Seeing the Past from the Present

In spite of the hiccup caused by a dispute between the owners and players, the 2022 baseball season is underway, although about a week late. Early one day last season, I was waiting for the train to take me to the market, when a teenage boy wearing a Cleveland baseball jersey, carrying a baseball glove and accompanied by his dad, walked onto the platform to wait for the train to take them downtown for a game that day (I don't now recall the visiting team that day).

I couldn't help but think of my dad and me, and sometimes my older brother, heading to Cleveland Municipal Stadium for games in the 1960s and early 1970s. My dad would never say "We're going to the stadium for the game," but rather, "We're going to the ballpark," the term he always used. Anyway, I briefly talked with the father and son about the then new season, and it was like having a conversation with my dad and myself, but 60 years ago.

 

I suppose we all reminisce about times gone by, and some seek almost desperately to hold onto the past, perhaps often at the expense of the present and the future. This episode of "The Twilight Zone" fits right into the idea of the past: https://pontificating-randy.blogspot.com/2014/10/a-visit-to-past.html   

Back in the 1960s ... my uncle, my dad's brother, was visiting us from Connecticut, where he and his family lived back then. I believe it was the last game of the season for us the day this picture was taken. Just think, "I coulda been a contender," but Marlon Brando made that line famous before I had a chance.

WORD HISTORY: 

Jersey-The origin of this word is uncertain, although it seems to go back to one of two possibilities, both of which have to do with the name of one of the Channel Islands, which is a British Crown Dependency; and thus, it is not a constituent part of the United Kingdom nor of any of the UK's component parts, with many perhaps first thinking of England. First off, there is an argument that the name "Jersey" is simply from a French pronounced form of Latin "Caesarea," which was rendered in French as "Césarée," and then which supposedly became "Gersui" in the French spoken by the descendants of the original Normans in England, then this became "Gersey," before the form "Jersey." Others believe the name comes from Old Norse, and indeed, the Norse sailed and raided along the western European coast, the English coast and among the Channel Islands. The idea is, the Norse called the island "Geirrs Island;" that is, with the Norse form coming from "geirr" and "ey," words from Germanic. "Geirr" comes from the same Germanic source that gave English "garlic, garfish, Oscar" and the verb "gore," and its basic meaning is "spear, spearhead," and in the verb gore meaning, "to be pierced or stabbed by a spear or other sharp object (usually an animal horn)." Old Norse "geirr" meant "spear," and it was also used as a male name. "Ey" goes back to Old Germanic "awjo," which meant "meadow area by a river or stream, the lower level of land near a river or stream;" thus, "a floodplain," with the further meaning "island." The Germanic form gave Old English "ieg," which meant "island," and it gave Old Norse the previously mentioned "ey," also meaning "island." The Norse forms of "Geirr" and "ey" then supposedly became "Gersui," "Gersey" and "Jersey," in succession. Whatever the case, the use of "jersey" (small 'j') for a garment for the upper body is from the island name, seemingly because such garments were commonly worn there, but when this really came into use for the garment name is unclear to me, as some have noted the name was originally applied to the particular cloth made on Jersey and then used for the garment, but there is a huge gap in possible beginnings of the term dating from the 1500s to the first half of the 1800s. This may be because the original cloth was named this in the 1500s, and then that transferred to the name for the garment, but with the "athletic shirt" meaning, which is still common today, first being used around the mid 1800s in the U.S. The U.S. state of "New Jersey" was also named after the island in the second half of the 1600s, as one of the big landowners in the region was from the island of Jersey (he had been given land in America by England's King Charles II). In every day lingo, "New Jersey" is often shortened to just "Jersey."

Ironside Episode: Memory of an Ice Cream Stick

This episode of television crime drama "Ironside" first aired on NBC in January 1968.

