A little bit of sumthin fer Saturday and Sunday.....

Well Sir...I still bear the marks on my ass and the back of my head from my mother, but in truth, I always deserved it. Go gettem Irma.....



Thanks Chicago Charlie fer remindin me of "The Good Old Days"...
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A guy is 85 years old and loves to fish. He was sitting in his boat the other day when he heard a voice say, 'Pick me up. 'He looked around and couldn't see any one. He thought he was dreaming when he heard the voice say again, 'Pick me up!!'
He looked in the water and there, floating on the top, was a frog.

The man said, 'Are you talking to me?'

The frog said,

'Yes, I'm talking to you. Pick me up, then kiss me and I'll turn into the most beautiful woman you have ever seen. I'll make sure that all your friends are envious and jealous because I will be your bride!'

The man looked at the frog for a short time, reached over, picked it up carefully, and placed it in his front breast pocket.

Then the frog said,

'What . . . are you NUTS? Didn't you hear what I said? I said, "KISS ME" and I will be your beautiful bride!'

He opened his pocket, looked at the frog and said, 'Nah . . . at my age I'd rather have a talking frog.'

With age comes Wisdom.
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Arthur is 90 years old. He's played golf every day since his retirement
25 years ago.

One day he arrives home looking downcast.

"That's it," he tells his wife. "I'm giving up golf. My eyesight has gotten so bad that once I've hit the ball I couldn't see where it went."

His wife sympathizes and makes him a cup of tea. As they sit down she says, "Why don't you take my brother with you and give it one more try."

"That's no good" sighs Arthur, "your brother's a hundred and three. He can't help."

"He may be a hundred and three", says the wife, "but his eyesight is perfect."

So the next day Arthur heads off to the golf course with his brother-in-law. He tees up, takes an almighty swing and squints down the fairway.

He turns to the brother-in-law. "Did you see the ball?"

"Of course I did!" replied the brother-in-law. "I have perfect eyesight".

"Where did it go?" says Arthur.

"I don't remember."
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Bet'cha never saw a Gymnast like this before......


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BTW...Gotta thank "Charlie the Cop" frum Chicago fer the above submissions.....
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Ahhh....Considerin everthin that's been goin on, I think maybe Y'all should consider changin the window.....


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Ponder this a spell......


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Just my personal opinion mind ya, plus an UPDATE! For old times sake, "The Reinlistment Blues"..

Well Sir...as I've stated in several previous posts, following the posting of my first blog-post regarding the Military Courtesy Room at the Syracuse Int. Airport, we (the team who initiated the effort ) where completely overwhelmed and extremely grateful for the absolutely wonderful and patriotic response from folks all over the country who immediately dug into their pockets and helped us get on our way toward bringing the project to fruition.

Then, on Wednesday of this week, The Syracuse Post Standard ran an article by Sean Kirst telling its readers about the project, and this time, we were inundated with offers of donations and folk who wished to volunteer to man the Gregory J Harris Military Courtesy Room. Our phones and E-mail sites were literally swamped. OUTSTANDING job people...absolutely OUTSTANDING!

Now Sir....almost within spittin distance of the Syracuse Airport, there are 2 nationally known Home Improvement stores (HINT: They both have race cars on the NASCAR racing circuit), and, early on, with our hats in our hands, Loren Davies and myself approached their managers, told them what we were doing, and gave them a well prepared Marine Corps League letter explaining the details of the project and how to reach us.

Well Sir...one flat out refused us by letter, and other has never answered us at all. Now, being a realist, I know that my priorities, and whats important to me, are not the same for other folks, BUT, when it comes to NOT supporting our fine, brave Military folks who are making it possible for these two very large conglomerates to do business in this country, I take a very disappointing and dim view of them. Come on guys, would $10, $20 or $50 bucks in cash or materials have bankrupted ya? Gimme a break! BTW....It should also be noted that even a large grocery store chain who may be on the verge of filing Chapter 11 managed to give us a small donation. Thank You!

Soooo....as I stated, this is just my personal opinion but, I will no longer be doing any business with either of the two large and well advertised national hardware store chains, but instead will be giving my personal business to ACE, or True Value, or other smaller local home improvement/hardware stores. It may cost me a few bucks more, but it will be very self satisfying to the old Cookie.....

UPDATE: OK... after correcting a few problems, The Gregory J Harris Memorial website is now up and running correctly. Just use this link....

If you would like to make donations, volunteer to assist us in any way, or just visit and make a comment, please do. There is also an E-Mail address at the site where you can get in touch with us for any reason, Thanks.
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...and...for old times sake....



...and, I strongly doubt y'all will ever see this ad on TV......

