Good Afternoon All & Happy Thursday!
Well, I’ve just about gone through all of the files that are in our house, in some form or another. I must admit that my wife, Judy, keeps excellent records and is a master financier for our household. Frankly, she could do just about anything. She gave up a shot at medical school to become a psychiatrist and no doubt she would have been one of the great ones in that field of endeavor to support me in my career pursuits and to raise a family. I will be forever in her debt, as she has done a spectacular job in everything she has put her mind to do. Needless to say, we sure get a lot of paperwork and trying to figure out where everything goes is a bit of a chore, but with the virus challenge, I seem to have time on my hands….how about you?
So far so good, on the coronavirus front for my family and friends. Folks I know seem to be staying out of harm’s way. How goes it with you and your family & friends? I sure hope this virus challenge is on the downward slide and folks can return to “normal” life in the next month or so.
I’ve never seen so many people walk by our house, as I’ve seen within the last week or so. Folks are getting outside to ward off cabin fever from being couped up in their homes trying to avoid the virus and/or giving it to someone. We’ve had some decent walking weather the past 4-5 days, but you can still feel a winter tinge in the air, as spring hasn’t made its full presence known yet (although we do see and feel it coming on!). This a great time for introspection and contemplation and it strikes me that we have much for which to be thankful. With all of life’s challenges, we by and large have it alot better than previous generations. It’s really all a matter of getting the proper perspective, don’t you think?
I’m glad that the folks in Washington, D.C. are finally stepping up and getting something accomplished for a change in the way of what will hopefully be direct financial relief to lower-income workers and small businesses (and perhaps some larger businesses that have been severely impacted by the economic shut down due to the virus). Let’s hope this legislation doesn’t contain a lot of Christmas tree items for special interests…just keep it plain and simple, Congress!
Lots of birthdays today, including Mark, my friend and banker extraordinaire. Here’s to him! Not to mention all of these other birthdays being celebrated today…actor/comedian Alan Arkin of “The Russians Are Coming, The Russians Are Coming” & “Spenser” movie fame, who is 86 today; actor James Caan of “The Godfather” & “El Dorado” movie fame, who turns 80 today; Watergate investigative reporter Bob Woodward, who is 77 today; singer Diana Ross of “The Supremes” fame, who turns 76 today; television entertainer Vicki Lawrence of “The Carol Burnett Show” fame, who is 73 today; comedian Martin Short, who turns 70 today; actress Jennifer Grey of “Dirty Dancing” & “Red Dawn” fame (who can ever forget her along side actor Patrick Swayze in those two films?), who is 60 today; to Spokane native and Gonzaga/Utah Jazz baskeball player extraordinaire, John Stockton, who turns 58 today; to country singer Kenny Chesney, who is 52 today; to actress Keira Knightley of “Pirates Of The Carribean” and “Love Actually” movie fame, who turns 35 today; actor Johnny Crawford of “The Rifleman” T.V. fame, who is 74 today; and last, but not least, actor Michael Imperioli of “Detroit 187” T.V. series fame (the best, shortest run T.V. series in history, in my humble opinion—it sadly only lasted one season—great story line, great actors and my daughter Amy was the casting agent for the show!…how about that?). Here’s to all of you…Whew!…it was a long Birthday wishes list today, but all deserved recognition, for sure!
I came across the 1969 Topps Football Card for former Syracuse University football great Floyd Little, who had a stellar career with the Denver Broncos. He was born in 1942 in New Haven, Connecticut and played high school football at Hillhouse High School in New Haven. He played college football at Syracuse, due to the efforts of a friend, Ernie Davis, who as a star running back at Syracuse who suffered from leukemia and asked Floyd to promise him that he would come to Syracuse over playing football at West Point for Army. Floyd is the only three-time All-American running back to compete for Syracuse. He finished 5th in Heisman Trophy voting in both 1965 & 1966. Many believe that Floyd is the greatest athlete in Syracuse University history. He was the first ever first-round draft pick to sign with the American Football League’s Denver Broncos, where he was known as “The Franchise.” In 1975, Floyd retired as the NFL’s 7th all-time leading rusher with 6,323 yards rushing and 54 total touchdowns. Floyd was the Broncos’ team captain all 9 seasons, including his rookie year. He was a charter member of the Broncos Ring of Fame in 1984. at 5’10” and 195 pounds, Floyd was the smallest back to lead the league in rushing since World War II. He was voted elected to the College Football Hall of Fame in 1983 and the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2010. After his football playing career, Floyd finished 40th in his class of 140 at the University of Denver Law School, from which he received his Master’s in Legal Administration in 1975. He went on to own successful automobile dealerships in Denver, Seattle and Santa Barbara. On May 15, 2016, Floyd received a honorary doctorate from Syracuse University in Humane Letters. In 2005, the Syracuse football program retired number 44 to honor Floyd, Ernie Davis and Jim Brown, and the eight other players who wore the number in Syracuse history. In 2011, Floyd returned to Syracuse to serve as a Special Assistant to the Athletic Director to work with student athletes and, that same year, the New Haven Athletic Center, billed as the largest scholastic-athletics facility in New England, was renamed the Floyd Little Athletic Center. On May 17, 2019 Little was awarded the University of Denver’s Distinguished Alumni Award and on May 18, 2019, Floyd was awarded an Honorary Doctorate of Laws as speaker at Denver University’s Sturm College of Law’s Commencement Ceremonies. Today, Floyd is 77 years old and lives just outside Seattle WA. Here’s to the remarkable career of Floyd Little, both inside and outside the game of football!
Here is the word definition for the day:
Interstice: “A short period of time between events”…”An intervening space, especially a very small one.”
Here are some thoughts for the day:
“Words have a longer life than deeds.”
—Pindar, Greek poet (518 B.C. – 443 B.C.?)
“The greatest griefs are those we cause ourselves.”
—Sophocles, Greek playwright (496 B.C. – 406 B.C.)
“Wisdom outweighs any wealth.”
—Sophocles, Greek playwright (496 – 406 B.C.)
Here’s to a great Thursday and lots of love & good wishes always!
Press on,
Papa ‘a (Dad, Uncle Mark, Mark, etc.)