Randolph Mase&#8217;s Weblog

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My Novels:

Death on Broadway

Death Beneath the Streets

Death in Central Park

Death at The Cloisters

Death Inside Diamond Head

Death Under Jones Beach (now available!)

Nathan Hale

Posted in Observations on the Strange and Unexpected and on Life Itself | Leave a Comment »

Happy Thanksgiving!

November 24, 2022

The history of this holiday in the United States is uncertain at best. Some claim it started with Spanish settlers in St. Augustine, Florida in 1565; others look to the English in Virginia in 1619; still others claim it originated in 1621 with the settlers of Plymouth, Massachusetts. In fact, my good friend Jack sent me this interesting history of Thanksgiving:

Whatever the actual origin, Thanksgiving became a legal holiday here in the United States when President Franklin Delano Roosevelt signed the bill making it such in December of 1941.

Today, of course, it goes beyond giving thanks for the harvest and all that we have; it’s a time for families, travel, shopping, and parades. And New York City is one of the leaders there, with its annual Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. The parade, which began at 9 this morning, follows a new route because of the closing of Broadway for the pedestrian mall. It will still begin at 77^th Street and travel south on Central Park West (Eighth Avenue) to 59^th Street. Then it will turn onto Seventh Avenue and continue to Macy’s at Herald Square (Sixth Avenue and 34^th Street). Although the 3-mile route is different, the floats and balloons and bands and performers are just as good as they always are, so enjoy the holiday!

Randolph Mase, Fiction Writer

My Novels:

Death on Broadway

Death Beneath the Streets

Death in Central Park

Death at The Cloisters

Death Inside Diamond Head

Death Under Jones Beach (now available!)

Nathan Hale

Posted in Observations on the Strange and Unexpected and on Life Itself | Leave a Comment »

Questions to How Well Do You Know Broadway?

November 18, 2022

Here are the questions to the Jeopardy! answers in the category “Broadway Rocks” I posted last week:

The 2005 show “All Shook Up” featured them title song & other hits made famous by this man. – Who is Elvis Presley?
The one-man show titled for this rocker “on Broadway” included stories & classics like “Thunder Road.” – Who is Bruce Springsteen?
Featuring the songs of this band, “Head Over Heels” opened on Broadway in 2018. – Who are the Go-Gos?
It is no5t ironic that in 2021, this show based on a Grammy-winning album won a Grammy for Best Musical Theater Album. – What is “Jagged Little Pill?”
Based on the music of Johnny Cash, “Ring of Fire” opened with this Nine Inch Nails song memorable covered by Johnny. – What is “Hurt?”

I got two of them correct; how did you do?

Randolph Mase, Fiction Writer

My Novels:

Death on Broadway

Death Beneath the Streets

Death in Central Park

Death at The Cloisters

Death Inside Diamond Head

Death Under Jones Beach (now available!)

Nathan Hale

Posted in About New York City | Leave a Comment »

Thank a Veteran This Veterans Day!

November 11, 2022

For Veterans Day the last two years I wrote posts to honor my ancestors who served in the military. While I still honor them and their service, today I’ll honor another veteran. Jeffrey B. Jones was a West Point classmate, and we were both assigned to Company G-1. Jeff’s 30-year military career was in the field of Psychological Operations; he passed away about 11 years ago. Last year, the 4th Psyops Group HQ Building at Fort Bragg was named for Jeff in honor of his service and contributions. Well Done, Jeff. Be Thou at Peace.

I urge each of you to say ‘Thank You’ to any veterans you know. Our veterans are one of the reasons we have remained a free and strong nation for all these years.

Randolph Mase, Fiction Writer

My Novels:

Death on Broadway

Death Beneath the Streets

Death in Central Park

Death at The Cloisters

Death Inside Diamond Head

Death Under Jones Beach (now available!)

Nathan Hale

Posted in Observations on the Strange and Unexpected and on Life Itself | Leave a Comment »

How Well Do You Know Broadway?

