Here we go again. There are 24 of my random, scattered thoughts below about nothing in particular. These “random” articles come when I am at a loss; they actually lift my spirits during those times.
Our favorite resort in Florida – The Sandcastle in Sarasota – got flooded out permanently with Helene. The end of an era for our family.
I vowed to dedicate part of my life to helping students professionally; I just loved it.
Planning another presentation of Winning at Casinos in the near future.
The most underrated movie of all time is Random Harvest, starring Greer Garson (a true beauty) and Ronald Coleman.
My dining favorites are: Soup – avgolemono; Salad – Ceasar’s; Meat – Lamb (naturally) followed by ribeye steak followed by short ribs; Fish – Pick it
Ribeyes are unquestionably the tastiest of the steak cuts.
Swing the Teapot in Floral Park (at the Queens/Nassau border) is a gem of a restaurant in the middle of nowhere.
I’m on borrowed time at 90+.
Harry’s Hilltop Deli in Williston Park does a nice job on Greek food. Mary used him for parts of her menu for my 90th birthday party.
It has become more painful to bury a dear friend or close relative. Just lost former classmate Neophitos Ganiaris, a fellow Greek.
2024 was truly an exciting baseball season. The Mets really put a show on in late September and the playoffs.
I have made every attempt to stop patronizing businesses (particularly restaurants) that charge for using a credit card.
Astoria is still your best bet for Greek food.
School taxes are really getting out of hand.
More and more streets in Queens and Nassau County are in dire need of repair.
Did I call it with Rodgers? I’m a Jet fan but he was 2 years older, and lost his desire, mobility, and running capability.
Dining out – with the sales tax and increased tipping – has become overly expensive.
The Hambones has become one of our favorite go-to music groups; John Kouri is a great entertainer, and his lead guitarist is just super. Same for Hell or High Water with Tom Wiff.
Could it possibly be true that somewhere between 10-20 million undocumented (or is it illegals) are now in our country?
Dinner out with entertainment is turning out to be no more expensive than just dining out.
I love D’Angelo’s (Williston Park) grandma’s pizza.
Getting a Ph.D. today is almost like getting a bachelor’s degree when I was growing up.
When I’m at a loss, I start writing; it lifts my burden(s) or solves a problem.
The last half of the last century passed into the sunset a quarter of a century ago. I was on top of the world: horses, the Queen, Killeen’s, Astoria, Rockaway Beach, Ph.D., great students. Those were the days.
This 8th edition is a tough one. You are once again asked to provide the correct answer to the following 20 questions. Credit 5 points for each correct answer. A grade of 65 indicates you are brilliant.
What New York mayor in my earlier days died penniless in a poorhouse on the Bowery?
Who gets credit for: “I didn’t lose the gold, I won the silver.”?
What famous boxing arena in the 40’s and 50’s was located on 66th Street and Columbus Avenue in Manhattan?
Manhattan College is located in what borough?
Who was the first woman to swim the English Channel?
What beautiful national park is located in northern Montana?
What company owns the casino / hotel in Monticello in upstate New York?
Explain the difference between a micron and a micrometer.
Who was Don Larson’s opposing pitcher when he threw his now famous World Series no-hitter?
Who was our second President?
Approximately how many books has your favorite author written?
Who said: “Kind words can be short and easy to speak, but ten echoes are truly endless.”?
What borough was home to the legendary Killeen’s Tavern basketball team of the 1950s and 1960s?
Who do we credit for: “My only concern was to get home after a hard day’s work?”
What thoroughbred racetrack is located adjacent to the New Jersey shore?
Who uttered the phrase: “The hardest years in life are those between 10 and 70.”?
I know I used this before, but it really is a great trivia question. During my formative years, who played for the New York Knicks, the Brooklyn Dodgers, and the New York Rangers?
Here’s another one that was used before. Who won a gold medal in the Olympics, wrote the second best-selling book of all time, and ran for President of the U.S.?
Who do we credit for: “Smoking kills. If you’re killed, you lost a very important part of your life.”?
You want Greek food? What location in the Metropolitan area offers the “best bang for your buck?”
