Connecting the past to the present.
238 years ago today, September 25, 1789, the Bill of Rights was passed by the United States Congress. It would be ratified that December, giving Citizens of the United States protections like few in the history of the world had ever seen. They included the first amendment: “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment […]
Read More Celebrate the First Amendment’s Birthday Like a PatriotOne year ago today, September 24, 2016 the National Museum of African American History and Culture was opened. At it, a picture was taken that captured the hearts of America. Squarely in the middle of a heated and contentious election campaign, it showed an African American First Lady and former caucasian President sharing a tender […]
Read More The Picture That Reminds Us of What We Could BeToday is the 68th birthday of Bruce Springsteen. I like birthdays. It is a time for us to pause and honor people. It is a chance to think about the person and their qualities we should try to imitate. Birthdays provide the opportunity to reflect upon the impact someone has made on your own development […]
Read More Happy Birthday To My Favorite Teacher: Bruce SpringsteenAs people lined up around the country today to be the first to get Apple’s new iPhone 8, it is a good day to pay homage to it’s great grandfather, the rotary phone. This was the phone of my youth, and young people today should be forced to learn about the struggle of my people: […]
Read More Rotary Phones: The Struggle Was RealToday is the anniversary of Sandra Day O’Connor becoming the first woman ever appointed to serve the United States as a Supreme Court Justice. It is also my father, Bob Hammitt’s 72nd birthday. In my mind these are two important dates, and they are related. My father has dedicated much of his life to coaching […]
Read More Helping Women Succeed: Gentlemanly and PatrioticSitting on the bench is tough. It is tough for kids, tough for parents. The easy way to handle it is to shift the blame to the person in charge. The unhappy athlete will surely have the opportunity to do that, but they are passing up a real opportunity for growth. They will miss out […]
Read More “My Coach Hates Me”When it comes to history, the tellers of the story have great power. They choose what to talk about, and what to leave out. They make choices with there allotment of time, instruction, and how to present the story. There are decisions made every day by teachers, book publishers, network programming directors, movie makers, […]
Read More The Presidential Assassination Few KnowA.J. Schlatter should have turned 22 yesterday. He should have been playing defense alongside his close childhood friend Sam Bodine and the rest of his Portland State brothers against U.C. Davis. There is little doubt that he would have played great. He would have stretched his performance far beyond what his physical gifts should have […]
Read More A.J. Schlatter: Still Leading397 years ago today, the “Mayflower” left England for the new world. They were 102 religious separatists that wanted freedom, and needed to find a place that would allow it to them. They had already unsuccessfully tried Holland a decade earlier, but were given only low wage and menial jobs, often treated as social outcasts. […]
Read More Remember the MayflowerToday is the birthday of Alexander Fleming. It will come and go with little, if any celebration. Don’t know who I’m talking about? That is okay, I’m guessing only about one percent of people world wide do, even though a much greater percentage owe their lives to him. I think we should have and Alexander […]
Read More God Is Sending You a Message: “Listen to the Scientists”