Defeated candidate Mitt Romney and his wife have opened up to the media regarding their views on his loss to Mr. Obama. Mr Romney blamed the vote of blacks and Hispanics as the cause of his losing. His wife Ann pointed to the misrepresentations of the news media as the cause of his loss. When I read this in the newspaper I thought about Adlai Stevenson's response when he was asked how he felt after losing his race for president. He…
My maternal grandfather Peter (Petar) Babarovich was born April 12, 1861 inthe village of Splitska on the island of Brac in the Adriatic Sea. He died inAnacortes, Washington March 5, 1935. For his family history see: http://www.paulluvera.com/weblog/2011/03/peter.html The picture is of my maternal grandparents Peter and Marija. They had seven children all of whom, except my mother Mary, were born in ona small island Brac off the coast near Split, Croatia. I've written about the families journey from the old country to America before as…
On Friday February 27th 1981 I had the good sense to marry Lita Theresa Barnett. From that day to this we have been together virtually twenty four hours a day because we are not only partners in life, we are also partners in law. That means for the past 32 years we have worked and lived together. We really should be honoring a 64 year marriage since we have never left each others side since our marriage. Winston Churchill once wrote…
Pope Benedict gave his two weeks notice. He going to resign. The first pope to do so in some six hundred years. I admit I was never a fan of the present pope and even less of the previous one. In fact, the only pope in my life time I thought was extraordinary and who should be declared a saint was John 23rd. In my view, Benedict and his predecessor John Paul II were arch conservatives who caused much pain and damage…
There is a Washington State history site, www.historylink.org which is a wonderful source of interesting stories of history. One of articles is about talks by the famous William Jennings Bryan in Seattle. http://www.historylink.org/index.cfm?DisplayPage=output.cfm&file_id=8663 So, who was Bryan? William Jennings Bryan was a prominent American politician from the 1890's until his death in 1925. This is a man who ran three times, unsuccessfully, as the Democratic candidate for presidency of the United States and who prosecuted John Scopes in the famous "Scopes trial of the century." …
I lost two friends in February. Dr. Dexter Johnson was an internationally recognized radiologist was born December 6, 1931 and died at his home in California February 4, 2003. He graduated from the University of Washington medical school and was in general practice in Lynden as well as having spent some time on the medical staff at the old Sedro Woolley mental hospital. He went on to Rochester and completed his residency in radiology at Mayo's. For a kid from Bellingham he came a long way. Dexter…
We represent a client who was involved in a very terrifying experience while operating heavy equipment. The experience profoundly changed his mental status and his life. He has what has been diagnosed as PTSD or post traumatic stress disorder. As a result of his mental injury his life has been turned up side down. That's why I read with interest a Time Magazine http://www.time.com/time/magazine article at a doctor's office. It was about a psychologist Dr. Peter J.N. Linnerooth. Dr. Linnerooth spent five…
Fr. Anthony DeMello was jesuit priest who wrote a lot of spiritual books before his unexpected death at an early age. Most of his spiritual insights were focused on the mystical traditions of the East. One of his books is entitled "One Minute Wisdom" which he wrote back in 1985. Here are a few excerpts that are thought provoking. Destiny: To a woman who complained about her destiny as a woman, the master said, "It is you who make your destiny. " But…
Today, January 24th, is 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/2012/01/william-taylor-1922-2002-coach-and-mentor.html Many of us can point to one person or perhaps several people who played significant roles in our life. People who made the difference at a tipping point in our lives. Someone whose words or actions changed our attitude…
The memorial for my sister Phyllis was held on Saturday January 19th at 6:30 pm at the Anacortes Public Library. Lita and I drove from Gig Harbor to Anacortes to attend 5:00 pm Mass at St Mary's parish for Phyllis. I had also arranged for a previous Mass to be said as well. I don't know what reaction Phyllis would have had if she knew my plans for having Mass said for her, but it was something I needed to do for…
