DR. SEUSS GOES TO WAR

By Linda Lee Greene, Author & Artist

My day began standing butt-naked before the medicine cabinet mirror pitching my own face as I shaved. A friend of a friend of a friend had wrangled me an interview at PM Newspaper in Manhattan at 10:00 this morning. The friend of a friend of a friend scribbled the name of the guy I was to see on a piece of paper that was folded up in the pocket of my suit pants. I was going in cold. I didn’t know the guy and not enough about the newspaper. All I knew was that it’s a left-leaning, daily publication that some say is a communist rag sheet. I don’t care about that. All I care about is that it’s chock full of photos and drawings about the war. That’s what I‘m gonna do. I mean, I want to draw war cartoons. I even have an idea for a comic strip about a sailor who escaped the Jap’s bombs at Pearl Harbor two months ago.

My bad stomach got me mustered out of Navy boot camp after four weeks of training, and I need a job bad. Ma and Pop are patient as Job with me, but I know they can’t afford to keep me much longer. Three weeks and I still haven’t landed a job. Maybe mine is a pipe dream, but I gotta give it one more try. If PM doesn’t put me on today, I promised Ma I’ll take whatever I can get. I’ll even take that job washing dishes at Cholly’s Diner if I have to. It wouldn’t be too bad. Cholly’s is just up the street from our apartment building in Flushing. I can walk it, and Cholly already told me he’d give me hours so I’d have good daylight to do my drawings on the side.

Yesterday, PM featured a clever cartoon by Dr. Seuss that I cut out and taped to the top of the medicine cabinet mirror. Everyone knows him as the children’s story author, and I admit it was a little shocking to see a war cartoon under his signature. ‘Waiting for the Signal From Home…’ it’s captioned above an endless procession of Japanese Americans on the west coast of the United States who are portrayed as loyalists to Imperial Japan. The cartoon leaves nothing to the imagination in terms of Dr. Seuss’ stance that Japanese Americans are a threat, ready and willing to commit sabotage against the United States in the name of their mother country. I don’t know how I feel about the Japanese American situation, but I guess the cartoon is in line with official government policy on World War II, as well as the thinking of lots of Americans, maybe most of them. Just hours after the bombing of Pearl Harbor by Japan on December 7^th of last year, the scuttlebutt is that the FBI started rounding up Japanese Americans and shipping them to ‘relocation’ facilities in Montana, New Mexico, and North Dakota. Pop says those places are called ‘Internment Camps’. And it ain’t just the Japs. Germans and Italians are running for cover, too—and like rats are ducking into any hole they can find here in the five boroughs of New York City. And I guess it’s the same scene no matter where you go in America’s forty-eight.

Americans fear for their lives and have the jitters bad. We hear that the paranoia on the west coast runs especially high where attacks by the Japs are expected.  The perimeters of buildings are stacked deep with sandbags, and blackouts and drills are common. We ain’t got it any better here. German U-boats crawl along the shore of the east coast like sneaky sharks and take out a ship now and then.

A pretty secretary pointed me to a chair in the hallway outside the office of the guy I came to PM Newspaper to pitch. Propped up on the floor against my jiggling foot is my portfolio jammed full of my drawings. I got a lot to say about this war. I just hope that guy gives me the break I need. The door opens suddenly and a noxious plume of cigar smoke snakes into my nostrils. The secretary thrusts her hand over her nose, and I watch in amazement as green nausea pulsates up her throat and into her face. Poor girl! I think to myself. I turn my head back to the door of the office and a tall, patrician-looking guy, the guy named Ingersoll, I suppose, that I came here to see, reaches out his hand to a stooped, Jewish-looking guy. Ingersoll says, “Ted, I can’t tell you how much I appreciate this new batch of war cartoons. I’ll look through them after lunch and give you a call.” My heart takes off like a fighter plane and thunders in my chest. Jeez! The Jewish-looking guy is Dr. Seuss—Theodore Seuss Geisel himself, in person, not six steps away from me. It’s gotta be a sign! This job is mine! I know it as well as I know my own name.©

The above is a work of fiction by multi-award-winning author, Linda Lee Greene. It is inspired by a true facet of the life of Theodore Seuss Geisel (Dr. Seuss).

