John Lithgow

John Lithgow was born October 19, 1945 in Rochester, New York...73 days later and 86 miles from...Happy Birthday, John

He spent his childhood years in Yellow Springs, Ohio.  Coretta Scott King was his babysitter.  

John Lithgow spent his teenage years in Akron and Lakewood, Ohio followed by Princeton, New Jersey.  He graduated from Harvard University in 1967.

John Lithgow was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his performances in The World According to Garp (1982) and Terms of Endearment (1983).  He won in neither year.

I pictured John Lithgow as my protagonist in my screenplay Best of Intensions, which I wrote some years ago.  It is a love story between an American and a Mexican woman (I thought of Salma Hayek) which takes place in the early years of WWII when the USA invaded Mexico, an axis partner(?).

My prophecy happened in 2017 when John (Doug) and Salma (Beatriz) appeared together in the film Beatriz at Dinner.  The two portray guests at a dinner party.  Interactions between Doug and Beatriz get off to a bad start with Doug mistaking her for one of the house staff members.  

Later, in the living room, tensions come to a head when Doug brags about his hunting of animals while on safari in South Africa and passes around his phone that has a photo of a dead rhinoceros he hunted.

When Beatriz sees the photo, she calls the act "disgusting" and hurls the mobile at Doug.  This is not the love story I imagined.  In fact, Beatriz imagines killing Doug.

rap sheet

A rap sheet is an informal term for a criminal record, which is a detailed list of a person's arrests, charges, and convictions maintained by law enforcement agencies. These records include details on various offenses, penalties, and judicial decisions related to a person's involvement with the criminal justice system.

The term rap sheet is a combination of the slang word "rap," meaning a criminal charge or accusation, and the word "sheet," referring to a document or list. It became a common phrase around the 1940s.

Access to a person's rap sheet is legally restricted to law enforcement, criminal justice professionals, and authorized state and federal agencies for legitimate purposes like employment or licensing.  Public access is highly restricted, as rap sheets are not public records and cannot be obtained through Freedom of Information requests.

About forty plus years ago, I was driving along Delancey Street in lower Manhattan, having come across the Williamsburg Bridge on the way to my family's favorite Chinese restaurant, Say Eng Look, which is unfortunately gone. 

At a red light, a scruffy young man approached the car and engaged my first wife, Bonita, in conversation.  It basically consisted of asking for money.

She obliged, but asked him why he was not looking for gainful employment.  He responded as it was difficult to find because of his rap sheet.

The light turned green and we departed, but not before Bonita wished him well.  A few seconds later, my young daughter Rachel asked unforgettably, "What's a rap sheet?"

Robert Redford

Robert Redford was born August 18, 1936 in Santa Monica, California.  He became a respected actor, director and producer.

Robert Redford attended Van Nuys High School, where he was a classmate of baseball pitcher Don Drysdale.  Another student at the school was the actress Natalie Wood.  He hit tennis balls with Pancho Gonzalez at the Los Angeles Tennis Club to help Gonzalez warm up for matches.

Robert Redford's acting career began in New York City, where he worked both on stage and in television. His Broadway debut was in a small role in Tall Story (1959).  

His biggest success on Broadway was as the stuffy newlywed husband of Elizabeth Ashley in the original 1963 cast of Neil Simon's Barefoot in the Park.  One night, I was in the audience at the Biltmore Theatre watching the young Robert Redford perform.

In the play, a newly wed couple live on the top floor (no elevator) of a brownstone in Manhattan.  When people arrive in their apartment, they are out of breath.  It reminds me of the apartment my brother Paul once lived in west of Central Park.

I saw many of Robert Redford's movies such as: Barefoot in the Park, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, Tell Them Willie Boy is Here, Downhill Racer, The Candidate, The Sting, The Way We Were, All The President's Men, The Natural, Out of Africa, Indecent Proposal and All is Lost.

Robert Redford won his only Academy Award as Best Director for the film Ordinary People.

Sadly, he died at his home in Sundance, Utah on September 16th this year.    

  

Paladin, Chapter 11

 INT. HOTEL ROOM - DAY

When PALADIN opens door to his hotel room, he is confronted by BIG DAN, large and  heavy-set, who is sitting in a chair at the far end of the room next to a picture window.  

PALADIN: Who are you and what are you doing in my room?

