Happy Valentine's Day!

This live version of "Sad and Blue" is one of my favorite Valentine's Day songs. It always evokes images in my head of dining along the banks of the Seine, with Notre Dame in the background and a bottle of wine on the table.

February 14th is a very special day at my house. Not only is it Valentine's Day, but it's also my daughter Sarah's 28th Birthday!

This is me holding Sarah about 2 days after she was born. She was a handful!

"Popeye the Sailor" with Betty Boop (1933)

I hurt my hand and cannot blog for a few days - Please excuse me while I heal and enjoy a couple of my old favorites...

What could be more entertaining than a classic cartoon featuring 2 of the most recognizable feature cartoon characters in it? In this 8 minute classic, Popeye the Sailor finds himself ashore after an ocean voyage. He elects to take Olive Oyl to the Carnival with predictable results, as he and Bluto compete in their never ending quest for her affections.

When the Hula Hula dancer (Betty Boop) makes her appearance and Popeye jumps on stage to perform with her, Bluto sees his chance and takes it; or rather, Olive; and kidnaps her with the intention of making her his wife whether she likes it or not.

By the way, while Popeye is dancing, at about 5 minutes into the cartoon, he encounters a snake on stage, and places his pipe under the serpents nose, quickly neutralizing the snake and calling into question just what was in that pipe? This is not the first time I have sensed that Popeye was a “smoker.” In several other cartoons he uses his pipe as a blowtorch to open the can and then inhales the “spinach” through the pipe.

Once Popeye realizes that Olive is gone and in danger, he jumps into “high” gear; and the chase is on to save the woman of his dreams. As in all of the old cartoons, everything works out in the end for Popeye and Olive. This is a unique cartoon in that it is the first one for Popeye and the only one in which he appears with Betty Boop. He also sings the entire theme song, which was composed by Sammy Lerner in 1933 for this cartoon. It was also a hit for Hoagy Carmichael, which I play in my car, much to most people’s disbelief.

Until this cartoon’s release in 1933, Popeye had only been in the funny papers since January of 1929, drawn by E.C. Segar for the Thimble Theater series. Segar had been working with King Features Syndicate since 1919. Riding the wave of success surrounding the Betty Boop cartoons, Max Fleischer decided to animate the cartoon strip, He chose a Betty Boop cartoon to do it in, figuring that if it failed to gain any traction, it wouldn’t be noticed for long. 

Of course, Betty Boop may have remained a staple in the world of classic cartoons, but Popeye went on to greater success in the 1950’s when King Features re-vitalized him in a new format featuring Brutus in Bluto’s place. Those cartoons never did measure up to the “trippy” style which rolled out of the studios during the 1930’s, making them a delight to watch even today, 80 years later.

"Meeting Sue" - Half a Life Ago

It was 30 years ago this evening that I first met my wife. That means we have been together for just over half our lives at this point. We were both 29 when we met. It was at a Saturday night Halloween party in Baltimore. I could recount it here; but instead I’ll just re-post the story of that night; and the week which followed. The rest, as they say, is history. The above photo was taken several months later in Virginia Beach. I am dressed as usual, while Sue is in costume.

I arrived back in New York and stayed briefly with Mark and Lois. I wanted to get back to school quickly and obtain my Third mates License. By October 8th, 1983 I was back in Baltimore, this time renting a one room “flat” on the corner of Eager and Calvert Street. This was still on the edge of the gay neighborhood and just 3 blocks North of Peabody Institute and the Washington Monument. With a kitchen alcove area and a main room for sitting and sleeping it was all I needed. It was also just a half story above street level.

I set about, as usual, in making friends with my neighbors. These included two girls who were studying Chamber Music at Peabody. Their names were Mary and Mary. So I called them M and M. On Sunday mornings around 11 AM they would come down to my place for brunch. I would make stuffed mushroom caps with crab meat and pour the wine while they played Cello and Violin for me. Not too bad a trade when you think about it.

