Monday, October 6, 1952, is a date with destiny for the Brooklyn Dodgers. It's game six of the World Series. They are up three games to two. But (so Burt thinks), it's a must game for the Dodgers if they are to win their first ever championship. If they lose today, they lose their momentum and all will be lost tomorrow in game seven.
Young right-hander Billy Loes starts the game for Brooklyn against Vic Raschi for the visitors from the Bronx. 30,037 fans crowd into Ebbets Field to watch.
Through the first five innings, neither team can muster enough offense to score. However, in the bottom of the sixth, Duke Snider hits the second pitch over the right field wall onto Bedford Avenue below to give the Dodgers a 1-0 lead.
Brooklyn's euphoria ends quickly when Yogi Berra ties the game with a home run of his own in the top of the seventh. The next batter, Gene Woodling, singles to center field and advances to second base on a balk. With two outs, Raschi hits a hard smash off off Loes' shin which deflects into right field allowing Woodling to score the Yankees go ahead run.
In the top of the eighth, Mickey Mantle homers to give the New York a 3-1 lead. In the bottom of the inning, Snider hits his second home run of the game to narrow the difference to 3-2.
In the bottom of the ninth, the Dodgers last chance, they face the Yankee ace, Allie Reynolds, native of Oklahoma and half-Cherokee Indian. He strikes out the first batter, pinch hitter Rocky Nelson, on three pitches. However, Carl Furillo walks, representing the tying run. Andy Pafko pops out to shortstop Phil Rizzuto for out number two. Billy Cox ends the game by grounding out to third base.
Burt sits in front of the television as if in a fog. Officially, the World Series is now tied, 3-3. But, Burt knows it's over. The Dodgers have lost yet again. Or did they?
The television is again showing the at bat of Andy Pafko. Reynolds' first pitch is a fast ball right down the middle for strike one. His next three miss their mark putting him in a hole against the batter for pitch number five. Not wanting to walk the batter, Reynolds' pitch is over the plate. Pafko swings and the ball goes up into the air.
Shortstop Phil Rizzuto backpedals to try get under the ball. But he gives way to left fielder Gene Woodling who also moves back as the ball is being carried by a strong wind. It finally lands 350 feet from home plate, just over the left field wall for a two run home run, giving the Dodgers their first World Series championship. The crowd goes wild. Burt has a big smile.
The next day, Tuesday, October 7, the Yankees win game seven. Harvey listens to most of it on a radio at his office. He leaves work early to watch the end of the game on television at home. When Harvey arrives he's surprised Burt's not there watching as well.
After the game ends, Harvey finds Burt in his bedroom doing his home work. Harvey mentions the Yankee victory. But, Burt just smiles. It's the same smile he had the day before. Harvey doesn't understand.
__________
I will be travelling to the USA the next three Sundays. The next blog post will be Sunday, June 23, 2019.
Sunday, May 26, 2019
Sunday, May 19, 2019
Lindbergh
I was talking to a friend recently about our respective travel plans for this year. She will fly from Sao Paulo to Amsterdam and Taipei. I'm flying to New York and Lisbon. Such inter-continental trips are now taken for granted. Ninety-two years ago they would have been unthinkable.
By 1927, airplanes had been around for about two decades. They had been used in the Great War in Europe. Airplanes were employed for short-distances, both for personal and commercial reasons. However, people started thinking about the possibility of long-distance travel.
In order to encourage progress in this area, New York hotel owner Raymond Orteig, on May 22, 1919 (about one hundred years ago), offered a prize of $25,000 to the first aviator(s) to fly non-stop from New York to Paris or vice versa. In 1926, the first serious attempt to win the prize ended in the death of two men shortly after their plane's takeoff.
On May 20, 1927, a twenty-five year old aviator from Little Falls, Minnesota by the name of Charles Lindbergh, flying his plane (the Spirit of St. Louis), took off from Roosevelt Field on Long Island, east of New York City, at 7:52 AM. He had recently become a very popular and heroic public figure in America. 30,000 people showed up at the airfield on the Sunday prior to his departure to catch a glimpse of him.
Lindbergh "packed five ham and chicken sandwiches (for his flight), though he would eat only one, when he was already over France. He took one quart of water."
"From Roosevelt Field, Lindbergh turned north...before heading out over the misty gray waters of Long Island Sound. By noon, he was over Nova Scotia, and at mid-afternoon over Cape Breton Island. Shortly after 6 PM Lindbergh passed over the last rocky extremity of North America on the Avalon Peninsula of Newfoundland and headed out over the open ocean. Now he would be out of touch completely for sixteen hours if all went well; forever if it didn't."
Thankfully, all went well, full credit to Lindbergh. "As (he) covered the last leg from Cherbourg into Paris he had no idea that he was about to experience fame on a scale and intensity unlike any experienced by any human before. A hundred thousand (French) people dropped whatever they were doing and went to Le Bourget (the Parisian airfield)" to greet Lindbergh upon his arrival.
"After circling the Eiffel Tower, (Lindbergh) headed (northeast of Paris where the airfield was located). The only possible site he could see was ringed with bright lights stretching out in all directions. What he didn't realize was that the activity was all for him."
