Wednesday’s Child

Paul Simon & Art Garfunkel

The old nursery rhyme includes the following verses:

Monday’s child is fair of face. Tuesday’s child is full of grace. Wednesday’s child is full of woe. Thursday’s child has far to go. Friday’s child is loving and giving. Saturday’s child works hard for a living, But the child who is born on the Sabbath Day Is bonny and blithe and good and gay.

I was born on a Monday, but I had to grow a beard. I’ve told my granddaughters that men who are not very good looking have to grow a mustache, and men who are really ugly have to grow a full beard.

By the looks of the above photo, both Paul Simon and Art Garfunkel may well have been born on a Monday. Many members of my generation love the music of Simon & Garfunkel. I was trying to find a song about Wednesdays, but the closest thing I could find was Simon & Garfunkel’s Wednesday Morning 3:00 AM. That was the title cut of one of their albums and is presented here for your listening pleasure.

One of the things I found interesting is that they later redid the song with a different melody and tempo… same words, but completely different song. They recorded it as “Somewhere They Can’t Find Me.”

One of the best things Paul Simon did when he went off on his own is travel to Africa and discover Ladysmith Black Mambazo

There is so much beautiful music in this world, it’s a shame we still find so many areas of the globe awash with the blood of warfare. It’s also a shame that so many beautiful singers die young. The other day I included a song by Karen Carpenter - a woman who died young as a result of an eating disorder. The man who sings the next song also died young. His problem is that he ate too much. At the time of his death, Israel Kamakawiwo’ole - better known as ‘Iz’ - was dieting but still weighed well over six hundred pounds.

I guess we had quite an assortment of music today. That’s fine with me, because it was all good music. I liked it!

In the meantime, let’s hope and pray that the Wednesday’s children of the world who are unable to escape the war zones will someday be able to play in the sun and enjoy the music they like best.

From the Mail Bag

I receive quite a bit of email on a daily basis. Sometimes the contents of the mail bag is much more interesting than other days. Monday, August 18, 2008 was just such a day.

Jim Mazurek and Bob Jessep sent me some videos that I think most of my friends and relatives would enjoy seeing. If you’re not one of my friends or relatives, I’ll bet you’ll be fascinated anyway.

Let’s begin with what is labeled “Russian Bar Acrobatic”. I’m not convinced they’re Russian, but what they do is definitely acrobatic.

What I find interesting about this acrobatic act is that the folks who have the easier parts are the ones who take the bows. But how much could they do without those guys holding the bars? It reminds me of the offensive line in football. The guy who runs the ball for more than a hundred yards per game gets the credit, but he wouldn’t have gained an inch if it wasn’t for those bull-necked monsters blocking for him.

That reminds me of the time I was playing offensive guard in an inter-fraternity football game at Edinboro State college. We were lining up for a punt when three defenders lined up in front of me. Somehow I managed to block all three of them to protect our punter. Unfortunately, the guys on the other side of the line didn’t do so well. The punt was blocked and our punter wound up with a broken ankle. Obviously, any glory I might have received for my gallant efforts was lost.

It takes a lot of strength to be an offensive lineman, but you don’t have to be Polish. However, the guys in this next video are Polish… but not offensive linemen. After watching the video, I don’t think you’ll question their strength.

The final video I received is quite different. It gives a whole new meaning to “shadow puppets”.

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In case you missed it, the name of the group is Pilobolus.

I’m fascinated with the things people can do when they set their minds to it. I’m also fascinated when I go looking for an old song I always liked, but had no idea which group recorded it. I wanted to add a song for Tuesday, and now realize it was one of the few songs by the Rolling Stones that I really enjoyed.

Hopefully I haven’t insulted any die-hard Stones fans.

Before I close for today, let me again remind you to take a look at the mystery photo on the ??? page. I know someone out there knows exactly where that picture was taken. Keep asking your friends and relatives to take a look. Somebody must know the answer!

Mixed Bag Monday

Fox in the morning!

This is not the way I planned to begin today’s post. However, when I looked out the window, my plans changed. There were two young foxes rolling around in our yard. I managed to get several pictures before something spooked them.

In truth, I was going to begin this Monday morning with another song. While the words do not express the views of the author - nor this blog site - I always loved listening to Karen Carpenter.

