Smiley

We had insufficient chatters for a quorum at our June 4th scheduled chat, so we will discuss Erskine Caldwell's "Kneel to the Rising Sun" at our next meeting, June 11th. The few regulars who were at the chat agreed that the story is too good to pass up and warrants a reschedule. Reminder: the story is available at: http://fullreads.com/literature/kneel-to-the-rising-sun/ Please bring a friend with you.

That's shown in the scorecard as an Out caught stealing

Please join us for our next chat in #readers_corner at 8:30 P.M. (EDST) on June 4, 2016 (23:30 P.M. (GMT), June 4th, for a discussion of Kneel to the Rising Sun by Erskine Caldwell. Caldwell was a prolific writer during the mid and late 20th century, both of factual books and fiction. He is probably best known for his novels Tobacco Road and God's Little Acre. This short story is the title tale of an anthology of his stories published in 1935. It is study of the economic situation as well as the racial prejudices rampant in the rural South during the great depression. I think the story will prove ample grist for our literary discussion mill. At the end of our last chat, I was mistaken when I indicated I would not be available on the 4th of June, I looked quickly at my pending commitments and confused a Sunday for Saturday. I will be there to participate on the 4th. The story is available on line at: http://fullreads.com/literature/kneel-to-the-rising-sun/ Meeting Place: Webchat: http://koach.com/cha...=readers_corner mIRC Users: /server -m chat3.koach.com:6667 -j #readers_corner I hope to see you all here. Log attached: #readers_corner 20160611.txt

Please join us for our next chat in #readers_corner at 8:30 P.M. (EDST) on May 28, 2016 (23:30 P.M. (GMT), May 28th), for a discussion of A Relic of the Pliocene by Jack London. We have discussed stories by Jack London in Readers' Corner in the past, and are familiar with his stories of exploration and adventure. This offering, published in 1901, has been classified as 'Science Fiction' although it certainly doesn't appear to fit that mold. In my humble opinion the offering is more of an humorous tall tale or camp fire story. Regardless of category, it is a well written and entertaining work, and I believe you will enjoy it. The story is available as a text file (suitable for reading on line or copy/pasting into a word processor at: http://wondersmith.com/scifi/relic.htm If you prefer pdf format, use: http://livros01.livrosgratis.com.br/ln000462.pdf Meeting Place: Webchat: http://koach.com/cha...=readers_corner mIRC Users: /server -m chat3.koach.com:6667 -j #readers_corner Don't forget to bring a friend for what promises to be a very enjoyable chat. Log attached: #readers_corner 20160528.txt

Unfortunately, it's not funny, it's tragic.

Why are you punishing us?

Please join us for our next chat in #readers_corner at 8:30 P.M. (EDST) on May 21, 2016 (23:30 P.M. (GMT), May 21st), for a discussion of The Giant by Joe Schlichta. We have Stormy to thank for this story, he stumbled on it when reading last week's offering and suggested that we read and discuss it in #Readers_Corner. It's an interesting story which defies categorization. If it has a theme it might be: "You can't go home again, until you do." I feel certain that most of our members will enjoy it. Fair warning: the story is one that calls for -- almost demands -- a second reading. Schlichta is an Artist (painter) as well as a writer. You may look at some of his paintings on his website: http://joeshlichta.com . You might also enjoy his interview for Cheftown (the food blog of TheStranger.com, an online magazine about what's happening in Seattle, Washington.): http://www.thestranger.com/seattle/scotch-hold-the-grapefruit-juice/Content?oid=17446443 . He also has a number of published written works to his credit. The story is available on line at: http://www.carvezine.com/story/2015-fall-shlichta Meeting Place: Webchat: http://koach.com/cha...=readers_corner mIRC Users: /server -m chat3.koach.com:6667 -j #readers_corner I am sure you will enjoy the story, and that it will give us ample points to discuss during our chat. Oh, i have imposed upon Koach to bring a virtual case of Fresca to the chat, and I'll provide a few bottles of a dry white wine so we can enjoy some grapefruit Weinschorle, a suitable warm weather refreshment for our discussion. I hope to see you all here. Log attached: #readers_corner 20160521.txt

