Rant #3,921: Fly Me To the Moon

Amid the turmoil that the world is going through right now, we have a sense of wonder flying above us, as the Artemis II spacecraft navigates around the moon.

It, and its four-man crew, have ventured deeper into outer space than any human has up to this point in time.

They did exactly what they set out to do, and now they are coming home.

I was always enraptured by these space missions, from Gemini through Apollo and beyond.

My uncle was an engineer during the Gemini program, and he sent over materials to us--which are, unfortunately, long gone--about the project and its intent to lay the groundwork for the United States to eventually land on the moon.

After making incredible strides to fulfill President Kennedy's vow to land on the moon by the end of the 1960s, we did just that, but after the first one, these missions simply did not ignite too much interest, and for more than 50 years, the space program was pretty much inert or relatively inactive, although many interesting things were done in the ensuing decades, projects that have led up to the current one--

And subsequent ones that will find us landing on the moon again.

But that first moon landing ...

It was just something else.

Here is what I wrote in Rant #2,411, July 19, 2019, about that first moon landing.

"On July 20, sometime after 9 a.m. in the morning, Buzz Aldrin crawled through the command module Columbia to the lunar module Eagle, to power on the module, the capsule that would take him and Neil Armstrong to the moon's surface.

At about 1:30 p.m., the astronauts were in the Eagle module when it separated from the mother ship on its trek to the moon.

After several computer glitches, at 4:18 p.m., the phrase "The Eagle has landed" came into the lexicon, as the capsule holding Armstrong and Aldrin landed on the moon.

Much had to be done before either man could actually walk on the lunar surface, and more than six and a half hours later, the time had come.

The hatch opened. Armstrong exited, backing out of the module with Aldrin watching for any glitches. Armstrong turned on the module's TV camera, so mankind could join him in his endeavor.

At 10:56 p.m., Armstrong's feet met the moon's surface, and he uttered the immortal lines, "That's one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind."

For the next two and a half hours or so, Armstrong--joined by Aldrin on the moon at 11:11 p.m.-- collected moon rock samples, planted the American flag and a plaque commemorating this accomplishment, and simply cavorted with the majesty of where they were and what they were doing. They also took a phone call from President Richard Nixon.

By 1:11 a.m.on July 21, it was over."

Here on earth, I was fully engaged in this project.

It was as if my comic books had come alive.

I could not take my eyes away from the screen, watching Armstrong and Aldrin doing their thing on the moon.

But after a few more moon landings, it was over, and it seemed our love affair with space travel was over too.

Here is what I lamented in Rant #2,413, July 23, 2019, about the future of space travel.

"I hope that we have a chance, during the next 20 years or so, to go back to the moon in a manned expedition.

I don't think that people will galvanize around visiting that orb as we did as a civilization back in 1969, but I do believe that it will be a simply stupendous thing if we can visit the moon once again.

Perhaps it can be, literally, the jumping off point for a manned expedition to Mars, but even taken without that caveat, wouldn't it be great to have our astronauts back on the surface, doing experiments, surveying earth from that perch, and just having fun on the moon's surface ... while we all watched with utter glee?

I think it would be a great idea, something to bring all of us together as one once again.

And who would be this generation's Neil Armstrong? Would NASA stay with the status quo, or would a minority be the first one to walk on the moon, or maybe even a woman?

Who knows, and really, it doesn't matter at all."

Incredibly, we are now one step closer to visiting the moon once again.

I don't know about you, but I can't wait for that dream to become a reality.

I have heard that this will happen in two years, in 2028.

I will be 71 then, and while I was just 12 years of age in 1969 when we first did it, that sense of wonder has never left me--

And I know that when it happens, I will be just like I was back in 1969--

I will be watching it all play out on TV, every moment, every step, every nuance.

I just can't wait--

Can you?

Rant #3,920: Simply the Best

One test down, many more to go.

And this test went well, so perhaps that is a good omen.

