How did the Jack O’ Lantern come to be? Here is my retelling of the Irish fable that got it all started:

A very long time ago there lived an Irish man named Jack. Now Jack was a very stingy man, but cunning as well. Stingy Jack, as he was known in the village, loved to play tricks on everyone. Stingy Jack, the town drunk, ran into the Devil in the local pub. Jack decided to ask the Devil to have a drink with him. Since Jack did not want to pay for his drink (he really was stingy), he asked the Devil to change into a sixpence in exchange for his soul. The Devil, thinking this was a great deal, did as Jack asked. Jack immediately put the sixpence into his pocket next to his silver cross, thus trapping the Devil. Jack decided to free the Devil is the Devil promised that he would not bother Jack for ten years.

After ten years had passed, Jack again meets the Devil. The Devil was anxious to get the soul that he thought was his. Jack convinced the Devil to do him one last favor before departing and asked him to climb the nearest apple tree so that Jack could eat his final meal. The Devil obliged. Once the Devil was up the tree, Jack carved a cross into the trunk, preventing the Devil from coming down from the apple tree. Jack said he would free the Devil if he promised not to try and take his soul again. The Devil agreed.

A few years later, Jack died and was met at the pearly gates. God would not allow Jack to enter heaven because he had been such a stingy man on earth. The Devil did not want him either, still being mad at the tricks that Jack had played on him. The Devil told Jack he had to go back to where he came from. The way back was dark, so Jack asked the Devil to give him a light to find his way. The Devil gave Jack a burning coal from hell to light his way. Jack put the coal in a carved-out turnip. Jack and his lantern have been roaming the earth every since. He was known as Jack of the Lantern, which was later shortened to Jack O’Lantern.

The Irish would carve out turnips every Halloween and later when they arrived in America, found a large quantity of pumpkins that worked as a good substitution.

Henry Thomas played the cute kid Elliott, in E.T. He was born Henry Jackson Thomas, Jr. on September 9, 1971 in San Antonio, Texas. After starring in E.T. he returned to Texas and led a relatively normal child life. After graduating high school he attended Blinn College in Bryan, Texas. In the late 1980’s, Thomas returned to film and has appeared in numerous productions. He also performs in the band, The Blueheelers. He is married and has a daughter.

I was watching the movie with Harrison Ford the other day – Firewall. The movie is ok, a little flimsy on the plot, but what caught my attention is the car. The car was a Chrysler 300 all decked out with Chrysler 300 accessory grill. The car is a nice looking ride. It was actually Harrison Ford that requested they use this particular car in the movie. I wonder if he drives one?

I was watching E.T. last night and started to wonder what happened to Robert MacNaughton who played the oldest brother Michael in the movie. Robert MacNaughton was born December 19, 1966 in New York City. He won a 1983 Young Artist Award for Best Young Supporting Actor in a Motion Picture for his role in E.T. He then made a few made for TV movies and moved to Arizona in 1994 to pursue a career in theater. He gave up acting a few years ago and became a mail handler for the US Postal Service. He is married and has one son. “MacNaughton says his son “has seen the E.T. video a few times. He calls it ‘the movie where Daddy pretends to be a little boy.’ “”

When I was little we used to go fishing with my Grandpa and Grandma all the time. They were both big anglers. I wish now that I would have save some of their old fishing tackle. It seems that there is quite the antique market for old fishing supplies! They had a couple of big tackle boxes with all kinds of neat stuff in it. I hope it just didn’t get thrown away!

There back, but are they better? I remember as a kid in the 60s, my brother getting this gift for Christmas. This game was released by Marx toys in the 1960s. Marx was later acquired by Tyco Toys, which was itself acquired by Mattel in 1997.

The game consisted of two boxers (Red Rocker and Blue Bomber). The boxers were inside a yellow boxing ring. By pushing buttons outside the ring, you could make your robot “box” the other robot. The object – pop up the other guys head! In the television commercials and on the box, the phrase “Knock his block off!” was frequently used.

