Happy Monday, All!
If your weekend wasn’t good, then … perhaps you are doing something wrong. Maybe … expecting something that one shouldn’t. Well, there is another one coming up in about five days, okay?! While the weather varied from “sea to shining sea”, we had some seriously sweet warm weather here in SoFlo. Is it a wonder that people come from all over the world to visit?! The South Beach Wine and Food Festival was an obvious success. Seems there wasn’t an unhappy face in sight, from the news broadcasts, as the people enjoyed many many culinary delights.
The Daytona 500 was spectacular, for real, as there was a serious crash on Saturday and some of the spectators were injured as well as a few drivers. No casualties, however, which is a great thing. Jimmy Johnson was the winner of the “Big Event” on Sunday. While there were a lot of things to do, including a party by some friends at “Plush Illusions, LLC” with the theme of “Jungle Fever” which I was unable to attend in Miami, I stayed pretty close to home, hung out at my favorite spots and enjoyed basketball yesterday as well as an outing to the beach Sunday afternoon in between games. The beach was gorgeous … people were everywhere, traffic was moving but very slow, and everybody ” … and their mommas” were out!
While watching the HEAT game, Ray Allen, formerly of the Boston Celtics, now claiming his place on the HEAT roster as another 3-point ace, did a special on the life of one of the first African American pitchers nationally known as Satchel Paige. Leroy Robert Paige was born on July 7, 1906. He was initially a baseball enthusiast and pitcher there in Mobile, AL at the height of racial disparities between African Americans and “whites”. “Satchel”, as he came to be known, first started pitching in reform school. He made his professional debut in 1926 in the Negro Southern League, as this nation’s baseball professionals remained segregated and did not allow blacks on any teams. Paige entered the formerly segregated professional league teams in 1948 in July with the Cleveland Indians … He continued playing for another 20 years, more or less, and died in June 1982. Paige earned his nickname, Satchel, while working as a young boy at a train station because he put multiple bags on a pole to carry them to increase his already meager pay. The 6’4″ frame of Paige looked like a “satchel” tree, so, this became his new name even through his baseball career until his death in 1982.
Most of America … and the world, for that matter, enjoyed the luxurious Oscar Awards program celebrating the best movies, actresses and actors, singers, directors, writers, and so on and so on, that make the “Oscars” something that has been popular for many years here in the USA. While I watched much of it, I did notice that Quentin Tarentino’s movie, “Django:Unchained” won two awards. The movie “Lincoln”, starring Daniel Day-Lewis, also received three awards. While I am not a big movie-goer, it was nice to see that one of the movies I saw, “Django”, received awards, too. Acting isn’t an easy profession, so, I think it is special to honor this profession, including many new areas now part of the Oscar categories.
Have a great week … and be a “winner”!
Peace,
John I. Cook, Director
Educational Excellence 