The Chatter Box
By Deborah Bennett

I heard a news report on television this week noting the fact that the bow of the Navy's newly commissioned USS New York ship was made from 7½ tons of metal debris removed from Ground Zero of the Twin Towers. Another interesting fact noted was that the ship was built in New Orleans - while citizens of the city were rebuilding their own lives after losing virtually everything to Hurricane Katrina.

Listening to the news cast reminded me of an editorial I wrote after the Sept. 11 attack on the Twin Towers, "Stand Tall, America." The last paragraph reads, "Let the world know, however, that Americans will not cower idly beneath the dark cloud of terrorism that has dared to raise its ugly head on our horizon and spill innocent blood! We will stand tall - like a Phoenix arising from the ashes. We'll soar again!"

I believe the USS New York is a perfect example of the resiliency of our citizens and their ability to rise from the ashes and soar - or sail, in this case.

******

For your information - the Internet is often portrayed as an "information highway." Unfortunately, some the information traveling on the highway is false. If you would like to verify something circulating via e-mails before passing it on, check out the Snopes.com website. You can use the search engine to find your subject matter and determine its truthfulness.

******

Just a reminder - Daylight Saving Time begins this Saturday. Be sure to set your clocks ahead one hour before retiring for the night.

This means we will all have more time in the afternoons to do all those chores we have been putting off all winter because it gets dark so early. I'll now have the time to rake all those pine cones that have fallen in my yard. Wonderful!

******

Happy birthday this week to: Bryce Joyner, Tyson Bennett, Phil Cowart, Libby Williams, Danny Clayton, Lashontria Wadley, Antonio Wadley, Denise R. Bragg, Kim Landing, Keri Williams, Charles Brannen, Rudolph Hydrick, Edward Wilson, J.D. Cain, Pat Miller, Eric Williams, Dina Keller, Rick Pickett, Ralph Chance, Gloria Hawes and Jacob Oglesby.

******

Celebrating wedding anniversaries this week are: Mr. and Mrs. Sidney London.

******

Military Active Duty List: Lance Cpl. Lee Ogden, U.S. Marines, Radio and Communications, Bahria, Iraq; Petty Officer 3rd Class Eric B. Kelsey, U.S. Navy, NSA Bahrain; PV2 Ashley Clifton, U.S. Army, Yongsan, Korea; Airman First Class Charles F. Woods, Moody Air Force Base, Valdosta, GA; Capt. Andrew P. Thomas, U.S. Marines, F.A.S.T. Company, Yorktown, VA; Stuart Burrus, U.S. Air Force, Bossier AFB, Bossier, LA; SPC 4 Travis D. Motes, 1st Calvary Division, T. Hood, Texas; Capt. Donald Slade Burke, Travis Air Force Base, Fairfield, Calif.; Staff Sgt. Gilbert C. Sheppard III, 48th Brigade, 118th Field Artillery, Iraq; Petty Officer 3rd Class Jamie A. Yager, U.S. Navy, Marine Corps Base Hawaii; Petty Chief Officer Andy D. Crosby, U.S. Navy, Elroy Destroyer, Norfolk, Va.; Stephanie Crosby, R.N., U.S. Navy, Lafayette Destroyer; Jimmy Cooper, U.S. Army National Guard, 878th Engineering Battalion-Augusta, Persian Gulf ; 1st Lt. J.R. Taylor, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division, Iraq; SPC. Daniel Stuart, 18th MEDCOM, 121 General Hospital, Seoul, Korea; Jeffrey Sweat, U.S. Navy, USS Kauffman, MM3 59/E-Division, A-Gang, Norfolk, Va.; Cpl. Larry Lamont Clark, U.S. Marine Corp, 2nd Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Lejeune, N.C. Bagdad, Iraq; Khan Young, U.S. Navy, U.S.S. Kitty Hawk, Persian Gulf; Robert Milton Jr., E-3, U.S. Army, Ft. Stewart, Hinesville, Ga., Mission Kuwait; Arnold R. Mosley, 2nd Lt., U.S. Air Force, Randolph AFB, Texas; and Debra A. Mosley, Tech. Sgt., U.S. Air Force, Randolph AFB, Texas.