Friday, July 31, 2009
Thursday, July 30, 2009
LAUREL CREEK
LAUREL CREEK
On a personal level, I have lost my wife of nearly 65 years. A couple of years ago, the Kaiser Neurologist in Vallejo, diagnosed Marie’s forgetfulness as Alzheimer dementia. He based his decision on the MRI scan of her brain. He showed my three daughters and me, the imagery from the scan. He pointed out the frontal cortex, and explained that 50% of the cells had been destroyed. While I wasn’t surprised by his pronouncement, I was deeply wounded. My emotions were similar to those involved in grieving for the death of a loved one.
I am fortunate to be able to visit her, at Laurel Creek, twice a day. Yet, it is very difficult when I see her. Dementia is a beastly illness. It strips the person of all their humanness. I want to fix her failing mind, and restore it to the sharpness it had when she was playing bridge; when we were traveling and when she was participating in intelligent conversations. But such repair is not to be. I have read, and studied, a lot, about Alzheimer’s and other forms of dementia. While I understand the process, it doesn’t make it any easier to accept.
We were together here at Quail Creek for a year. Management authorized a cut-out in the common wall, so that Marie and I could each have our own apartment - living room, bed room and bath. But then, the stress of her additional care and needs, became too much. We moved her to the nearby Laurel Creek Health Center.
At first, I kept second guessing my decision on moving Marie to the skilled nursing facility, (still on campus) from our assisted living setup here at Quail Creek. I had a guilty conscience - even after I analyzed the result. I decided that she was doing better there, than here. But, it didn’t seem to help. I asked the nurse here why she thought that was. The nurse said “It was because there was a different environment over there.” I finally resolved my dilemma, and accepted the status quo. I reasoned that she is getting the best care that money can buy - at $232 a day!
Yesterday, when I visited her, we greeted each other with our usual kiss. But, this time it was different. I had the same thrill that I remember having after out first date on May 20, 1944. It was a tremendous uplifting feeling. I almost felt like “All is well, once again”. Now, I have reconciled my decision. While she doesn’t remember what she had for lunch - or even if she had lunch - she still calls me “Ray”.
RCL - 7/29/09.
On a personal level, I have lost my wife of nearly 65 years. A couple of years ago, the Kaiser Neurologist in Vallejo, diagnosed Marie’s forgetfulness as Alzheimer dementia. He based his decision on the MRI scan of her brain. He showed my three daughters and me, the imagery from the scan. He pointed out the frontal cortex, and explained that 50% of the cells had been destroyed. While I wasn’t surprised by his pronouncement, I was deeply wounded. My emotions were similar to those involved in grieving for the death of a loved one.
I am fortunate to be able to visit her, at Laurel Creek, twice a day. Yet, it is very difficult when I see her. Dementia is a beastly illness. It strips the person of all their humanness. I want to fix her failing mind, and restore it to the sharpness it had when she was playing bridge; when we were traveling and when she was participating in intelligent conversations. But such repair is not to be. I have read, and studied, a lot, about Alzheimer’s and other forms of dementia. While I understand the process, it doesn’t make it any easier to accept.
We were together here at Quail Creek for a year. Management authorized a cut-out in the common wall, so that Marie and I could each have our own apartment - living room, bed room and bath. But then, the stress of her additional care and needs, became too much. We moved her to the nearby Laurel Creek Health Center.
At first, I kept second guessing my decision on moving Marie to the skilled nursing facility, (still on campus) from our assisted living setup here at Quail Creek. I had a guilty conscience - even after I analyzed the result. I decided that she was doing better there, than here. But, it didn’t seem to help. I asked the nurse here why she thought that was. The nurse said “It was because there was a different environment over there.” I finally resolved my dilemma, and accepted the status quo. I reasoned that she is getting the best care that money can buy - at $232 a day!
Yesterday, when I visited her, we greeted each other with our usual kiss. But, this time it was different. I had the same thrill that I remember having after out first date on May 20, 1944. It was a tremendous uplifting feeling. I almost felt like “All is well, once again”. Now, I have reconciled my decision. While she doesn’t remember what she had for lunch - or even if she had lunch - she still calls me “Ray”.
RCL - 7/29/09.
Tuesday, July 28, 2009
THERE'S MORE
THERE’S MORE
If you didn‘t catch it, Frank McCourt, the author and Pulitzer Prize winner, died on Sunday, July 19, 2009 in New York. He was 78. Of course it reminded me of his book - “Angela’s Ashes”. I really enjoyed reading it. Probably, because of my Irish descent. My Mother’s grandmother - Elizabeth Foy - was from Sligo, Ireland. She emigrated to this country in 1840. This was before Ellis Island, and four years before the Irish Potato Famine. I tried tracing the ship, that brought her to America, at the great Family History Library in Salt Lake City, to no avail. My Mother said that Elizabeth was 18 years old in 1840, but I couldn’t find her on any ship manifest during that period. It would have helped if I had known which port she departed from (Sligo?; Liverpool?) and which port of entry in the U.S.(New York?). This information would have helped me to determine whether she traveled alone ,or with her family.
I have always liked the wit and humor of the Irish, along with their proclivity to talk. The Irish accent always helps. Most Irish are adept at telling stories and Jokes. I have never met a bashful Irish man or woman. Two friends of mine, Gene Doyle and Dennis Horgan have these vocabulary skills. I never tire of their humor - even though I had heard the same thing before. A sense of humor ran in our family, for which I am grateful. My Mother could laugh even when the joke was on her. Not many people can do this.
RCL 7/28/09.
If you didn‘t catch it, Frank McCourt, the author and Pulitzer Prize winner, died on Sunday, July 19, 2009 in New York. He was 78. Of course it reminded me of his book - “Angela’s Ashes”. I really enjoyed reading it. Probably, because of my Irish descent. My Mother’s grandmother - Elizabeth Foy - was from Sligo, Ireland. She emigrated to this country in 1840. This was before Ellis Island, and four years before the Irish Potato Famine. I tried tracing the ship, that brought her to America, at the great Family History Library in Salt Lake City, to no avail. My Mother said that Elizabeth was 18 years old in 1840, but I couldn’t find her on any ship manifest during that period. It would have helped if I had known which port she departed from (Sligo?; Liverpool?) and which port of entry in the U.S.(New York?). This information would have helped me to determine whether she traveled alone ,or with her family.
I have always liked the wit and humor of the Irish, along with their proclivity to talk. The Irish accent always helps. Most Irish are adept at telling stories and Jokes. I have never met a bashful Irish man or woman. Two friends of mine, Gene Doyle and Dennis Horgan have these vocabulary skills. I never tire of their humor - even though I had heard the same thing before. A sense of humor ran in our family, for which I am grateful. My Mother could laugh even when the joke was on her. Not many people can do this.
RCL 7/28/09.
Monday, July 27, 2009
THIS & THAT
THIS & THAT
After reading a review by Kyle Smith, in today’s Wall Street Journal, (“Say Everything” by Scott Rosenberg), I am reluctant to Blog. but, here goes anyway.
Speaking of the Wall Street Journal, I read another interesting article.
“Lighten Up: Rediscovering The Summer Suit”, by Eric Felten. He discussed Americas’ prejudice against summer suits. He mentioned “Seersucker Suits”. This term rang a bell. My memory flashed back to the late 1930’s, when I wore a seersucker suit! I wore a pair of white buckskin shoes with the suit. At least, they were white - before my friend Jim urinated in them. We had bowled until early Sunday morning. It was so late that Jim didn’t want to go home. He asked if he could sleep at our house. My bedroom was upstairs, in a very nice house in Ypsilanti. We had only one bathroom, on the first floor. Jim cheated! I also wore a brown herringbone sport coat with white flannel trousers, a dress shirt and bow tie. My shoes were brown and white wing tip oxfords. My close friends didn’t call me “Duke” for nothing. When the ambient temperature in the summer, in Michigan, equals the relative humidity, you aren’t motivated to wear a dark suit.
The fire engine and ambulance, with flashing lights, just drove by. When you live on an “Aging in Place” campus, this is a frequent sight. You just hope that the first responders aren’t coming to attend you.
It was a busy weekend. On Friday night, Quail Creek hosted a very nice Luau - a hula dancer and all! How’s this for our menu?
For starters, we had Hawaiian Chicken & Mandarin Salad with Cashews & Wontons &Sweet & Spicy Vinaigrette. For our entrée’, we had a choice between Huli Huli Beef Skewers, or Grilled Mahi Mahi with Mango Salsa. Served with either choice, was Coconut Rice and Sweet & Sour Vegetables. For dessert, they served Pineapple Upside Down Cake a` la Mode with Toasted Coconut. There was a wide variety of drinks - including coffee, de cafe, milk, beer, wine and mai tai’s and soft drinks.
I am sure the residents, and their guests, enjoyed the evening as much as I did. It was very well done. While the program was labor intensive, and expensive. It was a very nice fringe benefit.
On Sunday, I went down to Blue Rock Springs in Vallejo, to attend the Torres Family Reunion. It was quite a gathering. There were about 100 people there including family and friends. While it was a big undertaking, everyone pitches in and helps - either with money or bringing a dish. The senior Torres’ started the annual affair, and now, after their deaths, their eight children are carrying on the tradition. Each summer, they rotate the hosting among the eight families, who live in different cities - from San Diego to Seattle. The Reunion was very enjoyable. The weather was kind to us, and I got to visit many people that I hadn’t seen in quite a while. The participants take this gathering seriously. A lady and her daughter flew in from Guam, and another lady from Tampa.
While enjoying Blue Rock Springs Park, I couldn’t help but reflect back 40 years ago when our family was enjoying a picnic. It was Sunday, July 20, 1969. I had taken my transistor radio along because I knew that our first moon landing was about to take place. As we were leaving the park, I couldn’t believe what I was hearing, “The Eagle has landed”
I played bocce ball last week and we won - 12-8. I was sweating it out because the other team was composed of women. They usually roll better than the men. My good feeling was short lived. One of my teammate’s wife was critical. She died the following day.
I played bridge this afternoon, and had lousy cards. My total score (we play six hands, rotating through three tables) was barely higher than the winner of the “booby’ prize. One bright spot, I heard a new quotation from one of our opponents: “Once, I thought that I had made a mistake, but I found out it was a mistake”.
RCL - 7/27/09
Rev.
After reading a review by Kyle Smith, in today’s Wall Street Journal, (“Say Everything” by Scott Rosenberg), I am reluctant to Blog. but, here goes anyway.
Speaking of the Wall Street Journal, I read another interesting article.
