Two Women, Chapter 3

One evening Ted arranged a Zoom call with Monica on his laptop.  Even on the computer screen, she looked gorgeous.

They talked for almost an hour.  It started getting romantic.

After the call, Ted thought about when he could make another trip to Chapel Hill.  Zoom only whetted his appetite for the Brasileira.

However, a minute after the Zoom call, Mona called Ted on his cell phone, just to say hello.  This created a perplexity for him.

Ted enjoyed speaking to Mona, just as he had with Monica.  And then he got confused.

At one point, Ted called Mona, "Monica."  There was a silence on the other end of the line.

Finally, she said, "Who's Monica?"  

Douglas Kenyon

 From September 1950 (kindergarten) until December 1956 (first half of the sixth grade) I attended the Fitzhugh Park School located at East Tenth and Bridge Streets in Oswego, NY.  For the first year, my 12 year-old brother Paul walked me home from school.  

Afterwards, I (at 6 years of age) walked by myself the six blocks to East Fourth Street.  Then, after crossing East Bridge Street, I would meander through the East Side Park to our house at the corner of East Third and Oneida Streets.

I would walk back and forth twice a day as I joined the rest of my family (parents and two brothers) for lunch at home and then returned to school for the afternoon session.

Once, my mother asked me if I looked both ways before I crossed the busy East Bridge Street.  After thinking about it, I responded, "I don't remember crossing East Bridge Street."  But, I had to have crossed it.

Sometimes I started walking home from school with my friend Douglas Kenyon.  There are two things I remember about him.  One was that his body produced an excessive amount of saliva.  Why?  I don't know.

The other was one time when we arrived at Douglas' house a few blocks from school.  His father, the Reverend Kenyon, took the two of us in his car and drove me the rest of the way home.  I remember sitting by the passenger side door with Douglas in the middle next to his father.

All was quiet until we arrived in front of my house.  Then Reverend Kenyon launched into about a ten minute sermon about how I, a Jewish boy, had to accept Jesus Christ as my savior or I would be damned to hell for eternity, no matter how good a person I was.  

He didn't frighten me as much as I feared my mother's reaction to being late for lunch.  I was too polite to leave the car before Reverend Kenyon finished.  

My brother Paul came out to the car and asked what was the delay.  I told him I would be in soon.  Reverend Kenyon paid him no mind.

Finally, Reverend Kenyon finished and I left the car.  I didn't mention to my family what had just happened.

I lost touch with Douglas soon after as his father was assigned to a church in another town.  But, I never forgot the time we were all together in that car parked in front of 30 East Oneida Street.

Einstein

In November 1956, my family moved from the eastside of Oswego, New York (30 East Oneida Street) to its westside (327 West Seneca Street).  As a result, in January 1957 (at 11 years of age) I transferred to the Kingsford Park School (from the Fitzhugh Park School) for the second half of the sixth grade.  Three years later, I graduated after completing the ninth grade.

On my first day at the Kingsford Park, my mother drove me to school, but insisted I go in by myself.  I was very nervous, but in retrospect, I'm glad she did.    

I remember being escorted to my classroom.  Our teacher asked my new class a lot of questions.  I raised my hand multiple times and always provided the correct answer.  One of my classmates (Billy Richards) was so impressed he referred to me as "Einstein."  Who?

Albert Einstein was born in Ulm, Germany on March 14, 1879 (142 years ago today).  His parents were non-observant Jews.  

At the age of seventeen, Einstein enrolled at the Zurich Polytechnic School in Switzerland.  There he met Mileva Maric, a Serbian woman and a fellow student.  They married in 1903.

After graduation, Einstein got a job in the Swiss patent office evaluating patent applications.  His specialty was "the transmission of electrical signals and electrical-mechanical synchronization of time."

In 1905, Einstein "published four groundbreaking papers on the photoelectric effect, Brownian motion, special relativity and the equivalence of mass and energy."  He was only 26 years old.  

In 1908, Einstein was appointed a lecturer at the University of Bern.  The following year, he became an Associate Professor in Theoretical Physics at the University of Zurich.

Einstein was awarded the 1921 Nobel Prize in Physics "for his services to Theoretical Physics."

Also in 1921, Einstein visited the United States for the first time.  He wrote his observations.  "What strikes a visitor is the joyous, positive attitude to life...The American is friendly, self-confident, optimistic and without envy."

In 1935, with the rise of Nazi Germany, Einstein applied for American citizenship.  He took a position at the Institute for Advanced Studies at Princeton University in New Jersey.

In 1939, Einstein wrote a letter to President Franklin Delano Roosevelt "recommending the US engage in nuclear weapons research."  This was the beginning of the eventual development of the Atomic Bomb which effectively ended World War II in August 1945 (when I was born).

Albert Einstein became so famous for his theory of relativity that strangers stopped him on the street to ask for its explanation.  He got around this problem by denying he was "professor Einstein."

      

  

A Face in the Crowd

A Face in the Crowd is a 1957 dramatic film produced and directed by Elia Kazan, written by Budd Schulberg and starred Andy Griffith and Patricia Neal.  It was based on a short story (which I recently read), Your Arkansas Traveler, also written by Schulberg. 

In the film, Lonesome Rhodes (Griffith), a charismatic guitar playing drifter, is discovered by Marcia (Neal), a radio station producer in rural Arkansas.  

"She invites him to speak to the (radio) audience and sing while playing his guitar, and his raw voice, folksy humor and personal charm make him instantly popular.  Marcia witnesses the charismatic Rhodes ad-lib his way to local area popularity, effectively criticizing local politicians along the way."

