50 years ago, this day in history....

...felony pedaling....


Very seldom I could tell you, outside of birthdays and special days EXACTLY what I was doing on a given day. However, I happened to run across this one, which my mother had dated, 50 years ago to the day.

Trust me, that doll was butt ugly and "asking for it."

The slight pain in the behind re: being good at "dates"

I don't know how many people suffer from this malady, but I happen to be pretty good at historical dates. Usually if you are or were a history major (like I was) this is a good thing. You can easily get your time lines down. HOWEVER - it does have the drawback of somewhat spoiling and distracting you if OTHER people aren't good at dates, or don't mind if they fudge.

A couple weeks back I attended a performance of "The King and I." As Mrs. Anna was singing "Getting to Know You," I happened to notice the map that had been bought for the classroom...and I sighed. Because what's present day Alaska was colored the same as the United States. However, knowing the play was set to take place in a time contemporary with Lincoln's time in office - and "Seward's Folly" wasn't obtained until 1867 - this was just enough to distract me.

A favorite show of mine used to be "American Dreams" set in the early 1960s. That first series was from Nov. of '63 until the summer of '64. You guessed it. I was constantly spotting songs done a few years later. Still a great show, but just enough for me to say "hey...."

On the positive side, the other night a friend of mine and I were watching a Cold Case rerun. The guy who got iced had been a former Vietnam War Prisoner, and it showed his homecoming in 1972, right at the top of the show. And the VERY first thing I said to my friend a nano-second after I saw the date was "Why is this guy home a year earlier than the others? He must have been a fink who took early release." 40 minutes later, one of the older detectives spotted the time lines discrepancy. And this particular bit of information helped unlock the who, what, why of the case.

I took some costume history too for fun about 10 years ago ... enough to mess up entertainment even more if something's not quite in period!

Too bad Fr. Sean missed it....

There was a 5.4 earthquake in SoCal today in the Chino Hills area near LA. I really got cheated because I was in Old Town, in San Diego when it happened, and due to the loose soil in that area they don't feel it as much in this particular square mile or two. But my friend sitting over at MCRD, just a relatively short distance away felt it shake their building pretty good. I'd been sorry that we hadn't been able to lay out the "Earthquake Experience" for Fr. Sean when he was out here a few weeks ago. (Hey, Fr. Sean, a 5.4 would have felt roughly like the Sea World arctic ride we went on, probably less exciting.)

Digihairshirt related that a duck and cower cover was in order in her office, and in Cali fashion everyone guessed it was in the 5 pointer range. It was so.

Elsewhere in SoCal, Diane, et al were grooving to the experience....

S & H Green Stamps - No rosaries in the catalog but...

Consider yourself a seasoned citizen these days if you know how S&H Green Stamps worked. I came across a small stash of them recently at the back of a desk drawer. I made a bet with myself that if I took them into work no one 35 and under would have a clue what they were or how they worked - and that everyone over the age of 35 would immediately know. I was right ... except for one clueless guy of 38, who *should* have been old enough to remember, but on second thought given who it was, he was most likely clueless then too.

Seems like you never saved enough books for the pool table, but your dad probably got some tools out of it, the family got dart boards and other sporting goods and camping equipment, mom got some really nice glassware, more than a few lamps and assorted house hold goodies and "extras." The kids saved books for anything from bikes to board games.

The gas station attendants are long gone (are there any hold out states left requiring someone to pump your gas -- and check water, oil, tire pressure and clean your windows?) -- and sometimes when talking to younger generations they look at you like you're from another world. "You mean there was a time where you walked right on a plane and they didn't frisk you and you could have carried a bazooka on and no one would have cared?" "Uh, yeah...pretty much."

Change is inevitable, but I hope it never gets to the point where older Catholics hold up a rosary or holy medal or card for a younger Catholic and have to seriously ask: "Johnny/Mary, $5 bucks if you can tell me what this is." Do what you can to pass on our heritage.

It's amazing how

right on the money this is....

You Are a Boston Creme Donut

You have a tough exterior. No one wants to mess with you. But on the inside, you're a total pushover and completely soft. You're a traditionalist, and you don't change easily. You're likely to eat the same doughnut every morning, and pout if it's sold out.

