MICK KAHLER'S WORLD

It’s weird that we lost two music icons who were incredible innovators in the same week. Sly Stone passed away a few days ago at age 82 and now Beach Boy genius Brian Wilson has passed, also at age 82.

I never saw Sly and the Family Stone in concert, (wish I had) but I remember one night back in the early 90’s when a Sly song rocked a crowd at a Chicago bar. I was out with my Q-101 morning show co-workers including Robert Murphy, our star and host for a night of bar hopping. So we end up at Weeds on Weed Street, late in the night. An unknown band was wrapping up their set onstage and they launched into Sly’s “Thank You For Letting Me Be Myself Again.” The whole club just lit into that fun tune of funkiness and after a long jam we were all left sweaty and hoarse from screaming along to that classic tune.

The following week a delivery guy dropped some items off at the Q-101 offices as Murf and I were leaving for the day. The delivery guy ended up being the lead singer of that unknown band we saw at Weeds! Murf and I said hey to the fella and he remembered us for being at his band’s set.

Any rocking funk musician who came after Sly Stone was no doubt influenced by his genius. From Prince to Bootsy Collins to George Clinton and hundreds of others. Sly, you made your mark!

Sly Stone, you done damn good. R.I.P.

Brian Wilson was a tortured musical genius with a family history of abuse and other nightmares. Yet, the joy he brought millions with his songs eclipses his own difficult life. Back in August of 1998 I attended an exclusive concert at a St. Charles high school auditorium that featured Brian and hot country star Deana Carter. Wilson played his hits and looked and sounded great. Deana did her set separately but was also well received. Innovators like Brian Wilson are rare these days but we still have his music to enjoy.

Brian Wilson enjoying a much deserved award.

For me, the summer song of 2025 comes from red hot country star Zach Top. His first hit “I Never Lie” brings country music back to a much pined for traditional sound. He IS the real deal. This summer song, “Good Times and Tan Lines” will remind you of Alan Jackson’s 1993 hit “Chattahoochee” but it’s fresh and new. Alan Jackson himself has anointed his approval of Zach’s music and Zach acknowledges A.J.’s influence on his songs.

My pick for THE summer song of 2025.

Back in my US*99 days, I was aware of Rascal Flatts’ but wasn’t a major fan of their tunes. With two exceptions, their wedding ballad “God Bless the Broken Road” and “Fast Cars and Freedom.” Recently I discovered a semi-remake of “Fast Cars” featuring Jason Aldean and Rascal Flatts’ lead singer Gary Le Vox. These two guys breathe new and fresh life into a song from years ago. Well done guys!

Top notch re-do of a Rascal Flatts classic.

Summer Stuff. I still have a couple weeks of summer school to teach but sure am enjoying the weekend days at East End Pool. Full time swimming for the summer isn’t far away. With that said, call me crazy, but I’m not a fan of women sporting tiny bikinis and thongs. Those get-ups look too desperate. To catch my interest, give me a women in a well fitted one piece swimsuit.

Women in One Piece Swim Suits. Sounds like a good title for a song.

NEXT BLOG: Remembering the first ever Summer Blockbuster movie.

East End Pool is back open for the summer! Sadly, opening it was delayed a week due to the 60’s temperatures during Memorial Day weekend.  The maintenance staff needed to get the heated pool to a warmer temperature than 70 degrees and it wasn’t happening. But that’s in the past now.

Walking up to the East End entrance is always a pleasure!

Friday May 30^th, I got up early (5:30 a.m.) and swam at East End Pool, doing 40 laps in just over 30 minutes.  To be back in those waters felt so good as the sun came up over I-294. Then it was back home to clean up and be at school for parent-teacher conferences.  Not having kids in the building energized me to swim like that.

