10 Years!
This week marks the 10th birthday of “News of the Week.” 10 years!
In my very first column I wrote about the anniversary of Apollo 11, zip codes, and Raymond Chandler. I didn’t write about any of those this week.
“I’ll Take ‘Really Bad Sports Ideas’ For $600, Ken”
Something good that came out of COVID – if we can say anything “good” came out of it – is that pro tennis stopped making the ball kids handle the gross towels from the players. What a great idea! It’s something I’ve been saying should have been done years ago. It never made sense that the kids had to handle someone else’s towel filled with sweat and spit and snot and blood. (I also don’t understand why fans want those towels after the match, but I guess we all collect different things.)
But because we can’t let a good idea continue, the Association of Tennis Professionals has reversed that decision.
Sigh.
Apparently, players have complained because, now that there’s a serve clock, they don’t have time to walk over to the towels. They’re so far away! Well, how about instead of having just a few towels for each player we have 20 of them placed around the court? Or how about adding a few seconds to the clock? Oh, we can’t have that because the ATP wants to speed up the sport! (Tennis doesn’t need anymore “speeding up.”) Or maybe the chair umpire can use some discretion and start the serve clock a few seconds later to give the server time to towel down? The umpire is in charge of the clock and already does this when there’s a long point.
What’s Next, Leaving a Tip at the Self-Checkout?
Last year we talked about how everyone (and everything, including inanimate machines) expects a tip now. It’s called “tip fatigue,” or “tip creep” or “tipflation” or “ridiculous.”
One person is happy this is happening because she’s been trying to get rid of tipping for years.
Something I Learned This Week
Have you ever heard the expression “A bag of pants?” It’s British slang for something that just isn’t good. “Pants” is something said when something is rubbish/bad, so a “bag of pants” is for something that’s particularly bad.
I learned this from cartoonist Roz Chast, who first heard it on The Great British Baking Show.
RIP Lou Dobbs, Sheila Jackson Lee, John Mayall, Lewis Lapham, Duke Fakir, Jerry Fuller, Evelyn Thomas, Happy Traum, Carla Balenda, and Whitney Rydbeck
Lou Dobbs was one of the original hosts on CNN (of the financial program Moneyline) when it launched in 1980, and he later moved to Fox Business Channel. He died last week at the age of 78.
Sheila Jackson Lee was a Democratic representative from California for almost 30 years. She died last week at the age of 74.
John Mayall was a British blues guitar icon. He died Tuesday at the age of 90.
Lewis Lapham was the editor of Harper’s for almost 30 years and also the editor of his own magazine, Lapham’s Quarterly. He died Tuesday at the age of 89.
Duke Fakir was the last surviving member of The Four Tops, known for such songs as “Reach Out, I’ll Be There,” “I Can’t Help Myself (Sugar Pie Honey Bunch),” and “Standing in the Shadow of Love.” He died Monday at the age of 88.
Uploaded to YouTube by The Ed Sullivan Show
Jerry Fuller wrote hundreds of songs, including Ricky Nelson’s “Travelin’ Man,” Al Wilson’s “Show and Tell,” and “Young Girl” by Gary Puckett & the Union Gap. He died last week at the age of 85.
Eveyln Thomas sang the disco hit “High Energy.” She died Sunday at the age of 70.
Happy Traum played the folk scene in Greenwich Village even before Bob Dylan. He died last week at the age of 86.
Carla Balenda played Timmy’s teacher Miss Hazlitt on Lassie and was a regular on The Mickey Rooney Show and The Adventures of Fu Manchu. She died in April at the age of 98.
Whitney Rydbeck was an actor and mime who appeared in such films as Sleeper, 1941, and Friday the 13th Part VI: Jason Lives, and in TV shows like M*A*S*H, The Brady Bunch, and Star Trek: The Next Generation. He was also one of the original crash test dummies in a series of seatbelt commercials. He died last week at the age of 79.
This Week in History
Marshall McLuhan Born (July 21, 1911)
We know his famous phrase as “the medium is the message,” but the title of the book is actually The Medium is the Massage. It was a printing error. You can refer to the word as “Massage,” “Message,” “Mess Age,” or “Mass Age.” All of them are correct.
Bob Dylan Goes Electric (July 25, 1965)
He decided to plug in for his performance at the Newport Folk Festival and it caused a scandal.
