Topic: THE RODRIGUEZ EFFECT (Read 22584 times)

Panni · « **Reply #30 on:** December 06, 2004, 07:53:55 AM »

*****DR Emily - MAJOR GOOD VIBES on your Issues in CDN Democracy exam!*****

Panni · « **Reply #31 on:** December 06, 2004, 07:57:54 AM »

One of the DRs remarked on the Rodriguez Effect being a good title for the next bk mystery... Which suddenly reminded me that the travel story I told last night actually DID become the basis of a pitched mystery movie (never made).
Okay, I'm off for a quick walk. It's chilly but sunny in the City of Studio today.

Panni · « **Reply #32 on:** December 06, 2004, 08:00:08 AM »

...BTW - Who'd have "issues" with Canadian Democracy? Democracy is nice. Canada is nice. It's all good. End of story. You've passed your exam, DR Emily.

MBarnum · « **Reply #33 on:** December 06, 2004, 08:02:12 AM »

The only travel horror story I can think of would take me back to 1970...Christmas...my dad, mom, little brother Dan, and I hopped into the 1954 Mercury to travel from Medford to Portland for Christmas (a 5 hour trip)...it was snowing...a lot...we stopped near Roseburg for lunch...my dad did not have enough cash for the meals and wrote a check. Sadly, the diner did not take checks and I am guessing they would not let us leave until we paid up in cash. We sat there for what seemed like hours until they finally decided we had no cash and they excepted the check. Then we trudged the rest of the way up to Portland.

S. Woody White · « **Reply #34 on:** December 06, 2004, 08:03:55 AM »

Second Story:

Nothing with planes this time. Trains and busses instead.

One Christmas, early in der B's and my "relationship," I went to my parents in the Sierra Nevadas for the holiday. Der B wasn't invited, since Mom and Dad hadn't yet figured out what that "relationship" was and my sister was demanding that I not tell them because "they will reject you." Her words, honest.

So, I got ahold of Amtrack and got my ticket ahead of time, and arranged for Dad to pick me up at the Modesto station. Then everything went wrong.

The first part of the trip, from Los Angeles to Bakersfield, is a bus run, as there are no train tracks running that route. From Bakersfield on to San Francisco (and all stops between) is handled by train. This particular trip, a truck overturned on the highway going from Los Angeles to Bakersfield, right at the bottom of the mountains, a stretch known as the Grapevine. Traffic was backed up not only for miles, but for hours.

We eventually got to Bakersfield, and loaded onto the train. But we couldn't leave. There was one more busload of passengers stuck on the Grapevine, coming from a different part of LA, and we had to wait for them. By the time they joined us on the train, we had yet another delay. By union regulations, the engineer could not work more than a certain number of hours per shift, and he'd already worked all those hours waiting at the train station for his passengers to arrive!!! We all had to wait until a new engineer could be driven down from Sacramento to take over running the train.

Of course, by this time all the snacks and drinks were gone from the snack counter. And everyone was cranky as cranky can be. And we were all running several hours late. How many hours late? About six hours or so.

Fortunately, Dad had had the sense to find out the train was going to be late, had driven home for some dinner, and then driven back to pick me up. Still, it was not a fun way to start a holiday.

And the first chance she got, my sister reminded me not to tell Mom and Dad that I'm gay because they wouldn't understand. (But how that all ended is another story.)

Dan-in-Toronto · « **Reply #35 on:** December 06, 2004, 08:23:26 AM »

A-plus-vibesforDREmily'sIssuesinCDNDemocracyexamthisafternoon.

bk · « **Reply #36 on:** December 06, 2004, 08:25:42 AM »

Jack Viertel/librettist = oxymoron, with an emphasis on the latter

JMK · « **Reply #37 on:** December 06, 2004, 08:26:37 AM »

I have two (count 'em, two) horror stories, both involving land travel:

Horror #1 (The Single Years): This story is so bad that I have actually shut parts of it out of my memory. I can't remember where I was travelling via Greyhound Bus (Bend, Oregon to visit my sister? San Francisco to stay with friends?), but shortly after boarding I became aware that the gentleman in front of me had evidently just been discharged from some unit of the military, and was having a psychotic breakdown. He was talking to himself with two distinct voices, actually turning his head back and forth as he assumed the different personae, and was telling "himself" (evidently his Sergeant) to "f--- off" repeatedly. He was getting quite agitated and it was truly scary. Those of us around him ended up bonding (naturally, fear does that), and I made friends with a Jehovah's Witness minister and his wife. What I didn't realize until it was too late was that the gentleman was paralyzed and they then depended on me for the rest of the trip to shlep the guy into the bathroom and literally stand behind him, holding him up, as he did his business. What made matters worse was that he had evidently not worn his Depends that day and had "soiled" (isn't that a lovely euphemism) his pants, which meant the "soiling" was rubbing up against me as I held him. Oyyyyyyyy.

