I'll be disappearing for a while.
Sorry.
detailed character generator
2 years ago
Tuesday, October 6, 2009
Tuesday, September 1, 2009
Awesomeness...
Monday, August 31, 2009
First day back to school.....
Today I'm going to my first day of class, and of course, I'm ready too early...It happens every time lol.
Saturday, August 1, 2009
Wednesday, July 22, 2009
Another great shift...
So today I went to work... This is my 3rd of 14 shifts in 17 days...Anyway, thats not the point..
I'm becoming a trainer so I had a girl following me around my shift just to kind of get the feeling for how everything works. Anyway, I was in the back and noticed a ticket that was about ready to come up so I went through and explained it to her, then I noticed that the table for a couple of old ladies that come in together wasn't rang in right (they ALWAYS get the same thing), and so i told the cook that the entree needed to be split onto two different plates, but the cook said it wasn't rang in that way, so he's not going to do it because its not my table so i dont know what im talking about, so the guy that had the table came into the back and i told him and he didn't really seem to care, so I said whatever, and helped him bring stuff out to the table.
When we got there the ladies said "oh, they normally split this up for us in the back" and I MAY have had a slight smirk on my face, but I wasn't in front of them and I wasn't talking to them, so I had no idea if I did it, or if I did that they had noticed, it was more just me thinking in my head that I was right and they should have listened to me. Anyway, apparently as I was walking away they said something to their server saying that I was laughing at them having a problem with their food, and that when they were finished eating they wanted to talk to the manager on duty. Well I was thoroughly embarassed, especially because I was being followed around by a new girl, and she had to experience all of this, and also because i had another table on the opposite side, so they heard the entire thing! So that too was embarassing!
I went up to the manager on duty and told him what was going on, so he went over and talked to the table, and as soon as I walked out to check on my table they point at me and say "that one!", so I ignored them and continued talking to my table and walked away like I was oblivious to everything. I walked past their table to another one of my tables and still pretended to know nothing, and they looked at me and glared and then had a smile like they had just accomplished something they were really proud of so I smiled back. But the story gets better!!
Apparently my table talked to the manager after the old cat ladies had left and they told my manager that they were talking about how they know how to get free food everywhere they go even when things are right that they're always going to complain about things so they can get free stuff. But my manager was cool with everything and just told me to ignore them that they were just dumb old hags, and that they were.
Too bad they ruined my entire night though.
I'm becoming a trainer so I had a girl following me around my shift just to kind of get the feeling for how everything works. Anyway, I was in the back and noticed a ticket that was about ready to come up so I went through and explained it to her, then I noticed that the table for a couple of old ladies that come in together wasn't rang in right (they ALWAYS get the same thing), and so i told the cook that the entree needed to be split onto two different plates, but the cook said it wasn't rang in that way, so he's not going to do it because its not my table so i dont know what im talking about, so the guy that had the table came into the back and i told him and he didn't really seem to care, so I said whatever, and helped him bring stuff out to the table.
When we got there the ladies said "oh, they normally split this up for us in the back" and I MAY have had a slight smirk on my face, but I wasn't in front of them and I wasn't talking to them, so I had no idea if I did it, or if I did that they had noticed, it was more just me thinking in my head that I was right and they should have listened to me. Anyway, apparently as I was walking away they said something to their server saying that I was laughing at them having a problem with their food, and that when they were finished eating they wanted to talk to the manager on duty. Well I was thoroughly embarassed, especially because I was being followed around by a new girl, and she had to experience all of this, and also because i had another table on the opposite side, so they heard the entire thing! So that too was embarassing!
I went up to the manager on duty and told him what was going on, so he went over and talked to the table, and as soon as I walked out to check on my table they point at me and say "that one!", so I ignored them and continued talking to my table and walked away like I was oblivious to everything. I walked past their table to another one of my tables and still pretended to know nothing, and they looked at me and glared and then had a smile like they had just accomplished something they were really proud of so I smiled back. But the story gets better!!
Apparently my table talked to the manager after the old cat ladies had left and they told my manager that they were talking about how they know how to get free food everywhere they go even when things are right that they're always going to complain about things so they can get free stuff. But my manager was cool with everything and just told me to ignore them that they were just dumb old hags, and that they were.
Too bad they ruined my entire night though.
Sunday, July 19, 2009
A new prayer to say before going to work....
"God is great, God is good, let us thank Him for our food, by His hands, we are fed, but please give your server their daily bread...and by that we mean the suggested 18-20% please."
Wednesday, July 8, 2009
Dear Blogging world,
I'm tired of working, can I quit yet...???
It wouldn't be so bad if my days off were consecutive and that it was only 1 shift a day for 5 days, but nooo it's Mon, Tues, Thurs, Friday from 4pm-11pm and then Saturday at 10:30am-2pm and then 5pm-12am.
I don't know how much more I can go with just having Wednesday and Sundays off anymore. It's icky.
It wouldn't be so bad if my days off were consecutive and that it was only 1 shift a day for 5 days, but nooo it's Mon, Tues, Thurs, Friday from 4pm-11pm and then Saturday at 10:30am-2pm and then 5pm-12am.
I don't know how much more I can go with just having Wednesday and Sundays off anymore. It's icky.
Thursday, July 2, 2009
Thursday, June 25, 2009
RIP Michael Jackson
He may have been a little strange, but you can't deny that he was a musical genius.
Tuesday, June 23, 2009
Realburgers for Real Heroes
My place of work is doing "Realburgers for Real Heroes", and yes, I know I just gave away where I worked, but I don't care because I don't do many "I hate my job" posts anymore. But the reason I am talking about my job is because of the promotion we're doing.
If you go on to this website you can nominate whoever your hero is, and they're eligible for something like $1,000 drawn every week. To promote this we have a cover that fits on the magnet of our name tag, and it says "Realburgers for Real Heroes! My Hero:" and you fill in the blank, well....Mine says "Brad Gayken, my dad." I know it's a little cheesy but it's true!
I got a little flack about it at work on Saturday...during my 13.5 hour shift... So I just want to set the record straight. No, I didn't put that my dad was my hero because of Father's Day that was Sunday, I've been wearing this name tag slip for over a month, and I didn't even realize Father's Day was coming up when I was writing his name on my tag. Would you like to know why my daddy is my hero? Here's why...
....And that is my hero.
If you go on to this website you can nominate whoever your hero is, and they're eligible for something like $1,000 drawn every week. To promote this we have a cover that fits on the magnet of our name tag, and it says "Realburgers for Real Heroes! My Hero:" and you fill in the blank, well....Mine says "Brad Gayken, my dad." I know it's a little cheesy but it's true!
I got a little flack about it at work on Saturday...during my 13.5 hour shift... So I just want to set the record straight. No, I didn't put that my dad was my hero because of Father's Day that was Sunday, I've been wearing this name tag slip for over a month, and I didn't even realize Father's Day was coming up when I was writing his name on my tag. Would you like to know why my daddy is my hero? Here's why...
