B4 Under the Padre Palms
Notes from The Island
© 2008, Arlan Andrews, Sr. arlan@thingsto.com
Notes No. 262 Media Morasses: You may judge for yourselves whether recently the mass media have been more favorable to one Presidential candidate than the other. But nowadays, at least we have access to several cable news channels and an infinite number of Internet sites where we can access what we consider to be the truth. Back in “the Day” (i.e., prior to the Net and talk radio and Fox News), there were very few choices. One of them, CBS News, was the Big Black Eye. Let us remember (in paraphrase, at least) how it was, back before Rathergate, typefonts and Katie Couric. JFK and All That Back around 1966, one Jim Garrison, District Attorney of New Orleans, announced to a stunned world that he had evidence that Lee Harvey Oswald had not been the lone assassin who killed JFK several years before. In a series of press conferences and legal showcases, D.A. Garrison stirred up speculation that a massive plot had been behind the assassination of our President, stories that resonated with those of us who (like me) had never believed the Warren Commission’s fantasy report. (As it turns out in Gerald Ford’s biography, neither did all the members of that Commission.) I had even filed my copy of that Report on my shelf with other science fiction. In that day, Walter Cronkite of CBS News had an evening TV half hour news show that was the most watched of its time. Because of his long career in reporting and his booming grandfatherly voice, “Uncle Walter” was often called “the most trusted man in America.” But during the Garrison news cycle, one night “Uncle Walter” said something that at first puzzled me, then angered me. “Why,” he intoned sonorously that evening, “do we want to dig up this tragic, painful episode from the past? Why don’t we just leave it alone?” I was astounded. This news reader, to whom we all devoted half an hour of our lives each weekday evening, this TV actor, he would prefer that possible assassins of our President not be bothered, just because it might cause painful remembrances of that day in Dallas? After that broadcast, I no longer watched Cronkite, much less trusted him. In his later career as a cheerleader against American forces
October 24, 2008
North Padre Island Moon
in Vietnam, he finally revealed his true colors. In the intervening years he has gone further and further to the left, even apologizing for a series of anti-Communist TV shows he had narrated in the earlier part of the Cold War. Goodbye, Mr. C. Men in Black Somewhere in the 60s CBS began to shift from straight-up reporting to tilting leftward. A few years after the Garrison spectacle, a CBS reporter was giving a report from a front in Viet Nam, in the aftermath of a small battle. Strewn behind him in the scene were black-pajamaed Viet Cong bodies, losers of that particular firefight. After a report in which he gave faint praise to the American soldiers, he said, “This scale of fighting is often called ‘nickel-and-dime’ action, but it was expensive for the brave men who died here.” Then as the camera slowly panned over the Viet Cong dead, the reporter intoned, “brave men on both sides.” I am not able to print here what I said about that reporter and about CBS. It was a long time before I could allow CBS News to be turned in my home again. A Day in the Life… But in the year 1970, CBS News was putting on a Charles Kuralt special that they had recorded the day of the Moon Landing, July 20, 1969. With reporters all over the country, they had interviewed Americans of all kinds, in many towns and cities, giving an overview of what the nation was like on that day unlike any before in history, when Man walked on the Moon. After a few relatively nice segments here and there around the country, one CBS crew converged on a street festival in St. Louis, where many young Afro-Americans (the term in vogue back then) were having a good time, dancing to the listenable rock ‘n roll music that preceded hip-hop. The reporter chose two young women who were obviously enjoying themselves. He asked them how they felt about Neal Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin landing on the Moon. One woman replied, very happily, “I think it’s just great, man. Goin’ to the Moon and all. It’s a wonderful thing, and a great day!” Her companion nodded in agreement, smiling broadly. Visibly taken aback, the CBS reporter responded defiantly, “But, don’t you think that money would have been better spent here in the ghetto?” The young women looked at him with disbelief, but he continued. “I mean, wouldn’t you say that the government is spending money in the wrong place, they ought to be helping poor people here on Earth, in this neighborhood?” Finally, the puzzled women shrugged, in apparent conflict. “Yeah, I guess…” The scene ended with the reporter turning to the camera with a knowing frown, “And there you have it, Charles; Afro-Americans feel left out of this. The Moon is not for them.” I stopped watching CBS News that day.
Flour Bluff High School Band received a 1 at the UIL marching contest last Saturday in Alice. This is a photo of the drum line from last Friday’s game at Flour Bluff.
Photo by Mary Craft The stairway leading to the Piazza Umberto at the center of Capri is called Scala Fenicia (Phoenician steps) and has been there for centuries. It was the only way to get to the plaza until a road was built in 1905. There are 777 steps because apparently 7’s had a special meaning to the Greeks that built them. It is not exactly the scenic route because of its high walls. continued from B1
ISLE OF PADRE TO THE ISLE OF CAPRI
how much further and their answer was, “There is a lot of climbing left. It is a lot easier going down.” We started taking more breaks and panted as tourists passed us on their way down. They giggled as they went down because they figured out what we had done. Finally there is life at street level! We make our way to the nearest cafe which also happens to be where the best view is. Ironically it is also where the cable car which takes passengers up the steep hill stops. The upside is we saved $2; the down side is my shins hurt so bad the next day it made for a non-sightseeing day. The whole reason I went up the stairs was because I thought surely there would be a warning sign if there was an issue. It would read: “If you have a heart condition or if you cannot walk up 88 flights of stairs turn around now and take the cable car.” After some fluids (I chose a large stein of beer) and a good amount of sitting we got up to check out the view of the marina and rock formations below. One cannot imagine a prettier place on the
planet. It made me wonder what the seven wonders look like. Emperor Tiberius chose to rule the Roman Empire here for ten years in 26AD. Tiberius, who was known for his ruthless violence, had a balcony in his villa called Tiberius’ Fall. This balcony overhangs a steep cliff and was used to throw off those who displeased the emperor. I may have gotten to the viewing spot the same way he did. It was amazing to me to think that I was enjoying the same view of course, without the yachts, that a Roman emperor did that long ago. The isle is world renowned as was evidenced by the tourists there from around the world. There are several 5 star hotels as well as high designer stores such as Versace. The island was a favorite haunt of the Hollywood stars in the fifties. Strictly as an aside. I learned that the Italian equivalent of our word bull___t is Pinnochio. As in, …”to truly experience the Isle of Capri you need to take the stairway up” to which I would emphatically reply “Pinnochio!.”
Photo by Mary Craft
Limoncello is a popular Italian chilled after dinner liqeur. It is made from lemon rinds and is produced in Capri and the Amalfi coast which are known for their citrus groves. The lemons there are much larger as seen pictured here above the stand. Most restaurants in Southern Italy offer a free glass of this smooth and tasty drink after dinner.
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