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A Christmas Story: Recalling 30 Year-Old Movie Reviews

 

What do the Marx Bros’``Duck Soup’’ (1933`) `The Wizard of Oz’’ (1939), ``Citizen Kane’’ (1941), and ``It’s a Wonderful Life’’ (1946) have in common with ``A Christmas Story,’’ the 1983 American Christmas comedy film based on the short stories and semi-fictional anecdotes of author Jean Shepherd?

Believe it or not, all these films were considered box office flops when they premiered, but years, sometimes decades later, they bounced back to life after finding a new audience with a fresh set of eyes-and today are considered motion picture classics.

``A Christmas Story’’ opened 30 years ago, November 18, 1983, drawing $7,291,703 in its first 10 days at 938 theaters in the United States and Canada; and after it closed five weeks later in most theaters, its final receipts totaled a disappointing $19 million. Studio execs considered it a flop. It was out of most theaters before Christmas.

Today, more than 100,000 DVD and Blu-ray copies of "A Christmas Story" are sold weekly during the holiday season; and thousands of passionate fans ( which have included in years past a flood of foreign tourists from Germany, England, China, Switzerland, Australia, Sweden, Netherlands, Ireland, Mexico and Thailand), have journeyed to the Christmas Story House and Museum in Cleveland, Ohio, [See their website http://is.gd/g0JQd0  ] to view scenes shot near the house and examine original props, costumes and memorabilia from the film, as well as hundreds of rare behind-the-scenes photos. A ``Christmas Story" convention is additionally held there annually in November.

In December 2012, ``A Christmas Story’’ was one of 25 films selected to be included into the National Film Registry of the Library of Congress, for its enduring importance to American culture and as a reflection of who ``we are as a people and a nation," according to Librarian of Congress James H. Billington. Congress established the National Film Registry in 1989 to highlight the need for preserving U.S. film heritage.

So how did ``A Christmas Story’’ find its new audience?

Beginning in the 1990’s, the Turner Broadcasting System (TBS) started scheduling marathon 24-hour slots for ``A Christmas Story’’; and with families constantly in hot pursuit for a decent movie to pop into their DVD players around the holidays-films which the whole family can enjoy-``A Christmas Story’’ fits the bill like a pair of winter gloves.

The movie is, after all, more than a Christmas comedy with a scary Santa Claus who spits out a scornful Ho!, Ho!, Ho! Rather, it’s a valentine to growing up in small town America during the 1940s with all its familiar trappings: a family picking out a Christmas tree together, a furnace that never works, fretting over a stern dad (with a heart of gold) coming home; and memories of the school-yard pranks and the terror that came during face-to-face combat with neighborhood bullies; memories, in other words, that no matter how old we get, still seems to cling to our receding, distant past.

Since this is the 30-year anniversary of the holiday classic, I thought it would be fun to look back at some of the original movie reviews from a number of U.S. dailies in 1983.

I found it fascinating that only one movie critic (at least from the list of reviews I found), Jay Carr of the Boston Globe, possessed the sharp eye and keen insight 30 years ago to describe ``A Christmas Story’’ as an ``instant classic, a film that will give pleasure to people not only this Christmas, but many Christmases to come.’’

And kudos too goes to Gene Siskel (bless his soul) of the Chicago Tribune, who wondered why on earth this delightful motion picture was released in the middle of November, practically guaranteeing doom at the box office.

What follows, then, are brief snippets from film reviews written 30 years ago, shortly after the premiere of ``A Christmas Story.’

Boston Globe
A Christmas Story: Film Review:
A CHRISTMAS STORY - DIRECTED BY BOB CLARK, SCREENPLAY BY CLARK, LEIGH; BROWN AND JEAN SHEPHERD, BASED ON SHEPHERD'S "IN GOD WE TRUST, ALL; OTHERS PAY CASH," STARRING MELINDA DILLON,; DARREN MCGAVIN, PETER BILLINGSLEY, AT THE BEACON HILL AND SUBURBS,; RATED PG.
By Jay Carr, Globe Staff
Nov 19, 1983

``This is the kind of movie that risks tripping over its own whimsy, but it stays on track disarmingly. We can believe that Ralphie, often given to daydreaming, is exactly the sort of fellow who'd show up on a voiceover 30 years later speaking of a bacchanalia of peace on earth or, referring to his mother's way of stuffing his little brother into a snowsuit, that "going to school was like preparing for extended deep sea diving." Clark and Billingsley have gambled on presenting the adult world as exaggerated creatures seen through Ralphie's eyes, and won.’’
``In short, "A Christmas Story" isn't just about Christmas; it's about childhood and it recaptures a time and place with love and wonder. It seems an instant classic, a film that will give pleasure to people not only this Christmas, but for many Christmases to come.’’

***

MOVIE REPORT CARD
The Boston Herald, December 8, 1983
Movie Grade: C minus.

``A silly piece of tinseled fluffabout a nine-year-old boy's efforts to get a Red Ryder rifle for Christmas. Fine performances by Darren McGavin, Melinda Dillion, and child actor Peter Billingsley are wasted by lame direction and a corny script. At the Beacon Hill and suburban cinemas.''

***

The New York Times
November 18, 1983, Friday, Late City Final Edition
FILM: 'CHRISTMAS STORY,' INDIANA TALE
By Vincent Canby

``There are a number of small, unexpectedly funny moments in ''A Christmas Story,'' but you have to possess the stamina of a pearl diver to find them.’’
``The movie's big comic pieces tend only to be exceedingly busy. Though Mr. Billingsley, Mr. Gavin, Miss Dillon and the actress who plays Ralphie's school teacher (Tedde Moore) are all very able, they are less funny than actors in a television situation comedy that one has chosen to watch with the sound turned off.’’

***

San Francisco Chronicle
November 23, 1983
A '40s Christmas and Dreams of BB Gun Glory
By Peter Stack

``The movie softly lit and laid out with the wistful charm of an old easy chair, is certain too to remind us of an age of innocence: radio was king. Oldsmobiles were solid steel, dads were in the habit of reading the evening paper at the dinner table, and mothers stayed home the day long with their feather dusters and recipes that were endless variations on the theme of hash.’’
``This is a movie tailored for people who grew up in the `40's, who remember an America emerging from the dark cloud of a long, terrible war. Still, its funny moments transcend the period tone, and now and then ``A Christmas Story'' sheds affectionate light on the dreams and little disasters that still cling to the yuletide. Santa Claus, it seems to say, really can be a scary guy sometimes, and dad, who never seems to notice when you cry, can be rather heroic in his clumsy way.''