I had been seeing a girl named Mari before I left and had bought her back a beautiful enameled 20 karat gold ring from Turkey. But things were kind of “not there” between us and so I found myself looking at a lonely birthday in Baltimore. And to make matters worse I was without weed and had stopped drinking. This was going to be a lot of fun….

Walking around and hoping to meet someone to celebrate with I started drifting toward the “bad” side of Eutaw Street and into the area where pot was sold openly. I asked around a bit but nobody wanted anything to do with me. I was in good shape, well fed and they decided I was a cop! So I finally went into my birthday spiel-“Hey it’s my birthday and I just got into town, don’t know anyone etc.” No one believed me and I finally had to show someone my ID with my birthday on it in order to get some grass!

School was good and I was making a lot of progress. I had to get my CPR certification and some other Red Cross stuff so I signed up for the classes at the local Red Cross. I forget what the exercise was but you had to pull someone around on a blanket. My partner was some Jewish girl who was about my age and had a ticking biological clock. You could actually hear her planning the wedding and everything. But that didn't prevent me from asking her out and we saw each other a few times but “no spark” for me.

It was getting near to Halloween, which was at that time one of my favorite holidays. The parties and costumes all added up to some fun and I was looking forward to it. The Thursday night before Halloween a short chain of events began that would have a serious impact on my life.

I was walking by the old Greyhound Station on Howard and Monument Street when I noticed a woman being hounded by an older black guy. He was obviously following her and she was obviously uncomfortable with it. He was talking to her in a lecherous way and you could see her fear.

Crossing the street I walked up behind them both from an angle and slipping my arm into hers I smiled and said to her, “Sorry I’m late.” Fixing him with a glare I said, “Thanks for watching out for my girl, bro.” And then I walked her around the corner and out of sight.

Dropping her arm I apologized and she assured me there was no need to, as she needed the rescue. Her name was Mary and as we walked along a bit I let her know we should split up now as I could be part of a scam. She seemed pretty unconcerned but agreed. She also suggested that I meet her on Saturday night at an activist Church nearby that was hosting a Halloween Party. I agreed and we parted.

I decided to go to the party at the Church because I was kind of sick of the bar scene at the time. And the fact that Mary would be waiting for me was a definite enticement. The big question was what to go as. I finally decided to go as a Tom cat- you know- looking for a kitty. So I took a wire hangar and stretched it out to an acceptable length- then I added a grey scarf which I wound around the hangar/tail and topped that off with some swirls of masking tape. Attaching the wire hangar to my rear belt loop and adding some whiskers to my face with a blackened cork, I was off to the races.

The Church was one of those “activists” ones. By that I mean they were really not that religious- they were kind of a gathering spot for political activists touting such causes as El Salvador, Legal Defense Funds, Battered Women, and After School Care etc.

Mary was there waiting with some friends and the party was already started. There was a band playing and they had some really tacky disco lights going. The biggest surprise of the evening was when Mary and I were dancing and she started doing cartwheels and all sorts of splits to the music. Turned out she was a gymnast and I started thinking of all the fun we might be having later on utilizing her skills…

Her friends were a group of 6 really nice looking women- some doing post graduate work, some still working towards degrees and a couple of guys who were reading Law in prep for the Bar. A very interesting crowd…

Some slow dancing began and Mary and I enjoyed the closeness and we shared a first kiss. The night was progressing nicely when at about midnight Mary got ready to go. I was confused by this. She was leaving alone and passing me on to her friends. We agreed to call one another etc.

Around 1 AM the friends, none of whose names I recall, invited me to accompany them by van to another party at the Activists Lawyers League. This party was being held at the old Enoch Pratt Free Library on the corner of Kirk and Gorsuch Streets in East Baltimore. There were lawyers and aspiring lawyers everywhere. There was lots of liquor and music, too.

