Category: Uncategorized

I’m a 59 year old middle school special education teacher.  My students have behavioral issues and some have learning difficulties as well.  Square as I may seem to be to some of them, I manage to keep up with the new ‘hip’ vernacular of my class and other kids at our school.  I do this thanks to daily exposure to their constant conversations.  When they say certain terms or phrases, it doesn’t take long to get their meanings.  So here are a few of the things I’ve been hearing from the mouths of the young.  Some are a few years old but have stood the test of time with my current teen students.

“I PASSED OUT.” Nobody was drunk or high,.they just refer to falling asleep or napping in this way, “passed out”,.as if they were in a contest to see how long they could stay awake.

“I HAVE TO USE IT.” “It” being the restroom.

“THAT IS SO RAW!”  Meaning real cool and awesome.  I think a better term would be “cooked”, since cooked food is always tastier.

“DON’T WORRY ABOUT IT.”  This is in response to anytime a personal question is asked about what a student is up to.  It means, “Even though there’s something to tell you, I’m not telling.”

“DAAAAMN!”  Simple exclamation of anything, it can be something good or bad.  Just ‘daaaamn!” 

“NO HOMO!” This is one guys say in defense of looking or acting like they’re too friendly with another guy.  I’ve heard a kid say, “Let’s play this game together, no homo!” Sometimes they will quickly repeat “No Homo” a second time.  In this so called enlightened age, I’m really surprised how homophobic some students are. 

“EXTRA”- It means someone is acting over-dramatic.  “Man, that Sharon is so ‘extra’ about her getting a ‘C’ on that test.

“GOAT”- Standing for Greatest Of All Time. This one is used by people of all ages. I remember when a ‘goat’ was the athlete who screwed up in a big game.  Charlie Brown was the ultimate goat and never the hero.

“BIG YIKES”- For years people have been saying “Yikes” as a voice of caution or mild shock about something.  “Big Yikes” is a much bigger deal!

“HAIRLINE”- This last one blows me away because until I started working at my current school (4 years now) I’d never heard it before! This comes from the guys, not the girls, and their fascination with fellow males and how their hairlines frame their faces.  The ‘hairline’ concern crosses all racial boundaries and it seems odd that for boys who are blatantly homophobic, they sure are focused on how their male peers’ new hair-cut shows off a hairline. 

There are other terms I hear like ‘Fam’ and ‘Yolo’ but to be honest, I’m in the middle of a 3 day weekend thanks to President’s Day,. and I’m all talked out!

NEXT BLOG– Hitting to all fields.

Many so called movie experts felt the South Korean movie “Parasite” winning the Academy Award for Best Picture was an upset.  It is true that plenty of prognosticators picked “1917” to take the picture prize with some others favoring Quentin Tarantino’s “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood.” However I don’t see the “Parasite” victory being THAT big of a shock. 

First off, do the math on what I listed as the odds on favorites to get the top movie honor, “1917” or “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood.”  Academy voters have long loved war films and they do earn their share of Oscar statues.  The Academy faithful also goes for movies about Hollywood or show-biz stars.  This year I think what happened is lots of the Academy votes were split between “1917” and “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood.”  This gave “Parasite” an open shot at being named Best Picture.

There’s more to this story.  Social media quietly but efficiently gathered buzz for “Parasite” with legions of folks claiming the movie to be the best film they’ve seen in years.  I too enjoyed this feature and would list it in my top 5 of the past ten years at least.  The groundswell for the subtitled South Korean movie was bigger than some anticipated.  That groundswell turned into a tsunami of passion, support and in turn, Academy Award gold. 

Plenty was made of how this was the first foreign language film to win Best Picture but look at the world we live in. Anyone can see how the internet, social media and instant access to touch base and talk with anyone anywhere on earth occurs so easily.  Barriers of communication are almost non-existent so the approval of a movie like “Parasite” can pick up millions of ‘likes’, ‘messages’ and ‘re-tweets’ in no time at all.  Forget what Donald Trump wants to do with border walls, we live in an open universe and that’s only going to continue to grow.

Away from the sociological and demographic considerations, the bottom line is “Parasite” is as finely a crafted movie as you could dream up.  Two years ago “The Shape of Water”, another offbeat story, warmed folks’ hearts and won the Best Picture Oscar.  I liked “The Shape of Water but loved “Parasite”, plenty of others felt and feel the same way.

Every character in “Parasite” had strong traits (both good and bad) that were endearing.  The movie is an allegory for the huge gaps and differences between the very poor and the very rich.  Yet, “Parasite” also shows us the similarities both the poor and rich have.  They all want the best for their children and loved ones and will do whatever is necessary to get that for them.  The plot twist in this movie just added to the fun. I thrive on seeing un-Hollywood formula scripts and this one was as un-Hollywood as you can get.

