Len's Recipe of the Month - April 2019

As we approach summer, certain vegetables and fruits come into season.  And one of the most succulent will be those tiny grape tomatoes.  Usually, you can get them year round, but the most tasty variety comes from the ground in August.  

That said, I have a delectable way to serve them that highlights all their wonderful flavors.   A fantastic side dish to steak or beef.  And so darn easy to make.

Preheat your oven to 325 degrees.

Get yourself a pint of these grape tomatoes.   In a small bowl, mix them with some olive oil, a pinch or two of thyme, a little basil, and a tablespoon of kosher salt.   

Take the mixture and lay it out on a baking tray.  That's it.   Put the tray into the oven for 15 to 20 minutes.   Watch all the tomatoes burst open.  And then enjoy.

See, I told you it was easy.

Dinner last night:  Italian sausage and rosemary roasted potatoes.

Monday Morning Video Laugh - April 29, 2019

Hang in there.  It's worth the wait.

Dinner last night:  Grilled bratwurst, German potato salad, and pan roasted cherry tomatoes.

The Sunday Memory Drawer - English as a Fifth Language

These days, it might not even be coming in that high.   

I know, I know.   The subject of immigration in this country is a hot button these days.  Well, here's one person's perspective.  Mine.

I had a totally surreal experience several months ago.  I had taken in a matinee at the Century City shopping mall three blocks from my house.  I walked out of the theater.  The sun was bright.  The breeze was warm.

And, for about thirty seconds, I didn't know what country I was in.

Somehow, in the course of one two-hour movie and about three dozen trailers, I had been transported to another spot on the globe.  Where was I?

All around me, I heard no English. 

I was surrounded by words that meant nothing to me.  Persian.  Spanish.  Chinese.  Japanese.  Indian.

How do you say "help" in either Persian, Spanish, Chinese, Japanese, or Indian?

I went over to the new Macy's in the same mall.  I needed socks.  You would think that's an easy purchase.  Not so much.  Every single sales clerk I encountered did not speak English as a first language.

My sensation is undoubtedly no different than one you might have shared in your own metropolitan neighborhood.  Territory you once enjoyed that you now share with strangers from a foreign land.  At least, on a phone, you can press a digit for English.  How do you manage that in public?  Is there a switch that we can flip so we're all on the same page?  Or tongue?

Now, there might be one or two of you out there who might counter...

"But, Len, this is a country that was based on immigration.  Look at the photo on your own blog today."

I am looking at it.  And I will still argue that what was then is not now.  

The folks "off the boat" in that snapshot of Ellis Island from the early 1900s are coming from Europe.  Italians.  Germans.  Irish.  Poles.  Jews.  My grandparents.  Your grandparents.  The grandparents next door.  All of them searching for a better life.  A better place to live.   A better place to work hard.  A better place to own property where your family might get a better shot in this world.

Can you say that today?

The folks above came in with European values entrenched in their souls.  The love of family.  The love of land.  The love of the opportunity to get a job and earn a living.

Can you say that today?

Over time, there has been an attrition of values.  The immigration of the first fifty years of the twentieth century certainly was not the immigration of the second half of the twentieth century.  The folks coming in over the last several decades are not from Europe.  They're not here to become Americans.  They're here to be citizens from their own country who just happen to live in America.  And God forbid anyone suggest the slight bit of assimilation to these folks.

This is nothing new.   The situation has been brewing ever since we went Y2K.

At that time after 9/11, you will remember that whole "weapons of mass destruction" debate.  Well, my pastor inexplicably turned over one Sunday service to an Islamic community leader who wanted to share her thoughts on what life was like for her people "over there."

After fifteen minutes, I was appalled.  Not at her description of living conditions in the Middle East, but of her view of the very country she was standing in at that very moment.  She took her allotted time to chide the United States for its disdain of "weapons of mass destruction."

"After all, the United States has them.  And this country is the one who has used them in the past."

What???????????   You bitch-and-a-half.

I was kind that day.  I said nothing. 

Not so today.

