Puffs

Reading . . . writing . . . arithmetic . . . For years the basic blocks of a good education, knowledge and wisdom.

I’m not sure I possess much of those three blocks, but, I’ve been called a blockhead a number of times, so maybe I’m working my way there.

To me reading has always been enjoyable and I think maybe one of the basic ingredient to a happy life.

I bring this up now because of two things that happened last week involving reading. They both happened within days of each other and made a connection with me right away.

The first involved an action by a woman, Ann Miller, which took place 32 years ago. I remember reading about it then and often wondered about it since.

Briefly, Ann Miller was a very wealthy widow, mother of ten children, who, at the age of 60 or 61 decided to enter the convent of the Carmelite sisters who spent the majority of their days in prayer, wear sandals and are not allowed to touch outsiders.

She had to dispose of all of her wealth in order to accomplish her desire.

I remember reading about her actions all those years ago and I have occasionally wondered if she was able to live out her desire. I never heard another word about it over these many years.

However, last week the Hastings newspaper published a story about her death and, of course, all the background information.

Seems she died at the age of 92 but did live the last one-third of her life in the Carmelite Monastery in Illinois.

The story of her life is most likely of little importance to most people, however, to me, I was very glad to read the information.

I was glad to see people today still commit to and live out such a life style. Her life style during her last 31 years of her life is probably one of the most difficult any a person can choose.

Ann Miller, not a name that will go down in history, but one I hope I can remember whenever life gets a little rough here in southcentral Nebraska.

A O

The second story involves a book I just started reading: “Midnight in Chernobyl.”

For the past six months, my book reading really took a hit. I didn’t stop reading, but I did cut down on the time I spent reading.

This book, however, brought back memories from my time in the U. S. Air Force some 55 plus years ago.

I was involved with the U. S. Satellite Reconnaissance program of the time. The name ‘Gary Powers’ may be familiar to some of you because he was the pilot of the U-2 spy plane shot down over Russia (the USSR). The Russian ability to shoot down a high flying plane from the United States is what led to the formation of the U. S. capability to send satellites into space and acquire the information needed at the time for securing the safety of the United States.

I knew this for years, but never knew exactly what information the U. S. was looking for when they sent the U-2 aircrafts over Russia.

Last week I learned why.

I suspect most people are familiar with the word “Chernobyl.”

Chernobyl is the name of the place in Russia where the world’s worst nuclear disaster took place in 1986.

Following WWII, Russia set about building a huge nuclear industry, involving everything from nuclear energy, weapons, ships and even aircraft. They had a number of nuclear ‘accidents’ throughout this time in their history with one of the largest at a town called Mayak.

Rumors of the accident reached the western countries, but the USSR gave out no information.

In an effort to obtain information, the U. S. sent the spy plane, the U-2, to take photos so the world could find out just what was going on in Russia.

That nuclear accident in Russia led to the U-2 plane being shot down which led to the U. S. Spy Satellite program.

I just never knew that U-2 flight mission was specifically targeted to find out more about the largest nuclear accident of its time.

The book: “Midnight in Chernobyl” prints out the history of the nuclear buildup effort of the USSR to where the accident at Chernobyl turned out to be the world’s worst nuclear accident.

Russia, of course, told the world little about the Chernobyl incident, but it did confirm my belief in the progression of the U. S. satellite spying system.

The program I worked with began in the early 1960s when most of the world never knew of the photographic possibilities of the U. S. The facility I worked at existed from the early-1960s until the late 1970s when it was phased out.

I suspected that at that time, the programs were all switched to digital, electronic programs.

This book confirmed that. After the Chernobyl accident, the U. S. had pictures of the Chernobyl power plant showing water hoses, only inches in diameter from the space digital cameras. By then all the film cameras were replaced.

A O

Reading, writing, arithmetic . . . basic for so many things, but they are especially valued when they help fill in holes of one’s own life history. This bit of information doesn’t mean much to most people, but I sure enjoyed reading about it.

A O