How could anyone not love Dikembe Mutombo Mpolondo Mukamba Jean-Jacques Wamutombo? He was Congolese and came to the U.S. to play basketball at Georgetown before his Hall of Fame NBA career. He is recognized as one of the greatest defensive players and shot blockers of all time. He passed away on Monday from a brain tumor. He was only 58.
Dikembe became a U.S. citizen in 2006. We could not begin to do justice to the scope and depth of his extraordinary humanitarian work. The Biamba Marie Mutombo Hospital sits on a 12-acre site on the outskirts of Kinshasa. It’s named in honor of his mother. He provided $15 million of the $29 million needed to bring it into existence.
Dikembe and his wife Rose lived in Atlanta. They had three children and adopted four more from Rose’s deceased brothers.
A very good man. Rest in peace.
The puzzle was pretty amazing today. Running down the center was ANIMAL CROSSING, clued by “Nintendo video game series.” And then every answer that crossed it (14) was a different animal. They included a TREE FROG (“Jungle peeper”), an ANTEATER, and a NEMATODE (“Worm found in every ecosystem on Earth, even the deepest oceans”).
I also learned a new funny-sounding word: TEASEL. It’s a “spiny plant.”
Kirk Daniels of the Dull Men’s Club (UK) asked for ideas on how to stop a toddler from climbing the bannister:
Rick Bedford: Adoption.
Sean Turnbull, barbed wire.
Sam Graves, goose fat
Emma Devey, electric fence.
Matthew Rose, Superglue
Davis Fernsby:
Matt Gilley: “Amputation worked with mine.”
Claire Hutch: Sniper towers.
Anita Bushnell Bartlett: tape
Ever hear of this stuff? It was also recommended.
Anti-climb paint is thick and oily in consistency, similar to petroleum jelly, designed to make walls, fences and other surfaces slippery and hard to climb. The anti climb paint will form a thin skin helping to prevent leaves and the like from sticking to it but because it is thixotropic any pressure applied to it will make it return to liquid making it difficult for an intruder to gain a hand or foot hold.
Sh*t! I’ve got this crap all over my hands now. Phil!! Put the stupid camera down and get some towels!!
That’s Jamie McGregor, CEO of McGregor Metal Company in Springfield, Ohio. Looks like a pretty big operation. The company employs 330. McGregor is a real mensch. We’ve got a spot for him in the Owl Chatter Hall of Fame.
A few years ago he had trouble finding people to hire. So he drew on the Haitian community and has about 35 Haitians working for him now. He was interviewed by the NYT and PBS and praised his workers. He said they helped revitalize the town. “They come to work every day. They don’t cause drama. They’re on time. They are drug-free. I wish I had 30 more.”
Jamie is a dyed-in-the-wool Republican and voted for Trump twice. His family has been in Springfield for five generations. But none of that prevented the sh*t from hitting the fan. Big time.
A flood of threats was directed at him, his family, and his business. They came by the hundreds — phone calls, emails and letters from white supremacists, neo-Nazis and others.
“The owner of McGregor Metal can take a bullet to the skull and that would be 100 percent justified,” said one message. “Why are you importing Third World savages who eat animals and giving them jobs over U.S. citizens?” another asked. [OC note: Don’t most of us eat animals? Just sayin’.]
McGregor’s children and his 80-year-old mother began receiving hateful calls. The FBI visited and said some of the threats were credible. They advised locking the lobby doors at McGregor Metal along with other safety protocols.
Security experts also sat the family down. Vary your driving routes to work, school and other places, they advised. Don gloves and use tongs when handling and opening mail. Keep the blinds drawn at your house. They were also advised to install cameras, motion sensors and alarms, and start parking rear-first in the garage, keeping the car in drive until the door is all the way down. They acquired firearms. They picked up anti-climb paint. [No they didn’t.]
“I can’t imagine living my whole life like this,” Ms. McGregor said. “You know, it’s got to end. It’s got to stop — hopefully after the election.’’
McGregor said he will not be voting for Trump again.
You see? — People can change their minds. Didn’t take much.
Let’s end on a lighter note.
The Tigers just swept their way into the next round of the playoffs! Woo-hoo! Manager A.J. Hinch was asked if it was particularly satisfying to beat Houston — for whom he managed before and who fired him after the sign-stealing scandal. You know the canned answer: “No, that wasn’t a factor at all; I’m just glad for the players that we won.” But that wasn’t what he said. His eyes lit up and he smiled. He said: “Isn’t baseball great?”
See you tomorrow!
The Wellington Files 