Jani Norman's Blog

ROCKY HILL, Conn. (AP) — Three asset managers from Connecticut's affluent New York suburbs claimed a $254 million Powerball jackpot on Monday off a $1 ticket.

Greg Skidmore, Brandon Lacoff and Tim Davidson came forward as trustees for The Putnam Avenue Family Trust, which they formed after Davidson bought the winning ticket at a Stamford gas station. At least two of them live in Greenwich, one of America's wealthiest towns.

They will take the after-tax lump sum of nearly $104 million in cash. They say a significant portion will go to charity.

Davidson bought the $1 quick pick ticket for the Nov. 2 drawing at the Shippan Point BP gas station in Stamford. It was the only ticket he bought. The winning numbers were 12-14-34-39-46, Powerball 36.

The jackpot was the largest ever won in Connecticut and the 12th biggest in Powerball history.

The three men work at a small, startup asset management firm called Belpointe LLC in Greenwich. They appeared with their lawyer at a news conference and didn't say much.

"It feels good," Skidmore said.

Lottery officials had used billboards across the state to urge the ticket holder to come forward as the weeks went by without a winner.

Ranjit Singh, the gas station manager, said lottery officials called the station at about 10:30 a.m. Monday to announce that the winning ticket had been sold there. The station receives $100,000 for selling the winning ticket.

Singh said he didn't know the winners and doesn't remember selling the winning ticket.

"We're really happy," Singh said. "Christmas is a little early."

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Associated Press writer Dave Collins in Hartford contributed to this report.

 What do you think?   

All we have to do is be willing. God has perfect aim. All we have to do is be open to Him and catch the dream, the divine mandate, the reason we were created. He will supply the resources, the wisdom, the strength, the courage, and the connections we need to make His divine dream come true.

PRAYER:

Lord, I bend my heart and my knees in prayer to You today. I open my hands and my heart and ask You to toss the dream to me that You created me to accomplish with You and for You. Thank You, Lord. Amen.

Angel in the River

An angel from heaven appeared to him and strengthened him.  ~Luke 22:42

My younger sister and I were on a summer vacation with our aunt and uncle. At the time I was still a non-swimmer, and naïve to the dangers of the river. As my uncle and aunt relaxed on the beach with my sister and cousin, I could hardly wait to jump in the cool water. They cautioned me to stay close to shore. I didn't have flotation devices, and I was unaware that I was slowly creeping away from the beach. All of a sudden I couldn't touch the sandy bottom with my feet. How did I get to the middle of the river? Afraid of getting in trouble for disobeying the rule, and jeopardizing any future camping trips if I survived, I didn't yell out for help. Sounds silly, but I was only seven, and cursed with being too shy.   Within seconds I had already gone under twice, gasping, and running out of air. The far off voices of others in the water and on the beach were now muffled. Just as I was going down a third time, out of nowhere appeared a handsome smiling man with blond hair. He was within inches of me and had hauntingly beautiful blue eyes. Neither of us spoke a word. With his index finger to his lips, I knew he was assuring me this was our secret about me drowning. Strange as that sounds, I was relieved no one would know. In my mind I distinctly heard, "Everything will be okay." No one was near us, and the man never reached out to touch me.   Within a flash I was back at the shore! The moment my feet touched the sand, I could clearly hear the voices of everyone in the distance. My uncle and aunt were still at the same spot on the beach, unaware of the near-tragedy that just transpired. I quickly glanced back at the river, searching for the blue-eyed stranger. He was gone! I couldn't comprehend what had happened. Only a few seconds had passed, and I was no longer in the middle of the river drowning. How could I be back safely on shore without feeling myself move, and why did the mysterious man vanish? I wanted to say thank you.   I kept my secret for forty years before I figured out the blue-eyed man was my guardian angel. I was almost fifty when I finally shared my river experience with Mom. She was naturally upset that I hadn't yelled out for help, and amazed I could keep this secret for so many years.   As a child I had no way of understanding what happened at the river. Over the years though, I've experienced many other close calls, some even life-threatening, with outcomes that didn't always make sense. I knew I wasn't alone. God always sent my angel in the nick of time. He never appeared again as he did in the river, but I felt his presence and heard the voice in my head, "Everything will be okay."   My favorite childhood prayer, long before I met my angel at the river, was to my guardian angel. Even now, as a grandmother, I always end my prayer time with "Angel of God, my guardian dear, to whom God's love commits me here. Ever this day, be at my side, to light and guard, to rule and guide. Amen."

From Chicken Soup for the Soul: A Book of Miracles

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Never let a day pass without looking for the good, feeling the good within you,

praising, appreciating, blessing, and being grateful. 

