Abraham's Son, Chapter 24

 EXT. PARK NEAR ABRAHAM'S HOUSE - DAY

ABRAHAM and MESSENGER talk while sitting on bench.

MESSENGER:  So, you enjoyed your time with HELEN?

ABRAHAM:  Yes.  Now I believe you are who you say you are.  What does God want of me?

MESSENGER:  Finally.  We should have done this two days ago...You read the newspapers.  The world is in a dangerous situation.  I'm talking especially about what is being referred to as climate change.  

ABRAHAM:  Yeah, I agree.  I think everyone, especially government, should do what they can to counteract what's been happening to the environment.

MESSENGER:   Well, the situation is far worse than what your scientists say.  If something drastic is not done soon, life on earth will end in about 100 years.

ABRAHAM:  Oh, my God.

MESSENGER:  Precisely.  However, God is very encouraged by this United Nations proposal on climate change.  Unfortunately, the U.S. president, a leader in the world, opposes it.  This has created a dangerous situation.  This is where you come in, sort of like Moses going to the Egyptian Pharaoh.  

ABRAHAM:  What can I do?

MESSENGER:  You are a friend of ROBERT SILVER.

ABRAHAM:  Yeah.  We met in high school.  Saw him again a few years ago.

MESSENGER:  He has become the president's special trusted adviser.  If he can become convinced the U.N. proposal is worthwhile, there's a good chance he can persuade the president.  You must go to him...as soon as possible...and persuade ROBERT SILVER.

ABRAHAM:  I can try.  I'll do my best.

MESSENGER:  That's not enough.  Yesterday, I mentioned consequences.  Well, here it is.  You must succeed.  If not, you will be punished...severely.  As punishment, you will have to sacrifice your son.  

ABRAHAM:  What?  I can't...I won't do that.  I can never harm my son.  You never mentioned this yesterday.

MESSENGER:  You received a very special opportunity almost nobody gets, to talk to the dearly departed.  This is the price you accepted.

ABRAHAM:  I didn't accept that.

MESSENGER:  I said consequences.  This is the consequence.  Look, if you succeed, you won't have to worry about any sacrifice.  So succeed.  

ABRAHAM has a very worried expression on his face.  Before he can say anything more, the MESSENGER is gone.

____________

Next blog post will be Sunday, January 7, 2024.

Ernst & Ernst

Early in 1968, I suffered one of my worst days.  I got fired.  What a humiliation!

It all started in July of 1967 when I moved to Michigan.  I had expected to be at Lackland Air Force Base outside of San Antonio, Texas, but my colitis diagnosis scuttled that plan and I had to devise a new one ASAP or I would spend another summer in Oswego living with my parents.  

I chose suburban Detroit because my late brother Ted lived there with his wife and infant son.  My first and only job interview was at the CPA firm Ernst & Ernst (E&E) on West Fort Street in downtown Detroit.  Why did I go there, I don't remember.  

The Personnel guy who interviewed me was impressed with my Penn-Wharton degree and offered me a job at $10,500 per year.  A lot of money in 1967.

My brother advised me not to accept any offer right away, not believing I would receive such a high offer.  I accepted the next day.

The job was as an accounting auditor, a position for which I had no academic training.  At Penn, I took only 6 accounting courses, none of which were about auditing.  My colleagues at E&E had three times the number of accounting courses, including auditing.

My experience at E&E consisted of being assigned to a different manager and client every couple of weeks or so.  My first assignment was at a bank where we opened a very rich family's safe deposit box and counted their stocks and bonds.

I was expected to be available for work 24/7.  An example was I had to leave Thanksgiving lunch early so I could go to the fur vault (to count furs) at a downtown Detroit department store.

About six months after I started, I arrived at the West Fort Street office early in the morning.  I was called to the Personnel office.

The manager there read me an appraisal from a job I had worked from about two months before.  I considered that the audit manager who wrote it had been friendly towards me.  However, what he wrote was highly critical.  I hadn't shown the proper amount of enthusiasm for my work.  I just did what I was told...nothing more.

Therefore, I was to be terminated.  I tried to justify myself to the Personnel manager, but it was hopeless.  The decision was made.  Case closed.

At first, I was depressed.  But, then I remembered how much I hated my job.  Then, I was relieved...but, still humiliated.

But, the Personnel manager gave me one good piece of advice.  He said in the future I should stay clear of CPA firms and try for a position in private accounting.  When I moved to New York City, I did just that.  I got a job with Joseph E. Seagram's & Sons, Inc. and stayed for 31 years...and three months.  

Body and Soul

Body and Soul is a 1947 film noir boxing drama which stars John Garfield, Lilli Palmer and Lloyd Gough.  Garfield was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actor in a Lead role (but lost to Ronald Colman in A Double Life).  Francis Lyon and Robert Parrish won the Academy Award for Best Film Editing for Body and Soul. 

