Three game sevens in less than 24 hours, one of them going to OT. I’m almost hockey’d out.

Almost.

That Boston comeback and OT win will go down in the record books as one of the most exciting ends to a Game 7 in a long time.

The big story for me is that the Caps disappoint yet again. I’m not sure I agree with Ovechkin saying the league wanted a game 7, but I’m pretty sure that a whole game without a penalty to NY was… ah, interesting at least.

But that doesn’t excuse the Caps not winning a single game in the Garden. Not with the firepower they have. Hopefully there will be massive, positive changes to the Caps this off-season.

Tommyknocker’s Cocoa Porter may well be my favorite new beer.

But… it’s seasonal. I have to wait until November to get more of it. This is where I drop to my knees and yell “Khaaan!” into an empty beer bottle.

Here’s the Cocoa Porter Page, and if you can find it — do so.

It’s the kind of beer you can drink at room temperature. Deep, dark flavor. Rich, wonderful flavor. The kind of beer I could drink in place of all other beers. If only they made it year-round!

Porter is on the list of reasons that God loves me.

I’m going to merge all of my sub-sites under one big roof soon. A merging is a’comin’.

Chapter 2
The mess that was Kate’s office turned into a mission of stacks for Ron. He made four and started with the biggest stack: A stack of papers that he considered useless to finding out what happened to Kate. These were old, irrelevant cases and made up over half the ones he quickly scanned that morning. The second stack was the ones he considered possibly useful, but not in an immediately relevant way. That made up more than half the remaining stuff he ferreted through. The third stack was smaller than a phonebook and was made up of active or recent cases and people who owed Kate money. His final stack was all the raunchy pictures Kate had taken over the years for clients. A collection of wives, husbands, and their lovers in delicate situations. Ron figured if nothing turned up elsewhere he could start tracking those people down and twisting fingers.
That, and Kate isn’t the only pervert in the world.
Fortunately Kate had been forced to go through some of it before his murder and throw out a lot of papers out of sheer necessity. There just was no more room in the office for both Kate’s rapidly expanding waistline and more of his notes. But sorting everything out had taken Ron and his dad more than the better part of the day. Once he’d sorted everything in the office he went upstairs to the apartment and searched for anything valuable or helpful. The verdict there was a no, unless it was hidden in the safe he couldn’t guess the combination for. In the nightstand by Kate’s bed there was a .38 caliber revolver and an ankle holster for it. Ron tried it on and decided he couldn’t be too careful. Kate certainly hadn’t been too careful.
“Where are the rest of his guns and other effects? Watch, lighter? He didn’t leave them here.”
Winston shrugged. “They didn’t find them on him.”
Ron nodded and stored that away. He would recognize Kate’s watch and lighter anywhere. That meant whoever had them…
Kate had converted one drawer of his office desk into a humidor for his cigars. Ron saw to keeping them humidified and looked through the whisky bottles the next drawer up. Cheap throat burners that would probably do more good starting a fire. Once more he found himself looking through case files. Almost everything recent had been outside of town, in New Orleans, in Mobile, and in Jackson. Far from town, and far from where he’d been found. Nothing extraordinary in them. He put the stack neatly in the drawer that previously contained cheap booze as his stomach rumbled angrily.
“Lunch?” He asked. His father nodded.
When they stepped out into the street, Ron locked the door behind him and looked up at the building. Memories of the time spent with that ornery old cuss washed over him and his eyes watered. How could someone actually murder the old man? It was true that his investigations often upended lives but he was only exposing the truth. He never fabricated evidence, never treated anyone unfairly. People paid him to find the truth and that was what he did. Despite all his warts and flaws he stuck to that. Now ROn aimed to shine the truth on whatever cockroach had killed him.
They went down the street a ways to a place called DOnnelly’s Diner. Owned by and named after Bob Donnelly it was much improved from before Ron last ate there. Back then it was like eating grease that was food-flavored. Apparently the effort to improve the town was underway enough that you could actually find grits in your grits at the diner instead of just buttery grit-flavored water. But his thoughts on the food were pushed aside when he saw her. A woman he didn’t know but immediately wanted to. If she was from town he had been staying in the wrong part of town.
She was about five and a half feet tall, with wavy auburn hair, and sitting at a stool having the healthy world renowned lunch of coffee and a cigarette. The longer smoke was held between her slender fingers, smoke curling up out of it as she read the paper in front of her. With only a side view of her Ron’s attention turned down a bit from her face to her breasts, which stood out proudly, stretching our her shirt. The fabric was strained by the size of them in a way that kept Ron’s attention for a long moment that seemed only a blink to him. She had the kind of body for a pinup or a stag magazine: curvy in all the right places. Ron excused himself from the booth with his father to go introduce himself.
“You look like you could lose a light,” Ron said as he sat at the stool next to her and glanced at her fingers. No ring of any kind.
“This one is lit,” she said, fixing her blue eyes on him. He smiled at her.
“I meant for the next one. Ron Cavanaugh.”
“Audrey Carmen,” she took his offered hand. “Who says there is a next one?”
“I think our conversation is going to last longer than what’s left of that cigarette.”
“Really.” It wasn’t a question but rather came out like an accusation. “Well, Ron Cavanaugh, what are we going to talk about?”
“You, of course. My new favorite subject. Where are you from? What do you do?”
Her grin was equal parts malice and amusement. “What and who, I imagine.” She was too fast for Ron.
“All right, I wasn’t going to start by going there, but it would be useful information to have.” Ron produced his lighter as she put her cigarette out in the ash tray.
Audrey looked him up and down, focusing for a moment on his jacket. “Another time, flyboy. I’ve got to get back to work.” She patted his hand as she stepped off the stool.
“Well, how will I find you for another time?” He asked as she paid for her coffee and started to walk out. She was getting away — that whole too fast thing again. But Ron couldn’t find a good way to stop her as she had made her intent to get out of the diner clear.
She turned, stepping out of the door backwards with a heart stopping grin. “Chet’s trucking or this diner.”
Ron watched her leave until he couldn’t see her anymore. Her hips and behind were perfect, topping a lengthy pair of legs. Ron felt he could get spoiled by legs like that and wished he could see more of them, and more of where they came together. He sighed and started back toward the booth where he dad was sitting, and noticed that he’d been watching and was smirking at him.
“Good luck with that one,” a voice said off to Ron’s right. He turned to see the younger brother of his class’s idiot, Donald Davis. He was affectionately and derogatorily known as Donny Donno, because usually Donny “donno.” His brother was Danny “Durag” because he always had a stupid cloth wrapped around his head and pretended he was a gang leader.
“Why’s that, Donny?” He asked. He didn’t much care for whatever answer Donny would produce and half wanted to blame him for Audrey leaving. His presence certainly made Ron want to split.
“Donno,” he said with a grin. “Probably because nobody has managed to get on or under that one since she came down and better looking goofs have tried.”
“Like yourself?” Ron didn’t feel the need to defend his handsome jaw to this goober.
Donny shrugged. “Danny tried to make a go of it.”
“Oh Donny, I donno if you realize this, but any woman that would have your brother is immediately taken off the list of women I would have.”
Somehow Ron got the feeling Danny didn’t know what he meant when the man tried being belligerant in reply and failed. Ron didn’t have time for him or his belligerance and walked back to the booth and sat across from his father to finish his lunch. He would never have time for one of the Dunno Brothers. In high school, before Donny was Donny Donno, Danny was Danny Dunno. It was a running theme for them. They were a member of that class that he’d learned to ignore. Not because of their station, or upbringing, but because of how they carried themselves. The Dunno Brothers carried themselves like common hoods and respected only the thuggish hoods they associated with.
There were guys like that in the service, too. Belliferant, down right mean on occasion, and disrespectful turds. They usually had a crap job and an inflated sense of importance and they’d control whatever resource they could get authority over and be a real pain in the ass about distributing it to people who needed it. The word toadie described them pretty well as they always answered to one guy, the kind of the creeps. That guy was usually a real rake and a big talker but just as useless and spineless as any of his lesser rakes when cornered and without help.
In high school that guy had always been Danny Durag, a role he’d inherited from a former elementary school scoundrel named Vern SCott. Vern quit being the bully after some lesser kids got fed up with him and punneled som good behavior into him. He became a loner when his fellow wolves abandoned him and eventually turned into a dope fiend. At some point that habit put him at odds with a real rough crowd and they had to drag his body out of the abandoned rock quarry north of town. It wasn’t a story the town was likely to soon forget.
The Dunno Brothers had a pretty simple operation. They’d hang out with any kid they thought was cool — usually the ones who smoked weed during school hours — and they’d pick on the squares and pocket protector brigate. Guys that couldn’t, or wouldn’t, fight back all that often. Girls received rude compliments and suggestions, and learned not to go on dates with guys like them — guys who would steal second and try for third even when few girls wanted anything to do with their advances. The ones that did stick around were usually doped up to the eyeballs and had a reputation almost as long as the Dunno brothers thought their manhoods were.
Their names, along with a currently jailed associate named Pat Lock, appeared in Kate’s notes but only in passing. Kate was aware of them but not impressed. That made them persons of interest for ROn if they could lead to someone more important, to the current king of the toadies, who no doubt would be working for some real criminal or another. No one with any sense or of any threat to Ron’s investigation would trust these knuckleheads with any sort of real operation. They were unreliable on their best days and downright foolhardy on the rest.
If they were involved, and Ron considered that a big if, this would be a lot easier than it seemed at this juncture. Eventually one or both of them would run their mouth off and that’d be the end of it. Neither brother could keep a secret or resist the urge to brag. That was their way, and they would talk about anything to anyone if it made them feel cool. He hoped that would be their downfall.
He finished lunch with his dad in silent thought. There was a lot to do and a lot of people to talk to and he was forming up an idea in his mind about how to organize it.