“Lighten Up: Rediscovering The Summer Suit”, by Eric Felten. He discussed Americas’ prejudice against summer suits. He mentioned “Seersucker Suits”. This term rang a bell. My memory flashed back to the late 1930’s, when I wore a seersucker suit! I wore a pair of white buckskin shoes with the suit. At least, they were white - before my friend Jim urinated in them. We had bowled until early Sunday morning. It was so late that Jim didn’t want to go home. He asked if he could sleep at our house. My bedroom was upstairs, in a very nice house in Ypsilanti. We had only one bathroom, on the first floor. Jim cheated! I also wore a brown herringbone sport coat with white flannel trousers, a dress shirt and bow tie. My shoes were brown and white wing tip oxfords. My close friends didn’t call me “Duke” for nothing. When the ambient temperature in the summer, in Michigan, equals the relative humidity, you aren’t motivated to wear a dark suit.
The fire engine and ambulance, with flashing lights, just drove by. When you live on an “Aging in Place” campus, this is a frequent sight. You just hope that the first responders aren’t coming to attend you.
It was a busy weekend. On Friday night, Quail Creek hosted a very nice Luau - a hula dancer and all! How’s this for our menu?
For starters, we had Hawaiian Chicken & Mandarin Salad with Cashews & Wontons &Sweet & Spicy Vinaigrette. For our entrée’, we had a choice between Huli Huli Beef Skewers, or Grilled Mahi Mahi with Mango Salsa. Served with either choice, was Coconut Rice and Sweet & Sour Vegetables. For dessert, they served Pineapple Upside Down Cake a` la Mode with Toasted Coconut. There was a wide variety of drinks - including coffee, de cafe, milk, beer, wine and mai tai’s and soft drinks.
I am sure the residents, and their guests, enjoyed the evening as much as I did. It was very well done. While the program was labor intensive, and expensive. It was a very nice fringe benefit.
On Sunday, I went down to Blue Rock Springs in Vallejo, to attend the Torres Family Reunion. It was quite a gathering. There were about 100 people there including family and friends. While it was a big undertaking, everyone pitches in and helps - either with money or bringing a dish. The senior Torres’ started the annual affair, and now, after their deaths, their eight children are carrying on the tradition. Each summer, they rotate the hosting among the eight families, who live in different cities - from San Diego to Seattle. The Reunion was very enjoyable. The weather was kind to us, and I got to visit many people that I hadn’t seen in quite a while. The participants take this gathering seriously. A lady and her daughter flew in from Guam, and another lady from Tampa.
While enjoying Blue Rock Springs Park, I couldn’t help but reflect back 40 years ago when our family was enjoying a picnic. It was Sunday, July 20, 1969. I had taken my transistor radio along because I knew that our first moon landing was about to take place. As we were leaving the park, I couldn’t believe what I was hearing, “The Eagle has landed”
I played bocce ball last week and we won - 12-8. I was sweating it out because the other team was composed of women. They usually roll better than the men. My good feeling was short lived. One of my teammate’s wife was critical. She died the following day.
I played bridge this afternoon, and had lousy cards. My total score (we play six hands, rotating through three tables) was barely higher than the winner of the “booby’ prize. One bright spot, I heard a new quotation from one of our opponents: “Once, I thought that I had made a mistake, but I found out it was a mistake”.
RCL - 7/27/09
Rev.
THIS & THAT
After reading a review by Kyle Smith, in today’s Wall Street Journal, (“Say Everything” by Scott Rosenberg), I am reluctant to Blog. but, here goes anyway.
Speaking of the Wall Street Journal, I read another interesting article.
“Lighten Up: Rediscovering The Summer Suit”, by Eric Felten. He discussed Americas’ prejudice against summer suits. He mentioned “Seersucker Suits”. This term rang a bell. My memory flashed back to the late 1930’s, when I wore a seersucker suit! I wore a pair of white buckskin shoes with the suit. At least, they were white - before my friend Jim urinated in them. We had bowled until early Sunday morning. It was so late that Jim didn’t want to go home. He asked if he could sleep at our house. My bedroom was upstairs, in a very nice house in Ypsilanti. We had only one bathroom, on the first floor. Jim cheated! I also wore a brown herringbone sport coat with white flannel trousers, a dress shirt and bow tie. My shoes were brown and white wing tip oxfords. My close friends didn’t call me “Duke” for nothing. When the ambient temperature in the summer, in Michigan, equals the relative humidity, you aren’t motivated to wear a dark suit.
The fire engine and ambulance, with flashing lights, just drove by. When you live on an “Aging in Place” campus, this is a frequent sight. You just hope that the first responders aren’t coming to attend you.
It was a busy weekend. On Friday night, Quail Creek hosted a very nice Luau - a hula dancer and all! I am sure the residents,, and their guests enjoyed it as much as I did. It was very well done. The program was labor intensive, and expensive. It was a very nice fringe benefit.
I played bocce ball last week and we won - 12-8. I was sweating it out because the other team was composed of women. They usually roll better than the men. My good feeling was short lived. One of my teammate’s wife was critical. She died the following day.
I played bridge this afternoon, and had lousy cards. My total score (we play six hands, rotating through three tables) was barely higher than the winner of the “booby’ prize. One bright spot, I heard a new quotation from one of our opponents: “Once, I thought that I had made a mistake, but I found out it was a mistake”.
On Sunday, I went down to Blue Rock Springs in Vallejo, to attend the Torres Family Reunion. It was quite a gathering. There were about 100 people there including family and friends. While it was a big undertaking, everyone pitches in and helps - either with money or bringing a dish. The senior Torres’ started the annual affair, and now, after their deaths, their eight children are carrying on the tradition. Each summer, they rotate the hosting among the eight families, who live in different cities - from San Diego to Seattle. The Reunion was very enjoyable. The weather was kind to us, and I got to visit many people that I hadn’t seen in quite a while. The participants take this gathering seriously. A lady and her daughter flew in from Guam, and another lady from Tampa.
RCL - 7/27/09.
After reading a review by Kyle Smith, in today’s Wall Street Journal, (“Say Everything” by Scott Rosenberg), I am reluctant to Blog. but, here goes anyway.
Speaking of the Wall Street Journal, I read another interesting article.
“Lighten Up: Rediscovering The Summer Suit”, by Eric Felten. He discussed Americas’ prejudice against summer suits. He mentioned “Seersucker Suits”. This term rang a bell. My memory flashed back to the late 1930’s, when I wore a seersucker suit! I wore a pair of white buckskin shoes with the suit. At least, they were white - before my friend Jim urinated in them. We had bowled until early Sunday morning. It was so late that Jim didn’t want to go home. He asked if he could sleep at our house. My bedroom was upstairs, in a very nice house in Ypsilanti. We had only one bathroom, on the first floor. Jim cheated! I also wore a brown herringbone sport coat with white flannel trousers, a dress shirt and bow tie. My shoes were brown and white wing tip oxfords. My close friends didn’t call me “Duke” for nothing. When the ambient temperature in the summer, in Michigan, equals the relative humidity, you aren’t motivated to wear a dark suit.
The fire engine and ambulance, with flashing lights, just drove by. When you live on an “Aging in Place” campus, this is a frequent sight. You just hope that the first responders aren’t coming to attend you.
It was a busy weekend. On Friday night, Quail Creek hosted a very nice Luau - a hula dancer and all! I am sure the residents,, and their guests enjoyed it as much as I did. It was very well done. The program was labor intensive, and expensive. It was a very nice fringe benefit.
I played bocce ball last week and we won - 12-8. I was sweating it out because the other team was composed of women. They usually roll better than the men. My good feeling was short lived. One of my teammate’s wife was critical. She died the following day.
I played bridge this afternoon, and had lousy cards. My total score (we play six hands, rotating through three tables) was barely higher than the winner of the “booby’ prize. One bright spot, I heard a new quotation from one of our opponents: “Once, I thought that I had made a mistake, but I found out it was a mistake”.
On Sunday, I went down to Blue Rock Springs in Vallejo, to attend the Torres Family Reunion. It was quite a gathering. There were about 100 people there including family and friends. While it was a big undertaking, everyone pitches in and helps - either with money or bringing a dish. The senior Torres’ started the annual affair, and now, after their deaths, their eight children are carrying on the tradition. Each summer, they rotate the hosting among the eight families, who live in different cities - from San Diego to Seattle. The Reunion was very enjoyable. The weather was kind to us, and I got to visit many people that I hadn’t seen in quite a while. The participants take this gathering seriously. A lady and her daughter flew in from Guam, and another lady from Tampa.
RCL - 7/27/09.
Saturday, July 25, 2009
AUTO MUSEUM
AUTO MUSEUM
Today is Wednesday, July 22, 2009. We are heading to Sacramento - our State Capitol - to visit the California Automobile Museum. (It was formerly known as the Towe Auto Museum.). It is situated close to downtown Sacramento and Old Sacramento. Our “Outing” was nearly scrubbed because we only have four “sign-ups”. Someone recruited a sixth person, who very kindly accepted. So, we were able to leave at 9:45.
My gasoline report: Shell - $2.86; Chevron - $3.00 and Arco at $2.78. Crude oil is listed at $64.72/ bbl. Still a lot of construction going on with the Texas Street Exit and overpass. Eastbound traffic is light. The weather is sunny and clear - about 70 degrees. The weatherman forecasts 93 degrees for Fairfield and Sacramento today. We pass a Highway Patrol car sitting on the emergency parking median to our right. It is interesting how the tail lights come on when drivers spot the car. (there doesn’t have to be an officer in it!).
Tony is passing a Chavez truck hauling two bottom-dump trailers. A purple VW Bug is passing on our right, with a San Francisco sticker on the back window. We are passing the Vacaville Factory Outlet complex on our right; The New Kaiser Medical Clinic and hospital on our left. the PG&E power sub-station to our left. We pass a truck loaded with a container. It must have just arrived in the Port of Oakland.
Passing a fruit stand off to our right. I used to pick up June Timm there when we went to our monthly Area Agencies on Aging meetings in the Capitol in Sacramento. The Golden Arches stand prominently off the freeway to my right. Whoever thought of this corporate symbol was pretty smart. I wonder it there is anyone in the world who doesn’t instantly recognize the MacDonald corporate logo? The car lots are still full as we pass by. I wonder if these stranded cars will ever be sold?
Passing some healthy looking green fields. I presume that it is sugar beets, because numerous bottom-dump trailers are parked next to the last field. We pass an Atlas Van Lines moving van. Every time that I see such a truck, I always wonder about the family dynamics surrounding the furniture in transit. Who are they? How large is the family. Where did they live? Where are they moving to? Then there is the trauma and stress of new jobs - new home and neighborhood, and new schools. The list goes on and on.
There aren’t too many trucks in transit. This is not an encouraging sign. A highway sign on the right shoulder - Sacramento - 11. We are riding on the Yolo Causeway now. The car ahead of us is using all the lane. There is a phone antennae on the rear-top. So, I presume that the driver is breaking the law by using his/her cell phone. Tony passes the car at freeway speed - 65 mph. I check out the driver as we drive by. It is an old “he” - no phone in sight - my theory dashed.
