Once A Knight ...
Saturday, March 9, 2024
The Holocaust museum in Amsterdam (at long last)
Tuesday, March 5, 2024
And now he's 50 (oh, my!)
Monday, February 12, 2024
Super Bowl leftovers: Greatest? Too soon
Patrick Mahomes (15) proves again that he is a Super QB |
So the sports headlines this morning are suggesting that it's time to declare Patrick Mahomes the greatest quarterback ever.
Please ... let's not rush into this.
Yes, he's terrific, and played brilliantly in the Kansas City Chiefs' final two scoring drives Sunday in Super Bowl 58 (take your Roman numerals into the modern era, NFL).
But greatest ever? Too soon.
Three Super Bowl championships leave Mahomes only four behind Tom Brady (you do remember him, right?).
Only two behind Bart Starr for NFL championships.
Only one behind Terry Bradshaw -- Shreveport's and Woodlawn's/Louisiana Tech's Terry Bradshaw -- and Joe Montana.
Tied in NFL championships with Johnny U. ... that's Unitas, for those of you who might have forgotten the Colts' No. 19 or don't even know who he was.
Tied, too, with the Cowboys' Troy Aikman.
And even before our time -- the early 1950s -- Otto Graham and the Cleveland Browns were the NFL's dynasty team.
(Quick note: Greatest ever? One of the most useless arguments in sports lore, in my opinion. Wrote a blog -- several years ago -- why I don't believe it this concept ... in any sport. Just too subjective a subject.)
Johnny U. (19), the legend began in 1958 |
What Kansas City, and Mahomes, did on their final two drives was identical to what Johnny U. and the Baltimore Colts did on that early Sunday evening in December 1958 at, yes, the original Yankee Stadium.
A desperate drive in the final two minutes of regulation for the tying field goal?
Colts, 73 yards for a 20-yard field goal with 7 seconds remaining. (The first recognized "two-minute drill.") Check. Chiefs, 64 yards for a 29-yard FG with 3 seconds remaining.
Winning overtime drive? Colts, 80 yards, after the Giants went three-and-out on a first possession. Check. Chiefs, 75 yards, after the 49ers had to settle for a field goal on their OT possession.
Clutch plays? How about Unitas' 11-yard pass to halfback Lenny Moore on a 3rd-and-10. Check. And Mahomes' 8-yard scramble on 4th-and-1 at the KC 36 when the Chiefs had to convert to extend the game.
Great main receiver? The Colts' Raymond Berry (uniform No. 82) catching three consecutive passes for 62 yards to set up the tying FG. Check. The Chiefs' brutish Travis Kelce -- you know, the boyfriend -- with the 22-yard reception/run to the 49ers' 11 (ending at 0:10 in regulation time).
So, 2023 Chiefs, meet the 1958 Colts. All the same.
Think Andy Reid -- three Super Bowl titles as a head coach, two near-misses) -- is a legend? Well, he's well on the way, but ...
How about the 1958 NY Giants, the OT losers, whose offensive coordinator was Vince Lombardi and defensive coordinator was Tom Landry. Gee, what happened to those coaches? Did they ever have any more success?
And Weeb Ewbank, the Colts' 1958 head coach, added another NFL title with the famed 1969 New York Jets.
And like KC now as a Super Bowl champion repeater, the Colts made it two titles in a row in 1959 (also against the same New York Giants).
KC has a dynasty, three Super Bowl titles in five years, four Super Bowl appearances in five years.
Greatest dynasty? Let's not rush this.
Almost -- almost -- as good as Lombardi's Green Bay Packers: five NFL titles in seven years, one near-miss (1960-66). Almost as good as Bradshaw and the Pittsburgh Steelers: four Super Bowl titles in six years (1974-79). Almost as good as the early 1990s Cowboys: three Super Bowl titles in four years.
(You do remember the Cowboys in the Super Bowl? It's only been 28 years, but who's counting?)
And the Patriots, Brady and coach Bill Belichick? Six titles, three seconds in 18 years. (And Belichick was the defensive coordinator for the only two Super Bowl titles Bill Parcells ever won, with the Giants.)
