Susan Silo

            On Tuesday morning I memorized the third verse of “Amour jamais” (“Never Romance” and or “Always Romance”) by Serge Gainsbourg. That’s half the song. 

            I played my Martin acoustic guitar during song practice for the third of four sessions. It was still going out of tune as much as the day before. I’ve got to see if any kind of adjustment will help. 

            I weighed 86.15 kilos before breakfast. 

            Around midday I put together the large packing box and put in all the treats I bought for my daughter Astrid. It was a little roomy at the top and so I filled it up with some Styrofoam I had leftover from something that had been shipped to me. I taped up the box, addressed it and took it to the post office at Vina Pharmacy to mail it. Because of Canada Post having been off for a month, things are going to be slower. I was told that it wouldn’t make much difference if I paid for regular mail or express and so I just took the cheaper option. Hopefully it’ll at least be there before Christmas. Meanwhile the humidifier that I bought from Best Buy for Astrid still hasn’t arrived. The last update from tracking was on Sunday night and it said that her package was in a sorting facility in Anjou, which is near where she lives. 

            I weighed 86.6 kilos before lunch, which is the heaviest I’ve been in the early afternoon since December 9. 

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

            I weighed 85.6 kilos at 18:00. 

            I spent two hours getting caught up on my journal because I fell behind when I fell asleep in front of the computer last night. 

            I had a potato with gravy and my last piece of chicken while watching season 1, episodes 11 and 12 of Batman. 

            In episode 11, King Boris, the ruler of an unspecified small European country, arrives in Gotham with the gift of a bejewelled miniature statue of the Queen of Freedom that he will be presenting in a ceremony later at the Queen of Freedom Monument. A school girl approaches to present him with a bouquet of roses, which she says are on behalf of the Welcoming Committee. After she curtsies and leaves, the flowers harmlessly explode and then from a parachute a sign floats down that reads “When is a person like a piece of wood?” Later in Commissioner Gordon’s office the police know it’s from The Riddler but they can’t solve it. They call Batman. Robin says a person is like a piece of wood when they are a ruler. Boris will be a judge at the Miss Galaxy pageant tomorrow when they crown the Queen of Beauty with a diamond tiara. Batman deduces that the Riddler plans on stealing the tiara and he tells the police they should let him. The queen is crowned and then Riddler pops up through a trap door to grab it, then he kisses the queen and escapes. But Batman has replaced the real tiara with a fake one containing a transmitter. However when they go to the Batmobile to track it the Riddler pops out of a manhole nearby and laughs at them, telling them he knew the tiara was fake. He asks, “What room can no one enter?” Then he throws the tiara with another riddle attached: “What is the beginning of eternity, the end of time and space, the beginning of every end and the end of every race?” Robin solves the first riddle with “a mushroom”. They don’t even seem to try to solve the second riddle, the answer to which is “the letter E”. Batman is focused on the first one and concludes it has something to do with the Royal Mushroom Club”. Meanwhile in a sewer hideout the Riddler’s gang the River Rats, including their female member Mousie, who we already saw delivering flowers, are meeting with The Riddler. Later at the Mushroom Club, King Boris is being entertained. The waiter (who is really a River Rat) invites him to take a tour of the wine cellar. The group descends just before Batman and Robin arrive. Corks start popping on wine bottles by themselves and while everyone is distracted King Boris disappears through a trap door. Left behind are two more riddles: “How much dirt is in a hole 3 acres square and 60 meters deep?” Robin says, none because it’s a hole. The second is “What won’t run long without winding?” The answer is the Gotham River. They conclude that the obsolete Gotham Water and Power Plant is at the bend of the river, plus it’s 3 acres square and 60 meters deep. Meanwhile under the plant the Riddler and his gang are holding Boris. Mousie is thrilled because she’s never met royalty. But Riddler is offended that she doesn’t recognize him as the Crown Prince of Puzzlers. Batman and Robin arrive and are caught in nets. The statue is then returned to Boris and he is taken back to town. Batman and Robin are tied to driveshafts that rotate at 1000 revolutions a second. Before he sets them spinning he asks “How is a woman in love like a welder?” 

            In episode 12, the mechanism that is keeping Batman and Robin spinning, explodes and they are saved. Batman had managed earlier to get the cutting torch from his utility belt with which he burned the armature and short circuited the power. Meanwhile Riddler asks his gang what is always coming but never arrives. They don’t know so he tells them “tomorrow”. Batman contacts Gordon by phone and asks him not to tell anyone that they are alive. They want to make Riddler overconfident. At the Queen of Freedom Monument King Boris arrives to present the statue. Later Mousie plants something in a police call box. It’s a letter to Gordon demanding $1 million or the Queen of Freedom Monument will be blown up. Batman tells Gordon to call Bruce Wayne for the money and he brings it. Later Batman and Robin solve the last riddle. A woman in love is like a welder when she’s carrying a torch. They deduce that the bomb is in the Torch Room at the Queen of Freedom. Riddler goes there with his gang to get the ransom but finds the statue containing the bomb gone. The bag that is supposed to contain the money holds a smoke bomb. Batman and Robin arrive. The usual fight ensues with the written sound effects. The Riddler and his gang are beaten and Mousie is caught as well. 

            Mousie was played by Susan Silo, who made her first TV appearance in a contest on The Jerry Lewis Show in which she won a singing competition singing “Mr. Wonderful” against 350 others. Her TV acting debut was on The Jack Benny Show. She co-starred in the sitcom Harry’s Girls. She is a successful voice over actor and also teaches the craft. She was the voice of The White Queen on Pryde of the X-Men, Sue in Pac Man and Mama Mousekewitz in Fievel’s American Tails.