FF XVIII, 44

Frank’s Fax Facts and Reviews

Vol. XVIII, No. 44

 Sunday, January 20, 2013       

       The week was spent largely in my trying to straighten out the mess I had made of my new (back in October) credit account with my bank. Nobody there  bothered to tell me that I had to tell each of the services I had been paying from my charge account, that the previous number had been deleted and a new one issued; and of course I am not a very competent (to put it mildly) business person who knows what I am doing. So, one by one, I was threatened with my water, electricity, internet service, dish network etc. being taken away from me at once. My penalties were astronomical (all have been removed except hard-nosed Mobile Water and Sewer, who demand a faxed (isn’t that ironic?) statement from the bank itself, that this will not happen again. Meanwhile, this sick, old dumb-dumb has had to drive all over the place; wait in long lines (I can barely stand alone, much less wait in long lines with screaming young ‘uns all around me!) and ultimately finding a friend who was willing to help me to get to the Water Works. Thanks to Andy Meola, who literally save a little of my sanity, if not my life,

CAT FAX

“He seems the incarnation of everything soft and silky and velvety, without a sharp edge in his composition, a dreamer whose philosophy is sleep and let sleep.”

                                                                Saki (H. H. Munro)

Old Movie Review

Suez (20^th Century Fox: 1938)

       I was only nine when I saw this movie the first time: and I was bowled over! I won’t say it was not any good: Tyrone Power still looks as pretty as he did back then, and Loretta Young was at her gorgeous designer-clothes-wearing best (even though she did throw Ty over just because Louis Napoleon could turn her into the Empress of France (Big Deal!) The biggest surprise (and she had made no impression on me whatsoever back then) was Annabella! She must have impressed Power, too; because he ended up marrying her (at least for a brief interval). On hand, also, were Joseph Schildkraut, always one of the most conniving of villains; and Sidney Blackmer. The film is brilliantly photographed (in black and white) and just seeing the tornado-like dust storm, which was what thrilled me to death in ’38, is worth the price of admission (which in its original release was 11 and 22 cents in Richton).

        By yet another of my strange coincidences, (why did they always seem to happen to me?) George and I were about to live through one almost identical to it a few months afterwards! Here’s how it happened:

        It was the 4^th of July. As usual, we had nothing whatsoever planned for the day. None of our family wanted to do anything like celebrating. Sammy had walked over to the Hayden’s house earlier, saying Emma (they were going steady) had invited him to celebrate with her family. Sometime that morning, Daddy saw us in the living room where George was entertaining me by playing “The Hit Parade” on the Cable-Nelson (or, Anna’s upright piano). He had to have been really bored with his upcoming task, because he walked to the door and looked in at us. “George---Francis—why don’t you take a ride with me for a few minutes? I gotta go lookin’ at some steers.”

        This was not at all ordinary. We were almost never expected to go anywhere to look at cattle. Anything seemed better, to me, than staying at home all day long- so I jumped up and began moving to the car. “Well- yeah! We’ll go along for the ride.”

        About half an hour later, the car came to a stop. “Listen,” Daddy said.
“I’m gonna have to leave you here and walk to the man’s farm. I don’t see any sign of it. Y’all just wait in the car.” And he was gone.

        Patience has never been one of my strong points, and twenty minutes later, with no return appearance by our father, I was getting pretty antsy.

        George, always extremely self-sufficient thought up a brand-new word game: just like that! I admit I do not remember what it was, but it was (as always) interesting enough to hold my undivided attention for well over an hour. Then, even he got tired of trying to think up clues (or, whatever) and began to swelter and gripe about the way we seemed to have been abandoned.

        “You don’t think he got lost?” I said, becoming quite concerned. My stomach was also telling me it was high time I fed it something.

        The sun, mercifully, had not been a factor up to this point. Now, George opened the car door and stepped out. “Francis, look at the strange color of the sky!”

        That simple comment was enough to cause me almost to have a heart attack. My history with bad weather was legend: I would always throw up everything in my stomach at the first sign of a storm.

        As if he had not done enough damage to my psyche with that first atomic bomb, he reinforced it with, “It looks just like the time we saw that tornado coming down in the Project north of Richton!”

        That did it! I threw up all over the road! I did not feel one bit better for having done so, either! Like an idiot, I began screaming at the top of my lungs, “Daddy! Daddy. Where are you? Daddy---“

        “That’s not doing a bit of good!” George said sternly.