Image: Dr. Seuss’ cartoon: Waiting for the Signal From Home…

Paperbacks and eBooks by Linda Lee Greene are available for purchase through Amazon. An overview of her latest novel, A CHANCE AT THE MOON is below:

Amid the seductions of Las Vegas, Nevada and an idyllic coffee plantation on Hawai’i’s Big Island, a sextet of opposites converge within a shared fate: a glamorous movie-star courting distractions from her troubled past; her shell-shocked bodyguards clutching handholds out of their hardscrabble lives; a dropout Hawaiian nuclear physicist gambling his way back home; a Navajo rancher seeking cleansing for harming Mother Earth; and from its lofty perch, the Hawaiian’s guardian spirit conjured as his pet raven, conducting this symphony of soul odysseys.

Was it chance or destiny’s hand behind the movie-star and gambler’s curious encounter at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas? The cards fold, their hearts open, and a match strikes, flames that sizzle their hearts and souls. Can they have the moon and the stars, too? Or is she too dangerous? Is he? Can their love withstand betrayal? Can it endure murder?

While the cards at Caesar’s Palace in Las Vegas fail to distract them from their troubled pasts, on the side, the actress and the gambler play a game of ‘will they won’t they’ romance. Meanwhile, an otherworldly hand also has a big stake in the game. Unexpected secrets unfold brimming with dangerous consequences, and finally, a strange brand of salvation.

Amazon Buy Links:

https://www.amazon.com/CHANCE-AT-MOON-Betrayal-Murder-ebook/dp/B07Z44YN9X/  - EBOOK



https://www.amazon.com/CHANCE-AT-MOON-Betrayal-Murder/dp/169984402X/ - PAPERBACK

              

WORLD WAR II BLACKOUT IS FACTOR IN AIRPLANE CRASH CLAIMING THE LIFE OF ACTRESS, CAROLE LOMBARD

By Linda Lee Greene, Author & Artist

Boy, am I in trouble now! When Clark finds out that I insisted on gambling my life and that of my mother and the others in my entourage on this TWA DC-3 flight on a flip of a coin, he will never forgive me. And how will I get this past God? How will I justify to God that I wagered our precious lives in such a frivolous way to get what I wanted?

God’s fearsome voice, as I stand in front of Him to receive His judgement following the plane’s crash into Potosi Mountain, cuts my soul in two. “Just because you are Carole Lombard, famous movie star of Hollywood’s golden age, goddess of the silver screen whom every woman admires and envies—just because you are married to Clark Gable, the king of Hollywood, you had no right to act in such a flippant way. Yes, you are only 33, and some might chalk up your behavior to your youth, but I, your God, am not sure I am inclined to do so. But, as is My way, I grant you the chance to explain your motives and solicit my forgiveness.”

            What can I say to God? I can only tell the truth as I see it. “We had two choices of transportation from Las Vegas to Los Angeles, God. We could have traveled by train or airplane. But the train was scheduled to leave so much later than the airplane, and I was anxious to get back home.”

            “You are telling me that your desire to get home faster dictated your judgment—that your selfish desire overshadowed the fact that traveling by train is so much safer than doing so by airplane, especially in this age of World War II and your country is on high alert against Japanese bombers? Did you stop to consider that the airplane would have to fly blind in the mandatory blackout across America? Out of concern that the entire western USA is vulnerable to Japanese attack, the lighted beacon system for aircraft is turned off, and the only light on the ground by which the airplane traveled is at Arden, east of Potosi?”

            “The risk occurred to me, God. But it was a wee small voice in my mind compared to the urgent cry in my head to get home. Besides, wouldn’t the pilot have aborted the flight if there had been such danger?”

            “The pilot and his superiors bear guilt for this tragedy, too, Mrs. Gable. But that fact does not excuse your part in it.”

            “But God, you just do not understand. Clark and Lana Turner were shooting another film together and Clark was dewy-eyed over her again. I had to get back to Hollywood and put a stop to the whole thing.”

