AV Geeks 16mm Lunch 4-30-2025

Hi everybody. I'm Skip Alzheimer. Welcome to the AV Keats Lunchtime Streaming Show where we watch old 16 mm films. And I'm still sick, but uh feeling better. I can do stuff, but I still have these periodic coughing fits and so I don't feel really up to doing a live show. Uh anyways, we've got some more films to watch today. First of all, it's going to be Eye to Eye, which is made by this amazing filmmaker, uh Tulio Pelleigrini, who was San Francisco based, who uh he was a I guess a camera aficionado and designed uh different lenses uh for amateur uh film cameras and uh did a lot of really great uh films. He did this uh kind of cinemascope of uh San Francisco which has gotten some uh uh it hasn't gone viral but people have have seen it and it's really amazing. Uh next uh Rainbow is yours. Good old Jam Handy. Uh then Dollar Drain. Uh and then wait no I'm sorry. Then using visual hold this cold medication's kind of using visual aids and training. Then dollar drain uh which is about uh budgeting. Then uh of course our old friend uh Hoja returns with Hoa's revival. Um thanks for watching and thanks for your well wishes. I'll get through this. Um, and hopefully that I'll be able to uh do a show on Saturday, a live show in Durham at the fruit. Uh, there's a kind of flea market festival called Let's Get Physical Media, and it's uh vendors who have VHS and other forms of physical media. Uh, and myself, I'm doing a show AV Geeks on how to be an AV Geek. And, uh, also LunchMe VHS, who we've had on here, I think, uh, will also be on there, uh, doing a show about, uh, from his collection of VHS. So, um, that is I think we're doing our show from 7 to 9. Uh, but anyways, I have to, uh, get better. So, thanks for watching. If you like what you saw, hit the thumbs up, hit the like button, uh, go to ko-fi.com/avgeeks or patreon.com/avgeeks or use the superthanks button to support us financially. Um, all right, let's watch some films. Enjoy. [Music] Vision, man's most cherished gift. It is through the eye that we can see the shapes of things, the movement and variety of things around us, and above all the colors of the spectrum. Today, man has devised various instruments to record these visions, from still images to moving ones. From babies to panoramas, from far to [Music] near. It is the eyes or lenses of the camera that are entrusted with the task of recording these things at different [Music] ranges. Observed at close range, such common things as the dandelion and the dragonfly take on a new splendor. When the same powerful lenses are fitted to focus at an even closer range, then we can truly see things eye to eye. M what a fuselage. [Music] Well, since bugs are what we are looking for, a hunting for bugs, we will [Music] go. Ah, a bumblebee at breakfast. [Music] Of all the species of bees, the honeybee is the most appreciated by man. While some gather nectar, others bring in pollen to feed the young. It takes about 12,000 wing strokes per minute to keep them airborne. Busy little rascals, aren't they? In a darker section of the apiary, the queen bee is quietly performing her allotted task. Since the lifespan of a bee is only about 6 weeks, her majesty customarily produces 2,000 eggs a day in order to preserve the population level of her [Music] community. Ah, yes. Flowers. Flowers do draw a lot of bugs. big bugs, small bugs, and shutter bugs. But seriously, what is more natural than a butterfly fly feeding on a [Music] buttercup? Others prefer a more rugged diet. Well, here's a cozy little gathering of social butterflies. sipping refreshments and perhaps ripping [Music] reputations. Monarchs dine alone. [Music] Here's that peeping tom again. Who would think that such a splendid creature once looked like this? [Music] When first born, these caterpillars stick close together, but the adults venture forth alone. He's perfectly harmless, but if provoked, he can put up quite a front. [Music] All this eating has made our shutterbug hungry too. Good, isn't it? Holy smokes, he almost lost an actor. [Music] Well, ladybugs can be curious, too. You know, there comes a time when talent scouting is a must. [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Laughter] [Music] If man were proportionately as strong as an ant, he would be able to lift 20 times his own weight or about two tons. [Music] Hey, how about a hand here? [Music] I wonder what Sherlock is up to now. Wow, that was too [Music] close. Here's a little monster who was coming up to investigate us. Well, he doesn't think we're pretty either. [Music] [Applause] Hey, [Music] Yes, there are many bugs. Some crawl and some fly. But to see them really well, you must see them eye to eye. And now, after a moment of darkness and silence, [Music] Yeah. Heat. [Music] Yeah. Shut up, you little squirt. Out of my way, you brute. Uh-oh. So, you want the best, huh? It was about time somebody give you a good lesson. You stinky little squirt. Get down. [Music] [Music] Beauty in color, in soft tones and shadings, and in swift rippling motion. Colors of the rainbow. The brilliantly new