Free (as a) Bird!!!

I kind of took an extended break from my rock and roll postings. There are lots of reasons why but none of them are really good excuses so I won't even bother to offer them up. I have every intention of finishing the project so I'm here to crank it up again.

I am going to start with a backtrack on the letter L. I stick by my choice of Led Zeppelin but there are some L artists that deserve mention.

I will start with Lynyrd Skynyrd. I think this band would have continued to grow had it not been for the tragedy that struck in 1977. This link provides a pretty good synopsis of their history.

Last but definitely not least on this backtrack...John Winston Lennon. An artist in every sense of the word...a delightful crazy man...one of the cornerstones of the Beatles. He had his trials and tribulations; his affair with drugs; his injecting Yoko into the Beatles and ultimately his rejection of all things Beatles but his status in Rock and Roll will never fade. I just wish that he was not senselessly taken from us so that we could have continued to see his work evolve. Thank you John. I can't help but believe that you would have come to appreciate what the Beatles were and embrace your role in the phenomenon.

Favorite John song...many...the first one that came to mind was "Strawberry Fields Forever".

Not bad John...

We are fortunate to own prints of some of John's drawings. The one pictured below is part of a montage that we have and is one of my favorites.

Things I will do in 2007

1. Figure out how to Quit Smoking
2. Quit Smoking
3. Quit Smoking
4. Quit Smoking
5. Breathe Better
6. Smell Better
7. Get Healthier
8. Quit Smoking
9. Go to Italy twice!
10. Continue Balding
11. Enjoy Florida as much as possible
12. Love those I love better
13. Read more books
14. Sell our company for 80 bazillion dollars
15. Play some damn good golf
16. Post blog entries more often than I did in 2006
17. Stop buying wine
18. Listen to more vinyl
19. Shave off my moustache
20. Get a little more regular exercise

Redundant is not enough

Well...I am still in computer hell at work. My backup solutions were almost useless except for some heroics by Mikey my computer hero. It seems my little firewire backup drive decided to die just when it was needed for the first time. It seemed to be running a little hot. We took the little backup appliance apart to take the hard drive out, detached the firmware and hooked it up to a computer. Then magic Mikey took an air can and blew it on the overheating drive and it decided to cooperate. When I left he was dumping all of the data on another drive so that I can work with it. Now all I have to do is get another computer.

I am not buying that desktop brand again. This is the 3rd box that just sorta crapped out on me to one degree or another. It was not viruses, spyware or malware. I am too careful and prepared for that. This is flat out hardware failure. My love affair with computers is being severely tested this week.

Don't ever get a cortisone shot in your finger. It felt like it was going to blow up. Aging is the only alternative but I wish it were a bit more subtle at times. I have something called trigger finger
Oh boy! The finger feels a bit better today but who knows if the shot will do the trick.

I will get back to my music posts soon. I need to get through the holidays and the computer demons and get refocused...soon.

We have a new Christmas tree...chunky Charley...its a long story...which I will share when I get a picture of this chunker.

My computer at work croaked yesterday. It was a very bad start to my day. I hope all the backup precautions I took allow me to recover some of the things I would hate to lose. I am still not fully operational but I'll get there. Crashing computers are one of my least favorite things in the world. I guess that goes to how important they have become in my life. That's a pretty nice picture of me over there...

I saw this on my daughter K's blog and thought it would be a good excuse to change the subject. So here goes the holiday meme...

1. Egg Nog or Hot Chocolate? Hot Chocolate. Egg Nog is wrong. Thick rich icky. I get a little queasy thinking about it.
   
2. Does Santa wrap presents or just sit them under the tree? Wrapped. I figure Santa has stock in a paper company somewhere.
   
3. Colored lights on tree/house or white? I like color.
   
4. Do you hang mistletoe? We don't have any but I did mention to M that we should do it prior to our party. We never did.
   
5. When do you put your decorations up? We put them up before Thanksgiving this year because of our schedule. The outdoor decorations went up quickly during a little spell of nice weather.
   
6. What is your favorite holiday dish (excluding dessert)? Turkey. I don't eat turkey as often as I would like.
7. Favorite Holiday memory as a child? Spending Christmas Eves at my grandparents. The food was always good and my grandpa always got a drunken Santa to show up.
   
8. When and how did you learn the truth about Santa? I'm not sure but this was almost as devastating as finding out that Superman didn't exist.
   
