MOVIES # 2

A couple of days ago, Elaine and I watched a tear-jerking movie.  The Note is a 2007 movie adaptation of the novel with the same name by Thomas Nelson.

A note in a cookie-crum-filled baggie survived a fatal plane crash, and a journalist searched for the mysterious person addressed in the note as "T".

The movie delivered lots of interesting interpersonal situations and reminded me somewhat of the plots of certain Agatha Christie stories. 

We liked the movie because it is not like the usual Hollywood "pap", "Something lacking solid value or substance."

This "note" themed movie reminded me of the sad time when I lost my wife, Elaine Eva, the woman I had been in love with since I was seven years old.  We had been married for 42 years.

As she was being prepped for open-heart surgery, she handed me a folded note and told me to read it.  I put the unopened note in my pocket and said I would read it later.

After she passed, in grief, I read the note.  I will paraphrase the main part here.

"Dear Joe.  I don't want to die, but if I do, I want you to immediately find another woman to love, because I know that you cannot survive without a woman in your life ..."

After her demise I led a lonely womanless life for a year.  My children gave me a reason to live and they and friends tried to help me meet and interact with interesting ladies. 

And then I met Elaine Alice and my life took a turn for the better.  Besides being pretty, she was (and is) very intelligent.  (We often discussed interesting topics for hours on the telephone.) And, she is a great cook!

We have now lived together for over 20 years.

P.S.  Because my two Elaines have the same initials, I didn't even have to change my tattoo.

Thank you for listening to my private musings.

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 MOVIES

Some more of the comments from an old man. (Before I forget!)

1.  Before "Talkies"

My mother, Aunt Mary and Aunt Hattie played the organ at New Bedford, Massachusetts movie theaters in the late 1920's.  They shared the job of accompanying the action scenes that raced along the screen.  They lost their jobs when "Talkies" appeared.

2.  "Free Movies"

Salvation Army

Every Tuesday evening, the Salvation Army (SA) would show black and white movies appropriate for Christians.  They obliged their audience by playing the films backwards, after they played them properly.

SA showed their films namely to us "street kids" to lead us "on righteous paths."  To see the movies, everyone was charged ten cents, to be deposited in a collection plate near the entrance.

We ten-year-old "street kids" didn't usually have ten cents, so, instead of depositing the money, we extricated a like amount.  Shame on us!

Sailors

Over the years, we "street kids" got smarter and learned a new "scam."  It was WWII and our town had a harbor that could handle U.S. warships.  This meant that there were always crowds of sailors in our downtown area.

On days when we skipped school and wanted to see some movies, we would sidle up to individual sailors who held young ladies by the arm and say something like "Please sir, could you spare a dime so I can buy food for my starving mother?"

It worked every time.

When two of us each had a dime, one of us would pay the nickel admission price at one of the downtown theaters.  When in, he would sneak down the exit stairs and open the door so the other kid could get in.  Then, we two would enjoy hours watching movies, newsreels and cartoons, as we stuffed lots of cavity-inducing candy bought with the remaining fifteen cents.

Uncle Charlie's Movies

As young teen-agers my cousin and I would be treated to black and white old-time movies.

While we gobbled up Aunt Hattie's scrumptious treat of dates filled with peanut butter, Uncle Charlie would set up his 8-millemeter projector and show us his collection of train-robbery films... over and over.  He loved to play them backwards and we loved that too.. 

Later, Uncle Charlie discovered television and he sold his projector and purchased what was then the only TV at that time in the neighborhood.

He invited everyone over every Thursday night to join him in laughing with "Uncle Milty" Berle.  A few of us were even allowed to watch the Ed Sullivan Show on Sunday nights.

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 WEIRD STUFF

I subscribe to a comedy newspaper called "The Funny Times" and I strongly suggest that you obtain a copy and I guarantee that you will spend a lot of time laughing over the cartoons and humorous stories and articles. It serves as a welcome diversion from the depressing news hitting us hour by hour.

In the March 2022 issue there was an interesting article with the title: "News of the Weird." ("collected from the mainstream press by the editors at Andrews McMeel."  That company publishes entertainment and interactive experiences that enhance "truth, humor and hope.") 

The article lists 17 true instances that could be considered weird.  I like six. (Check them all out by reading them in the Funny Times.)

1.  OVERWEAR?

Because of an underwear shortage, Norwegian soldiers leaving the service are required to turn in their government-provided "unmentionables" for future use.

This reminds me of a Von Steuben story:

General Von Steuben was proud of his Hessian Mercenaries who were helping General Washington in the Revolutionary War, so he decided to give them a treat.

He assembled his grimy rag-tag group of soldiers and announced:

General:  Troops, today I am going to give you a reward for your bravery.  Today there will be a change of underwear.

