Published: March 5th, 2013
Welcome to Geoff Nate's Blog!
“What’s in a Blog?” Shakespeare might ask. “Anything and everything a computer owner cares to share” would probably be an appropriate answer. News, gossip, opinions, his or other’s, whatever moves a “blogger” seems to qualify.
Bits and Pieces of an Ordinary Life
‘Paper Boy’ 1940
Two character building “life and growth” experiences of a very young entrepreneur.
Begged and Borrowed
New Yorker Article: ‘Sacred Grounds’
There’s coffee and then there’s real coffee. Fascinating woman… fascinating story.
ETC, ETC, ETC
Geoff’s Back Care Tips
“Flare-ups” are the product of “Screw-ups.” Avoid the pain by avoiding the strain.
Published: March 15th, 2013
So, Why Not?
Welcome to the second edition of Geoff Nate’s Blog. Thanks to the encouragement we received, we’ve decided to try it again. So, why not? (Note: All negative comments were trashed.)
Bits and Pieces of an Ordinary Life
‘The Fire’
The Bel Air Fire of 1961. Our young family’s home burns down along with hundreds of others. We lose everything.
‘Malibu… From Out of the Ashes’
We rebound and discover a new life on the beach in Malibu with the rich and famous.
Begged and Borrowed
Marijuana: The Other Side of the Story
The case against legalization of marijuana by the nation’s foremost authority on teenage addiction… What if it was your kid?
ETC, ETC, ETC
Published: April 12th, 2013
Whizbang Summer
To do justice to this blog’s ‘Bits and Pieces’ submission, and out of consideration for our readers’ time and energy, we have broken down ‘WhizBang Summer’ into four chapters. We must bow to the reality that in this world of high-tech information delivery, a reader’s attention span is often measured in seconds.
Bits and Pieces of an Ordinary Life
Chapter 1 – Breezy Point Welcome
Certainly the first real test of a young college boy’s manhood…right out of a J.D. Salinger or Phillip Roth novel…a real “Dudy Kravitz” or “Dirty Dancing” experience.
Chapter 2 – A Trove of WhizBangs
I discover a trove of “WhizBangs”…My first run-in with the Chicago hoods…And a coming-of-age misadventure with a beautiful Mambo dancer.
Chapter 3 – The Social Director
Breezy hires a Borscht Belt comedian…Doc and I manufacture an epidemic…I become pals with a baseball Hall-of-Famer and thwart a near-death experience.
Chapter 4 – Miss Minnesota
Miss Minnesota comes into my life…We run into trouble with one of the Chicago guys…The Hells Angels take over Bar Harbor and descend on Breezy Point in the wee hours.
Begged and Borrowed
ETC, ETC, ETC
Published: May 10th, 2013
Geoff Nate's War Stories
This blog’s “Bits and Pieces” feature, recounts the adventures of a would-be draft-dodger who fought the Korean War on the Mexican border.
Bits and Pieces of an Ordinary Life
Chapter 1: The Ringer
This story’s hero plays golf with the Brass for big money, and somehow manages to bust a couple of GIs out of a Mexican jail.
Chapter 2: The Commie
A Buck Sergeant bucks the system and unwittingly challenges Washington’s pursuit of communist infiltrators and sympathizers, threatening our American way of life.
Chapter 3: The Plague Bearer
The Korean War nears an end. Civilian life beckons, only to be thwarted by a dreaded social disease diagnosis.
Begged and Borrowed
Joseph McCarthy and the Hollywood Ten
Highlights of the famous Joe McCarthy-driven anti-communist purge broadcast live on TV and featured in the newsreels (in case you missed them in Chapter 2).
ETC, ETC, ETC
Where Have All the Flowers Gone?
War’s insane!…”When Will We Ever Learn?” Nobody does a more beautiful job of singing that message than Pete Seeger. This poignant YouTube selection tells it like it was and unfortunately still is.
Published: June 7th, 2013
Welcome to Showbiz
Bits and Pieces of an Ordinary Life
Chapter 1: Hollywood Calls
Geoff Nate’s big chance…Movies, TV, beautiful women…What more could a Minnesota boy ask for?
Chapter 2: “So This is Hollywood”
Our very own network show by that name bombs, but we learn how to con the TV viewer.
Chapter 3: Arthur Godfrey
Big Time television: Arthur Godfrey and the realities of sex and sin, and the education of a new kid in the Biz.
Begged and Borrowed
ETC, ETC, ETC
Video: “You Never Even Called Me By My Name”
Geoff Nate loves country. Thanks to YouTube we can replay this short David Allan Coe classic.
Published: July 17th, 2013
Misadventures in Paradise
Bits and Pieces of an Ordinary Life
The Turkey Farm
One man’s “Turkey” is another man’s bonanza. Welcome to the “I Shoulda’ Club.”
A Tough Year in the “Hood”
“The customer is always right.” Really? Two brothers’ 50s baptism of pain in South-Central Los Angeles
Begged and Borrowed
Warren’s Way
Wall Street moguls don’t always make their mark on Wall Street. My hero lives in Omaha, Nebraska, enjoys a hamburger and fries for lunch and has a passion for chocolate sundaes.
ETC, ETC, ETC
Burning Man
One of the “Beat Generation’s” unique contributions to American counter-culture is the annual “Burning Man” festival. Join us as we visit this extraordinary event in the Nevada desert.
Published: August 5th, 2013
In search of the "Big Score"
Bits and Pieces of an Ordinary Life
The Pimple Pills
Save the the youth of America from the teenagers’ curse and make millions. What could be easier? All it took was two pills a day to drive their pimples away.
Eighty-Sixed In The Restaurant Biz
Success stories are hard to come by, but young Geoff Nate was never one to shy away from a chance to make the “Big Score.” Why not the restaurant biz?
Begged and Borrowed
Published: September 6th, 2013
In Search of a Nice Jewish Girl
Bits and Pieces of an Ordinary Life
Elayne Spelled Elayne
In a city loaded with “Angels,” how could a young man surrounded by beautiful Hollywood starlets-to-be ever fall into the proverbial “Tender Trap?”
Begged and Borrowed
Geoff Nate’s Take on the Middle East
A sane perspective on the Egyptian “coup” from Charles A. Kupchan for the New York Times Saturday, August 17, 2013.
ETC, ETC, ETC
Memory Exercise
A short drill for Geoff Nate’s aging readers who think (or know) they are losing it.
Published: November 22nd, 2013
Radio Days
Bits and Pieces of an Ordinary Life
The Magazine
Back in the ’50s they called it “Elevator Music” or “No Fi.” Why not? There were no commercials and it was free, so who really listened? That is until Burt Harris and Geoff Nate gave FM radio an identity.
Begged and Borrowed
Seldom Seen Historical Photos
Some wonderful old seldom seen photos, courtesy of our friend Alan Stamm. Be Alan’s guests.
Published: December 18th, 2013
Tobacco Tales
Jen and I have decided to end the year 2013 with our tenth Blog. “Tobacco Tales” chronicles Geoff Nate’s non-smoking super-senior lifetime adventures with the wicked weed and those that sell, buy, and indulge.
Bits and Pieces of an Ordinary Life
Chapter 1: Cigar Stories
The early life of a non-smoking boy from a family of smokers that sell what they smoke.
Chapter 2: Tobacco History
Chewed, sniffed or smoked, the habit dates back to the time of Columbus.
Chapter 3: Adventures of a Tobacco Salesman
Young Geoff Nate tries his hand at selling the product to those who make a living selling the habit.
Chapter 4: Smoking: Perils and Politics
Tobacco kills. All it took was 600 years to figure that out.