Tony takes the left fork Highway 50 to Lake Tahoe and Downtown Sacramento. The other 80 split goes past the Sacramento Airport and on to Reno. We leave at the next Exit - “West Sacramento and Port of Sacramento.” We are on the Tower Bridge which is above the Sacramento river. It dumps us off at 5th street and Broadway. We proceed to Front street where the Museum is located. We arrive at 10:30.
There was a 1927 Model T on display near the lobby. It was for sale - $69939! When new, it cost #485! My first car was a 1924 Model T Ford touring car. Actually, it was a joint venture with my neighbor, and friend, Don Dewar. We each chipped in $7 from our hard-work earnings. The year was 1935. I can’t remember the name of the fellow that sold it to us. As I recall, he lived in the large house on the Southwest corner of Bagley Road and Mulberry Street. I think that we towed that car more miles than we drove it. It’s a wonder that we didn’t break an arm cranking it. My most vivid memory of it was when we went to Chippewa Lake, South of Cleveland. It was on a Saturday night, after I had finished “bagging” at Fishers grocery store. Don was driving, and we were rolling down the hill (probably about 35mph) into Medina. The engine was back-firing and the fumes burned my eyes. It is a wonder that the police didn’t stop us. They must have been sleeping, or on their late night -coffee and donut break. It is strange, but I can’t recall our return trip. That experience must have convinced us to sell the car. We sold it to Burke frees, who was a year younger than Don and I, for $21 - a 50% profit.
I started out logging in the cars as I observed them. Little did I know that there would be 160 cars on display, in this 72,000 sq. foot expanse. I did record some of the cars vital info, before I realized that it would take beaucoup hours to log all of them:
- A Wells Fargo U.S. Mail Wagon -
-1908 Reo. (As I recall from my childhood, Reo became Oldsmobile, which GM has discontinued!)
- 1931 Chrysler Roadster (a beautiful convertible).
- 1933 Lincoln = a rack in the back for luggage.) (owned by B of A founder, A.P. Giannini).
- 1937 Ford Town Car.
- 1959 Dodge Coronet Station Wagon (“Woodie”).
- 1951 Ford Station Wagon (“Woodie“).
- 1940 Lincoln Town car (owned by Clara Ford - Henry‘s wife)
- 1942 Lincoln Zephyr - 4 door sedan.
- 1940 Lincoln Zephyr sedan
- 1947 Lincoln Continental Convertible (a beauty).
- 1925 Cadillac
- 1929 Hudson Super Six Roadster.
- 1929 engine for a Ford Tri-motor airplane.
- 1923 Studebaker
- 1928 Cunningham Brougham Sedan
- 1934 Pierce Arrow (the headlights are mounted on the front fenders)
- 1936 Packard Eight
- 1937 Chrysler Imperial coupe
- 1937 Cadillac Sedan
- 1962 Pontiac Bonneville
- 1996 Porsche
- 1998 Jaguar
- 1971 Corvette Coup
- 1971 Mercedes Benz
- 1963 Chrysler Imperial
- 1913 Rauch and Lang (Electric Car - so it isn’t a new idea today.)
- 1981 Bradley Electric
- 1972 Datson Electric
- 1977 American Motors Pacer
- 1974 Plymouth
- 1971 Star Streak Motor Home
- 1987 Lamborghini (two doors that popped out and up when opened)
- 1956 Ford Thunderbird
- 1953 Kaiser Manhattan
- 1931 Ford Model A Deluxe Roadster (I had a 1931 Ford Coupe (no rumble seat). I paid $165 for it in 1937.)
- 1939 Studebaker Commander Roadster
- 1936 Ford Roadster
- 1936 Chrysler Airflow Coupe
- 1925 Franklin (air cooled engine)
- 1927 Nash Coupe
- 1931 Ford Victoria
- 1928 Willys Knight Coupe
- 1940 Hudson
- 1936 Plymouth Coupe
- 1953 Jaguar XK-120
- 1938 Rolls Royce Sport Sedan
- 1967 Morris
- 1961 VW “Beetle”
- 1911 Pierce Arrow - ( a beauty, restored by Harrah’s - Reno)
- 1910 Peerless - 7 Passenger Tourer ( not restored.)
- 1912 Metz Roadster
- 1940 Pontiac Station Wagon
Also, there were many old racing cars on display, and many other types, such as:
1882 Horsecar - (the father of the cable car and trolley)
1921 Ford Model T Snowmobile
1905 Model T. (there was a generator mounted on the front of the left running board. It would mix carbide and water to produce an acetylene gas which was pumped to the headlights and then the driver would hand-light the gas in the headlamps. Later on, the Presto lights were invented, which didn’t require a generator.)
At this point, I stopped copying the car info, and just enjoyed looking at these historic treasures.
We departed from the Museum at 11:35, after spending a little over an hour there. I could have spent a whole day reminiscing about all of that auto history.
Back in the 1930’s, girls weren’t much interested in cars. I only knew of one woman who had a driver’s license, and that was my wife, Marie. She was permitted to drive by the State of California, even though she was only 14. Her Dad had just died, and her Mother didn’t drive. I do remember that my sister Jeanne drove right after WWII ended. Today, most women drive out of necessity - for their job, or hauling their kids to all of their many extra curricula activities. A woman is also driving racing cars, and competing very well against the men. Of course, boys have always been interested in cars. They become a parental pest, as they couldn’t wait to be licensed.
It was only a five minute drive to Joe’s Crab Shack, where we had a nice lunch. The restaurant sits at the edge of the Sacramento River. It is a great setting. There is a lot of “atmosphere” inside, which made it interesting.
On the way back, I noticed two large- newer buildings on the west side of the river. There are some high- cirrus clouds overhead. It is warm and sunny. I can see the foothills to the west, about 15 miles away.
The traffic is still light west-bound on I-80. On the right, we are passing the Mondavi Center for the Arts, on the UC - Daviscampus. The oleander bushes, forming a living fence along the median divider, is in full bloom. They are very attractive. They do very well in the summer heat. Apparently, they don’t require much water. Also, on the right is a large Camping World facility. There are many recreational vehicles sitting idly by in their parking lot. It wasn’t too many years ago, when such vehicles would have been on the road in the middle of the busy vacation season.
I see a highway sign: Vallejo 22
San Francisco 52
As we turn the corner, I see a new Pre-School building under construction. While progress seemed quite rapid at the start, it seems to have stalled out recently - even though the sign on the fence says “Coming Soon”. Kelli looked into it, to care for her young son Hunter during the day. She said that their proposed tuition is very pricey, at $275 a week !
Tony had to slam on the brakes when some dumb driver pulled out right in front of us. A good thing that he is an excellent driver and always watchful and on the alert.
We arrive back at Quail Creek at 2:00 p.m. Tony tells me that our round trip covered 84 miles. RCL - 7/25/09.
Today is Wednesday, July 22, 2009. We are heading to Sacramento - our State Capitol - to visit the California Automobile Museum. (It was formerly known as the Towe Auto Museum.). It is situated close to downtown Sacramento and Old Sacramento. Our “Outing” was nearly scrubbed because we only have four “sign-ups”. Someone recruited a sixth person, who very kindly accepted. So, we were able to leave at 9:45.
My gasoline report: Shell - $2.86; Chevron - $3.00 and Arco at $2.78. Crude oil is listed at $64.72/ bbl. Still a lot of construction going on with the Texas Street Exit and overpass. Eastbound traffic is light. The weather is sunny and clear - about 70 degrees. The weatherman forecasts 93 degrees for Fairfield and Sacramento today. We pass a Highway Patrol car sitting on the emergency parking median to our right. It is interesting how the tail lights come on when drivers spot the car. (there doesn’t have to be an officer in it!).
Tony is passing a Chavez truck hauling two bottom-dump trailers. A purple VW Bug is passing on our right, with a San Francisco sticker on the back window. We are passing the Vacaville Factory Outlet complex on our right; The New Kaiser Medical Clinic and hospital on our left. the PG&E power sub-station to our left. We pass a truck loaded with a container. It must have just arrived in the Port of Oakland.
Passing a fruit stand off to our right. I used to pick up June Timm there when we went to our monthly Area Agencies on Aging meetings in the Capitol in Sacramento. The Golden Arches stand prominently off the freeway to my right. Whoever thought of this corporate symbol was pretty smart. I wonder it there is anyone in the world who doesn’t instantly recognize the MacDonald corporate logo? The car lots are still full as we pass by. I wonder if these stranded cars will ever be sold?
Passing some healthy looking green fields. I presume that it is sugar beets, because numerous bottom-dump trailers are parked next to the last field. We pass an Atlas Van Lines moving van. Every time that I see such a truck, I always wonder about the family dynamics surrounding the furniture in transit. Who are they? How large is the family. Where did they live? Where are they moving to? Then there is the trauma and stress of new jobs - new home and neighborhood, and new schools. The list goes on and on.
There aren’t too many trucks in transit. This is not an encouraging sign. A highway sign on the right shoulder - Sacramento - 11. We are riding on the Yolo Causeway now. The car ahead of us is using all the lane. There is a phone antennae on the rear-top. So, I presume that the driver is breaking the law by using his/her cell phone. Tony passes the car at freeway speed - 65 mph. I check out the driver as we drive by. It is an old “he” - no phone in sight - my theory dashed.
Tony takes the left fork Highway 50 to Lake Tahoe and Downtown Sacramento. The other 80 split goes past the Sacramento Airport and on to Reno. We leave at the next Exit - “West Sacramento and Port of Sacramento.” We are on the Tower Bridge which is above the Sacramento river. It dumps us off at 5th street and Broadway. We proceed to Front street where the Museum is located. We arrive at 10:30.
There was a 1927 Model T on display near the lobby. It was for sale - $69939! When new, it cost #485! My first car was a 1924 Model T Ford touring car. Actually, it was a joint venture with my neighbor, and friend, Don Dewar. We each chipped in $7 from our hard-work earnings. The year was 1935. I can’t remember the name of the fellow that sold it to us. As I recall, he lived in the large house on the Southwest corner of Bagley Road and Mulberry Street. I think that we towed that car more miles than we drove it. It’s a wonder that we didn’t break an arm cranking it. My most vivid memory of it was when we went to Chippewa Lake, South of Cleveland. It was on a Saturday night, after I had finished “bagging” at Fishers grocery store. Don was driving, and we were rolling down the hill (probably about 35mph) into Medina. The engine was back-firing and the fumes burned my eyes. It is a wonder that the police didn’t stop us. They must have been sleeping, or on their late night -coffee and donut break. It is strange, but I can’t recall our return trip. That experience must have convinced us to sell the car. We sold it to Burke frees, who was a year younger than Don and I, for $21 - a 50% profit.
