https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-12925441/Jeffrey-epstein-list-names-michael-jackson-kevin-spacey-george-lucas.html

The A-list stars, politicians and leading figures named in the Jeffrey Epstein files: Prince Andrew, Bill Clinton, Naomi Campbell and Leonardo DiCaprio are among famous faces in bombshell 1,000-page document

    Follow MailOnline's liveblog here for all the updates on the Epstein papers

By Mark Duell and Martin Robinson, Chief Reporter

Published: 09:52, 4 January 2024 | Updated: 14:48, 4 January 2024

The identities of dozens of well-known figures linked  to Jeffrey Epstein have been revealed in court papers unsealed in the US overnight.  The files are part of a defamation case brought against Epstein's madam Ghislaine Maxwell, who is serving 20 years in jail for sex trafficking underage girls to him.  She was sued by Virginia Roberts, now known as Virginia Giuffre, who claims she was forced to have sex with the Duke of York three times in 2001 when she was 17 claims the duke vehemently denies.  High-profile people such as Prince Andrew, Bill Clinton, Donald Trump, Al Gore, Kevin Spacey and Stephen Hawking were all included in evidence filings.  Actors Leonardo DiCaprio, Cate Blanchett, Naomi Campbell, Cameron Diaz and Bruce Willis are in there. None of them have been accused of any involvement in Epstein's crimes, but Epstein was a name-dropper, Johanna Sjoberg claimed in evidence released overnight. Ms Sjoberg was clear that she had never met them.  Also mentioned are the late physicist Stephen Hawking and magician David Copperfield.   Some of the people named overnight were associates, friends or victims of Epstein. But the vast majority were named in evidence by witnesses who said they had no links to the paedophile at all or had not seen them at his many homes.  The identities of more than 170 people are now set to be made public following a US judge's order last month, with the first tranche of documents released last night.  They are set to be released on a rolling basis this week.  However inclusion of a name does not necessarily mean they were accused of any wrong.

Who is named in the Epstein list? And what do the court documents say about them?

Prince Andrew

Today it emerged that one of Epstein's alleged sex slaves, known only as Jane Doe 3, claimed that she was told to have intercourse with Prince Andrew during an orgy on Epstein's island, Little Saint James, in the US Virgin Islands.  A 2014 court filing alleges that she was 'forced to have sexual relations with this Prince when she was a minor in three separate geographical locations.'

She claims this happened 'in London (at Ghislaine Maxwell's apartment), in New York, and on Epstein's private island in the US Virgin Islands (in an orgy with numerous other under-aged girls).'

The newly unsealed docs claim Epstein told Jane Doe 3 to 'give the Prince whatever he demanded'. Jane Doe 3 claims that Ghislaine Maxwell 'facilitated Prince Andrew's acts of sexual abuse by acting as a 'madame' for Epstein'.'

The unsealed documents include the transcript of Virginia Giuffre being questioned over the whereabouts of the photograph showing her with the Duke of York.  Asked during her deposition in 2016 where the picture was, she said: 'I probably still have it. It's not in my possession right now.'

Ms Giuffre added it may have been in storage boxes at her mother and father in-law's in Sydney, Australia.  She also said documents related to the case may have also been in the storage boxes which were 'full of Nerf guns, my kids' toys, photos.'

During the deposition, Ms Giuffre said she had given the picture to the FBI in 2011 but had last seen it before she packed up her home to emigrate to Australia from Colorado.  Jeffrey Epstein accuser Johanna Sjoberg shed new light on an April 2001 trip to New York in which she said Prince Andrew touched her breast while they posed for a photo at Epstein's Manhattan town house.  In the testimony, some of which appeared as excerpts in previous court filings, Sjoberg said she and Virginia Giuffre had flown with Epstein to New York on his private jet. Ghislaine Maxwell and Andrew were said to have met them there.  At one point, she testified, Maxwell called her to an upstairs closet where they pulled out a puppet of Andrew that had been made for a television program.  'It looked like him,' Sjoberg said. 'And she brought it down and presented it to him; and that was a great joke, because apparently it was a production from a show on BBC.'

'And they decided to take a picture with it, in which Virginia and Andrew sat on a couch. They put the puppet on Virginia's lap, and I sat on Andrew's lap, and they put the puppet's hand on Virginia's breast, and Andrew put his hand on my breast, and they took a photo.'

The reference is believed to relate to Andrew's Spitting Image puppet. Buckingham Palace previously said the allegations were 'categorically untrue'.  Among the unsealed documents appears to be an email sent by Ghislaine Maxwell mentioning the Duke of York.  The message was sent from the email address gmaxl@ellmax.com to Philip Barden and Ross Gow in January 2015.  It reads: 'I have already suffered such a terrible and painful loss over the last few days that I can't even see what life after press hell even looks like statements that don't address all just lead to more questions what is my relationship to Clinton? Andrew on and on.'

Andrew stepped down from public life after the furore over his friendship with Epstein and paid millions to settle a civil sexual assault case to Giuffre, a woman he claimed never to have met.  The duke was cast out of the working monarchy and no longer uses his HRH style after Giuffre, who was trafficked by Epstein, accused him of sexually assaulting her when she was 17. Andrew has always denied the claims.

Bill Clinton

There are also mentions in the documents of Jeffrey Epstein's past friendship with former US president Bill Clinton who is not accused of any wrongdoing.  Jeffrey Epstein claimed Bill Clinton 'liked them young', Johanna Sjoberg told lawyers.  Deposition documents show Ms Sjoberg was asked if she knew the former US president was a friend of Epstein.  Ms Sjoberg said: 'I knew he had dealings with Bill Clinton.  I did not know they were friends until I read the Vanity Fair article about them going to Africa together.'

Asked if Epstein had ever talked about the former president, Ms Sjoberg said: 'He said one time that Clinton likes them young, referring to girls.'

Other mentions included legal arguments over whether Virginia Giuffre should be allowed more time to depose potential witnesses, including Clinton.  Giuffre never alleged he was involved in illegal behavior, but her attorneys said the former president was a 'key person who can provide information about his close relationship' with Ghislaine Maxwell and Epstein.  Maxwell's attorneys countered that Clinton testimony was not relevant.

Donald Trump

Epstein accuser Johanna Sjoberg said she and Virginia Giuffre had flown with Jeffrey Epstein to New York on his private jet.  On the way to New York, Sjoberg testified, Epstein's jet diverted to Atlantic City, New Jersey, and spent a few hours at one of Donald Trump's casinos, because of bad weather.  Upon hearing the change of plans, Sjoberg recalled Epstein saying, 'Great, we'll call up Trump and we'll go to' the casino.

Sjoberg wasn't asked if they'd met up with Trump that night. Later in her testimony, she said she was never asked to give Trump a massage.  Trump previously said that he once thought Epstein was a 'terrific guy,' but that they later had a falling out.  In her deposition, Giuffre said the summer she turned 17, she was lured away from a job as a spa attendant at Trump's Mar-a-Lago club to become a 'masseuse' for Epstein a job that involved performing sexual acts.

