Month: July 2026

Summertime and the living is easy, even if I’m not on a beach.

Wanna know how I spend most of my summer break days?   No?  Too bad, here it comes.

4:30- a.m. I’ve always been an early riser and I’ll be up and tuned in to get news from “Way Too Early” with Ali Vitali on MS NOW. My favorite part is when Ali shares feedback pics from viewers who explain why they are up so early.  Most often, it’s because their dogs or cats wake them and want breakfast.

From there I’ll flip between Sportscenter on ESPN to catch last night’s game highlights, also the Channel 9 Morning News and a little CNN.

While snacking on a honey-crisp apple I drive to East End Pool for lap swimming.  I’ve been getting in a little over a mile in swim strokes, plus some dog paddling and water walking.

Back home I’ll click into my DVR and review the rest of the Channel Nine  Morning News.  At this same time, I’ll check out my emails, TMZ and Daily Mail websites and post something new on my Facebook page.

10:00 a.m. I’ll have breakfast.  It’s either oatmeal with blueberries and a small bowl of grapes or 2 scrambled eggs with a piece of toast and the grapes.  While eating, I’ll tune into some CNN or a rerun of “Friends.”

Next up, I’ll to prep for the mid-day swim by putting on my sun screen (Banana Boat Sport SPF 30) and get back into my swimsuit again.

The mid-day swim/water walking takes place at East End with my summer family.  Our little pack of friends ranges between 5 and 15 fellow walkers.  I’m the only guy in our group but other men are welcome to join.  Topics discussed include movies & TV shows to check out, places to eat, sports, family goings on and the latest things the women have bought at what we know as “The Bin Store.”

East End Pool is my summer home away from home.

After pool time, I have a late lunch, usually some cooked salmon or lean burger with vegetables and a serving of watermelon. I also favor the chopped salad from Portillo’s. I’m off all soda pops so it’s either milk, ice water or a Gatorade Zero to drink.  While eating, I’ll watch reruns of “The Dick Van Dyke Show” and “Mary Tyler Moore” which were DVR’d.

3:00 – 6:00 p.m.  More T.V. time as I watch “Inside Edition” then “Jeopardy” followed by Channel 5’s afternoon news and NBC Nightly News.

6:00 p.m. Dinner is a mixed bag.  Sometimes a frozen meal, chicken or salmon and vegetables with dessert being more fruit and a handful or two of almonds.

7:00 p.m. Play ball! Time to watch the Cubs or Sox or both teams depending on their schedules.   Sometimes I go full sports nerd and keep scorecards for the game I’m watching.

10:00 p.m. More news to watch, a little web surfing and when the mood strikes me, some karaoke singing to a tune or two on You Tube. My poor next-door neighbors has to endure my off-key warbling.

11:00 p.m. By now, my day is pretty well done.  Time for flossing, brush my teeth and hit the sack. 

Not the most exciting life. No fancy places to check out, no exotic trips but this pattern suits me just fine.  This is the time of year to re-charge myself and prepare for my 11^th year of teaching at Parkland Preparatory Academy.

So, to quote an old Jackson Browne song, “And when the morning light comes streaming in, I’ll get up and do it again. Amen.”

NEXT BLOG- When I know, you’ll know.

You can’t go on Facebook or You Tube without seeing video clips of seventy-four year old John Mellencamp playing live on his current “Dancing Words: The Greatest Hits Tour” which kicked off July 10^th.  The Hoosier rocker can still bring it live and the crowds are loving the fact that he’s doing ALL the songs that made him a star.  No offbeat or unfamiliar tunes.

FOR THIS TOUR HE’S DRESSING CASUAL WITH SIMPLE T-SHIRT AND BAGGY SLACKS BUT JOHN MELLENCAMP STILL DELIVERS THE HITS.

I did not go to Mellencamp’s show in Tinley Park last week.  The main reason being since 1986, I’ve witnessed his hits played live at over 10 concerts. Seen JM at Summerfest, Farm Aid, the Horizon, Tinley Park, the Chicago Theater, etc.

But my FAVORITE Mellencamp show was back on a Friday night in October of 1991 when he was the ‘surprise’ (not really a surprise) opening act for label mates Material Issue at Chicago’s Riviera Theatre.

Earlier that day John Mellencamp was our in-studio guest at Q-101 while I was producing the Murphy in the Morning Show. He was promoting his new “Whenever We Wanted” album and the lead single “Get a Leg Up.”  As prickly as Mellencamp can be, I found the guy to be affable and cooperative. He even accepted Robert Murphy handing him an acoustic guitar to give us a snippet of “Small Town” which segued into a verse of John Prine’s “Dear Abby” which Murf joined in on. 

Our guest posed for pictures, signed a photo for me with the words “Minutes to Memories” as I asked, since that’s my favorite song of his and made a quick stop at a Q-101 sales staff meeting.  It was a good visit and then the word got out that John and his band would ‘open’ for Material Issue that night.

MELLENCAMP AND ME IN THE Q-101 STUDIOS. I THINK HIS EYES WERE CLOSED BUT NO MATTER. 3 MONTHS LATER I GOT TO INTRODUCE JOHN TO MY MOM BACKSTAGE. THEY SHARED THE SAME BIRTHDAY BUT A FEW YEARS APART.

In my radio days, being on a concert’s guest list was a regular thing for me and that night at the Riviera I landed a spot in the V.I.P. section of the theater in the balcony.  I often called that locale ‘The President Lincoln seats” like he had at Ford’s theater.   That’s always been my favorite place to watch a concert with a great view of a band in action.

THE RIVIERA THEATER. SEATS ONLY 2500 AND HAS GOOD SOUND AND SIGHTLINES.

The group came onstage and Kenny Aronoff’s opening drum stick tap of a cowbell made me realize they were opening their set with the Rolling Stones’ “Honky Tonk Woman” which was beyond cool.  The packed crowd went nuts and then John favored us with several hits like “Hurt so Good”, “Small Town”, “Minutes to Memories”, the new single “Get A Leg Up” and a searing cover of Free’s “Alright Now.”  There was also “The Authority Song” & “Crumblin’ Down” and then Mellencamp closed with the rousing “Pink Houses” for the best forty-five minute set I’d ever seen.

Despite this not being a full blown Mellencamp concert, this show was my favorite time I’d seen him live. I was seeing a seasoned singer and his band rock out in such an intimate setting with great hits and a couple of cool cover songs.  The Chicago based trio Material Issue followed with their show.  After an opening song, lead singer Jim Ellison asked the crowd how they liked that opening act then joked he’d try to help that guy get a record deal.

It was a long day for me so a few tunes into Material Issue’s concert I ducked out.  As I walked down Lawrence Avenue to get to my car, a large van loaded with John Mellencamp and his band slowly rolled by.  I waved to them and they waved back. Good night, folks and thanks for such a fun show.

Next blog- When I know, you’ll know.

The buzz over the 250^th birthday of the United States is winding down and it made me look back to the summer of 1976 when the Bicentennial was approaching.  Two hundred years as a country was a really big deal and everyone, of all ages was way into it.

I’ll share exactly what I did on July 4^th 1976 but first, there were other things happening during that summer.

I was 15 years old and finished my freshman year at York High School.  I was earning money doing weekly mowing of 6 lawns.  Three in my neighborhood and three on the northside of Elmhurst.  I’d load my lawnmower in the trunk of our Chevy Caprice and my mom would drop me off to cut away.  Then she’d come back ninety minutes later and I’d pack up with some freshly earned cash in my pocket.  Money for wiffle balls, movie tickets, pinball playing at the Game Room in Lombard, poker parties and I can’t forget slushes at the White Hen Pantry.

Mowing lawns was my source of income in the summer of ’76.

I was pitching for the Red team in Colt league that summer in the Elmhurst Baseball league.  It was my first time throwing from 60 feet 6 inches (just like the  pros do) and my final mound record was 3 wins & 6 losses.  Four losses came at the hands of the ultra-star filled Green team but in two of those games I HAD them beat but my fielders fell apart a bit in the last inning.  Still, I learned so much about pitching that summer and that led to three solid years pitching for the York Dukes and then American Legion ball.

Pitching for the Colt League ‘Red’ team was a big learning experience for me.

Mariott’s Great America in Gurnee opened that summer.  You could buy tickets in advance at Jewel for less than 10 bucks.  My mom woke me up one morning and said she wanted to take me up there to check it out.  This would lead to future visits to Great America in the summers after that.

Marriott’s Great America opened its first season in the Summer of ’76.

For the 4^th of July, the BIG day to celebrate America’s bicentennial, I hosted four friends for the day at our house.  We loaded up a laundry basket full of water balloons and had a massive balloon bout. A pizza dinner followed then my sister Marianne drove us to see the fireworks. Since a late night poker party was happening at our house afterwards, we convinced Mary to buy us cigars to smoke during the card playing.  My pals slept over that night and I recall we had some bottle rockets and firecrackers to light up too. Nobody lost any fingers that night.

What better way to celebrate our nation’s 200th birthday than with a big water balloon fight?

At the end of July, I attended my first ever rock concert, Elton John’s 4^th and final night at the Chicago Stadium.  We landed tickets 2 months earlier and the countdown to this show was a constant focus for me. Marianne took me, her boyfriend at the time, me and two pals as we rocked out to the hottest act at the time. This was the first of many times I’d see Elton John in concert.  What a blast that first experience was!

Elton John was the first ever concert I ever saw and it rocked big time back in late July of ’76.

One downer of the summer of 1976 was the passing of our beloved part German Shepherd dog “Coach.”  Coach was our first ever dog and a beloved member of the family for 12 years before incurable kidney issues happened.  He was gently put to sleep the second week in August and it devastated all of us.  Even our pure white kitty Miss Priss mourned Coach as she kept vigil by his backyard dog house for 2 days after his death.  Rest in peace Coachie.

Losing our beloved dog Coach was the one downer of the Summer of 76. He was a great member of our family.

When the summer of ’76 wrapped up, I was about to start my sophomore year at York where I’d be on the Yearbook staff, struggle through Geometry with Mr. Urbaniak, go 2 and 0 for the Dukes of York with a team leading E.R.A. of 1.54. (I told you I learned lots about pitching in ’76) and would move on to summer baseball at York plus my first part time job at White Castle.

This all went down fifty years ago.  Fifty years. And yet, it sometimes feels like it just happened.

NEXT BLOG– When I know, you’ll know.