Iraqis Play Soccer and American Young Men Die

Unwilling participants Iraqi soccer players angered by Bush campaign ads

Sgt. James D. Priestap of Hardwood in the Upper Peninsula visits with Iraqi children while on patrol in Baghdad. This photo, submitted by his family, was taken just before he was shot. More photos are available at cu.ironmountaindailynews.com.
By BLAINE HYSKA,Managing Editor
IRON MOUNTAIN — Sgt. James D. Priestap was visiting with Iraqi children while on patrol in Baghdad when he was killed, photos taken just before his death show.Mark Balicki of Iron Mountain, brother-in-law of the late Sgt. James D. Priestap, submitted a photo, which was taken just before Sgt. Priestap died in Iraq on Thanksgiving Day 2006.“The pictures show the kindness that Jim always showed,” said Balicki, who is married to the former Lisa Priestap. “Everyone in our family has seen these pictures. I thought it would be nice to share them with others.”Sgt. Priestap, 39, of Hardwood was killed by enemy gunfire in Baghdad.A series of pictures were taken about 10 minutes before Sgt. Priestap was shot, added Lisa Balicki.“This was confirmed by soldiers who were in Iraq with him,” she said. “When we saved them on our computer, we could point the mouse on the pics and it would give the date and time the photo was taken.”“They were all taken on Nov. 23 between 11:10 and 11:19 a.m.,” she said. “Jim was killed on 11:29 a.m. that day.”“The pictures speak for themselves as to what kind of person Jim was,” she said.



Memorial to those who died in Operations Iraqi Freedom and Enduring Freedom.Most recent casualties
• Marine Cpl. Matthew R. Zindars July 24• Marine Cpl. James H. McRae July 24• Marine Lance Cpl. Robert A. Lynch July 24• Army Staff Sgt. Joshua P. Mattero July 24View all the casualties
Casualty countOfficial DoD totals. Released: July 24
Operation Iraqi Freedom
Killed: 3,626
In action:2,980
Non-Hostile:646
Wounded*: 26,953*
RTD:14,838
Not RTD12,115
Operation Enduring Freedom
Killed: 408
In action:227
Non-Hostile:181
Wounded*: 1,428
RTD:555
Not RTD873
*Wounded:RTD: Returned to duty within 72 hours. Not RTD: Did not return to duty within 72 hours.

Looking for a Cool Place

It would be nice to find a short drive travel destination for next week where the forecast is moderately cool! Guess there isn't such a place. Lake Superior's coastline looks about as hot as inland. Obviously Lake Michigan locations are equally warm or warmer! So I guess I'll camp right here in air conditioned comfort and venture out onto the streets only for my daily walks and shopping trips!

Camping and Fly Killing

This excursion into the hills of the wilderness of the Porkies gets a "D". Not so much for the campground but for the flies and the heat and the beach! Seldom have I seen the Lake Superior shoreline as hot as it was on Monday evening, Tuesday, and this morning! It was hot! And I suppose the heat brought out the flies who chewed on me temptingly! And then of course my enjoyment of the beach or should we say the rocks wasn't all that great given the heat and the flies!
It is very easy to find a rock to sit on at the beach. Actually it looks like one or two big rocks! Darn near should have rock walking boots, knee pads, and padded gloves and maybe even a helmet to walk this beach!
Then there is the view of Lake of the Clouds and its surrounding hills. This sight sort of makes up for the beach and the heat and the flies!

But can you believe I tended the campfire for a few hours. I guess I was trying for an outdoor sauna! It wasn't the only campfire either! I think the smoke helped chase the flies to wherever they went....like into car!

These folks woke up real early in the morning to claim their personal island! I don't know if the guy was banished from the island or what but he was standing out there in the water as if he was begging to be allowed back on rock! The Porcupine Mountains are home to the largest Hemlock forest in the United States and possibly the world. Huge Hemlock forests once dominated much of the Lake Superior region of the Western Upper Peninsula.

Horsing Around!

Yesterday we went horsing around at the Menominee County Fair. Bud drove the horses to many blues! Here are Bud with the reins of a four horse hitch and Matt is navigating!

