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October 6 2015 Published by PTK Corp.
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FORMER TEACHERS by Kathy Wolfe October 5 is World Teachers Day, and Tidbits is taking the opportunity to investigate well-known folks who were teachers before they became famous. Take a look – you might be surprised at who were former educators. • Prior to his role as the fictional Sheriff Andy Taylor in Mayberry, Andy Griffith taught English at the high school in Goldsboro, North Carolina. He was also responsible for creating the school’s award-winning marching band during his tenure from 1949 to 1953. • Art Garfunkel is more than just a stellar singer/ songwriter. He’s also a math whiz who earned an M.A. in the subject from Columbia University, and was working toward his doctorate during the peak of Simon & Garfunkel’s fame. Shortly after the immense success of “Bridge Over Troubled Water,” the duo parted ways, and Art branched out into acting, with roles in 1970’s Catch-22 and 1971’s Carnal Knowledge. He also took a position as a math teacher at a private prep school in Litchfield, Connecticut, in 1971. It was a little difficult being a pop star math teacher. In Garfunkel’s words, “I would talk them through a math problem and ask if anyone had any questions and they would say, ‘What were the Beatles like?’” • Before he was Mr. T, He was Mr. Tureaud, working as a physical education teacher in the Chicago public schools system. Lawrence Tureaud had his break-out movie role in 1982’s Rocky III after being discovered by Sylvester Stallone, and went on to his role as Sgt. Baracus in the NBC series “The A-Team.” Speaking of Stallone, he also worked as a gym teacher while attending the American College in Switzerland during the 1960s. • Stephen King hasn’t always been a successful author. After his graduation from the University of Maine, he went to work in an industrial laundry while he job-searched. He secured a position teaching English at the high school in
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Tidbits® of the River Region (Front page continued) Hampden, Maine, and worked on a novel during his offhours. After two years, Carrie was accepted for publication and in 1973, King quit teaching to write full-time.
1. Is the book of 3 Timothy in the Old or New Testament or neither? 2. Who said, “Lo, I dwell in a house of cedars but the ark of the covenant ... remaineth under curtains”? David, Nathan, Saul, Solomon 3. From Numbers 12, why was Miriam shut out of camp for seven days? Ungodly act, Leprous, Fasting, Lent 4. Who took David in as his own after the slaying of Goliath? Jonathan, Solomon, Saul, Eliakim 5. About how tall was Goliath in approximate cubits? 3, 4, 5, 6 6. Upon which mountain did Aaron die? Kor, Carmel, Pisgah, Sinai
• Author Dan Brown originally wanted a career as a singersongwriter. He moved to Los Angeles to pursue his calling and landed a position teaching Spanish at Beverly Hills Prep School in 1991. Brown returned to his home town of Exeter, New Hampshire, the following year, where he taught English and Spanish at Phillips Exeter Academy until 1996 when he resigned to devote his full attention to authoring his best sellers The da Vinci Code and Angels & Demons, among others. • History has always been an important part of Bill O’Reilly’s life. The FOX News political program host is the author of several historical best sellers including Killing Lincoln, Killing Patton, Killing Kennedy, and Hitler’s Last Days. Prior to his broadcasting career, O’Reilly was an English and History teacher at Monsignor Edward Pace High School in Opalocka, Florida from 1970 to 1972. • Thirty-sixth President Lyndon B. Johnson was a school principal and teacher of 5th, 6th, and 7th-graders at the Mexican-American Welhausen School in Cotulla, Texas, in 1927 when he was just 19 years old. He went on to teach public speaking at high schools in Pearsall and Houston, Texas, before entering politics in 1937. As a Congressman in 1941, he was the first member of Congress to volunteer for active duty after the bombing of Pearl Harbor. He reported to the U.S. Navy on December 9, just two days after the bombing. Johnson was sworn in as U.S. President approximately 90 minutes after President John F. Kennedy was declared dead in a Dallas hospital. He took the oath of office in the conference room aboard Air Force One, as the plane sat at Dallas’ Love Field, the first and only time a President has been sworn in on an airplane. • The second U.S. President, John Adams, also did a stint as a schoolmaster in Worcester, Massachusetts. He found the profession boring and stated that his students were a “large number of little runtlings, just capable of lisping A, B, C, and troubling the master.” Yet he