There’s more I could add but in time, others will look back and understand why “Parasite” won the Best Picture Oscar and why it was a well deserved honor.  If you haven’t seen this movie, by all means get to the theater or check it out On Demand.   “Parasite” has so far only grossed 36 million dollars but look for that money tally to grow in the coming days and weeks. Please trust me, once you watch it, you’ll get to my thinking on this Best Picture winner.

NEXT WEEK: What kids say today.

The time of the Academy Awards is always a fun one. People share their favorite and least favorite movies and debate over who should win gold statue hardware and who should not.  I saw most of the nominated films and late in the Oscar season caught “Parasite” which was probably my favorite movie of the year.  I don’t want to say anything more, just SEE it and you’ll thank me afterwards.

Anyway, for the next couple of weeks your local theater screens will be showing some of those films that pick up Academy Award honors.  It’s a good opportunity for movie fans to catch up to see what’s the big fuss about this actor or actress and this or that movie.

So what I want to do is steer you toward some lesser known flicks that never made waves at the Academy Awards in years past but are worth your time to check out.  Most of these should be available on pay per view via Amazon or Xfinity. However, if you want to kick it old school, go to your library and check out the DVDs for the films I’m listing.

First here are some thrillers/dramas that will keep your eyes locked on the screen for the duration of the film.

LAYER CAKE (2004) Way before his James Bond movies, Daniel Craig played a British drug dealer trying to get out of that business in a smart and twisty drama.  This is one of the best drug caper movies I’ve ever seen.

WIND RIVER (2017) Elizabeth Olsen (younger sister to Mary Kate & Ashley) showed her acting chops in the stark “Matha, Marcey, May, Marlene” and she does well in this rural mystery.  Olsen plays an FBI agent trying to solve the murder of a young girl on a lawless Indian reservation.  Jeremy Renner co-stars and it features a fantastic intense stand-off with guns drawn and plenty more thrills.

STOKER (2013)  Mia Wasikowska plays an oddball teen mourning the sudden loss of her father. Her nasty mother (Nicole Kidman) and creepy uncle (Matthew Goode) who just got out of a mental institution crank up the eerie drama.  The twists and turns are never obvious and you’ll like every frame of “Stoker.”

Now here’s a set of “coming of age” movies that you may not be familiar with.

THE WAY WAY BACK (2013) Duncan (played by Liam James) is a an awkward teen. His single mother (Toni Collette) drags him to a summer cabin to bond with mom’s harsh and hard to figure out boyfriend. (Steve Carell)  Allison Janney plays a free spirited neighbor but the scene stealer here is Sam Rockwell who manages a water park and mentors Duncan. I’ve always liked Rockwell’s acting (he won an Oscar for “Three Billboads Outside Ebbing Missouri) and his humor and charm in this film is worth seeing.

SHORT TERM 12 (2013) Lots of good films came out 7 years ago and that includes this drama about a small alternative school for troubled kids (who live on campus) and have sad backgrounds to put behind them.  Future Oscar winner Brie Larson is the lead star as one of the administrators who tries to improve the lives of these soon to be graduates while coping with her own problems.  Another future Oscar winner Rami Malek plays a new teacher at the school who has lots to learn about working with these special students.

DEAN (2017)  I’ve written before about this part drama-part comedy and my enthusiasm has yet to waver on it.  Demetri Martin is Dean, a 20-something cartoonist coping with the loss of his mother while his father (Kevin Kline) plans to sell the family home.  Son and father find their own ways to grieve and they meet some new people along the way.  Dean’s letter to a friend at the end of the movie is priceless and there are smiles and tears leading up to it.

So if you’re looking for some off the beaten path films that will light up your life as much as the recent Oscar winners, you’ve got six to recommendations  to check out. 

NEXT WEEK’s BLOG : Hitting to all fields.

A few years before I ever heard rock and pop songs, country music was my first love.  As a toddler my mom and dad’s record player belted out old Hank Williams and Johnny Cash hits that spawned my passion for that genre of music.

Looking at the calendar, this coming week is a big one for country music birthdays.  On February 4^th Clint Black turns 58, the next day Sara Evans turns 49 and on Friday the 7^th Garth Brooks is also 58 so I thought I’d share some personal notes on each of these country stars.

CLINT BLACK– Back in 1989, Clint’s “Killin’ Time” album exploded onto the country charts with four number 1 hit songs.  That’s an amazing accomplishment and yet Clint’s music since then has been equally fine with great melodies melded with well crafted lyrics.  Working in country radio at US*99 for ten years I got to meet and be around Clint Black several times and always found him to be a thoughtful, friendly and dryly funny guy. (Country stars are THE most accessible of any music genre)

 I’ve seen him in concert half a dozen times and never walked away disappointed.  Clint has recorded so many hits and great album cuts it would take forever to list them all.  My very favorite hits of his would be “Killin’ Time”, “Nobody’s Home”, “Lovin Blind”, “Like the Rain”, “A Good Run of Bad Luck”, “Summer’s Coming” and “Nothin’ but the Tail Lights.”  This is not to mention strong album cuts like “The Old Man”, “Something to Cry About” and one Clint wrote with Jimmy Buffett that I’m featuring a link to, “Happiness Alone.”  Happy 58^th birthday Clint Black, hope to see you in concert again real soon!