November 7, 2022

One of the categories on a recent Jeopardy! episode was “Broadway Rocks.” Here are the answers; just come up with the correct question for each. I’ll give those questions in a future post:

The 2005 show “All Shook Up” featured them title song & other hits made famous by this man.
The one-man show titled for this rocker “on Broadway” included stories & classics like “Thunder Road.”
Featuring the songs of this band, “Head Over Heels” opened on Broadway in 2018.
It is no5t ironic that in 2021, this show based on a Grammy-winning album won a Grammy for Best Musical Theater Album.
Based on the music of Johnny Cash, “Ring of Fire” opened with this Nine Inch Nails song memorable covered by Johnny.

Randolph Mase, Fiction Writer

My Novels:

Death on Broadway

Death Beneath the Streets

Death in Central Park

Death at The Cloisters

Death Inside Diamond Head

Death Under Jones Beach (now available!)

Nathan Hale

Posted in About New York City | Leave a Comment »

Happy Halloween!

October 31, 2022

At this time every year, many of us have acquired our stash of candy and anxiously await the arrival of all those children seeking treats, including my grandsons Evan and Noah (shown in this photo of my daughter Jen’s family costumes a few years ago – if you don’t recognize them, search for a 2004 movie with Ben Stiller and Vince Vaughn). I don’t know about you, but I never gave much more thought to Halloween, until I watched a program on The History Channel about the history of this day. And that prompted me to do some research about Halloween and its traditions. For example, in the 8^th Century, Pope Gregory III declared November 1 as All Hallows (Saints) Day, and the evening before became known as All Hallows Evening, later shortened to Halloween (actually Hallowe’en). And I also learned the history of some of the other traditions associated with the holiday:

Trick or Treating. The Celts left food and sweets around for the evil spirits to take and leave. Years later, in medieval times, poor people would go from door to door, begging for food in return for offering prayers for the dead on All Souls Day, November 2.

The Jack-o’-Lantern. Years ago, many Irish and Scottish people would carve a face into a turnip and place a lighted candle inside to honor the dead on All Souls Day. There is also the legend of Irishman Stingy Jack who tricked the devil into climbing a tree. To avenge this, the devil placed a curse on Jack – he was forced to wander the earth with the only light he had: a candle inside of a hollowed turnip. Thus the name.

The Wearing of Costumes. The Celts also believed that at summer’s end (the same time as Halloween), spirits passed by. Of course, the spirits of ancestors were invited into the home, while evil spirits needed to be warded off. To do this, the Celts wore costumes and masks to disguise themselves as evil spirits, thus escaping harm. And of course, today, we see the full range, from the simple to the elaborate and bizarre.

So enjoy the day, but remember the traditions…

Randolph Mase, Fiction Writer

My Novels:

Death on Broadway

Death Beneath the Streets

Death in Central Park

Death at The Cloisters

Death Inside Diamond Head

Death Under Jones Beach (now available!)

Nathan Hale

Posted in Observations on the Strange and Unexpected and on Life Itself | Leave a Comment »

The Lincoln Highway

October 24, 2022

One way to see a lot of what our country has to offer is to travel all or part of the Lincoln Highway.

The Lincoln Highway was created in 1913 as the first highway – but it’s not one road; rather it’s a series of roads – to cross America, from Times Square in New York City to Lincoln Park in San Francisco, with an original distance of just under 3400 miles. Today it’s closer to 3100 miles and follows about a dozen major highways, including US Route 30 in Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Iowa, Nebraska, and Wyoming. I’ve been on parts of it (now that I know what it is, I can say that), but haven’t traveled the entire length.

