Classic Musical Comedy Production Number of the Month - September 2017

Woot woot.  A five Saturday month.   This gives us a chance to enjoy a great production number from a movie or stage musical.  The great washroom scene with Robert Morse from "How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying."

Dinner last night:   Had a big breakfast and lunch so nothing really.

In The Name of Health Care

Dinner last night:  Leftover tortellini.

Len's Recipe of the Month - September 2017

Here's another gem I tried from the Valerie Bertinelli kitchen and it's so damn good.   Candied bacon!   Okay, it's probably not the healthiest snack or party appetizer.   Hey, you want quinoa?   Go over to the house of that bohemian friend who shops at Whole Foods.   For those who don't give a shit, read on.

Preheat your oven to about 325.

Take four thick slices of bacon and cut them into quarters.  In a separate bowl, blend together 1/4 cup of sriracha sauce and a 1/4 cup of brown sugar.   Add the bacon to the bowl and coat each slice thoroughly.

Lay a piece of aluminum foil across a cookie sheet and place a rack on top of it. Spray the rack with a non-stick spray.   Then lay the bacon across the rack. Miss Valerie calls for it to back for 45 minutes but mine was crisping up at the 35 minute mark.   Just watch it carefully.

Remove and let cool.   Valerie's recipe calls for a sesame seed sprinkle.   I didn't have any and I really didn't miss it.

This is sweet and spicy and made of pork fat.  Enjoy!!!!  

Dinner last night:  BLT sandwich at Cafe 50s.

This Date in History - September 27

Happy birthday to Shaun Cassidy.  Here he is back in the day.  I have two degrees of separation from him.   Connection revealed later.

1540:  THE SOCIETY OF JESUITS RECEIVES ITS CHARTER FROM POPE PAUL III.

Which way to Fordham Road?

1590:  POPE URBAN VII DIES 13 DAYS AFTER BEING CHOSEN AS THE POPE, MAKING HIS REIGN THE SHORTEST PAPACY IN HISTORY.

Probably even before he got his new ring delivered.

1669:  THE VENETIANS SURRENDER THE FORTRESS OF CANDIA TO THE OTTOMANS.

House fixtures vs. furniture.

1722:  POLITICIAN SAMUEL ADAMS IS BORN.

Love his beer.

1777:  THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION - BECAUSE PHILADELPHIA IS EVACUATED DUE TO ONCOMING BRITISH FORCES, LANCASTER, PENNSYLVANIA TEMPORARILY BECOMES THE CAPITAL OF THE US.

Now it's the pretzel capital of the US.

1822:  JEAN-FRANCOIS CHAMPOLLION ANNOUNCES THAT HE HAS DECIPHERED THE ROSETTA STONE.

Is that what they're selling on the infomercial?

1854:  THE STEAMSHIP SS ARCTIC SINKS WITH 300 PEOPLE ON BOARD, THE FIRST GREAT DISASTER IN THE ATLANTIC OCEAN.

More to come.  You see that iceberg over there?

1905:  THE PHYSICS JOURNAL ANNALEN DER PHYSIK RECEIVED ALBERT EINSTEIN'S PAPER "DOES THE INERTIA OF A BODY DEPEND UPON ITS ENERGY CONTENT?" AND INTRODUCES THE EQUATION E=MC2.

I got an A in Physics senior year and I remember none of this.

1908:  THE FIRST PRODUCTION OF THE FORD MODEL T AUTO IS STARTED IN DETROIT.

Bluetooth not yet available.

1919:  TV STAR JAYNE MEADOWS IS BORN.

My grandmother hated her laugh.

1928:  THE REPUBLIC OF CHINA IS RECOGNIZED BY THE US.

"We be there twenty minute."

1930:  BOBBY JONES WINS THE US AMATEUR CHAMPIONSHIP TO COMPLETE THE GRAND SLAM OF GOLF.

Not to be confused with the guy who pitched for the Mets in the late 90s.

1933:  ACTOR GREG MORRIS IS BORN.

Mission possible.

1949:  THE FIRST SESSION OF THE NATIONAL PEOPLE'S CONGRESS APPROVES THE DESIGN OF THE FLAG OF THE PEOPLE'S REPUBLIC OF CHINA.

