Colorado woman donates blond Hair for Norden Bombsights WWII ..

Mary Brown was a Coloradan; the children of Slovenian immigrants. She left elementary school at the age of 12, to help support her family as a servant 

for $5/week. When she was 13, she lied about her age so that she could work at National Broom Factory for 75 cents a day, a job she held for 42 years. Her younger siblings pitched in by picking up chunks of coal that had fallen onto the railroad tracks. Brown's lone prized possession was her knee-length fine blonde hair.

In 1943, Brown saw an advertisement in a newspaper, searching for women with blonde hair of at least 22" length, that had never been treated with chemicals or hot irons. The military was offering to purchase such hair, to be used for meteorological instruments in the war effort.

The "meteorological instruments" were actually crosshairs for Norden bombsights. The Army Air Forces (the predecessor to today's US Air Force) had tried various materials for the Norden bombsight, including black widow spider

webbing, but nothing could withstand the temperature variations like fine blonde human hair that had never been treated with chemicals or heat.

Brown sent off a sample of her 34" blonde hair to the government for analysis. After analyzing her hair, they agreed to purchase it, offering to pay her in war savings stamps. But Brown wouldn't accept payment for her hair. She saw it as her patriotic duty to help the war effort. She later recalled that she cried for months after cutting her hair.

It was decades before Brown learned the true use of her hair, and the effect of her

sacrifice. In 1987, on her 80th birthday, she received a personal thank-you letter from President Ronald Reagan:

Brown's hometown of Pueblo, Colorado declared an official Mary Babnik Brown day, and she also received an award from the Colorado Aviation Historical Society.

      Said Brown: "Here I am, an old lady of 83, and I'm still flying high".

                           

Gini Rifkin Author books now available at Walmart

                  Just in time for the Holidays!  
                           and Black Friday.

                                            

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               THE FAE WARRIORS TRILOGY                    SOLACE: BOOK 1 
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           Happy Holidays and Happy Shopping.

The Eleventh Hour. The end of WWI

 On the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month in 1918 the guns of Europe fell silent. After four years of bitter fighting, The Great War was finally over. 

The Armistice was signed at 5am in a railway carriage in the Forest of Compiegne, France on November 11, 1918. Six hours later, at 11am, the war ended. The First World War officially ended with the signing of the Treaty of Versailles on 28 June 1919.
                    

Trench warfare and hand to hand combat, World War I pitted Germany, Austria-Hungary and the Ottoman Empire against Great Britain, the United States, France, Russia, Italy and Japan. Mustard gas was used and the "gas mask" was invented. 

     “WE SHALL NOT SLEEP, 
                   THOUGH POPPIES GROW 

                           IN FLANDERS FIELDS" 

                            John McCrae

The poppies of Flanders Field have become a symbol of WWI and all Veterans. 

Per Karen Lowton
“A lovely military man selling poppies stopped me today and asked if he could reposition mine - while doing so he told me that women should wear their poppy on their right side: the red represents the blood of all those who gave their lives; the black represents the mourning of those who didn't have their loved ones return home; and the green leaf represents the grass and crops growing, and future prosperity after the war destroyed so much.

“The leaf should be positioned at 11 o'clock to represent the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month, the time that World War One formally ended.

Veterans Day is observed in the United States on 11 November, and is both a federal and state holiday. In the United States, and some other allied nations, 11 November was formerly known as Armistice Day; in the United States it was given its new name in 1954 at the end of the Korean War to honor all veterans.

           Sadly, the War To End All Wars, didn't accomplish that goal. To see how and why it started, visit here....Who started WWI    5 top causes of WWI

Country	Total mobilized forces	Killed or died	Wounded	Prisoners or missing	Total casualties
Allied Powers:
Russia	12,000,000	1,700,000	4,950,000	2,500,000	9,150,000
France	8,410,000	1,357,800	4,266,000	537,000	6,160,800
British Empire**	8, 904,467	908,371	2,090,212	191,652	3,190,235
Italy	5,615,000	650,000	947,000	600,000	2,197,000
United States	4,734,991	116,516	204,002	------	320,518
Japan	800,000	300	907	3	1210
Romania	750,000	335,706	120,000	80,000	535,706
Serbia	707,343	45,000	133,148	152,198	331,106
Belgium	267,000	13,716	44,686	34,659	93,061
Greece	230,000	5,000	21,000	1,000	27,000
Portugal	100,000	7,222	13,751	12,318	33,291
Montenegro	50,000	3,000	10,000	7,000	20,000
TOTALS	42,188,810	5,152,115	12,831,004	4,121,090	22,104,209
Central Powers:
Germany	11,000,000	1,773,700	4,216,058	1,152,800	7,142,558
Austria-Hungary	7,800,000	1,200,000	3,620,000	2,200,000	7,020,000
Turkey	2,850,000	325,000	400,000	250,000	975,000
Bulgaria	1,200,000	87,500	152,390	27,029	266,919
TOTALS	22,850,000	3,386,200	8,388,448	3,629,829	15,404,477
GRAND TOTALS	65,038,810	8,538,315	21,219,452	7,750,919	37,508,686

Donkey skin trade goes global.