In the movie, Charley Davis (Garfield) grows up poor in New York City.  His parents operate a candy store.  As a result, Charley yearns to become rich, obsessed with having a lot of money.

As a young man, Charley discovers he has a talent for boxing.  After a while, he attracts the attention of a manager and turns professional.

Charley also meets and falls in love with Peg (Palmer), a woman from a different world, who studies art and wants to be a painter.  She provides Charley with a moral compass other than money.

As the public starts to think of Charley as a championship contender, he draws the attention of Roberts (Gough), a corrupt boxing promotor.  For a chance at the championship, Charley must give 50% of all future winnings to Roberts, who also advances money to Charley, putting him in debt.

Charley wins the boxing championship and starts living a lavish life style as a symbol of his new found wealth, but falls more and more in debt to Roberts.  In order to make a killing on Charley's next fight, Roberts demands Charley agree to lose.  They will all bet against Charley, the favorite.  Reluctantly, Charley agrees.

Peg argues against this unethical decision, but Charley feels boxed in by his debt to Roberts.  Originally, Charley is told he would lose by a decision, but is double crossed when his opponent goes for a knockout in the 13th round.

On the verge of losing the fight, Charley rallies and wins by a knockout in the 15th and final round.  Thus, they all lose their bets.  After the fight, Charley bonds with Peg and tells Roberts he is retiring from boxing.  Love has finally conquered money.

Having lost a lot of money on the fight, Roberts threatens Charley.  Charley responds, "What are you going to do?  Kill me.  Everybody dies."  Those last two words are a repetition of a line Roberts often used.

Then, when Peg asks Charley, "Are you all right?", he responds, looking directly at Roberts, "I never felt better in my life."        

Abraham's Son, Chapter 23

INT. IKE'S BEDROOM - NIGHT

It is a little before 10 PM.  IKE is sleeping.  ABRAHAM hovers over him, loving him, but counting the seconds until the appointed time when he can enter his bedroom.  Finally, it is 10 PM.  ABRAHAM walks to his bedroom and opens door.

INT. ABRAHAM'S BEDROOM - NIGHT

ABRAHAM enters his bedroom.  He sees a surreal image, with sparkling dark blue lights, an unearthly form, like in a dream.  But it is HELEN.  He remembers her smile.  It is definitely her.  He is convinced.  He wants to hug and kiss her, but she is not flesh and blood.  He gets as close to her as possible.  Tears come to his eyes.  

ABRAHAM:  HELEN, do you know me?

HELEN:  How can I ever forget you, ABRAHAM?  When I can, I remember you.

ABRAHAM:  I love you, HELEN.

HELEN:  I loved you.

ABRAHAM:  Do you still love me?

HELEN:  I loved you.  I know I did.  Everything is in the past.  There is no present, no future.

ABRAHAM:  What is it like to be dead?

HELEN:  For me, there was much pain dying.  I was in agony.  But, then it stopped.  Everything stopped.  There was a calmness...I could rest.  Mostly, I rest.  Sometimes, I can remember the past...like when we met.

ABRAHAM:  I remember that day.

HELEN:  I was sitting on a bench on campus reading a book and you came up to me and asked my name.  I remembered you from class and I had liked the way you looked.  

ABRAHAM:  Yes and you told me your name right away and I sat down and we started talking.

HELEN:  And then we went to have coffee and talked for a long time.  On my way home I could think of nothing but the sound of your voice.  I longed to see you again.  I loved you from the very beginning, ABRAHAM.

ABRAHAM:  Me, too.  Don't I look old, much older than when...

HELEN:  I don't see the physical, but I see your spirit and it is the same as when I was alive.  

ABRAHAM:  What about our baby?

HELEN:  I care for our baby.  But, we both rest a lot.  It is good to rest.

ABRAHAM:  Do you know about ISAAC or IKE as I call him?

HELEN:  He is yours, not mine.  Our baby died.  It stays with me.  

ABRAHAM:  Are you angry about my having IKE?

HELEN:  I am no longer angry about anything.  That is a good thing.

ABRAHAM and HELEN continue talking until 11 PM at which time her image disappears.  It takes him a long time before he can sleep.  He keeps thinking of HELEN and every word of their conversation.  Then he watches TCM until he is exhausted and falls asleep in his chair with the TV still on.

Palestinian Arab State

In February 1947, the British government announced their intention to terminate their mandate over the Palestinian territory it inherited from the League of Nations after World War I.  Arabs and Jews who lived there were fighting each other and the British army that had been occupying the area for 30 years.

The British turned the problem of what would become of Palestine once the British army left over to the United Nations.  In May 1947, the UN established a commission to decide the fate of Palestine.

The chief problem the commission would have to decide related to the competing visions of the two sides, Arabs and Jews.  Each wanted Palestine for themselves.

In August 1947, the commission announced its decision.  It called for a partition of Palestine between a Jewish state (Israel) and a Palestinian Arab state.

