Free Republic
Browse · Search
News/Activism
Topics · Post Article

Skip to comments.

Stop Already (An impersonal act of nature shouldn't be named after American love goddess Hayworth)
The American Prowler ^ | 9/23/2005 | Reid Collins

Posted on 09/22/2005 11:14:37 PM PDT by nickcarraway

This personification business applied to disaster has gone too far. It affords the anchors too much elan to refer to "Rita" as if she were a girlfriend waiting out in the car. The moniker "Rita" is especially abhorrent because it reminds adult males of one Rita Hayworth, the "Love Goddess" of a score of forgettable movies (and a couple worthwhile) who could do more to win a war while posing in a nightgown on a bed than Oppenheimer could do with that little gadget in New Mexico.

So stop. Stop maligning the memory of Margarita Carmen Cansino, the 5' 6" Brooklyn dancer who as Rita Hayworth made strong men weep. (And married five of them.) Legend has it the margarita cocktail was named for her in Tijuana and if not it should have been. I doubt not that in the hearts of some the name "Katrina" has fond significance also, and there are those who wince at the use of that given name not just for the $200 billion price tag but for reasons closer to the heart than the wallet.

Let's find some designation less personal than names of real people as markers for what are after all impersonal acts of nature.

I know not now what the thing called "Rita" has in store for the Gulf Coast, but I got an ominous hint the other day when my service station owner, Tom Gouger, installed starting blocks in the doorway of his station, the better to race out and elevate the prices for gallon on the sign out front. As I explained to him, "When the looting starts, this is the first place we hit."

By any name, the Gulf Hurricane blows some benefit. The pork attached to such omnibus measures as highway bills is getting a little media review. The bridge to a virtually uninhabited island in Alaska is becoming a national joke. The days of the midnight amendment may be numbered. Congress may have to repair to the sane policy of individual measures with specific price tags, and a record vote on each. On that day we may truthfully say, "it was an ill wind that blew some good."

Meanwhile, let us depersonify these storms, assign them a number if need be, and more carefully explain the slight differences in the "catagorization" of said storms as far as wind velocity and storm surge is concerned. That way "a five" will not call for wide-eyed alarm at the anchor desk any more than "a four" requires concealment of disappointment.

That thing out in the Gulf is not deserving of the name, "Rita." The zephyr of the real Rita will waft through aging hearts long after the imposter leaves.

Reid Collins is a former CBS and CNN news correspondent


TOPICS: Constitution/Conservatism; Culture/Society; Editorial; Miscellaneous; News/Current Events; US: Louisiana; US: Texas
KEYWORDS: hurricane; rita; ritahayworth; ritawho
Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first 1-2021-4041-50 next last


1 posted on 09/22/2005 11:14:38 PM PDT by nickcarraway
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | View Replies]

To: nickcarraway
Funny, I thought the hurricane was named after a feline who sounds a lot like Bernadette Peters.

BTW, I think there'll be a need for a new female "K" name in 2011. I nominate "Kathleen".

2 posted on 09/22/2005 11:19:15 PM PDT by supercat (Don't fix blame--FIX THE PROBLEM.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: nickcarraway
Well I guess some day there will be a Hurricane Monica, which will then be a headline writer's wet dream.
3 posted on 09/22/2005 11:19:45 PM PDT by Michael.SF. ('That was the gift the president gave us, the gift of happiness, of being together,' Cindy Sheehan")
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: nickcarraway
The moniker "Rita" is especially abhorrent because it reminds adult males of one Rita Hayworth...

Of what age group? Me, when I hear the name, the song "Lovely Rita" from The Beatles' Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band comes immediately to mind.

Lovely Rita, meter maid,
May I inquire discreetly,
When are you free
To take some tea with me?

4 posted on 09/22/2005 11:24:11 PM PDT by Prime Choice (E=mc^3. Don't drink and derive.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Michael.SF.
Well I guess some day there will be a Hurricane Monica, which will then be a headline writer's wet dream.

ROTFLMAO!