"Sorry.  We be there thirty minute."

1954:  THE NATIONWIDE DEBUT OF THE TONIGHT SHOW STARRING STEVE ALLEN.

And more to come.

1958:  ACTOR/PRODUCER SHAUN CASSIDY IS BORN.

He's the brother-in-law of the owner of the condo I rent.

1962:  RACHEL CARSON'S BOOK "SILENT SPRING" IS PUBLISHED, INSPIRING THE CREATION OF THE US ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY.

I did a book report on this at some point in my school career.

1965:  ACTRESS CLARA BOW DIES.

Untied.

1968:  THE STAGE MUSICAL "HAIR" OPENS IN LONDON.

This is the dawning of the Age of Aquarius.

1983:  RICHARD STALLMAN ANNOUNCES THE GNU PROJECT TO DEVELOP A FREE UNIX-LIKE OPERATION SYSTEM.

No clue what this means.   Call IT.

1988:  THE NATIONAL LEAGUE FOR DEMOCRACY IS FORMED TO FIGHT AGAINST DICTATORSHIP IN MYANMAR.

And I assume...no DH?

1998:  THE GOOGLE INTERNET SEARCH ENGINE CLAIMS THIS AS ITS BIRTHDAY.

I am going to Google to see if this is correct.

2003:  ACTOR DONALD O'CONNOR DIES.

You did make 'em laugh.

Dinner last night:  Spinach tortellini.

I Saw It

It is the last movie you would expect me to see.  Literally.  But, as I don't scare easily at the sight of clowns and red balloons, I headed to the cineplex.   The attraction for me was to investigate the reason for the big box office.  And I was intrigued by one of the screen shots that made this look like an Our Gang adventure.

Well, re: the latter, hardly.

Now the last time I read a Stephen King book was 150 years ago.   It might have been the one with the killer dog.  Or the killer cat.  Or the killer gerbil.  I forget. Well, this one is about a killer clown and my mind takes me back to my mother's collection of figurines which I still have in my New York apartment some place.

Clowns, clowns, and more clowns.

I'm not bothered by them but a lot of people are.  And, hence, this is why the movie based on the book probably works so well.   There is an embedded fear in lots of folks already.   The cinematic images have less work to do in bringing along the horror and the fear.

Whereas a promotional photo for me invoked memories of Buckwheat and Porky in the haunted house, the real comparison for It would be the the Netflix series "Stranger Things."  In a lot of ways, It is a complete copy of that plot.   Kids in a small town start disappearing.  You apparently can't trust the adults. And a rainbow collection of moppets that include all races, sizes, and shapes. There's a stutterer.  There's a Black kid.  There's a Jewish kid.  There's a fat kid. There's a girl.  There's an asthmatic kid.  If they somehow managed to work in a transgendering kid, this would also turn into a segment of the Rachel Maddow Show.

Like "Stranger Things," It is set in the 80s as the current crop of filmmakers honors their big-haired youth.  Derry, Maine has some sort of convoluted history of a children's home exploding at the turn of the century.  For some reason, the clown behind it all returns every 27 or so years to replenish his dead kid collection.  

Oddly, this turns out to be a lot of fun.   The no-name kids are an engaging and funny bunch.   The no-name adults are appropriately sinister.   And the clown is scary the first 35 times he pops up.  That's the ultimate problem with It.  The clown must have killed the film editor in the first reel, because It comes in at a completely ludicrous running time of 135 minutes.  Heck, whenever Abbott and Costello wound up in a haunted mansion with Bela Lugosi, they managed to get out in about one hours and ten minutes.  To say that It is way too long might actually be an understatement.

As a result of the elongated length, you are no longer scared when the clown pops up for the 187th time.  For the first 90 minutes, It works like a charm.   But, like most things coming out of Hollywood these days, nobody knows how to leave well enough alone.  The last 45 minutes seem hopelessly redundant and yawn-inducing.

It had me.  And then It didn't.

LEN'S RATING:  Two-and-a-half stars.

Dinner last night:  The pre-game buffet at the Dodger Dugout Club.

