A 1970s Halloween Story

October 31, 2024, at home

A personal Halloween story from the early 1970s

When I was 11 or 12 years old, I went trick-or-treating with my friends on several streets near my house in West Islip, Long Island, New York. We came to a house where a woman gave every child one piece of candy and one shiny penny. When it was my turn, she gave me the piece of candy and then gave me three pennies. I smiled and went to the next house thinking that I was two cents better than the other kids. You know, that woman sent some kid after me and made me give back the extra two cents. I am sure that there is a life lesson in there somewhere.

By the way, we never went to the house on the left side at the end of that street, only a few houses from where that lady lived. There was a rumor that the guy who lived there was shooting kids with a BB-gun rifle from a second-floor window. I don't know if it was true, but why take a chance, right?

Diwali Dinner

October 24, 2024, at home

Happy Diwali: The Festival of Lights !!! In other words, Happy Hindu New Year !!! I wish you much happiness, good health, and spiritual and financial prosperity during the new year !!!

I must always eat Indian food on Diwali, which occurs on a different day every year, so ...

In celebration of Diwali today, this evening for dinner, my wife and I ordered an Indian feast, smaller than usual, that was delivered to us from a nearby restaurant: Coriander: Indian + Euro Kitchen. Here is the link to the restaurant's menu. My wife and I have patronized this restaurant in quite recent years and quite enjoyed it.

https://www.corianderflorida.com/menu

This evening, we enjoyed Samosas with Hari Chutney and Imli Chutney (for us); Saag Paneer with Basmati Rice (for me); Chicken Biryani (for her); Raita (for us); and Roti with butter (for us).

My religion is Gaudiya Vaishnavism, also known as Hare Krishna, which is a sect of Sanatana Dharma, better known as Hinduism.

Hare Krishna and Namasté !!!

Worst Costume

October 31, 2024, at home

What was your worst Halloween costume ever? My worst costume was the result of being asked to a party at the last minute when I was studying at the University of Missouri in Columbia in the late 1980s. I put on dark sunglasses and grabbed an unopened box of dry spaghetti from my kitchen cabinet. I went as a Venetian Blind.

Here I am re-enacting that costume for Halloween in 2020. Note that I am wearing my brown "It's The Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown" T-shirt, which I didn't have back in the 1980s. The glasses and the pasta are, of course, also different.

Halloween At AMI

October 31, 2024, at home

Here we are, the copy desk editors of Globe and National Examiner magazines, wearing wigs in our newsroom in Boca Raton, Florida, in celebration of Halloween on Friday, October 30, 2009. Of course, that's me on the right, wearing my "It's The Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown" T-shirt. The woman in the boa (in the back, center) is not wearing a wig.

From 2002 to 2011, I was a copy editor / page designer for American Media Inc., which publishes the supermarket / gossip weekly tabloids. During those nine years, I edited and designed many pages every week for Star, Globe, National Examiner, and National Enquirer magazines.

In the lower photo, behind me on the wall are small printed pages of the issue of Globe magazine that we were in the midst of completing. We had an 8 p.m. final deadline for Globe magazine every Friday. We had a 6 p.m. final deadline for National Examiner every Wednesday.

We worked on the pages of both of those magazines at the same time, so we had lots of work and lots of fun. The magazines had different formats and somewhat different styles, so one of my many challenges was applying the proper criteria to the proper page.

For examples, the widths of the text columns were different, with Globe being slightly wider than National Examiner, and Globe required spaces before and after ellipses, while National Examiner did not.

Medical Issues

October 31, 2024, at home

I still can't walk since last year's two spinal surgeries (my thighs are still numb); my chest is still numb from quadruple bypass surgery and two chest surgeries in 2022; I am still struggling with Congestive Heart Failure and Restrictive Lung Disease from this year; my right ankle still hurts from surgery this year; and my feet are constantly numb and sore due to peripheral neuropathy. Other than that, I'm OK. How are you?

Halloween In 1979: Paul

October 31, 2024, at home

For Halloween in 1979, my costume was Paul McCartney from the cover of the 1969 Beatles album Abbey Road. (McCartney is second from left.)