Troops:  Hooray!

General:  Herman, you change with Adolph.  Wilhelm, you change with Rudolph. ...

2.  PIG BREAKTHROUGH

A Baltimore man received the heart of a pig when his body did not qualify for a human transplant. This foretells a future when animals may be bred to supply body parts to save the lives of humans. 

The procedure took place in January 2022.

Unfortunately, the patient died last week.

This reminds me.  My late wife had heart surgery at the Washington (DC) Hospital Center.  An hour after telling us she was fine and in recovery, we were told that her veins and arteries were not strong enough to handle the activity of a strong heartbeat and she had died.

They could have saved her through the use of pig parts, but they didn't have them available for some reason.  Several persons suggested that I sue, but what good would that do?  It wouldn't bring her back.

3.  COUGH COUGH

For those people who love the smell of food cooking on a grill, but don't have time to stoke up a fire, Arby's will be selling sweat clothes impregnated with a smoke smell.

Will it be disgusting like the smell of cigarettes that linger for eons on clothes?

4.  ALEXA  NO!

We love our Alexa who answers us and does our bidding on two Echo Dot, Alexa Show and Fire TV.  She seems to have encyclopedic knowledge.

However, sometimes she makes up responses, like she did recently when asked about exciting things to do.  Alexa's "off the wall" response was almost fatal for the requester.  

So, be careful about what you ask Alexa... and Siri too.

5.  CUBISM

Australian Wombats poop in cubes.

This is so weird I'll let you do the research. It may just be Aussies having fun with us.

Warning, the following information is not for everybody,  just eleven-year-olds and people who act like eleven-years-old.

6.  FARTING

There is a "Mister Methane" who travels the world doing "farting tricks" with his buttocks, a procedure practiced by very few people. (Or so I've been told.)

This reminds me of a fellow Airman who I served with in Europe.  "W" was from Baltimore and a "cheater" at "21."  He's the guy that I caught cheating and, using his own technique, beat him out of his money and his expensive "shades' that I wear on sunny days.

Anyway, "W" had that ability to fart at will. Every evening a German fart-smell-lover would drive to the base in his flower-bedecked Audi and give "W" a lift into Nuremburg for a night on the town.  This, of course, was a "free" ride. (And "W" never let his driver "run out of gas.")

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 DIVERSIONS

As an expert on nothing but having a big "blog-mouth" I feel bound to impart some suggestions.

You are probably like me, appalled at the world situation, but are helpless to do anything about it, you probably need something to keep you sane.

1.  PUZZLES

My first suggestion is, of course, do some puzzles each day like Wordle or Crosswords.

2.  PODCASTS

My next suggestion is to try some Podcasts, there are many on all kinds of subjects.  One of mine and my son's favorites is Car Talk, with the two "everlaughing" brothers and their Boston accents.

  A long time ago, I used to listen to this show every night on the radio. until the brother with the PhD from my school, Boston University (BU) died.

Some wise person put their archived shows on to the Podcast (The Best of Car Talk.)  It is free and you don't have to know anything about cars (cahs) to enjoy the humor.

I was listening to the show last night and the first call-in was from a guy in Hinkley, Ohio.  This reminded me of something a co-worker said, but we didn't believe at the time.

Buzzards

Every March 15th, buzzards return to Hinkley from points south to mate, and the town celebrates the return with "The Buzzard Bash."

As I've mentioned before,  I always tried to learn something from my co-workers and employees. Another bit of amazing information came from a co-worker who said that there was a bird that rose like a phoenix from a fire. I said: "No way!"

Kirtland Warblers

He taught me that the rare and endangered  songbird, the Kirtland Warbler, sometimes known as "The Jack Pine Bird," requires a large area of young "Jack Pine" for a breeding habitat.  This habitat has usually been the result of wildfires. 

3.  Volunteering

Join the volunteers at churches, fire houses and schools.  They usually accept helpers of any age and they are great places to make friends.

4.  Using the Internet

FACEBOOK is a way to interact with relatives and friends.  Just be careful and take precautions like I have always preached, but failed to follow recently.

5.  Remembering Others

People love to get birthday and anniversary cards.  "Thinking of You" cards are always enjoyed at any time.  

(I know, I am once again "preaching to the choir." Thanks for listening.

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 COMMENTS ON WORDLE AND OTHER PUZZLES

Because I have been doing puzzles for over 70 years, I feel qualified to talk critically about some of them. (IMHO)

Sudoku

Fun games to keep your mind active.  I used to do them until it dawned on me that there was a point, like a fork in the road, where you had to make a choice.  Sorry, I don't like to do that.

Logic Puzzles

Same comment.  How can it be logical to make a guess? 

Wordle

Addictive.  It's even caught me after avoiding it for a while.