"At 10:22 PM Paris time, precisely 33 hours and 30 minutes after taking to the air the Spirit of St. Louis touched down on the grassy spaciousness of Le Bourget. In that instant, a pulse of joy swept around the earth. Within minutes the whole of America knew he was safe in Paris. Le Bourget was instantly a scene of exultant pandemonium as tens of thousands of people rushed across the airfield to Lindbergh."
For the rest of his life, Charles Lindbergh would be a celebrity.
On May 27, 1929, he married Anne Morrow, a wealthy young woman. They had six children. On March 1, 1932, their eldest child, Charles Lindbergh, Jr. (then aged 20 months) was kidnapped from their home in East Amwell, NJ. Two months later, the child was found dead.
Beginning in 1936, Lindbergh began an involvement in America's political affairs becoming a member of the America First movement, a group that supported isolationism. At a rally in September of 1941, he accused the British, the Jews and the Roosevelt administration of pressing America towards war. After Pearl Harbor, isolationism disappeared in America and Lindbergh supported the war effort. In 2004, the late Philip Roth wrote a novel, The Plot Against America, a fictitious account of Lindbergh's election as president of the United States in 1940 and how his pro-German views affected American Jews.
On August 26, 1974, Lindbergh died of lymphoma in Hawaii (his home) at 72 years-of-age.
By 1927, airplanes had been around for about two decades. They had been used in the Great War in Europe. Airplanes were employed for short-distances, both for personal and commercial reasons. However, people started thinking about the possibility of long-distance travel.
In order to encourage progress in this area, New York hotel owner Raymond Orteig, on May 22, 1919 (about one hundred years ago), offered a prize of $25,000 to the first aviator(s) to fly non-stop from New York to Paris or vice versa. In 1926, the first serious attempt to win the prize ended in the death of two men shortly after their plane's takeoff.
On May 20, 1927, a twenty-five year old aviator from Little Falls, Minnesota by the name of Charles Lindbergh, flying his plane (the Spirit of St. Louis), took off from Roosevelt Field on Long Island, east of New York City, at 7:52 AM. He had recently become a very popular and heroic public figure in America. 30,000 people showed up at the airfield on the Sunday prior to his departure to catch a glimpse of him.
Lindbergh "packed five ham and chicken sandwiches (for his flight), though he would eat only one, when he was already over France. He took one quart of water."
"From Roosevelt Field, Lindbergh turned north...before heading out over the misty gray waters of Long Island Sound. By noon, he was over Nova Scotia, and at mid-afternoon over Cape Breton Island. Shortly after 6 PM Lindbergh passed over the last rocky extremity of North America on the Avalon Peninsula of Newfoundland and headed out over the open ocean. Now he would be out of touch completely for sixteen hours if all went well; forever if it didn't."
Thankfully, all went well, full credit to Lindbergh. "As (he) covered the last leg from Cherbourg into Paris he had no idea that he was about to experience fame on a scale and intensity unlike any experienced by any human before. A hundred thousand (French) people dropped whatever they were doing and went to Le Bourget (the Parisian airfield)" to greet Lindbergh upon his arrival.
"After circling the Eiffel Tower, (Lindbergh) headed (northeast of Paris where the airfield was located). The only possible site he could see was ringed with bright lights stretching out in all directions. What he didn't realize was that the activity was all for him."
"At 10:22 PM Paris time, precisely 33 hours and 30 minutes after taking to the air the Spirit of St. Louis touched down on the grassy spaciousness of Le Bourget. In that instant, a pulse of joy swept around the earth. Within minutes the whole of America knew he was safe in Paris. Le Bourget was instantly a scene of exultant pandemonium as tens of thousands of people rushed across the airfield to Lindbergh."
For the rest of his life, Charles Lindbergh would be a celebrity.
On May 27, 1929, he married Anne Morrow, a wealthy young woman. They had six children. On March 1, 1932, their eldest child, Charles Lindbergh, Jr. (then aged 20 months) was kidnapped from their home in East Amwell, NJ. Two months later, the child was found dead.
Beginning in 1936, Lindbergh began an involvement in America's political affairs becoming a member of the America First movement, a group that supported isolationism. At a rally in September of 1941, he accused the British, the Jews and the Roosevelt administration of pressing America towards war. After Pearl Harbor, isolationism disappeared in America and Lindbergh supported the war effort. In 2004, the late Philip Roth wrote a novel, The Plot Against America, a fictitious account of Lindbergh's election as president of the United States in 1940 and how his pro-German views affected American Jews.
On August 26, 1974, Lindbergh died of lymphoma in Hawaii (his home) at 72 years-of-age.
Sunday, May 5, 2019
Key Largo
In 1938, Warner Bros. produced a movie, The Amazing Dr. Clitterhouse, starring Edward G. Robinson, Claire Trevor and Humphrey Bogart. It is the story of a wealthy doctor (Robinson) who does research in criminology. He steals jewelry and then measures his blood pressure, temperature and pulse. Subsequently, he makes contact with actual criminals, Jo, a fence (Trevor), and Rocks, the leader of a gang of jewel thieves (Bogart).