Horror #2 (The Married Years): Christmas of 1996 was the last year my mom was alive. Gabe had just been born and Mom invited all the family to spend Christmas at my parents' palatial manse in the mountains outside Salt Lake City. Betsy and I decided to drive. First oy. We hit ice and blizzard like conditions shortly after getting into the Columbia Gorge (including me realizing too late one time that I was on a total sheet of ice going about 70 mph--slowing down was a real nightmare) and it only got worse as we made it to Idaho. Gabe for the most part was a little trouper in his carseat (we stopped every two hours and let him out of his "prison"). Our initial intent was to drive in one day. Second oy. Shortly before we got to the I-80 turnoff south, traffic literally stopped. Just stopped. We found out from the travelling State Patroller that mere moments before two semis had collided and flipped over, blocking I-80. So they had to reroute traffic east on I-84 to Pocatello. Now I had never gone that way before. So we found a pay phone off of the freeway (through four foot high drifts of snow, it was an adventure, let me tell you) and I called my Mom to ask her to look at a map to verify what road I should take from Pocatello to get south to Utah and SLC. Here's the one funny part of the story--my Mom, who always let my Dad drive, had no current maps. She had an old 1940 book of the United States (all 48 of them) that had nary an interstate freeway on it. So in frustration I hung up and we inched on toward Pocatello at about 10 mph. We wisely decided to stay at a hotel that night. We unwisely decided to get up early the next morning and begin the trek to SLC. Why unwisely? Because it was the Winter Solstice, the longest night of the year, and to make the white-out blizzard conditions worse, it was pitch black (that made sense, didn't it?). Long story short (too late, I know) we inched our way south, the only car on the road, unable to see a foot in front of ourselves until we crossed the state line and, as if by miracle (maybe those Mormons are on to something), the skies cleared and it was a beautiful sunny winter day.

Now, I won't even get into the drive back a week later. Suffice it to say it made the trip down to SLC seem like a pleasure cruise.

Donna · « **Reply #38 on:** December 06, 2004, 09:02:27 AM »

Maybe Olga is in San Juan (a Paint Your Wagon reference) OR maybe the "eyebrow plucker" is really Olga in disguise, traveling incognito!

TRAVEL STORIES
I don't really classify these as horror stories but they were definitely inconvenient.

BY BUS: Ever since 9/11 I refuse to fly. If I can't use a car or take a bus or train, I won't go. I once took a bus to Las Vegas. If you want to experience humanity at the grass roots level, then take a bus! On my route, I changed buses three times and each leg of the trip brought a different set of people. Large Mexican-American families (with crying babies) would board and take up all the back seats; teenagers with earphones to tune out the world; single women and older women traveling alone or in pairs; men who looked like they'd had too much to drink and were sleeping it off. On the last leg of the trip going into Vegas, there were a bunch of people who had been on the bus since Arizona. They wore western clothes and hats and spoke with a twang. It was neat to arrive in Vegas at night and see the darkness turn into colored lights.

BY TRAIN: Over the years, I've heard and read how romantic it is to travel by train that I thought I'd try taking a trip to San Francisco. I, like BK, am claustrophic and it wasn't long before I got cabin fever and seasick(oy)! There's no where to go in a trian except fore or aft (hmm... nautical terms for a train)! The ride was VERY BUMPY and when I walked from car to car I had to step gingerly onto the rubber matting that covered the "links." There was one older woman I met who told me about her second marriage to a man that got cancer after they tied the knot. His family gave her a really bad time, spewing verbal venom at her accusing her of not taking care of him and marrying him just for his money. I felt so sorry for her. She said she expected her second marriage to be full of travel and good times and she was just miserable. I asked her why she didn't just get a divorce, but she said the family threatened to take her to court. I'd sure like to know what happened to her.

BY CAR: One time, our family drove to Lake Tahoe for a summer vacation but the trip was cut short because there was a terrible fire on the other side of the lake. I remember my father was a little panicky about getting some gas to make the trip home. As I recall, there was only one gas station where we were and my dad had to hand pump the gas himself in order to fill the tank. It cost a whopping (for that time) 63 cents! I have a photo of it that I took at the time.

Jrand73 · « **Reply #39 on:** December 06, 2004, 09:26:04 AM »

I will have to wait to tell my travel stories, I am horrified by those I am reading. Oy!

Sorry about mangling the title of your show yesterday DRNOEL - but I thought any mention is better than NO mention.

