Good Morning All & Happy Friday!
Happy Birthday wishes go to civil rights champion, congressman & former UN Ambassador Andrew Young, who is 89 today; to actress/singer Liza Minnelli of “Caberet” movie fame, who turns 75 today; to singer/songwriter extraordinaire James Taylor, who is 73 today and to actor Courtney B. Vance of “Where In The World Is Carmen San Diego” and “Law & Order” fame, who turns 61 today. Here’s to all of you!
My granddaughter Tempa Joanne continues to be a fighter and is so beautiful! Her namesake, my mother Tempa (Chris), got to hold her again yesterday at Jake & Sarah’s house, joined by a number of family members. It was great to love on little miss Tempa! Holding a little baby is a feeling like none other. It was SO good to hold her close and sing to her and, like I say, just love on her. We’re still praying for a miracle, but realizing that each day she is with us is precious.
I was pleased to see that our state’s governor is moving Washington State to Phase 3 in the reopening process. Needless to say, his leadership during the pandemic has been sketchy….sort of “willy-nilly.” His “on again, off again” opening and closing of our economy through this challenge has really damaged small businesses and negatively impacted working families, especially low-income and middle-income workers. It’s really been shameful. As they say, tough times bring out the best and the worst in people and we’ve seen the worst from some of our elected officials. So many of them have never held a “real” job in the private sector and have little or know appreciation for what the average wage earner goes through to make ends meet. Hopefully, we’ll see better leaders emerge in the future. The future of our state and country depend on it (until Jesus comes again!).
There was a cute little article in the March, 2021 edition of “Rural Montana” that deserves mention…It’s a story about Jordan Grindheim of Roy, Montana entitled “Bred For Success: Show-quality pig breeder began her career at age 14.” Here are some excerpts:
“As owner and operator of Jordie’s Show pigs—a business geared to supply show-quality piglets across the state—Grindheim is gearing up for her seventh annual Silent Auction Sale on March 21…
…As preparation continues for this year’s sale, Grindheim can’t help but reflect on how far Jordie’s Show Pigs has come in seven years.
“The started with two gilts,” she said. “My focus then was pretty much the same as it is now, which is to help the kids. I always tell the kids when they buy a pig from me, they are not just purchasing a pig. I’m going to help them all year. I stay in touch and make sure their pigs are growing well…
Five years after her first pig showing, she started breeding pigs, which further enhanced her passion.
“I enjoy their personalities,” she said. “For the most part, the pigs are personable, and a lot of fun. They all have their quirks, like Lolli, for example, loves to eat Twinkies.”
Grindheim wants to share this love for pigs and do her part to empower boys and girls getting started in showing by providing them with high-quality pigs.
She’s not just breeding pigs; she’s breeding success…
…Seeing the interaction between the pig and the kid makes it all worth it.
“When the pigs leave our house, they’re so tame,” she said. “That’s a testament to the hours I spend in the nursery with them. They are really sweet pigs…
…For more information about Jordan’s pig breeding, call her at (406) 350-0595.”
—Charlie Denison, “Bred For Success,” Rural Montana Magazine, March 2021, pages 6-7
Who would have thought there was so much to know about pig breeding and that someone like Jordan would devote her time to her passion for pigs! Now, that’s really something, won’t you agree?
Speaking of interesting articles, one of my very favorite journalists, Treva Lind, formerly with The Journal of Business and now with The Spokesman-Review, wrote a terrific article the other day entitled “Forging Bonds Of Steel: Elk Resident Makes Knives And 9/11 Tribute Ax To Go Beyond Remembering.” Here’s an excerpt:
“Making Damascus steel knives gave Elk resident Ben Hayhurst more than a hobby. He credits the craftsmanship in his recovery as a wounded veteran of Operation Iraqi Freedom.
He’s also using the skills to raise awareness about suicides, and pledge to end suicides, among veterans and first responders. In September, he finished the Spartan Axe, made with steel recovered from the World Trade Center and a firefighters’s ax used at Ground Zero in the days following 9/11.
His crafted piece is at the New York Fire Department Academy but eventually will travel the U.S.. It joins the Spartan Sword made by another craftsman, also from Twin Towers’ steel, for a nonprofit Spartan Pledge by Iraq War veteran Boone Cutler as an oath among veterans not to commit suicide and to reach out to a battle buddy…
…”The hope with the pledge is that they reach out and give somebody a chance to talk to them and let them know you’re not alone.”
—Treva Lund, “Forging Bonds Of Steel,” The Spokesman-Review, Sunday, March 7, 2021, pages D1 & D6.
Here’s the funny cartoon for the day, courtesy of “Dilbert”:
Dilbert: “Do you prefer that I focus on one of my projects at the expense of all the others…
Dilbert: …or should I spread my attention across all of my projects and do low-quality work on all of them?”
Dilbert: “And your answer cannot involve magic.”
Dilbert’s Boss: “Can I hear the choices again?”
Here’s the word definition for the day:
“Cynosure”: A late 16th century French word meaning “A person or ting that is the center of attention or admiration.” It’s fair to say that little miss Tempa is the cynosure of our family and our world right now…
Here is the thought for the day:
“In friendship…we think we have chosen our peers. In reality a few years’ difference in the dates of our births, a few more miles between houses, the choice of one university instead of another…the accident of a topic being raised or not raised at a first meeting—any of these chances might have kept us apart. But, for a Christian, there are, strictly speaking, no chances. A secret master of ceremonies has been at work. Christ, who said to the disciples, “Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you,” can truly say to every group of Christian friends, “Ye have not chosen one another but I have chosen you for one another.” The friendship is not a reward for our discriminating and good taste in finding one another out. It is the instrument by which God reveals to each of us the beauties of others.”
—C.S. Lewis, “The Four Loves,” as quoted in “C.S. Lewis’ Little Book Of Wisdom” (2018)
Here’s to a great Friday and lots of love and good wishes to you and your loved ones always!
Press on,
Papa ‘a (Dad, Uncle Mark, Mark, etc.)