The Name Dropper

johndavidsonJohn Davidson, Richard Burton, Steve Austin, and a bunch of other patients with famous names have showed up to the clinic where I work.  When I was checking in John Davidson I jokingly asked “Didn’t you use to be a host on ‘That’s Incredible’ with Fran Tarkenton and Cathy Lee Crosby?” Fortunately he laughed.  I wanted to ask him about the time he posed nude for Playgirl, but there were other patients waiting to check in.

When Life Gets Snarky

nurselifecoverSomebody left a coloring book in the break room.  It was like a lighthouse in the fog calling to me and yet telling me to stay away.  Anytime something has the word adult on the cover I internally brace myself for nudity or obscenity– but since this discovery was at work I figured it was sort of safe.  If it was real raunchy somebody else would have taken it home.  This is what I saw inside:realbloodandvomit

Sound Repairs

fixitfelixfourinoneI was changing strings and replacing the battery in my acoustic guitar when a snap ring broke off of my 9-volt assembly.  Fortunately I am a resourceful guy who is used to figuring out “work arounds.”  I found another 9-volt assembly kit at Micro Center for $2, cut the old assembly off, and spliced the wires together.  I put one string on the guitar so I could test it on an amp.  The first time I ever spliced wires was when Hoovie showed me how to hook up a Sparkomatic stereo in the Dodge Swinger.

Pull Tab Time Travel

pull tabWe came across this discarded pull tab on a walk last week.  “Who still has drinks with disposable pull tabs??”  I wondered.  Then I came to the logical conclusion that it must have a time traveler from the late 60′s or early 70′s.  He or she probably set their dials for a future date within their lifespan so they could get data and statistics to take back to their own time.  They probably took a break from their financial planning while they were here.  I imagine they went for a walk in the woods, pulled the tab off a Mr. Pibb, and carelessly tossed it in the grass.  They littered quite a bit back then.

Jabba’s Cousin

jabbas cousinI saw a new face in my formica table recently.  After a quick sketch I realized he looked like a distant cousin to a Star Wars character, Jabba the Hutt.  I’m not sure what this guy’s name should be but he may also be related to the Elephant Man.

Less Ibuprofen, More Ambidextrous

scratchDear Mom, Dad, Hoovie, Chris, and the silent minority:
I know that my blog posts have become something of a rarity in the last few months. My new job requires a LOT of time on a keyboard and my hands aren’t as young as they used to be BUT they finally feel up to the task today.   Thanks to pain killers and my new ambidextrous abilities I can report that all is well and sunny here on the midwestern front.  Recent developments around here include a new roof on our new carport (cue the crowd cheer), a fresh coat of paint on the east exterior wall of our house (thanks Chris), weed and undergrowth removal from the backyard and west side of the house (thanks again Chris).  Jenny and I have not been sipping cocktails by the pool while all of this work gets done, our day jobs and labors of love are keeping us busy.

Kids And The Blues

I’ve played the blues with kids.  It is sheer joy.

55 Is No Age Limit

drewonthestoopI turned 55 yesterday. Some of the highlights included:
-Drew (above) recording himself singing ‘Happy Birthday’ on my front stoop– I wasn’t home.
-eating blueberry & Dr. Pepper flavored popcorn from Pop Culture
-drinking green apple flavored Jones Soda from Homer’s
-smoking a premium cigar with my brother-in-law Steve
-spending the day with Jenny

Career Day

hstwritesOne of my favorite radio shows is taking submissions from listeners about their most embarrassing moments. Last night I put on my writer’s hat and emailed this story:
I was a teleprompter/promo writer at a local CBS affiliate when an old friend asked me to give a presentation at our old junior high school. He was the Guidance Counselor, and was in charge of booking speakers for Career Day. He was calling a few classmates and asking us all to come back to our old school and talk about the careers we had chosen. A few weeks after our conversation I lost my job and I called him back to cancel. He said something like, “No, don’t cancel. I think it would be a good idea if the kids see the potential risks of going into that field.” He knew that I had worked at a couple of radio stations before getting this particular job, and he figured that another gig would be around the corner. I bought a cheap pair of jeans and wore a shirt with a collar for the presentation. I ran the outline of what I was going to talk about by my friend to see what he thought. I would tell the kids about my past jobs in radio and TV. I would also bring my guitar and tell them what it was like to play in a band. “As long as you don’t drop your pants or talk about Jesus it will be fine,” my friend said. The kids caught on pretty fast that I was an out of work radio/tv guy and started giggling and whispering among themselves. I pulled up a barstool and grabbed my guitar to keep their interest and sat down to play some tunes and talk about being in a band. That in itself was an awkward attempt at keeping their attention, but what I didn’t know at the time was that my cheap pair of jeans had split open in the crotch. Sitting on the barstool, my exposed underwear was at eye level with the students. I spoke to 3 different groups that day and didn’t know what happened until I sat down while visiting my mother. That’s when I noticed the hole in my crotch. My friend called me the next day. Apparently all the kids were talking about the guy who was out of work but still gave a presentation on Career Day with his white underwear showing through the crotch hole in his jeans.

Hoovie’s Contribution

printing-press-2After reading yesterday’s blog post, Hoovie sent me this text:
“You’re right this is the last day of the beginning of the end of 2021, tomorrow though, WOW… it’s the 183rd day in the year 2021 of our Lord… .but think, the Gregorian  manner of date tracking was created in 1582, by a Pope as a modification to the Julian calendar created by Julius Caesar, from a Roman calendar.  Thinking of this reminds me of King James rearranging the Old testament to HIS liking,  adding mental graphics to spruce, interpret and rearrange up the words of God. As odd as that sounds its as truthful as I understand it to be as to my point, if we believe the preachings of Kenton Beshore we have only days until the rapture this year, making this calendar year a bit shorter…. Enjoy the day and save all your coinage, there may be a pinball machine right around the corner… “