Ten years later, movie producer Jerry Wald made another movie, Key Largo, starring Edward G. Robinson, Claire Trevor (won Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress) and Humphrey Bogart (the same three). The cast also includes Lauren Bacall (Bogart's wife) and Lionel Barrymore (in a wheelchair because of arthritis).
The island, Key Largo, is located in the northern portion of the Florida Keys, "a coral cay archipelago" off the southern coast of the state. At the far end of the Keys is Key West where the US Navy maintains a base (105 miles from Havana). My brother Paul was stationed there during the 1962 Cuban missile crisis.
The movie, Key Largo, is the story of ex-army officer Frank McCloud (Bogart) who visits a hotel in Key Largo owned by the family (father played by Barrymore and widow played by Bacall) of a comrade of his who was killed in a battle they were both in (Italian campaign, WWII) to pay his respects.
Because McCloud arrives during the off season, there are only six other guests in the hotel, all claiming to be there for the fishing. Unbeknownst to both McCloud and the family, the six are really criminals waiting for a second gang to arrive to sell them counterfeit money.
The leader of the first gang is the notorious Johnny Rocco (Robinson) who is accompanied by his alcoholic girlfriend, a former professional singer, Gaye Dawn (Trevor). Rocco had been deported to Cuba some years before as an undesirable alien.
While the gang waits, they take McCloud and the family prisoner so they won't betray them to the police. In addition, a hurricane approaches causing some (especially Rocco) to be nervous.
During their captivity, McCloud demonstrates to the widow that he is a man of courage. At one point, he disobeys Rocco's instructions and gives Gaye the drink she desperately wants. Could this be the beginning of a beautiful friendship?
After their business transaction is completed, Rocco and his gang (minus Gaye who is abandoned by her boyfriend) need a ride back to Cuba. The captain of the ship that brought them to Key West abandoned them as the hurricane approached.
Rocco forces McCloud to pilot a small boat to take them home. McCloud and the widow believe Rocco will kill him once they are safely in Cuba. Do they? Or will McCloud safely return to Key West and the widow?
___________
I will be travelling next Sunday. Have a happy Mother's Day. The next post will be Sunday, May 19, 2019.
Ten years later, movie producer Jerry Wald made another movie, Key Largo, starring Edward G. Robinson, Claire Trevor (won Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress) and Humphrey Bogart (the same three). The cast also includes Lauren Bacall (Bogart's wife) and Lionel Barrymore (in a wheelchair because of arthritis).
The island, Key Largo, is located in the northern portion of the Florida Keys, "a coral cay archipelago" off the southern coast of the state. At the far end of the Keys is Key West where the US Navy maintains a base (105 miles from Havana). My brother Paul was stationed there during the 1962 Cuban missile crisis.
The movie, Key Largo, is the story of ex-army officer Frank McCloud (Bogart) who visits a hotel in Key Largo owned by the family (father played by Barrymore and widow played by Bacall) of a comrade of his who was killed in a battle they were both in (Italian campaign, WWII) to pay his respects.
Because McCloud arrives during the off season, there are only six other guests in the hotel, all claiming to be there for the fishing. Unbeknownst to both McCloud and the family, the six are really criminals waiting for a second gang to arrive to sell them counterfeit money.
The leader of the first gang is the notorious Johnny Rocco (Robinson) who is accompanied by his alcoholic girlfriend, a former professional singer, Gaye Dawn (Trevor). Rocco had been deported to Cuba some years before as an undesirable alien.
While the gang waits, they take McCloud and the family prisoner so they won't betray them to the police. In addition, a hurricane approaches causing some (especially Rocco) to be nervous.
During their captivity, McCloud demonstrates to the widow that he is a man of courage. At one point, he disobeys Rocco's instructions and gives Gaye the drink she desperately wants. Could this be the beginning of a beautiful friendship?
After their business transaction is completed, Rocco and his gang (minus Gaye who is abandoned by her boyfriend) need a ride back to Cuba. The captain of the ship that brought them to Key West abandoned them as the hurricane approached.
Rocco forces McCloud to pilot a small boat to take them home. McCloud and the widow believe Rocco will kill him once they are safely in Cuba. Do they? Or will McCloud safely return to Key West and the widow?
___________
I will be travelling next Sunday. Have a happy Mother's Day. The next post will be Sunday, May 19, 2019.
Sunday, April 28, 2019
The Year 1952, Chapter 10
October is World Series month, annually pitting the American League (AL) baseball champion against the National League (NL) winner. It is fitting that in 1952 the Series starts on the first day of October, a Wednesday afternoon.
Burt's team, the Brooklyn Dodgers, rebounded from losing the NL pennant the previous year to the hated rival New York Giants by winning it this year (finishing 5 games in front).
Unfortunately for Burt, Harvey's favorite team, the New York Yankees, are their World Series opponents. The Cleveland Indians finished second in the AL, two games behind the Yanks.
The Yankees had won the last three World Series championships in a row. In total, they had won 14 championships. The Dodgers, none. Is there any fairness in the world, thinks Burt?
