Tragedy In The Twilight Zone Part 1

If you are roaming around Indian Dunes Park in Valencia, Santa Clarita, California, like everything else out there, it has the shades of a movie set look. Big, wide open spaces intersect with the intimacy of the seeker. One of the big attractions of the area is its seclusion. You can literally create your own little world here. And, in the dead of night---well after midnight, say--- you can feel the eeriness of the ghosts around you. Evil spirits walking among the walking living. If you were there in the early morning hours of July 23, 1982, you would have beheld a strange sight. Helicopters flying around with explosions and balls of fire streaming towards the sky. The listener would be mesmerized by all of the visuals. Suddenly, the visuals and air ballet would cease. There would be a moment of silence. And, then, the far away listener would hear the piercing shrieks of horror........ John Landis was a rising talent in 1982. He had directed two highly successful comedies, ''Animal House'' and ''The Blues Brothers,'' and was the hot, young comedy director in Hollywood. Landis, only 31, was good friends with another fellow wunderkind filmmaker, Steven Spielberg, and both men would talk movies and favorite TV shows of their youths. A personal favorite of both men was the Rod Serling classic sci-fi show, ''The Twilight Zone''. This macabre show was required viewing for several years to its audience. And, it found an even more loyal audience in reruns. It was one of those shows that seemed to get more popular with new generations. In early 1982, Landis and Spielberg decided to do a big screen version of the show. They would ask two fellow directors, Joe Dante and George Miller, to work on the movie with them. Each man would take a twenty minute segment. Spielberg, Dante, and Miller all picked old episodes of the show to bring to the screen. John Landis decided to go another direction. He conceived a new story, centered around a bigot. The bigot would start off the segment in a bar, complaining to his friends about all sorts of ethnic groups and the successes they all had, while he went from failure to failure. Then, the bigot would walk out of the bar and would find himself in the ''Twilight Zone''. The bigot would swing time eras, from Nazi Germany to the Deep South of the Klu Klux Klan, and, finally, to the Vietnam War. Along the way, he became the hunted one for his prejudices. Finally, seeing the light, the bigot would redeem his life by saving the lives of two Asian children, promising them he would protect them. In the late spring of 1982, pre-production started on the movie. Actor Vic Morrow, a journeyman character actor, was cast as the bigot. Along with the secondary roles, a casting call was put out for two small Asian children to play the orphans in the movie...... John Landis and his producer, George Folsey Jr., began looking for the children in June 1982. The problem wasn't so much finding child actors, but, the scene they were gonna work in. The scene was a battle sequence, with explosions and helicoptors flying overhead. The bigot, named Bill Connor in the film, would save the lives of the Asian children in the middle of this battle. Normally, such a scene is dangerous for an adult to be around filming, let alone two small children. Child labor laws forbid any child to work in unsafe conditions. Also, there was the issue of the scene taking place at night. The shot would have to be done deep into the evening hours, after midnight. This, too, was frowned upon by the child labor group. Landis and Folsey were well aware of this tricky bit of dancing around the law. They came up with a simple solution: they would break the law. The hiring of the children would be illegal. The families of the little kids would be paid in cash, so, they would not show up in the movie's accounting books. When asked about this closely guarded secret by a co-worker, Folsey laughed out loud and said, ''We will probably all go to jail!'........ In mid-July, 1982, filming commenced. It was expected to be a quick shoot, no more than a couple of weeks. The early stages went well, on time and on budget. The bigot, Connor, was shown in his unflattering light, scorning all those not like him. Landis was happy with progress of the film. Vic Morrow was not. His career was in a slump. While never a genuine movie star, he still showed good acting chops and had his supporters in the industry. But, his career was down and he knew it. Normally, he would not have chosen to take such a role but he needed the work. He didn't think much of the role or of the director, John Landis. Morrow thought of Landis like most people who had worked with him: he was an arrogant, reckless egomaniac. He was one of those directors who didn't give a damn about a person's feelings. He was only interested in his movie. This