33 countries (including Brazil and the USA) or 72% of the member states involved in the commission approved the partition plan.  

The Jews reluctantly accepted the partition plan.  The Arabs rejected the partition plan.  

Not getting the 100 % (of Palestine) that they wanted, the Palestinian Arabs lost an opportunity for their own state.

A few weeks after the UN commission released its report, Azzam Pasha, the General Secretary of the Arab League, told an Egyptian newspaper "Personally I hope the Jews do not force us into this war because it will be a war of elimination and it will be a dangerous massacre which history will record similarly to the Mongol massacre or the wars of the Crusades.  We will sweep them [the Jews] into the (Mediterranean) sea." 

The Palestinian Arabs did not intend merely to prevent partition but would continue fighting until the Zionists were annihilated.  They opposed the very idea of partition.  

When the British Mandate of Palestine expired on 14 May 1948, and with the Declaration of the Establishment of the State of Israel, the surrounding Arab states—Egypt, Jordan, Iraq and Syria—invaded what had just ceased to be Mandatory Palestine, and immediately attacked Israeli forces and several Jewish settlements.

In 1949, after a year of hostilities, Armistice Agreements were signed between Israel and Egypt, Lebanon, Jordan, and Syria.  They formally ended the fighting and demarcated the Green Line, which separated Arab-controlled territory from Israel.  

The Arab controlled territory did not become the Palestinian Arab state as promised by the UN commission.  Instead, it was divided between Jordan and Egypt.  If the Palestinian Arabs had only accepted the partition plan...

Ellis Island

Ellis Island is a federally owned island in New York Harbor, situated within the U.S. states of New Jersey and New York.  It is in Upper New York Bay, east of Liberty State Park and north of Liberty Island.

The federal government assumed control of immigration in 1890 and commissioned a study to determine the best place for the new immigration station in New York Harbor.  It was eventually decided to build the station on Ellis Island.

The first immigration station opened on Ellis Island on January 1, 1892 and its first immigrant was Annie Moore, a 17-year-old girl from Cork, Ireland, who was traveling to meet her parents in the U.S.  On the first day, almost 700 immigrants passed over the docks from ships arriving in New York.  

Over the next year, over 400,000 immigrants were processed at the station. The processing procedure included a series of medical and mental inspection lines, and through this process, some 1% of potential immigrants were deported.

Additional building improvements took place on Ellis Island throughout the mid-1890s.  Over the next five years of operation, the station processed 1.5 million immigrants.

With the passing of the Emergency Quota Act of 1921, the number of immigrants being allowed into the United States declined greatly, ending the era of mass immigration.  Following the Immigration Act of 1924, strict immigration quotas were enacted, and Ellis Island was downgraded from a primary inspection center to an immigrant-detention center, hosting only those that were to be detained or deported.

By 1947, shortly after the end of World War II, there were proposals to close Ellis Island due to the massive expenses needed for the upkeep of a relatively small detention center.  Ellis Island closed on November 12, 1954 (69 years ago today), with the departure of its last detainee, Norwegian merchant seaman Arne Pettersen, who had been arrested for overstaying his shore leave.

By the time Ellis Island's immigration station closed, almost 12 million immigrants had been processed by the U.S. Bureau of Immigration.  My grandparents were among the 12 million.  

The Terminator

The Terminator is a 1984 science fiction action film written and directed by James Cameron. It stars Arnold Schwarzenegger as the Terminator, a cybernetic assassin sent back in time from 2029 to 1984 by Skynet, a hostile artificial intelligence in a post-apocalyptic future. The Terminator's assignment is to kill Sarah Connor, whose unborn son will one day save mankind from extinction.

Arnold Schwarzenegger was born in Austria in 1947.  Before becoming an actor, he was a seven time world champion body builder.  Arnold was elected as governor of California, serving from 2003 to 2011.

The Terminator arrives in Los Angeles and starts to systematically kill women with the name Sarah Connor.  He finds them in the phone book, but they are all the wrong one.

Eventually, the Terminator locates the right Sarah Connor at a night club and pursues her in a stolen police car.  She is arrested after an altercation with the Terminator and taken to a police station.

The Terminator follows her there.  He enters the station and approaches a policeman.

The Terminator:  I'm a friend of Sarah Connor.  I was told she was here.  Can I see her please?

Policeman:  No.  You can't see her.  She's making a statement.  

The Terminator:  Where is she?

Policeman:  Look, it may take a while.  If you want to wait, you can take a seat over there.

After surveying the area, the Terminator delivers this iconic line of dialogue:  "I'll be back."  And indeed he does, in a car smashing his way into the police station.

Interestingly, Schwarzenegger argued with Cameron that the Terminator should say, "I will be back."  Cameron, as the director, insisted on "I'll be back" and he was proven right.  