***

The Los Angeles Times
A Trip Back to Christmas in `30s
November 18, 1983
By Kevin Thomas

``Don't expect much Christmas spirit to be oozing out of ``A Christmas Story (citywide). Reportedly, Bob Clark, director of ``Porky's'' has for a decade wanted to make a film of humorist Jean Shepherd's short story. ``The Red Ryder Nails the Cleveland Street Kid.''
``The result is a kind of grade-school ``Porky's'' minus the raunchiness. And even though Shepherd and his wife collaborated with the script with Clark, the film has little of the subversive humor that made Shepherd such a legend on records and on the radio in the `50s and `60s. Actually, it has little humor, period.''....``That the film isn't remotely as hilarious as it hopes to be only makes it an even greater problem for those of us who possess no-more-war toys sentiments going in.’’

***

The Washington Post
'Christmas Story': Family Fare to Savor
November 18, 1983
BY RITA KEMPLEY

``If you're a Christmas holdout, a true believer who still hears reindeer on the roof, and even on an unseasonably warm Christmas Eve holds out hope of waking to a yard full of snow and branches coated like velvet antlers, then "A Christmas Story" is for you.’’
``It's a heart-warming pastiche of snowflakes, Christmas lights strung across city streets, children's noses pressed against toy- store windows and one little boy's quest for the present of his dreams, a Genuine Red Ryder Carbine-Action Two Hundred-Shot Range Model Air Rifle, with a Shock-Proof High-Adventure Combination Trail Compass and Sundial Set Right in the Stock.’’

***

The Plain Dealer (Cleveland, Ohio)
`Christmas Story' is full of charm for whole family.
November 19, 1983
By Roxanne T. Mueller

``Growing up is tough enough for a kid without having parents interfering. So fantasy is an appropriate retreat. The real world is an enigma too and that's the double charm of ``A Christmas Story,'' a movie with a kid's-eye view set in the relatively innocent era of America just before World War II’’.....``It's chock-full of understated wit but avoids the kind of Disneyesque sentimentality that grown-ups and sophisticated kids gag on.''

***

Chicago Tribune
'Christmas' arrives early, with nostalgic gifts for one and all
By Gene Siskel
November 21, 1983
Movie Grade: 3 1/2 stars

``A Christmas Story is a delightful motion picture that is doomed to box office failure. It would appear to be a children's film, but it really is a whimsical piece for adults about childhood. And whimsy is what also closes on Saturday night. Also, the subject of Christmas in the middle of November-well, we can wait, right? Whoever booked this film this early should be shot.''
``A Christmas Story is full of delightful characters and performances. Child model Peter Bilingsley is cute without being cloying as little Ralphie. He looks like a kid in a Norman Rockwell painting. Ralphie's father, a gruff but kindly man, is nicely played by Darren McGavin.''
``The Christmas Story is a movie with a golden glow. Here's hoping someone goes to the see it. As to the prediction made at the top of this review, I'd love to be proved wrong.''

***
Chicago Sun-Times
A Christmas Story-
December 15, 1983
Movie Grade: 3 stars
By Roger Ebert.

``Of course. That's what I kept saying during "A Christmas Story," every time the movie came up with another one of its memories about growing up in the 1940s.
The movie's high point comes at Christmastime, when Ralphie (Peter Billingsley) goes to visit Santa Claus. Visits to Santa Claus are more or less standard in works of this genre, but this movie has the best visit to Santa I've ever seen. Santa is a workaholic, processing kids relentlessly. He has one helper to spin the kid and deposit him on Santa's lap, and another one to grab the kid when the visit is over, and hurl him down a chute to his parents below. If the kid doesn't want to go, he gets Santa's boot in his face. Of course.''

***

The Denver Post
'TIS THE SEASON
HOLIDAY RELEASES CAST AS THE GOOD, THE BAD, THE UGLY
December 16, 1983
By Michael Healy
Denver Post Movie Critic

``Not so delightful, but innocuous enough, is "A Christmas Story" which features a lot of merry mugging and Xmas excess all in the cause of getting a laugh. It's the story of a little boy's pursuit of his Christmas wish: a gun. ...’’

 

The Evening Independent

A Christmas Story' a minor holiday trifle
By Jim Moorhead
November 25, 1983

``I went into this film hoping to like it. I even took my uncritical children along for support. But A Christmas Story is what it is-a shakily spun swatch of nostalgia that is neither lively enough for youngsters nor convincing enough for older viewers’’........``Clark [director Bob Clark] has failed to elicit proper execution, so that it ends up as a minor holiday trifle, and that's too bad. The world can always use another good Christmas story.''
NOTE: The Evening Independent was St. Petersburg, Florida's first daily newspaper, the sister evening newspaper of the St. Petersburg Times. It was purchased by St. Petersburg Times owner Nelson Poynter in 1962 and subsequently folded in 1986. It then merged into the Times in November 1986, initially as part of the Times's "City Times and Independent" section; the "Independent" name was later dropped altogether.

***

A Christmas Story: Footnotes

• Jack Nicholson was considered for the role of playing Ralphie's dad, before the directors settled on Darren McGavin.

• Peter Billingsley, who plays the nine year-old Ralphie in the film is now 42, and has become a producer and director (the films include: "Iron Man," "The Break-Up," "Couples Retreat" and the TV series "Sullivan & Son") with occasional minor acting roles.

• As many as 8,000 youngsters auditioned for the character of Ralphie.

• A Christmas Story" was made for less than $5 million.

• A Christmas Story grossed: $19,294,144.

• An estimated 40 million people watch at least parts of ``A Christmas Story’’ every year on TBS during its Christmas marathon.

• Billingsley reportedly is still in possession of the Red Ryder 200-shot Carbine Action Air Rifle, which served as his holy grail during the movie.

