Silly Photo to Fill Space- A Day Without Shoes 2013

Today is the one day of the year where George Jetson can act like Fred Flintstone and go into work barefoot to recognize the plight of starving children in Honduras and Zimbabwe, but we imagine Cosmo Spacely would not appreciate the gesture, as it is 'One Day Without Shoes' Day.

Of course, for those of you who actually reside in Honduras and Zimbabwe, we should point out that we are making references to two vintage American cartoons of yesteryear: "The Flintstones" and "The Jetsons."

But, since the world is literally becoming a smaller place, we expect many of you in Honduras and Zimbabwe- hopefully all of you have at least one pair of shoes, are familiar with those animated entities.

We do appreciate the cause, but since one of us here had a tetanus scare as a child for walking barefoot and stepping on a nail, we are not personally participating in this global cause/event today.

And, we hope you like this image of two barefoot lovers in the rain, which would also be great for a community theatre production of Neil Simon's "Barefoot in the Park;" it was surprisingly tough to find a great photograph for this entry!

Links:

http://www.onedaywithoutshoes.com

High School of the Week- Oxford High School (Mississippi)

Since Oxford High School in Oxford, Ms., goes by the nickname of The Chargers, we thought we'd post an entry with an image of Captain Marvel (aka 'Shaazam!') to be cheeky (nothing new for us!).

The school, which is located in the same town as the University of Mississippi where author John Grisham hails from, plays Gentry High School at home tonight.

Michael Martin is the principal of Oxford High School, and on the school's web site he quotes Ralph Waldo Emerson: "The secret of education is in respecting the pupil."

We are also featuring an entry devouted to Ithaca High School in Ithaca, NY, on our other blog (it is also in a collegetown as Cornell University is located there).

I came up with the idea to post entries for schools from Mississipi and New York because I recently quoted playwrights Tennessee Williams and Neil Simon on the same day. (Williams is deceased, Simon is alive and well in his eighties). They are from those two states respectively.

Quote of the Week- James Baldwin

We are actually quoting playwrights today, but even though the late James Baldwin
(1924-1987) is best known as a poet, he wrote a number of acclaimed plays including "The Amen Corner" (1954).

Ironically, he went to DeWitt Clinton High School in The Bronx where Neil Simon, last week's subject for our Quote of the Week, also went to school. Baldwin graduate in 1942 while Simon graduated from DeWitt in 1944. Playwright Frank Gilroy ("The Subject Was Roses") also went to the high school which is where many, many famous people (Stan Lee, Will Eisner) graduated from.

Here is the quote from Baldwin:

"A child cannot be taught by anyone who despises him, and a child cannot afford to be fooled."

Quotes of the Week- Neil Simon

For those of us on the east coast of les etats unis, a venture to San Diego might be very difficult, but for those who venture or reside there, The Old Globe Theatre in San Diego will be performing two acclaimed Neil Simon plays at the same time!

Both "Brighton Beach Memoirs" and "Broadway Bound" will be staged there from Sept. 14-Nov. 7.

There is also a Neil Simon Festival in Cedar City, Utah, which is also quite far from the New York settings of Simon's play. They have already announced their 2011 schedule even though the plays will not be performed until the July 14-Aug. 11 production run. The plays are two from Simon "Barefoot in the Park" and "Rumors," and one from the late Larry Shue "The Nerd," which is perhaps one of the funniest plays I've ever read (have yet to see it performed!).

Simon turned 83 on the Fourth of July.

Here is the quote from the man who also wrote "The Odd Couple" and "Plaza Suite:"

"Take care of him. And, make him feel important. And if you can do that, you'll have a happy and wonderful marriage. Like two out of ten couples."