We're fools whether we dance or not, so we might as well dance. ~Japanese Proverb

BY A GUEST BLOGGER

If you have been keeping up with this blog, you know that redbaron and his lovely wife, redbaronness, went on a well-deserved cruise.

A couple of days into the cruise, we learned that redbaron had fallen (while feeling well enough to dance!) and had - perhaps - fractured a hip. So the next morning, when the ship pulled into port in St. Kitt’s, he was ambulanced there, examined, and, indeed, had fractured his hip.

Fortunately, they had taken out trip insurance (hallelujah!) which turned out to be terrific. They arranged for everything and, so far, have even paid for most everything.

It was determined that he would get better care and more options were available if he were transferred home. So, the insurance company arranged for a medical flight from St. Kitt’s to south Florida, for him, Rhoda, and their luggage.

Within hours of arriving in the hospital, redbaron was wheeled into surgery. The surgeon - who is a nice LI Jewish boy who apparently is not only drop-dead gorgeous (according to some of the little ol’ ladies of Delray Beach) but known to be one of the best orthopedic surgeons around - did a “minimally invasive” procedure and placed three pins to stabilize the hip.

It is now the day after surgery, and he is already sitting up in a chair asking for a corned beef sandwich.

Rhoda the Baroness has indicated that she was thrilled with everyone who had a hand in helping with what could have been a much worse experience. The ship, the ambulance drivers, the insurance company, the hospital staff, the hotel where she stayed overnight on St. Kitt’s, even the taxi driver who drove her around the island, couldn’t have been more helpful and efficient.

Needless to say, redbaron probably won’t be able to log onto this blog for a while, but perhaps will be calling on guest bloggers to continue to saga and speak for him.

Oh, yes, Rhoda also said for the the few days they experienced the ship (Celebrity Equinox), it was a spectacular cruise, and one of the nicest ships they’d ever been on. The food was great, and apparently, so was the music and dance floor (except maybe a little slippery?)

Goin' Cruisin'

.....Last night Rho and I and two friends went to China Gardens where we intended to indulge ourselves with lobsters. The fact that a Chinese restaurant serves lobsters seems to me kind of strange, but so what. We like lobsters and at that restaurant you can get a one and a quarter pound or a two pound lobster prepared steamed and done perfectly with little or no water on your plate. However, when we got there we encountered and overflow of other lobster lovers, and even though we had reservations all the tables were full and all the chairs outside of the restaurant were full, and many people standing inside and outside. The girl at the counter said our wait would be 15 minutes, but looking around I said in no way would we get a table in 15 minutes--perhaps an hour. We decided to go to a different Chinese restaurant that always serves good food and when we got there we discovered that they also offered pound and a quarter lobsters--a dollar cheaper than the one we left. We were seated immediately because the place was devoid of customers. There were only four people in the booth across from us, and when they left we were the only ones in the room. We all ordered lobsters and when they came, I believed that they weighed only about a pound. We all ate them anyway, and enjoyed the camaraderie.

.....For the next 10 days we are certainly going to eat well because we are leaving on a cruise tomorrow--so there will be nothing to read on this blog until I get back on December 24th. Christmas Eve. I'll hang my stocking on the terrace with care, hopeful that Santa will fill it with goodies--cell phones...or at least dark chocolates. When I was a kid I always believed in Santa and I was convinced that he was Jewish. I still think so, and if you doubt it--then prove that he is not. Now, before he leaves tomorrow morning, the Baron wishes all his readers a Happy Hannakah and a Merry Christmas.

"Stay pure, or burn for sure" (Red Baron)

This is for Ellin Jaeger and Bill Berger...but anyone can participate.

To be, or not to be, that is the question
Meaning
Is it better to live or to die?

Origin
To be or not to be is probably the best-known line from all drama or literature. Certainly, if anyone is asked to quote a line of Shakespeare this is the one that first comes to mind for most people. It is, of course, from Shakespeare's play Hamlet, 1603. Explication follows the soliloquy. Read it first...or last.


HAMLET: To be, or not to be: that is the question:
Whether 'tis nobler in the mind to suffer
The slings and arrows of outrageous fortune,
Or to take arms against a sea of troubles,
And by opposing end them? To die: to sleep;
No more; and by a sleep to say we end
The heart-ache and the thousand natural shocks
That flesh is heir to, 'tis a consummation
Devoutly to be wish'd. To die, to sleep;
To sleep: perchance to dream: ay, there's the rub;
For in that sleep of death what dreams may come
When we have shuffled off this mortal coil,
Must give us pause: there's the respect
That makes calamity of so long life;
For who would bear the whips and scorns of time,
The oppressor's wrong, the proud man's contumely,
The pangs of despised love, the law's delay,
The insolence of office and the spurns
That patient merit of the unworthy takes,
When he himself might his quietus make
With a bare bodkin? who would fardels bear,
To grunt and sweat under a weary life,
But that the dread of something after death,
The undiscover'd country from whose bourn
No traveller returns, puzzles the will
And makes us rather bear those ills we have
Than fly to others that we know not of?
Thus conscience does make cowards of us all;
And thus the native hue of resolution
Is sicklied o'er with the pale cast of thought,
And enterprises of great pith and moment
With this regard their currents turn awry,
And lose the name of action.


ANALYSIS for AMERICANS
.....What Hamlet is musing on is the comparison between the pain of life, which he sees as inevitable (the sea of troubles - the slings and arrows - the heart-ache - the thousand natural shocks) and the fear of the uncertainty of death and of possible damnation of suicide.
.....Hamlet's dilemma is that although he is dissatisfied with life and lists its many torments, he is unsure what death may bring (the dread of something after death). He can't be sure what death has in store; it may be sleep but in perchance to dream he is speculating that it is perhaps an experience worse than life. Death is called the undiscover'd country from which no traveller returns. In saying that Hamlet is acknowledging that, not only does each living person discover death for themselves, as no one can return from it to describe it, but also that suicide is a one-way ticket. If you get the judgment call wrong, there's no way back.
.....The whole speech is tinged with the Christian prohibition of suicide, although it isn't mentioned explicitly. The dread of something after death would have been well understood by a Tudor audience to mean the fires of Hell.
.....The speech is a subtle and profound examining of what is more crudely expressed in the phrase out of the frying pan into the fire. - in essence 'life is bad, but death might be worse'. Especially for adulterous sinners like Tiger; according to Hamlet, Tiger's in big trouble. The Baron's OK--he got rid of his sins on Yom Kippur.

SONNET LXXIII (William Shakespeare)

That Time Of Year....Sonnet LXXIII

William Shakespeare

That time of year thou mayst in me behold
When yellow leaves, or none, or few, do hang
Upon those boughs which shake against the cold,
Bare ruined choirs, where late the sweet birds sang.

In me thou see'st the twilight of such day
As after sunset fadeth in the west;
Which by and by black night doth take away,
Death's second self, that seals up all in rest.

In me thou see'st the glowing of such fire,
That on the ashes of his youth doth lie,
As the deathbed whereon it must expire,
Consumed with that which it was nourished by.

This thou perceiv'st, which makes thy love more strong,
To love that well which thou must leave ere long.