I set about dancing with the ladies who had brought me there. Then I started dancing with women who asked me. I was having a great time when I spotted a woman who was standing off by herself and looking like she was not having the best of times. So I approached her and asked for a dance. She turned me down, flat and cold. “No, thanks.” The Iron Curtain. So I went back to dancing with this one and that one. But it really bugged me that this one woman wouldn't dance with me. So I asked again-same results. “No, thanks.”

After about the third time I’m thinking, “What’s her problem- it’s just a dance, not a commitment!” So I asked her again in a different way. “I've danced with every woman here tonight and you’re the only one that said no. Dance with me and I’ll leave you alone forever.” Reluctantly she began to dance- with me talking as we did. I was telling her that I had just got back from Turkey and Lebanon and when the music stopped we kept talking. Her name was Karen. As we were talking she told me, “I have 2 kids so if that’s a problem let me know.”

After a bit some friends of hers were going outside to smoke a joint and I readily agreed. We went and huddled at the bottom of the basement steps and smoked a few before heading back in. Karen had gone to the party at the urging of some neighbors and friends.

A little while later I felt a finger trace up my back and turning around I was looking at Karen who said, “My name’s in the book.” She gave me her address and left. It was about 3 AM. I left shortly afterward and passing a phone booth I looked her up. The address was incorrect and the name didn’t quite match. It said K. Sue Hart. Still I walked home in the frigid early morning air, warmed by the evening and the dancing.

The next day I called the number in the book, which was now changed, so I called the new number. Turned out to be the right one- her name was Karen Sue. She went by the name of Sue and used the name Karen as a way of confusing the jerks and would be stalkers. We talked for hours and then agreed to meet for Chinese food on Tuesday night. She would get a sitter. After explaining that I had no car she offered to pick me up at my apartment.

Tuesday arrived and the day seemed interminably long as I waited for the evening to arrive. I was waiting at my window when her car turned the corner of Calvert and Eager Street. She parked and rang my bell.

I opened the door and there she was- blond hair with green eyes. Looking shyly down she handed me a bunch of flowers! We left for dinner almost immediately and walked to Tony Cheng’s which was only 3 blocks away.

We had Peking duck and talked about ourselves. She was divorced with 2 boys, 8 and 6 years old. Their names were Keith and Shane. She was originally from Chambersburg, Pennsylvania and had left because of the small town atmosphere. They actually listed the divorces in the local newspaper. This kind of stigmatized the ladies in certain ways. Also the job market would be easier to crack in Baltimore so she moved down 2 years earlier and took a job at Social Security Headquarters. She had put a down payment on a small house nearby and began her life anew.

We went back to my place after dinner and talked a bit more. There really was no place to sit other than on the edge of my bed or at the tiny kitchen table. We chose the edge of the bed. It wasn't long before I kissed her. We lay back on the bed and kissed again. Things were going well when she suddenly sat bolt upright and told me she had to go- the sitter was only staying until 10 PM and it was 9:30 now.

We made arrangements to meet on Saturday morning at her place to drive the kids to their Dad’s for the weekend. We spoke on the phone every day that week while waiting for Saturday to arrive. When it did I took a cab to her house and met the kids for the first time.

They were typical kids, running and shouting. They seemed uninterested in me, like I was just one of many passing through. We drove up to Chambersburg, dropped them off and then Sue showed me around her home town and introduced me to some friends. I got the feeling she was showing me off!

We arrived back in Baltimore that evening and I made my famous NY Strip Steak covered with Back Fin Lump Crabmeat and then topped with Muenster cheese. Dinner was about ready when Sue suggested we have dessert first…

"A Matador's Mistress" with Adrian Brody and Penelope Cruz (2011)

I have been a fan of Adrian Brody since he first appeared in the film “Liberty Heights”, a coming of age drama set in 1950’s Baltimore. That film made me a fan for life. And of course, Penelope Cruz is always in fine form; both professionally and physically, so this film figured to be the type of good period piece which I would enjoy. Well, so much for blind hope.

