Remembering Ruth Buzzi (1936-2025)

One of the funniest ladies ever, Ruth Buzzi, born July 24, 1936 in Westerly, Rhode Island, passed away yesterday at 88. She studied at the Pasadena Playhouse for the Performing Arts with Dustin Hoffman and Gene Hackman.  

She gained fame for her work on Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In, where she performed a variety of roles and received a Golden Globe for Best Supporting Actress - Television.

She was nominated for three Primetime Emmy Awards. 

She battled Alzheimer's Disease and passed away from complications after a stroke.

Celebrating Black History Month: 1st Rhode Island Regiment, first black military unit

The 1st Rhode Island Regiment was a regiment raised during the American Revolutionary War, which lasted from 1775 to 1783.  Although it is considered the first black military unit, it was not exclusively black.

It was organized on May 8, 1775 under Colonel James Varnum and became known as Varnum's Regiment.  He marched to Massachusetts in June 1775 where they took part in the siege of Boston.  The soldiers, who had signed up until the end of 1775 were discharged on New Year's Eve.

They were reorganized on January 1, 1776 as the 9th Continental Regiment.  When they were reorganized in 1777 they became known as the 1st Rhode Island Regiment.  It was one of the few units in the Continental Army to serve through the entire war, disbanding in November 1783.

Happy birthday, Space Shuttle astronaut William Readdy!

William Readdy, born January 24, 1952 in Quonset Point, Rhode Island, is a veteran of three space shuttle missions.  He graduated high school down the road here in McLean, Virginia and then got his Bachelor of Science in Aerospace Engineering from the U.S. Naval Academy over here in Annapolis, Maryland.

His first flight was as mission specialist aboard Discovery (STS-42) in January 1992.

He served as pilot for his second mission on Discovery (STS-51) in September 1993, which was a servicing mission to the Hubble Space Telescope.

He was commander of his third and final spaceflight on Atlantis (STS-79) in September 1996, the first shuttle mission to arrive at a fully completed Mir space station.  His crew transferred almost two tons of supplies to Mir, including water generated by Atlantis' fuel cells.  The flight home brought Shannon Lucid back to Earth, after setting a record for an American in space at that time.

Deadly Gift by Heather Graham

Contrary to other reviews, I found Deadly Gift, the third installment of Heather Graham’s Flynn Brothers trilogy to be much better than the second, Deadly Harvest. The first, Deadly Night, remains the best of the three. The second and third delved deep into the supernatural but Gift wasn’t as evil and disturbing as Harvest. Perhaps fans of horror will find Harvest more to their liking.

In Deadly Gift, the youngest Flynn brother Zack is called to Ireland to escort a long-time family friend back to the states. Sean O’Riley has been like a father to the Flynn boys so when Sean’s daughter pleads with Zack to fetch him after he falls ill, Zack doesn’t give it a second thought.

Sean planned to spend Christmas in his native country with his new bride, who is the same age as his daughter Kat. But the minute they land in Dublin, he succumbs to a mysterious affliction resembling food poisoning. The doctors cannot find out what happened. Kat charges Zack to bring him back to the states at once. She believes Amanda, her new step-mother, is somehow involved in her father’s sudden illness.

Compounding the situation is the mysterious disappearance of Sean’s business partner Eddie. Both Sean and Zack are eager to return to the U.S. and find out what happened to him. To Zack’s pleasant surprise, Sean’s beautiful nurse Caer Cunningham will accompany her patient back to Rhode Island for the holidays.

Zack is delighted to have her along but senses she’s not all she claims she is. Sean’s aging Aunt Bridey also appears to see more in Caer.

The investigation into Eddie’s disappearance and Sean’s sudden illness is going nowhere until another more blatant attempt is made on Sean’s life and a witness comes forward with a startling revelation.

Zack begins to suspect that these strange events may not have any connection to Sean and Eddie’s business but rather have something to do with a large fortune in buried treasure from the Revolutionary War.

Graham dives deep into Irish supernatural, which has an allure as strong as the Irish culture and lore. I always thought banshees were terrible creature but Graham shows another side of them and their duties on Earth. And I’ll probably never look at a flock of ravens the same way either.

In all three novels, there is a happy ending. The Flynn brother always gets his woman, but in Deadly Gift, the question is ‘what IS his woman?’.