The Terminator topped the United States box office for two weeks, eventually grossing $78.3 million against a modest $6.4 million budget. The film is credited with launching Cameron's movie career and solidifying Schwarzenegger's status as a leading man. 

      

Abraham's Son, Chapter 22

 EXT. PARK NEAR ABRAHAM'S HOUSE - DAY

ABRAHAM pushes IKE's stroller, accompanied by LIZ.  After reaching playground at park, ABRAHAM removes IKE from STROLLER, hugs and kisses him and then IKE and LIZ go to play.  ABRAHAM sits on same bench as the day before.  He nervously looks for MESSENGER in all directions.  At first he thinks he won't show which relieves ABRAHAM.  Suddenly MESSENGER appears next to him on the bench making ABRAHAM nervous.

MESSENGER:  Did you like the game last night?

ABRAHAM:  Amazing!

MESSENGER:  Well, are you convinced I am a MESSENGER from God?

ABRAHAM hesitates.

ABRAHAM:  Almost...could have been a coincidence.  

MESSENGER:  This is getting ridiculous.  I or I should say God did what you wanted and you still don't believe.

ABRAHAM:  Well, I've been thinking.  I know something that will prove 100% that you are who you say you are.  

MESSENGER:  I'm listening.

ABRAHAM:  HELEN, my...

MESSENGER:  You want to see your wife.  I get it.  Okay.  Good idea.  I...or God can arrange that.  But it is a serious decision on your part.  There will be consequences in order to arrange it.

ABRAHAM:  What consequences?

MESSENGER:  You want to see HELEN or not?  Make up your mind...now.

ABRAHAM:  What exactly are you offering?

MESSENGER:  At 10 PM tonight, you will walk into your bedroom and she will be there.  You will have one hour with her.  She's not flesh and blood, but you will be able to communicate with her.  HELEN will be as she was...the same age as when she died.  That's the deal, take it...with consequences...or leave it.

ABRAHAM:  You are promising I will have one hour with HELEN?  

MESSENGER:  Yes.

ABRAHAM:  I agree.

MESSENGER:  There will be no backing out now.  I will see you tomorrow here again at the same time.  Until then.

MESSENGER gets up and walks away.

Bar Mitzvah

Last Saturday, October 14, 2023, my younger grandson, Leo Gerstein, celebrated his bar mitzvah at a temple in New York City.  So, what is a bar mitzvah?  

A bar mitzvah is a coming-of-age ritual in Judaism. According to Jewish law, before children reach a certain age, their parents are responsible for their child's actions. Once Jewish children reach that age, they are said to "become" b'nai mitzvah, at which point they begin to be held accountable for their own actions. 

Of course, Cristina and I travelled to New York to be at Leo's bar mitzvah along with many members of our family and friends of the family.  Leo's performance was amazing.  We are all very proud of him.  

We left Sao Paulo on Monday the 9th, arriving in New York by plane on Tuesday the 10th.  We had dinner that night at Leo's home on East 86th Street along with my daughter Rachel, her mother Bonita, my son-in-law Mike, my grandson Nate, my niece Lauren and her husband Alex and daughter Adeline.

On Wednesday the 11th, we spent much of the day with my friend Joe.   That included both breakfast and lunch plus a trip to the Apple Store at Grand Central Station.

On Thursday the 12th, I hosted a dinner at Gallagher's Steak House for my children (Rachel and Bret), their spouses (Mike and Pam) and my grandchildren (Nate and Leo).  Cristina and I shared a delicious 14 oz. filet mignon.

On Friday the 13th, we had bagels with smoked salmon, cream cheese and tomato at Tal's on East 86th Street.  We also had dinner at Leo's followed by Friday night services at the temple. 

On Sunday the 15th, we had a brunch again at Leo's followed by veal dinners at the Back Room on East 92nd Street.  We were there last year and wanted very much to return.

On Monday the 16th, we shopped for clothes at Old Navy on East 86th Street and bought a book (Somebody's Fool by Richard Russo) at the new Barnes & Noble location on Third Avenue.

On Tuesday the 17th, the Carmel taxi service took us to JFK airport for our trip home.  We arrived safely in Brazil on Wednesday the 18th.   

Don Larsen

 Don Larsen was born August 7, 1929 (exactly 16 years before me) in Michigan City, Indiana.  However, he grew up in San Diego, California where he excelled playing baseball and basketball.

In 1947, Larsen signed a contract to play professional baseball with a minor league team affiliated with the St. Louis Browns of the American League.  He made his Major League debut in 1953 with the Browns.  In 1954, the Browns relocated to Baltimore to become the Orioles.

At the end of the 1954 season, Larsen was traded to the New York Yankees.  In the first part of the 1955 season, he played for the Yankee minor league affiliate in Denver.  However, Larsen, after returning to New York, pitched well, winning nine of eleven games.

In 1956, Larsen pitched really well, winning eleven out of sixteen games, especially at the end of the regular season.  That included a shutout victory against his former team, the Orioles.