ANALYSIS for those who CARE:
.: :. Shakespeare is leading the reader, through brilliant metaphors, to the realization of inevitable old age, inevitable death, and of an unpretentious view on our mortality. In this metaphor he uses the season of fall, right before the "death" of winter. This time correlates to old age, near to the end of one's life.The most important part of this Sonnet is the couplet at the end: "This thou perceiv'st, which makes thy love more strong, to love that well which thou must leave ere long." This is saying: You see in me-"the twilight of such day, as after the sunset fadeth" (The end of the day, the end of my life)-"the glowing of such fire, that on the ashes of his youth doth lie" (My "light" is about to burn out, my "life" is about to burn out)-He says, "you notice this in me, and your love for me strengthens because before long, I will inevitably leave you, in my death.

"Deck the Halls with bowls of Challah." (Baron)

Late vote coming in for #1. I agree with anonymous NSHS graduate (like myself), you are essential as the daily newspaper, only more so.

.....Now that's the kind of voting I like. No point in voting any more. I will continue to write here whenever there is anything to write about. I'm pretty much out of material; however, I am sure something will pop up. I am happy to say that I published what will no doubt be my last book. It's called "Fires in the Heart" and it's really "Pater Noster in Condoland Vol. VI". I got tired of that and I came up with a new title which came to me in a dreamlike state. I love the cover also. I'm waiting for the proof copy and if it looks OK, I'll buy a book for each of the four sibs. We are leaving on a cruise to the Caribbean on Monday so perhaps I'll have some news about that adventure when we return on Dec. 24 just in time to celebrate Christmas; only I'm not certain as to how to celebrate it. I thought perhaps a tree with a lot of lights on it, and an angel on the top, but Rho talked me out of it. Then I thought of buying some fireworks, and that idea petered out. Now I'm stuck. Perhaps I'll knock on some doors around here and sing Christmas carols--but I don't think that would go over too well, either. Maybe trick or treating. Maybe I'd get a Milky Way or something. It might be worth a try.

.....I just finished reading "Gates of Fire" a historical novel about the Battle of Thermopylae--about 450 B.C. between the allies Sparta and Greece against Xerxes and the two million Persian Army. It seems that all they ever did back then was fight wars unlike our world of today. Those Spartans certainly knew how to fight; however, 300 of them sacrificed their lives so that the Greeks could retreat and deal the Persian fleet of 600 ships a nasty blow. It's hard to believe how they could build 600 ships back then. At any rate life was pretty hard back then--especially for the war widows and their children. But today, we really know how to take care of the war widows and their children whose husbands and fathers lost their lives in Iraq, Kuwait, or Afghanistan. We've learned so much, haven't we, in the 2500 years since Thermopylae.

.....It's time for my midnight snack and in Publix today I picked up two delicious looking bobka cupcakes. Maybe that's a good way to celebrate Christmas.

"If it's surprising, it's useful" (Heraclitus)

.....I got a real surprise yesterday on my email with a message stating that a former student of mine had left a message for me on "Plaxo"--which is something like Face Book, I suppose. So, I followed the link and found this message

"1)Please continue writing the blog every day or so. I believe it is good for most of us, especially those who had the luck and pleasure of knowing and learning from you at NSHS.The blog is a way we can continue to learn from you. You continue to be a mentor!

.....Since I haven't gotten permission from him to use his name, I can at least say that he graduated in 1960 so he must be about 67 years old! I can't even imagine my being able to remember a teacher that I had in high school after 49 years has passed. And another thing that amazes me is how my blogs wind up on Face Book and Plaxo? Anyway, I let him know how much I appreciated his sentiment. These things are a great satisfaction to me knowing that what I was teaching had some lasting influence on my classes--and I don't mean the subject matter; I mean the life lessons. But, I had an advantage over other teachers; I had recently been through a world war and what you learn and pass on to others is of inestimable value.

.....I also received a comment from son, JR, referring to the blog I wrote yesterday. I think it important to repeat it here in the event readers don't go back or don't remember the "cryptic" note about Bonny:

.....Just to relieve the anxiety of your reading public concerned about the cryptic note regarding Bonny: She is fine and her family is fine. There was just a public relations mishap regarding her shop, but everything is now under control.

.....Now for the poll results as to whether or not I must continue to write these things:

1)Montana checks in the a vote for #1. Dave in cold, snowy Montana

2)Don't give up the blog, Cuz - it's a treat! Cuzzin Ruth in rainy England

3)You have to keep writing your blog. I just love seeing you sitting at the computer doing one of the things that you love doing....Writing. RH+

This poll has a plus or minus rating of +75%/-75% certainly not enough to motivate continuance of this blog. I won't be able to write too many more of these because Lady Baron and Red Baron are going on a cruise to the Caribbean on the Celebrity Line ship Equinox from Dec.13 to Dec.24. We've been there before and I have always wondered why so many islands are named St. This and St. That and not one island named after a Rabbi. There's St. Kitts and St. Nevis; St. Lucia, St. Vincent, St. Thomas, and etc. Why not an island named Rabbi Goldberg? At least you wouldn't have to keep eating tacos and fried bananas. You could dine on a potato knish or perhaps what Rho likes, kasha. But you can forget about it. It's not going to happen.

"The common curse of mankind, folly and ignorance." (Troilus)

....."By our deaths here with honor, in the face of these insuperable odds, we transform vanquishment into victory..." Written in "Gates of Fire" by Steven Pressfield in describing the statement of Dienekes to the Spartan army at the Battle of Thermopylae in 480B.C. when all 300 of them were killed by 10,000 of Xerxses forces. It might just as well describe the valor and deaths of our troops at the invasion of Normandy or of the courage of the Marines who died in the landing at Iwo Jima, or the bravery of those sailors who perished in the bowels of the USS Arizona at Pearl Harbor, 68 years ago today. I write this because at a dinner we were invited to at a neighbor's apartment last night a boorish man dominated the conversation because he is apparently afflicted with megalomania for which he really ought to seek a cure because it does him no good.

..... The conversation over dinner began innocently enough with a discussion of Florida's football team's loss to Alabama in the SEC championship game. This gentleman, who otherwise, has a few endearing qualities, or so I am told--insisted that Florida's team and its quarterback were "losers". I reminded him that before this loss, Florida had won 22 consecutive football games, and that I did not consider them losers because they lost a game, championship or no. But he wouldn't hear of it and would not back down from his view that no matter what, they were "losers". I also tried to remind him that during my own experience, coaching team sports for 30 years, I had occasion to lose a few championship games after winning seasons, and that I did not consider my team "losers" simply because they played a team with superior talent that one day. He never let me finish with that fact, interrupting me and saying he didn't care what my experience was. An adolescent reply. I wanted to ask him if he felt the men facing overwhelming odds at Normandy or Iwo Jima or Pearl Harbor were also losers, but I never got the chance to dispute his contumelious views. I could not bear to be in his presence, in an argument I had no chance of winning and so I went home a loser. It won't matter. He doesn't read this blog; I don't know if he reads.

