.A True War Hero.

So this morning I dropped Quinn off at the airport for his trip to Louisville, Kentucky where he and other various family members are accepting an honorary medal on behalf of his Great-Uncle, 2nd Lieutenant John (Jack) V. Scanlan 47th FS, 15th FG who was shot down by the Japanese on June 23, 1945 during WWII.

Back in the days of WWII the Army did not bother with sending an Officer and a Chaplin to the family of a deceased soilder, rather they sent a telegram. Quinn’s Grandmother (his Great-Uncle Jack’s sister) and her family received a telegram from the War Department that simply stated, “The Secretary of War desires me to express his deepest regrets, that your son Lt. John Scanlan was killed June 23, 1945.”But that telegram actually confirming a death would not come so easily. At first, Jack’s family was simply told that his plane was shot down over mainland Japan. Quinn’s Grandmother (his Great-Uncle Jack’s sister) and her family wrote letters to the United States War Department for well over twenty-years requesting information about Jack’s death and demanding that his body be returned home to the United States. The United States played dumb for all these years in reference to the whereabouts of his remains and the acts that Jack went through once his plane went down.

After Jack graduated from St. Xavier High School and attended the University of Louisville he joined the Army Air Corps where he trained in Arizona and California before shipping out to the Pacific in April of 1944 where he became a dogfighter. His wingman was Lieutenant Bob Scamara and in a recent news article Lt. Scamara recalls the last minutes of Jack Scanlans life.

“It seemed like the whole Jap air force was after Jack and me. I couldn’t even look around and see if Jack was there I was so busy shooting…We two were certainly alone now, so we flew south, line abreast so we could watch each others tails. It wasn’t long before we were tapped again by the Zekes. They were really out to get us…”

“After I rolled out of a turn and could see Jack, it was too late. There were two Japs sneaking up his tail that he couldn’t see. Meanwhile, I was heading straight for him… yelling into the radio for him to do something. I figure maybe he was hit before and his radio was out. The Zekes opened up on him and hit him in the wings. He pulled up a little, his wings burning… He climbed a few hundred feet, rolled over and jumped
out.”

The badly wounded flier parachuted safely to the ground but was quickly captured by Japanese soldiers. While being interrogated by their officers, a mob of angry villagers gathered around the schoolhouse that was being used as a military headquarters. In time, the officers turned Scanlan over to the civilians. The villagers, many of which were woman, beat him savagely. They stabbed him with sharpened bamboo sticks. Soon, the young flier was dead. When his body was recovered, his head had been severed, most likely beheaded.

Tomorrow, 2nd Lieutenant John (Jack) V. Scanlan 47th FS, 15th FG is finally going to be given the recognition that he deserves as a true American War Hero, for if it was not for him, his wingman would not be here today. Once Quinn returns from Kentucky I will be posting additonal information, pictures and video from the ceremony that is taking place at St. Xavier High School, the high school in which Jack graduated from.

.Dog Fighting.

Everyone is giving poor little pit bulls bad raps these days and it's beginning to really aggravate me. First you have the lady whose two pit bulls killed the neighbors lab and had to be put down and now this! Like I do everyday at noon, I was watching the news today and heard a rather disturbing story right out of Gates County. Officials say that dogfighting is a growing problem in this area and they are doing everything they can to stop it! It's just too close to home.

The Gates County Sheriff found two dead dogs and four alive, but malnourished. These animals were being kept in small cages and were tied to heavy chains. They also seized 13 dogs under court order yesterday morning. Eleven pit bulls and two rottweilers, but the owner...no where to be found. A 15 pound chain was found on a 25 pound dog. The chain is used to make the dog's muscles stronger. To make matters worse the officers seized bottles of dog vitamins and steroids. Among other disturbing things confiscated from the crime scene include a goat horn that was used to pry open the locked jaws of two dogs and appears red due to dried blood also a wooden treadmill where the dogs would be placed with a dangling animal carcass in front of them and the dog would run on the mill to catch thus making them stronger and faster.

