Day 5 ~ 2013 Celebrities Passing ~ Chaka ~ Uniformed Us

12-12-13

Good 22º foggy morning. Day #5 no water. Some melting is taking place. Got up to 50º degrees yesterday!

 

One of the frustrating things about not having water is not being able to cook! I'm going nutz! I did get a shower yesterday. Went down to PJ and Dave's. Ahhhhhhh heavenly!!! Thanks guys!! Also I collected more water from PJ. I heated some in the microwave, put it in a big bowl with dishsoap, and managed to get some dishes and silverward washed. What a pain! I saw on FB that my plumber, Mike, had 116 calls on his cell phone! Busy busy busy..... everyone with frozen pipes.

This is really funny! Downtown Grants Pass...

Sobering... celebrities who passed away in  2013

January:

Patti Page (singer) --  Died January 1, 2013. Born November 8, 1927. "Tennessee Waltz."  

 

Abigail Van Buren (advice columnist) --  Died January 16, 2013. Born July 4, 1918. "Dear Abby..." (column now written by her daughter Jeanne) but her real name was Pauline Friedman Phillips and she was the twin sister of Ann Landers. 

 

Patty Andrews (singer) --  Died January 30, 2013. Born February 16, 1918. Andrews Sisters, recorded the original "Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy." 

 

February:

C. Everett Koop (former Surgeon General) -- Died February 25, 2013. Born October 14, 1916. 

 

Van Cliburn (pianist) --  Bone cancer. Died February 27, 2013. Born July 12, 1934. First American to win Tchaikovsky Competition (1958) and went on to help popularize classical piano in the US. 

 

Dale Robertson (actor) --  Lung cancer, pneumonia. Died February 27, 2013. Born July 14, 1925. Western actor who hosted Death Valley Days in the late '60s and early '70s.  

 

March:

Bonnie Franklin (actress) --  Pancreatic cancer. Died March 1, 2013. Born January 6, 1944. The mother on One Day at a Time.

  

April:

Roger Ebert (critic) --  Cancer. Died April 4, 2013. Born June 18, 1942. With longtime movie debator Gene Siskel, invented the tagline "Two Thumbs Up," voiceless but eloquent online, born on the same day as Sir Paul McCartney, wrote a great rumination on life and death published in 2009. 

 

Annette Funicello (actress) --  Multiple sclerosis. Died April 8, 2013. Born October 22, 1942. An early Mouseketeer, she starred in many Beach movies in the '60s.

 

Lady Margaret Thatcher (first female Prime Minister of the UK) --  [rumors] Stroke. Died April 8, 2013. Born October 13, 1925. Prime Minister and great ally of Ronald Regan, often called "The Iron Lady," wrote Collected Speeches of Margaret Thatcher.

  

Jonathan Winters (comedian/actor) --  Died April 11, 2013. Born November 11, 1925. Comic and improvisational genius, It's a Mad Mad Mad Mad World, played Maude Frickert, performed Papa Smurf in smurfy movies, major influence on Robin Williams (and later played Mork's son, Merth), The Unknown Jonathan Winters - On the Loose. 

 

May:

Dr. Joyce Brothers (writer/therapist/game show winner) --  Died May 5, 2013. Born October 20, 1927. Popular talk show guest on psychology who got her start by winning the The $64,000 Question in the '50s. 

 

Jean Stapleton (actress) --  Died May 31, 2013. Born January 19, 1923. Best-known as Edith Bunker, played Birdie in You've Got Mail.  

 

June:

Esther Williams (actress/swimmer) --  Died June 6, 2013. Born August 8, 1923. The swimmer turned star in movies like Neptune's Daughter, married to Fernando Lamas in the '70s, wrote her autobiography, Million Dollar Mermaid, step-mother of Lorenzo Lamas. 

 

James Gandolfini (actor) --  Died June 19, 2013. Born September 16, 1961. Bit part player who shot to stardom as Tony Soprano in 1999, died while on vacation in Italy. 

 

July:

Dennis Farina (actor/police officer) --  Pulmonary embolism. Died July 22, 2013. Born February 29, 1944. Played many bit parts while an active officer, later became a star of Law and Order.  

 

Michael Ansara (actor) --  Died July 31, 2013. Born April 28, 1922. Bit parts in many movies and TV shows, may be most memorable as a Star Trek Klingon, once married to Barbara Eden.

