"I'm sorry, but we are a little shorthanded today."

Why is that my problem?! Sure, if bubonic plague has swept through the office, or if the Russians dropped a bomb on the city, I can understand why you might have been taken by surprise. But people do get sick, and go on vacation, and have personal emergencies that come up, and any reasonable manager can foresee that; but if you do not staff your facility to deal with those FORSEEABLE situations, then you are planning to be shorthanded from time to time. But that is NOT MY PROBLEM!!!!! Hire enough people, and you would not be having to say that! If it is your strategic decision not to adequately staff your facility, that is your decision; but don't whine to me about why you cannot provide adequate service.

What is your mother's name, little girl?

Friday, August 28, 2015

Mafalda Beatrix Maria Wilson [born 2015]

_. Princess Maria Theresia von Thurn und Taxis (b 28 Nov, 1980), wife of Hugo J.A.S. Wilson (b 1982), artist, gave birth to a daughter, Mafalda Beatrix Maria, 21 Aug, 2015.

Hugo Wilson is the son of Mr Kenneth Wilson, of East Chisenbury, Wiltshire, and Mrs Diana Wilson, of Battersea, London, & Princess Maria Theresia von Thurn und Taxis is the eldest daughter of Gloria, Princess von Thurn und Taxis (b 23 Feb 1960), (nee Mariae Gloria Ferdinanda Gerda Charlotte Teutonia Franziska Margarethe Frederike Simone Johanna Joachima Josefine Wilhelmine Huberta Countess of Schönburg in Glauchau and Waldenburg)of Schloss St Emmeram, Regensburg, Germany, and the late Johannes, Prince von Thurn und Taxis (1926-1990).

Kolynos toothpaste

For old radio fans, this product is linked to the show, Mr. Keen, Tracer of Lost Persons. The program ran for over 17 years, making it one of the longest-lived shows in history, and Kolynos sponsored it for a good portion of that run.

Amerigo Marino and the Johnny Dollar music

If you listen at all to old radio shows, you know the name Amerigo Marino, who composed the distinctive music for the later Johnny Dollar programs. He had a distinguished career. Here is a LINK to his biography. I wonder how many musicians in Alabama knew of his important place in radio history.

Companion animals

The plus is that they can provide affection after the children are gone. The minus is that at times they can take up almost as much of your time and attention as children did, if you let them.

John Dehner - a versatile man

Dehner played a wide range of roles, both dramatic and comedic, in films, radio and television. Prior to going into show business, he had been a disc jockey, and animator at Disney Studios, and a professional pianist.

She obviously had not gone to school

I drove through McDonald's for breakfast this morning and the lady who took the order was perfectly understandable. Obviously she had not been to the Fast Food School for Mumbling, which I had thought was required for all workers at drive- through speakers. Fibber McGee explained the process once, in his case with regard to streetcar conductors. They start them off by putting a marble in their mouth, and if they can still be understood, then they add a marble, and so on until their speech become unintelligible. Then they graduate.

Doc Gamble's critique of Fibber's clothes

"Your entire ensemble  gives the impression of a Malayan headhunter turned loose in the locker room of a Bowery flop house."

Special attention for Winston's nephew

The first civilian prisoner at the Colditz prison during World War II was Giles Romilly, a nephew of Prime Minister Winston Churchill. The orders concerning him came directly from Hitler himself:

1. The Kommandant and Security Officer answer for Romilly's security with their heads.
2. His security is to be assured by any and every exceptional measure you care to take.
(from Colditz, by Henry Chancellor)


Romilly

Solitude and companionship

God has so constructed the human creature that he needs both solitude and companionship, both a chance to reflect and an opportunity to share. The prolonged loss of either of these makes a person deficient in personality.

Punchy McClatchy

"Six feet of fighting scar tissue who couldn't batter his way out of a hair net, known in prize fight circles as The Waltz King, who's gone into more dives than an MP in Paris, and has a will leaving his jaw to the Libbey-Owens Glass Company." (from Fibber McGee)

McGee's opinion of the bargains at Kramer's Drug Store

"Kramer's idea of a bargain is giving you two of something you don't want with something you gotta have for half again as much as you'd have to pay if you went someplace you'd rather go if it wasn't raining."