Please join us for our next chat in #readers_corner at 8:30 P.M. (EDST) 23:30 (GMT), May 14th, 2016, for a discussion of Kudzu by Andrea Bobotis. The story is an interesting one, and like those other Carve Magazine stories which we have discussed, it is a bit difficult to categorize. I think it will provide for a very interesting discussion. I am sorry I could not notify you of the next chat topic until today. I was out of internet for a few days while visiting my grand-kids (daughter and son-in-law are renovating their new home and many amenities, such as working internet and walls in the living room) are temporarily absent. I just got home this afternoon, and am posting this before I unpack. The story is availabon line at: http://www.carvezine.com/story/2015-fall-bobotis Meeting Place: Webchat: http://koach.com/cha...=readers_corner mIRC Users: /server -m chat3.koach.com:6667 -j #readers_corner I hope to see you on Saturday (Sunday for our readers in Australia) Log attached: #readers_corner 20160514.txt

Real life occasionally interferes with chat, and such is the case on Saturday, May 7th, 2016. Too many regular members of our Readers' Corner group will be absent to allow an interesting chat, so our next discussion will be postponed until the 14th. Sorry for the postponement, hope to see you all on the 14th.

Please join us for our next chat in #readers_corner at 8:30 P.M. (EDST) on April 30th, 2016 (23:30 P.M. (GMT), April 30th), for a discussion of A Family Affair by Peter A. Parmantie. This story is an unusual "detective story" that dissects the darker side of human relationships as opposed to celebrating the arcane reasoning needed to solve the mystery normally encountered for the "who done it" genre'. The protagonist falls a bit lower on the spectrum of respectability than most crime solvers; nevertheless our hero, Joseph Angello, does manage to earn his retainer for this somewhat unusual, if extremely effective solution to the problem brought to him by "the aristocrats" hiring him. I think you will enjoy the story. I am certain we will enjoy discussing it in Readers Corner. The story is available on line at: http://www.thrillingdetective.com/fiction/99_07.html Meeting Place: Webchat: http://koach.com/cha...=readers_corner mIRC Users: /server -m chat3.koach.com:6667 -j #readers_corner Please remember that if you are not currently enjoying 'daylight savings time' we are one hour earlier than usual in your time zone. I hope to see you all there. Log added: #readers_corner .20160430.txt

Age and experience will defeat youthful enthusiasm every time.

Glad it all worked out well. Appendicitis can hurt like hell and bed very scarey.

