2009!

“In the New Year, may your right hand always be stretched out in friendship, never in want. “ An Irish Toast

Funny (and maybe true) New Year Wishes for the Baby Boomers:
May your hair, your teeth, your face-lift, your abs and your stocks not fall; and may your blood pressure, your triglycerides, your cholesterol, your white blood count and your mortgage interest not rise.

May you get a clean bill of health from your dentist, your cardiologist, your gastro-enterologist, your urologist, your proctologist, your podiatrist, your psychiatrist and your plumber.

May what you see in the mirror delight you, and what others see in you delight them. May someone love you enough to forgive your faults, be blind to your blemishes, and tell the world about your virtues.

May New Year's Eve find you seated around the table, together with your family and cherished friends and beloved pets at your side. May you find the food better, the environment quieter, the cost much cheaper, and the pleasure much more fulfilling than anything else you might ordinarily do that night.

May the telemarketers wait to make their sales calls until you have finished dinner. May the commercials on TV not be louder than the program you are watching. May your check book and your budget balance - and include generous amounts for charity.

May you remember to say "I love you" at least once a day to your spouse, your child, your parent, your siblings; but not to your secretary, your nurse, your masseuse, your hairdresser or your tennis instructor.

H ours of happy times with friends and family
A bundant time for relaxation
P rosperity
P lenty of love when you need it the most
Y outhful excitement at lifes simple pleasures

N ights of restful slumber (you know - "don't worry, be happy")
E verything you need
W ishing you love and light

Y ears and years of good health
E njoyment and mirth
A ngels to watch over you
R embrances of a happy years!
Winnie

New Years Traditions & a Soupy Sales Blooper

Whether clinking champagne glasses with friends and family, watching the ball drop in Times



Square or setting off firecrackers at midnight; the world transitions the old and welcomes the new with different customs or superstitions.
In some towns in Italy, watch out for falling objects. People shove their old sofas, chairs and even refrigerators out of windows on New Year's Eve so they can buy new ones.
Or, take the current year’s coins, place them face up on the window sill on New Year’s Eve to bring good luck.
On New Year’s Day, Italians serve lentils, raisins, and oranges, symbols of riches, good luck, and the promise of love. (Bring on the Pepto!!)
In Denmark young people pound on their friends' front doors and throw shards of pottery, collected from the past year, against the sides of houses. (And we thought we had it loud!)
In Greece, singing children go door-to-door, carrying fruit, a paper ship or star and a green rod cut from a cornel-tree. They tap the family members on the back with the rod for luck. It's customary to throw a pomegranate wrapped in silver foil on the threshold, to spread the seeds of good luck for an abundant year. (Caution, slippery when wet.)
In Iceland , a pantry window is left open and the frost is gathered and saved in a pot marked with a cross, for prosperity to the home. Icelanders believe that elves move into the house on New Year‘s Eve, and could be coerced into giving treasure to those who intercepted them at crossroads.
In Armenia on New Year‘s Eve, goodies are lowered down the chimney on a rope. (No mention if a roaring fire is part of this ritual!)
In Poland pickled herring is eaten to insure luck and prosperity. (Burp!)
In Ecuador, people make straw stuffed dummies and burn them in effigies at midnight, symbolically getting rid of the past. (Checked the smoke detector batteries lately!)
(The ultimate beach party!) In Rio de Janeiro, on New Year’s Eve, more than a million people gather on the beaches to honor the "Mother of the Sea," who brings good fortune.
Even the color of underwear Brazilians wear on New Year’s Day has meaning.
Pink brings love, yellow, prosperity; and white, peace and happiness. (Hanes & Fruit of the Loom stocks soar!)
British say,
Take out,
Then take in,
Bad luck will begin,
Take in, then take out
On New Year’s Day, don’t sweep or you will sweep your good luck away, or take anything out of the house-even trash. (Housewife Holiday!)
To insure abundance, bring in new things and if you carry something out, be sure to bring something else in first, preferably a coin concealed outside the previous night.
In Southern U.S. and the Caribbean its tradition that certain foods are eaten, such as Hoppin' John, a dish of field peas or crowder peas (black-eyed peas) and rice, chopped onion and sliced bacon, or substitute ham hock or fatback for the conventional bacon; optional green peppers or vinegar and spices. Eating Hoppin' John on New Year's Day is thought to bring a year filled with luck, and it's eaten by everyone.
The peas, or beans with little black “eyes,” signify coins. Fill your plate with them and your cup will run over, as in the 23rd Psalm. Serving Collard greens symbolizing green money and wealth, and cornbread for gold. On the day after New Year's Day, leftover "Hoppin' John" is called "Skippin' Jenny," demonstrates frugality, and brings an even better chance of prosperity in the New Year.
In Vienna, Austria, pigs are let loose in restaurants and everyone tries to touch them for luck as they run by. In homes, a marzipan pig, with a gold piece in its mouth, is suspended from a ribbon and touched instead. (Ms. Piggy must be a citizen of Austria!)
In Spanish-speaking countries, at midnight, people put 13 grapes into their wine or champagne glass. The grapes represent the 12 months of the old year and 1 for the new year. At midnight, after a toast, people eat the grapes as quickly as possible, making a wish on each one.
For Japanese it’s a customary money tree. Pine and cypress branches are decorated with old coins, paper pomegranates and flowers.
Or, old coins strung on colored threads in the shape of dragon and put at the foot of children's beds. It is called "cash to pass the year", to be saved and not spent.
Today, a money gifts are given in red envelopes.