        “Well, I wanna go home! I’m afraid!”

        “He’ll have to come back now, especially with a tornado coming right at us!”

        If he thought his saying that was going to calm me down, he was really crazy!
        “Oh, why did he have to bring us out here, just to run off and leave us?”

       And then, as if in answer to our prayers, we saw his hat appearing coming from the woods. He was not in a happy mood. “That ole devil! I been looking every place he mentioned, and there’s not a sign of him, or his house!

        “Oh, Daddy. Let’s go home!” I was sobbing now.

        “That’s what I’m gonna do!” And he slid into the car and started driving us towards town.

        “Papa. Don’t you think those clouds look like a tornado?” George asked.

        “Naw! That’s a sand-storm—that’s what that is.”

        “How can you tell?” George persisted.

        “Because I used to see ‘em all the time in Sicily!”

        Even as they talked, the winds had picked up their tempo dramatically.

       By the time we were back on the main road, the wind was becoming ever stronger, with blasts of dust that were truly frightening. Daddy was having trouble seeing where the road was and where it was not. We were meeting with lots of noise, as he hit various objects along the way.

        I breathed a sigh of relief, when we finally could see out market through the dust storm. Daddy pulled up to the curb, and got out of the car. The wind was pushing him around as if he were a rag doll! He went up to the front windows and peered inside, trying to see what sort of damage the wind had already caused. He came rapidly back to the car.

        “My God! That dirt is a foot deep all over the store!”

        I began crying. “Now, hush up, Francis,” he tried to calm me down. I was having none of that. “We gonna be home in just a minute, and then we be safe and sound!”

        I could just see our poor old house, with walls missing, no roof, and all of our possessions scattered all over the place. My crying became more non-stopped, as I wallowed in my fear and grief.

        Mercifully, we did, indeed, find very little damage to our home; and I had never clung to Mama like I did as soon as she put her miraculous arms around my neck and kissed me. Has there ever been anything to equal that moment?

        On Monday, the Times Picayune (which George delivered for years to the folks in Richton), had photographs of the damage caused by this giant dust storm all over the area. It may even have spurred John Steinbeck to write The Grapes of Wrath!

DRAFT DODGERS ANONYMOUS

       Lynwood’s ever-present dread of being sent to Korea, caused him to ask his commanding officer to send him anywhere but there! His skill as a typist made him a very valuable commodity, and the next thing I knew, he was calling me to tell me his good news. I was thrilled for him, of course, but I dreaded having to endure Fort Jackson without him. Marcus, also an expert typist, had landed a wonderful job at Ft. Rucker, in Alabama. As a matter of fact, he spent his entire post-basic training there.

        I had applied for, and gotten a spot in the band. That’s where I thought I wanted to be. But Dale Lavon Hudson and Ormon Sanderson were already in possession of the only two teaching jobs available. We were all three pianists, with Masters degrees in performance. I had never had the time or desire to learn a second instrument. Meanwhile, I had the same identification as a Chaplain’s Assistant! This was precisely how my brother, George had ended up as a Baptist Chaplain’s assistant when he was send overseas (to India and China in WW2).

        So, I walked cautiously, not really knowing what I should do nor how I was to go about it.

        Enter Charlie Duffy!

        I’ve told you about my Guardian Angel (as well as my Poltergeist) and now you will see how he (the angel) saved me. I had known Charlie as a fellow music major at Southern Miss, though I barely knew him at all. He was a freshman my senior year, so our paths seldom crossed. But as so frequently happens, he knew a lot more about me than I did about him. He was the Assistant to the Post Chaplain (Father Mack) and came to me to entreat me to apply for another assistant’s job, insisting that there was plenty of need for at least two chaplain’s assistants there. I refused to let myself get too optimistic about such a think happening, but once I met this dear, sweet old priest, I loved him. I took over the hymn-playing right away (this was more than all right with Charlie) and gasped with surprise when the old priest confided to me after Mass one day, shortly after I was secure in my job, that he wished I did not play Bach while he was saying the Mass. “I find the chromaticism quite distracting!” So, much as I depend on Bach for everything, I never played another bar of it there at Post Chapel No. 1! And we got along famously after that.

(To be continued)

Another Apology: I had another two pages written about the Christmas I spent playing for two masses, but managed to erase it. Someday I want to get back at this computer!

