Reflections on music, movies, TV, sports, American History, and other stuff.

Phoenix grocery store history (From 3-09)

2012-02-06T07:52:00.001-07:00

The grocery store business has changed a lot in Phoenix over the years.

J. B. Bayless markets started in1917 and grew to 18 stores before selling out in 1929. In 1930 A. J. Bayless, J.B.’s son, opened his own group of stores. Safeway was the first chain in Arizona arriving in 1928. In 1932 Bashas’ came along and Food City was opened in 1942.

By the 1950s S & H Green Stamps made their appearance and had catalogs and stores where they could be redeemed. They were a huge success and gave retailers plenty of extra business which easily covered the cost of the stamps. "Double stamp Wednesdays" were a big success and could give some stores as much as one third of their total business for a week.

Another innovation of the ‘50s was supermarkets staying open on Sunday. Also, frozen foods were more plentiful by that time and the appearance of the first convenience stores started forcing the "mom and pop" stores out of business. By the ‘60s Smitty’s and Fry’s came aboard with Smitty’s adding general merchandise to their product mix. I bought a bicycle there once.

By the 1970s Alpha Beta had entered the market and in the 80s Southwest Markets introduced their Hispanic oriented stores. During this time, Albertson’s and Smith’s also made their entrance into the area. With more housewives entering the workforce, convenience foods became more popular in grocery stores and the introduction of computers and UPC codes were of tremendous benefit too as they eliminated the need to price items on the shelves.

Today Wal-Mart dominates the grocery business in Phoenix followed by Fry’s and Safeway. Bayless and Food City were bought by Bashas’ in the 1980s and early 90s and IGA is not a factor in the market as the chains now dominate. Megafoods, Southwest Markets, Smitty’s, Smith’s, Fred Meyer, ABCO, Alpha Beta, Lucky’s, and The Fleming Company warehouse have either been sold to other groups or have gone out of business. New entries include Fresh and Easy who now operates 28 stores in the area soon to be joined by 17 more.

I worked as a sales rep for Procter and Gamble during 1993-94 and I learned quickly that the grocery trade in Phoenix is very volatile. I never thought accounts like Smitty’s and The Fleming Company would disappear but they have. Wal-Mart is a dominant force and we may see even more changes in the future as chains like Fry’s and Bashas’ are laying off workers. Stay tuned.

(top) A. J. Bayless (center, with trademark derby hat) operated 60 stores in Phoenix as late as 1984. (bottom) These stores operated into the 1990s in Phoenix but most are now a memory.

Garvey stampers and pay phones: Grocery peddling in the 1960s

2012-01-17T11:42:00.002-07:00

I'm glad I am not out beating the bushes looking for a job. It's highly competitive today and you better know all there is to know about current technology if you want any chance to succeed.

According to Dilemma #1 on the CareerBuilder list, you need to have your name showing up in search engines like LinkedIn while making sure you are carefully leveraging the site. You also need to be on additional social networking sites like Plaxo, XING, or Viadeo and be sure you are on Facebook for professional networking. Don’t forget social media sites like Twitter and be sure to create a blog using a platform that will sync to your LinkedIn profile.

I don’t understand what a lot of that even means. My first job after college in 1969 was with Lever Brothers Company calling on drug and grocery headquarter and retail accounts in Kansas City selling products like Dove Soap, Imperial Margarine, Close-Up Toothpaste, Pepsodent, and many other items.

Nothing listed in the second paragraph was heard of yet so I went to the want ads in the Kansas City Star newspaper. Want ads are extinct now but they were a good way to find a job in the 1960s. I saw the ad from Lever for a salesman and made a call on a ten cent pay phone for an appointment.

Since the appointment was a few days off, I had to type a resume to submit to the interviewer. I got a book from the library about resumes, and typed one up on my 1955 Smith-Corona typewriter.

When I arrived for the interview, I felt that I was ready although I was pretty nervous. I had my checklist covered: shined black shoes, dark blue suit, conservative white shirt and tie, good haircut, close shave, no political or religious buttons, nothing weird hanging out of my nose, and hopefully a polished, professional demeanor.

The interview went well and after one more interview I got the job. I don’t know if I was great or the other guys interviewed were a bunch of stiffs and I didn’t care. I had a $140 a week job and a 1968 Ford company car. Combined with my wife’s teaching job we were pulling in a cool $13,500 a year; not bad in 1969 dollars where two steaks and a bottle of wine went for about $10!

I can still hear my boss who trained me my first week: “When you call on a store, park away from the front door. Those good spaces are for customers! Be sure to pick up all damage and watch out for union stores where they won’t let you stock a shelf! Br sure to face up the shelves! Know the difference between calling on a chain or an independent! Sell displays!”

In retrospect, those were fun days to be young and sell to the food and drug trade. There were no answering machines, scanners, UPC codes, or faxes and we kept in touch through pay phones. If we had to price products we used the old Garvey stampers with the purple ink.

Checkers wore dresses and usually had the week’s ad taped to their registers which were gigantic machines with large buttons. All sacking was done in paper and department items would have stickers like “ring on produce” so they would receive their credit. Many stores had an area where you would return your glass returnable deposit bottles. Cigarettes were sold by the pack at the check stand and seeing customers smoke while shopping wasn’t unusual. Most sales were paid for in cash and if by check, the check had to be approved.

I have no problem with today’s technology; it is what it is. Today you need all the items mentioned in paragraph two to even have hope of an interview. I got mine with one call and when I typed my resume, I don’t think there was even liquid paper to correct mistakes. We had no fax machines or phone answering machines but somehow got by always having a pocketful of dimes for the pay phones. It was hard work but very satisfying.

A Scottsdale guy tours Sheriff's Arpaio's Tent City

2012-01-07T11:17:00.001-07:00

Recently I was invited to tour Sheriff Joe’s Tent City prison facility on West Durango in Phoenix. It is internationally known for its prison striped uniforms, pink underwear, and outdoor sleeping accommodations of 22 to a tent. It’s also where you may wind up if you are caught driving with a snootful on a Saturday night.
Sheriff Joe and his crew of officers run a tight ship which becomes obvious as soon as you set foot in the front door.

After entering, you report to a glassed in window where a sheriff’s deputy announces your arrival to an officer who will be your guide. The waiting area is prison stark and for a bit of irony, someone has decorated the check-in area with a string of Christmas lights to add a little cheer to the place. It helps but with surveillance cameras everywhere, it’s hard to forget where you are.

Our guide was Officer McVaugh, a short but strong guy who looked like he could handle more than someone his size in a scuffle. His only protection was pepper spray as no guns are carried by officers.

He mentioned that prisoners usually get up to 3½ hour long visits but visitors have to remain in the lobby and visit via a monitor. There is a day room near the lobby that prisoners can use if they are not involved with something else. It is open 24/7 but the prisoners have to live outside in the tents. Most of the guys in the day room had a clean cut look that might hide the fact that they were residents of a prison facility.

Tent City is considered a minimum classification jail which means it houses prisoners not in the general prison population. It holds about 1,000 with the ratio of men to women about 5 to 1. Inmates are there to serve one year or less for crimes like DUI or lesser crimes. Some are given permission to go to jobs during the day after which they must report back that night.

When they return from outside, they are thoroughly searched while nude because of their propensity to be imaginative about places on the human body to hide contraband.

The inmates who stay full time must pull duty in the kitchen, the dog pound, or the laundry. Some are also used on the chain gang. They have the opportunity to earn courses toward GED certificates and receive 20% off purchases at the prison canteen. They are fed twice a day with food presented in “Ladmo Bags”. As far as green baloney being served, Officer McVaugh said that is not true and that he eats the baloney all the time.

Prisoners are allowed to receive special diets and there is medical care available for $10. During the holidays, a Christmas tree is on display near the tower with the “Vacancy” sign.

Tent City may be better than the state pen in Florence, Arizona but prison is prison so you do not want to be there. As for me, It was comforting after my visit to head east on the 202 and see the “Welcome to Scottsdale” sign!

Welcome to Tent City, AZ

"Chowing Down" at the movies

2011-12-29T21:55:00.001-07:00

I used to love the holidays when I was in college or in the Air Force. While in the Air Force I usually took leave for the holidays and in college they were either during term break or between terms. Hence, it meant plenty of party times and debauchery. How well I remember the three for a dollar happy hour martinis at the Peacock Lounge in Cincinnati in the mid-60s! Whew! Enough of that; I get a headache just thinking about that cheap gin.

I watch a lot of classic films, especially during the holidays since many of my favorites are on Turner Classic Movies or in my own library. Since the holidays mean eating more than usual, I was thinking today about films with great eating scenes.

One of my favorites is from Animal House (1978) where Bluto (John Belushi) goes through the line in the college cafeteria stuffing his mouth and pockets with everything in sight.

If you’ve seen Blazing Saddles (1974), you have to remember the scene of the guys sitting around the campfire eating beans with the expected result.

Then there is Paul Newman in Cool Hand Luke (1967) proving that yes, he can eat 50 hard boiled eggs in an hour in spite of George Kennedy saying it couldn’t be done.

Another favorite is the scene from Five Easy Pieces (1970) in the roadside restaurant with Jack Nicholson telling off a surly waitress after she will not allow any substitutes on his meal.

In 1931, James Cagney was becoming a star in films with his portrayal of Tom Powers in The Public Enemy. This is a famous scene at the breakfast table between Cagney and actress Mae Clarke. I haven’t been able to eat grapefruit since the first time I saw it!

Those are five of the best food related scenes I have seen in film. There are many more good ones and probably some that you think are better than those on my list. Although I love those five, I still have one that tops them all. At this moment you are probably thinking you know what it is since it is a real stand out. Click here to find out if you are right. (Clue: Think of Billy Crystal and Meg Ryan from 1989.)

Happy New Year!

Some Christmas thoughts

2011-12-22T11:09:00.001-07:00

Last night I dusted off my DVD of Miracle on 34th Street (1947) to give it its yearly viewing. Of the three greatest Christmas films I have seen, this one leads the way followed closely by The Bishop’s Wife (1947) and It’s a Wonderful Life (1946).

There are other great Christmas films and I would be amiss if I didn’t mention A Christmas Story (1983) which as always will be shown for twenty-four hours over Christmas on WTBS. We all have our favorites and it’s comforting to watch them every year during the holidays.

Miracle on 34th Street is a great example of Hollywood’s use of the fine character actors of the day to produce a fine, heartwarming film about Christmas. The stars are John Payne and a beautiful 27 year old Maureen O’Hara with nine year old Natalie Wood playing her daughter. Edmund Gwenn stole the show and won an Oscar for his role as Kris Kringle.

Probably the most important thing to remember when watching the classic films is to watch them in the form in which they were originally intended. That means that if they were filmed in black and white, that is the way to see them.

Years ago when Ted Turner bought the libraries of the MGM and Warner Brothers films, he thought colorization of the black and white classics would be a genius idea. It wasn’t. A good example of the failure of colorization is what it did to the Jimmy Cagney classic Yankee Doodle Dandy. Cagney won best actor in1942 for his portrayal of George M. Cohan and to see him dancing across the stage in a powder blue jacket that looked like a poor excuse for a leisure suit reject, was incredible. Fortunately, viewers agreed.

I guess I am old fashioned about Christmas. Like all kids, I loved everything about the Christmas holidays and there was never any dissension about the day just because it was a Christian holiday. We would have a tree in our grade school classrooms and the schools would always have a Christmas show. Any kids who weren’t Christian went along for the ride with no concern about the Christian aspect. I think they and their parents figured "What the hell." The one thing we all agreed upon was how great it was to get off school at noon on December 24 if it landed on a school day.

Today is December 21 which is my wife’s birthday. That means a celebratory trip to the casino with dinner at the Orange Sky restaurant on the roof of the Talking Stick Resort. The views there are incredible. After that we might make a late night of it by turning on the Christmas tree lights and watching The Bishop’s Wife.

That may sound corny to some but I can’t think of a better way to end the day.

Natalie Wood and Edmund Gwenn in Miracle on 34th Street (1947)

Sheriff Arpaio of Arizona and Scottsdale stuff

2011-12-18T11:22:00.002-07:00

Scottsdale, Arizona Mayor Jim Lane commented recently about a new city ordinance concerning littering that could hit downtown violators with fines of $300 or more: “This is another tool to be used, and it gives the city a higher level of control. This is a sincere effort, not a soft and fuzzy one.”

I guess what he is saying between the lines is, “Hey, drunks! Quit urinating, barfing, and throwing beer and whiskey bottles in the neighbor’s yards that surround the downtown entertainment district.”

Times have changed from my partying days. We used to think we were really raising hell on Friday nights but compared to the twenty-somethings of today, we were amateurs. Today, a Friday night for many seems to involve fights like the ten person battle in the Galleria garage a few weeks ago and strolling into nearby residential areas to throw trash in people’s yards or throw up on the way to their illegally parked cars.

All we wanted to do was meet babes and cop a phone number for a future date. Looking back, it seems old fashioned to remember how girls would give a guy a deposit slip to her bank account with her phone number and address printed on it. With the nuts on the loose today, that’s not likely to happen anymore.

Since 1981, the Scottsdale Airport has had four restaurants fail in their main building. One was the Left Seat which Barb and I frequented and thought they did a good job.

I think one problem those places had was the location of the airport being hidden a few blocks east of Scottsdale Road. Once you found it, it was pleasant to eat there and watch the planes come and go. Plus, the terminal was fun to explore.

Now, there is a catering company in the terminal called “Ciao Baby” that is going to re-open the restaurant und the name of the “Zulu Caffe”. Their idea is to offer Southwestern dishes, the ever popular “wood fired” pizzas and other dessert and salad items plus a happy hour.

They are getting the place for only $800 per month rent which seems cheap for that large space. If I was a rich and single swinger, I would have taken it, put up some partitions, and lived in the place. With that amount of square feet and the runway views, it would have been a natural.

A quick note about Sheriff Arpaio: Within the last few days, The Republic, with their usual crew of Sheriff Joe haters like Montini, Benson, and others, is going after the sheriff again. Even Eric Holder, who has plenty of problems of his own, has joined in. Holder ought to clean up his own backyard before he sticks his nose into Maricopa County. At the same time, maybe he should explain his laissez-faire attitude toward sanctuary city sheriffs.

Those of you who know me know I like Sheriff Joe and have voted for him every time he has run. I will continue to do so as one of my enjoyments in life is to hear the whining when those who run against him go down to defeat.

Sheriff Joe Arpaio of Arizona and me.

The virtue of thrift

2011-12-13T12:56:00.001-07:00

Robert Robb of the Arizona Republic newspaper wrote an interesting column on December 9. He quoted Obama’s usual oration about how the middle class is threatened by greedy and irresponsible rich people and how it is up to the government to save them from those who dare to become successful.

Robb points out activities like globalization and the destruction of free markets as a couple of economic reasons that the middle class lifestyle has become “more volatile and less secure” and that “traditional pathways to the middle class for those without a college education, such as manufacturing and construction, have been eroded.” There is no question that income inequality exists more today but is it the fault of those who are successful?

In spite of Obama’s doomsday status of the middle class, Robb points out that they are living better than ever compared to a generation ago. Houses are bigger, more and newer cars are owned, there are flat screen TVs throughout homes, most family members have access to the Internet everywhere they go via iPhones or Droids, and families eat out a lot more.

Robb then points out an internal factor that leads to increased middle-class insecurity: “the abandonment of the virtue of thrift.” Wow, do I ever agree with that!

Does anyone follow the old adage anymore about saving for a rainy day? It looks like those rainy days are here for a lot of people and as much as Obama wants to use the rich as a scapegoat, maybe many of the problems of the middle class are their own fault.

I grew up in the middle class during the 1950s. Both of my parents worked and I worked after school in a grocery store. We saved a portion of our income every week and when we wanted something special, we paid for it in cash. There were no MasterCards to max out and pay down at 24% interest per month. We didn’t have a new car every year with the latest bells and whistles. We also had a cushion for intangibles like the furnace needing to be replaced or a bad economy.

Today, people want to have everything NOW! It’s so easy to pull out a plastic card to buy that new luxury while considering how to pay for it is a minor detail. In Scottsdale I see young families with a couple kids, two SUVs in the driveway, and one income. I wonder how they can possibly stay ahead of the curve.

If the number of BMWs, Mercedes, and other luxury cars I see with expired license plates is any indication, there has to be a problem. After all, renewing your car registration isn’t near as important as paying for mom’s gym membership is it?

"TEARS" of the USS ARIZONA still flow

2011-12-07T08:56:00.001-07:00

On December 8, 1941, President Franklin Roosevelt addressed Congress: "Yesterday, December 7, 1941–a date which will live in infamy–the United States of America was suddenly and deliberately attacked by the naval and air forces of the empire of Japan."

With that statement describing the attack on the U.S. Naval Base at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, this nation was thrust into World War II. The first wave of Japanese aircraft attacked at 7:53 a.m. and by the end of the second wave at 9:45 a.m., the U.S. had suffered casualties of 2,335 servicemen and 68 civilians, while 1,178 were wounded.

Of the dead, 1,177 were men stationed on the USS Arizona, which was destroyed when a bomb hit the forward magazine, starting a series of explosions. Eight Arizona residents were listed among the dead on the battleship, which was moored near Ford Island on that dreadful morning 65 years ago.

Today the remains of the Arizona still lie in the same shallow water where she sat helpless during the attack. In 1962, the ship was declared a national shrine and a memorial was built across her remains. A room within the shrine lists the names of the dead crew members, and regular memorial services are performed to respect their memory. A new U.S. flag is raised each day above the site, and at the end of the day is folded and given to various dignitaries.

Time has taken its toll on the memorial and in September, 2005, Governor Janet Napolitano toured the site and pledged Arizona’s help in raising $34 million to build a new visitors’s center. ("Napolitano to help raise $34 million for USS Arizona," The Arizona Republic, Oct. 20, 2005).

"It’s Arizona’s battleship," she said in the article. "When it was commissioned (1916), they broke not just a bottle of champagne over its bow, but a bottle of water that had just come from the newly created Roosevelt Dam. We’ve always had a close connection with the USS Arizona."

Napolitano also declared 2006 as the "Year of the USS Arizona Memorial."

Many of the dead from the Arizona are still entombed within its hulk. Oil still seeps from the wreckage after 65 years and is sometimes referred to as "the tears of the Arizona." Each year the number of survivors decreases and many of them have made arrangements to be cremated with their ashes placed by their fallen shipmates at the site. Many of these men believe that the oil will continue to leak until the last survivor dies.

The New Pearl Harbor Museum Opened on 12-7-2010

Every president since Franklin Roosevelt, and every emperor since Hirohito, has visited the site. All ships of the U.S. Merchant Marine, Navy, and Coast Guard show their respect by the tradition of "manning the rails." All personnel stand in silence at their ship’s guardrails and salute the Arizona Memorial as they enter Pearl Harbor.

It’s a fitting tribute to a bunch of brave guys who fought to defend their country.

Scottsdale golfer Kirk Triplett heads for Champions Tour

2011-11-25T22:13:00.002-07:00

As any athlete will tell you, attrition takes its toll regardless of the sport and in most cases retirement is inevitable when Father Time makes his appearance. Fortunately, on the PGA golf tour, when the guys nearing middle age see the drives of their twenty-something competitors flying sixty yards past them, they can take comfort in knowing that at age fifty, they may be eligible for “Life’s Greatest Mulligan”; otherwise known as the Champions Golf Tour.

Scottsdale resident and PGA pro Kirk Triplett will be fifty on March 29, 2012 and will be fully exempt to play on the Champions Tour. For anyone who thinks the older guys can’t play anymore, all they need to do is look at the senior roster which includes guys like Fred Couples, Bernhard Langer, Nick Price, Tom Watson, and another Scottsdale pro, Tom Lehman. Those guys take their golf seriously and are making good money with Lehman leading the way at over $2 million in earnings this year.

Kirk plans to concentrate on the Champions Tour next year with little or no participation on the PGA or Nationwide Tours. Golf is a difficult game and he never takes it for granted so he knows he better be fit and ready in 2012. Hence, he is never far away from his long time coaches Laird Small, David Cook, and Glenn Albaugh who assist him with his swing and the mental side of the game. He realizes that “It takes more than just a good swing to play professional golf successfully.” He also realizes that success depends more on his innate ability to improve rather than trying to make quick fixes through gadgets or constant equipment changes.

Kirk Triplett turned pro in 1985 after graduation from the University of Nevada- Reno. Since that time he has won three titles, finished sixth twice at the prestigious Masters Tournament, and played on the President’s Cup team. His success has earned him $15 million in prize money to place him at 77th on the all time PGA Tour money list. Those are impressive statistics to us amateurs who have had numerous lessons and still struggle to break 90.

After losing his PGA player’s card in 2009, Kirk has played a limited schedule including some PGA and Nationwide Tour events. Even with the schedule disadvantage, he has earned $228,000 in 2011 including a $90,000 win on the Nationwide Tour against a lot of guys half his age who can drive a ball over three hundred yards with regularity.

Since he knew the Champions Tour was in his future, Kirk decided five years ago to adjust his outlook on golf based on anticipating play with the over fifty crowd. He feels he will fit in well with the format of the events but he also knows these guys are tough competitors who earned their spurs in the past and will not be easy to beat. Regardless, I think we will be seeing Kirk Triplett’s name on a lot of leader boards in 2012.

Kirk Triplett hoists the trophy after winning the News Sentinel Open In Knoxville, Tennessee last August.

Public speaking should not intimidate you

2011-11-20T23:33:00.001-07:00

I read a recent article in the Republic business section about how so many people consider public speaking a terrible ordeal that involves sweaty palms and brows and the sudden inability to speak coherently.

Unfortunately, in the business world, it is possible that somewhere along the line, you may have to address a group; especially if you enter a personality driven profession like sales.

My career was in sales and when I started I met a lot of young guys who would freeze in front of a buying committee if they had to make a presentation and answer questions. I was fortunate because having been in college and the military for four years each, and being a bit older than some of the guys right out of school; I had some public speaking experience.

My first bit of advice on public speaking came from an old master sergeant in the Air Force who saw I was visibly nervous about having to speak to some new recruits concerning how to handle some various duties in supply squadron. He told me that since I was the one with the information that these guys needed and that I had more military experience than they did, THEY should be the ones intimidated. I never forgot that advice and used it throughout a career in sales and when hosting thirty-three episodes of “Scottsdale Showcase” for Scottsdale Community College.

I’ve given that advice many times. It seems so simple. Think about it: You are the knowledgeable one in the room and the audience has come to hear you because they are anticipating learning something. Why should you be intimidated? YOU are the smart one in the room; the audience is at your knee trying to become better informed. If anyone should be intimidated, it is them.

This doesn’t mean that you have a bunch of facts and figures to hand out without having them in a plan. You must be prepared with you text and practice it thoroughly. Speak clearly and never mumble and don’t be afraid to inject a little humor if the subject warrants it. Audiences have a habit of being a tough house sometimes and can lose interest in you in a hurry if you are not diligent.

Also, tailor you presentation to your audience by using terminology that they understand. Stay focused and don’t fall in love with your presentation to the point where people are starting to yawn and shift in their seats. Another good idea is to check out the venue where you will be speaking so you have a “lay of the land.”

Remember: The audience is there to learn from you. You have no reason to be intimidated.

Step right up to the mic. The floor is yours

E-Mail!

2011-11-16T11:08:00.002-07:00

I am not an email “freak” although with my blog at azcentral celebrating its fifth anniversary on December 1st, I have answered thousands of comments from readers which I guess could be considered about the same as answering emails.

However, I look at those replies as being a bit different from an average email. Comments from people relating to a blog text impress me since they are the ones who took the time to read what I had to say and cared enough to give me a reply.

To be hung up on email in general is what I would call an addiction. We discussed recently how everyone seems to be staring at their Droids as though they will die if they don’t hear from somebody soon. Sometimes I think they send all those texts in the hopes of just getting an email answer to satisfy their addiction.

There is a guy named Dean Newlund who is a corporate trainer and executive coach. He is also extremely hooked on email to the point where he usually checks it about 40 times an hour. That’s about once in every 1 and 1/3 minutes! He says he checks it the first thing in the morning and the last thing at night.

According to John Freeman’s book, “The Tyranny of E-Mail”, here are some email facts:

1. The average worker spends 40% of their day sending and receiving about 200 email messages.

2. They misunderstand the tone of emails 50% of the time and failing to respond to a sender can lead to a breakdown in trust.

3. E-mail has conditioned workers to talk and think in short bursts slowly eroding their ability to explain points or topics in a careful and complex way.

4. It takes workers 25 minutes to get back on track after an interruption and those interruptions equal 28% of the work day.

So, how does one get out of the dreaded and mostly unnecessary plethora of emails? When I was a salesman, I was an overachiever to the point where I never wanted to miss or be late in returning a customer’s call. In those days there was no email so when I checked my calls every three or four hours, I had plenty of time to maintain customer satisfaction via the phone.

Today, with email being so instantaneous, customers may expect faster service so what does one do? Newlund says to check email only at 8 a.m. and 4.p.m. and use the “out of office” assistance to let callers know you will not be responding immediately.

As far as email manners, don’t clutter customer inboxes. Use “cc” and “reply to all” sparingly and never ask for a receipt.

If email can’t handle your customer or personal connections take care of your situation the old fashioned way: face to face. Don’t hide behind email!

Whew! I’m a bit exhausted after this keyboard punching. Being a modern guy on the go-go, there is no time for coffee so I’ll pop open a 5 Hour Energy fix and drug my way through the rest of the day!

Welcome to the 21st century!

I simply MUST send this email!

The NBA season can take a hike

2011-11-08T15:59:00.001-07:00

I think the National Basketball Association lockout is hilarious. The owners and the players are both fools who may get what they deserve: half empty arenas where everyone loses.

In cases like this, I usually side with the owners as I don’t think most of the players, especially in the NBA, are ever going to challenge Einstein’s IQ score. Not that the owners are geniuses, but most of them are rich guys who, unlike most of the players, probably at least went to a few classes in college, and were either smart or clever enough to accumulate the dough to buy the team. Their problem, however, is that in their quest to be a cool owner, they sometimes give away the doorknobs to a mediocre player which raises the level of income that other players feel they should get.

Hence, we now have a stalemate between millionaires and billionaires, both of whom feel they are getting the short end of the stick or, as many of the players like to say, are being “disrespected”. Since “disrespected” is considered a “hip-hop” term at best, maybe some of the players should have at least darkened the doorway of an English class while they got their free ride at some college.

They might even impress someone who cares if they could speak and dress to league standards. But, isn’t that one of the problems with the players? Many don’t come across as mature adults and rebel at league policies concerning proper dress when traveling or doing interviews. They want to “have their cake and eat it too.” My advice is for them to quit the NBA and see if they can get another job that pays millions a year for about six months work. Tattoo covered player Allen Iverson once said that not being able to dress in hip-hop style was “preventing me from expressing myself.” Maybe he would be happier expressing himself as an all night clerk at a Circle K.

Dan Bickley and Paola Boivin of the Republic are leaning toward the side of the players. Boivin calls Commissioner David Stern of the NBA a “bully” and Bickley warns the owners to be careful to not insult the players. What have those two been drinking? With polls showing that 76% of those asked could not care less about the NBA, what leverage is there for the players?

I’m in the 76% group but it wasn’t always that way. I loved the NBA of the 1960s with guys like Connie Dierking, Bill Russell, Wilt Chamberlain, John Havlicek, and many others. I always looked forward to the ABC Sunday afternoon games with announcers Chris Schenkel and Jack Twyman. Today, ticket prices are way too high and TV ratings too low and management and players are both responsible.

Jared Dudley, the union rep for the Phoenix Suns who is a bench guy, says it well: “Fans don’t want to hear it……..I make a lot of money to play basketball. I’m going to get at least 3 to 4 years of my deal. I’m a role guy. I can live off that the rest of my life.”

My suggestion: Cancel the season. I’m tired of June basketball playoffs anyway.

Is it "Invasion of the Body Snatchers"?

2011-11-03T12:39:00.000-07:00

Sometimes I think I am the only one left on the planet who doesn’t spend the day staring at a Blackberry or Droid screen to check messages, send messages via text, or just play games to keep busy during an obviously unfulfilled life. When I see people sleeping on the sidewalk in front of an Apple store to get the latest creation from that company, I just smile and move on.

What did these people do before all this electronic stuff was invented? How often have you seen people sitting together in a restaurant and instead of speaking to each other they are talking on cell phones? Are they just being rude or is that the accepted lifestyle of today?

I live in a neighborhood which has a nice workout room. It’s rare that when I go to lift weights, there is someone to converse with under age forty. Why? Because the younger crowd always has ear buds stuck in their head so they don’t have to spend one second of their lives without being entertained. If they see someone they are quick to look at the floor to avoid human contact. Whatever happened to interesting conversation?

School kids apparently are not being taught the importance of being able to do cursive writing anymore. Computers can take care of that for them and as far as learning how to spell words correctly; why bother? Good old spell check will always be there to save them. I wonder if kids even take spelling tests anymore in school. With texting burned into their brains they probably couldn’t pass one anyway. In their minds “you” is “u”, “great” is “gr8”, and “some” is “sum”. Hey, when you only get 140 characters, you have to improvise, right? What’s the big deal if you’re illiterate?

When is the last time you saw kids get together to go outside and play a game of baseball? I can’t remember when I have seen it and Scottsdale has plenty of ball fields sitting empty that they could use if they could pry themselves away from their indoor electronic games. No wonder childhood obesity has become a problem. Jay Leno remarked recently that “Kids still love Halloween and all the candy it provides. It’s than darn walking they have to do to get it that they don’t like!”

