Three Sisters

Mom, Aunt Jean, and sitting down, Aunt Margaret, the eldest of the four Etsell sisters. All three of these remarkable women have passed on now. They are missed. 

Shadows cast through an upstairs window
Moonlight broken by a cross and black branches
And fluttering wings
But for an instant
 

Farewell, Aunt Jean

We found out late tonight that Aunt Jean, Mom's sister, passed away on Tuesday. I'm grateful we got to see her one last time at Mom's celebration of life this summer. Aunt Jean is on the right in this image with Mom from 1950 or so. 

Aunt Jean was fun to be around. She was a genuine character and a wonderful painter. She was closest to Mom in age and, I always suspected, closest overall. 

Our thoughts are with Uncle John, my cousins Keith and Kevin, and their partners, Heather and Carolyn, and with Aunt Marjorie. We'll all miss Aunt Jean, but none more than these who were closest to her. 

 

Granddad's Partsman Award

I was straightening out some things at Mom's place while she's in the hospital, and I stumbled across this plaque. I've seen it before, of course, and I'm pretty sure Dad told me what his father's award-winning idea was . . . but I've forgotten. Sometimes it feels like some of the most important memories slip away. Was this one of them? I'll never know. 

 

Martian Week: Sol 5

 

Martian Week: Sol 4

 

Martian Week: Sol 3

Here's a Martian statesman. We come in peace! Even so . . . 
 

Martian Week: Sol 2

The Martians described in Bradbury's stories had golden eyes. Mine are a bit more yellow, but I think they stand out nicely. 
 

Martian Week: Sol 1

Exogenesis, the latest collection of pulp figures from, well, Pulp Figures, takes its inspiration from the so-called golden age of pulp science fiction. One subset of Exogenesis, The Martians, features five figures clearly based on the Martians seen in The Martian Chronicles, the 1980 NBC miniseries, in turn based on, of course, The Martian Chronicles, the great fix-up novel by Ray Bradbury. 

In the miniseries, the Martians all whore white robes. I've given my Martians a more colourful wardrobe and tried my hand at a bit of abstract art for each base. 

This Martian wears a fearsome mask that really freaked me out as a kid. Turns out first contact isn't an easy thing . . . even when both sides have good intentions. 



 

83

Dad would have turned 83 today, had pancreatic cancer not taken him away in 2018. Here he is at left with his father, William Woods, sometime in the late 1950s. 

Happy birthday, Dad. I hope you're flying something cool. 

 

This Island Earl

Here's a Star Schlock miniature inspired by the Metaluna mutant seen in the classic 1955 science fiction film This Island Earth. Alas, Russell Johnson's character didn't live to see this fascinating creature. 
 

Vintage TV Magnifying Lens

Earlier tonight I watched the boxing noir The Square Jungle (Jerry Hopper, 1955). Early in the film, as we're introduced to protagonist Eddie Quade (Tony Curtis) and his ne'er-do-well father, Pat (Jim Backus), we see a small television in the scene's background. The camera doesn't call any attention whatsoever to the television, but I couldn't help but notice the large magnifying lens mounted in front of the screen, presumably as a cheap means of creating a bigger picture. That's just speculation on my part; this is the first I've ever heard of such a device. 

A quick search reveals that such devices were indeed a thing during the early television era; here's an example. Fascinating! 
 

Some Thoughts on Bright Victory

 

In Mark Robson's Bright Victory (1951), Sergeant Larry Nevins (Arthur Kennedy) is blinded by a Nazi sniper and returns home to adjust to an entirely new way of living. Kennedy is great in the role, believably bitter in the first act, but growing in confidence as he learns how to navigate without sight. 

Of course there's a family waiting at home, and his girl, Chris Paterson (Julie Adams). But romantic complications arise during Larry's rehabilitation, when he strikes up a friendship with the beautiful and compassionate Judy Greene (Peggy Dow). He also forms a close relationship with another blinded solider, Joe Morgan (James Edwards), who happens to be black. These intersecting relationships - along with, in the second and third acts, his parents, Judy's family, and Chris' family - inform Larry's journey through blindness, his shifting ambitions, and his growth as a human being. 

I was ready for Nevins to have to choose between Peggy and Chris, and that particular love triangle plays out as you might expect--but it's not pat, and for part of the film I thought my expectations might have been subverted. More interesting is the relationship between Nevins and Joe Morgan during rehabilitation; both men were raised Southern, and, well, Nevins was raised with some racist ideology, and he unthinkingly uses the n-word while palling around with Joe--not knowing, of course, Joe's race. This predictably ruins the friendship, and I was, frankly, shocked not only by the use of the slur, but the frank and honest reaction to it and even Larry's insistence that he didn't do anything wrong. It takes the rest of the film for Larry's guilt and embarrassment, and the fact that he misses Joe, to percolate, and when he's finally reunited with his parents, the film is just as frank in showing how he became racist--via his parents, of course, revealed through some offhand comments from his mother, which somewhat sours the family reunion. 