What Donut Are You?

FREE Car Wash!!!!

It's the little things in life that mean so much. It just rained like all get out 5 minutes ago. Just long and hard enough to wash my car, which had been fillllllthy!

It may not seem like a big deal to you but we haven't had rain in ages. Oh a little coastal misting...but not genuine rain. The kind that washes cars rather than just rearranges the dirt.

New addition to my blogroll

I loved ukok's post here. Have a listen.

1st Lesson in Mutually Assured Destruction

Our altar servers had their first lesson in "Mutually Assured Destruction" yesterday after Mass. Catherine and Francis alternate serving the 5:15 Sunday Mass. Last night after Mass I pulled the Easter Candle out of the stand so Catherine could blow it out.

Immediately, Francis had come up to the side of her and decided, that he too would like the visceral pleasure of blowing out the candle. Catherine and Francis then really took a quick inhale and expelled enough air to not only start a hurricane on the east coast ... BUT to also managed to blow the melted wax in such a way as to get each other's faces and hair spattered with wax. No mean feat, as they were standing almost next to each other when they did it rather than across from each other. Somehow they must have blown hard enough for the wax to hit the inside lip of the brass cachingadera opposite themselves and have the wax richochete[sp! - like I have the energy to look this word up] off back to them.

At 11 they are still going through the "hey, candles and fire are cool" stage, so for the heck of it I showed them after Mass the best way to light charcoal for the thurible. At 13 they'd be too jaded. I don't know if one ever gets over an "incense is cool" stage. Strike while the wax is hot.

I can just imagine this conversation

I love this sign outside my bank.


Me: Maggie, these nice people at Washington Mutual would like you to remain outside.

Maggie: What? You're going to leave me in a hot car? Leave the cell phone, I'm calling the ASPCA.

Me: Well, would you mind putting on a harness and making like Rin-Tin-Tin?

Maggie: You don't even pay me scale now.

Me: Are you going to be REALLY good this time? You're not going to drool all over the Assistant Manager are you?

Maggie: I do NOT drool over him, that guy is gorgeous. He gave me a squeaky toy last time.

Me: That was because you ate all the lollipops the time before last.

Maggie: Can I bite some people?

Me: NO!!!!! You almost got us thrown out last time....although I have to admit that man counting out $120 in pennies was asking for it.

Teller: What is this dog doing in here?

Me: I asked her to stay outside and she didn't want to. You must be new here.

Bring it on...

...I have no problem throwing one of them into another one of them! [Particularly if they're little commie ba$tard$!!!!]

25

h/t orthometer

The Governator and Me

Today, in an attempt to keep the governator of my state happy, I went down to get my car smogged so I can get my registration on my car up to date. It was a day Mulier-fortis could appreciate.

Two nights ago I was driving over to a friend's house and I noted the engine was running just a weensie bit hot - so I got there, and found I was about a quart low. No problem. I had a quart for such occasions and put it in all by myself.

Today I went down to get smogged, and after I drove up I looked at the front of the car, and there was this fine film of oil all over the front of the hood and bumper. Well, damn. Now what? So I roll on in and he opens the hood -- "where's the oil cap, and there's oil all over, it sure isn't going to pass inspection with an open whatevertechojargon...." I was *sure* I had put the cap on, not being that absentminded as a rule of thumb...but, either a poltergeist had stolen it, or....it had been loose and had come off. H'mmm....so I drove the 1/2 mile over to the friend's house and looked in the immediate area where I'd added the quart. No dice. Called over to the autoparts store. Yes, indeed, they had what I required for about 6 bucks. Drove there. Got two quarts and put one in, and did my best to wipe all visible surfaces that had gotten spritzed. Ended up using the better part of a roll of paper towel. I put a quart in figuring I'd lost at least that much, and got an extra but didn't put it in just in case.

