FF XVIII, 32

Frank Facts and Reviews

Volume XVIII, No. 32

Sunday, October 28, 2012

       My car was repaired this week, and looks better than it has since the day I bought it. That’s because on the first day, I backed out of my yard, not realizing how high the motor idled, I found myself backing up at an alarming rate of speed. In my confusion, my foot landed on the accelerator rather than the brake. Before I knew what was happening, I had crashed into the left side of the gate and bashed that same back end that was ruined in my accident at Zia’s Restaurant! I was driving Father Gorman to Mary Jane Scrugg’s funeral that morning, and when he saw the damage, his opinion was that it would cost around a thousand dollars to repair. Seven years later, that was precisely what it cost! So. I try to be philosophical about it, reminding myself that I did not have it repaired back then, but bought a bottle of black paint from the Ford dealer, and always versatile Ed Kohler was able to do a touch-up job that lasted all this time! Ed could do almost ANYthing! And that is a gross understatement! I was informed that I would have to pay my insurance’s deductible, which is $500. When the Ford dealership that did the job, called to tell me my vehicle was ready, I paid the cashier with the check from Allstate, plus my check for $400, and a crisp $100 bill.

Imagine my surprise and complete joy when I checked my e mail the following morning to find a letter from Allstate, saying they had mailed a check for the entire amount of the repairs! Apparently my comments in the letter I wrote when I declared that the fault had not been mine, and that I was hardly in a financial situation that could afford to pay out that much money. It was a simple matter to have the Deductible that I had paid, and after putting it into my checking account, I feel able to breathe again!

 

Cat Naps Quotes

“Prowling his own quiet backyard or asleep by the fire, he is still only a whisker away from the wilds.”

Jean Burden

Antique Movie Review

Trio (British, 1950)

After the success of Quartet (four of W. Somerset Maugham’s finest short stories, turned into a masterpiece on film) the same studio decided to make a “Sequel”; this time with only three stories. They were “The Verger”, “Mr. Knowall” and “The Sanatorium”. Each story is a “Jewel”, introduced by none other than the author, himself. This second film spawned a third (and final) omnibus called Encore, and I loved that one, too. 

But, of all of the author’s many wonderful short stories (I read most of his major works, also) “The Sanatorium” was my favorite!

Jean Simmons was never lovelier than as the Tuberculosis patient who resists letting herself admit that she is falling in love with Michael Renny, until she can no longer resist him.

       I have always loved movies with several different stories: Usually they are referred to as “Omnibuses”. Flesh and Fantasy is my all-time favorite of this genre. And if you have never seen it, take my advice and watch for it on Turner Classic Movies!

 

 

The Road to Ginger

I held her close to my chest as I walked from the front door of Ginger’s old home, to carry her off to our new home! She was a little nervous. I could feel it; but she did not seem unduly upset to be going somewhere that she had never seen.

“Oh,” Janet fairly sang out, “Let me hold that pretty gull!” And her name for Ginger she still sings out to her every time she visits her.

I put her gently on Janet’s lap, and she began immediately to massage Ginger’s rich coat. “She’s got one of the most beautiful coats I ever saw!” my friend exclaimed.

“Well, I like that!” I said sarcastically. “I’d have to say she has the most gorgeous fur coat of all the cats I’ve seen in my lifetime!”

“Darling, I didn’t mean to insult you or your Daddy! You are beautiful!”

Ginger did not seem to object when I started the motor and drove slowly away from the only home she had ever known. I dreaded having to listen to her crying for her mother and siblings. But nothing was forthcoming! She was literally too good to be true!

She was still so tiny and cute! And she felt completely at home here, right from the start.

I took her to see her litter box, and assumed that she knew how to use it. It wasn’t until much later that I discovered that she was using the floor instead. And I was blaming poor old Trudy for the cleaning up I was having to do. As a matter of fact, after about three times, I banished my older child to the studio, and jokingly told my friends that she was under “House Arrest”. Oddly enough, it did not seem to matter much to her: she was already quite elderly, and “sot” in her ways. She was no longer agile enough to leap to the top of the cabinet in the living room, let alone walk around on the curtain rods out here. Then, one day shortly after I put Trudy out here, I saw Ginger trying to bury her incriminating evidence, and gave her a firm and solemn talking to. The trouble stopped immediately.

At the time, I still had two or three adult students, and the ladies, especially, seemed enchanted with my beautiful baby. One of them still writes me the occasional E Mail, and never fails to remind me to “Kiss Ginger on the lips, for me”. What can I do but oblige.

After living with her for a few weeks, I wrote the lady who had sole her to me, telling her, “If I had traveled the world over, and paid a million dollars for Ginger, I would do just that, if I had to.”

And then I took her for a visit to George and Helen’s houses in Mississippi, for her very first Easter that we spent together.

We stayed overnight in Ellisville, and even then, I should have guessed what was going to happen. But I didn’t dream how much anguish I would have to endure Easter Sunday!

