vincentjohnward

[vincentjohnward]

Money is money. Sometimes.

When I recently paid the month's rent, I recieved an unusual call from the homeowner telling me a $100 bill I gave him was actually fake. The bill turned out to be marked on both sides "movie money only". Somehow, money intended for use in a film set was mixed in with real cash. My best guess is that money used to replenish atms in my area isn't always what it looks like and we need to examine what we receive. What we do is really up to us. Bringing the counterfeits to the attention of a bank teller if the quickest option rather than try to solve the issue on our own since we cannot determine where the fake money came from. We may or may not be reemburst for the money depending on the bank policy. We are recommended to turn fake bills to the local police. Of course, we should not attempt to spend the money since it is considered counterfeit.

[vincentjohnward]

Easter Parade a movie tradition

[vincentjohnward]

The Past is Past Perhaps

I see somewhat of a trend towards what I'll call nostalgia groups on social media. Thinking about "the old days" is fine but even the old days weren't the old days. It's what we remember and how.

My favorite example is a church group I was part of for about 15 years. I would walk into their once a month meetings and see a variety of people. A few in their twenties, mostly folks in their forties and thirties and a few in their fifties.

Oddly (and beyond my reasoning) there was a select few people who would have told you that the average age was ninety! Really? Where were they looking? Think what makes you feel comfortable thinking I suppose.

I've had friends recall experiences with me which I do not remember the same way if I do at all.

One of my own memories is about a video bar I went to several years ago. A video often played was a song called "Curiousity" which featured two background dancers doing a cheesy dance. Two bar waiters would always stop what they were doing to ape the dance.

Fun but I wonder about those two guys. Is was probably not the same for them. They had their lives beyond that. They had their problems at work I wouldn't have known about. They probably hardly think of those days.

Not sad or anything. Just different.

[vincentjohnward]

A ROSE IS A ROSE MAYBE

I've noticed that I still find literature in various churches promoted The Shrine of Our Lady of the Roses in Flushing, NY. What is that?

This was a bigger issue among Catholics I knew in the latest 70s than it is today. A woman named Veronica Lueken was claiming to have visions and messages from the Virgin Mary near her home in Bayside, Queens. The majority of people I knew didn't take any of it seriously but they had likely arguments with people who did.

Veronica, from what I recently read, was a married woman with five children (four daughters and a son). Her husband was a construction engineer.

Her son, Raymond, allegedly, experienced at least one of her visions (St. Therese) when he was 10. He, tragically, was killed in a shooting incident when he was 15.

I'm surprised to learn all of this because not of her supporters whom I knew of mentioned much about her personal life. You would think they'd want to know more.

Eventually, Veronica "moved her show" to much more spacious Flushing Meadows Park. At the time, it was odd that schedules were printed for Mary's visions as though she were on a concert tour.

A friend who was the most skeptical about this enjoyed recalling a conversation he had with someone who swore by "miracles" taking place at Flushing Meadows:

"Fifty rosaries turned to gold!"

"Where are they?"

"Where are what?"

"The rosaries."

"What rosaries."

Okay, then.

[vincentjohnward]

THEE THOU THINE

The other day, I saw someone ask if it's correct to use thou for you. It reminded me of the debate which once existed over which Bible translation was better. Many thought bibles in an older form of English were better than those in modern English.

If we want to go that way, we should learn Hebrew, the language the scriptures were originally written in. The first translations from Hebrew were in Greek. English as we know it hadn't been developed yet. Not even the thee and thou version.

[vincentjohnward]

My Poor Neglected Car

I know that scamming isn't a joke but I laugh but I laugh when I get calls like the one I just let go to voice mail.

I'm being offered a second chance, as a special courtesy, to renew my soon to expire car warranty. The problem is that I've been getting these for a daw years. The callers (bots, most likely) never say who they're trying to reach or which company they represent. Most interesting of all is that that I've never owned a car.

This spells scam to me because I believe I'm supposed to think I'm being a nice guy by speaking to someone and helping them find the right person.

There is no right person. They want me confirm that mine is a valid phone number and verify my personal information for further scam attempts.

[vincentjohnward]

The Road of Yellow Brick

Right after I just searched for information on a former bookstore in my hometown, I noticed that a group I follow on Facebook is having a watch party to view THE WIZARD OF OZ. Something of a coincidene since the store whose history I wondered about was Frank Michelle's Bookstore on Halseu Street in Newark. NJ.

Here's the story. As a child. I loved the film THE WIZARD OF OZ which prompted me to read the book. Okay, not just the book but every version of it I could find including a battered version of the full novel at the library of my school. This, turn, brought me to discover that Mr L. Frank Baum actually wrote a series of Oz novels as well as several short stories

The first sequel I found was a clothbound copy of The Marvelous Land of Oz which I found at a used book store.

