The Sunday Memory Drawer - Oy

  

Inexplicably, that would be Borscht Belt comic Myron Cohen.  

It's not like they ever saw this guy perform.  But, for about a year when I was a kid, the above record album was all my folks ever played on the hi-fi.  I have only very isolated moments where I actually saw my folks enjoying something together and laughing in tandem.

Myron Cohen was one of them.  I have no idea how they connected with this guy, except he used to show up a lot on the Ed Sullivan Show.  The guy's delivery was as Jewish as they come.  Full of dialects and Yiddish phrases.  What was all this about?  My parents were as white bread as they come.

My mother picked up Cohen's first record album at Brodbeck's Record Store on Fourth Avenue in Mount Vernon, New York.  She got the recording home and played it.  She was doubled up on the couch in laughter.

Mom?  Is that you?

I listened along and most of the humor went over my nine-year-old head.  There was one joke that I remember to this day.  It took me several times to get the gag.

"Two ladies are sitting at a bar, having a smart cocktail.  One lady says to the other, 'Are you having another?'  The other lady says, 'no, it's just the way the coat is buttoned.'"

Weeks later, I got it.  Oh.

By then, the comedy train had left the station as far as my folks were concerned.  This record was played over and over and over.

And over.

To make matters worse, my parents suddenly got into the sharing mode.  No matter where they went or who they visited, Myron Cohen's record album went along.  Suddenly, the centerpiece of any gathering was the group enjoyment of this humor.

"This is the Klopman Diamond.  It comes with a curse.  Mr. Klopman."

Ba-da-bing.

Meanwhile, I don't think a single listener in our midst was even remotely Jewish. 

I started to parrot some of the jokes myself, complete with phony Yiddish accent.  If this was funny stuff for my parents and their chums, the humor must be universal, right?

Um, not so much.  I repeated some of my "favorite" Myron Cohen jokes for my buddies up the block on Fifteenth Avenue.  Their reactions were uniformly the same.

"Huh?"

My fifth grade tenure as a little junior Sunshine Boy came to an abrupt and untimely end.  Nobody my age seemed to have the affinity for Myron Cohen that my folks' generation did.

In retrospect, there was something very sweet about the community of laughs that gathered around my parents and their record album.  When was the last time a bunch of adults sat around a hi-fi and participated as a group responding to a comedy record?  You definitely don't see that happening today. 

Whether I got the jokes or not, I pretty much knew the record album by heart.  And, then, just as it seemed that my folks had pretty much exhausted their universe with Myron Cohen's platter, the unthinkable happened...

He released a second one.

Oy vey iz mir.

The cycle began all over again.  My mom picking up the newfound gold at Brodbeck's.  The constant playing in the house for a week or two.  And then the scheduling of visits to friends and relatives near and far so they, too, could laugh along with them.

In a day when most people were waiting for the next Beatles' release, my parents were lining up for the new offerings from Myron Cohen.

Flash forward to years later, I was living on my own and enjoying newfound status as a HBO subscriber.  Flipping through the TV Guide, I noticed that they had taped a Myron Cohen nightclub performance.  Hmmm.  This would be ideal entertainment for the folks when they came over at Thanksgiving.  I popped one of those ancient tape cartridges into my clunky RCA VCR and recorded the event.  Here is a short excerpt from that very show.



I was very proud to unveil my new find when they came over for turkey and stuffing.  I thought this would be a wonderful touchstone for days gone by.

They sat and watched in stone silence.

Now some of the gags were the very same from the record albums.  How did they work so well twenty years ago and not now?  My dad's answer was succinct.

"It's not the same."

I thought about that afterward.  And realized it sure wasn't.

A lot of my parents' friends?  No longer in that classification.

Some of those relatives?  No longer around in one shape or another.

My own parents?  Amicably divorced. 

Yep.  It wasn't the same.

So, in the true sense of the adage, I guess you had to be there.

Dinner last night:  Chili.

Classic Movie Trailer of the Month - April 2026

 Sixty years ago this month.  One song that spawned an entire movie.

Dinner last night:  Lasagna from my freezer.

One Picture Ain't Worth a 1000 Words

 

More fresh slices of Hell, courtesy of somebody's Instamatic Camera. Take, for instance, this guy. It's amazing when you can easily spot a family resemblance.

How to use the word "hump" twice in one sentence.