Monday Morning Video Laugh - September 25, 2017

A few years back, there were some marvelous short videos made by a couple of guys called the Punchy Players.   Here is my absolute favorite.

Dinner last night:  Steak and pan roasted tomatoes.

The Sunday Memory Drawer - Dummies on Parade

No, this is not a commentary on Washington, DC.   Oh, well, it could be.   But we're going in another direction here.

I'm not somebody who watches "America's Got Talent," but I will confess to tuning in whenever I see the season finale is advertised.   I am naturally curious to see just who in America has got talent.   Now, I popped into the other night and saw a little girl ventriloquist win the big prize.   It seems like every time I watch the season finale of "America's Got Talent" a ventriloquist grabs the top prize.   That is actually refreshing as opposed to some over-the-top singer making a mess of an old Beatles ballad.

I saw nothing of this little kid's act, but the sight of her standing with her arm up the back of some rabbit flashed me back to my younger days.   When an only child had to make his own fun all by himself.

And my big friend in the house was Jerry Mahoney.   That's not my puppet above.   The Jerry I had is long gone.   Well, sort of.   His head stills rests on a shelf in my New York apartment, hopefully to scare off burglars.  But the photo is pretty much what I had around the age of six or seven.

Jerry was a Christmas gift one year and probably my most prized ever.   Now this is not to say that my parents were envisioning me to be a gifted voice thrower.   Oh, don't get me wrong.   I did try that to some small success.   I would try out "my act" on the kids up the block, who were the supreme critics.

"I can see your mouth moving."

Yeah, well, okay.  It's not like I'm charging you an entertainment fee here.

For about a year or so, Jerry Mahoney and I were inseparable.   Effectively, he was the little brother I never had.   And, as I laid out sitcom sets in my basement, Jerry was the co-star of most of my "episodes."

I literally dragged him around wherever I went.   Which is the very reason why, one day, Jerry's arm horrifically popped off.  This naturally prompted the usual comment from Mom and Dad.

"You're too damn rough with your things."

No worries as long as my grandmother was around downstairs.   She could sew anything and usually did.   Jerry entered her hospital downstairs.   She closed the door to the kitchen.

"Don't come in.  He's having surgery."

Indeed, Doctor Grandma worked her magic and Jerry was soon on the mend. But, as what happens to most favorite toys of a child, I lost interest fast.  Years later, when I found him in an old toy box when I was moving to my first adult apartment, his head had detached from his dusty body.   For some reason, I kept it.

The calendar pages fly off and take us to a Christmas about ten years ago in Los Angeles.  Back in the day when my friends on the West Coast lavished each other with many Yuletide gifts until we eventually arrive at the point where we run out of clever presents to buy.  I had mentioned off-hand to one chum that I had a Jerry Mahoney dummy...um, ventriloquial figure...and that it had been a cherished Christmas gift.

That prompted her to buy me a Howdy Dowdy dummy as a gag.   Actually, my roommate and I got a lot of mileage out of it.   We would take turns scaring the other one each morning by putting Howdy in a myriad of odd situations.

Hanging from the ceiling fan.

Sitting in the refrigerator.

Duct taped to the dining room chair with a gag in his mouth.

Yes, we were bored comedy writers.
Since Howdy was so well received, my friend presented next Christmas a Charlie McCarthy dummy.   And, the next Christmas, in a cry for diversity in our apartment, we wound up with Lester of Willie Tyler fame.

They still sit on a cubbyhole in my new apartment and they come out together to greet guests every Christmas.

Yes, there are three dummies in my apartment.  Four really, if you count me.

Dinner last night:  Hot dog at Shake Shack.

Classic Movie Trailer of the Month - September 2017

This was in theaters fifty years ago this month.  Great flick.

Dinner last night:  French toast and sausage at the Dodger game!

Your Weekend Movie Guide for September 2017

Sixty years ago this month, "The Pajama Game" was the big attraction at the beloved Radio City Music Hall or, as it is called, "the ideal place for the best show on screen and stage."

Amen.