Doug Band

Doug Band, one of Bill Clinton's closest aides who is credited with rehabilitating the 42nd president's image in the wake of the Monica Lewinsky scandal, was referred to as a 'friend' by Ghislaine Maxwell during a deposition, the new documents show.   It was earlier reported that Band joined Clinton and Epstein on various trips to Asia and Africa.  Band told Vanity Fair in a 2020 that he had long asked Clinton to cut off ties to Epstein and Maxwell, despite being unaware of their crimes, just because of bad 'vibes' he got from them.  'Did you ever have a relationship with [Band]?,' Maxwell was asked in a deposition.

'We are talking about adult consensual relationships, it's off the record,' she answered.

Lawyers then requested that she define her relationship with Band.   'I was friends with Doug but you are suggesting something more so I want to be clear what you are actually asking me,' Maxwell replied.

The heiress proceeded to not answer further questions around Clinton and Epstein's friendship at this time.  Band worked in Clinton's White House Counsel's office and served as Deputy Assistant to the President before becoming his chief advisor from 2002 to 2011.  With Band's help, Clinton fashioned a new role for his post presidency with his Clinton Global Initiative which donated millions to good causes.

Stephen Hawking

Jeffrey Epstein was ready to reward one of his victim's friends if they could 'prove her allegations false' including that Professor Stephen Hawking participated in an underage orgy, the court documents revealed.  An email from Epstein to Ghislaine Maxwell showed he was content for her to 'issue a reward' to any of Virginia Giuffre's friends to counter her claims, shortly after she filed a civil claim in the US in 2015.  The email read: 'You can issue a reward to any of Virginia's friends, acquaints, family that come forward and help prove her allegations are false.  The strongest is the Clinton dinner, and the new version in the Virgin Islands that Stephen Hawking participated in an underage orgy.'

Hawking died in 2018 aged 76.

David Copperfield

n her May 2016 deposition, Jeffrey Epstein accuser Johanna Sjoberg described going to a dinner at one of Epstein's homes also attended by magician David Copperfield.  She said Copperfield did magic tricks before asking if she was aware 'that girls were getting paid to find other girls.'

One of the key allegations against Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell was that some of the girls he paid for sex acts then acted as recruiters to find him other victims.  Sjoberg said Copperfield was not more specific about what he meant.  A publicist for Copperfield has not yet responded to requests for comment.

Michael Jackson

Jeffrey Epstein accuser Johanna Sjoberg testified in the newly-released deposition that she once met Michael Jackson at Epstein's home in Palm Beach, Florida.  But she added that nothing untoward happened with the late pop icon.  Jackson died in Los Angeles aged 50 in June 2009.

Naomi Campbell

Pilot David Rodgers previously revealed logs from 2009 which showed Naomi Campbell was among those who flew on his jet.  In a video from 2019 she admitted that she knew Epstein, adding: 'I was introduced to him on my 31st birthday by my ex-boyfriend Flavio [Briatore, the Italian businessman who has been convicted of fraud]. He was always front and centre at Victoria's Secret shows.'

She was also pictured near Epstein's alleged 'madam' Ghislaine Maxwell at a party in 2002.  The model denied knowing about Epstein's activities, adding: 'What he's done is indefensible and when I heard what he'd done it sickened me to my stomach.  I have had my fair share of sexual predators.'

She said she was 'shocked' by the coverage of her friendships with disreputable characters, before adding: 'I'm not a saint but I will not be held hostage by my past.'

In the evidence released overnight Johanna Sjoberg says she never met Ms Campbell or saw her at Epstein's homes.

Leonardo DiCaprio

Epstein's French modeling agent friend Jean-Luc Brunel, 75, who allegedly procured more than 1,000 women and girls for the paedophile financier to sleep with, died on in an apparent prison suicide to avoid trial.  Brunel was also often spotted partying with superstars like Jack Nicholson and Leonardo DiCaprio.  In a 2016 deposition of Epstein victim Johanna Sjoberg was asked if she had met Mr DiCaprio.  Ms Sjoberg she said she never had - but that Epstein loved to name-drop celebrity names during massages.  'When I spoke about them, it was when I was massaging him, and he would get off he would be on the phone a lot at that time, and one time he said, "Oh, that was Leonardo, or, That was Cate Blanchett, or Bruce Willis". That kind of thing'.

Tom Pritzker

In her deposition, Virginia Giuffre said she had sex with several politicians and financial leaders.  Giuffre's deposition named several prominent figures who have previously denied her allegations of wrongdoing, including billionaire US businessman Tom Pritzker.  A spokesperson for Pritzker said the businessman 'continues to vehemently deny' the allegation.

Alan Dershowitz

In 2022, Virginia Giuffre withdrew an accusation she had made against Jeffrey Epstein's former attorney, law professor Alan Dershowitz, saying she ' may have made a mistake ' in identifying him as an abuser.  According to one of the documents, Epstein allegedly forced a woman named as Jane Doe #3, who was a 'minor' at the time, to 'have sexual relations' with Dershowitz.  It also claimed: 'In addition to being a participant in the abuse of Jane Doe #3 and other minors, Dershowitz was an eye-witness to the sexual abuse of many other minors by Epstein and several of Epstein's co-conspirators.'

But Dershowitz said in a statement to People: 'The woman who initially accused me subsequently stated that she may have misidentified me and she withdrew her lawsuit against me.'

The high-profile lawyer supported the release of the documents.  He told NewsNation: 'I want everything out, every document, every piece of paper, half-truths or lies, and I wanted them out for personal reasons because I know that they would prove what I've said from day one, that I did nothing wrong.  There are some people who may be ashamed of the fact that they hung out with Epstein but remember a lot of people hung out with Epstein before he was convicted.  Presidents of Harvard, deans, Nobel quality scientists, he was very well thought of in the beginning.'

Frédéric Fékkai

Celebrity hair stylist Frédéric Fékkai was named in the court documents, although it is unclear what relationship if any he had with Jeffrey Epstein.  In a deposition in May 2016 relating to Epstein accuser Johanna Sjoberg, she was asked by attorney Sigrid McCawley: 'Did you ever hear or observe Jeffrey talking on the phone about Frédéric Fékkai?'

'I heard him call someone, and say, Fékkai is in Hawaii,' Sjoberg responded over the objection of the Ghislaine Maxwell's attorney Laura Menninger. 'Can we find some girls for him?'

'And what was your reaction to that?' McCawley asked.

'Well, I was massaging and I didn't have a reaction,' Sjoberg replied. 'I tried to remain reactionless the whole five years.'

Fékkai has not yet commented on the claims.

Leslie Wexner

Another name appearing in the documents was Leslie Wexner, a former business partner of Jeffrey Epstein who founded L Brands, a retail empire that included Victoria's Secret.  He was referred to when Ghislaine Maxwell was asked if she provided a woman with an outfit of a sexual nature to wear for Wexner.  'Categorically no,' Maxwell replied. 'You did get that, I said categorically no.'

She also denied that she had communicated with Wexner about the lawsuit.  Wexner previously said in a letter to his employees that that he 'was never aware of the illegal activity' that Epstein was charged over.

Glenn Dubin

Virginia Giuffre claimed she was pressured into having sex with men in Jeffrey Epstein's social orbit, including the billionaire hedge fund Glenn Dubin, among others.  She said she also had sex with other political leaders whose names she could not remember.  All of those men, including Dubin, said her accounts were fabricated.  Dubin has not yet commented on the documents.