Dear Dad,
You're my hero in so many different ways, and not just because you kept me safe when I was younger, and raised me, but because you did it with pride, and a sense of accomplishment. You're my hero because you've always been there for me, whenever I needed you to be. When it was just the two of us, I remember you making me breakfast in the mornings, and watching Dinosaurs with me at night, taping every episode of Rugrats so I would have something to watch when I didn't want to go out side and play with the two puppies you got me, Bart and Lisa, or even when you saved me from the big giant rooster that attacked me because I went to swing on my swingset. How about when we used to throw Bud, our cat, into our pond and call him back over and over and over again... Or when you let me shoot the Bebe gun into the pond at the Koi Fish...It doesn't matter that I was 3 or 4 years old, we had fun, and thats all that matters. You're my hero because you took so much pride in having a daughter, that you put me in all of your Christmas commercials at work. You're my hero because when I was a teenager and lied to you about going to a school basketball game, and instead met up with boys, you made them run all the way home, even though we didn't follow them, and on top of that, I'm still alive to talk about it. You're my hero because even when you thought that Amy and I set my bedroom on fire you still didn't kill me again. You're my hero because you took other peoples children into your home when they were unwanted in their own home... You're my hero because even though it was a 20 minuit drive to youth group, and you didn't attend church, that you still made sure that my friends and I got there, even in the cold winter, we were still there. You're my hero, because even if it may have taken me asking you to go to church with me when I was very young, eventually you came around, and are now a very active member of the church. You're my hero because you got baptized, and I love the fact that I got to be a part of it. You're my hero because every time I get off that plane to come home, you're there waiting for me, and I love that you're the first face that I recognize. Daddy, I love you so very very much, no matter what you're always there for me and I appreciate that more than you could ever imagine. Thank you for everything.
Love,
KaTrina
....And that is my hero.
Sunday, June 21, 2009
RIP Denny....
For those of you who remembered Denny, Anita, and Karen in your prayers:
Denny passed away this morning about 1:00 A.M. As difficult it is for his loved ones, they know he went to be with our Lord, and it was a merciful release as there was no improvement after the chemo and radiation treatments.
I guess Jesus receives the best Father's day gifts of all....his children rejoining him...
I guess Jesus receives the best Father's day gifts of all....his children rejoining him...
Saturday, June 13, 2009
Update on Denny:
Please pray for my family and his at this time... Here is the e-mail I just recieved from my grandma.
Thank you,
KaTrina
Hello everyone:Dad and I spoke with Karen this morning. Denny had been in the hospital all week but is home and they brought in Hospice last evening. One doctor said a week; another said 1-3 months. He is not able to eat, however, and they are not feeding him through an IV. He would have to be in the hospital or a nursing home to do that, and his wishes are to die with dignity at home.Something I did not know is that there is very little or no pain with brain cancer. He is not on any meds for pain and is, in fact, pain free.When I called Karen, I was just praying that Anita would not answer the phone. What can you say at a time like this? I would have just wound up crying and she certainly doesn't need that. If anyone has a need/right to cry, it is Anita.Karen is in school three nights a week, six hours each night, plus she is now taking the reins of her new job. Between school, a new job, and Denny's circumstances, they are both just about exhausted. She said a lady at church asked her Denny is doing and she looked at her and said: "He's got brain cancer," (which the lady knew, of course) and turned around and walked away. Later, she found her and apologized -- but that will tell you how useless words are and how tired she is.If any of you would like to send her a few lines by e-mail, send it to khickman@pasadenaisd.org. You know she would ordinarily be delighted to hear from any one (or all of you), but I've written all of the above so that you may know phone calls are not the order of the day at this time. I'm sure she'd welcome a note and knowing that you are praying for all of them.Be good to your loved ones. We have no promise of tomorrow -- only the promise of a life with Christ when we get promoted out of here.
Thank you,
KaTrina
Friday, June 12, 2009
I'm just going to say this one thing....
If you're going to skip out on your bill when you're one of my tables, make sure I can't find you on Facebook.
Sunday, June 7, 2009
Summer travels.
Hello friends and family!!
Its that time of year again, the time where I COME TO VISIT! Woohoo! I'm super excited because I miss all of you!! I'll be in town from August 11th-20th, and I'd love to see you! I'll be at a wedding the 16th, so thats the only day that is really marked as unavailable, all of the rest of them, let me know when you're available, I'll probably try to have a small get together that way it's easier for me to see everyone.
I can't wait to see all of you! Have a great day!
Love,
KaTrina
Its that time of year again, the time where I COME TO VISIT! Woohoo! I'm super excited because I miss all of you!! I'll be in town from August 11th-20th, and I'd love to see you! I'll be at a wedding the 16th, so thats the only day that is really marked as unavailable, all of the rest of them, let me know when you're available, I'll probably try to have a small get together that way it's easier for me to see everyone.
I can't wait to see all of you! Have a great day!
Love,
KaTrina
Saturday, June 6, 2009
Sunday, May 24, 2009
[]D[][]\/[][]D...lol
I have a friend who is posting some of his work on here and would like to have your opinion on it. Go read, go read! He hopes to be published some day, and your honest opinion is welcome.
Sunday, May 17, 2009
Car Wreck.
At 2:17pm today I was in a car accident.
A lady didn't stop completely at a stop sign, and then continued across the street. I saw what she was doing, and tried to swerve around her by speeding up a little because I didn't have enough time to stop. Unfortunately, she didn't see me and hit me in the back drivers side right at my gas tank. It shut my car off completely, spun me almost completely around, and smashed the front of her car.
...If I didn't speed up and try to swerve around her, I'd be much worse off. Luckily I only have whiplash, and a headache. They said if I didn't do what I did, she would have hit me in the drivers side door, and because of the impact, more likely than not I would have rolled my Jeep.
I was driving down a busy street, and miraculously no one else was driving on it at the time so no one else was involved in the accident. It was crazy.
Directly after the wreck, I didn't feel anything and was okay a few hours afterward I had the worst headache I've ever had, and my back and neck began to hurt. I went to the hospital and they helped me out, they said I had a severe case of whiplash, and gave me medicine, and a shot in the tookis that hurt really bad lol.
Everyone involved in the accident is okay, and everything will be taken care of through insurance companies.
A lady didn't stop completely at a stop sign, and then continued across the street. I saw what she was doing, and tried to swerve around her by speeding up a little because I didn't have enough time to stop. Unfortunately, she didn't see me and hit me in the back drivers side right at my gas tank. It shut my car off completely, spun me almost completely around, and smashed the front of her car.
...If I didn't speed up and try to swerve around her, I'd be much worse off. Luckily I only have whiplash, and a headache. They said if I didn't do what I did, she would have hit me in the drivers side door, and because of the impact, more likely than not I would have rolled my Jeep.
I was driving down a busy street, and miraculously no one else was driving on it at the time so no one else was involved in the accident. It was crazy.
Directly after the wreck, I didn't feel anything and was okay a few hours afterward I had the worst headache I've ever had, and my back and neck began to hurt. I went to the hospital and they helped me out, they said I had a severe case of whiplash, and gave me medicine, and a shot in the tookis that hurt really bad lol.
Everyone involved in the accident is okay, and everything will be taken care of through insurance companies.
Sunday, May 10, 2009
Happy Mothers Day
I went to Indiana to go meet my new baby sister, and while we were there, since all eleven of my moms children were finally together at the same time, we took a picture. It helps that my step dad is a photographer. He even has his own business, and there are lots of fun pictures there.
Back row (Left to Right): Amanda Michelle (20), Brandon Michael (16), Lauren Nicole (8), Allison Paige (10). Middle Row (L to R): Rebekah Ann (2), KaTrina Marie (21), Abigail Grace (3), Caitlin Elizabeth (19). Bottom Row (L to R): Sarah Catherine (6), Aaron Jacob (5), Miriam Claire (2 weeks).
