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Administration Manager

Five Point Capital, a well established and growth oriented commercial equipment financing company, is seeking an Administration Manager to lead its Funding and Documentation departments. Seeking those with 5+ years management experience and skilled at leading, mentoring and retaining employees. Small ticket funding experience a plus. Proven ability to maintain and enhance lessor/funder relationships.

Location: San Diego, CA. Send resume and salary history to: HR@FivePointCapital.com
  

Friday, November 11, 2005 Veteran's Day

Headlines---

Veteran's Day
    Message from Publisher to New Readers
Netbank Reports 'Irregularities'
    ---delays third Quarter Earnings
Classified Ads---Doc. Manager/Finance/Legal
    2004 Alexander Valley Sin Vin Release
Pictures from the Past---2003
    ----Charlie Lester and LPI
NewsDay Gets “Inside:"
    Why FBI Raided R.W. Professional Leasing
        “...just a salesman,” claims defense attorney
    FTC Singles out IFC Credit Corp
Story Credit List
    Commonwealth Capital joins “Funder List”
        "Must Generate $10,000 in Revenue to Quality for Sun Finance"
Postal Rates to Go Up/Holiday Mail
    Classified Ads--Help Wanted
        Atlanta Jurassic Lessors Association Meeting
            CIT Sale of Micro-Ticket Leasing Business
TCF Bank Enters Arizona;
-- Timothy B. Meyer Elected President
    GATX Announces Personnel Moves
        Irwin Financial 3/4 $18.5MM
The World Leasing Yearbook
    News Briefs--
        You May Have Missed
Sports Briefs--
    California Nuts Briefs--
        "Gimme that Wine"
Restaurant Review--"Marks," Houston, Texas
    Today's Top Event in History
        This Day in American History
            The Famous Patton Speech

######## surrounding the article denotes it is a “press release”

Veteran's Day

All the male members of my immediate family served in the armed forces: my father, army; myself, army; brother Michael, Coast Guard pilot; brother Peter, Air Force, strategic command computer operator; Thomas, Marine, and my son is active today, a regular in the U.S. Navy, Riverine. My uncle was a regular U.S. Army sergeant, serving in the Korean war in the artillery. On my mother's side, we have relatives who were on both sides of the Civil War, plus two who were riflemen in the Pennsylvania brigade in the American Revolution.

The name of this special day may be different in different places throughout many nations; but its significance is the same. It was on this day, at 11 a.m., that World War I ceased. The Allied and Central Powers signed an armistice agreement at 5 a.m. in Marshal Foch's railway car in the Forest of Compiegne, France. Even today, many still bow their heads in remembrance at the 11th hour of this the 11th day of the 11th month. 8.5 million dead, 21 million wounded, 7.5 million prisoners & missing...plus worldwide influenza epidemic (today thought to be the first “bird flue,” kills 22 million by 1920.

It was originally called "Armistice Day", the date World War I ended in Marshal Foch's railway car in the Forest of Compiegne, France upon signing of the Allied and Central Powers agreement to end the war. From 1919 to 1970, it became known as "Veteran's Day," observed the 11th of November, but in 1971, it was changed, Public Law 90-363 with "The Monday Holiday Law" to be observed on the "fourth Monday of October." This moveable observance date, which separated Veterans Day from the November 11 anniversary of World War I armistice, proved very unpopular. State after state moved it observance back to the traditional November 11th date, and finally, Public Law 94-98 of September 189, 1975, required that effective January 1, 1978, the observance of Veterans Day reverted to November 11, also known as "Armistice Day."

[headlines]

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Message from Publisher to New Readers

Welcome. Leasing News has changed since we started the web site on May 21,2000. The best way to learn about us is to go to our index page:

http://www.leasingnews.org/sitemap.htm

We also have a “Frequently Asked Question” page, too:

http://www.leasingnews.org/FAQ/FAQ.htm

We go to “press” when we think there is enough equipment leasing news to do so. By joining our list, you get notices of a new edition.

Readers on our mailing list also get notices of major events from time to time.

We add new features, often suggested by readers. The latest is “Restaurant Reviews.” The idea is when you travel, here are restaurants your colleagues have tried and recommend. We invite you to send in your favorite restaurant.

Most of our industry news comes from readers “on” and “off the record.” All senders' name are held confidential, as is “background information” given to us in confidence, as a tip to develop a story.

We welcome you and hope you enjoy and find informative Leasing News.

Christopher Menkin, Publisher

[headlines]

--------------------------------------------------------------

Netbank Reports ‘Irregularities'. Delays ¾ Q Earnings

NetBank Inc., the leader on the internet banking circuit with $5 billion in assets, considered one of the largest internet banks, said it had found "irregularities" associated with $13 million in mortgage loans.

The delay, they report, concerns how loans were underwritten and how the properties were appraised.

"The company also became aware that certain misrepresentations may have been made by one or more of the parties involved in the sale of the underlying properties," NetBank wrote in a filing Wednesday with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. "The loans were originated by the company and were sold to third-party investors. The company's investigation of the facts and circumstances surrounding the loans is continuing."

The “parent” of Netbank Business Finance also has a large network of ATM machines in the South. It also specializes in sub-prime mortgages.

The problem which delays the report until this money comes from loans discovered last month. Netbank has originated $10 billion in mortgages loans this year through Sept. 30. It is here that they expect the figures to be revised.

A NetBank spokesman told the Atlanta-Journal that the company is still reviewing the loans and opted to delay reporting earnings until it's clear what impact they will have on the bottom line.

"We think completing that review and having all of the facts and being able to report to investors — that's in the best interest of our shareholders," said NetBank spokesman Matthew Shepherd.

[headlines]

--------------------------------------------------------------

Classified Ads--- Documentation Manager / Finance / Legal

Documentation Manager / Finance / Legal

Documentation Manager: New York, NY
10+ years in equipment leasing/secured lending. Skilled in management & training, documentation, policy and procedure development & implementation, portfolio reporting. Strong work ethic.
Email: dln1031@nyc.rr.com

Documentation Manager: Phoenix, AZ
Lease Administrator with exp. in lease administration, doc. & porfolio management for $200M in IT assets. Additional experience financial analysis process improvement/development.
Email: jeg3894@cox.net

Finance: Austin, TX.
20+ years all facets of lease/finance. Collection and credit management. Equipment & rolling stock structuring. $150k credit authority, $100 million portfolio management.
Email: texmartin@juno.com

Finance: Chicago, IL
Experienced in big ticket origination, syndication, valuation and workout.
Twenty five years, MBA, CPA,
JD, LLM (Tax), structuring specialist. Inbound and outbound transactions.
Email: pal108381@comcast.net
Transaction Summary
Website: www.tlgattorneycpa.com

Finance: Orange County, CA
25+ years experience large ticket and mid-market commercial finance. Senior manager in operations, documentation, legal, credit, workouts, portfolio management. $2+Billion portfolio. MBA Finance. Juris Doctor.
Email: finance1000@cox.net

Finance: San Jose, CA.
15+ years sourcing debt, managing cash and receivables and other treasury functions. Strong background in credit, contract
administration and bankruptcy litigation experience. MBA Finance.
Email: raycis@comcast.net
Finance: Sausalito, Ca
Sr. Corp. officer, presently serving as consultant, fin. service background, M&A, fund raising, great workout expertise, references Email: nywb@aol.com
Finance: Toronto
Long diverse career financial services industry. Executed billions of dollars of leases over 20 years; structuring, executing and pricing US/Canadian transactions. Per Diem or full time. E-mail: eslavens@eol.ca
Information System: North Detroit, MI
INFOLEASE EXPERT - 18 years experience.  Since being downsized in 2002, working as a consultant for several leasing companies.
Seeking consulting projects nationwide.
email: darwint@prodigy.net
Legal: Los Angeles, CA
Experienced in-house corporate and financial services attorney seeks position as managing or transactional counsel. Willing to relocate.
Email: sandidq@msn.com

For a full listing of all “job wanted” ads, please go to:

http://64.125.68.91/AL/LeasingNews/JobPostings.htm

To place a free “job wanted” ad, please go to:

http://64.125.68.91/AL/LeasingNews/PostingForm.asp

[headlines]

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Alexander Valley Vineyards announces the release of the 2004 Sin Zin!

This year we are giving our wine club members and valued customers first option to purchase this great Zinfandel.

For the month of November take 15% off on a case.  Join our wine club and receive additional discounts.  Wine Club members receive 20% off a case and 25% off on two cases.  Sin Zin retails for $20.00 a bottle.

Join the Wine Club and receive 20% off on your first order.

To reserve your Sin Zin for November delivery (or to join the Wine club) call Lu Hughes at 800-888-7209 ext 108, email lh@avvwine.com   or visit the winery at 8644 Hwy 128, Healdsburg, CA 95448.  We are open 10am - 5pm daily.

For the perfect culinary accompaniment to Sin Zin try one of these treats:

Sin Zin Flank Steak
(with a baked potato and Portobello gratin)
Turkey Etouffee on Gorgonzola Polenta
Lamb Shanks Braised in Sin Zin
or a special holiday treat… Sin Zin-Gingered Cranberry Sauce.

For these recipes by Alexander Valley Vineyard's estate chef Jeff Young go to http://www.avvwine.com/fr_winerychef.html and search on Sin Zin .

Lu Hughes
Wine Club Director
lh@avvwine.com
www.avvwine.com
800-888-7209 x108

[headlines]

--------------------------------------------------------------

Pictures from the Past---2003

----Charlie Lester and LPI

Originally f eatured on Leasing News: 3/25/2003

LPI Office: 3535 Roswell Road Suite 53   Marietta, Georgia

“LPI Financial Services, Inc. has been serving the financing needs of medical professionals since 1986. We changed our name from Lease Pro, Inc. to LPI Financial Services in 1999 so that our name would better describe changes that include our exclusive working capital loan program.”

LPI Staff (left to right: Barbara Willingham, Kurt Hess, Don Dennigmann, Audrey Jinks, Ali Porterfield, Krisen Meers, Kay Smith, Jon Hall, Charlie Lester

Charlie today has shed both 45 pounds and his company, too.

