Thoughts For The Day From Papa ‘a

Good Morning All!  Only 12 shopping days left ’til Christmas!  Happy Friday The 13th for all you superstitious ones out there!

Tonight our whole family is going on the Christmas lights boat tour on Lake Coeur d’ Alene.  How fun!  If you haven’t been on this adventure yet, be sure you do!  It’s great for the whole family and especially the little ones.  They get their names read on Santa’s list at his home on Lake Coeur d’ Alene (I’ll bet you didn’t know that Santa had a second home!).  Lots of terrific Christmas light displays all along the lake and even The Grinch makes an appearance.  Here’s to the Christmas season!

Speaking of celebrations, Happy Birthday to my friend and fellow employee benefits professional, Tim, who is 60 years old today.  Here’s to you, Tim, and thanks for all the good work you did for our mutual clients over the years!  Happy Birthday to my sister-in-law, Val, who celebrates her birthday tomorrow (Dec. 14th).  Here’s to you. Val, and have lots of fun on your special day of celebration!

Happy Birthday wishes also go to actor/comedian Dick Van Dyke of “Mary Poppins” movie fame, who is 94 today; to actor Christopher Plummer of “The Sound of Music” and “Knives Out” movie fame, who turns 90 today; to actor Steve Buscemi, who is 62 today; and to singer/songwriter Taylor Swift, who turns 30 today.  Here’s to all of you!

I had the pleasure of looking through an old CD jacket featuring the music of Johnny Hodges, famed jazz saxophonist and one of my Dad’s (Pumpa’s) all-time favorite musicians.  Dad had quite a collection of Johnny Hodges music.  I was visiting the Smithsonian Museum of American History some years ago and came upon an exhibit celebrating the music and life & times of the immortal jazz musician Duke Ellington.  Well, come to find out, Johnny Hodges was featured prominently in the exhibit, as he was the principal arranger for Duke’s orchestra as well as being a saxophone virtuoso in his own right.  There were a number of references in the exhibit to Duke paying Johnny for his arrangements.  My Dad always said there was no body that could play the saxophone like Johnny Hodges and, after listening to Johnny playing his sax, I’d have to agree with him.  Listen to Johnny Hodges someday and let me know what you think.  I always thought if I had a chance to do something else in life, I’d love to have been in a premier jazz group, playing either the saxophone or the piano.  What a thrill it must have been to be in a jazz band/orchestra playing gigs with Johnny Hodges on alto sax, Billy Strayhorn or Duke Ellington on piano, Al Sears on tenor sax & Sonny Greer on drums long into the night…something special!

 

Speaking of music, here’s the word for the day:

“Sonorous”:  “Capable of producing or giving out a sound…”Resonant and deep in sound.”

Johnny Hodges saxophone playing was sonorous!

 

Here’s the cartoon for the day (it comes from “Dilbert”):

Dobert’s Tech Support

Customer:  “I can’t figure out how to use your product.”

Dogbert:  “The problem is climate change.  There is nothing you can do.”

Customer:  “There must be SOMETHING I can do.”

Dogbert:  “Do you recycle?”

 

Here’s the pun for the day:

“Jumping off a Paris bridge…it makes you in Seine.”

—Al Whitney, blood platelet donor extraordinaire, dear friend and retired factory worker from Ohio

 

I came across the 1989 Topps Football Card for Johnny Roland yesterday.  He was a gifted running back who played college football for the University of Missouri and later played professional football in the NFl for the St. Louis Cardinals.  As a rookie, Johnny Roland paced the NFL in punt returns.  He later went on to a storied career as an assistant coach, in charge of developing running backs for various teams.  His most famous student was the legendary Walter Payton with the Chicago Bears.  Johnny was an assistant coach for a number of years during the time of Walter Payton and was Payton’s running back coach.  Johnny said that Walter was such a terrific running back because “he wanted to be coached”…”an easy guy to coach” and that not only was he a spectacular running back, he was an even better human being.  Johnny said that Walter enjoyed practicing football and gave it his all in all phases of the game and understood that there’s more to it than God given ability.  Johnny said of Walther Payton that, “like a diamond, you can always shine it up.”  Johnny Roland was inducted into the University of Missouri Sports Hall of Fame.  I watched a couple of videos of Johnny Roland yesterday and he impresses me as a well-spoken man with much wisdom.  The kind of coach we’d all like to have in sports and/or in life.  Here’s to Johnny Roland for his great NFL playing career and his outstanding career as a coach!

 

Here are some thoughts for the day:

“My point is, there’s no sense trying to squeeze something out of your swing if you can let your clubs do the shotmaking for you.”

—Lee Trevino, PGA golf great

 

“Some life I’ve been livin’, like a song in the night

Good sounds every moment, good news and bright lights

Anytime I get lonesome…I just got to the things right

 

Make way for the lady, you can do it my son

Makin’ hay with no gravy, brings the good folk down

Anytime you get lonely…you just got to turn it around…

 

…Shake hands with the Father…the Son and the Holy Ghost

The impossible believers, and the heavenly host

If you must do it better…you just got to do it the most

 

Make way for lady, you can do it my son

Makin’ hay with no gravy, brings all the good folk down

When a blue moon starts risin’…you just got to turn it around

Turn it around…turn it around…”

—Gordon Lightfoot, “Make Way For The Lady,” from the album “Dream Street Rose (1980)

 

“Hail, the heav’n-born Prince of Peace, hail the Son of righeousness.

Light and life to all He brings, ris’n with healing in His wings.

Mild He lays His glory by, born that man no more may die.

Born to raise the sons of earth…born to give them second birth.

Hark! the herald angels sing, “Glory to the newborn King.”

—Charles Wesley & Felix Mendelssohn, “Hark!The Herald Angels Sing”

 

Here’s to a terrific Friday and lots of love and good wishes always!

Press on,

Papa ‘a (Dad, Uncle Mark, etc.)