Jean-Luc Brunel

The documents name many public figures known to have associated with Jeffrey Epstein over the years, but whose relationships with him have already been well documented elsewhere, according to the judge.  One of them is Jean-Luc Brunel, a French modeling agent close to Epstein who was awaiting trial on charges that he raped underage girls when he killed himself in a Paris jail in 2022.  Virginia Giuffre was among the women who had accused Brunel of sexual abuse. His name was peppered throughout the documents released today.  The documents show that Giuffre said during a 2016 deposition that she had been told by Ghislaine Maxwell to have sex with several men.  After asking Giuffre in turn about each of the men, Laura Menninger, a lawyer who was part of Maxwell's legal team at the time, asked: 'Other than Glenn Dubin, (redacted), Prince Andrew, Jean Luc Brunel, Bill Richardson, another prince, the large hotel chain owner and Marvin Minsky, is there anyone else that Ghislaine Maxwell directed you to go have sex with?'

Ms Giuffre replied: 'I am definitely sure there is. But can I remember everybody's name? No.'

Ehud Barak

Ehud Barak, the former Israeli prime minister, is claimed to have met with Jeffrey Epstein on various occasions.  The politician was allegedly a regular guest of Epstein's at his Upper East Side townhouse and also flew on Epstein's jet.  In her deposition, Epstein accuser Johanna Sjoberg denied ever meeting Barak.  Speaking to the Wall Street Journal in April last year, Barak accepted that he met with Epstein while in New York and that Epstein 'often brought other interesting persons, from art or culture, law or science, finance, diplomacy or philanthropy.'

But he insisted that he never met Epstein 'with girls or minors, or even adult women in improper context or behaviour'.

Kevin Spacey

Kevin Spacey was also mentioned in the documents once, in which Epstein accuser Johanna Sjoberg denied meeting him.  Sjoberg was asked by an attorney: 'I may have already asked you, but have you met Kevin Spacey?'

She replied: 'No'.

Separately, in July last year, Oscar-winning actor Spacey was cleared at Southwark Crown Court in London of a string of alleged sex attacks on younger men which were said to have taken place between 2001 and 2013.

Bill Richardson

Virginia Giuffre's deposition named several prominent figures who have previously denied her allegations, including the late New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson.  She said Ghislaine Maxwell asked her to give Mr Richardson a massage but added: 'I don't know dates.'

Giuffre added: 'I can't tell you where we were. I know where I was sent to. I don't know where we were when she told me to do that.'

Epstein accuser Johanna Sjoberg was also asked whether she had met Governor Richardson.  She replied: 'Hmm, I want to say that he was supposed to come to dinner when we were in New Mexico. I don't know if I met him. I believe that he and Ghislaine had dinner separate from myself.'

Mr Richardson died aged 75 in September last year.

Al Gore

Former Vice President Al Gore, who served under Bill Clinton, was also among the well-known names mentioned in the documents.  He was referred to regarding materials that Ghislaine Maxwell sought from Virginia Giuffre before trial in the civil defamation lawsuit.  The document said Maxwell asked Giuffre to produce any photos or videos that she had that showed with a number of high-profile people, including Gore.  But Giuffre's attorneys said she objected because any such alleged photographs were in the 'custody and control' of Maxwell and Jeffrey Epstein.  While Guiffre previously claimed that Mr Gore travelled on Epstein's private plane, a photo of Gore and Giuffre has never been released.  Gore has not been accused of any wrongdoing.

George Lucas

Star Wars creator George Lucas was also named in the documents, although with no suggestion of any wrongdoing.  Jeffrey Epstein accuser Johanna Sjoberg was asked in May 2016 whether she had ever met or given massages to a number of high-profile celebrities including Lucas.  But she denied having done so and that was the only mention of Lucas in the document.
 
Who was paedophile Jeffrey Epstein? What was he accused of? How did he die?

A millionaire known for associating with celebrities, politicians, billionaires and academic stars, Epstein was initially arrested in Palm Beach, Florida, in 2005 after he was accused of paying a 14-year-old girl for sex.  Andrew would call his friend Epstein every week.  Dozens of other underage girls described similar sexual abuse, but prosecutors ultimately allowed the financier to plead guilty in 2008 to a charge involving a single victim. He served 13 months in a jail work-release program.  Some famous acquaintances abandoned Epstein after his conviction, including former presidents Bill Clinton and Donald Trump, but many did not.  Epstein continued to mingle with the rich and famous for another decade, often through philanthropic work.  Reporting by the Miami Herald renewed interest in the scandal, and federal prosecutors in New York charged Epstein in 2019 with sex trafficking.  He killed himself in jail while awaiting trial.  The US attorney in Manhattan then prosecuted Epstein's former girlfriend, Ghislaine Maxwell, for helping recruit his underage victims. She was convicted in 2021 and is serving a 20-year prison term.

What are the records about? Why have they been released?

The documents being unsealed are part of a 2015 lawsuit filed against Maxwell by one of Epstein's victims, Virginia Giuffre.  She is one of the dozens of women who sued Epstein saying he had abused them at his homes in Florida, New York, the U.S. Virgin Islands and New Mexico.  Giuffre said the summer she turned 17, she was lured away from a job as a spa attendant at Trump's Mar-a-Lago club to become a 'masseuse' for Epstein a job that involved performing sexual acts.  Giuffre also claimed she was pressured into having sex with men in Epstein's social orbit, including Britain's Prince Andrew, the former New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson, former U.S. Sen. George Mitchell and the billionaire Glenn Dubin, among others. All of those men said her accounts were fabricated.  Giuffre settled a lawsuit against Prince Andrew in 2022. That same year, Giuffre withdrew an accusation she had made against Epstein's former attorney, the law professor Alan Dershowitz, saying she ' may have made a mistake ' in identifying him as an abuser.  Giuffre's lawsuit against Maxwell was settled in 2017, but the Miami Herald went to court to access court papers initially filed under seal, including transcripts of interviews the lawyers did with potential witnesses.  About 2,000 pages were unsealed by a court in 2019. Additional documents were released in 2020, 2021 and 2022.  The batch currently being released contains around 250 records that sections that were blacked out or were sealed entirely because of concerns about the privacy rights of Epstein's victims and other people whose names had come up during the legal battle but weren't complicit in his crimes. Only around 40 of those documents were made public Wednesday. More will be released in the coming days.

What else can we expect to see in the coming days?

