In another blog I mentioned how the mispronunciation of “sandwich”, drives me crazy. For this reason, I feel obligated to explain the proper pronunciation of this word; and give examples of the wrong way to say it.
The correct way to say “sandwich” is: “sand-witch”; however, the actual item has nothing to do with either sand or witches. Though people have been known to create witches out of sand, these items are in no way edible. Even if the sand witch is made to look like a sandwich, it’s still not for consumption.
On the other hand, sandwiches made from food ARE to be eaten. These can be anything from basic peanut butter and jelly, to an extravagant creation of great proportion.
On a side note: The sandwich was created by a man named John Montagu; who was the fourth Earl of Sandwich. The man loved to play cards so much he didn’t even want to stop to eat. He was known to take meat and put it between slices of bread so he could eat while playing cards.
Just because sandwiches are made from food, doesn’t mean they’re always good. Much like witches, (sand or otherwise), there are good ones and bad ones.
Now that we’ve learned how to say “sandwich”, let’s move on to how NOT to pronounce the word.
The most common way “sandwich” is mispronounced is “sam-witch”. This just isn’t possible; that would make it a “sam-warlock”, since “Sam” is a guy’s name.
The only exception to this rule I know is the witch Elizabeth Montgomery played on “Bewitched”. Her name was “Samantha Stevens”, but she went by “Sam”. I guess that would make her a “Sam-witch”. That’s just silly though; since Elizabeth Montgomery isn’t food or a witch.
The worst pronunciation though is “sam-itch”; it’s just so totally WRONG in every way! I can’t even explain it here!
There you have it, the right and wrong way to say “sandwich”. Now that you know which is which, no one should ever say “sam-witch” instead of “sandwich” ever again. Please and thank you!
It’s funny how some people can have huge success in a movie, or television show, yet be so unknown by the general public. Or have that same success; yet only be known for their time on a celebrity reality show years later. That seems to be the case with Jeff Conaway.
I first heard of Jeff Conaway on the television show “Taxi”. He played cab driver, Bobby Wheeler on the show.
The same year “Taxi” premiered on TV, Jeff was in the movie “Grease”, as Kenickie. Earlier in his career he had played the role of Danny Zuko in stage productions of the show.
I always liked “Taxi”, and “Grease” is my all-time favorite movie; so I was sad to hear that Jeff Conaway passed away this morning.
It wasn’t a big secret that Jeff had had his share of ups and downs in his life; he had plenty, including an addiction to painkillers. The addiction landed him on the series “Celebrity Rehab with Dr. Drew” in 2008. Nowadays that’s how a lot of people know the name Jeff Conaway. To me that’s sad. Here’s a man, who’d spent most of his life performing, and yet, most of the younger generation know him from a rehab show.
According to news reports, on May 10th, Jeff had overdosed on painkillers, and also had pneumonia. He was taken to the hospital and put in an induced coma. On Thursday evening, May 26th, he was taken off life support, and died the morning of Friday, May 27th; he was 60 years old.
While I was looking for photos to use with this blog, I found some recent ones, but decided not to use any of them. I guess I’m one of those people who would prefer to remember Jeff Conaway as I knew him best, in his roles as Bobby Wheeler, and Kenickie. Though I only knew him by the characters he played, it was those characters that made me a fan of Jeff’s. So, this is my little way of paying tribute to him for the enjoyment his acting gave me.
What comes to mind when you hear “Memorial Day”? A long weekend? Parties? Cookouts? Great sales? The unofficial start of summer?
Whatever Memorial Day brings to mind, how many people remember the real meaning of Memorial Day? The day we honor our fallen heroes from past and present wars.
This year Memorial Day actually falls on Memorial Day; Monday, May 30, 2011. As trivial as that fact may seem; I feel an obligation to mention it, in hopes the actual date will not be forgotten.
Those born after 1971 may not know what I mean when I say that. Until 1971, Memorial Day was always observed on May 30th. The first “official” Memorial Day was May 30, 1868. In 1971, a law was passed, moving Memorial Day to the last Monday in May. This provided people a long three-day weekend.
While I, like others, love the long weekend; at the same time, it really does bother me when dates get moved for the sake of convenience. To me, it’s just another sign that, as a whole, we’ve forgotten what the real meaning is behind the “holiday”.
That’s another thing that bothers me, the word “holiday” in association with Memorial Day. It just seems like an oxymoron to have a “holiday” on a somber day.
Another oxymoron is “Happy Memorial Day”. Happy? Really?
It’s not that I think we should all be sad and wearing black in mourning. I just think we need to remember why we’re able to enjoy the day. If it weren’t for all those who gave their lives for us, we wouldn’t have a Memorial Day.
