Solo!

Finally almost 6 months late, but right on time, I soloed!

Here are the pictures!


Ready to go!



My grandfather and I. I'm wearing a handmade Palestinian cross.


After landing.

Shirt tail cutting - a funny old aviation custom!

Midway: A turning point

Japan’s decision to attack Midway Island is most likely
the reason for their defeat in World War II. The Japanese
expected a victory simply because they had never been
defeated at sea. The pride of the Japanese warlords, who
thought they were invincible, had a cost; this cost could
only be paid by hundreds of thousands of men’s lives.
As the world watched in horror, German tanks over ran
most of Europe, and Japan geared up to fight a two-fronted
war. Since Japan’s major enemy was the United States, their
planners recommended a preemptive strike against their
economically superior opponent. If the U.S. carrier and
battleship fleet could be eliminated simultaneously with
military expansion into Indonesia, the Philippines, and
China the war would virtually be over.
Most experts agree that the Pearl Harbor attack was both
a success and a failure, as no American carriers were even
damaged. When the task force returned from Hawaii, they found
the Japanese naval leaders complacent and elated over the
victory and not interested in a follow up operation to destroy
all enemy carriers.
The next question for the Japanese was where to attack.
While they were considering, the Battle of the Coral Sea,
between Japan and the U.S.(defending New Guinea) took
place north-east off of Australia’s coast. While the outcome
was inconclusive, Japan had two carriers damaged. Again, in
April 1942, the U.S. carriers struck back; American B-25's
bombed Tokyo in the famous Doolittle raid. There was now no
choice but to destroy the American carriers in a pitched
battle. As Captain Mitsuto Fuchida, leader of the first air
raid on Pearl Harbor, said,"...It [the Doolittle raid] must be
regarded as a ‘do-much raid’".
With the false assumption that the attack on Midway would
be a surprise, Japanese Admirals Nagumo and Yamamoto left
Hashirajima, Japan on May 27, 1942, heading due east for Midway
with the largest single Japanese fleet ever assembled. Meanwhile
the American’s rushed to defend Midway and repair the USS
Yorktown which had been damaged in the Coral Sea action.
On the morning of June 4, Admiral Nagumo’s carrier
strike force launched almost all of their planes to attack
Midway Island. Before his planes returned, several waves of
obsolete American planes attacked his almost empty carriers,
but no hits were scored and almost every attacking plane was
destroyed. With Nagumo’s planes due back from their first
attack , a message came in that the U.S. fleet had been
spotted within striking distance. Nagumo faced a momentous
decision. Should he attack with the 45 or so planes he had ready
to go, or should he land the 210 incoming planes and then
launch them after they all had fueled and reloaded? He chose
the latter.
While the planes were being loaded with torpedoes and
armor piercing bombs, enemy torpedo bombers tried to make it
to the Japanese carriers, but to no avail. The Zero fighters
were too fast. Suddenly high overhead, U.S. dive bombers began
making their deadly dives. The dive bombers scored many hits,
and soon fires were raging on three of the four carriers, the
Kaga, Soryu, and Akagi, fueled by bombs carelessly left on the
hangar deck. As survivors were transferred onto destroyers the
remaining carrier, the Hiyru, launched its planes twice
against the U.S. fleet. In the fight the USS Yorktown was
damaged, only later to be sunk by a Japanese submarine. At
1700 hours, American dive bombers attacked the Hiryu, setting
it ablaze.
When the day was over all four Japanese carriers had been
abandoned, and the Japanese forces were retiring back to their
homeland.
The Japanese had not achieved surprise, failed to support
their vulnerable carriers with any heavy escorts, and divided
their forces into separate groups, thereby increasing the
entire fleet’s vulnerability. The main Japanese blunder,
however, was the sense of invincibility, the dangerous feeling
felt just before a fall.
The momentum of the war was now shifted, and with Japan
on the defensive, America’s huge industrial powers finally
brought the war to an end in 1945.
In the end, it was the pride of the Japanese Navy that
brought about their ultimate defeat and the deaths of
approximately 2,500 Japanese alone at the Battle
of Midway. Let us learn a valuable lesson and not fall into
prideful thinking. "Pride goes before destruction, a haughty
spirit before a fall". Proverbs 16:18

Me with my new Savage .223

Gun Control?