When I enjoyed the book enough to return to the store in search of others in the series. The owner directed me to Frank Michelle's where I found a shelf of each of Baum's Oz books. A love match was made!

It turned out that, on Mr. Baum's death, his publisher commissioned a children's writer, Ruth Plumly Thompson to continue the series but, at that time, most of those had gone out of print so I wasn't able to read them.

Though I still haven't read most of the non-Baum titles, all of them are back in print and many more have been added to the list!

[vincentjohnward]

Just How Perfect Can Perfect Be?

Years ago, there was a small Barnes and Noble very near Madison Square Garden. One holiday season, I was browsing in the store when a woman boasted to the cashier about having found what she called the perfect gift. A volume of the world of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. Of course, I said nothing about it but I wondered if her find was really as great as she thought.

The gift recipient was, no doubt, a huge Sherlock Holmes fan. If so, they probably owned each book and wouldn't need them in a single copy.

The perfect gift? I simply don't try so hard. I tend to be practical. My "go to" gift is usually of glassware. Having worked for several years in hotel housekeeping, I know how quickly glasses break and need replacing.

Gifts like socks and underwear seem boring but they wear out and need replacing more often than we think.

When buying clothes for people, I like to visualize what they would look good in. What goes well with their coloring for instance.

Back in housekeeping, during the Christmas "secret Santa", the supervisor fooled me into helping the person choose my gift by asking me about things I like to collect. She liked to collect nutcrackers. I like beakers (coffee mugs). I got a nice Christmas themed mug that year.

[vincentjohnward]

Okay Boomer Made Simple

It has become popular for many to use the phrase "ok, boomer" but what does that mean?

First, boomer is short for Baby boomer. Someone born between 1946-1964. The somewhat TMI reasoning is that these were the years following World War II when folks were happy and relieved that war was over and were feeling, shall we say frisky, and a lot of babies were born.

Since the youngest boomers today should be in their fifties, it is often assumed that they are not necessarily up on the latest technology. Even though some folks refer to a boomer in terms of age it mostly implies that someone isn't very up to date.

I see several young people on social media refer to themselves as boomers because their lifestyles tend to be old school.

[vincentjohnward]

The Truth About Cats But Maybe Not Dogs

On Christmas morning, I decided to go and see the new movie version of CATS. An interesting, even if somewhat frustrating thing, was that I went to one of those mostly self service theaters where you have to figure out how to work the machines. These are not very cash friendly so it takes a while to find one which welcomes money.

CATS, itself, has been getting rather mixed reviews which I like because it shows such a variety of thought which people do not feel intimidated from expressing.

I'm one of those who like the film. I've never seen the show it's based on nut I know of it from friends who have and from the soundtrack.

All I will offer in this little capsule review is, well, it's CATS! If the love the show, you will love the movie and, if you hate the show, you will hate the movie. And that's about that's.

[vincentjohnward]

A Holiday Movie Story

Among the movies we watched on TV for Christmastime each were versions of Dickens' A Christmas Carol. The favorite among relatives was always the 1951 British film starring Alastair Sim as Ebenezer Scrooge. My secret annoyance, though, to my always technical brain, was that everyone (seriously everyone!) would say "Let's watch Scrooge! Scrooge is on!" and not "A Christmas Carol".

A few years ago, after not having seen the movie in a while, I borrowed a copy of the film from the library. At the opening credits, I discovered what I had overlooked all those years. The title of this version actually is "Scrooge".

Oops. At least I never did express what I had thought!

[vincentjohnward]

My Own Thanksgiving Tradition

This actually started several years ago when I was a house attendant at the former Inn at Temple Square in Salt Lake City, Utah.

Since I always worked on Thanksgiving and it wasn't very busy, I would go into a vacant room for awhile and watch the parades. The station I watched featured several parade segments from around the country including the Macy's parade.

When I moved back to New York, I went out to see the Macy's Thanksgiving Parade for the first time in years. Fun but crowded and I decided after that to stay home and watch the parade on TV.

Here is the benefit for me in doing that. The parade is shown on two different networks. CBS and NBC. Their own unique coverages. I not only get to see the parade with the best possible view, switching between the two channels, but I get to see the entertainment from Harald Square and various parts of the city. Best seat in the house as they say.

[vincentjohnward]

Chistmas Songs or Maybe Not

It's funny how the holiday songs we hear each year often are not. I'm still surprised when I hear "May Favorite Things" from Rodgers and Hammerstein's THE SOUND OF MUSIC. I don't remember that as a holiday song until it was included on Barbra Streisand's holiday album years ago. Since then, there we go.

