Sidney Clute

            On Friday morning I saw another coyote. It was running west close to the front of the Dollarama and then took a hard left to run through the parking lot. That's the fourth one I've seen in about a year and a half. It's always the same time of day just before sunrise that I've seen them. 

            I memorized the third, fourth and fifth verses of “Trente-deux Fahrenheit” by Serge Gainsbourg. There are just three short verses left to nail down and so there’s a good chance I’ll have that done tomorrow. 

            The landlady emailed me that she’d accidentally rejected my E-transfer of my rent payment and asked me to send it again. I looked and saw that the money is still not back in my account and so I won’t send it again until it’s returned. 

            I weighed 87.65 kilos before breakfast. 

            I finished sanding the upper right section of the northern wall of my bathroom. The upper left is just a small area above the bathtub and I should have that done on Sunday. 

            I weighed 87.55 before lunch. 

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

            I weighed 87.25 kilos at 17:20. 

            I was caught up on my journal at 18:07. 

            I took my camera and tripod out to look for people to put on video for my project. West of Jameson the ranting guy who I think is called Justin and who is always shouting and swearing stopped to engage with me. He was holding two pictures of Canadian fighter jets and started ranting to me about how they are murdering people. I listened and nodded as best as I could until another guy came up and pushed my shoulder with a six-pack of cold spring water bottles and told me to move on. Justin walked away and the guy told me not to talk to him because he’s crazy. I told him not to tell me who to talk to. He went into a store and I kept on going but what an asshole!

            I walked to Sorauren and then headed east to Elm Grove. Then I decided to make another trip to Sorauren but when I was passing West Lodge, Sal told me that I’d just missed Whispering Ghost with Wings of Silver. He pointed east and said he could see him wearing black and carrying a red shopping bag. I couldn’t see him but I walked in that direction. I walked to Elm Grove again but still couldn’t see him. I walked back to West Lodge and Sal suggested I must have walked right by him. He said he thought he was heading for Metro and so I walked there and looked around, then I walked over to Freshco but he wasn’t there either. At least I know he’s still in the neighbourhood. I walked home. 

            In the Movie Maker project for my performance of “Baby Pop” I synchronized the audio with the video. Tomorrow I’ll set the ending and add some effects. 

            I had a potato with gravy and some pork ribs while watching season 6, episodes 9 and 10 of Bewitched. 

            In the first story Darrin comes down for breakfast and sees Endora there. She’s dressed as the knave of hearts because she’s going to a costume ball but she says she still needs a mask. Darrin asks, “What’s wrong with the one you’re wearing?” Endora puts a zipper on his mouth. Samantha makes him remove it but then Darrin invokes the US Constitution and says he has a right to protect his home from invaders. (As far as I can tell that’s not part of the Constitution and not a federal law but rather a common state law of the Castle Doctrine. In Canada there is no Castle Doctrine and it is against the law to own any weapons specifically for self defense). Anyway, Darrin banishes Endora from his home. Endora tells Samantha she’ll give Darrin until midnight to withdraw his ultimatum, and if he doesn’t he will be turned into a mouse. Samantha goes to a witches apothecary shop to look for a counter spell to protect Darrin. The old warlock shop keeper pulls out an enormous book and finds the spell, which has three parts. Darrin has to touch a buffalo between the eyes, next he has to drink a potion under water, and finally he has to fly over water by day in the dark. He tells her that each time it’s done right there’ll be the sound of a bell. It’s also got to be done without Darrin’s knowledge and without using witchcraft. Meanwhile Darrin is at work and has presented Larry with his layouts for the Illinois Meat Packers account. This is such a coveted account by other ad agencies that there is danger of espionage, so Larry has to keep the campaign under lock and key. Only Larry and Darrin have keys to the cabinet. Samantha comes to visit Darrin at the office to try to get the counter spell rolling. Darrin’s colleague Ralph Chapman comes to borrow Darrin’s key to the washroom. Ralph has been trying to get Darrin to join his Buffalo Lodge. Samantha suddenly has an idea. She dips her finger in black ink from Darrin’s drawing board. She pokes Ralph’s forehead and smudges it, then she gets Darrin to wash the smudge off. Then they hear a bell. Then Samantha tells Darrin he looks sick. She convinces Larry and he orders Darrin to take the rest of the day off. At home she gets Darrin to drink the potion to make her happy and while he’s drinking she holds a glass of water over his head to complete the requirement of being under water. It works and they hear a bell. Meanwhile Larry has hired a security guard to protect the documents but when he opens up the cabinet they are missing. Because Darrin is the only one with another key he becomes a prime suspect. For the final part of the spell Samantha tells Darrin she needs him to drive her to the airport to pick up Serena. But she needs to be there in twenty minutes when it’s an hours drive. Samantha suggests there is a helicopter service to the airport and so they take it. As they fly over water Samantha is knitting a ski hat for Darrin with no mouth or eye holes. She tries it on him and since he is flying over water by day in the dark a bell rings again. At the airport they can’t find Serena because she was never there. They run into Ralph who is heading for Chicago. He briefly puts down his briefcase next to Darrin’s and picks up the wrong one when he leaves. Larry and the security guard arrive and ask to check Darrin’s briefcase. The stolen documents are there but they soon see evidence that the briefcase is Ralph’s. Later Samantha informs Darrin of Endora’s midnight spell. Then Ralph comes by to apologize. Endora arrives to cast the spell but Darrin is immune as Ralph is turned into a mouse. Endora’s spell will wear off in two weeks. 

            Ralph was played by Sidney Clute, whose film debut was in The Best Years of Our lives in 1946. His first TV role was in The Adventures of Superman in 1953. He played Simms on the drama series McCloud. He played Detective Paul LaGuardia on Cagney and Lacey.

            In the second story Samantha’s father Maurice comes to visit. He tells her that if he were to gain the powers of a warlock he would not object to Samantha using her own. Maurice gives Darrin a watch that will bestow on him a warlock’s powers. Darrin refuses it at first but Maurice reminds him that Samantha has lived a mortal life for him for five years and so he should at least try being a warlock for a day. Darrin agrees and accepts the watch. He first uses it to transport himself to work. He and Larry meet Mr. Bliss Jr. the rep for the Bliss pharmaceutical account and pitch a modern look for Bliss Cough Syrup. Junior has to go to a board meeting where the campaign will be discussed along with that of the competition. Maurice suggests Darrin attend the board meeting invisibly but he says that’s dishonest. Maurice hypnotizes him and so he does it. At the meeting Bliss Sr. says he prefers the old look to the product and that is what the other ad agency is offering. Darrin goes back to Larry and says they need to offer the old look to compete. Darrin comes home and tells Samantha she can use her powers freely from now on. Samantha is worried and this story is continued.