In conclusion, while you’re “celebrating”, (another word I have trouble associating with Memorial Day), this long weekend, please take time to remember why you’re able to do so.
This morning’s “Simon in the Morning” program had a segment on words that are hard for people to pronounce; and asked people to call in with words that are hard for them to say. For example, Scott has a problem with saying the word, “regularly”. For Jolynn, it’s Terwilliger, as in the Terwilliger curves.
People were calling in with different words they have trouble saying: literally, February, ambulance, orange, negligee, linoleum, and others. Mine is dominoes. Unless I *really* think about it, I always say “donimoes” instead.
The topic kind of branched out from words that are hard to say, to words that are mispronounced. Like “Washington”; a lot of people say “Warshington”. I’ll get to my theory on why this is a bit later in the post.
Someone called and mentioned Couch Street in Portland. Even though it’s spelled “couch”, (like what you would sit on, pronounced “cow-ch”), the street name is actually pronounced “coo-ch”.
Of course there’s always “Willamette”, (as in the Willamette River). The correct pronunciation is “Will-lamb-it”. Over the years that word has been mispronounced too many ways to list here. The most common mispronunciation though is, “Will-ah-met-E”.
This whole thing got me to thinking of when my son was little. He had no problem saying words like “cinnamon”, “aluminum”, “linoleum”, or “Massachusetts”. However, “breakfast”, “accident”, and “Mexican” were a whole other story. His pronunciation was always, “breskfast”, “askident”, and “Meskadin”. At the time he also aspired to be an Izzy’s Pizza “superbiser”.
One of the funniest things he ever said though was when he was 10 years old, and sound asleep.
It was late at night, and I was on the computer, looking for photos to make a calendar. My son comes walking into the living room and says, “oh, it’s that guy”. I ask what guy, he says, “that guy”, (pointing at the computer screen), “Lavid Me Durphy”. I ask, who again; my son says, (very agitated), “that guy you like, Lavid Me Durphy”.
At that point it clicked in my head, and I say to him, “oh, you mean David Lee Murphy”. My son gets very cranky at this point and says, “that’s what I said, LAVID ME DURPHY. Didn’t you hear me? I’m going back to bed”, and he did.
The next morning he didn’t remember ever getting out of bed, or saying “Lavid Me Durphy”, instead of “David Lee Murphy”. To this day, he can’t say “Lavid Me Durphy” unless he really concentrates on saying it that way. Yet, sound asleep; he had no problem saying it three times!
My theory of how the letter “r” gets in to words where it doesn’t belong is simple.
If you listen to people from the east, like Virginia, Massachusetts, etc., a lot of their words that *should* end with an “r”, don’t. Like “car”, they say “ca”.
I think, somewhere, a long time ago, a very strong wind came blowing in from the east. It blew all the “r”’s into the Midwest, (like Nebraska, were my grandparents are from). Those “r”’s got mixed in with their words, like “wash”, making it “warsh”, (that was a big one with my grandma, and my dad still does it). In the meantime, those in Virginia, Massachusetts, etc., lost those “r”’s, which is why their words come out with no “r”’s on the end.
When people, like my grandparents, moved west, to this area, they brought the extra “r”’s with them; that’s why some people around here say “Warshington”, and stuff. Just a theory, as I said.
One word mispronounced by people everywhere is: sandwich. I don’t know how many people I’ve heard over the years say, “sam-witch”, or even worse, “sam-itch”. ARGH!!! Drives me crazy!
Before I get too far into THAT subject though, I’ll stop for now, and save it for another time.
In a previous blog I lamented how I’d been sucked into reality TV; “Celebrity Apprentice” to be exact.I’d never watched the show before this season; yet found myself watching every episode, despite David Cassidy being voted off the first night.
I’ve never been a big fan of John Rich, to be honest.Kind of always thought he had a hot temper and big mouth, etc.After watching a few episodes of “Celebrity Apprentice” though, I found myself having a new respect for the man.When others were losing their cool, getting overwhelmed, etc.; John continually showed his strength, determination, and creativity in every task he did.
At the same time, John wouldn’t back down when he felt strongly about something.For example, when Richard Hatch and Jose Canseco made fun of people who listen to country music; John was quick to let them know NOT to make fun of his audience.
When the final four were announced, I was happy with all four that were left; Meatloaf, Lil’ Jon, Marlee Matlin and John Rich.I would have been happy if any of these people had won the show.
I think the two strongest players were definitely John and Marlee though.I also think both did an AWESOME job with their representation of 7up Retro.
While both John and Marlee made mistakes, and had mishaps during their final task, (like John introducing Def Leppard 20 minutes early, and they weren’t there yet), it was amazing to me to see how they pulled things together so quickly.Yes, they had help from former celebrity apprentices; John and Marlee were the project managers though, and that’s where the responsibility was, with them.
