Thoughts For The Day From Papa ‘a

Good Morning All & Happy Thursday!

Well, here’s another day of the virus challenge!  The weather in Spokane has been really pleasant these past few days…lots of sunshine and blue skies and lots of people out and about the neighborhood getting some fresh air to ward off the “coronavirus blues.”  I hope this finds all of you and your loved ones doing well and staying safe.  I’ve noticed that there are new types of birds coming by our feeders…chickadees and juncos in addition to our regulars, the sparrows.  Not to mention that green shoots are coming up out of the ground now in the flowerbeds.  Sure signs that Spring is coming!

Speaking of the coronavirus challenge…don’t you find it odd (and disconcerting) that our politicians and media seem to be “getting in the way” of us receiving good, solid, scientifically accurate information regarding the virus.  Not to mention that certain business leaders, including the Pershing Capital CEO, are making irresponsible statements regarding the effect the virus will have on our economy.  These comments are helping feed a sense of panic and increasing anxiety for people listening to these ill-advised comments/opinions.  I also heard a CNN anchor refer to our current virus challenge as leading to another “Great Depression.”  These are really irresponsible comments and not helpful at this time.  We really need to take each day as it comes and do all we can to do what we can to contain the virus and make sure that people infected receive the level of medical care they need.

As President Franklin Roosevelt once said…”The only thing we have to fear, is fear itself.”  That statement is as true today as it was when President Roosevelt took the oath of office in the midst of The Great Depression in 1932.

As my favorite singer/songwriter, Gordon Lightfoot, is fond of saying/singing…”Press on.”  Let’s show perseverance and determination to overcome this most recent challenge in the history of our beloved country.  As “Rosie The Riveter” said in World War II…”We can do it.”  Or as my Dad, Don Newbold, put it so well…”When the going gets tough, the tough get going!”

On a celebratory note, Happy Birthday to my friend and Junior Achievement Leader/Coordinator extraordinaire, Janet!  Here’s to you!  Have lots of fun on your special day of celebration.  You definitely make this world of ours a brighter place!  Happy Birthday also to actress Ursula Andress of “James Bond” movie fame, who is 84 today; to singer Ruth Pointer of “The Pointer Sisters” fame, who turns 74 today; to actress Glenn Close, who is 73 today; and to actor Bruce Willis of “Die Hard” & “Tears Of The Sun” movie fame, who is 65 today (he must have graduated from high school the same year I did!).  Here’s to all of you!

Speaking of celebrations, here’s to the remarkable life of Nancy Ball, wife of beloved Whitman College Professor George Ball, who passed away on Saturday, March 7th, 2020 in Walla Walla.  I had the privilege and pleasure of being in a “cell group” that met in the Balls’ home just off campus when I was a student at Whitman.  We used to talk for hours about situational ethics, world hunger, scientific breakthroughs, major historical events…you name it.  Quite an experience and one I’ll never forget.  They were such dear people.  The world misses them, for sure!  Nancy graduated from Oberlin College in 1948 and studied at Yale Divinity School.  She came to Whitman in 1960 with her husband, George Ball, and their four children.  She and George mentored countless students over their five decades of service to the college.  Nancy was a consummate educator, earning her education credentials at Whitman and teaching in Walla Walla Public Schools from 1969 to 1986—the last seven years of which she spent establishing and teaching in the Explorers Program for academically gifted students.  She also taught briefly in the Education Department at Whitman adn taught English at Yunnan University in Kunming, China, for one year.  The Balls were generous donors to Whitman over their lifetimes and were especially committed to supporting international students.  Nancy was also an exemplar of active and engaged citizenship in the Walla Walla community and beyond.  Nancy also found time to be an avid hiker, skier, traveler and gardener, contributing her gardening talents to the local Xeriscape Park and the Mill Creek walking path.  Nancy was preceded in death in 2012 by her husband of 62 years and is survived by her four children and their families.  Here’s to Nancy & George Ball and the incredible lives they lived!

Here is the weird definition for the day:

What is a group of pandas called?….”An embarrassment.”  That’s just wrong!…don’t you think they could have come up with a better definition to describe a group of lovable looking pandas???

Here is the fact for the day:

Cubans were prohibited from owning cell phones until 2008.

Here is the funny Presidential oxymoron quote for the day:

“When more and more people are thrown out of work, unemployment results.”

—U.S. President Calvin Coolidge (1923-1929)

I came across the 1969 Football Card for Stew Barber, the star offensive tackle of the Buffalo Bills in the 1960s.  He was born in 1939 in Bradford, Pennsylvania and played high school football for Bradford Area High School and then went on to play college football at Penn State.  He was a big player for that time at 6’2″, 250 lbs..He was selected to play professional football by the Buffalo Bills in the 4th round of the 1961 draft.  He played his whole professional career with the Buffalo Bills (1961-1969), being a part of the AFL championship teams of 1964 & 1965 (as an offensive tackle, he protected Jack Kemp, quarterback of the Bills, who went on to become the 1996 Republican Party nominee for Vice-President) and was named to the second team AFL all-time team.  He retired after the 1969 season and went to work for the Buffalo Bills’ front office as a college scout and then Assistant General Manager for Operations and Facilities and then Vice President.  He resigned from the Bills management in 1983.  Before joining the Bills’ front office, he was the offensive line coach for the New York Stars and Charlotte Hornets of the World Football League in 1974, under head coach and Boston Patriots quarterback great, Babe Parilli.  I couldn’t find anything else about Stew Barber, so if any of you know what happened to him after he left Buffalo Bills’ management, please let me know and we’ll solve a mystery together!

Here are some thoughts for the day:

“Every man is like the company he is wont to keep.”

—Euripides, Greek playwright (480 B.C. – 406 B.C.)

“Great deeds are usually wrought at great risks.”

—Herodotus, Greek historian (484 B.C. – 430 B.C.)

Here’s to a great Thursday and lots of love & good wishes always!

Press on,

Papa ‘a (Dad, Uncle Mark, etc.)