THE HOUSTON’S by Lawrence Grobel

THE HOUSTON’S by Lawrence Grobel

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A book I thoroghouly enjoyed was Lawrence Grobel's book:  Houstons The life and times of a Hollywood dynasty. There are many parts of this book worth telling about, but here are a few that I found particularly interesting. Mr. Grobel writes of John Houston's admiration of the heavyweight boxer Jack Dempsey. Dempsey had come out of a small mining town to become a world famous fighter. Dempsey became the heavyweight champion in 1919 shen he knocked out Jess Willard in the third round after…

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THE CLIVEDEN HOTEL & THE PROFUMO – KEELER SCANDAL OF THE 1960’S

THE CLIVEDEN HOTEL & THE PROFUMO – KEELER SCANDAL OF THE 1960’S

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The Cliveden hotel (pronounced CLIV-d’n) is unique. It is one of the world’s finest luxury hotels located in the heart of the Berkshire countryside outside of London, near Heathrow Airport, and surrounded by 376 acres of gardens and parklands. The River Thames runs through the property. The former home of Nancy  Astor, guests have included every British monarch since George the I as well as Charlie Chaplin, Winston Churchill and President Roosevelt. This five star hotel is a Victorian three story…

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WHEN IT COMES TO INITIATIVE 1098 – A STATE INCOME TAX BILL – PROPONENTS SAY: “Pay no attention to that tax behind the curtain”

WHEN IT COMES TO INITIATIVE 1098 – A STATE INCOME TAX BILL – PROPONENTS SAY: “Pay no attention to that tax behind the curtain”

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It sounds like such a good deal – the proverbial free lunch regarding Initiative 1098.  My friend Bill Gates Sr looks so sincere in those ads and what he says is compelling. You vote for a state income tax on the rich and your property taxes go down and schools benefit plus the only ones that get taxed are the few wealthy. Everyone else gets off "scot free" so let's stick it to the wealthy – right? Well, you remember the classic …

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EILEEN NEARNE, BRITISH SECRET AGENT IN WORLD WAR II

EILEEN NEARNE, BRITISH SECRET AGENT IN WORLD WAR II

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 While we were in Europe I read an article from London by John F. Burns about a woman who died there September 2nd. Eileen Nearne, known as Didi , had volunteered, in World War II, to join the Special Operations Executive, a wartime agency known as "Churchill’s secret army." It consisted of some 14,000 agents who were recruited to conduct espionage behind enemy lines during the war. She was born on March 15, 1921 into an Anglo-Spanish family that moved to…

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AU REVIOR FRANCE & BONJOUR AMERICA

AU REVIOR FRANCE & BONJOUR AMERICA

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We ate another unique meal with breakfast. We were given a  wooden, rectangle shaped, tray with six small cups. Inside of each was a different food, like a yogurt, and each was unique tasting and very good. There was a plate with thin ham, small sausage and small cuts of cheese with a small tomato on top. Everything was unusual and an adventure to eat. A very unusual  kitchen and chef. After breakfast we walked the narrow stone road down…

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FIRST REPORT ABOUT OUR SAINT EMILLION ADVENTURE

FIRST REPORT ABOUT OUR SAINT EMILLION ADVENTURE

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It is a three hour drive from Saint Martin to Saint Emilion. Most of it on an autobahn like freeway. The entire drive was through farm and unimproved land. As we got off the freeway and closer to our destination many large and small vineyards began to appear. Some very beautiful chateaus were  seen more often. The road became narrow. A two lane asphalt road without shoulders until we finally arrived at tiny Saint Emilion. We said good by to…

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AU REVIOR SAINT MARTIN & BOJOUR SAINT EIMILION

AU REVIOR SAINT MARTIN & BOJOUR SAINT EIMILION

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The  Ile de Re is a small island off of the city of La Rochelle southeast of Paris. It is 14 miles long and only 4 miles wide. It is nearly flat. Our hotel is in St Martin, the island’s capital, and is a fishing port with white washed houses and a protected harbor. Fifteen minutes away is La Flotte which is regarded as one of the most beautiful villages in France. It, too, is a small port and fishing…

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ADDENDUM TO THE GOLD RING SCAM

ADDENDUM TO THE GOLD RING SCAM

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I forgot to mention in my last posting that at the seminar of lawyers we attended, someone brought up the gold ring scam (See previous posting where I explained  how it worked) Out of the group of these bright trial lawyers two of them were willing to admit they had fallen for it. One lucked out paying only 5 Euros, but other paid twenty Euros for a worthless piece of junk jewelry. How many others who were too ashamed to admit they…

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FRENCH TGV TRAINS & OTHER FRENCH ADVENTURES

FRENCH TGV TRAINS & OTHER FRENCH ADVENTURES

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This  is our great train experience and what we learned as first time train traveler’s in France and which is well understood by every school child I’m sure, but for us a challenge. This only applies to the main train depot in Paris which is our sole experience in train travel. We had our tickets purchased before we left the U.S. for the TGV train from Paris to La Rochelle. When we got to the station our driver showed us the…

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