Betty's Attic
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Friday, September 30, 2016
On September 29, 1954, Willie Mays, aka the "Say Hey Kid", made one of the greatest catches in the history of baseball, now simply known to fans as "The Catch". The game was broadcast live on NBC and my dad was one of the lucky ones who got to see it on a neighbor's TV.

Televisions weren't in every living room back in those days, so the whole neighborhood gathered to watch Game One of the World Series at a house down the block. He saw The Catch on live TV, but even he couldn't believe his eyes! Here's how he told it to me:

Mays was playing centerfield for the New York Giants when Cleveland Indians first baseman Vic Wertz came up to bat. The game was tied 2-2 with two runners on base. Wertz hit a fly ball deep into center field. Mays ran for it, turning his back to the infield. He caught the ball over the shoulder with his back still turned to it! Even the announcer was stunned, saying it looked like "an optical illusion". Then Mays spun, firing the ball back to the infield and keeping the runners on base from crossing home plate. The crowd, of course, went wild, shouting, "Say Hey! Say Hey! Say Hey!"

The game went into extra innings and the Giants won on a home run by Dusty Rhodes in the 10th. They went on to sweep the 1954 World Series and Mays was named the National League MVP. When Mays was asked about the catch, he replied, “I don’t rank ‘em, I just catch ‘em.”

Maybe Mays wouldn't rank 'em, but as my dad would say, there has never been another catch like The Catch. Or another player like the Say Hey Kid.

Posted by: Betty | 8:00 AM | permalink
Friday, September 23, 2016
Jim Henson would have been 80 years old this Saturday (Sept. 24). The Internet is abuzz with planned celebrations from puppetry classes to free screenings of Henson's iconic Muppets movies and, of course, celebrations on Sesame Street.

I sort of "grew up" on that street. I learned my "ABCs and 123s" from Henson's characters like The Count, Cookie Monster, Oscar the Grouch and the Two Headed Monster. I sang along with Big Bird and I loved that we could see the giant bird's wooly best friend, Mr. Snuffleupagus, even when no one else could.

Later, I'd grow to love Henson's Muppets as much as I did the characters I grew up with. Most people think that Henson created his movie puppets long after he imagined TV stars Big Bird and Cookie Monster. But did you know the first Muppet was born while Henson was in college?  His name was Kermit the Frog and he was the first of the famous Muppets to be on TV. Kermit starred in Henson's bi-weekly show that aired on a local NBC affiliate called, Sam and Friends, which won a local Emmy Award in 1958. That early show would serve as the basis for the rest of Henson's career, spawning the characters we've all come to know and love.

The world lost Jim Henson to a bout of pneumonia in 1990, but his legacy of teaching and learning and making kids of all ages laugh, learn, and think will live on in his truly timeless characters.

Posted by: Betty | 8:00 AM | permalink
Friday, September 16, 2016
Well, it's not that new. The lowly t-shirt graduated from underwear to outwear in the '50s when Marlon Brando, James Dean and others began wearing their "underwear" outside their clothes...right there on television for everyone to see. Shocking!

Back then, t-shirts were just plain comfortable, which is why men started ditching the button downs and running around in their undershirts. But now they've become wearable billboards that broadcast our social & political ideals, the movies and TV shows we watch, the bands and brands we love, and, of course, our sense of humor.

Now the days of buying 3-packs of cheap plain undershirts to wear as outerwear are gone, too. Today's t-shirts are tie-dyed, screen-printed, colorful expressions of our individuality. The more unique they are, the more we love our tees.

Luckily, there is one thing about t-shirts that hasn't changed much: the more you buy, the more you save.

Posted by: Betty | 8:00 AM | permalink
Friday, September 9, 2016
Yesterday marked the 50th anniversary of the premiere of Star Trek.  Though the original series only ran for three seasons, the science fiction adventure made its mark on television, pop culture, and especially kids like me. I still remember the excitement of sitting in front of our black and white TV and hearing those words, "Space, the final frontier..." as the Enterprise streaked across a black field of shining distant stars.

I loved the high-tech gadgetry, unusual aliens, and the hostile planets, but Star Trek had something that no other science fiction series had at that time: really great stories.  That's what kept me and a lot of other people coming back every week.

Instead of the typical dystopian future envisioned by most science fiction writing at the time, Gene Roddenberry, the show's creator, had a completely different view.

William Shatner once said, “There is a mythological component...It’s people looking for answers – and science fiction offers to explain the inexplicable...all the stuff about going out into space and meeting new life – trying to explain it and put a human element to it – it’s a hopeful vision. ”

We don't know much about the new series, Star Trek: Discovery planned for CBS All Access this year. So far all we've been told is there will be "new crews, new villains, new heroes, and new worlds". But my guess is the "mythological component", the "human element" will stay true to Star Trek's long history.

It's the hopeful future Roddenberry envisioned that makes Star Trek one of the longest running and best-loved science fiction stories ever imagined. Even a half century later.

Posted by: Betty | 8:00 AM | permalink
Friday, September 2, 2016
The arrival of fall ushers in cooler weather, winter holidays, political stumping, and of course, football season!

Some of my best childhood memories are gathering around the TV with the family to root for "our team". Since Mom and Dad grew up in different states, they sometimes had different ideas about which team was "ours",  but by the time Superbowl Sunday rolled around, it always seemed like the whole family ended up on the same side.

It was (and still is) a great excuse to get the family together on a Sunday afternoon. For us, football Sundays are all about the fun of cheering at a successful pass or run down the field. Or groaning at turnovers. And crying "foul" when the referees make a bad call.  It's about having a great excuse to just plop down in front of the TV and gorge on chips and dip, grilled burgers, and cold drinks all day long.

To our family, football Sunday isn't always about winning or losing — it's about how you watch the game.

Posted by: Betty | 8:00 AM | permalink
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