The "Don't Call Between 7:00 & 8:00 P.M. - Part I!" Story

The Board on "Wheel of Fortune".

It was an ordinary day.  Just settled down in my leather lounge chair with a big dish of ice cream anxiously awaiting "Wheel Of Fortune" to begin.  This is the first of my favorite quiz shows that air in Lancaster, Pennsylvania from 7:00 PM to 8:00 PM on CBS.  Instantly, as the clock on my DVR hits 7:00 PM, there comes Vanna White and Pat Sajak from behind whatever curtain or prop they may have that evening.  

Chuck and Susan

But, you know, the show wasn't always the same as we know it today.  When it first started in October of 1952, when I was an 8 year old, it lasted only a year.  To be eligible for the show you had to have done a good dead.  Those who had done a good deed as well as those who had been helped by that deed both appeared on the show.  A wheel was spun with cash amounts on the wheel between $30 and $1,000.  When the wheel stopped, the amount next to the pointer was the amount that could be won.  Also displayed on the wheel was the number of questions that had to be answered to win the money.  I guess they had a hard time finding good Samaritans, since the game ended in a year.  Then in 1975 "Wheel of Fotune" turned up again, but then was known as "Shopper's Bazaar."  

Early photo of Pat and Vanna.

After one episode it again became "Wheel of Fortune."  The object was to spin a wheel to win money that you could spend on prizes.  The original host was Chuck Woolery and the original letter turner was Susan Stafford.  When a contract dispute between the network and Chuck occurred, Pat entered.  Susan was also replaced, but not before a few other turners were tried.  They just didn't have the Vanna wave and clap.  Pat Sajak has always hosted the syndicated version which began in 1983 and also hosted the network daytime version until 1989 when he turned that show over to ex-football player Rolf Benirschke.  As far as Pat, he as a disc jockey for the Armed Forces Radio Newwork during the Vietnam War and then became a weatherman for a TV station in Los Angeles.  

Pat Sajak

In 1981 he took the job with "Wheel of Fortune."  Now, Vanna is another story.  She was at one time a contestant on "The Price is Right", but didn't make it out of contestant's row.  In 1987 "Vannamania" swept the country when Vanna appeared on Newsweek, starred in TV's Goddess of Love and wrote Vanna Speaks, her best-seller autobiography.  She also appeared in Naked Gun 33 1/2 - The Final Insult.  In 1992 she was recognized as the world's most frequent clapper when she clapped 140,000 times that season.  She now averages 720 claps an episode.  

Vanna White

If you watch the show daily, you may be interested to know that the wheel weighs 2,400 pounds, has 200 lights that can make two million colors and the noise it makes comes from 73 stainless steel pins hitting three rubber flippers.  There is only one wheel and one puzzle board which also is huge so when they travel on the road to different locations they carry about 1 million pounds of equipment.  And, thanks to you and me and all other wheel watchers, the show will continue for years.  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.

The "The Lost Art of Cursive Writing" Story

It was an ordinary day.  Walking around the Landis Run Intermediate School in the Manheim Township School District in Lancaster County, PA taking candid photos of the 5th and 6th graders that I can use in their school yearbook which I produce.  I carry a clipboard and pen with me so the students can give me their name which I will place under their photo.  Always thought it important to have a name with a photo, since 30 or 40 years from now, no one will recognize who the person might be.  Well, I snapped a photo of a young boy and handed him my clipboard and told him to print his name next to a specific number on the paper.  "Don't write it in cursive since I may not recognize your name," I told him.  

Learning to write in cursive.

"What's cursive?" he asked me.  "That's when you write your name with the letters flowing together to form your name," I responded.  "We never do that!" was his frank answer.  I've been taking photos for the Middle School and Landis Run yearbooks for 18 years now and this boy was the first to ever tell me he didn't know what cursive was.  More than likely most students didn't know what cursive was, but were afraid to ask me what that was.  It's been quite a few years now since students were taught to write in cursive.  I can remember learning cursive writing in the early 1950s, but technology wasn't what it is today.  We didn't have an iPhone when we were in elementary school or an iPad when we were a toddler.  Since this is the age of technology with iPads, cell phones and computers, the theory goes that there isn't a need to teach cursive writing.  

I taught a lesson in graphic arts in Calligraphy.  Now a lost art.