This Month (September) in 1954…

On September 6th, Admiral Edward Clifford Kalbfus, “Old Dutch”, died in the Naval Hospital in Pennsylvania. He was 78. The cause of death has been reported at leukemia. Kalbfus won a Navy Cross during World War 1 and a Legion of Merit for his service in World War 2, among other honors.

On September 9th, in Orleansville, Algeria, a powerful quake killed over a thousand residents… the quake’s destruction also left thousands homeless.

In happier news, on September 11th, the Miss America Pageant was broadcast on television! This is the first time the Pageant has been on televsion.

In Entertainment News…

This month saw quite a few new films:

- Tobor the Great stormed theaters on September 1st. Brainiac Professor Arnold Nordstrom created Tobor, a space-traveling robot. The Red spies take an interest in Tobor and will do anything to get their hands on him!

- The next day, Down Three Dark Streets hit theaters, starring Broderick Crawford as FBI Agent John Ripley, who takes over the cases of deceased fellow G-man Zack Stewart in addition to looking for his colleague’s killer.

- On the 3rd, the film PRivate Hell 36 debuted. This film noir is about two L.A. detectives, Cal Bruner and Jack Farnham. They discover and split up thousands of dollars they find on a dead counterfeiter — and are then assigned to find the cash!

- One day later, Jesse James’ Women took a trip to the theater with the tag line “The Battle of the Sexes and the Sixes Rages Across the Lusty West!” And we’ll leave it at that.

- Moviegoers were Betrayed on the 7th. This Clark Gable flick also stars Lana Turner. Gable played Pieter Deventer, a Dutch intellgence agent. He is ordered to keep his eyes on Fran Seelers (Turner). When both of them join the Dutch underground…

- Two days after being betrayed, audiences met Sabrina. A comedy romance starring Humphrey Bogart and Audrey Hepburn, this flick is a must see!

- On the 17th, Rogue Cop premiered. This film noir covers the story of Christopher Kelaney, a crooked cop who takes bribes and payoffs from the crooks.