It isn’t so much that I dislike the above as much as it makes me wonder why people have allowed themselves to fall into the dependence on outside sources to control their lives. Have they decided that stopping and smelling the roses is not that important anymore or are they the result of the “Invasion of the Body Snatchers”? Is typing out a text message while swerving on the road in a car THAT important? I see a lot of drivers who must think so. Beware of them if you are in a bike lane.

There is a TV ad where a group of people in an office have been texted to meet for tacos. One guy shows up late and feels he wasn’t informed of the meeting until he notices that his provider was ten seconds slower than the rest. It’s considered a big deal that he is late. In today’s world I guess ten seconds is a lifetime.

Our world and welcome to it!

Common sense and restraint

2011-10-25T15:38:00.001-07:00

I enjoy the editorial comments of Mencken’s Ghost in a local newspaper. I know his real name and have been reading his stuff for years. He usually hits home with his remarks which I’m sure annoys some people, especially those on the left. Maybe that is why I enjoy his writing so much. In a recent column he talks about the lack of common sense and restraint of some Americans.

While shopping at a Scottsdale Walmart recently, he picked up a 15 pack of Schick double edged razors for $5.47 or 36 cents per razor. Nearby, he watched a tattooed covered guy in his 30s along with his tattooed covered wife. The guy saw an end cap display of Gillette razors for $7.80 each that contained one three edged blade cartridge. Replacement cartridges were $3 each. But, the Gillette razor had an Arizona Cardinal’s logo which fascinated the couple. In fact the wife exclaimed “That’s awesome!”

Was this couple poor, not smart, rich eccentrics who are slumming, a couple of losers with no common sense, or were they just conned by an attractive display built by the Gillette representative? Who knows for sure but I would say they lack restraint and common sense and probably are not rich. You can decide for yourself.

Next example: Mencken is reflecting on a nanny that he and his wife had employed when both of them were working and their son was in grade school. In her early twenties at the time, she was smart, single, and attractive. She also was always in dire financial straits due to her love of partying, smoking, paying six dollars apiece for drinks at bars, and dating losers who mooched off her.

Creditors called his house just about every day. He would advise the girl to save her money and use her flexible work schedule to get a college degree or learn a trade. She didn’t take his advice, but she did ask him to delay giving her some of her weekly earnings, because, she said, “If you give all of it to me at one time, I’ll have it spent by the next day.” No doubt, she is still living on the brink of bankruptcy and getting calls from creditors.

Was she an airhead and irresponsible; or just wanting to have a good time while young and not worrying about the future? Maybe she is all three but on the bright side, she might have met Mr. Right who really loved her and was rich. That’s a big risk though. Being conservative as I am, I believe in having a good time while simultaneously putting away something for a rainy day.

It’s called being an adult and living within your means. Does that make a person boring? Maybe, but it beats being broke.

Good luck, job hunters!

2011-10-18T19:27:00.003-07:00

I'm glad I am not out beating the bushes looking for a job. It's highly competitive today and you better know all there is to know about current technology if you want any chance to succeed. Then, next week when the technology takes another step forward and leaves your knowledge from the week before obsolete, you have to re-invent yourself again to establish another positive online identity.

According to Dilemma #1 on the CareerBuilder list, you need to have your name showing up in search engines like LinkedIn and making sure you are carefully leveraging the site. You also need to be on additional social networking sites like Plaxo, XING, or Viadeo and be sure you are on Facebook for professional networking. Don’t forget social media sites like Twitter and be sure to create a blog using a platform that will sync to your LinkedIn profile.

I don’t know about you but I don’t understand what a lot of that even means. My first job after college in 1969 was at Lever Brothers Company calling on headquarter and retail accounts selling Lever products like Dove Soap, Imperial Margarine, Close-Up Toothpaste, and many other items.

Nothing listed in the first two paragraphs above were heard of yet so I went to the want ads in the Kansas City Star newspaper. Want ads are extinct now but they were a good way to find a job in the 1960s. I saw the ad from Lever for a salesman and made a call on a pay phone for an appointment.

Since the appointment was a few days off, I had to type up a resume to submit to the interviewer so I got a book from the library about how to do a resume, and typed one up on my 1955 Smith-Corona typewriter.

When I arrived for the interview, I felt that I was ready although I was nervous as hell. I had my checklist covered: shined black shoes, dark blue suit, conservative white shirt and tie, good haircut, close shave, no political or religious buttons, nothing weird hanging out of my nose, and hopefully a polished, professional demeanor.

The interview went well and after one more interview I got the job. I don’t know if I was that great or the other guys interviewed were a bunch of stiffs and I didn’t care. I had a $140 a week job and a 1968 Ford company car. Combined with my wife’s teaching job we were pulling in a cool $13,500 a year, not bad in 1969 dollars where two steaks and a bottle of wine went for about $10!

I have no problem with the technology of today; it is what it is. Today you need all the items mentioned above to even have hope of an interview. I got mine with one call on a pay phone and when I typed my resume on that long gone Smith-Corona, I don’t think I even had liquid paper to correct mistakes.

Good luck, job hunters!

Before TV, there was radio

2011-10-12T17:11:00.002-07:00

"Hello, Mr. Radio"........Electric Light Orchestra, 1973

Election Day in 2010 was on November 2 and the broadcast media crush was quite a contrast to the November 2, 1920 Election Day, exactly 90 years before. Unlike 2010, 1920 was a presidential election but there was no television flowing into the nation’s homes to influence voters. Radio was even in its infancy so the main form of campaigning was through the “whistle stop” which took candidates across country campaigning in every significant town via the platform on the back of trains.

James Cox and Franklin Roosevelt were the ticket for the Democrats. Their opposition for the Republicans was Warren Harding and Calvin Coolidge. Cox and FDR did whistle stops from August until Election Day but it didn’t help as the Republicans won.

That election was the beginning of media coverage for election returns. A guy named Frank Conrad, who worked for Westinghouse was desperately, along with his crew, completing a radio transmitting station on the roof of the tallest building on the Westinghouse campus in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Their goal was to be ready on election night to broadcast the returns to the few folks in the area who had radios.

On October 27, the facility was complete and given the call letters KDKA. On November 2, four men recorded the election numbers that were received from the Pittsburgh Post via telephone and a gentleman named Leo Rosenberg read them over the air through a clumsy array of wires used as a microphone.

On that night broadcasting was born. The next day, the Westinghouse switchboard was flooded with calls from people wanting to know how they could get a radio. Radio had the excitement in the 1920s that the Internet would have many years later. Imagine if you can how those people felt in that era. One day, they are seeing live entertainment in clubs or theaters and the next they could turn the knob on a box of tubes in their living rooms and get the same entertainment for free.

During the 1920s, many colleges had radio clubs and as the decade progressed, sporting events like the baseball World Series were broadcast along with many highly followed prize fights and musical programs. Election results continued to be important programming. Today, we have several TV networks on election night feverishly reporting every trend and vote throughout the night and into the early morning.

Eventually, entertainers like singer Rudy Vallee, Bob Hope, Jack Benny, and Amos ‘n’ Andy ruled the radio waves through the 1930s and into the 1940s as radio was a primary form of entertainment until about 1950 when Television started replacing it as a major entertainment forum. By then the “Golden Age” of radio was over.

Today, radio is mostly used as background entertainment for music or to possibly listen to a sporting event while doing something else.

Frank Conrad died in 1941 at 67 but he got to see radio flourish from the humble beginnings at KDKA to the number one form of entertainment at the time of his death.

Frank Conrad and crew feverishly broadcasting election returns

in November 1920 to the few people who had radios.

The Era of Adult TV Westerns

2011-10-05T11:03:00.002-07:00

Westerns were always a popular genre in film starting with the ten minute production of “The Great Train Robbery” in 1903. The popularity continued through the silent era with stars like Hoot Gibson and the Farnum Brothers. As sound film evolved Gene Autry, Hopalong Cassidy, Roy Rogers, Tex Ritter, and others cashed in.

In spite of some adult western features like “The Westerner” (1940), and “The Ox Bow Incident” (1943) the Western was primarily aimed at rural and juvenile audiences. With the popularity of TV in the early ‘50s, stars like Rogers and Autry got their own shows along with transfers from radio like “The Cisco Kid” and “The Lone Ranger.” By the mid ‘50s, classier productions like “The Adventures of Rin Tin Tin” and “Davy Crockett” came aboard the tube.

The month of September, 1955 provided a watershed moment as John Wayne appeared on CBS to introduce a new show that would change the public’s vision of the Western. The show was “Gunsmoke” and it was the first of the successful “adult” Westerns. It was to run for twenty years and make a star out of James Arness, a personal friend of Wayne.

With the success of “Gunsmoke” came ”Cheyenne”, “Have Gun, Will Travel”, and “The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp.” These shows were a lot different from the kiddie fare provided by Gene, Roy, Hoppy, and Cisco. The adult Western caught on with TV because of the success of early ‘50s Western films like “High Noon” (1952) and “Shane” (1953) which carried adult themes.

Adult Westerns were a natural for the tube. They captured the interest of parents while having enough action scenes to attract the kids. It was a perfect setup for the networks.

In the 1955-1956 season, there were nine Westerns in prime time on television. By the 1958-1959 season there were 31! Shows like “The Rifleman” with Chuck Conners, “Tales of Wells Fargo” with Dale Robertson, and "Wanted, Dead or Alive” with Steve McQueen were ratings winners along with “Yancy Derringer.

Chuck Conners as "The Rifleman"

In spite of the success of the adult Western, it was not without its critics. By the late ‘50s and early 60s, many complained about the excessive violence, most notably Newton Minnow who was the head of the FCC during the Kennedy Administration. He referred to television as a “vast wasteland” in a 1961 speech which singled out the Western in particular.

As the 60s began, the popularity of Western was declining. Violence was one issue but there also were too many of these shows so the public was growing a bit weary of them. Besides, Nielsen ratings were showing that Westerns appealed to an older demographic; one that was not as likely to buy many of the sponsor’s products.

The “smooth detective” was becoming a popular genre after the fade of Westerns although shows like “Gunsmoke”, Bonanza”, and “The Big Valley” hung on for several more years.

2011-09-28T15:20:00.002-07:00

I went to the show Monday and saw Moneyball. It was a profitable experience as while sitting and waiting for the 11:00 showing at my neighborhood Harkin’s theater, technical problems occurred and the movie couldn’t be shone. Luckily, the theater had another screen where we could see the show at 1:00 so my wife and I packed up our Milk Duds, the free passes the management gave us for our inconvenience, and saw the show a little later.

That experience got us off on the right foot and it only got better with the showing of Moneyball. I think it is a fine film but I want to issue a couple of warnings to those who may not be familiar with what this is about: It doesn’t matter what anyone tells you; this is a baseball movie that stars Brad Pitt. Other than fine support from Philip Seymour Hoffman and Jonah Hill (Cyrus), you probably will not recognize any supporting players.

The film runs 2:06 which is normally about twenty minutes longer than I prefer but it is worth it. There are no romantic scenes. It is the story of a major league baseball general manager named Billy Beane (Pitt) and how he goes about building a team (The Oakland A’s) via computer printouts on player performances rather than offering outlandish contracts to superstars. Pitt and Hill are outstanding as Beane and his computer nerd buddy Peter Brand.

Moneyball , the book, by Michael Lewis was published in 2003. I enjoyed it and being a baseball fan I liked the way Beane was able to create a major league baseball team on a short budget via using aggregate statistics of two to three lower priced played to equal the output of expensive superstars. Pitt plays Beane to the hilt and is in basically every scene.

Unless your girlfriend or boyfriend is a baseball fan, this is not a “date movie.” Pitt is great looking as usual and if that is all you care about, Moneyball is for you. He laughs, he yells, he smiles, and he owns the movie: all the things people like to see him do. Hoffman is good as manager Art Howe who is in total disagreement with Beane 99% of the time.

In its first weekend, Moneyball took in $19.5 million, not bad for a specialized movie. Rotten Tomatoes gives it 94% on the tomatometer and the audience reaction is 92% liked it. IMDB gives it 8.3 out of 10. It has humor, drama, good acting and, of course, the still handsome Brad Pitt at age 47 and in terrific shape and luckily without Angelina in this one.

Classic Sayings

2011-09-22T17:03:00.000-07:00

I love expressions and items from the past, especially the ones we see in classic films. These items were once applied universally to our lifestyles and the technology of the time but most have become a bit out of date. For those of a certain age, you will understand them. For the younger crowd, maybe not. Either way I’ll give a short explanation on each.

Asleep at the switch. I still hear this occasionally as a description of someone who is not giving full attention to something. However, it originated from the days when railroads had humans doing a lot of work that is automated now. If a guy didn’t change the tracks for a train going to Chicago and it wound up in Cleveland, he definitely was asleep at the switch.

That and a nickel will get you a cup of coffee. Yes, there was a time when coffee was a nickel a cup. I saw a sign in a diner when I was a kid that read "cup of coffee, cigarette, and a toothpick: 7 cents." Throw a nickel on the counter at Starbucks and see what you get.

Came in over the transom. Does anyone remember transoms? They were windows above the door that many old hotels and houses had to allow for better ventilation. In some comedy movies with stars like The Three Stooges, you may see them going through the transom.

Put through the wringer. If someone was working too hard, they may have said they were “put through the wringer.” Many years ago the wringer was used to squeeze the water out of washed clothes before they were hung in the backyard to dry on the “line”. The “line” was a piece of rope the clothes were hung on to dry. The clothes were held on the line by “clothes’ pins”. Wringers were replaced long ago by the spin cycle in modern washing machines.

Best thing since sliced bread. Sliced bread was quite an invention at one time and anything that was also newly invented and convenient could be referred to being the best thing since sliced bread.

Film at 11. That was the tease for TV news in the days long before live reporting.

Beam me up Scotty. "Star Trek" technology from the 60s and an expression you may still hear occasionally.

Let’s get cranking. Popular in the days when cars had cranks to start them, no ignition switches and starters then.

Dial her up. This comes from the days when if you called a girl you liked; it would be on a rotary dial phone. No push buttons in those days. No caller ID or call waiting either.

Here is one of my favorites. In the great crime film from 1931, "The Public Enemy", James Cagney is a wise guy crook driving a new stick shift fancy roadster. The stick shift (or synchromesh transmission) was a new item at that time and when a valet at a fancy club goes to park Cagney’s car, he grinds the gears. Cagney shouts, "Hey, stupid, be careful! That thing’s got gears. That ain’t no Ford!"

Cagney was referring to the Model T Fords of that era which, as he said, didn’t have gears.

Here is a quiz: In the mid 1930’s, Warren William played Erle Stanley Gardner’s lawyer Perry Mason in a series of films. The Perry of that era was a lot different from Raymond Burr. William played him as a playboy drunk. In one film Perry is returning to his office after a night on the town when a friend describes him as “so drunk that as the elevator went up he began doing the rumba to the starter’s castanets.” Can you explain what his friend meant?

If you know the answer, you are a true classic movie expert.

Having a beer, seeing a film

2011-09-13T12:26:00.000-07:00

Whether we call it suds, a cold one, a draw, a brewski, a dime draft or whatever, most of us will admit that there is not a better beverage than beer. It’s the world’s most highly consumed alcoholic beverage and third overall behind water and tea. That’s not bad considering that technically it is illegal in most places to drink the foamy stuff if you are under the age of 21.

I used to go to town on weekends with my buddies during my Air Force days to get sloshed in a hurry as there were two reasons we were there: Find a good bar with a band and meet girls. Our standard procedure was to eat a few 15 cent McDonald’s burgers, drink a few shots and follow them down with some beers. My standard order was three or four bottles of Schlitz and a couple shots of Southern Comfort. Needless to say, it created a nice buzz and occasionally I would actually meet girls if I didn’t throw up first. I still wonder how many times I danced the Twist and the Limbo in those days.

That’s enough about my immature past. Here is a question: What are your favorite beer movies? I have three: "Strange Brew" (1983), "Animal House" (1978), and "Revenge of the Nerds". (1984)

In "Strange Brew", those two beer guzzling clowns from SCTV, (Bob and Doug McKenzie) get mixed up with evil scientist Max von Sydow who is trying to take over the world by adding a chemical to beer. Dave Thomas and Rick Moranis star as the brothers. Anyone who doesn’t like this film is a true “hoser”.

What more can be said about "Animal House"? It’s one of the best gross out films ever made. How could it not be with John Belushi as the star? Did you ever hear of a toga party before this film? Did you ever believe that that much beer could be consumed?

"Revenge of the Nerds" is a good film because it shows how a bunch of misfit underdogs can beat out the self centered jerk “popular kids”. It’s worth the price of admission just to see Booger (Curtis Armstrong) win the belching contest with the loudest beer burp.

Here is some stuff relating to beer that you may not know but will know within the next minute. We’ve all used the terms “Rule of thumb”, “Wet your whistle”, and Mind your P’s and Q’s”. “Rule of thumb” comes from the days before the thermometer was invented to test the temperature of beer. The brew masters would simply dip their thumb in the foamy stuff to determine if it was too hot or cold to add the yeast. The yea or nay determination was called the “Rule of thumb”.

“Wet you whistle” comes from the days when English pub drinkers had a whistle on the rim of their mugs so all they had to do was blow the whistle to get a refill.

Also in the English pubs, the order sizes were pints and quarts. If the barkeep decided that someone was getting unruly from being snockered, he would tell them to “mind their P’s and Qs.”

That is today’s lesson so let’s review: You have learned some interesting information about beer and beer terminology, read about my three favorite beer movies, and heard probably more than you want to know about my immature 1960s lifestyle.

Since that is settled, let’s go have a cold one!

NAT AND LENA; BORN TOO SOON

2011-09-07T11:02:00.001-07:00

“Madison Avenue is afraid of the dark”………Nat “King” Cole, 1957.

When I was a kid, Nat “King” Cole was one of my favorite singers; especially before Rock and Roll took off in the 1950s. His string of hits earned him a 15 minute TV show on NBC in November of 1956, the same type of show as headliners like Perry Como (Chesterfield Supper Club) and Eddie Fisher (Coke Time) had.

Since a 15 minute format only allowed a couple songs to be sung, Nat’s show stayed on until July of 1957 when NBC decided to move it to Tuesdays and put it in a 30 minute format. This allowed Nat to have more guests and variety which at the time made perfect sense: Nat Cole had a string of popular songs, had a smooth and likable personality, and wasn’t the least bit offensive. Surely his show would be a hit.

Unfortunately, the show had problems from the start. Remember: I’m talking about 1957 and Nat Cole was the first black entertainer to headline a network musical variety program on national TV. Apparently, being a successful recording artist was not enough to draw a large audience on TV which meant that notable sponsors weren’t interested. During 1956-1957 he only averaged 19 percent of the viewing audience compared to 50 percent who were watching Robin Hood at the same time on CBS.

Nat "King" Cole, 1919-1965

NBC tried its best to keep the show on the air but by December of 1957, Nat canceled it before they did. Many great guest stars from the black community like Count Basie, Pearl Bailey, Billy Eckstein, Cab Calloway, and Ella Fitzgerald had appeared for gratis or minimum fees. The same applied to white stars like Tony Bennett, Mel Torme, Tony Martin and Peggy Lee. It was to no avail as the audience just wasn’t there.

Nat “King” Cole’s experience was a sad one but he wasn’t alone in his rejection. Black stars like Lena Horne faced similar treatment. Lena was a beautiful woman who was forced into “insert parts” in some major MGM films like “The Duchess of Idaho” (1950). By inserting her doing a number which had nothing to do with the story, MGM could edit her out of showings in the South because of her being considered black.

The beautiful Lena Horne

It was a different world then even though slavery had been abolished almost 100 years previously. That didn’t mean that black stars like Cole were singled out for failure as Frank Sinatra and Julie Andrews, among many other white stars, also had failed with variety shows. It also didn’t help him any.

Nat Cole died in 1965 at the age of 45 from lung cancer probably not knowing that Bill Cosby would soon break the color barrier on TV with a starring role in the “I Spy” series which ran from 1965 to 1968. The ice was broken and the late 60s became known as the golden age of blacks in television. That era saw more than two dozen shows with black actors starring as leading characters or in prominent leading supporting roles. In 1970 comedian Flip Wilson became the first black entertainer to have a successful variety show. It ran from 1970-1974.

Nat had a lot of success but also had the misfortune of being a talented black entertainer who was probably born about ten years too soon.

Dancing with Fred and Ginger

2011-08-29T10:34:00.004-07:00

Of equal importance with the Busby Berkeley musicals of the 1930s were the films of Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers. How these two even met is a mini-story of its own.

Born in 1899, Fred was a popular Broadway star during the 1920s along with his sister Adele. When Adele retired in the late 1920s, Fred started looking toward Hollywood. Ginger had some Broadway experience but by 1930 was still only nineteen years old. However, like Fred, she had Hollywood on her mind.

Both scuffled a bit out west but in 1933, RKO was looking for a dance team for their Dolores del Rio-Gene Raymond musical, “Flying Down to Rio”. In spite of their minimal film experience, Fred and Ginger were given the parts along with fourth and fifth billing. They looked a bit odd: He was a balding mid 30s guy while Ginger was a gorgeous young blonde babe of twenty-two. That was forgotten after they did their sensual eighteen minute dance of the Carioca. They started a Carioca dance craze and assured themselves stardom for the next six years after gliding across those white pianos.

Next came “The Gay Divorcee” where Astaire-Rogers started another dance craze with ”The Continental” along with a number to Cole Porter’s “Night and Day”.

They were on a roll in the mid 1930s as they recorded successes like “Top Hat” (1935), “Follow the Fleet” (1936), “Shall We Dance?” (1937), and “Carefree” (1938).

After nine films in six years, they decided enough was enough and decided to move on. Their only film together after 1939 was “The Barkley’s of Broadway” (1949) which was a reunion flick and also their only film done in color.

Fred had gone on to other musicals with dancers like Rita Hayworth while Ginger tried straight acting. After playing so many light hearted musical parts, she surprised everyone by winning the Best Actress Oscar for “Kitty Foyle” in 1940. If you haven’t seen that film, check it out the next time it is on TCM. It is worth your time.

Fred danced his way up to 1976 with an appearance in “That’s Entertainment, Part II”. He also did a lot of straight acting and got an AA nomination for “The Towering Inferno” (1974). Ginger continued acting but after “Kitty Foyle” the good parts dried up.

Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers doing what they did best. (RKO Pictures)

As a side note, Ginger’s mother was the quintessential stage mother who didn’t think that Astaire was that good and that Ginger should have received more credit for her work. At one time she supposedly said “Ginger does the same things he does only she does them backwards with heels.”

Regardless, for a couple of kids from Nebraska and Missouri, Fred and Ginger did pretty well. In an early screen test one movie executive said that Fred “can’t sing, can’t act, can dance a little.” So much for his evaluation!

Fred died in 1987 and Ginger followed him in 1995. A couple of years ago, Ginger’s childhood home and birthplace in Independence, Missouri was for sale at $20,000. There were no offers.

Film Censorship: Hays and Breen

2011-08-20T12:43:00.001-07:00

What would Will Hays think if he was alive today and saw the nudity in films along with the dreaded “F” word used so frequently? Since he was brought in by the MPAA to “tone down” the action on the screen it was assumed he was a hardnosed guy. Actually, he was pretty mild mannered having worked in the Harding administration as the Postmaster General before Hollywood called in 1922.

Hays took the job and set some informal guidelines for the studios to follow. By 1927, he formalized the rules and, although he meant well, they were largely ignored. The studios liked the 48 year old ex-Postmaster because he kept the government off their backs, but 1927 was the Jazz Age so who wanted rules?

With sound taking over movies in 1930, it became apparent that stronger censorship was needed. On March 31, 1930, the Production Code (Hays Code) was adopted and as had been the case with the original Hays Code, was ignored. By 1934 the Catholic Legion of Decency was established with the goal of strictly enforcing the code. Also, the Production Code Administration was established in July, 1934 as a response to the lewd movie fare of the early 1930s. A tough character named Joseph Breen was named as its director and was very literal in his enforcement.

Will Hays: Mild mannered censor from Indiana

The era of 1930-1934 was known as the “pre-code era” because, even though a code existed, it was not followed. Take a look at films from the pre-code times and compare them to 1934 and afterwards when Breen took over. There were no more shots of a scantily dressed Fay Wray or thinly veiled nipples as in “Gold Diggers of 1933”.

A couple of Breen’s encounters were “Tarzan and His Mate” (1934) where he deleted a nude underwater scene involving a stand-in for Maureen O’Sullivan. Later, Breen battled with Howard Hughes in 1941 over whether there was too much use of Jane Russell’s breasts for promos of “The Outlaw”. The discussions went on so long that the film wasn’t released until 1943.

Joseph Breen of the Catholic Legion of Decency

Some of the rules enforced by the Production Code seem tame by today’s standards. Of course, nudity and profanity were not allowed and screen kisses had to be close mouthed and limited to six seconds. When two people embraced, one of them had to have his or her foot on the floor. Words like “broad”, “pregnant”, and “hold your hat” were not permitted. Hold your hat?) Also, seduction could not be used as a form of comedy.
This mentality lasted well into the 1960s.

Because of changes in attitudes, an influx of foreign films which clearly violated the Hays Code, and various social movements, the Code was disbanded in 1967 and replaced by the MPAA’s own rating system. Hays died in 1954 at age 74. He never got to see his Code replaced.

1930-1934 was an interesting period and besides being known as the “pre-code era” is sometimes called the era of “sound and sexuality”.

TV Sitcoms: The 1960s

2011-08-07T13:34:00.000-07:00

Television sitcoms in the 1950s contained a lot of carryover shows from radio like Jack Benny, Burns and Allen, Ozzie and Harriet, “The Aldrich family”, “Beulah”, and “The Goldbergs”. It was funny stuff but nothing new. The most successful new sitcom of the decade was “I Love Lucy” which ran from 1951 to 1957. Everyone loved Lucy and it showed in the ratings.

From the mid 50s into the early 60s, comedy slipped in favor of westerns which became more popular than anyone could imagine; more on that in a future post.

As the 1960s emerged, TV was searching for something to boost ratings. They came up with a lot of shows that I would call “screwball sitcoms”. Please don’t confuse the term “screwball” with the great movie comedies of 1934-1941. The TV shows were not in that league and many of them were just plain bad although two stand out as high quality productions: “The Dick Van (inappropriate term) Show” (1961-1966) and “The Andy Griffith Show” (1960-1968).

A lot of the 60s’ sitcoms depended on gimmicks or “shtick” to gain an audience. One of the most popular entries was “The Beverly Hillbillies” with Buddy Ebsen . It somehow managed to stay on CBS as a rating’s giant from 1962-1971. The plot was oxymoronic: Hillbillies from the Ozarks invading the luxury of Hollywood with the result being the funny interaction of the two cultures. Robert Osborne even appeared in one 1962 episode.

Buddy Ebsen as Jed Clampett in "The Beverly Hillbillies" (TV Land)

CBS salivated over the ratings of “The Beverly Hillbillies” so it was quickly followed by “Gomer Pyle, USMC” (1964-1970), “Green Acres” (1965-1971) and “Petticoat Junction” (1963-1970). Gomer was a spin-off from “The Andy Griffith Show” and starred Jim Nabors as a marine bumpkin who was always irritating his nemesis, Sergeant Carter, played by Frank Sutton.

Frank Sutton (L) and Jim Nabors in "Gomer Pyle, USMC (MPTV.net)

“Green Acres” starred Eddie Albert and was the opposite of “The Beverly Hillbillies” as it placed city slickers in the country with the expected hilarious results. “Petticoat Junction” followed the antics of the townsfolk of Hooterville, USA.

I used to feel sorry for quality actors like Ebsen and Albert having to participate in this canned laugh track fare but they were in the acting business and had to eat too. On the plus side, I’m sure they were well paid for those nonsensical shows.

The same goes for Ray Walston who starred in another gimmick show, “My Favorite Martian” (1963-1966). Do you remember the Francis the talking mule films with Donald O’Connor? In this show Ray plays a Martian who will only let co-star Bill Bixby know of his powers. Does that sound a bit like Francis only talking to Peter Sterling (O’Connor)? It was pretty bad.

Then there was “Bewitched” (1964-1972) where Samantha’s witchcraft was the gimmick usually at husband Darrin’s expense. It’s no wonder he slugged down those Martinis after work! “I Dream of Jeannie” (1965-1970) used a similar scenario where Jeannie (Barbara Eden) used her powers over her “master” Larry Hagman.

If you liked macabre humor there was “The Addams Family” and “The Munsters”. “Gilligan’s Island” and “McHale’s Navy” provided slapstick. Family humor was alive with “Dennis The Menace” and “Leave it to Beaver” along with the ever sweet “The Donna Reed Show”.

Most of these shows were inane but they did provide some innocent fun during the 1960s. Like the music of the time, TV was emerging from the innocence of the 1950s while also bringing a bit of carryover from that era. By the end of the decade and the beginning of the 1970s, wholesale changes were in store for the tube.

More on that later.

SOME TV vs. FILM HISTORY

2011-07-29T16:46:00.000-07:00

Although the early days of television hurt the movie business, they didn’t ruin it like they did radio. Sure, starting in the late 1940s TV was new and exciting even if it was on a 7” to 16” black and white screen. However, not every home had one for two main reasons: Sets were very expensive and they were hard to get.

As a kid in Cincinnati, I can remember our first TV. It was a 16” B&W “National” and it cost about $500. Those were big bucks in 1949 and there was no remote, just 3 channels, and “rabbit ears” on top of the set for an antenna. When reception got bad, a little Reynold’s Wrap around the antenna helped a bit except when an airplane passed over. Nothing could help that but it at least was just a brief interruption.

