What Lips My Lips Have Kissed

Edna St. Vincent Millay

What lips my lips have kissed, and where, and why,
I have forgotten, and what arms have lain
Under my head till morning; but the rain
Is full of ghosts tonight, that tap and sigh
Upon the glass and listen for reply;
And in my heart there stirs a quiet pain
For unremembered lads that not again
Will turn to me at midnight with a cry.
Thus in the winter stands a lonely tree,
Nor knows what birds have vanished one by one,
Yet know its boughs more silent than before:
I cannot say what loves have come and gone;
I only know that summer sang in me
A little while, that in me sings no more.

There is a scene in "Four Weddings And A funeral" where Andy McDowell enumerates her lovers of the past.  I love that scene first because it is funny and second because old lovers should be remembered, both the good and the bad.

Less than Madonna More than Princess Di (I Hope)



So, do you "remember" the lips you've kissed and where and why?  I do, but I have been very fortunate in the men in my life even the ones who did me wrong or were just "passing through".

Places I Want To Be Rich Enough To Afford

I don't know about you, but one of the things that cause me to surf the web are "dream objects'.  The favorite places and things involving real estate, art, clothing, travel ... just the usual "If I Win The Lottery Tonight" things and events.  Feel free to add your own wishes in comments.

I'll kick off this series with 636 Adelaide Drive in Santa Monica

I want this house so much that I visit the site regularly just to peek at it and drool.  What is special about  it other than it is laid out beautifully in the main residence and has a guest house plus a beautiful pool area.  The ad calls it the quintessential little "big house'.  It is only a few blocks from the Pacific and was once owned by Jennifer Jones.  This was the home where she lived while making one of my favorite movies:  The Portrait of Jennie:

Now I would have to go to the Norton Simon people to find the original portrait and money being no object buy it, but can you imagine walking into the front door of that house and seeing Jennifer Jones as Jennie on the entrance wall.

Just to bring things down to earth, it has the perfect size pool construction for me to lap swim nude every morning.

Gentleman - Pay Attention!!!

Ben Franklin may have been a founding father and all that, but women everywhere owe him a debt of gratitude for this excellent piece of advice to all younger men.

Benjamin Franklin, Advice to a Young Man on the Choice of a Mistress (1745)

June 25, 1745

My dear Friend,

I know of no Medicine fit to diminish the violent natural Inclinations you mention; and if I did, I think I should not communicate it to you. Marriage is the proper Remedy. It is the most natural State of Man, and therefore the State in which you are most likely to find solid Happiness. Your Reasons against entering into it at present, appear to me not well-founded. The circumstantial Advantages you have in View by postponing it, are not only uncertain, but they are small in comparison with that of the Thing itself, the being married and settled. It is the Man and Woman united that make the compleat human Being. Separate, she wants his Force of Body and Strength of Reason; he, her Softness, Sensibility and acute Discernment. Together they are more likely to succeed in the World. A single Man has not nearly the Value he would have in that State of Union. He is an incomplete Animal. He resembles the odd Half of a Pair of Scissars. If you get a prudent healthy Wife, your Industry in your Profession, with her good Economy, will be a Fortune sufficient.

But if you will not take this Counsel, and persist in thinking a Commerce with the Sex inevitable, then I repeat my former Advice, that in all your Amours you should prefer old Women to young ones. You call this a Paradox, and demand my Reasons. They are these:

i. Because as they have more Knowledge of the World and their Minds are better stor'd with Observations, their Conversation is more improving and more lastingly agreable.

2. Because when Women cease to be handsome, they study to be good. To maintain their Influence over Men, they supply the Diminution of Beauty by an Augmentation of Utility. They learn to do a 1000 Services small and great, and are the most tender and useful of all Friends when you are sick. Thus they continue amiable. And hence there is hardly such a thing to be found as an old Woman who is not a good Woman.

3. Because there is no hazard of Children, which irregularly produc'd may be attended with much Inconvenience.

4. Because thro' more Experience, they are more prudent and discreet in conducting an Intrigue to prevent Suspicion. The Commerce with them is therefore safer with regard to your Reputation. And with regard to theirs, if the Affair should happen to be known, considerate People might be rather inclin'd to excuse an old Woman who would kindly take care of a young Man, form his Manners by her good Counsels, and prevent his ruining his Health and Fortune among mercenary Prostitutes.

