Good Morning All & Happy Thursday!
Happy Birthday to friend Kristin, whose special day of celebration is today! Here’s to you! Also, belated April Fools’ Day birthday wishes to long-time friend, tennis partner & pianist/composer extraordinaire, David; to Washington Trust Bank executive extraordinaire Jack; & to spouse, mother & church friend extraordinaire, Sally…who all celebrated their birthdays yesterday. Here’s to all of you too! Happy Birthday wishes also go to actress Linda Hunt of “NCIS: Los Angeles” T.V. fame, who is 75 today; to one of my favorite singers, Emmy Lou Harris, who turns 73 today; and to actor Christopher Meloni of “Law & Order SVU” T.V. fame, who is 57 today. Here’s to all of you!
Looking ahead, Happy Birthday wishes go to my friend and co-owner of “Marilyn’s On Monroe” (it’s a great antique store on North Monroe in Spokane—check it out—you’ll be glad you did!) & middle school teacher extraordinaire, Debi; to childhood friend, blues bass guitar player with the “Rose City Kings” and hemp grower, Tim; and to former CFO of Stemilt Growers, Dan…all of whom celebrate their birthdays tomorrow, April 3rd. Here’s to all of you!
Speaking of celebrations, here’s to lives well lived—famed jazz musician and teacher, Ellis Marsalis, who died yesterday in New Orleans at the age of 85; and “Harlem Globetrotter” Fred “Curly) Neal (I remember watching him play some fantastic basketball to the tune of “Sweet Georgia Brown”—man, could he do some terrific tricks with the basketball). He and his teammates really got me interested in the game of basketball. They were ahead of their time, for sure! Curly Neal died a few days ago at the age of 77. He played with the “Harlem Globetrotters” from 1963 until 1985. He played 6,000 games in 97 countries during his career. How about that!
Speaking of sports greats, I came across the 1969 Topps Football Card for University of Oregon & Dallas Cowboys football great, Mel Renfro. His Topps football card describes Mel as follows: “A well-rounded athlete, Mel was drafted #2 by the Cowboys after completing a sensational college career at Oregon (there were some great football players that came out of Oregon…Dan Fouts of the San Diego Chargers and Bobby Moore (aka Ahmad Rashad), just to name a few…). He was an All-American halfback, while starring at track. He ran 13.8 seconds in the high hurdles and did 25 feet, 11 3/4 inches in the long jump! Mel was born in Houston, Texas in 1941 and was raised in Portland, Oregon and attended Jefferson High School. As a sophomore and junior, his high school team went 23-0, including two consecutive Class A-1 football state championships in 1957 & 1958. The 1958 team is regarded as one of the greatest in Oregon prep history, which had a backfield that included Mel at halfback, quarterback Terry Baker (1962 Heisman Trophy winner at Oregon State), halfback Mickey Hergert (one of the leading ground gainers in the nation at Lewis & Clark College) and Mel’s brother Raye Renfro at fullback (in 1958 he broke a Portland Interscholastic League record with 24 touchdowns). Mel was a state champion in track & field as well. Mel was inducted into the Oregon Sports Hall of Fame in 1983 & the University of Oregon Athletic Hall of Fame in 1992. In a game against Rice University in Houston in 1962, the stadium had been a “whites-only” facility prior to the Ducks’ visit, but university officials allowed Renfro’s family to enter and sit in a special section of the stadium near the 35 yard line. Mel was given a loud and appreciative ovation by the Rice crowd as he left the game. Mel also contributed to the Ducks’ 1962 NCAA track & field championship under legendary coach Bill Bowerman. It can be argued that Mel is the greatest all-around athlete in Oregon history… Mel had a stellar professional football career with the Dallas Cowboys as a defensive back (a 2nd round pick in the 1964 NFL Draft) and played on two Super Bowl championship teams. He was named to the Dallas Cowboys Ring of Honor in 1981 and was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1996. After his playing career, Mel coached the defensive secondary under John Hadl with the Los Angeles Express of the USFL. In 1986 he was part of Gene Stallings’ St. Louis Cardinals’ coaching staff as his defensive backs coach. Unfortunately, Mel had financial and legal challenges in the 1980s. On March 11, 1981 he as sentenced to six months in jail on a contempt of court citation following his failure to pay $8,582 in child support. He had previously filed for bankruptcy in September, 1980. After his football coaching career ended, Mel worked as a motivational speaker. He is 79 years old…In his Hall of Fame Induction Speech, Mel said: “My whole game was beating the man in front of me…It was a matter of studying the opponent as well as you can and knowing the tendencies. You had to have the speed, agility and quickness to get the job done.” Here’s to Mel Renfro’s athletic accomplishments and all of the great Cowboys teams of the 1960s & 1970s under coach Tom Landry!
As I mentioned in a previous blog, I’ve been finding some really great treasures while doing some “spring cleaning” during this virus challenge…One of which is a letter from my Dad dated December 10, 2000. He characteristically included pearls of wisdom from his life experiences. In this letter, he talks about lessons he learned in the insurance business and the things he talks about can be applied to any business/professional pursuit. Here’s an excerpt:
“I was thinking to my self that perhaps you do better in a “bear” market as opposed to a “bull” market. By that I mean when underwriting and pricing is relatively open and “easy”, then everyone with a calling card and a briefcase competes, and the all important service factor is not the factor that it is in a tight market. This supposition certainly can have all kinds of holes shot through it, but it crossed my mind. When I was in business we noted we actually did better in many instances where the markets were tough.
All said, the most important elements are knowledge of product, seeing the prospects, doing your best to understand the prospect or clients problems in their end of the business and as best possible, giving consistent good service. Nothing new here and as I recall most of this was in Insurance 101.”
(Thanks Dad, for your wisdom and taking the time to write all of these remarkable hand-written letters over the years!)
Here is the fact for the day:
12% of all the people ever born are walking the planet at this very moment.
Here is the word definition for the day:
Cherubic (che-ROO-bik): “Having the innocence of plump prettiness of a young child”…”Having a sweet temperament.” Wouldn’t it be great if everyone was a bit more “cherubic”!
Here is the thought for the day:
“Fortune favors the brave.”
—Terence, Roman comedic playwright
Here’s to a great Thursday and lots of love & good wishes!
Press on & stay safe,
Papa ‘a (Dad, Uncle Mark, Mark, etc.)