The Hot Club

Buffalo Steve was talking to a gentleman Sunday night. He introduced himself to me - Kirk Feather. I immediately recognized him as a writer. He has written the jazz column for the Providence Monthly. And I remembered that he got his start with one of the alternative newspapers. It was the Nice Paper.

Kirk told us that Bob Hope was once asked about his golf game. Hope told his inquisitor:"If it were boxing, someone would stop it."

Our new Feathered Friend said his dad was in the British Royal Navy and served aboard a minesweeper in the North Atlantic. The minesweeper was a wooden ship. Buff Steve, who was a Navy Seabee, explained to me that the mines were magnetic. I didn't know.

So I told them that my dad, who was born in Accrington, England, enlisted in the U.S. Army/Aircorps during WW II. My mom showed me a newspaper clipping recently that one week after my dad enlisted he was granted US citizenship. I didn't know.

Sunday night Sue Murphy came in and was waiting for the midnight hour as it was her birthday. No age will be mentioned but Susan is looking good for whatever her age is.

Similarly Saturday (4/15) was Lovely Lisa's birthday and we won't mention age. But Bags did say to LL; "You and Jack Benny have a lot in common."

Someone asked where the Wizard was. A regular answered, " 'Cribbage'. He's at a tournament." Someone chimed in, "That's an old people's game."

Bags watched two women walk by and said of one "She has more miles than Amtrak. Boeing doesn't go that far."

Someone referred to a pessimistic Red Sox fan at the Hot Club as 'Kill Joy'.

Buff Steve and I were talking movies and he mentioned that it's tough to be a hero when you're short. I recalled Shane - Alan Ladd, one of my childhood heroes. Ladd (5'5") had to face off against bad guy Jack Palance (dressed all in black) in a Western showdown.

So I brought up Ladd teaming with Veronica Lake (This Gun For Hire, Blue Dahlia). I said Lake was tall and Ladd had to stand on a box for some scenes. Buff Steve said that they dug a trench and had Lake walk in it for a scene where the two ambled along together. Well it wasn't Lake because a look at Leonard Maltin's Movie Encyclopedia reveals that Lake was actually shorter than Ladd. Ah the memory - first thing to go.

The Hot Club

Foot Joy and I were talking about Anna Benson filing for divorce from hubby Kris who pitches for the Orioles now. Anna, who is for the birds, just rescinded her request for a divorce from Benson. Foot Joy said, "Well, Kris married a stripper."

So that got us to thinking about celebrity marriages involving baseball players. Foot Joy reminded me that Tawny Kitaen beat up hubby Chuck Finley. And we recalled Joe DiMaggio's marriage to Marilyn Monroe. I mentioned that Marilyn didn't even know that DiMaggio was a big baseball star. And they got married after DiMaggio had retired and Marilyn's career was about to take off. Joe D thought MM would be a stay-at-home-wife. He made the mistake of watching her make Seven Year Itch and was present when they did take after take of the scene where Marilyn's skirt is lifted by the air from a grate. Joe D. didn't like all the guys on the set ogling his wife and that was it for the marriage.

I mentioned Bo Belinsky's marriage to Mamie Van Doren (High School Confidential). None of the guys were old enough to know of that union. I remembered Mamie and her bullet bras and tight sweaters.

Wise has a thing for Hazel Mae. I noted that she is Philippine by way of Toronto.

Bags was kidding Wise about someone and revealed more info than he should have. He said, "Bags is back!" I looked at him and replied, "Who said you left?"

The Lovely Lisa told me that Brendan's nickname is 'Shower Boy'. So I asked him about it. He said that when he lived in California, and was going out with a woman, he would go into her bathroom and take a shower. When the woman asked what he was doing he'd suggest that she come in and join him. Brendan said it worked about 80% of the time. When LL told me the tale, she said Brendan's success rate was about 30%. She said 70% of the time the women threw out Brendan's clothes.

We were talking about horror movies and Dan the Man asked what my favorite horror movie was. I told him that it would be difficult to pick out just one. I did tell him that my favorite recent horror movie is Hostel.

Dan the Man said he likes werewolf movies. I suggested he check out Dog Soldiers.

The Knicks were getting pummeled by the Celtics. I said to Foot Joy "Is Isaiah Thomas still playing with the Knicks? I mean playing with the roster?"