• Jean Shepherd’s book “In God We Trust: All Others Pay Cash”, in which the film is based on, is a smattering of semi-autobiographical short stories that he wrote for “Playboy” magazine during the 1960s. He died in 1999 reportedly of natural causes.

• Shepherd is not only the narrator of "A Christmas Story," he also has a cameo as the bearded gentlemen in the fur coat in Higbee's Department Store who tells Ralphie to get to the end of the line.

• Though the movie is set in Indiana, parts of the film were shot in Cleveland, Ohio (most prominently, the city’s downtown Public Square and the old Higbee’s department store), with a vast majority of the filming taking place in Ontario, Canada.

• The exterior of the house depicted in ``A Christmas Story’’ was a 19th-century Victorian home built in 1895, located at 3159 W 11th Street in Cleveland, Ohio, in the Tremont neighborhood, The house was scooped up by San Diego entrepreneur Brian Jones at an Ebay auction in 2004 for $150,000. He plunked down another $250,000 to spruce it up and opened it as a tourist attraction in 2006. Jones later bought two additional houses across the street, one that became a museum, and another, a gift shop, which swung open its doors just this year. Items inside the gift shop, include: Red Ryder guns, ornaments from the movie, a Pink Nightmare Bunny Suit, and, of course, a 50" Deluxe Full Size Leg Lamp from A Christmas Story,

• ``A Christmas Story" was directed by Bob Clark who shot to fame in 1980, when he directed a box office smash hit, "Porky's," an American sex comedy based on his escapades as a Florida teenager in the 1950s.

• A Christmas Story, The Musical, opened on Broadway (for a limited run) in November 2012, earning three 2013 Tony Award nominations: Best Musical, Best Book of a Musical (Joseph Robinette), and Best Original Score (Banj Pasek and Jusin Paul). The show stars John Bolton (gruff dad), Erin Dilly (doting mom), Jake Lucas (Ralphie) and Dan Lauria as the show's narrator, Jean Shepherd.

• Although ``A Christmas Story’’ didn't receive any Academy Awards, the Canadians recognized the film with two Genies (the equivalent of the Oscars) for Best Director and Best Adapted Screenplay, which Shepherd and Clark shared.

• In 1994 there was a sequel to “A Christmas Story" an obscure, rarely seen film, originally called "My Summer Story" and now appears on video under the title "It Runs in the Family." Also written by Shepherd, the movie stars Macaulay Culkin's little brother Kieran as Ralphie and Charles Grodin as Old Man Parker.

• "A Christmas Story 2," was eventually made and released in 2012 direct to DVD, which met with a surge of unfavorable reviews. Even though all the original characters are in the movie, none of the original cast returned. The film takes place five years later and depicts Ralphie's efforts in trying to get his first car.

Bill Lucey
[email protected]
December 23, 2013

 

Most Viewed News Stories of 2013: Survey Results

Photo Credit: Associated Press

***

Hard to believe another year has almost flown by.

So as the curtain is about to come crashing down on 2013, I checked in with some news organizations to find out which story drew the most web traffic.

It was, after all, a shocking year: with two bombs exploding at the Boston Marathon in Boston, Massachusetts, which killed three and injured 264 others; disquieting revelations that the National Security Agency (NSA) has been conducting a mass surveillance program; and stunning news that Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio of Argentina was elected pope, becoming the first Jesuit pope, the first pope from the Americas, and the first pope from the Southern Hemisphere. He took the name Francis, becoming the 266th pope and the 265th successor to St. Peter.

What was most surprising from this survey, at least to me, are the formats of content that is most appealing to readers of online news sites. As will become abundantly clear from the list below, photo galleries and innovative visual presentations seems to be the flavor of the day.

Chris Quinn, Vice President of Content for the Northeast Ohio Media Group, the company that leads the digitally focused news operation at The Plain Dealer in Cleveland, Ohio, informs me that ``when we set out in August to transition more fully into the digital universe, one of our key goals was to make better use of digital tools.'' ``The top 5 pieces in traffic'' Quinn said, `` so far this year demonstrate that this community very much wants to experience stories in multiple formats.'' The top two items that drove the most traffic at the Plain Dealer's site (Cleveland.com) were photo galleries.

Similarly, Nancy Sullivan, Vice President of Communications at the Los Angeles Times, said 43% of their web traffic on Oscar night (the story of the year that drew the most web traffic) came from mobile devices; while 54% of traffic on Oscar Sunday was driven by photo galleries, such as their dazzling Red Carpet Arrivals gallery. 

What follows, then, are the top stories of 2013 (based on page views or most web traffic) that was provided to me by different news organizations and popular online sites.

Top Stories of 2013

• The Guardian: The identity of an American computer specialist, a former Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) employee, and former National Security Agency (NSA) contractor, who leaked up to 200,000 classified documents to the press, primarily involving a mass NSA surveillance program, is revealed for the first time by The Guardian. Edward Snowden told the British national daily newspaper in a taped interview posted on its website: ``I don't want to live in a society that does these sort of things.''

The Guardian EXCLUSIVE has generated nearly 3.6 million page views since June.

• Bloomberg News: Their EXCLUSIVE ``Boston Bomb Victim in Photo Helped Identify Suspects’’ generated the most page views of the year at Bloomberg.com. The story reports Jeff Bauman’s face-to-face confrontation with one of the Boston Marathon bombers may have turned up key clues in the FBI's manhunt of the perpetrators.

• The Plain Dealer in Cleveland, Ohio reported on one of the most sensational criminal cases in U.S. history, when it was learned in May that three local women: Amanda Berry, Georgina ``Gina'' DeJesus, and Michelle Knight were rescued in a house they were held captive in by Ariel Castro since their disappearance between 2002 and 2004. Castro was sentenced to life in prison without the chance of parole, but was later found dead in his jail cell (from an apparent suicide), on September 3rd of this year. The events that transpired on Seymour Avenue was captured in a Plain Dealer Photo Gallery, which generated 1.5 million page views, the most popular item at Cleveland.com for 2013.

The second most popular item on its website was another photo gallery, and another remarkable story drawing worldwide attention, surrounding Scott Nagy, a terminal cancer patient who with the help of the University Hospital medical staff (on October 12th) was able to give his daughter away on her wedding day, while lying on a hospital gurney and using a respirator.  Nagy died two weeks later.

