January, look forward, look back

Tis the time of year to look back over the year that recently ended and look forward to the year ahead. What better to do on cold days, eh?

Here is a picture of the men in my family, all of them are gone except me. I am sitting on my grandfather's knee, my father is sitting next to his father, and in the back are my brothers sitting on my uncle's knees. My uncle was a Marine, fought in the Pacific, including Tarawa, Guadalcanal and Okinawa. He made it home, and in fact, while sailing from place to place in the war he managed to take the pay from many a sailor playing poker -- he arrived home with enough money to buy a brand new Cadillac.

Watching Yancy Derringer brings back memories -- my father did his residency at Charity hospital in New Orleans, my uncle was a Mississippi gambler, and my grandfather was a woodworker. I got to visit him and the shop in 1959, and we had a good ol' time - riding around on the Delta in his pickup truck, hanging out in the shop, drinkin' Coca Colas right out of the Coke machine.

My uncle inherited the shop after my grandfather died and I spent the summer of 1967 working for him. Tough boss, he expected a lot, and I worked like a sumbitch. He had his office in the middle of the millwork shop, a small, windowless room with his desk and a chair for visitors. At the end of the day I would go and sit there and wait for a ride home. He loved to play jokes, and one afternoon as I was waiting I picked up a trade journal and was engrossed in reading the articles about efficiently processing wood into salable products.

BOOM!!! What the hey? Unbeknownst to me, my uncle, always the joker, had pulled out his .38 revolver and fired a round through the floor. I nearly jumped out of my skin. It was loud, I tell ya.

A Wolff of a Different Color, or the Original Brand X

Trooper mentioned the old tv show Yancy Derringer, or maybe he didn't. And if not, he should have. I watched it when it was first broadcast and now I am watching it again. Ain't technology wonderful?

Yancy returns home after the Civil War and goes to his old home place. His plantation is played by Tara from GWTW -- it is unmistakable. I guess even Desilu liked to pinch pennies.

Ol' Yance has a Pawnee sidekick named Pahoo-Ka-Ta-Wa, and they communicate using sign language. Funny, but everything they say to each other looks exactly like every other thing they say to each other. Not very inventive signing.

This is Pahoo:

His character's name allegedly means Wolf Who Stands in Water. This show was made so long ago that they could hire a German and cover him with redface. Try that today, Hollywood!

This show was made so long ago that both Sally Field's mother and Candice Bergen's mother are in the series - they play Yancy's girlfriends. Yep, it was that long ago.

Yancy, of course, went on to play Tarzan, and he has several rope swinging stunts in this show. Perhaps they took "Hollywood and Vine" literally. The usual cast of '50s character actors stop by for a paycheck -- Nick Adams, Charles Bronson, Lee Van Cleef, heck, even Louise Fletcher has a part. Talk about some Ratched acting!

Wikipedia says that post-war New Orleans was like post-war Berlin. I am not seeing it in this series, but I suppose an occupied city is an occupied city. Damned carpetbaggers!

For those keeping score, it was 71 degrees yesterday, it will be 22 tonight, 17 tomorrow night, and while none of those are a problem, individually, having the temperature riding a roller coaster like that is tough to work around.

This music collided with western music in New Orleans. For that I am grateful.

Plus, it looks warm over there.

New Orleans principal pays outstanding students cash

At Edna Karr High School, Principal Harold Clay believes that a little change can go a long way. It’s his belief that academics are the real key to success and he annually awards cash prizes to kids who excel in the classroom.

Friday, was no exception. Clay handed out $100 bills to 33 students who had GPAs of 4.0 or higher. “When kids are focused on iPhones and Jordans, I’m saying to focus on your education and I’m going to compensate you for it.”

The message seems to have gotten across to many of those who were honored Friday.

“If you work hard in the class room someone is going to take notice, someone’s going to take heed of what you’re doing” said Karr senior Korey Finnie.

The highest achievers weren’t the only winners of the day. Nearly 400 Karr students were honored for having GPA of at least 3.5. Some were even given sports style varsity jackets and patches. “Last year I didn’t get one and I was pretty mad about It and this year I worked really hard to get it because I really wanted one” said Karr student Eyrie Toliver.

Principal Clay says he wants academics to be honored the same way as if you achieve on the basketball court so for a big time basketball player they have a signing day.
Friday was like assigning day for academic excellence. (video at the link)

"New Orleans Man Drowns at Party for Lifeguards"

News from 1985

 

Via Reddit

"New Orleans airport machete suspect is dead"

"White was shot three times at the Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport during his horrific attack and was pronounced dead at 5:02 pm Saturday."

Authorities say the suspect in the brazen machete attack may have been planning to bomb the site as well.

Bystanders caught in the chaos said police quickly fired shots to subdue the alleged attacker, sending passengers fleeing and ducking for cover.

"Mostly everybody was getting down to the ground and trying to hide under chairs," Nicole Danjean told The Times-Picayune. Danjean, who had been traveling from New Orleans to Washington, D.C., said she was at her gate when she heard three or four gunshots, then heard someone yell, "Everybody get down!"