Mel Brooks as the governor and Robyn Hilton as his, uh, secretary in "Blazing Saddles." (Courtesy: Warner Bros.)
Genius is not a word I toss around freely.
Oh, I use it to describe myself three or four times a day, of course. But that's usually about it.
Not today, though. Today I want to send as many accolades as possible out to creative genius Melvin James Kaminsky of Brooklyn, New York.
We all know Mr. Kaminsky better as Mel Brooks, whose "Young Frankenstein" of 1974 still holds almost 40 years later as my favorite comedy of all time.
It is Brooks' other 1974 comedy, "Blazing Saddles," that takes center stage on this occasion, however because you can enjoy a digitally restored print of the raucous Western on the big screen as part of Cinemark Theaters' Classic Series one day and night only, Wednesday (May 15 at 2 p.m. and 7 p.m.), at select Cinemark Theaters across the U.S.
And yes, you read correctly. Two of the most outrageous, entertaining comedies of all time debuted the same year. From the same filmmaker. With a little help from Count Basie (whose full orchestra appears from nowhere among the sagebrush in "Blazing Saddles"), some magnificent acting talent (Madeline Kahn as the Oscar nominated saloon singer in "Blazing Saddles" who's "so tired" and the monster's semi-reluctant, shall we say, romantic partner in "Young Frankenstein"), the beans-fueled flatulance campfire scene of "Blazing Saddles" and many others.
I could go on. In fact, I would if I didn't have better evidence than words can describe to point out what I mean when I call Brooks the cinema's Crown Prince of Irreverence. Some of you may think that cutting edge, down-and-dirty comedy -- dangerously chancy, even -- began with the "The Hangover" franchise in 2009.
Nope. Mentally roll back the clock to Feb. 7, 1974 and click on the "Blazing Saddles" trailer below.
Baz Luhrmann puts Carey Mulligan and Leonardo DiCaprio through their paces in "The Great Gatsby." (Photo courtesy: Warner Bros.)
From the Hey, Don't You Think It's A Little Late For That Department:
Now that Baz Luhrmann's "The Great Gatsby" is in theaters with a boffo $51 million and change opening weekend in the books, the Australian filmmaker with a flair for, shall we say, mass-appeal-of-the-day revisionist film-making, is feigning worry that "Gatsby" novelist F. Scott Fitzgerald might not approve of a flashy mix of hip hop and period music.
“I don’t know if he would say, ‘I was really upset you didn’t put the old-fashioned music in.’ He might have,” Luhrmann tells The Hollywood Reporter. “He might have said, ‘Why did you put that immediate, now music? Why did you use this new thing called 3-D?’… I don’t really know what he would think,” an article posted on the Hollywood Reporter website said.
From this aisle seat, Luhrmann and (if you watch the video below) hip-hop artist Jay-Z, who draws an executive producer credit as Shawn "Jay Z" Carter, stars Leonardo DiCaprio (Gatsby), Carey Mulligan (Daisy) and former "Spider-Man" Tobey Maguire (Nick) all agree that fusing modern-day hip-hop into Roaring Twenties jazz is -- to split the difference decade-wise -- a groovy idea.
I'm not going to give a full explanation of how I think it worked today, since -- NEWSFLASH! -- Breaking News -- there's a good chance I may be reopening my Movie Review Jalapeño Jar soon. That might just begin with my "Great Gatsby" review.
More to come on that news soon. For now, check out the video below and see what those involved have to say about hip-hopping through F. Scott Fitzgerald territory.
It's oh-so ordinary for flashy starlets and would-be ingenue hopefuls to flock to the South of France to share the limelight of the Cannes Film Festival, which cranks up the projectors May 15 and unspools celluloid through May 26.
But, according to a Hollywood Reporter article by Dana Kennedy, call girls flock to Cannes during the festival in hopes of making what the article predicts may be as high as $40,000 a night. (Quick, how many euros is that?)