EXTRA CREDIT:
21. Explain A.I. in layman’s terms.
ANSWERS:
Fiorello LaGuardia.
Michelle Kuan at age 17 (figure skating).
St. Nicholas Arena.
It is currently located in the Bronx. It was originally located in Manhattan when it was founded over a century ago. And, was recently renamed Manhattan University.
Getrude Edelle. A neighbor from my earlier days in Hell’s Kitchen. I believe she swam it sometime during the 1930s.
Glacier National Park. Breathtaking. We visited there twice.
Resorts International. It’s a place I visit several times a year. It is the smallest casino I’ve ever been to.
There is no difference. It is one millionth of a meter.
My favorite pitcher of all time – Sal Maglie.
John Quincy Adams.
150. I think the exact number is 152.
Mother Teresa.
Queens. The exact location was Astoria – 24th Street and Ditmars Blvd.
Rosa Parks – who refused to give up her seat on a bus to a white person in 1955. Bravo Rosa.
Monmouth Park in Long Branch, NJ.
Helen Keller, who was both deaf and blind from infancy.
Gladys Gooding. She “played” the organ.
Benjamin Spock, a baby doctor.
Brooke Shields, an actress.
Astoria, Queens. You simply can’t go wrong there.
Full credit. I have no idea but here’s what my 15-year-old grandson gave me. Artificial Intelligence or AI, is a loosely define term describing any computer system which exhibits intelligence. This could be in the form of image detection, chatbots like Open AI’s ChatGPT, or voice-based helpers like Apple’s Siri. AI’s can outperform humans in some tasks like chess, but in many others, like responding to text, are useful primarily because of their speed and low cost per use.” Ouch! Here’s my definition: “A term that has come to mean different things to different people but for me, it’s simply a gigantic computer program that can be employed to solve a near infinite variety of problems.”
Note: The seminar on my new book, Winning at Casinos; The Definitive Guide on Wednesday, September 25th, at the Village of East Williston Library went well and was attended by 25 people. Here is EW Mayor Bonnie Parente’s take on what came down: “The learn how to win at dice presentation tonight was incredibly enjoyable! It took the intimidation factor out of playing craps! This was taught by Lou Theodore and based on his book Winning at Casinos. So glad I went.” Thank you, Mayor.
After the presentation ended, a post-Casino party was hosted by Mary and me at Spuntino’s Restaurant in Williston Park.
Who was it that said: “The dumbest person I ever met was my father. But when I got older, and had married and had kids, my father suddenly got smarter.” But what about a guy like me? My wife claims I’m both a father (3) and grandfather (3). Maybe the time had come for me to offer some advice to the kids; after all, I’ve been around nearly a century. After some deliberation, I realized it was too late to offer anything to our kids, so I sat the three grandkids down one day and told them about my dozen no-no’s. These no-no’s were very simple grandfatherly suggestions. Their reaction appeared to be positive.
It has been 2 months since our chat and there’s been no feedback. So, I thought I might jot down my suggestions (as best as I can remember) for safe keeping. Here they are with the #1 No-No the most important to observe, and the #12 No-No the least important.
No-No 1: No sexual activity that can result in a pregnancy.
2: No drinking and driving.
3: No drugs. These should only be used for treatment or prevention of disease. Stay away from barbiturates, sedatives, hypnotics, stimulants, hallucinogens, opioids, etc. Shame on Willie Nelson’s attempts to publicize drug use.
4: No carrying of weapons. It was knives, razors, and chains in my day.
5: No drinking to excess. The Queen and I haven’t had a drink in about half century.
6: No smoking (or vaping).
7: No tattoos. Tattooing is a method of “decorating” the skin by inserting colored substances under the surface. This irreversible action is both stupid and insane. I wear no jewelry. If one of my kids came home with a tattoo, it would be a major disappointment.
8: No gambling to excess. This is a tough one for me since I’ve been gambling all my life. The key here is to gamble only with money you can afford to lose.
9: No hard political or religious positions. Sorry, but I can’t help myself here with the former.
10: No shortcutting your education. It is absolutely imperative that you be communicate orally and in writing.
11: No physical or mental abuse of others.