 East End looks great.  The pool’s bottom got a fresh patch up and a coat of powder blue paint, the lap lanes were re-striped. All depth markers have been re-posted and the steps leading to the water got new striped paint as well. This year there are also some Emergency Exits posted with new gates set up on the perimeter just in case the whole crowd of swimmers needs to scram ASAP.  The Elmhurst Park District does a fine job with landscaping around the facility and the guards are up in their chairs ready to monitor us pool goers.  

Saturday May 31^st The air temp barely got to 70 degrees but I still jumped in and knocked out a quick 44 laps along with some back floating and leg kicks in the  water before leaving.  Very few people braved the weather but I don’t want to waste a single day.

Sunday June 1^st Still cooler air temps but I still jumped in to do my laps.  Most of my fellow regulars (my summer family, if you will) were not on hand but I’ll catch up with them when the weather warms and we’re back as a group. I got in 50 laps and am starting to watch the time it takes to get my laps in. Today it only took me forty minutes which keeps me at a decent pace.

As luck would have it, air temps are expected to be in the high 80’s the next two days but I’ll be back in the classroom all week. Our required summer school session runs 5 days a week with the last day being June 30th. While I’d love to get in some water time after school, the only day that’s really feasible would be at the end of the week on Fridays.

But my limited time in the pool is O.K. in less than a month we’ll be on our break. Once on break, I plan to get my laps back up to 72 which is a mile and I’ll do all that in the morning, then do water walking and lounging in the sun in the afternoons. It’s not far away and I can wait it out doing weekend swim time until school is out.

Bottom line, it’s just good to be back in East End Pool!

NEXT BLOG- Remembering the first ever Summer blockbuster movie.

For the past few weeks, I could not turn on the TV or go online without seeing photos, videos and postings of high school prom happenings.  Proud parents sharing pics of their kiddos in fancy suits, tuxedos, gowns and the like.   There are many clever prom proposals staged and other coverage that celebrates the teen’s dress up nights.  Museums in Chicago and even the Navy Pier Ballroom are popular locales for the dances.  The whole prom culture is a big deal.  It reminds me of my proms when I was 17 and 18.

Oh wait.  I didn’t go to my proms.  Full disclosure, I was as smitten by my female classmates at York High School as any other guy at our school was.  However, like many of my buddies, I was a bit gun shy to ask any young ladies to be my prom date.  To quote Bob Seger’s “Night Moves”, we young dudes were “working on mysteries without any clues.”  

Some prom headed kids about to have a fun time.

Still, I was out and about on prom night back in my junior and senior years.   In 1978, I went to a small party held by a classmate.  It was a gathering for those who wanted to have a few beers and commiserate with others who were NOT at prom.  The only problem was everywhere I turned there were teen girls hugging and comforting each other while crying because nobody asked them to the big dance. It was a dark and sad time and by midnight I got the hell out of there.

In 1979, my senior year, I went to a raging beer bash held by my good friend Gordie Carlson.  Again, this was a gathering for the non-prom people.  I could only stay there til 10:30 because I was scheduled to work the 11pm til 7 am graveyard shift at White Castle.  I had two or three beers but had to cut myself off so I could make it to my job. 

Full disclosure- Senior year, there WAS a girl a year younger than I who was on my dating radar. Through mutual friends I knew she was interested in me as well but I waited too long to make a move and some other guy zoomed in and began going with her.  Doh!  In the early evening of that prom night in ‘79 I drove by that girl’s house in time to catch her and this guy walking to his car, all dressed up and headed to the prom. Ugh.  I felt ridiculous pangs of regret.

But that wasn’t my lowest point of the night.  That happened at about five a.m. at White Castle when four prom going couples I recognized from York came rolling into the store’s dining room to munch on some sliders.   Still decked in their tuxes and gowns, these peers were having a blast and here I was sweeping and mopping the dining area floors.  Mick, welcome to Loserville, population: you!

Working the graveyard shift on prom night = loser!

The good news is like all my friends I did eventually get over my reticence to ask girls out on dates.  Yes, I’ve had my share of women.  But my share seems so little.  Hey now!  