Saturday afternoon, I left her in George’s den, and took a nap. When I got up and began looking for Ginger, she did not come out of hiding until I was almost wild with worry! And then when she finally showed up, I had no idea where she had been hiding!

George suggested that she might have been hiding inside of a Lazy-Box chair that is huge. But in my state of Relief, I didn’t give it much thought.

The next day, as usual on the holidays we three survivors of the Sam Imbragulio branch of our family got together to try recapture some of the fun and good food we had always enjoyed. None of us noticed that Ginger was missing!

Sharon and Joe drove over, just as we had finished eating our holiday lunch, and by that time I had begun to worry. Calling Ginger has never done much good. She is as haughty and independent as George always has been! But now, I began to get stressed out. It is a three hour drive from Newton to my house, and it was still getting dark very early. I had to stop driving after dark many years ago, and I was determined to get an early enough start. I was torn between my love for Ginger and saving my neck by getting home before dark. They all promised to keep searching for the cat even though we had been thoroughly going into every inch of space in the house. My dreaded conclusion was that she had managed to get outside, after which I was fairly certain she would have been kit-napped!

I drove sadly back to Mobile, But every few minutes I would repeat the prayer: “O, Lord, please let me get home to find the phone ringing, and Helen on the other end, telling me Ginger was there with her, and safe!”

Somehow, I felt deep within my heart, that this prayer would be answered.

I drove into my yard just as the last rays of the sun were fading. And just as I had prayed: the telephone was ringing almost immediately! I was trembling so hard as I picked it up and said, “Hello.”

It was not Helen, but it was George calling to tell me that Ginger had come out of one of Helen’s Lazy Boys (which we had called ourselves searching several times before I gave up) and that Sharon and Joe were coming all the way back to Newton (from Waynesboro) to bring Ginger home to me that night! I cannot tell you how relieved I was! I still consider that one of the most unselfish and beautiful things anybody had ever done for me.

When Joe opened the door of their car, and handed me Ginger, he said (a trifle sternly) “Francis, I thought you said this cat could not cry! She has not stopped screaming since we left Helen’s!” Sharon laughingly backed up this statement. I had to tell (quite truthfully) that I had never heard my darling crying. The most she ever does is to squeak. She sounds more like a mouse than a cat. But I have, since that day, heard her “Sounding off” and can only say that she must have been so worried about never seeing her daddy again, that she almost managed to break the sound barrier!

(More next week)

 

Movie Trivia Quiz # 57

1.      Bob Hope got his start on Broadway, in what famous musical?

2.      What comedian associated with Bob Hope always made jokes about Yehudi? And he was not referring to Minimum

3.      Who was the singer that was on Hope’s radio show, and often was featured on his wartime appearances for the troops. She and I have one thing in common.

4.      What big mouthed funny lady starred with Hope in several films?

5.      What male star was also famous for his big mouth? His was the best line in Some Like it Hot!

6.      Who was the other half of the duo who sang “Thanks for the Memory” when it became Hope’s theme song?

7.      What product sponsored Bob Hope’s radio show for the longest time?

8.      Hope starred in two big Samuel Goldwyn Technicolored movies. Which one co-starred him with Virginia Mayo?

9.      Hope portrayed a real like vaudeville star in which movie:

10.  How many “Little Floys” were in the title of this hilarious comedy?

 

Answers to last week’s Trivia Quiz #56

1.       Crisis was a 1950 thriller from MGM, with Cary Grant as a doctor who is forced to perform heart surgery on a South American dictator. Jose Ferrer played this role. He played, also, a famous fictional French poet Cyrano de Berjarac; a French painter of great renown in Moulin Rouge and was an excellent actor. His wife, Rosemary Clooney, sang a bit, too.

2.       Luise Rainer won Best Actress for The Great Ziegfeld, then won the second Academy Award the following year: No other person had ever won two in a row. The Good Earth was her second Oscar winner.

3.       Spencer Tracy was the first male to win 2 Academy Awards in a row; Captains Courageous and Boys Town.

4.       Freddie Bartholemew was in, David Copperfield, Captains Courageous, and A Yank at Eton.

5.      Dean Stockwell was The Boy with Green Hair.

6.Miriam Hopkins was The Lady with Red Hair.

7.James Mason played Captain Nemo in 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea.

8.A very young Pat Boone was in Journey to the Center of the Earth?

9.David Nevin was the actor who was the hero of Around the World in 80 Days.

10.   Pat Boone (again) and Gary Crosby were two singing actors who made the film Mardi Gras.

 

 

Sunday, October 28, 2012

FF XVIII, 31

Frank Facts and Reviews

Volume XVIII, No. 31

Sunday, October 21, 2012

Last year gave USM its finest record in football ever. They beat every tough team on their schedule, losing only to UAB and Marshal; the two worst teams in CUSA then . There was no reason they should have lost to UAB or Marshal. Saturday night, a winless Golden Eagle team, lost again to Marshal; but this time, there was a very good reason they lost 59-24: Marshal has the  best passing quarterback in the nation!. He kept the ball in the air, and right on target; scoring literally at will. So much for getting a team that USM could easily beat, making the alumni happy at Homecoming!

