Hey girls and guys, I found the space to dive into another powerful essay from Paul Graham. Please find 15 minutes to read and think about ...
What a special treat having Betty Burgess in town this week for Cathy's birthday dinner last night and Sally's 30th celebration to follow on Friday. Here's a blast from the past Woman Power Wednesday - Sally & Betty. Forever grateful that Betty hired Sally back in 2014, and how Betty has mentored and cheered Sally onward and upward. Special friend to every Singletary-one of us now. We love you, Betty.
WPW Nuggets from the past (family)
Dad:
Mom is the ultimate Woman Power: Bloom Where You Are Planted, SUPERWOMAN. I am blessed to do life with her. She navigates the world with so much grace and a giving spirit.
She has inner and outer beauty that blends together in a 'fun' way. In fact, I think when she gets to the end of this incredible run, her life might be best summed up by one word: FUN!
Lucy:
I love how Mom is such a social butterfly and the life of every party. When your parents move to the other side of the world in their sixties, it’s weird as a kid to be worried about your parents making friends. But it did not take long once she met one fellow ex-pat for her to be in the middle of a new social circle. Mom, your personality is contagious, and everyone wants to be your friend! You’re the best host and most generous. I know because I also am one of the lucky ones who get to be your friend!
I love how Mom can be a killer mom from anywhere! When I need to talk for 5 minutes or an hour, she is available and ready to hear what is going on. Mom, you are always gracious, patient, and full of the best wisdom. Even if you can’t be here to care for me, you find someone who can fill the gaps and get me what I need. You teach me to take risks and not take life so seriously. I hope I get to be a cool mom like you one day!
Sally:
I love how mom is my best friend. I could not be luckier to live in London with her at this point in our lives. I’m still pinching myself every day. She is fun and kind and my absolute favorite person! She loves to say she copies me, but the truth is I hope I can be just like her.
I love how mom has made the best life for her and dad in London. She jumped in effortlessly and has made so many friends already. Not surprising at all but her ability to transition so gracefully to a whole new world is incredible and something not many people can do!
Emily:
I love how much fun Mom is! She is SO generous and always down for whatever adventure we decide to get into (or I drag her to.) Mom is always the life of the party, and I know it’s going to be a fantastic time when we are together.
I love that Mom embraces London and has made friends who love wine. Mom (and Dad) are badass for moving across the world, and I am so happy they love it more and more each day. Not many people have parents this cool. Mom is my best friend; I love you!
Taylor:
It's great to have Cathy living nearby. Admittedly, I was hesitant to have my in-laws move over to join our adventure, but she has been nothing but supportive of Sally in her business and helps us with the little things that a mother knows from experience. She is very caring.
Cathy is my gardening buddy. I love spending time out on our terrace and making it better. And I am very, very glad to have someone who will bring us new plants all the time!
Kyle:
I love that you have been working so hard and enjoying golf in your life more recently. It was so much fun to play a round with you when you were home; yes, Austin is still home for you. I look forward to spending many more matches with you and even more time on the range in the early afternoons getting better at the game together.
Thank you for always treating me like a son and not a sin. Since I first met you at the Standard in New York, you have been nothing but welcoming to me, even though I am not easy to deal with. I have never approached any part of my life in a traditional way, and you have always accepted and embraced that. Someday, I will be a proper son to you, and I look forward to that day.
Trey:
I love how generous Mrs. Cathy has been in the short time I have been able to know her. She is such an incredible cook and is always willing to care for me when I am with the Singletary family.
I love how funny Mrs. Cathy is. She is always making me laugh and keeping things light-hearted and fun! It is a joy to watch her take care of her family.
Good morning Lucy,
How was the retreat to the Flippen Quiet House? I've been praying for you and hope you got my letter. It was fun to reconnect with Flip and Susan over the weekend. Exceptional people, fantastic company: Flippen Group.
John Wooden seemingly did it all. No dynasty in college basketball history compares to the monster Wooden built at UCLA in the 1960s and 1970s, winning 10 NCAA titles in his last 12 seasons before he retired in 1975. [ESPN Classic - Wizard of Westwood]
Here's my flag flying in London and the bearded Brady Manek, who has quietly become the leader of a Tar Heel team peaking at the right time. Amazing job by first-year coach Hubert Davis. Nobody saw this coming a month ago.
Go Heels!
Dad
P.S. I have perfected the go to bed early, get up early to watch recordings of our tournament games. I scroll through my UNC Buds text thread as I watch. Occasionally my phone will skip ahead, and I see a spoiler, such as the text shown below. (-; Oh my! As I write this, the Heels are up BIG at the half and evidently headed to a Final Four match-up against you know who!
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| Harvey on the practice tee at Austin CC |
I enjoy sharing stories about my mom's four younger brothers: Uncles Pat, Charlie, Archie, and Woody McDowell. They are all special to me.
When the subject is golf, I tell enthusiasts how Uncle Charlie won the US Juniors in 1961 at the Cornell University Golf Club in Ithaca, NY, defeating George Boutell in the semis and Jay Sigel 2up in the final match. At the time, Charlie was the youngest ever to win at 16 years, 1 month, a record now held by Tiger Woods. Charlie came within one match of winning a second US Juniors the following year. He had many other junior titles before college golf at Princeton, followed by a distinguished law career, and now a philanthropist in Wilmington, DE. He continues to play the game he loves and has been kind to me with several invitations to bring friends and family to Pine Valley Golf Club. This video says it all about what that is like!
