POLITICS AND PINS

Throughout my life I have collected political pins and buttons.

But going through my "stuff" I find that my grandfather also collected some pins and saved them.

I found these two the other day.

These two Presidents, Calvin Coolidge and Herbert Hoover, had the initial good fortune to occupy the office during a period of Conservative power.

My grandfather, by the way, and most of the rest of my family, were and are rock-ribbed Republicans.

Coolidge became president in 1923 when his predecessor, Warren Harding, died of a sudden heart attack.

He then won a landslide victory in 1924.

But he decided not to run for re-election in 1928.

Herbert Hoover ran instead and won.

His legacy was doomed by the Stock Market crash in 1929 and a recession that led to the Great Depression.

But my grandfather stuck with his Republican beliefs.

I wonder what he would think of his grandson (me) who went the other way.

The next one is of a far-left candidate for President of Mexico.

He held many offices in his career but failed in three attempts to seek the presidency.

Another pin shows a different type of politician, if I can call him that.

More of a revolutionary, Che Guevara's face turned up on wall murals, flags, buttons and even tee shirts during his time with Fidel Castro in Cuba.

And finally, there's this guy.

I have no idea where or why I purchased a pin with the image of Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov but there it is.

By the way, it wasn't until he was 31 that he adopted the name "N. Lenin".

The N didn't stand for anything, like the S in Harry S Truman, but a widely held belief was that it stood for Nikolai.

Lenin was a Communist who headed the government of Russia and the Soviet Union after the abdication and assasination of Tsar Nicholas II and his family.

And so, on that bloody note, we end this tour through history.

But there are more buttons ahead.

Stay tuned.

HISTORIC

Today is Martin Luther King Jr. Day.

One year from today is Inauguration Day.

Who will be the President?

HE'S BACK!

My name is Matty and I'm the King of the World!!!

THE FRIDAY FUNNIES

Hi, did you miss me?

So I'm a little lazy this morning.

Or forgetful.

I haven't been up to anything evil, I swear.

All right then, with that I think I'll just buzz along.

You Gentle Readers have a marvelous weekend and always remember to keep laughing!

Here, kitty-kitty . . .

THROWBACK THURSDAY

There's a remarkable piece of reportage by one of my fellow bloggers today.

It's by Cindy and it can be found over on the right side of this page under "NearandFarAZ".

I say it's remarkable because it is about Carmel, Indiana and a couple of surrounding communities.

It's where my wife, the famed SWMBO, grew up and returned to raise her young family.

When I met Judy she lived in a house in a very wooded area, a forest really, just outside of Carmel and she remembers the population being around 3,000 people.

A village.

Today, as Cindy reports, Carmel is home to around 92,000 people and is a modern thriving city on the edge of Indianapolis.

Incidentally a point of interest: the name of the town is pronounced CAR-mel in Indiana.

In California their Carmel is pronounced car-MEL.

I failed to find any pictures of the town back in the day but I have this one of my dear love, from about the time that I met her . . . a girl from Carmel.

Beautiful then . . beautiful now.

A MAN

Martin Luther King Jr. was born on this date in 1929.

He was a man who knew how to draw a crowd.

He said:

 "Every man must decide whether he will walk in the light of creative altruism or in the darkness of destructive selfishness."

He would have been 91 today.

LAZY

Our "rent-a-cat" enjoying a nap on my messy unmade bed this morning.

NEARLY SILENT SATURDAY

Photo on my street, actually taken this past Thursday.

The clouds brought a bit of snow.

THE FRIDAY FUNNIES

Hello again.

One instruction today: don't anyone comment with "OK Boomer".

I just learned what it means.

You fellow seniors, just Google it.

It snowed here last night so let us begin with . . .

And on that cheery note, I shall bring this period of hilarity to a close with the advice to all of you to enjoy yourselves and have a spectacular weekend.

And always remember to keep laughing!

Here, kitty-kitty . . .

(ooooooh, now that's a bit snarky)

FRENCH APPLE CAKE

One of the blogs I follow is that of David Lebovitz, the former pastry chef at Chez Panisse restaurant in California and for a number of years now an expatriate in Paris.

He brings not only the taste of Paris but the tastes of French cuisine, most often as interpreted by an American.

He wrote on his blog about another American living in Paris, Dorie Greenspan, and her recipe for a French Apple Cake.

The recipe looked simple enough for an amateur home cook like me so yesterday I tried it.

It turned out well and I had a wee slice of it last night after dinner.

With a splash of whipped cream it was pretty darned good, if I do say so myself.

THROWBACK THURSDAY (ON WEDNESDAY)

Back in the day when I was skinny, had dark hair, a reddish beard.