U.S. District Judge Loretta A. Preska, who evaluated the documents to decide what should be unsealed, said in her December order that she was ordering the records released because much of the information within them is already public.  Some records have been released, either in part or in full, in other court cases.  The people named in the records include many of Epstein's accusers, members of his staff who told their stories to tabloid newspapers, people who served as witnesses at Maxwell's trial, people who were mentioned in passing during depositions but aren't accused of anything salacious, and people who investigated Epstein, including prosecutors, a journalist and a police detective.  There are also boldface names of public figures known to have associated with Epstein over the years, but whose relationships with him have already been well documented elsewhere, the judge said.  One of them is Jean-Luc Brunel, a French modeling agent close to Epstein who was awaiting trial on charges that he raped underage girls when he killed himself in a Paris jail in 2022. Giuffre was among the women who had accused Brunel of sexual abuse.  His name was peppered throughout the documents released Wednesday.  Clinton and Trump both factor in the court file, partly because Giuffre was questioned by Maxwell's lawyers about inaccuracies in newspaper stories about her time with Epstein. One story quoted her as saying she had ridden in a helicopter with Clinton and flirted with Trump. Giuffre said neither of those things actually happened. She hasn't accused either former president of wrongdoing.  The judge said a handful of names should remain blacked out in the documents because they would identify people who were sexually abused. The Associated Press does not typically identify people who say they are victims of sexual assault unless they decide to tell their stories publicly, as Giuffre has done.

https://outreachmagazine.com/features/76861-the-christian-life-youre-either-climbing-or-slipping.html?utm_source=omag-om-daily-nl&utm_medium=email&utm_content=title&utm_campaign=omag-om-daily-nl-20230718&maropost_id=714607821&mpweb=256-10047560-714607821

The Christian Life — You’re Either Climbing or Slipping

Sometimes we fail to understand how powerful compromise can be in our lives. No one falls away from God overnight. It’s something that happens over time a slow, methodical process.  The moment you stop going forward as a Christian is the moment you will begin to go backward. If you put your Christian experience in neutral, then you will go downhill, because this is an uphill climb.  As one person put it, “The Christian life is a lot like a greased pole. You are either climbing or slipping.”

Applying Yourself Spiritually

In fact, the Bible tells us that in the last days some will fall away from the faith (see 1 Timothy 4:1). The question is, do you want to be one of those people?

You don’t have to be. It begins with applying yourself spiritually and avoiding taking unnecessary chances.

The evangelist Billy Sunday said, “One reason sin flourishes is that it is treated like a cream puff instead of a rattlesnake!”

The Bible says, “And remember, when you are being tempted, do not say, ‘God is tempting me.’ God is never tempted to do wrong, and he never tempts anyone else” (James 1:13 NLT).

Along these same lines, the writer of Romans pointed out, “Don’t you realize that you become the slave of whatever you choose to obey? You can be a slave to sin, which leads to death, or you can choose to obey God, which leads to righteous living” (Romans 6:16 NLT).

For sin to flourish in our lives, we must cooperate. And far too often we don’t take responsibility for our actions. We are living in a time when no one accepts responsibility for their actions anymore. It is absolutely shocking to see the crimes people are getting away with and what is happening in our courts.  In our crazy, upside-down system, no one is responsible for anything they do. We are all victims. We are all dysfunctional. However, if you’re a follower of Jesus Christ, then you need to recognize that you must take responsibility for your actions.  In the Garden of Eden, Adam offered what appeared to be the first recorded excuse in the history of humanity. After he fell into sin, he effectively said to God, “It isn’t my fault. I’m not responsible. It’s the woman you gave me.”

Next was Eve, who offered the second recorded excuse in history: “The serpent deceived me. … That’s why I ate it” (Genesis 3:13 NLT).

Protecting Your Mind

When Satan wanted to lead Adam and Eve into sin, he started by attacking Eve’s mind. Paul warned, “But I fear that somehow your pure and undivided devotion to Christ will be corrupted, just as Eve was deceived by the cunning ways of the serpent” (2 Corinthians 11:3 NLT).

In our minds we reason, contemplate, dream and fantasize. The Bible says, “We use God’s mighty weapons, not worldly weapons, to knock down the strongholds of human reasoning and to destroy false arguments” (2 Corinthians 10:4 NLT).

We are living in a time when we’re barraged with images. We can access hundreds of television channels with worthless things to watch. Or, we can go off into cyberspace and explore all kinds of things. People are filling their minds with this content, and some of it is evil and perverse. And sooner or later, what we consume will work its way into our lives.  Just as what we eat affects the way we feel and act, what we feed our minds affects the way we behave. Thoughts translate into actions.  Certainly, we are living in a day when immorality seems to be at all-time high. Lust and passion continue to devastate countless lives every day. Scores of fatherless children are growing up without morals and absolutes as people treat sex casually and don’t stop to think about the consequences.  When I was a teenager back in the late 1960s and early 1970s, it was a time of great revolution and change. We were pushing away all the boundaries and discovering things for ourselves. And what a Pandora’s box that turned out to be.  The Bible tells the story of Samson, who had all the potential to be someone great for God and lead his nation out of the state of backsliding they had fallen into. Humanly speaking, he had superman qualities. There was no one physically stronger than he was. Mentally, he was sharp, clever and alert.  Though Samson was strong in some ways, he was very weak in others, because he never learned to control himself.

Flee From Sin

Make no mistake about it: Sin is powerful, and it’s intoxicating. We think we can handle it, but we can’t. The Bible tells us, “Run from anything that stimulates youthful lusts. Instead, pursue righteous living, faithfulness, love, and peace. Enjoy the companionship of those who call on the Lord with pure hearts” (2 Timothy 2:22 NLT).

Flee from sin. Don’t toy with it, because sooner or later, it will pull you in and trap you. That is what happened to Samson.  Of course, we all will sin. We all are going to fail and have our lapses. Maybe you’re thinking, “But my conscience is hard. It’s calloused.”

The good news is that Jesus Christ can resensitize your conscience. He can bring you back again. He can forgive you. Only God can do that for you, but you must turn from your sin.  The best prevention against falling into sin is a committed relationship with Jesus Christ.  When Jesus Christ is who He ought to be in our lives, we won’t be looking for other things to take His place. We won’t be looking for sin to fill the void in our lives, because we’ll be satisfied in our relationship with Him.  However, if you are a fence sitter, if you are a compromiser, if you are trying to live in both worlds, then it is only a matter of time until you go down.

I was walking across a bridge one day, and I saw a man standing on the edge, about to jump off.  I immediately ran over and said "Stop!  Don't do it!"

"Why shouldn't I?" he said.

I said, "Well, there's so much to live for!"

"Like what?"

"Well...are you religious or atheist?"

"Religious."

"Me too!  Are you Catholic or Protestant?"

"Protestant."

"Me too!  Are you Episcopalian or Baptist?"

"Baptist."

"Wow!  Me too!  Are you Baptist Church of God or Baptist Church of the Lord?"

"Baptist Church of God."

"Me too!  Are you Original Baptist Church of God, or are you Reformed Baptist Church of God?"

"Reformed Baptist Church of God."

"Me too!  Are you Reformed Baptist Church of God, reformation of 1879, or Reformed Baptist Church of God, reformation of 1915?"

"Reformed Baptist Church of God, reformation of 1915!"

To which I said, "Die, heretic scum!" and pushed him off.