And yet, this touchy subject matter is handled well, with Larry getting know know his parents better, his parents - or at least, his father - recognizing that the world is changing or at least needs to change. And it's not just about the racism; his parents try to hide it, but they're not exactly delighted that their son has come home blind. There's a lot of talk in the film's first act about how love will overcome everything, but Robson's direction, the screenplay, and the performances demonstrate that none of this is easy for anyone involved. 

In the end, Larry and Joe make amends and Larry and Peggy get together, with Larry going off to law school to begin the next chapter of his life. Yes, it's a happy ending, but it feels earned. 

Oh, Rock Hudson appears in the opening minutes of the film as a sadly doomed soldier, felled during the same attack that blinded Larry Nevins. Even with just a few lines, Hudson's charisma and presence shine through. He's very natural even in this bit part. 

And as a fan of Gilligan's Island, it was lovely to see Jim Backus in a solid supporting role as Peggy's brother-in-law and supportive friend to Larry. It's always a thrill seeing one of the Castaways in their earlier roles, before the island typecast them forever. Hmmm--typecastaways? 

One final thought--how lucky was Arthur Kennedy to have Julie Adams and Peggy Dow play his love interests? Both women are stunningly beautiful, inside and out. Must have been something. 

Father's Day 2020

Looks like dad and granddad are playing crib here. I hope they're enjoying a game together on Father's Day today. Or if not crib, maybe crokinole, or maybe they're out at a celestial ball game together. As long as they're happy. 

Quick Take: Drive a Crooked Road

In Drive a Crooked Road (Richard Quine, 1954), poor Mickey Rooney plays against type as a loser looking for love and finding only betrayal and the collapse of his personal world. At least the femme fatale feels bad about leading him to his doom.

Unrepaired

Here's a damaged photo of my Aunt Jean and the Etsell horse, Thopsy. The damage on this photo might be beyond my ability to repair. But it might have made the photo a little more interesting. In the real world, both Aunt Jean and Thopsy were reacting to something on their right, out of frame. In the photograph, it now appears they're alarmed by the blob of off-yellow gunk spreading out toward them. 

Etsell Horse

Here is a photo of one of the Etsell horses, shot sometime in the 1950s.

The Etsell horses were all gone by the time I arrived on the scene, so I had to wait until a junior high horse-riding field trip to learn that I'm allergic to horses, as I seem to be to all things with fur. 

Dad and Granddad

Here's a nice shot of Dad and Granddad from 1959. In Dauphin, Manitoba? You can really see the father-son resemblance here. 

William and Robert

Here's a shot of Dad (right) and Granddad (left) in 1959. Dad would have been 17 in this shot. I believe this would have been in Aylsham, Saskatchewan, but it could also have been Dauphin, Manitoba. Note Dad's pipe.

Dad's father died young, at 54, and I believe he only met Mom once. You could tell that the loss deeply affected Dad, who I remember told me once that his father sometimes, as a ghostly vision or a dream, would come sit on the bed in the darkest hours of the night and ask Dad how he was doing. You could tell that Dad found these visits comforting. While I'm not a spiritual person, I honestly hope they're together now, maybe playing crokinole. 

The Lost Lucky Starr Novels

In the 1950s, Isaac Asimov wrote six novels about space adventurer Lucky Starr:

1. David Starr, Space Ranger
2. Lucky Starr and the Pirates of the Asteroids
3. Lucky Starr and the Oceans of Venus
4. Lucky Starr and the Big Sun of Mercury
5. Lucky Starr and the Moons of Jupiter
6. Lucky Starr and the Rings of Saturn

Each of the novels features Starr having an adventure on one of the planets of the solar system (and the asteroid belt). Asimov, of course, covered only six of nine in this series (Pluto still counts! And Mars is covered in the first book).

I propose the following novels to wrap up the series:

7. Lucky Starr and the People of Earth
8. Lucky Starr and the Renegades of Neptune
9. Lucky Starr and the Icefields of Pluto
10. Lucky Starr and the Gases of Uranus

Topsy, Blackie, and Earl

Here's my maternal grandfather, Thomas Earl Etsell, directing horses Topsy (left) and her son Blackie (right) to haul a load of manure from the barn for spreading into the fields. This photo was taken (presumably by my grandmother, Mom, or one of her sisters) in 1958.

According to Mom, "Blackie was black when he was born! But as he aged, he turned into a dappled grey, and then as he became older, he became whiter."

Aunt Jean sent the photo along. Thanks, Aunt Jean!