Originally titled “Manolete”, this film tells the story of the legendary Spanish bullfighter and his love for Lupe Sino, a woman whose love was coveted by many men. She was an actress and also a Communist, which at the time was not a good thing in Spain. The Spanish dictator Franco had just kept his country out of the Second World War as the Communists and Fascists struggled for control. In addition to her own political views her first marriage was to a Communist party member, which only added fuel to the fire which surrounded the actress. That scandal had a definite effect on her lover, the legendary Manolete.

Manolete first rose to prominence at the end of the 19^th Century, quickly becoming known as the world’s greatest matador. He was especially known for his method of fighting the bull by standing in one spot while the bull charged him. His expertise at what is known as the “manoletina”, which is the name given to the art of using the bullfighter’s cape to lure the bull in for the final kill.

He died at the age of 30 in the town of Linares where he was about to kill his 5^th bull of the day. He was gored in the leg and died the next day. Franco ordered 3 days of mourning at the time of his passing. Only funeral music was permitted to be played on the radio. The event was somewhat akin to the reaction in America after the murder of President Kennedy in 1963. 

This movie had so much potential, but somehow; due mainly to the ethereal manner in which it is directed; never really gets off the ground. The storyline is intense; a world famous bullfighter involved with a siren like woman who fills his every thought, losing sight of his own mortality and then paying the ultimate price for his misguided love. It is also the story of a man who lived on the edge of death; defying it for a living; and how love may have played a role in his untimely demise.

This is a movie I may have to revisit. I have a feeling that I might have missed something while watching it. There can be no other explanation; with a story this good, it would be almost impossible to make a movie this tedious.

"To Rome With Love" - Woody Allen, Roberto Benigni, Alec Baldwin and Penelope Cruz (2012)

Sue, as a rule, does not care for Woody Allen films. That is until recently when she viewed “Midnight in Paris”, Mr. Allen’s last film. I still haven’t seen that one. (I seem to be stuck on “Whatever Works”).  But this latest release by the iconic writer, comedian, actor and director appealed to us both. So, on a hot summer afternoon, (100 degrees plus), we sought the comfort of a dark, cold theater to spend a few hours in another world, viewing other people’s lives. As usual, at least for me, I was not disappointed. As for Sue, she was delighted with this quirky, off beat film, which is really a love poem to Rome.

The film follows 5 couples; if you count the parents; as one set of prospective in laws, who are American, are about to meet their Italian counterparts. What follows is too complicated to put down here with any justice, so you’ll just have to see the film.

Director Allen states in an interview with McClatchy Newspaper’s Rene Rodriguez, that he had several stories to tell, and so he was “.. so inspired that I couldn’t figure out which story to tell…. Finally I decided to make one movie with a lot of stories in it.” The result is a sprawling, yet connected set of stories intertwined by love, fate, and in some cases stuff seemingly out of left field, but based on the reality we all live.

Roberto Benigni is brilliant as the ordinary man, who suddenly finds himself the center of media attention, where all his movements are scrutinized and his privacy invaded. He is incensed at the turn of events; and has no idea of why he is suddenly famous; but when it is all taken away; his feelings are of being abandoned for a talent he knows he never possessed in the first place.

Alec Baldwin does a superb job as a successful architect returning to Italy, where he once studied, and through a chance encounter meets a young American architect student who lives in the same street where he used to live. He sees himself in the choices being made by the younger man, and I was left wondering whether those sequences were merely in his own mind.

Throw in the antics of two sets of prospective in laws, and the problems engendered by their children as they continue to discover themselves, and this film works on many levels. Woody Allen is at his all-time best in this one, where he basically plays himself. Just a hint at part of his role; he’s the one responsible for the short lived career of a mortician who can only perform opera in public while taking a shower. If that doesn’t get you to see this film, I give up.

