Unconventional Wisdom

A Marine veteran talked about his experience at Iwo Jima. This aspect of his story stuck in my mind the most:

One incident on Iwo Jima did have repercussions for Nummer years later. “One night,” he recalls, “off in the distance, I could see somebody running around. This figure kept coming closer, and it was getting darker. Pretty soon he got close enough to where he could hear me. I yelled out, ‘Tree!’ If he’s another Marine, he’s supposed to yell back, ‘Oak!’ or whatever. Nothing. ‘Car!’ I yell. He’s supposed to yell back, ‘Ford!’ or whatever. So I told him to drop his weapon. But he kept coming. Guys said, ‘Shoot!’

“My finger just froze on the trigger—and down he went.”

The next morning, a lieutenant congratulated Nummer and told him he could have any artifacts found on the body.

“I got his wallet and bayonet.”

Four decades later, these mementos of his 36 days on Iwo Jima haunted Nummer. “I had this wallet from this guy that I shot. It was no good to me, so I thought: I’ll send it back.”

He met three Japanese men at a car show in Denver, and one offered to take the papers to Japan.

“About a year later, I got a letter from the daughter of this guy that I’d shot. She was 40 years old, born 10 days after he left. Never knew her father. She was so happy that she finally knew what happened to her dad.”

The letter said:

Dear Mr. Nummer:

My name is Mrs. Kimie Sato, a daughter of Siguo Kubo, who was a soldier who died on Iwo Jima. I received my father’s papers from you… How I wish I could…see you and thank you. My heart was choked with memories of my grandparents and my mother…when I was handed the articles left by my father… They are treasures for me now… Thank you very much for your kindness.

Sincerely,
Kimie Sato

Later, “I went to Iwo Jima—1995, the 50th anniversary,” Nummer says. “Our plane landed late, so we were the last ones to get to the ceremony. They announced my name on the loudspeaker to come to the podium. So I went, and there was a package for me. Kimie had a nice tie for me, coasters, a tablecloth, different stuff she was so proud for me to have.

“Some people thought I was wrong by sending those papers back, but I don’t think so. They were no good to me, but to her they meant the whole world.”
Did she know Richard Nummer had killed her father?

“No,” he says. “I never did tell her that. Couldn’t do that.”

Go read the whole thing. This part of his story allows me more admiration of our servicemen. I hope today’s veteran’s display the same prudence as this old WW2 vet. Happy memorial day!

Article via Newsalert:

Yes, this poky economy means tough times for many people and professions, but longtime entrepreneurs Hans and Laurie Huseby can’t complain. Partners in commerce and life, they are still expanding FootWorks, the running shoe and fitness store they opened in South Miami in 1976.

”Our sales are up,” Hans Huseby said. ”We’re doing better each month of ’08 compared to the same month in ’07.” Here’s one of his theories on why: “Running is a cheap endeavor. And when the economy turns down, it’s a great way to shake off your worries and woes.”

Another way to cope is to litigate. An uptick in legal actions is stretching the limits at Morgan, Lewis & Bockius, a national corporate defense firm with a downtown Miami office of 30 very busy lawyers.

”We are flat out and looking to hire more great lawyers,” said managing partner Mark Zelek. Morgan Lewis specializes in commercial litigation and represents big companies in its labor and employment practice. ”In these areas when the economy is down, the business goes up,” Zelek said.

For the lucky and even unlikely, a bad economy can be good for business — or at least not spoil it. Some enterprises can hold steady by getting lean and mean and playing smart, experts say. Of course, it helps to be part of a recession-proof industry, said Miami-based economist Kenneth Thomas.

”I believe that we’re in a recession,” Thomas said. “Sometimes the official designation doesn’t come until we’re months into it, but I believe it has started, probably around December.”

Employers are cutting jobs. Consumers are cutting back. But everyone still needs toilet paper, food basics and other ”recession-proof products.” A good deal is appreciated now more than ever.

While many retailers are suffering, Family Dollar, a North Carolina-based public company with 6,500 discount stores across the country, is seeing ”a steady increase” in sales in its expanding operation in South Florida, said company spokesman Joshua Braverman. Four of the 64 Family Dollar stores in Miami-Dade and Broward have opened since September and another one is scheduled to open in early July.

Braverman said Family Dollar, which sells brand-name household products for as little as $1 or $2 in a no-frills, low-overhead setting, has had particular success by offering more food items, including ”quick prep” meals.

”South Florida is a very important market for us and a very successful area for us,” Braverman said. “I think everybody in this economy is looking for a way to stretch their dollar, and we offer the value and convenience that people need.”

Businesses associated with hard luck, such as pawn shops and repossession companies, tend to prosper amid economic misery.

”The worse the economy, the better our business is. It’s always been that way,” said Steve Sebag, owner of DCT Recovery in Pembroke Pines and the South Florida director of FLACARS, an association of repossession companies.

Another item I found via Instapundit:

Hamburgers and hot dogs? Check. Lighter fluid? Check. Beer? Check. More money?

Americans are about to fire up their barbecues for the start of the summer cookout season, and one thing has become painfully apparent: It’s going to cost a lot more than it did last year to cook a burger, or just about any other barbecue favorite, on the grill.

Food inflation is the highest in almost two decades, driven by record prices for oil, gas and mounting global demand for staples such as wheat and corn, and for proteins such as chicken. And that’s reaching into Americans’ back yards.

The price of an average barbecue – with burgers, hot dogs, beer, soda, condiments, salad, paper plates and lighter fluid – could run families about 6 percent more than last year.

That’s making shoppers pause as they fill their carts for the Memorial Day weekend, the unofficial start of the barbecue season.

“I’m finding myself questioning every purchase, wondering if it’s gonna get eaten, or if we really need it,” said Tony Caballero, an advertising and marketing consultant, as he filled his cart with paper plates at a Food Emporium in New York City. “When you do your everyday shopping, you try to cut corners. But it’s a shame to have to scale down when you’re trying to throw a party.”

The consumer price index for food rose 4 percent last year, compared with an average 2.5 percent annual rise for the last 15 years. On Monday, the U.S. Department of Agriculture raised its forecast for next year by half a percentage point, to a range of 4.5 to 5.5 percent.

Basic economics account for most of the increase: Bad weather has hurt crops, economic prosperity has driven up demand in developing countries, and surging fuel prices have raised transportation costs.

Has this economic enviroment caused anyone out there to change their food buying habits? Are you out there grilling regardless?

Perhaps Rand Paul should be the future of the Ron Paul “Revolution” when will he run for Congress or when will he start his political career. Via Preserving Freedom.

This may be a Ron Paul gushfest, but there are some things to consider in this video for those of you who consider yourselves Republicans.

Sounds like someone is clueless!