The Story: Don't eat the fruit in the garden, Eden,, It wasn't in God's natural plan., You were only a rib,, And look at what you did,, To Adam, the father of Man.
The Story: You smell like goat, I'll see you in hell
Flashback!
Was reminiscing w/ an ol' bud "G" (short for Greg)
about the weird stuff from our childhoods in NJ as
a possible entry in an ish of WEIRD NJ (natch), &
we traded & bounced around anecdotal accounts of
strange people, crazy men & women, possible
"ghosks", "flying saucers", etc. the staple of
late night talk radio shows, radio that, alas!,
once used to play ♪music♫.
Anyway, was recounting going up to the Eagle Rock
Reservation in West Orange NJ overlooking T.
Edison's "Black Mariah" studio, as well as the
rest of the Oranges, Newark, Harrison, Kearny,
etc., & a spectacular view of the NYC skyline, &
about how in 1967 we (mi familia) were lO-Oking
through the pay-as-you-view binocular device & a
sudden Summer rain swept through the area (w/o the
neat Johnny Rivers' tune) consequently we had to
seek shelter in a jiffy, under the many trees in
Eagle Rock Park while waiting for the downpour to
stop.
Luckily no thunder & ↯lighting↯, but...
Rain stopped & everything was like ruined for the
folks who were grilling wieners, burgers, B-B-Q
chicken, ribs, chops, & other carnivore treats at
the campgrounds. In their haste of getting out of
there some left items that seemed to be ruined,
like paperback books, magazines, & most were
indeed soggy, drenched, but fortune smiled as
there was a stack of LIFE & LOOK mags that were
safely on one of those red 'n' white plastic
checkerboard pattern tablecloths, under one of the
largest trees w/ ample branches, lots of leaves, &
except for the mag on top, a LOOK, & some of the
bottom, they were relatively unscathed, & among
them was a LIFE ish featuring Charles Addams
having a contest over what the new "Addams Family"
addition would be named (Pubert?). Then more
interestingly was the LIFE w/ UFO pictures that
were really something to see, IN COLOR, & hauled
these ol' mags back to the car (under my Mom's
protests) to read on the way home via Eagle Rock
Rd. intersecting Pleasant Valley Way, for indeed
that was what the song was about, Pleasant Valley
Way in West Orange NJ, as super-singer/songwriter
Carole King lived there at the time the song was
written (but I was unaware of this in '67 of
course, nor could care less, at age 10).
One of the post POPular Rock songs written by one
of the most prolific & talented Rock songwriters
(going back to NYC's Brill Bldg. days) for the
most POPular (some would say "pre-Fab") Rock
groups since the U.K.'s Beatles, right around the
corner from Eagle ROCK.
Suburbia.
Flashforward! So now "G" tells me he had tickets
to see The Monkees in concert in PA recently, and
he did, they were quite good even after 45 (!)
years, so curious I asked if they performed
"Pleasant Valley Sunday" & he indicated "Yeah",
but then added that he didn't know that the lyrics
for "Pleasant Valley Sunday" weren't part French.
French? Huh, wha?!
Well he always thought the line was like Beatles
lyrics for the (aforementioned) "Michelle", partly
French or French sounding, as he thought for the
past 44 years was "...another Pleasant Valley
Sunday, here in status in Boullé...", thinking
that they were referring to writer, Pierre Boullé,
author of "The Planet Of The Apes", known in the
original French as, "La Planète des singes" &
translated in 1963 for UK publication as (ta-da!)
"Monkey Planet", 5 years before the Charleton
Heston cult-movie phenom.
Coincidence or just...weird?
I'm still incredulous, and not sure if I'm fully
conscious!
And it's Boulle NOT "Boullé" w/ an ac'cent.
Now that that's cleared up, feel like whistling
the "Colonel Bogey* March" from that other Boulle-
based classic movie "The Bridge On The River
Kwai".
*But as to why "bogey" (singular) — in 1914?
Let no man tell, I'm no foo...
"...I can see it now...whatever this thing is it's
big...two cylindrical projections on top, one
below...purpose undetermined...here in status-
symbol land..."
Submitted by
Submitted on
7/9/2011 1:56 pm
Age it happened
54
Better than original?
No
Convinced others you were right?
No
Was partying involved?
No
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Like your STAR TREK "Tomorrow Is Yesterday" ending, incidentally just went to the Krauser's
C_G_Jungle Apr 19, 2014 11:55 am
Ya got me @ "Paperback Writer" already. Is this like a "knock-knock" joke?
Betelgeuse Jun 26, 2013 11:44 am
"♪We're so sorry, Uncle Albert Salami...♫", BTW wasn't he related to or also worked for— Sgt. Pepperoni?
Betelgeuse Sep 17, 2012 1:08 pm
Man, you and your pal captured the '60s perfectly with The Monkees, Planet Of The Apes, UFOs, even a Star Trek episode. Captain Mantell, Foo Fighters, got that too.
Serendipitydoo Aug 30, 2011 1:59 pm
Krauser's in West Orange NJ, on the corner of Harrison Avenue & Kirk Street. "number 9...number 9...number 9..." Happy UFOing!
C_G_Jungle Apr 19, 2014 12:02 pm