Hanging Christmas lights with Dad

My dad would have us dig out the family Christmas decorations two weeks before Christmas arrived.

Dad wasn’t the type to rush in to the Christmas spirit, particularly when it came to putting up holiday decorations. I can remember one Christmas in the early 1970s, when he put off buying a Christmas tree, the natural kind, until just a few days before Christmas.

Dad would lose his mind at the way today’s retailers hawk Christmas merchandise in October and some homeowners display outdoor Christmas decorations in November.

Dad seemed to take pride in pulling his children out to the mid-December chill to hang Christmas lights we could have put up in late November, when temperatures were still above freezing. Perhaps he believed cold air, snow and biting winds developed character in young people.

I can recall working with each of my seven siblings — five brothers and two sisters — in hanging the decorations over the years, and I have distinct memories about the projects we conducted from the early 1970s through the 1990s.

We frequently put the lights up on the Sunday that arrived two weeks before Christmas, but sometimes they went up on a weeknight, just a few days before the holiday. We always puts the outdoor lights up after dark. We told ourselves this allowed us to get the full effect of the lights glowing in the darkness, but really it was because we dreaded going outside to work and always found something else to do earlier in the day.

Even Dad seemed to procrastinate and would put off tackling the task until Mom reached the limits of her patience. At that point, her frequent requests for the lights to be put in place became a demand for the job to be completed without further delay. That’s when Dad would find the determination to push aside all the distractions and commence work on hanging the lights.

Dad never replaced anything simply because a newer model or version was available. With eight children to feed and cloth he never had much in the way of disposable income. Most items in our house were replaced only after they reached the end of their useful lives. This meant most of our belongings, including our Christmas decorations were several years older than me by the time I was added to the work detail at age 8.

Our outdoor lights were an assortment of strings of lights we collected over the years. Some consisted of multi-colored light bulbs as big as a man’s thumb and were mounted to heavy-gauge electrician’s wire, some of it more than half an inch thick. I think some of these dated to the 1950s. Other strings were a bit more contemporary but often contained only small, clear lights. 

The front door of our house was located in the center of the front wall. We displayed the lights on evergreen shrubs planted to the left and right of the front door.

We usually employed a loopy, layering of lights upon the tops of the bushes, sort of a sophisticated, but casual look. It wasn’t original, but it did the trick. Dad was a hands-on supervisor, but spare with his directions. His comments during these projects usually were limited to “cut the crap” and “you’re doing it wrong, dumb ass.”

The entire process, from pulling boxes crammed full of lights from the attic to making  final adjustments to the display, took a few hours, depending on how tightly we had balled the strings of light before shoving them into boxes the previous January and tossing those into the attic. Every project would include the kind of the humor, frustration, teamwork and insults commonly aired during moments of shared misery. Dad always contributed his special brand of refined cursing.

Dad’s style was to make sure we did not complete more than one decorating chore at a time. If we spent a few hours putting up outdoor lights, that was enough. The interior decorations could wait for another day. I figured out later, when decorating my own house for the holidays, that Dad limited the number of hours we spent working together to keep us from harming each other. He was a smart man.

Dad passed away in February 1995, creating a void in my life that will never be filled. I think of him often throughout the year, but particularly when my wife starts decorating the house for Christmas. He gave his children so many gifts at Christmas over the years and created many priceless memories.

My favorite memory from our decorating projects dates from 1978. My younger brothers, Patrick and Michael, my sister, Kate, and I were standing with Dad in the mid-December darkness on the sidewalk in front of our house, admiring our work on a nearly completed display. “Hell, that looks better than it did last year,” Dad said. “Let’s call it done for this year and go back inside. It’s cold.”

—Kevin Botterman can be reached at kbotterman@gmail.com. Follow Fireside Notes on Twitter.

Politcs, elections and Hollywood's conspiracy films

Dustin Hoffman and Robert Redford in "All the President's Men".

The post-election process of analysis, commentary and spin started me thinking about Hollywood's films about politics, elections and the dark side of these activities that fuel conspiracy fears and theories. The elements usually combine to make for fine entertainment. 