BIG DAN: I'm BIG DAN and what are you doin' in my town...with my woman?

PALADIN: Your wife hired me in San Francisco.  I suggest you discuss her reasons with her.  Now, I also suggest you get out of my room.

BIG DAN: You fuck her in San Francisco?

PALADIN: My relationship with POLLYANNA is purely professional.  As I said, I suggest you talk to her about why she hired me.  

PALADIN gives BIG DAN his card, who then reads it.

Paladin pivots to be ready to draw his gun.  BIG DAN rises from his chair.

BIG DAN: Well...did you fuck my wife?

PALADIN: That is a very crude remark.  I do not fuck women.  I make love to them, and I do it very well.  To answer your question, I did not fuck your wife.  Now, for the last time, get out of my room.

BIG DAN: If you're trying to scare me, I don't scare.  I'm the one who's scary. 

PALADIN: I don't think you're scary, just big, an accident of birth.

BIG DAN: Alright.  But I better get the same answer from POLLYANNA.  I'll be seein' you again...PALADIN.  

BIG DAN slowly leaves the room.  PALADIN takes a deep breath.  

Sandra Day O'Connor

 Sandra Day was born on March 26, 1930, in El Paso, Texas.  She grew up on a 198,000-acre family cattle ranch near Duncan, Arizona and in El Paso.

Accepted by Stanford University at age 16, Day earned a B.A. in economics in 1950, graduating magna cum laude.   She pursued a law degree at Stanford Law School, graduating near the top of her class in 1952.

While in her final year at Stanford Law School, Day began dating John Jay O'Connor III, who was one class year behind her.  On December 20, 1952, six months after her graduation, O'Connor and Day married at her family's ranch.

Sandra Day O'Connor served as assistant Attorney General of Arizona from 1965 to 1969.  In 1969, the governor of Arizona appointed O'Connor to fill a vacancy in the Arizona Senate.  

O'Connor ran for and won the election for the seat the following year.  By 1973, she became the first woman to serve as Arizona's or any state's majority leader.  

O'Connor developed a reputation as a skilled negotiator and a moderate. After serving two full terms, she decided to leave the Senate.

In 1974, O'Connor was appointed to the Maricopa County Superior Court, serving from 1975 to 1979 when she was elevated to the Arizona Court of Appeals.

On July 7, 1981, President Ronald Reagan – who had pledged during his 1980 presidential campaign to appoint the first woman to the Court – announced he would nominate O'Connor as an associate justice of the U. S. Supreme Court to replace the retiring Potter Stewart.  Reagan formally nominated O'Connor on August 19, 1981.

On September 21, 1981 (44 years ago) O'Connor was confirmed by the U.S. Senate with a vote of 99–0.  She served on the Supreme Court until her retirement in 2006.

Yogurt

When I was growing up in Oswego, New York in the 1950s, my father was the manager of a local dairy.  It specialized in milk, cottage cheese and ice cream.

When I went to college in 1963, I discovered another dairy product I had never heard of: yogurt.

Yogurt is a fermented dairy product created when bacteria convert the sugars in milk into lactic acid, which causes the milk to thicken and develop its characteristic tangy flavor.  Yogurt comes in a vast range of flavors like strawberry, blueberry, peach, and raspberry being very popular, alongside vanilla and plain.

I discovered yogurt during my college days, but I never ate it until sometime afterwards.  I will explain.

In my junior year in college, I took a course in Russian literature.  We read such books as Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoevsky, A Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich by Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn, Notes of a Madman by Nikolai Gogol and Doctor Zhivago by Boris Pasternak.

Everyday in class I sat at a desk in the center of the room near the front.  Everyday a cute redhaired girl sat to my right.  Everyday she brought a yogurt to eat before the class began.  It was usually strawberry flavor.

I never talked to the cute redhaired girl.  Neither in class, nor when all the students went to a special theater showing of the film version of Doctor Zhivago.  Why?  Lack of courage.

I wanted to talk to her, but I couldn't.  What a pity.  And I didn't try yogurt either, even though it looked delicious.

Since college I've eaten yogurt.  It is delicious.  

 

Summertime

Summertime is a 1955 romantic comedy drama film directed by David Lean, and starring Katharine Hepburn (as Jane) and Rossano Brazzi (as Renato). It follows a lonely middle-aged American secretary (Jane) during her experiences touring Venice alone, for the first time, looking for love.

