Cliff Robertson

            On Thursday morning I translated the chorus of "Sans blague" (No Joke) by Boris Vian. 

            I worked out the chords for the intro and the first verse of "Lavabo" (Wash Basin) by Serge Gainsbourg. The set I found online claimed the only chord for the verses is E minor but I find the verse bursting with lots of chords. 

            I weighed 85.3 kilos before breakfast. 

            I read the two stories that are required reading for my English in the World class for next week. The first story is "Duty" by Mulk Raj Anand and it's about a cop who has no real interest in maintaining law and order but just takes on the job because it puts him one degree higher in status than a peasant. He falls asleep on the job and later beats someone for the rural equivalent of a traffic violation. 

            The second story is "No Sweetness Here" by Ama Ata Aidoo. The narrator is an educated African teacher who teaches in a traditional village that most of the inhabitants have never left. She seems more interested in local politics than in teaching, and while she leaves the school to witness a divorce, one of her students is killed by a snake. 

            I weighed 85.3 kilos before lunch. 

            In the afternoon I took a bike ride downtown. It was cooler than yesterday and so I wore a long-sleeved shirt with the buttons done up. I thought it might be wise to carry my hoody in my backpack, but I planned on stopping at Freshco on the way home and so if I didn't need the hoody it would take up space for carrying groceries. I decided to leave the hoody at home but regretted it once I was underway. I would have been more comfortable wearing my leather jacket and my autumn gloves. 

            At Freshco I bought five bags of grapes, a pack of raspberries, a pack of blueberries, bananas, Cinnabon bread, kettle chips, three bags of skim milk, shaving gel, and Irish Spring soap. 

            I weighed 84.7 kilos at 17:45. That's the lightest I've been at that time in almost two weeks. 

            I was caught up on my journal at 19:00. 

            I read most of the rest of Beowulf, until just after the hero died from killing the dragon. 

            I had a potato with gravy and a slice of pork while watching episode 22 of Ben Casey. 

            In this story, a Navajo boy named Johnny Eagle sells papers and runs errands for Casey. He has only recently come from the reservation and he is frightened of the city. He has crossed town three times with no problem but he believes his unlucky number is four and he has a panic attack every time he tries to go and pick up Casey's laundry. At the front desk of the hospital, a patient's few possessions are about to be bagged, and among the items, Johnny notices a medal with an eagle on it. He takes the medal because he thinks it might bring him luck. 

            Meanwhile, the owner of the medal is a very difficult but also charming new patient who gives the false name of Eddie Smith. Eddie refuses to give his medical history but it is obvious that he has had several back operations. Despite the fact that he is consistently giving the doctors a hard time, he is also always very upbeat. He is constantly flirting with Dr. Maggie Graham and tells her that he loves her. His main complaint is that the hospital has lost his Distinguished Service Medal, which was his good luck charm. When Casey learns about the DSM, since only a few are given out, he uses it to track down servicemen with Eddie's injuries and discovers his real identity. He is Lieutenant Colonel Edward Stanley Owensby, an ace pilot and a veteran of both WWII and Korea. Eddie agrees to tests but refuses to go under the knife. He says he's already had twelve surgeries and thirteen is his unlucky number.

            Johnny tries and fails again to go and pick up Casey's laundry. He confesses to Casey that he took Eddie's medal. Casey tells Johnny to return the medal to Eddie and when he does they become friends. They fly kites together from the hospital sun deck and Eddie inspires Johnny to want to become a pilot. 

            After the tests, Casey tells Eddie that his life depends upon one more surgery. Eddie asks what his odds are but Casey refuses to give them. Hoffman however tells Eddie he would bet on him. Eddie says the bet is twelve dozen roses and he makes Hoffman shake on it. When Eddie goes into surgery, Johnny ventures to face his fear and pick up Casey's laundry. He begins to panic but overcomes it and returns feeling like he can fly, only to learn that Eddie died in surgery. Casey tells Johnny that Eddie wanted him to have his distinguished service medal. The story ends with thirteen dozen roses arriving at the hospital for Maggie and Dr. Hoffman being charged $127. The card reads, "I win chum - Eddie."

            Eddie was played by Cliff Robertson, whose first film part was a supporting role in "Picnic" in 1955. He co-starred with Joan Crawford in Autumn Leaves in 1956. He co-starred in The Naked and the Dead, Gidget, The Big Show, Underworld USA, and The Interns. President Kennedy picked Robertson to play his younger self in "PT109". He co-starred in The Best Man, The Honey Pot, Too Late the Hero, The Great Northfield Minnesota Raid, and Obsession. He won an Academy Award for the title role in "Charly", based on the science fiction story "Flowers for Algernon" by Daniel Keyes. He directed and starred in "JW Coop" and "The Pilot". He played Hugh Hefner in "Star 80" and Uncle Ben in Spiderman. 

            I looked for bedbugs and didn't find any for the third night in a row. 

            I finished reading Beowulf for at least the fourth or fifth time. There's a lot of reading for the Medieval Literature course. As with Beowulf, I read a lot of it before but I need to read it all again and it's time-consuming.