Dennis Day's sister-in-law

Actress Ann Blyth was married for over 50 years to James McNulty, the brother of singer and comedian Dennis Day. The McNultys had five children. There is a little irony in this. In the movie Top o' the Morning, Blythe starred opposite Bing Crosby. However, in the Lux Radio Theater adaptation of the film, Blythe was featured with Day as her romantic lead.

Concerns about fatigue

Should I be concerned because I do not seem to have any "get up and go?" Many older people have much more energy than I do. I just run out of gas toward the end of most days. Of course, I do not get much exercise, and that may contribute to it, but it still seems worse than it ought to be. I cannot attribute it to anything medical, because the ailments that I know I have should not affect energy and stamina. Puzzling.

Colditz Castle

Some of the most famous escape stories from World War II come from Colditz Castle, the supposedly escape-proof garrison stationed in a castle which was begun in 1014. By the War, it had over 700 rooms, many of which would have had centuries-old locks, and thus did not provide much challenge for clever prisoners bent upon getting out. And what group of soldiers could possibly hope to police that many separate rooms?

The quietness of the morning

We have a hymn that begins, "I love the quietness of the morning." One of the elements of the curse of having to make my living "by the sweat of my face" is that I do not get the opportunity often to enjoy that quietness. I am up and rushing to get to work. Maybe some day.

Hugh Grant in "Sense and Sensibility"

I do not watch many recent movies, so I am not "up" on today's actors. Hugh Grant may be an excellent actor, but he was BADLY mis-cast in the movie Sense and Sensibility. He just does not work. His acting comes across as contrived, which is a shame, because several others among the cast were very strong.

Movie reproductions on radio

Some of the best done and most enjoyable of the old radio shows were those that presented adaptation of movies. Probably the most notable of these was Lux Radio Theater, and also Academy Award Theater. The former was a little more successful because it was in an hour-long format.

Promises

The rainbow is specifically said to be a reminder of God's promise never again to destroy the earth by water. However, I think there can be little doubt that it is, by implication, a reminder of all of His covenant promises.

Recycling toothpaste tubes?

According to the Ipana toothpaste advertisements on the Eddie Cantor radio show in 1943, "The government has ruled that we cannot buy toothpaste of any kind without turning in an empty tube in exchange."

Keeping Stalag 13 escape-proof

It must have been a major problem - for the writers - to keep up the record of no successful escapes from Stalag 13 in the TV show Hogan's Heroes. After all, one of their main missions was to expedite escapes, and thus in the program there was a veritable avalanche of prisoners passing into and out of the camp - and yet no one ever escaped, supposedly. How did the writers come up with enough plausible explanations for that fictitious record so that Colonel Klink could maintain his claim? Also, what about the other regular prisoners in the camp? Hogan and his staff were there on special assignment and could not leave, but surely that was not also true of all the other guys who were there. Was it a case of "once here, always here?" Obviously, this was comedy and, like the shipwrecked souls on Gilligan's Island, fun was more important than consistency.

How bad was the eastern front?

In the TV series Hogan's Heroes, the gravest threat made was to send a soldier to the Eastern Front (fighting in the Soviet Union). So, how bad was it there? Four million German soldiers were killed or missing in action during the campaign.

Sgt. Schultz in the U. S. Army?

John Banner, who was famous as Sgt. Schultz in the TV series Hogan's Heroes, had emigrated from Austria, and in 1942 enlisted in the Army Air Corps. He did, in fact, become a supply sergeant.

Don't be too curious

"People who listen at keyholes rarely hear good of themselves."

(Charlie Chan, in The Golden Eye)

A matter of focus

"It is easy not to see what one is not looking for." (Michael Lanyard, in Alias the Lone Wolf, by Louis Joseph Vance)

This is a cardinal principle in matters of deception, both manual and spiritual. It also explains why so many things are overlooked - we were not looking for them. Human beings find it difficult to focus on more than one thing at a time.

Did telephone operators really talk like that?