.....I cannot publish this until I say something about our host and charming hostess. Lou is an intelligent guy and lots of fun to be around, although he cannot make me laugh with his jokes. Annette is a fantastic cook--nay cheffette. She made a challah that was out of this world. Her turkey, stuffing, green peas, pickles, cranberry sauce, sweet potatoes, root beer, and potato pancakes were first rate, and her chocolate pudding pie and lemon meringue topped the evening meal. Besides being what we used to call a "balabusta" she is a delightful person and a good neighbor. I cannot say enough about her and Lou.

.....I don't mean to be so harsh on the man who didn't care what I think or what anyone else does, except himself--but I was hurting more than anyone could know because of some disturbing news I received from my daughter, Bonny, in California. News that I am not really free to reveal at the moment, but another blip and another fire in the gut. So, being sociable last night was very difficult. Today should be a better day. Sean, Bonny's son--and my grandson, is 27 now--born on Pearl Harbor Day. Let us all Remember Pearl Harbor--and never forget it.

.....

"Remembrance of things past" (Proust)

.....Well, the votes on my poll are pouring in. We'll soon know whether or not the demand for continuing my blog is so overwhelming (or underwhelming) that it may not be ignored. Meanwhile, I thought in a dream last night that many of my former students would like a bit of nostalgia, and so today I will give them the thrill of recalling their first day of high school. God forbid if some teachers don't have books to give out to the kids right away. This is a good way to postpone lessons. For a day anyway. Something nice and easy and mechanical:

..... "O.K. I don't know your names yet but the first one in each row get up and pass out enough of these books for everyone in your row then come back for these Meanwhile I am going to distribute book inventory cards Now don't write anything on them until I tell you to When you get your books, you'll find a book label inside the front cover fill in the information called for your name the date the book number your grade and the condition of the book do that in ink and make sure you do it because if the book gets lost at least the person who finds it if he or she is honest will know who it belongs to and if he or she brings it to the lost and found office at least they'll know who to return the book to Every year though, somebody forgets to do what he or she is told and winds up having to pay for a lost book Even now I'm willing to wager that someone in this very room even while I'm cautioning you about this will not put his or her name in the book because he or she is thinking about something else--boys about sex--girls about pot while I'm telling you what to do Who doesn't have a book? One of these in my right hand and one of these in my left hand? Remember--in ink Who doesn't have a pen? How in the name of heaven can you come to school on the very first day the very beginning--the very beginning I say-- without being prepared with a pen? When you got up this morning what did you think you were going to do? Go swimming or something? Didn't you say to yourself now what do I need for school? Ah, that's it-- a pen and something to write on School, school, I'm going to school and I'll need a pen? Well, here's a pen kid lucky for you I know from long experience with freshmen that some lunkhead always shows up on the first day without a writing implement so I'm prepared with extra ones but let me tell you and I want you to listen to this carefully and this goes for all of you not just sleepy here that you better not come to my class hereafter without a pen and I noticed too that some of you straggled in here after the bell rang but I realize that the first day you may have had trouble finding the room but now that you know where it is you better make sure that you're in your seats when the bell rings and I don't mean walking around the room talking to friends either I mean in your seats quiet and waiting for the lesson to begin right? I said RIGHT? (class yells out in unison, 'RIGHT'!) I won't tolerate tardiness to my classroom You can ask any of my former students nobody comes late to this class and cutting a class is anathema Now there is your first vocabulary word of the year Better write it down in a vocabulary section of your notebook I said WRITE! (class buries its head in unison and "WRITES"!) Now I see some of you have notebooks already the rest of you should have a notebook by tomorrow I prefer loose-leaf binders and they better be kept neat with reinforcements in the little holes You can buy a box for ten cents and you should have a vocabulary section It means 'cursed' --anathema-- here, I'll spell it for you on the board and it's pronounced 'an-AAAAA-the-muh' Make sure you watch your spelling and pronunciation this year A spelling mistake is worse by far than a grammar error It's a stigma it marks you as an ignorant person and no one wants to be marked that way but who knows maybe some of you don't care There's really no excuse for a spelling error anyway everyone should have a dictionary at home and there are several on the shelf in this room and see that you use them and while I'm on the subject of dictionaries at home there are certain books that everyone should have as part of their home libraries I'm assuming, of course, that you all have libraries started Every home should have a good dictionary and I mean a good one not just a pocket dictionary a copy of the Bible Shakespeare's works how many have Shakespeare's works at home? Raise your hands I said RAISE YOUR HANDS! (all RAISE HANDS!) I'll give you a book list later and we'll go through it and mark off all the books that any educated person should have on his or her shelf if he or she wants to be called educated Now you all have your book inventory cards so follow my directions Put your last name first in the space provided and your first name last Please print Now the title of the first book 'Myths and Folklore' and the publisher now enter the price of the book three dollars and sixty cents that's what you pay if you lose it and now the condition of the book good fair or poor most of these are good now the book number you'll find it on the label inside the front cover now do the same for the other book and make sure by tomorrow they are covered now pass these cards forward and I'll ask this young man to alphabetize the cards What's your name son? Algernon? and they call you Algae? Now we have shortened periods today and the bell is going to ring shortly so in the remaining time I will answer any questions that any of you may have about what we are going to be doing between now and the end of the year Remember this is the beginning of your high school career and you should want to get off to as good a beginning as you can so you won't be sorry you wasted your time at the end and become a homeless person a good beginning means a good end Remember school is like life...begin well end well." (Bells DING-A-LING throughout school in unison!).

...Enough nostalgia? Baron said ENOUGH? (readers in unison say ENOUGH!)

"Quiet! I'm trying to sleep." (Red Baron)

.....The theatre arts class put on its monthly "Showcase" yesterday, and thankfully it was a great improvement over the dress rehearsal held the day before and which I criticized somewhat severely. But something happened overnight which changed my view. I think perhaps the group was in a panic, and studied their scripts all night and into the wee hours of the morning. At any rate, most of the acts were well done, and my particular group did very well, and for the most part remembered my direction. I was quite satisfied with their performance. I don't believe I'll want to perform next month because I'm getting more satisfaction out of directing.

.....Speaking of shows, Rho and I went to the Martz Theatre (formerly Burt Reynold's) and saw Neil Simon's "Lost in Yonkers". It was quite hilarious--involving a disoriented, disjointed Jewish family, and the reaction to its members by two boys--aged 12 & 15, the only sane ones in that nutty household. It was a first rate production and first rate entertainment. Why not? It was Neil Simon. It made me want to write a play, also...but I'm afraid mine would be mostly tragic.

.....I intimated lately that I was going to quit or cut down on this blog after I publish Vol.VI. I do not want to weigh down the bookshelf. But on the way home from the theatre, I attempted to count the number of readers I thought I had. It came to 16 + I don't know how many from Montana--I reckon not too many; only one that I know of. I was kind of flattered when Ruth Grimsley my "cousin" in England wrote that I ought not to quit because my blog is "a treat". I didn't know whether she was comparing it to a candy bar or an ice cream cone--but I don't think it's called an ice cream cone in England. Speaking of England, the U.S. national soccer team will begin their World Cup endeavors on June 12 in South Africa with an opening game against England! Also in their group, fortunately, are two weak teams, Algeria & Slovenia. It's going to be a blast watching those games. But I know that I have a number of readers who couldn't care less. Too bad, they don't know what they are missing. Or do they?

