Don't stop dancing: it gets weirder.

You know how sometimes it seems there's nothing much happening to blog about?
Right now I'm in the opposite position---there's TOO much to write about!
Where to start?

I. Johnny Jones, Song-and-Dance Patriot 

I'll start with a small thing:
I found the origin of Johnny Jones, a stuffed toy giraffe I'd loved to pieces when I was little, named by a parent, not me. 
Recently I was wondering where his name came from––and felt sad that there is no one left alive to ask.

Well, just now I was looking up songs I want to sing to keep my spirits up-- ROUSING SONGS--including songs from one of my mother's favorite movies, Yankee Doodle Dandy (1942). 

In the movie, Jimmy Cagney plays vaudeville song-and-dance man George M. Cohan. Cagney, famous as a tough guy, started in vaudeville himself--he was a dancer!
In the movie’s song-skit "Yankee Doodle Dandy", he is a jockey named Johnny Jones.

That's it! I am absolutely sure that's who my mother named my toy giraffe after--it fits her in every way.

Then I listened to "You're a Grand Old Flag".
Geez, it made me cry. 
The old-fashioned patriotism, with freed Black people singing to Lincoln; nurses and factory workers marching in unity to support WWII soldiers (Antifa!); and in the end, Cohan in uniform holding hands--my favorite move--with his flag-draped sisters.

Also, there's something of a Girlette (one of the Duquette family) about Jimmy Cagney. 

Here--a terrific 1-minute dance--Cagney & Ruby Keeler in the "Shanghai Lil" number in Footlight Parade (1933).
He does a little Moon Walk!

What happened to this Grand Old Flag spirit? 
I even find myself quoting Ronald Reagan, a bad president who promoted that American spirit--and worked for undocumented immigrants to become US citizens. (Not only fulfilling the American Dream, but far, far cheaper than ICE's $ 8 billion/year. 
I'm not making that up: ice.gov/about-ice#)

 

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II. Whenever you feel afraid... just whistle a happy tune!

I'm so glad I'd already started to prepare myself with some Tools for These Times.

Yesterday I was standing by the door when one of our most emotionally fragile customers came in--as he does most days.

There was a tank outside (more on this in a minute) and heavily armed people in uniform milling around (not ICE!)---and this guy looked more pale and nervous than usual.

"Do you have any good drugs?" he said to me.

I laughed. "Sorry."

"You know I'm kidding," he said. "I don't do any drugs or drink since I was in prison."

"I know," I said--"You've done a lot to heal!' [He has told me of his childhood in hell.] "What I've been doing lately is singing..." 
And I started to sing "Climb Ev'ry Mountain"--loudly.

He smiled (wanly) and said, "That's not a bad idea."

I count that a victory.
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III. About that tank

Okay, it wasn't a tank. A friend who'd been in the military told me it's an "armored personnel carrier".
But to this civilian, this is a tank, and it was outside the thrift store yesterday, full of people in military garb carrying machine guns.

One is standing in the turret (turret?) here--looking at us!


But they were Friendlies, not ICE. Federal agents from Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms, looking for stolen guns.

Everyone at the store was so relieved, we were kind of giddy:

"Oh, whew! It's just ATF!"

But there's a weird ICE story behind it:

After ICE agents shot that Venezuelan guy in the leg the other night, they left three of their vehicles behind (in a rough neighborhood) – – and people broke into them and stole the weapons that were stashed in boxes – – (’cause you leave your high-powered weapons unattended in your car?) – – and then beat up the vehicles. 🤣

What idiots the agents must be. Or, you know, to be generous, how poorly trained they must be. 
"Count the kids before you leave the highway rest stop."

BELOW: Posted on a light pole at my bus stop:
"Welcome to Minneapolis! Enjoy your Stay" 
Charlie Brown is ICE.

Anyway, those are the stolen guns the ATF were looking for in a house across the street from my workplace.
I guess they didn’t find them because the FBI's offering a $100,000 reward for them. 

And that's my report of the moment because friends are coming over for coffee. I am going to work late, to avoid a staff meeting.
Big Boss and I had a good talk after the tank incident, but I just don't want to risk my reaction to his leadership style in meetings.

Polish your tap shoes, ya'll!