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Staff Sergeant David Thatcher, center, is saluted as he enters the USS Hornet before a news conference to commemorate the 70th Anniversary of the Tokyo attack by the Doolittle Raiders in Alameda, Calif., Saturday, May 5, 2012. Survivors of a daring World War II aerial bombing of Japan are gathering in Alameda on the 70th anniversary of the attack. The "Doolittle Raiders" have been credited with lifting the nation's spirits after Pearl Harbor. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu)
Staff Sergeant David Thatcher, center, is saluted as he enters the USS Hornet before a news conference to commemorate the 70th Anniversary of the Tokyo attack by the Doolittle Raiders in Alameda, Calif., Saturday, May 5, 2012. Survivors of a daring World War II aerial bombing of Japan are gathering in Alameda on the 70th anniversary of the attack. The "Doolittle Raiders" have been credited with lifting the nation's spirits after Pearl Harbor. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu)
Lt. Col. Edward Saylor, right, talks with USS Hornet volunteer Roger Felton as they look at an old photograph before a news conference to commemorate the 70th Anniversary of the Tokyo attack by the Doolittle Raiders on the USS Hornet in Alameda, Calif., Saturday, May 5, 2012. Survivors of a daring World War II aerial bombing of Japan are gathering in Alameda on the 70th anniversary of the attack. The "Doolittle Raiders" have been credited with lifting the nation's spirits after Pearl Harbor. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu)
Major Thomas Griffin, seated at right, shakes hands with Lt. Col. Chu Chen as he enters the USS Hornet before a news conference to commemorate the 70th Anniversary of the Tokyo attack by the Doolittle Raiders in Alameda, Calif., Saturday, May 5, 2012. Also pictured at left is John Fu. Survivors of a daring World War II aerial bombing of Japan are gathering in Alameda on the 70th anniversary of the attack. The "Doolittle Raiders" have been credited with lifting the nation's spirits after Pearl Harbor. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu)
Staff Sergeant David Thatcher, from left, Major Thomas Griffin, Lt. Col. Edward Saylor, and Jonna Doolittle Hoppes, granddaughter of Gen. Jimmy Doolittle, are shown before a news conference to commemorate the 70th Anniversary of the Tokyo attack by the Doolittle Raiders in Alameda, Calif., Saturday, May 5, 2012. Survivors of a daring World War II aerial bombing of Japan are gathering in Alameda on the 70th anniversary of the attack. The "Doolittle Raiders" have been credited with lifting the nation's spirits after Pearl Harbor. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu)
ALAMEDA, Calif. (AP) ? Three of Doolittle's Raiders who helped boost American morale during the early days of World War II recalled the dangers of their bold bombing attack on Japan mainland.
Airman Edward Saylor didn't expect to come back alive when his B-25 set off on the 1942 mission.
"Some of the group thought they'd make it," Saylor said Saturday. "But the odds were so bad."
Saylor and the other 79 Doolittle's Raiders were forced to take off in rainy, windy conditions significantly further from Japan than planned, straining their fuel capacity. None of the 16 planes' pilots had ever taken off from an aircraft carrier before.
Saylor and two other raiders, Maj. Thomas Griffin and Staff Sgt. David Thatcher ? all in their 90s now ? recalled their daring mission and its leader, Lt. Col. Jimmy Doolittle, at a commemoration Saturday aboard the USS Hornet in Alameda, across the bay from San Francisco.
Their mission has been credited with boosting American spirits at a critical time, less than five months after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor and with Japan sweeping through the Pacific. The bombing inflicted only scattered damage, but lifted spirits at home while shaking Japan's confidence.
But it did not come without a price.
Three raiders were killed while trying to land in China. Eight were captured by the Japanese, of which three were executed and a fourth died of disease in prison.
The Japanese also killed Chinese villagers suspected of helping many of the airmen escape.
Griffin recalled ditching his plane when it ran out of fuel after the raid and parachuting to the ground in darkness.
"I got out of my airplane by jumping real fast," he said. "It was a long, strange journey to the land down below."
Griffin landed in a tree and clung to it until daybreak.
Saturday's event was held in conjunction with the 70th anniversary of the raiders' April 18, 1942 mission. It also included: Doolittle's granddaughter, Jonna Doolittle Hoppes; two seamen aboard the carrier the raiders left from, the USS Hornet CV-8, Lt. Cmdr. Richard Nowatzki and Lt. j.g. Oral Moore; and a Chinese official who as a teenager helped rescue the raiders, Lt. Col. Chu Chen.
The American airmen remembered Doolittle as a great planner who knew his aircraft and fought alongside them.
Hoppes said her grandfather, who was born in Alameda and died in 1993, was very proud of the men on the mission.
"I grew up with 79 uncles in addition to the ones I really had," she said. "He was just very proud of how they turned out."
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Same tree, different angle.
Bird house becomes mouse house?
I found it interesting that the inside of this tree was hollowed out a bit. Obviously it had already been cut, but had it already been like that? Or did some intrepid animal quickly think that a little digging out the tree remainder could become a nice home?
Poor little fence.
This was just a pretty view.
Yup, already starting to be cut down to size, but the damage to the fence remains.
As a kid I was always sort of amazed by the ability to age a tree by counting its rings.
I am still pretty amazed by it, but also by the images that can be captured/created over the years.
Poor trees.
This storm was no joke.
No joke at all.
This tells the story of one tree falling on another, and that one also succumbing to the wet ground and strong winds.
Yup. They went down together.
Whooooooooosh.
