Abraham's Son, Chapter 22

 EXT. PARK NEAR ABRAHAM'S HOUSE - DAY

ABRAHAM pushes IKE's stroller, accompanied by LIZ.  After reaching playground at park, ABRAHAM removes IKE from STROLLER, hugs and kisses him and then IKE and LIZ go to play.  ABRAHAM sits on same bench as the day before.  He nervously looks for MESSENGER in all directions.  At first he thinks he won't show which relieves ABRAHAM.  Suddenly MESSENGER appears next to him on the bench making ABRAHAM nervous.

MESSENGER:  Did you like the game last night?

ABRAHAM:  Amazing!

MESSENGER:  Well, are you convinced I am a MESSENGER from God?

ABRAHAM hesitates.

ABRAHAM:  Almost...could have been a coincidence.  

MESSENGER:  This is getting ridiculous.  I or I should say God did what you wanted and you still don't believe.

ABRAHAM:  Well, I've been thinking.  I know something that will prove 100% that you are who you say you are.  

MESSENGER:  I'm listening.

ABRAHAM:  HELEN, my...

MESSENGER:  You want to see your wife.  I get it.  Okay.  Good idea.  I...or God can arrange that.  But it is a serious decision on your part.  There will be consequences in order to arrange it.

ABRAHAM:  What consequences?

MESSENGER:  You want to see HELEN or not?  Make up your mind...now.

ABRAHAM:  What exactly are you offering?

MESSENGER:  At 10 PM tonight, you will walk into your bedroom and she will be there.  You will have one hour with her.  She's not flesh and blood, but you will be able to communicate with her.  HELEN will be as she was...the same age as when she died.  That's the deal, take it...with consequences...or leave it.

ABRAHAM:  You are promising I will have one hour with HELEN?  

MESSENGER:  Yes.

ABRAHAM:  I agree.

MESSENGER:  There will be no backing out now.  I will see you tomorrow here again at the same time.  Until then.

MESSENGER gets up and walks away.

Bar Mitzvah

Last Saturday, October 14, 2023, my younger grandson, Leo Gerstein, celebrated his bar mitzvah at a temple in New York City.  So, what is a bar mitzvah?  

A bar mitzvah is a coming-of-age ritual in Judaism. According to Jewish law, before children reach a certain age, their parents are responsible for their child's actions. Once Jewish children reach that age, they are said to "become" b'nai mitzvah, at which point they begin to be held accountable for their own actions. 

Of course, Cristina and I travelled to New York to be at Leo's bar mitzvah along with many members of our family and friends of the family.  Leo's performance was amazing.  We are all very proud of him.  

We left Sao Paulo on Monday the 9th, arriving in New York by plane on Tuesday the 10th.  We had dinner that night at Leo's home on East 86th Street along with my daughter Rachel, her mother Bonita, my son-in-law Mike, my grandson Nate, my niece Lauren and her husband Alex and daughter Adeline.

On Wednesday the 11th, we spent much of the day with my friend Joe.   That included both breakfast and lunch plus a trip to the Apple Store at Grand Central Station.

On Thursday the 12th, I hosted a dinner at Gallagher's Steak House for my children (Rachel and Bret), their spouses (Mike and Pam) and my grandchildren (Nate and Leo).  Cristina and I shared a delicious 14 oz. filet mignon.

On Friday the 13th, we had bagels with smoked salmon, cream cheese and tomato at Tal's on East 86th Street.  We also had dinner at Leo's followed by Friday night services at the temple. 

On Sunday the 15th, we had a brunch again at Leo's followed by veal dinners at the Back Room on East 92nd Street.  We were there last year and wanted very much to return.

On Monday the 16th, we shopped for clothes at Old Navy on East 86th Street and bought a book (Somebody's Fool by Richard Russo) at the new Barnes & Noble location on Third Avenue.

On Tuesday the 17th, the Carmel taxi service took us to JFK airport for our trip home.  We arrived safely in Brazil on Wednesday the 18th.   

