Marash Girl, Marash Martha, and Country & Western Music

Growing up in Newtonville, Marash Girl and Marash Martha, then only 5 or 6 years old, were gifted a radio by their father and mother. (Perhaps because they would wake up so early in the morning that they didn't allow their mother and father the sleep their parents needed!). The two girls delighted in listening to "Country and Western Music" on that radio, music that began playing, as Marash Girl remembers, as early as 5 o'clock every morning. It was such fun for the girls that Marash Martha actually, at one time, wanted to grow up to be a "cow girl"! Recalling those days, Marash Martha writes,"The best part was the yodeling!"

"Contribute to WBUR, Boston's National Public Radio Station!" Tom Ashbrook

Tom Ashbrook (center),  host  of WBUR's On Point,

 thanked volunteers yesterday at WBUR's on-air two day fundraising event.

"On Point’s host, Tom Ashbrook, an award-winning journalist, was brought to public radio following the attacks of September 11, 2001, when he was enlisted by NPR and WBUR-Boston for special coverage, after a distinguished career in newspaper reporting and editing."

Obama, Medvedev, a Hot Mike, and Big Brother Bob Emery

Driving to WBUR at 6 AM on Tuesday morning, on her way to volunteer at the WBUR fundraiser, Marash Girl heard tell of Obama's comments to Medvedev, unintentionally aired over a mike that was still live.  It brought Marash Girl back to the 1950's and early television with Big Brother Bob Emery and his show, Family Fun, a locally broadcast program meant for young families.  Big Brother Bob Emery, a native of Newton, Massachusetts, always ended his show toasting the President of the United States  (who was then Eisenhower) with a glass of milk, "Big Brother's Favorite Drink".  "A toast to the President," he would say, as he raised his glass of milk to the picture of President Eisenhower, and sipped.  The show always ended there.  But one day, soon after his toast to the President, Big Brother Bob Emery was seen by families all over the Boston area pouring himself a "drink" (of something other than milk) and cursing at "the little bastards" (or some such nefarious phrase)!  Needless to say, not only was the mike hot, but the camera was hot as well, and Big Brother Bob Emery was never heard from again on Boston area television.

WBUR: A JOKE ON THE UPCOMING PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION

Early Saturday morning, listening to WBUR, Marash Girl heard the following joke which she herewith shares:

A conservative, a liberal and a moderate walked into a bar.

The bartender said, "Hi, Mitt!"

WBUR: Volunteer, Eat, Drink, and be Merry!

So there she was, Marash Girl and her friends, all supporters of WBUR, all volunteering for the WBUR Valentine's Day fundraiser, all eyeing the delicious highly caloric breakfast  rolls that WBUR offers its volunteers, all muttering, "But I'm on a diet," so of course, Marash Girl quipped the well-known (or at least she thought it was well known) quotation, "Eat, drink and be merry, for tomorrow we diet!"   Strange as it seems, or at least, strange as it seemed to Marash Girl, nobody had heard the joke before!  One volunteer admitted to being familiar with the original quotation (Eat, drink and be merry, for tomorrow we die) which is a conflation of two Biblical verses  (ecclesiastes 8:15  and isaiah 22:13), but none had ever heard, "Eat, drink and be merry, for tomorrow we diet!"

None of the folks were original New Englanders -- perhaps that's why -- or maybe they were all just too young!

The Golden Songbook and Old Time Radio

Recently going through a box of old books, Marash Girl came upon this book which dredged up so many wonderful memories.  As very young girls, Marash Girl and her cousin Pauline would listen faithfully to Voltarine Block's radio program, "The Children's Songbag".  One week they decided to send in postcard naming the mystery song for that week.  Their postcard was drawn; the won the above book -- the only thing they ever on -- long enjoyed, but when long forgotten, provided great pleasure for scribbling to the kids who came later.

Back cover reminiscent of Miss Irene Forte, long time violin teacher at the All Newton Music School, Newtonville, Massachusetts

  Inscription reads "To Bethel and Pauline Bilezikian from Voltairine Block with every good wish.  Musical guessing game played on Saturday, July 31, 1948"

                       

Title page reminiscent of daily piano practicing for all the girls at 474/476 Lowell Avenue, Newtonville, Massachusetts

WBUR reports Mosque Crawlers in New York City

Anyone know what a Mosque Crawler is?  According to WBUR & NPR, New York City police are in plain clothes infiltrating mosques in an effort to keep their ear to the ground, as it were, because the CIA, by law, is forbidden to do so!  Who knows?  Perhaps these plain clothes police will all become good Muslims, or perhaps they are already good Muslims.  In any case, if a plain clothes policeman infiltrated the church in which Marash Girl grew up, the church people would smother him with love and try very hard to make him a member of the church family.  Marash Girl can't imagine that anything different will happen in the mosques of New York City.