King Remembrance, Opera, and Teeth

Yikes -- now Fritzy needs dental work. Papa discovered two loose teeth last week, but we had to wait until this current round of $100 antibiotics was completed before we could schedule him for surgery. Tomorrow morning he gets a full dental -- with all the requisite testing required for an old dog to have anesthetic. We can count on at least another $400+ going on the vet's new limo

Tonight, however, we are meeting friends to experience opera night at a local upscale restaurant. Our little cowtown actually has a Puccini group -- young performers who go around and sing Tosca and Turandot and La Boheme. We read that a trendy mid-town restaurant had them perform on the third Monday of every month - and of course, we had to make reservations. Hubby won't eat the food (they have an online menu that is clearly not made for his tastes) but we hope the singing will be lots of fun.

Finally -- don't forget that today we celebrate Martin Luther King's birthday. If you're home tonight the PBS stations are broadcasting a show that is worthy of King's birthday. Here's what my friend, and attorney, sent in an e-mail:

Don't miss tonight's PBS show (9 p.m. here in the Heartland) on Sargent Shriver, JFK’s brother-in-law, Director of the Peace Corps, McGovern’s 1972 running mate, etc. I recently read that Shriver was among the most liberal of all the Kennedy advisers. During the 1960 campaign, Martin Luther King was imprisoned in Georgia or Alabama on a ridiculous probation violation. Just a couple of the Kennedy people wanted JFK to do something, to say something. One of them called Sargent Shriver because they knew he would feel the same way.

Shriver agreed it would be good, but said that the major JFK advisers would veto it. So, Shriver waited in the evening until they all left. He went with JFK to his hotel room. When the two of them were all alone, Shriver told Kennedy that he had the phone number to Coretta Scott King and suggested that JFK call her just to say that he was thinking about her and that he knew this was difficult and he regretted that. JFK said, “What the hell, that sounds like the decent thing to do.” So, the call was made, and Mrs. King was deeply touched. Up to that point, MLK, Sr. had been supporting Nixon, but this call changed all that. That call turned out to be huge in swinging a lot of public opinion to JFK.