my own tin rin tin

Buddy Ebsen, as we all know, was originally cast to play the role of the Tin Man in The Wizard of Oz. But, a little trouble with the makeup created one of those Eve Harrington moments, and we see Jack Haley's face through the silver makeup now.


If Victor Fleming had waited a mere seventy years, he could have had entertainment's ultimate Tin Man -- Professor Jiggs.


I drove down to Manzanillo on Sunday with Roy, one of my house guests. He wanted to see whether Manzanillo was a good site for a subsequent visit. He decided it was.


But the primary reason was to retrieve my golden boy. He had been at the veterinarian since Friday for a scheduled removal of several tumors on his neck.


I had doubts about the need for the surgery. Jiggs is old and the tumors did not seem to bother him. But the veterinarian was convinced that Jiggs would feel better without them.


We have all learned that Jiggs is resilient. And he bounced back easily from the general anesthetic.


But I am glad Roy went with me. The bill was substantial, and I was without cash -- as you may recall from yesterday's post.


Mel Brooks would have been impressed with the stitches on Jiggs's neck. But there was more to come.


I am supposed to apply a spray-on medication to his neck each day. When the deed is done, Jiggs looks as if he is the next Jack Haley -- or a budding Borg colonist.


I took the photograph above of Jiggs, not solely as an homage to American Mommy in Mexico, but as the best way to show off his new-found celebrity.


Buddy Ebsen, of course, went on to become a larger cultural icon than the Tin Man. There is not a child of my generation who would not recognize Jed Clampett or his accidental shooting to the top of Hollywood Hills.


And Jiggs the Indomitable, though he looks like some form of scientific experiment gone wrong, was still able to charm all of us on last night's balcony.