            “First of all, you did not know for sure that the allegation is true, and second, would arriving a few hours earlier really have made any difference if it is true?”

            “I was just so jealous. I wanted to get to Hollywood and scratch Lana Turner’s eyes out. I couldn’t stand the thought of their spending the night together. I had to get there. Nothing else mattered to me.”

            “Onboard with you were 15 soldiers from the Army Air Force Ferryman Command, warriors in your country’s fight against the Axis enemy. They were returning to the west coast after having delivered aircraft to a new bomber base. The wife of a soldier also lost her life in the airplane crash. Of course, I do not implicate you in those death.”

            “Doesn’t the fact that I was returning home from a tour across the nation in which I raised over two million dollars in War Bonds for the war effort count in my favor, I ask you, God? And it is well known that I have worked tirelessly in humanitarian causes, helping Hollywood’s down and out and advocating for women’s rights.”

            “I can foresee the headlines now, Mrs. Gable. There will be a seductive temptation on the part of the press to label you as a patriot who died in service to her country. I suppose that will have to be part of the mix that I will consider in milling over your case. However, I want you to know that I am not happy with you. Many of my wise children label what you are to face as ‘Karma’. You will not soon make amends for your recklessness. You movie stars are just so spoiled. If I thought it would do any good, I would turn you over my knees and spank you until you call ‘Uncle’. Go! Go! Leave me now. I command you to spend the next hours watching your poor husband’s suffering. See him down there in that saloon on the edge of the crash site swilling booze and smoking cigars in an effort to numb himself of the terrible outcome of this event? Look! Look now and see what you have done!”©

Image: Clark Gable and Carole Lombard, circa 1939

The above is a work of historical fiction by multi-award winning author Linda Lee Greene. It is based on true events. Greene’s eBooks and paperbacks are available for purchase through Amazon. Her latest novel, A CHANCE AT THE MOON is described below:

Amid the seductions of Las Vegas, Nevada and an idyllic coffee plantation on Hawai’i’s Big Island, a sextet of opposites converge within a shared fate: a glamorous movie-star courting distractions from her troubled past; her shell-shocked bodyguards clutching handholds out of their hardscrabble lives; a dropout Hawaiian nuclear physicist gambling his way back home; a Navajo rancher seeking cleansing for harming Mother Earth; and from its lofty perch, the Hawaiian’s guardian spirit conjured as his pet raven, conducting this symphony of soul odysseys.

Was it chance or destiny’s hand behind the movie-star and gambler’s curious encounter at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas? The cards fold, their hearts open, and a match strikes, flames that sizzle their hearts and souls. Can they have the moon and the stars, too? Or is she too dangerous? Is he? Can their love withstand betrayal? Can it endure murder?

While the cards at Caesar’s Palace in Las Vegas fail to distract them from their troubled pasts, on the side, the actress and the gambler play a game of ‘will they won’t they’ romance. Meanwhile, an otherworldly hand also has a big stake in the game. Unexpected secrets unfold brimming with dangerous consequences, and finally, a strange brand of salvation.

Amazon Buy Links:

https://www.amazon.com/CHANCE-AT-MOON-Betrayal-Murder-ebook/dp/B07Z44YN9X/  - EBOOK



https://www.amazon.com/CHANCE-AT-MOON-Betrayal-Murder/dp/169984402X/ - PAPERBACK

A Tale of Two Tales: Your Deeds Reflect in Your Children

The following are based on actual facts, but my friend Yatendra Singh has just added his own language and morale to them to make them more personal and interesting.

 

STORY NUMBER ONE

Many years ago, Al Capone virtually owned Chicago. Capone wasn’t famous for anything heroic. He was notorious for enmeshing the windy city in everything from bootlegged booze and prostitution to murder.

Capone had a lawyer nicknamed “Easy Eddie.” He was Capone’s lawyer for a good reason. Eddie was very good at his craft! In fact, Eddie’s skill at legal maneuvering kept Big Al out of jail for a long time. To show his appreciation, Capone paid Eddie very well. Not only was the money big, but Eddie got special dividends, as well. For instance, he and his family occupied a fenced-in mansion with live-in help and all the conveniences of the day. The estate was so large it filled an entire Chicago city block. Eddie lived the high-life of the Chicago mob and gave little consideration to the atrocities that went on around him.

