Massacre Valley in Hoengseong, Gangwon Province. The site was the setting for one of the most costly battles for the U.S. 2nd Infantry Division that took place in 1951. A tale of serendipity and tragedy, the historical fiction bounces from the story of soldier Bobby Washkowiak in the field and his grandson Michael’s intensive search to find the truth of how the events unfolded. Leaving no room for anachronism, Miller even uses the old Romanization of Korean words, in keeping with what the war veterans are most familiar with. While Michael’s path parallels that of Miller’s, the reader is also taken along on a journey. “The Korean War is still resonating today within politics on the peninsula with the same players as 60 years ago,” Miller said, referring to China, North Korea and the United States. “I think people need to remember the war.” While there may not be anything new to add to the history buff’s reserve of knowledge, the novel strikes a chord for anyone who has seen a loved one serve in the military. Suspense builds in the style of a film (Miller was originally envisioning the story as a movie) with plot devices coming full circle and dialogue unfurled in short, barked clips during the height of fighting. Though the modern parts of the book can be tinged with overly detailed banalities, the novel shines when it is bursting forward onto enemy ground, recreating the past for everything it fights for — especially the future. “War Remains” is available in print and ebook. For more information, visit www.lulu.com/spotlight/PapaSparks.

inesmin@koreatimes.co.kr

Randy Boswell, Postmedia News · Friday, Dec. 17, 2010

A Canadian soldier's letter from Vimy Ridge is being hailed by a European scholar as a "fantastic find" that provides evidence of a previously unknown "Christmas Truce" — the impromptu, Dec. 25 laying down of arms by German and Allied soldiers during the First World War.

University of Aberdeen historian Thomas Weber, whose own great-grandfather fought with the German army during the 1914-18 conflict, said the letter home from a Toronto soldier details an exchange of gifts between enemy soldiers just months before the horrific battle remembered as Canada's coming of age.

The letter is all the more poignant because the young Ontario soldier who wrote it — 23-year-old Private Ronald MacKinnon — was killed in the Battle of Vimy Ridge in April 1917, a bloody but successful Canadian charge up a strategic height of land in the French countryside.

A few months earlier, Pte. MacKinnon had written to his sister in Toronto about a remarkable event on Dec. 25, 1916, when German and Canadian soldiers reached across the battle lines to share Christmas greetings and trade presents.

"Here we are again as the song says," the young soldier wrote. "I had quite a good Xmas considering I was in the front line. Xmas eve was pretty stiff, sentry-go up to the hips in mud of course. ... We had a truce on Xmas Day and our German friends were quite friendly. They came over to see us and we traded bully beef for cigars."

The passage ends with Pte. MacKinnon noting that, "Xmas was 'tray bon,' which means very good."

The best-known Christmas truce from the First World War took place in 1914, when German and Allied soldiers are said to have sung Christmas carols together and otherwise fraternized in a brief moment of peace amid the killing fields of the Western Front.

But historians have long debated the precise details of that event, and Prof. Weber told Postmedia News that most scholars believe such episodes did not recur as the gruesome war dragged on and feelings of hatred and revenge came to fill the minds of men on both sides.

The historian said he was alerted to the MacKinnon letter following a lecture he gave this fall in Toronto. An audience member approached him afterwards and said his family had direct evidence of the sometimes friendly relations exhibited between enemies during the First World War.

"The letter was a fantastic find and clearly demonstrates that there was an attempt to downplay these small-scale Christmas truces when they happened," said Prof. Weber, noting that official military records make little or no mention of such events — largely because they could be interpreted by army commanders as a failure to maintain discipline and a fighting frame of mind among front-line soldiers.

————-

Christmas Wishes

Text of letter written on Dec. 30, 1916 to Jeanie Gregson in Toronto.

Dearest Sister,

Here we are again as the song says. I had quite a good Xmas considering I was in the front line. Xmas eve was pretty stiff, sentry-go up to the hips in mud of course. I had long rubber boots or waders. We had a truce on Xmas Day and our German friends were quite friendly. They came over to see us and we traded bully beef for cigars. Xmas was "tray bon" which means very good.

I am at present in an army school 50 miles behind the line and am likely to be here for a month or so. My address will be the same, No. 3 Coy., PPCLI. I left the trenches on Xmas night. The trenches we are holding at present are very good and things are very quiet.