Game one (best four out of seven) is at Brooklyn's Ebbets Field. With home runs from Jackie Robinson, (Edwin) Duke Snider and (Harold) Pee Wee Reese, the Dodgers win, 4-2. One down, three to go.
Five years before, Robinson, a UCLA graduate and a U.S. Army officer during WWII, was chosen by Dodgers' boss, Branch Rickey, to be the first black to play in the Major Leagues. He is joined on the Dodgers in 1952 by three other black ballplayers, Sandy Amoros, Joe Black and Roy Campanella. Is it a coincidence Harvey's favorite team has none?
The following day, Thursday afternoon, October 2, the Yankees even the Series by winning, 7-1. Their great young star, Mickey Mantle has three hits. He is the Yankee's new center fielder, replacing future Hall of Famer Joe DiMaggio, who retired after the 1951 season. Billy Martin contributes a three-run homer.
On Friday afternoon, October 3, the Series moves to Yankee Stadium in the Bronx. Led by Pee Wee Reese's three hits, the Dodgers win, 5-3. Two down, two to go.
That night, Harvey and Burt watch the Friday Night Fights on TV, featuring the undefeated Johnny Saxton from Newark, New Jersey against Ralph (Tiger) Jones from Yonkers, New York. Harvey chooses the favorite, Saxton, and Burt the underdog, Jones. In a two to one split decision, Harvey's man wins again. No justice, no fairness.
On Saturday afternoon, October 4, behind the shutout pitching of Allie Reynolds and a home run by Johnnie Mize, the Yankees even the Series (final score 2-0) at two to two.
On Sunday afternoon, October 5, with the help of a fifth inning two-run homer by Snider, the Dodgers take a 4-0 lead. However, in the bottom of the inning, with the help of a three-run home run, again by Mize, the Yankees go ahead, 5-4. On another Snider hit, the Dodgers tie the game. After nine innings, it's still tied.
The hero of the fifth game, Duke Snider doubles in the winning run in the top of the 11th. In the bottom of the inning, starting pitcher Carl Erskine strikes out (Larry) Yogi Berra to end the game. Three down, one to go.
With the sixth game the Series returns to Brooklyn on Monday afternoon, October 6. Burt believes it to be the key game of the 1952 World Series. If the Dodgers win, it's all over. They will have won their first championship.
However, if the Yankees win and tie the Series (three to three), they would regain the momentum and win it all in game seven (also in Brooklyn). It would be inevitable. The pressure is on the boys from Brooklyn (and Burt) on Monday afternoon.
Burt's team, the Brooklyn Dodgers, rebounded from losing the NL pennant the previous year to the hated rival New York Giants by winning it this year (finishing 5 games in front).
Unfortunately for Burt, Harvey's favorite team, the New York Yankees, are their World Series opponents. The Cleveland Indians finished second in the AL, two games behind the Yanks.
The Yankees had won the last three World Series championships in a row. In total, they had won 14 championships. The Dodgers, none. Is there any fairness in the world, thinks Burt?
Game one (best four out of seven) is at Brooklyn's Ebbets Field. With home runs from Jackie Robinson, (Edwin) Duke Snider and (Harold) Pee Wee Reese, the Dodgers win, 4-2. One down, three to go.
Five years before, Robinson, a UCLA graduate and a U.S. Army officer during WWII, was chosen by Dodgers' boss, Branch Rickey, to be the first black to play in the Major Leagues. He is joined on the Dodgers in 1952 by three other black ballplayers, Sandy Amoros, Joe Black and Roy Campanella. Is it a coincidence Harvey's favorite team has none?
The following day, Thursday afternoon, October 2, the Yankees even the Series by winning, 7-1. Their great young star, Mickey Mantle has three hits. He is the Yankee's new center fielder, replacing future Hall of Famer Joe DiMaggio, who retired after the 1951 season. Billy Martin contributes a three-run homer.
On Friday afternoon, October 3, the Series moves to Yankee Stadium in the Bronx. Led by Pee Wee Reese's three hits, the Dodgers win, 5-3. Two down, two to go.
That night, Harvey and Burt watch the Friday Night Fights on TV, featuring the undefeated Johnny Saxton from Newark, New Jersey against Ralph (Tiger) Jones from Yonkers, New York. Harvey chooses the favorite, Saxton, and Burt the underdog, Jones. In a two to one split decision, Harvey's man wins again. No justice, no fairness.
On Saturday afternoon, October 4, behind the shutout pitching of Allie Reynolds and a home run by Johnnie Mize, the Yankees even the Series (final score 2-0) at two to two.
On Sunday afternoon, October 5, with the help of a fifth inning two-run homer by Snider, the Dodgers take a 4-0 lead. However, in the bottom of the inning, with the help of a three-run home run, again by Mize, the Yankees go ahead, 5-4. On another Snider hit, the Dodgers tie the game. After nine innings, it's still tied.
The hero of the fifth game, Duke Snider doubles in the winning run in the top of the 11th. In the bottom of the inning, starting pitcher Carl Erskine strikes out (Larry) Yogi Berra to end the game. Three down, one to go.