Look, Mahomes is terrific and seems pretty humble about it (a lot more so than the boyfriend), and Andy Reid seems a likable personality and no one doubt his coaching genius.
But greatest ever? Let's be sane about this. Old farts like me don't forget Lombardi, Landry, and Johnny U. ... And the Blond Bomber from Shreveport.
Sunday, October 22, 2023
The Social Hour at Trinity Terrace: a history
From humble beginnings, the Social Hour has grown into one of the best-attended, most-anticipated weekly events at Trinity Terrace.
It began in 2008, and it was Martha Taylor's idea. Also credit Bill Starz for the start. (That's a tease; read below for the details).
Whether the setting is Thursday-at-4 p.m. in the Longhorn Auditorium or the occasional evening venture outside on the terrace area, there are programs that draw up to 200 or so residents.
Trinity Terrace's ukulele players and singers |
Guests attend, too, especially when the "world-famous Trinity Terrace Ukulele Philharmonic Orchestra, Chorus, Marching Society and Drill Team" -- that's director Ken Knight's tongue-in-cheek description -- is featured (four times a year).
Her annual program in late May, outside on a nice evening, has been tied to a meal for residents, sponsored and served in the past two years by home-care companies.
Since its very beginning, musical programs have been the core of the Social Hour schedule, and the main focus of those doing the scheduling.
Bill Starz was the first Social Hour committee chairman, and the longest-serving: six years (2008-13). He was followed by Charles Kelley for a year (2014), Rev. Bill Gould for three years (2015-17), Ken Knight for two (2018-19) and currently Nico Van Thyn for four years (2020-23).
There were two pandemic-forced interruptions -- four days short of one year, March 2020 to April 1, 2021, and then another eight weeks (last week of 2021, first seven of 2022).
Lonely times at Trinity Terrace, right?
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Many programs feature speakers -- book authors, newspaper people, Fort Worth notables, residents sharing their travel adventures, medical experts, etc.
Some have attracted full-house audiences, such as then-mayor Betsy Price and most recently Tarrant County Sheriff Bill Waybourn. Most memorably, in 2017, there was then-new resident Dr. Bobby Brown -- New York Yankees star-turned-Fort Worth cardiologist who went overtime sharing his wealth of humorous stories.
Back to music: There are a dozen "regulars" audiences appreciate -- such as resident classical pianist Patrick Stanford; songs by Lisa Garrett, the aforementioned Ken Knight, Nancy and Gregg Froman, and Bob McClendon; piano-and-trumpet by Debbie and Ken Cockerham; piano duos (Nancy and Bruce Muskrat, Doris Gameiro and Jose Cubela), piano entertainer Buddy Bray, piano/music historian Beverly Howard (a resident), the "Warmin' Up team (Morgan Sullivan and Jim Duff), TCU students (with vocals and wind instruments), the Camp Meeting Boys group (with yodeler Devin Dawson); and the always reliable Texas Winds Outreach programs.
Give a huge assist for at least 10 programs in 2023 to the Trinity Terrace Foundation, which provided $2,500 to pay for music and speakers. That meant -- in many people's opinion -- a boost in program quality.
It gave the Social Hour a budget, an unprecedented development. Previously, when payment was requested, funds were drawn -- occasionally -- from the Resident Services department.
Paschal High School's mariachi group, 2022 |
Another goal in scheduling is to have residents do the program. They have done at least a dozen almost every year; in some of the early Social Hour years as many as 20.
And Trinity Terrace staffers have been the performers, too. Once upon a time, the omnipresent Alex Smith -- now the events setup coordinator, but younger then -- sang Al Green tunes ("I wowed them ... I was good," he said, laughing at the recall.)
A decade ago, it was Bobby Davis (director of facility services) playing guitar alongside his teacher, our house painter Arjan Golemi (the Greek native). (Bobby since has switched to drums, and plays for his church worship group.)
