Good Morning All & Happy Thursday!
It’s Izaak’s day at Papa ‘a’s house today! It’s always a fun day when Izaak comes for a visit. He’s 16 months old now and loves to check out EVERYTHING. My, how he is growing up to be a little man! He brings so much joy into our lives. And he’ll be joined by a new cousin in July, as my daughter Amy & husband Joel are expecting their firstborn then. That will make seven grandchilden…Joshua (Josh), Isabel (Izzy), Bobby, Quinn, Ezra, Izaak and….
Speaking of births, here’s to my friend and Pyrotek, Inc. engineer extraordinaire, Gordon, who celebrates his 50th birthday today. Here’s to you! And here’s to one of my favorite singers of all time, Josh Groban, who turns 39 today! Thanks for all of the beautiful music over the years…especially “99 Years” and “Brave”.
Glory Hallelujah for good news about our friend Sarah’s hip replacement surgery. Evidently, everything went smoothly. She’s coming home today! Here’s to you Sarah. You’ll be amazed at what you can do with a brand new hip…and pain free to boot (after you get through physical therapy!).
If you’re looking for something fun to do on March 7th, consider coming to Lewiston, Idaho and attending Lewiston Civic Theater’s GALA event at the Red Lion Inn in Lewiston. There will be terrific entertainment provided by a New York City musical theater actor who is a Lewiston Civic Theater alum and lots of great opportunities to lend a hand to promote live theater in the Lewiston-Clarkston Valley. We had a blast at last year’s GALA. You can get tickets by going to www.lct.org or googling “Lewiston Civic Theater” on your search engine. You’ll be glad you did! Hope to see you at the GALA on March 7th.
I had fun antique shopping with my mom yesterday. We made a visit to our favorite antique mall, Treasure Town in Post Falls, Idaho, saw our friend Dorothy, the owner, and walked away with some terrific buys…two handmade lamps for $32.00 each, a “Wicked” poster for my granddaughter Isabel’s birthday next month, and a framed, vintage black & white panoramic photograph of St. Maries, Idaho taken sometime around the turn of the century (early 1900s) for my friends Bob Sanders and Kevin Grady, who have an accounting and financial services practice, respectively, who maintain an office in St. Maries. They were thrilled with it when I brought it by their office yesterday. To top off our visit, Mom & I treated ourselves to a blended margarita and enchiladas, tamales and tostadas at Toro Viejo in Post Falls (just off the Pleasant Rd. exit, across the freeway from the outlet mall). They make a mean margarita and some great tasting Mexican food at Toro Viejo. Check it out…you’ll be glad you did!
Yesterday afternoon was my weekly visit to Broadway Elementary as a volunteer reading tutor to a fourth grade student by the name of Trinity. She’s a delightful young lady and we learned five new words yesterday, among them were “spindly” and “academically”. She’s been challenging herself to learn new words each week. We take time to discuss the definition of each word and then apply the definition to the story we’re reading together. Not bad for a fourth grader, don’t you think?
I came across the 1969 Topps Football Card for Tom Nowatzke the other day. He was a first round pick of the Detroit Lions in the 1965 NFL Draft. He was born in 1942 in La Porte, Indiana; played high school football for Elston High School in Michigan City, Indiana and then attended the University of Indiana on a football scholarship. Tom grew up on a potato farm just outside Michigan City to Polish immigrant parents. He was seen hefting large sacks of potatoes around by the high school football coach who talked him into trying out for football. Tom attributed his significant strength to his days working on his folks’ potato farm. He negotiated his own football contract with the Detroit Lions, signing a $45,000 three year annual “no-cut” contract, with a $45,00 signing bonus and a new Pontiac car for his parents. Tom was a great all-around player…a running back, a linebacker and a kicker in college. He led the Big 10 in rushing in 1964 & 1965 and set a number of records at Indiana. He later played for the Baltimore Colts and was the leading rusher and caught the game’s longest pass in Super Bowl V against the Dallas Cowboys and scored a game tying touchdown in the Colts’ 16-13 win. He was the substitute running back in that game, as Colts’ star Tom Matte couldn’t play due to a leg injury. After his football career, Tom and his family lived in Ann Arbor, Michigan and he ran his own business, Nowatzke Truck & Trailer, Inc./NRT Leasing, LLC in Whitmore Lake MI. He had four children and his two boys played high school football. He is a vintage car collector and has two 1969 Dodge Super Bees and two 1971 Plymouth Barracudas. Tom is a member of the NFL Alumni Board of Directors and President of the Detroit chapter of that organization. He was inducted into the National Polish-American Sports Hall of Fame in 2008. According to information I was able to glean off of the internet, many football analysts think that Tom was one of the physically strongest players in NFL history. Here’s to NFL fullback/running back Tom Nowatzke!
Here’s the word definition for the day:
Wunderkind: “A person who achieves great success relatively young”…”A child prodigy.” Microsoft’s Bill Gates, Basketball’s Kobe Bryant and music’s Josh Groban could be considered “Wunderkinds”, don’t you think?
Here are some thoughts for the day:
“The concept of self-discipline also infused Confucius’ political philosophy. He taught that leaders had to exercise self-discipline so that they could lead by a positive example, treating their followers with respect and compassion while remaining humble in their position of power. Confucius taught that leaders could inspire their subjects to respect the rule of law by teaching them to be virtuous and unite using ritual decorum and good manners…He believed that the main purpose of education was to teach the people to lead lives of integrity and honor.”
—Jim Daley and Marty Strasen, “Who Said That?: Words you’ll never forget by people you can’t remember” (2017), pp. 19-20.
“Nothing is easier than self-deceit. For what each man wishes, that he also believes to be true.”
—Confucius
Here’s to a a great Wednesday and lots of love & good wishes always!
Press on,
Papa ‘a (Dad, Uncle Mark, etc.)