A few years later I did D.J. and co-host several dances at York that were more casual. They were called MORP which was PROM spelled backwards.  Those dances were packed and my college radio pal Jim Turano and I had a blast being the life of those record rocking parties.

Fast forward a couple more years and Jim and I played DJ stars for Fenton High School.  We were hired to do the record spinning for their prom two years in a row. So FINALLY, I made it to a couple prom events.  And they paid very well!

Hosting and DJ-ing proms was a blast…And profitable.

Looking back on my high school years, I only had two regrets. One, was never learning to play the guitar. I sort of noodle on a chord or two now but I should’ve taken lessons in my teen years. 

My second regret was not asking out more of my female high school classmates. Years ago, the great Wayne Gretzky said a famous quote that fit my situation to a T.  “You miss 100% of the shots you don’t take.”  Wayne, why didn’t you say that quote while I was still in high school?  Damn you, Gretzky!

To all the prom goers, I hope you had great fun at your springtime events.  And to the teen guys who are like I was, a bit hesitant to ask girls out, take a shot.  If you get turned down, so what?  But give it a go, chances are, you’ll score.  Right Wayne?

Speaking of Prom, here’s one of my favorite music video parodies Al Flash and I have done.

Who besides me loves to see dogs enjoying their car rides?

Anytime when driving, if I see someone with a dog in their car I break out in a big smile.  In the years that we had dogs as pets they ALL lived for car rides and could not get enough of a ride-along.  Coach, a part German Shepard mixed breed and our first pooch used to stick his head out the passenger window and snap a playful bite at every car going past us in the opposite direction.  Molly, our first sweet Boston Terrier loved to jump on the top of the driver’s seat and perch herself on my shoulders like she was a parrot and I was a pirate.  What a character she was!

The dogs I see riding with their owners all seem to be so happy and having the time of their lives, so I’ve tried to figure out what’s so special about canines and cars. 

Here’s my theory.

When someone owns a dog, chances are that critter wants to spend as much time as possible with their humans.  Unlike cats, who are often aloof and happy to be on their own and alone, dogs are very social animals.

Since most dog owners can’t take their Fidos and Fi Fis everywhere, there’s lots of, “See you later sweetie, I gotta go” said to the dogs. The humans load up in their cars and drive off.  Every single day, dogs hear car engines start up and see their masters drive off to work, school, the grocery store, bank, dry cleaners, friends’ houses and all other locales. The car drives off and the poor pooches are left at home.  Home alone.

So, when the humans of the house invite those dogs to go for a ride with them, the furry family member is thinking, “Really?  I get to go WITH you?  I am so in, let’s go!”  This inclusion makes each dog’s day and they’re thrilled to be taken for a ride.  Maybe that cruise will include a stop at McDonald’s for a few bites of a burger, or better yet, a hit at Starbuck’s for a much beloved pup cup.  Seeing video clips of pup cups being savored by dogs is hilarious. Many drive-thru windows at banks keep dog biscuits on hand so when they see a furry face riding in a car, they can hand out a treat or two.

Grab a Pup Cup to go!

Even when I drove my dogs to the veterinarian, they were fine with that.  It was all about the old pop song “I only wanna be with you!”  Although bringing my Min Pin ‘Daisy’ to the groomer was one stop she did not like.  The reason being I’d leave her at that shop for a shampoo and nail clipping and go home without her.  An hour later I’d get the call to pick her up and Daisy was beyond grateful to see me and go for a ride home.

I think it was F. Scott Fitzgerald who once wrote that when you tell a dog you’ll be back, they don’t believe you.  That may be one of the reasons why most dog owners get such an enthusiastic greeting from their dogs when they come home from work or school.

Anyway, that’s my theory on dogs and cars.  They love their humans and hope to spend as much time as possible with them.  So, if you’re a dog owner, keep that in mind and load your furry family member up for a cruise anytime you can.

 Next blog: My Prom Memories.

