THIS & THAT #7

Super Sunday

At 5:30 AM, the San Jose Mercury News landed on our doorstep. Since every section had stories devoted to an activity taking place fifty miles away in Santa Clara, we devoted a minimal amount of tine to the newspaper.

As usual, the only worthwhile stories I read summarized the basketball game I saw the night before. They described how our Golden State Warriors beat the Oklahoma City Thunder, bringing their record to 46-4. They had knocked off another NBA pretender to the Golden State throne. It’s a blessing to live in Santa Cruz, and view all of the home and away games on television.

Early On

 I went to the hot tub outside our kitchen door, and was greeted by the thundering sounds of the ocean, and then by the chirping of the early birds, who regularly visit our feeders and us. I left the hot tub, as dawn was delightfully breaking.

After breakfast, while Carmen tended her garden, I continued to trim our eight-foot tall pine tree, creatively shaping it to resemble a miniature bonsai.

The temperature in Santa Cruz slowly rose beneath a warm sun, and settled comfortably at seventy-three degrees, while the temperature in Miami rese to a comfortable high of sixty-six degrees.

Ador-Ab-Lay

After lunch, we drove downtown and saw a most interesting movie “Lady in the Van,” about an eighty-year-old homeless woman in London As usual, Carmen and I walked hand in hand toward our car. At the first crosswalk, a car stopped and waved us across. All of the car’s windows were opened, and we could see the smiling faces of the four twenty-five year-old men inside. The driver, whose arms were bedecked with tattoos, warmly shouted, “You are fucking adorable,” and I replied, “So are you.” Carmen beamed, since no one had ever said that to her, except for me. But when I say it, I interject a Spanish pronunciation and say, “Carmen, you are ador-ab-lay.”

While strolling to our car, we stopped at Logo’s huge used and new bookstore, and after I found the paperback Ukulele Heroes for a mere $7.98. I prevailed with Carmen that insisted that we have to get a book for her, and she selected the hardcover book, European Cookies for Every Occasion, for the same price.

We did a bit of window-shopping at the Santa Cruz Warrior’s downtown store on Pacific Avenue, for it was closed, and continued walking to our car.

Sand and See

We drove down to the Boardwalk, and it and the nearby beach was crowded with people far from Santa Clara. It was the same story at other beaches in the area. Who would want to be anywhere else?

We did, and so we went to a nearby park, and walked through the woods and fields on un-crowded trails. Then we stopped at a health club near our house, for our new insurance plan provided us with a free Silver Sneakers membership. Less than ten people occupied the two-story, three-building structure. Perhaps the others were still enjoying the marvelous weather elsewhere.  

When we came home, while I waited for salmon being cooked on our grill at the end of our Super Sunday, I remember that there was some activity taking place that day in Santa Clara. When I turned on my computer, I discovered that a team from Denver had beaten a team from North Carolina.

Why Fly Away?

Today, on this marvelous Monday, the temperature in Miami climbed to sixty-six degrees. At 3:30 PM, it’s now eighty degrees in Santa Cruz.

THIS & THAT #3

Michigan Will Never Leave You

Even When You Leave Michigan

I begin every morning looking through the San Jose Mercury News, the sister paper to the Detroit Free Press, and it seems that Michigan has followed me west to California.

It’s especially true when I find a story or two on my old “home town.” Perhaps it’s because I still have a connection with Southeastern Michigan through family and friends who still live there, either full time or who evacuate during the cold and cruel days of winter.

It also might be because my wife and I have been paying $100 every month to Chesed Shel Emes — Hebrew Memorial — for adjoining plots 12-D-2 and 12-D-4. Since neither of us want to spend the hereafter in a frigid clime, the plots are a safety valve factor since they cost about one-third of what a similar plot costs here where the weather is a bit better. However, it will cost about $2,400 to ship a body back, and we won’t be able to use any of our hundreds of thousands of American Airline Frequent Flyer miles to do so in First Class. We were told that we would be relegated to cargo, with no amenities.

However, that’s another story, and recent stories about Michigan in the San Jose paper, are even more obtuse and diverse.

I’m Not Lion to You

A small, 2-inch story in the sports section told readers that the Silverdome is coming down next year. The Detroit Lions played there until 2002, and the team’s owners believe that the 127-acre site will be attractive to developers.

The Silverdome was the site of the 1982 Super Bowl, and the 2016 Super Bowl will be played at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, the home of the San Francisco 49ers. None of the 49ers, whose team record is at 2-6, or the Lions at 1-7, will be at that game unless they work as vendors or park cars.

