De gustibus non est disputandum

That's Latin for  "There's no accounting for taste."

Looking back...which is what most of chronologically gifted depression babies do....too much of the time.....wasn't all that bad!

Easy for me to say, all these years later.   Nevertheless, some of my favorite foods would have never been "invented" if the 1929 stock market hadn't crashed....with all its terrible consequences...

For example,the following glorious cuisine classics would never have existed:

Milk toast`

Chipped beef on toast

Cucumber and mustard sandwiches

Mayonnaise sandwiches

Ketchup sandwiches

Hot milk and rice

Potato soup – water base, not milk

Dandelion salad

Lard sandwiches

Bacon grease sandwiches

Sugar sandwiches

Hot dogs and baked beans

Road kill

One eyed Sam – piece of bread with an easy over egg in the center

Oatmeal mixed with lard

Fried potatoes and hot dogs

Onion sandwich – slices of onion between bread

Tomato gravy and biscuits

Deep fried chicken skin

Cornbread in milk

Gravy and bread – as a main dish

Toast with mashed potatoes on top with gravy

Creamed corn on toast

Corn mush with milk for breakfast, fried corn mush for dinner

Rice in milk with some sugar

Beans

Fried potato peel sandwiches

Banana slices with powdered sugar and milk

Boiled cabbage

Hamburger mixed with oatmeal

American cheese sandwich: ‘American’ cheese was invented because it was cheap to make, and didn’t require refrigeration that many people who lived during this era didn’t have.

Tomato gravy on rice

Toast with milk gravy

Water fried pancakes

Chicken feet in broth

Fried bologna

Warm canned tomatoes with bread

Butter and sugar sandwiches

Fried potato and bread cubes

Bean soup

Runny eggs with grits

Butter and grits with sugar and milk

Corn meal mush

Spaghetti with tomato juice and navy beans

Whatever fish or game you could catch/hunt

Tomato sandwiches

Hard boiled eggs in white sauce over rice

Spam and noodles with cream of mushroom soup

Rag soup: spinach, broth and lots of macaroni

Garbanzo beans fried in chicken fat or lard, salted, and eaten cold

Popcorn with milk and sugar – ate it like cereal

Yummy!......Some of my favorite food!  makes this depression baby hungry!

Well, maybe everything but the chicken feet!

-Ed

Beaty Rose Palomba"s Husband Passes

By Jerry Gaudet

How sad to learn that after a long, long fight with cancer, Lou Palomba died on May 2, 2017.

Betty is surely exhausted after supporting Lou's gallant fight, but keep her in mind and reach out to her soon.

We have this contact information:

Betty Rose Palomba

13023 Augusta Ct.

Indian Land, SC  29707

Email brpalomba@hotmail.com

-JG

The Writing on the Screen

Wednesday, April 26, 2017

The Writing on the Screen

I believe that there are "clues" along the way in this earthly journey as to who, or what, the future may hold for us.

There is nothing original about that statement, but my lunch the other day with an old friend and colleague reminded me of that. 

I knew his name long before I knew him because during the 1950s, my Sunday afternoons in the Fall were largely taken up by Washington Redskin football on TV.  And at the end of each game, there was a credit slide that read, PRODUCED AND DIRECTED BY JIM SILMAN.

I believe the word "Invented" or something like that should have been in there somewhere, because at that time there were no guidelines or standards regarding how football games should be "covered" on TV.  Silman was one of those TV Directors "creating the art...as they did it."

Those Redskin's broadcasts were the first ever  professional football games broadcast on a regular basis. And, as often happens, the "pioneer's" efforts are often never surpassed.

Fast forward about 10 years to my home in Charlotte where I had just returned from a week's vacation from my job at WSOC-TV, much of which I had spent "auditioning" at a couple of  TV stations hoping for a career move to a larger market. The phone rang 

around 10 o'clock that beautiful morning in May....and it was long distance...from Washington

My life was about to change forever.

The voice at the other end explained that he was a Vice President of one of the stations for which I had just "auditioned,' Channel 9 (WTOP_TV) and  that he was offering me a full time announcer's job beginning as soon as I could move up to the Washington area.

I was in Heaven!  It had been my ambition to work at that specific station since my high school days!  The station I had visited while on tour of Washington in 1954 as a wide eyed senior at old CHS.

"And what is your name again?"

"Jim Silman," he replied.

