Archive for December 2021
Making a New Year’s Resolution . . .
… has never been on my calendar,
but we had an interesting “white stone” meditation session last year to write down on our little rock a directive we hoped to follow during 2021.
The word that stood on my shelf all year was “LISTEN” so it was pretty simple to just turn over the stone for 2022 and write “SHUT UP.”
An Audience To Remember
By Tom Morrow
There are times in one’s life when unexpected pleasures come flooding in. One of them occurred back in 1979, while a cast member of the venerable stage play, The Philadelphia Story at the Patio Playhouse in Escondido.
I was cast as Uncle Willie, one of the supporting characters. The movie version was a favorite of mine. The 1940 Oscar-winning film featured Cary Grant, Katharyn Hepburn, James Stewart, and Ruth Hussey.
A friend told me Miss Hussey was living in Carlsbad and had her phone number. The actress had been nominated for an Oscar for her role as the photographer Elizabeth Inbrie in that movie.
It occurred to me it would be something of a coup having this movie star attend one of our Escondido stage performances. I called her and she accepted without hesitation. And she asked if she could she bring some of her Hollywood friends.
I couldn’t say “yes” fast enough.
Ruth Carol Hussey was born Oct. 30, 1911, in Providence, R.I., and worked as a model before landing a number of stage roles with touring companies. MGM signed her to a contract and she made her film debut in 1937. She quickly became a leading lady and usually played sophisticated, worldly roles. In 1941, exhibitors voted her the third-most popular new star in Hollywood..
Some notable movies Hussey starred in include Flight Command (1940) with Robert Taylor, Northwest Passage (1940) with Robert Young, Tennessee Johnson (1942) with Van Heflin, The Uninvited (1944) with Ray Milland, The Great Gatsby (1949) with Alan Ladd, Stars & Stripes Forever (1952) with Clifton Webb, and The Facts of Life (1960) with Bob Hope.
She made more than 60 films and numerous radio and television appearances during a career that stretched from 1937 to 1973 and in 1967 she was inducted into the Rhode Island Heritage Hall of Fame.
Miss Hussey appeared in early television dramas such as “Marcus Welby, M.D,” “The Jimmy Stewart Theater,” “Jane Wyman Presents,” “Studio One,” “Alfred Hitchcock Presents,”and “The New Perry Mason” as well as many other TV shows and commercials.
She also was active in Catholic charities, was noted for painting in watercolors, and was a lifelong Democrat although she did vote for Republican Thomas Dewey in 1944,, and for Hollywood friend and former co-star Ronald Reagan in the 1980 and 1984 presidential elections.
In 1942, she married talent agent and radio producer C. Robert “Bob” Longenecker at Mission San Antonio de Pala here in San Diego’s North County. They raised three children: George Robert Longenecker, John William Longenecker, and Mary Elizabeth Hendrix.
With the birth of her children, Hussey focused much of her attention on raising a family and, in 1977, she and her husband moved from their Brentwood home to Rancho Carlsbad. Her husband died in 2002 shortly after celebrating their 60th wedding anniversary.
After she watched our Patio performance, I introduced the 18-year-old young lady playing the photographer. The youngster not only had never seen the Academy Award-winning movie, she had no idea who the Oscar-nominated star was.
Among the friends Miss Hussey brought that evening was her film producer-husband and Dick Simmons, known to the world as Sgt Preston of the Yukon. Ruth Hussey died April 19, 2005, at the age of 93, from complications from an appendectomy and was interred in Westlake Village, Ca
Start Thinking About . . .
. . . resolutions for the New Year.
Last year, at a brief transcendental rite involving writing a word of resolve on a small white stone, I chose “Listen.”
This year’s feels like it’s going to be a bit more complicated but haven’t picked one yet. So, maybe more later.
How Times Have Changed . . .
. . . really hit my tablemate during his Christmas Day dinner with family.
When he was growing up, he faked his age as under 11 until he was 16 so he could ride trains and buses on a child’s fare.
During his festival visit with the relatives, he heard his 14-year-old grandson brag about getting his driver’s license so he could drive his family’s car by faking his age as 16.
‘Twas a couple of days before Christmas
When the old guys were talking
About how they looked forward
To filling a stocking.
The conversation ran into a wall
When somehow cost became the topic
And no one could recall
What that had to do with the subject.
Through the mumbling and jumbling
And a bit of sputtering, too
The matter at hand came tumbling through,
“It’s Christmas you fools,”
Commented – er, shouted — an old fart,
“Whether its toys or tools,
It should come from your heart.”
Curiosity Can Be Costly . . .
. . . paying good money to see how fast a horse can run has chewed up a lot of fortunes.
Give Yourself a Few Thousand Dollars a Year
This is for those of you who are members of a household with two or more cars.
You can gift yourself more than $9,000 a year, because that’s the average cost of auto
ownership, according to an American Automobile Association report.
As a neighbor commented, “That buys a whole lotta cab rides.”
Your car payments, interest on those payments, insurance, maintenance, gasoline, tires,
repairs, parking, license, depreciation and other auto-allied costs may not amount to that. Maybe
they’re more than that.
Doing a bit of arithmetic should be enlightening.
If you still have a job, check out the public transit-system service to and from the work site. Most urbanites live within half a mile — about a 10-minute walk — of a bus, trolley, or subway stop.
Public transit in most cities is likely faster than motorists’ commute time during rush hours
getting to and from work.
If you think it’s too far to walk to nearest transit stop, get a bicycle. Most transportation systems are equipped to allow bikes on board or on racks. And most stations have facilities for locking bikes.
If this is unworkable, see if carpooling is an option. If you go to a gymnasium regularly or to a particular restaurant or hangout or to regular service-club luncheons, check with those around you for rides. When all else fails, take a cab.
Remember, too, that you still have a car in the family. You’re only selling one, yours or your spouse’s.
If you’re no longer tied to an office or other workplace, the problem is much simpler.
Think about when you need a car and where you need to get to. You can take public transit to
sports events or for doctor or dentist appointments. Cabs are at the ready and your other
family car is your backup.
You’ll still use this vehicle to get groceries, visit relatives and go on motoring vacations.
The money you save can be used to pay off credit-card debt or to buy yourself goodies
you’ve always wanted. And you don’t have to do all the driving.
Aging is a Great Education . . .
. . . when we were in our 20s, we told ourselves we didn’t give a damn what the world thinks of us.
It took us all this time to find out they weren’t even thinking about us at all.
White Elephant . . .
. . . comes to mind during this season of gift-giving.
Legend says the origin is rooted in the kingdom of Siam, modern-day Thailand, when the king would present a white elephant to anyone around him who displeased him.
These animals were considered sacred so they could not be killed, nor could they be re-gifted since they were a present from the king. This meant you had to feed this beast, which could weight up to 12 tons, up to 600 pounds of food every day.
So if you didn’t have endless means, a white elephant meant it could be end of you.
Mature Life Features 