Roy Exum
You may remember that in the havoc that ensued after the 9/11 on Sept. 11, 2001, all flights were immediately grounded. Delta Flight No. 15, en route from Frankfurt, Germany to Atlanta, was diverted to tiny Gander, Newfoundland, along with 51 other international aircraft. Talk about a problem in the making!
But Gander became a bright spot in the world-numbing catastrophe as 10,000 citizens opened their arms and homes for a total of 8,000 unexpected visitors.
Understand, this lasted for three full days. A tiny town nearby, Lewisporte, was where those on Delta Flight No. 15 were sent and a lady named Shirley Brooks-Jones was completely overwhelmed by what actually happened.
“No matter where we went, we had everything we needed. People brought blankets and towels from their homes to the local gym, where we slept on cots or pads. They brought homemade food and there were boxes and boxes of deodorant, shampoo and razors provided … anything we needed. And at night the ladies of the town would pick up used towels, take them home and wash them, so that they would be fresh the next day. It was incredible.”
So when Delta Flight No. 15 was cleared to resume its journey, those very passengers hatched a plan once they were airborne. By the time the airplane landed, Brooks-Jones already had $15,000 in pledges for a soon-to-be determined scholarship fund for the children of Lewisporte.
So I thought you might like to know that, to date, the children’s scholarship fund has risen to $1.5 million and the reason it isn’t more is a very good one. Brooks-Jones and her committee have already funded 134 college scholarships for Newfoundland kids in a ceaseless effort to repay the kindness of total stranger. Is that just wonderful or what?
Now, here some other stuff you need to know:
FOR WHAT IT’S WORTH – The first day of fall will be this Wednesday (Sept. 23) but Daylight Savings Time will hang around until Sunday, Nov. 1. On Sunday March 13, 2016, we’ll “spring forward” again.
WHAT’S WITH SWEDEN? – In 1975 the Swedish parliament unanimously decreed it would become a “multicultural country” rather than the homogeneous variety, opening its borders to thousands. In the 40 years since, violent crime has increased 300 percent but the more staggering number is this: There were 421 rapes reported in 1975 but the latest numbers show that in 2014 there were 6,620 that were reported. That is a 1,472 percent increase and, mind you, most rapes aren’t reported. Since 1980, twice as many foreigners have been accused of the disgusting crime every year instead of Swedes. That makes Sweden No. 2 in the world for rape, the leader being the country of Lesotho in Southern Africa with 91.6 per 100,000 people. In the USA the latest statistics show 27 victims per 100,000 people.
WHAT ABOUT THE USA? – A video website, cut.com, has been going around the world and asking different people their opinion of the United States. In Bangkok, one woman said, “It is obese…in America it is all about food.” From Berlin comes, “Many think that Americans are dumb, eat too much fast food, and are very patriotic.” A girl in Shanghai said, “When Chinese think about America, they think about the American dream. If you have a dream, it can come true.” In Tokyo a woman captured it all in one word. “Pizza.”
DOWN AT THE PARLOR – The rage on the West Coast is for a woman to dye her hair the color of an opal, you know, with all the colors of the gemstone. The trick is where the different hues are reflected in the sun in an iridescent sort of way. Me? I’m sticking with my signature color, which means what you see is what you get.
CANCEL OKTOBERFEST – There is a page on Change.org where a Muslim, Morad Aluradi, is respectfully asking the German city of Munich to cancel its world-famed Oktoberfest event, a 16-day festival held every fall. Aluradi said alcohol and public nudity are offensive to his religion and therefore is “unfair” to all Muslims. He further says the refugees who are now pouring into Germany and seeking asylum from Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan will be greatly offended and “we cannot tolerate this Un-Islamic event.” I’m thinking Aluradi hasn’t quite caught on to who-is-really-who.
PICKING ON DETROIT – It’s now official; with a poverty rate of 48 percent of those in Detroit making less than $25,000 a year, the murder capital is also the poorest large city in America. Milwaukee (36.5) and Philadelphia (36.4) are ahead of Memphis (35.9) and Tucson (35.7). The wealthiest? In San Francisco 23.4 percent make over $150,000 a year followed by San Jose (22.6), Washington, D.C. (19.0), Seattle (16.2) and San Diego (14.8).
OH, THOSE TEA PARTY TRYSTERS – You remember the two state legislators in Michigan who became lovers? After the scandal broke Todd Courser resigned minutes before his fellow lawmakers were going to oust him, while Cindy Gamrat was flat-out expelled. Now both say they’ll run for their former jobs in a special November election now that they are back with their respective spouses. Apparently shame has a short shelf life in some places.
NINE IMPORTANT FACTS AS WE GROW OLDER
(From my email)
9 -- Death is the number 1 killer in the world.
8 -- Life is sexually transmitted.
7 -- Good health is merely the slowest possible rate at which one can die.
6 -- Men have two motivations: hunger and hanky panky, and they can't tell them apart. If you see a gleam in his eyes, make him a sandwich.
5 -- Give a person a fish and you feed them for a day. Teach a person to use the Internet and they won't bother you for weeks, months, maybe years.
4 -- Health nuts are going to feel stupid someday, lying in the hospital, dying of nothing.
3 -- All of us could take a lesson from the weather. It pays no attention to criticism.
2 -- In the 60's, people took acid to make the world weird. Now the world is weird, and people take Prozac to make it normal.
1 -- Life is like a jar of jalapeño peppers. What you do today may be a burning issue tomorrow.
royexum@aol.com