Just out of curiosity, I’d like to know which genius decided that the

          third game for the Eagles to tangle with, was a team I had never even heard of: and since we had never played them, WHY were  the Eagles made to fly there to get thoroughly trounced? And why am I not eager to see them playing in Hattiesburg next season (should I still be around to give a hoot)

On a lighter note: last week, I was parking at Zia’s Restaurant, on Airport Boulevard, on Thursday, only to find I was in the “For Take Out Orders Only” Section. I had a date to go inside to join Father Gorman and Steve Lentnor for lunch. I began backing out (the lot was jam packed) and the back end had gone about three feet into the lane where there was certainly no traffic (always careful about this; I have become fanatic about all driving; particularly when going backwards!) Out of the blue, a white pickup truck slammed into the rear of my Focus. I got out as quickly as I could (now I literally crawl out, at best) to find a well-dressed, young man walking around my car. He looked up at me, and commented, “I really messed up your rear end!” I looked sadly at my seven-year-old car and said, “You certainly did!” That (or some very similar exchange of ideas) was all I said. He muttered that he would call the police (I was glad that he had brought his cell phone: I never remember to put mine in the car). Soon a very young policeman came to the scene, he and the truck driver talked quite a while before the cop came and wanted to see my Driver’s License and Proof of Insurance card, and that was all. I felt confident that I was not going to have to spend a dime of my money. WRONG! In this God-Forsaken state, the person who is backing up is automatically responsible for the accident: so, I am out $500--which is my deductible.

It has taken until now to get an estimate, then getting that to my Allstate Agent, and sometime this week, I will have a brand-new back end. But at my expense: No Fair!

 

Cat Naps Quotes

“A good laugh and a long sleep are the best cures in the doctor’s book.”

Irish Proverb

 

 

The Road to Ginger

       Janet was in the driver’s seat the day we brought Ginger to her new home here. “Aunt Janet” had also gone with me, each time I visited “Little Baby” in her mother’s house. The results of these visits, means that whenever Janet Morse enters this house, Ginger puts on a show for her amusement. Janet, in return, plays with her, and Ginger rolls over on her back, and allows “Aunt Janet” to do just about anything she wants with her.

       From the moment that kitten entered her new home, she has not cared to leave it. That means “At All”!  Unlike all of the other cats I have owned, she never has shown even the slightest interest in “Playing Jungle Kitty”. This was the term that Ed Kohler thought up when he used to be amused watching Judy 2, and later, Trudy’s 1 and 2 cavorting in my large yard. All of these “Tuxedo Cats” liked nothing better than frolicking in our “Mini-Jungle”. Judy 2 was also bad about wandering off, unattended, getting lost, and then sitting on somebody’s front porch (obviously mistaking it for ours) as I frantically walked and drove all over this area, weeping for my lost “Angel”. Judy was by far the worst. I remember so many times, when we were in Hattiesburg, while I would be getting the food ready for our Catered Affairs, her vanishing and then both Steve and I would go in separate cars, looking for her all over the area around his and his sister’s homes! Joanne still says that one of the cutest things she ever saw was when Steve drove errant Judy back to his house. Joanne Beverly was on her front porch, and says that Judy was sitting up on the front seat, looking all around; for all the world like a little old lady being brought home after a bit of sight seeing and/or visiting. Finally, in despair, I had a tall wooden fence built around the back yard. By this time Judy was far too fat to climb over this impediment, and reconciled herself to staying on the premises. We both enjoyed the privacy this wall provided. Hurricane Frederic knocked the entire structure down in 1979 (when it was ten years old.) The carpenter who had built it, wanted twice as much as he has charged me the first time, to rebuild it; but my good buddy, Gaines, reconstructed it for much less money. The next hurricane blew it down again. This time I had it carted off and kept the kitties in the house.

       When Trudy 2 was queen for a lot of years, she had the maddening habit of managing to find that I had failed to close the back screen door completely on many occasions. Then, she would fly to freedom, like the proverbial Bat out of Hell, as I stood in the left-open doorway, furiously screaming at her to get herself back in the house before I murdered her!

       But now, thank God, with sweet tempered Ginger, I have never had to worry about her going outside at all. She seems totally unaffected by Wanderlust! And that is a great relief to me. I really wonder if this was one of the many things her original owner instilled in her. From the very first day, I remember her cowering near the back door, as if she knew that it contained reason enough to be scared to death of the great outdoors. None of that “Silly and stupid” rolling over and over on the cement driveway (summer and winter made not the slightest bit of difference to my Alley Cats!) for her!

