As I Get Older...

...I understand why my mother drank. It's hard letting go of your kids and getting older. As I am in South Bend, I am so proud of my son for his accomplishments, but then again I am sad for the fact that while I was stumbling through life, the torch has been passed to the next generation. While I wasn't looking, the boy has become a man. Sitting through the public commission ceremony today, it became clear to me why my mom lost her will to live. What is left after the kids leave? What role do we take and how long do we have left? It is truly amazing that parents have dealt with this since the beginning of time. Mixed emotions, I have a ton. So proud, so happy, so sad. My mother drank herself to death. I know I won't go that way but it makes you wonder what purpose does my life have now? I hope to find it.

Dave Edmunds Videos

Thanks to my friend Brian, here are some great videos from Dave Edmunds who should be in the rock and roll hall of fame.

Here's Girls Talk with Rockpile

This is "I Hear You Knocking", one of the most underrated rocka nd roll songs ever, and a soundtrack song from my fifteenth year.


"I Knew The Bride" is another great gem from his collection.


"Tear It Up" with The Stray Cats.....I don't know of a better guitar player or arranger
than Dave. He has been one of my faves since 1970.


Here's Jeff Lynne's contribution to Dave's career. From 1983, it's the video for "Information"

Here's the video to "sliipin Away" another Jeff Lynne production.

From 1990 and with Max Weinberg on drums, this is "King Of Love", "Closer To The Flame" LP, here.

Thanks, Bri

My son, the Second Lieutenant

lieutenant

noun
1. a commissioned military officer
2. an officer in a police force
3. an assistant with power to act when his superior is absent [syn: deputy]
4. an officer holding a commissioned rank in the United States Navy or the United States Coast Guard; below lieutenant commander and above lieutenant junior grade

How wonderful to be in South Bend for the commissioning of my boy to the rank of Second Lieutenant in the Air Force. It was only yesterday that he was hiding under the couch from me and asking if I wanted to play with his "twains." The weather was beautiful and the ceremony was touching as we all cried. He is graduating tomorrow with a degree in Aerospace engineering. He heads to LA in June and it will be very rare that we will see him again. This is what happens as life continues and time marches on. I couldn't be more proud of him and his accomplishments. He is sad about leaving the golden dome and also excited to start his life post college. This is the first of two to leave this summer. This one was comparatively easy to deal with. The next one....

Insomnia

can't sleep. but i must. up at three. done. the ceiling fan is my best friend. must stop this. killing me. endless loop. over and over. won't stop. must sleep. no pills, please. anything? nothing. help. drink? can't. won't.
maybe this will work. it's a joke. alone. awake. ears ring. gotta be the headphones. damn music career. gotta make budget. how? full funnel. keep going. can't sleep.

Done Too Soon

He was there when I saw the Beatles for the first time. My brothers best friend and a guy I can't get out of my head. One of the greatest I have ever known. There are lots of laughs in the afterworld, that's for sure and you are finally at rest.
Miss you bud. Say hi to Mom and Dad, Butch, your Dad and Mom, Rhonda and Terry, too.

A Day Of Links

The top ten FBombs dropped on live TV. NSFW

The worst movie scenes ever (in six different categories)

Ten minutes of the opening couch gags from the Simpsons

When bad comedies happen to great comedians, the list looks like this



The top ten Sesame Street moments

Two Significant Deaths Recently

Jerry Falwell died yesterday.
Let's get a review of what the minister had to say...

“AIDS is not just God's punishment for homosexuals; it is God's punishment for the society that tolerates homosexuals”
"It appears that America's anti-Biblical feminist movement is at last dying, thank God, and is possibly being replaced by a Christ-centered men's movement which may become the foundation for a desperately needed national spiritual awakening."
"If you're not a born-again Christian, you're a failure as a human being."
After the September 11 attacks Falwell said, “I really believe that the pagans, and the abortionists, and the feminists, and the gays and the lesbians who are actively trying to make that an alternative lifestyle, the ACLU, People For the American Way, all of them who have tried to secularize America. I point the finger in their face and say 'you helped this happen."
“Christians, like slaves and soldiers, ask no questions”
“[Homosexuals are] brute beasts...part of a vile and satanic system [that] will be utterly annihilated, and there will be a celebration in heaven...

