Good Morning All!
A great big HAPPY BIRTHDAY to the best vocal coache & theater director I know, Nancy McIntosh, who celebrates her special day tomorrow, April 28th! Here’s to you, Nancy! Have fun on your birthday! We’ll tip one in your honor, for sure!
Happy Birthday to our friend Doug in the Atlanta, Georgia area, who turns 54 today. Here’s to one of the best criminologists I know! And Happy Birthday to real estate investor, broker and property developer extraordinaire, Jeff Johnson, who celebrates his 64th birthday tomorrow (April 28th). Jeff is the author of “Cash Flow Forever”, an easy to read & interesting/informative book on how to gain wealth through residential and/or commercial real estate investing. Check it out! You’ll be glad you did!
Here’s to singer Sheena Easton, whose birthday is today and to one of the heroes of The Civil War, Ulysses S. Grant, who was born on this day in 1822!
For all of you bird lovers out there, I’ve been treated to recent visits to our bird feeders by English Sparrows…the most I’ve ever seen. They have a distinctive crown…a bright white band that goes around the middle of their head…quite striking! They seem to like nijer (thistle) seed. I’ve also been treated to visits from a Song Sparrow. It has a beautiful song that can be heard each morning that it appears (I’m not sure if it’s a male or a female, but my guess is that the melodious tune being sung is an effort to attract a mate). No Goldfinches yet…my favorite bird that frequents these parts in the Spring. If you want to see Goldfinch the place to go is my in-law’s home in Lewiston. Tons and tons of goldfinch frequent their bird feeders each and every day. They must like farm life more than the suburbs!
Judy & I had the pleasure of visiting Diamond Lake the other day to see the progress being made on our friends’ new home there. It looks terrific and their location on the lake is one of the best for views, not to mention the great swimming there! The water was sparkling when we visited…hence the name Diamond Lake, if I was guessing (although Judy just mentioned that she thought it might have been named after the Diamond Match Company mill that was located close by at one time…that sounds like a plausible reason as well!). We stopped by Bushel’s Bakery, Deli & Market on the highway that runs along Diamond Lake on the way north to Newport WA. What a great place for bakery goodies (their cream cheese iced cinnamon rolls are mouth-watering) as well as canned goods of all kinds…we picked up some canned beets, sauerkraut and some jam called “Traffic Jam”…a little bit of everything in that jam! They also sell some great children’s games & toys there. A little bit of everything special…you’ll want to check this place out if you are ever traveling between Spokane & Newport on Highway 2.
Judy & I had the pleasure of looking after our newest grandchild yesterday. Izaak (Ike) has the sweetest smile and is a joy to be around. I got down on the floor and we gazed into each other’s eyes…one of the best feelings in the world, for sure. I think he will have blue eyes…they seem to be turning blue now…not to mention that his hair seems to have some red tinge to it amongst all of his beautiful and abundant black hair. He’s quite a boy! Aren’t little ones grand? Too bad they have to grow up and become adults!
I took my mom to the cardiologists office yesterday to get a pacemaker “tune-up”. Bill, the pacemaker tech from Medtronic, was able to adjust the heart rate for mom on her pacemaker unit in the hopes that it might give her a bit more energy to do some of the things she would like to do at age 92. It ‘s amazing to me what modern technology can do! Bill could even program the pacemaker to change heart rates when mom is sleeping and then when she is awake…how about that! I told Bill that I thought of the Fifth Dimension song “Bill” (“I love you Bill…I always will”) just before we visited his office yesterday. He told me that he grew up listening to the Fifth Dimension, as it one of his folks’ favorite groups…he even mentioned the song “Age Of Aquarius”….does anyone remember that hit song from yesteryear???
Speaking of amazing technological advances, I came across a “Dilbert” cartoon in the cardiologist’s office yesterday while we were waiting for my mom’s appointment that I thought was worthy of sharing with you….
Dilbert’s Boss: “I need you to add a feature to our product because our marketing campaign says we already have it.”
Dilbert: “No problem. What is the feature?”
Dilbert’s Boss: “Time Travel.”
Dilbert’s Boss: “How long will it take to add that feature?”
Dilbert: “If I’m successful, I’ll have it done by last week.”
I came across the 1969 Topps Football Card for Frank Buncom yesterday. He was born in 1939 in Shreveport, Louisana. His folks moved to Los Angeles during World War II and he attended Susan Miller Dorsey High School there. He attended junior college at East Los Angeles College and then went on to play college football at the USC, where he lettered in the 1960 & 1961 seasons. He was drafted by the AFL San Diego Chargers in the 6th round (48th overall pick) in the 1962 AFL Draft. He played linebacker for the Chargers for seven seasons and was a three-time AFL All-Star in 1964, 1965 & 1967. He helped the Chargers win the 1963 AFL championship. He was chosen by the expansion team Cincinnati Bengals in the 1968 AFL allocation draft. He was a starting outside linebacker for the Bengals during their first-ever season in 1968 and lended veteran leadership to the new team. He was slated to be a starter for the 1969 Bengals. On the morning of the Bengals’ opening game of the 1969 regular season (September 14, 1969), his roommate, Ernie Wright, was awakened to the sound of Buncom calling for him and gasping for breath. Neither Wright, the team’s trainer nor paramedics could save him. His death at age 29 was determined to be a pulmonary embolism. He was survived by his wife Sarah, later a principal in the San Diego Unified School District, and seven-week-old son, Frank James Buncom III. His former team, the Chargers, as well as the Bengals, established trust funds for Buncom’s son. When the San Diego Chargers announced their inaugural hall of fame class in 1976, Buncom was one of the four inductees. Ron Mix, a San Diego attorney and former teammate of Buncom’s, said, “I remember Frank as being the best of us, and I’m talking about as a person of high character.” Another of his Charger teammates, Bob Petrich recalled that “Frank Buncom was the gentlest person you would ever hope to meet…the kids loved him. He was just the happiest, nicest man, and he hit like a mule on the field. That was a guy that I’d lay down my life for, in a heartbeat. I really would. Frank was an angel. He’s up in heaven somewhere.” His grandson, Frank Buncom IV, played defensive back for Stanford University and went on to pursue a career in medicine in honor of his grandfather and his grandmother, whose lives were cut short due to pulmonary & circulatory conditions. What a great legacy in honoring his grandparents in that way! Here’s to all of the Buncom family!
Here’s the fact for the day:
Astronaut Scott Kelly grew 2 inches after being in space for a year.
Here are some thoughts for the day:
“If you can’t be a woods/Be a tree.
If you can’t be a highway/Then just be a trail.
If you can’t be the sun/Be a star.”
—Fred Rogers (“Mr. Rogers”), “Be The Best Of Whatever You Are”, from “A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood: The Poetry of Mister Rogers” (2019)
“God is the only way you’re gong to make it in life…the glue that holds everything together.”
—Dennis Quaid, American actor of “Frequency” movie fame
“No soul that seriously and constantly desires joy will ever miss it. Those who seek find. To those who knock it is opened.”
—C.S. Lewis, “The Great Divorce”, as quoted in “C.S. Lewis’ Little Book Of Wisdom: Meditations on Faith, Life, Love, and Literature (2018)
“So put you hope in God alone,
take courage in His power to save,
completely and forever won
by Christ emerging from the grave.”
—Jordan Kauflin, Matthew Merker, Keith Getty & Stuart Townsend, “I Will Wait For You (Psalm 130)” (2018)
Here’s to a great Saturday and lots of love always!
Press on,
Papa ‘a (Dad, Uncle Mark, etc.)