kept the job in order to pay the bills while attending law school. • From 1974 to 1976, Gordon Sumner used his degree from Northern Counties Teachers Training College in Newcastle, England, to teach at a convent school in nearby Cramington for two years, the only male on the faculty. On his free evenings, he played in a group called the Phoenix Jazzmen, and frequently wore his favorite black-and-yellow-striped sweater while performing. The bandleader thought Gordon looked like a bee and gave him the nickname “Sting.” In 1977, Sumner moved to London and teamed up with two others to form the band The Police. Today, Sting’s net worth is estimated in the $300 million range. • We know him best as the bass player of the band KISS, with his face painted white with black flames. But prior to his musical fame, Gene Simmons was a teacher of sixthgraders in a Harlem, New York, grade school. Simmons was born Chaim Witz in Israel to a mother who had survived the Holocaust. The two of them emigrated to New York City when Simmons was eight years old, without knowing a word of English. (This musician now speaks English, Hungarian, Hebrew, and German.) KISS, formed in 1973 in New York, has sold over 100 million albums worldwide, and has 45 gold albums to date. Despite his somewhat “demonic” look, Gene Simmons says he has never drunk alcohol, taken drugs, or even smoked a cigarette. • Singer Kris Kristofferson might not have been the successful singer he is today had he not turned down the opportunity to teach Literature at West Point Academy. Kristofferson was a Rhodes Scholar, earning a Master’s degree in English Literature at Oxford, graduating summa cum laude, and even appeared in Sports Illustrated’s “Faces in the Crowd” for his accomplishments in collegiate rugby, football, and track and field. After graduation, he joined the Army and rose to the rank of Captain, completing Ranger training, and becoming a helicopter pilot. At the end of his tour in 1965, Kristofferson was offered a professorship at West Point. At the last minute, he turned down the offer, resigned his commission, and pursued a music career. His family, including his U.S. Air Force Major General father, disowned him and never reconciled with him.
1. Name the last pitcher to throw a complete-game shutout in the World Series before San Francisco’s Madison Bumgarner did it in 2014. 2. Who was the first relief pitcher to win the N.L. Rookie of the Year Award? 3. When was the last time before 2014 that the University of Texas did not have a player taken in the NFL Draft? 4. In 2014, San Antonio’s Kawhi Leonard became the third-youngest NBA Finals MVP (22). Who was younger? 5. When was the last time before 2015 that the Tampa Bay Lightning won an NHL playoff Game Seven at home? 6. In 2015, Ryan Lochte became the second swimmer to win the same event (200-meter individual medley) at four straight world competitions. Who was the first? 7. How many top-10 finishes did golfer Ben Crenshaw have in 44 years of playing at the Masters?
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by Samantha Weaver * It was 20th-century American journalist and cartoonist Robert Quillen who made the following sage observation: “A happy marriage is the union of two good forgivers.” * In a recent survey of parents with adult children, 45 percent of respondents said they would rather stay in a hotel than in the home of one of their kids. * In 2009, the government of Saudi Arabia established a special Anti-Witchcraft Unit to combat the practice of sorcery. By 2011, there were nine bureaus in cities across the country. The following year, 215 people were arrested for sorcery. * Those who study such things say that all kangaroos are lefthanded. * When you think of hibernation, you probably picture a bear holing up in a cave for the winter, right? You might be surprised to learn that creatures don’t just hibernate to get through the winter months; almost any adverse environmental condition can trigger such a response. For instance, on the island of Madagascar, the fat-tailed dwarf lemur hibernates for seven months during the dry season. * If you’re a fan of Major League Baseball, you’re going to pay three times as much to attend a game in Boston as in San Diego. * Wildlife biologists say that the milk from a mother hippopotamus is pink. * The size of a nickel represents the halfway point between the size of an atom and the size of the earth. If an atom were the size of a nickel, a nickel would be the size of the earth. *** Thought for the Day: “I like the pluralism of modernity; it doesn’t threaten my faith. And if one’s faith is dependent on being reinforced in every aspect of other people’s lives, then it is a rather insecure faith, don’t you think?” -- Andrew Sullivan (c) 2015 King Features Synd., Inc.