This woman represented to me everything that's wrong with America's open door policy.  She's scolding the very nation that has accepted her ass with a warm embrace.

Of course, this dumb broad has zero perspective when it comes to American history.  Yes, we used the atomic bomb.  In fact, most of the world was looking for us to settle that World War once and for all.  It was essential to the freedom of so many nations far and wide.

I'm thinking that, if we don't use that weapon, she might not even get a sniff of American soil.  She'd be stuck in her homeland.  She'd be one of a dozen wives to some guy who may or may not hit her with the butt of his rifle.  Who knows?  She might not have even lived to experience her first menstrual cycle.

Tough words?  You bet your boots.  Especially when, as this slob drove off that day, I noticed she was behind the wheel of a Mercedes.

Yeah, America did suck for you, didn't it?

Folks, this is what our latest edition of multi-culturalism is failing.  The reasons for being here now are very different than the reasons why my family and your family landed on red, white, and blue terra firma.  Yes, this is now the United States of Handouts.  Give us your tired, your poor, and your outstretched hands.

I think of my own grandparents.  Coming from a very poor farm country in Germany.  I am sure they didn't know English.  But they must have learned because my grandfather had a variety of jobs from bartender to milk bottling.  And, they certainly were part of America when they had four sons in World War II with one not coming back at all.

I think of my family's friends.  I heard a lot of accents, but English accompanied all of them.  I think of my childhood best friend not even born in this country.  He's an American through and through.  His mother still speaks with an Italian accent but she has assimilated in all things United States.

Somewhere along the way, it stopped being about one big melting pot.  Now it's a lot of little pots on one huge stove and the end result is that the kitchen is a complete mess.

In its stead, we make a call to customer service and no longer can understand the person on the other end of the phone.  We ask for directions from somebody working in a gas station and they shrug with a confused look.  Yeah, I got it.  You don't speak English.  You really could if you wanted to.

But, nobody does.  Because there is no need to.  Certainly the lowest point of this country's once storied history.

It's over, gang.  In any language.  This is why I have to dig really deep into the Sunday Memory Drawer to find a really pleasant one.

Dinner last night:  Oddly enough, I have no idea what I had for dinner but it was a Mexican feast at Babita Mexicuisine.

Classic Movie Trailer of the Month - April 2019

One of the most charming movies ever and I can't believe it was released forty years ago this month.

Dinner last night: Tagliatelle in meat sauce at Cafe Modena.

The Leftover Photo Roll From Easter

Somebody's Easter outfit didn't come out of the dryer in time.

 Where's the string you pull to make it talk?

 Oddly enough, Mom was still dressed like this in August.

 
 These two have been working on this puzzle for six years.

 With Easter over, they anxiously await the Indy 500.

 Kleenex!!!!

 Ate one too many Peeps.

 She's not happy that Mom and Dad used that fertility drug.

 A parakeet's last Easter.

It's always so economical when you can wear your dog's clothes.

 I hear you, sister.

May the carrots be with you.

Dinner last night:  Sandwich and salad.

My Yearlong Best Picture Oscar Experiment - Part 2

Regular readers will know that I have previously written about an Oscar experiment I have set out to do in the calendar year 2019.  Yep, regardless of whether I have seen them before or not, I will set out to watch every single Best Picture winner.  That's 91 films in total.   I am not doing this in any order.   But, every two months or so, I will update you on how I am doing.   So, back in early March, I told you about the first 28 movies I saw.   Here goes with the next batch.

29.  Gentleman's Agreement (1947):  After the long siege of WWII, Hollywood decides to tackle heavier topics and anti-Semitism is a good place to start.  Gregory Peck poses as a Jew.   The scene where he tries to get a room in an exclusive hotel is a classic.

30.  All The King's Men (1949):  The heavy-handedness of Hollywood post WWII continues with this veiled look at a politician that resembles Huey Long.  An interesting sidelight.  The first time I saw this movie was in 12th grade English.   Except they showed it over the course of a week for a half-hour at a time.   Not the way to see a Best Picture.

