Thoughts For The Day From Papa ‘a

Good Morning All & Happy Tuesday!  One more day until St. Patrick’s Day for all you Irish folks or Irish wannabes!  Here’s to Corned Beef and Cabbage and the “luck ‘o the Irish”!

Speaking of celebrations, Happy Birthday to Olympia friend and British Columbia trout fishing buddy Judy; to friend and human resources professional extraordinaire Debi; and to former Moloney+O’Neill colleague and long-distance bicycle rider extraordinaire Rick, who all celebrate their birthdays today!  Here’s to all of you!

Happy Birthday wishes also go to British actor Michael York, who is 79 today; to movie director Quentin Tarantino of “Traffic” movie fame, who turns 58 today; to singer Mariah Carey, who is 51 today; to hip-hop singer Fergie Duhamel of “Black-Eyed Peas” fame, who turns 46 today; and to professional baseball player Buster Posey of San Francisco Giants fame, who is 34 today!

Well, little miss Tempa continues to press on in her journey through life.  She celebrated her one month birthday yesterday!  She is, without a doubt, one of the most beautiful babies I’ve ever met (do you think I’m biased?).  Holding a baby is one of the best, if not THE best, feeling in the world.  You feel so warm and comforted by a baby’s touch.  Perhaps our world would be a much better place if everyone took a moment to hold a baby in their arms…what do you think?  If you are interested in following little miss Tempa, you can go to www.caringbridge.com and type in “prayersforbabytempa.”  That should take you to the site for Tempa and get periodic updates on her.  Please be praying that she doesn’t experience any seizures, as that can happen with the type of genetic condition with which she was born.  Your prayers and good thoughts are much appreciated, for sure!

 

I came across another one of my “Outer Limits” collectible cards from 1964 the other day…This one is entitled “Visit From The Future” and features “a white-smocked, strange looking little man who suddenly appears on every channel of every television set around the world.  As he speaks, his voice is translated into the language of each country.  The man is broadcasting from the year 3000 A.D., to the people of today’s world.  He tells how the Earth has developed a civilization that is living in peace and free from disease.  Jealousy, hatred and suspicion have disappeared from the world of 3000 along with the cold germ.  Yet The Man From The Future has a warning! (to be continued on Card #11)…

Wouldn’t it be great to think that our world will be as the little man from the future predicts?  But, there always seems to be a catch to something that fantastic…hence The Man From The From The Future’s warning that will be revealed when I describe Card #11 in my collection in a future “Thoughts For The Day From Papa ‘a”…stay tuned (I’ll bet you’re on the edge of your seats!!!).

(Oops!  I just checked to see if I have Card #11 in my collection and I don’t have it!  Does anyone know what happens in Card #11…the suspense is killing me!)

 

It looks like the trial of the Minneapolis police officer charged in the death of George Floyd is about to get under way.  There was a well written editorial that appeared in last Sunday’s “Spokesman-Review” that is worthy of sharing.  It’s entitled “It’s an individual, not a race, on trial in Minnesota.”  Here are some excerpts:

“We are in a season of difficult conversations about race reminiscent of the 1960s, but the dominant cultural worldview has changed.  Te Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. along with other civil rights leaders knew their worth came from God not man.  Rev. King walked peacefully in places where he was a target of hate, and survived with dignity because he knew his worth came from the God who created him.  Critical race theory starts from the assumption that everyone belongs to a racial category, and our identity is your race.  Judgement is based on the color of your skin and not the content of your character….

….Asked why critical race theory (CRT) has been so successful in penetrating the culture, Miller (Joe Miller of “Center for Cultural Apologetics”) said he believes it’s because the church has been silent. Too many pastors avoid teaching on controversial social issues, leaving room for competing worldviews to fill the void.  “There are real issues of injustice in our world, and real solutions, but CRT isn’t one.  It creates more division,” said Miller.  “Critical race theory is a new manifestation of a very old sin, separate but equal.  CRT has adopted the theology of 1960s separatist whites…”

One man is dead.  One man will face the justice system.  The trail lawyers will present their cases for cause of death, for culpability, for guilt or innocence.  An individual is on trial, not a group.  May God bless the jury with wisdom and all of us with the strength to have courageous conversations.”

Sue Lani Madsen, “It’s an individual, not a race, on trial in Minnesota,”  The Spokesman-Review, March 4, 2021, page C3.

Here’s the funny cartoon for the day, courtesy of “Dilbert”:

Dilbert:  “Okay, well, I see the closing credits scrolling by, so we must be done with our Zoom call.”

Zoom call participant:  “Bye!”

Another Zoom call participant:  “Oh, I guess so.  Well, goodbye everyone.”

Dilbert:  “Goodbye!”

Dogbert:  “You added closing credits to a Zoom call?”

Dilbert:  “It’s the only way to get people to leave.”

 

Here’s the word definition for the day:

“Pandowdy”:  A mid-19th century North American English word meaning “A kind of spiced apple pie baked in a deep dish.”  Has anyone ever had “pandowdy?”  I think there’s a song about “apple pandowdy”….does anyone know the words to it?  I think I could use some “pandowdy” today…how about you?

 

Here are some trivia facts for the day:

Q:  What does the Brannock Device measure?

A:  The Brannock Device is the standard foot measuring tool in the footwear industry.  But few people are able to call the device by name, much less identify its inventor, Charles F. Brannock.  As a Syracuse University student, Brannock wanted to find the best way to measure the human foot.  He played around with the idea for a couple of years and built a prototype of his device using an Erector set.  Designed in 1927, the foot-measuring device remains the international standard for the footwear industry and is a must have in all retail footwear stores.  How many times have you had your foot placed in “The Brannock Device?”  I, for one, can remember lots of times, especially at Earl’s Junior Shoe Store in Olympia, Washington.  Mr. Earl would always bring out his “Brannock Device” to get an accurate read of my foot size before pulling out a number of shoes to try on.  I’ll never forget that Mr. Earl had a chipmunk or some type of rodent always running around on a treadmill device inside his store.  Pretty fascinating for a little guy like me!  What early memory of visiting a shoe store is fixed in your mind???

 

About this time in 1912, Oreo sandwich cookies were introduced to the public in a grocery store in Hoboken, New Jersey.  Originally there was a choice of a chocolate oreo with white icing or a vanilla oreo with lemon meringue flavor filling.  The lemon meringue variety was phased out in the 1920s.  Did you know that 41% of women like to separate the cookie from the icing inside and eat them separately and that 84% of men like to eat the cookie whole…how about that?  There have been approximately 500 billion oreo cookies made since 1912!  And last, but not least, Double Stuf Oreos have 1.86 times more filling than the original Oreo…now you know!

 

Here are some thoughts for the day:

 

“I wish to preach not the doctrine of ignoble ease, but the doctrine of the strenuous life, the life of toil and effort, of labor and strife.”

—President Theodore Roosevelt

 

“O, you dead, who at Gettysburg have baptized with your blood the second birth of Freedom in America, how you are to be envied!”

—Samuel Wilkeson, reporter for The New York Times at The Battle of Gettysburg, written beside the body of his slain son who he found on the battlefield.

 

Here’s to a great Tuesday and lots of love and good wishes always!

Press on,

Papa ‘a (Dad, Uncle Mark, Mark, etc.)