YOU AND THE NIGHT AND THE MUSIC

The picture that you see is all that is left of the historic Tin pan Alley buildings in New York City. can you imagine that there used to be fifty-three different publishers in just this one set of buildings? Wow! Today is the 70th anniversary of a great song composed by Howard Dietz and Arthur Schwartz who also gave us that amazing MGM signature song "That's Entertainment" The song was featured in a very forgotten Broadway musical called "Revenge in Music". The musical opened and closed in thirty-eight performances and then being Christmas time , the theatre had nothing else to present and they re-opened the show where it fared better (154 performances) Back in those days, you didn't need a long time to recoup your music. In case you don't remember the lyrics of the great show, here they are.

You and the night and the music

Fill me with flaming desire

Setting my being completely on fire

You and the night and the music

Thrill me but will we be one?

After the night and the music are done

Until the pale light of dawn and in daylight

Hearts will be throbbing guitars

Morning will come without warning

and take away the stars

If we must live for the moment

Love 'til the moment is through

After the night and the music die

Will I still have you?

Until the pale light of dawn and in daylight

Hearts will be throbbing guitars

Morning will come without warning

and take away the stars!

If we must live for the moment

Love 'til the moment is through

After the night and the music die

Will I still have you?

When you get a line like "Hearts will be throbbing guitars" --you know you have a well written lyric line. That lyric was supplied by Dietz's partner Arthur Schwartz.

But Dietz was more than simply a great composer because In 1919, he joined Goldwyn Pictures Corporation as publicity director. In 1924, he became director of advertising and publicity for MGM, a position he held for over 30 years, rising to vice-president. He devised the company symbol, Leo the Lion, and its pseudo-Latin slogan, "Ars Gratia Artis".In 1923, Dietz wrote the lyrics for an Arthur Samuels melody called "Alibi Baby," which was a hit in W.C. Fields’ stage show, Poppy. For the next few years, Dietz collaborated on several Broadway shows, including Dear Sir (1924), with Jerome Kern, and the revue Merry-Go-Round (1927).Many of Dietz's greatest songs were written in collaboration with composer Arthur Schwartz, with whom he first worked on The Little Show in 1929 (songs from that production included "I Guess I'll I Have to Change My Plan”). Other notable songs written by Dietz and Schwartz are "Something to Remember You By" and “The Moment I Saw You” from Three’s a Crowd (1930). “Dancing in the Dark" from The Band Wagon (1931), "Alone Together" from Flying Colors (1932), "You and the Night and the Music" from Revenge With Music (1934), "By Myself," "Triplets," and "I See Your Face Before Me" from Between the Devil (1938). Well today is my first official day at Disneyland working in the Main street Emporium. Well we shall see what this brings. I have always wanted to work for Disneyland, but I never had the opportunity or the necessity to be so motivated. Well, until next time.

A PIECE OF WORK AND A DAY THAT PERKS

Well, today, dear friends is good "Black Friday", the busiest shopping day in all of the world. Retailers depend on this day as a make or break day in their retail sales success or failure. For years, I weathered these awful days behind a cash register. Today, I will watch it from a new perspective-- at a car dealership as a car salesman/ referral specialist. It should be interesting. Today is also the birthday of the dear "abominable showman", himself David Merrick. Now here was a piece of work that simply had no equal in Broadway history. Dear old, now departed old David was known for his love of publicity stunts. One of his most famous promoted the poorly-reviewed 1961 musical Subways Are For Sleeping. Now here was a musical that simply had nothing going for it. It simply didn't pass the standard "who cares" test. Now David knew this musical was in deep financial trouble and so to boost attendance Merrick found seven New Yorkers who had the same names as the city's seven leading theater critics: Howard Taubman, Walter Kerr, John Chapman, John McClain, Richard Watts, Jr., Norman Nadel, and Robert Coleman. Merrick invited the seven namesakes to the musical and secured their permission to use their names and pictures in an advertisement alongside quotes such as "One of the few great musical comedies of the last thirty years" and "A fabulous musical. I love it." Dear David Merrick then prepared a newspaper ad featuring the namesakes' rave reviews under the heading 7 Out of 7 Are Ecstatically Unanimous About Subways Are For Sleeping. Only one newspaper, the New York Herald Tribune, published the ad, and only in one edition; however, the publicity that the ad garnered helped the musical remain open for 205 performances (almost six months). Merrick later revealed that he had conceived the ad several years previously, but had not been able to execute it until Brooks Atkinson retired as the New York Times theater critic in 1960 since he could not find anyone with the same name On the morning of August 25, 1980, Gower Champion died of a rare blood cancer. Merrick kept his death a secret so he could announce it himself at the opening-night curtain call for 42nd Street, which he had produced and Champion had directed. Merrick suffered a stroke in 1983, which confined him to a wheelchair. He established the David Merrick Arts Foundation in 1998 to support the development of American musicals. Merrick was married six times, to Lenore Beck, Jeanne Gibson, Etan Aronson (twice), Karen Prunczik, and Natalie Lloyd. He was married to Lloyd at the time of his death in London; all of his previous marriages had ended in divorce. But these are but two of the grand stories about him. I also would like to recommend a movie playing for the holidays. It's the Jim Carey version of "A Christmas Carol" -- See it in 3D. Carey is absolutely brilliant playing Scrooge and all three ghosts of Christmas, past, present and yet to come. I am now convinced that dear Jim Carey can play just about anything. Of course, I have always loved the Charles Dickens story-- it is an absolute classic. I had a nice dinner with my sister this year-- her turkey dinner was absolutely delicious.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING 2009