"One moment, plee-uz." That was the stereotype on the old radio shows. Wonder if it was fact or fiction.

Makes sense to me

The market takes a downturn, through no fault of any employee, and companies in a panic start laying off people left and right. Seems to me, if it is no one person's fault more than another, why not start by laying off the CEO? You can save a lot more money by getting rid of him than any other employee.

Aging gracefully

It is a great pleasure to me to see a person who accepts with dignity and humor the problems of age. I hope I have been able to do that. However, I must confess that in some instances age is thrust upon us with such force that we have no choice but to accept it abruptly - gracefully or otherwise.

A poem from Abbott and Costello

SEAFOOD
January is a month with "R" in it
And so are the months that follow it.
If you've been holding oyster in your mouth all winter
Now is the time to swaller it.

Good description of Barry Fitzgerald from IMDb

"One of Hollywood's finest character actors and most accomplished scene stealers."
"The diminutive Irishman with the irresistible brogue."

No challenge for a driver from the Great War

"To anybody who's ever piloted a load of casualties through eighteen inches of mud, dodging shell holes and shells on their way to make new holes, in a black rainstorm at midnight - this sort of thing," Jules announced - "a hard, smooth road under a clear sky - is simple pie."

From Alias the Lone Wolf, by Louis Joseph Vance. Jules was the chauffeur who had been instructed to drive with his lights off in order to effect an escape from the villains in the book.

Just using simple logic

Bumps: "Uncle Cecil, wipe your chin off."

Sir Cecil: "How can I? It's fastened on."

(from The Smiths of Hollywood radio show)

Diplomattress

What is that? According to Arthur Treacher on The Smiths of Hollywood radio show, it is a female diplomat.

Radio cap pistols

Radio sound effects normally did such an impressive job that it is a little surprising that many of the detective shows would use what are obviously cap pistols. "Snap, snap," goes the sound. Just not convincing.

Handel's Water Music

If you are not familiar with Handel's compositions in this genre, you might really enjoy them. They were designed to be played beside or on the River Thames, at the request of the King. Handel did a wonderful job, and this probably is some of his more outstanding music.

Edward Jenner and the smallbox vaccine

At some time in my youth (maybe the 6th grade?) I had to write a paper for school. After consultation with my mother, I decided to write it about Edward Jenner and his development of the smallpox vaccine. I remember that he had noticed that milkmaids were generally immune to smallpox, and went on to discover that it was having contracted cowpox (a similar but milder disease) made them immune. I dreaded the paper, but after I got into the subject, I really enjoyed it. And to this day I remember how that particular vaccine came to be.

They were third cousins once removed

Irene Ryan



Mary Castle



Isn't genetics a wonderful thing?

Gathering suspects together

I wonder which fictional detective began the process of gathering all the suspects together at the finish of a case to reveal who committed the crime.

Radio programs sharing plots

Veterans of old radio programs will recognize the program Blood Harvest as being common to Mr. District Attorney as well as Tales of the Texas Rangers.

Mr. District Attorney - perhaps just a little overstatement

"Mr. District Attorney: champion of the people, defender of truth, guardian of our fundamental rights to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness." Pretty exalted description. Well, maybe true of the office; but in fact, as often as not, the individual holding it was probably a politician hoping to use the office as a stepping stone to bigger and better things.

Charlie Chan on patience

"Patience and a mulberry leaf become a silk shawl."
(from Charlie Chan Carries On)

Dealing with the jerks in this world

They are there. They exist. In some cases it is impossible to get rid of them because we do not have the authority to do so. The simplest thing to do is just to ignore them, but sometimes that is virtually impossible to do. One thing we can do to help the situation is to make sure that where we do have authority or influence, we direct and insist that courtesy be shown.

A great example of understatement

A foreign agent has been following Humphrey Bogart. After they go on shipboard, the spy tries to assassinate Sydney Greenstreet.

After they extract Greenstreet from under the table, Bogey asks, "Do you know him?"

"I don't think so. In any case he isn't a close friend."