"'We all look forward to it,' says a local prostitute in Cannes who goes by the name of Daisy on her website but declined to give her surname. Daisy is one of many independent escorts who have their own websites and usually avoid going to hotels and bars -- except during the festival. 'There's a lot of competition because there are so many girls, but the local ones have an advantage. We know the hotel concierges.'
"The local prostitutes, says Daisy, routinely drop cash off with concierges at the town's top hotels. In return, if they are lucky, concierges sometimes steer clients their way. During the 10-day festival, an estimated 100 to 200 hookers stroll in and out of the big hotels every day, according to hotel sources," states the Hollywood Reporter article.
That's not the Cannes Film Festival I remember from 2005. I recall working almost around the clock to attend screenings and world premieres and attending press conferences where filmmakers and stars converged to talk about their latest project.
That included extraordinary actor Tommy Lee Jones that year. Jones, who took the top acting award during his visit, enjoyed what might have been a career humbling highlight when his gritty Texas-set crime-drama "The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada" (starring Jones, Barry Pepper and January Jones) earned a 7-minute standing ovation following its world premiere.
Maybe because working film critic slugs like me didn't have the time, money or inkling to hang out in the palatial top-dollar (top-euro?) hotels, I didn't notice a swarm of girls with, let's say, monetary aspirations in mind.
Here's what I do remember. Once I felt confident enough with my broken French to order food, I stopped off at a sidewalk bistro for lunch. I was feeling pretty proud of myself for ordering in French as I gazed out at the busy, frenzied even, people strolling the streets of Cannes.
My pepperoni pizza arrived with one slight language barrier problem:
There was a fried egg nesting right in the middle of it.
On well, c'est la vie.
I think that means "that's life," but you might not want to take my word for it.
I am shocked, shocked to hear that two of the writers from "G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra" (2009) have filed a lack-of-payment lawsuit against not only major players in Hollywood, but a toymaker as well.
Why am I so shocked? It has nothing to do with the lawsuit, really. It's this:
"The two writers (David Elliot and Paul Lovett) say that shortly after the premiere of the 2009 film, the defendant film companies asked them to present plot-lines, themes, characters and more for a potential sequel "with the stated intent that the PDH Defendants would hire Plaintiffs to write the screenplay if they liked Plaintiffs' proposed Sequel.
"Elliot and Lovett said that they did just that, and now after seeing their work allegedly taken without credit, they are seeking more than $23 million in damages for copyright infringement and breach of implied contract."
April 20 was hardly a typical Saturday. That was the day the Richland College Emeritus plus 50/Movie Memories posse was formed for the semi-sole purpose of determining that Bonnie Parker and Clyde Barrow remain a non-threat to law-abiding citizens.
We all watched "Bonnie and Clyde," the Oscar-nominated 1967 classic starring Warren Beatty and Faye Dunaway, the night before, so we felt obligated to take action. (Click here to hear Merle Haggard sing "The Legend of Bonnie and Clyde.")
While it's true that a 79-year-old notorious crime spree might be considered the ultimate cold case by some, the Richland Emeritus plus 50 group is a determined bunch, especially if we can stop at Braum's for a refreshment break from time to time.
After returning from a rather cushy day on the trail -- not on horseback but in a comfortable Lone Star Coaches bus -- your scribe can report that both former West Dallas desperadoes of the 1930s remain buried and quite secure in separate Dallas graves.
The other purpose of the day trip was to have lunch at Bonnie & Clyde's Hideout. Not the gun-brandishing bank robber's actual hideout, you understand, but a comfortable, swanky bar and grill at the Hilton DFW Lakes Hotel in Grapevine.
Although we weren't officially deputized by Richland Emeritus plus 50 director Mitzi Werther, when the bus pulled off from under the big tree in Richland's Parking Lot D, I'm pretty sure I'm not the only one who felt like we were off on an important mission with snacks.
Our journey began in the direction of Irving. Destination: The CRM Studios, formerly known as The Studios at Las Colinas. Tim Eaton, senior account executive/producer, gave up his Saturday morning to show us around the star-themed dressing rooms and high-tech studios.
