“You got a smile so bright
You could have been a candle
I’m holding you so tight
You know you could have been a handle.”
Temptations,
“The Way You Do The Things You Do.”
In “Without our memories, what are we?” Miami
Herald columnist Leonard Pitts wrote about visiting his Aunt Millie in a
facility that cares for Alzheimer’s patients.
Millie’s memories had mostly vanished, but when a band played the
Temptations’ “The Way You Do The Things You Do,” Pitts put his arms
around his aunt and started singing. “I’m watching her lips and she is
nailing the words,” Pitts recalled, adding that the next day Millie had no
recollection of the experience: “It is another piece of her, lost to
her. But I will keep it for us both.”
With original members David Ruffin,
Melvin Franklin, Paul Williams, Otis Williams, and Eddie Kendricks, the
Temptations had a string of Motown hits starting in 1964, including “My Girl,”
Ain’t Too Proud to Beg,” “Just My Imagination,” and “Papa Was a Rollin’
Stone.” Known for intricate harmonies,
tailored suits, and syncopated choreography, they underwent a host of
tribulations, including health issues, alcoholism and drug abuse, as well as
personal conflicts. Ruffin died in 1991
from a cocaine binge. Blue-eyed soul singer
Daryl Oates remembered, “His voice had a certain glorious anguish that spoke
to people on many emotional levels.”
I’ve never been tempted to take up
cocaine. The buzz is quite intense and
only lasts a short time, so addicts are stuck with a very expensive habit. Long
ago, someone offered me a line, and I sneezed at the absolute wrong
moment. The only other time I partook,
my heart seemed to be pounding so hard that it scared me away from further use.
Producer and Stormy Weather vocalist
Henry Farag got to sing with David Ruffin, Eddie Kendricks, and Pookie Hudson
of the Spaniels in January 1991, and called it the “biggest thrill of my
singing career.” Not long
afterwards, he attended Ruffin’s funeral at a church in Detroit whose pastor
was Aretha Franklin’s father. Stevie
Wonder delivered the eulogy. In “The
Signal” Farag described the scene as “right out of the Old South”:
“Hand-held
fans were waving in unison to stir the air in the un-air-conditioned
church. Cries and moans sometimes
interrupted tributes and lengthy speeches.
David was laid out full length, exposed complete with tux and patent
leather shoes in a coffin on the altar below the preacher’s platform. A spontaneous, incredible version of ‘My
Girl’ was sung at the podium by all the remaining Tempys putting their
in-fighting aside as the ultimate eulogy.”
In a Rolling Stone interview
novelist Stephen King admitted to using cocaine “all the time” for eight
years beginning in 1978. Before that he consumed
an estimated case of beer daily and recalled:
“I
realized I had a problem about the time Maine passed a
returnable-bottle-and-can law. You could
no longer just toss the shit away, you saved it, and you turned it in to a
recycling center. And nobody in the
house drank [beer] but me. I went to the
garage one night, and the trash can that was set aside for beer was full to the
top.”
A good liberal, King said about
Republicans:
“Whenever it comes to money – the national debt,
for instance – they yell their heads off about ‘What about our
grandchildren?’ But when it comes to the
environment, when it comes to resources, they’re like, ‘We’ll be OK for 40
years’”
Tom Wade brought over Russian Railroad,
voted 2013 Meeples board game of the year recently. Of the worker placement
genre, it involves developing railroads, constructing and improving track and
acquiring and upgrading engines to run on them.
Players can acquire factories and accumulate bonus points in a somewhat
bewildering variety of ways. Meeples, I
learned, are characters representing people, in this case Russians.
Phil, pumped after scoring four soccer
goals against a team of skilled college-age guys, described each in detail over
the phone, including two with his left foot and two with the right.
Anne Koehler asked if I could speak to
the Porter County Historical Society. I
mulled it over and offered to talk about Edgewater, a “Vanished Community” due
to its incorporation into the Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore. Many interested people resided there,
including the daughter of Gary’s first mayor, poet Gib Laue, artist Dame
Fleming, and a doctor who had a colonic clinic – giving enemas to patients.
It’s difficult to write a 190-word review
for an edited book on international sports containing 13 articles plus an intro
and conclusion. Just to critique a
single article in so short a space would be difficult. My final draft, for example, does not mention
President Jimmy Carter’s stupid decision to boycott he 1980 Moscow Olympics
after the Soviet Union sent troops into Afghanistan for much the same reason
our troops are there today. Also left
out, contributor Nicholas Evan Sarantakes citing the opinion of ancient Greek
historian Thucydides that foreign policy is based on national interest, fear,
and honor. To that Sarantakes would add
ideas (religion and ideology) and internal politics. Public opinion initially supported Carter’s
boycott, but after the winter Olympics’ “Miracle on Ice” support melted away
and Carter failed in efforts to create alternative games to compete with
Moscow.
Frederic Cousseau and Blandine Huk sent
me a DVD of their two-hour interview of Mayor Richard Hatcher for the
Archives. I’m hoping for a copy of “My
Name Is Gary” as well.
Inclement weather didn’t stop dozens of
trick-or-treaters from stopping by the condo for candy. Several wore black ski masks without cut out
spaces for eyes. Toni told me they
became the rage a couple years ago.
Two days into the NBA season Derrick Rose
went down with an ankle injury. He’s
missed almost two full seasons already during his brief pro career with knee
problems. I put on the final minutes of
the Bulls home opener against Lebron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers. Lo and behold, Derrick Rose was not on the
court, felled by a twisted ankle.
Chicago forced overtime, thanks to a stellar effort by “Captain Kirk”
Hinrich, but lost by six points.
In the car I heard the Temptations’ “I Can’t Get Next To You”
on WXRT's show on 1969, as well as "Suspicious Minds" by Elvis and
"Gimme Shelter" by the Rolling Stones. The Tempts also recorded
“Run Away Child, Running Wild” that year, at a time when many young folks were
running away from home. Tom Marker
discussed the tragic free concert the Stones put on at Altamont Speedway in San
Francisco in December. The Hell's Angels were hired to work security (with
horrible results) because the venue was moved at the last minute and there
wasn't time to build a stage high enough to prevent spectators from leaping
onto it.
Between watching James bowl and attending
IUN’s Homecoming basketball doubleheader, I showed off the Archives to
photographer Cuck Walla, who likes to visit abandoned Gary buildings such as
City Methodist Church and the Palace Theater.
It turns out he worked closely with volunteer David Mergl, photographing
inside Bethlehem Steel and even doing wedding with him.
Homecoming was quite exciting, with the
bleachers almost full, many Alumni on hand, and hamburgers, hot dogs and chili
served between games, or earlier if one was hungry. The Lady Redhawks, led by Nicki Monahan’s 26
points, extended their record to 7-0 with a four-point win over the St. Francis
Fighting Saints. Scrappy guard Christina
Ekohumu, who made numerous driving layups earlier in the game, got fouled
attempting a three-pointer with seconds remaining but missed her second free
throw, sealing the victory for IUN. The
men’s team lost a tough match against Roosevelt University 67-64, but I was
impressed with their play against an NAIA team that was expected to win
handily. In the past the men’s team has
been virtually all-white or all-black, but under Kristofer Schnatz, who is both
coach and athletic director, there was a nice mix of talented players.
Dave’s family came over for dinner
Saturday and then we had Tom Wade over to teach him Russian Trains after an
Amun Re game that I lost on a tie breaker, finishing with the same number of
points as Tom but with two fewer pyramids.
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