With the sixth game the Series returns to Brooklyn on Monday afternoon, October 6. Burt believes it to be the key game of the 1952 World Series. If the Dodgers win, it's all over. They will have won their first championship.
However, if the Yankees win and tie the Series (three to three), they would regain the momentum and win it all in game seven (also in Brooklyn). It would be inevitable. The pressure is on the boys from Brooklyn (and Burt) on Monday afternoon.
Sunday, April 21, 2019
Accidents
In March 1968, I had just moved to New York City and was looking for a job. I was quickly offered two similar positions, entry level accounting. Reynolds Metals offered me $7,500 per year. On the other hand, the CBS News Division bettered that by $500. So, off I was going to CBS News.
However, my employment agency had scheduled an interview with Seagram's, which was also looking for an entry level accountant. I was getting very tired of these interviews and was eager to start working and earn money. At about 5 PM on the eve of the Seagram interview, I decided that I had had enough and called to cancel the interview. I recall using a nearby pay phone.
The Seagram interviewer's secretary answered and told me he (Tom Hawe) had just left for the day. As such, to be polite, I decided to go ahead with the interview first thing the following morning. It turned out Seagram's offer was $500 per year more than CBS News, so I accepted it. I stayed with Seagram for more than 31 years and met many people (including my good friend Joe Giordano) and had many experiences (such as a business trip to Brazil).
What if Tom Hawe was still there that day when I called to cancel? I would have gone to CBS News and met different people and had different experiences. The fact that he had just left when I called is what I consider to be an accident. I believe life contains a series of accidents which affect us.
Speaking of Brazil, one day in 1998, while at Seagram's, I was flipping through the pages of The Village Voice, a newspaper I never looked at...until that day (nor since). In the classified section, I found an ad for private Portuguese classes given by a Brazilian woman, Natalia Gedanke. With virtually nothing to lose, I gave it a shot. The weekly classes lasted for five years and are a contributing factor as to why I am in Brazil today. Finding that ad was an accident.
When I was applying to college in 1962, I made the University of Pennsylvania my first choice. It was what I wanted, a large university in a big city, a change from small town Oswego. One reason I chose Penn was my older brother Paul had gone there six years before.
When Paul was looking at colleges, he seriously considered the United States Military Academy at West Point, NY. He satisfied all their requirements, academic and physical, with one exception, his eyesight.
Paul was born two months premature and was placed in an incubator with a high level of oxygen. This is the most likely explanation for his poor eyesight. Many years ago, I remember being told (by whom I don't remember) the alleged reason Paul was born premature: our mother fell off a chair she was standing on.
As a result of his poor eyesight, West Point could not consider Paul for admission. He thus went to Penn, where I followed later. What if Paul had not been born premature, had had good eyesight and had decided to go to West Point? Penn would then not have been on my radar and there would have been an excellent chance I would have gone elsewhere (only not West Point). Was this an accident that altered the course of my life?
In the spring of 1966 while at Penn, I contracted the chronic illness ulcerative colitis. There is no definitive reason why I got this disease, but many in the field believe it is caused by stress. College was one of the most stressful periods of my life. Perhaps if I had not gone to Penn, but to a less stressful university, I would not have gotten colitis.
Because of colitis, I was disqualified from the United States Air Force Officer Candidate School which I was scheduled to begin July 5, 1967. Without colitis I would have spent the next four years in the military. How would that experience have affected me? Where would I have gone next? Was my colitis an accident which altered the course of my life?
My brother Ted matriculated as a freshman at Northeastern University in Boston, MA in September 1960. Before the end of the year, he dropped out. Ted then studied for one semester at the college in Oswego before transferring to Michigan State University in East Lansing, MI in 1961.
There Ted met his future first wife, Joy Moss, whose best friend's sister, Bonnie Sobol, became my first wife. If he had stayed at Northeastern, I never would have met her. I might have gone to Brandeis University near Boston and met someone else. Another accident that altered the course of my life?
My father, Harry Lasky, as a young man, accepted a job with the Netherland Dairy in Syracuse, moving from his home town of Troy, NY. In 1925, he was transferred to its other dairy location in Oswego, where he met my mother. They married in 1930 and I was born fifteen years later.
If my father had never left Troy, I would not exist. The same could be said if either of my grandfathers, Joseph Laskey or Julius Karchevsky, had not emigrated from eastern Europe to the United States around the turn of the Twentieth Century.
See what I mean about accidents affecting the course of my life, all our lives?
However, my employment agency had scheduled an interview with Seagram's, which was also looking for an entry level accountant. I was getting very tired of these interviews and was eager to start working and earn money. At about 5 PM on the eve of the Seagram interview, I decided that I had had enough and called to cancel the interview. I recall using a nearby pay phone.
The Seagram interviewer's secretary answered and told me he (Tom Hawe) had just left for the day. As such, to be polite, I decided to go ahead with the interview first thing the following morning. It turned out Seagram's offer was $500 per year more than CBS News, so I accepted it. I stayed with Seagram for more than 31 years and met many people (including my good friend Joe Giordano) and had many experiences (such as a business trip to Brazil).
