july 12

Wayback Wednesday: National Personnel Records Center Fire 1973

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National Archives Image
Image Credit: National Archives

Fifty years, ago, today…

Burt Lancaster's DD214 Image Two
Burned discharge document of Burt Lancaster
Larger Image
Image Credit: National Archives & Wikipedia

Shortly after midnight on July 12, 1973, a fire was reported at the National Personnel Records Center’s Military Personnel Records Building, [a branch of the NPRC], in St. Louis County, Missouri. The fire burned out of control for 22 hours and it took two days before firefighters were able to re-enter the building. Due to the extensive damage, investigators were never able to determine the source of the fire.

The National Archives focused its immediate attention on salvaging as much as possible and quickly resuming operations at the facility. Even before the final flames were out, staff at the NPRC had begun work towards these efforts, as vital records were removed from the burning building for safekeeping.

“In terms of loss to the cultural heritage of our nation, the 1973 NPRC fire was an unparalleled disaster. In the aftermath of the blaze, recovery and reconstruction efforts took place at an unprecedented level. Thanks to such recovery efforts and, the use of alternate sources to reconstruct files, today’s NPRC is able to continue its primary mission of serving our country’s military and civil servants.”

Archivist of the United States David S. Ferriero

The estimated loss of Army personnel records, for those discharged from November 1, 1912, to January 1, 1950, was about 80 percent. In addition, approximately 75 percent of Air Force personnel records, for those discharged from September 25, 1947, through January 1, 1964, were also destroyed in the catastrophe [all records after the last name Hubbard].

Archives Recalls Fire That Claimed Millions Of Military Personnel Files
National Archives News
Kerri Lawrence
2018

Snapshots Sunday: Sky Gazing 4.0

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A storm rolled into town in July of 2016. I came out of the Food Lion and was just awestruck. It was scary looking and I kept waiting for the lightening, thunder and rain but, nothing happened except a gorgeous sunset.

All photos are my personal collection. © ~Vic

Sky Gazing 3.0

July Storm Image One
Standing in the parking lot. I thought this was going to turn into a funnel cloud.
07-12-2016
July Storm Image Two
It was still turning.
July Storm Image Three
It was like two different skies.
July Storm Image Four
It stayed really dark but, there was no rain at all.

Flashback Friday: Disco Demolition Death 1979

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Disco Demolition Image One
Photo Credit: dailyherald.com

Forty years ago, today, the Disco Demolition took place at Chicago’s Comiskey Park. What started out as a baseball promotion turned into a mêlée that damaged the field.

[..] disco didn’t quite die a natural death by collapsing under its own weight. Instead, it was killed by a public backlash that reached its peak on this day in 1979 […]. That incident, which led to at least nine injuries, 39 arrests and, the cancellation and forfeit of a Major League Baseball game, is widely credited […] or, blamed for […] dealing disco its death blow.

The event was the brainchild of Steve Dahl and Garry Meier, popular disk jockeys on Chicago’s WLUP “The Loop” FM. […] many […] rock DJs were displaced by disco [but], only Dahl was inspired to launch a semi-comic vendetta aimed at “the eradication and elimination of the dreaded musical disease.”

On May 2, the rainout of a game between the Chicago White Sox and the Detroit Tigers led to the scheduling of a doubleheader on July 12. Dahl and Meier approached the White Sox with a rather unorthodox idea for an attendance-boosting promotion […]. […] allow Dahl to blow up a dumpster full of disco records between games of the doubleheader. White Sox executive Mike Veeck embraced the idea […].

[…] organizers […] grossly [underestimated] the appeal of the 98-cent discount tickets offered to anyone who brought a disco record to the park to add to the explosive-rigged dumpster. WLUP and the White Sox expected perhaps 5,000 more fans than the average draw of 15,000 or so […]. What they got, instead, was a raucous sellout crowd of 40,000+ and an even more raucous overflow crowd of as many as 40,000 more outside on Shields Avenue.

What followed was utter chaos, as fans by the thousands stormed the field, […] began to wreak havoc, shimmying up the foul poles, tearing up the grass and lighting vinyl bonfires on the diamond while the stadium scoreboard implored them to return to their seats. Conditions were judged too dangerous for the scheduled game to begin and the Detroit Tigers were awarded a win by forfeit.

[Source]

Disco Demolition Image Two
Photo Credit: wbbm780.radio.com

In the weeks before the event, Dahl invited his listeners to bring records they wanted to see destroyed to Comiskey Park. Owner Bill Veeck was concerned the promotion might become a disaster […]. His fears were substantiated when he saw the people walking towards the ballpark that afternoon. […] many carried signs that described disco in profane terms.

