Mountain Views News, Combined Edition Saturday, August 31, 2019

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Mountain Views-News Saturday, August 31, 2019 

WALKING SIERRA MADRE - The Social Side by Deanne Davis


“If all the cars in the United States were placed end to end, it would 

probably be Labor Day weekend.” 

Doug Larson

“Labor Day is a great opportunity to reflect on what you failed to 
accomplish this summer.”

“I love Labor Day; what other day do you get to celebrate work 
without actually doing any!”

Maxine

Labor Day in the United States is an annual holiday to celebrate 
the achievements of workers. It has its origins in the labor union 
movement, specifically the eight-hour day movement, which 
advocated eight hours for work, eight hours for recreation, and 
eight hours for rest. Unless, of course, you happen to be a mother 
and this particular holiday becomes laughable as meals, laundry 
and the children’s eternal battle cry: “I’m bored! There’s nothing to 
do here! What is there to eat!” rings out endlessly.

For many people, including John, my college football loving 
husband, now residing in heaven, it was the start...finally...of the 
college football season. I made sure we had plenty of Doritos and 
the TV screen was dusted as Labor Day Saturday was an important 
day. It still is, friends and neighbors. Today, Auburn vs. Oregon, 
Georgia at Vanderbilt, Clemson vs. Georgia Tech, Northwestern at 
Stanford and USC at Fresno State are just a few of the matches to 
be seen this weekend. I don’t watch football anymore, but I sure 
enjoyed all the games John and I watched together. When we were 
first married, I had never taken a second look at football but as time 
went by, I realized I had two choices – have you ever noticed, there 
are always two choices – I could either continue spending all those 
hours by myself or I could learn to enjoy football. I chose football 
and was always glad I had made that choice as we had many lively 
conversations about who was playing, what their quarterback was 
doing wrong, what bonehead play had just been run for the seventh 
time in a row, and much woo-hooing over touchdowns. USC was 
always his first and favorite most beloved team, as he was a USC 
graduate, but we liked a lot of other teams, too. Ladies out there, if 
your sweetie is a football fan, go sit with him. You’ll be glad you did. 
Trust me!

Labor Day weekend is also a great time to barbeque and a char-
broiled burger at halftime is pretty close to perfect. We always had 
potato salad but my grandmother made a macaroni salad I’ve been 
thinking about lately. Here’s her recipe:

Louise’s Macaroni Salad

16 oz. elbow macaroni

2 big dill pickles or 4-5 smaller ones

2 small cans pimentos

2 onions

4 hard boiled eggs

Mayonnaise – the full fat type, not one of the light ones

Celery Salt

Pepper 

Salt Paprika

Boil macaroni till al dente, drain and set aside to cool. Chop pickles, 
onions, pimento and eggs.

Add seasonings, mayo and mix. Chill overnight to give the flavors 
time to blend with each other.. This is really delicious. Give it a try. 

My grandmother, Louise Pitzer Sessions, was born in Virginia, 
lived part of her childhood in Texas before eventually ending up in 
California with three children, one of whom was my mother. Louise 
considered herself a southern lady and, as such, never revealed her 
age. None of us really knew how old she was, but her macaroni salad 
was terrific. Happy Labor Day!

Stay cool, dear friends and neighbors and hydrate, hydrate, hydrate! 
Looking forward to fall, pumpkins and cooler weather. Starbucks 
has Pumpkin Lattes starting August 27th!

“Sunrises & Sunflowers Speak Hope” 

is a great gift for yourself or someone you love! 

Look for it on my book page: Amazon.com: Deanne Davis 

Star of Wonder the CD is now on TuneCore! Take a look!

Blog: www.authordeanne.com

Follow me on Twitter, too! https://twitter.com/@playwrightdd

 “A Tablespoon of Love, A Tablespoon of Laughter”

is also available on my Amazon book page.

DEANNE DAVIS IS A LONG TIME MOUNTAIN VIEWS 
CONTRIBUTOR AND SUPPORTER WHO KEEPS ON 
WRITING EVEN THOUGH SHE HAS MOVED TO 
ARIZONA!


KATIE Tse....This and That

STILL THE END OF THE WORLD

 
I’m sorry to say I’ve finally succumbed to 
the pressure of recycling an old article in the 
interest of time, etc. But at least I kept my 
resolution of not recycling old stuff for eight 
whole months, that’s pretty good! This one is 
one of my favorites, not because it’s Pulitzer 
material or anything, I just like my picture of 
Vincent Price with rabbit ears.