Meanwhile, back in 2017, what junk can we find at our local movie houses?   Well, you know the monthly drill, sports fans.   I'll glance through the entertainment pages of the Los Angeles Times and give you my gut reaction to what Hollywood is turning out for us this month.

Probably a good time to put on those pajamas and go to bed.

It:   Not.

Home Again:   Reese Witherspoon stars in a romcom that I hear is cute.   From all women, of course.

American Assassin:   I was in a theater last week and they had no room for the whole title so it simply said "American Ass."   Now that I would see.

Mother!:  I hear this is one of the worst reviewed movies in film history.   That's saying a lot when you consider it's not as good as "Beach Blanket Bingo."

The Nut Job 2 - Nutty by Nature:   No, this is not a documentary about the guy running Korea.

The Hitman's Bodyguard:   Samuel L. Jackson is in it which no theaters running it will have any air.

Leap:  Best friends Félicie and Victor hatch a plan to escape from their rural orphanage in 19th-century France.  This is an animated feature and clearly a far cry from the Road Runner dropping an anvil on Wile E. Coyote.

The Emoji Movie:  😒.

Annabelle - Creation:   No clue.

Brad's Status:   Reviewed here this week.   Try it.   Might be the best movie out there right now.

First They Killed My Father:   Waiting for the sequel "Then They Raped My Cat."

Tulip Fever:   I've been taking pills.   I won't catch this.

Wind River:   Murder amongst Native Americans.   I hear good buzz.   A Len maybe.

Logan Lucky:   A heist movie directed by Stephen Soderbergh which sounds promising and it stars Channing Tatum which sounds unpromising.

The Big Sick:   You still haven't seen what I think might be one of my favorite movies so far this year???

Battle of the Sexes:   In theaters this weekend.   Emma Stone as Billie Jean King and Steve Carell as Bobby Riggs.   Spoiler alert...she wins.

Big Bear:  A bachelor party gone wrong.   Don't they all?

Boston:  A documentary about the bombing at the 2013 Boston Marathon. Another documentary on my list.

Stronger:  Jake Gyllenhaal as a man severely injured in the 2013 Boston Marathon bombing.   I see a pattern.

Shot:  A man is accidentally shot by the teenager next store.  Law suit!!!

Scareycrows:  Somebody's friends start to disappear one by one.   I love the concept.

The Lego Ninjago Movie:  You lost me at Lego.

Kingsman - The Golden Circle:   I see billboards all over town.   That still doesn't tell me what this is all about.

Woodshock:  Don't read that too fast.   It's not the concert.

Welcome to Willits:   Campers are tormented by mysterious creatures.  Some people would call them mosquitoes.

Victoria and Abdul:   Judi Dench as the Queen of England meets  an American Idol former judge?

Friend Request:  Deleted.

Last Rampage:  Escaped prisoners terrorize 1978 Arizona.   As opposed to what is terrorizing 2017 Arizona.

Slipaway:  An elderly lady with a sailboat.   Sometimes just writing the logline is enough.

Happy Hunting:  A drunk preys on drifters in a small town.   If you insist.

Dinner last night:  Hot dog at Pink's.

Brad's Status: It's Complicated

If you were looking for a movie to see last weekend, good luck trying to find a screen that wasn't showing "Mother!" or "It."   Well, nestled into your multiplex was also "Brad's Status" and it's a worthy alternative to the other mayhem next door.   Nobody dies or gets blown up or CGI-ed in any fashion.   

Surprise, surprise.   There are people out there who won't get sucked into that. The theater where I saw "Brad's Status" was packed.   And probably not disappointed.

This is an adult movie for adults.   If you're middle aged, even better.   Because the lead character of Brad, played with the suitable mix of pathos and neuroses by the surprising Ben Stiller, resonates with a lot of folks.   Me, for one.

Come on.   If you are over 40, you've compared your life unfavorably to people you grew up or went to college alongside.  You envision how great their existence is and you wonder where the hell you went wrong.  Don't lie.   We've all been there.   I can tell you that I have at least 10 close friends that I am envious of and personally feel that I don't measure up to.  So do you.

