good talk

We often find ourselves doing things we'd never thought we'd be doing, after I left the Snowbelt for idyllic San Diego, I needed a job, and found myself working as a Cemetery Salesman for Cypress View Mausoleum.  Back in Ohio, I kidded some guy who did this, asking how's Tombstone Territory?  Cypress View was all marble and splendor, as it is today, it's art-collection worth millions, if you gotta be dead, this is the place for it (remember Marlin Perkins, the star of "Mutual of Omaha's Wild Kingdom" from 1963 to 1985, sure you do, he's in there).  That's the new mausoleum, the old mausoleum is across the street, it's been filled for 70 years, nobody ever visited any of the crypts, except for one.  Engraved on the nameplate was  George Radavich  1925-1930, and there were fresh flowers on that crypt twice a week, and I was there as late as 1983, his mother was still alive                                                                   

good talk

The National Football League has always marketed their product as wholesome, family-entertainment.  A father isn't paying good money, to take his little boy, to see, ha, a line of embittered Black Guys, disrespecting their place of employment.  Who wants to see that, and what type of example is that for his child.  My father used to take us up to Cleveland to see the Browns play, my brothers and I regarded them as heroes, they had achieved high athletic ability, and had conditioned themselves physically and morally to play a demanding-game.  The current NFL Players, ha, have turned-off most of those who'd be attending their games, with their weird-conduct (most of them have had their bell-rung too many), and attendance at games and TV Viewership have gone down and will continue to plummet.  The Players are killing the Goose that Lays the Golden Eggs, and after it's dead, many of them will be seen on Skid Rows throughout the Country                                                                                  

good talk

This thing about Larry Nassar and the American gymnasts was going-on for several years, and by their own admission was known by the parents, as well, they all talked about it.  The gymnasts and parents thought that this was something they had to put-up with in order to become Olympic gymnasts, and they were willing to do it (that is so disgusting).  It's only just recently, when they see themselves getting money from this, that it's been publicized (hey, I saw a feminine-napkin ad in "People" with Aly Raisman's endorsement, she didn't get that before).  I can see Aly's ...I want you to suffer... catching-on, there's a lot of man-haters out there, million-woman rallies  ...Suffer, Suffer...  Anyway, there's a bunch of lawsuits abrewin'.  So far as McKayla Maroney, she seems to have ample money to live-on throughout her life, if she wants to be known as other than someone who makes her living by suing people, she better get going, there's people in grad school her age.  I did the best I could for that girl (when I think of how hard I worked with that girl), and I deserve credit for this, I didn't reach her in time.  Her previous associations, ha, don't seem to have done her a whole lot of good                                           

good talk

I don't like to practice, never have  -Van Cliburn

good talk

Kate Spade was a big-hero to the women, where I'm staying in San Diego, the manager has 5 of her bags, pity.  I meant that Trump awaits my offering like a begging dog, not that he should give away his money, he doesn't have that of Andrew, anyway.  This year marks the 60th since the inaugural International Tchaikovsky Piano Competition in Moscow, in 1958. The Soviets had launched Sputnik in 1957, the first man-made object in Space, and this was to prove to all the superiority of the Soviet Union, also, in culture over the West, especially the crude Plutocrat Americans.  One entry was Van Cliburn (Harvey Lavan Cliburn, Jr.,  July 12, 1934 to Feb. 27, 2013), a "23" year old, 6'4", Texan, whose mother was his first teacher, telling him to make the piano as tho he were singing.  On April 13, the Southern Baptist from Fort Worth played Tchaikovsky's Piano Concerto No. 1 and Rachmaninoff's Piano Concerto No. 3,  his rendition of their masters' classics moving the Russian Soul such that the audience leapt to its feet, applauding until they could no more.  The judges asked Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev if they were allowed to declare an American the winner  ...he's the best, give it to him...  Van returned to a ticker-tape parade down Broadway (I was a little boy taking lessons and was following all this),  Van's accomplishment a big moment during the Cold War.  He was signed by RCA Victor, his Tchaikovsky Piano Concerto No. 1 album eventually going triple-platinum, Van was to tour extensively, and returned to Russia several times, always as a well-loved friend of the Russian People,  it could well be said that during the Cold War, Van Cliburn was the only American welcome in Russia                                                                          

good talk

See My Blog for Jan. 20, 2011, Trump too.  I went to the Museum of the United States Air Force, largest aircraft-museum in the world, at Wright-Patterson AFB, outside of Dayton, Mike had been there twice, and I was hungry to go.  All enclosed, it has aircraft from the beginning, to modern times, it's just immense, open about every day, free.  There's the presidential-aircraft, the ones used by FDR, Truman, Eisenhower.  I was in the Air Force One used from 1962 to 1972, used as a backu.p until 1998.  This was which brought John and Jackie Kennedy to Dallas, I saw where a crack remains from where JFK's coffin was brought-aboard, I stood where Lyndon Johnson was sworn-in, all this on Nov. 22, 1963 (he wanted Jackie there in her blood-soaked dress to show continuity).  I was there 2 days, including a big-day throughout the Country, May 17, 2018, when the "Memphis Belle", the B-17 Super Fortress, was revealed to the public, it's importance being that it was the first bomber to complete 25 missions in Europe in WW 11, it and its crew were brought-back to sell War Bonds (.pardon the internet-current of the LaJolla Library).  I also saw "Bockscar", the B-29 Super Fortress which dropped the Atomic Bomb "Fat Man" on Nagasaki.  Many of the American war-planes of WW 11 had artistry and names, such as the B-24 Liberator I saw, featuring a voluptuous, reclining, redhead "Strawberry Bitch"                   

good talk

See My Blog for Jan. 18, 2012 (she's as bad as the rest of them).  That was an obvious Charge, LeBron was standing, not moving, and Durant went thru him, why there'd be a conference and a change of call is bewildering, the Cavs would have won that, the Series is over.  I always see 2 Musicals when I go to New York, I saw "Wicked" and "The Book of Mormon", the Gershwin is okay, the Eugene O' Neill is a dump. My brother Bob's good friend, Greg Urbas, Wrestling Coach at Lakewood St. Edward, has retired after 29 years, a multitude of State Championships and 4 National Championships. Hank Kornblut ...Back in my early coaching days I was trying to get something going at Shaker (Heights H.S.)... It meant a lot to me as a young coach to have him come up, shake my hand and say "hello". Plenty of coaches of strong programs have a hint of arrogance to them... not Coach Urbas.   I think that he would consider his most important accomplishment to be the positive impact he had on so many young lives.  In today's fractured society, I  look at him as the type of leader we should all admire.      See My Blog for Feb. 10, 2011