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.

 

 

Joan Rivers

Joan Alexandra Molinsky was born June 8, 1933 in Brooklyn, New York.  She was known professionally as Joan Rivers. 

Rivers' parents were Jewish immigrants from Russia.  She graduated from Barnard College in 1954.

Rivers was an American comedienne, actress, producer, writer, and television host. She was noted for her blunt, often controversial comedic persona that was heavily self-deprecating and acerbic, especially towards celebrities and politicians, delivered in her signature New York accent. 

Rivers is considered a pioneer of women in comedy.  There was a time when it was considered unfeminine for a woman to be funny.

In the early 1960s, Rivers performed at various comedy clubs in Greenwich Village, New York City. It was during this period that she befriended fellow comedians Woody Allen and George Carlin.

After seven auditions over three years, Rivers finally made her first appearance on The Tonight Show with its host, Johnny Carson, on February 17, 1965.  She considered this episode to be her breakthrough, as Carson famously told her, "you're gonna be a star."  She became a frequent guest on the show and developed a close friendship with Carson.

Rivers became the first woman to host a late night network television talk show. She subsequently hosted The Joan Rivers Show (1989–1993), winning a Daytime Emmy for Outstanding Talk Show Host.

According to Rivers, one night, after watching her bomb at a comedy club, the legendary stand-up comic Lenny Bruce left her a note saying “You’re right, they’re wrong.” She was honored that he thought she had talent, and she kept that note all her life.

Rivers was the inspiration of the recent hit TV series, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel. 

On August 28, 2014, Rivers experienced serious complications and stopped breathing while undergoing what was scheduled to be a "minor" throat procedure at an outpatient clinic in Yorkville, Manhattan.  She died on September 4 at Mount Sinai Hospital, Manhattan never having awakened from a medically induced coma as a result of the above procedure.

There is no such thing as minor surgery.  There is only surgery.

 

A Perfect World

A Perfect World is a 1993 American thriller crime drama film directed by Clint Eastwood. It stars Kevin Costner as an escaped convict (Butch) who takes a young boy (Phillip) hostage and attempts to avoid capture on the road.  

Eastwood co-stars as a Texas Ranger (Red) in pursuit of the convict.  Laura Dern also co-stars as a criminologist (Sally) assigned to assist Eastwood's character.

In 1963 Texas, convicts Butch and Terry escape from the state penitentiary. Looking for food, Terry stumbles into a house where eight-year-old Phillip lives with his devout Jehovah's Witness single mother. 

Needing a hostage to aid their escape, Butch kidnaps Phillip. He and Terry continue their getaway.  When Terry attempts to force himself on a half-naked Phillip, Butch shoots him.

Meanwhile, Red, chief of the Texas Rangers, is in pursuit. With criminologist Sally in tow, Red wants to recover Butch and Phillip before they cross the Texas border.

Phillip never participated in Halloween or Christmas celebrations due to his religion. Escaping with Butch, however, Phillip experiences a freedom which he finds exhilarating, as Butch allows him the kind of indulgences he has been forbidden, including the wearing of a shoplifted Casper the Friendly Ghost costume. 

Phillip, with encouragement from Butch, begins to learn how to make independent decisions on what is right and wrong. Butch finds himself drawn into giving Phillip the kind of fatherly presence which he himself never had.  And of course, Phillip bonds with Butch as the male role model he lacks in his life.

I was drawn to this element of the story, the relationship between Butch and Phillip.  It reminds me of what I always wanted: to be the father I never had.

While asleep in their car in a cornfield, they encounter a farmer, Mack and his family. When Butch sees the farmer abusing his grandson, he beats the farmer and plans on killing him.

But Phillip picks up Butch's gun and shoots Butch in the stomach. Phillip runs away, drops the gun into a well, throws the car keys away, and runs across a meadow. 

Butch follows, and rests at the tree Phillip climbed. Phillip apologizes for shooting Butch, who tells him he did the right thing.

At the same time, Red, Sally and a plethora of police arrive nearby.