Tim Eaton takes us behind the scenes at the CRM Studios in Irving.
Eaton, of course, is a great friend of the Richland Emeritus plus 50 program. During last year's April movie-themed bus tour, Eaton showed us around Waxahachie, 45 minutes South of Dallas. That's where Oscar-winning movies "Places in the Heart," "Tender Mercies" and "The Trip to Bountiful" were filmed in the mid-1980s.
Tim wowed our crowd once again this year with his friendly, funny banter and knowledgeable tour of the soundstages where movies like "Silkwood," "JFK" and others were lensed and where various TV shows, the Glenn Beck radio show and corporate productions are the focus today.
From there it was off to the Barrow Gang trail. Mike, our driver, stopped the bus at the historical marker that signifies the somber site (on East Dove just off Hwy. 114 in Southlake) where Bonnie and Clyde's gang gunned down two Texas Highway Patrolmen on Easter Sunday, 1934.
Then it was off to the Bonnie and Clyde Hideout, which is -- shall we say -- in plain sight right smack dab in the center of the Hilton DFW Lakes Hotel.
A side note: I doubt very seriously that the outlaws-on-the-run ever dined at their hideout-themed bar and grill. If you do, though, I highly recommend the tomato basil soup. It's yummy.
Our tour guides: Author, memorabilia collector and Richland Emeritus plus 50 advisory board member Charles Heard, left, and author, Bonnie and Clyde historian Jonathan Davis at the historical marker in Southlake.
From there our Bonnie and Clyde tour guides, Charles Heard and Jonathan Davis, directed Mike the driver and our group to West Dallas, where stops included a site where Clyde Barrow killed a police officer in a shootout on the porch of a West Dallas home, the Barrow family plot at the Western Heights Cemetery on Fort Worth Avenue and the now-shuttered Star Service Station on Singleton Blvd., which once served as the Barrow family home.
We then journeyed north for a quick ice cream and convenience respite at Braum's before visiting Bonnie Parker's grave (see photo above), where she's buried next to her mama at Crown Hill Memorial Park on Webb Chapel Road.
As the day's shadows grew longer, Mike steered the bus back toward the big tree in Parking Lot D. We had accomplished our goal. As we suspected but felt compelled to confirm, Bonnie and Clyde remain no threat to bankers, car owners or grocery store owners.
Besides, the candy we packed for the trip had run out by then.
The Richland College Emeritus Bonnie and Clyde posse: That's Emeritus plus 50 director Mitzi Werther on the far right. (All photos courtesy Michael Pasierb, except for the shot of Bonnie Parker and Clyde Barrow.)
I want to take a moment to thank everyone in the enthusiastic crowd that came from near and semi-far (Little Elm, I know of) to attend Richland College's Emeritus plus 50 gala "Music, Magic & Movies" extravaganza at the Fannin Performance Hall Thursday.
My highest praise goes out to The Levee Singers and magician David Hira, who drew respective standing ovations for -- What is the notch just above outstanding? OK, got it ... -- stellar, crowd-pleasing performances.
And thanks to Mitzi Werther, who heads up Richland's Emeritus plus 50 program, for inviting me to emcee and perform in the program, Nick McMinn up in the Fannin Performance Hall booth and to my new partners-in-entertainment (for one day, at least), Ed Bernet, Dick Bernet and the two Ralphs, Sanford and Lindsey, and, of course the mysteriously engaging David Hira.
Also, if you couldn't join us for "Music, Magic & Movies," keep reading down the page for the next exciting Emeritus plus 50 event, the Bonnie and Clyde Bus Tour.
One more thing. You missed the update on those giant mosquitoes that are 20 times the normal size in Florida. As you will discover by clicking the link below, however, the mucho-plus-sized mosquitoes appear to be no real threat at all.
'Bonnie and Clyde' still wanted dead, thank you
Bonnie Parker and Clyde Barrow in a photo found by police at their Joplin, Mo. hideout in 1933. (Courtesy: http://en.wikipedia.org)
Both members of the notorious crime duo Bonnie and Clyde are quite dead. Still, they can't get away.