We need to focus more on helping the students use the tools presented to them for future success.  Cursive writing seems to be an outdated skill that's taking up valuable instruction time from learning  keyboarding skills and other computer-based communication and thus not needed in our current society.  How sad!  After telling the student what cursive writing was, he said, "Oh yeah, I have a cursive font on my iPad that I can use if I want, but I can't read what I typed if I use it."  Made me think, so it did.  My daughter recently asked me to write a letter to the son of a woman who lives in the apartment complex she manages in Maryland.  Said that he is in US Army basic training and gets no letters and is lonely.  But, don't write the letter in cursive, since he won't be able to read it.  Wow, really so sad!  

My wife's friend often sends hand-made cards
with her cursive writing on it.  Neat cards!

Writing a letter in one's own hand can be an artistic act.  Handwriting animates the paper you write upon.  At least to me it does.  The bold flairs and elegant flourishes are what set you apart from someone else when writing.  When I taught graphic arts in the same school district, I taught a month-long lesson in Calligraphy.  By the time students were finished with their final document many would tell me how much fun it was to use free-spirited letters to express themselves.  Calligraphy was bypassed when regular cursive writing became popular and now once again, cursive writing is being bypassed since everything is typed on a keyboard.  

How many of today's students in the United States can
read the cursive writing illustrated here?

Students of today can no longer read historical documents such as the Declaration of Indepen- dence or even letters written long ago by their their grandparents.  I'm here to tell you that cursive writing connects us with history, is faster than printing, and in many cases typing on a keyboard, and makes it harder to plagiarize since a student can't cut and paste at will.  And, to say that students need to be prepared for a competitive world in their near future and therefore don't need to learn cursive is a bunch of crap.  Just another reason for not teaching reading, writing and arithmetic as they should  be.  Amen!  So now you can probably guess how old I may be.  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.

The "Remembering Spelling My Name With Alphabet Soup?" Story

Some of my favorites while growing up!

It was an ordinary day.  Just had a bowl of Campbell's Tomato Bisque soup for lunch with my wife.  We like to mix it with milk while the regular Tomato soup we mix with water.  Goes good with a grilled cheese, just like when we were kids living at home with mom and dad.  Yesterday Carol made a Shepard's Pie casserole using Campbell's Vegetarian Vegetable Soup as the base for the casserole.  We got to talking about the other Campbell's soups we enjoy and remembered back to when we used to see how many words we could spell when we ate Campbell's Alphabet Soup.  Alphabet soup seems to be part of our history since Campbell's canned the soup in the early 1950s.  

Did you enjoy making letters when
a bowl of alphabet soup was placed
in front of you?

But, alphabet soup is much older than that  One legend says that about 85 years ago a noodle factory had an accident and a piece came out looking like the letter "C".  A factory supervisor saw that and decided alphabet noodles would be a hit.  Whether he made it into a soup at that time is unknown.  Another story says that in the 1930s Franklin Delano Roosevelt's New Deal programs created an entire new menagerie of letters.  Both parties called the letters "Alphabet Soup" which became a linguistic phenomenon. FDR's "Alphabet Soup" went from novelty to an actual staple thanks to the Nation's Politics.  But, even before that, in 1922, Alphabet Soup manufacturers organized a convention to decide how to tell a comma from an apostrophe when it floated in their bowl of soup.  Over time it was said that alphabet soup, no matter who the manufacturer may be, actually increased literacy while people ate their words.  And, the earliest mention of alphabet soup being used for something other than eating was in 1908 when people were said to send messages to one another by means of their alphabet soup.  

Communicating in 1908 through soup!

In 1900 alphabet soup was sold in pound packages which cost about 25 cents.  Fourteen years before that a newspaper published a tutorial on macaroni and included alphabet pasta in that list.  But, the earliest date I can find when alphabet pasta was mentioned was shortly after the Civil War in 1867 when a South Carolina newspaper mentioned ... "the latest culinary novelty is alphabetical soup.  Instead of the usual cylindric and star shaped morsels of macaroni which have hitherto given body to our broth, the letters of the alphabet have been substituted.  These letters of past preserve their forms in passing through the pot."  

Andy Warhol's famous silkscreened Campbell Soup cans.

Once again, it was said the inventor of the letters wanted to improve literacy through the pasta.  So, it can be said that alphabet soup has been around longer than anyone reading this story.  As for who might have sold alphabet soup first, Knorr claims to have sold it in 1910 in Europe.  In 1915 Campbell's added alphabet letters to their soup in the USA and a similar product sold in 1930 in the United States, by H.J. Heinz.  On January 7, 2009 Colin Nissan set a new world record when he opened a can of Campbell's Alphabet Soup and spelled out PANTYHOSE in 1 minute, 25.77 seconds.  