On October 8, 1956 (67 years ago today), Larsen was chosen to be the starting pitcher for the Yankees in game 5 (at Yankee Stadium) of the World Series against the Brooklyn (now the Los Angeles) Dodgers.  The best of seven series was tied 2-2.

Mickey Mantle hit a home run in the fourth inning off Dodger pitcher Sal Maglie (whom I met as a child at a Little League banquet in Oswego, NY).  The Yankees scored a second run in the sixth inning on a single by Hank Bauer.  

One of the beautiful things about baseball is that there is no clock.  You must get the opposition to make 27 outs (3 outs in each of 9 innings).  To get the 27 outs in only 27 batters (the minimum) is a perfect game, a rarity in baseball.  

On that memorable day, 67 years ago, Don Larsen pitched the only perfect game in World Series history.  He finished the game striking out Dale Mitchell, the twenty-seventh and final batter.  

Two days later, the Yankees defeated the Dodgers in game 7 and won the 1956 World Series.  Six years later, Larsen pitched for the San Francisco Giants and helped defeat the Yankees in game 4 of the World Series (at that same Yankee Stadium).  

Don Larsen died January 1, 2020 as a result of cancer.  He was ninety years old.

_________

Next post will be Sunday, October 22, 2023.

Cinderella Man

Cinderella Man is a 2005 American biographical sports drama film directed by Ron Howard, titled after the nickname of world heavyweight boxing champion James J. Braddock (1935-1937) and inspired by his life story.  The film stars Russell Crowe (Braddock) , Renée Zellweger (his wife) and Paul Giamatti (his manager).  

It received three Academy Award nominations, including Best Supporting Actor for Giamatti (lost to George Clooney for Syriana).  The film was also nominated for Best Film Editing and Best Makeup.

The film's story happens during the height of the Great Depression.  Braddock, a one-time boxing contender, gives up fighting as a result of a hand injury.  He works part-time as a longshoreman.  His family's income suffers.  

His manager offers Braddock an opportunity to get back into boxing.  With a string of victories, he rises to the level of being considered as a contender for the Heavyweight championship held by Max Baer.  One of those victories was over Art Lasky (born Arthur Lakofsky).  Both Baer and Lasky were Jewish boxers, not uncommon for that time.

Braddock was offered a fight against Baer for the championship.  He was a prohibitive underdog.  After all, Baer had killed two men in the ring and Braddock had lost 25 fights.

On June 13, 1935, Braddock became the Heavyweight champion with a unanimous decision victory over Baer in a fight held at the Madison Square Garden Bowl (Queens, New York).  It is considered one of the biggest upsets in boxing history.

Two years later, Braddock unsuccessfully defended his title in a knockout loss to the great new champion Joe Louis.  However, Braddock earned $250,000 (over $5 million dollars today) for the fight.  The money secured his family's economic future.     

Abraham's Son, Chapter 21

 INT. ABRAHAM'S BEDROOM - NIGHT

ABRAHAM listens to the Mets baseball game on the radio.  It is the top of the ninth inning.  There are two outs and the Met pitcher has faced the minimum 26 batter so far.  

ANNOUNCER (O.S.):  Pinch hitting for the Giants will be Gregor Blanco.  He's hitting .242 with 2 home runs and 20 RBIs.  The left-handed hitter is their last hope to end this thing Wheeler's got going for him...here's the first pitch...ball one, a slider, belt high, but a little inside...the crowd is on edge...strike one, Blanco looked at a fastball right over the plate at the knees...what drama here at the Stadium...one ball and one strike...swung on and missed, a curve ball, almost in the dirt...one ball and two strikes.  One strike away for Wheeler and immortality...swung on, a line drive into right field, here comes Bruce, he dives...and makes a great catch for the third out.  Zach Wheeler has pitched the first perfect game in the history of the New York Mets.

ABRAHAM turns off the radio, not sure what to think.

Janice Paige

Janice Paige (originally Donna Mae Tjaden) was born September 16, 1922 in Tacoma, Washington.  After high school, she moved to Los Angeles, California where she became a professional singer and a model.

A Warner Bros. talent agent saw her potential and signed her to a contract. She began co-starring in low-budget musical films, often paired with Dennis Morgan or Jack Carson. 

Janice Paige co-starred in Romance on the High Seas (1948), the film in which Doris Day made her movie debut. She later co-starred in adventures and dramas, in which she felt out of place. Following her role in Two Gals and a Guy (1951), Janice Paige decided to leave Hollywood.

Janice Paige appeared on Broadway and was a huge hit in the comedy-mystery play, Remains to Be Seen, co-starring Jackie Cooper.  It was staged at the Morosco Theatre from October 3, 1951 until March 22, 1952.