Movie Memories and the Richland College Emeritus plus 50 program has a dandy day bus trip planned for April 20. We're forming a posse to retrace the famous outlaw's steps.
Once again, it is my goal to make Richland Emeritus plus 50 leader Mitzi Werther order a bigger bus. But I need your help to do that.
It's time to sign up for the "Bonnie and Clyde Bus Tour." It all kicks off with a screening of the 1967 Oscar-nominated crime-spree classic "Bonnie and Clyde" Friday evening, April 19. The next morning, we'll get on a comfortable bus and begin our tour at the CRM Studios in Las Colinas. Tim Eaton, who so eloquently guided us around Waxahachie last year, is back to show us around celebrity-themed dressing rooms at the CRM studios.
After lunch, we'll tour Dallas-area locales where notorious outlaws Bonnie and Clyde gunned down two law enforcement officers, other related sites of interest and finally visit the couple's grave sites, which are not together in case you are wondering.
Charles Heard, author, cinephile and collector of movie memorabilia, will guide us along the Bonnie and Clyde part of the tour. Sign up early, please. Once the bus is full, it's full. You can call 972-238-6147 to register for the bus tour. Here's a link with all the info: http://www.richlandcollege.edu/emeritus/trips.php
There is no denying it. We've had some potentially tragic near-misses lately. We survived the meteor that ravaged Russia. You know, the one no scientist saw coming.
We even made it through the recent too-close-for-comfort asteroid fly-by on Feb. 15.
And, so far at least, it appears we've even passed the crisis stage in Dennis Rodman's recent visit to North Korea, where the multipierced, multitattooed former NBA elbow-slinging rebounder hammed it up with munchkin leader Kim Jong Un.
Who says spring break is only for the kids? I say it's time to party Baby Boomer style!
I'd like to personally invite you and as many friends and loved ones you can round up to join us at Richland College's Fannin Performance Hall tomorrow (Thursday, March 14) for "Music, Magic & Movies."
The gala celebration begins at 10:20 a.m. and includes The Levee Singers, Dallas's own legendary folkies, celebrated magician David Hira and yours truly as master of ceremonies. In addition to serving up some heart-pumping movie memories to set the entertainment mood, I'll also have a few tricks up my sleeve.
And who says there's no such thing as a free lunch?
Remember, that's four hours of music, magic and movie fun for the small fee of only $15. And a box lunch is provided. Also, we plan to have you out of there by 2, so don't worry about fighting rush-hour traffic. Call 972-238-6147 to register for the event (Course No. 814388) or click on this link for more info.
And, by the way, if you have difficulty registering today because of the late date, send me an email at lrratliff@verizon.net and I'll see if I can help. See you tomorrow!
'Bonnie and Clyde' still wanted dead, thank you
Bonnie Parker and Clyde Barrow in a photo found by police at their Joplin, Mo. hideout in 1933. (Courtesy: http://en.wikipedia.org)
Both members of the notorious crime duo Bonnie and Clyde are quite dead. Still, they can't get away.
Movie Memories and the Richland College Emeritus plus 50 program has a dandy day bus trip planned for April 20. We're forming a posse to retrace the famous outlaw's steps.
Once again, it is my goal to make Richland Emeritus plus 50 leader Mitzi Werther order a bigger bus. But I need your help to do that.
It's time to sign up for the "Bonnie and Clyde Bus Tour." It all kicks off with a screening of the 1967 Oscar-nominated crime-spree classic "Bonnie and Clyde" Friday evening, April 19. The next morning, we'll get on a comfortable bus and begin our tour at the CRM Studios in Las Colinas. Tim Eaton, who so eloquently guided us around Waxahachie last year, is back to show us around celebrity-themed dressing rooms at the CRM studios.
After lunch, we'll tour Dallas-area locales where notorious outlaws Bonnie and Clyde gunned down two law enforcement officers, other related sites of interest and finally visit the couple's grave sites, which are not together in case you are wondering.
