WHO IS THIS FOR?

Chris sent me this ... it's a family joke.
While we lived in Tennessee and I was attending a Navy school to learn electronics -- if Chris had to call me while I was at the barracks on duty days (my duty was to hand out the mail on my duty days), he could call up and ask for Petty Officer Mommy. There were only a few of us who had kids - whoever answered the phone would be able to pin down which "Petty Officer Mommy" was being looked for by the caller's name.

The Christmas we were in Tennessee, we went down to Disneyworld over the holidays. We got back real late at night and rather than lose another day of leave, I parked the car outside the quarterdeck and went to check in off leave. I told Chris that if anyone came by - to tell them I was in with the OOD (officer of the deck) --- he said okay, he'd tell them I was with the O-D-D. (that had been one of his spelling words - so he knew "ODD" was a word). Close enough -- just had to laugh.

When I let Chris know the package had arrived in the mail and it was for a "Petty Officer Mommy" -- he made sure to point out that it was "Petty Officer - retired - Mommy"

ERIC DODGE SINGS "I PLEDGE"

One of my favorite artists....I wanted to have this played at my command Navy retirement ceremony...unfortuantely, my ceremony was cancelled due to mission requirements. Oh well ... so it goes.

TORNADOS AND EARTHQUAKES

We had a few small tremors this morning -- just enough to rattle the furniture and windows and sent the cat into a tizzy. Last Monday, when Don and I came home from work the poliza weren't allowing anyone to go through Motta (one of the small towns we normally drive through to get home) -- wondered about it, but figured it was just blocked for holiday celebrations. Imagine our surprise a few days later to learn that a tornado had gone through the town.

Regretfully, several were critically injured in Catania (the major town just east of us on the coast). The newscast link shows part of Motta (at about the 1 minute point)