Is this meant to be ironic?

I am sure I am being totally obtuse, but does this make sense? Radio for the Blind.... I mean, I think they can hear, they are blind, not deaf....

I am teasing - I know there is a logical explanation I just don't know what it is. But, it did make me laugh.

Baru Latin Caribbean Bistro & Tapas in New Orleans

Baru Latin Caribbean Bistro & Tapas

A very enjoyable casual place for yummy food. Not a huge menu, but plenty to choose from: Tapas, Tacos, Arepas, Salads & Sandwiches. We tried a shrimp salad, the carne Desmechada arepas, gulf fish ceviche and a langostino taco. I think chef makes the taco shells in house. I also enjoyed a blueberry mojito 'mocktail' which was wonderful.

The dining room is tiny; at least what I saw of it, though the restaurant does have outdoor tables.

They have a happy hour from 5 - 7 pm.

Try them at 3700 Magazine Street. I believe they have opened a second floor raw bar, but I have not yet seen it. I will go back, though.

A Genealogist's nightmare

I can't imagine this - to discover you have TWIN out there and no one told you. And to find her serendipitously through social media? What are the chances?

Anais Bordier was raised in France as an only child. When a friend shared a photo on Facebook of an American girl with similar looks, the adopted 25-year-old thought she might have found a long-lost relative. But then she discovered that the girl, Samantha Futerman, had also been adopted from South Korea—and shared the same birthday. “She had my laugh, my freckles,” Bordier said of their first Skype conversation. DNA tests soon confirmed the connection the pair suspected, and the twin sisters were recently reunited. “We’ve resumed our life together,” Futerman said, “with no fear of ever being separated again.”

I found this in The Week Magazine's October 31st, 2014 edition.

Mail is catching up

I still have no idea who this Tom guy is, but apparently he got hurt.

And what is happening to Karolyn? And does she have a brother Edwin?

Watervliet is a town near Troy, NY.

I believe Herb is in Bouvancourt, Marne, France. He'll be here for about two months.

March 25 (1918)
Dear Mother,

I had another letter from you and Dad today making some some [sic] six or seven so far. That isn’t so bad – but they arrive in the most curious sequence. This one today is date [sic] March 3rd but I never received the one before that telling me about Tom’s beng hurt. I suppose that will arrive in a week or so. Now, of course, I don’t know where he is because the last I knew he was in England and I presume he’s there yet. I do hope his injury wont cripple him in any way. I'd like to go see him but I'm afraid it’s hardly possible. There’s no telling how long we may be here at the front – it depends. I suppose on how active things are. If we go back to rest billets I’ll perhaps get a week’s leave but it isn’t permitted a soldier to leave France.

I also had a letter from Karolyn today written from Watervliet about a week before yours so I know about that. I for one am not sorry about it at all. In fact, from what I saw of it when I was in the States, I thought it pretty bad business all around. I’ll wager her mother is glad, since Edwin goes with the next contingent.

Everything here is so-so. Last week there was a lot to do for a couple of days. The Germans got busy with a lot of gas and caught a number of “XXX” napping. Most of the activity seems to be on the British front. From the papers things must be pretty hot there.

Of course we have lots of noise at night. There are several French batteries near as and [sic] they surely do make the night hideous. The Germans keep their end up, too, but they haven’t got a line on anything near us. About every afternoon a few ? planes come over and take a crack at the French observation balloons [sic]. So far I haven’t seen one of them hit in spite of the shells bursting all around them. Id like too [sic] though, dam [sic] them.

Remember me to Mrs. Nial + let me know how Tom gets along.

Love to all,
Herb

A Letter to Harry which arrived too late

Old Scout - wow, that's a nice term of affection.

This letter went to Harry at a boarding house where Harry was living while he was supposed to be attending photography school. Given that this letter was forwarded by the landlord, Harry didn't last long at this pursuit, either. I guess Herb would call this another Fiasco....

Herb seems more willing to tell his brother directly things about war - though mild. But here is the first time we hear about some shelling nearby.



March 20, 1918
Dear Old Scout,

After having had only one letter from home in over two months, a few days ago there came a regular deluge. I had five letters from Mother and Dad in one mail.

Of course the most interesting thing to me was the fact that you had left the Arsenal + gone to school. Inasmuch as the letter that told me of it was a month old, I imagine that when you get this you’ll be comfortably installed in your new home. Well, all I say is, go to it. We’re all back of you and I’m not at all afraid that this will prove such a fiasco as the last affair.