was, by no means, unusual in Hollywood. Many directors are tyrants on the set. And, many are not. Landis found himself in the former, and not,  the latter category. Still, Morrow was a trouper and a professional. He showed up every day on the set, prepared and easy to work with. But, he had one worry during this time. The last scene of his segment, the scene with his character rescuing the two small children. It wasn't what the scene was about that worried him but how dangerous it was going to be to film. His bigot character was supposed to grab the small children under his arms, run across a shallow lake, with bombs going off all around him, and a big helicopter swinging directly above him. This didn't sound safe to him. And, he was right to think this...... A few days before the scene was scheduled to be filmed, producer George Folsey had finally found the small Asian children. They were six year old Renee Chen and seven year old My-Ca Le. The Asian parents of both the children--- who did not know each other--- barely spoke English. But, they understand the crux of what the children were being hired to do and they were excited to be in a big Hollywood movie. They families were paid in cash, as kind of a movie slush fund, to be there for two nights of filming [And, to buy their silence]. The kids were excited and the parents were thrilled to be meeting such an important man as John Landis, who immediately approved their casting....... On July 21, 1982, the battle scene was set up. It was scheduled to take two nights to shoot, with all of the special effects involved. Action scenes are notorious for taking a very long time. This was explained to the children's parents, who watched in awe as things were blown up and huts around the river bed were destroyed. My-Ca Le's father, Daniel, was horrified. The explosions were so authentic that it reminded him of actually being in Vietnam during the war. The first night was kind of a dry-run for the filming the following night. It was a test. A few minor scenes were filmed.  And, all of the tests passed without incident. Still, some in the crew felt alarm. It was too real, too scary, and too dangerous. These concerns were brought to Landis. John Landis laughed it off and said, ''You ain't seen nothing yet!''.......... The following evening, July 22, brought the real thing. All things were set up and all of the key people were put in place. Among them was special effects man, Paul Stewart, unit production manager, Dan Allingham, and helicopter pilot, DorceyWingo. All of these men had spent many a time in the movie trenches. They knew their jobs. And, by knowing their jobs, they also knew the pitfalls. And, this scene seemed to have many. Stewart and Wingo were both deeply worried about the explosions around the humans and of the balls of fire that would be sent up into the air, near the helicopter. If the fire reached the helicopter, then pilot Wingo stood a good chance of being burned to death. Also, the scene called for Morrow's character to throw a stick at the helicopter as he escaped across the river. Wingo worried that the stick could hit the rotor and send the copter out of control. These concerns by both men were brought to the attention of unit manager, Allingham, who said that Landis wanted what he wanted and would not bend. The scene, dangerous as it might be, would go on as planned....... It was after midnight,  July 23, that the kids showed up on the set. To ease the children's nervousness, Vic Morrow made funny faces, therebye, relaxing the kids. Soon, they were laughing. And, they continued to laugh as Landis yelled, ''Action!'', destroying the takes. The first part of the scene, of the helicoptor heading towards the fake village, was filmed with no problem. Dorcey Wingo, with Dan Allingham beside him in the helicopter, did his job. Allingham was riding along because he was shining a spotlight on the village from above....... Vic Morrow was ready. He was standing in the river awaiting his cue. Around him, the world was exploding. Technicinas fired guns, the special effects people set off the bombs. And, flames flew up towards the helicoptor. Dorcey Wingo would later say that the heat burn was overwhelming and he could not see clearly. Below, the fire inspectors, who were legally required to be on the set, look at each other with alarm. The helicopter may crash or explode with all of this craziness going on around. However, nothing was mentioned to Landis. Later on, when asked why no one said anything about the danger, fire safety officer, Richard Ebentheuer,said, ''That is not how the chain of command works in the department...... George Folsey went to the trailer of the kids. They were sleeping. Folsey told the parents if anyone on the set asked them who they were, he wanted them to say they weren't working on the movie, that they were friends