I drove back to the service station, and got the car smogged. Passed with flying colors....BUT on closer inspection .... well, golly .... St. Anthony didn't want me to lose the first oil cap completely, he likes to play with my mind. So he'd wedged it BEHIND the oil reserve. I don't know who was more embarrassed, the service guy who'd missed it the first time around or me. But so help me, I heard Tony laughing his butt off. Good thing too, because that cap has the specific oil viscosity to use right on the cap, and I know I'd forget that again, as I don't have to put oil in hardly ever! When the guy checked the oil level, I was about 1/2 quart over. Sheesh. I must have driven about 120 miles from when the cap was loose and I "only" lost a quart of oil. Wow. Thanks, Tony. So now I have TWO oil caps. The bad part is I was also supposed to get to the DMV today, and that ain't happening.

God Bless America

I've always hated illiterate spellings of "thru" instead of "through" or "donut" instead of "doughnut." It just recently occurred to me, however, that perhaps it's done deliberately to save money when creating signs. But I'm putting money 10-1 on "illiterate." I suppose I should just shut up and thank God there's somewhere to get a bite to eat 24/7.

It could be worse. A woman I know who teaches 1st graders was telling me she gets so many kids with oddball names, which I won't go into in case you gave your kid an oddball name. She said: Last year I DID have a ''Richard' -- but his idiot parents spelled it "RichUrd." Good grief. This poor son-of-a-gun will have to spell his name for EVERYONE he meets forever. I predict he will either grow up to be a clergyman, or an axe murderer. There is no middle ground here. He will either develop the patience of a saint, or finally snap and go berzerk and wipe out his whole office. "Film at 11" AFTER it's been "breaking news." What are parents thinking?

Random Chance

I have always been in-
trigued by the im=
portant role random chance plays in one's life. One such nice chance event that happened in my life was that when I was 7 my parents had bought their first home, a small row house in Allentown, Pa. The previous owner had left an upright piano.*

No immediate relatives in my family were particularly musical, but I showed an interest, picking out tunes. At the start of the next school year, I was sent over to the convent after school one day a week for lessons. We moved to Virginia the next year, and that piano moved with us and I still have it today. My favorite piano teacher was Mr. Donaher, who taught me from age 8 1/2 to 11. Mr. D. was as blind as a bat, but a terrific teacher. I think lessons cost all of a buck fifty for about 45 minutes. In addition to the standard John Thompson series, he encouraged playing "other things" that took the student's interest. Right when I was first learning to play, the Sound of Music had come out, and I started with easy versions of same. That sparked a life long interest in musical theatre for me.

My third teacher, whom I'd acquired after we moved to New Hampshire wasn't bad (a sister who taught at our parochial school) - but she would have been better for me when I was older, say 13-15 instead of 11-12. She was too Nazi like about fingering, which drove me nuts and it kind of sucked the fun out of playing. So I stopped lessons, but I always continued to play. I'm rusty now, but I'm going to start playing more, damn the carpal tunnel but I can suck it up. I learned enough and played for fun enough to pretty much be able to play any standard sheet music and my sight reading isn't bad. (What I was never good at was transposing music on sight.)

I often wonder if I would have come to the musical theatre interest via another route had we NOT had the piano. I like to think it was "meant to be."

*This particular piano is at least 100 years old and was made by the Milton Piano Company of New York. "Milton pianos were manufactured from 1892 until 1907 by the Milton Piano Company at 626-630 West 51st St., New York City. Milton pianos and player-pianos were handcrafted, beautiful instruments, designed for a class of discriminating music lovers." - from bluebookofpianos

Bill for Baby? No problem.

At least in 1956. Total bill for 4 day hospital stay, delivery, drugs etc at Sacred Heart Hospital, Allentown, Pa? $80.20. I note my dad paid $50 bucks and paid the balance later.


Click here to enlarge photo.

Here are ALL the charges incurred during the 4 day hospital stay when I was born:

Room and Board ($9.00 per day) - $36 (4 days)
Labratory - $6.00
Operating Room and Delivery - $10
Drugs - $4.45
Anesthesia - $7.50
X-Ray $1.00
Nursery - $12.00,
Baby Bracelet - $1.00
Misc. $2.50
------------------------------------------------------------------------
$80.20

How American Teenagers Show the love

... for their friends.

Yes, ladies and gentle-
men, a very popular teenager lives in this house. Do I know these people from Adam? No, but they live a few blocks away, and by the "festooned" yard, I can tell that yes, indeed, a very popular kid lives here. You see, in the USA, if your friends REALLY like you, and you're not around, and they have "nothing better to do" they TP ("toilet paper") your house. Parents don't get too mad, because by this sign of affection, they know their kid is popular in school.