The third most popular story was The Plain Dealer’s page one splash that Berry, DeJesus, and Knight were found alive , while the 4th most popular was an audio of the 9-1-1 call by Amanda Berry.

• CNN's Photo Gallery: ``People We Lost in 2013'' generated 90 million page views, according to a company spokesperson.

• The most popular story on The Wall Street Journal's website for 2013 dealt with a group of men in their 40's, despite having moved on—to college, careers, families and new cities, have been playing ``tag'' , the playground game for 23 years.

• At Time Magazine's website, the most popular item of the year was a creative interactive article, which invited readers to take a test in order to discover which of the 48 contiguous states and the District of Columbia best suits their personality trait. Did you know, for example, that West Virginia is the most neurotic state, Utah is the most agreeable and inhabitants of Wisconsin are the country's most extroverted?

• The most popular story at ESPN.com in 2013 was Wright Thompson’s ``Outside the Lines’’-branded story “Michael Jordan Has Not Left The Building” with 2.6 million page views. 

• The two top stories of 2013 at FoxNews.com dealt with the Boston Marathon Bombing. Their 3rd and 4th most popular items for the year were captured in photo galleries: the first about a fertilizer plant explosion in the town of West, Texas, which killed up to 15, injuring more than 160 ; and another about a 10-ton meteor that streaked at supersonic speed over Russia's Ural Mountains, setting off blasts that injured nearly 1,100 people. 

• The top story at New York Magazine's website for 2013 was an article written by Joe Jonas, the American pop singer, musician, actor, and dancer, reflecting about his life as a Jonas Brother.

The 2nd most popular article was an amusing feature by Maureen O’Connor, chronicling how thanks to social media, ex-boyfriends are harder than ever to avoid.  And the 3rd most popular story at NYMag.com was Joe Hagan's feature on Matt Lauer and the dysfunctional family atmosphere at NBC’s Today Show. 

• The Miami Herald: The most viewed story at MiamiHerald.com dealt with members of the Miami Gardens police who were caught on camera arresting the same suspects over and over again, at times arresting them for trespassing even though they have permission to be on the premises; officers conducting searches of places of business without proper search warrants; using excessive force on subjects who are not resisting arrest; and other cases of filing inaccurate police reports in connection with the arrests. 

• The Los Angeles Times:  LATimes.com's digital strategy for its Oscars coverage (February 24th) , which focused on a real second-screen experience, including on-location blogging, tweeting, live video broadcasts from the newsroom during the ceremony’s commercial breaks, social media-based balloting, photography, and other in-depth reporting, resulted in a two-day (Sun & Mon) overall traffic numbers of 34.6 million page views, eclipsing last year's 2-day Oscar record of 21.4 million.

• Dallas Morning News: The most popular item at DallasNews.com was a profile on retiring school teacher, Dale Irby, from Titche Elementary in the Pleasant Grove area of Dallas, who wore the same 1970s-era polyester shirt and coffee-colored sweater for the school picture for the last 40 years. The article is accompanied with a photo gallery of Irby, showing that while his face might have changed over the last four decades, his attire for the school picture remained the same.

• New York Daily News: The most viewed story at NYDailyNews.com was the uproar that erupted over the death of Minnesota Vikings star running back Adrian Peterson's two-year old son after he had been beaten two days earlier, allegedly by his mother's boyfriend. 

The second most viewed story at the Daily News’ website was Jets' coach Rex Ryan being spotted sun bathing, while sporting a tattoo that resembled his wife wearing Mark Sanchez’s no. 6 green jersey.

• Newsday: The top local story at Newsday.com came back in September when a vendor, Sang Ho Kim, 63, opened fire, killing one man and critically wounding another at an East Garden City company, terrorizing a busy shopping and business district as police hunted into the night for the killer.

• ProPublica, the independent non-profit investigative newsroom that produces journalism in the public interest, said its most viewed story of the year dealt with a feature about two ``cradle Democrats’’ and passionate supporters of President Obama who had their health insurance cancelled because it did not meet the requirements of the Affordable Care Act.

Their second most view story concerned an alarming investigation, which reported that more than 1,500 Americans died after accidentally taking too much of a drug renowned for its safety: acetaminophen, one of the nation’s most popular pain relievers. 

• FBI.Gov: The FBI's top story of the year was the item that offered a $5 million reward to anyone who can help them locate 13 items stolen from Boston’s Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, including rare paintings by Rembrandt, Degas, and Vermeer. The items were originally stolen on March 18, 1990, representing the largest property crime in U.S. history.

• Cook Political Report: The astute Amy Walter, National Editor of The Cook Political Report, wondered back in April, if the Affordable Care Act or ObamaCare, when open enrollment begins in October, will shift the simmering debate from immigration and gun reform to the perils of President Obama’s signature legislation as Americans begin to see their premiums rise. The potential ``sleeper issue of 2014'' was the most viewed column of the year at Cookpolitical.com.

• At The Smoking Gun, the most viewed story of the year concerned a hacker, using the online alias "Guccifer" breaking into the Bush family e-mail accounts, swiping private correspondence and personal photos, including sensitive emails about George H.W. Bush’s recent hospitalization.

• Weather Channel: At Weather.com, the most viewed article of the year was a fascinating presentation of rare photos of different styles of bathing suits at the beaches, particularly in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, well before the introduction of the bikini in 1946.

***

Internet Searches:

• Google: Top 100 Searches  of 2013: http://is.gd/y61fHY

• Yahoo: 2013 Year in Review-The top-searched news stories of 2013: Trials, bombings, Obamacare. http://is.gd/XQ8HJk

• Bing: Top Searches in 2013: http://is.gd/Bg63Qa

***

Social Media

• Top Trends of 2013 on Facebook: http://is.gd/Y6LMuZ

• 2013 on Twitter: http://is.gd/B2iUp0

• Top 10 YouTube Videos of 2013: http://is.gd/X54uqj

 • Best of 2013 Flickr Photos : http://is.gd/d9NpHm

 

-Bill Lucey
[email protected]
December 16, 2013

 

Paul Dickson and His Collection of Rules to Live By

 

Where would we be without rules?

