Stories

Six Words: Trolley, Button, Spring, Available, Support, Patent

When I was in elementary school in Chicago’s Humboldt Park neighborhood, we lived near Armitage Avenue. There were two types of trolley car in the city, as well as the famous “El”, the elevated and subway system in Chicago. The more modern trolley cars, the Green Hornets, were introduced during my boyhood. The old red trolley cars that ran on Armitage Avenue since before I was born were still running during my boyhood.

Armitage Avenue was a major street, with automobile traffic and the street cars. You needed to be careful when you crossed it, and it was a long time before I was allowed to ever cross it by myself. For the very brave and very foolish, you could put a penny, if one was available, on the trolley car rail. You had to place it just right so that it wouldn’t fall into the crevice that was part of the rail system, and you had to time it just right, so that a car wouldn’t run over your penny and move it before a street car came. You had to dash out to the track and spring back to safety without getting hit.

If you timed it just right, with friends supporting you and egging you on, the street car would run over your penny and make it flatter than a button. Now that I think about it, pennies are already flatter than many buttons, but you get the idea. We didn’t have a patent on the idea, and I’m sure it happened elsewhere in Chicago and it will probably still happen where ever there are trolley cars. But will there continue to be pennies?

Six Words: Predator, Employ, Metal, Beginning, Farewell, Uniform

When you go on safari, the most memorable moments are likely to be when you are on a game drive. Before beginning the drive you check to be sure you haven’t forgotten anything. You’ll probably need to apply sunscreen and maybe bug spray. Have your binoculars and a camera, a hat, and some water. Then you climb into the vehicle and off you go. Your ranger/driver has an amazing ability to find their way around the dirt roads and they do just as well off-road. Some places also employ trackers to ride on the vehicles. The rangers employ radios to stay in touch with other rangers, letting each other know when they have an interesting sighting, but they don’t speak to each other in English. In the Kruger National Park area of South Africa the language is usually Xitsonga. In Tanzania it is probably Swahili. In Botswana it is Tswana. The Rangers/Guides speak in the local language so that if they think we’re on our way to see a leopard but the leopard has moved away by the time we get there, we aren’t disappointed because we don’t know what we missed.

Various types of antelope become common, giraffes are graceful, elephants are always amazing, but everyone wants to see the predators. Although the animals are completely wild, they do become accustomed to the metal animal-like vehicles that have four round “feet” that never leave the ground and that can travel very fast and so they usually leave the vehicles alone. Game drives are always unique. They’re never uniform.

Alas, eventually, there is always a time to say farewell. But every time, each day leaves us with a sense of awe and reverence for what we’ve seen and photographed.

Six Words: Jewel, Report, Inquiry, Waist, Grant, Plead

When I would see someone, always a girl, with a jewel in her belly button I always wondered how it was fastened on. I’d never pleaded with anyone to report a secret technique, but it was a mystery. Recently I was granted my wish. Wish is too strong a word, really, just curiosity. Regardless, I was glad to discover the answer, although I was shocked.

I’m used to the idea of pierced ears, the kinds of jewelry that is displayed in those pierced ears, and the little clamps behind the ear that hold the earrings in place. My surprise was discovering the same technique is used with belly button jewels! It happened at the mall.

A couple of young women were wearing tops that didn’t come down to their waists, and shorts that didn’t come up to their waists. In other words, their waists were bare, in front, on the sides, and in back. My surprise, as I walked behind them, was seeing clamps on their backs at their waistlines. They were skin colored or transparent and sometimes colorful, but there was something definitely there. Some people may have thought they were tattoos. But that’s when I realized that the belly button jewels work just like earrings. The posts go all the way through from front to back and the clamps hold them in place. Now I wonder if having those holes drilled tickles, like when you tickle a baby’s tummy? And I’m wondering if the jewels you see on some women’s foreheads are fastened on in the same way.

I’m so glad that these were our words this week, because I’m sure many of you wondered the same thing and this gave me a chance to share my research and discovery.

Six Words: Pile, Knife, Foster, Strap, Concern, Future

You can make a big impression if you make Bananas Foster for guests. You’ll need some slightly under ripe bananas. Don’t be concerned about using greenish bananas. They’ll soften when they cook and they will still hold their shape. You’ll need unsalted butter, brown sugar, ground cinnamon, cardamom, vanilla extract, kosher salt, and a little dark rum. Vanilla ice cream would be good too, but you won’t need any blackstrap molasses.

Using a sharp knife, carefully cut the bananas in half lengthwise and then crosswise. Place the bananas on a baking sheet. Don’t pile them up. Do a bunch of other stuff and serve.

I can loan any of you almost all of the ingredients today and I’m looking forward to your invitation in the near future.