Most of the shows were local but NBC from New York had a network followed shortly after by CBS and ABC. One of the events responsible for the great interest in TV in the late 1940s was NBC’s successful broadcast of the 1947 baseball World Series. One of the popular showcases for TV was the local bar. Almost every one of them had a TV and packed in the customers who wanted to watch sporting events.

OUR FIRST TV, A 1949 NATIONAL 16" BLACK AND WHITE

It took about six months to get a set as the demand was high. Everyone was in the business including brands you probably never heard of like Muntz, Hallicrafters, and Capehart. I mentioned above our National was $500 but if you wanted an “entertainment center” you could get a 7” TV, 78 rpm record player, and AM radio combination for about $800!

TV broadcasts in the early ‘50s usually came on about 5:00 in the afternoon and signed off at about midnight or 1:00 a.m. Popular network shows were the Texaco Star Theater, Arthur Godfrey, and Ed Sullivan’s “Toast of the Town” which, a few years later, would cause a controversy when Elvis appeared with his swiveling hips. The camera could only show him from the waist up because of protests.

For the kids, there was Howdy Doody. Before we had a set, all the kids in my neighborhood would crowd every afternoon at 5:30 into the living room of a girl up the street and watch Howdy Doody, Buffalo Bob, and the Peanut Gallery. The TV was a 14" Admiral B&W trable model but it looked like a 60" color flatscreen to us.

If you turned on the TV before “sign on” you would see a “test pattern” which was a bullseye looking thing usually with an Indian’s head that showed on the screen accompanied by an annoying hum.

AN EARLY 1950s TV TEST PATTERN

It all sounds primitive now, but at the time it did a lot of damage to theater ticket sales. From 1948 to 1953, home ownership of TVs in the US increased from 1% to 50% and by the 1960s was 90%. Suddenly, color films were flowing out of Hollywood in response to the black and white one eyed monster in all those living rooms across America.

In 1952, a gigantic screen with three projectors and a superior sound system made its debut in select theaters. It was called Cinerama and was followed closely by 3-D with its flimsy cardboard glasses. Other attempts by the film business to thwart TV were Cinemascope and Vista Vision which we already mentioned in another blog.

Cinerama was discontinued in 1962 and 3-D only lasted a couple years in the 50s. Both systems plus the more standard wide screen stuff were basically stopgap methods used to try to win customers back into the theaters. Eventually, both genres found their niche and gimmicks gave way to more quality films while the movie studios started working with TV making “made for TV” films.

The dust had settled.

Remakes: Good or Ripoffs?

2011-07-19T10:52:00.002-07:00

At the risk of sounding wishy-washy, I think some film remakes are good and some bad. Some film makers try to cash in with remakes of blockbusters just to take advantage of the good fortune some other guy took on a big career risk.

Regardless, remakes are nothing new. Even in the early 1930’s, the philosophy was that if something was a hit, let’s beat it to death until the audiences say “No, we’ve had enough!” Remakes then were as they are now: either a remake of the same film (sometimes scene for scene) or sequel the audience to death.

An early example is “The Maltese Falcon”. There was an excellent version made in 1931 starring Ricardo Cortez as Sam Spade. In 1936, it was copied poorly as “Satan Met a Lady” with Warren William. Hollywood was not satisfied that they got all they could out of that story so in 1941 we got the benchmark version with Bogart and Astor. In this case, the third version was worth waiting for.

Next, we have “The Front Page”. There have been four versions of it with all of them good: 1931, 1940 (as “His Girl Friday”), 1974, and 1988 (as “Switching Channels”). My favorite? It has to be “His Girl Friday”. It was done as one of the last screwball comedies and how can we improve on a cast of Cary Grant, Rosalind Russell, and Ralph Bellamy plus a room full of great character actors?

“High Sierra” is in my top five favorites and the remakes (“I Died a Thousand Times”, 1955), and Colorado Territory (1949), are decent.

Now, we have the stinkers: “Doctor Doolittle” (1967), (1998). Why even do a remake? The first version with Rex Harrison was a snoozer at 144 minutes in length. The second with Eddie Murphy was a little better but still induced yawning.

It’s the same with “Rollerball” (1975). It was OK and had a good cast with James Caan and John Houseman but did it warrant a remake? If you saw the 2002 version, I’m sure you’ll agree that once was enough.

In the case of “Stagecoach” (1939), it isn’t that the 1966 version is bad, it's just that the original from 1939 was so good that it was impossible to improve upon. “Stagecoach” re-launched John Wayne as a major star after he floundered in the 1930’s. With the combination of the Duke with Thomas Mitchell, John Carradine, Claire Trevor, Andy Devine and others the 1966 cast with Bing Crosby, Robert Cummings, Ann-Margret and Slim Pickens had no chance.

Do I dare mention “Psycho” from 1998 vs. the 1960 Hitchcock version? Think Janet Leigh vs. Ann Heche as Marion Crane and Anthony Perkins vs. Vince Vaughn as Norman Bates. Enough said?

Test yourself: Name four films made during the 1940s that included Barton MacLean and Humphrey Bogart.

John Wayne in "Stagecoach". So long to "The Three Mesquiteers".

LET'S NOT FORGET "HOPPY"

2011-07-14T15:07:00.000-07:00

This is “singing cowboys month” on TCM and although William Boyd as Hopalong Cassidy was not a singing cowboy, I think he deserves a mention for the contributions he made to the western genre.

Unless you are a certain age, you may be scratching your head and wondering, “Who was Hopalong Cassidy?” “Hoppy” was, along with Roy Rogers and Gene Autry, one of the great western heroes in the movies of the 1930s and 1940s. Also, like Autry and Rogers, he was very successful on television in the late 1940s and for years afterward.

Bill Boyd was 12 years older than Autry and 17 years older than Rogers. Although they all had success on TV and in films, Boyd led the way. Unlike many western heroes, he wore a totally black outfit including a black hat instead of the usual “good guy” white hat. At age 40 in 1935, he became Hopalong Cassidy along with co-star and future Roy Rogers and Gene Autry sidekick, Gabby Hayes.

His series of 66 quickly made “B” westerns was very successful as kids loved to watch Hoppy beat up the bad guys. With his black outfit, silver hair, and white horse Topper, he was quite an imposing figure as his fast paced action made quick work of the villains.

HOPPY WITH TOPPER

By 1944, the producer of his films ended the series. Bill Boyd mortgaged everything he had to buy the rights to the films and by 1946 was back in business as Hoppy. By 1948, the “B” western was losing its edge in theaters but, like Rogers and Autry, Boyd was a good businessman and saw a future in the new world of television.

NBC was a new network at that time and Boyd sold his films to them in edited versions that would fit into the television format. Later he made a series of 30 minute shows which ran from 1949-1951 on NBC and for years afterward in syndication. At age 58, he retired in 1953.

William Boyd’s future wife, Grace Bradley, married him three weeks after they met in 1937. Although she was 18 years younger, she said he was “the love of my life.” They were together until 1972 when he died at 77.

At the Lone Pine Film Festival in 1995, 82 year old Grace said, “Everybody I talk to is looking for a hero. They say ‘If only we had Hoppy again’, or somebody like him. The children have no role models. Who do we have?” I understand her point.

Grace Bradley Boyd died on her birthday last September in Dana Point, California. She was 97 and died of age related causes.

I feel lucky to have grown up in the Hopalong Cassidy, Gene Autry, and Roy Rogers era. It was exciting to see their movies and TV shows on cold Ohio winter days with a cup of Ovaltine or Campbell’s tomato soup as we eagerly watched them round up the bad guys on our 16” Admiral black and white TV.

Trivia question: Where did Hoppy's horse Topper get his name?

Lobby poster for a Hoppy western

Hooray For Hollywood (1930s style)

2011-07-04T11:13:00.001-07:00

Do you have memories of going to the show as a kid? I remember my mom telling me to not let my head touch the back of the seat or I might get ringworm. We also never worried about starting times for shows. We would simply leave “where we came in.” Do you remember the “Air Cooled” banner on the marquee to indicate air conditioning?

Here is guest writer Joe Finnerty's account of a day at the movies with his buddies in the 1930’s.

HOORAY FOR HOLLYWOOD (1930's style)

By Joe Finnerty

Hollywood is to blame. Moguls such as Cecil B. De Mille stopped me from experiencing real life as a child. Movies, with their dream world of adventure and comedy, captivated me while growing up. Thank goodness for TV documentaries which allow me to catch up on the events that passed me by while the big screen kept me glued to my seat.

I joined legions of Hoboken’s waifs every Saturday afternoon to watch endless numbers of films at the nearby U. S. Theater, a grand name for a somewhat shopworn venue. Half the fun of attending the matinee was trying to sneak in without paying. Two fire escape doors on either side of the balcony led to steel stairways. With precision, at an appointed time, some paying customer would open one of the exit doors, allowing a horde of waiting boys to race inside. This mad dash came to mind when recently reading a news report of a mob of illegal immigrants who charged en masse across a border checkpoint. A few lucky ones managed to elude the police. That is the way it was with my boyhood pals. Only a small number managed to avoid detection. Most were corralled and booted out by the ushers. The excitement generated by this storming of the gates sometimes exceeded that of the latest adventure film which followed.

Sneaking in to see a show this way was not my style. Rather than rely upon cohorts to help me enter the theater, my preference was to steal a few deposit milk bottles to earn my ten-cent admission fee. I had SOME pride, after all.

Most of the pre-teen boys chose to sit in the balcony. The pre-teen girls sat in the orchestra. This seating preference allowed the boys to shower the girls with wads of gum and candy wrappers. The mezzanine was an unmarked hard-hat area. Usually this barrage ended when the first serial began showing. Then, everyone focused their attention on the screen for the next three to four hours.

Few ‘B’ movies made in Hollywood from 1935 to 1940 escaped my viewing. It was a time of innocence. The plots taught me values that became etched in my psyche. Good guys always won. Bad guys always got their comeuppance. A few Native Americans were okay, like Tonto, but most of them were low-down (inappropriate term). Mexican cowpokes, especially the Cisco Kid, always spoke broken English in a hilarious way. The Chinese were definitely inscrutable, especially Charlie Chan, although his son was a nerd. Some Black people had rhythm. Did you see that old butler Bojangles dancing with Shirley Temple?

One afternoon, in the summer of 1938, while returning home after spending four hours of movie watching, my weary eyes began to observe that something unusual had occurred outdoors that afternoon. In plain view were many canvas window awnings torn to shreds, flapping loosely. It puzzled me, but not sufficiently to discuss my observation with my family who never brought up the subject either. Not until years later did I learn that a great hurricane had smashed the eastern seaboard that afternoon, destroying lives and property across a wide region of the northeast including metropolitan New York, Long Island and much of New England.

All the movies I saw that day were memorable, legendary even. In one, Tom Mix and his horse Tony became lost in New York City. The Marx Brothers stole his nag and took it to the races. Meanwhile, Mickey Mouse chased a big ape up a tall building. I know. I was there. I saw it.

The marquee of the Orpheum Theater in downtown Phoenix in 1942. Notice the "Cooled by Refrigeration" banner.

GIRL TUNES

2011-06-28T14:29:00.000-07:00

I was listening to the radio in the car today and one of my favorite old "girl name" songs was played. It was "Francine" by ZZ Top, a cut from the 1972 album "Rio Grande Mud." Needless to say, I turned the volume all the way up and broke off the knob. (Got a girl, her name’s Francine, finest thing you ever seen, and I love her). Oh, yeah!

ZZ Top’s use of a girl’s name in the title made me wonder about all the other great "girl name" songs that have been popular through the years. If you are like me and grew up a pop music fan, each song will bring back a memory of when you heard the song in the past.

The first one I thought of was "Peggy Sue" by Buddy Holly. What a great tune to take me back to high school in 1957. I had just gotten my drivers’s license that year and must have heard that song a million times on the radio cruising through Frisch’s Drive-In restaurant in Cincinnati and looking for girls.

In 1966, a garage band from Chicago called The Shadows of Knight recorded the Van Morrison written tune "Gloria." It was a great, grinding, song that was easy to sing and dance to, especially after you had downed a few beers. I was 6 months out of the Air Force and had met a beautiful, 20 year old co-ed at the U. Of Cincinnati named Barb, who would eventually be my wife. We were both young, enjoying life, and having a great time together. Thanks, Van, for writing "Gloria."

A couple years later in 1968, I was living in Missouri and The Monkees were popular. One of my favorites from those guys was "Valleri." We had parties at a vet’s club near school where "Valleri" always made the playlist. I loved the part where we sang to the record: And her name is Val, al, al,al, al leri! Those were fun days, I wonder what happened to those guys.

In 1972, it was Derek and the Dominos (Eric Clapton) doing "Layla." Another great song and I remember it at many parties. 1972 was the year we bought our first house in Kansas. $26,000 for 3 bedrooms, 2 car garage, large lot on a lake and cul-de-sac. Falstaff beer was also $1.00 per 6 pack and I had my share of that while working in my new yard and listening to that new phenomenon, rock music on FM radio.

ERIC CLAPTON AT WORK

I could go on forever about girl songs. I’m sure you have great memories of your own and when you hear your faves, relate to a time and place when you heard that tune.

Here’s a few more you probably know: "Sherry" 1962, by The Four Seasons, "Eleanor Rigby" 1966, by The Beatles, "Mustang Sally" 1966, by Wilson Pickett, "Brandy" 1972, by The Looking Glass, "Maggie May" 1971, by Rod Stewart, "My Sharona" 1979, by The Knack, "Jenny 867-5309" 1982, by Tommy Tutone, "Billie Jean" 1983, by Michael Jackson.

What are your favorite "girl name" songs? I have barely scratched the surface with my list.

REMEMBERING DRIVE-IN THEATERS

2011-06-22T10:33:00.001-07:00

Those of you who are old enough can remember the fun of going to the drive-in theater. Whether you went as a child with your parents, went with your teen age buddies, or with a date (if you were lucky!), the drive-in was THE place to go for kids of the 1950s.

It was fun to go to the drive-in as kids. My parents always knew better than to park behind a pick-up truck because of height and we had a great time on the swings before the show. We would frequently bring lawn chairs or sit on the hood of the car and lean back on the windshield. For whatever reason, I always remember the refreshment stand having great barbecue sandwiches. It was probably because of how they promoted them so much between double features.

The Oakley Drive-In of Cincinnati is where I made a career choice. It was usually easy to sneak into the place by driving down the exit drive with your lights off. On one particular night in 1957, I drove in with some buddies, parked, and put the speaker in the window when suddenly the manager appeared and he was angry. He had been watching for "sneakers" and had caught us red handed. I got out of the car acting humble and apologetic and generally playing the role of the "good kid" who had done something stupid on a dare. He actually believed me, softened up, and even let us stay and watch the movie for free. I said to myself, "Jim, you are a born salesman", and that is what I eventually became. I’m glad we didn’t have any guys hiding in the trunk that night or the guy may not have been so forgiving!

When I went out with my 1959-1961 girl friend, I don’t remember us doing much other than going to the drive-in to make out. Even in the winter, it was great even though those cheesy little heaters they had didn’t do much good. You also had to be careful of the window speakers. Many customers would drive off without replacing them and break the wires or the car window. Today, at the few drive-ins left, most have the sound play through the customer's radio.

If you are too young to remember these places, you can still go to the few that are left and enjoy an evening "1950's style." It’s about $6.50 admission these days (75 cents in 1957!) and I suggest taking your own food and drinks. Also, since the sound comes through the radio now, bring a boom box if you sit outside, it’s better than turning up your car radio.

Arizona had its share of drive-ins during the 1950s with a high of 49 being in operation in 1958. Sadly, today there are only a few left in the state, mostly in the Phoenix-Scottsdale area.

HOLLYWOOD FANTASIES

2011-06-16T22:07:00.000-07:00

The ability of actors, musicians, and directors to instill laughter or pathos into an audience is fascinating. As a kid I used to cry when Lassie was in trouble as I was oblivious to the fact that everything turns out all right in a Lassie film.

It’s the fantasy of Hollywood at work. One of my favorite scenes in “Casablanca” is where Rick and Sam are standing in the rain at the train station waiting for Ilsa, and Rick reads her rain stained Dear John letter. I can picture Michael Curtiz calling “Cut!” five minutes later and everyone heading down a sunny street to the Warner’s commissary for lunch. There may be a lot of tear jerking emotion in scenes like the train station but in reality, films are a business with schedules and deadlines.

HUMPHREY BOGART AND DOOLEY WILSON IN "CASABLANCA"

An imagination is a necessity at the movies. How else could Western heroes shoot twenty rounds out of a six shooter without reloading? How could the Cavalry arrive just in time to save the fort? How could Bob Steele at 5’ 5” in height beat up all those big guys?

How about the age fantasies? Would Leslie Caron really fall for Fred Astaire in “Daddy Long Legs” with Fred being 32 years older and looking like Charlie McCarthy? Even a good looking Gene Kelly was still 20 years older than Caron in “An American in Paris”. Another classic mismatch was Humphrey Bogart and Audrey Hepburn in “Sabrina” where Bogie was 30 years older than Audrey. It’s one of my favorite films but my imagination was working overtime on that age difference.

It doesn’t seem fair that leading men got to play romantic roles into their 50s and 60s while the ladies were losing starring roles at 40 or younger. Men were still considered “handsome” or “distinguished”. Women were “getting older.” Welcome to Hollywood!

One of my favorite female character actors was Rosemary DeCamp. Rosemary always looked older than she was and in “Yankee Doodle Dandy” she played Jimmy Cagney’s mother in spite of being eleven years younger than Cagney! Jesse Royce Landis played Cary Grant’s mother in “North by Northwest” even though she was three months younger than Cary. Where else but Hollywood?

These examples go on forever and are fun to talk about. That’s what makes Hollywood fantasies so much fun because isn’t it the perception rather than the reality of motion pictures that we like? When Rick tells Ilsa, “Here’s looking at you, kid”, we all sigh. When Depression audiences laughed at screwball comedy, the movies were doing their job by giving those people a couple hours of happiness before they had to face the harsh realities of the real world.

A little backstage artificiality isn’t going to do any harm; it’s just part of the fantasy that we know and love about Hollywood.

JUNE IS BUSTIN' OUT ALL OVER

2011-06-10T19:35:00.001-07:00

By Guest writer Joe Finnerty

Another D-Day has come and gone. Much to my surprise, this year’s anniversary (2011) received no media coverage. It should come as no surprise given the ongoing Afghanistan war and the declining number of WW II aged citizens who represent the core audience.

D-Day, June 6,1944. "At the Hedgehogs" (Robert Capa)

In 2006, PBS aired a documentary that brought together three veterans of the invasion, an American, a Brit, and a German. These three men shared their respective experiences and made the epic battle that began on June 6, 1944, engrossing and personal. Their reenactment of the day was vivid and compelling. However, it did not match the story a participant in one of my Reminiscence Writing classes told one year. A physician, he described in graphic terms the carnage he had witnessed on Omaha Beach and elsewhere for months thereafter. Until this class, he had never shared his harrowing memory with anyone.

In contrast and inexplicably, I have no vivid recollection of D-Day. The landing of troops on French soil happened without my knowledge, apparently. It took place two days before my seventeenth birthday, a few weeks prior to my high school graduation and matriculating at college. These events in my life overshadowed the greatest invasion in man’s history.

Until the following June when I turned eighteen, I gave little thought to the prospect of my having to fight in the war. Not until the draft board sent me my induction notice did this possibility hit me. As events unfolded, I entered military service just as the war with Japan ended. After being discharged in 1947, I reentered college and graduated in 1950, soon after which I moved to California. Along the way, I lost track of my high school chums.

As you might imagine, I was delighted to receive an invitation to attend my 50th Anniversary Class Reunion in 1994. During a cocktail hour, we conducted a survey and determined that of the sixty boys who graduated, forty six served in the military. The remaining fourteen had been classified 4-F, which struck me an unusually large percentage. None of my classmates had died or suffered wounds in combat. I regret to say no one surveyed the girls to find out if any of them entered the service, or how many went to college, immediately or later on in life.

The class produced a number of male college graduates, including two priests, one physician, a chemist and five mechanical and engineers. Many attended college under the provisions of the G. I. Bill, including myself.

I learned that the majority of my classmates still lived in or near Hoboken. Some had spent their entire lives working in nearby factories. A few had died, including the class president (valedictorian and priest), and the vice president (best athlete). My best friend and fellow college graduate had died at age fifty, a suicide.

Plans to have another reunion fizzled out, thwarting me from asking my classmates: Do you recall D-Day? I am convinced they would have said yes, leaving me as the only dummy in the class who doesn’t. The explanation is simple. At the time I was in love with what’s her name.

LIGHT MY FIRE!

2011-06-02T16:15:00.002-07:00

(Guest contributor Joe Finnerty returns with another childhood memory from his teenage days in Hoboken, NJ in the 1940s. Chemistry class was never the same after Joe and his buddy Johnny Gallagher got through with the lab!)

LIGHT MY FIRE

By Joe Finnerty

Johnny Gallagher was my lab partner in high school chemistry. He was impish and very Irish. Teachers and classmates liked him. He was not an honor roll pupil, but he was a star varsity basketball player despite his short stature: 5 feet 4 inches, in sneakers. Johnny could make two-handed set shots from mid-court. Gallagher was a spunky player much favored by the team’s coach, Mr. John Kane, who happened to be our chemistry teacher.

Mr. Kane was not a very good basketball coach, as evidenced by our teams’ losing record year after year. His record as a chemistry teacher may have been even worse.

The first time our class entered the Chem. Lab, Mr. Kane warned us about the danger of spilling or mixing the various chemical reagents. These were neatly stored in glass jars that lined the shelves placed above the sinks and workspaces. Our first task, Mr. Kane said, would be to make our own stir rods. He distributed 1/4" diameter glass rods that we had to saw cut into one-foot lengths. He then demonstrated how to twirl the roughened ends in a Bunsen burner in order to smooth them into a rounded shape.

Gallagher had no difficulty following these instructions. Then, it was my turn. It seemed reasonable that I should be able to perform this simple task, right?

Moving deftly, I positioned the glass rod in the flame, rotating it while one end melted and became round and smooth. I then reversed the rod, putting the other roughened end into the flame. Within seconds, the smell of something burning hit my nostrils. It was I, oh Lord! The end of the rod I had just heated touched some fuzzy threads of my beautiful baby blue angora sweater, causing them to smolder.

With alarm, I said, “Here,” handing Johnny the rod in order to beat out the incipient flames with both hands. He grabbed hold of the end I had just removed from the Bunsen burner, scorching his palm. Johnny screamed in pain and flung the rod which knocked over some reagent bottles. Their contents interacted violently, creating a cloud of acrid, dense smoke. We had created a scene akin to a Three Stooges skit: I’m dealing with a blazing sweater; Gallagher is bellowing in pain; and Mr. Kane is rushing around the room, telling the rest of the students to “Get the hell out.”

JOE FINNERTY

After that incident, Gallagher kept his distance from me. We never became close friends. Despite this misadventure, Mr. Kane gave me an exceptional grade of 90. In truth, he passed everyone with the same mark, as he did not much care to evaluate students. His mind was on the next basketball season, worrying about how he was going to find a player to replace Gallagher.

This experience taught me never to choose an Irish leprechaun as a lab partner. They ruin your best clothes.

Scottsdale's Safari Hotel

2011-05-25T17:17:00.001-07:00

(Re-printed from the May 20 edition of the Scottsdale Republic)

When one looks at the busy intersection of Scottsdale and Camelback Roads in 2011, it’s hard to believe that at one time sheep were driven south on Scottsdale Road to fields in Chandler.

Those busy corners were a rural intersection in the days prior to the mid 1950s. Going east, Camelback ended at Scottsdale Road which was considered the city limits. Fashion Square was still a dream as rodeo grounds occupied the land where it now stands. It was so rural that horseback riders had the right of way over cars.

The idea of any kind of fancy resort in that area was incomprehensible. All the good motels were miles away on Van Buren and Grand. Who would want to travel fourteen miles from Phoenix to Scottsdale to stay in the middle of nowhere?

As in many stories of success, there were a couple of guys who were willing to gamble that people would make the trek to stay at “Scottsdale’s first hotel”. Their gamble paid off as the hotel became an icon in Scottsdale history known as the Safari. "At that time, there was no place to stay in Scottsdale six months out of the year," explained Safari co-founder Bill Ritter in the 1990’s. The resorts didn't have any air conditioning; they were only open in the winter. The Safari was something that was sorely needed."

Ritter was right. In November of 1956, the Safari opened to crowds who gladly drove those fourteen miles from Phoenix to see what all the fuss was about at the new desert oasis called the Safari Hotel. They weren’t disappointed as they saw a 108 room luxury resort with fine dining, dancing, shopping, salons, a cocktail lounge, and even a radio station all tied together within a jungle motif. Many visitors compared the Safari to the finest hotels on the Las Vegas Strip.

The fine dining restaurant was operated by noted restaurateur Paul Shanks. A look at an early menu lists a “man sized” filet for $5.95, chateaubriand for two for $14.50, and steak and lobster for $5.50. Would you like a nice martini with that? They were eighty-five cents! Remember, this was 1956.

IS THAT A 1961 OLDSMOBILE IN FRONT?

Everyone went to the Safari whether they were local or from out of town. The Boston Red Sox and the Baltimore Orioles stayed there during spring training. It wasn’t uncommon to see movie stars of the day like Robert Taylor, Bing Crosby, Burt Reynolds, and Fred MacMurray. The twenty-four hour coffee shop was a good place for star gazing and in 1961, TV stars Martin Milner and George Maharis filmed an episode of their show “Route 66” at the Safari.

Unfortunately, by the late 1990’s the Safari had lost its luster to changing tastes and new competition. It was soon demolished and will probably be eventually replaced by an apartment high rise. The cocktail crowd has moved on and mention of the Safari will only bring quizzical looks from a younger generation.

Welcome to 21st century Scottsdale.

The thrill is gone

2011-05-18T17:25:00.000-07:00

Of all the amusement parks in the New York area, the Palisades Park, located near the George Washington Bridge, was my favorite. To get there from Hoboken, I took the No. 22 Public Service Bus from the corner of 14th and Washington Street. The bus meandered through Weehawken, Gutenberg, North Bergen, and Cliffside Park, taking at least an hour and a half to reach its destination. On hot, muggy days, this ride was miserable. Exhaust fumes would fill the bus as it made innumerable stops along the way. Once you entered the park, you forgot about the long journey.

Joe Finnerty

Palisades Park featured a magnificent swimming pool. A sandy beach area bordered the shallow end. On opening day in 1942, I fell asleep there and awoke, hours later, badly sunburned, fried red. My long history of skin cancer probably began with this day’s exposure.

At the deep end of the pool, water flowed down a wall painted to resemble a mountain waterfall. Here, divers could choose from a number of boards, which varied in spring and elevation. The highest one stood about ten feet high. The first time I jumped off, it seemed more like a hundred.
My brother took me to this pool often. He could dive beautifully. His repertoire included swan dives, back dives, inward dives, jack knives, and a half-gainer, his best. He would spring straight up off the end of that ten-foot board, arching his back as if he was going to do a swan dive, but then he would twist a half turn, and pierce the water perfectly, his pointed toes seemingly glued together. He made me feel proud but envious, as my diving skill never came close to matching his.

My favorite ride, The Virginia Reel, featured an open, circular car in which as many as eight riders could sit. Each person would grip the peripheral handrail to keep from spinning off the seat. A cable pulled the car up a track to the top of the ride where it entered a building through swinging doors. At that point, the car began its descent, spinning clockwise and pitching over at an angle of ten or twenty degrees, then suddenly reversing both direction and rotation. The car would swerve, reeling, back and forth six or eight times before hurtling out at the bottom through another pair of swinging doors. The enclosed surrounding helped to magnify the riders screams and yells of delight and fright.

One day an Orthodox Jewish man, his son and daughter sat in the car with my brother and me. As the car spun, the man lost his grip, slid off the seat and wound up sitting in the center pit on top of our feet. "Get up, papa!" implored his kids. "I can't!" He was laughing. The man was having the ride of his life, enjoying his misfortune, but his kids were embarrassed. My brother and I howled with joy.

The Fun House, with its crooked floors, crazy mirrors, and room mazes, made for great entertainment. Teenagers loved this place as much as the Tunnel of Love, and for the same reason. Kissing abounded within its crooked walls.

The roller coaster was exciting to ride, never more so than the day Jimmy Kennedy and I rode together, seated in the first car. When we reached the bottom of the first incline the hold-down bar across our laps accidentally unlatched, causing us to pitch forward. We were lucky not to have fallen out.

Candied red apples, bumper cars, a shooting gallery, Palisades Park had it all and it always remained my favorite venue, but it did not enjoy a monopoly. There were other amusement parks at Rye Beach, Rockaway Beach, and of course, Coney Island.

In 1943, Red Burke, Eddie Anderson and Jimmy Kennedy joined with me to spend an entire day at Coney Island. Its Steeplechase Park featured wooden horses on which patrons could ride around an elevated track. The feature attraction was the famous Parachute Drop, brought in from the World’s Fair of 1939. Riders were lifted up to the top of the structure, then allowed to free-fall for a short distance until the parachute swelled out to slow their descent. It made my heart skip a beat the first time I dropped from the sky.

Steeplechase Park was also famous for its Fun House. One of its features included an array of spinning barrels you could walk through if you could manage to keep your balance. A slide carried riders on protective mats down to a flat surface where six or eight rotating wheels sent them spinning first in one direction and then the other. On this particular day, I forgot to take an orange out of my pocket beforehand. It squashed during the ride and left me icky-sticky for the rest of the day.

A clown, equipped with an electric prod, would zap people occasionally. By threatening to prod them, he would maneuver girls to stand over a small hole in the floor. He would then direct an air jet from below, blowing their skirts up, amid squeals and laughter.

