Thoughts For The Day From Papa ‘a

Good Morning!

Happy Birthday to my beloved niece, Nerys, outstanding spouse, Oregon Duck & customer relations specialist extraordinaire; to our friend Doug, who reaches Medicare age today!; and to my childhood friend and high school classmate, Warren, who has a lot to do with all of the great graphics we see on Main Street at Disneyland, Disney World and all of the Disney theme parks throughout the world!  Here’s to all of you on your special day of celebration!  Our world’s a better place because all of you are in it!

And Happy Birthday to our friend, Lori in Rocklin, California (near Sacramento), as she celebrates her birthday tomorrow (October 23rd)!  Here’s to you Lori!

Prayers are lifted up for Papa Mac & Mama Tosh (Judy’s folks) that they are feeling good today and for Judy’s sister Mary, who is doing such a terrific job as their caregiver.  Mary…YOU ROCK!!!  May God give Papa Mac & Mama Tosh better health in the days ahead and give strength & refreshment to Mary as she juggles lots of balls in handling a full-time job and taking care of things at the ranch.

Here’s the upcoming entertainment event tip for the day:

Check out the upcoming “An Evening To Celebrate Glacier National Park” on Weds., October 30th, 2019 at Mountain Gear at 2002 N. Division Street at 7:00 p.m..  A wildlife specialist from WSU will share her experiences with Canadian Lynx (they are similar to the Bobcat) in Glacier Park.  Desserts and beverages from Christ Kitchen will be served.  Admission is free, but you need to RSVP to me (Newbie7@aol.com) or contact Emily at emily@glacier.org and let us know how many are coming.  Seating is limited, so let us know soon!  You won’t want to miss this!

Have you ever wondered why crossword puzzles in the newspaper get harder and harder as the days of the week progress?  I’m now able to handle the Monday and Tuesday crosswords, but get stymied on all of the crosswords that appear later in week.  It’s really humbling, quite frankly.  You think you are getting the hang of the crossword puzzles and then BANG!…you can barely come up with any words that fit the “later in the week” crosswords!  What’s up with that, anyway???  I can say that I completed Monday’s crossword in our local newspaper while I was waiting for my mom to finish her doctor’s appointment yesterday.  How about that???  There’s a real sense of accomplishment when I can complete a crossword!

I’ve been enjoying a couple of books here lately.  One is entitled “The Last Lion:  Winston Spencer Churchill Alone (1932-1940)” by one of my favorite historical writers, William Manchester and “Christians In The Age Of Outrage:  How To Bring Your Best When The World Is At Its Worst” by Ed Stetzer.  Both are excellent reads, for different reasons…Manchester does a masterful job of describing Churchill’s perseverance in warning Great Britain (and the world, for that matter) of the Nazi threat and Stetzer does a great job of explaining the difference between righteous anger and outrage.  Stetzer writes:  “Armed with no experience and some sketchy information culled from the corners of the Internet, more and more individuals are brash, confident, demanding, and frequently dead wrong.  This predictably produces conflict and outrage in a world in which self-reflection is a sign of weakness and confidence is truth-making.  There is little incentive for patient and nuanced discussion…”  “…Many people are willing to create their own reality to affirm their rightness, ignoring facts, logic, and others’ objections.  One distinctive of today’s outrage is how we often value confidence and aggression more than truth in our public interactions…”  Be sure to check out these books…you’ll be glad you did!

I came across the 1969 Topps Football Card for Balitmore Colts great John Mackey the other day…