The incorrect way to ride a horse.

This is either a family with way too much time on their hands. Or rejects from the June Taylor Dancers.

Al Qaeda obviously gets a discount at Sears Photo and Portraits.

Hmmm. Somebody doesn't like the groom.

Beam them the hell out of here.

The library was all out of "Green Eggs and Ham."

Dinner last night:   Cheese and crackers.

Len's Recipe of the Month - April 2026

 

This isn't really sharing a new recipe from my kitchen.  It's really a revisit and you'll be happy you did.

This is my sausage, peppers, and onions.  I have featured it here before and the dish has truly become the very, very best thing I make.  And that's a remarkable statement given I make a lot of dishes quite well.

As time has gone by, I have fashioned this recipe to the point of perfection.  And the little tricks I have uncovered make it so.

So what are the secrets?

First off, when I sear the sausage, I use my air fryer.   It reduces the grease that can come out of the sausage and thereby enhances the flavor.

You will notice above red peppers and yellow peppers and orange peppers.  When you are making SPO, avoid at all costs using a green pepper in the rotation.  They are usually bitter and run counter to the overall sweetness of the dish.

You want another trick?   Well, I prefer SPO in its "wet" variety.  For that, you use tomatoes.   But do not use crushed tomatoes which would turn this into SPO soup.   Instead, take a pint of cherry tomatoes and just dump them in.   Their juice will come out but there will still be a firmness to them in the final incarnation.

More?

I always use sweet Italian sausage, not the hot variety.  But a little heat in the dish is okay.  For that, get yourself a jar of Cento Hot Pepper Relish.  Add a tablespoon to the dish.  It's another varied addition of flavor.

Lastly but not leastly, the flavor of the peppers is spurred by a tablespoon of apple cider vinegar.   It wakes up those peppers that is so refreshing.

Now you can be as perfect as I am.

Dinner last night:  Grilled beef sausage.

This Date in History - April 22

 

Today is a big day for World War II fans, but we can also wish Glen Campbell a happy birthday in heaven.   Question: when people with dementia pass on, do they regain a memory up there?

238: THE ROMAN SENATE OUTLAWS EMPEROR MAXIMINUS THRAX FOR HIS BLOODTHIRSTY PROSCRIPTIONS IN ROME AND NOMINATES TWO OF ITS MEMBERS, PUPIENUS AND BALBINUS, TO THE THRONE.

If this blog existed back then, it would probably be called Len Speaksius.

1519:  SPANISH CONQUISTADOR HERNAN CORTES ESTABLISHES A SETTLEMENT AT VERACRUZ, MEXICO.

If Cortes was alive today, he would already have fled to America.

1622:  THE CAPTURE OF ORMUZ BY THE EAST INDIA COMPANY ENDS PORTUGUESE CONTROL OF HORMUZ ISLAND.

If this happened today, I still wouldn't care.

1836:  DURING THE TEXAS REVOLUTION, FORCES UNDER TEXAS GENERAL SAM HOUSTON IDENTIFY MEXICAN GENERAL ANTONIO LOPEZ DE SANTA ANNA AMONG THE CAPTIVES OF THE BATTLE OF SAN JACINTO.

I think Texas is still revolting.

1864:  THE US CONGRESS PASSES THE COINAGE ACT OF 1864 THAT MANDATES THAT THE INSCRIPTION IN GOD WE TRUST BE PLACED ON ALL COINS MINTED AS US CURRENCY.

God....remember him?

1876:  THE FIRST EVER NATIONAL LEAGUE BASEBALL GAME IS PLAYED IN PHILADELPHIA.

The first recorded drunken brawl in the stands.

1889:  AT HIGH NOON, THOUSANDS RUSH TO CLAIM LAND IN THE LAND RUSH OF 1889.  WITHIN HOURS, THE CITIES OF OKLAHOMA CITY AND GUTHRIE ARE FORMED WITH POPULATIONS OF AT LEAST 10,000.

So that explains the traffic jam outside of Oklahoma City.

1906:  ACTOR EDDIE ALBERT IS BORN.

He died in 2005, so I guess you can say he got cheated.

1912:  PRAVDA, THE VOICE OF THE COMMUNIST PARTY IN THE SOVIET UNION, BEGINS PUBLICATION IN SAINT PETERSBURG.

First comic strip?  Little Socialist Annie.

