Called It a Day

The moon went down stars were gone
But the sun didn't rise with the dawn
There wasn't a thing left to say
The night we called it a day

         Bob Dylan, “The Night We Called It a Day”

David Letterman’s final show three years ago began with the late Gerald Ford uttering the statement about Watergate: “Our long national nightmare is over.”  Then the line was repeated by Presidents Bush, Clinton, Bush, and Obama, with the latter adding, “David Letterman is retiring.” In the monologue Dave said, “I’m going to be honest with you.  It’s beginning to look like I’m not going to get ‘The Tonight Show.’”  Earlier in the week, Bob Dylan sang “The Night We Called It a Day.” When Letterman thanked him afterwards, Dylan replied, “It’s an honor.”  In 1985 punk rocker Billy Idol, a guest on “Late Night,” bragged that his songs were so popular, drug dealers were naming products after them, Letterman replied, straight-faced: “You must be a very proud young man.”  The final show concluded with David Grohl and Foo Fighters performing “Everlong” while shots of past highlights flashed on the screen, including pro wrestler Jerry Lawler knocking comedian Andy Kaufman to the ground and Drew Barrymore jumping onto Dave’s desk and flashing him. Here’s the final verse of “Everlong”:

And I wonder
If everything could ever feel this real forever
If anything could ever be this good again
The only thing I'll ever ask of you
You've got to promise not to stop when I say when

Good buddy Louis Vasquez, 94, passed away, leaving four children, nine grandchildren, six great-grandchildren, and many other friends, relatives and admirers.  Louis worked at Inland Steel’s Hot Strip mill for 36 years and was looking forward to continuing his role as assistant basketball coach at St. Stanislaus parish.  Until a couple years ago, he helped out with his son’s Little League team.  A fixture at East Chicago Central basketball games for decades, where he sat in the front row with his scorebook, Louis allowed me to publish his autobiography, “Weasal,” as a special issue of Steel Shavings (volume 24, 1995).  I wrote this in the Editor’s Note:

  The central focus of “Weasal” is family bonds; but for Vasquez the concept of family conjures up not only blood relatives but “buddies” in the neighborhood, in the service, in the mill, and in church and civic organizations.  Louis is, above all, a family man.  He calls many people compadre to designate close friends, not only of Mexican ancestry, he is quick to point out, but of all ethnic groups.  He is representative of the children of immigrants who came of age during Franklin D. Roosevelt’s presidency and whose assertive personalities and unapologetic patriotism were much influenced by their wartime military service.  They had paid their dues and weren’t going to be pushed around by employers, realtors, or fellow workers.  Many Harbor vets from his “Block and Pennsy” neighborhood got involved in union and city politics; Louis explored both these paths but put most of his energies into volunteer organizations such as sports teams and the Latin American Vets.  As its social chairman and then its president for three terms during the mid-1950s, he drew into the club not only World War II vets but younger guys like Jesse Villalpando, who had known him from CYO programs Louis had organized at Our Lady of Guadalupe church. For many, the LAV club was like a second home; Jesse recalls spending all night there, finally falling asleep on the shuffleboard court.  He also remembers when for a fundraiser the LAVs brought in a famous exotic dancer named Tongolele as headliner of a Latin musical review.  She had appeared in several movies and had graced numerous covers of Spanish-language magazines on sale at Harbor newsstands.  In the midst of the show, Father Mitchell strode on stage threatening to expel choir members who wouldn’t leave.  Few did.

Archibald McKinlay’s “Reejin Archetypes” (1996) contained a portrait of Louis Vasquez entitled “The Lamented Lover” gleaned from his autobiography that described his wartime experiences in England and France, concentrating on liaisons with a LeMans hairdresser named Renee and other French damsels.  My initial reaction was dismay and consternation, but Louie apparently loved being dubbed a “Latin lover.” At Oleska-Pastrick funeral home in East Chicago I gave Louie’s grandson my signed copy inscribed “To a Reejin guru.”  Louie’s remains in the open casket appeared peaceful in repose, but I told his grandson, a state trooper, that what I recall most about him is his expressive voice and gestures, his literally being full of life.

