Three Leafed Clovers

HAPPY ST. PATRICK'S DAY

In honor of this annual Great Occasion, we watched "The Quiet Man" with John Wayne and Maureen O'Hara last night.  It was made in 1952 when TECHNICOLOR! was apparently still new (and garish.) 

The magic had vanished and the tarnish on the screen was vividly apparent to all.  John Wayne just walks around being John Wayne and Maureen O'Hara does a splendid version of a startled doe - face shows horror, feet take flight.  We mostly saw the back of her, speeding away across the fields and through the hedge rows.  I estimate she lost a good 10 lbs. shooting this movie due to the almost incessant running she did.  Not an Oscar appearance unless running was suddenly a contributing factor. 

Tonight's excitement is "Waking Ned Devine" made 46 years later (1998) and I remember it as reasonably funny.   At least it concerns itself with a new plot line - winning lottery ticket causes heart attack; machinations by the locals to profit. 

Several of the Thurs. Writers have vowed to reunite after our regular meeting to hoist a glass or a soup spoon (the Pitcher House serves food as well as drink and their chicken tortilla soup got raves last time we met there) to dear ould St. Paddy, may the Good Lord bless his heart.

I think he's earned praise all these long years because he ran the snakes out of Ireland and for that alone, he should be revered. 

OT  I told Richie yesterday that if he dies a natural death, I am going to deserve a reward for  Hugely Restrained Murderous Rage.  This may be a common remark among the marrieds; only you and your spouse know; as am not conducting a survey.  Lock away the cutlery and have a great ST. PATRICK'S DAY!

Traffic Light Safety for Kids and Dogs

The other day, we were stopped at the traffic light of a busy intersection.  Nothing new there.  But as we waited for several women pushing baby carriages and a couple of guys with dogs on leashes to pass,  I noticed something.

All of the baby buggies were being pushed in front of their mothers and all of the dogs were 5 to 8 ft. in front of their owners.  Dogs and kids would be hit first.

One car running a red light is all it takes ...why don't mothers pull some kind of cart with the kid in it?  Why don't dog owners teach their dogs "Heel!"? and mean it?

Psychology reasoned that mothers want to see their babies, so they push the carriage.  Dog owners just aren't thinking.

Your dog and your kid will get hit first.  Presumably they are the things you love the most.  Why put them at risk every single time you cross the street? 

Why don't mothers stop, stoop,  pick up and carry the kid across the street?  Push the empty carriage in front or tow it along behind.  But keep your baby close.  The stores are full of new and used prams, but they don't sell babies. 

Dog owners with unruly dogs, work with the dog so that every time you approach the crosswalk, your dog automatically goes to your left side and stays there while you both cross the street? 

Another thing ... People my age (born right after the last dinosaur died) were taught (with force in some places) to look both ways before you started to cross a street.  Today, every day that we are out and about, I see men and women blithely stepping off of a curb without looking left, right or to see whether it's their light.  They just assume.  The only way too be safe around these idiots is to very carefully look around yourself to make sure none have just launched themselves out into the street without a care in their head or so much as a glance left and right. 

Whinging or Whining? Same Difference

Whinging is BritSpeak and we all know what whining is here in America.   So you can pick the epithet that should be applied to me this morning.

First off, getting up in the dark is NOT my idea of when the day should begin.  If there was a reason to get up in the dark, I probably would bound out of bed with a grin and purpose in my stride, gimpy though it is.    Good reasons would include:  someone is coming to see us;  we're going to go see someone.  Or Palm Springs is finally hot enough to make a visit worthwhile.  Or we have to catch a plane.

Furthermore, adding insult to injury, it was not only dark at 6:30 a.m.  but when it did get a little light, it was overcast and rainy looking.  We even had a brief shower to further bring down the humor. 

And why is all of the above detrimental to good humor, love thy neighbor, and hearty, wakeful zest?  Because of Daylight Savings Time.  I wish to God whoever decides these things - and who is it anyhow? - would make up their presumably-collective minds and leave the time the hell alone.   Either way - I don't care; all of us are adjustable and well able to cope with the minor details of our lives.  (Note I said "minor.")

Still, under the operating rule that it can always be worse, think of the poor bastards that live in or near Laughlin - the Colorado River divides Nevada from Arizona and there is an hour difference between Laughlin, NV, and Bullhead City, AZ,  every day of the year.  After a long time of making appointments on the Other Side, or being on time for work every day, I think you would be about half insane.  And that's enough to make you whinge.

"Meh," I Shrugged - "You Can't Win 'em All"

The Daily Breeze "Question of the Week"  for February 16th was "Could You Vote for a Socialist?"

Not surprisingly, I had thoughts on that and wrote to tell them (editors) so.  Nothing happened.  They never ran me.  And I looked faithfully every day.  Nada.  Zip.  "Well ... if that's the way they want to be...they can't run me every time I write in...

By the way looking for myself was no hardship at all as I read the Letters column every day.  It is a great tool for sensing the mood and/or whims of the local public.  I recommend it heartily.

But, hark!   Today - March 13, 2016 - they ran me.

Socialism kills incentive to create new products

Socialism kills entrepreneurship.

Why would anyone want to half-kill themselves bringing out a new product or service so that the government could profit from it?

Nina Murphy

Bo Derek?! Jakov Smirnoff?!

(Love interbangs and rarely get to use them.)

The above were on Nancy Reagan's guest list for her funeral and they were there along with both Lyndon and Lady Bird's daughters and Caroline Kennedy.

Mr. T accepted his invitation and showed up via a side door wearing full camouflage, combat boots and an American flag wrapped around his head.  Whether this was a visual reminder to "Just Say No" to drugs or because he is crazier than betting a NASCAR race is unknown to this writer.

So detailed were many of the accounts that I read  that you will be  interested (or not) to learn that Mrs. Reagan's coffin was made by the Marsellus Casket Co., of Syracus, NY.  They previously boxed up her husband, Ronnie. 

Reading further, I ran across a long list of notables that Marsellus (founded in 1872) provided with burial boxes.  The do have a certain reputation for dealing with presidents and wives, i.e.:
Harry and Bess Truman
John F. and Jacqueline Kennedy
Now both Reagans

Other notables - Arthur Ashe, Vince Lombardi, Joe DiMaggio, Mickey Mantle and Leonard Bernstein. 

Whether any of the above ever had buyer's remorse will never be known. 

ERROR

Our friend "Dee" e'd this morning to explain the math error I made in yesterday's column about the Euro vs. the Dollar.  I should have divided, not multiplied...  others have frequently reminded me to stick to words and leave the math to those with some knowledge of it.  My apologies if anyone rushed out to buy Euros ...

A Very Good Deal

The Hotel Ibis, Le Chesnay, is a four minute walk to Michelle's house and that's where we wanted to stay.  It's 10 minutes to the H bus which takes one to the Rive Droit commuter train station and on into the Gare du Nord.  We'd do that if we were going into Paris, but we're not. 

Non merci a Paris ces fois.  No thank you to Paris this time. 

Michelle e'd this morning to say that she'd negotiated a good price at the Ibis (not to be confused with ISIS) and it was:

955 Euros for 8 nights with breakfast.  That is 119.37 Euro per night or $106 American per night.  The exchange rate today is $1 = .89 Euros. 

France is not expensive as it used to be - start saving your pennies.  We did.