Reclaimed parts of the Mary Rose, the favorite warship of the English king Henry VIII, have been put on display in Portsmouth, U.K. After being Henry's favorite ship for 34 years, she and her crew of 400 men were lost in 1545 while fighting off a French invasion fleet. The salvaged parts, mainly a large hull section, were recovered 30 years ago.
Four-term Congresswoman Michele Bachmann (R-Minn) has decided not to seek re-election in 2014, and will instead step down at the end of her current term, the announcement being posted on YouTube. During 2012, she briefly campaigned for the GOP presidential nomination. She has been a favorite of the Tea Party movement.
This afternoon, a CSX freight train derailed in the Rosedale area of Baltimore County after striking a truck. The derailment caused a loud explosion, closed down U.S. highway 40, and damaged several buildings near the tracks. A total of 15 railcars were derailed. The only casualty has been the driver of the truck, who was taken to the Maryland Shock Trauma center. Rosedale is east of the city of Baltimore, about a mile from the city line.
Writing in National Review Online, Lee Habeeb tells the story of Paul Monti, who lost his son Jared in Afghanistan, and the way in which Mr. Monti copes with his loss. Habeeb was deeply affected by an NPR radio show in which Monti told his story, and as it turned out, was not alone. A Nashville songwriter listening to the same broadcast was likewise moved, and with the help of two co-writers, turned Monti's story into a song, which was soon afterwards recorded by singer Lee Brice.
This, of course, is but a brief summary. Read the full story at the above link.
The Memorial Day weekend, one of those "anchors" on the calendar, has just started. This coming Monday, Americans will pay tribute to those who made the ultimate sacrifice to keep us free. Today, here are some things recently in the news:
From Breitbart's Big Hollywood, New Jersey Governor Chris Christie gets into a confrontation with Jersey Shore cast member Snooki.
From Biz Pac Review, polling expert Scott Rasmussen says that the recent scandals are bringing bad news for President Obama. (Isn't that what scandals normally do to a president?)
CNS News reports on Obama's commencement speech as the U.S. Naval Academy, where he blamed the "misconduct of a few" for eroding the public's trust in the government.
From CBN News, an American missionary in Africa has gone missing.
The government of Turkey is building a mosque estimated to cost $100 million on 15 acres of land in Lanham, Maryland. The complex will include five buildings and an underground parking garage. On May 15th, Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan visited the site and gave a speech, in which he expressed his desire to return in 2014 for the opening ceremonies.
To continue where I left off last month, here are some more old favorites of mine, some well-known, some not so much.
Aerosmith's 1974 Toys In the Attic album featured the hits Walk This Way and Sweet Emotion, but the cut I liked the most was Adam's Apple.
In 1980, Joe Walsh made his contribution to the soundtrack of Urban Cowboy with All Night Long.
Walsh had recently joined the Eagles, whose The Long Run album included a tribute to college fraternities, The Greeks Don't Want No Freaks, which included backing vocals by the band's road crew, known as the Monstertones, and by Jimmy Buffett.
Way back in the early 1970's, one of my brothers bought this single, Draggin' The Line by Tommy James. This was a solo effort, done without his group The Shondells. Ron Dante, who sang the lead vocal on Sugar Sugar by The Archies, sings some backing vocals.
To finish, I would be remiss not to include a tribute to keyboardist Ray Manzarek of the Doors, who passed away earlier today. In Love Her Madly, Manzarek plays both piano and his trademark spooky-sounding organ.
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