HOPING MEMORIAL WILL GROW ON PEOPLE.Byline: DENNIS McCARTHY Dennis McCarthy may refer to:
When Norm Pringle started his quest three years ago to establish a local memorial for U.S. troops killed in Iraq, the idea was to plant a tree in each soldier's honor. But the soaring death toll changed all that. Now the idea is down to a plant for each soldier. ``There had been less than 100 GIs killed when I started. Now it's approaching 3,000,'' said the retired sound man for Warner Bros BROS Brothers BROS Benefits and Retirement Operations Section (King County, Washington) BROS Barnes and Richmond Operatic Society (London, UK) . The memorial, sadly, would need enough land today for a forest, so a garden will have to do. But even that is becoming questionable. ``The biggest problem I run into is plain apathy apathy /ap·a·thy/ (ap´ah-the) lack of feeling or emotion; indifference.apathet´ic ap·a·thy n. Lack of interest, concern, or emotion; indifference. ,'' Norm says. ``Everywhere I go people say it's a great idea, but nothing gets done. ``I've sent letters to the president on down to local council members, and hear nothing back. Civic organizations are interested, but that's it. Just interest. No action.'' Various sites for the memorial -- including the Sepulveda Basin, Ahmanson Ranch, Pierce College In 2006 the Library won a national Excellence award. Academics Pierce College offers associate's degrees, mainly in the arts and sciences. There are also certificate programs in early childhood education, social services, dental hygienist, and others. and the L.A. River Project -- are under consideration. ``I'm not giving up,'' Norm said. ``I'm never giving up. More than 2,800 GIs have paid the supreme sacrifice, and I want every one of them honored.'' So every morning -- seven days a week -- the 83-year-old walks into the backyard of his Winnetka home with a trowel and rake to tend his garden. He has nearly 1,000 succulents and cactuses growing back there, each one earmarked for sale to raise money for a memorial garden somewhere in the Valley to honor every U.S. military death in Iraq. On Saturday, Norm and some of his neighbors are having a yard sale, and Norm will be selling more than 500 plants. It's billed as the country's first yard sale on the Internet. Norm says he's going to podcast (iPOD broadCAST) An audio broadcast that has been converted to an MP3 file or other audio file format for playback in a digital music player or computer. The "pod" in podcast was coined from "iPod," the predominant portable, digital music player, and although podcasts are the event, hoping later for public access time on local cable channels. He can't wait any longer for answers from politicians and civic leaders. He figures if he can grab the hearts and minds of the people, the leaders will follow. Smart man. The yard sale starts at 9 a.m. at Norm's place, 7021 Hatillo Ave. in Winnetka. If you can't make it but still want to help Norm out, give him a call at (818) 347-3902. It seems amazing a·maze v. a·mazed, a·maz·ing, a·maz·es v.tr. 1. To affect with great wonder; astonish. See Synonyms at surprise. 2. Obsolete To bewilder; perplex. v.intr. , but it's been five years since I wrote about Mike Jones and Patricia Abdullah -- an African-American Christian man in need of a life-saving kidney, and a Caucasian- Muslim woman from Sherman Oaks who gave him one of hers. They're celebrating the fifth anniversary of the successful transplant today by speaking to students at Washington High School Washington High School may refer to:
Mike promised himself that if he survived his ordeal he would spend a large part of his time reaching out to the minority community to raise awareness about the importance of organ donations Organ donation is the removal of the tissues of the human body from a person who has recently died, or from a living donor, for the purpose of transplanting or grafting them into other persons. . ``Patricia and I are both doing incredible, and we've even written a children's book together,'' Mike said Thursday. It's called ``Saving Daddy -- Life about Organ and Tissue Donation Through the Eyes of a Child.'' It's not out yet, but should be soon, Mike said. His Web site is www.onemiracle911.com. And finally, if you're looking to hang out with some interesting people tonight and enjoy some free barbecue, stop by the ``Spirit of Johny Carpenter'' fourth annual Thanksgiving Dinner/Korean BBQ BBQ barbecue in Lake View Terrace. Johny was a local institution for so many years, opening his ranch to physically and mentally challenged children to teach them horseback riding horseback riding: see equestrianism. . He'd also throw a free Thanksgiving bash for the community. It continues in his honor with an awards dinner and concert. Being honored this year is local community activist Cile Borman and the Pacoima Graffiti Busters This is a list of Busters from the manga Beet the Vandel Buster. The Beet Warriors Beet Beet is a young boy who has always desired to be the strongest Buster. He aspires to be like his heroes, the Zenon Warriors, who are known as the strongest of all Busters. . The event begins at 6 p.m. with the dinner, followed by the awards show and concert. It is being held at All Nations Church, 10000 Foothill Blvd. dennis.mccarthy@dailynews.com (818) 713-3749 CAPTION(S): photo Photo: Norm Pringle and his wife, Elsie Pringle, pose next to his plants Thursday in Winnetka. They plan to sell the plants and raise money to start a local memorial garden for soldiers who have been killed in Iraq. Ana P. Gutierrez/Special to the Daily News |
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