Update 3-20-07

Hi,

I seemed to be trying to set a speed record for editing last week, which resulted in a couple of typos.  The most repetitive hit Judy Hartstone's note: Then, I'd got next door to Shlucker's for a box of assorted box donuts and Danish.  That should have read: Then I'd go next door to Shlucker's for a box of assorted donuts and Danish.
        Again, why do I edit?  Why not just let the letters run as received?  For one thing, they often arrive in different fonts, sizes, and colors.  But more, I try to make the reading as quick and smooth as possible.  I just need to be more careful.
        End of apology.  Now, last week's delayed mail.
   
    From Allen Moss in Maine:  To Marc Jonas -- I enjoyed your comment, as my parents thought that I was definitely watching too much television.  And that includes my pleading and begging to stay up late occasionally to watch "Shock Theater" on Channel 7.  That was on about 11:00 PM, with host John Zacherly and his "werewolf in a bag" named Gasport.  My parents complained but pretty much let me do as I pleased, and I have always appreciated their laissez faire attitude.  I don't believe I have suffered any ill effects of such TV viewing. ????  On the contrary, I think, now that old-time television is reaching its peak with DVDs, my pleasure at watching has been increased all the more.
        And to Betsy Fels -- first a big hello and a hug from Maine.  And yes, I was absolutely a "Sky King" watcher.  Also in the cast of characters was "Skipper," who was Penny's boyfriend.  I have to tell you, Betsy, that I have watched some of the "Sky King" episodes recently, and they really don't hold up nearly as well as some of the other great vintage shows from the 1950s.  It is mostly the sluggish pacing that is their downfall.  It is pretty amusing though to see the actor Kirby Grant, as Sky King, a bit past his physical prime, since several of episodes show a rather prominent beer belly.  And I noted that there actually were two "Songbirds" that were used for the run of the program.  I don't know much about the old Beechcrafts, but I believe that two different models of that aircraft were used.
        As a closing memory-jogger to Greg Kaplan and Neil Guberman, if they are following the newsletter, two hours worth of the old Soupy Sales black and white shows from WNEW-Channel 5 were recently released on DVD.  I rented the disc from Netflix and, indeed, it was several of the shows that we watched over at Greg's house after school, around 1964-1965.  I still found myself laughing out loud at some of Soupy's adult humor, some great visuals, and the incredible bantering that continuously occurred between Soupy and the off-camera crew members.  I think that is what I liked most about the show.  Contrary to what a lot of people think about Pee-Wee Herman's originality in his show "Pee-Wee's Playhouse," it is clear that Pee-Wee took a tremendous amount of his inspiration and ideas from Soupy's shows.
        The WNEW shows were thought to have been totally lost, due to the station's practice of taping over reels to save money, but apparently some have survived.  The quality is not great, but it's certainly good enough to allow me to appreciate some of Soupy's groundbreaking work during that period.  I will leave you a great one-liner that tells you who Soupy really thought was his audience.  In a skit where he plays the patient of a psychologist and is threatening to jump in an attempted suicide, he asks the psychologist, "How high are we?"  Immediately, the crew behind the camera breaks out in hysterics and both Soupy and Frank Nastasi -- playing the psychologist -- are having a really hard time keeping straight faces.  Soupy finally gets out the answer, "Well, it depends on who you ask."  At that point, all bedlam breaks loose behind the cameras.  There was nobody like ole Soupy.
        Best to all.
   
    From Jerry Bittman:  Captain Kangaroo passed away on January 23, 2004, at age 76, which is odd, because he always looked to be 76.  His date of birth was June 27, 1927.  His death reminded me of the following story:
        Some people have been a bit offended that the actor Lee Marvin is buried in a grave alongside three- and four-star generals at Arlington National Cemetery.  His marker gives his name, rank (private), and service (United States Marine Corps), and nothing else, so some people think, "Here's a guy who was only a famous movie star who served his time.  Why the heck does he rate burial with these guys?"  Well, following is the amazing answer.
        I always liked Lee Marvin but didn't know the extent of his Marine Corps experiences.  At a time when many Hollywood stars served their country in the armed forces in rear echelon posts where they were carefully protected and only trotted out to perform for the cameras in war bond promotions, Lee Marvin was a genuine hero.  He won the Navy Cross at Iwo Jima, and there is only one higher Naval award -- the Medal of Honor.  If that is a surprising comment on the true character of the man, he credits his sergeant with an even greater show of bravery.
        Here's some dialogue from "The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson."  Johnny said, "Lee, I'll bet a lot of people are unaware that you were a Marine in the initial landing at Iwo Jima, and that during the course of that action you earned the Navy Cross and were severely wounded."
        Marvin:  "Yeah, yeah... I got shot square in the bottom, and they gave me the Cross for securing a hot spot about halfway up Suribachi.  Bad thing about getting shot up on a mountain is guys getting shot hauling you down.  But, Johnny, at Iwo, I served under the bravest man I ever knew.  We both got the Cross the same day, but what he did for his Cross made mine look cheap in comparison.  That dumb guy actually stood up on Red beach and directed his troops to move forward and get the hell off the beach.  Bullets were flying by, with mortar rounds landing everywhere, and he stood there as the main target of gunfire so that he could get his men to safety.  He did this on more than one occasion because his men's safety was more important than his own life.  That sergeant and I have been lifelong friends.  When they brought me off Suribachi, we passed the sergeant, and he lit a smoke and passed it to me, lying on my belly on the litter.  He said, 'Where'd they get you, Lee?'  'Well, Bob,' I told him, 'if you make it home before me, tell Mom to sell the outhouse!'  Johnny, I'm not lying -- Sergeant Keeshan was the bravest man I ever knew.  The sergeant's name is Bob Keeshan.  You and the world know him as Captain Kangaroo."
        On another note, there was this wimpy little man, gentle and quiet, on PBS, who just passed away.  Mr. Rogers is another one of those people who you would least suspect of being anything but what he portrayed on TV.  But Mr. Rogers was a U.S. Navy Seal, combat-proven in Vietnam, with over twenty-five confirmed kills to his name.  He wore a long-sleeved sweater on TV to cover the many tattoos on his forearms and biceps.  He was a master in small arms and hand-to-hand combat, able to disarm or kill in a heartbeat.  After the war, Mr. Rogers became an ordained Presbyterian minister and, therefore, a pacifist.  Vowing to never harm another human, he dedicated the rest of his life to trying to help lead children on the right path in life.  He hid away the tattoos and his past life and won our hearts with his quiet wit and charm.
        America's real heroes don't flaunt what they did.  They quietly go about their day-to-day lives doing what they do best.  They earned our respect and the freedoms that we all enjoy.  Look around and see if you can find one of those heroes in your midst.  Often, they are the ones you'd least suspect, but who you would most like to have on your side if anything ever happened.  Take the time to thank anyone who has fought for our freedom.  With encouragement, they could be the next Captain Kangaroo or Mr. Rogers.
   