Camping and Boat Riding

Well, I went camping! Haven't been camping in years and years! I think its been about 30 some years since I slept in a campground. I now have the feel for it and I think I'll go again. I camped at the Munising City Campgrounds among the big boys and the smaller boys and the even smaller boys and even close to some tents! My Grand Caravan is a bit tight but I lived in a Volvo cab for 10 years so I can make it in the minivan parked next to a picnic table and a fire pit. Parked is the word I like! I watched the kids playing, cooked over an open fire, read some of the current selection; yes, you read right, I read! Hadn't done that for a long time either!

The black in the middle is the Grand Caravan at our campsite! The Munising City Campgrounds comes highly recommended by me. It has lots of room, and its clean, and quiet and Munising Bay and a nice beach is only a few steps from any of the campsites.
First I played in the sand for awhile! It was fun! Actually that is not me! Fooled you though didn't I! I forgot my sand pail and shovel so I just watched the young man having fun with his!
Then I decided to take a boat ride to the Pictured Rocks. The east coast of Munising Bay and further north the coast of Lake Superior proper is a national park. It's the Pictured Rocks National Lake Shore and extends about 42 miles from Munising to Grand Marais. If you would like to hike there is a trail running the entire 42 miles for you to enjoy! Here is an example of the "pictured" rocks. The colors are caused by ground water seeping out of the cliffs which are about 200 or more feet high. Reds are caused by iron, greens by copper, white by limestone and black by manganese. The basic formations here are sandstone.

See the two eyes peering at you? Actually, if you look hard you should see two sets of eyes, one large set and one small set! Some folks have even seen Elvis! Julia would have a great time checking this out!

A couple of arches are major attractions. Here the story goes that an Indian maiden (poor Indians are in all the stories) jumped to her death from the arch after her hunter didn't return from a hunt! The boat captain narrating the tour wondered why any woman would do that for just a couple bucks!


Below is one of natures oddities and demonstrates the true grit of survival. You see the tree perched on top of the rock formation and wonder how it survives up there with little or no nourishment from the stone on which it lives. Look closely and you can see a series of roots extending from the rock the tree sits atop to the mainland! Many years ago the roots were actually in the ground but time has washed away that ground to leave the roots exposed.
Eventually the sun set over the water and the west shore of Munising Bay. As with any adventure it signaled that it was time to return home to toil again!

New Drink for My New Life

Its bearable. Today I did the taste test! I put some of the real stuff into a glass, then some of the new stuff into a cup. I closed my eyes and mixed them up real good. Then I took hold of one and sipped and knew without a doubt that it was the new stuff I was tasting! You know what? It wasn't all that bad even with the aspartame and acesulfame potassium rather than the saccharides! Do you need more information on why I switched? Look here!

Flower Gardens

In the Netherlands I enjoyed strolling (and strollering) through the neighborhoods and looking at the elaborate flower gardens which were totally the front yards of most of the homes in the newer single family residential areas. Each home had a unique garden of flowers or shrubs or a combination of them. Very little grass could be found! This pictured garden is not however a Dutch garden. It is here in Iron Mountain right next door to my building! Congratulations neighbor on the pretty sight here in our town!

Walking Day!

Somewhere I read that this tingling feet syndrome might be helped a bit by walking so that's what I've been doing in my spare time. Maybe the walking loosens up the plaque so blood can flow through again. (The plaque then is destroyed by the plaque grinder in the liver) The other day I had a test done in the doctors clinic and that apparently told of a problem for which we will have further tests done on the MRI machine at the hospital. The test is called an MRA (arteriogram done with magnetic resonance) and can locate clogged arteries which cause PAD. So I've walked the neighborhood a few times and enjoyed it. I should also go for a drive in the car since it might be one on the last times I can reach the pedals before the amputations begin! No just kidding. I guess they do some bypass, or roto rooter, or stint type stuff to get the blood flowing again.

Not Leftovers Again!

Yup, I have to eat this stew that I concocted and I blogged about a few days ago! I changed it to taste a bit different by adding some forbidden stuff today! It tasted just like new stew!

They Have it All Wrong Again!

Saw this research done by some young ones testing how young vs old respond to jokes and other funnies. They found that young ones responded 6% better than the old folks. Well the research which was conducted by graduate student Wingyun Mak and psychology professor Brian Carpenter probably didn't take into consideration that old folks really don't think that everything that is so darn funny to the young ones is not funny to the old folks. All you have to do is watch a bit of TV aimed at the teens through the 30's or 40's and you find out what I mean. Its trash to me but highly rated "comedy" for the young ones. The other thing they didn't consider was one's reaction to hearing the same joke for the 23Th time. Hey, after the 13Th time it isn't funny anymore to us old folks.

