Keep Searching For the Pearl

Archive Notice

2009-08-07T07:13:00.003-05:00

Selected musings were stricken from this blog due to broken links, irrelevancy, redundancy, or editorial discretion.

FJ

I'm So Glad We Had This Time Together

2008-12-31T21:04:00.004-06:00

This blog, Keep Searching For The Pearl, is finished. Last post. I'll see you on Facebook. Goodnight.

My Projected 2009 Royals Line-up

2008-12-29T07:13:00.000-06:00

Here's how I'd fillout the lineup card next season:

1) - Coco Crisp (20 steals in 361 ABs) - CF
2) - David Dejesus (.366 OBP in 518 ABs) - LF
3) - Mike Aviles (.325 BA in 419 ABs) - SS
4) - Mike Jacobs (32 HRs in 477 ABs) - 1B
5) - Jose Guillen (158 hits in 598 ABs) - RF
6) - Alex Gordon (16 HRs in 493 ABs) - 3B
7) - Billy Butler (94 OPS+ vs. Teahen's 91 OPS+) - DH
8) - Miquel Olivo (91 OPS+ vs. Buck's 79 OPS+) - C
9) - Alberto Callaspo (98 OPS+ vs. German's 72 OPS+) - 2B
Utility - Mark Teahen (OF, 3B)

Do you care: Mark Teahen led the team with 131 strikeouts.

KJHK - Raw Music Log

2008-12-27T11:47:00.003-06:00

I returned to the college radio station yesterday for an alumni free-form airshift. Here's the playlist time/artist/song/album/comments pasted in from the website listing:(in reverse order)

Regular Music 7:56 Todd Newman Our College Station Then n.a
Regular Music 7:55 R.E.M. rockville eponymous
Regular Music 7:55 Flamin Groovies Yes I am n/a
Regular Music 7:49 Big Dipper Loch Ness Monster Supercluster
Regular Music 7:46 The jam Start! Sound Effects vinyl
Regular Music 7:42 The Stranglers Dagenheim Dave No More Heroes
Regular Music 7:39 The Embarrassment Two Week Vacation Heyday
Regular Music 7:39 The Eat Communist Radio n/a
Regular Music 7:34 The Replacements Left of the Dial Tim Like bein in church
Regular Music 7:29 Psychic Archie No Sex Before Love Unreleased Demo
Regular Music 7:28 The Balancing Act She Doesn't Work Here Curtains
Regular Music 7:28 Lori Wray / Jay Orff Daisychain of Dandelions Glenburn
Regular Music 7:27 Cleaners From Venus Girl on a Swing n/a
Regular Music 7:27 Ramones Beat on the Brat n/a
Regular Music 7:11 The Leatherwoods Proof Positive Topeka Oratorio
Regular Music 7:10 Loudon Wainright III The Swimming Song Attempted Mustache
Regular Music 7:09 The Embarrassment I Only Want a Date Blister Pop
Regular Music 7:02 English Beat Best Friend n/a
Regular Music 6:49 Von Bulows Linda For a Day Unreleased Single Thanks Lori Wray
Regular Music 6:48 Chris Whitley I'm in Love With a German filmstar n/a
Regular Music 6:47 The Applejacks I Go To Sleep n/a
Regular Music 6:46 No Trend Teen Love n/a Out of Print
Regular Music 6:31 The Go-Betweens The Clock n/a
Regular Music 6:30 Brian Eno Golden Hours Another Green World
Regular Music 6:21 Big Dipper Homosapien n/a A Pete Shelley cover
Regular Music 6:08 Psychic Archie Every Time It Hurts Unreleased Demo
Regular Music 6:05 The Feelies Dancing Barefoot n/a
Regular Music 6:01 The Inmates Thought I heard a heartbeat n/a thanks Jon Harrison
Regular Music 5:58 The Plugz Electrify Me n/a
Regular Music 5:56 Sunny and Klaus Ice Bags n/a Thanks Mike, Lori
Regular Music 5:53 Yo La Tengo You Tore Me Down n/a
Regular Music 5:47 Devo Uncontrollable Urge Q: Are We Not Men
Regular Music 5:40 The Vapors Here Comes the Judge n/a
Regular Music 5:39 The Flamin' Groovies Way Over My Head n/a
Regular Music 5:38 Todd Newman I'm going on vacation n/a
Regular Music 5:38 Rank and File Lucky Day Sundown New Copy of Vinyl here!
Regular Music 5:37 Psychic Archie No Pictures of Dad n/a Thanks Jason Willis
Regular Music 5:36 black olive salty bite n/a
Regular Music 5:23 Game Theory Like a Girl Jesus n/a See littlehits.com
Regular Music 5:19 Gang of Four Return the Gift entertainment!
Regular Music 5:16 The Embarrassment Godfrey Harold Hardy Heyday
Regular Music 5:16 Ghosty Dumbo Wins Again n/a
Regular Music 5:15 Wednesday Week You Wanted me to hang around n/a
Regular Music 5:06 New York Dolls Lookin for a Kiss n/a
Regular Music 5:05 the fleshtones right side of a good thing n/a
Regular Music 4:55 casey dienel doctor monroe n/a
Regular Music 4:51 Adam and the Ants Antmusic n/a
Regular Music 4:50 Get Smart! They Walk in Pairs Action Reaction
Regular Music 4:45 Bedroom Walls Your Idea of a Holiday n/a
Regular Music 4:42 Minutemen Green River n/a Live
Regular Music 4:42 Rolling Stones Come On n/a
Regular Music 4:33 Von Bulows Silent Film Unreleased Thanks Lori Wray
Regular Music 4:32 The flamin' groovies Yes it's true n/a
Regular Music 4:29 lions and dogs Tell me Another n/a Thanks Jade Gurss
Regular Music 4:27 The Embarrassment Sex Drive/Pants Down/Gibberish Heyday
Regular Music 4:21 tommy keene highwire days n/a not a furs cover
Regular Music 4:17 comsat angels it's history n/a
Regular Music 4:13 big dipper lou gehrig's disease n/a
Regular Music 4:08 pedaljets lookin out my window n/a
Regular Music 4:06 Pylon Crazy n/a
Regular Music 4:05 the plugz achin' n/a Fowler Jones begins

My Day - 12/26/08

2008-12-26T08:26:00.005-06:00

I'll be broadcasting from 4pm to 8pm on 90.7Fm KJHK. It's part of an alumni weekend broadcast special. Tune in if you like 80s alternative music. Thanks to KJ PM Nick Spacek for putting me on the schedule.

The KJHK.org website has an Internet stream. Check it out. I'll be posting my playlist online too. We used to crib it on paper in the old days. No more! It's electronic. These kids.

I'm motoring over to Mission, KS for the 8th annual holiday postmortem party at the Clarette Club on Martway, starting at 9pm. You'll laugh, you'll cry, you'll kiss your 401K goodbye as we gather to reflect on the year and look ahead to the Obama regime. Skaal!

Oxide Flake

2008-12-19T21:32:00.002-06:00

Oxide Flake is the newest web project from long time Lawrence area music fan, historian, and scene eye witness Jason Willis. He posted rare live recordings of punk rock bands from the 1980s, recorded in Kansas City and Lawrence, captured by Jason himself when he was but a wee lad of 14 and thereabouts. Enjoy.

The Bowling Report for December 15th

2008-12-15T22:55:00.002-06:00

We bowled our best three game series of the season and swept the night against Our Savior of Coca Cola. Brent bowled a 600+ series and Tim added a couple of 200+ games. We had a potential jello shot frame nullified when all five bowlers struck in the same frame, a rarity indeed.

Ruta Lee - Hollywood Star

2008-12-09T22:37:00.004-06:00

Remember when big stars made cameos on I Love Lucy and The Lucy Show? William Holden or John Wayne popped in and Lucy freaked out. The studio audience applauded like mad and I received a Hollywood education. I knew who John Wayne was because his movies aired frequently on local television. I learned who William Holden was later when I saw Sunset Boulevard and Stalag 17 in high school. He was A-list all the way.

Top drawer talent wasn't always available for Lucy sitcom cameos. Ruta Lee received the same treatment when she appeared. She got fawning Lucy, voracious applause, you know, the complete star turn. Who the heck was Ruta Lee? Game show hostess, Love American Style player? She was the perfect example of someone who was famous for something once, and that something got lost in all the follow-up filler. (Note: Wikipedia lists over 100 TV star and guest star credits.)

I feel the same way about Ruta Lee and religion. Other people thought Ruta Lee was important when I was young, then I learned more about Ruta when I grew up and rejected her status. I appreciate Ruta Lee now more than I used to. Ruta Lee succeeded in a competitive business. She does charity work. She's a peace loving Canadian. There might be Ruta Lee fanatics who invoke her name in crazy causes, but don't blame Ruta.

We need a Ruta Lee holiday. If there's a reason for the season, then I say, put a little Ruta Lee under your tree this year.

R.I.P. Captain Tony

2008-12-07T06:40:00.004-06:00

Anthony Tarracino died this week at 92. Visitors to Key West, Florida knew him as Captain Tony. His bar, around the corner from the current location of Sloppy Joe's on Duval Street, was reportedly the original location of that famous bar, and if Hemmingway drank there, it was at that locale. He was the best known character, except for Jimmy Buffett, in a town of characters and nobody went to Key West without hearing his name. My Audio Reader business card is stapled to the wall, along with a million others, in the bar that still bears his name, though he sold it nearly 20 years ago which was the last time I saw Captain Tony, tooling around in a small car with his face painted on the side.

Christmas Carols

2008-12-05T23:18:00.003-06:00

Tonight was our fourth year of singing Christmas carols at a local nursing home with the cub scouts. I don't sing very often and I don't sing at church but I have no problem belting it out at the nursing home. We walked among the cooridors and saw the nimble and the non-responsive. It was sad and uplifting at the same time. Somewhere between the nurse call alarms and the smiles and the vacant eyes was Christmas.

Fashion Trend: Elementary School Neckties

2008-12-04T10:48:00.002-06:00

2nd grade boys in a Lawrence, KS public elementary school started a new fashion trend: neckties!

This Story Shall The Good Man Teach His Son

2008-12-01T22:26:00.006-06:00

I got an email from Craig last week. His son's basketball team drew the Monday night practice assignment. Coach Craig was out until February. Tim sent his regrets today. A head cold kept him away. Kurt's back hurt. He was iffy before I sent news via email of our reduced ranks. Plus we were on the schedule against the first place team. I made calls, sent email, tried to round up the usual suspects for substitute action without luck.

Then regulars Jay and Tyler heard the call and hustled in. Kurt gave it a try on his sore back, more vertical, less muscled, with good results, best of the season. Those guys stepped it up in the clutch and anchor Brent bowled his best series of the year, 600+ pins. I recovered from last week's season low 84 to post a 205 and a 510 series. We bowled our best team series of the year, 1180. It didn't matter that we lost three of four. Cue the trumpets - we happy few, we band of brothers, we came together.

He that bowled this day, and sees old age,
Will yearly on the vigil feast his neighbours,
And say 'To-morrow is Bowling night:'
Then will he strip his sleeve and show his scars.
And say 'These wounds I had on league night.'
Old men forget: yet all shall be forgot,
But he'll remember in Ernst
What strikes he rolled that day: then shall our names.
Familiar in his mouth as household words
Big Pants Pete, Edgar Winter FrankenMullet,
Westhoff and Jones, Baker and Rollins,
Be in their flowing cups freshly remember'd.
This story shall the good man teach his son.

Video - Coyote

2008-11-30T18:31:00.006-06:00

This Joni Mitchell song played on our Oread home turntable (930 Ohio) a million times during the 85-86 school year. I've heard two other versions of it, there's the original studio version (not bad), and another live version on a Joni Mitchell record with a jazz arrangement (not so hot). This version, captured live as part of the documentary, The Last Waltz, is my favorite. Thanks to Nik Huffman for posting a link to it on my Facebook wall.

Video - 1986 Lawrence Opera House Exterior

2008-11-28T23:15:00.000-06:00

A brief look at the Opera House, now Liberty Hall, in downtown Lawrence, KS.

Was That a Big Piece of Cake or What?

2008-11-23T17:40:00.001-06:00

25 Years Later

2008-11-16T09:00:00.004-06:00

I attended the Shawnee Mission North 25 year reunion Friday night at The Other Place bar in Olathe, KS. We chatted, drank, and reminisced for five and half hours. The bar reserved a large section of tables for the group. I didn't realize the management decided to proceed with their regularly scheduled karaoke program.

I don' t have anything against it. I'm pro karaoke, believe me, but the volume was deafening. I asked the squat karaoke maven to turn down the volume. We reunion people were there to talk and we didn't require music or extra entertainment. She refused. The manager, who was busy with regular bar/restaurant duties, said he'd see what he could do, and did nothing. I lost the karaoke battle. I looked at the microphone and some of our reunion people were singing along to David Alan Coe and Salt N Pepa. Perhaps I was was wrong about the added entertainment value.

I had a blast at the reunion, despite the karaoke loudness. 75 classmates, plus assorted guests and loved ones, toasted one another, took pictures, and in some cases got re-acquainted, but for the most part, our old bonds, our previous relationships, picked up as if we'd never been apart.

This reunion was supplemental in the sense that it was put together because if we didn't do it, there would have been nothing. It was never meant to be a full-blown weekend like the 10th or 20th parties. There was no Saturday night 'hotel reception' evening with speeches and meatballs. I am grateful to Joe and Laura Campbell for taking the initiative and setting it up. The Olathe location worked well. Many alums no longer live near the old high school on Johnson Drive, west of the Mission business district.