I also found myself being glad that *I* didn’t have to decide who the winner was, because I don’t think I could have done it.To me, each person’s mistakes were balanced by their strengths in the final task.I think I would have called it a tie, rather than have to pick a winner.
In the end though, John Rich prevailed.I’m still not sure exactly what John did to put him over the top; whatever it was though, it worked.
This gave John another $250, 000 dollars for his charity, St. Jude’s Children’s Hospital.With donations John received during his final task, he brought his total winnings for the hospital to over $1 million dollars.
Well, I guess since I’m posting a new blog, I’m still here.And if you’re reading this blog, you must still be here also.
Listening to “Simon in the Morning” on my way to work, something was mentioned about those who didn’t experience the rapture not knowing it happened.Judging from the amount of traffic I encountered, I’m guessing not too many people went through it!
Also heard on the news, Harold Camping isn’t saying anything about his prediction not coming true.Here’s my question…If Mr. Camping knew this was going to happen, why is HE still here?Hmmm…What does that say about this person, if HE was the one to tell everyone, yet, HE wasn’t taken himself?
I said this in my last blog, and I’ll say it again…NO ONE knows when they’re going to die…There’s a reason for that.So, instead of worrying about it…Enjoy life while you’re here.
Is it just me, or is anyone else going to be glad when this latest “the world is coming to an end” phase is over?
Seriously, weather forecasters have trouble enough predicting what the weather is going to be a day from now; and they’re trained professionals. Are we really supposed to believe some random guy from somewhere, just because he says the world is going to end at a certain time, on a certain day? I think if someone is that good, they could at least help the weather forecasters a bit more with their jobs. It seems to me it would be harder to predict the end of the world, than if it’s going to rain or not.
Harold Camping is the person making the latest prediction of world annihilation. According to news stories, Mr. Camping is an 89 year-old radio host. This also is not the first time he’s predicted the end of the world.
This leads to another question: If Mr. Camping was wrong before, why is he going to be right this time? Or maybe May 21, 2011 is Mr. Camping’s last day…Come on; the guy IS 89 years-old people! (No offense to older folks, just an observation for this blog.)
Another question is: Why does Mr. Camping care that the end of the world is coming? If he’s one of the “chosen” ones, he won’t be here to have to deal with the aftermath. Or does caring, and warning people they’re going to die going to help him be “chosen”? If so, anyone can do that…Then we’d ALL be saved, right?
Really, if the world was coming to an end, wouldn’t more than one person be told about it? I realize we live in a world where information travels fast; still, a person is only human, why leave something this important for one person to spread the word? Nowadays the entire world could get a text message, email, or phone call, all at the same time. For those without the latest technology, there’s always snail mail. (Though I’m sure those people would catch on, once they heard everyone else freaking out.) And of course there’s always TV and radio. At the very least I’d think there’d be sky writing. It’s always been said that heaven is above us…I’d think that would be an advantage when needing to deliver a message from the sky.
Yet another question I have is: Do you really think we’ll get a warning when the end of the world is coming? I don’t. People don’t get warnings when they die. They may get sick, or hurt, and that leads to death, but they still don’t know exactly what day and time they’re going to die. If they did, I’d think they’d protest and not go. That’s why there aren’t warnings, in my opinion.
To me, “theories” and “signs” of the world ending can be interpreted in any number of ways; depending on who’s doing the deciphering. Anyone with an opinion can connect the dots showing the “signs”, and read into things to come up with theories as to why something will happen. It doesn’t have to be the end of the world; people could do this for anything, any time; and they do.
With every pun intended, the topic of the world coming to an end could be discussed from now until doomsday; there would still be no concrete answers.
With that said, I’ll end this blog entry with this thought: Whether it’s in a minute; an hour; a day; a week; a month; a year; or longer, we’re all going to die. We won’t know when; where; how; or why, but we will…It’s inevitable…No one lives forever. Instead of focusing on the negative, “we’re all going to die”; why not focus on, “life is short, I’m going to enjoy as much of it as I can”. A much more positive thought; plus, if the world DOES happen to end, at least you had fun while you were here.
Whether it’s good, or bad, remembered by one person or many, there will always be defining moments in each person’s life. Like many people living in this area, May 18, 1980 was a day I’ll always remember; the day Mt. St. Helens erupted.
I attended Clark College at the time and was the entertainment editor of the college paper, The Progress. While that last sentence probably wouldn’t mean anything in ordinary circumstances, in this case, it’s a large part of why I remember this event so well.
There were several months of “maybes”, and “possibilities” before the mountain actually erupted on this date thirty-one years ago. Newspapers, radio, and TV stations broadcast the latest news about the mountain daily. The slow news days would bring the “side stories”; for instance, Harry Truman, a gentleman who had lived on Mt. St. Helens for years. He said he wouldn’t leave the mountain, even if he was ordered to. His wife and family were gone, and he’d rather go with the mountain than leave it.