Some background: The title of the series, "Ironside," refers to Robert T. Ironside, the Chief of Detectives of the San Francisco Police Department, who was seriously wounded by a sniper attack and left paralyzed from the waist down and, thus, he was confined to a wheelchair. Upon his recovery from the basic wounds, the "Chief" is made a special consultant to the police department, which assigns two young permanent officers to him, these being Detective Sergeant Ed Brown and Officer Eve Whitfield. He also hires, on his own, Mark Sanger, a young delinquent, whom the Chief works to reform. Oh, I almost forgot ... Sanger is black. The Chief hires Mark to be his personal assistant and the driver of a refurbished paddy wagon police vehicle to haul around the Chief and his wheelchair, as well as radio and mobile telephone equipment. (To younger people: no Internet or cellphones like today in those times.) The series was very representative of the second half of the 1960s and early 1970s, with "culture clash" (music styles, clothing and personal appearance styles, drug use, antiwar activism, women's rights, racial fairness), "generation gap" (many of the same issues as 'culture clash,' because of generational differences), and the striving to see racial minorities, especially black Americans, be treated fairly in society. The writers for the series didn't have to really make things up, as all of these things I've mentioned, and likely some I've inadvertently left out, were right there in front of us for all to see. 

Episode Cast:

Raymond Burr ....... Chief Robert T. Ironside, aka simply, "the Chief," or "Chief"
Don Mitchell .......... Mark Sanger
Barbara Anderson ... Officer Eve Whitfield
Don Galloway ......... Sergeant Ed Brown
Mel Scott ................. Sam Noble
Jack Kruschen ......... Willie Busch
Ena Hartman ...........  Millie Roberts
Gene Lyons .............  Police Commissioner Dennis Randall 

A racketeer is found murdered and a recent parolee, Sam Noble, is questioned about the killing, as he was one of the last people to see the man alive. The fear among the San Francisco authorities is that a gang murder could set off a series of retaliatory killings by rival gangs, and bring about a gang war. When Sam Noble is questioned, Mark Sanger recognizes him as a man from his neighborhood when he was a child, and who had given Mark a quarter for an ice cream stick to do errands for him.* Mark introduces himself to Sam, who indeed recalls Mark from a decade earlier and that seems to be the end of it. The Chief, meanwhile, recounts Sam's lengthy criminal record and states that they likely haven't seen the last of Sam Noble. Later, Sam sees Mark in a coffee shop and they talk briefly, but a supermarket robbery has been reported to police and two police officers enter the coffee shop and put both Sam and Mark against the wall and search them. Mark is furious when he tells the Chief what happened, but Ironside tries to calm Mark by explaining that Sam fit a description of the robbery suspect, and that obviously, the officers thought Mark was a possible accomplice, and both men had to be searched for weapons. When the Chief makes a somewhat casual comment that Mark probably won't see Sam Noble again, Mark takes offense and says that no one can tell him whom to befriend. Their voices rise as they have a bit of a clash, and their friendship seems threatened. The Chief's perception of Sam is as a convicted criminal who is probably not reformed, and potentially a bad influence on Mark, and maybe even a danger to him (throughout the series, the Chief is very protective of his staff). On the other hand, Mark associates Sam with "the best times" of his life, his childhood, and even though Mark has lots of "street smarts," he doesn't want to see or hear anything that casts a shadow over Sam's past role as the guy who bought him ice cream. This is the crux of the story: our desire to hold onto our happy memories, and perhaps to try to relive those memories. Maybe others have a different take on it.

Anyway, Chief Ironside has a kind of father like relationship with Mark, a very interesting and daring thing in those times, when racial tensions in the U.S. were often seething. I'm sure some white Americans, especially, but not exclusively, in the South, and probably some black Americans, were furious over such a mix. Both the Chief and Mark are bothered by their argument and later, in a good will gesture, the Chief tells Mark to go to the steakhouse across the street for dinner, and to put it on his account. When Mark leaves the building, Sam Noble is outside waiting to see him. He says he wants to apologize for Mark getting dragged into the mess with the police. Mark is happy for Sam's apology and he sees it as a sign that Sam has reformed, so he invites Sam into the steakhouse with him. During dinner Sam tells Mark he will be starting a new job in a few days, and this goes a long way toward reassuring Mark that Sam has changed his ways and he lets Sam know that the Chief doesn't really trust him. Mark is a bit shocked to hear Sam admit that he can't blame the Chief, and that, "A rap lasts a lot longer than the time you spend inside. Well... it lasts until people trust you again."**

