http://www.isnare.com/?s=author&a=Diane+Diekman World Affairs Diane Diekman Fri, 04 Apr 2008 00:00:00 -0700 http://www.isnare.com/?aid=240606&ca=World+Affairs The earthquake that struck Kobe (ko-bay), Japan, in 1995 registered 7.2 on the Richter scale and lasted twenty seconds. Fires and collapsed buildings and bridges throughout the city killed 5000 people and injured 21,000. More than 275,000 of the city's 1.5 million inhabitants were left homeless. I... Writing Diane Diekman Fri, 28 Mar 2008 00:00:00 -0700 http://www.isnare.com/?aid=238393&ca=Writing One perk of being in naval aviation maintenance was the occasional opportunity to fly in the backseat of a jet. In 1979, while in the training command in Kingsville, Texas, I went through ejection seat training and water survival to do just that. Following a lecture about the ejection seat, we took... Entertainment Diane Diekman Sat, 22 Mar 2008 00:00:00 -0700 http://www.isnare.com/?aid=235894&ca=Entertainment Before moving to Japan in August 1996, I called Faron Young, and we held a long enjoyable conversation. As always, he had an opinion on everything and didn't care how people reacted to his comments and actions. I enjoyed his wonderful sense of humor. He said he'd stopped smoking - again. (He had sto... Entertainment Diane Diekman Fri, 14 Mar 2008 00:00:00 -0700 http://www.isnare.com/?aid=233548&ca=Entertainment Nashville songwriter Jerry Chesnut remembers well that pre-dawn morning in 1971 when he could not sleep. He picked up his guitar, looked at his watch, and said, "It's four in the morning and a new day is dawning." Then he started writing a song. The first two verses and chorus came easily, but he go... Entertainment Diane Diekman Fri, 07 Mar 2008 00:00:00 -0800 http://www.isnare.com/?aid=231475&ca=Entertainment Willie Nelson was an unknown songwriter when he pitched "Hello Walls" to Faron Young, one of the hottest singers in country music. Faron recorded the song in 1961, and it stayed at number one on the Billboard country music charts for nine weeks. Faron later explained in a radio interview that artist... Recreation Diane Diekman Fri, 29 Feb 2008 00:00:00 -0800 http://www.isnare.com/?aid=229450&ca=Recreation The invitation in the mail was for a 14-mile moonlight trail run. I had joined the Virginia Happy Trails Running Club because I wanted ultra running contacts in my new home, but so far I had not met any of the members. This would be a chance to do so. Fourteen miles, no problem. I ran that distance...