My Say What Blog Archives - Page 43 of 56

Sep 11th Where were you on September 11, 2001?

An explosion rips through the South Tower of the World Trade Towers after the hijacked United Airlines Flight 175 crashed into it Sept, 11, 2001. The North Tower is shown burning after American Airlines Flight 11 crashed into the tower at 8:45 a.m. -Robert Clark / Associated Press

September 11, 2001, is burned in my memory for all time. I was no where closed to ground zero in New York. In fact I was 1, 775 miles away in Colorado. But the sights and sounds broadcast on the television and computer of the planes crashing into the twin towers, the Pentagon, and a Pennsylvania field, were still life changing. Launching America into a new consciousness, the threat of global terrorism was front and center.

I had just started a new job, I was getting ready for work when I stopped to check my email before shutting the computer down at approximately 8:00 a.m. , MDT. A friend’s email popped up with urgent on it then an IM. The message said “Turn on your television before you head to work. It’s awful, we’ve been attacked.”

A damaged tower collapses -(Det. Greg Semendinger / NYPD)

I tagged him back “What? I gotta go.” But upon his insistence, I headed down stairs flipped on the television. To my horror I saw the video of the fiery blasts that rocked the World Trade Center after being hit by two planes. I’m not sure how long I stood there watching the events as they unfolded that morning. That particular scene was burned into my memory. For the first time in history, the FAA grounded all flights over or bound for United States air space. It was an eerie sound… or no sound at all I guess. Where I live, air traffic from local airports and the numerous air force bases are an everyday occurrence. But the dead silence was unnerving.

Anyway, I finally tore myself from the television, got in my SUV and drove to work. There I found my boss and a few co-workers glued to the computer screens and MSNBC where World Trade Center’s North Tower collapse 102 minutes after being struck by Flight 11 was being aired. Continuous news coverage and updates at ground zero. Not much work got done that morning in our office. I think we were all in a state of shock. How could this happen? Within a couple of hours, the business owner called and told us all to go home.

Firefighters raise a flag late in the afternoon of Sept. 11, 2001, in the wreckage -(Thomas E. Franklin / Associated Press)

Coverage continued all day and at 8:30 p.m., President Bush addressed the nation, calling the attacks “evil, despicable acts of terror” and declaring that America, it’s friends and allies would “stand together to win the war against terrorism.”

From that day forward, there was a new normal. It couldn’t happen to the United States, but it had. We’d been attacked on our on soil… so many American lives lost on that one day, through the actions of a few. A day millions will never forget.

So…where were you the morning of September 11, 2001?

Posted in My Say What Blog and tagged 2001, Ground Zero, September 11, World Trade Towers by Tena Stetler with 4 comments.

Aug 22nd Adventures of a Dog, a Bird & a Turtle

Our first indication an adventure was afoot was our fifth wheel trailer is parked in the driveway, rather than wherever it hides. Excitement mounts as our humans drag clothes from the upstairs closets to the trailer. Next the delicious aroma of food is carried out. I sure hope we get some of whatever it is. Oops gotta make a pit stop out back and grab a couple of favorite toys to take. Be right back.

There she goes, that silly dog. What if our humans sneak out the front door while no one is on guard. Guess it’s up to me. I’ll just move over to my other perch and keep an eye out. Thump, thump, thump a human with a basket of goodies comes bounding up the basement steps. “Hey guys don’t forget my freshly made breakfast s and frozen dinners.” Pop! The fridge opens, containers of my food are tossed in the basket, yep we’ve trained the humans well. Whew… we’re all set. “Hey wake up Sammy. It’s time to go.”

“What… who… where?” Sammy turtle peeks grumpily out of her shell. “I better get out and play this camping trip. Last time I was stuck in my travel home the whole time, just because it rained. Our humans need to carry a shell with them. Besides a little water ain’t going to make them rust or melt.”

“Oh hush,” says Taco the parrot. “They got our travel homes and Mystic’s leash. It’s time. Oh, yum, I’m getting dinner in my travel home, must be a longer trip. Yippee!”

Thwack. The dog door closes after and exuberant Chow dog rushes in. “Are we ready?” With a bang, our human drops the dog door panel in place and locks it. Then he bends down and hooks the leash to my harness, grabs Taco’s travel home. “Hey, where’s Sammy?”

“Already gone. She’s in the trailer.” Taco says around a beak full of food. “You know she gets car sick if she rides in the car.”

Loaded in the truck, my head out the window, Taco’s carrier hung in the other window, we’re off. Other vehicles wiz by, birds fly overhead and wow something smells good. “Hey why are you rolling the window up. We’re not going that fast.” I plop down in the seat with a grumble and watch out the closed window. Miles and miles go by till we reach a mountainous area, with lots of trees. Pass through the ranger’s tiny house in the middle of the road. My window is back down, I hear a bugling sound, wait… WOW what is that beside the road looking at me?” Sniff, sniff, whine, whine, woof.

Human says “Leave it Mystic.”

Aww that’s no fun. “Taco, did you see that.”

“It’s an Elk, saw it on the Discovery Channel. Told you to stop chasing squirrels and watch my television.”

