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

A Picture Worth a Thousand Words

Our thanks for this internet discovery.....to Robert Clark!




By Jay Van Paemel

Keeps On Ticking

Like the TIMEX watch, our "Storyteller Extroadinaire".....Ellouise Schotteler...keeps on keeping on.....with her fabulous Storytelling .....IN SPITE ...of a recently broken shoulder!

OUCH!

"The surgery went well on the 15th and recovery has been easier than I expected which has been a good surprise.

So, now I am returning to the past to get myself back to normal.
Working on a new story about WWI nurses in France - a different group who were right on the edge of the battlefield - again lost in the shadows of history. I have applied for the 2017 Capital Fringe and I hope the new story will be accepted.

Ellouise     Don     Letty

She went on to write........

Almost ten years ago Donald and Letty and Jim and I bumped into each other at the National Storytelling Festival in Jonesborough, TN.

Since then we have had a meet up every year. - a great connection.

This yearI walked into the filling tent the first day and bumped into Donald and Lettie.A great way to start the week-end. Next day we took time to have a hamburger together at the local Wendys - a place to sit down and talk.

Ellouise

Hedwig Keisler

Like you, I have the greatest grand kids on earth!

The two youngest are in high school, so naturally. they're no longer as interested in their old grandaddy's tall tales as they once were. Even though my "tall tales" were (almost) always the Gospel truth!

Recognizing that today's youngsters are never very far away from their cell phones.  I decided that my topic for this Thanksgiving's story for the kids would be about the inventor of the cell phone.

Well, to be technically correct, there was no ONE inventer.....but many people contributed....however, if it weren't for one person....around 1942 or so.....our present cell phones would not exist!

Now those of us....long in tooth...and soon to graduate from this green earth...all  know who this inventor was. But to  the young people of today, the name  Hedwig Keisler... means nothing. 

But, of course, back then, the term "cell phone" meant nothing to us!

It didn't mean anything to Hedwig either, because the technology was meant for something else:

To allow our torpedoes NOT to be "misdirected" by the existing Nazi technology!  

This was all happening during the early 1940's of course.

It would have worked perfectly and I would love to write that this "frequency shifting" technology contributed mightily to our eventual victory in WW2.

But, it didn't.

Our government simply filed the technology somewhere in Washington and forgot about it.

Meanwhile our torpedoes keep missing Nazi ships.

Hedwig went on to other things and was very successful and famous for awhile. But as old age....and society's.....fickleness took its toll....Hedwig ended up broke.
Even going hungry....and resorting to stealing (shoplifting)....for food.

Hedwig's invention was finally resurrected and used by the US Navy in the 1960's....but no royalties were ever paid because Hedwig GAVE it to the government during WW2.

 Several years after Kiesler's death...the same formula which made the invaluable tool that is in you pocket or purse right now...the cell phone......was made possible.

Thanks to that hungry bum who died penniless on the streets of Florida.

We all knew that  famous inventor ... 

as the once "Most Beautiful Woman in the World".....by her stage name..

Hedy Lamarr


-Ed

Hedwig Kiesler  AKA Hedy Lamar

A Note From Above

I'm not sure if anyone reads "blogs" anymore. Perhaps an old codger like me is just "drooling" in the wind.  But, as long as I enjoy it (which I do) and can still find my way down to the Bat Cave where my wood-burning computer lives, I'll keep doing it.

The muse doesn't visit me very often anymore, but this morning nature did.....and left me a note on my weed infested front lawn......that said, "here's your story for today."

A Note from Nature

It used to be called Harvest. but ever since the 16th century most English speakers have called it Autumn, or Fall.

It's the only season we have two names for, and I believe that's because it's so special. Like "love" no one knows exactly when it begins....they just know it's very special.  Meteorologically, Fall begins on September first every year.

Astronomers base the date of the seasons upon celestial events, in this case the autumnal equinox, when night and day are roughly equal length. The equinox normally takes place around September 21st.

The third definition of the start of autumn, which is more fluid, comes from phenology – the study of periodic plant and animal life cycle events.

The start of autumn in this field is dictated not by a set date or a single event, but the changes in the natural world, such as the tinting of the trees and the ripening of autumn fruits.

However,do not confuse phenology........with Phrenology...which is the study of  bumps on a person's head. 