What started in China and Africa, is now spreading across the world as Brazil joins in the dirty business of torturing and butchering donkeys to satisfy the Red Chinese ravenous, greedy desire to market ejiao.

    Ejiao is also known as donkey hide glue, DHG, a gelatinous substance, made from boiling the hides of donkeys. 

  An old remedy in China, ejiao is now a new gotta-have-it craved by their general public for a myriad of undocumented cures. In addition to the absence or small presence of the medicinal properties, poor quality DHG is more likely to contain harmful substances such as chromium, lead, mercury, and arsenic. 
 
                   Shan Dong E,  Ejiao E Jiao Colla Corii Asini     Every year in China, four million donkeys are slaughtered for making DHG. The word is out, the Chinese are scouring the world for the hides--legal or black market, and at irresistible prices. 
                             An ongoing investigation is being conducted by the National Donkey Taskforce, a partner to The Donkey Sanctuary UK. They found one compound (now shut down) was slaughtering 250 donkeys A DAY. At another, the driver was bringing in at least 50 donkeys a day. Many are wild donkeys, but in Kenya some are stolen from families who need their animal for farming, wood and water hauling....basic human needs. 

Donkeys awaiting slaughter at a holding compound in Itapetinga, Brazil in September 2018, which has since been closed down. (Picture credit: Frente Nacional de Defesa dos Jumentos)

    They are penned waiting for slaughter with no food or water after traveling miles in unspeakable van conditions. Australia’s role as the eighth largest importer of donkey-hide gelatin (ejiao) was revealed in a  new investigative report released today by Humane Society International Australia
                       WHY?  
All for our obsession for undying youth and miracle cures. And for the greed of the companies making the blood-money bottom-line profits. 

     Products and practices like these are chipping away another little piece of our humanity. Please spread the word. Help stop an underground black market horror story for one of the sweetest animals still running free. 

Newsweek Magazine 
DHG can poison people
Humane Society International
The New York Times
The Donkey Task Force 
The Donkey Sanctuary UK

Did one of your characters pass by Independence Rock?

While researching information for my next book, I came across the interesting story of Independence Rock located 55 miles southwest of Casper, Wyoming on hwy 220. 

      It all began fifty million years ago, when the peaks of the Granite Range rose up to begin the long geologic processes of exfoliation. The mountains eventually sagged into the earth's crust, and about 15 million years ago, wind-blown sand smoothed and rounded their summits creating this great American landmark.

    When American fur hunters headed west in the 1820s, the Sweetwater Valley became the main trail to the heart of the continent. After that, came the pioneers.  
                           
                                   painting by William Henry Jackson

   In 1824, M. K. Hugh carved the oldest recorded inscription (now weathered

away) into the ancient landmark. Some say legendary mountain man Thomas "Broken Hand" Fitzpatrick named it "Rock Independence" that year when he passed by on the Fourth of July. 
                                               

    Like a great stone turtle, Independence Rock sprawls over 27 acres next to the meandering Sweetwater River. More than a mile in circumference, the rock is 700 feet wide and 1,900 feet long. Its highest point, 136 feet above the rolling prairie, stands as tall as a twelve-story building.
                              

The pioneer priest, Pierre-Jean De Smet, saw the rock in 1841, and dubbed it "the great register of the desert." Other sojourners called it the backbone of the universe.

     Over three decades, nearly half a million Americans passed Independence Rock on their way to new homes on the frontier. Located at the approximate mid-point between the Missouri River and the Pacific Coast, Independence Rock became a milestone for travelers on the Oregon Trail. 

                       

  Although much of the trail has disappeared beneath modern cities and highways, hundreds of miles of nearly pristine ruts and swales still mark its course over the plains and mountains of Wyoming. 
                    
    I've been on the Santa Fe trail, but not the Oregon, the bucket is growing. 

Goat Coat Fashion Show

 Winter is coming! 

  Beanie Baby and Belle, my two Nigerian Dwarf goats, look so cute and "fashion forward" in their new coats. 

     These were made to order by 
              Diana at the goatcoatshop.com  

It wasn't easy to find coats to fit 

around their adorable big bellies. 

                                            

          I think the donkeys might be a little jealous. 