I was 18 years old and a huge fan of The Beatles. I still am a huge fan. Yes, that is my real hair combed forward. Notice that I am holding a cigarette in my right hand, just as Paul did on the album cover. (Paul is left-handed.) I also went barefooted (wearing sandals) to a party that night, just as Paul was on the cover. My suit was actually dark blue; the photo has faded over the years.

One of my friends took this photo in my room (No. 214, affectionately know as "Rorer 714"), Wilson Hall dormitory, Northfield Mount Hermon School (NMH), Northfield campus, Northfield, Massachusetts. Hello to my fellow NMHers.

Incidentally, I was given my longstanding nickname "Bungalow Bill," "Bungalow" for short, "Bungy" for even shorter, by my dormitory mates at NMH. I was nicknamed after the main character in The Beatles song "The Continuing Story of Bungalow Bill."

***

October 31, 2024, at home

For Halloween in 1979, my costume was Paul McCartney from the cover of the 1969 Beatles album Abbey Road. (McCartney is second from left.)

I was 18 years old and a huge fan of The Beatles. I still am a huge fan. Yes, that is my real hair combed forward. Notice that I am holding a cigarette in my right hand, just as Paul did on the album cover. (Paul is left-handed.) I also went barefooted (wearing sandals) to a party that night, just as Paul was on the cover. My suit was actually dark blue; the photo has faded over the years.

One of my friends took this photo of myself in my room at prep school.

Incidentally, I was given my longstanding nickname "Bungalow Bill," "Bungalow" for short, "Bungy" for even shorter, by my dormitory mates.

Happy Diwali Video

October 31, 2024, at home

I created and uploaded a video onto my YouTube channel today in celebration of Diwali (Festival of Lights) and the start of the Hindu New Year.

Happy Diwali, Hare Krishna, and Namasté.

Happy Diwali (Oct. 31, 2024)

https://youtu.be/e_NlOY4yi-I?si=tOeh3ogZg6cFDGbg

"Movember": Tomorrow

October 31, 2024, at home

Remember, "Movember 2024" starts tomorrow (November 1, 2024).

"Movember" is an annual, month-long event when men around the world grow moustaches throughout the month of November to raise awareness of and to raise funds to combat cancers that afflict men (prostate, testicular, penile); men's suicide prevention; and men's overall physical and mental health. I have participated every November for decades.

Millions of funds are raised worldwide every year through fundraisers and donations, with the United States, Canada, Australia, and India typically raising the most money. European countries also do well with raising funds.

Of course, the name "Movember" is a combination of "moustache" and "November." Men start clean shaven on November 1 (every year) and grow their "stashes" throughout the month, so if you notice more guys with moustaches in your travels, that's why.

For more information, here is the link to one of the many "Movember" websites:

https://us.movember.com/

There is also something called "No-Shave November," when men don't shave at all during that month, so you may see more beards than usual, too.

Many women also don't shave during November in support of us guys. (no joke)

Remember that November is National Men's Health Awareness Month, and November 19 (every year) is International Men's Day.

SAVE THE MALES !!!

A Halloween Tradition

October 31, 2024, at home

Let me take you back to Halloweens in the mid-1960s to early 1970s, when I was a young kid (my age in single digits), and a particular, personal, yet short-lived Halloween tradition.

It's Halloween again, and my friends and I are once again deciding if we are going to go trick-or-treating at Captain Kangaroo's house. Bob Keeshan, who plays the captain, lives a few miles from my home, both in Babylon, Long Island, New York. (For you older folks, he also played Clarabell the Clown on The Howdy Doody Show.)

And, as we do every Halloween, my friends and I abandon this idea. We would either have to get a parent to drive us there or risk our lives riding our bicycles on a busy two-lane highway with no sidewalks. Besides, there is a rather high fence surrounding his house, so we wouldn't even be able to get to his front door.

Still, my friends and I always enjoy having our traditional discussion about the possibility of meeting Captain Kangaroo every Halloween.

(true story)

Happy Diwali !!!

October 31, 2024, at home

Happy Diwali !!! In other words, Happy Hindu New Year !!!