5 posted on 09/22/2005 11:25:54 PM PDT by Fiddlstix (This Tagline for sale. (Presented by TagLines R US))
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 3 | View Replies]

To: nickcarraway

Well, on MSNBC, hurricane coverage this evening was hosted by Rita Cosby.


6 posted on 09/22/2005 11:29:54 PM PDT by My2Cents (The political battles of our day are battles over morality, between the haves and the have nots.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Fiddlstix

Yeah... when will there be a hurricane 'rothflmfao'?


7 posted on 09/22/2005 11:31:54 PM PDT by My Right Foot
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 5 | View Replies]

To: Prime Choice

Let's not forget Rita Moreno.


8 posted on 09/22/2005 11:34:39 PM PDT by ValerieUSA
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 4 | View Replies]

I think my mom, Rita, is having the biggest laugh. She is a native-born Texan, and just celebrated her 65th birthday on the 18th - the day the weather system moved from tropical storm to hurricane status.

No irony there...

FWIW, the last storm to attain a category 5 status...wore my name...

A.A.C.

"Batten down the hatches, mates!"


9 posted on 09/22/2005 11:35:15 PM PDT by AmericanArchConservative (Armour on, Lances high, Swords out, Bows drawn, Shields front ... Eagles UP!)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: nickcarraway
You forget.........

Ava Gardner and...........

Betty Grable!!

10 posted on 09/22/2005 11:35:34 PM PDT by Nitro (I)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: ValerieUSA

...or hurricane Captain Stubing


11 posted on 09/22/2005 11:36:16 PM PDT by My Right Foot
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 8 | View Replies]

To: My Right Foot

Now that I think of it - Hurricane Gilligan would be fitting this year. Dang those hurricane-name-picking-guys :/


12 posted on 09/22/2005 11:37:55 PM PDT by My Right Foot
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 11 | View Replies]

Comment #13 Removed by Moderator

To: AmericanArchConservative
I want to wish your Mom a very happy birthday.......

now, tell her to blow out the candles and head for high ground!!

Galvestan is about to get shit-hammered.

14 posted on 09/22/2005 11:40:03 PM PDT by Nitro (I)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 9 | View Replies]

To: onion_009
Are there any other good online discussion forums other than FR?

No.

15 posted on 09/22/2005 11:40:27 PM PDT by Billthedrill
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 13 | View Replies]

To: ValerieUSA

By the way, Rita Hayworth was famous for being a Hollywood conservative.


16 posted on 09/22/2005 11:41:56 PM PDT by nickcarraway (I'm Only Alive, Because a Judge Hasn't Ruled I Should Die...)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 8 | View Replies]

To: ValerieUSA
Let's not forget Rita Moreno.

*blank stare* Ummm...Rita who?

(Honestly, I'm not trying to be cute. I don't know who you mean.)

17 posted on 09/22/2005 11:44:20 PM PDT by Prime Choice (E=mc^3. Don't drink and derive.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 8 | View Replies]

To: nickcarraway

I suspect most young people don't know who she is. Unless they are movie buffs.


18 posted on 09/22/2005 11:45:28 PM PDT by Daralundy
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Prime Choice
Rita Moreno's first famous role was in West Side Story with Natalie Wood. She's acted and danced in movies and on Broadway for many years since. She was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom on June 23, 2004.


click pic

19 posted on 09/22/2005 11:53:45 PM PDT by ValerieUSA
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 17 | View Replies]

To: Prime Choice
Ummm...Rita who?

You really don't know who Rita Moreno is? How about Natalie Wood? Wow. Just Google Rita's image, great looking lady, even looked good well into her old age.

You've never watched the classic movie "West Side Story"?

I might be getting too old for FR, but I guess we need the new kids to keep it going.

Welcome to FR, keep up the good fight for me.

20 posted on 09/23/2005 12:14:23 AM PDT by benjaminjjones
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 17 | View Replies]


Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first 1-2021-4041-50 next last

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.

Free Republic
Browse · Search
News/Activism
Topics · Post Article

FreeRepublic, LLC, PO BOX 9771, FRESNO, CA 93794
FreeRepublic.com is powered by software copyright 2000-2008 John Robinson