This article was forwarded to the Koach.com staff by our member Elusive Butterfly and is thought interesting enough to re-post here for everyones information and enjoyment. Alaska Airlines and the Jews of Yemen By Joe Spier CALGARY, Alberta, Canada — The story of the modern exodus of “Beta Israel” the Jews of Ethiopia during Operations Moses and Solomon, which together airlifted some 22,000 Ethiopian Jews to Israel, is well known. Less well known is the dramatic exodus of over 48,000 Jews from Yemen. Almost unknown is the role played by Alaska Airlines. No one knows for certain when the first Jews came to Yemen. Local legend has them being sent as traders by King Solomon. In any event, Jews have lived in Yemen for many centuries. In that backward and poverty-stricken country, the Jews were the poorest and lowest of citizens living in contempt and on sufferance as dhimmis. However, in their synagogues and schools, they taught their male children to learn and write Hebrew. They never forgot their faith, protected the traditions, observed the Sabbath and passed the Torah and Talmud to each succeeding generation. Following World War I, when Yemen became independent, life in that Muslim country for the Jews became intolerable. Anti-Semitic laws were revived; Jews were not permitted to walk on pavements; in court a Jew’s evidence was not accepted against a Muslim’s; Jewish orphans had to be converted to Islam. Some Jews were able to escape to Palestine but most were trapped. In 1947, following the United Nations vote to partition Palestine, the situation of the Jews in Yemen turned from despair to physical danger. Arab rioters in the adjacent port of Aden, then a British Crown colony and now part of Yemen, killed 82 Jews and torched the Jewish quarter. The establishment of the State of Israel on May 14, 1948 and Israel’s War of Independence increasingly endangered the Yemeni Jews as it did in all Arab countries. It was not, however, until May 1949, when the Imam of Yemen unexpectedly agreed to permit all Jews to leave his country that they were able to flee. They longed to return to Zion if only they had the means. At that time, slightly over 49,000 Jews lived in Yemen. As the War of Independence ended in early 1949, Israel was devastated and virtually bankrupt. Notwithstanding, David Ben-Gurion, Israel’s first Prime Minister, defying logic and the advise of his economic advisors, ordered the immediate and rapid “Ingathering of the Exiles”. Where would Israel get the money? “Go to the Jews in the Diaspora and ask them for the money”, Ben-Gurion answered the skeptics. For the Jews of Yemen, Egypt had closed the Suez Canal to them and therefore they would have to be transported by air to Israel. The American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee (JDC), the international Jewish humanitarian aid organization, agreed to fund the Yemenite exodus and organize the airlift, but they needed aircraft. Alaska Airlines was founded in 1932, when Mac McGee purchased a used three passenger Stinson and started an air charter business in Alaska. With the arrival of James Wooten, as president of the airline, in 1947, the airline began to purchase surplus planes from the U.S. Government and within a year became the world’s largest charter airline. The Joint Distribution Committee, the world's leading Jewish humanitarian agency, approached Wooten and asked if Alaska Airlines would agree to accept the Yemen airlift. Wooten wanted Alaska Air to take on the mission of mercy but Ray Marshall, Chairman of the Board, was cool. Marshall felt the deal was a waste of the Airline’s time and money. It would take at least 50,000 to set up the charter, cash that the Airline did not have. Marshall insisted that Wooten front the funds himself. Wooten raised the 50,000 by borrowing it from a travel agency associated with the JDC. The contract was signed and Operation On Wings of Eagles, more popularly known by its nickname, Operation Magic Carpet commenced. As Yemen would not permit the Jewish refugees to be flown out of their country, Britain had agreed to the establishment of a transit camp in the adjoining Crown Colony of Aden from which the airlift could commence. Alaska Airlines set up its base in Asmara, Eritrea with their ground crew, pilots and aircraft, – DC-4s and C-46s. The arrangement was to fly from their base in Asmara to Aden each morning, pick up their passengers in Aden and refuel. Thence fly up the Red Sea and Gulf of Aqaba to the airport in Tel Aviv, unload the refugees, fly to the safety of Cyprus for the night and return to their base in Asmara at dawn, before starting all over again. The round trip would take about 20 hours. The aircraft as configured could not carry enough passengers or sufficient fuel. So, the planes were modified by replacing the regular airline seats with rows of benches and fitting extra fuel tanks down the length of the fuselages between the benches. Aircraft intended to carry 50 passengers could now carry 120 and fuel would last a skinny extra one hour. Meanwhile the transit camp in Aden, called “Camp Geula” (Redemption) was organized by the JDC and staffed by Israeli doctors and social workers under the directorship of Max Lapides, an American Jew. Also headquartered at the camp were emissaries responsible for paying various Yemeni tribal chiefs a “head tax” which would permit the Jewish refugees to pass through their territory As news of the evacuation reached the Jews of Yemen, they left their few possessions behind (except their prayer books and Torahs) and like the biblical exodus began to walk out of slavery into freedom. They traveled in family groups, some hundreds of miles, through wind and sandstorm, vulnerable to robbers and a hostile local population, until half-starved and destitute they reached the border with Aden where Israeli aid workers met them and transported them to the transit camp. There they encountered electricity, medicines, running water, toilets and personal hygiene for the first time. During the entire operation, the Jews of Yemen arrived at Camp Geula in a steady stream, newer ones arriving as an earlier group was airlifted out. Getting the Yemenite Jews to Aden was one problem, getting them on the aircraft was another. Nomads who had never seen an airplane before and never lived anywhere but in a tent, many of the immigrants were frightened and refused to board. Once reminded that their deliverance to Israel by air was prophesized in the Book of Isaiah, “They shall mount up with wings like eagles”, reinforced by the painting of an eagle with outstretched wings over the door of each aircraft, induced them to board the planes. Once inside many preferred sitting on the floor to unaccustomed soft seats. Keeping them from lighting fires to cook their food was a task. During the flight, about half would get sick vomiting over the extra inside fuel tanks. Notwithstanding, the Yemenites upon landing in Israel chanted blessings and burst into song. To start up Operation Magic Carpet, Alaska Airlines sent Portland native Bob Maguire, a pilot with management experience, to the Middle East. Maguire flew between 270 and 300 hours a month. Had he been in the U.S., the limit under its aviation rules was 90 hours. Ben-Gurion called Maguire the “Irish Moses”. The work cost Maguire his career. He contracted a parasite that affected his heart and as a result lost his commercial pilot’s license in the early 1950’s. Another pilot was Warren Metzger, born in Lethbridge who found time between flights to marry his flight attendant. At least one pilot, Stanley Epstein, was Jewish. The airlift that began in June 1948 was hard on the pilots who were flying 16-hour days and hard on the planes that flew well beyond their scheduled service intervals. Fuel was difficult to come by, the desert sand wreaked havoc on the engines and flying was seat-of-the-pants with navigation by dead reckoning and eyesight. The work was dangerous. Many airplanes were shot at. One pilot, getting a little close to Arab territory while approaching Israel, watched tracer bullets arching up towards his airplane. Another plane had a tire blown out during a bombing raid in Tel Aviv. On one occasion, Maguire was forced to land his aircraft in Egypt when it ran out of gas. The Israelis had warned all pilots that if they had to land in Arab territory, the Jewish refugees and perhaps even the crew would likely be shot. The quick-witted Maguire told airport officials he needed ambulances to take his passengers to hospital. When they asked why, he replied that his passengers had smallpox. The frightened Egyptians wanted him out of there right away. Maguire received his fuel and flew on to Tel Aviv. Part way through the operation, the U.S. Civil Aeronautics Board forced Alaska Airlines to shut down its international charter business and a company called Near East Air Transport, whose president was James Wooten and whose pilots, and aircraft were all Alaska Air’s, completed theOperation Magic Carpet airlift. Near East Air Transport was just Alaska Airlines operating under another name. By the time Operation Magic Carpet ended in September 1950, 28 Alaska Airlines pilots had made some 380 flights and airlifted 48,818 refugees, almost Yemen’s entire Jewish population, to Israel. Operation Magic Carpet was kept secret for reasons of security and to prevent sabotage. It would be many months later before the public or the press would become aware of the remarkable operation. Later, Israel would once again call upon Alaska Airlines to aid in the rescue of Jews, this time from Iraq. El Al and Alaska Air, in a secret partnership, formed a new airline, again using the name Near East Air Transport for that purpose. Israeli ownership was hidden so that the airline appeared to be strictly an Alaska Airlines venture. Today, most passengers flying Alaska Airlines do not realize that they are flying with the airline that saved the Jews of Yemen.