There are rules of grammar, essential rules of etiquette, rules governing mandatory health insurance, after the housing collapse-there are now new rules of real estate; Baseball, our National Pastime, will likely approve new rules for the 2014 season; even our favorite social networking sites like Facebook or Twitter have their own set of rules.

So if you are one of those individuals who live by the rules and die by the rules-you’ll probably want to dip into Paul Dickson’s new book: ``The Official Rules: 5,427 Laws, Principles, and Axioms to Help You Cope with Crisis, Deadlines, Bad Luck, Rude Behavior, Red Tape, and Attacks by Inanimate Objects.’’

Beginning in 1976, for reasons known only to himself, Mr. Dickson inserted dividers into a shoebox and started gathering rules that govern our twisted universe, from the ridiculous to the sublime on small sheets of paper. This new enterprise of collecting rules on everything and anything imaginable under the sun was given the flamboyant title: ``The Murphy Center for the Codification of Human and Organizational Law,’’a spin-off, of course, on Murphy’s Law (``Anything that can go wrong, will go wrong" ). Dickson took the liberty of appointing himself its first director; and beginning in 1989, he was promoted to ``Director for Life.’’

Over the decades, this Yonkers, New York native began collecting contributions from journalists, self-proclaimed prophets and philosophers, along with everyday observers of life’s little foibles from sea to shining sea. Of particular help to him have been writer Fred Dryer, Wall Street Journal columnist, Alan Otten, Jack Womeldorf of the Library of Congress; Robert Specht of the RAND Corp; the John Erhman file at Stanford University, and the University of Arizona Computing Center.

Armed with two dozen shoeboxes and two file drawers, in 1978, the Center published its first book: ``The Official Rules’’ alphabetically arranged with special sections. The book took off like a Boeing jumbo jet.

Within just a few months of its release, thousands of letters from readers, listing their personal maxims, rules, principles etc., numbering about 5,000, came pouring in.  With so much new material, Dickson turned out a number of magazine articles, including 10 for the Washingtonian magazine between 1978 and 1996. And in 1989, another edition hit the bookstores: ``The New Official Rules.’’

At the dawn of the 21^st century, the responses Dickson was receiving continued to be overwhelming, especially in the computer age-when swarms of letters turned into a mountain of emails.

So as we cope with the many trials and tribulations of a new millineuium with its fresh set of challenges and new obstacles and with an eye toward reminding ourselves, now and again, that not everyone’s perfect (even Betty Crocker burned a few cakes) , Dickson has published yet another updated edition of ``The Official Rules.’’

Paul Dickson should be no stranger to readers, especially if you’re a baseball fan. ``The Dickson Baseball Dictionary,’’ which has been published in three editions (1989, 1999, 2009) was described by the Wall Street Journal in 2010 as one of the six best baseball books ever published. In addition to publishing scores of books on baseball and 20th century history, Dickson has authored more than 45 nonfiction books, including: `` Drunk: The Definitive Drinker's Dictionary'', ``Journalese: A Dictionary for Deciphering the News'', ``Slang: A Topical Dictionary of Americanisms’ ‘and ``Toasts: Over 1,500 of the Best Toasts, Sentiments, Blessings, and Graces.''

In 2012 Dickson was awarded the Henry Chadwick Award from the Society for Baseball Research (SABR) for his lifetime achievements as a baseball researcher and scholar; and in 2011, he was the recipient of the Tony Salin Award from the Baseball Reliquary for his contributions to the preservation of the history of the game.

A founding member and former president of Washington Independent Writers and a member of the National Press Club, Dickson lives in Garrett Park, Maryland with his wife Nancy who works as his first line editor, and financial manager.

So to give you a sense of some of the many gems tucked between the covers of  Dickson’s ``Official Rules’’, I listed some which caught my eye:

 

• Adam’s Political Discovery: ``Practical politics consist of ignoring facts.’’

-Historian Henry Adams.

 

• Armor’s Axiom of Morality: ``Virtue is the failure to achieve vice.’’

-John C. Armor, Baltimore, Maryland.

 

• Berra’s Law: ``You can observe a lot by watching.’’

–Yogi Berra.

 

• The City News Motto: ``If your mother says she loves you, check it out.’’

-Long established motto of Chicago’s City News Bureau, organized a century ago by several newspaper publishers and closed in 2005. It was known for its demanding training of young reporters, including Mike Royko and Seymour Hersh.

 

• Cook’s Rule: ``All politics is local, except when it isn’t.’’

-Charlie Cook, Editor and Publisher of the ``Cook Political Report.’’

 

• Crisp’s Creed: ``Don’t keep up with the Joneses; drag them down, it’s cheaper.’’

-Quentin Crisp: from Richard Isaac, M.D., Toronto, Canada.

 

• Dickens Discovery on Justice: ``If there were no bad people, there would be no good lawyers.’’

-Charles Dickens

 

• Dirksen’s Three Laws of Politics: 1.) ``Get elected.’’ 2.) ``Get re-elected.’’ 3.) ``Get even.’’

-Senator Everett Dirksen, U.S. Senator from Illinois.

 

• Gill’s Law of Life’s Highway: ``The road to success is always under construction.’’

- (Heard by Tom Gill).

 

• Sally’s First Law: ``10 minutes of eating equals one week of dieting.’’

-(From the Sally Forth comic strip of January 9, 1993).

 

• Tom Jones’s Law: ``Friends may come and go but enemies accumulate.’’

-Dr. Thomas Jones, president of the University of South Carolina.

 

• Truman’ s Law: ``If you can’t convince them, confuse them.’’

-President Harry S. Truman

 

• Twain’s Warning: ``Be careful about reading health books. You may die of a misprint.’’

-Samuel Clemens quoted in Richard Lederer’s column, Concord Monitor, November 18, 1985.

 

*Bonus Round

Bill Lucey's Proverbial Bill of Rights: 1.) ``'Tis impossible to be sure of any thing, but Death, Taxes, and a new Reality Show.'' 2.) ``He who hesitates is last.'' 3.) ``A journey of a thousand miles begins at Terminal 1, Boarding Area B, Gate 20 of United Airlines.'' 4.) ``A fool and his money are soon partying to the wee hours of the morning.'' 5.) ``If at first you don’t succeed-pack up your tent and quit.’’ 6.) ``No news is either good news or a  sure sign your local newspaper just folded.’’