From May 13, 1954 until June 23, 1955, Janice Paige appeared at the St. James Theatre as the female lead, Babe Williams, in the musical, Pajama Game.  One evening during that period (age 8 to age 9), my parents took me to see the play.  

I haven't forgotten Janice Paige after almost 70 years.  A beautiful red-haired woman singing I'm Not At All In Love.

I'm not, at all in love, not at all in love, not I!
Not a bit
Not a might
Though I'll admit he's quite a hunk a guy

But he's not, my cup of tea, not my cup of tea, not he!
Not an ounce
Not a pinch
He's just an inch, too sure of himself for me...

Janice Paige returned to the Broadway stage in 1963 (Shubert Theatre) starring in the play, Here's Love.  It was based on the classic film, Miracle on 34th Street.

In 1968, Paige portrayed Mame at the Winter Garden Theatre.  In 1984, she appeared a final time on Broadway, this time at the Music Box Theatre in Alone Together.

Yesterday was Janice Paige's 101st birthday.  Happy birthday, Janice.  

Edmond O'Brien

Edmond O'Brien was born September 10, 1915 (108 years ago) in Brooklyn, New York.  An aunt who taught high school English and speech took him to the theatre from an early age and he developed an interest in acting.  He began performing in plays at school.

O'Brien studied for two years under such teachers as Sanford Meisner.  He began working in summer stock in Yonkers, NY. O'Brien made his first Broadway appearance at age 21.

His theatre work drew the attention of Hollywood.  In 1939, O'Brien made his first film as the romantic lead opposite Maureen O'Hara in The Hunchback of Notre Dame.

Over the next 35 years O'Brien appeared in over eighty films.  Among the most memorable to me were The Killers with Ava Gardner (1946), White Heat with James Cagney (1949), The Barefoot Contessa again with Ava Gardner (1954), The Man Who Shot Liberty with James Stewart (1962) and Seven Days in May with Frederick March (1964).

Edmond O'Brien won an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for The Barefoot Contessa.

To me, his finest work was in The Killers.  In 1927, Ernest Hemingway had written a short story of the same name about a gas station attendant who was killed by professional assassins who came to his small town in New Jersey.  Why did they want to kill him?  He said, "I did something wrong...once."

Screenwriter Anthony Veiller concocted a story for the film about what was that something wrong:  The gas station attendant had been tricked into double crossing his fellow-thieves after they had committed a massive robbery.  O'Brien portrayed an insurance investigator who solves the mystery of that something wrong...once.

In the late 1970s, O'Brien fell ill with Alzheimer's disease.  He died from it on May 9, 1985 at the age of 69.    

The Goodbye Girl

The Goodbye Girl is a 1977 romantic comedy-drama starring Richard Dreyfus, Marsha Mason and ten year-old Quinn Cummings.  It was nominated for five Academy Awards:  Best Picture (Ray Stark, producer) won by Annie Hall, Best Actor Richard Dreyfus (he won), Best Actress (Marsha Mason) won by Diane Keaton for Annie Hall, Best Supporting Actress (Quinn Cummings) won by Vanessa Redgrave for Julia and Best Screenplay - Written Directly for the Screen (Neil Simon, husband of Marsha Mason) won by Woody Allen and Marshall Brickman for Annie Hall.

Paula (Mason) and her daughter Lucy (Cummings) are returning to their Manhattan apartment, which they share with Paula's actor-boyfriend Tony, from a shopping trip in anticipation of moving to Los Angeles where Tony has landed an acting job.  

When they arrive they discover that Tony has abandoned the pair and has instead gone to Italy for a part in a movie.  To Paula's further dismay, she has discovered that Tony has sublet his apartment to a third person, which means Paula and Lucy could be living on the street.  Paula means to fight eviction.

In the middle of the night, Elliot (Dreyfus) arrives at the apartment he sublet from Tony, only to be locked out by Paula.  After much arguing, they eventually agree to share the apartment.  

When Elliot says, "I got a lawyer acquaintance," a famous line from the play, A Streetcar Named Desire, Paula realizes she is stuck living with another actor, much to her chagrin.  Elliot is in New York to play the lead in an off-off Broadway production of Richard III.

Unfortunately for Elliot, his director wants him to play the role as an exaggerated homosexual stereotype, "the queen who wanted to be king."  The New York theatre critics pan the play, especially Elliot's performance.  The show closes after one night.

Philip Fleischman, one of my high school history teachers, once mentioned that if you put two people together in close proximity for an extended period of time, one of two things will happen:  love or hate, but not apathy.  So what happens to Paula and Elliot who start out disliking each other?

Well, to give away the plot, they fall in love.  But then, a complication arrives.  

While in a different play, Elliot is discovered by a movie director who offers him a four week stint in a film he is making in Seattle.  Both Paula and Lucy are convinced this is Tony all over again.  Elliot will leave and never return, which he denies.

Ironically, Paula says, "If you are ever up for an Academy Award, I will keep my fingers crossed."  As I previously mentioned, Dreyfus won such Award for playing Elliot.