Some movies have included scenes of Steeplechase Park, including one made in 1937 called, A Damsel in Distress. It featured Fred Astaire, George Burns and Gracie Allen. They tap danced through a spinning barrel before sliding onto the rotating disks. From my experience, they could have squeezed more fun out of the finale had they thought to place a few oranges in their pockets.

Palisades Park is no more, Coney Island still exists, but it is far less amusing.

Teen-age girls do not wear dresses anymore and the clown left town. So did I.

Notice to Indians: "Shut up!"

2011-05-05T16:21:00.000-07:00

If there is one thing we have too much of in this country other than liberal Democrats, it is complainers. Now the Indians (Oh, excuse me! “Native Americans”) are on the warpath again complaining about the bin Laden raid being known by the code name “Geronimo”. These guys really need to take a step back and realize what they are b-itchin-g about. What’s the difference if we referred to bin Laden as Jesus Christ, Geronimo, or Joe Smith? The fact is we really pulled one off by getting to the rat and blowing his head off. This isn’t a time to worry about semantics. It’s a time to praise the mission and the Navy SEALS who participated.

Sensitivities have gotten out of hand. It seems like everyone has an agenda for political correctness. I don’t care what anyone says, the guy who brings my mail is still a “mailman” and will never be a “person-person.” Sorry, ladies, you came aboard too late.

As far as the Indians, they have done pretty well changing our culture to fit their needs. They have had many colleges change their nicknames and mascots because they felt Indian references were demeaning. My favorite is the genius who in 1994 forced St. John’s University in New York to change their name from “Redmen” to the “Red Storm.” The thought was that “Redmen” was demeaning to the Indian culture. Guess what, Cochise? “Redmen” referred to the color of the athletic uniforms the school wore. It had nothing to do with Native Americans. Maybe a little research might help next time!

Cesar Geronimo

Currently residing in the Dominican Republic and retired at age 63 is one of my all time favorite baseball players. He played in the major leagues from 1969 until 1983 with his best years spent playing for the Cincinnati Reds. His name is Cesar GERONIMO and so far I haven’t heard one complaint by him about the use of his name in reference to bin Laden. My guess is that since he had a lucrative career in baseball that probably allows him to sit on the beach and enjoy Margaritas during his retirement, he is more than happy to salute the country that brought down one of the worst rats in history.

Maybe when the Indians in the US look at the millions they are getting from their casinos, they should reconsider their complaints about the use of Geronimo and issue an apology. Remember, guys. You were on bin Laden’s list too! We’re waiting……

College degree no longer easy ticket to job

2011-05-02T18:19:00.005-07:00

I recently read an interesting column by Kim Palmer of the Minneapolis Star-Tribune regarding the difficulty new college grads have finding jobs.

As an example, one male student with an engineering degree was profiled. He graduated from Colorado State University a year ago and has yet to find a job even after 200 interviews. He says the problem isn’t necessarily a lack of jobs so much as the number of people applying for them. In his case he is a rookie having to interview against experienced engineers who are out of work and desperate enough to take entry level positions. As a result, the kid has to live in the basement of his parent’s home hoping that something comes along so he can get some income and his own place.

Young student studying for her college degree. Will she be able to get a job? (Boston College)

He is not alone with his situation. Incomes have fallen, jobs are scarce, and many recent grads are buried in debt from their college expenses. I did a couple blogs over the last few years about college expenses and it surprised me what it costs to go to a school like Arizona State University. Credit hour costs are in the $400-$500 range and keep increasing. When I was in college in the 1960’s, that kind of money would cover my tuition for a full load of courses for the entire semester and leave enough for some beers.

As far as job availability, I took my Bachelor of Arts degree to several interviews after graduation and within five or six weeks had a sales job with a national company with good pay for the time and the free use of a company car. I’m not boasting since almost everyone who had a degree in those days had a ticket to the front of the job line. I was no exception and I took advantage of the situation. I shutter when I think of the poor grads today not being able to find jobs plus being buried in debt.

Palmer reports that the Economic Policy Institute says that “as of 2009, 37% of 18 to 29 year olds were unemployed, the highest share in four decades.” This has caused a migration of kids back to their parent’s homes but unlike the baby boomers of past generations where kids couldn’t get away from their parents soon enough, many kids returning home today enjoy having the amenities their parents can provide. Plus, some parents are glad to take them back in but many shake their heads in wonderment over whether their kids will ever hit the highway on their own.

I’ve never had children so I can’t comment much on the legitimacy of kids wanting to return to the nest but I never was in a situation where I had the problems of the kids today with finding employment. It’s obviously a difficult situation.

The Phoenix of streetcars and water bags

2011-04-27T14:54:00.003-07:00

Since 1990, US Airways Arena has been built for the Suns along with new venues for the Cardinals, Coyotes, and Diamondbacks. We have the 101, 202, and 51 to get around better while the Phoenix population has increased by 500,000.

Although change is inevitable, it’s interesting to take a look back at how Phoenicians used to live in a more relaxed era. Don Williams has lived in Scottsdale since 1961 and in the 1960s worked for Mountain Bell Telephone as a “nickel snatcher”. That’s slang for a guy who emptied money from pay telephones. Remember nickel pay phones with rotary dials? By the 1950s, nickel calls became dime calls and in the mid 1960s, rotary was replaced by push buttons. Don has seen them all.

In 1961, Fashion Square in Scottsdale was an open air mall with tenants like Goldwater’s department store. In those days, you could drive on two lane Scottsdale Road from Camelback to Carefree and encounter one traffic light. Going west on Camelback, you could buy fresh oranges at the stands in Arcadia. Sometimes under the honor system!

In the 1920s, 30s, and 40s, owning a car was a luxury so many Phoenicians depended on streetcars from the Phoenix Transit Company. “Ride a mile and smile the while” was their slogan as one could ride on 17 miles of track within Phoenix for 5 cents while a 12 mile ride to Glendale cost 35 cents. The cars ran from 1887 to 1948 when they were replaced by motorized buses.

Speaking of Glendale, many residents miss the fragrance of the orange blossoms that used to dominate that city. Eventually many orchards gave way in 1993 for the opening of the Arrowhead Towne Center. New apartments and the 101 weren’t far behind. I feel fortunate that I was able to enjoy the silence and fragrance of that area before the bulldozers attacked it.

It’s lucky for the large shopping centers like Arrowhead that the population followed them. I don’t think anyone wants to drive long distances these days with gas hovering at $3.70 per gallon. During the pre World War II era, gas was sold for about 15 cents a gallon in Arizona with the Whiting Bros. stations doing great business on the busy Main Street of America, Route 66.

WELCOME TO PHOENIX IN 1940

After a fill up at Whiting’s, a stop at Stuckey’s for a sandwich and a pecan log made the day complete. It was also a good time to check your canvas water bag on the front bumper. You didn’t want to run out of water while you were reading the Burma Shave signs on Route 66. Sadly, by 1985, Route 66 was decommissioned and the Whiting Bros. stations were gone within the next ten years.

In Scottsdale, “Big Brownie” of Brown’s Ranch still drove cattle up Scottsdale Road as late as the 1950s. He was so well known that mail addressed to “Big Brownie, Scottsdale, AZ” would reach him.

The Kachina Theater on Scottsdale Road lasted from 1960-1989 and showed films in “Cinerama”. Until the early 1970s, the Round-Up Drive-In Theater was on Thomas Road and downtown Scottsdale had Mag’s Ham Bun, a popular businessmen’s meeting place from the early 1960s until 1986.

The Safari Hotel and coffee shop was busy with celebrities after it opened in 1956 at Scottsdale and Camelback. Stars like Sonny and Cher, Burt Reynolds, and Bob Crane were regulars. Crane ate his last meal there before his untimely death in 1978.

Legend City Theme Park lasted from 1963 to 1983. In 1977, Compton Terrace in Chandler opened as a concert venue. In 1985 it moved to Firebird Raceway until its demise in 2010. Speaking of Compton, it was Bill Compton and Dwight Tindle who founded KDKB Radio in 1971. There was also KRIZ and KRUX who played the hits in the 60s and 70s. Al McCoy spun records at KRUX from 1960 to 1972 and Wallace and Ladmo entertained kids on Channel 5 from 1954 to 1989.

I could go on but you get the point. Phoenix is still a great place but there was something magical about the early days and simpler times that made them seem just a little bit better.

1938: Joe is eleven and going to the ball game alone

2011-04-24T13:11:00.002-07:00

TAKE ME OUT TO THE BALL GAME

My brother took me everywhere in my pre-teen years. He brought me to see the Bronx Zoo; the Aquarium at Battery Park; the Planetarium at Central Park; Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs when it premiered at Radio City Music Hall. He took me to Madison Square Garden to see the one-and-only Ringling Bros. Barnum & Bailey Circus, starring Clyde Beatty, the fearless lion tamer, and bought me a toy whip should I want to follow that career path. On another occasion, he took me there to see a Wild West Rodeo. He decked me out in a cowboy hat, holster and cap gun. To increase my cultural knowledge, he brought me to a number of New York City art museums. He taught me how to swim and dive at the Palisades Amusement Park, and how to ride a bike.

JOE FINNERTY

It should come as no surprise that he took me to see my first major league baseball game shortly after my seventh birthday. We saw the New York Giants play the Brooklyn Dodgers at the Polo Grounds, located in the Bronx, just one subway stop away from Yankee Stadium. In addition, while it may seem difficult to believe, he managed to take me to Ebbets Field in 1935 to see Babe Ruth, then in his final year as an active player, a member of the Boston Braves. Yes, I saw the Bambino!

My big brother took me to see a number of Giants games over the next several years. They became my favorite team and Mel Ott my favorite player, whose batting style I tried to emulate. He would shift his weight back on his left leg, raise up his right leg, knee toward his tummy, then stride toward the pitcher when swinging at the ball. He seemed to be able to hold his balance on one leg forever, waiting for the ball to reach the plate. Mel was a great home-run hitter, though slight of stature, and forever my idol.

After turning eleven, a day came when my brother could not take me to see a Giants game that beckoned me. He entrusted me to go see the game by myself and funded the trip with two one-dollar bills and some loose change, a large sum in those days. I put the money and written travel instructions in my pants watch pocket. Having those instructions comforted me, although I knew which trains to take from previous trips.

About noon, brimming with confidence, my trek began by hopping aboard a jitney bus for the ride to the subway station at the foot of Hoboken (five cents and ten minutes). The Hudson Tubes subway carried me under the river to Manhattan (ten cents and fifteen minutes). Here, hunger forced me to stop and enjoy a Nedick’s hot dog and a glass of orange juice (twenty cents) before ambling down the steps to board the Eighth Avenue Express (a dime). The subway train howled while hurtling non-stop from 42nd Street to 125th Street. My journey ended a few stops later, at 155th Street, where every sign read Polo Grounds. The trip had been a breeze and it would be a simple matter for me to return home in the same manner.

The crowd of fans seemed to carry me up the stairs from the subway to the stadium. It was exciting to think that the game would soon begin and there was still plenty of money to treat myself to another hot dog and an orange drink on the way home because a grandstand ticket cost only fifty-five cents, a program a mere dime.

I walked up to the ticket window, stuck my index finger into my watch pocket to pull out my money, and made a startling discovery. The pocket was empty. Even my subway instruction sheet was gone. Frantically searching through all my pockets, finding nothing, my heart sank. Reality hit me between the eyes. Forget the game. How in the world would I manage to get home?

Hordes of police officers stood guard around the stadium and the subway, but it did not occur to me to ask one to bail me out. They frightened me. Instead, I decided to try to get home without asking for anyone’s help.

Returning to the subway entrance, while eyeing the ‘men in blue,’ I summoned my courage, ducked under the turnstile and ran for the incoming train as fast as possible. Moment later, the doors of the Manhattan-bound express closed behind me and it took off, headed to the Hudson Tubes at 33rd Street. My mood was ebullient. I had eluded the subway turnstile attendant and the ‘coppers.’

My joy was short lived. At the entrance to the Hudson Tube station, an imposing change booth employee eyed me suspiciously, sensing it was not my intent to pay for my next ride on their system. He granted my impassioned plea for a free ride. The sight of a crying boy must have softened his heart. My sob story had worked. While racing down the stairs headed for the subway ride back to Hoboken, my heart pounded with joy. I’m comin' home, Ma!

Fortunately, my family treated me sympathetically upon my return. They were happy to have me back, scared and broken hearted. The lesson learned that day remains with me to this day. Never stop to buy a hot dog until AFTER you have reached your destination.

This experience did not dampen my enthusiasm for baseball. Mel Ott remained my favorite player, and the Giants my favorite team, even though my allegiance had cost me two bucks.

Artie Shaw and his band, (1940)

2011-04-20T18:36:00.004-07:00

I’ve enjoyed music my entire life. As a kid, it was the nightly hit parade from 6:15 to 7:00 on our big Stromberg-Carlson radio. Those were the days in the late 40s when people like Frank Sinatra, Peggy Lee, and Jo Stafford could record hits.

Elvis came by in the mid 50s and although I was never a big fan, I did like the artists who were inspired by him like Jerry Lee Lewis and Charlie Gracie.

By the late 50s into the mid 60s it was Dion, Freddy Cannon, Gene Pitney, Sam Cooke, some great black groups and flashes in the pan like Chubby Checker and “The Twist”.

Then it was the “British Invasion” with The Beatles, The Stones, and countless other groups until disco, electronic music, and a few other genres came by in the 90s including alternative rock which is now my current favorite pop music. If I’m in the car, I will have 103.9 welded on unless there is a ball game. At home it will be Channel 918 on Music Choice through Cox.

As much as I like those tunes through all the changes during the years, I never lose touch with the big band sounds that dominated through the 1930s and 1940s with guys like Harry James, Glenn Miller, Benny Goodman, Count Basie, Duke Ellington, The Dorsey Brothers, and many others.

Those guys were great and were a big part of the war effort in the 1940s with their style of “swing.” In those days you had to be in shape to swing or “jitterbug.” There was plenty of touching your partner then. Watch some musicals like “Stage Door Canteen” (1943) to get an idea what it was like. Those clowns on “Dancing with the Stars” wouldn’t have a chance in those days!

As entertaining and successful as James, Miller, and the rest of the guys were, I was fascinated with Artie Shaw. Artie was born in 1910 and lived until 2004 dying at 94 from the effects of diabetes. He was a complicated guy and even while his music made him as much as $60,000 a week, he would grow impatient with his gigs and look for new adventures in music and other fields.

Artie Shaw and his Band in "Second Chorus" with Fred Astaire (1940)

He was very popular with his 12 to 25 piece primarily brass bands but he wanted to explore other sounds like classical jazz and the use of strings. It annoyed Shaw that when his band appeared nobody cared about innovations. All they called for was his theme, “Begin the Beguine”.

He once described himself as a “very difficult man”. From 1932 until 1985 he was married eight times with three of the marriages being to Ava Gardner, Lana Turner, and Evelyn Keyes, three beauties of the day.

One of Shaw’s most fascinating songs to me is his 1940 recording of “Gloomy Sunday.” Being a sullen guy from time to time, he does a great job on this one with band singer Pauline Byrne. The song is also known as the “Hungarian suicide song” as the writer of it in 1933 eventually committed suicide. Some urban legends claim that many radio stations were prohibited from playing it because of suicide worries. Many also think it was the Depression that caused the suicides more than “Gloomy Sunday”. It didn’t help that the last line was “My heart and I have decided to end it all.”

Here is a link to “Gloomy Sunday”. It is true to the style of the day when the female band singer (Byrne) would come in after the first couple of bars from the band. I even found a YouTube showing someone putting the playing arm on the 78 rpm record from 1940. Some of you have probably never seen those.

It’s a sad song running 3:30 but is fascinating as a contrast to Artie Shaw’s normal dance band tunes.

Are reusable bags safe?

2011-04-16T14:37:00.002-07:00

Doug MacEachern of the Republic had an interesting Quick Hit the other day in the paper where he mentioned that plastic grocery sacks may not be causing as much harm to the environment as the cotton and canvas reusable bags that are so popular now. He mentioned a British government study which shows that plastic may cause up to 170 times less harm and the number is higher if you wash the reusable bags.
Reusable bag from Trader Joe's.

That’s interesting information so I checked it out further. I found a column by Jonah Goldberg in a USA Today from April 4th where he states that a new study by the Environmental Agency of England says that plastic bags have a smaller carbon footprint than the reusable plastic or cotton “satchels” as well as paper disposable bags. It goes on to say that you'd have to reuse a cotton bag at least 131 times to equal the low carbon footprint of a simple plastic bag. If you reuse a plastic bag — as a wastebasket liner perhaps — they pull even further away as the greenest technology.

Goldberg also notes that “as other studies have shown, those trendy reusable bags provide a wonderful breeding ground for E coli and other bacteria. That is, unless you wash them regularly. But if you do that, as my American Enterprise Institute colleague Ken Green notes, all that bleach, soap and hot water expand their carbon footprint as well.”

More evidence of reusable bags being a source for disease also comes from the U of A: “Studies completed by University of Arizona professor Charles Gerba found that 97% of consumers using reusable grocery bags never wash or clean them. When paired with his findings on the bacteria count of the average grocery cart, neglecting to properly and routinely wash these bags opens your family up to a host of nasties including E. coli, coliforms, salmonella and a range of other bacteria and mold. According to Professor Gerba, reusing your shopping bags again and again without washing them is akin to “wearing the same underwear everyday”.

In 1979-1980 I was a distributor for Mobile Chemical in Kansas City and our most important new product then was the plastic grocery sack which we were selling in an effort to replace the large paper “barrel” sack of that time. From a cost standpoint, it was an easy sell. From a technological view it was more difficult. The checkers and sackers hated them because they were “different” and it wasn’t uncommon for me to install a store in the morning and have the bags discontinued by evening.

Eventually all my accounts came aboard and the rest is history as one can tell from any supermarket you enter. In recent years, plastic bags have had their share of criticism but with the evidence coming in about reusable bags, maybe they aren’t so bad after all. Regardless, they were fun to sell and have saved the grocery industry millions in supply costs.

Let's talk food

2011-04-12T16:06:00.004-07:00

This month the AFMA Commentary with Phil Hawkes has some good food news as it does about every month. I’ve found that even if I don’t like the suggestions, I enjoy what is said about them.

What would you consider your favorite food combinations? Some are obvious like bacon and eggs but one I’ve always enjoyed is vinegar and salt over home grown tomatoes. I’m talking about summer tomatoes that you buy out of the garden at a farm stand in the country. Winter tomatoes, or “hot house” tomatoes as we used to call them, don’t make the grade.

Another great combination from my youth was to dunk sugar cookies into a cup of hot chocolate on a wintry Cincinnati morning in the 1950s before starting the long walk to school.

Other obvious choices would include Oreos and a glass of ice cold milk, mashed potatoes and gravy, chips and salsa, and cheese and crackers, especially if the cheese is the Longhorn I used to sell at Carl’s Deli in the mid 1960s. I haven’t found a cheese yet that compares.

Here are some unusual combinations you may or may not enjoy:

Carrots and sugar. It’s a French taste and I’m half French-Canadian so maybe that is why I like carrots and sugar. The sugar makes a nice sweet glaze on cooked carrots.

Coffee and salt. When I was in the Air Force, I worked in offices that had those big 24 cup coffee pots and whenever someone made coffee they put a dash of salt in the grounds. It was supposed to bring out a bit more of the coffee flavor but I never noticed any difference. As a sidebar, the Lieutenant Colonel I worked for used to use fresh coffee grounds like snuff and put a little between his cheek and gum. Yikes!

Tomatoes and sugar. I like good tomatoes about any old way. I’ve had them with sugar, salt, and vinegar and they taste great all three ways.

Tomatoes and their foliage. When cooking with tomatoes, it is recommended to throw the stems into the pot with the tomatoes. When through cooking, fish out the stems and you find a much stronger tomato presence in your food.

Potatoes and nutmeg. Add a dash of nutmeg to any potato recipe and you should notice a more enriched taste of the potato.

Strawberries and pepper. This one sounds a bit strange but it is recommended that you grind some fresh peppercorns onto strawberries to add more flavor. I’ve never tried it but if you do, I would recommend doing a test berry first just in case. We’re in the strawberry season now so you may want to give this a try.

1958 and now

2011-04-08T11:25:00.003-07:00

I have some old Cincinnati Reds baseball team yearbooks from my younger days growing up in that city. I was looking through one of them today from 1958 and, although it is 53 years old, there are some interesting items there that offer a good look at the contrasts of life then and now.

There is an ad for the new 1958 Ford Thunderbird advertising that is “all swoop and no sway.” Those of you familiar with T-Birds know that ’58 was the year they enlarged it into an ugly 4 seater thus ending the three great model years of 1955, ‘56, and ’57. That also was the year the Edsel was introduced so it wasn’t a good year for Ford.

There is an ad for Weidemann’s Beer, a popular local brand at that time. It asks me if I am “beer hungry.” Of course, who isn’t? On the next page is a half page ad for Lucky Strike cigarettes boldly telling me that “LUCKIES TASTE BETTER!” No surgeon general warnings in those days. As they used to tell us in basic training: “Light ‘em up!”

Another half page is for some hotels you may wish to stay in during your next trip to New York. How about the Hotel Times Square or the Knickerbocker? In 1958 you get a room at those places for $4 and up. A cup of coffee at Starbucks costs that much today.

One of the big time hotels in Cincinnati in 1958 was the Netherland Plaza. They had a cocktail lounge there called “The Gay Peacock.” Do we have to even imagine how a name like that would be interpreted today? For those too young to remember, the word “gay” used to have a lot different definition than it does now.

How about a complete steak dinner at Jack Stayin’s Charcoal Steak House for $3.75? The ad says it is “magnificently prepared” so it must be good.

Since these are ads from the Cincinnati Reds yearbook, I must mention the price to see a ball game in those days: Box seats, $2.00, general admission, $1.50, bleachers, .75.

It all sounds good but we must remember that incomes were a lot lower in 1958 so when the steakhouse finally raised their steak dinner price to $4 they probably caught hell for it.

Another interesting note from 1958 is where the ballplayers have their biographies. Each player’s ancestry is listed. For Pitcher Brooks Lawrence and other black players they are “Negro”. A pitcher named Johnny Klippstein is listed as “German-Scotch, English-Indian”. I doubt if such nomenclature would be available in the yearbooks of today. In 1958, it was still a big deal.

Another oddity is the addresses of the players during the off season are listed. If you wanted to go by and say “Hi” to Brooks Lawrence in 1958, all you had to do was stop by his home at 1817 Springmont Avenue in Springfield, Ohio.

With everyone’s paranoia about privacy today, it’s amazing how accessible ballplayers were then. But, since they didn’t make much money and had to work during the winter at regular jobs, maybe they didn’t consider themselves the celebrities that today’s players with their millions think they are.

Well, it’s time for me to stop by Jack Stayin’s for a complete chicken dinner for $2.00. Then, I’m heading to the Reds’ game to sit in a box seat for $2 and drink a couple of 25 cent Wiedemann’s. Let’s see, that’s $4.50 for the evening so I’ll have enough to buy a deck of Luckies for a quarter on the way home. It’s 1958 and life is good!

Born grocerymen: A. J. Bayless and Smitty

2011-04-04T18:54:00.007-07:00

The two greatest grocers from the past to do business in the Phoenix area are Clyde “Smitty” Smith and A. J. Bayless. Both had great success but they also came from totally different backgrounds.

I’ve talked about Smitty in previous blogs (August 6, 2010, December 7, 2010). He was born in 1919 and grew up dirt poor in Iowa. He fell in love with the grocery business at an early age and through hard work built a chain of stores in Phoenix from 1960-1980 that eventually controlled 35% of the Phoenix market.

A.J. Bayless, center with derby.

A. J. Bayless’ rise through the grocery business took a different route. He was born into a family of grocers according to historian Jack August. His grandfather had owned a store in Tennessee and his father, J. B. Bayless, opened his first store in Phoenix at Van Buren and Grand in 1917.

By 1930, J.B. had opened 18 stores but was getting a bit long in the tooth so he decided to retire and sell off his holdings. Meanwhile, A. J. had spent his entire youth working in the stores so he knew every aspect of the business. When his father sold his stores, 21 year old A. J. Bayless opened a store of his own. Throughout the Depression and World War II, the Bayless chain continued to grow as A. J. had an uncanny sense of finding good locations. He saw the postwar suburbanization of Phoenix taking place so he put stores in new areas, especially in strip malls. In 1948 alone, he opened three stores using that philosophy.

It helped that Bayless was in tight with some developers who realized they could sell homes faster if a mall, especially a mall with a grocery store, was located near the newly built homes. A good example of this was West Plaza Shopping Center at 35th Avenue and Bethany Home which opened in 1959. That center had the largest Bayless store up to that time and it contributed to making West Plaza the second largest shopping center in Arizona behind only Park Central.

A. J. Bayless was riding a wave of success in the early 1960s when he began to experience medical problems. By 1962, he radically slowed his activity with the stores and in March of 1967 at age 58, he died. The A. J. Bayless chain had lost its leader and although it contained 47 stores, The Bayless family eventually sold off the stores to other chains or independent groups.

Many of you probably remember the layout of the Bayless Stores. Some were sold to Bashas’ and re-named “A. J.’s” There is one in particular in Carefree that I remember as a Bayless store. It is still operating as a Bashas' and I shop there often.

To summarize, Smitty and A. J. Bayless were both born grocery men who achieved success from different sides of the tracks. A. J. Died too soon at age 58. Smitty is long retired and living in Texas at age 91.

AZ Diamondbacks could go 61-101 in 2011

2011-03-29T22:55:00.004-07:00

(Reprinted from the Scottsdale Republic edition of March 26, 2011)

DIAMONDBACKS’ LOSSES COULD ECLIPSE ONE HUNDRED IN 2011

By Jim McAllister

I started watching major league baseball as a kid in 1954 while living and dying with the Cincinnati Reds. They usually played around the .500 mark because they had great hitting but no pitching. There were a lot of 11-10 losses but they always had a chance to pull games out in the bottom of the ninth with guys like Wally Post, Ted Kluszewski, and Gus Bell coming up to bat.

In the late 1950s there was the "Go-Go" Chicago White Sox who had great fielders but not many power hitters. However, they had good pitching and defense and scrambled for runs while actually making it to the World Series in 1959.

The Reds and White Sox had their deficiencies but won games because of being proficient in other areas. Conversely, the Arizona Diamondbacks lack pitching, hitting, and defense although Chris Young in center field and Stephen Drew at shortstop have pretty good gloves.

Last year they lost 97 games and that includes having a good pitcher in Dan Haren for half a season, Mark Reynolds at third, and Adam LaRoche at first. As much as Reynolds struck out, he did have a lot of runs batted in and homers while LaRoche had a good year hitting .261 with 25 homeruns and 100 runs batted in.

Those three guys are gone and have been replaced by mediocre and old journeymen players. The pitching staff is full of has beens, never “wases”, and rookies. The only outfielder with consistent power is Justin Upton but he is usually injured and strikes out too much with his .260 average. Probably the best guy on the team is catcher Miguel Montero.

Prediction for 2011: 61-101 and by August, Kirk Gibson will have thrown twenty Blackberries against the clubhouse wall to match the number of after game buffet tables he turns over in disgust. It’s going to take more than a new spring training home to revive this team. The Diamondbacks are a good example of bad management by former personnel who were poor judges of talent.

Jerry Colangelo has to be smiling while looking at the shiny ring his Diamondbacks’ team won for him in 2001. He may have spent a fortune on that team but at least they were winners.

Jimmy Breslin wrote a book many years ago recalling the New York Mets 1962 baseball season. The Mets were a terrible team and Breslin titled the book "Can Anybody Here Play This Game?" The title came from a statement by an exasperated Casey Stengel, who had to manage that bunch of misfits. After this season, maybe Republic sportswriter Dan Bickley can write a similar chronicle about the 2011 Diamondbacks.

There is some good news: I have been incorrect on predictions before so I will say that if I am, I will quote my favorite pulp fiction detective Nick Carter by saying, “If I’m wrong, I’ll apologize!”

(L-R) Wally Post, Gus Bell, and Ted "Big Klu" Kluszewski of the Cincinnati Reds of the 1950s. The Diamondbacks need more sluggers like these guys were. (Cincinnati Enquirer)

Mr. Joe flies inaugural TWA Boeing 707

2011-03-25T11:41:00.008-07:00

LEAVING ON A JET PLANE

In 1959, I became a small part of Trans World Airlines (TWA) aviation history. While in New York City on a business trip, a change in plans allowed me to cancel my Friday flight to New Orleans and return home to San Francisco on Saturday instead. The ticketing agent offered me two options. I chose to take the flight scheduled to depart from LaGuardia at 9 a.m. rather than 1 p.m.

On the morning of my departure, a crowd of passengers seemed to be celebrating some sort of festivity. The reason: We were flying to San Francisco aboard a Boeing 707, TWA’s first commercial west-bound non-stop cross country flight. Their inaugural east-bound flight from San Francisco had arrived in New York City the day before.

Joe Finnerty

Before boarding, each passenger received a framed certificate with the TWA logo commemorating the flight. It hangs on the wall of my den. Almost as an afterthought, they later mailed me an egg timer neatly wrapped in a TWA emblem. It’s now missing from my kitchen.

From the outset, one knew this inaugural flight would be memorable. The plane had a new-car smell about it. Everything looked spic-and-span, bright and clean.. My seat was next to the window which really pleased me.

