Rant #1,881: Pictures of You

Happy Passover, and it is good to be back.

Yesterday was something of a difficult day, and I am actually happy to be back here, and even happy to go to work today.

Yes, it was that kind of day yesterday.

But Passover continues, we had our second seder yesterday, and as I do every year, I carry the flame for my family during the holiday, as I am the only one who continues to follow the dietary laws related to this holiday.

I will continue to eat matzoh until Passover ends, at sunset on Tuesday.

It really isn't that big a deal.

I eat matzoh and cream cheese and matzoh and tuna fish each and every day for breakfast and lunch, respectively, and for dinner, it pretty much varies. Tonight, I am going to have eggs--which I rarely have like this for dinner--and at least one board of matzoh will be included in the meal.

Like I said, it really is no big deal.

What is a bigger deal is that on the first night of Passover, during the first seder, I actually saw my daughter, who I had not seen since Hanukkah, and who I have had little contact with over those four-plus months.

As I said in a previous column, this is how she wants it, for whatever reason, and I am not going to beat myself up anymore over her behavior.

But at least for one night, we were together as a family--my wife, my son, my daughter and myself--and it was really good to see my first born after so many months.

She looked good, she made some tantalizing cookies and cakes just for the occasion, and she seemed to be happy.

I was even lucky enough to snap a couple of photos of my son and daughter together,  the best of which I have attached to this Rant.

The next time I will see my daughter--or probably even speak to her--is during my birthday. My wife and son have set up a nice birthday party for me at a local restaurant for the end of this month, and everybody that I care about--both friends and family, mainly family--will be there. My daughter will be there, and I am happy about that.

It is something to look forward to, way after all the matzoh has been packed away for another year.

But right now, I have to concentrate on matzoh and not getting the dreaded "matzoh stomach," where your stomach feels as if you swallowed a battleship, with guns blazing.

If I can avoid that, then I will feel fine.

And again, I just love matzoh, and Passover is my favorite holiday, period, because like Thanksgiving, it is a family holiday, not one for gifts.

And although that is true, my gift during this most recent celebration was seeing my daughter again.

It just makes me believe that there is something to be happy about, after all.

Classic Rant #535 (June 28, 2011): "Amos 'N' Andy" Anniversary

Sixty years ago today, in 1951, a TV show debuted that would rankle many people to this day.

Today, the TV version of the successful “Amos ‘N Andy” radio show debuted on CBS.

“Amos ‘N Andy” had been a sensation on radio, portraying various stereotypical black characters in ways that made audiences gravitate to them. They were lazy and shifty, slow and surly, and awful funny.

And they were portrayed on radio by white men.

But you couldn’t get away with that on television, so black actors were the stars of the show. In fact, “Amos ‘N Andy” was the very first network TV show to feature an all black cast.

Although that was the case, the show was chastised by many for its racial stereotyping. It only lasted a few years on the air, and then faded off into TV heaven, although it was rerun into the mid 1960s, as I remember watching the show as a kid.

Several prominent blacks raked the show over the coals, especially as the civil rights movement heated up.

But others took a more levelheaded approach to the program. The late Flip Wilson once said something to the effect that yes, the program displayed blacks in a less than stellar manner, but the show should not be forgotten or banned or not shown, because it shows how far blacks had come, as well as how far they had to go.

And things have come pretty far. We have a black man leading this country as its President and commander in chief, and blacks have made inroads in just about every area, from politics to private business.

But how does “Amos ‘N Andy” figure in this movement? To some, they would say the show probably had no influence at all, as it showed racial stereotyping at its lowest level. To others, the show was a stepping stone to something better, the bridge to “Julia” and then to “The Jeffersons” and later to “The Cosby Show” and later, even to “Oprah.”

It took man millions of years to evolve, and it took decades for network TV to make blacks as ubiquitous as whites in its programming.

Whether “Amos ‘N Andy” was part of that TV evolution is up to your individual tastes. But as a kid, I found it to be a very funny program, and I doubt I even realized the stereotyping that was prevalent on this show.

So I vote with Flip Wilson; let’s not forget the show, let’s watch it and study it on DVD as an artifact of a time that was long ago, but not so long ago that it should be totally forgotten or dismissed.

Rant #1,880: Holiday

Tonight, at sunset, begins Passover, one of the most revered, and to me at least, fun holidays on the Jewish calendar.

