Halloween is a great day for anyone under 10 years old. At that age who wouldn't want to dress up in costume and head out around the old neighborhood to get candy from everyone? I remember a pack of us traveling around the Musterfield in Framingham with our pillow cases back in the early 50s. Then we grew up.
One funny story. When we were 13, a bunch of us were out marauding around the neighborhood on Cabbage Night, the night before Halloween when you were supposed to wreck stuff, when we passed by a house three blocks from mine. The house's owner was a real asshole, one of my paper route customers who never tipped and always bitched about his paper being late or being placed on the porch instead of inside the storm door. Against the side of the house lay a 10' ladder. "Let's grab the ladder," someone said. So we took the ladder and started running down the street with it. Almost immediately, the owner bounded out his front door, screaming, "Stop, you little bastards!!!" We kept running, but finally dropped the ladder.
That didn't stop the asshole, though. He kept coming. So we split up, heading in different directions hoping to lose him. About an hour later I finally felt safe enough to go home. On entering the house, my mother greeted me with the words, "Did he get you, too?" Playing dumb, I wondered what she was talking about. It turns out that when we split up, the guy kept chasing Binky Driscoll. Binky, not being from the neighborhood, didn't know where to go, so he ran into my house through the back door and hid in the foyer. The guy followed him in, found him, and knocked on the door. My mother answered, told the guy she'd take care of it, and the guy left. I was grounded for a month.
Binky went on to become a famous Vietnam War legend, an Ace as a Navy pilot, and recipient of the Navy Cross after getting shot down and rescued in the China Sea. His exploits have been documented in the TV series on famous air battles, he has served as an instructor at Top Gun, and he currently gives motivational speeches all over the country. But whenever I see him, the first thing he brings up is the ladder episode.
Halloween was always fun with my own kids. Then they grew up. My sons had about 10 other kids in the neighborhood to hang with, and on Halloween all their school friends would come to our neighborhood as well to raise hell. I dreaded Halloween. More than once I picked them up at the police station for doing stupid, nonsensical things like throwing eggs. They never got in trouble because I knew all the cops from having their kids or the cops themselves in class or on one of my teams. And when the kids from outside the neighborhood got chased, where did they head? Our house, of course.
Sometimes my kids were blamed on reputation alone. One Halloween at 9:00 PM we were sitting at our kitchen table with Brian and Mike eating candy when the phone rang. I picked it up, and an irate neighbor from the next block raged at me. "Hey, Mr. Crane, your goddamn kids are in the street throwing eggs at my house right now!" I said, "Are you sure?" He said, "Yeah, and I'm gonna call the cops." I was furious. "Listen, you asshole," I said. "My kids are sitting here with me right now at the kitchen table. Maybe you ought to look a little harder before you blame someone."
Now I tolerate Halloween. The neighbors with little kids bring them to the door, and they look cute in their costumes. For some it's the only time I see them all year. Nobody lets their kids out alone with their friends like when we grew up. Last year Jackie put a pumpkin suit on Spencer, our Golden retriever. We walked him around the neighborhood late, knocking on a few doors to trick-or-treat. He was a big hit. But the hood was quiet, a big diffference from years ago.
Wednesday, October 31, 2012
Mitt Romney
When people I meet on our travels learn I'm from Massachusetts, they often ask what Mitt Romney was like when he was governor. My first response is to tell them that he only served two years of his four year term. After two years he mentally checked out and began his interminable run for President.
Romney faced the usual dilemma of a Republican governor in Massachusetts, a legislature that is aound 95% Democrat. This makes a Republican governor pretty much a figurehead. The real power lies in the house speakership. Thus the famous Mass. healthcare law involved Romney merely rubber stamping the legislature's fomulation. Of course, as Romney is wont to do, when it was to his advantage, he was more than happy to take credit for it. And, when it was to his advantage, he could disavow its premises, saying that what was right for Massachusetts was not right for the rest of the country.
Romney talks out of both sides of his mouth so much that after a while you don't know who is the ventriloquist and who is the dummy. He sold whatever principles he has to the Tea Party and Grover Norquist in order to gain the nomination. Now in true Etch-a Sketch fashion, he turns his back on them to win the general election. How can one have any respect for someone like that? Would you want this guy in a foxhole next to you?
Romney faced the usual dilemma of a Republican governor in Massachusetts, a legislature that is aound 95% Democrat. This makes a Republican governor pretty much a figurehead. The real power lies in the house speakership. Thus the famous Mass. healthcare law involved Romney merely rubber stamping the legislature's fomulation. Of course, as Romney is wont to do, when it was to his advantage, he was more than happy to take credit for it. And, when it was to his advantage, he could disavow its premises, saying that what was right for Massachusetts was not right for the rest of the country.
Romney talks out of both sides of his mouth so much that after a while you don't know who is the ventriloquist and who is the dummy. He sold whatever principles he has to the Tea Party and Grover Norquist in order to gain the nomination. Now in true Etch-a Sketch fashion, he turns his back on them to win the general election. How can one have any respect for someone like that? Would you want this guy in a foxhole next to you?
George McGovern
I can't let the recent passing of former presidential candidate George McGovern go without comment. In the summer of 1972, at the heart of the anti-Vietnam War fervor in America, McGovern won the Democratic nomination at their convention. My wife Jackie and I were in San Diego midway through our newlywed cross country camping tour. We had decided to opt for a cheap motel just to sleep in a bed and get a hot shower.