Here in Georgia - in the midst of a drought - rainy days would not get me down. In fact, we’re hoping Hurricane Fae comes and dumps about six or seven inches on us. As for Mondays, when I was working full time and had to sit in traffic trying to get to my office, the mornings did get me down, but things usually improved as the day wore on.

Last night my bride and I sat on the other side of the table and it was marvelous!

Allow me to explain. Lu and I are very active with our church’s Out-reach committee and get heavily involved in various fund raising events. The last two years we’ve been serving gourmet dinners to raise money for various charities. Several times we’ve prepared Beef Wellington with all the trimmings and attempted to provide a memorable dining experience to the people making substantial donations to our causes.

Last evening, we were among the guests. Bob and Gail Trimble took over as chief cooks and bottle washers. They were ably assisted by Bob and Marilyn Young, and Doug and Alaine Linebarger. And we sat at the table and allowed them to serve up a sumptuous meal. Naturally, we ate far too much, but loved every bite of it.

Perhaps that’s why I feel rather bloated on this Monday morning.

If this is your first visit here, welcome! I’m glad you took the time to stop by. There’s a little something for everyone here, including a joke contest and a mystery picture. The picture can be found on the ??? page.

In the meantime, I’m going to go look out the windows some more. We never know what we might see passing through. The picture below was taken of a deer that Lu eventually had to chase out of the yard. The deer was fearless of humans - a bad sign - and eating Lu’s prized plants.

A descendant of Bambi?

Sunday Morning

A Church in Ohio

It’s Sunday morning again. Weeks fly by! I was given a coffee mug on my fiftieth birthday that shows a guy in a little red wagon… going downhill. The words under the picture are, “When you’re over the hill, you pick up speed!” Truer words were never spoken.

In any case, depending on how you look at things, we’re either at the end of another week or at the beginning.

Listening to that song makes me want to brew a pot of coffee.

If you’ve nothing better to do, check out that mystery photo on the ??? page. Eventually we have to learn the answer.

Nancy Made Me Do It!

I’ve looked all over for a photograph of either Pittsburgh, or the Crafton Heights movie theater. The photos I’ve found of Pittsburgh are all copyrighted and I could find no photos of the movie theater in question. I wanted to include some eye-catching photo to add a bit of color to this post; we’ll just have to do without.

After I published a trip down Memory Lane detailing some of the things we did when we were young, Nancy Nelson Hadly (a class mate from the first grade on) reminded me that there was a movie theater in our neighborhood… within two or three blocks of our grade school. I’d forgotten about that theater… perhaps because I never remember watching a movie there.

What I do remember are Halloween parades that started near my home. We lived on one end of Stratmore Avenue; the theater was on the other end. We would gather in our costumes and walk the length of the street and enter the old movie theater. Somewhere along the path we were handed bags of goodies donated by the local merchants. The bags contained candy and some sort of noise makers.

Inside the theater, we all took seats while the judges compiled their score cards. Eventually, the winners of the best or most original costumes would be announced. I don’t recall what the prizes were, but shortly thereafter we were allowed to leave and begin going door-to-door begging for additional treats.

Back in those days it was not unusual to receive home made cookies, fudge, and candy or caramel apples. There was never a thought that someone might try to poison or harm us with tainted treats.

That local movie theater also held a community event during the annual lighting of the community Christmas Tree. After the singing of carols, a speech or two, and the lighting ceremony, we all went to the theater. There we were allowed to march across the stage and receive a small box of chocolates from Santa. Although I never saw a movie in the place, you’d thing the free candy would’ve helped me remember that theater!

Another visitor to my blog, Darlene Gordon who grew up in a similar neighborhood in Baltimore, reminded me of the teenage dances. Our high school held a dance on most Friday nights and the American Legion post nearby also held weekly dances. The Legion dances continued throughout the summer months.

It seems to me that the adults - especially the local merchants - in the forties, fifties, and sixties went out of their way to provide clean wholesome fun for youngsters. But, looking back, I don’t find it at all surprising.

