Butler’s dream season and run for the NCAA championship has harkened back to the legendary 1954 Milan Miracle when the Little Giants won the State Basketball Championship with Bobby Plump and the rest of the Milan immortals. Bobby has been on National TV and all over the Internet. The references to the plot of the film “Hoosiers” and how the Butler Bulldogs in real life compare to the Hickory Huskers in reel life has been the subject of blogs and sports commentary for the past two weeks.
It seems hard to be believe that “Hoosiers” was shot in Indiana and Indianapolis nearly a quarter of a century ago. It’s even harder for me to realize that my first big screen role, that of “fan in Row ZZZ, Seat 22, Section 300,” still holds up today. A recent poll of film fans named “Hoosiers” the greatest sports film ever made and a film critics poll called it the fourth best sports film in movie history.
I arrived at Hinkle Field House on the second night of filming. I had heard that the production crew had a hard time getting enough people to fill the field house seats and make it look authentic on the first night. Obviously an actor of my stature was required to save the day. A trip to the sign-in table confirmed this. I was told that if I agreed to shave my beard off and get an Alfalfa in Our Gang style hair cut that I would be allowed to sit in the floor level seats. I asked them if I could just shave my mustache off and be Amish but they said no. I would not compromise my art, however, so my look remained the same. An assistant producer came up and told me that they did have a special role just for me, that of “fan in Row ZZZ, Seat 22, Section 300” a pivotal role in the course of the action. I signed the sheet and went about learning my dialog. YEAAAAHHHHH!!!!! and HOOOORAYYYYYY!!!!! I whispered to myself as I tried to explore my role motivation.
I wandered out of the arena to a side lobby and to my amazement, there stood Gene Hackman! He was standing next to a closed concession stand window, about 30 yards away. What a heaven sent opportunity — for Gene! At last, he could be coached by someone who knew acting and knew the Hoosier persona. I would assure him that I would be there to help him work through the scene. He could depend on me to pick up his dropped cues and ad lib through forgotten dialog, if necessary! We might become best friends and do other movie projects together as a screen team.
I stared trotting towards Gene. I could tell he wanted to talk to me and needed my advice. Don’t worry Gene, I’m here at last. I’ll save you! I got about twenty yards away, when a crowd came spilling into the lobby. I could briefly see the top of his head as at least 150 people came between, then . . . nothing!
Several of the film crew and security people came out to announce that we were all to report to our places so scene shooting could begin. I climbed to the outer stratosphere of Hinkle Field House to Row ZZZ, Seat 22, Section 300 so I could be ready for my scene. I’m proud to say that I remembered my lines, and when the second unit guy came up to my area and yelled through the bullhorn that my fellow actors needed to show more excitement and jump, yell, and clap more, I just told everyone around me to follow my lead. They were all grateful that I was there as I demonstrated the proper way to jump, yell, and clap!
The proof of my efforts is on screen. I have already stated the accolades that “Hoosiers” has acquired. It was honored with several Golden Globe and Academy Award nominations. It is a great film that, along with “Breaking Away” made it cool to be a Hoosier. As for the scenes that I shared with Gene, Dennis, Barbara, Sheb and the rest, they are among the most exciting and epic in screen history. The next time you are at Hinkle Fieldhouse go into the arena and look into the far top corner at Row ZZZ, Seat 22, Section 300. And you will say to yourself ”Man, that guy IS one heck of an actor!

What do the songs “Let the River Run,” “Things Have Changed,” “ It’s Hard Out There for a Pimp,” “Last Dance,” “It Might as Well be Spring, and “It Goes Like It Goes” all have in common? Well, friends and neighbors, they all won an Oscar for the Best Song in a Motion Picture. The Best Song category has always been kind of a tricky thing. A nominated song doesn’t necessarily have to be written expressly for the film in which it is performed. Neither does it have to be an integral part of the plot. The complete song doesn’t have to be sung during the film. A nominated song doesn’t have to be a part of the movie’s musical score…unless the artist who sings the song has also written part of the lyrics or music, they receive no Oscar if the song wins. For the first years of the category there was no limit to the amount of songs that could be nominated in a particular year. Confusing, right?
