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Posted by Cam Bortz (Member # 55) on :
 
Generally that's a contradiction in terms, but I'll explain.

When I was a boy I was fascinated by several books I read about British P.O.W.'s who were imprisoned in a German castle called Colditz during WWII. Colditz was the ultimate high-security prison; and only held officers who had escaped and been recaptured from other camps. In Colditz the guards outnumbered the prisoners; it was floodlit at all times despite the blackout, prison quarters were on the top floors of buildings with hundred-foot-plus drops from barred windows, and roll-call counts of prisoners were held at a minimum of six times a day. Yet over the course of the war over 300 prisoners escaped from Colditz, and eighteen made it out of Germany. The ingenuity and determination of those men was truly remarkable; they dug tunnels, climbed over rooftops with home-made ropes, created false documents, civilian clothing and German uniforms; built their own radio receivers, etc.

The most astonishing feat was the construction, in the prison, of a glider designed to be launched from a rooftop; the war ended before it could be used, and the glider was left behind when the Castle was evacuated.

Tonight on PBS, "Nova" is showing a documentary of Colditz, with interviews of surviving prisoners and guards and their stories. Best of all, the Nova producers had the glider rebuilt from the original plans, and the men who designed it will find out, after all these years, if it would really have flown.

Now this is what I call "must watch" television. 8pm, on PBS.

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"A wise man concerns himself with the truth, not with what people believe." - Aristotle

When the going gets weird, the weird turn pro. - Raoul Duke (Hunter S. Thompson)

Cam
Finest Kind Signs
256 S. Broad St.
Pawcatuck, Ct. 06379
"Award winning Signs since 1988"


 

Posted by Wayne Webb (Member # 1124) on :
 
That's fascinating,Cam.
My bro-in-law was telling me about that a couple of weeks ago. I believe he said that the glider did fly. Those are among the types of things that fascinate me. If I had cable, I would certainly be watching that too.

Have you heard about the Confederate submarine "H. L. Hunley" that was raised from the bottom of Charleston Harbor just this past year. Archaeologists are working on in now and it will be fascinating to hear what they discover. It was the first submarine ever to sink an enemy warship.

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Wayne Webb
Webb Sign Studio
creators of "woodesigns"
"autograph your work with excellence"
webbsignstudio@digitalexp.com


 

Posted by Bob Rochon (Member # 30) on :
 
With only one TV. a 2 year old and a wife, I doubt I'll get a chance to view that, but thanks Cam.

It sounds like a great documentary, Maybe I can get my father to tape it for me.

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Bob Rochon
Creative Signworks
Millbury, MA
bob@creativesignworks.com

"Some people's kids"



 

Posted by Cam Bortz (Member # 55) on :
 
I'm going to tape this myself (and I never tape anything!) so you can borrow it sometime.

------------------
"A wise man concerns himself with the truth, not with what people believe." - Aristotle

When the going gets weird, the weird turn pro. - Raoul Duke (Hunter S. Thompson)

Cam
Finest Kind Signs
256 S. Broad St.
Pawcatuck, Ct. 06379
"Award winning Signs since 1988"


 

Posted by old paint (Member # 549) on :
 
now this is worth while tv viewing....pbs, tlc, history and speedvision....is all you really need.....iam gona try to watch it also...

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joe pribish-A SIGN MINT
2811 longleaf Dr.
pensacola, fl 32526
850-944-5060
BEWARE THE TRUTH.....YOU MAY NOT LIKE WHAT YOU FIND


 

Posted by LazyEdna (Member # 266) on :
 
I get PBS with rabbit ears.. in fact.. it is not available on satellite in my area.
Nova is a great show.
PBS, one of those programs your tax dollars are being cut from supporting.
But let's get going on Star Wars... YEAH! There's the place we want to send billions and billions of taxpayer $$$.
LE

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LazyEdna
in RL known as Sara Straw
from southern Utah
5 National Parks within 3 hours drive
Red Rock Heaven


 

Posted by Mark Fair Signs (Member # 289) on :
 
PBS is the best.
I like "Nova", "The American Experience", and anything Ken Burns does such as "The Civil War", "Baseball" and "Jazz".
i also like black and white reruns of "Andy Griffith" LOL

sounds interesting cam, i will be on the lookout for it.

mark

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Mark Fair

Mark Fair Signs
http://www.markfair.com

Home of "Sign of the Month
http://www.markfair.com/signomonth.html

2162 Mt. Meigs Road
Montgomery, Alabama 36107
334-262-4449

mark@markfair.com

"Mark Fair is a Proud Contributor to The Letterhead Site!"



 

Posted by Don Coplen (Member # 127) on :
 
Lessee....topic is "good tv" PBS documentary about WWII POWs? hmmmmm, how can we flip this into a thread on politics? Some people could turn a conversation about bass fishing into bitch and moan partison politics!

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Don Coplen aka "SaintPete"
Coplen Designs
St.Petersburg, FL dcoplen@mindspring.com


[This message has been edited by Don Coplen (edited February 06, 2001).]
 

Posted by Glenn Taylor (Member # 162) on :
 
Well, until PBS brings back "Red Dwarf" I ain't sending in any donations and I want my some of my tax money back!

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Warning: A well designed sign may cause fatigue due to increased business.
http://members.tripod.com/taylor_graphics
walldog@geeksnet.com



 

Posted by Sarah Clark (Member # 413) on :
 
Well its rabbit ears and PBS here too. Nova and Frontline and the friday nite polital shows, British comedies and Mystery and BBS news, Lair newshour, nature shows and Masterpiece Theater. And hey Glenn here in the boonies of the Ozarks we have Red Drawf on late Saturday night. I would love to see Dr Who return. But as LE said the government has been greatly reducing funds to PBS over the last several years, and they find it harder to get all the money needed for these excellent programs. Non the less they are doing an excellant job.

There also is NPR, National Public Radio in most areas.

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[This message has been edited by Sarah (edited February 06, 2001).]
 

Posted by Michael Boone (Member # 308) on :
 
Can anyone imagine the tenacity of those prisioners?
They even built a dummie wall to conceal the project.
Then to see the reproduction glider lift off like a dove.......

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Michael Boone
Sign Painter
5828 Buerman Rd.Sodus,NY 14551
Ontime @localnet.com


 

Posted by FranCisco Vargas (Member # 145) on :
 
Hey Cam, just wanted to say Thanks for the info on the program. It was super cool, I like those kinds of documentary's. What a trip it must have been for those old timers to see after so many years past that the glider would have flown! Gracias...

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FranCisco Vargas
aka: Cisco
aka:Traveling Millennium Sign Artist
http://www.franciscovargas.com
Fresno, CA 93703
559 252-0935

"to live life, is to love life, a sign of no life, is a sign of no love"...Cisco 12'98



 

Posted by Cam Bortz (Member # 55) on :
 
Was that cool, or what? When that glider went almost straight up, then soared almost out of site, and the look on the faces of those old warriors, knowing, after all these years, what might have been...

Having read and re-read the stories of these experiences over the years, it was great to see the men whose names I recognized; feeling like I know them. And the scene of them returning to that castle after fifty years gave me a cold chill, thinking about what they had been through, the efforts they made to escape, the desire to never see those walls and bars again; then seeing them up in the secret room where they built the glider, and talking about how they showed it to their captors after their liberation.

------------------
"A wise man concerns himself with the truth, not with what people believe." - Aristotle

When the going gets weird, the weird turn pro. - Raoul Duke (Hunter S. Thompson)

Cam
Finest Kind Signs
256 S. Broad St.
Pawcatuck, Ct. 06379
"Award winning Signs since 1988"


 



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