Charles Heard, author, cinephile and collector of movie memorabilia, will guide us along the Bonnie and Clyde part of the tour. Sign up early, please. Once the bus is full, it's full. You can call 972-238-6147 to register for the bus tour. Here's a link with all the info: http://www.richlandcollege.edu/emeritus/trips.php
Let's face it, we've had some potentially tragic near-misses lately. We survived the meteor that ravaged Russia. You know, the one no scientist saw coming.
We even made it through the recent too-close-for-comfort asteroid fly-by on Feb. 15.
And, so far at least, it appears we've even passed the crisis stage in Dennis Rodman's recent visit to North Korea, where the multipierced, multitattooed former NBA elbow-slinging rebounder hammed it up with munchkin leader Kim Jong Un.
Who says spring break is only for the kids? I say it's time to party Baby Boomer style!
I'd like to personally invite you and as many friends and loved ones you can round up to join us at Richland College's Fannin Performance Hall on Thursday, March 14 for "Music, Magic & Movies."
The gala celebration begins at 10 a.m. and includes The Levee Singers, Dallas's own legendary folkies, celebrated magician David Hira and yours truly as master of ceremonies. In addition to serving up some heart-pumping movie memories to set the entertainment mood, I'll also have a few tricks up my sleeve.
And who says there's no such thing as a free lunch?
Remember, that's four hours of music, magic and movie fun for the small fee of only $15. And a box lunch is provided. Also, we plan to have you out of there by 2, so don't worry about fighting rush-hour traffic. Call 972-238-6147 to register for the event (Course No. 814388) or click on this link for more info.
'Bonnie and Clyde' wanted dead, thank you
Bonnie Parker and Clyde Barrow in a photo found by police at their Joplin, Mo. hideout in 1933. (Courtesy: http://en.wikipedia.org)
Both members of the notorious crime duo Bonnie and Clyde are quite dead. Still, they can't get away.
Movie Memories and the Richland College Emeritus plus 50 program has a dandy day bus trip planned for April 20. We're forming a posse to retrace the famous outlaw's steps.
Once again, it is my goal to make Richland Emeritus plus 50 leader Mitzi Werther order a bigger bus. But I need your help to do that.
It's time to sign up for the "Bonnie and Clyde Bus Tour." It all kicks off with a screening of the 1967 Oscar-nominated crime-spree classic "Bonnie and Clyde" Friday evening, April 19. The next morning, we'll get on a comfortable bus and begin our tour at the CRM Studios in Las Colinas. Tim Eaton, who so eloquently guided us around Waxahachie last year, is back to show us around celebrity-themed dressing rooms at the CRM studios.
After lunch, we'll tour Dallas-area locales where notorious outlaws Bonnie and Clyde gunned down two law enforcement officers, other related sites of interest and finally visit the couple's grave sites, which are not together in case you are wondering.
Charles Heard, author, cinephile and collector of movie memorabilia, will guide us along the Bonnie and Clyde part of the tour. Sign up early, please. Once the bus is full, it's full. You can call 972-238-6147 to register for the bus tour. Here's a link with all the info: http://www.richlandcollege.edu/emeritus/trips.php
Thanks for sharing Movie Memories
Thanks to Robin for booking me, Owen for hosting me and the residents of Town Village North Dallas for listening to me for my "Rockets' Red Glare: Space Race Classics" presentation Sunday evening. Of course, "The Right Stuff" was part of the program.
FYI, the "Rockets' Red Glare: Space Race Classics" presentation is so new it's not even listed among the Movie Memories presentations yet. Be among the first to book the high-flying cinematic celebration of the U.S. -- Ruskie space race or other Movie Memories presentations (See top left side of this webpage) and call 972-599-2150 to lock in your group or organization's date and time.
Check out The Senior Voice
And I don't just mention that because my movie column, Getting Reel, appears in The Senior Voice, Carol Butler's fine bi-monthly newspaper celebrating everything senior.