Today is the last Thanksgiving Day of the decade. It's been an interesting ten years. Some has been very happy and some (like in 2001 has been extremely sad) Another decade is upon us. What will it bring? Electric cars are on their way I am told-- won't that be rich when the price of gas will plummet because there is no longer a demand for it! I am grateful and so thankful to have not one job (albeit part time) but two which can be as many hours as I need to fill in the rest. As much as I love Disneyland, I would never have guessed that I would be working there. But there I will be starting this Saturday afternoon at Two O' Clock in the afternoon. Right there on Main Street USA , in the biggest retail space in the park The Emporium. And here's the plus -- catty corner from Walt's old private apartment above the Main Street Fire House. The light in that magic window (which is kept lighted always) is a gentle reminder to all of us as to who exactly this amazingly great but simple man actually was. Intrinsic is a wonderful word and it kind of sums up Walt best-- because without any more than a grammar school's education, the man with the famous mouse was intrinsic about music, screen stories, amusement parks, and best of all the public. He knew what they would embrace and he knew what they would not. As far as Thanksgiving itself, this will be the first that I will be without a beard or a goatee in almost thirteen years-- shaving was required for the Disneyland job-- but hey-- change is good. Thanksgiving origins are interesting to note. The date and location of the first Thanksgiving celebration is a topic of modest contention. The traditional "first Thanksgiving" is the celebration that occurred at the site of Plymouth Plantation, in 1621. The Plymouth celebration occurred early in the history of what would become one of the original thirteen colonies that became the United States. The celebration became an important part of the American myth by the 1800s. This Thanksgiving, modeled after celebrations that were commonplace in contemporary Europe, is generally regarded as America's first. Elementary school teacher Robyn Gioia has argued that the earliest attested "thanksgiving" celebration in what is now the United States was celebrated by the Spanish on September 8, 1565 in what is now Saint Augustine, Florida. Today, Thanksgiving is celebrated on the second Monday of October in Canada and on the fourth Thursday of November in the United States. Thanksgiving dinner is held on this day, usually as a gathering of family members and friends. So Happy Thanksgiving to all. I am so grateful to my friends. Especially dear Tim Doran -- bar none without him, I would not be a songwriter today. My thanks and prayers are with him today. I am grateful too to my writing partner, John Nugent-- what a genius! What an amazing composer! He was gift wrapped by the Lord and given to me as a grand present in September 2007-- Thank you, dearest God!

A DISNEYLAND DISAPPOINTMENT

I was all set to begin my training at the Magic Kingdom, early Saturday morning but it was not to be I guess. Have you ever heard of the term wardrobe malfunction? Well there I was with my $58 shoes, new haircut, properly shaved face, not to mention new dress socks and everything else and I had the wrong kind of shirt-- pin striped must match pin striped shirt and not having an an extra shirt in my car, I sadly had to walk away and re-schedule for next week. It's just not Walt's Magic Kingdom any more. When the look is more important than the heart. Oh well, we re-aim and hope to please next week. Let's hope it goes better next time. It was not a good drive going home and disrespectful family (my nephew, Kevin) only added to the feeling of failure.

