HIGH DIVING HORSE?

I put great stock in imagery, symbols, impressions gained at an early age. Just the sound of certain words and music have great power in my experience. Humor, powerful words, music, colorful designs, eccentric personalities and a wide array of people-types were present in my youth circa 1951 in Atlantic City, NJ. Film-maker/humorist Woody Allen's fictional Annie Hall counter -- Little Alfie - was born under Coney Island's roller coaster. The true life Little Paulie, was born near Atlantic City Steel Pier's High Diving Horse.

In my view, people who take great risks in life easily equate with high diving horses. I mean this as a compliment to both humans and horses.

The Steel Pier was literally a mile long steel and concrete supported entertainment structure extending into the Atlantic Ocean from Atlantic City's boardwalk. Beginning in the 1930s (in my 1950s & 60s youth it continued) Steel Pier was an amazing place for kids and families to have fun indoors and out with first run movies in 3 ornate theaters, an acre of pinball machines, skeeball and arcade games, plus exotic displays and deep water diving bell ride. Three-quarters of the way out a 5-story glass and black iron filegree ballroom glowed nightly with Frank Sinatra, Duke Ellington, Lena Horne, Ella Fitzgerald, Paul Anka, The Beach Boys, Sammy Davis and Joey Bishop. Walking past the outdoor diving bell you'd find yourself coming into sunlight from underneath a grandstand. This was the big deal, the ultimate in breathtaking wonder, the arena at sea for daily shows by a girl bathing beauty rider atop "The World Famous High Diving Horse." More on this later...

Faith in both subtle and obvious power from clear communication is the meaning of life in my book. However, given cultural differences, interpretation, "filters,"and an endless range of variables that which appears as clear to the communicator may be totally contextual, and may confuse as well as inform the receiver. Edward R. Murrow, CBS News' leading investigative broadcast journalist of his time is quoted "just because a man's voice can be heard from one end of the country to the other, is no reason to believe he is making more sense than when heard from one end of the bar to the other". Murrow cautions us to beware of what is being said regardless of the source, good advice in any context.

In 2009 boundaries between entertainment pap and what was once called "hard news" is so blurred there is rarely any distinction. When I worked as a P.R. (public relations, not Puerto Rico) flack for public TV years ago, I would attempt (often successfully) to titillate newspaper editors with the 'newsworthiness' of PBS and NPR program information, interviews with then-new-on-the-scene Bob Vila of This Old House, or classical music host Karl Haas to counter the crap of commercial network TV dominating entertainment pages. This era must be a professional publicist's heyday, as fewer filters placed between that which is old style News reportage and new of the famous, rude, or nearly nude.

More on this High Diving Horse....