Pink Eye!

Hi Mom!

Hello Miss Shana!

Mom, it’s once again time for the Quiz!

Do you have any announcements to make?

No one died this month.

Good! And now for the quiz!

Wait, Mom! I have some interesting news to share.

This better be good, Shana!

Apparently The Doobie Brothers….

are planning a new album soon with guess who?

Uh…….

Michael McDonald!!!!

Remember? He was late coming to the Doobie Brothers because they already had a lead singer (Tom Johnston, see below),

but he had to be hospitalized due to a bleeding ulcer; so, guitar player, Jeff Baxter,

who used to be in Steely Dan with Michael McDonald….

What? They both came from Steely Dan?

Yes, Jeff brought Michael into the Doobie Brothers as a replacement for Tom Johnston, and when that happened, the group took off into the Stratosphere with “What A Fool Believes”, which won the Grammy for “Song Of The Year” in 1979, written by Michael McDonald and Kenny Loggins, followed by other soul-influenced hits like “Minute By Minute”, “Real Love” and “Taking It To The Streets”, and then Michael left for a solo career. Well, that’s why it’s such big news that he’s re-joining the group!!!

You know, you’re right, Shana. The Doobie Brothers were very successful even before Michael McDonald, with songs like “Long Train Running” with original lead, Tom Johnston. In fact, let’s switch over to our Maryland correspondent, Jon Gillespie (my nephew), with more pertinent Doobie Brothers information.

And by the way, Mom, Jon is much cooler than you are!

He is not!

Jon Gillespie on keyboards.

Awesome, Elaine! We saw The Doobie Brothers last year with Michael McDonald, it was great! They played a new tune which I’m sure will be on their new album. I remember that I liked it (that’s about all I remember about it). It’s great, though. Tom Johnston is amenable to working with Michael. He was his replacement when Tom left the band, and you’d always hear tales of bad blood between the two, and the rest of the band. Can’t wait to hear their new material! I think my favorite is “Long Train Running”, which Tom wrote. Say hi to Shana!

“Long Train Running” is my favorite song too! Let’s play that right now!

Now, watch what happens when Michael McDonald joins the group, nothing about them is the same!

And I’ll bet Steely Dan was like, “And we stuck this guy in the background??? And then we let him go????”

Anyway, we look forward to the new album featuring both Tom and Michael! And Mom, you forgot to mention that Kenny Loggins wrote and sang “House At Pooh Corner”.

You know, Shana, you were doing so well up to now!

Who’s in the Quiz this month?

“Ulysses S. Grand”.

Who?

“Ulysses S. Grand”!

Don’t you mean Ulysses S. Grant?

No, Shana. Ulysses S. Grant was the 18th president of the United States. This is “Ulysses S. Grand”.

Well that is the stupidest name I’ve ever heard! What was wrong with him?

Conjunctivitis.

What?

Pink Eye!

Feb. 28, 2024

Elaine, my son, “Ulysses S. Grand”, is having trouble with his eyes. His eyes have been bothering him for quite a while. Remember me emailing you about the hives? Well, I did use Apis 200C and it seemed to help some, but never took it all away. I muscle-tested and asked one time “Is this the best remedy for him?” and got a “no”. But when the baby, “James Fennimore Clapper”, got sick … I turned my attention to him, and now “Ulysses S. Grand” has pink eye in both eyes. It started with his left eye and now it just got to both eyes.

He woke me up around 5:30 am today and yesterday saying his eyes hurt. I muscle-tested and he took Hepar sulph 200C. He said that it helped his eyes. His eyes are blinking constantly. He does have some goop in them. His eyes are the most red out of any of us. He doesn’t test for Pulsatilla nor Euphrasia.

He hasn’t been pooping every day like he used to. He had one REALLY gross diarrhea (over a week ago) that was BRIGHT green. Poops seem to be normal now but not daily. “Ulysses” says his nose feels dry. Every once in awhile he will say his belly hurts – this morning it hurt, he asked for our sourdough bread and then he was fine. Other times it hurts and then he poops and he’s better.