12: No physical altercation(s) with others.
I hope some of the above helps a couple of my readers.
Note: The opening “quote” has been attributed to Mark Twain. However, this has been disputed in recent years.
Traditional gambling generally refers to the wagering of money on a yet-to-be determined event or outcome that may be dependent on either chance or skill, or both. Casino roulette is a game of chance, while poker is primarily a game of skill. Gambling on athletic sporting events, such as football, basketball, baseball, etc., is generally viewed as involving both skill and chance. On to “boxes,” the title of this article, which are strictly a game of chance.
One of the major sports gambling options is to buy a “box” in a uniquely arranged square, usually referred to as the pool. An example of a pool is shown in Figure 1 for a Giant-Jet football game. As can be seen, there are 100 boxes. If each box costs $10, the total cash pool is $1,000. The individual who correctly selects the box with the last digit of the final score for each team takes home the bacon, i.e., wins the $1,000. If the final score is Jets 22/Giants 7, the owner of the shaded box is the winner. Scores, such as Jets 12/Giants 2, or Jets 22/Giants 37, would also serve as winners for that box.
However, employing the format in Figure 1 does not provide each person buying a box with an equal chance of winning. Knowledgeable football fans would immediately realize that the best numbers to select in a football pool are 0 and 7, whereas the worst are 2, 5, and 8; therefore, the arrangement of the boxes as in Figure 1 does not provide each bettor with an equal chance to win. This bias can be removed, and the bet reduced to one solely of chance by assigning the numbers to each team in a random manner after individuals have paid and selected a box. The bias-removing procedure most often used is to write numbers from 0 to 9 (each) on a piece of paper. The 10 pieces of paper are then randomly drawn from a container and sequentially placed along the side of the square – first horizontally and then vertically. The result might look like Figure 2. Had the same box been selected earlier (see Figure 1), the bettor’s last team winning digits would be Giants 2/Jets 0, i.e., 2,0. A final score of Giants 42/Jets 30 would be a winner as would Giants 12/Jets 20.
Figure 2: Sample Betting Box
N E W Y O R K J E T S
N E W
Y O R K
G I A N T S
2
3
0
9
8
1
7
5
6
4
8
0
3
4
6
1
5
2
7
9
Many gambling activities are available and legal in the U.S. However, the above form of gambling is not legal, although it is regularly practiced in private clubs, bars, parties, and homes with $ replaced by peanuts (or the equivalent) to legitimatize the activity. For example, the football boxes became an integral part of an annual party that I hosted at our home for the legendary Astoria Killeen’s Tavern basketball team of yesteryear (see also Basketball Coaching 101 by L. Theodore). One of the keys in this betting venture is to ensure that the individual running the box activity does it in a manner that is fair and that the odds are not heavily weighted in favor of the “concessionaire.” Generally, 5 to 10% of the total pool is considered reasonable compensation or takeout for running this “illegal” business / gambling activity. For whatever it’s worth, there was no takeout at our party, i.e., all of the money was returned to the winner.
The box activity has recently worked its way into other sports venues. And, believe this or not, the box activity is also part (recently) of gambling that takes place with the World Series. It’s just a matter of time before it works its way into all sports venues, and then onto casinos. Once again, it is the last digit of the final score of the game for each team that counts. Thus, the key box numbers for a winning final score of 20-3 is 0, 3.
What prompted the writing of this article? The Boy, the Queen and your favorite author recently shared one $10 box on the recent Superbowl at the Boy’s firehouse with the numbers 5 (KC) and 2 (SF). Remember my earlier comment that 2 and 5 are the worst numbers to draw in a football box investment. However, the final score was 25 (KC) and 22 (SF) and we wound up sharing $350.
In any event, football boxes are now commonplace. Now comes the main theme for this article – my thoughts on boxes for the future on other sports. I believe that boxes will soon be available on both basketball (both pros and college) and baseball (pros). Table 1 below provides my suggestions that includes (a) time interval, and (b) award split, based on a pool of $1,000. TBD refers to To Be Determined.