As I recall, the local merchants in Crafton Heights were: Mr. Reed who owned the drug store, Mr Vater who owned the hardware store (he later sold it to an employee, Mr, Lauth), Mr. Porter who owned one dairy store, Mrs. McWilliams who owned another dairy store, Mr. Swartz who owned the dry cleaning business, Mr. Simpson who owned one grocery store, Mr. Bartlett who owned the other grocery store, Mr. O’Toole who owned the car dealership, Mr. Conley who owned the beer distributor, Frank (I don’t know if I ever knew his last name) who owned the barbershop, the guy who owned the tavern (I was too young to go in there, so I never met the man… although I believe one of my relatives ran it for a time), the Czechoslovakian shoe maker (whose name I couldn’t pronounce), and Mr. Rote, Mr. Swartz’s son-in-law who opened a TV repair shop when Mr. Porter closed his store.

I think I got them all, but I might have missed a doctor or dentist who had an office over one of the stores.

My point is that all the businesses were locally owned and operated. It behooved those business owners to keep us occupied so we didn’t have time to vandalize their stores. Of course, it would’ve been hard to get into any mischief; it seemed like everyone in the neighborhood knew everyone else, and without air conditioning and television, people spent a good part of their time sitting on their front porches watching the world go by. Had we done anything we shouldn’t have done, word would have gotten back home before we did. The telephone may have still been based on party lines, but it provided fast communications none the less.

I trust Nancy will read this and remind me of anything else I may have forgotten. Don’t tell her, but I appreciate the input.

Finally, I’m making another change. The single “?” seems lost on that page heading. So I’m changing it to “???”. Take another look at that photo and see if you can guess where it was taken.

Patient is Prudent

A sea gull patiently waiting

We still haven’t discovered the location of that mystery photo… beyond the fact that it’s on the wall of my dentist’s office. Come on folks! We’ve got to do better than that!

But I’ll try to be patient… just like that sea gull in the photo - patiently waiting for one of us to throw him something to eat - anything! The sea gulls portrayed in the animated movie “Finding Nemo” were perfectly type cast. If you listened carefully while they were in their feeding frenzies, the were crying out, “Mine! Mine! Mine!” If you’ve ever fed the gulls on a beach, you know how fitting those words are.

Besides, patience is prudent… of is it Patience and Prudence?

I was a mere lad of twelve when that song was new.

In any case, I’m going to add a new page to this blog. It’s title will simply be “?”. I’ll stock that page with my many questions about life, the universe, and everything. If you’re unable to answer any of the enigmas, please invite others to visit my blog and take a look.

By the way, if you have mysteries of your own and you think the power of the Internet might help you find your answers, e-mail me at jimleeds@earthlink.net and, if your question is “G” rated, I’ll add it to the “?” page.

Again, thanks for your support!

This and That - READ ON! This is Different!

Mystery Picture

It’s still a mystery. One person suggested Lake Powell - I believe that is in Utah. Another has suggested the Great Lakes or Lake Tahoe. Do any of those thoughts help jog anyone else’s memories?

On to the next thought.

Cliff & Norm at Cheers

Cliff’s Buffalo Theory:

‘Well you see, Norm, it’s like this . . . . A herd of buffalo can only move as fast as the slowest buffalo. And when the herd is hunted, it is the slowest and weakest ones at the back that are killed first. This natural selection is good for the herd as a whole, because the general speed and health of the whole group keeps improving by the regular killing of the weakest members.

In much the same way, the human brain can only operate as fast as the slowest brain cells. Now, as we know, excessive intake of alcohol kills brain cells. But naturally, it attacks the slowest and weakest brain cells first. In this way, regular consumption of beer eliminates the weaker brain cells, making the brain a faster and more efficient machine.

And that, Norm, is why you always feel smarter after a few beers.

Todays’ post is labeled “This and That” for a reason. The next item on my agenda is based on an old disagreement with a nephew. I was mentioning Spanky and Our Gang and he insisted I was referring to the Little Rascals. When I said I was talking about a singing group from the sixties, he told me I was crazy. So now is the time to set the record straight.

Here are the Little Rascals, also known as Spanky and Our Gang.

And here is the group I was referring to. In this case, Spanky is a female vocalist.

Don’t forget to tell your friends about the mystery photo. I’d like to solve the puzzle by the end of the year.

Legacies

Jeremiah's Legacy

I attended a memorial service for a long-time friend and listened with interest as different people shared their memories of a fine woman. Betty Chernak died of cancer after a long battle, but the prolonged illness did allow her to say her goodbyes and left her family with memories that would’ve been much more bitter had she died suddenly.