And on a political note. The jerks who put these stickers on these signs are, I'm sure, quite disappointed with the results of our election. I, frankly, can't understand how we can be so divided about issues that seem so obvious. Gay marriage is a civil rights issue and anyone who feels like it is anything else than that is a terrible combination of ignorant and hateful. I know that's not very charitable, but for me it's true. Though I am not gay, it hurts me to the core to think that people truly think they are somehow 'better' or 'more worthy' of the rights and privileges that come with a legally recognized marriage. I think for many of us with that basic vantage point, the true thing that 'sticks in our collective craws' is the fact that extending the rights of marriage, or serving openly in the military, for gay/lesbian/etc does not in any way actually affect the lives of people who oppose it. They think it does. But seriously, they are wrong. I'm getting angry and sick just thinking about this, so I'm going to end it. But I do have to write some sort of something about just how I feel about the strange polarization that's going on and how it's hard to figure it out.
And then there was this. They went hard with the food this time around. I told T. later that I felt like a few of the past events that I had attended served wonderful dishes, though it seemed like some of them were reiterations of similar plates from previous pairing nights. This particular night it seemed like he and his wunderstaff had found a little new passion/were rejuiced creatively (which is a term people use all the time). So. Maine lobster risotto with lime zest, shellfish emulsion and black truffles. Y'all. Come on. Do I need to tell you that the creaminess of the risotto matched with succulent bites of lobster and complemented overall with that rich emulsion was just outstanding? Do I? Well. I just did. 
And it kept coming. I believe this was my actual fave sparkling of the night: Cremant de Loire, Baumard, NV, from the Loire Valley area. Paired with Taleggio, which is a cheese that will never steer you wrong. 
And then there was the oyster-leek chowder with pont neuf and paddlefish caviar. I had to look up pont neuf. It basically means pomme frite, only suggests a thicker cut fry. You're welcome. So this here chowder. We all commented on its richness. There is no doubt that heavy cream played a big part in its overall luxury, but there was depth to the flavor. Heavy cream used with a heavy hand but no especially creative mind will just be fatty. Yes, it will taste good but it won't be all that special. This, on the other hand, had the oyster/leek element going on. Leeks. When I was a kid, we'd go to a family friend's for Thanksgiving. I feel like my mother or the hostess would often make leeks, usually baked with cheese or cream of some kind. But as a kid I didn't get it. I didn't even try them. I stuck to creating mashed potato mountains with secret reserves of gravy hidden beneath their peaks. I've lately been ruminating on leeks, and their specific taste and just how unlike any other of their onion cousins they are. All to say, yummy. The fried oyster was so great I exhibited significant self-control when it came to not devouring it in one bite. And the 'pont neuf' was a nice touch too. 
This is LW turning her eyes to the heavens in appreciation for the meal she had already begun to receive. 
And here is the Coach Farms Peppercorn Brick goat's cheese. I liked the addition of the peppercorns, which certainly added a bit more of a kick to the whole shebang. 
With the goat's cheese we enjoyed Brut Rosé "Timido," Scarpetta from Italy. It was a very pretty wine and perhaps my second favorite. 
The hits kept coming with the food. Here you'll see crisp pork belly with quince mostarda and rose-vadouvan. Words I also had to look up. I'm not as big a fan of quince as some. My feeling towards them is similar to my feelings on figs. I understand that there is hype and but I don't 100% buy it. That personal preference aside, damn, look at that fatty tasty piece of pork won't you? A little unwieldy when it came to eating (the crisp part was hard to cut) but that only made the pay off more worth the while. 
Final glass was Champagne "Cuvee Sainte, Anne Brut," Chartogne Taillet. Actually maybe this was my favorite. Ha. So basically they all were. The cheese with this was the above Delice de Bourgogne, which I think I first found and enjoyed back in my Chicago days. 
Our last dish was roasted monkfish with snapper saupiquet and marjoram. Snapper in this instance, unless I totally misunderstood, was turtle. While my faves were - unsurprisingly - the dishes featuring heavy cream, lobster, truffles and oysters, this little plate was a delicate reminder that you don't always need loads of fat to make something delightful to the tongue. 
Another great event that introduced me to new wines, gave me the change to reacquaint myself with a few of my favorite cheeses, and gave me a renewed appreciation for the collective creativity of McCrossen's kitchen.
Then, at some other point in time entirely, I roasted potatoes and brussels sprouts with garlic and rosemary before adding toasted walnuts and freshly begotten pomegranate seeds.
Episode 108:
Episode 126, part 1:
I am excited by the beginning of a new year. It may be because I spent a lot of months during 2012 down in the dumps - whether I was willing to admit it to myself or anyone else - but there you have it. I've let go of a bunch of old baggage over the past couple of months and well, I feel happier than I have in a long time. Truly happy. Less worried about life. More interested in living and trying new things outside the cocoon of my carefully self-regulated comfort zone. Tom & Al brought me some cookies (and a lovely gift) just before Christmas, along with this lovely wall decal quote by Emily Dickinson: Dwell in possibilities. I love it. I've always loved Emily, mildly depressed spinster poet that she was - and I love these words. I hung it right where I can see if from my desk. A timely reminder.Thanks, guys - I appreciate your thoughtfulness more than I can say.
I'm also excited about my new Jane-a-Day journal. Jane Austen, another favorite kindred spirit (and spinster, I might add), is the inspiration for this five-year journal, which has an quote from one of her works on each page. It was a lovely Christmas gift from my friend, Marie, and I am looking forward to daily inspiration from Jane's timeless witticisms. I only hope my comments are as witty.
Thank you, Marie, for thinking of me.