There are many more to go, but this one is out of the way.

Onto other things...

How many people have Catchy Comedy?

It is basically a classic sitcom rerun channel, showing "The Dick Van Dyke Show" to "The Brady Bunch," and everything in between.

On Sunday nights at 7 p.m., they are doing something outside the box, but in line with the Catchy Comedy theme.

They are devoting just about an entire Sunday evening to Lucille Ball, and her vast TV legacy.

"Catchy Loves Lucy," hosted by her daughter, Lucie Arnaz, features an all-Lucy block of programming, which includes not only her sitcom legacy--"I Love Lucy," "The Lucy Show" "Here's Lucy" and even "Life With Lucy"--but also commercials, radio spots, home movies and TV specials starring the comedienne.

Each week has a different theme, often highlighting her co-stars, including Vivian Vance and Gale Gordon.

All of it is tied together by short anecdotes by her daughter.

There is really a treasure trove of stuff here, from the classic sitcom episodes to long forgotten TV specials.

Lucy continues to be the "grand dame" of American television even years after her passing, and from the 1950s to the early 1990s, she was probably the most ubiquitous person on TV, appearing in every TV format possible.

Sure, some of it is cringe-worthy, some of it is dated, but let me tell you, a lot of it is really funny even decades after the fact.

Today's comedy simply cannot hold a candle to what Lucy and her writers brought to the airwaves, and this series demonstrates that loud and clear, in black and white and in color.

If you have a chance, I would highly recommend tuning into this series.

It shows Lucille Ball at her best, at her worst, and somewhere in between ...

And demonstrates that there has never been anyone like Lucy, and there will never be another Lucy in our lifetimes or anyone's lifetime.

"I Love Lucy" ... forever.

Rant #3,919: Hope Springs Eternal

A new week unfolds ...

And it is the same old, same old for me.

More visits to doctors related to my health problems ...

And more work to do.

It is only Monday, and I hope that i get through it all.

I hope your holidays were good ones.

Me, I continue to eat my Passover matzoh, and the other day, I had a piece of that chocolate matzoh I finally was able to find.

It was actually dark chocolate matzoh, and I put it in the freezer for the day before I had a little bit of it--

And it was just so good ...

So good, in fact, that i fell asleep after eating it.

I will hold off eating it again until near the end of Passover, but I have to tell you, it was just so good, maybe the best I ever had.

Otherwise, I watched some baseball, and the Yankees are doing well. They lost yesterday, but they are generally playing good baseball.

For the first time in their history, they have three Jewish players on the active roster--Max Fried, Paul Goldschmidt and Jake Bird--

So i don't know if that is the reason they are playing well, but it is nice to think that.

I got back to digitizing some of my records, a fun thing that I haven't been doing too much of lately.

I also finally had a chance to sit on our terrace and take in some of the spring air.

It was the first time that I had a chance to do this, and it was pretty nice.

I still cannot believe that we are the only people in this development that have a terrace, but it is true, so why not use it when the weather is right?

Otherwise, this past weekend wasn't much of anything, just another spring weekend leading up to another busy week.

Every day puts me one step closer to my next visit to the doctor, my next procedure, and my next worry.

But I can't look at it like that. 

I have to think that every day puts me one step closer to me being healthy.

That is my top priority now.

If I have my health, everything else will fall into place, so it is an imperative that I get better.

Like they say,

"Hope springs eternal."

And I do have a lot of hope.

Rant #3,918: The Jewish Cowboy (?)

As regular readers of this Blog know, I have great memories of my childhood.

Since we are in the Passover/Easter season, lots of memories cross my mind, and lots of things I remember have to do with my childhood in Rochdale Village, Queens, New York.

It was a wondrous place in those early days of the development--1964 to 1971--and I went from a little kid to a teenager while my family and I lived there.

And among the fondest memories I have about my old community is that we lived in a two-bedroom apartment, and that I had to share my bedroom with my sister.

