Love, kiss, crush, doctor, ice cream, Beer...
Fill in the blank.
I think we chronologically gifted citizens have so many "never forgets" packed away in our once agile brains that the "retrieval"mechanism gets clogged, and slows down. However, as I get older, I think my mind is just as good as ever; in fact even better, but it's become more selective; concentrating on important matters, significant, and wonderful events and memories; shoving aside the mundane and less interesting matters of the everyday aside.
I can always re-schedule the 2 doctors appointments I missed last week.
But there's no way to replace the memory of listening on the radio to the Army football games of the
Nineteen forties and hearing Mr. Outside, Glen Davis (number 41) and Mr. Inside, Doc Blanchard (number 35) rip through their opponents defenses to go undefeated for 5 consecutive years!
I would even "see" the touchdown twins fabulous runs the following week in the movie theatre's "Movietone News" shown prior to the main picture show.
From the Internet:
"Felix Anthony Blanchard, Jr. was born on December 11, 1924, to Dr. Felix Anthony Blanchard, Sr. and his wife Mary. The younger Blanchard got his nickname “Little Doc” because he went on house calls with his father in Bishopville, South Carolina where he spent his childhood years.
Doc played for Army and Earl “Red” Blaik from 1944-46 and what he accomplished on the gridiron is nothing short of phenomenal. He was a consensus three-time first team All-American that helped lead Army to a three-year record of 27-0-1 and three consecutive national championships. During that time span, Army averaged 56 points per game while holding opponents to an NCAA record average 3.9 points per game.
Doc was a massive football player for his time. He stood 6’1” and weighed 210-pounds which was bigger than just about any lineman of the day. Yet, he could run faster than anyone else on the field and possessed the brute strength of a bull ox. He played the same position as his father which was fullback. And, he dazzled crowds everywhere with his football exploits.
Blanchard began his college career at Bay St. Louis, Mississippi, to attend Saint Stanislaus College located in Bay St. Louis, Mississippi, which is where Felix Sr. attended and graduated. After leading that small school to their first Bowl game, he switched to the University of North Carolina, which was close to his home, and more importantly the team was coached by his mother's first cousin Jim Tatum. In those days freshmen were not allowed to play on the varsity team so he spent just one year at UNC (1942-43).
In the spring of 1943, Blanchard felt the urge to become a part of the United States Army as the country’s involvement in World War II was strengthening. He volunteered, although some say he was drafted, and was trained as a tail gunner in the Army Air Corps which would later become the United States Air Force. While he bounced from location to location with the Army, his prowess in football remained at the forefront of his career. He was offered the chance to enter the United States Military Academy at West Point. He studied for the entrance exam and was accepted. Doc entered West Point in the summer of 1944."
Glen Davis, "Mr Outside" began his amazing career with the Army Black Knights directly from high
school. He averaged over 8 yards per carry over his career and an amazing 11 and a half yards per carry in 1945...both records which still stand. He led the nation in 1944 with 120 points, he scored 59 touchdowns in his career, His single season mark of 20 touchdowns stood as a record for 10 years.
Army coach Red Blaik is quoted as saying:
"Anybody who ever saw Davis carry the football must realize there could not have been a greater, more dangerous running back in the history of the game," Blaik said. "He was emphatically the greatest halfback I ever knew. He was not so much a dodger and side stepper as a blazing runner who had a fourth, even fifth gear in reserve, could change direction at top speed, and fly away from tacklers as if jet-propelled."
Imagine my youthful excitement when I read in the Charlotte Observer that Doc Blanchard would be coming to Charlotte to play for our very own professional Dixie League Charlotte Clippers!
My hero himself!.....the man about whom Notre Dame coach Ed McKeever once said, "I've just seen Superman in the flesh. He wears number 35 and goes by the name of Blanchard."
It was almost too good to be true!
If fact, it was.
He wanted to, but he was still officially in the U.S. Army, and......they said "NO."
I'm not sure of the details....but like I said, I only store good and happy memories in my mental ceder chest.
-Ed
(Blanchard later embarked on a decorated and dramatic military career in the Air Force. He served in both the Korean and Vietnam Wars flying over 113 missions in Vietnam. Because of his fearless attitude, he was allowed to fly the newest and fastest jets that included the F-84, F-94, F-100 and F-105/)
What a beautiful Spring morning it is!
Some poet, who's name...if I ever knew ...have forgotten, wrote that a morning like this made him feel like "flying."
I feel like flying too, but I can't.
However, I can at least show you the gorgeous flowers blooming in my backyard here in Northern Virginia:
Weeds, you say.
Balderdash!
“A weed is but an unloved flower.”
