I wonder if rich people own chain saws.

In this post: Rainfall totals, William Holden.

I have some absolutely swell news to report from Howdygram headquarters, drought-wise. The storm system that plowed through the Dallas area on Thursday deposited 5.11 inches of rain and the level of Lake Ray Hubbard Reservoir rose by 8 inches. THAT’S REALLY HUGE, PEOPLE. Apparently they’re expecting the reservoir to rise even more with the runoff from area creeks and tributaries, which are all above flood stage right now … especially Duck Creek, which is practically right around the corner and runs through Mesquite and Garland. I’M SO DAMN HAPPY I COULD SLAP AN ARMADILLO! For your possible interest the map below indicates: A) Howdygram headquarters; B) Duck Creek; C) Lake Ray Hubbard Reservoir; and D) our favorite Denny’s at I-30 and Belt Line. We like their Senior Scrambled Eggs.

I also want to share a couple of storm photos that I offloaded from a local news website last night. The second photo with the uprooted tree was the from a tornado that touched down in a number of snooty neighborhoods in Dallas. I wonder if rich people own chain saws.

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If you’re a regular Howdygram reader you probably know by now that William Holden is one of my all-time favorite actors. So it might surprise you to find out that TCM showed a William Holden movie a couple of days ago that I’d never seen before, and for me this is very big hoo-hah indeed. Father Is a Bachelor (1950) is a genuine jaw-dropper. Never in my wildest dreams did I ever expect to see William Holden as a medicine show snake oil salesman in blackface ... SINGING and PLAYING THE SPOONS.

The movie also stars Colleen Gray, Stuart Erwin and Billy Gray. Colleen and Billy are not related to each other in case you give a crap.

As far as I can tell the story is set in the late 1800s, and Holden’s character, Johnny Rutledge, is suddenly unemployed when the quack he works for is arrested for selling fake medicine and thrown in jail. Rutledge ends up as a drifter, runs into a family of five orphaned children living alone in a cabin and miraculously turns into a soft-hearted slob who hocks his last valuable possession (a gold watch) to buy them food, sing lullabies, make a dress for the five-year-old little sister and walk the kids to school. Billy Gray is one of the orphans (he plays the harmonica), Colleen Gray is Holden’s love interest and Stu Erwin is the local constable.

Father Is a Bachelor was the last semi-drecky movie that William Holden ever made. A few short months later his career hit the stratosphere with phenomenal successes like Sunset Blvd. (1950), Born Yesterday (1950), Union Station (1950), Submarine Command (1951), Boots Malone (1952), Stalag 17 (1953), Executive Suite (1954), Sabrina (1954), The Bridges at Toko-Ri (1954), The Country Girl (1954), Love Is a Many-Splendored Thing (1955), Picnic (1955) and The Bridge on the River Kwai (1957). Holy crap.

It’s 10:30 Saturday night and time for a very, very late dinner because I haven’t eaten anything for too many hours and I’M STARVING. I’m considering a couple of nuked frozen hamburgers and instant gravy with mushrooms. Don’t be jealous and thank you for dropping in.