Here is a kingfisher, showing off his catch.
Keep it in mind as you read today’s poem from The Writer’s Almanac by Wendell Berry called “Before Dark.”
From the porch at dusk I watched
a kingfisher wild in flight
he could only have made for joy.
He came down the river, splashing
against the water’s dimming face
like a skipped rock, passing
on down out of sight. And still
I could hear the splashes
farther and farther away
as it grew darker. He came back
the same way, dusky as his shadow,
sudden beyond the willows.
The splashes went on out of hearing.
It was dark then. Somewhere
the night had accommodated him
—at the place he was headed for
or where, led by his delight,
he came.
What a list of women in the puzzle today!! Jennifer Aniston, Glenn Close, Tami Hoag, Linda Ellerbee, Ayn Rand, Amy Klobuchar, Ann Patchett, Jane Goodall, Bea Arthur, Jacinda Ardern, and the fictional Lisbeth Salander: “The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo.”
Phil!! Run out and get some more Fresca!! I think we’re okay on dip. I’ll pull the last of Yev’s pierogies out of the freezer — what are we saving them for?
Linda Ellerbee is 79 now. Here’s how she looked before.
She was diagnosed with breast cancer and had a double mastectomy — but that was back in 1992. Whew. Good catch, docs.
She got one of her early jobs in radio because her Texas background made her sound Black, and the Black woman the station hired didn’t.
Ellerbee’s work on NBC News Overnight was recognized by the duPont Columbia Awards as “possibly the best written and most intelligent news program ever.” Her work on news for children with her husband Rolfe Tessum for their company Lucky Duck Productions (Nick News) received much praise and many awards. Before marrying Rolfe in 1985, she shed husbands in ’66, ’71, ’75, and ’83.
Does anyone remember this? In 1989, Ellerbee created a minor uproar by appearing in TV ads for Maxwell House coffee. The NYT said the ads betrayed her trademark “uncompromising intellectual honesty” and “sardonic wit” — and were mercenary, “devaluing both broadcast news and broadcast advertising.” Jeez Louise! Jimmy Breslin called to support her by reminding her that when he made a beer commercial, they let him keep his Pulitzer Prize. (Burp!)
She was associated with the sign-off phrase “and so it goes,” which became the title of her first memoir (and of this Owl Chatter post!).
Here’s a small sample of her work, a piece she produced for Nick News. You won’t see her in it, but her hands are all over it.
In case you missed it, Michigan beat Penn State yesterday 24-15 in a very big game for both teams. UM coach Harbaugh was out, suspended due to a sign-stealing scandal, but Sherrone Moore took over at the helm and steered the ship well. Interestingly, starting in the second period, Michigan used only running plays for the rest of the game — not a single pass play. Was it a “statement?” Penn State came into the game with the best run defense in the country.
Moore got a little emotional after the game, even slipping an F-bomb or two and a “sh*t” into his post-game blather. Check out this clip — I love the “Thank you Coach” Jenny Taft drops at the end.
Owl Chatter will be moving its operations down to College Park, MD, next weekend to catch the UMich-Maryland game in person. Should just be a warm-up for the following week’s death match against Ohio State, but you can never take anything for granted. Go Blue!
And, Harbaugh — Owl Chatter loves the sh*t out of you too!
Getting back to those women in the puzzle, does Jacinda Ardern ring any bells for you?
On October 26, 2017, at age 37, Ardern became the Prime Minister of New Zealand, thus becoming the world’s youngest female head of government. (She served until Jan of this year.) Ardern gave birth to her daughter the following June, making her only the second elected head of government to give birth while in office. The first was Golda Meir at age 76. Wait, what? No, the first was Benazir Bhutto. (Who even knew Ben was a woman?)
As PM, Ardern introduced strict gun control laws after a mass shooting in a mosque, and she led New Zealand’s response to COVID-19, winning praise for its being one of the few Western nations to contain the virus successfully.
[OTOH, a Rex poster posted this: We just returned from 3 weeks in New Zealand and were surprised that many of the people we met had a very low opinion of Ms. Ardern. She certainly seems charming based on her Colbert appearances but the general feeling was “you can have her.”]
Before PM-ing, she spent some time in the U.S., which included volunteering at a soup kitchen in NY. Her dad was a cop and her mom a school catering assistant. Her daughter’s given names are Neve Te Aroha. Neve is an anglicized form of the Irish name Niamh, meaning ‘bright’; Aroha is Māori for ‘love’, and Te Aroha is a rural town west of the Kaimai Range, near Ardern’s former home town of Morrinsville.
SAL BANDO was in the puzzle too — “Captain of MLB’s Swingin’ A’s of the 1970s.” Those A’s won three consecutive World Series (’72 – ’74), and he was a frequent All-Star and near-MVP. Take a look at that wonderful Italian punim — first his real one and then how he appeared in his cameo role on The Simpsons! He passed away earlier this year at 78. Rest in peace, Salvatore.
In his beautiful tribute to Matthew Perry in the Sunday Opinion section of The Times today, Hank Azaria wanted to convey how funny Perry was within their friendship. Here’s what he came up with:
Every time — and I do mean every time — we went to a McDonald’s drive-thru, he would ask the person on the other side of the speaker, “Do you know what Grimace is?” After getting a “no,” he would offer, “I think it’s a purple shake that has no cup.” There was usually a pause followed by a very confused, “May I take your order, sir?”
Whenever we went into a public restroom together, I’d beg him — I’d say, “Please don’t do it, Matthew.” He’d say, “OK.” Then he would proceed to go into a stall and start making little high-pitched straining “ow” noises, that would build into a crescendo of a man full-volume screeching as if he were giving birth to whatever was coming out of him in there.
If you’re looking for the story, it’s on page 10, and has this drawing of Perry by Iris Legendre on top.
[Owl Chatter note: Drive-thru ordering may be a genre in comedy. Dave Letterman once drove up to one those things in a convertible with Zsa Zsa Gabor, and asked to see their wine list.]
We went to a wonderful concert today in Plainfield, with Lianna’s viola teacher playing in the violin section. A 14-year-old cellist tore the roof off the place – an adorable Asian girl — playing Haydn’s cello concerto. But I didn’t get enough sleep during it, so I’m a little tired now. If I’m lucky, I’ll drop off and miss tonight’s Jets game.
See you tomorrow.
The Wellington Files 