Make it your life commitment, and you will stand in utter awe of what happens in your life. 

May the joy be with you

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Dolores Hope, the sultry-voiced songstress who was married to Bob Hope for 69 years and sometimes sang on his shows for U.S. troops and on his television specials, has died at age 102.

Hope family spokesman Harlan Boll said Hope died Monday of natural causes at home in Los Angeles. He did not elaborate.

"Both the entertainment world and the church have lost a woman of profound faith, gifted musical talent and dedication," said Los Angeles Archbishop Jose H. Gomez. "The death of Dolores Hope leaves a huge void in Southern California."

Bob Hope died at age 100 on July 27, 2003.

At her 100th birthday party, Dolores Hope appeared little changed: Her white hair was richly coiffed, her skin smooth and her voice deep and warm. She was brought to the party in a wheelchair but was alert and happy as she greeted old friends and posed for photographs.

Hope mused, "I thought it was going to be just another birthday."

In 1933, when Bob Hope was appearing in his first Broadway show, "Roberta," his friend and fellow cast member George Murphy persuaded him to visit the Vogue Club to "hear a pretty girl sing." She was Dolores Reade, a dark beauty whose singing of "It's Only a Paper Moon" entranced the young comedian.

"I'll never forget what a wonderful singer she was," said Rip Taylor. "In fact, that's how Bob and Dolores met. It seems to me that they were always laughing."

Hope returned every night and soon he was escorting her to her hotel after her shows. They married Feb. 19, 1934, and she quit nightclubs to join his vaudeville act. Then she retired.

"Bob was the hot thing in New York then," she recalled in 1997. "I thought I'd better stay home and take care of Bob."

When they moved to Hollywood in 1938 for the beginning of his film career, Dolores stayed home and devoted her time to raising the four children the Hopes adopted: Linda, Anthony, Kelly and Nora.

"I had such a huge admiration for both of them," said Julie Newmar. "The quality it takes to get just one year older, says a lot about that fact that she lived to 102."

She continued singing at parties, and in the 1940s she began accompanying Hope on his Christmas trips to entertain U.S. troops. In 1966 she sang "Silent Night" to hushed thousands of GI's who then rose and gave her a thunderous ovation, many with tears in their eyes.

"Dolores was a good friend and a good person," said Nancy Reagan. "She was an extraordinary partner to Bob throughout his entire life, supporting both their family at home and Bob's selfless cause to entertain U.S. troops abroad. Together, they brought countless hours of laughter and cheer to Americans everywhere."

In 1990, Mrs. Hope accompanied Bob on his last Christmas visit to American forces, visiting troops who were in Saudi Arabia for Operation Desert Storm. Marie Osmond, Ann Jillian and the Pointer Sisters did not perform, to avoid offending Saudi sensibilities about women entertainers. But Dolores was approved and sang "White Christmas" to a rapt audience.

"She was the first lady of the USO," said Carol Channing. "They didn't come any more patriotic, caring or talented than Dolores."

She was born Dolores DeFina in 1909 in New York's Harlem to an Italian father and Irish mother, and grew up in the Bronx. Her diction faintly echoed the Bronx upbringing.

"My father died when I was very young, and there was just my mother, my sister and me," she remarked in 1982. "Were we a needy family? I always like what General Eisenhower said: 'We were poor and didn't know it.'"

She began singing early, worked as a model and a Ziegfeld showgirl and at 20 sang with George Olson's band. She adopted the name Dolores Reade, borrowed from stage actress Florence Reed. In her 80s, Dolores revived her singing career, recording three albums of old and new standards and appearing at New York's Rainbow and Stars as guest with Rosemary Clooney.

Aside from overseeing two homes— the 18,000 square-foot mansion in North Hollywood and the 25,000 square-foot hilltop home in Palm Springs — Dolores worked indefatigably for numerous charities. From 1969 to 1976 she served as president of the Eisenhower Medical Center in Palm Desert, Calif., then becoming chairwoman.

In 1982, she explained her philosophy: "I like being with people, but I also need to have my time alone. I think it's terribly important to have some time during the day when you stop and take all the energy that you have given out and pull it back in, find the source of your energy. Then you work from there."