"Jingle Bells" may well be the most recognizable Christmas song there is. It was written by James Lord Pierpont in 1857 under the title "One Horse Open Sliegh" as a church song for Thanksgiving.

"Sliegh Ride" by Leroy Anderson was also intended as an Autumn song but never mentions any holiday.

"Let it Snow" is really just a song about snow.

An interesting thing is how "Baby it's Cold Outside" now controversial because it implies date rape.

Frank Loesser wrote the song for personal use. He and his wife Lynn Garland would sing it at the close of their parties. It was really kind of ironic because the song encourages someone to stay when they were ushering their guests out the door.

When Loesser sold the tune to MGM, they used it in an Esther Williams musical, NEPTUNE'S DAUGHTER. Even though a mild "date rape" could be implied by Ricardo Montalban's rendition, the film takes place in a warm climate and it is not during a cold and wintery scene at all. I just wonder why it took forty years or so for the controversy.

[vincentjohnward]

Okay, Boomer!

Either some people don't know what a "boomer" is or I have the wrong impression. I've been seeing questions and comments by parents being addressed as a boomer by their offspring. Here is my understanding.

A boomer is short for Baby Boomer. I am one. This refers to people born, basically, between 1944-1964. This was what you might call the "feel good" period in the years following World War Two.

The somewhat of an "ew factor" for me is the implication that people became what I'll just call frisky and there were a record number of births in that period.

The next period disputedly known as Generation X was between 1965-1979. It seems to be a kind of "filler" label between my generation and the current one, generally known as Millennials.

You're a Millennial if you were born between 1980-1994.

An interesting designation I only recently heard of is the Silent Generation between 1925-1945. In which way I ponder? Not much bedroom noise? Who knows? I don't think I want to.

[vincentjohnward]

The Least Likely?

Paul was the first friend I knew who contracted HIV. It wasn't really shocking to me at the time since the ailment was no longer new but the uniqueness was in how I knew him.

Paul was friends with a lot of people I knew through a church group though he never belonged to the group It self. Oh, he was Catholic as the group was but he was active in other venues. One was a monthly all night vigil, hospital visitations and he gave out religious pamphlets.

We became friends. I joined him on weekend trips and even a week long vacation to Canada. He was fun and funny though a bit self righteous when it came to church matters. In fact, I was always a bit puzzled that he spent a lot of time with people he didn't really like much.

His way of viewing other people could be a bit off. For instance, I was hanging with him at his West Village apartment one evening when he asked, surprisingly:

"Are you the one who has to go to the bathroom? No. That's Timothy (a mutual friend) Timothy's the one who has to go to the bathroom."

I was baffled but that was really the way he said it. In his head it seemed, there was something offbeat about Timothy using restrooms. I didn't get it but this was the way he thought.

When he became sick, it was easy for me to figure out what he had but he was in denial about it but I suppose it was based on his past activities and how contradictory it probably seemed then.

The almost spooky way I found out he had died was when I tried to phone him. This was in the late 80s when landlines were still in fashion. Someone picked up the phone but hung up again. When I mentioned this to a friend only a day or two later, he told me that Paul had died a few weeks before.

Paul didn't live with anyone so I have no clue he answered the phone and, truth be told, it only recently struck me about how strange it is that no one told me Paul had died until I mentioned the phone incident. Another type of denial I guess. I wonder how long it would have been had I never made that call or questioned it.

Anyway RIP Paul.

[vincentjohnward]

I Was a High School Drop In

Little known fact about me. At least, not broadly told. I attended East Side High School in Newark for my Freshman year. I turned 16 at the begining of my second year. I found out I was free to leave without parental consent so I did.

I had the desire to go into acting so I enrolled in a New York City school named Showcase Theater. A small place which taught Scene Study. We partnered with other students to learn scenes from plays then performed our work to invited audiences. Truth be told and I don't remember why, I never I invited anyone.

For reasons I also don't remember, I left Showcase Theater for a larger school called The New York Academy of Theatrical Arts. Also scene study. We did no live performances but we did get to see a fun play by more advanced students, Idiot's Delight.

It was really only just just under two years when I decided it was best to finish high school. At the advice of (if I remember correctly) the principal of East Side, who believed it would be difficult to continue where I left off, I enrolled in Jersey Preparatory School on downtown Newark. This is what is known as accelerated high school so you learn the basis and finish in half the time. I recieved my diploma just a year later than I would have had I remained at East Side.

I certainly can't recommend dropping out of school that way but, for me, it worked.

[vincentjohnward]

Remember them? Coins are still used and still have two sides.