       I had Ginger “groomed” only once, at the clinic of Frank Brown and another vet or two. The clinical part of the place is top drawer; but I have never taken Ginger back after they shaved her entire body, except for that magnificent tail and her head! I was so irate when I went to get her, that I let them know how I felt. It turns out that this is the only way they “groom” pets. I searched all of the pet grooming locations, and was lucky enough to find “Adorable Do’s”. whose owner gives Ginger a bath and blow-dry, then trims with scissors (which the vets seem to think not as safe as shaving). But, not only does Ginger not mind being taken to that lovely lady (after her “peeling” at the Vet’s, she was actually ashamed to let anyone who came visiting, to see her!) And I cannot blame her for that. She looked more like a skinned rat than my gorgeous Persian kitty.

       Now, when she gets too much fur, I call, make an appointment, then take her to the salon (which is on the corner of Cottage Hill and Hillcrest ), the Hair specialist comes out to the car to get her, and brings her back to me after an hour and a quarter. I spend this time in the Wal Mart’s Corner Grocery (or whatever they call that charming store just across the road) or working my puzzles until the time has passed. Then, a glowing Ginger is brought to me in the car. I always ask if she has behaved herself, and the answer is always the same: she has been a perfect angel.

       And that is exactly how I feel about my last cat. She is unbelievably sweet, gentle, affectionate and I tell he several times a day that the Lord certainly knew what He was doing, when he guided my footsteps to where I was able to buy the perfect companion for my waning days.

       I have now lived with her for more than seven years. When I die, I am asking that she be put to sleep, cremated (as I will be) and our ashes (along with Chipper’s and Trudy 2’s) sprinkled in the back yard of the home where we have all been so happy. A few of my remaining ashes will be buried in the family plot in Ellisville, Mississippi, where all of my siblings were also born.

(To be continued)

 

 

 

 

Movie Trivia Quiz #56

1.       Crisis was a 1950 thriller from MGM, with Cary Grant as a doctor who is forced to perform heart surgery on a South American country’s evil dictator. Who played this dictator? He was a famous fictional French poet in an Oscar winning role; a French painter of great renown in another biographical film, and was always an excellent actor. His wife sang a bit, too.

2.       Luise Rainer won Best Actress for The Great Ziegfeld, then won the second Academy Award the following year: No other person had ever won two in a row. For what film was her second Oscar?

3.       Who was the first male to win 2 Academia Awards in a row?

4.       What child actor was in Captains Courageous, David Copperfield, and A Yank at Eton?

5.      Who was The Boy with Green Hair?

6.Who was The Lady with Red Hair?

7.Who played Captain Nemo in 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea?

8.What young singing star was in Journey to the Center of the Earth?

9.Who was the actor who was the hero of Around the World in 80 Days?

10.    Who were two singing actors who made the film Mardi Gras? Hint: one of them was also in Verne’s  Center of the Earth movie.

 

ANSWERS TO LAST WEEK’S QUIZ No. 55

1, Boom Town had four of Metro’s biggest stars in one giant bore (as I remember it) Hedy Lamarr and Claudette Colbert were the females, Spencer Tracy and Clark Gable were the boys.

1.                   Lana Turner and Judy Garland were in Ziegfeld Girl; one of MGM’s biggest  musicals of 1941. Oh, by the way” Hedy Lamar was in it, too!

2.                   The Haunting was one of the greatest Ghost Stories ever filmed. Julie Harris and Claire Bloom were the girls in this horror story.

4,          Born Free was a true tale of Elsa, a lion

5.          Song of Love was supposedly a film biography of Robert Schumann (Paul Henreid).

6.      Johannes Brahms was played by Robert Walker, who was Schumann’s student.

7.  Jack Oakie played Benito Mussolini in Chaplain’s The Great Dictator?

8.   Jean Seborg was Joan of Arc, in Shaw’s Saint Joan.

9,   Call Me Madam featured Ethel Merman as society-icon Perle Mesta. Irving Berlin wrote the score. Donald O’Connor was the leading male star.

10.   In Old Chicago had Tyrone Power, Don Ameche and Alice Faye, all of whom who had also appeared in Alexander’s Ragtime Band

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sunday, October 21, 2012

FF XVIII, 31

Frank Facts and Reviews

Volume XVIII, No. 31

Sunday, October 21, 2012

Last year gave USM its finest record in football ever. They beat every tough team on their schedule, losing only to UAB and Marshal; the two worst teams in CUSA then . There was no reason they should have lost to UAB or Marshal. Saturday night, a winless Golden Eagle team, lost again to Marshal; but this time, there was a very good reason they lost 59-24: Marshal has the  best passing quarterback in the nation!. He kept the ball in the air, and right on target; scoring literally at will. So much for getting a team that USM could easily beat, making the alumni happy at Homecoming!