While this memory goes back forty-six years, it was and remains one to never forget. It was Easter weekend, Easter Eve, actually if there is such a thing. Lots went on so here we go. 

That Saturday night, I had five of my high school varsity baseball teammates over to the house for a poker party at our dining room table.  Some guys brought snacks and we had the kitchen refrigerator filled with beer.  This wasn’t high stakes gambling, just quarter ante and nobody walked away losing or winning more than twenty bucks or so. There were lots of laughs, inappropriate jokes and fun which were as much a part of the night as the card game was.

As the beers were downed, one teammate went to our phone and decided to prank call our varsity coach, Mr. Ellingsen at ten at night. When Ellingsen answered, my ball playing teammate just yelled loud into the phone then hung up.  This was in the days before caller I.D. and other ways to detect anyone who prank called you. We all laughed and stopped with any more goofy calls.

Not me and my teammates, no this is Tom Cruise playing poker with pals in “Risky Business.”

Around 11:30 that night,  my mom and sister came home from their middle shift at the hospital where they worked so it was time to break up the poker game.  We decided to swing out to White Castle for some late night eats. The last of the beers were pulled from the fridge and off we went.

I got back home an hour later only to discover our gray tabby cat “Squeaks” caught a baby bunny rabbit outside and left it on the back porch for me to see, the bunny was decapitated.  I scolded Squeaks,  reported the murder to my parents then scooped up the remains and dumped it in the garbage outside.  

It was time for bed and I woke up Easter Sunday to a new surprise.  There was no Easter basket left for me in my bedroom!  No solid chocolate bunny, no small chocolate eggs, jelly beans or even a plastic egg with a twenty dollar bill stuffed in it.    

No Easter basket for me? WTH?!

Scrambling downstairs, I figured my basket might’ve been left in the living room or the dining room.  Nope.  No basket, anywhere.  My mom and dad woke up to the sound of me asking about not getting an Easter basket.  First time ever! I was more surprised than hurt. My parents were shocked that at age 18 I still expected a basket of sweets.  I told them there’s no age limit or shutdown on getting such a treat. My mom had the best answer to the ‘no basket’ issue. She said, “Sorry Mick, last night Squeaks ate the  Easter Bunny!”

We had another surprise coming for us.  My mother was set to prepare the Easter lunch/early dinner we’d be having that day.  Only one problem. The  large canned ham she stored in our kitchen refrigerator was gone!  She checked the freezer below it and even our spare fridge in the basement. No ham, nowhere!  What the heck?  How?  Who?  When?

Who stole my mom’s canned ham?

Apparently, one of my beer guzzling, poker playing baseball teammates stole our Easter ham the night before!  It no doubt happened as they  emptied the fridge of our remaining beers before we went to White Castle. I had no idea who it could’ve been and mom, dad and I just stared at each other trying to figure out what to do now.  Mom wasn’t even that mad, just puzzled that our main course was gone for good.

My sister Marianne was sleeping in but the three of us were hungry and decided to make the best of things and go out to eat.  We didn’t get to a local restaurant for one of those Easter buffet specials.  No, instead we celebrated the resurrection of Jesus by going to our favorite out of town eatery, Stein’s Jewish Deli in nearby Lyons.  

My parents favored pastrami sandwiches with sides of potato salad and such but I was a little more unconventional.  My favorite offering from Stein’s was their jumbo fried shrimp.  I swear each piece in the serving was almost the size of my fist.  I downed my meal with French fries and a couple of cokes.

Stein’s Deli is no more but that was a great place to eat!

So, to re-cap:   Beers, laughs, poker playing and a prank call to our coach. Followed by chowing down at White Castle, a dead bunny rabbit, getting shut out from a treats filled basket, a stolen ham and giant shrimp from a Jewish deli for my Easter feast.  Kind of an interesting twenty-four hours, for sure.

Oh, and later that afternoon, my parents delivered to me a full blown Easter basket loaded with all the treats. The squeaky wheel might get the grease but the whiny teenager gets the Easter basket. 