of his. Not really grasping all of this, the parents, nonetheless, agreed. ....... ''Action!' yelled John Landis. Vic Morrow went into his action. He was carrying the kids under each of his arms. The helicopter was hovering overhead. The explosions were set off. Soon, the night was alive with fire. Landis yelled through his bullhorn, ''Lower! Lower!'' to the helicopter. As Morrow and the kids went across the small lake, through the wind and the water and the dust, the helicopter was getting lower. But, pilot Wingo was having trouble controlling his copter. It seemed to take on a life of its own. Wingo could not see through the fireballs. Unit manager Dan Allingham was terrified next to him. He told the pilot to get the hell out of there......... On the ground, the explosions and fireballs were coming fast and furious. It became a fire hell. But, no one on the ground knew that the helicopter was in trouble. James Camomile, acting on his instructions, detonated two bombs together. And, those were the two bombs that got the helicopter........ Dorcey Wingo lost control of his helicopter and it went crashing down. Below it, Vic Morrow dropped Renee Chen. He grabbed at her but was unable to reach her in time. The helicopter's right skid slammed into the girl, killing her. Then, its whirling main rotor took off the heads of Vic Morrow and My-Ca Le, instantly killing them.......John Landis, standing just a few yards away, was unhurt. But, he had seen it all up close. He was speechless and horrified. There was a few moments of unbelievable stunned silence all around. This silence was broken. One of the production people, standing in the river, happened to look over in the water. He saw Vic Morrow's head, eyes open, vacantly staring at him. The production aide sent up a shrieking wail into the Indian Dunes Park night...........''That's a wrap!'' Landis shouted into his bullhorn, ''everyone please go home!'' But, they could not just leave. The mother of Renee Chen and the father of My-Ca Le had witnessed their children's deaths. They were, naturally, screaming hysterically. Soon, they would be taken to a nearby hospital, treated for shock. Afterwords, they would be driven home...... The cast and crew left, going home. There has been a rumor, unproven but strong, that Steven Spielberg was on the set that night, had witnessed the tragedy, and immediately had himself driven home. Landis, Spielberg, and many others say he wasn't there that night. But, many crew members maintain he was there. If he wasn't, very soon that early morning, he would become aware of what had happened. As would the rest of the world, when this movie scene became a death scene.........

Tragedy In The Twilight Zone: Part 2

A few days after the crash were the funerals. As could be expected, the funerals for Renee Chen and My-Ca Le were emotionally draining. And, an added shock to these goodbyes was the totally unexpected appearance of John Landis, supported by his wife, Deborah, There were cold, hard stares directed at the director, the glares of hatred from the families. Landis broke down at both funerals, as he did later for the memorial service held for Vic Morrow. The Morrow gathering included several show business industry people. Landis, along with George Folsey gave an unexpected, and many thought, inappropriate, eulogies to the fallen actor. Both mentioned how happy Morrow was doing the movie. Both mentioned how Vic Morrow thought it was his finest role. Both were not telling the truth here. In fact, many friends of Morrow's were ready to lynch the director and producer for even having the audacity to show up. Landis and Folsey turned the sad rememberance into a plug for their movie and themselves. No one at the service was fooled by their showing. The public showing of ''respect'' for Vic Morrow had all of the behind the scenes fingerprints of lawyers...... Meanwhile, immediately after the accident, all sorts of investigators descended on the scene to determine what had happened. Every department from the L.A. Police to the FAA to private detectives, all had two objectives: what had happened, and who was responsible....... The investigation would take several months to complete. But, other events were happening. The families of Renee Chen, My-Ca Le, and Vic Morrow all filed lawsuits against Warner Brothers [who was financing the movie] Steven Spielberg, John Landis, and George Folsey. Eventually, all of the lawsuits would be settled out of court. The money was said to be in the millions for each family........ The immediate question hanging over the creative people at the studio was, should they finish the movie? The Landis segment clearly could not continue, even though the segment was pretty much complete, even without the crash scene. After a few weeks, the other three directors, Spielberg, Joe Dante, and George Miller, went forward and each shot their segments in just a few weeks. Finally, by late 1982, ''Twilight Zone---The Movie'' was complete. But no one had any joy over it. Gloom and tragedy hung over every aspect of the film....... In early 1983, with his career and freedom hanging in question, John Landis went back to work directing. He chose a safe comedy, ''Trading Places'' as his next assignment. With Dan Aykroyd, Eddie Murphy, Ralph Bellamy, Don Ameche, and Jamie Lee Curtis, it was the exact opposite of the emotional intensity of his last film. The film proved to be very popular with the critics and the public when it was released in the summer of 1983. George Folsey produced the film. As far as Hollywood was concerned, even though these two were damaged goods, they still knew how to make money. And, in Hollywood, the green money in the pocket of an adult trumped the red blood of children in the river..... Right before the release of ''Trading Places'' in June 1983, the Los Angeles grand jury investigating the ''Twilight Zone'' crash sent down a recommendation of indictments for the participants they felt were responsible. John Landis, George Folsey Jr, Dan Allingham, Dorcey Wingo, and Paul Stewart were all charged with involuntary manslaughter for the deaths of Vic Morrow and the children, Renee Chen and My-Ca Le. There were also charges of child endangerment and breaking the law of working minors after hours. But, the main charge was the involuntary manslaughter charge. If convicted, prison time would surely follow......... There was also a final explanation, sort of, for why the helicopter crashed that night. According to the FAA and the various safety agencies, debris from the special effects explosions interfered with the helicopter blades, therebye, causing the crash. There also was some vague theory that the heat from the fireballs in the explosions may have melted the rotor blade's outer covering, resulting in the blades coming loose and not working. But, this last bit of information was speculation more on the part of the investigators than solid evidence. So, the crash was blamed on debris...... In the summer of 1983, ''Twilight Zone--The Movie'' was finally released, minus the fateful scene with Vic Morrow and the children. The reviews were mostly poor, with critics saying that the superstar directors, Landis and Spielberg, were eclipsed in quality by the lesser-known directors, Joe Dante and George Miller. John Landis received the biggest lashing from the critics about his segment. One reviewer, noting the Vic Morrow tragedy, said the movie certainly wasn't worth dying for. John Landis and George Folsey Jr. could have the last laugh, though. They were riding the crest of the success of ''Trading Places''......... It wasn't until the fall of 1986, four years after the accident, that the trial of John Landis and his co-defendants finally began. And, it was some show, as this was Hollywood and Hollywood makes big shows. But, this was the dark side of Hollywood, the shameful side that showed that even lives of little children could be trampled on for the sake of making a movie. The defendants, Landis, George Folsey Jr., Dan Allingham, Dorcey Wingo, and Paul Stewart all, at first, presented a united front. This soon changed as sides were taken. Landis, Folsey, and Allingham, with their high-priced attorneys, soon became an unshakeable triumvirate. The lesser powers, Wingo and Stewart, soon bonded. This is understandable because Wingo and Stewart were the weaker powers, capable of making a deal to turn against the other three. Wingo and Stewart were, after all, only were doing their jobs, so their lawyers stated. The Landis team tried to throw the blame on the Wingo team saying, as experts, they should have known the explosions would be dangerous and should have spoken up. Soon, there were charges being thrown at Stewart alone by the other four attorneys that he set off too much power in the explosions. And, Stewart's team joined the Landis team in saying that Wingo should have refused to fly that copter at all. Round and round it went, a typical trial......... But, nothing compared to when prosecutor Lea D'Agostino got rolling. A bulldog in the courtroom, she went after the Hollywood people with a vengeance, stomping over the evidence against them and putting on a show for the viewing public. Instead of picking apart the defense--- which was experiencing a lot of in-fighting--- she went for the jugular over and over until she turned off the jury. She sneered at Landis when he testified and he started weeping on the witness stand. Although her questions were pertinent to the overall case, she dropped the ball repeatedly. She contended that she would show that Wingo and Stewart knew the high degree of hazard involved but proved no evidence to support it. She went after Landis, especially, with personal attacks