I have had no Xmas mail yet but I hope to get it all soon. How is Neil getting on in the city? I'll write to him some of these days. Remember me to all my many friends at home.

Your loving brother Ronald

Read more: http://www.nationalpost.com/news/canada/Vimy+Ridge+letter+evidence+Christmas+Truce/3990693/story.html#ixzz18XvyrEmR

By Bill

House of Representatives passes private bill for Hotaru Ferschke

All that needs to be done is for President Obama to sign the legislation.

The U.S. House passed a bill today allowing a young Japanese widow to honor her fallen Marine husband’s wishes and raise their toddler son in East Tennessee.

The measure, approved unanimously, grants permanent residency status to Hotaru “Hota” Ferschke.

Hota Ferschke is the widow of Marine Sgt. Michael Ferschke of Maryville, who was killed in Iraq in 2008.

The bill now goes to President Barack Obama for his signature.

Declared dead just last week, the bill was brought back to life after supporters led by U.S. Rep. John J. Duncan Jr., R-Knoxville, found a loophole that allowed the vote to proceed.

Ferschke has been trying for two years to honor her deceased husband’s wishes and move to East Tennessee with their son, 22-month-old Mikey Ferschke.

The legislation, known as a private bill, already had passed the U.S. Senate but stalled in the House last week when U.S. Rep. James Sensenbrenner, R-Wisconsin, insisted it be vetted by a committee.

But Duncan found a way to get around Sensenbrenner’s objections and bring the bill directly to the floor for a vote.

In the Senate, lawmakers inserted standard language into the bill indicating it would not impact the federal budget. The addition of that language meant that, under House rules, the measure was technically no longer a “private” bill and could not be blocked by a single lawmaker, said Duncan’s spokesman, Patrick Newton.- Knoxville News Sentinel

Where was that piece of shit James Sensenbrenner today? Why wasn’t he demanding the bill be vetted by his committee? Because he is an absolute moron who may have realized idiotic he was appearing by holding up a bill that had the approval of the rest of the United States Congress.

Thank you Congressman Duncan, Senators Webb, Corker, and Alexander, for fighting for what is right.

I feel a sense of victory after over two years of fervently pounding this subject on this blog and other places. There have been few issues I’ve felt so strongly about. Right now I am mostly happy for the Ferschke family. Robin who struggled so hard for her daughter-in-law, Mikey who will now live with his mother in the country his father died for, and finally Hota who can fufill her husband’s wishes. God bless them.

I loved this song. I keep wondering did my students come up with this song?

Bill on December 3rd, 2010

United States Senate passes private bill for Hotaru Ferschke

This is fantastic news.

On a unanimous consent vote, the U.S. Senate late this afternoon passed a bill honoring the late U.S. Marine Sgt. Michael Ferschke of Maryville – and granting permanent residency to his Japanese wife, Hotaru Ferschke.

The private bill, addressing narrowly the Ferschke family’s situation, still must be approved by the U.S. House.

Sens. Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn., Bob Corker, R-Tenn., Jim Webb, R-W.Va., and Mark Udall, D-Colo., introduced the private bill last year. It must now be considered by the House of Representatives.

“The very least the country Michael Ferschke died serving can do is honor Michael’s last wish – that his wife be allowed to raise their son near their family in Tennessee,” Alexander said in a statement.

*****

Hota Ferschke was pregnant at the time they wed, and she and Sgt. Ferschke had agreed to raise their son in Tennessee. But she can’t move to the U.S. because their marriage is not recognized under a Cold War-era immigration law.

The current law dictates that marriage between an American citizen and a foreign national must be consummated after the wedding before the non-American can gain permanent residency status. The measure was enacted to stop foreigners from entering into sham marriages so they can gain permanent U.S. residency.

A bill before Congress would close the immigration law loophole by writing in an exemption for couples who are unable to consummate their marriage because one of them was on active duty in the armed forces.

That bill, called “the Marine Sgt. Michael H. Ferschke Jr. Memorial Act,” cleared the U.S. House last month with support from Democrats and Republicans. Supporters were hoping to push the measure quickly through the U.S. Senate as well, but objections from key senators – including Jeff Sessions, the top Republican on the Senate Judiciary Committee – slowed it down.

Opponents felt the broader bill would remove immigration safeguards.