We had a schizophrenic bedroom, to say the least.

On my side of the room, I had all my comic books, and pictures of all of my sports heroes were plastered on the walls around my room.

My sister had her David Cassidy pictures all over her room, amidst her Barbie dolls and all things else related to being a young girl in the late 1960s to early 1970s.

The room was divided by our own "Berlin Wall"--a set of blinds smack dab in the middle of the room--and we managed in that arrangement until July 1971, when we moved to Long Island.

How does that tie in to Passover?

Read on, in an edited blog entry originally published in #2,518 on February 4, 2020:

"But sometimes, my sister would come over to my side of the room, and we would listen to records together, mainly the 45s either my mother or I, or later my sister, would buy from the local Mays department store, or perhaps the Kress store in the local mall.

But this one particular record that we used to listen to, well, we got it from our local supermarket.

In 1966 I think it was, Manischewitz Wine--one of the biggest kosher wine and food producers in the United States--put out a promotional record for Passover called "Manischewitz Presents The Jewish Cowboy, Harold Stern from Centerville, Texas." It was a one-sided promotional record that you received when you purchased your Manischewitz matzohs for Passover.

Being a good mother, our mom got her Manischewitz matzohs, and the record became part of our collection, and a record we regularly listened to when we got together to listen to our singles.

Talk about "Twilight Zone" ... this record was it! It featured Harold Stern, a young Jewish Texan, talking about his life as a Jew in Texas. There is plenty of music on the disk, but not produced by Stern, who only introduces his friend, Avram, to us.

Stern does this in his heavy Texas drawl, and Avram goes on to sing not just Jewish songs, but Italian ones too.

It is a laugh a minute riot, between the drawl and the music, and my sister and I used to listen to this record all the time, and laugh and laugh and laugh some more. It became our own personal classic, amid all the other 45s we played by acts like Bobby Sherman, the Partridge Family, the Beatles and the Monkees.

Anyway, we must have literally played that record to death, as when we moved to Long Island in 1971, it was lost, and it pretty much faded from our memory Heck, on Long Island, we had our own separate bedrooms, and growing up now pretty quickly, Harold Stern and Avram simply did not fit in.

[Note: To cut a long story short, the record did not survive the move, it was lost, but I have since added it to my collection, and I even bought my sister her own copy.]

Memories are really made of this, and "Manischewitz Presents The Jewish Cowboy, Harold Stern from Centerville, Texas," is one of those things that do not leave you once you have heard it. It stays with you forever.

If you want to hear this record in its "Twilight Zone" mentality, it is on YouTube at https://youtu.be/cWNSOCrrtvg.

"Heck, there's nothing that unusual about being a Jewish cowboy," Harold Stern says on the record, and you know what?

With more than 60 years of hindsight to back him up, he's right."

Happy Passover, Happy Easter, have a great weekend, and I will speak to you again on Monday.

This "Jewish Cowboy" who grew up in Queens can guarantee that!

Rant #3,917: Celebration

Last night was the first night of Passover, a holiday that represents freedom for the Jews from the Egyptians eons ago.

I love this holiday.

It is my favorite holiday of the year, right up there with Thanksgiving, because it is a holiday that celebrates the family.

It is not a holiday to give gifts, other than giving the gift of yourself at the Passover seder.

It is a time to reflect, and to celebrate the joys of our Jewish family.

The holiday has changed for me personally over the years.

The most drastic change is that my parents are not around to celebrate the holiday, but I know that they are present in spirit.

And with my recent health woes, the holiday represents a time when I can just forget about everything--even for just a few hours--as we celebrate this holiday.

One thing that hasn't changed for me--and I dare say, will never change--is the importance of food during this eight-day celebration.

I simply love all the foods, especially matzoh, the unleavened bread that Jews had to settle for as they hurriedly escaped Egypt and made their way to freedom.

I can eat a whole box of matzoh myself, and it just tastes so good with tuna fish, TempTee cream cheese, butter, gefilte fish, even hot dogs.

It goes with everything, as I will, once again, try to stay on the menu of Kosher For Passover foods, as I always do.

And that means Kosher For Passover Coca-Cola--using real sugar--and Kosher For Passover UBet Syrup--also using the real thing, and not corn syrup, which is not kosher.

Sure, the foods are heavy during this celebration, but let me tell you, it is worth it.

During Passover, we as Jews celebrate our freedom from oppressors, and we can sit on pillows and be kings--and queens--during this celebration.

I love the seders, I love getting together with our family, I just love the whole kit and kaboodle having to do with Passover.

I am a huge bread eater, but it isn't really that difficult to give it all up for a few days.

It's matzoh, matzoh, matzoh during this holiday, and I really don't mind it.

And yes, I finally found chocolate matzoh, so that is another delicacy that I am looking forward to eating during this great holiday.

To get serious about the whole thing, the rising tide of anti-Semitism is appalling.

The coming of Passover signifies that we, as Jews, remain strong in the face of any adversity, including against those that seek to demean our religion.

When we recite the Four Questions during this holiday--"Why Is This Night Different From All Other Nights"--we are not only seeking the answers to these questions, we are seeking truth, and strength, derived from our beliefs and our religion.

We just have to look around our seder gatherings, and we see that strength generated by succeeding generations of our family.

They will carry on that strength, and hopefully, they will become the patriarchs and matriarchs of our Jewish families when my generation is long gone, just like we carried the torch from my own parents and grandparents.

I wish everyone a joyous Passover--

And if you get "matzoh stomach," it soon will pass.

Rant #3,916: You Better, You Bet

Just to get in another health message to you ...

I am feeling a bit better than earlier in the week, actually drove my car--the first time in a week--and did some errands, but I am still not myself, and probably won't be for a while.

My stamina and my energy are low, but yesterday, I also did more than two hours of work on top of everything, so I guess I have earned the right to be a bit worn down.

And Happy Passover to those who follow this great holiday.

It is a holiday where we can all be kings--or queens--as we participate in the holiday feast, and recite the Four Questions about "why this night is different from other nights."

Onto other things ...

As you probably know--whether you want to or not--March Madness is in full swing, and college basketball is revving up its season finale, where it will crown its champion.

I detest college athletics at this point in my life, because they are not amateur anymore, sort of a real minor leagues for primarily football and basketball.

On top of the scholarships the players get, they are being paid, their likenesses are worth money, and the coverage by the media is as if these kids are playing major league sports, which they are not.

And then you have the incessant betting that surrounds these sports and these college-age (18-22) athletes, and it is very unnerving.

And again, the media just goes with this, with even members of the media themselves making and breaking their own brackets, and proudly proclaiming so on the air and in the other media.

This is just plain wrong, but heck, we had a President who got into this while he was in office--President Obama--so if he can do it, anyone can.

The problem with that is that it has gotten to the point that we are truly opening ourselves up to a lot of future problems when kids, themselves, are getting into the betting game, and one story that came out this past week has bothered me to no end--

Probably no one else was bothered, but I was, for sure.

I am sure you heard about this story, because it was broadcast ad nauseum across TV and in the newspapers, but to me, something isn't right here.

The media gave great coverage to this kid who, not knowing what he was doing, chose the exact winners through the earliest rounds of the women's basketball tournament, beating incredible odds.

The media laughed about it, made this kid into some kind of hero, and also, in passing, mentioned that he was an eighth grader, just 14 years of age.

Like I said, that part of the story was mentioned in passing.

A 14 year old betting, making up a bracket?

How did the media find out about this?

Obviously, he created his bracket on one of those now legal betting services, and it probably came out from there, because it was so unusual.

But again, the kid is 14 years old.

He isn't even in high school yet.

Don't these gambling services prohibit minors from participating in their betting business?

Yet the media reported on this to put smiles on our faces, again, since it was so unusual.

Heck, the Associated Press and the NCAA reported on it, so the kid just didn't scratch this out on a piece of scrap paper--

He had to do it somewhere "official" and "legal" where it could be seen.

But doesn't this actually send out the wrong message?

Why is a middle school kid betting to begin with?

What service did he use to circumvent all the rules and be able to make his bracket?

Even if it wasn't on a service, why is a kid not even in high school making up a betting bracket at all?

Are his parents are so proud of him, since they are raising a bettor, rather than a scholar, in their midst?

The kid's bracket has since been broken, but he did something that even experienced bettors four and five times his age don't do.

But aren't we encouraging betting by minors by celebrating this kid's good fortune?

It just rubbed me the wrong way.

If you see all of those commercials on TV for legal betting, you have to squint to see it, but they all have disclaimers at the bottom of the screen about the dangers of betting.

If we applaud this kid, aren't we opening up a real Pandora's Box of underage kids betting, and becoming habitual bettors, which is a gambling addiction?

If I was reporting on this story, I would ask the kid and his parents the questions I asked earlier about his participation in an area that he really shouldn't be involved with.

But in our society today, we think that betting on the NCAA tournament is a big nothing, a fun thing to do, something that connects us with college athletics, an area that most people don't really care about unless it involves their own money.

Rather than applaud this kid, we should ask ourselves whether this kid really deserves our applause--

Or does he actually deserves our pity for what he is getting into at 14 years of age.

Maybe I am old fashioned, but if I was this kid's parent, I don't think I would be too happy that he was spending his spare time making brackets like this.

Probably the only good thing about this is that he has had his 15 minutes of fame, and maybe he can move onto something more constructive for a middle schooler to be doing to bide his time.

Betting should not be in his personal lexicon of things to be doing as he eases into high school.

But the media loves all this, thinks it is great, so what do I know?

I know what is right, and what is wrong, and this is just so wrong that it defies my understanding of why the media jumped on this like they did.

But then again, I know exactly why they did, and quite honestly, in 2026, it really doesn't surprise me one bet ... err ... bit.

Rant #3,915: Little Willy

Yesterday, I had that procedure done, and now, if I feel up to it, I can move on with my life--

Until the next hurdle comes my way, on my birthday.

I have been through the colonoscopy procedure before, and let me tell you, if you haven't ever had one, the prep is far worse than the procedure itself.

So when I have this thing on April 28, it will be a good day.

April 27, however, won't be one of the best days of my life, as the prep really will knock out the day--and other things--for me.

I just think it is almost funny that I am having that procedure done on my birthday, but it won't be the first time I gifted myself with health on my special day.

Way back in 2007, on my 50th birthday, I had my gall bladder removed.

It just worked out that way that time, as I went into the hospital on April 27 with severe stomach pains, and the hospital said all I had was a bad stomach ache. 

However, I told them numerous times that this wasn't just a bad stomach ache, that this was something more, but they insisted--

Until I told them that I had Gilbert's Syndrome, a relatively minor liver disease where the liver does not fully process billirubin, that you can live with your entire life and not feel it.

A previous doctor years earlier told me I had it, and it simply came to mind when they wanted to get me out of there as quickly as they could.

Lo and behold, I went for some more tests, and they literally told me that my gall bladder had to come out.

I went into surgery on April 28, they removed it, but in the middle of the surgery--and I was told this when I awoke from the anesthesia--that they now listed me as an unruly patient, because I supposedly woke up smack dab in the middle of surgery, started pulling things out of me, and said I was done--

And it took six male nurses to hold me down.

I had the surgery, was home on the morning of April 29, and that was that with that.

Kind of strange, but true.

So if I have to basically forfeit a day of my life to find out what is going on in my colon, then so be it.

And I also have the other stent in me which needs to come out, and it will be removed prior to the colonoscopy.

But at least for now, onto other things ...

And don't get me started on "No Kings Day."

Just don't.