In age order it is: KaTrina, Amanda, Caitlin, Brandon, Allison, Lauren, Sarah, Aaron, Abby, Rebekah, Miriam
Back row (Left to Right): Amanda Michelle (20), Brandon Michael (16), Lauren Nicole (8), Allison Paige (10). Middle Row (L to R): Rebekah Ann (2), KaTrina Marie (21), Abigail Grace (3), Caitlin Elizabeth (19). Bottom Row (L to R): Sarah Catherine (6), Aaron Jacob (5), Miriam Claire (2 weeks).In age order it is: KaTrina, Amanda, Caitlin, Brandon, Allison, Lauren, Sarah, Aaron, Abby, Rebekah, Miriam
Tuesday, May 5, 2009
You're not very competent are you?
**Warning, I did not censor myself, nor did I use spell check.**
Look, I'm sorry that you had an incompetent server the last time you were at our fine eating establishment, but DO NOT take it out on the next server you have. It's not my fault that your appetizer came out with your meal the last time you came in, it's not my fault your steak wasn't cooked correctly the last time you came in, it's not my fault that your server was a complete nit-wit the LAST TIME YOU CAME IN, so DON'T TAKE IT OUT ON ME!
Ugh...
I had a table full of ladies that came in, and everything was fine at first, they were fun, I got their drinks, and then I went to take their orders...and thats when everything went wrong. They ordered their appetizer, and said they would like to make sure it came out before their meal because LAST TIME it came out with their meal, so I reassured them that it wasn't going to happen this time. Also, they wanted to make sure their steaks had pink in them, so I asked if they would prefer it more medium or medium rare? and she said medium rare, so that is the way the steaks were prepared. One of them wanted a mexican chicken dish, and wanted her potatoes with bacon, cheese and sour cream, and I let her know that it comes with a mexican rice, but if she would rather have mashed poatotoes, that that is no problem, and I can get that fixed, but adding the bacon, cheese and sour cream would be an extra 99 cents. Of course, I get an eyeroll, but she guess's that'll do.
5 mins. pass..."Wheres our appetizers?", they should be comming out in a few mins. (insert dramatic sigh of obvious displeasure here) (obv. she doesn't know that they generally take 7 mins.). The appetizers come out and WHAT?! THE FOODS NOT OUT AT THE SAME TIME!?...You don't say. You mean I have sense?! ...Not according to them.. As I walk past another table to make sure they're doing okay I hear "None of the employees here are very smart." I was about to say "BITCH PLEASE! None of us are very smart?! REALLY?! Thats why everythings coming out JUST THE WAY YOU WANTED IT TO?! ...SHUT THE FUCK UP WOMAN AND GO SOMEWHERE ELSE, I DONT NEED YOU HERE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 80% of the employees here are IN COLLEGE, What more do you want from us?!?! Did you even go to school?! Is that where you learned these FINE manners?"
... They were so rude that I was almost in tears because I was so angry, and it takes a lot to get to me. I think the big reason that I was so upset is because they were being so rude, and so inconciderate, that they just didn't care about how the other person might feel. All 5 ladies were just so rude, and constantly muttering things under their breath as I was walking by, and they were GROWN WOMEN! ...
...Ugh.
Sincerely,
Mad Waitress
(Litterally mad this time, not just crazy.)
Look, I'm sorry that you had an incompetent server the last time you were at our fine eating establishment, but DO NOT take it out on the next server you have. It's not my fault that your appetizer came out with your meal the last time you came in, it's not my fault your steak wasn't cooked correctly the last time you came in, it's not my fault that your server was a complete nit-wit the LAST TIME YOU CAME IN, so DON'T TAKE IT OUT ON ME!
Ugh...
I had a table full of ladies that came in, and everything was fine at first, they were fun, I got their drinks, and then I went to take their orders...and thats when everything went wrong. They ordered their appetizer, and said they would like to make sure it came out before their meal because LAST TIME it came out with their meal, so I reassured them that it wasn't going to happen this time. Also, they wanted to make sure their steaks had pink in them, so I asked if they would prefer it more medium or medium rare? and she said medium rare, so that is the way the steaks were prepared. One of them wanted a mexican chicken dish, and wanted her potatoes with bacon, cheese and sour cream, and I let her know that it comes with a mexican rice, but if she would rather have mashed poatotoes, that that is no problem, and I can get that fixed, but adding the bacon, cheese and sour cream would be an extra 99 cents. Of course, I get an eyeroll, but she guess's that'll do.
5 mins. pass..."Wheres our appetizers?", they should be comming out in a few mins. (insert dramatic sigh of obvious displeasure here) (obv. she doesn't know that they generally take 7 mins.). The appetizers come out and WHAT?! THE FOODS NOT OUT AT THE SAME TIME!?...You don't say. You mean I have sense?! ...Not according to them.. As I walk past another table to make sure they're doing okay I hear "None of the employees here are very smart." I was about to say "BITCH PLEASE! None of us are very smart?! REALLY?! Thats why everythings coming out JUST THE WAY YOU WANTED IT TO?! ...SHUT THE FUCK UP WOMAN AND GO SOMEWHERE ELSE, I DONT NEED YOU HERE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 80% of the employees here are IN COLLEGE, What more do you want from us?!?! Did you even go to school?! Is that where you learned these FINE manners?"
... They were so rude that I was almost in tears because I was so angry, and it takes a lot to get to me. I think the big reason that I was so upset is because they were being so rude, and so inconciderate, that they just didn't care about how the other person might feel. All 5 ladies were just so rude, and constantly muttering things under their breath as I was walking by, and they were GROWN WOMEN! ...
...Ugh.
Sincerely,
Mad Waitress
(Litterally mad this time, not just crazy.)
Saturday, May 2, 2009
RIP Ms. Marlow...
Sorry it's been so long since i've posted. I'm moved into my new place, but unfortunatly we're only a little over 1/2 way unpacked.
...Thursday I recieved a text from my sister when I was finishing the last few bits of cleaning out my old apartment. When I received it, my heart shattered immediately. A teacher, not just any teacher, an amazing teacher from River View High School passed away, and she found out while she was at school because they read a letter informing the students. I don't really know what to say about it other than she was one of the most amazing teachers I had. She was the kind of teacher, that in a small school, genuinly cared about everyone, unlike a lot of the teachers that only seem to care about the jocks. Ms. Marlow had her door open to everyone any time they ever needed it.
...Anyway. Uh, maybe I'll be okay to talk about it more later. For now, if you could please keep my sister, and all current and past students in your prayers that would be great.
Here are the articles from the Tri-City Herald, read the comments some students left, I'm sure you can get a feel for how she was percieved.
Thursday: http://www.tri-cityherald.com/1406/story/562206.html
Friday: http://www.tri-cityherald.com/1406/story/562874.html
Saturday: http://www.tri-cityherald.com/945/story/564434.html
...Thursday I recieved a text from my sister when I was finishing the last few bits of cleaning out my old apartment. When I received it, my heart shattered immediately. A teacher, not just any teacher, an amazing teacher from River View High School passed away, and she found out while she was at school because they read a letter informing the students. I don't really know what to say about it other than she was one of the most amazing teachers I had. She was the kind of teacher, that in a small school, genuinly cared about everyone, unlike a lot of the teachers that only seem to care about the jocks. Ms. Marlow had her door open to everyone any time they ever needed it.