What if Tom Hawe was still there that day when I called to cancel? I would have gone to CBS News and met different people and had different experiences. The fact that he had just left when I called is what I consider to be an accident. I believe life contains a series of accidents which affect us.
Speaking of Brazil, one day in 1998, while at Seagram's, I was flipping through the pages of The Village Voice, a newspaper I never looked at...until that day (nor since). In the classified section, I found an ad for private Portuguese classes given by a Brazilian woman, Natalia Gedanke. With virtually nothing to lose, I gave it a shot. The weekly classes lasted for five years and are a contributing factor as to why I am in Brazil today. Finding that ad was an accident.
When I was applying to college in 1962, I made the University of Pennsylvania my first choice. It was what I wanted, a large university in a big city, a change from small town Oswego. One reason I chose Penn was my older brother Paul had gone there six years before.
When Paul was looking at colleges, he seriously considered the United States Military Academy at West Point, NY. He satisfied all their requirements, academic and physical, with one exception, his eyesight.
Paul was born two months premature and was placed in an incubator with a high level of oxygen. This is the most likely explanation for his poor eyesight. Many years ago, I remember being told (by whom I don't remember) the alleged reason Paul was born premature: our mother fell off a chair she was standing on.
As a result of his poor eyesight, West Point could not consider Paul for admission. He thus went to Penn, where I followed later. What if Paul had not been born premature, had had good eyesight and had decided to go to West Point? Penn would then not have been on my radar and there would have been an excellent chance I would have gone elsewhere (only not West Point). Was this an accident that altered the course of my life?
In the spring of 1966 while at Penn, I contracted the chronic illness ulcerative colitis. There is no definitive reason why I got this disease, but many in the field believe it is caused by stress. College was one of the most stressful periods of my life. Perhaps if I had not gone to Penn, but to a less stressful university, I would not have gotten colitis.
Because of colitis, I was disqualified from the United States Air Force Officer Candidate School which I was scheduled to begin July 5, 1967. Without colitis I would have spent the next four years in the military. How would that experience have affected me? Where would I have gone next? Was my colitis an accident which altered the course of my life?
My brother Ted matriculated as a freshman at Northeastern University in Boston, MA in September 1960. Before the end of the year, he dropped out. Ted then studied for one semester at the college in Oswego before transferring to Michigan State University in East Lansing, MI in 1961.
There Ted met his future first wife, Joy Moss, whose best friend's sister, Bonnie Sobol, became my first wife. If he had stayed at Northeastern, I never would have met her. I might have gone to Brandeis University near Boston and met someone else. Another accident that altered the course of my life?
My father, Harry Lasky, as a young man, accepted a job with the Netherland Dairy in Syracuse, moving from his home town of Troy, NY. In 1925, he was transferred to its other dairy location in Oswego, where he met my mother. They married in 1930 and I was born fifteen years later.
If my father had never left Troy, I would not exist. The same could be said if either of my grandfathers, Joseph Laskey or Julius Karchevsky, had not emigrated from eastern Europe to the United States around the turn of the Twentieth Century.
See what I mean about accidents affecting the course of my life, all our lives?
Sunday, April 14, 2019
FDR & HST
On November 7, 1944 (around the time of my conception), Franklin Delano Roosevelt (FDR) was elected for his fourth term as president of the United States, defeating New York Governor Thomas E. Dewey. This was unprecedented and will never happen again because of the XXII amendment to the Constitution.
On March 29, 1945 (while I am in my mother's womb), FDR left Washington, D.C. for a scheduled two week rest at his retreat in Warm Springs, Georgia. This tiny town gained prominence in the 19th Century for its mineral springs. In 1921, when FDR was diagnosed with polio, he traveled to Warm Springs to try to regain the strength in his legs by bathing and exercising in the warm spring water. He grew to enjoy the resort.
In 1945, FDR was sixty-three, not considered old by modern standards. However, because of his poor health and the stresses of his twelve plus years on the job (the Depression, World War II, etc.), he looked like an old man.
"Unable to accompany her father, Anna (FDR's only daughter) made arrangements for Lucy Rutherfurd to come to Warm Springs for the second week of his stay. (As a result) FDR gently dissuaded Eleanor (his wife) from coming."
Lucy Rutherfurd (formerly Mercer) had been (thirty years earlier) Eleanor's social secretary. In 1916, when Eleanor and FDR's children were away on vacation, FDR and Lucy began an affair that lasted the rest of his life. Unlike today, this information was unknown to the public as was FDR's inability to walk without the benefit of assistance.
On April 9, 1945, Lucy and her painter friend, Elizabeth Shoumatoff, arrived in Warm Springs. The next morning, Elizabeth began preliminary sketches for a portrait of FDR that Lucy commissioned.
At noon on April 12 (74 years ago Friday), FDR was siting in his living room with Lucy and others while Elizabeth painted. At 1:00 PM, "FDR raised his right hand and passed it over his forehead several times in a strange jerky way." He said, "I have a terrific pain in the back of my head" and then collapsed.
