Martin Luther King

Martin Luther King was a great man, a man of compassion and of God. During the years of the JFK Presidency there were many racial issues in the Country. The Black people were refused rights, especially to education. Many times President Kennedy stepped in to ensure the rights of the Blacks, even calling out the National Guard to protect Black students going to "white" schools. I could never understand how anyone could think the color of ones skin made them a lesser or a greater... That is a crazy, ego manic idea to say the least. Dr. King tried to tell this Country that the Blacks are equal in the eyes of God (we all are) and that what was being done to them in this Country was wrong and needed to be changed... My hat is of to him and all those who marched and protested for Civil Rights in the 60's.... If I were old enough and could I would have joined them... for such was and is honorable. To stand up for the rights of another is to stand up for the rights of us all as a society, as a civilization and as children of God... Once a society thinks they need not help each other or any ethic group, that is a society that will fall and destroy itself from within. Dr. King took this message to his death, a death by some sicko who thought he was better, in his doing so he showed us all how despicable we all are for our not standing up for personal freedoms and the dignity of all life no matter the color, religion, gender or circumstance... Where ever you are in heaven Dr. King, pray for me and for my family that they may have the heart you were given here on earth... to take a stand, to voice yourself for the ones whose voices were not being heard... Bravo... well done Dr. King When Dr. King was killed there were many riots throughout the Country. Although I do not believe in violence in any thing I can understand what happened on some level... It was an act of frustration, of hope being lost, a shinning star being snuffed out. I believe that human nature is such that we all would have reacted in this manner given the devastating blow the Black community was given the day Dr. King was killed.... So look down on this Nation now Dr. King and see the first Black President in office and see your work on earth was instrumental to have this happen.... We still have a ways to go sir, but a very important step was taken this past January 20, 2009..... It is not even a matter of politics or a politician's stance but a matter of elevated consciousness that allowed a Black man to become President... whether you are of his mind frame politically speaking or not.... be proud as an American that there in the Oval office sits a Black man.... Our "brother" in God.... in humanity itself... And always "keep hope alive".... For everyone has "dreams" as Dr. King did... a dream of a better place where we all can live in harmony...

Twiggy

Grandma did like clothing... still does but not to the extent like when she was young. So grandma would buy "fashion mags" and see all the cool things to wear... It was the age of "free love"...hippies... But for grandma hippies were dirty and did not have any fashion sense ... I liked "clean"... but there were times that Pink walked on the wild side with fashion as well as behavior... There were the "ra-ra" types back then they were the preppy types... knee socks, wool shirts or shorts, penny loafers maybe even saddle shoes, prep sweaters and Madras shirts, etc... And there was the the cross between the hood look and older look and of course the hippies (too dirty looking for me) The big fashion model then was Twiggy she was from England... super skinny, sick looking actually but her "look" caught on and she is the one who started the super skinny look for models. Twiggy also wore dark, black eye makeup... Thinking back on it now she was actually very scary looking but she was also a really big hit... everyone wanted to look like Twiggy... skin and bones, flat chested, black eyed Twiggy. Mini skirts were also in and "hot pants"... that was a very short pair of dress up shorts.. although it could be applied in another fashion since the "hippies" were into free love... Then there was the tent dress, that being an empire waist dress that made all the girls look like they were pregnant, here again looking back this was not a good look... Bell bottom pants, stove pipe pants in as well, in addition to platform shoes... Fish net socking in as well... yes grandma was a real fashion plate with many a day looking like a fashion mistake... Favorite fashion mags were, Seventeen, Vogue and Glamour although I read them all... Regards trying to look like Twiggy... never could... even if Pink spent 6 months in the grave she would still have more meat on her body then Twiggy ever did...