The substitute private bill passed today would narrowly only affect the Ferschkes, and supporters are hoping for a quick consent vote in the House.- Knoxville News Sentinel

The House passed the original bill unanimously. So I think they will do the same with the private bill. President Obama would also have to sign it into law. I don’t get why Senators objected to the original bill, it only applied to spouses whose husbands died in Action. In any case like that, we should honor the fallen soldier’s family.

I’ll take this however and I’m sure the Ferschkes feel the same. You’re coming to America Hotaru Ferschke. God bless you and Mikey.

Sean Taylor Tribute with New Pictures, Stories & Video

by Kevin Ewoldt on Nov 27, 2010 9:34 AM EST

5:30 AM. To the MINUTE news broke Sean passed. I'm not going to lie. This post took me a ton ass of time to put together, but it doesn't matter. It's 3 years to the day and arguably the best safety of all time was taken away, yet the cuts still run deep. After the jump are FOR SURE pictures you haven't seen of our beloved #21. I had the privilege 2 years ago to interview Sean's coaches in Larry Coker and Butch Davis. It's moving to hear what his Miami coaches had to say. Enjoy.........

Butch Davis: "When I recruited Sean, my son went to the same school as Sean. So, I was over at Gulliver a lot picking up my son and watching him practice. I'll never forget the year we recruited Sean, he scored 5 TDs in the championship game as the RB. That was one of the things [people don't realize in games]. They see an interception by Sean Taylor in college and the NFL and they didn't realize they just threw the ball up to one of the country's best RBs. At the time we had Willis Maghee, Clinton Portis, Najeh Davenport. We had a host of RBs..it was just more prudent to put him at safety."

Honestly. Goose bumps. Everytime S. Dot touched the ball for the Redskins he WAS a running back. GAME OVER. How was Sean as a kid? Sean Taylor's Uncle, Michael Outar, spoke at the funeral:

"I wanted him to play running back or quarterback and score all the touchdowns. The coach gave Sean number 66 and put him on the line. Before the game he said, 'Uncle Michael, what do I do?' I said, 'Hit the guy with the ball.' And that's what he did, over and over."

HAHA. Sounds about right. I had the pleasure of talking to Joe Gibbs at Russ Grimm's HoF and how he confirmed the Redskins were only taking Sean and no one else. Gibbs shot down the rumor Kellon WInslow ever had a shot.

Dez Bryant is counting his lucky stars instead of seeing them.

Why were we robbed of this for the next ten years?

I am not a Jeremy Shockey fan but he took it harder than we'll ever know.

'

S.Dot...

These unis were untouchable.

How bad ass is this pic?....

The young years,,,,

Dan Snyder with Sean's dad..

F the media, Clinton. We know you bring it and don't lay down.

If you make it down to Miami, please visit....

by Robert Koehler on November 23, 2010

Local news is reporting that North Korea has fired some 50 shells at the West Sea island of Yeonpyeong-do, with South Korea firing 30 rounds in return.

More worrying, some of the North Koreans shells reportedly landed on the island itself, destroying about 60—70 homes and fields. The island’s population has also reportedly taken shelter. No word on casualties.

This is not good. This is not good at all.

UPDATE: Photo from Yeonpyeong-do, from Yonhap:

Some reports claim that shells are still falling.

UPDATE: South Korea has scrambled F-15s and F-16s over the West Sea islands. Casualties reported so far are one soldier seriously injured and three lightly injured.

UPDATE: Casualty figures continue to climb, with reports of one Marine dead.

UPDATE: It should also be noted that Cheong Wa Dae is looking into whether the shelling was a response to a South Korean military drill in the West Sea.

All-time box office records

The numbers indicate amount of tickets sold, not financial gross (as of October 31, 2010). Data from Korean Film Council.