What DidYou Eat Two Months Ago?

I just found out that I did bloodletting for an A1C test which can show the average glucose in my blood for the last two months and maybe even three! What's next? Soon the doctor will be able to give me a test to see if I've recommended him to anyone in the last two months or if I have spoken well about his healing powers. Oh, Oh!

A Hot One!

It was sizzling today as the Sun beat down on us in the Upper Peninsula! I was watching as the needle turned toward 90 and then to 95 with a "Real Feel" of 102! (The thermometer in the picture above was not quite accurate.) In the sun it was as good as a good old sauna! We'll have to check later to see what today's official high really was! Now after an hour or so of thunder and light rain the temperature has dropped to 77. What a relief it is/wasfor those outdoors or those without air conditioning!

New Diet for My New Life

Since the Dr's Office called the other day to let me know that I am now officially a diabetic and will tomorrow see the doctor concerning that discovery, I now need to revise my diet accordingly so I'm making a diabetics moijaka! It has stew meat, only two potatoes (they are starchy) but lots of carrots, onions, cabbage, and brassica oleracea var gemmifera. It will feed me for a few days! In my salad tonight will be lettuce, cucumbers, radish, tomato, cauliflower and Hidden Valley Ranch Free! Dr. B would be proud of me! I figure about 50 carbos at the most in the stew! But what about that Coke in the fridge? The one I snuck today tasted really good! I figure that if I have no other sugar and very few carbo laden foods I can stay under 250 grams of carbohydrates today even with the Coke! Living without Coke would be like Romeo living without Juliet! (Or was it Juliet living without Romeo?) We will talk about the Jif and Nabisco Saltines, and the Schawn's Ice Cream and Nesquick Chocolate Syrup, and the Oreos delima later! Right now I have to eat!

Duty Calls

The other day I was at the old Gunville office getting some paper work done when along came the trucking boss/horse collector and talked me into dragging the horse wagon to the local fairs and then perhaps to Ohio and Lansing and a real big one in Denver! At my age I should be able to say no but who can refuse the man who so rationally explained why I should be there. His reason for wanting me to be there was as he said, "We have no one else who can do it unless we take someone off the road"! OK, Bob, I think that is what we did last year!

After Four Days There were Still Leftovers!

I counted at least 7 hot dishes on the above table! In the little swim pool to the right were the cold foods including the dish to which this blog is dedicated. The other table shown below was laden with the cool meat and cheese trays, salads, deserts and that kind of stuff. The red table was covered with a near a dozen or so types of homemade cookies and bars.

When Bliss and Larry throw a Graduation party they make sure no one goes away hungry......even four days later! In the days after the party we managed to get most of the large catering size dishes down to nothing or nearly so but not so for the potato salad! The potato salad was too far down the line to attract much attention from the party people. Most of them had their plates heaped with turkey and mashed potatoes and green salad and sausage or whatever and simply had to leave the poor potato salad sit. Well, on Sunday we 7 or so adults who were staying at the farm vowed to take on the potato salad so we slightly enlarged the hole in the corner of the tray. On Monday at lunch time we decided to open a pit in another corner of the tray to make it seem like we were getting fresh potato salad. Well along came Monday at 6:30 pm and the potato salad was at the table again so we opened another corner, the third corner! Guess what, on Tuesday the potato salad was at the table again so we opened the 4th corner! Now all four corners had been sampled! Do you think we got rid of the potato salad now? Oh no, not on Bliss's dead body in the Christmas Tree Patch would anything be thrown out. It had to be eaten so there it appeared at the July 4th picnic! And where did we serve from then? Well, how about making a hole in the center of the tray! Just like fresh we enjoyed potato salad with our brats and other picnic fixings! But I would guess that Bliss and Marv, the only folks left there on the farm, will be eating potato salad till nearly Labor Day! Maybe I'll stop in for some next month!

Two-thirds Complete!

Over my 6 day weekend in Ironwood the only thing missing was the watermelon wine! The old dogs and children were ever present!