My religion is Gaudiya Vaishnavism, also known as Hare Krishna, which is a sect of Sanatana Dharma (Hinduism).

Diwali is the five-day Hindu "Festival of Lights," which is celebrated this year from October 29 to November 2, 2024, with the third day (today) as the main day of the holiday, marking the start of the Hindu new year. Diwali, my favorite holiday, falls on a different date every year. Companies in Indian begin their fiscal year on Diwali.

On this day (October 31, 2024), put a candle in the window so that Lakshmi, the Hindu goddess of wealth, can find you to bestow spiritual and financial prosperity for the coming year. For safety reasons, I use an electric candle every year.

Also, be sure that your home is clean and that you open your windows and doors so that she may enter more easily.

My wife and I always order Indian food on Diwali every year.

Today Is ...

October 31, 2024, at home

When I was a kid in the 1960s and 1970s, I loved magic and practical jokes. For brevity, I'll just mention two incidents at elementary school rather than explain my extensive experiences with my Chinese linking rings and my color-changing handkerchiefs, plus my talking toilet device, my spoon with the hole in it, my sneezing powder, my plastic ice cubes with the dead flies inside, oh, my joy buzzer and whoopie cushion and fake vomit. I had it all.

When I was in sixth grade in 1972 at the age of 11, I brought a magic trick to school to show my friends. The problem with that was: my classmate and fellow magician John Bass. John could flip 50-cent pieces all around his long, skinny fingers. He was amazing. So, John saw me performing my magic trick for a small group of classmates and quickly approached me. He grabbed the collar of my shirt and angrily yelled at me, "I'm the only magician in this classroom." I said, "OK," and I never brought another magic trick to school. (true story)

I also once scared my sixth-grade teacher Mr. Carlson. I had a trick pen that made a loud bang when opened. One day, while my classmates were reading textbooks at their desks, I asked the teacher if he could open my pen. He said, "If you can't open it, I doubt if I can." He opened it, and BANG! We both laughed, but him not as much as me. He said, "Ah. You got me." After the bang, all of my classmates looked up from their books for a short moment and then went back to reading. Not one laugh was uttered. Not one word was spoken. Dead silence. (true story)

October 31, 2024, at home

On Halloween in Babylon, Long Island, New York, in the 1960s, when I was a kid, my parents gave out 150 candy apples to the kids, plus regular candy if we ran out of the apples. Trivia: Candy apples are more popular on the East Coast and West Coast of the United States, whereas caramel apples are more popular in the U.S. Midwest.

October 31, 2024, at home

My favorite Knock Knock joke is:

Knock. Knock.
Who's there?
Cantaloupe.
Cantaloupe who?
Cantaloupe without a ladder. (can't elope)

Yankees Lose !!!

October 31, 2024, 12:06 a.m., at home

Unfortunately, my prediction came true: the Los Angeles Dodgers over the New York Yankees in five games. Congratulations go to the Dodgers. Many thanks go to the Yankees for a terrific 2024 season.

27 Years Since Fendrich

October 30, 2024, at home

Today is the 27th anniversary of the best concert I have ever attended. On October 30, 1997, I experienced an amazing performance by my all-time favorite pop singer/guitarist-songwriter, Rainhard Fendrich, and his band. His genre of music is called "Austropop," which is pop music by Austrian singers and musicians. During the concert, Austropop singer/guitarist-songwriter Wolfgang Ambros made a surprise appearance and sang a duet on Fendrich's most famous song: "I Am From Austria." (sung in German). I am also a  fan of Ambros.

The Fendrich concert was at the Wiener Stadthalle (arena) in Vienna, Austria. I enjoyed it with one of my many Austrian cousins, her husband, and more than 16,000 other fans. I was living in Jersey City, New Jersey, at the time. (I now live in southeastern Florida.)

Here is a video from that concert tour. Fendrich's song "Über meinen Horizont" (translation from German: "Beyond My Horizon") was the second song he performed at the concert I attended. This ballad, which is one of my favorite songs, is from Fendrich's 1989 studio album "Von Zeit zu Zeit." (translation from German: "From Time To Time).