This morning the owner finally turned himself in and faces one felony count of Dogfighting, 13 misdemeanor counts of Animal Cruelty and three counts of Not Properly Disposing of Animal Carcases. When asked about the evidence found on his property he said he knew nothing about it! His bond is set $16,500, so I am pretty sure he is not going anywhere anytime soon, but STILL! Now let me explain to you the animal carcases part of his charges because this is the part the really pissed me off. This jackass had three burnt dog carcases in a bag that they found on his property that investigators are saying appears that the dogs who did not survive the fights were doused in gasoline and burnt!!!! Are you kidding me!?! How can you do that and sleep at night!?

The seized dogs are being kept at the Chowan County animal shelter and sadly many have scars, appear weak from malnutrition, and one appears to have a broken leg. Four of the dogs that were seized were considered aggressive and had to be euthanized. :(

.Bittersweet To Say The Least.

Me, being the wonderful cook that I am, watch Rachael Ray every morning. I just love her and her wonderful recipes, but today's show was pretty depressing.

She had a man on the show, Matt Logelin, who lost his wife during the birth of their daughter from a pulmonary embolism. How bittersweet? In order to keep his wife's memory alive for his daughter he started to use his wife's pregnancy blog as a way to communicate with family but within months, more than 40,000 people were reading it every day, and parenting tips began pouring in from strangers around the world. With the help of strangers, Matt was able to start a foundation in his wife's name where they have already raised several thousand dollars to help out other widows and widowers.What a heart warming story :)

....I have always had a fear that I would die whenever I had a baby so I really hope that nothing like this ever happens to me and Quinn.

.Doggy Day Care.

Below is a cute slideshow of all the pictures I collected from the past three days of doggy sitting Daisy and Keller. They are so dern cute. Enjoy!

.Doggy Day Care.

So today I officially felt what I believe I am looking forward to by being a mommy. It all started by being woken up at the crack of dawn by Keller, who is still recovering from his surgery he went through yesterday. He is freaking out because Quinn's dad had brought over their new pit-bull puppy Daisy for me to watch today. Both dogs are precious little angels while Quinn and his dad are here at the house but as soon as they leave, the dogs start playing and going nuts. Which is cool because I figure they will play and tire themselves out and sleep all day. Oh no, so wrong.

First, I am trying to get ready to go to the doctors this morning and I am tripping over two dogs playing and dog toys that have been dropped in various places throughout my house. Daisy then jumps up on our bed and waits for Keller to walk by and jumps on his back. I think this is cute so I let her keep doing it while I am straightening my hair, but as I go to make my bed before I leave the house I notice that little miss Daisy peed on my bed!!! So, I am already running late but I have to strip by bed down and take the sheets downstairs to wash them. Strike One.

After returning from the doctors, the dogs once again go nuts and play obnoxiously while I am trying to get some work done for the brochure businesses in the office. All of a sudden I smell shit. I searched the whole house and can not find the source of this stomach curdling smell. About 20 min later in the corner of the hall way by the front door I spot it. A little pile of poop, which of course comes from Daisy cause Keller could never have something that small come out of him. So I discipline her and go on trying to watch Marley and Me. Every time a dog barks or makes noises on the TV Keller barks or whines back, which is normally cute but today just is not the day. I feel like hell due to the on going morning sickness that I still experience 7 months into this dern pregnancy. Strike Two.

I start feeling better and know that if I get up and start cleaning I will feel 100% better. I don't know why I love to clean but I do. So, I get through the kitchen and one bathroom and I am on the second bathroom when I hear what sounds like a dam breaking loose in the hallway. As I come around the corner its Keller going to the bathroom. He unloaded what looked like a gallon of piss. Strike Three.

This is it, and I crack. I understand he is healing from surgery but this dog knows better then to pee in my house. I guess he did it to get back at Daisy for doing it. I don't know, dogs have weird minds. No sooner do I get that somewhat cleaned up but then Daisy pees right next to that spot. Now my normally fresh clean smelling house reeks of shit and piss. Needless to say, I had to run up to the store to go get some carpet cleaning stuff to get the god awful smell up.

So for now the house is back to normal but I am just waiting for one of these two dogs to do something else wrong, but while at the store I got them each a nice treat which seems to be keeping them occupied quite well. Good thinking;). All this makes me wonder how people can juggle twins, triplets, etc. Because after just one day with a puppy and a 2 year old dog, I have had enough so I can only imagine what a human is going to be like.....oh the joys to look forward to! ;)