Good Morning All!
Well, a great time was had at The Tana House and Glacier Park these past few weeks, as we “wiled the time away” in a great part of God’s Creation. Among the highlights was a trip to Polebridge for some tasty bakery items at the Polebridge Bakery…a must stop for anyone visiting Glacier; a visit to one of my favorite places on Earth…Bowman Lake for some inner-tube floating, water fights with the super soakers and rock skimming led by one of the best, my son Jake; a terrific hike with some of the Cathey family to St. Mary Falls and Virginia Falls on the east side of Glacier (the fireweed was seen in all its glory…a fantastic shade of pink!) a visit at sunset by a beautiful/majestic doe just off our front porch at The Tana House; and tons and tons of huckleberries not a stone’s throw from The Tana House…nothing better than a fresh huckleberry sundae for dessert! Oh, Tana House!…Oh, Glacier!…How I love thee! Everyone seems to have their favorite happy place…what’s yours?
Among the notables whose birthdays occurred this past week are my friends Catherine (finance/accounting executive extraordinaire); Bob (family physician extraordinaire) and Garry (Alzheimer’s Association Office Manager and champion extraordinaire & Florida Gator alum). Here’s to all of you!
And, speaking of birthdays, here’s to actor David Duchovny of “X Files” fame, who turns 60 today; to actor Wayne Knight of “Jurassic Park” movie fame (who can forget his role as the shady lab technician in that film!), who is 65 today; to actress Charlize Theron of “The Italian Job” movie fame (who can forget her racing around in a Mini-Cooper in that film!), who turns 45 today; and to baseball player Mike Trout (one of the highest paid baseball players of all time at the age of 29!). Happy Birthday to all!
Not to belabor focus on the current coronavirus challenges, but isn’t it a bit (or a lot) frustrating at all of the changes in public policy going on right now with regard to how to deal with this pandemic? This “back and forth” and indecisiveness on the part of political and health care leaders is confusing at best and perplexing at worst. We need our leaders to settle on a course of action based on best practices in fighting this virus and then press on with strength of purpose until a vaccine is found. To do anything less will lead to more economic dislocation and disaster for our country’s small businesses. We need resolute, common sense leadership right now! What do you think?
On a lighter note, I came across one of the collectible cards from the late 1950s and early 1960s in my possession featuring the T.V. series “The Californians.” It was set in San Francisco during the gold rush of the 1850s and was broadcast by NBC from September 24, 1957 to May 26, 1959, for 69 episodes. Actor Richard Coogan was featured in a number of episodes. He starred as Matthew Wayne, a sheriff and then marshal who organizes the city police, courts a young widow, Wilma Fansler, portrayed by Carole Mathews, and clashes with an ambitious attorney, Jeremy Pitt, played by Art Fleming, later the original host of “Jeopardy!”. The collectible card I have says that “Matt was not the rough-tough type of law officer like the Marshals in the frontier towns. He was a clever man who could mingle with the finest of San Francisco society, yet flexible enough to talk with the roughest prospector.” At the end of season two, Matt departs when a vigilante committee becomes active again, and the last episode has James Coburn of “Our Man Flint” movie fame as Matt’s cousin, Anthony (Pittsburgh) Wayne, taking over as deputy marshal and series lead. However, the show was not renewed for a third season. With regard to actor James Coburn, does anyone remember the term “In Like Flint?”. My dad used to say that from time to time when I was growing up…it comes from the movie series “Our Man Flint”…a James Bond kind of guy! With regard to Richard Coogan, he was best known for his protrayal of Captain Video in “Captain Video and His Video Rangers,” in five episodes, from 1949 to 1950. He guest-starred mainly in Westerns like “Gunsmoke,” “Laramie,” “Bonanza,” “Maverick,” & “Cheyenne” and some crime dramas such as “Perry Mason,” Surfside 6,” and “77 Sunset Strip.” Coogan retired from film and television in 1963 following an appearance on “Perry Mason” and “Gunsmoke.” In later life, he was best known as a professional golfer and golf instructor. He died in 2014 in Los Angeles from natural causes a few weeks before his 100th birthday. How about that!
Here is the word definition for the day:
Nonpareil (Nanh-pa-REL): An early 16th century French word meaning “An unrivaled or matchless person or thing” or “A flat round candy made of chocolate covered with white sugar sprinkles.”
The two different definitions for this word just goes to show that some words can be used to describe two totally different things. As Arte Johnson, the German soldier rummaging around in the potted Palm plant in the iconic “Laugh-In” T.V. comedy series was always found of saying…”Very interesting!”.
Here are some thoughts for the day:
“I love being in the world of the unknown.”
“My parents made us do everything, try everything.”
“You know, for most of its life, bluegrass has had this stigma of being all straw hats and hay bales and not necessarily the most sophisticated form of music. Yet you can’t help responding to its honesty. It’s music that finds its way deep into your soul because it’s strings vibrating against wood and nothing else.”
Here’s to a great Friday and lots of love and good wishes always!
Press on,
Papa ‘a (Dad, Uncle Mark, Mark, etc.)