I started out logging in the cars as I observed them. Little did I know that there would be 160 cars on display, in this 72,000 sq. foot expanse. I did record some of the cars vital info, before I realized that it would take beaucoup hours to log all of them:
- A Wells Fargo U.S. Mail Wagon -
-1908 Reo. (As I recall from my childhood, Reo became Oldsmobile, which GM has discontinued!)
- 1931 Chrysler Roadster (a beautiful convertible).
- 1933 Lincoln = a rack in the back for luggage.) (owned by B of A founder, A.P. Giannini).
- 1937 Ford Town Car.
- 1959 Dodge Coronet Station Wagon (“Woodie”).
- 1951 Ford Station Wagon (“Woodie“).
- 1940 Lincoln Town car (owned by Clara Ford - Henry‘s wife)
- 1942 Lincoln Zephyr - 4 door sedan.
- 1940 Lincoln Zephyr sedan
- 1947 Lincoln Continental Convertible (a beauty).
- 1925 Cadillac
- 1929 Hudson Super Six Roadster.
- 1929 engine for a Ford Tri-motor airplane.
- 1923 Studebaker
- 1928 Cunningham Brougham Sedan
- 1934 Pierce Arrow (the headlights are mounted on the front fenders)
- 1936 Packard Eight
- 1937 Chrysler Imperial coupe
- 1937 Cadillac Sedan
- 1962 Pontiac Bonneville
- 1996 Porsche
- 1998 Jaguar
- 1971 Corvette Coup
- 1971 Mercedes Benz
- 1963 Chrysler Imperial
- 1913 Rauch and Lang (Electric Car - so it isn’t a new idea today.)
- 1981 Bradley Electric
- 1972 Datson Electric
- 1977 American Motors Pacer
- 1974 Plymouth
- 1971 Star Streak Motor Home
- 1987 Lamborghini (two doors that popped out and up when opened)
- 1956 Ford Thunderbird
- 1953 Kaiser Manhattan
- 1931 Ford Model A Deluxe Roadster (I had a 1931 Ford Coupe (no rumble seat). I paid $165 for it in 1937.)
- 1939 Studebaker Commander Roadster
- 1936 Ford Roadster
- 1936 Chrysler Airflow Coupe
- 1925 Franklin (air cooled engine)
- 1927 Nash Coupe
- 1931 Ford Victoria
- 1928 Willys Knight Coupe
- 1940 Hudson
- 1936 Plymouth Coupe
- 1953 Jaguar XK-120
- 1938 Rolls Royce Sport Sedan
- 1967 Morris
- 1961 VW “Beetle”
- 1911 Pierce Arrow - ( a beauty, restored by Harrah’s - Reno)
- 1910 Peerless - 7 Passenger Tourer ( not restored.)
- 1912 Metz Roadster
- 1940 Pontiac Station Wagon
Also, there were many old racing cars on display, and many other types, such as:
1882 Horsecar - (the father of the cable car and trolley)
1921 Ford Model T Snowmobile
1905 Model T. (there was a generator mounted on the front of the left running board. It would mix carbide and water to produce an acetylene gas which was pumped to the headlights and then the driver would hand-light the gas in the headlamps. Later on, the Presto lights were invented, which didn’t require a generator.)
At this point, I stopped copying the car info, and just enjoyed looking at these historic treasures.
We departed from the Museum at 11:35, after spending a little over an hour there. I could have spent a whole day reminiscing about all of that auto history.
Back in the 1930’s, girls weren’t much interested in cars. I only knew of one woman who had a driver’s license, and that was my wife, Marie. She was permitted to drive by the State of California, even though she was only 14. Her Dad had just died, and her Mother didn’t drive. I do remember that my sister Jeanne drove right after WWII ended. Today, most women drive out of necessity - for their job, or hauling their kids to all of their many extra curricula activities. A woman is also driving racing cars, and competing very well against the men. Of course, boys have always been interested in cars. They become a parental pest, as they couldn’t wait to be licensed.
It was only a five minute drive to Joe’s Crab Shack, where we had a nice lunch. The restaurant sits at the edge of the Sacramento River. It is a great setting. There is a lot of “atmosphere” inside, which made it interesting.
On the way back, I noticed two large- newer buildings on the west side of the river. There are some high- cirrus clouds overhead. It is warm and sunny. I can see the foothills to the west, about 15 miles away.
The traffic is still light west-bound on I-80. On the right, we are passing the Mondavi Center for the Arts, on the UC - Daviscampus. The oleander bushes, forming a living fence along the median divider, is in full bloom. They are very attractive. They do very well in the summer heat. Apparently, they don’t require much water. Also, on the right is a large Camping World facility. There are many recreational vehicles sitting idly by in their parking lot. It wasn’t too many years ago, when such vehicles would have been on the road in the middle of the busy vacation season.
I see a highway sign: Vallejo 22
San Francisco 52
As we turn the corner, I see a new Pre-School building under construction. While progress seemed quite rapid at the start, it seems to have stalled out recently - even though the sign on the fence says “Coming Soon”. Kelli looked into it, to care for her young son Hunter during the day. She said that their proposed tuition is very pricey, at $275 a week !
Tony had to slam on the brakes when some dumb driver pulled out right in front of us. A good thing that he is an excellent driver and always watchful and on the alert.
We arrive back at Quail Creek at 2:00 p.m. Tony tells me that our round trip covered 84 miles. RCL - 7/25/09.
Thursday, July 16, 2009
YOU CALL IT
“YOU CALL IT”
Yesterday was an interesting and busy day. I played bocce ball in the morning (We lost 12-5!), and bridge in the afternoon! These folks take bocce ball seriously. They revel in protocol and rituals. As a newcomer, I feel that this leaves a little bit more to be desired in the game.
The game is started by the team captains flipping a coin to see which team rolls first. When I first started playing bocce ball, no one had a coin. Finally, someone donated a quarter to the cause. It was placed at the bottom of the ball carrier. Apparently, the coin walked off. Today, one of the captains had a penny. One flipped the coin, and the other called it. The only trouble was , the four elderly eyes of the two captains had difficulty determining whether the resting coin was a “head” or a “tail”.
At the end of the rolling of four red balls and four green balls, is the part that I enjoy - the awarding of points. There is a tape measure on each side of the court. The players use these to measure the distance of their rolled balls from the white pallino, to see which one is the closest (for a point). Usually, you can determine this by eye-balling the distances. But, when it is disputed by a team member, they go to measuring. An opposite team member is at each end of the tape measure. It gets interesting (and I think entertaining) when more than two balls are being contested. By the time that the measurers take the third measurement, they have forgotten what the first measurement was, and they start all over!
After our 0845 game, I was placing the balls (which we had just used) back in the wooden rack, to be ready for the 1000 o’clock start for the next two teams. Some “clown” waiting to play the next game told me not to put different colored balls in the same rack. (there are two racks - side by side). So, I handed him one of the balls. He gave me a “fishy-eyed look”, so I told him that “complainers can put the balls wherever they want.” He said, “I wasn’t complaining I was telling you what to do!”
At our game, Virginia, the captain of the other team said “Ray, I heard that you play bridge.” (Apparently, my daughter Sue told someone, when she was watching us play last week, and the word got around.) I told her that I did. She invited me to their bridge session starting at 1:00. I accepted. It was an interesting afternoon (three hours). I had never played with “unknowns’ before. While I looked forward to meeting new people, I was afraid that they might be of tournament caliber. I found later - after playing - that my fear was unfounded . They didn’t play any better than I did. Virginia (who invited me, and heads up the group) told me to sign in and give her a dollar. There were four tables (16 players), and we rotated to another table after three games, playing with a different partner. I still don’t know the process. I just followed instructions.
At the last table where I played, one of our opponents was “George”. He was an interesting player. He didn’t like “No Trump” bids, he liked to cross trump”. Consequently, there was some strange bidding going on. One of the ladies (there were 12 ladies and four men) gave me an early warning. She said “When you play with George, you never know what cards he holds by his bidding.”). While we were playing, there was a break in the action. One of the guys, playing at another table had gone “missing”. He apparently didn’t say anything - just left the table. Apparently, he has Alzheimer’s. Women were looking outside the room for him, one was calling his home phone, but got no answer. George volunteered that “it didn’t mean anything, because he never answers his phone anyway.” While the women were scurrying around looking for him, (they should have peeked into the Mens Room), the guys kept hollering “Let’s play bridge.” About 15 minutes later, the guy strolled in, and all the ladies hollered in unison, ”What happened to you?” He replied, with a smirk,, “I was sitting on the pot”! Bridge continued. Such moments make it easier for me to cope with old age.
About four o’clock I was finished playing and was about to take off, when Virginia looked at my score and suggested that I stick around until the last table finished. “You might have won something”. So, I waited until they finished and Virginia gave me back my $1. I still don’t know what that meant.
I signed the log book agreeing to show up Monday at 1:00, for another bridge session.
RCL - 7/16/09.
Yesterday was an interesting and busy day. I played bocce ball in the morning (We lost 12-5!), and bridge in the afternoon! These folks take bocce ball seriously. They revel in protocol and rituals. As a newcomer, I feel that this leaves a little bit more to be desired in the game.
The game is started by the team captains flipping a coin to see which team rolls first. When I first started playing bocce ball, no one had a coin. Finally, someone donated a quarter to the cause. It was placed at the bottom of the ball carrier. Apparently, the coin walked off. Today, one of the captains had a penny. One flipped the coin, and the other called it. The only trouble was , the four elderly eyes of the two captains had difficulty determining whether the resting coin was a “head” or a “tail”.
At the end of the rolling of four red balls and four green balls, is the part that I enjoy - the awarding of points. There is a tape measure on each side of the court. The players use these to measure the distance of their rolled balls from the white pallino, to see which one is the closest (for a point). Usually, you can determine this by eye-balling the distances. But, when it is disputed by a team member, they go to measuring. An opposite team member is at each end of the tape measure. It gets interesting (and I think entertaining) when more than two balls are being contested. By the time that the measurers take the third measurement, they have forgotten what the first measurement was, and they start all over!
After our 0845 game, I was placing the balls (which we had just used) back in the wooden rack, to be ready for the 1000 o’clock start for the next two teams. Some “clown” waiting to play the next game told me not to put different colored balls in the same rack. (there are two racks - side by side). So, I handed him one of the balls. He gave me a “fishy-eyed look”, so I told him that “complainers can put the balls wherever they want.” He said, “I wasn’t complaining I was telling you what to do!”
At our game, Virginia, the captain of the other team said “Ray, I heard that you play bridge.” (Apparently, my daughter Sue told someone, when she was watching us play last week, and the word got around.) I told her that I did. She invited me to their bridge session starting at 1:00. I accepted. It was an interesting afternoon (three hours). I had never played with “unknowns’ before. While I looked forward to meeting new people, I was afraid that they might be of tournament caliber. I found later - after playing - that my fear was unfounded . They didn’t play any better than I did. Virginia (who invited me, and heads up the group) told me to sign in and give her a dollar. There were four tables (16 players), and we rotated to another table after three games, playing with a different partner. I still don’t know the process. I just followed instructions.