 

-Bill Lucey

[email protected]

December 8, 2013

 

 

Lyndon Johnson: Master of the Power Shift

``Power is where power goes.’’

Prescient words spoken by Lyndon Johnson from L.A.’s Biltmore Hotel in 1960, when he first learned Jack Kennedy was considering him as his running mate.

Some within LBJ’s inner-circle feared if he hitched his wagon to the Camelot candidate and they captured the White House-Johnson would be stripped of the power he had grown so accustomed to in the Senate and left with little influence in shaping public policy.

``Power is, where power goes’’ LBJ told Sam Rayburn, the gruff and abrasive fellow Texan, on the other end of the phone, who was urging his protégé not to, under any circumstances, accept a VP spot if it was offered, like the Speaker of the House feared.

What really transpired between Bobby Kennedy and Lyndon Johnson at the Democratic Convention in 1960 at the Biltmore Hotel, when John Kennedy’s younger brother and campaign manager made three trips (at least three trips) up and down the back stairs between Room 9333(Kennedy’s suite, on the 9^th floor) and Room 7333 (Johnson’s suite, on the 7^th floor) probably will never be fully known.

A number of convincing scenarios presented by Caro based on accounts of people who were there at the time, however, suggest RFK, who despised LBJ, (dating back to the first time their eyes locked like two wild animals in the Senate cafeteria in 1953), desperately tried to get Johnson to withdraw from the ticket even after John Kennedy personally offered it to him and convinced the Senate leader he wanted and needed him as his running mate.  At one point, Bobby Kennedy, in a frantic state with his light brown hair ruffled as it drooped down over his forehead in yet another attempt to get Johnson to withdraw, went eyeball-to-eyeball with the steely-eyed Sam Rayburn. ``Are you authorized to speak for Jack Kennedy’’? Bobby, clearly caught off guard, grudgingly said, ``no.’’ ``Then come back when you are!’’ Rayburn growled.

The explosive Biltmore Hotel clash was a case study in the stark contrast between Jack and Bobby Kennedy. Bobby, at least in 1960, was rough around the edges, governed largely by his intense passions and his volcanic grudges. Jack, on the other hand, was more cerebral and refined with an amazing ability to put animosity aside when it came to getting what he wanted. What he wanted was the White House and he knew he absolutely had to have Texas and by extension LBJ to win the White House. JFK’s instincts, again, were right on the money; JFK/LBJ took Texas and probably wouldn’t have won the election without the Lone Star State.  As Caro points out, in 1956, Eisenhower had taken 5 of the 11 confederate states in 1956, one of those was Texas.

This sets the stage for high drama and a mighty compelling narrative of Robert Caro’s brilliant fourth volume on LBJ: ``Passage of Power.’’ The years covered in this volume covers 1958 through 1964 or the 47 days after President Kennedy’s assassination.

A fifth and final volume is in the works and will cover LBJ’s landside victory over Barry Goldwater, the unveiling of his ``Great Society’’ programs, and the catastrophic Vietnam years, culminating in losing the confidence of the American people and his stunning decision not to seek a second term.

Interestingly, when Caro, a former Newsday investigative reporter, began researching ``Passage of Power’’ 10 years ago, he thought this would be his final volume.  It gradually became apparent that the Kennedy assassination and the first seven weeks of Johnson’s presidency needed more attention, much more attention, than the Pulitzer-Prize winning historian had anticipated.

I’m embarrassed to admit I just got around to Caro’s monumental work-even though it was released well over a year ago. If there are any keen observers of the U.S. presidency, especially involving the administrations of JFK and LBJ, who haven’t yet dipped into ``Passage of Power’’, I would recommend you push it to the very top of your Christmas list. It might very well be one of the best presents you’ve given yourself in quite some time.

Unlike others who have written about U.S. presidents, Caro had little interest in writing a biography of Lyndon Johnson, the man and what makes him tick.  Caro has devoted 35 years of his life researching LBJ, dating back to 1977.

Rather, he was more interested in writing about political power; specifically an examination of political power in a time of crisis. Long after many of us are dead and buried, there will be scores of college students, some future politicians, journalists, and historians, assigned to read Caro’s brilliant series and come away with a sharper understanding of how power truly worked in the nation’s capital in the 20^th century.

Given this country’s strong sense of Manifest Destiny and living the American Dream, it’s truly a compelling narrative when you take a closer look at the circumstances under which LBJ suddenly (and tragically) propelled to power on a warm, sunny Dallas day without a cloud in the sky before the 35^th president was fatally struck down by three bullets on November 22, 1963.

Lyndon Johnson, as Caro so dramatically describes, was a tragic figure really, who always lived in fear of failure and being humiliated, much like his father, who went bankrupt, losing their Texas ranch and sending his family to the depths of despair and poverty with Lyndon and his brother and younger sister forced to wear patches, mere rags substituting for clothing.  As Senate Majority Leader for six years, LBJ was arguably the second most powerful man in the country, second only to Dwight Eisenhower. A piece of legislation didn’t make it to the floor until Johnson said it would make it to the floor; and when he wanted a bill passed, something he felt strongly about, the bill usually passed as he whipped everyone into line like a herd of cattle on his Texas ranch.

Now a member of the Kennedy Administration and despite being promised a prominent role, Johnson soon realized just how powerless he had become.  For three years, JFK rarely shared sensitive overseas cables with him, he needed permission (usually from Bobby Kennedy) for travel trips, speeches, and the most mundane and trivial tasks. At times, he wasn’t invited to White House parties, other times when he vented his complaint to Kennedy in a White House memo about his lack of responsibility, the president simply ignored it.  And around the White House within JFK’s Ivy League inner-circle, Johnson was snickered at and made fun of. He was referred to as ``Rufus Cornpone’’ and when with Lady Bird Johnson, ``Uncle Cornpone and his little pork chop.’’  Face to face, he was rarely spoken to as Mr. Vice President, simply Lyndon. Despite the humiliation, Caro points out, there was a reason Johnson was kept on such a short leash. President Kennedy once confessed to a White House aide that LBJ’s hawkishness, which was in full bloom during the Cuban Missile Crisis meetings, scared the living daylights out of him.

