NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS shoot down the NY JETS 49-19 on Thanksgiving Day

Thanksgiving Day feasting didn't end with a fabulous meal - It extended onto the playing field as the NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS roasted the NY JETS 49-19.

Rex Ryan has been the "turkey" of the AFC East for quite some time. 

His mouth has been writing checks his arse can't cash.

Seeing the NY Jets get thrashed like this was the perfect end to a Thanksgiving Day to be remembered.


Patriots erupt in second quarter to blow out Jets 49-19
By Shalise Manza Young
Boston Globe Staff /  November 22, 2012

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — Just when it seemed the blend of Thanksgiving dinner Tryptophan and a boring opening 15 minutes of football in the Patriots-Jets rematch would lull even the most diehard fan into an early slumber, one team woke up at MetLife Stadium.
 
Unfortunately for most of the assembled fans, it wasn’t the Jets. Though by halftime the team and its fans probably wished what they’d experienced during the second quarter was a nightmare and not reality.
 
After holding the Patriots scoreless in the first quarter — the first time that’s happened this season to New England — the Jets then saw the game, and their season, implode.
 
Embarrassed at home, 49-14, New York fell to 4-7 while New England is now 8-3, 4-0 in the AFC East.
 
It was Bill Belichick’s 200th career win, and though he would never say it, it was likely a bit sweeter that it came against the Jets given all of the personal and professional history he has with the organization.
 
The Patriots went into halftime with a 35-3 lead on a series of plays that ranged from the sublime to the ridiculous.
 
It was so embarrassing for Jets fans that some began heading home before intermission. Those who remained began chanting for quarterback Tim Tebow to get into the game.
 
The Patriots had a chance to score in the first quarter but Stephen Gostkowski missed a 39-yard field goal wide left.
 
On the Jets’ possession following the miss, Steve Gregory intercepted Mark Sanchez when the Jets quarterback threw into double coverage.
 
New England started well inside its territory, but Tom Brady methodically led the offense on a six-minute scoring drive. Three Jets penalties aided the cause, including a 15-yard facemask at the end of a 13-yard Shane Vereen run that gave the Patriots first and goal.
 
New England’s TD came on the first play of the second quarter, when Brady found a wide-open Wes Welker in the front right corner of the end zone.
 
Brady had all sorts of time, a credit to an offensive line that was without Logan Mankins and Sebastian Vollmer. Donald Thomas was at left guard again, as he has been since Mankins has been out with several injuries, and Marcus Cannon started for Vollmer at right tackle.
 
The defense stuffed running back Shonn Greene on fourth and 1; Brandon Spikes stripped the ball at the end of the play, and Gregory recovered it.
 
One play led to New England going up, 14-0. Brady hit Vereen, all alone to his left, and the second-year running back was off to the races, an 83-yard catch-and-run touchdown.
 
That was a crack in the dam.
 
In less than 60 seconds of game time, it burst open.
 
On the second play of the Jets’ ensuing possession, there was a botched play — it looked as if Sanchez wanted to hand off to Lex Hilliard but Hilliard ran right past him.

Rather than try to look for a receiver, Sanchez tucked the ball and promptly ran smack into the ample behind of right guard Brandon Moore, fumbling the ball.
 
Again it was Gregory who was in the right place. He scooped up the loose ball and ran it back 32 yards to give New England a 21-0 lead.
 
On the ensuing kickoff, Joe McKnight got out to the 25, but Devin McCourty popped the ball out.
 
Julian Edelman plucked the ball out of the air and ran it back into the end zone. Patriots, 28-0.
 
And they weren’t done.

After the defense forced a punt, Brady and Edelman turned a third-and-5 play into a 56-yard TD catch.
 
The 35 tied the team record for points in a quarter.

The boos from Jets fans only intensified when they kicked a 32-yard field goal just before halftime instead of trying for the end zone.
 
Shalise Manza Young can be reached at syoung@globe.com. Follow her on Twitter @shalisemyoung.

Thanksgiving Day 2012 - Kandahar, Afghanistan

Thanksgiving Day in Kandahar, Afghanistan

Lots to be thankful for even while away from hearth and home.  I have a good position with a good company.  My beloved wife is helping others with her mission to fight food insecurity and hunger in our community and all is well with my family, especially my Dad who recently turned 84. 

Thanks to our Lord for his blessings and safety while I travel far from home.  All for now while we await a rather large Thanksgiving Day feast that has been prepard for us this evening.  The year is coming to an end and all will hope for better things in 2013.

Learning a lesson

Many times, the lessons we learn are not all in textbooks

Today, I was heading back to our office at lunch time...I was walking across the area that is in between our villa and the offices....

I had a bag of sodas for the guards. On a regular basis, I bring cold water/sodas with me for the security gurds as it is hot ( today it was 112 F in the shade) and they stand out in the heat all day, keeping us safe.

There was a young man (age 11-12) walking by heading home from school.  He spoke great english and he asked me for a soda, seeing that I had a bag full of them.