WARNING: ......Very Strong Language....


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Lots to do....

Well Sir, The other day, following the news release regarding the Gregory J Harris Military Courtesy Room at the Syracuse International Airport, literally, all hell broke loose with E-mails, phone calls, inquiries and offers, and because we have been so overwhelmed, we've got a lot of work to do to get ready for the Grand Opening on July 29th.

Soooo....I'll be pretty damn busy (in a good way) here fer the next week or so, and that means my blogpost's will be sporadic at best....

My apologies folks, but its fer a great cause......

Cookie Man......

BUT...I'll leave Y'all with this real groooaner from "Charlie the Cop."


Quasimodo's Death.....


After Quasimodo's death, the bishop of the Cathedral of Notre Dame sent word through the streets of Paris that a new bell ringer was needed.

The bishop decided that he would conduct the interviews personally and went up into the belfry to begin the screening process. After observing several applicants demonstrate their skills, he had decided to call it a day.

Just then, an armless man approached him and announced that he was there to apply for the bell ringer's job. The bishop was incredulous. "You have no arms!". "No matter," said the man. "Observe!" And he began striking the bells with his face, producing a beautiful melody on the carillon.

The bishop listened in astonishment; convinced that he had found a replacement for Quasimodo. But suddenly, rushing forward to strike a bell, the armless man tripped and plunged headlong out of the belfry window to his death in the street below.

The stunned bishop rushed to his side. When he reached the street, a crowd had gathered around the fallen figure, drawn by the beautiful music they had heard only moments before. As they silently parted to let the bishop through, one of them asked, "Bishop, who was this man?".

"I don't know his name," the bishop sadly replied, "but his face rings a bell."


BUT, WAIT! WAIT! There's more . . .
The following day, despite the sadness that weighed heavily on his heart due to the unfortunate death of the armless campanologist, the bishop continued his interviews for the bell ringer of Notre Dame.

The first man to approach him said, "Your Excellency, I am the brother of the poor armless wretch that fell to his death from this very belfry yesterday. I pray that you honor his life by allowing me to replace him in this duty.".

The bishop agreed to give the man an audition, and, as the armlessmman's brother stooped to pick up a mallet to strike the first bell, he groaned, clutched at his chest, twirled around, and died on the spot.

Two monks, hearing the bishop's cries of grief at this second tragedy, rushed up the stairs to his side. "What has happened? Who is this man?" the first monk asked breathlessly.

"I don't know his name," sighed the distraught bishop, "but....He's a dead ringer for his brother."
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News Article regarding the Military Courtesy Room in Syracuse....

UPDATE: I am extremely pleased to announce that shortly following the local press release( the below Post Standard article by Sean Kirst), that we were inundated with queries regarding where to send donations and what kind of items do we need. The truth is we were literally overwhelmed by the volume of the response.

The news article spoke of how, at a later date, we would like to give the troops "ditty bags" containing various personal toiletries. Upon my return home yesterday afternoon, I received a generous offer from the American Red Cross, Onondag-Oswego chapter, offering to supply us with these "Comfort Kits". Wonderful, simply wonderful. Thank You so very much.

Later that evening, Loren Davies was interviewed by one of our local radio stations, WSYR 570AM, regarding our project and even more questions and offers poured in.

Now Sir, Mary Ann Reitano, who's cousin the Courtesy Room is named after, and our PR person, has set up a another website which can be viewed at syracuseairportmilitarycourtesyroom.wordpress.com , as well as an E-mail address of ;

gjharrismilitarycourtesyroom@gmail.com

Leaving a comment on this new site is a little difficult, so it suggested that it would be more expedient to use the E-mail address (which is also on the new website) to contact and she will answer all your queries.


Airport to offer soldiers a haven
Wednesday, July 09, 2008

SEAN KIRST
POST-STANDARD COLUMNIST

Christopher Kartous had some time on his hands at Hancock Airport. He is a 17-year-old private in the U.S. Army who recently finished basic training in Georgia. Kartous returned to his South Carolina home for a few days, before flying into Syracuse on Tuesday on his way to the 10th Mountain Division at Fort Drum.

His plane touched down in the afternoon, leaving him with at least three hours before his ride showed up. Like a few other soldiers seated around him, Kartous found ways of handling the wait, mainly by using his cell phone to get on the Internet.

To Loren Davies, commandant of the Chittenango detachment of the Marine Corps League, Kartous deserved something beyond a seat on a couch. Davies, a Marine veteran, worked for years at Hancock. He was employed by the Transportation Security Administration, whose employees attempt to guarantee airport safety. He eventually retired from a job with a private company, double-checking the documents of travelers.