My journey started out inauspiciously. The plane left on time and ambled along the tarmac at a slow speed toward the runway where it paused a few moments. The pilot then began to crank up the jet engines to full power. At the precise moment he released the brakes and the plane surged forward, as if on cue, a young boy seated behind me let out a yell, "Charge!" This shout of bravado and encouragement matched my emotion perfectly. For that brief moment, I thought of myself as a member of the Light Brigade, about to ride heroically into the jaws of . . . the unknown.

As we flew across the country, the pilot provided a running commentary, relaying our air speed and current location. We flew too high to see the landmarks he identified below, but we strained to see them. Was that the Mississippi? The relative lack of noise compared to piston-driven planes astounded me. We encountered some minor turbulence on three occasions during the five-hour flight, but it was the smoothest plane ride in my experience.

Actually, this was not my first encounter with jet flight. In 1947, while stationed at Ladd Field, Alaska, a P-80 Shooting Star jet fighter plane approached the runway on its first flight to the arctic, accompanied by an escort of two P-51 Mustangs. As the three planes flew by the control tower, just a few hundred feet above ground level, the P-80 pilot hit the jet engine throttle, and then pulled the plane straight up into the sky, leaving the escorts in its wake. In that flash of time, one could see that jets had made piston-driven engines obsolete.

Not every passenger enjoyed the flight. The editor of the Wall Street Journal, West Coast edition, sat next to me. He grumbled before, during and after takeoff. The airline had bumped him from first class, even though he had booked his flight months in advance in order to be aboard this first jet trip. He fumed when I told him that I had purchased my seat just a day earlier, and had no idea of its maiden status.

In 1966 my wife took our six children ages 1 to 9 to New York City (by herself) to visit relatives. The cost staggered us. I asked TWA for a discount because of my pioneer status with the airline. They told me, in polite terms, to ‘take a hike.’ The value of my inaugural flight status had declined faster than a jet zooming up on takeoff.

It’s regrettable that TWA folded before it could offer me a chance to be aboard its first flight to the moon. I need another egg timer.

Food fads come and go

2011-03-22T11:48:00.004-07:00

Food fads come and go. Remember when energy drinks were the rage? The only one I see lately being pushed on TV is 5 Hour Energy. It brags about its four calories and no sugar and that it gives you a nice boost like a cup of coffee would except you can just down it out of the bottle and not have to mess with cups and coffee pots. Maybe that’s good for the kids who are ready to party on a Friday night and need that extra boost to get them to when the band starts but for me, I’ll stick with the good old cup of mud.

Energy drinks aren’t all that has been “faddish” reports Phil Hawkes of the AFMA Journal. In today’s hurry up society, bagged salads are expensive and popular since they cut down on preparation time for those who like the easy way out of cooking. Also, what’s with the sudden love of everything pomegranate? I love the ads with the half naked girl twisting her anguished body around a bottle of Pom but what is so great about that stuff? I’ve broken open a pomegranate and found nothing but a bunch of sour seeds inside. Maybe someone can explain this to me.

Now, there is a new kid on the block. Its Greek yogurt and its dollar sales were up 160% while unit sales were up 203% in 2010. Regular yogurt dollar sales were up 3% during that time with unit sales up only 1%. Besides that, Greek yogurt costs significantly more. Why is this happening?

As a long time yogurt eater I can say I like the Greek stuff better because of the more tart taste and its smooth, thicker, consistency. Non taste reasons are listed as double the protein of regular yogurt and 50% less sodium. That’s fine and I’m glad it is healthier, but taste is my number one priority and the Greek stuff has it.

There are several brands but the only one I have tried is Dannon and it is excellent. Phil Hawkes mentions other brands like Stonyfield, Fage, and Chobani. I understand that Trader Joe’s brand is excellent too. If you like yogurt, the Greek style is for you.

More food news from the AFMA: Did you know that “re-fried beans” is incorrect as a result of a translation error? They are actually only fried once. Frijoles refritos are well fried beans, not re-fried.

Did you know that the FDA allows 30 insect fragments or one rodent hair per 100 grams of peanut butter? Wow! I’ll bet that news has you rushing to the pantry to make a couple PBJ’s for lunch!

How about that Worcester sauce you like to spread on meats and other items. Did you know it is made from dissolved anchovies, bones and all? I guess if you like anchovies, it’s no big deal. If not, try to forget what you just read.

As for me, I guess I’ll stick with the pomegranates and yogurt.

Dad, me, and a '56 Chevy

2011-03-19T17:25:00.013-07:00

I saw a 1956 black Chevrolet convertible go by today. It was a thing of beauty as it looked completely stock like the day it rolled off the assembly line fifty-five years ago. That car is a memory maker for me as I was 15 when it was built plus we had one in our family. It had a white top that gave it a classy look and was a stick shift with a “Power Pack” V8 engine. Needless to say, that baby would really go and it gave me chills when it whined through the gears. That’s a sound that has never been duplicated.

In June of 1956, my 19 year old brother drove that Chevy from Cincinnati to Albuquerque, New Mexico to visit some friends. Since he had flunked out of college, he was looking for something to do so he joined the Air Force while in Albuquerque leaving the car at the friend’s house. That made it up to my dad and me to go to Albuquerque to retrieve it.

Thus began a summer trip I will never forget. Even at 15 I had a bit of wanderlust in me and the thought of going all the way to New Mexico from Ohio had me on pins and needles. It was going to be just me and my dad heading west!

We caught the Santa Fe Super Chief train in Chicago which was exciting as hell with the dining car, a bedroom of our own, and the excitement of waking up the next morning and seeing Dodge City, Kansas.

After we got to Albuquerque and picked up the car, we headed east on Highway 66 for Chicago. I didn’t realize it at the time because there were no such thing as interstate highways, but I was riding on a road that would later become a legend and a historical attraction in many places as it wound northeast to Chicago. The diners, the bars, the motor lodges, and the gas stations were all part of the lore of Route 66 which would sadly become obsolete by the mid 1980s. But, who knew that in 1956? All I knew on those hot summer days was that I was 15 and my dad let me drive a ’56 Chevy halfway to Chicago. He was strictly old school and didn’t worry about me not having a driver’s license! What the hell, I was still a good driver!

When we reached Chicago, dad would spend the few days we were there at the horse racing track while I caught the “El” to either Comiskey Park or Wrigley Field to watch baseball. I felt like I was really cool for a 15 year old being allowed to run around Chicago on my own. But, my dad had grown up in an era where kids had that freedom so it was no big deal to him.

After those few days in Chicago, it was back to Cincinnati and reality. By September, I was back in high school but when I looked at my classmates, I smiled to myself feeling certain that none of them at age 15 that summer had driven a ’56 Chevy convertible up Route 66.

Camelback Mountain, Phoenix, AZ

2011-03-16T14:11:00.008-07:00

I’ve had this photo (below, top photo) from the Library of Congress in my file for a while and thought I should post it to let you see what the area around Phoenix looked like in 1908. That is Camelback Mountain in the hazy background so using that as a bearing, you can pretty much figure out where the photographer may have been standing (click on photo for much better view). I would guess somewhere east of downtown Phoenix and in what there was of south Scottsdale or north Tempe at that early date.

In 1908, Teddy Roosevelt was still President, Barry Goldwater would not be born for another year, Carl Hayden was 31 years old, the canal built by William Murphy through Scottsdale was twenty-five years old, and the population of Phoenix was pushing 10,000. In 1911 the Roosevelt Dam was completed while in 1912 Arizona would become a state with its capitol Phoenix during the administration of William Howard Taft.

I wonder what those cowboys would have thought of all that happening so soon before and after this photo was taken. We have no documentation but some say the cowpoke on the horse in the foreground with the rope on the saddle is our own reader “TrailBoss”. He looks like he may have just had a cup of cowboy coffee while tending to the herd!

click on photo for better view of Camelback and TrailBoss. (Library of Congress)

Camelback Mountain, c. 1950 (DS Hinkle)

P. J. Crowley, Blockbuster

2011-03-13T12:50:00.004-07:00

P.J. Crowley has resigned as the State Department spokesman adding to the growing list of those who have departed Obama’s administration. Crowley is dissatisfied with the treatment of document leaker Private Bradley Manning at the Marine Base in Quantico, Virginia according to a report from James Rosen of Fox News.

This isn’t a funny story but I thought this comment was funny if not a bit strange: “At least twice, Manning has been made to stand at attention in the nude at the front of his cell in the morning. Officials at Quantico declined to explain those measures, other than to say it was for his own protection.” Protection from what? I never could figure out the Marines!

BLOCKBUSTER BUSTED: This was not hard to predict. I’ve wondered how they held on this long after posting losses from last November to January of $65 million. They had their day though in the late 80s and into the 1990s when they wiped out the business of every poor independent guy trying to rent films.

As often happens quickly these days, someone came along with a better idea. That was Netflix, who starting in 1999 would allow customers to rent films which were then sent to them by mail. By 2005, there were also the Redbox kiosks in stores like Walgreen’s renting films for low prices.

There is a Blockbuster near me, or at least there was until a few weeks ago when they closed the store which was about 4,000 square feet. I was surprised it took them that long to shutter that dog with the rent they had to be paying. All that is left is the outline of the removed letters on the building.

Things happen fast in our society. With people downloading programs to their computers, can films being mailed by Netflix stay competitive? Will people still drive to Walgreen’s to use Redbox? I’m sure those companies are considering that in their business plans. If not, they can learn a lesson from former record and video stores who went out of business like Tower Records, Sam Goody, Musicland, and Peaches. It wasn’t long ago those stores had thriving locations in all the big malls. Have you seen one lately?

Every mall had a Sam Goody's

The electronics business is always in a growth mode. I’ve seen 8 millimeter silent home movies grow into VCR tapes, DVDs, DVRs and Blue Ray. I remember finally giving up my VCR and buying a DVD player at Circuit City (remember them?). I think that while I was driving home with it the DVR came out and made the DVD obsolete.

It’s the same with music. I remember 78 rpm records, 45’s, 33 1/3, cassettes, and CDs. I’ve heard CDs are now obsolete. Can someone please tell me how I would buy a single song now?

And then, there are TVs but let’s not even get into that. I have a bigger concern at the moment: What the hell is going to be the new name of Blockbuster Pavilion? It can't be Cricket Pavilion; it’s already been called that.

The Oscars, newspaper films

2011-03-10T18:35:00.004-07:00

James Franco (Getty Images, Rick Rowell)

ACADEMY AWARDS: I don’t watch the Oscar telecasts anymore and apparently this year was a good year to be sure not to watch. Some guy I never heard of named James Franco was the host along with a gal who is a pretty good actress, Anne Hathaway. I hear that Hathaway gave it a good try but hosting awards shows doesn’t seem to be on her list of things she does well. The consensus was that Franco was terrible.

So, who is this guy? Time says he writes fiction, is working on a Ph. D from Yale, and has appeared on the soap “General Hospital”. When told the ratings for the Oscars were dismal, he replied, “You know what? If it’s the worst Oscar’s show ever, who cares?”

That’s a pretty cocky attitude from a guy who is basically a nobody who blew his chance for a great gig. I hope for his sake, he stays in school. He’s probably going to need that degree. Where the hell is Bob Hope when we need him?

I was looking over a list of past Oscar hosts and I would have to give David Letterman the booby prize as the worst I have seen. He hosted in 1994 and really laid an egg from the start with that silly “Uma-Oprah” nonsense trying to make a joke of the introduction of Uma Thurman and Oprah Winfrey to each other. It was embarrassing to watch but I think Letterman is always embarrassing and I wonder how he holds his late night job. If they want a late night host to do the Oscars, try Jimmy Kimmel, a guy who IS funny.

FINAL NOTE ON CHARLIE SHEEN: Charlie is getting his 15 minutes and then I think we will not see much more of him in anything noteworthy. Charlie says, “I’m tired of pretending I’m not special.” What a great line that is: Just think of what Dana Carvey could do with that as the church lady.

Charlie never was a BIG star. He milked his dad’s influence and because he was so adept at playing himself, made “Two and a Half Men” a hit. Now, he is pushing 50, appears to be strung out on that airline made of snow, and his prospects appear to be minimal. I love “Two and a Half Men” and hope he straightens out but I’m not holding my breath.

GREAT NEWSPAPER FILMS: Most of you know I love the films from the 1930s through the mid 1950s. I realize I am a member of a small group but there were some great films then especially about newspapers. “It Happened One Night” (1934) won all 5 major Oscar awards. In the 1940s it was “His Girl Friday” (1940) with Cary Grant. In the 1950s it was “Deadline USA” (1952) with Humphrey Bogart. Before you say, “Huh?” let me say that if you don’t enjoy the story, it’s still fun to see how newspapers operated in those eras. Check out TCM for running times.

As far as modern movies which involve newspapers, I hear “Iron Man 2” (2010) is pretty good. Has anyone seen that? If so, what did you think? IMDB gives it a 7.1 out of 10, not bad.

Walmart is losing customers

2011-03-07T18:50:00.004-07:00

A recent AP article discusses how Walmart is missing out on the supposed consumer comeback. That’s quite a statement. Could it be that the public has grown tired of cheesy Walmart products coming from China? It didn’t seem to matter a couple of years ago that they had Christmas lights that exploded, low quality toothpaste, and toys painted with lead paint among other junk items.

I guess customers are wising up to bad quality, long lines, bad service, and out of stocks plus having to drive to get them. Or, maybe those photos of the “Walmartians” are legitimate after all. Those guys with high heels and dresses to complement their beards scare me!

The drop in sales at Walmart has been going on for about two years and possibly none of the above reasons have anything to do with it. Some blame mistakes in merchandising and pricing along with the financial stress on the many low income people who shop there. The holiday season was also lackluster and didn’t help much compared to business done at some competitors.

Walmart seems to be scrambling to restore a lot of the products they discontinued during the last year plus they have gone back to offering discounts across the store instead of using big discounts on selected items. It’s become a “whatever works” attitude as sales dropped 1.8% last year at the stores in the United States that have been open at least a year.

One more important factor in lower sales may be the changing habits of consumers. With gasoline prices skyrocketing, a lot of people are shopping closer to home, especially for essentials like bread and milk. Also, the rise of the dollar stores has to be a factor. Those places are everywhere and have a lot of nice stuff for a buck.

The changing consumer buying habits have also changed with the rise of Internet sales. I never leave my house to shop for Christmas items and plenty of other items too. The demise of Border’s Books was no surprise to me. Who wants to pay full price on a paperback or other book when they can save a trip, avoid lines, and buy it considerably lower on the Internet at places like Amazon with no shipping cost? But, Border’s has a coffee shop! That may have mattered a few years ago but not now. Can Barnes and Noble be next?

Today’s customers are buying closer to home and are only shopping when they really need things. Some of the things they may not need at this time are new electronic items. Ultimate Electronics found that out recently when they were forced to close their stores.

Guest writer Joe Finnerty speaks

2011-03-05T14:13:00.004-07:00

On February 23, I wrote a column for the Scottsdale Republic reflecting on the challenges the newspaper business has faced since the introduction of radio in 1920. These challenges were not only from radio but from wire services, television, and now, the Internet. In spite of them, the hard copy newspaper still exists.

Mr. Joe Finnerty of Scottsdale was born in 1927 and at 83, has four great grandchildren. He also is a lifelong newspaper reader who has seen many changes in the newspaper business. This is a piece he wrote fifteen years ago relating to newspapers as he has seen them through the years.

I HEARD IT THROUGH THE GRAPEVINE by Joe Finnerty

Years ago I subscribed to both the Arizona Republic and the Scottsdale Progress, the former a morning edition, the latter a late afternoon publication. The Mesa Tribune acquired the Scottsdale Progress, renamed it the Scottsdale Tribune, and began dropping many of the editorial columnists I liked to read. Then, it switched to become a morning newspaper. I found two to be too many, and set about trying to determine which subscription to cancel.

It proved to be a difficult choice to make. I liked many of the Tribune’s features, especially its New York Times crossword puzzles. However, I found that the coverage provided by the Scottsdale section of the Republic, published every Wednesday, more than met my need to find out about my fair city. That made my decision easier to make. I canceled my subscription to the Tribune, with some second thoughts.

Selecting which of two papers to spurn is akin to choosing between a spouse and a mistress. They both have their unique appeal. It is possible I will renew my subscription to the Tribune if my lust for it becomes unbearable.

Growing up in Metropolitan New York provided me with ample opportunity to evaluate newspapers. I had my choice of the following: The New York Times; Herald Tribune; Journal American; World-Telegram; Daily News; Daily Mirror; Brooklyn Eagle; New York Post; Jersey Observer; Hudson Dispatch; and a few more.

In my grade school years, my mother chose to read the Daily Mirror because it arrived at our candy store minutes before the Daily News. This gave her a head start in reviewing the horseracing program for the following day, information vital to her economic well-being. On summer nights, while people sat on apartment stoops, my mother would send me across the street with a nickel in hand. This provided sufficient capital to buy the Mirror, a real cigarette for her, and a candy one for me. Pleasures were inexpensive back then.

I came to love that paper because it had wonderful coverage of New York's myriad sports teams and the best comic strips, including Dick Tracy. I learned important news by reading Walter Winchell, the quintessential gossip guru. The front page carried screaming headlines and pictures of gore and blood, with details on page three.

After college, I began commuting via subway to my job in lower Manhattan and began to consider other possible newspaper choices. I tried them all, at one time or another. Gradually, I came to favor the Times. The crossword puzzles captured my attention more than the editorial page.

The convenient size of the News, Post, and Mirror made them easy to read in a crowded subway and accounted for their popularity then and to this day. In contrast, it took skill to fold the other papers down to a manageable size for reading while standing in a moving railcar, hanging on to a strap, crushed in by a crowd of other riders. Many of them cared little which paper they read as long as they could pick up a discarded one. No class, dat's what some of dem New Yorkers ain't got.

I bought both the Times and the American on Sunday. The Times had all the heavy stuff, whereas the American had the funnies. I figure the Times cost me a lot of extra dough over the years by refusing to print comic strips. I called them the “American" and the "Un-American." I would purchase both after attending church. Occasionally, for some reason or other, the candy store would run out of Sunday papers. I would go ape. How could a citizen enjoy a Sunday without a paper? I would trek around Hoboken to see if I could buy one elsewhere, but this added inconvenience made the papers less interesting. It spoiled the whole ritual. As a last resort, to guarantee availability, I began pre-paying for them.

In my late twenties, I moved to the San Francisco Bay area. There, I soon discovered I had few choices when it came to newspapers. I subscribed to both the San Francisco Chronicle and the San Mateo Times. One was a morning paper, the other an evening edition. However, it took quite a while for me to get used to them. They did not compare favorably with New York’s papers. I thought the editorials and the columnists were less than first rate. It took years to overcome my bias toward the New York papers.

For a while, I continued to subscribe to the Sunday New York Times, but the cost was too prohibitive for my purse and I had to drop my subscription. I never renewed it. I had access to another worthwhile paper to fill the void.

During my working years in Arizona, my employer paid for my subscription to the Wall Street Journal. I paid for my own subscription for a few years after I retired, but my enthusiasm for reading financial stories dwindled. Articles covering the state of the copper market, for example, no longer seemed of vital interest to me.

The public criticizes newspapers for what they print, or how they report the news. Many readers notice and complain about the numerous spelling and grammatical errors which appear with some regularity. Just a few days ago a feature editorial in the Republic read, "taking it to this plain" when the spelling should have been "plane" for all to see. I sympathize, however, because the relentless pressure to meet press deadlines, day after day, week after week, must be nail biting. It is a tough business.

The biggest advantage to dropping my subscription to the Scottsdale Progress is the reduction in trash. As it turns out, my recycle container is barely large enough to hold my weekly toss-outs. If the Republic would tailor the paper to meet my specific criteria, it would please me. I would prefer never to receive the Sunday want-ads, for instance, which I deep-six upon delivery.

Newspapers are folding faster than I could fold them while riding the Hudson Tubes. Struggling to print all the news that’s fit to print on paper, they are switching to an electronic format. While the day is not far off when a computer network will be able to provide me with a newspaper matching my specific interests, I will not subscribe. Who wants a computer in the bathroom?

Charlie Harper is Charlie Sheen

2011-03-02T18:59:00.010-07:00

I really enjoy the TV sitcom “Two and a Half Men”. Reruns are usually shown for one to two hours a night on the FX channel. I can honestly say that I usually laugh from beginning to end at the antics of Charlie Sheen, Jon Cryer, Angus T. Jones and the rest of the cast.

Unfortunately, after nine seasons of success with the show, Charlie has decided to become difficult. Translated, that probably means that at his $1.8 million per episode he feels like he has enough leverage to start calling the show’s creator, Chuck Lorre, a “maggot” and “a hymie”.

Charlie apparently has a drug problem which has seen him make the news several times for destroying hotel rooms among other forms of bad behavior. On his behalf, the head of CBS Television, Nina Tassler, says that in spite of his behavior he has always showed up for work on time and known his lines. However, because of his recent outburst aimed at Lorre, the final eight episodes of the show have been canceled.

It’s a shame Sheen has gone off the deep end but some experts claim it is not atypical behavior for someone with a drug addiction problem. When Charlie was younger he was a big time party boy. A lot of us were too although we probably were not in his league. Plus, in most cases we grew out of the party mode and went on with our lives. Not Charlie Sheen, he is now 45 and hitting the skids hotter and heavier than ever. Besides his role on “Two and a Half Men” he may lose a movie part in an upcoming production of the “Major League” film series where he plays pitcher “Wild Thing”. Executives now doubt whether they want the troubled star.

Charlie Sheen was born in Dayton, Ohio and lived there until his father moved to California. While living in Dayton he became a Cincinnati Reds baseball fan as Dayton was a short interstate drive north of Cincinnati.

By the early 90’s, Charlie had the big bucks and loved to throw parties for the Reds’ players when they came to California. One of those parties was after the Reds won the 1990 World Series. The other was in 1992 and, according to one unnamed Reds’ player, was quite a wild affair. He mentioned that two topless women attended and the alcohol flowed freely. The players also traveled to the party in a fleet of stretch limos that Sheen sent to their hotel.

The Reds’ player was amazed at Sheen’s Malibu home saying it had three decks with a fountain Jacuzzi on the top deck supplying water to the other two. That Charlie was quite the guy at 27! He still is at 45.

If you watch “Two and a Half Men” you probably notice that Charlie Harper on the show is actually living the lifestyle of Charlie Sheen. It’s no wonder Sheen plays the part so well: Harper IS Charlie Sheen.

I got 57 channels and nothin' on....."

2011-02-27T11:03:00.002-07:00

I upgraded my cable a few months ago to about 400 channels and I still don’t have much on. For some unknown reason, I saved $5 a month by EXPANDING my service.

When I called Cox Cable initially, I inquired about how I could receive the Fox Business Channel. The representative told me “no problem” and when I asked him how much more it would cost, he said he could give me a few more tiers of programming along with Fox Business and it would save me $5. Since I believe the old saying about not looking a gift horse in the eye, I took the offer and hung up before he could change his mind.

With the competition among the satellite dish companies, the phone companies, and the cable companies, I think it is pretty easy to get deals these days. It is a buyer’s market now and may become more of one as many people are streaming shows through their computers now. Plus, as Bruce said in 1992, he had 57 channels and nothin’ was on. That was a lot of nothing for that year and it is a lot more now.

For example, how many of you watch any of the three C-Span channels? Hallmark Channel? Lifetime? Oxygen? SoapNet? Or those shopping channels? That’s what I thought. We are all paying for that stuff and never watch it. Why can’t cable companies let us go a la carte and buy what we want? I know that is rhetorical as we are stuck with those channels because they make the cable guys money.

A recent survey showed that between 7:00 a.m. and 10:00 a.m. channels like the Golf Channel, TV Guide Channel, and BBC America receive less than 0.1 per cent of households that have those stations available. A TV writer for a Midwest newspaper lists the following channels as the “10 least wanted channels” on cable TV. These channels have been on the air at least three years and these numbers indicate their average nightly prime time audience during the last quarter of 2010:

Current (18,000 households), DIY, 80,000, ESPN Classic, 19,000, Fox Soccer Channel, 33,000, GAC, 49,000, LOGO, 39,000, Outdoor, 46,000, RFD TV, 56,000, Sleuth, 81,000, VH1 Classic, 31,000.

I’ve never heard of five of those channels. They are only taking up space but we are stuck with them. There is a lot of back scratching in that business and I’m sure those channels piggy back their way on to systems.

So, what comes next? I watched a 1997 film the other night called “Jackie Brown”. In that film there was a scene in a music store and they had shelves full of cassette tapes. The cars looked old fashioned too compared to now even though now is only 14 years later. Change comes fast these days.

Cable TV is cumbersome and they are wheeling and dealing. Look for some drastic changes soon.

Olbermann on cable's bottom rung

2011-02-23T15:03:00.035-07:00

Keith Olbermann

Poor Keith Olbermann. He never realized it but when he teamed up with Dan Patrick years ago on ESPN’s Sportscenter, he probably reached the zenith of his career. When he switched to MSNBC to become a liberal political commentator he probably figured he was on his way to fame and fortune and leading the charge against Fox News. It hasn’t happened and probably never will.

Keith has been canned at MSNBC where his final show on January 21 drew 1,106,000 viewers. That’s not too bad for a low rated channel but is still just 1/3 of the viewers of Bill O’Reilly and less than ½ of Sean Hannity’s audience at Fox. However, Olbermann’s numbers are about 200,000 more than his replacement, Lawrence O’Donnell.

Now Keith will try out his act at Current TV. Who is Current TV you ask? It’s a small public affairs cable channel that includes Al Gore as one of its backers.

To put things in perspective, Olbermann’s initial employer, ESPN, is the number one cable network drawing an average of 2,683,000 households in prime time. MSNBC draws about 1,500,000. Current draws 18,000. These are nightly averages from the fourth quarter of 2010 as reported by Aaron Barnhart of the Kansas City Star.

To give you an idea of how low a number 18,000 households is, the CW channel plays on fewer cable systems with shows like reruns of “The King of Queens” yet it outdraws Current which is the least watched channel that the Nielsen ratings follow.

Olbermann has a chance to sink or swim on Current. Will his one million viewers follow him if they can even find him? Surely he can boost the ratings above 18,000 households at least for one hour, but will it be enough? We shall see but one thing is for sure: He can’t sink much lower unless he becomes a spokesman for the fireplace channel.

Cable TV is a strange duck. There are many channels that have no business being carried by any system. However, strong ratings channels like ESPN, ABC, and others are able to use their leverage to coattail some of their weaker channels into the fold. Do we really need ESPN Classic or the Do It Yourself network? How about VH1 Classic, Fox Soccer Channel, and the Outdoor Network? No one watches them but they are attached to their big brothers as part of the deal.

Another mystery about cable is why doesn’t anyone give the world news station Al-Jazeera English a shot? It’s one of the most watched news networks in the world but can’t even get a trial run here. Barnhart reports that during the Egyptian crisis, 7 million Americans watched it streamed through their computer but the cable companies say there is no demand. Maybe not or maybe they are concerned about a controversy since it is an Arab channel.

Maybe Al-Jazeera can sneak on a system somewhere if they hire Olbermann after he and Al Gore get into a fight and Keith goes job hunting again

Partying in the '70s, part 2: one hit wonders

2011-02-19T15:43:00.009-07:00

Jimi Hendrix in 1967. He died at 27 in 1970.

It makes my eyes well up a bit when I remember some of the great songs from the 1970s that were one hit wonders.

Woodstock in 1969 signaled the end of an era that brought us The Beatles, The Stones, Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, and many others. By 1970, The Beatles had split up (Thanks, Yoko!) and Joplin and Hendrix were dead. Music was changing, guys were shaving again, and women went back to wearing bras. The Stones and Rod Stewart survived but by 1977 had done a couple disco songs!

Every era has had its one hit wonders but some of them in the 70s surprised me as they were good songs from good bands or individuals that gave every indication they would offer more after their initial success.

From 1970, there was Norman Greenbaum with Spirit in the Sky, a great tune that you still hear today as background in films and commercials. Then there is Mountain with Mississippi Queen, a great grinder of a tune that sounded better with each additional Budweiser you choked down. Also, from ‘70 was All Right Now by Free with lead singer Paul Rodgers who would eventually work with Queen after Freddy Mercury died.

In 1971, Brewer and Shipley from the Midwest hit with One Toke Over the Line. Who can forget Hold Your Head Up from Argent in 1972? Brother Louie from Stories in 1973, Rock and Rolll Hootchie Koo by Rick Derringer in 1974, Never Been Any Reason by Head East in 1975, A Fifth of Beethoven by Walter Murphy and The Big Apple Band in 1976, Jeans On David Dundas, 1977, I Love the Nightlife, Alicia Bridges, 1978, and in an indication of things to come there was Video Killed the Radio Star by The Buggles in 1979.

If you are a certain age you probably danced to these songs more than once during the 1970s. Barb and I had a favorite club in Kansas City called The Attic which always had great bands and cold beer. After closing time, I would always stop at a little bar on Westport Road on our way to Kansas and pick up a couple of 6 packs of Falstaff for Sunday. No Sunday sales in those days.

Somehow, I survived that lifestyle and am living to write about it. Would I do it over again? Sure!

Partying in the 1970s

2011-02-16T22:09:00.006-07:00

Barb and I went out the other night with our next door neighbors visiting from Illinois. We went to a nice Italian restaurant in Carefree (that’s in Arizona if you are from out of the state or country). After feeling a nice little buzz from a couple glasses of Merlot, I found myself reminiscing about the many times Barb and I painted the town on a Saturday night back in Kansas City during our early years of marriage in the 1970s.

If you were too young to have enjoyed that era, you missed a lot of fun. We used to go at it one or two ways on Saturday night: Sometimes I would fire up the charcoal grill (no fancy gas grills for us) and grill a couple of thick steaks nice and rare. We would have those with a bottle of cold duck or sparkling burgundy while we watched “All in the family”, Mary Tyler Moore”, and “The Bob Newhart Show” on our 10” GE color television.

