Just in case you were overlook
ed when Madame Lee Randolph
' left her circulars on New Bern
doorsteps, this is to notify you that
her fortune telling business is lo
cated pn the Greenville-Ayden
highway, near South 11 Drive-In
Theatre.
« We didn’t have the pleasure of
meeting the Madame, but we learn
ed a great deal about her from her
small, neatly printed throw-away.
She is not a gypsy, it says, but a
true psychic, who doesn’t ask you
to write your name or any ques
tions on paper.
Describing herself as a consul
tant and advisor, she “tells you any
and everything you wish to know.
Gives you name of friends and ene
mies. Gives true and never failing
^ advice on all affairs of life.”
Furthermore, Madame Randolph
says, “Anger and worry are the
most unprofitable conditions
known to man. While they are in
possession, mental, physical and
spiritual growth are suspended.
Anger is a highway robber, and
worry is a sneak thief. Bring your
problems to me today, tomorrow
may be too late.”
And here’s a bit of important in
formation' that the Madame fur
nishes for free. “Read these chap
ters in the Bible and you will have
good luck. Psalms: 63, 37, 91, 43,
50, 88, 71, 83, 81. Numbers: 4, 9,
14, 35, 29, 18, 6, 31, and 16.”
In keeping with this time of
many-Jusine^f
are advertising i>argaiii8, Madaiae;
Randolph advises us to “bring this
coupon for Special Reading at Re
duced Price and Save $1.00.” She
neglected to inform us whether
^ese Special Readings are restrict-
' ed to just one to a customer.
We hope this isn’t the case, since
there are a great many questions
we would like to have answered.
On the international scene, we’re
wondering what Russia plans to do
next, and how theCongo situation
wili eventually turn out. And, for
better or worse, we are anxious to
get a detailed report on the future
that lies ahead for Fidel Castro.
On the national level, it would
be nice to have advance informa
tion on the November election.
Will John Kennedy be the next
President, or is the Nixon family
destined to move into the White
House? If Madame Randolph can
tell us beyond all doubt, she can
forget the special reduced price.
We’ll gladly pay the extra dollar.
Enlightened to that extent, there
are some local questions we would
like to have answered, and any
number of personal ones. In fact,
it would probably be better to find
out what the Madame’s price is
to serve up answers in gross lots.
Since the little circular she left
on our doorstep displays a hand,
we assume that Madame Randolph
is a palmist. This particular type
of fortune telling is quite ancient
in its origin, and is widely accepted
in the Orient.
So that you won’t be completely
ignorant when you pay your visit
to a fortune teller, we’ll pass along
a few words of approximate wis
dom on the subject. Posessing this
knowledge hasn’t helped us, but
anyhow, here goes:
In palmistry, the fleshy parts of
the palm at the base of the thumb
and fingers, and the side of the
hand from the little finger to the
wrist, are called mounts. The wrin
kles are called lines, and the
mounts and lines together are sup
posed to be quite revealing.
These mounts are named for
Venus, Jupiter, Saturn, Apollo,
Mercury, Mars and the moon. The
first finger is called Jupiter, and
a strong mount for this finger
shows pride and ambition. The
second finger’s mount is called
Saturn, and indicates fatality.
Apollo is the mount for the third
PICK ME OUT, MOM-r-These hdppy lads from NisW" Bern ' JaMboree of the Boy Scouts of America at CoJoi-ado
and the immediate area wfll hilve a lot tO talk about when Springs, Colo. Look closely, and you’ll find the kid who
they get back home. They are attending the National lives next door, up the street, or around the corner.- ,
Nothing Can Top A Western
When It Comes to TV Appeal
It was Rudyard Kipling who coim
ed the famous phrase—“East is
east and west is west, and never
the twain shall meet.”
At the time there was no such
thing as television, so the immor
tal English poet couldn’t possibly
have been talking about eastern
TV. fans and the western horse
operas they continue to cling to,_
year after year.
Most especially, Kipling’s words
aren’t applicable in any sense to
thousands of New Bemians who
would rather do without supper
than miss a singie showing of
“Gunsmoke” or “Have Gun, Will
Travel.” They have similar feel
ings too about “Wanted—^Dead or
Alive” and “Rifleman.”
Gone are the days when Mom
and Dad kidded Junior each time
he waxed^ enthusiastic over Roy
Rogers, Gene Autry and the Lone
Ranger. Summer heat and count
less re-runs notwithstanding, local
adults are far more fanatical in
finger, and denotes art and riches.