BASKETS:
BASEBALL:
(I)
(II)
(III)
(IV)
Pros
Colleges
Pros
(a) Quarter
(b) Award
(a) Quarter
(b) Award
(a) Min
(b) Award
(a) Inning
(b) Award
1/4
100
10
200
4th
200
1/2
200
1/2
400
20
2001
6th
200
3/4
200
30
200
8th
200
Final
400
Final
400
Final
400
9th
400
Overtime
TBD
OT
TBD
OT
TBD
Extra
TBD
Table 1: Futuristic Boxes
Note that the awards can be adjusted, e.g., the entire award could be based on the final score.
Note that there are four potential box options: Three (I-III) for basketball and one for baseball (IV). Here are some explanatory details: For (I), if the score after a quarter is 32-20, the winning numbers would be 2-0 with a $200 award. For II, if the halftime score is 48-45, the winning numbers would be 8-5 with a $400 award. For III, if the score after 30 minutes is 66-65, the winning numbers would be 6-5 with a $200 award. For IV, if the runs (R) hits (H) and errors (E) after 6 innings total 11 for one team and 7 for the other team, the winning numbers would be 1-7 with a $200 award. Note that both the quarters, minutes, and RHE can be changed, as well as the award / prize.
Folks, I’m fairly certain that it’s just a matter of time before “boxes” will become part of the betting venue at sportsbooks.
That’s it. What do you think? I’d love to hear from you!
It’s transition time, i.e., time to leave basketball and move on to baseball. Both are important to many of us since sportsbooks have now become front and center for the betting public. For me, it’s DraftKings. For others, it’s FanDuel. In any event, here’s how basketball came down for me and what’s coming up with baseball.
BASKETBALL: Another good year. You might remember that I had the University of Connecticut (UCONN) last year at 40-1. My key bet this year was Illinois, basically because I felt their guard Shannon was the best player in college basketball. However, they got knocked off the elite 8 by UCONN. However, my second bet was on UCONN. In my recent book Winning at Casinos: The Definitive Edge (Amazon, 9$) book, I warned against betting on repeaters. Sorry, but this UCONN group was a different team; I loved the way the team played and performed. I also had a host of other bets including Yale at 1,000-1 to make the final four, North Carolina State at 50-1 to win it all, etc., etc.
BASEBALL: I got hurt last year. My key bet at the start of the season was with the BALTIMORE ORIOLES, and believe it or not, I wound up losing money on them. Don’t ask me how, but I just screwed up with all the betting options now available (See end of article).
But that was then and now is now…and it’s now that counts. I spread this year, with five key bets.
METS (World Series). Ugh!!!
PIRATES (WS and National League)
TORONTO (WS and American League)
CLEVELAND (AL and over)
BOSTON(AL)
I also went partners with the dearest of old friends in Clearwater Beach, FL on the Yankees (WS) and (AL). I’m not happy about his bet, but it looks good so far.
You will note that I stayed away from the DODGERS, BRAVES and the repeater TEXAS. I’m giving some thoughts to four other bets.
KANSAS CITY
SAN DIEGO
ANGELS
PHILADELPHIA
I’ll probably wind-up betting two of them – probably the first two – between now and the All-Star break. You will also note that all of the bets are long shots.
Keep in mind that there are primarily two types of bets made in sports betting. One is the point spread, the other the money line. Each has its place not only in baseball but also football, basketball soccer, and hockey. And, sports bets can be made on either a Smartphone or Internet. I’m sure you have seen all the advertisements on television regarding offers such as those provided by DraftKings, FanDuel, etc. It really has become wild.
I’d recommend future bets (I refer to them as seasonal bets). These are bets on a team winning a championship or a league or a division, etc. I find this a particularly attractive bet since it involves only one bet that will (hopefully) apply over the entire season. The odds here are a very, strong function of time since the performance of your team almost always varies during the season.
Good luck this season.
P.S. This is the month for voting on school taxes and school board members for many of the readers who reside in Nassau County. I suggest getting involved and vote AGAINST the proposed school taxes.
