Best E-mails of the Week 6/1/03

The sex of a Fly

A woman walked into the kitchen to find her husband stalking around with a fly swatter.

"What are you doing?" She asked.

"Hunting Flies" He responded.

"Oh. Killing any?" She asked.

"Yep, 3 males, 2 Females," he replied.

Intrigued, she asked. "How can you tell?"

 

He responded, "3 were on a beer can, 2 were on the phone."

>>Author and lecturer Leo Buscaglia once talked about
>>>>a contest he was asked to judge. The purpose of the
>>>>contest was to find the most caring child. The winner
>>>>was a four-year old child whose next-door neighbor
>>>>was an elderly gentleman who had recently lost his
>>>>wife. Upon seeing the man cry, the little boy went
>>>>into the old gentleman's yard, climbed onto his lap,
>>>>and just sat there. When his mother asked him what
>>>>he had said to the neighbor, the little boy said,
>>>>"Nothing, I just helped him cry."
>>>>~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
>>>>
>>>>Teacher Debbie Moon's first graders were discussing
>>>>a picture of a family. One little boy in the picture
>>>>had a different color hair than the other family
>>>>members. One child suggested that he was adopted and
>>>>a little girl said, "I know all about adoptions because
>>>>I was adopted." "What does it mean to be adopted?" asked
>>>>another child. "It means," said the girl, "that you grew
>>>>in your mommy's heart instead of her tummy."
>>>>~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
>>>>
>>>>As I was driving home from work one day, I stopped to watch
>>>>a local Little League baseball game that was being played
>>>>in a park near my home. As I sat down behind the bench on the
>>>>first-base line, I asked one of the boys what the score was.
>>>>"We're behind 14 to nothing," he answered with a smile.
>>>>"Really," I said. "I have to say you don't look very
>>>>discouraged." "Discouraged?" the boy asked with a puzzled look
>>>>on his face. "Why should we be discouraged? We haven't been up
>>>>to bat yet."
>>>>~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
>>>>
>>>>Whenever I'm disappointed with my spot in life, I stop and
>>>>think about little Jamie Scott. Jamie was trying out for a
>>>>part in a school play. His mother told me that he'd set his
>>>>heart on being in it, though she feared he would not be
>>>>chosen. On the day the parts were awarded, I went with her
>>>>to collect him after school. Jamie rushed up to her, eyes
>>>>shining with pride and excitement. "Guess what Mom," he
>>>>shouted, and then said those words that will remain a lesson
>>>>to me: "I've been chosen to clap and cheer."
>>>>~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
>>>>
>>>>An Eye Witness Account from New York City, on a cold day in
>>>>December:
>>>>
>>>>A little boy about 10 years old was standing before a shoe
>>>>store on the roadway, barefooted, peering through the window,
>>>>and shivering with cold. A lady approached the boy and said,
>>>>"My little fellow, why are you looking so earnestly in that
>>>>window?" "I was asking God to give me a pair of shoes," was
>>>>the boy's reply. The lady took him by the hand and went into
>>>>the store and asked the clerk to get half a dozen pairs of
>>>>socks for the boy. She then asked if he could give her a
>>>>basin of water and a towel. He quickly brought them to her.
>>>>She took the little fellow to the back part of the store and,
>>>>removing her gloves, knelt down, washed his little feet, and
>>>>dried them with a towel. By this time the clerk had returned
>>>>with the socks. Placing a pair upon the boy's feet, she
>>purchased
>>>>him a pair of shoes. She tied up the remaining pairs of socks
>>>>and gave them to him. She patted him on the head and said, "No
>>>>doubt, my little fellow, you feel more comfortable now?" As she
>>>>turned to go, the astonished lad caught her by the hand, and
>>>>looking up in her face, with tears in his eyes, answered the
>>>>question with these words: "Are you God's Wife?"

Here is Gerry with niece Anita and Brad's son Alexander.

This is Gretchen and Justin's house under construction.

I promised to write a review of Eugene O'Neill's Long Day's Journey into Night. Here it is:

Does the title follow Mid Summer's Night Dream by Shakespeare?  Olivia DeHavilland had starred in the 1935 movie version of the famous play.  According to Turner Classic Movies this week, she had just graduated high school and went to LA.  A stage production of Mid Summer's Night Dream was in progress, and she was given the role of Hermoines' stand in's stand in. (The Harry Potter novels would later use the character name Hermoines for it's heroine, and I've already objected to her setting a fire to solve a problem of Harry flying around on a broom.)  Anyway DeHavilland finds both the lead and the first understudy unable to perform, so she appears on opening night.  Two producers in the audience decide to make a movie, and from the cast they select only two members: DeHavilland and 13 year old Mickey Rooney.  James Cagney and Joey Brown also appear.  A bright spot in the flick is a young Ernest Borgnine who would later appear in McCale's Navy, the 1960's comedy TV series with Tim Conway of Carol Burnet fame. Whew! back to LDJintoN)

(I have to see it first)

OK Mary, Bob, Eva and I saw the play last night at the Plymouth Theater on 45th St.  I consider it the most interesting theatrical experience I've had. (A close runner up for second is Cats with mom and dad several years ago)  Brian Dennehy was fantastic as James Tyrone.  I just loved his miserly, drunken character.  The play was true to the original O'Neill script, and no one could tell it really occurred over 80 years ago in New London.

The main feature of the family of four is their intensity of love and hate for each other, especially the morphine addicted Mary (Vanessa Redgrave). The screaming, then hugging, then crying.  The emphasis O'Neill give to the Irish whiskey is powerful, and during the play I resolved to follow cousin Peter Allen, and maybe just not drink alcohol at all any more.  I still think the drunken Jamie is the inspiration for Holden Caufield, and I agree with the New Yorker magazine critic who loved the show, but felt they should have used fog.

Every word over the four hour show was clear and perfectly delivered.  The audience laughed at more lines than I thought they would, but I admit I was giddy at times as the scenes unfolded.  I recommend that you read and see Long Day's Journey if you can.

Pete

PS  Since when is God a male who would have a wife?