Here's my best recollection on who attended. I may have missed a few but I think this roster is pretty accurate:


Jeanny Alt
June Audley
Kim Bagley
Pat Barry
Bryan Bird
Shelly Blakey
Joe Campbell
Ben Custer
David Draskovich
Linda Dunn
Nancy Earlenbaugh
Kim Edwards
Amy Enfield
Greg Fornelli
Dan Gadwood
Dan Garcia
Jeff Gilliland
Sally Grandgenett
Derron Gunderman
Lynn Heckerson
Joe Johnston
Fowler Jones
John Kelsh
Paul Kidder
Kenda Klemme
Angela Larson
Shelly List
Ben Lofgren
Martha Macher
Bill Moerlein
Kathy Nicholson
Jeanette O'Connell
Lora Pate
Thad Pearson
Janet Pinney
Tammy Pittman
Kim Pritchett
Betsy Proctor
Julie Robrahn
Randy Ross
Debbie Schwerdtfeger
Kim Schmelitz
Tony Schmelitz
Sarah Smith
Beth Sulzen
Carrie Thomas
Ross Thompson
Sharron Timmons
Steve Uhlmer
Sandy VonElling
Mike Wagers
Kurt Westhoff
Curtis Wilkerson
Teresa Wilson
Perry Wiscombe
Eileen Zeller

~~~~~~~~~~~ Other guests
John Courtney
Rick Passantino
Terry McCallum
Roger Anderson
Steve Parker

The Bowling Report for November 10th

2008-11-10T22:41:00.003-06:00

Routine night at the bowling alley with the usual assortment of strikes, spares, cocktails and laughs. We won three of four games from the second place team. Kurt and Craig contributed strong games as did the rest of us at times. I was down and up and in between - a 474 series.

Video - Nightmares

2008-11-08T23:28:00.008-06:00

We played the Violent Femmes too much on KJHK back in the 80s in retrospect and I was a chief offender. Nobody knew they'd break through to the mainstream and that's a bitter pill for the avant garde to swallow when it happens, but never mind because it happened to better bands than the Violent Femmes.

They had a high burn-out factor, thanks in part to the over exposure on the Claire Danes program, My So Called Life. Blame the Femmes themselves. They didn't withdraw from the publicity. They transitioned into a bubble pop band after starting as a cynical, quirky trio with off-beat lyrics and lots of adolescent angst. I flipped past a Disney channel original program not long ago where they appeared as themselves. It was some kind of Pre-teen comedy and Gordon and the boys appeared at a record store with hilarious consequences.

My other Violent Femmes story happened about two weeks ago in Olathe. I took my son to the high school football game and the home squad marching band performed a medley of 80s songs at halftime. They mentioned all five or six artists by name over the PA system; artists like Falco, Whitesnake, Cyndi Lauper, but no Violent Femmes. They played a few bars of Blister in the Sun. The announcer introduced it as, "And who could forget this dance club hit...". Somebody in the Olathe school district is afraid of the term Violent Femmes! Doesn't that slutty move to the Disney Channel allay a small minded high school administrator's paranoia? Lameness. Either that or they didn't know who performed it, but I doubt it.

Having slagged the Violent Femmes, I still think this is a fun song.

Violent Femmes MTV Music

Video - 20th Century Boy

2008-11-08T09:14:00.003-06:00

I don't have a back story on this. I found it over at mtvmusic.com and thought it was cool, except for the excessive guitar flourish at the end, but this was made a long time ago. It's T-Rex and they rock. Enjoy it.

T. Rex |MTV Music

Meanwhile at FaceBook

2008-11-06T22:43:00.001-06:00

I tagged my favorite Republican!

Video - Jocko Homo

2008-11-05T21:28:00.005-06:00

DEVO and this video pre-dated MTV, although this particular copy was cribbed from music television. I remember seeing it on rock shows like Don Kirshner's Rock Concert and The Midnight Special as early as 1978, along with another film by the band for the song Mongoloid. Johnson County Telecable aired a video show Friday nights and they showed Jocko Homo and Mongoloid too. Look for a cameo by Mark Mothersbaugh's father as the general.

The song and visuals worked together to introduce young impressionable minds like mine to the concept of de-evolution and asked the immortal rhetorical question, "Are we not men?" Answer: We are DEVO. See for yourself.

Video - Homosapien

2008-11-01T11:12:00.005-05:00

Buzzcock Pete Shelley's attempt at mainstream U.S. chart play. I remember thinking it was real new wavey, mechanical. I find it somewhat melodic now.

Oliver Hall had a big screen TV in the multi-purpose room next to the cafeteria. MTV aired as the default station on many days, at least until the soaps came on around lunch time. MTV was still a novelty in 1983. Many local cable outlets had not added it. Sunflower cablevision was an early adopter of MTV and that's where I saw this one.

Here's Pete Shelley on a typical early video set, with a cheap chroma key backdrop behind the blinds. That was a classic video move, have your singer look or sing at you through the blinds. Dig the early PC too.

Video - Big Electric Cat

2008-11-01T11:00:00.004-05:00

I found this at the mtvmusic.com site. Another no-hits hit from mid 80's college radio. I didn't realize he released a video for this song. Michael Bassin and I saw Adrian Belew at the River Market version of Parody Hall in 1986 or 1987. He put on a good show.

Legal Tender

2008-10-31T12:26:00.003-05:00

The B-52s song Legal Tender is one of my favorites. It didn't receive much commercial airplay back in the mid 80's (at least in Kansas City) but it found its way into my KU college experience. The video got a lot of spins on Lawrence's local video channel, TV-30, especially on Chitwood's Nocturnal Bonzai program. My buddy David Mitlyng had the Whammy! album and our pal Jackie Hadl cranked it up and sang along during one of many late nights in the Oread. She loved it. A couple years later my roommate Michael Bassin bought the record and I played it many, many times. Song For a Future Generation is great too, but Cindy never looked better than she did here.

The B-52's MTV Music

Happy Halloween

2008-10-31T07:02:00.000-05:00

Here's a claymation Phyllis Diller trying to undress a mummy. Scary!

Final Note on Palin - Shoes

2008-10-30T23:02:00.004-05:00

Michael Palin that is. I noticed straight away that they cribbed the photo used for his diary cover (1969-1979 The Python Years) from a shot snapped on the Python's first American tour. The un-retouched version appeared in Kim Howard Johnson's book about Monty Python, except he wasn't wearing Timberline boots. He sported a pair of two-tone bobby-soxer shoes. Hideous really. I'm not surprised they took issue with it, but it struck me as funny. If you read the diary, check out the photo where Michael comments on his outfit referring to it as "the height of flares". You'll see the actual shoes there!

The Bowling Report for October 27th, 2008

2008-10-27T22:08:00.004-05:00

We beat the second place team three of four games tonight at Mission Bowl. I did not bowl over 200 this week, but I enjoyed picking up my 600 pin and groovy jean jacket patches from the pro shop desk before the match in honor of my big night two weeks ago. I got a 250 patch, a 100 pins over average patch, and a 140 pins over average series patch. Check it out Bitches. Now all I need is a new jean jacket. I left my last one at Pink Flamingo in Lawrence in 1995.

I went a little overboard there on the award hambonery and the other team bowled very well despite my taunts and "which way to beach" poses with my new patches. We beat them on the total pin tally by two pins. Results are unofficial since they ran a new bowler into the mix and we calculated his handicap on the fly. I mentioned that possibility to them when I showed them the results but it did little to ease their pain. The second place team is very competitive and they didn't relish the prospect of not being the second place team next week. They did not enjoy me reminding them that to the losers go the pink copy of the score sheet triplicate.

I've got to reel it in before I lose the goodwill of the blog reading public, those non-bowling fans who put up with my weekly updates, hoping I'll post something worthwhile, hoping against hope that I'll release a short paragraph with a link or a photo or a video, something one might digest quickly without having to read through endless paragraphs of text, text, text. But no, here I go again with more self-congratulatory prose and back-slapping shirt puffery. My kingdom for a sock stuffed with horse manure. End it already.

Travel Diary - Thursday, October 23rd

2008-10-23T23:44:00.005-05:00

Woke at 4:30am with a bout of constipation. Took two teaspoons of Milk of Magnesia and hoped for quick relief but none arrived. Read Palin until 6:30am. Did you know King Olaf of Norway was a compulsive farter. You do now thanks to Palin's cogent recording. Looks like today will be a long day at Epcot Center on only four hours rest but I will get through it.

Departed the house at 8am. I revealed the details of a practical joke I played on Joyce to Sue while we dodged commuters on I-275. Joyce left me a mailer from the Republican National Committee that outlined the defects in the Obama candidacy from their prospective. She propped it up on the end table next to the chair where I sat in the living room. It featured an Obama head shot and I tiptoed into the kitchen and cut it out with a small pair of scissors I found in a junk drawer. I thought of posting it in a picture frame somewhere but I found a better target. The Wises had a Mount Rushmore calendar on the wall next to the kitchen sink. Guess who the fifth face is?

We arrived at Epcot around 9:15am and the Magnesia Magic sent me the long-awaited signal, not a subtle signal, but an urgent signal. I saw a restroom at the entrance near the dog kennel. A security guard ran over and told us we'd have to exit and take our knapsack through the bag check area, but allowed us to use the facilities if we took turns staying outside the building with the bag. Emergency situation mitigated. Now if I could take a three hour nap.

My first Epcot experience and I was impressed with the layout and the big Buckminster Fuller Dome and the soundtrack music they piped in. We decided ahead of time to make the Soaring ride our first stop. Patrick Warburton appeared on the video monitor to relay ride information. We sat down in a harness rig with no floorboard or footholds. They swung us out and up in the air in front of an IMAX-style screen. The ride simulated flying. The rig tilted us forward as we swooped over mountain tops. A wind machine simulated a gentle breeze. There was music and lots of oohs and ahs. I got irritated with Skyler when we exited the ride. He said he didn't like it in spite of laughing along with us during the experience. He was a bit put-off by the whole Epcot venture, despite never visiting before and was determined to negatize the whole affair. My lack of sleep did little to hide my irritation. I whispered in his ear that I was not about to allow him to ruin everyones day and he'd better shape up.

Our next ride was a clam shell excursion to Nemo's underwater land of laughs and projected film bits. Where Soaring was a unique experience unlike anything I'd been on in the Disney Realm, the Nemo ride seemed Disney generic, like it would be equally at home in the magic kingdom or the animal kingdom.

We walked across the Futureworld section of Epcot Center, with the other half being the International Pavilions. The Futureworld part contained the thrill rides and opened two hours before the other half, with the restaurants, liquor stands, and cultural displays. We talked to Skyler about his disposition again. I was cooler this time and told him that choosing to have a good time or a crappy time was his decision. He lightened up after that, in part because our next stop was Mission to Mars.

We opted for the more intense experience and they weren't joking. Our ship crew consisted of the Jones family, Sue as navigator, Skyler as pilot, Leah as commander, and myself as engineer. The ship was enclosed so I have no idea how it simulated the g-forces we experienced on take-off and during evasive maneuvers, or the negative-g feeling during the outer space portion, but the transitions were quick and exciting, too exciting for the wife and I. My stomach is iron-clad but my recent dose of Milk of Magnesia made me queasy today, long before I arrived. We both came close to barfing on the visage of Gary Sinise, our mission guide, as he coached all the way to the red planet.

We trekked over to the imagination pavilion for a slow-moving tram ride. Eric Idle lit up the screen as the mad professor in residence. We also took in the Rick Moranis "Honey, I shrunk the audience" 3D glasses movie.

It was lunch time and Sue picked a French restaurant for us. I'm not sure how French the food was, but everyone liked it, the atmosphere was Parisian, and the waitstaff were real French people. We also saw a 30 minute film on the glory of France with wide screen photography and music. Very nice. Skyler was disappointed to discover "Arcade" did not mean video games in French lingo, rather it was a short hallway that led us to perfume shops.

We spent the afternoon exploring the different countries as they are in Epcot. We stopped for the drawbridge. They raised it for the fireworks ships that motored over for a show to be held later in the evening. We explored Morocco and Leah got her name rendered in the native characters, Arabic perhaps? I'm not sure. Every country featured a wine tasting stand. The American display also featured a Sam Adams beer tasting exhibit with presentations on the hour. We found a log ride in the Norwegian building and a boat ride in the Mexican section, enough to keep the kids interested.

I was impressed with the architectural touches in the various sections. The Italian pavilion had fountains, statues, and Roman columns. We made our way back to the ride section about 4:45pm and decided on the test track ride, touted as the longest and fastest ride in Disney history with speeds approaching 65 miles an hour. The track was outside and it was elevated over the entrance. One saw and heard the cars zoom by. The line was long: Our wait time was 40 minutes. They shut the ride down for five minutes before we entered the briefing station. Groans all around. We boarded our vehcile 10 minutes after they resumed operations. The ride was more than a speed loop. They took us over bumpy roads, they tested our brakes, and sent us through hot and cold tests. The speed test was the final bit of fun with a transition through a fake wall that dumped us outside, looped us around a large banked curve, through a straightaway and back into the building. We blasted off and then the ride shut down. We got stuck on the banked curve. The PA system advised us to stay in our car and wait for a ride technician to visit us if there was a problem with our vehicle. Not only were we on a 30 degree bank, but we were on an elevated track 25 feet in the air. There was a small level walk space that led to a safety stairway if needed but we waited and suddenly the car accelerated to 60 miles an hours down a straightaway before it braked and returned us to the loading bay. We bargained with the staff for another go since we got trapped on the first circuit and they agreed. All went well on the second cruise and the speed test was much more exciting without an unscheduled stop.

We bought the kids ice cream and rested. Our last stop was the iconic dome. The tram ride featured technology through the ages. It was cooler that I thought. They took a snapshot of us in the tram and worked into an interactive cartoon that showed us using futuristic technology. Judy Densch narrated.

I heard mixed reviews about Epcot but I liked it, even on four hours of sleep. I wanted to visit again. We made it back to Tampa by 8pm. I fell asleep before the end of game two of the World Series.

Travel Diary - Wednesday, October 22nd

2008-10-23T00:32:00.007-05:00

Wednesday already. Our family vacation has moved at a fast pace. Today was our day of rest between two forays to Disney. I listened to my mother in-law spew Republican rhetoric this morning. Skyler defended Barak Obama and I played mediator. Skyler grasped more than a few campaign issues and took Grandma to task for supporting the conservative agenda in spite of the facts as he understood them. I found a newspaper insert that summarized major campaign issues and the candidates stand on each. A very even handed primer for a youngster with an interest in the upcoming national election. I presented it to him in full view of Joyce and told him to read it to learn more about what each candidate stood for. Later, Mother Wise told my wife I was brainwashing my children with regard to the election! When I pressed on this, she claimed she was kidding, but it didn't come across that way. The tone of this morning's political discussion grew contentious and I requested a TV channel change to something other than Fox News. The TV is her constant companion from 6am to 10pm.

She flipped over to CNN and they played McClain's response to an opposition remark about Western Pennsylvania being full of rednecks and hillbillies. McClain blew his chance to exploit this gaffe when he replied something to the effect of "and I couldn't agree more". We all had a jolly good laugh. What timing. (Sue's parents are both from Harmony, in Western Pennsylvania).

The Jones family left Republican HQ and the in-laws for a trip to the beach. We borrowed their car and returned to same stretch of Reddington Shores beach on the gulf where we camped out Monday. The public parking lot is next to a small section of rocks, roped off from tourists by rope and wood post. There are tough waves there and riptides. We pitched our blankets and towels on one side and the rocky obstacles made a reliable landmark by which to judge the tide. Both of our visits this week coincided with low tide and the wet sands stretched out toward the water by an extra fifty feet, a nice bonus.

Leah found a starfish and a sand dollar. She kept the sand dollar. Skyler and I threw the Frisbee. No sand castles today. We stayed for two hours. I saw the IPod girl in the parking lot on our way out clutching her car keys. She did not fall victim to a robbery as I feared on Monday. Good for her.