Just out of curiosity, I’d like to know which genius decided that the

          third game for the Eagles to tangle with, was a team I had never even heard of: and since we had never played them, WHY were  the Eagles made to fly there to get thoroughly trounced? And why am I not eager to see them playing in Hattiesburg next season (should I still be around to give a hoot)

On a lighter note: last week, I was parking at Zia’s Restaurant, on Airport Boulevard, on Thursday, only to find I was in the “For Take Out Orders Only” Section. I had a date to go inside to join Father Gorman and Steve Lentnor for lunch. I began backing out (the lot was jam packed) and the back end had gone about three feet into the lane where there was certainly no traffic (always careful about this; I have become fanatic about all driving; particularly when going backwards!) Out of the blue, a white pickup truck slammed into the rear of my Focus. I got out as quickly as I could (now I literally crawl out, at best) to find a well-dressed, young man walking around my car. He looked up at me, and commented, “I really messed up your rear end!” I looked sadly at my seven-year-old car and said, “You certainly did!” That (or some very similar exchange of ideas) was all I said. He muttered that he would call the police (I was glad that he had brought his cell phone: I never remember to put mine in the car). Soon a very young policeman came to the scene, he and the truck driver talked quite a while before the cop came and wanted to see my Driver’s License and Proof of Insurance card, and that was all. I felt confident that I was not going to have to spend a dime of my money. WRONG! In this God-Forsaken state, the person who is backing up is automatically responsible for the accident: so, I am out $500--which is my deductible.

It has taken until now to get an estimate, then getting that to my Allstate Agent, and sometime this week, I will have a brand-new back end. But at my expense: No Fair!

 

Cat Naps Quotes

“A good laugh and a long sleep are the best cures in the doctor’s book.”

Irish Proverb

 

 

The Road to Ginger

       Janet was in the driver’s seat the day we brought Ginger to her new home here. “Aunt Janet” had also gone with me, each time I visited “Little Baby” in her mother’s house. The results of these visits, means that whenever Janet Morse enters this house, Ginger puts on a show for her amusement. Janet, in return, plays with her, and Ginger rolls over on her back, and allows “Aunt Janet” to do just about anything she wants with her.

       From the moment that kitten entered her new home, she has not cared to leave it. That means “At All”!  Unlike all of the other cats I have owned, she never has shown even the slightest interest in “Playing Jungle Kitty”. This was the term that Ed Kohler thought up when he used to be amused watching Judy 2, and later, Trudy’s 1 and 2 cavorting in my large yard. All of these “Tuxedo Cats” liked nothing better than frolicking in our “Mini-Jungle”. Judy 2 was also bad about wandering off, unattended, getting lost, and then sitting on somebody’s front porch (obviously mistaking it for ours) as I frantically walked and drove all over this area, weeping for my lost “Angel”. Judy was by far the worst. I remember so many times, when we were in Hattiesburg, while I would be getting the food ready for our Catered Affairs, her vanishing and then both Steve and I would go in separate cars, looking for her all over the area around his and his sister’s homes! Joanne still says that one of the cutest things she ever saw was when Steve drove errant Judy back to his house. Joanne Beverly was on her front porch, and says that Judy was sitting up on the front seat, looking all around; for all the world like a little old lady being brought home after a bit of sight seeing and/or visiting. Finally, in despair, I had a tall wooden fence built around the back yard. By this time Judy was far too fat to climb over this impediment, and reconciled herself to staying on the premises. We both enjoyed the privacy this wall provided. Hurricane Frederic knocked the entire structure down in 1979 (when it was ten years old.) The carpenter who had built it, wanted twice as much as he has charged me the first time, to rebuild it; but my good buddy, Gaines, reconstructed it for much less money. The next hurricane blew it down again. This time I had it carted off and kept the kitties in the house.

       When Trudy 2 was queen for a lot of years, she had the maddening habit of managing to find that I had failed to close the back screen door completely on many occasions. Then, she would fly to freedom, like the proverbial Bat out of Hell, as I stood in the left-open doorway, furiously screaming at her to get herself back in the house before I murdered her!

       But now, thank God, with sweet tempered Ginger, I have never had to worry about her going outside at all. She seems totally unaffected by Wanderlust! And that is a great relief to me. I really wonder if this was one of the many things her original owner instilled in her. From the very first day, I remember her cowering near the back door, as if she knew that it contained reason enough to be scared to death of the great outdoors. None of that “Silly and stupid” rolling over and over on the cement driveway (summer and winter made not the slightest bit of difference to my Alley Cats!) for her!

       I had Ginger “groomed” only once, at the clinic of Frank Brown and another vet or two. The clinical part of the place is top drawer; but I have never taken Ginger back after they shaved her entire body, except for that magnificent tail and her head! I was so irate when I went to get her, that I let them know how I felt. It turns out that this is the only way they “groom” pets. I searched all of the pet grooming locations, and was lucky enough to find “Adorable Do’s”. whose owner gives Ginger a bath and blow-dry, then trims with scissors (which the vets seem to think not as safe as shaving). But, not only does Ginger not mind being taken to that lovely lady (after her “peeling” at the Vet’s, she was actually ashamed to let anyone who came visiting, to see her!) And I cannot blame her for that. She looked more like a skinned rat than my gorgeous Persian kitty.