For three long years, LBJ was largely put out to pasture as a VP. He looked gaunt, haggard, his eyes sunken, as if his best days were behind him. And it only got worse. As November, 1963 approached, there was a buzz filling the air that Kennedy wanted to drop LBJ from the 1964 ticket. The thinking was the vice president had become so marginalized, and his Texas star had dropped so precipitously that he was doing Kennedy little good. Besides, the Kennedy team had practically written off the South (as southern Democrats had grown more militant over civil rights) and were setting their sights westward, and thought about tapping Pat Brown, governor of California. Even if Texas was still in play, the consensus was John Connally, a wildly popular Texas governor, would be a better fit than LBJ.

So this was the backdrop, leading up to that star-crossed Dallas trip in November. Johnson, all too aware of the ``Dump LBJ’’ mantra, certainly must have felt the walls caving in around him as he stepped foot on Texas soil. No longer leader of the Senate, a weak link in the Kennedy administration; just weeks from fading into the sunset, out of sight and out of mind; before three loud bangs in rapid succession were heard in Dealey Plaza, the historic West end district of downtown Dallas, catapulted him in a blink of an eye to the most powerful political office in the world.

Caro is at his masterful best describing the transfer of power in perhaps the four most memorable days in U.S. history, from the time of Kennedy being pronounced dead up through the funeral-a full military procession, including the Marine Band as the slow moving cortege reached the front of the White House.

It’s fascinating to learn the immediate makeover of Lyndon Johnson. From the moment he left Parkland Hospital on his way to being sworn in on Air Force One as the 36^th president of the United States-his posture had completely been transformed: no longer with the haggard look, his posture was more erect, the swaying in his gait suspended; he now walked in a slower more measured step.

As tragic as November 22^nd, 1963 was, LBJ knew exactly what was expected of him and what to do the moment he learned the president was dead.

The eyes of the world were on him, especially from the Soviet Union; they wanted to know if there would be a smooth transfer of power and a sense of continuity.

For 47 days after Kennedy’s assassination, LBJ made sure continuity and stability were the order of the day. His tyrannical outbursts, verbal badgering of staffers, humiliating subordinates, would come later in his presidency. For these crucial seven weeks, LBJ assured the American people, the JFK dream would endure and he was merely carrying the torch. ``Let us carry forward the plans and programs of John Fitzgerald Kennedy—not because of our sorrow or sympathy, but because they are right’’ Johnson intoned during a thunderous State of the Union Speech on January 8, 1964.  ``In his memory today’’, Johnson went on to say, ``I especially ask all members of my own political faith, in this election year, to put your country ahead of your party, and to always debate principles; never debate personalities.’’

To put their country above personality was essentially the same line LBJ with  his folksy southern charm used to Kennedy’s inner-circle in order to make sure the  Dean Rusk’s, the Ted Sorenson's, the Robert McNamara's, the Pierre Salinger's, even making sure Arthur Schlesinger, Jr. Kennedy’s ``court historian'' didn’t abruptly submit their resignations so that ``continuity and stability’’ would be sustained.

Keeping the Kennedy staff together while working around the clock in back deals and wheeling and dealing with southern Senate Democrats to get Kennedy’s tax cut bill passed; and another key piece of civil rights legislation passed, set the table for LBJ’s landside victory.

LBJ was back in the saddle again; he was now setting the agenda, twisting and pulling Congressional members toward quick passage of his domestic agenda, particularly his ``War on Poverty’’, enunciated in his powerful State of the Union address.

When Johnson accepted Jack Kennedy’s offer to be his vice president at the Biltmore Hotel, many thought it was intended to dethrone the powerful Texan of his Senate Majority seat, where he otherwise would have been a major roadblock to many of Kennedy’s programs; and to keep him on a short leash as vice president, far away from the sinews of power.

At the time, John Kennedy, or the world for that matter, surely weren’t aware of an LBJ truism: ``Power is where power goes.’’

 

-Bill Lucey

[email protected]

December 4, 2013

 

Christmas Season Begins on a Dark and Violent Note

The Christmas season, so we are told, officially begins on Black Friday (now it seems Dark Thursday or Thanksgiving), the day ones inner savage is unleashed as herds of shoppers take to the stores like Bluto (depicted by John Belushi in the motion picture ``Animal House’’) takes to a college dining hall to howl ``Food Fight!’’

After viewing YouTube videos over the weekend of shoppers involved in scrapes with the law either through shootings, stabbings, fist fights, and other acts of gang warfare for something as trivial as a flat screen TV-I couldn’t help but think we might be missing the point of this festive holiday season-a time when we should be exhibiting signs of peace on earth and good will toward others.

 

Consequently, I thought I would highlight the origins of some Christmas traditions we used to treasure before Black Friday came rumbling into to town.

Here are some of my favorites:

• The original Saint Nicholas was a wealthy 4th century bishop of Myria in Asia Minor (now Demre, Turkey), known for his kindness and works of charity.

 

• St Francis of Assisi, Italy constructed the first Nativity scene in a cave near Greccio, Italy on Christmas Eve, 1223.

 

• In Scotland, The Kirk (The Church of Scotland, or the Presbyterian Church influenced by the Scottish Reformation) beginning in 1560 produced the First Book of Discipline (later adopted by an Act of Parliament) abolishing Feast Days, including Christmas, which  did not become an official holiday in Scotland until 1958.

 

• In 1647, under Oliver Cromwell, an Act of Parliament prohibited the observance of Christmas.  The holiday was restored by Charles II after the Restoration in 1660.

 

• The Puritan government in Massachusetts made it illegal to celebrate Christmas between 1659 and 1681.

 

• By the end of the 16th century, indoor Christmas trees were a common fixture in most German homes; by 1610, thin strips of silver, later to be known as tinsel, began to be used as decoration.

 

• J.S. Bach’s Christmas oratorio premiered in Leipzig, Germany in 1734.

 

• The world premiere of Silent Night was performed in the Nikolaus-Kirche (Church of St. Nicholas) in Oberndorf, Austria on Christmas Eve, 1818.