The retail business got in on the whole thing as well. Overnight, “I Survived Mt. St. Helens” t-shirts, and other things were showing up on store shelves; and being sold almost as quickly. I received a t-shirt as a gift at the time.
I also remember the radio stations in the area picking up on Jimmy Buffett’s “Volcano”. They played it a lot, because it seemed to fit the situation so well. It was kind of cool to have a song we could call our own.
After awhile, people seemed to think the mountain was a joke. Some believed the mountain wasn’t really going to blow; it was all just media hype. Others thought it would be cool to see it erupt. No matter where you went, people were talking about Mt. St. Helens.
As mentioned earlier, I was part of the college paper at the time, and taking journalism. Our teacher, Sydney Craft-Rozen, had been an editor at the Columbian, and her husband still was at the time. Needless to say, we did spend a lot of time discussing the mountain and how it was being portrayed in the media. At some point it seemed like everyone had written something about the mountain, except me. As the entertainment editor, I decided to write a “review” of Mt. St. Helens’ “performance”. It was totally tongue-in-cheek, and not meant to be printed.
The review told how the mountain kept making promises of a big performance; yet, didn’t follow through with the promise. I remember my overall rating being something like, “despite the grand beauty and presence of Mt. St. Helens, her performance is lackluster. Instead of exploding and grabbing the audience’s attention, the mountain just blows a lot of smoke, and fizzles out at the end”. It was funny at that time, and fit in with everything else that was going on. It was just one more joke about the mountain, among many others.
Luckily, as stated earlier, the “review” was not intended to be published in The Progress, and it wasn’t. In hindsight, I’m very glad of that.
My “joke” didn’t seem funny at all on the morning of May 18, 1980. A lot of things didn’t seem funny that day, or in the days to follow.
I remember exactly where I was when I learned that Mt. St. Helens had erupted; I was at work, and my parents called to tell me the news. At that point I had a flood of emotions, and guilt. Guilt about joking around about the mountain; sad for those who had died, everything mixed together.
On my way home that afternoon, of course the radio stations were talking about what had happened. I just listened; absorbing all the information I could; trying to understand it all. Then, one station played Jimmy Buffett’s “Volcano”. I just cried and got angry. What had seemed like such a great song before was just tacky then. How could people still make jokes, play that song, everything, now that the mountain had really erupted? I didn’t understand at all, and it made me angry.
I spent the rest of that day in front of the TV, listening to reports and seeing all the film footage from the mountain, and other places that had been affected. The Toutle River looked like someone had emptied a box of toothpicks into it. The difference, there was no box; and the “toothpicks” were actually trees, hundreds and hundreds of trees being swept down the river.
The ash had moved to the east after the eruption. Newscasts showed the city of Yakima, Washington around noon; it looked like midnight, there was so much ash.
I also had trouble wrapping my head around the fact that 2000 feet of Mt. St. Helens was gone. The actual thought didn't sink in, until I realized I lived at 1100 feet; that's 900 feet lower than the entire amount of the mountain that was now gone. All I could think was, "wow!"
The following day, during journalism class, we talked about all the aspects of what had happened over the past few months, and the eruption itself.
Reid Blackburn was a photographer for the Columbian at the time, and good friends with our teacher and her husband. He’s one of the people that died on the mountain that day and our teacher was having a hard time with it.
From a journalistic point of view, everyone in the class had their perspective on things, like the photos in the newspapers. The front of the Oregonian that Monday had a black and white aerial photo of a truck almost buried in ash and sediment. In the bed of the truck was the body of a man, who was obviously dead. Some in our class thought it was too graphic to be in the paper; especially on the front page. One student though said it was that photo that brought the reality home to him. Seeing someone in a photo, and knowing they were dead made things seem more real.
Another topic of discussion was a question of how many people died because of Harry Truman? The decision was made to let him stay in his home near Spirit Lake. This caused others to stay, or go up to the mountain as well. We, (the class), wondered, if Harry hadn’t been allowed to stay on Mt. St. Helens, how many others wouldn’t have been there either?
After class, I had even more emotions raging around inside. I felt for our teacher, I still had the guilt about my “review”, just so many things I needed to get out. I went home, and poured everything into an opinion piece, and turned it in the next day. Writing it out helped me to feel better, and helped me to express to others why I felt the way I did.
It’s been thirty-one years, and it still feels like yesterday. Every May 18th all the raw emotions come flooding back, and I remember all of it. So, much like that college day so long ago, I’ve written this blog for today. It’s in memory of all those who died, for all the emotions that still come back; just for everything in general about Mt. St. Helens.
In light of recent events, I feel the importance to come clean with my readers about something.Please read my (un)official press release below.It will (not) be released to the media (any time) soon.
Please note, the above press release is meant totally tongue in cheek. (Which is much less dangerous and painful than a tooth in your chest.)
The Doobie Brothers are one of the latest acts to jump into the country music pool. From some of the reactions I've heard, you'd think it was the end of the world. Really though, what's the big deal?
It's not like the Doobie Brothers are the first crossover from another genre into country music. Off the top of my head, I can think of several bands/artists who've come over to country, either permanently, or for a brief stay. Conway Twitty; Marty Robbins; Kenny Rogers; Vince Gill, (with Pure Prairie League); Jimmy Buffett; Van Zant; Olivia Newton-John; John Denver; Charlie Daniels, (his first commercial hit was "Uneasy Rider" in the late 70's); the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band; and probably the band closest to being like the Doobie Brothers, the Eagles; to name a few.
In 2011 alone we've seen Darius Rucker; Uncle Kracker; Kid Rock; Sheryl Crow; and Aaron Lewis make strides up the country music charts. With the exception of Lewis, all these artists made the country charts before this year as well.
The pendulum can swing both ways. Carrie Underwood; Faith Hill; LeAnn Rimes; Taylor Swift; Shania Twain; and others who started their careers in country have, on occasion, made the climb up the adult contemporary, or other music charts.
On a slightly different track, I can think of at least two tribute CD's featuring country artists; "Come Together...America Salutes the Beatles", and "Common Thread: Songs of the Eagles". Neither the Beatles, or the Eagles are considered "country"; though the Eagles come close, I think.
Back to Shania...I know I'll tick a lot of people off with my opinion, though I'll state it here anyway. To me, Shania Twain is "created" country. What I mean by this is, before her success, Shania was married to Robert "Mutt" Lange, a huge name in the pop and rock worlds. A large part of Mutt Lange's success was getting artists noticed. For example, Adam Ant and Huey Lewis & the News both interacted with Lange early in their careers.
While there's no denying Shania has talent, I think Mutt knew she'd be just another voice up against Celine Dion and Barbara Streisand. Instead, he reinvented Shania, branding her as "new country", pushed her through the "back door" so to speak, and promoted the heck out of her. And it worked; who doesn't know the name Shania Twain? I honestly don't feel Shania would have been a superstar, had she not been promoted the way she was. A star, yes. A superstar, no.
Then there's Garth Brooks. While Garth is definitely more country than Shania, he did try his hand in the pop world as well; under his alter ego, "Chris Gaines". Garth also has never denied his admiration for the band Kiss. Why should he? Why should anyone have to pretend not to like something if it doesn't fit their image?
If you really think about it, it seems as though it's the media and fans who "pigeonhole" artists into certain categories. One example is a person I know who is a major Bon Jovi fan. Loves everything Jon does, except anything that even hints of country. I don't understand why this person, or anyone, feels that way.
Musicians are artists, they're creative by nature. Look at the influences of almost any musical artist in any genre; what you'll find is, most of them have a wide array of musical input they draw from. Just because an artist or band plays a certain type of music doesn't mean that's all there is to them. Everyone has different facets to them; nobody is one dimensional.
Not totally convinced? Consider this: Let's say no musician, (it could be anyone, musicians are the example I'm using), ever decided to look, or reach beyond what they'd learned naturally. All of them stayed content just playing the music they were raised on. Where would the world be musically in the 21st century? A good guess is we'd still be beating rocks with sticks, or whatever. There wouldn't be classical music, opera, jazz, big band, soul, r&b, country, rock, pop, techno, rap, hip hop, or any other genre of music; all because someone didn't branch out.
That's not to say that everyone has to like every genre of music; that's not possible. In fact, it's a pretty good bet that's why there *are* so many types of music; because someone wanted to play and/or sing something new and different. Or they didn't like what they heard and wanted something better. There are any number of theories I could list here; the point is, somewhere way back in history, someone *did* try to be different. Music has steadily evolved over the centuries from that point.
Another facet of all this is the Grand Ole Opry. It's no secret that in the past the opry has had some very ridged rules performers had to follow, or they wouldn't be allowed onto the opry stage. One rule was there were to be no drums or horn instruments allowed during the performances. Yet, artists such as Pee Wee King, and Bill Monroe bucked the system and did it anyway. Slowly, over time, the opry has made changes in it's rules, while still maintaining it's dignity and reverence.
As I stated earlier, this doesn't mean everything runs smoothly all the time; it doesn't. Again, not everyone will be happy about all situations every time. I think what people running the Grand Ole Opry have learned is, keep up with the changing times, without compromising themselves, or the opry's heritage.
There are so many facets and levels of this subject that can and should be explored. My thoughts, ideas and opinions have barely scratched the surface of this topic. With this blog getting on the long side though, let's get back to the subject of the Doobie Brothers going country.
I still don't understand what the big deal is about the Doobie Brothers doing a country song. In my opinion, any of their early hits could easily be considered a form of country music; just like the Eagles early songs.
To be honest, I really liked the raw, gritty sound the Doobies had before they were "Michael McDonaldized". Not that Michael McDonald isn't a good artist; he is. He's also done his fair share in the country music realm. I just think he took a really cool band with an edgy sound, and polished them way too much. I liked the Doobie Brothers much more when they weren't so polished.
It's that raw, gritty sound the Doobie Brothers have come back to with their latest single, "World Gone Crazy". The first time I heard the song, I knew immediately it was the Doobie Brothers. It was like that sound had never left; just took a break, and now it's back and ready to do business. If people would just give them a chance, I think they'd do country music proud. They already have a leg up on a lot of the newer country artists emerging lately.
Over all, in the long run, I think what's important, is that the history of country music, (or any genre for that matter), never be forgotten, or pushed aside; yet still be allowed to flourish and grow in different directions, rather than sit and stagnate.
Earlier in the week I wrote a blog about how smoked salmon and teeth can be hazardous to your health. I would now like to update everyone on this matter.
As the earlier blog stated, I had choked on a piece of smoked salmon, discovering after the choking was done, that I had swallowed one of my teeth. (It’s actually a crown.)
This was on Tuesday. As the week progressed, I felt better and better. My chest wasn’t hurting anymore, which I attributed to not coughing all the time. However, still no sign of the tooth.
I’d had several people tell me I should get an x-ray, to see where the tooth was. Why? I was feeling better, I didn’t hurt, didn’t have any problems, except an occasional cough; no big deal.
I’m writing this current blog on Sunday morning. I woke up, just as I always do; got up, got dressed, and out of nowhere had a bad coughing fit. It was as bad as the one on Tuesday when I’d choked on the salmon. I couldn’t stop coughing; I felt like I was choking just like before. Then what happens? Out pops my tooth! Seriously, I coughed up my tooth!
Despite the coughing, my warped sense of humor still kicked in. My first thought upon seeing the tooth was, “I’m sure glad I didn’t go looking for that earlier in the week!”
My second thought was important enough, (to me at least), that I actually posted it as my Facebook status: If I’m wrong, and admit it, it voids those who were right from saying, “I told you so”. (:
If anyone is wondering; Yes, I called the advice nurse; no, I don’t have to go in. Since I coughed the tooth out, I should be fine.
So there you have it; an update, and an admission of being wrong. Hopefully this will be the last of any health risk warnings I’ll be blogging about.
The evening of May 12th was a time of mixed emotions for many KUPL listeners, including myself.
Things got started in the Bing Lounge at 5:30 with KUPL’s first “happy hour”. Attendees were treated to free beer, wine and food, which was plentiful and excellent.
At 6 pm, a mini concert was provided by up and coming country artist Glen Templeton. I’d only heard Glen’s song once or twice on KUPL, and liked what I heard.
Not only did Glen sing a number of songs, he told the stories behind them, and of his life in great detail. You felt as though you’d known him your whole life just listening to him talk.
Glen’s passion for what he does shines brighter than a neon sign at night. You can just tell he’s eager to have people know about himself and his music. At the same time, he seems to be a very humble person as well. I say this because of some of the things he said while talking to the audience. He was quick to introduce the two musicians with him, (Drew Lambert and Ronnie Paul), and to let everyone know that they’d all been friends for a long time. When it came to the music, and what was to be released on a CD, I don’t think there was one time Glen ever said, “I”, “me”, or “my”, even though he’s a solo artist. He always said, “we”, “us” or “our”, which was in reference to himself, Drew and Ronnie.
One of the interesting things I learned about Glen is that, for two years he played the part of Conway Twitty in the musical about Twitty’s life. He then sang Conway’s “Goodbye Time”, almost dead on a ringer for Conway himself.
Don’t think Glen is getting by on sounding like someone else though; definitely not the case. While he can sound like Conway, Glen has his own distinct voice, and knows how to use it, whether on a slow song, up-tempo, or in between, the guy can sing it. My favorite song of the evening was “Devil in the Mirror”. There was just something about it that made me want to hear it again and again.
Over all, I walked away from the Bing Lounge that evening a new fan of this man. If he ever comes this way again, I’ll definitely be going to that show!
While things were winding down in the Bing Lounge, another KUPL event was getting ready to start a few blocks away in Pioneer Square.
There had been talk in the days since the death of Osama Bin Laden about how to deal with the situation. The day of his death, KUPL opened up their phone lines to let listeners express how they felt.
The discussion carried over to the “Simon in the Morning” show the next day. It seemed to be a general consensus that while people were happy that Bin Laden was dead, we shouldn’t celebrate the fact. Instead, we should celebrate those who helped bring him down, and those who gave their lives trying.
From all the talk, feelings and emotions, it was decided that a candlelight vigil be held in honor of the 271 soldiers from Oregon and Washington who gave their lives over the past 10 years.
The vigil began at 7:30 pm with Scott Simon, Jolynn Winter and Earthquake Jake, from “Simon in the Morning”. They told about how the vigil came to be and what events were planned for the evening.
The primary reason for the vigil was to read all 271 names of the soldiers who had died. The reading would be done by various dignitaries from the area; including Lars Larson from KXL, Kacey Montoya from KOIN-TV, retired military personnel, Mrs. Oregon and others.
Music was also provided. “Amazing Grace” done by a bagpipe group from Vancouver, Washington; and musician Kurt Van Meter doing an acapella version of “If You’re Reading This”, and an acoustic version of “Have You Forgotten”.
Before the reading, Scott Simon introduced a woman who’s with an organization known as “Blue Star Mothers”. She had their flag with her, and all the details of it were explained to the crowd.
A gentleman was also introduced and thanked for being the one to compile the list of soldiers’ names to be read.
One of the happier moments of the evening was the story of a family who knew soldiers who’d been in Afghanistan. The topper of their evening had yet to happen. After attending the vigil, they were heading to the airport to pick up their son who was returning from Afghanistan that night.
While the introductions were being done, the KUPL staff passed out candles to those in the crowd. Then the morning team lit their candles, and those of the people in the front row. Those people in turn lit the candles of those around them, and so on, until all the candles were lit.
Once the candles were lit, Lars Larson stepped up to the mike, speaking about some personal experiences in his family, before beginning to read the names of the fallen soldiers.
Each person reading had a two page list with the name, and rank of each soldier, as well as where they were from. When one person ended their list, another took the mike to begin their list. This continued until all the names had been read.
In all, the entire ceremony took approximately an hour. Talking with Scott Simon afterward, he expressed that he hoped they’d, (KUPL), done enough; that the vigil had helped to provide some closure for people. I think it did, and I told Scott so.
Personally, I was amazed at how everything came together so well for being done in such a short amount of time. Two weeks really isn’t a lot of time to put something like this together, yet the people at KUPL managed to do it, right down to the stickers I mentioned earlier. (It’s the picture at the start of this part of the blog.) Just coming up with a design, and getting them made takes time. To me, it was kind of like the icing on the cake…Not only did KUPL pull off a nice memorial to our fallen soldiers, they rallied together and got it done in a short time frame.
And so ended my evening of happy hours and somber moments. Both were good for my soul.
Yesterday’s “Simon in the Morning” show had a segment about things from our childhood that have defined who we are now.
For instance, Jake told about having to lie to get into the fair one year.It bothered him so much, not only did he not have fun that day, years later he still follows all rules very strictly.
That got me to thinking about what defines some of the things in my life.The first thing I thought of is an irrational thought I’ve had for over 40 years now, all because of the program “Night Gallery”. I was probably about 10 when I saw the episode, and to be honest, I really don’t remember exactly what it was about, other than there was a spider involved.
What I remember is this guy trying to wash a spider down his kitchen sink.The spider would go down the drain; then come back.After a bit, you noticed that each time the spider came back, it got a little bigger and hairier.At one point the guy had trouble getting the spider down the drain, (it was about the size of a small Chihuahua by then), but he managed to do it, and it didn’t come back.
The next thing I remember about the show is the guy going into his bedroom, and here’s this HUGE spider that attacks him.
I know it’s just TV; a spider doesn’t really grow like on “Night Gallery”.Does this mean that I wash spiders down the drain? NOT A CHANCE!!!
If I ever have problems with a spider in a sink, I just let it be, (though I do keep an eye on it).As much as I really don’t like spiders, (okay, let’s face it, I HATE spiders!), and don’t want them around, I just can’t wash them down the drain.In the back of my mind I always remember that “Night Gallery” episode.
I realize this is TOTALLY irrational thinking, yet, I won’t do it.In fact, if anyone else washes a spider down the drain while I’m around, (like my son did once), I make sure to let the spider know it wasn’t ME that did it!
I know there’s someone out there probably saying, “just scoop the spider out of the sink”…NO WAY!!! That would involve me actually getting NEAR a spider….EEEEEWWWWWW!!!!
So, in conclusion, I guess it wasn’t “Night Gallery” that made me afraid of spiders.It just made my fear of them in sinks worse.You’d think I’d be over it after 40+ years…But I’m not.I don’t honestly see it happening anytime soon as a matter of fact.
Before the song "Country Boy" was released, I had no idea who Aaron Lewis was. Didn't know he'd been the lead singer of Staind, or anything else about him.
Hadn't heard "Country Boy" when KUPL announced that they'd be bringing him to the Ponderosa Lounge on May 26th.
Then, one early morning on my way to work, I heard this song sung by someone with a very deep, unique voice...Until I heard the words, "country boy", I didn't have a clue it was Aaron Lewis I was listening to. I was blown away! If I hadn't been told this guy was the lead singer of a rock band, I would NEVER have guessed it. This guy is more country than some of the country artists I've heard lately. "Country Boy" immediately became one of my favorite songs.
This morning, I made another discovery in regards to this song. Not only is there the version of "Country Boy" that KUPL plays, there's another version featuring George Jones, Charlie Daniels and Chris Young. Still love the version KUPL plays; though I have to admit, I also REALLY like the video with George Charlie and Chris.
Found the video on YouTube...See what you think of Aaron Lewis' "Country Boy", featuring his special guests.
It’s been eighteen years since I got a divorce, and a lot has happened in that time.To be honest, a lot happened in just the first MONTH after my ex and I split; but that’s another story.
For now, I’m concentrating on the good things that came from that relationship.The best thing of course would be our son; no regrets for that in 25 years since he was born.
On the other side of the coin, the good things I’m remembering here are a bit on the warped side.Some would say that I’m being mean towards my ex; I’m not.To me, the stories are just funny, and I share them.There may have been a time or two where I was feeling a bit mean at that moment; over all though, it’s not meant that way.I’ve always said I lost the husband, kept the stories.
One of my favorite stories about my ex happened before we got married.He lived in Grande Ronde, Oregon, at the time, and I was in Brush Prairie, Washington.(We’ve known each other since high school.)
I went to visit my ex, (then boyfriend), one weekend and he’d decided to make “dinner” for me…You have to understand, this is a guy who couldn’t boil water to save his life; despite that, he made “dinner”…spaghetti to be exact.
Spaghetti is pretty easy to make; and hard to mess up…Unless you’re my ex…I give him credit though, he at least tried.With that said, here’s the “recipe” my ex used to make spaghetti:
Take one package of ramen noodles, any flavor, (he used shrimp flavor).Make the noodles, (without the flavor packet), in the microwave.If they’re too watery when they’re done, pour the water off.
For the “spaghetti sauce”, add the ramen noodle flavor packet to ketchup, (yes, KETCHUP); then pour the mixture over the ramen noodles.Wha-la,“spaghetti”.
Our honeymoon had it’s funny moments also…Like going to Canada…We could only go for a day, or go, come back to the states, then back to Canada the next day…He would NOT spend the night in Canada…Didn’t feel safe sleeping in a foreign country…Didn’t matter that we’re friends with Canada…Something could happen and we’d be stuck there.
After our split, there weren’t a lot of funny moments; mainly because we, (my son and I), didn’t hear much from my ex.
One thing I remember though is when my son and I moved into where we live now.My ex made a rare visit to see our son.He showed up in a beat up, broken down red Fiero; had gained about 100 pounds, and had long yellowy white hair and beard.(The weight stayed, but the hair was different the next time we saw him.)
After he left, my son, (who inherited his sense of humor from both me and my ex), said, “oh my gosh, I have white trash Santa Claus as my dad!”
I could go on and on, but this blog is getting long as it is.So, for those who are wondering why I’ve even written this particular blog, here’s why.
A little over a year ago, my ex had to have part of his leg amputated.He ended up in a care facility to get therapy, etc.During that time, he and our son started to bond again…They’d had a rocky relationship since we split, mainly because my ex just didn’t come around much.After my ex’s amputation though, my son would visit his dad, and hang out.After a little over a month, things were really on the right path.There were still things my son didn’t like about his dad, but overall, they were back to being a dad and son again.
Then, on May 6, 2010, it all ended.My ex was taken to the emergency room at SW Medical Center with chest pains.He ended up having a heart attack, and died.
It’s been a rough time off and on for my son, but overall he’s coped with the loss very well.And like his dad, and me, a lot of the coping has been in the form of humor.Just little things here and there that make us laugh, or remember my ex for some reason or other.
That’s why I’m writing this blog for today.It’s been a year since my ex died.While we weren’t on the best terms even a year ago, I still feel his life was cut short too soon.52 just isn’t that old.I asked my son how he’d feel about me writing this, and he was fine with it.He thought his dad would be flattered, even if not all that was written showed his best side.
I guess this blog entry is my way of remembering the good times, and a way of saying to my ex, “we may not have gotten along that well in the end, but I won’t forget the good times we had”.
