2020 Our lamp is alight, Finally disappearing 2021 Our lamp will again burn brightly More brightly than ever before TOMORROW IS WELCOMED. With this, now slowing, comes peace Not knowing what tomorrow brings Removing susceptible grief Finally, somewhat abating Too soon for applause Though danger is beginning to slow A good time will warm us all Stand straight and aligned, all countrymen It’s always the right hour for a song 2021 is here, let’s all stand straight We must remain strong Hands together, we await! Last year we were all weakened. In God’s eye, we did no wrong. —  HK —

Many years ago, I found myself enamored by a couple of ladies during a particular time period in my life; neither of which had a social connotation. Both of them entertainers par excellence: Martha Graham and Lena Horne.           What got to me the most was simply their way of communicating. Whether it was through dancing, singing, acting, or life in general, they told it to you straight from their well-traveled shoulders. It appears to me today, with our current problems, these two gals still provide us with much we may all learn from. From Martha (left): “Misery is a communicable disease”. And from Lena (right): “It’s not the load that breaks you down, it’s the way you carry it.”

Thinking and Dwelling           A baby asleep quietly in their cradle, for most of us, remains in our mind’s eye as a vision of peace. Then, a stir is added to the mix, and the simplicity of an infant’s crying may be the signal of a family’s rude awakening to the pendency of what a future year at large may hold. Those without incidents of life, being turned upside-down, were free of anything symptomatic of what nature held in store for every living, breathing, human-being worldwide, and remain far outnumbered by the masses.           Three months into the now fabled 2020, our cradles were about to be rocked vehemently. The menacing symptoms science named COVID-19 were challenging everyone in the world. Human mutuality, inhabitants of our world’s societies, were about to experience the bitter taste of relenting punishment for an ominous crime we did not commit. We were all allies, joining forces in a fight against an assailant we could not envision as being possible. Almost all of us became, or were, about to become totally cognoscente of our God-established human mutuality.

(If you sense my resentment over the political intrusion by elected officials into my life as a heavily taxed citizen, congratulations on your perceptiveness. Cathy and da harv, husband and wife, as well as business partners for the past thirty years, hereby offer da harv’s GENERAL “PISSISSATUDES”!)           Yes, without reservation, during the many years, our business life has prospered. We, the two of us, are happy with our chosen profession. From coast-to-coast of this great land, our integrity-driven exploits are noticeably respected throughout the voiceover industry.           For both of us, nothing beats the pleasure of helping people in an effort to improve their lives. Our company, Kalmenson & Kalmenson, as casting directors and educators, has been instrumental in the success of the untold, thousands of actors, worldwide. We don’t keep people from working and making a living, we provide a track for them to run on! Cathy and I have acted as a continual conduit for literally many millions of dollars as a bridge to an unheard number of deserving actors.           We know and understand what it entails to compete for work. I seriously doubt if any of our elected politicians have any idea of what we go through on a daily basis in order to survive. Can you imagine any of the stalwart members of Congress having to audition daily? Or, for that matter, having the nerve to tell their agent to book them out for a recess?           As educators, we don’t receive residuals. We stay in business and continue to grow, predicated on the personal human device known as integrity. We sanctify our brand by our implacably driven display of continually driven business integrity.           On March 15th of this year, 2020, we at Kalmenson & Kalmenson (a seemingly successful small business), had no choice but to close down and cease operations of our extremely prominent voiceover education operations. All current, as well as all prepaid future students, were individually contacted by yours truly, Harvey Kalmenson, who personally informed them of the business and personal debacle we faced. For those of you who are curious as to what our shutdown entailed, herewith follows some very short and salient points of the actual arithmetic of the stall. March 15, 2020: Burbank, Tustin, and Santa Monica went dark, following the edict as set forth by the governor of our state of California. Thirty classes per week were postponed until further notice. Currently, we have about three-hundred students awaiting our reopening, during our first six-week cycle. (Formerly, before the stoppage, we operated on an eight-cycle per year schedule.) The good news is pleasurable. We have had a steady flow of calls from past, and prospective students, enquiring about our return to business expectancy schedule. Cathy and I are prepared to work, day and night, in order to solve the needs of our students. Our hands-on integrity approach to every actors’ education is cranked and, God-willing, we’ll make 2021 a better year than the last.           The happiest of New Year's to all our friends. We especially offer our prayers to our friends and associates in the restaurant industry. There are many entry-level actors who rely on part-time restaurant jobs in order to help them remain active in the voiceover world we live in.           And one more thing, if you have the time for recess. Okay, here I go, back to grammar school again. As a kid, I was under the impression the word ‘recess’  meant it was time to urinate, take a break from studies, and play in the schoolyard. It was all good, for sure—either you didn’t have to worry about not making it to the bathroom, or you got away from the teacher and were allowed to play for a few minutes. If you screwed up, one way or another, our teachers were allowed to inflict some form of punishment. Things like: making you return to the classroom without having a chance to play.           We actually had a teacher who required a student to stand in a corner, facing the wall, for the remaining time left during the recess. These severe punishments were usually dolled out to the boys in the class. For some reason or another, it seemed like little girls never screwed up. Come to think of it, nothing has really changed for me. The little girls, even the big ones, never have to take the blame for screwing up. I mean, I ask you, has Nancy Pelosi ever made a mistake? Oh, I’m sorry, that was political, wasn’t it?           That will have to be it for now. It’s time for recess. If I were a politician, I’d go stand in the corner. That, of course, doesn’t apply to voiceover. We don’t stand in corners, we go around them, where success lies for all the good boys and girls. Happy New Year, to all my friends! HK

