BILL CHERRY

The Story of Franny Kay’s Bout with Lew’s Piano

By Bill Cherry

The glow of sunset in the summer skies,
The golden flicker of the fire flies,
The gleam of love light in your loving eyes,
These are the things I love
--Words by Harold Barlow, Music by Lewis Harris

Galveston implant, Lew Harris, wrote the music to this song when, just out of Boston College, he was the pianist with the house orchestra at Manhattan’s famous Rainbow Room.

Over the years, Lew Harris’ song, “These Are the Things I Love,” has been recorded by Judy Garland, Frank Sinatra, Caterina Valente, Della Reese, even jazz trumpet player, Dizzy Gillespie.

But to Galvestonians, the most memorable version was sung by Robert Goulet, because it was the theme song for Lew Harris’ wife, Frances’ 54-consecutive year radio program for the Island’s KGBC-AM.

After University of Texas, Frances Kay Harris (the Kay was her maiden name) was trying her hand as a Broadway theater actress when she met Lew, who was in New York making his way as a composer of musical comedy.

Within what seemed to both of them like moments, they married.

It was the war years, and things were tight, especially for a couple who had two children, aspiring to make their way in the entertainment business

In 1947, with the almost constant encouragement from Frances’ dad, they gave up Broadway and moved to Galveston. Lew joined his father-in-law in the general insurance business; Frances took up daily broadcasting the women’s news. Tracy and Johnny enrolled in public schools.

Lew’s dream was to own a Baldwin grand piano. He had no trouble picturing it in their Harve Lafitte home’s living room. But, after all, he once confided in me, a grand piano is a rather selfish thing to buy when you’re the only one in the family who is serious about his music.

Nevertheless, for a number of years he saved a few bucks at a time until he had $10,000 in his “piano fund.” He called Joe Ginsberg at Ginsberg’s Music Center, and had him order the exact Baldwin model grand he had always wanted.

When Joe called him to let him know the instrument was in and ready to be delivered, Lew withdrew from his Moody National Bank special account, $10,000 in one hundred dollar bills. And he took them to Joe as a way of adding an emphasis to the accomplishment.

When it was delivered, Lew’s decorating eye was confirmed. It did look great in the living room, and the sound and tone displayed themselves magnificently as they bounced against the big floor to ceiling windows that overlooked their backyard pool.

Some years after Lew had died, Frances called me. “Bill, it’s Franny Kay.” I had always jokingly called her Franny Kay, and she had always made out like what she had heard me say was “Frances Kay.”

This was the first time she had ever referred to herself to me as Franny Kay; a milestone since at least 35 years had passed since I had first decided I’d call her that. It had always been our subtle joke.

“Tracy is coming home for the holidays, and she may want to play Lew’s piano. When can you come tune it?”

The day I arrived for the appointment, Franny Kay had her little manicure table-for-two set up next to the big windows that overlooked the pool. Her manicurist was on the way to attend to her nails and to gossip.

That afternoon, Franny Kay’s lifelong friend, Ruth Kempner, would stop by for their almost daily game of for-blood Scrabble.

Her maid, who had been with her for decades, had a small TV set sitting in front of herself at the breakfast table. The maid’s head was on the table in her arms; she was asleep. The TV chattered on and on as if she weren’t.

I sat down at Lew’s piano to begin to play. Nothing came out. The keys couldn’t be depressed. What in the world is wrong, I thought.

When I opened the lid of Lew’s $10,000 magnificent Baldwin grand piano, the strings were fully covered by at least an inch of cat hair!

“Franny Kay, what in the world? How do I tune a piano that doesn’t play? Why has the cat been sleeping inside of Lew’s piano?”

“Bill, you’ve got to learn to love animals more. Since Lew died, no one has been here to play or enjoy his piano but my cat. It brings her great pleasure. But I guess she’ll have to find another place to sleep. Can you fix it?”

“I can’t, but I use a piano restoration company that will be able to. I’ll pull out the action and take it there and get an estimate for you,” I promised. “But there’s no way Tracy will be able to play Lew’s piano this holiday season.”

