News of the Week: Telephobia, Famous Cartoonists, and What’s in Your Freezer?

How to Talk on the Phone

We’re all friends here, right?

So you’ll believe me when I tell you that I’m not trying to regularly dump on younger people even as I’m about to discuss yet another thing they don’t like to do for the second week in a row? But this popped up during my daily web surfing and there was no way I wasn’t going to talk about it.

Hey, I’m all for anything that will get people to stop texting all the time and actually talk to each other. I have a fear that in 50 years humans will evolve into a species that has giant thumbs but the inability to speak in complete sentences. But it makes me sad that it has gotten to a point where younger people are actually afraid to talk with someone on the phone (which is what phones have always been used for).

When I was a kid we had one phone in the house. A big, black rotary phone. It was in the kitchen, near the stove, attached to the wall with a wire. If we wanted to talk on the phone, we had to do it right there, in front of everybody. We didn’t have a second line upstairs or any way to talk on the phone privately. No texting, no apps, not even voicemail. And – hold on to your baseball caps, kids – when the phone rang we had no idea who was calling and we still picked it up!

All kidding aside, I think it made us able to talk to people, how to think on the fly, and taught us how to be courteous. Hello? May I ask who’s calling? Sure, I’ll get her for you. 

Now we all have our separate phones, the call is always for us and not someone else, and we can ignore/block anyone we don’t want to talk to.

Technology was supposed to bring us closer together, but it seems like it’s actually making us more separate, more alone, more stressed.

Something to Chew On

The Oscars are over, and I don’t want to rehash who won and who lost. Let’s discuss the most important part of the evening, the incident that’s dividing Oscar viewers and America: Adrien Brody throwing his gum to his girlfriend.

We can call it GumGate (and I find nothing wrong with it, even if I wouldn’t want to be the one to catch it).

The Tooth Fairy Is Having Money Troubles

Economic news: payouts for a lost tooth are at their lowest point in years.

News From the Norman Rockwell Museum

“All for Laughs: The Artists of the Famous Cartoonist Course” is an exhibit at the Norman Rockwell Museum in Stockbridge, Massachusetts that remembers the popular correspondence course that included instruction by Al Capp, Rube Goldberg, Whitney Darrow, Barney Tobey, Dick Cavalli, Harry Haenigsen, and Willard Mullin. It runs until June 15.

In related (and surprising) news, Advance Papers is actually expanding the comics section in both their print and online newspapers.

Headline of the Week

“Oklahoma Toddler Calls 911 For Help During Doughnut ‘Emergency’”

RIP David Johansen, Boris Spassky, Joseph Wambaugh, Joey Molland, Rose Girone, and Olive Sturgess

David Johansen was the lead singer of the glam rock band New York Dolls and later had hits under the name Buster Poindexter. He was also an actor, appearing in such films as Scrooged and TV shows like Oz. He died last week at the age of 75.

Boris Spassky was an international chess champion. He died last week at the age of 88.

Joseph Wambaugh wrote such acclaimed books as The Onion Field and The Blue Knight and created the TV drama Police Story. He died last week at the age of 88.

Joey Molland was the last surviving original member of Badfinger, known for such songs as “No Matter What You Do,” “Come and Get It,” “Baby Blue,” and “Day After Day.” He died Saturday at the age of 77.

Rose Girone was the oldest Holocaust survivor. She died last month at the age of 113.

Olive Sturgess appeared in the comedy-horror film The Raven and appeared on such shows as The Bob Cummings Show, Perry Mason, and The Donna Reed Show. She died last month at the age of 91.

This Week in History

Sheena Easton Becomes First Singer with Top 10 Hits in All Categories (March 2, 1985)

We sometimes forget how popular she was, but the Scottish singer was the first (and still the only) singer to have top 10 hits on the five major Billboard charts: Pop, Adult Contemporary, Country, R&B, and Dance.

“The Only Thing We Have to Fear Is Fear Itself” Speech (March 4, 1933)

The line was part of FDR’s first inaugural address.

This Week in Saturday Evening Post History: Bell Telephone (March 1, 1952)

Back in the 1950s, phone company buildings were shaped like actual telephones.

March Is National Frozen Foods Month

I eat a lot of frozen foods. I don’t mean TV dinners (though Lean Cuisine and Stouffer’s make some tasty meals I buy regularly); I mean frozen vegetables. They’re handy and taste good and there’s even word that because they’re frozen so quickly, they have as many nutrients as fresh vegetables, and sometimes even more.

Here’s a recipe from Peg Bracken for Hellzapoppin’ Cheese Rice, and here’s one from The Pioneer Woman for Veggie Tortellini Soup. The Kitchn has a Breakfast Burrito Egg Casserole, Savory has a Tater Bite Shepherd’s Pie, and Taste of Home has a Cool Beans Salad. Southern Living has this Broccoli Cornbread and a Hamburger Stew.

Wait … do I have to explain to Gen Z what a TV dinner is?

Next Week’s Holidays and Events

Daylight Saving Time Begins (March 9)

Set the clocks ahead an hour before you go to bed on Saturday night. But just one hour. You don’t want the sun to still be out at 10 p.m. (or maybe you do).

Barbie Day (March 9)

The popular doll was based on a West German doll and redesigned by Ruth Handler. She named it after her daughter Barbara.

Her son’s name? Ken, of course.