 You recall the 2007 film “I am Legend” 
with Will Smith. What you might not have 
known (unless you already read this article) 
is that it was based on a Richard Matheson novel of the same 
name, and there was an earlier film adaptation of it titled “The 
Last Man on Earth.” 

 Starring Vincent Price in all his campy glory, this 1964 gem 
combines zombies, romance, and the special effects of low budget 
film making into one irresistibly cheesy package. Shot in Italy, 
mostly with Italian-speaking actors, the voices don’t quite sync 
with the lips. But that just makes it all the more deliciously corny. 
“The Last Man on Earth” is considered to be the precursor to the 
1971 “The Omega Man,” the latter shot with a significantly larger 
budget. Those guys could afford Charlton Heston.

 The premise is familiar to zombie fans. An airborne pathogen 
is spreading across continents, leaving infection and death in its 
wake. After the disease has run its course, victims turn into the 
walking dead. But these particular night walkers don’t conform 
to our modern zombie stereotype. 

 Although they have the classic zombie dead pan expression 
and stiff gait, they also possess vampire-like qualities. They are 
repelled by garlic and their reflection in mirrors. Like Bram 
Stoker’s “Dracula,” they are most effectively killed by impaling 
a wooden stake through the heart. Also, these zombies can speak 
simple phrases (e.g., “Come out, Morgan! We know you’re in 
there!”). They’re too articulate to be true zombies, but too crude 
to be vampires. Everyone knows that vampires are sexy and 
well-spoken, typically with a British accent.

 The story begins with Robert Morgan (Price) exiting his 
mirrored and garlic-laden home to drive around collecting the 
latest crop of bodies. As with most zombie flicks, there’s a period 
of gestation between death and “turning.” Morgan’s task is made 
more humorous by the fact that the dummy bodies weighed 
approximately 15 pounds. He effortlessly tosses them into his 
50’s station wagon, not bothering to even close the tailgate. 
‘Cause heck, they’re not gettin’ out! 

 After he’s got a full load of them, he heads to “The Pit,” a 
perpetually smoking zombie landfill. He dons a gas mask (left 
over from “Plan 9 from Outer Space”), douses the wrapped, staked 
bodies with gas, and chucks them in. On the way home, Morgan 
replenishes his mirrors and monitors his garlic garden. At night 
the zombies gather outside his house to weakly throw stones and 
beat against his boarded up doors and windows. Morgan plays a 
record, attempting to drown 
out their voices, and tries to 
sleep.

 One day, he spots a 
disheveled, but otherwise 
normal-looking woman 
walking though a field. 
She’s frightened of him, but 
he convinces her to come 
home with him. Once 
subdued, the woman, Ruth, 
asks how Morgan survived. 
He explains that years 
ago he was bitten by a bat 
infected with the vampire 
virus. The bat’s system 
strained the toxin before 
it entered his body, thus 
giving him immunity. (This 
is one of those moments 
when you must willingly 
suspend your disbelief with 
a trusting “If you say so.”)

 Over coffee, Morgan 
begins to suspect that his lovely guest is infected. A potent whiff 
of garlic proves his theory correct. Ruth flees the room and 
starts to inject herself, but is interrupted by Morgan. She tells 
him that she, and her people, are infected, but keep the virus at 
bay through regular injections of treated blood plus vaccine (I 
didn’t understand that, but then science was never my strong suit. 
Apparently it wasn’t the screenwriter’s strength either.). 

 Ruth warns Morgan that her people have plotted to kill him. 
Overcome by exhaustion, she falls asleep on his couch. While 
she’s knocked out, Morgan hooks up a transfusion of his own 
blood into hers. In his kitchen laboratory he discovers that 
the transfusion has cured her! Unfortunately, the “Infected 
Resistance” captures Morgan after a long chase, and harpoons 
him to the altar in a church. “You’re freaks!” he shouts, “I’m a 
man --the last man!” Ruth cradles him in her arms as he dies. 
(I’m sorry I gave away the ending --oops. But you knew it was 
going to be something like that.) 

 Yet we’re left with a sense of hope as Ruth leaves the church 
hugging her freshly injected arm. They killed the last man, but 
Ruth’s blood holds the promise of a cure. The morals of the 
story are: 1. Eat lots of garlic (seriously, it’s anti-carcinogenic), 
2. Don’t pick up strange women, 3. Don’t go home with strange 
men, and 4. Give blood, but with discretion.




Katie is another long time contributor that we owe a big 
THANKS to!


Mountain Views News 80 W Sierra Madre Blvd. No. 327 Sierra Madre, Ca. 91024 Office: 626.355.2737 Fax: 626.609.3285 Email: editor@mtnviewsnews.com Website: www.mtnviewsnews.com