Small World

A bindle

It's Halloween, so I have to reminisce about my old days running around the neighborhood dressed as a hobo with my bindle over my shoulder, tramping around collecting Bonomo's Turkish Taffy, and Chunky ("What a chunk o' chocolate!"). And always, always, the little milk carton went with us, collecting coins for UNICEF.

Having been established in 1946 in the wake of the worldwide devastation of World War II, UNICEF (the United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund) was developed with the aim of "providing lifesaving health care, clean water, nutrition, education, and emergency relief to children and their families." Of course, people were only too happy to drop some coins in the cartons for those needy kids. It felt good!

I see that "Trick or Treat for UNICEF!" is still a thing, bit I honestly cannot remember the last time a kid came to our porch in their Halloween getup and asked for coins. But, they're still in business, doing good things, so that's good.

Now then. Since it's Halloween, it's a good time to remind everyone that it was
the lovely and talented actress Téa Leoni, star of stage, screen, and TV's "Madam Secretary," whose grandmother, Helenka Pantaleoni, co-founded UNICEF.  Téa's father, Anthony Pantaleoni, was once board chair of UNICEF USA, and the actress herself works for the charity as the third generation in her family to be involved.

Not only that...but guess who her great uncle was! Téa's mother, Emily Ann (née Patterson) was from Amarillo, Texas, and her uncle was the great actor Hank Patterson, known for playing roles in 192 different movie and TV productions, most notably Fred Ziffel on "Green Acres," the husband of Doris Ziffel and the "father" of Arnold Ziffel.

Arnold

It's a small world, and crazy. Someone ought to sell tickets.