August Strindberg died today – 95 years ago

August Strindberg, born on January 22, 1849, died on May 14, 1912. He was a Swedish writer. I’ve never read anything he wrote, except a few quotations on the internet. (I guess that doesn’t count.) I have never been to Sweden, although I’d like to see it. According to pictures, the landscape is very beautiful – if you like fresh, cold water, soaring mountains, and winding fiords. I have been close to Sweden. I visited København (we call it Copenhagen) in Denmark. It was very beautiful. I’d like to go back.

P.S. A movie star named Rita Hayworth, born on October 17, 1918, died in 1987. Another movie star named Robert Stack, born on January 13, 1919, died in 2003. Another movie star named Billie Burke, born on August 7, 1885, died in 1970. A U.S. educator named Frances Perkins, born on April 10, 1880, died in 1965. A Russian anarchist (oh, my) named Emma Goldman, born on June 27, 1869, died in 1940.

Sholom Aleichem died today – 91 years ago

Sholom Aleichem, born on February 18, 1859, died on May 13, 1916. He was a Russian writer. Wikipedia says, “The musical ‘Fiddler on the Roof’ (1964) [was] loosely based on Sholom Aleichem's stories about his character Tevye the Milkman.” I remember seeing the movie “Fiddler on the Roof” at the Beverly Theater on Knoxville Avenue in Peoria, Illinois, in the early 1970’s. According to http://cinematreasures.org/theater/10170/, “The theater remained in operation until the early 90s but has since been demolished and replaced by a Walgreens.” Oh, my! (I’m sure that you wanted to know that.) The movie was three hours long. I remember that there was an intermission. I was probably grateful. They don’t make many – if any - movies that long anymore. For that we’re all grateful.

P.S. An actor named Gary Cooper, born on May 7, 1901, died in 1961. Perhaps you remember him from a movie or two movies or one hundred eight movies. Wow!

Sir Arthur Quiller-Couch died today – 63 years ago

Sir Arthur Quiller-Couch, born on November 21, 1863, died on May 12, 1944. He was a Cornish writer. According to http://www.born-today.com/, he said, "O, that I were where I would be, Then would I be where I am not; For where I am I would not be, And where I would be I can not." Wow. I don’t think I could have said it better myself. And I’m reasonably sure that I’ve never read anything he wrote. However, since he used the pseudonym of 'Q', perhaps I did and didn't know it... Nah! Nine! Nyet!

P.S. A singer named Perry Como, born on May 18, 1912, also died in 2001. Perhaps you’ve heard of him.

Max Reger died today – 91 years ago

Max Reger, born as Johann Baptist Joseph Maximilian Reger – good thing he’s known as Max – on March 19, 1873 in Bavaria, died on May 11, 1916. He was a German composer, organist, and pianist. I don’t think I have ever played anything he wrote. I really think I would remember that long name. I mostly prefer Chopin since his music is so melodic.

Wikipedia says (at the present time; it might change tomorrow) that “probably his best known orchestral work [is] the Variations and Fugue on a theme of Mozart (based on the opening theme of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's Piano Sonata, K. 331).” I think I’d like to take someone else’s melody and write some variations on it. If anyone has one for me, I would appreciate knowing what it is. If you also have some of the variations worked out and don’t mind me taking the credit for it – just kidding.

There is even a Max Reger Foundation of America. On its site, you can make a donation to support the foundation. I’m not going to give you the link, since I would rather that you send your donation to me. Any amount would be fine, but, in this case, the larger the better. Small is not beautiful when money is involved. You might even want to inquire about monthly bank drafts.

P.S. A businessperson named John D. Rockefeller, Jr., born on January 29, 1874, died today in 1960. A singer named Bob Marley, born on February 6, 1945, died in 1981. Perhaps you’ve heard of one of them.

Joan Crawford died today ... 30 years ago

Joan Crawford, born as Lucille Fay LeSueur on March 23, 1908 in San Antonio, TX, died on May 10, 1977 - a long time ago. I don't remember it, since I was still adjusting to the move to Houston, TX, in 1976. Some time in the 1980's I visited San Antonio. I believe the occasion was for Cinco de Mayo. I had a great time. I don't recall seeing her birthplace - probably because I wasn't looking for it. I have been to San Antonio several times since then. I rather like the city since it is hilly - sort of. I remember complaining often about San Antonio's road system: I thought it was not very well planned. I ... Oh, my. This was supposed to be about Joan Crawford. Oh, well, if you want to read about her and not hear anymore about me, check out the interesting Wikipedia entry at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joan_Crawford. Cheers!

Watch Those $1 Holds

No, I'm not talking about Texas Hold'em. I'm talking about your credit card. A friend was checking a credit card account on-line and discovered a credit hold for $1. (In case you forgot, credit holds are placed before the actual charge to assure the provider of being paid.) Thinking this was strange, a call was placed to the credit card issuer. A person there called the 800 number (attached to the potential charge) to investigate the situation. A foreign language person answered and then transferred the call to another person. After the situation was explained, the telephone was disconnected by the called party. It all seemed very suspicious, so the fraud department of the issuer was notified and its recommended action was taken.

It seems that a person can "test out" a credit card number to see if it is valid. Once that is established, a charge could be placed at any time in the future. I don't know that this is the case here, but it sure seems like it is. The lesson here is to carefully monitor your credit card account. This is especially easy if you have on-line access.

Reduce Gasoline Prices

I have recently been sent an interesting proposal to get the petroleum companies to lower gasoline prices. The letter says, "This was originally sent by a retired Coca Cola executive. It came from one of his engineer buddies who retired from Halliburton." The plan is not to buy any fuel from the most profitable companies - e.g. ExxonMobil - on May 15. Allegedly when their sales decrease, they will lower their prices and others will follow suit. But a friend said that ExxonMobil would just sell its gasoline to other companies, like Walmart, since they don't have their own refineries. So you'll just be buying the same fuel someplace else... Can companies like ExxonMobil just afford to wait it out for ONE day? Why not?

A more long-term solution would be to drive less and use more "mass transit." But we probably love our "independence", lack-of-need-to-plan-ahead, and spontaneity TOO much. For all of that, we need fuel, fuel, and more fuel. Roooooooar!