Ramblin' with Roger

Magical Journal for Sunday Stealing

fire

The Sunday Stealing this week is Magical Journal. Do you believe in magic?

1. What’s the best beach or lake day you can remember?

I had torn the nail of the big toe of my left foot when I was about 12. The family went down to Jones Beach, on the south shore of Long Island. I’m not much of a beach person, but I did wade in the water. The saltwater did a remarkable job in healing the nail.

2. Describe your ideal picnic lunch

I’m pretty flexible. Bread that you tear apart. Cheeses of various types. Fried chicken and deviled eggs -the mother and child reunion. Lemonade. Grapes.

3. What flowers are in your bouquet?

Tulips, which we planted one very warm December 1. Lilacs: we had a bush next to our house growing up. Beyond that, whatever.

4. Silly ways to pass the time during a snowstorm

Whatever “silly” things one could do are not coming to me. If I’m snowed in and have things to read and, ideally, some music, I’m fine. With the right people, I’d play cards and/or board games.

5. The most beautiful house you’ve ever visited.

I suppose one of the Newport mansions.

6. Best place you ever dined

When we were on our honeymoon vacation in Barbados in 1999, we could dine at one of three or four establishments as part of our all-inclusive package. All of the food was fabulous.

7. How many layers to your ice cream sandwich?

Sandwich, ice cream, sandwich. What more does one need?

8. Pretty things, which are faux patent leather

Literally, I have no idea.

9. What is the best way to eat chocolate?

Is there a bad way to eat chocolate? I always thought that fondue was wonderfully decadent.

Uni

10. Describe your unicorn’s special magic

The daughter of one of my oldest friends had a large stuffed unicorn. She, the daughter, thought that my daughter ought to have her unicorn. And it became so. Here are my daughter and Uni back in 2010.

11. All the fruits in your fruit salad

Blueberries, strawberries, pineapple, peaches, and mac apples.

12. Describe the soil, grass, trees, flowers, and rocks in your magical forest.

I think we started with perfectly fine soil, grass, et al., but we’re wrecking it.

13. The lyrics which move you the most are:

NUMEROUS. Here are the first that came to mind:

And I need you more than want you
And I want you for all time
– Wichita Lineman by Jimmy Webb

14. What are the best sauces in the world?

Hollandaise, sweet and sour, and marinara are the first to come to mind; there are probably plenty of others.

15. Write a haiku about nature

Climate change is real.
Droughts, fires, floods, catastrophes.
We must act right now.
[Yes, I checked: fire can be one syllable or two]

Songs by Sid Jacobson

With Louis Stallman

Here are some songs by Sid Jacobson. Jacobson, as you might know, was, per Wikipedia, “managing editor and editor in chief for Harvey Comics.

“Jacobson was also known for his late-career collaborations with artist Ernie Colón, including such nonfiction graphic novels as The 9/11 Report: A Graphic Adaptation and Anne Frank: The Anne Frank House Authorized Graphic Biography.” Here’s a piece by Mark Evanier after he died recently at the age of 92.

I knew of Jacobson from The Black Comic Book, done with Colón, which I wrote about here and here and here and here.

Evanier listed songs purportedly written or co-written by Sid Jacobson. I double-checked and discovered that the first one listed, Put A Ring On My Finger by Les Paul and Mary Ford, #32 pop (Columbia), was listed as written by Joe Meek. It must be a pseudonym, though, for The Top Pop Singles book put out by the late, lamented Joel Whitman lists Louis Stallman (LS) and Sid Jacobson (SJ) as songwriters.

Indeed most of Sid’s songs were LS/SJ. Jacobson appears to be the lyricist. The two were the co-founders of Shell Records. At least a couple of songs on the label, written by the duo, charted.
The Yen Yet Song – Gary Cane and His Friends (LS, SJ), #99 pop in 1960
Yogi -The Ivy Three (LS, SJ, Charles Koppelman), #8 pop, #22 RB in 1960. A member of The Ivy Three co-wrote the song. I mentioned it here since the song was part of my father’s 45s collection when I was growing up.

More songs

I’ve Come Of Age – Billy Storm (LS, SJ), #26 pop in 1959 (Columbia). The melody is from Tchaikowsky’s 5th symphony, 2nd movement
Wonderful You – Jimmie Rodgers (LS, SJ), #40 pop in 1959 (Roulette). B-side of Ring-A-Ling-A-Lario (#32 pop); researching this, I came across info re: an Italian EP containing this song which has to be one of the most provocative covers of 1960

You Don’t Know Girls – Kathy Linden with Joe Leahy’s Orchestra (LS, SJ), #92 pop in 1959 (Felsted)
Anniversary Of Love – The Caslons (LS, SJ), #89 pop in 1961 (Seeco)
A Boy Without A Girl – Frankie Avalon (Ruth Sexter or Ruth Sexton, SJ), #10 pop in 1959 (Chancellor)

(At) The End (of a Rainbow) – Earl Grant featuring the orchestra of Charles “Bud” Dant (Jimmy Krondes, SJ), #7 pop, #16 RB in 1958 (Decca); great vocal
Don’t Pity Me – Dion and the Belmonts (LS, SJ), #40 pop in 1959 (Laurie)
Oh Annie Oh – Gene Pitney (LS, SJ) apparently did not chart
You Took My Love – Clarence “Bad Boy” Palmer and The Jive Bombers (LS, SJ), #36 pop, #7 RB in 1957

Searching the Mar-a-Lago compound

poor stewardship

The news that the FBI executed a warrant to search djt’s Mar-a-Lago compound was welcome news to those who believe in democracy and the rule of law. Of course, there has been a lot of speculation and even disinformation about this.

