Our Menagerie

We had another visitor today. I believe this opossum may have been injured in its hindquarters. It was eating the seed the birds drop from their feeders and I tossed it some banana nut bread and dog biscuits.

Butterfly McQueen and Margaret Hamilton

Shortly after I arrived in New York City and had joined the Screen Actors Guild, a strike was called. I dutifully volunteered to man the phones at 1500 Broadway. I was ushered into a room with tables, chairs and phones and took a seat between two ladies. One of the ladies was Butterfly McQueen and the other was Margaret Hamilton. They had starred in the two biggest films of the late '30s, GONE WITH THE WIND and THE WIZARD OF OZ.

I sat speechless in awe of their presence when Butterfly spoke up in that tiny, high-pitched voice.

"Oh, Miss Hamilton. Miss Hamilton. You're my favorite actress."

"Call me Maggie, honey," was the reply.

Thanksgiving

Took Mom to my sister's in North Ridegville for Thanksgiving dinner. All three of her children and all three of her grandchildren were present and accounted for. Sis made me my own veggie stuffing. Deelicious! Much to be thankful for.

Sons of Liberty

Sons of Liberty coins were movie premiums for Walt Disney's Johnny Tremain 1957. So I must have been 6 when I got mine. Later my sister threw it away with two large drawerfuls of wonderful prizes collected from Cracker Jacks and bubble gum for eighteen years. If I had that treasure today and sold it piece by piece on eBay, I would be living in the lap of luxury, and my wonderful sister wouldn't have to keep harping on me to get a real job.

Starlings

This morning a school of hundreds of starlings swarmed over our backyard. They were only there for a few minutes, then flew off. They move as one. The individual bird is just a cell in the swarming mass.

a Deer, a female Deer

Mom and I got to watch four deer in our own backyard this evening. I took some lousy pictures of them.

Earlier I spotted a pair of bluejays and a pair of hummingbirds. Also a grey tiger cat with four white boots.

Amen.

Fairies

Mom walked out to the mailbox and said, when she got back to the house,"There's a fairy circle out there."

If you look up fairy circles, pixie rings, or the like you'll find they're a circle of mushrooms or toadstools and the grass in the middle is dying.

Yep, we had us a downright magical happening place right in our own front yard. Amazing!

But the only evidence I have that fairies live here are the two Democratic political signs that popped up right after the circle formed.

Girls

It seems to me God has taken great care and delight in creating women. Or am I mistaken?

the Metropolitan Museum of Art

There was a time, not so long ago, when cameras were forbidden in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York City. But last week a guard I questioned said as long as it wasn't a major exhibit and no flash was used, go to it.
Amazing!! One can now have great art wherever you go with the help of a digital camera.

13 the Musical

October 5th, 2008 will be opening night for a very young cast and band at the Bernard B. Jacobs Theatre 242 W.45th St.
"13 the Musical" is in previews, starring the extraordinary Delaney Moro.
The story starts in New York City and then travels swiftly to Indiana.
With lots of singing and dancing along the way.
Check it out.

New York

I just returned to Ohio after spending 5 days and six nights in lovely Manhattan. In Times Square I was happy to see "The Naked Cowboy" still plying his trade. You want your gal's picture taken with him, you cough up some green.

Ike

Hurricane Ike was still causing havoc in Ohio Sunday night. Our electricty disappeared around 6 PM and wasn't restored until Tuesday morning at 6:30 AM.

After enjoying breakfast at home and showering, I took Mom for a mammogram, then to Bob Evans. I cell phoned the eyecare place and they said her new lens was ready.

So we went to Medina and got her glasses updated.

Dropped Mom off at the house and drove to Medina again so I could take advantage of my Borders Books coupon. Then I went to Dodd's camera and bought a new digital camera--Nikon Coolpix P60.

Then back home where Darla had arrived to clean the house, which she does every other Tuesday afternoon.

Then I drove Mom back to Medina to Panera Bread restaurant for dinner. Then off to Brunswick and grocery shopping at Beuhler's.

Phew! Can't wait for my relaxing New York City vacation.

Amen.

Old style television broadcasting

I guess you call it analog broadcasting, what we have now. Until it's replaced by digital broadcasting in February of 2009. Well, it stinks!
I bought the stupid digital tuner box and dutifully hooked it up. Where is PBS, our favorite channel? And where's NBC? When it comes in it gets all scrambled and impossible to watch. This is progress? For shame!
The old way of broadcasting wasn't perfect, but at least we could watch the shows we wanted to, and with much less frustration.
My brother says they're going to sell those old wavebands to cell phones and such for millions of dollars. May they all rot in Hades with their illgotten booty.