    And this week's arrivals:
   
    From Zelda White Nichols:  Does anyone know if Shore’s still exists?  I think it was in Hewlett, and my folks used to take me there.  We would sit at the counter and order hot dogs or cheeseburgers.  I loved watching everyone's orders being delivered by a railroad train that ran around the counter area.
   
    From Janet Hernandez:  Hi. I just want to wish everyone who turns sixty this year a Happy Birthday.  I already turned sixty last June and enjoyed my birthday a lot.  I went to Florida for two weeks and had a blast.
        Also, I remember the old TV shows, and it does bring back happy memories when you talk about them.  Thank you for that.
   
    From Marc Jonas:  For the record, the picture of Joey Heatherton did not come from my scrapbook.  Not that it wouldn't have been bad idea, but...
   
    From Judy Hartstone:  Regarding the traveling ice cream trucks:  let's not forget the Judy Ann
    man.  They had the best drumsticks.
   
    From Emily Kleinman Schreiber:  I just spent half my day searching for good dates for a trip to Florida to see my mom.  I had to settle on April 17th to 23rd, and the problem now is the April meeting of the Alumni Association was scheduled for the 19th.  So please change the meeting on your calendars to April 26th.  and if you were planning to attend the meeting, I hope this change won't create a problem.
   
    From Evelyn Read '59:  Joanne Shapiro Polner sent me a copy of your class's newsletter, and I would like to be added to the mailing list.  I sent a copy to Gayle Ulrich Ramesh, still in Florida, in case she would like to receive one.  I think that her e-mail address on your site may be outdated, and I told her so.
        I dated Gayle's brother, Gary '61, who passed away last May of cancer.  So did my brother, Walter, who was in Gary's class.  Walter died on October 1st, 1999, and it is very frightening to know that so many South graduates have died of cancer.
        I am looking forward to receiving your class's newsletter, and, perhaps, adding some memories to it.  Joanne and I have been doing a lot of remembering lately.
   
    From Helen David:  It seems that we missed out on the free cookies at Wall's, but my husband used to take our little daughter next door to the Windmill.  There, Max, the pickle-man, always used to reach into the depths of the barrel and come up with a little pickle, which our daughter devoured immediately.
        Then there is the story of the bagels:  Members of my Canadian family moved to Washington years ago.  We visited them in D.C., and they were half ecstatic because someone was flying in from Montreal and bringing "the best bagels in the world," which they promised to share with us.  But let me tell you, we never tasted anything worse!
        Finally, to Grace Dibble, whom I remember as a slip of a girl.  I am still in touch with your parents' friend, Mrs. Ruth Bushnell, who taught mathematics at South High School until her retirement in 1973.  She is living with her daughter, Joan, who also attended South.  They're in Pine Bush, New York.
   
    From Jean Cohen Oklan:  Hi, everyone.  We had an impressive three-and-a-half-foot snowfall during the Valentine's Day blizzard, but wouldn't you know, it's the "food talk" that got me to write.  Relating to Steve Cahn's comments:  We had bread delivered by the Dugan's man.  I thought he was the most handsome man I had ever seen, and, at eight-years-old, I wished I was old enough to marry that handsome devil.  We also had the Fuller Brush man drop by, and my mom, being frugal, would only purchase toothbrushes from this very friendly man who had a high-pitched voice.  We also always got the free potato brush.  I'm sure he made it to some of your homes.  An additional ice-cream vendor was Judy Ann, "The Ice Cream Man."
        Jumping to my teen years:  If I was out and about, driving home at 3:00 AM, I would drive by Gold Star Bakery on Rockaway Avenue.  At 3:00 AM, those ovens were full, and they emitted the most heavenly scent.  Since our neighbor worked at Gold Star, I knew that every Saturday morning, we would wake up to a bag of fresh rolls and bagels on our front stoop.  Does it get any better -- or fatter -- than that?
        Even today, every time my husband and I visit Long Island, we frequent our favorite places for unbelievably good food that we cannot get in northwest Vermont.  When my husband, who is from Oceanside, and I walk into Wall's Bakery -- via the back door, of course -- I think that a corner of heaven must smell like this.  Thanks to everyone for all the great memories.
   
    [Rich -- Yes, well, now the problem is I want Wall's chocolate-dipped macaroons.  And I'm gonna have to settle for Girl Scout cookies.]