However, I would wish that the final words would be less ambiguous.  For instance, in a recent Wordle the final word could have been 10 different words if the initial letter was different.  Again, one has to guess.

American Crosswords

Some of the hardest crosswords have clues like:

"Most improved Polo player in the U.K. in 1923."

Now, come on. Who the hell would know that?

One would hope that other connecting words would fill in the answer, or a Google search would be necessary.

But suppose the connecting clue is: 

"Bantu superintendent."

In that case we have a "NATICK" situation, one unguessable answer crossed by another unguessable answer. This word was coined by a puzzle expert who is a resident of Natick, Massachusetts.

French Crosswords (Mots Croises Choisis)

Like ours, except there might be imbedded repetition and lots of abbreviations that even people who do not know French can guess. Not much fun.

German Crosswords (Kreuzwortraetzel)

All different kinds of puzzle construction including American style, but often several answers in each line.  Fun, if you know a little German.  Not hard.

Hungarian Crosswords (Keresztrejtveny)

OMG! Don't even go there!

British Crosswords (CRYPTICS)

It takes a "mind bend" for Americans to do these wonderful puzzles, which use all kinds of wordplay.  Tough for Americans, but American crosswords are equally tough for Brits.

Acrostics

A wonderful pastime.  Clues that give answers that make up a book quotation.  I work hard to fill in the quote words and when the quote is revealed, it usually is interesting and pushes me to check the book out with my Kindle "book store."

Puzzlers Emily Cox and Henry Rathvon developed Acrostics and have had them published as long as I can remember.

Some "know-it-alls" have told us that doing puzzles is a waste of time.  They should be "tarred and feathered."

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 WHO ARE THE SAVAGES?

Elaine's daughter and son-in-law presented me with a book that they thought I might like.

Covered With Night by Nicole Eustace is a true story about a murder that took place in 1722, and as a "history buff" it is of great interest to me.

The book is quite long and has many hundreds of footnotes and references to historical records.  (This author must have spent a lot of time searching archived Government documents and news sheets from the dates involved.)

Before I give my views on the book, let me tell you that it is slow going as you try to keep the Indian names sorted out. Names of people, tribes and conditions, such as:

Ataqua

Sawantaeny

Weenepeeweytah

Haudenosaunee

Algonquian

Tagetolessa

Satcheehoe

Taquatarensaly

The title refers to what some native tribes call death - "Covered with night."

The story, "in a nutshell."

Two drunken colonial fur traders assaulted a Seneca Indian and left him for dead. Caught and jailed in Pennsylvania, disposition of the murderers involved colonists, the Governor of the Colony and the representatives of over one dozen different  Indian tribes.  

The disposition of these prisoners was in contention.  The Governor wanted them to suffer immediate hanging, which was mandated by British law.  The Indians wanted a different disposition.

Indian representatives pushed for immediate release, apologies by the guilty parties, restitution and acceptance back into society without bad feelings. They felt that a death sentence would serve no purpose.

Members of the British Parliament liked to refer to the Indians of the "New World" as "savages."

But, who really were the "savages" 

Oh, if you want to find out the disposition of this case, join me in finishing this interesting book.

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TIME OF YOUR LIFE

Time Killer

WORDLE? 

After seeing how hooked so many people are on Wordle, I decided to try it today.  I "solved" it in 3 tries.  Hooray for me.

Hint for future word guessing:

Frederick Brown wrote a wonderful Science Fiction  story about a sentient linotype machine named Etaoin Shrdlu. These letters also constitute one listing of the most frequently used letters in the English language.

My hint would be: try to have your opening word use letters from this list.

Also, you might want to try adieu ("goodbye") as an opening , if its recognized, to get most of the vowels. 

This type of puzzle has been around since Rome was in power, but without computer comments.

I like to do such puzzles, but I like Crosswords better.

TEMPUS FUGIT

Once in Persia reined a king

Who upon his signet ring

Graved a maxim true and wise,

Which if held before the eyes

Gave him counsel at a glance

Fit for every change and chance.

Solem words, and these are they:

"Even this shall pass away."

By Theodore Tilton in The King's Ring. 

Mother Theresa said: "This too shall pass!"

So, in "flying time" all ills are healed.

I have always kept that in my mind and when I was having 10 degree pain in my legs because of the "Vaughan Curse," I kept my spirits up, knowing that "this too shall pass."  And it did, as you can see by looking at my "movie star legs."  No, not Betty Grable style.

(This reminds me of an Alan Misch joke which I am about to screw up.

"Mrs. Klopfman, why do you look so sickly?"

"Oy! It's because of the "Klopfman Curse!"

"What is the "Klopfman Curse?"

"Mr. Klopfman!")

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