Home for showers and a brief rest before we made dinner plans. Joyce heard from a friend about a new seafood restaurant in John's Pass and we decide to try it. All six of us piled into Mother Wise's Buick for the 20 minute drive. I drove. We departed early, 4:45pm, but I don't recall why. We passed a sign for a local steakhouse with an early bird special that started at 2pm. Good Christ!

John's Pass is a touristy boardwalkish area of tumbledown bay side shops, bars and restaurants. Joyce did not know the name of the new restaurant or its location, two facts she revealed as I idled around the small streets of the Pass area looking for parking places. We putted past T-shirt shops, ice cream vendors, poster emporiums, biker bars, and all kinds of fried fish purveyors. This is a tacky little enclave, even by Florida standards. We parked in the main public lot, threw a few quarters in the meter and decided to explore a new high-rise building on the southwest side of the main quad. The new restaurant turned out to be a Bubba Gump Shrimp Company franchise and we ambled in and parked ourselves at a cramped table in the hallway between two main dining areas. It's not everyday that you get to sit next to a movie still of Siobhan Fallon as the smoking bus driver from Forrest Gump. I kinda dug that.

The food wasn't bad. I had a shrimp stir-fry and a couple of Vodka tonics. The other entrees were presented well, the frier grease wasn't too dark on the kids' shrimp, and when there was a slight problem with my wife's fish, our waiter apologized and took it back to the kitchen for another look at the broiler. We traded movie trivia questions with him when he returned and his charm helped us overlook the undercooked fish. He brought the kids an extra dessert and for his efforts we left him a big tip. Sue and I left the tip and my father-in-law picked up the dinner tab. The in-laws are very generous that way, in spite of our political differences.

Back home to Pinellas Park for the first game of the World Series. The Rays lost but we didn't see the end. We hustled the kids to bed and shut off the set by 10:30pm. Tomorrow is another drive across state to Disney and Epcot Center.

I tried to close my eyes early but I couldn't stop reading Michael Palin's diaries from the 1970's. 1975 was a big year for Palin and the book devoted 78 pages to it. I turned out the reading light at 12:30am with an anticipated wake up call at 7am but it would not be a restful night.

Travel Diary - Tuesday, October 21st

2008-10-21T22:49:00.004-05:00

Sue and I took the kids to Disneyworld today. We left Pinellas Park at 8:15am, drove across Tampa Bay through town to pick up I-4 east toward Orlando, and landed at the magic kingdom an hour and fifteen minutes later. I-4 is nicer that it used to be. They added a third lane both ways and it provided a buffer zone between the idiots driving under the limit and the maniacs driving way over the limit.

Sue produced a parking pass that allowed us to park close to the monorail station. We also dug up our magic kingdom passes from the past two years. We purchased a package in 2006 for seven days at any of the Florida Disney properties with no expiration. Today was day five. The park was not crowded and we walked to the Pirates of the Caribbean ride and boarded without a wait. They worked a Johnny Depp as Jack Sparrow robot into the ride in several spots. We walked to Splash mountain and found a short line, same at Thunder Mountain and the Haunted Mansion.

Our next stop was the Small World ride in Fantasyland. We also jumped on the Peter Pan ride with little wait thanks to a fastpass. Sue and I found a coffee vendor near the Dumbo ride and we slurped it down in time to race the cars on the Grand Prix ride. Skyler and I were held up by a grandfather/granddaughter combo. She was steering and trying to work the gas. I guessed she was five or six years old. They stopped short so many times I yelled at the elder to at least help her use the gas pedal. They managed quite well after that.

Sue sat out the teacups ride. She doesn't like spinning rides. The kids and I waited for about 15 minutes for our turn and spun like crazy while Mom took pictures.

The gang hit the Toy Story target shooting game with the help of a fastpass. We split up after making out of the Buzz Lightyear gift shop unscathed. Sue and Skyler did Space Mountain and Leah and I took the elevated tram around Tomorrow World. She's too short for Space Mountain.

There's only one restaurant in the magic kingdom that sells Pizza. It's Pinocchio's Rathskeller. We retraced our steps to Fantasyland and shelled out 36 dollars for a couple of mini pizzas and fried chicken strips. I rate it below average on taste, but the kids liked it.

We stopped in the kiddie water play area near the Little Mermaid's grotto, where the entrance to the 20,000 leagues under the sea ride entrance used to be. We walked over to Tomorrowland for a quick stop at the spinning rocket ship ride. The spinning rides take forever to board. The time in line outweighs the payoff but the kids love them.

We rode the mini-coaster in Mickey's toon town and toured Minnie's house. Somebody cut the cheese near the parlor and sent us back in the early afternoon sun post haste. We wandered over to Adventure land for ice cream at the Dole shop and a turn on the Amazon Cruise. They employ tour guides who are encouraged to embellish the banter with jokes and puns. Our guide foreshadowed things to come when he said, "If you think this ride is boring, try the Hall of Presidents, and then come talk to me." We walked through the Swiss Family Robinson tree house and rode the Aladdin carpet ride twice.

We rode Splash Mountain again but Thunder Mountain was shut down for a repair. We missed the Presidents show and settled for another tour of the Haunted Mansion. Skyler used to love anything President related but he's outgrown it. He wasn't keen on seeing the Hall of Presidents show again, but it gave Sue and I 20 minutes of sit-down time in the air conditioning and that's a nice break. Plus, it's the only ride that has robots AND presidents. The Disney website said this ride is scheduled to be closed for several months starting November first. They have to get a McCain or Obama robot ready and also get the new president to record a HOP speech.

We stuck around for a couple more hours to avoid Tampa at rush hour. We even rode the ferry across the lake to the parking lot on our way out. Jeez, what a day. The kids gave us the thumbs up from the back seat and that made it worth the effort. We'll take tomorrow off and drive back to visit Epcot Center on Thursday.

Travel Diary - Monday October 20th

2008-10-20T22:34:00.005-05:00

We spent the first morning of our family vacation relaxing around the house. Tampa Bay has world series fever. I read the St. Pete paper with extensive baseball coverage about the Rays big win last night over the Red Sox to clinch their first world series appearance. It starts Wednesday night here. We're staying about 20 minutes north of the stadium in Pinellas Park.

I didn't sleep great, but this is the norm for me anymore when I travel. I am camped out in the guest room / office with Skyler and his allergies woke him several times. He woke me at 6:30am with a wet blast. I stepped into the hall to visit the bathroom and saw my mother-in law. She stared at me from her recliner. She manages to see me in my underwear at least once every visit. It's good we got it out of the way early this year. I waved, stepped out of view and into the bathroom.

Politics are on her mind. She's a McCain supporter and watched Fox news all morning. My father in-law told me that Sue's brother calls once a week and any political discussion between them gets her blood up. She's trying to watch her BP and she's a heart patient too. I vowed not to initiate a discussion about the upcoming election.

Later I said "Obama" or maybe "Oh Mama" or perhaps "Alabama" and she went on a rant. She said the ACORN group intimidated bankers into making shaky loans that precipitated the banking crisis. I said the phrase "intimidated bankers" is an oxymoron. She told our daughter that Obama wants to raise taxes and take all our money. Leah looked at her like she thought he might stop by the house later with an armored car to make good. Joyce was kidding but her jokes are lost on the children. I told Leah it wasn't true. We don't make enough money to be effected under his proposed take hike for earners in the 200K neighborhood.

We went to the beach in the afternoon where Democrats and Republicans frolicked together and Skyler and Leah swam in the shallow water, picked up shells, built sand castles, threw the Frisbee, and hung out. There weren't many people there. We claimed a large chunk of sand for ourselves. I saw a young girl in a bikini get up off of her beach towel, put on her IPod, and walk away. She must have walked a half mile down the coast before I lost sight of her. I looked at her towel when we left and saw a fashion magazine and a full set of car keys. I told Sue I hoped the IPod girl didn't get her car stolen.

My father in-law drove us back to Ciega Village Phase Two in the Buick. His driving was swift and a bit perilous. He made several rolling stops, what he called "Florida stops", at residential intersections. Once another driver expected him to actually stop before proceeding. We faced off and won the deadlock.

Joyce and Sue prepared crab cakes for supper back at the house and they were excellent. We managed to avoid political talk for the most part, though Skyler seemed eager to participate in a debate.

We watched Monday Night Football. I wondered how the bowling team did tonight back at Mission Bowl and I read more from Michael Palin's book about Monty Python. Not every entry is included though Palin wrote nearly everyday. The Python entries are supplemented with select entries about his family life - his young children and his aging parents, all skillfully written.

His missives didn't dive into the writing process that produced classic sketches. He wrote, "Terry came over and we worked for three solid hours." Most writing or collab sessions were punctuated by large meals and drinks, with recurring passages that described cocktails or wine at lunch. Graham Chapman loved the big lunch. Productivity went down after such gala luncheons. I'm disappointed that there wasn't more minute detail about the sketches. Palin: "We've written six Python shows for the current series." Jesus, what an accomplishment. Expound on it. Must be the British gift for understatement.

To bed early. Sue and I take the kids to Disney World tomorrow.

Travel Diary - Sunday October 19th

2008-10-19T23:52:00.004-05:00

My In-laws surprised me by adding a used computer to their home office complete with Internet hookup. What's even better is that I'm sleeping on a bed in the home office. I've decided to post a diary of my travels in Florida.

We flew to Florida today to visit Sue's parents in St. Petersburg. We flew Southwest Airlines non-stop to Tampa and there were no problems. We took off and arrived on time, early even. The flight was the fastest for us that we've ever experienced, 2 hours and 11 minutes, and the captain gave us in-flight updates of Game Seven of the ALCS. The kids watched Star Wars episode I on the DVD player and I began Michael Palin's diary for 1969-1979 (The Python Years)*

* It's the hardcover edition from the public library, about the size of a large Whitman sampler, and over 600 pages long. Not really a light pocket book for travel, but an engaging read.

Our neighbor Jill, who is always on the lookout for a deal or a discount, favored us with a drink coupon from the airline before we left town. Sue gave it to me and I ordered two vodka and club sodas. He brought me a full can of club soda one cup of ice with two limes, and two airline bottles of Vodka. I planned to offer the coupon for the first and pay credit for the second drink. He told me the coupon I presented was the cover of a coupon book and not a coupon at all. I explained that it came from a woman in our sub-division who doesn't drink, but likes coupons, and that well, the joke was on me. I poured the first drink and he came back from the galley with the credit card machine. Nice chap. Only charged me for one drink anyway. Hats off to Southwest air.

Arrived at Tampa airport at 9:30 pm and the place was deserted. Mass transit hubs in their off hours, with shuttered shops and skeleton crews, fascinate me. We boarded the tram from the gate to the terminal and found our luggage. My father in-law picked us up in his Buick and away we went to the I-275 causeway across the bay west to the St. Pete side. I found a radio cast of the baseball game. The Bucs were playing in Tampa at the same time and Skyler declared that he was more interested in the football game. We overruled him and listened to the Rays take a 3-1 lead over Boston.

Grandma welcomed us back to Pinellas Park and offered soup and sandwiches. She put the baseball game on and the football game too, thanks to an extra TV she set up on the coffee table next to the entertainment center. Note to self: show Joyce the wonder and power of the PIP feature on her remote.

Got the kids settled down and watched a little TV before retiring to bed in the office. Skyler was asleep when I went in. I turned on my attachable reading lamp and read from Palin's book. He's a very good writer, quite prolific, with 80% of his diary, so he claimed, left on the editing room floor before he went to press with the 600 pages of entries. Mild Spoiler: Graham Chapman was the weak link among the Pythons, due to his alcoholism, and his hedonism to a lesser degree. An excellent tome and I predict I'll have it finished before the end of our holiday. My travel reading lamp is a pain. It eats batteries on the quick - goes dim after a few hours time. It doesn't blink off though, it fades from bright to dim over an hour's time, and if I don't change the batteries the next morning, will do the same to a less extent the next time I use it.

Drunk History - William Henry Harrison

2008-10-18T00:04:00.000-05:00

When Holden Caufield Wants Thai Food

2008-10-17T00:35:00.000-05:00

Take most people, they're crazy about Italian food. They worry if they get a little marinara sauce on them, and they're always talking about how many pounds of lasagna they ate, and if they find a brand-new bistro already they start thinking about how great it is and how much they like being seen there with all the other phonies. I don't even like Italian bread. I mean it doesn't even interest me. I'd rather have a goddam Kaiser roll. A Kaiser roll is at least human, for God's sake. Let's avoid the phonies and go get some Thai food today. I swear I could eat Thai food everyday. I'm like a madman when it comes to Phad Thai noodles or Llad Now Grapow, really I am.

The Bowling Report for October 13th

2008-10-13T21:56:00.005-05:00

We split against the Coca-Cola team tonight. Craig bowled a 165 in the first game and the other team's best bowler was late. They took his average per league rules and we managed a narrow victory. Jay figured in the short end of a beer frame, or jello shot frame as is our custom. We weren't as lucky in game two. John the ringer for the other team walked in and scorched us with a big game, way over his average and they beat us by over a 100 pins.

I started with a strike in game three. I bowled a second and third strike and then a fourth. The other team remarked on my perfect game in frames four and five, much to the ire of my teammates, but it didn't phase me. I bowled a fifth and sixth strike. A guy screamed ten lanes away from us and did a belly flop down the hard wood. The PA announcer said the flopper bowled a perfect game - a 300. I bowled a seventh strike. I'd never done that before. I went up there in the eighth frame expecting to end it, but I struck again. Eight strikes in a row. You need 12 for a perfect game.

I waited my turn and when it arrived, I paused, took a deep breath, and approached the lane. I picked up my ball and tried to repeat the same throw that had worked eight times before, but it was not to be. I got an eight-spare. That's okay. The guys in our league gave me a round of applause and I finished the game with a 265! That's my highest game ever. I bowled a 620 series, also a personal high (181,174,265). I had four open frames total. That's not bad. They printed out my stats at the front desk. I rolled 17 strikes in the series, 12 spares, and picked up one of two splits.

Happy Birthday Rob Loud - 1952

2008-10-10T02:09:00.001-05:00

Hellza-Poppin' - it's Rob Loud's birthday. Fresh off the ripe from Piedmont College, where he was Sergeant At Arms for the I Felta Thigh fraternity, cub reporter Rob "Bobby" Loud flew to Denmark to cover the world's first sex change operation for Life Magazine. When the future Christine Jorgensen got cold feet at the last minute, this gentle giant of the fourth estate offered to help out with expenses by purchasing all his/her old overalls. What a guy!

Happy Birthday Rob Loud - 1960

2008-10-10T01:54:00.000-05:00

I'd like to pause and say "Happy Happy" to the Birthday boy Rob Loud. He's one of the original Mad Men who dropped a load of dough when Castro claimed his Havana time-share for the people of Cuba.

Rob smoked his last Chesterfield in 1960 and later that year, he shut down his portable wet bar in the dashboard of his Plymouth Valiant. He wanted to be in tip-top shape in case he needed to out run a nuclear bomb blast. Have a highball on me old man, you've managed to out run the grim reaper for another year.

Happy Birthday Rob Loud - 1972

2008-10-10T01:42:00.001-05:00

That's a picture of my eternally youthful friend Rob Loud, snapped on his birthday in 1972. He was quick with a joke, or to light up a smoke, and he came this close to landing the role of Lionel on The Jeffersons.

Sammy Davis Jr. electrified the crowd at the Democratic National Convention and Rob played the banjo at Shakey's pizza. Gas was 30 cents a gallon and young women wore no bras, not that it mattered. Rob's sport jacket functioned as a "Fonda Shield". He kept a clear head and a clear bed. Father Rob we called him. God Bless ya.

Happy Birthday Rob Loud - 1988