I do not know how foreign exchange students take this, if they are so "honored" -- I expect it might be hard to explain the phenomenon to someone who lives in Outer Mongolia "honey, your classmates must really like you -- you have ARRIVED."

Maybe back when Jesus was a "yuth" friends would "decorate" with lamb entrails or the like, them not having toilet paper.

I could just see the Holy Family:

Joseph: That's the FIFTH time this month!!!!! Why are you so POPULAR?

Jesus: Heck if I know, of course I did change a few gallons of water into beer for the beer bust last week.

Joseph: BEER? Since when do you drink beer? Wine's not GOOD enough for your lot? Why can't you make something useful that your mother and I could drink, like wine? You know your mother doesn't like beer.

Jesus: That's a thought, I'll work on it.

Mary: Son, can you try some Chianti? You know I love that stuff.

Jesus: Wilco, mom, you know I'd do anything for you, being the perfect Son and following the law perfectly, and given I follow the 4th commandment, of course I'll make you wine whenever you want.

Mary: DO that...our family has a lot of weddings coming up, what with the cousins and all.

Jesus: Mom, anytime, and if I forget, you remind me, okay?

Mary: You betcha. I'll hold you to it!
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Leap Day Roses

Meant to take a picture of these yesterday before they "peaked" but what the heck. With all the rain last week, these beauties (and two more beneath them that DID peak, showed up by the corner of my house. MENTALLY for me tomorrow spring starts. The rest of you can wait the extra 3 weeks!

I remember seeing a 60 minutes interview with Michhael Caine once. He was mentioning how much he enjoyed the California growing season. When he lived here he had the novel experience of visiting the garden shop about this time of year searching for spring bulbs and the like. He asked the nuseryman "when do I plant them?" And the guy said "when you get home" - which was a revelation to him.

Blogging will be a little light but I'll try and get at least a little something up at least every other day.

T.G.I.F. - Put a song in your heart

And a smile on your face - it's FRIDAY!!!!!

Put on a Happy Face ♫ - Bye, Bye, Birdie, Dick Van Dyke

Pick yourself Up ♫ - Fred Astaire, who else? (forget languid versions of this one)

On a Wonderful Day Like Today ♫ - The Roar of the Greasepaint, the Smell of the Crowd - Cyril Ritchard

For those of you under a rain cloud:

Singing in the Rain ♫ - from same, Gene Kelley

And for those of you who wish it WERE spring:

It Might As Well Be Spring - State Fair

(Shirley Jones, Danny Thomas Show)

Update: For Kit who is in upstate New York "in the middle of a crappy ice-storm" I'll add her request of:

June is Bustin' out all Over ♫ - from Carousel

And now that she's brought up some chimeras from my youth that I thought I had long repressed, for good measure, I better add:

Spring, Spring, Spring ♫ - sung by Michael Feinstein. I especially like this particular CD.

(video clip under 3 minutes - dialup use keep vid - fast download on song clips)
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It's not Pepys but

...the other day I ran across a Diary I had kept for a very short time at the beginning of Jan 1993. I'd quite forgotten I'd made an attempt to keep it at all. I'd always liked the thought of keeping a diary since about the age of nine, but was never very successful at it. The longest attempt I contiguously had was at age fifteen for about six months. I have always hated the tedium of writing by hand, which the computer age has greatly ameliorated.

Forthwith, here is my exact entry for Sunday, Jan 17, 1993 - Plus ca change:

"More raids in Iraq. Clinton is pissed because it takes away from his delusions of grandeur. "F" him. [no, I didn't spell it out then. A few days before the Iraqis violated yet again the cease fire agreement not to fly below whatever latitude they weren't supposed to fly below.]

