Goodbye June Cleaver

I saw over the weekend that Barbara Billingsley passed away who fondly played June Cleaver the mother on Leave it to Beaver (LITB). LITB (1957 – 1963) was one of a trifecta of shows on television in the late fifties and early sixties whose premise was to follow the lives of a suburban American family which consisted of a working dad, a stay at home mom and their happy children. 

LITB was different than the other two sitcom’s because Ozzie and Harriett (1952-1966) and Father Knows Best (1954-1960) had plots that revolved around the parents whereas LITB plots mostly revolved around their eight year old son Beaver who would get himself in some kind of a mess. The moral of each story always being good behavior brings rewards while bad behavior brings undesirable consequences.

Here’s a clip from one of the episodes where Beaver’s friend Whitey dares him to find out if the cup on the billboard sign actually has soup in it. Tony Dow who played Beaver’s brother Wally said that if any line got too much of a laugh the writers would take it our because they only wanted chuckles.

Our brother in law Alec was an avid fan of the show when it was in reruns during the early eighties.

Debt, Debt, And More Debt

Recent figures from the Treasury Department shows that the national debt of the United States is now $13.665 trillion.  It is an unimaginably large amount.  In numeric form, it comes out to $13,665,000, 000,000. How are our kids and grandkids going to pay off such a huge sum?

There is plenty of blame to go around for this appalling debt predicament.  According to the Treasury Department, during President George W. Bush’s eight years in office, the national debt increased by $4.9 trillion.  During President Obama’s two years in office, the debt has increased by another $3 trillion.  Both parties bear responsibility — or more accurately, irresponsibility — for this glut of debt, which has turned the United States into a debtor nation and imposed soaring interest costs that will make it virtually impossible to balance our budget and pay down that debt in the future.

Everyone seems to agree that our debt and constant borrowing is unsustainable, but no one seems to be doing anything about it.  President Obama apparently is waiting for the recommendations of a bipartisan commission, and every other politician is too busy running for office to take any action.  The  lack of action on even basic appropriations bills this past session shows that, for this Congress, hard work and hard choices on the federal budget is just not a priority.

What does all of this mean for the upcoming election if you are a voter who, like me, thinks there is no more important issue for our nation than bringing the federal budget under control?  I think it gives rise to the “throw the bums out” view UJ noted in his recent post.  Democrats control the White House and have huge majorities in both Houses of Congress, and they’ve failed to take any meaningful action on what should be our highest priority.  Why not give the Republicans a chance and then, if they fail, try something else?  Nothing that has happened in the last two years indicates that a Democratic-controlled Congress will tackle federal spending or debt issues, and if we wait too much longer to do anything about the debt issue it may be too late.

 

Roger Waters And The Wall

On Friday Richard and I, and a bunch of other people, are going to see Roger Waters perform The Wall.  According to the tour website, the show will feature Waters, backed by a full band, performing The Wall from start to finish.  Added to the mix will be an enormous wall, state-of-the-art video projections, a quadrophonic sound system, and puppets and inflatable objects.

I’m looking forward to the show because I like listening to live music and because some of the songs on The Wall are among my favorite songs, ever.  The album came out when I was in college, when Pink Floyd was a staple on every stereo system.  Dark Side Of The Moon and Wish You Were Here were generally recognized, then and now, as two of the very best rock albums ever recorded, and Animals wasn’t chump change, either.  Then years passed without a new Pink Floyd album.  When the word got out that The Wall was in the offing it became one of the most eagerly anticipated album releases ever.  When it finally hit the record stores I immediately bought a copy and listened to it from beginning to end and most of my friends did, too.

After repeated playings I fell into a pattern of listening to the first three sides of the album where my favorite songs — Mother, Young Lust, Don’t Leave Me Now, Hey You, and particularly the epic Comfortably Numb — were found.  Side four fell into disuse, like side four of the Beatles’ White Album.  In a way, listening to Roger Waters and his band perform side four will be like running into an old friend that I haven’t seen for years.