It was rather too bad that you couldn’t have landed that thing that Jack Hawkinson put you wise to, but it was manifestly over your head at present. The time for that will come later. Why don’t you write and tell him what you are doing now. I think he would be interested in view of his previous trouble for you. If you do, remember me to him.

The Section is now at the front and hard at work. Yesterday a shell dropped on a car near a dugout and battered it up. No one hurt.

Write me now and again and let me know how things are coming. I’ll be interested. Of course Mother will keep me in touch with you but I’d like to hear from you too.

Affectionately,
Herb

Washington Craft Show held 10/31 - 11/2/2014

I attended the craft show on Saturday at the absolutely enormous Washington Convention Center. What a fun day.

This area of town has changed significantly since the new convention center was built. New restaurants have opened and much more residential exists. Developers have torn down some of the old brick and brownstone urban fabric, which is a shame, but to see the renewed hustle and bustle is nice.

The Craft Show is organized by Crafts America, LLC out of Greens Farms, CT. This is a juried show, so the crafts are top quality, not kitchy. I have seen some artists from the Cherry Creek show in Denver, the Bethesda Arts Festival in Bethesda, Maryland and the Bayou City Arts Festival in Houston. Fun to see where the artists show and how they get around.



I confess, as I wondered around I had my eye on the fiber artists - and most were clothing - but there were some other interesting crafts which caught my eye; for example a guy out of Michigan who weaves glass and a woman who makes pins and other statement jewelry out of heirloom or estate pieces. I will share their cards and maybe a little of their stories later.

My local NPR station - WAMU - was a sponsor of the show.

1918 - March Report

Here is a photograph I took at the National Archives showing the March 1918 Report. One can read where they have been. The commanding officer is Lloyd Allen - and you can see his signature in the upper left corner. Herb filled out this report. We have the list of men's names here.

Just thought I would share one of the source documents I found.

Germany’s radioactive boars

Clearly I am behind in my reading.... Again, from the September 19th edition of The Week....

This is some F'ed up s^%t. It can't only be the boars, can it?

As a result of the Chernobyl nuclear disaster nearly three decades ago, Germany’s forests are full of radioactive boars, says USA Today. Recent tests by authorities in the eastern state of Saxony have found that one in three wild boars in its forests contains such high levels of radiation that it is unfit for human consumption. When the Soviet Union’s Chernobyl power plant exploded in 1986, in what is now Ukraine, it blasted a cloud of radioactive particles into the air that spread via wind and rain across Europe before seeping into the ground. Wild boars are thought to be acutely affected by the fallout because they root through contaminated soil for food, scarfing down mushrooms and truffles that store radiation. The Germans have known some boars were contaminated, and since 2012 have legally required hunters to test boar carcasses for radiation. But the latest tests show the problem is more widespread than previously thought. Experts think radioactive boars could still be roaming the forests up to 50 years from now.

Halloween and Allentown, PA

So, I was watching the History channel on Halloween night and they claimed that the first Halloween Parade was held in Allentown, PA in 1905. Too bad we are missing letters from Herb from that time period. The tradition would only be 12 years old by the time Herb was living in Allentown.

I swiped this photo from the Allentown, PA web site.

Hope for Autoimmune Diseases

From 9/19/2104 The Week Magazine...

Scientists believe they have discovered a new way to “switch off” autoimmune diseases, raising hope that there could soon be a treatment for conditions like multiple sclerosis and type 1 diabetes. Such autoimmune diseases trick the body into attacking itself, making the immune system treat harmless proteins as dangerous invaders. But a team at the University of Bristol in England has found that the immune system can be retrained so that it learns that the proteins are safe, says Telegraph.co.uk. The method involves synthesizing harmless proteins and injecting tiny amounts of them into the bloodstream, in slowly increasing doses. It is similar to a new treatment for allergies known as allergic desensitization. Researchers said the finding might help doctors find immunotherapies for individual conditions; the current treatment, which involves suppressing the immune system, can lead to side effects including infections and tumors. “These findings,” says Bristol professor David Wraith, “have important implications for the many patients suffering from autoimmune conditions.”

Seems to me something is going on with food - and though this is good and interesting - I should think being aware of what one is eating would also help with autoimmune diseases... but I am not a doctor.