September's Harvest Moon starts Sunday

With a careful look, you'll see more detail in the moon than normal

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/44461445/ns/technology_and_science-space/

harvest moon, full moon occurring nearest to the autumnal equinox, about Sept. 23. During harvest moon the retardation (later rising each night) of the moon is at a minimum because of the relation of the moon's path to the horizon. On several nights in succession the moonrise is at nearly the same time, and there is full moonlight almost from sunset to sunrise if the sky is unclouded.

http://www.answers.com/topic/harvest-moon

Appearance   All full moons rise around the time of sunset. In general the moon rises about 50 minutes later each day. As it moves in orbit around Earth, the Harvest Moon and Hunter's Moon are special because, around the time of these full moons, the time difference between moonrise on successive evenings is shorter than usual. This means that the moon rises approximately 30 minutes later from one night to the next, as seen from about 40 degrees N. or S. latitude. Thus, there is no long period of darkness between sunset and moonrise around the time following these full moons. In times past this feature of these autumn moons was said to help farmers working to bring in their crops (or, in the case of the Hunter's Moon, hunters tracking their prey). They could continue being productive by moonlight even after the sun had set. Hence the name Harvest Moon.   The reason for the shorter-than-usual rising time between successive moonrises around the time of the Harvest and Hunter's Moon is that the ecliptic—the plane of Earth's orbit around the sun—makes a narrow angle with respect to the horizon in the evening in autumn.   Times of appearance   The harvest moon is the full moon closest to the autumnal equinox. It is simply the first full moon closest to that equinox. About once every four years it occurs in October (in the northern hemisphere), depending on the cycles of the moon. Currently, the latest the harvest moon can occur is on October 7.   When the night of the harvest moon coincides with the night of the equinox, it is called a "Super Harvest Moon."[1] In 2010 in the contiguous United States, the harvest moon happened in the early morning hours of Sept 23, only 5 1/2 hours after the autumnal equinox, creating the first Super Harvest Moon since 1991.[2]   Often, the harvest moon seems to be bigger or brighter or more colorful than other full moons. The warm color of the moon shortly after it rises is caused by light from the moon passing through a greater amount of atmospheric particles than when the moon is overhead. The atmosphere scatters the bluish component of moonlight (which is really reflected white light from the sun), but allows the reddish component of the light to travel a straighter path to one's eyes. Hence all celestial bodies look reddish when they are low in the sky.   It appears larger in size because the brain perceives a low-hanging moon to be larger than one that's high in the sky. This is known as a moon illusion and it can be seen with any full moon. It can also be seen with constellations; in other words, a constellation viewed low in the sky will appear bigger than when it is high in the sky.   Other names 

The Harvest Moon is also known as the Wine Moon, the Singing Moon and the Elk Call Moon. In American myth and folklore the full moon of each month is given a name. There are many variations, but the following list gives the most widely known names in the modern US:  •January – Wolf moon,[3] Hunger moon, Old moon  •February – Snow moon,[3] Ice moon  •March – Worm moon,[3] Sap moon, Sugaring moon, Crow moon, Storm moon  •April – Pink moon,[3] Egg moon, Grass moon, Rain moon, Growing moon, Wind Moon  •May – Flower moon,[3] Planting moon, Milk moon, Hare moon  •June – Strawberry moon,[3] Rose moon, Honey moon, Mead moon  •July – Buck moon,[3] Thunder moon, Deer moon, Hay moon  •August – Sturgeon moon,[3] Corn moon, Fruit moon, Barley moon  •September – Harvest moon[3] Gypsy Moon  •October – Hunter's moon[3]  •November – Beaver moon,[3] Frosty moon, Snow moon  •December – Cold moon, Long Night moon,[3] Winter moon   The third full moon in a season with four full moons is called a blue moon, as described in the Maine Farmers' Almanac. Until recently it was commonly misunderstood that the second full moon in a month was the blue moon. However, it was recently discovered by Sky & Telescope magazine and reported on NPR that the interpretation of a blue moon as the second full moon of the month was erroneously reported in an issue of Sky & Telescope dating back to 1946 and then perpetuated by other media.   In modern usage, when a second full moon occurs during any calendar month, it is called a Blue moon.[4]   In some cultures, individuals whose birthdays fall on or near a harvest moon must provide a feast for the rest of the community.