.....For a treat, here are a few more insults you might be able to use:

"I feel so miserable without you; it's almost like having you here."-- Stephen Bishop

"He is a self-made man, and worships his creator."-- John Bright

"I've just learned about his illness. Let's hope it's nothing trivial."-- Irvin S Cobb

"He is not only dull himself; he is the cause of dullness in others."-- Samuel Johnson

.....Lately, all I've read in the papers and magazines; and seen on TV are polls of one kind or another. The media is taken up with polls about this and about that; as if life is determined by the statistics in the poll. I'd like to try out my own poll and see how that comes out. So, vote for one: 1) Continue writing the blog every day or so. 2) Do me a favor and quit writing the blog so often 3) Please, please, stop writing already; I can't take it any longer! and 4) None of the above.

.....Simply write your response in the comment box. Or not.

"The web of our life is as a mingled yarn, good and ill together." (All's Well)

.....I have been thinking lately about what a blog is and about what my own blog is. This definition is from Webster's online dictionary:

Etymology: short for Weblog a Web site that contains an online personal journal with reflections, comments, and often hyperlinks provided by the writer; also : the contents of such a site.

..... Well, I'm not certain of the meaning of "hyperlink" and I don't believe I've ever used one. I prefer to consider my blog rather more of a combination of "bio & log" because I'm really writing a diary or journal of my personal life and thoughts which readers peruse at their peril. For example, yesterday I was pretty harsh in my analysis of the dress rehearsal of our theatre workshop "Showcase", the performance of which takes place today. (I am hopeful that there will be a vast improvement and that the performers have at least studied their scripts a little more diligently last night. I dread their using "street talk" once more instead of watching their diction and their projection so that the audience can hear the lines. ) I started this blog in August 2007 shortly after publishing my memoirs, so this blog takes up where the memoirs left off. Consequently, the story of my life is documented in "Memoirs of a Tailgunner" and in five books thus far of "Pater Noster in Condoland"--(Our father in South Florida!). The sixth book will complete my writings and will sport a different title to wrap up the whole bookshelf--which also contains Robin's book and Joel's book--proudly.

.....I believe I'll continue writing this diary/journal until the New Year, after which I'm just going to hang around. I'll be 86 in February, and so I don't expect there will be too much more to write about my life. It's just about exhausted in adventures and misadventures. After all has been said, done, and written, life is good, regardless of the misadventures. One lives for the good times--and I don't mean "fun" when I say good times. What I mean is for the periods in one's life when happiness is paramount. I've been happy before, but at this point in my life I am happy despite all the losses that I have had to contend with, the worst of which has been the loss of my family life. The mother of my children has been gone for a long, long time to seek her own life. All four of my children and grandchildren have divided themselves around the country, and if I happen to see any one of them face to face once in a while it is appreciated. Other losses, though no less significant, nor as gut wrenching as fires in the heart, have been the loss of my brothers in combat, and the loss of my mobility requiring my use of a cane and a scooter device. I hate it! But the one thing that has allowed me to survive these "misadventures" has been the good fortune of meeting my wife, RH+, formally known as Rhoda.

.....This woman has brought unmitigated joy into my life. When she is home, life is surely good and nothing else matters. I love her when she is in the room I'm in. I love her when she is in the bedroom, the kitchen, the living room. I love her when she goes to her City of Hope meetings; I love her when she goes to aerobics in the morning, I love her when she sees friends to play cards; I love her when she goes bowling; I love her when she puts my socks on (my back will break if I do it); I love her when she is cooking, or doing the laundry. I love her when she is out shopping, or getting her nails or hair done, or lunching with a friend. When this woman smiles, the whole room lights up. I love her when she helps me and cares for me. What I'm trying to say here is that my wife is all woman and she amazes me. She is keeping me alive; I don't know how she does it.

"Tis ten to one this play can never please." (Henry VIII)

.....In Shakespeare's play, "Hamlet", it is revealed that "...something is rotten in the state of Denmark." And Hamlet, depressed and suicidal, says, "...The time is out of joint...O cursed spite! That ever I was born to set it right." And so why does this seem to me to be somewhat similar to what President Obama has to confront today? The answer is that "Ontogeny recapitulates phylogeny." The theory that an organism, in the course of its development goes through the same successive stages as did the species in its evolutionary development. (Bio.301) Simply speaking--but not so simple-- history repeats itself, and the mistakes we make today we are sure to make in the future. If one looks sharply he can see that in our world, "...the time is out of joint." And Obama has arrived apparently as the man to set it right. Perhaps he is the 21st Century Hamlet. I hope not. Hamlet was killed by the tip of a poisoned sword. And he certainly didn't set Denmark right. However, that was at the end of Shakespeare's play. Obama's play has not yet ended.

.....Speaking of setting things right, I doubt that it is possible with the "Showcase" that the Theatre Workshop is putting on tomorrow in our clubhouse. Today we had a dress rehearsal, and in my opinion, it was uniformly and universally terrible. I gave a C- to the group I directed. None of the three in the cast performed as they had done in practice. This club is permitted to read "in concert"; that is "acting" with script in hand during the Showcase event. However, I taught my group ways to hide their script sufficiently so that the audience does not see them flipping the pages. One lady was given a Reader's Digest in which to hide her script while reading, and to hold that magazine on her knees, but she plunked it right on the table where she was sitting. One part of the program had the entire cast, about fifteen people, read "one liners" each, some of which were actually funny, but it was hard to tell. One would think that people studying acting at least ought to be able to commit ONE LINE to memory; that is ONE lousy LINE! The bit would have been 100% more entertaining without having them read ONE LINE from the script held in their hands! I can say much more about the readings of these wannabe actors, but I won't. This is how I get into trouble.

.....I'm certain that someone in the cast reading this assessment of the Showcase might find it insulting (which it is not meant to be). If so they might be inspired to create their own insult to me by reading the following:

.....He has all the virtues I dislike, and none of the vices I admire."-- Winston Churchill"

.....I have never killed a man, but I have read many obituaries with great pleasure."-- Clarence Darrow"

.....He has never been known to use a word that might send a reader to the dictionary.-- William Faulkner (about Ernest Hemingway)

.....I've had a perfectly wonderful evening. But this wasn't it.-- Groucho Marx

.....I didn't attend the funeral, but I sent a nice letter saying I approved of it.-- Mark Twain

.....He has no enemies, but is intensely disliked by his friends.-- Oscar Wilde

.....George Bernard Shaw said to Winston Churchill: "I am enclosing two tickets to the first night of my new play; bring a friend... if you have one." Churchill's response: "Cannot possibly attend first night; will attend second, if there is one."

