218 Binge Watching

Binge-watching

I have found myself binge-watching various TV series made available through cable and special networks. Once I get started it is sometimes hard to stop. I will hurry to get started on the next episode when I really shouldn’t. I need to do other things but I can’t stop watching.

I believe this would be called an obsession, but I hate to call it that. Let’s just say it is excessive TV watching with a goal of finishing a series or several episodes with the same storyline.

Probably my first one was “The Crown.” A friend kept telling me I had to watch it so I did. It definitely did not disappoint. This series is a historical drama about the life and reign of Queen Elizabeth II. While much of it was familiar, so much more was new to me and very compelling. The actors were excellent and kept the action moving so I didn’t want it to end.

After watching all of this series, I have been anxiously awaiting the next part. That is one thing I have learned – once you binge all the episodes you can’t wait for the next one to begin. I am always left a little flat as I know I cannot continue with the story until a new series is finished. The one good part is when a series is ready it usually contains six to eight episodes so the bingeing can begin again.

Another series that kept me glued to the tube was “Grace and Frankie” -- Jane Fonda and Lily Tomblin portray the main characters who are involved in amazing plots and storylines. This one had several series so it took a while to catch up. Then when I reached the end, I was again lost for a while until another one was planned. A sixth season is due in 2020 – I can’t wait.

The issues in this series hit home to those of us in our sixties and seventies, dealing with health and other age-related situations. Also, the interaction with children and grandchildren is typical of most families – not all issues but most. 

I actually convinced my husband to join me in binge-watching a series I thought he might like. “Longmire” ended up being one we both could not get enough of. A sheriff who runs Absaroka County, Wyoming in a unique, wild west way. It is a modern-day western that continued for six seasons. The last episode is a little predictable, but we still did not want it to end. A little reminiscent of Matt Dillon in “Gunsmoke,” Longmire endures many life-altering experiences but still prevails. It can be a little violent at times so don’t let the kids watch.

One series, “Tales of the City,” is one I kept watching but it isn’t one of my favorites. It details stories of the lives of residents in the same apartment building in San Francisco. There was so much left hanging at the end of each episode that I had to keep watching. The stories are based on works by Armistead Maupin.

The main draw for me was actress Olivia Dukakis who prevails as the landlord and whose past is revealed little by little throughout the series. There is actually a short series that shows how everything started in the 1970s but then the larger series continues years later.

The flashbacks reveal what has happened to these characters twenty years later. Some had remained there while others had departed and returned for a special event. No more hints on this one – you just have to watch but don’t let the kids stay in the room. You can imagine what life was like in the 1970s in San Francisco.

There have been a few that I started but did not finish due to lack of interest, but I continue to look for new ones. It is consuming but generally worth the time and effort. So if you decide to start binge-watching, remember it can consume you for days, depending on how many series and episodes have been released. So binge on.

217 Just seven lines

Just Seven Lines--The 1863 Diary of Robert Sherrard Bell

Harry and I gave a presentation this weekend at the Shenandoah Valley Civil War Museum on the diary of Robert Bell. The diary, though sparse on details, is a fascinating document.

Robert Bell was the uncle of former Winchester Mayor Stewart Bell Jr. When Stewart died in 2001 and his son Tom and Tom's wife Kathy gave the diary to the museum and it is a treasured item.

Bell was born in 1841 in the Bell house—Linden Hillon on Cameron 

Street. The Shenandoah Valley Battlefields Foundation now owns the house.

At age 21, in Nov. 1861, Robert Bell left the University of Virginia to join the Rockbridge Artillery of VA. while the unit was in winter camp in Winchester.

In 1863 he began writing in a small pocket diary. At the time, he had no idea of the marches and battles that he would record. And, as all soldiers, had no idea what diary entry might be his last.

The diary is very similar to an annual pocket calendar you might buy today. Each page is about two and a half inches wide. Bell wrote with a pencil—in some cases, it seemed it was a very dull pencil and the handwriting is hard to decipher at the bottoms of the pages.

