Good Times Around Here May 17 to 19: Two Legions, Fish Fry, TV, a Historical Society, Cicadas, Magic Moon, Book Sale and Mary's Hideaway

FRIDAY, MAY 17

Malcolm and Steve came over to work on the gutters, window seals and tuckpoint the chimney and several ledges.  Met Kevin and Kelly, Glenn and Barb at Saylor Mick's for fish fry then went to the Fox Lake Legion for 50-50.  

Came home and watched the last episode of "Blue Bloods" for the spring.  Sadly, it ends after a few more episodes this fall.  This is my favorite TV drama. Love those family meals on Sundays.

SATURDAY, MAY 18

Stopped at Thornton's in Fox Lake for my usual cappucino and then to the Fox Lake/Grant Township Historical Society at Grant Museum in Ingleside for a very timely presentation on cicadas.  Afterwards did bush trimming, went to Sunnyside and watched the Preakness Race and then to Magic Moon in Spring Grove and was happy to see that my buddy Frank was back to tending bar on Saturday night.

SUNDAY, MAY 19

Went to the Friends of McHenry Library semiannual book sale and then to my buddy Langer's visitation in McHenry.  We had some great times together and I sure will miss him. Stopped at the McHenry Legion.  Afterwards met J.C. and some other of his pals at Mary's Hideaway in Johnsburg to toast him.

--Good Times in the Area.  --RoadDog

A Chain O' Lakes Oldie, a Long-Time Owner and Harley Wayne

MONDAY, AUGUST 1

We met Kevin and Kelly at Oak Park Lounge on Pistakee Lake where they were celebrating owner Tom Fuch's 46th year of owning the place.  That's a real long time to run a bar, especially considering that even though he grew up in the Johnsburg area, he had never gone there before buying it.  Talk about your on-the-job learning.

And, Oak Park Lounge is a Chain O' Lakes original, built in the 1890s and looking pretty much the same since then.  We had some drinks with Tom.

Afterwards, we went to Sunnyside Tavern for a couple or three more brews.

**********************************

TUESDAY, AUGUST 2

A history day for me, and I love history.  I drove out to Marengo, Illinois, and had lunch at The Spot, home of the 3/4 pound cheeseburger for $7.99.  What a deal and what a meal.

Then, I went to the McHenry County History Museum in Union and met with Bob and Ellen, who are busy working on a book about McHenry County's Harley Wayne, a captain in the 15th Illinois Infantry during the Civil War who was killed at the Battle of Shiloh.

They let me peruse some primary source materials about him and I even put in a couple suggestions for the book.  Later, Bob and I took a walk by Harley Wayne's mansion which is just a couple blocks from the museum.

Congratulations Tom.  --RoadDog

POINTS TO PONDER:  If you can make amends, can you just make one amend?

Those Who Left Us in 2021-- Part 3: Baylor, McMurtry, Liddy, Philip, Mondale and Collins

MARCH

ELGIN BAYLOR, 86

The Lakers' 11-time NBA All-Star.  Died March 22.

LARRY McMURTRY, 84

The prolific and popular author who wrote "Lonesome Dove."  That still gets me when the mass of cottonmouth snakes killed that kid crossing the river.  YUCK!!  Died March 25.

G. GORDON LIDDY, 90

A mastermind of the Watergate burglary.  We sure heard a lot about him back then.  Died March 30.

********************

APRIL

PRINCE PHILIP, 99

The husband of Queen Elizabeth II.  A World War II hero.  Died April 9.

WALTER F. MONDALE, 93

Former vice president and a liberal icon.  Died April 19.

MICHAEL COLLINS, 90

An Apollo 11 astronaut whom orbited the moon while Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin made their historic first steps in the lunar surface.  Died April 28.

How I Do These Music Deaths Posts

I get the names and dates from the Hope I Die Before I Get Old site.  The first thing about the person you read also comes from that site.  

Then I go to obituaries and/or Wikipedia for the rest of the information as well as Joel Whitburn's Top Pop Singles 1955-1993."

Then, I go to You Tube and listen to their music, especially if it is an artist I don't know very well.  I have found a lot of artists that I wish I had known about earlier.  Outstanding music.

--RoadDog

TRIVIA:  With the aid of three servicemen, what actress and pin-up girl left an imprint of one of her million dollar legs at Grauman's Chinese Theatre?

Betty Grable

The Songs of 1970-- Part 2: It Was a Very Trying Time and the Songs Helped Get Us By

 By Jim Farber.

You can learn a lot about any given year by listening to its most popular songs.

In 1970, the No. 1-selling single was Simon & Garfunkel's "Bridge Over Troubled Water," an ode t everlasting hope and unwavering faith.  Nearly as possible was the Beatles' "Let It Be, "O-o-h Child" by Chicago's Five Stairste4ps and B.J. Thomas' "Raindrops Keep Fallin' On My Head," all  meant to soothe and uplift.

These singles wound up defining American life in 1970, a turbulent year indeed.  "It was a time of the Vietnam War, riots in cities and [following] the assassinations of Martin Luther King Jr. and Bobby Kennedy," says Keni Burke, who crooned the Five Stairsteps calming anthem "O-o-h Child," which assured us that "things are gonna get easier."

"Given as much unrest, everyone was exhausted," says David Browne, author of 'Fire and Rain: The Beatles, Simon & Garfunkel, James Taylor, CSNY and the Lost Story of 1970.'  "It's no coincidence that the top songs of the year were as much hymns as pop songs.

--RoadDog

PONDER THIS:  Why doesn't glue stick to the inside of the bottle?

WLS Top 40 for the Week of February 9, 1970-- Part 3: "Someday We'll be Together"

I get how high the songs got on the Billboard Hot 100 charts from Joel Whitburn's "Top Pop  Singles 1955-1993."

30.  JAM UP AND JELLY TIGHT--  Tommy Roe      #8    Just 2:13 long.    Could have been much longer on this great little pop song.  Was this a "dirty" song?  His last Top Ten.

29.  WINTER WORLD OF LOVE--  Engelbert Humperdinck       #16    Move over Dean, we've got another crooner.  Some great singing on this ballad.

28.  SOMEDAY WE'LL BE TOGETHER--  Diana Ross /Supremes      #1   One comment was that it was his song in Vietnam and kept him going.  He did get back together with his girl.  Some of his buddies didn't get back.  Another said he tapped a young girl on the shoulder as this played as the last song of the night and they're still together 47 years later.  That's Johnny Bristol doing the male singing parts.

27.  ALL I HAVE TO DO IS DREAM--  Glen Campbell & Bobby Gentry     #27    Country and pop go together.

26.  DIDN'T I--  Delfonics      #10   Love those horns in the beginning.  Part of the Philadelphia Sound.  Formed in 1965 as the Four Gents.

Name That Tune (from the above songs):  ""You Look A Little Naughty, But You're So Polite."  Answer below.  --RoadDog


"Jam Up and Jelly Tight"

Okay, You Millennials, Okay You Boomers-- Part 1 Are Boomers Wrecking Social Security?

From the November 30, 2019, ListVerse  "10 studies proving everything you believe about Millennials and Boomers Is Wrong" by Anthony Sfarra.

First to clarify: Boomers are those born between the end of World War II and the mid-1960s.  Millennials were born between the early 1980s and either the mid-1990s or early 2000s depending upon who you believe.

These are based on recent studies.  You can get more information by going to the site.

10.  Baby Boomers aren't killing Social Security.

9.  Millennials read just as much as older generations.  (Books)

8.  Baby Boomers have embraced technology too.

7.  Millennials are more religious than you might think.

6.  Boomers aren't ready for retirement.

So, Take That Stereotypes.  --RoadBoomer

DID YOU KNOW:  Donald Duck's middle name is Fauntleroy.

10 Things Your Ancestors Did Better Than You-- 1: Save the Planet and Live Within Their Means

From the November 20, 2019, Listverse by Jamie Frater.

I just listing them, but you can go to the site and see why they said what they did.

10.  Save the planet.   (Hint:  no plastic)

9.  Live within their means.  (Boy is that true. Charge, charge, charge, declare bankruptcy, then repeat.

8.  Improve their mind.  (Through books)

7.  Eat

6.  Exercise.

Well Worth a Read.  --RoadDog

DID YOU KNOW:  The word "set" has more definitions than any other word in the English language.

How I Make the WLS Top 40s

Yesterday I completed the WLS Top 40 music survey for August 4, 1969.  Every week I do the WLS Top Ten along with debuts, but once a month I take on the whole 40 songs on the list.

When I do this, I do it  in groups of five songs for the numbers 40 to 11.  Then I do the last ten on the last, usually seventh post.

I get the WLS Surveys from the Oldies Loon web site. wlsyear-oldies loon.

This is a rather time consuming (but completely enjoyable) task for me as it requires me to listen to every single song on You Tube and often many more times than once, especially with songs I am not familiar with or have only rarely heard.  Then I make comments.

Then I use Joel Whitburn's Top Pop Singles 1955-1993 to find out how high the song charted on the national Billboard charts as well as some more information about the band.

Then, of course, comes the long, drawn-out two fingered typing on the keyboard.

For fun, you can try to guess the performer of the song in the title and then name that tune from a line in the song at the bottom of the list.

Well, That's How I Do It Once A Month.  --RoadDog

I'd Celebrate That!!! March 28-31: Friday Is National Vietnam War Veterans Day

Note, there are other celebrations on these days.  I just pick a few of the ones.  For all of them go to checkiday and type in the date.

MARCH 28

CHILDREN'S PICTURE BOOK DAY-- **  So important for early reading.  Every child should have picture books.

EAT AN ESKIMO PIE DAY--  **  Avoid brain freeze, though.


MARCH 29

NATIONAL VIETNAM WAR VETERANS DAY--  **  The last American troops came home March 29, 1973.  I'll be putting up my flags on Saturday.

NATIONAL MOM AND POP BUSINESS OWNERS DAY--  **  The backbone of America.


MARCH 30

PENCIL DAY--  **  Our first real writing instrument.

NATIONAL TAKE A WALK IN A PARK DAY--  **  It is so relaxing.  When I see parks, I don't get as mad with my taxes.


MARCH 31

NATIONAL TATER DAY--  **  Any kind of potato is alright with me, especially loaded baked potatoes, French fries and, of course, tater tots.

NATIONAL CRAYON DAY--  **  Please don't eat the crayons.  Keep that point sharp.

Taters, Taters, French-Fried Taters.  --RoadDog

TOP TEN TRIVIA:  Underwater, you can hear a blue whale's heartbeat from two miles away.

I'd Celebrate That!!! March 18-20 Wednesday Is First Day of Spring and International Earth Day

**  I'd Celebrate That

MARCH 18


ACT HAPPY DAY--  **  (Celebrated the third Monday of every March)   Happy is always better than sad, I always say.

AWKWARD MOMENTS DAY--  **  Maybe you had one yesterday after too much green beer, Guiness and Jameson.

NATIONAL SLOPPY JOE DAY--**  One of my favorite things to eat and slop all over the place.  How do you eat and not spill?


MARCH 19

LET'S LAUGH DAY--  **   Live Long, Laugh Often.

NATIONAL CHOCOLATE CARAMEL DAY--  **  Yum Yum


MARCH 20

BIBLIOMANIA DAY--  **  A love of books.  But, perhaps too much.  I do love my books.

GREAT AMERICAN MEATOUT DAY--  **  Always the first day of Spring.  Eat no meat of any sort.  Guess II could do that for one day.

INTERNATIONAL EARTH DAY--  **  Always the first day of Spring.  A good idea.

NATIONAL RAVIOLI DAY--  **  I love any kind of ravioli.

Sloppy Joes and Ravioli.  --RoadDog

Will This Winter Ever Get Over?-- Part 2: Books, CDs, Sliders, Band and Da Hawks

SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 23

After the meeting, I drove over to the nearby Illinois emission testing station and the Malibu passed.  Then drove south to Randall Road, one of the busiest and most congested roads in the Northwest Suburbs. Always hate driving it, but have to to get to my favorite store still remaining, Half-Price Books.

I mean, they have vinyl records, CDs and books, three of my most favorite things.  And, they are all fairly cheap, even better.  Bought a Civil War book and two CDs, one the Beatles "Hard Day's Night" and the other a compilation of Cajun music.

Then, a stop at White Castle for sliders and they now have those great crab cake sliders.

Later, we went to the Fox Lake American Legion and enjoyed listening to Mitch Edwards playing his great selection of songs.

SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 24

There was a real hard wind blowing today.  We wanted to watch the Chicago Blackhawks game since they were playing a rare afternoon game at 2 pm.  But, the first three places we went to were too crowded (and most were watching the NASCAR race).  We ended up back at Half-Times for the game, which, unfortunately, we lost.

--RoadDog

COME SAIL AWAY:  In the Bible, who hoped to flee from the presence of the Lord by sailing to Tarshish?

Jonah

I'd Celebrate That!! January 21-27: Library Shelfie Day Jan. 23

JANUARY 21--  Elementary School Teacher Day**  They get first shot at the kids.   Squirrel Appreciation Day**  They drive me nuts, but I love the lil' varmints.   National Hugging Day**   But no PDA, please.

JANUARY 22--   Come In From the Cold Day**  Warm is good.   National Polka Dot Day   National Hot Sauce Day   I don't think so.

JANUARY 23--  Library Shelfie Day**  Few things prettier than a shelf of books (unless a shelf of records or CDs.    National Pie Day**   I like pies better than cakes.

JANUARY 24--   Beer Can Appreciation Day**   Love "collecting" these.  Back in the 70s I had a pretty nice collection.   Clashing Clothes Day*8   Liz says I do this naturally.    National Peanut Butter Day**  Few things better.

JANUARY 25--A Room Of One's Own Day     I wouldn't know.  I've never had one.  National Fun At Work Day**    National Irish Coffee Day**  Warms you up right fine.

JANUARY 26--  National Peanut Brittle Day**  My brother's favorite.   Spouses' Day**  Ik, Liz.

JANUARY 27--  International Holocaust Remembrance Day**   Should be every day, though.   National Chocolate Cake Day**    Vietnam Peace Day**  I didn't think that war would EVER get Over!!

Yum Yum, Pie.  --RoadDog

IN 50 YEARS OF LIVING YOU LEARN:  People who want to share their religious views with ytou almost never want you to share yours with them.

A Busy Weekend-- Part 2: Old Friends, Vets and Ed Bearrs

FRIDAY, DECEMBER 7

This being Pearl Harbor Day, the 77th anniversary, I wrote about it in all my blogs.  My flags were already up for President Bush's funeral.

I drove to Bristol, Wisconsin, to have breakfast with former teachers from John T. Magee Middle School in Round Lake, Illinois.  We had our first get-together back in November and hope to get it to being a regular monthly thing.  It is always fun to get together with old friends, especially ones you don't often see.  A lot of retired teachers from Round Lake have moved to warmer climes, but enough of us stay here to have them.

Afterwards, I drove to the Fox Lake, Illinois, American Legion Post 703 where we were putting on our annual Christmas dinner for the people at the VA Hospital in North Chicago.  I worked in the kitchen plating yams, mashed potatoes and gravy.  We served around 125.

Later I drove to Arlington Heights, Illinois, and visited the grave of Liz's parents in Memory Gardens and then, with some difficulty found the place where Ed Bearrs was going to speak for the Northern Illinois Civil War Round Table at the Arlington Hts. Museum.  Mr. Bearrs is one of the preeminent Civil War people, having written many books and led many battlefield tours.  It was worth the distance and confusion to hear him.  I will eventually get around to writing about him in my Civil War blog.

A Very Long Day.  --RoadDog

I'd Celebrate That!! September 3-9: Friday Is Beer Lovers Day

**  I'd celebrate that.

SEPTEMBER 3,  MONDAY--  Labor Day**

SEPTEMBER 4, TUESDAY--  Wildlife Day**  Newspaper Carrier Day**

SEPTEMBER 5, WEDNESDAY--  Cheese Pizza Day**  But I like mine loaded, garbage style.

SEPTEMBER  6,  THURSDAY--  Read A Book Day**  Coffee Ice Cream Day

SEPTEMBER 7,  FRIDAY--  Beer Lovers Day**********   Lazy Moms Day

SEPTEMBER 8, SATURDAY--  Ampersand Day    Not sure what this is all about.

SEPTEMBER 9,  SUNDAY--  Teddy Bear Day   Weiner Schnitzel Day**   Grandparents Day**  Sure miss mine.

--RoadDog

YOUR ENGLISH LESSON:  (From Wassup magazine)    Did you know that "listen" and "silent" use the same letters?

Independent Bookstore Day This Saturday, April 28

Hundreds of mom and pop independent book stores will be taking part in it.

We have Read Between the Lines in Woodstock, Illinois.

If it isn't records and Cds, it's books for me.

Book It.   Dano.   --RoadDog

JSIS: Middle Class, E-Books, Barnes & Noble

JSIS: Just Some Interesting Stuff. I'm not sure when or where I got these bits.

1. MIDDLE CLASS-- America's Middle Class in Crisis. Two recessions and a couple stock market crashes have led to high unemployment among this group. Plus, Republican and Tea Party attacks on unions continues.

2. E-BOOKS--Amazon says E-Books are outselling paper books. Also, CD Online site is closing.

3. BARNES & NOBLE-- For sale after years of declining sales. And, we have already lost Borders.

Just Some Interesting Stuff.

Wondering If Any of These Have Any Connection. --RoadDog

50th Anniversary of the JFK Assassination

This coming Friday, November 22nd and on the exact day of the week the event, that was my generation's Pearl Harbor. While moving boxes of Christmas decorations upstairs earlier this morning, I came across two items that I had never seen before.

One was a color photo poster of President Kennedy that is somewhat creased and the other was a thin, hard-cover book titled "The Torch is Passed: The Associated Press Story of the Death of a President."

Liz said it wasn't hers and I know it wasn't mine. She thinks that perhaps she must have gotten the pair while cleaning out her mother's place after her death. Her parents, though Catholic, were staunch Republicans and not big Kennedy fans, so she is not sure why they would have them.

Wonder Where It Came From?  --RoadDog

Oddest of Them All: Book Titles

From theFebruary 27, 2013, Chicago Tribune "The oddest of them all: Unusual book titles in competition for award" by Belinda Goldsmith, Reuters.

Here are some of the books (along with their oddball titles) up for this year's 35th annual Diagram Prize for Oddest Book Title of the Year:

Was Hitler Ill?-- by Henrik Eberle and Hans-Joachim Neumann
Lofts of North America: Pigeon Loft--  by Jerry Gagne
How to Sharpen Pencils--  by David Rees
Goblinproofing One's Chicken Coop--  by Reginald Bakely
How Tea Cosies Changed the World--  Loania Prior

Publishers and booksellers know full well that a book title can make all the difference in the sale of books.  A book with an unusual title can make it more attractive to the public.  I have to admit that if I'm looking through a bunch of books, I'd have to stop and pick up a book with a title like these.  Same thing when I see a band, restaurant or bar advertised with an off-kilter name.  I am more likely to visit them.  (See my blog entry at my RoadDog's Roadlog Blog from March 14th for Milwaukee's Holler House.)

Examples of ones that have sold well:  "A Short History of Tractors in Ukranian" has sold almost a million copies and "The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time" which has sold twice that.  However, I looked in my library and didn't see either book.

I Personally Hate Pencil Sharpeners That EAT My Pencils.  --RoadDog


TOO PUNNY:  Jokes about German sausage are the wurst.



The winner, chosen by on-line voting, will be announced March 22.

Last year's winner was "Cooking With Poo," A Thai cookbook by Bangkok resident Saiyuud Diwong whose nickname is Poo.

JSIS: Wings Crisis?-- Barnes & Noble

JSIS:  Just Some Interesting Stuff


1.  WINGS CRISIS?--  Super Bowl is becoming synonymous with chicken wings as far as eating goes.  hey, eggs at Easter, chocolate ate Valentine's, candy and more candy at Halloween.  But sadly, I have to report a serious shortage of wings because of last summer's drought

As a result, some 12.3 million fewer wings will be eaten this Sunday, but that still leaves 1.2 billion. down the gullet.

By the way, those new boneless wings are really just chunks of chicken breast.

I still plan to eat a bunch o' wings at Donovan's Reef.


2.  BARNES & NOBLE--Sad to see that the last of the big box bookstores, Barnes & Noble is on its way down like my favorite, Borders.  They are closing stores, scaling back from 689 stores to 450 to 500.  They had a jump in sales after Borders liquidated but lost 10.9% of their sales over the Christmas season.

Even though Borders and Barnes & Noble were Big Box stores, they kept that little bookshop feel.


Like the Chickens Said "Et Mor Bef!"  --RoadDog


WHAT SHE SAID AND WHAT SHE MEANS:  Do you like this recipe? = It's easy to fix, so you'd better get used to it.