Sometime in the late 1980's in Guadalajara, Mexico.

Gadfrey!

That's over 30 years ago!

Check out that computer and that monitor with green letters on a black screen.

Would it have been a Commodore 64?

I can't remember.

But I remember that cat.

Our beloved Chulapay (Mexican slang for Cutie Pie).

She loved the warmth from that lamp.

I was, as usual, into a vodka and water it appears.  

What you can't see is my ashtray and pack of cigarettes.

Ah, those were the days.

I had lunch yesterday at the Pie Place with a couple of colleagues from my days in Phoenix television news.

After hearing many of the tales of our rollicking times, I said then and I say now as I look at the photo above, "How in hell did we survive to our present old age?"

It's a mystery.

IS IT REALLY MONDAY?

We went on a shopping trip today.

Costco and Trader Joe's.

Dinner tonight: Lobster Bisque, Croissants, Kalamata Olives, way too much Pinot Grigio.

How old must we get to learn the wickedness of our ways?

Never mind.

Our tummies and our faces are happy.

OSSO BUCO

I finished the leftover Osso Buco from our New Year's Day meal for dinner last night.

Incidentally Google Translate tells me that Osso Buco translates simply to Braised Veal.

Although this . . .

. . . looks like ours, this is simply a stock picture from the Internet.

And I didn't have mine on polenta.

But the reason for this blog post is to clear up some apparent misconceptions among my commenters.

Our Osso Buco came pre-cooked and frozen, in a package from Costco.

It only took about 20 minutes in a hot oven to heat it up.

I apologize if I unintentionally misled you Gentle Readers about the cooking abilities in my house.

And, though it sounds like a tv dinner now, I will add that whoever prepared this did a heckuva job.

It was delicious, even more so the second time around.

If you want to make it from scratch there are many recipes on the Internet.

Or you can cheat a little like we did and find it in the frozen foods section of your supermarket.

THE FRIDAY FUNNIES

And now, as someone wrote this morning, it's the Roaring 20's once again.

And the cartoonist apparently can't spell the word "legibly".

But be that as it may, welcome to 2020, Gentle Readers, bewildered and bedazzled by the bureaucratese balderdash.

But don't be a blockhead, it's the weekend and here's hoping you all have a fabulous one.

And always remember to keep laughing!

Here, kitty-kitty . . .

FIRST MEAL OF THE NEW YEAR

Oh I know, it's not a very artfully composed shot but I just wanted you to see how lucky I was at table last evening.

The centerpiece is a delightfully sauced Veal Osso Buco, accompanied by a baked potato, braised Brussells sprouts, a fruit salad and a marvelous bottle of Argentinian Malbec wine.

Now, it's back to normal food: tacos and beans tonight.

YUP, IT'S JANUARY FIRST . . . AGAIN

This beginning of a new year was much better than one I remember from many years ago.

On that one, heading home from a couple of parties we shouldn't have gone to I was involved in a wreck in which both cars were totaled and both drivers got DUI tickets.

Fortunately (and amazingly) no injuries in either car.

But last night.

Let me show you how two old people celebrate New Year's Eve.

We shared a bottle of prosecco (nice!) and nibbled on sausage and cheese and crackers that had been gifted to us for Christmas.

Since neither of us can tolerate the faux jollity of the tv hosts at Times Square I surfed the channels until I landed on a Rolling Stones concert.

I learned this morning it was a free gig in Havana, Cuba, in 2016 that drew over a million people to watch the geezers rock out.

We only saw about the last half hour but the Stones are still the greatest rock and roll band and watching the then 72 year old Mick Jagger run from one side of the stage to another and be in near constant motion was amazing.

Once that was over I found a tribute program to old MGM movies and the stars in them.

Seeing old clips of Howard Keel, Kathryn Grayson, Mario Lanza, Gene Kelly, Donald O'Connor, Judy Garland, Debbie Reynolds, Fred Astaire, Esther Williams, Frank Sinatra, Bing Crosby and many more was just what we needed.

I was in bed asleep shortly after 9 p.m.

Judy stayed awake just long enough to watch the ball come down in New York City and then to sleep.

So that's how two geezers "celebrate" New Year's Eve.

But even with the aches and pains of all the years on us, we felt a lot better this morning than we used to with hangover mornings.

Speaking of new mornings, I was looking back in my blog to see if I could find something to post today.

What struck me the most was how many friends of those days gone by who used to comment have disappeared.

Some have died, some have moved on to other venues, some have just given up the game altogether.

I miss them all.

Incidentally, Al Stewart was born in Glasgow, Scotland, 74+ years ago and he's still performing.