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-12735121/Kate-Middleton-cuts-solemn-figure-elegant-black-outfit-joins-Queen-Camilla-balcony-Remembrance-Sunday-Service.html

Kate Middleton cuts a solemn figure in an elegant black outfit as she joins Queen Camilla on a balcony at the Remembrance Sunday Service

    The Princess of Wales, 41, dressed all in black as she appeared in Whitehall
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By Lydia Hawken For Mailonline

Published: 11:03, 12 November 2023 | Updated: 15:01, 12 November 2023

The Princess of Wales looked solemn as she appeared at the Cenotaph for a poignant service to remember fallen soldiers.  Kate, 41, maintained a sombre expression for the occasion and dressed in an all black outfit as she arrived at the Remembrance Sunday Service at Cenotaph in London.  On the lapel of her Alexander McQueen military-inspired coat, Kate opted for three red poppies to pay tribute to all those who have lost their lives in conflict while fighting for their country.  The mother-of-three also wore a silver brooch, which she was awarded when she became Commodore-in-Chief of the Fleet Air Arm earlier this year.  The royal styled her hair in a chic updo and completed her ensemble with a large Philip Treacy hat, with an elegant velvet bow.  The Princess of Wales first wore her Alexander McQueen coat for the Remembrance Service in 2019 and debuted her Philip Treacy hat for her first Christmas at Sandringham in 2006.  At the start of the service, a two-minute silence took place across the UK at 11am.   Wreaths were then laid by members of the royal family, senior politicians and dignitaries at the Cenotaph in London.  Charles led the country at the Whitehall memorial in commemorating the end of the First World War and other conflicts involving British and Commonwealth forces.  Wearing the uniform of the Marshal of the Royal Air Force with greatcoat, poppy and sword, the King laid a wreath similar to the one produced for King George VI.  The wreath featured 41 open style poppy petals made from bonded fabric.  It was mounted on an arrangement of black leaves traditional for sovereign’s wreaths of 27-inch diameter ribbon and bow using the colours from the King’s racing silk scarlet, purple and gold.  A wreath was laid at the Cenotaph for the Queen by Major Ollie Plunket, The Rifles, equerry to Camilla.  The Queen viewed the Remembrance Day service from the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office centre balcony, alongside the Princess of Wales.  Camilla's wreath closely resembled the wreath produced for the Queen Mother, Buckingham Palace said.  The Duke of Edinburgh and the Princess Royal also laid wreaths at the Cenotaph.  Senior politicians including Rishi Sunak, Sir Keir Starmer, Sir Ed Davey, James Cleverly and Suella Braverman were assembled near the Cenotaph. Behind them were former prime ministers Liz Truss, Boris Johnson, David Cameron, Gordon Brown, Theresa May, Sir Tony Blair and Sir John Major.  The Prime Minister was among senior politicians who have laid a wreath at the Cenotaph. Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer, Foreign Secretary James Cleverly and Ms Braverman also took part in the ceremony.  Almost 10,000 veterans and 800 armed forces personnel from all three services were then due to take part in a march-past.  Among those marching are nuclear test veterans, who for the first time will wear a medal acknowledging their contribution.  After 70 years of waiting for recognition, those exposed to the effects of nuclear bombs during the UK's testing programme were given a medal, depicting an atom surrounded by olive branches, for the Remembrance Sunday service.  More than 300 armed forces and civilian organisations are represented, as well as 300 veterans not affiliated with an association who have been invited to join for the first time.  Meanwhile across the pond, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have been paying tribute to veterans in the US and around the world this week.  On Thursday the Duke and Duchess of Sussex joined the Navy SEAL Foundation for the official opening of a new training base, known as the 'West Coast Warrior Fitness Programme' facility, ahead of Veterans Day on November 11.   The couple were meeting veterans, servicemen and women and and their loved-ones at Camp Pendleton.  Last night, King Charles unveiled new statues of his late parents at the Royal British Legion Festival of Remembrance in London.   The life-sized bronze artworks, commemorating the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh's dedication to the Royal Albert Hall, were erected as part of the building's 150th anniversary.  Charles was joined by Queen Camilla and the Prince and Princess of Wales at the Royal British Legion's Festival of Remembrance, with Kate wearing one of the late Queen's pearl necklaces.  The Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh, the Princess Royal and Vice Admiral Sir Tim Laurence, the Duke and Duchess of Gloucester and the Duke of Kent were also in attendance.  As they took their seats, Charles was seen waving to the packed hall.  Mr Sunak observed the event from a box to the left of the royals alongside his wife Akshata Murty while Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer sat in a separate box to the right with his wife Lady Victoria.  The event saw the King unveil the statue of his late mother, while Camilla pulled back the curtain on the bust of Prince Philip.  Upon arriving, Charles and Camilla shook hands with two men before they revealed the statues for the first time.  After a countdown of three, Camilla pulled on a golden rope and red velvet curtains revealed the bronze statue of Prince Philip

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-12673407/Unearthed-lost-memoir-Edward-VIII-reveals-truth-Wallis-Simpson-convinced-marry-King.html

Unearthed: The lost memoir of Edward VIII that reveals the truth about him and Wallis Simpson... and how he was convinced he could marry her and be King

By Jane Marguerite Tippett

Published: 01:19, 26 October 2023 | Updated: 08:00, 26 October 2023

'On a dank, cold and very foggy night in early January 1931, I first met the Duchess at a mutual friend's house in Melton Mowbray...'

The words are those of the Duke of Windsor, formerly King Edward VIII before his abdication, and he is recalling how, as Prince of Wales, he was introduced to Mrs Simpson, the woman for whose love he would sensationally give up the crown.  I was immediately impressed with her vivaciousness, wit and smart repartee. I particularly admired her complete frankness.  If she did not agree with anyone, she said so, and I found this rarely, due to the circumstances of my position, especially among my British friends.'

Edward was spilling out his secrets his heart even to an eminent American journalist, Charles Murphy, who had persuaded the former king that, after more than a decade of silence, the time had come for him to tell his side of the abdication story for a series of articles in Life magazine and subsequently a book.  From July 1947 until January 1951, Edward and Murphy were in each other's company on an almost daily basis, much of it in the exotic setting of the Windsors' white-washed villa, Chateau de la La Croe, on Cap d'Antibes on the French Riviera.  Murphy discovered almost immediately that the former monarch needed to 'learn the habits of work'.

He also needed to be taught how to reminisce because his perspective on his multitude of exceptional experiences was, apart from a general sense of grievance that had dogged his years of exile, 'less than penetrating', Murphy observed.

Murphy saw his task as helping Edward find a voice. Deciding not to conduct direct interviews, his technique was to suggest topics and invite Edward to talk about them — much like a schoolmaster encouraging a recalcitrant child.  Edward started by exploring his assigned subjects through monologues that were recorded in shorthand by a secretary, but later went on to write down his recollections at length.  Years later, Murphy lodged his papers at Boston University, which is where I unearthed them box upon box of notes and memos, including Edward's own first drafts scrawled on yellow legal pads, much of which never made it into the Life articles or the subsequent book.  Here was, in effect, the lost memoir of Edward VIII, the authentic and unheard voice of the man who had once been King. It throws new light on how and why he chose to abdicate rather than live without the only woman he ever loved. It tells Edward's story as he saw it, lived it and remembered it.  His failures, weaknesses, naivety and flaws are on full display but so, too, are his intelligence, his loyalty, his love and his resolve.  It is, for the first time, Edward's story.  For all Edward's protestations of instant attraction to Wallis, the details of their first meeting are a matter of dispute.  Her recollection to Murphy was that the 37-year-old Edward 'hardly spoke to me' that time in Melton Mowbray.

Then, when they met two months later at a reception, she recalled overhearing him say to the hostess, who was his mistress at the time, 'Didn't I meet that woman somewhere?' 'He never looked at me,' she told Murphy. 'Can't believe that, darling,' said Edward, who was listening to the discussion.