Please join us for our next chat in #readers_corner at 8:30 P.M. (EDST) on April 23rd, 2016 (23:30 P.M. (GMT), April 23rd), for a discussion of "Unique Chicken Goes In Reverse" by Andy Duncan. The story, was published was originally published in the anthology Eclipse One, edited by Jonathan Strahan (Night Shade Books, 2007). Nebula and Shirley Jackson Award nominee. Reprinted in Nebula Awards Showcase 2009, edited by Ellen Datlow (Roc, 2009). Although the story appeared in various science fiction publications and Duncan is considered a sci-fi author, it does not seem like science fiction or fantasy. The story is hard to classify other than to say it is a damned good tale, entertaining and thought provoking tale.a fairly typical offering by the magazine, one that requires little intellectual effort to understand and rewards us with a few moments of effortless escape from the stresses of daily life. If we are not particularly stressed, consider it a quick digression from whatever real life tasks we might be involved in. Duncan appears as our featured author for the second time this month by popular demand. We had a very interesting chat about his story "Bluthahatchie" earlier this month and this tale, although quite different, should prove as stimulating. I hope you enjoy it as much as I have. The story is available on line at: http://www.nightshadebooks.com/Downloads/UniqueChicken.htm Meeting Place: Webchat: http://koach.com/cha...=readers_corner mIRC Users: /server -m chat3.koach.com:6667 -j #readers_corner Please remind your friends of our chats and invite them in. Hope to see you all there. Log Attached: readers log 04232016.txt Like This

