The Place for Baby Boomers to Share Memories
By Larry Teren
What a great country! Well, maybe. No seriously. Okay, maybe it is when we are all on the same page speaking the same language. But you will say that this country is known for being a melting pot. The Statue of Liberty proclaims, “bring us your tired, your poor….” Yeah, but the idea is that the terrestrial aliens are supposed to be kind of like trying to learn to speak English so they can melt in quicker, no? Continue reading “Do I look Like I Speak Spanish?”
By Larry Teren
I recently read the biography of Dwayne Hickman. For those who don’t know who he is or it rings a bell but cannot place the name- he was the star of The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis a, the television sitcom series from 1959-1962. Dwayne talked much about his relationship with the comedy writer genius Max Shulman. Shulman invented Dobie along with writing the play The Tender Trap (which became a Frank Sinatra starring movie), the novel “Rally Round the Flag, Boys!” (which became a Paul Newman movie) as well as provided the original story for House Calls (a Walter Matthau movie). Continue reading “The Short and the Long of It”
By Larry Teren
Recently a college age friend told me about a school project he was required to do and asked me to participate. Specifically, he wanted to interview me about what it was for a baby boomer to grow up on television while the medium itself was being created. I told him that television as we know it started in 1947 and that I was not old enough to appreciate being entertained by it until the late 1950’s, several years past the birth pangs. Nevertheless, I was willing to cooperate and be interviewed. Continue reading “Baby Boomer Television Memories without a VCR”
By Larry Teren
About a year ago I received notice in the mail that a certain person had filed a class action suit on my behalf along with thousands of others because the health insurance company we had belonged to had unilaterally and illegally changed the plan we were on. The letter provided a website where we could keep track of the events as well as fill out a claim form to ensure that we would indeed get something out of it. I looked at the information on the website and I figured at the most I could get was maybe $100 or $150. Or if I read it even more correctly, to multiply that amount for each year I got screwed by the insurance company. This could end up being close to $1000. Since I considered this found money, I decided to fill out the form and check the website every month or so.
By Larry Teren
My buddy Tony has a vivid imagination. At least, that’s what I think. He is the guy who should have been sitting in the back seat of that car with Rod Steiger instead of Marlon Brando in the movie, “On The Waterfront”, and speak those immortal words- “I coulda been a contender!” Continue reading “A Star Isn’t Born”
By Larry Teren
They say silence is golden. I guess it depends if it is forced on you or you prefer it that way. The other day I bumped into a friend (no, I didn’t hurt him) just a wee bit older than me in the parking lot of a supermarket. Whenever I see him or his brothers, the first question I ask is how his father is doing now that he is widowed and living in an assisted living facility. (It is a mixed environment where most residents can get up and walk around and enjoy life’s pleasures. Some still drive a car but there are a few on the top floor who need almost nursing home care.) Continue reading “Sounds of Silence”
By Larry Teren
I got the notice in the mail that said my court date was on Thursday, any time in the afternoon from 1pm to 4pm. The accompanying letter indicated the following:
You are hereby invited to appear at the Court of Public Opinion this Thursday afternoon to state your case for any one issue you feel deserves to be resolved. Please call the phone number listed below by Tuesday to state the subject on which you wish to opine. We will schedule a representative of the opposing side of the subject matter to defend against your opinion. If you do not call before the end of the day on Tuesday, do not bother to show up on Thursday. Continue reading “The Court of Public Opinion”
By Larry Teren
There is an irony in the following but it is not funny. Do a web engine search on “18 year old Highland Park” and it comes up on the first page with two significant but unrelated subjects. Well, maybe:
Continue reading “A Teenage Driver is Like an Expensive Bottle of Whiskey”
By Larry Teren
Teacher strikes now rarely affect Baby Boomers because we’ve outgrown having children who go to school. We boomers don’t have to worry how to keep the kids preoccupied. We just worry about if the governing commissions will cave in to demands and cause our property taxes to go even higher.
Illinois is becoming the focus for those who fret over teachers’ work stoppages. Let’s take a look at the two highest profile in the media- Lake Forest and Chicago. Continue reading “Teachers’ Strikes- An Uncivil War”
By Larry Teren
The saying “A Penny Saved is a Penny Earned” goes back in time even before Benjamin Franklin put it in writing in the 1700s. Maybe four hundred years ago you could buy plenty with a penny. Heck, even in the 1960s I was able to buy a variety of goods with a cent piece at the corner grocery store.
I used to collect pennies because they added up to good value. Five pennies bought a pack of baseball cards or fancier candy. If I found a penny lying on the ground, I pounced on it rather than walk past it with an uncomfortable disdain to show to anyone spying that I wasn’t that hard up. Continue reading “A Penny Saved is Not a Penny Earned”