"All the world's a stage.." (As You Like It)

.....I have been attending the Theatre Arts Workshop every Thursday, and once a month the group produces a "Showcase" in the ballroom involving a few monologues and a few short skits--as well as refreshments. A lot of residents show up for the refreshments or simply because they have nothing else to do. The remainder are there, I assume, to be entertained. These days I have no desire to perform, so I agreed to direct one of the skits. It involves a 60 year old man who has recently retired from his job of 30 years and who is itching to travel, "to live" as he puts it. His wife is not too thrilled about leaving Minnesota with the grandchildren, her son and daughter-in-law, her charities, and her exercise classes. Then there is the travel agent, Ann, who works for the "Ramblin' Motor Homes". The three people are not too sharp at acting as yet, but they do have potential with some help. That's where the Baron comes in as director. One of the problems of directing amateurs here is that everyone seems to have a suggestion. That's what seniors do. When they ask if they can make a suggestion, I say, "No!" and this stuns them and puts them into shock. Then at rehearsals, when their husbands, wives, or relatives are there and one of them interrupts and says, "Baron, may I make a suggestion?" I at once say "No!" Once the director accepts hearing one suggestion then everyone else expects him to accept their suggestions. Pretty soon, Chaos comes marching in.

....I try to explain to the would-be-suggesters that a director is analogous to an artist. The stage is his canvas, and the actors are his colors. He moves them around according to his vision of the play, and if he listens to and accepts a suggestion, then it's akin to the artist handing his brush to someone to paint their suggestion upon his canvas. Then it's not the artist's work any longer. No one would dare offer a suggestion to Rembrandt or Alfred Hitchcock or Clint Eastwood. Or, consider the director as a writer whose stage is his book and whose performers are his "words". If he allows a suggester to come up to him and type a few sentences into his "book", then it's not his work anymore. No one would dare offer a suggestion to Ernest Hemingway. If the director asks a performer to do something his way, and it turns out badly, then he's responsible and is prepared for the blame. But it is his function to reveal his own vision of how it is to be played. However, there is nothing wrong with an actor saying, "Mr. director sir, can we try this line in a different way?" And the director most likely would say, "OK. Let's see how it plays." In this case. it's clear that the actor has not asked if he could make a suggestion, but accomplishes his desire in an acceptable and professional way


.....Insofar as my "English lesson" yesterday, is concerned, there are a couple of comments that are most welcome and encouraging there. My concern is that language study in schools ought not to be prescriptive, but as my "lesson" indicated it is best taught descriptively having students study the oral structures of the language they are trying to learn--not how language is written. Writing is merely a poor representation of the sounds of a language. And, thankfully, this is all I'm going to say about it. This blog is not a whole classroom. And do I hear a big cheer go up? Oh, I do believe I mentioned that my son, Joel, has published a book which in a few weeks will be offered for sale on the internet. It's called "Phases of the Moon."

Now, the family has three books published: "Memoirs of a Tailgunner," "Patriot Dreams," and "Phases of the Moon." Baron thinks that's very unusual. Don't forget the publication of five volumes of "Pater Noster in Condoland," as well as two books of poetry, "Addenda," in color, and "Shadows in the Sunset."

.

An English Lesson (Ross)

.....Remember the other day I wrote that language was oral, not written. Writing is only a weak imitation of language. It does not have the rhythm or the music of language; the connotations, or the dialects. And when one attempts to teach the "grammar" of English, for example, it's not very accurate to define the parts of speech using the traditional methodology. To say a noun is a person, place, or thing is a very weak definition. A structural linguist (such as the Baron) would define a noun as a word that could be inflected for the plural MORPHEME. A morpheme is the SMALLEST UNIT in the language that carries and conveys a unique meaning and is grammatically appropriate. That includes the sound of [ess] in banks, the [iz] in catches, and the [z] in engines. All indicating that the word carries the MEANING of plural.

.....the "PHONEMES" of the plural morpheme are the SOUNDS that make the following nouns, plural: bet(s), bed(s) hors(es), ox(en). Remember a "morpheme" carries MEANING (such as denoting plural); a PHONEME is the sound of the morphemes (ess), (z), (iz), and (en). And I will make this a college lesson in English for you, so you can get your BA. All the latter morphemes, as a group, are called "Allomorphs" of the English plural morpheme. Get it? Now don't blame the Baron for this. My cousin Ruth in England wanted to know more about English (as if she didn't already know a bundle)! Now, is there any good in knowing all this? Probably not. Except that John Fitzgerald Kennedy once said, "In a time of turbulence and change knowledge is power."

.....I have nothing else to say. I'm all worn out from teaching this lesson.

"It is always in season for old men to learn." (Aeschylus)

.....The other day someone told me that they had a friend who could speak 12 languages. I didn't tell him, but to myself I said, "baloney". Perhaps someone might be mensable enough to speak a smidgen of 12 languages, but I don't think they could speak them fluently. In fact I think that even speaking a smidgen of them is chimerical. I had sufficient trouble trying to learn French in high school and four years of Spanish in college. Oh, if I went to France for a year or so, or to Spain perhaps I could speak those languages fluently to a native speaker. But if one cannot live in a country or a section of one's city, for at least a year, where the language is spoken every day, I don't believe you can learn the language. Period. It's difficult enough for immigrants to speak English fluently even if they have lived here for a good length of time. And English is not an easy language to learn. My son, Joel, worked for the government and was stationed in Panama and in Okinawa for more than three years, with his wife and two kids, and I do not think any of them is able to speak fluent Spanish or Japanese. And as far as I'm concerned, teaching a language in school is a waste of time if the purpose is to have students speak it fluently. At least, I never heard anyone who succeeded. I think it much more enriching to expose students to a classical language such as Latin or Greek. But I don't think they do that anymore.

.....For years and years and years teachers in high schools have been teaching English grammar without knowing that they have not been teaching English grammar at all. I say this as a Structural Linguist which was a second major in college. The proper way to teach a language is to teach how the structure of the language conveys meaning. English, for example, is a "word order" language. Its meaning is conveyed by the order of the words and its sounds. (Language is not writing. Language is speech). "Henry brought his mother some flowers" (Noun/verb/pronoun/noun/adjective/noun.) That is the structure of English. But "Henry his mother some flowers brought" is not English. On the other hand, "Henry brung his mother some flowers" is NOT BAD GRAMMAR; it's a dialect of English. "Brung" is a verb, and it is in the correct place for English grammar. It's only bad FOR THE COMPANY IT KEEPS! It is not "standard English". "Brung" is not spoken by educated people.

.....On the other hand, Latin is not a word order language. You can put the words in any order you choose and the meaning would be the same. In the "Canterbury Tales", the Prioress wears a charm which has the lettering "Amor vincit omnia"; love conquers all. But in Latin "Love Conquers All", may be spoken or written "omnia vincit amor, amor vincit omnia or amor vincat omnia". So much for the language lessen, but I have tons more to say about language which does not follow the traditional ways--but is left of center....as usual.

"Amor Vincit Omnia" (Love conquers all)

.....I hope that someone out there had a decent Thanksgiving dinner for I cannot say the same. Three other couples and we were seated at this big round table at the McCormick and something-else restaurant (can't spell it), and I had the traditional turkey plate with white meat turkey slabs underneath which was hidden some mashed potatoes that ought not have been there. To get a forkful I had to lift all the turkey with one hand and grab some mashed potatoes with the other hand. It seems to me that the mashed potatoes ought to have been placed somewhere else on the plate so that I wouldn't have had to look for it/them. However, a load of green beans, some tasteless stuffing and some other unknown inedible substance took up the space where the potatoes ought to have been. I ate a few slices of the turkey and some of the potatoes until I tired of lifting the turkey to get at them. I left the other stuff on the plate. For dessert I had upside-down apple pie, although I haven't a clue as to why they had to turn it upside down--unless they dropped it in the kitchen. For beverages, I had some water, a diet coke, and a cup of lukewarm coffee. For the bill, I paid $65 if you can believe it! Oh, and the valet parking was "complementary." Big deal.