And you can see so many unique sites along the way (you’ll find markers such as above in many places), including:

A statue of a seated Abraham Lincoln in Newark, New Jersey, completed in 1911 by Gutzon Borglum, who also created Mount Rushmore.
The Haines Shoe House in Hellam, Pennsylvania, which was built in 1948 and is 48 feet long and 25 feet high.
Tree Rock in Buford, Wyoming, literally a tree growing in a rock in the middle of Interstate 80.
The arch welcoming you into Reno, Nevada, “The Biggest Little City in the World.”
The Cliff House in San Francisco, built from salvaged lumber in 1858 and today housing restaurants, a gift shop, and an observation deck.

So get out and see!

Randolph Mase, Fiction Writer

My Novels:

Death on Broadway

Death Beneath the Streets

Death in Central Park

Death at The Cloisters

Death Inside Diamond Head

Death Under Jones Beach (now available!)

Nathan Hale

Posted in Beyond New York City | 2 Comments »

About That Glass of Bubbly

October 17, 2022

Several years ago I saw a brief item about Champagne in Real Simple magazine. It stated that there are about 20 million bubbles in a glass of Champagne; I’m still wondering how they arrived at that number. Who’s got the time to count them?

Another interesting part of the item was their suggested routine for opening a bottle: chill the bottle for 30 to 45 minutes, then open it slowly by turning the cork 1/16 of an inch with each twist – my guess is that if you do this it’ll take about 15 minutes to open the bottle, and you’d have missed the celebratory moment – and then add a raisin, which attracts the carbon dioxide, which is later released as bubbles. And French researchers suggest that the best way to pour the Champagne down the side of the glass – tall and narrow, not short and wide.

That’s just too much for me. Where’s that bottle of Cabernet?

Randolph Mase, Fiction Writer

My Novels:

Death on Broadway

Death Beneath the Streets

Death in Central Park

Death at The Cloisters

Death Inside Diamond Head

Death Under Jones Beach (now available!)

Nathan Hale

Posted in Observations on the Strange and Unexpected and on Life Itself | 2 Comments »

Is Columbus Day a Forgotten Holiday?

October 10, 2022

It’s interesting that when I was going to school or working, I viewed holidays simply as another day off. Now that I’m doing neither, I find myself trying to learn more about each holiday. Take today – Columbus Day – as an example. Before it was moved to the second Monday in October, Columbus Day was always celebrated on October 12. I always assumed that it marked the birth of Christopher Columbus, but it actually marks the date when he arrived in the Americas. Although it is a federal holiday here in the U.S., only 24 of our states also recognize it as a holiday. In fact, in my last three jobs I worked in a state which still recognizes it as a holiday, yet we did not get the day off.

On this day, let’s take the time to remember Mr. Columbus and take the time to discover more about the meaning of the day. It’s interesting stuff!

Randolph Mase, Fiction Writer

My Novels:

Death on Broadway

Death Beneath the Streets

Death in Central Park

Death at The Cloisters

Death Inside Diamond Head

Death Under Jones Beach (now available!)

Nathan Hale

Posted in Observations on the Strange and Unexpected and on Life Itself | Leave a Comment »

Questions to How Well Do You Know Broadway?

October 3, 2022

Here are the questions to the Jeopardy! answers in the category “Take the Broadway Home” I posted last week:

In 217, Keegan-Michael Kay & this comic made their Broadway debuts in Steve Martin’s “Meteor Showers.” – Who is Amy Schumer?
This actor with “Red” in his name won a Tony in his Broadway debut in the art play “Red.” – Who is Eddie Redmayne?
In 2022 this veteran funnyman took to the stage as the marvelous Buddy Young Jr. in “Mr. Saturday Night.” – Who is Billy Crystal?
Future Golden Girl Bea Arthur was Yente in the 1964 opening night cast of this musical set in 1905. – What is “Fiddler on the Roof?”
Sally Hawkins & Adam Driver both made their debuts in the revival of this playwright’s “Mrs. Warren’s Profession.” – Who is George Bernard Shaw?

I got three of them correct; how did you do?

Randolph Mase, Fiction Writer