QUARANTINE BLOG # 459

July 2, 2021

Yesterday, Mark Richt, head coach at Georgia from 2001-2015 and at Miami from 2016-2018, announced that he has been diagnosed with Parkinson’s.

“I have been waddling around lately and people have asked me what’s wrong.  I’ve decided to tell everyone at the same time.  I have been diagnosed with Parkinson’s.  Truthfully I look at it as a momentary light affliction compared to the future glory in heaven.  Thank you Jesus for promising us a future blessing of a glorified body that has no sin and no disease.  In the meantime I am going to enjoy the blessings that I do have.  See you on the ACCNETWORK!”

We are praying with you, Coach.

👉  Fulfilling a lifelong mission to become an astronaut, Wally Funk will fly to space on New Shepard’s first human flight on July 20 as an honored guest.  She will join Jeff Bezos, his brother Mark Bezos, and the auction winner on the flight.  

Wally’s journey to space began in the 1960s when she was the youngest graduate of the Woman in Space Program, a privately-funded project which tested female pilots for astronaut fitness. Later known as the “Mercury 13” – thirteen American women successfully underwent the same physiological and psychological screening tests as the astronauts selected by NASA for Project Mercury, but they never flew to space. Wally was the youngest graduate of this program.  

She was the first female FAA inspector and first female NTSB air safety investigator. The 82-year-old pilot will now be part of the first crew on New Shepard, and the oldest person ever to fly to space.  

Here's the moment Jeff Bezos asked Wally Funk to join the  first human flight of New Shepard on July 20 as his honored guest.  

👉  Today we begin a series on the famous, and very collectible, Tootsietoys.  These die cast toy cars and other toy vehicles were first made in Chicago, Illinois beginning in the 1890s, and were consistently popular from the 1930s through the 1990s.  Tootsietoy, now owned by J. Lloyd International, Inc. and still based in Chicago, makes about 40 million cars per year.

Made by the Dowst Manufacturing Co., the first actual model car was produced between 1909 and 1911.  One was a closed limousine which was followed by a 1915 Ford Model T open tourer.

1911 closed limousine

1915 Ford Model T open tourer

By the early 1920s the name ‘Tootsie’ was being used as a brand name and “Tootsietoy” was registered as a trade mark in 1924.  The ‘Tootsie’ moniker apparently came from one of the Dowst Brothers’ granddaughters, whose name was “Toots.”  Tootsietoy made metal prizes for Cracker Jack boxes, and this success in the 1930s to Dowst providing cast pieces for the game Monopoly.

Tootsietoy ship, similar to early die-cast toys made as Monopoly game pieces

In the 1920s trains, cars, trucks, military vehicles, aircraft, pistols and a variety of other toys were manufactured by Dowst.  Vehicles often had white rubber tires which over time become brittle and often have not survived play-wear and time.  

Graham Sedan, from the 30s, with white tires

Whether small or large, metal or plastic, Tootsietoys were usually simply made – often with only seven parts: a single die-cast metal body, two axles, and four wheels.  Arms protruding from the underside of the body were pinched around the axles after the wheels were added, which held wheels and axles in place.

Axel construction

More about Tootsietoys on Monday

👉  Rescue efforts at the site of Champlain Towers South in Florida halted yesterday out of concern about the stability of the remaining structure after crews noticed widening cracks and up to a foot of movement in a large column.  The stoppage dims hopes for finding anyone alive in the debris a week after the tower came down.  18 people are known dead and 145 are still missing. Officials will work with structural engineers and other experts to “develop options” to continue rescue operations, Miami-Dade Fire Rescue Chief Alan Cominsky said.

👉  Rosendo “Ross” Prieto was a building official in Surfside FL in 2018, when he told members of the Champlain Towers South board that their condo building was in “very good shape” three years before it collapsed.  His assessment came a month after an engineering firm identified key structural deficiencies requiring major costly repairs.  APNews reported that C.A.P. Government Inc. said Prieto is on a leave of absence from his temporary job with them providing building services for the city of Doral. 

👉  A mixed-media painting attributed to Pablo Picasso has been sold after spending 50 years in a closet in a house in Amesbury, Maine.  John McInnis Auctioneers confirmed that the painting entitled “Le Tricorne” (three cornered hat) sold $150,000, plus a 24% buyer’s premium.  The 16 x 16 inch painting is signed and dated in the year 1919.  It is believed to be a study for the stage curtain Picasso painted for a ballet of the same name that debuted that year in London.  That curtain has been on display at the historical society in New York City since 2015.

👉   A trio of signs for the times before we close:

👉  Today’s close, “Excuses,” is from Steve Arterburn.

“Each one should use whatever gift he has received to serve others, faithfully administering God’s grace in its various forms” (1 Peter 4:10).

There are so many excuses I could’ve used to hold back and not serve God, but none of them were good enough to miss God’s best.  Just the fact that I paid for an abortion could’ve kept me on the sidelines rather than preaching God’s truth.  Despite that horrific ordeal, God has allowed me to speak at Crisis Pregnancy centers and help them raise millions of dollars during the past ten years.  What a blessing it’s been for me to be used in that way.  

Because I have failed in so many ways, God gets all the glory for anything that comes out of my life that’s worth mentioning.  So no matter what comes my way, if God can still use me, as embarrassing and humbling as it might be, I want to be used for Him.  I want the same for you.  God can use you – imperfections and all.

“Mishaps are like knives, that either serve us or cut us, as we grasp them by the blade or the handle.” (James Russell Lowell, 1819-1891).

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