Good Morning All & Happy Last Day Of January In The Year Of Our Lord 2021!
Wow! My, how did January fly by!
Happy Wedding Anniversary to my daughter, Amy, and her husband, Joel, who celebrated their special day yesterday (January 30th). It brings back lots of wonderful memories of that beautiful winter day at the Pine River Ranch near Leavenworth WA where Joel and Amy said their “I do’s.” Here’s to you, Joel & Amy!
Speaking of special events, this past Thursday marked the 94th birthday of my mother Chris, born Tempa Christine Testerman in Zena, Oklahoma in 1927 (the year of Charles Lindbergh’s solo flight across the Atlantic!). She was treated to a beautiful paper floral bouquet from Nate & Nerys (Nerys is her granddaughter); a bouquet of a dozen red roses from Andrea (Andy), Amy & Jacob (Jake) (my kids — her grandkids) and a personal visit from Andy, Amy, Joel and little miss June bug, mom’s newest great-grandchild. We topped off mom’s birthday celebration with take out from Vintage Vines (soon to be Jake & Clay’s) in the Spokane Valley….a delicious spinach salad with prime rib; a mouth-watering tomato and goat cheese bruchetta for an appetizer; a smashed turkey pesto sandwich and a prime rib & creme cheese wrap…and then ended with a terrific Gonzaga basketball game! A good time was had by all in celebrating mom’s birthday. Here’s to you, Mom (Grandma)!
Speaking of birthdays, here’s to actor Jessica Walter, who is 80 today; to Nolan Ryan, perhaps the best pitcher in major league history (my daughter Andy sure thinks so!), who turns 74 today; to actress Minnie Driver, who is 51 today; to singer/actor Justin Timberlake, who turns 40 today; and to folk-rock musician Marcus Mumford of “Mumford & Sons” fame, who is 34 today. Here’s to all of you!
Who would have known that we would have witnessed sports history last night at the Whitworth University-Pacific Lutheran University (PLU) women’s basketball game? Just as the second half was to get under way they stopped the game because one of the PLU players complained of a sore throat in the locker room at halftime and asked for a throat lozenge. Both teams had been tested for COVID-19 on Friday before they played each other (the first of two back-to-back games) and all the players checked out negative. According to the announcers on T.V., it’s the first basketball game in the country that has been suspended in the middle of it due to COVID-19 fears. Wow! There sure is an abundance of caution in the sports world! Do you think the game should have been allowed to continue???
Speaking of T.V. programs, check out Netflix’s film “The Dig” with actor Ralph Fiennes. It’s a terrific movie. Trust me, you’ll be glad you saw it!
Here’s the trivia question for the day:
Q: What is the name of the southern equivalent of the Northern Lights…the Antarctic Borealis, the Southern Lanterns, the Aurora Australis; or the Pacific Lights?
A: The Aurora Australis (now you know!)
Here’s the word definition for the day:
“Piffle” (don’t you just love this word?): A mid 19th century English word meaning nonsense…trivial or senseless talk. Synonyms include balderdash, gibberish and/or hogwash. There sure is a lot of “piffle” going on in the political world these days, don’t you think?
I came across an old “Outer Limits” collectible card the other day that features “Radio-Active Man.” “Outer Limits” was a sci-fi T.V. series in the 1960s (in black & white, don’t you know!). The card has a picture of “The Radio-Active Man” glowing in the dark in a laboratory and reads as follows:
“A research scientist is trapped near an exploding Atomic Pile. The radioactivity bring drastic changes to the scientist’s body. His skin turns into a solid radio-active ash and hardens into rock (that doesn’t sound pleasant!). The bombardment of the radio-activity causes his I.Q. to jump 50 points. But because of the dangerous radio-activity, the scientist is flown to a deserted island in the Pacific. The, the man is dropped food and supplies by helicopter until the radio-activity wears off (who knows when that will be?)…the card doesn’t say. Poor guy! This card is #2 in a 50 card set, and like most things collectible, it hard to find a certain few of the cards to make a complete set (is that by design or what?).
I think I’ve mentioned this before, but one of my very favorite publications is the “Hungry Horse News” from Hungry Horse, Montana (where else?). In the Dec. 23rd, 2020 edition, there’s a superb article about a young man by the name of Trey Finley, a senior at Columbia Falls High School, who recently received a full-ride scholarship to Brown University, one of the Ivy League schools. Trey is quite a remarkable young man. Here are some excerpts from this interesting & wonderful article about him:
“It was a studious afternoon in the speech and debate room when Trey Finley, a measured, soft-spoken Columbia Falls senior, refreshed the QuestBridge application website to discover he had been accepted to Brown University–with a four year, full-ride scholarship.
“It was very exciting and surreal to experience,” said Finley. “I didn’t think I would get accepted at all.”
Which is partly why Finley, a first-generation college student, is just the type of candidate the scholarship program QuestBridge is hoping to reach.
Finley, a member of the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes, was born in Ronan MT and raised on the reservation until he entered the foster care system at the age of four. Shortly after, Finley and his younger sister moved to Columbia Falls under the care of his cousin Karrie and her husband Javier Mendoza.
It wasn’t until junior high that Finley, ever-curious and inquisitive, was introduced to what for him became a life-altering activity: speech and debate…
…The academic extracurricular helped Finley develop his writing, his speaking and just how to present himself in general, he said. It also gave him an outlet where he could research and explore the myriad of topics he was interested in…
…”I feel like I want to come back to Montana and probably help my tribe in some way, with the environment and law.”
QuestBridge’s mission is to not only match high achieving, low income students with top colleges, but to mentor students throughout their education, from acceptance letter to graduation and even their first job, providing guidance to individuals whose entire support system may be unfamiliar with the realm of post-secondary education. For Finley, who along with his sister will be the first in the family to attend college, the fit was perfect.”
Here’s to Trey Finley and his sister! Godspeed to them on their college experience and the life to follow!
—Teresa Byrd, “Finley, Debate standout, garners full ride to Brown,” Hungry Horse News, December 23, 2020, page B1.
Here’s the thought for the day…it comes from Sanjay Gupta, M.D., neurosurgeon and author of “Keep Sharp: Build a Better Brain at Any Age.” He mentions the following keys to staying sharp:
- Take a hike…
- Hydrate before you eat…
- Try something new & different…
- Chill out…
- Find purpose…
- Be a learner…
Here’s to a great Sunday and lots of love & good wishes always!
Press on,
Papa ‘a (Dad, Uncle Mark, Mark, etc.)