It's almost midnight. I'm down here looking at email, printing off email's from coach's with maps and schedules for the Summer Games soccer this week. Listening to, "Outlaw Country" on, Sirius on line.
My 14 year old son has NOT been drinking. He's been playing video games in the next room since his soccer practice ended a few hours ago, with his friend, Jaden who's spending the night, and probably the next night before we leave for, Cedar City.
All of a sudden, as I'm answering email, he comes into this room, and yes he knocked, but it's ok, I'm on Face Book, not, Shufuni, and says, "Am I in a PLAY ROOM?"
Oh, God. He's sleepwalking again. He hasn't done that since he was ten! I can't remember! Do I slap him silly and wake him up, or just let it go and direct him back to bed!
So, I ask him, "Where do you think you are, Son?". Hoping for some clue as to what to do NOW!
He says, "Am, I staying in the PLAYROOM in Cedar City!?"
Whoo! Now I get it. But he's still not speaking, English. But at least I know what he's TRYING to ask me, and that he's not sleepwalking.
"Are you asking me if you, and, Jaden are staying in the, "Player Room" at the motel in Cedar City?"
"Yeah!" He says.
Wondering about his mastery of the, English language aside. I have to wonder if I want all these guys to spend the night together. And they might end up dumber than they are now, but I say to him anyway, "Yeah, I'm planning for you both to spend the nights in the PLAYERS room, so your mother and I can have a room all to ourselves. Do you understand the importance of putting, the, "er" on the end of a word, and how it changes it's meaning?"
He says he does, but I have my doubts.
This is going to be an interesting couple of weeks. The boys all in one room, sleeping bags, and one of the coaches to run herd on them, like herding cats. Making sure they are not sneaking out at night to go to the, Iceberg to get shakes at midnight like in St. George a few years ago. Until Saturday when we come home.
Then, Boston for a week. Both kids, 3 bedroom condo, Red Sox, then, Jimmy Buffett. Come home, and a few days later, Deb and I in Denver.
I hope I can still function by the end of June.
I have to start to plan for the trip to Greece in September, and the football trips with the, Utes. At least Iowa State is taken care of.
Tuesday, June 8, 2010
Sunday, June 6, 2010
Spring Time In The Rockies
The last couple of years, we have had long, cold, wet, "springs" that felt more like a, "Lite Winter" from March to May, and then, one day in early, June, Summer comes out and kicks out ass! Well this has happened again.
On Friday, the temperature reached the 80's after weeks of rain and clouds. And about four o'clock that afternoon, a helicopter started to fly up and down the Jordan river, just West of the house. The first, "fall in search" of season. As opposed to the, "Police search" that happens every couple of years along the Parkway. That latest one was a week or two ago. Around 11 o'clock at night.
I drove through Murray Park this weekend, and it's flooding. On Friday, the water was high, but only over the bank in front of the old ice rink. By today, it's been all the way over to the new pool, and pushing stuff into the parking lot.
Years ago, when my friend, Phil was in charge of Parks and Rec, he told me they had figured out that the max water flow through the Park was eight hours after the highest temperature of the day. So that puts it around two in the morning. As I write this, it's a quarter to one in the morning, on Monday morning, and I would bet you can't drive through, Murray Park in a regular car.
I'm on the right side of the river. Jordan River. Meaning the right hand side of it as it flows, and the side that's on the 500 year flood plane. Folks just across the river from me on the, "left bank" as it's known in, Paris are on the 100 year flood plane. The last time it flooded was 1983, but you never know. And is the City Engineer always right? I hope so!
The, "Left Bank" in Paris, by the way, is awesome. It's the coolest place to hang out, has the best restaurants, the neatest attractions, like, The Eiffel Tower.
Today, we drove up to Park City. Deb and I, and our friends, the Markham's. We took, "The Bitchin' Camaro", they, their, Boxster. And it was beautiful. Enough snow in the mountains to remind you of where you live, but still warm enough for shorts and t-shits. Had brunch at, "Squatters", then came home.
I don't know any place else in the world that you can still be skiing in June (Snowbird is still open, if you didn't know) and play golf, all in the same day. That is totally wacky. And I guess that's why I still live here.
I'm retired. I have some money in the bank. I could live anywhere I like. But I still live here. And with the Internet, I could still talk to friends as much as I do now. And pay my bills, order my records, and do anything I wanted.
But I still live here!
I'm a left wing Liberal, Democrat who's so much smarter than most of the voters in this state, and I still live here.
I absolutely know I can never, no matter how much money I give away, get the Legislature of this state to NOT, Gerrymander it. But I still live here.
Why? Maybe because of a day like today. Or a perfect day spent at a University of Utah football, game in the fall. Or maybe because I grew up here, and want to change it for the better.
Or, because I wanted to buy a house in Tucson, Arizona to spend the winters in when my son is away at college, and they recently proved themselves to be even more racist, xenophobic, right wing, stupid, and uneducated than even the Mormon's in Utah!
I wish, New Mexico wasn't such a shit hole, or I'd move there! But that state sucks. ALL of it!
Florida? Covered in oil. Belize? Too expensive. Costa Rica? I'd have to visit before I could commit.
So I guess I'll just stay here, vote for and give money to Democrats (yeah, that leaves YOU, out, Jim Matheson) and hope for the best.
The, "R's" are going to Gerrymander the state this year, no question. But we can hope the Supreme Court will step in. Hope springs eternal.
On Friday, the temperature reached the 80's after weeks of rain and clouds. And about four o'clock that afternoon, a helicopter started to fly up and down the Jordan river, just West of the house. The first, "fall in search" of season. As opposed to the, "Police search" that happens every couple of years along the Parkway. That latest one was a week or two ago. Around 11 o'clock at night.
I drove through Murray Park this weekend, and it's flooding. On Friday, the water was high, but only over the bank in front of the old ice rink. By today, it's been all the way over to the new pool, and pushing stuff into the parking lot.
Years ago, when my friend, Phil was in charge of Parks and Rec, he told me they had figured out that the max water flow through the Park was eight hours after the highest temperature of the day. So that puts it around two in the morning. As I write this, it's a quarter to one in the morning, on Monday morning, and I would bet you can't drive through, Murray Park in a regular car.
I'm on the right side of the river. Jordan River. Meaning the right hand side of it as it flows, and the side that's on the 500 year flood plane. Folks just across the river from me on the, "left bank" as it's known in, Paris are on the 100 year flood plane. The last time it flooded was 1983, but you never know. And is the City Engineer always right? I hope so!
The, "Left Bank" in Paris, by the way, is awesome. It's the coolest place to hang out, has the best restaurants, the neatest attractions, like, The Eiffel Tower.
Today, we drove up to Park City. Deb and I, and our friends, the Markham's. We took, "The Bitchin' Camaro", they, their, Boxster. And it was beautiful. Enough snow in the mountains to remind you of where you live, but still warm enough for shorts and t-shits. Had brunch at, "Squatters", then came home.
I don't know any place else in the world that you can still be skiing in June (Snowbird is still open, if you didn't know) and play golf, all in the same day. That is totally wacky. And I guess that's why I still live here.
I'm retired. I have some money in the bank. I could live anywhere I like. But I still live here. And with the Internet, I could still talk to friends as much as I do now. And pay my bills, order my records, and do anything I wanted.
But I still live here!
I'm a left wing Liberal, Democrat who's so much smarter than most of the voters in this state, and I still live here.
I absolutely know I can never, no matter how much money I give away, get the Legislature of this state to NOT, Gerrymander it. But I still live here.
Why? Maybe because of a day like today. Or a perfect day spent at a University of Utah football, game in the fall. Or maybe because I grew up here, and want to change it for the better.
Or, because I wanted to buy a house in Tucson, Arizona to spend the winters in when my son is away at college, and they recently proved themselves to be even more racist, xenophobic, right wing, stupid, and uneducated than even the Mormon's in Utah!
I wish, New Mexico wasn't such a shit hole, or I'd move there! But that state sucks. ALL of it!
Florida? Covered in oil. Belize? Too expensive. Costa Rica? I'd have to visit before I could commit.
So I guess I'll just stay here, vote for and give money to Democrats (yeah, that leaves YOU, out, Jim Matheson) and hope for the best.
The, "R's" are going to Gerrymander the state this year, no question. But we can hope the Supreme Court will step in. Hope springs eternal.
Tuesday, June 1, 2010
Democrats vs. Charter Schools and stupidity.
My friend, Tim Cosgrove is running for the Legislature again. As well he should. He's done a great job for the people of Murray and Midvale for the last six years. And he's now being challenged by a guy with a lot of name recognition. Shawn Bradley, the former BYU drop out, and NBA wash out.
I've coached, Tim's son, James in soccer, and now, James still plays with my son on, The Murray Max team. Poor, James just broke his arm in a fall and is out all summer. We will miss him in tournaments, he's a real solid fullback.
Anyway, I've heard, Mr. Bradley described as a, "Vice Principal" at a Charter School with ties to, Chris Buttars in a newspaper article. And later, in, Wickipedia as a, "Vice Principal" and, "Student Counselor" at West Ridge Academy. Still a Charter School in West Jordan.
Years ago I was out there at their campus in an industrial area, near the Dannon Yogurt Factory, checking on an interstate compact parolee from Texas that was living there as a sex offender! I eventually sent the guy home to Texas, despite, Chris Buttars trying to influence my boss to make me change my mind, because they didn't have any licensed, clinical, therapists of ANY kind on the pay roll. Let alone, Psychologists that could treat sex offenders.
But the guy from Texas? His parents could pay the monthly fee, and tell the judge there that he was in, "treatment", so he wasn't in prison.
Now, I go into look at, West Ridge Academy on the Internet, and they have a, "meet the staff" page. Did I mention that they are now a, "Charter School"? If I haven't, I should have.
Oh, and they claim to be, "non-denominational", but most of their staff have, "degrees" from BYU, and a lot of colleges you have never heard of.
But, Mr. Bradley is strangely absent from their, "meet the staff" page. If he's a, "Vice Principal" or, "Student Counselor" he should have a strong presence on this page. And to do EITHER job in a PUBLIC high school, you would need an advanced degree, like an MSW, or at least a Masters in Education.
I have searched the Internet, and can't find anything telling me where, Shawn Bradley got his advanced degrees? Maybe I'm just missing it. I'm willing to admit, I'm not perfect, and give, Mr. Bradley the benefit of the doubt. But why doesn't his employer, "vouch" (word play on, Voucher, couldn't resist!) for him? He's not on their web site at all. Is he, or isn't he, a, "Vice Principal" or, "Student Counselor"?
I know Utah is the home of, "Something for Nothing" when it comes to education. No one wants to actually have to attend four years of school to get a degree. Hence the availability of, the, "University" of Phoenix, and, Columbia, "College" on the second floor of an office building downtown, not on the North end of Manhattan Island, and all these other diploma mills.
But it seems at this particular, "Charter School", you don't have to have to have a degree.
What you hiding, Shawn? Tell us the truth. I don't want my representative to NOT have gone to college! Tim has a BS from Weber State, and a MASTERS, from George Washington University in Washington, DC!
Would this mean your candidacy is nothing but an attempt by the uneducated, Republican, right wing, Mormon, "Bund" in the legislature to try to jam through another attempt at having your private, Mormon, Schools funded with public money? Despite the fact that right thinking people beat you back with a petition a few years ago? I think so.
Even in your interview with the Tribune, you couldn't articulate why you even wanted to run! Shawn, you're a, "tool" of powers way ahead of you. But all us Utah fans, always knew you were a tool.
Now, you are going to lend your name and fame to this cause of funding private Mormon schools with public money. Well, I pledge you this. Every public appearance you make, I will show up and ask you about your educational background. What degrees do you posses that makes you qualified to be a, "Vice Principal", or, "School Counselor", and make you stand there, with your teeth in your mouth, and no thought in your head, and tell the truth. EVERY ONE, Shawn. Every time the, "Valley Journal", a notorious, right wing, rag, touts one of your appearances, I'll be there. I will embarrass you every chance I get. So, be prepared, or drop out of the race. The longer you run, the stupider you will look.
I LOVE election years when the opposition is, "unarmed in a battle of wits!".
I've coached, Tim's son, James in soccer, and now, James still plays with my son on, The Murray Max team. Poor, James just broke his arm in a fall and is out all summer. We will miss him in tournaments, he's a real solid fullback.
Anyway, I've heard, Mr. Bradley described as a, "Vice Principal" at a Charter School with ties to, Chris Buttars in a newspaper article. And later, in, Wickipedia as a, "Vice Principal" and, "Student Counselor" at West Ridge Academy. Still a Charter School in West Jordan.
Years ago I was out there at their campus in an industrial area, near the Dannon Yogurt Factory, checking on an interstate compact parolee from Texas that was living there as a sex offender! I eventually sent the guy home to Texas, despite, Chris Buttars trying to influence my boss to make me change my mind, because they didn't have any licensed, clinical, therapists of ANY kind on the pay roll. Let alone, Psychologists that could treat sex offenders.
But the guy from Texas? His parents could pay the monthly fee, and tell the judge there that he was in, "treatment", so he wasn't in prison.
Now, I go into look at, West Ridge Academy on the Internet, and they have a, "meet the staff" page. Did I mention that they are now a, "Charter School"? If I haven't, I should have.
Oh, and they claim to be, "non-denominational", but most of their staff have, "degrees" from BYU, and a lot of colleges you have never heard of.
But, Mr. Bradley is strangely absent from their, "meet the staff" page. If he's a, "Vice Principal" or, "Student Counselor" he should have a strong presence on this page. And to do EITHER job in a PUBLIC high school, you would need an advanced degree, like an MSW, or at least a Masters in Education.
I have searched the Internet, and can't find anything telling me where, Shawn Bradley got his advanced degrees? Maybe I'm just missing it. I'm willing to admit, I'm not perfect, and give, Mr. Bradley the benefit of the doubt. But why doesn't his employer, "vouch" (word play on, Voucher, couldn't resist!) for him? He's not on their web site at all. Is he, or isn't he, a, "Vice Principal" or, "Student Counselor"?
I know Utah is the home of, "Something for Nothing" when it comes to education. No one wants to actually have to attend four years of school to get a degree. Hence the availability of, the, "University" of Phoenix, and, Columbia, "College" on the second floor of an office building downtown, not on the North end of Manhattan Island, and all these other diploma mills.
But it seems at this particular, "Charter School", you don't have to have to have a degree.
What you hiding, Shawn? Tell us the truth. I don't want my representative to NOT have gone to college! Tim has a BS from Weber State, and a MASTERS, from George Washington University in Washington, DC!
Would this mean your candidacy is nothing but an attempt by the uneducated, Republican, right wing, Mormon, "Bund" in the legislature to try to jam through another attempt at having your private, Mormon, Schools funded with public money? Despite the fact that right thinking people beat you back with a petition a few years ago? I think so.
Even in your interview with the Tribune, you couldn't articulate why you even wanted to run! Shawn, you're a, "tool" of powers way ahead of you. But all us Utah fans, always knew you were a tool.
Now, you are going to lend your name and fame to this cause of funding private Mormon schools with public money. Well, I pledge you this. Every public appearance you make, I will show up and ask you about your educational background. What degrees do you posses that makes you qualified to be a, "Vice Principal", or, "School Counselor", and make you stand there, with your teeth in your mouth, and no thought in your head, and tell the truth. EVERY ONE, Shawn. Every time the, "Valley Journal", a notorious, right wing, rag, touts one of your appearances, I'll be there. I will embarrass you every chance I get. So, be prepared, or drop out of the race. The longer you run, the stupider you will look.
I LOVE election years when the opposition is, "unarmed in a battle of wits!".
Wednesday, May 26, 2010
Not The Lunch I Was Expecting
A few days ago, a letter arrived addressed to me, but it started out, "Dear Owner of Audi, VIN# A*******, etc." informing me of a problem with the ignition system that they were willing to fix as it was a, "recall". This letter's forthcoming had been told to me in a previous letter, that told me they would send the second letter, when the dealers all had the parts to fix it, so it wasn't a surprise. And I've never had a problem with this car, but if they think I MIGHT, well, I'll take it in.
I called the dealer, and they said if I could drop it off today, they could fix it tomorrow, and I could get the car back in a day. Or, two. Tops. OK, I have something else to drive. And these guys have always treated me well.
Well, Deb and, Meagan were going to go up to spend the day with, Deb's mom, so I asked my neighbor, Ernie, if he would follow me down to Audi, and give me a ride home. And even offered to buy him lunch for his time.
After all, the Audi dealer is right in the neighborhood of my old office, and I know a BUNCH of really good restaurant's in the neighborhood. Curry In A Hurry, The Other Place Cafe, La Frontera, The Red Iguana, Soup Kitchen Richards Street, Astro Burger, Moochie's, Shanghai Cafe, An Hong, Hunan Kitchen... The list is endless, and all these places are within ten blocks of the Audi dealer.
Just about every kind, region, ethnicity of food is in the downtown, SLC area these days. And you can go to the, Bayou and get gumbo now, without a membership. I will take my friend to someplace great, and give him the best lunch he's had in ages!
He picks me up in his pick up, and I ask him, "Well, what do you want for lunch?" He says, "I'm gong to, Trails." Oh. Great.
For those of you not familiar with the SLC, "Club scene" (and I use THAT term, only because I don't know what ELSE to call it), "Trails' is a, "Gentleman's Club". Or at least what passes for one in SLC. Here the girls have to wear, "pasties", and stay 3 feet from the patrons. No lap dances here. This isn't Las Vegas.
Now, don't get me wrong. I might be 51 years old, but I am not opposed to seeing beautiful, young (but over 21, for crying out loud) girls in various stages of undress. And when I was in college, my friends and I frequented these places almost every weekend.
But not for food. Not for lunch. Only for drinks, and hanging in close proximity to young, beautiful girls in various states of undress.
But, hey, I told my friend, I'd buy him lunch wherever he wanted to go. And this is where he wanted to go. So I'm in.
I haven't been in, Trails since before I retired. And the last 30 years, when EVER I was in, Trails or any of the other, "Show Bars" in SLC, it was because I was working. Looking for a fugitive who was hanging out there, or a sex offender who was attracted to that kind of bar.
The good news? It's no longer a cloud of blue smoke. The bad news? The cheeseburger was mediocre at best, and the fries were shitty. The OTHER good news? We each had a burger and fries, and a soda and the bill was $12.
But with the perspective of someone my age, this whole scene is like a casino. A hand full of old guys, who think they have a shot at, "Scoring" with the very pretty, but, "high mileage unit's" on the stage.
Not exactly the, "flop sweat" of desperation, but the feeling of dreams that will never be fulfilled. On either end.
The girls are just working the guys, and if the guys don't know it, then good for the girls.
I remember going into the, Joker Lounge on 200 South, just east of State Street on some weekend night in college with a bunch of my friends, and handing some, Dancer a dollar bill and, thinking I was funny, saying, "You're so pretty. I want to have your children."
She said, "Great! Pick em' up after school on Monday, I need a break." She took my money, and taught me a lesson.
I won't have lunch at, Trails again. I, probably won't go into, Trails again. But I guess I learned something today. I'm too old for that game.
I called the dealer, and they said if I could drop it off today, they could fix it tomorrow, and I could get the car back in a day. Or, two. Tops. OK, I have something else to drive. And these guys have always treated me well.
Well, Deb and, Meagan were going to go up to spend the day with, Deb's mom, so I asked my neighbor, Ernie, if he would follow me down to Audi, and give me a ride home. And even offered to buy him lunch for his time.
After all, the Audi dealer is right in the neighborhood of my old office, and I know a BUNCH of really good restaurant's in the neighborhood. Curry In A Hurry, The Other Place Cafe, La Frontera, The Red Iguana, Soup Kitchen Richards Street, Astro Burger, Moochie's, Shanghai Cafe, An Hong, Hunan Kitchen... The list is endless, and all these places are within ten blocks of the Audi dealer.
Just about every kind, region, ethnicity of food is in the downtown, SLC area these days. And you can go to the, Bayou and get gumbo now, without a membership. I will take my friend to someplace great, and give him the best lunch he's had in ages!
He picks me up in his pick up, and I ask him, "Well, what do you want for lunch?" He says, "I'm gong to, Trails." Oh. Great.
For those of you not familiar with the SLC, "Club scene" (and I use THAT term, only because I don't know what ELSE to call it), "Trails' is a, "Gentleman's Club". Or at least what passes for one in SLC. Here the girls have to wear, "pasties", and stay 3 feet from the patrons. No lap dances here. This isn't Las Vegas.
Now, don't get me wrong. I might be 51 years old, but I am not opposed to seeing beautiful, young (but over 21, for crying out loud) girls in various stages of undress. And when I was in college, my friends and I frequented these places almost every weekend.
But not for food. Not for lunch. Only for drinks, and hanging in close proximity to young, beautiful girls in various states of undress.
But, hey, I told my friend, I'd buy him lunch wherever he wanted to go. And this is where he wanted to go. So I'm in.
I haven't been in, Trails since before I retired. And the last 30 years, when EVER I was in, Trails or any of the other, "Show Bars" in SLC, it was because I was working. Looking for a fugitive who was hanging out there, or a sex offender who was attracted to that kind of bar.
The good news? It's no longer a cloud of blue smoke. The bad news? The cheeseburger was mediocre at best, and the fries were shitty. The OTHER good news? We each had a burger and fries, and a soda and the bill was $12.
But with the perspective of someone my age, this whole scene is like a casino. A hand full of old guys, who think they have a shot at, "Scoring" with the very pretty, but, "high mileage unit's" on the stage.
Not exactly the, "flop sweat" of desperation, but the feeling of dreams that will never be fulfilled. On either end.
The girls are just working the guys, and if the guys don't know it, then good for the girls.
I remember going into the, Joker Lounge on 200 South, just east of State Street on some weekend night in college with a bunch of my friends, and handing some, Dancer a dollar bill and, thinking I was funny, saying, "You're so pretty. I want to have your children."
She said, "Great! Pick em' up after school on Monday, I need a break." She took my money, and taught me a lesson.
I won't have lunch at, Trails again. I, probably won't go into, Trails again. But I guess I learned something today. I'm too old for that game.
Sunday, May 23, 2010
Cleaning the basement.
I had NO idea how many, empty box's I had in my basement until I started to clean it out today! Ton's! Way too many to break down and toss in my recycle bin at the end to the week. I want to be, "green" and recycle, but I am so, "Underwater" on old paper and cardboard that I have to load the old pick up truck this week, and take all this shit to the landfill, or I'll never get over it!
It's not my fault. I blame it on, "The Blind Lady" I live with. She always thinks a box that arrived, will at some point, be shipped out. All I save is albums, and, Playboy Magazines.
Since 1984. I never go back and LOOK at them, I just can't bring myself to toss them in the trash. It would just be wrong. And besides, some of them are worth money. I have three BIG boxes of them, and I'm saving them, but I promised I'd find a web sight and find out which one's were really worth something, like the last one with staples, and the first one without, and, Madonna, and recycle the rest of them. And I will do that this summer.
Probably the week I have to have knee surgery. It will give me something to do.
But we have some stuff down here that is just crazy! And, Deb doesn't want to give it up. Her books from, BYU thirty years ago? Hell, they were WRONG and full of bullshit THEN! Why would you save them now? Grandma's baby quilt? Ok. But put in a box, not in a trunk that's three feet long!
I live with a, "Hoarder". I should have noticed when we met, and she lived alone in a two bedroom apartment, and the other bedroom was full of shit she wouldn't get rid of. My bad.
So I'll keep cleaning. And I'm giving away all my old, hockey equipment except my skates, and my gloves, which my wife gave to me for Christmas one year. And at the time, about 20 years ago, they cost $150. So that was a great thing for her to do for me. I want to remember that. Even if I never play hockey again.
It's not my fault. I blame it on, "The Blind Lady" I live with. She always thinks a box that arrived, will at some point, be shipped out. All I save is albums, and, Playboy Magazines.
Since 1984. I never go back and LOOK at them, I just can't bring myself to toss them in the trash. It would just be wrong. And besides, some of them are worth money. I have three BIG boxes of them, and I'm saving them, but I promised I'd find a web sight and find out which one's were really worth something, like the last one with staples, and the first one without, and, Madonna, and recycle the rest of them. And I will do that this summer.
Probably the week I have to have knee surgery. It will give me something to do.
But we have some stuff down here that is just crazy! And, Deb doesn't want to give it up. Her books from, BYU thirty years ago? Hell, they were WRONG and full of bullshit THEN! Why would you save them now? Grandma's baby quilt? Ok. But put in a box, not in a trunk that's three feet long!
I live with a, "Hoarder". I should have noticed when we met, and she lived alone in a two bedroom apartment, and the other bedroom was full of shit she wouldn't get rid of. My bad.
So I'll keep cleaning. And I'm giving away all my old, hockey equipment except my skates, and my gloves, which my wife gave to me for Christmas one year. And at the time, about 20 years ago, they cost $150. So that was a great thing for her to do for me. I want to remember that. Even if I never play hockey again.
Saturday, May 22, 2010
Child of the 70's, with a child who likes the 70's
My son and I went to, Mr. Mac to buy a couple of sport coats last weekend. I got him some chackie's, too (and trust me, I've tried to spell those pants every why I know how, and I know it's wrong, but I can't even get the spell checker to help me. I'm sorry). We travel enough that some of the nicer restaurant's require, "Gentlemen to wear jackets", if not a tie. And he's old enough now, at 14 that he can't get away with slacks and a shirt with a collar. And we're going to be in Boston in a few weeks, and I hope to find one of those kind of restaurant's while we are there.
While waiting for him to try on his pants, I see that they sell, Elisha Cologne! No shit? That stuff is still around? Wow! That stuff defines the years guys my age were in high school. That was the smell of the 70's until it was replaced by, Jovan's Musk in the late 70's. And I thought both of those products went away a long time ago.
Elisha was grocery store cologne! Slightly more hip than your dad's, Brut, or Aqua Velva! If you really wanted to be daring, you bought, English Leather, or, Hi Karate. Both, also available at your local Skaggs Drug Store.
I told this to my son, and let him smell it. His response? "I like that. You gonna buy me some?"
At $25 a bottle, now? No.
And for a half an hour after I handled the bottle, my hands smelled like, Al Serrano's Chevy in 1976!
Phil and Chuck Markham's mom worked at, Aurbach's when we were in high school. She turned us onto a cologne called, Lucirella, or Lucarella, I can't remember for sure. But it was awesome. Always got the girls interested. And I've never been able to find it again. If anyone knows anything about this stuff, Phil and I are interested in getting some more to try it out on our wives, so call me.
Danny has long hair, and likes the smell of the 70's.
Then we drive over to Costco, and I listen to Outlaw Country on the satellite radio, and they play, Johnny Cash's, "Ring Of Fire". Danny starts singing right along, never missing a beat.
Technically, this is a 60's song, but it was still popular in the 70's, (Cowjazz sang it at, Judd's Frontier Lounge, an if you don't know what that means, I'll tell you some stories some time) and got a lot of radio air play.
I asked him, "You like, Johnny Cash?" He said, "I like THIS song. I've heard it a lot".
I should have seen this coming when he was in 5th grade, and started taking off with my, Bob Marley CD's.
We were at the, La Frontera restaurant in Sugar House years ago, and someone played, "Buffalo Soldier" on the juke box, and he was singing along when a big, biker type guy across the isle leaned over and said to him, "You know, Bob Marley?" Danny said, "Yeah. I take my dad's CD's". The guy was laughing really hard when he left. like seeing a 12 year old fluent in, "Marley" was the funniest thing he's ever seen.
Tonight, he's playing WWII, first person shooters on line with his buddies from the soccer team. I walk back into the computer room and I hear, "Crazy Train" by, Black Sabbath blasting. Ozzie at his best.
I walked out a minute or two later, and said to him, "Was, "Crazy Train" background to the game, or are you playing it on something else?"
He holds up his I Touch without even looking at me, and doesn't miss a beat playing with his buddies.
Have I created a monster who's going to steal away my retro Camaro? Or saved a child from the insipid, and dumbed down music that is Pop Music now (and WAS, for ever. The 70's, the 80's were the worst, and the 90's). Time will tell.
But I have to admit this. His nose might be off, but his ear's are AWESOME!
While waiting for him to try on his pants, I see that they sell, Elisha Cologne! No shit? That stuff is still around? Wow! That stuff defines the years guys my age were in high school. That was the smell of the 70's until it was replaced by, Jovan's Musk in the late 70's. And I thought both of those products went away a long time ago.
Elisha was grocery store cologne! Slightly more hip than your dad's, Brut, or Aqua Velva! If you really wanted to be daring, you bought, English Leather, or, Hi Karate. Both, also available at your local Skaggs Drug Store.
I told this to my son, and let him smell it. His response? "I like that. You gonna buy me some?"
At $25 a bottle, now? No.
And for a half an hour after I handled the bottle, my hands smelled like, Al Serrano's Chevy in 1976!
Phil and Chuck Markham's mom worked at, Aurbach's when we were in high school. She turned us onto a cologne called, Lucirella, or Lucarella, I can't remember for sure. But it was awesome. Always got the girls interested. And I've never been able to find it again. If anyone knows anything about this stuff, Phil and I are interested in getting some more to try it out on our wives, so call me.
Danny has long hair, and likes the smell of the 70's.
Then we drive over to Costco, and I listen to Outlaw Country on the satellite radio, and they play, Johnny Cash's, "Ring Of Fire". Danny starts singing right along, never missing a beat.
Technically, this is a 60's song, but it was still popular in the 70's, (Cowjazz sang it at, Judd's Frontier Lounge, an if you don't know what that means, I'll tell you some stories some time) and got a lot of radio air play.
I asked him, "You like, Johnny Cash?" He said, "I like THIS song. I've heard it a lot".
I should have seen this coming when he was in 5th grade, and started taking off with my, Bob Marley CD's.
We were at the, La Frontera restaurant in Sugar House years ago, and someone played, "Buffalo Soldier" on the juke box, and he was singing along when a big, biker type guy across the isle leaned over and said to him, "You know, Bob Marley?" Danny said, "Yeah. I take my dad's CD's". The guy was laughing really hard when he left. like seeing a 12 year old fluent in, "Marley" was the funniest thing he's ever seen.
Tonight, he's playing WWII, first person shooters on line with his buddies from the soccer team. I walk back into the computer room and I hear, "Crazy Train" by, Black Sabbath blasting. Ozzie at his best.
I walked out a minute or two later, and said to him, "Was, "Crazy Train" background to the game, or are you playing it on something else?"
He holds up his I Touch without even looking at me, and doesn't miss a beat playing with his buddies.
Have I created a monster who's going to steal away my retro Camaro? Or saved a child from the insipid, and dumbed down music that is Pop Music now (and WAS, for ever. The 70's, the 80's were the worst, and the 90's). Time will tell.
But I have to admit this. His nose might be off, but his ear's are AWESOME!
Friday, May 21, 2010
Helicopters over the house, again...
Friday night in Murray. Quiet place. But ever since they opened the new hospital, we have helicopters and ambulances using 5400 south as their route to it. It's not that big a deal, but it can get loud if the fireplace is in use, as the sound comes right down the chimney and into my living room.
But tonight, the helicopter STAYED. Back and forth, up and down the Jordan River. This is a bad sign. I've lived her almost nine years now, and the only times that this happens, someone has gotten shot on the Parkway (once about two years ago), or someone, usually a kid, has fallen into the river this time of year and been swept away in the heavy run off (almost every spring). But that only happens in the daytime, not at eleven o'clock at night.
I'm not paranoid, but I did spend 23 years in, "Cop World", so I'm thinking this is not a drowning, it's a man hunt. After about 25 minutes, I called VECC, used the, "non-emergency" number, not 911. They have enough to deal with as it is.
I told the nice, dispatcher who answered where I lived, and what was going on, and asked her if this was a, someone is in the river flyover, or a, man hunt flyover? She said it's the Cops looking for someone, but it was nothing important, and I shouldn't worry about it.
Now, I've gone to the gun safe, and I'm at my computer desk with a loaded, .357 sitting next to me. Because I know better. If they have called out the helicopters, it IS something I should worry about! They don't waste expensive air time on anything that shouldn't be worried about!
My son's down here playing video games on line with his friends, and hasn't heard the helicopters, so I explain to him why I got a gun out of the safe. His only response? "Sometimes you're scary, Dad." I retired when he was 10. If he only KNEW the shit I was into when he was really little, and had no idea? He would have been REALLY scared. This is nothing.
I know retired Cops who keep a loaded gun hidden on every floor of their house. I keep my guns locked up.
Todd Snider does a song about, "Helicopters over the house again..." and he's singing about his East Nashville home. And from what he says, it's more like LA than Tennessee. He's singing about people stealing his jeans off the clothes lines and getting caught in his back yard. THAT'S scary! I was feeling a little like that tonight.
But by midnight, the helicopters were gone, so I put the gun back in the safe. Between the alarm system, video camera, and large dog I have, this might be the LAST place someone looking to hide would try to get into, but still, better safe than sorry!
But tonight, the helicopter STAYED. Back and forth, up and down the Jordan River. This is a bad sign. I've lived her almost nine years now, and the only times that this happens, someone has gotten shot on the Parkway (once about two years ago), or someone, usually a kid, has fallen into the river this time of year and been swept away in the heavy run off (almost every spring). But that only happens in the daytime, not at eleven o'clock at night.
I'm not paranoid, but I did spend 23 years in, "Cop World", so I'm thinking this is not a drowning, it's a man hunt. After about 25 minutes, I called VECC, used the, "non-emergency" number, not 911. They have enough to deal with as it is.
I told the nice, dispatcher who answered where I lived, and what was going on, and asked her if this was a, someone is in the river flyover, or a, man hunt flyover? She said it's the Cops looking for someone, but it was nothing important, and I shouldn't worry about it.
Now, I've gone to the gun safe, and I'm at my computer desk with a loaded, .357 sitting next to me. Because I know better. If they have called out the helicopters, it IS something I should worry about! They don't waste expensive air time on anything that shouldn't be worried about!
My son's down here playing video games on line with his friends, and hasn't heard the helicopters, so I explain to him why I got a gun out of the safe. His only response? "Sometimes you're scary, Dad." I retired when he was 10. If he only KNEW the shit I was into when he was really little, and had no idea? He would have been REALLY scared. This is nothing.
I know retired Cops who keep a loaded gun hidden on every floor of their house. I keep my guns locked up.
Todd Snider does a song about, "Helicopters over the house again..." and he's singing about his East Nashville home. And from what he says, it's more like LA than Tennessee. He's singing about people stealing his jeans off the clothes lines and getting caught in his back yard. THAT'S scary! I was feeling a little like that tonight.
But by midnight, the helicopters were gone, so I put the gun back in the safe. Between the alarm system, video camera, and large dog I have, this might be the LAST place someone looking to hide would try to get into, but still, better safe than sorry!
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