Good Morning All & Happy Monday!
We’ve had some crystal clear Autumn days here in Spokane of late. Perhaps the last vestiges of an “Indian Summer?”
A great big HAPPY BIRTHDAY goes to my youngest grandchild, Izaak Jacob Newbold, or as we affectionately call him “Ike”…he turned one this past Friday, October 25th! He had quite a first birthday party. His beloved grandparents, Jim & Celeste, flew in from Atlanta for the big event! His mama prepared him a “Presidential Birthday Party Reception” complete with red, white & blue cake and cupcakes for birthday party guests. Our favorite saying about Izaak is “WE LIKE IKE” and his first birthday party was “very presidential”…complete with hot dogs and hamburgers and his high chair was made to look like a campaign podium…how about that? Here’s to you Izaak! You bring so much light & happiness into our lives!
Speaking of birthdays, Happy Birthday wishes go to Shelby in Portland, Teresa in Texas and Marc in Seattle! Here’s to all of you! And Happy Birthday to our friend Mic, who celebrates her birthday tomorrow (October 29th), and to actress Julie Roberts who turns 52 today and to Microsoft founders and philanthropist extraordinaire, Bill Gates, who is 64 today! Here’s to all of you too!
In addition to the loss of my wife Judy’s beloved father, Dwain McIntosh, who died at 7:30 a.m. this past Friday surrounded by all of his family at his farm outside of Lewiston, Idaho, the world lost another gentleman and class-act, sportscaster Jack Whitaker, who died recently at the age of 95. I always remember his lyric and distinctive voice as he commentated on various golf matches I watched on T.V. as a kid. There’s a great article about him in the November, 2019 edition of Golf Digest written by Jim Nantz of CBS Sports fame. It’s entitled “Remembering a poet who will remain with us forever.” Here are some excerpts from that article that I thought were worth sharing:
“Long ago in Philadelphia, when America was still rebuilding from the Second World War and owning a television was considered a luxury, two young upstart broadcasters were learning together a love for golf. Frank, the shorter kid with the booming voice, was an alumnus of the University of Pennsylvania with a major in drama. Jack, the older of the two, had come home several years earlier after earning a pair of Purple Hearts for, among other things, being injured while storming Omaha Beach as part of the Normandy Invasion. They would play Main Line Golf Club or Bala early in the day before heading to work at WCAU-TV. The director and the sports anchor. One day the war hero hit his tee shot into the trees right of the fairway. His playing partner was safe down the left side. When they reached the green. Jack said, “I made a 5.” Frank challenged him. “No you didn’t. That was a 4, wasn’t it?” Jack replied. “No, when I was over in the trees, my ball moved at address. It’s a 5.”
Frank Chirkinian would tell that story, always adding, “Only God and Jack Whitaker knew that golf ball moved.” Fran, who would later be inducted in the World Golf Hall of Fame and recognized as “the father of golf television,” called that moment of truth the instant he fell hopelessly in love with the game. It also marked the occasion when he realized that Jack Whitaker was an incredible human being.
Jack would create his own legendary career, first with CBS and then ABC. He called virtually every sport there is, including Super Bowl I, but it was commentating golf where his poet’s tongue made the largest impact. And boy, could he write…
…Of his dozens of famous essays, none was greater than his observation of the Old Course at St. Andrews during ABC’s telecast of an Open Championship:
“Nobody designed this golf course. Nobody with a pencil, and two million dollars, and five bulldozers. This was made by nature. It comes out of the ground. It was done with wind and rain and sun, and with the help of a few sheep. And so, while for most Americans and other people it’s not love at first sight at St. Andrew’s, St. Andrew’s Old Course is like a dry martini. An acquired taste. And as such, it remains with you forever.”
Only God and Jack Whitaker could write like that.”
—Jim Nantz, “Remembering a poet who will remain with us forever”, Golf Digest, November, 2019, page 47
My friend James Prussack asked if I would share the following information about a mutual friend’s efforts to make life better for folks in Uganda and I said I would gladly do so…
“Chris Cheeley has been a friend, fellow Rotarian and business partner for 30+ years. This project that he and a handful of others have taken on is monumental in how we can provide the tools in Uganda & other areas to combat the huge sex-traffic business…” Here’s an excerpt from Chris’s recent e-mail to James:
“Greetings! I send this e-mail from Uganda, where I am again working with our team on the ground—raising pigs to fund the rescue and care of sex-trafficed girls and young women. The last time I was here, we flew 153 pigs in from South Africa. We now have more than 1,200 on our way to 5,000!
I have a request…We have launched a GoFundMe site to help raise the remaining cost to get us to cash-flow-positive in February. This unique non-profit business will than be not only self-sustaining, but in position to fund new lives for countless girls and women (and their children) for many years to come. https://www.gofundme.com/f/Help-for-Eternal-Hope. Or, to make a tax-deductible donation: www.eternalhope.net.
—Chris Cheeley, Director, Eternal Hope, Inc. (a 501(c)3 organization)
Here are some thoughts for the day:
“Everything is funny, so long as it’s happening to somebody else.”
—Will Rogers, American entertainer & comedian
“They say marriages are made in heaven. But so is thunder and lightning.”
—Clint Eastwood, actor & director
“From there to here, and here to there, funny things are everywhere.”
—Dr. Suess
Here’s to a great Monday and lots of love always!
Press on,
Papa ‘a (Dad, Uncle Mark, etc.)