Rank	English title	Korean title	Director	Admissions	Year
1	Host, The !The Host	괴물	Bong Joon-ho	13,019,740	2006
2	King and the Clown, The !The King and the Clown	왕의 남자	Lee Jun-ik	12,302,831	2005
3	Taegukgi	태극기 휘날리며	Kang Je-gyu	11,746,135	2004
4	Tidal Wave	해운대	Yun Je-gyun	11,397,749	2009
5	Silmido	실미도	Kang Woo-suk	11,081,000	2003
6	D-War	디 워	Shim Hyung-rae	8,426,973	2007
7	Speedy Scandal	과속 스캔들	Kang Hyung-Cheol	8,280,308	2008
8	Friend	친구	Kwak Kyung-taek	8,134,500	2001
9	Take Off	국가대표	Kim Yong-hwa	8,092,676	2009
10	Welcome to Dongmakgol	웰컴 투 동막골	Park Kwang-hyun	8,008,622	2005
11	May 18	화려한 휴가	Kim Ji-hun	7,307,993	2007
12	Tazza: The High Rollers	타짜	Choi Dong-hun	6,847,777	2006
13	Good, the Bad, the Weird, The !The Good, the Bad, the Weird	좋은 놈, 나쁜 놈, 이상한 놈	Kim Jee-woon	6,719,000	2008
14	200 Pounds Beauty	미녀는 괴로워	Kim Yong-hwa	6,619,498	2006
15	The Man from Nowhere	아저씨	Lee Jeong-beom	6,223,764	2010
16	Shiri	쉬리	Kang Je-gyu	6,210,000	1999
17	My Boss, My Teacher	투사부일체	Kim Dong-won	6,105,431	2006
18	Jeon Woo Chi	전우치	Choi Dong-hoon	6,100,490	2009
19	Joint Security Area	공동경비구역 JSA	Park Chan-wook	5,830,000	2000
20	Marrying the Mafia II	가문의 위기	Jeong Yong-ki	5,635,266	2005
21	Secret Reunion	의형제	Jang Hun	5,460,035	2010
22	Memories of Murder	살인의 추억	Bong Joon-ho	5,255,376	2003
23	My Wife is a Gangster	조폭 마누라	Jeong Heung-sun	5,180,900	2001
24	Marathon	말아톤	Jeong Yoon-chul	5,148,022	2005
25	Chaser, The !The Chaser	추격자	Na Hong-jin	5,071,619	2008
26	Marrying the Mafia	가문의 영광	Jeong Heung-sun	5,021,001	2002
27	My Tutor Friend	동갑내기 과외하기	Kim Kyeong-hyeong	4,937,573	2003
28	My Sassy Girl	엽기적인 그녀	Kwak Jae-yong	4,852,845	2001
29	Kick the Moon	신라의 달밤	Kim Sang-jin	4,353,800	2001
30	Public Enemy Returns	강철중: 공공의 적 1-1	Kang Woo-suk	4,337,983	2008
31	Typhoon	태풍	Kwak Kyung-taek	4,094,395	2005
32	Way Home, The !The Way Home	집으로	Lee Jeong-hyang	4,091,000	2002
33	Sex Is Zero	색즉시공	Hun Je-gyun	4,082,797	2002
34	My Girlfriend is an Agent	7급 공무원	Sin Tae-ra	4,078,293	2009
35	Forever the Moment	우리 생애 최고의 순간	Yim Soon-rye	4,044,582	2008
36	Another Public Enemy	공공의 적 2	Kang Woo-suk	3,911,356	2005
37	Hanbando	한반도	Kang Woo-suk	3,880,308	2006
38	Frozen Flower, A !A Frozen Flower	쌍화점	Yu Ha	3,772,976	2008
39	Hi, Dharma	달마야 놀자	Park Cheol-kwan	3,746,000	2001
40	Divine Weapon, The !The Divine Weapon	신기전	Kim Yoo-jin	3,751,588	2008
41	Sympathy for Lady Vengeance	친절한 금자씨	Park Chan-wook	3,650,000	2005
42	Untold Scandal	스캔들 - 조선남녀상열지사	E J-yong	3,522,747	2003
43	Marrying the Mafia III	가문의 부활	Jeong Yong-ki	3,464,516	2006
44	Moss	이끼	Kang Woo-seok	3,375,213	2010
45	71: Into the Fire	포화 속으로	Lee Jae-han	3,359,012	2010
46	My Boss, My Hero	두사부일체	Yun Je-gyun	3,302,000	2001
47	Oldboy	올드보이	Park Chan-wook	3,269,000	2003
48	My Little Bride	어린 신부	Kim Ho-joon	3,149,500	2004
49	Oh! Brothers	오! 브라더스	Kim Yong-hwa	3,148,748	2003
50	Tale of Two Siters, A !A Tale of Two Sisters	장화, 홍련	Kim Ji-woon	3,146,217	2003

By Bill on November 16th, 2010 at at 6:51 am

House of Representatives moves to revise law to help Hotaru Ferschke

This is good news but there is still work to be done.