Whatever the precise truth, the fact is that, keen to throw off the stuffiness of court life, he was soon seeking her company at every opportunity.  'I was a bachelor, alone, tired. She and her husband Ernest had an apartment [in Marylebone] and served as good food as anywhere in London. She had a host of friends and the conversations were gay, witty and intelligent.'

One of those friends was Bernard Rickatson-Hatt, editor-in-chief of Reuters News, who thought her 'attractive and smart' and an 'extremely capable hostess', transplanting the glamorous life of Park Avenue in New York to central London.  He remembered seeing the Simpsons' apartment overflowing with flowers from Fort Belvedere, Edward's home in Windsor Great Park, and Wallis wearing expensive jewels he had given her.  'His days at court are filled with stuffed shirts. He comes here to be amused,' was Wallis's explanation for his growing presence in the Simpson menage.

According to Rickatson-Hatt, her husband Ernest 'grasped what was going on but as a loyal Englishman was reluctant to make an issue of the situation'.

Edward was soon besotted. He told Murphy: 'She satisfied something creative in me. She brought into my life something not there before: curiosity, independence, impudence, questioning, warmth. I saw things in a new light.'

In staccato notes, he explained: 'Fell in love with the Duchess two years before abdication. It happened in restaurant, no frivolous business, age on my side. I had sowed my wild oats. Made lots of mistakes, in [a] superficial way.  I knew I was falling in love with another man's wife. When found myself falling in love should have withdrawn. But remarkable business about love is that it happens before one knows it.'

With bullet-point precision, titled by Murphy as 'HRH's Description of Duchess', Edward listed Wallis's defining characteristics in pencil on two pieces of Waldorf Astoria memo paper:

    Very proud
    Independent
    Demanding of highest standards of conduct
    Inflexible code of behaviour
    Strict
    Exacting
    Elusive
    Chic
    Must have the best
    Very sensitive
    Easily hurt
    Great sense of dignity
    Perfectionist to the extent of wearing herself out.

That she was American was a major attraction. The prince had visited the U.S. and the experience transformed him.  He recalled: 'Among well-born Englishmen there was an inclination to look down on Americans as rather loud, pushy upstarts. But when I went there on a tour, it took my breath away. Men lived more freely. They were not afraid to speak to me or tell me what they thought because I was a prince. '

Created Prince of Wales on his 16th birthday, just seven weeks after his father became King, he had spent 26 years creating a 'modern version' of an ancient office.  His 'Prince of Wales,' he said, was not the 'reproduction of my grandfather's top-hatted geniality. I became a spokesman of the rising generation a restless, pushing iconoclastic generation'.

But keen as he was to re-invent the monarchy for a more democratic age, he was faced with a father, George V, who, as Edward wrote, insisted: 'Remember your position and who you are.'

'This remark of my father's was disturbing. How different was I really? Through school, college and the war, I had certainly discovered my shortcomings.  'Not only was I not better than other people, the fact was I possessed no outstanding qualifications to set me up above my contemporaries. Now I was being launched on a career in public life not of my choosing which was going to make me seem more different from other people than ever. But life had to be something more than driving down lined streets with uplifted hat and ready smile.  'I decided I would act as differently from other people as was required of me when on show but that 'off duty' I would work out my own life along the lines of my tastes and inclinations. I would seek informality to observe all ceremonial punctiliously but to dispense with it whenever I could and it seemed out of place.'

As his loathing grew for the remoteness and aloofness of his royal life, increasingly Wallis was indispensable to him. In his eyes, she was also the measure of how free he really could be.  'The choice confronting me was a bitter one. While there was no desire in my heart to shirk my inheritance, the desire to marry and make a full life with the woman of my choice was equally strong. To live without love would have been intolerable. And, more than that, without it my service to the state would have seemed an empty thing.'

With his father's death in January 1936, Edward became King. At the State Funeral there was a poignant private moment, an indication of everything that lay ahead. He recalled: 'Only once during that seemingly endless procession did my eyes stray from the coffin or the slowly marching figures surrounding me.  A swift scan of the windows of the second floor of a certain building rewarded me with a fleeting glance of recognition, of comfort and understanding of the mental and physical strain it was mine to bear that sad day.'

Just a glimpse of Wallis meant that much to him. The fact was that since early 1934 she had occupied a dominant role in his life. By the time of his accession, her marriage to Ernest Simpson was over in all but name, and rumours swirled in London society about her relationship with the King.  But, although Edward made it clear he was not going to give up Wallis, nor was he about to relinquish the throne if he didn't have to. Edward's solicitor, George Allen, told Murphy: 'He was bent upon marrying her and making her Queen and being crowned together.  He hated Buckingham Palace and much of the royal existence. But at the same time he yearned to be King. At the outset there was no question of abdication. He took the job on with the hope of marrying her. He wanted the divorce secure and everything in preparation so they could be married before the Coronation.'

Edward told Murphy: 'What was really at stake was my right as King to a private life, to an independent existence, to 'a life outside the office'.' Implicit in his drive to modernise the monarchy was establishing the King's freedom to marry whomever he wished.  He resisted the idea that the monarch should hide all personal feeling in the pursuit of royal duty. To him, kingship was a career. From the outset of his reign, he expressed a determination to separate his public role from his private world a division he had successfully maintained as Prince of Wales.   To his adviser, Walter Monckton, he declared shortly after his father's death: 'I refuse to become a prisoner of the past. I must have a private life of my own.'

His father's Private Secretary, Sir Clive Wigram, quickly disabused him of this notion. 'Sir, you are quite mistaken. The King has no private life whatever.'

But Edward chose to ignore Wigram's warning. 'I was suspicious of courtiers' advice,' he told Murphy. 'But this made for trouble.'

He was on track for the clash with the British Establishment that would eventually cost him his throne.  One woman who did not address the mounting speculation about Mrs Simpson was Queen Mary.  'Mother never mentioned W's name,' Edward told Murphy. 'This was curious for she knew about all my other flirtations, often chided, sometimes teased me about them. Perhaps she believed my bachelorhood permanent; or that my becoming King would sober me.  But, an observant woman, she must have noticed a change in my outlook as attachment [to Wallis] deepened. My outlook was more serious, life stabler. Instead, she was silent. This, coupled with inflexible opposition to divorce, meant she disapproved.  The fact that I did not marry bothered her. On my 30th birthday [in 1924] she raised the question tentatively, but I dodged it, saying I had not met anyone I loved and I absolutely refused to enter into a marriage of convenience.'

In an essay entitled Family, Edward expanded on these sentiments: 'I had developed an abhorrence of arranged marriages for they were no guarantee of private happiness, which to me was the essential and basic element of existence in this world.  I had seen too many unhappy marriages amongst my contemporaries and had admired those who found greater happiness with a divorce more than those who chose the path of conventional pretence to a life [of] matrimonial misery.  But royalty lived in the fierce glare of publicity and presence of the State. There was no loophole for unhappy royal marriages or divorce as a merciful release. Once you took the step it was a life sentence and that I could not contemplate.  Of course there have been many happy marriages of convenience, my brother George's as a fine example. But it all depends on one's make-up and mine just wasn't that sort.  My abhorrence of the system and my fear of getting trapped and losing my freedom until I had found the right person the 'right' person for me without regard to any other consideration became strongly engrained in me. I was determined to wait until I really fell in love.'