Here’s an alphabetical list of my some of my favorite conspiracy films. Click on a film title to learn more about that movie. I also have included links to video clips when I could find excerpts worth sharing. I hope you enjoy my selections.

All the President’s Men —  (1976) Director Alan J. Pakula's movie about reporters Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein and their efforts to cover the Watergate scandal is the only film on this list to be based on true events. Pakula manages to deliver an entertaining and suspenseful yarn even though we know the story’s outcome. Robert Redford, Dustin Hoffman, Jason Robards, Jack Warden and Martin Balsam star.

The China Syndrome — (1979) Jane Fonda stars as a feature reporter for a local TV station who witnesses an accident at a nuclear power plant and discovers a conspiracy to cover up the incident. James Bridges directs, and the cast includes Jack Lemon, Michael Douglas and Wilford Brimley.

Conspiracy Theory — (1997) Mel Gibson stars as man who sees government conspiracies everywhere and then finds a real one. Julia Roberts and Patrick Stewart are along for the ride, but it’s Mel’s movie. It’s not a great one, but director Richard Donner knows how to entertain an audience.

L.A. Confidential — (1997) Russell Crowe, Kevin Spacey and Guy Pearce head up director Curtis Hanson’s robust story about three LA police officers in the 1950s who stumble upon a crime network within the department. The cast includes Kim Basinger,  James Cromwell, Danny DeVito and David Strathairn.

Marathon Man — (1976) Dustin Hoffman stars as a graduate student who gets pulled in to a conspiracy involving a fugitive Nazi war criminal, a fortune in diamonds and some shady government agents. John Schlesinger directs this nifty story, and Laurence Oliver and William Devane deliver as the bad guys.

The Manchurian Candidate — Frank Sinatra stars as a Korean War soldier who suspects something sinister happened while he and other members of his squad were prisoners of the Chinese and that the soldier credited with saving them all is not what he appears to be to everyone at home. Sinatra is the star, but Angela Lansbury owns this movie.


The Parallax View — (1974) Warren Beatty stars in director Alan J. Pakula’s tale about an ambitious reporter who learns things aren’t always what they appear to be while investigating a senator’s assassination. Paula Prentiss, Hume Cronyn and William Daniels also star.

RoboCop —  (1987) Director Paul Verhoeven weaves a violent tale about a terminally wounded police officer who is reconstructed as part man, part machine and sent back to the streets of Detroit to fight crime. The story is a hybrid of entertaining action, science fiction, dark humor and corporate conspiracy. Peter Weller and Nancy Allen star, but Ronny Cox, Kurtwood Smith and Miguel Ferrer deliver great supporting performances.

Three Days of the Condor —  (1975) Robert Redford stars as Joseph Turner, code named Condor, the lone survivor of an attack on an obscure little division within the Central Intelligence Agency tasked with reading books. Turner has three days to learn who killed his coworkers and why. Faye Dunaway, Cliff Robertson, John Houseman and Max von Sydow also star.

Witness — (1985) When an Amish boy witnesses a murder tied to police corruption, the detective leading the murder investigation must flee to the boy’s family farm to evade corrupt cops. Harrison Ford stars as the honest cop in director’s Peter Weir’s story that is as much about bridging cultural differences as it is about a criminal conspiracy. The cast includes Danny Glover Josef Sommer, Alexander Godunov and Viggo Mortensen.

Remembering the anti-heroes at the 'Animal House'

A friend reminded me this morning that today marks the 36th anniversary of the release of “Animal House”, director John Landis’ raucous tale about college life in the early 1960s and the men of the Delta House fraternity at the fictional Faber College. 

The movie was released a few weeks before I started my senior year at Arlington High School. I immediately connected with the fun-loving, anti-authoritarian men of Delta House, and so did audiences across the nation. “Animal House” became an instant classic. 

The film’s script, penned by Harold Ramis, Doug Kenney, and Chris Miller, includes dozens of memorable lines, many of which I can still recite today. While the film’s content is tame compared to recent movies about college life, longtime fans of “Animal House” know it set a high standard for outrageous over-indulgence. 