The first time an Oscar was awarded to a song was in 1934 which was the seventh Academy Awards ceremony. The song was  “The Continental” and it was from the movie The Gay Divorcee, a Fred and Ginger musical that has become a classic. Con Conrad wrote the music and Herb Magidson wrote the words. Ginger Rogers sang the song in the movie. By 1934, sound was the norm in films. Only Charlie Chaplin was still making silent movies. All singing and all dancing movie musicals were no longer a novelty and Depression weary audiences were flocking to the movie theaters to see them and enjoy a couple of hours of forgetfulness from the grim realities of the times. Most every American home had a radio, so a song could be heard in living rooms across the land, which also publicized the films they were connected with. The Motion Picture Academy decided it was time to give some recognition to the musical segment of the film industry, which was contributing to box office success.
During the first 16 years in which the Best Song Oscars were presented, the awards went to songs that were associated with musicals. The number of songs nominated in a given year changed. In the first two years of the award’s existence, only three songs were nominated. By the year 1938, ten songs were nominated. In 1939, “Over the Rainbow” won the Oscar. This song was the most popular Oscar winning songs of all time. In 1940, the Disney Studios won its first Best Song Oscar with “When You Wish upon A Star.” In 1942 the winning song was “White Christmas” from the movie Holiday Inn, probably the best known Oscar winning song of all time. In 1945, 14 songs were nominated in the Best Song category. The next year, 1946, the Academy changed the rules so that no more then five songs could be nominated in any given year. It’s been that way ever since.
In 1950, the song “Mona Lisa” won the Best Song Oscar. This was the first time that a song from a definite non-musical won. The song was from the film Captain Carey USA, a post-War spy thriller starring Alan Ladd. The song was a background theme for the movie and a cabaret singer performed it while Carey hooked up with an old flame in one sequence of the film. However, popular singer Nat “King” Cole made a cover version at the same time that went to number one on the Hit Parade and became a pop standard. Cole’s version wasn’t in the film, but it is responsible for the song winning the Oscar.
The 1950s and 60s were the golden age of musicals. With Technicolor, Panavision, CinemaScope, and Stereophonic Sound they were Hollywood’s most prized and acclaimed films of that era. One type of song that didn’t see any kind of Academy recognition was rock ‘n roll. That despised barbaric sound has pretty much been ignored by the Academy. Pop songs such as “Unchained Melody,” “April Love,” “Tammy,” or “Town Without Pity” have been nominated. “Moon River” even won in 1961, but rock music has been invisible to the Academy even if it was written for a film. “Jailhouse Rock” was the best song in a film in 1957, yet the Elvis Presley classic received nary a nomination or consideration that year. “Yesterday” by the Beatles was written for their 1965 film Help, yet it received no Academy Award consideration. About the closest the Academy has come to honoring a rock song was when Issac Hayes won the award for the “Theme from Shaft” in 1971. A disco pop tune “Last Dance,” sung by Donna Summer in the movie Thank God It’s Friday won the Best Song award in 1979. Actor Keith Carradine won an Oscar for writing the music and lyrics for “I’m Easy” for the movie Nashville in 1975. He also sang it in the film and remains the only member of the Carradine family to actually win any kind of Oscar.
In 1977 a film called You Light Up My Life was released to very little fanfare and quickly disappeared from movie screens after a disappointing box office performance. Debbie Boone, released a cover of the title song in the late summer of that year that quickly went to number one on the pop charts, and won a Grammy as best New Artist of the Year and became the top selling 45 record of the 70s.The song received an Oscar nomination. Debbie Boone sang it at the Oscar ceremony even though she didn’t sing it in the film. The song won the best Song of 1977 Oscar.