In the hot-off-the-press March-April issue, for instance, you'll find Barry Rogers' interview with "Dallas" star Patrick Duffy, the result of Bo Carter's sit-down interview with Texas Rangers' second baseman Ian Kinsler and -- you knew I'd eventually get to this -- my movie memory about attending a gala movie world premiere and the reason I couldn't see much of the film itself.
Grabbing a little "Pyramid" power with Gary Kent, left, at the Dallas La Madeleine restaurant. (Courtesy: Joe O'Connell)
"We were driving into Dallas and I started getting that old feeling again," filmmaker, stuntman and all-around great guy Gary Kent said with an old familiar spark in his eye, shortly after we savored a reuniting hug that was too many years coming.
Fate, or possibly pyramid power, brought us together in the early 1970s when Gary and a band of semi-misfits -- actors, actor wannabes, a film-making crew that had amazing faith in a first-time director, scores of people simply curious and more than a few hangers-on -- summoned up all they had to make a feature film titled "The Pyramid."
I was among those mentioned above. I probably fit into several of the categories mentioned. Mostly, though, I wanted to see this beguiling guy named Gary Kent get his movie made (without allowing me to embarrass myself too horribly as one of the cast members).
Gary, his son Chris and Joe O'Connell drove up from Austin on Saturday (Feb. 16) to be part of an interview session promoting tonight's "It Came From Dallas 8 -- Behind the 8-Ball" fund-raising event put on by the Dallas Producers Association. You still have time to make the film evening extravaganza, beginning at 7:30 p.m. (doors open at 6:30) at the Studio Movie Grill -- Dallas (11170 North Central Expressway at Royal Lane).
O'Connell, a noted film writer (who's been published in The Dallas Morning News and the Austin American-Statesman, just to name a couple newspapers), is making a documentary about Gary's fascinating life and career titled "Love & Other Stunts."
How fascinating?
Consider this: The silver-haired Mr. Kent, who lost his wife Tomi (the female lead in "The Pyramid") to cancer and is now facing serious health issues himself, played toughs and bikers in glorious 1960s B-movies like "Satan's Sadists" and "Hell's Angels on Wheels." As a stuntman, Gary doubled big-name stars Jack Nicholson and Robert Vaughan.
When he first got off the bus in Hollywood in 1959, Gary wanted to be the next big movie star. At least he did until he noticed that he wasn't the only determined young new arrival with that idea. In fact, when he noticed that casting agents often tossed bios and publicity photos in the trash before eager young actors even left the room, Gary started looking around for something else to do in the movie industry.
Sometime in the early '60s, Gary Kent got the opening he had been waiting for.
"I was having lunch with someone and they said, 'Jack Nicholson, this young actor, is getting ready to do two Westerns up in Utah, and they're looking for a stuntman.' I said, 'I'm a stuntman,' although I wasn't, of course, but I was going to fake it," Gary said during the Dallas interview on Saturday.
He first met Nicholson in a small room, that Gary said appeared to be a paper supply room.
"He had a bologna sandwich and he was sitting there. He didn't know anything. I didn't know anything, so we just lied to each other. He said, "We're going up to Utah. Can you take a horse and have it get sick, slow down, fall down and die?' And I said, 'Sure, that's no problem. I can do that,' having no idea what I was going to do."
The Westerns, both directed by Monte Hellman, turned out to be "Ride in the Whirlwind" in 1965 and "The Shooting," which hit silver screens a year later.
That launched Gary's varied career as a stuntman, filmmaker and actor that would bring him to Dallas in the early 1970s. After another film-maker's project failed to make it to that wonderful shout of "Action!," Gary decided to write and direct his own film. That project became "The Pyramid," a pyramid-powered, stream-of-consciousness drama about a TV newsman sick of covering tragic news and looking to find his true center with positive stories.
If "The Pyramid" were released today, it would probably be classified as "realistic fiction," a term that applies to Steven Spielberg's "Lincoln," Ben Affleck's "Argo" and Kathryn Bigelow's "Zero Dark Thirty." That's to say a project based on or inspired by real experiences or events, but Hollywooded-up, so to speak, for the movie-going masses.