(Charlie Lester, taken on Father's Day, perhaps in 2002, with his oldest daughter Sharon Hess on the left, and his youngest daughter Melanie Milligan)

He sent this message on March 25, 2005:

Leasing Icon Charlie Lester told us we can now release the news:

“I am at the office most of the time, but I nap a lot.”

"Thank you for holding the news. As you know, in mid-July, I had a mild stroke that put me in the hospital for a few days. In plain English, I have had a "rapid heart" since my early 20's, but like most medical conditions, it has gotten worse with age and it finally caught up with me in July.

"The recovery was complete as far as we can tell and the doctors are controlling the irregular heart beat with medication for the time being. If it does get any worse, they will install a pacemaker which only takes about 25 minutes with an entry through the neck. In my situation, it took more time than I would have imagined to get my mindset back to positive thinking and rebuilding the stamina level took almost two months

"Like every bad situation, some good has come of it. The weight is down to somewhere below the Pillsbury Doughboy for a change and my wife Barbara makes sure my eating habits are healthier. With the loving support of my family and God's grace, life is pretty much back to normal and I expect to be around for a long time."

His biography when he was a member of the Leasing News Advisory

Board:

Charlie Lester is President of LPI Financial Services located in Marietta, GA and has been in the leasing industry since leaving IBM in 1984. In 1986, he founded Lease Pro, Inc. specializing in leasing for the medical profession. In 1997, Lease Pro was acquired by First Sierra Financial. In 1999, he resigned from First Sierra and started LPI after sitting out his non-compete period. Since 2000, LPI in conjunction with one of the most respected funding sources in the industry has offered a unique one of a kind working capital loan program to medical professionals through brokers, consultants and direct client marketing.

Charlie graduated with a Master's Degree in accounting from Virginia Tech in 1965 and became a CPA in 1966 shortly before going to work in sales for IBM. After 18 years in sales and sales management in six different cities, he resigned from IBM in 1984 to raise his family in Atlanta. In 1985, a friend introduced him to the world of equipment leasing, and on May 17, 2004 he sold the assets of LPI Financial Services to LPI Healthcare Financial Services.

An up-date:

"For a little background, the majority stockholders of LPI Healthcare Financial Services, Inc. are Kurt Hess and Kay Smith. The company was formed in early 2004 and purchased the assets of LPI Financial Services, Inc. in May, 2004. Since the company only offers working capital loans to medical doctors, adding the name Healthcare to the new corporation certainly made sense.  Kurt is President and heads up sales with Kay Smith as the VP of Administration managing all the administrative functions.  Add Kristen Meers who manages the credit functions and you have the 3-K's.

"To say the least, I am extremely proud of the 3-K's.  Kurt is my son-in-law and ha d been with me at LPI Financial for 4 years at the time of the asset sale. Kurt has demonstrated an uncanny ability to communicate well with our broker and consultant data base s .  Kay ha d been with me for 10 years at the time of the sale and there is no finer documentation and funding manager to be found anywhere in this country . Kristen is doing a great job of managing the credit piece since taking over credit in mid-2004 .  To top off the K issue, our super funding source contact's name starts with a K.

"Since the sale in May 2004 , funded volume has been consistently higher than it was when I ran the company which shows you what imagination, youth and energy will do for you.  I make a few contributions on the company direction as a consultant, but the 3-K's are the company and deserve the credit for the sensational growth since the sale .  They are good to the point I am beginning to really dislike them.

Charlie and his wife Barbara have both been active in their church and civic activities since moving to Atlanta in 1981. They spend a lot time with their five grandkids (which are the greatest kids in the world, he

adds, of course.) With Barbara's help to keep him in line and handle the administrative piece, Charlie works from his home office a good portion of the time now as a broker and consultant for LPI Healthcare.

Leasing News considers Charlie an Emeritis member of our Advisory Board.

[headlines]

--------------------------------------------------------------

NewsDay Gets “Inside” on Why FBI Raided R.W. Professional Leasing
---“...just a salesman,” claims defense attorney for Barry Drayer.

(See coda at end of news story)

Feds: Escrow scheme busted

Bank of New York branch in Island Park helped business customer fraudulently obtain loans using sham agreements, government says

BY SUSAN HARRIGAN

STAFF WRITER

Newsday.com

November 10, 2005

Escrow accounts are supposed to be guarantees that debtors will pay what they owe. But at a Bank of New York branch in Island Park, they were anything but, according to federal prosecutors.

As part of a nonprosecution agreement with the government, Bank of New York has laid bare the details of a more than decade-long scheme by some managers and employees of its Island Park branch to help a business customer fraudulently obtain loans by setting up what the government called "sham escrow agreements."

In bank escrow agreements, a borrower deposits money at the bank to be used, if necessary, to ensure repayment of a loan or other contract.

Court papers filed by Bank of New York in connection with an agreement announced Tuesday show that at least 62 banks were taken in by the Island Park scheme. In all, the banks lent at least $92 million to the customer, R.W. Professional Leasing Services Corp., also based in Island Park, of which at least $18 million was never repaid, according to court exhibits.

The banks made the loans believing they were backed by escrow agreements. The borrowed money supposedly was to be used to help R.W. Professional Leasing buy medical equipment and lease it to customers.

In the court filings, Bank of New York said that its policies didn't allow escrow accounts to be set up at a branch, and that no escrow accounts had actually been established.

In addition to the Island Park criminal investigation, Bank of New York settled an investigation Tuesday by Southern District federal prosecutors into fraud and money laundering involving more than $7billion from Russia.

As part of the overall settlement of both cases, Bank of New York will forfeit $26 million to the government, including $12 million to the Eastern District, and pay another $12 million to the banks victimized in the Island Park scheme. It said in court papers that it also will pay about $5.9million to settle bank lawsuits resulting from the scheme.

The bank said Tuesday that it was cooperating with the government and issued a statement by its chairman, Thomas Renyi, saying that it was "taking the right steps ... to ensure sound business practices." It declined to comment further yesterday. Stuart Abrams, an attorney for R. W. Professional Leasing, didn't immediately return a call asking for comment.

According to a court statement filed Tuesday by Bank of New York, $24 million was transferred by wire from the leasing company's Bank of New York account to Medpro, a Huntington Beach, Calif., "shell company that rendered no services" to R.W. Professional Leasing.

After a number of banks complained about not being repaid, federal agents raided the leasing company's Island Park office in June 2002 and arrested a number of its executives. In March 2004, five company executives were indicted in the Eastern District, along with a former Bank of New York branch manager in Island Park and the owner of a California firm, Carefree Financial Services, that allegedly recruited medical providers to obtain financing for equipment through R.W. According to the indictment, R.W. Professional Leasing had diverted at least $28 million in proceeds from the bank loans to the firm's owners.

The former branch manager, Myrna Katz of Long Beach, pleaded guilty to making false statements and will be sentenced in January. Four R.W. principals - Rochelle Besser, her brothers Adam and Roger Drayer, all also of Long Beach, and Susan Cottrell, of Mansfield, Mass. - also have pleaded guilty. Another principal, Barry Drayer of Wellesley, Mass., is scheduled to be tried in January before U.S. District Judge Arthur Spatt, along with Stephen Barker of Lake Forest, Calif., the owner of Carefree.

Katz's attorney, John Wallenstein, didn't immediately respond to a request for comment. Steve Zissou, one of Barry Drayer's attorneys, said his client is "innocent, and we're going to show that at the trial ... Barry was a salesman."

Terrence Buckley, Stephen Barker's attorney, said his client is "completely innocent of any wrongdoing and we expect to prove that when we have our day in court."

---

Coda:

(Editor: There also is a $20 million suit filed by American Express from its portfolio it purchased from Thomas J. Depping's Sierra Cities/First Sierra and $10 million plus from Crawford and Sons which handles pension plans for teachers and is publicly traded, plus a group of community banks.

The person allegedly behind the operation, Barry Drayer, has reportedly filed personal and business bankruptcy. An inside source says that everyone but Barry Drayer and Steve Barker had taken a plea bargain deal. Supposedly even Barry Drayer's sister, Rochelle Besser, the "dummy" president of the company, has agreed to testify against him. Insiders keep saying that the delay is his old trick of stalling, waiting for witnesses to change, prosecutors to move on, and everyone to just get too tired to pursue. The defense that Barry was just a “salesman,” has Al Crawford, Charlie Lester, and perhaps even Tom Depping laughing, perhaps even a belly laugh. Of course, it is true he reportedly “sold a bill of goods” to Old Kent Bank, CIT, Sierra Cities, Crawford and Sons, among many regional and local banks. But just a “salesman???”

Note: It was Greg McIntosh, now as part of American Express Business Finance, with new authority and change in responsibility, who caught payments being made on leases that he found out that had been “paid out” to R.W. Professional, and other discrepancies. He brought it to the “new management” attention. The industry controversy centers on whether Tom Depping traded a release of escrow funds and a personal guarantee from Barry Drayer for a $1 million policy while under the management at Sierra Cities. Perhaps in retrospect, it may have been a solid business decision, but it also brings up the question about how much did Depping know about Drayer, who employees reported would visit and have long lunches and dinners with Depping. We asked questions at the time, but never were able to obtain a comment from either party. Leasing News wrote a series on this:

http://www.leasingnews.org/articles.doc/newsletter3.htm

For current stories , please go to:)

http://www.leasingnews.org/Conscious-Top%20Stories/RW_stories.htm

[headlines]

-----------------------------------------------------------------

FTC Singles out IFC Credit Corp
Chicagotribune.com

MORTON GROVE -- The Federal Trade Commission asked a federal judge Thursday to aid its efforts in investigating debt collection by a Morton Grove finance company.

FTC officials want information from IFC Credit Corp. because the firm has collected consumer debts purchased from a New Jersey telecommunications firm accused of unfair trade practices.

The firm NorVergence promised customers that its Matrix black box would save them moneyon services, FTC attorney Randall Brook said in an affidavit.

But "the black boxes were nothing more than standard telephone routers, which NorVergence rented to customers for inflated prices," Brook said.

The FTC is investigating whether the actions of IFC and other firms that tried to collect on the rental agreements also might have violated federal law, the petition states.

