A real American hero

That night, I thanked God for seeing me through that day of days and prayed I would make it through D plus 1. I also promised that if some way I could get home again, I would find a nice peaceful town and spend the rest of my life in peace. -Richard Winters, Band of Brothers

For as long as I can remember, I’ve been interested in history. American history specifically. And even more so…the pioneer times and World War II (blame the American Girls series). It wasn’t until three years or so ago that I found Band of Brothers. I quickly became enthralled. It’s hard to follow the first time, just because there’s SO many men. And a good chunk takes place in the dark. But I still became emotionally involved. I cried and laughed with them. And then I went out and found their real stories. They were all these incredibly normal men that went out and did something extraordinary. They worked in construction and were mailmen and school administrators and handymen. They went from being these incredible heroes of the European theater to these average, normal lives. And I knew that some of them died in Europe and some had died since. And I knew that the rest would follow, likely sooner than later. And I knew that this particular day would come. But it doesn’t make it any less sad, nor does it stop the tears from falling. Earlier this week, another member of this band of brothers passed away. And not just any one…one that became an inspiration to me.

From the Band of Brothers episode “Crossroads”.

The leader of these men was an incredible, heroic, honorable man- Major Richard “Dick” Winters. Dick grew up in Lancaster, Pennsylvania and had a degree in business. He enlisted shortly after graduating from college to shorten his service time. Major Winters joined Easy Company in August 1942. He started as a platoon leader with the rank of second lieutenant. At the time of D-Day, he was a first lieutenant and company executive officer. An assault he lead that day on German howitzers is still refereed to as an example of a textbook assault on a fixed target at West Point. At the end of the war, he was a major and was serving as battalion commander of 2nd Battalion, 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 101st Airborne Division. More important than that, Major Winters was loved by his men.

left, Damion Lewis, who portrayed Major Dick Winters in the HBO Miniseries, Band of Brothers. right, Major Dick Winters

Quitters never win…

except when they quit awesomely.

I tend to know the more random, off-beat news. I first caught wind of the Steven Slater/JetBlue epicness on Sunday. And I laughed. Hard. And then tried to figure out how this could become a Lifetime movie or something because I need that in my life.

If you haven’t heard, Steven Slater was a JetBlue flight attendant (is that the PC term?). The Pittsburg to JFK flight had its moments from the beginning when two passengers got into a disagreement over an oversized bag and a overhead bin. Slater allegedly was hit in the head with the bag then, and then was continued when the flight landed and the bag wasn’t immediately available after it had been gate checked, and the woman cursed Slater out. Or, none of that happened, and it all happened after the flight had landed and passengers were told to stay in their seats. And Slater allegedly became angry after a woman didn’t listen and he got hit in the head then. Basically, dude got hit in the head with a bag at some point and a passenger used multiple curse words while talking to him. And then the magic happened.

Super Bowl Ads 2010: the Good, the Bad, and the (not-so) Controversial

Not only did a record number of viewers watch the Super Bowl (106.48 million, beating out the M*A*S*H finale), a record amount of ad time aired, clocking in at 47 minutes and 50 seconds. Here’s some of the best, some of the worst, one that was supposed to be controversial and wasn’t and one that was one (former) late-night star away from becoming an undisputed classic.

The Good:

Snickers: The Celebrity Sack commercial featuring Betty White and Abe Vigota topped USA Today’s Ad Meter. Betty White is on right now. I think she’s the grandma some of us secretly would love to have.