Cool It Baby

            Sometimes I wonder if my guitar playing is improving as a result of practicing every morning for several years. I think it is, but it seems to be happening at the speed of the evolution of Galapagos birds.

            On Sunday I did a bit of journal writing and worked a bit on my book cover. I opened an envelope that I’d received from the Ontario Ministry of Housing on Friday confirming that I’ll be getting the Toronto Housing Allowance for another year. I wonder if Ford is going to cancel that program.

            Later I rode out into another oven-sent afternoon. There were a fair amount of cyclists on Bloor and on Danforth for a Sunday, but only one got ahead and stayed ahead. I was quite a bit slower than my best time getting out to Pharmacy and Danforth. I rode up Pharmacy to Camilla Crescent, took that until it turned to Clairlea Crescent and came back around to Pharmacy. The next street north was Hollydene Road, which goes east and then north to become Camrose Crescent and return to Hollydene. I rode north on Pharmacy one more block to Knightsbridge and then started my return trip on Pharmacy. I had a nice ride down the hill from Donside because I’d waited at the top for a fresh green light before descending. It always starts to change again when I’m halfway down but I shot through the intersection at the bottom with five seconds to spare.

            I stopped at Starbucks and after punching the code on a vacant washroom I hit some guy inside with the door. I guess he forgot to lock it or else he unlocked it and remembered that he’d forgotten to wash his hands.

            Just before Broadview I stopped at Shoppers Drug Mart to buy some razors and shaving gel. I got a pack of six Gilette Mach 3 disposables and they cost over $15. I don’t recall ever paying that much. After I’d paid the cashier didn’t offer me a bag, even though I was standing right there while she asked the next customer, who only had one item, if he wanted a bag. Maybe she noticed my backpack and just decided that I didn’t need a bag.

            Whether I go south on Yonge when I get there or continue along Bloor depends on the traffic lights. Usually they favour going down Yonge but this time I had a green on Bloor and kept going all the way to Brock before heading south and home.

            For dinner I had a sunny-side-up egg with the toasted last remnants of the end of a loaf of dark rye bread and also a paratha. The paratha was delicious. I also had a few crackers with cheese and a beer while watching two episodes of Dobie Gillis.

            In the first story, Dobie’s cousin Virgil arrives in town from the south with dreams of making it in the music business as a rock and roll singer. The booking agent that he spoke with told him that he needed a girl with good legs to stand beside him and dance; some slick and flashy costumes; the most important thing was that he had to see a big audience react to him. In order to acquire the money for these things, Virgil goes to his Uncle Herbert and proceeds to spread on the southern charm until the whole family is eating out of his hands. He gets Herbert to organize a show at the Bison Lodge; he flatters Dobie’s mother into making his costumes and he secretly convinces Dobie’s leggy girlfriend, Grace, that Dobie is a cad, which causes her to split up with him. He then offers to help Dobie win her back by dating her and convincing her that Dobie is a wonderful guy. He gets Dobie a job parking cars and gets Dobie to give him all his tips so he can have money to take Grace out while he’s convincing her. On the night of Virgil’s concert, Grace is beside him on stage twisting in a leg revealing costume. Dobie doesn’t realize that Virgil has stolen his girlfriend until the last minute of the episode.

            The only person that isn’t fooled by Virgil is Maynard, but Maynard’s attempts to sabotage Virgil’s career only serve to help him.

            Apparently some of the music for this episode was composed by a young Randy Newman. But at least one of the songs, namely “Cool It Baby” was written by Randy’s Uncle, Lionel Newman -“I love your eyes, I love your lips, They taste even better than potato chips but cool it baby, Quit your goofin and please, pretty please, pretty please, Cool it baby, if you wanna hug and squeeze, Cool it baby, make like a crazy breeze, I love to swing, I love to bop, bop, bop, but do you have to go and blow your pretty top, no, no, no, Cool it baby, count to ten, Cool it baby, I’ll tell you when, Cool it baby, till I see you once again.” The others sounded similar - “Come on baby, rock with me, I love ya little darlin and it’s plain to see … Your eyes light up when you’re holdin me tight …” The last song went “Twistin baby, come on now, Twistin baby, you know how, When we’re twistin, man like wow, baby come and twist with me, Twist to the left and ya twist to the right, Twist all the day and ya twist all night, Ya can’t go wrong when you’re twistin right, baby come and twist with me, Round and round, up and down, To and fro, fast or slow, Never stop, Go, go, go, baby come and twist with me …”

            “Cool it baby” was a hit for Eddie Fontaine.

            Grace was played by Stephanie Hill.

            In the second story Dobie goes to the Amazon jungle with his Anthropology class. Maynard goes missing while they’re down there and Dobie is arrested when a shrunken head that he buys to impress a girl looks just like Maynard. Dobie escapes to the jungle and is captured and being cooked in a pot by the natives when their king arrives and says to release him. The king is Maynard and he’s got the natives making fake shrunken heads in his image out of coconuts for tourists. Maynard tells Dobie he has to kiss his hand so the natives won’t get mad. He does so but then Maynard says he has to kiss his sneakers too and so Dobie jumps back into the cooking pot.