Dr. Tom Tarter

Happy Thanksgiving from Arizona!

Julie and I and our son Nikolai came to Laguna Beach for my brother Lou’s memorial service. He was a championship surfer, great businessman, and he loved God and his family. I made it through a tribute at his memorial service. His children are grown, and we were fortunate to spend meaningful time with them and my brothers wife Joanne. We will have pizza at the pool at the Ritz Carleton Dana Point tomorrow where we are staying with my family including the youngest great nephews. Family is everything, and being home where I was born and lived so much of my life means a great deal. I promised before everyone at the service and before God that I would be attentive to my family and to be with then several times a year. Pic is sunset with Santa Catalina in the distance. God Bless all of you.

Returning now with my son Andrei from our great Green Bay adventure. Drove up Saturday and checked into the venerable Northland Hotel. Next day we walked around the campus of St Norbert College on the banks of the Fox River. Andrei was admitted there but went to SLU instead. Got to Lambeau Field 2 hour before kickoff, but next time we’ll get there even earlier. Titletown and Johnsonville Village are spectacles with live bands. Titletown has an ice skating course and two snow runs for tubing. Santa arrived on a Harley and the Grinch was everywhere. Temperature was 32F. We had butt pads for our 18 inches of aluminum bleacher. Had double cheeseburgers and fried cheese curds, and that was the low calorie option. After the national anthem, players faced the crowd at the edge of the field and knelt in prayer. I got choked up. If you watched Sunday Night Football, you can only imagine the excitement in the stadium. In 202 games with the Bears, this was the second highest scoring. This morning we took the tour of Lambeau Field and walked through the tunnel onto the field. This is a great and storied place in the history of football, and no matter what team is your favorite, I highly recommend a visit. Packers are even selling more shares at this time if you want to own a piece of it. Packers sell about 100 season tickets a year, and the waiting list is 142,000. We had a great adventure!

Well what is Rob Manfred and MLB going to do now that the Atlanta Braves have won the National League pennant? He prohibited Atlanta from hosting the All Star game because the citizens of Georgia expanded opportunities for voting and made voting more secure. The All Star game was moved to Colorado, which ironically, has more restrictive opportunities for voting than Georgia. Manfred’s decision cost Atlanta businesses $100M, many of them Black-owned. So now that the Braves have won, will the MLB allow the World Series to be played in Atlanta? Since Mr. Manfred is a man of great principle, he must be true to his principles. Or he might just realize that he is a complete ass who makes 11M a year and helped destroy a lot of Black-owned businesses 6 months ago. The Commissioner needs to go. If enough of us who truly love the game stand up, he will go. If he has an ounce of integrity, he will resign. Pics from Busch Field. Also known as Heaven.

RIP General and Mr. Secretary.

Hope everyone no matter who you are or how old you are had a meaningful day today. We have a beautiful, diverse, and strong country. Our country is still the envy of most of the world. Lapel pin is historic. It’s 20 years old and was sold then to raise money for first responders and other victims from the horrific crime that occurred on 9/11/2001. Thank you Kevin Sronce for this precious gift. I will always wear it on my lapel. It’s hard and sad, but wonderful, to watch the ceremonies today. Can’t wait for Mets v. Yankees game tonight. Gotta go with Mets, National league and all. Love you friends. God Bless America!

This is a solemn time to put politics aside no matter how hard that might be. This is a time to remember how we came together as a nation 20 years ago. Let’s pause and remember. Let’s share the stories. On Friday, Sept 14, 20O1, I drove 3 hours north to a medical meeting. 18 wheelers had huge flags flying. I was listening to President Bush speaking at the National Cathedral when I passed road workers holding hands at a construction site in a circle praying. I cried, and it makes me cry now. We were united for a minute, and that minute didn’t seem to last. But I believe that we are more united as an American people than we aren’t. In my daily life, I see that we are, despite the media. It’s important to be politically involved, but at this time, it’s also important to come together as Americans for another minute. God Bless the United States.

We are an average American family. In the Viet Nam era, the draft lottery favored me, so I wasn’t drafted.I was educated at a military school in 7th and 8th grades, and I loved the military. But 3 years later, I was relieved to not be drafted. As a freshman in college after that, I qualified for pilot training on tests, But weekend drill was 2 hours away and I didn’t have a car and the unit had no way to transport me. I would need to transfer from my small college in Oregon to Oregon State University. I should have probably transferred. I loved the military and would have fit in right away. But I can’t regret my decisions with all that I have accomplished in my personal and professional life. But my love of the military, because of my young life, will endure. I am fortunate to stay in touch through a private group on FB with my cadet brothers. Many served in the U.S. armed forces. I love and respect them. My original motivation for this post is the debacle which is occurring in Afghanistan. But I think I’ll just leave it here and thank my brothers who have served. The motto of my school was “Character Before Career.” I love my brother cadets, and especially those who served our country with military service.

Julie and I just returned from Jamaica. My former nurse practitioner, Heidi Hashman, now Mrs. Craig Steven’s, got married there. Her incredible dad passed away this year, and I was asked, with the approval of her family, to give her away. It was an amazing experience with my wife Julie, Craig and Heidi, and with Craig’s best friend Mark Smith and his wife Patty. Boys golfed in the mountains, and we went on a catamaran cruise and swam through a cave, and we did water sports (water bike, paddle board, and kayak), and snorkeling. The wedding on the beach was beautiful. The Jamaicans, their hospitality, music, and food I will always remember and cherish. Best wishes to Heidi and Craig on their lifetime adventure!

This pic is emblematic of where my family and I live in the prairie. Pic taken driving home with my son Sergei after playing golf an hour away in the industrial town of Decatur Illinois. We live in the heartland. Flags everywhere here. Yesterday I saluted a vet passing by his home while playing golf with my young son. He had a huge flag hanging from his balcony. I made an amazing shot from 152 yards out from the pin and the ball was within inches from the hole. He yelled out “great shot.” I yelled back“Thanks, are you military?” He yelled “yes.” I stood next to my cart and gave him a proper military salute. He asked, yelling of course, if I was military, and I yelled “no but I went to military school.” He yelled “Thank You!” He appreciated the salute. Happy Independence Day my friends. 🇺🇸

Had a great day at IL GOP luncheon with National Republican Committee Chairman Ronna McDaniel. I spent the afternoon with my elected friends in Congress, Darin LaHood and Rodney Davis, and in the Illinois statehouse. I love politics when it stands for good government and supporting the needs of our citizens and neighbors. Tammy Duckworth is a US Senator who is is up for re-election. No Senator in this seat has won re-election since 1986. She is horrible and vulnerable. I am betting on Robert Cruz. He’s a championship athlete, Hispanic, businessman, cancer survivor, and has dealt with mental health problems in his family. He is family man. All of these complex parts of Rob’s life inform his decision for this campaign. He is educated, clean to a tee (unlike some of his competition), articulate, and smart. I think he is going to be the breakout candidate. As you learn more about the candidates, I hope you will pay attention to this unique and qualified candidate to be our next US Senator. I spent the day making introductions in Springfield and Decatur. He was on his own after that, and he was great. Attached is a pic of Rob and Congressmen LaHood and Davis. Please help me get behind Rob Cruz to defeat Tammy Duckworth. Pics are of Rob with National RNC Chairwoman Rhonda McDaniel and with Rob and Congressmen LaHood and Davis. For every one who supported my campaign, I am grateful. I supported Mark Curran, who beat me. It’s now a new day, and frankly, a better opportunity for Republicans in Illinois. More to come.