[headlines]

--------------------------------------------------------------

Story Credit Lessors

( for other "funder", who do not specialize in “story credits,” click here
for “super brokers,” who primarily broker leases, click here )

These companies specialize in "C" and "D" credits, often news businesses, or businesses where the principal(s) have Beacon score around 600 or previous difficulties; meaning to become comfortable with the credit and financial situation you need to learn the "story" to make a positive decision, often requiring further security, shorter term, or additional guarantors. Many of these companies may also be a "B," but appear otherwise without the "story" to understand the full financial picture.

(To qualify for this list, the company must be a lessor and not a broker or superbroker, along with an acceptable Better Business Bureau Rating and no history of complaints at Leasing News. We reserve the right to not list a company who does not meet these qualifications.)

We encourage companies who are listed to contact us for any change or addition they would like to make. Adding further information as an "attachment" or clarification of what they have to offer would be helpful to readers is very much encouraged.

( To apply to be listed, please fill in this form and fax to 408.374.3843)
Story Credit Form

Rank
Name
In Business Since
Contact
Website
Leasing Association
Employees
Geo
Area
Dollar
Amount
Broker Qualify
1

Financial Pacific Leasing
1975
Terey Jennings CLP,
800-447-7107, tjennings@finpac.com
www.finpac.com
EAEL, ELA, NAELB, UAEL
(P)

115
Nationwide
$5,000-$50,000
Please Call or see "Prospective Broker" section on website
1
IFC Credit Corporation
1988
Gary Trebels, CLP
Vice  President
gtrebels@ifccredit.com
www. ifccredit.com .com Phone- 847-663-6501
Fax- 847-324-1672
ELA, MAEL, NAELB, UAEL (L)
106
Nationwide
$250,000 - $15,000,000+
Please Call
3
Pawnee Leasing Corporation
1982
Scott Woodring, Vice President/Sales & Marketing
scott@pawneeleasing.com
www.pawneeleasing.com
EAEL, NAELB & UAEL (A)
45
Nationwide
$1,000 - $30,000
One year time in business
4
Pentech Financial Services, Inc.
1983
Peter C. Eaton
Vice President-Intermediary Markets Group
Phone - 608.661.9536
Fax - 608.661.9533 peter@pentechfinancial.com www.pentechfinancial.com
ELA, NAELB, UAEL (H)
32
Nationwide
$250,000 - $3,000,000
Contact Peter Eaton
5
Sunrise International Leasing Corporation
1975
Carrie Halvorson or Jim Teal,
800-950-3211
www.sunriseleasing.com
ELA (I)
20
U.S., Canada, Latin America
$1,000
minimum no hard cap in place for maximums
One year time in business
6
Boston Financial & Equity Corporation
1968
Debbie Monosson
debbie@bfec.com
www.bfec.com
EAEL, UAEL (J)
12
National
$100,000 to $1,500,00
A deal in hand and a full package
7
Creative Capital Leasing Group, LLC
1980
Alister McNeil
1-800-lease'em
(949-650-9880)
www.Creativeclg.com
NAELB, UAEL (M)
12
USA
$40,000 - $1,000,00
Please call Broker Manager, Todd or Jason
8
Summit Leasing, Inc.
1986
James, Klemens, Kevin, Mike, Mark
(800) 736-1530
www.summitleasing.com
UAEL (S)
12
CA, ID, MT, OR, WA
$20,000 - $400,000
Contact us
9
Dolsen Leasing Company
1958
Joanie Dolsen,
800-959-4002
Joanie@dolsenleasing.com
www.dolsenleasing.com
NAELB, UAEL (R)
10
11 Western State
$10,000.00 - $250,000.00
Please call or visit www.dolsenleasing.com
10
Allegiant Partners Incorporated
1998
415.257.4200
Doug Houlahan ext. 205
Paul Foster ext. 206
www.allegiant-partners.com
ELA, NAELB & UAEL (B)
9
Nationwide, including Alaska & Hawaii
$70,000 to $250,000
For Broker qualification please click here
11
Blackstone Capital Partners, L.P.
2002
Frank Freer
Phone: 949.250.8789
Fax: 949.250.8798
FrankF@Blackstonecp.com
www.blackstonecp.com
ELA, NAELB, UAEL (N)
8
Nationwide
(except LA, AR and AK)
$50,000 to $2,000,000
Please Call
12
Black Rock Capital
1994
George Booth
gkbooth@blackrockcapital.com
203.336-9200
www.blackrockcapital.com
EAEL, ELA (E)
7
US Canada (F)

$50,000 to $3MM

$250,000 average transaction

Please Call
13
American Leasefund, Inc.
1999
Tom Davis
tom@alclease.com
800.644.1182 - PH
503.244.0845 - FX
www.alclease.com
UAEL (Q)
6
Idaho, Montana, Oregon, Washington
$3,500 - $50,000
Please Call
14
Bankers Capital
1990
Larry LaChance - President
508-229-0660
llachance@bankers-capital.com
www.bankers-capital.com
UAEL (O)
6
Nartionwide - 50 States
$25,000.00 +
Please contact Larry LaChance
15
Cobra Capital LLC
2000
Dale Kluga, President
dale@cobrallc.com
630-573-2000
www.cobrallc.com
ELA (G)
6
Nationwide

$50,000 to $1MM

$250,000 average transaction

Please call
16
Mesa Leasing, Inc.
2000
Norm Malkowski
Norm@MesaLeasing.com
www.mesaleasing.com
NAELB (C)
6
California Only
$10,000 to $200,000
NAELB Members preferred but not required
17
ABCO Leasing, Inc.
1974
Don Shipley
VP and General Manager
dons@abcoleasing.net
Phone: 800.995.1897
www.abcoleasing.net
ELA, NAELB, and UAEL (D)
5
Western U.S.

$25,000 - $350,000

Broker Qualification, contact:  Rowan Clark, Credit Manager
rowanc@abcoleasing.net
Phone: 800.995.1897
18

Barrett Capital Corporation
1975
Barry Korn
914-632-4200
Cell: 914.954.1900
Barrett@BarrettCapital.com
www.BarrettCapital.com
NVLA

4
United States

Vehicles Only

$10,000 minimum

Please Call
20
Radiance Capital, LLC
2005
Karl Probst
(206) 443-8451
Karl@radiance-capital.com
www.radiance-capital.com
UAEL (U)
4
Northwestern
(see comments)
$5,000 - $50,000
Please Call
21
TechLease, L.L.C.
2002
Eric Paton, epaton@techlease.com
www.techlease.com
UAEL (T)
4
Nationwide
$20,000, average transaction size is $200,000
Please Call

(A) Pawnee Leasing Corporation; Some times we go higher than $30,000, but our marketplace is from $1,000 to $30,000.

(B) Allegiant.pdf

(C) Mesa Leasing, Inc., Industries served: Titled vehicles (Trucks, trailers, OTR, etc.), Construction, Restaurants, and all the other "hard to get approved" industries.

(D) ABCO Leasing, Inc. in Seattle area has been operating since 1974 serving the broker community. We required full financial disclosure on every transaction. We do story transaction, but do not like to refer to them as "C" of "D" credits. We think of therm as "A" type credits that have not been discovered yet. In actuallity, we do not really like to look at what most describes as "D" credits.

(E) Black Rock Capital comment: We book anywhere between $15 to 20 million per year. We do no "app only" business and require a full financial package for each transaction. Our average size transaction is approximately $250k and, although, we concentrate in printing, packaging (steel rule die industry) and road construction equipment we do not rule out anything that makes sense. More information can be found at www.blackrockcapital.com.

(F) Black Rock Capital (Ireland) Limited and Black Rock Capital (UK) Limited provide the same services for small to middle market corporations in the European Economic Community and the United Kingdom.

(G) Cobra Capital, LLC. Comments: Our registered trademark "Making impossible possible" is our central marketing tagline for both strong and weak credits. I have developed a 10 year history, (from Cobra and my prior company GALCO), with specialty, non-conforming transactions (story credits) and have a solid reputation for candidly responding to our originators and lessees and working diligently to mitigate deal risk rather than making excuses to turn deals down. Our originators prefer our underwriting approach to non-conforming transactions since unlike most non-conforming funders, we prefer to mitigate risk versus jacking our return. Both Originators and Lessee's prefer our candid approach as we are also frequently asked to advise lessee's and lessors on the best way to structure their bank loans and raise capital due to our 25+ year banking and accounting backgrounds as my partner and I are both former bankers and CPA's.
| Partners Bio | LaSalle Bank Reference | Cole Taylor Bank Reference |

(H) Pentech is the lessor partner with Manifest Funding Services for their Navigator, Navigator Plus & Navigator Direct. This is through our sister company Pentech Funding Services, located in San Diego and headed up by Ron Wagner.

(I) Sunrise International Leasing Corporation Comment: The broker program is "...an informal program as our primary business is still vendor leasing."

(J) Boston Financial & Equity Corporation, most of our leases are venture capital backed startups and turnarounds. We require full financial disclosures, CPA and internal statements, no tax returns. We do not required additional collateral, no PG's or RE needed. Do not send deals with large tax liens, especially if they are payroll taxes.

(L) IFC Credit Corporation also services on a regular basis "A" and "B" credits, but it also considers "story credits."  "As you say, we need to become comfortable with the credit and financial situation and learn the "story" to make a positive decision, often requiring further security, shorter term, or additional guarantors. I would describe the B and C type credits we fund as companies having 'checkered earnings'."

(M) Creative Capital Leasing Group: "We are able to fund tough deals, bad credits, BK's, past tax liens, start ups, used equipment, etc., because we look outside the transaction for real estate, and marketable securities to take as additional collateral."

(N) Blackstone Capital Partners, L.P. lends up to 50% of verified auction value for working capital and/or equipment financing requests (we of course include equipment to be acquired in our valuation). Using this formula, allows Blackstone to approve deals on the assets rather than the credit or cash flow that other lenders desire. Also being an asset lender, we are looking for hard assets i.e. yellow iron, machine tool, manufacturing lines, textile etc... We do not care for soft assets such as computers, furniture, restaurant, or "white elephants" (equipment that is too specific to the clients needs and was specially built for them - there would be no resell available and our liquidity if repossessed would be in jeopardy). If you have any questions, please feel free to call, we will do our best to help or seek the answer for you.

