Milton Frome

            On Wednesday morning I finished working out the chords for "Que tu es impatiente la mort" (How Very Impatient is Death) by Boris Vian. Tomorrow I'll run through singing and playing it in French. I might have to spend some time adjusting my translation before I can sing it in English. 

            I memorized the second verse of "Charlotte Forever" by Serge Gainsbourg. There are two verses left to learn. 

            I played my Martin acoustic guitar during song practice and video and audio recorded the session. It felt like it went pretty well and I'm making fewer mistakes on these songs. The rechargeable camera battery seems to be getting weaker though because part B of the session timed out sooner than usual. I should have been able to video record at least two more songs. For the first time since the beginning of June I was able to do a complete set of my song practice without shortening any songs. I got them all recorded in audio at least, although once the camera was off I made more mistakes on the more recent songs that I've been playing. 

            I weighed 85.1 kilos before breakfast. 

            I spent about half an hour scrubbing the residual glue from the part of the kitchen floor near the counter where I'd ripped up the second tile. I finally got all the glue off the floor from the first two tiles. There's still an area about a meter and a half by a third of a meter with lots of glue, plus the space under the stove but that doesn't have as much glue. 

            I weighed 84.9 kilos before lunch. I had Triscuits with five-year-old cheddar and a glass of limeade. 

            In the afternoon I took a bike ride downtown and back. When I got home I went back out to the corner store to buy bananas. I only needed two but I didn't want to break up the family so I bought a bunch. 

            I finished chiseling the amethyst crystals free of the big rock I found six years ago. I have four fist-sized clusters and a sizeable bag of crystals. I took my broom and dustpan and went on the roof to sweep up all the little pieces of rock that I'd scattered there with my chiseling over the last few weeks. 

            I weighed 84.2 kilos at 17:00. 

            I was caught up on my journal at 18:36. This journal document has been getting glitchy and sometimes goes all white and I have to click "undo" to get back my text. It wouldn't let me keep typing until I'd restarted. 

            I reviewed my performances of "How to Say Goodbye to You" and "Comment te dire adieu" from June 28 to July 15, 2022. Of "How to Say Goodbye to You", June 28 was the best yet but some of the chords were a little off and out of time. On July 2 it was cut off when the battery timed out. On July 4, 6, 10, 12, and 14 the battery timed out before this song. On July 8 I fumbled my way to the finish. Of "Comment te dire adieu", on June 29, July 1, 11, 13, and 15 the camera battery timed out before this song. On July 3, 5, 7 it was cut off. July 9 was the best of the French ones but some of the chords were off and out of time. This song still needs a lot of work and it hasn't been recorded at all in my 2023 sessions, so I'll need to practice it for at least another year. 

            In Movie Maker I cut my video "Electrical Cord Snake Nest" that I made from the animation I created for the video for my song "Instructions for Electroshock Therapy" down to sixteen seconds. I converted it to MP4 and tried to make it into a gif in EZGIF but it was too slow. There is an option to change the speed but I had to stop because it was time to make dinner. I'll try again tomorrow. 

            It was still pretty hot and I had my shirt off but it cooled down just enough to use the stove without it being intolerable. I made pizza on naan with Basilica sauce and five-year old cheddar. I had it with a beer while watching season 2, episodes 22 and 23 of Petticoat Junction. 

            In the first story the governor plans on visiting the small towns in the state that invite him. Joe has written a letter to invite him to stay at The Shady Rest and he thinks this is going to make them rich. He still has a large number of pennants reading "Hail to the Chief" left over from when he invited the president to come. Preparations are made, food is prepared, the girls serve as majorettes, and people gather. The train arrives with no governor, who went to Crabwell Corners because he was not invited to Hooterville. It turns out that Joe forgot to mail his letter. The angry crowd chases him. 

            In the second story Kate learns that the line between Hooterville County and Pixley County runs right through the middle of her hotel. Joe paints a white line down the middle, over the carpet and the furniture. Joe thinks this is a money making opportunity but county officials come to inform Kate of the various taxes and the cost of licenses she now owes on both sides for running a business in two counties. A county inspector named Dixon tells her the studs on her walls need to be closer together for Pixley standards. On top of that Betty Joe is being forced to leave Hooterville High School because her bedroom is in Pixley. Finally Kate has the Cannonball pull the hotel entirely to the Hooterville side.

            Dixon was played by Milton Frome, whose first acting job was in the short film Daredevil O'Hare in 1934. He played Admiral Fangschleister in the movie adaptation of the Batman TV series. He played Dr Levee in The Nutty Professor, Mr. Olsson in The Swinger and other characters in many Jerry Lewis movies. He was chairman of the USO for two years.