The movie was filmed on location in Venice and the city was like a significant character along with Jane and Renato (an Italian shopkeeper).  The scenery was mesmerizing.

David Lean (Best Director) and Katharine Hepburn (Best Actress) were nominated for Academy Awards, but neither won.  

Summertime reminded me of another 1955 movie, Marty, about a lonely man in New York City.  Both Jane and Marty are looking for love, but are afraid of the effort (possibility of rejection) required to find it.  As Marty said, "I don't want to get hurt no more."

In the first scene in which we see both Jane and Renato, he is staring at her at an outdoor cafe.  When she makes eye contact with him, she turns away and quickly leaves.  She should have smiled back at him.

Here is some of the outstanding dialogue written by David Lean and H. E. Bates.

Jane: I was coming to Europe to find something...I was looking for...a wonderful mystical magical (experience)...to find what I've been missing all my life 

a friend: those miracles, they can happen some times, but you must give a little push to help

___

Renato: I came to see you...for you, it is no trouble

Jane: why did you come to see me?

Renato:  it is only natural...why must you understand (why I am here)?...the most beautiful things in life are those we do not understand...because you attract me...we saw each other, we liked each other...this is so nice, how can it be wrong

____

Jane:  Why did you do that (kiss me)?  I don't think I want to see you again.  (after another kiss) I love you.  Tomorrow?

Renato:  Eight.

____

A friend:  Everybody loves you.  

Jane:  I don't want everybody.  I can't handle a crowd.  Two.  That's the loveliest number in the world.

____  

Renato:  You dream of meeting someone you want: young, rich, witty, brilliant and unmarried.  But me, I am a shopkeeper.  Not young, not rich, not witty, not brilliant and married (but separated).  But, I am a man and you are a woman.  You are like a hungry child who is given ravioli to eat.  No, you say, I want beef steak.  My dear girl, you are hungry, eat ravioli.  

Jane:  I'm not that hungry.

Renato:  There is a noise in your head.   Be quiet.  Let it happen.  

Jane:  I want it to happen.  It just isn't the way I thought it would be.  I come from such a different world and I'm not going to be here long.

Renato:  So, it is better to take home only Venetian glass (she purchased)?

Paladin, Chapter 10

EXT. STREET - DAY

PALADIN walks across the street and enters the hotel.

INT. HOTEL - DAY

PALADIN walks up to reception desk.

PALADIN: I'll take my room now.  

Unseen by PALADIN, GRACE had been waiting for him to come back to the hotel.  She approaches him from behind.

GRACE: Mr. PALADIN?

PALADIN: You can call me PALADIN.  How can I be of service to you, GRACE?

GRACE: May we talk in private?

PALADIN: Of course.

In the corner of the lobby is a sofa.

PALADIN: How about over there?

GRACE: Okay.

The two walk over and sit on the sofa.

GRACE: I know POLLYANNA hired you to come here.  She's plotting something to try to steal away my husband and I can't let her do that.  Are you going to help her?

PALADIN: POLLYANNA hired me under false pretenses.  She claimed that CHARLES was her boyfriend.  Is he?

GRACE: (silence)

PALADIN: Madam, he could be both your husband and her boyfriend.  Is he her boyfriend?  Do they have some kind of illicit relationship?

GRACE: To my knowledge, no.  Not yet, anyway.  My marriage isn't perfect, but I believe CHARLES has been faithful to me.  POLLYANNA is an unprincipled hussy, a woman who's capable of doing anything to get any man she wants.  And she wants CHARLES.  If necessary, I will fight her for him, but I need to know what you will do for her.

PALADIN: I'm not here to break up your marriage, or hers.  What's with her and BIG DAN?

GRACE: I don't know.  Maybe she's bored with the brawny type and is more attracted to a more cerebral man.  I don't care.  I want to keep my man.  I love him.  I love CHARLES.

PALADIN: I believe you, but does CHARLES love you?

GRACE: (hesitating) I think so.  We don't say those words out loud...at least not very often.   But, I think he does.

PALADIN: I accepted $1,000 from POLLYANNA and I don't give refunds.  But, I don't believe I should get involved in all this marital business.  I owe her something, but I'm not sure what.  Let me make one thing clear, GRACE, I am not your enemy.

