Excess Within Control

Last November I worked as an election poll worker in my town of Glendora, California, which I often do. My first time at this particular precinct, I noticed that there was a street, Shady Lane, listed in the street index. I immediately remembered a very popular song from the 1950s, recorded by the Ames Brothers and others, "The Naughty Lady of Shady Lane." It had been covered by Dean Martin and the McGuire Sisters. Whenever a resident of that street came to my table, I asked them if they knew the song (poll workers probably aren't supposed to do that.) Of all the people I asked, only one person, a man about my age, knew it. That surprised me because it's a fun little song and, I thought, pretty much a standard. One would think that they would have already been asked the question by others. Sometimes I enjoy being old, cuz I get to remember a lot of neat stuff.

...But My Feet Show it, Because they're Longfellows. Speaking of Longfellow: Listen my children, and you shall hear of the midnight ride of Paul Revere He jumped in his car, stepped on the gas. The bottom fell out and he slid on... the grass. I'll always remember such little silly poems I memorized as a child. For example: Admission is free, pay at the door. Choose your seats and sit on the floor. Ladies and gentlemen, hobos and tramps. Cross eyed mosquitoes and bow-legged ants. I stand here before you, sitting behind you, to tell you a story I know nothing about. One bright day in the middle of the night. Two dead boys came out to fight. Back to back they faced each other. Drew their swords and shot each other. A deaf policeman heard the noise. And came to arrest the two dead boys. And if you don't believe this lie is true. Ask the blind man, he saw it too! Whenever I'm asked how many days there are in a certain month, I recite this: T...

I'm a movie buff and have been one for as long as I can remember. The first movie I can remember is Sitting Pretty (1948). My mother took me to it at the theater in our small Midwest town when I was six years old. About the same time, I remember seeing The Paleface (1948) with Bob Hope. As a child, I saw many westerns (Roy Rogers, Lash La Rue, Tim Holt), comedies ( Ma & Pa Kettle , Francis the Talking Mule, Three Stooges ) musicals ( The Band Wagon, Three Little Words, Hans Christian Anderson ) and tons of cartoons at that little theater. As the spread of television grew, the town commercial club took over the struggling theater and my dad was a volunteer projectionist. The Disney film I have the fondest memories of seeing, is  Melody Time (1948) with its "Little Toot", "Johnny Appleseed" and "Pecos Bill". In my high school years in the late 1950s my friends and I would go to the movies at the drive-in and walk-in theaters in nearby, larger...

The year, 1969, now fifty years ago, was quite an interesting time. I guess every year has its share of significant events, but 1969 is particularly memorable for me.  Of course it was the year that man first walked on the moon, Neil Armstrong declaring,  "That's one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind." (I think he was supposed to say "...for A man..".) Richard Nixon became President in 1969, and the Manson "Family" cult murdered five people. While the "New Hollywood" revolution began in 1967, several notable films of that movement were released in 1969 including  Easy Rider, Midnight Cowboy , The Wild Bunch , and  Medium Cool . Four hundred thousand people attended the famous music festival, Woodstock, on a farm in New York. The Beatles gave their last live performance on a  rooftop  of the Apple building in London. Other major music events were the Isle of Wight Festival and the Altamont Speedway Festival, which was ...

I've been a "Sherlockian" since my 20s, a fan of the Sherlock Holmes stories, movies, plays and TV adaptations. I was a member of the Baker Street Irregulars, although I'm not active now. Plays that I've seen include The Crucifer of Blood with Paxton Whitehead and Glenn Close, Sherlock Holmes with Leonard Nimoy and Alan Sues, and The Secret of Sherlock Holmes with Jeremy Brett and Edward Hardwicke. Occupationally, I was a certified instructor for the management training course, Kepner-Tregoe Problem Solving and Decision Making .  Rather than sticking strictly to the course outline, I used quotes from Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes stories to illustrate important points. So, when my employer decided to put on a play for employees, at a motivational event, I suggested a mystery theme, and wormed my way into the role of a Sherlock Holmes type character. The play was rather amateur, but it did have a clever twist ending.

OK, maybe "murder" is too strong a word, but I WAS wounded. In 2009, Lilian and I went on a two week vacation to London, Amsterdam and and a day trip to Paris. We took the Eurostar train from London, through the Chunnel,  to Paris, about a two hour trip. It was a very pleasant ride, up until "the incident." Lilian's iPod had accidentally slipped through the seat back, unto the floor underneath. Gallantly, I got down on my hands and knees to search for it. When I put my head under the seat, it struck something sharp, and I emerged with my head bleeding. The porter, a Frenchman, brought me a large bandage, but explained, "Pardon. Nous n'avons que ce bandage bleu." He seemed quite amused by it all. Otherwise, our visit was very enjoyable.