Whither Huddy?

As any reader of this blog knows, one of the TV shows I watch regularly is House.  I’ve followed the acerbic diagnostician as he has dealt with a crush from Cameron, tried to rekindle his romance with Stacy, endured an unreasonable chair of the hospital board and a vengeful police detective, and ultimately spiraled down into drug abuse, hallucinations, and institutionalization before kicking his Vicodin habit.  All the while, his  friend Wilson tells House how miserable he is.

The challenge for a long-running series like House is to avoid falling into an uncreative rut while not ruining the characters that fans have come to know and love through ridiculous plot contrivances.  This season’s big story arc has Dr. House grappling with a torrid affair with his boss, Dr. Lisa Cuddy.  So far, I don’t really know what to make of House and Cuddy — called “Huddy,” for short, by fans.  At times, it seems that the primary purpose of the plotline is to have an excuse to show some skin in the bedroom scenes.  Sparking romances between characters also is pretty trite TV fare.  But then the writers will toss an interesting idea into the mix, like how the relationship causes both House and Cuddy to act differently in their sparring about House’s outlandish proposed treatment of the patient of the week, that indicates that the plot line could work.

The most recent episode introduced House to Cuddy’s adopted daughter.  I was glad to see that when the girl chewed on House’s cane, Dr. House didn’t dissolve into misty-eyed wonderment at being around a toddler.  Instead, in true House fashion, he looked upset that the bratty kid had slobbered on the cane.  Maybe this could get interesting.

Canadian Goose Haiku

At the Ohioana awards luncheon on Saturday I was fortunate to share a table with Michael J. Rosen, who won an award for his terrific book The Cuckoo’s Haiku.  My good friend Michelle, who also sat at our table, confided that the book had inspired her and her husband to write some bird-related haiku.

I thought I would try my hand at some bird-related haiku — but what bird?  When I walked around the golf course today, the answer quickly became apparent, because on one hole the tee featured the signature calling card of the Canadian goose, Branta canadensis. It is a noble looking bird, but it must be the messiest, loudest, most obnoxious bird found anywhere in the world.  What better subject for a haiku?

Your loud, braying honk

overwhelms the silent dawn

droppings coat the ground

Stock Market Haiku

Ode To A Twinkie

Reassessing Silent Cal

One of my favorite classes at Ohio State was an American history class that examined the first half of the 20th century.  The teacher was excellent and enjoyed using anecdotes to illustrate the characters of historical figures.  For President Calvin Coolidge — nicknamed “Silent Cal” — he related a story about a talkative woman who bet her friends that she could get Coolidge to say more than three words to her during a dinner party.  At the party, she went up to Coolidge and told him about the bet.  Silent Cal looked at her and said:  “You lose.”

Now some historians are reconsidering Coolidge, who served as President from the death of Warren Harding in 1923 until 1928, and arguing that he should be ranked as one of America’s greater Presidents.  A recent article in Forbes makes the case.  It notes that Coolidge presided over a time of peace and prosperity, cut government spending and tax rates, and achieved an enviable record of economic growth.  And — almost unimaginable today — Coolidge voluntarily decided not to run for re-election in 1928.  (His timing was impeccable, of course, because the stock market crash happened only a few months after Herbert Hoover succeeded Coolidge, and the Great Depression began.  If Coolidge had decided differently, his historical pedigree might be significantly different.)

It is hard for me to rank Coolidge as one of the greatest Presidents, and surveys of historians suggest there is general agreement on that point.  Wikipedia has a handy chart of the various rankings over the years, and Coolidge, in recent times, has consistently ranked in the third quartile — i.e., the bottom half — of Presidents.  I think the truly great Presidents are those which had to overcome some great test or challenge, and Coolidge never had that opportunity.  Still, in an era when government has grown to an enormous size and government spending is at unimaginable levels, Coolidge’s focus on very limited government, and his view that “I want taxes to be less, that the people may have more,” is very attractive, indeed.

