Doris Singleton

            For the last few days the returning mobility of my sprained arm had been at a plateau but on Saturday morning I was able to descend a little further into a push up from the position of having my arms fully extended with my knees on the floor and I was also able to put my weight for a while on my right arm while lifting my bum up off the floor and raising my left arm in the air. 

            I translated the first chorus of "Arthur, où t'as mis le corps?" (Arthur, Where'd You Put the Corpse?) by Boris Vian: "Arthur, where'd you put the corpse? / we all cried in chorus / Well, I don't know where I put it guys / Arthur, remember where you were / It has a certain importance / What I know is he's dead / That guys I can guarantee / but it's slipped from my head / I can't recall where he could be" 

            I memorized the chorus and the first verse of "On n'est pas des grenouille" (We Are Not Amphibians) by Serge Gainsbourg. 

            I weighed 89.7 kilos before breakfast. 

            Around midday I went out to No Frills. The red grapes were very cheap but I still only got five bags. I also bought three Honeycrisp apples, a strawberry rhubarb pie, mouth wash, olive oil, a jug of orange juice, lemonade, skyr and Greek yogourt. 

            When I got home I put my groceries away and took off my street clothes. But then I realized I'd forgotten to buy beer. I decided I'd go later when I was dressed again for my bike ride.

            I weighed 89.5 kilos before lunch. I had crackers with five year old cheddar and a glass of lemonade. A wasp flew into my lemonade so I had to scoop it out with a tea strainer and left it in the sink. It was already crawling out when I walked away. 

            In the afternoon I took a bike ride to Yonge and Bloor. When I got back I remembered to buy beer and so I went out to get a six pack of Creemore at the liquor store. When I returned my upstairs neighbour David was knocking on my door to get the key he'd left me on Thursday to let the exterminator into his place. He gave me three African style chicken pieces with French fries that a cab driver friend of his had picked up for him from Queen and Parliament. 

            I weighed 89.5 kilos at 17:30. 

            I finished reading the introduction to The Scarlet Letter. It seems when a new president was elected Hawthorne was fired from his customs officer job and finally had time to write The Scarlet Letter. 

            I read Scene 2 of Henry IV Part 1. We meet Prince Henry and Falstaff. They are a couple of libertines and it seems they get sucked into a plot to put on masks and rob some people as highwaymen. But then Henry gets sucked into a plot to betray Falstaff and rob him after he's robbed the others. There's also an image of the sun in drag as a sex trade worker. 

            I read the first two chapters of The Scarlet Letter. It begins with Hester Prynne carrying a baby and being released from prison where she carried out part of her sentence by embroidering a scarlet letter "A" on the breast of her dress. But some Puritan ladies are complaining that she did too artful a job while she should have had the letter branded on her forehead because on clothing it's not enough of a punishment. She is escorted to the market where she will be put in stocks but she walks very proudly and unashamed. 

            I read part of Scene 3 of Henry IV. The king wants Hotspur to bring in Mortimer but Mortimer is Hotspur's brother and also the rightful heir to the throne. 

            I made pizza on naan with Parmese sauce, a cut up slice of ham, a few french fries and extra old cheddar. I had it with a beer while watching an episode of Gomer Pyle. 

            In this story Sergeant Carter wants to buy a $70 watch for Bunny's birthday but he has no money until payday. Gomer offers to lend him the money but it is against the rules for non-commissioned officers to borrow money from privates and Carter could be court martialled for doing so. Carter manages to get Miss Johnson at the jewellery store in the PX to let him put down a dollar and to take the watch. But Gomer does not know about the lay away plan and when he sees Carter pocketing the watch he thinks he's stealing it. Gomer sneaks into Carter's duty hut and removes the watch from his desk, thinking he's saving Carter from being a thief. Gomer discretely returns the watch to the jewellery store and leaves it on the counter. Miss Johnson calls Carter to tell him he forgot his watch. Carter is puzzled because he knew he had it but he goes to pick it up again. Gomer once again sees Carter with the watch and again sneaks it away from him to return it to the jeweller. Miss Johnson calls Carter again to say he forgot to pick up the watch again. Meanwhile the chaplain asks Carter to come to his office because Gomer has told him all about the thievery that he thinks Carter has been engaging in. The chaplain gives Carter several Bible quotes suggested to him by Gomer without telling him what he's there for. Carter tells the chaplain he understands perfectly just to get out of there. Meanwhile Gomer takes $70 out his account and buys the watch. from a different sales person. Then Carter returns only to find the watch has been bought by someone else. Carter goes back to his desk where he finds the watch. Finally Carter learns what Gomer has done but he is surprised he thought he would have stolen a watch. 

            Miss Johnson was played by Doris Singleton, who started off as a ballerina. She became a radio singer for Art Jarret's Orchestra. Then she turned to radio acting and played Better Dittenfeffer on The Allan Young Show and Ruth Henshaw on December Bride. On Television she played Lois on The Great Gildersleeve. She co-starred in the short lived sitcom "Angel." She played Lucy's rival Carolyn Appleby on I Love Lucy. She played two returning characters on "My Three Sons." She appeared in TV ads for Hills Brothers Coffee.