I don't know...my Jesus is a tolerant, loving God who has room for all in his kingdom. Jesus hung around with the lepers and threw the money changers out of the temple. I wish no ill will on any man or his family. I will say this for Mr. Falwell. He is a man who stuck by his principles and never wavered in what he believed. I admire him for that. As a Christian man, my views are different than his. I pray for his family for the swift passage of time.


Wally Schirra passed last week at the age of 84. He, John Glenn, Gordon Cooper, Gus Grissom and the rest of the astronauts were heroes in my book. I know that when the Gemini or Apollo flights would blast off and there would be news coverage about a spacewalk or some other important dramatic devolpment, I'd skip school claiming illness. My mom knew. He was, to me, a true man, daring and brave. Where are those guys anymore? Will they manifest themselves in guys like my son who is got a degree in Astronomical Engineering? Will we ever go back to the moon? Will any of those people who posses bravery and guts EVER run for President? We could sure use them. Mr. Schirra and his co horts gave me many memories and thrills. When I head to the other side, I want to know what's out there. Maybe Mr. Schirra knows already. Godspeed Mr. Schirra.

What An Incredible Job

Here is the video of a guy who has an incredible job. This incredible video clip -- I don't know where it's from, or when? -- documents the everyday work of a man whose job is to maintain and repair high-voltage overhead power lines.
He is transported to those lines by flying on top of a helicopter, and he crawls around on the lines with some special gear. Without that gear, he'd fry.
He wears a fire-retardant "hot suit" made in part from metal threads, so the garment functions as a Faraday Cage.
"A half a million volts pass around my body but I can work without interference from electricity," he says in the video. "There's such a hunger for electricity these days, nobody wants to take lines out of service to maintain them."

And I thought my job was tough.

Great Quote

"I have no pleasure in any man who despises music. It is no invention of ours: it is a gift of God. I place it next to theology. Satan hates music: he knows how it drives the evil spirit out of us. "

-Martin Luther

May 12 2007

The 31st anniversary of my first day in the air.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------

I don't know what is happening to me emotionally but I don't like it. I am thinking and feeling things I have never felt before. My daughter is leaving for college in August and that is all I am dwelling on. I have been obsessed with the idea that I am growing old and wondering who will need me then? I was having a conversation about this to a buddy of mine in the sauna the other day and he said the same exact thing is happening to him. We were wondering if hormones had anything to do with it. All I know is while I am happy with who and what I am at this stage in my life, I shudder to think what the future holds and how shitty it's going to be without her. I don't see her much now becasue she is with her friends but at least I know she will be coming home before the night is done. That won't happen in August ...arrggghh! I know I am very lucky to be able to send her to a great school, but I cannot get past the fact that she's leaving and probably won't return home much. I can't stand it. It is killing me and I don't know why. Mr. Strongguy has turned into mush and it sucks.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

I went and hit some golf balls for the first time in about four years today. I am playing in a charity game on Monday and I needed to see if I could even hit them anymore. I hit most of them pretty well and we will see what happens on Monday. Head down, arm straight, follow through.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I am afraid the station in Nashville that I left is in deep trouble. The winter rating book came back and it was rough on my buddy Al. Of course, I don't think the company will let him win. Al will do things exactly as they tell him to do and then when the ratings stall, they will blame Al and blow him out. They should have left us alone and kept things the way they were when we started.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I couldn't sleep again last night, so I went downstairs and watched all the Friday Night Lights that were Tivoed and I hadn't seen. It is an excellent show and I hope that next year it finds an audience like "Hill Street Blues" did. Good story, good acting and I am thinking the gal that plays the coach's wife is just killer diller beautiful.

I believe she was in the movie, too.

