This is a repeat today. It may actually be a three-peat. If you need another to read, check the drop menu and search categories under Mailboxes and Old Barns and pick an alternative.
The morning glories in bloom on our patio trellises remind me of September mornings on the farm in 1954.

 Somehow it seemed that the first day of school was always a perfectly sunshiny day that still had the smell of wheat chaff in the air.  The hollyhocks on the east side of the house were so tall by this time that they leaned over the sidewalk, the sweet peas were about done blooming and the cottonwood trees were anticipating cooler fall weather.  It was good to go back to school with a new plaid skirt or jumper, new blouses and a jacket or sweater.

My brother and I always stood for a picture just by the open door of the school bus that first morning.  It was a sign of the times that those in the photo didn’t resist and onlookers didn’t snicker at it.  The Photo By The Bus was expected ritual for any household boasting a camera.

The first grade teacher had taught first grade since the Civil War, as we understood things.  She was friends with the really old ladies in town, because she had grown up with them.  Her hair was always in a tidy little chignon snugged up against the back of her neck.  She was never unkind and her students were never unruly.
Her rules were few and clear, and she did not speak to her students outside of the classroom.  She was our Wizard of Oz but much better by far:  if the curtain had ever been pulled back on her most private life, she would have been proven to be wise, kind, helpful, prim, educated, sturdy (in her firmly laced, low-heeled black shoes) with absolutely nothing useless or pretentious in her life.
She had never married, but had more children of her own than anyone I’ve ever known. (more…)

(Via GWP) The Hartford Magnet Trinity College Academy took 12 year old children on a four day field trip to the “Nature’s Classroom” in Charlton, Massachusetts. Parents are outraged because their children were forced to re-enact slavery by picking cotton and were called n**ger by their teachers who pretended to be their “slave masters”.

In one part of the re-enactment the children were chased through the woods as if they were slaves on the run and one student in the class was black. (more…)

(UK Independent)  While the Assad regime in Damascus has denied responsibility for the sarin gas missiles that killed around 1,400 Syrians in the suburb of Ghouta on 21 August, information is now circulating in the city that Russia’s new “evidence” about the attack includes the dates of export of the specific rockets used and – more importantly – the countries to which they were originally sold.
They were apparently manufactured in the Soviet Union in 1967 and sold by Moscow to three Arab countries, Yemen, Egypt and Colonel Muammar Gaddafi’s Libya. These details cannot be verified in documents, and Vladimir Putin has not revealed the reasons why he told Barack Obama that he knows Assad’s army did not fire the sarin missiles; but if the information is correct – and it is believed to have come from Moscow – Russia did not sell this particular batch of chemical munitions to Syria. (more…)

(Via UK Daily Mail)  Americans were injured in a terror attack by  as many as 10 gunmen at a Nairobi, Kenya, shopping center that has left at least  40 people dead and as many as 300 injured – a female Canadian diplomat and a  pregnant popular Kenyan radio journalist are among the dead.
The US State Department has confirmed that  four Americans were hurt in the mass shooting Saturday in a statement issued  from the US Embassy in Nairobi, but declined to give names or an exact number of  Americans hurt. Americans are not  believed to be among the dead at this time. The dead range in ages from two to  78-years-old, according to a Kenyan government official. Five hostages were  released around 2am local time.

American Elaine Dang, 26, [pictured above] has been identified  as one of the Americans injured in the brutal terror attack.  (continue reading)
NYT Photojournalist on the scene:

[…]  The mall is Nairobi’s most high-end shopping center, completely up to Western standards, with movie theaters, nice cafes, supermarkets and a casino. Pretty much anything you need. I’ve been there, so I knew the layout inside.  (pictures and first hand account – CLICK HERE)

The Daily Caller has an interesting article highlighting how many fake, or fraudulent followers of President Obama exist on social media.

An incredibly high percentage of President Obama’s Twitter followers are fake, while the opposite is true for Iranian President Hassan Rouhani.
According to the Twitter analytics application, Status People, 55 percent of President Obama’s 36,802,378 Twitter followers — or approximately 20,240,107 followers — are fake.
A ‘fake follower,’ according to Status People, is a spam account following the user. During the presidential election season, candidates’ Twitter accounts came under public scrutiny for possibly purchasing followers to try to bolster their social media credibility.
Twenty-four percent of Obama’s Twitter followers are inactive, and only 21 percent — or approximately 7,728,499 followers — are real.  (continue reading)

Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy Name. Thy kingdom come. THY WILL BE DONE, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, but DELIVER US FROM EVIL.
For Thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory, forever and ever. Amen †

Warning:  Some Graphic Details and Pictures in Links

BREAKING: Hostages still held in Nairobi #Westgate mall, security operation continues

— AFP News Agency (@AFP) September 21, 2013

Details HERE and also Pictures HERE
Quick Notes:  Early witness indicators are the attack began with a half dozen grenades thrown inside the mall.   Then the shooting started.    Hostages have been taken.  Al Shabaab claiming responsibility.   39 confirmed dead so far.  Western media will not cover this too heavily due to type of attack taking place  (grenades, popular shopping mall, random target of non-muslims etc.).
Al Shabaab (African contingent of al-Qaeda) operatives have been working closely with AQAP (Yemen affiliate) for several years.    Al Shabaab has training base in Mexico, and Al Shabaab operatives have been found in the U.S. crossing the U.S. Mexico border.  Al Shabaab was also the contingent who were foiled in the U.S. when they attempted to assassinate the Saudi Ambassador in 2011 at a Washington DC restaurant. 

Background, video and pictures of the attack taking place – CLICK HERE

Nairobi, Kenya (CNN) — Armed gunmen waged a tense standoff with Kenyan police and soldiers inside an upscale Nairobi shopping mall early Sunday, hours after brazenly gunning down shoppers, diners and more.
There was some movement around 1:30 a.m. (6:30 p.m. ET), when five “visibly shaken” hostages were released, the Kenya National Disaster Operation Centre tweeted. But that didn’t mean this horrific story was over as attackers remained dug in, as authorities bore down on them, and as an unknown number of civilians — perhaps dead or being held hostage — remained unaccounted for inside. (more…)

I tried this one, and it is a toughie – name the capital of the states as they are asked – while racing against the clock:
Can You Name The US State Capitals?

Here’s a little bit of humor for our Saturday.  Of course, it’s funny because it’s true, so maybe not so funny  ……..

Taking lessons from Benghazi Cover-Up International, the local Washington DC Law Enforcement Leadership give the local SWAT Team Leader the Africom Commander, General Carter Ham, treatment…..
(Via GateWayPundit) On Wednesday, BBC News reported the indefensible discovery that the D.C. Capitol Police’s SWAT team was ready to neutralize the Navy Yard mass shooting.
But, the highly trained and heavily armed, elite tactical group was, instead, ordered to stand down and leave the scene.  The Capitol Police promised a full investigation.
Today, BBC News reported more disturbing information.  No one has talked to the SWAT team members.  Not even for the protocol debriefing.  But, not only have members of the SWAT team not been contacted, the department “has installed a new leader”.  Without explanation.
BBC News reports: (more…)