SARA EVANS- Sara Evans has one of those unmistakable voices that draws you in from the get go.  She had a hit with “No Place That Far”, along with self written songs like “Born to Fly” and “A Real Fine Place to Start” plus there’s the cutesy runaway girl song “Suds in the Bucket.”  But my favorite Sara Evans track is one she co-wrote for her debut album, the title cut, “Three Chords and the Truth.”  That song only made it to #44 on the country charts in 1997 and that is a travesty. The lyrics to “Three Chords” truly embody what country music is all about and how it affects all who listen to it.  Check out this part of the song as a woman is on the road, leaving her lover, for what she thinks is forever.

 “…I turned on a radio and a voice came over sweet and low and I didn’t know the tears were gonna start, what amazed me even more is I’d never heard that song before but somehow I knew each word by heart.  And I don’t know why I don’t know how, but with his song he turned my life and this old car around. Just when I thought I was over you, he changed my mind with three chords and the truth.”  

Years ago while working at US*99 I arranged a Sara Evans phone interview with morning host Big John Howell to promote her opening for Kenny Chesney at The Rosemont Theater.  However we were stunned to learn that “Three Chords and the Truth” was no longer in her live show!  John and I talked about what a special song that was and Howell asked Sara to play it for the fans.  The night of the Rosemont show as she prepared to do the last song of her set, Sara called out, “This one’s for you Big John!”  And her band launched into “Three Chords and the Truth.”  Thank heavens Ms. Evans!  And Happy Birthday.

GARTH BROOKS-

What can you say about the greatest entertainer in Country music history? Mr. Brooks records songs that never grow old and are performed with insane intensity and passion to sell out crowds all over the world. Garth is a force of nature in show-business and always will be.  The two times I got to hang with Garth he treated me as if I was his best friend.  That’s what the guy does with EVERYBODY!  I remember us laughing til tears came out of our eyes over a promo I wrote that compared our morning show to Chinese food.  After that, he ad-libbed a line on some silly Forrest Gump line I wrote up for him and again we were howling with laughter.  In person and on record, there is nobody like Troyal Garth Brooks.  So happy 58^th birthday pal! I’ll close off with what will always be my favorite song of Garth’s.

NEXT WEEK: Some lesser known movies you should see.

We are one week away from Super Bowl 54 in Miami. My pick for that contest is the Chiefs over the 49ers by 4.     Anyway, the hoopla and hype for the big game reminds me of a memorable trip I made to a Super Bowl in Atlanta back in 2000. 

It all started in November of 1999 when I was helping my mother negotiate her purchase of a new Chevy Cavalier at Roesch Chevrolet.  When the trade-in of her old Grand Marquis and the final price of the new ride were settled there was dealer paperwork to finish.  While waiting for that to happen, my mom filled out my name and info on an entry form from Chevrolet and Sports Radio AM 1000 to win a trip for two to the Super Bowl in January.

A month later AM1000 called to say I was one of 25 people selected to be part of a live on the air drawing at the ESPN Zone in early January.  It was a ‘reverse drawing’ where if your name was picked from the box you were eliminated from the contest.  I showed up and it got down to two last contestants, me and a woman about my age. With her final pick from the box she pulled out her own name and I won the trip!  This was all on the air and it wasn’t lost on anyone that AM 1000 radio was giving away a free all expense paid trip to an employee of US*99 radio.  It made for good laughs at the irony.

Since mom turned down my offer to go on this trip with me, I recruited my close pal and local sports talk show host/reporter Mark Vasko to be my guest.  Marko once landed us 7^th row tickets to see Bruce Springsteen’s solo acoustic show at the Rosemont Theater so I gladly paid my buddy a return favor. 

The prize package included two airline tickets and two hotel rooms for three nights, money for a rental car and of course tickets to the Super Bowl.  The game was a match-up between the St. Lous Rams’ “Greatest Show on Turf” featuring re-born quarterback Kurt Warner and the Tennessee Titans who won an early play-off game with a crazy last second pass play that was dubbed “The Music City Miracle.”

Marko and I flew out of O’Hare on Friday morning.  Upon landing at Hartsfield airport we decided against renting a car since the Atlanta Metro MARTA system was guaranteed to take us everywhere we needed to go that weekend.  That car rental money was used to buy weekend transit passes and some meals afterwards.  

After checking in to our rooms we took MARTA to the Super Bowl media headquarters in downtown Atlanta.  At that locale we saw more famous former NFL players, coaches and of course broadcasters than we could count.  AM 1000 program director Mitch Rosen cordially invited us into a mobile unit where their show was going on live and we had a blast on radio row.

