Thomas Gomez

            On Sunday morning I translated the chorus and the first verse of “D’où reviens-tu Billy Boy?” (a translation by Boris Vian of “Where Have You Been Billy Boy?). I decided to make it gender neutral:

Where have you been Billie boo Billie boo? 

Oh where have you been Billie boo? 

Oh oh where have you been Billie boo Billie boo? 

Oh where have you been Billie boo?

I had a little playdate with thirty two sweet things 

and I took every one of them dancing 

All night long they had my full attention

and when the sun had ascension

they were drunk with exhaustion 

            I searched for the chords for “Un amour peut en cacher un autre” (One Love Can Serve to Cover Another) by Serge Gainsbourg but no one had posted them. I worked them out for three fourths of the first verse, which is really most of the song so I might have it all done tomorrow. 

            I played my Gibson Les Paul during song practice. 

            I weighed 87.7 kilos before breakfast. 

            Around midday I sanded the upper right half of the eastern wall of my bathroom. All the time I was working my neighbour Benji was banging on his wall. I assume it was some form of primitive communication. If I asked the landlord to do the work it would be a hell of a lot louder because it wouldn’t be done by hand and the landlord tends to do his renovations late at night. I never complained when the landlord fixed up Benji’s place. 

            I weighed 88.5 kilos before lunch, which is the heaviest I’ve been at midday since July 17. 

            I had Breton crackers with five-year-old cheddar and a glass of low sugar iced tea.

            In the afternoon I took a bike ride downtown and back. 

            I weighed 87.55 kilos at 17:45. 

            I was caught up on my journal at 18:25. 

            I reviewed the videos of my song practice performances of “Baby Pop” and “Dance and Sing to Baby Pop” from September 4 to 14 of last year. On September 4 and 14 I played “Baby Pop” on my Kramer electric guitar. On September 4 the take at 12:00 in part B was okay and looked good. On September 14 the take at 11:30 in part B was okay but the guitar didn’t sound great. On September 6 and 12 I played it on my Martin acoustic guitar. On September 6 the take at 12:15 in part B was pretty good and this date is already a project in Movie Maker. On September 12 the take at 6:45 in part B was okay but the light was bad. Now there are fourteen takes to re-review.

            I made pizza on my last roti with Basilica sauce and five-year-old cheddar. I had it with a beer while watching the last two episodes from season 5 of Bewitched.

            Samantha’s trickster cousin Henry, who is Uncle Arthur’s child, pops in just as Samantha is getting ready to go shopping for dresses for Tabitha. Then Endora also comes to visit and both she and Henry decide to accompany Samantha and Tabitha. They all go to Hinkley’s Department store where they are served by Joseph Hinkley Jr., who is the son of the owner Joseph Hinkley Sr. Joseph Jr. has just graduated from business college and now he’s starting out in sales. He is so desperate to please his already disappointed father that he comes on too strong in trying to make a sale to Henry. This results in Henry turning him into a mannequin. Samantha threatens Henry and Endora insults him, resulting in him disappearing. Endora finds him on the moon but he leaves before Endora can persuade him to return to Hinkley’s. Meanwhile two workmen come and take all the mannequins the basement. Samantha takes Joseph Jr. home. Tabitha remembers the hand gestures that Henry used when he cast his spell and so Endora uses them to change him back. Samantha wipes Joseph Jr.’s memory of recent events and returns him to the store where she shows Joseph Sr. several packages of items that she says Joseph Jr. sold her. The father is impressed. 

            In the second story a campaign designed by Darrin may land the Bueno soft drink account and earn him a trip to Mexico City. the Bueno ad exec Carlos Aragon is impressed with Darrin’s work but Larry Tate decides to be the one to present the campaign to the company president Raul Garcia in Mexico. Darrin and Samantha both feel ripped off and so she pops down to Mexico to sabotage Larry’s speech to Garcia, making him insult Mexico. Aragon suggests he save the campaign by bringing Darrin down so Darrin and Samantha get to go after all. Darrin is told that he should be able to speak some Spanish to Garcia and so he desperately crams on the way down. Endora tries to help by casting a spell that is supposed to cause Darrin’s fear to disappear when he speaks Spanish, but the result is that Darrin disappears whenever he speaks Spanish. During the first meeting Darrin can’t even name the product because it’s Spanish and so he suggests that Garcia change the name to Zap for the US market. Samantha gets Endora to reverse the spell but it results in Darrin disappearing whenever he speaks English. During Darrin’s formal speech at the dinner he is expected to speak both Spanish and English so Samantha is there to cast a translation spell whenever Darrin turns to address the left side of the audience so that they hear it in English even though Darrin is still speaking Spanish. Garcia is impressed with Darrin’s language switching and he wins the account. This was Dick York’s final appearance as Darrin, as his chronic back pain made it impossible for him to continue. He was replaced by Dick Sargent for the last three years of the series. 

            Garcia was played by Thomas Gomez, who answered a help wanted ad for a theatre group after graduating from high school. He had not even taken any drama classes prior to this. He toured the country with the troupe and gained experience. Then he focused on working in New York theatre. His film debut was a credited role in Sherlock Holmes and the Voice of Terror. He served on the board of directors for the Screen Actors Guild for 40 years. He played mostly supporting roles in his film career but on Broadway he was a star. He was the first Spanish American to be nominated for an Academy Award. This was for his part in Ride the Pink Horse.