Thoughts For The Day From Papa ‘a

Good Morning All & Happy Monday!

Speaking of happy occasions, here’s to my son-in-law, Joel C., who celebrates his birthday tomorrow, April 16th!  He is turning 34!  Happy Birthday, Joel…sound designer/editor and video/audio professional extraordinaire!  And here’s to friend and fellow PEG (People For Effective Government) founder, Dave W., who will be celebrating his 64th birthday this coming Wednesday, April 17th.  Dave is a man of many talents…entrepreneur, father, grandfather & a passionate believer in good government, civility in politics & finding common sense solutions to the major problems of our time.  Happy Birthday to one of my favorite actresses, Emma Thompson, who turns 60 today; to actor Seth Rogen, a strong advocate in the fight against Alzheimer’s Disease and related dementias, who is 37 today; to actress Emma Watson of “Harry Potter” movie fame, who turns 29 today; to actress Claudia Cardinale, who is 81 today; and to country singer/songwriter, Chris Stapleton, who turns 41 today!  Here’s to all of you!

I don’t know if you’ve been following what has happened with the Spokane School District, but their leadership has laid off a substantial number of teachers due to a huge budget shortfall.  It seems as though this has disproportionately affected professional staff who provide special education services and other high profile positions such as librarians and many new teachers who were just hired last year.  These layoffs come just a year after the District gave substantial pay increases to teachers.  No one can argue against paying teachers an appropriate wage for the important work they do, however it seems strange that the District would hire a large number of teachers and other professional teaching-related staff and then turn around and lay them off just after hiring them.  It’s either a sign of incompetence or a calculated move to seek more funding for the District.  It’s my understanding that, under current Washington State law, school districts are not allowed to seek additional funds from what the state allows through the use of school levies.  The intent of the law is that all school districts in the state would be treated equally in terms of the level of funding they receive from the state, without respect to property values within particular school districts…an effort to “level the playing field” amongst “richer” and “poorer” school districts in the state.  However, there is no mechanism in place now for school districts to ask for additional funds over and above the state allocation.  It seems to me that each district should be allowed to propose local school district levies and let the voters decide whether their request for additional funds is acceptable.  It seems as though every time there seems to be a budget crunch within public/governmental entities, those entities resort to cutting positions that have high visibility in order to convince the public that more funds are needed to meet funding requests made by District leadership.  We, the people, should have more accountability and transparency from School District leadership.  Full disclosure of budgets and the process by which those budgets are determined should be the order of the day, so that the public can better understand exactly what is going on.  The other thing that is disturbing to me is the ratio of administrative staff to teaching (point of service to the children) staff and what appears to be relatively few administrative positions being eliminated to address the budget shortfall being presented.  The children of School District 81 are still going to need be adequately served in the classroom, at the beginning of the next school year and yet the School District has chosen this path to address it’s budget woes…the people and the children of School District 81 deserve better, both from the District’s leadership and from our state legislature.  Action is needed soon for the sake of our kids and our educational system!  What do you think?

It never ceases to amaze me the stories behind my 1969 Topps Football Cards.  In many cases, there’s much more behind what is on each player’s card or what you might find on a cursory search of their name on the internet.  A case in point is Bob Vogel, who played tackle for the NFL Baltimore Colts from 1963-1972 and only missed on game in all of that time!  The story of his life after football is truly remarkable, as you’ll see in a minute.  Bob was born in 1941 in Columbus, Ohio and played high school football at Massillon High School before choosing to play college football at Ohio State.  He came from a poor family…his father was originally a coal miner…times were tough for Bob & his family growing up.  Ohio State were national champions when Bob played there.  He was the fifth player overall selected in the 1963 NFL draft.  During his time with the Baltimore Colts he appeared in Super Bowls III & V and did a superb job of protecting Hall of Fame quarterback Johnny Unitas as an offensive tackle.  But the most remarkable part of Bob’s life started after he retired from pro football.  “I just walked away in 1972 and said, “It’s over…I loved every minute of the game, but it was painful to see so many of my teammates stay too long.  They either got hurt, mad, benched or traded.  For so many guys, their identity is wrapped up in football….To me, that’s sad.”  Vogel traded the mayhem for a more selfless life.  Witness the 48 foster children that he and his wife, Andrea, have cared for through the years.  Or the prisons that Vogel visits, Good Book (The Holy Bible) in hand, in a bid to turn inmates’ lives around.  Or the mission trips he makes regularly to places like Honduras and Cuba, to bring health care to the poor.  Retired from a career in marketing and sales, he travels regularly to area prisons to share the word of God.  A born-again Christian, Vogel taught himself Spanish so he could converse with Latinos who don’t speak English.  At one youth facility, he said, “the kids are so violent that I’m not allowed to go into their cells.  I have to sit outside their room, on a plastic bucket, and talk to them through the slot in the door where they’re fed.  It’s a unique way to spread the gospel.”  Only in prison does Vogel ever were his Super Bowl ring from the Colts’ 16-13 victory over Dallas in 1971.  “Masculinity is the trump card in there,” he said.  The ring is a symbol of machismo.  If the men respect my manhood, they’ll sometimes allow me to share my feelings about Jesus, whether they are believers or not.”  Married 46 years, Vogel has four children, four grandkids and his health.  The man who missed on Colts game in 10 years works out daily and weights 210 pounds, well below his playing weight (his 1969 card showed his weight as 250 lbs.).  There’s a great recording of Bob Vogel giving testimony about his journey of faith that I highly recommend.  It was given at Central College Presbyterian Church in Westerville, Ohio.  You can find it on page 4 or 5 of the entries on the internet search engine for “Bob Vogel Football.”  I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.  Here’s to Bob Vogel & the meaningful things he has done with his life!

Here is the funny Medical Dictionary definition for the day:

Tumor:  One plus one more

Here are some thoughts for the day:

“Do not miss your children’s childhood.  Do not be away 200 nights a year as I was.  Do not put strains on your marriage or family.”

—Joe Scarborough, former U.S. Congressman from Florida and co-host of TV’s “Morning Joe” on CNBC

“To keep your character intact you cannot stoop to filthy acts.  It makes it easier to stoop the next time.”

—Katharine Hepburn, Oscar-winning actress (1907-2003)

“Your partner has to live with the best and the worst part of you, and they’re affected by it.”

—Dennis Quaid, actor of “Frequency” movie fame

“Would you like to learn to sing?  Would you like to sing my song?

Would you like to learn to love me best of all?

Anyone can learn the words…And the melody’s so plain

This is my song…To bring you back again.

I’ll teach you how to sing and dance

With a song and dance routine.

And when the party’s over

You can fall in love with me.

Would you like to learn to tango?

Do you dance the light fandango?

I’ll teach you how…before we’re done

Anyone can make it two…Any two can turn to one

And the melody’s lost…Before the song’s begun

We sound so good together…And so poorly sung alone

Your harmony’s an open breeze into my sheltered home

I can teach you how to sing and dance

With a song and dance routine.

And when the party’s over,

You can fall in love with me.”

—Janis Ian, “When The Party’s Over” (1975)

Here’s to a great Monday & lots of love always!

Press on,

Papa ‘a (Dad, Uncle Mark, etc.)