Good Afternoon All & Happy Sunday!
Happy Birthday to our family friend Hailey in Utah and to my high school classmate & wrestler extraordinaire (I think he was a state champion wrestler, if memory serves me correctly), Mark, who turns the big 65 today! Here’s to you two! Also, Happy Birthday wishes go to actor/comedian of “Monty Python” fame, Eric Idle, who is 77 today (Eric’s daughter is a graduate of Whitman College, my old alma mater and Eric gave a terrific commencement address—you may be able to find it on Google or by going to “Whitman College Commencement addresses” on Google—it’s worth watching, for sure); to model Elle Macpherson, who turs 57 today; and to actor Brendan Gleeson of “Braveheart” movie fame (he is Mel Gibson’s sidekick who has a great big beard in the movie;, who turns 65 today. Here’s to all of you too!
These days of coronavirus are good days for daydreaming, don’t you think? Particularly when there isn’t much to do and/or to keep your mind occupied! I took a picture of the following quote from Mark Twain while I was out shopping for groceries a couple of weeks ago. It was on the wall above the produce section at Yoke’s Fresh Market in the Spokane Valley:
“When one has tasted watermelon, he knows what the angels eat.”
—Mark Twain
My daydreaming is taking me to warm temperatures with sunny skies & bright blue skies and being in the midst of Summer. This is for all of you watermelon fans out there (and you know who you are!).
As Eldridge Cleaver was fond of saying in the 60s…”Keep the faith, baby” and keep movin’!
Speaking of “keep movin’,” we were cleaning out the storage room in the basement the other day and came across a kiosk display that my niece Nerys did in high school honoring my Dad’s (Pumpa’s) service in the Marine Corps as part of a class project studying World War II. I asked her at the time if I could keep it if no one else wanted to keep it and she gave me an enthusiastic “YES!.” And, boy howdy, I’m sure glad she did! It’s quite something to behold. She did a beautiful job on collecting the pictures and doing the narrative under each of the pictures. It’s certainly worthy of treasuring as a family keepsake. Thanks for your efforts on this, Nerys! A great way of remembering Dad’s (Pumpa’s) service to his country and the cause of freedom & liberty and all those who served (at home and abroad) during this momentous period in the history of the world.
Speaking of service to others, many thanks go to all of the health care professionals who are caring for all those afflicted by the coronavirus. They are heroes, indeed! The Governor of New York gave an inspirational message earlier today in which he invoked the words “Excelsior,” the motto of the State of New York and “E Pluribus Unum,” the motto of our beloved United States of America. “Excelsior” means “ever upward” and “E Pluribus Unum” means “out of many, one” and he said these two mottos said it all when it comes to the fight against this unseen scourge called “coronavirus”…giving it our best effort and standing united as one country & people. Amen to that!
Our country has gone through many trials and tribulations over the years…the fight for independence against huge odds of success…the Civil War and the fight to end slavery…World War I…the Spanish Flu epidemic in 1917-18…The Great Depression…World War II…the civil rights movement & Vietnam War in the 1960s…9/11…the fight against terrorism…and now the coronavirus challenge. Our country has risen to the challenges of these events and so we will again. We can look to the sacrifices made by our parents & grandparents for inspiration in calling forth what it will take inside of us to weather this storm and come out better for it…
We lost a couple of great Americans yesterday…one being the Rev. Joseph Lowery, a key associate of Dr. Martin Luther King in the fight for civil rights, who died at age 98. Former President Barack Obama said yesterday that he “changed the face of America.” He went on to say: “He (Rev. Lowery) carried the baton longer and surer than almost anybody. It falls to the rest of us now to pick it up and never stop moving forward until we finish what he started—the journey to justice.” The King family released a statement yesterday that said: “He was a champion for civil rights, a challenger of injustice and a dear friend to the King family.” Here’s to Rev. Lowery and all those who gave much to achieve civil rights and racial justice and understanding! The other was former U.S. Senator & physician from Oklahoma, Tom Coburn, who died of prostate cancer at the age of 72. He was a man with strong conservative principles who always looked beyond partisan politics to find the good in others…witness his special friendship with former President Barak Obama. A great example to follow, indeed. Here’s to Senator Tom Coburn for his service to the people of Oklahoma and our country!
Sometimes people aren’t properly recognized for their acheivements, whether it be in science, business, education, sports, etc.. Well, one could make a case that Jerrell Wilson, gifted punter for the Kansas City Chiefs in the 1960s & 1970s deserves a spot in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. He had a prolific career as a punter in the NFL, playing for 16 seasons! He played a key roll in both Super Bowl I & IV with the Chiefs. His 1969 Topps Football Card says of him: “Punting is a strong weapon in football and Jerrell rates as one of the best in professional ball. Last year he led the AFL with a tremendous 45.1 yard average. He punts high which helps his defensive team get down field.” His punts were high, booming shots that arched far down the field, potent weapons in the war for field position. Wilson seemed to have the explosiveness of dynamite in his foot, hence the more than appropriate nickname of “Thunderfoot.” The Southern Mississippi alum was the Chiefs’ punter for a team record 15 seasons and is considered one of the best, if not THE best, ever to play in the game. Not bad for someone who was the 225th pick overall in the 1963 NFL draft and the 88th overall pick in the 1963 AFL draft! Just recently, the NFL’s centennial all-star team, of which Wilson, Ray Guy, Yale Lary and Shane Lechler were named the top four punters in NFL history. And yet, Wilson has never made the Hall of Fame! Hall of Fame head coach Hank Stram said that Wilson “made other people aware of how important the kicking game was at a time when special teams were not given special consideration. I’m prejudiced, but he’s the best punter I ever saw. He’ll go down in history as the best kicker in the NFL.” Wilson said, of his punting style, “The way I attack the football, every time I hit it, I try to bust it, unless I’m around the 50. Then I hit it high. Basically, my power comes from everything. I try to snap everything I have in my body…my hips, knees…everything.” Unfortunately he died prematurely of cancer at the age of 63 in Bronson, Texas in April, 2005. Here’s to Jerrell Wilson, the first premier punter in the NFL and to all great punters in the game of football!
Here is the thought for the day:
“To have faith in Christ means, of course, trying to do all that he says. There would be no sense in saying you trusted a person if you would not take his advice. Thus if you have really handed yourself over to Him, it must follow that you are trying to obey Him. But trying in a new way, a less worried way. Not doing these things in order to be saved, but because He has begun to save you already. Not hoping to get to Heaven as a reward for your actions, but inevitably wanting to act in a certain way because a first faint gleam of Heaven is already inside you.”
—C.S. Lewis, “Mere Christianity,” as quoted in “C.S. Lewis’ Little Book Of Wisdom” (2018)
Here’s to a great Sunday and week upcoming and lots of love & good wishes always!
Press on,
Papa ‘a (Dad, Uncle Mark, Mark, etc.)