that soon sank her case....... After seven months, the jury came back with a not guilty verdict across the board. All five defendants walked. After the court adjourned, the jurors were interviewed by the media. Most said that they thought in their guts that the five were guilty in various ways but there was no solid concrete evidence presented by the prosecution to warrant a guilty verdict....... John Landis would go on to direct ''Coming To America'', a huge hit, with George Folsey Jr. producing. But, by the early 90's, he seemed to lose his magic touch at making successful comedies. He would direct an occasional movie. None proved as successful as his earlier work. He is still active in Hollywood but with a dark cloud always hanging over him. Some still embrace him. Many shun him. He has expressed his sorrow at what happened that July night in 1982. But, he still refuses to take the blame. The fault of the accident, he says, lies with others........ Dan Allingham would distance himself from Landis/Folsey. He would continue to work. Always behind the scenes........ Dorcey Wingo went to work for Western Helicoptors..... Paul Stewart continued his career in special effects. He claims that he is blackballed in the industry because of the accident........ That final scene in the movie, the tragedy scene never used, had a final piece of dialogue to it had things not turned so tragic. It turned out to be sadly prophetic. Vic Morrow, after saving the kids from the deadly battle fire, was to utter the lines, ''Don't worry, kids. I will take care of you''.......

Fifty Shades Of Grey Matter

The book ''Fifty Shades Of Grey'', a hot ticket among certain women, is now a full-fledged movie. It will probably open big, but, will lose its steam in a few weeks. Movies like these, with the thinnest of plots and loaded with a sex theme, often die quickly. Or, to try to say it in the vernacular of the book's theme: it will shoot its wad very fast....... I know a few women who read the book. But, surprisingly, I know more women who TRIED to read it and saw the gimmick that the author was trying to sell, and stopped around page 30..... I haven't read it myself, so, my thoughts are based on the channeled thoughts of my female galpals. They are strong, intelligent women, who see through the hype and can tell a good, well-written tale from schlock. Without exception, my female friends say the book is trash. Not even readable trash, like a Harlequin romance novel........ I will leave that up to you, if you have read it. The crux of whatever story seems to be the lust filled couple having sex a lot and...... having sex a lot. Some kinky sex is thrown in to spice the pages and have the females reading it getting off . Ok. Not exactly Mark Twain. But, not every story should be that. There always should be the stories that allow you to turn your mind off and not drill too deeply [ahem] into the plot lines. The raunchiness of certain sex acts is in the judgement of the individual performing it. Who am I to tell someone what to do in the bedroom? I do things that may shock some people: dirty, filthy, vile, degrading things. Sometimes, with a partner....... The selling point in this book is not any attempt at romance. We know the guy and gal will fall in love. Some fights will proceed it, and, I'm sure, there is a heart-tugging moment or two. Cheap thrills. The bondage scenes, though, seem to be what women have fixated on. The guy, surely one swinging hunk of a man, gets the women off in ways unknown to her in her life before him. He has to be the Dream Guy. An average looking lug would not do. This is a romance novel, mind ya. And, his kinkiness is very attractive. Never mind that most people who are into really weird sex look like inbred carnival worker rejects. These people should not even be naked inside the privacy of their own homes, let alone at a nude beach. But, this is romance, my dear students, a hot romance!!! We suspend all rational ways of thinking to get your rocks off. And, apparently, many women have...... It has always been my thinking that women are much maligned in terms of their sexual freedom. The old stereotype of if a man plays around and is sexually liberated, then he is to be admired, a real ''player''. But, if a woman does the same, then she is shamed as a ''slut.'' However, it must be said, this double standard in society is practiced more by women than men. Men never use the term ''slut''. Women do in a put-down fashion. While with the right hand, women crave and believe in sexual freedom, the left hand is telling them that those women should be criticized. So, you can't have your cake and eat it too....... The audience for this must be examined, as all audiences are when something catches on. Men have avoided the book, and, as I have said, many women gave up in the initial attempt at reading. So, who is