Beginning in the 1970s, musicals sort of disappeared from the movie screens. Grease, Flash Dance, Fame, Dirty Dancing and Footloose had musical themes and were very popular with theater audiences but as a genre, musicals were not being made in Hollywood. The Oscar-nominated songs of that period were usually written as theme music for drama  action, and comedy films. Stevie Wonder, Carly Simon, Lionel Ritchie, Bruce Springsteen, Phil Collins, Annie Lennox, Bob Dylan, Melissa Etheridge and Eminem have all won Oscars for movie songs they have written. Barbra Streisand became the first woman to receive a Best Song Oscar as a composer rather than a lyricist for “Evergreen” in 1976 from A Star is Born.
There have been years when there have been several outstanding songs nominated and years when it seemed that all the songs were duds. In 2011 only two songs were nominated. The song “Muppet or Man” won for the Movie The Muppets that year.
Veteran Hollywood song lyricist Sammy Cahn holds the record for most nominations for best song with 26. This, incidentally, is the most Oscar nominations for an individual in any Oscar category. Mr. Cahn won four Oscars. It took Randy Newman ten nominations in the category before he finally won a Best Song Oscar. He now has two Oscars on twelve nominations.
This year there is some controversy in the nominated songs. The song “Alone Yet not Alone” from the film of the same name was nominated in the Best song category. The composer was Bruce Broughton and lyrics by Dennis Spiegel. Mr. Broughton is a Governor of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. The nomination was revoked when it was discovered that Mr. Broughton had been politicking fellow Academy board members to support his nomination. Mr. Broughton, who is 68 years old has several Emmy Awards but has never won an Oscar. While he may have felt that time was running out for him, definitely should have known better.
There have been songs that have the Oscar that went on to relative obscurity and are long forgotten. There are songs such as “Unchained Melody,” which was nominated in 1955 but didn’t win, that have gone on to become American classics. There are songs that are happily remembered long after the movies that they first were heard in have been forgotten. As for this year, I predict that a song that I really don’t know much about will win the Oscar for 2013.

The article you are about to read is true, only the facts have been dramatized to protect the innocent . . . and make it more readable.
I watched Robert Redford as the Angel of Death the other night. He was 26 years old. About two weeks ago he was on a TV show as a murder suspect. He would have been 24 years old. Oddly enough he was a jewel thief that same night on another TV drama. James Caan and Martin Sheen were two New York City teenaged gang members on a Sunday night a few weeks back. Karen Black and Ellen Burstyn were respectively, a mentally unbalanced cowgirl and a nun of the Old West on a TV oater here a few nights back. Okay, so what the heck am I talking about? Well, it’s simple. It’s the nostalgia or “classic” television channels on cable television. Me TV, TV Land, Antenna TV, and Cozi TV are all available locally and showing Perry Mason, Dragnet, Big Valley, Route 66, Daniel Boone, Dobie Gillis, The Monkees, Thriller, The Alfred Hitchcock Hour, The Jack Benny Program, Emergency, The Untouchables, Bachelor Father, Burns and Allen, Kojak, Get Smart, Adam-12. I could go on and on. You can also go on line and see these programs  and a lot more on sites such as Hulu and Netflex.
However, certain television programs such as I Love Lucy, M*A*S*H, Twilight Zone, Gunsmoke, Bonanza, and The Andy Griffith Show have never really been off the air. They went into syndication almost immediately after their original broadcast runs concluded. They also were broadcast in color, or at least the later episodes. I know,   Twilight Zone was never in color but that was an exception. The fact that for a long time there was a feeling that younger viewers would  not watch back and white programs.
Of course the real fun of watching these shows from 30, 40, and 50 years ago is to see big stars, such as Redford, Dustin Hoffman, Burt Reynolds, Robert Duvall, Cloris Leachman, Warren Beatty, Doris Roberts, Ellen Burstyn, Susan Pleshette, Nick Nolte, and Sally Kellerman before they became big stars. It is truly amazing how many times actors such as Martin Milner, Henry Morgan, William Shallert, Harry Townes,  Leonard Nimoy, Marian Ross and Captain Kirk himself William Shatner appear in these programs as guest stars. Watching Jack Nicholson guest star on the Andy Griffith Show is a real hoot.
