Farewell, Robert Osborne: I shall miss your movie savvy and your wise voice

I love old movies. Turner Classic Movies is one of my favorite stations.

Robert Osborne, who recently died, was the host of the classic movie program for over 20 years. I felt as though I knew him and that he was a really wonderful friend. When I learned that he had taken his final bow, I felt a great loss.

When I am awake in the middle of the night, I turn on the television to see what movie TCM is showing. Some of my favorites are in the film noir genre — black and white movies made in the 1940s and 1950s. Some of these are really cool, and the black and white is very clean and clear. There are really heartless women with tight clothing, dark lips and long fingernails who are usually nursing a drink of some kind. Their hair is bleached blonde or black and has endured too many permanents.

The mean-looking men ogling the women have cigarettes or cigars hanging from the side of their mouths and pants that look as though they are pulled up to their armpits. Oh and the ties, the ties are so short they don’t even cover the front of the shirts. The dialogue is usually straight to whatever point they are trying to make — usually robbing a bank, a jewelry store or just some poor slob on the street.

I think my love affair with old movies began when we were taken to the drive-in on the weekends by our parents, and the only movies shown were old ones.

While munching on the peanut butter and jelly sandwiches Mama had brought with her, we saw Edward G. Robinson, Robert Mitchum and every old movie star you can think of in black and white. There were never ever any new movies shown. When we moved to Bluffton, and I found out the drive-in in Beaufort showed first-run movies, I was astounded.

Turner Classic Movies will never be the same without Mr. Osborne. I’ll miss his kind voice and wise comments about the movies being shown under his watch and the wonderful interviews with famous celebrities.

How to help your dryer

Have you tried Nellie’s All Natural Lamby Dryerballs in your dryer?

These balls are made of New Zealand wool, and four balls are good for over 1,000 loads of laundry.

These little jewels are a wonderful alternative to fabric softeners, reduce drying time in one of the most expensive household appliances we use, keep wrinkles at bay, scoot away static electricity and are all natural.

Cooking up a secret

My husband is Catholic, as was his family.

Every Friday was the day to eat fish of some sort. My sainted mother-in-law was not a very good cook, and the best thing she ever made was her chocolate chip cookies. If we were ever at the family home on Friday, it was a tricky time at dinner. I always offered to clear the table so nobody could see that there was quite a bit left on my plate.

One of the worst dinners we ever had was creamed shrimp over cooked carrots. Whatever Don’s mother had in mind, we’ll never know, but you can bet your boots that my plate was swiftly dispatched to the kitchen.

Thank heavens there was wine to lighten the shock of most of her vittles, and thank goodness she never found out my good deed of clearing the table was not a saintly act of kindness.

Dining delights

We have so many wonderful places to have a leisurely lunch or dinner now in Bluffton. What a wonderful treat it is.

In just a small area of Old Town, you can select from just about any sort of cuisine or libation. When we first moved here, at Messex’s gas station on Calhoun Street, one could buy a cup of dried chicken soup that was dispensed from a machine for 50 cents. You could also buy malt crackers and a Coke, Twinkies and a very lousy cup of coffee. Oh thank the heavens above times have changed.

I guess we can now call our mile square Old Town the “belly” of Bluffton.

This story was originally published March 22, 2017 at 10:11 AM with the headline "Farewell, Robert Osborne: I shall miss your movie savvy and your wise voice."