However, it is the film’s anti-authority spirit that resonates with me today, more than three decades after I first watched John Belushi scream “no prisoners”. Of course, Belushi’s “Bluto Blutarsky” remains the most recognized character from the movie, but I think the supporting characters, the other men of Delta, reinforce the film’s rebellious nature and contribute to the film’s lasting popularity. 

Those characters include D-Day (Bruce McGill), Boone (Peter Riegert), Larry Kroger (Tom Hulce), Kent Dorfman (Stephen Furst), and Hoover (James Widdoes). The men of Delta House turned the status quo at Faber College upside down, destroyed a homecoming parade and knocked Faber’s elites from their pedestals.  

The “anti-hero” heroes accomplished quite a lot, and that’s worth remembering, I think.

— Send emails to kbotterman@gmail.com.

A quirky habit passed from one generation to the next

Doughnuts from Kuipers Family Farm near Maple Park.

I have many habits, but can honestly say most are harmless and not too strange.

A few of my habits are adopted from friends and relatives, including my father. I recently caught myself practicing one of dad’s quirkier habits.

I visited Kuipers Family Farm, a favorite site in Maple Park. Kuipers offers an apple orchard, a corn maze, a variety of autumn attractions, natural Christmas tress and other items. They also have a country store, where the merchandise includes baked goods, including cinnamon doughnuts.

Lori, my wife, sent me to Kuipers to buy a bag of honeycrisp apples and ordered me to stay away from the bakery counter. I forgot Lori’s ban on baked goods the moment I stepped through the store’s front door, and I purchased a dozen cinnamon doughnuts without hesitation. 

I felt guilty about ignoring Lori’s ban, and she scolded me later that night. I had consumed two of the delicious doughnuts by then and was planning a schedule for consuming the remaining ones, so I guess I didn’t feel too guilty about ignoring Lori. Besides, I shared some of the doughnuts with her.

It was that night when I realized what I had done was similar to what my dad frequently.

Dad came home with tasty treats. His work took him throughout Chicago and northern Illinois, and dad became familiar with bakeries, restaurants and farm stands in the area. 

Dad carried home pies, cookies, coffeecakes, fruit, vegetables, fresh meats and ice cream. It was all great stuff to a child, and my siblings and I enjoyed every bite.

There was little regularity to dad’s food presentations. He’d return home with fruits and vegetables at the end of a work day one week and present a rich-tasting coffeecake on the weekend. He then might reverse the order of presentations the next week. Some weeks didn’t include any treats, but other weeks might involve several items. 

Some of Dad’s food purchases became annual traditions. He would bring home boxes of holiday cookies from Chicago’s renown Maurice Lenell bakery. The pinwheels and the raspberry jellies were my favorites. The bakery closed its doors in 2008, but it lives on in my Christmas memories.

Dad passed away in 1995, but I still miss him and think about him nearly every day.  He was a wonderful dad for many reasons, and I cherish my memories of his quirky habits.

I suppose Lori and the rest of my family will just have to endure me bringing home tasty treats. I wonder if I can build an annual tradition around cinnamon doughnuts.

A few thoughts about TV's supporting characters

The late Frank Banks as Clarence "Lumpy" Rutherford.

    News of the recent passing of Frank Banks, the actor who played Clarence "Lumpy" Rutherford in the “Leave it Beaver” TV series from the late 1950s set me to thinking about something I find lacking in contemporary television shows.

    This isn't about the absence of quality in the writing and programming, although I think that is significant.

    I am thinking about the absence of what I consider to be original supporting characters and truly talented actors to play those roles. Many TV viewers might challenge my assertion, and that’s OK.

    I don't like much of what TV offers these days. I detest "reality" TV, and I don't like the extended story arcs that make up most of today's TV dramas. I don't care for the soap-opera style of storytelling that is the foundation of most current TV dramas. I find the stories predictable and the pacing terribly slow.

    Television programming from the 1950s through the 1970s had a lot of flaws, and most of it doesn't stand the test of time. However, it did have many strengths, and one of them, I think, was its ability to contain engaging stories to a single episode while developing recurring characters that audiences grew to like nearly as much as the central characters. Banks’ Lumpy Rutherford was one such character, but many other comes to mind.