At the airport, it was impossible for Davies to forget that our nation is at war, since the grief, joy and fear were spread in front of him. Each day, he saw "the happy and the sad." He watched as jubilant families greeted young service men and women returning from Iraq and Afghanistan.

And he witnessed the lingering hugs as frightened, tearful families said goodbye.

What troubled him most was the way countless soldiers, Marines and sailors were forced to sleep on the floor, backpacks serving as pillows for their heads. They'd be stuck in the airport for long hours while awaiting flights or rides to military destinations.

At night, Davies said, time would become an especially tedious crawl. The restaurants and newsstands shut down. There were few comfortable places to sprawl out. Many airport employees, including city police, often volunteered to run out for coffee and doughnuts for the soldiers. But Davies felt there ought to be a permanent, reliable service.

"Here's these guys going back overseas to put their lives on the line, and there's absolutely nothing for them to do," said Davies, 66. The situation bothered him even more after he learned the USO, or United Service Organization, had toured the building with Aviation Commissioner Anthony Mancuso, and decided against providing a hospitality room at Hancock.

Davies wasn't the only one seeking something better for weary men and women in uniform. His old friend Leroy Bowen, 49, an Army veteran who is now a lead officer for TSA, felt the same way. So did Gene Leimer, 63, a former city policeman and "an old submariner" from the Navy who writes a blog - "The Cookshack Gab & Grub" at thecookshack. blogspot.com - that is read by many veterans and their families.

The three men teamed up to achieve a simple goal. They wanted to see a room at Hancock dedicated around the clock to soldiers, sailors and Marines. It would not be anything fancy, just a place where tired men and women could escape from the crowd, a place where they could get a cold drink or some coffee.

The idea took off. Leimer wrote a piece on his blog detailing the campaign. Readers around the nation linked to the piece, and the cause began generating individual donations of as much "as a couple of hundred dollars," Leimer said. Local businesses - most significantly Wegmans, the Oneida Indian Nation and the Syracuse Research Corp. - also made contributions, Davies said.

The plan was embraced by Mancuso. Once Mayor Matt Driscoll gave his OK, Mancuso offered the use of an empty baggage storage room. Work crews painted the walls and cleaned the carpet. The proposal cleared the final hurdle Monday, when it was approved by the Syracuse Common Council.

"It's just something small, something we can do for someone waiting for a flight out or for a ride to Drum," said Mancuso, a veteran of the Navy Reserve.

The "Gregory J. Harris Military Courtesy Room" - named in honor of a Marine from Fulton who is listed as missing in action in Vietnam - is expected to open July 29. Davies said it made sense to name the room after Harris, whose cousin, Mary Ann Reitano, has volunteered her help in the effort to get it opened.

The name above the door, Davies said, will be a constant reminder of the men and women who fought in other wars and never came back.

The hospitality room won't be anything fancy. Volunteers will keep the coffee perking. There'll be some comfortable furniture. Free snacks, bottled water and soft drinks will be provided for the service men and women. Eventually, Davies said, he'd like to hand out razors, shaving cream and toothbrushes that would provide travelers with a way to freshen up.

"We just want it to be a place where they can get away from everybody and relax without worrying about dragging their bags around the airport," Leimer said.

Tuesday, dressed in his fatigues as he sat in the airport lobby, Kartous listened intently to a description of plans for the new room.

"That'd be nice," he said softly, as he waited for his ride.

Sean Kirst is a columnist with The Post-Standard. His columns appear Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. Call him at 470-6015, e-mail him at skirst@syracuse.com, visit his blog and forum at www.syracuse.com/kirst or write to him in care of The Post-Standard at Clinton Square, Syracuse 13221.
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UPDATE with GREAT NEWS!

FINALLY! The Gregory J Harris Military Courtesy Room is close to coming to fruition.....



OK Mates, and all you great folks out there who so selflessly and generously donated to the Military Courtesy Room at the Syracuse International Airport, here's the GREAT NEWS!

If'n Y'all been a followin this blog, Y'all know that we had some unavoidable delays in being able to set an opening date, as well as getting the keys to the room so generously donated by Mayor of Syracuse, Matt Driscoll and Commissioner of Aviation, Anthony Mancuso. Even though we had been told that this project was a "Done Deal" as far as the room went, it still needed the final approval of The City of Syracuse Common Council, which, we obtained yesterday when they finally voted on the issue and approved it unanimously. This was the main stumbling block that had us in a holding pattern regarding the project.