Chevrolet line for 1952 brings enrichment in design, subtle harmonies in color, meticulous perfection of detail, faultlessly combined to offer a rainbow range of personalized selection in Chevrolet's fine car tradition. Yes, whatever Mr. and Mrs. America and their family want in motor car beauty and usefulness they find in Chevrolet in the deluxe style four-door sedan. Lots of room for the family and easy to get in and [Music] out. It makes a beautiful picture. The deluxe style sport coupe. Smart and convenient. Plenty of room for friends to ride in comfort. The Deluxe Style twodoor sedan. It's popular. It's roomy and smart looking. And here is the Deluxe Fleet Line twodoor sedan. The body lines blending into the trunk give it a graceful appearance all its own. [Music] The special style four-door gives full sedan capacity and all of Chevrolet's safety and performance at lower [Music] cost. The Skyline business coupe has been designed with salesmen in mind. Practical and smart. Plenty of carrying space behind the seat and in the extra big luggage compartment. And the real all-purpose model is the Chevrolet station wagon. Its all steel body with four doors is beautiful, quiet, and easy to care for. Eight can ride in it comfortably or take out the back seats and have the carrying capacity of a light truck. If you like an open car, the outstanding favorite is the Chevrolet Convertible. A thrill to drive and a thrill to own. And you can see at a glance why the Bair is the style sensation of them all. Whichever model meets your preference, Chevrolet 452 brings you America's most beautiful motor car. The car that sets the styling trend for today and tomorrow. The grill, cleanly sculpted, features new vertical fins, which with the new and larger parking lights, focus attention on the car's greater width. Massive, gleaming, the bumper curves protectively around the fenders in unified artistry. The colorful new hood emblem proudly symbolizes 21 years of public preference. Just as the hood ornament with its swept back jet aircraft wings symbolizes smooth, powerful performance. On deluxe models, the graceful new spear type side moldings carry the eye to the new distinctive rear fender molding accentuating the car's longer lower lines. With Chevrolet, perfection of the whole is made up of perfection in every detail. As you open the door of a 1952 Chevrolet Deluxe sedan or coupe, you'll find real newness in harmonizing interiors. If the body color you select is beige or maroon, black or gray, the interior color scheme is carried out in harmonizing grays. Here is superb styling in tasteful tones of gray exemplified by seed upholstery and chevron pattern cloth set off by broadcloth in a solid tone. The feeling of gracious warm color harmony is carried out with impeccable taste in sidewall floor covering and every luxurious interior detail. Here a tone of the exterior body color is used to set off the interior treatment. The crisp brilliance of chrome dramatizes the safety site instrument panel. The lower instrument panel in metallic light gray is beautifully framed above and at both ends by a tone of the body color. The steering wheel is newly and pleasingly treated in lustrous black. Throughout the car, the classic symmetry of quality chrome hardware highlights the glamorous interior luxury of royal tone styling. For those who prefer any one of the exterior choices in blue, 1952 royal tone styling offers an elegant interior treatment in harmonizing tones of blue throughout, blending into a perfect balance of finest taste. And for those who choose exteriors of green, again, luxurious royal tone styling brings perfectly matched interiors. Soft shades of green, light and dark, are used for every detail of upholstery and trim. And in 1952, special interiors combine unusual smartness and exceptional wearing qualities with sidewalls in durable gray two-tone leather fabric, seat upholstery in beautiful check gray pattern cloth. Luxury at lowest cost. Chevrolet's Bair is unmatched by any other car in the striking beauty of its interiors. Superb two-tone combinations of soft, lustrous genuine leather and finest pattern cloth. Here in beach white and bittersweet is only one of six distinctively different interior color combinations to harmonize with and accentuate the beauty of the 15 Bair exterior color choices. The flashing smartness of the 10 convertible exterior colors is matched only by the richness of the interiors. Seat upholstery, all in finest genuine leather, is offered in five different color combinations to best suit the overall color styling. Chevrolet's royal tone styling puts ever more emphasis on exterior color to offer for 1952 a rainbow of 26 entirely new solid tone and two-tone color combinations. Brighter, gayer, richer, more pleasing than ever before. shimmering emerald green, soft spring green, and the two combined. Grays that blend perfectly, delicate birch gray, restful dusk gray. Colors that meet in harmony of two-tone blue, rich admiral blue, quiet twilight blue, glowing regal maroon, warm Sahara beige, mellow saddle brown, gay