If you insist

We’ve been away. McGonnigle the cat had nothing to do with it. Although the URL involves the name McGonnigle, the blog was never about the cat. I think there were 3 or 4 posts about him since 2007. The time his whiskers got cut and he lost a fight was one. Another was the time his tail got broken in a fight. The most viewed post by 100 times, was the post about Maine Coon Cats, of which McGonnigle was believed to be that type of cat. That post was viewed over 1.5 million times since it was posted a few years ago. That would make McGonnigle one of the most widely viewed cats of all time, I would have to say. Who knows? He never knew. He just ate birds and mice and asked to be let in and out about 50,000 times to do his cat business. It was fascinating to share space with him and watch him do his thing in his world. Marking his turf was paramount. Hunting. Stalking. Fighting with the other males in the neighborhood. I recall the time I saw him sauntering on the roof when I glanced out the window on the 2nd floor. I never really understood how he got on the roof. Later on, we had to remove the Clematis trellis, because he figured out that if he climbed it and went to the second story, he would get the attention of the person in that room to let him in and it would be quicker than the folks on the first floor. He thought nothing of it.

I recall the time I first had him and was in an apartment. I opened the refrigerator door to get something out and he calmly walked OUT of the refrigerator. How he got in, I don’t know. He must have snuck in while I was closing it. Thankfully, it was dinner and he didn’t have long to wait.

Anyway, I’ve been doing other projects and just have not had anywhere near the time I would need to do this. But, I’ve gotten some requests to keep going from some people that I really respect, so I thought maybe I could try and do a few and see how it goes.

Here is a link to a show from 1956, I believe. It is “What’s my Line?” or “I’ve got a secret”. Anyway, I was looking at the Jack Benny one, and you know how it is, they put similar ones up and then I’m watching Jackie Gleason and then I stumble on this one. The idea of it is just so absurd that it’s amazing to think of. Have a look:

Click here to see the show

Read article on Samuel J Seymour

The article points out that the fall that Seymour experienced in his hotel room in Feb, lead to his death in April. A shame. They literally killed this man, in a sense, to get him on this show, which, apparently, he was excited to do, and who wouldn’t be? Can you imagine, when this guy was 5 years old, the idea that this 5 year old boy would be on national television, 91 years later? And that the country would not have 30 states or whatever it was, but 48? And just have finished up fighting 2 world wars etc. It’s so amazing to think of on several levels.

Other thoughts? Well, when you watch a guy like Jack Benny or Jackie Gleason you realize how bad our current, foul-mouthed comedians are today. Look at these guys. They didn’t need to work blue to make you laugh. They were talented in the days when to do that work, you had to work your way up through maybe vaudeville even; point is, years of working as a pro in live situations etc. They were pros. Today, we slap a guy up after 15 minutes and call him “great”. I don’t think so. Making potty jokes and/or cursing and being negative is not comedy. I think of a foul-mouthed, negative guy like Lewis Black and these thoughts come through loudly. Benny and Gleason and their ilk were tremendous.

Manchester United loses at HOME, on Alex’s 70th birthday no less, to BLACKBURN! Then Spurs give up a late equalizer and Chelski loses 3-1 to Villa. If only QPR could have leveled vs The Arsenal. City tomorrow. With a nice win over Newcastle in the books on Friday, I could sit back and watch and be all made up about it! And listening to Gerrard score again was chilling. He’s 31, and I have no illusions, but it was just plain nice.

Bobby Vee to Boston? Why not? Why do people just love to hate on this guy? He’s a goofy guy in a lot of ways, but he’s a pro’s pro and he knows the game. He’ll take that squad and get them playing to their ability and that’s all you can ask for. He’s not Houdini. He will write names on a card mostly. He will hook pitchers. After that, the players play, or eat or drink or what have you…haha. Good luck Bobby. Beat the Yankees.

Happy New Year, Boston Office.