Notes From the Undrground
South
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Early Special
Some people go for the early bird special but I prefer Happy Hour…
Diverse
The end of diversity….
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Frank and Elise
So when I got my concealed carry permit the other day I was struck by two things. One, I didn’t have to show any ID for the permit. Second, it dawned on me that now the Kentucky State Police had a record of me on file stating I was a gun owner. A record which included my address. How this is different than gun registration escapes me.
I was contemplating these facts when I came home to find my young friend Elise lounging on the couch in the living room. She was staying with me a few days until Ricardo got sprung from the joint. I knew she would be going back to him soon but I wanted to keep her with me as long as possible.
“Oh, Hi Elise! Hey, I just got my concealed carry permit! I am really excited.”
“That’s great Frank! Now you can ride your horses and shoot your guns!”
“That’s right! Maybe I could ride the horses out where you put Ezra, your German Shepard. You could turn me out to pasture too!”
“Don’t say that Frank.”
“I was just joking. Not about Ezra, but about me. I can do that. Make jokes about myself.”
“I know. But it’s not true.”
“I know. Sometimes you have to laugh about these things in order not to cry.”
“You know Frank, some of us are just doing the best we can with what we have.”
I know Elise. I know. I still love you anyway. Now what’s for dinner?
Long Shadows
Travels with Aunt Rennie
Aunt Rennie came to Louisville, Kentucky for a visit. It was in the spring of the year so I decided to take her to Churchill Downs to watch the horses run.
We drove to south Louisville where the track is located and parked the car a few blocks away and walked the remaining distance to the track entrance. Aunt Rennie is pretty spry for an old lady.
We were both able to get in for the admission price of only $1.00 as we are both senior citizens. Louisville likes to encourage its seniors to go to the track. We made our way through the throng of horse racing fans to a booth where they were selling racing forms. I bought one and stuck it in my pocket. Then we walked out to the track and sat in the sun on the hard benches and studied the form to make our picks.
We studied the racing form and saw that there was a field of eight horses for the next race. Aunt Rennie had never been to a race track before so I had to teach her how to handicap the race. I am not an expert myself but here’s how I do it. The first thing I do is to study the form for information listed about the horses in the racing form for that particular race. First of all I look for names I like. Something that clicks. Then I look at the stats on that horse. Who is the trainer, who is the jockey, how much weight does the horse carry, how many races did the horse win this year and last, what are the odds?
I take all these things into consideration and make a selection. I picked what looked like a winner: Psycho Blue Boots. The number 5 horse in the 3rd race. I suggested to Aunt Renie that we bet $10.00 to win on the 5 horse. If it won, we would split the winnings. She agreed.
I pushed my way through the crowd to the pari-mutuel window and placed my bet. “$10.00 to win on the 5 horse in the 3rd race,” I said. The teller smiled, took my money and punched my ticket.
The race was about to begin as was indicated by the trumpet call to the gate. I hurried back to where Aunt Rennie was sitting and showed her our ticket. Just then the announcer announced, “They’re off!” and the race began.
“In the lead was Solient Green, on the outside Gold Band. On the rail was Shiftless Joe followed by our horse, Psycho Blue Boots. Royal Pain was moving up to fourth place, Psycho Blue Boots makes a sudden move….They are in the turn, Royal Pain is in third. Psycho Blue Boots moving up on the outside…now moving in…in the stretch Psycho Blue Boots takes the lead… at the wire… Psycho Blue Boots wins by a nose!” he crowd goes wild. I go wild. Aunt Rennie goes wild. We are winners!
We won enough on this race we were able to celebrate at one of Louisvilles most prestigious steak houses, Jack Fry’s. We had quite a day at the races and a nice meal to boot!
Next morning, I took Aunt Rennie to the airport where she resumed her travels. Next stop, Amsterdam!
Tony’s Way
Tony’s Way is a little Puerto Rican bar nestled below the El in the Frankfort section of Philadelphia. I used to like to stop by here on my my home from an excursion into Center City. It was a great place to have a shot of tequila and a Corona. Shot and a beer. Shot and a beer!
One afternoon I was there and Tony came over to greet me. He smiled broadly and extended his hand and gave me a firm and friendly hand shake. “Welcome to Tony’s Way! If ever anyone gives you any trouble here you see that large gentleman over there in the corner? That’s Ricardo. He’s my cousin. Just call him over and he will take care of it. You see that other dude over there in the other corner? That Eduardo. He’s my other cousin. He can help you too. Enjoy!” Then he walked away to talk to the other customers.