Dad says Bush [I] is trying to kill Saddam before Clinton takes office and surrenders. [How prophetic dad was, given Clinton's pathetic response to the first attack on the WTC. Clinton was due to take office that coming Tuesday] 40 Cruise Missiles Used. To quote Cindy [X] 'it sort of makes it all worthwhile, doesn't it?' [She and I had put in our time on Tomahawk projects in the 80s ]

Father S.'s mother at Mass tonight. [She was visiting from Chicago]

Finished Assault with Intent. "

I wonder if Pepys would blog if he was around today? It's not the same in that one does not generally convey one's most intimate thoughts on a blog, although here and there people do write with candor and passion about things closest to the heart. But a blog is only a small slice of one's life, and unlike Pepys, we tend not to encode our entries. For anyone who hasn't run across this famous diary, I suggest starting with his account of the great fire of London. (Starting Sept. 2, 1666) See the year 1665 for what it was like living through the plague!

How many bloggers still keep a traditional diary I wonder? Show of hands? I confess I don't. Although that's not to say I wouldn't in future. If I do, it's bound to be in electronic form on my laptop. I must say I enjoy giving the diary I kept at 15 a read, as it captured certain delights and pains of growing up that in some cases I'd forgotten.

And so, to bed.
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In my Case, I need the "Perspiration" Part

Sorry I've been a little light on original content as of late, I've got a few good ideas, but don't have the energy to fuss with a few features of Photoshop I need to learn before I can execute them! Ah well, give me time and I can snap out of it.


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The Joys of Autumn

Beat 'em Bust 'em that's our custom! Hey, Hey, get rowdy! Hey, Hey, get rowdy!

White Stone Name Seeker has tagged me on this one. I was hoping someone would ask.

When does autumn begin for you?

As easy as this question sounds, it's not easy for me. Fall used to start for me right after Labor Day, when school opened, even though we still technically had a good 2 and a half weeks of summer. I didn't realize my birthday was still in summer until I was a good 14 or 15 when it suddenly sank in one day when I was looking at the calendar. Before I was 14 I spent my formative years in the Northeast. Penna, NH, and Virginia. Fall is a lot more subtle in southern California where I live in San Diego. I don't get the glorious technicolor of the leaves changing as I did in the northeast. And when I do see the few trees that change around here, I stare at them in appreciation. September can often be one of our hottest months, but suddenly about the 1st or 2nd week of October, a subtle shift happens, where yes, in fact you do need more than a sheet at night, and you've stopped using the fan, by and large. Daytime temps still get very pleasantly warm - it will get up to about 75F today (I don't do celsius, sorry) but down to 52F at night. It's the time where you have to worry about some people catching an early cold at work, due to the sudden shift in temps.)
Sunsets are often spectacular here in October. When the fogs start to roll in, the fall will be well and truly be here.

What is your favorite aspect of autumn?

Football season. I like pro football, but there's something about a good high school or college game that really permeates the soul. In my last two years of high school I attended nearly every school game. Also the baseball playoff season is marching to its finale. Mentally I consider September to be a fall month. It's fun to see the high school boys in particular sporting their letterman's jackets. I notice it's become the custom for the girls to not infrequently wear their sports letters on sweaters too. The "U" above is my high school sports letter. [I got mine for track and basketball.] I went to the University of San Diego High School - class of '74.

One game I always check up on is the annual Thanksgiving football game between Northampton high school and Catasauqua high school in Pennsylvania. This is one of the oldest high school continuous rivalries in the country still played on Thanksgiving Day. I still check the paper the next day to see who won. [Many relatives of mine played or rooted for Northampton -- the Konkrete Kids.]

It's fun to see that high school kids still put on their homecoming games and make floats and do all the traditional things. When my dad was still alive he and I always attended the local college games. I'm a sucker for marching bands and the music they play. I don't care if playing "Inna Goddavita" or "MacArthur Park" on the xylophone is a nutty idea. It still sounds wonderful to me. Another not to be missed is the annual Army vs. Navy game.

What is your favorite autumn memory?

I think when I was 11 or 12 I remember a Girl Scout trip we made to a cider mill. It would have been late October, early November. We'd had a very early snow in New Hampshire that year. There was still a bit of snow on the ground, and we went into the cider house, and they wrapped up the apples in sheeting and burlap. As the old fashioned press was employed, we held our cups up to catch the drippings of the freshly squeezed juice. It was the best cider I ever had or ever will have. So perfectly cold and fresh. The air was so sharp and biting, our noses chilled and our lungs filled with the ether of the mud beneath our boots - all very primal smells.