2008-10-10T01:31:00.000-05:00

Happy Birthday to my college chum Rob Loud. It's 1988 and The Jayhawks won the NCAA Basketball championship. The first of a string of championships for sure, with Larry Brown sticking around, probably until retirement. President Michael Dukakis drove a tank to commemorate his stunning election victory and you put new tires on your Nova. We toasted these new traditions and pledged our undying friendship over a keg of beer at graduation. We should have paid more attention during existential philosophy class at Wescoe Hall. But I renew my pledge of friendship to you today, on your birthday. Skoal!

Happy Birthday Rob Loud - 1994

2008-10-10T01:20:00.001-05:00

Happy Birthday to my old friend Rob Loud. It seems like yesterday, but it was 1994 and you had NAFTA fever. Remember when you pioneered the karaoke parody about Lorena Bobbit, sung to the tune of Runaround Sue and we laughed so hard that we spit Pepsi Clear out of our noses. You wept when Arsenio was cancelled. Thank goodness Friends premiered on NBC. You'll always be my friend, Rob. Peace out.

Happy Birthday Rob Loud - 1998

2008-10-10T01:14:00.000-05:00

Happy Birthday to my friend Rob Loud. You haven't changed a bit old buddy. Those were heady, happy days. AOL cried "You've Got Mail" and so did you. You're a sensitive man Robert and that's one of the reasons why I love ya.

A Momentary Lapse

2008-10-07T22:27:00.000-05:00

I forgot how to spell "vegetable" for about 45 seconds this morning. I looked it up online to quell rising spelling paranoia. I'm okay now and look forward to spelling it with three e's as is my practice, except for the aforementioned 45 seconds of total insanity when I questioned the middle e. That's behind me now. I'm cool with e number two, there's no place for a second "a" in there, don't think that there is, because there isn't. That's how gas prices rose to four dollars a gallon. Put an extra "a" in vegetable instead of good old steady e the second and watch the stock market crash. See the corpses of a thousand investment bankers scattered on Wall Street's concrete bleeding. Tina Fey turns into Vaughn Meador. Chaos. Mayham.

The Bowling Report for October 6th, 2008

2008-10-06T21:49:00.004-05:00

We ran into a buzz saw tonight and dropped three of four games. The other team brought too much heat and we were lucky to score one victory. I don't feel bad about it. We bowled seven pins under our team high in game three for instance, but the other team fielded a bowler who didn't miss until the 10th frame and ended up with a 279. A different guy bowled a 242. Both of those games were among the top so far this season by any team in our league. You tip your bowling cap and move on. By the way, have you seen my bowling cap? I can't find it anywhere.

Purcell Rockwell Diary

2008-10-03T11:50:00.003-05:00

My great-aunt Mae Youker Rockwell, wife of Purcell Melville Rockwell, kept a diary each year circa 1914-1919. I published ~~a handful of 1914 entries on this webpage~~. This past week, while sorting through my late Grandmother's personal belongings, I found a 1910 diary from Aunt Mae's future husband, a collection of notes authored by 18 year-old Purcell. The diary ran out of steam by the end of January 1910, but he kept the journal throughout his life and recorded small bits of data in it up until the early 1960s. Here is Uncle Clint J. Perkin's recipe for cough syrup:

1/2 pt. Cod Liver Oil

1/2 pt. Rock Candy

1/2 pt. Brandy

10 cents worth of glycerine

Mix together. Shake well before using.

The Green Team

2008-10-02T18:24:00.002-05:00

Mrs. Jones and the kids made the local paper today in an article about recycling, written by Katrina Segers.

Remembering Grandma

2008-10-02T06:07:00.001-05:00

Here's a nice tribute to my Grandma from KFVS Television in Cape Girardeau, Missouri.

Grandma

2008-09-24T22:56:00.009-05:00

My grandma died today. That's her in the middle between my Mom on the left and my Aunt on the right. She was 95. She was the best Grandma in the whole world, one of the nicest ladies anywhere. She worked at KFVS television in Cape Girardeau, MO for 44 plus years. 40 hours during the week plus a half day on Saturday. That's the way they did it then but she never complained.

She held up well for a long time. She cut out her daily cocktail before dinner only recently. My Mom got her a cane when her balance wavered but she tossed it in the closet. She took me to New York City in 1974 when I was nine years old, just to show me the place. We walked the mall in D.C. together that summer and the battlefield at Gettysburg too, and though we didn't know it then, her great-grandfather may have fought there for the union.

She was a distant cousin to Harriet Beecher Stowe and Wild Bill Hickok, not that she bragged about it. She was not one to make a fuss. She didn't like dogs. The only time in my entire life when she raised her voice was once when I was five years old and our dog jumped up in a chair to get comfortable. She didn't know I was listening nearby when she implored our family pet, in no uncertain terms, to get the hell off the furniture. And that was it.

She co-owned her own vegetable cannery on the West bank of the Mississippi river during the depression until bums burned down. She drank in a speak-easy during prohibition. She married a Democrat and voted Republican. She drove a Buick. She sent me to England when I graduated from high school.

She set the bar very high for Grandmothers everywhere, all over the world, and today she died. Thank you Grandma for 95 great years. I know not everything turned out the way you planned, but I'm glad it did, for my sake, and as long as I live, you won't be forgotten.

At The Stadium

2008-09-20T23:41:00.004-05:00

The Jones family went to the Royals game tonight thanks to our friend Kurt and his tickets. Tonight was fan appreciation night and they gave us knit caps when we walked in the gates. I found the Planet Sub vendor (AKA Yello Sub) and bought a turkey club, not too hard on the diet. We watched the Royals beat the Chicago White Sox 5-2. The Royals hit three home runs including a two run blast from Alex Gordon, an inside the park job from David Dejesus, and the first major league homer from Kila Kia-hooie (sic). I spotted my old CJ-106 co-worker Kelly Urich, and chatted with him. I had not seen him in over 12 years. He is still in radio. I am not. He does a great job over at Mix-93 where he's been since CJ-106 bit the dust in1995.

We stayed for the entire game and saw Joakim Soria close out victory #70, which is one more than the team managed last season. A college kid in a Cardinals jersey walked past us and shouted "Go Cardinals" for no reason. My nine year-old stood up and said, "They aren't even playin". Good boy.

My Day - September 18, 2008

2008-09-18T22:06:00.006-05:00

Today I woke up at 7:15am, showered, stepped on the scale at 183 pounds, dressed, drank a glass of orange juice, grabbed an apple and drove to the office. I live 15 minutes from work. Arrived at my desk just after 8am, read email, got a cup of coffee and began the work day.

I enhance and support a web application for a large engineering firm and today is the monthly peak usage day. I am the main point of contact for support questions and I coordinate those efforts with the brain trust. The morning seemed typical with a steady stream of phone calls and emails, but nothing overwhelming.

Drove home for lunch and checked Facebook. Logged into Travian, the tribal wars community game. My daughter spilled applesauce on her outfit at school and one of our neighbors, a woman who was at the school for another reason, went home and brought her a clean shirt. She also has a first grade daughter. What a kind thing to do. She left a phone message.

Returned to the office for more troubleshooting among the faithful. The application architect and I reviewed a prickly problem with data and discovered a loophole that needed attention, but we won't mitigate today, not on the day of peak use. We'll schedule it for October.

Got off work at 5pm and drove home for a pork burrito dinner from the wifey. She's a good cook. Skyler played Madden '08 and Leah went to soccer practice. Mrs. Jones went out with the girls for bunco, a lady dice game featuring snacks and drinks.

I stayed in with the kids and we watched Tom & Jerry, they practiced piano, and the little one took a bath. She read me a story and I returned the favor before our ritual, a prayer and two songs. I sang her a personalized version of "Goodnight Sweatheart" where I substituted her name over the sweetheart part, and I encored with "I'm So Glad We Had This Time Together" from the Carol Burnett show, only she doesn't know that's the origin.

It's 8pm and the boy and I talked sports. He brought me up to date on his GM activities within Madden franchise mode. He asked me to play a video game since his allotment is kaput. He gets one hour of PC or Gamecube time per day. I parachuted into France and surprised the German army all over again in Medal of Honor Spearhead edition.

He motored upstairs. Teeth were brushed, jammies were donned, and we talked before bed. I told him I wanted him to start a memory box, a small box with a lid to house momentos. We discussed what that meant and I asked him to imagine what it might be like if our house were frozen in time so he might return to the way it was today some time in the distant future. He might marvel at his baseball cards, his books, his toys. Those things are some of his personal momentos. I turned off the light and said goodnight. No songs for the 4th grader. He's not into it, although sometimes, not tonight, but sometimes I paraphrase a line from Cider House Rules when I say, "Goodnight my King of Kansas, my Prince of Prairie Village".

9pm - I did three miles on the treadmill in the basement. The calorie counter registered 250. I fired up Madden on the gamecube while I walked those three miles and the '62 Dallas Texans defeated the '96 Carolina Panthers 34-21 in a thrilling come from behind victory where the Texans, down 21-17, recovered the onside kick, and marched down field with less than two minutes remaining to take the lead. I was the Texans.

9:45 - I called my mother in Cape Girardeau. My 95 year-old grandmother is in the hospital. I've known since last night. She had the flu or maybe food poisoning. Anyway, she couldn't keep food down for four days and vomited when she tried. This led to dehydration and a fall in her apartment. A neighbor discovered her on the floor and called an ambulance. My Mom and Dad drove the 5.5 hours to Cape this morning and the good news is that she didn't have a stroke or a heart attack, but she's weak and tired and well, I don't know. She doesn't want to take phone calls today. Maybe tomorrow she'll feel better.

At 11pm I'll jump in bed, watch 45 minutes of TV and drift off to sleep.

He Used to Live Down the Street From Me.

2008-09-17T00:34:00.000-05:00

Today is Jason Wagers' birthday. Happy Birthday "Minimum Wage". Here's Jason scarin' up some breakfast porkchops on the popular Japanese morning show, Good Morning Tokyo.

The Bowling Report for September 15th

2008-09-15T22:43:00.004-05:00

I post a summary of our team's bowling exploits every Monday night, weather permitting. We won two of three matches and had more total pins than the other team. That counts as a victory by itself. Results are unofficial pending the official tally by the bowl-master 9000 computer in the Mission Bowl pro shop but I'm confident in Kurt's math. We are 8 and 4 so far this season. Our best bowler Brent returned from summer hiatus and missed a triplicate patch by six pins in game three (171, 171, 165). I had my first 500+ series of the year (504).

Remembering the Crystal Ship

2008-09-13T23:45:00.005-05:00

My friends Kurt and Greg gave me the Doors album for Christmas 1980. We were sophomores in high school and saw "Apocalypse Now" that fall. I was taken with "The End" and the napalm sequence that opened the movie. The album, their gift, was a watershed, and I featured the record on my bedroom turntable during the first half of 1981. They left the price tag on the saran wrap. It was $4.99 at the Capers Corner bargain bin. OMG! What a bargain. This song is my favorite:

Fun With Music is Fun

2008-09-13T22:53:00.001-05:00

Fun for everyone:

Wellsville 2008

2008-09-11T20:23:00.004-05:00

Here's The Embarrassment doing an acoustic version of Wellsville, recorded live in Wichita, KS over Labor Day weekend 2008 and featuring special guest guitarist Freedy Johnston. Posted by Demolition Kitchen.

The Bowling Report for September 8th

2008-09-08T21:34:00.003-05:00

It's too early in the season to know how we're doing. Week two at Mission Bowl with 31 weeks to go. They outlawed smoking and that's a big change this year. Our lungs are doing much better, that I know. We bowled well after a slow start in week one. Kurt and Craig found their game and we held serve throughout the night but the true scores were obscured since new bowlers rolled on both sides of the scoring settee. I managed a 464 series - anything over 450 and I'm happy. 450 / 3 = 150. Good night.

Tap a Kegel

2008-09-07T21:49:00.005-05:00

I don't want to go into it but I will not be doing any more kegels.

Old Mission Teachers

2008-09-06T13:53:00.000-05:00

Old Mission 1977-1980

7th Grade
Mrs. Patrick - English
Mr. Spencer - Social Studies
Mr. Vrbas - Math
Mr. Gibson - Gym
Mrs. Dekeyser - Life Science
Mrs. Caldwell - Art

8th Grade
Mrs. Chamberlain - Spanish
Mrs. Winston - Typing
Mr. Corder - Gym
Mr. Colley - Math
Mrs. Schweiker - English
Mr. Dory - Social Studies
Mr. Meidinger - Earth Science

9th Grade
Mr. Dory - Social Studies
Mrs. Carter - Foods
Mr. Gibson - Gym
Mrs. Hodgson - Science
Ms. Parks - English
Mr. Lyons - Math
Mrs. LaPierre - Speech

Elementary School Teachers

2008-09-05T20:38:00.000-05:00

Brian McClendon, a 1982 Lawrence High School graduate, and the man behind Google Earth and Google Street View, emphasized the importance of computers in learning and giving youngsters access to computers at a young age in an article in today's Lawrence Journal World (by Alexander Parker). The story featured a quote from someone who said they were amazed that Brian, a very successful man, remembered the names of his fourth grade teachers. It went on to say that he remembered to give them credit for his success. The latter part was probably the true intent of the statement, the amazing part. Can't most people remember their elementary school teachers' names? Challenge yourself (without consulting yearbooks). Spelling doesn't count and you don't have to include first names. Here's my list.

Roeland Park Elementary 1970 - 1974
K - Mrs. Bates
1 - Mrs. Sue Stewart (maternity leave) / Mrs. Kathy Gintzel
2 & 3 - Mrs. Mabel Williams

Roesland 1974-1977
4 - Mrs. Barbara McAllister
5 - Mrs. Ewing
6 - Mrs. Gretchen Lohnes

Do you care: Mrs. Gintzel and Mrs. Williams both lived on my street (Rosewood) at the same time I did, although they had husbands and separate addresses. Tomorrow: Junior High

Cape Girardeau Drive

2008-09-04T20:46:00.004-05:00

I've driven to Cape Girardeau dozens of times in my life. My parents used to pack my brothers and me into our 1972 Chevrolet Kingswood station wagon for the 385 mile journey across Missouri on I-70 and I-55.

The drive time varied from seven and half hours to five and a half depending on if and when we stopped the car. The original route included a passage from St. Louis to Cape on U.S. highway 61, that's right Dylan fans. Before I-55 opened in the early 70s, we traversed Missouri on a single lane job that hit lots of little towns like Festus, Ste. Genevieve and Fruitland. We took a shortcut down route W and approached Cape from the Northwest. I got excited when familiar landmarks appeared like the house on route W with the mailbox that resembled a moving truck. A roadhouse tavern sported a beer sign that said either Falstaff or Stag beer complete with a smiling crewcut blue-collar man in the photo who reminded me of my Dad's friend Coach Uhls. Those were the old days of Pevely Dairy billboards and "Are we there yet?" That section rated a two-hour drive at the minimum and sometimes longer when we ended up behind a big truck or a slow moving vehicle, in other words, every time.

The St. Louis to Cape Girardeau section of I-55 opened in the early 70s and cut drive time by 45 minutes on average. This was undone when the 55 mph speed limit was introduced during the energy crisis. Our trip time averaged about 7.5 hours.

My parents drove at night one time. We put the seat down in back and tossed in a foam pad. I tried to sleep but it was too exciting. Another time my Mom packed a cooler full of ice and sodas and we stopped three or four times between Kansas City and Columbia to use the bathroom. They gave up and we stayed overnight in Columbia where we paid the Holiday Inn people for a private room to pee in for the rest of the night.

We liked to stop in Columbia anyway. We lived there during the late 1960s (on West Blvd. South of Broadway). We used to eat at Howard Johnson's or the Post House. I watched for the little mall with the JC Pennys and the Flaming Pit restaurant where my mom got her hair done in the old days.

Mom touted Gasper's at Kingdom City. The parking lot was packed with 18 wheelers. "It must be good if the truckers like it," she said. We ate there once and it was okay. We stopped at other places along the way like The Red Lion in Warrenton or the Big Boy restaurant near Wright City.

My Dad discovered the 61/40 shortcut at Wentzville (home of Chuck Berry) south to I-270 about that time and we saved 30 minutes by skipping the run into downtown St. Louis. I liked seeing the arch but it took longer. I'm not sure if we ever needed to take that route, but that's the way we went. The 61/40 shortcut intersected I-270 north of Manchester and the big bird on the pole at the West County Shopping Center. I badgered my Dad into stopping at a gas station there. I called summer camp girls on the pay phone who lived in Kirkwood and Des Peres. He didn't like to stop and I understand now that I'm a Dad and the principal driver, plus my wife would not appreciate extra calls to summer camp girls. Some still live there.

The approach to Cape on Kingshighway took us past the memorial park where my Dad's folks are buried. There's an ancient KGMO radio tower near the side of the road. This stretch of the business loop was and still is dotted with commercial development - motels and burger joints ruled. We turned left on Broadway (by the Burger King), past the old McDonald's with the retro arches, left at Capaha Park and right on Pemiscot street (finally). Dad sang "Over the River and Through the Woods to Grandmother's House We Go" despite numerous protests.

Granny moved to an apartment on Bellevue in 1980. My grandfather Bader died that same year of cancer and I turned 16 the following Spring. I was old enough to stay home by myself. My family trips to Cape Girardeau ended. I wouldn't return until after college in 1989.

I took the family down this past weekend for Grandma's 95th birthday. This was their fourth trip. The kids don't realize how easy they have it in the van with the hand-held video games and the portable DVD player. They still ask "Are we there yet," sometimes before we hit Odessa. We stopped in Columbia at a burger joint with a habitrail.

New Embarrassment Song

2008-09-03T07:03:00.002-05:00

The history of a "new" song from The Embarrassment, Carpshoot, written by Bill Goffrier, with his notes cribbed from The Embarrassment Yahoo Groups page:

Carpshoot's original lyric sheet is posted in the files here. We think Ron told us the story circa 1979, we rhtmed [sic] it, I transcribed it, Brent drew the fish and bullets, but it never made it past Ron's dining room. I recently expanded on the words and music, tried to keep it very simple, and that's what we played the other night.

They streamed last weekend's concert across the Internet where venerable music lover and scene historian Mike Blur listened at home, unable to journey to the show. He captured the song and posted it here.

Catching Up for September

2008-09-01T22:25:00.003-05:00

I got back from a weekend in Missouri's boot heel. I had a fabulous time, hooked up with long lost relatives for family time, and ate like a savage. I spent two nights in Cape Girardeau, MO with a day trip to Caruthersville, Missouri. My mom's paternal line, the Bader family, hails from Caruthersville. More about that trip tomorrow. I'm burned out from driving across the state today. It's good to be home.

England Trip - Trivia!

2008-08-15T21:35:00.002-05:00

Here are more memory fragments from my England trip that fell out of the narrative.

There are no skyscrapers in England.
I bought an extra carry on bag at a luggage shoppe in Kensington to help carry the extra goods. I bought a Wedgwood pitcher (about the size of a softball) for Mom, a book of Prints from the National Gallery gift shop, a tacky painted plate from a gift shop in Stratford for my brother and his wife. I bought a T-shirt in Cambridge and army surplus coveralls from the British air force at a surplus shop.
The coverall, a jumpsuit, was nondescript, it didn't have a bunch of military insignias or lettering. It was a total impulse move. The dang thing was about an inch too small. It rode up in the crotch and the pant legs were a tad too short. I gave it to my roomie at Oliver Hall, Greg Merritt.
I saw a topless sunbather on the beach at Brighton.
The Bank in Kensington where I cashed my traveller's checks was Barclays. They were everywhere. They charged me a vig every time I made an exchange.
I never quite mastered the concept of V.A.T. - value added tax. I can't explain it to you now.
I tried a Wimpey burger after seeing them about London and viewing the TV ads. They invited me to sit down like a regular restaurant and a waitress took my order. I don't recall being blown away by it, but it was still better than British pizza.
I took a novel with me on the trip, Different Seasons by Stephen King. The paperback featured four novellas. Rita Hayworth and the Shawshank Redemption, Apt Pupil, The Body (AKA Stand by Me) and The Breathing Method.
The Onslow Court hotel was in a neighborhood where many Embassies for foreign nations were stationed. The Qatar Embassy was very close to us.
One commodity that seemed to be missing: girls my age. I didn't see them at the pubs or the cathedrals. I didn't meet any girls on my own the whole time I was there. But I wasn't on the make either. I sort of had a girlfriend back home. I bought her a wool sweater at Windsor castle but she never got it. Our schedules got crossed and we ran out of time before departing for different colleges. I kept the sweater, a plum pullover with a conservative stitch pattern around the neck, and gave it to another girl later, who I deemed special. It didn't fit quite as well.
I took up the tea habit while in country and promptly discarded it upon returning to the states. I also enjoyed many English beers but reverted to 3.2 tavern beer once back in Kansas.
I was forced to visit British laundromats to keep my knickers clean. I ran into a couple of Americans in the Kensington laundromat. They were on the Euro-rail program, hopping from hostel to hostel. You need clean underwear for that. I donned my jumpsuit for a trip to the laundromat in the provinces. I don't recall what town, but a kind old lady who swept up offered me "a sweet". That's hard candy for you Yankee bastards.
Litter and garbage were not in short supply in London. Thatcher may have been having labour problems but she chose not to employ them to collect rubbish. Trash cans were plentiful, but all seemed jammed with garbage.
One time Marc and I ran late and I needed to choke down some food before we started our ritual pub crawl. We went into a shoppe and I ordered a slice of meat pie to go. The pastry crust was so flaky and dry that I couldn't wash it down without a drink. I opted for a pint of Guinness, recalling my first pint a few days before on the train back from Wales. Where as the first pint was chilled, this one was butt warm and I nearly passed out from pastry/warm stout asphyxiation. In the meantime Marc kept chiding me to hurry up. He was impatient when it came to meat pies.
We stayed away from American chain outlets. No McDonalds. I don't think Pizza Hut was there yet. Every time we closed in on a bit of Americana, we got spanked. There was a bar in Kensington with a Texas theme. They had Lone Star beer cans stacked in the window and the whole place was done up like a western bar. We went in and sat down and ordered a beer, but they wouldn't serve it during pub siesta time. We left and never went back. Coca-cola was the lone exception.
The Onslow Court hotel had a cocktail-table model of the Asteroids video game in a hallway by the back stairs. It cost 10p to play (about 15 cents).
The USA Today was not available. U.S. news in general was hard to obtain. The BBC nightly news was very international, but not U.S. centric (and why would it be about America). This de-empahsis on America as the only show in town was one of the best lessons I learned while abroad.
There is no "prime-time" on English TV. They ran re-runs and first-run shows in the evening along with news documentaries and [lookout] Cricket. Blimey. Those test matches lasted for days.
The first day we were there, we heard the familiar British fanfare that played at the beginning of every episode of Benny Hill, but it turned out it was the network fanfare for Thames television, and it played before all the shows on that network.
American shows on the schedule: Flamingo Road, Simon and Simon, The Munsters, The Bilko Show.
Brit programmes: I caught glimpses of Coronation Street, Steptoe and Son, and Robin's Nest. Coronation Street was a prime time soap. Steptoe and Son was the basis for Sanford and Son and Robin's Nest was a spin-off of Man in the House, the inspiration for Three's Company.
All not available: American cigarettes. Smokers on the trip were not impressed by the local tobacco flavors.
Only Americans wore sneakers and jeans as casual wear. You could spot a yank from 300 yards with the Nikes and the Levis.
I sampled blood pudding at a hotel restaurant buffet. I question whether this was the best venue to try it for the first time. It was okay, a bit gristly.
I needed a passport for the trip and I waited in line at the Shawnee Mission post office but they rejected my application. I didn't have an official passport photo and you can't use a random glamour shot. I located a photographer in Mission who made such photos. He worked out of a little shop located in the concourse at the Mission Mart shopping center. That was a strip mall with Pier One and TG&Y. There was an indoor section that operated on two floors. Nobody ever went in there even when it rained but he had a storefront there. I called by phone and made an appointment that same afternoon. I was proud of myself for the extra hustle. He met me there. It was obvious that he didn't keep shop. He only showed up when he had a session. I sat down for three quick shots. I thought he'd give me a print on the spot. He told me to come back Thursday. That was two days later, but I guess it worked out. I got my official passport with photo in time for the flight to the UK.
There were many public appeals, signs, billboards, etc. to help the "spastics". This was the accepted term for people with cerebral palsy (CP).
I saw a kid on the subway in a Jayhawk t-shirt.

England Trip - August 14th, 1983

2008-08-14T20:58:00.001-05:00

We said goodbye to the Onslow Court Hotel and cheerio to England on a 12:30pm flight. Our trip handlers advised us it was customary to tip the bus driver at the end of a charter coach journey. Tipping is not an innate skill, one has to learn it and I had no idea what to give Gordon. I thought he did a great job so I gave him 20 pounds. That was about 30 dollars in those days. We took off from Heathrow and it was busy but there were no problems. The flight was long and we landed at O'Hare, Chicago in time for a four hour layover. Argh.

My Dad met me at the gate in Kansas City. The plane touched down after 8pm. I couldn't wait to get home. We were all tired. In my rush, I don' t think I made a big enough deal about my goodbyes.

I saw Tom, Melissa, and Marc again at K.U. (and our pub mate from Bath). We made plans to meet with the two Judys that November for a reunion to look at snapshots and Tom's home movies. He carried either an 8mm or a 16mm camera with him in England and we all made the highlights I'm told. I never saw the prints. The projector bulb shot craps the day of our reunion. But Tom didn't give up. He and Melissa went to KU, got married, moved to Carmel where they befriended the Mayor, Mr. Clint Eastwood. Tom and Clint collaborated on several films and Melissa worked behind the scenes too.

Marc, the one-time cable man from Los Angeles, got a job at 96X, a rock station in Ottawa, KS that serviced the Lawrence market. He sold air time, was on the air, and starred in their local cable TV ad campaign as the Herb Tarlick-like salesman who got zapped by the cool rock sounds of 96X. I think Marc stayed in sales but I haven't talked to him in over 20 years. He may be living in California.

Judy Oden retired from Shawnee Mission North and became a travel agent. She and Judy Spencer continued to visit Europe, though not always together. Gordon drove coaches across the UK for many years. I hope he still does.

I unpacked my things when I got home but I didn't have long to rest. The dorms opened three days later at KU and I prepared to start another exciting journey, a new chapter, as a freshman at Oliver Hall. 1983 was a busy year.

England Trip - August 13th, 1983

2008-08-13T21:43:00.012-05:00

Today was our last full day in England. The trip organizers suggested we visit the Portabello road market, but Tom, Melissa, Marc, and I ended up going to a rare bookseller in Soho. A man on the street selling bootleg George Harrison cassettes recognized us as Yanks and tried to sell us some music but we didn't buy. The bookstore was amazing, a trove of used and rare books on multiple floors. Marc inquired about a specific title that his father wanted, military history perhaps, a shot in the dark he said, but they had it!

Later that day we visited an unusual group of people. I can't remember the exact circumstances, only that it was late afternoon, and they served tea and someone made a speech. There was an elderly lady, much like a Monty Python pepperpot, only older, and she wore a medal given to her by the Queen. A middle-aged man and a woman ran this place, but I don't recall the occasion, only that they told us that John Cleese, of Monty Python fame, was their neighbor. Marc and I perked up. Yes, they said, he ran lines in his back garden where they observed him more than once. Connie Booth, his collaborator, wife, and co-star in Fawlty Towers, was also seen in the town home adjacent to this mysterious meeting hall.

Marc and I walked around the corner. We hoped to see John Cleese but we didn't. We took pictures of ourselves at the gate. Neither one of us dared ring his doorbell, though Marc faked the intent in the photo that featured him (he's the gent in the black jacket).

Our farewell dinner was meant to be special. I donned what dress-up duds I had left in the suitcase, cashed my last batch of American Express checks, and rode the tube to an Italian bistro run by Spaniards in the Northern suburbs of London. We ate orange and green pasta, a personal first for me, and I thought it was quite a novelty at the time. This meal was a bit more expensive than our typical supper, but it was worth it. We drank wine and kind words were spoken all around the table.

Marc, Tom, Melissa, and I stopped for a drink at a nearby pub after dinner. The bar was next to a local police precinct and squad cars went by while we stood outside the front door. Cops walked past us on their way to work but nobody cared that we pubbed it up out front. It was a warm, clear evening and a bittersweet event, our last night together in the U.K. I hope we toasted England and each other.

I asked the bartender if any famous people patronized this pub, since we weren't far from the Cleese flat and he nodded. "Kelly Monteith," he said. "Who?" I asked. "Kelly Monteith." I'd never heard of Kelly Monteith and I told him so. "Well you ought to know 'im," he said. "He's a yank."

It turned out that Kelly Monteith was an American comedian who scored a BBC TV show in the late 1970s. I happened upon an episode at some point and it was pretty lame. He was doing a bit about escalators, addressing the audience directly, and remarking about how the escalator hand rail moved faster than the stairs, a bit I'm pretty sure I heard somebody else do first in America, but with old Kel sequestered in the UK on the BBC, his writing staff "borrowed" it, or perhaps it was a funny coincidence. The bartender assumed I'd know Monteith, the fellow Yank. This was a dissonant fact that amazed me, how certain cultural fragments rose to the forefront, like the KC and the Sunshine Band single on the jukebox, or the George Brett pine tar game mention on the news. Even KMBC's Christine Craft made the BBC with her accusations of sexual discrimination. That was a different night in my travels, but one time in the hotel room while I watched TV before bed, I saw video of the Kansas City skyline. "That's Kansas City," I said, though I was alone. The BBC ran the story and picked up some B-roll of the Channel Nine local news open package. George Brett, Christine Craft, Kansas City, all there in the news, and yet the average pub patron was oblivious to them. Toto, Dorothy and friggin' Kelly Monteith - they knew about those icons.

Another memory fragment: Tom and Melissa departed and Marc and I went to another bar. This suburban pub featured a snooker table. I had never seen snooker before and I found it fascinating. No pockets at all and an array of solid white and red balls. The table was a local attraction. Serious players eyed the action from all corners of the room. One British wrinkle that I didn't get: patrons were required to put money in a coin box connected to the lights. The snooker table featured a large bank of lights and every 15 minutes the lights shut off, often in the middle of a shot. That produced some choice cockey rhyming slang from the players. They said, "Knickers and hickeys, go the bells of St. Rickey's. Escalator comedy bit thief, goes the American Monteith." And so to bed.

England Trip - August 12th, 1983

2008-08-12T22:06:00.011-05:00

Gordon drove the group to the West side of town to see Windsor Castle and Hampton Court. I remember Hampton Court with copious Henry VIII references. We walked through the hedge maze. It was a beautiful sunny day. I might be wrong but it seemed like Windsor Castle and Hampton Court were next to each other. We spent the entire day looking at Royal luxury, works of art, and fabulous buildings, rooms, and gardens. I have a fragmented memory of a major Leonardo Da Vinci exhibit on display.

Memory fragment: a waitress from a local restaurant chatted with us while we were waiting for our party to return to the bus. She was from Boston, cute, early 20's and very excited to see Americans. I wonder what the deal was. It wasn't like we were the only Americans to visit England that summer. Maybe she was a natural Patty Simcox; chatty and friendly. I must admit I had boyish American charm that screamed red, white, and blue, as did my teenage complexion.

It was a pleasant exchange, albeit brief, but I can't get over the fact that a native wanted to chat with us by virtue of our nationality. We must have caught her on the cusp of assimilation. A couple weeks later and she may not have cared, a couple weeks earlier and she might have been new in country with fresh memories of the swell Americans back in Boston. I'll never know the answer. One thing I am sure about, the restaurant where she worked looked like it was destined to fail. The place was done up like a 70s glam bar with a boxing theme. She wore brightly colored silk boxing trunks. It was like a Hooters but with models dressed as boxers. Not sure if they donned the headgear, perhaps during World Cup happy hour. Those football hooligans, you know.

That night Judy O. and I visited the London theatre district and the Savoy theatre in particular for Noises Off, starring Phyllida Law as Dotty Otley. I didn't know who she was then, but it was obvious she was the star. She's better known now as Emma Thompson's mother. The play was hilarious, the theatre was packed, and it was a very entertaining evening. We took a London cab home after the show ended. I found out later that the Savoy theatre was the home of Gilbert and Sullivan during their heyday in the 1890s, and it was the venue where they debuted The Mikado, The Pirates of Penzance, and H.M.S. Pinafore, among other operettas.

I still have the show program somewhere (but I can't locate it). The plot concerned a play and the program contained the bios for the real actors as well as the fictitious information for the play within a play, called Nothing On. The show opened with char-woman Dotty eating sardines and talking on the phone. A man walked down the aisle not far from us and shouted at her from the house floor. It was a nice reveal - he was an actor as well, the director of Nothing On. Comedic chaos ensued. It's too bad the movie version with Carol Burnett bombed. The production was perfect for the theater. The KU theater department staged it in the late 80s. David Rees Snell, a co-worker at Audio Reader, and now better known as Emma Thompson's mother on The Shield, played Frederick Dallas. Fred came across as a vapid man of British manners in the English production, but that's not a comic type in the United States, so Snell played it to emphasize his indecisiveness and insecurity. Here ends my belated review.

It's coincidental that both the Savoy theatre and Windsor Castle suffered devastating fires in the years since I visited the U.K. In contrast, Phyllida Law's American film career never caught fire, though I don't know if she cared.

England Trip - August 11th, 1983

2008-08-11T08:42:00.011-05:00

We returned to the Onslow Court Hotel in London after 13 days in the provinces. I felt like a seasoned Londoner today, like a native back home after holiday. A group of young German tourists stopped me on the street and asked why the bars where closed. I gave them the low down on the local siesta law. They seemed grumpy. Nothing funnier than a grumpy German tourist, unless its a grumpy German tourist in a speedo.

Our hotel concierge booth featured a sign that listed all the current local theatre productions. Judy Oden and I asked for a recommendation since Cats was sold out. The concierge recommended a hot new comedy Noises Off, and we booked it for the following night.

We tested all our hotel pubs while on tour and they ran the gamut. Quite a few of them resembled the proletarian bar in Fawlty Towers; A small bar top about six feet wide with one or two keg taps and a random collection of hard liquor. There was one place that was the opposite, and I don't recall which provincial town this was, but the bar in the hotel was a popular local night spot, in fact it wasn't a pub at all. It was a night club, with a dance floor, and local singles on the make. Judy Oden told me that she looked out her room window later that evening and saw a guy, who presumably got his English motor running at the disco, trying to get the attention of someone in the hotel - Romeo and Juliet style. I don't know if he threw rocks at a nearby window or not. Judy said he returned with a ladder. Crazy British hotel night club. I wonder if he rented the ladder from the concierge booth?

We Interrupt the Nostalgia

2008-08-10T22:55:00.000-05:00

...to bring you the latest short story from W. P. Kinsella, author of Field of Dreams. This one is short, one smoke long, in fact.

England Trip - August 10th, 1983

2008-08-10T05:48:00.002-05:00

We left Stamford, stopped for lunch in the cathedral city of Ely, and arrived in Cambridge by mid-afternoon. We took the walking tour of the university; Sir Isaac Newton taught there. Francis Crick, the DNA guru, unravelled the mysteries of the double helix. We also stopped by the Trinity college great court, made famous in the movie Chariots of Fire, when the Ben Cross character ran around the court before the clock finished the stroke of 12. Our guide said the scene in the film was shot at Oxford, even though it took place at Cambridge. I bought a souvenir sweatshirt.

That night back at the hotel room, I watched the film version of Arsenic and Old Lace starring Cary Grant. I found it interesting since we had staged the production at SM North that Spring. I thought Grant's performance was a bit over the top as the frazzled dramatic critic Mortimer Brewster. Yes, frankly it was too frazzily.

England Trip - August 9th, 1983

2008-08-09T21:12:00.002-05:00

We covered 100 miles from York to Stamford today on the venerable tour coach. There were only five days left in the UK before I returned to Kansas. I don't have a lot of memories of Stamford. The hotel was over 200 years old and featured small archways (big enough for a carriage but not an automobile) that led into an inner garden. It was very nice. My European hotel room clock radio showed 23:00 for 11pm. I tuned in a French station. Our travels took us South again as he crept toward London.

Another memory fragment: In one of my provincial hotel rooms, I'm not exactly sure what city I was in, but I recall a certain odd television set. The audio and the video were turned on and off by separate switches. I watched a program before bed. The BBC showed a jazz concert with Kansas City native Pat Metheny. I switched off the video and listened to the sound as I drifted off.

England Trip - August 8th, 1983

2008-08-08T22:36:00.004-05:00

The itinerary stated that we hung out an extra day in York (Gordon's regular day off perhaps) and we took a day trip to Beverly Minster near town. That's another outstanding cathedral that I have no memory of visiting and no pictures either. I turned into the ugly American, or perhaps less harshly, the American who remembered British pub culture more than British culture.

This might be a good time to bust out some contact prints that I discovered this evening in the basement. Its from the first roll I shot during our initial stay in London and I want to take you through each photo. Imagine you visited me at my house and I broke out the slide projector. Click on the image to enlarge.

Top Row: Melissa Brown Rooker gets cozy with a Beefeater.
My lame attempt to secretly capture the image of what I thought was a punk rocker.
A man with a monkey entertains Austrian tourists.
Coolest shot of my trip: I happened upon a street musician, a black man who sang and played guitar, performing in the tube station, underground, in front of an official London Underground notice that stated street musicians were expressly forbidden. Cool, right? I got him in the shot with the sign, but my freakin' flash failed me and I ended up with a no-go on the print. You'll have to take my word for it. F-stop me runnin'.
Bottom Row: 10 Downing street (sideways)
Bobbies at the end of 10 Downing street that keep people away from the actual 10 Downing street entrance, terrorist threat and all that. Bad business with the IRA in those days.
Marc Artieres chats with the smoking man on the front porch of the Onslow Court hotel in Kensington. Do you see his Camel no-filters on the table there?
I think the last shot is of the tower of London complex as seen from a bridge.

England Trip - August 7th, 1983

2008-08-07T21:48:00.000-05:00

We left Durham for York with a pit stop in Thirsk, aka James Herriot country. Some of the middle-aged ladies in our group wigged out and ran amok. I ran to the pub with Marc. We found one that was open for lunch on Sunday and ordered a pint with our sandwich. The pub owner told us the local law forbade the sale of liquor at that time. This was the first booze restriction I ran into in my entire fortnight's stay in the UK. And then he served Marc and I anyway and we tipped him well. The beer was good. The sandwich was so-so. Weird coincidence. My boss back in Kansas City at the golf course was Stan Thirsk. I think I took a snapshot of a storefront that said Thirsk Hardware or something and gave it to him when I got back. Or maybe I imagined that after drinking that lunchtime pint. It's all golden hazy now.

Likewise York is a faded tablet. I recall touring the big minster there but not much else. I remember the hotel, except for the name. It might have been the Viking Inn. It overlooked one of the local rivers and we saw people row up and down the small stream.

England Trip - August 6th, 1983

2008-08-06T06:05:00.003-05:00

From Kendall to Hexham and on to Durham during the apex of our tour away from London. Hexham is near the remains of Hadrian's Wall and I recall getting off the bus to walk among the ruins.

I don't have a lot of memories of Durham but I think this was the city where we toured the cathedral that featured a tall tower and we walked up a number of steps to get to the top for a wonderful view.

The photo roll suggests that we stopped near the ruins of a church where I took a picture of two boys fishing by a riverbank. I think this was in transit, between two stops. I have a memory fragment of our tour hosts, the Campbells, making a pitstop at a tile vendor's shop to purchase new tile for their kitchen, but I'm not sure if this was the same day.

The Northern stretch was beautiful country, very hilly, and I remember wishing we could extend our trip further to Scotland.

England - August 5th, 1983

2008-08-05T17:49:00.001-05:00

We spent the day in the Lake District on our way to Kendall. This was also about the only time we jumped on the English Interstate - Britain's M6 motorway. This allowed us to shoot North from Chester, bypass Liverpool and its industrial trappings, and cruise to Lake Windermere.

Marc and I rented a two-man motor boat and spent the day in the sun. It was hot and I stripped down to my underwear for a cool swim. A barge full of tourists floated past and I waved. I'm not sure what I did with my underwear after I got back in the boat. I may have wrung them out before I put my jeans back on or perhaps I went commando and discarded the ersatz swim trunks. Either way it was worth it - hottest summer in 400 years, they said.

England Trip - August 4th, 1983

2008-08-04T21:45:00.000-05:00

Big road day today. We covered a total of 88 miles with a pit stop in Shugborough on our way to Chester. The 88 miles took all day. We rarely travelled on Interstate type highways. The roads were one lane each way most of the time. A 30 mile stretch sometimes took 90 minutes or longer depending on the traffic and the road conditions, but it was all part of the adventure.

Shugborough was a large historic estate house and grounds. I don't remember much about it. It's possible it may have been partially closed. I have a picture of the gates and a picture of the Cat's Monument, a famous tribute to some rich bastard's feline friend.

Chester had great shops and I bought my mother a Wedgwood pitcher as a gift. The shopping district was quaint, decked out in traditional middle age white plaster and wood board. I have a vague memory of a cobblestone passage with a sign that said "Fowler" with an arrow pointing down the way. Chester also had the remains of protective walls around the city rim from 500 years ago (or longer).

I didn't know it when I was there but the Horrocks branch of my mother's family hailed from Cheshire (the province where Chester sits). This may have been as close as I came to visiting my true ancestral England.

I have a memory fragment that may be from Chester or not, but I associate it with walking on the city walls, so I think it was here that I noticed something about music in English pubs. Not all the bands were cooler. I was shocked to discovered that KC and the Sunshine Band were still releasing singles and getting British air play (and jukebox spins too). They shuffled the release strategy among bands that were popular in both places. While Every Breath You Take by the Police was a monster hit in the U.S. that summer, the U.K. jukeboxes all featured Wrapped Around Your Finger.

England Trip - August 3rd, 1983

2008-08-03T20:40:00.002-05:00

Today our group joined throngs of tourists in Stratford-on-Avon where we toured the Shakespeare properties, shopped in the Bard stores, and quaffed deep of the cup of Shakespeare. The only thing missing was The Bill Shakespeare sunshine summertime musical revue theater featuring Falstaff the banjo player. Hello Branson, are you listening? We got the hell out of there after lunch.

Coventry was our next stop. Lady Godiva's ride through town has been overshadowed since the Germans bombed the city in World War II. The bombed out cathedral walls remained; a park and memorial decorated the grounds. Otherwise, they rebuilt the city as one might expect. Judy Oden told me that many victims were buried in mass graves outside of town.

I was always a bit surprised when Brits pegged me for a Yank at first glance. Its obvious now, the blue jeans, the sneakers, and the tattoo of the Gettysburg address on my chest, but back then, I was naive about the way I reeked U.S.A.

I walked among the downtown Coventry buildings. I explored the side streets and cobblestone passages, when a man sitting on a stoop across the way, motioned for me to join him in conversation. He smiled as he waved me over. "Excuse me sir. I wonder if I might have a word with you."

I was an 18 year-old guy from Kansas, but I knew people on the street, even in a calm mid-sized city like Coventry, did not want to merely have a word with me, they wanted something else.

I glanced at my watch. "I'm sorry. I don't have time." I walked away. In retrospect I should have been more direct. Maybe a 'No thanks' or a 'I don't think so'. The man's demeanor changed in an instant.

"You don't have time? Why I ought to give you 18 stitches up the side of your head," he yelled after me.

I made a left turn down a side street that went in the direction of the hotel. I didn't look back. He kept yelling at me but he didn't follow me. I turned the corner and ran. It was a block back to the hotel. It was the only negative experience I had with anybody the entire trip.

Maybe he wanted to ask me the time and when he saw me look at my watch and tell him I didn't have the time, that pissed him off. I'm not sure. I should have gave him my Romeo and Juliet bath towels from the Stuckey's in Stratford. That would have been a right Scotch cracker, which is a fake British slang term David Cross made up on his blog, and I'll bet he's never even been to Stratford, but I have, 25 years ago today.

England Trip - August 2nd, 1983

2008-08-02T20:43:00.002-05:00

We cruised past the Royal Crescent apartments and hotel on our way out of Bath. Gordon impressed me with his able command of the bus in tight driving situations. Tight by American standards. Brits in general are used to driving on tiny roads with little buffer room between lanes and oncoming traffic. We drove through the Cotswolds, an area of outstanding natural beauty, on our way to Banbury.

My father bounced me on his knee and sang to me about Banbury when I was a wee lad. Ride a cock-horse to Banbury Cross. We saw the cross on our way to the hotel, in the middle of a traffic circle, and that was Banbury for me. It was a rainy evening and the lot of us, Marc, Tom, Melissa, the Judys, and myself, camped out in the bar for the night. Marc urged me not to inquire with the locals about the availability of a cock-horse, but I was ready to invade the city center after a few G&Ts, on horseback if need be - but need not be, and so to bed.

England Trip - August 1st, 1983

2008-08-01T20:37:00.004-05:00

We left Winchester with Gordon back on board. We drove 24 miles to Salisbury for lunch. I think they had a copy of the Magna Carta in Salisbury but I don't remember viewing it. The car park in Salisbury was adjacent to the oldest section of town they allowed foot traffic only on the main shopping road. The parking lot was situated behind stores and we approached a business from the rear. This particular building was designed with windows up high that formed a ring of glass around the top of the first floor. We were in the back and there was no door or sign that indicated the type of business inside. I looked up at the window and saw a naughty calendar posted on a wall. A topless model welcomed me to downtown Salisbury. I remarked on it to my companions and someone inside must have heard me. The calendar was gone when we returned to the coach. All this European nudity made me hungry. Somebody talked up a ploughman's lunch, a hunk of cheese and an apple, but we found a restaurant that served something hearty instead.

The group stopped for a walking tour of Old Sarum, an ancient site of ruins that preceded the Roman occupation of England. This was a warm up for the real prize, a stop at Stonehenge. Stonehenge, as you know, is a sprawling complex of henges, and the National Trust has done a fine job of controlling development in the surrounding countryside. This is why it looks great on those documentary programs where an aerial camera swoops by. The visitor center and gift shop are both underground. We couldn't walk among the ruins. Soccer hooligans vandalized the stones with spray paint and officials decided to keep the big rocks off limits to tourists. We got kind of close for these pictures. I think Judy Oden took the picture with me in it.

The weird thing about Stonehenge - after 15 minutes, you are ready to go. Off we went to one of my favorite cities on the tour - Bath! A town of 70,000 residents according to one of our travel mates who announced the population of all the towns we visited as we pulled in on the bus. We arrived in mid afternoon. Marc and I stowed our gear and did a quick pub recon mission. This was during the English pub siesta; all the bars were closed, but we spied one with a pool table through the front window, not a snooker table mind you, but a real American style pool table and decided to return that evening after the tour of the Roman baths and our usual group meal.

The Roman baths were quite impressive and I was tempted to change into my suit and jump in the main pool. I bet everyone wants to swim in the Roman pools so its probably a good thing that nobody does. We saw the great bath, the hot bath, and the cold bath. The Romans were mad about bathing.

We returned to our hotel where Judy Oden got a letter from back home. Not many of us heard from our friends and family while on tour. Marc attempted a phone call from a pay phone in London and got through to his girl in Kansas. Judy was very organized and briefed her family on the travel itinerary. They wrote to her in advance and the letters were waiting for her at several stops. I wrote a couple of letters early in the trip but figured anything after the half-way point might arrive after I returned to the states.

Our hotel was on a hill by a river and it overlooked a couple of streets. I heard mechanics in a nearby auto shop working as I listened from my room. They cursed and cajoled each other. The song Summer Nights from the Grease soundtrack came on their radio and they sang it to one another in a working class falsetto.

Marc and I returned to the pool table pub that evening. British pub pool rules varied from standard American bar rules, or perhaps they were pulling my leg. For example, if you scratched on a shot, the other player got two shots. Marc wore a Kansas City Kings T-Shirt. We drank a couple pints and had fun even though the rules were wonky. A young man about my age asked if we were from Kansas after he saw Marc's shirt. It turned out that he was attending KU that fall as an exchange student. We talked to him for awhile and exchanged what little information we could. He was slated to live in Hashinger Hall. I was dialed in for Oliver Hall. Marc and Tom rented a place together down Naismith drive between 19th and 23rd street. I've forgotten this UK native's name now but I thought this chance meeting was an amazing coincidence. We made contact later that fall in Lawrence. I spoke with him by phone. It turned out that we didn't need each other; Freshman year is an explosion of new relationships and he made plenty of new friends immediately. I think Marc told me they had him over to their house once. A wonderful day, it started with topless calendars, then a bounty of Roman ruins, and ended with a chance meeting of a Brit national headed for Kansas.

England Trip - July 31th, 1983

2008-07-31T10:17:00.005-05:00

Sunday was Gordon the bus driver's day off and we hung around Winchester. Matt arranged for a different bus and driver to take us to the Broadlands for a day trip but we never made it. The entire group assembled for the journey but there was a miscommunication and the backup bus never arrived. Marc and I watched Sink the Bismark on the BBC and they showed commercials. I thought English TV was commercial free but this was not true.

There were many advertisements for teenagers dealing with "spots", or acne. Certain ad campaigns copied their American counterpart. The UK version of the Snickers bar is called a Marathon bar and they showed a commercial that paralleled one from the U.S. where a candy seller at the local baseball game is counseled by a mentor on how to sell it baby. After he tasted a Snickers bar he understood how the perfect blend of chocolate, caramel and peanuts lent itself to an enthusiastic sales pitch. Same deal in the UK, but with different actors, a different product name, and it took place at a soccer match. There were also commercials for Wimpy, a burger chain restaurant. Every town had one, with its orange/brown decor, and it was only a matter of time before I succumbed to the video enticements on the tele.

That night I wandered into a restaurant/pub holding a cabaret night of mellow guitar jams with pop favorites sung by a middle-aged gent who looked like Professor Falken from War Games. I requested Buddy Holly. His rendition of a nameless Holly song was too slow-core and I didn't recognize it. I kept asking for Buddy Holly even after he played it. It was a lose-lose for the lot of us. This was not my kind of place. I don't know if the Brits had yuppies but if they did, I think they drank wine at this establishment. There was a sign posted outside the entrance that banned soldiers from the nearby army base. See my pants-less push-up story from Canterbury. There was nothing to stop me from dropping trow and doing a few knee bends, except of course for what was left of my dignity, and so to bed.

England Trip - July 30th, 1983

2008-07-30T06:41:00.001-05:00

We left Canterbury and drove 73 kilometers South South-West to Brighton on the Southern coast of the island. It was another hot, sunny English summer day and after a quick lunch, fish and chips in a rolled up newspaper, we walked down to the beach to take in the Atlantic Ocean.

I knew Brighton was the setting for the movie Quadrophenia, but to see it person was another thing all together, especially the beautiful Brighton pier. Not that it had anything to do with the movie, in fact I've never seen Quadrophenia. Something about seeing Sting ride a motor scooter turned me off, but I'll get around to it sometime.

I hung out at the beach until it was time to return to the bus. There aren't many beaches in England and there were German tourists in speedos three sizes too small and that's always a crowd pleaser, plus a few topless ladies, can't be bad.

Next stop: Petworth, a National Trust heritage site. It's is a fortified country house; half-castle, half manor. We toured the grounds that included lots of tall windows, paintings, and a children's folly in the rear garden.

Our last stop of the day was Winchester, home of the Winchester cathedral that Graham Nash sang about, and a replica of the round table like the King Arthur crew may have used.

Off to pub for the evening; a couple of pints and a chat with the locals. I got silly on the way home and climbed a wrought iron fence. I put my shoe on top of the spike to get a better look across the yard and found out it wasn't decorative, the metal pierced the sneaker sole. I kept my balance with the other foot and unstuck the point without losing my shoe or impaling my foot.

I have no memory of the Winchester hotel other than to say it was an economy lodge with adequate facilities located near the center of town. Some of the hotels we stayed in offered privates baths to each guests, others had partial baths or occasionally, a loo down the hall. They all had tea pots though, and little chocolate wafers.

England Trip - July 29th 1983

2008-07-29T03:23:00.007-05:00

We checked out of the Onslow Court Hotel and boarded our tour bus for Canterbury. Gordon the coach driver greeted us on the street in uniform. He helped us stow our luggage in the lower boot. He was about 40 years old, tan, with straight brown hair, well groomed, like Roger Moore. He liked to watch the ladies like 007 too, but not necessarily this morning as we were all in a hurry to begin our bus coach tour of England. Farewell to Kensington for a couple of weeks.

We stopped at Greenwich on the east side of the London metro area and hopped on board the Cutty Sark. No free samples, har! They liked their cats in Greenwich. I saw a pensioner who strolled by with his feline friend cradled in his arms. Another furry friend guarded the magazine rack in a nearby tobacconist shop.

We ate lunch at a place that featured a missile command video game in the corner by the front door. Video arcade machines were a rare commodity on this trip, not counting the slot machines in the pub, and I threw a couple of 10 pence pieces in the old Atari game. 10 pence equated to be about 15 cents, but perhaps more importantly, the 10 pence coin was close to the American quarter in size, and therefore a better candidate to use in the coin slot. Say, where have all the ladies gone? I gotta start hanging out with Gordon more often.

We reached Canterbury by mid-afternoon. We took a walking tour of the central district and saw remnants of Roman mosaics and ancient buildings. We toured the cathedral as well. Marc and I walked down the street from our hotel after the group dinner and joined the action at the pub. A number of rowdy guys were chugging beer near the front door. The British don't care if you stand outside the bar door with your drinks. These guys looked to be Navy vets, they had tattoos, a popular requirement for British sailors, especially since this was less than 18 months after the Falklands conflict. One bloke grabbed a girl's skirt as she walked by. Another guy pulled down his pants and underwear and did some push-ups on the sidewalk. Maybe that's why we don't allow the sidewalk drinking here in America.

I listened to the BBC radio service in the hotel room after pub time. One of the channels featured a live recording of Lynyrd Skynyrd. I didn't realize there was a British audience for southern-rock American style, but why not. They are keen observers of American culture if nothing else.

England Trip - July 28th, 1983

2008-07-28T06:50:00.002-05:00

Our last day in London for a few weeks and the suggested schedule was light - go to the London Museum. I don't think I went there. I don't remember the London Museum at all. This may be the day I stopped in Harrod's department store and browsed around. I had the notion to purchase the British version of Monopoly but changed my mind. I don't remember purchasing anything but I definitely recall that I walked to Kensington in the afternoon. Our little corner of the city on Old Brompton road became quite familiar, especially the section between the South Kensington station and the hotel. There was a luggage store where I bought an extra carry-on bag to tote my goodies to the states. There was a take-away pizza shop that made the absolute worst pizza in the British empire. I made better pizza from the box myself at home in the dark than the slice I purchased later that night after Marc and I spent the evening at Covent Garden, but more about that in a moment. The street around the corner from the Onslow court also featured a chemist, a record store, where I monitored the top of the British pop charts as displayed there. The top three artists that summer were not yet familiar in America: Wham, Paul Young, and Yazoo. Everybody knows Wham now and Paul Young scored a U.S. hit later in the decade with "Every Time You Go Away". Yazoo, or Yaz, didn't crack the pop charts in the U.S. though we had their records at the college station.

Marc and I ventured down to a night club district we heard about - Covent Garden. Its the same section where the Opera House was and where Audrey Hepburn sold flowers to Rex Harrison in My Fair Lady. There was lots of action there and I recall being in a crowded outdoor beer garden where one bartender yelled "Next Victim" each time he served another customer. I dug those pint glasses with the little bulges at the top. American beer was a distant memory. The Brits had the edge. We talked to a local who advised us that not all places closed at 11 o'clock. There were certain clubs in the city that stayed open late under some kind of loophole, but we chose not to go. We'd been reminded by our tour guides that we departed for Canterbury in the morning by coach. We returned to the hotel after stopping for wretched pizza and took in a little BBC on the tele. The hotels in England had four channels in the summer of 1983. That's it and they shut down between midnight and 1am each night with a full band version of God Save the Queen, known in America as, well, America the Beautiful. Then a BBC announcer politely reminded me to switch off my set, which I did, and went to sleep at the Onslow Court hotel.

More Pictures

2008-07-27T09:34:00.002-05:00

These photos revealed that I took the garden shot mentioned in the previous post as part of a weak attempt to create a panoramic mosaic. I don't remember where this was, the sequence suggested it was Wales but I don't know. Check out the guy sweeping with the broom made of sticks.

England Trip - July 27th, 1983

2008-07-27T04:20:00.001-05:00

Today was a special day. We got up early and rode the tube to Paddington station where we boarded the high speed train to Wales. I'm not sure how fast it went but I'll guess about 90 mph. It was an express, no stops, and we were in the little county where vowels were optional before lunchtime. Our destination was Cardiff Castle and it was our first big castle on the tour. What a beauty. I was impressed with the size and attention to detail displayed throughout the ancient palace. We ate lunch in the basement where I met an older couple from Ohio. They regaled me with horror stories of Yankee driving mishaps in the land of the left side right of way. We also toured a cathedral at Llandaff with many opulent stained glass windows. I will confess, by the end of my stay, I was less impressed with the castles and the cathedrals, but this was our first foray and we were all suitably taken aback.

Our Welsh rarebit took all day and we clamored back on board the London express in the afternoon. The four of us young tourists, myself, Marc, Tom, and Melissa ordered beers and I sampled my first Guiness stout. It wasn't ice cold, but slightly chilled. Tom fell asleep at our table in the club car and we made fun of his bobbing head. I called the play-by-play as if he were in a contest where the contestants tried to drive a roofing nail through a block of balsa wood with their foreheads. Everytime we thought his drooping melon might drive the nail home to victory, he pulled it back up, asleep the whole time. This was the first time I made my companions laugh. I guess we were getting more comfortable with each other. We were late getting home. The train was delayed by livestock on the track.

A note about the contact photos I included. The bottom panel includes a shot of the railyard, and the railway workers. I was impressed with the vast rail infrastructure in Britain. I shot a gargoyle from the bus on our way to Cardiff Castle, and then the cattle trail into the castle itself. The top panel shows part of the castle interior, a group shot of one of the tour guides for hire. That's her with red hair. She wasn't part of our group and if not for this shot I would have forgotten about her. I saw her again years later in a B-roll shot on 60 minutes, guiding tours in Venice, Italy in a piece about European tourism. That redhead got around. The man in the blue striped shirt was the aforementioned gentleman from Ohio - Shaker Heights to be exact, who experienced the thrills of driving from the passenger seat on the left side of the road. The last shot is obviously a garden and if an 18 year old boy thought enough to take a snapshot of the flowers then they must have been utterly unbelievable, or perhaps I had one shot left on the roll.

England Trip - July 26th, 1983

2008-07-26T01:55:00.004-05:00

Day three and I lapsed into a British accent. Mark called me on it right away and kept me from going completely Zelig. We took the Tower of London tour this morning and saw the Beefeaters. Perhaps this is why I drank so many Gin and Tonics while in England. A couple of things about the mixed drinks you should know. First of all, if you didn't request ice, they served it neat. Most bartenders figured out I was a Yank and asked me if I wanted ice and lemon. That's right, lemon. No limes with your G&Ts in England. Either way, no big deal, and Beefeater's was domestic there! Bully!

Back to the tower where someone tipped us off that there was a little changing of the guard joke they played on the tourists. The guards marched out and the tourists flocked to the square where they used to chop people's heads off. They stopped and...that was it. They didn't do anything for half an hour. People slack-jawed and rubber-necked and snapped copious photos of virtual statues. The tower featured 500 year old graffitti and the crown jewels. The rudest man in England was the guard who reminded everyone to keep moving while we looked at the crown jewels, and I must say, he was quite nice.

Mark and I visited Trafalgar Square and visited the National Gallery that afternoon. I know I visited once before we left London and once more when we returned. The National Gallery was one helluva museum. So much to see, and this time I stayed, unlike the markers at Westminster. The paintings could not be ignored. Thank goodness it was air conditioned.

The papers said it was the hottest London summer in 400 years. So much for the sweaters we brought with us. I drank a Coke each day as long as I liked it at room temperature. Merchants did not refrigerate the sodas. I wandered into a litte bodega in Kensington and I got very excited when I saw the Coca-Cola in a refrigerated case. I smiled, strode to the back display, and opened the glass door. I expected a cold whoosh of air but the bastards didn't have it plugged in. I think it was another little joke for the American boy from Kansas. I bought it anyway.

Days later when we were out in the provinces, I found an ice cream man who kept a couple of cold ones in his freezer compartment. We were at a castle or country estate and what a treat that was to taste cold soda pop again. I don't drink Coke anymore but at the time it was one of the things I missed most about the states. Don't get me wrong, I don't want to come off as the ugly American. I drank tea in the afternoon with milk and sugar! They put a tea pot in every hotel room I stayed in and I used the shit out of it.

Little bits of American culture made splashes on TV news. The British BBC schedules were littered with popular and not so popular American shows like Flamingo Road and Simon and Simon. I'm not talking about that, I'm talking about topical events. For example, when I chatted with the locals down at the pub in the evenings, only a few knew Kansas City, some had heard of Kansas from The Wizard of Oz, but Kansas City was not on the English radar. I was quite surprised when I looked at the TV set in a pub one night, I do not recall exactly when this was, and saw Kansas City's George Brett freaking out at the Yankees game. It was the Pine Tar game. Yes, the Pine Tar game made the BBC. Regular baseball results and scores were not available, but I was pleased to see my hometown boys get a little air time there.

I have a vague memory of getting my own room at the Onslow Court about now. The previous snafu that lumped Mark, Tom, and I together resolved itself. I got my own room for a couple of days. They had a hotel channel on the tele and the local host advised tourists that tickets to the hot new Andrew Lloyd Weber show "Cats" might be hard to find. Thanks. Another British custom I wasn't used to; the front desk half expected me to turn in my room key when I left the hotel. It seemed weird, but the bonus was they always told me I had no messages when I came back.

England Trip - July 25th, 1983

2008-07-25T03:14:00.005-05:00

Today was our first full day in London and we started a walking tour at Buckingham Palace. We watched the changing of the guard and took pictures of the British palace guards in their Q-tip hats. They ignored us. The threat of terrorism simmered in England in those days but we didn't encounter any bombings or anything unusual. There was a visible military presence in some instances, and signs on the tube warned us to report unattended satchels and briefcases. All standard post 9-11 protocol over here.

We enjoyed a lot of freedom for a group tour. We travelled together and ate our evening meals together. We took group tours sometimes. The protocol was issued with suggested activities for each day, but we were free to do as we wished, on our own if we liked, as long as we returned for supper.

The suggested activities today included a stop at Buckingham palace - gobs of tourists included a young lady with orange hair in a leopard skin print t-shirt. I thought she was a punker and compared to 1983 Fairway, Kansas, she was, but in retrospect she was tame. I noticed throughout my journey that wild hair colors were in style. I saw young adults in business attire but with bright purple hair, combined with half-shaved hairdo's. It was fashion. I sat next to a real punk couple on the underground. They had spiked mohawks, doc martin style jackboots and the clincher for me, self-mutilation scars, presumably from razor blades, on their arms. The tube was fantastic. I loved the London subway. Matt warned us that we'd lose a little of the geography by prairie-dogging around the city, but it was the best way to ride. I purchased a four day pass today and the South Kensington station became our base of operations while we were in London this week.

We also walked around Big Ben and took in the Westminster Abbey where Lady Di and Prince Charles tied the knot. Lots of famous people were buried there. Poet's corner contained the graves of serious heavyweights: Charles Dickens, Dr. Samuel Johnson, Edmund Spenser. Ahem. Yeah, baby. They charged extra money to walk around that part of the Abbey. Well, F-you Thomas Hardy, Ben Jonson and Geoffrey Chaucer. I said forget it. (What can I say, I was 18 years old).

Free time after dinner meant pub time. The British liquor laws allowed me to drink legally. Mark and I scouted pub candidates during the day. Side note: in 1983, British pubs were required by law to close after lunch for a few hours. But we'd usually find a pub within walking distance of the hotel and check it out in the evening.

Kensington had several laid-back neighborhood pubs. I wasn't hip to how breweries controlled the brands of beer, nor did I care. I ordered a pint of lager. Free houses served beers from multiple breweries. Guess what? Jack Daniels and Budweiser are imports in England. Obvious? Yes. But everything is a wing-ding revelation when you're a high school kid away from the states for the first time. Three more instant observations about pub life. You can bring your dog to the pub in England, at least to the neighborhood pub we visited that night. The pubs had nudgie machines, and I'm pretty sure that's not what they were called, gambling rigs, kind of like slot machines, 25 pence a play. Three wheels spun a combination and if you stopped close to a payout, the nudge button allowed you to bump a wheel one way or another and collect a few coins. The third observation was that the pubs closed at 11pm, early even by Kansas standards, where 3.2 beer taverns stayed open till midnight.

Mark knew what to do. We returned to the hotel pub, but it was also closed. We went up to our room where we ordered room service. Mark talked the bartender into bringing up a final round of drinks and trained me in the art of gratuity. We gave him a nice tip for his late night, after-hours service. The first day of London, as best as I can remember it 25 years later, was in the books with this night cap. Tomorrow: The Tower, royal jewels, and more cocktails.

England Trip - July 24th, 1983

2008-07-24T07:22:00.003-05:00

We checked in to our hotel for five days in London. It's The Onslow Court Hotel, in Kensington. There was a problem with my room and the group guide, Matt Campbell worked with the staff and juggled the room assignments. I ended up in a room with Tom Rooker and Mark Artieres that contained three single beds and a bath. It forced us to get to know each other. Mark wore Lagerfeld cologne. I think of England each time I catch a whiff to this day. The Onslow was a budget hotel to be sure, nothing fancy there and Matt Campbell planned it that way. There was no sense throwing travel dollars at the place where you sleep and he was right. It was nice enough and they had a concierge booth where I purchased theatre tickets. The hotel also featured a small restaurant and pub.

The restaurant host, a turkish man of generous proportions, with greasy hair and a burgundy jacket, knew a few English phrases: "How Many" and then he would count your party as you sat down. A typical exchange went this way. The four of us, the three guys plus Melissa Brown walked into the restaurant for breakfast.
"How many?" he asked.
"Four," I said. He gestured toward a table with four chairs.
"One, two, three, four," he said, and handed us menus. Mark did a killer impression of this guy by lunch time. In fact, we all developed impressions, and it didn't matter that they weren't as great as Mark's. We laughed anyway. The food was terrible. Have you ever had a good kipper? Well, if you did it wasn't there, and yet those wretched little fish were on the breakfast menu everyday. I think it was the same three kippers and nobody in their right mind ate those things.

We took a bus tour of London later that day and I felt excited to be in one of the world's great cities. I shot a roll of film from the bus. I located negatives and contact rolls, and I'll post some contact shots, but prints may be hard to resurrect.

We rode into central London from the Kensington area. We passed Herrod's department store, the Royal Albert Hall, and Speaker's Corner at the Hyde Park corner. We drove past a roundabout with a great arch in the middle, and there was a little door inside the arch. This was London's smallest police station. We drove past Big Ben, under scaffolding for refurbishment. In fact, there was a plethora of scaffolding around the city. Old building owners hired companies to scrub the soot off the exteriors. Big business. I saw lots of interesting people on the street. Punk rockers, mod kids, tourists of course. We drove past Buckingham palace too.

That evening after dinner, some group members attended a military exposition and show. This excursion may or may not have included the Imperial War museum. I stayed in and dealt with the jet lag. I was fried after the long plane ride and the time change.

We Interrupt the Nostalgia

2008-07-23T21:37:00.005-05:00

To relay this ominous warning on cell phone use. A cancer center director in Pittsburgh has warned his staff to limit cell phone use. He thinks it may cause cancer. He is basing his alarm on early unpublished data. Hey, if you have a cell phone and love it, consider not putting it so close to your brain - use a headset or the speaker function. If you're considering purchasing a phone for your child, delay that order.

England Trip - 25 Years Later

2008-07-23T03:57:00.002-05:00

Today marks the 25th anniversary of my trip to England. The 22 day adventure was a gift from my Grandma Hildegarde Bader to commemorate my high school graduation. I hooked up with a travel group sponsored by Johnson County Community College that included Tom Rooker, Melissa Brown (later Mrs. Tom Rooker), Mark Artieres, and the two Judys: Judy Oden and Judy Spencer, both Shawnee Mission North English teachers. Our group leaders were Mr. and Mrs. Matt Campbell and numbered about 20 people. We met once a month at the Campbell home for several months leading up to the journey, so we'd be familiar with one another before we got started. All participants received a couple of JCCC credit hours in return for submitting a project of our own design. I assembled a photo scrap book during the voyage. Unfortunately I did not save the negatives nor did I keep a copy of the project. I may have a contact sheet so I'll see what I can find.

July 23rd, 1983 - We left KCI for Chicago at 3:05pm, after a lengthy lay-over where I watched a bag truck trundle past the terminal lounge window and drop a suitcase on the tarmac, we boarded TWA flight 770 at 8pm.

Flight 770 was one of those classic 747s with the spiral stairs that led up to "Ambassador Class", one step above first-class. Two of our group travellers, a nice middle-aged married couple, he was bald with glasses, she was not, found themselves displaced by a seat assignment snafu, so TWA bumped them up to Ambassador class for the trip across the Atlantic. Lucky dogs.

I sat next to another JCCC travel-mate, a single woman in her 20s, travelling alone. I don't recall her name. She was a shy one, quiet, bookish. The in-flight movie was a dreadful romantic comedy with Dudley Moore and Elizabeth McGovern called Lovesick. I watched it without the headphone rental, but that didn't help.

We arrived in London about 9:35am (local time) the next morning. I didn't sleep much. I was too excited. I remember looking out the airplane window and seeing British row houses for the first time. Everything was different and exciting. We landed, picked up our luggage, waited in line at the customs check, got our passports stamped, and loaded a transport bus to our hotel, The Onslow Court, in Kensington.

The Parachute Poetry Blog

2008-07-21T20:58:00.000-05:00

Mothers cook, sweep, iron, and feed the cat. My Mom cooks, she sweeps, she irons, and writes poetry. Sometimes, after a glass of wine, she dispenses with the housework - and its poetry only. That's the way she rolls.

KJHK Lore - The Nutshell Magazine Profile

2008-07-18T23:14:00.007-05:00

John Cheney sent me a copy of this Nutshell Magazine article that provided an excellent snapshot of KJHK at the end of the Dale Gadd era. It was written by Tim Smight in the spring or summer of 1983. Here's ~~part one~~, ~~part two~~, and ~~part three~~, (PDF). Go read them and then come back and let's discuss.

And we're back. The nugget in the article that struck me the most was the conscious effort to move programming away from the block format back in late 1979. There's too much block programming on KJHK now and not enough "Rotation" or non-specialty music. On the other hand, alternative music is more fragmented than ever, and there isn't the same sense of urgency to convince people that an alternative format is legitimate. The battle is not to get people to listen to alternative music for the format's sake. The battle is to get people to listen instead of play X-Box or listen to their IPod. I don't know whether the current level of block programming helps or hurts accomplish that goal. What do YOU think?

"No Nap" Kesler Strikes Again

2008-07-16T20:20:00.011-05:00

Three years ago I booked Matt Kesler's kiddie rock band The Doo-Dads to play our afternoon home association annual block party. Matt confided to me that he was a bit thick from a late one the night before. He'd stayed up jamming with Alejandro Escovedo and Ernie Locke down at Davey's after Alejandro's show there. I was jealous. He finished setting up the bubble machine and introduced their new keyboard player, Ken Lovern. He was new at the time anyway, and they ran through a spirited set along with Joe Gose and Mike Niewald. Real pros, and the bass player's lack of sleep was not apparent.

Matt pays the bills as the owner slash proprietor of the Midwestern Musical Company, located at 1830 Locust in downtown Kansas City, and earlier this week Ween performed at the Crossroads next door. I didn't know about it until yesterday, but Matt talked Ween into jamming late night for a few lucky folks in the back of his music store. Apparently Matt Kesler trades sleep for rock and roll. This will not surprise you if you know Matt. I wish I had been there.

Rank and File

2008-07-15T21:41:00.007-05:00

Here's Alejandro Escovedo in one of his early bands, the Kinman Brothers outfit called Rank and File. With Escovedo's star rising, that's how Rank and File seems to be referenced, as a stepping stone in his career, but that's not fair to the band. They were very popular at KJHK by the time I arrived in 1984. The Sundown record (released in 1982) was still played a lot and with good reason. They fit in well with popular artists with similar approaches, X, for one, and Jason and the Nashville Scorchers too. I saw the 2nd line-up (sorry, no Alejandro) at the Lawrence Opera House on February 12, 1985 along with Otto's Chemical Lounge and The Blinkies. It was a great show. The reception was enthusiastic and local promoters brought them back less than a year later, but for whatever reason, the subsequent show at the Outhouse did not inspire the same response. It was indicative of the change in the band and the scene. Rank and File was never as much fun after their first record. But hell, I had fun at both shows. Here's a rare YouTube sighting of Rank and File doing their eponymous song. I found this at Mike Soden's myspace page. I'd give you the URL but that mofo has got so many doo-dads and pedaljets and hootenanys posted that it bogs down on my feeble machine. Thanks for finding this one Mike!

First Pitch

2008-07-14T23:29:00.004-05:00

It was little league night at the semi-pro baseball game in Kansas City, KS. We were on hand early for the march around the warning track. The T-Bones PR people told our coaches to select a player to throw out the first pitch and they chose Skyler! He's a third grade pitcher and they don't use a mound yet, but he towed the slab like a veteran hurler. Okay, my pride is showing. I must add that he threw a strike. Way to go Skyman.

Bowling Today

2008-07-12T13:43:00.003-05:00

I took the boy bowling at College Lanes today. Skyler bowled a 111, 86, and an 80. I encouraged him to bowl with his fingers in the ball holes but he preferred the no finger approach. Bumpers were up but that only helped me once. I bowled a 174, 183, 179. Mission bowl league play returns in about six weeks. I'm looking forward to it.

The Pedaljets at the Replay

2008-07-10T22:07:00.007-05:00

The Pedaljets played a short set at the Monsters of Rock Chalk reunion last Saturday night in Lawrence. John Harper filled in on guitar #2 for Phil Wade. The Pedaljets have been gigging here and there in support of the re-release of their eponymous album, remastered with the help of the brilliant Paul Malinowski.

Matt Kesler was busy Saturday, as part of the Von Bulows, the PJs and as the bassist for the Micronotz set, subbing for the late David Dale.

Setlist: DUMBWAITER, LIKING YOU, MILLION LOVERS, TINY WORLD, HIDE AND GO SEEK, GET LUCKY

Mike Allmayer on the last song: "Get Lucky" is one of the earliest Pedaljets songs -- maybe the first one we ever worked up. We never recorded it, but it was a live mainstay throughout the early years. Since this was a Lawrence circa '83 to '85 reunion, it seemed fitting to close on it Saturday night.

It was a rocker. I hope to see them again this year. In the meantime, I have the remastered "The Pedaljets" CD in my car. My favorite songs are "Looking Out My Window" and "Agnes Mind".

Coppertone Sucks! and Other Sunscreen Revelations

2008-07-08T22:45:00.002-05:00

We interupt the happy memories afforded this past weekend to bring you this health warning about sunscreens. Many of them are complete crap and some have harmful chemicals. Visit the Skin Deep cosmetic safety website and get their analysis and recommendations.

Von Bulows - 23 Years Later

2008-07-07T21:20:00.018-05:00

The Pedaljets and Lori Wray, known collectively in 1985 as The Von Bulows, played the Replay bar last Saturday night in Lawrence, KS as part of the Monsters of Rock Chalk reunion. The Von Bulows recorded four songs back in the day and resurrected all of them for their brief set. Saturday's lineup included Steve Dahlberg filling in on guitar for Pedaljet Scott Mize. I stood near the front but the little flash on my camera didn't carry very far. I ramped up the gamma in this shot and it appears grainy. Lori Wray surprised me halfway through their set by dedicating "Linda For a Day" to me on behalf of the group. What a thrill to be singled out by the band I looked forward to seeing the most that night. Lori's vocals in The Von Bulows lent a distinctive torch song quality, not unlike the original singer (Lulu) of their last offering, To Sir With Love. I read today where Rolling Stone once called Lori Wray "the Debby Harry of the heartland".

Their single "Summer Song" was included on the Fresh Sounds From Middle America #3 compilation, released by Bill Rich and Fresh Sounds records, along with KJHK in the Spring of 1986 and it boosted the band's reputation. There was a rumor that the song aired on one of John Peel's broadcasts on the BBC, though I don't know if that's true.

The Von Bulows life span lasted less than two years. Lori moved to Minneapolis and began a successful solo career. I never saw them play live during our college days. I saw them last Saturday and it was a personal highlight for me.

Set list: Silent Film, Summer Song, Linda For a Day, To Sir With Love.

Hear ~~Summer Song~~, courtesy of Littlehits.com

See My Reunion Photos

2008-07-06T10:59:00.000-05:00

I'll write later about the fun we had yesterday in Lawrence at the BBQ by the river and later last night at the Replay. In the meantime, I've posted my snapshots on my flickr page.

To Lawrence

2008-07-05T09:01:00.001-05:00

Here's what I'm doing today.

No Joy Division

2008-07-05T08:56:00.001-05:00

Someone stole Ian Curtis' tombstone.