Flower Basket

At 23, Oprah was fired from her first reporting job. At 24, Stephen King was working as a janitor and living in a trailer. At 27, Van Gogh failed as a missionary and decided to go to art school. At 28, J.K. Rowling was a single parent living on welfare. At 30, Harrison Ford was a carpenter. At 37, Ang Lee was a stay-at-home-dad working odd jobs. Julia Child released her first cookbook at 39, and got her own cooking show at 51. Stan Lee didn’t release his first big comic book until he was 40. Alan Rickman gave up his graphic design career to pursue acting at 42. Samuel Jackson didn’t appear in a movie until he was 46. Morgan Freeman landed his first major motion picture movie role at 52. Grandma Moses didn’t begin her painting career until age 76. Save this list for the next time someone says you’re too old.

Rhode Island Star

She was built as a merchant collier (a cargo ship designed to carry coal) and christened Earl of Pembroke. She was launched in 1764 from the North Yorkshire port of Whitby. Four years later she was purchased by the Royal Society and refitted as a research vessel. Renamed the HMS Endeavor, she would carry Captain Cook’s expedition to the Pacific to observe the 1769 transit of Venus across the sun and to search for Terra Australis Incognita – the “Unknown Southern Land.” When the expedition returned in 1771, Cook was promoted to Commander and the Endeavor was refitted as a naval transport. Then war broke out in the Colonies and the Endeavor was repaired and renamed Lord Sandwich 2 (because the name Lord Sandwich was already in use). She crossed the Atlantic carrying Hessian mercenaries to retake New York. The Earl of Pembroke/Endeavor/Lord Sandwich 2 is believed to have been scuttled during the Battle of Rhode Island in 1778.

Country Farm

Pasta e Fagioli

1 pound ground beef

1 cup diced onion

1 large carrot, julienned

3 stalks celery, chopped

2 cloves garlic, minced

2 14.5-ounce cans diced tomatoes

1 15-ounce can red kidney beans (don’t drain)

1 15-ounce can great northern beans (don’t drain)

1 15-ounce can tomato sauce

1 12-ounce can V-8 juice

1 tablespoon vinegar

1 1/2 teaspoons salt

1 teaspoon oregano

1 teaspoon basil

1/2 teaspoon pepper

1/2 teaspoon thyme

1/2 pound (1/2 pkg.) ditalini pasta

Brown ground beef in a large pot over medium heat. Drain off fat. Add onion, carrot, celery and garlic and sauté 10 minutes. Add remaining ingredients except pasta and simmer one hour. About 50 minutes into the simmering, cook the pasta in 1 1/2 to 2 quarts of boiling water over high heat. Cook for 10 minutes or just until pasta is al dente. Drain. Add pasta to soup. Simmer for 5 to 10 minutes more and serve. Serves 8.

36 Diamond Stars

“Years ago a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles asked me to read a talk he was preparing for general conference. I was a junior member of the quorum. I was honored by his confidence that I might help him find the words the Lord would have him speak. I remembered the counsel a loving and kind President Harold B. Lee had given me earlier: “Hal, if you want to get revelation, do your homework.” I read, pondered, and prayed. I studied as best I could under the influence of the Holy Ghost. I’m not sure I helped, but I know I was changed when I heard the talk given. Messages came to me far beyond the words I had read and that he spoke. The words had greater meaning than the ones I had read in the draft. And the message seemed to be meant for me, fitted to my needs.” – President Henry B. Eyring

Ladies' Aid

The second-biggest box office hit in 1916 was 20,000 Leagues under the Sea. Not the Technicolor James Mason/Kirk Douglas Disney flick; it was a black-and-white silent version. Number one that year was Intolerance; Love’s Struggle throughout the Ages. There were several other wonderful movies released in 1916; some featuring Mary Pickford, Douglas Fairbanks, Lillian Gish, Charlie Chaplin, and Gloria Swanson. You may recognize those names, but unless you’re a silent film nut you’ve probably not seen their movies. Even if I you know they can all be viewed for free online, you probably won’t. You expect different things from your entertainment than folks did a century ago. Which is why I’m surprised to hear about the new John Malkovich movie, 100 Years, scheduled to hit theaters Nov. 18, 2115. Will the equipment still exist to display the film a hundred years from now? My guess is by then, no one will care.

Friday the 13th

The first time I read Jane Eyre I was almost as young as the heroine in the first few chapters. I remember being very impressed with her answer when Mr. Brocklehurst asked how she planned to avoid going to hell: “I must keep in good health, and not die.” It’s funny how the books you read in your youth tend to stick with you the rest of your life. They become a part of you. Jane Eyre was the first thought that came to mind when I read about the Johns Hopkins study suggesting medical errors could be the third-leading cause of death in the US. You’re more likely to die from a doctor’s misdiagnosis or a sleep-deprived nurse than from, say, a car accident, stroke or respiratory disease. In other words, if you really want to avoid going to hell, you must keep in good health and not go to a hospital.