When some people die it leaves a mark even when they aren't family or even someone you've met.  Davy Jones, one of the Monkees was found dead at his Florida home Wednesday from an apparent heart attack.

Jones was best known for his turn as Davy in the pre fab four… Read full post »

Holidays on an aircraft carrier are some lonely holidays and for a chronic holiday depressive they can be the worst of all.  We had went on a short deployment to the North Atlantic in November, which meant in this case we would spend Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Years Eve. at sea… Read full post »

I sleep at odd times and odd hours.  I often find myself awake in the early morning and unable to keep my eyes open at noon.  I've had some setbacks here lately too.  Not so much that I have writers block, I just end up  on here when the very fewest… Read full post »

Today was a pretty bad day for rock and roll and for soul.  Jerry Lieber passed away and so has Nicloas Ashford.  We know Lieber from his work with longtime partner Mike Stoller.  Together they penned words and music that changed the face of music like no other writing team short… Read full post »

It came to pass that on a warm California Christmas Eve, I was going home to see my family and friends after spending 3 months at the training command of the U.S. Navy in San Diego.  I was not what you'd call an experienced air traveler yet.  So I found myself on a… Read full post »

Dowell is a tiny town, with a tiny population, and a tiny number of voters.  A massive or even total turnout of registered voters would be difficult to notice here unless you stood outside the single polling place and counted heads.

You would also think that this small town would most… Read full post »

Well, it is twin shocks to the baby boomers pop culture hey day.  After loosing Barbara Billingsley on Saturday now Tom Bosley (Happy Day's Howard Cunningham) has passed away.  

He was a good actor, and he crossed several genres from the Tony for "Fiorello" in 1959 to a priest in… Read full post »

Barcelona is gone.  We passed the Rock of Gibraltar and circled in the nether world between the Atlantic and the Mediterranean as we waited for our relief to arrive so we could begin the transit home.  Well, maybe I just mean Pier 12 at the Norfolk Naval Base.

Six t… Read full post »

The question is, are there drugs that are currently illegal that I feel should be made legal again.  Fairly straight forward at the first glance but very difficult when all aspects are considered.  In a word, yes, there are drugs that legalization would would provide more control… Read full post »

I was going to let the passing of singer /sausage maker/entrepreneur, Jimmy Dean go by without a word.  I write too many of these things and am always at risk of being accused of some kind of plagiarism since the facts of a person of notes life are hashed and rehashed.  As the… Read full post »

Last night the losses started for the new year.  Teddy Pendergrass died last night from complications of colon cancer surgery.  Maybe you younger folks don't know who he was or even why I am writing this.  Teddy was the silky baritone voice of soulful love in my heyday.  First as… Read full post »

Day six of my first Med cruise dawned like the others.  This was still new to me so I did not yet realize that one of the hallmarks of this life were severe boredom and severe terror every freaking day.  Being flight deck crew meant that I was in danger every minute that… Read full post »

Milton Supman (Soupy Sales) died last night.  He was 83.  A lot of the younger crowd don't know who Soupy was.  That's too bad.  A lot of people my age don't realize just how much he influenced kiddie shows and comedy in general.  He is probably remembered most for the pie… Read full post »

One thing I didn't understand about the world when I joined the Navy was that in order to travel the world, one must be inoculated for many, many different diseases.  The expense and logistics of the thousands of shots needed for any given year by an organization that may have to… Read full post »

The trip to St Louis was uneventful.  A normal greyhound bus ride of a couple of hours in the predawn glow.   Time to think was the last thing I needed.  The bus had several of us on it.  All going to get the physical.  I expected to have to manouver the… Read full post »

I heard the news today, oh boy.  We've lost Mary Travers and Henry Gibson, born John Bateman.  Music and comedy have been my rock.  The thing that I counted on to find relief from the pain and injustice of not just my life, but of the whole world. 

Being of… Read full post »

As an aging boomer I grew up with cartoons.  I am a part of the first T.V. generation.  A little towards it's end but still part of it.  We woke to cartoons, we arrived home from school and watched cartoons.  On Saturday's we spent the whole morning watching cartoons.  Mostly… Read full post »

Actor David Carradine was found dead in a Bangkok hotel room.  Details are still sketchy but it is being said hat he committed suicide. He is a memeber of the highly acclaimed Carradine family that includes both John and Keith. 

He had an effect in my life as the Shaolin… Read full post »

The Summer that I turned thirteen was just like most of the others in small town Southern Illinois.  Hot, languid, hazy, humid, and boring.  The days dragged on and this would for me become the true end of childhood.  I lived at the bottom of both income and social status.  Our… Read full post »

  It took me a while to pick one brush with death out of a few that were noteworthy.  I spent a few years in Uncle Sam's canoe club.  I was technically an avionics man, as any Navy vet knows this doesn't mean a lot at times since everyone gets assigned… Read full post »