Linda Darnell

            On Tuesday morning I worked out a rhyming translation of the first three lines of "Complainte du progrès" by Boris Vian. He begins by talking about how courtship used to be romantic while now one proves one’s love with gifts of electronic gadgets.

            I finished posting “Banana Boat” by Serge Gainsbourg on my Christian’s Translations blog. The next Gainsbourg song I work on will be “Kawasaki”, which is from the point of view of a member of a female bike gang who is determined to fight the other girls to remain the leader.

            I called Service New Brunswick’s toll free number to ask if I need to write my original name on my application for a birth certificate. I was told that if they’ve already given me a birth certificate with my legal name then I should write my legal name where the application asks for my name at birth. It was a good thing I’d called because I found out I’d filled out the application wrong. Fortunately I’d printed two forms by accident.

            I rode my newly welded bike up to Bloor and Lansdowne to take out some cash and to get a $45 money order for Service New Brunswick. The teller didn’t seem to have done a money order before as it took a long time.

            On my way home I stopped at the hardware store to buy a can of spray paint so I could coat the welding job to keep it from rusting. I settled on aluminium gloss Tremclad rust paint because I was told that brand would handle weather better.

            When I got home I properly filled out my birth certificate application and took it to the post office to send to New Brunswick. Once I get my birth certificate renewed I can renew my Social Insurance card and then my health card. I’ve also got to get another U of T student card but I want to get a haircut first for the photo. I can ride up to Topcuts on Monday after class.

            I had chickpeas with flaxseed oil and garlic for lunch.

            In the afternoon I took my bike out onto the roof, turned it upside down, removed the back wheel and the derailleur and painted my dropout. The Tremclad website said it takes 24 hours for the paint to fully dry. I left my bile outside for a couple of hours until the paint was no longer sticky and then brought it inside.

            I did some exercises.

            I made back ribs and had three for dinner with three little potatoes and some gravy while watching Wagon Train.

            This story begins with Flint discovering that the Sioux have gotten hold of new army issue rifles. While scouting ahead of the wagon train he comes across the campsite of Doc Lockridge, who says he sells blankets for a living, and Dora Gray. Dora invites Flint to camp with them for the night and he does so. When they are asleep Flint looks in the back of Doc’s wagon and discovers crates of army issue rifles. Doc and Dora each try to stop him but he disarms them both, takes them prisoner and says he’s taking them to stand trial, despite the fact that Doc would definitely hang for his crime. Doc steals Flint’s horse and escapes. Dora tries her best to charm Flint but he is cold to her and says she will probably get five or ten years in prison. He tells her he’s taking her to Fort Grace but she tells him he’ll be sorry if he takes her there. At the Fort the soldiers know Dora and the commanding officer is acting strangely. It turns out that they are the ones that traded their guns to the Doc in exchange for whisky. They arrest Flint for possession of contraband rifles and lock him up. Dora gets the lieutenant drunk and takes the keys when he becomes unconscious. She goes to free Flint on the condition that he won’t turn her in but the idiot refuses because he always keeps his word. The soldiers take Flint out on the trail with the wagonload of guns. Their plan is to make it look like Flint is escaping and to kill him. Back at the fort Dora is under guard but she smashes a bottle over his head, steals a horse and heads out to save Flint. Just as the soldiers are about to kill Flint the Sioux attack to get the rifles. The soldiers leave Flint tied up in the wagon. The Sioux chase the soldiers but one warrior stays behind to kill Flint. Just as he is about to spar him Dora shoots him. Flint and Dora lie under a wagon with rifles ready as the Sioux charge. Flint finally kisses her and it’s his first kiss in twenty episodes of the show. Dora and Flint are lying side by side and facing in one direction with their guns. For some dumb reason the Sioux are only attacking in front of Flint and Dora’s guns even though they could attack the wagon from any angle. They fight off the Sioux together but Flint turns Dora in anyway. He puts in a good word for her and the commanding officer assures him the trial will just be a formality. Dora says she’ll see Flint in San Francisco. The character of Dora does return in a later episode.

            Dora was played by Linda Darnell, who developed so quickly that she was able to pass for 16 at the age of 11 and start working as a model. Her mother enabled the lie and let her go out to Hollywood but the studio found out her real age and sent her home. At 17 she was the leading lady in The Mark of Zorro. She died at the age of 41 in a house fire.