(O) Bankers Capital " We will do ANY Type of Equipment, in ANY industry, in ANY state.  We especially like 6-figure transactions with full financial packages no matter how good or bad they look.  We look to structure the story C&D credits with any kind of additional collateral that makes sense.  It could be with 2nd or 3rd mortgages on residential or commercial Real Estate, additional equipment, cash value life insurance, security deposits, vendor agreements.  We look for any way to make the deal work instead of looking for any way to decline the deal."

(P) Financial Pacific Leasing supports a nationwide network of Brokers and Lessors. We specialize in "B" and "C" credits for established companies as well as companies under two years in business.

(Q) American Leasefund, Inc. funds small hard to do transactions under $50,000.00. Most of the transactions are "app only". We look for additional collateral or larger first payments to help the weaker credits. We maintain and service our own portfolio. All of our lessee billings are done via ACH.

(R) Dolsen Leasing has served the 11 Western States since 1958 and specializes in B & C Credits for established and new companies. We require a full financial package and offer both leases and financing for new and used equipment in the range of $10,000.00 to $250,000.00. Specialties include titled vehicles for both existing and new owner operators. Story credits are considered as long as credit has been reestablished and trends are positive. Credit decisions are based on old fashioned common sense, not credit scores, allowing us a very quick turnaround-often the same day. We accept broker business and also have in house salesmen.

(S) We at Summit Leasing consider ourselves to be primarily "B" credit lenders, working almost exclusively through brokers.

(T) TechLease - due to previous experiences, TechLease is vertically focused on three primary sectors: Semiconductor, Media and Aerospace. We fund all deals and hold paper an all equipment under $250,000. Deals over $150,000 we typically want to meet the Lessee face-to-face. We prefer business in California, however we will fund nationwide.

(U) We specialized in start-up business. These are the northern states we do business in AK, AZ, CA, CO, ID, OR, WA. Click here to read our Product overview and Press Realease.

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Commonwealth Capital, Clearwater, Florida joins “Funder List”

A -Accepts Broker Business | B -Requires Broker be Licensed | C -Sub-Broker Program
| D -"Private label Program" | E - Also "in house" salesmen

Rank
Name
In Business Since
Contact
Website
Leasing Association
Employees
Geo
Area
Dollar
Amount
Equipment Restrictions
A
B
C
D
E
4
Commonwealth Capital Corp.
1978
Rich Baker
727-938-5933
www.ccclease.com
ELA (N)
50+
United States

$10,000 - $750,000 per schedule

IT and Medical - Please contact
Y
Y
N
Y
N

(N) Commonwealth Capital Corporation does not directly originate, we do not compete with Lessors. We only buy deals from Lessors.

To view the complete list, please click here.

To view the entire “Funder” list, please go to:

http://www.leasingnews.org/Funders_Only/Funders.htm

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"Must Generate $10,000 in Revenue to Qualify for Sun Finance"

Sun expands customer financing program

By Paul Weinberg

e-Channel Line

Sun Microsystems is expanding its worldwide customer financing program via its channel partners by adding software and services to what has been largely a hardware driven program. Furthermore, Sun's customer financing and leasing unit, currently known as Sun Microsystems Finance, has been renamed as Sun Microsystems Global Financial Services (SMGFS).

IT vendor financing has been crucial in generating IT product and services' sales, said Paul Perricone, the U.S. director for SMGFS.

Generally, the customer financing involves 100 per cent of the purchase, the loan period is generally 36 months in length and the end user enterprise must generate at least $10,000 in revenue in order to qualify for Sun financial assistance, he explained.

IT vendors are a more attractive source of financing for solution sales because they have a better handle on the total value of IT hardware and software than might a bank or another kind of standard financial institution, said Perricone.

"Certainly financing has been a factor for quick sales. [A client] might have a quicker refresh within the terms of the deal."

By delivering custom-fitted financing plans, SMGFS plans to put the newest Sun technology into the hands of more customers without the need for significant upfront capital expenditures, stated Perricone.

Also, he indicated that Sun's expanded program is geared for both the large enterprise clients that may seek more attractive terms for the leasing of computer equipment and the small and medium sized businesses which typically might lack sufficient cash to make the IT purchase.

Sun's channel partners serve as conduits for customized financing that focus on the individual client needs.

Sun's new customer program "is an important differentiator" for resellers seeking to set themselves apart and gain a competitive advantage within the channel, Perricone added.

"We want to make sure our channel partners have the financial expertise that an IT company would offer."

It is up to the individual reseller to decide how it wants to be engaged with the Sun customer financing program, he said.

"The arrangements depend on how much financing expertise the reseller has in- house. We have a new dedicated team working with the channel. This could be a co-sale."

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Postal Rates to Go Up; Holiday Mailing Deadlines Announced

AccountingWEB.com - The cost of a First Class postage stamp will go from 37 cents to 39 cents in January if, as expected, the Postal Service's Board of Governors approves the rate hikes recommended by the independent Postal Rate Commission last week, the Associated Press reports. The Postal Service had requested an across-the-board increase of 5.4 percent, which was accepted by the Commission with a few revisions.

Media and Book rates were increased to 12.7 percent and increases for nonprofits and local newspapers were reduced to 2.3 percent. Nonprofits are expected to pay $17 million less than expected, the Chatham Journal Weekly reported.

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Classified Ads---Help Wanted

Administration Manager

Administration Manager

Five Point Capital, a well established and growth oriented commercial equipment financing company, is seeking an Administration Manager to lead its Funding and Documentation departments. Seeking those with 5+ years management experience and skilled at leading, mentoring and retaining employees. Small ticket funding experience a plus. Proven ability to maintain and enhance lessor/funder relationships.

Location: San Diego, CA. Send resume and salary history to: HR@FivePointCapital.com
  

 

These ads were designed by Maria-Martinez Wong. Let her construct and design your ad with the goal to keep your costs down.
maria@leasingnews.org

[headlines]

### Press Release ###########################

Report: Atlanta Jurassic Lessors Association Meeting

More than 300 people showed up at McKendrick's Steak House last evening. I don't think most knew the Jurassic Lessors Association was meeting there. It was great to see so many of our brethren out of jail as we enter the holiday season. (Did Sal find his golf clubs?)

Happy Holidays Everyone!

John Semon

[headlines]

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### Press Release ###########################

CIT Announces Sale of Micro-Ticket Leasing Business

NEW YORK, -- CIT Group Inc. (NYSE: CIT), a leading provider of commercial and consumer finance solutions, today announced that it has signed an agreement to sell its micro-ticket leasing business unit (Lease Finance Group), to affiliates of Cerberus Capital Management, L.P. and Goldman Sachs. The sale is consistent with CIT's continued focus on freeing capital for redeployment into targeted strategic growth opportunities.

The sale includes approximately $295 million in equipment leases and related infrastructure. The transaction, which is subject to customary closing conditions, is expected to close on or before year end. Other terms of the deal were not disclosed.

About CIT:

CIT Group Inc. (NYSE: CIT), a leading commercial and consumer finance company, provides clients with financing and leasing products and advisory services. Founded in 1908, CIT has over $60 billion in assets under management and possesses the financial resources, industry expertise and product knowledge to serve the needs of clients across approximately 30 industries. CIT, a Fortune 500 company and a component of the S&P 500 Index, holds leading positions in vendor financing, factoring, equipment and transportation financing, Small Business Administration loans, and asset-based lending. With its Global Headquarters in New York City, CIT has approximately

6,000 employees in locations throughout North America, Europe, Latin and South America, and the Pacific Rim. For more information, visit http://www.cit.com.

SOURCE CIT Group Inc.

[headlines]

### Press Release ###########################

TCF Bank Enters Arizona;

Timothy B. Meyer Elected President


WAYZATA, Minn----TCF Financial Corporation (TCF) (NYSE: TCB ) today announced that it intends to file an application with the Comptroller of the Currency and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation for a new wholly-owned national bank charter. The newly chartered bank will operate in Arizona. Initially, TCF plans to open several consumer loan production offices in the Phoenix metropolitan area during 2006 with construction of traditional retail branches to begin later in 2006 or early 2007.

   "Our de novo expansion strategy has led us to a new market. Phoenix, with its growing population and excellent demographics, was a natural choice for TCF," said Lynn A. Nagorske, President and Chief Operating Officer of TCF. "Arizona residents will benefit from TCF's convenient banking services. TCF is open longer hours, seven days a week and open on most holidays."

   TCF has also announced the election of Timothy B. Meyer as President of TCF Bank Arizona. Mr. Meyer will assume primary responsibility for opening the loan production offices and retail branches in Arizona, and will oversee all operations of this new bank. Meyer will report to Mark Jeter, President of TCF Bank Minnesota.

   Meyer has 23 years of banking and financial services experience. He began his career at ITT Consumer Financial Services and joined TCF in 1986. Meyer has held several management positions within TCF, most recently as Executive Vice President of Minnesota Consumer Lending. Meyer holds a bachelor's degree in agricultural business from the University of Minnesota and is a graduate of the American Bankers Association Stonier Graduate School of Banking.

   TCF is a Wayzata, Minnesota-based national financial holding company with $12.7 billion in assets. TCF has 442 banking offices in Minnesota, Illinois, Michigan, Wisconsin, Colorado and Indiana. Other TCF affiliates provide leasing and equipment finance, securities brokerage, and investments and insurance sales.

TCF Financial Corporation, Wayzata Jason Korstange, 952-745-2755 www.TCFExpress.com

[headlines]

### Press Release ###########################

GATX Announces Personnel Moves

CHICAGO----GATX Corporation announced several personnel changes in support of its key objectives.

Alan C. Coe will move from GATX Air to a new role in GATX Rail as Managing Director, focused on strategic growth opportunities. Mr. Coe has worked at GATX since 1977, most recently as the head of GATX Air. Prior to joining GATX Air in 1997, Mr. Coe led the rail group at GATX Capital.

James F. Earl, Executive Vice President - Rail, said "Throughout his career, Alan has demonstrated his ability to develop attractive, profitable business for GATX. I am pleased that he has joined the team to help GATX Rail accelerate the growth of our North American rail business."

GATX Air will be led by Jim Morris, Senior Vice President - Commercial and Susan A. Noack, Senior Vice President - Operations, both of whom will report to Brian A. Kenney, President and Chief Executive Officer of GATX Corporation. Mr. Morris has been with GATX since 1980 and will lead the air marketing and business development efforts. Ms. Noack will move from her current position of Vice President, Chief Risk Officer, to take over the air technical, finance and operations groups.