Unbeaten No Longer

The Buckeye Nation is in mourning today.  Ohio State fell from the ranks of the unbeaten last night, losing to the Wisconsin Badgers 31-18 under the lights in Madison.

The Badgers punched the Buckeyes in the mouth at the outset, running the opening kickoff back for a touchdown, gashing the Ohio State defense with long running plays through huge holes, and sprinting to a 21-0 lead.   The Buckeyes fought back but could get no closer than 21-18.

This is one of those losses where what was feared came true.  Ohio State’s special teams had another breakdown, putting the Buckeyes in an immediate hole.  The Badgers ran the ball down the Buckeyes’ throats until adjustments were made, but by then it was almost too late.

All credit must go to Wisconsin, which played a characteristically tough, gutty game in front of their home fans.  At the crunch times — such as after the Buckeyes got an interception in the first half, and after the Buckeyes closed the deficit to 21-18 in the second half — the Badgers made the big plays and Ohio State didn’t.  The Buckeyes now must try to regain their focus, bounce back next week against Purdue, and get back in the race for the Big Ten championship.

An Ohioana Weekend

Today is Ohioana Day.  The Ohioana Library will host a luncheon today in the Ohio Statehouse Atrium to honor the winners of this year’s awards, and it is an illustrious group indeed.

James McCormac, Dan Chaon, Sharon Draper, Rita Dove, and Michael J. Rosen (left to right) discuss the creative impulse

The weekend began with a bang last night with a reception to honor the award winners.  The evening featured a welcoming speech by Ohio’s gracious First Lady Frances Strickland — who has been a true and faithful friend to the Ohioana Library — good food, a fine selection of Ohio wines from Valley Vineyards, a fascinating and spirited panel discussion by some of the award winners, poetry readings, and a wonderful, moving performance of a song by Jorma Kaukonen, who has won this year’s Ohioana citation for music.

Jorma Kaukonen performs

I love Ohioana Day.  It makes me feel good that my home state has produced such creative people and fostered such talent.  I always come away with a deep respect for the thoughtfulness, humor, and discipline of the writers and artists who are recognized.  I also always learn something new about my state — whether it is about the humble insects humorously described by writer James McCormac during last night’s panel discussion, the deep Ohio roots still felt by Rita Dove, or the fact that Jorma Kaukonen, one of the founding members of the Jefferson Airplane and a member of the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, helps to teach guitar to aspiring musicians at the Fur Peace Ranch Guitar Camp, located on 125 acres in Meigs County.  Who knew?

Congratulations to the Ohioana Library and all of the award winners on this special day!

First Frost

We took our morning walk today and had a bit of a rude awakening.  The temperature had dropped considerably overnight, our breath was visible as we walked, and our fingers quickly grew stiff and wooden in the cold air.  The open areas of grass were coated with our first frost of the fall season, looking like hammered silver in the faint early morning light.

2010-2011 Term Has Started

 

Last week I saw a Charlie Rose show about the United States Supreme Court and it was fascinating. During the show they briefly touched on a few of the cases that the Supreme court currently has on their docket for the coming term.

I found this article which mentions five of the more interesting ones and when the arguments will be heard. Other cases that may be heard involve Obama’s healthcare reform and whether or not it is constitutional, terrorism and same sex marriage.

During the Charlie Rose show one of the guests mentioned the fact that last year the court had a case involving texting and because of the age of the justices they did not know what a text was much less had ever sent one.

The article mentions that one of the cases is Schwarzengger vs Entertainment Merchants which involves distribution of video games to those under age 18. Hmmmm – anyone wanna bet if any of the justices have ever played a video game ?

Advances In Hotel Shower Technology And The Lingering Impact Of Psycho

Has anyone else noticed the recent advances in hotel shower technology?  Unfortunately, they don’t involve shower nozzle height; there are still too many hotel showers that apparently were configured for the Mayor of the Munchkin City.  They also don’t address the issue of achieving water pressure beyond a limp trickle or the development of knobs that can be easily manipulated by the sleepy traveler to produce water that is comfortably between tepid and scalding.

