Intro:
I have been soooo fortunate since Covid19 came to our world, the only person I knew who died of Covid19 I never met, the husband of a friend of mine. He was one of the first to die of it in Seattle area. Well, my luck has changed. A man I’ve considered a friend since 1967 when we met in the NCO Club at Karlsruhe, Germany died of it—Country Charley Pride.
When I was in the WAC and stationed in Karlsruhe, Germany, during the time of the Viet Nam war (I still have a hard time remembering that Vietnam is now only one word, then it was two) many entertainers came to town to entertain the troops. They were, all of them, appreciated. Some were ex-pats who lived in Europe and came regularly about 4 times a year. I don’t know where Charley Pride lived, I think he was in the States, but he came maybe twice a year.
I often had a perception the others came primarily for the stipend received, and that was OK. But when Charley Pride, the country singer with the permanent suntan came, my perception was he came to entertain us because he truly wanted to be there for our support. He had put his time in the Army, he knew what it was like. He was friendly, he was approachable, and he just seemed to enjoy singing for us. I wasn’t a big fan of country music, but I sure was a big fan of Charley Pride. I have since become a fan of country music. But that’s another story.
I understand this video was recorded a month before he died. It’s delightful. Watch it. Raise a toast to one of the Greats of our time.
Charley Pride was 86 years young.
Entertainment:
Peacock: Still watching Columbo. Still chuckling and laughing. Fun to see so many of the actors I grew up with once again young, and in some cases once again alive. The show has held up well. Started Season 6 yesterday. I actually had never seen episode 1 before, I thought I’d seen them all, several times over. So far, that’s the only one I don’t remember.
Books: Read one, working on a second. To Cipher and to Sing —by Ian Lahey. Boy Howdy! Could I relate to some of this book. The tag line on Amazon is, “The one thing which is worse than watching androids take over your job is having to teach them your job yourself.” Professor Gordon Fairlight is a book nerd, a teaching nerd, and doesn’t have a techie gene in his body. He’s not fond of androids, either. His wife, on the other hand… Lahey writes with humor and believability, and this book is great fun.
The other book I’m reading (almost finished) is Louisiana Hotshot: A New Orleans Murder Myster; Talba Wallis #1—by Julie Smith. So far there are 4 books in this series. A fun story that takes place in New Orleans. The book starts out with an ad in the paper, Wanted: Hotshot PI with near super-human skills. So, of course, our young Ivy League graduate computer genius applied, got the job, and began a new series. A tidbit of trivia, she mentions the Desire line streetcar, immortalized by Tennessee Williams. I’d always thought that streetcar had more to do with the characters than actuality. Nope, it really existed. There really was a Streetcar Named Desire. You can learn the funnest things from books. (If you click on the hot links, there’s a bit about them. The first about T. Williams and the play, the second about the Desire Line.)
Don’t forget, every book I read all the way through, gets reviewed at http://lenoragood.blogspot.com as well as Amazon and Goodreads.
Hack of the times: Wear glasses? I think it was AARP that posted a way to alleviate, if not eliminate, fogged glasses when wearing a mask. It works! Fold a 4-5” piece of tissue a few times, tape inside your mask under the nose area, and voila! no more fog. The tissue is soft and warm and it absorbs the moisture of your breath.
Outro:
Losing Charley Pride hit too close to home. And proves that not all taxpayers get to partake of taxpayer-funded treatment! I’m not going to nag you to wear a mask, socially distance yourself, they aren’t fun. I know. And it’s hard. And there is not instant reward. I know. But I do ask you to wear the mask, socially distant yourself from friends and family, do the hard things now and know you’ve done your part to avoid the hard thing of a funeral for a loved one later. I know most of you, my favorite and gentle readers have not been through military basic/boot camp. Those of us who have, well, perhaps we have a slight edge on you, for we know we could survive basic/boot, therefore we can survive anything, even a mask, socially distancing, staying away from loved ones for the holidays… Please, pretend you’re the avatar you’ve chosen for your favorite game, and you want to do the hard thing for your country and you. Please. Wear a mask, social distance, and do not socialize unless via electronic means. Just until we can get this thing beat back to whatever pit of hell it came from. Oh, I nagged after all, didn’t I? Humble apologies.
Fairwell, Charley Pride. You were a bright star in our sky while you were with us and shall remain a bright star in our lives thanks to modern technology. But you are still missed, greatly missed. Rest in Peace.
Auntie Lenora
Charley Pride was a great singer and a nice man. When I was still too young to drink, he appeared at a huge concert venue in Tucson and we drove down for the concert. It was expensive by the standards of the late sixties. A week later, he played Mr. Lucky’s, a dive bar in one of the iffier parts of Phoenix. My friends and I went to see him again (for a $5.00 cover charge, we couldn’t drink remember). An audience member asked him why he would play such a low-class venue when he was a superstar. He replied that he would play Mr. Lucky’s any time because they were the first club that let him in the front door. He also came to play baseball in Mesa during Spring Training and was very patient with the fans.
Mary, I just love to read these kinds of comments! I wish I could have actually met him and his wife, as friends. I think I’d have liked both of them, very much. Thanks for reinforcing my memors of him.