Don Larsen

 Don Larsen was born August 7, 1929 (exactly 16 years before me) in Michigan City, Indiana.  However, he grew up in San Diego, California where he excelled playing baseball and basketball.

In 1947, Larsen signed a contract to play professional baseball with a minor league team affiliated with the St. Louis Browns of the American League.  He made his Major League debut in 1953 with the Browns.  In 1954, the Browns relocated to Baltimore to become the Orioles.

At the end of the 1954 season, Larsen was traded to the New York Yankees.  In the first part of the 1955 season, he played for the Yankee minor league affiliate in Denver.  However, Larsen, after returning to New York, pitched well, winning nine of eleven games.

In 1956, Larsen pitched really well, winning eleven out of sixteen games, especially at the end of the regular season.  That included a shutout victory against his former team, the Orioles.

On October 8, 1956 (67 years ago today), Larsen was chosen to be the starting pitcher for the Yankees in game 5 (at Yankee Stadium) of the World Series against the Brooklyn (now the Los Angeles) Dodgers.  The best of seven series was tied 2-2.

Mickey Mantle hit a home run in the fourth inning off Dodger pitcher Sal Maglie (whom I met as a child at a Little League banquet in Oswego, NY).  The Yankees scored a second run in the sixth inning on a single by Hank Bauer.  

One of the beautiful things about baseball is that there is no clock.  You must get the opposition to make 27 outs (3 outs in each of 9 innings).  To get the 27 outs in only 27 batters (the minimum) is a perfect game, a rarity in baseball.  

On that memorable day, 67 years ago, Don Larsen pitched the only perfect game in World Series history.  He finished the game striking out Dale Mitchell, the twenty-seventh and final batter.  

Two days later, the Yankees defeated the Dodgers in game 7 and won the 1956 World Series.  Six years later, Larsen pitched for the San Francisco Giants and helped defeat the Yankees in game 4 of the World Series (at that same Yankee Stadium).  

Don Larsen died January 1, 2020 as a result of cancer.  He was ninety years old.

_________

Next post will be Sunday, October 22, 2023.

Cinderella Man

Cinderella Man is a 2005 American biographical sports drama film directed by Ron Howard, titled after the nickname of world heavyweight boxing champion James J. Braddock (1935-1937) and inspired by his life story.  The film stars Russell Crowe (Braddock) , Renée Zellweger (his wife) and Paul Giamatti (his manager).  

It received three Academy Award nominations, including Best Supporting Actor for Giamatti (lost to George Clooney for Syriana).  The film was also nominated for Best Film Editing and Best Makeup.

The film's story happens during the height of the Great Depression.  Braddock, a one-time boxing contender, gives up fighting as a result of a hand injury.  He works part-time as a longshoreman.  His family's income suffers.  

His manager offers Braddock an opportunity to get back into boxing.  With a string of victories, he rises to the level of being considered as a contender for the Heavyweight championship held by Max Baer.  One of those victories was over Art Lasky (born Arthur Lakofsky).  Both Baer and Lasky were Jewish boxers, not uncommon for that time.

Braddock was offered a fight against Baer for the championship.  He was a prohibitive underdog.  After all, Baer had killed two men in the ring and Braddock had lost 25 fights.

On June 13, 1935, Braddock became the Heavyweight champion with a unanimous decision victory over Baer in a fight held at the Madison Square Garden Bowl (Queens, New York).  It is considered one of the biggest upsets in boxing history.

Two years later, Braddock unsuccessfully defended his title in a knockout loss to the great new champion Joe Louis.  However, Braddock earned $250,000 (over $5 million dollars today) for the fight.  The money secured his family's economic future.     

Abraham's Son, Chapter 21

 INT. ABRAHAM'S BEDROOM - NIGHT

ABRAHAM listens to the Mets baseball game on the radio.  It is the top of the ninth inning.  There are two outs and the Met pitcher has faced the minimum 26 batter so far.  