Maybe its time to cut that life line altogether.

VETERANS DAY

Today is Veterans Day and this gentleman is Joseph Ambrose, the last World War One Veteran. Today is the 90th anniversary of the holiday. Created by U.S. President Woodrow Wilson who first proclaimed an Armistice Day for November 11, 1919. The United States Congress passed a concurrent resolution seven years later on June 4, 1926, requesting the President issue another proclamation to observe November 11 with appropriate ceremonies. An act approved May 13, 1938, made the 11th of November in each year a legal holiday; "a day to be dedicated to the cause of world peace and to be thereafter celebrated and known as 'Armistice Day'."In 1953, an Emporia, Kansas shoe store owner named Al King had the idea to expand Armistice Day to celebrate all veterans, not just those who served in World War I. King had been actively involved with the American War Dads during World War II. He began a campaign to turn Armistice Day into "All" Veterans Day. The Emporia Chamber of Commerce took up the cause after determining that 90% of Emporia merchants as well as the Board of Education supported closing their doors on November 11, 1953, to honor veterans. With the help of then-U.S. Rep. Ed Rees, also from Emporia, a bill for the holiday was pushed through Congress. President Dwight Eisenhower signed it into law on May 26, 1954.Congress amended this act on November 8, 1954, replacing "Armistice" with Veterans, and it has been known as Veterans Day since.Although originally scheduled for celebration on November 11 of every year, starting in 1971 in accordance with the Uniform Monday Holiday Act, Veterans Day was moved to the fourth Monday of October. In 1978 it was moved back to its original celebration on November 11 (with the exceptions described above). Since this change, there has been a trend against being closed on the holiday. It began with businesses (excluding banks) and in recent years some schools and local governments have also chosen to remain open. So to our beloved Veterans, God Love you and keep you safe. You are what makes this country great!

A REALLY CRAZY RECESSION REACTION STORY

I've been to Stamford-- way back in the mid 90's with Sheldon Craig-- who I haven't seen or heard from in many years. But we left New York City by train and went on a one day trip to Mark Twain's old house, which by the way is right next door to the old house of Louisa May Alcott, the author of "Little Women". Twain's house was amazing and it was quite a treat for me. Stamford was known as Rippowam by the Native American inhabitants to the region, and the very first European settlers to the area also referred to it as such. The name was later changed to Stamford after a town in Lincolnshire, England. The deed to Stamford was signed on July 1, 1640 between Captain Turner of the New Haven Colony and Chief Ponus. By the Eighteenth century, one of the primary industries of the town was merchandising by water, which was possible due to Stamford's proximity to New York. In 1692, Stamford was home to a less famous witch trial than the well-known Salem witch trial, which also occurred in 1692. The accusations were less fanatical and smaller-scale but also grew to prominence through gossip and hysterics.Starting in the late 19th century, New York residents built summer homes on the shoreline, and even back then there were some who moved to Stamford permanently and started commuting to Manhattan by train, although the practice became more popular later. Stamford incorporated as a city in 1893. But the reason I write about my memories of this town today and my memories of it is due to a very odd story that appeared in this morning's USA TODAY. Of course the recession has caused job losses, and famous companies like Ritz Camera and the Reader's Digest failing. It has caused people to lose their homes and steal clothes off the clothesline-- and that you can figure out why! But believe it or not Stamford and other cities in Connecticut have a new crime that has been created-- and the reason the paper says is all being blamed on the recession. The crime although petty is becoming very alarming to local merchants. And that's because what is being stolen from stores is now growing to quantities that are really alarming. One guy in Stamford was busted for being caught with eight hundred packages of this. Another five hundred and eighty-seven. A third guy was caught with four hundred and there were a total of seven more arrests in which the thieves had at least two hundred and fifty packages in their position. No, its not cans of coffee. It's not apples or oranges. It's not cigarettes-- that would be easy to understand. The thieves were trying to resell them to kids and adults alike and so far the number of thieves in any quantity has now risen to twenty-six in one month. Oh yeah, its not condoms either. What's been stolen and then is being re-sold to kids and adults alike--It's.... now, get ready, friends, because this is a strange one and I can't figure out this one........