cherry, beach white with vivid bittersweet. [Music] Refreshing honeydew. Glistening onx black. Chevrolet. Brilliantly new 452. More people buy Chevrolets than any other car. Chevrolet. The only fine cars priced so low. And when you buy your 1952 Chevrolet, you have a choice of 129 distinctive model color combinations. [Music] Yes, in Chevrolet. The rainbow is yours. [Music] So far, you found the steel rule a pretty good measuring tool, but you'll find it won't measure everything. Now, I'm going to ask Miss Alexander to measure this plate. It's 10 and 23 seconds by 5 and 132. How thick is it? 332. You try it, Thompson. The thickness. Yes. 16. Why don't you try it, Overton? Okay. I'd say it's uh 16. No, no, it's nearer 332. Well, who's right? And what's wrong with the steel rule? Well, the steel rule's all right, but not for that kind of measuring. Why don't you try a verier caliber? We might, but we'd probably use a mrometer. One of these. This handy little tool is what makes mass production possible. Now, who among you have ever used a mcome? When you learn to use one of these, you'll be much more valuable to the company and be able to do a better job. Now, after you've had a chance to look over the mic a bit, you're going to see a motion picture that'll teach you how to use it. You get the idea, Richards, of preparing the group to see the film. They saw for themselves the limitations of the steel rule and I showed them the advantage of learning how to use the parameter. Chance for a better job, but I wasn't quite ready yet to show the film. In watching the picture, I want you to notice particularly that the micrometer scales are based on the decimal system and note uh well note how carefully you have to handle it. Particularly watch the film to learn how to use and read them. After you've seen the film, I'll expect you to be able to read the mic yourself and you'll have a chance to show whether you can. Now we'll see the film. I see what you mean. If they know what they're looking for and why, there's more chance of they're seeing it. That's right. And it also means that before you use a picture, you've got to know what's in it. Well, then the first thing for me to do is to see the film myself. That goes for the film strip. You've got to preview that, too. Now, here's the manual. These three things are a training package. A visual aids unit. Looks like a neat job. I can see that you can't very well make specific plans about how to use the film or the film strip until you previewed them. I suppose the next step is to decide how and when and where it'll fit into my training plans. There's a third important step that's very often overlooked. That is you make sure that your trainees know why they're seeing a film. In other words, prepare them. Prepare them so they'll want to see the film. With the micrometer film, you had the mics right there in the class with you. Suppose it had been a milling machine or a lathe. Well, it's not always necessary to see the machine before you see the film. But if it's practical, it's a good idea. Let them get a general idea of what the machine looks like. Take them to the machine. Show them some of the controls. Tell them what they'll see in the film and what you expect them to learn. Another idea is to ask questions, either written or oral, to find out what he already knows and doesn't know about the subject. I suppose holding discussion the way you did with the micrometer is another way of preparing them. Yes. And telling them what they're going to see is a fourth way. Sometimes you use one way, sometimes another. Sometimes you use them in combination. All right. Now, I previewed the film and the film strip. I know why I'm using them. The group knows why it's seeing the film. I've shown the film. Now what? Well, that depends. But in all cases, you must follow through. Now, when using the mccrometer film, I followed up the showing like this. Well, what do we know now? I think it looks pretty easy. I didn't quite understand what he meant by the feel of a micrometer. Uh, what about measuring a round piece of stock? How do you know when the mic is on the diameter? When you're checking a mic for accuracy, how can you tell the standard's correct? All right, those are good questions. Maybe this film strip will help us find the answers. Then I'll use the film strip to review and emphasize the high points in the film. The questions on the film strip developed a lot of discussion. You think it'd be a good idea to test them right away? For instance, why not draw the symbol and scales on the blackboard to see if they can read them correctly? Good. That's all right. But I use the film strip. And look here in the manual. Several frames, you see, are test questions. Take frame eight for instance. That's right, Thompson. 