31.  Ordinary People (1980):  I have always loved this movie about a family quietly dealing with grief.   Redford can direct.   Mary Tyler Moore can act.  And Timothy Hutton, after winning an Oscar for this, never really topped this performance.

32.  Birdman (2014):  After my recent viewing, I am still waiting for somebody to explain it to me.

33.  The Departed (2006):  Scorsese is finally rewarded.   This grim "bad cop" saga is the pinnacle of the director's career and worthy of the recognition.

34.  Moonlight (2016):  I still believe that the snafu over reading the wrong Oscar result (vs. "LaLa Land') is further validation that the voting system is rigged.   On second viewing, "Moonlight" still doesn't break any new ground.  And, is it me or is the guy playing the main character as an adult one of the worst acting performances ever???

35.  Silence of the Lambs (1991):  A flat-out thriller that usually doesn't get Oscar recognition, but this one did.   Elevated by magnificent performances from Jodie Foster and Anthony Hopkins.  Have a fava bean, please.

36.  An American in Paris (1951):  I'm usually a sucker for a good MGM musical, but this one might be my least favorite.   There's really no plot and, frankly, the last half-hour which is nothing but a Gene Kelly ballet is...well...dull.

37.  Out of Africa (1985):  The first time I saw it, I fell asleep in the theater.  This time, in 2019, I was lucky.  The sofa was much more comfortable.   Yawn.

More to come.

Dinner last night:  Chopped salad.

This Date in History - April 24

Happy birthday, Shirley McLaine.  It's also Barbra Streisand's birthday but I like you more so it's your photo I use.

1479 BC:   THUTMOSE III ASCENDS TO THE THRONE OF EGYPT, ALTHOUGH POWER EFFECTIVELY SHIFTS TO HATSHEPSUT.

Is it me or do these sound like cartoon characters?

1184 BC:  TRADITIONAL DATE FOR THE FALL OF TROY.

And the untraditional date is?

1342:  POPE BENEDICT XII DIES.

Dies.  This one didn't quit.

1558:  MARY, QUEEN OF SCOTS, MARRIES THE DAUPHIN OF FRANCE, FRANCOIS, AT NOTRE DAME DE PARIS.

She married Flipper???  Oh, wait, I read that wrong.

1704:  THE FIRST REGULAR NEWSPAPER IN THE UNITED STATES, THE NEWS-LETTER, IS PUBLISHED IN BOSTON.

And immediately trashed the Red Sox.

1800:  THE UNITED STATES LIBRARY OF CONGRESS IS ESTABLISHED WHEN PRESIDENT JOHN ADAMS SIGNS LEGISLATION TO APPROPRIATE $5,000 TO PURCHASE BOOKS.

So what else would you put in a library?  Hammers?

1885:  SHARPSHOOTER ANNIE OAKLEY WAS HIRED BY NATE SALSBURY TO BE A PART OF BUFFALO BILL'S WILD WEST SHOW.

You can't get a woman without a gun.

1907:  HERSHEYPARK, FOUNDED BY MILTON S. HERSHEY FOR THE EXCLUSIVE USE OF HIS EMPLOYEES, IS OPENED.

Until he figured out how much dough he could make by going outside the company.

1913:  THE WOOLWORTH SKYSCRAPER IN NEW YORK CITY IS OPENED.

They nickeled and dimed the construction costs.

1914:  MOVIE PRODUCER WILLIAM CASTLE IS BORN.

Scream.  Scream as loud as you can!!!

1914:  COOK JUSTIN WILSON IS BORN.

I guarantee.

1915:  THE ARREST OF 250 ARMENIAN INTELLECTUALS AND COMMUNITY LEADERS IN ISTANBUL MARKS THE BEGINNING OF THE ARMENIAN GENOCIDE.

There goes Glendale, California.