Eventually, Rhodes's popularity extends to him becoming a TV star in New York City.  "As his fame, influence, and ego increase, Rhodes is enlisted to improve the appeal of a presidential hopeful."     

Marc Fisher (a senior editor for The Washington Post) wrote the following in an article published in the newspaper on February 8, 2016:

"Trump’s rule-smashing romp may have no precedent in the annals of presidential campaigns, but the template for his remarkable rise was laid out in a little-known film masterwork half a century ago.  A Face in the Crowd stars Andy Griffith as “Lonesome” Rhodes, a folksy, charming Arkansas traveler who soars to the pinnacle of American celebrity and political power.

In A Face in the Crowd, Budd Schulberg created a character who dares to say what regular folks privately think; who has few, if any, filters; and who gets away with rogue behavior because he’s charming and, eventually, successful."

Donald Trump and Lonesome Rhodes?

Two Women, Chapter 2

Mona lived on the fourteenth floor of Ted's apartment building in Philadelphia.  They met one day waiting for the elevator in the lobby.  She smiled.  A beautiful smile.  He said, "Hi."  They talked on the way up.  

Turns out Mona's a professional musician, a pianist.  Born and raised in Philly.  They had lunch the next day, Ted's treat, at a restaurant near his office.  Great food!  Great conversation!

The following week Ted and Mona went by Uber to the La Rose Jazz Club on Germantown Avenue.  Her invitation!  Great music!  Great drinks!  And great conversation!

When they got back to their apartment building, she invited Ted in for a nightcap.  He left early the following morning.

What did this mean?  Was Ted committed?  Was Mona his girlfriend?  Was he now supposed to be monogamous?

Ted liked Mona a lot.  He definitely wants to see her again and be with her again.  But...

But what about Monica, whom he couldn't keep out of his mind?  But she's not in Philadelphia...and Mona is.  Hmm.  

        

Ketchup

In the 1946 film noir classic, The Killers, Nick Adams (Phil Brown), a customer at Henry's Diner, asks counterman George (Harry Hayden) for, "ketchup."  It's the film's first line of dialogue.  Like Nick, I have asked for ketchup thousands of times in my life. 

Ketchup or Tomato Ketchup dates back to the early 18th Century.  During my lifetime, ketchup has been a mixture of tomatoes, sugar, vinegar, onions and a variety of other spices.  The market leader in the USA (60%) and Brazil (50%) is Heinz Tomato Ketchup.

Growing up in Oswego in my mother's household, we had Heinz.  It's the best ketchup and it saved my life.  

We basically had the same meal every day of the year: meat and potatoes.  And my mother cooked the meat (unseasoned) the same way for every meal:  well-done or black, which meant it lacked flavor and moisture.  

How am I supposed to eat this dry, well-done piece of meat?  Will I starve to death?  

The answer is with plenty of ketchup.  Every morsel of meat was dipped into the puddle of ketchup I put on my plate.  Delicious!

Did I say everyday of the year?  Excuse me.  On Thanksgiving we had turkey, also cooked well-done, lacking in flavor and moisture.  I hated turkey.  But ketchup saved the holiday.  By the way, today I love turkey (served flavorful and moist).  

When I first came to Brazil 25 years ago, Heinz Tomato Ketchup was hard to find and, if you could, it was expensive compared to the inferior domestic brands.

However, in 2013, the H. J. Heinz Company (founded in Pennsylvania in 1869) agreed to be acquired by two investment groups, one of which was Brazilian, 3G Capital, for a total of 23 billion dollars.

A coincidence or not, ever since, Heinz Tomato Ketchup has been easily available in Brazil at a reasonable price.  I know it's in our refrigerator.  But, I don't use it as much as I did when I was growing up.  Don't have to because the food I eat doesn't lack for flavor and moisture.  But, it's nice to know Heinz Tomato Ketchup is in there if I need it.

  

Jimmy Hoffa

 Jimmy Hoffa was born February 14, 1913 (108 years ago) in Brazil.  Brazil?  Yes.  In the town of Brazil...in the State of Indiana, USA.  Population at the time was about 9,000.  

Why is the town's name Brazil?  Well, in the 1840s, at the time of the town's origin, Brazil the country was in the news a lot (perhaps because of the many rebellions going on there), at least so the townspeople of Brazil, Indiana imagined.

As a teenager, Hoffa worked for a grocery chain, receiving low wages and poor working conditions.  Through his demonstrated courage and "approachability," he rose to a leadership position in a newly formed labor union.

When he left his grocery job in 1932, Hoffa was invited to become an organizer for the Teamsters Union.  In 1946, he was elected president of Local 299 of the union in Detroit, Michigan. 

By 1952, Hoffa was selected by Teamsters Union president Dave Beck to be their national vice-president.  Hoffa became president in 1957 when Beck was convicted of fraud and sent to prison.

In 1967, Hoffa himself went to prison after being convicted of bribery, conspiracy and mail fraud.  He stayed there until his sentence was commuted to time served by President Richard Nixon in 1971.

On July 30, 1975, at the age of sixty-two, Jimmy Hoffa disappeared forever.  He was last seen at the Magnus Red Fox restaurant on Telegraph Road in suburban Detroit.  For 46 years, Hoffa's disappearance has remained an unsolved mystery.  

I never ate at the Magnus Red Fox restaurant but I remember it well.  To me, it was quite a noticeable landmark driving past it many a time travelling between my ex-wife Bonita's sister's house in Bloomfield Hills and her father's home in Southfield.