After a year’s delay, legislation that would allow a young Japanese widow to honor her Marine husband’s wishes and raise their infant son in Tennessee is finally moving through Congress.

The U.S. House voted Monday to close a loophole in federal immigration law so that Hotaru “Hota” Ferschke can move permanently to the United States with her 22-month-old son, Mikey.

Mikey’s father is Marine Sgt. Michael Ferschke of Maryville, who was killed two years ago in Iraq.

The bill, which passed on a voice vote and is called the “Marine Sgt. Michael H. Ferschke Jr. Memorial Act,” still requires approval from the U.S. Senate.

But for Sgt. Ferschke’s parents, Robin and Mike Ferschke, Monday’s action offers a glimmer of hope that the family’s painful ordeal may finally be coming to an end.

“Every day I have hope, but it scares me, too, because every time I get my hopes up, they get shattered,” Robin Ferschke said. “I don’t know how much more we can be shattered.”

*****

U.S. Sens. Lamar Alexander, R-Maryville, and Jim Webb, D-Va., are working to pass the legislation in the Senate, but time is running out. If the measure hasn’t been approved by the time Congress adjourns for the year in December, the bill will die and lawmakers will have to start all over again next year.

The legislation would also apply to other widows in Hotaru’s situation though Congressman Duncan’s office knew of none else in her situation.

Come on United States Senate and end this senseless act of stupidity.

Public school teacher stats and the inquiry into Quincy Black

From Matt and Robert

Daejeon residents, here’s your tax money at work.

Strange as it may seem, the Quincy Black saga continues as local district assembly members question the responsibility of the company tasked with running the educational center where Quincy taught (and filmed). One lawmaker was particularly dogged, grilling a witness as to whether the school moved furniture from the teacher dorm room that appeared in the films in order to minimize the fallout from the scandal.

Well, I hope they changed the sheets, at least.

Public school teacher stats and the inquiry into Quincy Black

On Tuesday the Seoul Sinmun reported on the placement of native speaking teachers in public schools, and provided this helpful chart:

At top are the number of teachers by year, followed by a breakdown by nationality of teachers currently working, and at bottom are the percentages of teachers with qualifications. Interesting to see how the numbers changed over the years. The spike in 1996 and 1997 can be explained by something I quoted here (original link dead):

In 1995, at the crest of a wave of private language institutes sweeping the country, the Korean Ministry of Education launched a pilot program called KORETTA, or Korea English Teacher Training Assistants, later renamed the English Program in Korea, or EPIK. It was the first and only nationwide government-initiated program to address the demand for English education in Korea, designed to place native English speakers in public school classrooms to co-teach alongside Korean English teachers. EPIK, however, was marked from the start by disorganization, miscommunication and allegations of corruption by its foreign teachers.

In 1996, a summer intake that consisted of several orientation sessions, run by Korea University, brought in more than 860 teachers, but by the third week of October, fewer than 500 remained [468, according to the Korea Times on Oct. 23]. Those who quit cited reasons such as inadequate housing, late salary payments and refusal of severance pay.

In 1997 we see there were 856 teachers, but by the end of the year they started fleeing the country as the financial crisis hit Korea. An April 1, 1998 Korea Times article mentions that

Foreign English teachers are giving up their jobs in South Korean high schools because their pay has shrunk in value, discouraging an ambitious English education plan that started just a year ago. Education Ministry officials said 126 out of 856 native English-speaking teachers quit as of the end of last month [and few would re-sign when their contracts ended in July].

The number of teachers in public schools wouldn't reach the numbers from 1997 again until 2004.

In other news, the Daejeon city journal reports that as Daejeon Dong-gu council's administrative affairs investigative committee begins its probe into the spread of the "native speaking teacher sex video," [the one by Quincy Black] there is debate over the morality of Woongjin Think Big, the educational company in charge of running the International Communication Center, where he was staying.

(The Daejeon ICC, from Daum map's road view)

There are lots of questions being asked about the company's responsibility, whether it moved the furniture in the room afterward, calls for apologies, etc.


The article adds that

the sensation caused by the spread of the native speaking teacher sex video and the related problems with the native speaking teacher recruitment process and qualifications has raised questions regarding the morality of Woongjin Think Big, who are responsible for the management and supervision of these teachers.

If only they'd put "Do you plan to film pornography and upload it to foreign websites during your stay in Korea?" on an application form, the company would be able to blame the teacher (who, of course, should be blamed).