At the last table where I played, one of our opponents was “George”. He was an interesting player. He didn’t like “No Trump” bids, he liked to cross trump”. Consequently, there was some strange bidding going on. One of the ladies (there were 12 ladies and four men) gave me an early warning. She said “When you play with George, you never know what cards he holds by his bidding.”). While we were playing, there was a break in the action. One of the guys, playing at another table had gone “missing”. He apparently didn’t say anything - just left the table. Apparently, he has Alzheimer’s. Women were looking outside the room for him, one was calling his home phone, but got no answer. George volunteered that “it didn’t mean anything, because he never answers his phone anyway.” While the women were scurrying around looking for him, (they should have peeked into the Mens Room), the guys kept hollering “Let’s play bridge.” About 15 minutes later, the guy strolled in, and all the ladies hollered in unison, ”What happened to you?” He replied, with a smirk,, “I was sitting on the pot”! Bridge continued. Such moments make it easier for me to cope with old age.
About four o’clock I was finished playing and was about to take off, when Virginia looked at my score and suggested that I stick around until the last table finished. “You might have won something”. So, I waited until they finished and Virginia gave me back my $1. I still don’t know what that meant.
I signed the log book agreeing to show up Monday at 1:00, for another bridge session.
RCL - 7/16/09.
Wednesday, July 15, 2009
BROTHER BOB
BROTHER BOB
Today is July 15, 2009 - the Ides of July! My brother Robert (Bob) James, was born on this date 87 years ago! (July 15, 1922.) He died on May 31, 1984 - all too soon - at he age of 61. Bob had smoked since high school. He left a wife and nine children. My sister Jeanne, brother John Norman, and myself (Ray L’Amoreaux), also mourned his death.
Bob was the first of the four of us siblings to be born in a hospital. Jeanne and I were both born at home - Jeanne at 63 Carleton Road. And I at 9 South Manning Street, both of us in Hillsdale Michigan.
Bob was a good athlete in high school. He played on the Ypsilanti High School golf team, and was a very good bowler. During WWII, he enlisted in the Coast Guard, and served on the cutter, USS Meigs - primarily on patrol in the Aleutian Islands. He was discharged in December 1945. In January 1946, he was in a fatal auto accident, when a drunk driver of a pickup, hit their car head-on. He and his girl friend were riding in the back seat of a four- door Plymouth. Bob’s left leg was almost severed at the knee. He also received a broken neck and internal injuries. He was in intensive care in St. Joseph’s Hospital, Ann Arbor, for quite a while, and then had 24/7 nursing care for six weeks. The surgeons tried to save his leg but, when the circulation failed, they had to amputate his leg at the knee. Our parents cashed all of their War Savings Bonds to pay for Bob’s hospital bill.
After his release from the hospital, Bob spent the next few years staying with our parents in Ypsilanti - while recuperating, getting physical therapy and rehabbing with his new artificial leg. He got a job in the Production Planning Department at the Ford Motor company in Ypsilanti.
He married Jacqueline (Jackie) McIlhargie October 6, 1951. They had nine children.
Bob told my wife, Marie, once, that since his accident, there never was a day that he didn’t have a headache. Yet, he gutted it out, and continued working. He was also active in raising his family.
Bob was certainly gracious and “giving” to me. I was the Audit Manager for California and Hawaiian Sugar Company. I did quite a bit of traveling on company business. When in the mid-west, I tried to schedule my trip so that I could swing by Ypsilanti on the weekend, to see my family. Bob was always at the Detroit airport to pick me up when I arrived - no matter the hour - , and return me to the airport, after my visit. I could never thank him enough for his thoughtful kindness.
Happy Birthday, Bob! I miss you. RCL - 7/15/09.
Today is July 15, 2009 - the Ides of July! My brother Robert (Bob) James, was born on this date 87 years ago! (July 15, 1922.) He died on May 31, 1984 - all too soon - at he age of 61. Bob had smoked since high school. He left a wife and nine children. My sister Jeanne, brother John Norman, and myself (Ray L’Amoreaux), also mourned his death.
Bob was the first of the four of us siblings to be born in a hospital. Jeanne and I were both born at home - Jeanne at 63 Carleton Road. And I at 9 South Manning Street, both of us in Hillsdale Michigan.
Bob was a good athlete in high school. He played on the Ypsilanti High School golf team, and was a very good bowler. During WWII, he enlisted in the Coast Guard, and served on the cutter, USS Meigs - primarily on patrol in the Aleutian Islands. He was discharged in December 1945. In January 1946, he was in a fatal auto accident, when a drunk driver of a pickup, hit their car head-on. He and his girl friend were riding in the back seat of a four- door Plymouth. Bob’s left leg was almost severed at the knee. He also received a broken neck and internal injuries. He was in intensive care in St. Joseph’s Hospital, Ann Arbor, for quite a while, and then had 24/7 nursing care for six weeks. The surgeons tried to save his leg but, when the circulation failed, they had to amputate his leg at the knee. Our parents cashed all of their War Savings Bonds to pay for Bob’s hospital bill.
After his release from the hospital, Bob spent the next few years staying with our parents in Ypsilanti - while recuperating, getting physical therapy and rehabbing with his new artificial leg. He got a job in the Production Planning Department at the Ford Motor company in Ypsilanti.
He married Jacqueline (Jackie) McIlhargie October 6, 1951. They had nine children.
Bob told my wife, Marie, once, that since his accident, there never was a day that he didn’t have a headache. Yet, he gutted it out, and continued working. He was also active in raising his family.
Bob was certainly gracious and “giving” to me. I was the Audit Manager for California and Hawaiian Sugar Company. I did quite a bit of traveling on company business. When in the mid-west, I tried to schedule my trip so that I could swing by Ypsilanti on the weekend, to see my family. Bob was always at the Detroit airport to pick me up when I arrived - no matter the hour - , and return me to the airport, after my visit. I could never thank him enough for his thoughtful kindness.
Happy Birthday, Bob! I miss you. RCL - 7/15/09.
Sunday, July 12, 2009
McNAMARA
ROBERT MCNAMARA
Robert McNamara died yesterday, Monday, July 6, 2009, at his home in Washington, D.C. He was born in San Francisco, on June 9,1916. He was 93. I first heard about his death during the Lehrer NewsHour, but I didn’t dwell on it.
I sat with Ed at lunch today. He brought up the subject. He told me that McNamara was a classmate of his - at both Cal - Berkeley and in graduate school at Harvard. I asked Ed where he was born, and he said, “Oakland.” That got me reminiscing. I remembered seeing McNamara on his 1997 lecture circuit, in Walnut Creek. He was promoting his latest book - “In retrospect: the tragedy and lessons of Viet Nam.” I purchased a copy.
I started thinking about his career, as I casually followed it through the years. So, I looked it up on Google. My inquiry came up with a very interesting review of his life. I would like to share some of the highlights that I found:
McNamara said that his earliest memory was when he was two years old. (I wouldn’t doubt his early age, as much later he was known as one of the “Whiz Kids” while working at Ford.) He said that he remembered the celebration of peace on that first Armistice Day - November 11, 1918. It marked the end of the Great war - then called “the war to end all wars. Now, we call that conflict The First World war, or world war L I mention this because November 11, 1918 was my birth date, The Armistice was signed in France at 11 A.M. (Paris time), or 6 A.M. in Hillsdale, Michigan. I was born 20 minutes later! So, I guess that I can loosely say that McNamara and I had something in common! McNamara served as an officer in the Army Air Corps during world war II.
McNamara joined Ford Motor Company in 1946, as an executive. In 1960 he was promoted to President of the company - the first man outside of the Ford family to hold the position. While working at Ford in Dearborn, he lived in Ann Arbor. I mention this because my parents lived in nearby Ypsilanti for over 40 years - as did I, for four years.
John F. Kennedy was elected President in 1960. He appointed McNamara as Secretary of Defense. In 1961, McNamara initiated a major change in policy - a decision to increase the nation’s” limited warfare” capabilities. His new directive replaced President Eisenhower’s policy of “massive retaliation.” In 1962, McNamara played a big part in the Kennedy Administration’s response to the Cuban Missile Crisis.
The Armed Forces strength totaled about 3.6 million in 1953, at the end of the Korean War. The strength was reduced to 2.5 million by 1961, The forces leveled off at 2.7 million, until the Viet Nam buildup in 1965, when it reached a peak of 3.5 million in mid 1968, just after McNamara left office.
McNamara became more controversial after 1966. He differed with the President and the Joint Chiefs of Staff over Viet Nam strategy. As a result, McNamara left office as Secretary of Defense on February 29, 1968. He served seven years as Secretary of Defense - longer than anyone before, or since - to date.
Robert McNamara served as president of the World Bank from April 1968 until June 1981.
McNamara served as a trustee on the board at Caltech, and also on the board of the Economics for Peace and Security, and an honorary trustee for the Brookings Institution.
RCL 7/12/09.
Robert McNamara died yesterday, Monday, July 6, 2009, at his home in Washington, D.C. He was born in San Francisco, on June 9,1916. He was 93. I first heard about his death during the Lehrer NewsHour, but I didn’t dwell on it.
I sat with Ed at lunch today. He brought up the subject. He told me that McNamara was a classmate of his - at both Cal - Berkeley and in graduate school at Harvard. I asked Ed where he was born, and he said, “Oakland.” That got me reminiscing. I remembered seeing McNamara on his 1997 lecture circuit, in Walnut Creek. He was promoting his latest book - “In retrospect: the tragedy and lessons of Viet Nam.” I purchased a copy.
I started thinking about his career, as I casually followed it through the years. So, I looked it up on Google. My inquiry came up with a very interesting review of his life. I would like to share some of the highlights that I found:
McNamara said that his earliest memory was when he was two years old. (I wouldn’t doubt his early age, as much later he was known as one of the “Whiz Kids” while working at Ford.) He said that he remembered the celebration of peace on that first Armistice Day - November 11, 1918. It marked the end of the Great war - then called “the war to end all wars. Now, we call that conflict The First World war, or world war L I mention this because November 11, 1918 was my birth date, The Armistice was signed in France at 11 A.M. (Paris time), or 6 A.M. in Hillsdale, Michigan. I was born 20 minutes later! So, I guess that I can loosely say that McNamara and I had something in common! McNamara served as an officer in the Army Air Corps during world war II.
McNamara joined Ford Motor Company in 1946, as an executive. In 1960 he was promoted to President of the company - the first man outside of the Ford family to hold the position. While working at Ford in Dearborn, he lived in Ann Arbor. I mention this because my parents lived in nearby Ypsilanti for over 40 years - as did I, for four years.