I said sure and gave him a soda.

He asked for another with a big smile - I said why ?? 

He said " For my brother "

So I asked him - " Where's your brother??" as he was alone - I gave him a kidding and asked him " Is he in your back pack??"

He looked at me and said, " At home...." - I asked him if he really had a brother at home and he said he did.

So I gave him two sodas......he was smiling like you wouldn't believe. He was so happy over something so easy for me to do - sharing sodas that are plentiful for us, and likely not as easy for him to get on a regular basis.

 This was another one of the encounters I have had here in Afghanistan that demonstrate why we are here.  Here was a young man from Kandahar and an Old Seabee like me, meeting for a few minutes, sharing friendship and being able to share a laugh and a smile.


As it was written, " And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Since you have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, you have done it unto me." - Matthew 25:40

Father's Day / Afghanistan

"My daddy worked hard, and so have I.....paid our taxes and gave our lives to serve this great country....so what are they complaining about??  We love our families and love our kids...it's love that makes all so rich....that's where we are at."
Lynyrd Skynyrd - RED, WHITE AND BLUE


Today is Father's Day.  It is the day when we honor our Dads and all they have done for us.

My Dad worked hard to make sure we had the things he did without as a child who grew up during the depression, the 1940's and World War 2.  My Dad served in the Army during the Korean conflict in Alaska keeping the phone lines open between Korea and the US.  No combat duty but two years in the cold and isolation of the frozen wilderness.  Like the men of his era, he did what was required and did not complain about what he had to do, he just did what was needed.  He earned the rewards of his hard work and was able to retire to a small town on Cape Cod, residing there today at the ripe age of 83 years young. His generation were likely the last ones who will get what all should expect after a life's work - security and the ability to enjoy retirement.

My Dad is the man I would some day hope to be - patient, understanding and above all, a good man who made sure he was always there for all of us.  I have modeled my fatherhood skills after his and it is still something I strive to do each day - be more like my Dad. He is the "rock" that made all the rest of our lives possible.

Today, Dads face the same issues our Dads dealt with - trying to be the best Dad and providing what is needed. Moms face some of the same issues as our economy has made it necessary for both parents to become wage earners.  Dads still bear the larger part of being the wage earners the same way as Moms still deal with the majority of the household chores.  It is a bit of a stereotype, but this is the norm for most. 

This will be the third Father's Day I have spent in Afghanistan.  I have been working contract work over here since 2009 with a few short breaks.  One way or the other, I have been here for the Spring and Summer months and that places me away from home on Father's Day.  My wife sends along cards and small gifts via care packages and her gesture is deeply appreciated.  She has also had to deal with me being away on Mother's Day, so she understands what we both recognize - life is truly different for Fathers and Mothers in this day and age.  She works hard keeping the homefront going and I work hard here earning what is needed. It is a Faustian deal that we have been forced to take as the alternative ( failure or loss of our home) is untenable on all levels.

We are not working here to buy shiny new convertibles or to amass a big new home - our goals are much more simple as we look to take care of our humble house and make sure that we can live there for the remainder of our lives....a simple desire to do our best, take care of each other and do the work the good Lord has given us.

Our oldest child will turn 30 this year and we have 3 out of 4 kids out of the house living their own lives.  The task of raising them into adults has been completed but as a Dad, my influence and mentoring continues throughout the rest of their lives.  I hope that they each make good choices and that the life they choose will be a good one.  I can only offer advice and make sure that I am there when they need me, even if it is sometimes via Skype and an email or two.

Today is a work day for me and like many other Dads, I will do what is needed to make sure the homefront gets what is needed. Dads all over the world will spend today enjoying time with their kids celebrating the day at home.  Many others in uniform and those like me working here in Afghanistan will be away from home and the celebration of Father's Day.  At the same time, what we do shows that we are focusing on what is truly important as Dads....we are forgoing the accolades and day off to ensure the homefront gets the much needed support our work provides.  There will be Father's Days in the future where we will be able to spend the day relaxing on the back deck and/or BBQing some tasty food.  The work we do today ensures that those future Dad's Days will be there and that we will be able to share that day with our family.

To Dad's everywhere - Happy Father's Day and many more to come !!  I salute each of you for your efforts and the efforts of our Dads who gave us their best each and every day.

Mayflower Myths and interesting facts about Thanksgiving Day

This blog is published not far from Plymouth, MA where the Pilgrims landed in November 1620. There are many items about the Pilgrims and Thanksgiving Day which are misunderstood or have been muddled through-out history. When the Pilgrims made their first landfall on outer Cape Cod, the first Indians they encountered were the Nausets. The Nausets were not peaceful Indians and were very unhappy to see the Pilgrims as the only other Europeans they had encountered had taken men as slaves. That first encounter pushed the Pilgrims to go on to Plymouth instead.

When they arrived at Plymouth, they found signs of settlements, but no Indians. The winter was upon them and they struggled to make shelter and survive. Many were sick from the voyage and many died that first cold winter. In the Spring, they were barely hanging on when they greeted by an Indian named Samoset. He spoke english and that shocked the Pilgrims. Samoset was friendly which delighted the Pilgrims as they thought they would have to fight all Indians.