No, the developments I’ve seen involve bowed-out shower rods that make the interior of the shower seem larger and the addition of partially or fully transparent shower curtains.

What is the reason for these developments?  Obviously, they are a delayed response to the deep trauma that watching Psycho has inflicted on us all.  Hotels have finally realized that every lathered traveler in a hotel shower fears that they are moments away from being chopped to bits by Tony Perkins and watching their blood and gore swirl down a black and white drain.  Both of the new hotel shower developments address these core concerns.  The transparent shower curtain allows for early detection of the crazed guy wearing his dead mother’s dress, and the bowed-out shower curtain affords the extra room needed to dodge the downward knife thrusts.  After all, a man wearing a heavy black floor-length dress is bound to be restricted in his movement, and the additional in-shower space should give the nimble traveler the opportunity to conduct meaningful evasive maneuvers.

Kudos to the hospitality industry for recognizing, even if belatedly, the profound anxieties of the American traveler and taking appropriate steps to address them!

On (To) Wisconsin

This week the Buckeyes travel to Madison, Wisconsin and Camp Randall Stadium to take on the Badgers in the biggest game of the season to date.  Freshly dubbed the no. 1 team in the country, the Buckeyes must find a way to beat a tough, physical team in a night game in one of the most raucous venues in the land.  ESPN’s Game Day will be there, and lots of experts will be watching the game to see whether Ohio State really is deserving of its new ranking.

How can Ohio State win the game?  Well, they need to figure out how to stop Wisconsin’s running attack.  The Badgers’ ground game is spearheaded by junior John Clay, a big, punishing runner who can bust through the line of scrimmage and run people over.  Clay is one of the premier running backs in the nation.  He averages 6 yards a carry, has scored 9 touchdowns, and leads a rushing game that is the 11th best in the country.  Stopping the run has been a strength for Ohio State this year, but Clay, James White, and Montee Ball are in a different league than the other backs the Buckeyes have faced this year.

This will be a game where the offense has to help the defense.  Turnovers could be killers, not just because they keep Ohio State from scoring but also because they will further energize a loud crowd and allow Clay and colleagues to keep pounding away at the Buckeye defense.  The problems with the Ohio State special teams this year also mean that the less reliance on the punting unit, the better.  Ohio State’s offense has to protect the ball while also putting some points on the board and keeping the defense off the field.  Wisconsin has a fine quarterback in senior Scott Tolzien, but I’d rather face a Wisconsin that is throwing the ball to try to catch up than a Wisconsin that is running the ball down Ohio State’s throat.  A lot will depend on Terrelle Pryor, his scrambling, and his ability to hit Ohio State receivers — and if Ohio State were to get a solid effort from its running backs that would be useful, too.

The intangibles in this game all favor Wisconsin.  They are playing at home and are looking to turn around a season that ran off the rails a bit when the Badgers lost unexpectedly to Michigan State.  Ohio State, in contrast, will be carrying the burden of a no. 1 ranking for the first time in a long time.  Add to that the challenge of playing at night in a huge stadium that will be packed with screaming fans, and you end up with a very big challenge for the Buckeyes.

Deconstructing The Blather

Recently we received the League of Women Voters Voter Information Bulletin for the Columbus area.  It provides biographical and party affiliation information, poses certain questions to the candidates, and prints their brief responses.  The Q&A stuff is the most interesting, at once both infuriating and perversely hilarious.