...Anyway. Uh, maybe I'll be okay to talk about it more later. For now, if you could please keep my sister, and all current and past students in your prayers that would be great.
Here are the articles from the Tri-City Herald, read the comments some students left, I'm sure you can get a feel for how she was percieved.
Thursday: http://www.tri-cityherald.com/1406/story/562206.html
Friday: http://www.tri-cityherald.com/1406/story/562874.html
Saturday: http://www.tri-cityherald.com/945/story/564434.html
Friday, April 24, 2009
I have a new baby sister
Her name is Mariam Claire, but I'm going to call her M.C. Hammer.
Welcome to the world Ms. Hammer.
Love,
Your oldest and bestest, soon to be your most favoritest sister ever,
KaTrina.
Thursday, April 23, 2009
May I have a drum roll please???????
AND THE WINNER IS...........................................
suzansayz
Let me know when you get your surprise gift so I can announce to everyone what you got! :)
(I already have your address ;) I'll mail it tomorrow!)
Disclaimer: I didn't draw the name -- Adam did, and he doesn't really know any of you so it was fair lol.
suzansayz
CONGRATULATIONS!!
Let me know when you get your surprise gift so I can announce to everyone what you got! :)
(I already have your address ;) I'll mail it tomorrow!)
Disclaimer: I didn't draw the name -- Adam did, and he doesn't really know any of you so it was fair lol.
Wednesday, April 15, 2009
My first GIVEAWAY!!!!!!!!!
Okay, so after thinking long and hard about what my first give away should be, I finally figured it out.
...BUT! It's a secret. It's something really really awesome and I'll post about it after I announce the winner.
Here's the catch(es):
1.) Put this in an entry on your blog so more people can have a chance!
2.) How do you pronounce the word: Nuclear
3.) What do you call the packages of noodles all crinkled together with a seasoning packet?
4.) How do you pronounce Oregon?
5.) How do you pronounce Washington?
6.) When someone says they're from "Washington" are they from the East or West Coast?
7.) How do you pronounce the word: Coupon
8.) How do you pronounce the word: Library
(When responding to these please spell them like you pronounce them. For instance, my name, KaTrina would be spelled something along the lines of Kuh-Tree-Na.)
Basically the only rule is participate in the above and you'll automatically be entered in the win! :) (All entries must be received by Wednesday the 22nd at midnight (central time) -- winner will be announced by Thursday at midnight (central time).)
Have a great day! Pass it on!
...BUT! It's a secret. It's something really really awesome and I'll post about it after I announce the winner.
Here's the catch(es):
1.) Put this in an entry on your blog so more people can have a chance!
2.) How do you pronounce the word: Nuclear
3.) What do you call the packages of noodles all crinkled together with a seasoning packet?
4.) How do you pronounce Oregon?
5.) How do you pronounce Washington?
6.) When someone says they're from "Washington" are they from the East or West Coast?
7.) How do you pronounce the word: Coupon
8.) How do you pronounce the word: Library
(When responding to these please spell them like you pronounce them. For instance, my name, KaTrina would be spelled something along the lines of Kuh-Tree-Na.)
Basically the only rule is participate in the above and you'll automatically be entered in the win! :) (All entries must be received by Wednesday the 22nd at midnight (central time) -- winner will be announced by Thursday at midnight (central time).)
Have a great day! Pass it on!
Monday, April 13, 2009
God works in amazing ways
I received this e-mail from my grandma about our family friend (my Aunts dad), and I thought I should share it with you since I'd been sharing so much, that you deserve to know when God does something amazing!!
"Hi All:
Just got home from a week-end in Pasadena with Karen, her mom and stepdad, Anita and Denny.
There was a lot of laughter but it was also emotionally laden.
I went to church with Karen on Sunday morning and my tent was enlarged. Anita and Denny attended their old church. We had a lot of their families and a few friends come for lunch in the afternoon.
Denny and Anita flew into Houston last Tuesday night. They had put their house up for sale (in Washington state) the Friday before. Monday morning, a young woman rang their doorbell and said she would like to see the house; she and her husband wanted to buy it. Anita explained that they were packing to leave, so she called her husband to come over right then. After walking through it, they bought the house -- and paid full price! About twenty friends from their church were there a couple of days later to pack everything. On Friday, a friend of Karen's flew from Houston to Washington and is on his way back to Texas, driving a U-Haul truck with all of their belongings. (Anita had bought a house in San Antonio last November. Denny was planning to retire soon and they were moving back to Texas.) Karen's best friend from college lives near their new house in San Antonio and is organizing a group to come and unpack and organize the house for them.
But there's more. They had not expected to arrive in Houston until mid-April, but they got a call from the cancer specialist's office saying Denny could be seen earlier if they could come to Houston right away.
They have been in for the initial consultation and he goes for an MRI tonight. Tomorrow they are scheduled to see a radiation oncologist and expect that he will start radiation and chemo treatments soon thereafter. They do not hold out hope for a cure. Median survival time is 14 months. However, there were some good stories (one survivor of 18 years), and some not so good.
To say it has been a physical, emotional and spiritual whirlwind is putting it mildly, and the journey has just begun. However, everyone there for lunch yesterday was in agreement and awed by the hand of God, which has so surely and lovingly opened doors and smoothed their path.
Denny maintains a loving calm spirit, thanks everyone for everything, and continues to crack jokes. It is perhaps hardest for Anita, as she tries to remain calm and strong for Denny, knowing that she will probably lose him.
This has been a rather long message but I but I feel as though I've been to the front lines, watched the battle, and heard a real witness about how good our God is. Your prayers for them are greatly appreciated.
"The Lord watch between me and thee, when we are absent one from another." Genesis 31:49
Love, Joyce"
Thank you all for your thoughts and prayers -- this is going to be an amazing journey.
"Hi All:
Just got home from a week-end in Pasadena with Karen, her mom and stepdad, Anita and Denny.
There was a lot of laughter but it was also emotionally laden.
I went to church with Karen on Sunday morning and my tent was enlarged. Anita and Denny attended their old church. We had a lot of their families and a few friends come for lunch in the afternoon.
Denny and Anita flew into Houston last Tuesday night. They had put their house up for sale (in Washington state) the Friday before. Monday morning, a young woman rang their doorbell and said she would like to see the house; she and her husband wanted to buy it. Anita explained that they were packing to leave, so she called her husband to come over right then. After walking through it, they bought the house -- and paid full price! About twenty friends from their church were there a couple of days later to pack everything. On Friday, a friend of Karen's flew from Houston to Washington and is on his way back to Texas, driving a U-Haul truck with all of their belongings. (Anita had bought a house in San Antonio last November. Denny was planning to retire soon and they were moving back to Texas.) Karen's best friend from college lives near their new house in San Antonio and is organizing a group to come and unpack and organize the house for them.
But there's more. They had not expected to arrive in Houston until mid-April, but they got a call from the cancer specialist's office saying Denny could be seen earlier if they could come to Houston right away.
They have been in for the initial consultation and he goes for an MRI tonight. Tomorrow they are scheduled to see a radiation oncologist and expect that he will start radiation and chemo treatments soon thereafter. They do not hold out hope for a cure. Median survival time is 14 months. However, there were some good stories (one survivor of 18 years), and some not so good.
