SUNDAY MORNING

If, up until now, you've not been in the habit of watching the CBS program, "Sunday Morning", you're (in my opinion) missing the best 90 minutes on television. It's on at the unGodly time, again in my opinion, of 7 a.m. Sometimes, it even airs at 6 and I don't know many people who are up at that hour on the weekend. If you're lucky you can save it by way of TIVO or some other means of taping it. We no longer have that capability, so it means an early rising hour and it's absolutely worth it.

When we first discovered the program, years ago, Charles Kuralt was the host. Currently it's anchored by Charles Osgood, whom you may know as a radio broadcaster. The range of subjects covered each week is, in my opinion, fascinating and I've never come away with less than a feeling of high praise for what I've just watched. Following is a smattering of what was on today's program after a brief summary of the past week's headlines,

The first article was on Egypt, looking forward and backward. For 5,000 years the country has suffered one oppressor after another and we were given a short review of that history. 

Next two cardiologists were interviewed by Dr. Sanjay Gupta, regarding "The Heart of the Matter", in which the sublime engine of the human body was compared to the symbol of love the heart signifies.

Leonardo da Vinci was the first to draw the human heart

Edgar Allen Poe wrote "The Tell Tale Heart"

The Tin Woodsman was in search of a heart.

The next subject approached was Marriage and the fact that it's certainly not obsolete, but the feeling of its necessity is weaker than it once was. People in a good marriage are about as happy as you can get, but the perception has changed since 1962 when every marriage needed a boss.....almost always the man. People are marrying later and maternity wedding dresses aren't unheard of. Weddings may be on the wane, but not the wedding business, which is burgeoning.

After another ubiquitous commercial, Donald Rumsfeld talked about mistakes made in Iraq and looked back at his career. Normally I wouldn't be much interested, but every subject on Sunday Morning captures my attention......every single time.

Next, there was a total change of subject. Boom Boxes, introduced in the late 1970s, were discussed. They were walking jukeboxes and took music out of the living room into the world where they represented community defiance and were a symbol of rebellious spirit. Over time, they evolved into the little handheld gadgets now listened to with earbuds rather than allowing them to pollute the air around us as once was the case.

"The Salt of the Earth" took us into the salt mines and explained how much salt is used during the snowy, icy weather in cold parts of the country and then how the salt runoff has to be monitored in the streams and lakes.

I loved the next segment on Herb Alpert. We used to be huge fans of the sounds of his Tijuana Brass. He's still very much alive and well and living in Malibu in a house he designed surrounded by gardens in which his own sculptural pieces are placed.

I had no idea that he was of Russian heritage rather than having an Hispanic background and that the sound of his band was born of attending bullfights and translating the feeling of the atmosphere into music. 

 He's donated, I think they said, $100,000,000 through his foundation to art schools. He stated clearly that he feels he is blessed and is compelled to pass it on. 

Nearing the end of the program, we were treated to a story of a lady who has a vast collection of Valentines, some from the 18th century. Individual  cards and drawings were shown and I asked Mr. Bob if he was now convinced that Hallmark hadn't invented the idea just to line their pockets. He mumbled something in response.

Sunday Morning always ends with a couple of minutes of nature photography. No narration, just the sounds of the surroundings. This morning we were treated to flamingoes in Florida and the trigger finger on my camera just missed a scene where two flamingoes necks formed a heart. This was the best I could do:

Charles Osgood always concludes the program with the hope that you'll tune in again next Sunday and then he says, "Meanwhile I'll see you on the radio".

It was on Sunday Morning that we discovered the Oakland Interfaith Gospel Choir and subsequently attended one of their concerts. It was on Sunday Morning that we found out that Porto's, our own Cuban bakery right here in Glendale, was voted the top bakery in the country. Long before YouTube, it was only on Sunday Morning that Vladimir Horowitz could be seen and heard in the concert he played when he returned to his home country of Russia after the end of the Cold War.

I hope you'll feel intrigued enough to tune in next Sunday morning.