Month: April 2021

Image of the Month

Evelyn McHale

Evelyn McHale (1923-1947) jumped from the 86th floor observatory of the Empire State Building, landing on a parked car below. A few minutes later this photo was taken, which has been called “the most beautiful suicide”.

The note she left behind read: “I don’t want anyone in or out of my family to see any part of me. Could you destroy my body by cremation? I beg of you and my family – don’t have any service for me or remembrance for me. My fiance asked me to marry him in June. I don’t think I would make a good wife for anybody. He is much better off without me. Tell my father, I have too many of my mother’s tendencies”.

A Place In The Sun

I watched this 1951 movie for the first time on Kanopy recently and I have to say it was hard for me to finish because it’s so dark and depressing (and a little melodramatic). Montgomery Clift is unhappy and brooding for most of the film, as is Shelly Winters, who plays one of his girlfriends, and who is also his coworker at a factory. Elizabeth Taylor plays his other girlfriend, a happy go lucky socialite. The love triangle is bound to collapse and ultimately it does, leaving one character dead, one on the way to the electric chair and the third heartbroken. The film was nominated for six Academy Awards, with both Marlon Brando and Charlie Chaplin giving it high praise. As for me I was glad to see the main actors again as it had been years since I had seen any of them perform, while at the same time it made me want to re-watch other movies they had been in that I liked better than A Place In The Sun. I could start with The Misfits (Clift), The Taming of the Shrew (Taylor) and The Poseidon Adventure (Winters).

Specific

Accrued By David Jacobi

Some months later

the fires of passion

recalled European music

observed in the night air

in no uncertain terms

Observing the sacrifice of God

As a living spectacle of antiquity

In the infinite blue night

Of a blind nightingale

I began to understand

the attraction that affected me

a chill, you have it or you don’t

the wellspring of exact definition

To be more specific

there are roots dug deep

in the very ancient culture

that no philosopher can explain

2011 By David Jacobi

The Runaways

Colt

For the last few weeks we have been engaged in the usual spring ritual of raking, stick picking and sawing up branches around the place. Between the ice storm last November, winter blizzards and windy days we have probably the most tree debris to clean up since we moved out here. One of the first times we walked around the acreage we counted 130 trees, most of them graceful, beautiful but frail white willows. Not the ideal tree for a windy environment. During Easter weekend we had both kids and their families out to celebrate, and our daughter brought her little Jackshund, Colt, not yet a year old. Our oldest dog, Marley, at 13 years old, has lost most of her will to play so was not very interested. Steve, our other dog, at 10 still has a little gas in the tank and so he and Colt went around the acreage together. After some time we realized we had not seen the two for awhile, and called and called for them. They had disappeared. Several of us got into two separate cars and went in opposite directions looking for them. During a pause in the search a van drove up and out hopped Steve. The driver said he found him in the grassy median of four lane Highway 20 looking scared and confused. When he opened the side door Steve jumped right in. He drove around asking neighbors if they knew the dog and someone said he belonged to us. We asked about Colt but he said only Steve was in the median. Now we had an idea what area to search and we did so, scanning the empty farm fields, driving Hwy 20, looking in culverts and ditches. No sign of him. We agreed that the young and inexperienced Colt was the one to wander off the acreage, with Steve following, because neither of our dogs will leave without one of us. For a few days after Steve stayed by our sides, lost his appetite and was spooked and skittish. There is still no sign of poor little Colt.

Obscure America: Joshua L. Cowen

Joshua L. Cowen

Joshua L. Cowen (1877-1965) began inventing things while still a child, and as an adult he patented the photography flash-lamp then secured a contract to produce mine fuses for the U.S. Navy. Another invention was a metal tube containing batteries with a light bulb on one end. His idea was to sell them to business owners to stick in their flowerpots to light up the plants in a store window or restaurant. He ended up selling his rights to a business associate who went on to mass produce the lights for people, not plants, as the American EverReady Company. Joshua then turned his attention to toy trains, which he had been interested in since boyhood. He began selling model trains as displays for shop windows, which proved wildly popular with customers who kept buying the displays. Joshua began manufacturing and selling the trains full time and built the company into the most successful model train company in the country. By 1953 it was the largest toy manufacturer in the world. And if you are wondering why you have never heard of the Cowen Train it’s because Joshua used his middle name for the company, Lionel.

Cheesy Beef And Noodles

We don’t make this recipe often, which might be why it is so delicious when it does arrive on the weekly menu.

Ingredients:

Ground beef – 1 pound

Egg noodles – I package

Small onion – diced

Diced tomatoes – 1 can

Whole kernel corn – ½ can

Onion soup mix – 1 package

Garlic – to taste

Water – 1 cup

Your favorite shredded cheese – a handful (or two!)

Instructions:

Cook ground beef in large skillet or pan until done then drain. Add all other ingredients except cheese and simmer around 20 minutes or until noodles are done. Sprinkle with cheese, and let stand until it is melted.