Sunday rerun: Put it on my bill

 It is said that if you stand in Times Square in New York City long enough, you will eventually see every person you've ever met.  And that never made sense to me, since it assumes that every person you ever met will a) go to New York at some time and b) go to Times Square.

On the other hand, if you go to Central Park, you'll see all sorts of sights you never thought you would, such as a Mandarin duck.

A flamboyantly-feathered mandarin duck has been hanging around in the pond there since October. As you'd figure, that's a kind of duck that's normally found in east Asia and parts of Europe. It didn't come from any zoo in the area, and park ranger Dan Tainow says it was probably someone’s pet. It could have also flown from either New Jersey or Long Island, although it's not known if it flew coach or first class.

At first the wildlife officials in NY said they planned to capture the duck for its own safety, but now they believe it's comfortable living in Central Park.

"The animal, from what we've seen and heard, is healthy. It's able to fly, it's able to feed, and it seems to be social with the other water fowl in the park. So, there's no risk of anything bad or negative happening, and the animal itself isn't hurt, from what we can see. So right now we're going to leave [it] alone," reads the statement from park officials.



They go on to say that people dump unwanted pets in the park up there, and it is illegal to keep a duck as a pet in New York.  "A lot of people dump animals in the park, which is unfortunate... For example, red-eared sliders, they're not a native species of turtle, but they're a common house pet, and people will just put them in the park when they don't want them anymore. And that's a bad thing," say the rangers.

Rangers said the duck has a band on its leg, but no one has come forward claiming to be the animal's owner. Ducks are not legal to keep as pets in the state.

The city will capture the duck after all, if it shows any signs of injury or illness.

It's a cool-looking duck, is all I know. I hope he has a good winter. Holden Caulfield is not around to worry about the Central Park Ducks any more, remember.

The Saturday Picture Show, April 25, 2026

 

It's a new one on me. These are called "Asperitas" clouds. Maybe we don't get this sort of cloud in Maryland.  We do get asparagus, to my dismay.

It only took one good spring rain for this tree to lose most of its blooms. But what was so pretty up on the branches still looks nice on the ground!

Interesting overhead view of the Beatles in concert in Paris, 1966. Today, even the local teenage band down the street has more equipment than this to lug around.

When we had that gigantic snow this winter, Baltimore's Public Works workers did a respectable job removing the snow to the parking lot at the old Old Town Mall on the city's east side. It's mostly gone now, eking out a final few days as slushy mud.

The insurance gecko is still hanging around!

Apple brought you the AirTag and the AirBud already. Coming soon: the AirBox.

There used to be a website listing the payphones still extant in each zip code. There are darned few of them, so if you lose yours, you'll have to count on the kindness of strangers.

Here's a turtle either being surprised by the flash of a camera or pleading innocence. Either way, cool.

A brand-new baby elephant has come out to play at the Smithsonian National Zoo in D.C. Come say hi to Linh Mai!

Here we see the honorable MarkWayne Mullin, United States Secretary of Homeland Security, and the cowboy boots and six-inch podium he needs to stand on so he won't come up short.

Bang Bang!!

I promise you, if I ever have to seek medical attention for a sprained neck, it's going to be because I can't stop reading stories like this in the news.

A man named Gage Flood, 19, stands charged with armed robbery, first-degree assault and other firearm-related offenses (nine counts in all) after he tried to commit a robbery in a dorm at Towson University last week.

He's not a student, not affiliated with the U in any way, but the object of his felonious intentions was a $1,000 Celine hat.

You can stop rubbing your eyes now. Someone was wearing a French hat that cost a thousand simoleons, and Flood wanted it, so he tried to remove it from their head and place it on his own.

In the process, he shot himself in the leg.

This TV screenshot shows the ALLEGED gunman being taken away by Baltimore County paramedics, none of whom were wearing $1000 hats.

Then he handed his weapon over a student who was present during the entire caper.

Don't worry; he's going to be all right, and I will keep you posted about his upcoming trial.

I can hear the defense attorney now: "Your honor, my client has never known the luxurious feel of a thousand-dollar hat, and he felt he deserved to have one."

 

Punishment

Before the word "Yoo Hoo" became associated with a chocolatey soft drink, it was involved with a famous US Army incident just before World War II.

Dateline, July 6, 1941, five months before Pearl Harbor. Outside Memphis, Tennessee, an Army General named Ben Lear was playing golf in 97° heat when a convoy of some 80 Army trucks rolled by. Some of the soldiers got a glimpse of some women on the golf course wearing shorts, and responded most ungallantly with catcalls, salacious suggestions, and shouts of "Yoo Hoo!"