    The most recent TV producers who were successful with the "old school" use of supporting actors were Stephen J. Cannell ("The Rockford Files," "Wiseguy") and Donald P. Bellisario ("The Rockford Files," "Magnum, P.I."). Both producers effectively used recurring supporting characters, although Cannell adopted the extended story arc for "Wiseguy."

    Many critics and fans slam the recurring supporting role as a device that leads to the typecasting of actors. 

Stuart Margolin

    It's a point that has some merit, but I think that's an issue that most viewers are not concerned about. Besides, I never heard Stuart Margolin complain about being typecast because of his work as Angel Martin on "The Rockford Files." I once saw an interview with Margolin in which he said the voice messages that he left on Rockford's answering machine were some of the funniest, most original lines he ever spoke as an actor.

    To a larger point, I think some of the supporting actors who gained popularity through their TV work also provided some strong performances in motion pictures, too. 

    One example is "Hour of the Gun," a John Sturges' 1967 film about the aftermath of the shootout at the OK Corral. 

   

William Windom

While not a great film, I think most viewers would find it entertaining. It has some big names, including James Garner, Robert Ryan and Jason Robards, but the supporting actors contribute mightily to the film's value. The cast includes some great supporting actors from the era, including Monte Markham, William Schallert and the truly talented William Windom. 

    Markham and Schallert are still with us, but Windom is part of heaven's Cavalcade of Stars that now includes Frank Banks.

— Email comments to kbotterman@gmail.com.

Start the season with my top baseball movies

Robert Redford as Roy Hobbs in "The Natural."

I thought I'd observe the start of the 2013 Major League Baseball season with a list of my favorite baseball movies. 

I'm not a film critic or a serious MLB fan, but I enjoy watching movies and baseball, so I think that qualifies me to comment on both. My list, along with two honorable mentions, appears below, but I preface my offering with two observations. 

• Movies made for entertainment should not be considered completely accurate in the image they attempt to create of a specific sport or other industry. Viewers seeking films for insight about “how things really are” in any area of life should look for documentaries containing balanced, objective information.
• Exceptionally good movies about sports typically offer engaging stories about human characters, not a particular sport. The sport is just a backdrop, a stage set, not the centerpiece of the movie. I think the movies I list here best represent my point.

1. "The Natural" — (1984) Director Barry Levinson’s film adaptation of Bernard Malamud’s novel about a baseball player with superior talent who gets a chance to play in the major leagues many years after being involved in a scandalous shooting. Levinson’s storytelling makes this one of my all-around favorite movies, and my favorite baseball film. I think it stands the test of time. While some continue to criticize the casting of Robert Redford as Roy Hobbs (too old at the time he appeared in the film), I am hard-pressed to name another actor who might have played the role in 1984, or today. As Hobbs, I think Redford is at his best in the scenes that focus on Hobbs reflecting on the few moments that can change the direction of one's life forever. To view a scene from the movie, click here.
2. "Moneyball" — (2011) Brad Pitt delivers a strong performance in this engaging story (screenplay by Aaron Sorkin) about Oakland A’s general manager Billy Beane’s effort to build a major league team with a limited budget. In assembling his team, Beane opts for computer analysis over his staff of professional scouts. This is a movie that is about so much more than baseball, and Pitt deserves credit for adding an interesting dimension to what could have been a by-the-numbers film about hapless misfits at the ballpark. To view a scene from the movie, click here.
3. "Pride of the Yankees" — (1942) Directed by Sam Wood and starring Gary Cooper and Teresa Wright, this classic Hollywood biopic tells the story of Lou Gehrig, who played more than 2,130 consecutive games before being struck down at age 37 by ALS. Considered by many to be one of Cooper’s best performances and one of the best films about baseball, “Pride of the Yankees” is a classic on several levels. I think it works well as simply a human drama set against the background of baseball. No matter how you label it, just sit back and enjoy viewing this one. To view a scene from the movie, click here. 
4. "Long Gone" — (1987) The story of the Tampico Stogies, a minor-league baseball team in the 1950s. It is, in my opinion, a much better movie about life in the minors than “Bull Durham.” William Petersen stars at Stud Cantrell, the Stogies’ player/manager. Virginia Madsen offers an enticing performance as Dixie Lee Boxx. Whenever I mention this movie, most people tell me they've never heard of it. That might be because it originally aired on HBO. Many of those who have viewed it, consider "Long Gone" one of the best films about baseball. I just find it highly entertaining. To view a scene from the movie, click here. 
5. "Bang the Drum Slowly" — (1973) A baseball movie worth watching even for viewers who can’t stand baseball. A somewhat dated movie, its stars a young Robert De Niro and Michael Moriarty and tells the story of a friendship between a star pitcher and a catcher, who has a terminal illness. Vincent Gardenia nearly steals the movie as the team’s manager. To view a scene from the movie, click here.