John was born in 1941 in Roosevelt, New York; played high school football at Hempstead High School in New York and went on to play college football at Syracuse University.  He was a 2nd round pick of the Baltimore Colts in the 1963 NFL Draft.  He played a total of 10 NFL seasons as tight end, and became known for his size and speed.  He as inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1992, the second pure tight end elected (Mike Ditka was the first).  Although a knee injury forced him into early retirement, Mackey only missed one game in his whole career.  During Super Bowl V, he was involved in a famous game-changing play where he caught a record-setting 75 yard pass from quarterback Johnny Unitas after the ball was deflected twice, once by fellow Colts player Eddie Hinton and once by opposing Dallas Cowboys defenseman Mel Renfro.  Baltimore won the game 16-13, following a 32 yard field goal by Jim O’Brien with five seconds left.  Mackey has been included in several lists of great NFL players.  In 1999, Sporting News ranked Mackey at 48 on their list of “The 100 Greatest Football Players.”  As polished off the field as on, John Mackey regularly appeared on Balitmore radio and television programs and once acted as host at a symphony concert.  In 1970, Mackey became the first president of the National Football League Players Association.  In his first year as president, Mackey organized a strike following a lockout by owners, with NFL players seeking additional pension contributions and insurance benefits, as well as higher pre- and post-season pay.  The strike resulted in increased fringe benefits for NFL players.  One of his teammates, Lenny Moore, once said that “People will never fully understand the impact he had on negotiations between players and owners….John unlocked those gates—no, he knocked the doors down.”  In 1972, Mackey became the lead plaintiff in a court action which led to the overturning of the so-called “Rozelle Rule,” which limited a player’s ability to act as a free agent.  In 1976, the Rozelle Rule was ruled to violate antitrust laws.  Several years after retiring from the NFL, Mackey began to suffer from symptoms of dementia.  He received a diagnosis of frontal lobe dementia in 2001.  His condition eventually worsened, and his family was forced to put him into a full-time assisted living facility.  His wife Sylvia reached out to the NFL, writing a letter in 2006 to NFL Commissioner Paul Tagliabue, describing her husband’s physical condition and the financial ruin it was causing her family, her efforts inspired the NFL to adopt the “88 plan” (Mackey’s jersey number was 88), which provided $88,000 per year for nursing home care and up to $50,000 annually for adult day care for former NFL players, including Mackey, who suffered from dementia or Alzheimer’s.  Mackey died in 2011 at the age of 69 of chronic traumatic encephalopathy, more than likely brought on from suffering from a number of hits to the head during his football playing days.  Here’s to John Mackey, his wife and family and for their efforts in the fight against traumatic brain injury, dementia & Alzheimer’s Disease!

Here are some thoughts for the day:

“He was ever the impassioned Manichaean, seeing life and history in primary colors, like Vittore Carpaccio’s paintings of St. George; a believer in absolute virtue and absolute malevolence, in blinding light and impenetrable darkness, in righteousness and wickedness—or rather in the forces of good against the forces of evil, for the two would always be in conflict and therefore forever embattled.  He had been accused of inconsistency and capricious judgment.  Actually, it was MacDonald and Baldwin and Chamberlain who tailored their views to fit the moment.  Churchill’s binnacle remained true.  “Death and sorrow will be the companions of our journey,” he told the House of Commons; “hardship our garment, constancy and valour our only shield.”

And, he might had added, grief as their reward.  He was sure Britons could take it.  Despite his high birth he had an almost mystical faith in the power of the ordinary Englishman to survive, to endure, and, in the end, to prevail.  “Tell the truth to the British people,” he had begged the shifty prime ministers of the 1930s; “they are a tough people, a robust people…If you have told them exactly what is going on you have ensured yourself against complaints and reproaches which are not very pleasant when they come home on the morrow of some disillusion…”

—William Manchester, “The Last Lion:  Winston Spencer Churchill Alone (1932-1940), p. 688 (1988)

“I’m very lucky that people are able to say, “Oh, that’s that Moody Blues guy!”  I’m very fortunate with that.  That’s all.  Without the songs, I think, I’d just be a pretty average karaoke singer.  In the end, it comes down to the songs…the strength of the songs.”

—Justin Hayward, member of the “Moody Blues”

“Jesus, guide me through the tempest, keep my spirit staid and sure.

When the midnight meets the morning, let me love You even more.”

—Margaret Becker and Keith Getty, “Jesus, Draw Me Ever Nearer” (2002)

Here’s to a great Tuesday and lots of love always!

Press on,

Papa ‘a (Dad, Uncle Mark, etc.)