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When Sarfraz Manzoor replied to my tweet a few days ago, I was overjoyed. He wrote a book that inspired a movie about being a Pakistani teenager in Great Britain during the Margaret Thatcher years: the 1980′s. I watched the movie first. Now I’m reading the book. Anytime I reach out to another creative soul and he or she responds, it feels like I’m connecting the dots.

Thanks Mom for the gift of beer bread! I made my first loaf last night with two small bottles of Miller High Life. After three slices my taste buds were pounding the bar and demanding another round. I practiced self restraint, and told them it was last call.
“You don’t have to go home but you can’t stay here,” I said.
“We’re your taste buds! We live here!”  they replied. So I distracted them with yogurt, honey, and grapes. When they asked if they could have more beer bread later, I said what all non-committal people say: “We’ll see.”

What’s your occupation?
What do you do for fun?
Have you ever seen the spooklight?
These are a few questions I had for my latest guest on THE EPILOGUE CABIN. It’s been over 35 years since Daylene and I rode a school bus together. The last time we talked on the phone was in the early 1990′s. It felt like I was getting to know her all over again. Stay tuned for episode 5 to find out if she ever saw the spooklight!

When I was in college it only costs around $20 to rent 6 movies– $25 if I rented a VHS player. My roommates and I would block out the next 12 hours to watch titles like Caddyshack, Streets of Fire, Taps, Meatballs and Animal House. Renting a new movie now costs a little more than it did back then. A couple of nights ago I watched Blinded By the Light for $6 online. That charge to the credit card made it possible to watch the movie for 48 hours. Then the access simply goes away. There are no late fees for movie rentals in the 21st century.

When Bugs Bunny uttered this phrase it was always after he did something very bad that was also very funny. The latest episode of THE EPILOGUE CABIN  features my classmate Daniel who (in my opinion) has a lot in common with Bugs. The picture below is from our 35th class reunion. Daniel and his wife are standing next to me… I think that’s his wife.

The movie was from 1956, but it still packed the house… well, the second floor anyway. Saturday we went to see this movie at a “micro-cinema” with Don & Jennifer, and about a dozen other people at Downbeat Coffee + Tea. It’s an upstairs coffeehouse that can hold about 20 people & features old movies every other weekend during the cold months.

It was a collision of nerdiness and brute force last night. I couldn’t help it. I was cracking up at the puns in the New York Times crossword puzzle. The clue for 16 across: What did the jazz musician do at the big brawl? He came out swinging! 36 across: What did the hairstylist do at the big brawl? He bobbed and weaved! And finally 55 across: What did the king and queen do at the big brawl? They put up their dukes! All these metaphors take me back to a time when my family gathered around the TV to watch Muhammed Ali.

When I think of someone with a “swagger,” two things jump out at me. The one above is from R. Crumb… I know it’s goofy but I dig it. The other one is part of  a promo for an upcoming episode of THE EPILOGUE CABIN. It’s the show with Daniel, a self proclaimed smart ass. Daniel gave me a long overdue apology at our last high school reunion. He remembered one time when we both got paddled in the principal’s office after the teacher told us to be quiet. Daniel kept talking. I honestly had forgotten about it.

If someone would have told me 40 years ago “you’re really gonna LOOOVE this comedy series about working in an office!” my response would have been  something between a laugh and a smirk– and yet here I am in the year 2020 re-watching episodes of The Office on Netflix, and listening to a podcast called Office Ladies hosted by Angela Kinsey and Jenna Fischer pictured above. They were on the show when it originally aired from 2005-2013, and now they have a podcast where they tell stories about each episode. This show came just in time because my other re-watch podcast, The West Wing Weekly is one episode from being over. Big thanks to Chrisy for telling me about Office Ladies!

So I got this email from my neighborhood record store advertising half off every Elvis LP & CD in the store today only. Now Don’t Be Cruel about my Elvis fixation– but with deals like this I’m All Shook Up and That’s Alright Mama.