As a toss up, when I was a freshman in college, I'd gone out for the women's rowing team. One fine October day we'd been out on Mission Bay, and as the sun began to set we finished our workout. We pulled our 8 shells out of the water, and as we were working on the underside of the boats to dry them off, the sky turned a spectacular fantasy of red, orange, pink, yellow and gray while the sun backlit the clouds and cast a bedazzling cornucopia of shimmering light on the water. Wordless, we all stopped working and just stood there in amazement - no one spoke, as it would have ruined the chimera. We all stood there for a good five minutes in dead awe and silence. The light faded then we all silently finished the task at hand - no one remarked on the break in our labor, or what caused it - to break the skein would have been almost a sacrilege.

What do you like to drink in autumn?

Apple cider. Hands down. Preferably some I've gone up to Julian to fetch. [Julian is a small town in our back country that sits just above the 5 thousand foot level. They get a bit of snow in the winter if conditions are "just so."]

What is autumn weather like where you live?

Usually warm in the day, it can be quite cool at night. I try to avoid putting on the heat until mid. November at least, but sometimes I can't quite make it until then and have to give in a little early.

What color is autumn?

Where I live: too green!

What does autumn smell like?

Earthy.

Christmas shopping in autumn?

Given that winter doesn't technically come until Dec. 21st, you'd be in a heap of trouble if you waited that long! I don't start until after Thanksgiving though. And the hell with buying wrapping and stuff just after Christmas when it's on sale. I don't want that stuff kicking around my house all year, only not to be able to find it the next year when I need the stuff. Now that both parents are dead and as I have no immediate family, shopping isn't that big of a chore. I just get a few gifts for a few friends and aunts and uncles and don't really worry much about it.

If you could go anywhere in autumn where would you go?

The northeast. Just for a week anyway!

Do you have a favorite autumn chore?

NO! ;-D Other than shopping for Thanksgiving dinner or very occasionally carving a pumpkin. Don't know if you can really call those "chores" though.

What is your least favorite thing about autumn?

The dark. God, I hate when it gets dark early. Just put me on suicide watch when we "fall back" with the clocks. It gets dark early and I don't feel like doing ZIP. That's why I make myself get out and do things. I guess I try to attend theatre a little more in the fall -- just because I should or I'll get cabin fever. Some time ago I recall reading that during WWII for a time the British went on DOUBLE SUMMER TIME. My God - the clocks moved TWO glorious hours forward. [Well, yes, but there was all that bombing, the WAR, you know, Karen....but GOD the LIGHT, the LIGHT.] Maybe the only solution is to move to Australia for the winter.

What is your favorite autumn holiday?

Thanksgiving. No presents to buy. Just be thankful for what you've got. Everyone can celebrate, it doesn't matter whether you are a Hindu, just off the boat, or a Mayflower descendant. Your ancestors got the hell out of wherever they came from just so you could enjoy this day. Now shut up and pass the pumpkin pie, watch some football on TV and just be grateful that God smiled on your lucky backside to put you on this planet right here and right now. And kids, if uncle Ned asks you to pull his finger: humor him.

What is your favorite kind of pie?

Apple. And there also better be some pumpkin pie around in the fall too.

Do you have a favorite autumn book?

It's not really a fall book, per se. But Thornton Wilder's OUR TOWN hits the spot. Everything is dying around you (well, unless you are in San Diego, and if it's a late fire season, everything may be BURNING around you) - but there's nothing like OUR TOWN to make you really try and look at things as they are and appreciate the extraordinary ordinary in life while you have it.

How about a favorite autumn poem?

October Gave a Party
I blogged about that for my first post in October, which you can see here.

[Right on cue -- just as I was finishing this post - a weatherbug alert came up for my area:
"DENSE FOG ADVISORY IN EFFECT UNTIL 9 AM PDT THIS MORNING

Event Start: 1:17AM PDT, Tuesday Oct 16, 2007
Event End: 9:00AM PDT, Tuesday Oct 16, 2007
Details"

Did I call that or WHAT?]

I was hoping somone would tag me to do this meme because it looked like a lot of fun - if you see this and want to do it, by all means, consider yourself TAGGED!
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