JULY 1: On Purely Random, Pristine Thoughts XXXVII
AUGUST 1: On Sleep Apnea II
SEPTEMBER 1: On Vertigo
OCTOBER: On the Ultimate Questionnaire
NOVEMBER 1: On Hello Basketball, Goodbye Baseball
The family celebrated my 90th birthday this past April 19th. It’s hard to believe that I’ve been around nearly a century. The remnants of the Killeen’s Tavern legendary basketball team of the 1950s and 60s in Astoria, Queens, are pictured below. The gala event was hosted by Mary and our daughters, Georgeen and Molleen, along with our son, Patrick, and was attended by 83 friends, former students, neighbors and relatives. The menu featured a charcuterie board, colossal shrimp, lollipop rib lamb chops, Caesar salad, along with a traditional Greek menu of spanakopita, lemon potatoes, grilled veggies, moussaka, and pastitsio. Dessert was homemade by our daughters and included baklava, rivani, and brownies. Birthday wishes were sung, and candles were blow out over a Carvel ice cream cake.
Left to right: Dan (The Dan) Corenza, Jim (JR) Raffetery- 1964 Haggerty Award for the Most Outstanding College Basketball Player in the Metropolitan area, Frankie Quarto – 4-year starting guard at Manhattan College, and Danny (Big Dan) Doyle – Detroit Pistons, 1961-3. Included in the picture are your favorite basketball coach alongside Bonnie Parente, East Williston mayor and Jennifer DeSena, Town of North Hempstead Supervisor.
I once humorously offered this comment to my students: “either you’re from Harvard and can’t count or from MIT and can’t write”. The comment was made to introduce the difference between non-technical writing and technical writing.
Well, what about the difference? The non-technical and technical material are written in contrasting styles. Technical pieces are written in a factual, ‘dry’ style, emphasizing quantitative analysis, whereas the non-technical passages contain numerous adjectives and modifiers. Similarly, engineering texts I’ve written, (149) have one thing in common: they contain a minimum of pictures and graphs, usually in black and white. Non-technical texts, by contrast, contain numerous color pictures and graphics. The contrast in style between the two is reminiscent of the contrast between a black and white “how to” video, and a high-budget movie. Naturally, the engineering texts use a pragmatic and mechanistic approach, while the non-technical books have a philosophical bent, or what I define as the liberal arts approach. Further, one generally transmits information while the other entertains. In any event, this article is concerned with technical writing, a topic that should be of interest to many of the readers.
Technical writing really isn’t that difficult; it is NOT a talent that only a handful of people are born with. With that in mind, here are a few basic rules (a baker’s dozen) that can transform one’s writing from a confusing, garbled mess into something that will impress readers.
If applicable, know thy reader(s).
It helps if the subject has not been written about before. If it has, improve what is available by editing, rewriting, expanding, and updating. There should also be an element of interest to the reader(s).
Prepare an outline. This should include an appropriate title, objective(s), introduction, background, results, conclusion(s), and recommendations(s).
Improve the foundation of the outline by filling it in with notes and sentences.
Keep related ideas together and establish a logical flow from paragraph to paragraph and section to section.
The abstract or executive summary (for technical reports) is the most important part of the writing. Spend a significant amount of time here. It is the only material that is read by the majority of the readers. The reader (perhaps your immediate supervisor) can then decide whether to go deeper into the writing. This is very important: the abstract should contain a brief summary of the report without referring to the main body of the report.
Sentences should contain little to no unnecessary words; paragraphs should contain little to no unnecessary sentences. One certainly would have no unnecessary lines in a diagram or unnecessary parts in a machine.
The swan song of the successful writer is: revision, revision, revision. Start early, e.g., weeks before it is due and / or submitted. Get colleagues, friends, your wife (my usual option), to review and critique your material.
If your “report” is a resume, make sure it is current. Be prepared to tailor your resume to the individual reviewing it. And, don’t be bashful. I often refer to myself as “the foremost environmental authority in the world.”
If there is a Table of Contents, list every section title and heading starting with page 1, not page I, and give the number of the page on which it appears.
If there is a Statistical Error Analysis, it must be written with opening and closing paragraphs. It should include theoretical equations along with written explanations, and conclude with a discussion of the numerical values determined from the error analysis.
