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You probably can’t get one of these today. Hang on… ok, scratch that– you CAN get one of these for $149 (plus shipping and handling) on Ebay. What kid or adult wouldn’t want to be seen without a Planet of the Apes belt and belt buckle? Looking at this ad put me in the mood to see some cheesy ape action so I watched one of the 14 episodes made for TV in 1974. It was The Gladiators. Big thanks to The Retroist for posting the nostalgia on Facebook.

My truck’s odometer hit all thirteens two Saturdays ago. I did the math and figured it would happen during the the trip to Glenn Miller’s birthplace in Clarinda, IA. On the way back home Jenny reminded me about it sometime near 131,311. When those last two miles clicked down to the magic number I pulled over to capture the moment.

It’s official! Molly received her Master of Public Health degree from the University of Florida yesterday. Friends and family were invited to watch the ceremony online. We did. When I knew Molly’s name was coming up, I didn’t blow an air horn like I’ve done at previous graduations. Our cat would have been traumatized for weeks. Jenny & I still expressed our approval of the moment.

“I can feel it comin’ in the air tonight…” Phil Call-ins is a pun AND a hotline for Phil Collins’ hits! Call 424-888-PHIL (7445) to hear crappy over-the-phone versions of Easy Lover, Against All Odds, In Air Tonight, and Sussidio. If you just want to hear the drum fill from In The Air Tonight, press 5. All of this nostalgia comes from the same guys who brought you Callin’ Oates.

We met Ben, Janis (not pictured) and Marijo in Clarinda, IA on Saturday. Who lives there you ask? Oh just good people like our tour guide Jackie who snapped this photo in front of Glenn Miller’s birth home! We toured the museum, saw an original bandstand, drum kit, trombone, and a letter from Bing Crosby! Then we went home and watched Orchestra Wives on YouTube. It’s a 1942 movie with Glenn Miller.

Joe is one of the coolest people I know. He was playing hillbilly music in honky tonk bars long before alt-country bands like BR-549 and Reverend Horton Heat made it cool. Joe is 93 or 94 now (I stopped counting after he hit 90), and he’s making super detailed little guitars. I was grinning ear to ear when he handed me a box full of them a few weeks ago. This is number one in Joe’s mini series: the little red one. I’ll post a picture of each guitar throughout August, and maybe into September.

Right now there’s no name for this statue. But if they were taking suggestions I would offer Stretchy Spindly Tiny Bird– and then someone would smirk and roll his/her eyes (yeah you, Chris). This is the third art installment on the corner of 80th and Conser. The other two are murals, a fish and a chickadee.

I don’t know if this picture was taken in the Midwest or not. I borrowed it from someone’s Pinterest page. It reminds me of landscapes that I’d see out of the school bus window on those half awake mornings in southwest Missouri. Hello August! Good morning!

I was eating breakfast and watching Dr. Katz yesterday. He’s the jiggle vision cartoon therapist who has comedians for clients. They act like they’re getting therapy, but really they are just going through their comedy bits in front of an audience of one. I was laughing until two of them were talking about their morning wake up routines. It was still funny but now I’m experiencing some of the same things they shared with Dr. Katz.

Saw this lonely frog while we were walking through Antioch Acres Tuesday night. That’s the park off 75th and Hardy with all the pine trees by the tennis court. We were eating ice cream drumsticks and heading toward the restrooms when we almost stepped on this little guy. He jumped underneath a trash can. I lifted it up and flushed him out. I would have picked him up but I didn’t want to get peed on so I took this picture instead. Hello frog! Hello summer!