Thinkin' bout Music 'N History

Earlier today, while filling out a profile on iLike.comI was writing about my earliest exposure to popular music. Those early listening sessions took place on my Morgan County, Indiana schoolbus. That would have been around 1952-53 school year. Truman was President back then, and my "Old-Maid" teachers hated his picture being in their classroom, and were fond of saying, "The General's picture will be up there soon".

Back to music. We listened to WIBC AM radio out of Indianapolis. FM stations didn't exist, at least none we knew of, so the bus drivers chose the one that played the most music, because us kids were quickly bored with grain and cattle reports. Early on, we would hear a lot of country. Hank Williams, Ferlin Husky, a lot of Grand Ol' Opry people, plus Patty Page, Perry Como, Spike Jones,( almost said Spike Lee ! lol), and whatever songs were on "The Hit Parade" that week. As time went on, we began to hear some Little Richard, some Bo Diddley, and finally, about 1956, some Elvis ! Hooray !

We would pretty much all sing along, to songs like "Big John", Tennessee Ernie Ford singing "16 tons", and the novelty songs, like "One-eyed One-horned Flying Purple People Eater", and a big favorite, that nobody understood, "Hey Louis Louis". The song "Duke of Earl" was another sing-along favorite, and the high-school boys would compete for who could hit the lowest low notes in the chorus.
Now, I understand how you younger folks can have a hard time imagining a whole bus full of kids from 5 to 18 singing along with AM radio, but it was a simpler, and less self-conscious time.

OK, I'm back after the "Service Break" for Blogger!

Anyway, from the schoolbus days of music appreciation I moved on to attending some "Hootnannies", which were basically bluegrass and folk music concerts. My friend's older sister took us to some at Butler U, and then some of the cousins and church friends drove us to some in Bloominton at IU.

I think it was at those early concerts that people like Joan Baez and others began to make me politically aware. Things like civil rights, the Mine Worker's Unions, and the growth of corporate powers and the "Military-Industrial Complex" began to reach my brain. Before those days, I guess I thought that colored people, and poor folks had it just as easy as we did?
Not that we were rich, but my Mom's family made sure we never did without anything, and our parent's divorce was only scandalous to other people, to us it just meant we were free of our Dad's Nazi domination !

Anyway, Baez led to Alan Ginzburg, Lawrence Ferlinghetti, City Lights Bookstore, Beatnik poets, Bob Dylan, The Beatles, and me being in San Francisco for the start of the Hippy Movement, and the decline of the Haight-Ashbury. Of course my involvement with the "Scene" was a little impaired by my Navy Haircut, and a lot of people thought we were Narc's, but a chance encounter with Pigpen of the Grateful Dead, led to my friend Dave Johnson and I getting to trip with the Merry Pranksters, meet and get to know Bill Graham, ( He called us his "Silly Swabbies", for our goofy ability to always get back-stage) , and we got to meet and see people like Janis, Grace Slick, and really all the Bay Area Groups on a regular and "Up-Close" basis.

"Speed" and Tourists really spelled the end of the Haight-Ashbury, but a hard core of cool people still chose to live there, and ignore the speed freaks, cops and rip-off artists that thrived on the tourists. For anyone who has ever done much acid, you'll be impressed to know that we met "Owlsley", and had his "Orange Barrel" acid long before the masses ever heard of it!

Quicksilver Messenger Service eventually became my favorite Bay Area band, with Santana, Ten-Years After, Lee Micheals & Frosty, and then Jackson Browne, Linda Ronstadt, and all the LA bands that spawned The Eagles, Stone Ponies, and the whole Country-Western Rock thing.

Boz Scaggs, Steve Miller, Eldon Bishop, and of course The Dead, were bands that we saw, followed and partied with all the time. Procol Harem and Steppenwolf were around a lot too, and we saw Hendrix at Monterey 67, and made a lot of trips home to Santa Monica, so we could cruise "The Strip" and see folks like Mama's and Papas, Lovin' Spoonful, and tried several times to see The Doors at the Whiskey-au-Go-Go, but Morrison was always screwing up thier gigs there and at The Trip. Oh Yeah, LA groups, Saw the Beach Boys jam for free at Zuma Beach, and I think Paradise Cove, but it could have just been North Malibu? I'm drawing a big blank on this one Black artist who had like a jazz-rock fusion group that was killer, but I'll have to add their name later, like when it pops into my head at 3 AM. LoL

After all that music, and all those experiences, Today, I listen to more Country artist than I do Rock.

I hate Hip-Hop, Rap, whatever that negative, repetitive crap is the kids love to boom their bass lines of, I can't stand it, and don't think it's music, maybe dirty lewd poetry poorly done !

In recent years, Country is full of young and brilliant artists,( like my Favorite "Taylor Swift"), and the only rock bands I've liked in decades are people like Dave Mathews, Nickelback, 3 Doors Down, Green Day, Matchbox 20, of Course Darius and Hootie were great, and now Darius is a Country star too !

The " Change " Came Today !

Today's Mail brought new Bounty from The Treasury @ TJ's !
I was expecting a new stash of "Change", but Lo & Behold, I also got a chunk of the Berlin Wall, with Certificate of Authenticity, a really cool LED Flashlight, Some "Change" style tokens suitable for necklace or medallion use, some incense, Some beautiful Bowls from the Potter's wheel of young Micheal Stratham, that Huge cache of new Change, as well as 2 cool DVD's and last, but not least, some of those nice fat ink pens from TJ's work !
*( Antique Car, Porpoises, Clock,Candles and 'Booney' hat Not included)

As you might imagine, I am Pleased and grateful, and can now get the " Change to Pay-it-Forward" thing going here in sunny and Beautiful Downtown Midwest.
Oh, yeah, another reason why my Bounty was such a timely gift: I found it when I returned home after spending all afternoon doing about $52.00 worth of laundry !
A lot of this stuff has built up because I haven't had wheels for four months, and some of it was in storage all summer and fall, and I was just avoiding this trip. For the past eight years, I had a house with washer / dryer hook-ups, but this place lacks that convenience, so,....I'm spoiled and lazy !
So, most of today's wash will go right into storage bins, and be put away until about November, plus. wait for it cuz it's way cool,........I'm wearing shorts right now, and hopefully will be for the next 8 Months ! My tan isn't completely gone either, so I'll be able to "brown-up" real quick, and be ready for my summer GQ modeling job when they call !! LoL

A Little Sillyness is in Order!

If I could write like Dylan, and sing like Willie,
Every album and song would make the young girls silly,
I'd travel around an old stony bus,
and never have reason to grumble or cuss.

If I could take pictures like Galen Rowell,
every body that seen 'em would praise and howl,
The Stars out west would pay me big bucks,
While the Texans drove me around, in their Big Ol' trucks.

If I could write, as well as I cook,
every couple o' days would see a new book,
every chapter and verse would be hailed as genius,
guess this is the spot where I mention my Penis?

If I could Pilot, as well as I drive, any wings I wanted would quickly arrive,
I'd meet-up with Jimmy, and some Parrotheads too,
then there'd sure be a party where ever we flew.
If money was bullshit, you know I'd have plenty, I'd light my joints with a ten or a twenty,
I'd roll those hundreds like back in the eighties, and fill my limo with foxy lil' ladies.

If I could write screenplays, the way I do doggerel,
Hollywood wouldn't treat me like a mutt or a mongrel,
I hang with Billy Bob, Smiling Jack, and Sam Jackson,
and write Ol' Bruce, some Willis-type action.
I'd make m. night shyamalan change his name,
before I cut him in on my deal-to-fame.
Spielberg and Coppola would know my digits, and the studio brass would start to fidgit !

If I loved Work, like I love Candy, any job on earth would be just dandy,
You'd see me slaving, for a dime or a dollar,
and come payday, I'd still Whoop 'N Holler,
and take my check home to my Little Darlin',
then tell some jokes like old George Carlin.

If I could realize my fantasies and dreams,
I'd teach Mr. Madoff some brand new schemes,
I'd stack up dollars 'til I owned the Chinese,
they'd bow and shuffle, saying Mr. Morgan "Please",
don't sell our land to the evil Tiawanese,
or North Korea, No, Please Please Please !

Outside the doubling blame blinks the ugly ward.

Outside the doubling blame blinks the ugly ward. farther along, An envy withdraws throughout the firework. As we continue I wonder, Will the aerial domestic stretch the limb?

Nonsense You Say ? Well, yes, that would be a safe assumption!
The above sentences are randomly generated by a very cool site that Friend TJ got me hooked on this morning. He intends to use these sentences for a little post-script deal that he does each day. These snippets are usually aligned with the "NaBloPoMo" theme for the day.

Being an addictive personality type, I wasted a lot of time there, cracking myself up with the absurd random phrases. Then, I decided that I would save a few, and try to do a post of them.
The sentence fragments in italics are my linking words to tie the RSG sentences together, here's a few more: A closer cook blanks a likelihood of standing farther away. A memory disappears across an absurd poet, as he forgets The overlap jerks a transmitted ace under the problem. Opposite a transparent flour treks your threatening seat.

If you want to fool around with this thing, the Title of this post is linked to the page, also on the same site are random word and paragraph links.Here's a paragraph:" Will panties wave? Sailors crashes below a disconnected continental. panties congratulates sailors. Another cow commissions panties before a mindless mirror. A hum floors a prerequisite. panties cants the developer next to the vacuum".
If you enjoy it, come back and leave me a comment.
See Ya, Herm

Do Humans Naturally Crave Confict ? OR: "What the Hell Is Wrong with This World??"

At the risk of sounding like Andy Rooney , Did Ya ever Notice, that somebody somewhere, has always got his ass-in-the-Air, and wants to kill his neighbors, another race of people, or just Kill Something ?

Never in my lifetime, do I recall a period of time, when some Country some where, was not at war with someone else. Sure, it seemed peaceful enough during the Eisenhower years, but in reality, we were still fighting WWII, plus we all lived under fear of death from the Russian A-Bombs. Back then, even us kids laughed when they told us to get under our desks, tuck our head between our knees, and cover our heads with our linked hands. We laughed because we knew what the adults said about these "Air-Raid Drills", and that was,"Bend over, tuck your head between your knees,.. and kiss your Ass Goodbye".

This constant state of conflict isn't just limited to Nations either. Right here in my own family, there's always some kinda shit brewing! Right now, as I type, about half of my family is secretly pissed-off, that after almost 5 years of suffering, and 8 years of being unemployable, I am finally starting to receive some of the benefits I worked 37 years to build, spending 28 months of those 37 in a Combat Zone, working on, and flying in these old, slow, seaplanes, who's best protection was being too slow, and flying too low, for modern anti-aircraft guns to contact. ( Small arms, and the occasional ground-to-air missile not included. ).
Anyway, since nearly the entire huge clan has always been more prosperous than I, and have had much less complicated lives, you would think that they would be glad for me, but, (Hear John Belushi here>)but NOoooo!, They're not glad for me, in fact one of them has been pissed, ever since I was first too sick to work, (2000) and the state was sending me to school to learn a new skill. At the Holiday gatherings that year, I made the mistake of telling some of her friends that I was "Retired I guessed". Well, she hates her job, or in fact, any job, and she snapped ! " Before You can retire, You must have a job and a Career" she screamed ! Well, I worked most of those thirty seven years in the restaurant and tavern business, and if that ain't a career, what is ?

Anyway, I'm pretty sure my siblings and I aren't a lot different than you and yours, and that's my point! If we can't even get along with our own "kinfolk", how can huge Nations have any hope of avoiding conflict ?

Just spoke with Friend TJ, and am off to download some new pic's from his place. More soon, Herm

Once Upon a Time in HermAmerica

Sorry about the long lapse between posts. I've been dealing with correcting my tax returns, and spending like 1/2 hours on hold at the IRS. Oh Joy !
What fun it is to be a poorguy in 2009's America! So, Last week, I wrote a short email the WhiteHouse.gov, informing them that I probably wouldn't be participating in all their Blogs and Forums as I have done since Hillary dropped out of the Primaries. I explained that the Veteran's Administrations constant delays in my Pension was probably going to make me homeless in a couple of weeks, and that nothing myself or my Congressman's staff had done was getting anywhere with these people. I logged-off, and went to bed for a little depression-nap, and about two hours later, I got a call from the Milwaukee Pension Processing Center!. A very nice young man told me he had my file in his hand, and after I answered a couple of questions, he would be taking it to a "rater", whom he would advise to "Urgently Expedite" my claim.
Coincidence, or someone high-up's intervention ? I don't know, but will soon find out. If it turns out that someone in the Administration made a call, or interceded in any way, I'm going to be a Happy Camper. Why You ask ?
Because, if they know who I am, and have noticed my comments and job application, then I may soon have a position of some kind, in the area where I can be the most help. Whether that's in Veteran's Affairs, or something ecological, I don't care! I'd just love to be able to contribute to this "New Start" were making in this country! Maybe it will turn out better than the last time I served my country, ( Vietnam )
So, That's why I've been too busy to post here, although I have made some progress on my Windows Live and MySpace Blogs and pages.
I've also been active on my Buddy TJ's page. He's kinda sickly this week, so I'm trying to be humorous and supportive over there.
Well, That's my news for the day,..now it's off for more phone calls to the peeps that can Help !

Friday the Thirteenth,...And: A Full Moon

Friday the Thirteenth: A Day that is universally acknowledged to be Bad Luck !
I've never been one to fear that day, and I didn't find the endless movies by that name very scary either. BUT......., I've spent a lifetime working in, and hanging around Bars,Taverns,Pubs, Roadhouses,Watering Holes,Gin Joints, Hell Holes,...well, You know what I mean !
In all that time of assisting other people get their drink on, I have come to believe the Oldest of Barroom Myths. Yep, I'm talking about the one about the Dreaded Full Moon. It is true about the old European stories, where some people become "Lunatics" when the moon is Full.
Back here in the sticks of Indiana, the old Waitresses, Barmaids,Servers, Nurses,cocktail whores,...get my drift here? Anyway, they used to tell me when it was a full moon, and tell me stuff like,"Mark my Words, There will be a fight tonight, and it won't be About anything". I would tell them that it was a safe bet that there would be a fight that night, because we were working in the roughest dive in town!.,(My stepfather's place). Weekend nights, we could be assured of several fights, hell, half of them might involve some of my crew !, and not just the Bouncer !.
As time wore On, I came to dread a full moon Friday. Even in Country Club Lounges, and Upscale Martini Bars, something about the Lunar Fecundity would bring out the worst in people, both Men and Women !. I have even gone so far as to wear old shirts to work on those occasions, with a spare in the car, for when the other one got ripped up in a fight.
In all those years of working the mostly redneck bars, only once did I ever have to go to the emergency room after a fight. That time was on a full moon friday, when I must have been crazy, because I broke the Number One rule of Bouncers and Bartenders World Wide,....wait for It,....Yes, I jumped into the middle of a "Cat Fight", three other women had called out my pretty young bartending partner, and tough as she was, they had gotten her down. I cleared the bar, unarmed with my blackjack, billy club, or anything, and waded into on of those fights like you see in cartoons. You know the kind, where there's a cloud of cussing and dust surrounding this ball of humans, and you can tell it's humans, because every once-in-a-while an elbow, fist or knee will emerge from the pile, and it's usually still connected to a body !
As I waded in, I punched the biggest one, right on the end of her chin, as hard as if she had been a man. She went down like I'd shot her, the crowd roared with applause, then all three of the remaining fighters turned on me !
Yikes!
Even my bar mate!. A few elbows thrown, and a few well-placed kicks, and I drug the barkeeps free of the stack, and drug her by her collar back behind the bar. The crowd got the rest out the door, the debris got cleaned up, the band went back to the stage, (Couldn't see the fight for the stack of amps, they told me?).

While I was in the walk-in cooler cleaning up and cooling down,a waitress came in to assess the damage. I already knew I had lost some hair, my pony tail was undone, and blood was trickling down behind one ear. I had major scratches on the arms and chest, and a bite-mark on my thigh that was bleeding through some uneven dents above my knee. (The snaggle-toothed bitch did It).

I put a waitress behind the bar with the barely-damaged Bar Maid, and drove myself to the emergency room. The Doctor, who knew me, laughed his ass off when I told him it was women that did it, and he said,"Even I know better than to try and break-up a catfight!", Very funny! Not,
A few stitches in my scalp, some scrubbing of the scratches,like with a nail brush !!, and a tetnus shot, and I drug my wounded pride back to work.

That's just one of many occasions that made me a believer in The Full Moon Myth. It ain't no myth ! But, there is a corollary phenomenon, and this stems from the last part of the myth. Most of the Old Bar Folk say it this way; " Full Moon tonight, and they'll all be either Lovers or Fighters".
That part of the deal got me lucky many times, when I wasn't even looking!, Ah, who am I foolin'? In those days I was Always Lookin'! (For some strange?) Beleive me, many of those chicks were strange !
Happy Friday the Thirteenth !

BTW: Image credit unknown, I found it somewhere, and it has no copyright or watermark