1916:  ERNEST SHACKLETON AND FIVE MEN OF THE IMPERIAL TRANS-ANTARCTIC EXPEDITION LAUNCH A LIFEBOAT FROM UNINHABITED ELEPHANT ISLAND IN THE SOUTHERN OCEAN TO ORGANIZE A RESCUE FOR THE ICE-TRAPPED SHIP ENDURANCE.

Long historical sentences like that don't necessarily prompt a funny joke.

1926:  THE TREATY OF BERLIN IS SIGNED.  GERMANY AND THE SOVIET UNION EACH PLEDGE NEUTRALITY IN THE EVENT OF AN ATTACK ON THE OTHER BY A THIRD PARTY FOR THE NEXT FIVE YEARS.

But, after those five years, watch the hell out.

1933:  NAZI GERMANY BEGINS ITS PERSECUTION OF JEHOVAH'S WITNESSES.

Somebody must have rang Hitler's doorbell on a Sunday afternoon.

1934:  ACTRESS SHIRLEY MCLAINE IS BORN.

For the seventh time.

1940:  AUTHOR SUE GRAFTON IS BORN.

B as in Birthday.

1942:  ACTRESS BARBRA STREISAND IS BORN.

See, Babs, what happens when you're a big mouth.  You don't get your picture on the top of my blog when it's your birthday.

1953:  WINSTON CHURCHILL IS KNIGHTED BY QUEEN ELIZABETH II.

As if she has anything else to do in a given day.

1957:  THE SUEZ CANAL IS REOPENED FOLLOWING THE INTRODUCTION OF PEACEKEEPERS TO THE REGION.

Has there ever been a day of peace in this region????

1967:  COSMONAUT VLADIMIR KOMAROV DIES IN SOYUZ I WHEN ITS PARACHUTE FALLS TO OPEN.  HE IS THE FIRST HUMAN TO DUE DURING A SPACE MISSION.

If it's me, I'm not looking to get on Soyuz II.

1967:  DURING THE VIETNAM AR, AMERICAN GENERAL WILLIAM WESTMORELAND SAYS THAT THE ENEMY HAD GAINED SUPPORT IN THE US THAT GIVES HIM THAT HE CAN WIN POLITICALLY THAT WHICH HE CANNOT WIN MILITARILY.

And the entire country says "huh."

1974:  COMEDIAN BUD ABBOTT DIES.

Nobody's on first.

1980:  EIGHT US SERVICEMEN DIE IN OPERATION EAGLE CLAW AS THEY ATTEMPT TO END THE IRAN HOSTAGE CRISIS.

Should have had the folks from Argo in charge.

1986:  SOCIALITE WALLIS SIMPSON DIES.

Wife of King Edward VIII and grandmother of Homer I.

1990:  GRUINARD ISLAND, SCOTLAND, IS OFFICIALLY DECLARED FREE OF THE ANTHRAX DISEASE AFTER 48 YEARS OF QUARANTINE.

They must have run out of milk and bread years ago.

1996:  IN THE US, THE ANTI-TERRORISM AND EFFECTIVE DEATH PENALTY ACT OF 1996 IS INTRODUCED.

That worked well.

1997:  COMEDIAN PAT PAULSEN DIES.

The only Presidential candidate I could ever get behind.

2004:  BUSINESSWOMAN ESTEE LAUDER DIES.

My mother wore her scents exclusively.  For those of you who care.

2005:  CARDINAL JOSEPHY RATZINGER IS INAUGURATED AS THE 265TH POPE OF THE ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH TAKING THE NAME POPE BENEDICT XVI.

Ratz-singa.  He's the Pope, the Pope with the Midas touch....  BTW, don't get attached to him.

2005:  SNUPPY, THE WORLD'S FIRST CLONED DOG, IS BORN IS SOUTH KOREA.

And promptly cooked for that night's dinner.

Dinner last night:  Leftover steak and vegetables.

My Grandmother Would Be Mad...

...if she only knew what was happening right now to her beloved Kate Smith.

Yes, my grandmother loved Kate Smith back in the day.  And there weren't many singers that she found acceptable.

