Prohibition

 The Eighteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution was ratified by the required number of states on January 16, 1919 (103 years ago).  It stated that "the manufacture, sale or transportation of intoxicating liquors within, the importation thereof into, or the exportation thereof from the United States and all the territory subject to the jurisdiction thereof for beverage purposes is hereby prohibited."

"The Eighteenth Amendment was the result of decades of effort by the temperance movement in the United States.  Starting in 1906, the Anti-Saloon League (ASL) began leading a campaign to ban the sale of alcohol at the state level." 

"(The ASL) led speeches, advertisements, and public demonstrations, claiming that banning the sale of alcohol would get rid of poverty and (other) social issues, such as immoral behavior and violence.  It would also inspire new forms of sociability between men and women and they believed that families would be happier, fewer industrial mistakes would be made, and overall, the world would be a better place."

"Under Prohibition (as the Eighteenth Amendment became known), illegal importation and production of alcoholic beverages (bootlegging) occurred on a large scale across the United States. In urban areas, where the majority of the population opposed Prohibition, enforcement was generally much weaker than in rural areas and smaller towns." 

"Perhaps the most dramatic consequence of Prohibition was the effect it had on organized crime in the United States."  

"As the production and sale of alcohol went further underground, it began to be controlled by (various) gangs, who transformed themselves into sophisticated criminal enterprises that reaped huge profits from the illicit liquor trade.  Chicago's Al Capone emerged as the most notorious example of this phenomenon, earning an estimated $60 million annually from his bootlegging and speakeasy (illicit establishment that sells alcohol) operations."

The Eighteenth Amendment was repealed by the Twenty-first Amendment on December 5, 1933.  Why?  It was extremely unpopular.  More people wanted alcohol than didn't want it.  

The corporation for which I worked for more than 31 years, Joseph E. Seagram & Sons, Inc., a beverage alcohol company, was incorporated on October 23 of that same year, 1933.

Alcohol is a drug.  The lesson of the Prohibition era is that you shouldn't try to outlaw a drug people want.  People will simply break the law.  

Did the US learn its lesson?  No.  In 1937, the US outlawed cannabis (Marihuana Tax Act).  Currently, on a state by state basis, cannabis is slowly becoming legalized again.  

What about cocaine and other narcotics?  No.  In 1914, the US outlawed cocaine and the rest with the Harrison Narcotics Tax Act.  While still illegal, cocaine is becoming more socially acceptable.

An anecdote:  John Pemberton created a cocaine-based beverage in the Nineteenth Century.  Wounded in the Civil War and addicted to morphine, he used cocaine as a treatment.  

With his knowledge of pharmacy, Pemberton first marketed "Pemberton's French Wine Coca" as a cure-all for any number of ailments.  When his home state of Georgia outlawed alcohol in 1885, the alcohol in the formula was replaced with sugar and became Coca-Cola, the most popular commercial beverage in the world.  However, because of public pressure, all traces of cocaine were removed from Coca-Cola by 1929.     

23 Seconds

One summer in the early 1980s, my ex-wife Bonita and I took our young daughter Rachel to the Great Adventure theme park in New Jersey for a memorable day.

I remember being on a large water raft with many others as it navigated along a bouncy river, surviving getting splashed a bit.  I felt very energized at its conclusion.

I wanted another challenge.  I looked in the distance and noticed a sort of loop the loop ride.  Instead of being horrified, I felt a spark of an explorer who wants to discover something new.

I asked Rachel if she wanted to go on that ride.  She of course said, "yes."  Rachel was and is always fearless.  I remember her once going with her cousins (sitting between them) on the roller coaster at Coney Island.

Rachel and I started walking towards the loop the loop.  The closer we got the more I realized how stupid was my decision to go on the ride.  However, I did not want to back out after promising Rachel.

We got in line and followed it up a staircase toward the beginning of the ride.  From my vantage point I was able to time the ride.  The first phase going forward was 9 seconds.  Then the ride stopped for 5 seconds.  The last part was a reversal of the initial part for another 9 seconds.  The total ride lasted 23 seconds.

The closer Rachel and I got the more frightened I got.  My only way out was my hope she would be prohibited from the ride as being too small. 

Finally, it turned out Rachel barely made the minimum height requirement.  I was stuck.

Rachel sat to my left on the ride.  The bar in front of us was snug on me, but it seemed as if she could easily slip out.

I grabbed her hand tight.  I was her safety net.  

Rachel complained, "Daddy, you're hurting me."  I ignored her complaint.

The ride began.  It was the scariest 9 seconds of my life.  I closed my eyes as I could not bear to see what was happening.  I don't even remember Rachel's reaction.  