Some leapt turnstiles, climbed fences and entered through open windows. Attendees were supposed to deposit their records into a large box [but], once the box was overflowing, many people brought their discs to their seats. Many of the records were not collected by staff and were thrown like flying discs from the stands. Tigers designated hitter Rusty Staub remembered that the records would slice through the air and land sticking out of the ground. He urged teammates to wear batting helmets when playing their positions. “It wasn’t just one, it was many. Oh, God almighty, I’ve never seen anything so dangerous in my life.” Attendees also threw firecrackers, empty liquor bottles and lighters onto the field. The game was stopped several times because of the rain of foreign objects.

Dozens of hand-painted banners with such slogans as “Disco Sucks” were hung from the ballpark’s seating decks. Dahl set off the explosives, destroying the records and tearing a large hole in the outfield grass. […] the first of 5,000 to 7,000 attendees rushed onto the field […]. The batting cage was destroyed and, the bases were pulled up and stolen. Among those taking to the field was 21-year-old aspiring actor Michael Clarke Duncan […]. Duncan slid into third base, had a silver belt buckle stolen and went home with a bat from the dugout. Some attendees danced in circles around the burning vinyl shards.

Chicago police in full riot gear arrived (9:08pm) to the applause of the baseball fans remaining in the stands. Those on the field hastily dispersed upon seeing the police. Tigers manager Sparky Anderson refused to allow his players to take the field […] due to safety concerns. Anderson […] demanded that the game be forfeited to the Tigers. He argued that, under baseball’s rules, a game can only be postponed due to an Act of God, and that, as the home team, the White Sox were responsible for field conditions.

Disco Demolition Image Three
DJ Steve Dahl
Photo Credit: npr.org

Cultural Significance

NPR Article

Daily Herald Article

Chicago Sun-Times Article

New York Times Article

Chris Thomas: How Do We Know: Ready For Soul Integration?

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A Blog Post From: The Chris Thomas Files

Soul Reintegration Image One
Image Credit: wakingtimes.com

[Preface from a client of Chris Thomas: A day or so ago, I wrote to my friend Chris Thomas because I had been chatting with a number of people about whether or not we are ready for soul integration, a name some people call the shift or the great leap in consciousness. To me, it is all about higher self connection and really knowing it exists for you and, I did wonder if he might be annoyed by the rather long e-mail I sent him where I expressed my views and those of others I know.

Here is his reply……….]

No, I am not annoyed your response. In fact, the exact opposite. It shows that people are finally able to see that what happens outside of themselves is not important. It is the inner sense that counts.

I was asked recently if “one needed to be perfect in order to re-integrate?” The concept of perfect and human going together is like military and intelligence. They are both oxymorons. The concept of what is “perfect”, in human terms, has changed with each and every generation throughout history. So no, nobody is perfect. Everybody is an individual, especially when it comes to the state of readiness for re-integration.

I can understand peoples’ confusion over if they are ready or not and why-doesn’t-the-higher-self-put-it-in-writing-please-so-that-I-can-actually-understand-what-“it”-wants-me-to-do. And yes, in that respect, it is easy for me as I have been working closely and directly with my higher self for 50 years. There are two ways in which it is possible to work out how “ready” one is. There are obviously more but, these are two that are readily accessible:

[1] Since October 2010, when the energy acceleration began, those who were in the process of getting ready, found that all sorts of emotional situations came up to be cleared. For many people, the 18 months since then have been one of constant trauma but, also, one where they found that emotional situations they had ignored for years, if not all of their lives, repeatedly came to the fore and would not go away until action was taken to clear them. This situation became much, much worse since October 2011 when the “final” energies for clearance kicked in. Those who took the opportunity to actually clear these old emotional situations began to take on more and more of the energies of their higher self. Those who ignored these emotional situations found that they felt under increasing pressure to do something about it. As we entered 2012, those who had found the courage to face up to their emotional past found that their lives became less traumatic and more peaceful.

So, this is guide number one…if your life became one long emotional turmoil after another and has now cleared or, at least, eased off considerably, then, it means that your higher self is satisfied with the work you have done and, you are ready for the next phase of re-integration when the time is right. There is another aspect to this and that is, for many, they were ready and did not have much emotional debris to clear. This period of time has also been traumatic for them as they see everyone else undergoing these clearances and they have had nothing, or very little, to do themselves. If you have not undergone this kind of emotional trauma over the past 18 months then, the chances are that you were already clear and ready. You were just waiting for everyone else to catch up.