It is a holiday that is all about family, has nothing to do with presents, and is an eight-day celebration of the Jewish heritage, going back centuries.

This is also the beginning of one of the holiest periods in the Christian calendar, what with Palm Sunday being yesterday, Good Friday coming up this Friday, and Easter Sunday being this coming Sunday.

Way back in 2010, on March 21, Rant No. 221 discussed this period pretty well, and here is what I had to say back then:

"This time of year is pretty special, as two of the most revered religious holidays come on top of each other.

Passover begins this evening and lasts for the next eight days. It signifies the Jews' flight out of Egypt, and its greatest symbol, matzoh, reflects the unleavened bread that the Jews ate in their flight. Seders are held tonight and tomorrow night, and religious Jews hold a final Seder on the final night.

Easter allows Christians to reflect on Jesus Christ and upon themselves. This is perhaps the most sacred holiday on the calendar for Christians, and it is preceded by Palm Sunday, yesterday, and Good Friday, coming up this week.

As a Jew, Passover for me is probably the best Jewish holiday on the calendar. Unlike Chanukah, where you are under pressure to buy gifts, on Passover, you aren't under pressure to do much of anything--unless you are cooking and/or preparing for the Seder-- but follow the fabled "Four Questions" and eat until you can't move. All kidding aside, following the Jews' flight from Egypt with the rest of your family is a great tradition that has been handed down from generation to generation, and my kids get a special kick out of this holiday, as I have for all these years.

I am sure the family gatherings that take place during Easter present the same introspection that the Passover Seder does.

So for everyone, happy holiday. I don't have much else to say, but for whatever holiday you follow, these coming days are to be cherished as we meet with our families to study our religious past, present, and future.

So to all, have a nice holiday."

Tomorrow, I am going to have to take a day off from this column, as I have some personal business to attend to, but I will be back on Wednesday in full force ... and hopefully without the dreaded "matzoh stomach!"

If you celebrate Passover, I hope your seders are good ones. Have a great holiday.

Speak to again on Wednesday.

Classic Rant #534 (June 27, 2011): Take Me Out to the ... Museum

My family and I, and my son's friend, went to Yankee Stadium to see the Yankees take on the Rockies this past Saturday.

The Yankees won the game 8-3. The game was basically over in the first inning, when the Yankees scored two runs. The Rockies' runs were tagged on during the last two innings, and the way C.C. Sabbathia was pitching, they were lucky they got anything that day.

And it was a giveaway day. We received Yankees lunch boxes, probably big enough to put a sandwich in and that's it.

And no, you can't get your $10 beers into that lunch box.

That aside, our seats, in the upper deck, were about the worst I have ever had. They were in section 414, I believe, right on the aisle, which was good for my legs and feet, but not so good for my sight line.

There was a railing right in front of me that was in my sight line for home plate, and you can see it in the photos on the bottom left. I tried my best to not include it in the photos, but I failed miserably.

Also, this was a busy area, as people kept on coming up and down, with food, having to go the bathroom, with kids, etc. I couldn't get a clear view of a lot of what was going on because people were in the way.

That being said, the Yankees won the game, and that was fine with me.

Prior to the game, we finally got to the Yankees Museum, which is right in the new stadium.

Although it isn't very big, it stores a wealth of memories and memorabilia from this storied team.

You can see old uniforms, balls signed by every player ever to suit up for the Yankees, and Thurman Munson's old locker, which has been preserved since he died in a plane crash years ago.

And you are allowed to take photos of anything you want, as long as you don't use a flash.

I tried to get as many photos as I could, and a sample of them are here.

Back to the game ... the last photo is one of my lucky ones, showing Mark Texeira hitting a home run in the eighth inning.

Usually, I try to take my pitcher/batter photos just as the pitcher goes into the end of his windup. I usually wind up with nothing much, but this time, you can actually see Texeira rocketing the ball into the stands.

What a lot of luck from my crappy seat!

Getting home was, as usual, a mini-nightmare. We proceeded correctly, but we tried to get onto the Major Deegan South, I believe, and they blocked the entrance.

Rather than sit in a line of cars that must have stretched into New England, we saw a sign for the Whitestone Bridge--now known as the RFK Bridge--and took that into Queens and then into Long Island and home.

