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Disney Girls Gone By

Shelley Fabares and Doreen Tracey

Annette is gone, and so is my favorite Mouseketeer, Cheryl Holdridge. Being concerned with things closer to home recently, I failed to notice the passing of Doreen Tracey last week. Doreen was one of the Mouseketeers who made the cut to the teenage material Disney produced later, that introduced soap opera elements of romance and conflict between the kids.

The only Disney Girl in this picture I didn’t have a crush on was the one every other boy lusted after — Annette. Shelley Fabares was a regular in the cast, and she became BFF with Annette. Shelley is, thankfully, still with us, having survived a serious illness that required a liver transplant.

The Disney Girls — Cheryl Holdridge, Shelley Fabares, Annette (no last name needed), Doreen Tracey

Rose is Rose

ARGH! Just a few days ago I posted a video from Charlie Rose on PBS, and now he’s caught up in the unwanted sexual advance scandals.

BREAKING NEWS ALERT

Eight women have come forward to allege that longtime TV host Charlie Rose made unwanted sexual advances toward them, according to a new Washington Post report.

The women, who ranged in age from 21 to 37 at the time of the alleged encounters, were employees or aspired to work for Rose at the ‘‘Charlie Rose’’ show from the late 1990s to as recently as 2011. Rose, 75, whose show airs on PBS, also co-hosts ‘‘CBS This Morning’’ and is a contributing correspondent for ‘‘60 Minutes.’’

Shortly after the report was published early Monday evening, PBS said it is immediately halting distribution of Rose’s interview program and CBS News suspended him.

David Letterman survived his sex scandal, but there was blackmail involved. These are the related questions, as I see them in all such cases:

  1. Is the person being pursued at least at the legal age of consent, preferably 21? Whether or not either person is married is a personal matter, relevant only in a divorce case, and irrelevant here. As bad as Bill Clinton’s involvement was with Monica Lewinsky, they were two consenting adults.
  2. Was the advance actually a verbal proposition, without any touching involved?
  3. If it was a proposition, and the person’s answer was no, was it accepted immediately without further discussion? If not, this is where an unwanted advance crosses the line into harassment.
  4. If the man (assuming it’s a man) was in a position of supervision or professional influence, does that violate the policy of the workplace? Were there no consequences as a result of the offer being declined? Again, this is where the line into harassment is crossed.
  5. Is flattery automatically considered to be flirtation, and is flirtation an unwanted advance?
  6. “Unwanted advances” begs the question of what is a “wanted advance?” It’s ridiculous that saying “no” would automatically turn a proposition into an unwanted advance. Who is supposed take the lead, or are we at the point where no social interaction can be allowed, as is the case in Muslim countries?

This Old Dark House

Gloria Stuart in ‘The Old Dark House’

It’s been a tough year. The most challenging of my entire adult life, actually, with the most recent difficulty being the death of my father a few weeks ago. But it wasn’t unexpected, and Dad passed away quietly in his sleep.

Despite all of the work I had to do to manage my father’s money, and must now do to take care of the estate, now that I’m retired I have more time to do things I enjoy. But because I am no longer drawing a salary, I of course have less money to spend on things that I enjoy.

Way back in the pre-DVD days, I was recklessly spending money on LaserDiscs. One of my favorite LD’s is “The Old Dark House”, a delightfully quirky and creepy 1932 movie with an outstanding cast, directed by James Whale. A recent rave by Leonard Maltin for a new HD transfer of the movie motivated me to see how much it costs. At only $15.50 on Amazon, it doesn’t bust my retirement budget.