Honorable Mentions:

"Field of Dreams" — (1989) The film adaptation of W.P. Kinsella’s novel tells the story of an Iowa farmer who replaces his corn field with a baseball diamond and lights. “If you build it, he will come.” The movie includes a wonderful performance by Burt Lancaster as Dr. Archibald “Moonlight” Graham. To view a scene from the move, click here. 

"Major League" — (1989) A fun, often sophomoric, tale about misfit players and a season with the Cleveland Indians. Don’t take it seriously in any manner, just enjoy the entertainment. To view a scene from the movie, click here. 

— Share your top baseball movies here. Offer a comment or email me at kbotterman@gmail.com. Remember, always hit 'em where they ain't.

Works about Ike, Doolittle offer informative reads

President Dwight D. Eisenhower

I recently completed reading two engaging books — a biography and an autobiography — that I enjoyed and wish to offer a few comments about them.

The first was a biography about President Dwight David Eisenhower, and the second was autobiography produced by General James “Jimmy” Doolittle. 

Jean Edward Smith’s “Eisenhower in War and Peace” (Random House, 2012) is a thorough work about Ike, and a fine addition to the body of work about his service as supreme allied commander in Europe during World War II and his terms as President. 

Smith offers a good account of Eisenhower’s early years and devotes a large portion of the book to Eisenhower’s military career, particularly his years directing the war in Europe. Students of World War II history will find the time spent with this section of the book rewarding.

I particularly enjoyed Smith’s work on Eisenhower as president. Smith presents a principled political and world leader deeply involved in the key decisions of his administration, despite serious health problems. 

General histories of the 1950s and ‘60s typically portray Eisenhower as a pleasant but benignly neglectful president, particularly when compared to the younger, more energetic John Kennedy. Smith’s work compels the reader to question such a simplistic view of Eisenhower and asserts that Eisenhower was as successful as any recent American president, but far less dramatic than most. It is a valuable point.

General James "Jimmy' Doolittle

Doolittle’s “I Could Never Be So Lucky Again” (Bantam Books) was published in 1991 and was sitting on my bookshelf for many years. I started reading it as I was nearing the completion of the Eisenhower biography. I can’t explain what led me to pick it up now, after neglecting it for many years. That was my loss. I learned much about Doolittle, including details of his formative years in Alaska, where he was raised as a boy. 

Doolittle spends a fair amount of time recounting his legendary raid on Tokyo and other Japanese cities in April of 1942, and it’s fascinating stuff. He also commits a good portion of his book to his years as commander of America’s Eighth Air Force, leading the bombing campaign against Nazi Germany. Much of this was new material to me, although I have read other books about the allied air offensive in Europe. 

An interesting item of candor from Doolittle is his inclusion of the poor relations he shared with Eisenhower, his overall commander in the European Theater.  He attributes the poor relations to professional disagreements, but acknowledges that many believed they were rooted in a personal dispute.

I don’t often comment about books, but I can endorse these two, even to readers who do not have a deep interest in either World War II or presidential politics. 

— Thank you for reading my posts. I welcome your comments. You may submit them here, or you can reach by email at kbotterman@gmail.com.