A year or so before "The Pyramid" began production in Dallas in the early '70s, I remember seeing Gary's face light up as I told my new friend from Hollywood stories of my own experiences as a television news reporter in the Dallas-Fort Worth market.
Gary -- as all feature filmmakers do -- expanded on what I told him about growing weary of ambulance chasing and reporting on tragedies and scratched out enough funding to add director to his long list of acting and behind-the-scenes credits. He was kind enough to cast me in "The Pyramid," not as the lead TV news reporter (played by the late Charley Brown), but as a television news anchorman.
If you watch the trailer below, you won't see me. But in the frenzied end moments of the trailer, you'll hear me say, "Ladies and gentlemen, please stand by."
At this moment, "Love & Other Stunts" is 90 percent funded. Gary, Joe O'Connell and yours truly would appreciate even a small donation to make this worthy project happen. As it turns out, there's a deadline looming (just a few days left) to secure final funding. If you can help, go to indiegogo.com/projects/love-other-stunts.
Forgive me for referring back to an earlier line:
Ladies and gentlemen, please stand by Gary Kent.
Join us for 'Music, Magic & Movies' fun
Please take a second to mark your calendars for March 14.
That will be a day you won't soon forget, especially if you remember The Levee Singers, Dallas' own music legends. Or if you're familiar with magician, entertainer and motivational speaker David Hira. Or if you enjoy the shenanigans I bring with Movie Memories presentations.
All three of us will take the stage Thursday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Richland College Fannin Performance Hall. The Levee Singers will sing, David Hira will amaze you and I'll be emceeing the Richland College Emeritus plus 50 event and providing some surprises of my own.
That's four hours of fun for the small fee of $15. And a box lunch is provided. Call 972-238-6147 to register for the fun-filled event (Course No. 814388) or click on this link for more info.
We're forming a 'Bonnie and Clyde' posse
Bonnie Parker and Clyde Barrow in a photo found by police at their Joplin, Mo. hideout in 1933. (Courtesy: http://en.wikipedia.org)
Thanks again to all of you who joined us for the Richland College Emeritus plus 50 Program/Movie Memories bus trip to cinematicly historic Waxahachie last April.
We've got a dandy day bus trip follow-up planned for this April, and, once again, it is my goal to make Richland Emeritus plus 50 leader Mitzi Werther order a bigger bus. That's where you come in.
It's time to sign up for the "Bonnie and Clyde Bus Tour." It all kicks off with a screening of the 1967 Oscar-nominated crime-spree classic "Bonnie and Clyde" Friday evening, April 19. The next morning, we'll get on a comfortable bus and begin our tour at the CRM Studios in Las Colinas. Tim Eaton, who so eloquently guided us around Waxahachie last year, is back to show up around celebrity-themed dressing rooms at the CRM studios.
After lunch, we'll tour Dallas-area locales where notorious outlaws Bonnie and Clyde gunned down two law enforcement officers, other related sites of interest and finally visit the couple's grave sites, which are not together in case you are wondering.
Charles Heard, author, cinephile and collector of movie memorabilia, will guide us along the Bonnie and Clyde part of the tour. Sign up early, please. Once the bus is full, it's full. You can call 972-238-6147 to register for the bus tour. Here's a link with all the info: http://www.richlandcollege.edu/emeritus/trips.php
The celebration even includes Garland's Pickers on the Square beginning at 7 p.m.
Admission is free. So let's fill the Palace Theater to honor our veterans.
Big Tex: The mourning after
Before the sun even came up Saturday, Oct. 20, I was sitting in our darkened living room teary-eyed.
Yes, I'll admit it. I was on the brink of weeping over 6,000 pounds of charred steel, a superplus-sized Dickies belt buckle weighing 50 pounds and two giant plastic hands that, upon being loaded onto a huge flatbed trailer, appeared to be signaling a definite "thumbs down."
It was all that remained of Big Tex.
