Good Morning All & Happy Sunday!
Well, I’m pleased to share a birthday with two of the finest gentlemen you’ll ever want to meet…childhood friends and high school classmates, Tim & Dan. Happy Birthday you two! Tim…husband, father, seaman, navigator and former Captain of the Africa Mercy extraordinaire and Dan…husband, father, musician, educator and trumpet player extraordinaire. You guys rock our world, for sure! I hope you have lots of fun on your special day of celebration. I’ll be tipping one (or two) in your honor today! Here’s to many more Happy Birthdays!
Speaking of birthdays, we share a birthday with actress Elinor Donahue of “Father Knows Best” T.V. fame, who is 83 today; actor/comedian extraordinaire, Tim Curry, of “Clue” & “The Three Musketeers” movie fame and “Spamalot” theater fame, who turns 74 today; actress Ashley Judd who starred with my daughter Amy in the movie “Divergent,” who is 52 today; actor James Franco, who turns 42 today; actress & daughter of Goldie Hawn, Kate Hudson, who is 41 today; and tennis star & model Maria Sharapova, who turns 33 today. Happy Birthday to all of you, too!
We had a grand time celebrating my son-in-law Joel’s birthday at his home yesterday. Lots of delicious finger foods and a yummy birthday cake. Judy & I gave Joel a Stephen Lyman painting of Yosemite looking out at Half Dome from the top of El Capitan…He really likes it, as Yosemite has always been his “happy place.” Steve Lyman is one of a number of Inland Northwest painters that we treasure…among them Tom Bowman, who does amazing things with colored pencils (he has lots of great paintings of the Inland Northwest); Elsie Stewart, a fantastic artist who does fabulous abstracts; Elsie’s daughter, Natalie, who does remarkable landscapes; and Tom Hansen, who does some lovely paintings of various Inland Northwest locales, particularly northwestern Montana. Check out these artists…you’ll be glad you did!
This past week marked the passing of two talented people who made this world of ours a better place, for sure. Kay Porta, the founder of our local food bank, Second Harvest, died at the remarkable age of 96. She started the food bank in Spokane on a shoestring budget and with a love for our community and those in need. Her life shows what one person can do to make a difference. The “Kay Porta Society” at Second Harvest was created to honor her legacy. It’s a way that you can include the food bank in your Will and designate a portion of your estate to the good work, the vital work that the food bank does in our community. If you are so inclined, go to “Second Harvest Spokane” and type in “Kay Porta Society” on its search engine for more information about a terrific way you can support Second Harvest. A favorite actor of mine, Brian Dennehy, passed away this past week at the age of 81. He was a terrific character actor in T.V., movies and the theater. He won a number Tony Awards and other acting accolades, and rightfully so. I always enjoyed watching him act. He was a remarkably gifted actor. Perhaps his greatest acting roles were in live theater and he was magnificent. He once said that acting in live theater is so much harder than acting in movies and/or T.V., as there was no room for error and that theater performing required you to think on your feet, as you couldn’t stop and re-do a scene, as you could when filming a T.V. and/or movie. Here’s to Kay Porta and Brian Dennehy!
Speaking of remarkable people, I was pleased to find a card from one of our former neighbors, Marie Barovic Rosenberg, in my treasure trove of letters and cards that I have kept over the years. Marie was a professor of Public Administration at Eastern Washington University and was a world traveler. I can’t think of a place that Marie had not visited in her life. She was our neighbor for a number of years, owning the beautiful and distinctly designed brick home right across the street from our house. She was beloved by all of our family. During the latter part of her life, she was the companion of David, a fellow from New Zealand. During one of our visits with Marie and David, Marie offered us a hot drink that included some rum. When David received his cup, he was heard to say: “Marie…you’re a wee bit Presbyterian with the rum, wouldn’t you say?” In a letter to us dated January 24, 2002 after she had moved to the Seattle area, Marie writes: “I know, I know how bad I have been at keeping in touch with all of you. In fact, I know I have been behind ever since Andy’s graduation from high school (June, 2000). It’s not my memory that is bad—it’s just generally a lack of time & energy…” She ends her letter with the words…”and much love to the best friends/neighbors I’ve ever had.” Our family will always have fond memories of Marie. Here’s to good friends and good neighbors!
I came across the 1969 Topps Football Card for J.R. Wilburn, an accomplished tight end and receiver, who played for five seasons for the Pittsburgh Steelers. J.R. was born in Portsmouth, Virginia in 1943, played high school football at Cradock High School there and went on to play college football at South Carolina, where he teamed up with future Dallas Cowboys great, Dan Reeves, to set all kinds of receiving records there. He was also a star track & field athlete in the javelin, long jump, triple jump & high jump. He set the Blue-Gray game record with 10 receptions in one game in 1965. In addition to being an excellent pass receiver, he was an exceptional blocker. He was the 171st overall pick in the 1965 NFL draft. While with the Steelers, J.R. set a record of 12 catches in one game, a Steeler record that stood for 31 years. His 1969 Topps Football Card says that as “One of the Steelers top players, J.R. finished second on the club to only Roy Jefferson (the legendary Steeler & Redskin receiver who entered the NFL same year J.R. did) in pass receiving. A favorite of the fans, J.R. can pluck the pass from the air even when he’s closely pursued by the enemy.” During the off season, J.R. worked for Reynolds Metal, which was later purchased by Alcoa, and worked for them after his retirement from football until he retired from Alcoa in 2009. J.R. was inducted into the Virginia Sports Hall of Fame in 2004 and the South Carolina Athletic Hall of Fame in 2004. Here’s to J.R. Wilburn for being one of the best 171st overall draft picks, if not the best, to ever play in the NFL!
Here is the word definition for the day:
Tiffin: “A light meal, especially lunch”…”A type of lunchbox.” It can be said that we had a terrific “tiffin” at Joel & Amy’s house yesterday in honor of Joel’s birthday.
Here is the thought for the day…it comes to you by way of my wife, Judy, who sent me this handwritten quote to me while we were courting. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did reading it again after all these years:
“I must recuperate amid unspoilt nature
and cleanse my mind.
Would you like to come with me today?
to visit my unalterable friends…the green shrubs and the aspiring trees,
the green hedges and bowers with their murmuring streams?
Here there is no envy…
or competition…
or dishonesty.
Do come…
What a glorious morning!
It promises a find day.”
—Ludwig von Beethoven
Here’s to a great Sunday and lots of love & good wishes always!
Press on,
Papa ‘a (Dad, Uncle Mark, Mark, etc.)