Elliot convinces Paula he will return by asking her to come with him to Seattle.  She declines but agrees to restring his guitar, his one possession he didn't take with him.  We are sure Elliot and Paula will live happily ever after...with Lucy, of course. 

   

Abraham's Son, Chapter 20

INT. ABRAHAM'S HOUSE - DAY

SUPERIMPOSE: A FEW YEARS LATER

A few years later, ABRAHAM wakes up in his bedroom.  He walks into his son's bedroom and wakes him up.  ABRAHAM picks IKE up and gives him a hug and a kiss.  IKE hugs and kiss his father.  ABRAHAM dresses his son.

INT. ABRAHAM'S KITCHEN - DAY

ABRAHAM and IKE eat breakfast together.  There is a knock on door.  They are expecting LIZ, IKE's teenage babysitter, who helps ABRAHAM with IKE.  ABRAHAM opens door and LIZ enters.

ABRAHAM: Good morning, LIZ.  

LIZ: Morning.  

LIZ rushes over to see IKE and the two engage in some very friendly interaction.

ABRAHAM: LIZ, I'd like to go to the park in a little while.  Do you want something to eat?

LIZ: No thanks.

EXT. PARK NEAR ABRAHAM'S HOUSE - DAY

ABRAHAM pushes IKE's stroller, accompanied by LIZ.  When they reach park, ABRAHAM takes IKE from stroller and IKE and LIZ go to playground.  ABRAHAM sits on nearby bench and starts to read newspaper.  

First article ABRAHAM reads: "ROBERT SILVER, prominent Washington attorney, has been appointed by the president as his chief adviser.  SILVER, a graduate of Benjamin Cardozo High School in Queens, Princeton University and the University of Pennsylvania Law School, has had a close relationship with the president for many years.  He has resigned his position as a name partner with his law firm..."

Second article ABRAHAM reads:  "The president has again repeated his intention to reject United States participation in the international climate treaty sponsored by the United Nations. 

The intent of the treaty is to decrease global warming by holding the increase in the global average temperature to well below 2 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels..."    

ABRAHAM suddenly notices a stranger is sitting on bench next to him.  Strangely, he didn't notice his arrival, he simply just appeared.  The stranger bears a remarkable resemblance to ABRAHAM, but in a weird way.  ABRAHAM keeps reading.

STRANGER: Good morning, ABRAHAM.  How are you?

ABRAHAM: Excuse me, do I know you?

STRANGER: No.  But, I know you.

ABRAHAM: And how do you know me?

STRANGER: I've been following you your whole life.  I know all about you.

ABRAHAM reacts nervously.

ABRAHAM: Ah, please, I'd like to be left alone to read my newspaper.  Will you excuse me?

STRANGER: Pretty interesting about ROBERT SILVER, don't you think?

ABRAHAM: What?  Were you reading over my shoulder?

STRANGER:(laughs) I know everything about you, what you read, what you ate for breakfast today...Honey Nut Cherrios with blueberries and low fat milk...and coffee with low fat milk.

ABRAHAM is shocked.

ABRAHAM: Who are you?

STRANGER: A MESSENGER from God.

ABRAHAM is stunned.  In disbelief.

ABRAHAM: You're crazy.  

MESSENGER: Really?  Who would know your mother called you kleyner when you were little?  

ABRAHAM:Only my mother and me.

MESSENGER: Who would know your brother was dyslectic?

ABRAHAM: Only my brother and me.

MESSENGER: Who would know what SARA wrote in her note, "Don't look for me.  I'd make a terrible mom.  Love, SARA?"

Now, ABRAHAM is incredulous.

ABRAHAM: I've shown that note to nobody.  How do you know?  She must have told you.

MESSENGER: No, she didn't.  I've never talked to her, but I know everything about you.  Who would know your first time masturbating...on that beautiful spring day...you were fourteen...home alone...bored...started touching yourself...felt good, so...

ABRAHAM: Nobody knows that.  I've told nobody.  How?

MESSENGER: I told you.  I've been following you your whole life.  Look, you go to synagogue every shabbos to pray to God.  So, why do you doubt when a MESSENGER from God comes to you?

ABRAHAM: Well, it's the first time in my life and I don't know what to say.  So, you know a lot about me.

MESSENGER: No, I know everything about you.

ABRAHAM: Whatever.  I need more proof you're really from God.

MESSENGER: What proof do you want?

ABRAHAM: You've talked about the past.  What about the future?  Can you make things happen?  Can't God make things happen, like in the Bible?

MESSENGER: What do you want?

ABRAHAM thinks.

ABRAHAM: Tonight, there's a ball game, here in Queens, the Mets.  Have their pitcher throw a perfect game.  Can you do that?

MESSENGER: Would you believe I am a MESSENGER from God if it happens?

