Greetings! Halfway through November already…hardly seems possible. Our house is gearing up for Thanksgiving with everyone beginning to anticipate the family that will be arriving and the good times ahead. It is one of our favorite times of the year.
Quote for you:
The foolish man seeks happiness in the distance; the wise grows it under his feet~~James Openheim
I’m in the mood for some good news…how about you?
Ring Returned to Vietnam POW 44 Years After Imprisonment
Just over 54 years ago on October 1, 1955, James and Phyllis Hivner were married. Ten years later, then-Capt. James Hivner and his co-pilot were shot down , in their F-4C Phantom fighter-bomber over North Vietnam.
Soon after they were captured by North Vietnamese militia and then they became residents at the infamous Hanoi Hilton, a POW facility.
Just as the wedding ring symbolizes love, it also symbolizes the Air Force family the colonel is a part of. On Veterans Day, people from Sheppard Air Force Base made the two-hour trip to Addison, Texas, with a special surprise.
After being captured, Hivner and his co-pilot were stripped of all belongings and valuables – wedding rings included. After being imprisoned for approximately eight years, the war ended and Hivner was released…but returned home without his wedding ring.
Rick Tolley, a retired U.S. Navy commander from San Antonio, found the colonel’s original wedding ring and dog tag. After performing research, he located Hivner and the ring made its way back to its rightful owner.
West Africa’s Giraffes Make a Big Comeback
A hundred years ago, the giraffes of West Africa were as many as over a thousand and they lived from Senegal’s Atlantic Ocean coast to Chad (in the center of Africa). Currently however, their habitat stretches only 150 miles long.
But instead of disappearing altogether, the giraffes are bouncing back from the brink of extinction. Today there are more than 200.
Experts surmise the recovery is because of a combination of concerned conservationists, government looking for money, and harmony with villagers who have accepted their presence.
Giraffe hunting is prohibited in many countries. And some, like Kenya, have taken giraffe meat off the menu of tourist restaurants that once served them up on huge skewers. New laws were created that banned hunting and poaching. Giraffe killers would be punished with five-year jail terms and fines amounting to hundreds of times their annual income. By 2004, the giraffe herds had increased by two.
The government also realized they had a lucrative tourism resource as well.
New Evidence That Dark Chocolate Helps Ease Emotional Stress
The “chocolate cure” for emotional stress is getting a boost from a study published online. New research has found that eating about 1.5 ounces of dark chocolate each day for two weeks reduces stress hormones of people feeling highly stressed. It now appears that antioxidants and other beneficial substances in dark chocolate may reduce heart disease and other physical conditions. Chocolate may also ease emotional stress.
Scientists have identified reductions in stress hormones and other biochemical changes using volunteers. The volunteers rated themselves as highly stressed and then ate dark chocolate for two weeks. The study shows evidence that a daily consumption of 1.4 ounces over a two-week period is enough to modify the metabolism of healthy human volunteers.