626,000. Now, here's another one. What's that reading, Mr. Alexander? Now, remember, this is on a 2 inch mark. 1 and 750,000. That's right. Now, let's review the part about inside measurements. Now, the thing to remember when reading this inside micrometer is that the numbers read backwards, so to speak. Chroma, can you explain why those numbers read from right to left? It was a good way to review the film. Gave everyone a chance to see if he could read the micrometer. You ever show the film the second time for review? You would. You might find there were points that were not clear at all. You might find them when you showed the film strip. You must remember, Richards, that there are no set ways of using visual aid. You've got to work out your own best way in terms of your own training job. Suppose you do have to experiment a little. Yes, you do. You learn that showing the film is never an end in itself. What do you mean? I mean that the teaching doesn't end when the film does. That is when the teaching begins. You must follow through. By follow through, do you mean showing trainees actually how to use the machines? Right. In using visual aids to teach a skill, the most important part of the followup is the actual trial and practice. Here's what I did. Now this really clinched the learning. Each one of these pieces had its exact width marked on it in thousands. I showed them in this way what was meant by field. Their readings had to come out the same as the correct measurements marked on each piece. And by passing the different pieces around, they had practice on several different thicknesses. though I followed up by using pieces without the correct measurements given. Makes a lot of sense. I've been expecting too much from just showing the film. Well, film and film strip won't do the training job for you, Riches. But if you give them half a chance, you'll find them a tremendous help. Takes time though to use them right. Yes, it takes time to plan. We found that after the planning's done, if if they're used right, the whole training process is speeded up. Let's see. Have you got a list of the films we have here? Yes. Here's one. The manuals are on file here. And the films and film strip are in this cabinet. Anytime you want to preview any of them, it's easy enough to arrange to use the conference room. In the meantime, I'd like to check this list against my training schedule. A quick way to find out what's in a picture is to look through the manuals. And then if the film has in it what you want, preview the film and the film strip too. Then after seeing the film, make your plans for using it. When you know what's in the picture and what you want to put across, it's easy enough to figure how to prepare the trainees for seeing the film and how to get the most out of it. Finally, there's the followup. And the film strip can be used here, but remember the film strip is only part of the followup. Then you'll get the hang of that and work out your own method as soon as you've used a few of these visual units. The manual gives you several suggestions, but then there are a lot of other ways and variations. Then there's another thing. You'll find that the films give you a real break. So you give the films a break. Keep the shades pulled down tight. Keep direct light off the screen. Get the equipment set up before the group comes in. Have both projectors set up threaded and focused in advance. That will save time. And of course, arrange the seats so that nobody's head gets in the way of the picture and so that everybody can see the screen. Thanks a lot, Murphy, for all the help you've given me. You know, you've talked so much about that micrometer today that I I want to learn more about it myself. Mind if I take this film with me? Not at all. Go ahead. That's fine. You better take the manual and the film strips. So you can do a complete job. 45 46 47 48 48 I had 50 yesterday. I must have lost two somewhere. Oh, I don't have your old marbles. Two marbles equals 4% of 50 marbles. 20 21 22 23 24 Hey Joe, isn't there supposed to be 25 melons in this crate? But we only got 24. One melon equals 4% of 25. 3 10 nothing is 9. Look, we don't even have $100 in the bank. All we've got is $97. Okay, where did the other $3 go? Well, don't look at me, Harry. Figures don't lie. $3 from $100 is 3%. And whether it's marbles, melons, money, or anything else of value. A 3 to 4% loss really isn't very funny. According to authoritative estimates, the American retail industry is losing annually from 2 to 4% of sales through inventory shortage. This unpleasant national phenomenon has become a prime source of worry to the management of retail stores of all types all over the country. What inventory shortage means, how and where it occurs, and what can be done about it is the subject of this report on the dollar drain. [Music] Just what is inventory shortage anyway? Well, inventory shortage is the retailer's term for the difference between the value of his merchandise as shown on the books and the value of merchandise in the store as determined by actual physical count. In other words, it is the difference between what he thinks he has and what he really has in the way of goods for sale. Actually, these figures will probably never be the same. And that is not necessarily cause for concern. Some shrinkage is virtually unavoidable. A customer may break an item. An article of