An old game of Alphabet Soup I found
on eBay.  Not sure how much it brought.

While I was "Googling" alphabet soup I came across a link to eBay where I found what looked like a can of Campbell's Alphabet Soup, but found it to be a game you can play.  The game is played by 2 to 4 players and you shake the can filled with what look to be pasta letters.  You "pour" the letters into a small yellow bowl (included in the game) and scoop the letters out with a plastic spoon.  Idea is to spell as many words as you can with the spoonful of letters.  Most words wins.  My story ends with a note to tell you that I sent an email to Campbell Soup Corporate Archives and asked them how many of each letter are there in a can of soup.  As of this date, I still have no answer.  I guess they are still trying to determine how crazy I am.  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.

The "Please get rid of your gum and get your paper and pencil ready" Story

It was a ordinary day.  Carol was visiting with a friend so I had the TV to myself.  Doesn't happen very often during the day, so I pulled up the menu and found a show that was about the top discoveries that changed mankind.  Interesting show, but what really got me was when they hit the top five on the list.  It was like going back in time and teaching my Graphic Arts class all over again.  So I'll give you the five important discoveries in reverse order and make sure you remember them, since I may quiz you at a later date.(#5) The development of Cuneiform writing.  I remember teaching about Cuneiform writing and how it was perhaps the beginning of the written word in civilization.  The name comes from the Latin word cuneus meaning "wedge" owing to the wedge-shaped style of writing.  

1. 
   In cuneiform, a carefully cut writing implement known as a stylus is pressed into soft clay to produce wedge-like impressions that represent word-signs, known as pictographs, and later phonograms or "word-concepts" which is closer to our modern day understanding of a word.  The system was first developed by the ancient Sumerians of Mesopotamia around 3500-3000 BCE (Before Christian Era).  The earliest cuneiform tablets were pictorial but eventually developed into more complex word representations.  One no longer had to struggle with the meaning of a pictograph, since one could now read a word-concept using characters.  The characters used were greatly reduced over time from about 1,000 to 600.  Makes our alphabet of 26 letters seem small.  Cuneiform writing is certainly not easy to read and takes someone skilled with patience to accomplish the job.  
2. (#4)  The Moon Rock was listed as the 4th most important discovery in civilization.  Rocks brought back from the moon on either a US expedition of one by a Soviet expedition have been measured by radiometric dating techniques.  
   
   They have ranged in age from 3.16 billion years to up to 5.3 billion years old.  The oldest ages of rocks from the Earth are between 3.8 and 4.28 billion years old.  Rocks from Earth and similar to Moon rocks in some regards, but very different in others.  When the first specimen of rocks was opened, it was said that the atmosphere was hushed and expectant.  The scientists were clad in surgeon's gowns and caps and carrying gas masks for use in case they should be exposed to any moon dust.  It was determined that moon rocks and dust hold no threat to life on earth and how no fossil life, living organisms and not organic material.  Much was determined about the moon by using the rocks that were brought back to Earth.  I Googled "Moon Rocks" and found you could bid on them on eBay.  
3.  (#3)  So here's another topic that I covered in my Graphic Arts class in high school.  The discovery of the Rosette Stone.  It is reported that this stone is the Code Book of the universe.  It was discovered at Rosette in 1799 by Napoleon's army and proved the key to deciphering Egyptian Hieroglyphs.  
   
   The person who found it was Pierre Francois-Xavier Bouchards, a French officer of engineers.  It was sent to the Institut d'Egypte in Cairo and then taken to London in 1802.  While at the British Museum it was described as a priestly decree affirming the cult of 13-year-old Ptolemy V.  It tells of an agreement between Egyptian priest and the pharaoh on March 27, 196 B.C. and names honors bestowed on Macedonian Pharaoh Ptolemy V Epiphanes.  The stone itself is inscribed with a decree issued at Memphis, Egypt.  It appears in three scripts : the upper text is Ancient Egyptian hieroglyphs, the middle portion Demotic script and the lowest Ancient Greek.  Since it says basically the same thing in all three scripts, it is said to provide the key to modern understanding of Egyptian hieroglyphs. 
4. (#2) The importance of Coinage.  The earliest coins appeared simultaneously in two places; China and western Asia Minor in the late seventy century B.C.  
   