To say it has been a physical, emotional and spiritual whirlwind is putting it mildly, and the journey has just begun. However, everyone there for lunch yesterday was in agreement and awed by the hand of God, which has so surely and lovingly opened doors and smoothed their path.
Denny maintains a loving calm spirit, thanks everyone for everything, and continues to crack jokes. It is perhaps hardest for Anita, as she tries to remain calm and strong for Denny, knowing that she will probably lose him.
This has been a rather long message but I but I feel as though I've been to the front lines, watched the battle, and heard a real witness about how good our God is. Your prayers for them are greatly appreciated.
"The Lord watch between me and thee, when we are absent one from another." Genesis 31:49
Love, Joyce"
Thank you all for your thoughts and prayers -- this is going to be an amazing journey.
Sunday, April 12, 2009
An interview with a dead man
For my history paper I had to interview some on that was dead from American history...Here is the result:
KaTrina Gayken
American Historical Survey
April 10, 2009
Jack Ruby
A Day with Jack Ruby
On Wednesday February 11, 2009 I was headed to my American Historical Survey class I was taking the short route from Garrett Strong to Wells Hall and right before I was crossing the street to Wells Hall, I received a text message; I naturally responded to the text message, not realizing that I was about to step foot on the cross walk right in front of a huge truck. The aforementioned huge truck ran right into me at about 10 miles per hour, and while that may seem very fast when you are driving, when getting hit by a car, as I can attest to, it hurts pretty bad, not that I remember much of it anyway. The next thing I knew I was in the hospital attached to a bunch of wires. Now the fact that I woke up in the hospital is rather interesting, but not nearly as interesting as the dreams that I had while I was unconscious.
While I was out cold, I had a dream that I had met a man formerly known as; Jacob Rubenstein who had changed his name to Jack Leon Ruby and was more commonly known as Jack Ruby. While I am pretty sure that Jack Ruby was not just a random person my brain chose while I was knocked out, I figure it is probably because I have heard stories about him since my great grandfather, Fred Hickman, and a few of his friends started the Texas Highway Patrol back in 1935, and Ruby was well known around the department, according to my family and stories my grandfather had told. The fact that he was well known around the Dallas Police Department is even recorded from in a trial from a testimony of Jack Ruby’s brother, Earl. In the testimony, there were questions about why it was so easy for Jack Ruby to go into the jail and shoot Lee Harvey Oswald, to which Earl Ruby replied, “Some question has been brought up on several occasions why was it, or why did it seem so easy for Jack to enter the jail, why was he so friendly with so many policemen? Well, I would like to relate an incident, and I think it is in the Warren Commission. At one time, two officers of the Dallas police force were being attacked by several hoodlums. Jack went to the aid of the policemen and helped them subdue these hoodlums. And in that fight, one of the hoodlums actually bit off part of one of Jack's fingers, and a statement from one of the officers involved later on said that Jack actually fought like a tiger to help them. Those were his words. And I would think from an incident of this that this is why or how Jack developed such a friendly relationship with the Dallas police force. That's about all I have to say, Mr. Chairman.”¹
When I was in my dream, I was sitting across the table from Mr. Ruby, and I took the time to interview him, so his side of the story could be heard. This is what we got accomplished:
KaTrina: Mr. Ruby, it is so nice to meet you. I understand that you would like to get your side of the story across. Do you feel you have been misunderstood?
Jack Ruby: First, KaTrina, go ahead and refer to me as Jack, and secondly, yes, I do feel as if I was misunderstood. When I acted in killing Oswald, it was a crime out of passion. You see, I’ve always been very fond of presidents, past and present, but for some reason I really connected with Mr. Kennedy, and had a great deal of respect for him. All I wanted to do was just be a hero, but it looks like I just fouled things up good.²
KaTrina: Mr. Ruby, I mean… Jack, I am sorry. Where did you grow up?
Jack: Well, I was born in Chicago and lived there most of my life before moving to Dallas.
KaTrina: And how was home life?
Jack: What do you mean by home life?
KaTrina: Were you religious? Did you get along with your parents? Siblings? Where did you land in the placement of all of your siblings? Were you the oldest? Youngest? Middle child?
Jack: I was raised as an Orthodox Jew, and a lot of people made fun of me for this, it caused me to get into a lot of trouble, I was constantly fighting with kids who made fun of my religion.³ My parents were divorced when I was ten years old, but I do not care much about the bastard of a father my mother was married to. He constantly would abuse my mother. I believe that all of his abuses lead my mom to be a little disturbed. ⁴ Well, it probably also did not help that my mom had eight children, myself being number five, and her having to raise us all by herself. We were eventually taken away by social services. ⁵
KaTrina: How did the fact that social services took you away from your family affect you? Or rather, how do you believe it affected you?
Jack: Well, considering that after I was released from the foster home, I lived on the streets, sometimes being called the neighborhood tough guy, not that I was not. I had a big temper, and I was not someone you wanted to mess with. People would pick on or annoy my sisters, and I would show them who was boss. The same thing happened whenever someone made a snide remark about my being Jewish.⁶
KaTrina: Did you ever learn to control your temper, or did that always play a part in your life?
Jack: No, eventually I learned to control my anger, and I felt really bad for being so hard on people. Well, at least while I was in Chicago. Once I moved to Dallas, that was a whole different story, and a different issue.
KaTrina: We will get back to the anger issues in Dallas in a bit, for now I am still curious about your life growing up in Chicago. You said you were taken away and put in foster care. When you were released from foster care you didn’t go back home did you?
Jack: No, there was no way you could get me to go back there.
KaTrina: Well, if you didn’t go back home, how did you afford to live, or stay afloat by yourself?
Jack: When I was much younger I would earn money by selling racing tip sheets, and with Earl, my brother, I would pawn off stuff that people needed, like medicinal snake oils, costume jewelry, vitamins, razor blades, you know, just common stuff we could get anywhere but still get quite a bit of money from. ⁷ I guess you could say I was a little street wise.
KaTrina: So, saying you were street wise, does this mean you stole a lot, or were involved in illegal activities?
Jack: Who are you getting your information from?
KaTrina: What information? I am just trying to help you get your side of the story out to the public. I figured by asking these questions, it might help people understand the real you.
Jack: Fine, but this is strictly off the records. I was a friend of Al Capone, he called me Sparky. I would just run errands for Mr. Capone, nothing too bad. ⁸
KaTrina: How many people were there running errands with you?
Jack: There were twelve of us. My friend Barney was also there with me helping get some of Mr. Capone’s work done.
KaTrina: How long did you work there?
Jack: Not too long. I was not about to try and get into the organize crime ring, what kind of moron do you take me for?
KaTrina: I do not think you are a moron, just a simply question is all. Now, did you not go to the West Coast for a while and try to start a union?
Jack: Yeah, but that did not work out too well. I ended up going back to Chicago; I preferred the familiarity of it all over there. The mob came in and took over that union. Actually, I was a friend of the union’s secretary, Leon Cooke. The story of Leon is a tough one for me though.⁹
KaTrina: Why is that?
Jack: Well, Leon was a good friend of me, but the mob made me kill him. You could call it my first hired assassination if you wanted to. I felt horrible about it, but I knew it was either him or me.¹⁰ I went and had my middle named changed to Leon, in his honor.
KaTrina: That was very thoughtful of you. Why was it that you moved to Texas after moving back to Chicago?