It took us a little more than 90 minutes, and that is better than I expected, especially since we couldn't get onto the highway that we needed.

And that is the final Yankee game we go to this year.

It is very, very expensive, and I would rather watch the games from home.

We'll go next year, but it is getting increasingly difficult to do so.

But it is fun. And I guess that's really all that counts, isn't it (as I count my lack of money in my wallet)?

Rant #1,879: It's a Laugh

What is an icon?

To me, an icon is someone who stands out from the rest in his chosen profession, someone who has made his or her mark, someone who has made a difference and can be pointed out as someone at the top of whatever he or she does.

Yesterday, we lost an icon.

Don Rickles passed away at 90 years of age yesterday, and we lost one of the greatest stand-up comedians of all time, a guy who made us laugh, and cry while we were laughing so hard, for the past 50 or so years.

I am not going to go into an obituary thing here; leave that for the news organizations. I will just let you know what I feel about this guy.

He did not start out as a comic; in fact, he studied to be an actor, and went to prestigious acting schools to hone his craft.

He actually was making a decent living as an actor, appearing in numerous films and TV shows from the late 1950s through the mid 1960s.

This was the period of the stand-up comic, when comedy was beginning to turn topical. You had people like Mort Sahl, Shelley Berman and Bob Newhart in this wave of new comedy, and you also had a veteran, Jack E. Leonard, who was beginning to become very popular.

Leonard was the original knock-down, put-down insult comic, and he was very good at what he did, appearing on the top stages in America, on "The Ed Sullivan Show," and elsewhere.

But somehow, Leonard, Rickles and the mid to late 1960s collided, and with Leonard getting older and eventually passing, there was a need for another insult comic to take the helm, and Rickles was it.

But Rickles did it much differently than Leonard. For whatever reason, Leonard seemed to actually be a hateful person, and he was so good at what he did that you actually believed that whatever he said--no matter how coarse or funny it was--was what he really believed.

Rickles, on the other hand, was quick with the putdowns, but you knew it was all in fun.

"Mr. Warmth" was just that, a real pussycat, and he let you know it right at the beginning of his act, telling the audience something to the effect that he might put you down, but it was all in fun.

And you believed him, because quite frankly, it was true.

Without the number in front of me, I think it is safe to say that during the past 50 years or so, Rickles made more television appearances than any other comic, and he appeared on every show worth its salt during this period, everything from "The Munsters" to "The Tonight Show," and "Rowan and Martin's Laugh-In," and everything in between.

He also had his own short-lived show, "CPO Sharkey," but this military comedy simply did not showcase his talent to the Nth degree like it should have, but it is involved in one of the funniest stories involving Rickles.

Evidently, Rickles had been on "The Tonight Show" when Johnny Carson was on one of his frequent vacations, and Rickles inadvertently broke Carson's cigarette case.

When Carson came back to the show, he noticed that his beloved cigarette case was damaged, and he retaliated by infiltrating the set of "CPO Sharkey," which was taping on a sound stage near where "The Tonight Show" was filming.

And Carson then became the insult comic, taking out his anguish at Rickles in an extremely funny way.

This was evidently real and off the cuff, and for one of the few times in his career, Rickles was completely speechless.

It was hilarious, TV at its best, and I am sure you can find this on YouTube somewhere, because my description cannot do justice to what actually happened.

But it was usually Rickles who was right on the mark, taking down anyone in his path.

And everyone laughed, no matter if you were white, black, yellow or heck, purple. It was almost a badge of honor to be insulted by Rickles.

The passing of Don Rickles leaves a great void in the comedy world. Today, it seems all comics are insult comedians, but they mean what they say.

Comedy today is generally not funny, because it is generally so dirty, so full of put downs, and I don't find it something that I enjoy.

Rickles was never dirty, never meant any harm, and you knew it.

And that is why they called him "Mr. Warmth," because under the tough veneer, he really appeared to be a very nice guy.

And to Rickles, I say not only were you a mensch, but you, yourself were a real "hockey puck."

That is the best compliment I can give him.

Speak to you again on Monday. Have a nice weekend.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mj2S2n64DeQ&feature=youtu.be

Classic Rant #533 (June 24, 2011): What Can You Say

Beyond water balloons, another story on Long Island has made national news this week.

The terrible tragedy at the Medford drug store, where four people were shot dead as a druggie rifled through the contents of the store looking for hydrocodone, has once again put the spotlight on the abuse of prescription drugs.