He mainly wrote of his daily routine—weather, food, his health, and sermons he had heard. He had 7 lines for each day to record events. If the artillery was in camp with not much going on, he had 7 lines. If they were participating in a major battle—he had 7 lines. He never ran over into the next day regardless of events.

He recorded participating in the 2nd Battle of Fredericksburg, 2nd Winchester, and Gettysburg. He also enjoyed good Union lamb as his unit moved North to Gettysburg. He did not talk much about his emotions except when he stopped by his uncle's house in Front Royal when on his way to Winchester: “Experienced a feeling of my lost estate that I have never felt before.” Imagine a brief enjoyment of a visit with family in a comfortable home after having marched 23 miles that day!

I was appropriately dressed in mourning for the presentation because the last diary entry we read was on November 5, 1863: "Windy. Very disagreeable. On picket at the Rappah-bridge."

He was struck by a shell on November 7 and died soon after. The corporal of his company wrote his father and step-mother a long letter describing his death. The letter is a perfect representation of what Drew Gilpin Faust described as "the good death" in her book, This Republic of Suffering, Death and the American Civil War. 

Byers recounted Bell's last words in his letter, "'I have always tried to do my duty, to my company and to my God; and if I have failed at any time, I hope I am forgiven.' A few moments after he asked Morrison Smith to pray for him, but was suffering so severely that he was hardly able to participate in the prayer offered. After the prayer, he charged Johnny Brown to give his bible to his father and tell him that he was always a dear father to him; also adding 'bid all my friends farewell and bid them to see me in heaven.'” 

Beyer sent the diary, Robert's bible, and a map showing where his body was buried. The family moved the body after the war to Mount Hebron.

Almost a year later during the 3rd Battle of Winchester, Robert Bell's stepmother gave birth to Stewart Bell Sr., the father of Stewart Bell Jr. 

216 NYC Blackout

NYC in the Blackout 

Saturday night, July 13, created a new memory for dear husband and me. We were in the City for the week, staying at our timeshare on West 56th across from Carnegie Hall. It’s a great location--walkable to most of our destinations. 


Although it was hot, the crosstown breezes from the Hudson River made it bearable. Uber and taxis made their fair share of money from us, though, as we went back and forth to daughter, son-in-law, and granddaughter’s apartment on West 84th.

We did our usual vacation treks: to the Met to see the baseball card collection (dear husband’s wish), Broadway show, eating out or ordering in, and a bit of babysitting. Dear husband and three-year-old granddaughter took--Elmo in his stroller--for a walk around the block. Around the corner, up Broadway, 85th Street, down Amsterdam, and back home. Nope, the 3-year-old was not ready for a nap, but dear husband was. 

Saturday evening, we were headed back to the timeshare when our Uber driver called our attention to no traffic lights and no building lights. When we approached 64th Street, the road was blocked and there were police, firefighters, and all sorts of equipment. The car radio then announced a fire of unknown source in that 64th Street manhole. This fire then triggered five more outages all the way downtown. The Upper West Side from the ’70s to Madison Square Garden was dark. ConEdison reported they were working on the problem! 

After hanging out around the timeshare building for a while and talking to various people we could not see well in the dark, we called the daughter and said we were coming back to the light. Bless Uber--we got back to 84th Street to watch the news. 

Here’s my take on the situation from reading the news reports: 

• A good overview map, but I don’t know what the numbers mean. I could not find a key for them, but this does indicate the blackout area. (To give you perspective: Madison Square Garden is on 33rd Street, the theatre district in the ’40s with the popular Restaurant Row on 46th, and Lincoln Center is 66th – 70th depending on which building you wish to enter)

• The lights were not out long enough for there to have been substantial looting; most emergency calls were folks stuck in elevators (think apartment buildings, not big hotels which must have backup generators)

• This blackout lasted less than 6 hours. It was pretty in a weird way ==sunset without electrical lights

• The irony is that this blackout occurred on July 13, the same date as the massive citywide blackout of 1977 from which there occurred a “NYC baby boomlet” nine months later, and a spate of crime in parts of the city

• Hospitals have their own generators

• Many subways and trains were closed

• Buses – I don’t know where they went – we just didn’t see any (maybe because of blocked streets they kept to the east side of the city).

