The full lyrics to the Star Spangled Banner.

O! say can you see by the dawn's early light,
What so proudly we hailed at the twilight's last gleaming,
Whose broad stripes and bright stars through the perilous fight,
O'er the ramparts we watched, were so gallantly streaming.
And the rockets' red glare, the bombs bursting in air,
Gave proof through the night that our flag was still there;
O! say does that star-spangled banner yet wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave.

On the shore, dimly seen through the mists of the deep,
Where the foe's haughty host in dread silence reposes,
What is that which the breeze, o'er the towering steep,
As it fitfully blows, half conceals, half discloses?
Now it catches the gleam of the morning's first beam,
In full glory reflected now shines in the stream:
'Tis the star-spangled banner, O! long may it wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave.

And where is that band who so vauntingly swore
That the havoc of war and the battle's confusion,
A home and a country should leave us no more!
Their blood has washed out their foul footsteps' pollution.
No refuge could save the hireling and slave
From the terror of flight, or the gloom of the grave:
And the star-spangled banner in triumph doth wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave.

O! thus be it ever, when freemen shall stand
Between their loved home and the war's desolation!
Blest with victory and peace, may the heav'n rescued land
Praise the Power that hath made and preserved us a nation.
Then conquer we must, when our cause it is just,
And this be our motto: "In God is our trust."
And the star-spangled banner in triumph shall wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave!

Because you are my friend

Thanks for sending this James H.

1. When you are sad, I will help you get drunk and plot revenge against the sorry bastard who made you sad.
2. When you are blue, I will try to dislodge whatever is choking you.
3. When you smile, I will know you finally got laid.
4. When you are scared, I will rag on you about it every chance I get.
5. When you are worried, I will tell you horrible stories about how much worse it could be and to quit whining.
6. When you are confused, I will use little words.
7. When you are sick, stay the hell away from me until you are well again. I don't want whatever you have.
8. When you fall, I will point and laugh at your clumsy ass, and then think about helping your dumbass up.

This is my oath. I pledge it till the end.
Why, you may ask; because you are my friend!
Remember : A good friend will help you move. A really good friend will help you move a body. Let me know if I ever need to bring a shovel.

An open letter to my friends who own or work at funeral homes

I want to address something that we hear all the time when we go to seminars or conventions. Everytime I attend one of these things that has to do with building your business, I keep hearing the same thing, "Do something that sets you apart from your competition!", or "Ask yourself what you do differently than your competitor". Everyone sits there like a bump on a log and barely a word is heard because honestly the vast majority of them don't know. Worse than that is the fact that the majority of them don't do anything different from their competitor and they know it.

There is a group of funeral directors who are serving their families and their communities better than their competitors. I know who they are. There's a list of them on the NFDA website. They are the recipients of the Pursuit of Excellence Award. They have shown their community as well as their peers that they are doing what it takes to set themselves apart, by providing unique programs, services to their families and developing themselves professionally. I know that if you asked any of them the standard seminar questions, they would not hesitate to answer them.

My wife and I can speak personally to what NFDA and the Pursuit of Excellence Award has done for our firm. We have received the award for the last five years. Every year I am amazed at the public awareness it generates for us. It motivates us to do more and provide even better care for our families. It has truly been a blessing for us.

You have the opportunity right now to make this the year you set yourself apart from the funeral homes that just sit in those seminars and never take action. Call NFDA 800-228-6332 or visit their website nfda.org

I can promise you two things. First, if you choose to take this next step in your funeral homes growth, I will personally help you if you have any questions or need any help. Secondly, I can promise that if you follow through with this, it will be a benefit and blessing to your firm, just as it has been for ours.

My darling Tabby

I just looked over the blog and it has been over two years since I bought my hp2710p It is the third laptop I have owned and has been the best one of all. I have upgraded the RAM and replaced the batteries which are routine maintenance as far as I am concerned. The biggest issue I have is the outer case has tons of cracks and today I dropped it while it was in my backpack and broke the latch on it. With the other two laptops I had, the deathnell for them had been hard drive issues and overheating problems. Neither of those are a problem for Tabby. The fans run almost exactly the same as they did the day I got it, which is unreal for a two year old laptop that has taken a beating like mine.

Of course by writing this, I will probably have a catastrophic hard drive failure in the next few days.

Taking the day off April 3, 2010

http://www.ohioccw.org/200911224698/join-ofcc-leadership-at-the-sixth-annual-ofcc-fun-n-gun.html

Dry Cleaners

Why haven't I heard of a dry cleaner that offers a discount if you bring their hangers or safety pins back? Is there something I am missing here? "Bring us 100 of our hangers in good condition and we will clean a suit for free". Sounds great to me.
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Sent using BlackBerry

Quote of the Week

Thanks to Matilda for this one....Wifey and I are very happy things have worked out.

“Love is a temporary madness; it erupts like volcanoes and then subsides. And when it subsides you have to make a decision. You have to work out whether your roots have so entwined together that it is inconceivable that you should ever part. Because this is what love is. Love is not breathlessness, it is not excitement, it is not the promulgation of eternal passion. That is just being in love, which any fool can do. Love itself is what is left over when being in love has burned away, and this is both an art and a fortunate accident. Those that truly love have roots that grow towards each other underground, and when all the pretty blossoms have fallen from their branches, they find that they are one tree and not two.” Louis de Bernieres from Captain Corelli’s Mandolin