the remaining audience that likes it? My guess, a humble male guess, is that it is women, mostly suburban women, who have, not a bad sexual life, but one that has gone stale. Usually, that comes with age. We all slow down, despite our best efforts, in this department. And, possibly, the women who love this novel are feeling that slow down. So, a jump start is needed in their libido. Beneath all of the huffing and puffing of these characters in the book may be the connection between the fictional people and the very real-life people, who are suffering the loneliness and dreams that never did come true. They settled not for the Knight In White Shining Armor, but, rather, an average guy, who despite his best efforts, will always remain an average guy. This is not meant to imply that the woman reader is somehow being selfish or demanding. Quite the contrary, some sympathy is needed. We all have fantasies. But, if your fantasy is rooted on not being fulfilled in other areas of your life, then, naturally, it will spill over into your sexual and love life. I say this as an observation, not as a criticism....... Perhaps, I am delving into something that really doesn't need much analysis. It is a book and a movie, pure and simple. For some that could not follow the complexities and nuances of the shallow people who made up ''Sex And The City'' [That last line has my tongue firmly implanted in my mouth]. To each his or her own always with entertainment. Many women will go joyfully to this movie opening weekend, pledging solidarity with their fellow sisters in print who embraced this novel. Never mind its merits. Never mind it is beneath the audiences intelligence. The book, and possibly, the movie, touched something that is in all of our nature's. Stimulation for the joys of physical love....... If I was a single guy I would camp out in the lobby of the theater after the movie ends. You will have some horny women leaving........ Wait, I am single...... Gotta go........

Grammy Thoughts:2015

So, another Grammys show is behind us and the social media is climbing with comments on what we saw. You can add my thoughts to this group...... First: The Grammys have always been a joke. Any award show, for that matter, should be always considered a joke. It is a small group of opinion, a clique. Just because someone wins an award should not constitute a stamp of approval of quality. In the Grammys case, they are notorious for rewarding very middle- of-the-road music, while ignoring experimental and risk-taking music and artists. For instance, Taylor Swift has hoisted 7 Grammys. But, Led Zeppelin has next to nothing [The Grammys are great for rewarding overlooked performers by presenting them with a ''Lifetime Achievement Award'']. So quality and originality for this award show is as different as night and day....... Second; Do you really need an award show to tell you what is good or bad? Your opinion is your weapon in life. You do not need another person to tell you how to use it. If you like a song, that is fine, enjoy. One group should not dictate what your brain and central nervous system is telling you naturally. How many times have you loved a song---or, a movie-- and have everyone around you disagree with what you are saying? Plenty of times, I'm sure. Does that make you wrong when you are toting the minority viewpoint? Of course not. So, you root for a song and the Grammys give it to someone else? You disagree but that does not make their verdict more valuable than yours. Music, more than any other art form, is subjective. Music seeps into that special, undefinable part of your soul that stimulates your DNA. It takes you to a place in your mind that is all special, a perfect oasis of contentment. To have elitist industry types in bad suits from L.A. tell you otherwise [based on heavy internal industry marketing] borders on obscenity. Music comes from the unknown regions of the cosmos, channeled to an awaiting part of your being....... The Grammys should exploit the listener's love of music. But, they don't. It is the ''Music Business'' after all, and, business always trumps the music part. Therefore, to successful watch a show like this, you have to put away your opinion and just watch the madness unfold before you....... The show last night started strong. ''AC/DC'' came out roaring with two classic tunes that every hard-rock fan knows by heart. Then, LL Cool J, the evening's host, made his first appearance. While his music has always disappointed me, I do like the person I see on this show. He comes across as friendly and disarming, always a comfortable feeling. He wisely did not do a monologue--- this is an awards show for music, so, comedy should never intrude--- and just let the music play. The first award went to a soon-to-be-forgotten new artist named, Sam Smith. You know him, right? Most don't but the academy