Thoughts For The Day From Papa ‘a

Good Morning & Happy Wednesday Everyone!

Just 23 shopping days until Christmas!

Happy Birthday wishes go to church friend Katie in Spokane; to our church’s former associate pastor Brian in Colorado; and to our long-time friend and member of the beloved Murray family, Evan, in Spokane.  Here’s to all of you on your special day of celebration!  Enjoy!

Also, Happy Birthday to actress/T.V. personality Cathy Lee Crosby, who turns 76 today.  She was on a terrific T.V. program in the 1980s with former football great Fran Tarkenton…I think it was called “That’s Incredible,” but I’m not 100% sure.  Can anyone help me with that bit of T.V. trivia recall?  I think Cathy is now married to former football great Joe Thiesmann…is that right?  My memory ain’t what it used to be!  And Happy Birthday to singer/musician Rick Savage of “Def Leppard” fame, who is 60 today; to actress Lucy Liu, who turns 52 today; and last, but certainly not least, to one of my all-time favorite football players, Aaron Rodgers of Green Bay Packers fame, who is 37 today.  Here’s to all of you!

I just read in this morning’s newspaper that the Spokane grand opening of Chick-Fil-A yesterday drew hundreds, if not thousands, of people.  Some people spent some 24 hours in their cars lined up in waiting for the drive through to open.  Wow!  That’s some dedicated (and crazy?) Chick-Fil-A fans.  I can’t even imagine waiting that long for something to open, I might be tempted to wait in line for a while to get a mouth-watering chicken sandwich at The Backslope Brewing Company in Columbia Fall, Montana…but on second thought, I don’t think so.  Waiting in line for hours on end for a musical event, a “Black Friday” sale to start or restaurant to open isn’t my idea of a good time, for sure.  This type of behavior is an interesting subject in human psychology.  I wonder if anyone has done a study about it…

Are you finding it as perplexing as I am that it’s taking so long for the FDA to get around to give emergency approval to the distribution of vaccines for the coronavirus public health crisis.  It certainly appears that the drug companies involved have done proper clinical trials to prove the efficacy of their vaccine.  You would think that government officials would speed up the process as quickly as possible so that we can end this scourge and get on with our lives.  We may be suffering from “bureaucratic deadlock” these days and this is one perfect example of it, in my most humble opinion.  I also find it interesting that government officials who order small business closures and/or curtailment of activity for certain industries are not, at the same time, making relief packages available in the form of grants to keep these small businesses going through the crisis.  This is the height of public policy incompetence, again in my most humble opinion.  Also, you notice that government officials are not taking a pay cut through this crisis as have others, most especially in small businesses.  Government officials/politicians need to feel the pain of this crisis…perhaps that will spur them on to get meaningful and effective relief packages in place…not tomorrow or the next week or the next month, but NOW!  Wow!  Can you tell I’m fired up about this issue?  What are your thoughts about it?  Are you as fired up as I am and will contact your elected state & federal officials to let them know what you think?  You’ll be glad you did…for the sake of all of our small business owners/entrepreneurs, their families and their employees and their families.

One of the real joys of this life is listening to good jazz…especially one of my very favorite jazz musician, saxophonist extraordinaire Johnny Hodges.  Boy howdy, can he play the sax.  My folks gave me a CD set of his music entitled “The Jeep Is Jumpin'” and inside the boxed set was a brief biography & pictures of Johnny Hodges.  Here’s an excerpt from it that wonderfully explains why his musicianship was so special:  “Never the world’s most highly animated showman or greatest stage personality, but a tone so beautiful it sometimes brought tears to the eyes.   This was Johnny Hodges.  This is Johnny Hodges…Johnny Hodges and his unique tonal personality have gone to join the ever so few inimitables, those whose sounds stand unmistakable to say the least:  Art Tatum, Sidney Bechet, Django Reinhardt, Billy Strayhorn…Johnny Hodges never overdid, never underdid.  He just played alto saxophone.  Johnny Hodges sometimes sounded beautiful, sometimes romantic, and sometimes people spoke of his tone as being sensuous (and I’m in that group!).  I’ve heard woman say his tone was so compelling.”  Listening to Johnny Hodges play his sax is an “other worldly experience” in my book.  His music is truly emotive, compelling and exhilarating…Check out his music sometime, if you haven’t already done so…you’ll be glad you did!  Here’s to Johnny Hodges and all the jazz greats!

Speaking of great Americans, the State of Maine has certainly had its fair share of them.  One of my favorites was U.S. Senator Margaret Chase Smith, the first women to be nominated by a major political party for President (by the Republican Party in 1964).  The political courage she showed in standing up to “McCarthyism” in the 1950s is a standard for decency, civility and statesmanship to which all in public life should aspire.  There’s an interesting exhibit you can visit on-line that talks about Sen. Chase’s accomplishments…it’s called “Dirigo:  The Senators from Maine.”  You can view it at:  https://sites.google.com/maine.edu/mcslbicentennialexhibit/maine-and-the-u-s-senate.

Another favorite person of mine was Sean Connery, the gifted Scottish actor who died recently.  He was a terrific “James Bond, Secret Agent 007.”  I have some collectible cards from the early 1960s that feature James Bond.  One of them is a black and white photo of James Bond in a bowler hat and tuxedo…the title of this particular card is “Debonair But Deadly.”  Here’s an excerpt:  “When he desires, James Bond can abruptly switch his personality from strength and ruthlessness to charm and good manners.  Agent 007 is equally at home in a slovenly criminal hangout or the fanciest exotic gambling casino.  Many of his enemies, seeing only this polished side of his character, have made the fatal mistake of underestimating the secret agent..  Yet Bond can blaze into action instantly and his quick change of character often catches his attackers off guard.  This quality is essential in a man whose job my require his merging into the local scene and then, without warning, fighting his way out of trouble.  007 has this skill in full measure.”  As a kid growing up in the late 1950s and 1960s, who wouldn’t want to have been a man like James Bond…strong, sensitive, stylish, romantic, hardnosed when needed and resourceful!  No wonder I couldn’t wait to see the next James Bond thriller!

Here is the word definition for the day:

“Perviciacity”:  An early 17th century Latin word meaning “Obstinacy; stubbornness; willfulness.”  We could all do with a little less “perviciacity” don’t you think?  I don’t know about you, but I’ve gotten my self into all kinds of trouble over the years by being obstinate, stubborn & willful…I think it has something to do with the word “pride.”  That reminds me of the old saying “Pride before the Fall.”  What do you think?

 

Here’s the “stuff you don’t really need to know” for the day:

King Henry I decided that a yard should be the distance from his thumb to the end of his nose…

The color purple was a sign of great rank in Ancient Rome…

Now you know (stuff you really didn’t need to know!)…

 

Here’s the thought for the day:

“Surround yourself with really good people.  I think that’s an important thing.  Because the people you surround yourself are a reflection of you.”

“Authenticity is everything!  You have to wake up every day and look in the mirror, and you want to be proud of the person who’s looking back at you.  And you can only do that if you’re being honest with yourself and being a person of high character.  You have an opportunity every single day to write that story of your life.”

—Aaron Rodgers, Green Bay Packers great and star of  State Farm Insurance commercials

 

Here’s to a terrific Wednesday and lots of love & good wishes always!

Press on,

Papa ‘a (Dad, Uncle Mark, Mark, etc.)