For example, one question to Ohio House and Senate candidates notes that Ohio faces a huge budget deficit in the next biennium — estimated to be as much as $8 billion — and asks “What specific revenue increases would you support and what cuts would you make to balance the budget?” (emphasis added)  In his response, Ohio Senate candidate Mark Pfeifer says he’s “not afraid to make government more efficient and accountable.”  (Well, that’s settled!)  But when he gets “specific,” all he mentions is fighting “Medicaid fraud,” encouraging “shared services among local governments,” promoting “wider use of performance audits,” and making use of “the sunset review process to elimination outdated or duplicative state boards.”  That carefully phrased answer sounds like somebody who is afraid to rattle any cages.  Does anyone honestly believe that the “waste, fraud, and abuse” that everyone cites as the way to balance the budget, but somehow never gets cut, is going to close an $8 billion budget gap — or that the other, minor concepts Pfeifer mentions are going to do the trick, either?

In response to that same question, Ohio Senate candidate Charleta Tavares delivers this masterpiece of political blather:   “I have not determined which increases would be most appropriate.  I will work with my colleagues to build a consensus on where to increase revenues and how best to make cuts.  The revenue increases and projected cuts would be based on what is fair, equitable, just and on previous cuts made to programs, services and/or sectors.  The guiding principle would be to ensure that services are focused on the needs of our residents; job growth potential; and cost/benefit analysis (analysis to include financial, health/welfare and jobs impacts).”  Could any answer to a simple question be more meaningless?

Given these kinds of obfuscatory answers — and they are not unique among the responses printed in the Voter Information Bulletin — is it any wonder that voters are fed up?  Democrat, Republican, or Independent, we are sick to death of candidates who try to sneak into office in a haze of obscure rhetoric, all the while knowing exactly what they hope to do but being too timid to say so.

Robert, Embarrassingly Behind Nevaeh And Alfie

Recently I happened to see a list of the most popular baby names in Ohio, and saw that Robert, once again, didn’t make the list.  Oh, you’ll still see Robert on the statewide representation of popular names on the linked webpage  — its located down there near Marietta on the map, along with Audrey and Kyle — but the the article points out that the truly popular choices are names like Nevaeh, Jayden, and Madison.

Apparently the criteria for name selection these days include not only names that have no discernible gender identification, but also names that are unpronounceable.  If you are a kid named Nevaeh — regardless of your gender — every teacher who calls the roll from kindergarten to 12th grade is going to butcher the pronunciation and, deep down, bear tremendous resentment that you didn’t have a familiar, pronounceable name like Bob.  (For record, I’ve learned that Nevaeh, which is “heaven” spelled backward, is a feminine name that is pronounced either ne-VAY-eh or ne-VAY.  I suspect the latter is probably the French pronunciation).

It turns out that Bob hasn’t been popular for decades.  In fact, every decade of my life has seen the name Robert decline in popularity, and recently the decline has been precipitous.   I flatter myself that there is no causal relationship between my role in the world and the plummeting popularity of my name.  But when I see that the top name list of 2009 has Alfie — Alfie! — coming in at number 4 and Robert nowhere to be found, I begin to wonder.  Seriously, Alfie?  It’s embarrassing!

Our Silent Green Sentinel

We live in a cul de sac.  Cul de sacs tend to be popular neighborhoods for little kids — after all, there is no through traffic — and our street is no exception.

 

Turtle Boy on the cul de sac

 

Several months ago two of our neighbors who have two very young kids added something new to our neighborhood at the entrance to our cul de sac. Bright green, sporting a red cap, an orange flag, and a “Slow!” sign, it appeared in the center of the road one night as I came home from work.  You have to slow down to maneuver around him,  which obviously is the idea.  Kish and I call him “Turtle Boy” because of his bright green coloring and slightly hump-backed appearance.

I don’t mind Turtle Boy.  I like seeing that parents care enough about their kids to invest in a sign designed to slow down traffic.  Obviously, individuals can’t be permitted to clog our streets with signs of their own devising, but there really is no risk of that in this case.  This is just an instance of parents with toddlers protecting their offspring.  I also like that the parents showed a kind of “can-do” attitude and took effective steps themselves.  In his own silent way, Turtle Boy is a kind of tribute to the American spirit.