       Now, when she gets too much fur, I call, make an appointment, then take her to the salon (which is on the corner of Cottage Hill and Hillcrest ), the Hair specialist comes out to the car to get her, and brings her back to me after an hour and a quarter. I spend this time in the Wal Mart’s Corner Grocery (or whatever they call that charming store just across the road) or working my puzzles until the time has passed. Then, a glowing Ginger is brought to me in the car. I always ask if she has behaved herself, and the answer is always the same: she has been a perfect angel.

       And that is exactly how I feel about my last cat. She is unbelievably sweet, gentle, affectionate and I tell he several times a day that the Lord certainly knew what He was doing, when he guided my footsteps to where I was able to buy the perfect companion for my waning days.

       I have now lived with her for more than seven years. When I die, I am asking that she be put to sleep, cremated (as I will be) and our ashes (along with Chipper’s and Trudy 2’s) sprinkled in the back yard of the home where we have all been so happy. A few of my remaining ashes will be buried in the family plot in Ellisville, Mississippi, where all of my siblings were also born.

(To be continued)

 

 

 

 

Movie Trivia Quiz #56

1.       Crisis was a 1950 thriller from MGM, with Cary Grant as a doctor who is forced to perform heart surgery on a South American country’s evil dictator. Who played this dictator? He was a famous fictional French poet in an Oscar winning role; a French painter of great renown in another biographical film, and was always an excellent actor. His wife sang a bit, too.

2.       Luise Rainer won Best Actress for The Great Ziegfeld, then won the second Academy Award the following year: No other person had ever won two in a row. For what film was her second Oscar?

3.       Who was the first male to win 2 Academia Awards in a row?

4.       What child actor was in Captains Courageous, David Copperfield, and A Yank at Eton?

5.      Who was The Boy with Green Hair?

6.Who was The Lady with Red Hair?

7.Who played Captain Nemo in 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea?

8.What young singing star was in Journey to the Center of the Earth?

9.Who was the actor who was the hero of Around the World in 80 Days?

10.    Who were two singing actors who made the film Mardi Gras? Hint: one of them was also in Verne’s  Center of the Earth movie.

 

ANSWERS TO LAST WEEK’S QUIZ No. 55

1, Boom Town had four of Metro’s biggest stars in one giant bore (as I remember it) Hedy Lamarr and Claudette Colbert were the females, Spencer Tracy and Clark Gable were the boys.

1.                   Lana Turner and Judy Garland were in Ziegfeld Girl; one of MGM’s biggest  musicals of 1941. Oh, by the way” Hedy Lamar was in it, too!

2.                   The Haunting was one of the greatest Ghost Stories ever filmed. Julie Harris and Claire Bloom were the girls in this horror story.

4,          Born Free was a true tale of Elsa, a lion

5.          Song of Love was supposedly a film biography of Robert Schumann (Paul Henreid).

6.      Johannes Brahms was played by Robert Walker, who was Schumann’s student.

7.  Jack Oakie played Benito Mussolini in Chaplain’s The Great Dictator?

8.   Jean Seborg was Joan of Arc, in Shaw’s Saint Joan.

9,   Call Me Madam featured Ethel Merman as society-icon Perle Mesta. Irving Berlin wrote the score. Donald O’Connor was the leading male star.

10.   In Old Chicago had Tyrone Power, Don Ameche and Alice Faye, all of whom who had also appeared in

 

 

 

 

 

CHECKING ADDRESSES AGAIN

 

Please return this with your correct e address (if you get it). If I do not hear from you, I will assume your address is not correct and seek it out. Thanks.

FI

Monday, October 15, 2012

FF XVIII, 30

Frank Facts and Reviews

Volume XVIII, No. 30

Sunday, October 14, 2012

This was one of the most frustrating weeks in a long time for me. On Monday, I was almost the victim of some sort of Scam Operation! An unknown phone caller, assuring me that he was a representative of Medicare, said he just wanted to make certain I was getting all of the benefits to which I am entitled. Now, let me add that he had awakened me from a deep sleep, and I was still pretty drowsy. I answered several questions, and did not hesitate when he asked me for my checking account number. The moment the number was out of my mouth, I realized what a fool I had been! I quickly hung up (noticing that his number and place of the call---Beaumont, Texas, were on my caller ID.

Grabbing my check book, I got in my car and drove straight to my bank. I had to cancel any checks they might get that day, There wasn’t a single car taking up the parking lot, so I relaxed and parked. Imagine how confused I felt when I knew the bank was closed! I checked my watch: it was well after 9:00, but I could not figure out why they were closed at that date! Will somebody please tell me when Columbus Day became a national holiday?