Well, to enjoy Kate Smith today is now something akin to burning a cross on your front lawn while wearing a white hood.  Thirty-three years after her death, she is officially persona non grata.   A villain.   A horrible person.  A blight on society.

You see, back in the thirties, Miss Smith had the misfortune of recording some records with offensive lyrics.   One tune was something called "Pickaninny Heaven."  It apparently was a big hit on the radio.   Okay, looking at the lyrics, you could pretty much assume they would never be written in 2019.

Little pickaninnies listen to the tale of a place that I know
It's twice as high as the moon
You get there in a balloon

Haven't you been told of the place where the good little pickaninnies go?
I've just been there so I ought to know
Great big watermelons roll around and get in your way
In the pickaninny heaven

Luscious pork chop bushes growin' right outside your doorway
In the pickaninnies' heaven
I've heart that they've even got a Swannee River made of real lemonade
And though the good lord took your mammy
She'll be waiting for you In the pickaninny heaven
Heaven
Heaven

They eat the windows and doors
They eat the ceilings and floors
Every kind of pet from a big teddy bear to a little Mickey Mouse
And old Black Joe is their Santa Claus

I've heart that they've even got a Swannee River made of real lemonade
And though the good lord took your mammy
She'll be waiting for you In the pickaninny heaven
Heaven
Heaven

I get it.  

Plus she also recorded another song that has her legacy now destroyed.  "That's What Darkies Are For."   Forget the fact that this tune was also once sung by the Black Paul Robeson.  Kate Smith did it and now should rest in Hell for the rest of eternity.

So, you can no longer hear her rendition of "God Bless America" at Philadelphia Flyer hockey games, where it was once a good luck charm for the team.   The statue of her outside the hockey arena is now shrouded in black.

The New York Yankees used to play her record of the same song during the seventh inning stretch.  Um, no more.  Effectively, Kate Smith's career is now banned from discussion anywhere.

And our country swirls around the toilet once again.

These days, there is zero tolerance for anything racist, despite the fact that such songs and phrases and films and books are part of the historical fabric of this nation.  Yes, there used to be slavery.  Yes, there used to be segregation.  Sadly.

But we have come a long way in the last 100 years.   But you can't say that what once was never happened in the first place.

Several years ago, we marked the one-hundred-year anniversary of the release of D.W. Griffith's "Birth of a Nation."  This was a hallmark point in the evolution of the motion picture.   It should have received commemorative screenings.   

Nope.  Because it has "questionable" images, the film is shunned.

You may not want to hear this, but I suspect there is a similar future for the great "Gone With The Wind."  When that inevitably happens, our lives will be officially over.  

Kate Smith was probably not a racist.  She lived in a different era and a different time.   What was going on around her, like it or not, is historical fact.  She should not be condemned.

But, you see, there are currently members of our society (some of them in government) who want to change the great historical fabric of our nation.  This will continue up until the point where our history books will be censored and altered for eternity.

Essentially, for lack of a better term...whitewashed.

Yes, my grandmother would be mad.

Dinner last night:  Meat loaf at the R/D Kitchen.

Monday Morning Video Laugh - April 22, 2019

Boy, does this overly politically correct world need Don Rickles now?

Dinner last night:  Beef tri-tip and roasted vegetables.

The Sunday Memory Drawer - My Dad, The Easter Photographer

Some of these photos have run here on a previous Easter Sunday, but they are worth repeating.

These harken back to days of my youth when my father became an amateur photographer.   He had gotten himself an Argus camera.  Top of the line at the time.  And everything he shot was in Technicolor.

Out the camera would come at every family function for about three or four years.  Christmas.  Summer barbecues.  New Year's Eve parties.   Or simply my grandmother's garden in the photo that adorns the top of today's post.

And Easter.  

Of course, my mother could not resist these photo opportunities.  She dressed to the nines.  And, even worse, she dressed me to the nines.  Or, really the fives.  For some bizarre reason, she had this need to dress me like an adult.  Even though I was barely five years ago.

This is precisely why, for a year or two in their teen years, all kids hate their parents.