That would take us to about 9:30 and since we never wanted to waste the nice buzz from the wine, it would be time for a shower together (saving water) after which we would head over to Kansas City, Missouri from our home in Kansas to some clubs. After Missouri closed at 1:00 it was time to head back to the afterhours clubs in Kansas. Needless to say there was a lot of drinking and driving in those days but somehow we made it through without incident although I’ll never know how. "Shit faced" only begins to describe it.

The second way to go out was similar to the first only we went out to dinner and missed the TV shows. Tough luck in those days; no VCRs to record them. I hated to miss MTM, Mr. Grant, Rhoda and the still vibrant Betty White. After dinner it was off to the clubs again and another long night as mentioned above. We sure piled up the miles on our 1970 Ford Fairlane!

Eating and drinking out was a lot different then. There were no designated drivers; EVERYBODY drank and drank a lot. Beef was what it was all about in restaurants; fish got to live long lives. It was thick, rare steaks, baked potatoes, and the inevitable salad bar which I hated. If you wanted to see people “pig out”, salad bars were for you.

Another feature that drew people to the bars was happy hour. They still exist but are nothing like in the 70s where it was big time competition among bars to get people soused at 5:00 in the afternoon. Remember the Steak and Ale restaurants? They used to have 3 for 1 during happy hour and the drinks were strong. I almost fainted on 3 martinis one day but it felt great. “Now, just where did I leave my car? (hic!) Oh, yeah, there it is!” Vroooooom. I’ll never know how Barb drank 3 grasshoppers!

The 70s were a fun time and I’m glad I survived them.

Since you have probably been wondering for the last few minutes what cold duck was I’ll tell you. It was half champagne and half sparkling burgundy. Andre sold it for a buck a 5th.

Miscellaneous ramblings

2011-02-13T14:49:00.012-07:00

Do you wonder why you don’t see kids playing outside anymore? A Kaiser Family Foundation study found that kids 8 to 18 spend each day with 4.5 hours watching TV, 2.5 hours listening to music, 30 minutes on a cell phone, 1.3 hours on video games, 1.5 hours texting, and 1.5 hours of nonschool computer use. Add sleeping and school and there isn’t much time for doing much else. Kids are hooked on technology and many have lost their ability to have meaningful face to face conversations. They’ll never know the fun of catching fireflies and playing hide and seek. (They may not miss fireflies in AZ; I've never seen one here, plenty in Ohio though)

On last November 28, actor and Paradise Valley resident Leslie Nielsen died at age 84. On October 16, actress Barbara Billingsley died at 94. Both had a link to the 1980 spoof film classic “Airplane” where they played completely against type. Nielsen was usually the handsome first or second lead in films or TV. Billingsley was the straight laced mom June Cleaver in the 50’s TV series “Leave it to Beaver.” In “Airplane”, she was a jive talking grandmother. Nielsen went comic with his role as the staid Dr. Rumack. Surely they will both be missed to which Nielsen would probably reply “Don’t call me Shirley!”

Barbara Billingsley (AP)

Freeman Gosden (L) and Charles Corell in blackface doing "Amos 'n' Andy. (below) The show was so popular that movie theaters would delay film start times so customers could hear the nightly 15 minute show on radio.

January contains two dates three days apart that had important effects on the Black community. On January 15, 1929, civil rights leader Martin Luther King was born. On January 12, 1926, “Sam and Henry”, a humorous show dealing with Blacks who had migrated from the South to Chicago, made its radio debut. King became famous as a civil rights leader. “Sam and Henry” evolved into “Amos ‘n’ Andy”, one of the most popular shows in radio history. George Bernard Shaw once said “There are three things I’ll never forget about America: the Rocky Mountains, Niagara Falls, and “Amos ‘n’ Andy”.

There are many ways to receive entertainment and connect with friends so I wonder if anyone listens to AM radio anymore. AM began in 1920 and was the rage among kids and adults. By 1922, Phoenix had its first station which in 1929 became KTAR under ownership of The Arizona Republic. Today, AM is primarily talk radio or a ball game broadcast in the background but in the 1920’s, it ruled the entertainment business and was an important part of the Jazz Age.

McDonald's here and there

2011-02-10T19:35:00.007-07:00

Phil Hawkes of the AFMA Journal tells of some things about McDonald’s restaurants that I didn’t know and you probably didn’t know either.

If you eat at a Mickey D’s outside the U. S., don’t expect the menu to be the same as here. In fact, in some cases, don’t expect it to even be edible based on American tastes. Also, with all their success, the golden arches have fallen on their faces a few times. That’s hard to believe based on their success but nobody is perfect.

Here are some of the goodies you would find outside the good old USA:

In Germany, you may enjoy the “Big Rosti”: It’s a burger patty, potato pancake, bacon, cheese, and cheese sauce on a bacon cheese bun. You may want to have an ambulance waiting in the parking lot after eating that concoction.

In Taiwan, it’s the Rice Burger. It has a burger patty but instead of a regular bun the meat is placed between two rice cakes. It’s probably healthier for you but tastes as exciting as a can of Slim Fast.

In Canada, French fries are served covered in gravy and cheese curds. Once again, have the ambulance ready.

In the Philippines, you could order the McDon. It doesn’t sound disgusting, just boring. It’s a fried chicken leg on top of spaghetti.

In Japan, you can get a Baked Potato Pie. The best way to describe it is that it looks like the fried apple pie you get in the U.S except it has a filling of baked potato and bacon instead of apples.

As far as flops in the USA, you may remember some of these. If you don’t, be glad. You didn’t miss anything worthwhile.

Remember the Hulaburger? It was introduced in 1963 as an item for Catholics who didn’t eat meat on Friday. It was a cheeseburger except it had a slice of pineapple subbing for the meat. Yum!

The McLean Deluxe Burger was introduced as a low fat dietary item. They took the fat out of the meat and replaced it with water. To make the meat retain the water, they added seaweed. Double yum! There is no word yet on whether they caught the guy who invented this taste catastrophe.

Another flop was the Arch Deluxe. It was introduced in 1996 as a “hamburger for adults.” It was like a quarter pounder but it had bacon, cheese, lettuce, tomato, ketchup, and a mustard-mayo sauce. It wasn’t bad but people were resentful of the high price plus there were numerous complaints from consumer groups about the health aspect.

McDonald’s has come a long way since founder Ray Kroc sold those malt mixers to the McDonald Brothers in San Bernardino back in the 1950s. They have had their successes and failures and I agree with most of them except the McRib sandwich. They keep bringing that thing back. I guess someone likes it!

"The Twilight Zone"

2011-02-06T21:54:00.005-07:00

Rod Serling puffing on an Oasis. They were to be his downfall.

My 5 top Twilight Zone episodes (in no particular order)

1. “The Invaders” (1961) starring Agnes Moorehead.
2. “The After Hours” (1960) starring recently deceased Ann Francis
3. “A Stop at Willoughby” (1960) starring James Daly
4. “A Hundred Yards over the Rim” (1961) Starring Cliff Robertson
5. “The Shelter” (1961) starring Jack Albertson

Honorable mention: “Nightmare at 20,000 Feet” (1963) starring William Shatner when he was a serious actor. It’s not a great episode but it’s fun to look at all the men passengers on the airplane in suits and ties and smoking. Plus, Shatner has a gun in his possession! Sorry, I don’t have a link to this one.

“The Twilight Zone” was a classic. As many times as I have seen all the episodes, I never tire of the plot twists that Rod Serling came up with.

If you have the time, click the above links for these shows. They are complete episodes from IMDB.

Graeter's Ice Cream, Skyline Chili

2011-02-03T12:40:00.004-07:00

They have been making this stuff since 1870 and have numerous ice cream parlors located throughout the Cincinnati area. It also was the winner of a recent "Food Feud" on the Food Network.

Graeter’s Ice Cream from Cincinnati is the best I have ever eaten. They use the highest quality ingredients available and combine them in a “French Pot” process that makes for a great product.

None of us were born yesterday so you know that such a process is not going to be happening at a low cost. Graeter’s sells for $4.99 a pint at Fry’s in Scottsdale. That’s a hell of a lot more than the $3 to $4 you may pay for 1½ quarts of private label ice cream at a supermarket near you. Plus, the cheaper stuff is pretty darn good. I buy Safeway’s brand all the time and like it very much. But, good as it is, it isn’t Graeters.

I suggest you try a pint and let me know what you think. Fry’s carries vanilla, black raspberry chocolate chip, vanilla chocolate chip, cocoanut chocolate chip, chocolate-chocolate chip, mocha, mint chocolate chip.

Speaking of Cincinnati, Skyline Chili is also available in cans at Fry’s for $3.95. This stuff is great over spaghetti with some grated sharp cheddar on top. That concoction is called a 3 way and if you want to make it really exciting, add chopped onions for a 4 way or kidney beans AND onions to make it a 5 way. It’s also great to spoon over chili dogs (Coney Islands).

Every city has their own particular taste for local foods. In New York, Pizza rules, in Phoenix its great Mexican food, Philadelphia has their cheese steaks, and Kansas City their barbecue. It’s different everywhere. So, if you try some Skyline Chili and Graeter’s ice Cream, I hope you like it.

"Reach for a Lucky instead of a sweet"

2011-01-30T19:05:00.004-07:00

Luckies green were pre WWII. Luckies red and white were introduced in 1942 after "Lucky Strike green goes to war." They were thought to be more "female friendly." (American Tobacco Co.)

We think there are a lot of con men around today but they are probably a small group compared to the guys who were in the advertising and promotion business of the 1920s.

That decade wasn’t called “The Roaring ‘20s” for nothing. It was a post WWI party for ten years that contributed greatly to the worst Depression in the history of the United States. Every night was party night and Prohibition only added to the fun with the characters it wrought. It also was the first decade of commercial radio which spawned a new generation of con artists with what we would consider today as outlandish advertising.

The number one guy in that group and probably the most successful was the head of the American Tobacco Company, George Washington Hill. Flamboyant and brilliant only begins to describe this guy who would ride to his Fifth Avenue office daily in a limo decorated with Lucky Strike cigarette packages.

Hill took over the company from his father in 1926 and was totally sold on radio as an advertising tool. Until radio, advertising was done in print but in 1928, Hill dropped all print ads and replaced them with a radio show called the “Lucky Strike Dance Hour.” Within two months, sales of Lucky Strike cigarettes went up 47%.

One day Hill looked out his limo window and saw two women standing at a bus stop. One was overweight and chewing gum. The other was thin and beautiful and smoking a cigarette. A light bulb lit in Hill’s head: women smokers were considered modern and daring in the 1920s but there were still millions of women who didn’t smoke. However, like today, most women were very conscious of their weight. That was the group Hill went after with his slogan, “Reach for a Lucky instead of a sweet.” The candy makers were livid but sales of Lucky Strikes shot up again.

Other gimmicks like “It’s Toasted” and “LS/MFT” (Lucky Strike means fine tobacco) sold plenty of Lucky Strikes but probably his most creative idea was early in WWII when he was told that the green ink on the Lucky Strike package had to be discontinued because the chromium in the ink was needed for the production of tanks.

Hill was never one to pass up an opportunity to peddle more Luckies, so he redesigned the package to be white with a red and black bull’s eye. At the same time, he advertised that the discontinued green package was helping the troops and that “Lucky Strike green has gone to war.” It was a brilliant patriotic line that sold a lot of cigarettes but many people also thought it was just another way to sell more Luckies as Hill wanted a newly designed package anyway to lure more women to smoking.

He may have been a con artist but no one can doubt the success of George Washington Hill as a superb salesman and a true character from yesterday.

Common sense, political correctness

2011-01-25T12:17:00.001-07:00

Common sense can’t be learned. You either walk out into the rain or you take an umbrella. Those who do the former are the same people who think it makes perfect sense to type messages to their friends on a cell phone while driving a car. They will always do it (unless they are killed in the process) and the non umbrella users will always get soaked. Neither party “gets it.”

The latest person to join the list is a car salesman in Chicago who wore a Green Bay Packers tie to work Monday after the Chicago Bears lost to the Packers the day before in the NFC Conference Championship Game. The car dealer is a sponsor of Bears’ games and most of his customers are huge Bears’ fans so what was this guy thinking? I know what his boss was thinking after he probably blinked a few times in disbelief while looking at the dreaded Packers tie: “You’re outta here!” The guy probably crossed the street on a red light as he was headed to the bus stop afterward.

The insanity of political correctness: So, here we go with the latest example of jumping to conclusions.

Congresswoman Giffords was shot by an insane guy working on his own and suddenly any kind of terminology concerning weapons is becoming politically incorrect. The other day I saw a wimp talking head on CNN named John King apologize because a guest used one of these now forbidden terms.

King’s guest was a guy named Andy Shaw of the Better Government Association, whatever that is. Shaw used the term “in the crosshairs” while he and King discussed the mayoral race in Chicago.

A few minutes later, King was apologizing for the dreaded “in the crosshairs” term just like the politically correct little liberal he is. Watch this (0.24) if you would like a good laugh.

Based on CNN’s attitude, I guess Target Stores better change their name, Steve Nash better stop taking “shots” at the basket, you can’t collect sea “shells”, and during elections there will no longer be “battleground” states. Let’s not forget those “bullets” used in typing to indicate certain important items, no one should be the “butt” of jokes since rifles have butts, and whatever you do, don’t put an ink “cartridge” in your printer.

This is what we have to put up with today, folks. Don’t allow it, use those supposed offending terms daily plus the many others that accompany them. We still have free speech in this country and I defy any politically correct group to try and change that.

I'm wondering.....

2011-01-20T17:33:00.008-07:00

Handsome fellow, huh? Javelinas won't usually bother you unless they are provoked. It's good to have a couple rocks handy just in case.

Why are people who live near the desert in the Phoenix area surprised when they encounter snakes, javelinas, coyotes, etc.?

The Scottsdale Republic reported recently that some guy who is a ten year resident, and his daughter, were walking near the desert in Scottsdale when they met some javelinas. They were scared out of their wits as they jumped somebody’s fence and called the police. The police? I wonder what they expected the police to do other than tell them not to worry about it. There is no word yet as to whether the javelinas were arrested and charged with living in their natural habitat.

It reminds me of a couple of years ago when I was doing a story for the Republic about the Scottsdale Fire Department. One of the firemen told me it is not unusual for them to get calls from hikers who wanted to report a snake sighting while they were on their hike and would the fire department please remove the offending reptile? Snakes in the desert? How dare they live there!

Also in the Republic last week: Advice on how to be a better business writer.

This is a subject that strikes close to home for me. When I got out of college and went looking for a job, I must have had the longest resume in history. I was stoked up to find work and wanted every prospective employer to know all about how great I was. Little did I know that most of the junk I had on there was worthless and would never be read. A friend who knew about these things told me something that I have never forgotten: keep it simple! He was right; those who interview people have more to do than read resumes the length of a Tolstoy novel.

I found that simplicity was also more desirable in making sales presentations. Make presentations brief, stay relevant, and don’t try to show off your $1.98 vocabulary. You won’t impress anyone by using “aggregate” when “total” will do the job.

Speaking of jobs, the current feeling that if you have been unemployed for a while, it hurts your chances of being hired, may not be true. Some companies are only hiring those who have been unemployed rather than those who are employed and just want to change jobs. They feel that the unemployed will show a better appreciation and not have unrealistic expectations. However, it is usually important to have a good explanation as to WHY you have been unemployed.

Honey West is gone

2011-01-15T13:40:00.004-07:00

The late Leslie Nielsen with Ann Francis in "Forbidden Planet" (1956)

One of my all time movie heartthrob babes left us this week when Ann Francis died. When I was a kid, my friends and I drooled over any film Ann was in whether it was Glenn Ford’s wife in “Blackboard Jungle” (1955) or the gorgeous daughter of Walter Pidgeon in “Forbidden Planet” (1956).

Her most popular years were the 50’s although one of my favorite roles from her was a “Twilight Zone” episode from 1960 where she played a mannequin trapped in a department store.

In 1965-66 she won a Golden Globe award for her portrayal of “Honey West”, a female private detective, on television. Ann Francis was 80. I will miss her!

I recently saw the ballet film “Black Swan”. As a man, I’m not the type of demographic that the makers of ballet films expect to see in their audience. But, my wife wanted to see it plus I like Natalie Portman from other films and heard she plays an Oscar nominating role in the film.

Although it’s a decent film, it doesn’t match “The Red Shoes” (1948) as a great film about the ballet. Nothing ever will as that film stands by itself. “Black Swan” also contains the typical gratuitous sex scene that we have come to expect from modern films. I usually refer to it as the “obligatory f--- scene” because you know it is coming at some time.

This time it was a lesbian scene that Portman herself said was the “hook” used to get an audience. It’s too bad modern film makers feel they have to incorporate those scenes but they are in the business of making money and that’s what gets butts in the seats. Personally, I like my sex and violence at home but, hey, I guess that’s just me.

I still like the old films the best. They didn’t need sex scenes to draw an audience. The other night I watched “The Sting” (1973) and enjoyed it as much as ever. Paul Newman and Robert Redford were big with the ladies at that time but that film was a huge hit without any gratuitous sex scenes. Imagine that: a film getting by on pure acting and a good story! What will they think of next?

If you would like to leave a comment or read some of the 32 other comments, click "Jim's azcentral blog" in the right column under links. You will not receive a virus. Jim McAllister writes for The Arizona Republic newspaper in Scottsdale, Arizona.

Steam engines and cabooses

2011-01-09T12:24:00.002-07:00

I enjoy the 24 hour showing of “A Christmas Story” (1983) every year on TBS. They start the loop at 9:00 Christmas Eve night and it runs continuously until 9:00 Christmas night. It takes place in the 1940s and brings back some nostalgic memories like Ralphie having to put a bar of Lifebuoy soap in his mouth as punishment for uttering the infamous “F” word when he and his dad were changing a flat tire.

In one scene there is the background sound of an old steam driven locomotive going down the tracks with its whistle blowing as it makes its way through the night. I grew up in southwest Ohio and can identify with that steam engine. They were still operating in the early 1950’s before diesels took over and we lived close enough to the railroad tracks that I could hear them late into the night. I would lay in bed next to my window on rainy nights and think about the romance of working on the railroad. To a ten year old kid it seemed like a really cool job.

A freight train never went through a crossing where I didn’t wave at the engineer and the other crew members who worked on the train. All of us kids respected those guys as trains were a really big deal. I loved movies involving trains like Steinbeck’s “Of Mice and Men” (1939) where George and Lenny hop a freight train during the Depression years. The trains were the major form of transportation for the hobos of that era.

During the early ‘50s, before our brains had matured enough to know danger, my friends and I would “hop” freight trains and ride them several miles before jumping off. This was really stupid but when you were 13 or 14 in those days, it was great fun. Never mind that we could have been easily killed or that many times we had to ride a lot farther than we wanted because the thing was going too fast to jump off!

The caboose was always intriguing to me. Unless you are a certain age, you probably don’t remember cabooses. They were separate cars attached to the back of the freight trains that were used as living quarters for the train crew. Many times they were decorated with pictures and posters and many had a cast iron stove used for heat and cooking. The stoves usually had a lip on the edge of the surface to keep cooking and coffee pots from sliding off. Those guys thought of everything!

By the 1980’s, cabooses had outlived their use as railroads were looking for ways to reduce labor costs and materials. They were replaced by a FREDs (Flashing Rear End Device). A FRED could be attached to the rear of the train to detect the train's air brake pressure and report any problems back to the locomotive. It did other duties too which used to be done by crews.

Cabooses are gone now but to a lot of us they were a big part of growing up in a friendlier, simpler time.

If you would like to leave a comment or read other comments, click "Jim's azcentral blog" in the right column under links. You will not receive a virus. Jim McAllister writes for The Arizona Republic in Scottsdale, Arizona.

Hello, 2011!

2011-01-01T12:41:00.002-07:00

One of the political victories of 2010 has to be the failure of the DREAM Act. It was nothing but semi-disguised amnesty in the form of a plea to help illegal immigrant children up to age 35 who were brought to the U. S. as babies to gain a path to citizenship.

Up to age 35? Now, that is funny! It’s ridiculous when we are expected to cater to kids (kids?) who are illegal and have parents who are also illegal all of whom are living illegally in the U. S. Somehow, I didn’t see the kids wanting to serve two years in our military or do two years of college. As simple as this would have been for them, this would have been a great dodge. How about a bill sending the parents and kids back to Mexico and letting them start over the right way?

The bill was an attempt to gain votes from the Latino community in the next election and nothing else. Defeating it was the right thing to do. Seal the border; then we can talk some more.

I don’t see the big deal about “Don’t ask, don’t tell”. Gays have been in the military for a long time. When I was serving Uncle Sam for four years in the 1960’s, we had at least ten gay guys in our barracks. One of them was a roommate of mine and he knew that I knew he was gay. However, neither he nor any of the other gay guys had confrontations about their sexual preferences that I ever heard of. They went their way and we went ours, no big deal.

Now, a can of worms has been opened with the repeal of DADT. Why they didn’t let sleeping dogs lie on this, I will never know unless it is just another typical attempt by this government to endorse a certain lifestyle in their never ending push for votes. I wonder how Clinton feels about his legislation from 1993 being repealed by Obama.

Anyway, 2011 is upon us so Que sera, sera. It will have to go a long way to beat the events of 2010.

Jim McAllister writes for the Arizona Republic in Scottsdale, AZ. To leave a comment or read the 39 other comments, click "Jim's azcentral blog" in the right column under links. You will not receive a virus.

Awesome things in life

2010-12-25T12:24:00.004-07:00

"Excuse me m'am, excuse me sir, sorry.......Uh, I only have one item. Would you mind if I went to the front of the line?" Yeah, right!

Phil Hawkes of the Arizona Food Marketing Alliance has dug up an interesting blog by a guy named Neil Pasricha. It’s called “The Top 1,000 Awesome Things”. The list started on June 6, 2008 and by posting one awesome thing per weekday since then, Pasricha is down to number 373.

You may be thinking “What are awesome things?” Think of them as universal small joys and pleasures that we can all identify with. And, while they are not necessarily big things, they are all “awesome“.

Here are some of them separated into various categories. Those are my comments in parentheses.

School: #472…finishing your last exam. (what a great feeling it was to finish up that last dreaded blue book! If you are too young to remember blue books, let me know.)
#503…walking into class and seeing a substitute teacher. (another great feeling, the kids ran the class that day!)

Pets: #622…when your dog is really excited that you are back home. (pets like dogs and cats are the best with their unrequited love.)

Kids: #392…catching the ice cream truck. (a glorious feeling, especially if it was Mr. Softee!)
#394…when your dad checks under the bed and finds no monsters. (you never can tell!)

Work: #765…thinking it is Thursday when it is really Friday. (truly a glorious feeling!)
#738…coming back from lunch and copping a much better parking spot. (stupendous!)

Driving: #597…when that police car that has been on your bumper for a couple miles finally passes. (whew!) #499… when you should have gotten a parking ticket and didn’t . (double whew!)

At Home: #475…when your dinner guests wash the dishes even though you told them not to. (great people) #606…the kid’s table. (as much as you love them, it’s nice to have them out of the way.)

Grocery shopping: #953…When the cashier opens a new line in a busy store and you are first in. (this is part luck, part savvy) #575…When the customer with a full cart let’s you ahead in line because you have one item. (what a humanitarian!)

All things food: #643…the sound of steaks hitting a hot grill. (especially if you have a beer in your hand) #870…when you get the cereal to milk ratio just right (if you don’t, it’s best to have more milk than cereal)

Random: #400…putting your own shoes back on after bowling. (that is, if they are rented shoes. I preferred to own my own bowling shoes)

Some of my awesome things would be driving a golf ball down the middle of the fairway, a trip to the mailbox with no bills waiting for me to pick them up, hitting three 7’s on a slot machine, having every traffic light on Hayden from Frank Lloyd Wright to Indian School be green, a bowl of sweet-sour cabbage soup and a brisket on rye at Goldman’s Deli, looking out my back window on a January morning and seeing the beginning of another 72 degree Arizona winter day.

How about you?

Jim McAllister writes blogs and columns for the Arizona Republic in Scottsdale, AZ. To leave a comment or read 39 other comments, click "Jim's azcentral blog" in the right column under links. You will not receive a virus.

Baby boomers turning 65

2010-12-18T13:20:00.005-07:00

New Speaker of the House John Boehner is a baby boomer. No extra charge for tears. (AP)

On January 1, 2011, 14 days from the time I am writing this piece, the so called “baby boomers” will start turning 65. That’s right; all 77 million or so of them will start becoming 65 beginning with the one second after midnight births from January 1, 1946.

Most of us know why these folks are called baby boomers but, in case you don’t know, it is because they were born after millions of guys returned from military service after World War II. Needless to say, after living in foxholes for four years, they kept their wives busy in the bedrooms of America to the point that the population soared. When the birth rate dipped below 4% in 1964, the boom was considered finished.

Why has this subject been discussed and debated for years? I’ve never given special attention to people in the boomer age category but have looked at those born in that microcosm as fortunate only because it makes every one of them younger than I am. However, some look at 77 million people born within a 19 year period and they want to categorize them into a group with similar beliefs.

Is that being fair, especially since the categorization is usually negative? Writer Ray Cooklis (b. 1950) doesn’t think so. He says “I’m sick and tired of ‘experts’ lumping us together as a monolith of people who supposedly act alike, think alike, buy alike, and age alike.” He is resentful of being informed that “because I was born in a certain year I wear these clothes, listen to this music, or hold these views.” He also tires of hearing about how boomers are “wasteful, self-indulgent, and spoiled.”

It does seem odd that so many people can be grouped into a whole when you consider the many races, beliefs, and nationalities in the USA. For example, Cooklis mentions Spike Lee and Rush Limbaugh. Would anyone in their right mind link those two? How about George W. Bush and Barack Obama? Sarah Palin and Hillary Clinton? Light years apart, right? But, they are all boomers.

Besides these examples of the baby boomer myth, how about the fact that the first and last born boomers are 19 years apart in age. That alone puts them into basically two generations with different ideas.

A recent AP poll says that “baby boomers are the unhappiest of all Americans when it comes to making love. The generation that promoted free love has become old and cranky about sex.” I don’t know who the AP polled but I know a lot of people who were born between 1946 and 1964 and I would say the LAST thing they are cranky about is sex.

I look at most people as individuals, not as a group. Besides, if those born during the “baby boom” are cranky about sex, where does that put us pre baby boomers?

Jim McAllister writes blogs and columns for The Arizona Republic newspaper in Scottsdale, AZ. To read 80 comments on this blog or to add a comment, click "Jim's azcentral blog" in the right column under links and scroll down. You WILL NOT receive a virus.

Expressions through the years

2010-12-11T11:18:00.005-07:00

A typical "juke joint" in Louisiana circa 1930s. You probably wouldn't want to "mouth off" in there on a Saturday night. (Library of Congress)

I love films of the 1930’s, 1940’s, and 1950’s. The cars are great, the street scenes in cities have a nostalgic look, and the dialogue is tremendous.

They had their own hip expressions in those days. I watch a lot of films on Turner Classic Movies and they have the best examples: When a woman would give guys like Humphrey Bogart or Spencer Tracy a hard time, they were likely to hear an annoyed “Listen, sister!” A common definition for women was “dames” as in: “Those dames don’t know nothin’". A woman’s legs were “gams” and a woman who consorted with gangsters was a “moll.” A dependable secretary or assistant to a man was known as “his girl Friday.” I suppose that was a takeoff on Defoe’s man Friday from Robinson Crusoe.

Girls were also called “sugar” and if they wouldn’t shut up were told to “quit flappin’ your lips!” Many times a good looking girl was referred to as a “Jill”, “dish”, “babe”, “doll”, or a “looker.” A woman who thought she was really something was referred to as the “Queen of Sheba.” Sometimes when a guy was pursuing a woman he was said to be “chasing skirt.”

If you were surprised or amazed by something, you were a “monkey’s uncle.” If you went to a lower end bar or club with music and dancing, you went to a “juke joint.” If you were given a drugged up drink in that juke joint you were “slipped a Mickey Finn.” If you were in an embarrassing situation, you were said to be “in the hot seat” but if you got lucky in a juke joint you may have received a “smooch” (kiss) from a babe. If you were rich you had “folding money.”

Everyone wanted to have as much as their friends or neighbors and when they did they were said to be “keeping up with the Joneses.” That expression leaked into the fifties, the decade when rock music was born along with “tough guy” punks and hoods.

By this time, the Bohemians of the 1920’s had evolved into the 1950’s “beatniks”. Beatniks were early day “hippies” as they were called in the 60’s. They were basically people who were trying to find themselves and figured the way to do it was through drugs and saying “hey, man” a lot. It was also a convenient way to find an excuse not to work, take baths, or get haircuts.

The punks and hoods of the fifties liked to refer to people in positions of authority as “Daddy-O.” For a good example of this see The Blackboard Jungle (1955) with Glenn Ford, Sidney Poitier, and gorgeous Ann Francis.

The old terminology will probably return some day as almost everything gets recycled. So, if you think something is “cool” today you may someday be saying it was “keen”, “boss”, “neat”, or maybe an entirely new word.

To leave a comment or to read the other 49 comments, click "Jim's azcentral blog" in the right column under links. You will not receive a virus. Jim McAllister writes for The Arizona Republic in Scottsdale, Arizona.

Television then and now

2010-12-05T12:13:00.004-07:00

The console model TV in the middle looks like ours from 1949

This morning I received an email from Cox Communications telling me they are adding the Filipino Channel to their already gigantic lineup of channels. The Filipino Channel will be the first network in Asia to deliver full time programming to Filipino-Americans.

