Tape title stories

  kid riot     South Gate had two movie theaters when we were kids. There was the Allen on Tweedy boulevard and the much nicer Vogue on Long Beach boulevard. The Saturday matinee at both venues was kid chaos as few adults ever attended with their children. You walked there or got dropped off by relieved Moms if it was the Vogue. The overly- stimulated kids, free of supervision unleashed all their suppressed bad behavior at such shows. Greg went to see a movie called something along the lines of Sinbad and the Village of Alakazam  The title is unimportant but the movie just set the young miscreants into a frenzy and when the movie ended the place erupted into bedlam. Foolish concessionaires served popcorn in folded cardboard vessels that when emptied and flattened could be sailed long distances and when they hit their random targets they stung a little or "COULD PUT AN EYE OUT!" Cups, once filled with soda pop could be set down in the gummy floor and stomped making ...

  Put it in the tub This dates back to the Palm Desert period where Greg witnessed the wild life of the brilliant but demon-plagued cousin Evan Sheehy. Out in the desert there was plenty of time spent in local bars with air conditioning and good companionship. There is a bar slang used in different places and when Evan ordered a whiskey and soda he wanted it in a double old-fashioned glass that bartenders knew as "the tub." Evan would order his whiskey and then throw in the direction "put it in the tub!" 

  If that is what you want           A life lesson on booze passed on by my father to Greg. The godson was visiting the house during the Christmas season and my Dad asked him what he would like to drink. Greg, being a novice to cocktails at the time asked for a gin and tonic. BC gave him a subtle glance and told him "some of these bartenders will get a little salty with you when you order out of season. But, if that is what you want..." A saloon-savvy gent would only have a brown liquid in the Winter was the lesson to be learned. Gin and tonics were for warm weather or rubes...

  A gambler and an alcoholic       A story from my boyhood of my good friend's dad who was a successful purchasing agent/executive at a large corporation. He wanted to start his own business and become independent of the company. He planned out his new endeavor and was a hard worker. Unfortunately he chose a partner who was a gambler and an alcoholic. The business tanked due to a shortage of capital. Greg told the punchline of the story to his Dad who got a big laugh out of it. If you knew John Sheehy he had a gut laugh that went into a wheeze. The story was repeated for his enjoyment.

  Do You Want a drink or a beer?      After Greg, Timo and I had played a round of golf at Recreation in Long Beach we walked the half block over to my parents house on Terraine. My Dad was home and delighted to see threee parched young men visiting. We took a seat in the den and as BC approached us he asked "do you want a drink or a beer?" Providing alcoholic beverages to guests was my Dad's verson of hospitality and the question tickled Greg who used it to express his own largess at home. He did a great imitation of my Dad's unique voice.   

  Booze Story The full  quote is "and then they cooked up this booze story" which was attributed to William Holden who Greg loved in the movie "Picnic."  The studio tried to get Holden to stop drinking and like many alcoholics he was in denial, claiming they were inventing his problems with alcohol. This was always followed by the description of  the tragic but absurd death of Holden who finished a bottle of scotch, slipped on a throw rug and smashed his head on a bedside table. He was so inebriated he tried to treat his fractured skull and head wound with a kleenex tissue. This was always used as a cautionary tale.

  Bill…You and I remember when From a PBS program featuring John Bogle, founder of the Vanguard group. Greg spotted him once at lunch at the Merion Cricket Club in Pennsylvania and they exchanged greetings. John Bogle was seen to be the  financial voice of reason by Greg who did a spot on imitation of an elderly sage telling Bill Moyers "Bill, you and I remember when if you wanted to buy something you saved for it...

  alright mother- “You can find poetry in your everyday life, your memory, in what people say on the bus, in the news, or just what’s in your heart.” —Carol Ann Duffy  Greg was always delighted by a story told by his mother in law about a "sortie" dinner party attended by a Doctor "Putty" Putnam who had been forced to attend an opera by his wife. When asked by a clueless guest if he enjoyed the opera, his response was  "fuck you!" When I was visiting Bear Cove and sitting next to the matriarch Greg goaded her into telling the tale. But a rum n' coke had loosened "Minnie's" tongue and when she got to Putty's answer she blurted a rather hard FUCK YOU!  Roy, hearing his bride curse thusly said across the table "Alright mother!"