Read more: http://www.answers.com/topic/harvest-moon#ixzz1XhIyXXpM

                         September Fall Numbers

756 379 790 410 762 857 836 752 720 869

819 215 136 813 759 948 469 230 364 760

350 523 687 719 703 540 852 835 213 812

690 723 314 873 958 513 940 051 486 514

260 734 872 713 934 954 815 573 293 712

740 856 130 912 893 910 640 210 714 390

679 972 256 850 978 716 814 913 750 817

216 214 653 834 615 294 160 764 524 820

209 710 854 890 810 956 874 534 754 751

763 168 304 519 963 428 950 914 250 916

272 277 771 711 677 667 077 007 866 886

114 144 233 223 288 228 338 388 446 466

334 344 900 990 020 022 474 477 151 155

080 088 484 488 262 266 899 889 636 633

066 006 858 855 611 661 557 577 224 244

055 005 554 544 997 977 919 911 881 811

Man Accused Of Having Sex With Neighbor's Pool Float

HAMILTON -- A man accused of having sex with a neighbor's pool toy has had trouble with the law before.  Edwin Tobergta, 32, was arrested Sunday after a man said he saw Tobergta with his pants down on the pink pool float.  Tobergta fled with the float when he was confronted, but was arrested at his home later in the morning.  Tobergta has been arrested several times previously for public indecency, including a 2002 incident where he was accused of stealing and having sex with a four-foot inflatable pumpkin.  Relatives told News 5 in 2008 that Tobergta has mental problems and was being helped by Butler County Mental Retardation and Developmental Disabilities, but he was dropped because he had too many arrests.  The relatives said officials told them Tobergta could not get additional help unless he commits a felony crime.  According to a police report, Tobergta told officers that he did it, but was only doing it because has a problem and wants help.

Both Pick 3 and Pick 4 Numbers;

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http://www.lotterypost.com/thread/235855

http://www.lotterypost.com/thread/235856

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http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/music/music-news/8717641/Nick-Ashford-Motown-legend-dies-aged-70.html

Nick Ashford, Motown legend, dies aged 70

Nick Ashford, who co-wrote classics such as Ain't No Mountain High Enough, dies of throat cancer.

Nick Ashford, one-half of the legendary Motown songwriting duo Ashford & Simpson that penned elegant, soulful classics for Diana Ross and Marvin Gaye has died at the age of 70 from throat cancer. 

Ashford and his wife Valerie Simpson wrote Motown classics Ain't No Mountain High Enough and Reach Out And Touch Somebody's Hand (recorded by Ross and You're All I Need To Get By (made famous by Gaye and Tammi Terrell) and they also wrote pop hits such as I'm Every Woman", which was a hit for Chaka Khan and, later, Whitney Houston. 

They also had success writing for themselves: Perhaps the biggest known hit sung by them was the 1980s hit Solid As A Rock. 

Ashford and Simpson's relationship stretched more than four decades. They met in 1964 in a New York City church; Ashford, a South Carolina native, had come to the city to pursue a dance career. Simpson was a music student, and after connecting with her, they decided to start to write songs together.   Their first major success occurred when they came up with Let's Go Get Stoned for Ray Charles. That song became a huge hit, and soon, they came to the attention of Motown Records and began penning hits for their artists. The started out writing for Gaye and Terrell; in fact, Ain't No Mountain High Enough was originally their hit, until Ross later rerecorded it and made it her signature song.   The duo, who were married for 38 years, helped sell millions of records for several artists. They also had success as their own entity, but despite "Solid As a Rock," their hits dwarfed those that they penned for others.   In recent years, the pair continued to perform. They also were owners of the New York City restaurant Sugar Bar, where many top names and emerging talents would put on showcases.   “They had magic, and that’s what creates those wonderful hits, that magic,” Verdine White of Earth, Wind and Fire said. “Without those songs, those artists wouldn’t have been able to go to the next level.”   Ashford's father, Calvin, was a construction worker. He got his musical start at Willow Run Baptist Church, singing and writing songs for the gospel choir. He briefly attended Eastern Michigan University, in Ypsilanti, before heading to New York, where he tried but failed to find success as a dancer.   In 1964, while homeless, Mr. Ashford went to White Rock Baptist Church in Harlem, where he met Simpson, a 17-year-old recent high school graduate who was studying music. They began writing songs together, selling the first bunch for $64.   Among the artists who had hits with their songs were Gladys Knight and the Pips (Didn’t You Know You’d Have to Cry Sometime) and Smokey Robinson and the Miracles (Who’s Gonna Take the Blame).   Recently, they received a songwriting credit on Amy Winehouse’s song Tears Dry on Their Own, which contains a sample from Ain’t No Mountain High Enough.   Ashford is survived by his wife and two daughters Nicole and Asia.

Whatever the financial situation you are currently in, it is one that you have brought into reality through your thoughts. If it is not what you want, then you have created it unconsciously, but still you created it. When you can see this you will understand how powerful you are at creating. And now all you have to do is create what you want, consciously!

The Fastest Way To Receive Is To Give

The fastest way to receive is to give, because giving starts the reciprocal action of receiving. We all receive according to how much we give. Give the best of you everywhere you go. Give a smile. Give thanks. Give kindness. Give love.   Your giving should be a giving without expectation of return - a giving for the sheer joy of it.

May the joy be with you,

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