1915:  THE USE OF POISON GAS IN WORLD WAR I ESCALATES WHEN CHLORINE GAS IS RELEASED AS A CHEMICAL WEAPON.

Chlorine?   Like the way the pool in my high school gym used to smell??

1923:  PRODUCER AARON SPELLING IS BORN.

The Love Boat is making another run...

1926:  ACTRESS CHARLOTTE RAE IS BORN.

You take the good, you take the bad.  You take them both and there you have...the Facts of Life.   The Facts of Life.

1936:  SINGER GLEN CAMPBELL IS BORN.

By the time he gets to Heaven.

1937:  ACTOR JACK NICHOLSON IS BORN.

Yeah, this is as good as it gets.

1945:  DURING WORLD WAR II, PRISONERS AT THE JASENOVAC CONCENTRATION CAMP REVOLT.

And they probably were totally justified.

1945:  DURING WORLD WAR II, ADOLF HITLER ADMITS DEFEATS AND STATES THAT SUICIDE IS ONLY HIS RECOURSE.

Agreed!

1954:  WITNESSES BEGIN TESTIFYING DURING LIVE TELEVISION COVERAGE OF THE ARMY-MCARTHY HEARINGS BEGIN

Rat bastards.

1964:  THE NEW YORK WORLD'S FAIR OPENS FOR THE FIRST TIME.

Right across the street from spanking new Shea Stadium.

1970:  THE FIRST EARTH DAY IS CELEBRATED.

Tree huggers unite!

1972:  INCREASED AMERICAN BOMBING IN VIETNAM PROMPTS ANTI-WAR PROTESTS IN LA, NY, AND SF.

Oh, so that's marijuana I smell?

1977:  OPTICAL FIBER IS FIRST USED TO CARRY LIVE TELEPHONE TRAFFIC.

And years later, you still can't get a conference call that doesn't have any static.

1978:  ACTOR WILL GEER DIES.

Good night, Grandpa.

1983:  A GERMAN MAGAZINE CLAIMS THAT THE HITLER DIARIES ARE FOUND.   THEY ARE LATER REVEALED TO BE FORGERIES.

You mean somebody's actually trying to copy Hitler's penmanship??

1984:  PHOTOGRAPHER ANSEL ADAMS DIES.

Thank God somebody invented the coffee table so his books had some place to go.

1994:  PRESIDENT RICHARD NIXON DIES.

And God now makes it perfectly clear.

1996:  AUTHOR ERMA BOMBECK DIES.

The grass is not only greener.  It's on top of you.

1998:  DISNEY'S ANIMAL KINGDOM OPENS IN ORLANDO, FLORIDA.

And there's another way to make money.

2000:  THE BIG NUMBER CHANGE TAKES PLACE IN ENGLAND.

I'm holding out for the Small Number Change.

2002:  PORN ACTRESS LINDA LOVELACE DIES.

I find this hard to swallow.

2013:  SINGER RICHIE HAVENS DIES.

Make that Richie Heaven.

2017:  ACTRESS ERIN MORAN DIES.

Chachi Buries Joanie.

2023:  DANCING WITH THE STARS JUDGE LEN GOODMAN DIES.

I am proud to say I never ever watched this show.

Dinner last night:  Leftover SPO. 

Reunited...

 

...and it feels so creepy.

If you're even remotely attached to social media, you are seeing the ads.  

Let us provide you with a software that features AI and the ability to take photos that never happened.

Maybe you never met your grandmother.  A host of AI computer photos can give you that reunion of a meeting that never happened in the first place.  In some cases, you can add motion and see that hug or kiss.   Or maybe Grandma has wings on now that she's floating up in Heaven.   Is that a smile up in the clouds? Or just your HP laptop.

The rhetorical question is...have we finally gone too far?

I couldn't possibly ratchet up a photo reunion with my mom's parents because I never saw a picture.   And that's just a fact of life that you can't alter.   Sure, AI is an amazing technology but it's changing the universe in very unnatural ways. 

I know there are folks out there who get their solace from seeing evidence of one more hug from Grandpa.   But, if it never occurred, how can you substitute the true warmth of that embrace.

Sorry, AI, you can't.

Dinner last night:  Leftover lo mein.

Monday Morning Video Laugh - April 20, 2026

 A classic moment and a laugh from two baseball originals we miss to this day.

Dinner last night:  SPO.