Conclusions and recommendations (if required) are just that. It is generally written as an extended paragraph even though it is often a series of loosely related topic sentences.
References may be required. Footnotes are not commonly used in technical literature. All of the references cited in the report must be listed at the end of the report and (my preference) in the order of their appearance.
I hope this helps. In the final analysis, the more one reads and writes, the easier it becomes. It is like tying shoes or riding a bike; it’s a little hard at first, but once mastered it will never leave you.
It’s time for a political article. Afterall, I haven’t addressed anything of a political nature for over a year. I’ve really been a good boy, trying my best not to offend my family, readers, and editors.
What could I write about that is timely and not offensive? After some deliberation, I decided to talk about President Joe Biden. This one might be OK since Biden, understandably, continues to lose favor with the American public. So, what did I do? I raided my Biden files and here are some haphazard one-liners from my disjointed notes.
Shut down the Keystone pipeline leaving us without energy security.
Opened borders and welcomed all immigrants; as now reversed policy and blamed problems on others.
Lifted sanctions on Russia’s pipeline.
China continues to threaten Taiwan.
Refused to support police.
Later claimed he supported police.
Inflation now out of control.
Three massive giveaway programs, resulting in skyrocketing debt.
Continues to blame others… like me, for the country’s woes.
Widespread violence on streets.
Supported sanctuary cities and states.
Unrelentless attacks on Trump.
Ignores (lying) Hunter’s activities.
Fostered eliminating parental control.
Free speech is no longer free.
Encouraged DOJ biased conduct.
Encouraged FBI biased conduct.
Did nothing to stop the conduct of a biased media.
Did nothing to stop the obstructionist activities of Pelosi.
Did nothing to stop the reckless expansion of the Federal government.
A massive cognitive decline.
Was the dumbest elected official prior to his cognitive decline.
Spent massive time vacationing and not on presidential duties.
The disgrace of Hunter Biden.
His criminal activities.
His non-stop lying regarding his criminal activities.
Jill Biden has said nothing of Biden’s cognitive decline.
The joke of Bidenomics.
Widespread media corruption.
The uselessness of the Inflation Reduction Act.
Unconstitutional act of paying off student loans.
The failure of his green energy policy.
Ignored Chinese spy balloon.
Ignored China’s purchasing land near our defense facilities.
Failed to immediately help Ukraine.
Failed to immediately help Israel.
Failed to act on cyberattacks by Russia.
Probability of WWIII is greater than it’s ever been.
Probability of a nuclear war is greater than it’s ever been.
Allowing China to continue raiding our intellectual properties.
The reporting of Musk’s takeover of Twitter!!
All our allies appear fearful of our evil enemies.
We also appear to be fearful of our evil enemies.
We simply are no longer safe.
Supports future abortion legislation to terminate life until birth.
The CIA and FBI simply no longer work.
The totality of the criminality of the entire Biden family has been dismissed by both government and media.
Misused classified information.
Migrant crime is out of control.
Migrant costs are out of control.
Media refuses to report Biden crimes.
Trump haters refuse to discuss Biden crimes.
Supporting immigrants rather than veterans.
I apologize if I have exaggerated or lied, but it would still be a sad tale if only ½, or even ¼, of the tales are true. Kind of sad, wouldn’t you say? And yet, nearly 50% of the electorate would vote for Biden. Sorry, but what does this say about the intellectual mentality of the electorates?
Bottomline: I think the reader should understand that a democracy cannot exist with a biased media… no ifs, ands, or buts. Also, our form of government cannot go forth with the obstructionist policies that presently exist; Pelosi introduced it and the Republicans have finally adjusted and are doing likewise. Thus, both parties are now voting as a block, and little to nothing is being accomplished. To compound problems, the electorate (for the most part) has little to no knowledge of political, economic, social, health, and scientific matters. Finally, it is important to remember the documented deaths of millions in the Middle East (ISIS and Asia and Taliban) during Obama’s presidency — the end of the senseless deaths and suffering, thanks due to decisive action by Trump — and, the return to the earlier horrors and deaths (along with the Ukraine) currently occurring with Biden. And yet, despite Trump’s humanitarian actions, the Trump Haters still hate him, willing to disregard the deaths, pain, and suffering brought on by Obama’s and Biden’s actions (or is it inactions).
