July 11th, 2019 – Happy Anniversary Honey!!!!
“Anniversary ya furaha” “Happy Anniversary!!!” in Swahili.
Tippy and James McCann
提皮和弗雷德麦肯
Together since December 23, 1972
自1972年12月23日以来一起
Married since July 11, 1973
自1973年7月11日结婚
I covered it in Swahili, English and Mandarin! Ok, you get the idea! By the time you all read this, the Champagne and Vichyssoise will be in the fridge so they can chill completely before dinner and I will be starting on the Hazelnut Espresso Parfaits.
This week we lost a giant of our generation. I didn’t always agree with Ross Perot but I always admired him. He created and ran his company as a matter of principle. He believed that there was a better way to deliver computer services to businesses and he was right! Ross is an excellent example of a spectacularly successful principled leader. Ross was governed by his own character and the courage of his convictions. He attracted other uniquely principle centered leaders to help him build and grow his businesses. Ross didn’t like failure but he wasn’t afraid of it as long as he was doing what he believed to be right.. Ross Perot literally changed my life. He created a company where even a misfit like me could reach, achieve, fail, recover, lead and follow. At Ross’ company, I learned to do all of it with people I would be proud to stand with anywhere. Rest In Peace, Ross and thank you!
This week I learned some stuff:
• Southeastern California can have a 7.1 earthquake that is felt in as far north as Sacramento, east into Las Vegas, NV and south to the Mexican states of Baja California Norte and Señora But undetected in Chula Vista! Don’t misunderstand, I am grateful and happy about it, earthquakes just scare the crap out of me.
• Not all Worcestershire Sauces are created equal. My daughter recently purchased Walmart’s generic Worcestershire sauce and it is certainly less that equal to the sauce created in in the city of Worcester in Worcestershire, England, in the first half of the 19th century. The creators were the chemists John Wheeley Lea and William Henry Perrins, who went on to form the company, Lea & Perrins. Lea & Perrins makes the only true Worcestershire Sauce! Oh and by the way, Worcestershire is correctly pronounced as “Wos-ter- sure”and not that other way you have been using for every. Shire is the UK equivalent of County. The sauce was named for region or shire (pronounced “shure” like we say the shire in New Hampshire) of Worcester, England (pronounced “Worster”). And there you have it, but from now on just call it, “Lea & Perrins” and you will get the right sauce and the best taste.
Website Update:
• Week 2 for the New Vocabulary Quiz.
• Last week for our “new” UJT Music Trivia Quiz!
• This week I have added a number of new dishes – Mediterranean Chicken Kabobs, Patriotic Shortcake and Grilled Buffalo Chicken Wings. Enjoy!
• While I was adding the thoughtful lyrics of Lira’s Feel Good to the Featured Lyrics page, I took the opportunity this week to replace all the old buttons with images, fix some typos and address other readability issues. The end result is pretty cool:) Take a look!
Writing, Ceramics and Painting Update:
• This is the first week of our new Summer Session. My ceramics teacher retired and they cut down the number of classes available so the new guy has a lot of people in class. Some of my regular classmates are sitting out this semester :(. I did start a new project. I am building a ceramic House Number plaque to put up by the front door. The design is kind of cool but a lot will depend on how well I execute in the clay. Still trying to figure out if i am going to watercolors and writers workshop this semester. I am painting up a storm on my own but its more fun sometimes with others around sharing ideas and critiquing our work.
• Grandpa Stories is still not re-published.
Weird-Stuff-O-Meter:
• The human brain is amazing and strange. Sometimes I can’t remember if I brushed my teeth or not but I can recite my US Navy Service number (before the switched to SSNs), my EDSNET id, and the street address where I lived when I went to high school including the zip code. I cannot really explain why I can recall these tidbits of JFM Trivia, yet can’t remember where I put the Magnifying Glass, again! When the number of computer passwords and access codes needed to function in our world exploded, I was able to recycle these little nuggets of useless information firmly embedded in my brain for good purpose.
• Our dog has joined a school of Koi. Every morning when I get up … I feed the fish in our two tanks inside and our backyard pond. I also water my bonsai trees. While I do all that Georgie will be wrangling her fish buddies in the pond. Then she oversees their feedings, barking if she thinks there is just too much pushing and shoving for the food in the water. She hasn’t jumped in yet but maybe someday.
Music Update:
Once again this week, I have created a very nice collection of songs that I think celebrate life in a grand way!
Go to this week’s UJT Radio program.
• Dire Straits — Money For Nothing — From the Vinyl!!! This one comes from their 1985 release, “Brothers in Arms”. For me this song kicked off MTV (which I am not even sure exists anymore). This song, Max Headroom, Michael Jackson’s “Thriller” and Pat Benatar’s, “Love is a Battlefield” were the main attractions of MTV for me.
• Jimmy Buffett — Coast of Marseilles— I have a lot of favorites when it comes to Mr. Buffet’s music or for that matter, anything that makes me smile that much. This song has always been special for me. Jimmy’s romantic soul shines through this song. Hell it’s even got this nice “Fingers” Taylor harmonica interlaced with orchestra strings thing going on. It comes to us from his, “Son of a Son of a Sailor” album released in 1978.
• Eric Johnson — Song for George — This is a short little instrumental from his wonderful 1990 release, “Ah Via Musicom”. Every time I hear it, I am taken back to high school days sitting on the floor of George Gomez’s bedroom while he sits on his bed noodling with the new guitar he bought in Spain.
• Dan Ar Bras— Morvac’h (Cheval de la mer) — This is a beautiful little instrumental that helps me imagine the title (Horse of the Sea) swimming around a coal reef somewhere.
• Ten Years After — I Am Going Home (Live) — I think most of America got introduced to Alvin Lee and Ten Years After watching their performance on Woodstock the Movie. But I had seen them perform in Miami almost a year before. Their mix of hard rock and deep blues had us all sweating and smiling. This song was originally recorded live at a London Club for their 1968 live release, “Undead”.
• Doc Watson – Shady Grove — This is an old Appalachian trail song that has been done by damn near everyone – Quicksilver, Garcia, and a host of other bluegrass, folk and rock bands. It is believed that there are over 300 different stanzas written for this song. Doc Watson was a wonderful finger picker and I think does one of the most authentic versions of this old bluegrass standard.
• Lira – Feel Good – This song is a bit off my beaten path musically but it is compelling to me. It comes from the soundtrack of a movie that I have never seen, “Girlfriends”. Lira (born as Lerato Molapo) is a South African who speaks 4 languages and is a multi platinum selling vocalist. If you listen to her lyrics in this song, there is a vitally important message that we all need to hear. I think many of us forget sometimes that, “… feeling good is a choice that we all make.”. Or put another way how we feel about today and every day is totally up to us. I was so impressed by this lady’s lyrics, that I captured them for UTJ. Enjoy!
That’s it… Do the best you can; Laugh every chance you get; And always remember … The best is yet to come!
As always, thank you for being my friend!