FDR suffered a cerebral hemorrhage. At about 3:30 PM, he stopped breathing. Lucy and Elizabeth packed and left almost immediately. FDR's family would arrive soon and the two women shouldn't be there when they did.
Within two hours, Eleanor summoned the Vice President to the White House. And who was the Vice President?
John Nance Garner, a congressman from Texas and Speaker of the House of Representatives, was Vice President during FDR's first two terms (1933-1941).
Henry A. Wallace, who had been FDR's Secretary of Agriculture, was Vice President for the third term (1941-1945).
However, the Vice President for the fourth term was Harry S. (for nothing) Truman (HST), formerly a US Senator from Missouri. When he arrived at the White House, Eleanor said, "Harry, the president is dead."
Stunned for a few seconds as the shock sank in, the new president asked the former first lady if there was anything he could do for her.
Eleanor responded, "Is there anything we can do for you? For you are the one in trouble now."
HST had been kept in the dark by FDR on most issues he would face as president. This was especially true on the problem he would confront less than four months later (when I was born).
In order to end the war against Japan, should the US drop atomic bombs (prior to his presidency, HST never heard of an atomic bomb which the US had been building for six years) on the cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki? Or should it engage in an invasion of the Japanese home islands? Or were the Japanese ready to surrender without either of the above two options? HST made his decision and never looked back.
I wonder what FDR would have done?
On March 29, 1945 (while I am in my mother's womb), FDR left Washington, D.C. for a scheduled two week rest at his retreat in Warm Springs, Georgia. This tiny town gained prominence in the 19th Century for its mineral springs. In 1921, when FDR was diagnosed with polio, he traveled to Warm Springs to try to regain the strength in his legs by bathing and exercising in the warm spring water. He grew to enjoy the resort.
In 1945, FDR was sixty-three, not considered old by modern standards. However, because of his poor health and the stresses of his twelve plus years on the job (the Depression, World War II, etc.), he looked like an old man.
"Unable to accompany her father, Anna (FDR's only daughter) made arrangements for Lucy Rutherfurd to come to Warm Springs for the second week of his stay. (As a result) FDR gently dissuaded Eleanor (his wife) from coming."
Lucy Rutherfurd (formerly Mercer) had been (thirty years earlier) Eleanor's social secretary. In 1916, when Eleanor and FDR's children were away on vacation, FDR and Lucy began an affair that lasted the rest of his life. Unlike today, this information was unknown to the public as was FDR's inability to walk without the benefit of assistance.
On April 9, 1945, Lucy and her painter friend, Elizabeth Shoumatoff, arrived in Warm Springs. The next morning, Elizabeth began preliminary sketches for a portrait of FDR that Lucy commissioned.
At noon on April 12 (74 years ago Friday), FDR was siting in his living room with Lucy and others while Elizabeth painted. At 1:00 PM, "FDR raised his right hand and passed it over his forehead several times in a strange jerky way." He said, "I have a terrific pain in the back of my head" and then collapsed.
FDR suffered a cerebral hemorrhage. At about 3:30 PM, he stopped breathing. Lucy and Elizabeth packed and left almost immediately. FDR's family would arrive soon and the two women shouldn't be there when they did.
Within two hours, Eleanor summoned the Vice President to the White House. And who was the Vice President?
John Nance Garner, a congressman from Texas and Speaker of the House of Representatives, was Vice President during FDR's first two terms (1933-1941).
Henry A. Wallace, who had been FDR's Secretary of Agriculture, was Vice President for the third term (1941-1945).
However, the Vice President for the fourth term was Harry S. (for nothing) Truman (HST), formerly a US Senator from Missouri. When he arrived at the White House, Eleanor said, "Harry, the president is dead."
Stunned for a few seconds as the shock sank in, the new president asked the former first lady if there was anything he could do for her.
Eleanor responded, "Is there anything we can do for you? For you are the one in trouble now."
HST had been kept in the dark by FDR on most issues he would face as president. This was especially true on the problem he would confront less than four months later (when I was born).
In order to end the war against Japan, should the US drop atomic bombs (prior to his presidency, HST never heard of an atomic bomb which the US had been building for six years) on the cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki? Or should it engage in an invasion of the Japanese home islands? Or were the Japanese ready to surrender without either of the above two options? HST made his decision and never looked back.
I wonder what FDR would have done?
Sunday, April 7, 2019
The Bridge on the River Kwai
The Bridge on the River Kwai is a 1957 epic film about a World War II Japanese prisoner of war camp in Burma. It won seven Academy Awards including Best Picture (Sam Spiegel, producer), Best Director (David Lean) and Best Actor (Alec Guinness). The film was number one at the box office in 1958 with $18,000,000 in ticket sales.
The Bridge on the River Kwai is really two stories, intertwined, with two protagonists, who finally meet up briefly at the climax.
In the first story, American Navy Commander Shears (William Holden) is a POW held by the Japanese at the camp which is surrounded by a jungle making it almost impossible to escape from. However, Shears escapes, although badly wounded. "He stumbles into a village of natives, who nurse him back to health and then help him leave by boat."
Some time later, Shears arrives at a British military compound in Ceylon where he receives further medical attention. He enjoys his recuperation while fooling around with a beautiful nurse.