Now the brain teaser -- how many of you remember this Soupy Sales telecast that got him in trouble....On New Year's Day 1965, miffed at having to work on the holiday, Soupy Sales ended his live broadcast by encouraging his young viewers to tiptoe into their still-sleeping parents' bedrooms and remove those "funny green pieces of paper with pictures of U.S. Presidents" from their pants and pocketbooks.
"Put them in an envelope and mail them to me," Soupy instructed the children. "And I'll send you a postcard from Puerto Rico!" He was then hit with a pie.

Several days later, a chagrined Soupy announced that money was unexpectedly being received in the mail. He explained that he had been joking and announced that unreturnable contributions would be donated to charity.
As parents' complaints increased, WNEW's management felt compelled to suspend Sales for two weeks. Young viewers picketed Channel 5. The uproar surrounding Sales' suspension increased his popularity.
Sales describes the incident in his 2001 autobiography Soupy Sez! My Life and Zany Times.
HAPPY NEW YEAR TO ALL!















































On New Year's Day 1965, miffed at having to work on the holiday, Soupy Sales ended his live broadcast by encouraging his young viewers to tiptoe into their still-sleeping parents' bedrooms and remove those "funny green pieces of paper with pictures of U.S. Presidents" from their pants and pocketbooks.
"Put them in an envelope and mail them to me," Soupy instructed the children. "And I'll send you a postcard from Puerto Rico!" He was then hit with a pie.

Several days later, a chagrined Soupy announced that money was unexpectedly being received in the mail. He explained that he had been joking and announced that unreturnable contributions would be donated to charity.
As parents' complaints increased, WNEW's management felt compelled to suspend Sales for two weeks. Young viewers picketed Channel 5. The uproar surrounding Sales' suspension increased his popularity.
Sales describes the incident in his 2001 autobiography Soupy Sez! My Life and Zany Times.