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* On Oct. 5, 1892, the Dalton gang attempts to rob two banks simultaneously in Coffeyville, Kansas, but meets resistance from townspeople, who kill four of the five bandits. The gang had turned to crime when they became bored with their other career possibilities on the Western frontier.
Vicki Harris White/Female 5’5” 140 lbs Hair: Brown Eyes: Brown Outstanding Warrants: Domestic Violence 3rd Harassment
* On Oct. 11, 1925, novelist Elmore Leonard is born in New Orleans. He decided to write either Westerns or detective novels, whichever would generate the most income. By the time of his death in 2013, he’d penned 45 books. * On Oct. 9, 1934, the St. Louis Cardinals defeat the Detroit Tigers in the World Series. The Cards nickname, the “Gashouse Gang,” had to do with the team’s close resemblance to the rowdy, dirtstreaked thugs who hung around the Gashouse District on Manhattan’s East Side. * On Oct. 10, 1957, President Dwight D. Eisenhower offers his apologies to the Ghanian finance minister, who had been refused service at a restaurant in Delaware. It was one of the first of many such incidents in which African diplomats experienced racial segregation in the United States. * On Oct. 6, 1961, President John F. Kennedy advises American families to build bomb shelters to protect them from atomic fallout in the event of a nuclear exchange with the Soviet Union. * On Oct. 8, 1970, Russian writer Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn wins the Nobel Prize for literature. Arrested in 1945 for criticizing the Stalin regime, he served time in Russian prisons, forced labor camps and internal exile. His works had to be secreted out of Russia in order to be published. * On Oct. 7, 1983, Sean Connery stars in “Never Say Never Again” as the British secret service agent James Bond, a role he last played in 1971. The film’s title referenced the fact that Connery had previously said he would never play Agent 007 again. (c) 2015 King Features Synd., Inc.
Outstanding Warrants:
Johnny Harris Jr DOB: 06/06/1991 Black/Male 5’11” 150 lbs Hair: Black Eyes: Brown
Failure to Appear Domestic Violence 3rdMenacing
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“Be known before you’re needed” Advertise with Tidbits (334) 202-7285 J.K. ROWLING Tidbits continues celebrating World Teachers Day by focusing on author J.K. Rowling, who has been wildly successful with her Harry Potter series of books. • The life of Joanne Kathleen Rowling has been a true “rags-to-riches” story. Born in 1965 to a RollsRoyce aircraft engineer father and science technician mother, Rowling went from receiving welfare benefits as a single mother to being a multi-millionaire in just five years. • Shortly after the death of her mother from multiple sclerosis in 1990 when Joanne was 25, she answered a newspaper ad for an English teacher in Portugal. It was while working at a language institute in that country that she began penning the stories that would become the series about a young wizard. She claims she was on a four-hour-delayed train trip when the idea “came fully formed” into her mind. • Her teaching duties were in the evenings, freeing up her day to write, which she did while listening to the music of Tchaikovsky. She married and had a child in Portugal, but after three years, she was back in England as “poor as it is possible to be in modern Britain, without being homeless.” • Two years later, Rowling finished typing the manuscript on her old manual typewriter and went looking for a publisher. Twelve publishing houses rejected the story of Harry Potter. Finally, in 1997, a London publisher, whose chairman’s 8-year-old daughter had read and loved the first chapter, agreed to a run of 1,000 copies under the title Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone. Rowling’s editor advised her to get a day job, because he couldn’t see her as a children’s book author. As her book began winning award after award, it was plain to see Rowling had a bright future. • The second and third books in the series followed in 1998 and 1999. When the fourth book, Goblet of Fire was released in 2000, its first-day sales were nearly as much as the first year’s sales of the second book, Prisoner of Azkaban. During its first 48 hours in the U.S., three million copies of Goblet were sold, breaking all records. • The sixth book in the series, The Half-Blood Prince, went on sale in 2005, with U.S. sales of nine million copies in the first 24 hours. The seventh and final book, The Deathly Hallows, was released in 2007, breaking all previous records with 11 million books the first day. The books have now been translated into 65 languages. • Rowling