Alma Rubens was a movie star, considered to be extremely glamorous, and was the adored idol of the acne and bobby socks set. Leading lady to Douglas Fairbanks Sr., she was indeed a star. Her grand image came crashing down around her, along with her career, and her life. She died of complications from drug addiction, forever dulling the glamour that was her image. She is buried in the Ararat Cemetery in Fresno, California.

I realize that this is only July, but… have you sent out your Halloween invitations yet? Seriously, I found out YEARS ago that if you expect grave and ghost hunters to attend your Halloween gatherings, you had better get them confirmed on your guest list EARLY. People with portfolios of pictures showing graves or ghostly locations are in high demand at those, and by the time October rolls around, they are all booked up. Better get a move on!

This one is for the grave hunters out there. (I ought to add a category on here labeled “advice.) Going after pictures of celebrity graves is one thing, but if you are a true hunter, you are looking for not only the famous, but the interesting as well, and may very well find yourself clawing your way through vines and thorn bushes to get to one of the many completely neglected graveyards this country has to offer. Scissors are good for vines, but for thorn bushes, be sure to have… believe it or not… a really good box cutter. They work incredibly well on them, and help you get where you are going with a minimum of fuss. Just be sure you have permission from the owner or caretaker to remove the vegetation!

If you ARE going to be traveling this season, you probably don’t need anyone telling you about what is essential to take with you. However, a lot of brand new grave hunters don’t realize that, in addition to a really good digital camera, you pretty much need to take a portable home office with you when you go… a laptop to download the pictures, pens and notebooks to log where and when you went… and that is even more essential for ghost hunters. In short, just be prepared, and have a great time!

Well, it’s still July, but autumn is coming soon, and an awful lot of hunters do their traveling in the autumn. I just wanted to add a friendly note of caution, based on a few recent events that appear to have been caused by this depression that they won’t even admit is a recession… be sure you keep safe and buy travel insurance before you go. There are folks out there that target out of area vehicles and people, and those folks are needing more income these days just like everyone else. Out of town folks are less likely to follow through with court appearances, and thieves have a better shot of walking free… so YOU, as the out of town traveler, are the one they will target. Be safe, and get the insurance, so your hunting experience won’t turn into a memory that you don’t want!

Former Yankee All Star and broadcaster Bobby Murcer has died at age 62. He passed away Saturday in his Oklahoma City home after an extended battle with brain cancer. Murcer spent seventeen seasons playing outfield major league ball, and followed that up with twenty three years broadcasting games for the Yankees, a career that ended shortly into this last season due to health issues. You have to wonder what kind of strength equipment and exercise routines a guy comes up with to maintain such a high energy career for so long! A true favorite of Yankee fans (including me), he will be missed.

Known the world over by just the mention of his first name, Elvis certainly made a mark on the musical and theatrical world. Tame by today’s standards, at the early stage of his career he was censored on television, shown only from the waist up, because he couldn’t hold his lower half still while he sang. This gained him the lasting nickname “Elvis the Pelvis” and actually helped boost his fame, if that were possible. With every step of his career his audience grew, through all his gold records to the thirty three movies he made, to the las vegas hotels in which he performed, the people came and the people loved him. He truly was the King of Rock and Roll.

George Carlin, the comedian known for excessively offensive but extremely funny routines, died yesterday in an LA area hospital. He was seventy one years old. Carlin gathered a particularly heavy following back in the seventies with his deliberately offensive routines. It didn’t matter what the subject was, from sexy swimwear to nuns habits, he could find a way to be nasty about it. He was quoted as saying that if a person left the show without having become offended at least once, he hadn’t done his job. He will be greatly missed.

And, this being such a special day, I decided to write a short tribute to a few of the more notable folks who died on this day from history. Back in 1381, a man named Wat Tyler was busy trying to make the world a better place by leading the English Peasant’s Revolution. They beheaded him. I bet they sold tickets and gave away promotional pens for THAT one. Also on this date but in 1841, James Polk bid the world farewell. You might remember the name… he was our eleventh president. For those less historically minded, but who watch the oldies channels, the name Victor French might ring a bell. He and Michael Landon starred together a great deal… most notably on “Little House on the Prairie” and “Highway to Heaven”. He died on this date in 1989. So, there you have it, folks. Even on a day like this, you can find SOMETHING to get creeped out about.

Sorry for the time gap here, folks. Been pretty busy here in my section of the Ozarks. Between my daughter’s graduation, the arrival of my first grandchild, and problems with my webspace provider (do NOT get me started about their tech support!) it has been a LONG couple weeks. And, while my computer is in good shape, I really wish it were possible to buy extra ram for my brain, because I sure could use it. I can’t seem to remember ANYTHING these days. In any event, we will be returning to reporting the oddities shortly. Thank you for having patience with my reality break!