COMPANY DESCRIPTION

GATX Corporation (NYSE:GMT) provides lease financing and related services to customers operating rail, air, marine and other targeted assets. GATX is a leader in leasing transportation assets and controls one of the largest railcar fleets in the world. Applying over a century of operating experience and strong market and asset expertise, GATX provides quality assets and services to customers worldwide. GATX has been headquartered in Chicago, IL since its founding in 1898 and has traded on the New York Stock Exchange since 1916. For more information, visit the Company's website at www.gatx.com.

Investor, corporate, financial, historical financial, photographic and news release information may be found at www.gatx.com.

CONTACT: GATX Corporation

Rhonda S. Johnson, 312-621-6262

rhonda.johnson@gatx.com

SOURCE: GATX Corporation

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Irwin Financial Reports third quarter earnings of $18.5 million

COLUMBUS, Ind., -- Irwin Financial Corporation (NYSE: IFC), a bank holding company focusing on mortgage banking, small business banking and home equity lending, today announced net income for the third quarter of 2005 of $18.5 million or $0.61 per diluted share.

This compares with net income of $16.3 in the third quarter of 2004 and a loss of $3.4 million in the second quarter of 2005. All segments had sequential quarter improvement in net income and good loan originations. In the third quarter, return on average equity was 14.6 percent and return on average assets was 1.1 percent. Capital remains strong, with capacity for on-going growth. All figures in this earnings release are unaudited, and figures for prior periods reflect changes in accounting for home equity segment incentive servicing fees (ISFs) that will result in the restatement of certain prior periods as described in more detail in our Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q dated November 9, 2005.

"We are obviously pleased with results this quarter. The quarter-over- quarter improvement was fueled by the turn-around in mortgage banking. In addition, our commercial segments continued their steady progress. Loan growth and credit quality remain strong and both our commercial segments reported record quarterly net income," noted Irwin Financial Chairman Will Miller.

"Last week we announced that we would need to change the way we record revenues from our home equity incentive servicing fees and, as a result, restate our financial statements from 2004 through the second quarter of 2005," Miller continued. "It is important to understand that the ISF change is an accounting correction at our home equity segment only and does not impact the underlying economics of that business. It simply changes the timing of when we will be recognizing income from these assets. The ISF accounting correction will have no impact on the reported results of any of the other segments. Finally, this development does not change the positive turn-around in our consolidated results we achieved in the third quarter and which we believe will continue into the fourth quarter."

Full press release at:

http://www.insideindianabusiness.com/newsitem.asp?id=15810&print=1

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### Press Release ###########################

The World Leasing Yearbook is the Industry Bible on
the Global Leasing and Asset Finance Industry

DUBLIN, Ireland--(---Research and Markets (http://www.researchandmarkets.com/reports/c27524) has announced the addition of World Leasing Yearbook 2006 to their offering.

   The World Leasing Yearbook is acknowledged as the standard source book for the asset funding and leasing industry. The new 27th edition will provide an unrivalled and valuable reference for all players in the market. It will feature over 100 authoritative articles by leading industry experts on global leasing and a comprehensive and unique directory of over 4,250 companies active in the sector. The extensive introductory section will provide an informed discussion of current trends and debates in the marketplace. There will be a special report on the leasing software and IT market. A unique ranking of the top 50 leasing markets by size worldwide will complete this essential guide.

   The World Leasing Yearbook is the industry bible on the global leasing and asset finance industry. 

   --  Now in its 27th year, this established publication is known         throughout the industry. 

   --  Over 4,250 directory contacts 

   --  Over 100 articles providing an overview of the global leasing       market 

   --  London Financial Group's prestigious Global Leasing Report         gives a unique and exclusive ranking of top 50 leasing markets         by size worldwide 

   The World Leasing Yearbook is the only annually-updated reference book on leasing. Thoroughly revised and updated each year, it is internationally acclaimed as the standard reference book on the subject.

   Written for leasing managers and lessees, finance directors, municipal financial officers, accountants, company secretaries, legal specialists, consultants, brokers, government officials and any participant in the asset finance and leasing industry.

   For more information visit http://www.researchandmarkets.com/reports/c27524

Research and Markets Laura Wood Fax: +353 1 4100 980 press@researchandmarkets.com

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News Briefs----

Poll: Consumers less worried about economy

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/I/IPSOS_CONSUMER_CONFIDENCE?SITE=
CADIU&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT

Profit Declines 28% at Dell as Sales Growth Slows

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/11/11/business/11dell.html?pagewanted=all

Trade deficit hits record as oil imports rise to all-time high

http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/business/20051110-1503-economy.html

Delta adds $1.1 billion loss

http://www.ajc.com/business/content/business/delta/1105/11bizdelta.html

[headlines]

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You May Have Missed

White House Honors Internet Pioneers

http://www.internetnews.com/bus-news/article.php/3563316

[headlines]

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Sports Briefs----

NFL, Coliseum reach preliminary agreement on return to LA

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2005/11/10/sports/s141630S68.DTL

[headlines]

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California News Briefs---

Schwarzenegger Takes Blame, “Buck Stops with Me.”

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2005/11/11/GUV.TMP

Special Elections Over; CA Governor Heads to China

http://www.theepochtimes.com/news/5-11-10/34412.html

[headlines]

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“Gimme that Wine”

Recommended Northwest pinot gris for Thanksgiving

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/foodwine/2002611921_webpinot09.html

Kicking Beaujolais up a notch

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/9883836/

Grape expectations: New Jersey harvest is outstanding

http://www.bergen.com/page.php?qstr=eXJpcnk3ZjczN2Y3dnFlZUVFeXkzNTkmZmdiZWw3Zjd
2cWVlRUV5eTY4MTI3MDImeXJpcnk3ZjcxN2Y3dnFlZUVFeXkxNQ
==

Boxed Wine in the Round, With a Spigot

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/11/09/dining/09tube.html?pagewanted=all

Breeding ground

Santa Barbara County incubates the next generation of winemakers

http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2005/11/10/WIGICFKE3J1.DTL

China to host first int'l red wine festival

http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2005-11/09/content_3754901.htm

www.winezap.com

http://www.wine-searcher.com/

If you want to know if you got a value for your wine, or what the wine price is today, go to www.winezap.com Type in the vintage (year) and name of the producer with wine type or geographic area, such as 1995 Chateau Lynch Bages Pauillac. Even 1995 Lynch Bages will work, or 1999 Viader

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Restaurant Review

Leasing News invites your recommendations, for our page in development for leasing industry travelers:

http://two.leasingnews.org/Recommendations/rstrnt.htm

Houston, Texas

Mark's
1658 Westheimer
Houston, Texas 7706
713-523-3800
713-523-6929

http://www.marks1658.com/welcome.htm

Map: http://www.marks1658.com/pdf/MarksMap.pdf

Every time I am in Houston, Texas (step-daughter went to college here, and medical residency,) we always dine at Mark's.

Generally I ask for the manager or whoever is on duty to help choose the wine and the food. The last time I was here it was Kristofer Stanley, but don't see him on the current web site. While I am a former wine maker, since I was 15, was in the business for ten years, have been president of several wine societies and collect wine, I always ask the sommelier or manager for their recommendations and help. They know their cellar. They know their food. They know what their customers “rave” about and can tell right away just by the questions you ask, how much you are willing to spend or what you want for yourself and your guests. I also try wine that is new, not something I have in my cellar or have tasted before—unless it is recommended for the meal.

This is billed as a romantic restaurant, and I guess it is, but I have seen tables of men together (for business) and couples of four and six. I even saw one evening a family with children, which I thought “odd” for the atmosphere---but this is Houston where I told people eat out four times a week.

Food is American cuisine. I would say “expensive,” if you want the best. I have always had a reservation, most often via the internet at:
http://www.marks1658.com/contact.htm

About the Chef:
http://www.marks1658.com/chef.htm

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Today's Top Event in History

1982 -- Vietnam Veterans Memorial dedicated in Washington, D.C.
The memorial was designed by Maya Ying Lin, a young Asian American woman who, as a Yale undergraduate, submitted the winning entry among more than 1,400 participants. The monument consists of two walls of black, polished granite sliced into a hill side, leaving an impression that the monument is buried. Engraved on the stone are the names of the 58,000 U.S. soldiers who died in Vietnam. Today's dedication ceremony is attended by thousands of veterans, their families & friends.