GRACE: Thank you for saying that.  I had better be returning to the store.  CHARLES doesn't know I went to talk to you.  Please don't tell him.

PALADIN: I won't.  It was a pleasure talking to you, GRACE.

GRACE nods to PALADIN and leaves hotel.  PALADIN walks up stairs to his room.

The Bird

Mark Fydrich was born August 14, 1954 in Worcester, Massachusetts.  He played baseball for Algonquin Regional High School in nearby Northborough.  

In 1974, Fydrich was drafted by the Detroit Tigers.  In the minor leagues, one of his coaches dubbed the lanky 6-foot-3 right-handed pitcher "The Bird" because of his resemblance to the "Big Bird" character on the popular Sesame Street television program.

Fidrych joined the Tigers spring training camp in 1976 and made the major league roster.  On May 15, Fidrych made his first start. He held the Cleveland Indians hitless through six innings and ended up with a two-hit, 2–1 complete game victory, with one walk and five strikeouts.

In addition to his pitching, Fidrych attracted attention in his debut for talking to the ball while on the pitcher's mound, strutting in a circle around the mound after every out, patting down the mound, and refusing to allow groundskeepers to fix the mound in the sixth inning.

  

On June 28, 1976, Fidrych pitched before 47,855 fans at Tiger Stadium and a national television audience in the millions, as the Tigers hosted the New York Yankees on ABC's Monday Night Baseball with Bob Prince, Warner Wolf, and Bob Uecker in the broadcast booth. Fidrych earned a 5–1 complete-game victory which took only an hour and 51 minutes. 

Fans would not leave the stadium until The Bird emerged from the dugout for a curtain call.   After the broadcast, which was filled with plenty of "Bird" antics, Fidrych became a national celebrity.

I was there that night at Tiger Stadium quietly rooting for the Yankees.  I remember one key moment when Fidrych struck out Yankee catcher Thurman Munson to end a New York rally.

Fidrych led the major leagues with a 2.34 ERA in 1976, won the American League (AL) Rookie of the Year award, and finished with a 19–9 record. Shortly thereafter, however, injuries derailed his career, which ended after just five seasons in the major leagues.

Cornell

Tomorrow, August 18, 2025, my grandson, Nate Gerstein, will move into his dorm room to begin his career as a matriculated undergraduate student at Cornell University in Ithaca, New York.  Best wishes, Nate!

Cornell University was named after its co-founder, Ezra Cornell, who was born in New York City in 1807.  In his early life, he travelled New York State as a professional carpenter.

Upon first setting eyes on Cayuga Lake (one of the Finger Lakes) and nearby Ithaca in 1828, Ezra decided that Ithaca would be his future home.

Cornell made his fortune in the telegraph business as an associate of Samuel Morse. Cornell constructed and strung the poles for the Baltimore–Washington telegraph line, the first telegraph line of substance in the U.S. 

To address the problem of telegraph lines shorting out, Cornell invented using glass insulators at the point where telegraph lines are connected to supporting poles. 

A lifelong enthusiast of science and agriculture, Cornell saw great opportunity in the 1862 Morrill Land-Grant Acts to found a university that would teach practical subjects on an equal basis with the classics favored by more traditional institutions. Andrew Dickson White helped secure the new institution's status as New York's land-grant university, and Cornell University was founded and granted a charter through their efforts in 1865.

On Thanksgiving 1958 I had my first contact with Cornell University as a spectator at the annual Cornell-Penn football game at Franklin Field in Philadelphia.  Cornell won 19-7.

One of my teachers at Oswego High School was a graduate of Cornell University:  Jessie Fleischman (English).

In 1964 and 1966, as a Penn student, I travelled to Cornell University to attend the Cornell-Penn football game.  Penn lost both times.

The last time I was on the Cornell campus was in the early 1990s to acquaint my daughter Rachel with the University.

C O R N E double L,

Win the game and then ring the bell,

What's the big intrigue,

We're the best in the Ivy League,

Score the point that puts us ahead,

Knock 'em dead, Big Red

1, 2, 3, 4, who are we for,

Can't you tell, old Cornell

5

7 has always been my favorite number.  I was born on August 7.  

My father was born on September 7.  My mother was born in 1907.  My sister was born (and died) on November 7.  My daughter Rachel was born on December 7.

My brother Paul was born on May 17.  My brother Ted was born on October 17.