That was the beginning of my 10 year career as an announcer/personality at the CBS outlet in Washington working closely with Jim.  Those years were the highlight of my broadcasting career.  Jim introduced me to his boss, who was a man named George Hartford who had a daughter who later became the love of my life, as my wife and Mother of our three children.

Silman and my careers at WTOP-TV ended about the same time 10 years later when the station completely changed management and its focus. and shortly thereafter, their Call Letters.  We both went in different directions, but to this day stay in touch and remain friends.

Good Friends.  the best kind...Old Ones.

-Ed

The Grass

If you ever get the chance to listen to a recording of Carl Sandberg....reciting his poem, THE GRASS.......you'll never forget it.  -Ed

Related Poem Content Details

BY CARL SANDBURG

Pile the bodies high at Austerlitz and Waterloo. 

Shovel them under and let me work— 

                                          I am the grass; I cover all. 

And pile them high at Gettysburg 

And pile them high at Ypres and Verdun. 

Shovel them under and let me work. 

Two years, ten years, and passengers ask the conductor: 

                                          What place is this? 

                                          Where are we now? 

                                          I am the grass. 

                                          Let me work.

In Order To get My Drivers License...

I had to prove that I couldn't see out of one eye!

Say What?

Yep,   That's true. Read on........

It was 1952 and the day had finally arrived.  The one, that, wthout a doubt, was the most important birthday of my life! 

Number 16! 

The age at which it could become legal to drive!

All others pale after that one. And my guess is that most of you card carrying members of the "silent generation" feel the same way.  I'm sure the boys do...and probably the girls too.

That was the one        I believe that most dramatically marked the end of our childhood and the beginning of adulthood. The wonderful music of those car keys...rattling in our pockets...was number one ....on our  hit parade of 1952...and for many years afterward.

But, it almost didn't happen.

At least not without a fight.

My Dad and I were the the first ones in line at the DMV that morning.  There are still wrinkles on my face caused by an acute attack of angleman syndrome.  (excessive smiling).

The written test was a piece of cake.  The road test was a breeze.

Finally, the eye test.........

Well, this was when the goofy smile on my face came crashing down.

I failed.

However, the DMV official explained that....there was still a possibility that I could get special permission to drive....with  proper documentation  from  a qualified eye specialist.  There was an "exception" for "one eyed" persons, for which I qualified.  I was born with one almost perfect eye and one which was very weak,  (not correctable with classes). 

With persistence, my Dad was able to arrange for an eye specialist  to check me out and sign the proper forms and get me back to the DMV before they closed.

I think I got the last license issued that day.

That was my introduction to the wonderful world of bureaucracy.
You see, it was perfectly legal for a "one eyed" person to obtain a drivers license in North Carolina. However, I had to have a note from a Doctor...stating that I really......couldn't see out of one eye!

( A note from a Doctor confirming that I can't see?)

"It;s an ill wind that blows no good."

So...I thought, at least maybe this will keep me from being drafted! 

Nope.  They were drafting one eyed men (popeyes) regularly.  The only restriction was.....they could never be promoted to officers.

Oh great....two years as a "grunt!"

I'm still looking for some good wind from that pain in the butt event....to "blow"my way, but right now all I see in the next few years regarding the DMV is ...who the Hell knows.

One thing for sure...it won't be anything that keeps idiots, fools and nerds from getting drivers licenses.  Just look around.

-Ed

Sonny 3

A week after Sonny's death, I got a call from one of his uncles inviting me to meet at Sonny's house for an informal "goodbye." to my friend of almost 40 years.  He explained that there would only be a few relatives and Sonny's friends attending.

There were 6 aunts and uncles there.

And me.

I had been Sonny's only friend.  At least, who cared enough to attend his "goodbye" event.

He had been a good soul, but not one who made friends easily.  It required a lot of patience to understand him...and overlook his physical ...and "off and on"...mental......shortcomings.

It appeared to me that even his relatives, like many others, simply "wrote him off."

None were apparently aware of his accomplishments.  

So.....those of you who know me....won't be surprised to learn that was my cue to begin to "speechify."

I spoke of his  success in teaching himself electronics....told about his founding a successful recording studio....achieving the rare honor of producing a top selling pop hit.....and concluded with  "Sonny  accomplished MORE.......with the tools he was given....(by God) than anyone else I have known."

The small gathering of his relatives were amazed,  They knew none of that.

Rest in Peace, Sonny.