Lastly, Maeil Gyeongje reports that the Daegu International School is being investigated for having 10 foreign teachers work illegally, and for hiring at least 6 unqualified Korean elementary and middle school teachers. The foreign teachers were hired back when the school opened in August, but got into hot water when it was discovered they were paid on September 3, but had received their work visas on September 23, meaning they had been teaching on tourist visas for several weeks.

Veteran's Day 2010....














































In Korea, today is Pepero day.

Pepero Day is an observance in South Korea similar to Valentine's Day. It is named after the Korean snack Pepero and held on November 11, since the date "11/11" resembles four sticks of Pepero. The holiday is observed mostly by young people and couples, who exchange Pepero sticks, other candies, and romantic gifts. Lotte denies starting the holiday and instead states that they noticed a bump in Pepero sales around November 11th and after continued popularity they decided to then encourage the holiday with special gift boxes and other promotions. Some consider it to be a contrived holiday and some teachers have encouraged children to exchange healthy snacks to help combat obesity. An alternative "Garaetteok Day" (sticks of white tteok) has been proposed.

According to one story, Pepero Day was started in 1994 by students at a girls' middle school in Busan, where they exchanged Pepero sticks as gifts to wish one another to grow "as tall and slender as a Pepero".

In Japan, a similar Pocky Day was started however it has failed to gain traction



In the USA today is Veterans Day.

Veterans Day, formerly Armistice Day in commemoration of the signing of the Armistice ending World War I, is the anniversary of the ending of World War I. In the United States it is celebrated as a federal holiday on 11 November. World War I formally ended all major hostilities ended at the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month with the German signing of Armistice. Armistice Day was first commemorated by President Wilson in 1919, and many states made it a legal holiday. Congress passed a resolution in 1926 inviting all Americans to observe the day, and made it a legal holiday nationwide in 1938. The holiday has been observed annually on November 11 since that date - first as Armistice Day, later as Veterans Day - except for a brief period when it was celebrated on the fourth Monday of October.

Following World War II, the name of the holiday was changed (enacted 1 June 1954) to Veterans Day to honor those who served in all American wars. The day has since evolved to primarily be a time of honoring living veterans who have served in the military during wartime or peacetime, partially due to competition with Memorial Day, which primarily honors the dead. Many nations within the British Commonwealth observe a similar occasion, Remembrance Day, on 11 November.

For those who do not know, I was in the US Army from 1989-1996. Today has always been a day of reflection for me and with the candy holiday today I still have no idea how I I stay sane on this day. I have a story to tell today and its about a soldier who is no longer here.

His last name was Matthew, he was from Colorado, we called him Matt. To be honest I do not remember his first name. I met him in 1994 when I was in the Army. He was a young soldier who was part of the Field Artillery in Ft. Sill, Oklahoma. To be honest I have no idea why I liked the kid but their was something about him that I found OK.

As a lot of young soldiers, he was a good kid but he starting drinking under age and the I had to deal with with. One day I was in a hurry, and I just got a call to go to the Hospital to deal with some drunk fool. Matt was acting the fool and I stopped to talk to him. (Now realize something I'm 6'4, I had a gun on my side and I was wearing a Military Police patch) I yelled at Matt very loud so everybody could hear me, "You fuck up one more time I am dragging you dumb ass to the MP station and the shit will hit the fan! Do you understand me Private Matthew." I left and took care of the drunk at the hospital.

I did not see Matt for a few weeks, I found out later that my yelling at him forced him to take a good long look at himself and he decided that he was going to stop drinking, I was told by a Sgt. of his much later, that he believed me when I told him that I would arrest him for underage drinking.

I saw him a few weeks later and he talked to me and said that he was quitting drinking, I told him If I see it (the drinking) one more time, you are going down. I told him to get lost.

It was at this time that Matt met a local girl and they both fell in love big time. I was watching them and I was happy for him, she loved him and he loved her and they were both happy together. A few weeks later I went and talked to him, I told him that he was doing good and I hoped that things were going good.

As an MP, I worked a lot of shift work, Matt needed to borrow a car so when I was on midnight shift, I would loan him mine so he could pick her up and drive her home. She lived out in the country by the extreme back gate of Ft. Sill.