5. Because in every Animal that walks upright, the Deficiency of the Fluids that fill the Muscles appears first in the highest Part: The Face first grows lank and wrinkled; then the Neck; then the Breast and Arms; the lower Parts continuing to the last as plump as ever: So that covering all above with a Basket, and regarding2 only what is below the Girdle, it is impossible of two Women to know an old from a young one. And as in the dark all Cats are grey, the Pleasure of corporal Enjoyment with an old Woman is at least equal, and frequently superior, every Knack being by Practice capable of Improvement.

6. Because the Sin is less. The debauching a Virgin may be her Ruin, and make her for Life unhappy.

7. Because the Compunction is less. The having made a young Girl miserable may give you frequent bitter Reflections; none of which can attend the making an old Woman happy.

8thly and Lastly They are so grateful!!

Thus much for my Paradox. But still I advise you to marry directly; being sincerely Your affectionate Friend.

Comeback Special - 1968

On June 27 - People sat down to watch The King reclaim his crown

Ernestine is Alive and Well - One Ringy Dingy Two Ringy Dingy

A friend of mine, John Middleton, recently relayed this tale of woe on his blog First Century Christian which I am reprinting below. Now John is a mild mannered and patient man, but dealing with the modern version of Ernestine would try the patience of a saint and drive any lesser man to drink. A T & T in its corporate complacency has a rather "you need us more than we need you" about what they laughingly call customer service. I'm sure Lily Tomlin could find a comedy routine in here somewhere, but John might have a little trouble laughing.

-----------------------------------------------------

The Phoneless in Society
June 25, 2011

Mr. Randall L. Stephenson
Chairman, CEO and President
AT&T
208 S. Akard St.
Dallas, TX 75202

Dear Mr. Stephenson,

I would like you to regale you with a short story about AT&T that I am sure will amuse you.

We have been AT&T wireless customers for over ten years and Robb Hall at our local store, Wireless One In Bella Vista Arkansas, is one of the best customer service people out there. He has helped us for more than ten years.

But my tale began June 3 when I decided to take advantage of AT&T's offer to upgrade my system, with a new two year contract and new phones for my wife and I, several months before our contract expired. What a nice offer!

We went to the AT&T Corporate store, 20 miles away in Rogers, Arkansas, to look at selection and features for the phones. We concluded a nice Motorola Atrix 4G would be just what the doctor ordered for $99.00 apiece. But I thought I'd better check online first! Lo and behold, online offered a refurbished Atrix 4G phone at 49.99 each! Such a deal! We ordered them and they duly arrived several days later. Unfortunately we couldn't turn them on nor unlock them, no doubt due to our decrepit age. We are both 70 after all.

So, we sent the phones back and asked for working ones. Your nice customer service representatives agreed to Fed Ex them to us, and we received the working replacements within a couple of days. You then received the non- working originals back on 6-20-11.

The new phones were magnificent! We could get e-mail! Text! Go on Facebook and twitter! Check our minutes! Navigate and track our positions on the earth with a GPS! Magnificent! Unfortunately, what we could not do was to figure out how to answer the phone, transfer our contacts, set up a speed dial system, or make a call. We are old. And we figured the problem was ours, so we took it to our local phone store in Bella Vista, AR, where one of the aforementioned best customer service reps, Robb Hall, works. Since we had ordered online Robb couldn't do much but took the time to educate us in how some of it worked.

Robb patiently explained we were not educationally challenged and showed us where to go to download the manual, which we did.

We could make calls! Even receive them! Great.

But, in about two weeks it became apparent that a Motorola Atrix 4G was much too much phone for us. We don't text. We don't need to go online and tweet or twit or Facebook or SOCIALLY NETWORK WITH ANYONE! We are apparently both Luddites and challenged in the social department. It is a major effort to text with arthritis of the thumbs, not to mention other decaying body parts. We need a phone to make calls! Despite the fact that our children no longer communicate by any means other than text we keep attempting to call them. Perhaps you could explain what "B4 C:md ph I" means.

Now the fun began. I called your online customer service center on Jun 23rd to say the phones were too much for us and we would like to exchange them.

