Did Joan Rivers toss a rose from a balcony and blame the mob scene that followed on the Rolling Stones? That’s a mystery, but Frank Sinatra did fly friends to Acapulco if they mentioned they wanted Mexican food, and Vincent Price replaced his wax dummy in a museum, squirting passersby with a hypodermic needle full of water.

If Jimmy Stewart didn’t say hello back to a fan, it was probably because he had hearing loss from flying B-24 bomber planes and Clark Gable flew five missions as an air gunner over Germany.

Gable’s greatest fear during combat was that Hitler would capture him, put him in a zoo and charge admission. A new book is full of fun anecdotes that will fuel party talk for a whole night. I loved Stephen Schochet’s  short anecdotes, in Hollywood Stories: Short, Entertaining Anecdotes About the Stars and Legends of the Movies!.” The stories are actually minute-long radio scripts.





Where’s your oil?

The pennies in a jar on the cover of “What Do You Have in Your House?: Surviving in Times of Financial Crisis” attracted me, a penny saver. I thought it was about selling your junk, but it’s about discovering your talents. Donna Every’s little book from Tate Publishing uses the Biblical story of The Widow’s Oil as a theme. The widow was instructed to seek empty jars from neighbors and fill them with  oil that became abundant from her own jar, then sell it. Every encourages readers to discover their own oil that will help them provide. It could be a skill or service, such as baking bread to earn some extra income. This notion is uplifting, but the hardest lesson for some could be to live within one’s means. Maybe we do deserve that new outfit or appliance, but can we afford it? Good luck finding your oil.



Supergoop!

My walking partner got a straw “grandma” hat. That’s what she called her hat, and if she had any doubts, a young jogger who passed her, muttering “grandma hat” confirmed it. She got the hat because she was tired of sunscreen melting into her eyes. I’m carrying a packet of Supergoop! wipes with UVA and UBA  protection as well as zinc for sensitive skin. You can get Supergoop! in more traditional bottles, but I’m a wipe-on fan now. The package tucks in your water bottle holder with no muss.

ddoiron@panews.com