Am reading this.
Just finished reading this.
27 December 2020
18 December 2020
Fifteen Years
I was a bit surprised to realize I started this blog fifteen years ago today: 18 December 2005. I did 19 posts that first year, and a total of 1201 in all these years combined. When this blog began, Facebook was limited to schools and universities; and Twitter and other social media forms did not yet exist.
Over the years, people lost interest in blogs, replacing them in their lives with social media. I think that’s kinda sad as I prefer the longer form platform where I can share a story or a thought. The newer platforms seem best for people with short attention spans, who only want to converse in 140 characters (since expanded to 280 – which seems too short for some politicians).
In the end, what is the point of this post? Nothing much, really; just a desire to observe that I’ve been writing this blog sporadically for one-quarter of my life.
Over the years, people lost interest in blogs, replacing them in their lives with social media. I think that’s kinda sad as I prefer the longer form platform where I can share a story or a thought. The newer platforms seem best for people with short attention spans, who only want to converse in 140 characters (since expanded to 280 – which seems too short for some politicians).
In the end, what is the point of this post? Nothing much, really; just a desire to observe that I’ve been writing this blog sporadically for one-quarter of my life.
13 December 2020
The Kissing Bug
I was in scouting most of my childhood. We did a lot of activities, including spending weekends in Northern Arizona on nature outings for which my father was sometimes chaperone. During the winter, our troop would sell mistletoe for the season. To do this, our troop and some dads would go up into the Northern Arizona forests and find outcrops of parasitic mistletoe growing on trees. I have no photographs of my involvement in this, but I have lots of memories.
We had long pruning sticks that we would use to cut off bunches of mistletoe (no one was allowed to climb into the towering trees), gather them into bundles and then go home. This took a good part of the day. Next step was getting together to put small bunches of mistletoe into plastic bags. After that, we would pick a series of dates to sit outside grocery stores and sell these bags. I think they were priced at 25-cents each. We donated the proceeds to different charities over the years.
I remember being very enthusiastic about this project. It was fun harvesting the mistletoe, bagging it and selling it. My strongest memory of the project was how sticky my hands would get from the juice of the squished berries.
01 December 2020
24 October 2020
12 October 2020
24 September 2020
The Onion Dance
You know how you go into a fast-food restaurant, order and walk away
with your custom-made food in about a minute? It wasn’t always like
that. Case in point: in the late 1960s, when I was a kid, we would go
to McDonald’s on rare occasions as a very special treat. You might
remember, back then, burgers were made, wrapped and slipped down a
slot – all day, all night, non-stop. The cashier would grab the
first burger in line and give it to the customer – but not when it
was a “custom order.”
I have never been able to digest onions; it’s something like an allergy. So, when my mom would order my cheeseburger, she had to ask for it without onions. That seems really simple doesn’t it? It’s easy now; but when my mother uttered those words, “No onions on the cheeseburger,” you could almost hear the food-production line come to a screeching halt.
She paid, and we were directed to stand at the side of the counter. We would wait, and wait, for what must have been five minutes for them to go slaughter a cow, butcher it, grind up some part of it, form it into a patty and then grill it without onions.
My mother stood in the corner, fuming. She wasn’t angry at the delay; she was angry at me for being the only person in the family with food allergies. Gee, sorry mom!
For a long time into adulthood, I resisted going to a fast-food restaurant knowing I would have to do the onion dance. I preferred places like Kentucky Fried Chicken (no onions) Taco Bell (lots of their menu items don’t have onions). Now, however, it seems like a new law has been passed that says every food item has to be made with onions. So, I ask every food-server, every time, if a certain something does or not have onions. It’s very annoying, but I have to do it or risk getting sick.
Just imagine how fun it is when I order it without onions, and it comes with onions, and I ask to have it made over. The production line comes to a screeching halt again while the cook goes out to find a fresh cow.