Endless wait for the disembodied voice to get me to a human...no option for that. I could buy a new phone, check my bill online or amend my service plan but I could NOT, under any circumstance, talk to a human. I persevered. Three redials, a broken fingernail a few verbal mortal sins and several missed options later I got my human. Whose response was "No problem! Simply return the old phones to us using the USPS return sticker we provided and go to the AT&T store, decide which replacement phones you would like, then call us back, give us the model and we will send you the new one's". Oh Joy, Oh Rapture! Sounded fair to me! So we sent the old one's back and kept the tracking number.

I picked my wife up at work over lunch, and we drove the twenty miles to the store. We found a basic phone a Pantech Breeze II which my wife liked, but the salesperson said we would have to wait until the old phones were received by AT&T to get the new one's......Otherwise $119.00 per phone.

"What?", I asked, somewhat bemused. "We have to go without phones for two weeks or so while the mail system handles the return?", I asked rather stupidly. "Yes" was the reply. "Why then did your customer service people tell me to return the phones which I did this morning and they are now in the hands of the USPS, an organization I would rather not mess with".

"I am sorry sir, whomever told you that online (someone named Gloria at God knows what location) exceeded her authority."

"What do we do now", I asked, descending into a state of existential angst to rival Kafka on his best day. "I have no phone."



I began the process at 8:47AM, lunch and the visit to the AT&T corporate store was about noon and I was finished about 5:35PM. In that interim I talked to 7 people, three of whom attempted to help me. Bonnie Capman in Huntsville, Alabama gave it a good shot. "I've corrected the records and you should have no problem now. I have noted the file that you are to get the new phones at the upgrade rate."

So I returned to the Corporate store 20 miles away and spoke to Doreen Smithers who showed me the phones and said, "no, the records have not yet been altered and you must wait until AT&T receives the old phones....COMPANY POLICY!" There it was, that dreaded word that strikes fear in the heart of every customer....Company Policy"...the decree from the great beyond. So I went home.

Back online, this time to two men, one who transferred me to a "supervisor", who in the final analysis after more than thirty minutes online, told me there was nothing he could do....COMPANY POLICY...

I pointed out I had already paid for the old phones which were in the mail. Couldn't they just give me new ones at the upgrade price and if it turned out I was mistaken about returning the old ones, simply bill me for the new ones at the NON-UPGRADE price.

Apparently not, "Because, (according to your Customer Service Supervisor) how do I know if you are telling the truth that you returned them." A rather interesting twist. Imply the customer is lying and probably cheating you. Great customer service!

I said:

1) Here is the USPS tracking number. They have had it since 10:57:48 AM and it is now 3:20.

2) What difference does it make if I am lying you will simply bill me later.

3) Why must you receive the old phone, I have the SIM card, the old phone is useless.

4) Where did you hone your customer service skills..... Dachau?

I am sorry for that last comment, it was most ungracious and unreasonable.

He replied, I am sorry sir...COMPANY POLICY.

I hung up and fixed myself a beer and a plate of chocolate not knowing whether inebriation or a sugar high would be preferable. So I did both.

After I simmered awhile and took a short catnap, I called again to the now achingly familiar Customer Service Center to say I felt it unreasonable I should go without phones for two weeks since we have no land line.

Lo and behold Brenda Britt of the Longview, TX service center agreed with me! (Don't you agree there is just something about those Texas women. )

She looked into the matter and discovered dear Bonnie Capman had simply failed to get supervisor approval for the exchange. Within about thirty minutes of holding, my upgrade had been cancelled and received supervisor approval and I could go into any store and upgrade my service to a Luddite phone at the "upgrade price" ! WOW! Thanks Brenda!

So I called the AT&T store in Rogers. Perhaps, under the circumstances, a bit of whimsy on my part...or possibly a grim fascination with Dante. Seven redials later ("We are sorry we are very busy helping other customers"), in frustration I called my wife in the Home Office of Wal-Mart to cry and moan a little. She said I'll call Doreen!

Four minutes later I received a call from Doreen. "Your wife called from the Wal-Mart Home office and asked me to call you." The words "Wal-Mart Home Office" has apparently mystical properties rivaling the Minotaur or Sphinx in inscrutability.

