Horse Manure Park

It is the last day of 2016. Thank you for "tuning in" to read my posts; it is a rare event when something new pops up here (and I really must change that). If I was a true believer in resolutions, I would resolve to write more. But my cynical side tells me I am setting myself up for failure. The excuses will fly left and right why I don't post more often. Instead, I will write today -- mark time as the year ends -- and see what tomorrow brings. The past year was very memorable, but for mostly the wrong reasons. So many famous people in the entertainment industry died this year and I've taken a few minutes to compile a list (certainly not exhaustive): David Bowie Alan Rickman Dan Haggerty  Glenn Frey Abe Vigoda Maurice White  Harper Lee (author of To Kill a Mockingbird ) Sir George Martin  Frank Sinatra, Jr. Garry Shandling  Patty Duke Merle Haggard Prince Morley Safer Elie Wiesel (author of Night ) Garry Mashall Gene Wilder Bobby Vee Kay Sta...

As this incredible election fades away in the rearview mirror, I feel I should mark time here. I know most people will stop reading right here because I mentioned "election," but there is something I feel I should say based on what I'm witnessing around me. Social media has become a poisonous place, especially post-election. I am troubled that friendships are being destroyed and families have become divided over this election. Think about what we are doing to one another. I know this is a Simple Simon idea, but there is one solitary truth that everyone should understand... No one cares about you except your family and your friends.  Believe it or not, Hillary Clinton really didn't give a damn about you. She wanted your vote. She had her own agenda. Donald Trump doesn't give a damn about you. He wanted your vote. And he has his own agenda. Yet, with limited time on planet earth, we are slashing each other's throats over two vile human beings who ...

An unforgettable and historic World Series has come to a thrilling conclusion and somewhere up there, my mom is smiling. My mom loved baseball. It was probably her favorite sport. In fact, the main reason I enjoy baseball to this day is because it reminds me of her. Of course, she loved the Minnesota Twins and when I was a kid, the Twins play-by-play was tuned in on our kitchen radio every summer evening (this was back when we only had one t.v. channel -- yes, only one! -- and it was very rare to be able to watch a regular season Twins game). I am so thankful she was able to see the Twins win a World Series in 1987; she was absolutely thrilled. She had her favorite Twins sweatshirt which she wore all the time. I have just one picture of her wearing that shirt, but for the life of me I can't find it. In fact, when my mom died unexpectedly on May 2, 1990, she was wearing that shirt. I found this picture online. It is identical to my mom's favorite Twins shirt. But he...

My "favorite" time of year is approaching. No, I'm not talking about the election, although heaven knows I will be glad when it's over. I'm not talking about Halloween. I'm talking, of course, about the nominations for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. This is truly my pet peeve. The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame makes me crazy. I've been critical of it for years because it is simply not done right. While the pretentious nominations committee have recently allowed fans a token online vote, in the end the committee will nominate who they darn well please. In short, the nomination process is controlled by a small number of individuals -- most of them frustrated journalists -- who allow their own personal tastes and the smell of their own farts to get in the way of blatantly obvious choices. For years I screamed at the Hall for their refusal to even place KISS on the nomination ballot. Forget the fact that no other American band has sold more gold rec...

A chilly October morning. Fresh coffee is brewing. I have the day off. Here's what is on my mind today. The presidential election is less than a month away and it can't come soon enough. I can barely bring myself to look at social media right now. Almost everything is politically charged; one person argues Clinton is horrible while another counters Trump is awful. Both sides are convinced their candidate can do no evil while the other is Lucifer incarnate. Friends are getting upset with friends, brothers are fighting with sisters. Can we just stop? Here's they way I look at it, and be mindful I claim to be neither Republican nor Democrat; in fact, I think a huge problem with American politics is the two party system (I will get to this later). This is a complicated nation; it is a melting pot of many religions, races, creeds and philosophies. I don't think we can be dumbed down to a simple two party system any longer. It's not the 1820's anymore. I am al...

Today is my birthday. I came screaming into this world 47 years ago. But one thing you will never hear me complain about is growing old. As the old saying goes, "Never complain about getting old; it is a privilege denied to many." I'm paraphrasing there... and I do not know who said it. But it is very true. And I was reminded of this truth on Wednesday. My brother's soulmate, my sister-in-law, Kathy, passed away in the early morning hours of October 5th. Kathy battled cancer for several years and she was a warrior. In August, she made the courageous decision to withdraw any further chemo treatments as they were making her incredibly ill. Her choice was to live the rest of her life on her terms, doing things she enjoyed, rather than spending her days in and out of hospitals with no quality of life. She made this resolution knowing her time was short and she embraced every moment she had left. It was simply a measure of her bravery and faith. She did it her way ...

I read that today is National Coffee Day. Who comes up with this stuff? Not that I have anything against coffee. Oh heavens, no! Every damn day is national coffee day in my life. Coffee is my elixir; my cure for all things dark and dreary. In fact, on this overcast and chilly autumn afternoon, guess what I'm drinking? You guessed it. I'm kidding. Coffee it is. Specifically, Caribou Daybreak, even though it is nowhere near daybreak at the moment. Hell, I will probably be swilling this stuff well into the evening hours. And by 10:00 PM, I will be deeply regretting my decision. I will cross that bridge when I come to it. But what can I say? I love coffee. Good, strong coffee. And best of all, the Surgeon General has decided that it won't kill me now.   This is still the Surgeon General, right? He's the only one I'm familiar with, so I'm guessing there's been no change in the past 35 years. I remember my introduction to coffee. I was a fresh...

I always enjoy a good read and thanks to a recommendation from my old friend, Jon, I just finished an excellent one. The Rising Tide by Jeff Shaara was first published ten years ago and documents Operations Torch, Husky and Avalanche during World War II. But it is way more than just that... it's a good story revealing the human element of men whose names are larger than life. This is hardly Shaara's only work of historical fiction. Gods and Generals and The Last Full Measure are just part of his impressive profile. While this is a novel and there are a handful of fictional characters, it is based on real events, real places and real people. Shaara undoubtedly invested thousands of hours in research (in the foreword he mentions he prides himself on historical accuracy) and the novel's narrative flows effortlessly in Shaara's very readable style. The book was particularly interesting to me because my father was a part of both Operation Torch and Operation Aval...

I could categorize this weekend as "first world problems" for myself. Petty stuff, I know, considering some people don't know where their next meal is coming from or don't have clean water to drink. Still, they're my problems. It started last night when I tripped walking up the steps while carrying my iPad (yes, I was still sober at this point). My left forearm hit the stairs and my right hand (with iPad) reached out to break my fall. Somehow the iPad still works, but the case didn't fare so well. I almost had my excuse to get a new iPad since mine is old and S-L-O-W. Maybe better luck next time. Also, yesterday I solidified my reputation as a wold class computer-illiterate moron.  I wanted to update my Mac with the new Sierra operating system. I decided to back up my iTunes data via external hard drive (good idea, Sam). It had been five years since I backed up anything (yes, five years) and I could not remember how to do it. I went to the Apple web s...

Way back on 25 October 2007 I made my first blog post. That was almost nine years ago. For a while I was a blogmaster. I wrote constantly about my life and times. Then this turd called Facebook came along and I pretty much abandoned my beloved blog. Blogging became mundane. It was stupid. I mean, nobody wrote blogs anymore. Now I've come full circle. I've not been here at Blogger.com for some time. In fact, it was called Blogspot.com last time I was here. They've done a lot of cool improvements. I like it. And it's free. In the meantime, I've come to despise the world of Facebook. I enjoy connecting and communicating with family and friends, but there are also many jerk-offs on Facebook. Not long ago, Facebook must have changed a setting with one of their updates. Suddenly, people you don't know - complete strangers - can read stuff you write if you have a mutual friend who has commented/liked a posting of yours. Now, this is a problem, because those stra...

For my friends and family not on Facebook, here is the Farm Fest t-shirt order form. Please follow the directions on the form. If you choose to order by mail, RIGHT click on the form, save it to your computer, then print it. Be sure you mail your check with your order form.  All orders must be received by July 22 .  

My family received some sobering news yesterday and unfortunately it was not an April Fool's prank. My brother's wife, who has been waging a public and very inspirational battle with cancer for more than a year, recently had further testing done and she got the results yesterday.  We were praying for the best, but life threw a curve ball. But you can't win the game if you don't step in the batter's box. You have to swing for the fences even if it means you might get hit by a pitch.  More than anything, you can't quit. We may not always be together, but we are all in this together. In the words of Jimmy Valvano, "Don't give up. Don't ever give up." I really think my sister-in-law should get this shirt. It's awesome...

UPDATE: Just moments after posting this, Guns N' Roses officially announced they will, indeed, be performing tonight at The Troubadour in West Hollywood, their old stomping grounds.  Tickets are $10. Venue limit is 250 people. No April Fool's joke! I enjoy a good mystery. Add one of my favorite bands from the '80's to the plot and you've got my attention. I have to give them credit, the Guns N' Roses hype machine has played this one masterfully, thanks to social media. We are one week from the reunited band's return to the stage in Las Vegas and still no one is 100% sure who exactly is going to take the stage.  We know this much: Axl Rose, Slash and Duff McKagan, three-fifths of the original "classic" line-up, are already on board. Original guitarist Izzy Stradlin is definitely out. Based on circumstantial evidence, most people have concluded the remaining line-up will include keyboardist Dizzy Reed (who has been an associat...

I'm enjoying the first day of spring doing a couple of my favorite things... Catching up on some reading with a cup of extra strong Peaberry coffee from Costa Rica (thanks Scott and Ann!) and savoring a fine cigar from the Dominican Republic, while chilling (literally) in the crisp Minnesota sunshine. My dad used to tell me I was named after Sammy Kaye. I never really knew if he was kidding me but it is interesting to learn more about the big band leader whose namesake I may (or may not) be. I found this little treasure while browsing my favorite used book store (if you're in the Brainerd Lakes Area, check out Emily's Used Books right next to BIR. You won't be disappointed). It was published in 1967 and it is simply oozing with information. The author (George T. Simon) wrote for Metronome   magazine; he had an encyclopedic knowledge of the big band era. Simon passed away in 2001, but what a gift he left us. A wonderful read!

Music has always played an enormous part in my life. I played in bands from the time I was eight or nine years old, all the way through my teenage years. Playing music was my "after school" job, except I only worked on Friday and Saturday nights, and I worked in bars and nightclubs (you know, like most kids). Playing music was my first paying job and I made pretty good money doing it. My parents were always behind me; they were always encouraging me and supportive of me even if I didn't always play the kind of music they appreciated. With that thought, today marks a special anniversary. On this day four decades ago, March 15, 1976, Kiss released their groundbreaking album, Destroyer .  Why is this important? Because Destroyer was the very first record I ever owned. You see, I was (and still am) a huge Kiss fan. When I was a kid, I used to sit at the kitchen table and draw pictures of the band all the time. I used to make Kiss concert stages out of Tin...