I never feel the second effort is as good as the original. But I will still try to rewrite it for next Sunday.

Old Movie Trivia Quiz #69

1.     There was an earlier version of Some Like It Hot, which had nothing to do with the sensational second movie. Can you guess who its stars were (both male and female leads were very popular in 1939.

2.     Boston Blackie was the hero of a semi-popular series of “B films” of the 30’s. Who was this actor?

3.     Erle Stanley Gardener’s Della Reese was played by what actress in the TV version of Perry Mason mysteries?

4.     What female sleuth was played by Angela Lansbury on Sunday night TV?

5.     What was the title of David O, Selznik’s psychological thriller with Ingrid Bergman and Gregory Peck?

6.     What surrealist artist designed the sets for the film?

7.     Which Ingrid Bergman film caused her disgrace in 1950 (Released in the USA on Feb. 15---ironically the day after Valentine’s Day!)

8.     What was this beautiful star’s last film? What else was significant about this production?

9.     What film did Bergman share with Liza Minelli?

10.                Who was Ingrid’s co-star in Notorious?

Answers to Quiz 68

1.     Some like it Hot was directed by Billy Wilder.

2.     In this comedy, the two leading stars witnessed the St. Valentine Day massacre.

3.     Jack Lemmon and Tony Curtiss  played these two witnesses.

4.     Marilyn Monroe played the role of “Sugar Kane”. As well as a banjo!

5.     Joe E. Brown had the last laugh in the film “”Nobody’s perfect!” he responds to Jack Lemmon’s statement that he is a man.

6.     The musical instruments played by the leads were String Bass and clarinet.

7.     Lemon had won an Oscar earlier for Days of Wine and Roses.

8.     The Tony Curtiss was married to Janet Leigh and they had a famous daughter: Jamie Lee Curtiss.

9.     Lemon played a Warlock in the film version of Bell, Book and Candle. In the film, he was Kim Novak’s brother (she was, of course, a gorgeous witch)

10.                The all-“Girl”-band was ultimately going to Miami.

 

FF XVIII, 43

Frank’s Fax Facts and Reviews

Vol. XVIII, No. 43

 Sunday, January 13, 2013       

Things got back to AB-normal this week (after what seemed like six months of Christmas) with our first Bridge Game of the year. There were nine players, which meant three tables, lacking one body (which is no big deal, letting one table’s Dummy, bid as the missing player on one of the “Short” tables and then getting back “Home”.  I drove straight from the church to Sebring barber shop where Billy Helton re-arranged all twenty-one of my “locks”. Then it was home for the nap I had missed that afternoon. Peggy and I lunched on a MacRib sandwich (any of you who has not tried one of these more-than-delicious concoctions, should taste one before they go into hibernation until next fall. These treats are seasonal in lots of ways!

 

CAT FAX

“Mark Twain is quoted as saying that he had never taken any exercise except sleeping and resting. I fully agree with this fine gentleman. Now you can quote me!”

                                                                (Miss) Ginger Imbragulio

 

DRAFT DODGERS ANONYMOUS

Good ole Dale Lavon Hudson had once again given me an excellent tip on how to save myself a lot of trouble and grief while managing to survive the infamous Infiltration Course we were about to endure: “At the very end,” he told me, “they tell you to finish up by firing your M1 Rifle and screaming as loud as you can. But if you place a finger over the end of the gun, and do not fire a single shot, you won’t have to clean the weapon at all: and be careful not to get any dirt into the barrel, either!”

I stood there, trembling with fear. My thoughts went back quite normally to having felt this same sinking feeling of inevitable doom every time I stood at the stage entrance prior to walking out and bowing, as my last ordinary human act before playing my “piece” in any recital.

Before they gave us the signal to begin “The Fun”, I tried to see as much to beware of that I could possible to discern: Sadly, it all felt totally foreign and other-worldly.

And then, there it was: the explosion of some sort, which seemed to rock even the teeth in my mouth (which now held my heart, as well).

 Without allowing myself the luxury of thought, I started praying as hard as I ever had in my entire lifetime prior to this moment. I realized with total amazement, that both feet were propelling me forward. Then I realized that I was on my knees and crawling like a giant ant! There was so much noise that it was impossible not to be scared to death.

Out of the various parts of my brain, I was aware of flashes of light and crashing of explosions. I literally felt as if I had died and gone immediately to hell!

Moving like some sort of Robot, I found myself trying to do just exactly like the fellows next to me were doing.

