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In an earlier blog entry I mentioned that my
Dad was joined by six uncles that fought in
World War II. Actually that is incorrect. My
father's side of the family came to America
in 1908 from the Bavarian section of Germany.
Some members of his family did not migrate
to America, so I had some distant members of
the family that fought against the United States
in World War II.
Having said that, I have always had a great
admiration for the German Air Force (Luftwaffe)
in the second world war. While the Allies used
their air forces at high altitudes, it was the Germans
who demonstrated the success of close quarter
air support for the ground troops.
The Messerschmidt 109 was the most widely
manufactured fighter of World War II, with over
35,000 of them being built. It was not the same
plane in 1945 as it was in 1937 as it was continually
being refined and updated. Even in 1943 when the
Foch-Wolfe 190 was introduced as the successor to
the 109, a lot of the Luftwaffe pilots stayed with the
older plane rather to change to a new one. The 109
was the first plane to fly over 400 miles per hour.
The Luftwaffe used the Civil War in Spain to perfect
their tactics and find just what the 109 was capable
of. It featured a cannon in the nose of the propeller
that allowed the pilot to aim the weapon better, and
each wing had two machine guns mounted on it.
The Luftwaffe may have come up second best in the
Battle of Britain, but that may be attributed to the
success of the Brits use of radar as an early warning
system.
The Messerschmidt 109 saw its demise when the
American P-51 Mustang started to appear over the
battlefield. The P-51 was faster, could climb higher,
and could fly farther than the 109.
Still,..it was a great plane and had classic features.
I have three models of the 109 suspended from the
ceiling of my office.
This is a continuing reminder this blog is
dedicated to the memory of Carl Stone, my
older brother and my idol as I grew up.
There is a car that we built that I do not
have a single photo of, but I do have one of
a model that my wife painted to replicate it.
I had a real admiration for the Gas Coupe car
of the team of Stone, Woods, and Cook. Some
people thought that Stone was my brother, but
that was not the case.
In the early 1970's we built a 1941 Willys Coupe
and of course it was painted purple, my brothers
favorite color. It was powered by a 330 cubic
inch Chevrolet engine, Jahns racing pistons, a
Chet Herbert cam, Corvette heads with the big
valves, and a GMC 671 Blower with injectors.
The transmission was a Borg-Warner T-220
close ration 4-speed, and a quick change rear
end with 588 gears. God,..it was fun to drive,
but my brother hated it because of the heavy
body. It ran on pump gasoline and went thru
the quarter in the 10 second range at about
180 miles per hour. Nothing to brag about, but
it was a consistent winner at Cedar Hill and
Green Valley. I loved it because I got to drive
it most of the time while my brother turned the
wrenches and enjoyed a beer with some friends.
It was a car that did not have a long life with
the Stone Brothers,..but it was fun while it
lasted..
I have been a loyal Kevin Harvick fan since 2001..
February of 2001 to be precise. Kevin was put on the
spot of being the driver to take over the team of Dale
Earnhardt when Dale was killed in the 2001 Daytona 500.
Harvick proceeded to win a Winston Cup race in only
his third start with the big boys, something no other
driver has been able to accomplish.
His career has been an up and down venture with
Richard Childress Racing. He has won on the short tracks,
the one and a half mile tracks, the road courses, and of
course, the Daytona 500 Super Speedway in 2007. He is
a fresh face that does a good job in representing his
sponsors and is well spoken when they stick a microphone
in front of him. The problem is that Harvick has become a
second echelon driver. Good enough to be listed as one of
the stars of NASCAR, but not good enough to win the
overall Championship. Whether you think the problem is with
the engine department, the fabrication shop, or the race day
pit crew,...Harvick is just not able to close the deal on the
title.
He has won the Nationwide Series (Busch) title twice, but
that is not the top series in NASCAR, and that is the problem.
His fans seem to think only the Cup races are the important
ones...and they could be right.
Harvick has come to a crossroads in his career. He has one
more year on his contract with Richard Childress Racing, but he
is more than financially able to buy his way out, if he desires.
Tony Stewart started his own team this season, and could
use Harvick for a third car at Stewart/Haas Racing. Stewart's
other driver is Ryan Newman, and both Newman and Stewart
drive Harvick's Nationwide cars when he is not in it. Stewart
and Harvick are longtime friends and it is a good bet he will
end up with Tony for the 2010 season.
