In the Library

In the Library

Noel Laflin

4-3-23

When my father used to head off to the bathroom with a newspaper, magazine, or paperback in hand, he would always announce that he'd be in the library.

If you ever need the WC, or a book, at our house, chose the upstairs powder room and open the wooden doors built into the wall (they stand just a few feet from your feet) that hides a crude ladder one can use to climb up to the trap door in the attic where the furnace resides.

As we always use a regular ladder for such occasional inspections, the hidden wooden steps behind the door were always wasted space - until they were filled with reading material.

My dad would feel right at home in our upstairs, easy-to-reach-a-book mini library, which also provides a handy commode.

Oversleeping with Old Glory

Oversleeping with Old Glory

Noel Laflin

4-2-23

I am seeing posts for the musical 1776 coming to the Ahmanson Theater.

When I was in eighth grade, I was in a junior high school theatrical production involving several diverse themes, the last number being a patriotic one - the one where everyone comes marching across the stage singing and and waving American flags.

Our night on stage was filled with a variety of one acts. Some were humorous, others quite serious, and the last, well, over the top patriotic. And in order to get the patriotism right, we needed a lot of flags for our final act.

Consequently, on the afternoon of the one-night performance, Jack Schlatter, our fearless leader, used his master key and opened twenty empty classroom doors, instructing his minions to run in, grab the obligatory American flag in each room and bring it to the show, which we dutifully did. He said that the flags would be returned before the opening bell on Monday.

The show ended on a high note with all that color on stage.

Teachers directing students to rise and say the pledge of allegiance the following Monday, were a bit perplexed as to where the usual red, white and blue in the corner had mysteriously absconded.

But I bet Jack’s apartment, where the man overslept that morning, was pretty colorful.

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4Meredith Hudson, David Vogel and 2 others