Darlin' Cora

It was 1959, and Harry Belafonte was a singing star. His Jamaica Farewell and Banana Boat Song (most well-known line: “Day-O”) had made him famous. Belafonte, the “king of calypso,” was one of the first black entertainers to headline a show at Carnegie Hall.

He opened the show with a song named “Darlin’ Cora,” which became the first song on his Belafonte at Carnegie Hall live album.

Wake up, wake up, Darlin’ Cora,

Wanna see you one more time,

The sheriff and his hound dogs a-comin’,

I gotta move on down the line.

I don’t know why, Darlin’ Cora,

Don’t know what the reason can be,

But I never yet found a single time

When me and the boss man agree.

I ain’t a man to be played with,

I ain’t nobody’s toy,

Been workin’ for my pay for a long long time,

How come he still calls me boy?

Well I’d rather drink muddy water

And sleep in a hollowed-out log

Than to hang around in this old town

And be treated like a dirty dog.

Well I whomped that man, Darlin’ Cora,

And he fell down where he stood.

Don’t know if I was wrong, Darlin’ Cora,

But Lord it sure felt good.

If it wasn’t so dark, Darlin’ Cora,

You’d see tears trickling down my face.

It breaks my heart, Darlin’ Cora,

But I got to leave this place.

Wake up, wake up, Darlin’ Cora...

The lyrics are powerful, and Belafonte’s voice even more so. For 99¢, you can download the song from iTunes and listen for yourself. He had a really fine voice.

And huge balls. This was years before the civil rights movement got any traction. Belafonte is a black dude and it was the 1950s in America.

   

Show and Tell

Back in 1942, U.S. military strategists worried that Japan might capture the Hawaiian islands. If they did, Japan would capture millions of U.S. dollars in currency. So they had the mint print a bunch of bills marked "Hawaii" and the government replaced the currency in the Islands with the specially marked bills.

Judy found this one in some stuff her grandmother gave her years ago.

The plan was to declare these bills valueless if Japan took the Hawaiian islands. That didn't happen, and, according to Wikipedia, the U.S. government collected and incinerated the Hawaii bills in 1944 after the Japs were retreating, island by island, back toward their homeland. 

There are a billion stories about WWII, and I am fascinated by all of them.

DELETE key

Dick Davidson died a month ago, December 13.

Hank Fischer emailed the group of local GE retirees after he saw the newspaper obit.

When Dick would show up for the monthly luncheon (what I call the "Old Fucker Lunch"), it was obvious that his health was failing. So, no big surprise.

I didn't know Dick very well. He had worked in a different GE business, and the only times I had talked to him were at a few luncheons. News of his passing had little effect on me.

Until this morning. When I deleted him from my electronic address book, I felt sad. One keystroke and the dude is gone. Somehow, that just don't seem right.

Click. Gone.

Would You Rather Die Than Smoke?

I just saw a TV ad for a pill to help smokers quit. It contained this voice-over:

"Some people had changes in behavior, thinking or mood, hostility, agitation, depressed mood, and suicidal thoughts or actions while taking or after stopping CHANTIX. Some people had seizures while taking CHANTIX. If you have any of these, stop CHANTIX and call your doctor right away. Tell your doctor about any history of mental health problems which could get worse while taking CHANTIX  or history of seizures. Don't take CHANTIX if you have a serious allergic or skin reaction to it. If you develop these, stop CHANTIX and see your doctor right away as some could be life-threatening. Tell your doctor if you have a history of heart or blood vessel problems or develop new or worse symptoms. Get medical help right away if you have symptoms of a heart attack or stroke. Decrease alcohol use while taking CHANTIX  Use caution when driving or operating machinery. Common side effects include nausea, trouble sleeping, and unusual dreams."

As if that were not enough, the ad contains this on-screen text banner: "Stop CHANTIX if you notice swelling of face, mouth, throat or a rash, swelling, redness, and peeling of the skin."

Of course, there is the obligatory "Ask your doctor if CHANTIX is right for you."

What I Don't Like About My Gym

When people are off work and hung-ho to get in shape, the damn place is crowded. 

People -- Go back to work and resume your Pop-Tart and Recliner Chair habits! Give me a break, fergodsake!

Wait....What?

Squeeze my lemon 'til the juice runs down my leg.


Whaaaaatt????

I had my earbuds in, volume up, music library set to Shuffle All as I went through my workout at the gym. Songs were coming and going, but I wasn't paying much attention to lyrics. Suddenly, those lyrics burst into my brain.  Was it really "Squeeze my lemon 'til the juice runs down my leg?" I was in no position at the moment to rewind/replay. The song continued:

Squeeze it so hard I fall right outa bed.
Can you squeeze my lemon 'til the juice runs down my leg?


Yep, I heard it right.

When I got a chance, I looked at the iPhone screen to see what and who. The what was Travelling Riverside Blues and the who was Led Zeppelin.

Most of the Led Zeppelin stuff is not to my taste, so I had pretty much ignored them through the years. Not much of a surprise that these lyrics had never caught my attention before.

Google and Wikipedia have informed me that this song was written and first recorded back in 1937. Really. 

Led Zeppelin recorded the song in 1969, so that version has been around for 45 years.

Times have changed. Censorship has evolved. I can't help wondering how much censorship has been applied to this song over the years.

Where is the Quality Control?

A friend is all excited about a new granddaughter, born 4 days ago. The kid is "21-1/4 inches long," she says.

That's the first time I have seen the Closest Half-Inch rule broken. Used to be, a kid would be 21" or 21-1/2" long. Now they are measuring, apparently, to the nearest 1/4 inch.

Or are they?

I mean, how accurate do you think a nurse is going to be when he/she does the measurement? What kind of equipment do they have? How many nurses do they commit to that measurement? One for the legs, one for the head, one holding the tape measure, and maybe one yelling at the kid to stretch out?

Yeah. In the blink of an eye, some unassisted nurse, in a hurry to get all the other stuff done so she/he can get a smoke break, eyeballs the tape and pronounces the kid to be 21-1/4.

There should be a couple of challenge flags in the delivery room.