Jack: There were a lot of people making big money off of night clubs. I knew that if I just had a chance, I would be able to do the same. I thought that it would give me success and notoriety. That I would finally get the recognition I deserved. ¹¹
KaTrina: But why did you choose Dallas?
Jack: I loved Dallas so much, I would boast to people what a wonderful city this is…I used to boast about the skyline, about our master plan. I just know Dallas was going to be the most beautiful city in the world. This is the city that if you wanted to sell anything at all, you could walk into a millionaire’s office and they would listen to you.¹²
KaTrina: Where do you think you went wrong? I know that you eventually went bankrupt.
Jack: Not too sure. It could be that I was a little tough on people. There were a lot of times where I would get really angry at people that would not treat others with proper respect, or would just mouth off, and I would throw them down the stairs straight into the polices arms.¹³
KaTrina: Can you tell me the stories of some of the issues you would have?
Jack: Sure, that’s easy. There are a few that specifically stick out in my mind. Once, when some smart aleck came to the door and tried to give me a hard time, and I tried to be very pleasant to him, and he was becoming all the more belligerent and I finally had to hit him and knocked some of his teeth out. ¹⁴ One night a fellow got into a hassle with our comedian Wally Weston, and Wally threw a punch at him, and the fellow said some remark about Wally to go to Russia. Anyway, I picked him up and bodily threw him down the stairs. ¹⁵ One evening some fellow had broken a beer bottle over this man’s head and it just made me sick, and I hit this other fellow with my pistol and he went down. They both pleaded with me that they would never come back if I would just let them go.¹⁶
KaTrina: So, you say that you hit them with a gun… Did you often carry a gun?
Jack: Well, some drunk tried to throw a heavy wooden chair at me. I decided in time to save my life and I started to hit him and beat him up—close to death. I then realized how important it was for me to always have my pistol on me if I wanted to stay alive.¹⁷ I also carried a lot of money on me. I was going to buy a safe, but they were too expensive, around three or four thousand dollars. And while, I knew I could afford it, I was not going to put out that kind of money for a safe, so I carried around about twenty-five hundred to three-thousand dollars.¹⁸
KaTrina: What kind of gun was it that you were carrying?
Jack: It was a Colt Cobra. It was the same kind of gun that a friend of mine carried. His name was Joe Cody; he was a Policeman in Dallas.¹⁹
KaTrina: Did you often make friends with the Dallas Police Department?
Jack: Well, they do refer to me as a stickler for the law. I always thought of myself as a kind of a cop. The Justice of the Peace even gave me a card saying I was an honorary Deputy Justice of the Peace. I always respected and treated the Dallas Police Department well. Anytime they came into one of my clubs there was always plenty of liquor, and the girls paid special attention to them.²⁰
KaTrina: Have you always had a sort of fascination with people in positions of power, i.e., the police, the president, etc?
Jack: Oh yes. After the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, I was always defending those in power. I actually got into a few physical fights over the deaths of Roosevelt and Eisenhower. Once John F. Kennedy came into office, I knew he was going to do amazing things for this country and I felt he deserved to be honored more than any other president.²¹ The United States put a great Jewish man in office.
KaTrina: Is this why you killed Lee Harvey Oswald?
Jack: Saturday morning before I left the house, I watched the Television and they had a prayer service for the President. And Rabbi Silverman was speaking [about] how the President was so courageous and fearless and fought every adversary—and to have someone shoot him from behind, this broke what little pieces were left of my heart.²² I had been thinking about killing that lousy Commie since that Friday night. In fact, I attempted to get a shot off Saturday night in the hall of Justice, but the Police were blocking me. I was afraid of hitting one of them. ²³ I stalked Oswald all weekend, and my first opportunity for a clear shot happened when I had least expected it.²⁴ It was a little after 11 a.m. on Sunday morning, I was driving past the City Police station on my way to the Western Union Office, which was just one block east of the station. When I passed the station, I looked down the ramp to my right and saw a lot of people down in the basement. So when I finished with Western Union, I walked west down the ramp just out of curiosity. Because I practically lived at the police station, and had been walking up and down that ramp so often each day, no one really thought anything of it, little did they know the opportunity of my lifetime was about to present itself. The ironic part is this—hadn’t I made an illegal turn behind the bus to the parking long—had I gone the way I was supposed to go, straight down Main street, I would have never met this fate. Because the difference in meeting this fate was 30 seconds one way or the other…So I walked down the ramp. I noticed a police squad car at the head of the ramp and an officer leaning over talking to him with his back to me. All I did was walk down there—down to the bottom of the ramp, and that’s when the incident happened, at the bottom of the ramp.²⁵
KaTrina: What incident are you talking about? When you shot Oswald?
Jack: Well, yes. I came out and all of a sudden, I saw his defiant, cursing, vicious, communist expression on his face. I can’t convey what impression he gave me. I just lost my senses. I yelled ‘You rat, sonofabitch! You shot the President!’ and before I knew it, I shot that rotten Commie.²⁶
KaTrina: Did you get a chance to run away or shoot him a second time?
Jack: No, before I knew it I was wrestled to the ground and taken to a holding room. All I remember saying at that point was ‘I hope I killed the sonofabitch, I hope I killed the sonofabitch!’ Then Detective Archer told me that he thought I may have killed him. I remember being angry because I had intended to shoot him three times.²⁷
KaTrina: Were you happy when you found out your gun shot had caused a wound that made him die?
Jack: Oh yes. I knew that justice had finally been served.
KaTrina: Well, Jack is there anything else you’d like to say or are you happy with how you were able to convey your side of the story?
Jack: I would like everyone to realize that I did it for Jackie and the kids. That is all.²⁸
KaTrina: Mr. Ruby, I thank you for your time.
Jack: Thank you, KaTrina.
End Notes
¹ http://mcadams.posc.mu.edu/russ/jfkinfo2/jfk4/hscaearl.htm
² Gus Russo, Live By the Sword; The Secret War against Castro and the Death of JFK (Baltimore: Bancroft Press, 1998), 491.
³ Ibid., 492.
⁴ Ibid.
⁵ Ibid.
⁶ Ibid.
⁷ Ibid.
⁸ Ibid., 493.
⁹ Ibid.
¹⁰ Ibid.
¹¹ Ibid.
¹² Ibid.
¹³ Ibid., 494.
¹⁴ Ibid.
¹⁵ Ibid.
¹⁶ Ibid.
¹⁷ Ibid., 495.
¹⁸ Ibid.
¹⁹ Ibid.
²⁰ Ibid.
²¹ Ibid.
²² Ibid., 497.
²³ Ibid.
²⁴David Kaiser, The Road to Dallas; The Assassination of John F. Kennedy (Cambridge: The Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, 2008), 362.
²⁵Gus Russo, Live By the Sword; The Secret War Against Castro and the Death of JFK (Baltimore: Bancroft Press, 1998), 497.
²⁵ Ibid.
²⁶Gerald Posner, Case Closed; Lee Harvey Oswald and the Assassination of JFK (New York: Random House, Inc., 1993), 396-397.
²⁷Melvin M. Belli and Maurice C. Carroll, Dallas Justice; The Real Story of Jack Ruby and His Trial (New York: David McKay Company, Inc., 1964), 39.
Bibliography
Belli, Melvin M, and Maurice C Carroll. Dallas Justice; The Real Story of Jack Ruby and His Trial. New York, New York: David McKay Company, Inc., 1964.
