Good Morning & Happy Sunday!
Here’s to all of you mothers out there! This is your day of special celebration! My hat is off to my mother, Tempa (Chris) Newbold. No better mom than my mom, for sure! What would our world look like without moms? Other special moms in my world are Judy’s mom, Marianne McIntosh (one of the best moms, for sure!) and my grandmothers, Tempa Cleora Testerman and Ida (Newbold) Wicklund. Happy Mother’s Day!!!
Speaking of celebrations, here’s to my good friend, Cindy in Lancaster CA, who celebrates her birthday on May 18th and to my dear friends, Keith & Sarah, who celebrate their 42nd wedding anniversary on May 15th. Here’s to all of you! And here’s to friends Jackie, Mackenzie & Kristen who celebrate their birthdays today and to friends P.J. & Rod, who celebrate their birthdays tomorrow (May 13th). Have fun on your day of celebration!
There was another kind of celebration in Spokane yesterday…my daughter, Amy, and her husband, Joel, officially opened The Barre Code Spokane! There was a ribbon cutting and lots of goodies at this sunshine-filled event. If you’re in North Spokane near the Wandermere Shopping Center on North Division (across from Pine Acres Golf Center), you’ll want to stop by and check out this beautiful facility and say hi to Amy & Joel. They’re on the internet at www.thebarrecode.com/studio/spokane.com. Their address is 11921 N. Division Street, Suite 400, Spokane WA 99218 and they can be reached at (509) 316-0493 and/or via e-mail at northspokane@thebarrecode.com. They have lots of great exercise sessions (including self-defense) and they even have a child care room on-site! How about that! Here’s to you, Amy & Joel, on your new business venture!
I was sad to read that actress Peggy Lipton of “Mod Squad” fame died of colon cancer yesterday at age 72. She was at one-time married to the legendary Quincy Jones and has two beautiful daughters. I loved her in “Mod Squad”. I always thought she was a beautiful woman. I was also sad to learn that one of my favorite wildlife lover, Jim Fowler of TV’s “Mutual of Omaha’s Wild Kingdom” fame died this past week. Our family got to visit the zoo he designed at Albany, Georgia, called “The Park At Cheeha” (or something like that). It was one of the best zoos we have ever visited. It’s layout seemed to be wildlife friendly…the kind of guy that Jim Fowler was to animals….and it was a “people friendly” zoo, just like he was to people too! Here’s to Peggy Lipton & Jim Fowler!
We had quite a few wildlife encounters on our last visit to The Tana House…one of which being a visit by a bird in our chimney. We heard this weird scratching sound by the fireplace and, lo and behold, it was a bird who was stuck in the chimney! Lots of scratching and flapping of wings in a pretty restricted space! We weren’t exactly sure what to do to extricate our feathered friend from the chimney, so we called the fireplace store, but had to wait until next morning for a response from them. Well, they said they don’t remove birds from chimneys as part of their service, but they explained how we could do it ourselves. It’s a matter of lifting the hearth top (a pretty heavy piece of concrete) and lowering it into the fireplace and then you have to be ready to deal with whatever comes out the chimney flume! Well, we had a fishing net at the ready and the minute I lifted the hearth top and lowered it into the fireplace, a lot of scratching and flapping of wings commenced as the creature made its way down the chimney into the fireplace. Judy grabbed the bird immediately while I held the fishing net and we proceeded to go outside immediately and launch the bird from the deck. Well, the bird seemed to fly away A-O.K., albeit with lots of soot covering it and probably a fair amount of ash & soot inhaled by it….but, mission accomplished! We’re getting pretty good at dealing with critters around The Tana House! We’re not sure what kind of a bird it was (it was pretty black by the time we saw it come out of the chimney), but judging from all of the racket caused by a northern flicker at the top of a tree near The Tana House, I’m guessing it might have been its mate…we’ll never know for sure…All in a day’s work in paradise!
Judy had her first official round of golf this past week at Glacier View Golf Course, without a doubt one of the most beautiful settings in the golfing world…lots of great views into Glacier Park and the magnificent & majestic Lewis Range…lots of snow-capped peaks to enjoy viewing at this time of year. Well, a good time was had by me and her as we traversed the front nine holes….enough good shots to want us to come back for more! I especially liked being on the golf course with my better half. Judy is taking lessons and really enjoying getting into the game of golf. We should have lots of fun adventures on the golf course together…and I mean adventures!!!! One thing is for sure about golf…it’s pretty unpredictable!
We topped off our trip to The Tana House with a mouth-watering breakfast at Carolyn’s Café in beautiful downtown Hungry Horse MT. This is a must stop for all you breakfast lovers out there! Fluffy, melt in your mouth French toast, fried eggs prepared to perfection and a great piece of ham….ummm….good! If you like the look and feel of a great diner, you’ll love Carolyn’s!
Our dear friend, Sheryl in Utah, pointed out to me yesterday that on that day 150 years ago, the Union Pacific & Central Pacific Railroads met and drove the spike that joined the two railroads together…the completion of the Transcontinental Railroad at Corrine, Utah. According to Sheryl, the Utah State Capitol has a display of the golden spike and the silver spike that were used in joining the two railroads together, along with other artifacts and a the letter signed by President Abraham Lincoln commemorating the event in 1862. It’s located in the “Gold Room” at the state capitol and is guarded by a Utah State Highway patrol officer at all times….how about that (it must be pretty important)? Comparisons have been made between this event and the landing on the moon, and I guess given the circumstances, one could make a good case for that comparison. It seems remarkable to me that they could build the transcontinental railroad as quickly as they did, given the kinds of tools & limited technology they had to work with back in that day. Here’s to all who labored on the Transcontinental Railroad!
