The Terrible Catsafterme

Although Patsy Barry, who was one incarnation of “Baby Patsy” in the Our Gang films, had few appearances – and generally no fanfare – in the Little Rascals, it was still a tremendous pleasure to meet her. I first got the chance during the Hollywood Collectors Show in October of 2005. She had a very nice child portrait of herself, displayed at left, along with a couple of Our Gang stills in which she can be seen. To be honest, I have never picked her out in an actual film. Read the rest of this entry »

The intense heat began to abate by Friday, August 10, as our trip began to wind down. We had had to face reality the day before and spend two days in Charlottesville rather than the planned single day. As a result, we were forced to eliminate our journey into the northwest area of the state where we might have found a Stonewall Jackson Museum, Stonewall Jackson’s Headquarters (egads!), the Museum of the American Presidents, George Washington’s Office Museum, and the grave of Patsy Cline – before heading back into the D.C. area where we had started our adventure. Read the rest of this entry »

Speaking for myself, I was pretty exhausted by the time we arrived at Epcot Center via bus from the Disney-MGM Studios at about 1:30pm on Tuesday, September 25. It wasn’t long before I was trying to figure out how to conserve my failing energy sources by finding the routes whereby we could take the least amount of steps. And besides, I have to say, Epcot just isn’t the same as it used to be. In fact, Epcot most certainly is the park that least resembles itself in its grand opening stage. Gone now are the bulk of the animatronic rides, the ones that really defined Epcot in my mind. I guess I’m just a sentimental old sap. Read the rest of this entry »

After the busy weekend cram-packed full of activity that I had just enjoyed, it seemed as if my vacation was ready to be ending rather than beginning a brand new week with six full days ahead of me! Nevertheless, I awoke bright and early to a phone call from one of my service providers at work informing that some files were not staged for a pinpad upgrade they were performing that morning in one of my stores. This was my fault, so I had to make a few early phone calls. I then shuffled my way out from the guest room couch of my friends the Wileys for breakfast of bacon, eggs, and jellied toast courtesy of Kris. She always takes good care of me. Read the rest of this entry »

The name John Tyler doesn’t typically evoke images of the greatest of our American Presidents, but his Presidency was unique in at least one way: he was the first President ever to assume the title following the death of an incumbant. And from what I’ve learned, it wasn’t a job that was easily ascended to. William Henry Harrison (remember Tippecanoe and Tyler Too – the slogan for the Harrison/Tyler ticket?) died just 31 days into his term, leaving the country without a President for the first time ever. Whig leader Henry Clay hoped to run the government and leave Tyler (who was living in Virginia at the time) as a ‘figurehead’ President only. Tyler would have none of that, and thus established the traditional succession of Presidents when he became our country’s tenth from 1841-1845, serving for nearly an entire term.   Read the rest of this entry »