Recently my Car Talk colleague Helen Jen has been experiencing the joys of the Los Angeles Municipal Bus System. She has resorted to this deperate act since her car is getting repaired. She listened to me waxing rhapsodically about my time riding the busses when I first hit town thrity years ago. So she created a funny entry on her blog today.

http://helenjenart.blogspot.com/2007/09/conversation-about-la-bus-system.html
The older man I'm talking to in the 1977 image is Don Duckwall, during my first job interview at Disney. Yes, that was really his name. I recall after being rejected thinking to myself " %$#! If you had been born with the name Popeye, you wouldn't have a job!" Back then, the joke among us young shavetails was Step 1-Fly to LA. Step 2-Apply at Disney for a job. Step 3- Get rejected. Step 4- Then get jet lag. I think I was in that office within 24 hours of landing.
And I took the RTD # 86 bus from Studio City to Burbank.



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Birthdays: Alexander the Great -356 BC, Upton Sinclair, Jelly Roll Morton, Red Auerbach, Guy Lafluer, Fernando Rey, Ann Meara, Rachel Roberts, Jonathan Hardy,Fran Drescher, Sophia Loren is 73

356BC- The Great Temple of Artemis of Ephesus was destroyed by fire. It was said to be the work of a lunatic arsonist from Hailicarnassus. The temple had been built as a gift to the goddess by Croesus the Lydian who was so had so much wealth the phrase “To be as rich as Croesus “ is still in use today. Why had the Goddess Artemis would allow her house to be consumed so cruelly? The priests explained that she was probably too busy overseeing the birth of Alexander the Great in Macedon to keep a watch on her house. The Ephesians rebuilt the huge temple and 400 year later Saint Paul was thrown out of it for preaching his weird new religion. The cult statue of Artemis or Diana had dozens of breasts, which some describe as maybe bull testicles. They are symbols of fertility.

1670- English poet John Milton published his last works “Paradise Regained” and “Samson Agonistes”. He was blind but dictated to a secretary who wrote down his poems. When he felt the inspiration he would call him by saying:” Come. I need to be milked.”

1803- Irish patriot Robert Emmett executed for leading an abortive uprising against the British. His final words became famous: “ Let no man write my epitaph. When my country takes her place among the nations of the Earth, then, and not till then, Let my epitaph be written.”

1814- A new poem by Georgetown lawyer Francis Scott Key was first published in the Baltimore Patriot. First called the Defense of Fort McHenry. Keys brother in law Judge Nicholson suggested it sounded good sung to the tune To Anacreon in Heaven’. Soon everyone was singing it as the Star Spangled Banner.

1839- The steamer British Queen first brought news of the invention of Photography and the Daguerreotype process to the U.S.. Soon everyone is happily snapping away.

1853- Elisha Otis revolutionized office building construction by demonstrating his elevator that didn’t fall when the cable was cut.

1944- Now that the Pacific War was winding down martial law was lifted on the Hawaiian Islands. It had been imposed since Pearl Harbor. One tragic result for the servicemen was that the first thing the restored chief of Honolulu police did was shut down the brothels of Waikiki. The area known as Hotel Street was ringed with houses of ill repute servicing servicemen for the duration. One sailor reminisced: I got stewed, screwed and tatooed, all in one night.” The quarters most famous hooker, Jean O’Hara said: “ I think I slept with the entire US Navy.”

1952- CBS premiered the Jackie Gleason Show- The Honeymooners".

1955- The Phil Silvers Show, originally entitled You’ll Never Get Rich” debuted on CBS. His character Sgt. Bilko was later the inspiration for the Hanna Berbera Show Top Cat.

1973- Musician Jim Croce (30) died in a charter plane crash near Natchitoches Louisiana.

1984- The Cosby Show premiered.