2/24/22

IPhones, iPads, iPods. So many digital devices and most of us have more than one. I personally have four of them. I know I need each one to make sure that I am connected with the world and all of my personal friends and acquaintances, business friends, news outlets, facebookers, tweeters, and all the other members of my digital family. I am more connected than most…and yet it seems that isolation is present in this connected world. Sounds impressive to say I have 5000 friends on Facebook but that begs the question. What is a friend and doesn’t friendship require spending time together….preferably in the same room at least some of that friend time. I am getting increasingly concerned about the loss of our social skills because of the digital world. I am going to start a new trend…digital free time DFT when we lay down our devices and actually schedule face to face time and not facebook time. Now that’s Good News.

2/23/22

There have been many leaders in Fresno over the years and we have been so fortunate that most of them have loved our community. One of them, Dr. Peter G. Mehas, was bigger than life. His impact on Fresno and the Valley was undeniable and over a very long period of time. He advocated for students at the local, state, and national levels. For those of us who knew Pete, he was not shy about speaking up on behalf of what was right and it didn’t matter who might be offended or uneasy about it. He was unafraid and unapologetic when it came to seeking what was good for our community and the valley. He took an interest in me when I was a wrestler in high school and that interest eventually led to being hired as his Deputy Superintendent and his successor as County Superintendent. I will miss his friendship, his hugs, and his love for anything Bulldog. I now know what the G. stands for in Peter G. Mehas. It stands for Great. Peter the Great. Now that’s Good News.

2/22/22

Coach Dale Thomas, of Oregon State and a member of the NCAA wrestling rules committee, took his team to Fresno State to wrestle a dual match in the late 1960s. I officiated the match. Coach Thomas got in my face over a call I made. The Oregon State wrestler had pulled down his top while still on the mat, which according to the rules, resulted in a team penalty point. Coach Thomas raced out to where I was standing and began yelling in my face and pointing his finger. The home team crowd, which had benefited from the call, went crazy and started yelling at Coach Thomas.

But they couldn’t hear the conversation. What Coach Thomas said to me was: Good call young man, good call all the while shaking that finger at me. You see he was trying to motivate his team to try harder. I learned a valuable lesson that day that everything is not always as it appears. We need to be careful and reserve our judgment about others until we know all the facts. They might just be pulling a Coach Thomas. Now that’s Good News.

2/21/22

If you have ever visited Yosemite National Park, you have probably had your breath taken away by its grandeur and majesty. Did you know in 1864 former California Senator John Conness sought to have the Yosemite Valley and the Mariposa Big Tree Grove transferred to the state in order for them, as he said, to “be used and preserved for the benefit of mankind.” President Lincoln actually signed into law in 1864 an act that California receive Yosemite and Mariposa Big Tree Grove as long as they “be held for public use, resort, and recreation…inalienable for all time.” Senator Conness was an American of Irish descent who helped to preserve America’s greatest National Park. He also voted to abolish slavery and he advocated to grant freedmen citizenship. His advocacy for Chinese Immigration eventually cost him his party’s support and he lost his senate seat. Remember the name John Conness the next time you visit Yosemite National Park in all of its majesty. For Senator Conness, doing the right thing was more important than being re-elected to office. Now that’s Good News.

2/18/22

When my daughter and son-in-law become Foster-Adopt parents, I became keenly aware of the amazing number of children who need foster care. My eyes have also been opened to the number of parents who treat their children as throw-aways. There is little or no thought about having a baby and the responsibility that goes along with a having a child. I hear a lot about the right to have children but very little about the rights of a child to be born into a loving, caring home where they are wanted. One former foster child who was in multiple foster homes and is now a foster parent herself, shared that there are foster parents who are in it for the money and then, there are those who are in it for the love. Although she didn’t know it at the time, she now recognizes why some homes were so much better than others. Foster kids know the difference between parents who love and parents who love money. Many thanks go to those foster parents who love their foster kids even on a temporary and often an emergency basis. Now that’s Good News.

2/17/22

Every day there is some new technology announced and I find myself totally enamored with the possibilities. The latest is one about your child’s baby teeth and dental pulp. For years we have been able to use stem cells to treat cancer and blood diseases through bone marrow transplant therapies. Now researchers are finding that mesenchymal stem cells, found in high concentrations in the dental pulp of baby teeth, may, in the future, be able to “provide living teeth from dead and damaged teeth and grow replacement tissue for bone, cartilage, nerve, skin, muscles, and blood vessels.” Some research is now proposing for parents to save their children’s baby teeth in a clinical way that preserves their child’s own dental pulp, thus creating the potential for a life of unmatched health. For many children, they are beginning life at a time when the scientific possibilities of unprecedented health and treatments are not a thing of science fiction or Star Trek but are fully within grasp. Keeping baby teeth may soon be the newest health bank. A Tooth Bank, so to speak. Now that’s Good News.

2/16/22

My memory is only a faint one of my maternal grandmother. But my life has been enriched by the stories that mom has shared with me about how grandma spent most of her adult life bed-ridden as an invalid and still maintained an optimistic point of view. And was she optimistic! She just knew that life was going to turn out right. Nothing could get her down or keep her there for any time at all. I have come to realize over the years that while grandma had a positive disposition, it was really the amazing care my mother gave to her and the optimistic attitude she had that made the difference. As our population continues to age and experience all of the challenges that go along with it, we must continue to show that we care for those who gave us our start and help them enjoy their final years in a setting where they are nourished and supported and made to feel significant and important. We owe so much to the generation that came before us! Now that’s Good News.

2/15/22

I can still clearly remember the day when the young 7th grade girl came up to me at school and said, “Mr. Powell, when do I get my check?” Needless to say, I was a bit confused and found myself stumbling for words. Check? What check? I asked. She went on to say that her mother got a check every month and that she didn’t work, so she wanted to know when she was going to get her check. I was simultaneously devastated and angry. Here was a 13 year old girl with no aspirations for the future, and thus a not so happy life ahead and she didn’t even know it. Work gives worth to each one of us. That sense of accomplishment and of giving it my best. I had watched my dad come home every day and felt the sense of accomplishment and purpose he shared. I look forward to the 7thgrader who comes up to me and says, “I can’t wait until I get to go to work so I can contribute to my community, just like my mom and dad have. I’m hopeful because many in this latest generation are contributing to their communities. Now that’s Good News.

2/14/22

Warriors and heroes come in all shapes, sizes, colors, and personalities. They are often bigger than life and are/ trail blazers who fundamentally change the way we look at ourselves and the world. They make life better for all of us even when their path is difficult. Jim was drafted by the Pittsburgh Pirates at about the same time as Roberto Clemente. Jim was a devastating hitter and was, no doubt, destined for the Professional Baseball Hall of Fame one day. On one freak play, a throw hit him in the face and blinded his left eye. Game over…at least professional baseball. He has written a book titled: A Baseball Career that ended in…a Split Second: The Life and Faith of Jim Aldredge. The book chronicles his amazing life after the baseball dream ended. He went on to get his doctorate, became a city manager, a university professor, and received wide-spread recognition for his new professional life. His tragic loss of sight did not define him but demonstrated that beauty can come from ashes. Now that’s Good News.

2-11-22