Eddie did have one soft-spot, however. He had a son whom he loved dearly. Eddie saw to it that his young son had clothes, cars, and a good education. Nothing was withheld. Price was no object. And despite his own involvement with organized crime, Eddie even tried to teach his son right from wrong. Eddie wanted the boy to be a better man than he was. Yet, with all of his wealth and influence, there were two things he couldn’t give his son; he couldn’t pass on a good name or a good example.

One day, Easy Eddie reached a difficult decision. He wanted to rectify wrongs he had done. He decided to go to the authorities and tell the truth about Al “Scarface” Capone, clean up his tarnished name, and thereby offer his son some semblance of integrity. To do this, he would have to testify against The Mob, and he knew the cost would be great. But he testified anyway.

Within the year, Easy Eddie’s life ended in a blaze of gunfire on a lonely Chicago street…But in his eyes, he had given his son the greatest gift he could offer, at the greatest price he could ever pay. Police removed from his pockets a rosary, a crucifix, a religious medallion, and a poem clipped from a magazine. The poem read:

“The clock of life is wound but once, and no man has the power to tell just when the hands will stop, at late or early hour. Now is the only time you own. Live, love, toil with a will. Place no faith in time. For the clock may soon be still.”

STORY NUMBER TWO

World War II produced many heroes. One such man was Lieutenant Commander Butch O’Hare.

He was a fighter pilot assigned to the aircraft carrier Lexington in the South Pacific. One day his entire squadron was sent on a mission. After he was airborne, he looked at his fuel gauge and realized that someone had forgotten to top off his fuel tank. We would not have enough fuel to complete his mission and get back to his ship. His flight leader told him to return to the carrier. Reluctantly, he dropped out of formation and headed back to the fleet.

As he was returning to the mother ship, he saw something that turned his blood cold; a squadron of Japanese aircraft was speeding its way toward the American fleet. The American fighters were gone on a sortie, and the fleet was all but defenseless. He couldn’t reach his squadron and bring them back in time to save the fleet; nor could he warn the fleet of the approaching danger. There was only one thing to do. He must somehow divert them from the fleet.

Laying aside all thoughts of personal safety, he dove into the formation of Japanese planes. Wing-mounted 50 calibers blazed as he charged in, attacking one surprised enemy plan and then another. Butch wove in and out of the now broken formation and fired at as many planes as possible until all his ammunition was finally spent.

Undaunted, he continued the assault. He dove at the planes, trying to clip a wing or tail in hopes of damaging as many enemy planes as possible, rendering them unfit to fly. Finally, the exasperated Japanese squadron took off in another direction. Deeply relieved, Butch O’Hare and his tattered fighter plane limped back to the carrier.

Upon arrival, Butch reported in and related the event surrounding his return. The film from the gun-camera mounted on his plane told the tale. It showed the extent of his daring attempt to protect his fleet. He had, in fact, destroyed five enemy aircraft.

This took place on February 20, 1942, and for that action Butch became the Navy’s first Ace of World War II, and the first Naval Aviator to win the Medal of Honor. A year later, Butch was killed in aerial combat at the age of 29. His hometown would not allow the memory of this WWII hero to fade, and today, O’Hare Airport in Chicago is named in tribute to the courage of this great man.

So, the next time you find yourself at O’Hare International, give some thought to visiting Butch’s memorial displaying a statue of him and his Medal of Honor. It’s located between Terminals 1 and 2.

SO WHAT DO THESE TWO STORIES HAVE TO DO WITH EACH OTHER?

Butch O’Hare was “Easy Eddie’s” son.

Morale: You reap what you sow, and your deeds, whether good or bad, reflect in your children. It’s for you to decide…food for thought!

*****

 

Linda Lee Greene’s novel “Guardians and Other Angels” is at http://goo.gl/imUwKO

Linda’ Lee Greene's novel “Jesus Gandhi Oma Mae Adams,” co-authored with Debra Shiveley Welch is at http://amzn.to/VazHFG