Twistng the night away

Twisting the night away... the music of the day was the twist... Chubby Checkers... yes I was in grade school and the twist was in... There was the "regular twist" this being such a big hit another came along called the "Peppermint Twist"... I also remember such dances as the "Pony", the "Swim", the "jerk"and the "Monster Mash"... I also remember some kids being a jerk as well as myself at times. There was a TV show called laugh in and there they would have girls dancing in "cages" yes girls dancing in cages was a big thing as were white go-go boots... for as the Nancy Sinatra song went boots are made for walking and for me dancing as well.. As a child, grandma did have aspirations of dancing in a cage someday... alias my dream never came true though but I did have the opportunity to dance on a few tables tops during my youth... this usually occurred after grandma had a drink or two... And here I would like to add a "warning" be careful when you drink you could find yourselves on a table top dancing one day. Back when grandma was young they did not have camera cell phones, so these events with me are lost to history with you my grandchildren there will always be someone in the crowd ready and willing to snap your photo. You do not want to wake up one day and see yourself on utube, or live streamed on some one's website..(When your moms were small I would always tell them be careful...water is ice)...with you grandchildren I tell you be careful... photos will be taken of you... Back to the music... I do not remember any of the pomp over Elvis he was before my time... Frank Sinatra as well... but I do remember the Beatles... yes I watched them preform on the Ed Sullivan show for the first time in the US... I was not impressed they seemed so "Old" to me..Yet after several months of mass media and mass hysteria in regards to them, they did become more attractive to me... Yes I fell victim to mob mentality... but soon recovered and favored the Dave Clark 5 instead... In high school there was also "Rolling Stones" to listen too... hey I still do that now... they are still preforming on stage as I write this to you (kind of creepy looking though) So go out there and have fun listen to the music of your time and dance... stay off tables and out of cages though...

Baseball and Ballantine and who will be Miss Rheingold

Yep I knew a lot about beer growing up, my dad sold it. He would make the food really hot that he served so people would drink more and give them lots of salt to make them thirsty. The real money is in the beer he would say to me. I learned of beveled glasses as well, a shot of alcohol is not really a full shot with a beveled glass you are just paying for one. Yes my dad could be slick, he was also a pool shark, played a mean game, but suckered men by saying he was not really good at the game. And let me not get into my dad's ability to play cards and his willingness to do so into the early morning of the next day.

Yes I was like Shirley Temple this little blond haired girl with her curls and Mary Jane shoes with a pinafore dress, knowing way to much about beer and drunken men at a very young age. Learning about her daddy the pool hustler, (remember he would say, always one foot needs to be on the ground when you shoot the balls)... rack them up, don't hit the 8 ball clear the table, then go for the 8 ball...playing cards do not show your hand to anyone, nor let it show on your face the cards that you are holding... Never let anyone know in life the cards you are holding ... he taught me, do not brag about anything, you have a full deck, fold and leave the table... Yet that was not my father he always stayed for just one more hand in everything he did...

I also knew that most beer drinkers like Baseball and a clever beer company had a Sloan for this.. it being Baseball and Ballantine (the name of the beer)... not to be out done a rival beer company took another advertising angle, men loved baseball, but they also love a good looking woman so this beer company started the Miss Rheingold... Yes there in ever bar room of the day were photos of woman all vivaing for the Title Miss Rheingold... it was not always the best looking woman that won this title for as my father taught me, every woman is a beauty when a man has several beers and once the lights go down in the bar they are all stunning beautiful... so the men who did the voting were not always the best judge of beauty... but it was interesting, the "winner of the contest" had her picture displayed on all the beer trucks that sold Rheingold. They also had their faces plastered on buses and subways it was a big deal to be Miss Rheingold. I remember telling my day once I want to be one, and he said, NO YOU DON'T.... So from my dad I learned about pool, cards, some baseball, only about the big players like Micky Mantel and such... I also learned that after a few beers and when the lights are low many men fall in love... So to my grandsons I say, keep the lights on when you drink... and make no decision about any woman until day break, when you can see her in the sun with your eyes wide open... and your mind is clear... To my granddaughters I say, stay out of these creepy bars... or bet yet open your own... keep the lights on high and show yourselves to be the beauties you really are... Hey dad this is for you.... "My beer is Rheingold, the dry beer, think of Rheingold, whenever you buy beer... "I raise my glass" to all of those drunken cuties... hey, dad rack them up in heaven and invite Jesus to a game, I heard he likes to drink as well,mostly wine, he even likes to hang out with drunks and those cuties they fall for... geeze dad he is really your kind of guy....

The end of the world???

