Happy New Years Eve! 2018 to 2019!

We were here about 2 weeks ago.  Have you ever noticed that the crowd usually comes behind us?  Are we pacesetters or what?

Marietta, Ga Downtown Dec 2018

SUNDAY FUNNIES!! KING KONG , MAD's version

OK, since I saw KING KONG, the musical on Broadway, about a week ago I have KING KONG on the mind.

Art by Will Elder.  Story by Harvey Kurtzman.

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Speaks Out the Truth!

KING KONG on Broadway

We were interested in seeing a Broadway play or musical, if reasonable priced. A Broadway production reasonably priced is an oxymoron. We got on line and saw we could see Cher in good seats for about $300. Others were cheaper, but not that much cheaper. You could easily spend over a grand for two tickets for some of them. We got on line and started comparing prices. We found that new plays, not yet proven are usually cheaper. So are older plays which has just about ran their course.

Musicals are, as a rule, higher, because musicals require more dancers and musicians. But not with KING KONG. It is reasonable. We bought two tickets and went.

It was on Broadway, near 54th Street. Interesting, almost next door was the Ed Sullivan Theater, which hosts the Steven Colbert Show.

It is a stage musical with a giant gorilla puppet. It has strings (cables) just like Howdy Doody and has a very scary roar. At the end when everybody on stage was being recognized and took a bow. The puppeteers were last for recognition. They got a partial standing ovation. They deserved it. I tried counting the number, it was a few over11, that is about when I got confused. It was no secret it took skilled puppeteers to control King Kong natural movements, every time he moved his arms it took a team of people in dark black or gray suits with hoods covering their heads to roll that arm, or hand. You knew they were there, but not surprised, just like you were not surprised to see Edgar Bergman move his lips when Charlie McCarthy spoke.

The KING KONG Musical stuck mostly to the KING KONG movie in the 1930s with Faye Wray. They skip over some actions that you knew had happened, after all everyone had seen the movie… like when the King was holding the damsel on top of a building, which by the way, no way resembled the Empire State Building, but you know he had to climb holding the Faye Wray character, right?
The singing and choreography  of the musical was good too.

If you want to know more about the makings of the KK puppet and see the key actress talk about it, click below:

Throwback Thursday, New Years Eve One Time.

Throwback Thursday.   New Years Eve is coming up in about four days, which reminded me of a New Years Eve story:

Remember this event happened when I was a teenager with a very low ethics code.  I’m a nicer person now.

I think it was 1958, my junior year.  Then Cobb County was a dry county.  Selling hard booze was illegal.  So, we had to drive to the Fulton County,  at the county line, The River Package Store, to get our whisky.  It was December the 31^st and we had a party we were invited to, but it was a BYOB party.   We were under age to buy alcoholic beverages anyway.  At the River Package store, hanging out in the parking lot we could not talk anybody getting out of their cars to go in to do us a favor and buy us a bottle.  So, finally we drove back to Marietta empty handed.

We were sitting in Monty’s mother’s car wondering what next when I saw my uncle stumbling down the street.  My uncle was a casualty of WWII.  He never got over all the killing he did and saw in the war.  I think he was homeless off and on.

He saw us sitting in the car and walked over.  I’m not sure he recognized me or not.  He asked how “You boys doing?”

“Fine, what about yout?”

Then he asked would we mind giving him a ride someplace.

“NO, of course not.”

He asked us to carry him down to a Shell Station on Powder Springs Street.  We did.  He asked us to wait on him.   We did.  He went in and came back out with a brown paper bag, about pint size.  He then asked us to take him north of Marietta where a new subdivision was being built.  We did.

The new subdivision was off Kennesaw Avenue.  It was Keeler Woods.

He asked us to wait on him.  We did.  He, with his brown paper bag, went behind a partially built house and behind some foliage and returned without the brown paper bag.

We carried him back to the North Park Square and let him off about where we picked him up.

After dark we went back to Keeler Woods, with the car lights burning went back to the house my uncle left his brown paper bag and looked behind every bush and tree and found what we were seeking, a pint bottle of moonshine.

We went to the party and with the moonshine and grape juice we made “Purple Jesus”.  Purple Jesus  got a number of us teenagers drunk that night and even temporarily blinded one.  Well, not really blinded, but he could only see blue and red smears of light.

HAPPY NEW YEARS!

NYC Tourist Transportation, Dec 2018

Transportation. In the 1960s when I was stationed near we use the bus, subway, and our feet to get around Manhattan. Now, I have no idea how to pay or knowledge to know what to get on.
That is what cabs are far. We rode cabs twice, I believe, on your visit this time. Then we tried waving down one in the pouring down rain and they just did not stop. We know they are available to pick a rider up when that light thing on top of the cab is on.
After standing in the rain for over 20 minutes having no luck we tried Lyfth. Anna had a Lyfth APP on her i-phone so we gave them a try. The Lyfth driver was there in 4 minutes. We used them several other times. They were always quick. Friendly, and eager to please. In one case I saw a picture I wanted to take a picture of and he pulled over.
One Lyth driver saw me taking movie pictures and my camera shook at every bump in the streets, he suggested I ride up front and hold my camera on the dash.  They all were personal friendly like that, earning a buck wasn't everything.

I think we used at least 5 Lyfth drivers. Every one had an accent. They all had work visas. One female driver told us she was from South Africa and her daughter is still there, living with her grandparents. They talk often with Facetilme. Online. When her daughter becomes a certain age she will be eligible to come to America. She told us all the hoops and hurdlers she is going have to jump over or through to get to stay here and one day be eligible to be a United States citizen. “Why?” I asked.
Because the American is the land of opportunity.
"Until a president comes along who wants to send aliens back I thought."
Another thing:  We found out the day touring buses are not all they are cracked up to be:  Beware.
Here are some of my pictures taken from a Lyft car in NYC

Christmas 2018 at the Hunter Sexton House