There is also the possibility of Harvick following the lead of
Tony Stewart and starting his own race team in 2010. His
shop is already turning out championship product for the
Nationwide and Truck Series. It would not be that hard to
adjust to the Cup Series. While others have trouble finding
a sponsor, Harvick's wife DeLana is very adapt at running
the business and courting sponsors while hubby is away
at the race track. Harvick is definitely at a very
important crossroad in his life,...but one thing is certain.
No matter what course he may take, Harvick will end up on
his feet because he is a winner..... no matter what the
checkered flag may say.
The following was written by Ben Stein and recited by him on CBS Sunday Morning Commentary.
My confession:
I am a Jew, and every single one of my ancestors was Jewish. And it does not bother me even a little bit when people call those beautiful lit up, bejeweled trees, Christmas trees. I don't feel threatened. I don't feel discriminated against. That's what they are, Christmas trees.
It doesn't bother me a bit when people say, 'Merry Christmas' to me. I don't think they are slighting me or getting ready to put me in a ghetto. In fact, I kind of like it. It shows that we are all brothers and sisters celebrating this happy time of year. It doesn't bother me at all that there is a manger scene on display at a key intersection near my beach house in Malibu . If people want a creche, it's just as fine with me as is the Menorah a few hundred yards away.
I don't like getting pushed around for being a Jew, and I don't think Christians like getting pushed around for being Christians. I think people who believe in God are sick and tired of getting pushed around, period. I have no idea where the concept came from, that America is an explicitly atheist country. I can't find it in the Constitution and I don't like it being shoved down my throat.
Or maybe I can put it another way: where did the idea come from that we should worship celebrities and we aren't allowed to worship God as we understand Him? I guess that's a sign that I'm getting old, too. But there are a lot of us who are wondering where these celebrities came from and where the America we knew went to.
In light of the many jokes we send to one another for a laugh, this is a little different: This is not intended to be a joke; it's not funny, it's intended to get you thinking.
Billy Graham's daughter was interviewed on the Early Show and Jane Clayson asked her 'How could God let something like this happen?' (regarding Hurricane Katrina). Anne Graham gave an extremely profound and insightful response. She said, 'I believe God is deeply saddened by this, just as we are, but for years we've been telling God to get out of our schools, to get out of our government and to get out of our lives. And being the gentleman He is, I believe He has calmly backed out. How can we expect God to give us His blessing and His protection if we demand He leave us alone?'
In light of recent events ... terrorists attack, school shootings, etc. I think it started when Madeleine Murray O'Hare (she was murdered, her body found a few years ago) complained she didn't want prayer in our schools, and we said OK. Then someone said you better not read the Bible in school. The Bible says thou shalt not kill; thou shalt not steal, and love your neighbor as yourself. And we said OK.
Then Dr. Benjamin Spock said we shouldn't spank our children when they misbehave, because their little personalities would be warped and we might damage their self-esteem (Dr. Spock's son committed suicide). We said an expert should know what he's talking about. And we said okay.
Now we're asking ourselves why our children have no conscience, why they don't know right from wrong, and why it doesn't bother them to kill strangers, their classmates, and themselves.
Probably, if we think about it long and hard enough, we can figure it out. I think it has a great deal to do with 'WE REAP WHAT WE SOW.'
Funny how simple it is for people to trash God and then wonder why the world's going to hell. Funny how we believe what the newspapers say, but question what the Bible says. Funny how you can send 'jokes' through e-mail and they spread like wildfire, but when you start sending messages regarding the Lord, people think twice about sharing. Funny how lewd, crude, vulgar and obscene articles pass freely through cyberspace, but public discussion of God is suppressed in the school and workplace.
Are you
laughing yet?
Funny how when you forward this message, you will not send it to many on your address list because you're not sure what they believe, or what they will think of you for sending it.
Funny how we can be more worried about what other people think of us than what God thinks of us.
Pass it on if you think it has merit.
If not, then just discard it ... no one will know you did. But, if you discard this thought process, don't sit back and complain about what bad shape the world is in.
My Best Regards, Honestly and respectfully,
Ben Stein