More about that later, but for now, I'll just say that anyone who doesn't love the Fall Season....should have his head examined.

 
-Ed

How About a Little Respect for Kudzo and Friends

Sticks and Stones may break my bones, but don't call my front yard friends "weeds!"

The Sophistocated Europeans were glad to get rid of the Riff Raff who left Europe to become the early Americans. They were considered the "weeds" of society. When they got here, they fought and struggled...and through sheer determination.... prevailed.

As nature author Michele Collins wrote:  These plants (weeds) are resilient and proud. More importantly, they are choke full of medicinal value.  Many are rich sources of vitamins and minerals and have powerful healing potential for a vast range of common diseases like diabetes, cancer, liver disease, just to mention a few. Plants like dandelion, burdock, red clover, chickweed, wild violet, couchgrass, kudzu, plantain.

Like the early pioneers, my favorite weed......in my yard ....is a survivor!

-Ed

But a weed is simply a plant that wants to grow where people want something else.  In blaming nature, people mistake the culprit.  Weeds are people’s idea, not nature’s.  ~Author Unknown

A weed is a plant that has mastered every survival skill except for learning how to grow in rows.  Doug Larson

I learn more about God
 from weeds than from roses;
 Resilience springing 
through the smallest chink of hope 
in the absolute of concrete….
~Phillip Pulfrey, “Weeds,” Perspectives

Huh oh

Tiangong-1

Time to get out your tin foil hats again.

Tiangong-1

    is coming!.......Down, that is....down from orbit...and you could wake up some morning and find it in your front yard.   Or worse.

Odds are probably a million, give or take a few, that it won't land on your head.

But, if you're wearing a tin foil hat.....the odds go up one billion to one!

Now, I'll take those odds.

That's the reason for the hat.  It's hard to argue with scientific statistics.

The Tiangong-1 satellite was launched in 2011, and should have come back down to Earth in the ocean in a controlled crash. But watchers have said that it now appears to have gone into freewill, with China losing control of it, and so it could crash down onto the Earth any time.

...and go boom!

-Ed

Getting Serious for Once

What the Hell are these trucks doing rolling down I-81 near Lexington, VA?

These photos were taken on Friday and posted on the Drudge Report this morning.

They are “Tactical Vehicles, with bullet proof glass. What ever could those be for, and why are UN vehicles here, in THIS country?!” Fernando Johnson questioned, while Vincent Sammons noted, “They are sealed against gas too.”

I'm sure our mainstream press is scrambling right now to find out the answer.

Yeah.

Ed

Where Did the Dark Go?

I didn't even know it had left.  But according to the just released "New World Atlas of Artififial Night Sky Brightness,"  one third of the human population cannot see the Milky Way at night due to the glow of artificial lights.

They call it "Light Pollution."

"Moreover, more than 80% of the world’s citizens and more than 99% of those in the U.S. and Europe live under an artificial sky-glow, or reflected light scatter in the atmosphere from the electric lighting below. This isn’t just a problem in megacities and urban areas. For instance, Death Valley is awash with skyglow from Las Vegas and Los Angeles, which are 80 and 150 km away, respectively.

“There’s almost no place in some of these countries that looks dark anymore, at least by this atlas’s estimates,” said Christopher Luginbuhl (Flagstaff Dark Skies Coalition).

USA at night

Well, I know of one country Christopher could go to and live and never be bothered by "horrible light pollution:"

North Korea at night (Circled in white)

-Ed

Pigeons Aren't Pigeon Towed

...but many of our greatest athletes are.

Say what?

Yep, that's what I discovered. The reason people with their toes pointed inwardly, rather than straight (Technical term: Matatarsus Adductus) are called

"pigeon toed" is because of the slightly different different way they walk...similar to the way a pigeon walks.

And the reason it's called that .

In other words, Pigeons aren't pigeon towed...they just walk that way.

Get it?

(Talk about great writing........this ain't it.)

Many people are born with this handicap but are able to lead normal......

WAIT!  HANDICAP?  WHAT HANDICAP?...

Many of our top athletes are pigeon towed.....(Michael Jordon, Jackie Robinson, John Elway, etc.) and currently one trait the NFL scouts are looking for in new recruits...PIGEON TOWED players!