So, Brad is just like us.   He's both proud and ashamed of his career in a non-profit organization.   He loves his wife but imagines her as much younger and, well, frankly not her.   To make matters worse, his college chums are all wildly successful...a Wall Street tycoon, a famed film director, and a noted political commentator and author.   In a narration that is virtually non-stop throughout the film, Brad tells us all his emotions, both good and bad.

All of this comes out as Brad is encompassing his high school senior son Troy, well essayed by Austin Abrams, on a tour of New England colleges.   The young man, a gifted pianist, wants to study at Harvard with a noted music professor. Brad is determined to make this happen whether he can afford it or not.   He is trying to set his son up with a great life just as all these doubts are emerging about his own.

This all works magically in scenes where nothing happens but a lot happens. The emotions are all real and instantly identifiable.   If I had a son like Troy, I would be going through the same angst.

"Brad's Status" is a terrific little movie that deserves your attention.   Especially if you have no interest in seeing things like "Mother!" and "It."

Enjoy.   And you're welcome.

LEN'S RATING:  Three-and-a-half stars.

Dinner last night:  Angel hair pasta with cherry tomatoes, garlic, onions, and pancetta.

This Date in History - September 20

Happy birthday to Sophia Loren.   Damn, looking good even in her 80s.

622:  MUHAMMAD AND ABU BAKR ARRIVED IN MEDINA.

Is the one guy a baker and that's just a typo?

1187:  SALADIN BEGINS THE SIEGE OF JERUSALEM.

Have gun, will travel.   No, wait.   That's Paladin.

1378:  CARDINAL ROBERT OF GENEVA, CALLED BY SOME "THE BUTCHER OF CESENA" IS ELECTED AS AVIGNON POPE CLEMENT VII.

A bakr, now a butchr.

1519:  FERDINAND MAGELLAN SETS SAIL ON HIS HIS EXPEDITION TO CIRCUMNAVIGATE THE GLOBE.

I hope he has a Magellan with him.

1835:  RAGAMUFFIN REBELS CAPTURE PORTO ALEGRE TO MARK THE START OF THE TEN-YEAR-OLD RAGAMUFFIN WAR.

Ragamuffin was my grandmother's favorite word.   And she called me one many times.

1842:  CHEMIST JAMES DEWAR IS BORN.

Sorry.  Not the one who invented the liquor.
1860:  THE PRINCE OF WALES VISITS THE UNITED STATES.   

Not the one you think.   There's been a whole bunch of Wales Princes.

1863:  AMERICAN CIVIL WAR - THE BATTLE OF CHICKAMAUGA, WHICH IS THE ONLY SIGNIFICANT CONFEDERATE VICTORY IN THE WAR'S WESTERN THEATER.

Big deal, you've captured Chickamauga.

1881:  US PRESIDENT CHESTER ARTHUR IS SWORN IN UPON THE DEATH OF JAMES GARFIELD.

The second US President to be assassinated in the space of two decades.   Gee, don't let this become a habit.

1893:  CHARLES DURYEA AND HIS BROTHER ROAD TEST THE FIRST AMERICAN-MADE GASOLINE-POWERED AUTOMOBILE.

One-half mile to the gallon.

1910:  THE OCEAN LINER SS FRANCE, LATER KNOWN AS THE VERSAILLES OF THE ATLANTIC, IS LAUNCHED.

Didn't all those chandeliers make it sink?

1920:  CARTOONIST JAY WARD IS BORN.  

Father of Rocky and Bullwinkle.   Mother Ward says..."Wanna see me pull a rabbit out of my womb?"

1924:  SINGER GOGI GRANT IS BORN.

The Wayward Wind....

1929:  ACTRESS ANNE MEARA IS BORN.   

Paging Jerry Stiller.

1934:  ACTRESS SOPHIA LOREN IS BORN.

Go back and look at her photo again.  I know you want to.

1941:  HOLOCAUST - FOUR HUNDRED JEWS ARE MURDERED IN LATVIA.

And the horrors begin.

1942:  HOLOCAUST - 3,000 JEWS ARE KILLED IN THE UKRAINE.

And the horrors continue.
1946:  THE FIRST CANNES FILM FESTIVAL IS HELD.

They wanted to start it in 1939 but, you know, with the holocaust going on and all...