(Note: That is NOT Fendrich in the picture below; it's keyboardist/singer Gary Lux. Also, the Spanish guitarist is Mario Berger, and the saxophonist is Christian Felke. Fendrich's brother Harald Fendrich plays bass guitar. Berger's brother Silvio plays drums.)

https://youtu.be/zNOLTImfadc

I first became a fan of Fendrich in 1983, while visiting many of my Austrian cousins in the westernmost Austrian province of Vorarlberg. This was my second of seven trips to Austria to visit my cousins and also to go skiing in the Austrian Alps. Anyway, I heard one of his songs on the car radio when my cousin was driving me to the airport in nearby Zürich, Switzerland, to return home. I was immediately hooked. I asked another cousin in the car who was singing. She told me, so I purchased Fendrich's second and third albums on vinyl at the music store in the airport. He only had three albums at that time. Several years later, I would discover his first album.

I purchased many more of his vinyl albums and CDs during my later trips to Austria, as well as many more CDs that I bought online. I still listen to many of his albums on my turntable. I have 49 (yes, forty-nine) of Fendrich's CDs, which includes duplicates of two of those CDs and one interview CD. I would like to purchase more Fendrich CDs.

He writes (sometimes co-writes) all of his songs, which are all sung in the German language. His earlier albums from the early to mid-1980s are sung in the Viennese dialect of German. He soon switched to writing songs in "High German" (textbook German) so that more people could understand them better.

I also have a videotape and several DVDs of his concerts and music videos; a photo calendar from 1987; a hardcover biography written in German; and two of his autographs, even though I have never met him. Also, at one time, I was the only non-European member of his official fan club. I lost that title when a man from Japan joined the club.

Candy Corn Day, PR Day

October 30, 2024, at home

I love candy corn, not only for their distinctive taste, waxy texture, coating of shellac, and various colors, but also because they contain FOUR types of sugar.

I like Brach's Autumn Mix which is a mix of regular candy corn, chocolate candy corn, and candy corn-style pumpkins. I have been eating this mix in recent days and weeks, including right now.

Ingredients in Autumn Mix: Sugar, Corn Syrup, Confectioner's Glaze (Shellac), Salt, Cocoa Powder, Hydrogenated Palm Kernel Oil, Gelatin, Dextrose, Artificial Flavor, Honey, Yellow 6, Sesame Oil, Red 3, Yellow 5, Red 40, Soy Lecithin (An Emulsifier), Blue 1.

(Shellac is made from a resin produced by the lac bug in the forests of India and Thailand. It is used to prevent candy from drying out and is perfectly safe for human consumption.)

2 Days To "Movember"

October 30, 2024, at home

Remember, "Movember 2024" starts in two days on November 1, 2024.

"Movember" is an annual, month-long event when men around the world grow moustaches throughout the month of November to raise awareness of and to raise funds to combat cancers that afflict men (prostate, testicular, penile); men's suicide prevention; and men's overall physical and mental health. I have participated every November for decades.

Millions of funds are raised worldwide every year through fundraisers and donations, with the United States, Canada, Australia, and India typically raising the most money. European countries also do well with raising funds.

Of course, the name "Movember" is a combination of "moustache" and "November." Men start clean shaven on November 1 (every year) and grow their "stashes" throughout the month, so if you notice more guys with moustaches in your travels, that's why.

For more information, here is the link to one of the many "Movember" websites:

https://us.movember.com/

There is also something called "No-Shave November," when men don't shave at all during that month, so you may see more beards than usual, too.

Many women also don't shave during November in support of us guys. (no joke)

Remember that November is National Men's Health Awareness Month, and November 19 (every year) is International Men's Day.

SAVE THE MALES !!!

Yankees Win !!!

 October 29, 2024, at home

YANKEES WIN 11-4 over the Dodgers !!!

The Dodgers are now leading in the World Series 3 games to 1. My prediction may be true: Dodgers in 5.

My Wife Made This

October 29, 2024, at home

This evening, my wonderful wife made this:

Her Side: provolone cheese, tomato sauce, roast beef, and onions
My Side: provolone cheese and tomato sauce
Dip: tomato sauce

R.I.P. Teri Garr

October 29, 2024, at home

R.I.P. Teri Garr (December 11, 1944 – October 29, 2024)

Today Is ...