Always and Always

What to say

And how do we convey

The sincerest, best wishes from every member of our

Kalmenson & Kalmenson clan

This year has been extreme

Needless to say

Every family and

Each and every friend

Have joined together

With fervent dreams and prayers

For all to be safe

For a joyous Christmas

And for the happiest of New Year’s

Good health and prosperity for all!

– From all of us at Kalmenson & Kalmenson –

Stillness

On this Monday, December 14, 2020

-

How responsive can this a recipient person be

When truly listening,

Dreaming to their heart’s desires

While listening to their mind

Time slows, peaceful in stillness

For those who listen

How sublime a trait

No need to complain, answers appear

Day and each night

Before prayer is offered

When with quietness and stillness

From ones’ heart and mind

Giving willingly, free from rhyme

Guiding, while accepting another’s thoughts

Amazingly, with great fervor

No matter the size of young men’s hands

A new form of herald

To sketch, to sing, and to dance

With almost all others

But most of all

Within the stillness of one’s mind

Smiling when knowing what was learned

By quietly listening

To what another has helped you to find

        There was this kid, in our grammar school, let’s call him “Bobby”, who at best you might describe as being quite raucous. Trust me, that’s putting it mildly—Bobby wasn’t fun to be around. He was a full year behind me at P.S. 233, in Brooklyn, New York. I was thirteen, and he was twelve. (Translation of the schoolyard mentality: I was considered one of the big guys.)
        By then, I was already a seasoned director. (Translation: I was the guy who took charge and told all the rest of the kids what they could or couldn’t do in school, or outside in the playground.) Funny how some things never change. The interesting part about all this was the fact I wasn’t looking for command in the beginning. It always seemed there for me to take charge, and after a while, it became accepted by my buddies.
        In the schoolyard, we always had at least two games going all the time. It usually was baseball, basketball, stickball, touch football, or a variety of oddball games we invented on the fly; two more were: kick the can—and the outright favorite all the parents loved watching from their porches—punchball. Almost every kid from the streets of New York, especially the burrow of Brooklyn, played one form or another of punchball.
        It’s an easy game to understand. In actuality, the game is just like baseball, but without bats or gloves; a rubber ball and your own fist are all it takes. Even the most famous baseball players of all time played punchball. If you’d like to know how popular punchball was, and still is, try this on for size: the one and only Willie Mays played the game.