ANNOUNCER (O.S.):  Pinch hitting for the Giants will be Gregor Blanco.  He's hitting .242 with 2 home runs and 20 RBIs.  The left-handed hitter is their last hope to end this thing Wheeler's got going for him...here's the first pitch...ball one, a slider, belt high, but a little inside...the crowd is on edge...strike one, Blanco looked at a fastball right over the plate at the knees...what drama here at the Stadium...one ball and one strike...swung on and missed, a curve ball, almost in the dirt...one ball and two strikes.  One strike away for Wheeler and immortality...swung on, a line drive into right field, here comes Bruce, he dives...and makes a great catch for the third out.  Zach Wheeler has pitched the first perfect game in the history of the New York Mets.

ABRAHAM turns off the radio, not sure what to think.

Janice Paige

Janice Paige (originally Donna Mae Tjaden) was born September 16, 1922 in Tacoma, Washington.  After high school, she moved to Los Angeles, California where she became a professional singer and a model.

A Warner Bros. talent agent saw her potential and signed her to a contract. She began co-starring in low-budget musical films, often paired with Dennis Morgan or Jack Carson. 

Janice Paige co-starred in Romance on the High Seas (1948), the film in which Doris Day made her movie debut. She later co-starred in adventures and dramas, in which she felt out of place. Following her role in Two Gals and a Guy (1951), Janice Paige decided to leave Hollywood.

Janice Paige appeared on Broadway and was a huge hit in the comedy-mystery play, Remains to Be Seen, co-starring Jackie Cooper.  It was staged at the Morosco Theatre from October 3, 1951 until March 22, 1952.

From May 13, 1954 until June 23, 1955, Janice Paige appeared at the St. James Theatre as the female lead, Babe Williams, in the musical, Pajama Game.  One evening during that period (age 8 to age 9), my parents took me to see the play.  

I haven't forgotten Janice Paige after almost 70 years.  A beautiful red-haired woman singing I'm Not At All In Love.

I'm not, at all in love, not at all in love, not I!
Not a bit
Not a might
Though I'll admit he's quite a hunk a guy

But he's not, my cup of tea, not my cup of tea, not he!
Not an ounce
Not a pinch
He's just an inch, too sure of himself for me...

Janice Paige returned to the Broadway stage in 1963 (Shubert Theatre) starring in the play, Here's Love.  It was based on the classic film, Miracle on 34th Street.

In 1968, Paige portrayed Mame at the Winter Garden Theatre.  In 1984, she appeared a final time on Broadway, this time at the Music Box Theatre in Alone Together.

Yesterday was Janice Paige's 101st birthday.  Happy birthday, Janice.  

Edmond O'Brien

Edmond O'Brien was born September 10, 1915 (108 years ago) in Brooklyn, New York.  An aunt who taught high school English and speech took him to the theatre from an early age and he developed an interest in acting.  He began performing in plays at school.

O'Brien studied for two years under such teachers as Sanford Meisner.  He began working in summer stock in Yonkers, NY. O'Brien made his first Broadway appearance at age 21.

His theatre work drew the attention of Hollywood.  In 1939, O'Brien made his first film as the romantic lead opposite Maureen O'Hara in The Hunchback of Notre Dame.

Over the next 35 years O'Brien appeared in over eighty films.  Among the most memorable to me were The Killers with Ava Gardner (1946), White Heat with James Cagney (1949), The Barefoot Contessa again with Ava Gardner (1954), The Man Who Shot Liberty with James Stewart (1962) and Seven Days in May with Frederick March (1964).

Edmond O'Brien won an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for The Barefoot Contessa.

To me, his finest work was in The Killers.  In 1927, Ernest Hemingway had written a short story of the same name about a gas station attendant who was killed by professional assassins who came to his small town in New Jersey.  Why did they want to kill him?  He said, "I did something wrong...once."

Screenwriter Anthony Veiller concocted a story for the film about what was that something wrong:  The gas station attendant had been tricked into double crossing his fellow-thieves after they had committed a massive robbery.  O'Brien portrayed an insurance investigator who solves the mystery of that something wrong...once.

In the late 1970s, O'Brien fell ill with Alzheimer's disease.  He died from it on May 9, 1985 at the age of 69.