“Franny Kay? It’s Bill Cherry. The restoration company said it will cost just shy of $5,000 to bring Lew’s piano back up to snuff.”

When I brought the action back, put it in place, then tuned Lew’s Baldwin grand, the first tune I played for Franny Kay was Lew’s song, “These Are the Things I Love.” She smiled throughout it all.

I thought of the friendship I had enjoyed with the remarkable Franny Kay and Lew Harris since I had been a child.

Then be darned if the manicurist didn’t ring the doorbell and break my spell. Franny Kay went to greet her, and I packed my tools and left.

About two years later, the phone rang. “Bill, it’s Frances. My computer is upstairs, and I think it’s time to move it downstairs. The only place I can think of where it will fit is where Lew’s piano is. What should we do with Lew’s piano?’

“That’s easy. Lew was rabid about raising money for the Moody House Retirement Home. What about putting it on permanent loan there?”

And that’s what she did.

Frances Kay Harris left us on January 22, 2012. She was 94.

Copyright 2012 – William S. Cherry

BILL CHERRY, REAL ESTATE BROKER

Dallas - Park Cities
Since 1964
214 503-8563

I’ll admit that I’ve been on a rampage writing blogs about the secrets of some prominent Dallas investment advisers, financial planners, and the like.

It all started when I did some checking, and what I found out I didn't like!

Well-known celebrities and business people offer their personal endorsements before, during and after some of the investment advisers' radio infomercials.

And just like those who are listening to their endorsement, you have to believe that they are willy-nilly endorsing someone whose ineptitudes and legal violations they know nothing about. If they did, they would probably distance themselves all together.

Prominent TV ministers, a well-known owner of a real estate company, baseball and football players, doctors, New York Times Best Seller authors, political figures – even state governors. The list of endorsers goes on and on.

And it's outrageous!

If you plan to use a financial adviser, or if you use one now, you should do your due diligence, and do it frequently. Here are some good places to begin a search to find out the truth:

Federal Criminal and Civil Suits. www.pacer.gov. Register for a free account. You can then access all of the U.S. court records. The cost is 8 cents per page.

State Criminal and Civil Suits. Google your state’s name plus judicial branch. You’ll find how to see all public and legal documents.

Broker and Securities Misconduct. To check to see whether or not your broker is actually registered to trade securities – and at least one Dallas radio hotshot isn’t -- his license was revoked and he paid a big fine for misconduct. (Nevertheless, he continues on) www.finra.org/investors/toolscalculators/brokercheck/index.htm.

Judgments and Liens. Here’s an interesting source. www.publicrecordcenter.com. In addition, for a nominal fee, the service will do a specific background check to see if there are bankruptcies, criminal convictions, pending lawsuits in your adviser’s past or present.

Forget the free seminar that comes with the free hors doeuvre, dinner, cocktails, chance to win a free trip to Mexico, the book with all of the answers, and the free one-on-one later visit at the adviser's office.

Do your homework. And if all seems on the up and up, ask the guy what his personal net worth is. That, after all, is a fair question. If he is barely hanging on, why would you want to buy his advice?

BILL CHERRY, REAL ESTATE BROKER

Dallas-Park Cities
Since 1964
214 503-8563

Former Home of Jack's of Dallas
8307 Preston Road near Northwest Highway

There is a historic site in Dallas that isn’t noted on Google, and I couldn’t find any mention of the man who built from scratch what became an iconic and copied men’s barber shop.

Before you pass judgment, please hear me out.

He was Jack Pitts and his fancy men’s hair salon was named Jack’s of Dallas.

Prior to Jack's of Dallas, for years and years, white men’s hairdos were reduced to about five styles: white walls, tapered, DAs, crew, and butch cuts.

Men like Bill Haley of Bill Haley and the Comets had slight adaptations – Haley had a hair squiggle that hung down on his forehead – but in the main, you went into the barber shop and picked white wall, tapered, DA, crew or butch.

And you hoped the barber hadn't made too big of a mess before he massaged Wild Root Cream Oil (Charlie) on the top to plaster it down with the hopes of hiding his mistakes from you.

