I've been reminiscing about an old cruise we took in 2007. It was the Trans Atlantic that I posted a review of some months ago. Looking at some old notes I saw, "Wanda is like this and she doesn't drink, at all?" This was a compliment to my dear wife who can have fun, anywhere, with anyone, anytime. To know her is to love her. I hope you don't think I'm getting sappy but how many ladies can recite most of the quotes from the first two Godfather movies?
When we got the new TV we realized having the option of watching seventeen thousand programs at anytime was not enough. So, we reinstated our Netflix membership. We can stream programing and have one Blu Ray out at a time. The other day we got "The Godfather" and it was defective. The DVD kept skipping a fifteen minute section. Now, I don't know about you but missing Michael shooting Solotzo and McClusky in the head is not an option. Netflix has great customer service, I reported the problem, the next day a replacement was on the way.
"Don't let me see him get shot through the eyeball," Wanda said. She watched Carlo get garroted but eyeball shooting and spiders she doesn't care for. We watched the movie over three evenings and finished it last night. I can't wait for "Godfather II" it should be here tomorrow. I'm trying to remember if there is any eyeball shooting and don't think there is. I do remember a couple of guys get garroted. Ah, the life of a gangster.
While I'm on the subject of gangsters. I've mentioned my mothers father, my Grandfather Charlie as he was known. I was told he was a skilled metal smith. That he worked on the ceilings and roofs of buildings installing the copper or tin like tiles. If that is what he did, he didn't do it long. I only knew about him as a businessman. The story was he lent money for the building of a Bath House or Schvitz. The repayment terms were missed so he took ownership.
The only connection I had with my grandfather and the Bath House was his portrait hanging on a wall. His oldest son, my Uncle Harry, ran it through out my childhood. Most of the time I spent there was scary. This was a Russian Steam Bath, filled with old hairy guys wearing sheets, or towels, or just nothing at all. It was the nothing at all that bothered me. As a little kid I truly didn't like getting naked in that place.
My father loved the Bath House. A typical day (for him) would be taking a steam, maybe a swim, playing cards, smoking cigars, napping and eating lots of heavy, fat laden, high cholesterol foods. Irving spent his last day on earth at the Bath House. It's funny to think the "official" name of the place was, The Oakland HEALTH Club.
A typical day there (for me) would be, averting my eyes whenever I saw a naked guy. Trying to stay one step ahead of the child killer dog. Trying to stay away from the choking cigar smoke at the poker tables. Trying to stay one step away from Uncle Harry. Stuffing the pool table pockets with towels so I could play pool all day on one quarter. Trying to sneak upstairs to the "off limits" rooms to see if they really contained "ladies of the evening." Spending three minutes in the steam room so I could say I was in it. And, trying not to drown when I jumped in the ice cold (and I mean ICE cold) swimming pool.
As a kid I always heard that the Bath House was a hang out of the Purple Gang. They were a group of well known Detroit Jewish Gangsters. To think they didn't hang there is a little unreasonable. In the 30's and 40's I would imagine many local Jewish guys, gangster or otherwise spent many hours at the Schvitz. I also think my Uncle Harry who operated the place would have done nothing to dispel the Purple Gang stories. Everybody who was anybody in Detroit knew Charlie and later Harry Meltzer.
I once heard a story about some of the writers on the Sid Cesar Comedy Hour. They were Neil Simon, Mel Brooks, and Woody Allen. In preparation for a show Sid wanted to have a meeting at his home. When they group arrived he suggested they all go and sit in his steam room. Neil Simon talks about Woody not wanting to "be naked" with other men. Everyone went into the steam while Woody stood outside the door, yelling comments in every so often. I felt the same way about my Sundays at my Grandfather Charlie's place. I wanted to stay outside the door.
A Jewish tradition is naming children after family members that have passed on. Charlie and Sophie had five kids. Harry, Dorothy (my mother), Lee, Frank and Belle. The men in this family changed wives about as often as I change my socks. For now I'll lump all the kids together. Harry had five, Dorothy three, Lee two, Frank three and Belle two. That's fifteen kids. I had two brothers and twelve first cousins. There was a Larry Charles and a Charles Micheal. A girl named Charlene a Charles Bruce and a Charles Dennis (me) and a Carol. I don't know if Carol was named for Charlie but if she was, I didn't want to forget her. (she reads this).
Five and maybe six of the kids were named after this man. I was the last and the youngest. Do you have any idea what that means, it means Little. Now, I've told you I hated getting naked around a bunch of strangers, you figure it out.
It also means ie.....I have and will the rest of my life have, the ie after my name. The "little" in front and the ie in the rear. "Little Chuckie." To be honest, some of the cousins started dropping the ie when I turned 60. To them I'm simply Little Chuck.
We had a family reunion of sorts in Las Vegas in 2001. It was lots of fun and very nice seeing the cousins, aunts and uncles that came. There were also a few people missing due to " disagreements." I don't understand the mentality of grudges. I used to think I could straighten out any issues. I'd take a failure to get people together, personally. These days I don't try and I don't care, it's their loss.
Remember the guy with the checkered coat and suspenders? They guy with the clipboard and stopwatch? The guy that is stealing time? Life is way too short to miss opportunities because of stupid reasoning.
I was just thinking that Tofu is a horrible name for something people (may) eat.
Toe Foo?
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