Backstage Pass Number Five

Old Gas Station Number Two

Post 714

Perspective 2

When I lived on the farm, listening to far off stations from Little Rock, Nashville and Chicago, I really fell in love with a song called "Games" by Redeye. Great harmonies, nice words and a killer guitar solo in there. So, I went out and bought the 45 and immediately wore out the grooves (I did the same thing with "Absolutey Right" by the 5 Man Electrical Band). When I moved to the Quad Cities about nine months later, I was shopping at Target and found the album that "Games" was on. Took it home and it possibly was the album I played most in 1971. It was like an old friend and me, a teenage loser in a new town needed all the friends I could get. While listening to our am station in Davenport (KSTT), the dj came on and said there was a new song by Redeye called "Redeye Blues". And while much different than "Games", it was great because that meant new music from the guys. Their second album was called "One Man's Poison Is Another Man's Medicine" but I could never find it anywhere. After enrolling in radio school part time in early 1973, the station had a copy of the album that was a promotional giveaway. I quickly took it home and taped it. I kept that tape for a number of years until I found another copy of the album at a garage sale or something like that. These guys had a very laid back country feel to them and their music was very positive , almost happy (.."you know time will mend that hole in your shoe, but until then, your toe will stick through..."). About ten years ago, I met a guy who could put LPs on CD (a very novel thing back then) and the first two albums I took to him were these two. After listening to the CD again the other day after a few years, let's just say that my musical perspectives were a bit different then than now. While still listenable, the music now sounds really dated and almost silly. "Games" is still a kick ass song and it always will be. Hey, if I am only known for only one thing, make it something good like that song. I wonder whatever happened to the guys in the band, I never heard from any of them again.

Perspective

In 30 years, I'll be 81. 30 years ago seems like yesterday.
Nuts.

Old Gas Station #1

I am into wierd things. Like skylines (the top ten will return as soon as I get them from my "Nashville" laptop). And old gas stations. When I was a kid, the guy across the street was a big "car" guy and a Ford fan. He also collected old gas station signs.
Whatever. You are what you are. For now, this is old gas station number 1.

Thanks, Keith

Wednesday Junk

While diggin on and through some tunes for the accountant, I came across this beauty. I came to St. Louis on my honeymoon to my first lovely wife in 1974 and I left St. Louis with Nektar. At that time, it was a big favorite on KSHE. It sounds a bit dated but it's almost like having seen a friend from the past who didn't quite make it out of the seventies. A fine old discovery though and it brought back very strong memories of me thinking.."what he fuck did I just do?"...
My two favorite songs on here would be side one and side two.



God, I loved this show and just found it again through reruns. This show can bring me to tears. Kevin Arnold was 12 in 1968. Bingo! So was I. It is uncanny how this show wrapped up the thoughts of loneliness, amazement and sometimes joy that I felt at that age. I think it got all the way to high school and then it was over. I remeber how hard I cried at the last show when it was revealed that Kevin' dad died the next year, just like my dad did. Wow, this show ranks in the top ten of my all time favorite shows. Five stars.




I have volunteered to be a Mentor, which means I give 45 minutes of my life every month to a kid in the hood who needs it. On Tuesday, I went to Simmons Elementary and sat with Lamontae. He wants to be a sports agent and he really likes Math. I told he needed to go to college and the whole world could be his. He was a cute kid and I enjoyed him. You start when the kids are in first grade and you follow them through to the fifth grade. These kids don't have much, but they seem to try very hard. I kinda felt sorry for them but inside the school, it was clean and the teachers really appreciate the help, I think.


Starting in the fall, I am going back to shool and finish that frikkin degree I started on in 1974, continued in 1984 and in 1994. Time to get serious. I would like to be a teacher some day and a place like Simmons would be cool and challenging. The question remains, would anyone hire a 54 year old guy, fresh out of school? Most say no, I say, why not?

A Name Change

When I was on the air, the sales slugs were always reffered to in the most demeaning terms,...slugs, weasels, scum, whatever. We rarely gave them the time of day but one thing was certain, they drove the best cars. I have decided to change the name of the blog...again. Geez, what a surprize.. I am not trying to resemble those terms. Trying to be real and honest and trustworthy and all they other Boy Scout stuff. So, I have changed the namd to "A View From The Dark Side" which is the same sentiment without all the names

Here's A Guy That Gets It!

From Fortune Small Business Magazine...

A 'radio gypsy' keeps local stations rocking

How a creative salesman revives snoozy local stations.