Another wonderfully entertaining film from one of the best; and by the way; he’s from Brooklyn.

"Woman's Home Companion" - May 1911

I ran across 3 copies of this delightful old magazine when my daughter, Sarah, and her husband Michael, were getting ready to move from their apartment on Lake Norman to their new home in Chapel Hill. They were at the bottom of an old cedar chest that belonged to her great-grandmother. Sarah didn’t want the old magazines, but I did, quickly scooping them up before she changed her mind. Oversized, at 16 by 11 inches, I had to photograph the cover rather than scan it.

What an ever-changing, yet somehow, static world we live in. By that I mean “the more things change, the more they remain the same.” I have found this true of old newspapers as well as these old magazines. The technology may be different, but the concerns, and adventures, of the average person have not changed much for centuries when you come right down to it. And this magazine is proof of that assertion.

I was curious as to what I would find between the covers of this issue and, after thumbing through it this morning, my curiosity is now sated.

Some of the best items in here are the old ads for products we still have around today. There is a sense of comfort in the old Campbell’s Soup ad, extolling the virtues of a hearty bowl of soup. The same goes for the Ivory Soap ad, and the Heinz Baked Beans. I don’t use any of those products, but the fact that they are still with us gives me a strange sense of security. I should state that, as a kid, all three of these products were always “in stock” at our house, even though I wasn’t born until 1954. So, I have never known a world without these things, and it would seem strange if they were to disappear tomorrow.

Homes were just being electrified for many Americans in 1911, and so the magazine has many ads for the “new” household appliances which we take for granted today. Vacuum Cleaners were new, and apparently a very hot item, with more than 6 different brands being advertised in this one issue alone. Each one was a bit different than the other, with some looking so complicated, and heavy, that I have decided to stick with my Oreck upright, which weighs less than 8 pounds.

Indoor plumbing was becoming all the rage, and so there are quite a few ads for enameled bathtubs, sinks, and toilets. Standard was a major plumbing supply company, as it still is today. Thermos Bottle Company was in full swing, offering sturdy metal containers which became the staple of life for many working Americans. They offered pint and quart sized versions for $2 and $3 for a complete “lunch kit”.

The Coca-Cola ad is a delight, offering to send the reader an informative booklet about Coca-Cola, bearing the curious title of “The Truth About Coca-Cola.”  I would love to read that! This was just about the time when they stopped using cocaine in their soda, so I imagine it was their way of re-assuring people that their product was safe.

I was surprised at the amount of items offered on credit via the mail. You could get a bed; brass or wooden four poster; a refrigerator, all kinds of furniture, rugs, bicycles and clothes; you name it, they had it. You want it, it’s yours, all on credit, with the freight prepaid.

The magazine itself dealt mainly with women’s issues, like how to achieve a 16 inch waist, which still seems to be of concern to many women. It’s actually painful to see some of the contraptions offered up to give women a “slender” look. Sadly, nothing in that department has changed. Instead of internal injuries caused by these “corsets”; which were made of metal and whalebone; the modern woman of today starves herself into anorexia.

Also of interest were the fictional “romance” articles about falling in love, or how to keep a man’s attention. I didn’t read that one, since I know how women can keep a man’s attention. There were book reviews, poetry, stories for children, and advice on how to do everything from throwing a child’s birthday party, to the “do’s and don’ts” of throwing an adult dinner party.

One of the other issues is in poor shape, with both the front and rear covers falling off. But many of the pages, including the Coca-Cola ad, are in fine shape and suitable for framing. But this pristine issue is going into a plastic sleeve, where it will be protected from any further wear. Hopefully, someday, long after I am gone, my grandkids will find these old magazines, along with some of my old newspapers. And, as they turn the pages, I hope that they too will see how little life has changed over the years. Only the whistles and bells evolve. The core of who we are; and what we need; or sometimes just want, remains the same.