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mininghorn88

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Everything posted by mininghorn88

  1. I still have this poster. Just no signatures on it.
  2. I use Shreveport as my home airport. I have been on multiple flights with Tim Brando and have set next to him several times and have talked sports from on the flight. Despite the opinion of him on here (all not entirely wrong) and what he gets caught up saying on the broadcast, he does speak favorably about Texas on a personal level. Back when he was still alive, I shared a few flights with Eddie Robinson, the former HC at Grambling University. He was one of the nicest persons I have ever met. He would often invite Grambling alums or students to an event that he was going to. I sat next to the Speaker of the House Mike Johnson several times and exchanged small talk. The last time was about a week before he was elected as Speaker. Haven't seen him since for obvious reasons. Shared a flight with former President Jimmy Carter coming back from South Africa. Once airborne, he walked through the plane introducing himself and shaking everyone's hand. Have sat next to former MLB player and HoFer Lee Smith a few times as well.
  3. Debating on responding but it is pretty simple: The footlocker is recreation of what a soldier would have and the flag is a “trophy of war”. You always see period photos of soldiers displaying their loot. As TwiceHorn knows 88 is the year of my UT graduation.
  4. I had the opportunity to play baseball in college. My thoughts were similar to yours about my skills translating to cricket. While I did surprise the Aussies with hitting the ball it was a challenge because your stance and swing is different than baseball and you are hitting the ball coming off of a bounce. The real challenge was trying to bowl. You are not supposed to bend your elbow when you bowl the ball. Growing up playing baseball and pitching some, bending the elbow becomes a natural habit. It was a very awkward approach.
  5. Where is this? Beautiful area.
  6. A very moving moment in Saving Private Ryan is when the mom receives the news that she lost a son in the War. That scene played out thousands of times during the War. Though not directly related to D-Day, the below images are a series of announcements in my collection of a soldier that was first MIA and then later declared KIA. All of the correspondence is directed to his mother. I also have a series of another soldier that was KIA that are addressed to his wife. Notice the dates of the information. No doubt that the mother lived in hope and anguish for a long time. The first image is a Western Union Telegram from Oct 31, 1944 declaring that her son has been MIA for 2 weeks The second image is a WU telegram from Nov 7, 1944 stating that he is KIA The third image is an official announcement from Nov 3, 1944 declaring him as MIA The fourth is an official announcement from Nov 13, 1944 declaring him KIA The fifth is an official announcement from Nov 15, 1944 declaring him KIA The sixth image is an announcement citing the cause of death. The other documents that I have (not shown) of a soldiers death spans a greater time period. The first WU Telegram stating him being MIA was dated March 12, 1944 with the next WU Telegram advising him being MIA was dated Aug 6, 1944. The wife went 5 months not knowing the status of her husband. Personally, I find it amazing that family members get rid of items like this to only be purchased at a flea market. I do what I can with my collection to keep these brave men and women remain "known". The bracelet is made from a Combat Infantry Badge with the links naming the battles that the soldier was in.
  7. I have actually played cricket recreationally on some of my visits to Australia. The hardest part for me was to remember to take the bat with you after you hit the ball and took off running to the other end. You can actually stretch out with the bat to get it across the line before your body does to be "safe".
  8. The below picture reflects part of my collection. Many of the uniforms displayed are of soldiers that participated in D-Day. Regarding museums. As many of you noted some of you have, or know someone that has, donated something to a museum. Unless it is some unique item it will most likely end up in a box in the archives never seeing the light of day. Though I have no direct experience with the situation I have been told that some of these items will be sold off by the museum to raise funds. Initially, my thoughts were to eventually donate my collection to a museum but have since changed my mind and will liquidate it myself so that I, or my kids/grandkids can enjoy the money instead. And, in case something happens to me prior to liquidation, I have a spreadsheet with descriptions and an estimated value of my items so that the stuff won't just be thrown in a dumpster. Though I do not have the foot traffic that museums have I do have people that come over to view my collection. I have an electronic file of each uniform and a history of each soldier that is represented by a uniform. If you notice in the photos there is a white strip on the shoulder. That is basic information regarding the soldier of the uniform displayed.
  9. Yes, I have plenty around my yard. Just never seen one with spots.
  10. Not a Snek but my cat brought this to me tonight. It is missing about 3 inches of its tail. It is not dead. It ran off before I could get a better picture. I live in NE Texas and have never seen this type of lizard before.