When we finally reached the point at which the soldier on my right began firing his rifle, and my neighbor on the left followed suit, I remembered not to follow them this time. Placing my thumb on the end of my M1, I started shouting like a mad man! Much as I wanted to get the heck out of this accursed “Killing Field”, my legs had never felt more lackadaisical. But somehow I managed to keep moving until I reached the Outer Limits. I almost cried with sheer relief!

Not even the most dreaded recital; in which I ever performed, could compare to the mind-boggling agony of this experience! Though it seemed as if it had lasted longer than the attack on Pearl Harbor, I’m fairly certain it was miniscule in comparison.

Suddenly, I was reminded of Marcus, Lynwood and George: I wondered vaguely where they were and how well they had fared. There they were: all safe and sound. And then we began talking at once, trying to make our own version sound the truest and most frightening. Marcus and George’s were eclipsed by Lynwood’s and my orations.

We got back into the trucks that took us back to our tents, and there my tent-mate sat, looking for all the world, like he had just won the Kentucky Derby! He was actually laughing as if he had enjoyed the evening!

“Well, what’s wrong with your head?” Lynwood asked.

“Nothing,” was his short reply. He stopped laughing

“Don’t tell me you weren’t scared,” I told him, rather than asking him.

“No. It’s not that---I simply was not nearly as scared as I expected to be.”

“OK. As long as you admit you were scared!” Marcus said, and then shuddered in remembrance of our mutual ordeal.

I walked into our tent and brought out the large cardboard box with Ellisville’s post mark on it. “Let’s see what Mama sent us for our snacks.” And I tore open the back, and began pulling out cans of tuna fish, sardines, and salmon, with a large box of saltine crackers; Mama had also included a large can of Corn-beef Hash! It was not half bad, eaten without the luxury of heating! Then Mama had included as many candy bars as she could get, into the spaces left over.  These included Butterfinger; Baby Ruth; Hershey’s plain and almond bars; Snickers and a lot of Hershey’s kisses.

I said in a loud voice, “Every one of you is invited to have a bit of supper, compliments my Mama and Daddy. They sent this ‘Care Package’ for me to share with all of us who went through the Infiltration Course tonight! And that was all I had to say. Every bit of that wonderful “Sam’s Market” food was consumed in less than an hour. My parents would have been so happy to have seen those friends and acquaintances enjoying their simple gift.

We slept the sleep of utter exhaustion that last night of bivouac; but there was still a few more days to be endured.

 

2.

       Camouflage and Concealment: This should have been a lot more fun that it actually turned out to be. Sandy Sanderson and Lavon had made it sound more like a “Fun” Day that a serious and dangerous one.

       The day of training that I enjoyed the most was the one devoted to the carbine rifle! I felt right at home when I first held it in my hands. And firing it was a ball! I owed this unexpected bravado from my brother’s all but futile attempts to me a bird hunter out of me. I was still smarting by my dismal failure with the heavier and more unwieldy M-1 rifle. But even here, the reason for my low blow scores came out at the end of our term at Service Company. I walked over to my bunk to find my M-1 waiting for me with an official-looking paper which stated that the rifle had been checked out (as they all were) and that this one had faulty aiming apparatus: adding that hitting the target was almost impossible under the circumstances. I said a silent “Thank You” to me sibling on this last day.

       One of the worst days (by far) was when we had to pull the pen from a hand grenade, and try to hit a target with it! I felt as if I was about to faint, as I finally managed to extract that pen from its resting place. And then I couldn’t have cared less where the darned thing landed: all I cared about was saving my right arm (not to mention the rest of my body!) Everybody around me laughed when the spiteful “weapon of mass destruction” hit the ground with a dull thud, that all-at-once became an explosion.

I loathed the machine gun also! Here, Marcus found his best weapon. I wondered, after this one-day introduction, how they ever got one to repeat itself so rapidly in all of those Warner Brothers crime-wave films, with James Cagney, Humphrey Bogart, Edward G. Robinson and all those James (Jesse and Frank) boys and Ma Baker and her vile off-springs!

For the life of me, I cannot remember what I had found to terrible about C & C, unless I had incurred one of the cadre’s ire and had been rewarded by getting to show off my Push-Up prowess.

