Funeral Video, a Real Whiz, and a Sendoff

1. Patch’s of United States Marine Cpl. Jordan R. Stanton on March 17 produced a lot of outstanding images, many produced by photographer Jeff Antenore. He produced three outstanding slide shows, of the , at the , and . What that one moment in time can’t produce is the subject of , which includes the presentation of the flag to Joyce Stanton, a 21-gun salute, and a beautiful playing of taps.

2. With all the coverage of the Stanton funeral, it was easy to overlook others stories on Patch. One worth checking out is the tale of this week’s , who attends Santa Margarita Catholic High. She has done a lot of good work, enough to make adults feel like slackers. It’s worth reading for no other reason than to reaffirm your faith in today’s youth.

3. It’s good to know that there appears to be reaching California from the nuclear plants damaged in the Japanese earthquake. As a means of helping that crippled country, . There’s a close connection with Rancho Santa Margarita; in 2007, the city adopted the 2/5. Godspeed.

4. On this date in history, March 19, 1831, the first bank robbery in America took place, with thieves stealing about $250,000 from a New York City bank. In 2003, Operation Iraqi Freedom was launched by President George W. Bush, although the reasons for initiating war—weapons of mass destruction—were never found. In 1995, Michael Jordan returned to the NBA after being “retired” for 17 months. In 1957, Elvis Presley put down a $1,000 deposit to purchase Graceland for $102,000; today, it’s the most visited home in America besides the White House.

5. Celebrating an action-packed birthday today is Bruce Willis (56), as well as Glenn Close (64) and Ursula Andress (75). Also born on this date were the late actor Patrick McGoohan (1928) and the legendary Wyatt Earp (1848).

For What it’s Worth: March is National Athletic Training Month. This is the last day of National Money Week. Today is: Corn Dog Day, National Quilting Day, Perigree Moon (the Supermoon); the Return of the Swallows to San Juan Capistrano.