― Ella Wheeler Wilcox
"Consider how the wild flowers grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you, not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. -Luke 12:27
-Ed
Looks like we'll have to wait another few days before we get more information about our friend the dwarf planet Ceres.
Although the DAWN spacecraft has gotten close enough to get a lot more information about Ceres...which they originally thought would offer an explanation of those 2 "shiny lights" on the otherwise dark ball in the sky, the "closer and better" photos only posed more questions.
Apparently no "little green men" showed up in any of them, but they did reveal more "bright lights"...perhaps 5 or 10.
There are suggestions that NASA is "witholding information" and some say that the information is "so big" that it needs to be "handled carefullly."
The next "update" from NASA will be on April 23rd.
My guess is that NASA will say that the "bright lights" up there are simply "weather balloons."
They are hoping that delaying the announcement another week will give them time to think up an explanation as to how the balloons got up there.
As perhaps the oldest active member of the Washington area "press corpse,' I've already been given an advance copy of what NASA's release will show that they found.
To see it......scroll down
-Ed
Sunday was National Grilled Cheese Sandwich Day.
If you missed it, don't fret, because the whole month of April is Grilled Cheese Sandwich Month.
I don't know who decided that, but...what the heck.
Maybe the lowly "grilled cheese sandwich" is coming out of the closet. One of my Yankee friends up here used to make fun of my culinary tastes...such as grits and grilled cheese sandwiches etc....and at a moment's notice would fake a "southern accent" and say things like "Pass the grease, please."
Nevertheless, the media is awash with stories about grilled cheese sandwiches.
They've even come up with "The History of Grilled Cheese Sandwiches."
This from the Internet:
The ancient Romans were the first to make a cooked bread and cheese type sandwich. Many cultures since have invented their own take on the dish. In Switzerland it is customary to toast the bread and melt the cheese separately, while in France the Croque Monsieur (grilled ham and cheese sandwich is popular.
When affordable sliced bread and inexpensive cheese became available in the U.S. in the 1920's, the grilled cheese became a household staple.
At the time is was prepared a little differently, open faced and topped with shredded American Cheese.
In the 1960's, the grilled cheese as we know it emerged when the second slice of bread became a standard part of the sandwich.
I have mixed emotions about the media "nationalizing" something I always considered belonging to us Southerners. However, perhaps those north of the Mason Dixon line DID discover the joy of those sandwiches about the time we did.
But, if they ever try to "nationalize" and take credit for such sophisticated delicacies as "Boiled Green Peanuts," or....Heaven forbid, "Cornbread and Milk," well.........
can you say succession?
-Ed
Being the “Baby” in your family is the best birthday present you can ever get. It's a great way to start your life. I highly recommend it.
Now, there can be a few “downsides,” such as living all your life with the nickname, “Baby” as my uncle Russel did, or, as my friend Benard Burt, an up and coming government lawyer also discovered.
He didn't learn until many years later that when he was born, his two older brothers had received the only two names on which his parents could both agree, so they were unable to decide on his name until well after they had all left the hospital. Later in life Burt was on his way to becoming one of the top lawyers in the government bureaucracy, when he was called upon, on only a couple of days notice, to travel to Europe to handle a major case. His passport and travel arrangements were rushed
through on an emergency basis, obtaining his birth information from the hospital records. As a result, Burt spent three weeks in Europe as “Baby Boy Burt.”
However, these are minor annoyances compared to the many advantages of being the last born in your family. There is a price to pay, though. For the other children that is.
Take for example my sister Kathryn. She was perfectly happy with her name until little #1 changed it to “Kak.” It stuck. The kid learned early to take advantage of Kak's loving nature. One of her highlights at Elizabeth school was “snack time,” when she would get her daily fix of Mr. Lance's “Big Town.” (which was his version of a “Moon Pie.”). It dldn't take long before she was buying TWO “Big Towns” a day. One for herself, and the other to take home for....you know who.
Once, when the “little darling” got into a “fight” with another second grader Kak showed up in typical cavalry fashion and gave the little thug a swift tap on the back with her skate; thus ending the altercation.
After that, word got around the neighborhood that "you don't mess with Ed!"
Mr. “Baby” learned quickly how easy it was to manipulate others in the family with no more than a sad expression on his face. That mournful look often even got him the best part of Kak's ice cream cones; you know, that very last bite at the bottom of the cone. “Sisters hath no greater love than that!” But not all first borns are lucky enough to have sisters like Kak, so they're forced to concentrate on their parents, which require much more effort, such as crying, whiniing and stomping of feet. It didn't always work, but it was good practice for the skills needed in the adult world of business.
Lance Packing Company doesn't make "Big Towns" anymore.
The LORD doesn't make many "Kaks" anymore either.
Rest in peace, my dear sister. I love you.
-Ed