(from the movie Across the Pacific)

I found a mistake in The Great Impersonation

Germany has just invaded Poland, and Great Britain has declared war on Germany. A German nobleman in the diplomatic corps in Africa happens upon an old school friend whom he favors enough to be his twin, so he goes to Berlin get approval to impersonate the Englishman. He starts to play the part, and gives his superior details of the life of the Englishman and says, "My father was killed during the last few days of the First World War." But, of course, at that point it was not the "first" world war, but the only world war, because the second had just begun, but at that point no one could know for sure that it would turn into a conflict of that magnitude.

Some people never change

When I was a baby, I used to entertain myself by putting my itty-bitty foot into my mouth - and I've never stopped.

(from The Adventures of Maisie radio show)

Seventeen Republican presidential candidates

Seventeen! Seventeen! Don't those guys have anything better to do? Maybe not. Maybe that is why they are running.

Skeat's Dictionary

If you love the English language and learning more about words, you would enjoy Walter William Skeat's Etymological English Dictionary. It is as handy as sliced bread if you want to get an understanding of the full breadth behind words in English. It traces words back into their derivatives from other, older languages. Interesting and handy.

Oogie Pringle - glamor man?

Well, not exactly. Just the opposite normally. He was the wishful suitor on the radio show, A Date With Judy. On one episode, however, he did manage to get a date with Dorothy Lamour, which caused Judy to second-guess having just ditched him.

"Would you stop being so fearless with my life?!"

A retort by Archie Goodwin to his boss, Nero Wolfe, when he was scolded for not pursuing a criminal under dangerous circumstances.

Decimating a generation

This from the website http://encyclopedia.1914-1918-online.net:

Approximately 13 million Germans served in the military during the Great War; 2 million were killed, that is, roughly 15 percent. As Keegan notes, this percentage is equally shocking when the numbers of war dead are calculated as a percentage of the relevant male cohort; that is, men born between 1880 and 1899 (prime candidates for service in the war). Of German men from these year groups, approximately 13 percent were killed between 1914 and 1918. Among young French men, the percentage was even higher – 17 percent.

With only 21 years separating the end of World War I and the beginning of World War II, one wonders how the European nations were able to re-stock their military-age population in time to bear the even greater losses of World War II.

Larry Dobkin - sometimes the ONLY voice

As you listen to old radio shows, you realize that there were some roles for which Larry Dobkin's voice was the only voice that would have worked.

Weariness

I understand that old age involves weariness of body. But I am finding out, as I progress (or regress?) that it also involves a weariness of soul. I just get tired of this life of constant sin and toil and sorrow.

How government works - or does not

"He had premonitions of endless delays while provincial authorities wondered, doubted, criticized, procrastinated, investigated, reported - and repeated."

(from Alias the Lone Wolf, by Louis Joseph Vance)

Thursday October Christian

This was the name of one of the sons of Fletcher Christian, the most famous of the mutineers from the ship Bounty, immortalized in the movie. Descendants of Christian are living today, with their genealogy documented. If you are interested, below is a link with some interesting reading.

LINK

Be careful when you repent

"He was to learn there is nothing more unpalatable than the repentance of the headstrong." (from Alias the Lone Wolf, by Louis Joseph Vance)

We have the old saying, "Marry in haste; repent at leisure." The line above would be more on the opposite side of the equation: "Repent in haste; repent of repentance at leisure."

Beverage of the hour

It is interesting how certain drinks have become associated with certain times of the day. Coffee in the morning. Tea in the afternoon, at least in England. Cocktails at whatever time of day people drink cocktails. You might be able to enlarge that list.

John Calvert as the Falcon

The third of the actors to play the smooth private detective, John Calvert was not as effective as his two predecessors, but the movies are enjoyable nonetheless. Incidentally, like Chester Morris as Boston Blackie, the sleight-of-hand tricks Calvert performs in these movies are the real deal.

Oscar Levant insults the Mad Russian

Russian, if we had another idiot here today, the two of you could sing a solo.

(from the Eddie Cantor radio show)

There are times to leave well enough alone

"Only foolish dog pursue flying bird."

(from Charlie Chan in Shanghai)

There are monsters in the pasture!