And here is the best explanation that I could find:

"People who are pigeon-toed may be able to contact the ground with less energy dissipation and as a result be able to apply greater propulsive forces to the ground in a shorter period of time. A good analogy would be that pigeon-toed athletes are like super-bouncy balls- they get on the ground and get off the ground quickly without losing much energy. People who are not pigeon-toed are more like a deflated beach ball- their foot lacks the stiffness of pigeon-toed people and as a result the energy return is not as efficient."

Makes sense to me.

And speaking of pigeons, many consider them a nuisance, especially in our crowded cities where they nest on building ledges and other man made structures and are not very good housekeepers.

But, all in all, they have worked well with humans, particularly in time of war.

According to the experts:

"Nearly all of the carrier pigeons during World War I and World War II were heroic, delivering important messages over enemy lines. 

Cher Ami

"On October 3, 1918, Major Charles White Whittlesey and more than 500 men were trapped in a small depression on the side of the hill behind enemy lines without food or ammunition. 

They were also beginning to receive friendly fire from allied troops who did not know their location. Surrounded by the Germans, many were killed and wounded in the first day and by the second day, just over 190 men were still alive. Whittlesey dispatched messages by pigeon. 

The pigeon carrying the first message, "Many wounded. We cannot evacuate." was shot down. A second bird was sent with the message, "Men are suffering. Can support be sent?" That pigeon also was shot down. Only one homing pigeon was left: "Cher Ami". She was dispatched with a note in a canister on her left leg,

"We are along the road parallel to 276.4. Our own artillery is dropping a barrage directly on us. For heaven's sake, stop it."

As Cher Ami tried to fly back home, the Germans saw her rising out of the brush and opened fire. For several moments, Cher Ami flew with bullets zipping through the air all around her.

 Cher Ami was eventually shot down but managed to take flight again. She arrived back at her loft at division headquarters 25 miles to the rear in just 25 minutes, helping to save the lives of the 194 survivors.

 In this last mission, Cher Ami delivered the message despite having been shot through the breast, blinded in one eye, covered in blood and with a leg hanging only by a tendon.

Cher Ami

Cher Ami became the hero of the 77th Infantry Division. Army medics worked long and hard to save her life. They were unable to save her leg, so they carved a small wooden one for her.

 When she recovered enough to travel, the now one-legged bird was put on a boat to the United States, with General John J. Pershing personally seeing Cher Ami off as she departed France."

Pigeons achieved a 98% success rate in the missions flown in WW II, despite enemy fire, and often with mortal injuries to themselves.  Cher Ami (stuffed) is on display at the Smithsonian in Washington. She was thought to be a male...until the taxidermist at the Smithsonian discovered differently.


-Ed

"Keep on Sassing"

Cassius Clay

Muhammad Ali passed away last Friday night. Officially it was from Parkinson's disease.

 Yeah.

That may be technically correct, but we all know the many years that he was "The Greatest" in the boxing ring was what caused the early deterioration and death of his once strong body.

But there's more to life than just "existing." And what he accomplished was quite amazing.

In 1960 he was just a very good young boxer...Cassius Clay was his name then, and he was frustrated by the fact that he had been an Olympic champion, and had won all his matches as a pro...he was still being ignored by almost everyone.   Then, he observed (on Television).....a man wearing high heels and thick makeup named George Wagner...whom he met shortly thereafter, and was
offered  the following advice:

Gorgeous George

 "A lot of people will pay to see someone shut your mouth. So keep on bragging, keep on sassing and always be outrageous."^[1]

He took it, changed his name to Muhammad Ali...and the rest is ....well, you know.

Oh, George Wagner had also changed his name.  You probably remember him:

Gorgeous George.

-Ed

Higher Education

A good friend of mine called to tell me that her daughter was just offered a FULL scholarship to UCLA.

Full scholarship....PLUS $6,000 a year for expenses!

Wow!

I congratulated her on her obviously brilliant, hard studying daughter!'

"Hard studying my Pootie," replied my friend.  " Her scholarship is for............ Vollyball."


(I did NOT make this up!   -Ed)

Defragging

I do that about once a week for my computer (PC).

I also do it for my brain.  The way I do that is with astronomy.  All I have to do is read about a half of page about "outer space and the stars and..." and my mind immediately starts to "boggle." It only takes about 5 minutes of this and, "voila," the mental defrag is complete.

