Notes from 1990; Rock and Roll; Love; Aging; Hemingway; My Word; My Music; Conan; Publius; Sal; Spy Joke; Lottery Joke

Hot and muggy... but I was able to sit on the deck for an hour or so doing my Nation's cryptic.

I came across some 1990 material today.  That's 26 years ago, guys.  Let's see what I liked back then.

Musical Expert

My Toastmasters friend, Alan Lang gave a remarkable speech in which he interspersed at least one hundred titles of famous Rock and Roll tunes, such as "Is that all there is?", "Can't get no satisfaction" and my favorite: "Ahab the Arab."  Nicely done by an expert speaker.

Love Tip

Leo Buscalia said:  "If you love somebody, for God's sake, tell them so!"

Aging Nicely, Thank You

Our friend, Hazel was asked how old she was.  She replied: "Plenty Nine."

Earnest Honesty

Ernest Hemingway confessed that he revised "A Farewell to Arms" 39 times. "I just could not get the words right."

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During the 1990's there were two BBC radio shows that I could not do without hearing every Sunday afternoon:  My Word and My Music  were panel shows with famous Brits.   My Word consisted of questions about words and allowed the contestants to make up great stories on the spur of the moment.

My Music had questions and examples related to all kinds of music, plus funny stories.  Listening to this show, was better than college courses in music appreciation and comedy.

Here are a few examples:

My Word:

"I read a play by Beckett called "ennui."  (Samuel Beckett 1906-1989)
"I read a play by Anouilh called "Becket." (Jean Anouilh 1910-1987)

"I leaped up to grab an overhanging branch and found that it was just a  crack in my glasses."

My Music:

Re: Famous Lines:  "When you were making love to me, at what point did you realize I wasn't my twin sister?"

Re: Historical Facts:  In the Trojan war, one of the soldiers began to feel ill and the sargeant yelled: "Is there a doctor in the horse?"

Life Goals

Alan Lang gave another great speech in which he conducted an interview with Conan the Barbarian.

Alan:   "Mr. Conan, what is  your goal in life?"

Conan: "To crush my enemies, drive them from me and listen to the lamentations of their women."

Famous 1990 (AD or BC?) Sayings

Publius: "Speech is the mirror of the soul."

Sal DiStefano (studying to be a clown at Towson):  "The tiger swallowed my balls while I was juggling."

1990 Jokes

The Spy

Sam Weinstein worked as a New York City musician; however, he was also a spy for Israel.  He lived in a highrise in Brooklyn.  One day, one of his fellow spies came to his house to give him a secret message.  He glanced at the metal plate with the names of the tenants.  He saw "S. Weinstein, apartment 100" so he knocked on the door.  When the tenant opened the door, the spy started to say things in code.... "Wait a minute.." said the tenant.  "Who are you looking for?"  "Why, aren't you Sam Weinstein."  

"Oh," said the tenant.  "You want Weinstein the spy.  He lives on the fifth floor.  I'm Weinstein the butcher."

(Now... since I am not Jewish, I know I have messed this up.  My Toastmasters friend, Allan Misch tells this perfectly, as he does all of his jokes.)

The Lottery

A man hit the lottery.  He immediately called his wife.  "Pack your clothes, I've hit the lottery!"
The wife excitedly says, "What kind of clothes should I pack?  For warm weather or cold weather?"
The husband replies, "I don't care, as long as you are gone by the time I come home."

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