http://thewall-usa.com/

http://www.vietvet.org/thewall.htm

This Day in American History

    1620-The Mayflower Compact, the first social contract for a New England colony, was drafted and signed by 41 adult males in Provincetown Harbor, Massachusetts. The Pilgrims did not settle there, but went on after a time to Plymouth.
    1647-The first Colonial law requiring towns to hire teachers and construct schools was passed by Massachusetts. It “ordered that every township in this jurisdiction, after the Lord hath increased them to the number of fifty householders, shall then forthwith appoint one within their tow to teach all such children as shall resort to him to write and read, whose wages shall be paid either by the parents or masters of such children, or by the inhabitants in general.” Towns of 100 families were required to “set up a grammar school, the master thereof being able to instruct youths so far as they may be fitted for the university.”
    1778--- The Cherry Valley massacre was an attack by British and Seneca Indian forces on a fort and village in eastern New York .Captain Walter Butler (the son of Colonel John Butler) led two companies of Butler's Rangers along with about 300 Indians. Joseph Brant was also present, but with his forces seriously reduced due to contention with Butler. The Senecas were angered over the burning of Tioga by forces under Colonel Thomas Hartley. The Fort, actually a pallisade around the village meeting house, could not be taken, but the town was destroyed. Despite the efforts of Butler and Brant to stop it, more than thirty women and children, and several Loyalist townspeople were killed and scalped. This, together with the massacre at Wyoming Valley helped pave the way for the Sullivan Expedition into the Iroquois homelands of central and western New York to neutralize the threat of future incursions. The British has promised the Iriquois land after the war. While Caucasian loyalist were awarded land in Canada, many Indian tribes did not want to move to a far away land.
http://www.cooperstown.net/cherryvalley/
    1811-Birthday of Confederate General Ben McCulloch, born near Rutherford City, Tennessee. Raised in Tennessee, McCulloch followed his friends Davy Crockett and Sam Houston to Texas in 1835. Measles kept him from joining Crockett at the Alamo, where its defenders, including Crockett, were massacred when the Mexican army overran the mission during the Texas War for Independence. McCulloch served with Houston at the decisive Battle of San Jacinto, in which Mexican General Santa Anna's army was defeated and Texas gained its independence. After the war, McCulloch served in the Texas legislature and the Texas Rangers, the primary law enforcement agency in the Republic of Texas. He fought under General Zachary Taylor during the Mexican War and served as a U.S. marshal in the 1850s.When the Civil War broke out, McCulloch became a colonel in command of Texas troops. He rode to San Antonio and forced the surrender of a Federal arsenal there, while his brother, Henry, took control of Federal posts on the Texas frontier. In May 1861, Ben McCulloch became a brigadier general in the Confederate army and was assigned to defend Indian Territory. He formed alliances with several tribes in the area before moving his force to southwestern Missouri, where he played a key role in the Confederate victory at Wilson's Creek on August 10, 1861. McCulloch commanded a wing of the Army of the West as it approached a Union force led by General Samuel Curtis in northwestern Arkansas in March 1862. Curtis took up a defensive position around Elkhorn Tavern and waited for the Confederates to attack. On the night of March 6, McCulloch marched his troops around Curtis's right flank and prepared for an early morning assault on March 7. Curtis discovered the movement, and blocked McCulloch's advance. That day, at the Battle of Pea Ridge, Curtis held off a furious attack by McCulloch's force. McCulloch rode forward to monitor his men's progress when he emerged from some underbrush directly in front of a Union regiment. Identifiable by his trademark black velvet suit (he eschewed uniforms), a volley from the Yankees killed McCulloch instantly. His successor, General James McIntosh, was killed minutes later and the leaderless Confederates retreated. McCulloch's death was the turning point in the battle, and the Confederate defeat ensured Union domination of northern Arkansas for the rest of the war.
    1831 - Nat Turner, a minister and slave, was hanged and then skinned in Jerusalem, Virginia, for inciting a slave uprising.
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/aia/part3/3p1518.html
http://www.buy.com/retail/product.asp?sku=30264582
1836-Birthday of writer Thomas Aldrich Bailey: American author and editor. Best known for his book The Story of a Bad Boy (1870), an autobiographical work. Aldrich was born at Portsmouth, NH, and died at Boston, MA, Mar 19, 1907.
1846- Ann Katharine Green birthday, her “The Levenworth Case “(1878) is considered the first detective story written by a woman and is considered the developer of the scientific detective novel. Her Ebenezer Gryce's scientific and deductive reasoning investigator predates Sherlock Holmes. Although her writing was of the age, her plotting and adherence to factual legal maneuvering is admirable today.
http://www.abacci.com/books/authorbooklist.asp?authorID=411
    1864- Sherman's troops destroy Rome, Georgia. Two days after Lincoln's reelection in 1864, Sherman began his "March to the Sea" by destroying the city of Rome (History of Rome, Georgia) and tearing up track between Dalton (History of Dalton, Georgia) and Allatoona Pass. His theory to win the war was to cut the Confederate supplies, aiming for major ports on the Mississippi and the Atlantic Ocean. General William Tecumseh Sherman ordered General Montgomery D. Corse to destroy everything at Rome that could be useful to an enemy, as well as the railroads in and about Atlanta, and northward to the Etowah. All garrisons from Kingston northward were ordered back to Chattanooga. Thus having cut himself off from the rear, he concentrated around Atlanta, on the 14th of November, four corps of infantry, the right wing under Oliver Otis Howard and the left under Slocum, embracing 60,000 infantry, and 5,500 cavalry under. Union Brevet Major General Judson Kilpatrick
http://www.civilwarhome.com/shermangeorgia.htm
http://dlg.galileo.usg.edu/hargrett/platter/001.php
http://www.virtualology.com/oliverotishoward/
http://www.famousamericans.net/johnmurraycorse/
    1865- President Andrew Johnson presented Dr. Mary Edwards Walker, a military surgeon, the U.S. Congressional Medal of Honor at the personal recommendation of General Sherman for her heroism in treating wounded in hospitals and on the battle fields. She was the only woman ever to receive the Medal of Honor, her country's highest military award. What is known is that she did treat the wounded and that she was taken prisoner for several months by the Confederates. However, she had angered many officers because she insisted on wearing an Army uniform even though she had been refused an Army commission, but was allowed to served as a volunteer doctor along with commissioned officer men. She had been married in trousers and refused to take the vows of honor and obey or her husband's name. After the war she continued her ways by wearing trousers and speaking out about suffrage and dress reform . She practiced medicine in Washington, D.C. Walker was a lifelong advocate of woman suffrage, dress reform, and the abolition of capital punishment. On June 3, 1917 an Army review board revoked the medal along with 909 other medal holders after Congress revised the Medal of Honor standards to include only “actual combat with an enemy” She refused to give it up. She died several years later. (1917 was at the height of agitation by women for the vote.) On June 10, 1977, the medal was formally restored by an act of the U.S. Congress. http://www.undelete.org/military/mil3walker.html
http://www.northnet.org/stlawrenceaauw/walker.htm
    1885-General George S. Patton, Jr. birthday: American military officer, graduate of West Point (1909), George Smith Patton, Jr, was born at San Gabriel, CA. Ambitious and flamboyant, he lived for combat. He served in the punitive expedition into Mexico (1916), in Europe in World War I and in North Africa and Europe in World War II. He received world attention and official censure in 1943 for slapping a hospitalized shell-shocked soldier. While a full general, owing to his critical public statements, he was relieved of his command in 1945. He died at Heidelberg, Germany, Dec 21, 1945, of injuries received in an automobile accident.
http://www.employees.org/~ferguson/Patton.html
http://www.pattonhq.com/homeghq.html
http://www.generalpatton.com/biography.html
    1886-Four men accused of participating in the Haymarket Riot that occurred on May 4, 1886 were executed in Chicago, IL. A labor rally had been called in Haymarket Square to protest the shooting of several strikers by Chicago police the previous day. Anarchist and communist speakers were addressing a crowd of several hundred mostly German-born workers when a squad of 180 police officers arrive to break up the rally. A bomb, thrown by a person who was never positively identified, fatally injured 7 officers and wounded 70. Police fired into the crowd, killing one worker and injuring more than a dozen. A grand jury indicted 31 suspected labor radicals in connection with the bombing. Eight men were tried for murder, seven were convicted. This day August Spies, Samuel Fielden, Adloph Fischer, and Albert Parsons---were executed by hanging. The other three were pardoned in 1893 by Illinois govern John Peter Altgeld.
1889-Washington became the U.S. 42 nd state, the first to be named for a person born in America. The first governor was Elisha Peyre Ferry, a Republican, who served from 1889 to 1893.
( lower half of: http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/today/nov11.html )
    1898-composer/singer/pianist Hoagy Carmichael born Bloomington, Indiana
http://www.hoagy.com/
http://www.dlib.indiana.edu/collections/hoagy/
http://www.redhotjazz.com/hoagy.html
    1890-African American Daniel M. McCree patented the portable fire escape. McCree created a portable version made of wood that could be attached to the windowsill of a home, enabling people within to escape from second and third story levels during a fire.
    1911 - On this 11/11/11 date, Janesville, WI was hit by an F4 tornado killing 9 and injuring 50. Within an hour of the tornado, the survivors were digging out in blizzard conditions and shivering in zero temperatures.
    1911 - a record high of 83 was set in Oklahoma City, OK. Then a cold front plunged temperatures to a record low of 17 by midnight and 14, another record low, by the next morning
    1918-Cease Fire, World War I Ends. At 11:01am the Great War ended as Germany, bereft of manpower, supplies & food, signed an armistice agreement. The war's toll were 10 million dead (6 million of them civilians), 21 million wounded & 7 1/2 million taken prisoner or missing in action. Germany, Russia, Austria-Hungary, France & Great Britain each lost a million or more lives, and U.S. forces counted 115,000 dead. Influenza was to sweep the world due to the conditions after the war, killing millions.
http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/today/nov11.html
    1919- Clark Griffith becomes a club owner, along with William Richardson, and president when he buys a controlling interest in the Washington Senators. Unable to get financial help from the American League, he mortgages his ranch in Montana to secure the needed cash.
    1921-The first burial at the Tomb of the Unknown Solider in the National Cemetery at Arlington, VA. President Warren Gamaliel Hardin, accompanied by practically every prominent government office, attended the services, and the unveiling of the national shrine, which was built to honor the large number of American soldiers who lost their lives in World War I but whose bodies were never identified.
    1920-David Sinton Ingalls was awarded the Distinguished Service Medal. He served as assistant secretary of the Navy for aeronautics from March 1929 to March 1932. While attached to the 213 th Squadron of the British Royal Air Force, “alone and in conjunction with other pilots shot down at least four enemy aeroplanes and one or more enemy balloons,” becoming the first Navy Ace in World War I. He was also awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross by the British Government.
    1922 - Novelist Kurt Vonnegut, Jr. born Indianapolis, Indiana. His novel “Slaughterhouse Five” is based on his experiences as a prisoner-of-war at Dresden and its total destruction in 1945. Vonnegut uses fantasy and science fiction to highlight the horrors and absurdities of 20th century "civilization".
http://www.vonnegut.com/artist.asp
    1923-birthday of Alto sax player Charlie Mariano ,born Boston, Mass.
http://www.move.de/amm/MARIANE.html
http://www.ecmrecords.com/ecm/artists/559.html
http://www.rollingstone.com/artists/bio.asp?oid=7725&cf=7725
    1925-Jonathan Winters birthday, comedian, actor ("The Jonathan Winters Show," "Mork & Mindy"), born Dayton, OH.
http://www.jonathanwinters.com/
    1927-Singer Mose Allison birthday, Tippo, MS (one of my favorites; Warren Luening and I went to the clubs Mose was playing. Warren later would then sit down at the piano, both sign and play the songs perfectly—He was a trumpet player, today the top studio trumpet player in concerts, movies and on records with the top singers.
http://www.shs.starkville.k12.ms.us/mswm/MSWritersAndMusicians/musicians/Allison.html
http://www.moseallison.com/
http://www.moseallison.net/
http://pkl.net/~silas/mose/index.html
    1928-singer Lavern Baker birthday, Chicago, IL
“Tweedle Dee” and “Jim Dandy” were among her hits.
http://www.rockhall.com/hof/inductee.asp?id=60
http://www.canoe.ca/JamMusicArtistsB/baker_lavern.html
http://www.oldies.com/artist/biography.cfm/id/308.html
    1928-birthday singer Ernestine Anderson Houston TX. Her intro to jazz singing is at age 12 at the Eldorado Ballroom in Houston. Performs with Russell Jaquet, Johnny Otis, and Lionel Hampton. Known for her warm, blues-influenced vocals. Helps revitalize Seattle jazz scene at Jazz Alley in the 80 & 90s.
http://www.ddg.com/LIS/InfoDesignF96/Ismael/jazz/1950/Anderson.html
http://www.ernestineanderson.com/main.htm
    1929 -- Dick Clark, TV producer, host of American Bandstand, former Philadelphia DJ.
    1929- Andy Kirk and his orchestra recorded "Froggy Bottom" in Kansas City.
    1932 - The National Broadcasting Company opened new studios at Radio City in New York City, celebrating the event with a gala at Radio City Music Hall.
http://www.newyork.com/visit/attractions/radio_city.html
http://www.radiocity.com/themusichall_history.html
http://www.restorationsbybernard.com/
    1933--"Great Black Blizzard" — first great dust storm in the Great Plains.
http://www.ptsi.net/user/museum/dustbowl.html
http://kyky.essortment.com/dustbowl_rcmk.htm
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/dustbowl/filmmore/transcript/index.html
    1934-tenor sax player David Lastie Birthday, New Orleans, LA
    1936-singer Buddy Ace
( James L. L http://www.theiceberg.com/artist/30678/buddy_ace.html and)
birthday, Jasper, Texas
    1938-“God Bless America” first sung: Irving Berlin wrote this song especially for Kate Smith. She first sang it during her regular radio broadcast. It quickly became a great patriotic favorite of the nation and one of Smith's most requested songs.
    1940-Birthday of California US Senator Barbara Boxer, born Brooklyn, NY.
1940-Big Joe Turner and Pete Johnson tell us about KC in Piney Brown Blues, Decca 18121
http://www.umkc.edu/orgs/kcjazz/jazzfolk/turnj_00.htm
http://www.nmaa.si.edu/cgi-bin/search/isearch.pl?DB=pcdb&FORMAT=one&FPASS=
N&FHIT=9&ESET=RECORD&QUERY=creator@id/000313

