Frank’s Fax Facts and Reviews
Vol. XVIII, No. 41
Sunday, December 30, 2012
HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!
Christmas, 2012 was a Mixed Bag in Mobile this year: I awoke about 4:00, or my usual waking hour, to hear a vehicle with a loud speaker announcing that we were under a Tornado Warning (!) until 7 PM. Those of you who know me, know what that did to the rest of my day! Well, certainly he either gave the wrong time or I heard it wrong. Whatever. I dragged myself out of bed and turned on my local channel to find only the usual commercials that precede WHIL’s going on air at 5 AM. When it did begin its day, I learned that we were to see the current storm turning into a lovely period until 5:00 PM. Then, they finished scaring me to death, by saying that the T threat would return with a vengeance. Meanwhile, with dense fog that was truly Pea Soup, I did not go to mass. I figured I might just be saving a life or two that way.
At this tine, I still thought the Christmas Dinner to which Gerald Kutzman had invited me was to be around noon. I had offered to bring a salad, so began working on that. As the hours ticked by, I grew more and more frightened, because now I knew that Gerry, who grew up in Michigan, had assumed that I would know that 12:00 meals are called Lunches, while DINNER is after dark!
So, I spent a quiet, uneventful day until late afternoon, at which time I called Kathe Kutzman to see when Gerry would be picking me and my salad bowl up. She said he would be fetching us at 5 o’clock. I asked if she was aware of the tornado threat, and she said that they were not worried about that, nor should I be, either.
I turned my TV on as soon as I had hung up. Every Mobile channel had suspended regular programming and repeating like a broken record, that if you didn’t have any kind of emergency, you should not be driving on the roads. “Find your Safe-Place, with no windows, and be ready to get there if the twister comes into your neighborhood.”
(Here I stopped writing, after a telephone call from niece, Beth Jeskey, telling me that our dear Helen had passed away). She had her 94th birthday back in October, and was a resident of the Bedford Care Center).
Joe and Sharon Grimley (another niece and her husband, from Waynesboro) came down and transported me to their home (where they had taken me two weeks prior to this, for an early Christmas feast with brother, George (who was brought up from Ellisville by dear friend, Dale Hudson—he’s like another member of our family).
On Saturday, we drove to Newton for the funeral.
Afterwards, Joe and Sharon drove me back home, stopping in Laurel for lunch at a Chinese restaurant there, then on to Mobile. Ginger was delighted to have me back home, and I felt guilty as I promised her faithfully that I would try very hard, not to leave her all alone for as long as I possibly can. I certainly hope I will be able to keep that promise!
Draft Dodgers Anonymous and Warlock will continue Next Week, unless something else untoward happens.
Sicilian Chef’s Corner
Vegetable Salad’s Alternative
As my contribution to the Kutzman’s Christmas Dinner, I added to my Beet Salad the following ingredients: and the result was simply delicious!
In a salad bowl, mix with one can sliced beets
A can of Wax Beans (or cut Green Beans)
One can of Artichoke quarters
A small onion, sliced, a generous amount of medium (or small) capers; salt and pepper to taste, add olive oil and Balsamic Vinegar. Let set in refrigerator until ready to serve,
Movie Trivia Quiz #66
1. What versatile star was Sweeny Todd, the owner of a Chocolate Factory, and is often in the Caribbean Sea?
2.Who was David Niven’s wife in The Bishop’s Wife?
3.Dudley, the angel, played what musical instrument in this wonderful Sam Goldwyn movie?
4.Who was Auntie Mame’s secretary in the film Aunty Mame?
5.Who played the role of Mame in the filmed musical version? Hint: WB would have been far wiser had they used Broadway’s Mame.
6.Who made those famous “Meat Pies” in Broadway’s original Sweeny Todd?
7.Johnny Come Lately was played by which Oscar winning dancer turned gangster, turned wonderful ultimately.
8.He was in such diverse films as Young Abe Lincoln, The Lady Eve, Jezebel, Jesse James, and On Golden Pond. How many Oscars did he win in all?
9.What other top Fox star was with the above actor as Frank James?
10. Jane Russell was so provocative in The Outlaw, that Howard Hughes almost never got it released in 1943! What did he call it?
Answers to Quiz #65
1. In Love Crazy, William Powell poses as an insane man, to try to save his marriage to frequent costar, Myrna Loy.
- Goldie Hawn is a in the army as Private Benjamin.
3. The all star cast of There’s No Business Like Show Business included Johnny Ray, as Ethel Merman’s son. who leaves the stage to become a priest?
4. Marilyn Monroe sang, “We’re Having a Heat Wave”, in the above film?
5. Irving Berlin wrote all of the music for this Fox musical.
6. Undercurrent starred Katherine Hepburn and Robert Taylor and had Robert Mitchum, as Taylor’s brother.
7. Carmen Miranda’s screen debut was in one of Fox’s best musicals, Down Argentina Way.
8. The big stars of this musical were Betty Grable and Tyrone Power.
9. Edward Scissorhands was played by Johnny Depp.
10. The gorgeous female was played by brunette, Wynona Ryder, who was blond in this unusual (to say the least) screenplay.