• All those food carts on the corners (best hotdogs in the world) use LP gas (I even read health code Chapter 6 regarding moveable carts. The pdf includes everything from potable water, to equipment washing, to temperature for cold and hot foods, licensing, and, and, and …. I have a new respect for these entrepreneurs!)

• Some people decided to take their lives in their own hands. Bicyclists were everywhere holding their cellphones for lights. (great idea, huh?)

• Some tourists got into the act (we saw one older gentleman directing traffic with his cane)

• According to Stubhub (show ticket vendor), they refunded approximately $500,000 in ticket costs

• A NY Times article estimated that Broadway lost approximately $3.5 million – 27 shows were affected

• Restaurants lost much revenue, but thus far, a real cost is uncalculated for the press. Pizza stands were selling by the slice if one had cash. (With a 5-6-hour window of no electric, my guess is that much food was lost along with the revenue from the diners for the evening.)

• J Lo’s concert at Madison Square Garden was evacuated before her 4th number. (I can testify entering or leaving the Garden is crazy and claustrophobic on a good night)

• The Carnegie Hall concert singers moved outside and sang in the street (nice touch – lots of folks gathered)

• New Yorkers are basically friendly, nice people!

We got back to the timeshare about 1:30 a.m., turned up the air conditioning, and went to bed! Twas an interesting evening! Can’t wait to get back to my favorite home-away-from-home. Who knows what will happen next in the “city that never sleeps?”

Stay cool, Savvy Glenne        

215 Absence of AC

The absence of air (conditioning)

What a summer of stifling heat, extreme humidity, and wild storms. I never appreciated air conditioning so much until it was absent.

We found out this summer as we booked a weekend in the mountains. We had been there before but not during a heat wave. We had never noticed there was no air conditioning! What a shock. We learned to turn on the ceiling fans early in the day and keep them going. Nights were a treat as it really did cool off.

In reality, most of us go from our air-conditioned cars to our air-conditioned houses. When we venture out, the venues are definitely – you guessed it--air conditioned! 

When checking out the history of this amazing invention, I found out people would flock to movie theaters several decades ago to cool off since air conditioning was more common practice in businesses than in residences. 

Of course, now that is not the case as most homes are equipped with central air and in the least with window units.

Cooling of structures dates back to the ancient Egyptians, according to livescience.com so it is not a new idea. But it has become the rule rather than the exception.

I remember as a child there was very little air conditioning. Cars had to be ordered with the special feature and were much more expensive than those without. Houses might have a window unit but fans were more commonplace. Being warm was no big deal in the ‘50s and ‘60s and we learned to adjust. The shades were drawn in the afternoon to keep the house cool. Evenings usually brought relief as the sun went down. 

The person we have to thank who made our lives so much more comfortable was Willis Carrier, an American engineer. His claim to fame is the first modern air conditioner in 1902 even though ancient civilizations came up with ways to cool structures.

Of course, his invention was improved upon to the point of where we are now with a majority of homes having some type of cooling system except some historic site like we recently visited in the mountains. It is okay for a day or two but I don’t think we could have handled it much longer.

Actually, 84 percent of U.S. homes have some type of air conditioning-- this country uses more air conditioning than all other nations combined, according to Warner Service web site.

When I go in places that are frigid and people have on sweaters to ward off the cold, I just think how lucky they really are--trying to work is much easier in the cold rather than in extreme heat. The same goes for learning--schools need to be comfortable but a little to the colder side is best.

A study finds a link between heat and lower academic achievement--and makes the case that installing air conditioning in schools could make a big difference, according to qz.com. Results conclude that heat makes it harder for students to learn in the classroom.

So there is my argument for air conditioning for all. Stay cool and chill out!

Cool, savvy Frances