Some things have to be said. . .

I decided this morning to count how many presidents there have been since I was born.  I remember my Father saying that I was born the day the stock markets crashed in 1929, and that Herbert Hoover was the president at that time.  According to Google, there have been 14 presidents from Hoover to Obama, with Trump being the 15th when he is inaugurated in January.

My parents were both born in the United States of immigrant parents.  They taught my sister and me to have the utmost respect for the leader of our country, and in truth, since my first vote for Adlai Stevenson over Dwight Eisenhower, I have always totally accepted whomever is elected, regardless of whether they were Democrats or Republicans.

I am having a problem with Donald Trump.  I want him to stop tweeting stupid things and start to act presidential.  I want him to understand how important his new position is to the people of this country, whether they voted for him or not.  So far, he's acting more like he did on "The Apprentice".  Actually, I wish he'd say "You're fired!" already to Kellyanne Conway, who is really starting to piss me off.  I am a confirmed feminist, but her disrespect for Mitt Romney (who I also didn't vote for), is totally uncalled for.  We understand you are rooting for Rudy Gulianni, but don't be so obvious.

I have never used my blog for political purposes, but this morning, after hearing about Donald's tweets about "Millions of fraudulent votes that was the only reason Iidn't win the popular vote", I'm having a hard time marshaling that "respect" my parents taught me.

I'm hoping I'm wrong and that he will eventually rise to the role.  (Or at least he'll stop tweeting.)
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How dare he!!!

The Bank of Malaysia just e-mailed me that a gentleman named Lee Fui Fui (pronounced Phooey Phooey where I come from) wants to transfer my very valuable Bank of China fund into his account.  He insists I have authorized him to do so and promises to take care of all the legal fees. 

All I have to do to stop him from this dastardly act is to send another gentleman named Andy Lau all my banking information.  You know.  Things like my account number and my password.  Nothing really important.  Not to mention that I wasn't aware that I had a valuable fund in the Bank of China.  However did that skip my attention????  I tend to forget names and an occasional word these days, but an entire bank fund?????  Pshaw!!!

Mr. Lau is waiting for me to get back to him immediately so he can proceed with the transfer process.  I hope he isn't holding his breath.  I do wish he'd given me a phone number so I could find out how many millions I am getting.  It must be a substantial sum or why would Mr. Fui Fui be trying to steal it?

For a person who has a hard time getting even one number right on a Florida Lottery ticket, it certainly seems like my luck has changed.

Sorry, Mr. Phooey.  Maybe next time.
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I love a parade. . .

I admit it.  I'm watching the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade.  Always do.  The parade is celebrating its 90th year and I remember by Mother and Dad taking my sister Fran and I to New York City, when we were little kids, to watch the parade. It was a really big deal for us then.

Thanksgiving in those days was in Mt. Vernon, New York, where Fran and I grew up.  There was no such thing as the "extended families" we have today, where my daughter is in Charlotte, North Carolina, my grandson and his family are in Jacksonville, Florida, and I'm here in Miami.  Our whole family lived in the Mt. Vernon area and everyone came to Thanksgiving dinner, whether it was at our house or one of the aunts and uncles.  It was family time.

Standing in for my kids today will be my sister Fran's family up in Fort Lauderdale.  My niece Vicki knows better than to ask Aunt Joan to cook something, so I've been charged with bringing cupcakes.  I spent a lot of time picking them out.  I don't want Fran's grandkids and great-grand daughter to think badly of me.  I always remember once asking my grandson Adam when he was a teen-ager whether it bothered him that his grandmother didn't bake cookies.  His reply?  "Hell, no.  You have great seats for the Dolphins, the Miami Heat and the Florida Panthers.  I can buy cookies."

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone. . .make it a wonderful day!  My thanks for sticking with me and my blog for so many years.
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Ready to go!

Another walk down memory lane. . . .

I picked up the Miami Herald the other morning to find an article on the front page that an old friend had passed away.  Charlie Cinnamon was a rare holdover from the days when PR guys. . public relations people. . . made the world go round on Miami Beach. 

I remember it well, because I was there.  In 1958, I was the PR director of the Barcelona Hotel and Charlie was the PR director of the Empress Hotel, right next door.  We were compadres, meeting often on our rounds to deliver press releases to the Miami Herald, the Miami News, the Miami Times and the Miami Beach Sun.  Newspaper relations were incredibly important in those days, and Charlie and I made it our business to have good friends at all of our stops.  How else did you make sure your release got printed???

Hotel PR wasn't really a full time job and both of us had other clients whose names and businesses we spent our days pushing.  Charlie was hired by Zev Bufman, the owner/producer of the young Coconut Grove Playhouse, to promote productions at the Playhouse.  Coconut Grove was not exactly a metropolis in those days.  Actually, it was a little bohemian village with lots of artists in residence, when Charlie came up with the idea of a Parisian-style art festival along the main street leading to the Playhouse.  The idea was to promote attendance for a new show.  The end result was the world famous Coconut Grove Art Festival that still brings thousands of visitors to the Grove today.

The obit in the Herald talked about his remarkable career as well as his genuine likeability with friendships that numbered stars such as Liz Taylor and Richard Burton among his close friends.  Charlie liked to call himself a press agent and he was definitely one of the best. At 94, he was still actively involved in "the business".   Although my career veered away from the hotels and nightclubs I represented in those early years, with builder/developers, trade shows and financial clients the bulk of my business, whenever we ran into each other, it was always time for a little reminiscing about those crazy early days.

 
It made me sad to read of his passing.  If I know Charlie, he's probably already promoting    a group of angels in some fabulous new Christmas show.  You will be missed, Charlie.  That's for sure..
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