Kaiser, David. The Road to Dallas. Cambridge, Massachusetts: The Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, 2008.
Posner, Gerald. Case Closed; Lee Harvey Oswald and the Assassination of JFK. New York, New York: Random House, Inc, 1993.
Russo, Gus. Live by the Sword; the Secret War Against Castro and the Death of JFK. Baltimore, Maryland: Bancroft Press, 1998.
KaTrina Gayken
American Historical Survey
April 10, 2009
Jack Ruby
A Day with Jack Ruby
On Wednesday February 11, 2009 I was headed to my American Historical Survey class I was taking the short route from Garrett Strong to Wells Hall and right before I was crossing the street to Wells Hall, I received a text message; I naturally responded to the text message, not realizing that I was about to step foot on the cross walk right in front of a huge truck. The aforementioned huge truck ran right into me at about 10 miles per hour, and while that may seem very fast when you are driving, when getting hit by a car, as I can attest to, it hurts pretty bad, not that I remember much of it anyway. The next thing I knew I was in the hospital attached to a bunch of wires. Now the fact that I woke up in the hospital is rather interesting, but not nearly as interesting as the dreams that I had while I was unconscious.
While I was out cold, I had a dream that I had met a man formerly known as; Jacob Rubenstein who had changed his name to Jack Leon Ruby and was more commonly known as Jack Ruby. While I am pretty sure that Jack Ruby was not just a random person my brain chose while I was knocked out, I figure it is probably because I have heard stories about him since my great grandfather, Fred Hickman, and a few of his friends started the Texas Highway Patrol back in 1935, and Ruby was well known around the department, according to my family and stories my grandfather had told. The fact that he was well known around the Dallas Police Department is even recorded from in a trial from a testimony of Jack Ruby’s brother, Earl. In the testimony, there were questions about why it was so easy for Jack Ruby to go into the jail and shoot Lee Harvey Oswald, to which Earl Ruby replied, “Some question has been brought up on several occasions why was it, or why did it seem so easy for Jack to enter the jail, why was he so friendly with so many policemen? Well, I would like to relate an incident, and I think it is in the Warren Commission. At one time, two officers of the Dallas police force were being attacked by several hoodlums. Jack went to the aid of the policemen and helped them subdue these hoodlums. And in that fight, one of the hoodlums actually bit off part of one of Jack's fingers, and a statement from one of the officers involved later on said that Jack actually fought like a tiger to help them. Those were his words. And I would think from an incident of this that this is why or how Jack developed such a friendly relationship with the Dallas police force. That's about all I have to say, Mr. Chairman.”¹
When I was in my dream, I was sitting across the table from Mr. Ruby, and I took the time to interview him, so his side of the story could be heard. This is what we got accomplished:
KaTrina: Mr. Ruby, it is so nice to meet you. I understand that you would like to get your side of the story across. Do you feel you have been misunderstood?
Jack Ruby: First, KaTrina, go ahead and refer to me as Jack, and secondly, yes, I do feel as if I was misunderstood. When I acted in killing Oswald, it was a crime out of passion. You see, I’ve always been very fond of presidents, past and present, but for some reason I really connected with Mr. Kennedy, and had a great deal of respect for him. All I wanted to do was just be a hero, but it looks like I just fouled things up good.²
KaTrina: Mr. Ruby, I mean… Jack, I am sorry. Where did you grow up?
Jack: Well, I was born in Chicago and lived there most of my life before moving to Dallas.
KaTrina: And how was home life?
Jack: What do you mean by home life?
KaTrina: Were you religious? Did you get along with your parents? Siblings? Where did you land in the placement of all of your siblings? Were you the oldest? Youngest? Middle child?
Jack: I was raised as an Orthodox Jew, and a lot of people made fun of me for this, it caused me to get into a lot of trouble, I was constantly fighting with kids who made fun of my religion.³ My parents were divorced when I was ten years old, but I do not care much about the bastard of a father my mother was married to. He constantly would abuse my mother. I believe that all of his abuses lead my mom to be a little disturbed. ⁴ Well, it probably also did not help that my mom had eight children, myself being number five, and her having to raise us all by herself. We were eventually taken away by social services. ⁵
KaTrina: How did the fact that social services took you away from your family affect you? Or rather, how do you believe it affected you?
Jack: Well, considering that after I was released from the foster home, I lived on the streets, sometimes being called the neighborhood tough guy, not that I was not. I had a big temper, and I was not someone you wanted to mess with. People would pick on or annoy my sisters, and I would show them who was boss. The same thing happened whenever someone made a snide remark about my being Jewish.⁶
KaTrina: Did you ever learn to control your temper, or did that always play a part in your life?
Jack: No, eventually I learned to control my anger, and I felt really bad for being so hard on people. Well, at least while I was in Chicago. Once I moved to Dallas, that was a whole different story, and a different issue.
KaTrina: We will get back to the anger issues in Dallas in a bit, for now I am still curious about your life growing up in Chicago. You said you were taken away and put in foster care. When you were released from foster care you didn’t go back home did you?
Jack: No, there was no way you could get me to go back there.
KaTrina: Well, if you didn’t go back home, how did you afford to live, or stay afloat by yourself?
Jack: When I was much younger I would earn money by selling racing tip sheets, and with Earl, my brother, I would pawn off stuff that people needed, like medicinal snake oils, costume jewelry, vitamins, razor blades, you know, just common stuff we could get anywhere but still get quite a bit of money from. ⁷ I guess you could say I was a little street wise.
KaTrina: So, saying you were street wise, does this mean you stole a lot, or were involved in illegal activities?
Jack: Who are you getting your information from?
KaTrina: What information? I am just trying to help you get your side of the story out to the public. I figured by asking these questions, it might help people understand the real you.
Jack: Fine, but this is strictly off the records. I was a friend of Al Capone, he called me Sparky. I would just run errands for Mr. Capone, nothing too bad. ⁸
KaTrina: How many people were there running errands with you?
Jack: There were twelve of us. My friend Barney was also there with me helping get some of Mr. Capone’s work done.
KaTrina: How long did you work there?
Jack: Not too long. I was not about to try and get into the organize crime ring, what kind of moron do you take me for?
KaTrina: I do not think you are a moron, just a simply question is all. Now, did you not go to the West Coast for a while and try to start a union?
Jack: Yeah, but that did not work out too well. I ended up going back to Chicago; I preferred the familiarity of it all over there. The mob came in and took over that union. Actually, I was a friend of the union’s secretary, Leon Cooke. The story of Leon is a tough one for me though.⁹
KaTrina: Why is that?
Jack: Well, Leon was a good friend of me, but the mob made me kill him. You could call it my first hired assassination if you wanted to. I felt horrible about it, but I knew it was either him or me.¹⁰ I went and had my middle named changed to Leon, in his honor.
KaTrina: That was very thoughtful of you. Why was it that you moved to Texas after moving back to Chicago?
Jack: There were a lot of people making big money off of night clubs. I knew that if I just had a chance, I would be able to do the same. I thought that it would give me success and notoriety. That I would finally get the recognition I deserved. ¹¹
KaTrina: But why did you choose Dallas?
Jack: I loved Dallas so much, I would boast to people what a wonderful city this is…I used to boast about the skyline, about our master plan. I just know Dallas was going to be the most beautiful city in the world. This is the city that if you wanted to sell anything at all, you could walk into a millionaire’s office and they would listen to you.¹²
KaTrina: Where do you think you went wrong? I know that you eventually went bankrupt.
Jack: Not too sure. It could be that I was a little tough on people. There were a lot of times where I would get really angry at people that would not treat others with proper respect, or would just mouth off, and I would throw them down the stairs straight into the polices arms.¹³
KaTrina: Can you tell me the stories of some of the issues you would have?
Jack: Sure, that’s easy. There are a few that specifically stick out in my mind. Once, when some smart aleck came to the door and tried to give me a hard time, and I tried to be very pleasant to him, and he was becoming all the more belligerent and I finally had to hit him and knocked some of his teeth out. ¹⁴ One night a fellow got into a hassle with our comedian Wally Weston, and Wally threw a punch at him, and the fellow said some remark about Wally to go to Russia. Anyway, I picked him up and bodily threw him down the stairs. ¹⁵ One evening some fellow had broken a beer bottle over this man’s head and it just made me sick, and I hit this other fellow with my pistol and he went down. They both pleaded with me that they would never come back if I would just let them go.¹⁶
KaTrina: So, you say that you hit them with a gun… Did you often carry a gun?
Jack: Well, some drunk tried to throw a heavy wooden chair at me. I decided in time to save my life and I started to hit him and beat him up—close to death. I then realized how important it was for me to always have my pistol on me if I wanted to stay alive.¹⁷ I also carried a lot of money on me. I was going to buy a safe, but they were too expensive, around three or four thousand dollars. And while, I knew I could afford it, I was not going to put out that kind of money for a safe, so I carried around about twenty-five hundred to three-thousand dollars.¹⁸
KaTrina: What kind of gun was it that you were carrying?
Jack: It was a Colt Cobra. It was the same kind of gun that a friend of mine carried. His name was Joe Cody; he was a Policeman in Dallas.¹⁹
KaTrina: Did you often make friends with the Dallas Police Department?
Jack: Well, they do refer to me as a stickler for the law. I always thought of myself as a kind of a cop. The Justice of the Peace even gave me a card saying I was an honorary Deputy Justice of the Peace. I always respected and treated the Dallas Police Department well. Anytime they came into one of my clubs there was always plenty of liquor, and the girls paid special attention to them.²⁰
KaTrina: Have you always had a sort of fascination with people in positions of power, i.e., the police, the president, etc?
Jack: Oh yes. After the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, I was always defending those in power. I actually got into a few physical fights over the deaths of Roosevelt and Eisenhower. Once John F. Kennedy came into office, I knew he was going to do amazing things for this country and I felt he deserved to be honored more than any other president.²¹ The United States put a great Jewish man in office.
KaTrina: Is this why you killed Lee Harvey Oswald?
Jack: Saturday morning before I left the house, I watched the Television and they had a prayer service for the President. And Rabbi Silverman was speaking [about] how the President was so courageous and fearless and fought every adversary—and to have someone shoot him from behind, this broke what little pieces were left of my heart.²² I had been thinking about killing that lousy Commie since that Friday night. In fact, I attempted to get a shot off Saturday night in the hall of Justice, but the Police were blocking me. I was afraid of hitting one of them. ²³ I stalked Oswald all weekend, and my first opportunity for a clear shot happened when I had least expected it.²⁴ It was a little after 11 a.m. on Sunday morning, I was driving past the City Police station on my way to the Western Union Office, which was just one block east of the station. When I passed the station, I looked down the ramp to my right and saw a lot of people down in the basement. So when I finished with Western Union, I walked west down the ramp just out of curiosity. Because I practically lived at the police station, and had been walking up and down that ramp so often each day, no one really thought anything of it, little did they know the opportunity of my lifetime was about to present itself. The ironic part is this—hadn’t I made an illegal turn behind the bus to the parking long—had I gone the way I was supposed to go, straight down Main street, I would have never met this fate. Because the difference in meeting this fate was 30 seconds one way or the other…So I walked down the ramp. I noticed a police squad car at the head of the ramp and an officer leaning over talking to him with his back to me. All I did was walk down there—down to the bottom of the ramp, and that’s when the incident happened, at the bottom of the ramp.²⁵
KaTrina: What incident are you talking about? When you shot Oswald?
Jack: Well, yes. I came out and all of a sudden, I saw his defiant, cursing, vicious, communist expression on his face. I can’t convey what impression he gave me. I just lost my senses. I yelled ‘You rat, sonofabitch! You shot the President!’ and before I knew it, I shot that rotten Commie.²⁶
KaTrina: Did you get a chance to run away or shoot him a second time?
Jack: No, before I knew it I was wrestled to the ground and taken to a holding room. All I remember saying at that point was ‘I hope I killed the sonofabitch, I hope I killed the sonofabitch!’ Then Detective Archer told me that he thought I may have killed him. I remember being angry because I had intended to shoot him three times.²⁷
KaTrina: Were you happy when you found out your gun shot had caused a wound that made him die?
Jack: Oh yes. I knew that justice had finally been served.
KaTrina: Well, Jack is there anything else you’d like to say or are you happy with how you were able to convey your side of the story?
Jack: I would like everyone to realize that I did it for Jackie and the kids. That is all.²⁸
KaTrina: Mr. Ruby, I thank you for your time.
Jack: Thank you, KaTrina.
End Notes
¹ http://mcadams.posc.mu.edu/russ/jfkinfo2/jfk4/hscaearl.htm
² Gus Russo, Live By the Sword; The Secret War against Castro and the Death of JFK (Baltimore: Bancroft Press, 1998), 491.
³ Ibid., 492.
⁴ Ibid.
⁵ Ibid.
⁶ Ibid.
⁷ Ibid.
⁸ Ibid., 493.
⁹ Ibid.
¹⁰ Ibid.
¹¹ Ibid.
¹² Ibid.
¹³ Ibid., 494.
¹⁴ Ibid.
¹⁵ Ibid.
¹⁶ Ibid.
¹⁷ Ibid., 495.
¹⁸ Ibid.
¹⁹ Ibid.
²⁰ Ibid.
²¹ Ibid.
²² Ibid., 497.
²³ Ibid.
²⁴David Kaiser, The Road to Dallas; The Assassination of John F. Kennedy (Cambridge: The Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, 2008), 362.
²⁵Gus Russo, Live By the Sword; The Secret War Against Castro and the Death of JFK (Baltimore: Bancroft Press, 1998), 497.
²⁵ Ibid.
²⁶Gerald Posner, Case Closed; Lee Harvey Oswald and the Assassination of JFK (New York: Random House, Inc., 1993), 396-397.
²⁷Melvin M. Belli and Maurice C. Carroll, Dallas Justice; The Real Story of Jack Ruby and His Trial (New York: David McKay Company, Inc., 1964), 39.
Bibliography
Belli, Melvin M, and Maurice C Carroll. Dallas Justice; The Real Story of Jack Ruby and His Trial. New York, New York: David McKay Company, Inc., 1964.
Kaiser, David. The Road to Dallas. Cambridge, Massachusetts: The Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, 2008.
Posner, Gerald. Case Closed; Lee Harvey Oswald and the Assassination of JFK. New York, New York: Random House, Inc, 1993.
Russo, Gus. Live by the Sword; the Secret War Against Castro and the Death of JFK. Baltimore, Maryland: Bancroft Press, 1998.
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