Patricia Spork

Creative patriotic newshound. Dogs, horses and great-grandchildren enhance life. Blessed!

[Governor Abbott Press Office @GovAbbottPress]

Texans: submit your nominations for the 2025 Star of Texas Awards by TOMORROW!

This award honors first responders who were injured or killed in the line of duty.

To recognize these heroes, submit a 2025 Star of Texas Awards nomination here: https://t.co/Q54NXRXNsq

[Libs of TikTok @libsoftiktok]

Wow! Sole survivor Ramesh Vishwaskumar of doomed Air India crash walks away from wreckage

[Dr. M.F. Khan @Dr_TheHistories]

Frank "Rocky" Fiegel, born in Illinois to Polish immigrant parents, was a local legend known for his remarkable strength, quick temper, and surprising gentleness toward children. With his muscular build, craggy face, and trademark bulging eye, he became a familiar figure around town—often seen in a brawl but just as often delighting kids with stories and antics. It was this unique combination of toughness and heart that earned him the nickname "Pop-Eye," long before it became world-famous.

Growing up in the same town, cartoonist Elzie Crisler Segar drew direct inspiration from Fiegel when creating the character of Popeye for his *Thimble Theatre* comic strip in 1919. Popeye’s rugged personality, fearless brawling spirit, and can-do attitude mirrored the real-life Fiegel, who was known to take on much bigger opponents and come out on top. Even Popeye’s trademark spinach-fueled strength echoed the exaggerated tales of Fiegel’s resilience and fighting prowess.

Other characters in the Popeye universe were also grounded in reality—Olive Oyl was based on Dora Paskel, a tall, spirited woman from the neighborhood, while the villainous Bluto may have been inspired by a large man who once famously lost a fight to Fiegel. Though Frank "Rocky" Fiegel passed away in 1947, his influence endures through the enduring legacy of Popeye—a symbol not just of muscle, but of perseverance, loyalty, and heart.

#drthehistories

[The Gateway Pundit @gatewaypundit]

DEVELOPING: FBI Arrests Driver Who Went Viral for Delivering “Bionic Shield” Face Masks to LA Rioters in Early Morning Sting https://t.co/4CUV2Wcml1

[Townhall.com @townhallcom]

🚨DEVASTATING — All 242 people bound for London have died on the Boeing 787-8 passenger jet minutes after taking off from India.

Read the ongoing story here:

https://t.co/b0WDdbdqmx

[Wreaths Across America @WreathsAcross]

Honoring the women who paved the way for service, selflessness and sacrifice. Thank you, women veterans!

[Traces of Texas @TracesofTexas]

A family outside their sod house somewhere in the Texas Panhandle, 1898. These sod houses are testament to human ingenuity. Coming to a place that had zero trees for constructing housing, these structures were built with sod cut into the thick buffalo grass that had grown over millennia. The sod was typically cut into 18-inch blocks. It would normally take 1/4 to 1/2 an acre to build a house.

Counterintuitively, these houses were actually pretty good places to live, being insulated from elements like heat and cold and wind with their thick walls. They were surprisingly durable, too: Marshall McCully's sod house in Oklahoma lasted 60 years, at which time it was given to the Oklahoma Historical Society. Since that time, the Oklahoma Historical Society has done its best to restore the sod home to its original condition and protect it from the elements. It can be visited to this very day.
What a dazzling photo!

Courtesy the awesome @spcouta library via the equally bodacious The Portal to Texas History.

[A Soldier's Whisper @SoldiersWhisper]

It was the early morning hours near Baghdad, and Sgt. Leigh Anne Hester was leading a Military Police squad. “Our job was to clear our Area of Operation,” she recalled of that summer day in 2005.

Finding no threats, they escorted a convoy of unarmored trucks. Suddenly, “loud and close rapid gunfire, AK-47s, machine gun fire and explosions” erupted.

Insurgents, hidden in irrigation ditches, ambushed the convoy, disabling a Humvee and wounding its crew. Outnumbered five to one, Hester’s squad faced over 30 fighters advancing with handcuffs to capture survivors.

“We decided… to dismount because it would provide more firepower,” Hester said. She led her team to a berm, directing heavy grenade and machine gun fire. Flanking the enemy, Hester engaged insurgents with her grenade launcher and rifle, clearing trenches in close-quarters combat.

“We just immediately began returning fire,” she noted. The ambush ended with 27 enemies killed, six wounded, one captured. As for Hester, she became he first woman since WWII to earn the Silver Star for valor in close combat, to go along with a Bronze Star and Army Commendation Medal.

#usarmy #iraq

[Baseball by BSmile @BSmile]

Today In 1939: Amazing footage of the Grand Opening of The Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, New York! #HOF #MLB #Baseball #History

[𝕃𝕚𝕖𝕦𝕥𝕖𝕟𝕒𝕟𝕥 ℂ𝕠𝕝𝕠𝕟𝕖𝕝 ℙ 🪖 @TheLtColUSMC]

History teacher just schooled everyone on why the Marines are built different.💪🏽

[Military Support @MilitaryCooI]

Congratulations to K9 Frida on her well-deserved retirement! 🐾After 8 years of dedicated service, she's trading in her badge for belly rubs, treats, and toys. Thank you for your loyalty and courage-enjoy the good life, girl! 🇺🇸

[Bass Manager 🎣 @TeamBassManager]

Austin Vowell set a new Neshoba County with a 14.3-pound largemouth bass

The record-breaking catch was made using a Zoom Super Fluke in a secluded patch of lily pads, in just two feet of water

[The Freedom Wild @TheFreedomWild]

Walking away with a confident strut. #wildlife #nature #deer 🦌

[Patricia Spork @sporkette]

Several East Texans arrested in Operation Soteria Shield online child sex exploitation investigation #Texas https://t.co/9GD41O8asr

[Real Country Music @real_kuntry]

The Ballad of Ira Hayes

[𝕃𝕚𝕖𝕦𝕥𝕖𝕟𝕒𝕟𝕥 ℂ𝕠𝕝𝕠𝕟𝕖𝕝 ℙ 🪖 @TheLtColUSMC]

With Dakota Meyer’s reenlistment making headlines, I can’t help but think of 1stLt Mike Johnson—a fellow Marine, TBS classmate, and friend. He made the ultimate sacrifice during the Battle of Ganjgal on September 8, 2009—the same day Dakota earned the Medal of Honor.

We were in the same platoon at The Basic School—Fox Company, 2007. Back then, we were just motivated lieutenants, full of fire and ready to lead. None of us imagined that just two years later, one of our own would lay down his life in service to this nation.

Heroes like 1stLt Johnson aren’t just stories in books or names on plaques—they’re real. And they lived, laughed, and trained right beside us.

The spirit of a hero lives on as long as we keep saying their names. And I’ll never stop saying his.

Rest easy, Mike. You are not forgotten. Semper Fidelis. 🫡

[Wreaths Across America @WreathsAcross]

Thank a military child - current or past - their sacrifices extend far beyond childhood.

[Patricia Spork @sporkette]

@RanaePape Terrible about recent losses and hardships. Hope today is better one for you.

[United Cajun Navy @Unitedcajunnavy]

It's hard to find people who are as crazy as we are. But thank God we did! 🫡💪🌪️ #CajunNavy #TeamDominator @ReedTimmerUSA @teamdominatorHQ https://t.co/wwNr3PNHbm

[U.S. Secret Service @SecretService]

Today we remember Special Agent Donald R. Leonard, who lost his life in the Oklahoma City bombing April 19, 1995.