http://www.umkc.edu/orgs/kcjazz/jazzfolk/browp_00.htm
http://www.ne.jp/asahi/ko-1/crossroads/blues/j/turner.htm
    1940 -the 'Armistice Day Blizzard' raged through the Midwest and Great Lakes. One of the most powerful and destructive winter storms on record. Over 150 lost their lives with 69 lost on ships caught on Lake Michigan. 26.6 inches of snow fell at Collegeville, MN and 16.2 at Minneapolis, MN. Winds gusted to over 60 mph.
    1944-- Frank Sinatra began a long and successful career with Columbia Records.
    1946-First Game at Madison Square Gardens. The New York Knickerbockers of the Basketball Association of America ( predecessor of the NBA) played their first home game at Madison Square Garden. Before a crowd of 17,205, the Knicks lost in overtime to the Chicago Stags, 78-68. The halftime entertainment consisted of a fashion show and a brief exhibition basketball game between the New York Giants football team and members of the Original Celtics, basketball's legendary team form the 1920's.
    1946-Claude Thornhill, with Fran Warren, cuts, “A Sunday Kind of Love.”
    1948-trumpet player Marvin “Hannibal” Peterson birthday
http://www.bostonphoenix.com/alt1/archive/music/reviews/02-08-96/REX/
HANNIBAL_MARVIN_PETERSON.html

    1950---Tops Hits
All My Love - Patti Page
Goodnight Irene - The Weavers
Thinking of You - Don Cherry
I'm Moving On - Hank Snow
    1952-birthday drummer Kahil El'Zabar drums Great Lakes IL.
    1955 - an early season arctic outbreak moved into Washington and Oregon damaging shrubs and fruit trees. Many new temperature records were set with lows at the zero mark in western Washington and as low as 19 degrees below zero in eastern Washington.
    1958---Tops Hits
It's Only Make Believe - Conway Twitty
Tom Dooley - The Kingston Trio
To Know Him, is to Love Him - The Teddy Bears
City Lights - Ray Price
    1966---Tops Hits
Last Train to Clarksville - The Monkees
Poor Side of Town - Johnny Rivers
Dandy - Herman's Hermits
Open Up Your Heart - Buck Owens
    1974---Tops Hits
You Ain't Seen Nothing Yet/Free Wheelin' - Bachman-Turner Overdrive
Jazzman - Carole King
Whatever Gets You Thru the Night - John Lennon with The Plastic Ono Nuclear Band
Love is like a Butterfly - Dolly Parton
    1978-- "MacArthur Park" by Donna Summer topped the charts and stayed there for 3 weeks.
    1978 -- Gay San Francisco city supervisor Harvey Milk and Mayor George Moscone are assassinated by ex-supervisor Dan White. White is later convicted of the lightest charge possible in the infamous "Twinkie defense"; defense argued that White was depressed because of over consumption of junk food. A year later he commits suicide with carbon monoxide from his car in his garage.
    1982 -- Vietnam Veterans Memorial dedicated in Washington, D.C.
The memorial was designed by Maya Ying Lin, a young Asian American woman who, as a Yale undergraduate, submitted the winning entry among more than 1,400 participants. The monument consists of two walls of black, polished granite sliced into a hill side, leaving an impression that the monument is buried. Engraved on the stone are the names of the 58,000 U.S. soldiers who died in Vietnam. Today's dedication ceremony is attended by thousands of veterans, their families & friends.
http://thewall-usa.com/
http://www.vietvet.org/thewall.htm
    1982-Shuttle Columbia launched from Kennedy Space Center, FL, with four astronauts: Vance Brand, Robert Overmyer, William Lenoir and Joseph Allen. "First operational mission" delivered two satellites into orbit for commercial customers. Columbia landed at Edwards Air Force Base, CA, Nov 16, 1982.
    1982---Tops Hits
Up Where We Belong - Joe Cocker & Jennifer Warnes
Heart Attack - Olivia Newton-John
I Keep Forgettin' (Every Time You're Near) - Michael McDonald
You're So Good When You're Bad - Charley Pride
    1987- Braves' Steve Bedrosian narrowly edges Cub Rick Sutcliffe by two points (57-55) to win the Cy Young Award. 'Bedrock' is the third reliever to win the award in the National League.
    1987--- Van Gogh's paining the "Irises" sells for record $53.6 M at auction, painted in 1889 after he entered a mental asylum. Ironically he only sold one painting during his lifetime, to his brother, who also displayed many of his works for sale as an art dealer. His brother supported him most of his life.
    1987 - a Veteran's Day snowstorm dumped record early snows over the mid-Atlantic with 17 inches at Washington, D.C. This amount of snow is rare in winter let alone the middle of fall. Thunder and lightning accompanied the snow for several hours
    1988- Dodgers' hurler Orel Hershiser becomes the ninth pitcher in National League history to win the Cy Young award unanimously as the 'Bulldog' receives all twenty-four first place votes from the sportswriters.
    1989-Civil Rights Memorial is dedicated in Montgomery, AL
http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/USAmemorial.htm
http://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g30712-d105609-Reviews-Civil_Rights
_Memorial-Montgomery_Alabama.html

http://www.tolerance.org/memorial/index.html
    1989- "When I See You Smile" by Bad English topped the charts and stayed there for 2 weeks.
    1990---Tops Hits
Love Takes Time - Mariah Carey
Pray - M.C. Hammer
Giving You the Benefit - Pebbles
Home - Joe Diffie
    1991 - Thunderstorms dumped golfball sized hail at Montyville and Norwich in southeastern Connecticut during the early morning hours
    1992 - Bobby Fischer won his re-match with Boris Spassky in Sveti Stefan, Yugoslavia. The match was organized by banker Jedzimir Vasiljevic. Fischer had 10 wins, 5 losses, and 15 draws. He got $3.65 million for his winnings and Spassky received $1.5 million.
    1995 - Smashing Pumpkins' album "Mellon Collie and The Infinite Sadness" hit #1 on the U.S. album chart. The Smashing Pumpkins (Billy Corgan, James Iha, D'arcy and Jimmy Chamberlin) band was formed in 1988.
    1998—Top Hits
Doo Wop (That Thing)- Lauryn Hill
Lately- Divine
The First Night- Monica
One Week- Barenaked Ladies

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(It is appropriate this rated “X” (explicit language ) be read today, as it is not only “Veteran's Day,” but George S. Patton's birthday.)

The Famous Patton Speech

by Charles M. Province
(abbreviated introduction )

Anyone who has ever viewed the motion picture PATTON will never forget the opening. George Campbell Scott, portraying Patton, standing in front of an immensely huge American flag, delivers his version of Patton's "Speech to the Third Army" on June 5th, 1944, the eve of the Allied invasion of France, code-named "Overlord".

Scott's rendition of the speech was highly sanitized so as not to offend too many fainthearted Americans. Luckily, the soldiers of the American Army who fought World War II were not so fainthearted.

After one of my lectures on the subject of General Patton, I spoke with a retired Major-General who was a close friend of Patton and who had been stationed with him in the 1930's in the Cavalry. He explained to me that the movie was a very good portrayal of Patton in that it was the way he wanted his men and the public to see him, as a rugged, colorful commander. There was one exception, however, according to the Major General. In reality, Patton was a much more profane speaker than the movie dared to exhibit.

Patton had a unique ability regarding profanity. During a normal conversation, he could liberally sprinkle four letter words into what he was saying and the listeners would hardly take notice of it. He spoke so easily and used those words in such a way that it just seemed natural for him to talk that way.

He could, when necessary, open up with both barrels and let forth such blue-flamed phrases that they seemed almost eloquent in their delivery. When asked by his nephew about his profanity, Patton remarked, "When I want my men to remember something important, to really make it stick, I give it to them double dirty. It may not sound nice to some bunch of little old ladies at an afternoon tea party, but it helps my soldiers to remember. You can't run an army without profanity; and it has to be eloquent profanity. An army without profanity couldn't fight it's way out of a piss-soaked paper bag."