 

Eydie Gormé (singer/actress) --  Died August 10, 2013. Born August 16, 1928. Mostly sang with her husband, Steve Lawrence, Best of Steve and Eydie, had a solo hit with "Blame It on the Bossa Nova," won a Grammy for "If He Walked Into My Life," of Spanish & Turkish descent.

 

David Frost (interviewer/writer) --  Heart attack. Died August 31, 2013. Born April 7, 1939. Interviewer probably best-known for his in-depth interviews with Richard Nixon, he worked with John Cleese on That Was the Week That Was.  

 

September:

 

October:

Tom Clancy (best selling author) -- Died October 1, 2013. Born April 12, 1947. Wrote Hunt for Red October, Patriot Games and other techno thrillers, part owner of the Baltimore Orioles.  

 

November:

Paul Walker (actor) --  Ironically, in a high-speed car crash. Died November 30, 2013. Born September 12, 1973. Starred in the first six Fast and Furious movies. 

 

December:

Nelson Mandela (politician/activist) --  Lung disease. Died December 5, 2013. Born July 18, 1918.   

 

Eleanor Parker (actress) --  Pneumonia. Died December 9, 2013. Born June 26, 1922. Elegant American actress who played The Countess in The Sound of Music.  

PICTURE of the day......   INCOMING!

Historically this date...

1787 – Pennsylvania becomes the second state to ratify the United States Constitution five days after Delaware became the first.

1985 – Arrow Air Flight 1285 crashes after takeoff in Gander, Newfoundland, killing 256, including 236 members of the United States Army's 101st Airborne Division.

2000 – The United States Supreme Court releases its decision in Bush v. Gore.

.........Thank God!

And births this date include....

1893 – Edward G. Robinson, American actor (d. 1973)

1915 – Frank Sinatra, American singer and actor (d. 1998)

... he was the BEST!

Click here: Frank Sinatra - Fly Me To The Moon - YouTube

1938 – Connie Francis, American singer

 

1940 – Dionne Warwick, American singer

 

1952 – Cathy Rigby, American gymnast and actress

Yesterday Jeannie and Bill managed to escape off their hill. Bill had to put chains on the car and Jeannie said the roadway was slippery as an ice rink. She kept her eyes closed going down the hill. Chaka road with them...

but when they were sliding downhill she closed her eyes too!

Of course out of 13 of us LASD folks that were going to the Law Enforcement/Fire annual Christmas Dinner, 9 of us bowed out. Roads too icy. Scary to drive at night..... We were all asked to bring a photo of us in uniform.. I was going to take this one... 1989..Sheriff Sherm Block (♥), Kristen (her graduation from LASD Academy ♥), me, and Jerry (♥)

As Olga said, 'wish these two men were still with us' !!! I second that. I'd have my Darling and LA Co would have a great sheriff instead of the creepy monster Adam Henry they have now!

Football tonight...

All I know. Happy Thursday.(take note PJ!) Nuff said. Ciao.

xo Sue Mom BoboDecember 12th

National Poinsettia Day

These beautiful flowers are a well-recognized symbol of Christmas. Poinsettia Day was officially declared by an Act of Congress. It is in honor of  Joel Roberts Poinsett, who died on December 12, 1851. Poinsett was the first Ambassador to Mexico . Poinsett brought this colorful plant back to his plantation in the U.S.  He grew the plants in his Greenville, S.C plantation and gave them out as gifts to friends. According to Mexican folklore, there is a story of a little poor girl who had nothing to bring to church for Christmas. On her way to church, she picked some plants by the side of the road. As she entered the church, the leaves at the tips of the branches turned into bright, brilliant red flowers. You guessed it... Poinsettias.
~~~~~
Today is  National Ding-a-Ling Day, a very special day to "Ring your Bell".  Nope, we're not talking about the Salvation Army Bell Ringers, standing with their bells and kettles, outside of every store in the country. On National Ding-a-Ling Day, you should brace yourself for bizarre and crazy behavior, from all of the people you encounter today. Even normally conservative people have been known to go a little crazy on this day.          Some people say this is a day for wackos, lunatics, and others who are off their rocker. We say, it is simply a day to cut loose, act a little weird. What do you do to celebrate this day? Be ever vigilant to the ding-a-lings that will come out of the woodwork. Ding-a-Lings will be everywhere: on the road, on the street, in stores, and even in your house! We suggest you get into the holiday spirit, and become a ding-a-ling yourself......But, please do so for just one day.   For the record: Ding-a-Lings and Ding Bats are not quite the same thing.