John F. Kennedy was elected President in 1960. He appointed McNamara as Secretary of Defense. In 1961, McNamara initiated a major change in policy - a decision to increase the nation’s” limited warfare” capabilities. His new directive replaced President Eisenhower’s policy of “massive retaliation.” In 1962, McNamara played a big part in the Kennedy Administration’s response to the Cuban Missile Crisis.
The Armed Forces strength totaled about 3.6 million in 1953, at the end of the Korean War. The strength was reduced to 2.5 million by 1961, The forces leveled off at 2.7 million, until the Viet Nam buildup in 1965, when it reached a peak of 3.5 million in mid 1968, just after McNamara left office.
McNamara became more controversial after 1966. He differed with the President and the Joint Chiefs of Staff over Viet Nam strategy. As a result, McNamara left office as Secretary of Defense on February 29, 1968. He served seven years as Secretary of Defense - longer than anyone before, or since - to date.
Robert McNamara served as president of the World Bank from April 1968 until June 1981.
McNamara served as a trustee on the board at Caltech, and also on the board of the Economics for Peace and Security, and an honorary trustee for the Brookings Institution.
RCL 7/12/09.
Saturday, July 11, 2009
BENICIA
BENICIA.
Today is Wednesday, July 8, 2009. Our “Outing” is to Benicia, a neighboring city about 20 miles to the South. We leave Quail Creek at 9:50. The weather is sunny, cloudless and hazy visibility. The temperature is around 70 degrees. Besides Tony, our chauffeur, and Kelli, our Activities Coordinator, there are seven residents along.
While it is a very nice day for golfing, I see only a few players on the Paradise Valley course. Gas at Shell is $2.96 - at Chevron - $3.06 and Arco is $2.88 a gallon. Crude oil is about $60 a bbl. today - down about 18% in the past week. We pass an auto hauler loaded with licensed cars. My first thought is that they were repossessed. Traffic is light on I-80, with more cars going eastbound than in our direction. Another grass fire on the right side. This one has burned a greater area than the previous ones that I have seen, including turning some trees brown. There are not many trucks sitting in the westbound truck scales. This is not a good economic sign.
We exit #80 onto Southbound #680. We whiz by the Cordelia Industrial Park. I haven’t been over this route since we went to Antioch for lunch at Humphrey’s. I can barely see the outline of Mt. Diablo through the front windshield - about 20 miles away. It is interesting to see the green trees sitting on the golden hillsides. They must have deep root systems, as we haven’t received any appreciable rain for three months now.
The Benicia City limit now extends beyond the Industrial Park. We are passing large golden storage tanks on both sides of the freeway. They used to be owned by Exxon, but now they are owned by Valero. We exit form 680 on to 780 and then turn off at East fifth Street in Benicia. This off-ramp is very familiar to me. I used to take it from 780 every Sunday when we drove to Benicia, from Vallejo, to attend mass at St. Dominic’s Church. We liked this small church better than our parish church in Vallejo. The church is more than 150 years old. It is much smaller and warm. It reminds me of the old Mission churches. We are passing new construction on East Fifth Street, which I hadn’t seen before. The last time I saw this area it contained an auto parts store, a restaurant and an empty lot from which they sold Christmas trees. The large building looks like ir will be apartments.
Benicia is an old city. It was founded by Robert Semple and Thomas Larkin and General Vallejo in 1847, on land purchased from General Vallejo. The city was named after the middle name of General Vallejo’s wife. It was the first city in California to be founded by Anglo-Americans.
Benicia is located on the north shore of the Carquinez Strait. It served as the state capitol (the third one) from 1853-1854. The 2000 census lists Benicia’s population as 26,865. The city was the Solano County seat until 1858, when it was moved to Fairfield.
The original campus of Mills College was founded in Benicia in 1852 (Young Ladies Seminary). It was the first women’s college west of the Rockies. The college moved to Oakland in 1871. I mention Mills, because my wife, Marie, attended Mills for a year - before and after our marriage in 1944.
Our first stop in Benicia was at the old Benicia Arsenal, located next to Suisun Bay. The 252 acres was acquired in 1847, and first occupied in 1849. For over 100 years, the Arsenal was the primary US Ordnance facility for the West Coast. The Arsenal was famous for stabling the Army’s one and only Camel Corps, between 1855 and 1863. The Benicia Arsenal was a staging area during the Civil War for Union troops from the West, and during the Spanish American War. The Arsenal is most famous for supplying munitions to Lt. Col. Jimmy Doolittle’s B-25’s, for the first bombing raid on Tokyo, on April 18, 1942. Prior to 1940, the Arsenal had 85 civilian employees. By October, 1942, 4545 people were employed, about half of them women.. Because of the labor shortage during WWII, Italian and German prisoners of war and youth from the California Youth Authority were part of this work force. During the Korean War, the work force reached an all-time high of 6,700 workers.
The Benicia Arsenal was de-activated in1963, and the facility was closed in 1964. The space now is primarily used by artists and artisans.
We visited one of the sites - Benicia Artists. We checked out the paintings in their gallery. The prices ran from $300 to $14,000!
From the arenal, It was a scenic ride down First Street to
Captain Blyther’s restaurant. It was very picturesque - sitting on the shoreline. I could see the two Carquinez bridges to the west, Port Costa across the bay and Martinez, across the water, to the east. To the left of this view, were the two Benicia-Martinez bridges. After a nice lunch, we left the restaurant at 1:20.
We are back on Highway 680, heading home. Visibility is still hazy, but we get a good view of the Mothball Fleet. The original motive for mothballing these ships (some of them over 50 years ago), has long seen it’s day. Yet, they still police and maintain the “fleet” at a very high cost. My guess is, that there is no scrap market large enough to pay for the dismantling - a “Catch 22.”
As we leave 680 and merge into 80, I see much heavier traffic than when we were on our way to Benicia. After an uneventful trip back, we arrive back at Quail creek at 1:55. It was a very nice day. Tony gave me the mileage for our round trip - 66 miles.
RCL - 7/11/09.
Today is Wednesday, July 8, 2009. Our “Outing” is to Benicia, a neighboring city about 20 miles to the South. We leave Quail Creek at 9:50. The weather is sunny, cloudless and hazy visibility. The temperature is around 70 degrees. Besides Tony, our chauffeur, and Kelli, our Activities Coordinator, there are seven residents along.
While it is a very nice day for golfing, I see only a few players on the Paradise Valley course. Gas at Shell is $2.96 - at Chevron - $3.06 and Arco is $2.88 a gallon. Crude oil is about $60 a bbl. today - down about 18% in the past week. We pass an auto hauler loaded with licensed cars. My first thought is that they were repossessed. Traffic is light on I-80, with more cars going eastbound than in our direction. Another grass fire on the right side. This one has burned a greater area than the previous ones that I have seen, including turning some trees brown. There are not many trucks sitting in the westbound truck scales. This is not a good economic sign.
We exit #80 onto Southbound #680. We whiz by the Cordelia Industrial Park. I haven’t been over this route since we went to Antioch for lunch at Humphrey’s. I can barely see the outline of Mt. Diablo through the front windshield - about 20 miles away. It is interesting to see the green trees sitting on the golden hillsides. They must have deep root systems, as we haven’t received any appreciable rain for three months now.
The Benicia City limit now extends beyond the Industrial Park. We are passing large golden storage tanks on both sides of the freeway. They used to be owned by Exxon, but now they are owned by Valero. We exit form 680 on to 780 and then turn off at East fifth Street in Benicia. This off-ramp is very familiar to me. I used to take it from 780 every Sunday when we drove to Benicia, from Vallejo, to attend mass at St. Dominic’s Church. We liked this small church better than our parish church in Vallejo. The church is more than 150 years old. It is much smaller and warm. It reminds me of the old Mission churches. We are passing new construction on East Fifth Street, which I hadn’t seen before. The last time I saw this area it contained an auto parts store, a restaurant and an empty lot from which they sold Christmas trees. The large building looks like ir will be apartments.
Benicia is an old city. It was founded by Robert Semple and Thomas Larkin and General Vallejo in 1847, on land purchased from General Vallejo. The city was named after the middle name of General Vallejo’s wife. It was the first city in California to be founded by Anglo-Americans.
Benicia is located on the north shore of the Carquinez Strait. It served as the state capitol (the third one) from 1853-1854. The 2000 census lists Benicia’s population as 26,865. The city was the Solano County seat until 1858, when it was moved to Fairfield.
The original campus of Mills College was founded in Benicia in 1852 (Young Ladies Seminary). It was the first women’s college west of the Rockies. The college moved to Oakland in 1871. I mention Mills, because my wife, Marie, attended Mills for a year - before and after our marriage in 1944.
Our first stop in Benicia was at the old Benicia Arsenal, located next to Suisun Bay. The 252 acres was acquired in 1847, and first occupied in 1849. For over 100 years, the Arsenal was the primary US Ordnance facility for the West Coast. The Arsenal was famous for stabling the Army’s one and only Camel Corps, between 1855 and 1863. The Benicia Arsenal was a staging area during the Civil War for Union troops from the West, and during the Spanish American War. The Arsenal is most famous for supplying munitions to Lt. Col. Jimmy Doolittle’s B-25’s, for the first bombing raid on Tokyo, on April 18, 1942. Prior to 1940, the Arsenal had 85 civilian employees. By October, 1942, 4545 people were employed, about half of them women.. Because of the labor shortage during WWII, Italian and German prisoners of war and youth from the California Youth Authority were part of this work force. During the Korean War, the work force reached an all-time high of 6,700 workers.
The Benicia Arsenal was de-activated in1963, and the facility was closed in 1964. The space now is primarily used by artists and artisans.
We visited one of the sites - Benicia Artists. We checked out the paintings in their gallery. The prices ran from $300 to $14,000!
From the arenal, It was a scenic ride down First Street to
Captain Blyther’s restaurant. It was very picturesque - sitting on the shoreline. I could see the two Carquinez bridges to the west, Port Costa across the bay and Martinez, across the water, to the east. To the left of this view, were the two Benicia-Martinez bridges. After a nice lunch, we left the restaurant at 1:20.
We are back on Highway 680, heading home. Visibility is still hazy, but we get a good view of the Mothball Fleet. The original motive for mothballing these ships (some of them over 50 years ago), has long seen it’s day. Yet, they still police and maintain the “fleet” at a very high cost. My guess is, that there is no scrap market large enough to pay for the dismantling - a “Catch 22.”
As we leave 680 and merge into 80, I see much heavier traffic than when we were on our way to Benicia. After an uneventful trip back, we arrive back at Quail creek at 1:55. It was a very nice day. Tony gave me the mileage for our round trip - 66 miles.
RCL - 7/11/09.
Wednesday, July 8, 2009
07/08/09
07/08/09
Today is Wednesday, July 8, 2009, or numerically: 07/08/09! Anyone playing the Lottery today should take note.