What to you think, should the government make more restrictions on the possession of guns and use of guns, or should the gun laws be left alone?
Let's just say that the government made the ownership of handguns illegal. What would happen, and would there be any "hidden costs"? Let's look and hidden costs first. The government would have to enforce the new law which would cost money, that would indirectly raise your taxes. This might be a little reason but it all adds up.
If handguns were taken away do you think that the murders ,gangsters ,and school shooters would really give up their guns? If they are depraved enough to kill innocent victims they of course wouldn't give up their guns.
What should we do? Lets allow organizations like Prison Fellowship and other faith based organizations into our jails and prisons where they are proven to reduce recidivism rates.

• A 2002 study showed that faith-based prison programs result in a significantly lower rate of re-arrest (recidivism) than vocation-based programs—16 percent versus 36 percent—with a national recidivism rate of nearly 70 percent (Assessing the Impact of Religious Programs and Prison Industry on Recidivism, Texas Journal of Corrections, February 2002).

If we can cut the second time offenders we could SERIOUSLY decrease the rate of violent crime in the USA. Can you believe this?

• U.S. District Judge Robert Pratt ruled that the InnerChange Freedom Initiative program at Iowa's Newton Correctional Facility violated the constitutional ban on government establishment of religion. (Spiritual prison program ruled unconstitutional, Alan Cooperman, Washington Post Saturday, June 3, 2006)

CM

Where's the Flashlight?

Where's the Flashlight?

Imagine yourself descending into a dark, subterranean cellar. The damp seems cool against your face as you grope your way down. The concrete floor feels unforgiving beneath your wary tread. Thump! Your foot strikes a friable brick wall. A turn in the stairs has taken you by surprise. With dread you reach the bottom, and as you feel your way around the wall you touch something setting on a ledge. What is this? A flashlight! Instantly, the previously sepulchral and foreboding cellar is flooded with a bright light as you flip the switch. Now you can see your way clearly and advance without fear of falling.
This cellar is the dark and sinful world. While we live here we need a light to dispel the darkness, but what is that light? Proverbs 29:18 says, "Where there is no vision, the people perish; but where he that keepeth the law, happy is he". The light that we now have is the hope and vision given us by Jesus Christ through the Bible. The light eliminates our uncertainty and clarifies the vision that we must have in order to become a righteous generation.
So what is God’s vision for our generation? First, God wants us to be a pure and righteous people. Of every generation he requires this. We all want to accomplish the Master’s highest for our lives. In order to do this, we must first cleanse our lives from transgressions by repentance; then he can use us for his most noble purposes. II Timothy 2:20 compares us to the various vessels in a home. There is garbage pail used for an ignoble purpose. There are also the priceless china dishes. Only the beautiful and costly dishes are ever used for guests. In the same way our master uses only his pure and holy vessels to do his highest work. If you shun the evil desires of youth embracing righteousness and guarding your thoughts, you can present yourself to God, as one approved, a workman who has no need to be ashamed.
Second, he wants us to tell not only our own children but also the entire world, Jews and Gentiles alike, about his plan for salvation and eternal life (Eph 3:9-11). From the American businessman to the Indonesian headhunter, God loves all people equally. When this is done, when everyone has heard the gospel, then Christ will return. This is our highest mission. He has given us mouths to proclaim him, feet to go and tell about him, hands to write about him, lives to spend for him, and eyes to finally see him.
This is God’s vision for our generation, that we would be pure, that we would love him, and that we would pass that love onto our children and to the entire world. If you want to find what you are looking for and not fall flat on your face, then next time remember your flashlight when you go into the basement!

CM

I received honorable mention for this piece.

Flying pictures

Civil War Reenacting

Nicaragua Pictures

Here are the photos I promised...

Here I am playing with Ramses a Nicaraguan special needs kid.

Hiking on Masaya Volcano in Nicaragua.