Back in Los Angeles after a month in Chicago. I love Chicago, loved being there for so long, and was glad things have worked out reasonably well there, all things considered. But being back has its advantages, too. Catching up on my now-disoriented life will take some time, but I was fortunately able to keep on top of at least some things, thanks to that Internet thing. Now comes the unpacking. (I'm an "unpack everything first" kind of person. I've already started, but did want to take a brief break to catch up here...)
0 Comments
As I head back from Chicago today, I thought this would be a good way to end the visit.
In writing about my dad the other day, I left out perhaps the most remarkable medical occurrence of this trip. Considering the success he's had from dialysis, that's saying a lot. But I mean it. This is remarkable. In the musical, Take Me Along, there's a song called "Sid Ol' Kid," sung by the character played by Jackie Gleason, he sings about the practical jokes he played on some the hicks back in Waterbury where he was living. One of the pranks is cutting off a few inches of a sleeping guy's cane and convincing him that he's getting taller. Chorus: I'll bet you, Sid, you really got him going. Sid: I told him he was 63 and growing. Cute line, fun song. But I can top it. In real life. My dad is bald. He's been bald as long as I've known him. He started losing his hair not terribly long after medical school. He's bald. All his life. He's bald. When I flew to Chicago and went to the hospital, we were talking a while, when I finally had to interrupt the conversation. "I might be crazy about this," I said, "but am I right? Are you growing hair???" Our wonderful caregiver, the angel-on-earth Elisabeth was there. Her face lit up. "I know!" she said. "I said this to Emmanuel." (Her husband, who also helps.) "I said that the doctor was growing some hair! Two months ago." I swear. My dad is going to be 93 years old next month -- and he's growing hair! It's not just a few strands of peach fuzz. Which would be impressive enough. But he's growing hair. It's very thing and wispy, and there isn't nearly enough to cover his large bald spot. But there's a whole bunch of hair there, and it's been growing to the point that when he gets his next trim, it might not hurt to not just do the sides. Yes, this is very bizarre. It didn't start after the dialysis. As Elisabeth noted, she first saw it two months before that began. We have no idea what caused it. Perhaps it's a combination of some of the medications he's been taking. Perhaps it's just nature deciding to take a very, very odd course. No idea. But...gone today, hair tomorrow. If we could figure it out and bottle it, Rogaine would have a serious competitor. My dad has two possible explanations. He says, "Either my head is shrinking, or I'm having my fourth childhood." When looking for a video of "Over There," I was hoping to find footage of the musical George M!, which starred Joel Grey as George M. Cohan. It was done on Broadway in 1968 (running for a year, 427 performances) and a TV production was made two years later, but alas I couldn't find anything. However, I did find a medley of songs from the show that Joel Grey re-created on the Tony Awards in 1974. For those whose image of George M. Cohan is James Cagney and think that no other performer could play the role (other than, oh, Cohan himself...), it's worth giving Joel Grey a look. He was acclaimed in the role, and won the Tony as Best Actor. The question isn't whether he makes you forget Cagney, but whether he makes you think of Cohan. It's an impressive performance below, and hopefully the video of the full musical will surface. I was just watching ESPN, and they were doing a story about Lance Stephenson of the Indiana Pacers popping off about how well he was doing in the playoffs against LeBron James of the Miami Heat. At the end, the host, Linda Cohn, said to analyst P.J. Carlessimo -- "Okay, it's really interesting. If Lance Stephenson is so great, why does he have to tell us he's getting under Lebron's skin?"
Well...hmm, here's one possible answer: because he's egotistical. I mean, what a concept, a star athlete with an ego. Who would imagine? A star athlete who brags and postures. I mean, one day we may even see an athlete who scores a touchdown or tackles a player or breaks up a pass and then dances around for the crowd. A player who slam dunks and then pounds his chest as he runs down the court. A ballplayer who hits a home run and stands at the plate making sure the crowd sees him admiring it. An athlete who has a microphone jammed in his face and asked, "Tell us how you did so great and won the game with that play?" Yes, yes, I know this is not likely, but just imagine it happening one day. Imagine! "If Lance Stephenson is so great," she asks, "why does he have to tell us?" I should note that this is the same host who literally five minutes later led off a segment, "Let's go to Johnny Manziel. A man who likes attention" -- and then put on screen a photo Manziel tweeted of him at a pool party surrounded by a dozen girls in bikinis and guys in trunks, most preening for the camera holding up drinks. Has ESPN not re-run -- and re-run -- videotape of Rickey Henderson stealing a base to break Ty Cobb's record, ripping out the base, holding it above his head and should, "Now, I am the greatest of all time"??! Has ESPN not endlessly videotape of Muhammad Ali, for goodness sake, relentlessly proclaiming himself, "The Greatest!!!"? Has ESPN already forgotten replaying the Seattle Seahawk's Pro Bowl cornerback Richard Sherman's epic meltdown rant after the last Super Bowl about how great he was and so much better than Michael Crabtree -- "I’m the best corner in the game! When you try me with a sorry receiver like Crabtree, that’s what you’re going to get!" -- and has gone on ESPN to debate Skip Bayless while proclaiming, "I'm better at life than you!"??? Why does he have to tell us? C'mon, he doesn't have to. He chose to. He wants to. He wants the attention. He's posturing. He likes the acclaim. It's entertainment, it's show biz. He draws fans to himself, and that can raise one's value. And besides, you ask him to. You goad him to. You pray to the TV Sports God he does. And maybe, too, it's gamesmanship, where players -- all the time -- try to get into the head of your opponent. Try to get them thinking about you and not about what they're supposed to do. So, you tell reporters how good you're doing against someone, and that they are lost and don't stand a chance against you, because you're so much better.. And yes, maybe he is overcompensating, and he's not actually that great. It happens. Sometimes, after all, players try to build himself up, psyche himself that he can do the job. But maybe not. Especially when you yourself, minutes later, explain how so much of it all is show biz. Including what you do. In fairness, it's not inherently an unreasonable question, if you're seriously asking and truly want to analyze the motivations behind the statement. What's unreasonable is how it was asked, the suggestion that great athletes don't brag, and the context, most especially given what was said mere minutes later. But sometimes, even when asking questions, you just want controversy. Which sort of answers your own question. In honor of Memorial Day, I thought I'd post a 1917 version of George M. Cohan's classic, "Over There." It's performed by Arthur Fields and accompanied by some terrific vintage photos. I find it interesting that even 97 years ago, when there's a break in the singing the musical arrangement mixes in a big of Cohan's "I'm a Yankee Doodle Dandy." And no, don't worry, we wouldn't let you go without including James Cagney performing it from Yankee Doodle Dandy. By the way, the woman singing lead on the song is Frances Langford. Some of you may have heard of the great radio series, Bickersons, many sketches of which were released on albums. They starred Don Ameche as the husband of a wildly and hilariously bickering couple -- and the wife was played by...(you might have figured this out by now) Frances Langford. This week's contestant is Kathleen Burns from Columbia, SC. It's a very recognizable and well-known tune -- but Bruce Adolphe has arranged it in a style that hides it with great skill. That might make it a challenge to guess, but fun to listen to and admire.
|
AuthorRobert J. Elisberg is a political commentator, screenwriter, novelist, tech writer and also some other things that I just tend to keep forgetting. Feedspot Badge of Honor
Archives
May 2024
Categories
All
|
© Copyright Robert J. Elisberg 2024
|