Thanks for the cartoon DRGEORGE - I appreciate it so much. Yes, that is the EXACT one I was talking about hehehe. Still makes me laugh!

Olga Rodriguez walked into the board meeting last night and demanded her luggage, we didn't know what to say!

Jack Viertel?

Good vibes for the reading and party tonight. Hopefully there will be PICTURES!!!!

Jrand73 · « **Reply #40 on:** December 06, 2004, 09:27:25 AM »

DRJOY looks stunning as Mrs Claus!

Dan-in-Toronto · « **Reply #41 on:** December 06, 2004, 09:32:05 AM »

All About Olga:

http://www.oaxacanhoops.com/

Jay · « **Reply #42 on:** December 06, 2004, 09:46:08 AM »

I was going to tell about the time my jam-packed and already much delayed 747 flight aborted takeoff just as the nose was about to lift and how we had to wait for hours and hours at the airport for another section to be flown in from God-knows-where, but compared to some of our Dear Readers' travel horror stories, that experience was a cakewalk.

td · « **Reply #43 on:** December 06, 2004, 09:55:28 AM »

Once again, it's the time for me to play catch-up.
Since returning from the T'day weekend, I have once again been picking up the extra shifts at work - 'tis the season for the parties, fa-la-la-la-la. . .
As well as working all those shifts, we have found that Dad's blood counts are down, and have been dropping at a quick pace, so on Friday, he went for a bone marrow test. We won't have the results of this test for at least a week, but, we're hoping and praying that his lymphoma has not returned. To think that only six months ago his body was 100% cancer free, we'd like to think it has stayed that way.
Yesterday was my first real day off, although I was on call in case any party help was needed. Of course with a day off, my system said, "Hey! Let's give him a nice sinus infection, you know with the runny nose, the watery eyes and the scratchy throat!" So, now, I have a cold, of sorts. Lotsa liquids. Lotsa Halls. Lotsa rest while watching such things as:
S.W.A.T. - as much as I like Colin F., the movie just didn't do anything for me. Great sound, though.
GRANDE ECOLE - very well crafted French film combining elements of DANGEROUS LIAISONS with MAURICE and an added racial tolerance plot. I found it very moving, and would highly recommend it.
LOCKED UP - not very well crafted German OZ-like movie. (the HBO series, not the wizard of. . .) Empty.

Litsening to:
"A Swingin' Christmas" - Ella Firzgerald
"The 25 Day of December" - Bobby Darin
"Two of a Kind" - Bobby Darin & Johnny Mercer
"The Woman in White" - Original London Cast
"Phantom of the Opera" - Original Soundtrack
"Sketches of Broadway" - Janis Siegel
"I Have Dreamed" - Doris Day

As for the T.O.D.:
Anytime I have ever taken the train to NYC from Pittsburgh, I have been unlucky!
First time was following Hurricane Agnes, and most of the tracks around Johnstown, PA were still being cleared of debris. The trip took well over twelve hours.

The next time I trained, I went with two gal pals who were taking care of accomodations. Well, they didn't. We slept in two rat-bag hotels before I contacted a friend who invited us to sleep on his floor. That worked for two nights, then, on the third night, he drunkenly threw the three of us out. His roomate hurriedly followed us out into the street, making apologies and explaining the unseemly behavior. At least he made an attempt to bring us back into the apartment, all for naught. Instead of staying in another flea trap hotel, I took an earlier train back to the burgh.

Panni · « **Reply #44 on:** December 06, 2004, 09:55:39 AM »

After reading those stories, I'm never leaving Studio City again. (Maybe Encino - on a good day.)

Panni · « **Reply #45 on:** December 06, 2004, 09:57:24 AM »

Good Vibes to TD's dad!

elmore3003 · « **Reply #46 on:** December 06, 2004, 10:34:03 AM »

Quote from: JRand54 on December 06, 2004, 09:26:04 AM

Jack Viertel?

DRJRand54, Jack was the book writer for Skip Kennon's musical TIME AFTER TIME, which premiered at the Old globe in San Diego and played in New York at the Manhattan Theatre Club, I believe. He's also involved with the City Center Encores! series.

Well, I've been E&T all morning with a bad headache, which I'm trying to shake for tonight's partay. I have no travel stories to compare with some of the horrors already related, and I'm so neurotic about traveling that I'm certain some of my traveling companions would say I was the traveling horror. Thus, I'm keeping mum.

JMK · « **Reply #47 on:** December 06, 2004, 10:48:38 AM »

I thought Time After Time was Stephen Cole. At least that's what Stephen is claiming on several listserves I subscribe to.