sold the film rights to Warner Brothers and the first of eight films premiered in 2001. It took 10 years to complete the filming of the series. The first movie was to be directed by Steven Spielberg, but he declined the offer. It was his thought that the series should be animated films, with American actor Haley Joel Osment voicing Harry Potter. Rowling had specifically demanded that the principal cast be British. • The eight-film series garnered 12 total Oscar nominations, but strangely enough, won no awards. The series grossed over $7.7 billion worldwide, more than the first 22 James Bond films combined, and the six Star Wars movies. • J.K. Rowling is ranked as the 12th richest woman in the United Kingdom, with an estimated worth of approximately $1 billion.
Nita Headley
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Register to win at www.riverregiontidbits.com and click on “Tommy Tidbits” or click the QRCode above. Fill out the registration information and tell us how many times Tommy appears in ads in the paper for this week. From the correct entries, a winner will be selected. You must be 18 years of age to qualify. The gift certificates will range in value from $25 to $50 each week. Entries must be received at the website by midnight each Saturday evening or at PTK Corp, PO Box 264, Wetumpka, AL 36092. Winners please call 334-202-7285 to claim your prize!
Last Week’s Ads where Tommy was hiding: 1. Affordable Hearing, p.1 2. Leisure Isle Sales, p.2 3. Glasgow Piano, p.5 4. Home Grown Kennels, p.5 5. Bargain Center, p.6 6. The Gab, p.8
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JOHN SPILSBURY For literally hundreds of years, people of all ages have enjoyed putting jigsaw puzzles together. Here’s the history of this favorite pastime. • Born in England in 1739, at age 14, John Spilsbury became an apprentice to Thomas Jeffreys, an engraver, map seller, and the Royal Geographer to the King. At 21, Spilsbury branched out on his own as an engraver, mapmaker, and printer of children’s educational books, maps, charts, and stationery. • In 1766, when he was 26, Spilsbury devised the idea of mounting maps on a sheet of hardwood. Using a fine-bladed marquetry saw, he cut around the borders of the countries, with the goal of teaching Geography to British students. He called his invention “Dissected Maps,” and became the first commercial manufacturer of jigsaws. Over the next two years, he marketed several different styles, including the world, Africa, America, Asia, Europe, England, Wales, Ireland, and Scotland. Unfortunately, Spilsbury did not live to see the great success of his invention, passing away at age 30. • For the next 50 years, the puzzles were primarily an educational activity. They gradually transitioned into a leisure pastime, with illustrations mounted on plywood. They were still known as “dissections,” but when the treadle saw was introduced around 1880, they began to be called “jigsaw puzzles.” Penciled tracings of where to cut the pieces were made on the back of the wood. • In the late 1800s, cardboard puzzles made their debut, mostly for children’s puzzles. For many years, they were not the top seller, as retailers continued to stock mostly wooden puzzles, believing that customers liked them better than “cheap” cardboard varieties. • The puzzles of the early 20th century did not interlock, and many an hour’s work was negated by a bump to the table. Adult puzzles of this era did not have the picture on the box and the subject matter was a mystery until all the pieces were in place. • Early puzzles were quite expensive, as much as $5 for a 500-piece puzzle in 1908, because each piece was cut individually. Cardboard puzzle quality improved and prices dropped with the invention of a device that would die cut them in a press. Strips of metal with sharp edges were fastened to a plate, much like a cookie cutter, enabling the mass production of puzzles. • During the 1930s, puzzles were a method of advertising, with stores offering free puzzles with the purchase of a toothbrush or other sundry item. The illustration featured an image of the product, a clever way for manufacturers to keep a vision of their item in the consumers’ minds. Puzzles were especially popular during the Great Depression as an inexpensive form of entertainment. Sales of adult puzzles were an astounding 10 million per week. Puzzles were also something that could be made by hand at home by those who could not afford the store-bought kinds. • Today, people enjoy jigsaw puzzles more than any other table game. • The record for the most pieces assembled together in a single jigsaw is 209,250, an event that took place at Taiwan’s Grand Formosa Regent Hotel.