Rolling Stone reported that djt asked associates if they thought his phones were bugged. Newsweek said the raid resulted from a “confidential human source,” citing government sources.

Since late April, the source says, “a federal grand jury began deliberating whether there was a violation of the Presidential Records Act or whether President Trump unlawfully possessed national security information. Through the grand jury process, the National Archives provided federal prosecutors with copies of the documents received from former President Trump in January 2022. The grand jury concluded that there had been a violation of the law, according to the Justice Department source.

“In the past week, the prosecutor in the case and local Assistant U.S. Attorney went to Florida magistrate Judge Bruce Reinhart in West Palm Beach to seek approval to search Donald Trump’s private residence. The affidavit to obtain the search warrant… contained abundant and persuasive detail that Trump continued to possess the relevant records in violation of federal law and that investigators had sufficient information to prove that those records were located at Mar-a-Lago—including the detail that they were contained in a specific safe in a specific room.”

The FBI informant must be someone very close to djt, according to former chief of staff Mick Mulvaney, who didn’t even know there was a safe at the compound. Who is the mole inside Mar-A-Lago? teased The Lincoln Project.

A bad habit

He has a habit of mishandling records destinated to the National Archives. The Washington Post “reported that the former president’s habit of shredding documents… meant to be preserved… was so ‘relentless that Trump’s team implemented protocols to try to ensure that he was abiding by the Presidential Records Act.’

“That process involved ‘aides from either the Office of the Staff Secretary or the Oval Office Operations team [coming] in behind Trump to retrieve the piles of torn paper he left in his wake,’ and then painstakingly ‘jigsawing the documents back together, using clear tape.’ One person familiar with the matter told the Post the National Archives staff was ‘stunned at how many papers they received from the Trump administration that were ripped,’ calling it ‘unprecedented'” and unpresidential. Illegal too!

The reason this is such a big deal is that djt and the Republican Congress boosted penalties for “mishandling classified docs to spite Hillary Clinton” over her damn emails. The Daily Show ripped over the GOP’s Hillary Clinton hypocrisy “in a video that highlights Trump’s allies ‘talking about Hillary’ while showing FBI agents entering Mar-a-Lago.”

Unfair, unfair!

Of course, many Republicans reflexively have come to djt’s defense, even Mike Pence. Kevin McCarthy, who will become speaker of the House if the GOP takes control, said he would launch an immediate investigation of the DOJ: “Attorney General Garland … clear your calendar.”

U.S. Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-NY) calls “The FBI’s raid on President Trump’s Florida home…a dark day in American history. The political weaponization of the FBI and Department of Justice is an actual threat to democracy. There must be an immediate investigation and accountability into Joe Biden, and his Administration’s weaponizing this department against their political opponents – the likely 2024 Republican candidate for President of the United States.”

But what’s concerned me is countless online threats of violence and “civil war.” It is something we should not ignore.

FBI head Christopher Wray bewailed threats to law enforcement. For instance, a Jan. 6 protestor, armed and decked out in body armor, tried to breach a security screening area at an FBI field office in Cincinnati, OH, just yesterday. After an hours-long standoff, the gunman was killed.

CNN’s Donie O’Sullivan posted a graph, noting the ‘big spike in tweets referencing ‘civil war’ right after the news of the FBI search of Mar-a-Lago broke” the night before.

U.S. Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-CA) “posted audio of a violent death threat against him and his family. The Congressman is married, and the couple has three children. The speaker in the audio also calls for ‘all Democrats’ to be killed and ends with a call for ‘Trump 2024.'”

“Republican extremists went into overdrive with their violent online rhetoric—”This. Means. War.” “When does the shooting start?” “Summertime was made for killing fields.'”

A Christian Right Expert Explains Conservative Outrage After FBI Raided Trump’s Mar-a-Lago. They believe ‘God Anointed Him’:

Absurd

Red State, a rightwing online magazine that I won’t link to, wrote that Whether You Like It or Not, You’re Now a Part of The Resistance. “One big difference between conservatives and leftists is that, for the most part, conservatives want the smallest amount of contact with government possible as they go about their lives.” Like not ratting out people who seek information about abortion; yeah, right.

“On the other hand, progressive leftists want the government involved in every single aspect of our lives and are willing to spend every waking moment working to achieve that goal. Instead of volunteering and being a part of community organizations, progressives spend their time protesting and agitating for the government to be in charge of everything. And when they’re not protesting and agitating, they’re scouring social media to see which of their neighbors is possibly engaging in wrongthink and trying to make their lives miserable.” The last sentence, in particular, is jaw-dropping.

