News of the Week: Ready for Spring, Department Store Closings, and the Kiss at the End of the Driveway

Hey, It’s March Already

Spring is in the air! Okay, it isn’t really, but let’s talk about it anyway.

Longtime readers of this column know that I’m a cold-month person and not a warm-month person, but I’d like to think I’m not a curmudgeon about it. I love the time between October and February, but right around the end of February/beginning of March I start to get a little antsy. I’m ready for some warmer temperatures and no snow. (It’s just too bad that the nice temps of spring have to turn into the unbearably hot temps of summer.)

Here it is March 1 and I’d like to put my shovel away and not wear my heavy coat as much. The weather is all over the place right now – 60 degrees one day, 35 degrees the next – but you can tell the seasons are about to change. The angle of the sun is different, the snow doesn’t stay on the ground as long, the days are getting longer.

So all signs point to spring soon being here. But I’m keeping my shovel by the door just in case.

Are Department Stores Vanishing?

Macy’s is closing 150 more stores. This makes me sad.

Do I shop online a lot? I do! But I still like the feeling of walking into a store and buying something. And department stores have everything. Or at least they used to. The big department stores anyway.

Maybe I’m being overly nostalgic and romantic, my thoughts going back to shopping with my mom at Woolworth and Grants (where, to my knowledge, the only baby picture of me that exists was taken).

I think all of us are torn about this. Most of us would love to see brick-and-mortar stores exist. And at the same time a lot of us have to admit that we often don’t go to those stores and shop online because it’s “faster” and “more convenient.” But an internet-only shopping world is not one I want to live in. Shopping at Macys.com isn’t the same as shopping at Macy’s.

What’s the Most Common Paper Currency in the U.S.?

I thought it was the dollar but I was way off.

Headline of the Week

“Mom Loses $820,000 Injuries Claim After She Was Pictured Tossing a Christmas Tree”

RIP Richard Lewis, Jimmy Van Eaton, Kenneth Mitchell, Charles Dierkop, Claude Montana, E. Duke Vincent, Dan Wilcox, John Lowe, and Pamela Salem

Richard Lewis was a veteran comic and actor. He appeared on Curb Your Enthusiasm and the sitcom Anything But Love with Jamie Lee Curtis and in movies like Robin Hood: Men in Tights and Leaving Las Vegas. He died Tuesday at the age of 76.

Jimmy Van Eaton was the Sun Records drummer who played on the Jerry Lee Lewis songs “Great Balls of Fire” and “Whole Lotta Shakin’ Goin’ On.” He died last week at the age of 86.

Kenneth Mitchell had roles on such TV shows as Star Trek: Discovery, Jericho, Captain Marvel, The Astronaut Wives Club, Ghost Whisperer, and Nancy Drew. He died Saturday at the age of 49.

Charles Dierkop had roles on Police Woman, Naked City, Star Trek, and ER, as well as movies like The St. Valentine’s Day Massacre, The Sting, and Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. He died Sunday at the age of 87.

Claude Montana was the designer who helped define ’80s fashion. He died last week at the age of 76.

Duke Vincent produced such TV shows as Charmed, 7th Heaven, Dynasty, Melrose Place, Beverly Hills 90210, and Gomer Pyle, USMC. He died earlier this monthat the age of 91.

Dan Wilcox was a producer and writer on M*A*S*H, Newhart, Growing Pains, and FM, and wrote for shows like Sesame Street, America 2-Night, and Diagnosis Murder. He died earlier this month at the age of 82.

John “Duff” Lowe was the pianist for The Quarrymen, the band that included Paul McCartney, John Lennon, and George Harrison before they formed the Beatles. He died last week at the age of 81.

Pamela Salem played Miss Moneypenny in the unofficial James Bond film Never Say Never Again and appeared on EastEnders and All Creatures Great and Small. She died last week at the age of 80.

This Week in History

22nd Amendment Ratified (February 27, 1950)

This is the one that says a president cannot be elected to more than two terms. The Amendment was proposed after FDR was elected four times (and the Post was unimpressed).

The Family Circus Debuts (February 29, 1960)

Cartoonist Bil Keane got his start in the Post. The strip is now done by his son Jeff.

This Week in Saturday Evening Post History: “Kiss at the End of the Driveway” (February 24, 1962)

Hey, it’s not spring yet.

I have so many questions about this James Williamson cover. What’s the significance of the bus turning the corner in the distance? Did the guy in the car almost collide with it and the bus had to swerve out of the way? Isn’t that a dangerous place to kiss your wife (I mean the middle of the road, not her lips)? Where do you get one of those mini snow plows?

Also, Kiss at the End of the Driveway sounds like the title of a Hallmark movie.

National Pound Cake Day

National Pound Cake Day is Monday, so let’s get you some recipes so you can celebrate it this weekend.

Here’s our own Lemon Pound Cake with Raspberry Sauce, and here’s a Chocolate Pound Cake from Trisha Yearwood. If you’re looking for a classic, Sugar Spun Run has The Best Pound Cake recipe.

I’m not sure if that “best” is official or not but it looks good.

If you’re looking for something a little different, try the Pistachio Pound Cake from Southern Living.

Make sure the pistachios aren’t still in the shells.

Next Week’s Holidays and Events

Caucuses and Primaries (March 2-6)

Republicans will have caucuses in Michigan, Idaho, and Missouri on March 2. They will also have a primary in the District of Columbia on the 3rd and a caucus in North Dakota on the 4th. The 5th is Super Tuesday, where several states will be voting, and then Hawaii has the 6th all to itself.

BNP Paribas Tennis Tournament (March 6-17)

You probably know it as Indian Wells. Tennis Channel will have daily coverage.

State of the Union Address (March 7)

All the exciting action will be covered by the major broadcast and cable news channels starting at 9 p.m. ET.