George Dolenz

            On Thursday morning I finished  searching for the chords to “Joujou a la casse" (Dolly to the Trash) by Serge Gainsbourg, having only found one set. When I started working out the instrumental I didn't find that they all fit, at least not for the first few notes.

            Since classes at U of T begin next Thursday and Professor Kamboureli has decided to give her first lecture then even though it's a tutorial day, I decided today would be a good day to go downtown to buy school supplies. But since I’ve also been waiting for a day when I’m going downtown to take my guitar back to the Remenyi House of Music to see if they can fix or replace the machine head for my B string I thought I'd kill two birds with one stone. But first I wanted to find my receipt for the guitar. However when I looked through my receipt drawer I couldn't find it. I paid by debit though and I have an online record of my purchase and so I figured that would be enough, but I wanted to make sure. I couldn’t call to ask however because I hadn't paid for my September phone service. So I walked over to Wind and got that done. I called the guitar department at Remenyi and Harold was pretty sure that my problem would be covered under the warranty. He also told me that I wouldn’t need my receipt and so I was there in half an hour. Harold told me I would have to leave the guitar there probably until that afternoon but maybe the next day, depending on when he got approval from Washburn to make the repair under the warranty. Before I left I bought three G strings and then headed down to Staples.

            The first thing I looked at were pens. They didn’t have the fine pointed Staples Strata pens and so I decided to try a couple of other brands. I picked up a pack of five Uni-ball Vision Needle pens and two double packs of needle point Sharpies.

            Even though all the lectures will be online this term I can’t type fast enough to make lecture notes at home and so I needed two notebooks. I selected two black, hard cover Cambridge notebooks for almost $20 each. I think it’s the most extravagant scribbler purchase I’ve ever made but since I started getting my pension I felt like I could afford to treat myself.

            Next I looked for webcams. Although it hasn’t yet been stated that I need Zoom for my courses, Zoom has been mentioned as an option for meetings with the professor for Introduction to Canadian Literature. I’ve gotten no word at all from anyone regarding Introduction to British Literature, so I don’t have a clue as to what will be happening with that course. I figured that I'd better play it safe and get a webcam anyway, but I discovered that they are in such demand this year that there were only two left on the shelf. One was a cheap looking cam for $60 and the other was the Aver Live Streamer Cam 313 for $100. The Aver looked better so I got that.

            My mouse has gotten very sticky lately and hard to manage and so I picked up the Logitech M100 for $12.99. I think it’s hilarious that the mouse was cheaper than one of the paper scribblers.

            I rode home and had a quick and late lunch of potato chips and salsa and then I took a late siesta. At 17:00 I called Remenyi and was told my guitar was ready and so I headed downtown again. They'd changed the whole machine for the B string and gave me the old one.

            On the way home I stopped at Freshco where I bought a basket of Ontario grapes, a bag of black grapes, a pint of strawberries, a pack of chicken drumsticks, two containers of Greek yogourt, one container of strawberry skyr, a bag of naan, some Earl Grey tea, some old cheddar and some Irish Spring soap. I saw the soap on display outside of its regular aisle in packs of three for $3.49. That seemed expensive and so I went around the corner to the soap shelf and saw packs of six for $3.99. The Freshco management was trying to pull a fast one and that seems unethical to me.

I grilled four pork chops and had one with a potato, sautéed onion and orange pepper and gravy while watching the last episode of The Adventures of William Tell” and the first episode of “The Count of Monte Cristo”

In the Tell story a Swiss operative from Innsbruck, Austria is shot while crossing the border into Switzerland. He manages to survive until he reaches a partisan to give him a message for William Tell that Jacques has been killed. He says that Jacques had a contact close to the emperor and then just before dying he mentions “The Raven”. Tell goes to Innsbruck to try to find the contact and poses as a poulterer with a wagon of homing pigeons. There he finds a tavern called “The Raven” and goes in. But when Johan the innkeeper hears Tell speak of Jacques he thinks he’s a spy and he has his man Hans attack him. But while Tell is fighting Hans Johan knocks him out from behind with a wooden hammer. Tell is placed in the cellar and Johan sends a message to the operative working undercover in the emperor’s palace. The operative turns out to be an Austrian general named Michaelis and he recognizes Tell. Tell takes up the task of using his pigeons to send vital information leaked from the emperor’s palace by Michaelis back to Switzerland. One tidbit is about a shipment of gold being brought from Switzerland by Gessler’s guards through the pass. The Austrians are ambushed by rebels and the gold taken. General Reinhardt, another of the emperor’s advisors suspects Michaelis of being a traitor but the emperor likes Michaelis and requires solid proof. Reinhardt sends his man Sebastian to find that proof. Sebastian has been romancing Magda, the daughter of Johan in order to get information from her because he knows that her father has sheltered Swiss rebels before. In the market she innocently points out to Sebastian a man who has been staying at the inn. Sebastian recognizes William Tell. The emperor decides to share information only with Michaelis that a courier is being sent to Gessler. The plan is that if the information is leaked he will know that Michaelis is a traitor. Soldiers follow Michaelis to Tell and attack them both. Michaelis is killed and Tell hides in a wine barrel. The barrel is rolled outside by partisans while soldiers search the inn but Tell decides call to Reinhardt and challenge him. Reinhardt comes out with his sword drawn and they fight but Tell kills him. Tell escapes back to Switzerland and that’s the end of the series.

Magda was played by Jill Browne.

In the first Monte Cristo story, it is 1833 and the king of Spain is dying. His wife Queen Maria wants to rule as regent until her daughter Isabella is old enough to take the throne. But the king’s brother Don Carlos wants to force her to abdicate so he can be king. The bells ring to announce the death of the king. Don Feliz goes to France to seek help for the queen. Feliz is attacked on the way but manages to survive long enough to reach Paris where on his death bed he meets the Count of Monte Cristo who agrees to help the queen and the Infanta take refuge in France. The count travels with his man Jacopo to find the queen at the monastery of Santa Thomas. They are stopped by two Spanish soldiers. The one that the count fights is good with a sword. Jacopo chases the other soldier away but when the soldier that the count is fighting learns that the count is there against Don Carlos he tells the count to disarm him. He purposely allows his sword to be knocked away and joins the count on his mission. The count persuades the abbot that he can be trusted and is allowed to meet the queen to whom he gives back Isabella’s toy which Feliz took as a token to France. Don Carlos threatens the queen’s maid with harm to her family and so she reveals the plan for the queen and the Infanta’s escape. Don Carlos kidnaps the Infanta and tells the queen she will be returned if she signs the papers of abdication. The count, posing as a monk advises her to agree to the terms only if her child is brought to her. Carlos says they will travel in the queen’s coach to where the child is being held. The count sends a message by pigeon to the abbot for all of the churches to ring their bells as the queen’s coach passes. The abbot releases several pigeons to return home to all of the churches and the bells are rung. Carlos stops the coach and has the count arrested with order to kill him but the count escapes. At the monastery the queen is reunited with Isabella and signs the papers. But then Carlos says they will not be allowed to leave a prepares poison for them to drink. Suddenly the bells of the abbey begin to ring and Carlos hurries to the bell tower to stop them. There he is faced with the Count of Monte Cristo. They duel until the count disarms Carlos and the count’s friends arrive to overpower the soldiers. Carlos is forced to burn the abdication papers.

Queen Maria was played by Margaret Whiting, who co-starred in “The Password is Courage” and “Sinbad and the Eye of the Tiger”.

The Infanta was played by Gay Emma, who was in “Katy”, “Badger’s Bend” and “Best Sellers”.

The count is played by George Dolenz who was the father of Micky Dolenz of The Monkees.