21 September 2020
06 September 2020
Rushing to Judgement
Everyone thinks the life of a theater critic is mostly a bowl of cherries. Generally, it is; but here are two examples (excerpts from my personal journal) where I had to go above and beyond to make sure to get to the theater on time. At the time of these incidents, I was working for "The Phoenix Gazette" afternoon newspaper, which has since been closed.
25 November 1991 – Monday
Just talked with press woman at Phoenix Little Theatre. We talked about how I arrived nearly late [for “Lady Day at Emerson’s Bar and Grill”]. She told me that the stage manager contacted her at about 7:58 p.m. telling her "We're ready to go," and that she replied "Christopher McPherson's not here yet! We can't start until he gets here! Something's happened to him! He's not here yet!" In telling me this, she then laughed and said, "What other critic has had the curtain held for him?" Also, she told me that on Friday, when my review of the show came out, "the phones rang off the hook like ape-shit. People say no one reads the Gazette, and then something like this happens. I don't know."
And again, eight months later.
29 July 1992 – Wednesday
Yesterday, I got a flat tire en route to the theater (it was a nail) which is normally not a bad thing; however, as I was attempting to change the tire, and the winds and rain of our usual freak summer storms began, I got to the part when you take the lug nuts off the tire and, guess what?!, NO LUG NUT WRENCH! So, I called the auto service which sent this very nice man who changed the tire for me (the rain was coming down in buckets, by the way) and I zoomed downtown, parked just down the street from the theater, grabbed my folder, vaulted the oleander hedge on the side of the lot, raced to the theater, zipped up to the box office, grabbed my ticket -- and got there JUST before the show, Donna McKechnie in “I'm Getting My Act Together and Taking it on the Road,” started. (I had called the theater to tell them I might be late. I suspect they held the curtain for me. I don't know, but it has happened before.…)
In the nearly ten years I reviewed theater in Phoenix, these are the only two examples where I was almost late.
31 August 2020
24 August 2020
The Life and Death of an Arizona Pottery
The La Solana company was operated by owner George Bergstrom and vice president Dean Gehlbach. Over the past two years, I have been in correspondence with Kurt and Richard Gehlbach. Dean Gehlbach is the grandfather of Kurt and Richard. Kurt and Richard's father, also named Richard, eventually took over the company after serving as foreman. The sons were slated to take over La Solana next, but the company ended up going out of business. Richard (the son) has recently shared with me a little background on how the company worked and how it went out of business. Here, with a little editing for brevity, is what he had to say:
La Solana Potteries [was located] in California and moved to [Scottsdale] Arizona sometime between May 1952 and March of 1954. My father was the foreman. He was married in California but his first daughter was born in Phoenix (Az). The reason [for the move] was probably economics. California is and has always been an expensive place to live and build a business. La Solana Potteries did a good business at times but they were basically month to month and year to year. Their primary market was the mid-west of the United States. Their products were very popular because grocery stores were buying Solana Ware and giving [it] away as rewards to attract shoppers. Solana Ware was good quality, stood up to heat, and had pleasant colors. [Its] one major downfall was [that it was] breakable if dropped [and] chipped if not careful.
Scottsdale is now a ritzy, expensive town but in the early 1950's it was a town looking for an identity and begging businesses to locate there. La Solana potteries was lured there with some promises I am sure. They took over an old Coca Cola bottling plant; I believe it was about Main and 2nd Street. Upon moving to Scottsdale the whole town was happy they were part of the community. If the pottery needed a loan they simply walked down the street to the Arizona Bank, told them how much they needed, and with a hand shake the deal was done. Scottsdale promoted itself as "The West's Most Western Town" with rodeos, staged shootouts, parades, a great climate, and lots of land for sale. Growth exploded.
[Three things began to work against the company:] the development of Corning Ware, a heat resistant [material] that was lighter and non-breakable; the oil embargo and the sky rocketing natural gas prices of the early '70s; and the city's transition from a western themed town to the glitzy, artsy, wealthy place to move. The company they lured and loved in the '50s was no longer needed and since they were doing business in a plain cement manufacturing building, they were now an eyesore. Scottsdale demanded that they renovate the outside of their building to better represent an artsy city.
