One of my weekendpleasures is watching old movies . . . old like from the 40’s, 50’s and 60’s. I like to plop myself down on the couch witha ball of yarn and a crochet hook or knitting needles, watch the classics andjust chill.
I don’t know if thosemovies depict how people really interacted or spoke but it’s good cleanfun. Sometimes the dialogue includes aword that gets stuck in my head, a word that isn’t used in modern everydayconversation. It dig, dig, digs. Eventually, I make the effort to check itout.
One word that comesto mind is ‘picayune’. I heard it in themovie Mr. Skeffington from 1944 starring Bette Davis and Claude Rains. Bette was nominated for an Oscar for herperformance. But that’s neither here nor there . . . thepoint is that that silly word is now stuck in my brain and I’m here to purgeit.
This is what Ifound out about picayune . . .
Used up until themid-1800’s, a picayune was a small Spanish coin, worth half a real . . . aboutsix cents. Interestingly, the word isactually derived from a French word meaning ‘small coin’.
Eventually, a ‘picayune’came to mean something that is piddling or worthless.
Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas . . . the glitz, the bright lights, the extravagance.
You know the adage . . . what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas. Yeah, well, that almost happened to us.
Hubby and I were doing the Vegas thing . . . a little bit of gambling, a little bit of drinking, a little bit of sightseeing . . . what most folks do and having a rockin’ good time doing it!
We were having so much fun that we missed the shuttle back to our hotel. No worries . . . we decided to hump it. After all, it wasn’t too far of a trek. And it wasn’t, we made it back to the hotel in about 30 minutes. Just in time to meet up with some friends and enjoy more Vegas frivolity.
And that’s when I noticed it . . . my wallet was gone. Holy crapparoni! Just like the old American Express Travelers Check commercial . . . all my money, all my credit cards and all my identification . . . POOF! . . . gone.
I though hubby’s head was going to explode. The foul expletives that exploded from his mouth was enough to send R. Lee Ermey running for cover! Saying he was pissed off was the understatement of the millennia!
I was fairly certain that I had not been pick pocketed. It was more likely that it fell out of my bag . . . in evidence was my shoulder bag hanging open and wallet gone.
I knew when I last had it, which was not long before we started the walk back to the hotel. We decided to retrace our steps. With any luck we would find it intact and unmolested. In Vegas? Yeah, fat chance . . .
Not overly optimistic but hoping for the best all the same . . . off I went with irate hubby in tow . . . did I mention that he was fairly angry? Yeah? Okay then . . .
We walked the reverse route step for step carefully scanning the ground for my lost wallet. All the while, little ol’ me was being berated for my carelessness, ineptitude and whatnot . . . it was seriously UNfun.
We were nearing the place where we had gone of the beaten path of The Strip and no wallet . . . no evidence of wallet . . . and losing hope. We knew for certain that if I had dropped that lost little package on the main thoroughfare of Las Vegas there was no way we would ever sit it . . . or it’s contents . . . ever again.
How would we pay for the hotel? How would I be able to board the plane? How would I ever be able to live with hubby?
Freaking out? Yeah . . . I was . . . BIG time!
As is wont to happen on the rarest of occasions in SinCity . . . lady luck shined her magnanimousness upon us. There on the ground . . . not 10 feet from the bright lights of the Las Vegas strip was my wallet . . . intact and unmolested . . . like a minor miracle.
Oy . . .
Smithwicks Banana Quick Bread
2 1/2 Cups All-Purpose Flour
1 Teaspoon Baking Powder
3/4 Cup Brown Sugar
1 12-Ounce Smithwicks
1 Banana
2/3 Cup Walnuts, Chopped
1 Teaspoon Cinnamon
Preheat oven to 350F. Combine all ingredients in a mixing bowl, then spoon into a greased loaf pan.
When I was a little girl I wanted to be Wonder Woman in the worstest way! Not the DC Comics version. I wanted to be the REAL Wonder Woman . . . you know from the TV show starring Lynda Carter (1975-1979). Wowzers . . . she was something! Girls wanted to be her . . . men wanted to be with her.
In a time when equal rights for women were at the forefront . . . Wonder Woman was a feminist icon. She personified sexual equality in a male dominated world. She was super strong, super dynamic, super lithe and super sexy. And she could kick some serious ass!
Wonder Woman is the symbol of patriotism . . . and, if you know me then you know why that appeals to me. Yes, her costume incorporated aspects of the American flag . . . but that’s not all. But she believed in truth, justice and the American way. That’s why she hooked up with the Justice League . . . duh!
And then there was the Lasso of Truth . . . I defy any hot blooded American male to tell me he wouldn’t want to be wrangled by her. The Lasso of Truth forces anyone it captures to obey and tell the truth. An interested fact about The Lasso is that it was actually inspired by something most of us are familiar with . . . academically if not personally. William Marston, the creator of the Wonder Woman character, was also a scientist who worked on the systolic blood-pressure test used to detect deception . . . the predecessor of the polygraph test. I wonder where he got the idea for the lasso . . . huh?
Anyhoo . . . with her gorgeous hair, cute outfit, awesome power and uber coolness . . . I wanted to be her. And then came Underroos. Holy cow! Now I could BE Wonder Woman! Yup, it’s true . . . with the magic of cotton underwear I could be her. Yes!!! Uhm . . . no. But at least they made me look cool . . . or at the very least feel cool. If nothing else, they were very comfy.
If you’re unfamiliar with this line of adolescent fantasy-wear . . . Underoos is a brand of underwear that is made for children that mimicked the outfit a super hero . . . or Mickey Mouse if that’s kind of thing appeals to you. The garments stimulated young imaginations and allowed them to, in a small way, be that super-hero . . . or mouse.
I guess I felt kind of super wearing them. I’m thinking that just being having the underwear and not actually being Wonder Woman was somewhat anticlimactic.
Nannercakes - Banana Pancakes
1 Cup All-Purpose Flour
1 Tablespoon White Sugar
2 Teaspoons Baking Powder
1/4 Teaspoon Salt
1 Egg, Beaten
1 Cup Milk
2 Tablespoons Vegetable Oil
2 Ripe Bananas, Mashed
In a mixing bowl, mix together egg, milk, vegetable oil and bananas.
Combine flour, white sugar, baking powder and salt. Stir flour mixture into banana mixture; batter will be slightly lumpy.
Heat a lightly oiled griddle or frying pan over medium high heat. Pour or scoop the batter onto the griddle, using approximately 1/4 cup for each pancake.
Cook until pancakes are golden brown on both sides; serve hot.
