Good Morning All & Happy Thursday!
Today is my beloved son-in-law’s birthday! Here’s to Joel, “the pride of Bonita High School in LaVerne CA, Citrus Junior College & Azusa Pacific University in Azusa CA…talented musician, sound designer/editor, master gardener/horticulturist…MOST IMPORTANTLY…husband, uncle, brother, son & father-to-be extraordinaire! We’re sure glad that you are part of our lives. You and Amy compliment each other exquisitely…Have fun today!
Speaking of birthdays, here’s to singer Bobby Vinton, who turns 85 today; to one of my favorite basketball players of all-time, Kareem Abdul Jabbar, who is 73 today; to actress Ellen Barkin, who turns 66 today; and to actress Claire Foy, who turned in a stellar portrayal of Queen Elizabeth in the Netflix presentation “The Crown” (be sure and check it out…you’ll be glad you did), who is 36 today. Happy Birthday to all of you!
I just got to see my first goldfinch of the year! How about that! It was a spectacular male goldfinch with lots of brilliant yellow coloring and a little black crown on the top of his head. He came right up to my window and perched on the massive rhododendron just outside of my office. Now, that’s worth the price of admission, don’t you think?
I find it remarkable that the Dow Jones Industrial Average (the stock market) is down only about 17% year to date, despite the coronavirus challenge and the closing of economic activity across the world during the last couple of months, a large part of the year thus far. It shows how strong our economy has been to take the kind of hits it has within the last couple of months, but to show this kind of resilience in the stock market. I also find it remarkable that many people & businesses (with the understandable exceptions of low income people & start up businesses) seem to be “up against it” so quickly…just within a month or two of having little or no income coming in. Hopefully, a positive result of the current coronavirus challenge will be for people to rethink their previous spending habits and devote more of their incomes to savings…building up a “rainy day” fund. This seems to be a challenge not only for individuals, but for our government as well. How many of these economic challenges can a government withstand without proper reserving of funds for future “rainy days”?
Many of you might recall that yesterday marked the anniversary of the Titanic disaster. There are many stories of heroism that came out of that horrible night in 1912…one of them being the story of passengers Isidor Strauss and his wife Ida. Isidor co-owned Macy’s Department Store with his brother, Nathan Straus. On the night of the disaster, Isidor refused to get on a lifeboat as long as there were women and children still remaining on the ship. His wife is reported to have said, “I will not be separated from my husband. As we have lived, so will we die together.” Both died when the ship sank at 2:20 a.m.. Here’s to the memory of Isidor & Ida Straus!
I came across the 1969 Topps Football Card for Charlie Durkee, the very first kicker in the history of the New Orleans Saints. He was born in Tulsa, Oklahoma in 1944 and grew up in Hurst, Texas. He graduated from Bell High School in Hurst and then went to Oklahoma State University where he was their place kicker. He was not drafted in the 1966 NFL Draft, but signed as a free agent with the New Orleans Saints after winning the starting place kicker position in the Saints’ first ever training camp. Charlie was with the Saints in 1967 & 1969, and again in 1971 and a portion of the 1972 season, after Saints’ legendary place kicker Tom Dempsey (Dempsey kicked the longest field goal in NFL history) was traded to the Philadelphia Eagles after the 1970 season. Charlie’s most productive season was in 1968, when he was responsible for 84 points as the Saints’ kicker. He finished his professional football career with two seasons in the World Football League (WFL) with the Houston Texans and the Jacksonville Express. I couldn’t find anything about his subsequent career after football. Charlie was a personnel management major in college and now lives in his hometown of Hurst, Texas. He is 75 years old. Here’s to Charlie Durkee and the New Orleans Saints!
Here is the trivia question for the day:
Q: The “Salisbury” in Salisbury steak refers to what?
A: Salisbury steak is a dish, originating in the United States, made from a blend of ground beef and other ingredients and usually served with gravy or brown sauce. The dish was invented by James Henry Salisbury, an American physician who advocated for a meat-centered diet to promote good health. He suggested that Salisbury steak be eaten three times a day, with lots of hot water to cleanse the digestive system. He was an early proponent of a low-carbohydrate diet for weight loss. (And now you know!)
Here is the word definition for the day:
Pellucid (peh-LOO-sed): “Translucently clear”…”music or sound that is clear and pure in tone.” My favorite lake, Bowman Lake, in Glacier National Park can be described as being “pellucid.”
Here is the thought for the day:
“The glory of life is to love, not to be loved; to give, not to get; to serve, not to be served. A life lived for God leaves a lasting legacy!”
—A sympathy card from my third cousin, Cindy, upon the death of my beloved father Don Newbold (April, 2015)
Here’s to a great Thursday and lots of love & good wishes always!
Press on,
Papa ‘a (Dad, Uncle Mark, Mark, etc.)