The 52-foot-tall Santa-turned-giant cowpoke that welcomed folks to the Texas State Fair for 60 years with a friendly slow drawl ("How-dee f-o-l-k-s") burst into flames shortly after 10 Friday morning, perhaps spooking The World's Smallest Horse (also a State Fair perennial) as he sipped a teaspoon of water just off the Midway.
We can only hope it didn't melt the life-sized butter sculpture of Girl Scouts chillin' in the Creative Arts Building.
Even though the fire -- thought to be electrical -- may have started somewhere in Big Tex's size 70 boots that stand -- excuse me, stood -- over 7-feet tall, smoke followed by flames first billowed out from under the tall cowpoke's collar.
I know a little about being hot under the collar. Just ask my wife about the guy a few blocks away who thought we were stalking his house the other day when we were out walking the dog.
And I can eerily relate, at least somewhat, to what Tex went through. I, too, was fired once on a Friday. A little after 10 a.m. it was, in fact. And though no one will ever admit it, my untimely exit also probably had something to do with being slightly north of the big 6-0.
The only real difference between Big Tex and me is that the long, really tall Texan kept standing, even as his face melted and turned to ash. I, on the other hand, was crushed. (Just for the record, I prefer being fired in person. Over the telephone takes some of the fun out of it.)
Oh I suppose there are other differences between Big Tex and me. Tex's belt, when there was a belt, measured 23 feet long. At times mine feels just short of that; I'm guessing about 21-feet, 11 inches. (Damn those "10 pints of Blue Bell ice cream" sales at competing grocery stores.)
Why was I on the brink of shedding tears over a goofy-looking Santa/cowboy?
Big Tex was my friend. That's why. He was always there for me. And he never laughed at me, although there were plenty of opportunities.
When I was about 13 and in junior high around 1960, I eagerly awaited my first unchaperoned trip to the Fair. I had foolishly arranged four or five first "dates" with unsuspecting Grand Prairie schoolgirls.
I told each of them to meet me at Big Tex. Perhaps inspired by Dr Pepper, I meticulously planned to meet the first one at 10, then 2, then 4. You get the idea. Come to think of it, I may have invented speed dating.
After an hour and a half or so of riding and almost hurling on the Tilt-A-Whirl, throwing darts and missing balloons and using all my best lines at my date-o'-the-moment, I would excuse myself and head back to good ol' Big Tex for the next brief encounter.
My plan went bad, of course. Somewhere on the Midway in mid-afternoon, my jilted 10 a.m. saw me with my 2 o'clock. She didn't say anything. But after we passed, I looked back to see the "young woman scorned" ripping (with a fury I had no idea existed) the stitched "Larry" out of the sailor cap I bought her only a short time earlier.
And just two or three years ago, I exhibited more bad State Fair judgment. My wife Suellen even warned me about wearing brand new, lily white tennis shoes (sneakers for all you folks north of Lake Texoma) to the Fair.
What could possibly go wrong, I pondered. Well, this. After tip-toeing carefully across the fairgrounds to say a mental "howdy" to Big Tex, we bought steaming, fresh-out-of-the-grease corny dogs at the Fletcher's stand just a few feet from Tex's boots.
It only took about 15 seconds for a huge glob of mustard to drip off my corny dog and splatter onto my formerly all-white left shoe. Not just on it, you understand, but soaking throughout the laces.
Once again, the big cowpoke didn't judge. Big Tex just grinned that familiar, all-knowing goofy smile.
I reacted differently. It burned me up.
Sorry. No offense, big guy.
Looking forward to seeing the new you next year.
Note: Suellen regrets not taking a picture of Big Tex this year, especially after last week's tragedy. That's something we always do, but just didn't this year. My step-daughter Lisa did, though. That's Lisa's shot of Big Tex in all his glory on opening weekend this year.
(Big Tex on fire photo courtesy: Krista Kalla/WFAA.com/Big Tex skeleton photo courtesy: www.cdispatch.com /Bottom Big Tex photo courtesy: Lisa Short/Garland's Veterans Day 2012 Tribute poster courtesy: City of Garland)