At any rate, that finale to which we had all looked forward for so long dawned. Lynwood, as usual, had us all agreeing to try our best to win kudos for our beloved Lt. Rellis. The previous day, Lynwood (who always managed to “Take Over” anything that had to do with training) had us out in the surrounding training area, where he drilled us on such things as estimating the distance from Point A to Point B, and other skills which I was never any good at. But here, at least, Lynwood was as gung ho as an army cadre! We had often enjoyed “playing at” Dismounted  Drill. Marcus, and three other friends, were like putty in our buddy’s hands, as he recalled quite complex marching patterns.

We did not get any sort of special award for our staff, but then we did not flunk out, either!

(To be continued)

 

 Old Movie Trivia Quiz #68

1.     Some like it Hot was directed by what director?

2.     In this comedy, what historical crime had the two leading stars witnessed?

3.     Who played these two witnesses”

4.     Who played the role of “Sugar Kane”?

5.     What 1930’s comedian had the last laugh in the film? (He had a notorious big mouth)

6.     What musical instruments did the leads play?

7.     One of the two men had won an Oscar earlier. What was the film that won it for him?

8.     The other man had a famous wife and daughter. Can you name either of these ladies?

9.     One of the men played a Warlock in the film version of Bell, Book and Candle. Which was it?

10.                Where is the band ultimately going?

 

Answers to Quiz # Movie Trivia Quiz #67

 

1.    The Cockeyed Miracle was an MGM oddity from 1946 that I had never seen nor heard of.  It was hysterically funny, with a good cast headed by Frank Morgan, who was the title character of The Wizard of Oz.

2. Finnian’s Rainbow has a haunting musical score, which includes “How are Things in Glockomora?” “Look for the Rainbow”: “That Old Devil Moon”, “The Girl that I Marry”, etc. The director Francis Ford Coppola, who did such films as The Godfather, and its many sequels.
3. Fred Astaire was the actor who played Finnian. His daughter was played by Petula Clark, a popular British pop singer. She had starred in a remake of Goodbye, Mr. Chips earlier.
4. A Guy Named Joe was a melancholy story that starred Spencer Tracy and Irene Dunne
5. Julie Andrews, Mary Tyler Moore and Carol Channing all appeared in 1967’s  Thoroughly Modern Millie
6. Henry Fonda appeared in only one film of Alfred Hitchcock: Warner Bros.’ The Wrong Man, based on a true crime,
7. Samuel Goldwyn’s only Oscar was for the quintessential WW2 story, The Best Years of Our Lives
8. RKO’s They Knew What They Wanted became a big musical hit on Broadway as  The Most Happy Fellow
9.  was Becky Sharp in RKO’s first Technicolor film? Miriam Hopkins

10. Bitter Rice introduced Sylvano Mangano to USA screens.

 

 

 

FF XVIII, 42

Frank’s Fax Facts and Reviews

Vol. XVIII, No. 42

 Sunday, January 6, 2013         

My New Year’s Day began quietly and dull, but not to worry: things started happening around two that afternoon that more  than made up for the monotony of the earlier hours. I put some laundry in the washer, then went into the study to call Dale Hudson. We chatted for a while, and when I went back into the kitchen, I was in for a shock: the sink drain had clogged up and bilge water was all over the floor!

Having just had an overflow in my bathroom, when I left the water running in the lavatory till it got hot. I had already used lots of clean towels to soak up that mess! Then those two sweet ladies who seem always to visit me when I need help the most (Elizabeth French and Peggy Raines) came and took over drying the mess up.

Finally, I was able to get the same man who had gotten my guest bathroom in working order two weeks earlier. I hope I am free of plumbing bills for a while!

CAT FAX

“Cats are rather delicate creatures and they are subject to a good many ailments, but I never heard of one who suffered from insomnia.”

                                                                          Joseph Wood Crutch

Draft Dodgers Anonymous

       It was the second day that I was spending back in our barracks. I had thought the officer the job of Barracks Orderly had given me was for one day only; after which I would be returned to our Bivouac area, with all of its unpleasant little surprises. Now I offered a quick prayer, thanking God for my good fortune, as I walked towards the main PX. I had eaten my lunch there the day before, and it was simply sheer heaven eating Southern Fried Chicken and potato salad! I passed up the scrambled eggs, even though I knew that these were real eggs and not those awful powdered eggs of K-ration Fame. Instead, I opted for bacon and French Toast, with a Coca Cola substituting for Coffee. I enjoyed each mouthful (of which there were many) and then I sensed, rather than saw or heard someone standing next to my table. I glanced quickly, and almost fainted when I saw that it was none other than Lynwood!