NOTE: "Popular in New York, especially among poor children who could not afford bats or baseball. Baseball Hall of Famers Nick Hoffman, Sandy Koufax, and Yogi Berra played it growing up!"

        Please don’t get the idea I was as good as Willie or Sandy—I just thought I was. In any event, all of our games began the same way. There were always a couple of guys who were exceptional at a particular sport; those were the guys who were designated to choose up players for their teams. The captains for each team were always one of “the big guys”. I guess some would refer to us as “bullies”! (We weren’t bullies at all. Modestly speaking, we were good athletes, and all of our buddies accepted the way it was.
        Until one day, along comes Bobby (young Mr. Raucous). Referring to me, Bobby said, loudly enough for me to hear, “how come he always gets to be the captain”? Without hesitation, I informed Bobby he was never going to play with us again. I was satisfied I would never hear from Bobby again—I was wrong.
        The very next day, I was summoned to our school principal’s office. There he sat, in all his glory, Dr. Sigmund Fogler. It was a strange meeting. “I need your help on this one”, the principal said. He was serious but at the same time, cordial. He continued, “Bobby’s mother was in to see me. She’s having a tough time with Bobby since his father passed away.” I was instantly taken aback. It came as a double dose. It was my first real, up close and personal, exposure to the death of a friend’s parent, and I found myself speechless. Dr. Fogler instantly picked up on how uncomfortable I had become.
        We had all been wondering where Bobby had been for the previous three weeks. The principal continued to explain how Bobby’s mom and dad had not been together for about a year. Bobby got to see his dad only on weekends. And Bobby had lost his only real friend. That evening, when I was alone with my dad preparing to listen to a Dodger game, I explained what had been explained to me during my visit to the principal’s office. “Give me a minute before you turn the radio on,” my dad requested. “Your principal thinks a great deal about you, Harv. He’s asking you to help out with Bobby.”
        My dad was speaking to me, man-to-man, as usual. And as usual, I knew there was a special message coming my way. “What can I do, Dad?” “Two things”, he replied. I listened intently: “Tell him, man-to-man, in a friendly way, you’d like to talk to him privately without the rest of the kids listening in. Tell him, honestly, your feelings. Offer him your honest gesture about you being saddened by his loss. Offer him your hand, the way you and I shake.”
        Then, my dad was quiet for a short pause. “Then ask Bobby to come along with us to see the Dodgers play this coming Saturday. And if Bobby says he’d like to come with us, let him know it’s okay to share it with the rest of the gang. And one more thing, Harv, make sure you listen to what Bobby has to say. Make-believe I’m the one you’re listening to. Seeing that new guy, Jackie Robinson, playing for the Dodgers may help him smile, yah think?!! It helped us, Harv, didn’t it?!!”

HK

Around the Corner and Up Your Street

        Tomorrow: it will be here quickly. Have you noticed tomorrow seems to be upon us sooner than ever before? 2020 has been a year of disappearing time. For centuries, the greatest minds in our civilization have been unable to slow the passage of time.

        In St. Augustine, the oldest city in the U.S., there's a tourist attraction dating back a century that purports—albeit in a tongue-in-cheek way—to be the fountain of youth that Ponce de Leon discovered soon after he arrived in 1513, in what is now Florida.

Ponce DeLeon: killed in Cuba, 1521. He was the first governor of Puerto Rico.

