This week we had another round of severe storms that led to street flooding. We used to have such events every so often in New Orleans. Now we have them on a nearly monthly basis. Climate change? What climate change? EPA? Who needs the EPA? We do.

Dr. A and I took Claire Trevor to the vet this week. She has a chronic condition: a gimpy right paw. It’s gotten a bit worse this year, so we bundled her off to the vet. She has a reputation as a hell cat based on past vet visits but she’s mellowed with age. One could even call her a reformed butthead. Perry Mason is an eternal butthead.

Claire was calm enough to be X-rayed for the first time. There are no broken bones in her past, so there’s a good chance the problem is arthritis. We can deal with that.

The featured image is a montage of Great Gatsby book covers. You’ll see why in our second act. Suffice it to say for now that it’s one of my favorite novels. I’m afraid that’s not very novel but it’s true.

I wanted something with a positive title for this week’s theme song. We all need a reason to believe that things will get better. They can’t get much worse.

Tim Hardin wrote this week’s theme song for his eponymous 1965 debut album. It’s evolved into a classic that’s been recorded over 100 times.

We have two versions of Reason To Believe: the Hardin OG and Rod Stewart.

Ready for a different song with the same title? It’s Boss but not Bossa Nova.

Do I need a reason to post another song with reason in the title? Discuss amongst yourselves.

I alluded to a Beatles song earlier. Here’s Cheap Trick’s take on Getting Better:

We begin our second act by going all Gatsby on your asses.

The Great Gatsby At 100: F Scott Fitzgerald was forgotten for many years but made a comeback during my misspent youth. I recall reading Gatsby in high school and being dazzled by the prose and characters.

San Mateo High School had a diverse student body in those days, so I went to school with some super rich kids. I hung out with some kids from uber wealthy Hillsborough, which made me identify with The Great Gatsby’s narrator Nick Carraway. I knew my share of careless people like Daisy and Tom Buchanan. I can’t say I knew any mysterious Jay Gatsby types. High school kids are more likely to be bumptious than mysterious.

That brings me to a swell piece by Alexander Manshel in The New Yorker: How The Great Gatsby Took Over High School. The book wasn’t part of the canon when I was in high school, but I had an adventurous English teacher who was teaching it for the first time. The kids in my class dug it and most of them were not readers. The book has stuck with me and remains a personal favorite. Thanks, Miss Jackson.

The last word of our second act goes to Duke Ellington with a song that’s mentioned in The Great Gatsby:

We begin our third act with our favorite stolen feature.

Separated At Birth Casting Edition: I have the Roaring Twenties on my mind today. It was the age of bootleg whisky and so-called race records. One of the best singers of the era was Bessie Smith who was played by Queen Latifah in a swell 2015 HBO biopic.

We’ll let Bessie sing us to the next segment with one of her signature songs.

While we’re at it, we might as well play this tune:

Your Weekly Oscar: This week, a song composed by a man with an unfortunate name, Elnar Aaron Swan. I don’t know about you but if Elnar was my first name I’d go by E. Aaron Swan or call myself Shecky. Oops, I already do that. Never mind.

We begin our OP doubleheader with a collaboration between our  hero and the great saxophonist Ben Webster. It’s followed by OP’s hero Nat King Cole with arranger and conductor Billy May.

Have I told you lately how much I love Oscar Peterson? He felt the same way about Nat.

While we’re on the subject of Billy May, he recorded The Sheik Of Araby in 1956. May’s opinion of The Great Gatsby is unknown.

The Best Of Buster: I’m afraid of heights but I still love this hilarious Buster Keaton short. I would not, however, go along for the ride.

Classic Movie Trailer: The Great Gatsby has been filmed multiple times. This version is my favorite because it best captures the spirit of the book.

Grading Time: I give Baz Luhrmann’s The Great Gatsby 4 stars and an Adrastos Grade of A-.

Saturday GIF Horse: I nearly resisted the temptation to post this overused GIF of Leo as Gatsby but what’s a little overuse among friends?

A toast and fireworks call for a marginally relevant tune:

Your Weekly Political Cartoon: I’m not the only one with Trump’s fakakta Alcatraz scheme on their mind.

— Mike Luckovich (@mluckovich.bsky.social) 2025-05-07T21:32:57.469Z

Let’s close down this virtual honky tonk with some more music.

Saturday Closer: Another week, another doubleheader from the Sullivan archives. The second number is a bona fide oddity. I’m all about bona fide oddities.

That’s all for this week. The last word goes to Clint Eastwood in Escape From Alcatraz.