So now I am watching Perry Mason, Dragnet, Adam-12, and Alfred Hitchcock on a regular basis. I also frequently watch The Monkees, The Rifleman, and Route 66. It’s fun and the shows are easy to follow. While it’s true that I sometimes flash back to my youthful days while I’m viewing these TV episodes it’s really not a hankering to relive my past that sparks my interest in them, because you see, I really didn’t watch these shows when I was young and they were first broadcast. Well…uh…I admit I did watch Twilight Zone on Friday nights, and Alfred Hitchcock, but generally not the rest.
If you have access to these channels  you might give them get them an occasional look, you might be surprised at how much fun they really are and they might bring back some pleasant memories.

This is the time of year that the holiday classic film It’s a Wonderful Life starts appearing on television. It’s a Christmas tradition and the story of George Bailey realizing his true value as a human being has resonated with viewers since it’s release in 1946. We are all familiar with George and Mary, Clarence, Uncle Billy, Mr. Potter, Burt and Ernie, Mr. Gower and all the other characters in Bedford Falls, Mass. We all know the story line as well as we know Scrooge and A Christmas Carol. There are many fans who can recite the dialog by heart.
It’s also worth knowing that It’s a Wonderful Life was a box office disappointment when released and didn’t recover it’s investment and make a profit until the 1970s, when it started becoming a holiday staple.
It wasn’t the disaster some have claimed, however. Because of the budget, particularly the payroll for actors salaries, it would have been hard to recoup the investment with one release. As with many films, it took a while for it to find its place in the conscience of the American public.
In 1943, author Philip Van Doren Stern completed a short story called “The Greatest Gift” about a salesman who gets to find out from a sympathetic stranger (who may or may not have divine powers), what the life of those he loves and cares about would have been like if he had never been born. Stern had worked on the story since 1938. At first, he couldn’t find a publisher so he sent the work to friends and associates as a Christmas card. The story was finally published in Reader’s Scope magazine in December of 1944 and later in Good Housekeeping magazine under the title “The Man Who was Never Born.” RKO film studios purchased the movie rights to the story as a possible holiday vehicle for Cary Grant, who had seen the story as a Christmas card and was interested in it for the 1945 Christmas season. Several screen scenarios and adaptations were put together but nothing clicked and the property was shelved.
In 1946, Frank Capra’s Liberty films had a deal to produce and release nine films through RKO. One of the film properties Capra was interested in was “The Greatest Gift.” At least four different scripts were submitted before shooting began. Along with Jimmy Stewart, Henry Fonda, Bing Crosby, and Lou Ayers were considered for the George Bailey role. Jean Arthur, Ginger Rogers, Olivia De Haviland, Martha Scott, and Ann Dvorak were considered for Mary Bailey. Ginger Rogers turned it down because she thought the part was too bland, so Donna Reed was called in. There was a long list of well known character actors considered for the part of Mr. Potter, including Edward Arnold, Sidney Greenstreet, Raymond Massey, Vincent Price, and even Thomas Mitchell, before Lionel Barrymore was chosen for the role. Funny thing about Barrymore, because he played the wheelchair bound Dr. Gillespie in the Dr. Kildare series and in this movie, many people assumed he couldn’t walk and were quite shocked when they saw him walking upright in regular life. Thomas Mitchell assumed the Uncle Billy role when Edgar Buchanan was unable to accept it. H. B. Warner, who played Mr. Gower had studied medicine before deciding to become an actor and had been around Hollywood since the silent days. He had also worked with Capra in several of his films. Henry Travers, who played Clarence the Angel, had been around a long time and was recognizable to most filmgoers.