At the end of the summer of 1936, Wallis joined Edward at Balmoral in a group that included the Duke and Duchess of Kent, Lord and Lady Louis Mountbatten and the Duke and Duchess of Marlborough. Her presence was controversial and overshadowed the aristocratic tenor of the gathering.  Even Winston Churchill, usually sympathetic to the King, deplored 'Mrs Simpson going to such a highly official place'. Adding to the contention was Edward's insistence that she be named in the Court Circular as one of his guests.  In an essay he wrote for Murphy entitled Notes On The Hypocritical British Attitude Toward Divorce, he asserted: 'I could have camouflaged her presence and catered to gossiping tongue-wagging by merely stating 'The King is entertaining a few friends at the Castle'.  It was my honesty, my chivalry and my good manners that offended in certain quarters, whereas duplicity and camouflage would have satisfied my hypocritical critics.'

But the stay at Balmoral proved a critical milestone in testing public and official appetite for his relationship with Wallis, not least in bringing the British Press into the equation.  Edward would later conclude that he had not handled this well.  In my childhood,' he wrote, 'the Royal Family had remained outside the ravenous appetites of the daily Press. I have come to believe that one of the most unfortunate aspects of the crisis which before long burst around me was the long censorship which the British Press in this connection imposed upon itself.  As a result, when the facts were finally presented to the British people they came in a lightning burst. In the first shock of revelation, much that was human and honourable was seamed by scandal and twisted by politics. The people were staggered. Whether the eventual outcome would have been different had they known earlier what was involved, I cannot say; nor am I inclined to speculate, for what was done is done, and I am no longer King.  But this I do believe: that had the facts seeped out during the summer of 1936, the frightful blow-up of constitutional politics in the winter might never have come to pass; or had a crisis been inevitable, the cleavages might have been resolved without so heavy a legacy of bitterness.  But I was myself to blame in no small measure for this misjudgment; and the ordeal which was to break around me, shattering my world.'

With Mrs Simpson's divorce from her husband going through the courts and speculation mounting about the King's intentions towards her once she was free, matters came to a head.  Edward summoned the prime minister, Stanley Baldwin, to tell him he was determined on 'marriage and a home with the woman I loved'.

'The instant he entered my room, I realised from his demeanour that I would not get what I wanted. Baldwin confirmed that neither his Cabinet nor the Dominions would be willing to support Wallis as Queen.  Three options remained: to give up the marriage, to marry against the advice of his ministers or to abdicate.'

Baldwin told Edward he 'prayed' for the first of these three outcomes. But for Edward 'the idea of abandoning W was so preposterous that I would not even dignify his prayer with a rejection.  I decided if I could not remain under my conditions, I would not stay. I would abdicate.'

In a last search for an alternative Edward turned to his and Wallis's friend Duff Cooper, Secretary of State for War.  He urged Edward 'to steer away from all risk of an immediate collision with Baldwin. He said the question of my marrying W could not arise until her divorce became absolute and, meanwhile, Baldwin could not press me on the constitutional issue.  Duff in substance said, 'Be patient. You are to be crowned in May. Say nothing now; let the people get used to you as King. You should then be able to marry on your own terms'.'

But Duff, Edward told Murphy later, 'didn't understand the curious position of the King in the Coronation ceremony; a sanctified person; Head of Church; taking a sacrament'.

He had 'no intention of going through this, then springing on an unsuspecting public a plan to marry a divorced woman. Had I followed Duff's advice, the subsequent course of events might well have been radically altered and I might even still be King and W my Consort.  However, I could not bring myself to adopt the course of action he recommended.  I did not possess the subtlety and patience to play so tricky a game. It would have required my resorting to a subterfuge on a matter affecting the highest and most delicate sentiments of the British people.  Duff's opportunistic approach also overlooked the anomaly of my dual function as not just Head of State, but also Head of the Church of England. As Head of State, I was technically free to marry whoever I pleased. But as Head of the Church, I was under restraints which were nonetheless powerful for being unwritten.'

Few have credited Edward's belief in the sacred nature of the Coronation as the real reason for his unwillingness to pursue Cooper's suggested subterfuge. Instead, it has been interpreted as a suitable excuse for a man now committed to escaping his high office.  Yet Edward returned to the point repeatedly. Though admitting he was not a religious man, he could 'never have brought myself to submit to the Coronation Service with the secret intention of later on marrying under circumstances at variance with the doctrines I would have sworn to uphold'.

The ceremony would also have entailed him taking, very publicly, the sacrament of communion which Wallis, as a divorcee, was not allowed. This hypocrisy, he declared, did not suit. He told Murphy: 'I would not wish to take that which my wife was denied.'

    Once A King by Jane Marguerite Tippett (Hodder & Stoughton, £25) is published today. © Jane Marguerite Tippett 2023. To order a copy for £22.50 (offer valid until November 6, 2023; UK P&P free on orders over £25) go to mailshop.co.uk/books or call 020 3176 2937.

WACKY AND WISTFUL: LIFE OF A DEMENTIA-IMPACTED COUPLE

By Saralee Perel

There is absolutely nothing funny about dementia.  Or is there?

While I was sound asleep at 3 a.m. last night, my sweet dementia-impaired husband, Bob, shook me awake and said, "Are you sleeping okay?"

"Yes, honey. I'm sleeping fine."

As we all know, people with dementia forget what they say.   So, at 4 a.m. I was once again roused from sleep: "Are you sleeping okay?"

"Fine, dear."

At 5 a.m. when he asked again, I reacted, "Yes, for goodness sake!"

At 6, I responded: "Are you kidding me?"

At 7, I said, beyond exasperated, "You're waking me up every lousy hour with that same inane question!"

"What question?"

Seething, I reminded him: "Are you sleeping okay!?!"

"Yes," he said, "I'm sleeping fine."

Wait for it.  He had to add, "Are *you* sleeping okay?"

I resisted the urge to smother him with my pillow.  Now, please don't get annoyed with me. I'm not making fun of everyone with dementia. I am making fun of Bob.  I'll tell you; I hate myself when I act irritated. I'm trying, though unsuccessfully so far, to learn that caregivers are only human and that I'm not alone in reacting like a crab at times.  Bob has the same kind of dementia that Bruce Willis has, which is Frontotemporal Dementia (FTD) with the progressive variant of Primary Progressive Aphasia (PPA), which is essentially a disorder of communication: finding words, understanding words, speaking words. I learned about Mr. Willis' diagnosis as well as his courageous family's support, upon reading the CNN Health website.   This diagnosis is lethal; it's heartbreaking, and it upends lives.   You see, my husband was brilliant. Once, he achieved the miraculous feat of being a contestant on Who Wants to be a Millionaire? back when Regis Philbin was the host. Bob won a seat as a contestant over thousands of callers that night by answering rapid-fire questions. One was: Name the five youngest presidents in order of their birth, starting with the youngest.   Yet now, he can't add one plus one.  This is a man who won 24 blue ribbons at the County Fair for his cookies, breads, and muffins. Although he no longer bakes, I decided one recent day that maybe we could bake his award-winning lemon coconut cookies together. That had to be the saddest day of my life. I had him wear his big, goofy chef's hat and his funny-looking apron with frills, lace, and pictures of utensils.  I had all the ingredients on the kitchen counter. He looked carefully at the flour, the yeast, the bowls of shredded coconut and lemons. But he just stood there, looking. Out loud, I read from his recipe: "Mix the juice of 2 lemons with 1 cup of coconut … "

but he couldn't understand what I was saying.  Trying to be encouraging, I said, "Why don't you pick up a lemon and cut it in half?"