“Taco that’s boring. No smells and doesn’t run. How am I supposed to chase it? Whoa, chipmunk.”

“We’re here guys. Rocky Mountain National Park,” the humans chorus. “Out you go.” Humans carry the Taco’s Travel home into the fifth wheel and hook up my leash. “Hike in ten minutes.”

*** Yep, we just broke all the writing rules ever written. We can do that because we are a dog, a bird, and a turtle on an adventure. ‘Yes, I got out, see pictures above and right,” said Sammy.

Posted in My Say What Blog and tagged box turtle, camping, Chow Chow, Eclectus Parrot, Elk, hiking, Rocky Mountain National Park, RV, RVIng by Tena Stetler with comments disabled.

Aug 15th Exciting Total Solar Eclipse-August 21, 2017

Four days and counting! What happens at approximately 11:35 a.m., MDT on August 21, 2017? The first total solar eclipse visible from the United States mainland since 1979. The total eclipse is visible in 10 states Oregon, Idaho, Wyoming, Nebraska, Missouri, Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee, North Carolina and South Carolina. Wow! Weather permitting, people in those states will get to watch the moon pass in front of the sun, eventually blocking out its light.

If you are planning to try to capture this historic event on your phone or camera. The experts suggest practicing a couple days before at twilight. Use a tripod, set it for multiple exposures and set it a few minutes before the time you want the photo, so you don’t accidentally move the camera. Oh, on phones, don’t use zoom, it will only make the photo grainy. Always make sure you have special glasses if you are going to watch the eclipse.

This event came to my attention in March, when my hubby and I stopped in Riverton, WY to visit a friend. At that time all the motels, and campgrounds were already reserved for this solar event. Yep, this little town in Wyoming was humming with excitement.

I live in Colorado where it will be only 90%, but that’s enough to send me on the hunt for glasses to watch the eclipse through and a filter for my hubby’s camera. Both of which quantities are dwindling. The American Astronomical Society lists retail chains where certified glasses can be found as Walmart, Lowe’s, Toys “R” Us and 7-Eleven. Look for manufactures American paper Optics, Baader Planetarium, Rainbow Symphony, Thousand Oaks, and TSE 17. Don’t go thinking your regular sunglasses, that block only 50% of the Sun’s visible light, will do the trick. Proper eclipse glasses are designed to filter out 99.99 percent, including harmful ultraviolet and infrared rays.

The partial eclipse in Colorado Springs, Colorado will start at 10:23 a.m. MDT, reach maximum at 11:47a.m., and end at 1:15 p.m.

Here is the path of the total eclipse. Thank you! NEWSWEEK MEDIA GROUP GRAPHIC DANIELE PALUMBO/@DANICT89

For more maps of eclipses from 1651 to 2150, visit the gallery at http://eclipse-maps.com. There you have it in a solar nut shell. It’ll be at least 2024 until the next North American total solar eclipse. Happy solar eclipse watching, and don’t forget your certified eclipse glasses. You don’t want to burn the back of your eyes where there are no pain sensors to alert you to the rays that can cause temporary or permanent blind spots.

Want to know more about the total Solar Eclipse 2017? Check out Space.com for all kinds of science and astronomy fun facts!

Posted in My Say What Blog and tagged 10 statesOregon, August 21 2017, Idaho, Illinois, Kentucky, Missouri, Nebraska, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Total Solar Eclipse, Wyoming by Tena Stetler with comments disabled.

Jul 27th You Didn’t Like the book – Why Broadcast It?

Okay, this space is usually used for my personal blog. I write full-time and have another blog entitled Authors’ Secrets for books and writing endeavors. But today, I’ve a tiny rant, okay maybe not so tiny, that I would love thoughts from readers, authors, and actually everyone.

I’ll start off by acknowledging that everyone tries a new book or author at times, that’s how we expand our literary horizons. Right? We all have our favorite genres and authors. What incites you to try a new genre or author? Are you looking for something different, bored with what you’ve been reading or did someone recommend a book that sounded good to you? Oh, one more thing. Do you like stand alone books or series?

Now, there are people that try something new, in this case a book, and didn’t like it. So — don’t buy or read that type of genre again. Right? Why leave a nasty comment/review to the author knowing that she/he has put her heart and soul into this book and been brave enough to share it with the world? I just can’t figure it out. Sure, I’ve bought and read books I didn’t particularly care for, a few I didn’t even finish. But I would never dream of leaving a review that would cut the author to the core of their being.

Writing is subjective. I know that. Not everyone will like what you write. I get that too. What I don’t get is the mean spirited actions of those few people that have to leave a troll review. Yes, this has happened to me on occasion, when it does, I yank up my big girl panties, read it once then ignore it forever. But recently there’s been a rash of this insensitive behavior to authors of all different genres and it bothered me. So I did what any author does, I wrote about it. LOL Yes, I feel much better now. Thank you for asking.

Okay, I’m putting my soap box back under the bed and promise never to use this as a forum for a… okay, almost never do this again. Next post, bright and cheery – oh, did you know there is only 21 weeks until Christmas? That’s 151 days, and finally only 3,616 hours until Christmas. Just thought you’d like to know. <grin> I heard that collective groan. Oh wait, maybe that was me. LOL