Osgood the Dog has reached a crisis in his young, sheltered, house-dog life. Now when he goes outside to answer nature's call and roam around a little, he frequently encounters large, four-legged beasts in the pasture who look at him out of large, sad eyes and go, "Mooooo." Quite disturbing to his emotional equilibrium.

Excellent quote from Mrs. Strom Thurmond

 "You have to give kids the time -- the most precious thing you can give to your children is time,m not money, not material possessions. To give them the moral upbringing and to guide them in developing character, you have to be around -- you can't do it in absentia."

Do you have a pilot light?

That's an old flame that stayed lit.
(from the Abbott and Costello radio show)

Shakespeare said the same thing, just with a lot more class.

"When it rains, it pours." That is what we say.

Shakespeare said, "When sorrows come, they come not single spies

But in battalions."

Ermintrude the cow

This was a remarkable bovine who took a liking to Higgins the butler on the It's Higgins, Sir radio show. He mistakenly fed her some high-powered pickles instead of cud-balm, and she seemed to like it after she got over the initial shock.

Logical deduction regarding pelts

Mr. Roberts: Those Indians have never harmed a fly, Higgins.

Higgins: Naturally not, sir. Those flies have very small scalps.


(from It's Higgins, Sir radio show)

Fairbanks really was a swashbuckler

Here is what Wikipedia has to say about the exploits of actor Sir Douglas Fairbanks, Jr., during World War II:

Having witnessed (and participated in) British training and cross-Channel harassment operations emphasizing the military art of deception, Fairbanks attained a depth of understanding and appreciation of military deception then unheard of in the United States Navy. Lieutenant Fairbanks was subsequently transferred to Virginia Beach where he came under the command of Admiral H. Kent Hewitt, who was preparing U.S. naval forces for the invasion of North Africa.

Fairbanks convinced Hewitt of the advantages of a military deception unit, then repeated the proposal at Hewett's behest to Admiral Ernest King, Chief of Naval Operations. King thereupon issued a secret letter on March 5, 1943 charging the Vice Chief of Naval Operations with the recruitment of 180 officers and 300 enlisted men for the Beach Jumper program.

United States Navy Beach Jumpers saw their initial action in Operation Husky, the invasion of Sicily. Throughout the remainder of the war, the Beach Jumpers conducted their hazardous, shallow-water operations throughout the Mediterranean.

For his planning the diversion-deception operations and his part in the amphibious assault on Southern France, Lieutenant Commander Fairbanks was awarded the United States Navy's Legion of Merit with bronze V (for valor), the Italian War Cross for Military Valor, the French Légion d'honneur and the Croix de guerre with Palm, and the BritishDistinguished Service Cross. Fairbanks was also awarded the Silver Star for valor displayed while serving on PT boats and the National Order of the Southern Cross, conferred by the Brazilian government. Among his other exploits was the sinking of the corvette UJ-6083 (formerly the Regia Marina Gabbiano-class Capriolo) while in command of a mixed division of American PT Boats and British Insect-class gunboats plus assorted other small craft. Fairbanks commanded from HMS Aphis.^[3]

Fairbanks stayed in the US Naval Reserve after the war and ultimately retired as a Captain in 1954.

Edward G. Robinson made an interesting good guy

We have grown so used to thinking of him as a gangster or tough or other sort of bad guy, and he played those parts so well, that it is hard for our minds to accept him in any other role. Sort of like John Wayne being a society sort.

Explaining cousins

Cousins have common grandparents. Second cousins have common great-grandparents. Third cousins have common great-great-grandparents, and so on.

Now, if cousins have common ancestors, but those ancestors do not sustain the same relationship to both cousins, then the "removed" label comes in. If you and I are cousins, but our common ancestors are my grandparents and your great-grandparents, then we are one generation removed from being first cousins. We cannot be second cousins because our ancestors are not my great-grandparents, and we cannot be first cousins because our ancestors are not your grandparents. So, we use the lowest-common denominator (in this case first cousins once removed). If we share only one common ancestor (we have common grandfathers, but not common grandmothers, for instance), then we are half-first cousins.