By this time Mr. Bergstrom had retired as did Dean Gehlbach. Richard Gehlbach became president of the business and he was the one facing [the three threats]. These were the start of the plant's downfall.
I literally came home from high school to see my father lying on his bed with a chest pain shooting down his left arm. We all know that is a sign of a heart attack but he refused to go to the doctor as we had no money. Half the time he did not bring home a pay check because he had to pay the bills and his employees.
I worked at the plant for a few months in 1973 but he had to lay people off. He tried to find a buyer for the business and that was successful. They were the ones who wanted the business moved to Mesa near Falcon Airfield. The move did take place, after the sale, I believe it did not stay in business long [and they] eventually just liquidated assets.
La Solana Potteries never had the capital to compete with other businesses but most importantly they did not have the capital to change so they could keep competitive. They did dabble in a couple of ideas, one that you mentioned white pieces of ware with aqua utensil designs, which are somewhat rare. Even more rare was a line of items with Native American designs from a local artist. They also created a dated set of plates, also with Native American Designs.
-- Richard Gehlbach, August 2020
Read more about "La Solana" pottery here.
La Solana Potteries [was located] in California and moved to [Scottsdale] Arizona sometime between May 1952 and March of 1954. My father was the foreman. He was married in California but his first daughter was born in Phoenix (Az). The reason [for the move] was probably economics. California is and has always been an expensive place to live and build a business. La Solana Potteries did a good business at times but they were basically month to month and year to year. Their primary market was the mid-west of the United States. Their products were very popular because grocery stores were buying Solana Ware and giving [it] away as rewards to attract shoppers. Solana Ware was good quality, stood up to heat, and had pleasant colors. [Its] one major downfall was [that it was] breakable if dropped [and] chipped if not careful.
Scottsdale is now a ritzy, expensive town but in the early 1950's it was a town looking for an identity and begging businesses to locate there. La Solana potteries was lured there with some promises I am sure. They took over an old Coca Cola bottling plant; I believe it was about Main and 2nd Street. Upon moving to Scottsdale the whole town was happy they were part of the community. If the pottery needed a loan they simply walked down the street to the Arizona Bank, told them how much they needed, and with a hand shake the deal was done. Scottsdale promoted itself as "The West's Most Western Town" with rodeos, staged shootouts, parades, a great climate, and lots of land for sale. Growth exploded.
[Three things began to work against the company:] the development of Corning Ware, a heat resistant [material] that was lighter and non-breakable; the oil embargo and the sky rocketing natural gas prices of the early '70s; and the city's transition from a western themed town to the glitzy, artsy, wealthy place to move. The company they lured and loved in the '50s was no longer needed and since they were doing business in a plain cement manufacturing building, they were now an eyesore. Scottsdale demanded that they renovate the outside of their building to better represent an artsy city.
By this time Mr. Bergstrom had retired as did Dean Gehlbach. Richard Gehlbach became president of the business and he was the one facing [the three threats]. These were the start of the plant's downfall.
I literally came home from high school to see my father lying on his bed with a chest pain shooting down his left arm. We all know that is a sign of a heart attack but he refused to go to the doctor as we had no money. Half the time he did not bring home a pay check because he had to pay the bills and his employees.
I worked at the plant for a few months in 1973 but he had to lay people off. He tried to find a buyer for the business and that was successful. They were the ones who wanted the business moved to Mesa near Falcon Airfield. The move did take place, after the sale, I believe it did not stay in business long [and they] eventually just liquidated assets.
La Solana Potteries never had the capital to compete with other businesses but most importantly they did not have the capital to change so they could keep competitive. They did dabble in a couple of ideas, one that you mentioned white pieces of ware with aqua utensil designs, which are somewhat rare. Even more rare was a line of items with Native American designs from a local artist. They also created a dated set of plates, also with Native American Designs.