1947:  MAYOR FIORELLO LA GUARDIA DIES.

The inventor of the congested airport.

1962:  JAMES MEREDITH, AN AFRICAN AMERICAN, IS TEMPORARILY BARRED FROM ENTERING THE UNIVERSITY OF MISSISSIPPI.

Will somebody please give him the homework assignment?

1969:  BOB MOOSE OF THE PITTSBURGH PIRATES THROWS A NO-HITTER AGAINST THE NEW YORK METS AT SHEA STADIUM.

I know.  I was there with my father.

1973:  SINGER JIM CROCE DIES.

That bottle had no time in it.

1973:  BILLIE JEAN KING BEATS BOBBY RIGGS IN THE BATTLE OF THE SEXES IN THE ASTRODOME.

There couldn't have been two uglier tennis players.

1982:  THE NATIONAL FOOTBALL LEAGUE PLAYERS BEGIN A 57 DAY STRIKE.

If you had two months in the pool, you lost.

1994:  COMPOSER JULE STYNE DIES.

Now, everything's coming up roses on Jule's grave.

2001:  IN AN ADDRESS TO THE AMERICAN PEOPLE, US PRESIDENT GEORGE W. BUSH DECLARES A WAR ON TERROR.

Sixteen years later, we're still losing.

2005:  HOLOCAUST SURVIVOR SIMON WIESENTHAL DIES.

Thank goodness he wasn't in the Ukraine or Latvia.

2011:  THE US MILITARY ENDS ITS "DON'T ASK, DON'T TELL" POLICY REGARDING GAYS IN THE MILITARY.

GI Joe, it's safe to come out of the closet, you anatomically correct thing, you.

2014:  SINGER POLLY BERGEN DIES.

My grandmother thought she was a show off.   But not a ragamuffin.   That was still me.

2015:  ACTOR JACK LARSON DIES.

Jimmy Olsen of TV's Superman.

2016:  DIRECTOR CURTIS HANSON DIES.

I once saw him in person interviewing Shirley MacLaine.

Dinner last night:  Went to a screening so nothing really.

The Emmy Awards at Hyper Speed

I used to love to watch the Emmys.   That was back in the day when I watched a lot more television than I do now.  Since I'm now spending more time revisiting old classics on Hulu, I secretly hope that this year's awards were cleaned up by the likes of the Mary Tyler Moore Show, Frasier, and the Golden Girls.   Oh, wait, they won a lot of Emmys back in the day?   Well, it would be fun to relive those moments.

So, long story short, I had zero interest in this year's Emmy telecast.   I knew it would be heavy on the political commentary and, frankly, I don't like my leisure time infiltrated with a lot of preaching.   Given that the grossly unfunny Stephen Colbert was hosting, I knew this would be a tough watch.   Plus the Dodgers were playing on ESPN's Sunday Night Baseball.   Easy choice.   So I did the Dodgers live and taped the Emmys.   The fast forward button would be my friend.

And, boy oh boy, it sure was.  Once the Dodgers were out of the game, I clicked on the Emmys to start and pointed my remote control at the TV like an FBI agent on a stakeout.

Okay, Stephen Colbert's monologue.   I didn't hear a single word and I sped by so fast that I didn't even know that Sean Spicer made a cameo appearance till the next morning.

Pointless banter between presenters?   Fast forward.

An Emmy to a supporting actress in a drama I never heard of.   Fast forward.  

Acceptance speech by some actor in a comedy I never heard of.   "I am so thankful for everybody that was on this journey with me."   Okay, it was an acting gig.  You were not lost in the Congo for days.  Fast forward.

In between my zipping around the Emmys, I fell victim to the guy who was doing the announcing of the whole evening.   The asshole is pictured above. He's Jermaine Fowler on CBS' Superior Donuts and...that's right...I have never watched it.  As winners mounted the stage to get their gold, Fowler was screaming into the microphone some ad libbed and terribly unfunny factoids about the award.   How the hell did this happen?   He sounded like the newest clerk at Walmart trying to get a price check over the loudspeaker.

Now I slowed down my fast forwarding to hear just how bad this clown was.   And began to wonder what he was doing there.