BIBLE TRIVIA ANSWERS:
1) Neither; 2) David; 3) Leprous; 4) Saul; 5) 6; 6) Kor
1. Josh Beckett, in 2003 for the Marlins. 2. Joe Black of the Dodgers in 1952. 3. It was 1937. 4. Magic Johnson of the Los Angeles Lakers in 1980 (age 20) and 1982 (22). 5. It was the 2004 Stanley Cup Final. 6. Australia’s Grant Hackett did it in the 1500-meter freestyle between 1998 and 2005. 7. Eleven, including winning the event twice (1984, 1995).
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24-Hour Refrigerator Vegetable Pickles On a recent afternoon when my son texted me to check in, I nimbly replied with sticky fingers, “I’m preoccupied with taking pics of pints of pickled ....” While laughing at the preponderance of P’s, I accidentally pressed “send.” He immediately wrote back, “Pickled PEPPERS? ... ha!” Hmm, OK, so I may have left the peppers out of this recipe, but keeping with the “Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled ...” verse that took us back to his childhood, I simply replied, “perhaps.” Word play and food play are interchangeable with kids, no matter their age. Preparing pickled veggies this time of year is the perfect antidote for using and enjoying the abundance of fresh, tender and tasty produce in our gardens and markets. You and your kids can create jars full to stack in the refrigerator in less than an hour for a month of tasty sides. Discover, like my family, that the vegetables will be sweet like bread and butter pickles, but will pack more flavor than the traditional grocery-store fare. Here’s how to “pickle it” all: 24-HOUR PICKLES For the brine: 5 cups distilled white vinegar 5 cups sugar 2 tablespoons kosher salt 1/4 cup mustard seed 1 tablespoon celery seed 1 tablespoon black peppercorns 6 bay leaves Fresh dill (optional) For the vegetables: 3 cucumbers, sliced in discs or quartered lengthwise 6 medium carrots, peeled and quartered lengthwise 2 big handfuls of green beans 1 medium cauliflower, broken into pieces 2 onions, halved and sliced 1. In a saucepan, combine the first six brine ingredients and bring to a boil, stirring until sugar is completely dissolved. 2. Place the vegetables in a large bowl. 3. An adult should pour the hot brine mixture over the vegetables. Cool. Transfer equally to six clean jars, tucking a bay leaf and dill (if you choose) in each one. Screw lids on tightly and place in the refrigerator. 4. Refrigerate for 24 hours before serving. Makes 6 pints. TIP: Keep refrigerated and use within one month. *** Donna Erickson’s award-winning series “Donna’s Day” is airing on public television nationwide. To find more of her creative family recipes and activities, visit www.donnasday. com and link to the NEW Donna’s Day Facebook fan page. Her latest book is “Donna Erickson’s Fabulous Funstuff for Families.” (c) 2015 Donna Erickson Distributed by King Features Synd.