9. Do you open a gift on Christmas Eve? If I get the opportunity, yes.
   
10. What kind of cookies does Santa get set out for him? Santa needs to lay off the cookies.
    
11. Snow! Love it or dread it? It's beautiful but I really hate it.I did a short but not sweet post on this subject a short while ago.
    
12. Can you ice skate? Yes. I used to love to skate. One of my high school jobs was working for the park district at one of the outdoor ice rinks. I played a lot of hockey while working that job. I had the kids trained to keep an eye out for the park district van. When it was coming I would drop my hockey gloves and stick and skate over to the non hockey rink.
    
13. Do you remember your favorite gift? The best was a new bike I got when I was about 10.
    
14. What's the most important thing about the Holidays for you? Helping the less fortunate. I'm trying to be better at this every year. I also love the chance to spend time with the kids.
    
15. What is your favorite Holiday Dessert? Really good pumpkin pie.
16. What is your favorite holiday tradition? Playing cash station
    
17. What tops your tree? A star
18. Which do you prefer Giving or Receiving? Gifts are fun to get but giving is much more rewarding
    
19. What is your favorite Christmas Carol? When I was a kid it was Angels We Have Heard On High. I liked singing it. Now its anything from A Charlie Brown Christmas by the Vince Guaraldi Trio
20. Candy Canes! Yuck or Yum? Yum! Yum.

Thanks Mick

The holidays are approaching and it seems everyone is in a shopping frenzy. I can help relieve the shopping frenzy blues. There is no greater gift at the holidays than giving to those in need. And I'm not talking in need of that new iPod or 3 wood. I'm talking about those in the community that truly need help.

This website is really useful in finding effective charities. Find someone or something that you want to help and give whatever you can. I'll also donate to the first 5 four star charities that any of you out there donate to. I don't want to know how much you gave I just want you to recognize that giving is a really good thing to do.

Talk about something that feels right...

Special thanks go out to Mick Jagger who was in one of my crazy dreams last night talking to me about the importance of giving. Why Mick Jagger? Who knows? I said it was a crazy dream.

The Second and Maybe Last Annual Christmas Open House

Even before our party Saturday, we were debating over whether to take next year off. We are taking next year off! It is a lot of work, quite expensive and now it has become frustrating.

This year we had approximately 115 people show up. That's not the frustrating part. The frustration comes from the 62 people that were no shows. No regrets, nothing. We paid at least $1500 for these mannerless people to not come.

Here's frustration part II. Last year we had tons of food left over. We use the same "caterer" and this year there were no desserts at all, 12 shrimp, 10, chicken satays and a few other odds and ends. The point is...with that many no shows we should have had an incredible amount of left overs. The chef had to take the leftovers...it kind of sucks. Either that or had the no shows actually showed we would have had some incredible struggles for the last bits of food. No way... they took it. We paid for it and at least we could have helped soothe our minor hangovers and bad feelings for our inconsiderate associates with all kinds of good food.

I do think we will scale the party down and invite our family and some close friends and have our own fun little party. Not that I don't appreciate seeing everyone, but two years of hard work and mega expense and more than a dash of frustration is enough to change the thing from fun to funk.

Too Much

I need to backtrack on my Rock N Roll alphabet a bit to take care of some obvious omissions.

I don't know how I could forget Dave Matthews in the M category. I've been to three DMB concerts and actually saw the band twice. My favorite concert was the one time I didn't see him cuz it was my first and my lovely daughters planned the outing. It was an experience. We got to see lots of puking punks and punkettes. I saw a young punkette pee right in the row behind me and then almost roll around in it. I'm sure she doesn't remember much of the show. It was the first time I was at a concert where there were as many women in the mens bathroom as there were men. Different world. Dave concerts attract more than their share of young morons that are looking for an excuse to get inebriated and act like idiots. All concerts have these morons, unfortunately there seem to be a higher concentration of them at Dave shows. The real shame is that the DMB is excellent in concert and these dopes miss that and if you are not careful they can interfere with your enjoyment quotient.

More backtracking in the coming days.

Snow Sucks

I was just outside shoveling this "beautiful" shit call snow. You can keep it. It's heavy, cold and wet and an all around pain in the ass. I'm tired of shoveling and I want my summer back.

Day Number Last

Even if I don't post anything else today, I did it. 30 days in a row. And while I was not part of the "official" competition, I really don't care. One thing I learned is how difficult it must be to have to write everyday for a living and I gained a new respect for the talent it must take to continually write effectively. Journalists rock!