However, Shears is eventually ordered to join a British commando unit whose mission is to go back to the very POW camp he escaped from in order to destroy the railroad bridge over the River Kwai the Japanese are forcing British POWs to build which would connect Bangkok (Thailand) and Rangoon (Burma). The unit needs to arrive the day a military train will cross the bridge for the first time.
The four members of the commando unit are reduced to three when one is killed on a parachute jump. Later, the leader, Major Warden (Jack Hawkins), is wounded during an encounter with Japanese soldiers. The three push on towards the bridge with the help of a Siamese village elder and some women "bearers."
The second story relates to a large unit of British POWs, led by Lieutenant Colonel Nicholson (Guinness), recently captured and taken to the POW camp (the one Shears escaped from shortly after their arrival) in order to build the railroad bridge.
Initially, there is a test of wills between Nicholson and Colonel Saito, the camp commandant (Sessue Hayakawa), over whether British officers will work along side enlisted men (a violation of the Geneva Convention). First, Nicholson is threatened with execution and then tortured. Finally, Saito gives in.
While building the bridge, Nicholson sees it as an opportunity to prove British superiority over the Japanese. He also sees it as a chance to leave behind something of his making. Nicholson seems to forget that the Japanese are his enemy and that the bridge is an aid in their war effort.
At the climax of the two stories, on the evening before the military train will cross the recently finished bridge, the British commandos (including Shears) set their explosives below the water line, hidden from the Japanese. Over night the water level drops, exposing them to view.
When Nicholson walks over the bridge in the morning on a final inspection of his masterpiece, he sees the wires which connect the explosives to a detonator. He calls their attention to Saito and the two follow where the wires lead. When they get close to the detonator, the commando there leaves his post and kills Saito.
Nicholson then calls for other Japanese soldiers to come to his assistance to save the bridge. They kill the commando. At this point, Shears swims across the river (Kwai) from his position to kill Nicholson and detonate the explosives. Before he can, Shears is also killed by the Japanese, but not before Nicholson recognizes him ("You?") and comes to his senses.
"What have I done?"
Warden fires a mortar which mortally wounds Nicholson. "The dying colonel stumbles towards the detonator and collapses on the plunger just in time to blow up the bridge and send the train hurtling into the river (Kwai) below." What an ending!
The Bridge on the River Kwai is really two stories, intertwined, with two protagonists, who finally meet up briefly at the climax.
In the first story, American Navy Commander Shears (William Holden) is a POW held by the Japanese at the camp which is surrounded by a jungle making it almost impossible to escape from. However, Shears escapes, although badly wounded. "He stumbles into a village of natives, who nurse him back to health and then help him leave by boat."
Some time later, Shears arrives at a British military compound in Ceylon where he receives further medical attention. He enjoys his recuperation while fooling around with a beautiful nurse.
However, Shears is eventually ordered to join a British commando unit whose mission is to go back to the very POW camp he escaped from in order to destroy the railroad bridge over the River Kwai the Japanese are forcing British POWs to build which would connect Bangkok (Thailand) and Rangoon (Burma). The unit needs to arrive the day a military train will cross the bridge for the first time.
The four members of the commando unit are reduced to three when one is killed on a parachute jump. Later, the leader, Major Warden (Jack Hawkins), is wounded during an encounter with Japanese soldiers. The three push on towards the bridge with the help of a Siamese village elder and some women "bearers."
The second story relates to a large unit of British POWs, led by Lieutenant Colonel Nicholson (Guinness), recently captured and taken to the POW camp (the one Shears escaped from shortly after their arrival) in order to build the railroad bridge.
Initially, there is a test of wills between Nicholson and Colonel Saito, the camp commandant (Sessue Hayakawa), over whether British officers will work along side enlisted men (a violation of the Geneva Convention). First, Nicholson is threatened with execution and then tortured. Finally, Saito gives in.
While building the bridge, Nicholson sees it as an opportunity to prove British superiority over the Japanese. He also sees it as a chance to leave behind something of his making. Nicholson seems to forget that the Japanese are his enemy and that the bridge is an aid in their war effort.
At the climax of the two stories, on the evening before the military train will cross the recently finished bridge, the British commandos (including Shears) set their explosives below the water line, hidden from the Japanese. Over night the water level drops, exposing them to view.
When Nicholson walks over the bridge in the morning on a final inspection of his masterpiece, he sees the wires which connect the explosives to a detonator. He calls their attention to Saito and the two follow where the wires lead. When they get close to the detonator, the commando there leaves his post and kills Saito.
Nicholson then calls for other Japanese soldiers to come to his assistance to save the bridge. They kill the commando. At this point, Shears swims across the river (Kwai) from his position to kill Nicholson and detonate the explosives. Before he can, Shears is also killed by the Japanese, but not before Nicholson recognizes him ("You?") and comes to his senses.
"What have I done?"
Warden fires a mortar which mortally wounds Nicholson. "The dying colonel stumbles towards the detonator and collapses on the plunger just in time to blow up the bridge and send the train hurtling into the river (Kwai) below." What an ending!
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