clothing may become damaged and unfit for sale to the public. These situations can result in an inventory shortage. The cup is no longer available for sale and neither is the coat. But both may stay on the books and appear to be in stock even though they are not. When losses of this type occur and when they remain within reasonable bounds, they are usually regarded as part of the cost of doing business. Just like the light bill. In the past, most retail stores learned to live with 1 and 1/2 to 2% loss of total sales from shortages they could not control in any practical way. However, more recently, there has been an alarming increase in shortage figures to the point that it is no longer tolerable. Instead of 1 and a half to 2% of sales income lost, the figure has been creeping upward to 2 and 1/2 then three, nearing 4%. Some individual stores and chains have reported losses as high as 5% and even more because of the growing shrinkage problem. To understand the impact of these losses, we must first know the source of a store's income and how that income is used. Obviously, a store derives its income from the sale of merchandise. And wherever that merchandise may be, it represents money. Whether it's stored in a warehouse or stock room, in transit, within the store or between stores or on the selling floor, goods for sale means money. But just selling and selling at a profit are two different things. Before a store can make any profit, it must first meet all the costs of doing business. As an example, let's take a look at the costs involved in a piece of merchandise worth, say, $100 retail. When this coat is sold, about 60% of the selling price, give or take a little, will go to pay the supplier. In other words, let's assume the store paid $60 for this coat. About 20% or $20 will go to pay salaries, wages, fringe benefits, and other personnel costs. 17% or $17 must be spent to cover all the remaining store costs, rent, insurance, taxes, power, fuel, maintenance, equipment, customer service, buying trips, and so on. When you add up all these costs, they come to roughly 97%. Thus, $97 out of the $100 the store will receive from the coat is very quickly accounted for. Only 3% or $3 remains for profit. This is a very narrow margin and even the profit must be divided up. Some goes into reserves to provide funds for future expansion and for other projects requiring large outlays of money. The rest of the profit will go to the owners or stockholders to pay for the use of money they have invested. Knowing that profit represents only a very narrow margin to begin with, it is not difficult to understand why shortages can seriously threaten a store's very existence. These losses not only reduce profit and revenue needed to meet expenses, but they may cause sources of additional capital to dry up because of an apparently unfavorable financial position. Money is loaned usually on the basis of two things. The financial record of the company and the amount of security they're able to put up. In the retail business, a significant asset is inventory. That's merchandise on hand that's already been paid for. Now, if that inventory tends to disappear, we're a little hesitant to lend very much money against it. It's poor security, so to speak. What's more, if a store shows high losses of that kind is generally considered a poor risk anyway, and investors avoid it, we'd have to take a hard look at a loan application on that basis. The effects of shortages directly touch every employee in the store. Salaries and wages must be held down. Employee French benefits and working conditions may suffer. Cuts in the staff may be unavoidable. Jobs will be lost and the remaining employees may suffer under heavier workloads. And the threat of such measures is growing as stores continue to lose enormous amounts of money daily through excessive shrinkage. Merchandise continues to disappear. actual cash is somehow shortcircuited before it can be converted to store income. Nationally, the losses have become monumental. It has been estimated that more than $8 million a day. That's $3 billion a year go unaccounted for in this staggering dollar drain. What happens to all this money and merchandise anyway? Well, the losses occur in four major ways. The most obvious of these is shoplifting, theft of merchandise by the public. A second cause is internal theft, the stealing of merchandise or money by store employees. This is a particularly difficult problem to face. A third problem could be called procedural violations. That is shortcuts or unauthorized changes from established routines. [Music] And the final cause of the dollar drain is error. Mistakes that occur in paperwork or job performance. The question is, of course, where do we begin to solve these problems? Well, we must begin everywhere at once. In the warehouse and at the dock, in the receiving and marking center. We must begin in the general offices, in the stock rooms, on the selling floors. We must also begin in the buyer's offices, and in the executive suites. We cannot afford to overlook anything. Beginning everywhere