Charles Darwin

Why would any self-respecting museum come to Cleveland or Pittsburgh to audition actors to play Charles Darwin when they specifically require an authentic Shropshire accent? Why not go to England where there must be a large number of authentic Shropshire-accented people? But I auditioned anyway on Friday. Go figure.

Deer

I've got to learn how to use my cell phone as a camera. Last evening I went into the backyard, and there was a beautiful doe looking at me. I tried to take her picture, but I guess I blew it, because I don't have it. When my aunt called me on the cell the noise caused the deer to gracefully head into the woods, so I didn't get a second chance.

Janet Munro

Janet Munro is another wonderful Disney girl. In SWISS FAMILY ROBINSON she first appears in disguise. Hayley Mills father, John Mills, plays the family's sire. Janet was with Sean Connery in DARBY O'GILL AND THE LITTLE PEOPLE and almost climbed the Matterhorn in THIRD MAN ON THE MOUNTAIN. Sadly, she passed away while still young.

Hayley Mills

"Pollyanna" is my favorite Disney live-action film. This picture is from "The Parent Trap" since it shows Hayley Mills with both long and short hair as identical twins seperated while still babies.
I was very fortunate to see the grown-up Ms Mills in two one acts by Noel Coward in New York and got to take a 3D (stereo) portrait of her as she was leaving the theatre.

My Mom

Friday night I had a scare when Mom came to me with a tube of Lanacane for me to put on my bug bites. But when she tried to tell me her intentions, nonsense words came out of her mouth. Her doctor ordered me to take her to the Medina General emergency room where they figured she'd had a mini stroke.

She's back home now after two days of their horrible food. I took her to Bob Evans for dinner last night. Now she has a round of doctors appointments to fulfill.

Thank you for your prayers on her behalf. God answered them all.

Amen.

Car Shows

People in Ohio love cars. Especially old ones. If they're not buying classic vehicles and fancying them up, then they go to see the ones their neighbors purchased and gussied. So Saturday I took my trusty dig-cam to Laurel Square Shopping Center in Brunswick, OH and posted some pictures at my facebook account.

Batman...

With the huge success of "The Dark Knight" and Heath Ledger's unforgettable performance, I hope folks will take a look at this terrific 2-disc animated thrill ride which includes a video-bi-op of creator Bob Kane and four terrific episodes from the Batman animated series.

Hinckley, Ohio 44233

The buzzard picture in the center was drawn by Al Capp himself, creator of Li'l Abner and the folks of Dogpatch, U.S.A. Pretty neat, eh?

Hinckley, Ohio is notorious for the annual return of its flock of buzzards (turkey vultures) every March 15th, which is celebrated the following Sunday at the Hinckley Elementary School.
Visitors can enjoy a Pancake and sausage breakfast, check out a live buzzard provided by the Cleveland Zoo, and buy buzzard related items in the gymnasium like T-shirts, hats and such.

Put it on your calendar for next year.

Christmas in July...

Mt.Pleasant will be celebrating Christmas in July this Sunday. Church will be followed by a good old-fashioned pot luck dinner. Come one, come all. We always have plenty of food for everyone.

Does this image cause you to squint a bit? It's no brighter than the white background of this website. White is white, right? But optical illusions are still fun and fascinating. Include your favorites on the comments page for future sharing.

Jiminy Cricket to the world...

Reverend Skull preaching now:

Want to save on tip money? Well, not really, but it will seem like a bigger tip when you leave or present it. Use the person's name. The wait person, busguy, cabbie, maid, hairdresser, whomever. Be clever about finding out what it is. Many staff people wear name tags. "Thank you, Joyce," registers as almost ten times simply saying "Thank you".

Our great goal to bring smiles to as many faces as possible continues.

Amen

Reverend Matthew Wald (back row, left of cross) decided it would be fun if we all wore Hawaiian shirts to church last Sunday (see link for Bennett's Corners). Here's the result.

What I Learned from Wardrobe...

Two important lessons I've learned from my dressers over the years and I'd like to share this wisdom with you.

1. Your own saliva will get rid of your own blood.

Nothing worse than going onstage with red stains on your beautiful costume caused by an accidental cut, or scrape. Spit on the stain and gently rub with a cloth or tissue.

2. Like cloth rubbed against like cloth can remove dry dirt (don't try this with a greasy stain).

You get dirt on your pants cuff. Rub the other pant leg over it to remove the dirt. Wool aganst wool; cotton against cotton; silk against silk. I think it may be related to similar thread counts or something.