Six Words: Effort, Heal, Strange, Loan, Jam, Continental

If he hadn’t accepted the loan of a gun from the stranger, and if the gun hadn’t jammed, and if he had put more effort into healing his differences with the other employees at the Continental hotel, perhaps he’d still be alive today.

Six Words: Copper, Secure, Faint, Mark, Ecstasy, Routine

Was there a candy store near your elementary school? Were you allowed to go into the store by yourself? Did you buy Lik-M-Aid and candy buttons on long strips of paper? Sen Sen too? Did you like Bazooka Bubblegum or did you choose the other brand?

Those were the days when ecstasy was having some small, round pieces of copper that feature a bust of Lincoln and the years they were minted stamped on them, and under the year a faint letter marking where each was minted. Those trips to the candy store never became routine. When you put a piece of that candy or gum in your mouth you felt secure – unless, of course, you weren’t supposed to go to the candy store alone in the first place.

Six Words: Reign, Relieve, Desk, Stamp, Petty, Colorful

We all know of King Arthur, King Lear and even Oedipus Rex. We know about the biblical King David and his wisdom and his lust. Tolkien has written about the Lord of the Rings. Edgar Rice Burroughs wrote of Lord Greystoke, better known as Tarzan, King of the Jungle. Some of us remember King Friday the 13th. We know about Macbeth and Hamlet. Many of us read or watched I, Claudius about the Caesar who followed Caesar Caligula and preceded Caesar Nero. The Bard of Avon added to the fame of Caesar Julius. But hardly anyone talks about the wisdom and the exploits during the reign of Caesar Salad!

Caesar Salad did not have a Round Table. He had a desk, and not just any desk! It isn’t clear if it was his invention, but his desk could be expanded for large meetings by inserting leaves, and contracted by removing leaves. When the desk needed to be expanded, aides took as many leaves as necessary and relieved the desk! Thus he left his stamp even on the furniture of today, especially dining room tables.

Caesar Salad did not waste time or resources on petty gimmicks to draw attention to himself. He favored simple colors like green, often with streaks of white. Nothing too colorful in his dressing. Today, in restaurants, in cookbooks and even every day on the Gaines Ranch Dining Room menu, the legacy of Caesar Salad lives on.

Six Words: Term, Dismissal, Hiccup, Increase, Free, Survivor

You may not have watched it, but you’ve all heard of the TV show Survivor. It’s origins may surprise you.

In 1995 a TV show called Eco-Challenge: The Expedition Race began a seven year run on cable, not free, TV. It was a race involving teams of four or five men and women who competed to complete a journey over challenging terrain, including mountains, rivers and forests. Each team was made up of men and women. Every member of a team had to cross the finish line for a team to be successful. If a team member had difficulty surmounting a challenge, teammates helped them. If a teammate was hurt, teammates carried them. To succeed, no team member could be dismissed. The creator of the show was a man named Mark Burnett. I heard Mark speak at an IBM Consulting Group convention during the early years of the show. Mark was there as a motivational speaker. His theme, you can guess, was the term “teamwork” and the message was that we were a team that depended on each other’s strengths.

I don’t know if there was a hiccup or if Mark had the wisdom to see an increased opportunity, but something changed. His next venture abandoned team work and was just the opposite, pitting competitors against one person against another in a show called Survivor. And Mark survived. Extraordinarily! He went on to create The Apprentice, Shark Tank, and many, many others, usually with a competitive theme. His success has continued to increase and clearly he is quite a competitor himself. He is now Chairman of MGM Worldwide Television.

I’ve edited his Wikipedia article to add information about the first of his three marriages. Although that Wikipedia article mentions that he has been given awards for his philanthropy, I liked him better when he was promoting teamwork.

Six Words: Snub, Referee, Premium, Monstrous, Inside, Sweat

If you refer someone to Gaines Ranch, you become a “referer” and the person you referred becomes the “referee”. That should be a very nice thing for both of you. Maybe you’ll even get a premium for the referral!

But, once they’re inside, what if your referee turns out to be sweaty and smelly? What if friends here start to snub you?

Once you’re snubbed, how will you respond? Instead of remaining a referrer – with an “e”, will you become a “re-fur-rer” with a “u”, collecting hair clippings from the salon, weaving them into blankets and wrapping them around people in the dining room to keep them warm? Would people think you’re monstrous, or would they think you’re an angel? An unusual angel to be sure, who leaves behind fur instead of feathers. Then again, has there ever been a time when a visit from an angel wasn’t unusual?

Six Words: Orange, Gene, Addition, Pressure, Inspiration, Plot

Rhyming is a funny thing,
It takes words and makes them sing.
Some people seem to have the gene,
They sense no pressure nor make a scene,
And also in addition
Some take inspiration,
To weave a plot,
But some do not.
But try to rhyme a word with orange,
I’ll bet that you cannot.