Loren Davies and myself will be picking up the keys to the room tomorrow, and shortly thereafter, begin moving things like a refrigerator, microwave, counters, commercial coffee urn and supplies into the room, as well as hanging posters, banners, welcome signs and pictures. There's a lot of work still left to be done.

Now, here it is (drum roll please), the Official Opening Date Ceremony is set for Tuesday, July the 29th between 10 and 11:00 AM. We plan on having a "soft opening" sometime between now and then so we can start servicing our men and women of the Armed Forces with the courtesy they so dearly deserve. That soft opening date hasn't been decided as yet.

My son in law, is at present, attempting to line up a "multi-force" Color Guard for the occasion. Also, one of our local Veterans organizations will try to have a full military band present playing all the appropriate music. The ceremony will also be attended by many local and State political dignitaries. Our local newspaper, The Syracuse Post Standard, will also be running a story on Wednesday regarding how all this came to be and the efforts of sooooo many folks who have rolled up their sleeves and pitched in to help.

Two of my neighbors, Joanne and Bret, who are both teachers, upon hearing of the project immediately came up with the idea of having their students, 1st graders and up, make Thank You cards for the departing troops that utilize the room, so that our Service folks can take a Thank You Card with a nice message of gratitude from a young child. See, almost everyone wants to pitch in and do something nice in some way or another, although, if you watch and listen to the Main Stream Media with any regularity, you'd never know it.

If all goes as expected, a United States Navy Lt. Commander, Chris Flaherty will be flying in a Navy, P-3, Orion aircraft into the base for this event, and will be bringing a crew of 18, including the his Squadron Commander out of the Pentagon. He is attempting to get permission from the local FAA folks to land the aircraft on that date.

Talk about our excitement level beginning to rise...WOW! And all of this has been made possible by all you great patriotic Americans out there who love our great country and respect our fine Military people for all that they do. You broke out your checkbooks and wallets and chipped in to help us.

For yet another time in my life, I am so very proud of my country and the good people in it.....

THANK YOU ALL!

Cookie

Tuesday Tidbits....

Well Sir, my lovely Irish bride of 42 years, Elaine, is celerbratin her B'Day today, so this will be a relatively short post as I have several important things to attend to if'n I personally want to reach MY own next birthday.

Now Sir, I know its not polite to reveal a ladies age, so I'll just say that its somewhere between 64 and 66. It should be noted that my wife, having been a "cradle robber", is one year older than the Cookie man, and thus she never fails to remind me to "Mind my Elders".
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Now...speakin of Blondes....Don't ferget t'feed the cat.....


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...in as much as we're on age related material, Sandy frum Tampa sent me these funny shorts regardin Florida Humor....

Two elderly ladies are sitting on the front porch, doing nothing.

One lady turns and asks, 'Do you still get horny?'

The other replies, 'Oh, sure I do.'
The first old lady asks, 'What do you do about it?'
The second old lady replies, 'I suck a lifesaver.'
After a few moments, the first old lady asks, 'Who drives you to the beach?'

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Three old ladies were sitting side by side on patio chairs at their
Orlando retirement home reminiscing. The first lady recalled from years
past shopping at the local Piggly Wiggly and demonstrated with her
hands, the length and thickness of a cucumber she could buy for a penny.
The second old lady nodded, adding that onions used to be much bigger
and cheaper also, and demonstrated the size of two big onions she could
buy for a penny a piece.
The third old lady remarked, 'I can't hear a word you're saying, but I
surely do remember, Cookie the Sub-Sailor, the guy you're talking about.

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A little old lady was sitting on a park bench in The Villages, a
Florida Adult community.

A man walked over and sits down on the other end of the bench. After a few moments, the woman asks,

'Are you a stranger here?'

He replies, 'I lived here years ago.'

'So, where were you all these years?'
'In prison,' he says.
'Why did they put you in prison?'
He looked at her, and very quietly said, 'I killed my wife.'

'Oh!' said the woman. 'So you're single...?!'

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Two elderly people living in a Port Charlotte Retirement Community, he
was a widower and she a widow, had known each other for a number of
years. One evening there was a community supper in the big arena in the
Clubhouse.

The two were at the same table, across from one another. As the meal
went on, he took a few admiring glances at her and finally gathered the
courage to ask her, 'Will you marry me?'
After about six seconds of 'careful consideration,' she answered 'Yes.
Yes, I will!'

The meal ended and, with a few more pleasant exchanges, they went to
their respective places. Next morning, he was troubled. 'Did she say
'yes' or did she say 'no'?'

He couldn't remember. Try as he might, he just could not recall.. Not
even a faint memory. With trepidation, he went to the telephone and
called her.

