Random thoughts ...

Personal reflections of friends and/or American icons

Don Edwards was my mentor

I am truly saddened by the passing of my political mentor and family friend Rep. Don Edwards.  I have fond memories of him visiting our home in Palo Alto after he was elected to Congress in 1962. 

Four years later, just after I had graduated from Cubberley High School, I stayed with the Edwards family in Washington when I was hitch-hiking around the country.  It was then Mr. Edwards urged me to work for him after I finished college.  I never forgot his words of encouragement and am proud to say I worked for "The Don" on Capitol Hill in 1972.

I wasn't the only lucky person from Palo Alto to work for Mr. Edwards in the '70s.  Zoe Lofgren and I were staffers then.  She is now a congresswoman and I am a writer.  Despite our different career paths, we have much in common thanks to Mr. Edwards.  He was a true gentleman and lived up to his nickname as "The man from the Constitution."  I am blessed to have had both Don and Zoe in my life.

-DF

A Real-Life Superhero

I was 15 when then-Cassius Clay first defeated Sonny Liston, the reigning heavyweight champion, in 1964. Even in my nearly all-white high school in Palo Alto, Calif., my classmates and I immediately tried to “float like a butterfly and sting like a bee.” Thankfully, some are trying more than 50 years later.

Ali wondered if people would remember him after he died. As far as this 60-something father of three is concerned, the answer is a resounding yes.

In the future, when people talk about Gandhi, Mandela, Kennedy or Obama, they will also mention Ali with deep respect and admiration.

-DF

Thanks Diane Armitage

Our local economy is driven, in part, by Laguna’s many restaurants. That said, I want to thank Diane Armitage for keeping everyone in town up to date on the challenges each establishment is facing these days. Keep up the good work, Diane. Your “Best of Laguna Beach” column is serving a very useful purpose.

-DF

Keith Swayne named OC Philanthropist of the Year

I have had the pleasure of knowing Keith for decades. His quiet, determined manner is antithetical to today’s boisterous and selfie-driven way of life. Not only does Keith see the big picture, he understands how ticking off even the smallest objective can help an organization accomplish its goals. Congratulations, Keith. Given all that you have done, and still do, you deserve to be named Orange County Philanthropist of the Year.

-DF

The late Steve Jobs

No matter where he was in his career (Apple, Pixar or Apple again) he created j-o-b-s. Thank you for making real what the rest of us only could imagine.

-DF

Remembering John Lewis

America didn’t just lose a champion of civil rights last weekend, it lost a civil leader. 

In his letter to the Washington Post, Steve Stone wrote, “Mr. Lewis was the epitome of what the Founding Fathers hoped for in our evolving political discourse – a man who fought tirelessly for what was right, just and moral, and yet was determined always to reach out to his opponents.”

To my friends in town who want to honor the legacy of John Lewis, I say this: Tell everyone you know to vote this November like their life depends on it. Come to think of it, this couldn’t be more true in the time of COVID-19.

-DF

Grateful for Sam and Pam Goldstein

I loved your Valentine’s Day profile of Sam and Pam. Lucky me. I first met them back in 1983-84 when many of us – like Molly and Lee Lyon, Judy and Joel Slutzky, and other arts patrons – supported the former Newport Harbor Art Museum. Sam’s can-do spirit and Pam’s grace were on full display then, just as they are today. Congratulations you two. You are role models for everyone in town.

-DF

John Glenn soared

They were the Magnificent Seven in real life before the popular western film of the same name. Growing up in the late 1950s, my friends and I knew all the names of the Mercury 7 astronauts. Now with John Glenn’s passing, none are left.

In the 1970s, my parents told me the single most important event of their lifetime was man landing on the moon. If it hadn’t been for Glenn and his six late “brothers,” life as we know it today might have turned out very differently.

If America ever resumes sending humans into space using our own vehicles, I hope the next rocket launched will be the Mercury II. That would be a fitting tribute to the original astronauts my friends and I knew when we were kids.

-DF

A message for the president

Ever since I created the California Voter Group in 1974, a statewide, nonprofit organization dedicated to encouraging high school students to vote when they turned 18, I’ve been on the front lines of civic participation.

I have spent a lifetime encouraging people to vote, and I resent any and all attempts to suppress that sacred right.

Given President Trump’s current attacks on mail-in ballots, I invited friends in town to join me where ballots begin their USPS journey to be counted — at the mailbox.

My pitch to them was simple: Yes, there are more expensive paper products, like a Willie Mays 1951 rookie card in mint condition, but none are more valuable than the ballot.

Saving democracy is more important than who wins the White House. In these hyperpartisan times, my friends and I believe this is a principle all Americans can agree on.

-DF