Good Morning All!
We had my grandsons Josh and Izaak (Ike) over last night. They were such fun! Little Izaak (Ike), almost 8 months old, is sure a jolly fellow…he moves his hands all around and has a real exuberance for life. He’s good the best smile in the whole wide world! Josh, almost 12 years old, challenged me to some games of “Exploding Kittens.” If you haven’t played this card game yet, be sure you do! What fun! The object is to be the last person left who hasn’t been done in by the Exploding Kitten. There are lots of twists and turns in this game…enough to keep you on your toes and keep the game interesting right up until the end. We finished off the evening with some great hamburgers, thanks to Nana (Judy) and watching the first episode of “The Flash” on Netflix. Josh recommended we watch it and it did not disappoint. I love super hero movies/shows! We’re looking to having Josh with us for a few days…
You can tell it’s summer around here…the ice cream truck came through the neighborhood yesterday afternoon and I was SO excited! One of my favorite things about summer is the ice cream truck…I even like the music it plays (over and over again)! I ran out to the truck and purchased a fudge bar and a drumstick. I was joined at the truck by Hayley and her two boys. Hayley grew up in our neighborhood and has just returned to Spokane from Nashville. She and her husband and their two boys have come to Spokane seeking to find an affordable home to buy. Evidently, it’s difficult to find affordable homes in Nashville….It truly doesn’t get any better than the ice cream truck and seeing people you haven’t seen in many a long while.
Happy Birthday wishes go to my grandson, Bobby, who turns 10 tomorrow (June 25th)…way to go, Bobby!!!! You bring a lot of joy into this world and I’m proud to say I’m your Papa ‘a! And a great big HAPPY BIRTHDAY to my friend Al from Ohio, who has devoted his retirement years to promote blood platelet donation all across America. Check out “Platelets Across America” on your internet search engine or go to www.plateletsacrossamerica.com. He can be reached at plateletsusa@kellnet.com or by phone at (440) 933-6164. There is always an urgent need for blood platelets. They are used in treating cancer patients, pre-mature babies, and trauma injury cases. You can make a huge difference by becoming a platelet donor at your local blood center. Please honor Al’s efforts by becoming a platelet donor today. You’ll be glad you did!
Here’s some more from my World War II-related adventure with my friend Harold Voltz:
May 25, 2019
We were supposed to visit Hitler’s home in the Bavarian Alps, Bertchsgarden (sp?) and the “Eagle’s Nest,” but it had snowed there the past few days and the road leading to those places was closed because of it. A late Spring snowfall in the Alps…it can happen! Our guide, Charlie, decided to take us to Salzburg, Austria instead and that was great call on his part. I’ve always wanted to see Salzburg…the birthplace & home of Mozart and the place where “The Sound Of Music” was filmed. Traveling from Munich, we can see the Alps in the distance. They rise up before us. It’s another glorious, sun-filled and blue sky day…our whole trip has been this way…knock on wood! I noticed that the German word for exit is Ausfarht, pronounced (Oz-Fart)…too funny! Exit in French is Sortie, by the way! I’m getting better with my German & French…ha…ha…ha! Salzburg is situated in a beautiful spot. Lots of mountains rising up from the river valley in which Salzburg is situated. Salzburg’s prosperity was founded on the salt trade. In fact Salzburg means “Salt Mountain.” In the 12th century, they referred to salt as “white gold”…it was so important in preserving food and providing iodine. The salt mines were situated in underground caverns close to Salzburg. Just before Salzburg, we passed by a large lake called “Chiemsee”, I believe. It reminds me of Flathead Lake back in Montana. Lots of sailboats on the lake today. It’s funny to see a Ronald McDonald balloon/blow up that greeted us, announcing the location of a McDonald’s with the Alps in the background. We took a bus tour of Salzburg and visited many of the sites that were used in the movie. There is an impressive castle there and high stone walls that rise up above the city. A unique sight, for sure. The Mirabel Gardens (“Beautiful view gardens”) are impressive…the story goes that the gardens were built for the mistress of the archbishop! A treasure trove of 16th & 17th century Baroque architecture in Salzburg proper…a number of churches, an abbey and a monastery on the hills surrounding Salzburg…Salzburg was ruled by a prince & archbishop (he held both offices!) for many, many years. I saw a Swiss Army watch in a storefront window that featured a sketch of Mozart on its face….not to mention rubber duckies that looked an awful lot like Mozart!…everything Mozart or The Sound of Music here! Salzburg, in my humble opinion, has to rank as one of the most beautiful cities in the world. It certainly affords million dollar views. The farms along the hillsides are spectacular. It really takes your breath away!