At the end of the first part of the ride I opened my eyes.  Rachel seemed fine.  I thought about a way to leave the ride, but we were so high up and I am also afraid of heights.  No way out except for enduring 9 more seconds.  

When the ride started again, I closed my eyes and started counting.  Finally, it was over.  Rachel was fine.  I was not.  Never again.      

Call Northside 777

 Call Northside 777 is a 1948 black and white film directed by Henry Hathaway and which starred James Stewart (Elwood P. Dowd in Harvey) and Richard Conte (Emilio Barzini in The Godfather).  It was based on the true story of a man wrongly convicted of murdering a Chicago police officer in 1932.

McNeal (Stewart), a Chicago Times reporter, inquires into a personal ad placed in its newspaper offering $5,000 ($80,000 today) to anyone who can provide new evidence which will free Frank Wiecek (Conte), a man convicted of killing a Chicago police officer eleven years before.  The ad says to call Northside 777, the phone number of Wiecek's mother who placed the ad.

Skeptical after first meeting the mother, McNeal then decides to interview Wiecek at his prison in Joliet, IL.  Wiecek provides little information as to why anyone would believe he is innocent.  He was convicted and his conviction was upheld on appeal by the Illinois State Supreme Court.

McNeal decides to write stories about the case from a human interest point of view.  He interviews Wiecek's ex-wife (now remarried) and young son.  She told McNeal that Wiecek insisted she get a divorce because he believed he would never get out of prison and their son deserved better.  But, his ex-wife is convinced of his innocence.  

Wiecek is angry when he sees what McNeal is doing.  He tells McNeal he'd rather stay in prison "a thousand years" than see his family photographed and written about in the newspaper.  This impresses McNeal, who starts to change his mind about Wiecek's guilt.

The biggest damning piece of evidence against Wiecek is the eyewitness testimony of Wanda Skutnik, a woman who stated that she never saw Wiecek on the day she identified him as the murderer in a police lineup.  If she is proven to have lied, Wiecek could win another trial.  

McNeal finds an old newspaper photograph of Wiecek and Skutnik being brought together into a police station.  But on what date?

Using new technology of the day (1943), a portion of the photograph showing someone holding a newspaper is blown up many times in order to reveal the newspaper's date.  Finally, it shows the same date as the day of the lineup.  

In the end, Wiecek is freed from prison and is reunited with his mother and son.      

  

Gene Shue

Gene Shue was born December 18, 1931 (90 years ago yesterday) in Baltimore, Maryland.  He attended the University of Maryland (my son Bret's alma mater) and became its star basketball player, breaking all the school's scoring records as a guard.  

 Gene started his professional career (NBA) in 1954 with the Philadelphia Warriors (now the Golden State Warriors in San Francisco).  However, his contract was quickly sold to the New York Knicks.  

In 1956 Gene was traded to the Fort Wayne (Indiana) Pistons.  The following year the Pistons moved to Detroit.

In that decade, NBA players, even stars like Gene Shue, did not earn millions of dollars as they do today.  He and many others needed to get summer jobs to support themselves in the offseason.  

In the summer of 1958, I was a camper (13 years-old) at Camp Eagle Cove in the Adirondack Mountains of New York State.  One day, we were visited by a boys basketball team from the Racquette Lake Boys Camp.  I was a member of the team that competed against it.

What a thrill it was when we realized we would be playing a team coached by NBA star Gene Shue.  When I came into the game, I was playing point guard.  I remember taking one shot which didn't come close to the basket.  

The Racquette Lake boy guarding me took a moment while someone was shooting a free throw to inquire of Gene whether he needed to guard me closely.  He shook his head no.  Wise move!

Gene Shue played six more NBA seasons amassing a career total of 10,068 points, 2,855 rebounds and 2,608 assists.  In addition, he coached several NBA teams over a 23 year period.  

As previously stated, yesterday was Gene's 90th birthday.  Happy Birthday, Gene!

__________

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.  Next post January 2, 2022.

    

2021 Trip to USA

 After waiting almost 2 1/2 years (Father's Day, June 2019), Cristina and I undertook another trip to the United States, this time our destination was St. Augustine, Florida, the oldest city in the US, founded by the Spanish in 1565.

The trip got off to a rocky start as, under the rules as of November 5, only Brazilians with Green Cards or part of an American citizen's family could fly from Guarulhos Airport to, in our case, Atlanta.  We were prepared, bringing with us our original Brazilian marriage certificate.  

However, there was a short delay in receiving our boarding passes while the Delta representative disappeared with the certificate to get the approval of someone over the phone.  I was nervous and agitated as she said nothing to me when she left.  

From Atlanta, we flew to Jacksonville, Florida and then took an Uber to our hotel in St. Augustine.  I was very happy to discover our hotel room (#436) at the Homewood Suites by Hilton had a walk-in shower instead of a bath tub-shower combination.  Getting in and out of a bath tub can be dangerous.