I felt a sigh of relief when I received the news that this channel is coming on board to Cox. I’m sure the entire Filipino community in America is also celebrating as I punch out this blog. Now, if we write enough letters to Cox maybe we can get the “illegal immigrant network” or maybe the “Iceland-Greenland Today” network.

Of course, I am speaking tongue in cheek but it does amaze me the number of TV stations and networks we can receive in this world of endless communication. As I look at the Cox schedule and see channels like The Pentagon Channel, Jewelry TV, and AZCapitolTV, I wonder what their viewing numbers are. They have to be miniscule but there they are, wishin’ and a hopin’ that you will punch in their numbers.

As far as Cox is concerned, I sometimes wonder how they run the place. I have had their basic lineup, digital stations, and music channels for quite a while and have been paying a monthly bill of $123. That includes TV, computer, and land line phone.

Recently, I called them and asked how I could get the Fox Business Channel. The guy said “No problem, that is part of the ‘sports-info’ tier and if you take it you will also get a bunch of movie channels, the NBA, NHL, NFL Networks and many more.” And, the cost of these wonderful additions? Surprisingly, my monthly cost dropped $4 to $119. Go figure. Maybe I should order HBO and Showtime and see if I can get the cost down to about $100.

With all this TV to watch, it reminds me of the days we had our roof antenna in Cincinnati and gleefully tuned in our three stations broadcasting NBC, ABC, CBS, and occasionally DuMont before they folded in the early 1950’s. Having our own TV was quite the luxury. Before TV became more common, we would pile into the house of a girl up the street to get our daily fix of “Howdy Doody” on a 14 inch Admiral. Later, it was Tuesday nights for Uncle Miltie on NBC with the “Texaco Star Theater.”

My Catholic friends would be steadfast in watching Bishop Sheen give out his advice on TV. I sure was glad I wasn’t Catholic; my friends said the bishop was “borrrrriiiiing” but their parents insisted they watch him.

Sports were really fun to watch. We never missed the Cleveland Browns games on Sunday as they flickered in 16" black and white. I liked the commercials for Carling’s Black Label beer, the sponsor of the games. “Hey, Mabel! Black Label!” I could use one now.

Sorry, I have to go now. I don’t want to miss the 1:00 program on the new Filipino Channel.

To leave a comment or read any of the other 47 comments, click "Jim's azcentral blog" in the right column under links. You will not receive a virus. Jim McAllister writes blogs, columns, and opinions for The Arizona Republic in Scottsdale, Arizona.

"GUY" films

2010-11-27T08:05:00.004-07:00

"You have to ask yourself one question: Do I feel lucky? Well, do ya punk?" (flixster)

What are “guy" films? For one thing they are not made for the sushi eating, lily liver, liberal guys that we have to put up with today. You know who I mean: they are the ones who would never eat Tabasco Sauce, chicken wings, or drive a car that gets less than 30 miles per gallon. They get squeamish when guns are mentioned and they can’t wait to get one of those tiny Volt electric toy cars with the 100 mile range. Wow! That sounds exciting and they only cost $41,000!

For that crew I suggest they buy a ticket to see “The Devil Wears Prada”, "Beaches”, “The Women” or “Sex in the City” so they can wring the tears out of their hankies with their white wine drinking girlfriends (or boyfriends).

Guy movies are for guys who drive real cars or trucks, love burgers and fries, hot sauce, and don’t necessarily shave every day. And, if they did, it wouldn’t be with a fancy electric razor. These guys love sports and sports bars with plenty of TVs and would never wear lavender.

For them, movies with Paul Newman, Steve McQueen, and Clint Eastwood top their list of favorites. If the film is about war, cops, or loners they fit in nicely. It helps to have as much political incorrectness as possible as that movement has strangled our country and we need these guys to destroy it.

Unfortunately, Newman and McQueen are deceased but their films live on taking us back to an era when men were men, not imitation guys carrying European shoulder bags (purses!) and drinking light beer.

Eastwood is 80 but is still hanging on either through occasional acting gigs or directing films. What guy would ever get tired of him in “Dirty Harry” or “Unforgiven”?

Eastwood’s lines in “Dirty Harry” (1972) about the 44 Magnum being “the most powerful handgun in the world” and “You have to ask yourself one question: Do I feel lucky? Well, do ya punk?” are still memorable to guys. How about “Make my day” from “Sudden Impact”? Classic stuff.

Like “Dirty Harry”, “Bullitt” (1968), starring Steve McQueen, was filmed in San Francisco. The first thing guys think of from this film is Steve chasing the guys in the ’67 Dodge Charger while driving his Mustang 390GT. It’s great action but McQueen’s coolness rules the film; nothing can disturb that.

“Cool Hand Luke” (1967) shows Paul Newman at his best. In “Luke” he is a loser but has a never give up attitude toward escaping from a southern chain gang. Although he is always captured, he holds the respect of the other prisoners; especially after he eats all those hard boiled eggs!

I have to go now. Some of the guys are coming over to watch “The Magnificent Seven”, one of the all time great guy films. Not only does it have Steve McQueen but also Charles Bronson!

For those who don’t like that fare, I believe “Thelma and Louise” is showing just for you on another channel.

To leave a comment or to read the 60 other comments, click "Jim's azcentral blog" in the right column under links. You will not receive a virus. Jim McAllister writes for The Arizona Republic in Scottsdale, Arizona.

Holiday grocery shopping, part 2

2010-11-19T16:52:00.007-07:00

Here is a display of Libby's food products from the 1950's. Notice the loose cans in the front. That was a gimmick to entice more sales as customers were likely to pick them up than disturb a perfect display. It's all about merchandising. (Flickr)
A year has passed and we are again into the holiday grocery shopping season. Last December 21 (see archives) I did a column with some advice for shoppers about pitfalls to avoid. I mentioned the importance of keeping a hand written list at home of necessities for your shopping trip and to be sure you know the stores ad for that week. Clip as many manufacturer’s coupons as possible from magazines, newspapers, or anywhere else you see them.

Be sure you have the store’s card, buy in bulk when possible, buy private label, be careful of peripheral departments, leave your cell phone at home, and NEVER shop when you are hungry! If you followed that advice you saved some money.

Here are a few more ways to save a buck at the grocery store. You have to keep in mind that the stores are in business to make money and the only way they can do that is with the customer’s permission. That is why stores spend a lot of money on research to find ways for you to spend more than you intended. That may seem devious and in a way it is, but they are not putting a gun to your head. It is up to you to use common sense while shopping, especially if you are on a budget.

Watch out for “end cap” displays at the end of aisles. If an item from your list is on the cap, go ahead and buy it, then proceed. Otherwise, pass it up. End cap items are usually high profit stuff or tie in with other products. Also, watch out for “shippers” which are usually full of high profit items and placed in the aisles with like items.

Be careful with free samples. Stores usually have kindly old ladies cooking up stuff for you to sample and they are usually in a high volume area of the store like the meat department. Usually the item is high fat or sweet but tastes really good. Try and avoid this stuff as it is unhealthy, expensive, a high profit item. You shouldn’t be hungry anyway since I told you to eat before shopping.

Okay, let’s assume you have made it this far and have dutifully followed this blog and the one from last December. In your mind you are thinking about what a genius I am and for that I say, “Thank you.” However, you have one more hurdle to jump. That involves going through the check stand without succumbing to the lure of picking up a couple candy bars or a magazine. I know it’s hard; I love those Snickers too but we must be strong. And, do you really care about that magazine describing Lindsay Lohan’s latest drunk escapade? Of course not, you are a mature adult, right? Let the kid bag your items in the cloth bags you brought with you, pay the cashier with a credit card that racks up points, and be on your way.

As you go to your car, hold your head high. You have resisted temptation, saved money, helped support a business, and shopped sensibly.

To leave a comment or to read the other 60 comments, click "Jim's azcentral blog" in the right column under links. You will not receive a virus. Jim McAllister writes for The Arizona Republic in Scottsdale, Arizona.

Politically correct nonsense

2010-11-12T13:12:00.005-07:00

If you read my blog post of 3-30-09 on azcentral (http://www.azcentral.com/members/Blog/Jim8413/49617) you know how stupid I think political correctness is. Since the holidays are coming, be ready for more nonsense from the weenies (that’s right, weenies!) who will be making sure that no public place has “Merry Christmas” signs posted.

Be sure you say “Happy Holidays” and if you go to a concert in December, be sure it’s a “Winter Concert” and not a “Christmas Concert”. Also, if you have the audacity to put up a tree in your house with lights and ornaments, be sure you refer to it as a “holiday tree” and not a “Christmas tree”.

Somewhere, Jesus must be looking down and either shaking his head in disgust or laughing his butt off. What’s it been, 2000 years since he was around? Apparently, that’s not long enough for him to stop intimidating some people!

It never ends in our ever increasing PC silly society. No wonder the terrorists have their way with us. How did that guy get on the plane headed to Detroit with that bomb up his rear end last Christmas? We are fortunate that these dummies don’t know how to set off their explosive devices or 300 people would have missed Christmas (Oops! I mean the holiday Christians celebrate on 12-25, sorry!). That would have been an effective use of terrorism (Darn! There I go again. I mean “man caused disaster”). I guess the important thing is that he wasn’t offended by airport security while boarding the plane.

One guy on the Urban Dictionary blog asks if black people really want to be called “African American”. Good point. Come to think of it, I don’t remember them ever demanding that. I think the PCers were probably trying to “save” them like they do everything else that their little minds consider improper. So far in my lifetime I have seen them referred to as “colored”, “negro”, “black”, and now, “African American”.

“Black” makes the most sense to me. I’m a white guy and I think it would be silly to refer to me and other whites constantly as “Caucasian”. But, the PC people would probably call you a racist if you said “black” because that differentiates them by color. I’m telling ya, you have to be careful.

It’s like some of the left leaners on these blogs who chastise those who are against illegal immigration as racist. That’s crazy, but try to convince them. Paranoia is not easy to overcome.

Until we tell them to “shove it” (as Mr. Caprio of Rhode Island told Obama) be prepared to refer to bums as “displaced homeowners” and alcoholics as “anti-sobriety activists” among other similar definitions. I have a definition of “political correctness” from the urban dictionary that also seems very appropriate: “It’s a way we talk in America so we don’t offend whining pussies.” How’s that?

To leave a comment or to read the other 77 comments, click "Jim's azcentral blog" in the right column under links. You will not receive a virus. Jim McAllister writes for The Arizona Republic in Scottsdale Arizona.

Election facts and stats

2010-11-06T09:27:00.003-07:00

Setting the record straight….Liberal op-ed writer for the Washington Post, Dana Milbank, says in his November 3 column that on election night, Fox News, “to be fair and balanced, brought in a nominal Democrat, pollster Doug Schoen.” I guess that is his attempt at making a wisecrack about Fox not being fair and balanced as though liberal networks like MSNBC and the over the air channels are.

Anyway, Milbank is wrong and his envy of Fox’s success is showing as it does with other networks who can’t measure up. Fox was fair and balanced in their coverage and, if anything, leaned to the left with Democrat contributors Juan Williams, Kirsten Powers, Joe Trippi, Geraldine Ferraro, Pat Caddell, and Bob Beckel. Oh, yes, let’s don’t forget Doug Schoen.

As far as ratings, Fox walloped both their major cable competitors MSNBC and CNN by a large percentage. That was expected but the amazing thing was Fox also beat the over the air networks of ABC, NBC, and CBS. Did I just say that a cable network beat three major networks at something?

Great line by Dennis Miller last night on Bill O’Reilly’s Fox show. Commenting on John Boehner’s tearful speech during the Republican onslaught, Miller said, “Who is this, Tammy Faye Boehner?”

Have you seen the commercial with disgraced ex-Illinois governor Rod Blagojevich? He is pushing nuts. Only in America can guys who lose wind up winning, at least for now. He is being re-tried on 24 counts this spring. Too bad he couldn’t sell Obama’s former Senate seat when he had the chance. Mr. Kirk, a Republican, will now be occupying it.

Lock your bedroom door, mom…A 12 year old kid in Surprise, AZ wanted to go trick or treating on Halloween as a “Gay Justin Bieber”. His mother said no way and that it was inappropriate for the kid to do so. The kid went into a tantrum and threatened to kill his mom with a knife. Fortunately, she was able to disarm the kid.

Are you shaking your head in disbelief over this sort of thing? When I was 12, I was afraid to usurp the authority of my parents. My old man would have gotten out the razor strap and I wouldn’t be able to sit down for a few days. If this kid’s father tried that, The ACLU would probably sue.

A kid in Oklahoma was given a zero on his Spanish test because he refused to recite the Pledge of Allegiance in Spanish. Do you think this is appropriate? My feeling is that with the strained illegal immigration situation in Oklahoma in particular and many other states in general, why not eliminate possible problems and let them translate something else?

If you want to leave a comment or read the other 52 comments, click "Jim's azcentral blog" in the right coliumn under links. You will not receive a virus. Jim McAllister writes for the Arizona Republic in Scottsdale, Arizona.

The election of Nov. 2, 2010 vs. the election of Nov. 2, 1920

2010-10-29T13:57:00.004-07:00

Frank Conrad and his crew reporting the election returns on November 2, 1920.
You can tell we are getting down to business relating to the upcoming elections. Just watch the campaign ads on television and you will think that everyone you support and their opponents are a bunch of crooks that should be on their way to Palookaville, the state penitentiary, or some other dastardly place.

Locally in Arizona, the House seat pitting incumbent Harry Mitchell against Republican David Schweikert is a good example of mudslinging on both sides. I love the one with ‘ol Harry dancing around to the tune of Pelosi and Reid.

Nationally, the Delaware race is interesting. The Republicans dropped the ball on this one. Although Castle was a RINO he would have given the R’s a continuing seat in the Senate and with him running against a twerp like Democrat Coons, he would have won easily. Now, that seat is gone and a guy who once referred to himself as a “bearded Marxist” will get the nod.

Close Senate races: West Virginia, Illinois, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, Washington, Colorado, and maybe California. Republicans need the majority of those seats to take the Senate. As far as the House, Republicans should win it.

Election Day this year is on November 2 and the broadcast media crush is quite a contrast to the November 2, 1920 Election Day, exactly 90 years ago. Unlike this year, that was a presidential election and unlike now there was no television flowing into the nation’s homes to influence voters. Radio was even in its infancy so the main form of campaigning was through the “whistle stop” which took candidates across country campaigning in every significant town via trains.

James Cox and Franklin Roosevelt were the ticket for the Dems. Their opposition for the Republicans was Warren Harding and Calvin Coolidge. Cox and FDR did whistle stops from August until Election Day but it didn’t help as the Republicans won.

That election was the beginning of media coverage for election returns. A guy named Frank Conrad, who worked for Westinghouse, was desperately, along with his crew, completing a radio transmitting station on the roof of the tallest building on the Westinghouse campus in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Their goal was to be ready on election night to broadcast the returns to the few folks who had radios.

On October 27, the facility was complete and given the call letters KDKA. On November 2, four men recorded the election numbers that were received from the Pittsburgh Post via telephone and a gentleman named Leo Rosenberg read them over the air through a clumsy array of wires used as a microphone.

On that night broadcasting was born. The next day, the Westinghouse switchboard was flooded with calls from people wanting to know how they could get a radio. Today, we have several TV networks on election night feverishly reporting every trend and vote throughout the night and into the early morning.

Frank Conrad died in 1941 at 67 but he got to see radio flourish from the humble beginnings at KDKA to the number one form of entertainment at the time of his death.

To leave a comment or to reply to the 22 other comments, click "Jim's azcentral blog" in the right column under links. You will not get a virus. Jim McAllister writes for the Arizona Republic Newspaper.

The cost of college

2010-10-23T07:40:00.003-07:00

The Campus at Soutern Cal. Beautiful and expensive.

Froma Harrop writes for the Providence Journal. The Republic usually picks up her column to give us the East Coast liberal point of view. I guess the idea is to offset some of the more conservative guys they carry like Charles Krauthammer and George Will.

Anyway, although I usually disagree with her pandering to Obama, I do agree with her column from 9-27 where she talks about the insane cost of going to college these days. On my August 4, 2009 blog, I talked about the high cost of education but mentioned I thought it was worth it even though it means debt for a lot of people for a long time.

Even with the bad job market, one is better off with at least a bachelor’s degree. It puts them to the front of the line over those without a degree in case jobs are ever available again. However, a college degree is not always the answer to good employment since many are not suited for the classroom and can do better in some sort of trade work. It’s an honorable alternative and plenty of skilled trade workers earn a very comfortable income. A good example is a quote from Herman Melville made 150 years ago: “A whale ship was my Yale College and my Harvard.” I would assume he cashed in pretty good from Moby Dick. I wonder what he would have received for the movie rights.

Harrop mentions some interesting numbers for college costs: In the last 40 years, American median income has grown 6.5 times while the cost of attending a state college has risen 15 times.

Tuition at the privately owned U. of Southern California has risen 360% since 1980 to $41,434 a year. At the U. of Illinois, a state school, the tuition is $13,658, six times the cost of 1980. This does not include room and board.

Maybe universities need to tone down their expenses a bit. Harrop mentions that the president of Vanderbilt makes $1.2 million a year. Also, highly acclaimed Duke University spends over $20,000 per year on each varsity golf team member. There is no way the golf teams can cover that expense with the small following they have. What about the beautiful campuses and amenities for students? Is all of that necessary? Do the schools need fancy student unions?

I’m sure there are many who simply can’t afford to go to college. Bill Gates has said that “Five years from now on the Web, you’ll be able to find for free the best lectures in the world. It will be better than any single university.” Gates also mentioned that a year at a university costs an average $50,000 but you can get the same quality education on the Web for $2,000.

Gates is a Harvard dropout but seems to have done pretty well for himself so maybe he is right. Of course, if you follow his advice you may miss some traditional college life. With the cost of college, you may not have a choice.

To leave a comment or to read 24 other comments, click "Jim's azcentral blog" in the right column under links. You will not receive a virus. Jim McAllister writes for the Arizona Republic newspaper.

Is the "Smart Car" smart?

2010-10-18T07:55:00.005-07:00

Below: The Smart Car for $17,600. Top: The Nissan Versa for $12,000. Which would you want?

A couple of weeks ago I saw an ad in the Republic for the “Smart Car”. It’s made by Daimler and has been around in Europe for a while before making its way to us.

This is one tiny little car that seats two. When I saw the thing my first thought was “So, THAT is what a pregnant roller skate looks like!” I figured you could probably pick one up for about $5,000 which may not be a bad deal for something to just run around in locally. To my surprise, they start at $13,640 for the standard two door and go to $17,690 for the cabriolet convertible. That’s a bit expensive for a “car” that small that only gets 41 miles per gallon EPA estimate.

I’m sure there are people where I live who will “absolutely have to have one.” That’s fine with me, they have my permission to be trendy, but I think if I was looking for a new small car I would pass on the Smart Car and look at something that gets almost as good gas mileage and cost thousands less like the Toyota Yaris or the Nissan Versa.

The Yaris gets 36 mpg highway and has a backseat. One reviewer says it also “has the ability to do distance driving without terrifying driver and passenger.” The Versa is even less expensive, has a back seat, and gets 35 mpg.

In the 1950s, there was a postwar car from Italy called the Isetta. I remember seeing a few of them around when I was a kid. It had a door on the front that swung open to allow passengers to enter. Like the Smart Car, it was designed for two people who prayed they would not have a head on collision.

I think they sold well in Europe but we didn’t see many in the states. That was the era of big clunkers and cheap gas here and not many were worrying about fuel economy.

I could be wrong but I don’t see people flocking to the Smart Car showrooms. It’s probably a tree hugger’s dream but I don’t think the average American will go for it. I’m glad I don’t want one; I doubt that at my height I would be able to squeeze into the driver’s seat.

If you would like to leave a comment or read 41 other comments, click "Jim's azcentral blog" in the right column under links. You will not receive a virus. Jim McAllister writes for the Arizona Republic.

Obama vs. Fox News

2010-10-09T08:30:00.004-07:00

How do you expect me to look? I just saw my poll numbers and the ratings for Fox News at the same time! (StarPlus)

Obama obviously has never heard the old saying that “every knock is a boost” and that when you are being criticized by someone, you should ignore them. Otherwise, you show they are getting to you which is like throwing gasoline on a fire. Maybe BO cut class too many times in a public relations class at Harvard.

Now, the prez is claiming in a Rolling Stone interview that “Fox News is destructive to [America’s] long term growth.” He also states that Fox News pushes "a point of view that I disagree with. It's a point of view that I think is ultimately destructive for the long-term growth of a country that has a vibrant middle class and is competitive in the world."

OK, he is the President of the United States so he, like all of us, has a right to his opinion. But, this is where that “every knock is a boost thing” rears its head. He is showing weakness by letting Fox get under his skin and I’m sure more than a few people are scratching their heads about him when they read his statements. Meanwhile, the Fox News ratings continue to climb as the networks that grovel at the president’s feet, like MSNBC and CNN, see their ratings dwindle.

I agree with the prez on one thing, "But as an economic enterprise, it's (Fox) been wildly successful. And I suspect that if you ask Mr. (Rupert) Murdoch what his number one concern is, it's that Fox is very successful."

I wonder why Fox is so successful. I watch the news with Shepard Smith and I see him offering no opinions; he gives a professional report of what is happening around the world. He is simply better than anyone the other networks have to offer.

As far as guys like Bill O’Reilly and Sean Hannity, they have a point of view which usually differs from that of the White House although I think O’Reilly is very fair to the prez. Those are the guys Obama is after. But, does he really think that one cable news network can be responsible for his large descent in the polls since his election? It sounds like more whining from another member of the “It’s not my fault” generation.

I have a suggestion for the president. Keep watching MSNBC, NBC, and CNN. For every criticism O’Reilly and Hannity throw your way, Chris Matthews and Rachel Maddow will be there to drop roses in your path. Although no one watches them, it may make you feel better.

To leave a comment or to read any of the 77 comments posted, click "Jim's azcentral blog" in the right column under links. You will not receive a virus. Jim McAllister writes for the Arizona Republic newspaper.

Where were you?

2010-10-02T07:40:00.004-07:00

It took the U. S. Army to safely escort "The Little Rock Nine" into Central High School in 1957 after Arkansas Governor Orval Faubus refused to abide by a Supreme Court decision on integration that allowed black kids to attend the school. Faubus closed high schools in Little Rock for the 1958-59 school year in protest. That was known as "The Lost Year." (UPI) I was a junior in high school in Ohio and wondered what the fuss was about. I had gone to school with black kids all my life. But, I wasn't living in Arkansas.
Regardless of our ages, we have memories of important events that have happened during our lifetimes. I’m not talking about personal items as much as events that affected the nation and/or the world. How many times have you heard someone say, “I remember where I was when I heard the news of Kennedy’s assassination on November 22, 1963.” Personally, I was crossing the street at Whiteman AFB in Missouri going back to work after lunch when it happened. Where were you?

Since I can only vouch for events in my lifetime, probably the first one would be the bombing of Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941. I was alive at that time but at eight months of age, I can’t say that I remember the event. I would bet that guys like Bob Amento, Dr. Don, and Fancy remember it well though.

I do remember when President Roosevelt died in April of 1945. I had just turned four and was standing by the side of our house in Cincinnati watching my dad paint. Our neighbor came rushing into the yard shouting the news of FDR’s demise.

I remember when Truman beat Dewey in November, 1948 for the presidency. I was seven as my dad and I listened to the election returns well into the night and since he was a big fan of Dewey, he became glummer as the night went on. Television was still in its infancy and was very expensive so we listened to the results on our big Stromberg-Carlson radio. Only bars had TVs in those days.

In November, 1952, General Eisenhower easily won the presidency over Adlai Stevenson. Stevenson had no chance; he was a dry, no personality guy from Illinois going against a war hero. It was the same result when Stevenson ran against Ike in 1956. I watched returns of both elections on our black and white 16” “National” TV set. The ’52 returns pre-empted Milton Berle’s show on NBC, not a happy night for Uncle Miltie watchers.

I was a Nixon fan in 1960 when he ran against Kennedy. Tricky Dick had no chance after the TV debates. He looked tired, had a five o’clock shadow beard, and was upstaged by the vibrant JFK. The election results in November were no surprise. I was 18, had just registered for the draft, and was disappointed in the results.

I’ll always remember where I was in October, 1962 during the Cuban Missile Crisis. I was in the Air Force stationed in Missouri when Kennedy and Khrushchev had a stare down over Russian built missiles being installed in Cuba. Our B-47 Bombers had left our base and were poised on the East Coast ready to go to war. Finally, after a few tense weeks, Khrushchev blinked first and the missiles were dismantled. You could hear a collective exhale of breath on our base when it was settled.

Do you remember the above events happening? How about Beatlemania in ’64? We all know where we were on 9-11-2001 but how about Little Rock and Governor Faubus in 1957? When was the first time you saw a color TV? What about Elvis’s first hit?

Where were you?

To leave a comment or read the other 27 comments, click "Jim's azcentral blog" in the right column under links. You will not receive a virus. Jim McAllister writes for the Arizona Republic.

Obama goes to church

2010-09-25T12:59:00.002-07:00

For probably political reasons, Obama went to church last week for the fourth time in 19 months. Not a sterling record but who am I to say anything? It’s four more times than I have been to church in a much larger time frame than that. I don’t think church is a necessity for the average person to lead a proper and honest life although it probably can’t hurt.

Churches are suffering an attendance problem, especially the Catholic Church. I grew up in the ‘50s as a non Catholic in a heavily Catholic neighborhood in the heavily Catholic city of Cincinnati. Our family lived three blocks from a large Catholic Church, St. Mary’s. It was an old neighborhood with street parking only and the cars of those attending the myriad of masses on a Sunday were parked all the way to our house.

The Catholic kids I knew were well trained and never missed an opportunity to tell me my Presbyterian Church was totally incorrect in its doctrine and that the Catholic Church was the only “true” religion. St. Mary’s was run by the Jesuits and they are great teachers and brainwashers. I heard a priest say once that if they could keep a kid until 15, his thinking would be irreversible. He was wrong; I knew several who left the church.

The remarks of those kids didn’t bother me as I wasn’t crazy about church anyway and I quit going as soon as I was old enough to pull it off. But, in those innocent days of the ‘50s when most kids did as they were told, Catholic Church attendance was high. A Gallup Poll from 60 years ago shows that 75% of Catholics went to Mass. Today it is 45%.

Currently, two out of three Catholics in the greater Cincinnati area don’t go to Mass anymore. It’s not just there that this is happening; Mass attendance has been declining for decades across the country as people find things they would rather do. Some cite busier schedules, changing cultures, and what I believe is the main reason: discontent with Catholic leaders.

The Church is against birth control and is firm about an all male priesthood. Also, the many clergy abuses with children have hurt the cause as has the mild punishment handed out.

In the past, the poor depended on the Church for a social life as they were shunned by society. Today, Catholics are as rich and educated as anyone else and don’t depend on the Church as much. Also, many are turned off by the churches liberal attitude based on more government control and higher taxes.

A few years ago, the Catholic Churches of Phoenix ran TV ads asking “Catholics to come home.” Whether they did or not, I don’t know but in 2004, Bishop Thomas O’Brien of Phoenix was discovered to have been harboring pedophile priests for 20 years. Shortly after that, he was arrested for a felony hit and run accident. Such activity by a church leader is inexcusable and didn’t help church attendance.

Is church attendance on the decline? Recent figures say “yes”, especially for the Catholic Church.

To leave a comment or to read 51 other comments, click "Jim's azcentral blog" in the right column under links. You will not receive a virus. Jim McAllister writes for the Arizona Republic

New Mexico and illegal immigrants

2010-09-17T15:22:00.003-07:00

New Mexico, The Land of Enchantment

I found some interesting information this week about New Mexico’s attitude toward illegal immigration.

With longtime Democrat Bill Richardson as governor and a 2008 population of 895,000 Hispanics (45% of total residents), I figured The Land of Enchantment had to be sympathetic toward illegal immigration.

Also, with the availability of driver’s licenses for illegals and that Obama won New Mexico’s five electoral votes in 2008 by a 57% to 42% margin plus New Mexico’s voting record of going blue in four of the last five presidential elections, the state surely had to be a hotbed of welcome mats for those who arrive there illegally. Did I mention that Richardson is also of Hispanic descent? Yeah, he is.

It’s no wonder 100,000 illegal immigrants have hit the highway out of town in reaction to Arizona’s SB 1070 law. It looks like New Mexico is the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow.

Well, maybe not. According to a recent poll by the Albuquerque Journal, New Mexico voters strongly disapprove of illegal immigrants being allowed to acquire driver’s licenses in their state by a 72% to 20%margin. 6% had mixed feelings, 2% didn’t know.

Also, a majority gives its approval to Arizona’s new immigration law. 53% approve, 35% disapprove, 7% have mixed feelings and 5% don’t know. In the Hispanic community, Arizona’s law was favored by 39% with 48% disapproving. Most of the disapproval was based on the feeling of a general dislike for Hispanics.

Professor Gabriel Sanchez of the University of New Mexico said that while voters in the state are not as much in favor of SB 1070 as the rest of the country, they are becoming more disenchanted with illegal immigrants.

Hispanic voters agreed with the majority on the driver’s license policy as 67% opposed it. They also supported the city of Albuquerque’s policy of checking immigrant status of anyone who is arrested with 79% approving. That sounds like they are members of Secure Communities.

Who would have thought those numbers would appear in New Mexico? Gomer Pyle probably would have said his trademark, “Surprise, surprise, surprise!”