"Pillars of Creation"

Like just about everything else, the news is both good and bad.

For example, today I discoverded that the PILLARS OF CREATION....no longer exist.

Darn!

The Hubble telescope dscovered and photographed them in 1995 and they've been an inspiration to millions since then. 

And now, they're gone.

But the good news is that the "experts" didn't expect them to last very long anyway.  If there had been a photograph taken of Earth...from the PILLARS OF CREATION....we wouldn't exist either.


You see, the "Pillars" are 7,000 light years away from Earth. The picture that Hubble took is what the "Pillars of Creation" looked like in the year 4985 BC.  The mythical picture taken of the Earth would have shown it...also as it looked in 4985 BC.

The Astronomy article on the Internet explained that,

. "We see the Sun as it looked 8.5 minutes ago. If you were standing one foot in front of me, I would see you as you looked 1.01670336 nanoseconds ago, which is the time it would take for the light to reflect from your face to my pupil. While our brains live in their present, we see everything else in its past tense."

Are you "boggled" yet?

-Ed

"Time is an illusion"

-Albert Einstein

Rubber Room Time

Watching this country go insane....just breaks my heart.
It's getting close to sending me "around the bend" too.

The fact that the American People haven't stormed the Washington Establishment with pitchforks yet, tells me that they never will.

You don't hear the old expression, "The American People won't stand for it"  because apparently they will stand for anything.

Boys in the girls bathrooms, Girls in the boys bathrooms?

Insane

Or deliberate further destruction of the once greatest nation on earth.

Sad.

-Ed

World's Oldest Person Passes

Susannah Jones

According to CNN, Susannah Mushatt Jones, the world's oldest person, died in New York city Thursday night.

 She was 116.

Jones was born on July 6, 1899, in Lowndes County, Alabama, and her life spanned three centuries,  Her father was a sharecropper who supported his family by picking cotton.

She lived through 20 U.S. presidents, two world wars and the birth of the automobile, the airplane, TV and the Internet.

Jones attributed her longevity to sleep, clean living and positive energy.

*****************

Which reminded me of one of my favorite stories about a TV reporter, years ago, who was sent to interview a 100 year old man. 

He inquired of the man what his secret to living so long was.

"I never smoked....never cussed....fooled around with wild women...and, most importantly, never touched a drop of alcohol!

Suddenly, there was this loud crash.....from somewhere in the back of the house.

The reporter stopped his camera...and said..."What the Heck was that!"

The old man sheepishly replied, 

"Oh, I'm so embarrassed!  it's my father. He's drunk again!"

Put the Third Finger of the Right Hand...

....on the letter L...and the first finger of your left one the letter F.  Keep that position while you "hunt and peck" punching the "found key" with whichever finger is closest to it.

It took my Mom less than 2 minutes to explain that to me, but it turned out to be one of the most useful lessons I ever had. I was perhaps 14 years old at the time, and never again typed with only 2 fingers.  I wish I had absorbed more of her advice with such determinaton.

I "hunted and pecked" a lot after that, but with ALL of my fingers, instead of just two. And almost before I knew what a "Touch Typist" was.....I was one.

And seldom has a day gone by since then that I have not used that skill.
What a Mom!  I would say she was perfect.......except for one thing; she never did buy me that pony.

-Ed

Ah Ha!

I doubt that the "mainstream media" has spent much time discussing this story, but in my opinion, it's the "Ah Ha!" story of the decade.  Maybe even the century.  (In the newsrooms I worked in, an "Ah Ha!" story was one which would make the viewers think, "Ah Ha, it's finally been confirmed and that I was right all along."

There were also ones we called "Grabbers."  Those were anything that would make the listener "sit up in his chair and think, "Well, I'll be damned."

This one is both!

Scientists have captured the flash of light that sparks when a sperm meets an egg

For the first time ever, scientists have captured images of the flash of light that sparks at the very moment a human sperm cell makes contact with an egg.

Sperm Meets Egg

Great accomplishment,  interesting.....but frankly, in "newsroom terms," I'd call it a "Yawner," mainly because it's such an old story.  In fact, thousands of years old!  

Genesis 1.3   "And God said, "Let there be light."

-Ed