On our second day there, the San Sebastian River, adjacent to our hotel, rose to a level where the bridge above it and the streets near it flooded preventing us from walking in the area nor would an Uber driver pick us up.  Instead, a very kind employee of the hotel (leaving for the day) drove us to the nearby Georgie's Diner where we ate lunch.  

That night, we encountered another calamity.  We ordered some Chinese food that would be delivered by a service known as DoorDash, the largest food delivery service in the US.  In order to limit contact between customer and delivery personnel, they simply drop the food at the door of the customer and dash away.

But, what if the delivery personnel make a mistake and leave the food at the wrong door?  Our first and perhaps only experience with DoorDash happened exactly like that.  For about 15 minutes after their delivery, we didn't know where our food was.  Finally, a kind and honest woman, who was behind the door where the food was delivered, brought it to our room.  

One day we took a tour of the nearby San Sebastian Winery, where we sampled some of their fine wines.  At one point, the attractive young couple in front of us was asked if they were on their honeymoon.  His response was, "first date."

We also toured the Lightner Museum, the Whetstone Chocolate factory and the campus of Flagler College.  I highly recommend the following restaurants, each of which we visited twice: Harry's, The Floridian, The St. Augustine Fish Camp and Columbia.  I loved the ice cream at Kilwin's (two locations) on St. George's Street.

Of course, the main reason we went to St. Augustine was it was near where my son Bret lives with his girlfriend Pam, whom we met for the first time. We spent much quality time with them, plus my daughter Rachel who flew from New York to spend the weekend before Thanksgiving with us all.

Speaking of Thanksgiving, Bret and Pam hosted us for Thanksgiving dinner, Cristina's first, which coincidentally fell on her birthday.  It was a Happy Birthday celebration as well.  Three days later, we celebrated the first night of Hanukah again with Bret (who cooked the brisket), Pam and her family which is originally from Philadelphia.

On our last night in the USA, Bret, Cristina and I were joined at dinner by my sister-in-law Janet who was visiting family in the Jacksonville area.  

Last Sunday, December 5, Bret drove Cristina and me to the Jacksonville International Airport for the start of our trip home.  I cannot leave off without mentioning Vernon, a most kind Delta employee who both checked us in to our two flights, but also spent over an hour patiently helping us complete the Anvisa (the Brazilian Health Regulatory Agency) online form required of those arriving in Brazil.       

Two Women, Chapter 10

 Ted is patiently waiting for an elevator in the lobby of his apartment building.  It is late Sunday morning.  He has just returned from having brunch alone at his favorite nearby restaurant.

An elevator door opens and Ted receives the shock of his life.  Out steps both Mona and Monica...together.

"What the..." stammers Ted.

Mona and Monica giggle.

"You two know each other?"

More laughter.

"Yes," Mona said.  "Thanks to you."

"Huh?"

"And now I'm taking Mona to a Brazilian restaurant here in Philadelphia.  And tonight...we're flying to Rio de Janeiro."

"Can I come, too...to the restaurant, I mean," asked Ted.

"Maybe another time, Ted," replied Mona.

The two women, arm in arm, walk away, leaving Ted all alone. 

The end.

________

I'll be on vacation until December 12th. 

Pills in the Bag

Some years ago, I was flying from New York (where I was living) to Sao Paulo.  There was a stopover in Miami.  

The departure from New York was delayed by bad weather.  As a result, there was a concern that the flight from Miami would leave without me.  When I arrived in Miami, late at night, I was informed by American Airlines representatives that my flight to Sao Paulo was about to leave and I should run to the gate.

I ran as fast as I could, carrying bags in both hands.  I also had difficulty finding my gate.  When I arrived there, I soon realized I had run for nothing.  The plane remained at the gate while waiting for more passengers from another delayed flight, this one from Boston.

When I arrived the next morning in Sao Paulo, I was in the baggage claim area when I was surprised to hear my name being paged.  I was informed that while I made my flight out of Miami, my bags didn't.  They were still there.

I was promised I would receive my bags the following day.  OK, but included in the bags was my colitis medicine.  That meant I would be without such medicine for a day, perhaps a day and a half.  

I started to panic.  Would the delay in not having my medicine cause me any health problems?  I researched the Internet to find out whether I could buy my medicine locally.  I could...and without a prescription.  Interesting!

I decided I would wait it out and not take the local medicine.  My bags arrived within 24 hours...and I didn't have a colitis attack.  But, I learned my lesson.  NEVER...NEVER...NEVER put my pills in checked bags.  ALWAYS in the carryon.  

Ironically, today I take Brazilian domestically produced colitis medicine, the ones I wouldn't try years ago.  It works well.