Time for Some Dutch Color! Contributions from Beth's Camera too.

White bells on a tall stalk.
Roses in full bloom in the center of a round about

Roses is a front yard garden

Lavender display

Bells

Closeup by Beth

Lying Down on the Job

It would be nice if all of life was this easy and enjoyable.

Abby and Rebecca

Abby took one look at Rebecca behind the new gate and figured it was time to make her hair stand up!

Its Shopping Time in Germany. What Was Not Missing?

The exterior was not quite as well appointed as the new super centers here in the new world but it was there! Sam isn't doing business in the Nederlands yet but Germany is well stocked with his stores.

It is Grocery Shopping Time but What Is Missing In Holland?

The Expats, Rebecca, and I did an unplanned grocery store stop the other day. Planned grocery stops always include the two wheeled pull behind grocery container (for a better word) or large reusable cloth or leather bags into which the groceries are packed and hauled home! Since this stop was unplanned we had brought no bags so the groceries were checked and put back into the cart to be wheeled out to the car! At the car the groceries were neatly stacked in the back for the ride home!

An observer often sees "lose" groceries being stashed into saddle bags or baskets on bikes, into pack sacks, or into the bottom bin of a kid's stroller. Stores do sell shopping type bags for a hefty bunch of change so I would say only a few are sold. Can you imagine shopping here in the United States without the convenience of "would you like paper or plastic"! So now you know what's missing at the grocery store in Holland! And so too at many other kinds stores for that matter! It makes me wonder how many trees and what amount of oil are saved with this European BYO sack concept! (Please note that this writer has no allegiance of any nature to Paper Nor Plastic, LLC and refers to the website only for interesting facts and information.)

School Is On But What is Missing in Holland?

Mother probably taking her daughter to school

Older kids by the hundreds bike past the Expats house morning and afternoon

Here appears to be a group of school kids on a field trip. Were they biking off to a farm?

So what is missing in the education process there in Holland? I did not see one, yes not even one, yellow school bus in three weeks. Kids in Holland pedal to school. The son and daughter of one of the Expats' friends pedal multiple kilometers taking about 30 to 45 minutes morning and night to bike to their high school in a neighboring town. Only in severe weather do they take a bus or train. And by the way their dad is a professor and mom is a medical doctor so they could probably afford a car for the kids. There are no overweight kids there and they really don't need P. E. to get into shape or burn energy! And consider the cost savings for the education process! Millions if not more not spent on fuel, vehicles, and drivers and support folks. Would it work here? On a limited basis in fall and spring maybe but its sort of hard to pedal in a snowstorm. But what would happen if bussing was ended? I suppose parents would take over transporting the kids with their cars as is the case in many areas even now. Nonetheless, it is interesting to know that in some cultures like most of rest of the world the kids are responsible for their own ride to and from school!

It is Snack Time in Holland but What is Missing?

*******************I suffered withdrawal pains for lack of the above!********************
(Well almost)

Never Knew This!

Did you know that Amazon in in the grocery business? What is next for this internet peddler?

What Does the Price of Gasoline in Holland Mean in English?

Rebecca loves to sleep in the car. Somtimes it took no more than a mile or two and she would turn her lead into the side of the seat and fall asleep. She does not appear to be interested in the price or gasoline!
Biker Mama and Rebecca going out for an evening ride! While many of us here in the United States would jump into the car and head for the Dairy Queen or Walmart the Dutch love their bikes for such adventures.

I took a picture of the local gas stations price list the other day. This one was a few miles north of Rebecca's house. While I did my photography she was probably snoring in the back seat! Anyway what does Euro 1.409 mean. First that is the price for a liter. There are 3.784118 liters per our gallon. Thus the price for a gallon of the gasoline would be Euro 5.33. Now we have to figure how Euro 5.33 converts to USD. If I did my figuring correctly Euro 5.33 would be USD 7.13. So what that means is that gasoline in The Nederlands is about $7.13. Now I just bought gasoline for the Grand Caravan today and paid $3.129. Thus we need to heed the fact and be overjoyed that our gasoline is less than half the cost of their gasoline. Thus we should motor about with great pride that we can do so much more cheaply than they can! Maybe that's why so many bikes are everywhere over there and they are not used only for pleasure but for transportation to work, school, shopping, and whatever.