.....I got an e-mail from my cousin in England, Ruth Grimsley, (...how she loves to see her name here), asking that I send her the video of "Pajama Game". I don't know why she wants to see the only musical in which I did not play the lead. However, "Prez" was not a bad part. I used a Bronx "dialect" because you can take the boy out of the Bronx, but cannot take the Bronx out of the boy. Anyway, Ruth said that she loves the music. My big number was "7 & 1/2 cents". She gratefully informed me that in England it's spelled "Pyjama". I often wonder why in England they always go the wrong way--even on the road. Ruth is a wondrous bright lady, and often comes up out of nowhere with quotations like salmons leap out of the water. This time it was another from Geoffrey Chaucer's "Canterbury Tales" in what in academician is written in "middle English." Next to Shakespeare, I do love Geoffrey--although I used to get annoyed when a student pronounced it as "Goffry." There is nothing like the sound of Middle English. I can recite the Prologue from memory, and I used to lull myself to sleep repeating it: "Whan that Aprille (pronounced 'Appreel-a') with his shoures soote, the droghte of March hath perced to the roote..." If you go on with the Prologue which describes 29 people going on a pilgrimage to reach a holy shrine you'll come upon the Prioress, a Nun, who wore a brooch "...on which ther was first writ a crowned A and after...(See title above). I'm wondering why a nun would be wearing an "A"? Wasn't it Hester Prynn who wore the Scarlet Letter?

.....Wonderful stuff. O.K. so you don't like it. Duh! Read the comics. (Baron said it. Don't blame me.)

"Hear me for my cause, and be silent that thou may hear." (Julius Caesar)

.....First of all, Baron would like to wish all his readers a Happy Thanksgiving even for those who do not share my political views. Let it be known, however, that I will continue to voice whatever I care to on this, my beloved blog! Others may have the opportunity to establish their own blogs; after all, it's a free country...right? It may be shocking to say it, however, I am certain there are many in America who wish Lincoln (a Republican) had not signed the Emancipation Proclamation. I believe this to be true. And, in remembrance of one reader who cited polls that showed Obama on the wrong side of 50% popularity, in this country, I'd like to cite some of polls on my own taken by the World Public Opinion Organization that showed US President Barack Obama has the confidence of many publics around the world - inspiring far more confidence than any other world political leader according to a new poll of 20 nations. A year ago, President Bush was one of the least trusted leaders in the world.

.....The figures that were given show how many people in each country polled have confidence in world leaders to do the right thing in world affairs: 70% U.S.; 88% France; 89% Germany; 92% GB; 95% Kenya; 55% China; 89% Hong Kong; 80% India. I can cite as many polls, foreign and domestic, as anyone else can. But the previous Republican president was way, way down on this list of world leaders. This may all be very well, but polls also show Michelle Obama has gone off the charts insofar as popularity in Europe and Asia is concerned. She is a celebrity; a star; a dynamic, magnetic, and charismatic figure. In the world media she is being naturally compared to Jackie Kennedy, and that comparison is likely to grow as this administration grows into its next three years. Is there any doubt that one of Obama & Michelle's accomplishments is, and will continue to be the repairing of any damage done to the world view of America? Is that not one of his top priorities? Along with the wars with Iraq and Afghanistan; the economy, & health care reform? Does the American public expect him to be Superman, Batman, & Arnold Schwarzenegger all rolled into one?

.....In citing my own accomplishments in retirement in yesterday's blog, I had not the space to mention how fortunate I have been in having a V.A. Medical Center located in West Palm Beach. I have been getting free medication, doctors, and dental work there now for 27 years. That has saved me a ton of money. Just consider what the private costs would be for hearing aids and dental work in that length of time. Not only that, I also get "travel pay" reimbursing me for gas and tolls assessed in driving there at least once a week. The equipment is state of the art, and I never have to wait more than 15 minutes past my appointment time--and that should cover over 3000 visits. But not only do I get health care from the V.A., I am also collecting a check each month for service connected injuries, and this check is more than my SS or my HS pension and I enjoy banking it...although I must confess that I spend some of it gambling in our casinos.

.....I should have retired sooner.

"Tomorrow and tomorrow and tomorrow..."(Macbeth)

.....I've been thinking that it's time to take inventory of what's been happening to me since I retired in 1982. So, it's been 27 years that I have lived in So. Florida, but as they say, "...it seems like yesterday." It's been almost as many years as I spent working as a teacher or being married to my ex. I'm not sure how many people live for 27 years after they retire, but I don't suppose it's a large figure...so I'm blessed--no doubt. So what's happened? Have these 27 years been productive? I imagine that I would have to say so. I was in outstanding condition when I arrived here having recently run in two 26-mile marathons. I measured the distance in our clubhouse indoor pool so that I could swim a mile, and so I did swim 80 laps almost every day. I also continued working out in the weight room as I had on Long Island before I retired. Besides these kinds of exercises, I played golf about 3-4 times a week and after several years was able to get down to a 7 handicap. With all these facilities and the conducive weather, I was in 8th heaven.

.....To continue: Since single life was not very much to my liking, I went back to Long Island in 1983, and on June 19th, RH+ and I got married with Col. Rich Higgins as my best man. We had a nice little reception for friends and relatives in the Garden City Marriot hotel, after which I dragged Rhoda back to my condo in Delray Beach where she was not a happy camper. This is a "senior" community and Rho was only 45 when she got here. I was 59. However, now is a different story; she is very active in her charity and in other pursuits like canasta, bowling, luncheons, and beauty parlors. I believe she is a happy woman now that people her age are moving in.

.....One day as I was reading the HLI newsletter, I saw that there was a club calling themselves the "Savoyards" designed after a theatre in London where Gilbert & Sullivan operettas were performed. I read that they were going to perform HMS PINAFORE and since I loved that show, I decided to audition for the leading role of Sir Joseph Porter. I made it. Following that venture came a different show every year in our 600 seat Theatre of the Performing Arts. I played leads in THE MIKADO, THE PIRATES OF PENZANCE, MUSIC MAN, FIDDLER ON THE ROOF, & MY FAIR LADY as well as some minor roles in PAJAMA GAME and a couple of home grown variety shows. Singing and acting in these shows was something I always yearned for and fortunately my wish was granted. I never had so much satisfaction, except for the moment I first held the book that I wrote in my hands. When age crept up on me and I was unable to play golf anymore, I decided to pursue one of my lifelong goals, and that was to write a book. And at the age of 83 I published my autobiography, MEMOIRS of a TAILGUNNER. Since then I continued writing sequels to that book in a blog I called "Home of the Red Baron". That's me. I really didn't know what a blog was, but after writing a few I decided it was a journal and after a year's worth I published a book of them called PATER NOSTER in CONDOLAND. I continued writing and eventually I had five volumes of that blog, and I am now working on Vol.VI. However, this time I will change the name of that book. So, now after 27 years here--that included a 25th Anniversary of our marriage--I conclude that I have really led a productive life in retirement and most likely will continue to do so even if I should stop writing. After that, I have no idea what will happen next.