"Doreen, my sweet, will you check to see if the records are cleared so I can get the new phones you showed me earlier today?"

Of course.......no not yet I have spoken with my supervisor and COMPANY POLICY......

I sank into a fit of despair rivaling Van Gogh before the ear cutting. "Why great God in heaven have you abandoned me to this cruel fate?"

Redial Brenda...unbelievable trouble to find the same person in the same call center.

"Yes it has been changed Mr. Middleton as I told you. The store person didn't check closely enough. We have completely cancelled your upgrade and you are free to go in any store and upgrade to the phone of your choice at upgrade prices."

Once again Brenda, you have exceeded all expectations and marched directly into the halls of Valhalla trailing a scent of..........well, never mind.

Redial my AT&T corporate store....five, six, no seven times. "Hello Doreen my lurking little cherub would you mind checking the records one more time?"

"Of course Mr. Middleton. Oh, here it is! they've cancelled the upgrade! You are free to come in and pick out any phone at upgrade prices."

Terrific, Doreen, my dappled little pudding, how much is the upgrade price for a Pantech Breeze II"

$119.99"

"But that was the retail price without the upgrade, right?"

"Right they are the same."

You mean I spent all day.........no, no. Surely you jest, mon petit!"

"No sir, there is no discount whether upgrade or not."

"So my Motorola Atrix 4G, which cost $99.95 new or $49.95 refurbished, and texts, goes online, has wifi, internet and bluetooth whatchamacallit, has 34 different ringtones and operates by voice command and has been blessed by the Pope and the internet gurus as "the best damn smart phone out there",with, if I am not mistaken an app that will raise the Confederate flag while whistling "Dixie", is cheaper than this little Pantech Breeze II which is just for making calls? It's $119.99?

"Less rebate which comes to you in the form of a credit card. And the data plan and text plan...."

"I'm talking about the cost OF THE PHONE, Doreen." I checked with my Non-corporate store here and it is $99.95 less rebate according to Robb Hall who is rarely wrong

"Yes sir. It is more. I don't know why."

I don't know why either. It is now 7:45 at night and I am finished with phones today. I am going to pull out my SIM card, return my neighbor's phone and if I have a heart attack tonight and cannot raise the ambulance I will come back from the dead, move next door to you at 207 S. Akard St. in Dallas and appear throughout the AT&T corporate offices as a dreadful apparition, hovering over cubicles, rattling chains and moaning viscerally throughout the day.

Since I got what I wanted I have few complaints..........I guess. We will see what happens tomorrow.

I may call customer service again just to have a moment of humor.

Very truly yours,

John P. Middleton, the phoneless

5 On Friday - Noteworthy Soul

Our friend Travis over at Trav's Thoughts has this fun Friday meme.  To join in, simply sign in on his website and then share your selections with the world.

On June 24, 1964 Sam Cooke, preceded by a 70-foot billboard in Times Square began a famous two-week engagement at New York's Copacabana that would come to define the beginning of "supper-club soul." He sang everything from soft rock to standards of the previous thirty years.  Here are some of his hits and a couple of my favorites such as the one below:  The theme song from "Moulin Rouge" starring Jose Ferrer shown here with the images of Toulouse Lautrec and his paintings.













Sam Cooke is sort of like potato chips. You can't listen to just one. This amazing entertainer that we lost way too young has many more cuts on You Tube.  Feel free to browse among some of the others.


Keep Movin' On

Good Morning Heartache

Stand By Me

Hold On

Remember When

Just An Echo

Travis over at Trav's Thoughts put up this tribute to Clarence Clemons and the music was so beautiful, I wanted to make sure everyone possible heard it. So I am simply echoing and linking all over the place.





The Big Man

11 January 1942 - 18 June 2011

"I wanted an electric train for Christmas but I got the saxophone instead."

-----------------

Thank you, Mr Clemons, for the music. And thank you, whoever it was, for not buying the electric train.

Happy Father's Day

Robert White, Jamie White, Theresa Larrabee, Lanisa Larrabee

When my father died, I cried for three days and a friend asked why when he knew that our relationship had been difficult for a variety of reasons. I said I was crying because I missed "might have been". Years later I heard Amanda McBroom's "Errol Flynn" and cried again because so many of the images reminded me of my youth in Los Angeles and events with my own dad.  It took me a long time to get past the alcoholism, the long absences, the lack of support ... everything that had made so much of my life difficult and finally reach the "honor thy father" commandment.