   Whether they were invented by the Ionian Greeks or by the neighboring Lydians will probably never be known, but it was the Greeks who spread coinage throughout the Mediterranean.  The use of the barter system eventually came to an end with the discovery of coinage in the world.  Metals nowadays serve the main purpose of money in the form of coins.  
5. (#1)  And, the most important discovery that changed mankind was the Bible.  It changed the course of history and was used in not only Christianity, but in Judaism and Islam.  Skeptics claim that the Bible has been changed, however, it is important to define the terms that apply to the source of our English Bible.  Autographs were the original texts written either by the author's hand or by a scribe under their personal supervision and could be changed if not understood by the writer of the document.  
   
   Manuscripts were the first printed documents that didn't arrive until 1456 with the invention of movable type which was attributed to Johann Gutenberg.  He produced the first printed Bible in Latin.  Up until that time the Bible was hand copied onto papyrus, parchment or paper.  You can easily see how some things could be changed by the monks and scribes who did the hand copying.  Translations also could have caused some changes when the Bible was translated in to different languages from the original Hebrew and Greek.  The first English translation was by John Wycliffe in 1380 and was prepared from the Latin Vulgate.  Heavens, I had Latin in school and I'm positive that I translated many of the words differently than they really were.  

So, these are the five events or discoveries that allegedly changed the world.  Whether you agree with it or not, they certainly were important.  And, I think I found a very interesting TV channel that I will be watching again.  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.

The "St. Martin Alphabet: Part I" Story

Foreword:  A week or so ago I finally decided to get rid of my years and years of Caribbean Life Magazines during one of my days of "downsizing."  I did look at them from time to time, but usually only when we had decided to travel to a place we had never been before.  Well, since we have hit just about every island in the Caribbean, I figured why keep moving the heavy boxes of magazines around my basement any longer.  But, before I threw them on the recycle pile, I did look through a few of them to bring back memories of places past visited.  One article titled "ABC's of the birds and the bees" did catch my attention.  The article traced the highlights of the Caribbean by using the letters of the alphabet.  After re-reading it I decided to make my own alphabet list and illustrate it with my own photographs based on our island of choice: Sint Maarten (Dutch)/St. Martin (French).  The following is what resulted after searching through 50 plus CDs filled with photographs from the dual nation island.  Hope you enjoy the multi-day travelogue based on the letters in the English alphabet.

It was an ordinary day.  Searching my CDs from trips to the island of Sint Maarten (Dutch)/St. Martin (French) that I could use to illustrate the letters of the alphabet.  St. Martin is known as "The Friendly Island" based on the people and the environment.  I have chosen words or phrases which can be found in the English language dictionary to take you on a journey through my favorite Caribbean location.  Follow with me for the next few days as I add a few letters every day.

• A: The Allamanda plant which is a genus of flowering plants in the dogbane family, Apocynaceae.  

  

  The Allamanda plant.

  The allamanda can be found primarily from Mexico to Argentina.  It's beautiful yellow blooms can be found throughout the Caribbean.  There is a resort on Orient Beach known as the Alamanda Resort.  Carol and I have stayed there a few times.  It is filled with allamanda blooms throughout the year.  Anguilla, which is a quick ferry ride from St. Martin.  It has beaches that are pure white and soft as powder.  It is home to the world famous Shoal Bay East Beach.  Also on the island can be found the Cuisnart Resort and Bankie Bank's Dune Preserve.
• B: Beach has to be on the top of the "B" list, since there are so many beaches on the island of St. Martin.  

  

  World famous Orient Beach can be seen here.

  Beaches for water sports, secret beaches, long beaches and even nude beaches can be found on the island.  All are free and public with many having chairs and umbrellas to rent as well as food vendors.  Bikini bathing suits can be found on every island in the Caribbean, but I just had to add it to my list for St. Martin.  

  

  A group of men playing Bocci Ball.

  Bocci Ball, also known as bocanje, balote, balinanje, bale or petanque, is a sport that uses metal or plastic balls which can be held in the hand.  A smaller ball, known as the "jack" is tossed a distance from the players and then all players try to throw their bocci balls as close to the "jack" as they can.  It may be played by competing players or teams.  Boardwalk which is found in the capital city of the Dutch side of the island known Philipsburg.  The boardwalk is actually concrete, but still referred to as the boardwalk.  It is along Great Bay beach and has restaurants, gift shops and hotels along its mile stretch.  

  

  Beach chairs line the beach.