Dangerous Assignment - A predictable plot

I listened to an episode of Dangerous Assignment on the way to work this morning. Steve Mitchell is sent to Sweden. They have been notified by a U. S. contact over there that secrets are being smuggled out of an office, and their contact has a pretty good idea who is it. Immediately - at this point we KNOW that the first thing that will happen when Mitchell gets to Sweden is that this contact will be killed? Are we right? Well, natch!

The Four Freshmen's unique sound

You can always tell the Four Freshmen right off the bat. Of course, they had that (very) close harmony, but others had that. I have not been able to put my finger on it, but I think one of the quartet always sang just a fraction of a tone out of key, and that gave a recognizable timbre to their productions. Anyway, they were a household name for a while.

Discouragement

It is a very powerful word. Dis-couragement. That which saps our courage and will to carry on. It can render us basically non-functional.

Josefina "Joey" Guerrero

One of the most touching stories in the Reader's Digest book, Secrets and Spies, is that of Joey Guerrero, a brave Philippino woman who had leprosy, but who, though separated from her husband and child because of the disease, acted as a spy and courier for the underground forces. A true hero.

Rita Corday - but her real name was a lot tougher

Corday was another in a long list of actors and actresses whose real names were unwieldy. She was born in Tahiti as Jeanne Paule Teipotemarga.

Photography in The Sands of Iwo Jima

I watched this again tonight and enjoyed it tremendously. Particularly did I appreciate the artful way the director wove together live WWII footage and that which their own cameramen shot.

"I Love America" - what does that mean

I trust that I do love my country and that I would be willing to defend it, but what does that mean? What is it specifically that I love, and that I would be willing to defend? Food for thought.

Maisie takes things in stride

"I only have one pair of shoes, but so what? I only have one pair of feet."
(from Adventures of Maisie radio show)

Charlie valued quiet sleight

"Only a very sly man can shoot off a cannon quietly."
(from Charlie Chan Carries On)

Check out The Falcon series of movies

There was a series of 16 movie made from 1941 to 1949 that featured variations of the character originally created by Michael Arlen in a short story. He was portrayed by George Sanders, Tom Conway, and John Calvert. The Falcon was a suave ladies' man who always seemed to skirt the edges of the law, but always worked on the side of the good guys. They were all lightweight fare, but thoroughly enjoyable. My wife and I are great fans of that genre of old movies that were detective mysteries with a touch of comedy, and that was exactly what The Falcon movies were. Great fun!

Heat!

It always takes me several day to get at all acclimated to the first really hot (or cold) spell. The human system is very adaptable, but there are limits to that, and as we grow older those limits are stricter.

Stan Getz and Woody Herman: "What Are You Doing the Rest of Your Life?"

This is a great performance of one of the great standards. The Woody Herman Band with the inimitable Stan Getz as soloist. Getz had an amazing ability to phrase a solo just precisely to fit situation, and usually just a touch understated, with the right amount of style and class.

LINK

The great themes of Lalo Schifrin

Among the great television theme music were those composed by Lalo Schifrin. See the links below to two of his best: Mannix, and Mission Impossible. (Ah, the good ol' days.)

Link to Mannix
Link to Mission Impossible

French teeth during World War II

According to the book Secrets and Spies, the teeth of Frenchmen during the Second World War were very bad, largely due to malnutrition. At times the Germans, to determine if a person had recently come into the country, would pry open a person's mouth to look at his teeth.

HMS Valliant - disabled by human torpedoes

In 1941, the Valliant was put out of action by an explosion from devices attached to the bottom of the ship by two-man "human torpedoes." (Read the story in the book Secrets and Spies.)

Could Rochester sing?!

Why, around Central Avenue he was known as "that sentimental fellow with the mellow bellow."

Lighted or lit?

Both old radio shows and Louis Lamour seem to use "lighted" pretty strictly as the past tense for the verb light. "He lighted a candle." However, if we use the reference below from the website Grammarist as a rule, that is only a matter of preference.