I wonder if Data from StarTrek tng would understand why this is funny :/

Please join us for our next chat in #readers_corner at 8:30 P.M. (EDST) on April 16th, 2016 (23:30 P.M. (GMT), April 16th), for a discussion of How Madame Montgomery Got Swindled by Jake Walters. The story, was published in the April 4th, 2016 edition of the Saturday Evening Post. The story is a fairly typical offering by the magazine, one that requires little intellectual effort to understand and rewards us with a few moments of effortless escape from the stresses of daily life. If we are not particularly stressed, consider it a quick digression from whatever real life tasks we might be involved in. Our regular Readers' Corner chatters will understand from first reading that this is the type of story which normally provides us with the most spirited and enjoyable discussions. I look forward to our chat. The story is available on line at: http://www.saturdayeveningpost.com/2016/03/04/post-fiction/contemporary-fiction-art-entertainment/how-madame-montgomery-got-swindled.html Meeting Place: Webchat: http://koach.com/cha...=readers_corner mIRC Users: /server -m chat3.koach.com:6667 -j #readers_corner We are sure to have an entertaining discussion. Please remind your friends of our chats and invite them in. This story is a short one which will be a good introduction to our group. Hope to see you all there. Log Added: #readers-corner 20160416.txt

Please join us for our next chat in #readers_corner at 8:30 P.M. (EDST) on April 9th, 2016 (23:30 P.M. (GMT), April 9th ), for a discussion of Beluthahatchie by Andy Duncan. The story was first published in 1997. The story, although published originally in a Science Fiction Magazine, fits into the general category of "Trickster Stories" and most particularly into the category of African-American "John and the Master" Stories. The Trickster, often an irreverent or dishonest protagonist, is used in a metaphorical context to protest or highlight a social or economic inequity. In the case of the "John and Master" stories, most dealt with an enterprising black slave fooling the white overseer. The stories evolved after the civil war, but the idea of a serious social comment being made while disguised as a humorous anecdote continues to this day. In this particular story, we see our enterprising "John" matching wits with the most powerful overseer imaginable--Lucifer, Satan, the Devil, the ultimate schemer. I think you will enjoy the story. If you are interested in a bit of background on the genre, you can check an excellent essay, The Trickster in African American Literature, (*cite below)* The story is available on line at: http://clarkesworldmagazine.com/duncan_05_14_reprint/ Meeting Place: Webchat: http://koach.com/cha...=readers_corner mIRC Users: /server -m chat3.koach.com:6667 -j #readers_corner We are sure to have an entertaining discussion. Hope to see you all for the chat. * Harris, Trudier. “The Trickster in African American Literature.” Freedom’s Story, TeacherServe©. National Humanities Center. April 2, 2016. <http://nationalhumanitiescenter.org/tserve/freedom/1865-1917/essays/trickster.htm> LOG ATTACHED: Readers Log Apr 10 2016.txt

Stormy Did you ever get to port in B'more during your navy stint, and if so, do you remember "the Block"

Please join us for our next chat in #readers_corner at 8:30 P.M. (EDST) on April 2nd, 2016 (23:30 A.M. (GMT), April 2nd ), for a discussion of Blondes, Blondes, Blondes! by Jack Bludis. The story is copyrighted 2008 although it tells a story from the late 1940s. Jack Bludis is an accomplished author of detective stories who grew up in Baltimore, Maryland about the same time as I did. This story is set in the old "inner harbor" area of the Port of Baltimore, and the "Block" (as the most well known low-brow entertainment district for visiting sailors on the East Coast of the U.S. was known) was exactly as Bludis describes it in this story. The Gayety Burlesque House was one of the last actual theater style Strip Shows and Vaudeville Houses in the country. It burned in 1969 marking an end of an era. (One of my pet peeves are stories where the author is obviously unfamiliar with the geography or demographics of the settings; this story, however, hits the bulls eye on geographic and atmospheric accuracy.) I hope you enjoy it as much as I did. Photo of Gayety before the fire The story is available on line at: http://www.thrillingdetective.com/fiction/06_12_02.html Meeting Place: Webchat: http://koach.com/cha...=readers_corner mIRC Users: /server -m chat3.koach.com:6667 -j #readers_corner I am certain we will have an interesting and entertaining discussion. Hope to see you all for the chat. Log Attached: #readers_corner 20160402.txt