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                                                            print length 368 
         Will he find the murderer, but lose his heart?
   For a spicy romance with a bit of mystery, and some new twists on the old tropes, get comfy and curl up with a Victorian Dream.  Free at Amazon 

      1851 England & America.
          Trelayne St.Christopher, a cosseted young English woman, dreams of falling madly in love, just like the daring women in her purloined novels. Now faced with adult responsibilities for the first time in her life, she leaps at the opportunity to manage her father's shipping business. But when Trelayne ignores her prophetic nightmares in favor of passionate daydreams, her best laid plans go dangerously awry.
     Emotionally scarred by the death of his wife, Yankee sea captain Walker Garrison bans romance from his personal manifest, shipbuilding is his only passion. The transatlantic partnership between Walker and Trelayne's father seems a grand idea until her parents are critically injured and one of Walker's crew turns up dead. On the trail of the man responsible, Walker sets sail for England. But, after meeting his new partner's daughter, protecting Trelayne and not falling in love with her may prove impossible.
                               

Excerpt: (at the Crystal Palace)
    To her surprise, Walker tightened his grip on her elbow and urged her off the

walkway and into the shadows. She felt light headed, and her cheeks grew warm with the unstoppable heat caused by his intense perusal. 
   “That’s some hat you’re sporting,” he said.
    His unexpected comment took her off guard, leaving her confused. “You don’t like my new hat?”
   “I didn’t say I didn’t like it, just that it was really something.”

  “That’s a bit vague. Something can mean good or bad.”
   He canted his head and studied her more thoroughly. “It’s unique, I’ll give you that.” He flicked a finger at the bright bow and scarlet ribbons cascading down one side of the creation. “And unexpected.”
  “Do you like surprises?” she ventured.
  “Not generally,” he admitted. “But I do like discovering new things, taking my time, savoring each revelation, wondering what will come next.
Capturing her left hand, he toyed with the buttons on her glove. Entranced, she waited restlessly, conjuring naughty images of what he might try to discover next. One by one, he slipped the buttons free, splaying open the soft leather. Cool air slipped beneath the material as he rolled down the top, exposing her skin.
   The pulse in her wrist jump beneath the pressure of his fingers. Raising her hand to his mouth, he whispered something, but she couldn’t catch the words, only the feel of his breath on her bare skin. He lowered her hand, and little by little peeled the kid leather away, turning it inside out, sliding the softness over her knuckles, down her fingers, off the tips. She wished he would undress the rest of her just as completely and slowly—oh so slowly, one little piece of clothing following another.
   “Your fingers are cold, Trelayne,” he said, cozying her bare hand between his strong warm ones. “But I’ll wager there’s fire in your heart.”
   Speechless, she strangled the moan threatening to escape her. There was fire in more than just her heart, and it was near to burning out of control. Was it proper for a woman to ravish a man? For that was exactly what she wished to do.
   A hint of smile lingered on his mouth, but his eyes darkened, and there was nothing humorous about the way his gaze made her feel.
   She wished to speak, but words escaped her. Rarely at a loss as to what to do or say, she tried to recall what she’d been taught in deportment about keeping up lively conversation and witty dialogue. Nothing came to mind to cover a situation in which her body ruled her mind. All she could think about was what it would be like to kiss this man, make love to this man, be naked beside this man. There was definitely a fire in her heart.
   “Fires can be dangerous,” she murmured.
   “Yes,” he agreed. “Especially the ones that burn long and slow and incredibly hot.”
   Illustrations from the books she read in secret seared across her mind—scandalous, wonderful imaginings.
   He leaned in closer. She swore he was about to kiss her, could feel his breath and the tiniest tickle of his mustache as his mouth hovered oh so near her lips. Then he straightened, his expression one of confusion, even consternation. He looked like a man delirious with fever, just come to his senses.
   “We should find the others,” he suggested, releasing her from the spell she was under. 
    It was the last thing she wanted. Couldn’t he tell, didn’t he know? 
   “Out of all the wonders here tonight,” he reassured, “spending time with you is what I shall remember most.”

            Readers who enjoyed Victorian Dream, 

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                                Lady Gallant  

                                             print length 368 pages, rated spicy    
   Disowned by her father and still mourning the death of her fiancé, Josephine Posey joins Florence Nightingale’s brigade of nurses bound for the Black Sea. Thousands of British soldiers desperately await these angels of mercy and a new life awaits Josie. Amidst the chaos of death and despair, she finds a spark of hope, lighting the flame once more inside her soul.
    In search of the truth, Garrick Allen, one of Britain’s first war correspondents also journeys to the Crimean Peninsula. To him the soldiers seem all but abandoned by Queen and country, and as he smokes his cheroots and makes friends with a bottle, he writes his bold but honest dispatches for The Times.  Not wanting anything more than to finish his job and go home, Garrick is blind-sided by a nurse with attitude who offers him a new slant on life and a reason to love.

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