The alleged gunman, David Laffer, and his wife and accomplice and fellow drug abuser, Melinda, will probably get the book thrown at them when they go to trial in the coming weeks and months.

Their spiral into the abyss of drug abuse was quick. Laffer, a military veteran, and his future wife seemed to be the perfect couple. He proposed to her during a sporting event on the big screen, and they appeared to be hard-working people who would one day raise a family and fade into the framework of suburban living.

But the two had a secret that they shared, and it was drug abuse. Various aches and pains led the two to doctors who prescribed them prescription drugs, which they became hooked on.

Their moods changed, and their faces showed the hallow effects of such drugs on their systems.

When Laffer recently lost his job, that appeared to be the straw that broke the camel's back.

He entered the pharmacy on Father's Day as it opened, allegedly shot two workers--one just 17 years old--and then shot two patrons. He then allegedly stole more than 10,000 hydrocodone pills. Hydrocodone is s synthetic opiate used in Vicodin.

His wife, waiting for him in the getaway car, whisked away, and they went home, and reports are they then tended to their lawn. They were picked up and charged over the past few days, Laffer with first-degree murder and his wife with third-degree robbery.

Honestly, I don't know what more can be said about this horrible incident. If found guilty--and the wife has already said that they did these cruel deeds--they will spend many, many years in prison, and that is if they are lucky.

I am not sure of the current status of the death penalty in New York State, but if it is in force, then Laffer might be facing execution for these deeds if found guilty.

I personally can't think of a better case to employ the death penalty, and I am sure there will be people lined up to pull the plug on this individual.

Heck, I can't think of one compelling reason to keep him alive if he is found guilty of these heinous crimes.

But that aside, what happened to these seemingly normal people that led them to such a desperate act?

Drugs are a scourge of society. I don't care if you are talking about marijuana, heroin, or prescription pill abuse, they are all in the same boat.

They make people do things that are irrational--and yes, pot does too. They are completely unnecessary, but the demand continues to be huge for these poisons.

And it isn't just lower class people who are using these things. You see people from all social strata getting hooked on this garbage, and you see its use often glorified by Hollywood. How many recent movies show people smoking pot, as if it were akin to drinking a glass of water?

And I do not profess to know what the solution is.

The only solution lies with the individual. People should learn to say no, and if they don't say no, understand the consequences that entails using this stuff, and yes, even pot.

When you don't have all your faculties, you can't think straight, and to get hooked on these things damages your mind and your ability to make the right decision.

I was lucky. Yes, I grew up in a culture of drugs, but I never took anything, never.

I had one bone-chilling episode which illustrated very clearly to me that I should never do this stuff, even the milder stuff.

In about 1970 or so, I was helping my friend deliver newspapers in the afternoon in Rochdale Village.

We used the stairways to move about, as it was easier than using the elevators when delivering the papers.

We walked in one stairway, not knowing that two guys were shooting up drugs right there.

And yes, they were doing heroin, I am pretty sure of it. They had the needles, and their arms were propped up as if they were giving themselves shots.

We saw them too late, and they saw us.

We stopped dead in our tracks.

One guy said to us as he was shooting this crap into his arm, "Just move on. Don't look back."

We stepped over the two guys, and went on our way.

I will never forget that incident, and it always came into my brain when I was in a situation where drugs were being used.

No, that stuff was not for me.

Maybe people need to see such bone-chilling incidents to set their minds in the right direction.

I just don't know.

But the abuse of prescription drugs is another thing altogether. These drugs were generally designed with "good" in mind, designed to help people battle through pain or sickness or just uncomfortableness.

But they are addictive. When I was in the hospital for as mild an operation as a removal of my gall bladder, I was offered a prescription for pills. I was lucky, I never had a reason to use them, but I will tell you, I don't think I would have anyway.

Those pills are powerful, more powerful then we realize. And when not used properly, they are very addictive.

Going back to the incident in question, I don't really know what our society can do to prevent such a thing from happening again.

I just think it is up to the individual to make a choice--and hopefully the right choice--when it comes to using these things.

They are available, are controlled substances, but obviously, people can get them if they need to.

It shouldn't be so easy, but it is, and this incident proves that people are so hooked on this garbage that they will do anything to get them.

