UNINTERESTING NONENTITIES

It's Friday the 13th. I'm not superstitious. Bad luck can find us on any day when we least expect it.

Would a black cat have bad luck if he walked under a ladder?

Change of subject

Today I'm going to bore you with a haphazard collection of uninteresting nonentities.

This wooden box belonged to my paternal grandmother, which she had in Hungary. I've had it since I was about twelve, and I keep some of my treasures in it. The old wooden mirror above is from Italy.

In that wooden box is my very first photo, taken by my father. Not exactly attractive.

What's this?

It's  my senior class photo. I was sixteen.

I was fifty in this photo. Any resemblance to my first photo?

These were my baby shoes, well preserved.

These were my boots when I lived in Texas. I always wore them in my house, because there were scorpions on the floor.

A wooden pencil box that my paternal grandfather brought from Hungary.

When I was 18 or 19, I always wore an old Army jacket that I got from the Army Surplus store on Main St. in Los Angeles. I sewed these patches onto it.

Match books, anybody?

The Green Cafe was one of my favorite hangouts. My "very close companion" Phil always went there with me. He was the ex-con, who was in prison for robbery and attempted murder. Unbelievably handsome

 Lots of celebrities went to the Green Cafe.....unfortunately the place no longer exists. It's now a store that sells wine.

Remember when I said I was caught in a midnight raid in the notorious Drake Theater? Here's a match book that I still have.

Those were my reckless years. I existed in danger and cherished it.

A certificate nominating me to be a member of the American Film Institute. This is because of the numerous articles I published in movie magazines. I have an entire box of them, most of which I had forgotten.

Samples from Movie Collector's World and Classic Images.

Dracula: In the Beginning

I was nineteen when I started writing for Classic Images, a very popular movie magazine back then.

The cover featuring my article about silent star Ramon Novarro, who was in the 1925 epic film Ben-Hur. My name is in tiny print on lower right.

A few of the many letters that I have from celebrities. Photo from Shelley Winters, after I met her. The blue envelope is from Olivia de Havilland (when she lived in Paris). The pink envelope is from Joan Rivers. She was really nice in person. Other letters from Jimmy Stewart, George Burns, can't remember all.....

Onto art....

I still have all the pen and ink things when I was 19 or 20.

This is the very first picture I drew in ink.

And another treasure:

This is the very first oil painting I did when I was eleven years old (yes, 11).

 I did many oil paintings, but most of them are lost.

I have dozens and dozens of ticket stubs from operas and ballets that I saw in the Los Angeles Music Center.

Can you believe the very best tickets in the Founder's Circle was only $12.50  back then? The cheapest in the balcony were $3.50.

That envelope is from the famous Brown Derby restaurant in Hollywood.

I have a LOT more of my treasures to share, but this post is long enough.

What's this?

My new ring, a tangerine sapphire. It looks much better in real. I'm holding the phone in my clumsy left hand to take these photos.

Holy Crap!

Don't forget my (old) poetry books, still available on Amazon and other places. 

And my book for children

That's enough for now

Jon, ❤️  almost fascinating

I finally tried to correct the MANY spelling errors!

FINALLY, AN UPDATE

One of the social workers recently gave me a copy of my medical records. I can access some of them online, but they're not updated since I came to Gainesboro Rehab.

Anyway, I was alarmed when the medical records revealed that I have a malignant neoplasm in my colon. That indicates it can very possibly metastisize and ensure upcoming death.

With all the horrifying medical things that I've gone through the past few years, nothing can deter me. I take every rotten blow in turn and do my very best to deal with them. 

What really shocks me is when I realize how tough I am.

(Long ago I was never tough......I was a sissy who pretended to be tough)

We only have two choices in our lives - - ignore everything and cowardly surrender....or fight like hell and never give up.

Anyway, I discovered (with relief)  that I had the malignant neoplasm before I had chemo and radiation. That was over two years ago. 

So, the medical report that I read was over two years old.

Right now, my problem is due to a lot of damaged skin around my butt due to after effects of radiation (and I had seven weeks of intense radiation).

I know firsthand that radiation side effects can be brutal. Strangely enough  I had very few side effects from chemo.

I'm probably boring and self-serving with this medical crap - - but I want you to know what's going on.

I'm also presently concerned about a small lump on my arm, located near where the cancerous wound was (it has healed and stopped bleeding after my radiation treatments last October).

So far, I haven't had physical therapy since Christmas. I had a bout with covid. The serious wound on my left ankle had deepened to the bone - causing agonizing pain. I'm on antibiotics again and the wound is slightly better. My left leg is partially paralyzed.

Some good news

During the past year, I lost an alarmingly amount of weight. This is due to being sick and because I hate hospital food and seldom ate it.

Right now, my average weight SHOULD be 170 or 175. A few years ago it was 180.

When I first came here to Gainesboro, I weighed a horrifying 138 lbs. I was determined to gain weight, so I had food shipments from Walmart. I secretly ate every night (and still do). My weight rose to 145. Yesterday my weight was 151. I'm getting there.

Well, that's my update. If you're confused about my medical history - - I'm confounded by it.

BTW  I'm still going to use some reruns on my posts, but I'll also have updates.

Thanks for reading this.

Jon

My latest winter AI images