I liked Jeff Jarvis spin on blogging in this article...

T'was in the darkest depths of Mordor I met a girl so fair

But Gollum, and the evil one crept up
And slipped away with her.

That is one of a few references to J.R.R. Tolkiens work found in some of Robert Plant's lyrics. One of their songs is considered an even more obvious reference than this. I know what it is but I'm gonna let you try to figure it out.

Today is indeed Led Zeppelin Day here at Just Wondering

Arguably the greatest Rock and Roll band ever. It is still one of my favorite concert memories. I saw them in Milwaukee on July 10th 1973. I went with my best friend from high school (Neal) and my best friend from college (Spider). I'm pretty sure this concert spawned the word awesome because it was. The arena was thick with sweet smoke and great rock and roll. Believe it or not here is the playlist from the show:

Milwaukee Arena, Milwaukee, Wisconsin July 10, 1973

1. Rock And Roll
2. Celebration Day
3. Bring It On Home (intro) / Black Dog
4. Over The Hills And Far Away
5. Misty Mountain Hop
6. Since I've Been Loving You
7. No Quarter
8. The Song Remains the Same
9. The Rain Song
10. Dazed And Confused (inc. San Francisco)
11. Stairway To Heaven
12. Moby Dick
13. Heartbreaker
14. Whole Lotta Love (inc. The Crunge - Boogie Chillun - I'm Going Down)
15. Communication Breakdown

Here are some photos from the 73 tour.


Man they were good and thanks to the magic of recordings they are still good. I think I'll go listen to a little Len Zemple right now.

Shapes of things before my eyes

Holy crap...I looked up from party prep central and it was 11:00 P.M. Yikes! So, here is my Tuesday, I'm tired and out of time post.

We are having our second annual Holiday Open House party this coming Saturday. We'll end up with a 100+ people before the night is through. We did such a great job last year that a lot of the no shows are turning into shows. That's the idea. If you are going to have a party have a goddam good one. Last year my friends and family drank over 70 bottles of wine, 5 cases of beer and countless mixed drinks. Needless to say there was a lot of loud talking beginning halfway through the evening on through about 4 AM.

One of the most valuable things I learned in college was how to do good parties. I was elected Social Chairman of my fraternity my junior year of college. My senior year they didn't hold an election...they said I had no choice. I was the Social Chairman and that was that. Pretty flattering getting the #1 job in a social organization by unanimous edict. One of the secrets to my success my junior year was convincing the band (Farm) that lived next door to play for us with no guarantee of making any money. I let them use our basement for practice in return and being that it was the early 70's I think some of my brothers helped the band keep their buzz going between sets. Win Win. We would buy countless half barrels for $10 a piece. Invite the entire college, 1200+ students, charge them $1 for all the beer they could drink and live music. Any money that was left went to the band. "Farm" parties were legendary and landed the fraternity on probation more than once. We survived the probation and went on planning the next one. I have some more of these old social chairman stories but I need to wrap this up and get some sleep.

My reverse alphabetic musical tribute (revalmust or etlacites for short) will be delayed one day while I think of the superlatives that I am going to heap on the band that almost named themselves the "The New Yardbirds"

Junk

Back home again in Chicago. Air travel is wonderful for all the ground you can cover in a day but actually going through the process is a pain in the ass. Getting loaded into a pressurized steel tube and hurdling through the sky is not comfortable. I'm glad we're back and I'm glad we're done with the travel part.

I need to add a couple of honorable mentions to my O and P selections. As manogirl noted, Oasis is worth a shout. Roy Orbison is also an O that has a real place in Rock history. I loved his late work with the Traveling Wilburys. It's also impossible to ignore Tom Petty (another Wilbury). The list of great music created and performed by Tom is considerable.

Now for M. It's Sir Paul McCartney. I have been fortunate to see him in concert a bunch of times and at times it was magical. His body of solo work obviously stands on its own. Band on the Run is a classic album. McCartney, his first solo, is one of my favorites. Thank you Sir Paul for all the music.

Lots of possible M's out there so I will mention some of them. Van Morrison...just plain cool Melencamp...Indiana rocker...lots of good 3 chord specials Moody Blues...some great work in the late 60's early 70's...OK who did I forget?