at once is not altogether the formidable task it may seem to be. The basic machinery to reduce inventory shortages already exists. We have administrative and accounting methods aimed at eliminating much waste. We have a multitude of other checks and balances designed to help prevent careless or deliberate mishandling of merchandise for surveillance and the detection of theft. We have technical devices of every description. And we have trained and experienced security personnel to use those devices and to create programs and techniques that can make shoplifting and internal stealing unrewarding. So what has gone wrong? One difficulty is that the systems we have are not adequate or are not doing the job. But the fault does not necessarily lie with the systems themselves. Nor does it lie with the security force that is directly charged with maintaining safeguards. Rather, the responsibility rests squarely on those whose daily routines bring them into constant contact with the causes of shortages and the opportunities to prevent them. In other words, virtually every employee must assume part of the burden. We and top management have got to take a hard look at what we've done and what we are doing in connection with the shortage problem. We've got to re-evaluate policies. Are they right for today? Are they being communicated and understood all down the line? Are we being too permissive? Are we brushing some things under the rug when we should be facing up to realities, hard realities? We've got to find and plug the loopholes in our security systems, in our merchandise handling procedures, in all detailed operations that might give an opportunity for error or hanky panky. And there are some questions about management of human resources, too. Are we doing an adequate screening job? Are we giving all our people the motivation and the education they need to do their jobs honestly and efficiently? Is there competent adequate supervision in all departments and in all units? Once we establish rules and procedures with reasonable safeguards built in, we must insist upon and get compliance all down the line, top to bottom, no exceptions. We cannot tolerate sloppy management anywhere. What I'm saying is we've got to get tough. Store officials agree, of course, that toughness alone is not the answer. coupled with firm action, there must be a better understanding of the causes of shortages, of the complexity and interlocking nature of those causes. My job is to protect the financial assets of my company. Controller is a good title because, believe me, I live 24 hours a day trying to control this worrisome shortage problem. It's like walking a tight rope to keep controls reasonable, balanced. To cut down on paperwork and expense, we try to streamline procedures. By doing so, we often open up new shortage loopholes. We study and analyze figures every hour all day long and submit reports to key people to safeguard their inventories. Too many times these reports stay in somebody's inbox or go into the files without being looked at. I can tell you I'm not the most popular guy around here. I sometimes have to hound people. And what I'm about to say isn't going to improve my image. There's a growing trend among buyers to delegate too much of their paperwork. Good example, checking journals. I insist our buyers do this personally. You can't have a clean operation without accurate journals. When inventory time rolls around, the whole merchandising division gets the jitters. There'd be fewer jitters and more job security if they'd all be a little more conscientious about their paperwork. Personnel directors too are seriously concerned about the day-to-day behavior of employees. I think uh many shortages are caused by behavioral problems. And I don't necessarily mean misbehavior like stealing, although that's a part of it. I mean people who are careless, people who disregard procedures for one reason or another, maybe plain laziness in a lot of cases. Some people just aren't interested in what goes on around them. They uh let nature take its course, as the saying goes. They think the store can take care of itself. Of course, it can't. Not without their help. I don't think many employees know just how serious this thing is. I mean, we've got to realize that we can't go on overlooking little mistakes or letting people get away with things. Stealing is what it is. Let's call it by its right name, stealing. Well, it isn't always that serious. Could be guessing at prices, bad arithmetic, selling multiples at unit price, things like that. And it would help if people improve their handwriting, but in the end, we all get hurt. Plainly then, inventory shortage is a people problem and it must be approached headon by the entire store family. Every individual, regardless of rank, has a part to play in plugging the dollar drain and a personal stake in it. There must be a determination on everyone's part to enforce and follow established procedures and to strive for error-free job performance. Beyond this, however, there must be a reconsideration of attitudes, an increased