BITS & PIECES OF A MISPLACED LIFE: THE JOYS OF READING

Hatchards is a branch of Waterstones, and claims to be the oldest bookshop in the United Kingdom, founded on Piccadilly in 1797 by John Hatchard. After one move, it has been at the same location on Piccadilly next to Fortnum and Mason since 1801… (Wikipedia) On the other hand , THE KING’S ARMS, founded by

BITS & PIECES OF A MISPLACED LIFE:NOTES ON OLD-TIME RADIO

radio (n.) “wireless transmission of voice signals with radio waves,” 1907, abstracted or shortened from earlier combinations such as radio-receiver (1903), radiophone “instrument for the production of sound by radiant energy” (1881), radio-telegraphy “means of sending telegraph messages by radio rather than by wire” (1898), from radio- as a combining form of Latin radius “beam”

BITS & PIECES OF A MISPLACED LIFE:MYSTERIES

“To police is to maintain law and order, but the word derives from polis – the Greek for ‘city’ or ‘polity’ — by way of politia, the latin for ‘citizenship,’ and it entered English from the Middle French police, which meant not constables but government.” Jill Lepore. “The Long Blue Line” in The New Yorker

BITS & PIECES OF A MISPLACED LIFE: AMERICAN MUSIC

‘ SOME SONGS BY ABE BURROWS “I’m So Miserable Without You, It’s Almost Like Having You Around” “You Put a Piece of Carbon Paper Under Your Heart And Gave Me Just a Copy of Your Love” “How Ya Gonna Keep ’em Down on the After They’ve Seen the Farm?” “The Girl With the Three Blue

BITS & PIECES OF A MISPLACED LIFE: AMERICANA #3

MINNEAPOLIS BANS RED AUTOMOBILES Minneapolis. August 11, 1932 (A.P) If one drives a red automobile after this, it’s going to be too bad. The City Council has passed an ordinance prohibiting the driving of automobiles painted red “or a red color so similar to fire department vehicles that they are not easily distinguishable.” Just what

BITS &PIECES OF A MISPLACED LIFE: ANYTHING GOES

“Gilbert, the waspish member of the Gilbert and Sullivan team, had little regard for the acting ability of Sir Beerbohm Tree. He felt that the controversy over the true identity of Shakespeare could be settled once and for all. His solution was to have Beerbohm Tree recite from the Bard over the graves of the

BITS & PIECES OF A MISPLACED LIFE: CELEBRITIES

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-56669924 “An insurance company pamphlet described Moses as ‘One of the greatest salesmen and real- estate promoters that ever lived.’ Jesus Christ was called ‘the founder of modern business.'” Jim Bishop. The Golden Ham: A Candid Biography of Jackie Gleason ( New York: Simon and Schuster, 1956). CULTURAL NOTE Jackie Gleason Was not always the

BITS & PIECES OF A MISPLACED LIFE: AMERICANA (PART 2)

ABRAHAM LINCOLN’S GETTYSBURG ADDRESS ________________________________________________________________ SHERMAN BILLINGSLEY AND THE STORK CLUB (1950’s) There is a story about the time George Jessel arrived at the entrance of the Cub Room bringing with him a beautiful and talented lady, Lena Horne. This caused a bit of a stir. Billingsley and his headwaiters weren’t very big on racial

BITS & PIECES OF A MISPLACED LIFE –THE AMERICANA ISSUE

“There are three things which I shall never forget about America: the Rocky Mountains,the Statue of Liberty and Amos ‘n’ Andy.” George Bernard Shaw “From hobo jungles to the White House, the mundane world stopped for fifteen minutes at seven o’clock on weekday evenings; movie theaters piped in episodes between reels; department stores carried the

BITS & PIECES OF A MISLAID LIFE: THE MONEY ISSUE

“The Latin word for head is caput’ snd cattle were ‘capitale’ whence comes our modern word capital. So it becomes evident that in ancient days, cattle and money were synonyms. So closely were they associated that the Greek and Romans stamped their coins with the image of an ox,” John J.Floherty. Money-Go-Round: The Story of