When Mark returns home, the Chief tells him that Sam has long had ties to racketeers, and that there's a good chance he had gone to see the murdered racketeer to collect on a payoff. This all brings the Chief and Mark to argue about Mark's association with Sam again, but this argument escalates beyond the earlier disagreement. Mark talks with Eve Whitfield about what he should do, because now he feels he should not have argued with the Chief, and that he can't explain why he defends Sam Noble against the Chief's suspicions. Mark wants to apologize to the Chief, but the hustle and bustle of the ongoing case leaves no time alone for the two. One of the top racketeers tells the chief the name of the man who is taking over for the murdered racketeer leader. Sam arranges to see Mark and he tells Mark this same name, which only confirms to Mark that Sam is trying to go straight. When Mark finally has some time alone with the Chief, they try talking again, but the Chief restates the possibility of Sam still being outside of the law. This begins to make Mark angry again, but the Chief recounts the bad times in Mark's life, and how Mark had to love when he was a child and Sam Noble bought him ice cream and candy, and the Chief says he knows he seems to be taking this one part of Mark's life with so many fond memories and ruining it, but that he doesn't mean to do so. Mark tells him not to do it then.

The new racketeer leader is found dead and his wall safe emptied. When the Chief goes to investigate, he lets Mark go out on his own for awhile. Mark goes to Sam's hotel room, only to find Sam packing. Mark is curious that Sam would be leaving town when he is scheduled to start his new job. When Mark looks into Sam's suitcase, there is a large amount of money inside. Sam draws a gun and intends to use Mark as a hostage to get out of town. It was Sam who killed and robbed the new racketeer leader. Mark now sees Sam as he really is, and when Sam tells him to cooperate and he might buy him an ice cream stick, Mark answers, "I'm not a kid anymore." Life has its brutal moments of reality.

Sam has Mark call the Chief to get him to end the hunt for Sam. With Mark's life hanging in the balance, the Chief carefully works things to drag out the process to see if they can get a fix on where the call is coming from. They only get a generalized area of the call, so numerous police units go to the area. When Sam has Mark call back, this time the call is completely traced by the police to the phone booth of Sam and Mark's location. When Sam tries to escape, he is grabbed by police officers and handcuffed. Mark is safe.

Back at home, Mark starts to apologize to the Chief, but in a very touching moment, the Chief says, "Mark... Sam Noble bought you ice cream when you were a kid. It was a good time of life. There's not a man in the world who wouldn't fight as hard as he can to hold onto the best time of his life." Mark realizes he has found a new "best time of life," in his life with, and taking care of, the Chief, which includes games of darts, and Mark challenges the Chief to a game, and the Chief tells him, "You sir are about to be taught a lesson in humility."       

* Actor Don Mitchell and his character Mark Sanger were in their 20s in the "Ironside" series, so his childhood years were in the1950s. To a child, a quarter's value in those times made them "rich," and believe me, I know ... ahh, I mean, I've heard that.

** For those unaware of this slang usage of "rap," it means, "a charge or accusation against a person, usually by indictment," and a "rap sheet" is "a written record of a person's arrests and the charges against them." "To beat the rap" means, "not pay a penalty for a charge against one."

Photo is of the Shout! Factory Season 1 DVD Box Set

WORD HISTORY:
Snipe (Sniper)-This word's origin is highly uncertain, but it "seems" possibly related to "snout," a word from the Germanic roots of English, with any further lineage unknown. The idea here is that "snipe" is the name for a bird with a long pointed beak (snout), which has been a game bird found near water going well back in history. There are numerous forms in the Germanic languages, but no one has actually settled upon an Old Germanic form, or whether the bird name was borrowed into Germanic. Old English (Anglo-Saxon) had "snite," but whether this is an altered form of the word (likely, in my opinion), or an entirely different word, is unknown. Many have assumed that what is now "snipe" in English, was borrowed as "snippe/snipe" (ending 'e' pronounced eh/ah) from Old Norse circa 1300, but that related Germanic language used "myrisnipa," literally "moor snipe." Perhaps the Old Norse word influenced the existing English word in pronunciation and spelling? Modern German has "Schnepfe," which was once spelled "snepha/snepfa/snepho;" Low German has "Snipp," Dutch has "snip," Swedish has "snipa," which means a long, narrow pointed boat (get it?), and also, "snäppa," for a "sandpiper," a bird found near water and similar to a snipe, Norwegian has "snipe." The verb developed from the noun in the 1700s from the idea of hiding in bushes to hunt snipes. This then developed into the noun "sniper" in the first half of the 1800s ("sniper"="typically a skilled marksman who fires upon enemy personnel from bushes or some other type of cover"). The verb later (about 1900?) also took the figurative meaning, "to make negative remarks about someone in a round about way or from a distance."        