He had been torn from everything he knew at the age of seven for a long voyage to a strange land with parents trying to escape the poverty that had descended on Scotland's mining towns in the min 1920s.  They arrived here just a few years before the 1929 crash and the mire of the long depression with his beloved mother dying at Christmas in 1934.   It took a long time for me to piece together all the secrets and lies to find this brilliant, funny, and talented man who loved to dance, loved fine dining, loved theater, loved travel, loved great music and to realize how in passing through he had somehow gifted me with all those things.

"Disappointment and bourbon are hard on the heart"

He died way to young, at 63 only two years after the above picture.  He had just celebrated his 10th birthday with AA but coming from a long lived family, he had lost 30 years of life to his demons, but at least did get to see his first great grandchild.

Amanda has a line in the song, "It's a sad funny feeling now I'm older than him".  Eventually we all must come to terms with the past and lay the ghosts to rest.  Only then can you forgive the pains and cherish to blessings.  Even if your father had given you nothing more than life, it is a beginning, an opportunity, a road to be traveled.  When you add in all the other gifts no matter how rare, you can finally say, "Happy Father's Day."

So you daddies and daughters
You sons and you mothers
Remember life's over before it begins
So love one another
And stand close together
As close as my dad did
To old Errol Flynn

5 On Friday - Legses for Travis

5 on Friday - The Legses Edition

Travis of Trav's Thoughts invented the 5 On Friday meme.  If you would like to play along, just click the link to visit Trav for the simple rules, sign in, and share your musical selections.

Today is a sad anniversary as Cyd Charisse passed away on this date in 2008.  My only connection to her was one of those six degrees of separation examples in that my step sister studied dance under Cyd's first husband,  Nico Charisse.  There are times when a city of millions actually can feel like a very small town if you happen to be anywhere close to one of its major industries.  Despite the sad date, we all know there are two things beloved by Travis in addition to his lovely Pam:   Dancers and Legses.  Give him a dancer with long, beautiful legses and he is a happy man.  So here is a dancing lady with a pair of legses that have never been equalled.

Any Questions?

BEES

NO BEES

A WORLD WITHOUT BEES

The blog at the above link is a constant update on the causes and possible solutions for colony collapse

Tony Numbers

Opening with Neil Patrick Harris



NPH and Hugh Jackman - Anything You Can Do I Can Do Better / You're The Top

About That Tonys Rap
By DAVE ITZKOFF, NY Times

Neil Patrick Harris, the host of this year’s 65th annual Tony Awards, closed the ceremony with a rap composed by Lin-Manuel Miranda. In case you missed it, here is the video and transcript.



Tomorrow, if anyone asks you what happened at the Tonys, you can say this:

We straightened things out in the opening number, Ellen Barkin and John Benjamin Hickey took home awards for their hilarious performances in “The Normal Heart.”

Daniel Radcliffe kicked some butt, and we were so elated

Even Voldemort was sad he wasn’t nominated

Norbert Leo Butz sang and danced and tried to catch ya, comin’ atcha,

Chasing Trey and Casey ‘cause they nabbed a Tony statue

Commencing in the Chattanooga station

From the grand imagination of the Kander-Ebb collaboration

It takes a lot for a recipient to humble me

But everybody cried for gorgeous Nikki James, the bumblebee

Andrew Rannells sang “I Believe” and he landed it

So well now he’s Mitt Romney’s V.P. candidate

All across the country, from the north and to the south

They’re saying Brooke’s a hottie with a crazy potty mouth

John Larroquette brought an eloquent mood to the room

I’m still imagining him at home in his Fruit-of-the-Looms

Spider-Man and Mary-Jane gave us perspective here

They sang a ballad, we didn’t need protective gear

Patina Miller’s nun sang “Raise Your Voice” with cheer

And “Memphis” is relentless, they’re performing every year

“The Normal Heart” won, Larry Kramer made us weep

And “War Horse” dazzled us with a theatrical sweep

Sutton Foster never lost her knack

For talking smack

And tapping a full-on assault attack

I’m awesome, Hugh Jackman, take that

Go ahead and roll the credits if you need to

I’m out of control, I’m on a roll, this is my Tonys speed-through

“Anything Goes” took the best revival prize in stride

We didn’t see it, we were singing “Side By Side By Side.”