October 29, 2024, at home

I like oatmeal, preferably steel-cut, with chocolate chips and/or berries (never strawberries ... YUCK !!!), sometimes with real maple syrup, and sometimes with brown sugar. However, I prefer grits with butter and a little white sugar for crunch. Shrimp and grits is a favorite dinner of mine.

October 29, 2024, at home

I am absolutely a hermit. I am perfectly comfortable with being alone.

I grew up as an only child and was without female companionship from age 20 to age 40, but being with people is sometimes better. I have lived a rather nomadic existence, having lived in six states.

Birthday: Peggy Kirk Bell

October 29, 2024, at home

Happy Heavenly Birthday to Peggy Kirk Bell !!! Thank you for having such a positive influence on my life.

"It doesn’t take a great athlete to be able to play golf. Conversely, great athletes aren’t always good golfers. That’s the beauty of the game."

- Peggy Kirk Bell, from "The Gift of Golf: My Life with A Wonderful Game"

I had the privilege of teaching golf to adults and children, side-by-side with the late great hall-of-famer and LPGA champion Peggy Kirk Bell, during the summer of 1981 (age 20) at Pine Needles Lodge and Golf Club in Southern Pines, North Carolina. PGA touring pro Pat McGowan, husband of Bell's daughter Bonnie (R.I.P.), also taught there at that time. That summer, I played a round of golf with him, just the two of us. I shot an 82. He shot a course record 64. He was like a machine.

I also have the distinction of throwing up on Mrs. Bell. Yeah, I threw up on a hall-of-fame golfer. I was a very young teenager, attending a Golfari (golf instruction/camp) in the 1970s. I became ill, so she decided to feed me soup while I lie in bed. Soon, I told her that I couldn't eat any more of the soup. She said, "Just one more spoonful." I ate it, and then lost it. She loved all of the kids who attended the Golfaris. I attended the Golfaris every summer from 1972 (age 11) to 1980 (age 19), and, of course, had the honor and the privilege of teaching there the following year. Thank you.

I Voted: How & Why

October 28, 2024, at home

I created and uploaded a video today onto my YouTube channel about the upcoming election in the United States (November 5, 2024). I briefly explain for whom and how I am voting, along with briefly stated reasons why.

I Voted: How & Why (Oct. 28, 2024)

https://youtu.be/sbX9MojCU3o?si=PA7IcQNGtsfZqK99

I Voted

October 28, 2024, at home

With Election Day approaching (November 5, 2024), here I am completing my mail-in ballots this evening. As usual, I am wearing my VOTE MALE T-shirt that I purchased online in the early 1990s when I officially became a Men's Rights Activist. The logo is emblazoned in big letters on the back of the shirt. I wear it whenever I complete ballots and on Elections Days.

Of course, I voted for Donald J. Trump.

VOTE MALE means to vote for men and women who support Men's Rights and Father's Rights.

New Facebook Profile Photo

October 28, 2024, at home

With Election Day approaching (November 5, 2024), my wife and I are completing our mail-in ballots this evening. As usual, I am wearing my VOTE MALE T-shirt that I purchased online in the early 1990s when I officially became a Men's Rights Activist. The logo is emblazoned in big letters on the back of the shirt. I wear it whenever I complete ballots and on Elections Days.

VOTE MALE means to vote for men and women who support Men's Rights and Father's Rights.

Today Is ...

October 28, 2024, at home

I like dark chocolate because of its bitterness.

October 28, 2024, at home

I have been tended to by many of them over the last three or so years.

Mexican Grand Prix

October 27, 2024, at home

I am watching live coverage of the twentieth race of the 2024 Formula 1 racing season. The Mexican Grand Prix is being broadcast on WABC-TV (from a feed from ESPN from a feed from Sky Sports F1). The race started at 2 p.m. local time (4 p.m. Eastern Time in the United States).

Below is a diagram of the Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez in Mexico City, Mexico. Almost all of the races are on actual circuits (tracks), so this street circuit is relatively rare. Each circuit around the world has a different configuration, therefore a different dynamic, regarding turns and elevation fluctuations. As you can see, this circuit appears to be one of the easier circuits.