By Justin Martin,

FSB Magazine

May 7 2007: 11:33 AM EDT

(FSB Magazine) --

Radio isn't exactly rocking nowadays. It's a 100-year-old technology, and many operators cling to tired ways of doing business. Financial results have been about as flat as an old 45: Total revenues for U.S. radio stations, at around $20 billion, have increased less than 1 percent over the past six years. Enter Joe Schwartz, 54, the founder of Cherry Creek Radio, (cherrycreekradio.com) a three-year-old firm in Denver. Schwartz buys underperforming stations in small communities, mostly in the American West. He encourages each newly acquired station to focus on community news and interests, which Schwartz considers radio's competitive advantage, while pursuing more aggressive sales techniques - namely going after the local newspaper's share of the advertising pie. "Cherry Creek tends to buy stations in places that you need an atlas and a flashlight to find," says Bishop Cheen, a radio analyst with Wachovia. "Then it runs them really well." Today Cherry Creek owns 60 radio stations that it bought with around $50 million in private-equity backing from Arlington Capital Partners (arlingtoncap.com) and a bank line of credit worth another $70 million. Schwartz says the closely held company earned about $10 million last year, on total sales of $30 million. A self-described "radio gypsy," Schwartz founded Cherry Creek after spending 29 years running radio stations in dozens of markets across the country. He often surfs Chamber of Commerce Web sites in search of struggling stations in towns where the population is growing or where new businesses are taking root. If a market looks like a strong candidate, Schwartz pays a visit. "When you've done this as long as I have," he says, "you get a feel just driving around and looking for new construction, seeing how much dirt they're moving." As soon as Cherry Creek buys a station, it puts its staff through an ad-sales boot camp run by Dan Gittings, 60, who is Schwartz's deputy and a former petty officer in the U.S. Navy. Gittings gathers the managers in a hotel for an intensive two-day workshop. His main message: Go to war with local newspapers. The advertising pie in a typical small market breaks down as follows: 25 percent radio, 25 percent TV, 50 percent newspaper. In markets without a local TV station (there are plenty), the breakdown is more like 33 percent radio, 66 percent newspaper. Radio ad salespeople tend to believe that those percentages are set in stone, Gittings says, and that the easiest way to increase their revenue is to steal from other radio stations - even though many newspapers are vulnerable, with declining circulation and aging readership. Local radio stations aren't known for aggressive ad-sales operations. Gittings helps his charges develop a standard sales pitch, highlighting the strengths of their stations and the weaknesses of local papers. Then he gets them fired up. "Go out and get your accounts to up their ad spending," he urges them. "Go knock on the door of businesses that have never done a radio spot." Targets of opportunity include car dealerships, furniture stores and local outlets of retail chains such as Sears (Charts, Fortune 500) and Wal-Mart (Charts, Fortune 500). Cherry Creek in 2004 bought four stations in and around Lamar, Colo., an agricultural area with about 35,000 inhabitants in the southeastern corner of the state. The stations were in trouble, having posted a revenue decline of around 20 percent over the previous four years. They have since turned around - largely by stealing ad market share from two local papers, says Schwartz - and their revenues rose by about 25 percent last year. Charlie Anderson, a sales manager for the La Junta Tribune-Democrat, conceded that her paper's ad revenues were down in 2006. But she maintained that the drop-off stemmed more from a weak local economy than competition from Cherry Creek. Still, she's well aware of her new rival. "I'd be silly to sit here and tell you I'm not concerned," she said. Cherry Creek rarely gets rid of personnel at the stations it acquires; the company has laid off only two managers so far. The reason: Existing managers are considered an invaluable asset for their ties to the local community. (holy shit, you gotta be kidding me) Ron Korb, 40, was general manager of four stations in and around Great Falls, Mont., when Cherry Creek bought them in 2004, and he retains that title. "They provide - I guess you'd call it 'coaching' - in some key areas," he says, referring to Gittings's boot camps. "In other areas, they don't really breathe down our necks." Notably, Cherry Creek rarely tinkers with a radio station's programming. Most Cherry Creek stations provide plenty of community fare to address the concerns of their small-town audiences. For example, KMON-AM in Great Falls offers country-music standards and agricultural news and talk shows, much as it did under the previous ownership. Other Cherry Creek stations broadcast local staples such as school lunch menus. "Our markets tend to be very down-home and very community-oriented," says Schwartz. "They're not racy, and they're not controversial. Howard Stern would never fly here." But Cherry Hill's go-for-the-jugular sales tactics obviously do.

...IS there hope for this businessI love yet? Let us all pray he is successful.......uh, does he need any help? Sales? On air? Wow, I hope he kicks ass. Good luck to you Mr. Scwartz and please consider this an open invitation... (just kidding, Brian)

Hallelujah!

I want to live my next life backwards. You start out dead and get that out of the way. Then you wake up in an old age home feeling better every day. Then you get kicked out for being too healthy. enjoy your retirement and collect your pension. Then when you start work, you get a gold watch on your first day. You work 40 years until you're too young to work. You get ready for High School; drink alcohol, party, and you're generally promiscuous. Then you go to primary school, you become a kid, you play, and you have no responsibilities. Then you become a baby, and then . . You spend your last 9 months floating peacefully in luxury, in spa-like conditions - central heating, room service on tap, and then . . . You finish off as an orgasm.

I rest my case

Saturday Morning May 5th

As I continue to import songs into my Itunes for my accountant, I get a chance to do some digging in the old record library. One of my big, huge musical influences is that of a cat named Wes Montgomery. One of my big purchases in life was to get what is known as "The Complete Riverside Recordings." Twelve CDs (how sick is that?)of arguably the greatest American guitar player ever. He never used a pick but had this sweet smooth style that made it sound so easy. Especially today, on a rainy Saturday morning, Wes sounds great. He died in the mid sixties from a heart attack at the age of 43. He was one of those people who would light one cigarette off of another. I had an uncle who did that. Wes was very young when he died and so was my uncle.

Alphabetically, we go from Wes Montgomery to Montrose. What a country!



So, Josh hancock was drunk, not wearing a seat belt, talking on the phone and most likely toking up. Wow! I lost a very good friend of mine back in 1976 who insisted in driving his motorcycle drunk and high. I saw him pull in front of an 18 wheeler after passing him on the highway. Eldon Stottmeister looked just like Bob Seger and died at 21. There wasn't much left of him. His mother was devastated and I will never forget how she cried at the funeral. Since then, I have driven drunk and high and drunk. I remember one time very clearly. Emmis had a big party over a rating victory downtown somewhere. When I left, I could hardly walk, but I got in my pickup with my girlfriend (who was way gassed and passed out )and headed for Chesterfield.
With Fleetwood Mac on the stereo turned up really loud the thought process went something like this....keep it between the lines, between the lines..between the lines and by the grace of God, I made it.

Fast forward to the fall of 2005, in Kansas City, working for Learfield and embibing during the "Every Wednesday Club" at Ponaks, a Mexican restaurant on Southwest Boulevard. Six margaritas later, I try to drive to my friend's house in Waldo. I get one half block away at an intersection I have navigated a hundred thousand time before. I stop, pull into the intersection and get broadsided by a 19 year old college student and her fiance. "Cross Traffic Does NOT stop" My first thought was on how drunk I was and that this was it, I would lose my car, family and have to spend thousands of dollars to get out of this. I try to gather my wits and see if everyone is OK. The girl is absolutely scared to death and I try to make sure she is OK. The police arrive and one cop asks me if I had been drinking. Oh shit, do I tell the truth, knowing I will be going to jail or do I lie? I lied. He walked away.
I can't say how badly I felt about the accident. I had to put that girl through some hardships as she struggled to go to class without a car. I wrecked my car and had to come home on the train. I quit drinking and driving at that moment. Never again. It could have been a hell of a lot worse and I thank God it wasn't. It's one of those moments in your life when God tugs at your shoulder and lets you know He's still there and in charge.

Wait, is that the sun? Oh sorry, false alarm. Maybe soon.

Backstage Pass Number Four

Summer, 1985. I brought John Cafferty and the Beaver Brown Band on to the stage at the Muny. His band opened for th Beach Boys...yeah, we used to do stuff like that. As I brought him on stage I noticed he wasn't on time and no one could find him. That's because he was HITTING ON MY GIRLFRIEND!!! He had her backed up and was talkin' shit. Guess what pal, yeah, that's right, she went home with me...me. Take that you Springsteen/Seger/Mellencamp wannabe. No talent ass clown. Yeah, that's right!!!

It's..It's The Beatles..no wait, it isn't.

In December of 1977, I was the music director for KFMH in Muscatine Iowa. It was a 50,000 watt dream of a radio station. Engineers who cared about how the station sounded, programmers that actually let the jocks pick the songs, and all around good times. I remember getting invited to so many parties, it was unbelieveable, it was nothing to drive 50 miles and join in some revelry, and usually get laid..ahem, sorry, back to the story... I was given a copy of this album. Nothing else, no info on who the band members were or anything, just "hints" from the record guy that this could be the reunion that we had been waiting for...yes, The Beatles had reformed. I actually liked a couple of songs on this LP, but I knew it wasn't the Beatles. Here is the story of "Klaatu", a band that got hopes up all over the world, and then dashed them on the jagged rocks below.

Diary of a Last Ride-Great Read

Diary of A Last and Final Flight Home - Worth the read

February 17, 2007,
0350
I was at curbside at 24th and M, Washington DC 16 Degrees with a light breeze. Going home after my second week of freezing temps to my warm home in SoCal. Take a walk on the beach, ride a horse, climb a mountain and get back to living. I'm tired of the cold.

0425
paying the taxi fare at Dulles in front of the United Airlines counter,still cold.

0450
engaged the self-serve ticker machine and it delivers my ticket, baggage tag and boarding pass. Hmmm, that Marine over there is all dressed up in his dress blues a bit early this morning... "Good Morning Captain, you're looking sharp." He says, "Thank you, sir." Pass Security and to my gate for a decaf coffee and 5 hours sleep. A quick check of the flight status monitor and UA Flt 211 is on time. I'm up front, so how bad can that be? Hmmm, there's that same Marine. He must be heading
to Pendleton to see his lady at LAX for the long weekend, all dressed up

The speaker system announces "Attention in the boarding area, we'll begin
boarding in 10 m inutes, we have some additional duties to attend to this
morning, but we'll have you out of here on time." The Marine Captain has now been joined by five others. BINGO, I get it,he's not visiting his lady, he's an official escort. I remember doing that once, CACO duty. I still remember the names of the victim and family, The Bruno Family in Mojave - all of them, wows, that was 24 years ago.

On board, 0600:
"Good morning folks, this is the Captain. This morning we've been attending to some additional duties, and I apologize for being 10 minutes late for push back, but I believe we'll be early into LAX. This morning it is my sad pleasure to announce that 1st LT Jared Landaker, USMC will be flying with us to his Big Bear home in SouthernCalifornia. Jared lost his life over the skies of Iraq earlier this month, and today we have the honor of returning him home along with his mother, father and brother . Please join me in making the journey comfortable for the Landaker family and their uniformed escort. Now sit back and enjoy your ride. We're not expecting any
turbulence until we reach the Rocky Mountain area, but we'll do what we can to ensure a smooth ride. For those interested, you can listen in to our progress on Channel 9."

Click Channel 9: "Good morning UA 211. You are cleared to taxi, takeoff and
cleared to LAX as filed."

4 hours and 35 minutes later over Big Bear MT, the AB320 makes a left roll, a steep bank and then one to the right-Nice touch. Nice tribute. Five minutes out from landing, the Captain comes on the speaker: "Ladies and Gents , after landing I'm leaving the fasten seatbelt sign on, and I ask everyone to please yield to the Landaker family. Please remain seated until all members of the family have departed the aircraft. Thank you for your patience. We are 20 minutes early."

On roll out, I notice red lights, emergency vehicles approaching. We're being escorted directly to our gate, no waiting, not even a pause. Out the left window, a dozen Marines in full dress blues. A true class act by everyone, down to a person. Way to go United Airlines for doing things RIGHT, Air Traffic Control for getting the message, and to all security personnel for your display of brotherhood.

When the family departed the aircraft everyone sat silent, then I heard a lady say,"God Bless you and your family, and thank you." Then a somber round of applause. The Captain read a prepared note from Mrs. Landaker to the effect, "Thank you all for your patience and heartfelt concern for us and our son. We sincerely appreciate the sentiment. It's good to have Jared home."

After departing the a/c I found myself along with 30 others from our flight looking out the lobby window back at the plane. Not a dry eye. It was one of the most emotional moments I've ever experienced. We all stood there silently, and watched as Jared was taken by his honor guard to an awaiting hearse. Then the motorcade slowly made it's way off the ramp.

I realized I had finally seen the silent majority. It is deep within us all. Black, Brown, White, Yellow, Red, Purple, we're all children, parents, brothers, sisters, etc - we are an American family.

Official Report: February 7, 2007, Anbar Province , Iraq .. 1st LT Jared Landaker United States Marine Corps, from Big Bear California , gave his live in service to his country. Fatally wounded when his CH-46 helicopter was shot down by enemy fire. Jared and his crew all perished. His life was the ultimate sacrifice of a grateful military family and nation.

His death occurred at the same time as Anna Nicole Smith, a drug using person with a 7th grade education of no pedigree who dominated our news for two weeks while Jared became a number on CNN. And most unfortunately, Jared's death underscores a fact that we are a military at war, not a nation at war. It has been said that Marines are at war.

America is at the mall.

1st LT Landaker, a man I came to know in the sky's over America on 17
February 2007, from me to you, aviator to aviator, I am unbelievably humbled. It was my high honor to share your last flight. God bless you.

R I P Zola Taylor

This may have been my earliest musical influence. Other than my mom, Zola and Patsy Cline were the first two female singers I ever heard. Zola was the lead singer for The Platters and I remember very clearly my brothers copy of the album "The Platters Greatest Hits" from a very early Raley residence. The song "The Great Pretender" is my birth song. It was number one on my birthday. She died on April 30 at the age of 67 after a series of strokes. Another great musical icon in my world I like to call Raleyville is gone.
Sleep well.

R I P Tom Poston

Another bridge to my early days has passed. I do remember when he was on Steve allen and I do remember when he was on "To Tell The Truth". I loved his goofy, bumbling humor. He was so self-effacing on the air. He was also married to a woman I had a crush on all through high school, Suzanne Pleshette(yeah, yeah oh yeah)

Lucky guy...talent will do that for you.
Thanks Tom.


Here's the report:

Tom Poston, the tall, pasty-faced comic who found fame and fortune playing a clueless everyman on such hit television shows as “Newhart” and “Mork and Mindy,” has died. He was 85. Poston, who was married to Suzanne Pleshette of “The Bob Newhart Show,” died Monday night at home after a brief illness, a family representative, Tanner Gibson, said Tuesday. The nature of his illness was not disclosed.
Bob Newhart remembered Poston as a “versatile and veteran performer and a kindhearted individual.” “Tom was always the ‘go-to guy’ on ‘Newhart’ in addition to being a good and longtime friend,” Newhart said in a statement Tuesday. Billy Crystal, who starred in the 1978 film “Rabbit Test” in which Poston also appeared, was another admirer. “How rare that a gentle, sweet person could be so incredibly funny,” Crystal said in a statement. “I grew up watching Tom on ‘The Steve Allen Show’ as a kid. What an incredible gift to become friends with him and to learn about comedy from a true professional. He was a combination of Stan Laurel and Jack Benny. We will all miss him.” Poston’s run as a comic bumbler began in the mid-1950s with “The Steve Allen Show” after Allen plucked the character actor from the Broadway stage to join an ensemble of eccentrics he would conduct “man in the street” interviews with. Don Knotts was the shaky Mr. Morrison, Louis Nye was the suave, overconfident Gordon Hathaway and Poston’s character was so unnerved by the television cameras that he couldn’t remember who he was. He won an Emmy playing “The Man Who Can’t Remember His Name. But when Allen moved the show from New York to Los Angeles in 1959, Poston stayed behind “Hollywood’s not for me right now; I’m a Broadway cat,” he told a reporter at the time.
When he did finally move west, he quickly began appearing in variety shows, sitcoms and films. His movie credits included “Cold Turkey,” “The Happy Hooker,” “Rabbit Test” and, more recently, “Christmas With the Kranks,” “Beethoven’s 5th” and “The Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement.” On “Mork and Mindy,” which starred Robin Williams as a space alien, Poston was Franklin Delano Bickley, the mindless boozer with the annoying dog. On “Newhart,” he was George Utley, the handyman who couldn’t fix anything at the New England inn run by Newhart’s character. And on Newhart’s show “Bob,” he was the star’s dim-bulb former college roommate. “These guys are about a half-step behind life’s parade,” Poston commented in a 1983 interview. “The ink on their instruction sheets is beginning to fade. But they can function and cope and don’t realize they are driving people up the walls.
“In ways I don’t like to admit, I’m a goof-up myself,” Poston continued. “It’s an essential part of my character. When these guys screw up it reminds me of my own incompetence with the small frustrations of life.”

From Broadway to Bob Newhart
Goof-up or not, Poston was a versatile actor who made his Broadway debut in 1947 playing five roles in Jose Ferrer’s “Cyrano de Bergerac.” One role called for him to engage in a duel, fall 10 feet, roll across the stage and vanish into the orchestra pit. Other actors had auditioned and failed but Poston, who in his youth had been an acrobat with the Flying Zepleys, did the stunt perfectly. He went on to play secondary roles in Broadway comedies and starred at regional theaters in such shows as “Romanoff and Juliet” and “A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum.” For 10 years he was also a panelist on the popular TV quiz show “To Tell the Truth.”

He made guest appearances on scores of television shows, including “Studio One,” “The Phil Silvers Show,” “The Defenders,” “Get Smart,” “The Bob Newhart Show,” “The Love Boat,” “St. Elsewhere,” “The Simpsons,” “Coach,” “Murphy Brown,” “Home Improvement,” “Touched by an Angel,” “Will & Grace,” “Dream On,” “Just Shoot Me!” and “That ’70s Show.” Poston and his first wife, Jean Sullivan, had a daughter, Francesca, before their marriage ended in divorce. He married his second wife, Kay Hudson, after they met while appearing in the St. Louis Light Opera, and they had a son, Jason, and daughter, Hudson. Poston and Pleshette, who had appeared together in the 1959 Broadway play “The Golden Fleecing,” had had a brief fling (way to go, Tom!!) before marrying other people. Both now widowed, they reunited in 2000 and married the following year. Their paths had crossed on “The Bob Newhart Show” in the 1970s. Poston made several guest appearances on the sitcom in which Pleshette played Newhart’s wife. In 2006, Pleshette underwent chemotherapy for lung cancer that her agent said was caught at an early stage.

Born in Columbus, Ohio, on Oct. 17, 1921, Thomas Poston moved from city to city as a child as his father hunted for work during the Depression. As a teenager, he made money as a boxer. Following two years at Bethany College he enlisted in the Army Air Corps and flew troops to the European war zone during World War II. Hunting for a postwar occupation, Poston read an interview with Charles Jehlinger, creative head of the American Academy of Dramatic Arts and was inspired to sign up for a two-year course at the Academy.

Besides Pleshette, Poston is survived by his children, Francesca Hudson and Jason Poston.

A private service was planned for immediate family. Details of a public memorial service were to be announced later.

© 2007 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Post 701

"Rainy day, dream away
Ah let the sun take a holiday
Flowers bathe an ah see the children play
Lay back and groove on a rainy day.

Well I can see a bunch of wet creatures, look at them on the run
The carnival traffic noise it sings the tune splashing up
Even the ducks can groove rain bathin in the park side pool
And I'm leanin out my window sill diggin evrything
And ah and you too.

Rainy day, rain all day
Aint no use in gettin uptight
Just let it groove its own way
Let it drain your worries away yeah
Lay back and groove on a rainy day hey
Lay back and dream on a rainy day"

Post Number 700!! Damn you Steve Mays!!

"Getting ahead in a difficult profession requires avid faith in yourself. That is why some people with mediocre talent, but with great inner drive, go much further than people with vastly superior talent."

-Sophia Loren

Randy's College of Musical Knowledge

"Marrakesh Express" 1969 Crosby, Stills and Nash




Marrakesh is a city in Morocco famous for leather goods. The "Marrakesh Express" is the train Graham Nash took on a trip there from Casablanca in 1966. The lyrics are filled with the sights, sounds and vibes that he encountered on the trip.
Prior to exiting the Hollies in 1968, Nash offered this to his band mates. However, the tune was ultimately rejected as being not commercial enough. Their refusal to record this and other tunes he wrote was one of the main reasons Nash left the band and moved to Los Angeles to join up with Crosby and Stills. His new band mates liked the tune and it ended up on their debut album.

Backstage Pass Number Three (Collect Them All!!)

I have interviewed Jon Anderson twice. Each time, he has been a prince, a guy who "gets it" and the interviews represented a very high point in my career. This backstage pass was from the "90125" tour, one of the greatest comebacks in rock history. April of 1984, we played the members of Yes in a softball game because they had just discovered the game and were looking to play anyone.(see previous post) No crowds, just English blokes having fun in the heartland of America. By the way, they allowed me to do stage announcements in front of 18,000 people at Kemper right before their show. The big bands usually never let that happen. I guess they liked us American clowns. The show was great.