Good Morning All & Happy Monday!
I hope you all had a fabulous 4th of July holiday weekend!
Happy Birthday wishes go to actor Sylvester Stallone of “Rocky” movie fame, who is 74 today; to actor Geoffrey Rush of “Les Miserable” movie fame, who turns 69 today; to actor Ned Beatty, who is 83 today; and to actor Burt Ward, “Robin” of “Batman” T.V. fame, who turns 75 today. Here’s to all of you!
Well, what do you think about the current state of affairs with our upcoming Presidential election? Pretty sad, don’t you think? What a choice we have been given by the two major political parties! Do you think some miracle will happen and both (Trump & Biden) are replaced with other more suitable candidates from which to choose? Hope springs eternal, they say…A yard sign I saw the other day says it quite well…”Any Functioning Adult 2020.”
If we’re left with Trump & Biden, it looks like I’ll be looking to cast my ballot for a third-party candidate, like I did in 2016. I just don’t have a political party to support that fits my overall view of things. I long for the day when a major third-party movement with “centrist” values emerges to save the day (we may be waiting for quite a while). As they say, things will have to get worse before they get better…that seems to be human nature, I guess…
I came across another one of my collectible cards the other day…This one featured John Payne and “The Restless Gun,” a T.V. series that ran from 1957 to 1959. Payne played “Vint Bonner,” a wandering cowboy in the era after the Civil War. A skilled gunfighter, Bonner is an idealistic person who prefers peaceful resolutions of conflict wherever possible. He is gregarious, intelligent, and public-spirited. The half-hour black & white program aired 78 episodes. “The Restless Gun” ranked in the top ten during its first season on the air, ending the year at number eight, but it was not among the highest-rated programs in the second season. Payne was also known for his role as attorney Fred Gailey in the classic holiday movie favorite “Miracle on 34th Street”, which also starred Natalie Wood. He was originally from Roanoke, Virginia and studied drama at Columbia University and voice at Julliard School in New York City. During World War II he served as a flight instructor in the U.S. Army Air Corps. Payne shrewdly insisted that the films he appeared in be filmed in color and that the rights to the films revert to him after several years, making him wealthy when he rented them to television. Actors Dan Blocker of “Bonanza” fame; James Coburn and Don Grady make their first substantive acting forays with Payne on “The Restless Gun” T.V. series. In March, 1961, Payne suffered extensive, life-threatening injuries when struck by a car in New York City. His recovery took two years. His final role was in 1975, when he co-starred with Peter Falk and Janet Leigh in the “Columbo” episode “Forgotten Lady.” Later in life Payne, like former “Daniel Boone-Davy Crockett” series star Fess Parker, became wealthy through real estate investment in southern California. John Payne was born in 1912 and died of congestive heart failure in 1989. Here’s to John Payne and T.V. westerns in the 1950s!
Here’s the word definition for the day:
Incipient (in-sip-e-ent): A late 16th century Latin word meaning “In an initial stage; beginning to happen or develop” or “of a person developing into a specified type or role.” It could be said that my daughter Amy is feeling an incipient excitement about the upcoming birth of her first child! Here’s to you Amy (and to her husband Joel too!).
Here are some thoughts for the day:
“When people come to me and tell me I was terrific in this or that, I do not want to fall flat on my face the next time. But, tough, I have fallen flat before. You just get up and dust yourself off.”
—Geoffrey Rush, Australian actor of “Pirates Of The Caribbean” & “Les Miserable” movie fame
“That’s what Rocky is all about: pride, reputation, and not being a bum in the neighborhood.”
—Sylvester Stallone, American actor of “Rocky” movie fame
“No divine purpose brings freedom from sin
And peace is a gift that must come from within
I’ve looked for the love that will bring me to rest
Feeding this hunger…beating strong in my chest
Feeding this hunger…beating strong in my chest
Get me through December…A promise I’ll remember
Get me through December…So I can start again.”
—Alison Krauss & Union Station, “Get Me Through December”
Here’s to a great Monday and lots of love & good wishes always!
Press on,
Papa ‘a (Dad, Uncle Mark, Mark, etc.)