McDormand loves her job, Sutton Foster won again

Paul Shaffer sang and suddenly it started raining men

Mark Rylance runs at fences, he’s won the Tony twice

That guy can do it all, his follow-up is “Fanny Bryce.”

Norbert Butz and “Mormon” swept the floor,

Won even more awards than “War Horse”

Par for the course,

Someone get a car for the horse

And in the final analysis, what survives tonight?

Theater, because it’s what we live, we’re changing some lives tonight

And theater thrives because we live to give it, so to speak

This ain’t reality TV, this is eight shows a week

Every chorus member that you saw tonight tappin’

Had to make miracles happen

For a chance to see you clappin’

And applauding in the audience. What’s next? Who knows?

Anything goes. Now go see a ____________ Broadway show.

Thank you, good night.

A Toast To The Ladies

Jeannette Pickering Rankin (June 11, 1880 – May 18, 1973) was the first woman in the US Congress.


Busy Day so in honor of it being Ms. Rankin's birth anniversary, I'm reprinting an old column.  We know what has happened to Hillary since it was written.  In an age of almost unending scandals, it would seem that the women have truly served us well.


----------------------------------------

Whether you love her, hate her, or are just totally indifferent, these days when you think of a Democrat woman senator with a connection to Arkansas, the name that pops to mind is Hillary Clinton. Within the next couple of years we may be considering the possibility of electing a woman to the Presidency. What is remarkable is that the very first woman senator was a Democrat from Arkansas.

This is the day that Ophelia Wyatt Caraway became the first woman to be elected to the U.S. Senate. Caraway, born near Bakerville, Tennessee, had been appointed to the Senate two months earlier to fill the vacancy in Arkansas left by her late husband, Thaddeus Horatio Caraway. With the support of Huey Long, a powerful senator from Louisiana, Caraway was elected to the seat. In 1938, she was reelected. After failing to win renomination in 1944, she was appointed to the Federal Employees Compensation Commission by President Franklin Roosevelt.

Although she was the first freely elected female senator, Caraway was preceded in the Senate by Rebecca Latimer Felton, who was appointed in 1922 to fill a vacancy but never ran for election in her own right.

Jeannette Rankin, elected to the House of Representatives as a pacifist from Montana in 1917, was the first woman to ever sit in Congress even though women outside of Montana were not allowed to vote until 1920. She is remembered as a profile in courage because as a pacifist she voted against both WWI and WWII.

Over the many years since suffrage was finally approved in the United States, there have been many women from all parties in the House and Senate, some appointed to replace husbands or sons, others who have faced the voting public in their own right. All of them have brought a viewpoint and strength that Congress did not have before their arrival.

5 On Friday - Go Fly A Kite

Go Fly Five Kites

This great meme is brought to you by Travis of Trav's Thoughts.  Simply click on the link for the rules/no rules and to sign in so that others can share your selections of weekly music.

On this day in history in 1752, Benjamin Franklin got the bright idea of flying a kite in raging lightening storm and not only survived this challenge to Darwin's theory but ended up inventing the Lightening Rod.  Since he was successful with one toy, I thought five more might be in order.

Les Paul Google Salute

Do not miss the wonderful Google Guitar in honor of Les Paul

Then you can take a few minutes to listen to the master himself playing with another genius, Chet Atkins, on "Birth of the Blues". Unfortunately, you will have to use the link to You Tube as this is one of those "embedding disabled events. Another link to get you to the Les Paul page for a listen to Les Paul and Friends

Queen's Meme #86 - The Cell Phone Meme

Ring Ring! Viiiibbbbbbbrrrrraaattte. Buzzzzzz Buzzzzz

It's Mimi on the line. Electronic gadgets have taken over our lives it seems. I can't go anywhere without seeing someone talking on a cellular phone or fixated on one of the newest toys. Doesn't it annoy you? On the other hand, how did we ever get along without them?
Call or text 1-800-Bloggingham. We'll chat!

Her majesty, Queen Mimi of Bloggingham, hath issued her weekly royal decree. To participate, simply sign in at The Queen's Meme and try to answer and share the questions every Tuesday.