BUT…

Soul Integration Image Two
Image Credit: youtube.com

An awful lot of people have done everything they can to ignore the elephant in their living rooms and have worn their shoes out walking around the elephant, doing their best to ignore it. They know that it is there, the emotional situation they need to clear but, have done everything they can to deny its existence. For these people, the last six months or so have felt like they are under a ton weight of pressure to sort something out but, have refused to acknowledge that their elephant exists.

It is these people who are holding back the time at which we are all ready to re-integrate. After all, all of these people said that they were ready to re-integrate back in October 2011 and have done nothing since other than complain about why can’t they move on. This is what your higher self is looking for…a readiness to look at your life and properly deal with those issues (emotional situations) you have ignored in the past. If you continue to ignore them, the chances are that at some point in the very near future, your higher self is going to give up on you and you will be left behind (this means dying). There is an energy boost to come very shortly which should help these people to finally deal with their elephants but, if they still refuse to sort out their problems, they will become lost (Chris is trying to be gentle and kind, here but, this mean you will die).

[2] We all have an ego. It is a part of our fundamental make-up and defines who we are within our own estimation. There is nothing wrong with an ego, it is [just] a question of how realistic and honest we are being with ourselves. Most people get it wrong. Their egos are either too big or they are too small. Too big means that we are not being honest with ourselves and are attempting to make those around us believe that we are more than we actually are. Too small means that, again, we are not being honest with ourselves and are denying our true selves to those around us. What our higher selves want from us is that we are honest with ourselves. Once we become honest with ourselves, we also become honest with those with whom we share our lives. By being honest with others, it allows them to be honest with us in return and once we have honest relationships, emotional traumas do not occur.

The best way of working out if you are honest with yourself is to look at how you react to criticism. If someone criticises you and, you become angry and defensive, it means that you are not being honest with yourself. If someone criticises you and, you think about what it is they are saying, look at what they are saying, honestly and your response is more along the lines of: “Yes, I see what you are saying and you are correct…” or, alternatively, your response is: “No, you are not correct, that is an unfair comment…” then, you are being as honest with yourself as you can be. That is all that your higher self wants you to be.

So, to recap…

If your life has been emotionally traumatic but, is now, or is becoming, more peaceful, then you are just about ready and have listened to your higher self. If you can be as honest as possible with yourself in all situations, then, you are just about ready and have listened to your higher self. If neither of the two above statements apply to you, then, it means that you still have work to do as you have not listened to your higher self.

To continue reading, download the PDF version HERE.

[Note: The original post was written by Chris Thomas & published with his permission on July 12, 2012, on the The Spirit Guides UK Network Forum Blog and on the One-Vibration Forum Blog.]

Foto Friday: Sunsets Local

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All photos, below, are my personal collection. ~Vic


Sunset Image One
Food Lion parking lot as storm clouds rolled through.
07-12-2016


Sunset Image Two
My neighborhood.
12-12-2016


Sunset Image Three
Evening walk.
11-05-2017


Sunset Image Four
Up the street.
11-11-2017


Sunset Image Five
Late Spring walk.
06-02-2018


Sunset Image Six
Phoenix in the sky.
08-06-2018


Sunset Image Seven
Cotton on fire.
09-18-2018


Sunset Image Eight
Riverwalk
01-06-2019


Sunset Image Nine
Sunset blur thru the window.
01-29-2019


Sunset Image Ten
Pink glow this past Sunday.
02-03-2019

National Simplicity Day

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Simplicity Day Image
Image Credit: National Day Calendar

July 12th is another very busy ‘National Day’ with five celebrations. Simplicity Day is observed on the birthday of Henry David Thoreau. He was born on this day in 1817. As a philosopher, he believed in living a simple life:

“In proportion as he simplifies his life, the laws of the universe will appear less complex and solitude will not be solitude, nor poverty poverty, nor weakness weakness.”

He was a world-renowned author, historian, abolitionist, tax resister (my hero!), a surveyor, criticized over-development, preferred the natural ways and transcendentalism and, was a friend of and mentored by, Ralph Waldo Emerson. Born nearly 100 years prior to Alan Watts, the two could have been contemporary peers.

In our overly busy lives, steeped in political battles, materialism, social media madness and the struggle to survive, slowing down, disengaging and walking in nature can be a refreshing break. De-cluttering and simplifying one’s life can, ultimately, bring peace and balance.

Also celebrated today:
National Different Colored Eyes Day
National Pecan Pie Day (Yum!)
Paper Bag Day
Eat Your Jello Day (I’m not kidding)

Cheers and enjoy!