There was a long list of well known character actors who had parts in the film. Beulah Bondi, Charles Lane, Frank Albertson, Samuel S. Hinds, Lillian Randolph, Frank Faylen, Carl “Alfalfa” Switzer, and  Ward Bond were all impressive as the citizens of Bedford Falls. Gloria Graham, in only her second screen role, impressed everyone as Violet, the town’s party girl. Bobby Anderson, who played George Bailey as a boy, is excellent. His scene with H. B. Warner, when he tells him about the poison in the capsules is one of the most touching and heartfelt in the movie.
As the production unfolded, a number of things changed, were removed or added. The sledding scene with Harry being saved by George was originally supposed to have taken place on the frozen Potter’s Pond. Mr. Potter catches the boys playing hockey and sends his guard dogs after them and Harry falls through the ice trying to run away. There were four different endings filmed including one in which one the bank tellers reveal that Mr. Potter had deposited exactly eight thousand dollars just after Uncle Billy had left. That is the way things happen in most productions, however.
Seneca Falls, NY claims that Frank Capra had visited their town on several occasions in 1945 and based the concept of Bedford Falls on their town. They even have a yearly “Bedford Falls” celebration. Both Jimmy Stewart and Frank Capra have said that It’s A Wonderful Life is their favorite film of all that they were involved with. Henry Travers, who played Clarence, acted in a number of highly regarded films, including The Invisible Man, Death Takes a Holiday, Dodge City, Mrs. Miniver, Shadow of a Doubt, The Bells of St. Marys, and The Yearling, but Clarence the Angel remains his most famous role. Beulah Bondi who played Ma Bailey, would play Jimmy Stewart’s mother in four films, all together. She made a career of playing mothers and grandmothers in films and television. She never married or had children in real life, however. Donna Reed would go on to win an Oscar eight years later for best supporting actress for her role as Alma the prostitute in From Here to Eternity. On January 9th of 1945, Donna had been in El Paso. Texas to promote her film See Here Pvt. Hargrove and was scheduled to fly back to Hollywood. She was bumped by a military officer, however, and had to wait for another plane. That airplane crashed on approach to Lockheed Air Terminal in Burbank, killing everyone on board.
It’s A Wonderful Life was nominated for five Oscars in 1946 including Best Picture and a Best actor nomination for Stewart. While it didn’t win any awards back then, it has stood the test of time and it is now regarded to be one of the most beloved films in Hollywood history. It is number #11 in the American Film Institute’s list of the 100 Greatest American Films. It is number one in the hearts of Christmas audiences who, every holiday season, regard its viewing as a sacred Yuletide tradition. That a boy, Clarence.

I have a Facebook buddy named Gay Lyons. Gay and I go way back. We went to kindergarten together and continued through grade school, junior high and high school at Arlington. After graduation I lost track of Gay for a very long time, but through social media we renewed our friendship. On Friday, I posted a picture of myself standing on the front porch of the Benton House during the 2015 Holiday Bazaar on my Facebook Timeline. I was dressed especially for the occasion. A number of my friends took notice of the picture and I got 112 likes and loves. I also got 36 comments which I appreciated. Gay’s touched me the most, however, because it really rang true. She posted “Who would of thought that when we were all going to P.S. #71 that ‘Most Likely to be the Most Convincing Santa Claus’ would be….you!”
Yes, I was in my Santa uniform. Red with white fur trim. Playing Kris Kringle fits me like a glove. Sometimes I forget: Am I Steve playing Santa or Santa playing Steve? Those of you who know me know that I love to play dress up. I love Halloween! Our house is filled with props — capes, canes, hats, swords, rubber body parts, and plastic skulls — the correct outfit and accessories for every occasion. All the world’s a stage and I love being an actor on it.
Being a Santa is different. Getting to be Santa and giving a bit of holiday joy is kind of a privilege and even an honor. Saturday, a lovely little girl came up to me, gave me a hug and said “I love you Santa!” My granddaughter, the Lady Bug, believes that I am Santa and her Papaw. The hugs and kisses that I got from the Warren special needs kids at their Christmas party filled my heart with joy last year. These are the reasons that I slip into the red suit and become St. Nick.