- Finally, two movies back to back at the end of the month:

- A Star is Born, starring Judy Garland, came out on the 29th. This musical was directed by George Cuko and is an adaption of the 1937 film of the same name.
- Woman’s World came out the followng day, a drama directed by Jean Negulesco. This film depicts three men going out for the same job at a large company.

Two shorts were released:

- Gone Batty on the 4th, a Looney Tunes short from Warner Brothers. It stars Bobo the Elephant from the short Hobo Bobo.

- Farm of Tomorrow came out on the 18th — and this one is a gas!

September the Eleventh

As I write this, it’s September 10th, 2012. It’s been almost eleven years since that day. Today’s weather, at least here, reminded me of September 11th, 2001. Cool, sunny day, not too cloudy. That’s how that day was. It was one of those beautiful days — at least, weather wise. In reality, the day was one that would never be thought of as a beautiful day.

Eleven years.

It’s recent enough that it still burns, but far enough back that for most of us, it’s not a daily memory. For a while it was: For a while, it consumed all of us, and all of the news media. But it faded. We killed a lot of terrorists. Finally, we killed the top guy.

September 11th shouldn’t be a day of mourning, though. We should celebrate our victories. We should celebrate the freedoms that the villains hate. I know I’m going to: Tomorrow I plan on drinking some Scotch, maybe having a cigar, and spending a lot of time with my leggy lady.

That’s the Cigars and Legs way of dealing with loss: Fight through it, enjoy a smoke, enjoy a drink, enjoy some legs. Don’t let your enemies win, don’t give them the satisfaction of knowing how much they’ve got you down. Show a brave face and see it through. Yes, there is mourning to do, but there is living to do as well. We should honor the fallen by living life to the fullest.

Wow.

I tried this cigar on the recommendation of my local tobacconist. I got a Short Robusto sized cigar — only about 4.5 inches in length. This is much shorter than my usual fare, as I tend to like a long smoke. Well, despite the limitations on physical size, this stick smoked forever. It had a nice slow burn and just seemed to last, which was a welcome surprise.

The construction of the cigar, overall, was amazing. Simply amazing. But this is a limited edition, anniversary cigar. They’re not going to put out a bad product on what is meant to celebrate their brand! The wrapper was excellent, one of the top cigars I’ve ever smoked in that regard. The ash was long and strong, two words I use a lot when talking about smokes I like. It was just a well made stick. The dark wrapper was pleasantly oily.

It was also one of the best smelling cigars I’ve tried, both before and after lighting it. Which reminds me — I clipped a very small bit of the end off and the wrapper held together as expected. Even some good cigars, if you don’t get them just right, have a small bit of unravelling there. This did not.

The smoke was full, and tasty. It also left a pleasant ghost of itself — I didn’t feel like my face smelled bad, and I didn’t have an unpleasant after taste, but I could tell I had been smoking. I can’t quite think of how to describe that, other than a ghost.

It was one of those overall pleasant smokes that I just couldn’t wait to write about. Once I was finished with my scotch, anyway! I’ll definitely pick up another one in the future even though they’re priced as a very premium cigar.

Ah, this week isn’t one for writing something specific: This has been a week of getting ready. While I’m certain that Isaac isn’t coming here, I’m not tempting fate by relying on my gut instinct in this case. Being responsible is part of being an adult. This isn’t an advice for when things go totally FUBAR. This is just when the general supply system is temporarily tango uniform. So here’s a short supply list, for general life and especially emergencies:

- Light, and ways to make it. We have this, but we always have this; I carry two flashlights with me usually (one on the messenger bag, and a keychain light on my person), plus a variety of them in the house. This comes with an added responsibility: batteries, on which we are stocked for the flashlights. Incidentally, if the power stays on, we’re also stocked up for the Wiimote.
- Water, and enough per person. This should go without saying. You don’t actually have to get all 8 glasses of fluid from water, but in the heat (which is what happens after a hurricane; not necessarily a rainbow, thank you very much) water is one of the better options. Water also requires a lot of energy to heat up, so it can be pretty refreshing even on a hot day if stored well.
- Food. Sure, you can go without food for a while (I certainly could!). But why? Non-perishable stuff is great, but not always that healthy or tasty. BE CAREFUL WITH FOOD THAT EASILY SPOILS. When I was a teen, I drank some milk that had went bad thinking it was all right in the cooler (the power went out). This was not true and I was sick for days. In the heat and humidity.
a) If you have food that must be prepared, a way to prepare it. I have a propane grill, and I can cook any number of things on it. (It also has a single stove-style burner on which I can cook stuff in a pot!) If that fails I have the ability to make fire.
b) A good cooler stocked with ice and some water (food gets/stays cooler in a mix of ice and water because the water transfers cold to the food better than air would) can stay cold for days if kept in a cool location and not opened too much. But I’d avoid dairy if possible. Plastic bags around food are great, too, for keeping it dry.
- Shelter. Unless the storm defies all odds we’ve got that covered… but even then we have backup plans. Also, our windows are boarded up.
- Defense. Mmm, defense. Look, society can break down at any point. I’m not advocating owning enough to stock a private militia, but don’t depend on the goodness of others for your own safety. Especially not during a mandatory evacuation — the police won’t make you leave, but they won’t be there to help.
- Entertainment. Board games, books, and well-charged portable electronic devices are a good start. I’ve got a portable crank-driven radio that will charge cellphones as well.
- Medical supplies. For every day life, too. Some bandaids, ointments (Neosporin, etc), and alcohol/hydrogen peroxide for sterilizing wounds will go a long way in daily life, but in disaster scenarios you want more.
- Alcohol for drinking. This falls under entertainment and medical supplies; in a pinch, a high by volume drink can sterilize. Also, as a note, Scotch doesn’t have to be refrigerated (just kept out of the sun). I’ve moved away from having it with anything added to it which makes it even more versatile.
- Tobacco, for smoking. Cigars also don’t require electricity, and I smoke them outside anyway.
- Legs. You know what entertainment doesn’t require electricity, or charging, or any trappings of modern day life? I’ll give you a clue: Follow the legs up!
So there’s your Cigars and Legs guide to surviving a storm. Some of this may sound paranoid until you realize nature is quite cruel and ruthless in many regions and it never hurts to be ready for a temporary break down of supplies.

This Week (July 29th-August 4th) in 1954…

On Friday, July 30th, the film noir Pushover was released, starring Fred MacMurry, Philip Carey, and Kim Novak. In this Richard Quine film, Police officer Paul Sheridan (MacMurray) is on the hunt for $200,000 stolen during a bank robbery. Part of their job is surveillance on Lona McLane (Novak) who is dating one of the robbers. Problems start when Sheridan falls for Lona, who develops a plan for their escape when she learns he’s a cop…

Hitchcock’s suspenseful Rear Window was released on August 1st, staring James Stewart, Grace Kelly, and Wendell Corey. Photograph L. B. “Jeff” Jeffries (Stewart) breaks his leg and is confined to his apartment and is using a wheelchair. He passes his time by watching his neighbors who are keeping their windows open to fight a heat wave. It’s then that he starts noticing something is awry with one of his neighbors…

Two days later, on August 3rd, About Mrs. Leslie saw general release. This film shows Mrs. Leslie, played by Shirley Booth, reflecting on her life, as a cafe entertainer and her involvment with George Leslie.

Two films were released the following day, Wednesday the 4th:

Magnificient Obsesion, starring Jane Wyman and Rock Hudson, a romantic flick directed by DOuglas Sirk. Hudson plays a spoiled playboy named Bob Merrick. He causes himself no end of trouble when he loses control of his speed boat…

The other film released was The Raid, set during the Civil War and starring Van Heflin, Anne Bancroft, Richard Boone, and Lee Marvin. Heflin, also known as radio’s Philip Marlow for four years starting in 1947, played Major Neal BEnton in this film set in a Union prison at Plattsburg, New York.