"As for the types of comments I make", he continued with a wry smile, "Sometimes I just, By God, get carried away with my own eloquence."

The Speech:

General Patton arose and strode swiftly to the microphone. The men snapped to their feet and stood silently. Patton surveyed the sea of brown with a grim look. "Be seated", he said. The words were not a request, but a command. The General's voice rose high and clear.

"Men, this stuff that some sources sling around about America wanting out of this war, not wanting to fight, is a crock of bullshit. Americans love to fight, traditionally. All real Americans love the sting and clash of battle. You are here today for three reasons. First, because you are here to defend your homes and your loved ones. Second, you are here for your own self respect, because you would not want to be anywhere else. Third, you are here because you are real men and all real men like to fight. When you, here, everyone of you, were kids, you all admired the champion marble player, the fastest runner, the toughest boxer, the big league ball players, and the All-American football players. Americans love a winner. Americans will not tolerate a loser. Americans despise cowards. Americans play to win all of the time. I wouldn't give a hoot in hell for a man who lost and laughed. That's why Americans have never lost nor will ever lose a war; for the very idea of losing is hateful to an American."

The General paused and looked over the crowd. "You are not all going to die," he said slowly. "Only two percent of you right here today would die in a major battle. Death must not be feared. Death, in time, comes to all men. Yes, every man is scared in his first battle. If he says he's not, he's a liar. Some men are cowards but they fight the same as the brave men or they get the hell slammed out of them watching men fight who are just as scared as they are. The real hero is the man who fights even though he is scared. Some men get over their fright in a minute under fire. For some, it takes an hour. For some, it takes days. But a real man will never let his fear of death overpower his honor, his sense of duty to his country, and his innate manhood. Battle is the most magnificent competition in which a human being can indulge. It brings out all that is best and it removes all that is base. Americans pride themselves on being He Men and they ARE He Men. Remember that the enemy is just as frightened as you are, and probably more so. They are not supermen."

"All through your Army careers, you men have bitched about what you call "chicken shit drilling". That, like everything else in this Army, has a definite purpose. That purpose is alertness. Alertness must be bred into every soldier. I don't give a fuck for a man who's not always on his toes. You men are veterans or you wouldn't be here. You are ready for what's to come. A man must be alert at all times if he expects to stay alive. If you're not alert, sometime, a German son-of-an-asshole-bitch is going to sneak up behind you and beat you to death with a sockful of shit!" The men roared in agreement.

Patton's grim expression did not change. "There are four hundred neatly marked graves somewhere in Sicily", he roared into the microphone, "All because one man went to sleep on the job". He paused and the men grew silent. "But they are German graves, because we caught the bastard asleep before they did". The General clutched the microphone tightly, his jaw out-thrust, and he continued, "An Army is a team. It lives, sleeps, eats, and fights as a team. This individual heroic stuff is pure horse shit. The bilious bastards who write that kind of stuff for the Saturday Evening Post don't know any more about real fighting under fire than they know about fucking!"

The men slapped their legs and rolled in glee. This was Patton as the men had imagined him to be, and in rare form, too. He hadn't let them down. He was all that he was cracked up to be, and more. He had IT!

"We have the finest food, the finest equipment, the best spirit, and the best men in the world", Patton bellowed. He lowered his head and shook it pensively. Suddenly he snapped erect, faced the men belligerently and thundered, "Why, by God, I actually pity those poor sons-of-bitches we're going up against. By God, I do". The men clapped and howled delightedly. There would be many a barracks tale about the "Old Man's" choice phrases. They would become part and parcel of Third Army's history and they would become the bible of their slang.

"My men don't surrender", Patton continued, "I don't want to hear of any soldier under my command being captured unless he has been hit. Even if you are hit, you can still fight back. That's not just bull shit either. The kind of man that I want in my command is just like the lieutenant in Libya, who, with a Luger against his chest, jerked off his helmet, swept the gun aside with one hand, and busted the hell out of the Kraut with his helmet. Then he jumped on the gun and went out and killed another German before they knew what the hell was coming off. And, all of that time, this man had a bullet through a lung. There was a real man!"

Patton stopped and the crowd waited. He continued more quietly, "All of the real heroes are not storybook combat fighters, either. Every single man in this Army plays a vital role. Don't ever let up. Don't ever think that your job is unimportant. Every man has a job to do and he must do it. Every man is a vital link in the great chain. What if every truck driver suddenly decided that he didn't like the whine of those shells overhead, turned yellow, and jumped headlong into a ditch? The cowardly bastard could say, "Hell, they won't miss me, just one man in thousands". But, what if every man thought that way? Where in the hell would we be now? What would our country, our loved ones, our homes, even the world, be like? No, Goddamnit, Americans don't think like that. Every man does his job. Every man serves the whole. Every department, every unit, is important in the vast scheme of this war. The ordnance men are needed to supply the guns and machinery of war to keep us rolling. The Quartermaster is needed to bring up food and clothes because where we are going there isn't a hell of a lot to steal. Every last man on K.P. has a job to do, even the one who heats our water to keep us from getting the 'G.I. Shits'."

Patton paused, took a deep breath, and continued, "Each man must not think only of himself, but also of his buddy fighting beside him. We don't want yellow cowards in this Army. They should be killed off like rats. If not, they will go home after this war and breed more cowards. The brave men will breed more brave men. Kill off the Goddamned cowards and we will have a nation of brave men. One of the bravest men that I ever saw was a fellow on top of a telegraph pole in the midst of a furious fire fight in Tunisia. I stopped and asked what the hell he was doing up there at a time like that. He answered, "Fixing the wire, Sir". I asked, "Isn't that a little unhealthy right about now?" He answered, "Yes Sir, but the Goddamned wire has to be fixed". I asked, "Don't those planes strafing the road bother you?" And he answered, "No, Sir, but you sure as hell do!" Now, there was a real man. A real soldier. There was a man who devoted all he had to his duty, no matter how seemingly insignificant his duty might appear at the time, no matter how great the odds. And you should have seen those trucks on the rode to Tunisia. Those drivers were magnificent. All day and all night they rolled over those son-of-a-bitching roads, never stopping, never faltering from their course, with shells bursting all around them all of the time. We got through on good old American guts. Many of those men drove for over forty consecutive hours. These men weren't combat men, but they were soldiers with a job to do. They did it, and in one hell of a way they did it. They were part of a team. Without team effort, without them, the fight would have been lost. All of the links in the chain pulled together and the chain became unbreakable."

The General paused and stared challengingly over the silent ocean of men. One could have heard a pin drop anywhere on that vast hillside. The only sound was the stirring of the breeze in the leaves of the bordering trees and the busy chirping of the birds in the branches of the trees at the General's left.

"Don't forget," Patton barked, "you men don't know that I'm here. No mention of that fact is to be made in any letters. The world is not supposed to know what the hell happened to me. I'm not supposed to be commanding this Army. I'm not even supposed to be here in England. Let the first bastards to find out be the Goddamned Germans. Some day I want to see them raise up on their piss-soaked hind legs and howl, 'Jesus Christ, it's the Goddamned Third Army again and that son-of-a-fucking-bitch Patton'."

"We want to get the hell over there", Patton continued, "The quicker we clean up this Goddamned mess, the quicker we can take a little jaunt against the purple pissing Japs and clean out their nest, too. Before the Goddamned Marines get all of the credit."

The men roared approval and cheered delightedly. This statement had real significance behind it. Much more than met the eye and the men instinctively sensed the fact. They knew that they themselves were going to play a very great part in the making of world history. They were being told as much right now. Deep sincerity and seriousness lay behind the General's colorful words. The men knew and understood it. They loved the way he put it, too, as only he could.

Patton continued quietly, "Sure, we want to go home. We want this war over with. The quickest way to get it over with is to go get the bastards who started it. The quicker they are whipped, the quicker we can go home. The shortest way home is through Berlin and Tokyo. And when we get to Berlin", he yelled, "I am personally going to shoot that paper hanging son-of-a-bitch Hitler. Just like I'd shoot a snake!"

"When a man is lying in a shell hole, if he just stays there all day, a German will get to him eventually. The hell with that idea. The hell with taking it. My men don't dig foxholes. I don't want them to. Foxholes only slow up an offensive. Keep moving. And don't give the enemy time to dig one either. We'll win this war, but we'll win it only by fighting and by showing the Germans that we've got more guts than they have; or ever will have. We're not going to just shoot the sons-of-bitches, we're going to rip out their living Goddamned guts and use them to grease the treads of our tanks. We're going to murder those lousy Hun cocksuckers by the bushel-fucking-basket. War is a bloody, killing business. You've got to spill their blood, or they will spill yours. Rip them up the belly. Shoot them in the guts. When shells are hitting all around you and you wipe the dirt off your face and realize that instead of dirt it's the blood and guts of what once was your best friend beside you, you'll know what to do!"

"I don't want to get any messages saying, "I am holding my position." We are not holding a Goddamned thing. Let the Germans do that. We are advancing constantly and we are not interested in holding onto anything, except the enemy's balls. We are going to twist his balls and kick the living shit out of him all of the time. Our basic plan of operation is to advance and to keep on advancing regardless of whether we have to go over, under, or through the enemy. We are going to go through him like crap through a goose; like shit through a tin horn!"

"From time to time there will be some complaints that we are pushing our people too hard. I don't give a good Goddamn about such complaints. I believe in the old and sound rule that an ounce of sweat will save a gallon of blood. The harder WE push, the more Germans we will kill. The more Germans we kill, the fewer of our men will be killed. Pushing means fewer casualties. I want you all to remember that."

The General paused. His eagle like eyes swept over the hillside. He said with pride, "There is one great thing that you men will all be able to say after this war is over and you are home once again. You may be thankful that twenty years from now when you are sitting by the fireplace with your grandson on your knee and he asks you what you did in the great World War II, you WON'T have to cough, shift him to the other knee and say, "Well, your Granddaddy shoveled shit in Louisiana." No, Sir, you can look him straight in the eye and say, "Son, your Granddaddy rode with the Great Third Army and a Son-of-a-Goddamned-Bitch named Georgie Patton!"

 

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