The Twilight Zone

I've been videotaping episodes of Rod Serling's The Twilight Zone. I remember watching the show back in the early 60's on TV. Most of the episodes I watched were in black and white which matched the aura of strangeness the show displayed in its episodes. Many well-known or soon-to-be well-known actors played the main characters.

Two of my favorites involved my love of reading and my fear of flying. In "Time Enough at Last", Burgess Meredith played a man who worked in a bank, and during every lunch hour, he would seal himself inside the bank's vault to read instead of relaxing with his co-workers, which he really didn't like to do. 

One day as he came out of the bank vault, he saw that a nuclear bomb had hit the town and he was the only survivor. He was so happy that now he didn't have to spend his time talking to others. He could spend all of his time reading. And read outside at that. It ends as he is walking down large courthouse-like steps, his glasses fall off and he steps on them, breaking them. He can't read now.

The other episode, "Nightmare at 20,000 Feet", William Shatner played a man just released from a sanitarium and is on his way home flying with his wife. Shortly after they are in the air, he looks out his window and sees a gremlin outside. 

He tries to convince everyone, without success, of what he saw. Since I haven't seen this episode again, I don't remember how it ends. I just know I have a fear of flying.

Leave it modern-day memes to come up with takeoffs.

From Malcolm to Ian

This week I decided to get back to my writing; my novel that is. So I dug out my notebook I used in July 1993. 27 years ago. So sue me. I had writer's block.

I had actually begun making notes about a WW2 mystery involving Rudolf Hess, Nazis, and conspiracy. Why did he make his flight to England in 1941? They say, "write about what you know". Well, at that time I was heavily into researching everything about Hess. And archaeology. Why not add some Indiana Jones?

Who was going to be my main character? Since Hess crashed in Scotland (near Glasgow actually) I decided that the hero of the book would be Malcolm Kincaid.

And why "From Malcolm to Ian? 

Simple. When I began writing again this year, I started over. Completely over. About a man who owned a store consisting of old books, globes, and maps in the New York Catskills. He was an Army veteran, widowed, and had a grown daughter, and a border collie. 

And he liked single malt scotch whiskies. You see his ancestry on his father's side was Scottish, whose family owned a distillery. Hence, I named him Ian Kincaid, completely forgetting about Malcolm until I pulled the notebook out this week!

Long story short, I am staying with Ian and the Catskills. I've moved on - at least for now - from Hess and WW2. But who knows, maybe someone will show up at his store with a flight map of Hess's route to England on that fateful night in May 1941.

Stay tuned.

As the Week Ends

It was an up and down week.

• Completed the project for the SJH. It was just proofreading the exhibit labels for the gift shop museum orientation room. It wasn't difficult and I enjoyed doing something different.

• We held our monthly book club meeting virtually. While only 6 of 14 people made it, it worked well. We don't know what we're doing next month yet.

• My current reading hasn't changed much this week. I did finish "The Darwin Myth" by Benjamin Wilker. It was a good book to read and complemented our club book, "The Reluctant Mr. Darwin" by David Quammen.

My hair cutters came from Amazon yesterday. The box went to our last address. A friend picked it up from that address - meeting some nice people he said - and is mailing it back to Amazon today. I will be re-ordering new cutters today.

• I had a low BSR yesterday of 144. That's the best it's been in years! Today was 160. Still not too bad, but I'd like to see more in the 130s and 140s for now. Still at 24 units once a day in the morning.

•  This week I learned that the word "jerry-rigged" means putting something together in a slapdash, shoddy manner. To improvise is to "jury-rig". I've been using it wrong all this time.

• Started a new nonfiction book this week; the title says it wall -well almost. I'll probably mention more about it later.

• Watched live golf this weekend - the Charles Schwab Tournament in Dallas, Texas- with no fans and social distancing among the players. While it is somewhat quieter and different, it is still good to see a live sport.

Sports - As a spectator and a Participant

Talking to my brother this morning via our weekly Skype call, I mentioned that live golf had returned to TV this weekend. As I talked about it, Jerry told me that he knew basically nothing about golf. I reminded myself that he wanted to play football in high school, but developed hay fever so bad he had to take shots. He got into music instead which turned out, I think for him, much better.

I asked him if he followed or played any sports; of course, I forgot he was and still is to an extent, a cyclist. He actually worked in a bike shop and became the store manager (of course, he did) before he retired from that career. He still follows the sport religiously.

I followed the Tour de France during the late eighties and nineties with Greg Lamond and up through the Lance Armstrong era. I even had a nice Peugeot six-speed when I was in the Army and stationed in Kansas. But after getting into running in 1978, and crashing quite spectacularly going downhill - without a helmet - I more or less gave it up. I found I was better at running anyway and enjoyed it more.

I eventually sold the bike as I did with my golf clubs - three times. But that's another story.

Thursday's Odds & Ends

So far this week - 

• Accepted a new project from the Stonewall Jackson House to proofread the exhibit labels for the new exhibit room

• Continued working the RCO project

• Began reading a new book, "The Darwin Myth",  to help me with the B&B meeting next week

• Rearranged my "A" Reading Pile again

• Watched the film, "Hidden Figures", about black women who helped the US space race by working as scientists, mathematicians etc. Quite a nice film.

• Watched the classic film, "The Manchurian Candidate", last night

A New Project

Last week, while video chatting with two of my ex-cadets, we were discussing who was the cadet regimental commander for various years. While we eventually filled all but one year, it gave me an idea that I began thinking more about after the call.

I have long kept a running paper list of all of the cadet regimental commanders at Xavier where I taught JROTC for 17 years. What's more, I have maintained contact with many of them through Facebook. In fact, three weeks ago I had a video call with my first cadet commander I had selected. He was the cadet leader for the school year 1987-1988. Now, he is fifty years old and has a family and lives in Oakland, CA.

After I had finished my more recent call with the two ex-cadets last week, I began to think about making a series of video calls to each of the cadet commanders, in sequential turn as much as possible, and ask them a series of questions. I would make a video recording of each call. Next, I would put them together and make a YouTube video of it.

I am compiling a list of questions I would ask each of them - all the same for consistently. I've asked my brother, Jerry, if this is even possible. He is very good at finding out if things like this are even possible.

We'll see.