Sunday
RIP NFL MVP QB Roman Gabriel, 84. Born in North Carolina to a Filipino dad and American mom, he was a two-time All-American at North Carolina State, earning a place in the College Football Hall of Fame. He was selected by the Rams in the first round of the 1962 draft. He played for them eleven years, then was traded to Philadelphia, where he finished his career. Here are his most notable accomplishments: NFL Most Valuable Player (1969), NFL Comeback Player of the Year (1973), First-team All-Pro (1969), Second-team All-Pro (1967, 1968), Pro Bowl (1967–1969, 1973), NFL passing yards leader (1973), two-time NFL passing touchdowns leader. In 16 seasons he passed for 29,444 yards, rushed for 1304, had 201 TD passes and 30 TDs rushing. His record as a starter was 86–64–7. He was 0–2 in the playoffs. After his playing career ended, he briefly did some broadcasting, then went into coaching on the college and minor pro level, without success. He has nine credits as an actor, the most notable The Undefeated (1969), starring John Wayne and Rock Hudson. Married three times, the last time from 1980 until his passing, he was a father of five. Facts from Wiki, photo from Google Images:
RIP MLB’s Dave McCarty, 54, who succumbed to a cardiac event. Born in Houston, he was selected by the Twins in the 1st round of the 1991 draft, the third pick overall. He was with them only three years. He played for five other teams as a reserve outfielder and firstbaseman. He was one of those oddities who threw left and batted right. His last stop was Boston, where he was a member of the championship 2004 squad that broke the “Curse of the Bambino.” He pitched mop-up three times that memorable year. In eleven seasons he batted .242 and had 36 homers. Soon after his release he went into the broadcast booth, providing analysis on Sox games. He is survived by his wife Monica, author of historical romances, and two children. Gone way too soon. Facts from Wiki, photo from GI:
Read, try not to weep. Headline from nypost.com: “NYC HS soccer game canceled after dozens of migrants refuse to leave the field — even after cops showed up.” The sense of entitlement is staggering.
One of my fears after having given up the car was someone showing up with an avalanche of books. I never turn away anyone who makes the effort to deliver. A humongous pile awaited me as I arrived at my usual nook. I have no idea who dropped them off. I was told they were there overnight. Unfortunately, I didn’t spot them while taking my morning walk, which would have saved me a lot of work. My thanks to those who relieved the burden somewhat with their purchases. Here’s what sold: two books in Russian; Moonlight (2016) on DVD; a Garth Brooks CD; The Hotel Nantucket by Elin Hilderbrand; Lost Children of the Empire by Philip Bean and Joy Melville; The Lost Symbol by Dan Brown; Military Mavericks: Extraordinary Men of Battle by David Rooney; Enchantment by Daphne Merkin; The End: Everything You’ll Want to Know about the Apocalypse by Mark Hitchcock; Into the West: From Reconstruction to the Final Days of the American Frontier by James M. McPherson; Eleanor Roosevelt by Russell Freedman; Destiny in the Desert: The Road to El Alamein — the Battle that Turned the Tide by Jonathan Dimbleby. A lot of work, even though I left a milk crate full of books inside a large box under the bus shelter nearby. The initial haul was a shopping cart and two large bags. The second was a back and forth with four bags. At least I didn’t have a heart attack.
My Amazon Author page: https://www.amazon.com/Vic-Fortezza/e/B002M4NLJE
FB: https://www.facebook.com/Vic-Fortezza-Author-118397641564801/?fref=ts
Read Vic’s Stories, free: http://fictionaut.com/users/vic-fortezza