It's packages of CHEWING GUM-- mostly Wriggley's but also Clove and Trident. All stolen like the little coffee creamers at Seven-Eleven. And being re-sold at street corners. Now that's weird. Eight hundred packages of Juicy Fruit? Now if you're gonna steal something and re-sell it-- why CHEWING GUM? The world is a very strange place. Now wouldn't dear old Mark Twain or Will Rodgers have a field day with that one. I continue working in Alhambra until Friday and then go over to the Magic Kingdom for Saturday and Sunday training. I have to buy black laced shoes. I hate laces on shoes-- oh well. I also talked to an old friend yesterday who's a Franciscan scholar on American History and Political science. I hadn't talked with him in years but he found me though the Creative Horizons web site. Boy, did he give me an education. History and political science fascinate me. They were my minors in college. Robert of Smooth Sounds also called me. It seems someone has stolen old masters from a studio in which he used to work and put them in their entirety on a web site and is selling them. He wants to sue. Well, that's all fine and good but I advised him to review his copyright certificate, and then enlist a take down artist and a musicologist to determine how much copyright infringement is involved here. To go into court and sue based only on what is heard on a recording master puts the work up for speculation and conjecture. But if a take down artist puts this material down as an arrangement and this printed material is also brought into court, the speculation and conjecture disappear. I also advised him to copyright the sheet music after he has assembled all of this into a single book. Poor George Harrison found this out the hard way after he was sued over the song "My Sweet Lord" by the composer of "She's So Fine" Copyright is a really important issue to do right and maintain properly. Well, until next time. And to Stamford residents I ask the question: "Does your chewing gum lose it's flavor on the bed post overnight?"

Well, it looks like my days of being a car salesman in Alhambra are coming to an end unless an amendment is made pretty quickly here. Now I realize that mistakes can be made, but when a downright lie has been told to you, then it's time to leave. When my friend Tim first sent me the Craig's list ad lead for the Alhambra Nissan job, I was pretty excited and I applied. Now since Craig's list has a bad reputation for credibility in the first place, one thinks twice about answering an ad of any kind. But hey, I needed a job-- my unemployment was running out. Of course this very day the president extended unemployment benefits in California by twenty weeks. But who knew that then-- not me! So off I went back to the city of Alhambra one of the two cities that I had grown up in and met Mr. Al Bennett, a really nice guy that I assumed was the hiring manager for Alhambra Nissan, himself. Now, he never once said that he was running his own automotive consulting business and from every move that he made, one would have assumed that he was indeed the hiring manager. Well, I passed his interview and his psychological test with flying colors and was told that I was hired and that training began the next day at 9:30am. I had to cancel a doctor's appointment at the last moment and that cost me $100 to do so. Okay, I reasoned, I needed a job. So I am right on time the next morning and there are a total of twelve people there who I assumed were all "hired" like me. No, dear friends, there are twelve people still trying to get hired and they must get through their training. Some were pretty experienced, but only ONE in actual car sales. The others were guys like Joel (who had been in construction) and Ron (who had sold comfort beds) and Habid who actually had sold Honda cars. The rest were so green around the ears that you could smell it. There was a 41 year old comedian who wanted to have a steady job besides "standup comedy' . And there was three students still going to school and one young magician who wrote rap tunes and songs but needed a permanent gig. Well, the training was pretty interesting that first day and I came back for more the very next day at the same time. Well, here was reality day. Not only were we NOT getting paid for these days of training, but we were going to have to fork over $400.00 for the training. We had to we were told that we had to "pay our dues" to get into a new industry. Now trust me when I tell you, dear readers that absolutely never in my entire working career have I ever had to "PAY" for any kind of employment training. But then we were told that the dealership would reimburse us of this $400.00 at the end of six months. Well, I reasoned-- that wasn't too bad. And when I told the trainer (good old Al Bennett) that I couldn't come up with $400.00 all at once he agreed to let me pay a down payment of $150.00 and make the rest of the payments in $50,00 twice monthly deductions from my check. Well, reasoned optimistic me, that sounded fair especially if the dealership was going to reimburse the money. Well that was another mis-representation-- the dealership doesn't do that. Al also claimed that the dealership would pay $1600.00 a month for salary plus would pay 22.5% commission of the PROFIT from any new car or used car sales. If you split a commission with another salesman that would be 11.25% each. Well today I received my first paycheck at 4pm and guess what? It was not $10.00 an hour. It was not $9.00 an hour. It was $8.00 an hour minus taxes. I checked with the others hired with me. was this simply something I had misinterpreted. No, it was not. They had all been told the same as I. The other thing not mentioned in those classes was the necessity and expense of a special DMV licence required to sell careers. That was $51.00. And then I had to pay for fingerprints and a background check and that was $58.50. So with the doctor, the $150.00 down and the DMV licence and fingerprinting we are up to $358.50-- or more than 58% of my weekly unemployment check. Holy Toledo! When I called good old Al, he almost tap danced over the telephone. So I wait for my Disneyland job to start which I almost gave up for this position. We had been warned in Al's classes never to misrepresent the facts of any car feature or detail or that we could be personally sued for as well as the dealership. Well, I have been corn walled good and I am very unhappy about it. Well, it came too easy and it had only been the fourth e mail in a year and a half that had ever actually been answered on a Craig's list ad. Oh well, too bad. Al is a sweet man and has many many endearing qualities about him. And his young son Michael is incredibly bright and multi-talented. But Al needs to as my father used to say "Say what you mean and mean what you say, or else credibility just flutters away." And guess what, you can NEVER get your credibility back-- it's like trying to regain your reputation. Six days as a car salesman has opened my eyes a lot. Now I head for the best job of all. The one in Walt Disney's Magic Kingdom for a lot more money an hour.