Lighted and lit each work as the past tense and past participle of the verb light. Both have long histories in English and are used throughout the English-speaking world, so you are generally safe using the one that sounds best to you. Keep in mind, though, that lit is generally favored for both uses outside the U.S. (though lighted, again, appears some of the time). Lighted, where it does appear, is usually an adjective (e.g., a lighted grill), while lit is more often a verb (e.g., she lit the grill).
Neither form is inherently more American or more British. Both forms are hundreds of years old, and each has had periods of prevalence throughout its history. It just happens that at this stage in history lighted is more common in American English than elsewhere.

Drama or music?

Highbrow musical sorts have sometimes debated whether opera is primarily dramatic music or musical drama. In other words, is it mainly drama or music. Where is the emphasis. To me that is easy to answer. If opera is drama, then it is terrible drama. It takes far too long for the plot to evolve, since it has to wait for the music. Also, who can understand what the singers are saying half the time? And who communicates by singing, anyway? If opera is not good music, then it is nothing. Sadly, in an effort to make it drama, many composers neglected the music and ended up with nothing worth having.

Heavy treasure

Early in World War II, when Britain moved her gold to Canada and the U.S., angle irons beneath the cruiser HMS Emerald's magazine floors were bent, so heavy was the load.

Olive Major - even better than Durbin?

A regular for a while on the Eddie Cantor radio program was Olive Major. She had a very pleasant, clear voice with a mature sound far beyond her years. Was she on a par with Deanna Durbin? Well, you would have to listen and judge for yourself, but she was in the same class, at least. She is pictured below with Cantor and Dinah Shore.

From Charlie Chan the family man

"Once you have large family, all other troubles mean nothing." (from The Chinese Cat)

Hi, ho, Silver!

Giacomo Rossini probably knew that he has written a very good piece of music when he finished the Overture to William Tell, but he could have had no sense of the broad usage it has been given today - from TV programs to basketball games.

Hypochondria carriers

Typhoid Mary was perhaps the most famous carrier of a disease. However, I do know people who might be called hypochondria carriers. They can make you feel ill just by talking to you. You might feel all right when the conversation begins, but by the time it ends they will have you convinced that you are at death's door.

The police cars from the golden age of detective movies

1938


1953

Virtue is its own reward

It is an old saying, but no less true today than any day. It is rewarding to do that which is right, regardless of the consequences.

Limits of the human body

It is amazing how much adequate rest and some respite from stress play in keeping us healthy. The human organism thrives on some stress, but there is a point at which it becomes our most dangerous enemy.

Watching "Give Out, Sisters" with Nora

My four-year-old granddaughter and I were watching the old movie, "Give Out, Sisters." I leaned over and asked her, "Isn't this fun - watching an old Andrews Sisters movie?" She thought a moment and answered, "It would be more fun if we had popcorn and sno-cones."

The Blindfolded Wildcat

After Mousey Grey (alias The Masked Muskrat), took on Cedric Wehunt as his assistant. Cedric chose The Blindfolded Wildcat as his professional name. (From the Lum and Abner radio show)

Puny man

Floods, tornadoes, hurricanes, drought. They all serve to remind us just how weak man is. All our vaunted technology and scholarship cannot stand before them. But they obey the voice of the Creator.

Live accompaniment

One of the things that I like least about modern-day talent competitions is the canned accompaniment. Back in the good old days, it was all live. And that made it that much harder. Today's singers do not have to worry about coordinating with the accompanist, and the accompaniment is exactly the same every time. A whole lost easier than how it used to be.

Excess acidity

One sponsor of Fred Allen's Town Hall Tonight was Sal Hepatica, which was supposed to combat "excess acidity." Not the easiest phrase to spit out, on the air, under the gun. But the announcer managed to do it consistently. (Say it ten times quickly to understand.)

"Secrets and Spies" - Reader's Digest

If you have any interest in World War II history, or in the history of espionage, I highly recommend the book Secrets and Spies. This is a condensed compilation published Reader's Digest. It is excellent, and would be an especially good WWII primer for junior high and high school students. Most of it is fascinating reading. Included in it, by the way, is the real story behind the movie The Great Escape. I got my copy decades ago, and have enjoyed reading in it ever since.