Hi John and Doves.  Another interesting e-mail I received today.  It's good
reading--but it just struck me that it would be better still if none of us
were here to open the website tomorrow.

Note to Jan M.  My spirit rejoices at your messages, as I praise and worship
right alongside you.  I feel so blessed after reading your expressions of
love.
Thank you for participating with us.  And now to the e-mail:

 
Subject: UNITED STATES ONE DOLLAR BILL
 
 

Take out a one dollar bill, and look at it. The one dollar bill you're
looking at first came off the presses in 1957 in its present design.
This so-called paper money is in fact a cotton and linen blend, with
red and blue minute silk fibers running through it. It is actually
material. We've all washed it without it falling apart. A special blend
of ink is used, the contents we will never know. It is overprinted with
symbols and then it is starched to make it water resistant and pressed
to give it that nice crisp look.
 
 
 
   If you look on the front of the bill, you will see the United States
Treasury Seal. On the top you will see the scales for a balanced
budget. In the center you have a carpenter's square, a tool used for an
even cut. Underneath is the Key to the United States Treasury. That's
all pretty easy to figure out, but what is on the back of that dollar
bill is something we should all know.
 
 
 
   If you turn the bill over, you will see two circles. Both circles,
together, comprise the Great Seal of the United States. The First
Continental Congress requested that Benjamin Franklin and a group of
men come up with a Seal. It took them four years to accomplish this
task and another two years to get it approved.
 
 
   If you look at the left-hand circle, you will see a Pyramid. Notice
the face is lighted, and the western side is dark. This country was
just beginning. We had not begun to explore the West or decided what we
could do for Western Civilization. The Pyramid is un-capped, again
signifying that we were not even close to being finished. Inside the
capstone you have the all-seeing eye, an ancient symbol for divinity.
It was Franklin's belief that one man couldn't do it alone, but a
group of men, with the help of God, could do anything.
 
   ?
   "IN GOD WE TRUST" is on this currency. The Latin above the pyramid,
ANNUIT COEPTIS, means, "God has favored our undertaking."
 
 
   The Latin below the pyramid, NOVUS ORDO SECLORUM, means, "a new order
has begun." At the base of the pyramid is the Roman Numeral for 1776.
 
 
 
   If you look at the right-hand circle, and check it carefully, you will
learn that it is on every National Cemetery in the United States It is
also on the Parade of Flags Walkway at the Bushnell, Florida National
Cemetery, and is the centerpiece of most hero's monuments. Slightly
modified, it is the seal of the President of the United States, and it
is always visible whenever he speaks, yet very few people know what the
symbols mean.
 
   The Bald Eagle was selected as a symbol for victory for two reasons:
First, he is not afraid of a storm; he is strong, and he is smart
enough to soar above it. Secondly, he wears no material crown. We had
just broken from the King of England. Also, notice the shield is
unsupported. This country can now stand on its own. At the top of that
shield you have a white bar signifying congress, a unifying factor. We
were coming together as one nation. In the Eagle's beak you will read,
"E PLURIBUS UNUM", meaning, "one nation from many people".
 
   Above the Eagle, you have thirteen stars, representing the thirteen
original colonies, and any clouds of misunderstanding rolling away.
Again, we were coming together as one..
 
   Notice what the Eagle holds in his talons. He holds an olive branch
and arrows. This country wants peace, but we will never be afraid to
fight to preserve peace. The Eagle always wants to face the olive
branch, but in time of war, his gaze turns toward the arrows.
 
 
   They say that the number 13 is an unlucky number. This is almost a
worldwide belief. You will usually never see a room numbered 13, or any
hotels or motels with a 13th floor. But think about this: 13 original
colonies, 13 signers of the Declaration of Independence, 13 stripes on
our flag, 13 steps on the Pyramid, 13 letters in the Latin above, 13
letters in "E Pluribus Unum", 13 stars above the Eagle, 13 bars on that
shield, 13 leaves on the olive branch, 13 fruits, and if you look
closely, 13 arrows. And, for minorities: the 13th Amendment.
 
   I always ask people, "Why don't you know this?" Your children don't
know this, and their history teachers don't know this. Too many
veterans have given up too much to ever let the meaning fade. Many
veterans remember coming home to an America that didn't care. Too many
veterans never came home at all.
 
   Share this page with everyone , so they can learn what is on the back
of the UNITED STATES ONE DOLLAR BILL, and what it stands for.