 

• Sir Henry Cole, an English civil servant and founding director of what is now the London’s Victoria & Albert Museum approached a painter in 1843 to devise a series of holiday cards which would read: ``A Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to You.’’ By 1860, Christmas cards became wildly fashionable in England.

 

• In 1847, Placide Cappeau, a wine merchant, amateur poet, and mayor of the village of Roquemaure in Rhone Valley wrote the lyrics to what would eventually be known as ``O Holy Night’’ a French carol, titled: ``Cantique de Noёl’’ or literally, ``Song of Christmas’’; the carol was set to music by Adolphe Adam and first performed at the Christmas Eve Midnight Mass of 1847 in Roquemaure with Madame Laurey performing the solo.

 

• Jingle Bells was first published by Oliver Ditson and Company in Boston in 1857 under the title: ``One Horse Open Sleigh’’, but was later reissued as ``Jingle Bells’’ or ``One Horse Open Sleigh’’ in 1859. Today, the song is simply known as ``Jingle Bells’’ written by James Lord Pierpont, a native of Meford, Massachusetts.

 

• ``O Little Town of Bethlehem’’ a sacred carol written by the Rev. Phillips Brooks, pastor of Holy Trinity Episcopal Church in Philadelphia , was first performed by children of the Holy Trinity Sunday School on December 27, 1868.

 

• Edward H. Sears, pastor of First Church Unitarian in Wayland, Massachusetts  wrote the lyrics to America’s first prominent carol ``It Came upon the Midnight Clear’’ , which was originally a five verse poem first published in the Christian Register on December 29, 1849. The poem was set to music by Richard Storrs Willis who later became a music critic for the New York Tribune.

 

• George Frideric Handel’s ``Messiah’’, a composition so firmly fixed to the Christmas season, was actually first presented as an Easter oratorio at Dublin’s New Music Hall in Fishamble Street on April 13, 1742.

 

• In Ethiopia, Christmas Day is celebrated on January 7th on a day called ``Ganna.’’ Worshipers are given a candle and walk around the tree three times before standing for the remainder of the three-hour service.

 

• Filipinos celebrate the Christmas season with nine pre-dawn masses known as Misa de Gallo or ``mass of the rooster.'' It begins on December 16 and ends on the midnight mass of December 24.

 

• The first image of the St Nicholas sliding down a chimney appeared in the New York Mirror on January 2, 1841.

• In 1836, Alabama became the first state to declare Christmas a legal holiday.

 

• The first department store to feature a Santa Claus was in Philadelphia on December 24, 1841 at the J.W. Parkinson's store. The next Santa Claus wouldn't be spotted again until 1890, this time accompanied with his own white beard at the Boston Store in Brockton, Mass.

 

• In a poem published in Harper’s Weekly on December 26, 1857, ``The Wonders of Santa Claus’’, the poem makes one of the first references to elves making toys.

 

• Thomas Nast, a German immigrant, age 22, published his first depiction of Santa Claus speaking to Union troops in the January 3, 1863 edition of Harper’s Weekly.

 

• Based largely from the German and French models, the first English gift book or literary annual, ``The Forget me Not: A Christmas and New Years Present for 1823. was published by R. Ackermann, a publisher of illustrated books.

 

• The first illustration of a Christmas tree was in an American book, published in 1836,  ``The Stranger's Gift. A Christmas and New Year's Present’’ written by a German immigrant, Herman Bokum.

 

• The London Illustrated News in 1848, published a woodcut print of Queen Victoria, Prince Albert and their children gathered around a Christmas tree.

 

• Charles Dickens first wrote about Christmas in ``Sketches by Boz’’ (1836). His last chapter, ``A Christmas Dinner’’ is undoubtedly a foreshadowing of Cratchits’ Christmas Dinner in a Christmas Carol.

 

• On June 26, 1870, Christmas was declared a federal holiday in the United States.

 

• In 1883, Sears, Roebuck & Company began offering the first artificial Christmas trees – 33 limbs for 50 cents and 55 limbs for $1.00.

 

• In 1897, an 8 year-old girl, Virginia O'Hanlon, who lived at 115 West Ninety-Fifth Street in New York City, wrote a letter to her local newspaper, The New York Sun, asking if there really was a Santa Claus after some of her friends told her there is no such thing as Santa Claus. The editor, Francis B. Church, responded to her letter, which was published on September 21, 1897, with the heading: ``Yes Virginia There is a Santa Claus.''

 

• Great Britain’s King George V delivered his first Christmas broadcast by the BBC radio in 1932 with the message reaching an estimated 20 million people; the first televised broadcast of a Christmas message was delivered by Queen Elizabeth II in 1957.

 

• John Adams was the first U.S. president to celebrate Christmas in the White House; while Calvin Coolidge was the first president to light the National Community Christmas Tree on the Ellipse in Washington D.C. on Christmas Eve, 1923.

 

• The First Radio City Music Hall Christmas Show was launched in 1933.

 

• In 1939, Chicago retailer Montgomery Ward introduced Rudolph the Red-nosed Reindeer.

 

• The radio broadcast of Engelbert Humperdinck’s Hansel and Gretel was the first opera to be broadcast by radio from New York City’s Metropolitan Opera on Christmas Day in 1931.

 

• On December 7th, 1898 Canada issued the world's first Christmas stamp, showing a map of the world in 1569 by the Flemish cartographer Gerhardus Mercator inscribed with ``Xmas 1898.''

 

• Eggnog originated with the British from posset, a hot drink consisting of eggs and milk with nog (strong ale) or wine added.

 

• The motion picture ``A Christmas Carol’’ premiered as a silent film in 1914 starring Charles Rock as Scrooge; the first sound version was made in the United States (1938) starring British actor Reginald Owen as Scrooge.

 

• The televised broadcast of the Midnight Mass from St Peter’s Basilica in Rome has been an annual tradition since 1948.

 

• In January, 2003, President Hosni Mubarak issued a presidential decree authorizing the celebration of Christmas as a national holiday, making it the first time that the Egyptian government recognized a Christian holy day.

 

-Bill Lucey

[email protected]

December 1, 2013