He just stared at the counter. Motionless, confused. He had no idea what a lemon was.  "That's okay, sweets," I said.

I added the flour to the big bowl and handed him the spoon. "How about you stir everything together?"

His eyes fill with tears.  He did not know what a spoon was for.  This award-winning, blue-ribbon maestro of a baker has forgotten my name.  Bob built Cape Cod's first community television studio. I mean literally, with hammers and nails. Then, being a media specialist in grad school, he trained aspiring TV hosts how to make a TV show. He was the Director of Cape Cod Cablevision's Channel Eleven for over 20 years.  Bob has no memory of his careers.   Yet there are funny times too. When he reached into our big birdfeeder instead of the mailbox, we laughed out loud.  I keep thinking about our first kiss. We were in the kitchen area of my studio apartment on Cape Cod. He was just about to chug from the milk carton when he said, "Ugh! This milk has gone bad."

I'm Jewish. Bob is not. "Well," I said, thinking quickly, "it's a Jewish tradition to keep sour milk in the fridge to commemorate the suffering of the Jewish people when they spent 40 years in the desert."

Trying to find something to eat, he picked up a half-eaten brick of cheddar cheese. "It's moldy. It's almost all blue!"

"Well," I stammered, "in Hebrew school, we were taught to keep something moldy in the fridge to remind us that everything decays, rots and dies."

"And this?" He was holding a ratty, torn potholder.

"It's a Jewish tradition that -"

He cut me off by raising his hands into a STOP position.  Then the moment seemed to stand still. I was getting oranges out of the fridge. I looked up to see him resting his arms on the top of the opened door. Then I did the most unlike-me thing. *I* kissed *him*.  Now, I am a stranger to Bob. I feel desperate. I miss my best friend. I miss brownie parties in the middle of the night. I miss birthdays and hot fudge sundaes at the ice cream parlor where he always gave me his cherry.  Last week I met my friend, Marilee, at a restaurant in Hyannis, near our home. After our lunch, we stopped in their bakery where I saw a luscious chocolate croissant that Bob would have loved. But I said to Marilee, "Two minutes after he eats it, he'll just forget about it completely."

I paused that thought. Then said, "But he'll have those two minutes of joy."

So I bought it. Bob loved it. And that fleeting joy was a breathtaking moment in time.

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-12513251/Boy-German-river-NOT-missing-Ben-Needham-DNA-tests-reveal.html

Boy found in German river is NOT missing Ben Needham, DNA tests reveal

    The two-year-old's family have been informed of the development, police said

By Elena Salvoni

Published: 12:20, 13 September 2023 | Updated: 13:08, 13 September 2023

The little boy found in a German river is not missing British toddler Ben Needham, DNA tests have revealed.  More than 30 years after he went missing on the Greek island of Kos, British police last week confirmed they were looking into whether an unidentified child found in the River Danube might be Ben.  Hopes were raised in the search for answers when Interpol announced that the remains, found in May 2022, likely belonged to a child from outside the country.  But Ben's family has now been told that the child's DNA does not match his, which had been sent for comparison.  The development is bound to be devastating for Ben's mother Kerry, who has been searching for her son since he vanished while playing at his grandparents' farmhouse in July 1991.  In a statement, police said: 'South Yorkshire Police, supported by Europol, has received confirmation that a DNA sample of the body found in the River Danube in Germany does not match that of Ben Needham.  Ben's family has been informed and are being supported. Our thoughts remain with the young boy who is yet to be identified and, of course, the Needham family who continue in their search for answers.'

The boy police recovered from the Danube is believed to have been aged five or six.  He was found wrapped in foil and weighed down with a flagstone slab. It is not known how long the body was in the water.  In the Interpol Black Notice, the organisation said it was 'seeking the public's help in identifying a deceased boy and to determine the suspicious circumstances surrounding his death.'

Interpol also published a graphic reconstruction of the boy's head.  The blue-eyed boy staring out of the photo is described as between five and six years old.  The description went on: 'The boy is thought to be aged between five and six. He was approximately 110 cm (43.3 in) tall and 15 kg (2.36 st), with brown hair and blood type 0.'

The discovery of the unidentified body came more than three decades after Ms Needham's son vanished in Greece on July 24, 1991.  When a picture showing how Ben would look aged 31 was released on July 23, 2021 Ms Needham revealed that she did not believe the police theory that he was killed by a digger.  The image was created by National Crime Agency listed forensic artist Tim Widden.  Ms Needham said 'we must keep searching' ahead of the 30th anniversary of his disappearance on July 24, 1991.

Police believe Ben died on the day he went missing as a result of an accident involving 'heavy machinery' as he played outside his grandparent's house, but his mother believes her son could still be alive.  She told the Daily Mirror in 2021: 'I still have that hope that South Yorkshire Police are wrong.  'And while there is no evidence to show me, I have to believe he is still alive. There's not a single thread of evidence to say otherwise.'

CHURCH BULLETIN BLOOPERS
Part 5

~ This one I said myself during the congregational prayer when leading prayer for our unsaved loved ones: Father, we just want to pray for our unloved saved ones.

~ Please welcome Pastor Don, a caring individual who loves hurting people.

~ Come out this evening for a time of prayer and sinning.

~ A woman's blouse was found at a table in the middle of the servant appreciation dinner. If you lost your blouse, please come to the church office.

~ Overeaters Anonymous meeting will be held at 8 pm in the large room.

~ The ladies in the style show will meet with their dresses down in front after morning worship.

~ A worm welcome to all who have come today.

~ Sermon Outline:
I. Delineate your fear
II. Disown your fear
III. Displace your rear

~ Next Friday we will be serving hot gods for lunch.

~ If you would like to make a donation, fill out a form, enclose a check and drip in the collection basket.

~ Nov. 11: An evening of boweling at Lincoln Country Club.

~ Women's Luncheon: Each member bring a sandwich. Polly Phillips will give the medication.

~ Karen's beautiful solo: "It is Well with my Solo"

~ Congratulations to Tim and Rhonda on the birth of their daughter October 12 thru 17.

~ If you choose to heave during the Postlude, please do so quietly.

~ We are grateful for the help of those who cleaned up the grounds around the church building and the rector.

~ Hymn: "I Love Thee My Ford"

~ Sign-up sheet for anyone wishing to be water baptized on the table in the foyer.

~ Newsletters are not being sent to absentees because of their weight.

~ Helpers are needed! Please sign up on the information sheep.

~ The Advent Retreat will be held in the lover level of St. Mary's Cathedral.

~ The District Duperintendent will be meeting with the church board.

>>>Today's Thot

Is it ignorance or apathy that's destroying the world today? I don't know and don't really care.