This Week in Saturday Evening Post History: “Making a Wake” by Ben Kimberly Prins (July 26, 1958)
We can see the scowls on the faces of the other boaters and even one raised fist, but if this cover had sound, we’d probably hear some choice words too (even in 1958).
Sunday is National Milk Chocolate Day
Let’s start with some Classic Chocolate Chip Cookies from Hersheyland (you have to click on “accept all cookies” when you first get to the site, which is pretty funny), and from there we’ll move on to a Milk Chocolate Tart with Pretzel Crust from Food & Wine. All Recipes has a Chocolate Fondue, Taste of Home has a Chocolate Pound Cake, and Martha Stewart has a Milk Chocolate Pudding Pie.
And here are chocolate recipes from issues of the Post from the 1860s, including recipes for Chocolate Almonds, Chocolate Mange, and German Hard Chocolate Cakes.
Next Week’s Holidays and Events
Take Your Pants for a Walk Day (July 28)
Maybe even take a bag of them.
National Coloring Book Day (August 2)
Adults like them too, and there’s a website.
Become a Saturday Evening Post member and enjoy unlimited access. Subscribe now
Comments
Congratulations on 10 years of ‘News’, Bob! The column’s been a wonderful, consistent Post online feature for knowledge, fun, and common sense. Let’s see if the tennis professionals have the intelligence you do. I doubt it.
The self-check out is a nuisance because they’re different in every store. I’d still rather put my stuff on the conveyor belt and interact with a person if the line’s moving along. When there’s only one or two open out of six it almost forces you to. Definitely if there’s any kind of time consuming problem and the manager has to be called to fix whatever it is.
Thanks so much for including the Four Tops Ed Sullivan Show appearance. Absolute Motown perfection along with The Temptations and The Spinners, to name just two other male groups. The songs, the looks, the unison, all combined at once is magical and spellbinding. Another mid-century high point never to return.
I’ll have to read the Marshall McLuhan feature to sort it out further. It does make you think of more words that can leave something open to interpretation than one might otherwise. I love the ’58 Post cover by Ben Prins. It seems a little far-fetched, but is probably based on fact. As far as any cookies go, I’ve had to click ‘accept’ to a lot more than any of the kind you eat. It’s not unlike clicking yes to accepting the terms and conditions of something.
Dear Editor:
Wednesday, August 14th 2024, marks the 120th anniversary of a baseball tradition [s] later transitioning to American and Canadian football teams and their games.
Hotdog, soda, and, ice cream or, hamburger, soda, and, ice-cream, with a box of “Cracker Jack”
It was begun accidentally by President Theodore Roosevelt when he took in the first two games of the New York Highlanders [Yankees], and, the St. Louis Brown [Cardinals] in St. Louis at the 1904 St. Louis World’s,.
His then “personal secretary” [aka; Press Secretary], Canadian, Laurance H. Grahame, whom Roosevelt had appointed as National Secretary to the 1904, St. Louis Fair” went and got the “ever hungry”, President, those two hot dogs, a cup of “D.r Pepper” and a couple of ice-cream cones…flavors are not known, but, believed to be chocolate and vanilla…..for political expediency measures with the press corps.
In the second game, a hamburger, a bottle of Pepsi, and, an ice-cream sandwich. In between a box [or two] of Cracker Jack.
The hotdog was NOT new, but, the bun was, similarly, the hamburger was NOT new, but, the bun was.“Dr. Pepper” and “Pepsi” were NOT new, but, both were being “found” by the public that summer.
The ice-cream cone, and, sandwich WAS new that summer, and, of course, after seeing the President munching, and, drinking these products, sales went to the moon and beyond, for all of them.
This the oral history of Laurance Grahame’s grandaughter, in 2004, who had documentation, but, where this is now is not known. It was supposed to have been put into the Lakefield Archives, but, never did. But, we have had 90% accuracy with oral histories, and, have no reason to doubt her story, as you will see some confirmation of the relationship between the President and Grahame on next page. We believe this confirmed relationship between the two men, validates this story at the two St. Louis baseball games. Trust this will be of interest and some recognition made this year of this major historical event in major league baseball,[Consensus says, 90% of baseball writers/historians will not know of this major event.] and later American and Canadian football teams. Sincerely.
Gord Young
for
Lakefield Heritage Research, Canada