Perhaps 5 is also a lucky number for me.  I was born in a year ending in 5 (1945).  My sister-in-law Janet was born the same year.  

My daughter was also born in a year ending in 5 (1975).  My son Bret was born (August 15) in a year ending in 5 (1985) as was his wife Pam.

My wife Cristina was born on November 25.

I should also consider the number 9.  My grandson Nate was born on March 9.  My grandson Leo was born September 29.

Shawshank Redemption

 Shawshank Redemption is a 1994 prison drama film starring Tim Robbins and Morgan Freeman.  The latter was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role, but lost to Tom Hanks in Forest Gump.

The film tells the story of banker Andy Dufresne (Robbins), who is sentenced to life in Shawshank State Penitentiary for the murders of his wife and her lover, despite his innocence. Over the following two decades, he befriends a fellow prisoner, contraband smuggler Ellis "Red" Redding (Freeman), and becomes instrumental in a money laundering operation led by the prison warden.  Andy eventually escapes the prison with the help of Rita Hayworth and Raquel Welch.

After the escape, the film shows a scene I found very interesting.  Red (in prison for murder) goes up in front of a Parole Hearing Board.

• Parole Hearings Man: Ellis Boyd Redding (Red), your files say you've served 40 years of a life sentence. Do you feel you've been rehabilitated?
• 
  
• Red: Rehabilitated? Well, now let me see. You know, I don't have any idea what that means.
• 
  
• Parole Hearings Man: Well, it means that you're ready to rejoin society...
• 
  
• Red: I know what you think it means, sonny. To me, it's just a made up word. A politician's word, so young fellas like yourself can wear a suit and a tie, and have a job. What do you really want to know? Am I sorry for what I did?
• 
  
• Parole Hearings Man: Well, are you?
• 
  
• Red: There's not a day goes by I don't feel regret. Not because I'm in here, because you think I should. I look back on the way I was then: a young, stupid kid who committed that terrible crime. I want to talk to him. I want to try to talk some sense to him, tell him the way things are. But I can't. That kid's long gone, and this old man is all that's left. I got to live with that. Rehabilitated? It's just a bullshit word. So you go on and stamp your form, sonny, and stop wasting my time. Because to tell you the truth, I don't give a shit.

His parole was approved.

I sometimes wish I could talk some sense to myself when I was a young person.  I didn't commit a crime, but I made some stupid decisions that I thought at the time were correct.  As Red said, that version of me is long gone and this older version is all that's left.  

Paladin, Chapter 9

EXT. STREET - DAY

PALADIN exits Sheriff's office and walks to saloon and enters.

INT. SALOON - DAY

PALADIN enters saloon and sees POLLYANNA sitting at a table drinking with a young man.  They are in animated conversation.  PALADIN interrupts.

PALADIN: (speaking to POLLYANNA) Excuse me.  But, we need to talk.

JOHN HENRY: Hey, mister.  You're buttin in where you don't belong.  Shut up and be gone.

PALADIN: (ignoring JOHN HENRY) As I said, we need to talk.

JOHN HENRY stands up, glowering at PALADIN.  PALADIN slowly turns to face him.  Finally, POLLYANNA acts.

POLLYANNA: Hold it, JOHN HENRY, let me talk to the man and I'll get back to you real soon.  Please!

JOHN HENRY reluctantly leaves them alone.  PALADIN sits down.

PALADIN: Lady, you brought me here under false pretenses.  I'm trying to think what I should do for the money I'm not returning.  Any ideas?  

POLLYANNA: Kill BIG DAN and GRACE.

PALADIN: And why should I do that?  

POLLYANNA: Because I paid you.  I saw how you killed those two last night.  What's two more to you?

PALADIN: Maybe I should kill you instead. 

POLLYANNA: I think you'd rather fuck me than kill me.

PALADIN: If you aren't happily wed, why don't you get a divorce?

POLLYANNA: I'd lose half interest in a lucrative property, our cattle ranch.  

PALADIN: Then, there's the matter of CHARLES, who doesn't seem so amorous towards you.  

POLLYANNA: Oh, he acts different when we're alone.  Has to act that way when he's in front of GRACE, a worthless woman.

PALADIN: You're not helping me.  I'd like to do something for the money you paid me, but I'm having difficulty finding a solution.  I'm going to remain in town for maybe a couple of days.  You can find me at the hotel.  Try to come up with something.  