did enough to give him a trophy. Actually, he has made news recently because he came clean that his song, ''Stay With Me'' is an obvious rip-off of the Tom Petty song, ''I Won't Back Down''. A legal action concluded this week with Smith having to acknowledge what everyone already knew: that he pinched the Petty song, made some minor changes, put some new words to it, and rode the riches train. But, to the Grammy committee, it did not matter what he did. They gave him the honor of being humble. A bad thing he did, though, was not thanking Tom Petty in his eventual four trips to the stage all night. That will leave a bad taste in the industry and public, mark my words....... The first hour produced a rapid fire of activity. We saw Tom Jones singing. Madonna trying to act like she did 30 years ago. Kanye West ''singing''. We looked around the crowd and saw the famous in the audience: Tony Bennett with Lady Gaga. Paul McCartney, looking old and out of place. Pharrell with a bizarre outfit. Various industry legends like Stevie Wonder and Smokey Robinson,. Soon-to-go-to-jail hip-hop artists. Jazz cats who must have been thinking, ''How do these non-musicians get all the bread while we are the true artists?'' That is a great thing about the Grammys, I must confess. They do mingle in an interesting way. And, there were sure some interesting sights among the crowd. My favorite was some guy named ''Weekend'' who introduced Pharrell. He looked like he had a spool of thread on his head. I know he looks that way to attract attention. But, we all know that people who go for the style have no substance. I haven't heard any music from ''Mr. Weekend.'' I'm thinking that his music is not acceptable for my taste any day of the week............ Wisely, the last few years, the Grammys remember the older crowd watching that do not know about the new music. And, don't care, for that matter. As hour two commenced, we saw the old and new competing onstage, just as musicians should be doing. You had the great Jeff Lynne doing his classic songs from ''ELO''. Tony Bennett and Lady Gaga did a duet together and it sounded nice, mainly, because she has crossed over into his arena. And, Pharrell did do his song, ''Happy''. Does he have any other songs? Sprinkled with the performances were the awards. Different styles came across the screen and the viewers ears. We had country winners, hard rock, jazz, rap, etc. The performers who won dutifully walked across the stage and said how honored and stunned they are to receive this. Then, composure came to them when they thought of their agents and managers and record companies. Plus, as an added bonus, the obligatory shout out to God happened. As if the Almighty is watching the Grammys and wanted Beyonce to cop a Grammy. God is most likely still tired for giving His Blessing to the winning Super Bowl team this year. As hour two came to a close, my interest lessened in these awards and I went channel surfing.......I must confess by hour three, I gave up. ''Casablanca'' was on TCM, so, I ditched the show to watch Bogart and Bergman. From what I have heard this morning, I didn't miss much by bailing. Kanye West performed again, this time with McCartney. By common consensus, the public seems to be stumped by this collaboration. I am not. Paul is trying to tap into a younger audience, while West is trying for some artistic merit. The problem is that Kanye West is devoid of talent. He is all thug. [Interestingly, President Obama appeared earlier on videotape to press upon the music industry the need to preach against violence against woman. But, the Grammys have looked the other way on this issue with giving out trophys to Chris Brown, Eminem, and R.Kelly]. But, West, showing his famous lack of class and manners, could not let the artist Beck get his award without staging some kind of stunt. A few years back, West interrupted Taylor Swift getting an award. Last night, it was Beck's turn....... Hmmm.....Kanye West seems to only do this with white artists. Can Ole Kanye be practicing racial profiling?........... By evenings end, the Grammys, like all awards shows, ran way too long and exhausted its audience. What the ending showed was the industry, again, as one giant club the rest of the world does not belong to. We watched so we can talk and compare our notes with the people we know. Monday morning quarterbacking for musicians. When all is said and done, it means nothing, to go back to my original point on top here. It is music, your music, that you need to get through life. If you like a Sam Smith or a Kanye West, who am I to say that you are mistaken? It feels good to you. It breathes an extra jolt of life into your system. And, for a few minutes, music, real music, takes you to that special place....... It is your place. And, no one can tell you it isn't good enough to collect a Grammy........