Las Vegas

One morning in the summer of 1972, my ex-wife Bonita and I got up from a motel in Gallup, New Mexico and headed west in our green Fiat 124 Sport Coupe towards Kingman, Arizona.  We never got there.

Once we drove across the state line, the fruit we had bought in Gallup was confiscated by Arizona authorities.  We forgot all about that when we stopped to see the magnificent Grand Canyon.  It took my breathe away.

As we continued heading west, Bonita noted on our road map that we weren't that far away from Las Vegas, Nevada.  So, we decided to spend the night there instead of Kingman.

We had dinner and enjoyed the show at Circus, Circus.  Then we entered a casino and I bet $1 (in cash) on a spin of a roulette wheel.  I lost and we left.  We found a cheap motel for our final night before arriving in California the next day.

Las Vegas was founded in 1905 as a small town that was a stopover for trains travelling between Los Angeles and Salt Lake City, Utah.  The construction of the nearby Hoover Dam, started in 1931, brought thousands of workers into Las Vegas.  

Gambling was outlawed in Nevada but there were well-established  underground casinos in operation there.  Realizing that gambling would be profitable for local business, the Nevada state legislature legalized gambling at the local level also in 1931. 

Las Vegas was poised to begin its rise as the gaming capital of the world. The county were it is located (Clark) issued its first gambling license on March 19, 1931 (92 years ago). 

Tommy Hull was a business man who was granted the first license. He built El Rancho (hotel plus casino) in the area that came to be known as the Vegas Strip. 

Tommy Hull’s success brought many other business men to Las Vegas and many hotel casinos were built. The most famous of which, the Flamingo, was built by the famous mobster Bugsy Seigel.

In the 1970s the trend of turning hotel casinos into mega resorts brought more good fortunes for the city. Las Vegas was transformed from a gambling city into a family vacation spot because these resorts provided all sorts of entertainment aside from gambling.

However, to me, Las Vegas is "been there, done that."  Not interested in a return trip.

Nate's Birth

My first grandson, Nate David Gerstein, was born on March 9, 2007 (just turned 16) at Weill Cornell Medical Center on the upper east side of Manhattan.  And where was I at that memorable moment?  Not at the hospital.

When I was working in Manhattan (Seagram's and the Anti-Defamation League), I went to a dentist on Park Avenue.  He was the only male along with a harem of a number of women: hygienists, receptionists, assistants, bookkeepers, housekeepers, etc.

A few years after I stopped going to that dentist, I received a birthday gift from his office: a coupon for a free massage at an establishment nearby.  I saved the coupon for some time in the future.  

The future occurred in 2007.  My daughter Rachel was about to give birth for the first time.  I was at the hospital waiting for my first grandchild (sex unknown).  

I was told by Rachel's doctor that the birth would not occur for many hours and I should find something to occupy my time.  I followed this advice.

Since the massage establishment was not far from the hospital, I thought this would be a good time to use my birthday present.  So off I went.

I don't remember too much about the massage, only what happened afterwards.  I called Bonita (my ex-wife and Rachel's mother) to find out what was happening.  Well, it had already happened.  I missed the birth of Nate, my first grandson.  Mother and child doing fine, no thanks to me.  

Over the years, this event has become a family joke.  But, this error was not my fault.  To quote Rick from Casablanca, "I was misinformed."     

McLintock!

 McLintock! is a 1963 Western film starring John Wayne, his son Patrick, Maureen O'Hara and Stephanie Powers.

In the film, G. W. McLintock (John Wayne) is a wealthy rancher estranged (for unexplained reasons) from his wife Katherine (O'Hara).  Their daughter Becky (Powers) is returning home after finishing college in the East.  G. W. hires a young man named Dev (Patrick Wayne) to work on his ranch.

Katherine returns to the ranch as well to try to convince Becky to return with her back East.  There is friction between G. W. and Katherine as he would prefer Becky stay at his ranch.

Dev and Becky get into an argument when he accuses her of being a "trollop" for kissing her boyfriend before they are engaged.  With G. W.'s permission, Dev spanks Becky with a coal shovel.  

Later,  frustrated with her behavior, G. W. spanks his wife as well.  He was encouraged to do so by one of his friends with the following quote:  

"My father used to say, you raise your voice, (if) it doesn't do any good, it's time to raise your hand.  Talk to her (G. W.'s wife)?  Talking won't do any good."

This may have been good advice sixty years ago, but not today.  Hitting a woman?  No, no, no.  Because of this, McLintock! is my least favorite John Wayne movie.

