Amelie Barleon

            On Thursday morning I finished translating “Au revoir mon enfance” (Goodbye My Childhood) by Boris Vian. On Friday I’ll run through singing and playing it in English. 

            I continued to collect images for a photo video of the song “Le rent' dedans” (The Pick-Up) by Serge Gainsbourg to upload to YouTube. I now have 15 and I think I need another 35. 

            I weighed 88.45 kilos before breakfast. 

            I played my Kramer electric during song practice for the last of two sessions and at first it went out of tune every two songs but most of the time it was every song. I’m pretty sure it needs fret work done. 

            I had time to shave and shower before riding downtown to Mount Sinai for my appointment with Dr. Croitoru about getting a colonoscopy. I accessed Mount Sinai’s wifi while I was waiting and found the cheapest price for grapes this week to price match at Freshco. I read a bit of Marshal McLuhan’s Guttenberg Galaxy. They kept me waiting at least a half hour. A man who seemed like he might be highly autistic was freaking out in the hallway and had to be restrained by security. I was interviewed by the specialist’s assistant and he looked at my record. I thought it had been about ten years since my last colonoscopy but it turns out it was in 2007. I have an appointment for the procedure on December 16, so it’ll be good to get it out of the way before Christmas. 

            I had to get blood work and fortunately the lab was on the same floor. I didn’t have to wait more than ten minutes. The technician asked if it was okay if a student take my blood and I said he could. He was extremely slow but it didn’t hurt at all. He liked my motorcycle jacket. 

            I stopped at Freshco on my way home where I bought five bags of green grapes, some organic bananas, a pack of Full City Dark coffee, and a jar of Ajvar. I’ve never had it before. It’s kind of a Yugoslavian salsa made from roasted peppers and eggplant. 

            I weighed 88.4 kilos at 15:50. 

            I took a siesta from 16:30 to 18:15. 

            I weighed 88.85 kilos at 18:30. 

            I was caught up in my journal at 20:15. 

            I reviewed a little over half of the mixed cassette tape I made titled “Best Songs #2”. “Best Songs #1” featured what I considered to be the best 14 songs ever written based on the number of great lines. “Best Songs #2” continues that list but I won’t know if the 24 I listened to on one side of the tape are the best of the cassette until I listen to the other side. So far I have all songs by Leonard Cohen: “Diamonds in the Mine” “There is a War” “Our Lady of Solitude” “The Sisters of Mercy” “Dance Me to the End of Love” “Don’t Go Home With Your Hard On” “The Gypsy’s Wife” “I’m Your Man” “Jazz Police” “Tonight Will Be Fine” And at the beginning of the other side is “True Love Leaves No Traces”. I’ll review the rest tomorrow.

            I had a potato with gravy and a chicken breast with ajvar (not bad) while watching season 1, episode 6 of Car 54 Where Are You? 

            The Hollywood sex symbol Theresa Tangiers, who is nicknamed “Tessie the Torso”, walked off the set of a big movie and has gone missing. She is found on a plane headed for Idlewild Airport in New York City. Thousands of fans have gathered and will mob her when she gets off the plane and Toody is one of the police officers sent to help her get away. When they are alone Toody tells her she and Helen Hayes are his favourite actresses. They hear on the police radio that her hotel is swamped with fans and so she can’t go there. Toody gets the idea to take her to Muldoon’s mother’s place where she rents out a room. Theresa loves the idea and kisses Toody just as they are driving by a pair of old ladies who happen to know Toody’s wife Lucille. The first one immediately calls Lucille to tell her about Toody kissing a blonde. Toody takes her to Muldoon’s place where Muldoon has not yet come home. Mrs. Muldoon has never heard of Theresa but her daughters Peggy and Cathy have. Peggy is studying to be an actor and Cathy is a student at Columbia. They both beg their mother to let Theresa stay and Theresa loves it there. Mrs. Muldoon says, “My daughters have never had a sister”. When Muldoon comes home he meets Theresa but at first he doesn’t register who she is when he greets her. When she leaves the room he goes into shock because he is secretly her biggest fan with a romantic crush on her. He retreats to his room. When Toody gets home Lucille is furious and accusatory. When he finally gives in and tells her it’s Theresa Tangiers she doesn’t believe him. She wants to go to the Muldoon house. When they get there Theresa starts kissing Toody with gratitude for having helped her find a home. Lucille recognizes Theresa and is thrilled to see her kissing her husband. She carefully wipes the lipstick onto a tissue for a souvenir. Theresa dresses Peggy and Cathy up glamourously in her clothes because they are going to a dance at the rehearsal hall of Peggy’s drama group. Theresa decides to put her hair up and wear glasses, put on some drab clothes and use the name Yeta Karashinski so no one will recognize her and come along. Lucille says that’s a funny name but Theresa says it’s her real name. Toody gets Muldoon to be her escort after stopping him from escaping out the window. At the dance Peggy and Cathy are extremely popular as dance partners for the boys and Theresa is ignored. Muldoon is too shy to ask her to dance and so she is bored. A teenager comes to ask Lucille to dance but she turns him down, saying she is with her husband. Suddenly Toody is very attracted to Lucille and dances with her and can’t take his hands off her all night. After the dance there are dramatic improvizations. Someone gets up and does a parody of Theresa Tangiers being interviewed. The teacher doesn’t think it’s very good and so Theresa volunteers, getting a big applause and praise from the instructor. But he says she was ingenious in how she captured the phoniness and lack of intelligence of Theresa Tangiers. Theresa storms out and Muldoon follows. As he is driving her he tells her she’ll live forever in the eyes of people like him. Suddenly she notices he’s not taking her back to the Bronx but to Idlewild Airport. He tells her she needs to go back to Hollywood and she agrees. 

            Theresa was played by Lisa Loughlin but there is very little information about her. She also appeared on the Phil Silvers Show and in the movie Death Tide, but that’s it. 

            The first old lady gossip was played by Amelia Barleon who was born in Chicago. She graduated from the Musical College there. In 1904 she was in Vaudeville with John Jack and Company. She acted in small parts in several Edwin Thanhouser silent films in 1910.