A bad day on the Bocce Ball court yesterday. Team #1 beat our
Team #12, 12 to 4. I can see why they are number one! They had three ladies on their team. I was impressed. The women are better players than the men. The game is more skill, than brute strength. At least I did better on the putting green. I sank a couple of putts.
Off to Benicia this morning for our Wednesday outing. There are worse places to go than beautiful Benicia!
RCL - 07/08/09.
Today is Wednesday, July 8, 2009, or numerically: 07/08/09! Anyone playing the Lottery today should take note.
A bad day on the Bocce Ball court yesterday. Team #1 beat our
Team #12, 12 to 4. I can see why they are number one! They had three ladies on their team. I was impressed. The women are better players than the men. The game is more skill, than brute strength. At least I did better on the putting green. I sank a couple of putts.
Off to Benicia this morning for our Wednesday outing. There are worse places to go than beautiful Benicia!
RCL - 07/08/09.
Sunday, July 5, 2009
STEVE'S SONGS
STEVE’S SONGS
I always look forward to the first Thursday of the month, when Steve Barkhurst entertains us, playing his keyboard and singing. His theme today was “Country” music and “Patriotic” songs - his salute to the Fourth, and month of July.
Steve started out playing “The Entertainer” a piano tune written by Scott Joplin in 1902. It is one of the classics of Ragtime. It is sub-titled “A rag time two step” - a dance step - popular until about 1911. “The Entertainer” was the theme song for the 1973 film - “The Sting”. It won an Oscar. You also hear the tune on ice cream trucks, used to attract children. Steve praised Scott Joplin for his talent as a composer.
Steve mentioned George (“No Show”) Jones, and told us about his sad life. “No Show” got his nickname because he missed so many performances - a result of his wild lifestyle. And yet, they referred to him as “the greatest country singer”. He is responsible for more than 150 hits during his career - both as a solo artist and in duets with other singers. He was married four times. His second wife (1969-1975) was Tammy Wynette. He is still an active recording artist, and a touring country singer, even though he is in his seventies. He credits his current wife, Nancy, for saving him from being destroyed by alcohol and drugs.
Steve played, and sang, Hank William’s “Your Cheatin’ Heart”, (this was quite fitting, with all of the marital infidelity reported in the news lately!) made famous by Patsy Cline. Hank wrote, and recorded, the song in 1952. It was released in 1953, after Hank’s death. Steve went on to explain about Hank’s tragic death. On January 1, 1953, he was due to play in Canton, Ohio. He couldn’t fly there because of bad weather. He hired a chauffeur in Knoxville for the trip. Before leaving, he injected himself with vitamin B-12 and morphine. Steve said that Hank had his chauffer make two more stops en-route. Hank talked personnel at the hospitals into additional injections. When the 17 year old driver stopped for gas in West Virginia, he found Hank dead in the back seat. Hank Williams was 29!
Steve played and sang “Hey Good Lookin”. Hank Williams wrote and recorded the song in 1951. This version was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 2001. Cole Porter wrote the original version of the song in 1943. It was sung by Ethel Merman in the Broadway Musical, “Something For The Boys”. In 1951, Hank Williams wrote a variation of “Hey Good Lookin”, and he has received the credit for “Hey good Lookin” ever since!
Steve played “King of the Road” by Roger Miller. This was a #1 hit in 1964. Roger Miller started out playing the fiddle and the guitar, along with his singing. Later, he was known as a composer.
Steve talked about Johnny Cash, and how he met him in 1960, at Don Ho’s night club in Honolulu. Steve went on to play “I Walk the Line”. It was written by Johnny Cash and recorded in 1956. The song was his first number one hit. It spent six weeks at the top spot on the U.S. country charts, and reached number 19 on the pop music charts. “Rolling Stone” ranked the song at number 30 on their list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time. In 1956, a million copies of this song were sold. Cash also wrote 150 religious songs.
Steve talked about Josh White. He was blind, and sang blues and folk music. In 1954, he recorded “One Meat Ball” (15 cents) and the first African American to sell a million copies. His career lasted for more than 40 years.
George M. Cohen:- Steve said that “Cohan wrote more patriotic songs than anyone.” His real birth date is a legend. The only record of his birth is his baptismal certificate. It states that he was born On July3, 1878. His family insisted that George was born on July 4th! If true, he had something in common with the three presidents - John Adams, Thomas Jefferson and James Monroe. Adams and Jefferson died on the same day - July 4, 1826 - 50 years after the signing of the Declaration of Independence. Monroe died on July 4, 1831.
Cohan’s parents, Jerry and Nellie, were vaudeville troupers. They took George and his sister on tours with them. He had very little formal education. He got his start playing the violin in theatre -pit bands.
When George was eleven, he and his sister Josie joined their parents in the family song and dance act, as The Four Cohans. The family group was so popular that they were probably the highest paid group in vaudeville - $1,000 a week - in 1890. (This is the same year that my Dad Raymond Marks L’Amoreaux was born - in Hillsdale Michigan)
Cohan composed his first Broadway musical, “The Governor’s Son” in 1901. He wrote many more Broadway plays. Cohan visited the White House in 1940, and President Roosevelt presented him with the Congressional Medal of Honor for his creating “Over There” - the only American composer to receive such an honor. He also wrote “You’re a Grand Old Flag.” Cohan wrote more patriotic songs than anyone. He wrote the music for the film Yankee Doodle Dandy starring Jimmy Cagney. It received an Academy Award. George M. Cohan was married twice, and had three children by his second wife. He died on November 5, 1942 at age 64.
Steve played and sang “America the Beautiful. We all joined him in the singing. He went on to explain some of the background for the song. The words are from a poem written by Katherine Lee Bates in 1893. The
Music was composed by Samuel A. Ward - a church organist and a choirmaster. Bates wrote her poem after being inspired from a view atop Pike’s Peak. She went back to her hotel room in Colorado Springs, and put her vision into words. It isn’t clear whether she was staying at the Historic Broadmoor or Antlers Hotel - also a historic facility. The combined writings of Bates and Ward were published in 1910, and titled “America the Beautiful”.
Steve wound up his program by introducing “God Bless America”. We sang it along with him. It is a patriotic song written by Irving Berlin in 1918 (the year of my birth ), and he revised it in 1938. Kate Smith introduced the revision on November 11, 1938, on her radio show.
God Bless America is often sung at sporting events, some times in place of our National Anthem. Celine Dion has received a lot of recognition for singing “God Bless America.” The song was also recorded by Daniel Rodriguez, New York City’s “singing cop”, after the September 11, 2001 attack.
Steve always signs off his program by singing “All of Me”. The melody, and words, are “catching“. I find that I am humming and/or singing it to myself for days afterwards. The song was written by Gerald Marks and Seymour Simons in 1931. It was first recorded by Belle Baker, and by many other singers since then.
RCL - 7/5/09.
I always look forward to the first Thursday of the month, when Steve Barkhurst entertains us, playing his keyboard and singing. His theme today was “Country” music and “Patriotic” songs - his salute to the Fourth, and month of July.
Steve started out playing “The Entertainer” a piano tune written by Scott Joplin in 1902. It is one of the classics of Ragtime. It is sub-titled “A rag time two step” - a dance step - popular until about 1911. “The Entertainer” was the theme song for the 1973 film - “The Sting”. It won an Oscar. You also hear the tune on ice cream trucks, used to attract children. Steve praised Scott Joplin for his talent as a composer.
Steve mentioned George (“No Show”) Jones, and told us about his sad life. “No Show” got his nickname because he missed so many performances - a result of his wild lifestyle. And yet, they referred to him as “the greatest country singer”. He is responsible for more than 150 hits during his career - both as a solo artist and in duets with other singers. He was married four times. His second wife (1969-1975) was Tammy Wynette. He is still an active recording artist, and a touring country singer, even though he is in his seventies. He credits his current wife, Nancy, for saving him from being destroyed by alcohol and drugs.
Steve played, and sang, Hank William’s “Your Cheatin’ Heart”, (this was quite fitting, with all of the marital infidelity reported in the news lately!) made famous by Patsy Cline. Hank wrote, and recorded, the song in 1952. It was released in 1953, after Hank’s death. Steve went on to explain about Hank’s tragic death. On January 1, 1953, he was due to play in Canton, Ohio. He couldn’t fly there because of bad weather. He hired a chauffeur in Knoxville for the trip. Before leaving, he injected himself with vitamin B-12 and morphine. Steve said that Hank had his chauffer make two more stops en-route. Hank talked personnel at the hospitals into additional injections. When the 17 year old driver stopped for gas in West Virginia, he found Hank dead in the back seat. Hank Williams was 29!
Steve played and sang “Hey Good Lookin”. Hank Williams wrote and recorded the song in 1951. This version was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 2001. Cole Porter wrote the original version of the song in 1943. It was sung by Ethel Merman in the Broadway Musical, “Something For The Boys”. In 1951, Hank Williams wrote a variation of “Hey Good Lookin”, and he has received the credit for “Hey good Lookin” ever since!
Steve played “King of the Road” by Roger Miller. This was a #1 hit in 1964. Roger Miller started out playing the fiddle and the guitar, along with his singing. Later, he was known as a composer.
Steve talked about Johnny Cash, and how he met him in 1960, at Don Ho’s night club in Honolulu. Steve went on to play “I Walk the Line”. It was written by Johnny Cash and recorded in 1956. The song was his first number one hit. It spent six weeks at the top spot on the U.S. country charts, and reached number 19 on the pop music charts. “Rolling Stone” ranked the song at number 30 on their list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time. In 1956, a million copies of this song were sold. Cash also wrote 150 religious songs.
Steve talked about Josh White. He was blind, and sang blues and folk music. In 1954, he recorded “One Meat Ball” (15 cents) and the first African American to sell a million copies. His career lasted for more than 40 years.
George M. Cohen:- Steve said that “Cohan wrote more patriotic songs than anyone.” His real birth date is a legend. The only record of his birth is his baptismal certificate. It states that he was born On July3, 1878. His family insisted that George was born on July 4th! If true, he had something in common with the three presidents - John Adams, Thomas Jefferson and James Monroe. Adams and Jefferson died on the same day - July 4, 1826 - 50 years after the signing of the Declaration of Independence. Monroe died on July 4, 1831.
Cohan’s parents, Jerry and Nellie, were vaudeville troupers. They took George and his sister on tours with them. He had very little formal education. He got his start playing the violin in theatre -pit bands.
When George was eleven, he and his sister Josie joined their parents in the family song and dance act, as The Four Cohans. The family group was so popular that they were probably the highest paid group in vaudeville - $1,000 a week - in 1890. (This is the same year that my Dad Raymond Marks L’Amoreaux was born - in Hillsdale Michigan)
Cohan composed his first Broadway musical, “The Governor’s Son” in 1901. He wrote many more Broadway plays. Cohan visited the White House in 1940, and President Roosevelt presented him with the Congressional Medal of Honor for his creating “Over There” - the only American composer to receive such an honor. He also wrote “You’re a Grand Old Flag.” Cohan wrote more patriotic songs than anyone. He wrote the music for the film Yankee Doodle Dandy starring Jimmy Cagney. It received an Academy Award. George M. Cohan was married twice, and had three children by his second wife. He died on November 5, 1942 at age 64.