That night we saw the Atlanta Hawks take on the New York Knicks at the new Phillips Sports Arena.  Miraculously the Hawks beat Patrick Ewing’s Knicks in overtime.  We spent the bulk of the next day at the NFL Experience.  That adventure is a hands-on interactive playground for football fans.  We kicked field goals, hit tackling dummies and checked out more cool sights with the thousands of fans on hand for the weekend.  Super Bowl weekend can be best described as Mardi Gras meets New Year’s Eve meets a championship football game.  A total party atmosphere!

Saturday night Marko and I had dinner at a steakhouse in the trendy Buckhead area of Atlanta. After that, as single young men we opted to check out some live female interpretive dancing. Hailing a cab we asked our driver what was Dixie’s best gentleman’s club. (The Atlanta yellow pages lists about a hundred such places)  He told us most NBA players opted for The Cheetah so off to that club we went.  Let’s just say this driver knew what he was talking about!  Ninety minutes and many single dollar bills later, Marko and I had enough of the naked pole & table dancers and MARTA’d back to our hotel.

The next day was the Super Bowl and the intensity of that game was like nothing I ever experienced at a sports event before. Each play’s importance was amped up 100%. Our seats were halfway up the Georgia Dome’s balcony level in the end zone but we could see all the action perfectly.  The Titans made a valiant 4^th quarter comeback and missed tying the game on the very last play when Steve Mc Nair’s pass got  Kevin Dyson within one yard of scoring as he was tackled by Rams linebacker Mike Jones.  It was a frantic, insane scene and a great game!

Our flight the day after the game didn’t leave until late in the afternoon so Marko and I toured the CNN Headquarters, Centennial Park (where that bomb went off at the ’96 Olympics) and The World of Coca Cola where we tasted many stylings and flavors of Coke.  We also heard the news that Baltimore Ravens linebacker Ray Lewis was with two friends who were involved in a post Super Bowl street fight where a man was stabbed to death in Buckhead.  Lewis testified against those friends and took a guilty charge of obstruction that got him probation.  Eventually the two men charged were acquitted as it was ruled they acted in self defense. Ray Lewis then led the Ravens to their own Super Bowl title in 2001 and while he was that game’s controversial MVP, the “I’m going to Disneyworld” commercial honors went to quarterback Trent Dilfer.

So thanks to a once in a lifetime drawing win, I got to experience a Super Bowl for very little money spent.  (Save for the Cheetah Club)  I love watching all Super Bowls because it is such a big deal event and one day and hope to make it to another one in person. Whether the Bears play in that ‘Big Game’ is anybody’s guess.   

NEXT WEEK: A big week in Country music birthdays.

Back from a blogging break as I cover a few thoughts on some music related items.

Thanks to a recommending tweet from Trisha Yearwood I discovered a great new track from Nashville songwriter Jessi Alexander.  She co-wrote the Lee Brice hit “I Drive Your Truck” which is one of the saddest country songs of all time.  Jessi is married to songwriter Jon Randall who wrote another great heart tugging country tune, Brad Paisley & Allison Krauss’ hit, “Whiskey Lullaby.” Come March 27^th Jessi has a new album titled “Decatur County Red” due out.  The lead single from it is this song, and it doesn’t get more country than this.

With recreational marijuana now legal in Illinois, you can’t help but think of the many rock, pop and country songs that cover the subject of smoking weed.  My personal favorite is Brandy Clark’s “Get High.”  This song is a nice bookend to “Mama Drank” as Brandy notes how a few puffs of cannabis can help an overworked mother get through her day.

I was way late to the prom coming across Michael Ray’s song “Her World or Mine” which was released last year.  What I can’t figure out is how this get-you-where-it-hurts country track never made it close to number 1 on the music charts.

It’s now 40 years old but I still think Dire Straits’ “Skateaway” is one of the coolest sounding songs ever.  Mark Knopfler’s vocals are only topped by his unmistakable guitar playing.

I often see concert photos of singers and musicians who are wearing wristwatches while performing.  I have a problem with that.  When playing for fans, the time of day or night should NOT be a concern to those onstage.  I compare it to how casinos in Las Vegas don’t have clocks.  Forget about what hour it is, just play man!

JOIN TOGETHER WITH THE BAND

I’m a huge fan of Choir! Choir! Choir! This is where strangers get together at a designated location to sing classic rock songs. (You can find loads of their performances on You Tube)  Well last month I went online and registered with the Choir! Choir! Choir! organization. So if and when they plan one of their public singalongs in Chicago, I’ll be notified ahead of time and will try to show up to be one of their mass singers.

Some of my Facebook friends caught the latest song parody that Al Flash and I did for the WGN Morning News TV show.  We twisted Taylor Swift’s “Mean” into “Dean” as a tribute to their entertainment guru Dean Richards.  The tune and video went over very well with the show’s stars and Dean e-mailed me his thanks along with a cool tweet. 