My mother died suddenly and it’s taken me years to get over the shock.

There’s so much we can do to soften the blow for our loved ones… even if we go suddenly. My bride’s father took that route. He decided he was too old to live alone and sold the house he and his deceased wife had built many years prior. He moved into an assisted living facility. He still had his car and his independence.

A few years later, he concluded that he was no longer safe behind the wheel and gave his car to a nephew. He rode the facility’s mini-bus to the grocery store and doctor’s appointments… when his daughter wasn’t available to assist him.

Eventually his age caught up with him. He made the arrangements to give up his apartment and move into a nursing home. He also took the time to get his financial house in order to make the settling of his estate easier for his heirs.

Poppo Workman will long be remembered because he cared enough to make his death easier for his children to handle… but he’ll also be remembered for the many other things he did during his lifetime.

The photo at the beginning of this is located in Atlantic City, New Jersey. Jeremiah was an ancestor of mine and was obviously remembered for things other than his final days. In fact, he left his land to his children who eventually sold it… for less than $2.00 per acre. But that was probably big money back then.

I think we all want to be remembered beyond the grave. But, in truth, how many of us are? Most ‘common’ people are quickly forgotten. But so are most members of the ‘nobility.’

Some people commit terrible crimes so that their names will live on for centuries, but, fortunately, they are in the minority.

I hope my writings pop up from time to time as do the writings of another of my ancestors. Daniel Leeds was a prolific writer, but even then, he had to depend on his quarrels with the Quakers to really make a name for himself.

Dean Martin’s had his own thoughts on the subject.

And Bob Hope took an approach that made him famous… although I wonder how many youngsters would recognize his name.

I’m in Columbus, Georgia right now and don’t have ready access to a reliable Internet connection. Hopefully I’ll be able to keep my promise of “Something NEW every day.”

Still no Winner!

Let’s take another look at that mystery photo:

Where was this picture taken?

Surely someone has seen this geography. While you’re wracking your brain trying to figure out where on earth this rock formation might be found, let’s have some fun. As they used to say on TV, “And now, this…”

That commercial brought back many childhood memories. As I recall, Rube Goldberg inventions were sometimes featured in the Sunday comics. But while we’re thinking about that photo and enjoying old time commercials, let’s look at another.

Are we having fun yet?

While we’re tripping down Memory Lane with these old commercials, please don’t forget that our main purpose today is to look at that photograph and find the answer. Where was it taken?

Let’s try another question. What product aimed at children was the first to use a silly rabbit as it’s animated spokesperson? My guess is most people would say Trix; after all, “Trix are for kids, not silly rabbits.” Let’s see how right you are:

I just love the kind of humor displayed at the end of each of those clips. Maybe that explains my warped way of looking at things.

Before I end this post, let me add two more things. The first is a web site of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. If you go to this Post-Gazette site you’ll find information on how Carnegie Mellon University is honoring the late Dr. Randy Pausch.

And finally, I’ll leave you with this thought sent to me by Clifford “Doug” Graham (a high school classmate).

A recent study found that the average American walks about 900 miles in a year.

Another study found Americans drink, on average, 22 gallons of alcohol a year.

That means, on average, Americans get about 41 miles to the gallon.

Kind of makes you proud to be American.

Something New Every Day

Sunrise at Port Angeles, Washington

I’ve been writing this blog for over two months and this is the first time I’d rather be doing something else. Today will find me going to a memorial service for an old friend who died of cancer. Then I’ll attend a meeting in downtown Atlanta (a place I try to avoid because I hate sitting in traffic) to discuss a new project I’ll be working on as a corporate training consultant.

Fortunately, I don’t need to drive the fifty miles into Atlanta on a regular basis. Later this week I’ll travel to another city in Georgia to begin work on the project. After spending a few days with the client, I’ll return to my office and do most of the work there. My office, by the way, is right across the hall from my bedroom. Being self-employed includes some definite benefits!

I hope you’ll stick around long enough to read the post below this one. It’s about photos that could be used for computer wallpaper or rec room murals. I’m especially interested in learning the location of the scene on the mural of my dentist’s office. I’m been searching for that answer for a number of years.

Once again, let me say Thanks You for stopping by and telling your friends and family where they can go… to find some interesting reading material, pretty pictures, and fun videos. And it’s all rated “G” for goodness sake!