If you know of other priceless wisdom feel free to add your comments.

And God loves you.

Vegas...?

Coline tells me Satya has eighty-sixed the lovely Central Park wedding and opted for a chapel affair in Las Vegas.

Unfortunately, my round-trip only covers Cleveland to Dulles to LaGuardia and the reverse. So I plan to enjoy a brief stay in the West Village with metro trips all over the Big Apple. Strand Book Store here I come. Watch-out Actors Equity!

Should you be there and care to see me just call or email.

Revenge can be funny...

Joyce Nolen reminded me today of our final performance of "42nd STREET" at Tuacahn last October. She played Dorothy Brock to my Abner Dillon. We never really got to finish the show that night because the wind was just too powerful. Did I forget to mention Tuacahn is outdoors?

Well, we had a scene in the Regency Hotel bar where Dorothy gets drunk and nasty and throws her drink in my face. However, with this ferocious wind howling by, it stopped the liquid in mid throw...I could see the globes floating momentarily in the air between us. Then they reversed their trajectory and Joyce received a good splash in the face. She says my look of incredulity almost caused her to crack up, which we both did after we finally exited stage left.

Just thought I'd share that special theatrical moment with you.

Forrest Gump Has Nothing On Me

It helps to be an actor in New York if you wish to cross paths with famous folk.

Working with them---Nathan Lane, John Raitt, Tom Wopat, Neil Diamond, John Cullum, Theodore Bikel, Richard Kiley, Patti LuPone, Jamie Farr, Faith Prince, Rob Ashford, Andy Blankenbuehler, Elliot Feld, Adam Arkin, Jonathan Frakes, Scott Bakula, Ed Ames, Leslie Uggams, Richard Dean Anderson, Jonathan Freeman, Alyssa Milano, Gary Beach, Ernie Sabella, Susan Lucci, David Cassidy, Peter Gallagher, Harve Prenell, Jane Connell and Ronald Reagan, to list a few.

Eating with them at Gracie Mansion---Ed Koch and David Dinkins, mayors of the Big Apple.

Partying with---Madonna, Red Buttons, Bea Arthur, Eric Stoltz, Alec Baldwin.

Catching them with my stereo 3D camera---Brooke Shields, Hayley Mills, Phoebe Cates, Mimi Miyagi, Al Goldstein.

No wonder I'm deluded with grandeur!

Blessings.

My first black friend

My first black friend was a fellow eight year old camper at Camp Crag YMCA in Hinckley, Ohio. Our first day at camp we were introduced as cabin mates. I was surprised to learn his name...Junebug.
Now, I was acquainted with Stymie and Buckwheat of Little Rascals / Our Gang fame on Captain Penny's TV show. But I knew them to be fictional comic characters and never thought I would meet someone in 1959 who would carry such an amusing and quaint appellation.
Junebug was a charity camper from Medina, meaning his family were too poor to pay for his camp experience, so some kind person or organization was sponsoring him. I guess we must have felt a little sorry for him because I don't recall anyone making fun of his name. He was a nice boy, too. That helped.
Check the links, please.

Big Apple, here I come

Coline phoned yesterday with the sad news of her mother's passing. But she also said I could stay with her while in New York for her daughter's wedding, so that's the good news.

I hope you get to visit some of the links I've included with my blog. I'll be adding more soon.

Blessings.

Disney

Back when Disney Magazine was still being published (why isn't it still?)

They opined that should you choose to collect Disney collectables, it would be prudent to choose just one favorite character for your focus. And Mickey would not be a good choice unless you have unlimited funds.

I chose TinkerBell for obvious reasons, but now I find (especially with her new DVD movie almost upon us) She may be even more prolific than our favourite mouse.

Such is life in the fast lane.

Blessing unto thee.

What now?...

No car. And this is farm land where the public transit is for old or handicapped people and doesn't come out this far anyway. Bummer.
And I still don't know if I have a place to stay in New York.
Help.

God loves you for logging on

This is my first attempt at a blog. Not even sure I know what to do or how, but I'm willing to try.
I'm excited about my approaching trip to New York City for Satya's Central Park wedding. Looking forward to the Strand Bookstore at Broadway and 12th Street and getting cold sesame noodles somewhere.
I'd love to see my friend Delaney's Broadway show--THIRTEEN, and Patti LuPone in GYPSY.
Maybe there will be something to audition for through Actors Equity.
Bless you,
Leslie