POSTSCRIPT: A few weeks later, I hosted my baseball buddies for a Sunday afternoon backyard barbecue.  One of my teammates worked at Mc Donald’s and he liberated a full box of frozen quarter pounder beef patties from his workplace. Others brought buns and chips and I had plenty of condiments for this outing. We cooked those burgers on a Weber grill and washed them down with cold brew.  And this time there was no thievery from our kitchen refrigerator.  

And no, I never did find out who stole our Easter ham!

NEXT BLOG- Doggie On Board!  

NOTICE- This blog is NOT a self-started “Pity Party.” There are millions of people who are facing much worse situations than what I’ve dealt with the past 4 months.  Those born starving in poor third world countries, those battling with lifelong afflictions like blindness, being crippled, having cerebral palsy or cognitive disabilities.  When I used to substitute teach, I worked many special education rooms with kids who had multi-needs.  Same went for working summer recreation programs.  There are also those of all ages fighting cancer, Parkinson’s disease, mental issues and many other maladies that most of us are blessed to not have.

This blog is just to review what’s been going on with me since December of 2024.  I also want to update how things are now.

Things started O.K. in early December when I underwent my second ever colonoscopy.  The results showed my pipes to be clean as a whistle and I’m not in need for another roto-rooter job for 10 years.   The only drawback is the colon cleaning you deal with the night before with the liquid prep stuff.  I joked that a mudslide was coming so take your loved ones and move to higher ground!

Two weeks later my detached retina adventure began.  I had my scleral buckle surgery two days before Christmas and spent the next four weeks recovering from this vision correction.

The update on my eye: My right eye’s vision is very good, very close to where it was before the surgery. Dr. Weinberg told me it will continue to improve over the next several months.

HOWEVER- My left eye was checked for possible retina issues and on April 2nd I had a laser procedure done to shore up the weakness in there.  It turns out I’m 10 times more likely to have a detached retina in my left lamp and this patch-up up will prevent this.  A final check-up on both lamps will take place in 6 weeks.

After getting back to school in late January I ended up catching my first ever COVID infection which knocked me out of commission for another five days. 

The Update on my COVID- No long-term problems and after being sick for 4 days, I bounced back with no lingering effects.

So then came late February and my first ever kidney stone.  I got plenty of great advice from friends and co—workers who’ve been through this same ordeal. I dare say this was the worst, most relentless pain I have ever endured.  It made a broken arm at age 12 and a severely burnt leg from a fire at age 15 seem like child’s play.

The update on my kidney stone- On March 14^th I had Sonic Lithotripsy done to my kidney stone.  No bad after effects and the chances are good to pass smaller bits of the stone through my urine. So far that has not happened BUT I’m also having no pain issues.  I will see my urologist again on April 16^th for further in case anything else needs to be planned. 

Throughout all of these medical issues, I have received incredible and expert care from my doctors, nurses, technicians, office visit schedulers and anyone else I encountered.  There was never a moment of doubt or worry that I was in the wrong hands during any of this.  Having very good health insurance has also been a major blessing!

 So many friends, co-workers and family members rallied around me with invaluable support. Needed car rides, errands done and those who kept my spirits up with emails, Facebook posts and phone calls.  Wow!  I hope I’m as good to all these folks as they’ve been to me.   I’m happily in their debt.

Where I am right now- At the age of 64 years and two months, I have come to see clearer than ever how vital good health is.  It’s something to never take for granted and it really is time to do everything on my part to improve my selfcare and in turn, my overall health.

A few years before he passed away, rocker Tom Petty was asked about turning sixty years old in a few months.  His reply was, “Well, if you’re not getting older, you’re dead.”   So, I’ll continue to get older with the hope that I’m close to being done with doctor appointments, cat-scans, X-rays and other medical probing for a good long while.

The Band singing their classic, “The Shape I’m In.”