Legends & Santa's HoHoHo's

The Legend of the Snowflake

Long ago, a gleaming star led the way
To a child born in a manger.
Today it is believed that snowflakes
Are little pieces of that special star
That leads us to the light of the world,
Jesus
The Nativity Scene
Legend has it that Saint Francis of Assisi constructed the first nativity scene. His depiction included live animals. Francis knew that all the earth can be "holy land."
Robin's Red Breast
Legend has it that a little brown bird shared Bethlehem's stable. One night as the holy family lay sleeping, she noticed their fire was going out. So she flew down and fanned the fire with her wings throughout the night. In the morning, she was rewarded with a red breast as a symbol of her love for the newborn king.
la Bafana and Babouska
As Legend has it on Jan. 6, presents are delivered by a kind ugly witch called Befana riding a broomstick as she searches for Baby Jesus. The three kings asked her to follow them, but she was to busy cleaning house to leave. She missed the Star, lost her way and has been flying around ever since, leaving presents for good children and coal for the bad ones. In Poland a similar legend is told as the gifts are brought to the children by Babouska.
Spider
Legend has it that a poor woman had no decorations for her Christmas tree. She went to bed wondering how she would explain the unadorned tree to her children on Christmas Day. Angels prompted the house spiders to cover the tree with webs and on Christmas morning the branches covered with spider webs turned to silver by the rising sun.
The Legend of the Christmas Candle
The legend of the Christmas Candle foretells good luck, good health, and happiness during the year if burned on Christmas Day. Once lighted, it must be allowed to burn until it flickers out. Today people hold to the tradition of placing a Christmas candle in each front window of their houses as a welcoming symbol of friendship.
The Donkey
Legend has it the donkey that carried Jesus into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday followed Him to Calvary. Appalled by the sight of Jesus on the cross, the donkey turned away but could not leave. It is said that the shadow of the cross fell upon the donkey’s shoulders and back. A cross marking found on many donkeys today remains a testimony of the love and devotion of a humble, little donkey.
The Rooster
Legend has it, the rooster has only crowed once at midnight to announce the birth of the Baby Jesus. For this reason, Spanish and Latin American countries call their midnight mass on Christmas Eve, the Mass of the Rooster, or Misa Del Gallo.
The Christmas Cat
Legend has it a small tabby cat crawls out from beneath a pile of straw in the stable. Mary says "I'm sorry Cat, I think no creature in this barn is going to get rest tonight." So it curls up and began purring, softly at first, then steadily louder and soon the barn was filled with the cat’s calming purr. Mary , was so pleased she reached down and gently traced her first initial, the letter M, on the cat's forehead, in thanks. So today all Tabbies are marked with the letter “M” as a symbol of Mary’s love.
The Legend of the Christmas Rose The Christmas or Snow Winter rose blooms at Christmas in winter in the mountains of Central Europe. Legend has it a little shepherdess named Madelon tending her sheep saw the wise men and shepherds bringing gifts for the Maji. Having nothing to give, she began to cry. An Angel brushed away the snow and showed her a white flower tipped in pink - the Christmas Rose. To this day, parts of central and northern Europe break off a cherry tree branch at the beginning of Advent and keep it in water so flowers burst into bloom at Christmas time.

Haven’t we all experienced that conversation “lull” at the office Christmas Party or the family get-together. Well, don’t panic, just dazzle them and feel free to quote some of this useless trivia. Then duck cause what’s flying towards you probably won’t be Santa and the reindeer.

Did you know: Santa’s sled would weigh 333,333 tons loaded with one toy for every child on earth.
Did you know: it would require 214,206 reindeer and Rudolph to pull a 333,333 ton sleigh.
Did you know: that if Santa ate every snack left for him both the weight of the sled and number of reindeers would double?

DO NOT Add a sign to the back of his sleigh - WIDE LOAD DO NOT FOLLOW
Remember he has an automatic coal dispenser at the ready.

So Merry Christmas to all OGR's including listeners in

North Pole, Alaska
Santa Claus, Indiana
Santa Claus, Georgia
Rudolph, Wisconsin
Noel,Missouri
Merryville, Louisiana
Bethlehem, Pennsylvania
Bethlehem, West Virginia
Bethlehem, Georgia
Jolly, Texas

Hardrock, Frosty & Rudolph, all Chicago Babies

Every Christmas morning, since the early ‘50’s, these Chicago-rooted seasonal favorites were broadcast locally and nationwide on Chicago ‘s WGN-TV’s children shows 'Bozo' and 'Garfield Goose'.

Christmas ‘56, “Hardrock, Coco & Joe” aired as marketing backup for the song. Centaur Productions and Wah Ming Chang, who specialized in sculpture, stop-motion animation and odd props did the animation. Check out his Asian-featured Santa. Chang is also credited with developing props for the original Star Trek TV show, including the communicators long before cell phones were invented, and some headdresses and jewelry worn by Liz Taylor's in 'Cleopatra'.

FROSTY THE SNOWMAN
In ‘54, WGN-TV also aired the "Frosty" , a three-minute animated short. Another favorite Christmas classic , complete with a bouncy, jazzy version of the song. Frosty, first recorded by Gene Autry and the Cass County Boys and was written after the success of Autry's ‘53 recording of "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer" . The "cool man's" story was also recorded by The Ronettes, Nat King Cole, Ella Fitzgerald, Larry Groce, Ray Conniff, the Cocteau Twins, Alvin and the Chipmunks, The Beach Boys, and..... yes....... even one by actor Burt Reynolds. Only Jimmy Durante sang two versions, one with alternative lyrics and another for a TV Frosty.

Rudolph - born in 1939 when Chicago based Montgomery-Ward Department Stores asked one of their copywriters, Robert L. May, to design a Christmas story as a store give-away for shoppers. Based in part on The Ugly Duckling fable and May’s own physical abnormality, a read nose, he titled it “Rudolph The Red Nosed Reindeer“. But Montgomery-Ward objected to a red-nosed reindeer because a “red nose” was associated with drinking and drunkards. Only after Montgomery Ward’s art department created such a cute sketch of Rudolph that it went to press. By ‘46 over 6 million copies were given out to customers.