"Beware of entrance to a quarrel." (Hamlet)

.....I revel in intelligent conversation, especially if it involves a controversial subject that leads to debate which involves civility, then rancor, then depravity, then turpitude, then vituperation, and then, homicide. And hasn't the discussion of the health care bill been a wild ride in the last couple of blogs and in the comments that followed? How much fun can a man take? I have--or the commenters have--pushed several buttons; Jon, Joel, Anonymous, Anonymous II, Mr. Anonymous, etc. And the Red Baron has a clever one, also. I want to thank my supporters who mostly are anti-Anonymous II, but he has a right to free speech according to our constitution. Looks like the whole Anonymous family has chimed in. I am impressed by the quality of writing and in the quality of the arguments which could be presentable in the Supreme Court. Except, of course, for Sarah $$alin, who didn't even bother to defend her vindictive views by sending in a comment. So, I won't read her book, either. It's tit for tat. And thanks to my cousin, Ruth, the brightest star in England, who has researched the history of Exlax in the library at Oxford and has come up with this gem:

,,,,,"Oh God, Norman, I can just imagine that ghastly comment you got. And your response was spot-on. 'For Goddes lov, as tak som laxatyf!' (Geoffrey Chaucer, the Nun's Priest's Tale in the 'Canterbury Tales.')" As you can see they even had Exlax in the 14th Century.

.....This morning I managed to get out of bed at 8am so that I could attend the auditions for the inhouse show in March. I sang a bit of the "Play it again, Sam" ditty, and I did a little reading from a script which everyone else had to do if they cared to act in this show. As for me, I am not too hot to trot on the boards anymore. I figure I've gone past that stage. Unfortunately, the producer called me and asked if I would be interested in a cameo role in the show as a curmudgeon grandfather who is hard of hearing and who has no teeth. Since that seems to fit me perfectly, I don't know how I may refuse. I'll most likely give it a shot when I see the script. What kind of fool am I?

.....It so happens that I've been attending the Theatre Workshop each Thursday in the clubhouse, and on Dec. 4 they are putting on a "Showcase" performance on the small stage in the ballroom. Consequently, since I did not want to perform, I took the job of a director of a short skit. I do enjoy the role of a director, especially if the cast I have is inexperienced. I'm more of a teacher than a director. It's what I do best, except of course, if I am involved in a heated political debate online!

"I understand a fury in your words." (Othello)

.....Finally, at last--we removed the dressing on the melanoma wound today. It has taken over five months since the surgery. I never imagined that it would take that long to heal. I am truly grateful that the pain I had in the first three weeks has gone, and we've only been waiting for new skin to develop on the wound--and it has. We are not going to bandage it anymore. The biggest puzzlement of this affair occurred when I asked the surgeon why I was having so much pain and he replied that he didn't know. I was stunned by that answer to my question. Hopefully, now that I'm free of wound dressing I will not scrape my skin on anything--nor any other part of my body.

.....I received a comment from Anonymous II based on my blog yesterday. This anonymous obviously has anger issues and ought to check into rehab. But that's OK; he or she is merely venting conservative political views just as the Baron has his liberal views. Only this time, Anonymous II has resorted to name calling. Even if implied. After I accused Ms. $$$alin of criticizing the health care bill without knowing all of its ramifications, I was called a hypocrite for doing the same thing in supporting the bill. Only it's really not the same thing; I am supporting the Democratic Party because I trust them, and I applaud their desire and their efforts to see to it that all Americans will have health care insurance. As Obama has iterated, it's a moral imperative; after all, what is government for if not to serve its citizens. And what kind of mischief would occur if there were no government at all? How would insurance companies fare, poor things. Who would be able to afford medical bills? How could a clan exist without laws? Or prisons? Or health insurance? Anonymous really needs to take some ex-lax and a xanex to calm down.

.....Wordsworth was right, "...the world is too much with us, getting and spending, we lay waste our powers" bickering over everything. Our country should try to emulate an ancient city and civilization--like Athens for example:

.....Beyond all other pursuits (including health care) the love of wisdom, "philosophia" was esteemed in Athens in the 4th Century B.C. The life of the mind was cultivated and honored, invigorated by a high culture of theater, music, poetry, architecture and all the arts. Athletes were not given millions of dollars--or whatever coinage existed then. Instead, if they were champions of something, they were given a laurel wreath. Imagine giving Mohammad Ali a laurel wreath? If not, how about a public option insurance policy?

"Man shall not live by bread alone." (Matthew)

.....For the first time that I can recall, three people in my party of four, returned their entrees. This trauma occurred at the Zagat rated restaurant, Outback. Rh+ ordered her fillet steak medium rare with a baked potato (which arrived hard), Irene ordered hers the same way, and Norman, my namesake ordered his prime rib medium. I did fine, my fillet came medium. Rho's steak came cold and raw; same for the other two friends. Natalie, our server, returned those dishes to the kitchen for correction. Manager came over shortly and very accommodating apologized for the problem and promised to do better with the return orders. And finally, they arrived in the proper condition. It was rather weird. Usually only Rhoda's orders arrive unsatisfactory. She has some kind of aura about her that intimidates the kitchen, and it seems that two out of three times that we go out to a restaurant she has to send her order back for one reason or another. Meanwhile, I go on chomping away, and after every couple of bites, take a sip of my diet coke. My usual complaint to our server, nevertheless, is that the ice in my drink is too cold.

.....I already have five volumes of "Pater Noster in Condoland" published, and I really do not want to have six volumes with the same title. After this book of blogs is published, I don't intend to have anymore; so I appealed to readers to offer me a suitable title--one that would capture the themes of these writings and point to my "persona". I can now announce that I have arrived at a title, that has some zest and one that I like. After this collection of blogs, I will follow my son's suggestion, not to quit altogether, but to write one now and then. When that occurs, however, I don't know how my current readers will be aware of it--unless I announce it on Facebook, or Twitter, or any of the other social cyberspace notebooks. The title I've chosen, you ask? Aha, that's a secret.

.....Thanksgiving is coming next Thursday, and I must say I've witnessed a few of them. I'm getting somewhat tired of the traditional turkey, mashed potatoes, gravy, pumpkin pie, and all the other accoutrement's attending the meal of this event. Eight of us will be going to McCormick & Schmich's (Sp.?), a rather upscale restaurant in Boca Raton near to P.K Chang's (Sp.?). I think I might prefer Chinese food or perhaps a pound of Florida stone crabs. Strangely, I don't know of anyone else who likes stone crabs as I do. I don't believe any of my current friends have ever eaten stone crabs. Don't know what they're missing.