When I was ten years old,  I was about as far away from being a Santa prospect as you can get. Skinny as a bean pole with short brown hair and a peach fuzzy face and about as jolly as a toothache. Yeah, he is gonna be a St. Nick alright…Ha, ha! Like most other kids I loved the presents under the tree from the jolly old elf. When some of my peers started to mock me for my belief and said “Look stupid there ain’t no Santy Claus.” I answered “Why do you say that? Don’t you like getting those North Pole presents that come from a reindeer sled. I AM GONNA BELIEVE IN SANTA UNTIL I’M 152!”
The first time I played Santa for real was during Christmas 1987. I was working at the East Washington Branch of the Indianapolis Public Library system. The community association was sponsoring a Christmas party for seniors that was to be held in the library’s basement assembly room. My supervisor informed me that she had volunteered me to play Santa. The suit was provided. I did have to wear a false white beard over my then dark brown one. Things went well and everyone, including me, had a good time. The next time the situation came up was during the summer of 1996. This time I was working at the Spades Park Branch. A kindergarten class had come for a storytelling session. I was working at the front desk when two little boys came up to me and one of them asked “Are you Santa Claus?” Mind you this was summer and I still was brown bearded so I was caught off-guard for a second, but I finally answered “I can’t tell you because it’s a secret!” This must have worked because they went back to their group and I saw them pointing at me and whispering in their friend’s ears. The look of wonder they gave me was priceless!
The Boss had been after me for years to be Santa, since my beard turned white. In 2015, my beautiful daughter and her family gave me a Santa suit with all the accessories for my birthday — sort of a Christmas in July thing. That got me on the road to actually being Mr. Claus. I am a Method Santa so I really have to become the character. It’s gives me more joy than I can ever say! I am so blessed that I am allowed to be Santa and bring some joy to some peoples lives. It’s a role I was born to play!

October 31 is All Hallow’s Eve, the day before November 1 which is All Saints Day, a very sacred day in the tradition of the Catholic Church. So where did Halloween come from? About 3,500 B.C., the Celts, Gauls and other Germanic tribes of Northern and Western Europe developed into agrarian societies with farming and crop cultivation as their principle food sources. The  summer and winter solstices and vernal and autumnal equinox were extremely important in the planning of their year, telling them when to plant, how much time was left until harvest and when should it be completed. The day of final harvest was a day of celebration. It also marked the end of their year, the death of summer and warm weather and preparations for the snows of winter. Samhain was the death of summer and the night of the dead. It was believed that on that night, which was October 31, the spirits of all those who had died the previous year would walk the earth one final time before their journey to the nether regions, some to exact vengeance on their living enemies. It was also a time when demons, ghouls, and evil entities rose from the dark pits of the underworld to wreak havoc upon the unwary. There were no pumpkins in Europe at this time so some folks would hollow out gourds and onions and carve scary faces on them to frighten off the evil spirits. They would also leave food and baked items out to bribe the things that go bump in the night to leave their huts in peace. Sacrifices were also made to appease the old gods and gain their favor for their coming new year. There is no truth to the story that children or young virgins were used in the ceremonies. Ram, deer, lambs, pigs. and cattle were used.
When Christianity took hold in medieval Europe, the Church attempted to incorporate many of the old pagan rituals into holy rites. All Saints Day was created to honor all the saints and martyrs with feasting and celebration. Samhain became All Hallows Eve, the night when Saturn and all the evils of the earth were banished for one day to purify it for the holy celebration that came at the dawn. Samhain is still celebrated by modern day Druids at Stonehenge and other sites on October 31, so it is still alive in the traditions of some of us. So with that I will wish you a very safe and enjoyable Samhain!

The fact that Indiana is considered the mother state of vice presidents has been discussed in this newspaper before. Indiana Governor Mike Pence’s campaign for the office has brought a great deal of attention to that office during this election cycle. But how many times has a vice president from Indiana ever reached the office of president? The answer is never. In fact, a vice president has only seceded to the presidency on the death or removal of a sitting president on nine occasions. Teddy Roosevelt was the first vice president to take office on the death of a president, William McKinley,  and then also elected president in his own right.