This season's 24-race schedule is as follows: Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Australia, Japan, China, Miami, Italy, Monaco, Canada, Spain, Austria, Great Britain, Hungary, Belgium, The Netherlands, Italy (different circuit), Azerbaijan, Singapore, Austin, Mexico, Brazil, Las Vegas, Qatar, and Abu Dhabi.

The first two races this season (in Bahrain and in Saudi Arabia) were held on Saturdays due to the Islamic observance of Ramadan. All other races will be held on Sundays, as usual, except for the Las Vegas Grand Prix which will also be held on Saturday.

Before each race, there are two days of practice/qualifying. The races run every week or every other week from March into December.

In Formula 1 racing, there are 20 (male) drivers, with zero drivers from the United States. A driver from the United States made it more than halfway through the season, but he was recently replaced.

There are 10 teams (with two drivers on each team), so not only do drivers compete against their rivals, but they also compete against their teammates. There are two championships: one for the drivers and one for the constructor teams.

This season, as with last season, there are three races in the United States. In fairly recent years, there were no drivers from the United States and no races in the United States.

Formula 1 racing is the only sport that I actively follow. I have been a fan for decades. I watched my first F1 race decades ago on television at the home of one of my many Austrian cousins while on vacation in Austria.

Today Is ...

October 27, 2024, at home

Today (October 27, 2024) on Navy Day, I honor my father, who served 22 years in the Navy on active duty and in the reserves. Here he is in 1958 at age 24, when he was stationed in Hawaii.

My mother worked for the Navy as a civilian on Long Island, New York.

My dad retired at the rank of Commander, about three months away from earning the rank of Captain. After more than two decades, he had enough and decided it was time to retire from the military.

Dad also served aboard a ship, transporting displaced persons (delayed pilgrims, as he called them) after World War II multiple times from Bremerhaven, Germany, to New York City. Soon after his death in 1997 at age 62, some of his ashes were scattered from a Navy ship into the North Atlantic Ocean, where, as he had told me, he spent one of the best times of his life.

The remainder of his ashes were interred at Breslau Cemetery in Lindenhurst, Long Island, New York. (Lindenhurst was formerly named Breslau after the city in Germany.)

Dad requested that his ashes be mixed with the ashes of his favorite dog Ludwig, which were in a metal can as the only thing Dad kept in his large metal safe which was never locked. (We didn't do that.)

Dad would take Ludwig to work with him at his insurance and real estate office in Lindenhurst, the town where he grew up. Every weekday morning, my dad would get the dog a buttered roll and a cup of coffee with sugar and milk. Two things an already jittery dachshund definitely does NOT need are sugar and caffeine.

October 27, 2024, at home

Today (October 27, 2024) is National Mother-In-Law Day (fourth Sunday in October), so I would like to remember and honor my mother-in-law Lorna, who passed on February 16, 2011.

This is my favorite photo of her and me. My wife snapped it on July 13, 2008, in a coffee shop in Cambridge, Ontario, Canada, when the three of us were on vacation, visiting my wife's family and friends in and around Toronto. I particularly like that she is small and is holding a big cup, and I am bigger and am holding a smaller cup.

She always encouraged me to become a better person with each passing day, while accepting me each day exactly as I was. For that, I thank her again. Lorna, you are sorely missed.

October 27, 2024, at home

I don't really have a favorite American beer, well, Yuengling and maybe Samuel Adams. At university in the early 1980s, I drank PBRs (Pabst Blue Ribbon) because it was cheap. I also went through a short stint with Miller High Life long ago.

I did drink Grolsch long ago, but that's not American.

I never drink Budweiser and Molson due to resultant hangovers.

My favorite beer is Mohrenbräu, which is a famous Austrian beer. I first drank it in my Austrian cousins' living room in Dornbirn, Austria, in the early 1980s, when I was in my early 20s. I have enjoyed it on many subsequent trips to Austria. I have never found it in the United States. Mohrenbräu is brewed in Dornbirn.

https://www.mohrenbrauerei.at/

October 27, 2024, at home

Superstition: It's good luck if a black cat follows you home.