Please join us for our next chat in #readers_corner at 8:30 P.M. (EDST) 23:30 (GMT), March 26th, 2016, for a discussion of The Saint of the Sidewalks by Kat Howard. This is a charming, modern-day, morality story with an unusual setting. It teaches us to be careful what we wish for because..... well you can only imagine. I know absolutely nothing about the author and even less about the publication in which I found it, (the online edition of Clarksworld Magazine.) From my quick perusal of two editions, the magazine has the feel of some of the best of the pulps from the mid-20th century and I hope to use it as a source of some of our chat topics in the future. The story is available on line at: http://clarkesworldmagazine.com/howard_08_14/ Meeting Place: Webchat: http://koach.com/cha...=readers_corner mIRC Users: /server -m chat3.koach.com:6667 -j #readers_corner We added a few potential members of our little group to our mailing list. I hope they, as well as all of our regulars, can attend. LOG ATTACHED: #readers_corner.Koach.com.20160326.txt

Please join us for our next chat in #readers_corner at 8:30 P.M. (Eastern Daylight Savings Time) on March 19th, 2016 (23:30 A.M. (GMT), March 19th ), for a discussion of Ride Along by Brendan DuBoia. The story is an offbeat crime story with a few twists in it to keep up our interest. It should make for a good chat. DuBois is a main-stream writer specializing in crime stories. He has received the coveted "Shamus" award for short crime fiction twice. He recently has expanded his writing into Science Fiction as well. This weeks story is available on line at: http://www.saturdayeveningpost.com/2012/04/11/in-the-magazine/ride-along-brendan-dubois.html Meeting Place: Webchat: http://koach.com/cha...=readers_corner mIRC Users: /server -m chat3.koach.com:6667 -j #readers_corner Excused absences will be difficult to justify, and appropriate chat points will be deducted for tardy appearance. I hope to see you all there. LOG ATTACHED: readers log Mar 19 2016.txt

|| It's Howdy Doody time, it's Howdy Doody time, Bob Smith and Howdy too, say Howdy Do to you:||

Please join us for our next chat in #readers_corner at 8:30 P.M. (EST) on March 12th, 2016 (00:30 A.M. (GMT), March 13th ), for a discussion of Youth by Isaac Asimov ( circa January 1920 – April 6, 1992 ). Doctor Asimov (PhD Biochemistry) is one of the best known and most prolific authors of the 20th century, not only of Science Fiction but of non-fiction as well. He wrote more than 100 books, edited a Science Fiction magazine, and published countless essays on scientific topics, and was a professor (and then professor emeritus) at the Boston University School of Medicine. Extensive information on Azimov is available on line. This story is an example of a main-stream, hard core, science fiction from the 1950s. Like our last story, a global war seems to have severely impacted civilization (a very frequent feature of SciFi stories of that era). This story, however, is not another "Mad Max" type tale; rather it explores the sensitivity of first contact between alien species. I think most of us will enjoy it, Nan will not find it terrible, and Star will love it. The story is available on line at: http://www.gutenberg.org/files/31547/31547-h/31547-h.htm Meeting Place: Webchat: http://koach.com/cha...=readers_corner mIRC Users: /server -m chat3.koach.com:6667 -j #readers_corner Excused absences will be difficult to justify, and appropriate chat points will be deducted for tardy appearance. There will be a virtual wine and cheese tasting immediately following the chat, Koach will bring the cheese and I will contribute a tasty Argentinian Marbec. log attached: readers_corner20160312.txt

The trouble with chicken cordon bleu is that it's one of those things that taste like chicken. The veal variety however, tastes like it deserves the blue ribbon.

I also remember console model radios which looked like either fine furniture or juke boxes depending on the style of your furniture. Eggs and bread deliveries as well as milk in bottles. Car starter buttons on the floor boards next to the headlight dimmer button (and sometimes under the clutch pedal) Having to give telephone numbers to the operator who asked you very politely, "Number Please" The pledge of alegiance before the words "under god" were added.