Steve played and sang “America the Beautiful. We all joined him in the singing. He went on to explain some of the background for the song. The words are from a poem written by Katherine Lee Bates in 1893. The
Music was composed by Samuel A. Ward - a church organist and a choirmaster. Bates wrote her poem after being inspired from a view atop Pike’s Peak. She went back to her hotel room in Colorado Springs, and put her vision into words. It isn’t clear whether she was staying at the Historic Broadmoor or Antlers Hotel - also a historic facility. The combined writings of Bates and Ward were published in 1910, and titled “America the Beautiful”.
Steve wound up his program by introducing “God Bless America”. We sang it along with him. It is a patriotic song written by Irving Berlin in 1918 (the year of my birth ), and he revised it in 1938. Kate Smith introduced the revision on November 11, 1938, on her radio show.
God Bless America is often sung at sporting events, some times in place of our National Anthem. Celine Dion has received a lot of recognition for singing “God Bless America.” The song was also recorded by Daniel Rodriguez, New York City’s “singing cop”, after the September 11, 2001 attack.
Steve always signs off his program by singing “All of Me”. The melody, and words, are “catching“. I find that I am humming and/or singing it to myself for days afterwards. The song was written by Gerald Marks and Seymour Simons in 1931. It was first recorded by Belle Baker, and by many other singers since then.
RCL - 7/5/09.
Thursday, July 2, 2009
MY DAY
My Day
Yesterday morning, after a fast breakfast, I played Bocce Ball. Our team 12, beat Team 4, 12 to 7. We had the early shift - 8:45.(There is also a 10:00 o’clock game.) I am glad that we were scheduled early, It was to be a hot day. At this time, it was probably a pleasant 70 degrees - on it’s way to a hot 90 degrees. (“But, it is a dry heat“, as they say in Phoenix).
Two of the players on the other team were women, Charlotte and Ginny, and quite skilled “rollers.” I first met them at the Laurel Creek Health Center, where Marie lives. They are “Volunteers”, and bring around drinks and snacks to the residents (and me.) Charlotte’s husband is also on the team (Charlotte has a twin sister who lives in Carmel). Ginny is the team Captain. I assume that her husband was also on their team, before he died, about a year ago. The two families live next to each other, in a duplex on campus. I see Ginny at church every Sunday.
In the afternoon, I played bridge with Virginia (Charlotte’s older sister), MJ and Bud. Mj had a stroke a few years ago, and her doctor recommended that she play bridge for mental therapy. Bud lost his wife a year ago, and he also had a stroke six months ago. That is why they call this an “assisted living facility.”
AN ASIDE:
It is a small world! In talking to MJ, she mentioned that her husband was in the Air Force during WWII. I asked her where he was stationed. She said that his last assignment was on Ie Shima. (This is the first time that I have ever heard any one, since the war, mention that tiny island a few miles off Okinawa.) I told her that I was stationed there too. too. I learned that we were both there at the same time -the latter part of 1945 - in the Fifth Air Force. He was flying B-24’s and I was flying B-25‘s. I never knew him. Because of this coincidence, I get he feeling that MJ feels a “closeness” to me.
Ernie Pyle, the famous war correspondent, was killed on Ie Shima by Japanese machine gun fire on April 18, 1945 They placed a monument at the site where Ernie was killed. It reads, ”At this spot, the 77th Infantry Division lost a buddy.” He was originally buried on Ie Shima, but reburied, after the war, in the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific at Punchbowl, on the Island of Oahu in Hawaii.
None of us had played bridge in quite some time, so it was a case of “the blind leading the blind”. Bud was my partner. Talk about being rusty, I not only reneged once, (MJ challenged me - a two-trick penalty), but I threw my king on my partner’s ace!
Marie and I used to play a lot of bridge. through the years. She belonged to the St. Basil Bridge Club for many years. The original group was composed of 32 ladies from St. basil’s Parish. Two tables of players would rotate around to each others’ homes - each player taking a turn at hosting. Marie was in the Group for 30 years. Substitutes were merged into the Group as players died or dropped out.
Marie and I played bridge with our long time - friends, Pat and Mac Macdonald. We would rotate alternately between each others’ homes. We started out serving dinner first, and then playing bridge afterwards. But, as we aged, we didn’t feel up to the late- ending of the evening, so we eliminated eating dinner first.
We also played round robin- bridge with three other couples for many years. We started out with serving dinner first, and when that got to be too much work, we ate out. When it made too long an evening, we just met at each others’ homes to play bridge.
RCL - 7/1/09
Yesterday morning, after a fast breakfast, I played Bocce Ball. Our team 12, beat Team 4, 12 to 7. We had the early shift - 8:45.(There is also a 10:00 o’clock game.) I am glad that we were scheduled early, It was to be a hot day. At this time, it was probably a pleasant 70 degrees - on it’s way to a hot 90 degrees. (“But, it is a dry heat“, as they say in Phoenix).
Two of the players on the other team were women, Charlotte and Ginny, and quite skilled “rollers.” I first met them at the Laurel Creek Health Center, where Marie lives. They are “Volunteers”, and bring around drinks and snacks to the residents (and me.) Charlotte’s husband is also on the team (Charlotte has a twin sister who lives in Carmel). Ginny is the team Captain. I assume that her husband was also on their team, before he died, about a year ago. The two families live next to each other, in a duplex on campus. I see Ginny at church every Sunday.
In the afternoon, I played bridge with Virginia (Charlotte’s older sister), MJ and Bud. Mj had a stroke a few years ago, and her doctor recommended that she play bridge for mental therapy. Bud lost his wife a year ago, and he also had a stroke six months ago. That is why they call this an “assisted living facility.”
AN ASIDE:
It is a small world! In talking to MJ, she mentioned that her husband was in the Air Force during WWII. I asked her where he was stationed. She said that his last assignment was on Ie Shima. (This is the first time that I have ever heard any one, since the war, mention that tiny island a few miles off Okinawa.) I told her that I was stationed there too. too. I learned that we were both there at the same time -the latter part of 1945 - in the Fifth Air Force. He was flying B-24’s and I was flying B-25‘s. I never knew him. Because of this coincidence, I get he feeling that MJ feels a “closeness” to me.
Ernie Pyle, the famous war correspondent, was killed on Ie Shima by Japanese machine gun fire on April 18, 1945 They placed a monument at the site where Ernie was killed. It reads, ”At this spot, the 77th Infantry Division lost a buddy.” He was originally buried on Ie Shima, but reburied, after the war, in the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific at Punchbowl, on the Island of Oahu in Hawaii.
None of us had played bridge in quite some time, so it was a case of “the blind leading the blind”. Bud was my partner. Talk about being rusty, I not only reneged once, (MJ challenged me - a two-trick penalty), but I threw my king on my partner’s ace!
Marie and I used to play a lot of bridge. through the years. She belonged to the St. Basil Bridge Club for many years. The original group was composed of 32 ladies from St. basil’s Parish. Two tables of players would rotate around to each others’ homes - each player taking a turn at hosting. Marie was in the Group for 30 years. Substitutes were merged into the Group as players died or dropped out.
Marie and I played bridge with our long time - friends, Pat and Mac Macdonald. We would rotate alternately between each others’ homes. We started out serving dinner first, and then playing bridge afterwards. But, as we aged, we didn’t feel up to the late- ending of the evening, so we eliminated eating dinner first.
We also played round robin- bridge with three other couples for many years. We started out with serving dinner first, and when that got to be too much work, we ate out. When it made too long an evening, we just met at each others’ homes to play bridge.
RCL - 7/1/09
Wednesday, July 1, 2009
ODOM
ODOM
At Quail creek, I usually sit with Jean and Ray Odom for breakfast. I enjoy his wit and sharp memory. Ray is 94 years old and recites poems verbatim. He is a retired Lt. Col. (Army), and a West Point graduate, as is one of his two sons! He relates stories of their military travels, during his 30 years of service, in such vivid detail, that I can almost “experience” the event,
It is interesting,. His wife’s memory is shot. Jean doesn’t know what day it is. She is four years younger than Ray. Her conversation is repetitive -day after day - she talks about the same thing. But, what the heck, on November 23, they will have been married for 69 years! They go places as a team(primarily to their doctors). I have never seen one without the other. I am frustrated because I can’t communicate with him. He wears an expensive hearing aid, but “the battery is dead!”. So, Jean repeats what I say to him, and he reads her lips. This is a slow going conversation, so it is short and infrequent.
This morning at breakfast, the discussion centered around whether today was June 30th or July 1st? Out of the blue, Ray recited “Sing a Song of Sixpence”, verbatim.
“Sing a song of sixpence,
A pocket full of rye
Four and twenty blackbirds
Baked in a pie.
When the pie was opened,
The birds began to sing;
Wasn’t that a dainty dish,
To set before the king?
The king was in his counting house,
Counting out his money;
The queen was in the parlour,
Eating bread and honey.
The maid was in the garden,
Hanging out the clothes;
When down came a blackbird
And snapped off her nose.
I asked Ray when he learned that . He said, “In the first grade! RCL 7/1/09.
At Quail creek, I usually sit with Jean and Ray Odom for breakfast. I enjoy his wit and sharp memory. Ray is 94 years old and recites poems verbatim. He is a retired Lt. Col. (Army), and a West Point graduate, as is one of his two sons! He relates stories of their military travels, during his 30 years of service, in such vivid detail, that I can almost “experience” the event,
It is interesting,. His wife’s memory is shot. Jean doesn’t know what day it is. She is four years younger than Ray. Her conversation is repetitive -day after day - she talks about the same thing. But, what the heck, on November 23, they will have been married for 69 years! They go places as a team(primarily to their doctors). I have never seen one without the other. I am frustrated because I can’t communicate with him. He wears an expensive hearing aid, but “the battery is dead!”. So, Jean repeats what I say to him, and he reads her lips. This is a slow going conversation, so it is short and infrequent.
This morning at breakfast, the discussion centered around whether today was June 30th or July 1st? Out of the blue, Ray recited “Sing a Song of Sixpence”, verbatim.
“Sing a song of sixpence,
A pocket full of rye
Four and twenty blackbirds
Baked in a pie.
When the pie was opened,
The birds began to sing;
Wasn’t that a dainty dish,
To set before the king?
The king was in his counting house,
Counting out his money;
The queen was in the parlour,
Eating bread and honey.
The maid was in the garden,
Hanging out the clothes;
When down came a blackbird
And snapped off her nose.
I asked Ray when he learned that . He said, “In the first grade! RCL 7/1/09.
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