Still ignorant as to why the bank was on vacation, I drove to my next door neighbor’s house, and had him call the Better Business Bureau, to see if they could give me any advice. Then we called the district attorney. Nobody was working!

Later, that same day, my friend, Darren O’Donnell, called to tell me he had contacted a branch of Compass Bank (my carrier) and had alerted them to my predicament. He had taken care of everything! It certainly helps to have great friends! I went to my branch office on Tuesday, had them close out the old account (which I had over 20 years) and issue me a new number.

But my week of nightmares was not over yet: I was involved in a fender-bender on Thursday. But that can wait till next weekend!

Growing old is not pretty!

 

Cat Naps Quotes

“A good laugh and a long sleep are the best cures in the doctor’s book.”

Irish Proverb

 

 

The Road to Ginger

       Every year, one of our bridge group from the Tuesday Methodist Church Game asks us to buy tickets to participate in an all-day program that is held in the ABBA Temple. There are tables for Bridge, but most of the people are playing other games. I have been to several of these fund raisers, and find them rather tiresome; so, when Janet and I traveled the route she had jotted down, when she called the woman who raised cats about our coming out to get a look at her fresh litter of Persian kittens, we found (to our amazement) that it was very near this landmark!

       “Well, this just has to be the right place---wouldn’t you think?” My friend observed.

       She had driven closer to the mail box, which had the woman’s name on it. We were both impressed at the decorations all over the mailbox, as well as the house to which it so obviously belonged. Cat motifs abounded! Even for my tastes, it seemed a bit too much,

       “Well, I should certainly hope so!” I agreed.

       On the porch, we waited after ringing the doorbell. Did it, too, have a cat’s face? I honestly think it might have, but I have forgotten many things about the experience, including the name of the cat owners. I thought I would be able to find it among the papers that I got with the adoption of Ginger, but there, too, it is missing.

       When the door was opened, the young woman who invited us in told us that, “Mother will be right with you.”

       The house was lovely, and so was the daughter.

       We were led into a spacious room and sat down to wait.

       Before long, the mother appeared, holding a basket-full of adorable little dirty-white kittens. I was told, later, that the color was called “Burnished Silver”. I had risen as soon as woman had entered the room, and

now that she was closer to me, I could see that one of the babies in the basket was not the same color as all of the others. That one was Burnished Gold, I was informed. 

       All of the “white” cats, except one, was male: the lone “gold” kitty was also a female. Over the years, I had loved cats and it seemed to matter very little whether they were male or female. As a matter of fact, I was infamous for name cats the wrong name, and they didn’t seem to mind. Both of my Judys were tom cats: the first one (while I still lived with my parents) would return home after being gone for three or four days, during which time I worried myself sick about “her’. Then “she” would come back, looking like the wrath of God: at least one of her ears would look half chewed off, and would have to be taken to a vet, so he could drain the puss from her swollen toes! It was the vet that informed me that Judy was a male, and not having been neutered, was out “Tom-catting” when he disappeared like that. But Daddy was adamant. I could keep the cat, and the cat could stay in the house as long as we stayed up; but one we went to bed. Judy had to go outside. This handsome creature lived until I went to Michigan State to finish my PhD; and then Mama wrote me that “She” had stopped eating, and that she was worried about Judy. Mama loved my pets almost as much as I did. When I received the letter, I phoned Mama immediately, to tell he all Judy needed was a pill for stomach works (which I kept in the family medicine chest). Mama began crying as soon as she realized who was calling, “Honey,: Mama said, “Judy died this morning.” I felt, literally, as if the world would never be the same for me. George, too, was very fond of that very special cat, and had written me (that last year of her life) that Judy had just walked past the open door to his bedroom, looking as if she were searching for me. He wrote that her lower jaw dropped as she sat at the screen door at the front of the hall, and seemed to be moaning my name.

       That Judy was the first of the extra special loves of my life.

       But, at that moment my concerns were with this little ugly pug nosed unnamed pure-bred. I had to admit (later, to Janet) that I was very disappointed in the little snub nose all of the Persians had. I knew. Then, that Chipper (the most perfect cat I ever saw) was definitely not Persian, but was probably an American Domestic, just as all of my best pets had been.

       Still, I was determined to stick with my original intention to buy one of the little Persians, in spite of their pug noses!

       The breeder and I came to an agreement on the price, and she informed me then and there that I would not be able to take the kitten with me for about six more weeks! Her routine was to part with the cat only after it had all of its shots. Of course, I was impatient to take the kitty with me that day, but I knew argument would get me nowhere.

       As Janet and I were standing in the opened front door, it was suggested that as soon as I decided what name I would choose, to let her know. She said she would begin calling the kitten by that name, and by the time I got her to my house, she would be used to her new name. It sounded logical, but Ginger seems totally oblivious to what I call her. She has an open mind; anything I want to call her- makes no difference to her!