-- Richard Gehlbach, August 2020
08 August 2020
01 August 2020
Summer Reading
I've gone through some of the books I've written and put together a little sampling that you might enjoy to get your mind off all the (shall we say) interesting events going on in the world. These are perfect for the beaches (most of which are closed), reading with friends (groups of which are discouraged) or snuggled in a chair with your favorite cat or dog on your lap.
Click on an image to find the Amazon listing.
I've written other books. You can see them all listed on the right-hand-side navigation pane.
Click on an image to find the Amazon listing.
I've written other books. You can see them all listed on the right-hand-side navigation pane.
19 July 2020
27 June 2020
14 June 2020
Five People
You know that old game: name five people, living or dead, you would invite to dinner. It's a pretty easy list for me to come up with:
(top row, left) Jonathan Tunick - orchestrator: has done the orchestrations for most of Stephen Sondheim's musicals. His use of instruments helped to define the sound of the 1970s -- notably, Promises, Promises (1968) and Company (1970) -- that remains mesmerizing.
(top row, center) Kristin Scott Thomas - actor: one of the most versatile actors working today. I've loved her work from A Handful of Dust (1988), through The English Patient (1996), and still.
(top row, right) Ayn Rand - writer, philospher: would love to have a conversation with her about why she thinks her philosophy has come to be so misunderstood.
(bottom row, left) Rosalind Franklin - scientist: the woman who discovered that DNA had a double helix form. The work of later scientists ignored her contribution. I studied genetics in college. Would be a fascinating conversation.
(bottom row, center) Sara Murphy - philanthropist, one half of the fabulous Murphys: was there when so many great artists were still unknowns, like Fitzgerald, Hemingway, Picasso.
Side note: Broadway actor/dancer Donna McKechnie would have been on the list except that I've already interviewed her twice.
(top row, left) Jonathan Tunick - orchestrator: has done the orchestrations for most of Stephen Sondheim's musicals. His use of instruments helped to define the sound of the 1970s -- notably, Promises, Promises (1968) and Company (1970) -- that remains mesmerizing.(top row, center) Kristin Scott Thomas - actor: one of the most versatile actors working today. I've loved her work from A Handful of Dust (1988), through The English Patient (1996), and still.
(top row, right) Ayn Rand - writer, philospher: would love to have a conversation with her about why she thinks her philosophy has come to be so misunderstood.
(bottom row, left) Rosalind Franklin - scientist: the woman who discovered that DNA had a double helix form. The work of later scientists ignored her contribution. I studied genetics in college. Would be a fascinating conversation.
(bottom row, center) Sara Murphy - philanthropist, one half of the fabulous Murphys: was there when so many great artists were still unknowns, like Fitzgerald, Hemingway, Picasso.
Side note: Broadway actor/dancer Donna McKechnie would have been on the list except that I've already interviewed her twice.
01 June 2020
09 May 2020
08 April 2020
31 March 2020
Remembrance of Things Past
There have been many conversations about the current virus situation and a previous similar situation four decades ago. I wonder whether I will have cause to write a similar article about the new virus as this one I wrote in 1988 about that virus. [Open in new tab, and click image to enlarge.]
22 March 2020
05 March 2020
03 March 2020
2020 Super Bowl Adverts
It’s a little late, and I’m sure you are all just dying to know the answer, but here is my list of the very best Super Bowl commercials for 2020.
Love Takes Action / New York Life Insurance
There are indeed many forms of love.
All People Are Tax People Remix / TurboTax
So fun! People should dance about all kinds of things – especially taxes.
Let it Go / Audi
A surprise from me seeing how much I loathe this song. Love the young woman singing and her attitude. Car? Whatever.
Before Alexa / Amazon Very funny take on how things have changed through out the years. Especially loved the newsboy part.
Love Takes Action / New York Life Insurance
There are indeed many forms of love.
All People Are Tax People Remix / TurboTax
So fun! People should dance about all kinds of things – especially taxes.
A surprise from me seeing how much I loathe this song. Love the young woman singing and her attitude. Car? Whatever.
15 February 2020
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