It went on for a few months and then one night he said that he wanted to talk to me. He said that he needed advice. So we talked for awhile, he told me that they were going to get married after she finished high school and we talked about her going to college and how he needed to work on his life insurance and a lot of things like that. I gave her a hug and told her to take care of my boy.

I was engaged at the time myself and I was so happy for him, I was grateful, that she was in Korea and not here, because if she would have smelled any other woman's perfume in the car I knew that I was in trouble and Matt's girl liked to wear a lot and my car usually stunk of it for a few days. He was my friend so I just deal with it.

He borrowed my car one night, while I was on mid shift and I told him that this month I am on mids so he could borrow the car anytime he needed. He borrowed the car and he returned the keys to me. i told him remember I am on mids so if you need it just call me and you can borrow it, no need for you to walk or take a taxi ride. We talked and he went home. That was the last time I would ever see him.

I got busy and Matt didn't call to borrow the car so I didn't worry about it. A few days later I was told by somebody at the NCO club that Matt had died, so that night I went to work and I read the SIR (Serious Incident Report) and it was all about Matt. The desk Sgt looked at me and he realized that I was not in a good frame of mind. I told him that this was my friend and now he is dead, he was 19-20 years old. Now he was dead. It was a quiet night that night, I just drove around in a daze for most of the night and I had no idea what the hell happened. I was worried if this was not an accident some MF was fixin to die.

I knew all of the ER (Emergency Room) techs and drivers and that day they saw me upset, one lady asked me what was up, I told her about Matt and I was worried that I was going to take somebody out for killing my friend. She told me not to do that, she also told me that she was the one who handled the call, then she told me what happened.

Matt had decided this night not to call me to borrow my car and that he was going to walk to his G/F house, it was a good 10 mile walk. He was wearing dark clothes that night and he was walking home from her house when it happened. A driver was driving his truck and was doing the speed limit and all of a sudden he thought that he struck a deer (In this area, hitting a deer happened a lot so he didn't think anything about it.) He stopped at the Love's Truck stop and called Oklahoma Highway Patrol and told them that he hit a deer and that he would go back and try and find the deer, he was afraid that he had killed the deer) the lights suck in this area, last time I was their in 2001 they still sucked.

The er tech then said, The driver went back to the scene and found what he thought was the deer, when he discovered that It was a man (Matt) he just lost it, he was loosing his mind and crying when the OHP arrived, they found Matt's ID card and they called the US Army hospital for help. The tech said that when they arrived it was too late, It was later determined that he died on impact and that he did not suffer (I pray to God this is right). It was ruled an accident due to Matt's dark clothes, bad lights and no intent, after reading the report I agreed with the decision and I forgot the man name who hit Matt ASAP. It was just one of those things that happen with no rhyme or reason.

Then I was faced with one of the hardest decision that I have ever made in my life, Do I tell his future wife how this whole thing went down. I was still dealing with and to this day deal with, why the fuck did he not call me so he could drive and see his g/f, I was on mids shift i didn't need the car that night. This has haunted me for 10+ years now, I had no answer then and I still have no answer now.

I decided not to and to be honest, this is the 2nd time I have told this story since the accident, I saw her from time to time and when I last say her in 1998 she still had not married and from what I was told, still no b/f. I do hope that she is happy once again and has found love.

I tried to go see the body at the funeral home but the unit had not brought the clothes yet and he was leaving the next day so I never got to say good-bye to my friend. I was told that he was going to be burred in his home state of Colorado and I was unable to find the funeral notice online for "The Lawton Constitution"

Ever year since I have done a little service on Memorial Day and on Veterans Day, The African-American soldiers would pour out some booze for their friends who have died. I have done it every Memorial and Veteran Day. I did it today, I remembered Matt and I told him that today was the day I tell your story, that I have not forgotten you and I still think of you from time to time. I poured some out for other soldiers that I know that have died. Then I poured a lot out for my father and said, Dad, still thinking of you and still missing you, I hope that you are proud of me, I have always thought that you thought of me as a failure. I miss you and love you."

I knew that I was typing this story tonight. A little sad but I know that my friend will always be apart of the blog, sorry we never took a photo together. So I can not post one.

I just wanted to post a Vet story tonight, the sad thing is I am getting older, in my memory of Matt he has not aged one bit. I gave up asking why and I hope that when I get to heaven we can talk again.

I am now 44 years old and I am getting older and these kids haven't aged one day in my mind.