NVI Ramble

Yesterday was the perfect outside day as far as I'm concerned. pheromone and I traipsed over to Walden and had a wonderful afternoon. I can't honestly remember the last time I was in a natural body of water (bathtubs and swimming pools don't count!) and I can't remember the last time I was at Walden, but it was just what was needed. The water was warm and clean and we found a quiet-like cove halfway across the pond, met some nice fish underwater and ducks on top. The weather decided to cooperate and I got a bit of sun and enjoyed seeing exactly how rusty my swimming strokes were.

And once I got back home, I realized I was way sore. From swimming? Yeah, from swimming. Ye gods. I feel rusty at everything. August is turning out to be quite an active month, and I'm actually very glad to have it so, even if it means periodic collapses on the nearest collapsy thing and occasional complaints of "No, I'm fine, I just can't move my arms."

Got the futon bed moved up to the room last night so I actually had Monday as my First Night Ever In The New Room. It's quiet up there, if a bit warm, and I need to put a new windowshade on the left-hand window, but it's very nice. The cats, once they saw I was up in the room puttering about, took it as their implicit permission to go up there and hang out, too. I'm guessing they're not fully acclimatized to the place, because they spend a lot of time following me around when I'm home. (The little cat has taken a liking to pheromone and I'm guessing that's because of the whole grooming thing earlier.) Last night the cats slept upstairs with me; one spent the night under the bed while the other lounged up against a wall. Then around 5:30 they decided to have a fight. Thanks, guys.

Got an email from my uncle, with pics of Aunt Becky scuba-diving and Grandpa Bob surrounded by the younger generation of cousins. My brothers and me were the only grandchildren in Mom's side of the family for nearly 15 years; then Mom's brothers and sisters started having kids and things just boomed from there. I counted 8 kids in the picture and, unable to actually identify most of them (last time I saw them all was in 2000) felt extremely chagrined that I was unable to even name all eight. I got as far as seven names, then realized the eighth must be a Mystery Kid or something. Perhaps one of those neighbor kids who always hangs around and just happened to be there when they decided to take a photo. I don't know. I'm kind of embarrassed to have to even come up with the Mystery Kid theory, personally. Perhaps a discreet email to Uncle Dave will clear everything up.

So that's the news from Hall. Stop by and say hello sometime.

Senator Claghorn, izzat you?!

According to Google Maps, Allen's Alley is located just off Tremont Street in Boston. It's the alley that runs alongside the Emerson Majestic Theatre.

"Allen's Alley" was a popular bit in Fred Allen's radio shows in the 1940s. In Allen's Alley, Fred (often with his real-life wife, Portland Hoffa) would pose a question to four different people of various "humorous dialects", all living along the same alley. A typical bit would include chats with such luminous personalities as the pompous southern Senator Claghorn (the inspiration, in name and demeanor, for Foghorn Leghorn), the longwinded poet Falstaff Openshaw (voiced by Alan "Fred Flintstone" Reed), a New England farmer by the name of Titus Moody, or Mrs. Nussbaum, a busy Jewish mother.

Considering Allen was born and raised in Cambridge, and more than likely got his vaudeville start in Boston's theaters, I'm willing to bet that this alley was named in his honor, with his blessing, and I bet the location next to the Majestic (a famous vaudeville venue in its day) had something to do with it, too. And I bet that if it was named in his honor, there may have been a ceremony to go along with it. And I bet this ceremony was covered by the local papers... which means...

TO THE BOSTON PUBLIC LIBRARY I GO!
Don't tell Don Saklad!