And coming in November, five staffers -- Dining Services workers Kristian Thomas, Jaelon Wingham and Emily Gonzalez, weekend security guard Jacob Montgomery, and package-deliver specialist Emmanual Ogunyomi -- will perform a program of "scenes" and music.
For a third year in a row, there will be a "Resident Roundtable" -- four residents covering their life stories -- on November 9.
A cooking demonstration: Dr. Loanne Chiu and chef Leon Rivera III, 2022 |
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About those humble beginnings, and Martha Taylor. She is now the matriarch of Trinity Terrace. In 2008, she was a spy, energetic 90-year-old with a plan: a weekly gathering of residents for music and -- yes -- drinks, a social gathering.
Martha Taylor |
She took her idea to Bill Starz, who agreed to be the first chairman. And he could play harmonica, which he often did in the first few years of Social Hour.
Their first meeting drew about eight people and was held in a room that no longer exists -- near the Elm Fork dining room on the Terrace Tower's main floor (the expanded library and mail area are there now).
Word got around and the weekly attendance grew, and soon it was time to move to the bigger Worth Lounge.
The name went from Happy Hour to Sundowners -- neither acceptable -- and then Social Hour was a fit.
More music, more drinks, more people, and Bill Starz went to then-executive director Lee Patterson to ask if the Longhorn Auditorium could be used for Social Hour.
The answer was yes, and Social Hour had a permanent home.
Martha Taylor taught herself to play piano, and she was the Social Hour program on several occasions. And much appreciated.
"Someone would call sick at the last minute, or unable to come for another reason," recalled Bill Gould of his time as chairman, "and Martha would say, 'I can do the program.'
"She could tear it up," Bill added. "She played ragtime. Couldn't read music, but she could play by feel, and people loved it. ... She would get after it."
Also, he said, "She is one of the sweetest, most enjoyable, pleasant people to be with. ... She would play piano in her apartment with the door open, and her neighbors loved it."
Another hero was resident Judy Norman, who was on the Social Hour committee and, said Bill, "saved my bacon a couple of times" by creating programs -- poetry reading, play acting, the "Goofy Geezers" comedy (?) troupe. She remains a help with program suggestions.
Originally, the Social Hour plan was to have a program for some 25-30 minutes, then let people visit (drink) ... socialize. Bill Gould, as scheduler, found it increasingly difficult to bring in musical guests and limit them to a half hour. So gradually -- and continuing with Ken Knight as chairman -- the programs grew to 40-45 minutes (or more).
Ken, who had begun visiting for Social Hour before he and Richard Morehead moved in as residents in August 2017, felt that not having a budget for Social Hour was a "major concern," and scheduling was "a constant, ongoing stressor."
But in one of his two years in charge, Ken lined up 40 musical programs (in 51 weeks). His first guest: classical guitarist Dr. Will Douglas, a program regular.
"I got lots of tremendous feedback [from residents]," Ken said. "People thought I was walking on water. We were fortunate to have some good musical talent come in."
With his leadership, the ukulele/vocal group has grown to the enthusiastic 40-plus.
Currently, suggestions for programs are always welcomed, and usually followed up. With the help of Resident Services and the Trinity Terrace Foundation, programming will continue to be impressive.
Humble beginnings to a weekly attraction. Who knows, we might get another Alex Smith sing-along or a Thai cooking demonstration by Sithichart Phatanapirom (our "Bob").
Come to Social Hour, and check it out.
Saturday, October 14, 2023
On this date 77 years ago ...
The wedding photo: 1946 |
Thursday, October 5, 2023
A hectic first night at the Star-Telegram
The tornado-wrecked Tower |
Sports front page -- Oct. 6, 2001 |
Saturday, April 15, 2023
"Tanking" is still a dirty business
What Mavericks don't want to see: Team owner Mark Cuban, Luca Doncic and Kyrie Irving sitting togeter during another Dallas loss. (Getty Images photos) |
Not much positive about today's tale because I am writing about the state of the Dallas Mavericks.
And that state -- pardon me -- is a bunch of crap.