On this particular Easter several centuries ago, I can try and piece together the day's events.

If I remember correctly, my aunt and uncle belonged to some beach club on City Island.  The French Riviera of the smelly Bronx.  We trooped down there to pose underneath a dingy and dark sky.  Hardly the wonderful embodiment of the Easter celebration.   And, from Dad's photos, nobody looks like they wanted to be there.

Yes, gang, that's my mother and me.  Or a very, very young Bing Crosby.  For Pete's sake, are you freakin' kidding me?  White shoes on me?  It's not even Memorial Day.  A major fashion faux pas that might have scarred me all the way to the tenth grade.

My older cousin Gini also suffers the indignity of posing with me in this outfit.  Looking like Nathan Detroit in an all-dwarf production of "Guys and Dolls."  Meanwhile, Gini's not coming off much better.  Is that the lower tier of a wedding cake on her head?  I love the boats moored at this country club.  I will note at this time that my family didn't even remotely own a boat.

Dad is now trying to get into some stylistic poses with yours truly.  Either that or he's trying to emulate the work of director David Lynch.  This just screams "Twin Peaks."  You'll notice there is a scowl on my face.  Can you blame me?

I look like an old Jew on the Grand Concourse, waiting for the bus to take me to dialysis.  The hat has to go.  The checkered sports jacket has to go.  My self esteem?  Already gone.

Once again, my family poses in front of more boats that we did not own.  My aunt, my uncle, my cousin Gini, and my mother smile and wave at the camera.  At this point, I can only guess that I am hiding on the floor of the back seat of my father's Buick.

Yes, folks, it's Easter when we celebrate that Jesus Christ has risen.  But, why, oh, why, am I the one being crucified?? 

Dinner last night:  Grilled bratwurst, macaroni salad, and pickled beets.

Classic TV Theme Song of the Month - April 2019

And we remember the late Peter Tork.

Dinner last night:  Leftover lasagna.

Your Weekend Movie Guide for April 2019

Ah, the Easter show at Radio City Music Hall.  Remembering the pageantry of the stage show.  The fun of a family movie.  The long lines to get in.  Even that was enjoyable...much better than waiting on the sidewalk in the snow to get into the RCMH for the Christmas show.

Well, those days are past.  What can we expect from Hollywood this Easter that will compete with those terrific memories?  Spoiler alert: nothing.  Meanwhile, goofballs are anxiously awaiting that next Avengers thing which is due out this week.   You know the drill, guys.  I'll zip through the movie pages of the local news rag and give you my gut reaction to the crap out there.

Hey, this monthly movie guide is a reminder of why we can't have nice things.  At this point, I'm guessing Marvel Comics will be owning the rights to even Herbie the Love Bug.

Girls of the Sun:  Could this be a sequel to "Where The Boys Are?"

Stuck:   A documentary on the invention of "Krazy Glue?"  Actually, it's about people stranded in a NY subway car and I'm intrigued.

Wild Nights with Emily:   Starring Bob Newhart?

Hellboy:   I'm waiting for Hellgirl.

Amazing Grace:  Some lost footage of Aretha Franklin singing back when.   By the way, I'm curious.  Did they bury her yet?

High Life:  The last survivors of the solar system.  That's a clever way to save on cast.

Us:  Jordan Peele continues his reinvention of the horror movie by adding diversity and social themes.   If this is as stupid as "Get Out," I'll pass.

Hotel Mumbai:   I don't care what their pool is like.  I'm not staying there.

The Mustang:   The horse, not the car.

The Best Of Enemies:  Trump and any Democrat.

Gloria Bell:   This junk is still around?   Stay away.

The Aftermath:  An old-fashioned WWII romance.   I disconnected at "old."

Dogman:  An dog groomer in Italy.   By the way, there are likely no dog groomers in Korea.  Just saying.

Peterloo:  In 1819, British forces charge on a peaceful pro-democracy rally at St Peter's Field in Manchester, England, which results in the Peterloo Massacre.  Well, there's a log line that I'm not interested in.

