The phone rang. The caller ID flashed, showing one of Boston’s two major newspapers. I figured it was the sales department. I handed the phone to Marilyn. I heard Marilyn respond “yes” several times and was puzzled. We didn’t need… Read More ›
Garry Armstrong
OUR SUMMER PLACE – GARRY ARMSTRONG
It was our first outing in weeks because of COVID-19, house repair appointments, health issues and, really a general malaise because of the Marx Brothers state of our nation. It wasn’t supposed to be a pleasure outing. Marilyn had an… Read More ›
A TIMELY RERUN: LYNDON BAINES JOHNSON IN VIETNAM 1967, by GARRY ARMSTRONG
Originally posted on Serendipity Seeking Intelligent Life on Earth:
WHEN OUR PRESIDENT WAS A HERO Location: A campfire in Vietnam near Saigon. Year: 1967. 1967 and 1968 were very intense years for me. I had jumped directly from college and small time commercial radio,…
BIRDS OF PREY – BIRD WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE
BIRD WEEKLY – PHOTO CHALLENGE – BIRDS OF PREY I’ve taken a lot of pictures of raptors in the air, flying in the distance and high above me in the sky. My closer encounters have been largely in my driveway where… Read More ›
ON THE WATER: A SHORT TIME-OUT – Photos by Garry & Marilyn Armstrong
We took a couple of days off and we really needed it. Just the joy of seeing people we like IN PERSON. Real, live people! Time outside … a windy day on the water. It’s not that we were lonely,… Read More ›
BACK IN THE SADDLE — BY GARRY ARMSTRONG
“The Saddle” was a TV studio, WCCA-TV. Worcester Community Cable Access television. It was nirvana for a retired TV news reporter. I was the guest. The hostess was Liz Myska, a lawyer who is also severely visually-impaired and an advocate… Read More ›
THE WESTERN FILMS OF ROBERT MITCHUM By GENE FREESE
THE WESTERN FILMS OF ROBERT MITCHUM Author: Gene Freese Publication date: November 2019 244 pages in softcover, $39.95 pISBN: 978-1-4766-7849-8 eISBN 978-1-4766-3746-4 McfarlandBooks.com – 800-253-2187 McFarland, Publisher Most biographies of Hollywood film stars are from the “print the legend” department…. Read More ›
“I AM SAMOAN!” DECLARES GARRY ARMSTRONG
I’m Samoan. You may not believe it, but a whole bevy of racists in the 1970s believed it and it has become an inside joke in local media — or at least the retired members of local media. Maybe you’ve… Read More ›
NAMES CAN NEVER HURT YOU – GARRY ARMSTRONG
A while back, Marilyn wrote a piece using the word chutzpah. This is a word I’ve always badly mangled when I try to say it. It’s just a word, what the heck? That was my take for many years until… Read More ›
BACK TO THE CANAL AND THE BLACKSTONE RIVER
I’d been itching to get outside, even for a little while. I’d been outside on my own property, but nowhere else except UMass hospital and I didn’t think that counted. Garry took pictures. I took pictures. Together, it added up… Read More ›
WALK LIKE A MAN – GARRY ARMSTRONG
Every day, every week, every month, ever year, every Father’s Day, there are new memories about my Dad. It says a lot about William Benfield Armstrong who left us 18 years ago. I’ve heard the question for years. In high… Read More ›
TREES BY THE RIVER – FOTD – GARRY ARMSTRONG
FOTD – June 18 – Trees by the river Down by the river, Garry took some pictures. I keep hoping we’ll get a little bit of rain to clear the air of the pollen. Because tree pollen would normally be… Read More ›
AND THAT’S WHY I LOVED LUCY – GARRY ARMSTRONG
I’ve got the blues. I need to perk up. Melancholy. Melancholy Serenade. Serenade of the Bells. The Bells of St. Mary. A silly word link game I play to lighten things. Suddenly, it reminds me of another time, an assignment… Read More ›
WHEN MOVIE MAVENS MEET – GARRY ARMSTRONG
Movie Trivia, once a parlor game among friends, has grown into a worldwide, billion-dollar industry including databases, online fan clubs, and television stations like Turner Classic Movies, The Movie Channel, and American Classic Movies. People, like me, fancied themselves as… Read More ›
SLOWLY DRIVING ACROSS NEW ENGLAND – GARRY ARMSTRONG
We can still remember the good old days when we were one of the kids in the back seat pinching and punching a sibling while whining: “Are we there yet?” How come our parents didn’t kill us before we grew… Read More ›
DRESSED TO KILL? – Marilyn Armstrong
Garry used to be the best dresser in Boston. He spent a fortune on clothing. He loved looking good. His father was a tailor and for him, a suit that fit perfectly was like a hot sports car — and… Read More ›
BY RIVER AND CANAL – GARRY ARMSTRONG
TIME OUT FOR SQUIRRELS! I took a lot of pictures along the river. Marilyn is processing a half dozen at a time. Meanwhile, some squirrel and bird news! In the last week, our deck has been covered by dozens of… Read More ›
PRIVILEGED IN THE PARK – GARRY ARMSTRONG
It was really a lovely day. Cool, bright, not humid. The car, after these months of sitting under the trees which, these days, are covered with the remnants left by Marilyn’s birds. Our Renegade was not looking her best. And,… Read More ›
BAD BEHAVIOR TRUMPS RACE, CREED AND GENDER – GARRY ARMSTRONG
What our Coronavirus and riot-plagued world does not need is even more pointless intolerance. There’s no excuse for not using a modicum of civility when dealing with others, especially in the workplace. It doesn’t matter how bad a day you’ve… Read More ›
COLUMBINE ARE UP AND ROSES ARE ON THE WAY – GARRY ARMSTRONG
FOTD – May 31 – COLUMBINE I went into town to take pictures of Owen at work, stopped to pick up some stuff to drink, then came home to take flower pictures. I haven’t conquered macro pictures of flowers yet…. Read More ›
MEMORIAL DAY: THEN AND NOW, THE DAY AFTER – GARRY ARMSTRONG
Time changes everything. It’s a given. Memorial Day is no different and that’s a shame. When I was a kid, Memorial Day was usually a family affair. It seems as if it was always sunny and warm for the gathering… Read More ›
ALMOST INTERVIEWING JIMMY STEWART – GARRY ARMSTRONG
Full disclosure upfront. I never met Jimmy Stewart. No interviews. No emails. No phone conversations. But I’ve got Jimmy Stewart in my brain, maybe because Stewart is TCM’s “Star of the month.” They’ve been airing most of the legendary star’s… Read More ›
HEARING AND ITS CHALLENGES – Marilyn Armstrong
Cee’s Fun Foto Challenge: Sense of Hearing No surprise that hearing is a big issue in this household. I’ve lost some hearing, but it’s in a more or less normal range for my age. I often feel like I need to… Read More ›
DUKE, THE PIN UP GIRL, AND THE GYRENE – GARRY ARMSTRONG
The title probably suggests one of those old “B” films from old Hollywood. It was usually the second feature and ran while we scooted from our front row seats to get hot dogs, popcorn, and a Godzilla-sized Coke. You could… Read More ›
