Saw this article http://news.sky.com/...trike-in-london

and the map referenced by it http://bombsight.org...51.5055/-0.1845

Could you imagine living there at that time? I have talked to veterans who can't stand the sound of fireworks because of the memories the sounds bring back. It must be the same way for the men, women and children that were living in London at that time when they hear sirens.

Good question. No, it is hard to fathom what they had to experience on a DAILY basis. It sadly became a way of life. Makes us really appreciate just how easy we have it.

Knowing all I do about history and all I do about the war from books, movies and first-hand accounts, I get extremely annoyed with people who constantly whine about the tiniest of things in life. They have no idea, do they?

One of our customers would host complaints every time he entered our store, "It's too hot...it's raining again...it's too cold...I had to drive to town to pick up my wife's prescription...it's..." It was a constant barrage. He was never happy.

It's times like these that you'd love to have a time machine and transport him back to the 40's and make him live through the war. Then bring him back and ask him if his current life was really so bad!

That is very interesting. Seems central London was not the place to be at that time. Thanks for posting!

M1 - as for the whiny way of the world I heard something interesting the other day during bible study. The leader said that the instant gratification/whiny nature of people now-a-days is a contributing factor to the suicide rate. When Oprah and everyone else tells you that you have to be happy and anything you do in pursuant to that goal is just a-ok, then that becomes what is central to your life. And, by gosh, if you can't be happy, then what is there to live for? The people who live through the depression know what it is like to suffer, but you know that "this, too, will pass". The secularization of the nation doesn't help either. If there is no focus other than yourself - nothing higher then yourself (or government) - then there is no reason to keep going when thing suck a little.

I think that the Great Depression did as much as anything to prepare for the US for the coming war. I do see the same fierce determination today in the servicemen and women that I have served with - in combat and not. The difference is that such a larger percentage of the US population served in uniform during that time. If you took the same percentage of people in the US today and put them in uniform, I do not think it would increase the effectiveness of the force. People are just too damn self centered! Thanks a lot hippies!!!!