Paladin, Chapter 4

EXT. SAME CAMPSITE - LATER THAT NIGHT

PALADIN and POLLYANNA are asleep.  The two cowboys quietly return.  FIRST COWBOY silently approaches POLLYANNA, while SECOND COWBOY approaches PALADIN.  FIRST COWBOY gets on top of POLLYANNA awakening her.

POLLYANNA:  What the...  (she screams)

PALADIN awakes as well.  SECOND COWBOY has already pointed his gun in PALADIN's face.

POLLYANNA:  (screams)  Don't!  Get the fuck offa me.

PALADIN waits for moment when SECOND COWBOY is distracted by what FIRST COWBOY is doing.   PALADIN then pulls out his derringer hidden in his belt and fires at SECOND COWBOY's temple killing him instantly.  Hearing the gun's noise, FIRST COWBOY turns toward PALADIN and tries to reach for his gun, but PALADIN jumps up and kills him first with the second shot from the derringer.  The danger gone, he then approaches the shaken POLLYANNA. 

PALADIN:  You all right?

POLLYANNA:  They're dead?

PALADIN:  Yeah...thanks in part to you.

POLLYANNA:  What do you mean?

PALADIN:  These men are what I was talking about when I said, "wild and dangerous."  These men don't see hardly any women in this country.  And then you start flirting as if you were in San Francisco or Windfall.  You can't do that.  Actions have consequences.    

POLLYANNA:  Bullshit.  I did nothing wrong.  But, I'm glad they're dead.

POLLYANNA stands up and kicks the dead body of the man who tried to rape her.

POLLYANNA:  Why did it take so long for you to kill them?

PALADIN:  (with emphasis) I killed them as soon as I could, lady, but I regret I had to do that.  Each life is precious and I'm sure if you had been demure instead of flirtatious they would still be alive.  Don't do that again in my company.  You hear me?

She nods, a little bit frightened by PALADIN's tone.

PALADIN:  Now, I'm going to have to bury these two.

My Poor Right Knee, Part One

This my 500th post.

When I look at my poor right knee, I can see two scars.  They are from two of my surgeries there.  The first was in August 1975.  Why?

In the summer of 1971, my ex-wife and I were travelling on an overnight train from Vienna to Venice.  We were sitting across from each other on benches trying to sleep with our legs stretched out.  

In the middle of the night, my duffle bag fell down and landed on my poor right knee.  I believe that was the beginning of my troubles.

Over the next four years I sought medical attention for my poor right knee which was suffering.  Finally, I was diagnosed with torn cartilage which required surgery to remove the tear.

My only previous experience was oral surgery during my youth.  I remember vomiting after I woke up.  My mother rewarded me with ice cream.

I checked into Mt. Sinai Hospital in Manhattan the night before my surgery.  An orderly dropped off a razor for me to shave my knee.  As I had no experience with this, I asked him to do it.

The next day I was terrified.  I thought I was going to die.  I kissed my wife as if it were the last time.  

I remember laying on a cart being wheeled down a corridor leading to various surgical rooms.  I was worried I would be taken into the wrong room.  

Finally, we entered the right room, but I didn't want to be put to sleep before my surgeon arrived.  I wanted to be sure he remembered it was my poor right knee which was to be operated on.  

I told one of the nurses my wife was pregnant.  She assumed it would be a boy.  I told her I was hoping for a daughter.

After the surgery, and before I could go home, they taught me how to use crutches, especially going up and down stairs.  

I had to stay in a hospital ward with five other men for a week.  I remember the guy to my left had terrific back pain.  Another man in the ward had had a heart attack.

I recovered at home, but there was no mention of physical therapy.  Three years later, I had to redo the surgery, this time as an out patient and this time with physical therapy.

The Super Bowl

Today is Super Bowl Sunday LIX.  It is the championship game of the National Football League (NFL).  This year features the Kansas City Chiefs against the Philadelphia Eagles to be held in New Orleans.

The first Super Bowl was on January 15, 1967 in Los Angeles between the Green Bay Packers and the Kansas City Chiefs, won by the Packers 35-10.  The game was actually called the AFL-NFL World Championship Game.

At that time, I was a senior at Penn.  A classmate in my dorm had a small black and white TV where I watched the game.

The NFL began in 1920, but for many years lagged behind in popularity from the college game.  In the late 1950s, the NFL started catching up.

The 1958 NFL Championship Game was played on December 28 at Yankee Stadium in New York City. It was the first NFL playoff game to be decided in sudden death overtime.  The Baltimore Colts defeated the New York Giants 23–17 in what soon became widely known as "the Greatest Game Ever Played".  I watched from the den of my family's home in Oswego all by myself. 

The 1958 game marked the beginning of the NFL's popularity surge and eventual rise to the top of the United States sports market.  A major reason was that the game was televised across the nation by the National Broadcasting Company (NBC).

As a result of the popularity surge, a rival league, the American Football League (AFL), was formed and started playing games in 1960.  From 1960 through 1965, the champions of the two leagues did not play each other at the end of the season to determine the championship of professional football.

Before the 1966 season, a merger of the two leagues was agreed to.  The championship game the following January was the first game between the two leagues.  

On January 14, 1968, the Green Bay Packers defeated the Oakland Raiders 33-14 in Super Bowl II in Miami.  I watched the game at my fiancé's (Bonita's) home in suburban Detroit.

On January 12, 1969, the New York Jets defeated the Baltimore Colts 16-7 in Super Bowl III also in Miami.  It was the AFL's first win.  I watched the game at my home in Manhattan.  

I have watched all the Super Bowls except one, XXX.  On January 28, 1996, I took my daughter Rachel to JFK Airport for her flight to Israel (semester abroad to Tel Aviv University).

This year I'll watch the Super Bowl from our apartment in Guaruja. 

Madrugada

My favorite Portuguese word is madrugada, which means in English, "middle of the night."  In other words, it covers the time from midnight to dawn.  It's interesting that it is one word in one language and four in another.

Middle of the Night is a 1959 film drama starring Fredric March and Kim Novak.  It was directed by Delbert Mann and written by Paddy Chayefsky, the same team that brought us the Best Picture of 1955, Marty.

The story of Middle of the Night involves a May-December romance between a 56 year-old widower named Jerry (March) and a 24 year-old named Betty (Novak).  She works as a receptionist at clothing manufacturer, owned by Jerry, in New York City.

On one opportune day, Jerry and Betty are discussing business privately.  However, she is distraught about her loveless marriage to her ex-husband and turns to Jerry as a sort of father figure, which she doesn't have in her life.  As Jerry's daughter is about the same age as Betty, he tries to console her.

After this encounter, Jerry starts to have non fatherly feelings towards Betty.  She is a very attractive woman and he wants to be  considered desirable after many years of being alone.

Jerry eventually works up the nerve to invite her to dinner, which she accepts.  It is interesting that the subject of sexual harassment is never mentioned in the film.  It did not become relevant in American society until the 1970s.

Jerry does not pressure Betty using his superior position to gain an advantage.  Likewise, Betty does not feel any pressure.  It is a very innocent boy-girl romance, albeit involving a middle-aged man and a young woman.

Their relationship develops like on a roller coaster, going up and down.  They are very influenced by the people in their lives, especially the women.  

Betty's mother calls Jerry "a dirty old man."  Jerry's sister calls Betty "a fortune hunter."

Kim Novak has described this movie as the best performance of her career.  In 11 days, let's all wish her a happy 92nd birthday.