What happens now for the illegal population if New Mexico doesn’t welcome them? Oregon and Utah will issue driver’s licenses to non American citizens so I guess for illegal immigrants it time to pack up, head to those states, and hope for the best.

To leave a comment or to read 59 other comments, click "Jim's azcentral blogs" in the right column under links. You will not receive a virus. Jim McAliister writes for the Arizona Republic.

The Fox News blondes

2010-09-10T13:28:00.004-07:00

Megyn Kelly of "America Live" weekdays on Fox News

Poor Kim Guilfoyle. Kim is a raven haired beauty, a successful lawyer, and gets good face time on Fox News. So, why would I refer to Ms Guilfoyle as “poor Kim”? It is because she is not a blonde and blondes are a specialty of Fox News.

I have no problem with the blonde invasion of Fox. If it was just a cosmetic fix to attract male viewers, it may get tiresome but the blondes on Fox are ladies who are intelligent and know how to gather and report the news without exhibiting a “come hither” demeanor to attract male viewers. There is nothing like the combination of beauty and brains for a television news network to get their message across and Fox has both.

I grew up in the era of Walter Cronkite, Huntley and Brinkley, and Harry Reasoner. They got the job done in the black and white TV era but today it’s the sizzle as much as the steak that viewers want. The Fox blondes have that sizzle but it is subtle and not overdone. It’s as though they are bland Peter Jennings reporting except they are gorgeous women.

Whether you like it or not, it’s all about ratings in the broadcast business. How does Fox continually wallop their competition at the other cable news networks? They simply have better people running the place from the top down.

Roger Ailes runs Fox News and he knows what works. It’s not like he invented smart, beautiful blondes to do the news. It’s been done before with Lesley Stahl who is now 68 and Diane Sawyer who is 65. Both ladies were beautiful and intelligent in their day (still are!) but the networks never utilized them in a way to increase their audience share.

Now that the nightly network news is fading away with uninteresting ancho*rs like Katie Couric (she is a blonde too), and weak cable outlets like MSNBC and CNN, Fox has become dominant. They are the maverick who took a chance and it has worked. They remind me of the days when ABC News was always dragging a weak third in the ratings behind NBC and CBS. They tried three ancho*rs reporting from three cities but it didn’t work. Teaming Barbara Walters and Harry Reasoner was also a mistake as they complemented each other like oil and water. I always gave them an “E” for effort though since they at least tried.

Whether you are familiar with the Fox blondes or not, I would hate to be the one who tries to
dominate Megyn Kelly, Shannon Bream, Lis Wiehl, Juliet Huddy, or Gretchen Carlson. If you were looking for a really bloody nose, seek out Laura Ingraham!

Detractors like to call Fox News “Faux News”. I love it when I read that, every knock is a boost and envy is a terrible thing. That’s too bad for them.

To leave a comment or read 32 other comments, click "Jim's az central blog" in the right column under links. You will not receive a virus. Jim McAllister writes for the Arizona Republic.

Beer!!!

2010-09-04T07:34:00.004-07:00

Schoenling "Little Kings", a staple of Cincinnati brewing.

Whether we call it suds, a cold one, a draw, a brewski, a dime draft, or whatever, most of us will admit that there is not a better beverage than beer. It’s the world’s most highly consumed alcoholic beverage and third overall behind water and tea. That’s not bad considering that technically it is illegal in most places to drink the foamy stuff if you are under the age of 21.

When I was growing up in the predominantly German city of Cincinnati, it was known as one of the great beer cities. Local brews dominated sales and when I worked in a local store, I was surprised if I sold more than a couple 6 packs of national brands Budweiser or Schlitz in a week. Everyone wanted the local stuff like Hudepohl, Burger, Schoenling, Weidemann, or Bavarian. Most of those brands are gone now as the national brands drove them under through their massive advertising and deals for suppliers.

I remember when Miller High Life was a premium beer and sold great in that clear bottle. It was called “The Champagne of Bottled Beers”. It died for a while but is coming back through some good TV ads. However, it is being promoted as a lower end product kind of like Keystone’s relationship to Coors. In other words, to me it looks like they are after the shot and a beer crowd.

Speaking of that foolish practice, my friends and I used to go to town on weekends in my Air Force days to get sloshed in a hurry as there were two reasons we were there: Find a good bar with a band and meet girls. Our standard procedure was to eat a few 15 cent McDonald’s burgers, drink a few shots and wash them down with some beers. My standard order was three or four bottles of Schlitz and a couple snorts of Southern Comfort. Needless to say it created a nice buzz and occasionally I would actually meet girls if I didn’t throw up first. I still wonder how many times I danced the Twist and the Limbo in those days.

Coors is an interesting beer. Brewed in Golden, Colorado, it was known as “Colorado Kool-Aid” by many because it was very light. For years it was not sold east of the Kansas-Missouri border which brought about some stories of how people back east got the stuff. That ended when Coors went national.

In an effort to fight off beer giant Anheuser-Busch, Coors and Miller merged in 2008 and so far seem to be doing all right. Anheuser-Busch sold out to a Belgium firm which was a shocker to me. I couldn’t believe them not being owned by the Busch family of St. Louis. But, in these uncertain times, nothing should surprise us although I shake my head when I see a bottle of Budweiser now.

Today, the small micro breweries seem to be doing well with all sorts of different tasting brews. Stop by The Yard House sometime and you’ll see what I mean. Desert Ghost, CJ, Kevin and I met there a few weeks ago and enjoyed the combo of great suds and classic rock.

Life is good!

To leave a comment or to read the other 52 comments, click "Jim's azcentral blog" in the right column under links. You will not receive a virus. Jim McAllister writes for the Arizona Republic.

Progress can't be stopped

2010-08-27T15:31:00.006-07:00

The Kindle, is this the future of books?

I received an email the other day that mentioned some items that we took for granted in the past but are now disappearing before our eyes as “progress” keeps rearing its head. For example, personal checks: I have done my banking online since 2003 which has saved a lot of time and money. I pay all my bills online or through credit card. So far in 2010, I have written only 17 checks. I see a day when banks will drop paper personal checks as a cost saving measure.

Books may also be in trouble with new devices like Kindle available. Although I was happy to stop writing checks and stamping and mailing envelopes, I think I would miss holding books and turning real pages. Kindle sounds good and the pricing is attractive at half the price of a regular book. But, when do we decide that keeping something we love may outweigh the monetary savings of something more innovative? At the moment, I have access to an excellent library at no charge and can buy other books really cheap at the Cave Creek library. Kindle will have to wait for now.

Do you still have a land line telephone? I do, but I don’t know why other than I dislike cell phones (although I own one) and refuse to give up the tradition of having a real phone. Getting a new phone used to be a fun experience. The phone company guy would come by with a nice shiny new phone and install it. He would climb the telephone pole in our backyard in Kansas and call me from there to check if the phone was working properly.

It was REALLY a thrill when call waiting became available. Imagine having two calls on the same line simultaneously! It all sounds pretty ancient now. As far as texting, no way! I have to draw the line somewhere.

These items are just scratching the surface of the changes we can expect. We’ve already discussed the changes in the newspaper business as fewer and fewer young people read print papers anymore. Television is slipping as cable costs escalate and the number of irritating commercials keeps increasing and forcing more people to go to their computers for viewing.

By 1950 TV had made radio a second class citizen. Now, it is getting the same treatment. What about the post office? If people quit mailing bill payments, what will the P. O. do? They’re broke now! Will it disappear? FEDEX and UPS are a lot more efficient.

I will remain a dinosaur for a while I guess. When driving I still listen to news, sports, and financial stations, much of which is on AM radio. I can’t remember the last time I played a CD. Do they still make those?

To leave a comment or to read other comments, click "Jim's azcentral blogs" in the right column under links. You will not receive a virus. Jim McAllister writes for the Arizona Republic.

Too much racial sensitivity

2010-08-21T21:59:00.003-07:00

Dr. Laura is out the door

After saying “nigg*er” eleven times on her radio talk show of August 10, 63 year old psychologist Laura Schlessinger has resigned. It may be a resignation to her but I think she was fired. I don’t know if it matters since after 30 years I hear her show was getting stale anyway. I never listened to it as I am not a fan of radio psychologists but I am interested in what readers think of the call that got her in trouble. It’s 6:40 long and I think you will find it interesting.

I think Dr. Laura makes some good points but in these days of overblown racial sensitivity, one is not supposed to say ANYTHING that might be the least bit sensitive. It’s sad that has happened as we used to be a loose, tolerant society that was not so thin skinned. Today, too many lack a sense of humor and take themselves way too serious and that is a shame.

Schlessinger says she is going to try to “regain her first amendment rights.” I don’t think she has lost those rights; she simply said some things that in this uptight liberal society we live in are considered inappropriate. Therefore, she no longer has a radio show.

Here is another example of the garbage we have to put up with today. The black candidate for the Republican Congressional seat in District 3 is former Paradise Valley Arizona Mayor Vernon Parker. He is opposed by Ben Quayle, son of former VP Dan Quayle. Because of Parker’s ethics issues, Quayle referred to him as the “National poster boy for the Democratic Party.” Parker is outraged at the use of the word “boy” and considers it racist. As silly as that sounds it gets even sillier when you consider that Parker brags about being endorsed by Sheriff Arpaio, a guy thought by many to be the biggest racist of them all.

How do you think the Prius driving, CFL bulb using, PC crowd would accept the following interaction from a 1938 Jack Benny radio show? Benny’s valet was a black man named Rochester who was played by the great Eddie Anderson. In one scene, Benny and Rochester are going west on a train. As the train stops in Santa Fe, Rochester thinks he is at the 125th Street station in Harlem. Benny tells him it’s Santa Fe and the people there are Indians.

Rochester says “Just the same, I saw a papoose eating a pork chop.” Benny says “What of it. He can be an Indian and still eat a pork chop.” Rochester says, “I know, but he had it between two slices of watermelon.”

That was funny stuff in 1938. In 2010, I don’t think Mr. Parker or many other blacks would laugh. Parker would be worrying too much about an insignificant non-racial comment calling him a “boy.” Meanwhile Charles Barkley is always making fun of white people and they laugh it off. Maybe we white guys should start being paranoid too.

To leave a comment or to read the 62 other comments, click "Jim's azcentral blog" in the right column under links. You will not receive a virus. Jim McAllister writers for the Arizona Republic.

Don't build the mosque

2010-08-14T22:17:00.003-07:00

Common sense is an interesting subject and it applies to about everything. You wouldn’t wear white socks with a tuxedo, you wouldn’t wander into the rain without an umbrella, and you probably wouldn’t back into traffic. To do so would go against common sense.

I would define common sense as the ability to avoid doing things that make no sense. That is why I wonder why New York’s main Muslim, Imam Feisel Abdul Rauf, is intent on building a mosque in New York City located two blocks from where 3,000 innocent Americans died on 9-11.

Rauf has made comments like this referring to 9-11: “I wouldn’t say the United States deserved what happened. But the United States policies were an accessory to the crime that happened.” His wife, Daisy Khan, has referred to the building of the mosque as “no big deal.” That sounds like a dismissal of the fact that 3,000 people died as a result of Muslim terrorists two blocks away.

A last ditch effort through a lawsuit is being made to stop the project but it probably will not be won. The families of 9-11 victims along with some politicians and religious leaders are opposing it and plan a protest on 9-11. It’s a nice gesture but will also probably be ineffective.

Mayor Bloomberg of New York supports the mosque and legally not much can be done about it. Apparently the Constitution says it’s all right as the U. S. believes in freedom of religion. However, here is where that pesky common sense gets involved. After 9-11, a massive dislike over anything Muslim has evolved in the United States. Most people are still incensed over 9-11 and that feeling will never go away. Adding fuel to the fire are recent stories of Muslim fathers murdering their daughters for dating men who were not Muslim. Punishment for women under Sharia law frequently involves stoning them to death. That’s not in line with the values of most Americans.

The insistence of building a mosque so close to Ground Zero reeks as a gesture of “sticking it” to the United States. I’m sure bin Laden is having quite a laugh over it as our politicians meekly let it happen. That mosque could be built in many other places but near Ground Zero was picked. Did they really think this would not create a controversy?

It will be interesting to see if the place gets built. I don’t see American construction workers participating and the controversy will not be going away any time soon.

Jim Croce once sang that “You don’t tug on Superman’s cape, you don’t spit in the wind.” It’s only common sense and if you are Muslim, you don’t build a mosque next to Ground Zero regardless of the constitutionality.

To leave a comment or to read the other 67 comments, click "jim's azcentral blog" in the right column under links. You will not receive a virus. Jim McAllister writes for the Arizona Republic newspaper in Phoenix/Scottsdale.

The Chinese "paper sons"

2010-08-07T08:21:00.006-07:00

Keye Luke of Charlie Chan fame may have been the second naturalized citizen from China in 1944.
A “paper son” was a young male Chinese immigrant who came to the United States between about 1910 and 1944. He would claim to be the son of a citizen when in actuality he was the son of that person on paper only.

In 1882, during the US presidency of Chester A. Arthur, the Chinese Exclusion Act was passed. Previously, Chinese immigrants were welcomed as they flowed to the gold fields of California where work was plentiful. When the gold played out and competition for jobs became more acute, an anti-Chinese sentiment evolved as they moved to cities like San Francisco to take jobs as low wage earners doing restaurant and laundry work. Sound familiar?

Initially the Act suspended Chinese immigration for ten years but as time passed, the law was renewed to make Chinese citizenship virtually impossible until 1944. Even then the quotas remained small. It wasn’t until 1965 with the passage of the Immigration Act that meaningful quantities of Chinese immigrants occurred.

That story seems quite tidy except for a natural disaster that changed the face of Chinese immigration into California. That disaster was the San Francisco earthquake of 1906. Coincidentally, the earthquake destroyed city hall and along with it, all the birth records of the city’s residents. Many savvy male Chinese immigrants seized this opportunity to claim false citizenship and the US government had no choice but to take them at their word since the records had been destroyed that may have proven otherwise.

With citizenship, these men could travel to China, spend a period of time, then return to claim a false marriage and/or the birth of one or more children still in that country. Since they were now considered citizens, their Chinese children were also considered citizens. The loophole was that many of the children were not actually kids of the “father” but were “paper sons”. The men would sell citizenship papers to young men in China and claim them as their kids to bring them to the States.

The US government knew of this practice so when the kids arrived at the Angel Island entry point in San Francisco, they were given extensive tests and interviews to prove they were who they claimed to be. This required hours of study and memorization in order to convince the immigration authorities they were legitimate.

Some rumors say that Keye Luke, who played Charlie Chan’s number one son in the 1930’s films, was the second naturalized citizen from China in 1944 after the Magnuson Act repealed the Exclusion Act. He would have been first but he was working on a film that day and a Chinese doctor from New York became number one.

It was a different form of illegal immigration compared to the hordes flowing across the southern border of Arizona today who feel they are entitled to be here regardless of citizenship.

2010-07-30T23:24:00.003-07:00

A gourmet burger from Barney's of San Francisco.
According to the Arizona Food Industry Journal, sushi is one of the most popular foods of the last decade. Supermarkets have their own sushi chefs and devote decent space for sushi. I can eat the rolled up crab and shrimp sushi since it is cooked but raw fish? No way! I see people in restaurants eating the raw stuff and wonder how they can do it. I guess I’m just not “with it.”

Bacon is still a big seller which kind of surprises me with all the warnings about eating too much fat. I guess it is the yuppies who are avoiding it in their never ending quest to be thin and wear all the right clothes. I still love the stuff but try not to overdo it. Some of the best restaurant bacon is at The Good Egg restaurants in the Phoenix area. Just be sure to tell your server you want it “crispy” as that brings out the best flavor. I’m getting hungry just thinking about it. It’s time for a BLT!

Cupcakes have become a big deal. They are not that big in supermarkets but cupcake shops have sprung up with a lot of overpriced stuff. A few years ago a place called Sprinkles opened at Camelback and Scottsdale Roads and did a land office business. They were getting $36 a dozen but for the “in” crowd, they had to have them at any price. California strikes again! I’ll take two Hostess from Circle K.

Gourmet hamburgers are popular now. It seems every restaurant has one or a selection of many. I thought we were supposed to be eating less fat. Never mind, gourmet is in and they are expensive with all the goodies piled on especially if you have to have Kobe beef which is loaded with fat. I’ve eaten a lot of burgers in my life but none lately. I’m not sure if it is because my tastes have changed or that I found out that McDonald’s meat has so many preservatives in it that it can’t possibly spoil. I’ll take a ham on rye instead.

Sliders are now a big deal too although to me they are nothing new. They are nothing but small burgers, tuna, chicken, or whatever. In Cincinnati we used to go to the nearest White Castle hamburger joint after a night of too much drinking and scarf several of those 12 cent suckers down. Their slogan was “Buy ‘em by the sack” and they were really good at 3:00 in the morning. Greasy little burgers with greasy onions: Yum, life was good!

Coffee and tea have become big deals. I think a lot of people take these two items way too serious, especially coffee. You have to hand it to places like Starbucks and Tully’s for the prices they are able to get for a cup of joe. Somehow I can’t picture myself sitting in a Starbucks all morning working on a laptop computer drinking $4 cups of coffee that tastes about the same as private label store coffee. Circle K coffee is better and cheaper.

You have to hand it to Starbucks, though. They have convinced a lot of people that the Starbucks logo is something they can’t live without and at the same time have made a lot of money.

If you want to leave a comment or read other comments, go to "Jim's azcentral blogs" in the right column under links. You will not get a virus. Jim McAllister writes for The Arizona Republic.

Remembering past rockers

2010-07-24T21:19:00.004-07:00

Duane Allman (1946-1971) of the Allman Brothers Band
When Bret Michaels of Poison recently suffered a brain hemorrhage, it made me think of the older rock stars that I enjoyed years ago and the premature demise of many. Fortunately, Michaels survived so he is one of the lucky ones but with their hard driving lifestyles, a lot of these guys go ten toes pointing up long before they need to. Too much booze, dope, and women can lead to a downfall but not necessarily in that order.

Keith Moon was the drummer for The Who but he left us in 1978 at age 32 after he OD on pills and choked to death on his own vomit. Jimi Hendrix also did the vomit choking thing in 1970 when he died in a London hospital at 27. Pills were the culprit there also. Janis Joplin died of heroin poisoning in 1970 sixteen days after Hendrix.

Those 60’s and 70’s rockers didn’t fool around when it came to drugs and booze. I remember Janis wailing away on stage while swilling from a bottle of Southern Comfort. Hendrix was known for some heavy drug use, especially LSD although when they did an autopsy on him, they found more red wine than anything besides an overdose of sleeping pills. The dosage on those pills was half a tablet but some sources say he took about nine of them that night. Moon was on medication that was supposed to handle withdrawal from alcoholism. Being a compulsive guy, he took 32 tablets in a short amount of time which was plenty to kill him.

Does anyone remember Bobby Darin? Bobby died in 1973 at age 37 from complications of open heart surgery. My greatest remembrance of him was his first big hit “Dream Lover” in 1959. It was a smash as it became an anthem for the drive-in movie and restaurant teen crowd. Bobby was more interested in sounding like Frank Sinatra though and followed with million seller “Mack the Knife” in 1960. He also did some acting roles in movies along with Las Vegas gigs until heart problems caught up with him much too early in life.

Most of us remember the big hit from 1979, “My Sharona” by The Knack. Lead singer and guitarist Doug Fieger died in February, 2010 of a brain tumor. “My Sharona” was another one of those anthem songs for a lot of kids who grew up in the 70s. I danced to it many times myself and was sad to see Fieger go at the young age of 57.

Alex Chilton was the lead singer for The Box Tops, a great little group from the 1960’s. In 1967 they released their biggest hit, “The Letter.” Barb and I danced to that song many times in my college days in Missouri in the late ‘60s. Chilton died at 59 of heart failure in May of 2010.

Every time I hear the old tunes, I can think of somewhere in the past I heard them and the good times that accompanied them. When I see these artists dying off, it is like losing part of my youth. Fortunately, they will always be with us in a sense through their recordings.

To leave a comment or read other comments, click "Jim's azcentral blog" in the right column under links. You will not receive a virus. Jim McAllister writes for The Arizona Republic.

The battle of the sexes

2010-07-18T09:21:00.004-07:00

"Be sure to fill the gas tank, honey. Remember you ran out once 40 years ago."

As much as a man and woman may love each other, they will always have differences of opinion, especially about the "small stuff." Years ago, it was referred to as "The battle of the sexes." I don’t know what they call it today but I know it inspired the term "Yes, dear."

As an example, Barb and I decided to go to Queen Creek today and check out a place called the Olive Mill. We decided to go through Fountain Hills and use Gilbert Road to get to the Superstition to avoid the faster yet boring route of the101. The gas tank was a little below 1/4 and I was told to fill up before we reached the freeway. I mentioned that we had plenty of gas to get there and could fill up then. I was promptly told to fill up NOW and that I had run out of gas a few times in the past and she didn’t want to have it happen again. All right, maybe I did run out once or twice about 40 years ago, but....but...but. "Yes dear, is this Valero station O. K.?"

Last week Barb went to Denver to see a couple of her girlfriends. It was a three day trip but she prepared for it at least a week. I told her that when I was out in my sales territory for three days, it took me only about an hour to pack a couple suits, shirts, shaving kit, etc. I was told it is "different" with girls because they need to take things that we wouldn’t understand. Uh..... "Yes, dear."

I think men rule the road, especially when it comes to getting around. When a new road opens, the guys take advantage of it if it is an improvement of the way to get to a certain place. When women learn how to get from "A" to "B" they are usually welded to that route regardless of how many times you say, "But, if you take the 101 to the 202, you can get to the airport quicker." Usually, a guy will get the "No, I might get lost. I’m sticking with my old way." Yes, dear.

Then there is the "move the furniture around" routine that the girls like. How many times have you guys come home and found your Lazy Boy in a new location further from the beer box or the newspaper you left on the floor that morning? Archie Bunker was lucky; Edith knew better than to move his chair or even have the audacity to sit in it.

Regardless of the small stuff, the guys still love the girls. After all, those great meals don’t materialize out of thin air and it is nice to have someone to rub feet with on a cold winter night. It’s well worth a few "Yes, dears" now and then.

To leave a comment or to read any of the 64 other comments, click "Jim's azcentral blog" in the right column under links. You will not get a virus. Jim McAllister writes for The Arizona Republic.

2010-07-12T10:18:00.007-07:00

1957 Chevrolet Bel-Air hardtop.
I was a car freak when I was a kid. There wasn’t a car on the road I didn’t know and they didn’t change much from year to year. Only kids like me and my friends could tell the difference between a ‘49 and ‘50 Ford and Mercury or a ‘47 and ‘48 Chevy. We loved those heaps and waited anxiously until we were 16 and could get our driver’s licenses.

Unlike now, in those days the new models came out usually at the very end of the previous year or in early January. It was in early January of 1955 when I took my annual bus ride to Queen City Chevrolet in downtown Cincinnati to see what kind of boxy model Chevy had to offer for that year. I was expecting another version of the ’54 with maybe new taillights or door handles when to my surprise, I saw the sleek new model for 1955. Was this really a Chevy with its old 6 banger? No way, Chevy had graduated to a V8 (6 was still available) and put it in a stylish new group of body styles.

Thus began the greatest triumvirate in auto history. The 1955, ‘56, and ‘57 Chevys were on their way to a grateful America. There was nothing quite like the sound of the new 1955 265 cube V8 running through the gears. It was a whine that I will never forget. It was advertised as “The Hot One” and other ads told us “Don’t argue with this baby!”

In 1956, several advances were made from the ’55 and they weren’t just cosmetic. $40million was spent on styling improvements while the V8 and 6 were given more power. It’s no wonder they said “The hot one is even hotter!” My brother had a 1956 Chevy convertible with a “power pack.” A power pack was basically a four barrel carburetor with dual exhaust and it really would move! Also available was a V8 with TWO four barrel carbs if you REALLY wanted to move.

The ’57 Chevy was advertised as “Sweet, smooth, and sassy.” With a new fuel injection system added to the line it certainly was sassy. It also received a styling facelift to give it a longer and lower look. I always like the abbreviated fins on the back fenders and the dual rocket hood ornaments.

The ‘57 was the last of the three years of classic Chevys and after vintage Corvettes, is the most sought after car by collectors. The most popular of the 57’s was the red convertible; every baby boomer of the 50s and 60s wanted that car.

Those were great cars and a credit to General Motors’s engineering of that era. In 1958 they were gone and replaced by a new design which included a 348 cube V8 in the new Impala. They were nice cars but not in the same league as the ’55,’56,and ’57.

I doubt if anyone will ever match those three years of Chevys and to those of us who remember those times, they are a fond memory.

To leave a comment or to read other comments, click "Jim's azcentral blog" in the right column under links. You won't get a virus. Jim McAllister writes for The Arizona Republic.

Moving to Arizona? Research it first!

2010-07-04T17:19:00.006-07:00

above: Arizona in the winter north of Phoenix, 2005. Very unusual!
below: Arizona wildflowers in the Spring

I have never moved anywhere without researching the area. It’s only common sense that a person should want to know about an area before they invest in a home and a possible change in lifestyle.

In 1987, my wife and I decided to look into Arizona as a place to spend some time in the winter away from our home in Kansas City. We decided to buy a condo in north Scottsdale but before we did we looked carefully at the Scottsdale weather as we were not interested in spending time in a place with cold winters. If we wanted that, all we had to do was stay in Kansas City. By 1989, we liked it here so much that we made our move permanent. What was not to like about playing golf in average daytime temperatures of 65 during December and January?

Strangely enough, I have met people in Arizona who have moved here sight unseen and are not happy with the area. They say it is too hot in the summer and not warm enough in the winter. I asked one person from St. Louis who I met in November about 15 years ago how she liked our nice weather in that month. Her reply was she thought it would be nicer if it was warmer than the 72 degrees it had been that day. I felt like asking her if she would have preferred a St. Louis November day.

When someone makes the decision that Arizona will be their permanent home, they will probably have some questions about the area that will bring a laugh from Zonies who are used to the lifestyle here. I know this from experience as I had my share. For example: What is a swamp cooler? What is a load controller? Since rain is a rarity, why are there signs in the desert that say "Don’t cross road when flooded." I thought Arizona was a desert. Where are the sand dunes? (Try Yuma). What do you mean that every plant has a drip system? What’s that? Can you fry an egg on the sidewalk in June? (No, it just seems that hot!)

Now that I have logged 21 years in north Scottsdale and know the answers to the above questions, I still find humor with winter visitors who I see going to the pools during 55 degree January days in brightly colored swim suits with various pool paraphernalia under their arms. I guess if you have been wintering in Duluth, that 55degrees seems pretty inviting.

To leave a comment or read other comments, click "Jim's azcentral blog" in the right column under inks. You won't get a virus. Jim McAllister writes for The Arizona Republic.

FORBES most disliked sports people

2010-06-26T18:38:00.003-07:00

Ben Roethlisberger, he's messing up big time.

Forbes magazine recently released its list of the ten most disliked people in sports. Eleven hundred people nationwide, age 13 and older, were asked their opinion on those currently active as a player, coach, manager, agent, owner, or broadcaster. A 10% minimum awareness level of those polled was also a prerequisite for being eligible to make the list.

Here are the results:

1. Michael Vick. Vick ran a dog fighting operation and was known to kill dogs through beatings and burnings. This is his second year in a row as number one on Forbes list and since I am an animal lover, that’s good enough for me. You just don’t mess with man’s best friend.

2. Al Davis. Al owns the Oakland Raiders and although I don’t dislike him, I think he is well past his prime and makes shaky decisions concerning his team. Most of the dislike of him may be from Oakland and Los Angeles, two cities he has moved his team to looking for a pot of gold.

3. Ben Roethlisberger. Ben is 28, and acts 18. The good: The recent charges of sexual misconduct by a 20 year old U. of Georgia co-ed were dropped. The bad: This is the second time this has happened. Are these girls being bought off? Ben is an embarrassment to his Pittsburgh Steeler teammates and is not a likable fellow. He would fit well in Oakland.

4. Tiger Woods. Do you dislike him because he fooled around on his wife? It doesn’t bother me; it just shows he is not too smart, not unlikable.

5. Jerry Jones. Jerry is owner of the Dallas Cowboys NFL team and thinks he is more important than the league. I’ll love it when a punter hits his billion dollar scoreboard.

6. Mark McGwire. Mark is a baseball cheater. He set the season home run record for major league baseball a few years ago but later it was found he was on drugs. Nice guy, just not smart.

7. Terrell Owens. Owens is another loud mouth, prima donna, unlikable wide receiver in the NFL who fortunately is just about washed up after being with four teams.

8. Alex Rodriguez. As 3rd baseman for the Yankees "A Rod" messed up a good thing. He showed too much greed with money, was caught using enhancement drugs, and left his wife to become a first class womanizer. At least a little restraint might have helped.

9. Allen Iverson. NBA player with Philadelphia 76ers who once told his coach he didn’t want to practice. He never turned down his big paychecks though

10. Gilbert Arenas. Former U of AZ player with the Washington Wizards of the NBA. I would list him in the "not smart" category. He came into his team’s locker room with a loaded gun. He may lose $80 million because of it.

If I was adding some honorable mentions, I may place former major league baseball player Albert Bell on the list although he may not make the 10% awareness list. How about Kobe Bryant, Barry Bonds, and Manny Ramirez? With the Suns set to flounder next year with the loss of Steve Kerr and Doug Griffin in the front office, and the probable loss of Amar’e Stoudemire from the team, maybe owner Robert Sarver should be added as an honorable mention. What do you think?

To leave a comment or read other comments, go to "Jim's azcentral blog" under links. You will not receive a virus. Jim McAllister writes for the Arizona Republic.