In the meantime, death, unfortunately, continues to visit my former players, friends, and relatives.
Valentine’s Day. February 14. It is a day that has come to mean different things to different people.
How about history? The holiday probably derives from an ancient Roman feast where men and maidens drew partners for the coming year by lottery. The festival later became associated with the feast’s day of two Roman martyrs both named St. Valentine; over the years, St. Valentine has, been regarded as the patron saint of lovers. How about history? There are a host of other tales that have appeared in the literature and media. The most plausible tale? Enter Chaucer. At one time in his career, Chaucer claimed it was the first day of Spring with the mating of birds. Other writings followed that began to tie Valentine’s Day with love and affection. Enter Shakespeare. In Hamlet, Ophelia sang a tune that included the lyrics “…and I a maid at your window, to be your Valentine.”
For most, it is a day to exchange notes and / or cards, hopefully written by you… and not Hallmark. For me, it is simply a day to express one’s feeling of care and love for special people.
Fortunately or unfortunately, the day has become commercialized. It is more than just Hallmark cards. It’s gifts that can vary from candy, to jewelry, to flowers etc. (While courting the Queen during the mid-1960s, I remember sending flowers with the note: “just a reminder that the little guy cares. It scored a touchdown.”). In recent years, sweets – particularly chocolates – have come to replace flowers, with the accompanying rip-offs. Sad, but what the hell, it’s only one day a year.
Many, including your favorite author, have extended the premise of this special day to include love of our country. I often give thanks for having been born, raised, and educated in the US of A. Unfortunately, it seems as if more and more people don’t quite have the same feeling I do — but we can only hope I’m wrong.
I need to end on a positive note. I hope everyone in the reading audience has experienced the thrill of falling in love. It is hard to describe. It really is an indescribable feeling, and I will never forget that special period of my life.
This one is about a song. Yes, a song. It’s “Begin the Beguine.”
Let’s start with the word beguine. Webster claims it is a Roman Catholic religious order of sisterhoods founded in the 12th centurywho devoted themselves to charity and good work that included providing refuge for women left widowed or unmarried by the loss of men during the Crusades. But it is also defined as a native dance of the island of Martinique, later popularized by the black community in the United States
Here’s something I dug out of the literature on the song itself. It was reportedly written by Cole Porter on a Pacific cruise ship during the summer of 1935. Later that year, it became part of a Broadway musical “Jubilee,” and closed soon after its opening. However, it didn’t die, although a reviewer claimed the song would be more appropriately titled “End the Beguine.” Two years later, the song resurfaced thanks to Arthur Jacob Arshowsky, aka Artie Shaw. It became a best-selling record that year, peaking at No. 3, while skyrocketing Shaw and his band from obscurity to fame and popularity. This recording became one of the most famous and popular of the entire “Swing Era.” There were subsequent releases by all the major big bands, including Harry James, Benny Goodman, Tommy Dorsey and Glenn Miller, often as an instrumental. As a vocal song, it was Frank Sinatra, Ann-Margaret, Ella Fitzgerald, Johnny Mathis, Elvis Presley, and the one and only Julio Iglesias. Iglesias recorded a captivating Spanish version of “Begin the Beguine,” titled “Volver a Empezar.” Go to YouTube to hear many of these versions of the song, but particularly Julio’s.
Over the years, I had three favorite songs.
“Someday Soon” (Judy Collins). I’ve had the song occasionally sung to me by Mary O’Dowd, the beautiful legendary Irish folk singer.
“Heat Wave” (The Sherels).
“So Tired” (Russ Morgan). Morgan was another Swing Era band leader; it was his only hit around the mid-1940s.
Two years ago, I heard BtB again after a lapse of several decades and… well… it is now also one of my favorites. Here are Porter’s lyrics to my new found gem.
When they begin the beguine It brings back the sound of music so tender, It brings back a night of tropical splendor, It brings back a memory ever green.
I’m with you once more under the stars, And down by the shore an orchestra’s playing And even the palms seem to be swaying When they begin the beguine.
