Truth or Consequences, New Mexico?

 I have a lifelong fascination with the true birth names of actors, disc jockeys, and lieutenant governors of Texas (Daniel Patrick Goeb is a former DJ now serving the One Star State under the sobriquet "Dan Patrick") who've taken on fake names to further their missions in life. 

If you remember chiseled-featured, stentorian-voiced actor Robert Lansing...well, he was born Robert Brown, and called himself Bob Brown when he did a deejay's job on WANE in Ft. Wayne, Indiana.  But when he went to try acting, the actor's union said he couldn't act under his name, because there already was a Bob Brown in the union. 

He was in Lansing, Michigan while all this was going on, so he decided to take the town's  name as his own.

How lucky for him that he wasn't in Sheboygan, Walla Walla, or Oblong, Illinois!

Green

 On July 27, 1976, John Lennon was officially granted his U.S. Permanent Resident Card in New York City. After a long, highly publicized four-year legal fight against deportation efforts, Lennon finally won the right to legally reside and work in the United States.  Green card.

 And of course, it was 4 and a half years later that an insane person with a gun ended Lennon's life. I don't recall what the problem was with granting John his green card. I'm sure it had something to do with Richard Nixon. 

It would be nice if we could welcome one and all to our wonderful country. Yes, it would.

Leading the way

 I caught this blurb about KC Concepcion and I have to hand it to him for stepping up and realizing that he might have a stutter but he is NOT that stutter. I knew a girl in my Spanish classes at college whose stammer was quite prominent, but when called upon in class, she spoke Spanish without a flaw. And think of Mel Tillis, whose speech was halting but whose singing voice was perfect.

At any rate, I salute Concepcion for going out to speak to middle schoolers with speech needs. There's nothing like seeing someone in the spotlight shine a light for the young ones. 

Sunday Rerun: Look down when you're walking around!

 I was at the diner one day for breakfast when I found a really wonderful omelet, and then Ziv Nitzan outdid me while on a nature walk with her folks.

Ziv lives in central Israel. She's three, and that means she does what three-year-olds do on walks - she picked up just about everything the ground had to share with her delighted eyes.  She found a little stone, rounded, just about the size of her little palm. She dusted it off and asked her mom what those little markings were on the rock.

I'm glad (and so are many others!) that the family didn't just toss the stone down, because it turned out to be, not an omelet, but an amulet, 3,800 years old. It dates back to the Middle Bronze Age (2100 to 1600 B.C.E., according to the Israel Antiquities Authority.)

These little stone objects were designed in the shape of dung beetles, or scarabs. Scarabs were considered sacred in Ancient Egypt because they symbolized new life.

That was in the old days in Egypt, but these are the new days, and Ziv's folks knew what to do with the stone. They let Google Lens take a look at it, and then they were off to the Antiquities Authority the next day to share their child's find.

Ziv was awarded a certificate of appreciation for good citizenship, and the amulet is on display now through Passover.

My omelet is long gone, but it deserved a special certificate, too! 

The Saturday Picture Show, October 31, 2026

 

By way of reminding you to set the clocks back an hour tonight, remember how hard it is in Stonehenge to reset their stones? This is a picture from 1877, before restoration work was done.

You can't convince me that there is any prettier landscape than a fall scene. This is in Illinois.

The real duck is wondering who the imposters are...

 Bobby Wright passed on this week. He had an interesting career, growing up the  son of Kitty Wells and Johnny Wright from the Grand Ole Opry. But he wanted to try acting, and wound up as one of the crew on McHale's Navy. Then he lost interest in acting and moved back to Nashville to sing. His biggest hit was 1971's "Here I Go Again."

And I might add...it's CATSUP.

Well, then, what in tarnation is it?

They were the kids on the "Mr Belvedere" show...Rob Stone as Kevin, Tracy Wells as Heather, and Wesley, played by Brice Beckham. They still mourn Bob Uecker and attended the World Series together to send winning vibes of Bob in heaven.

Maryland is in the pink for this winter's El Niño, so we should have warmer temperatures and higher than average precipitation. Get your slush shovels ready!

There is no such thing as too much Halloween!

It is thoroughly respectful to dress as a First Lady for TRICK or treating.

Take Charge

 Peggy's car battery died a lonesome death the other morning. My fault. She rarely drives it, but I should wedge myself into that Corolla now and then and give it a good pizza run. I should also resume my piano lessons, but we have a better chance of me paying attention to that wee car, trust me.

In 1976, as part of my Bicentennial frenzy, I invested in good tools, one of which was a good set of heavy-gauge jumper cables. Cars were always conking out in those days; I blame that on disco music and post-Nixon melancholia, and I gave and got my share of jump starts. But now, those same cables have been with me in my various cars and trucks over these fifty years, and they still work fine.

My advice is to spend a few extra bucks and get a good set of jumper cables...not those cheesy ones that come packed in a $12.99 Roadside Emergency Kit along with bandaids, luminescent sticks, and a compass. Get the good ones and keep them in one of those canvas tote-sacks you got with your New Yorker subscription. 

You'll thank me one cold night.

What time is it, anyway?

 Here in Baltimore, there are two discussions you can expect toward the end of October every year. #1, what is it with Lamar Jackson? You can hear from every amateur physical therapist and bone surgeon and family counselor on this topic. Lamar says he's hurt, who am I to dispute him, especially without direct knowledge of anything!  (Not that that ever stopped anyone from opining.)

"Be back Sunday."

The other thing is, as the end of Daylight Saving Time mercifully approaches, here come the Howling Hildas and Grumbling Gusses. Yes, it will be dark around 5 PM this coming Sunday, and unless and until Congress does something foolish such as making DST year-round, that's how it's gonna be. Take a flashlight.

Just as you can't take a foot off the end of your blanket and sew it to the top and expect to have a longer blanket, there are only 24 hours in a day, and the sun is tired from baking us all summer long, so he starts working shorter hours.

Just go with it, as the kids used to say, until everyone started actually going.