1. How important is a cell phone in UR life? – I like the convenience of anyone getting to me in an emergency. Other than that it’s of no importance at all.

2. R U addicted to UR cell phone? – You have got to be kidding. Stemming from my years as a telephone operator. I HATE TELEPHONES. They are to be used for necessary communications or not used at all.

3. R U a texter, an emailer, or a photo sender? – Oh please, see above. In self defense I have learned to text one granddaughter because she apparently can’t talk so I have to text answers for her to see the answers at all.

4. In the normal course of a day, about how many times do U touch UR cell phone? – Once and on rare occasions twice.

5. R U guilty of distracted driving? – I’m guilty of distracted living.

6. What is the 1 app never invented that needs to be made for UR cell phone? – How to eliminate people I don’t want to talk to before the darn phone rings.

7. What annoys U the most about cell phones these days? - Loud talkers who don’t seem to realize that we really don’t need to know about your last visit to the gynecologist or a chew by chew description of their last meal.

The absolutely worst things about cell phones is that they have almost eliminated that wonderful invention:  The Answering Service.  You could hire people to answer your phone for you and you only had to to talk to one person to find out all the people you were going to ignore.  It also means that one of the best musicals ever is now passe, but let's hear it one more time for Sue's Answerphone where the Bells Are Ringing and where you can find a lovely love song that should never be interrupted by a ringing phone

Today We Are Five

Five years ago today, I kicked off this blog with an article about my trip to Scotland that featured the pictures shot while I was there.  One of the most striking places was Glen Croe.  I had a good picture taken while there, but found this one on line recently that captured even more of the dramatic landscape of this part of the Loch Lomand and  Trossachs National Park.  If you get to Scotland, this an unbelievable area for all sorts of adventures in nature and here you can "Rest and Be Thankful".

Glen Croe as seen from Rest and Be Thankful shot by Richard Harvey November 2006

Other momentous events that occurred on this day in history:

1944 - D-Day Invasion by allied troops on the beaches of Normandy, France

1966 - Miranda Rights established by Supreme Court Decision

You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say or do can and will be held against you in the court of law. You have the right to speak to an attorney. If you cannot afford an attorney, one will be appointed for you. Do you understand these rights as they have been read to you?

1967 - Thurgood Marshall   Appointed to Supreme Court

1975 - Number One Country Hit courtesy of Linda Ronstadt




Born On June 6

1599 – Diego Velázquez, Spanish painter (d. 1660)

1756 – John Trumbull, American painter (d. 1843)

1799 – Alexander Pushkin, Russian poet (d. 1837)

Unforced, as conversation passed,
he had the talent of saluting felicitously every theme,
of listening like a judge supreme
while serious topics were disputing,
or, with an epigram - Surprise
of kindling smiles in ladies eyes.

1952 – Harvey Fierstein, American actor and author of one of my favorite plays/movies:  Torch Song Trilogy

            though most might be more familiar with this character from Hairspray

Let the celebration begin - You Can't Stop The Beat (side note:  If you are a Glee fan, you might recognize the love interest in the white suit).

5 On Friday - Rock & Roll Will Never Die

Another 5 on Friday courtesy of Trav at Trav's Thoughts rolls around. Stop by to sign in and go forth to share your choice of music.

On June 2, 1956 there was a Saturday night dance party held at the  Santa Cruz Civic Auditorium featuring  the music of Chuck Higgins and his Orchestra, a Los Angeles group with a regional hit record called "Pachuko Hop." Santa Cruz police entered the auditorium, and what they found, according to Lieutenant Richard Overton, was a crowd "engaged in suggestive, stimulating and tantalizing motions induced by the provocative rhythms of an all-negro band."  Lt. Overton immediately shut the dance down and sent the disappointed teenagers home early.  On June 3, 1956, city authorities announced a total ban on rock and roll at public gatherings, calling the music "Detrimental to both the health and morals of our youth and community."

I wanted to give you a feel for the hit songs of 1956 so there are more than five.  Then below are the tracks on the first two RCA albums from Elvis Presley both released in 1956.  Santa Cruz didn't stand a chance.