awareness of personal responsibility, a new respect for ethical standards and behavior. It is only through the combined efforts of all that the trend toward everinccreasing inventory losses can be arrested and reversed. And that this reversal must take place. There can be no doubt we can no longer afford the virulent dollar drain that is eating away the vitality of America's retail establishments. For at stake is the very survival of many individual stores and in fact the health of the entire retail industry. [Music] [Music] [Music] When there is peace in a land, the narrow streets of little towns are quiet and neighbors often find their way to the local coffee house at the noon hour. But when there is trouble, the streets are like an antill that has been poked by a stick. There is running and shouting and hiding. [Music] Oh, there is Hamid. Hello, Aphendi and Bhan. Join us Hamid. The shake was just about to tell one of his stories about Naseradin Hoa. I don't know if uh if I have time. Oh, stop acting as if somebody is chasing you. Then sit down with us. There is a riot in the streets. An official of our government was speaking at a public meeting. Then people started shouting how wrong he was. Then someone started to throw rotten vegetables. I'm sorry to hear that. [Applause] Excuse me. I just remembered I was supposed to be someplace else. Oh, Hamid forgot his bag of vegetables. Rotten vegetables. Offendi. Why is it so? Why do people like Hamid try to start public violence? Things are not going so badly with us. But you may begin to believe that our government is not good if all this loud criticism and violence continues. Even our own respected officials may begin to think they are ready for their own funerals if they hear enough bad talk about themselves. funeral offended. I was thinking of an old story, the Hocha's funeral, about what once happened to a healthy man when all he heard was talk about how he was going to die. The lesson in the story clearly explains the actions of Hamid and his comrades today, 500 years later. During the days of his old age, Naseredine Hocher was appointed cardi in his village, a position which brought out the best of his wisdom and humor, but which aroused jealousy and envy in some of his friends. That is why a joke several of them played upon the old man had more than a touch of bitterness. [Music] [Music] Armed with a small red pencil and their envy, the two villagers entered the Hoocha's courtyard and began wailing at the sight of him. Hoocha, you look awful. Your face is all spotted as if you had the plague. At first, the Hocher did not listen, but they kept on with their loud cries. Tell us, Hocher, do you feel a sudden pain when you stand up? The Jokers never stopped. Do you feel a terrible shaking in every bone of your body? Alas, it comes to every man when the angel of death is near. Don't try to get up. We will carry you to your bed. By the time the Hoocher's wife came home from the marketplace, she found him without appetite and lost in memories of years which seemed about to end forever. In a few days, everyone in the village believed that Nasered Hocha was about to die, and he himself was asking his wife to put on her prettiest dress. She agreed, thinking, "How nice of the Hochett to remember me at my best." But then her husband went on to say, "I just thought that if you dressed up fancy enough, the angel of death might like you better and take you instead. [Music] The morning soon came when the jokers convinced Naserine that he had better get into his coffin without further delay. By this time, the Hocher was too weak to resist. [Music] As the procession wound its way down the road toward the graveyard, they passed a traveler who was invited to come along. The traveler was not interested until the hoer sat up in his coffin. You might as well not argue. If they convinced me that I'm dead, they'll convince you to come to the funeral. As they went on, the friendly traveler offered Hocha an orange, saying, "I don't know where to stand at a funeral." To this the hocher replied, "Anywhere as long as it's not inside the coffin." And when at the cemetery there was no one to say the funeral speech, Nasuradin Hocha stood up with a new found strength. I uh think I am best qualified to speak in honor of Naseradin Hocha. And let me tell you for the benefit of all who would weep too soon that the hocher has never felt better in all his life. Soon laughter rose to the skies as the two jokers told how they had tried to fool the hocha. But Naseredine did not join in the general celebration. It wouldn't have been so funny if I had not heard a voice other than those who wanted me to believe I was dying. It would not have been funny at all. What was not a very funny joke in the Hoas time is even less funny today when some people for reasons of their own spend much of their time trying to make everybody believe that our government is ill and dying. But if we are aware of what these agitators are trying to do, their tricks will be even less successful than the one that failed to work on Nasarine Ochar. [Music]