Anything. Even murder.

Rant #1,878: Easy Come, Easy Go

The other day, I spoke about Record Store Day, and how much I looked forward to visiting my local record shop that day to look for vinyl bargains.

Today, I want to talk about a performer whose vinyl albums and singles I might just be looking for on that day, although I already have a substantial amount of his records in my collection, but not everything, that's for sure.

In the late 1960s to early 1970s, music was changing, becoming harder, more topical, and the influence of FM radio was starting to be felt.

During this period, it was truly the last gasp of the teen idol, generally male performers who seemingly came out of nowhere, were good looking, recorded pop and rock tunes that were as catchy as all heck, and seemed to exist only to please mainly young female fans.

Talent? That took a back seat to looks, that's for sure.

Since the days of Elvis Presley, teen idols had ranged from Dion to Paul Anka to Fabian, and then later, to Davy Jones, David Cassidy and Bobby Sherman.

Sure, the Beatles set the tone for the teen idol movement in the mid 1960s, but honestly, they couldn't stay in that mode for too long and be taken seriously, but yes, they set the template for Jones, Cassidy and Sherman, that's for sure.

And yes, there were others, but in the latter stages of the 1960s and into the early 1970s, as Jones kind of moved aside for newer teen idols, Cassidy and Sherman vied for the hearts of teen girls everywhere.

Showcased on two ABC shows--Cassidy on "The Partridge Family" and Sherman mainly on "Here Come the Brides" but on a few other network shows like "Shindig" and "Gettin' Together," both Cassidy and Sherman entered our living rooms each week with music that some found irresistible, others found trashy.

I remember that when the Monkees waned in popularity toward the latter stages of the 1960s, my sister took down all her Davy Jones pictures that she got from magazines like Tiger Beat and 16 Magazine and replaced each and every one of them with pictures of Cassidy culled from the same publications.

We shared a room back then, so on my side of the room there were pictures of my favorite sports stars and on the other side of the room were pictures of Cassidy, one after the other after the other all over the room.

I wish I had pictures of this; it was really unbelievable.

But anyway, I personally never liked Cassidy, to be honest with you. His show was horrid, at least to me, totally unfunny, the Partridge Family music--with the exception of one or two songs that I did like--was generally banal, and I was getting older, and this entire concept was really not for me as I entered my teen years.

But I did like Bobby Sherman--always did, always will.

Although his music at the time was considered to be in the same boat as Cassidy's, I thought his music had a slightly harder edge to it, but yes, that "harder edge" was much like comparing one soap to another. Both of their music at the time was quite sudsy, but I preferred the Sherman brand as opposed to the Cassidy brand.

Sherman has actually been around for years before he entered the teen idol phase. He had been recording since 1962, so he was originally in the teen idol mode of the Frankie Avalons of the world, but he was a pretty ubiquitous presence on TV throughout the 1960s, what with his good looks and his excellent singing voice.

But he didn't get his first hit record until he entered the teen idol phase of the late 1960s, and 1969's "Little Woman," his biggest hit at No. 3 on the charts, set him on course for an interesting three-year run on the charts, and in young girls' hearts.

His followup singles were very, very good, and sold millions of copies, including "La La La (If I Had You)" (1969, No. 9); "Easy Come, Easy Go" (No. 9, 1970); and "Julie, Do Ya Love Me" (No. 5, 1970), but by 1971 or so, the hits started to wane.

He continued to place singles on the charts through 1972, but by 1973, his run was virtually over ... as was the run of the teen idol concept. Sure it resurfaces on occasion--look at Justin Bieber--but it just isn't the same as it was way back when, when I guess we kids were a bit more innocent than subsequent generation of kids were, and this type of music was created to feed our souls--and give us a reason to spend gobs of money.

Sherman later left show business altogether, and became an EMT on the West Coast.

He surfaces occasionally, and did do one last tour as a member of the "Teen Idols" tour several years ago, but today, now in his 70s, Sherman only performs occasionally, doing benefits and working for charities.

His time, and the time of Cassidy, were like comets that show themselves briefly in the sky and then leave us with only memories.

I liked Bobby Sherman, I still do, and if one of his records that I don't have turns up on Record Store Day, I will grab it.

His music brings me back to a different time and place, and it is nice sometimes to visit that time again, a time when he was one of the biggest pop stars on the planet.