The Robots had great success. In the late 1990s, Mattel reissued the toy but is was almost one half the size and not as well made. There was also a time when the blue robot’s color was changed to a darker blue and renamed to “Bolt Crusher Bob” and the red robot’s color was changed to silver and renamed “Gear Grinder Greg.”

There is even a Gameboy Advanced Game featuring the robots.

Long before a Penn State football game was ever played, Walter Camp invented football. It really was a combination of soccer and rugby. Walter Camp was a player and coach at Yale University in the 1870s. Walter Camp’s influence came from William Ebb Ellis a Rugby and Soccer player. In 1823, Ellis picked up a soccer ball during a game and ran with it. In 1876, the first attempt to write down football rules was made. Camp was in charge of editing every rule book until his death in 1925.

Las Vegas used to be a dry piece of land out in the desert. It wasn’t until 1941, that the first hotel was built with 63 rooms. What a far cry from the 1,000 + rooms now available at the Excalibur Las Vegas!

Previously inhabited by Native Americans, Mormon Settlers from Salt Lake City traveled there to protect the mail route between Los Angeles and Salt Lake City. They build a 150 square foot fort out of adobe. They also planted fruit trees, grew vegetables and mined for lead. The Fort was eventually abandoned in 1858 due to Indian raids. Part of the fort still stands today.

In 1890, the railroads decided Las Vegas would be a good place for a stop. In 1910, Nevada actually outlawed gambling in the State. This ban lasted for three weeks in Las Vegas where gambling went “underground.” In 1931, a bill was passed to legalize gambling. During the depression, Las Vegas was booming. Employment by the railroads and the Hoover Dam project and legal gambling kept food on people’s table.

During World War II, Las Vegas became more of a resort town. After the war, airmen from the nearby Air Force Base, came to settle in Las Vegas permanently.

After the building of the first hotel in 1941 (El Rancho Vegas), the strip started to take shape. And they have been building there ever since.

John Gavin plays the boyfriend of Marion Crane (Janet Leigh) in the movie Psycho. Gavin was born John Anthony Golenor Pablos on April 8, 1931 in Los Angeles, California. His father’s family was Irish and were land owners in California when it was still under Spanish control. Gavin’s mother was a member of the powerful Pablos family in Mexico.

Gavin graduated from Stanford University with a B.A. in Latin American economic history. He also served in the U.S. Navy in air intelligence from 1952 to 1955.

He started acting in the late 50s and was seen as a prominent leading man. He starred in Imitation of Life, Psycho, Thoroughly Modern Millie and Spartacus, just to name a few. He was supposed to play James Bond after George Lazenby left, but Sean Connery returned to play the role. After Connery’s exit, he was again pegged for the role, but it was decided the role should go to an Englishman instead (Roger Moore).

Gavin was president of the Screen Actor’s Guild from 1971 to 1973 and also had a career on the stage as well.

In 1981, President Ronald Reagan appointment Gavin as US Ambassador to Mexico and he served until 1986. He is now a successful business man.

Gavin has been married to Constance Towers since 1974 and has two children from a previous marriage.

Anthony Perkins plays Norman Bates in the movie Psycho. He is very creepy. I love how he signs Marion Crane in the big, old-fashioned book at the front desk. Now everything is done on a computer or laptop.

Anthony Perkins was born April 4, 1932 in New York City. He moved to Boston after his father’s death in 1942 and later attended Columbia University. He started acting in 1953 and received an Academy Award nomination for his second acting appearance. His role as Norman Bates in Psycho affected his later career and he was very often typecast in American Films, but he did have a successful career in Europe. He also appeared in a number of Broadway plays.

Perkins was bi-sexual and had numerous affairs with men. He claimed he was gay until his late 30s. He was married to Berinthia (Berry) Berenson and they had two sons. Perkins died on September 12, 1992 from complications of AIDS. His widow, died one day before the anniversary of Perkins death on September 11, 2001. She was on American Airlines flight 11, which was involved in the terrorist attacks on America.