ABRAHAM: Yeah, I would.  Can you do that?

MESSENGER: Okay.  I'll meet you here tomorrow morning, same time and we'll talk more.  Bye, ABRAHAM.

MESSENGER walks away and disappears from view leaving ABRAHAM shaking.  After a while he calms down and walks over to where IKE and LIZ are playing.

Title IX

Before the 1970s, women were not encouraged to participate in sports.  Such activities were considered to be not "ladylike."  Women were also thought to be too fragile for such participation.  Based on modern data, females always wanted to participate, but were not given the opportunity or the encouragement.

When I graduated from Oswego High School (OHS) in 1963, boys participated in 8 different sports.  Girls were relegated to being cheerleaders for the boy's teams.

The differences between the sexes in body composition are well known: males typically have proportionately more muscle mass, more bone mass, and a lower percentage of body fat than women.  Thus, in competitive sports, men have a distinct advantage.  In order to encourage females to participate in sports, it is better for them to compete against other women rather than men.

As an example of such a competitive disadvantage, in 2017 the US national women's soccer team held a scrimmage against an under 15 boys team and lost 5-2.  The US women's team was ranked number one in the world in comparison to other women's teams.

The U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights enforces Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972. Title IX protects people from discrimination based on sex in education programs or activities that receive federal financial assistance. 

Title IX states: No person in the United States shall, on the basis of sex, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any education program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance.

As a result of Title IX, today OHS has 15 boys sports and 15 girls sports.  

In today's society, there are two more categories of athletes: the transgenders.  There are men who want to be women and women who want to be men.

Quandaries have arisen as to whether such men (who want to be women) should compete against women in sports.  Lia Thomas, a student-athlete at the University of Pennsylvania, wanted to compete on its women's swim team.  Lia was born male and has the physical advantages of a male over a female.  But Lia is transgender.  What to do?  

Thomas began swimming on the men's team at the University of Pennsylvania in 2017, and during Lia's freshman year, recorded the sixth-fastest national men's time in the 500-yard freestyle.  

In the 2021–2022 season, when competing on the women's team, Lia was recorded as the fastest national women's time in the 500 freestyle.  Lia as a male at birth was thus competing against women at birth who represented, as explained above, inferior competition.

To me, a man competing against women is similar to an athlete taking a performance enhancing drug, which of course is not allowed.  It would not be fair to the athletes not taking the performance enhancing drug.

How many transgender athletes are there?  Thirty-two.  

To me, the solution to this quandary is the greatest good for the greatest number.  It is not fair for people like Lia to compete against women at birth who would be at a competitive disadvantage against such a male athlete.  

The result was Lia, a man at birth, won a national women's swimming championship.   Really?  

Transgenders should compete only against other transgenders.  In a similar way, handicapped athletes compete only against other handicapped athletes.  

Comments?

Ron Guidry

Ron Guidry was born August 28, 1950 in Lafayette, Louisiana.  In 1969-1970, he excelled as a left handed pitcher for the University of Southwestern Louisiana baseball team.

Guidry was selected by the New York Yankees on the third round of the 1971 Major League Baseball draft.  He made his debut with the Yankees on July 25, 1975.

Two years later, Guidry became part of the Yankees starting rotation.  He finished the season with an impressive record of 16 wins and only 7 losses.  Guidry was an important factor in the Yankees winning the 1977 World Series championship.  

On June 17, 1978, Guidry struck out a record 18 California Angels.  His totals that year were an amazing 25 wins and only 3 losses.  Guidry again led the Yankees to a second straight World Series victory.

In his fourteen year baseball career, Guidry won a total of 170 games with 1,778 strikeouts.  He won the Cy Young award as the best pitcher in the American League in 1978.  

Guidry was named to the All-Star game four times.  His number 49 was retired by the New York Yankees.  There is a monument in his honor at Yankee Stadium.  

I think it was the summer of 1993 when my young son Bret and I, along with my friend Joe and his young daughter Regine, took a trip to upstate New York to visit my home town of Oswego plus Cooperstown, the location of the Baseball Hall of Fame.

We were having lunch in a restaurant in Cooperstown when I recognized Ron Guidry at a nearby table.  He was there for a money making autograph signing.  Many patrons were hovering near him. 

As I recall, Regine, who, unlike my son, grew up in a home where professional baseball was not important, asked her father why so many people were interested in this man.  He said she should go ask him.  And she did.

According to my friend Joe, Regine asked Ron, "Are you famous?"  He replied, "I used to be."

Regine returned to our table a few minutes later.  And shortly thereafter, so did Ron Guidry.  Apparently, he was so charmed by Regine (he had two daughters himself) that he wanted to meet the group she came from.

We chatted with Ron Guidry for some minutes.  He mentioned that originally he did not want to be a pitcher, but preferred being an every day ball player.  However, he was told that being a pitcher was his ticket to the major leagues.  It certainly was.