ROSS SIMPSON

Ray Charles Robinson (September 23, 1930 – June 10, 2004)

Ray Charles on THE DICK CAVETT SHOW, September 18, 1972.

Audie Leon Murphy was born in Texas. 
(20 June 1925 – 28 May 1971)

Audie Murphy was a honored U.S. WWII hero who became an action
movie star. He was decorated with 33 medals including three Purple
Hearts, two Silver Stars, an Expert Badge with Bayonet, and the Medal
of Honor. He left school in the fifth grade and began working on a farm
to support his family. He became famous through an article in LIFE
magazine (below). Suffering from what would today be termed (PTSD)
posttraumatic stress disorder, he slept with a loaded handgun under
his pillow and consumed addictive sleeping pills.

(Fox Sports)-Richard Petty Motorsports and STP have revealed Aric Almirola’s throwback paint scheme for the Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway on Sept. 4.

Almirola’s scheme will honor The King’s 1979 STP car he raced to his sixth of
seven Daytona 500 victories, as well as a seventh and final NASCAR Premier
Series championship.

From Left: Richard Petty and Aric Almirola. Petty will be 79 on July 2.

                                                                                    (From Vintage Portland)
This 1935 aerial photo shows Navy ships arriving at the Portland
waterfront for the Rose Festival.

The City of Portland has been a favorite port of call for visiting Navy ships
since the beginning of the Rose Festival in 1907.

A total of ten ships from the U.S. Navy, the Royal Canadian Navy and the
U.S. Coast Guard are scheduled to arrive in Portland this week. The fleet
should begin departing on Monday morning, June 13.

Tim Maguire

Les Paul (Lester William Polsfuss) (June 9, 1915 – August 12, 2009)

Iconic Jazz and blues guitarist Les Paul pioneered the solid-body electric guitar, 
influencing what would become rock ‘n’ roll music. On November 23, 2011, Paul
was ranked at #18 on Rolling Stone‘s "100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time".That
same year, Paul was added to the Nashville Walk of Fame.

In January 1948, Les Paul shattered his right arm and elbow in a near-fatal
auto accident. Doctors at Oklahoma City’s Wesley Presbyterian Hospital told
Paul they could not rebuild his elbow. Their other option was amputation. He 
was flown to Los Angeles, where his arm was set at an angle—just under 90
degrees—that allowed him to cradle and pick the guitar. It took him nearly a
year and a half to recover.