FRED HARGESHEIMER, REMEMBERING A DEBT OWED

FRED HARGESHEIMER, REMEMBERING A DEBT OWED

On March 9, 2008 I wrote about a unique man, Fred Hargesheimer, https://paulluverajournalonline.com/weblog/2008/03/an-inspiring-st.html He was P-38 fighter pilot in the Southwest Pacific who was on a photographic reconnaissance mission when the Japanese shot his plane down on June 5, 1943. Fred parachuted and ended up in the jungle. For some thirty one days he managed to barely survive when he was found by local natives who were hunting. They took him to their village and for seven months they nursed him…

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ELIZABETH CATHERINE BARNETT 1910 – DECEMBER 20, 1985

ELIZABETH CATHERINE BARNETT 1910 – DECEMBER 20, 1985

I'm writing this about my late mother in law, Elizabeth (Betty) Catherine Devitt, who was born December 5, 1910 in Butte,Montana and died December 20, 1995 in Puyallup. Her children included my wife, Lita, Devitt (deceased) Hollis, Barbara and Monica.  She was a very remarkable woman in so many respects. She was also someone for whom I had a great deal of admiration, respect and love.  Betty's parents were Merritt John Devitt and Elizabeth McCarthy Devitt. She was baptized at St Patrick’s Catholic Church in Butte….

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PHYLLIS FILIPPA LUVERA 1870 – 1946

PHYLLIS FILIPPA LUVERA 1870 – 1946

My grandmother on dad's side of the family, Phyllis Filippa Luvera died in Anacortes, Washington on December 20, 1946.  By coincidence, that is also the day my wife's mother died. Nonna Luvera was born in Italy May 26, 1870 and spoke little English. Since dad believed the children should speak English we never learned Italian and could only communicated with her through dad. She was typical Italian grandmother, an excellent cook and who was always feeding us something. She  had Italian candy she offered us when ever we visited. Nonno and…

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A TRIP BACK IN TIME TO 1954

A TRIP BACK IN TIME TO 1954

 Yesterday was our office Christmas party. Our office claims representative for many years and my childhood friend, Nick Petrish,  has been out of the office undergoing treatment for medical problems, but he made it to this meeting. I showed some photos from our Anacortes high school days together and Rich Weyrich, the Skagit County Prosecutor, who is also an Anacortes graduate, sent along an old Anacortes  American of 1954 because it had a picture of Nick on the front page as captain of the football…

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Coach Paul “Bear” Bryant & IT DON’T COST NUTHIN’ TO BE NICE

Coach Paul “Bear” Bryant & IT DON’T COST NUTHIN’ TO BE NICE

I've enjoyed reading what I find about coach Bear Bryant because he was such a great leader and football coach. He was famous for continually saying to his players "Have you written your mamma today?" He was a good decent man.  Someone sent my wife Lita this story and I enjoyed it so much I'm posting it. The source of this article is Larry Burton See: https://bleacherreport.com/articles/61880-it-dont-cost-nothin-to-be-nice  IT DON'T COST NUTHIN' TO BE NICE   At a Touchdown Club meeting many…

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MARLO THOMAS’S BOOK & SOME LAME JOKES

MARLO THOMAS’S BOOK & SOME LAME JOKES

We just flew to New Orleans where I gave a talk to the New Orleans trial lawyers. I had enough time  traveling to read a couple of books. One of them was by Marlo Thomas Growing up Laughing which is a delightful book about her father Danny Thomas and others involved in comedy. I realize these are corny jokes, but I laughed at them anyway when I read them in the book I just got back from a pleasure trip. I…

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PEARL HARBOR DAY – THE START OF WW II FOR AMERICA

PEARL HARBOR DAY – THE START OF WW II FOR AMERICA

On this day,December 7, 1941 the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor Hawaii and America entered World War II. I remember the day very well. It was a Sunday and I was in grade school. It seemed like time stopped that Sunday morning because all of the adults were in shock. If you remember President Kennedy being shot in Dallas and the reaction of people, you know what the reaction was back in 1941 to the news. It came to us not…

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WORLD WAR ONE & CHRISTMAS 1915

WORLD WAR ONE & CHRISTMAS 1915

 War is a terrible thing and World War I was a disastrous war with senseless deaths and little accomplished. It began in 1914 and didn’t end until 1918. The main fighting was on the Western Front. There were about 100,000 British, French, American and German troops along the length of the Western Front in 1914. "The Western Front" described a line between land controlled by the Germans on the East and the Allies on the West. There  were miles of deep trench…

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DOROTHY DAY AND THE CATHOLIC WORKER MOVEMENT

DOROTHY DAY AND THE CATHOLIC WORKER MOVEMENT

 Today is the anniversary of the death of one of my personal hero's, Dorothy Day, who was born in Brooklyn, NY and died November 29, 1980 at age 84 years. If ever there was the common person’s saint, Dorothy is it. Unlike plastic saints this is a woman who struggled through life trying to find her purpose and making a lot of mistakes on the way. She is someone all of us sinners can relate to. She was raised in San…

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