ALOHA

In the Hawaiian language "Aloha" means "Hello", "Goodbye" and "I love you."

This post covers all three definitions.

2008 was a pretty lousy year for me. My failing eyesight has made the creation of this blog an exercise in futility..

My sources of income are dried up and I will become homeless on March 1st, to survive on the streets until I can start receiving Social Security at the beginning of 2010. Life is a crapshoot and I have rolled "snake-eyes."

This blog has been fun and I appreciate all the web friends I have made over the years. With a bit of luck I hope to be back in about a year. Maybe along the way I can find a free wifi "hotspot" and write about life on the streets.

I will miss each and every one of you. If things go really bad, just remember that you are all in my thoughts.

Aloha,
Wil


"Let's all be careful out there!"

JANUARY 31ST

Today is Saturday, Jan. 31, the 31st day of 2009.
There are 334 days left in the year.

Today's Highlight in History:

• On Jan. 31, 1958, the United States entered the Space Age with its first successful launch of a satellite into orbit, Explorer I.

On this date:

• In 1606, Guy Fawkes, convicted of treason for his part in the "Gunpowder Plot" against the English Parliament and King James I, was executed.
• In 1865, Gen. Robert E. Lee was named general-in-chief of all the Confederate armies.
• In 1917, during World War I, Germany served notice it was beginning a policy of unrestricted submarine warfare.
• In 1919, baseball Hall-of-Famer Jackie Robinson was born in Cairo, Ga.
• In 1929, revolutionary Leon Trotsky and his family were expelled from the Soviet Union.
• In 1944, during World War II, U.S. forces began a successful invasion of Kwajalein Atoll and other parts of the Japanese-held Marshall Islands.
• In 1945, Pvt. Eddie Slovik, 24, became the first U.S. soldier since the Civil War to be executed for desertion as he was shot by an American firing squad in France.
• In 1949, the first TV daytime soap opera, "These Are My Children," began broadcasting from the NBC station in Chicago. (It lasted all of four weeks.)
• In 1971, astronauts Alan Shepard Jr., Edgar Mitchell and Stuart Roosa blasted off aboard Apollo 14 on a mission to the moon.
• In 2000, an Alaska Airlines jet plummeted into the Pacific Ocean, killing all 88 people aboard.

Ten years ago:

• The Denver Broncos repeated as NFL champions, defeating the Atlanta Falcons 34-19 in Super Bowl 33.
• Researchers from the University of Alabama at Birmingham presented what they called convincing proof that the AIDS virus originated in chimpanzees and spread to people in Africa.

Five years ago:

• Six U.S.-bound flights from England, Scotland and France were canceled because of security concerns.
• Justine Henin-Hardenne won her third Grand Slam title, defeating Kim Clijsters 6-3, 4-6, 6-3 in the Australian Open.
• John Elway and Barry Sanders were elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame on their first attempt; they were joined by Bob Brown and Carl Eller.

One year ago:

• President George W. Bush, speaking at the Nevada Policy Research Institute, said he would not jeopardize security gains in Iraq by withdrawing U.S. forces too quickly.
• A drifter pleaded guilty to murdering a young woman who'd gone missing while hiking in the north Georgia mountains; Gary Michael Hilton was swiftly sentenced to life in prison in the death of Meredith Emerson.

Today's Birthdays:

• Actress Carol Channing is 88.
• Actress Jean Simmons is 80.
• Baseball Hall-of-Famer Ernie Banks is 78.
• Composer Philip Glass is 72.
• Actor Stuart Margolin is 69.
• Actress Jessica Walter is 68.
• Former U.S. Rep. Dick Gephardt, D-Mo., is 68.
• Blues singer-musician Charlie Musselwhite is 65.
• Actor Glynn Turman is 63.
• Baseball Hall-of-Famer Nolan Ryan is 62.
• Singer-musician KC (KC and the Sunshine Band) is 58.
• Rock singer Johnny Rotten is 53.
• Actress Kelly Lynch is 50.
• Actor Anthony LaPaglia is 50.
• Singer-musician Lloyd Cole is 48.
• Actor John Dye is 46.
• Rock musician Jeff Hanneman (Slayer) is 45.
• Rock musician Al Jaworski (Jesus Jones) is 43.
• Actress Minnie Driver is 39.
• Actress Portia de Rossi is 36.
• Actor-comedian Bobby Moynihan is 32.
• Actress Kerry Washington is 32.
• Singer Justin Timberlake is 28.

Thought for Today:

"Happiness is not having what you want, but wanting what you have."
Rabbi Hyman Judah Schachtel, American theologian, author and educator (1907-1990).

"Let's all be careful out there!"

JANUARY 31ST

"Let's all be careful out there!"