Oh, wait.   CBS had been hit with some charges of not having that much diversity in their prime time fare.  So, this is how they get out from under that rock.  By having some dope hijack TV's biggest night with inane stupidity.   I hit the fast forward button again as I contemplated our country's slippage down the rabbit hole just a little further.

The only other part of the evening that I watched was the usual "In Memoriam" segment to TV folks who have died in the last year.   Again, they semi-ruined this as the tendency now is to have some half-baked singer do their American Idol audition behind the scroll of dead people.   Yawn.

I have no recollection of who won or who said what or who made a fool of him or herself.   But I watched the Emmys.

In 26 minutes!  Not my personal best.   But I will try harder next year.

Dinner last night:  Leftover sausage and peppers.

Monday Morning Video Laugh - September 18, 2017

Yet the other host on QVC keeps on selling.

Dinner last night:  Sausage, peppers, onions, and tomatoes.

The Sunday Memory Drawer - Hurricanes I Remember

The recent devastation of Harvey and Irma (the hurricanes not that cute old couple who got some press with those names) had me glued to the television set recently.   Truly train wrecks you could not look away from.   The Irma visit to Florida hit me a little bit closer to home as I have cousins near Tampa and a couple of friends scattered around the rest of the state.  I made sure to check in on them.

One friend is newly retired to the Sunshine State from New York and I called her both before and after the hurricane hit.  Having gone through all sorts of weather disasters up in New Jersey, she simply put that mentality of grit and determination to work in her new surroundings.   When I spoke to her after the power came back on, I noted that she seemed to profess this odd enjoyment of the whole event.   It might have been different if her roof had blown off or her car had floated out to the Atlantic.   But neither happened and she, in her own way, had been entertained by it all.

Now, when you live in New York, it is rare to get a hurricane that far up.  Of course, the recent Sandy storm was horrific and lots of people are still dealing with that several years later.   But, for the most part, you're safe from hurricanes in the Big Apple.

But I do remember two of them.   One I think was named Donna and that one was noteworthy because it showed up on the very first day I ever went to school.  Back in that day, you didn't have all that social media to drive up the angst several days before.   Essentially, you heard a hurricane was coming and you dealt with it.

I had started kindergarten and, when we heard that Donna was almost there, school was dismissed.   On this day, it was my grandfather who drove the five blocks to come and pick me up.   I will never forget to this day how he stared out through the windshield and watched the first ravages of the wind.

"I guess we're really going to see a hurricane."

Our house on South Fifteenth Avenue in Mount Vernon would see it in a big way.   Overnight, as the rain pellets on the window lulled us to sleep, there was suddenly a loud crash that woke everybody up.   My father peeked out the upstairs window.

"Well, that big tree we wanted to remove in the yard is gone."

It had fallen over quite conveniently on a power line, which left us with no electricity.   And, gasp for me...no cartoons.

Probably one of the first days in my  life where I had to tough it ou.

The only other NY hurricane I remember might have been called Belle and it was predicted to hit landfall on Long Island around 10PM one night.   This was years after my kindergarten premiere that was rained out.   On the date of Belle, I was much older and had hot theater tickets with a slightly warmer date.  
These days, Broadway is very sympathetic to weather and will cancel all performances due to extreme climate.   Not so back then.   It was strictly " no exchanges and no refunds."  

All day long, I stayed close to the weather reports.   Landfall would be happening just as the third act would be starting.   Is this any way to take a date home from a Neil Simon comedy?   I thought of her safety.   More importantly, I thought of my own.   And I thought about the 75 bucks I had shelled out for these hard-to-get ducats.  (Yes, 75 dollars for two and that was a top price for a hot show).   

I finally aired on the side of caution.   Radio stations were telling everybody to stay home and definitely off the roads.   Ah, that would be and should be me.   Surely, the theater would revisit their policy on this the most disastrous of evenings.

I called the theater box office the next day to find out my next steps.

"No refunds.   Our actors were here.   Where were you?"

Home.  

Safe.

And I hope everybody in Texas and Florida gets back to their normal lives really soon.

Dinner last night:  Bacon cheeseburger at the Arclight.