There is a website that has some inspriational stories http://www.thestoreofinspiration.com Here's one that has particular meaning to me at age seventy nine (in February): A few weeks ago, I was shuffling toward my basement ham radio shack. What began as a typical Saturday morning, turned into one of those lessons that life seems to hand you from time to time. Let me tell you about it. I turned the dial-up into the phone portion of the band on my ham radio in…
Today's post has no real purpose except to publish some notes I've made while reading before I lose them. Nothing profound here, but some are interesting or amusing perhaps. Here are a few of the notes: "I married beneath me – all women do." Lady Nancy Astor If you have wondered where the expression "crossing the Rubicon," referring to decisions of great significance originated, it's from Roman history. Julius Caesar made his military reputation with his campaigns in Gaul and became a popular hero. However, back in…
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…
I'm reading Bill Bryson's book One Summer in America about events in 1920's. I was reminded of the fact that France had seized Germany's industrial center for failure of the German's to keep up with their reparation payments dictated by the truce that ended World War I. The result was inflation out of control. The German Mark had traded at 4 to the dollar before the war and now shot up to 600,000 to the dollar. Prices began to double…
When we are very young time seems to move ever so slowly. When we are in our teens we are anxious to be grownups. When we are in our twenties it seems there are so many goals we must accomplish before we are "old." Then middle age comes upon us and each birthday with a zero in it makes us worry about getting old. If you are blessed to live as long as I have, you notice that after sixty…
I've written about this extraorindary woman every year since her death. Elizabeth (Betty) Catherine Devitt, who was born December 5, 1910 in Butte,Montana and died December 20, 1985 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. For a complete biography of this amazing person please see https://paulluverajournalonline.com/weblog/2012/12/elizabeth-catherine-barnett-1910-1995.html.html I loved…
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 Elizabeth Barnett 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…
I’m happy to be back in circulation again. Seven weeks ago My law partners andI started a jury trial in Seattle involving a woman who had gone into a hospital in Wenatchee for a ten minute elective laser surgery on her vocal cord. She was to go home the same day, but the doctors caused an intense fire in her throat during surgery when the oxygen and laser combined with the tube in her throat. She had to be airlifted…
I was sent an interesting clip from the internet about a man named Hayim Solomon and the role he played in the Revolutionary war by supporting with his own money the Continental Army. It said that as a result George Washington agreed to put on the one dollar bill the stars in the shape of the Star of David. I looked this up on Snopes.com. This is a reliable source of what is accurate on the internet. Here's what it reports…