I have never been at a football game at the Silverdome nor at Ford Field, but on December 29, 1957, I, and several fraternity brothers, attended the Championship Game between the Lions and the Cleveland Browns at Briggs Stadium, home of the Detroit Tigers. We could only afford seats in the windy, open upper deck, and when the game began, the temperature was hovering at thirty-two degrees. The starting backfield usually consisted of John Henry Johnson, Hopalong Cassady, and Gene Gedman, with Bobby Layne at quarterback. Layne was injured and was replaced by back-up Tobin Rote who tossed four touchdowns passes, and led the Lions to a 59-14 win in front of 55,283 shivering fans. Here’s a pre-instant replay, motion picture look at that game played fifty-eight years ago.

It’s Not Just A Game

Jim Harbaugh, the fired San Francisco 49er coach, was on the October 30^th “Stoney and Bill” show on WXYT-FM (97.1), and as Michigan’s leader, was still upset about the last second loss to Michigan State. Although he told his players to move on, he said on air, “There are people who can leave the game, and the game is over, and they don’t think about it. I’m not one of those people.” Keep your khakis well creased, Jim. We may learn even more about the little things that make you and your team unique during this football revival time in Ann Arbor, but only if we read the San Jose newspaper.

“Natives wary of Detroit’s revival”

That Mercury News headline was under a photograph of Tommy Bedway, owner of Ronnie’s Quality Meats in Detroit’s Eastern Market District. Tommy, who is a middle-aged white man, stands next to Luron McCrary, a black man, who is weighing meat. Bedway said that his property’s value has increased 30 percent since he bought it in 2013.

The story tells of how both property values and rents have recently risen in some places, and developers are moving in with money to spend. It was also noted “suburbanites are flocking downtown, and this is boosting business.”

Will this mean that many suburban dwellers will finally venture below Fifteen Mile Road, and visit Greek Town once again? Will they do so without taking a guided tour bus to get there?

It’s amazing what you can learn about Detroit, when you live elsewhere, but don’t know if South Florida’s Sun Sentinel newspapers carry such stories. Doubt if they carried the story about Mike Ilitch’s generous gift of $40 million, to build the new Wayne University Business School on Woodward and Temple that will bear his name.

Bowl of Soup

It’s rumored that on this upcoming Sunday there’s a sporting event taking place that will attract more than 110 million viewers. You knew it was coming when last Sunday’s newspaper was filled with advertising from K-Mart, Target and every local appliance store describing gigantic savings on gigantic-sized television sets.

We have a 20” RCA color television set that I recently bought on October 22, 1989, and it was in excellent shape, until I noticed that I had to sit nearer to hear the sound clearly. At first I thought that I was just growing deaf in my advanced years, however, when my young wife Carmen noticed it too, we knew something had to be done since our extended warranty ran out in October 1990.

There were three viable choices; (1) we would not watch television ever again, which is a very acceptable solution, (2) we could buy a newer, slim-line 29” set, now on sale for less than $350, or (3) we could repair our current set.

Our home’s décor is mainly dark, wooden antique, and our current television set has a faux wood-grained metal exterior that comfortably fits in, so we opted for the latter choice at an estimated cost of $165. The set is bulky and heavy, and when we called the repair shop, Greg said it would cost an additional $55 if we needed them to pick it up from our home and deliver it after it was repaired. He was nearby, so we asked him to stop by, and when he did, he took out an instruction sheet on controls, played around with our remote for perhaps five minutes, and fixed the problem for $85. There was no extended warranty given, but we had our practically new set operating again as it should.

I get attached to older things that still work, including my Grandmother’s 1920s toaster where you lower the right and left metal panels, and it browns one side of a slice of bread at a time. I have to keep an eye on it or else smoke may arise as the bread is blackened.

If you walk through my home you’ll find a lovely china cabinet from the 1950s that belonged to my parents, and an art deco lamp that’s nearly seventy-five years old, that I inherited from my Mother’s first cousin Peggy.

I have one suit and it’s green corduroy complete with vest, which I will wear only on special occasions. I bought it new for my nephew Brian’s Bar Mitzvah that took place in 1979.

I also enjoy driving my 1987 Honda CRX SI that I bought practically new in 1990. Its most amazing characteristics are that it has only 126,028 miles, its body is slowly oxidizing and looks like a piece of art, and the sun roof will open electronically, but it has to be hand cranked closed.

Then there are cherished friends that I have stayed connected with for years. This month, when I was on the west coast of Florida, I stayed with Bernie, and when I was on the east coast, I stayed with Arnie. I have known each of them for more that sixty years.

As far as what I’ll do this upcoming Sunday, that’s not such a tough decision. First, I will either walk on a nearby deserted beach as I have done during past games, or take in a movie in a nearly vacant theatre.

Then I will come home and have a bowl of my wife’s delicious chicken soup, which is made from my Grandmother Fox’s recipe that is at least seventy-five years old.

As far as following any sports event that takes place this Sunday, I may read about it in the Monday morning newspaper, but only after I finish the crossword puzzle.