This reminds me of a quote from the late actor Sean Connery about slapping women.  "(Women) can't leave it alone.  They want to have the last word and you give them the last word.  But they're not happy with the last word.  They want to say it again, and get into a really provocative situation.  Then, I think it's absolutely right (to slap a woman)."  Really?  

Abraham's Son, Chapter 14

 INT. KITCHEN OF ABRAHAM'S HOUSE - NIGHT

ABRAHAM makes popcorn in preparation for watching movie on TCM.

INT. LIVING ROOM OF ABRAHAM'S HOUSE - NIGHT

ABRAHAM sits, eats popcorn and watches 1989 film Field of Dreams with Kevin Costner (as Ray Kinsella).  

RAY KINSELLA (O.S.):  Dad...you wanna have a catch?

ABRAHAM turns off TV at end of film, takes empty bowl of popcorn to kitchen and then starts heading to his bedroom.  There is a knock on his front door.  ABRAHAM looks at his watch.  It is about 10:30 PM.  He is surprised somebody would arrive at such a late hour.  ABRAHAM walks to door and calls out.

ABRAHAM:  Who is it?

SARA (O.S.):  SARA.

ABRAHAM slowly opens front door.  The two of them stare at each other in silence for a moment.  Finally...

SARA:  I'm ovulating.

ABRAHAM is shocked by what she said.

SARA:  Can I come in?

ABRAHAM steps aside and gestures to SARA his permission for her to enter house.  She steps in and walks toward area where they had their discussion the previous Thursday.  

ABRAHAM:  Have a seat.

They both sit.

SARA:  Sorry for what I said last week.  I was rude.  I coulda just said no.  (pause)  You've been very nice to me from the start.  Treated me like a friend.  I didn't treat you like a friend last week.  (pause)  I've been doin' a lot a thinkin' since then.  What you said, act of kindness, kinda stuck with me.  You want a kid, your own kid, that's not so crazy.  Maybe bein' pregnant wouldn't be so bad, maybe it's something I should have in my life.  Maybe.  (pause)  So, if you wanna do it with me...tonight...okay.  What do ya wanna do?  

ABRAHAM:  I feel the same as I did last week.   I'm ready.  (pause)  I want you to know...our making love...I thank you ...for doing this.  (pause)  Do you want anything...before we...?  

SARA thinks a minute.

SARA:  Got any Baileys Irish Cream?

ABRAHAM:  I believe I do.  Let me get a couple of glasses.

ABRAHAM goes and finds the bottle and fills two glasses.  He returns and hands one to SARA.  Then he makes a toast.

ABRAHAM:  To our child.

ABRAHAM and SARA each take a sip of Baileys Irish Cream.

Jerry Mahoney

This is the 400th post of my blog I started in December 2014.  

Jerry Mahoney is a ventriloquist's dummy created by Paul Winchell in the early 1940s.  He wears a red sport jacket and a bow tie.  Jerry has an outspoken personality which exasperates Paul.

Paul Winchell was born (originally Paul Wilchinsky) into a Jewish family in New York City on December 21, 1922.  At six years of age, he contracted polio.   

When Paul was about 12 years-old, he saw a magazine advertisement offering a ventriloquism kit for 10 cents.  Receiving school credit from his art teacher for creating a ventriloquist's dummy, he named his dummy after the teacher.

Paul worked on developing a comedic routine with his dummy, Jerry Mahoney.  He won first prize on the Major Bowes Amateur Hour in 1938.   Shortly thereafter, Paul became a professional entertainer at age 16.

Paul's first show (with Jerry) on the radio was in 1943.  However, he was overshadowed by the veteran ventriloquist, Edgar Bergen, whose daughter Candice was a classmate of mine at Penn from 1963 to 1965.

In the 1950s, Paul moved to television for The Paul Winchell and Jerry Mahoney Show.  The Saturday morning program was sponsored by Tootsie Roll, a chocolate flavored taffy.  I used to watch the show regularly.

On one trip to New York City with my parents, my mother (my father was busy with business at Nestlé) arranged for the two of us to attend a live broadcast of The Paul Winchell and Jerry Mahoney Show.  We sat near the back of the studio audience.

I remember there were at least three cameras between the audience and the principals on stage, which hindered our view.  Also, there was an electric sign which told us when to applaud.  We did as instructed.  It was a thrilling experience to be there for a live TV show, my only such experience.

Paul Winchell died in 2005 at the age of eighty-two.  Jerry Mahoney is at the Smithsonian Institution.

Al Cervi

Al Cervi was born February 12, 1917 (106 years ago) in Buffalo, NY.  He was captain of his high school basketball team and achieved All-City honors.  