As far as parts go, the barber never remembered were it was. He picked a place he liked best.

Of course every haircut was finished with brushing your neck with Jeris talc so that small pieces of the cut hair would go down the backside of your shirt collar and cause you to itch for the remainder of the day.

My hair was both course and thick – I had lots of it.

And nothing much made the top ever look orderly.

When I was in the 7^th grade, I became sure it wasn’t because I was 5’5” and weighed 120 lbs. that kept me from being a strong competitor against the football players for the pretty girls’ attention.

Bill with Crew Cut in 1954 ===>>

It was definitely the unruly hair.

So I went to a crew cut, held standing straight up and level across the top with a product heretofore used by black men called Royal Crown Hair Dressing. There were two more" Murray's Pomade and Peach Hair Dressing.

All of the stuff smelled, so I tried covering it up with extra blasts of Old Spice cologne.

I noticed no one got too close to me. But what was I to do?

Then a hair miracle happened in 1964!

Jack’s of Dallas appeared on the scene, and with it came the razor cut and the finished product styled and held in place with a new product called Dep.

No one’s hair would dare move after a dose of Dep jell, cooked in place with a hot bonnet hair dryer, and then that hold further guaranteed afterwards by five long spray can spritzes of lacquer.

Jack Pitts became my hero. I was able to have a regular haircut, and it would stay in place, and I could look like a grown man.

Never mind it cost $7 plus tip a week when regular barbers were will getting $1.50. He transformed me into the man I had dreamed I could be --- if only I could wear a regular hair style.

<<== Bill 1965, Jacks' of Dallas Hairstyle

Boys and men by the droves fought for appointments with Jack. Norris of Houston brought the same concept there.

While better hair products have come, and my hair has gotten less course and thinner, nevertheless, without Jack Pitts and his Jack’s of Dallas, I would have been a hairstyle outcast for at least the first forty years of my life.

So I am lobbying the City of Dallas to install a historical marker on the site of Jack’s of Dallas, 8307 Preston Road.

It’s the right thing to do.

BILL CHERRY, REAL ESTATE BROKER

Dallas = Park Cities
Since 1964
214 503-8563

An electric service company, Milestone Electric, has popped up in the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex within the past few years.

It has grown into a large company. And it must have an enormous marketing budget because of its many TV and radio ads.

Yesterday afternoon, I was driving east on Northwest Highway near the Buckner exit. Two ladies in a small car had a flat tire and had pulled off of the road.

The big Milestone Electric truck was parked in front of them, and the uniformed electrician was changing their tire.

My guess is that a lot of those of us drove by and saw that act of good citizenship will use Milestone in the future, who might not have as a result of having seen and heard their TV and radio ads. I'm one of them.

BILL CHERRY, REAL ESTATE BROKER

Since 1964
Dallas – Park Cities
214 503-8563

I was a child when the U.S. wondered if it would remain free. World War II was raging, and everyone was pretty scared.

Many of my friends’ dads were in Europe fighting for our freedom. Some came home injured. Some came home dead.

From our parents to our school teachers to our ministers to our parents’ friends, patriotism was taught to us and continually reinforced.

It has stuck with me.

For an example, I have never owned a home where I didn’t fly the American flag, and I never will.

Our flag stays up day and night, but we follow the proper procedure -- keeping it lighted after sundown.

I put my hand over my heart when I say the "Pledge of Allegiance" and sing the "Star Spangled Banner."

Back then, U.S. Government buildings always flew flags. Brand spanking new ones.

And every morning one of the employees raised that building's flag, and every evening before sundown, one of the employees took the flag down, and it was then properly folded.

Today, I noted that the postal substation I usually use had a faded, tattered flag flying. Its main station had a naked flag pole, no flag flying at all.

Bad enough that bunch is losing money right and left, but there is no excuse for it being lax on flag etiquette.

If the person in charge worked for me, today would have been his last day.

Bill Cherry, Real Estate Broker

Since 1964
Dallas – Park Cities

214 5093-8563