Miscellany
Tidbits I collect along the way
Richard Boone was the great-great-great-great-great-grandson of Squire Boone, Daniel’s brother. Boone grew up in California, dropped out of Stanford, and joined the Navy during WWII. He was a tail gunner on a Grumman Avenger torpedo bomber.
Boone became an actor whose most notable role was in the CBS TV show Have Gun—Will Travel, which ran from 1957 to 1963. His character, Paladin, was erudite and tough, with a strong sense of righteousness. He traveled the West, making things right.
Growing up, I thought Paladin was the definition of a man.
In contrast, Mr. Trump chose his daddy, Fred, the New York City slumlord, as his hero.
MELANIA, the Documentary
The reviews are in. Vanity Fair said that Melania “is a purportedly serious film that plays like a mockumentary.”
The Hollywood Reporter called the documentary “an unabashed, fly‑on‑the‑gilded‑wall fawn job.”
Empire “compared Melania to Triumph of the Will, the 1935 film commissioned by Adolf Hitler, and argued that Ratner’s documentary is ‘political propaganda at its most transparent.’”
A suggestion: Instead of watching such gilded vomit, check out Netflix’s MIRACLE: The Boys of ‘80, a beautiful documentary built on contemporary interviews with the team of kids—now all pushing 70 years of age—who beat the Russians in the Lake Placid Olympics and went on to win the gold against Latvia.
I attended that game, assisting a friend, Bill Eppridge, who was a photographer for Sports Illustrated. It was the birthplace of the USA chant. We could use a miracle like that today.
We might have it if Lindsey Vonn, 41, wins one of her races, following a ruptured ACL on January 30. She is scheduled to race on the 8th. Recently, she posted a video of her training with her dammaged ACL:
I was so overwhelmed by that performance that I called my pal Jack, a retired orthopaedic surgeon, who is much older than I (by two months). His short answer was this: the ACL keeps the lower leg from pulling forward from the knee when the leg is flexed. Vonn’s leg muscles and ligaments are so strong that her collateral ligaments assume the ACL’s job. They will stretch, eventually, and she may need surgery, but not before she races, starting on Sunday.
Vonn could be a Miracle in the making. Coincidentally, she is a child of the Twin Cities, where the drinking water makes everyone tough.
Gomer Obligation
By tradition, a person of my advanced age should spend time railing against the youth of today. It is what gomers do, along with walking fluffy dogs and taking naps. But how, pray tell, could one fault this eloquent, passionate young woman? If I had the poise and emotions of her delivery, I would be able to hire someone to take naps for me.
Removing the Trash
Greg Bovino, the Border Patrol’s tallest midget, who was ousted from his leadership role in Minneapolis, was escorted out of a bar in Vegas recently.
According to the Las Vegas Sun, a spokesman for a sports bar on The Strip commented that, “Upon becoming aware of the individual’s presence, the patron was asked to leave the premises and was escorted out by staff in accordance with venue policy to maintain a safe and orderly environment for all patrons.”
Bovino was filmed chugging wine with a group of young men at the bar.
Paladin did not chug wine at sports bars.
Fight the Fight!
I think I could do one of Lindsey's exercises -- the one where she's lying down weeping, having a screaming tantrum, and madly pummeling that big ball with her little feet.