It’s always fun to get that kind of positive feedback but what excites me the most is we finally have a female singer in our stable of talent.  Al’s daughter Michelle sang “Dean” and got plenty of well deserved compliments for her work on the song.  This means we can delve into and twist up plenty of popular songs originally recorded by women and have Michelle belt them out.  Not that Al and I don’t like to play rock star, but now we’ve got a much more palatable ace up our sleeve to deal to the world.

Next Week’s Blog: Remembering my trip to the 2000 Super Bowl.

“Should old acquaintance be forgot and never brought to…” Oh let’s not forget, I want to remember!  I want to remember some New Year’s happenings from way back.  Yes, often times a New Year’s Eve night out celebration can turn out to be an overblown, overhyped, overspent popcorn fart of nothing, but sometimes they can be a lot of fun.  Here’s a few of mine from days gone by…

FINALLY MADE IT TO MIDNIGHT!  I was 10 years old the first time I managed to not conk out and stay up til 12 midnight and see the New Year in.  Every year my parents would order in pizza and we’d watch TV and find a good movie on one of the 5 or 6 channels available in the time of B.C. (Before cable) After the TV news, we watched Dick Clark in New York and the east coast New Year’s ball drop.  Sixty minutes later, the clock struck twelve in Elmhurst! As 1971 segued into 1972 I heard my neighbors outside yelling “Happy New Year” and banging pots with spoons to everyone’s enjoyment.  Twenty minutes later I was out like a light but we were IN a new year and I stayed awake to see it happen.

THE FREDRISKEN HAT TRICK- Three years straight, from freshman through junior year in high school the last night in December was spent staying overnight at my longtime friend Mark Fredriksen’s house.  Jim Briegel, Nick Ragona and Jon Carlson were also on hand for pizza, pop, snacks, poker and Tripoly;  this all happened in Mark’s parents’ large downstairs den/lounge.  The TV would be on and we’d catch the east coast and local New Year’s coverage. 

Junior year we were drinking more than soda pop and partying pretty hard while skitching from the back of Paul Greenberg’s Vega.  Paul had a case of Old Style beer in the back of his car with the hatch open. We took turns being dragged around the snow covered roads of the neighborhood on our bellies, with one hand hooked on the car bumper and the other on a beer.  Were we daredevils or dumbasses?  You take your pick.

FUN IN FORT LAUDERDALE

Earlier this year when Eddie Money died, I wrote about how his music tied into an insane New Year’s Eve I spent in Florida with four buddies. We were seventeen, liquored up in a bar and sucking face with any and every woman we happened upon that night.  You can click into the month of September on this site and scroll to September 15^th for that whole story.  It really was nuts, loads of fun and it was a miracle that none of us came down with mononucleosis.

A.W. SHUCKS IT’S NEW YEAR’S EVE!

I spent a couple of New Year’s Eves at the former great Elmhurst rock nightclub A.W. Shucks.  I was with my dear friend and mentor Lee Swanson and the onstage entertainment was Risk, the band he managed.  The first of these wing-dings was as we welcomed in 1983 and to close out the night I ended up onstage singing The Clash’s “Should I Stay of Should I Go” with Risk lead singer Joey DeMarco.  After that show stopper, on occasion Joey would summon me to join him for a last song of the night performance.   

WE DROVE ALL THIS WAY FOR THIS?

On New Year’s Eve 1984 pals Bobbo, Marko, Dave Potter and I drove more than four hours in a ridiculous blizzard to visit college friends for an alleged party in Galesburg, Illinois.  The bad news was there were no women there and hardly a party was happening. We drank a few beers and watched MTV til 2 am which proves not EVERY one of my New Year’s Eves was golden.

A BO DEANS NEW YEAR’S EVE

New Year’s Eve 1990 Marko and I were at the Park West for a BoDeans concert.  That was a great way to rock out the year as Sammy Llanas and the band did a perfect countdown to midnight in the middle of the song “Don’t Be Lonely.”  It was also a night for a rare blue moon and Sammy ended up singing “Blue Moon.” I remember all this because Marko rigged a set-up at home to record the concert which aired on WXRT.

HAWKS GAMES

Every once in awhile the Blackhawks, my favorite Chicago sports team, played a home game on New Year’s Eve.  I remember going to one of those games at the old Chicago Stadium and at least once at the United Center.  Some fans in the stands were sporting tuxedos and cocktail dresses with plans to hit some parties after the game.  I was dressed casually in jeans & sweatshirt then spent my post game time hitting a White Castle drive thru before going home to bring in the New Year.

THE MILLENIUM OF 2000

Remember the whole Y2K scare as we prepared for 1999 to become 2000?  I was at a neighbor’s party that night, only two doors from my house in case anything bad happened. Earlier that month and again on December 31^st my former radio boss and longtime friend Larry Lujack & I talked on the phone about all the disasters that COULD go down as the new century approached. Lar and I shared how both of us were really prepared for the end of times with stored water and non-perishable food.  On New Year’s Day Larry called me back, when I picked up the phone he said, “Well…(long pause) we’re still here… What a disappointment!”  We had a big laugh on that.