.....A victory for Obama, as the Senate has passed a vote to begin debate on a health care reform bill. As predicted, not a single Republican voted for that procedure, and probably not a single Republican will eventually vote for a health reform bill no matter how it will allow most Americans to be insured against sickness. Isn't there some law that denies the right of a legislator to accept money from lobbyists to influence his vote? If not, there ought to be. You have to be brain dead not to realize how the insurance companies are spending millions to defeat any change in health care in this country. Never mind that the AMA and the AARP and the AFT have come out in favor of changes. As usual, Sarah Palin has something to say for the point of just saying it to garner attention and to sell more books. Her criticism of the health reform bill that the Democratic caucus produced is a puzzlement, because she hasn't read it, and she doesn't have access to it. Oh, well, the title of the book in which this blog will be one of many is appropriate to my beliefs. I simply need about 75 more pages. That will come...and then "...the rest is silence."

"It's never too late to make amends." (Red Baron)

…..After my previous blog, in which I was not too kind to the Republican party, (and I feel with good reason), I believe that I ought to say something kind to my readers whom I believe to be somewhat right of center, even though they might not be Republicans; or perhaps they even may be conservative Democrats; while I am a perfectly loyal left of center liberal Democrat. These readers are--never mind. There may even be some friends in Montana. Red Baron understands completely that you are free to take whatever position you choose politically, morally, economically, socially, fundamentally, constitutionally, and conscientiously. I will go no further in this posting than to wish the vote to begin debate on the issue of health care reform goes through in the Senate on Saturday night. Then the battle will be joined.

.....On another subject, I believe I also ought to say something kind to my care givers in the VA Medical Center in West Palm Beach. I have been going there for doctors and medication since 1983; that's 26 years, and never have I had to wait more than fifteen minutes to see a doctor; and whatever medications I need are almost always delivered to my door on time. On the other hand, when I go to a private doctor I often have to wait an hour...but I usually decide to leave after waiting 45 minutes. My time is valuable also. And speaking of having to wait for something, my father who died at the age of 33 from service connected injuries acquired in Aero Squadron 27 during WWI never received a Purple Heart for having lost three limbs. I have been trying to correct that injustice for the past five years; but convincing the military records center is another matter. Finally, after 90 years, my father received his Purple Heart--posthumously. I have framed it properly and proudly, and it now graces an honored wall in my home. Sometimes it pays to ring some bells....or crack some heads.

"Congress needs to be sent to reform school." (Ross)

.....In the paper I read today the Republicans in the Senate said about the health care bill that there would be a "long fierce battle" before some version, at least, is on the President's desk. Sen. Orrin Hatch of Utah said, "It's going to be a holy war!" Is there anyone out there who can give me an explanation as to why the Republican party is so adamant about health care reform? No president, not even Clinton has been able to get past the Republican wall that they have erected to prevent health care reform. "A holy war"? What is this--the Middle Ages? This party has not even tried to present a version of health care reform of their own; just sitting on their butts and complaining about the cost and the budget deficit. There was no deficit in the Clinton admistration. They've done nothing, except for their party getting us into a war costing not only billions of dollars, but also thousands of lives. Health care is supposed to save lives, but they don't seem to care about doing something about that.

.....I don't know if it's their plan to bring down this president or that they have some other motive. I find it beyond the pale of understanding. I am depressed at the idea that our government is so divided that nothing can be done to move this country ahead. Help me out. Give me a reason why Hatch wants a "holy war". President Obama, with the weight of all the problems of this country on his shoulders, promised to reform health care in our country, and he is trying his damndest to see that his promise is kept.

.....A couple of years ago, I bought a Sun Pass for $25 that would allow me to go through the toll gates of the Florida Tpke. without stopping to pay for the toll. Now, the Dep't of Transportation is selling a Sun Pass for $5 and then they put $5 into your account so that the pass winds up costing nothing. I wrote to the Sun Pass people and complained about this practice seeming to be unfair. Their response was that they wanted all Floridians to be able to afford the Sun Pass. Now, how does this practice differ from the idea of Obama's desire to see that all Americans are able to afford health care insurance? Sure is a strange world, and now I'm too old to comprehend it.

.....Oh, well, let's get to another topic. I've been attending a theatre workshop class in our clubhouse every Thursday. The work we do there is quite elemental, but it's fun...the people are funny, and it's something else to do besides writing blogs. During the "season" the group puts on a "show case" in the ballroom once a month. They present a few skits and even some improvs. Since they also provide refreshments, a lot of people attend. The next one is December 4th and a ticket is not required. I told our leader that I would prefer not to perform, but that I would be willing to direct one of the skits. Directing is interesting and challenging. After directing the Pirates of Penzance and My Fair Lady, directing a three page skit is no problem. The thespians do not have to memorize their roles because they do have copies of the skit to read while they perform. This is common practice far off, off, Broadway.

"...and I'm so glad I'm on his side, that boy in front of me." (Anonymous)

.....This morning I met a former student and athlete of mine at a local bagel place for breakfast. It was 11am; I guess it was his lunch and my breakfast, because I rise late and just cannot eat anything right away. In fact, I'm usually still asleep at 11am. Bob Fox graduated from North Shore H.S. in 1960; so that puts him in his middle 60s or there about. He looks great, and I am flattered that Bob calls me every time he comes to Florida. He does look great, OK, but much larger than he was in high school. Bob has a home in Vermont, a verdant state, but too cold in the winter. While we were finishing our coffee, he said that he and his wife will be retiring next year, and will likely move down to Florida. We discussed other students and teachers we had known--and perhaps still know. Of course, Phil Bergovoy (my soul mate and "brother") was one of these people. Bob said that Phil and I were at opposite poles--I guess he meant politically, but I said Phil has a constitutional right to be wrong, and that our disagreements do not matter to me, and certainly not to him. He's much wiser than I am. He graduated from Columbia College, and I only graduated from Columbia School of General Studies.

.....I suppose I was too old for the college, having just returned from WWII. Either that, or my high school grades were too lousy and I did not have the required college preparatory classes. I took typing and stenography so I could be in a class with 30 girls. I know my way around. Well, Bob and I gabbed for two hours and even left on good terms. I couldn't tell him much about me that he didn't already know, because he does read this blog.

.....The other day I received an e-mail from Cousin Ruth Grimsley in England wanting to know what "stickball" was. I wrote her that it was--and still is--a slum-like version of baseball played in the streets, usually between two tall buildings on either side of the cars parked there. Kids steal a broom somewhere, remove the brush, and what remains, of course, is the "stick". Then with a very sprightly rubber ball, called a "spaldeen" (a corruption of Spalding) they bounce it a few times in front of them, and then attempt to hit it with the stick. It it's hit, it might strike apartment buildings on the left or right of the street, but if it's caught bouncing off the building the batter is "out"; if not caught, the batter runs bases laid out on the street in chalk as in baseball, etc. A few windows may be broken in "stickball", and if a police car is spotted, you yell "Police!" and then you disappear--hopefully with the stick and ball. But it's a very interesting game for kids to play for it takes very little equipment in the "concrete Jungle. Because I got fairly good grades in high school, I wasn't the most popular kid on the block, so in order to gain some measure of respect I became a star stickball player. I used to hit the ball "three sewers" and consequently, I was the Babe Ruth of the block, but also the poorly regarded Einstein. Now, three sewers was a prodigious distance--measured by the distance between the sewer covers in the middle of the street. And I never took steroids.