A LOT OF STUFF HAS HAPPENED

Well much has happened since my last blog. I have now spent a week as a car salesman and I will tell you that all of the things that you have heard is mostly true, except that this dealership has class and dignity. They still play amazing games to get people to buy cars, but i must also tell that people play amazing games to somehow find the right price. Our dealership has seventy-two month contracts-- that alone will lower the monthly cost of any auto loan. This weekend we had what they call a slasher sale. Now of course, it's a big gimmick. They take all the selling prices off of the cars and play a "Was" and "IS" game. They put up a tent and drive a selected car under it. Then they gather a crowd -- music and hype over the microphone and the action begins. Now they urge the crowd to yell out the words "Slash It". And supposidly the louder the crowd yells, the lower the price goes. Oh brother! And i see customers who walk over $1500.00! Game players all! Good grief, fifteen hundred dollars divided by seventy-two payments equals to about $20 a month! Who the hell is going to keep a car for more than four and a half years with what the future will be offering in a little more than three? Will I stay there? Well it all depends on my Disneyland assignment that i go for today at 4pm. I have always dreamed of working at my very favorite place in the whole world. But of course the dealership pays $10.00 an hour plus commission and Disneyland pays $9.05 and there is no commission. I will also need to join the union. I went to some expense to becoming a car salesman. I had to pay training, a DMV special licence and be finger printed. About $250.00-- but as my John reminds me, you need to be happy at your work especially at my age. And from the dealership I come home exhausted. It's a real grind. There's also a gay themed retail store that has been trying to reach me called "The Crate and Barrel" in Pasadena-- so we shall see-- Ah life, when it rains, it pours. So off we go today to see what Dearest God has in store for me. I trust Him completely now. Jesus is the center of my life and that makes me the happiest of all. Well one day more passed and I went down to Disneyland for my interview and I finally found a part of the Magic Kingdom that doesn't have many smiles. It's the casting department. Now I fully realize that these guys don't do much more than shuffling forms and W2's and union papers (oh yes, I had to join a union to sell in a retail store-- for the very first time in my life) but come on guys, this is still the happiest place on Earth and you are welcoming the newest cast members for Walt's place. Smile! Make us new guys excited that we're working for $9.05 an hour. I hope to make a difference here. After all, I've always wanted to work at Disneyland. I never dreamed that I would get the chance. So I will continue to work at the dealership until November 13th. My first orientation is all day Saturday and Sunday at 7:30 am-- ouch! These guys have everything regulated. Even to what kind of shoes you can wear. They took my picture for my ID and now I'm officially part of the Mouse House and very proud to be so. After all, I got to meet him as a kid how many can say that? Well onward to a new day at the dealership.