On Sunday, February 21, I "endured" my birthday. At age 81 you don't "enjoy" birthdays except perhaps from a feeling of gratitude at being alive. As I have said to others, it's a little like waking up that morning and discovering you have been trapped in the body of an 81-year-old. You don't fully get used to the idea that you are aging in your mind until physical ailments remind you. The next day, on Monday, we flew to Kona on…
When Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell (R – KY) within hours of Justice Scalia's death declared that the Senate would not even hold hearings on any replacement proposed by the president no matter what the Constitution provides, it wasn't all that surprising. This party has deteriorated from the days when it put public good before political self-interest to the point of chaos and internal dissension we find it in today. When the party, for political self-interest, took under its wing tea party…
My maternal grandfather Peter (Petar) Babarovich was born April 12, 1861 in the village of Splitska on the island of Brac in the Adriatic Sea. He died in Anacortes, Washington March 5, 1935. I was born 12 days after he died. It must have have been a very difficult time for my mother, to lose her father and then give birth to me. He and my grandmother had seven children all of whom, except my mother, Mary, who was born in Anacortes,…
Famous trial lawyer Clarence Darrow once said: "I never wanted to see anybody die, but there are a few obituary notices I have read with pleasure." I confess that was my first thought when I learned of the death of U.S. Supreme Court Justice Scalia. Or, as the comedian George Jessel once said about the people attending the funeral of a celebrity he didn't like: "you see, give the people what they want and they will come." From my perspective here…
When I was growing up our family lived in Anacortes, Washington at 2102 9th Street. Our house was a two story house on a triangle shaped lot located on a high bank looking out over Guemes Channel below. To the left of the property, on Guemes Channel was the Sebastian Stuart Cannery. A wonderful, old, red painted structure on pilling which extended out into the channel. But, to to be perfectly accurate my earliest memories of where we lived was…
We are in sunny Scottsdale, AZ. It is somewhat like visiting another country from a political and cultural standpoint. For example, we have Joe Arpaio, who bills himself as the "America's toughest Sheriff" who, at 83 years of age, is running again for his seventh term. He has reportedly raised $8 million to run for relection as Maricopa County's Sheriff. But he only has 3.2 million as the race begins because he spent the rest of it. How? According to…
William "Bill" Taylor was one of Anacortes most successful basketball coaches. He also was a positive influence in so many young men's lives, including mine. January 24th, was the annversary of the death of a great coach and mentor to me, William Taylor. I've published a full account of my high school relationship to this great coach and his profound influence in my life: https://paulluverajournalonline.com/weblog/2013/01/william-taylor.html . In addition, I published a background of this unique man who was so important in guiding my life….
I enjoy witty and insightful quotations. Here are a few without any attempt to put them in some logical order but simply represent quotations I liked. 20 years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn't do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bow lines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sail. Explore. Dream. Discover. (Mark Twain) your attitude is like a box of crayons…
As the political candidates for president continue their propaganda trying to identify with the ideas of voters we hear more conservative agenda's. They try to win over the voting conservatives by supporting their viewpoints. Around the world, extremists continue to kill innocent children, women and people all in order to please God. Wars, motivated by religious beliefs, are raging in many parts of the world as well. Crimes against humanity are so common place we read them with the same reaction we have to the reports of traffic accidents or…
My sister Phyllis Ennes died on January 7, 2013. She was the oldest of the three children with Anita Mayer in the middle and I as the youngest. For my previous post about Phyllis see https://paulluverajournalonline.com/weblog/2013/01/phyllis-luvera-ennes-1928-2013.htm Born to Paul and Mary Luvera in Anacortes she graduated from Anacortes High School in 1946 with honors and attended the University of Washington where hs obtained a degree in English. In 1953, the year I graduated from high school, she earned a teaching certicate from Western…