  11. The below article is from an English print newspaper in India. I had been in the western part of India for about a week and then took a late night flight from Mumbai to Kolkata for a meeting the next day. I got up the next morning and drove about 4 hours for the meeting. We come rolling up to the mine manager's office in the village only to find him not there. I was a bit irritated that he was not there and told everyone about the effort that it took to get to this meeting. I asked about where he was. They told me that he was at the hospital. I then felt bad and expressed my concern for his health. They said that he is OK but that his sister is severely injured. Naturally I asked what happened and they told me that she had been attacked by an elephant. Again I was a bit irritated because it seemed so unlikely. Seeing my skepticism, they produced this newspaper article for me to read. Sure enough, an elephant attack was the cause for the cancellation of a meeting. So we all went to lunch and then drove back to the airport to fly back to Mumbai.
  12. I was intrigued until I opened the “reveal hidden contents” tab. Has disappointment.
  13. Wait. What? We’re not?
  14. I saw this earlier and it made me laugh. But in all fairness I am glad that I went to UT when I did as it is doubtful that I could get in with today’s standards. I was a Top 10%er and not a Top 5%er. I know that is not the spirit of this post but it is a reality.
  15. Having to travel today…for business. The person that is responsible for NPI is new and is Canadian. He set up a meeting for Tuesday and Wednesday in Milwaukee. He asked the MKE team if it was okay to have a meeting on Tuesday and Wednesday. They all said “yes”. Of course none of them have to get on an airplane to get to MKE and all of the other attendees are from out of the country. So me and my team are flying today. And, the weather is delaying our flights.
  16. My son’s German Shepherd always keeps a respectful eye on my cat.
  17. We are going to Yellowstone NP and GTNP the first week of October. The last time we went was late-October 2020. Covid restrictions were still in play then so the Park was not crowded at all but it also meant that a lot of amenities were also reduced or closed. The plan is to spend 4 days in Yellowstone and 2 days in GTNP. The last time we did 3 days in Yellowstone and 2 in GTNP and felt rushed. We stayed in Mammoth Hot Springs for 2 days to cover the Northern part of Yellowstone and then moved down to Jackson to cover the Southern part and GTNP. This time we are planning to stay at Canyon Lodge for 4 days instead of moving around to cover Yellowstone. Any of you stayed there before? Any recommendations? The couple that we are going with are not big hikers. We will still spend 2 days at GTNP staying in Jackson. Any suggestions are appreciated.
  18. I have been to Kruger Park once and Pilansburg Park numerous times. Pilansburg is not too far from Jo’burg. I highly recommend Pilansburg. I have seen 4 of the Big 5 there. The leopard eludes me so far. Witnessed a lion chasing wildebeest which was cool but the lion was not successful after a short chase. I have stayed at multiple lodges and have enjoyed them all.
  19. In the late '80s the Lady Longhorns had a player that was about 6'-8". I was in one of the original buildings on the South Mall (Batts?). When you enter those buildings there is an immediate half-flight of stairs right off the entryway. I am coming down the steps when she walks in the doorway. It just so happens that the step that I am on puts me about a head taller than her. This height differential makes me believe that I am on the same plane as her. Big mistake. The next step I take is a normal one and I go tumbling down the staircase in front of everyone. I land next to her and then stand up to only recognize at that point who she is and how tall she is.
  20. Born, raised and still live in NE Texas. Grew up in the country and spent countless hours in the woods, creek bottoms and stock ponds. During the "snake season" I could count on seeing a snek just about everyday if I was looking. There were no shortages of cottonmouths and copperheads. Not once have I seen a coral snek or a rattlesnek in the wild. I did see a dead rattlesnek in Arizona at one of our facilities that got ran over by a dozer. I cut the rattles off and gave it to one of my co-workers from Japan. He didn't know what to make of it.
  21. I go to India at least once a year for a week or two for business and go all over by planes, trains, and automobiles. The best part about India....leaving.
  22. From an outdoor cafe in Montreal
  23. I have been in Montreal all week. Canada has run out of bourbon. Went to several restaurants during the week and tried to order an Old Fashion at each one. They blamed the American tariff as the issue. Maybe they are saving it for the Canadians only? I said I was Texan but that did not change their mind.
  24. Nope. Oyster Bar and Grill.
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