Penrose Hot Sausages

Some of you may remember the large jars of Penrose sausages that sat on the counters in little neighborhood stores and bars years ago. The sausages were pickled, perhaps symbolic of what happened to some of the bar customers, too. Depending upon the time frame, the sausages were a nickel or a dime, and some neighborhood bars sold the little sausages on a slice of bread. It was not uncommon for the bars to pickle eggs in the spicy brine after the sausages were all sold. In with the sausages were always a few small fiery red chili peppers. Like my grandfather, I liked spicy food, and the other kids would love to see me eat one of the hot chilies with the sausage. The bar owner would use a long spoon or tongs to get one of the sausages and then to land one of the peppers to go along with it. The people in the bar, all of whom knew my grandfather, would often watch too, as I chomped on the pepper all by itself. No bite of bread or drink of water for me.

From what I understand, they stopped selling the sausages in jars a number of years ago. If I remember right, they had smaller jars for sale in grocery stores, but now they sell them in plastic packets, but I'll bet they don't have any little chili peppers in them. Time changes us and the things from our lives, but we still have the memories, including of those wonderful Penrose pickled sausages with chili peppers.

WORD HISTORY:
Tongs-This word goes back to Indo European "denk," which meant, "to bite, to sting." This gave its Old Germanic offspring "tango," with the notion of, "to grip by biting down." This gave Old English (Anglo-Saxon) the noun "tange," meaning, "pincers," which later also came to be used by some to mean "pliers." Relatives in the other Germanic languages, all meaning "pincers, tongs, pliers:" German has "Zange" (the "Z" is pronounced "ts"), meaning, ""pliers, pincers, tongs;" Dutch and Low German Saxon have "tang" (pincers, tongs, pliers); Danish has "tænger;" Norwegian "tenger;" Icelandic "töng;" Swedish "tång."

Chipping Away At My Past, James Garner Dies

If we're lucky, we have long lives with at least relatively good health. Our personal history, also known as our past, accumulates many memories stored in the files of our minds. An event takes place or a name is mentioned, and you recall things or people from your past, often, but not always, faster than your computer browser can recount all of the websites you've visited in your last session, but without any disclaimer that they're not spying on you, and that they only want you to "have a good browsing experience, with things tailored to your likes," which seems to include all sorts of ads (I'm sort of paraphrasing here). No ads are posted in our minds, and there is certainly no spying, just the memories. We have now learned that actor James Garner has passed away at the age of 86.

James Garner acted in many television and movie roles during his career, but when I saw the headline about his death, "Maverick" and "The Rockford Files" immediately were hauled out of my mind's database. As a child in the 1950s, I watched the original episodes of "Maverick," an ABC television Western with many a lighthearted moment, all in black and white back then, where Garner played gambler Bret Maverick. After he left the show he remained in public view in other performances, including television commercials. In the 1970s he reentered the television big time, playing private detective Jim Rockford in a hit series which also had many a lighthearted moment. Coming almost fifteen years after he left "Maverick," this popular NBC series made Garner a star to those of a new generation, while retaining those fans from his earlier days, a trend which continued in the 1980s and 1990s, as he played other roles, including reprising Bret Maverick in a television movie and a television series.

So another part of my childhood and later life has passed from the scene, chipping away at those still living from my past, but James Garner remains a great memory in my mind.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/alan-light/210409111/

Photo by Alan Light of James Garner in 1987 (The Rockford Files ended in 1980)

WORD HISTORY:

Maverick-The use of "maverick" is from the name of an American cattle owner, Samuel Maverick, in the 1800s, who would not brand his cattle; thus the meaning, "a person who goes against convention." The name's origin is sketchy, but it is "perhaps" from Celtic.