PALADIN departs saloon.

Typing

A typewriter is a machine for typing characters. Typically, a typewriter has an array of keys, and each one causes a different single character to be produced on paper by striking an inked ribbon selectively.

The first commercial typewriters were introduced in 1874, but did not become common in offices in the United States until after the mid-1880s.  The typewriter quickly became an indispensable tool for practically all writing other than personal handwritten correspondence. 

It was widely used by professional writers, in offices, in business correspondence in private homes, and by students preparing written assignments.

Typewriters were a standard fixture in most offices up to the 1980s. After that, they began to be largely replaced by personal computers running word processing software. 

The QWERTY keyboard layout, developed for typewriters in the 1870s, remains the de facto standard for English-language computer keyboards.

In the summer of 1960, at age fifteen, with few options, I decided to attend summer school at OHS.  I chose two classes: world history and typing.

I knew that I could no longer submit hand written compositions for school work.  I needed to learn how to type.

I remember sitting in the first row by the door in the back of a room full of typewriters.  I also remember I was the only male in the classroom.  However, I failed to take advantage of such a favorable environment.  I never talked to any of my classmates.

I wasn't the best student, but I learned how to type.  I am typing this blogpost on my computer keypad without looking at the keys, something I learned how to do 65 years ago.   

Cataract

Two years ago, I visited an eye clinic for an annual checkup.  I was surprised when the doctor said that I was getting closer to needing cataract surgery.

Cataract is a medical condition in which the lens of the eye becomes progressively opaque, resulting in blurred vision.  During surgery, the lens of the eye is replaced by a new and better one.

This year's annual checkup recommended cataract surgery now.  I found a surgeon I trusted.

My surgery took place on Wednesday, July 2nd.  I had to be there at 7 AM.  Luckily, the location was nearby.

I was put at ease when the receptionist, the surgeon and the anesthesiologist all spoke English.  A very kind nurse placed an intravenous in the crook of my left elbow.

When the anesthesiologist approached, I asked him to tell me when he would put me to sleep.  He said, "Now."

The next thing I remember is waking up from my more or less 30 minute operation.  I was carefully assisted to standing up (surgery was in a prone position), walking to the elevator and into our car for our return trip home at about 10 AM.

Cristina has greatly assisted me with the commencement of three weeks of required eye drops, starting with every four hours, but now every eight hours for another two weeks.

I noticed with the new lens that everything appears brighter and more colorful.  Blueberries are now very blue instead of just plain dark.  Good!  

Paladin, Chapter 8

SHERIFF ROGERS: I'll try.  POLLYANNA and her husband, BIG DAN, arrived in Windfall about two and a half years ago and bought a ranch about a mile out of town.  BIG DAN's been pretty successful runnin' steers.  Not so with the missus.  She's got a rovin' eye.  I think no man can hold her interest for long.  She's flirted with any number.  Well, now she's got her eye set on CHARLES, who with his wife, GRACE, owns the general store across the street.  They came about a year ago.  Do a nice business.     

PALADIN: What's BIG DAN doing about his wife?

SHERIFF ROGERS: Funny.  He intimidates everybody...exceptin me of course...and exceptin his wife, too.  She runs all over him.  He can't control her.  Personally, I wouldn't put up with a woman like that, pretty as she is.

PALADIN: Intimidates how?  With a gun?

SHERIFF ROGERS: He's alright with a gun.  Nothing special.  Mostly with his size and his fists.  A really big fella.  Saw him beat the shit out of one cowboy who stood up to him.

PALADIN: What about CHARLES and GRACE?

SHERIFF ROGERS: Hard to say what their relationship is.  Mostly, they act like brother and sister more than husband and wife.  But, she gets real huffy when POLLYANNA's around her man.  What do you aim to do about it all?

PALADIN: I don't know.  I took POLLYANNA's money.  I told her I'd help CHARLES learn to defend himself, but I think he doesn't need my help.  I don't give money back, so I need to do something.  What?  I don't know.  I'm gonna stick around for at least a day before heading back to San Francisco.

SHERIFF ROGERS: Hey, maybe you can help me.  I have to take a prisoner to Reno for a murder trial.  Be gone for a couple a days beginnin' tomorrow...real early.  Wanna be my deputy while I'm gone?  I'd pay you $50.  The mayor promised me the money if I could get somebody to do it.  What d'ya say?