Mercury is the little finger, and its
mount, if strong, reveals science
and wit. Mars is below Mercury on
the palm, and indicates crueity and
courage. Venus, below the base of
the thumb, shows love and music.
In case you’ve wondered, the
word fortune comes from Fortune,
the goddess of chance in Roman
mythology. In Greece her name
was Tyche. Fortune brought good
or bad luck to mortals, whether
or not they deserved it. She may
still be around. Remind us to ask
Madame Randolph.
their adoration for any number of
shoot-em-up heroes than our vil
lage small fry ever were or ever
will be,
No longer is there seribus specu
lation in television circles as to
just how long the western craze
will last. At the moment the adult
taste for range riding in one’s
favorite parlor chair seems far
more permanent than the rock of
Gibraltar, jokes about your mother-
in-law, headache remedies, or may
be even death and taxes.
Seeing a re-run of “Bonanza” or
“Overland Trail” does nothing to
dampen the interest of western-
minded locai citizens. This is hgrd-
ly surprising, since the general
format for any and all cowboy
stories is as threadbare and fami
liar as, the time honored stage
coach, the inevitable saloon, and
those remarkable six-shooters that
can be fired indefinitely without
reloading.
It doesn’t astound a dyed-in-the-
wool western fan in the least when
the “good man” astride a madly
galloping steed is able to shoot
one of his curving bullets around
a bend in the desert trail, and
bring down a fleeing “bad man” a
mile or two away.
Likewise, there jdoesn’t seem to
be a lack of realism when the same
characters, or their counterparts,
leer at each other from a distance
of ten or twelve paces and fire a
dozen or more slugs that miss their
mark. Obviously, thtf safest place to
duel with a western sharpshooter
isn’t in the wide open spaces but
in an area that is only slightly
more expansive than a telephone
booth,
A sample survey by The Mirror
indicates increasing local populari
ty for the horse operas, rather
than declining interest. And in al
most every household the feminine
televiewers go for westerns just
as strongly as the male of the spe
cies. *
As a matter of fact, no other
type of TV entertainment comes
close to having as much appeal for
the entire family. In specialized
fields, juveniles lean toward, car
toons and short comedies, women
drool over day-time tear jerkers,
and men tune to sports. But they
are unanimous in their craving for
cowboy fare.
Richard Boone, who portrays
Paladin on “Have Gun, Will Trav
el” in a manner that seems to in
trigue young and old alike, has a
large following here in New Bern.
So does James Arness, who plays
Matt Dillon on “Gunsmoke.” Help
ing the popularity of “Gunsmoke”
tremendously is Dennis Weaver’s
lovable and humorous interpreta
tion of Chester.
It is typical of the strange
quirks of human nature that New
Bern television enthusiasts never
get horrified at the large number
of violent deaths that crop up on
westerns. Yet, they shudder over
a single homicide when it occurs
in an Alfred Hitchcock thriller
Perhaps this inconsistency can
be tied in with the old adage—
“Familiarity breeds contempt.” So
many cowboys have been done
away with, and in such a matter
of fact fashion, that it has become
strictly routine.
, As one local housewife puts it-,
“the westerns don’t concentrate on
suspense as much as other tele
vision stories do. Instead, they cap
italize on action. Besides, you nev
er realiy get to know most of the
characters who get killed. They^
are bumped off too soon for that.”
Incidentally, “Wichita Town”
ends its reruns on August 26,
while “Gimsmoke” and “Wanted—
Dead or Alive” close out the fol
lowing night. Repeaters conclude
“Wells Fargo” and “The Texan”
on August 29.
“Have Gun, Will Travel” comeS
up -with some new filmings on
September 3, and so does “Bonan
za.” Soon afterwards, on Septem
ber 11, “Overland Trail” and “Tho
Lawman” conclude their rehash
ing, wWle "Wyatt Earp” discards
its second hand material on Sep
tember 13.
“The Rifleman” won’t turn over
a new leaf, as far as programs are
concerned, until September 20. The
following night, “Wagon Train”
falls in line, and on successive eve
nings after that it’s “The Plains
man” and “Rawhide.”
These dates mean nothing to
some of our Mirror readers, but to
countless New Bemians thejr’re
worth circling on the calendar. Nb
doubt about it, this town goes for
westerns in a big way, and it Li
taking more than the Democratio
and Republican conventions, and
the ensuing Presidential election
to get the minds of stalwart citi
zens off cattle rustlers and sundry
other gun-toters.
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