After his junior year, Al quit school and played professional basketball for the Buffalo Bisons of the National Basketball League.  After the team went out of existence, he joined the US Army Air Forces for five years (1940-1945).

After WWII, Al signed on to play for the Rochester Royals basketball team from 1945 to 1948.  Today, that National Basketball Association (NBA) franchise is known as the Sacramento Kings.

After the 1948 season, Al signed on as the player-coach of the Syracuse Nationals or Nats (now the Philadelphia 76ers).  The team qualified for the NBA playoffs eight of the nine years he was their coach, finally winning the championship in 1955, defeating the Fort Wayne (now Detroit) Pistons, 4 games to 3.  

On April 10th, 1955, Syracuse won game 7 of that series at home by a score of 92-91.  It was to be the Nats only championship.

As I lived near Syracuse growing up, I (along with my family) attended many of the Nats home games at the Onondaga War Memorial.  I also listened to many of their games on the radio.

Their top players from the championship season were:

Dolph Schayes NYU 6'8" - Grew up in a Jewish family in New York City.  Joined Nats in 1948 and played for 16 years.  First NBA player to score 15,000 points.  Adept at set shot.

Johnny Kerr University of Illinois 6'9" - Joined Nats in 1954.  NBA All-Star three times. 

Red Rocha Oregon State University 6'9" - First person from Hawaii to play in NBA.  Shares NBA record for most minutes (67) in a playoff game.

Paul Seymour University of Toledo 6'1" - Had a twelve year career in NBA.  Was also a successful coach with four different NBA teams.

George King University of Charleston 6'0" - Hit series clinching free throw to win championship in 1955.  Played five years with Nats.

Earl Lloyd West Virginia State University 6'5" - First Black to play in an NBA game.  Had career highs in points and rebounds for Nats in their championship year.  Excellent defender.

On March 26, 1963, the Nats played the Cincinnati (formerly Rochester) Royals at home with 7,418 fans in attendance.  It was the fifth and deciding game of the NBA Eastern Conference Semifinals.  The Royals won in overtime, 131-127, eliminating Syracuse.  It was the Nats final game...ever.  

On May 22, 1963, the Nats were sold to new ownership who moved the team to Philadelphia (and renamed them).  Three months later, I moved there, too.

 

The Fabelmans

 The Fabelmans is a 2022 film co-written, co-produced and directed by Steven Spielberg.  It is basically the story of Spielberg's early life from the time he saw his first movie until he started his career making movies.  The story also deals with his relationships with his mother and father.

When Spielberg was five years-old, his parents took him to see his first movie, The Greatest Show on Earth (1952), produced and directed by Cecil B. DeMille.  Young Steven (Sammy in the film) was particularly impressed by the train crash scene.  

From there, Sammy (Steven) developed a tremendous interest in making movies.  He continued making movies all the way through high school.

Spielberg found it difficult accepting his Jewish heritage; he said: "It isn't something I enjoy admitting [...] but when I was seven, eight, nine years old, God forgive me, I was embarrassed because we were Orthodox Jews. I was embarrassed by the outward perception of my parents' Jewish practices. I was never really ashamed to be Jewish, but I was uneasy at times."  I can relate to that.  

Spielberg also suffered from anti-Semitism: "In high school, I got smacked and kicked around. Two bloody noses. It was horrible."  Thankfully, I did not have a similar experience at OHS.

Among Spielberg's films were a long list of successes:  Jaws (1975), Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977), Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981), E. T. The Extra-Terrestrial (1982), Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (1984), The Color Purple (1985), Jurassic Park (1993), Schindler's List (1993), Saving Private Ryan (1998), Lincoln (2012), Bridge of Spies (2015) and West Side Story (2021).

In 2010, I nearly crossed paths with Steven Spielberg.  I was working as a customer service rep/cashier at Kohl's department store in Durham, North Carolina.  He was on a business trip to the area with some staff and was staying at a hotel near the store.  

Spielberg came to Kohl's with a female associate to buy her a swimsuit.  The cashier recognized him and saw his credit card.  Unfortunately, I did not have a shift while he was at the store.  Close, but no cigar.

The Fabelmans ends with a real life story of Spielberg's, meeting the legendary director, John Ford, when Spielberg was just at the beginning of his film making career.  With Sammy sitting in Ford's waiting room, the theme from the opening scene of The Seachers (1956) is heard.  There are movie posters of many of Ford's films on the walls.  When Ford finally arrives, he gives Sammy a quick lesson in art (where is the horizon in a picture?) and then tells him to "get the fuck out of my office."