  Beach Chairs just has to be on my alphabet list also, since I can no longer lay on the sand.  Just too hard to get up after a day of sunning.  Beef Stew makes my list since it is perhaps the favorite island meal of Carol and me on St. Martin.  Made in a restaurant known as Le Piment in the area known as Orient Village.  

  

  Beef Stew at Le Piment.

  Beef is marinaded a few days in a liquid that has plenty of wine in it, giving the beef stew a fantastic flavor.  Bougainvillea is a genus of thorny ornamental vines with primarily purple flowers with white blossoms on them.  A beautiful St. Martin, and Caribbean, flower.      
• C: Chocolate Croissants have to lead the list, since they begin most every morning for us while visiting St. Martin.  

  

  French Creole House in Marigot.

  They are sinfully delicious and since they are a French pastry,  taste so much better when made by the French bakeries on the island.  Creole House which is a typical example of a French colonial style house constructed by erecting a palisade of logs on top of a stone foundation rather than using horizontal beams or studs like more modern construction.  

  

  Crepe for breakfast.

  We have found a few of these neat places in Marigot, the capital of the French side of St. Martin.  Crepes which is a breakfast treat for Carol and me, but is made throughout the day in St. Martin and can be eaten for any meal.  I enjoy my breakfast crepe with strawberry filling and a scoop of vanilla ice-cream on top.  Carousel is the name of a business on the Dutch side of the island which features a full-size carousel for all to ride as they are eating their tasty treat purchased at the business.  

  

  Carousel Gelatorium

  You see, the Carousel specializes in gelato which is an Italian ice-cream.  Pure heaven!     Club O which is perhaps the most famous nudist resort in the Caribbean.  It is located on the south end of Orient Beach.  Day visitors from the many cruise ships to the island can be seen making their journey to Club O to enjoy an overall tan for the day.
• D: Drawbridge of which there are two of on the island.  Both are located on the west side of the island and give entrance and exit to what is marked on my map as Grand Etang de Simpsonbaai, or what Carol and I call Simpson Bay.  

  

  The drawbridge on the Dutch side.

  One bridge is located on the Dutch side of the island at Simpson Bay while the other is located on the French side at what is known as Sandy Ground.  Yachts and pleasure boats may enter and leave the bay area during designated times of the day.  The drawbridges cause traffic to back up for miles at times.  Diving of which there are many types as well as many excursions you can take to do snorkeling or scuba diving.  
• E: Ebb Tide which is the period between high tide and low tide during which water flows away from the shore.  Eating which is the period between sunning and sleeping.  Seems while on vacation all we do is relax and eat.  Yeah, sometimes we shop, but I'm sure we will buy a snack while shopping to hold us over until our next eating excursion.  

  

  Escape to one of the many beaches.

  Escapism which carries us away from the daily grind of normal life.  Escaping to St. Martin gives us the chance to dream of leaving footprints in the soft sand, taking a leisurely stroll in one of the capital cities of the island or watching the sun set while having a frosty drink.
• F: Flip Flops which I know you can wear just about anytime and anyplace, but they seem so well suited for walking around the island of St. Martin.  What reminds you more of going to the beach than flip flops.  

  

  Fort Louis in Marigot.

  Fort Louis is a real treasure in the city of Marigot.  We have made the journey to the top of the mountain above Marigot a few times during out trips to St. Martin.  Fort Louis was built by the French in 1789 to protect its harbor from marauding coutries.  You can't miss it; just look up.  Footprints in the sand just remind you of romance.  A quiet, deserted beach in the early morn or at twilight; two lovers walking hand in hand as they leave a lasting impression behind them; until the water laps at the shore and clears it for more ….. footprints.  

  

  A lone frigate patrolling the sky.

  Frigate is one of my favorite birds of the Caribbean.  It is also known as the man-o'-war and is a large seabird about the size of a chicken.  It is coal black and has a long, deeply forked tail.  I love to watch them soar high above the sea and attempt to steal other seabirds of their freshly caught fish.  

  

  Supper awaiting at the fish market.

  It is perhaps the most aerial of all birds and glides over the sea, at times held motionless by the wind currents.  Fish Market which can be found on market days in Marigot.  We have purchased some of the best fish and had them in the evening over the grill at our villa.  The fish are brought to the market daily by boat.  Can't be much fresher than that.

Well, I have just begun to work my way through the alphabet.  I will post another few letters in the near future, giving you an alphabetical glance at life on St. Martin.  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.