Finally

“Attorney General Merrick Garland said he ‘personally approved the decision to seek a search warrant of the former president’s residence.” The Department of Justice has filed a motion to unseal the search warrant and the itemized receipt of what was taken from Mar-a-Lago. This should, but probably won’t assuage those who believe djt has been persecuted. Will djt’s lawyers even allow for the release?

I won’t even get into djt’s appearance at “the New York Attorney General’s Office” to plead the fifth Amendment. Attorney General Letitia James is investigating “his real estate pricing practices. Trump’s former attorney Michael Cohen told Congress in 2019 that his former boss would increase what he claimed his properties are worth when attempting to arrange credit and decrease their value for tax purposes.”

Finally, a little satire: Feds Seizing Documents at Mar-a-Lago Unable to Find Trump’s Health-Care Plan. “It’s got to be around here somewhere,” one F.B.I. agent

The cats versus the vacuum cleaner

food versus fear

Because Midnight, the black cat, is so food-obsessive, I’ve mused on how to slow him down. If I’m going downstairs, whether to feed him or not, he’ll barrel down the stairs. It’s why I hold on to the railing, lest he knock me over.

And when I’m actually in the process of feeding him, he, more than Stormy the gray cat, seems to be constantly underfoot, no matter in which direction I walk.

I tried an experiment involving the vacuum cleaner. Both Midnight and Stormy are afraid of it. When Midnight starts chewing on the window shades or clawing the furniture or climbing onto the dining room table, I wheel it toward him, and he generally retreats. And usually, I don’t even have to turn it on. Stormy hisses at it; it is not afraid.

I placed the vacuum in the kitchen so that they couldn’t enter the room without passing the appliance, and turned it on. Perhaps I could prepare their meal without distraction. But no such luck.

Apparently, Midnight’s need for sustenance is greater than his fear of the machinery, for he galloped past the red menace. He only gallops when hungry, and he’s been in the basement, attic, or other room, and it’s near or past mealtime.

The intruder

Often, Midnight and Stormy are at odds. But they recognized another enemy. Something clearly was on the front porch. , though I didn’t know what. Midnight was peering around the window treatment, Stormy was scratching at the window.

A couple of summers ago, my wife bought new chairs for our front porch. The first year, they were still like new. But lately, we noticed some hair on one of them recently. Sure enough, I saw a gray cat, a lighter shade than Stormy, resting on the chair on the porch. It left when Stormy repeatedly banged her head against the window, driving the intruder away. They acted in harmony when an external threat was on the horizon.

The black cat next door, who sometimes hangs out on our porch, they are not fans of either. But the gray cat SITTING on our furniture was just too much for them to bear.

Les Green: a very important person

Binghamton’s finest

One of my sisters sent me this newspaper clipping from 1970. There’s Les Green, a very important person, in Binghamton, NY with city and county leaders, state legislative representatives, and others.

If I’m reading my Les Green history correctly, this took place largely over a 15-year period. It was roughly from 1959, when he first started singing and playing his guitar publicly, until 1974, when he, my mother, and my baby sister moved to Charlotte, NC.

And it wasn’t because he was a civil rights leader or a singer of folk songs. It was that he was those things AND a tremendous arranger of flowers AND a painter of signs AND a set designer for the Civic Theater. He was very active in his church, from running the mimeograph machine that produced the weekly bulletin to singing in the choir to leading the MAZET singers, the youth choir which included my sister Leslie and me. Also, he was an advocate for those with mental illness at Binghamton State Hospital; I do wonder what was his special affinity for that place was.

Moreover, he and his wife bought their first house in 1972, after living in a property owned by his mother-in-law for all of his married life. After I wrote about my dad a few years back, an acquaintance seriously suggested that there should have been a statue of Les Green in Binghamton.

CLT

So, on the anniversary of his death in 2000, I’ve been musing about how he felt about the move to Charlotte. Surely, he took time to find his bearings. When he first came down there, he referred to it as a “big country town.” And he wasn’t wrong, though it become more civilized over time, with a real mass transit system, not the abomination it used when I lived down there at the beginning of 1977.

The family had a rental house and they took time before discovering the right church for them. He did important work there. His job, where he became a Vice-President of J.A. Jones probably generated more income than any other job he had. He was very involved in his church, with music but also a breakfast program.

But he was always out looking for the financial rainbow, starting so many little businesses that neither my mother nor their accountant knew how many. He regularly came to me in the latter stages of his life wondering how he could get rich on this new World Wide Web thing. (The brutal truth is that he couldn’t because he was lousy at recordkeeping or even giving his wife or the accountant his receipts. Being online wouldn’t have helped.)

When he moved the Charlotte, he was sure that he couldn’t find a market for his music in the South. I was not convinced he was correct. He did start writing poetry; I have a massive manuscript in this very room.

Thinking about you, dear old Dad, as you liked to be called.