He also NEVER wants to go to sleep! He fights going to sleep EVERY NIGHT and then needing a snack or just doing anything to not sleep. He also seems to not want to play with his brother, “Luciano Pavaroni”. He says when his eye hurts it burns, itches, feels dry and throat is painful when he swallows.

He’s been more sassy, easy to get upset, wanting to be alone. He also seems to want apples and our sourdough bread a lot.

In terms of what he says, that would be: “I want my way, I want to be alone, I’m never tired, I don’t want to do school (we homeschool).”

So, there you have it, what do you think?

I think he needs a dose of _________200C.

Thurs., Mar 7 at 1:08 AM

Elaine, “Ulysses” seems to be doing a lot better. I don’t see his eyes itching as much. He is playing with “Luciano” more – He has been extra snuggly with me lately. Like coming in and sitting on my lap and telling me to never let him go. I don’t think he’s done that in a REALLY long time!

____________________________

OK, everybody, that’s it! What do you think the remedy is? Write to me at [email protected] and let me know, the answer will be in the April ezine.

Mom, I think we should go out with “Real Love” by The Doobie Brothers, featuring the Great Michael McDonald.

I think you’re right, Shana!

Shana, I think we spoke too soon about there being no deaths to report. This just in. Jean Knight died (“Mr. Big Stuff”), Fanita James of The Blossoms (“He’s A Rebel”) and Mary Weiss of The Shangri-Las died (“Remember: Walking In The Sand”).

Jean Knight

Jean King, Elvis, Fanita James and Darlene Love (The Blossoms)

Mary Weiss of The Shangri-Las

Quick story, I know some of you are going to say, “Elaine, ‘He’s A Rebel’ was sung by The Crystals.” Nope, sorry! It was by The Blossoms! Producer, Phil Spector, had to rush the song out because he heard Vicky Carr was coming out with “He’s A Rebel”. And The Crystals were nowhere to be found! (They were touring.) So Spector grabs his back-up singers, The Blossoms, and says, “I need for ‘He’s a Rebel’ to come out right away!” So he rushes the Blossoms into the studio; the record goes all the way to #1, but the record label credits The Crystals! The Blossoms couldn’t tell anybody that they had a #1 record!

RIP, Fanita. Everyone knows you had a #1 record now!

Mom, aren’t you forgetting to tell the story about Daddy and The Shangri-Las?

OK. Well, as you may know, Shana, during the 80’s and 90’s, there was a big controversy over “fake singing groups”. It was a real scandal! Show promoters like Dick Fox thought it would be perfectly fine for them to take any random (in this case) group of girls and say, “You are now The Shangri-Las!” and claim on their show card that the Shangri-Las were there, figuring nobody knew what the Shangri-Las looked like! Well, The Shangri-Las sued Dick Fox, and Daddy was their witness! Shana, find me a picture of Daddy…. and find me his deposition, the first page.

Check!

Richard Lewis

So what happened was, Daddy went to one of Dick Fox’s concerts showcasing a fake Shangri-Las group, and he testified that the fake girls were on stage making comments like, “And here’s our #1 record!” Mary Weiss said that Daddy was the only one willing to help them, which I find mind-boggling; but…. apparently the Shangri-Las prevailed! See thank-you letter below:

So, here’s a funny story, at his deposition, Rick was asked what record he was known for and he said, “Get A Job”, and then, for some reason, they wanted to know who owned the Master Recording—maybe they were fishing for some connection between him the Shangri-Las that would disqualify his testimony; so Rick said, “Bell Records, by virtue of stealing it legally.” And one of the lawyers said, “That’s impossible on the face of it!” And the Shangri-Las lawyer said, “Do you want Mr. Lewis to explain ‘adverse possession’ to you?”

Ha-ha! OK, Shana, find me “Remember: Walking In The Sand”.

Check!

Ladies and Gentlemen, the real Shangri-Las!