 Gene Clifford and Lucy, April 2017

At Hobart Lanes Gene Clifford’s granddaughter Chelsea visited with a little girl, Lucy, who initially balked at being plucked onto his lap.  I quipped that I wouldn’t want to sit on his lap either.  Lucy quickly acclimated and smiled when Gene made several strikes in a row and then beamed at her.  The Engineers took 5 of 7 points from Fab Four, as Joe Piunti bowled well above his average. Opponent Marilyn Feczko has a unique way of taking several steps toward the foul line, coming to a complete stop, and then taking two more before releasing the ball.  At one point she had four splits in a row and finally converted the 6-10.  Next frame, when she missed the headpin but then converted the spare, I said, “That’s staying out of trouble.”

Visiting the refurbished downtown Gary Public Library to deliver Steel Shavings issues to David Hess in the Indiana Room, I was impressed with its Wi-Fi Café and computer rooms for both adults and kids.  Gary Hall of Fame plaques adorned a second-floor wall.  The list is top-heavy with ministers and politicians and bereft of historians.  I briefly served on the selection committee.  In 1990, other members wanted to honor chair Randall C. Morgan as a surprise.  I was in charge of the booklet, which Morgan demanded to inspect prior to the banquet.  I managed to foil his attempts, which so enraged him, he was still fuming after learning the reason. 

Longtime NWI Times reporter Bill Dolan called to find out when the County Courthouse across from Gary City Hall was built.  I was certain it was one of many Gary building constructed along Broadway during the prosperous 1920s, the city’s “Augustan Age.”  Sure enough, the WPA Guidebook to the Calumet Region confirmed that it opened in September 1929, nine months after City Hall.

from left, Julie Czoka Pass, Juanita McCabe, Effie Rork, Fay Keenan Price, unknown, Frances Arcuri, unknown

On the cover of Reminisce magazine is a 1951 photo of comely car hops who worked at Ted’s Drive-In in Gary.  Contributor Fay Keenan Price was 24 with two small children at the time owners George and Marge Pratt hired her.  She worked full-time for two years and then part-time after obtaining work at Illinois Bell Telephone Company.  Fay recalled:

    If I did well, I made $7 or $8 a day [in tips].  We also received a 1 percent commission on our sales. The biggest commission I ever made was $15 for one week.  Wow!  That was a lot back then.

    The menu offered a nonalcoholic drink called the Zombie, which was made with red soda pop.  A sign cautioned “Limit 2,” so teens sometimes thought the drinks contained alcohol and would start acting silly after drinking one.  What a show!

Teacher Chuck Halberstadt wrote:

You know you have a tough group of students when one of the two aides that watched them during your 30-minute lunch break had to go lay down in the nurse's office afterwards because her blood pressure spiked and she was worried she was going to have another heart attack.

Jesse Michaels responded: “Cops in my class today.  Feel your pain bro!”

Alyssa Black wrote:

Today a kid asked me to sing a song at the end of class. The chorus to The Vines' Get Free was the only thing I could think of. I think the class thought it was pretty funny; they like when I sing songs.  I was surprised when one of the students started singing Elton John's Crocodile Rock and a couple of kids started singing with him. It was a good moment.

I replied: “‘Crocodile Rock’ must be in a kids’ movie.”  She answered: “Maybe not.  The kid really likes Johnny Cash, too.”  Nonetheless, I found a rather creepy scene in “Barnyard” (2006) where Barnyard Ben the Cow sings “I Won’t Back Down.”  The chorus to “Get Free, on the Vines’ 2002 CD “Highly Evolved, goes: “I’m gonna be free, ride into the sky.”  I have it on heavy rotation with “Band on the Run” by Paul McCartney and Wings, plus CDs by Social Distortion, Chainsmokers, and Taylor Swift.

After a fight with wife Joy, Jack Griffin, the protagonist in Richard Russo’s “That Old Cape Magic” admits to himself that he “should have swallowed his petulance.”  I’ve tried to follow that advice, not always successfully.