Penney Parker

            On Tuesday it rained in the morning and since it looked like it could rain in the late afternoon and since also had writing to do I didn’t take a bike ride.

            I talked in the hall with my next-door neighbour, Benji. He was complaining that modern immigrants to Canada don’t have the same work ethic that they did when he came here from Guyana in the 70s. He used our Sri Lankan landlord as an example and said that they all come here geared to take advantage of the government. He also mentioned all the Africans from Somalia and Ethiopia that hang around getting drunk outside of our building. I don’t think the few fallen immigrants that we see on the street reflect the entire immigrant population. Statistics show that immigrants tend to contribute to the Canadian economy more than people that were born here.

            Benji said that the donut shop downstairs isn’t doing very well and may not renew their lease and added that is worrying the landlord. The Coffeetime always looks busy to me and even if they do leave it’s prime retail real estate. He can easily hike up the rent and get another commercial tenant right away.

            That night I watched episodes 9 and 10 of he many Loves of Dobie Gillis.

            The 9^th episode co-starred Warren Beatty as Dobie’s rival, Milton. Dobie wanted to get a part in a school play because he was in love with the lead actress and the play had a kissing scene, but Milton won the audition. However, since Dobie was the only other one that tried out for the part, even in losing he became Milton’s understudy and so plotted to get Milton out of the play. A trap door onstage was involved. Dobie actually put in a good performance and got the girl in the end.

            In the 10^th episode Dobie falls for a new girl in class. While a lesson about genes is going on Dobie is trying to ask her to go steady. Poppy says it depends on something she would need to explain and so he invites her to dinner. Dinner takes place in Dobie’s father’s grocery store after closing and it consists of the most expensive food he sells, like canned caviar. Poppy explains that they can only go steady if Dobie wants to have lots of children. He tells her he wants anything she wants. She’s also concerned about the lesson they’d had in school that day about genetic inheritance. She says if Dobie’s father is a mean and angry person then that could be passed on to their children. Dobie sets about to arrange a meeting between Poppy and his parents and so for the first time he begins to help out in the grocery store in order to put his father in a good mood. He does the deliveries and takes Poppy with him, but they eat some of the food and he screws up some of the orders. By the time Dobie brings Poppy to meet him his father has been given three subpoenas to appear in three different courts at the same time on Monday. He chases Dobie angrily around the store.

            Poppy was played by Penney Parker, who for a season was Danny’s daughter on Make Room for Daddy.