Samoset had spent time on the Maine coast and had learned english from the European fishermen who he encountered there. Samoset was the last surviving member of his tribe who had lived in the area where the Pilgrims landed. There had been a plague that had come along in the years between 1616 -1619 that had killed all the other members of his tribe and he was tasked with mourning for them as he alone survived by being away at that time.

Samoset took pity on the Pilgrims as they were pathetically sick and malnourished. He helped them and showed them what to eat, how to grow crops and where they could find food. He also brought them to meet Massasoit, the Chief of all the tribes in the area that comprised present day SE Massachusetts and Rhode Island. Massasoit heard from Samoset that the Pilgrims were good people and Massasoit asked them their intentions. They asked to be able to stay in Plymouth and maintain a settlement.

Massasoit told them that as far as he was concerned, the land in Plymouth was cursed. Everyone there had died, and his people viewed the land as a bad place. If the Pilgrims wanted that land, they were welcome to it. This occurrence of events paved the way to the first permanent settlement of a colony in America.

Here are a few other items you might not know one of which is there is no record of the Pilgrims eating turkey. There were turkeys in the woods here but likely they enjoyed a meal of venison as there were many deer here too. The Pilgrims enjoyed a first harvest after help from Samoset and other Native Americans.

Enjoy this Thanksgiving Day with family & friends. I hope that all give thanks for what you have been given and that all enjoy a good meal today in remembrance of the Pilgrims and their Wampanoag friends.

Mayflower Myths - From History.com

The Mayflower brought the group of English settlers now known as the Pilgrims to North America. Leaving England in the fall of 1620, the Pilgrims were attempting to land near the mouth of the Hudson River, but instead ended up in Cape Cod Bay. Plymouth, the colony established there by the Pilgrims in 1621, became the first permanent European settlement in New England. The story of the Pilgrims and their harvest feast has since become one of best-known in American history, but you may not know it as well as you think. Discover the facts behind these well-known Thanksgiving myths!

Myth: The first Thanksgiving was in 1621 and the pilgrims celebrated it every year thereafter.
Fact: The first feast wasn't repeated, so it wasn't the beginning of a tradition. In fact, the colonists didn't even call the day Thanksgiving. To them, a thanksgiving was a religious holiday in which they would go to church and thank God for a specific event, such as the winning of a battle. On such a religious day, the types of recreational activities that the pilgrims and Wampanoag Indians participated in during the 1621 harvest feast--dancing, singing secular songs, playing games--wouldn't have been allowed. The feast was a secular celebration, so it never would have been considered a thanksgiving in the pilgrims minds.

Myth: The original Thanksgiving feast took place on the fourth Thursday of November.
Fact: The original feast in 1621 occurred sometime between September 21 and November 11. Unlike our modern holiday, it was three days long. The event was based on English harvest festivals, which traditionally occurred around the 29th of September. After that first harvest was completed by the Plymouth colonists, Gov. William Bradford proclaimed a day of thanksgiving and prayer, shared by all the colonists and neighboring Indians. In 1623 a day of fasting and prayer during a period of drought was changed to one of thanksgiving because the rain came during the prayers. Gradually the custom prevailed in New England of annually celebrating thanksgiving after the harvest.

During the American Revolution a yearly day of national thanksgiving was suggested by the Continental Congress. In 1817 New York State adopted Thanksgiving Day as an annual custom, and by the middle of the 19th century many other states had done the same. In 1863 President Abraham Lincoln appointed a day of thanksgiving as the last Thursday in November, which he may have correlated it with the November 21, 1621, anchoring of the Mayflower at Cape Cod. Since then, each president has issued a Thanksgiving Day proclamation. President Franklin D. Roosevelt set the date for Thanksgiving to the fourth Thursday of November in 1939 (approved by Congress in 1941.)

Myth: The pilgrims wore only black and white clothing. They had buckles on their hats, garments, and shoes.
Fact: Buckles did not come into fashion until later in the seventeenth century and black and white were commonly worn only on Sunday and formal occasions. Women typically dressed in red, earthy green, brown, blue, violet, and gray, while men wore clothing in white, beige, black, earthy green, and brown.

Myth: The pilgrims brought furniture with them on the Mayflower.
Fact: The only furniture that the pilgrims brought on the Mayflower was chests and boxes. They constructed wooden furniture once they settled in Plymouth.

Myth: The Mayflower was headed for Virginia, but due to a navigational mistake it ended up in Cape Cod Massachusetts.
Fact: The Pilgrims were in fact planning to settle in Virginia, but not the modern-day state of Virginia. They were part of the Virginia Company, which had the rights to most of the eastern seaboard of the U.S. The pilgrims had intended to go to the Hudson River region in New York State, which would have been considered "Northern Virginia," but they landed in Cape Cod instead. Treacherous seas prevented them from venturing further south.