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Whereas it is the duty of all Nations to acknowledge the providence of Almighty God, to obey his will, to be grateful for his benefits, and humbly to implore his protection and favor– and whereas both Houses of Congress have by their joint Committee requested me to recommend to the People of the United States a day of public thanksgiving and prayer to be observed by acknowledging with grateful hearts the many signal favors of Almighty God especially by affording them an opportunity peaceably to establish a form of government for their safety and happiness.

Now therefore I do recommend and assign Thursday the 26th day of November next to be devoted by the People of these States to the service of that great and glorious Being, who is the beneficent Author of all the good that was, that is, or that will be– That we may then all unite in rendering unto him our sincere and humble thanks–for his kind care and protection of the People of this Country previous to their becoming a Nation–for the signal and manifold mercies, and the favorable interpositions of his Providence which we experienced in the course and conclusion of the late war–for the great degree of tranquility, union, and plenty, which we have since enjoyed–for the peaceable and rational manner, in which we have been enabled to establish constitutions of government for our safety and happiness, and particularly the national One now lately instituted–for the civil and religious liberty with which we are blessed; and the means we have of acquiring and diffusing useful knowledge; and in general for all the great and various favors which he hath been pleased to confer upon us.

and also that we may then unite in most humbly offering our prayers and supplications to the great Lord and Ruler of Nations and beseech him to pardon our national and other transgressions– to enable us all, whether in public or private stations, to perform our several and relative duties properly and punctually–to render our national government a blessing to all the people, by constantly being a Government of wise, just, and constitutional laws, discreetly and faithfully executed and obeyed–to protect and guide all Sovereigns and Nations (especially such as have shewn kindness unto us) and to bless them with good government, peace, and concord–To promote the knowledge and practice of true religion and virtue, and the encrease of science among them and us–and generally to grant unto all Mankind such a degree of temporal prosperity as he alone knows to be best.

Given under my hand at the City of New York the third day of October in the year of our Lord 1789.

Go: Washington

Some 224 years later, there’s still a lot to be grateful for.

I am grateful for all that God has given me, for everything is His. That He has chosen to bestow good things upon us is amazing.

I am grateful for my family, my relatives and friends. I am grateful that I have a job and am able to provide for my family, with a roof over our heads, plenty of food on the table and warm clothes on our backs. I am grateful for our good health and the fact that we are able to share with others from our bounty.

I am grateful for the parents that God gave me.  They are the reason that I am who I am. I pray that they are enjoying their eternal rest and are seeing God face to face in Heaven.

I am grateful for Amateur Radio, a wonderful hobby that has given me countless hours of pleasure. It has also allowed me to meet many new people and call them my friends. I am grateful to all my readers, and that I am able to share this magnificent hobby with all of you.

From my house to yours, if you are in the USA and are celebrating Thanksgiving, I wish you the very best the day has to offer. To those of you from other parts of the world who are not necessarily enjoyng a holiday, please know that my best wishes are with you, always. May you too, enjoy God’s bounty and peace, as well as your family and friends.

72 de Larry W2LJ
QRP – When you care to send the very least!

Happy Hallowe’en everybody.  Be safe and don’t forget to brush your teeth after all that candy.  What was your favorite Hallowe’en candy as a kid?  I loved getting Mary Janes and I also loved those caramel popcorn balls.

By the way, the name “Hallowe’en”, for those who don’t know, is actually a kind of contraction or shortening of the proper “All Hallows Eve”.  It is the vigil of the Catholic Holy Day of All Saints, or All Saints Day.  Just thought I’d throw that bit of trivia out there – impress your friends!

72 de Larry W2LJ
QRP – When you care to send the very least!

Another Zombie Shuffle in the books and unfortunately, I missed most of it.  Operating hours were from 6:00 PM local to Midnight, local. First, I ended up working until 6:00 PM last night, instead of my normal 5:00 PM.  Then, on top of that, I had my local radio club meeting, which is always at 8:00 PM on the last Friday evening of the month.  That gave me an hour (roughly) to get home, get changed out of my work clothes, wolf down some dinner and then get to the meeting. Not good – Shuffle-wise.

I ended up getting on the air for the Shuffle at approximately 10:00 PM local.  By then you could tell that the cork had popped and the air let out of the balloon.  Activity was way down by then. 20 Meters was a lost cause on the East coast and 40 Meters was full of SSB QRM in the background.  80 Meters was a bit better than 40 Meters.

I ended up making 13 QSOs – I know, somehow that’s an appropriate number for the Zombie Shuffle, right? My score was a paltry 66,451 points.

Some visitors came by the while I was operating:

I didn’t mind the witch, the ghost or the Jack-O-Lantern so much, but that skeleton that insisted on “hanging around” my monitor made logging just a wee bit difficult!  At least I was able to lure the gremlins off my feedline by throwing some Snickers bars at them!

PS:  As of Monday morning, according to the results at:  http://www.zianet.com/qrp/ZOMBIE/zombie_006.htm, I have come in 17th in a field of 38 entries.  That’s a lot better than I thought!

72 es Boo de Larry W2LJ
BooRP – When you care to send the very least!

This weekend is Memorial Day weekend in the United States. Originally the day was known as “Decoration Day”, when families would decorate the graves of their husbands, fathers, uncles, sons, brothers and nephews who died in battle.

Today the holiday weekend has become known as the “unofficial start of summer”, and like everything else has taken on more of a secular connotation.  Please take time from your busy weekend, in the midst of your cookout, party, ballgame, travel, or whatever to say a prayer and remember all those who made “the ultimate sacrifice”.

Now from the sixth hour darkness fell upon all the land until the ninth hour.

About the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, “Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani?” that is, “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?”  And some of those who were standing there, when they heard it, began saying, “This man is calling for Elijah.”  Immediately one of them ran, and taking a sponge, he filled it with sour wine and put it on a reed, and gave Him a drink.  But the rest of them said, “Let us see whether Elijah will come to save Him.”

And Jesus cried out again with a loud voice, and yielded up His spirit. And behold, the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom; and the earth shook and the rocks were split. The tombs were opened, and many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised; and coming out of the tombs after His resurrection they entered the holy city and appeared to many.

Now the centurion, and those who were with him keeping guard over Jesus, when they saw the earthquake and the things that were happening, became very frightened and said, “Truly this was the Son of God!”

A very Blessed and Peace filled Good Friday to all.

Larry W2LJ