One night I stopped by to see if there were any Puerto Rican girls there that were dying to meet me. As I approached the place I saw that there was a short line to get in. There were two attendants at the door greeting the customers. I noticed they were frisking the guys and letting the girls go on in. When it came my turn they just waved me in. I proceeded to the other side of the horseshoe bar so I could keep an eye on the door. I ordered my usual shot and a beer and watched as the bouncers continued to frisk the guys and pass on the girls. Then it slowly began to dawn on me that, hey! They didn’t frisk me! How come? The only thing I could come up with was that they didn’t consider me dangerous. Now in north Philly that could be hazardous to your health. So I sort of was conflicted about the whole thing and took it as kind of an insult. I asked my drinking companion to my left what he thought about it and he said, “Well, maybe they know you.” “Oh!” I said. I hadn’t thought about that!” So I felt a lot better about it after that and I finished my drink in peace.
Another time I took a Puerto Rican friend of mine there who was visiting from New York. Thought she would like it. Wrong! She was one of those high class New Yoricans and she didn’t really like those little neighborhood dive bars like I did. But she didn’t like J Lo either. Go figure! What are you going to do?!
Victoria Falls
We were like two zebras passing
Through the shadows of Africa
She and I
She was my lady of the lake
Whom I loved like no other
She was my African Queen
In Ultra Sheen
My Hershey Bar
Movie star
As we cruised together
Down the Houston city streets
She fulfilled all my fantasies
The window rolled up tight
And the radio blaring just right
“Do you like to talk?” I asked
“Oh yes,” she purred
“Better and better yet,” I said
“Because I’ll tell you straight out,
I am a man that likes to talk to a woman
That likes to talk!”
She laughed and gave me a smile worth
All the rubies in Spain.
Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre
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The Globe Theatre was first built in 1549 on the southern bank of the River Thames in the Southwark section of London. The Globe was built as a large, round, open air theatre. There was a roof around the circumference which covered the seating area. Because of its shape and the materials from which it was constructed the theatre has been call a wooden “O.”
The architectural style of the Globe was similar the coliseum in Rome but on a smaller scale. The globe had three stories of seating and was able to hold up to 3,000 patrons in its 100 foot diameter. The base of the stage was called the pit, which held the groundlings. These people just paid a penny for a performance for which they stood to watch. The groundling were also called “stinkards” as bathing was infrequent and no one washed their woolens.
There were no actresses performing at the Globe. Female roles were played by young boys. The theatre was considered too risqué for ladies. As a matter of fact, the reason the theatre was located on the south side and across the river from London was to put a river between the theatre and the decent folks who lived on the other side.
In Shakespeare’s time no one drank water as it was likely to be contaminated by sewage. Instead, everyone, including children, drank beer.
Due to outbreaks of the plague, the Globe was forced to close in 1603 and 1608 and in 1613 the Globe Theatre burnt down. A cannon fired for a special effect during a performance of Henry V set fire to the thatched roof. The fire spread so quickly the theatre burnt to the ground in two hours. No one was hurt except for one man whose pants caught on fire and was doused with a bottle of beer to extinguish the fire. This may have been the earliest case of, “Liar! Liar! Pants on Fire!” on record. The Globe was rebuilt the next year in 1614.
In 1640 the Puritans closed the Globe Theatre with an Order of Suppression against stage plays. In 1614, the theatre was torn down and converted to tenement housing. Fast forward to 1997.
In 1997 a third version of the Globe Theatre was built close to the original site in Southwark. It was called, “Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre.” The idea to reconstruct Shakespeare’s Globe theatre came from American actor, director, and producer, Sam Wanamaker who initiated the project to rebuild. He funded the Shakespeare’s Globe Trust. He spent 23 years raising funds and researching the original appearance of the Globe. The new theatre was built using 1000 oak trees from English forests and 6000 bundles of reeds from Norfolk for the thatched roof. Sam died in 1993 just three and a half years before the theatre was completed in 1997. It truly is a magnificent structure and a priceless time portal into the past where we can watch and see for ourselves, how Shakespeare invented the human.
Information for this article was gleaned from the Shakespeare’s Globe website. All pictures are original and taken by me at the site.