Speaking of important events in U.S. history, I’ve been enjoying reading “The Glory And The Dream” by William Manchester. He provides a riveting narrative of The Great Depression and the effect it had on America. Times were sure tough back then. My grandparents would marvel how far our family has come since those dark and dreary days. A lot of hard work and sacrifice on the part of previous generations has resulted in the current generations enjoying comparatively high prosperity and a relatively easier time of it, especially with all the modern conveniences we enjoy. That’s why reading History is so important…to give us perspective on things and an appreciation for what we have compared to prior generations. Hopefully, we can all learn from History…we can certainly gain from studying History and not repeat the mistakes of the past (although we seem to be good at repeating past mistakes, don’t we?).
Speaking of advancing one’s self with determination and perseverance, I’ve enjoyed reading about Don Perkins, one of the players featured in my 1969 Topps Football Card collection. He was born in 1938 in Waterloo, Iowa and attended high school there. He was a football player and sprinter on the track team. In 1955, his football team went undefeated and Perkins made the All-State team as a halfback, while playing both offense and defense (that wasn’t unusual back in those days!). He was president of the student body during his senior year. He played college football at the University of New Mexico in Albuquerque. In 1958, he led the nation in kickoff returns. The head coach at New Mexico was future hall of famer Marv Levy (legendary coach of the Buffalo Bills), who stated that Perkins was one of the greatest players he ever coached. Levy mentioned Perkins in his NFL Hall of Fame induction speech. The University of New Mexico retired his number (43), a first in the school’s history. Perkins was inducted into the New Mexico Sports Hall of Fame and the University of New Mexico Hall of Honor. The Dallas Cowboys franchise was admitted to the league too late to participate in the 1960 NFL draft in November, 1959, so they signed Perkins to a “personal-services contract” for a $1,500 bonus and a $10,000 salary. This meant Perkins would play for the Cowboys if an when they received an NFL franchise. Although he was selected in the ninth round of the NFL draft by the Baltimore Colts, the league honored the contract, but made the Cowboys compensate the Colts with a ninth round draft pick in the 1962 NFL draft. Perkins lacked long-distance speed, but made up for it with outstanding quickness and balance. He earned NFL rookie of the year honors in 1961. In 1961, he became the first running back in Cowboy’s history to run for 100 yards in a game. He led the Cowboys in rushing in six of his eight seasons and led them in touchdowns in four of his eight seasons. He ranks third on the Cowboy’s all-time rushing yards and rushing touchdowns behind Emmitt Smith & Tony Dorsett. He was selected to six Pro Bowls and to one All-Pro team, while gaining a reputation in the NFL for his courage and resolve on some of the worst teams in Cowboys’ history. In 1968, he helped end the Cowboys’ practice of segregating players when traveling to hotels. He never experienced that type of treatment when he played college football for the University of New Mexico. The legendary coach of the Cowboys, Tom Landry, said that “the guy (Perkins) was a remarkable runner, a great pass blocker and one of the best players in our history.” Perkins was inducted into the Ring of Honor at Texas Stadium alongside his teammate & quarterback, Don Meredith, in 1976. In 2006, he was inducted into the Texas Sports Hall of Fame. After football, Perkins worked as a football analyst on TV & radio and was the director of the Work Incentive Program for the State of New Mexico Department of Human Services from 1972 to 1985. He served on the Board of Directors of U.S. West and the Board of Trustees for University Hospital in Albuquerque from 1990 to 1993. He is currently a member of the Northwest Mesa Branch of the NAACP. He is a father of four children and grandfather of 10. He has been active in local theater, public speaking & and broadcasting at the local and national level and lives in Albuquerque. Here’s to Don Perkins, champion of civil rights and a terrific Dallas Cowboy!
Here’s the silly question of the day:
Q: What do you call a cow standing in tall grass?
A: Udderly tickled.
Here are some thoughts for the day:
“Love has nothing to do with what you are expecting to get—only with what you are expecting to give—which is everything.”
—Katharine Hepburn, multi-Oscar winning actress (1907-2003)
“It’s life isn’t it? You plow ahead and make a hit. And you plow on and someone passes you. Then someone passes them. Time levels.”
—Katharine Hepburn, multi-Oscar winning actress (1907-2003)
“Do not dare not to dare.”
—C.S. Lewis, “The Horse and His Boy”, as quoted in “C.S. Lewis’ Little Book Of Wisdom” (2018)
“My heart is filled with thankfulness to Him who walks beside;
Who floods my weaknesses with strength and causes fears to fly.
Whose ev’ry promise is enough for ev’ry step I take.
Sustaining me with arms of love and crowning me with grace.”
—Stuart Townsend & Keith Getty, “My Heart Is Filled” (2003)
Here’s to a great Sunday and Mother’s Day and lots of love always!
Press on,
Papa ‘a (Dad, Uncle Mark, etc.)