2009

December 31^st 2009 was the last time I went out for New Year’s Eve.  It was to attend a brother-like friend’s wedding.  Jason Vanderwoude was marrying the love of his life Lizzy Weninger in a beautiful candle light service in Geneva.  The reception took place at the historic Hotel Baker in St. Charles. The food, fun and the revelry that night was incredible!  After Jason & Lizzy’s party ended I hung out in another of the hotel’s ballrooms to see a great Beatles tribute band called The Cavern Beat.   Like many of the wedding guests, I opted to stay overnight at the hotel to avoid trouble on the roads. 

So those are a few examples of how I’ve wrung out old years and started new ones.  I’ll be staying in again this year because there’s a reason they call the evening of December 31^st ‘Amateur Night.  ” I prefer to enter January in a state of being alive.   

For those going out, please be safe, use your head, make good choices and stay alert.  

Oh,.and wherever you celebrate, whoever you’re with, Happy New Year!

NOTE:  I’m going to take a little time off from blogging (unless some pressing matter kicks in that merits my attention and comments) I’ll be back with you soon in 2020. 

Looking back on the past 355 days, it’s hard to rate how this year was for me.  Things just never took hold in definitive positive or negative ways.  I guess 2019 gets a grade of a ‘C’.

I stayed pretty healthy save for a two day battle of chills & fever a few weekends ago. However, back in February I suffered a badly gimped up knee after a fall on my icy driveway. My right leg stayed planted while my left slipped down and pointed out in an ugly way. Had the angle of my leg gone out just a degree or two further I would’ve had a Joe Theisman-like injury with surgery for sure.  I hobbled on a cane for five days and the left lower hinge didn’t totally heal for over a month.   

DOWNS & UPS

I attended the wake of former baseball teammate Brian ‘Bubba’ Mc Carthy who passed away from cancer. Bubba was a great guy and a year younger than me. His passing really blew my mind.  It’s just another reminder that our time in this life is limited.

The two days of York’s Class of ‘79 reunion was a fantastic time; filled with great laughs, reminiscing and happy reflections on the good ole days and what’s happened in the forty years since.  I was thrilled with the warm embraces and smiles shared with former classmates.

The Sammy Llanas surprise birthday show for my closest pal Bobbo back in June was another stone groove! The former BoDeans member and co-founder put on a helluva show with his band and it was the perfect way to close out Bobbo and his family living here in Illinois.  They’ve all moved west but the echoes of the good times had in that house are still heard.  And they always will be!

 On top of everything else, Bobbo became a grandfather for the first time to a sweet little buckaroo named Archer Ford Ciciora.

I saw Elton John in concert in February at the Allstate Arena. Captain Fantastic put on a fine show and yet it reminded me how much I miss my sister Marianne who was a fellow Elton fanatic and took me to my first several EJ concerts.

The swim season was a terrible letdown. This was due to the cloudy and cool weather we had all summer.  Of course as soon as East End Pool closed for the year we got sunny skies and temperatures in the high 80’s & low 90’s with loads of humidity for about a month.  Still, the laughs and bonding my fellow East End regulars and I did were fun as always. 

I saw lots of movies and really enjoyed the Beatles never existed fantasy “Yesterday,” “The Peanut Butter Falcon” and “The Sound of my Voice”, the documentary on Linda Ronstadt.  I thought the highly touted “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood” was just O.K.  Finally as disturbing as it was, I was mesmerized by Joaquin Phoenix in “Joker.”  I still need to get around to screening “The Irishman.”

Musically, my favorite new track was Justin Moore’s “Some Day I Gotta Quit.”  This is a poignant song for those of us dealing with addictions and bad decision making.  I mean check out these lyrics: “Between the whiskey and the nicotine, the wrong girls in the right jeans and all the other fires that keep burning me I keep lit, it ain’t never gonna happen some say oh but somehow, some way, some day I gotta quit.”

Another favorite was “Buy My Own Drinks” by the female trio Runaway June. That song actually came out in August of 2018 so I was a little late to the prom for that one but no matter,.it’s still a great tune.

Naturally I could not get enough of the Ken Burns documentary PBS series on Country Music.

Work wise the 2018-2019 school year was my best in teaching. There were more challenges than anyone could count and I really shined as a consistent and reliable educator. (That was reflected in the pay raise I was given and the yearly bonus paid in the fall) 

So far, the 2019-2020 school year has been a rough one, I have a difficult class of kids with serious personality clashes. They can barely stand each other and all efforts to find common ground and peace for them have so far failed. Let’s see how the second half of the school year pans out.  Some sanity has been maintained thanks to my assistant Lisa Ivins. I attended Lisa’s wedding this year which was a good time that included some of the best food I’ve ever had at any wedding. 

We arrived at the 10 year mark since my mother died and the 5^th anniversary since my sister Marianne passed away.  Mom, Mary and my father who left this world in 1993 are never far from my thoughts.

Al Flash and I created several new parody music videos that aired on The Channel 9 Morning News, all of which were well received.  We have more shenanigans in store for that show in the New Year. 

I spent much of the year trying to be better to others.  This started with simple things like often times letting someone with just a few grocery items go in front of me in the check-out line at Jewel to writing letters to an elderly East End swim mate who is now in a nursing home. Also, I took more time than ever offering encouraging words and support to those who needed it, from my own students to Facebook friends and others. 

So 2019 is about to end and I look forward to turning the page and moving on to what will be my last year in my 50’s.  Yow!

What’s to happen in 2020? Who’s to say?  I don’t make resolutions because that’s a surefire way to see them not happen.  I just plan try to be better to myself and we’ll see where that takes me.

NEXT WEEK- Recalling some New Year’s Eves from my past.

I’ve been in a very nostalgic mood during this holiday season.  So I set the way-back machine to memories of the Christmases I enjoyed with my mother, father and sister way back when.  Here’s some of what I thought of.

**Being handed the latest Sears catalog and scanning the toys and sporting goods sections for things I’d like to ask Santa for.

**In the days before VCRs there was also my urgent calling out to my parents to check out a TV commercial that was on for some game or toy I wanted for Christmas. 

**The annual excited drive to Yorktown Mall each December to sit on Santa’s lap and offer up my gift wishes. 

**Some of those early Christmas presents gifts my sister Marianne and I asked for included games like “Ants in the Pants”, “Don’t Break the Ice”, “Sure-Shot”, “Hands Down”, “Bobby Hull Table Hockey” and the one that got me hooked into media, “The Say-It Play It” tape recorder!

**I also remember when Mary was starting to get more ‘mature’ gifts like her “My Sin” perfume and special hair care products.

**Stocking Stuffers ranged from the practical like tooth brushes and combs to the fun stuff like York Peppermint patties & other sweets. There’d always be a little stash of cash money and I’d land rolls of hockey tape and pucks to add to my ice time fun. By the time I was a junior in high school, mom and dad knew I liked the occasional oat soda, so I’d get a six pack of Michelob beer wrapped beneath my stocking.

**My parents had a real talent for gift giving drama.  They would always make sure the best or biggest surprise present Mary and I had coming was the last one we opened. One of the most special gifts I ever got was when unbeknownst to me my dad had a professional photographer take photos of our Boston Terrier ‘Molly’.  Pop was worried Christmas of ’89 would be our aging dog’s last so he wanted me to have a cherished remembrances of her.  The best photo was blown up to poster sized and framed.  Folks, my dad was the best!

**In the weeks leading to Christmas day my mom would bake seven or eight different cookies. She made loads of each type, my favorite being the round Buckeyes made of peanut butter with chocolate wrapped around them. All the cookies were stored in airtight Tupperware containers on our makeshift fridge, the table on our back porch, and a good portion of those treats were shared with relatives and neighbors.

**When it came to Christmas cards, mom didn’t just sign and mail them out.  She’d write thoughtful messages to each person on her list. There would be updates on our family and she’d offer personalized best wishes to every card recipient.

**My dad owned a beauty shop and in the weeks and days leading up to Christmas he’d come home with gifts from grateful customers.  There would be boxes of Fannie May Meltaways (a big favorite for all of us) and lots of booze; bottles of Crown Royal, Cutty Sark and Beefeater Gin.  But the craziest thing was all the cartons of cigarettes my dad would get.  Cartons of cancer causing smokes! Merry Christmas, right?  Like Pop, most of his customers smoked and they’d load him up with enough squares to last til Valentine’s Day.

**Watching Garfield Goose in the afternoon and waiting to see which holiday video would be shown that day. There was Frosty the Snowman, Suzy Snowflake and everyone’s all time favorite, Hardrock, Coco & Joe.”

** Each year, all four of us would contribute to putting up our Christmas tree, which was never done before Thanksgiving. At the bottom of the tree was a manger and animal set-up that my mom bought in her single years. Under the tree and manger there was a beautiful soft white blanket with a felt and sequined Joseph, Mary and Jesus stitched on it by my mother and sister.  Our cat Miss Priss loved sitting and sleeping on that blanket as the warm glow of colored lights blinked above her. Prissy was pure white and sometimes we could only tell she was under the tree by spotting her glowing green eyes.

**My paternal grandparents would come to celebrate with us on Christmas Eve then visit other family members the next day.  The last time my grandpa Kahler read us the story of Christmas from the Bible was as warm and moving as the first time he ever did it.

**By the time I was twelve, throughout the year my dad was working long hours at his beauty shop, mom did part time book keeping and waitressing, Mary was busy with her after school job in the dietary department at Elmhurst Hospital and I was playing organized baseball and hockey.  So having us all together for a few days at Christmas was very special.  Just the four of us exchanging gifts, eating great meals topped by those homemade cookies and exchanging hugs, kisses, laughs and love for each other.  Those were grand times!

My parents and Mary are gone and have been for years.  I always miss them but on Christmas day things can grow darker in wishing they were still here.  However, I have vivid memories of all we shared and that brings in some much needed light.  Those warm thoughts will never leave me.  And I thank God and Jesus for that!

I’ll close off with my all time favorite song of the holiday season and wish all of you and your families a very Merry Christmas.

NEXT WEEK: Looking back at how the year 2019 graded out for me.

December 7^th 1978 Chicago Stadium

We hit the way-back machine to 41 years ago this week.

 I was a senior in high school the first time I saw Queen in concert.  I always liked their music for the fact that they rocked hard on songs like “Sheer Heart Attack” and “Tie Your Mother Down” but could also sing the softer songs like “You’re My Best Friend” and “Love of My Life.” And the creativity of the hit “Bohemian Rhapsody” was mind blowing. Queen was one of those bands best appreciated when you see them live, full of big sound, lights, great musicianship and showmanship by one of the coolest lead singers ever in Freddie Mercury. (May he rest in peace) 

My buddy Dave Potter and I went together and the show had all the makings of a great time. It was a Thursday night so being out late wouldn’t be a big deal because Fridays in school were usually a breeze.  Add to this, “Potts” as we called him, picked me up in his two seat MG with a pizza from the place where he worked and a six pack of Stroh’s beer.  Our seats were in the mezzanine about three quarters the way back of the Stadium which worked to our advantage because Queen puts on a large, expansive show that needs to be taken in from a distance.

Queen’s entrance was novel one.  Their overhead lighting rig was mounted on a roof like structure that rested on the stage at a forty-five degree angle. When the houselights went out this ceiling of rows of red, green and white lights began to slowly rise to its full stretched out position above the band. The steps leading to Roger Taylor’s drum set had beaming spotlights in them which were blinding and dimming all night.  So Brian May’s searing guitar started up like a chainsaw while Taylor pounded out the beat to a much faster version of “We Will Rock You.”  John Deacon’s bass hummed its line and out of the dry ice and water infused smoke and lights arrived Queen’s grand maestro Freddie Mercury. 

Mercury eschewed the tight leotards and body stockings he used to wear in concert for a full on storm trooper outfit. He wore white wrestling shoes, shiny black pants, held up with red suspenders, no shirt plus a black leather motorcycle jacket topped with aviator shades and a leather pilot’s cap.  Freddie’s get up was similar to what Al Pacino would wear in the leather bar scenes of the movie “Cruising” a year later. At the time I was oblivious to the gay overtones of his stage wear. And what would that matter anyway?  To me, it looked beyond rock and roll.  It was Elvis’ “Jailhouse Rock” meets Marlon Brando in “The Wild Bunch.”

So the band plows through the “We Will Rock You” part of ”We Are the Champions” then rolled into the rest of their setlist.  We would get the whole regular tribal beat version of that two song punch to close out the show.  Queen was promoting their “Jazz” album so they brought us songs like “Let Me Entertain You”, “Bicycle Race” and the rowdy romp “Fat Bottomed Girls.”  Remember, this was 1978 so these guys were twenty five years ahead of the whole “big butt” admiration society thing that Jennifer Lopez and the Kardashians have pushed in our faces. (So to speak)  

Freddie Mercury alternated between playing his piano to being the full out in your face lead singer at the front of the stage. He held his microphone on a four foot metal pole and sometimes used it as a conductor’s baton.  The sold out crowd went nuts with every move he made.  During “Tie Your Mother Down” I remember being amazed at how four players could make such a huge noise.  Again, Brian May’s guitar had so much to do with that.

The band played “Bohemian Rhaposody” live until they got to the “I see a little silhouette of a man” part. That’s when the foursome left the stage and we heard a tape playing the multi-voiced choir’s refrains.  Queen returned when it was time to rock out with “So you think you can stone me and spit in my eye” and the close of the song.  Sometimes when seeing a live show you forget about a song or two in a band’s past and when it gets played you go, “Oh, yeah, I love that one!”  That happened near the end of the night when they covered “It’s Late” from the “News of the World” album.

The final encore was, “We Will Rock You/We are the Champions” and as the rockers took their final bows, we heard a recorded version of “God Save The Queen.”  Well done by the band as the stadium crowd roared its approval.

All four members of Queen played so well together but Freddie Mercury was the straw that stirred the band’s live drink.  Seeing interviews over the years it became apparent that away from the stage, Freddie was a very shy, low key kind of a guy; definitely a Jekyll and Hyde thing going on there.  I found it fitting Potts and I saw Queen on December 7^th, Pearl harbor Day, a day that in 1941 FDR said would live in infamy.  True enough, but Mercury, May, Deacon and Taylor made that night in 1978 one to remember too!

NEXT WEEK’S BLOG- Recalling Christmases in the Kahler household.