JMK · « **Reply #48 on:** December 06, 2004, 10:51:20 AM »

Adorable precocious child quote of the day:

I was hamming it up with the kids this morning at breakfast, saying how excited I was about Channukah tomorrow and how I could hardly wait to see what presents they had gotten me.

Zach looked at me with mock disgust (at least I think it was mock) and said in the most adroitly exasperated adult voice you can imagine, "Dad, that's not how Channukah goes!"

Jrand73 · « **Reply #49 on:** December 06, 2004, 10:56:26 AM »

JMK was having hamm for breakfast?

elmore3003 · « **Reply #50 on:** December 06, 2004, 11:05:28 AM »

Quote from: JMK on December 06, 2004, 10:48:38 AM

I thought Time After Time was Stephen Cole. At least that's what Stephen is claiming on several listserves I subscribe to.

You're right. Skip's show is TIME AND AGAIN, based on the Jack Finney novel. I always confuse the titles. Steve's show is based on the film about H.G. Wells and Jack the Ripper.

Jennifer · « **Reply #51 on:** December 06, 2004, 11:06:46 AM »

Good vibes to DR Td's dad and to DR Emily. ~~~~~~

Great pics yesterday of DRs TCB/Ann/Jed and DR Joy.

Jennifer · « **Reply #52 on:** December 06, 2004, 11:13:33 AM »

Re: today's TOD, I haven't had too many travel horror stories. But I've been questioned quite a few times going into the US. I forget where I was going when I got the worst questioning.

I do remember one time I was going to Indy just to visit a friend (who was male). I know I got a hard time for doing that.

I do remember during my worst questioning they took me to the "special place" where they take people who don't pass the original screening. And they really creeped me out, asking all kinds of bizarre questions. They wanted to see how much money I had. And they were quite rude. I still don't really understand why. I think I seem pretty normal. But for some reason they always think that I am going to the US to get married.

Here's the question I really wanted to ask them. What exactly would be the problem if I was doing that?

Jennifer · « **Reply #53 on:** December 06, 2004, 11:16:10 AM »

OMG DR Dan-I-T that is horrible. How could your neighbor be that incompetent? The airlines keep screwing up??? Um, has she ever heard of getting confirmations. Oy.

Jrand73 · « **Reply #54 on:** December 06, 2004, 11:16:32 AM »

Good vibes to td's father.

GOOD vibes to drEMILY.

Jrand73 · « **Reply #55 on:** December 06, 2004, 11:18:19 AM »

OMG DRJENNIFER......hope Indy wasn't as bad as your trip to get here.

DiT - Your neighbor-travel agent story was pretty scary. And you know, she probably believed it WAS the airlines. Hopefully she is no longer a travel agent!

Stuart · « **Reply #56 on:** December 06, 2004, 11:21:58 AM »

Quote from: JMK on December 06, 2004, 10:48:38 AM

I thought Time After Time was Stephen Cole.

That's OK, DR JMK. I still think of "Time After Time" as Jule Styne.

Or sometimes even Cyndi Lauper.

Jennifer · « **Reply #57 on:** December 06, 2004, 11:32:28 AM »

Yesterday I viewed the rest of THE TERMINAL, which I really liked. It was very funny and sweet and I grew to love Victor (tom hanks)! I also saw the Gwyneth Paltrow movie, VIEW FROM THE TOP (or something like that). It was cute, and semi-entertaining.

I also got half way through WIN A DATE WITH TAD HAMILTON.

The last two were movies taped from the movie network. I also have: UNFAITHFUL, IN AMERICA, FRIDA, GIRL WITH A PEARL EARRING, and a couple more.

Dan-in-Toronto · « **Reply #58 on:** December 06, 2004, 11:33:35 AM »

Quote from: JRand54 on December 06, 2004, 11:18:19 AM

DiT - Your neighbor-travel agent story was pretty scary. And you know, she probably believed it WAS the airlines. Hopefully she is no longer a travel agent!

She really did believe it was the airlines and suggested I write a letter to the president of Eastern Airlines (that's the airline to take from Toronto if you want to go to Florida via a late-night change-over in Philadelphia, as opposed to a direct flight). And she gave up the travel agency - she now runs an art gallery.

Jennifer · « **Reply #59 on:** December 06, 2004, 11:37:06 AM »

DR Jrand, the story where I was sent to the special room was not the indy flight.

I got questioned for the indy flight. But I didn't have to go to the "special place".

As I mentioned, for some reason I am usually singled out as flying to the US for marrying purposes. But that one flight (I think it was to Vegas) was the only one where they took me to the special room.

You might think going to Vegas might have been an explanation. But I've gotten the same hard time even just going to NYC with my sis.

News:

Author Topic: THE RODRIGUEZ EFFECT (Read 22584 times)

MBarnum