On a 13 inch black and white TV, we watched his acceptance speech. It began after 11:00 PM Pacific time, making it after 2:00 AM on the east coast. (This would never be allowed to happen today!) McGovern's speech, a riveting condemnation of the US intervention in Vietnam and an urgent appeal to elect him and end the war, nearly brought me to tears. I'll never forget his plea, "Come home, come home, America." He not only addressed this to bringing the troops home but also to bringing America back to healing the fratricidal wounds that the Vietnam debate had inflicted on this country.
Anyone who heard this speech could not help but be moved. Alas, hardly anyone heard it. In the end Nixon won an overwhelming victory, only Massachusetts and D.C. voting for George. History proved McGovern right, and Nixon's subsequent actions led to the famous bumper sticker "Don't blame me. I'm from Massachusetts."
On a 13 inch black and white TV, we watched his acceptance speech. It began after 11:00 PM Pacific time, making it after 2:00 AM on the east coast. (This would never be allowed to happen today!) McGovern's speech, a riveting condemnation of the US intervention in Vietnam and an urgent appeal to elect him and end the war, nearly brought me to tears. I'll never forget his plea, "Come home, come home, America." He not only addressed this to bringing the troops home but also to bringing America back to healing the fratricidal wounds that the Vietnam debate had inflicted on this country.
Anyone who heard this speech could not help but be moved. Alas, hardly anyone heard it. In the end Nixon won an overwhelming victory, only Massachusetts and D.C. voting for George. History proved McGovern right, and Nixon's subsequent actions led to the famous bumper sticker "Don't blame me. I'm from Massachusetts."
Sunday, October 7, 2012
European trip
Just back from 10 days in Northern Europe including a 7 day cruise. Some observations:
1. Hardly any males wear baseball caps, white athletic shoes, or white socks in Europe.
2. In Copenhagen and Amsterdam bikes are everywhere. I mean like thousands and thousands and thousands of bikes. Supposedly 36% of people in Copenhagen commute to work on bikes. The Amsterdam Central Rail Station has a bike parking garage that holds 2500 bikes. It was full. Separate bike lanes are built into all the streets, set off from the vehicles by a curb. My wife and I, avid cyclists, thought we might rent bikes there, but after witnessing the craziness, decided to opt for the relative safety of walking and using public transit.
3. Tours offered by the cruise lines are major ripoffs. Instead of paying for the $70 or $80 per person organized tours, we bought transit passes at the info centers for around $7 or $8 good for the whole day on any public conveyance. Armed with a transit map we were able to see everything on many of the tours at our own pace and mingle with the locals.
4. Except in Germany we found that the language barrier was no problem. That we visited major cities helped. In Copenhagen and Oslo everyone seemed to speak some English, to the point that you could stop someone on the street to ask directions and they would speak English. We were told that all the kids learned English in school.
5. How big are Nordic winter sports in Norway? At a stadium next to the famous Holmenkollen Ski Jump we watched contestants in a mid-September Nordic ski race enter the arena for their final lap. The cross country ski trails were paved and the skiers were on roller skis. The arena had several thousand spectators, a diamond-vision giant screen showing the action, and a huge electronic scoreboard with the updated results posted. When we returned to the ship, I turned on the TV and found the event being televised live on the Norway station.
6. On the train out to the ski jump outside Oslo, we passed a small stadium where an American football game was being played. It looked like a high school game. The stands were half full, and the one play I saw looked like any other football game in the USA. I was shocked.
7. Culture shock: When do Europeans use the bathroom? You would think that with thousands and thousands of people walking around, European cities would have ubiquitous public restrooms. Not so. Finding a "toilet" became one of the most difficult tasks of our excursions. A further shock: on finding one we normally had to come up with .75 Euro to use it. A dollar to piss ... talk about capitalism and a recession-proof business.
1. Hardly any males wear baseball caps, white athletic shoes, or white socks in Europe.
2. In Copenhagen and Amsterdam bikes are everywhere. I mean like thousands and thousands and thousands of bikes. Supposedly 36% of people in Copenhagen commute to work on bikes. The Amsterdam Central Rail Station has a bike parking garage that holds 2500 bikes. It was full. Separate bike lanes are built into all the streets, set off from the vehicles by a curb. My wife and I, avid cyclists, thought we might rent bikes there, but after witnessing the craziness, decided to opt for the relative safety of walking and using public transit.
3. Tours offered by the cruise lines are major ripoffs. Instead of paying for the $70 or $80 per person organized tours, we bought transit passes at the info centers for around $7 or $8 good for the whole day on any public conveyance. Armed with a transit map we were able to see everything on many of the tours at our own pace and mingle with the locals.
4. Except in Germany we found that the language barrier was no problem. That we visited major cities helped. In Copenhagen and Oslo everyone seemed to speak some English, to the point that you could stop someone on the street to ask directions and they would speak English. We were told that all the kids learned English in school.
5. How big are Nordic winter sports in Norway? At a stadium next to the famous Holmenkollen Ski Jump we watched contestants in a mid-September Nordic ski race enter the arena for their final lap. The cross country ski trails were paved and the skiers were on roller skis. The arena had several thousand spectators, a diamond-vision giant screen showing the action, and a huge electronic scoreboard with the updated results posted. When we returned to the ship, I turned on the TV and found the event being televised live on the Norway station.
6. On the train out to the ski jump outside Oslo, we passed a small stadium where an American football game was being played. It looked like a high school game. The stands were half full, and the one play I saw looked like any other football game in the USA. I was shocked.
7. Culture shock: When do Europeans use the bathroom? You would think that with thousands and thousands of people walking around, European cities would have ubiquitous public restrooms. Not so. Finding a "toilet" became one of the most difficult tasks of our excursions. A further shock: on finding one we normally had to come up with .75 Euro to use it. A dollar to piss ... talk about capitalism and a recession-proof business.
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