Diane:  Reviewed here recently.   A mediocre movie raised to higher levels by a great performance from the versatile and under-used Mary Kay Place.

Shazam!:  Poof, I'm not there.

Captain Marvel:  I don't see anything with the word "Marvel" in it.

Dumbo:   Skip the live action and watch the old cartoon.

Pet Sematary:   A remake of a movie that was made when I was already an adult.   Jeez, I'm getting old.

Missing Link:  Some cartoon about a Mr. Link who recruits explorer Sir Lionel Frost to help find his long-lost relatives in the fabled valley of Shangri-La.   I will be missing, too.

Little:  A Black, female version of "Big."   Which was a perfectly fine movie to begin with.

Breakthrough:  A woman deals with a son who has almost drowned in a lake.  This stars Chrissy Metz and let's hope the character doesn't binge eat to handle her pain.

Penguins:  Disney's take on this and Morgan Freeman must be pissed not to be the narrator.

The Curse of La Llorona:   An evil entity in 1970's LA.  That might have been the first incarnation of Jerry Brown.

Drunk Parents:  Everybody has at least one.

Family:  A businesswoman looks after her niece.   Sounds like every sitcom produced in the early 80s.

Under the Silver Lake:  A young man in LA looks for the mysterious woman he just met.  Don't we all?

Hail Satan!:  A documentary and no, Trump isn't in it.

Her Smell:  About a 1990s punk rock singer and she probably does.

Little Woods:  Villainous sisters in North Dakota.  Well, with that weather, I can understand their anger.

The Man Who Killed Don Quixote:  I hope there's a hit song like "The Man Who Shot Liberty Vallance."

Red Joan:  Judi Dench as a spy for the Soviet Union.  Was this in the Mueller Report?

Dinner last night:  Chopped salad.

My Wrist Hurts

After a year where my knees gave me a lot of problems, that situation has improved greatly.  

But, in life, you don't win.  You pray for a draw.   Note the growing bump in my left wrist.   Featuring pain that has gradually increased over the past two months.  Especially at night.

Of course, with knees still a little rickety, I have to use my wrists to raise myself from a chair.  Ouch!

Like I said...you don't win.  You only tie.

I took my wrist to the orthopedic group I have dragged my knees to for years.  Naturally, there is a different doctor for every specific limb of the body.  My copious doctor took x-ray selfies and showed them to me.

"Well, you have some arthritis settling in."

Duh.  Who doesn't?

"But you see this spot here.  There's supposed to be something there but there's nothing."

Has the factory warranty on my hands expired?

She sends me for a MRI, which stands for "Maybe Really Injured."  She asks me if I banged my hand or fell on it.

Um, no.  Um, yes.  Er, maybe.

"This might be a torn ligament."

I went for the MRI and I have the results on a disc.  Unfortunately, my computer doesn't have a program that allows me to open it.   I will have to bring it to the doctor.

I hope for the best.   I expect the worst.   I'm sure the score will be tied.

In the meantime, I now sport this fashion accessory.  It's as if somebody got a hold of Kitty Carlisle's black evening gloves and cut out the fingers.

Good times.

Dinner last night:  Sandwich.

This Date in History - April 17

Happy birthday, Teri Austin.  Don't know who she is?  Looking at that picture, guys, don't you wish you did?

69:  AFTER THE FIRST BATTLE OF BEDRIACUM, VITELLIUS BECOMES ROMAN EMPEROR.

Vitellius also won't leave your hair greasy.

1080:  KING OF DENMARK HARALD III DIES AND IS SUCCEEDED BY CANUTE IV, WHO WOULD LATER BE THE FIRST DANE TO BE CANONIZED.

The second Dane to be canonized was Victor Borge.

1397:  GEOFFREY CHAUCER TELLS THE CANTERBURY TALES FOR THE FIRST TIME.

And, in a fashion, indirectly invented the seventh grade book report.

1492:  SPAIN AND CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS SIGN THE CAPITULATIONS OF SANTA FE FOR HIS VOYAGE TO ASIA TO ACQUIRE SPICES.