PALADIN: What would you expect for $50?

SHERIFF ROGERS: You know...keep the peace...till I get back.  This is a pretty quiet town.  Except sometimes you gotta break up a fight at the saloon.  Pretty easy 'cause the two are usually drunk.  I've asked just about everybody.  Nobody wants the responsibility.  

PALADIN: I want to talk to POLLYANNA first.  But, I can let you know in a couple of hours.

SHERIFF ROGERS: OK!  You stayin' at the hotel?

PALADIN: Yes!  Come by for dinner.  I'll treat and we can talk more about this crazy situation I've become involved in.

SHERIFF ROGERS: Well, thank you very much.  I'll see you later.

____________

no blog post next Sunday, July 6, because of my cataract surgery

Checkpoint Charlie

 At the end of WWII, a defeated Germany and its capital Berlin was divided into four sectors representing the four victorious allies: the United States, the United Kingdom, France and the Soviet Union.  Eventually, the first three sectors merged into West Germany and West Berlin.  The last sector became East Germany and East Berlin.

Between 1949 and 1961, over 2½ million East Germans fled to the West.  The emigrants tended to be young and well educated, including many professionals — engineers, technicians, physicians, teachers, lawyers and skilled workers.  The brain drain became damaging to the political credibility and economic viability of East Germany. 

On August 13, 1961, a barbed-wire barrier that would become the Berlin Wall separating East and West Berlin was erected by the East Germans.  Two days later, police and army engineers began to construct a more permanent concrete wall.  

Along with the wall, the 830-mile (1336 km) zonal border became 3.5 miles (5.6 km) wide on its East German side in some parts of Germany with a tall steel-mesh fence running along a "death strip" bordered by mines, as well as channels of ploughed earth, to slow escapees and more easily reveal their footprints.

Checkpoint Charlie was a crossing point in the Berlin Wall located at the junction of Friedrichstraße with Zimmerstraße and Mauerstraße. Checkpoint Charlie was designated as the single foot or car crossing point for foreigners and members of the Allied forces. The name "Charlie" came from the letter C in the NATO phonetic alphabet (A, B, C).

As the most visible Berlin Wall checkpoint, Checkpoint Charlie was featured in movies and books.  The infrastructure on the Eastern side was expanded to include not only the wall, watchtower and zig-zag barriers, but a multi-lane shed where cars and their occupants were checked.

Although the wall was opened in November 1989 and the checkpoint booth removed on June 22, 1990 (35 years ago), the checkpoint remained an official crossing for foreigners and diplomats until German reunification in October of the same year. 

In the summer of 1973, I visited Berlin, both West and East.

I passed to the East and back again via Checkpoint Charlie.

Rifles were pointed at each other from both sides of the wall.  Scary!

MRI

Magnetic Resonance Imaging, commonly known MRI, is a technique to generate pictures of the anatomy and the physiological processes inside the body.  It differs from the x-ray which only records bones.

Since its development in the 1970s and 1980s, MRI has proven to be a versatile imaging technique.  It may be perceived as uncomfortable by some patients, due to the usually long and loud measurements with the subject in a long, confining tube.  An acquaintance of mine, suffering from claustrophobia, quit an MRI procedure before it was completed.

I remember my first experience with MRI, but I don't remember what part of the body we were examining.  I remember the periodic banging sound and the rule that I had to remain quiet and not move for about half an hour inside the tube.

I thoroughly remember my second and last MRI experience.  I was living in Chapel Hill, NC and working for The University of North Carolina.

Somewhere I noticed an advertisement for volunteers to participate in a study conducted by the University related to Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE). 

CTE is a progressive degenerative brain disease associated with repeated head trauma. It's primarily known for affecting individuals who have engaged in contact sports or other activities involving repeated head impacts. While symptoms can vary, they often include memory loss, confusion, impaired judgment, and changes in behavior. 

In the study, there would be two groups of participants:  former NFL football players who suffered numerous concussions and a second control group who never played football and never suffered a concussion.

Guess which group I fell into?

Each participant in both groups would have an MRI of their brain.  I thought I would find out how my brain was doing.

However, I was told I would receive neither compensation for my time nor the results of my brain MRI.  On the other hand, I received the satisfaction of participating in a meaningful study related to the world of sports.