We returned to Munich just as the weather changed to rain. It was perfect timing for our last day of our adventure. On the bus, we kept asking our tour guide questions…to which he was fond of saying…”As I told you”…We were a bit challenged with retaining all of the information he provided as we went along on our journey with him! His favorite thing to say along the way was “As I told you”…On our return trip to Munich, Charlies shared some things about his life that I found fascinating. He is a native of Hungary and grew up in Hungary prior to the dissolution of the Soviet Union. Life was hard for his family…he and his two sisters and parents lived in a postage-stamp sized apartment in Budapest. His grandfather was involved in the Communist Party, but was not well liked by his family. Food & basic needs were difficult to come by in such a regulated economy in Hungary. Coca-Cola was not offered for sale in Hungary due to it originally coming from the United States. Charlie served in the Hungarian army and then went on to school to become a history teacher. He, his wife, and his 14 year old son live in Budapest. His wife is a radiology technician and earns about 500 Euros a month (about $800 U.S.) Wages are very depressed in Hungary, hence so many Hungarians wanting to leave the country for better work opportunities elsewhere. Physicians are very poorly paid in Hungary…($800 to $1,000 Euros per month). Most Hungarian physicians leave Hungary for better wages (to Austria, Germany, etc.).
In walking around Munich yesterday during our tour of important sites from World War II, I found it hard to get my arms around the fact that Munich, a city of beautiful boulevards, parks and thoroughfares was the starting point of the Nazi Party movement and the rise of Adolph Hitler. The ground was ripe for his emergence, however, in post World War I Germany…there was no counter-balancing form of government and the German people were desperate after their failure in World War I and the lack of an emergence of a functioning government. Although we’re taught that we are all made in the image of God, our inherent sin nature being what it is, we’re all susceptible to hatred in one form or another which clouds are good judgement to be kind and considerate of others. It’s sobering & humbling to think that any society could do what was done in Germany in the 1930s and 1940s. Unfortunately, world history is full of similar events. If we truly honored our Creator, we would seek to live believing with our heart & soul that all are made in the image of God…we all stand on equal footing before our Creator…
More about Munich in my next post…
On thing I forget to mention about Bastogne, Belgium is that there was a big cartoonist/caricaturist convention that was to take place just after we left there…another reason to stay longer in one of my favorite places on our World War II-related adventure!!!…
Yesterday, I came across the 1969 Topps Football Card for Carl Kammerer, who played defensive end and linebacker for the San Francisco 49ers and the Washington Redskins from 1961-1969. He was born in 1937 in Stockton, California and grew up in Lodi, where he played high school football. He was a big fellow for that time…6’3” and 245 lbs…Kammerer went on to play college football for the College of the Pacific, now University of the Pacific. He had to sit out the 1959 season at Pacific due to a broken hip he sustained in a logging accident during the summer of 1959. He was drafted in the second round of the 1960 NFL draft before completing dual degrees in History and Physical Education in the spring of 1961. Subsequent to his 9 year NFL career, he taught school in Redwood City, California and then served in government positions, including as a senior executive at the Atomic Energy Commission (and its successor agency the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission) and as a legislative affairs officer for the Dept. of Transportation and for ACTION, the federal agency created in 1971 to manage federal volunteer programs like the Peace Corps, VISTA and the Foster Grandparent Program. In 1993-94 he took a sabbatical leave from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to attend the University of Maryland to study German history and culture, including two months in a German language immersion program. Kammerer continues to be involved in a number of community service projects in the metropolitan Washington, D.C. area. He lives in Clarksville, Maryland, where he is involved with American Cancer Society (he developed a cancer education program for schools in that area) and works with the Clarksville Volunteer Fire Dept.. Here’s to Carl Kammerer!
Here is the silly question for the day:
Q: What do you call a napping bull?
A: A bull dozer.
Here are some thoughts for the day:
“I’m a lyric man—I’m always looking for meaningful songs.”
—Tom Jones, Welch singer of “It’s Not Unusual” fame
“My worth is not in what I own;
Not in the strength of flesh and bone.
But in the costly wounds of love at the cross.
My worth is not in skill or name;
in win or lose, in pride or shame.
But in the blood of Christ that flowed at the cross.
I rejoice in my Redeemer–greatest treasure,
Well-spring of my soul.
I will trust in Him, no other;
My soul is satisfied in Him alone…”
—Keith & Kristyn Getty and Graham Kendrick, “My Worth Is Not In What I Own” (2014)
“First, you have to realize your objective. Mine is to be the best defensive end in the NFL. Then you must prepare to meet that objective. Finally, you should attack with full confidence. After that, if you don’t make it, don’t worry. You’ve done your best and that’s what counts.”
—Carl Kammerer, NFL football player and public servant (#158, 1969 Topps Football Cards)
Here’s to a great Monday and lots of love always!
Press on,
Papa ‘a (Dad, Uncle Mark, etc.)