Selling My Books on the Streets of Brooklyn 12/17 - Diehards

I've always been fascinated by the myth of celebrities dying in threes, so much so that I based a short story, Threes, on it. In the past day Peter O'Toole, 81, Tom Laughlin, 82, the force behind the wildly popular Billy Jack movies, and Joan Fontaine, 96, have passed. Fontaine won an Oscar for Suspicion (1941), the only Alfred Hitchcock leading lady ever to have been so honored. She and her sister, Olivia de Havilland, 97, are the only siblings to have won the big prize. Their feud is legendary and, unfortunately, Fontaine took it to the grave. They had not spoken to each other in decades. Here's a telling quote I found at Wiki: “I married first, won the Oscar before Olivia did, and if I die first, she’ll undoubtedly be livid because I beat her to it!" RIP. Here are pictures of them in their prime, Joan first:

The Dallas Cowboys have usurped the place of the San Diego Chargers in the matter of blowing games. Their fans must be chugging Maalox. I will paraphrase the title of Irish chanteuse Shone Laing's 80's song about the pains the Kennedys have endured: (Glad I'm) Not a Cowboys Fan... Also on the NFL front, I have eaten crow on my opinion of Arizona QB Carson Palmer, of whom I said he could just as easily throw interceptions for the Cardinals as he did for the his previous teams. He has been solid, particularly lately. He has thrown 21 TD passes against 17 interceptions. Although that ratio is ordinary these days, he is finally approaching the potential that made his services so coveted coming out of USC. Of course, it doesn't hurt to have future Hall of Famer Larry Fitzgerald as an option... As for the local teams: time seems to have passed the Giants by, while the Jets seem to at least have a foundation of young players on which to build. The latter's success will depend on the development of QB Geno Smith or the improvement of Mark Sanchez. Better receivers would help. Then again, turnarounds seem to be the rule rather than the exception in modern pro football. They occur week to week, as well as from one season to the next... How 'bout them Cowboys? Man.

Here's someone who personifies the term diehard: Tricia Drummond, a comedian in the DC area, attended the Capitals game at the Verizon Center last night. She was knocked cold by a puck that flew into the stands. She woke up in the building's medical room, a gash over an eye. When a roar went up, she was told her hero, Alex Ovechkin, whose jersey she was wearing, had just tied the score. She delayed the stitching she was to receive, returned to her seat, and witnessed her team's biggest win of the season. She later received five stitches at a local hospital. She played both youth and adult hockey, one tough broad.

There's another kind of diehard -- the author who tries to sell his books on the street when the wind chill factor is in the teens. Since the sun was shining, I decided I could stand it for an hour, hoping whoever parked the brand new SUV in the ideal spot would soon leave. Sure enough, he did, and I sat in my car for two hours, opening the door only to converse with well-wishers. My thanks to the woman who bought yet another crime novel in Russian. Small potatoes, but at least I'm set up nicely for the Wednesday and Thursday post latest snow storm sessions.
Vic's 4th Novel: http://tinyurl.com/bszwlxh
Vic's 3rd Novel: http://tinyurl.com/7e9jty3
Vic's Website: http://members.tripod.com/vic_fortezza/Literature/
Vic's Short Story Collection (Print or Kindle): http://www.tiny.cc/Oycgb
Vic's 2nd Novel: http://tinyurl.com/6b86st6
Vic's 1st Novel: http://tiny.cc/94t5h
Vic's Horror Screenplay on Kindle: http://tinyurl.com/cyckn3
Vic's Rom-Com Screenplay on Kindle: http://tinyurl.com/kny5llp
Vic’s Short Story on Kindle: http://tinyurl.com/k95k3nx