        Of course, time flying by doesn’t apply to the nature of children, especially when they’re kids in some parts of the world awaiting Christmas to arrive. Kids have far less patience for the good stuff to come. Besides, nothing is truly meaningful until any of us either feel our mortality or are fortunate enough to discover what they consider to be our purpose in life.
        Please excuse the politics—I’ve been a political news addict for most of my adult life. The other day I watched intensely as the President of the United States bestowed upon Lou Holtz (one of the greatest coaches in American history), the Presidential Medal of Freedom, our country’s highest civilian honor. I personally consider Lou Holtz as one of the most inspiring human beings our country has ever produced. Lou Holtz loves his family, his country, as well as each and every young person he took on, cultivating a lifetime of kindness and friendship.

        Don’t allow Lou Holtz’s appearance to fool you; while he appears to be a very kind older gentleman, Lou Holtz is as tough as you’d expect the coach of the Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team to be.

“Don't tell your problems to people: eighty percent don't care, and the other twenty percent are glad you have them.”

Lou Holtz

        I wonder if the attached quote is an accurate appraisal for one hundred percent of our American populous. I wish Coach Holtz would answer as to whether or not our elected officials are part of his theory? If what he puts forth is accurate, then what would be the purpose behind any of us voting?
        I would like Lou Holtz to reconsider his position regarding his discouraging appraisal (although I have my own assertions). I believe at the outset of a politician’s election to the office when he or she raises their right hand, and most likely clutches a bible as well, they mean what taking the oath of office implies. My contention is a positive one. I believe they all plan on respecting the Constitution. The problem is simple, as da harv sees it; it’s simply a fact of life, our politicians live too long. They’re in the political office far too long. They become far too comfortable, and it gnaws away at their ability to think clearly.

(17th-century English life expectancy was only about 35 years. Life expectancy was under 25 years in the early Colony of Virginia, and in seventeenth-century New England, about 40 percent died before reaching adulthood.)

        In short, today’s population is far outliving what any of our founding fathers could have possibly imagined when they completed writing the Constitution. Try this on for size: today, the average age for members of the House at the beginning of the 115th Congress was 57 years, and Senators, 62 years—about the oldest in U.S. history.
        In my humble opinion, our only solution is to vote them out. I doubt if there is any likelihood of our elected officials voting, in term limits. My question is: why should any elected official be allowed to serve for a longer period of time than our president?

        And another thing I noticed: Overall, 60% of Americans say they would definitely or probably get a vaccine for the coronavirus if one were available today, up from 51% who said this in September. About four in ten (39%) say they definitely or probably would not get a coronavirus vaccine, though about half of this group – or 18% of U.S. adults – says it’s possible they would decide to get vaccinated once people start getting a vaccine and more information becomes available.

        History lesson of little consequence: when (the) Harvey Kalmenson, of Kalmenson & Kalmenson, was a child and at the behest (make that command) set forth by his mother and father. He followed their very short dissertation and presentment of fact, rolling up his sleeve and becoming one of the first recipients in his family to receive a smallpox vaccination.

Note we all should be pleased with:

After smallpox was eliminated from the world, routine vaccination against smallpox among the general public was stopped because it was no longer needed. However, because of concern that the variola virus might be used as an agent of bioterrorism, the U.S. government has stockpiled enough smallpox vaccine to vaccinate everyone who would need it if a smallpox outbreak were to occur.

        I’m so pleased to spread the good news, it’s a page from my dear father’s book: “Begin the day hunting for something good to say!”
        Regardless of what any of the grief folks have to say, everything’s going to come up roses. I’m not trying to feed you a line; it’s a fact for everyone to know, regardless of your political bent: WE HAVE A VACCINE FOR THIS HORRIBLE VIRUS CURRENTLY UPON US ALL!! 

        An American four-star General has prepared his team, for the immediate distribution of the vaccine to begin after approval of this commodity.

        And one more thing to know, understand, and believe: no country in this world we live in is better equipped to stockpile and develop ways of protecting all of us than our American scientists and the distribution arm of the United States army! I have been there and participated firsthand in what our folks can accomplish when we stand together with our stout hearts on display!
Wave the flag, brothers and sisters, wave the flag. Some may have forgotten; it's red, white, and blue!

