Thoughts For The Day From Papa ‘a

Good Morning All & Happy Monday!  The first day of March today!!!  Spring is coming!

I could sure use some warmer weather and lots more sunshine and blue skies, how about you?  Not to mention all the colorful flowers and blossoms!

Happy Birthday wishes go to family friend, Danny, who celebrates his 45th birthday today; and to friend and fellow People For Effective Government (PEG) Board Member, Barb, who celebrates her 73rd birthday today.  Here’s to both of you on your special day of celebration!

Speaking of birthdays, here’s to actor Robert Clary of “Hogan’s Heroes” T.V. fame (Corporal LeBeau), who is 95 today; to former U.S. Senator John Breaux of Louisiana, one of my favorite political figures who was known to seek “common ground” between opposing political interests, who turns 77 today; to actor & director Ron Howard, one of my favorite movie directors of “Apollo 13” fame, who is 67 today; to actress Catherine Bach of “Dukes of Hazard” T.V. fame, who turns 66 today, to actor Javier Bardem (he plays a great villain), who is 52 today; and to actor/singer Justin Bieber, who turns 27 today.  Here’s to all of you!

As I recall the actor Robert Clary had some connection in real life to World War II, so I looked him up on the internet this morning and lo and behold, I found a fascinating biography of him.  He was born in 1926 in Paris, France, the youngest of 14 children.  At the age of twelve, he began a career singing professionally on a French radio station and also studied art in Paris.  In 1942, at approximately 16 years of age, he was deported to the Nazi concentration camp at Ottmuth, in Upper Silesia (now Poland).  Because he was Jewish, he was identified by the Nazis as such and was tattooed with the identification “A5714” on his left forearm.  He was later sent to Buchenwald concentration camp.

At Buchenwald, he sang to an audience of SS soldiers every other Sunday, accompanied by an accordionist.  He said, “Singing, entertaining, and being in kind of good health at my age, that’s why I survived.  I was very immature and young and not really fully realizing what situation I was involved with…I don’t know if I would have survived if I really knew that.”  Writing about his experience, Clary said:

“We were not even human beings.  When we got to Buchenwald, the SS shoved us into a shower room to spend the night.  I had heard the rumours about the dummy shower heads that were gas jets.  I thought, “This is it.”  But no, it was just a place to sleep.  The first eight days there, the Germans kept us without a crumb to eat.  We were hanging on to life by pure guts, sleeping on top of each other, every morning waking up to find a new corpse next to you…The whole experience was a complete nightmare—the way they treated us, what we had to do to survive.  We were less than animals.  Sometimes I dream about those days.  I wake up in a sweat terrified for fear I’m about to be sent away to a concentration camp, but I don’t hold a grudge because that’s a great waste of time.  Yes, there’s something dark in the human soul.  For the most part, human beings are not very nice.  That’s why when you find those who are, you cherish them.”

Twelve other members of his immediate family were sent to Auschwitz concentration camp; Clary was the only survivor among his family members who were sent to concentration camps…

Robert Clary went to marry the daughter of the famous singer/entertainer Eddie Cantor and had a successful acting, publishing and painting career.  Here’s to Robert Clary, who celebrates his 95th birthday today and here’s to his inspirational life story!

 

Speaking of inspirational life stories, here’s to Spokane businessman and attorney Julius Galland (1860-1926).  There was an interesting story in today’s Spokesman-Review about the former Children’s Home Society building on South Scott Street on Spokane’s South Hill.  That facility was used to serve displaced children for a number of years and the funds were provided for the land and the building from Julius Galland’s estate.  Julius never had children of his own.  His family were of Jewish ancestry from Prussia.  His father, Solomon Galland, went to Australia and then to San Francisco in 1849 when the gold rush began there.  He established a store that sold supplies to prospecters and others who were drawn to California.  He later ended up in Farmington, Washington where he established a successful general store and then later opened stores in Palouse WA and Wallace ID in the late 1880s.  Julius and his three brothers built a success business empire and also were successful in the brewing business as well as investing real estate in the greater Spokane area.  They also started 2-3 successful banks, among the Spokane & Eastern Trust Company.  They built a legacy of business success and philanthropy from which succeeding generations benefited, not to mention all of the great philanthropic efforts they made to benefit the larger community.  According to an article in the “Nostalgia Magazine” about the Galland family, it was written that “The unwritten rules they seem to believe in were simple…Keep management in the family whenever possible; diversify your financial interests, that is, hedge your bets; advertise; and give something back to those who made your success possible.”  These are good principles to live by, don’t you think?

 

I think the current leader of our state’s government could take a lesson from the Galland family…evidently he doesn’t have a plan figured out yet as to how to get our state from “Phase 2” to “Phase 3” in efforts to meet the coronavirus challenge.  All I can say is “WOW”…just “WOW.”  After all of this time, you’d think a credible plan would be in place to move to the next step in opening up our state’s economy and getting us moving full steam again.  It’s truly unbelievable how poorly our government seems to be run.  We need better leadership these days!  Common sense seems to be sorely lacking…What do you think?

 

I came across another one of my “Outer Limits” collectible cards the other day.  This one features the “Jelly Creature.”  According to the story on the back of the card, “No one ever found out where The Jelly Creature came from.  Most people suspect that it mateialized somewhere in the swampy Bayou Country in the heart of Louisiana.  It was first sighted walking along an interstate highway between Louisiana and Georgia.  The two short tusks on The Jelly Creature acting as strong suction tubes, drawing in birds and small animals.  As its suction power increased, The Jelly Creature turned its attention on human beings.”  No wonder this show scared “begeebers” out of me as a young boy in the early 1960s!  The black & white Outer Limits was one scary T.V. show back in the day!

 

Here’s the word definition for the day:

“Chinwag”:  A late 19th century English word meaning “A chat.”  Don’t you just love a good “chinwag” with a dear family member and/or friend?

 

Here is the thought for the day:

“True in this modern world when two lovers get together…

Chances of ’em ever makin’ it to forever…

Couldn’t be better than two in a million hearts.

Girl, this ain’t just another run of the mill emotion

What I’m feeling’ is the definition of devotion,

My love for you is true.

 

True, like the sun comin’ up each mornin’…

Bright as the light in a baby’s smile…

Sure as a mountain river windin’…

Right as the rain fallin’ from the sky…

Girl, my love for you, is true.”

 

True, not another minute on this Earth can be borrowed…

So there’s no way to know when I’ll live my last tomorrow…

But everyday I get, I’ll share with you.

This feelin’ just keeps gettin’ stronger as the time goes by…

It’s written on my face, you can see it in my eyes…

My love for you is true.”

—George Strait, “True,” from the album “One Step At A Time,” (1998)

 

Lots of love and good wishes this day and always!

Press on,

Papa ‘a (Dad, Uncle Mark, Mark, etc.)