       “What on earth are you doing here?” I asked, afraid that he would tell me that he had come to take over my Barracks Orderly job.

       “I took advantage of my cold to get permission to come in on ‘sick call.’” He laughed as he told me this. “But they said they’d come back for me around noon.”

       “Wonder if they’ll tell me to go back then, too?”

       “I have no idea; but I sure have missed you!”

       “Well-likewise, I’m sure.”

       “Don’t eat too fast now, cause I want some breakfast too.”

       “I’ll wait.”

       I watched as he walked towards the servers. He walked like a majorette; with a sort of swagger. When he returned (with the tray stacked high with fried chicken. Two Cokes and hominy grits) I chuckled.

       “What’s funny?” he asked.   

       “Oh, nothing. I guess I’m just glad to see you.”

       He took a mammoth bite of white meat, and said, “Same here!”

       From the first time we met, till the day he died, I had never had any friend who was dearer to me. “Don’t talk with your mouth full!”

       “Yes, Mother!”

       We both concentrated on our breakfast. Then he shoved his chair back and took out a cigarette and lit it. Between him and Marcus, I grew rather tired of giving my old “You should quit that disgusting habit!” speech. So I said it again.

       “Oh, I know it. But, what can I tell you: I’m hooked.”

       “Well. At least you’re not as bad as Marcus.” He grinned.

       “Nobody is!” he stated flatly.

       “Plus the fact that he is all too ready to share his daily carton with any of these moochers who have the habit, but seldom have the cigarettes.”

       “Amen to that. At  least I buy my own poison.”

       “Let’s get back before they come and steal us away from here,” I said drearily.

“So, what have you been doing to pass the time since you’ve had the place all to yourself?” He asked as we walked towards Service Company.

“I had several naps, and caught up on my letter writing.”

“Yo Mama goanna love dat!”

“I sincerely hope so. I wrote to George and Josephine, too.”

“I wish I could enjoy writing letters, but I just don’t. I can never think of anything interesting.”

“Oh, you must know that just letting people know you care enough about them to write a letter is enough to send most folks into outer space. But never, under any circumstances, let them know that you have even the slightest cold—or anything else that everybody gets!”

We were at the Company Clerk’s office, and heard him typing away at something. “Let’s see what Miz West is up to.” Ever since Lynwood heard that the guy’s name was Sgt.West, he had dubbed him “Mae” (but only behind his back)

I walked in behind Lyn. “Well, if it ain’t the best dang typist in the who army!” West seemed delighted to see Lynwood. And by this time, I knew that my friend’s virtuosity at the typewriter was rather like a young Horowitz at the piano!

“How you doin’, Sgt. West?”

“It’s been nice and quiet with everybody gone but Umbriago, here,” and he jabbed me playfully in the ribs.

“Do you know if we both have to go back today?” My heart was literally in my mouth as I asked this burning question.

“They never tell me anything!” he seemed genuinely upset; but I well remembered his telling a group of us, one night in the latrine that we were wasting entirely too much toilet paper: and that we needed only one sheet and a finger!

We left him and walked back to our bunks, where we sat on mine because it was a lower berth. Noon came and went, but thankfully no jeep bothered with us. So, we decided to wait until about five o’clock before returning to the PX for some sort of supper. “I have some Vienna sausages and crackers that Mama sent last week, and we’ll get Mae to let us in the officer’s lounge where we can get Cokes. I was always interested in when and from whence my next meal was coming.

Our mutual good luck continued to spoil us, and we were not made to return to the rest of our squadron (or was it a platoon? I was never very knowledgeable about logistics) until Thursday afternoon, late.

All we could think about on the ride back, was the forthcoming Infiltration Course, which we were required to run (without the “benefit” of two rehearsals) This amounts to crawling around a patch of dirt carefully designed to approximate an area of combat, with live ammunition whizzing all around and  above us! Not exactly what I was eager to go through!

 

       And to add insult to injury, we had to sleep in our tents afterwards! O, goody! I’d just bet that my tent-mate (who had half of our tent to be responsible for, while I had the other half) had missed my being there. Not!

       There was one positive, however, though at the time, it afforded me not a lot of compensation for those tons of negatives: Another of Mama’s huge CARE packages had come in much earlier in the week, and they had not opened it (mercifully). So, if (and that was very iffy) I managed to survive the onslaught, there would at least be that for which to be thankful!