Asia?  Yeah, he was a little off.

1521:  TRIAL OF MARTIN LUTHER OVER HIS TEACHINGS BEGINS DURING THE ASSEMBLY OF THE DIET OF WORMS.  

I'll take my worms medium rare, please.

1524:  GIOVANNI DA VERRAZZANO REACHES NEW YORK HARBOR.

"What a nice-a spot-a for my bridge."

1707:  SIR RALPH ABERCROMBY ATTACKS SAN JUAN, PUERTO RICO IN WHAT WOULD BE ONE OF THE LARGEST INVASIONS OF THE SPANISH TERRITORIES IN AMERICA.

No sign of Fith.

1864:  DURING THE AMERICAN CIVIL WAR, THE BATTLE OF PLYMOUTH BEGINS.  

Plymouth...the home of the 1973 Duster.

1897:  THE AURORA, TEXAS UFO INCIDENT.

If you're going to see a flying saucer, you might as well live in Texas.

1896:  VENTRILOQUIST SENOR WENCES IS BORN.

All right?  All right.

1897:  AUTHOR THORNTON WILDER IS BORN.

From Her Womb to Our Town.

1905:  ACTOR ARTHUR LAKE IS BORN.

Blondie!!!!!!!!!

1907:  THE ELLIS ISLAND IMMIGRATION CENTER PROCESSES 11,747 PEOPLE, MORE THAN ON ANY OTHER DAY.

In 2013, we get that many illegals in one week.

1918:  ACTOR WILLIAM HOLDEN IS BORN.

Born in a trunk...died on a coffee table.

1923:  JOURNALIST HARRY REASONER IS BORN.

Journalist.  Remember those?

1945:  BRAZILIAN FORCES LIBERATE THE TOWN OF MONTESE, ITALY FROM GERMAN NAZI FORCES.

When you need the help of Brazil, you know your army sucks.

1957:  ACTRESS TERI AUSTIN IS BORN.

One of the best villains on "Knots Landing," that's who.

1961:  A GROUP OF CIA FINANCED AND TRAINED CUBAN EXILES LANDS AT THE BAY OF PIGS IN CUBA WITH THE AIM OF OUSTING FIDEL CASTRO.

Yeah, that worked well.

1964:  THE FORD MUSTANG IS INTRODUCED TO THE NORTH AMERICAN MARKET.

Pedal to the metal.

1969:  SIRHAN SIRHAN IS CONVICTED OF ASSASSINATING ROBERT F. KENNEDY.

So guilty his mother named him twice.

1970:  THE ILL-FATED APOLLO 13 SPACECRAFT RETURNS TO EARTH SAFELY.

Lousy mission, great movie.

1973:  GEORGE LUCAS BEGINS WRITING THE TREATMENT FOR STAR WARS.

Dumbest agent in town:  "That will never sell."

1986:  THE THREE HUNDRED AND THIRTY FIVE YEARS' WAR BETWEEN THE NETHERLANDS AND THE ISLES OF SCILLY ENDS.

Talk about your long-standing grudges.

1987:  COMEDIAN DICK SHAWN DIES.

It's a Dead, Dead, Dead, Dead World.

1998;  LINDA MCCARTNEY DIES.

A health nut who didn't make it to the age of 60.

2003:  NUTRITIONIST ROBERT ATKINS DIES.

Healthy living claims another.

2003:  PHILANTHROPIST JOHN PAUL GETTY JR. DIES.

And being rich is no guarantee either.

2007:  ACTRESS KITTY CARLISLE DIES.

Apparently, long black gloves also are deadly.

2011:  ACTOR MICHAEL SARRAZIN DIES.

I saw him once in a super market.  That was not enough to keep him alive.

2016:  ACTRESS DORIS ROBERTS DIES.

Terrific character on "Everybody Loves Raymond."

2018:  FIRST LADY BARBARA BUSH DIES.

She looked old when she was young.

Dinner last night:  Leftover London broil and caramelized onions.