Good Morning All! Only 11 shopping days ’til Christmas!
A great big HAPPY BIRTHDAY to my sister-in-law, Val, who celebrates her 62nd birthday today! Here’s to you, Val, and have fun on your special day of celebration!
Our family had lots of fun last night at the Christmas Lights Cruise on Lake Coeur d’ Alene and then a bite to eat at “Olive & Vine” in Coeur d’ Alene. All of the grandkids made Santa’s “Nice” list! Be sure to take in the cruise and then stop by drinks & food at “Olive & Vine”…great food and great service from a friendly team there! They serve a great (koltsh?) beer from the McCall Brewing Co. from McCall, Idaho to boot! Coeur d’ Alene does a great job with Christmas lights, for sure! It really gets you in the spirit & wonder of Christmas!
Here is the word for the day:
“Mephitic”: “Offensive smelling…”Harmful or poisonous.” A nasty word, for sure!
Here is the pun for the day, courtesy of my friend Al Whitney in Avon Lake, Ohio:
“Once you’ve seen one shopping center, you’ve seen the mall.”
Here is the fact for the day:
The largest snowflake ever recorded reportedly measured 15 inches across.
I came across the 1969 Topps Football Card for Philadelphia Eagles & Washington Redskins quarterback great Sonny Jurgensen. He was born in 1934 in Wilmington, North Carolina and played high school football at New Hanover High School there. He went on to Duke University. He was a great all-around athlete in high school and helped his team win the state high school football championship. His high school coach said that Sonny “was a rugged boy and could have been outstanding at center, guard, end or any other backfield position.” He was a star defensive back at Duke and later became its starting quarterback while maintaining a starting position in the defensive secondary. Before being drafted by the NFL in the 4th round of the 1957 Draft, he worked as a Sunday School bus driver in Herndon, Virginia. He was drafted by the Philadelphia Eagles and played backup to the legendary quarterback Norm Van Brocklin. During his time with the Eagles, Sonny was a part of a championship team for the only time in his professional career, when the Eagles won the 1960 NFL Championship. He then played for the Washington Redskins for 10 years. During his time with the Redskins, he played under legendary coach Vince Lombardi and Sonny would later say that of the nine head coaches he played for during his NFL career, Lombardi was his favorite. Vince Lombardi would say of Sonny…”Jurgensen is a great quarterback. He hangs in there under adverse conditions. He may be the best the league has ever seen. He is the best I have seen.” That’s high praise for someone who also coached the legendary Bart Starr! The Redskins enjoyed a resurgence in the early 1970s under coach George Allen and made it as far as Super Bowl VII, losing to the Miami Dolphins. During this period, a quarterback controversy developed between Billy Kilmer and Sonny, complete with fans sporting “I Love Billy” or “I Love Sonny” bumper stickers on their vehicles. The defensive-minded Allen preferred Kilmer’s conservative, ball-control style of play to Jurgensen’s more high-risk approach. Despite the controversy, Jurgensen was helpful to his rival. Even to this day, Kilmer still stays at Jurgensen’s house when he is in town. In 1974, at the age of 40 and in his final season, Jurgensen won his third NFL passing crown even though he was still splitting time with Kilmer. How about that! Jurgensen is recognized as the finest pure passer of his time. He was five-time Pro Bowl selection and earned three NFL individual passing titles. Jurgensen’s 82.62 career passer rating is the highest for any player in the “Dead Ball Era” (pre-1978). After retiring from the Redskins following the 1974 season, he began another career as a color commentator, initially with CBS TV and covered the Redskins on radio. He also covered the team for WRC-TV from 1994 until December, 2008. He subsequently served as a game analyst at preseason games and as a studio analyst at training camp, making weekly picks, and other assignments. He retired from broadcasting on August 8, 2019. Jurgensen was inducted into the North Carolina Sports Hall of Fame in 1971; the Duke Sports Hall of Fame in 1979; and the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1983. He serves on the board of advisors of the Code of Support Foundation, a non-profit military services organization. He has been married to Margo Hart since 1967 and they have two children. Here’s to Sonny Jurgensen!
Here are some thoughts for the day:
“Pressure is when you play for five dollars a hole with only two in your pocket.”
—Lee Trevino, PGA golfer great
“When this old world starts getting me down
And people are just too much for me to face
I climb way up to the top of the stairs
And all my cares just drift right into space
On the roof…it’s peaceful as can be
And there the world below…can’t bother me.
Let me tell you now…
When I come home feelin’ tired and beat, I go up where the air is fresh and sweet
I get away from the hustling crowds, and all that rat race noise down in the street
On the roof’s the only place I know
Where you just have to wish to make it so
Oh, let’s go up on the roof
At night the stars put on a show for free
And darling, you can share it all with me…”
—Carole King, “Up On The Roof.,” from the album “Tapestry” (1971)
“Come behold the wondrous myst’ry, He the perfect Son of Man.
In His living, in His suff’ring, never trace, nor stain of sin.
See the true and better Adam, come to save the hell-bound man.
Christ, the great and sure fulfillment of the law, in Him we stand.”
—Matt Boswell, Matt Papa & Michael Bleecker, “Come Behold The Wondrous Mystery” (2012)
Here’s to a great Saturday and lots of love and good wishes always!
Press on,
Papa ‘a (Dad, Uncle Mark, etc.)