       Almost the second we got out of the jeep, Marcus and the strange little fellow from the state of Washington, were there to welcome us back; tell us how much they had missed us; and then proceeded to make me almost throw up with their lurid descriptions of their earlier-that-day’s two trial runs! George (I cannot remember the boy’s other name, but he had no friends at all, except for myself and Marcus). His un-popularity was caused by his aversion to water. He would turn the shower on, then run as fast as he could run through its mist, one time. Of course he had no time to use soap. Threats of our entire squadron’s giving him a GI Shower were voiced repeatedly. Then, one night, when Marcus and I had gone to a movie, and came in after most of the place was asleep, we heard the following sad tale: George had tried to get away with his usual “Shower”, and suddenly was attacked by several of the bigger and more gung-ho trainees of the place. They held him down and he was forced to endure his entire body’s being brutally scrubbed with stiff new brushes! After they finally released him, he ran out on the little balcony at the end of the floor, and attempted to hang himself with a rope!

       The little fellow had received a sort of CARE package of his own--that same week, he told me. He said he was not sharing it with anyone but Marcus and me. Those were the most wonderful apples I had ever tasted! I kid you not.

       But I’m getting ahead of myself: We still had the I. C. to be gotten through.

       “Marcus,” Lynwood was literally begging for some words of comfort. “How bad was it?”

       “Oooooh! Y’all-------------it was HORRIBLE! I’ve never been through anything like it! And the second time it was even WORSE!”

       I looked over at George, who was nonchalantly munching an apple. “Was it really that bad?” I asked.

Among other things that George never seemed to mince, were words like, “Yes!”

(To be Continued)

Movie Trivia Quiz #67

1. The Cockeyed Miracle was an MGM oddity from 1946 that I had never seen nor heard of.  It was hysterically funny, with a good cast headed by the man who was the title character of The Wizard of Oz. Do you remember his name?
2. Finnian’s Rainbow has a haunting musical score, which includes “How are Things in Glockomora?” “Look for the Rainbow”: “That Old Devil Moon”, “The Girl that I Marry”, etc. The director was the man who did such films as The Godfather, and its many sequels. What is his name?
3. Fred Astaire was the actor who played Finnian. His daughter was a popular British pop singer. Who was she? (She told another of her leading men, “Good-bye!” with its title)
4. A Guy Named Joe was a melancholy story that starred Spencer Tracy and the star of Showboat. What was her name?
5. Julie Andrews, Mary Tyler Moore and Carol Channing all appeared in what huge hit of 1967?
6. Henry Fonda appeared in only one film of Alfred Hitchcock: Can you name it?  
7. Samuel Goldwyn made such hits as Wuthering Heights, The Best Years of Our Lives, Pride of the Yankees, The Bishop’s Wife and Guys and Dolls, but won only one Oscar. For which of these films? Best Years of Our Lives
8. RKO’s They Knew What They Wanted became what big musical hit on Broadway? The Most Happy Fellow
9. Who was Becky Sharp in RKO’s first Technicolor film? Miriam Hopkins
10. Bitter Rice introduced what Italian star to USA screens? Silvana Mangano

 

Answers to Quiz #66

1. Johnny Depp was Sweeny Todd, the owner of a Chocolate Factory, and is often in the Caribbean Sea.

2. Loretta Young was David Niven’s wife in The Bishop’s Wife.

3.     Dudley, (Cary Grant) was the angel who played the harp in this wonderful Sam Goldwyn movie.

4.     Peggy Cass was Auntie Mame’s secretary in the film Aunty Mame, for which she won an Oscar.

5.      Lucille Ball played the role of Mame in the filmed musical version.

6.     Angela Lansbury made those famous “Meat Pies” in Broadway’s original Sweeny Todd.

7.     Johnny Come Lately was played by James Cagney.

8.     Henry Fonda was in such diverse films as Young Abe Lincoln, The Lady Eve, Jezebel, Jesse James, and On Golden Pond. He won only one Oscar, for his last film (On Golden Pond)’

9.     Tyrone Power was the other top Fox star was with the above actor as Jessie 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? Duh: Would you believe The Outlaw?

 

 

1.    In Love Crazy, William Powell poses as an insane man, to try to save his marriage to frequent costar, Myrna Loy.

2. 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 Mitcham, 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.