Frank’s Fax Facts and Reviews

Vol.. XIV No. 7

Sunday, May 5, 20132013

         This “spring” has been so very unusual that my floral as well as the physical part of my mind, spring has been more like Waiting for Santa Clause, than anything else: when the birds flew down into my yard, they almost fainted to see my giant magnolia tree in its Sunday best! The temperatures seem to be trying to make up for the fact that they gave us virtually no winter weather last year. I have more than enjoyed the cooler temperatures, and would just love it if they stayed right where they are now. Of course, all of my friends (save Steve Bekemeyer, who shares my loathing of sticky hot summers) think I am bonkers. I still maintain that the greatest invention that ever there was, when air conditioning for pore folks was made available. Do I hear any dissenters? My mother would be the first to say, “What I don’t hate, or love, is hot weather!”. She told me, oh, so many times, was how the snow in Syracuse, NY,(where she lived until Daddy saved her from freezing to death by marrying her and moving to Mississippi) the snow would pile up so high that it often reached the upstairs window. Now that’s what I call winter weather!

         I will add anther year to my (already too long) life two days from now. I am being treated to no less than three Birthday dinners!* Two of these dinners will be discussed next week! I am truly blessed to have so many great friends!

         *The first of these meals: Elizabeth French and Peggy Raines took me to a brand new Italian restaurant that has just opened its doors (where the vegetable and fruit market used to be) The new name is Roma Restaurant, and here we had really Italian food! Unlike the many imitations of Italy’s great cuisine, none ever excited me as much as this one, which filled every fiber in my body! All three of us had identical meal’s; starting with a delightful salad, prettily served on a plate with tomato, red onion, and cucumber slices, and lettuce. We all had the bleu-cheese dressing. For our entrée, we had a dish that had Tilapia and shrimp, on a bed of something absolutely divine. The Bleu Cheese dressing was excellent. Hot toasted French.  bread with a garlicky  flavor completed the meal. My dessert was a canola; which was utterly wonderful! The ladies had Tira Misu,. which they said was great, too!.

         The restaurant has one major flaw (which could seriously affect its more staid customers: there was entirely too much noise (Mingled with a huge TV screen) and the walls tend to magnify babies’ crying and others distracting. But, in contrast, the service was above and beyond the regular variety, even though our young (Italian) waiter was beyond reproach. I give the Roma ***1/2! Their noise makes me hesitate to give them a four.

 

 

Kitty Fax

“A cat makes the very best pet, and this you must never forget; Dogs can be mean-but cats are serene (except on the way to the Vet!)

Kevin Fagan

Draft Dodgers Limited (Paris)

         We made a rapid trip through the Louvre, and were both disappointed in the Mona Lisa (we both were taken aback by its size- which is tiny),  Since “Mona” and “Winged Victory” were its chief assets, I was not blown away by Paris’s Grandest Art Gallery, after having visited the London, Chicago and New York museums. We managed to eat at a decent restaurant one night, and both had the onion soup that really is fantastically wonderful. And we certainly did get our exercise looking for everything, Of course, basic army training had given  us enough practice in waling all over Fort Jackson, so was not really too difficult.

         I took several snap shots of the Eifel Tower, just as I had doe with Notre Dame, the Louvre, as well as most of the tourist things we had visited, But the Eifel Tower still breaks my heart, because I was too frugal to pay the ridiculously high price to ride to the top in an elevator. Lynwood and I thought we would be more than equipped with the pep (or, whatever: Perhaps Stamina) to climb those metal stairs to the top; but after giving up the
Ghost after less than half of them, we threw in the towel.

         We were waiting at the place our bus had “Dropped” us (read that Forsaken us) when we had given up everything else on the trip but the bus ride back to Heidelberg. I was really surprised when the bus was waiting for us just where “The Cricket” (or did I call her the
Grasshopper”? Since Lynwood used the term both ways) had assured me that they would be waiting on us. As we walked towards two seats, everyone there (or so it seemed at the time) greeted us with things like, “You should have stayed with us!” as well as, “Our entire week has been wonderful.” Lyn and I decided they had to be lying, or mentally retarded!

         Nevertheless, I do not think I have ever been any happier to see anyone that I was to see the inside of that bus! We stopped only once, at a small town near the border, and got out to eat supper. We both had small loaves of freshly made bread,  with beer and “French Fries” (Which we both had become almost addicted to on this trip) I had managed to save a few coins from my trip money, that Mama had sent to me in advance, but there was very little of that left after all of the extra expense.

         We vowed to get to the top of the Eifel Tower on the next trip. We also vowed that we would do without anyone else masking our plans.

         There was one rest stop on the return trip, and we ate some soup (not Onion, which was too expensive) with the last wonderful French bread, and I still had enough money for a beer apiece.

         It had been (for us) a wonderful time, and by the time I had to get a train back to Karlsruhe, I was totally exhausted, But I was contented, as well as being glad to be back to Smiley Barracks and my library!

Movie Trivia Quiz #

1.      What have Tobacco Road, God’s Little Acre and Mildred Pierce in common?

2.      Rooster Cogburn was the attempt to get the same results of pairing Katherine Hepburn with the star of which award winning film? (Hint: it had Glenn Cambell, too)

3.      Who was the Oscar winner of Best Actress, and best supporting actress in the same film. The title has only 2 words: what are they?

4.      Disney’s Mickey Mouse was the “Star” of which scene from Fantasia?

5.      Who was Simon Templar?

6.      What comedian was noted for asking, “Who’s YeHudi?” This began on Bob Hope’s radio show,

7.      Arsenic and Old Lace starred Cary Grant with which of the Lane Sisters?  Can you name all three siblings?

8.      Daredevils of the Red Circle, was a serial from which Hollywood studio?

9.      What actress played Nora Charles in the Thin Man series?\

10.  Who wrote the novels on which it was based?

I have been so upset lately that I don’t know which number Trivia tests to print the answers for; but, hopefully, most of the confusion is over. (Yet this issue is really screwed up as far as “Boundaries are concerned!”