Did you Know?

The phrase "the whole 9 yards" came from World War II fighter pilots in the Pacific. When arming their airplanes on the ground, the .50 caliber machine gun ammo belts measured exactly 27 feet, before being loaded into the fuselage. If the pilots fired all their ammo at a target, they got "the whole 9 yards"…the phrase "rule of thumb" is derived from an old English law which stated that you couldn’t beat your wife with anything wider than your thumb…many years ago in England, pub frequenters had a whistle baked into the rim or handle of their ceramic cups. When they needed a refill, they used the whistle to get service. The phrase "wet your whistle" was inspired by this practice... in English pubs, ale is ordered by pints and quarts. In old England, when customers got unruly, the bartender would yell at them to mind their own pints and quarts and settle down. This inspired the phrase "mind your P's and Q's"... in Shakespeare's time, mattresses were secured on bed frames by rope. When you pulled on the ropes the mattress tightened, making the bed firmer to sleep on. The phrase "goodnight, sleep tight" came from this practice.

Who did it?!?!

Another SJ officer and I responded to a report of a domestic dispute which turned out to be unfounded. To our surprise, when we returned to our patrol units, we saw a flat tire on my patrol car. Since I had a low tire at the beginng of my shift, I assumed the tire had a leak and had just went flat. Upon inspecting the other tires (just in case) I found my other rear tire flat. OK, this was more than just a coincidence so we checked the other officer’s car. Sure enough, one of his rear tires was flat. GREAT! So, since we had some time to kill, while waiting for the tow, we decided we should earn our pay by enforcing parking violations in the area. Amazing how strict the parking ordinances are when you really dig into them. So as long as everyone pays their fines, the city should break even on the cost.

Undamaged

Jesse Dupantis Ministries in New Orleans LA virtually undamaged!

If you have been following the Hurricane Katrina story an the news then you are aware that the City of New Orleans is in chaos after the storm. Among other things, the city is 80% underwater.

Now for the cool part! As you may or may not know Jesse Duplantis Ministries is based in New Orleans. According to his website, they have suffered virtually no damage and they are not under water. Even their mail is undamaged.

the following is copied from jdm.org:©

8/31/05 Ministry Update Regarding Hurricane Katrina Disaster:

Dear Partners and Friends,

We are so thankful for the deep concern for our welfare and great love that has been expressed by wonderful friends and partners of our ministry during this difficult time. We are on the edge of the devastation, and are blessed to report that our ministry has suffered virtually no damage. We are not under water, as you may be seeing on television reports. However, we are still under mandatory evacuation and without basic utilities.

Many have asked if they can still send financial support through the mail in the usual way to help with the ongoing expenses of JDM – the answer is yes, you can! Our partners and friends know that we need prayers and finances in order to continue our ministry work. According to the US Postal Service, we should be able to pick up our mail next week, which under the circumstances is a miracle in itself. Our mail is not damaged, glory to God! So, we ask that you continue to contribute to our ministry as you normally would. For those that would rather give online, we expect to have access to those funds even sooner.

We were able to speak with many of our staff members by phone, and although they have evacuated to four states, everyone is safe and making plans to return home and to work. Once JDM is up and running (which we pray will be as soon as next week), a Supply and Distribution Center will be set up at our International Headquarters to help with the terrible devastation in our area. All financial gifts of any amount for this relief effort will also be greatly appreciated.

As for our meetings, ALL scheduled meetings listed on our website and in JDM’s Voice of the COVENANT magazine will be held as advertised, with the exception of the 2005 Women’s Conference, which was scheduled to be at our facility in October.

We appreciate your patience as we recover from this storm. Please continue to keep JDM, our families, congregation and those affected by Katrina in your prayers. It is our prayer that God will restore ALL that the devil has stolen, and that we will become shining lights of hope to our community, and our nation. Together, we are reaching people and changing lives.

Thank you for your continued support.
-- Jesse and Cathy Duplantis