First, he explained that he didn't remember as well as he used to. Then
he reviewed the lovely evening past. As he gained a little more
courage, he inquired, 'When I asked if you would marry me, did you say
Yes' or did you say 'No'?'

He was delighted to hear her say , 'Why, I said, 'Yes, yes I will.' and
I meant it with all my heart.' Then she continued,

'And I am so glad that you called, because I couldn't remember who had asked me.'

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A man - my husband - was telling his neighbor in Sun City Center, 'I just bought a new hearing aid. It cost me four thousand dollars, but it's state of the art.
It's perfect.'

'Really,' answered the neighbor. 'What kind is it?'

'Twelve thirty.'

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Morris, an 82 year-old man in Miami, went to the doctor at the local
Medical Clinic to get a physical. A few days later the doctor saw
Morris walking down the street with a gorgeous young woman on his arm.

A couple of days later the doctor spoke to Morris and said, 'You're
really doing great, aren't you?'

'Just doing what you said, Doc: 'Get a hot mamma' and 'be
cheerful.'',Morris replied.

To which d octor said, 'I didn't say that, Morris. I said, 'You've got a
heart murmur, be careful!'

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A little old man shuffled slowly into the 'Orange Dipper', an ice cream
parlor in Leesburg, and pulled himself slowly, painfully, up onto a
stool.

After catching his breath he ordered a banana split. The waitress asked
kindly, 'Crushed nuts?'

'No,' he replied, 'hemorrhoids.'

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Oooops....


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...5 kinds of Lucky....


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Thanks "Chicago Charlie" and Missy Susan frum Texas fer some of todays submissions...

Mixed Bag Monday...

Have an earthquake bad enough but there is always the brighter side as show below.

This Heartwarmer of the MONTH - was sent to me by Clint Griffin from out San Diego way.....and its bound to make you smile. Thanks Clint....

The earthquake was right in the area where giant pandas live. Most pandas are protected well, especially those babies, even if they were scared a lot.


Right after earthquake. They rushed out and some stayed together.













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Well Sir...how she found out I don't know, but here's a story about young Cookie when he was "Mess Cookin" in Groton, Conn.....

The Chaplain had been assigned to the Naval Submarine School in Groton, Conn., and he noticed how much grief the cooks (Mess Specialist) caught from the crew and how they gave back as much as they got.

He talked to the Food Service Officer and decided to talk to the cooks and get them to be more cheerful when they served the meals to the sailors coming down the line.

A smile and a cheerful comment, a willingness to serve them will reap great benefits he told them.

After his pep talk the Food Service Officer and the Chaplain stood
back and watched the food being served.

A new sailor at the base walked down the line but he didn't like anything he saw so he just carried his tray down the line till he got to the desert Section. He picked up a saucer containing a large piece of chocolate cake.

The Mess Specialist looked at him, "Is that all you're gonna eat," he asked.

The sailor said, "Yeah, the rest of it don't look too appetizing."

The Mess Specialist smiled and said, "Well, in that case would you like two pieces of cake?"

The Chaplain smiled and nudged the Food Service Officer in the ribs, "I
Told you my talk did them some good."

The kid said, "Yeah, man, I'd appreciate it."

The cook leaned over and cut the piece of cake on the tray in half.

Geez...Thanks Alot Sandy frum Tampa fer tellin the whole world about young Cookie....
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...and "Charlie the Cop" warns us all about a New Scam.........Beware! This is a smart tactic.

PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENT!

Police say that the gang usually is comprised of four members, one adult and three younger ones.

While the three younger ones, all appearing sweet and innocent, divert their 'mark' (or intended target) with a show of friendliness , the fourth -- the eldest -- sneaks in from behind the person's back to expertly rifle through his or her pocket or purse for any valuables.






It's called the "Aflac Scam"
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Just saw this for the first time thanks to "Charlie the Cop" frum Chicago, but if'n y'all haven't seen it afore, I think you'll enjoy it.....


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........After sex................


A man was laying in bed with his new girlfriend.

After having great sex, she spent the next hour just stroking his penis,
something she seemed to love to do.

Enjoying it, he turned and asked her, 'Why do you love doing that?'

She replied, 'Because I really miss mine.'
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Sex In The Shower

In a recent survey, people from in and around Chicago have proved to be the most likely to have had sex in the shower !

In the survey, carried out for leading toiletries firm 'Brut', a huge 86% of Chicago residents said that they have enjoyed sex in the shower.


The other 14% said they hadn't been to prison ...

Hmmmm...Hey Chief, Don't you live somewhere near Chicago?
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Well Sir...finally, that damned "Charlie the Cop" from Chi-Town just had to send my wife this advertisement for a Home Improvement Catalog....


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