John Adams, the first vice president, said of his office “My country, in it’s wisdom, has contrived for me the most insignificant office that ever in the invention of man contrived or his imagination conceived.”
Daniel Webster was offered the office, but refused saying “If the Vice President were not the President of the Senate, he would be without employment.”
Thomas Marshall, one of the Indiana vice presidents said, “There once were two brothers. One  went off to sea. The other was elected vice president of the United Stares. Neither were ever heard from again.”
John Nance Garner, the VP under Franklin Roosevelt said, “The Office of Vice President is not worth a bucket of warm p***!” The quote was changed to “spit” so as to not offend.
The first vice president to become chief executive on the death of a president was John Tyler. Tyler was a southern Democrat who disagreed with his party on the issue of free trade. He became the running mate of Whig candidate William Henry Harrison. They never met each other. Tyler had an difficult relationship with his cabinet. In fact, they tried to say that Tyler was just an acting president until Congress could appoint another Whig. The courts backed Tyler’s claim that he was indeed the president. He served out the term, although he accomplished nothing and was considered one of our least effective presidents.
When Millard Fillmore took office on the death of President Zachary Taylor, he admitted that he had only spoken to Taylor on one occasion and that was to congratulate him on his inauguration. When Benjamin Harrison bumped into his vice president Levi P. Morton, he didn’t recognize him. Andrew Jackson and his vice president John C. Calhoun despised each other. Calhoun challenged Jackson to a duel for insulting his wife because she was not invited to a White House dinner. Cabinet members intervened and the duel was called off. Aaron Burr, who was Jefferson’s vice president had to flee the country after killing Alexander Hamilton in a duel.
Gerald Ford was the last vice president to assume the presidency. He took office after President Nixon’s resignation. Ford pardoned Nixon so he would not have to officially answer to any Watergate inquiry. The pardon stained his presidency and he was not elected. There were two assassination attempts on Ford’s life — the most since Lincoln.
Chester Arthur was a Republican Party official in New York City. Under President Grant he was appointed Commissioner of the New York Port Authority. With all the graft and bribes that the office pulled in, it was considered a license to print money. When President Rutherford Hayes took office he passed an anti-corruption policy and Arthur was one of the first to get the boot. Ironically, four years later, James Garfield was the Republican nominee and chose Arthur as his running mate. Eight months into his presidency, Garfield died from an assassin’s bullet and Arthur took office. During his administration Arthur contracted Bright’s Disease and almost didn’t make to the end of his term. He died just a few weeks after his term was completed, Controversy swirled around Arthur from the beginning: Rumor had it he was an infant when his parents lived in Toronto, Canada, and he had been born there. That would have made him ineligible to be president. The charge has never been proven one way or the other.
Jimmy Carter was the first president to give the vice president a role in his administration. He had Walter Mondale advise him on dealing with Congress and Mondale sat in cabinet meetings. It’s claimed that Dick Cheney was the de facto president under W. Bush. Cheney had more power than any other vice president ever. Joe Biden has played an important role in the Obama administration.

As you may know, the Weekly View was one of the sponsors of the #98 Dallara Honda of rookie Gabby Chaves. On the Thursday before the race, the Boss and I got to go to the track and visit the Bryan Herta Team garage to see our car. I wound up getting a closer look at it than we might have normally done. It was a fascinating and very informative afternoon for us and the Boss got some very good pictures. Chaves was the fastest rookie qualifier and started 26th. His crew chief Mark Mattes told me that they would carefully monitor Gabby during race with the idea that finishing in one piece was the primary team goal. Gabby drove smoothly and carefully during the race and by lap 174 was in 8th place. However, late in the race he was rear ended and though he stayed in the competition, he dropped to 16th position by the finish. He did complete the 200 laps and was named “Rookie of the Year.” It was a great deal of fun for all of us at the Weekly View and for me in particular.