To live it again is past all endeavor, Except when that tune clutches my heart, And there we are, swearing to love forever, And promising never, never to part.
What moments divine, what rapture serene, Till clouds came along to disperse the joys we had tasted, And now when I hear people curse the chance that was wasted, I know but too well what they mean;
So don’t let them begin the beguine Let the love that was once a fire remain an ember; Let it sleep like the dead desire I only remember When they begin the beguine.
Oh yes, let them begin the beguine, make them play Till the stars that were there before return above you, Till you whisper to me once more, “Darling, I love you!” And we suddenly know, what heaven we’re in, When they begin the beguine.
Perhaps, the lyrics sound corny to some. But not when you hear it with the accompanying music. It really is something special, particularly with Artie Shaw and his clarinet. Do yourself a favor and listen to any or all of the various versions. You won’t be disappointed. It will place you in a romantic tropical setting, much like the classic “Bali Ha’i” from the play/movie South Pacific (and my favorite novel of all times – Michener’s first writing endeavor that recounted his experiences during WWII’s war scenes in the South Pacific).
While cabaret-ing with the Queen, my last two requests of a band/group for BtB resulted in something to the effect that “we never heard of it.” That may have been the driving force behind my writing this article.
Note: The December 5 book signing event (“Winning at Casinos”) at the Village of East Williston Library was a success. Mary picked up the tab at the reception that followed at Sputino’s Restaurant in Williston Park. It’s fair to say that a good time was had by all. Thanks to those of you who attended and/or purchased a book ($9.00 on Amazon).
As indicated in IV, this has become one of my favorites. You are asked to provide the correct answer to the following 20 questions. You already know the routine: 5 points for a correct answer. A grade of a 90 indicates that you are brilliant… anything below 25 is, well…
Who authored “Fourscore and seven years ago…”
Who were the stars of the movie Sampson and Delilah?
Who is the greatest basketball player of all time?
What famous singer said: “So when you see your neighbor carrying something, help him with his load.”
What famous New York baseball owner’s motto was: “if you do something good for someone, and more than 2 people know about it, you did it for the wrong reason.”
Unlike healthcare workers, what professional group refused to work during the pandemic because of health concerns and demanded that they be paid.
Prior to 2014, what basketball Hall of Famer had the second highest season scoring average in the NBA?
True or false? The radius of the sun is approximately 900,000 miles.
What baseball Hall of Famer broke the color barrier?
Who was elected President in 1952?
What baseball Hall of Famer started and ended his career with the Boston Red Sox?
What famous Astorian won a gold medal in wrestling and later became boxing’s light heavyweight champion?
What was Connie Mack’s real name?
True or false? Queens joined NYC in 1898.
What has often been referred to as the most Irish town in the US?
What is the currency of Turkey?
What animal is located on California’s state flag?
What city’s cable cars are the only national historical monument that can move?
What city, located on the West Coast, was destroyed by fire and earthquake in 1906?
Where is the Liberty Bell located?
Extra credit (10 points): Explain the difference between pandemic and epidemic.
ANSWERS:
President Abraham Lincoln.
Victor Mature & Hedy Lamar.
Full credit. For me, it is Kevin Durant.
Bob Dylan.
George Steinbrenner.
School teachers.
A tough one here: Rick Barry.
False; according to my files, the answer is approximately half that value.
Jackie Robinson, Brooklyn Dodgers, 1947.
Dwight Eisenhower.
Babe Ruth.
A toughie: Paul Berlanback, 1924.
Another tough one. Cornileous McGillicutty of Brookfield, MA – home of George M. Cohan.
True; and, it was first established nearly 200 years ago.
Full credit here. Butte, Montana, a place our family visited three times (ugh!) on my consulting assignments. Mary still refers to it as Butt.
Lira.
A tough one. A grizzly bear named Monarch.
San Francisco, California.
Once again, San Francisco, California.
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
EXTRA CREDIT ANSWER:
Pandemic refers to “over a whole area, country, and universe,” while epidemic is defined as “prevalent and widespread among many individuals in a community at the same time.” Thus, the difference essentially relates to the size of the affected area.
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