Ward held the licensing and copy write for Rudolph and profits soared. May, as an employee of Ward, was not entitled to any royalties. His wife was terminally ill and medical bill mounted before her death. So in ‘47, he persuaded Ward to release the copy write and licensing to him. He was now debt free and often joked that the “deer” paid for all his daughters’ college educations and lifelong family financial security.



So Kid, check local listings or catch them on U-tube. Bring back memories or create new ones with the next generation viewing audience.

HOGS AND TOWS

December 13, 1978, the start of a Legend, a Tradition and a Motto:
“Every child deserves a toy at Christmas“. The brain child of Edward P. (Aminal) Wisniewski - the 1st annual Chicagoland Toys For Tots Motorcycle Parade.

A Chicago winter day, to cold, to windy; plus two hours past parade start time, with van packed about one-third full with toys and 6 people involved in the first run: Aminal, Puppy, Mark-Off, Princess, Namu, and Thor, were off to The Glenview, IL Naval Air Station.

Then a breakdown.

So in order to complete the event, as a motorcycle run, Aminal was towed by Puppy arm-in-arm from the van for the last 3 miles.

Whew! They made it and year after year the parade grew.

In ‘04, 45,500 riders participated and delivered 70,000 toys to the Chicago Marine Corps Reserve Center. Bikers as far away as Alaska and Hawaii did past runs.

Over the years, gift rules were revised to NOT INCLUDE toy guns, knives, whips, brass knuckles, handcuffs, food or pets.

Bikers never argue that its better to give than receive, and many agree that their 2nd best perk is riding in the parade just so that they can go through 20 miles of Chicago without stopping for red lights, and revving their engines with loud pipes.
Recently tow truck drivers took on the cause. Forming what seemed to be an endless convoy down Interstate 55, highway drivers witnessing the site, honked and cheered; but the most touching scene was a uniformed soldier saluting each tow truck driver who drove by.

Way to go, Chicago!

Making a List, Checking it Twice

As St. Nicholas' day approaches, see if you remember some of the toys and games, we wished for under the -All the rage back in the 1960's, a reflection of modern times and a salute to the space age!
Lincoln Logs originally came with instructions on how to build Uncle Tom's Cabin and Lincoln's log cabin.
SLINKY debuted in 1945.This original spring toy is famous with children all over the world. It stretches, snaps back, and makes a "slinkity sound."
First introduced in 1960, Ideal's Mr. Machine was a one-of-a-kind high-tech toy wonder. This walking, ringing toy was so popular it became a part of Ideal Toy's corporate identity.
"I am Robert the Robot, the Mechanical Man. Drive me, steer me wherever you can." In ‘54 caught America by storm. He not only walked but included the "sensational new patented talking device", better known today as a phonographic record.
Sputnik Blast Off.....

each astronaut blasts a colored rocket off to an adjacent uninhabited "galaxy".

Spin the dial. It lands on….Fall down or let your knee touch the ground, and it's over for you!

With Cootie you can just build bugs, or play a game alone or with friends.MENTAL FLOSS....
Prod your left brain with sciency stuff, nudge the right side with cultural topics, and do your best to sniff out The Big Fat Lie.

With Operation, you can become a world class surgeon in no time! Grab a hold of the tweezers and carefully remove the Charlie Horse, Funny Bone, or Adam's Apple. Steady hands-- and heads!-- required.

In ‘62, the Candy Fashion Doll sold for the relatively high price of $12.95
Buffy’s best friend of the ‘60’s the Mrs. Beasley Doll from Family Affair.
BOZO - This fun classic from 1965 features 3D hair, squeaky 3D nose, a bop zone, and a sand-filled base for bounce-back action.
Planet Robot in the 1950's model was the precursor to the ’60’s “Lost in Space” robot. “Sparks” fly inside his face mask when he rambles on. One of the many sought-after pedal cars of the '50 and environmentally ahead of its time, Sky King Pedal PlaneAND our favorite puppet..
Lamb Chop ‘75, OR Zippy the Chimp, ’50’s, -60’s
Modeled after the real Zippy who appeared on Ed Sullivan, The Today Show and with Alan Moore.
Gumby first appeared on the '50's Howdy-Doody Show. Years later SNL would revive a similar character, "Mr. Bill".

These and more are available from catalogs or the net. Bring back memories, or make new ones and share them with your kids and grand-kids. Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus!