Elephant’s Foot: The Most Dangerous Radioactive Waste Mass In The World

Yikes.

A Message to the Graduates and Their Families

OK, maybe a polite suggestion.

Folks, graduation is coming up. High School Graduation Day is a huge day for every young person, the one big day to celebrate completing 12-years of education. OK, 13 counting kindergarten. And no, I don’t count the pre-school or 8th Grade graduations. I still can’t get used to either of these. Why are we rewarding kids for passing pre-school? Did they stay within the lines in their coloring books? Does anyone ever fail pre-school? Seems silly to me. Congratulations Celestia! You made it through one-year of education! Woohoo!

Good Lord.

And what about 8th-grade graduations? We’re celebrating making it past 8th Grade? That’s an accomplishment? What is this, 1877? Don’t we expect kids to make it through 12th grade these days?

Sigh.

But anyway, back to Graduation Day. Parents and family members, I beseech you – show a little class on this special day. I know you’re proud, but don’t whoop, holler, or God forbid yee-haw. Don’t act like the graduate you’re there to support is the first member of your family to make it through high school (even if they are). It’s embarrassing. For the love of God, I’ve heard families whistling, clapping and stomping as if the graduate just came up with a cure for cancer. What’s next, air horns?

Seriously, this is not a sporting event. Your graduate didn’t score the winning touchdown or hit the game-winning shot. The student you’re here to support did what they were supposed to do. They graduated, which of course is an accomplishment. But it’s a serious ceremony, not a party. That comes afterwards.

So act like ya been there, people. Please.

And hey, graduates? Please, no dabbing, no backflips, no preening and dancing and acting like a fool up there. Show some poise. Accept that diploma with a handshake, a smile and perhaps a nod of the head to your family out in the audience. You have bigger things ahead, man. Graduating from high school won’t be the highlight of your life.

So congrats on the milestone, because it’s a big one. Now accept it with the respect it deserves.

A Right Cross, With Love

I loved my mom more than anyone or anything on earth.. We always had a special bond, and when she passed away in 2019 at 92-years old she was still my best friend. We were always sort of on the same wavelength, and that’s probably because I was her favorite. On a related note, you might not want to mention that to my sister.

Want a straight answer? Ask my mom and you’d get one. She was always brutally honest and really wasn’t one for sugarcoating things. It’s one of the many things I loved about her, because what more could you really ask for?

Mom always loved me absolutely and unconditionally. And she was always, without fail, there for me. Even when I had no right to expect it, she believed in me.

But that doesn’t mean I was always treated with kid-gloves. Sometimes I was treated with no gloves, which you’ll hear about later.

One summer my mom took me aside and said she had something important to ask me. She then proceeded to tell me she’d been offered the fifth grade teaching position, a class of which I was to be a part. How would I feel about this?

Are you kidding? Having my mom as my teacher? Su-weet! This would be like having a year off! Let’s do this!

She paddled me the third week of school. I mean really paddled me. I’m pretty sure it was 3-whacks. I begged her not to do it, to wait until we got home, to please not humiliate me in front of the class.

No go. She walloped the living heck of me. Did I mention it was 3-whacks?

In retrospect I know exactly what she was doing. Number one, I was being an idiot, thinking I could take advantage of the situation. I deserved it. Number two, she was proving a point to the rest of the class – everyone will be treated equally.

Point proven, Mom.

But back to the “no gloves” thing. I was probably, oh, maybe 13 or 14, and my mother was in the kitchen doing dishes. I was apparently in a playful mood, she, apparently not. For whatever reason I got in a boxing crouch and began hopping around her, feigning jabs and hooks, not making contact but coming close.

After a minute or so she asked to stop, but I kept it up, even throwing in the occasional uppercut just for kicks. Then she turned around, and as she wiped her hands on a dish towel said this:

“Stop it. Now.”

But I kept it up. Why, you ask? I guess I was just young and dumb. You know, as opposed to now, when I’m old and dumb. For whatever reason I kept it up. Well, for a few more seconds anyway.

I didn’t really see the punch coming, but I’m pretty sure it was a right cross because it connected on the left side of my jaw. The next thing I knew I was flat on my back, knocked out of the kitchen and onto the living room floor.

Mom just went back to drying the dishes.

In retrospect I should’ve known better. Mom grew up on a farm with two brothers. She was tough as nails.

I guess in today’s world, where paddling in schools has been banned and spanking children is considered barbaric, my mother would be considered a terrible teacher and parent. Shoot, she’d probably be reported to the authorities and somebody would have to step in and “save” me. But had they done that, how could mom have saved me so many times in the years to come?

Ha! Save me from my mom? I would have liked to seen them try.

10 Cities That Influenced Music

For various reasons many cities have been the center of musical revivals, places where something special either started or was centered. Sometimes there doesn’t seem to be a rhyme (get it, rhyme?) or reason why the seed was planted there, but planted it was. Sometimes big cities like San Francisco, Los Angeles, London, Cleveland are New York City are involved, other times it’s a small college town like Austin, Texas. Some of the most famous musicians in the world came from places we don’t even associate with music. Hell, John Mellencamp grew up in Bloomington, Indiana. James Brown? Macon, Georgia. And although everyone thinks of Manhattan when hearing the Velvet Underground, they’re actually from Long Island. Of course, we all know what that hot-bed of music, Tupelo, Mississippi produced, right? The King himself, Elvis Presley. And Cleveland? While the term Rock ‘n’ Roll actually originated there with legendary DJ Alan Freed, it doesn’t really have its own sound, right?

I guess the old saying is true – it doesn’t matter where you’re from, it’s where you’re at. 

Anyway, what follows are 10 of the most influential musical cities, cities that changed the world of music as we know it. Let’s start our travels now . . .

DETROIT

We’re talkin’ Motown, baby. The Jackson 5, The Supremes, Marvin Gaye, Diana Ross, Smokey Robinson, and Stevie Wonder all began their careers in Detroit in the 1960’s. Berry Gordy started Tamla records there in the early 60’s, and it eventually evolved into the legendary Motown Records. Without Motown we wouldn’t have songs like “Heard It Through The Grapevine” by Marvin Gaye, “Dancing in the Street” by Martha and the Vandellas, “Please Mr. Postman”by the Marvelettes, “My Girl” by the Temptations, “Super Freak” by Rick James, or “Superstition” by Stevie Wonder. ‘Nuff said.

LIVERPOOL

Back in the 1950’s Liverpool was one of England’s biggest seaports. Sailors brought all sorts of American goods into the United Kingdom, including books, clothes . . . and records. A lot of these records were of the R & B variety. This made Liverpool one of the centers of American culture and American R & B music, and a couple young men named Paul McCartney and John Lennon were listening. The rest, as they say, is history. The British Invasion was on. Soon came not only The Beatles, but Gerry and the Pacemakers, Echo and the Bunnymen, Frankie Goes to Hollywood, The Las, The Searchers, The Wombats and more.

MEMPHIS

Come on, man, Memphis could be argued as the birthplace of Rock and Roll. It had two legendary record labels, Sun Recored in the 50’s and Stax in the 60’s. The Memphis Sound was an eclectic mix of country, swing, gospel, and blues, and when you put them all together you got Rock and Freakin’ Roll. Legendary producer Sam Phillips once famously said this – “If I could find a white man who had the Negro sound and Negro feel, I could make a billion dollars.” Two years later Elvis Presley walked into his studio, and the rest was history.

NEW ORLEANS

I mean, the Birthplace of Jazz has to make the list, right? Not only Jazz, but Ragtime, Dixieland, Cajun and Zydeco all have strong bases in The Big Easy. Want some names? How ’bout none other than Louis Armstrong, Dr. John, Fats Domino, Harry Connick Jr. and Jelly Roll Morton? And oh yeah, we can’t forget a famous rapper – Lil’ Wayne.

NEW YORK CITY

Hip-Hop, Punk, and Disco all have strong roots in The Big Apple, and the artists from NYC are as diverse as music itself. What city could boast such wide-ranging artists such as Lady Gaga, Simon & Garfunkel, Beastie Boys, Santana, Billy Joel, Lou Reed, Talking Heads, KISS, The Ramones, and Jay-Z? New York has so many different sounds that you can’t really choose just one. PS- I can choose one because it’s my website – Punk. 

PHILADELPHIA

Now you’re in my wheelhouse, baby. The Philly Sound! The Philly Sound combined the rhythms of Motown but added symphonies and dare I say Beatlesque production to make some of the best damn sound ever created. God how I loved the music coming out of Philadelphia during the early 70s. I loved a million of these artists, but I’ll list my absolute favorites – Blue Magic, the Delfonics, Hall & Oates, Harold Melvin & the Blue Notes, the O’Jays, The Spinners, and The Stylistics. Also, there’s another legend that emerged from Philly during this time that doesn’t really fit any musical genre – Mr. Todd Rundgren. Put him in the Hall of Fame! Fun Fact: The O’ Jays were originally from Ohio!

ATHENS

As in Athens, Georgia to be precise. In the late 70s-early 80s Athens became the city that produced a big part of the sound that was to be called Alternative Music. Bands like The B-52s, Love Tractor, Drive-By Truckers, Pylon, Widespread Panic, The Whigs, and the greatest of all, R.E.M. began playing in the little college town of Athens.

MINNEAPOLIS

Around the same time Alt Music was kicking off in Athens, another alt music revolution was taking place up north in Minneapolis. Bands such as Hüsker Dü, The Replacements, Soul Asylum, Babes in Toyland and Semisonic all came blasting out of the Twin Cities with their unique take on Alternative Music. Oh, and there was another sound coming out of the area as well – a nasty blend of funk-rock by some dude who called himself Prince.

CHICAGO

Although being famous for a lot of genres, Chicago is probably most famous for one – The Blues. Muddy Waters, Howlin’ Wolf, Willie Dixon, Buddy Guy, and Bo Diddley all sharpened their skills in the Windy City. Other famous bands or artists that originated there? How about Chicago, The Chi-Lites, Rufus, REO Speedwagon and Cheap Trick?

SEATTLE

Nirvana, Pearl Jam, and Soundgarden. Need I say more? Actually I need to. Why? Because bands like Mudhoney, Green River, Screaming Trees and most notably The Melvins, all started the whole Grunge movement of the early-80s to mid-90s. Alice in Chains too! By the way, Grunge music was, in a nutshell, music that was loud, tough, raw . . . and with a molasses slow melody.

So there ya go. My Top 10 Cities that influenced music. What did I miss? Who ya got? Lemme hear it.

The Unluckiest People

Have you ever known someone who is always complaining about being unlucky? Those people who are always blaming their misfortune on luck? I hate those people. I hate them because it’s an excuse, as if some God of Luck has frowned upon them. The old adage is true, folks – you make your own luck.

Usually.

Because boy, have there been some unlucky people on this planet. Some people just can’t catch a break, man. After some intense research, my crack staff here at Shoe: Untied has come up with our Top 7 Unluckiest People Ever, because five just wouldn’t cover it.

Here ya go . . .

Steven Parent

Never heard of Steven Parent? Steve was a kid just out of high school back in 1969 and one day picked up a hitchhiker named William Garretson. They hit it off and William invited Steven over for a visit. Seems William was a caretaker in Beverly Hills and lived in a cottage behind the main house. Well, Steven took him up on the offer and randomly stopped in one night.

It was August 8th, 1969, and the address was 10050 Cielo Drive, the home of actress Sharon Tate.

If that name doesn’t ring a bell, it should. Because as Steven Parent was leaving his new friend’s house, the Manson Family was pulling in. Steven never made it out of the driveway that night, nor did anyone else in the main house. They were all massacred, and Steven Parent had picked the absolute worst evening to visit a friend – the night the Manson Family came calling.

Factoid: William Garretson went to Lancaster High School here in Ohio and headed west shortly after graduation. 

Pete Best

Children, Pete Best was a drummer for a rock band. That band practiced in his mother’s basement for months. When the band decided to change their hair style, Pete resisted. He preferred his slicked-back ducktail. Pete didn’t hang out with the other three band members much, preferring to go it alone. The female fans loved Pete as well, which rubbed the other band members the wrong way. To top it off he wasn’t a great drummer. Finally, in August Pete was kicked out of the band and replaced by a guy with a funny nickname you may have heard of, Ringo. Five months after that the band came to America and found some success as a group called, you guessed it, The Beatles.

Costis Mitsotakis

Never heard of Costis? Me either, until a few minutes ago. But man was he unlucky.

You see, every Christmas in Spain there’s a huge lottery. One year the tiny village of Sodeto had some serious cause for celebration after all of the 70 households — except for one — pitched in to buy a ticket. Well, they won. This resulted in them getting a share of the monster $950 million first-place prize. Do the math, loyal readers. The residents, mainly farmers and unemployed construction workers, walked away with millions.

Everyone, that is, except one unlucky guy named Costis Mitsotakis. Poor old Costis was the only man in the village who didn’t participate that year. Perhaps he was saving up to buy a new goat or something, one never knows. Anywho, bad stroke of luck right there.

Roy Sullivan

Let me be brief with this one. The odds of being struck by lightning once in your lifetime are roughly 3,000 to 1. Roy Sullivan was a park ranger in Virginia who was struck by lightning 7-times. Being struck seven times has odds of around twenty-two septillion to one. That’s 22,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 to 1. ‘Nuff said.

Note: After getting struck by lightning a couple of times, wouldn’t you, you know, stay inside?

Ann Hodges

One minute Ann Hodges was minding her own business, just taking a nap on her couch in Sylacauga, Alabama. The next she was hit by a freaking meteorite. The offending space rock came crashing through her roof and hit her on the hip. Ann survived and remains the only human in recorded history to be hit by a meteorite. Top that one, suckers.

Tsutomu Yamaguchi

Tsutomu lived in Japan in 1945. He lived in Nagasaki but was on a business trip in Hiroshima on August 6th, when we dropped the first atomic bomb on the city. He miraculously survived, and returned home on August 9th. Well, we all know what happened to Nagasaki on August 9th, right? Yep, we dropped bomb #2. Again, Tsutomu Yamaguchi survived and lived until 2010.

You know, now that I type this I realize that Tsutomu Yamaguchi may actually be one of the luckiest men who ever lived.

Steven Hicks

18-year old Steven Hicks was hitchhiking his was to a Pegasus concert in 1978 just outside Cleveland. He’d heard of the show that day and made a last minute decision to get up there to what I assume was Blossom Music Center and meet some friends. Anyway, soon another 18-year old pulled over and picked him up. They decided to stop at the driver’s house before continuing to the show so they could smoke some weed and have a few beers. Hicks probably thought he was pretty lucky to not only catch a ride but have some booze and marijuana throw in as well. Wrong. He never left the house that day, at least not in one piece. The driver’s name was Jeffrey Dahmer.

So kids, the next time you’re feeling a little sorry for yourself remember these people. At least you weren’t pulling out of a driveway just as the Manson family was pulling in, out hitchhiking and getting picked up by Jeffrey Dahmer, or you know, hit by lightning or a meteor or an atomic bomb (twice) or something.

So count your blessings. It could be much worse.

My Concert History: 1974-2024 [UPDATED 4.21.24]

One of my former students recently asked me how many concerts I had seen in my lifetime, and I told them I had no idea but it had to be over a hundred. I LOVE live music and always have, and I’ve been going to shows for approximately 45-years. Anyway, because I was asked I have attempted to recall all the shows I’ve seen, and believe me when I say there is no way I’ll remember them all. Because of this you can bet this blog will be updated often as the memories come flooding back or somebody reminds me of something I forgot. With all this in mind, let me begin. I’ll list the concerts along with notes on some of them, and they will be in somewhat of a chronological order but not really. An asterisk indicates a Rock Hall of Fame inductee, and I believe I’ve seen 25 bands/artists that have earned that honor. That said, I’ve also seen some shows that might surprise you. Let us begin . . .

Redbone

1974, Kings Island Senior Night. They were Native Americans, they wore full Native American regalia, and their big hit was “Come and Get Your Love.” I was front row and I was forever turned on to live music. Who could not be after seeing this?

Note: I have no idea if that’s politically correct or not, I just know it’s a great song.

Brownsville Station

These cool cats sang the original “Smokin’ in the Boys Room” and followed Redbone. I’ll never forget singer Cub Coda’s roaring vocals and drummer Henry “H-Bomb” Weck destroying the skins. Epic.

Seals & Crofts

Thanks to my Uncle Myrl we always had great seats at the Ohio State Fair. Hence the front row seats for the band that gave us “Summer Breeze” and “Diamond Girl.” It was a very good show.

The Stylistics

Believe it or not I saw this legendary R&B group at the Ross County Fairgrounds. Who booked them there I do not know, but it was the early to mid-70s so they were in their heyday.

Aerosmith*

Ah, the famous (well, at least to me) Aerosmith concert. You know, the one where I drank Stroh’s beer with Joe Perry and Steven Tyler? That one? Yeah, I used to have a cool photo of me sitting between those rock Gods on a backstage couch, smiling broadly, luxurious locks cascading down our backs. Sorry, I got lost in the mists of time there for a second. Anyway, here’s the link: Steven, Joe and Me: Meeting Aerosmith. Read it. I would but it would make me cry again.

Note: I looked it up. It was March 24th, 1978 at Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Columbus.

Allman Brothers Band*

I saw these guys at an outdoor venue somewhere over near Zanesville. I don’t think it was Legend Valley, but I could be wrong. Anyway, they were as good as you might expect Southern Rock legends to be.

The Beach Boys* (6)

I’ve seen The Boys six times at various venues, including the big return of Brian Wilson sometime around 1977. They’re always a good show. Oh, and remember the time Mike Love tried to steal my girlfriend? If not, here’s the story: In the late 70’s I went to see them, again at Riverfront Coliseum in The Natti. We were once again right down front. From the get-go Mike Love was paying special attention to my date, at one point getting down on one knee and singing a song right up in her grillmix. I don’t remember the song, probably because I was too busy watching the security dude and figuring my odds of getting a shot at Love’s nose. Eventually Love actually sent a guy down to ask if she was interested. She said no and he never came close to us the rest of the show. Bizarre experience.

Chicago* (4)

Yep. This guy.

Chicago was always a good show, especially when they rocked and before they started with all the sappy ballads in the early 80s. The most memorable show was when Peter Cetera nearly stole my date. Yep, it happened again, and this show and The Beach Boys show were only a couple weeks apart. I guess I should look at the bright side and assume I had good taste in women? Anyway, here’s a link to the whole sordid affair: How Peter Cetera Once Ruined a Relationship. Mine. I saw Chicago again on 7.23.22. They only had two original members, Pankow, Loughnane and Lamb (who wasn’t there that night) but I still enjoyed them immensely.

Warren Zevon

I saw the legend back in early ’79 when I was living on West 8th Avenue, just south of The Ohio State University campus. I distinctly recall sitting at a table in the since demolished Serene Lounge, a misnamed establishment if there ever was one. As I sat there enjoying Happy Hour, a buddy came rushing in and said he had tickets to a show up the street at The Agora, which is now The Newport. Of course I asked who was playing, and he told me Warren Zevon. Being the sophisticated music aficionado that I was, I immediately jumped at the chance. O.K., truth be told I’d never heard of Warren Zevon. Seems I’d missed the whole “Werewolves of London” hoopla from a few months prior. Go figure. Long story short, I went, was blown away and became a huge fan.

Note. It’s odd but one clear memory I have of that night was Zevon mentioning that his dad was named Stumpy. That’s a cool dad name, don’t you think? Anyway, one of my big regrets (among many) is the fact that I never saw Warren Zevon live again.

Steely Dan

I think I saw these guys at St. John Arena, but I’ll be damned if I can remember exactly. Anyway, it was the late 70s, a period my loving father used to refer to as “my hazy period.”

The New York Dolls

Believe it or not I actually saw these punk legends at the Fairgrounds Coliseum where they opened for The Babys and, wait for it . . . REO Speedwagon. To say I’d never seen anything like them (spiked collars, high heels, multi-colored hair, hot pants) is an understatement. I’m pretty sure I stood there, mouth agape, during their entire show.

Steppenwolf

These rock legends actually performed at Sam’s Place, a big barn-type venue south on Chillicothe on Route 23. I believe the building is still there. Anyway, they rocked out “Born to Be Wild” and “Magic Carpet Ride” right here in good ol’ Ross County USA.

The Babys

The Babys followed the New York Dolls, and although “Isn’t It Time” and “Every Time I Think of You” are great songs, following the Dolls was a tough gig ( not to mention everyone was there to see REO).

REO Speedwagon

I feel like I’ve seen REO more than once, but perhaps not. Anyway, it was a rockin’ show. I remember they closed with “Ridin’ the Storm Out.”

Jeff Lynne

Electric Light Orchestra* (13)

Yep, I’ve seen ELO 13-times at least, and every single show was a joy, a revelation and an absolute rock spectacle. Hey, who doesn’t like lasers, giant spaceships and giant butterflies and moths fluttering above the audience? I know I do. Seriously, Jeff Lynne is a musical genius and a rock legend, and I shall see him again in less than a month. However, the most memorable ELO show was the night I found myself in the middle of a Jeff Lynne/ELO scenario of which I wanted no part of. To fully understand, read this: Pimping for the Electric Light Orchestra. UPDATE: Caught ELO again on 7/30 at Nationwide in Columbus. Once again it was an outstanding show.

Roxy Music

I saw Roxy Music open for ELO at Veterans Memorial in 1975, and Bryan Ferry did not disappoint, singing “Love Is The Drug” and others in all his Glam Rock glory.

Gentle Giant

Saw this Prog Rock band open for ELO in The Natti, circa 1977.

Steve Hillage

Hillage was a guitarist of note back in the 70s.

Rick Derringer (3)

I first saw Derringer on the “Frampton Comes Alive” tour at the Tangerine Bowl in Florida. There were several bands before Frampton, and one of them was Kansas. They came out and it was clear from the get-go they were tanked. Just smashed, drunk and/or high as hell. Midway through song two or three they just turned and walked off the stage. The crowd basically rioted until something pretty cool happened. Rick Derringer, who had played a short set earlier, returned to the stage and started playing. Slowly the crowd got into it and eventually he was actually playing requests. That’s a true pro right there, and he saved everyone from a potentially nasty situation. When Frampton finally came out he thanked Derringer profusely and even called him back out for an encore. I’ll always have fond memories of Rick Derringer because of that day.

Led Zeppelin*

Led Zeppelin

At some point a bit before The Who tragedy at Riverfront Coliseum (again, my dates are a little fuzzy) I saw Led Zeppelin there. The whole festival seating/general admission thing was in place, and it was pretty ugly. We got there real early to get in line. The coliseum’s policy at the time was to open just 4-doors at around 6:30 PM (again, hazy) for the 8:00 show. We were right up front, and a little after 5:00 PM things began to get ugly. Remember, 4-doors for 12,000+ people. Idiocy. People in the back began pressing forward and those of us in front were getting crushed against the doors. Guys were begging the security inside to open up, but they weren’t listening. A police chopper suddenly appeared and began hovering about 30-feet up, and a guy with a bullhorn was telling people to back up. Nobody was having it, and at one point I remember a beer bottle being thrown at the chopper and shattering off its side. By this time I was seriously in fear of not making it out of there. My arms were pressed against my sides so tightly that I couldn’t raise them. Occasionally my feet would rise off the ground and I’d have to completely go wherever the crowd took me. Scary stuff for sure. The worst part was when the crowd would start to lean and you feared getting crushed. It was hard to breathe and several people passed out but obviously didn’t fall down. Surreal as hell. Finally, an ignorant security guard did a dumb but ultimately good thing – he cracked a door open, ostensibly to tell somebody when the gates would open. At that point the door was ripped open and the crowd poured in. Glass was flying everywhere, and as I was being pushed through a guard reached out and ripped a flask from my neck, nearly slashing my throat. No tickets were taken and chaos ensued. After I got away from the rushing crowd, I sought out a cop and yelled, “If these people don’t start opening more doors somebody’s going to get killed here!” A prophetic statement, unfortunately. When the news came down months later that 11-people were killed at The Who show, I wasn’t surprised. I knew exactly what had taken place. Oh, and by the way, I scored a front row spot. Hey, it was Zep.

The Eagles* (3)

I first saw The Eagles during their Hotel California Tour, and I remember the big album cover backdrop. Joe Walsh had just joined the group and he was on fire. Great show. As a bonus, no band member tried to pick up my girlfriend.

Todd Rundgren (5)

I’ve seen the greatest rocker never to be inducted into the Rock ‘n Roll Hall of Fame four times, and every single time he has been amazing. Just a multi-talented musician and performer. Most recently I saw him at the Taft Theater in Cincinnati and then as a member of the Beatles 50th Anniversary White Album Tour and he was amazing as always.

Elton John*

I was lucky enough to see Elton at the peak of his powers, during the legendary Yellow Brick Road Tour. I can’t recall who opened for him but I do remember Kiki Dee coming on stage for the song, “Don’t Go Breaking My Heart”. I also remember that we had seats w-a-y at the back of the arena, near the top. At one point Elton stopped to thank his writing partner Bernie Taupin and pointed him out in the crowd. They shone a spotlight on him, and he was sitting right behind me. I asked him why he was sitting in the cheap seats and he said he liked to hear what the acoustics were like from up there. Cool.

Marshall Tucker Band

No clue where this concert took place. Kentucky perhaps. Rupp Arena? I’ve no clue but it was during the “Heard It In A Love Song/Can’t You See” era. What can I say? I fell into the Urban Cowboy country rock phase for a minute.

Cheap Trick*

This one was at St. John Arena in Columbus and I recall that it was on the same Monday night that Marquette won the NCAA Basketball Title. 1977 perhaps? Let me check. Hold on . . . . . . . yep, March 28th, 1977. 67-59 over Dean Smith and North Carolina. Al McGuire’s last game. Anyway, at one point some kid from Zane Trace threw his ZT hat on stage and Rick Neilson put it on and wore it for the rest of the show. Wild night. Can’t remember who opened.

Rush*

Went with a buddy who was a huge Rush guy, I believe it was in Dayton at Hara Arena. On a related note, Rush people are an interesting group.

Edgar Winter Group

“Frankenstein” baby! EWG rocks, man. Saw them at an outdoor show somewhere in Columbus. It was in a big parking lot and was sponsored by QFM-96. I think.

Joe Walsh

I saw Joe just before he joined The Eagles, just after he released his “But Seriously, Folks . . .” album. Dude was really good with the crowd, and of course his guitar playing was amazing.

Kansas

I told you about Kansas when I talked about Rick Derringer earlier. They sucked.

Peter Frampton (3)

Peter Frampton

I was a big Frampton fan back in the day, and myself and 3 friends followed him on his “Frampton Comes Alive” Tour. We saw him in Tampa, Louisville and back in Ohio. He was touring with the aforementioned Kansas, Rick Derringer and the J Geils Band. Trust me, Peter Frampton put on one hell of a show.

John Sebastian*

John Sebastian was the frontman for the Lovin’ Spoonful before embarking on a solo career. He didn’t have much success until he penned the theme song for the TV show “Welcome Back Kotter”. Anyway, I saw him as the opening act for, wait for it . . . Steve Martin. The show was at Mershon Auditorium in, I believe, the Spring of ’77 or ’78.

J Geils Band (2)

Saw these guys during the Frampton tour, and one thing sticks out in my mind. Their Louisville show was the last show of the tour and lead singer Peter Wolf busted out the champagne. As usual we’d worked our way down to the front row, and Wolf poured a good portion of the bottle right over my head before I tilted my head back and drank the rest. Good times indeed.

John Waite

Waite was the lead singer of The Babys before starting a solo career. I saw him at a small venue in Columbus (The Newport?) and he was really good. Remember “Missing You”?

Wild Cherry

Yep, I saw these guys sing “Play That Funky Music” in a small bar on High Street in Columbus j-u-s-t before they hit it big.

Barry Manilow

I told you some of the artists would surprise you. I went with my sister and her husband Jigger, and it was a really good show. Vets Memorial I believe.

Doobie Brothers

Thankfully I saw The Doobies before Michael McDonald arrived to wreck their sound with his so-called “blue-eyed soul”. Newsflash: It was not. I preferred the pre-McDonald days of “China Grove”, “Long Train Runnin'” and “Blackwater”. It was a fantastic show that I saw somewhere in Cleveland.

James Taylor* (5)

Ah, the original JT. I’ve seen him at least 5-times, the most memorable being the night I stole his jacket. From my original blog: I went to see him at Blossom Music Center back in ’78 with my friends Tom and Chris. After the show we ambled down to the side of the stage, just getting a look at the setup really. The roadies were tearing down the set, wandering around doing this and that. At some point I looked up and said, “Hey, look. He left his jacket hanging on the mike stand.” He’d worn it onstage and had taken it off during the show. Anyway, one of us (probably Tom) gets the bright idea to try to grab it. Nice plan but the place was crawling with security and roadies. I turn to Chris for ideas, turn back around, and Tom had already jumped the railing and was halfway across the stage. He was just casually walking like he belonged there. A couple of guys glanced at him but didn’t say a word, either because he looked like he belonged or because he was 6′-3″, 280-lbs and looked like he could rip your heart out and show it to you before you died (which by the way he could have but that’s another story). He casually grabs the jacket, throws it over his shoulder, and hops off the other side of the stage as Chris and I run frantically around to meet him. We walk away without looking back, expecting at any moment to hear, “Stop them! Thieves! They have James Taylor’s jacket! For God’s sake stop the bastards!” Except it doesn’t happen, and we make it to the car. At that point Tom tries it on. Obviously too small. Chris grabs it. Too big. Heh-heh. Fit me perfectly. Apparently, in ’78, James Taylor and I were exactly the same size. Anyway, that’s how I came to own James Taylor’s jacket. By the way, later I woke up wide-eyed in the middle of the night, realizing I hadn’t checked the pockets. The possibilities were mind-boggling. Carly Simon’s phone number possibly? Alas, nothing. Damn . . .

Charlie Daniels Band

Again, this was during my country rock phase, which lasted about, oh, a minute and a half. Charlie was cool back then though, although I felt that way partly because I wasn’t aware of the right-wing conservative assclownery he’s exhibited the last 20-years or so.

Blue Oyster Cult

Dayton, Ohio, in Hara Arena. At the end of the concert the drummer threw his sticks into the crowd. I got my hand on one but it slipped through my fingers, damn it.

Yes*

I was never a big Yes fan, but I attended this show with a friend. As I recall I wasn’t that impressed.

Emerson, Lake & Palmer

See Yes above.

Grand Funk Railroad

I watched Mark Farner, Don Brewer and the boys at St. John Arena in Columbus and they were great. I distinctly recall them blowing the roof off the joint with “We’re An American Band”. I think Farner found Jesus shortly after this tour.

Amy Grant

Another shocker, amirite? Yep, I saw Amy at the Ohio State Fair and once again we were right up front. My girlfriend at the time loved her, hence my presence at the show.

Gordon Lightfoot*

I’d forgotten about this show until someone reminded me of it recently. It was at Mershon Auditorium in Columbus, Ohio during his “Sundown” period. I have zero memory of it otherwise.

Hall & Oates*

Talk about a great opening act. I saw these guys open for ELO in Cleveland at Richfield Coliseum. Of course, they were incredible.

Pat Benatar*

Yep. Big Pat Benatar fan, man. Saw her in Riverfront Coliseum back around ’82 ish. I remember being impressed with her lead guitarist and future husband Neil Geraldo too. Dude could shred.

Alabama

Another Ohio State Fair show where I couldn’t turn down the tickets. Hey, it was the early 80s and the band was pretty damn big.

Barbara Mandrell

Same as the Alabama show with one big difference – Barbara Mandrell was smokin’ hot at the time.

Kenny Rogers

You’ll have to give me a break on this one. My mother was a big Kenny Rogers fan and I took her as a surprise for her birthday. She loved it. I’m such a good son.

The Alarm

The Alarm

This show was actually a surprise for me pulled off by my ex-wife Twana, and it was spectacular. I loved The Alarm (still do) and their show at Riverbend in Cincy was great. However, they were just the opening act for the big surprise, which was . . . drumroll please . . .

Bob Dylan*

It was 1988 and like I said, this was a surprise gift for me. Dylan was amazing as you might expect, putting on an unforgettable show.

Pink Floyd*

In June of 1975 I traveled to Pittsburgh to see Pink Floyd at Three Rivers Stadium, and they were insanely good. Obviously this was when Roger Waters was still with them, contrary to the American tour 20-years later when they were without him and I refused to attend. To me, the best part of Floyd was Roger Waters. Anywho, great show with flyin’ pigs and whatnot.

Meat Loaf

I saw Meat at a small venue near Lancaster in the mid-80s. This was after his success with Bat Out of Hell in the late 70s and before his big comeback in ’93, and he was in the middle of his well publicized emotional issues. At one point during the show he stopped mid-song and helicoptered his mic stand into the crowd, nearly decapitating myself and several others. It was like “Meat Loaf! YEAH! Woohoo! Wait . . . look out!” Fortunately he got it together and finished, but I remember his voice was freakin’ shot. Let’s just say Meat did not bring his A game that night.

Paul McCartney* (10)

Yes, I have seen Sir Paul many times at many venues in cities ranging from Cincinnati to Indianapolis to Cleveland to Chicago. Perhaps my favorite show was the one in Columbus where a bunch of us went all out rented a suite. Our seats were right over the stage. Also, one year in Cincy I was in the front 8-10 rows which was incredible. With McCartney every song is legendary, plus there’s always that awareness that you’re watching a freakin’ Beatle. I recently saw Paul at Winston-Salem, NC on 5/21/22 and he was fantastic. He put on a 3-hour show with no breaks at nearly 80-years of age. Amazing.

Dan Fogelberg (4)

Fogelberg was always great live, and I saw him at Blossom in Cleveland, The Palace in Columbus and a couple other places.

Indigo Girls

I’d never heard of the Indigo Girls when  first saw them open for R.E.M. at Riverfront Coliseum, but it didn’t take a genius to figure out they were going to be big.

R.E.M.* (15)

I’ve seen R.E.M. more than any other band, first on May 5th, 1985 at a gym in Springfield, Ohio in front of maybe 100-people, and the last time at Blossom in Cleveland in ’04 along with 20,000 other fans. It was pretty cool watching them grow from a small, relatively unknown band to a worldwide sensation. R.E.M. trails only The Beatles on my favorite bands list.

The Minutemen

I saw these alt legends open for R.E.M. at Vets Memorial a couple weeks before lead singer D. Boon was killed in an auto accident. Memorable concert for sure.

The O’Jays*

Ok, technically I never bought a ticket to watch these guys. However, I did hear them sing along with me on an airplane. Not kidding. Here’s the story: It happened when my late friend Jigger and I were heading to Vegas back in the early ’90s. You’ve got to remember that I’ve always been quite the Motown/Philly Sound fan and am pretty knowledgeable about a lot of the groups of that genre. We’d been in the air for a few minutes when I thought I recognized a guy a couple of rows in front of me. Was that Eddie Levert of The O’Jays? I loved The O’Jays! What the hell, I thought. I went up and sat by him (keep in mind there were only about 30-people on the plane). Sure enough, it was Levert and the rest of the group along with about eight roadies sitting here and there. Throwing caution and common sense to the wind, I started singing one of their big hits, “Love Train” and begging the guys to join in. What can I say? I was overcome with joy at meeting the O’Jays and I was pretty sure I’d never have this chance again. Long story short, in a couple minutes all three O’Jays were singing backup to yours truly on lead vocal. One of the guys (Walter Williams possibly) actually got up in the aisle and was doing the dance moves as I stood and sang beside him. Surreal. About halfway through I forgot the words and Levert took over. I then attempted to join the dancing but failed miserably, to the delight of the audience. I then took a theatrical bow with the group as the crowd went wild (at least in my mind, don’t tell me they didn’t), the stewardesses applauded and Jigger sat there shaking his head. I believe I even followed up by trying to start a rousing rendition of “Backstabbers” but my moment had passed. The group got off at our stopover in Minneapolis, bro hugs were shared all around, and the O’Jays went on their way. And you know what? To this day I can’t hear “Love Train” without getting a big grin on my face.

Fetchin Bones

The Bones opened for REM at Bogart’s and they were great. One reviewer described them as such: “a band that must be seen live for a full grasp of their eclectic frenzy.” Couldn’t have said it better.

The dB’s

These guys opened for REM in Dayton, at either Hara or UD Arena (I can’t remember which). The band was led by Pete Holsapple, who later sat in on many an REM gig.

The Neats

The Neats opened for REM at that show in Springfield, Ohio.

Toad the Wet Sprocket

I saw TTWS at The Newport sometime in the mid-90s. Can’t remember much about the show other than the fact that lead singer Todd Phillips didn’t wear any shoes.

Matthew Sweet

Ah, another great Newport show. I’ve loved Matthew Sweet since 1991 and he did not disappoint.

Hootie & the Blowfish

Once again I saw these guys at The Newport, just before they blew wide open. I remember Darius Rucker downed about 8 Budweiser bottles during the show, and he often had one in his hand as he sang.

The String Cheese Incident

I’m not really into Jam Bands, and I have no idea what inspired me to go to this show. Now that I think of it, I have no idea who I was with or where they played. Somewhere outside for sure.

Screaming Trees

Screaming Trees

The Trees were the middle act at College Park, MD in 1992. They followed Gruntruck and preceded Alice in Chains. Of those three bands, I loved the Screaming Trees the most. The show was at Ritchie Coliseum as I recall.

Alice in Chains

See above.

Gruntruck

Also see above.

Fugazi

Great show at the tiny City Lights venue in Indy back in 1993. I remember clearly that the tickets cost a mere $5.00.

The National

The National opened for REM at Blossom in 2004.

Brian Wilson*

I was thrilled to see Brian Wilson during his Pet Sounds Tour in 2002. His backing band was the Wondermints and they were fantastic too. He played the album in its entirety, start to finish. Stellar, and the work of a musical genius. I went to see him again on 7.23.22 and, although came onstage with the aid of a walker, once he sat down at the piano he was magical. Sure, he needs help with the high notes but along with Paul McCartney I consider him to be a an absolute living legend.

Steve Forbert (4)

I put Steve Forbert in my Top 10 All-Time favorite artists. I’ve seen him at small venues in Newport, KY, and Granville and Worthington in Ohio (2). He always puts on a great show. One of music’s most underappreciated talents.

Faith No More

Caught these guys at The Newport (surprise!) in September of 1992. The main thing I remember is that lead singer Mike Patton had some absolutely killer pipes.

Helmet

I have very little recollection of this one. Sorry Helmet.

The Temptations*

I finally got to see The Temps around 2008, and they only had one original member remaining. Still a great show though.

Ziggy Marley

Ziggy

I can attribute this one to pure luck. One night in the Caribbean I was sitting at a little Tiki Bar, and a guy came up and casually mentioned that Ziggy was playing a couple hundred yards down the beach. Wait. What? Hell yes mon. I hustled down there and the rest is history.

They Might Be Giants (8)

Man, I’ve seen the two John’s 8 times since 1992 (the last this past winter) and every show has been awesome. One of my favorite bands ever.

OK GO

This group opened for TMBG the night the electric went out at The Newport and everything was delayed a couple hours. They were great, but my main memory was after the show when the lead singer tried to pick up my nephew’s wife out by the merch stand. Musicians, man.

Eels (7)

Eels

I’ve seen E and the boys on several occasions, usually in Columbus but at least once in Cleveland. Big, big fan and E never, ever fails to entertain. I’ve been on E’s bandwagon since his early solo albums “A Man Called E” and “Broken Toy Shop”. One of the most underappreciated artists of my lifetime.

The Flaming Lips 

Love the lips, and I saw them at the Nelsonville Music Festival a few years ago. And yes, Wayne Coyne got in one of those big bubbles and walked out over the audience. Fun aplenty.

Beck

I used to volunteer for a company that worked concerts around Columbus (actually I only did it twice) but on one occasion I ended up being Beck’s damn backstage bodyguard. He actually invited me to stand beside the stage and watch the show. Dude really liked me for some reason, man. You can read all about it here: Bodyguarding Beck. True story.

Martina McBride

I must have received good reviews for being Beck’s bodyguard, because a couple weeks later they asked me to be the bodyguard for Martina McBride. Once again I was allowed to watch from the wings. Hey, I’ve never owned a Martina McBride song but damn she was a hottie. Anyway, I protected two famous singers and neither were harmed under my watch. My record is unblemished.

Carbon Leaf (22)

Carbon Leaf

I’ve been a big Carbon Leaf fan since around 2000, and I’ve become acquainted with lead singer Barry Privett and the other band members. I’ve seen them at Kelly’s in the Outer Banks, The Basement and a few other places in Columbus, a little bar in Chapel Hill, the Southgate House in Newport, KY and The 20th Century Theater in Cincy among other places. I highly recommend this band! Update: I caught them at The Kent Stage on March 8th, 2020. Still amazing. Update II: Saw them again on October 16th, 2020 at Natalie’s Grandview. Amazing again. Update III: I saw them at the A & R in Columbus Ohio on 4.16.24 and believe me, they only get better with age. Go see these guys!. 

The Wallflowers

I have no earthly idea where I saw these guys. Maybe the old Capital Theater on High Street in Columbus?

Paul Westerberg

I’d waited many a year to see the former Replacements frontman in person, and it was one helluva show. It was at The Newport, which was perfect, and one of my friends said it was the first time he’d actually seen a real life rock star. Westerberg growled/wailed his tunes in black jeans, boots and a leather jacket, all the while smoking a cigarette and barking at the occasional roadie. At one point he played while laying on his back, and he added covers like “If I Had a Hammer” and “Daydream Believer” along with his solo stuff and some Replacement classics. Just an amazing, powerful performance from a rock legend that I’ve admired for years. I’ll never forget it.

Ben Folds (4)

Ben always puts on a great show, and the interaction with his fans is incredible. I last saw him in the fall of last year and he hadn’t lost a step.

Billy Bragg

This show was at Mountain Stage, West Virginia, and was actually broadcast live on National Public Radio. For some reason I remember Billy telling the audience that on the way to the show his bus had passed a little town with an interesting name – Bragg. Weird the stuff you remember.

MC Honky

MC Honky was actually Mark Oliver Everett, otherwise known as E of the Eels. He opened for, you guessed it, The Eels. Strange but interesting night.

Taylor Swift

Yep, I saw her at OU-Chillicothe at the very beginning of her career back in 2007, performing before maybe 2500 people. She’d only had a couple hits at that time, and I remember she stood at the back of the gym after the show until she’d signed every single fan’s autograph. There was no dancing or anything like that, she basically just sat on a stool and played her songs solo.

Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band* (2)

Quite simply one of the best live performers to have ever lived. There was no big light show, no video screens, no theatrics. Just Bruce and the band playing straight ahead rock and roll. I saw The Boss at Nationwide Arena in Columbus, and it was unforgettable. Update: I saw Bruce again on 4.21.24 and he was even better than he was in 2002. His voice was incredible and the E Street Band sounded amazing.

Buddy Guy*

Buddy opened for Clapton at The Schott in the late 00s, and he was spectacular.

Bon Jovi* (4)

An ex of mine had a deep, unapologetic love for Jon Bon Jovi, hence the many trips to see the band. They’re crazy good live, and the trips were worth it to me to watch Richie Sambora play guitar. All the shows were at large arenas.

Goo Goo Dolls

I saw the Goos in their heyday, which was sometime around 1998-1999. according to my internal heyday meter. I must say Johnny Rzeznik and the boys were pretty damn good. I cannot recall where I saw them. Update: I recalled. I saw them open for Bon Jovi at Nationwide or The Schott. Update 2: I saw them again this past Sunday, 11.6.22, at The Embassy Theater in Fort Wayne, IN. They were in fine form I must say.

Cracker (3)

Love me some Cracker, and I’ve seen them at Kelley’s in the OBX, the Southgate House in northern Kentucky, and the Picktown Palooza (yes, such a thing exists). I’ve had the pleasure to meet guitarist Johnny Hickman a few times and am happy to report that he’s a good dude.

Green Day*

I took my son to see these guys at The Schott in Columbus as part of my Expose My Kid to The Legends Project (he’s seen McCartney, R.E.M., AC/DC, The Eels, and several others) and they were just about what you’d expect. Those little dudes are like Energizer Bunnies, man. It was their American Idiot Tour I believe.

AC/DC*

Tremendous show at The Schott, and for some reason I was pleasantly surprised at how good of a guitarist Angus Young is. I should have known I guess? Anyway, there were more 50-year old boobs on display than I care to recall.

Eric Clapton*

Saw Slowhand at Nationwide Arena, and it was something to behold. See, even though the show was 2 1/2 hours long Clapton didn’t play that many songs. All the tunes were a long, bluesy numbers and every one was breathtakingly good. Although a few morons were yelling for them there was no “I Shot the Sheriff” or “Tears in Heaven.” To top off the greatness of the show, Derek Trucks was a part of the band and Robert Cray came out to jam during the last 30-minutes or so. Legendary.

Robert Cray 

See Eric Clapton above.

Angels & Airwaves

A & A is led by Blink-182’s Tom Delonge, and I went to The Newport with my son to see the band in the mid-00s. Kip wanted to get down front, so we worked our way down to the right front of the stage with yours truly against a railing. Suffice to say the mosh pit was deadly, my ribs were crushed repeatedly against the railing, and I could barely get out of bed the next day. Hey, you have to sacrifice for family. On a related note, it was totally worth it.

The Color Fred

These guys opened for A & A and I have very little recollection as to whether they were any good.

Fuel

I caught Fuel at a small venue in Columbus, but I can’t remember the exact location. Interesting crowd at Fuel shows.

The Smithereens

I saw these guys at the Roanoke Island Festival Park in Manteo, NC as part of a big summer show with 4 other acts. I’ve always loved The Smithereens and they did not fail me.

Scars on 45

Scars on 45 are English band that was a part of the Mateo show. They impressed me.

Gin Blossoms (4)

I’ve seen these guys at the Manteo Festival, Summerfest, Bogey’s in Dublin, OH and with Toad the Wet Sprocket and Barenaked Ladies at Rose Music Center in Huber Heights.

Spin Doctors

Another band at the Manteo concert, and believe me when I say they still have it.

Joan Jett*

Joan headlined the big Manteo show and she was stunningly good. On a related note, the Roanoke Festival Park is a stunning venue with the backdrop to the stage being the Roanoke Sound. Beautiful.

Social D

Social Distortion

After years of trying I finally got to see Mike Ness and Social D at what was then LC Pavilion in Columbus a few years ago. They were everything I expected them to be.

Mudhoney

My buddy Goose and I caught the legendary grunge rockers at tiny Café Bourbon Street in Columbus in 2010. Lead singer Mark Arm, the man who coined the term “grunge”, was in top form. I felt lucky to have seen them, and Arm gave me the setlist. Boom.

Manchester Orchestra

This band opened for My Chemical Romance and Blink-182 in Cincinnati. My only recollection is that they had a lush, orchestral sound, hence their name choice I guess.

My Chemical Romance (2)

I’ve seen MCR twice, once opening for Green Day in Columbus and once for Blink-182 in Cincinnati. On both occasions they were very good, and it turned out that the Cincy tour was their last.

Blink-182

My son was a big Blink guy and this show was pretty special. I recall sitting in the parking lot waiting for the rain to stop, and when it did we debated whether to make a run for the gates. We decided in the affirmative, and when we were exactly halfway to our destination the torrential downpour began anew. We were drenched for the entire show. I also remember that the banter between Tom Delonge and Mark Hoppes was hilarious. Really good show.

Band of Horses

Saw Band of Horse open for My Morning Jacket a few years ago and I thought they were fantastic. I actually enjoyed them more than the headliner.

My Morning Jacket

I don’t know, there’s something about these guys that’s sort of monotonous to me. Can’t say I loved it.

Bowling for Soup

A couple years ago I went to see Bowling for Soup at the A&R in Columbus. The show was at 7:00, but as I am want to do I went up around 4:00 to scout out the terrain. I could hear the band doing a soundcheck inside, and there was a line of probably 150 people sitting outside the door and down the sidewalk. I thought what the hell, I’ll take a shot at this. I walked past all the people, up to the door, and as luck would have it the door was open. I walked in, nodded at a few security guys in A&R polos, and sauntered on to the front of the stage and watched the guys warm up. After a bit I walked to the back of the venue and was leaning against the wall when I was approached by a very large dude. I was expecting the worst, but the guy said, “Hey, have you seen Greg?” I looked around as if I knew who the hell Greg was, then told him, “No, not recently.” He then thanked me and gave me a knuckle-bump before departing. Crisis averted. Then, a short while later I swear this happened: The band stopped and the lead singer looked straight at me and asked, “Whaddaya think? Is that enough bass?” The world stopped for a second as the entire band and everyone in the venue looked at me. I nodded knowingly and gave the thumbs-up sign as the bass player shot me a return thumbs-up before kicking into another tune. At that point I had cred with the entire place so I could basically do whatever I wanted. What can I say? The secret is acting like you belong. Bottom line, I saw the soundcheck and the show, and both were great.

Bacon Brothers

I was invited to this show at an outdoor mall somewhere in Dayton, and I have to say Kevin Bacon and his brother were pretty good. Somebody opened but I can’t recall the band name.

Lit

I saw Lit along with the Gin Blossoms and the next three bands during the Summerland Tour a few years back. Lit was excellent, Gin Blossoms were very good, Marcy Playground was Ok, Sugar Ray was surprisingly amazing and Everclear was disappointing.

Sugar Ray

See Lit.

Marcy Playground

See Lit.

Everclear

See Lit.

The Hold Steady

The Hold Steady

Caught these guys in Cincy at Bogart’s (I think). They were excellent. Really underrated band in my opinion.

Nathanael Rateliff & the Night Sweats (3)

Saw their show at the Nelsonville Music Festival a couple years back and they were great. They also opened for Kings of Leon last summer, and I saw them at Express Live! in early October. Always stellar.

Sister Hazel

Urban Meyer’s favorite band played Bogey’s in Dublin/Muirfield a couple years ago along with the Gin Blossoms. And yes, Urb and Shelley were in attendance. I used to know Shelley back in the day, and here she is giving me a shout out:

Soul Asylum

For the life of me I cannot recall where I saw Soul Asylum, but I remember it being a grungy little bar type of establishment. Go figure. It was towards the beginning of their success.

Kings of Leon

Attended a KOL show at Riverbend in Cincinnati last summer. Great band, great show.

Guided by Voices (2)

One of my friends is a big fan so I went with him to see his hero Robert Pollard. I’m glad I went. Update: Caught GBV again at the Bellwether Festival in Waynesville, Ohio. Once again a fantastic performance.

Tedeschi Trucks Band

Amazing band I saw during their Wheels of Soul Tour back in 2015 at the PNC Pavilion in The Natti. They’re unbelievable live.

Avett Brothers (9)

I first laid ears on The Avetts around ’05 in the Outer Banks, and have since seen them in Raleigh, NC, The Louisville Palace in KY, and several other venues in Ohio. One of my favorite live bands currently. Update: Caught The Avetts at Timberwolf on 6.28 and once again they were incredible. One of the best live bands out there today.

Tall Heights

I saw this band open for Ben Folds last fall. Cool sound.

Todd Snider

Todd is one of my friend’s favorite artists, and I must say I enjoyed the show. I think we saw him in Cincinnati. I think. UPDATE: I checked. It was at the Madison Theater in Cincy.

The Pixies (2)

The Pixies were on my Bucket List, and thankfully I’ve seen them twice in the last year or so. The first was at Express Live! in Columbus and the second at an amazing show I’ll talk about shortly. Just a legendary, influential alternative band.

John Hiatt

I love John Hiatt and I finally got to see him a couple years ago in Columbus. I think it was The Palace, and it was just John and his guitar. Incredible performance.

Rick Brantley

Opened for John Hiatt, and I remember his song “Hurt People” the most.

G-Love

G-Love opened for Jack Johnson and he was great. He came out later with Jack to sing “Rodeo Clowns” and it was amazing.

Jack Johnson

I was never a huge Jack Johnson fan but he won me over a few weeks ago at Riverbend in Cincinnati. It was a laid back, mellow show with a tremendous vibe.

Foo Fighters* (5)

Ah, The Foos. I’ve seen them 5-times in the past few years and they blew me away. The first show was in Cincy at US Bank Arena (formerly Riverfront Coliseum) and the second at Ruoff Home Mortgage Music Center in Noblesville, IN outside Indianapolis. The Indy show was special because we were 12-rows back. Incredible night. The third time I saw them was at CalJam ’18, which I’ll talk about below. Then I saw them at the Sonic Temple Festival in Columbus, Ohio and they were epic. We had backstage passes and spent some time in keyboardist Rami Jaffee’s private box. Amazing stuff. Finally, I saw them in their first live tour performance after the pandemic in Cincy and their return was incredible.

PS – Dave Grohl is a God.

The Struts (3)

The Struts are a Queen-influenced group fronted by a guy named Luke Spiller, who is fantastic. They opened for the Foo Fighters all three times I saw them. High energy, rockin’ band.

The Wombats

I loved The Wombats back in the late 80s, and if you didn’t like “Let’s Dance to the Joy Division” you are a phony, a pretender, and you have the musical taste of a ferret. I finally saw them a couple weeks ago as the opener for The Pixies and then Weezer, and as expected they killed it.

Weezer

To be honest I went to the Weezer show for opening acts The Wombats and The Pixies, but to my surprise Weezer blew the roof off at Riverbend. I mean, I knew they’d be good but they were way better than I expected. Incredible show that actually shocked me, and I don’t shock easily.

Jimmy Buffett (3)

I first saw Buffett in 1977, again in the late 80s, and finally a couple weeks ago in Cincinnati. Buffett shows are basically one big beach party, replete with leis, bikinis and margaritas, among other things [clears throat]. You get the picture.

Some of the bands below have been mentioned before, but I saw them all at Cal Jam ’18 the weekend of 10/4-10/6. What an amazing experience:

Nirvana*

Joan Jett, Pat Smear, Krist Novoselic and Dave Grohl.

Still can’t believe I was at this legendary show where Nirvana (minus Kurt Cobain of course) reunited with Joan Jett and Deer Tick lead singer John McCauley to perform seven songs at the end of the regular Foos show. When Nirvana bassist Krist Novoselic walked out the place erupted, and Joan and John sounded great singing the lead with Dave Grohl back on the drums. Incredible.

Post Pop Depression

LOVED these guys. PPP is Godfather of Punk Iggy Pop (The Stooges), Josh Homme (Queens of the Stone Age, Eagles of Death Metal), Dean Fertita (QOTSA, The Dead Weather) and Matt Helders (Arctic Monkeys) among others. Amazing show, and at 71 Iggy is still going strong.

Garbage

I really liked Garbage a lot. Shirley Manson definitely still has it, and her band was tight.

Yungblud (2)

I was surprised how much I liked this guy. Trust me, angry British punk is alive. The Sex Pistols would be proud. I saw him at both CalJam and Sonic Temple.

Metz

Enjoyed this show as well. Rockin’ young band.

Tenacious D

Yep, Jack Black’s band was there too, and I have to say I didn’t love them. Hard to take Jack Black seriously as a musician after School of Rock, you know?

Greta Van Fleet

Honestly, I can take or leave these Led Zeppelin sound-alikes. Didn’t dig it at all.

Deer Tick

LOVED these guys. Great band with 3 different lead singers. Reminded me a little of The Band in that way.

Gang of Youths

I really liked frontman David Le’aupepe and this Australian band. Sort of a cross between U2, Springsteen and The Alarm. Lots of anthemic rock.

The Front Bottoms

The Front Bottoms

Probably my favorite new band I saw in California. I got to meet lead singer Brian Sella briefly, and I can report he is a good dude.

Thunderpussy

This all-girl band rocked the hell out of it, and Foos drummer Taylor Hawkins sat sidestage and watched their drummer, who was fantastic.

Giants in the Trees

This is Krist Novoselic’s band, and I cannot say I’m a fan of the dreamy, psychedelic vibe they were putting out.

Billy Idol

Billy played the first night, and he did not disappoint. Dude still has the pipes, and guitarist Steve Stevens was as good as ever.

Cal Jam Bonuses:

At the backstage layout, I absentmindedly asked out loud what kind of pasta they were serving. From behind me I heard a voice say, “That’s Couscous Mac ‘n Cheese, man. You have to try it.” I turned around and it was Foo Fighter’s drummer Taylor Hawkins. Update: Rest in Peace Taylor.

I also got to meet and spend a little time with the man who played drums on one of my favorite songs of all-time, The Church of Logic, Sin and Love by The Men. Suffice it to say that Dave Botkin was a great guy.

I also had a brief encounter with Josh Homme that was very pleasant.

The Hives

Caught these guys at Sonic Temple and they were great. I’s always wanted to see them and was glad I did.

The Interrupters

At the Sonic Temple again, and if you like music akin to Elvis Costello you’ll love these guys.

Phish

My buddy had been begging me to see these guys for years but I just didn’t get the whole Phish thing. Having gone, I must say I had a good time. It was great music, great people and a great vibe. I’m not going to quit life and follow Phish, but I’ll certainly go again.

Selo

Saw this band at the Bellwether Festival and I was impressed. Good new band.

Strfkr

Yep. That says what you think it says, and they were a lot of fun. Because hey, who doesn’t like spacemen crowd surfing and blow-up dolls being tossed into the audience?

Nick Lowe

Caught the legend himself at the Joanne Davidson Center in Columbus and he did not disappoint. His voice is as good as ever, and his backing band, the legendary Los Straightjackets, were tight as hell. Loved every minute of it.

Todd Rundgren, Micky Dolenz, Christopher Cross, Joey Molland of Badfinger and Jason Scheff of Chicago

Saw these guys perform The Beatles’ White Album in Cincinnati on its 50th Anniversary and it was special to say the least. Amazing show.

Smashing Pumpkins

Finally caught the Pumpkins on 5/28/22 at Kemba Live! in Columbus, Ohio and they were amazing. Great great show.

Toad the Wet Sprocket

I finally saw Toad on 7.19.22 with both the Gin Blossoms and Barenaked Ladies at Rose Music Center in Huber Heights, OH (a GREAT venue by the way) and they were really good.

Barenaked Ladies

See Toad the Wet Sprocket above.

Roddy Ricch

This cat opened for Post Malone on 9.18.22 at Nationwide Arena in Columbus, OH and I must say I liked the hell out of him.

Post Malone

Caught Posty at the above aforementioned show and he was electric. His stage presence is unreal, his songs are melodic and his relationship with his audience is really, really special. I have to say the crowd was as loud as any I’ve experienced. Loved this concert.

Whitehall

Caught this up-and-coming band when they opened for The Goo Goo Dolls in Fort Wayne, IN on 11.6.22 and I have to say I loved them. YouTube the song “Don’t Check Your Phone” to catch the vibe. Cannot wait to catch them again.

Joe Walsh

Finally saw Joe at his Concert for Veterans at Nationwide Arena in Columbus featuring bands from Ohio. He was the final act and still has it, man. Great show, great night.

Dave Grohl

Dave was at the aforementioned Joe Walsh show and played with Joe and The Black Keys. Sadly no individual set though.

The James Gang

I missed the James Gang in their heyday but I saw them at, you guessed it, the Joe Walsh Concert for Veterans. They were stellar.

The Breeders

Also at the Walsh show, and I’d always wanted to see them. Excellent.

The Black Keys

I’ve never been a Black Keys fan but I enjoyed their set at the Walsh show. However, they were overshadowed by . . .

Nine Inch Nails

Holy Mother of God these guys blew me away. I’d liked a few of their songs previously but immediately downloaded a ton of their stuff after the show. As Joe Walsh said when he followed them onstage, “I’ve never heard Nine Inch Nails live but I feel like I’ve been in an earthquake.” I will see those guys again for sure.

Brantley Gilbert

Saw this hard rockin’ country cat open for Nickelback at Riverbend in The Natti and he was great. Pleasant surprise.

Nickelback

These guys get a bad rap from a certain genre of music fans and I know not why, because they rock. I saw them before a sold out show in Cincy with 20,500 other unapologetic fans and they sounded amazing.

J-u-s-t Missed Shows:

The Who

Yep, we had tickets to Riverfront Coliseum the night of the tragedy where 11-people were crushed to death, and we were actually on the way to the concert. It was my birthday (12/3/79) and fortunately we were stupid enough to think a party for me in Chillicothe would be more fun, and it might have saved our lives. And yes, I know about a million people claim to have had tickets to that show. We actually did.

Lynyrd Skynyrd

I had tickets for a show at St. John’s Arena in Columbus on October 28th, 1978, but unfortunately we all know what happened 8-days prior – their plane crashed in Mississippi. I’ll never forget waking up the morning and my roommate Jed telling me what had happened. And, being the 21-year old jackass that I was, I returned my ticket because I thought I needed the $8.25 or whatever the hell the ticket cost back then, probably to buy beer.

Pearl Jam

I had tickets for Pearl Jam at Wrigley Field in the summer of 2018 but sadly my father was buried the day of the concert. He would have probably told me to go but of course that wasn’t going to happen. I’ll catch them at some point I’m sure.

Upcoming shows: Bruce Springsteen and Tedeschi Trucks.

The Call of the Void

Have you ever stood on a balcony, leaned over the edge and suddenly thought, “If I wanted to, I could just jump?” Or perhaps you’ve been at a cliff’s edge, with the intention of doing nothing more than enjoying the view, and you fleetingly considered how easy it would be to simply step over the edge. Sounds weird, but this sudden, often unanticipated thought is more common than you think. I’ve felt it myself while standing at the fence at Niagara Falls, looking down at the rushing water just before it pours over the edge and thinking, “I could easily hop this fence and jump in.” It can also be felt while driving, maybe a sudden urge or just a realization that with one sharp turn of your steering wheel you could plow into a semi-truck.

Morbid? Well yeah, but it’s not uncommon and isn’t an indication that you’re suicidal which you’ll soon read.

This feeling, like I said, is more widespread than you might think. In fact, it’s so common, the French have a term for it: l’appel du vide. In English, this translates to The Call of the Void.

But even though many individuals — over half of people, a couple studies suggest — have reportedly experienced the Call of the Void. So, what do scientists know about the Call of the Void, and what has research revealed about it? 

The first significant study on the phenomenon, published in 2012 in the Journal of Affective Disorders, surveyed 431 undergraduate students, and found that just over half of those who had never had suicidal thoughts had experienced aspects of the phenomenon at least once, whereas over 75% of people who have suicidal thoughts reported experiencing the urge to jump from the window of a tall building or from a bridge.

In effect, the study determined that there was a clear difference between an individual imagining the possibility of leaping from a high place and actually wanting to act on it. Bottom line, it’s a relatively normal feeling and not necessarily an indication you want to end your life.

And that’s a good thing I guess?

Remembering Billy Hahn

Back in early April I lost one the most amazing, loyal and caring friends I’ve ever known. It’s taken me a few months to write about him because every time I started it became too difficult to continue. After a few starts and stops I finally found my footing and finished my story of the incredible Billy Hahn . . .

I first met Billy Hahn back in the summer of 1985. I was an assistant coach at Greenfield McClain in southern Ohio and was working a basketball camp at Ohio University. Billy was an assistant coach under Danny Nee there. It seems hard to believe now but Billy was 32 and I was 29. We hit it off immediately and it was the beginning of a life-long friendship.

The next season Coach Nee left for Nebraska and Billy was named the new Ohio University Head Coach. Over Billy’s 3-years at OU I began going to games and practices all the time, and of course myself and my teams never missed his legendary summer camps. Southern Ohio coaches still talk about Billy’s camps and all the fun we had there. I still recall all the great coaches I met there, including Jay Rees, Carl Wolf, Rick Scarberry, Joe Pangrazio, Geno Ford, Fran Fraschilla, Jay Wolfe and many many more. Trust me, there were no other camps like them anywhere and Billy is still loved in Athens by many people to this day.

About the time Billy was let go at OU I was named Head Coach at Paint Valley High School. I recall sitting in The Pub in Athens with Billy having lunch and I asked him what his next step would be. He said he’d been offered something but it wasn’t official yet. Then it hit me – Gary Williams had just left Ohio State to take the job at his alma mater, the University of Maryland. I asked him if he was going to Maryland (Billy’s alma mater too) with Gary and he just turned, tapped his beer to the bottle in my hand and smiled.

This was all happening in early May, and Maryland’s summer camps were just around the corner, in late June. A week or so after that meeting in The Pub Billy called and asked if I’d help get that first Maryland camp off the ground. Long story short that first camp had probably 50 kids from several southern Ohio schools as well as 12 coaches that I’d recruited to go to College Park with me to help.

All this led a long relationship with the University of Maryland, Coach Gary Williams, and of course my friendship with Billy only grew stronger. Those Maryland Camps were incredible, just like OU’s had been.

While at Maryland Billy Hahn became one of the greatest college recruiters of all-time. During his coaching career he recruited Tony Massenburg, Jerrod Mustaf, Keith Booth, Sarunas Jasikevicius, Laron Profit, Terence Morris, Obinna Ekezie, Steve Francis, Chris Wilcox, Lonny Baxter, Steve Blake, and Juan Dixon from Maryland alone. At OU he’d recruited legends Paul “Snoopy” Graham and Dave Jamerson. At LaSalle he’d future NBA players Steven Smith and Rasual Butler. All told Billy recruited 27 NBA players in an amazing career.

From 1989 to 2002 I worked camps in College Park. I respect Gary Williams more than just about anybody, putting him right up there with Bob Huggins and Billy. After all, the man took a program at Maryland that was in shambles after the death of Len Bias in the late 1980s and led them to a National Title in 2002. It’s one of the most incredible rebuilding jobs in the history of college basketball. He retired with a 33-year record of 668-380 and was inducted into the College Basketball Hall of Fame in 2014.

Legend.

Of course, I coached at all those Maryland Camps solely because of my friendship with Billy. None of it would have ever happened without him. I was the Camp Commissioner, which basically meant I didn’t do much but sort of oversee everything that went on during the week and make sure everyone showed up and taught what Gary wanted taught. Why was a high school coach from a small southern Ohio high school given the cushiest job at camp, a job that was handed to me over around 60 other high school, college and international coaches from all over the Eastern Seaboard and beyond?

You guessed it. Billy Hahn.

And man, I fostered some long-term relationships there, meeting many amazing coaches who have gone on to success since then. Guys like Jimmy Patsos who assisted Gary and also coached at Loyola (MD) and Siena College, Dave Dickerson (went on to assist at Ohio State, HC at Tulane, HC at Upstate South Carolina and now Associate HC back at Ohio State), Mike Lonergan, (coached at the University of Vermont and George Washington University), and successful high school and college coaches such as Mike Glick (now at Meade HS in Maryland), Josh Pratt (Archbishop Spaulding in Maryland), Andy Sachs (Salisbury University and Chesapeake College), Louis Twigg (LaSalle, Bowling Green and others – now with the NBA Academy in China) among many others.

I also met Coach Paul Coughter, who was the National Coach of Greece at the time. Coach Coughter was instrumental in getting me involved with basketball on the Caribbean island of Montserrat, and for that I’ll always be grateful.

Who recommended me to Coach Coughter as his replacement to train players on the gorgeous island nation of Montserrat?

Billy Hahn.

In addition, I was lucky enough to meet amazing players like Joe Smith, Steve Francis, Lonnie Baxter, Steve Blake, Walt “The Wizard” Williams, and many many more. Guys like Manute Bol and Chris Webber used to show up for evening workouts back then too.

Some of my greatest experiences involved meeting former Terp legends like Mo Howard and Len Elmore. Those two gentlemen in particular couldn’t have been nicer to me.

Billy used to give me seats in Row 1 right behind the Maryland bench during those times, and since College Park was near Washington DC (and Maryland was really good) a lot of celebrities would be at the games. People like Carl Bernstein, Robert Novak, Tony Kornheiser, Scott Van Pelt (a UM alum), and Michael Wilbon, all sat near me. I once sat by Steve Bisciotti, the owner of the Baltimore Ravens and founder of Under Armor, for an entire half before somebody told me who he was. I also distinctly remember a guy sitting beside me once that I thought looked familiar, like a distant uncle or something. I said hello and as we chatted it hit me . . . I was talking to Johnny Unitas.

I saw some amazing games there, including several contests against Duke, North Carolina, and Kentucky. Incredible memories for sure.

I met some of the greats through Billy – Jay Wright, Mike Krzyzewski, Bob Knight, Roy Williams, Bobby Cremins, Larry Shyatt, Rick Pitino, John Calipari, Dean Smith, Terry Holland, Jim Calhoun, Bill Self, Rick Barnes, John Chaney, Jerry Tarkanian and countless others. I sat in their coach’s offices and watched their private practices and game day walk throughs. One call from Billy and their doors would open. The one thing all these coaches had in common was that they treated me with respect, simply because of this fact – if Billy liked me I was good enough for them.

In an incredibly lucky twist of fate for me, Billy was hired to coach with my friend Bob Huggins in 2007 at West Virginia after a 3-year stint at LaSalle. Not only did this change my 6 1/2 -hour trip to camp in College Park to a 3 1/2 hour trip to Morgantown, it changed my summer plans from working at the University of Cincinnati and the University of Maryland to one all inclusive camp in Morgantown.

It was perfect.

During Billy’s years in Morgantown I was lucky enough to meet players like Da’Sean Butler, Jevon Carter, Kevin Jones, Joe Alexander, Juwan Staten, Devin Ebanks, and Alex Ruoff. I also met people like current Interim coach Josh Eilers, Coach Ron Everhart and Coach Erik Martin. And yes, I had the pleasure of meeting WVU legends Fred Schaus, Hot Rod Hundley and the logo himself, my childhood hero Jerry West.

I could tell many stories from camp but I won’t, mainly because what happened in College Park and Morgantown needs to stay in College Park and Morgantown. Trust me on that one. Let’s just say I’m pretty sure Jimmy Patsos saved my life once, and local guys like Craig Kerns, Joe Holbert, Joe Wills, Daron Myers, Thad Haines, Dave Tallman, Roman Diekan, Eric Snyder, Jason Smith, Shayne Combs and John Snyder would probably pay me to keep my mouth shut. Just kidding. Maybe it wasn’t that bad.

Maybe.

Bottom line, absolutely none of this would have happened without my friend Billy Hahn. I wouldn’t have met all those amazing college, international and high school coaches, I’d never have met all those NBA players, and I’d never have gone to the Caribbean where I still have relationships with people to this day that I cherish.

It was all because of Billy. He believed in me as a coach and as a human being. Billy was a man that was woven deeply into the fabric of my life, and my life will never be the same without him.

If I had to name the one most important thing I learned from Billy Hahn, it’s that life is all about relationships. No matter what occupation you’re in, relationships always matter most in each and every one of them. Billy was also the epitome of a straight shooter who would, without fail, tell me exactly what he was thinking even if he thought I might not like it. You simply cannot put a price on that kind of honesty.

Now he’s gone, and a huge part of a lot of people’s hearts are too. His wife Kathi, his son Matty and his daughter Ashley lost their hero, and I lost mine too. But trust me, nobody will ever forget Billy Hahn. His impact was so strong and lasting that he’ll be remembered forever. Just try mentioning his name to anyone who knew him without getting a smile in return.

You can’t.

Anyone who knew Billy has heard him talk about the Basketball Gods. I’m guessing he’s with them now, and I can see them sitting around him in the bleachers in a gym somewhere, listening and laughing to his jokes and stories.

Rest in peace my brother, and say hello to everyone for me.

We’ll all be along soon.

Here Are 20 Dog Memes To Brighten Your Day

Plus one cat. Click to enlarge, then scroll. Also dogs, man.

Artists of the 1960s: The Top 10

Well, for me at least. I entered the 60s as a 4-year old listening to my Dad’s Al Martino records and left them rocking out to Led Zeppelin, The Doors and Creedence Clearwater Revival. And in between, of course . . . The Beatles. Hell of a decade for music, man, because the leap was incredible and music hasn’t changed so dramatically since. Narrowing down my list wasn’t easy, but nevertheless it was done. Without further ado . . .

The Beatles

Der. No brainer, kids. Everything you hear today owes something to The Beatles. John, Paul, George and Ringo were all individual talents in their own right. As a band they were the best ever and if you say otherwise I will fight you. Favorite song: Nowhere Man. Favorite album: Abbey Road.

The Beach Boys

Probably the most underrated band in rock history. The Boys are much, much more than songs about the beach, girls and fast cars. And Brian Wilson? Genius. Favorite song: Caroline, No. Favorite Album: Pet Sounds.

The Band

The Band had a unique, never duplicated sound. They were the greatest collection of musicians since The Beatles. Favorite song: Acadian Driftwood. Favorite album: Music From Big Pink.

Creedence Clearwater Revival

Swamp rock from a bunch of California boys, mainly John Fogerty. Again, a unique sound. Favorite song: Bad Moon Rising. Favorite album: Green River.

The Doors

Another band with an amazingly new and different sound, and the combination of Jim Morrison’s vocals and Ray Manzarek’s keyboards made it all happen. Favorite song: Touch Me. Favorite album: The Soft Parade.

Bob Dylan

The greatest rock poet ever, period. He changed the music world with his intelligent, thoughtful lyrics. Favorite song: Positively 4th Street. Favorite album: Highway 61 Revisited.

The Byrds

The favorite American band of The Beatles. Their jangly guitars were legendary and influenced future artists like Tom Petty and REM. Favorite song: Bells of Rhymney. Favorite album: Turn! Turn! Turn!

Led Zeppelin

When Zep released their first album it was pretty clear they brought a different vibe. By their fourth album and Stairway to Heaven they were legends. Favorite song: Battle of Evermore. Favorite album: Led Zeppelin IV.

The Who

LOVED The Who. They had the knack for combining hard rock with catchy melodies and hook-filled songs, not as easy task. Roger Daltrey’s voice and Pete Townsend’s guitar was one helluva combination. Favorite song: Won’t Get Fooled Again. Favorite album: Tommy.

Van Morrison

Van the Man brought a bluesy mood to 60s rock that was fresh and exciting. I heard Brown-Eyed Girl and I was done. Favorite song: Already told ya – Brown-Eyed Girl. Favorite album: Astral Weeks.

Special Mention:

The Animals

We Gotta Get Out of This Place rocked my world., and Eric Burdon’s voice is amazing.

The Rolling Stones

I’ve always liked but not loved The Stones. So shoot me.

Elvis Presley

I liked 50s Elvis (Hound Dog, Jailhouse Rock) mush better than 60s Elvis (Suspicious Minds, In the Ghetto).

Honorable Mention:

Crosby, Stills & Nash, 13th Floor Elevators, BeeGees, Jimi Hendrix, The Four Seasons, Gary Puckett & the Union Gap, the Grass Roots, Herman’s Hermits, Neil Young, The Rascals, The Hollies, The Righteous Brothers, The Guess Who, The Lovin’ Spoonful, Tommy James & the Shondells, Steppenwolf, Blood, Sweat & Tears, Buffalo Springfield, Stevie Wonder, Chuck Berry, The Yardbirds, Jefferson Airplane, Pink Floyd, Moody Blues, Janis Joplin, Johnny Cash, Velvet Underground, Sly & the Family Stone, The Kinks, Cream, Marvin Gaye.

So, I showed you mine. Now you show me yours.

A Prophetic Statement

Read the following statement. Although written 85-years ago, it could have been written yesterday.  Amazing. Read on . . .

We have developed speed but we have shut ourselves in:

Machinery that gives abundance has left us in want.

Our knowledge has made us cynical,

Our cleverness hard and unkind.

We think too much and feel too little:

More than machinery we need humanity;

More than cleverness we need kindness and gentleness.

Without these qualities, life will be violent and all will be lost.

– Charlie Chaplin, in the final scene of The Great Dictator (1940)

151-Years Later, The Joke Lands

Read this post on the worldwide interweb today. Good stuff.

“I found this text book from 1873 at a flea market and it’s super old school. On page 23 someone wrote in the margin ‘Look on page 150’. So, I go to page 150 and the person had written ‘You are a fool for looking’. Yep, some dead bro got me. Trolled me 151-years into the future. Good for him.”

Better late than never, man.

Here Are The 20 Greatest Music Moments In Film

You all know the deal. That moment in a film where someone breaks out into a song or maybe it’s during an action scene when some kick-ass rock song ups the ante. It can give you chills I tell ya. With that in mind, here are my Top 20 favorite scenes in film that involve music.

Let’s start with an absolute classic from the 60s, the opening scene to Easy Rider. This Steppenwolf song immediately sets the tone to an incredible movie. Fun Fact: The term “heavy metal” was first used in this song.

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Born To Be Wild – Easy Rider

Next up is the Vietnam intro during Forrest Gump. Written and sung by John Fogerty of CCR, the lyrics fit the scene perfectly.

Fortunate Son – Forrest Gump

Great scene from the 90s classic Reality Bites. The song is the 1979 hit by The Knack. Love it.

My Sharona – Reality Bites

Ah, one of the last scenes from Back to the Future where Marty McFly breaks out Johnny B. Goode to a gym full of 1950s students who’ve never heard Rock and Roll. Timeless. See what I did there? Timeless? Never mind.

Johnny B Goode – Back to the Future

No respectable blog about music in movies would be complete without the boys from Wayne’s World singing Bohemian Rhapsody as they cruise down the street in their AMC Pacer.

Bohemian Rhapsody – Wayne’s World

Hell yes I’m including a Beatles song, especially since it’s my favorite scene in Ferris Bueller’s Day Off. When Ferris disappears and then reappears on a float lip syncing to John Lennon, well, it’s pure magic.

Twist and Shout – Ferris Bueller’s Day Off

I like The Kingsman movies, and this fight scene with Free Bird playing in the background is somehow a perfect mix.

Free Bird – Kingsman

Loved this scene so much. The Blues Brothers are playing a country bar and the crowd isn’t into blues at all. Not knowing much about country music, the boys play the only country song they know – the theme to the 1960s classic TV show Rawhide. Of course it works.

Rawhide – Blues Brothers

When Joel Goodsen’s parents leave town he has the house to himself. It was after this scene when things start to go askew.

Old Time Rock and Roll – Risky Business

Anchorman is one of my favorite comedies of all-time, and when the crew kicked into the Starland Vocal Band’s 1976 hit Afternoon Delight it was movie magic.

Afternoon Delight – Anchorman

From another great 70’s comedy, Animal House, here’s fictional band Otis Day and the Knights version of the classic song Shout. A definite highlight of the movie.

Shout – Animal House

Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid made my Top 20 movies of all-time list, and this scene where Butch is taking Sundance’s girlfriend for a spin on a bicycle is great. BJ Thomas’s hit song just adds to the vibe.

Raindrops Keep Falling On My Head- Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid

From one of the most disturbing films I’ve ever seen, this scene from the beginning of the movie shows one of the main characters jamming with a local kid. Turns out the kid is pretty damn good.

Dueling Banjos – Deliverance

Another movie that I absolutely loved. Just like this scene, it’s a dark, twisted movie about a serial killer. Somehow, hearing Huey Lewis sing as a man is hatcheted to death fits my weird sense of humor.

Hip To Be Square – American Psycho

A classic 80s movie fo sho, The Breakfast Club is about a group of students serving Saturday detention. Being a John Hughes movie, of course there had to be a dance scene. This one is great.

We Are Not Alone – Breakfast Club

Flashdance was another great movie from the 80s, this scene came at the end of the movie when the poor girl from the streets of Pittsburgh performs for the folks judging her to see if she’s good enough to join a hoity toity dance troupe. Jennifer Beals was amazing as the dancer, and Irene Cara’s song fit perfectly.

What a Feeling – Flashdance

Quite simply my favorite song ever. I have covers by Eric Clapton, Me First and the Gimme Gimmes and Israel Kamakawiwo’ole. However, nothing really tops the original.

Somewhere Over the Rainbow – The Wizard of Oz

Finally, here’s Ducky from Pretty in Pink lip syncing to Otis Redding’s Try a Little Tenderness. Classic scene, plus any movie with Molly Ringwald is worth a watch.

Try a Little Tenderness – Pretty in Pink

Here Are Rock ‘n’ Roll’s 10 Most Famous Urban Legends

Paul McCartney Died In The 60s

Well, if it’s true whoever replaced him was awfully damn talented. Click below to examine the whole Paul Is Dead phenomenon:

Turn Me On Dead Man: The Great Paul McCartney Death Hoax

Stevie Wonder Isn’t Blind

Oh yeah, this one has been around for years, and noted level head Shaquille O’Neal swears it’s true. What say you? Is it true that Stevie Wonder Isn’t Blind? There are a few fascinating clues.

Mike D Of The Beastie Boys Was Screech From Saved By The Bell

This one’s been around forever, and there’s another variation that says they’re brothers. Truth – they are neither. Both have the last name Diamond, hence fueling the rumors. Also RIP Dustin Diamond.

Marilyn Manson Is Actually Paul From The Wonder Years

Was Marilyn Manson on TV in his younger days? The internet slueths say he was that nerd Paul Pfeiffer on The Wonder Years. Although Josh Saviano certainly looks like a young Marilyn, it wasn’t him. Nice try interner slueths.

Pink Floyd’s Dark Side of The Moon Syncs With The Movie The Wizard Of Oz

Oh hell yes it does. I’ve seen it, and you can too by clicking here – Dark Side of the Rainbow. Chilling I tell ya.

Elvis Was In The Movie Home Alone

Whadaya think? Was Elvis In Home Alone? Because damn that looks like Elvis. Also, just Google “Is Elvis Alive” to see a ton of photos that are purportedly The King living the good life in Venezuela, Argentina, Ibiza and a hundred other places.

A Woman Was Murdered While The Ohio Players Were Recording Love Rollercoaster

I remember hearing this one in high school, and yes, that certainly is a bloodcurdling scream (and nobody wants their blood curdled, amirite?). Anyway, legend has it that a woman was murdered in an ajoining room during the recording of the song. Alas, it was just keyboardist Billy Beck letting off some steam.

Jim Morrison Is Alive

This one goes all the way back to the weeks after Morrison died, and it stems from a few things. First of all, he’d mentioned faking his death a few times. Said he wanted to live peacefully as a poet. Secondly, he was facing prosecution in Florida so a new start would’ve been a nice play on his part. Thirdly, only a couple people were at the funeral or actually saw the body. So, did Mr. Mojo actually rise like he sang in that song?

Tupac Shakir Is Alive

Hell, he’s spotted a gazillion times. Here are just the Top Ten. Then again, it seems like a lot of people have that Tupac look.

Phil Collins’ Song In the Air Tonight Is About The Time Phil Watched Someone Let A Man Drown

This one stems from a line in the song that says, “Well, if you told me you were drowning
I would not lend a hand.” Yeah, I don’t get it either. Anywho, Phil says the rumor is balderdash so there.

Charles Manson Auditioned For The Monkees

Love this one. Although Charles Manson’s connection to the Los Angeles rock scene of the late ’60s, through his friendships with Dennis Wilson of the Beach Boys and Byrds producer Terry Melcher, is well-documented, he did not audition for the Monkees. According to Snopes’ research, Manson was incarcerated at McNeil Island, Wash., when the show was cast in September 1965 and wasn’t released until March 1967. Damn.

So there ya go. Weird Rock ‘n’ Roll urban myths. Say hello to Elvis for me, will ya?

The Four Major Mysteries of Our World

Admit it. It’s 2024, and we should know pretty much everything about the world we live in, right?

Wrong.

The truth is we’re just beginning to understand the world around us, not to mention the world outside us, as in space. For now however, let’s stick to good old planet earth. What follows are four of the most amazing unknown mysteries of this home we call planet earth . . .

Unclimbed Mountains

In the 162 years since mountaineering became popular, we’ve climbed most of the world’s greatest peaks. Everest, K2, and Mt. Kilimanjaro have been conquered repeatedly, as have hundreds of others that most of us have never heard of. Hell, climbing Everest has become something of a joke, as it’s basically a guided Sherpa tour these days. Still, we’re still a long, long way from getting to the summit of every mountain on earth. The fact is that there are infinitely more unclimbed mountains than there are climbed ones. That means there are hundreds of mountains that have never, ever been climbed or seen by a human being. Amazing really.

Unknown Animal Species

Consider this:

In 1972, some biologist named Jennifer Owen began to document the species that she found roaming around her suburban garden. By the time 40-years had passed, she’d noted over 8,000 species, 20 of which had never before been seen in England. And of those 20, four were completely new to science. Without leaving her home, Owen had documented four entirely new species.

Yep. That happened.

This little anecdote demonstrates how little we really know about the species with which we share our planet. There’s such a mind-bogglingly large number of creatures out there that people are stumbling over completely new ones all the time, often in the strangest places. As amazing as Owen’s finds were, they’re not even the most improbable. Dave Ebert, a scientist living in Taiwan, has found 24 new species of shark just by browsing his local fish market.

Mind-boggling indeed.

Factoid: Over the last year a new species of bat, dolphin and shark were discovered. Surprised yet?

Here’s the deal – by one 2024 estimate, the number of undocumented species on Earth stands at 7.5 million. At the time that estimate was made, we’d only cataloged 1.2 million. That means that up to 90% of marine species and 86% of land species could be utterly unknown to science.

Unknown Plant Species

Biologists have described and classified 1.9 million plants and animals as of 2024, less than one-quarter of the total species estimated in the world. Scientists figure there are still well over five million species waiting to be found.

And I’ve written about this before, but I need to include it here as well. Roughly 50% of all pharmaceuticals we use today are derived from the earth’s plants. Not that surprising. However, we’ve only fully examined and tested 10-15% of the world’s plants. What exists in the other 85-90% of the plants we haven’t studied? Cures for cancer or other diseases? That’s one hell of a reason for saving our rainforests and other plant life, correct?

This information reminded me of something a very old Montserratian woman told me once. She said that the cure for any disease can be found in plant or animal life right here on earth because the earth created them, and that we just haven’t found them yet. Makes sense when you think about it.

Unexplored Caves

Followers of Shoe: Untied are an educated lot, so you all know that most of the Earth’s oceans remain unexplored. However, there are places right below us that we don’t really know about either. Beneath our feet are literally thousands upon thousands of caves that no human being has ever set foot in. These subterranean worlds aren’t even in the minority. One estimate by National Geographic put the number of undiscovered caves at 90% of the planet’s total.

It’s sort of chilling to learn that the vast majority of caves are hidden, with no visible entrances at ground level. Even in a region of the world as mapped and meticulously explored as the USA, it’s thought that only 50% of our caves have likely been found.

This means that all of those grand, crystal-filled caverns you occasionally see photos of online or those big tourist attractions like Old Man’s Cave might only be the tip of the iceberg.

There’s a whole undiscovered world down there, a lightless place cut off from the surface for centuries, perhaps millennia. Good God man, there’s no telling what’s down there. Maybe some of those unknown animal species?

And as I mentioned before, we haven’t even begun to study the ocean. Not really. Hell, we can’t even get down there. The Mariana Trench alone (off the coast of Japan) is nearly 7-miles deep, man! Maybe Godzilla is down there.

Cool Animal of the Day: The Snow White Yak

Check out that Snow White Yak, man. Just yakin’ like you read about. It’s a regular Yak accept it has pure white hair. So cool. The yak, also known as the Tartary Ox (meh), Grunting Ox (cool), or Hairy Cattle (also cool), is a species of long-haired domesticated cattle found throughout the Himalayan region of South Asia, the Tibetan Plateau, Gilgit-Baltistan, Tajikistan and as far north as Mongolia and Siberia. It is descended from the wild yak. Anywho, Snow White Yak.

[for more cool animals, type “Cool Animal” into the search box over yonder]

Click on photo to see it in its entirety.

Apparently I Have Issues With What People Are Naming Their Kids

So I got a rather mean email from a fan after she read some of my stuff regarding baby names. According to her it’s none of my damn business what people name their babies, and that’s sort of difficult to argue with, except I will anyway.

See, I feel it’s my place as the voice of reason in this crazy-ass, mixed-up world to also be the voice for all the Draydens, Jaydiens, Apples, Moxies and Bryars out there. Someone has to speak up for the kids, damn it!

Can’t you see? By the time you add up all the seconds these kids will have had to spell out their names to every person on the phone, at a hotel, or just as a part of everyday life in general they’re going to waste months of their lives, maybe years. Stop it man! You know how many times I’ve had to spell out Dave to somebody? The answer is zero. Same for every Steve, Sam or Jack out there. On a related note, my friend and former student Molly and her husband named their baby Max, thus saving him an extra 3 1/2 years of his life because he won’t have to spell it for people constantly.

And oh, by the way, the complainer’s name was Smyrna, which I thought may have been of some significance. I mean, growing up as a Smyrna wouldn’t you be sensitive to poorly chosen names? But n-o-o-o-o, Smyrna chose to direct her ire towards me rather than mom and pop.

With all this in mind I perused the archives of Shoe: Untied and, sure enough, I’ve written a few blogs regarding modern baby names. In honor of Smyrna I shall reprint them below, because I think they’re pretty funny. Please excuse the fact that I repeated myself a couple times. These baby names get me all befuddled and whatnot.

And remember, it’s for the kids! We’ll begin with the blog that started it all . . .

NEW AMERICAN BABY NAMES. YOU CAN’T MAKE THIS STUFF UP. THEN AGAIN, MAYBE YOU CAN.

I was skimming through a magazine at the dentist’s office the other day and ran across an article about new American baby names. I think it’s a pretty well-known fact that Americans have pretty much lost their collective minds when it comes to naming children. It used to be pretty easy, just name the kid John or Robert or Mary or Sally and move on.

Oh, we had the nutjobs in the ’70s like Frank Zappa who named his kids Dweezil and Moon Unit, but overall it was pretty simple. My best friends as a kid? Dave, Tom, Ted, Mel and Jeff. Today? No, it has to be something completely unique, something nobody else has ever used. For the love of God, Gwyneth Paltrow named her kid Apple. I assume Banana is next, followed by Grape or maybe Muskmelon?

Jeebus.

Here are some recent samples I found online, followed by my biting commentary. Let’s start with the boys:

Blayde. They must think the added “y” really puts it over the top. I’m assuming they’ll name the next boy Nyfe? Or maybe Daggir? Mashetty? Sabre? Shank? Good Lord. Wait. What about Shiv?

Note: I actually sort of like Shiv.

Sketch. Really? What, Doodle wasn’t available?

Draven. Really? Aren’t you pretty much guaranteeing your kid take up Black Magic and become a witch or warlock if you name him/her Draven?

Diesel. As you may or may not have read, I had a kindergartner a couple years ago named Diesel who was the epitome of cool. Until he shat his pants, of course. After that, not so much. If your name is Diesel you’d better be able to back it up.

Izander. Izander? Sounds like someone from the Land of Ize.

Jaydien. Here’s what bothers me about Jaydien. The extra “y” and “i”. Totally unnecessary. Like I mentioned, the kid’s going to have to spell the name out every time he checks into a hotel or gives it to someone over the phone.

Zaiden. Of course we have Zaiden. Next will come Zayden. Or Zaydien, as in Jaydien.

Sigh. Enough of the dumb boy names. The girl names can’t be so pretentious, can they? Can they? Oh God . . .

Brook’Lynn. Apparently the apostrophe is a new trend. What’s next, Me’Gan? Kel’Le?

Luxx. This is the epitome of the horrible “new” baby names. Luxx. Sounds like a nemesis of Superman or maybe a brand of sweeper.

Copelia. I have a good line for this one but I can’t pull the trigger.

Fallyn. Sounds like an angel that has fallen from grace or something. Just depressing.

Tybee. This sounds like a late night infomercial brand name. Get the new Tybee Fruit Juicer Now! One-time offer only!

Joplyn. Being a classic rock fan, this one isn’t so bad save for the fact they misspelled it. It’s Joplin, dummies. In fact, I think a family of Joplin, Jimi, Morrison, and Croce would be pretty cool if you ignore the fact that they were all named after people who died before they were 30.

Jerrika. Presumably has a father named Jerry and a mother named Erika? If my parents used that logic I’d be named Ralphthryn or Kalph.

There were a lot more but I’m becoming too depressed to include them. But seriously, folks, don’t be afraid to go old school with the baby names. There is nothing wrong with naming a kid Max, Sam, Jack, even David. My general advice would be to keep it simple, but what the hell do I know? Do what makes you happy, but remember there are no guarantees I won’t make fun of you.

But seriously, COPELIA?

DUMB BABY NAMES, PART II

I think I’ve made my feelings clear regarding the new baby-naming trend, and those feelings are that I hate it.  To wit . . .

How about the names celebrities have given their poor kids? Check these out:

Kal-El. Yes kids, Nicholas Cage named his son after Superman.

Moxie Crimefighter.  This is the name given to Penn Jillette’s daughter. Penn Jillette is a magician, and by the time Moxie is 12-years old I’m guessing she’ll want daddy to disappear. You know, for cursing her with that ridiculous name.

Pilot Inspektor is actor Jason Lee’s kid, whoever that is. Here’s a hint for ya, Jason. If you type a name and spellcheck puts that squiggly line under it, it’s probably a stupid name. I actually looked this up, and Inspektor is Swedish for inspector. That tells me nothing other than that Jason Lee is an idiot.

Blue Ivy. Yep, Jay-Z and Beyoncé named their kid Blue Ivy. Sounds like a trendy restaurant those Hollywood types would go to. I can hear it now. “Hey, I hear the Gluten-Free Panna Cotta at the Blue Ivy is fabulous.”

Rainbow. Actually, probably not a bad choice for that Playboy chick Holly Madison’s baby, since Holly’s fame is sure to be rainbow-like. And by rainbow-like I mean short-lived and shaped like an arc.

Bob Geldolf, lead singer of the Boomtown Rats and Live Aid organizer? He named his kid Fifi Trixibelle. That’s right. Fifi wasn’t enough. He then followed it up with another Toy Poodle name, Trixibelle.

David Duchovny and Tea Leoni named their kid . . . Kyd. Good Lord. Kyd? Why not Baybee? Chylde? Yungin? Anklebyter? Infynt? Whyppyrsnappyr? OK, I’m just rambling now. Sorry.

Bono, lead singer of U2, has named his son Memphis Eve. Yep, his boy is named for the night before Memphis. I don’t get it either.

Actor Rob Morrow named his kid Tu. Get it? Tu Morrow? What’s next, someone with the last name of Day calling their kid Yester?

On a related note, sorry Smyrna.

In closing, I found this online recently and I dare you to try and pronounce Zerachiel. See? You can’t. Case closed.

Here Are 15 Names That Have Been Ruined Forever

So I was was sitting around last night when my mind wandered to another weird place. Shocking I know.

Anyway, that weird place, once again (click that link for more fun and frivolity), was how we’ve changed regarding how we’ve named our babies over the years. That was an awkward sentence but whatever. Hopefully all will become clear as you forge ahead in spite of my inability to explain what the hell I’m writing. By the way, you can blame the internet for a lot of this. Read on . . .

Adolf

See what I’m getting at now? Adolf used to be a popular name, man. Then some idiot that started World War II and was central to the perpetration of the genocide of about six million Jews and millions of other victims went and ruined it all. Asshole.

Karen

I hate this one. You see, my sister Karen passed away in 2018 and was one of the best people I’ve ever known. Shortly thereafter, somebody began calling crazy dramatic women “Karens” and ruined the name for Karens everywhere. Sorry Karens.

Kermit

Again, I knew a Kermit and he was a good dude. However, he was born before that damn Jim Henson decided to name his frog puppet Kermit. Henceforth, and because nobody wants a kid named after a famous Muppet, the name Kermit has vanished from society. Sad really.

Isis

Isis was a pretty popular name for years, especially in the Middle East. There are women in the USA with the name as well. It actually refers to an Egyptian deity. She was a goddess, the ideal mother and wife and patroness of nature and magic! Then a bunch of terrorists went and named themselves ISIS (after the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria) and messed it up for all good people named Isis far and wide.

Alexa

Do companies like Amazon ever take the time to ponder how what they name their devices will effect actual human beings of the same name? Who would name their baby Alexa now? If you had an Amazon Alexa in your home you couldn’t even talk to your Alexa. “Hey Alexa, time for a bath” and then all hell would break loose. Geez.

Siri

See Alexa.

Lolita

Lolita was a perfectly delightful girl’s name at one time. Then in the mid 1950s a certain American writer of Russian origins named Vladimir Nabokov gave the name to a certain book he wrote, a book about a young girl named Lolita. Lolita goes on an “adventure” with a much older man and the name has been so infamous ever since that Lolita has become shorthand for “the last thing any father or mother wants their daughter to become.” Sigh.

Katrina

Damn hurricanes ruin everything.

Alvin

You know Alvin. The chipmunk. After Alvin and the Chipmunks became popular in the early 60s nobody wanted to name their kid after a rodent.

Judas

Der. The guy betrayed Jesus. Other than that I’m sure he was a swell guy.

Ebenezer

Hey, I like the name Ebenezer. Has a nice ring to it. But nobody wants to name their child after a cold-hearted miser who despises Christmas. Note: I once played then ghost of Jacob Marley in a 4th grade class play and I was spectacular.

Bertha

Bertha was a perfectly serviceable name until the Nazis named one of their howitzers Big Bertha and screwed that all to hell. Then Callaway names a golf club Big Bertha but the damage had been done.

Honorable Mentions include Mario (clearly), Elvis (nobody compares to The King, don’t do it parents), Damien (thanks to the movie The Omen everyone is reminded of the Anti-Christ), Felicia (bye Felicia), Jolene (damn it Dolly!), Hannibal (thanks Silence of the Lambs), and Waldo (der).

Special Mention: Dick and Fanny (I’ll withhold comment).

Bonus Damien video!

Celebrities And Their Lookalikes From The Past Are Fascinatingly Disturbing

Yikes. What follows are photos of famous people and old photos of people who look like them, and it is freaky as all get-out. Take a look.

[click on the photos for a large view]

Justin Timberlake & Some Dude in an Old Mugshot

John Travolta & Unknown Man from the 1860’s

Jimmy Fallon & Turkish Revolutionist Mahir Cayan

Nicholas Cage & Another Dude from the 1860’s

Jay-Z & An Unknown Man in Harlem

Screech & Joseph Pulitzer

Here Are 20 Dogs That Are Absolute Units

Big, good boys. Click and scroll dog lovers!

Mannequins and Clowns and Dolls, Oh My! Oh, and Puppets and Rats Too

Hey, we all have our fears, right? I saw a woman on Maury Povich once that was deathly afraid of pickles, although I think she may have been an actress and Maury was just havin’ some fun with us. In any event, the Top 10 Fears of the general public, according to surveys, are as follows:

1. FLYING

What? I’d love to be able to fly. I’d just soar to the beach like a boss, landing on mountaintops and stuff on the way. Why should we be scared of  . . . oh, you mean in airplanes? Never mind. That can be scary as hell at times, although flying is really one of my favorite things to do.

2. PUBLIC SPEAKING

Never got this one at all. I actually enjoy public speaking. Not sure if my public enjoys me speaking though.

3. HEIGHTS

Yeah, not crazy about heights either. I get all dizzy and whatnot. My trip to the top of Empire State building in 1989 did not go well, and is still spoken of in hushed tones by those in attendance. On a related note, Hitchcock’s “Vertigo” was a helluva movie.

4. THE DARK

O-o-o-o-h, THE DARK. What ‘s so scary about the dark? I’m a night owl, always have been. Something about the cover of darkness that appeals to me. Not sure I wanna know what that says about me though. In addition, I promise I’m not a window peeper or a serial killer or anything. I just love the night. To me, the ultimate date would include a 2:00 a.m. walk on the beach.

5. INTIMACY

Wait. What? Who doesn’t like intimacy? I’m all about the intimacy. I do not get it. I’m flummoxed, befuddled, bewildered, stupefied, dumbfounded and confused.*

* Thesaurus.com is a wonderful tool.

6. DEATH

I mean, nobody wants to die, but I don’t really think about dying that much. On the other hand, I’ve written two blogs about dying over the past years. Disregard. This does remind me of an interesting occurrence though. Once, while teaching a writing class, I asked a group of 8th graders to write about what it would be like to live forever. To my surprise nearly all of them wrote that it would be a horrible curse to never die. I found that to be extremely interesting and somewhat telling.

7. FAILURE

I don’t think I’ve ever felt afraid of failing. Not sure why.

8. REJECTION

Tough one here. Sure, nobody likes to be rejected but I don’t really fear it. I’ve never not taken the leap of faith for fear of being rejected. That’s no way to live, is it?

9. SPIDERS

Nah, not afraid of spiders at all. Spiders are cool. If I find one in the house I sometimes take it outside and release it into the wild. Spiders do great things for us dumb humans, don’tcha know?

10. COMMITMENT

Oh God. S-o-o-o-o, how about those Bengals, huh? I think we can go places again if our O-Line starts to jell. And we always have Ohio State, amirite? O-H!!

With these in mind I thought I’d discuss some of my own fears. They say it’s good for the soul to talk about it, and Lord knows my soul could use some cleansing. So, here we go. By the way, you may notice a trend. Drumroll please . . .

1. CLOWNS

Hate ‘em, always have. They’re frightening looking and they’re not funny. I always wonder what’s lurking under all that make-up. It didn’t help when I found out that notorious serial killer John Wayne Gacy worked as a party clown in his spare time, just humoring and entertaining the kiddies. You know, right before the dismembering and stuff. And Ronald McDonald? Nightmarish.

I’ve seen this guy. In my dreams.

2. MANNEQUINS

Just chilling.

I just got chills typing that. They watch you when you walk by, you know that, right? I mean they actually turn their heads. Anyway, many years ago I had a date with a girl who worked in the Macy’s perfume department at a mall in Columbus. I was supposed to pick her up after store hours. The plan was for her to leave the front door unlocked at a predetermined time and I’d mosey on in to get her. Great plan, except not really. I walked into a bad dream. The only lights on were those emergency kind way back and high on the walls, creating a sort of shadowy effect throughout the store. The mannequins were all dark silhouettes, and I swear one reached out and tried to grab me as I walked briskly by. OK, I was running like a 12-year old girl chasing Ed Sheeran’s limo. Anyway, once I found my date I was fine, if you don’t count the profuse sweating, hyperventilating and shaking. And not once did she ask why I kept looking over my shoulder on the way out.

3. DOLLS

She’s looking at YOU.

I grew up with two older sisters and their dolls were horrifying. Especially the older ones with the porcelain faces who would just cold stare at you like a demon from the underworld. Jeepers. And the talking dolls? Sweet Mother of God they were scary. Now that I think of it, this may all stem from that old Twilight Zone episode called “Talking Tina” where the doll ended up killing that dude. I watched it and was obviously scarred for life. It’s weird, but the “Chuckie” movies never bothered me at all, they actually seemed funny to me. It’s the regular dolls that are the worst. The kind that watch you walk across the room.

4. PUPPETS

Not the little hand puppets, but the big ones that sit on the ventriloquist’s knee while he controls them with his hand up their ass. Just chilling to look at. I also hate the puppets that are controlled by strings. Something about their jerky movements and, again, those lifeless eyes. Just pure terror. And Howdy Doody? Creepy.

5. RATS

I know what you’re thinking. This guy had a gerbil he loved, what’s up? Well, all I can say is gerbils and mice are way different than rats. Hell, I have no problem with snakes or bats either. Got bit by a bat once, but that’s for another story. Rats though? Not so much. Maybe it goes back to my childhood when I went out to feed our pony one morning before school. I popped the top of the 50-gallon drum full of oats and reached in to grab what I thought was the scoop to fill Thunder’s feed bin. Wrong. I grabbed a big ol’ rat. It made some hellish screeching noise and leaped about 37-feet straight up, trying to bite my nose off on its ascent. Well, it seemed like 37-feet. Maybe it was 3? Anyway, I nearly wet my pants so maybe that’s where my fear of rats began. If it wasn’t then it certainly would have began years later when I was coaching high school hoops. Back then I had to walk from my office way down by the gym all the way up to the high school office in order to call in my stats  and interviews to the newspaper and radio. Anyway, after making my calls I was heading back down the long hallway, just minding my own business. Suddenly and without warning, a giant rat comes flying around a corner, just hurtling toward me full throttle. That in itself would have been nightmare inducing enough, right? But n-o-o-o-o, there’s more. This rat was jacked up, man. Methinks it had been in the rat poison because this rat wasn’t right. It was bouncing off the walls, rolling over occasionally while every once in awhile standing up on its back feet, wobbling unsteadily. And oh yeah, it was making a noise that sounded as if it emanated from the depths of hell. At that point I froze for a second, then turned and headed for the front exit before this beast leaped up, ripped a vein out of my neck and killed me. Sorry for the dramatics but I was traumatized. Still am. Hence the fear of rats.

So there ya go. I know, I have issues. Still, I opened my soul to you, my innermost fears laid bare for the masses. I know that you, too, have some things you’re afraid of, and here’s your chance to let it all out in the comments section. Let’s do this!

PS- I also fear being made fun of, so take it easy on me.

The All-Time Best, and Worst, Sports Nicknames in History

I’ve always been a nickname guy and have probably given out hundreds over the years, many of which have stuck, in some cases unfortunately. After all, there are grown men walking around still being referred to as “Egg,” “Tweet” and “Weiner” to this day, all thanks to me. And how I got away with christening a little girl “Grinch Dog” and her parents not coming after me with a ball bat is still a mystery to me.

Sorry everyone.

For some reason, sports has been a hotbed of nicknames for over a hundred years. Some of the nicknames are really cool, some not so much. As a nod to you, my loyal readers, I shall now list my favorite and not so favorite nicknames. Let us begin with the worst . . .

THE WORST NICKNAMES IN SPORTS HISTORY

Randy “The Big Unit” Johnson

Alright, let’s get the obvious out there right away. Somebody called a guy with the last name of Johnson “The Big Unit”? That’s just wrong. Somebody, somewhere had a weird sense of humor.

Larry “Grandmama” Johnson

Larry “Grandmama” Johnson

Larry Johnson was a basketball player who played for UNLV and then went on to play for the Knicks. He got the name because of a press campaign in which he dressed like a woman, which was supposed to be his grandmother. In addition to being a lame idea, it was borderline horrifying, as is obvious in that photo right there. Yikes.

Andrei “AK-47” Kirilenko

Because he wore #47. Get it? AK-47? Yeah, I agree. Dumb.

Glen “Big Baby” Davis

This name was given to him because he was a big fat guy who cried a lot. No word on how often he sucked his thumb or pooped his pants.

Tony “The Croatian Sensation” Kukoc

This name is 50% correct. He was Croatian.

Adam “Pacman” Jones

If you had a nice All-American name like Adam, why in the world would you go by Pacman? Who wants to be named after a made-up creature from a 1980’s video game?

Robert “RG3” Griffin III

Get it, RG3? See, the problem with these types of nicknames are that they’re way too easy. Same for Chris Paul, who wears #3 and goes by the name CP3. Too convenient, too stupid.

Chris “C-Webb” Webber

The deal where they take the first letter of the  first name and shorten the last name is overused and worn out. A-Rod is another one. B-o-o-o-o-ring.

“Chipper” Jones

Anyone over the age of 12 who still goes by the name of “Chipper” should be punched in the throat. Then again, his real name is Larry, so there’s that.

LeBron “The King” James

There is one reason and one reason only why this is a bad nickname for LeBron – he gave it to himself. Unacceptable.

Anfernee “Penny” Hardaway

Penny? Really? Hardaway was supposed to see the next Michael Jordan. That didn’t quite pan out, but we’re still left with the eternal question – what would be worse for a dude, going by the name Anfernee or Penny?

Carlton “Pudge” Fisk

Ivan Rodriguez also went by the name “Pudge”, which isn’t exactly the most flattering nickname in the world. Especially when you’re a world class athlete. Jeebus.

Yep, that’s The Worm.

Dennis “The Worm” Rodman

Although entirely fitting, it doesn’t exactly illicit warm and fuzzy feelings about the dude.

But enough of the bad nicknames, let’s get to the good ones . . .

THE BEST NICKNAMES IN SPORTS HISTORY

Earl “The Pearl” Monroe

This nickname was perfect. Earl Monroe was a smooth, dazzling ballhandler and scorer. He was the one and only Pearl.

Earvin “Magic” Johnson

When you actually go by your nickname in everyday life you know you have a good one. Not only did this name fit perfectly, everybody calls him that (save for Michael Wilbon who calls him Earvin because he’s a pretentious jock-sniffer). But man, if you ever saw Magic play, well, he was magic.

Nicola “The Joker” Jokic

Love this nickname for the greatest player in the NBA today.

“Pistol” Pete Maravich

The Pistol. He was a gunner and a ballhandling and passing wizard. There’s only been one Pistol, and that was the original Pistol Pete. By the way, The Pistol was way ahead of his time.

The Pistol.

“Broadway” Joe Namath

He played pro football for the NY Jets, he loved the bright lights, and he was a star. Great, great nickname. And so very fitting.

Pete “Charlie Hustle” Rose

If anyone ever earned a nickname, it was Pete Rose. He ran full-speed to first base after a walk, sprinted to his spot when taking the field, and once broke a catcher’s collarbone after running him over in an All-Star game. Also happens to be baseball’s all-time hit leader, earning him another fitting  nickname – “The Hit King.” My favorite baseball player ever, and the Hall of Fame means nothing without him.

Julius “Dr. J” Erving

Ah, The Doctor. Dr. J operated with calculated precision against his opponents. Smooth, deadly and silent. One of the best nicknames ever, period. Plus, many of his peers actually called him “Doc”.

Wilt “The Big Dipper” Chamberlain

Make no mistake. Nobody referred to Wilt as “The Stilt” unless you were in the media. Why? Because he hated it. He did like “The Big Dipper” or “The Dipper”, however. And what Wilt wanted, Wilt usually got. Read his book “A View from Above” and that statement will make much more sense.

Michael “Air” Jordan

Although this was a great nickname, it wasn’t a name actually used when talking to Jordan. It was more of a media thing created to sell shoes. Nobody ever said, “Hey Air, what’s shakin’?” Still an iconic name, however.

Jack “The Assassin” Tatum

Jack “The Assassin” Tatum

I love this nickname given to former Ohio State and Oakland Raider football player Jack Tatum, because if you watched him play you knew he was actually trying to kill you. In my opinion he was the baddest mofo to ever play the game. Yeah, I know he was the guy who hit Daryl Stingley so hard he was paralyzed for life, but I always thought he got a bad rap for that hit. Jack Tatum was badass.

George “The Iceman” Gervin

If you ever saw George play you know that this nickname was PERFECT. He was long, smooth as silk, and never, ever got rattled. The Iceman indeed. Oh, and his finger-roll was perfecto.

Eldrick “Tiger” Woods

Again, as iconic a nickname as there’s ever been in sports. Not only did he burst onto the staid golf scene like a bat out of hell in the late 90’s, he had a nickname that had pizzazz as well. And yes, I just used the word pizzazz.

Reggie “Mr. October” Jackson

Reggie was one of my favorite players because he was at his best when his team needed it the most, hence the nickname. Bottom line, as a major league baseball player there’s no more complimentary name than “Mr. October.”

Note: Back in the late 90’s Reggie was asked how many home runs he’d hit in today’s game, when guys like McGwire and Sosa were hitting 60+ homers per year. Reggie answered, “Oh, probably 50 or 55.” Is that all, the reporter asked? “What do you expect?” replied Reggie. “I’m 53-years old.”

“Iron” Mike Tyson

OK kids, go to YouTube and check out Mike Tyson’s early career. After doing so you will have no questions regarding this nickname. His other nickname? “The Baddest Man on the Planet.” ‘Nuff said.

Muhammad “The Greatest” Ali

Well, this nickname certainly says it all, no? Simple and to the point. Nothing more needs to be said. “The Greatest.” And he was.

The Babe.

George Herman “Babe” Ruth

Yep, I saved the absolute best for last. The Babe. Somehow, this moniker was the perfect fit for baseball’s greatest player. All you have to do is say it, “The Babe”, and nearly every single person on earth knows who you’re talking about. Hell, if he played today he’d be saddled with “G-Ru” or something moronic like that.

When did we lose our originality and creativity?

You know, I think if you are actually referred to by your nickname it adds credence to how great the nickname is. For instance, of all the nicknames mentioned above only a few are used as the athletes regular name rather than his given one by his peers. Those are Magic, Tiger, Babe, and sometimes Doc (as in Dr. J).  For that reason alone I rate those four as the best of the best.

So, sports fans, who did I miss? Lemme hear it!

PS- Also, some athlete’s names are so perfect they need no nickname. Think Usain Bolt or baseball’s Vida Blue. Can’t beat those originals.

Regrets, I’ve Had a Few: Missing One of the Greatest Moments in Sports History

Hey, we all have regrets, right? Dumb things we’ve done that we wish we could do over? God knows I do. What follows is one of the dumbest decisions I ever made, not including relationship mistakes of course. If I included those this one would be knocked down to about #79. Anywho, I shall now take a deep breath and come clean . . .

Back in 1988 a friend of mine had a buddy who worked for CBS Sports. This guy got us tickets to the 1988 NBA All-Star Game in Chicago. We had passes for the dunk contest, the whole works. Well, by the time we checked into The Omni in Chicago that Saturday we were, uh, having a little too much fun. Later on we were in a bar near the stadium and were having such a good time that we decided, in our infinite wisdom, to stay there and skip the dunk contest. Hey, screw some dumb contest! We’re in Chicago! Plus they don’t have bars back home in Ohio, right?

Sigh.

Kids, I’m embarrassed as hell to report sad to report this would turn out to be the contest where Dominique Wilkins and some loser named Michael Jordan would have their legendary showdown. You know, the one where Jordan came in from the side, looking down on the basket, and nearly ripped the rim off? The one where Jordan jumped from the free throw line to win?

Yeah, that one. Personally I thought Wilkins won, but what the hell did I know? I was in a bar 3-blocks away barely paying attention. To put a cap on things, as we were walking into the stadium for the All-Star game the next day some guy offered us $300 for our tickets. Of course we promptly sold them. What can I say? We were idiots. But hey, it wasn’t like that game wasn’t memorable or anything.

I mean, Jordan only scored 40-points that night, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar became the all-time leading All-Star scorer in history, and the teams included, in addition to Jordan, Wilkins and Kareem, some losers by the names of Larry Bird, Kevin McHale, Patrick Ewing, Charles Barkley, Moses Malone, Isiah Thomas, Magic Johnson, Clyde Drexler, Karl Malone, Hakeem Olajuwon, and James Worthy.

Man, that paragraph actually hurt to type, let alone read.

Dumb decisions? I’d like to see you top that one.

What Are Your Flashbulb Memories?

Flashbulb Memory

Noun

1. the clear recollections that a person may have of the circumstances associated with a dramatic event.

Flashbulb Memories. We all have them. Oh, you may not have known they had a name until right now, but I guarantee you’re thinking of a couple right now. Like the definition says, they’re those moments in your life that were so shocking, so mind-numbing that the moment they happened is burned into your brain forever. Obviously the older you are the more of these memories you’ll have, and what follows are my flashbulb memories. Yep, all 19 of them. And by the way, I excluded the deaths of close friends and relatives. That’s way too close to home, man. What I’ll do is this – I’ll tell you where I was, how I heard the news, and any other information that I feel may be pertinent.

Note: As much as I tried to come up with an even 20 I couldn’t do it. Sorry folks.

The John. F. Kennedy Assassination (November 22nd, 1963)

I can vividly recall that Friday in November, 1963 when a knock came on the door of my classroom in Twin Elementary in Bourneville, Ohio. I was in row 2, seat 2. My teacher, Mrs. Hughes, walked to the door and listened for a few seconds. For some reason, the classroom became completely quiet. Somehow we sensed something in the air. I distinctly remember Mrs. Hughes sort of toppling a bit and leaning against the door jamb upon receiving the news. Then she turned, deathly white, and walked to the front of the room . . .

“Kids, I have terrible news. Our president has been assassinated.”

I recall my friend Jeff, who was sitting in front of me, turning around and asking me what that meant. I have no idea how I knew for sure, but I told him that somebody had killed John F. Kennedy, our president. Our president was dead. I don’t remember the rest of the school day, but I do remember going home after school and being surprised that my dad was home, sitting on the couch watching the television. I also remember that for the first time in my life, I saw tears in my father’s eyes.

The Truth About Santa (December 22nd, 1963)

How do I know the exact date, you ask? Because I remember it was the Sunday before Christmas and a few weeks after the Kennedy assassination. My family had gone to my grandparent’s house east of Chillicothe, at a farm just off Route 35. All was well until the ride home. It was on that fateful trip back to Bourneville when we were all discussing Christmas and my older cousin Mike, who was riding with us, leaned over and delivered the earth-shattering news:

“Santa Claus isn’t real. Our parents buy the presents.”

Mind. Blown.

The Beatles on Ed Sullivan (February 9th, 1964)

My sister Karen had played “Introducing the Beatles” for me a few weeks prior (it was released on January 10th) so I was already all-in on this new band from Liverpool. Still, when Ed Sullivan yelled, “Here they are! THE BEATLES!” and I actually saw and heard the boys playing, I knew my world would never be the same again.

Note: I know the video below seems simple and not at all earth-shattering for younger people, but trust me when I say it was like watching four aliens sing a strange new sound at the time.

The Moon Landing (July 21st, 1969)

1968 had been a terrible year for the Unites States, with the assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr., and then Robert F. Kennedy, rocking our nation. Coming from a politically involved family I was dialed into the political and civil rights scenes more than most 12-year olds, so those two murders rocked me almost as much as the John F. Kennedy assassination. So, when the U.S.A. fulfilled a promise made by JFK and beat Russia to the moon in the summer of 1969 the entire world was watching, including my family. I recall watching the event on television, listening to Ohio native Neil Armstrong say the famous words “That’s one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind”, and then Dad and I going outside and staring up at the moon in disbelief. It was simply unimaginable at the time that a man was standing on it.

The Death of Jim Croce (September 20th, 1973)

This one probably isn’t on most people’s lists, but I remember vividly when I heard about it. I was in my Dad’s Catalina Brougham, sitting at our mailbox reaching in to get our mail. It was in the morning and it was a Friday. I had the radio on, listening to the news, when I heard the report that one of my favorite singers had died in a plane crash the night before after performing at a concert in Louisiana. I couldn’t believe the guy who sang “Bad, Bad Leroy Brown”, “You Don’t Mess Around With Jim”, and “Time in a Bottle” was dead.

President Richard Nixon Resigns (August 8th, 1974)

Again, because of my family’s involvement in politics I was tuned into the whole Watergate scandal from Day 1. I even made a bet with my History teacher that Nixon wouldn’t make it through the summer, that he’d be forced to resign. Needless to say, I won that one. I watched the resignation my sister Karen’s house, along with her husband Jigger.

Lynyrd Skynyrd’s Plane Crash (October 20th, 1977)

I was living just off The Ohio State University campus at the time, 178 West 8th Avenue, Apartment C to be precise, at the time. I’d purchased tickets for the Skynyrd show on Friday, October 28th, but when I awoke the morning of Friday, October 21st, I had the following conversation with my roommate Jed just as he was walking out the door:

Jed: “Hey, don’t you have tickets to see Lynyrd Skynyrd next week?”

Me: “Yep.”

Jed: “Uh, pretty sure it’ll be cancelled. Their plane crashed last night. Six people were killed including Ronnie Van Zant.”

I just stood there speechless as he walked out the door.

The Who Tragedy (December 3rd, 1979)

Yep, my buddies Tom, Andy and I had tickets to Riverfront Coliseum the night of the tragedy where 11-people were crushed to death, and we were actually on the way to the concert. Fortunately, since it was my birthday we thought a party in Chillicothe would be more fun, and it might have saved our lives. And yes, I know about a million people claim to have had tickets to that show. We actually did. We went to the party, and we found out what happened when we returned to Andy’s house around 2:30 in the morning and found his wife sitting on the floor in front of the TV, crying. She thought we’d gone to the concert, and when she saw us walk in she leaped up, hugged us all, and told us the news. Chilling stuff.

USA Hockey Upsets The Russians (February 22nd, 1980)

Unless you were actually there you didn’t see this game live because it was played at 5:00pm and shown on tape delay at 8:00pm. This being 1980 and before the internet, nobody I knew had heard that the biggest upset in sports history had happened. Nobody, and I mean nobody, aside from American Coach Herb Brooks thought a bunch of collegiate hockey players could beat mighty Russia, who was essentially a professional team and undoubtedly the best hockey team in the world. Hell, the USA had been beaten by the Russians 10-0 just days before. So, when the US was winning 4-3, clock winding down to 0:00, and announcer Al Michaels screamed “DO YOU BELIEVE IN MIRACLES?” I leaped up and accidentally knocked my coffee table over in the process. Unbelievable night.

John Lennon Assassination (December 8th, 1980)

Lennon signing his assassin’s album the night he was shot.

I was home by myself that night. It was around 11:30 pm and I was relaxing on my couch, headphones on, listening to “Double Fantasy”, the new album by John Lennon that had been released a couple of weeks prior. Lennon hadn’t recorded in 5-years so the album was a big deal. A Monday Night Football game was on but I wasn’t really watching, I was just lounging with my eyes closed, listening to the music. The TV was actually across the room, sort of behind me, and I was facing the fireplace.

At some point I opened my eyes and glanced into the glass doors of the fireplace. There I saw the reflection of the TV, and for some reason John Lennon’s face was on it. I took the headphones off and turned to the television, and they were talking about Lennon being a former Beatle who had just released an album, just giving a brief bio of his life.

Uh-oh. This wasn’t good.

I soon learned that John Lennon had been murdered outside his New York City apartment. I was stunned. A few minutes later my phone started ringing as people were calling to share the news and talk about this unspeakable thing that had happened. Soon my friend Tom showed up and we spent the night just talking about it in disbelief.

John Lennon had been such an influential part of my life. For me, music would never be the same.

The Space Shuttle Explosion (January 28th, 1986)

I was in my second year teaching at Greenfield McClain and I was in the teacher’s lounge. It must have been the 4th period or thereabouts because it happened at 11:38am – the Space Shuttle exploded. This was close to my heart because for the first time a civilian was aboard and I had applied for the spot. Don’t get me wrong, over 11,000 teachers sent in applications so it wasn’t like I had a chance to go. Still, we all knew teacher Christa McAuliffe, a teacher from New Hampshire, was aboard. My principal at the time, John Miller, walked into the lounge and said simply to the 3-4 of us there, “The space shuttle just exploded. They’re all gone.” At the time? Inconceivable.

Buster Douglas Upsets Mike Tyson (February 11th, 1990)

I was coaching at Paint Valley. It was my first year coaching varsity basketball. We were at a post-game victory party at an assistant coach’s house when we heard the news from ESPN – Columbus, Ohio’s own Buster Douglas had done the unthinkable. He’d knocked out the unbeatable “Iron” Mike Tyson. We were ecstatic and shocked. Unforgettable moment.

Magic Johnson’s Announcement That He Is HIV Positive (November 7th, 1991)

It was the Fall of 1991 and I was getting ready to coach a team that didn’t have a senior on the roster. That team ended up winning 14 games that year and 18 the next along with a league title, but on this evening none of that had happened yet. We were getting ready for an early season practice when junior Josh Anderson walked into the gym . . .

“Have you guys heard? Magic Johnson has AIDS.”

What? It turns out he didn’t have AIDS, but was instead HIV positive. Still, at the time that meant a death sentence. Since Magic was an NBA legend, the idea of watching him waste away like actor Rock Hudson was shocking. Like I said, at the time being HIV positive meant you were going to die a slow and agonizing death, and it was absolutely distressing to contemplate.

The OJ Car Chase (June 17th, 1994)

I was living in Bourneville (where I’m back living now) and my in-laws were in from Niles, Ohio for a visit. Of course everyone had heard about the murders, and there was a news bulletin and we found out that OJ had been scheduled to turn himself in at 11:00am but never showed up. Then, at 1:50pm LAPD Commander. David Gascon announced that Simpson has not surrendered for arraignment as scheduled and was a fugitive from the law. It was stunning. For you youngsters out there OJ Simpson was one of the most famous athletes in the world back in the 70s. He also starred in those Naked Gun movies. This led to a televised slow-speed car chase with most of the country glued to their screens. That evening I kept switching from the OJ coverage to the NBA Finals game between Houston and New York. Wild stuff.

The OJ Acquittal (October 3rd, 1995)

Fast forward to a little over year later, and I was sitting in my classroom at Paint Valley watching TV with my class. The jury had made a decision and the world was awaiting the verdict. When OJ was found innocent verdict we were stunned.

The Death of Lady Diana (August 31st, 1997)

I was sitting at the bar of a restaurant in German Village in Columbus, Ohio, waiting to be called for dinner. It was around 7:00pm. I was with my wife Marianne, my sister Karen and her husband Army. There was a TV above the bar with the sound off, and my sister suddenly said, “Oh my God.” We all looked up and the news was right there on the screen- Princess Di was dead. We soon learned she’d been killed in a car wreck in Paris, which due to the time difference was 6-hours ahead of us. The accident had happened at approximately 12:23am Paris time. I recall the bar got eerily quiet as everyone whispered to each other about the news.

The WTC/Pentagon Attacks (September 11th, 2001)

I was at good friend of mine’s house that morning. He’d been in an accident the evening before and had passed away earlier that day. I was with his wife, son and a couple other members of their family. Around 9:00am I left to get everyone breakfast and turned on the radio, where I learned that a plane had hit the World Trade Center. At that time I assumed that it was a small plane that had gotten lost in the clouds or something. I then went and got breakfast and returned to the house. At about 10:45am I went into the living room, where the TV was on with the sound muted. I immediately saw all the smoke and dust where the WTC buildings had been and was absolutely dumbfounded as to what happened. I soon learned though. Tough, tough day that I’ll never forget.

The Block (June 19th, 2016)

I was in my house in Bourneville. Cleveland Cavaliers vs. Golden State Warriors. Series tied 3-3, game tied with 1:20 left. Cleveland had never won an NBA title. I was on my knees, perhaps 5-feet from my TV screen. The Warriors were on a fast break for a seemingly easy score when LeBron James made The Block. It was at this exact moment when I realized: “He’s not going to let them lose.”

But enough about me. What are your Flashbulb Memories?

These 20 Memes About The 60s, 70s and 80s Will Make Your Day

Excellent*. Click and scroll.

*That was an E.T. reference.