General Lear

Lear went bazoo, ordering the convoy halted, delivered a pithy lecture on military discipline, and then ordered all 350 of the men in the convoy to go on a forced 15-mile march in the blistering heat.

Marching along

This became known as the Yoo-Hoo incident, and Lear took the nickname of "General Yoo-Hoo" to his grave in 1966.  Of course, back on the homefront, the debate about the appropriateness of the punishment raged for but a short time, since by the fall, war clouds were gathering, and the United States entered the War in December. 

Was the General too harsh? Or was he upholding chivalry in a proper manner? We may never know, but one thing is certain. In 2026, you never hear anyone hollering "Yoo Hoo!" to anyone, unless they want that watered-down "chocolate" "milk" drink.

Fun with Clownfish

 Clownfish are hermaphroditic - they are all born as males, and have the ability to step up in class and become female.  Clownfish schools are led by a large dominant female. And then if she dies, the dominant male in the school will change over and become the dominant female, and then a younger male takes up the mantle and becomes the dominant male.

But he knows his days of wearing the pants, so to speak, are numbered.

Holiday dinners must really be fun with these fish!

If they all could turn back time

News item:  In an April 19 interview, Kayti Edwards — the step-granddaughter of Julie Andrews — said that she has a 15-year-old daughter, Ever, with Cher's younger son, Elijah Blue Allman.

I read these People magazine stories for you to save you the trouble. Reading further, I find that Ms Edwards is the former girlfriend of the man always described as "beloved actor" (now deceased) Matthew Perry.

He looks just like his father. She looks like people who used to look like Cher.

Elijah B. Allman was in the news last week because Cher filed papers to put him under conservatorship, because he seems to spend almost every nickel he gets from his father's estate on drugs, food, and alcohol, and just wastes the rest. He is currently being held in preventive detention, incarcerated at the Rockingham House of Corrections in Brentwood, New Hampshire. He committed several b & e's in New Hampshire for no apparent reason in February and March.

Allman, who goes by the professional name P. Exeter Blue I for reasons best known to himself, was born six days after the American Bicentennial, July 10, 1976. Cher and Gregg Allman were married at the time, for reasons best known to themselves. 

In your wildest imagination, could you have ever imagined that Gregg Allman (when he was still alive) and Julie Andrews could be linked by family relations so close that they could have done a duet on "Ain't Wasting Time No More" after Christmas dinner one cold December?

Let's hope that everyone involved gets help and that Elijah will be around for America's semiquincentennial this July.

This made him Happy

This happened last year. I didn't hear about it then; if I had, I would have broken my neck to tell you about it, because it involves honoring someone whose cultural contributions to his adopted home of the US of A are manifold and glorious. He's an Englishman by birth, but has made his home in Westport, Connecticut for 41 years, while sharing his talents as a musician, singer, author, and actor.

We're talking, of course, about Keith Richards of the Rolling Stones, the first recipient of the Connecticut Governor’s Award of Excellence. That's a new honor celebrating residents who epitomize the state’s core values: creativity, resourcefulness, passion, dynamism, and generosity.

Keith received a custom-designed medallion and a ribbon at the ceremony, where he delivered remarks both witty and wise.

“I’d like to say thank you to you all, and thank you to the state of Connecticut,” Richards said in accepting the award. “You kind of get lost for words with something like this around your neck. I’ve been here for 40 years, and it’s been a great place for me. I brought the kids up here. When the kids were young, I said, I have to get the kids out of New York City before they don’t get any fresh air at all. So, we moved up here, and ever since, we’ve had a great life. … I’m incredibly happy about everything, especially things like this, because you don’t get them every day.”

Keith was recognized for his work with a group called SPHERE, which enhances the lives of adults with disabilities, and The Prospector Theater, which provides meaningful employment through the magic of film.

What's more, Governor Ned Lamont recognized Keith for advocating for arts, education, and accessibility initiatives across the state, and said, "I’ve been inspired by the Rolling Stones for more than 50 years, I hope you have as well. Keith Richards is an amazing member of our community. We’re so proud that he’s here and I’m so proud to have the opportunity to give him this award of excellence.”

And in closing his remarks, Keith Richards spoke highly of his adopted city and libraries all over:

“This is a great building, a wonderful library, which even I didn’t know the full extent of.  Without our books, without knowing things, without knowing their special meaning — this isn’t movies, this is not someone drawing you images. This is a book, and you have the movie in your head. It’s very important that we keep our books unburnt.”

Stirring words from a great man!