Thoughts For The Day From Papa ‘a

Good Afternoon All & Happy Thursday!

Happy Birthday wishes go to good friend and father & sales/operation manager and lover of souls, Russ in Spokane WA, who turns 53 years young today; to long-time family friend and employee benefits advisor extraordinaire, Tyler in Spokane WA, who celebrates his birthday today; and to friend and father, school counselor and music ministry leader extraordinaire, Grant in Spokane WA, who is 43 today.  Here’s to all of you on your special day of celebration!  Also, here’s to Apollo 11 astronaut Buzz Aldrin (the second man on the moon), who is 93 today; and to singer/songwriter John Michael Montgomery of “I Love The Way You Love Me” fame, who turns 58 today!

Happy Birthday wishes also go to friends Jan in Colorado (founder of Christ Kitchen in Spokane); Quincy in Spokane WA (outstanding Whitworth University accounting graduate and prolific three-point shooting basketball star “Q” as her fans like to call her); outstanding Rogers High School grad Jeremy in Spokane WA; awesome father & auto broker, Randy, in Salt Lake City UT; lover and advocate of good government, Eric in Spokane, who all celebrated their birthdays yesterday, January 19th.  Here’s to all of you!

 

Prayers are lifted up for our beloved friend, Karen in Spokane WA, that her recovery from recent foot surgery goes well and that her foot is “as good as new” soon!  And praise to God for a good report for my wife Judy from her cardiologist yesterday.  Prayers were answered in an amazing way.  It appears that progress is being made in healing her heart and improving her overall health and well-being.  We’re really thankful for that!

 

Here’s important news for all of you Roberta Flack fans out there…on January 24th there will be a PBS special on the life and music of Roberta Flack.  I know I’ll be glued to the TV that night to enjoy watching the story of her remarkable life and contributions to music and civil rights.  “The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face” (originally sung by her) is one of the best songs of all time, in my humble opinion.  She sang it like no other…

Speaking of great things to watch, check out “The Whispering Marine:  Promoted To Glory” at www.navigators.org/blog/the-whispering-marine.  It features my Dad’s friend Bob Boardman.  He and Dad worked on the Washington State World War II Memorial and were involved in Marine Corps League activities for many years.  Bob is an inspirational man and you’ll be moved by his story and his testimony.  I happened upon it the other day when I was going through my Dad’s Address Book that he left behind.  Lots of little treasures in that book, for sure.  Thanks, Dad, for leaving it for us to discover…

In going through my Dad’s Address Book, I came upon an entry for Robert & Guadalupe (Lupe) Anderson.  That brought back good memories of my time in “Senor Anderson’s” Spanish classes at Olympia High School.  I took three years of Spanish with him and, even though he was a tough grader, he was an excellent teacher in all respects and I learned much from him.  It’s funny that one of my hardest classes in high school was also one of the best (and enjoyable) ones, thanks to Mr. Anderson.  Come to find out, he was from Sandpoint, Idaho, not far from Spokane.  He served in the Army Signal Corps in World War II and survived the Bataan Death March in The Philippines, as I understand it.  His wife, Lupe, taught Spanish to me in my elementary school…how about that!  They were great people and all who took Spanish classes from them benefited from them in one way or another.  Here’s to Senor Anderson and his wife Lupe!

In addition to spending some time with my Dad’s Address Book entries, I’ve found some things pertaining to my mom’s early life and come to find out, she sang with a fellow by the name of Edward Zambara at Raymond High School in Raymond, Washington in 1943-1944.  Edward went on to a career in opera singing and became a leading music educator, serving as a voice professor at the University of Tennessee, the University of Oregon, New England Conservatory of Music and the Julliard School.   He founded the Knoxville Opera and was a judge at Metropolitan Opera auditions.  How about that!  Needless to say, my Mom said it was always a pleasure to sing with Ed Zambara (rumor has it that Mom was a pretty good soprano herself)…I wish I could have been a “mouse in the corner” to hear them sing together…especially the rendition of “People Will Say That We’re In Love” that they performed together!

My friend Greg in Lakeside AZ shared the following “funny signs” for our viewing enjoyment…

In a shoe repair store in Vancouver that read:

“WE WILL HEEL YOU.  WE WILL SAVE YOUR SOLE.  WE WILL EVEN DYE FOR YOU.”

At an optometrist’s office:

“IF YOU DON’T SEE WHAT YOURE LOOKING FOR, YOU’VE COME TO THE RIGHT PLACE.”

In a Chicago Radiator Shop:

“BEST PLACE IN TOWN TO TAKE A LEAK.”

 

Here is the trivia question for the day:

“Question:  Which of these cartoon characters is a marsupial?…Tasmanian Devil?…Daffy Duck?…Road Runner?…or Speedy Gonzalez???

Answer:  The Tasmanian Devil is an animated cartoon character found in the Warner Bros. “Looney Tunes” series of cartoons.  It has been said that the character was inspired by the Tasmanian-born actor Errol Flynn.  Real-life Tasmanian devils are the largest carnivorous marsupials in the world.    Upset a Tasmanian devil and you’ll quickly learn how it got its name.  When threatened, this stocky marsupial is prone to bare its teeth, lunge and growl.  These behaviors inspired the “Looney Tunes” portrayal of the Tasmanian devil, as a snarling lunatic.”

 

Here are some funny answers to test questions:

“What is a fibula?  A small lie.”

“Give the meaning of the term “Caesarean Section”…The caesarean section is a district in Rome.”

“What is a terminal illness?…When you are sick at the airport.”

 

And here are some interesting “facts” for the day:

The average American consumes 1,500 pounds of food each year.

On average, each person uses 54 feet of dental floss each year.

And last, but not least, did you know that when a waitress draws a happy face on a check, tips rise 18 percent…when a waiter does the same thing, tips rise 3 percent.

…Now you know!

 

And finally…

Here are some thoughts for the day:

“I contend that for a nation to try to tax itself into prosperity is like a man standing in a bucket and trying to lift himself up by the handle.”

—Winston Churchill

This last “thought for the day” comes from my grandson Bobby who is a HUGE fan of the musical group “Switchfoot.”  It’s from their song “Where I Belong”…

“Feeling like a refugee…Like it don’t belong to me

The colors flash across the sky

This air feels strange to me…Feeling like a tragedy

I take a deep breath and close my eyes…One last time, One last time

Storms on the wasteland…Dark clouds on the plains again

We were born into the fight

But I’m not sentimental…This skin and bones is a rental

And no one makes it out alive

Until I die I’ll sing these songs…On the shores of Babylon

Still looking for a home…In a world where I belong

Where the weak are finally strong…Where the righteous right the wrongs

Still looking for a home…

In a world where I belong.”

Switchfoot, “Where I Belong,” written by Jon Foreman, Mike Elizondo & Tim Foreman