Fred won the US Open in 1908, and in 1910 and 1911 he missed out on getting into the play-off by one shot. He twice won the North and South Tournament in 1909 and 1920 and the Senior PGA Championship in 1938 played each year at Augusta National. In 1919 he finished one shot behind Jim Barnes in the US PGA and in the 1921 US Open he tied with Walter Hagen for second place. In the Open at St Anne's in 1926 he finished seventh, rounding off one of the most remarkable careers in golf, lasting over twenty years at the top level. [Reference: Fore Please, Freddie McLeod Now Driving]
In golf terms, that is like sticking a tee shot on a par three to two feet, only to have your competitor knock it in the hole for an ace!
Harvey, I knew you would enjoy this story. Perhaps you even met Freddie at some point? Let me know when you next write.
Until then,
gPageS
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| Pretty good company you were keeping in 1961 Uncle Charlie! |
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| Pat, Woody, Charlie, Archie, and Mom = Billy Gay (McDowell) Singletary |
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| Father-Son Pine Valley Trip 2018 (l to r) Jim Hopke, Taylor Wilkinson, gPageS, Uncle Charlie, Jack Magee, Rick Magee, Wehman Hopke |
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| Second Pine Valley Trip (l to r): Uncle Charlie, Ricky May, gPageS, Mal Fuller, PV Member?, Mark Fuller, Patrick Pritchard, Rufus Pritchard |
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| First Pine Valley Trip (l to r) Rick Magee, gPageS, John Lazkowski, Uncle Charlie |
[Source: KBTX, Bryan, TX] "Rudder volleyball standout Asani McGee announced Wednesday afternoon she would continue her volleyball career at Presbyterian College in Clinton, South Carolina. Asani holds four school records including kills in a career with 1,115, blocks in a career with 320, blocks in a single match with 9, and blocks in a season with 116.
Prior to Asani’s signing, Rudder's assistant volleyball coach Kallie Donley read a poem that she wrote highlighting Asani’s 4 years at Rudder High School which included 3 years as a varsity letter winner where she was a three-time first-team all-district selection."
I would enjoy reading that poem. Today is Thursday, but the phrase Women Power Wednesday comes to mind!
Above, Lucy with three of her Young Life mentorees, Asani, Bre, and RaKia. They met when they were sophomores. All four girls will graduate this spring together! We are so proud of Lucy and the way she dedicated so much of her time and energy to Young Life. One of my mentors, Zig Ziglar, said, "You can have everything in life you want if you will just help other people get what they want."
Lucy understands Zig's quote perhaps better than most.
WPW Nuggets from the past (family)
Good WPW Lucy,
Last week, I enjoyed a powerful motivational message from Robyn Benincasa at our Autodesk One Team Conference in Nashville. On Make it a Great Monday, I shared how good it felt to get back out in the world with my poem OUT THERE.
Let me tell you, Robyn knows how to get OUT THERE and make some stuff happen. Visit her website here and check out her non-profit, Project Athena, which she describes below in a note she sent your sister, Emily, at Yeti.
Hi Emily! Thanks for the kind words! I’d/we’d love to be a part of the Yeti community! And I know that our Project Athena team loves and lives the Yeti Brand too. Project Athena is my little non profit that takes survivors on huge hairy audacious endurance adventures as part of their recovery. It’s about helping them get their badass back after a big medical or traumatic setback in their life. Every year we take groups of Survivors and Fundraisers on adventures like the Rim to Rim to Rim crossing in the Grand Canyon (45 mi 2 days), the Zion Traverse across the entire park (44 miles 2 days) and our Keys to Recovery, where we kayak and ride 120 miles from Key Largo to Key West over 3 days. You have to come with us! :). We’d also love for our adventurers to have some kind of connection to Yeti during their training, adventures, or the next adventure in their life. :). Our Trail Angel team that gets everyone across the finish line are also world class adventure racers and winners of the ecochallenge and raid Gauloises etc. FYI, I’m the person in my family that gets everyone a yeti cooler for Xmas or their birthdays. Huge fan, and there’s no substitute! Thanks for the good Juju, Emily! You can also always reach me at robyn@projectathena.org. Maybe we’ll see you out there with us! Xo Robyn
Fingers crossed, YETI, Robyn, and Project Athena can all get together.
Yesterday (March 8) was International Women's Day - a global holiday celebrated annually to commemorate women's cultural, political, and socioeconomic achievements. I did not miss it but instead waited until WPW to celebrate it. So, below, I include links to some of my favorite Woman Power Wednesday Nuggets from the past.
Enjoy,
Dad
WPW Nuggets from the past (family)
There's a new Toyota in the family, and she belongs to the soon-to-be college graduate, Lucy May Singletary. We are so proud of you, Lucy! Thanks for taking such good care of yourself and others. Stay whole, drive safe. - BDPB = (Your) Big Daddy Papa Bear.