HK

Approximations

        By now, most of you with better than average intelligence, have figured out da harv is a prominent guy; enjoys doing things because it makes him really feel good, often times traveling his road with an unbiased, unabashed, exhilaration for life caused by undeserved blessings, despite the kind words being sent to me. Without measurement, thank you!

        If I were a king, or any counterpart of his kingdom, I’d find need to send fourth a proclamation attesting to the joys of sharing a kind word to all living creatures within my domain. The saintly Latins referred to it as an edictum. 

        In the military, we were often heard to say, "Now hear this proclamation: All of you within the sound of my voice, or within reach of a pen, are required to send out a kind word of encouragement to any of your choice. There is no measurement worthy of describing the effect of a kind word received."

        Two of the many things I got from my mother and father, not necessarily in the exact order of appearance: my mother would say, “Who the hell cares what they think! Say what’s on your mind as long as you’re telling the truth. If they can’t handle the truth, it’s too damn bad!” 

        My father, on the other hand, had a much different approach to life than my mom. “Be careful about what you say. Most people, by nature, are not good listeners. If you must talk, Harv, make sure you are telling the truth but be prepared—many people won’t be able to handle the truth, which explains why politicians are free to get away with the bullshit they so indiscriminately spread around!”

        My father loved Theodore Roosevelt, our 26th president of the United States. “Walk softly, but carry a big stick”, was one of dad's favorite quotes.

        “You know Harv, the Teddy bear is named for him”. And then my dad, who never went past the fourth grade, recited just about everything President Roosevelt had accomplished during his days in office.

        And speaking of parental gifts, the year was 1929... New York City had a population of approximately 6.5 million. On Black Monday, October 28, 1929, the Dow Jones Industrial Average declined nearly 13 percent. When we had the historic market crash, my dad was twenty-seven years of age and married with one child, my oldest sister—da harv was a mere four years away from joining them. My mom and dad were flat broke: no business, no job, no money, and a few days from moving in with one of the many aunts and uncles who all happened to be in the same boat, paddling upstream as fast as they could. Between the two sides, nine brothers and sisters on my dad's and another eight on my mother's, contributed to unemployment soaring to a nifty 25% by the time they first heard little da harv complain about not having his own room.

Bing Crosby asks the question: “Brother, Can You Spare A Dime?”

        And like so many of us today, their lives were deeply influenced by an even wider variety of medical problems for them to deal with. All the many things we take for granted were nonexistent in the late 1920s, and well into the very late 1930s.

        There was no such a thing as “the middle class”. An up-to-date list of what the Americans of that particular era didn’t have is absolutely overpowering!

Note: In the 20s and 30s, vaccines were almost all non-existent.

Childhood disease was commonplace.

        Imagine, if you will, what families had to live with and face on a life-threatening, daily basis. And then, before these stalwart people could catch their collective breaths, along comes one of the most despicable incidents of a lifetime: World War II was upon them. Our American spirit had been awakened by a sneak punch! Nothing before, or since, has exceeded the determination shown by the same people of my parent's generation, who were struggling through an epic depressive decline to the welfare of the United States of America.

        In 1928, at St. Mary's Hospital, London, Alexander Fleming discovered penicillin. This discovery led to the introduction of antibiotics that greatly reduced the number of deaths from infection. It wasn’t until the 1940s that the full roll-out of these wonder drugs managed to take hold, 12 years from the date of discovery. Today, it was announced the third pharmaceutical company has their Covid-19 vaccine ready to distribute, and it took nine months to develop.

Beyond Measurement

At a time like this

When one person offers a kind word

Carrying forth great strength

Lifting the most seemingly heavy burdens

Life has presented without cause

And of the good

A kind word generates

Through endearment

An endless enabler

Far beyond measurement

This resultant allowance

A lasting firmament

The best any man may offer

To any other man

This single word

Of kindness

Deliberately spoken

HK