I was a young child in grade school happily playing in the school yard. There stood teachers speaking of something called the end of the world... They looked scared and spoke in the same fashion even as a young child I saw these things in them. The radio spoke of this being the war to end all wars if it started. Soon the "drills" at school started, when the sirens were heard we were to get out of our seats and go underneath our desks, or we were to go into the hallway and stand against the walls. Stay away from windows was the rule. We were given information to bring home to our parents about building bomb shelters, and what food should be kept in the house. So this is the "atomic age", what does this mean I thought. What is a bomb anyhow and why go under the desk... why were so many so afraid... This is called the Cuban missile crisis... It was the talk of everyone, everyone even the children in the school yard their parents told them about it... I thought, my mom and dad didn't say anything to me, I did hear them talking to "grown-ups" about this but not me... Yet at school I was taught to live in terror that the "end of the world" was near... What does that mean I thought... I did not understand, but I saw, I saw terror in teachers faces and in their voices, causing me to think that am not safe and I did not know why... Just who was going to end the world, what is a rocket with an atomic bomb on it. How can it find me and hurt me I am safe I live here I do not see these missiles, I know the neighborhood there are no missiles here... what is the problem??? Yet day after day we were drilled for a "bomb" coming our way and that would start the war and end the world... Finally I remember I was getting upset, I had a vivid dream I was standing in my parent's kitchen looking out the back door there I was a "missile flying through the air" of course I did not know what a missile looked like so in my mind the missile was a flying rocket man with a bomb in his hand... Deep fear was touchable around people then... newspapers, banner headlines... the end is near...the President on TV talking about this... Some old fat guy stood up in what was called the United Nations took his shoe off and banged it on the table, shouting in a language I did not understand... the TV man said, this man was shouting he will bury us and our children and grandchildren will live under Communists rule... What does that mean and who is this guy, I thought... I did not understand, I just felt the fear... and I believe on some level that fear never left me in regards to the end of the world, that is until I realized the world will end for each and everyone of us someday, with death... Now is the time to enjoy life as it is and not worry about such things as the end of the world... it will come soon enough for us all... and I do not believe that this will be the end of our life when this world ends for us, it just means we will be living in a different world, a better world... one where little children in the school yard are not taught to fear the end of the world. But they are taught to love each other and play together... For you see that is what grow-ups are suppose to do as well, they are suppose to love each other and play together and not fight over everything because they can as adults. No the other world where we will be someday does not have these bullies that insist that the world is made just for them, they will have learned how to share... I look forward to this world and I fear not the end of this one, you should not either.

sugar cubes and drugs

I actually forgot about this but a friend of mine who is several years older then me reminded me ... drugs on a sugar cube.... When I was born there was no inoculation for polio, it was a dreadful disease crippling thousands of people yearly. When I was a young child they developed a vaccine for this and it was given nation wide and in the beginning it was given free. Large vans would come into the area and give out "sugar cubes" with the vaccines on it... So you literally were given a small sugar cube and that was your polo vaccination. This was a time in history that many drugs, legal and illegal ones were placed on sugar cubes and taken.... the one that comes to mind is LSD, this was the common way back then for people to take this drug.... LSD is an illegal psychedelic drug made popular in California, Berkley University by a Dr. Timothy Leary... he actually tried to do scholarly research on this drug but got hooked on it and it eventually fried his brain and his research... The ones who created the drug though was the government and they were the first to use it on a human being in the field.. LSD had a nasty issue of giving people "trips" when taken to often, even after they stopped taking the drug Regards drugs I never took any illegal drugs throughout my life... I was approached many times, the one I remember the most I was in 7Th grade and someone asked if I wanted a "goof ball"... that was a term for a drug back then, but I did not know it was. When I heard the term goof ball I thought I have enough trouble learning why would I want to take something to make me more goofy... (so I was a slow learner and very naive as well). Regards drugs... corny but true.... just say no... your brain in gear is the best drug ever, fire up your own brain synapses the natural way..

Nixon, Kennedy and Marilyn Monroe

I was never really into politics, especially as a child in grade school. Yet the Presidential campaign of Richard Nixon and John F. Kennedy was a big deal to those living then. I not so much for I was small and do not remember detail, I think back on this and it is like I have flashes in my mind of certain things. One being when I was in school the candidates Nixon and Kennedy came to Paterson and all the schools had the day off... The candidates were in open top cars and drove down Main Street... I do not have a memory of this as much as I remember being told of this and that I was there.... This election was big because it was the first time there were televised debates, John Kennedy looked great on TV (he was a "pretty boy") always dressed well, good looking man, great sense of humor, fast wit... and Jackie was a stunning woman who photographed very well. Whereas Nixon came across on TV as a bum, and his wife as an angry woman.... Also that Kennedy was a Catholic and there had never been a Catholic as president before, many critics said he would allow the Pope to run the White House if he was elected... But these candidates came to Paterson drove by your great-grandpa's business, I am sure he would have liked them to stop in for a beer. As for Marilyn Monroe she was an actress of this time, a blond bombshell ... I never watched any of her movies nor did I see the "famous singing of Happy Birthday Mr. President" that she did for President Kennedy. But I do have a memory of seeing the front page of the newspaper when she was found dead and the stories of her on TV when that happened. Later it was alleged that she was involved with President Kennedy romantically, history showed this President to be very much a ladies man... I never knew of such things, of course I never really got over the Marconi incident...