Released March 23, 1956 - Elvis Presley

Blue Suede Shoes
I'm Counting on You
I Got A Woman
One-Sided Love Affair
I Love You Because
Just Because
Tutti Frutti
Trying to Get to You
I'm Gonna Sit Right Down and Cry (Over You)
I'll Never Let You Go (Lil' Darlin')
Blue Moon
Money Honey

Released October 19, 1956 - Elvis

Rip It Up
Love Me
When My Blue Moon Turns to Gold Again
Long Tall Sally
First in Line
Paralyzed
So Glad You're Mine
Old Shep
Ready Teddy
Anyplace Is Paradise
How's the World Treating You?
How Do You Think I Feel

Once Upon A Memory

Linda over at "Are We There Yet?" asked me to expand on this mention in a tweet about Jerry Northrup and my all too innocent years,  and it was too much fun not to comply

I may be the only straight woman in the world who watched the shower scene in Australia with her hand over her mouth so that no one would hear her shrieking with laughter because a great big memory had just jumped up and bit her in the heart and it is all Jerry Northrup's fault.

Just to refresh your memory (as if you needed it):  Hugh Jackman being unbelievably gorgeous and desirable in Australia with Nicole Kidman's eyes registering the fact:





Now let's step back  (STOP REPLAYING AND COOPERATE NOW!!!) in time to a much more innocent age:  1957 to be exact when I spent the summer with my girlfriend Cookie in Fresno.  What you should know about Fresno in the summer of 1957 is that it is one of the arm pits of the western world -  HOT, DUSTY, and UNBEARABLE and the only relief is under the trees because no one has air conditioning other than swamp coolers which means HUMID and HOT.  Cookie has an older brother Kenny and Kenny has an older friend Jerry.  It is Cookie's birthday and Jerry has been dragooned into being a chaperon for the party because Cookie's mom has to work.  Scenario is now set:

Is there a class somewhere that teaches tall, slender, confident boys how to walk to make an impression so that they look like cats stalking?  Just wondering about that.  Jerry stalks into the yard in said cat like fashion  and after a day of working construction with his dad he is dirty, hot and sweaty and he immediately strips off his T-Shirt, turns on the water faucet and lifts the hose above his body while shaking his hair as the water streams over his face and body that has now formed that perfect line from wrist to hip of muscles only seen on tall slender men who regularly lift heavy objects.  Yum, Drool and Oh My God I'm melting !!!!  See above for object lesson.

Back to 13 year old girl on back stoop of house watching the above as every hormone known to the female species kicks in violent enough to almost knock her off the porch and then above magnificent male sits on the step below her as she watches the teardrop of water run down his back  ... (In case you men don't think this happens at this age, the squelched idea was to lick that water drop ... help help whimper oh yes it did but I didn't but I really, really wanted to yes I did!)

Fast forward to that evening where the "children" are dancing in the garage and then it all quiets down to playing spin the bottle as the newly aware woman-child is bored with the other 13/14 year old babies and comes out into the yard where Jerry is under a tree.  She says, "What are you doing here?"  He says, "Waiting for you." How did he know with that much confidence or was he just trying out the line?   She simply slid into his arms and the kiss that followed was very very special simply because it was the first between a female newly arrived to oh let's call it what it was "lust" and a very young male who was just finding out about his power.  See Princess Bride for the description of said kiss.



What happened next?  - I  leave you to your own scenarios and overheated imaginations if you want to stop here you can.

It truly was an innocent age.  13, 14, 15 summers.  to his 17, 18, 19 summers.   I came to town every year and he broke up with whomever because I was there to make his life a  (only from the waist up for me) living hell from the waist down for him. The rules were simple.  "Good girls"  didn't do that "sort of thing" until their senior year of high school or first year of college.  I had plans for the summer of 16 and then everyone who surrounded me went crazy and I didn't get back to Fresno for ten years when I brought my children to town to meet up with the aunts, uncles, and stepfather but I couldn't find Jerry who I heard had married as well.

It's more than a half century later and I still wonder what happened to that beautiful boy.  Even more important, I remember that first image of a beautiful male body and that first kiss under the tree and the desire to experience innocence lost that didn't happen so I content myself with a remarkably similar shower scene and watch Australia often.

If wishes could come true before the end of my life, this would happen just to feel one more time: