of The Lone Ranger,The Pink Hat and cake!

  Its 10 pm

      Back in saddle again....sort of strange to only see 9 entries for the entire year,guess that shows my state of mind. But I have been feeling the itch again lately and so here we are writing once again.
  The weather has finally broken,its been just beautiful spring weather here in SE Michigan. The snow is melting at a fast rate and I finally have my driveway back! Oh I have snow still in the yard (and the leaves as well) but now I don't worry about getting stuck on the ice.

  Another sign of spring came last night as Paladin and I saw a big raccoon cruise by the back patio door. He stopped and peered inside the window. Paladin fluffed up to twice his normal size but didn't meow or hiss. The raccoon did notice it and backed away. I gave Paladin a pat on his head and he marked my hand as if say "Not on my watch". He is a very sweet cat in that respect. With the snow melting,I can all the work that still has to be done in the back yard. It will be good to get outside and try and get some things done.

  So still in my DVD mode....I brought up a unopened DVD collection of old Westerns that Lori gave me while we were running about. 55 episodes of various shows that ran during the heyday of the TV western. Back then,just about network had dozens of westerns on during the 1950s. Westerns were a popular staple on radio and even back in the 1930s,Hollywood loved the format. I used to listen to The Lone Ranger,Gunsmoke and before I knew it was a TV show,Have Gun,Will Travel (with John Dehner as Paladin...Richard Boone did the TV show).

   But watching them on TV when I grew up....not so much. You always knew it would be a Cowboys-Indians tussle and then the calvary would come in and save the day. But as I got older,I started watching some of the shows, The Big Valley was the first big western I recall watching on a regular basis. The screen legend Barbara Stanwyck starred as Victoria Barkley and she just dominated the screen. Unlike Bonanza,The Big Valley was about 95 percent heavy drama and you got excited for the last 15 minutes of the show where the Barkley's would get their man (or woman in some cases).
 
  Then it was The Lone Ranger,how could anyone even now,not watching the TV series and admire both John Reid and Tonto's friendship and the Lone Ranger's determination never to kill despite being a deadly shot.
    Clayton Moore,who played the Lone Ranger,was typecast after the show ended. But instead of being bitter,he embraced the part and truly became the Lone Ranger.He started wearing the mask in public and made several hundred public appearances a year. Even after losing a court case saying he couldn't call himself  The Lone Ranger,he slightly altered his mask and look and still carried on his life.
  The collection I had featured anywhere from 1 episode of a hour long show to 4-5 episodes of a 30 minute show. While some shows like The Rifleman and Wagon Train I knew about and watched,others I hadn't seen at all. Some were decent,like Bat Masterson...while others were a bit weird like Shotgun Slade. By the time Shotgun Slade debuted,the western format was dying out and cool,hip private eye shows were getting to be huge. The producers of Slade knew this so instead of the usual western style of music,they put in and no,I am not kidding,a heavy jazz score....in a western! It really threw the show off kilter and made it uneven to watch.

  The one show that really made me laugh was the old Roy Rogers Show. Talk about LOW BUDGET. The collection feature 4 episodes of the show and in each show,they had the same actors in all four shows,the four core stars and the 3 guest stars who rotated as the "boss" of the three man gang in each episode. Not only that but the "hideout" was always the same house! It was too funny and of course the dialogue was corny as well. The western shows back in day were slanted to youngsters back then...it wasn't until The Rifleman,Have Gun,Will Travel and Gunsmoke that the western grew up and were aimed for adults.
 All in all,I liked the collection and I know I can always go back and watch it again. I still have a small collection of 10 Annie Oakley episodes still on my "To Watch" pile.
 
  Been following the ordeal of Malaysian Airlines Flight 370. As of now,they believe they have finally found the jet in the Indian Ocean. The search parties have brought along a deep sea robot that can withstand the crushing ocean depths to see if they can spot any debris. Of course unless they can locate and salvage the black box that records the cockpit discussion,we may never really know what happened to the plane and its passengers.
  Sure makes you wonder what could have happened to it....being shot down isn't out of the question. South Korea 007 was shot down by the Soviets who were tracking a US Navy spy plane which was hiding underneath the passenger jet. Soviet fighters thought they were firing at the spy plane and instead hit 007,killing 269,including 61 Americans.
  Tension is rather high in the South Pacific these days with China,South Korea,Japan,Vietnam and the Phillippines all claiming groups of small islands which may contain vast fields of natural gas. With modern fighters being able to jam electronics,a shoot down is very possible and it will be interesting to see what stories the sea will share.

  The second Pink Hat mission went off with nary a hitch. Mailed my card to Kathy and I know several others did as well. Thank you so very much for doing this. Small gestures,one by one,will help establish a living memory of Lori's life here. She was all about being kind and helpful and I think we need this spirit here more then ever.

   The new mission is going to be a fun one. It is called "Bake a Cake Day" and the mission is thus. You have to bake a cake (or cupcake) for a church,stranger,neighbor or maybe for some co-workers at the job. You bake your cake,put some frosting on that bad boy and deliver it. One small bit of advice...before you do this,make sure none of the intended folks have a food allergy to nuts or anything like that. Maybe make sure there is no nuts perhaps. So if you wish to do this mission,just send me a picture of your cake and 2-3 paragraphs of what you made and the reaction you got. I will firm it up and include it in an upcoming blog.
  In May,we will be doing two missions....one for Amy Neilson and one for Lori. I will outline what we will be doing but if anyone has any suggestions,please,I would love to hear them!


  As I mentioned before,the weather is trying to warm up...we had a couple of real decent days before getting smacked again with a 24 degree day on Sunday. We are working hard at my job to get ready for the big spring and summer season. Our store had a nice year earning wise and we are striving for another strong garden season. The city is finally paving a key road by our store so our traffic will increase,which is good because we are losing a 10-20 stretch of freeway by us for several months as the state is going on with a major resurfacing project.
  Between that and the terrible Snyderholes that have popped up everywhere,our local roads are in bad shape. Its another reason that we hope the weather warms up soon,so they can effect repairs on at least the main roads and overpasses. The teapublicans who lit up former governor Jennifer Granholm about the condition of the roads are suddenly very,very quiet about how brutal the potholes are now. But you can't completely blame Rick...the worst winter in 134 years will ruin the roads no matter who is in Lansing.

  Baseball season is finally here.....good luck to the team you are following.

Thanks as always for reading and I'll be back shortly.

Shout outs

Sue E. - Thank you again for dinner and the friendship
Howard - As always,for your compassion and understanding
Legendary Pictures - Pacific Rim 2? Outstanding!
Elissa and Loo - good luck next week!
Sandra aka Lita - thanks for the chat.
Christopher George - thanks for posting in the group
Nancy Gershman - the same thanks!
Mike White - Who would have thought there would be trolls in the horror world? What a trip
Tweek Appleton - Sorry I called you a "he". Please,no UPS call,ok?
Brad Beneke - I see the Twins going 81-81,if Hughes pitches well,you will challenge for a WC spot
Jim Kelly,Lisa Carpenter and Giselle - Peace,courage and strength on your journey.
Melanie and Theresa - ((((hug)))
Donald Neilson- Thanks for letting me remember Amy next month and if you want to do the cake mission,well then,we will have to meet!