-Ed

(My friendship with Sonny was not a one way street. Over the years his electronic advice and expertise proved invaluable to me AND...to the company I finally retired from. Sonny also gave me several pieces of expensive equipment and microphones when he dissolved his recording studio, which played no small part in the success of my company.)

Sonny 2

Sonny passed away ...peacefully in his bed...almost 20 years ago. 

The odds of that happening  were astronomical.  They were overwhelming that Sonny would eventually meet his maker while driving erratically in the streets of Washington, DC.

The dictionary should have Sonny's picture next to the definition of 'Nerds on the highway."

One night he called me and mentioned that he had gone through Thomas Circle...one of the many "circles" in Washington....most of which have statues of American Heroes in the middle.

I thought he meant he went through the Red light....at Thomas Circle.

Nope.  instead of following the traffic around the circle....he went over the curb...and on the grass...THROUGH the circle.

How he missed hitting the statue....I'll never know.

Once, he told me that the DC police had invited him to come down to headquarters to discuss a citizen's complaint...which claimed that Sonny's car had side swiped a car parked legally on Massachusetts Ave.   

As the police read over the complaint to Sonny.....the officer.....paused....and said, "Wait a minute,...."this said the damage to his car was on the RIGHT side.  That's ridiculous....this report is obviously phony.  Sorry to have bothered you, sir. You're free to go."

It never occurred to him that Sonny regularly spent a good deal of time driving on the sidewalks of the Nation's Capitol.  The hotel, where he worked, banned him from parking in their garage...because he had hit the same post so many times.

I was with him once when he got a call from his insurance company informing him they were rejecting his latest claim.

Sonny was irate.  He let them know in uncertain terms that he was their "best customer."...and he just might cancel his policy.

I don't know what the reaction was on the other end.

Sonny

He was a high school kid that evening when he first walked into the lobby of the TV station and asked the receptionist if there if there was anyone who could "give him a tour" of the place.

That's exactly what I did that day in 1953 while visiting the Nation's Capitol. And a kind announcer by the name of John Trimble introduced me to the inner workings of a big TV station... WTOP TV ...where 10 years later...I would be employed.

So. I volunteered to show him around. He was a nice kid, but obviously physically disadvantaged...and at first glance, perhaps mentally as well.

But looks are deceiving.  That was certainly the case with "Sonny." After talking with him for no more than 5 minutes, I realized that hiding behind that blank expression....was a pretty  sharp  mind.

But the Lord had not blessed Sonny physically....with either appearance or coordination.

I showed him the studios and explained the workings of the place as best I could....and sent him on his way..

Normally, the story would end there.

But not with Sonny.

He came back...many times. Kinda got to be a nuisance....nevertheless I remained patient ...and answered all his questions.  A few of the engineers got used to his hanging around ....and most were patient and generous with their time as well.

Long story short....Sonny graduated from high school, enrolled in a engineering course....10 years later....with the help of  a substantial inheritance, he opened his own recording studio in Washington.

Meanwhile, hardly a week went by when I didn't get a phone call from him,

I was very happy for his success and even arranged for several recording projects I was involved in to be produced at his studio.

He sold his business at just about the right time...and took a less stressful job with one of the big hotels in DC....installing and operating their public address system.

As far as I know, the system he installed is still in operation....as it was the state of the art in the 80/s. But installing a complicated PA system....and operating it....are two different things.

It's a shame the hotel didn't discover that in spite of Sonny's mental agility....his physical agility was almost non existant. For example, back in those days, we recorded on reels of audio tape.  When editing, you would go to the word you wanted to remove...rewind the tape an inch of so...then take a razor blade and cut out the "offending" word...and make your "splice."

Well, Sonny was not agile enough to reverse the tape....a few inches....he would always rewind it all the way back to the beginning of the reel. It was a huge waste of time.

Also, when operating a PA  (Public Address) system....to activate a mic...he always did it backwards.....which produced a shockingly loud "feedback" noise. He made this same mistake for 40 years.

It was no big deal.

Until that evening in 1984, when President Ronald Reagan was attending an event in the ballroom of the hotel....and the lights dimmed....and the opening act was to begin..... and Sonny got his cue to open the speakers mic and.....

"WHAMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM".......

Sonny's trademark "feedback"..........had struck again!

It was so loud and shocking.....that ...to Reagan's Secret Service Agents it sounded like an attack of some kind....so they piled on top of the President to protect him from ....whatever it was.

It was just Sonny....turning on a mc.

The picture made the next morning's Washington Post.

-Ed