(To be continued)

 

 

 

 

Kudos for Social Security

       There are not too many things I despise more than having to call somebody to report that their product, which I pay for, is not working. Invariably, the usual first thing I get is the news that today is one of the busiest they have experienced in a long time, and that my call is very important to them---so, although the delay will be long, please do not hang up on them. They will take my call in the order in which it was given. And then the “Music” begins. Only once in all of my years of being “put on hold” have I heard anything but “A” (for awful) sounds, posturing as music. That was long ago, when no less than AT&T had me glaring at my out-of-commision telephone, as I listening to a Mozart Piano Concerto on the other end. I even thanked them (when I finally got a word with an actual human being) for the courtesy they had shown me.

       Usually, the trash that interrupts their never-ending barrage of “commercials” ranges anywhere from Bluegrass (fast becoming my most hated genre) to acid rock.

       Oh, well, if you are a part of MY generation, this torture that must be endured, doesn’t need to be described by me,

       Imagine my surprise---and then slack jawed disbelief, when I had to call my local Social Security office to inform them that I had changed my bank account number, in order for them to know where to send my next SS checks, and  here’s exactly what happened (and I am not making this up).

       A recorded voice asks me, “What is your name?” and I answered, “Francis Imbragulio.” And then, instead of the usual follow-up to this disclosure, I was asked if my phone number was (and they quoted my almost-50 year old number. Then said, if it were correct, please press ONE). I hit the ONE and waited for the music and helpful hints (such as the fact that I could be conducting this entire procedure “On line”) but none such was forthcoming. I almost fainted when I was told to hang up my phone, and that I would be called in the order of which my call had been received!      

       I was stunned beyond belief! And then I got suspicious. I had never had any occasion to telephone SS, so felt almost certain this was entirely too easy! “Oh, well,” I rationalized; “What have I got to lose but three or four hours?” Having directed this query to Ginger (who was rolling around on her back at my feet) and looked adoringly at me and laughed in my face. I could almost hear her thoughts: “SUCKER!”

       I walked into the den and turned on my TV and began watching something I had recorded from the night before. I had barely gotten “into it” when the phone rang. I picked it up to answer it, and I heard a man’s voice, asking if this was (and then I heard my own recorded voice saying) Francis Imbragulio, and if it were he, to please press ONE on the phone or say, “One”. I was being served after less than ten minutes! The man could not have been nicer, he took care of the check transfer and asked only a few questions that were necessary.

       Before I hung up my phone, I felt compelled to tell him (just as I had thanked that long-ago AT&T worker, for the Mozart) how grateful I was that Social Security was the greatest service in the world. I said that just the way the new system used my pronunciation of my one name, had saved several wasted minutes as he tried to figure out not only how to spell it, but also, how to pronounce it.

       My next question for all of you, is, why the heck can’t every other company use as much common sense, and stop wasting the small amount of time many of us have left in this flawed old world of ours?

 

 

Movie Trivia Quiz #55

1.                   Boom Town had four of Metro’s biggest stars in one giant bore (as I remember it) Hedy Lamarr and Claudette Colbert were the females, who were the boys?

2.                   Lana Turner and Judy Garland were in what big musical of 1941?

3.                   The Haunting was one of the greatest Ghost Stories ever filmed. Can you name one of the pair of outstanding actresses who were in this masterpiece of terror?

4,          Born Free was a true tale of what kind of animal? Her name              was Elsa.

5.          Song of Love was supposedly a film biography of what 19th century composer of symphonies, concertos, songs and piano virtuoso works? He was portrayed by Paul Henried, with Katherine Hepburn as his wife.

           6.         Who portrayed Brahms in the above question?

7.              What actor played Benito Mussolini in Chaplain’s The Great Dictator?

8.               What actress was Joan of Arc in Shaw’s Saint Joan?

9,            Call Me Madam featured Ethel Merman as what society icon?

10.   In Old Chicago had which stars who had also appeared in Alexander’s Ragtime Band?

 

 

Answers to Movie Trivia Quiz #54

1. A Face in the Crowd was Andy Griffith’s breakthrough role in 1957. Long before the Mayberry days.

2.        Brigadoon was the name of the village where Gene Kelly found Cyd Charisse, only to have her disappear for 100 years that night.

3.     Humphrey Bogart was the tough male star of the Treasure of the Sierra             Madre.

4.     Malcolm McDonald was the star of A Clockwork Orange.

5.     Nancy Kelly played the mother of Patty McCormack,

the little devil-child, in The Bad Seed.

6.  Helen Keller was the basis for the film The Miracle Worker.

7.     Angels with Dirty Faces was the first film since Dead End for this teenaged group: The Dead End Kids.

8.     William Powell reprised his role as Florenze Ziegfeld in Ziegfeld Follies.

9.     What actress was

10. Marilyn Monroe sang “We’re Having a Heat Wave” in There’s No Business Like Show Business.

 

 

 

 

Sunday, October 14, 2012