Today Is ...

October 26, 2024, at home

My dad liked mincemeat pie. So do I.

Austria National Day

October 26, 2024, at home

PHOTO: the flag of Austria

While I am only one-eighth Austrian, I have a strong love and affiliation with Austria. Today is Austria National Day, which I celebrate every year. I have been to Austria seven times since the early 1980s to visit my many Austrian cousins and to ski in the Austrian Alps. I enjoy eating Austrian food and love listening to Austrian pop music.

Here is a bit of information about Austria National Day:

https://www.archive.austria.org/national-day

Prediction

Today Is ...

October 25, 2024, at home

R.I.P. Phil Lesh

October 25, 2024, at home

R.I.P. Phil Lesh (March 15, 1940 – October 25, 2024)

R.I.P. Jack Jones

October 24, 2024, at home

R.I.P. Jack Jones, January 14, 1938 – October 23, 2024 (singer of the theme song of the "The Love Boat" TV series)

Today Is ...

October 23, 2024, at home

Today is National Mole Day !!!

I certainly remember Avogadro's Number from my studies of chemistry in high school and at university. ("The number 6.02214076×10^23 was chosen so that the mass of one mole of a chemical compound in grams is numerically equal, for most practical purposes, to the average mass of one molecule of the compound in daltons.")

While I ultimately became a journalist instead of my planned medical researcher or bench chemist, I was quite fortunate in the 1990s to land a job in New York City where I could indulge my love of a topic that has interested me since I was a young kid in the 1960s playing with my chemistry set. From 1992 to 1996, I was a Reporter, Writer, Editor, and Researcher for an international weekly magazine on the financial and technical aspects of the chemical industry. This included agriculture chemicals, petrochemicals (aromatics and aliphatics), pharmaceuticals, flavors, fragrances, plastics, paints, coatings, oils, fats, waxes, surfactants, and more.

Yes, I'm a nerd ... and proud of it.

I am honored to have worked for one of the oldest publications in the United States. The magazine, initially titled "Oil, Paint, and Drug Reporter" and titled "Chemical Marketing Reporter" ("CMR") when I worked there, was first published in 1871. It was again renamed "Chemical Market Report" shortly after I left for a job as a writer for a wire service covering commodities trading (futures and options).

I still laugh at the title of my first position at "CMR": Oils, Fats, and Waxes Editor. It was my job to cover such products as castor oil, grease (both yellow AND white), carnauba wax, and much more from an industrial standpoint. I soon made the lateral move to Flavors and Fragrances Editor, then promoted to Heavy and Agriculture Chemicals Editor, and then majorly promoted to Market Research Editor.

I rank this job as my most favorite job since I became a journalist in 1982 partly because, as I still jokingly say, it made me appear smarter than I actually was. Also, my groundbreaking story on tung oil as a natural industrial lubricant in its infancy was cited in USDA and EPA governmental reports. My writings were also cited in the thesis of a university student.

While I was working for CMR, I sent a copy of the magazine to my former university chemistry teacher from the early 1980s to let him know that I never lost interested in this subject and that chemistry was my professional life at that time. He wrote back, thanking me. He told me that a teacher usually doesn't know how far his influence on his students will go. He also mentioned that he had never heard of tung oil.

UPDATE: The graphic is misleading. The number is 6.02 × 10²³, which is 6.02 times 10 to the 23 power (in other words, 6.02 times 10 multiplied by 10  twenty-three times.)

October 23, 2024, at home

While I don't really like the yellow cake, there is enough other stuff going on to distract me, so I enjoy it as a whole. I do like Boston Cream donuts, one of which I ate this morning.

October 23, 2024, at home

Today is TV Talk Show Host Day. My favorite talk show host is Joe Franklin. He is credited for inventing the talk show format.

I often watched his show. It was a relaxing and interesting show. "The Joe Franklin Show" was broadcast on TV from 1950 to 1993. I often watched it during the late 1970s and the 1980s.

October 23, 2024, at home

For many years, I thought Capistrano was in Italy or Spain. It's in California.