Iron & Smoke
RIP the Iron Shiek, 81, one of pro wrestling’s all-time greats. He was such much fun in and out of the ring, his promos often hilarious, mixing so well with announcer the late Mean Gene Okerlund. Born Hossein Khosrow Ali Vaziri in Iran, he competed internationally as an amateur and was a bodyguard for the Shah for a few years. He moved to America circa 1970. In ’71 he was the Amateur Athletic Union Greco-Roman wrestling champion and gold medalist at 180.5 pounds. He turned pro in ’72 and worked several circuits successfully under various monikers. In ’83 promoter Vince McMahon elevated him to WWF champion. His reign lasted a month, as McMahon brought back Hulk Hogan, a shrewd move that resulted in an explosion of popularity for the Sport of Kings. The Sheik later became tag team champion with Nikolai Volkoff, the pair riling fans with their anti-American shtick. He wrestled until 2010, then made promotional appearances. Somewhere along the line he fell under the influence of cocaine and had a devil of a time kicking his addiction. He married American Caryl J. Peterson. They had two daughters. Tragically, one was murdered by her boyfriend at 26. He was an original. Thanks for the fun, Sir. Photo from Google Images:
Whenever I see an author’s name that seems Italian-American, I’m intrigued and will give one of his books a shot provided its length is reasonable. Born in London in 1942, Nicholas Delbanco earned a Bachelor’s at Harvard and a Master’s at Columbia. There are 14 novels, two short story collections and nine works of non-fiction listed on his Wiki page. He has taught at several colleges and was director of the MFA Program and the Hopwood Awards Program at the University of Michigan until his retirement in 2015. A copy of The Vagabonds, published in 2004, recently came my way. Told in non-linear style, it’s the story of a family, a brother and his two older sisters, whose roots are in upstate NY. They are reunited by the death of their mom, who was in her late 70’s and who has left them stock in GE they hadn’t a clue existed. The shares date to 1916, bequeathed to their grandmother by Henry Ford, Thomas Edison and Harvey Firestone, a traveling troupe referred to as The Vagabonds, who for several years explored regions of America in late summer/early fall. Firestone’s righthand man, fictional, seduces the then 16-year-old. She is not coerced. It seems a young person’s folly. She is by far the most interesting character in the narrative. She bears a son she adores, and who becomes a victim of the Spanish Flu epidemic. Here are her thoughts: “That was when the world went dark; that was when the great joke of existence came clear…” And later recalling the night that changed her life: “… theirs was a prologue to nothing and drama with no second act…” She is dead by 40 of cancer she does not fight. Unfortunately, those two haunting moments are the only points where the novel soars. The rest is mundane, although true to life. I found the prose difficult, overwritten. The 294 pages of the hardcover edition read like less only because there are so many blanks between chapters. Ten users at Amazon have rated The Vagabonds, forging to a consensus of 3.2 on a scale of five. I’ll go with 2.25. This is another work from someone of high literary rank that makes me feel I have no idea what good writing entails. Photo from GI:
Is the PGA-LIV merger a good thing? It probably is financially, but any deal with the Saudis these days seems misguided. They seem an enemy of the USA. Trump believes the pact is beautiful, and he’s usually right. I hope I’m wrong.
Love this cartoon from Mike Ramirez:
It was probably dumb to do the book shop today, given the effect of the Canadian wildfires. I wore a mask outdoors for the first time since the early days of the pandemic. I doubt it helped. To my eyes, the atmosphere has a yellow tint. It seems apocalyptic. Anyway, my thanks to the elderly woman who did a swap of Russian books, and to the young man who purchased one; and to Alice, who bought Angel Time by Ann Rice; and to the woman who chose With This Ring: The Ultimate Guide to Wedding Jewelry by Penny Proddow, Marion Fasel, et al., a pictorial that had languished for months; and to Dina, who selected The Good Earth by Pearl S. Buck; and to the gentleman who took home The Devil’s Device: Robert Whitehead and the History of the Torpedo by Edwyn Gray.
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