Come as you are

Man, am I glad I live in the wonderful United States of America. Is this country perfect? Far from it. Our problems are real and some are critical but they pale in comparison to the problems other citizens of the world are facing. The good old USA is simply one of the best places to live in our world. Now if we could just get some leadership that was able to learn from and draw on the power of the millions of good Americans.

I was inspired to write this after reading a story titled "Iran Hard Line Regime Cracks Down on Blogs". I think web logging is an exercise of freedom. It's obvious that the Iranian government doesn't have any room for that freedom stuff. My heart goes out to the millions of good Iranians that find themselves under the thumb of yet another oppressive government. I hope the Iranian people can find their way out of it. Here are samples of some Iranian blog postings.


Much like O ban selections, there are not a lot for choices for the N band. It has to be Nirvana. They made a big impact on the music scene in a relatively short period of time. Unfortunately, the tortured soul that was the driving force of Nirvana left the planet too soon. I never get tired of Smells Like Teen Spirit or the song that is in the title bar.

Some People Gotta Have It

We're down in Florida for a few days and getting a little golf and relaxation in. We had a quiet but very delicious Thanksgiving. We brined the turkey and the flavor was killer good and the turkey nice and moist. I have been sampling leftover turkey ever since. I'm having a good time with J & M...wish more of the kids were here with us.

We are on our way out to dinner soon so I wanted to get something out in cyberspace in case it gets late.

My musical letter of the day is boring today. In reality, there is no life changing "O" band for me. The O'Jays deserve mention for the songs For the Love of Money and Backstabbers. The Coors folks have overplayed the crap out of Love Train. The only other O band I can think of is the Ohio Players. Fire was a period piece but not one of the great songs of all time.

If I ever put together my dream band I think I will come up with an O name so we can occupy this space. Anybody know where I can buy a whole lot more musical talent?

Remember when you were young

Another stolen idea...I needed something to get my brain in gear...I fear it's no gonna work.

1. Yourself: insurance, computer, music, golf geek
2. Your boyfriend/girlfriend: my wife
3. Your hair: gone
4. Your mother: whoa!!!!
5. Your father: always with me
6. Your favorite item: iPod
7. Your dream last night: forgettable...had to be I forgot what it was
8. Your favorite drink: water
9. Your dream car: I have it
10. The room you are in: kitchen in Florida
11. Your ex: is a nice person
12. Your fear: fear itself
13. What you want to be in 10 years: smiling
14. Who you hung out with last night: M & J
15. What you're not: frugal
16. Muffins: I'll take two. Blueberry and Cinnamon sound good
17: One of your wish list items: good things for everyone?
18: Time: 7:58 P.M.
19. The last thing you did: ripped off this meme from K
20. What you are wearing: shorts and a tee shirt
21. Your favorite weather: warm
22. Your favorite book: Prince of Tides
23. The last thing you ate: A great dinner of Greek style skirt steaks and a bunch of great side dishes
24. Your life: a great ride
25. Your mood: kind of tired and overfed...leading to a minor food coma
26. Your best friend (s): is / are wonderful
27. What are you thinking about right now: This goddamn meme
28. Your car: a rocket
29. What are you doing at the moment: finishing this so I can watch a movie
30. Your summer: short but sweet
31. Your relationship status: healthy
32. What is on your tv: drivel
33. What is the weather like: perfect
34. When is the last time you laughed: on the way to the store this afternoon...on Black Friday.

Today is P band day and I must go with Pink Floyd. The impact of Dark Side of the Moon is well chronicled. Other tunes I can't resist are Wish You Were Here, Shine on Your Crazy Diamond, The Wall, and Comfortably Numb. Note to S: It was impossible to not consider Pearl Jam but Pink Floyd has been with me for 30+ years.

One other thing I saw at Fresh Market was Christmas Stollen. If you buy it, is it no longer stollen? I couldn't resist that cheesy observation. It's an obvious indicator of my brainlessness right now.

Thanks

Things I am thankful for in no particular order at all…

Our children…We have great kids. period. end of story.

The overall health of everyone in our family

The music of the Beatles

Music

My parents…they did the best they could. My Dad was my best friend and a sweet guy. I am thankful for the time I had with him. My Mom is…well…my Mom is an interesting study but she was spontaneous when we were growing up and she could really be funny. Kinda like Lucy Ricardo funny...

My wife, business partner, best friend…that’s a lot of bases to cover and she’s got it down.

Being born in the United States of America

Friends, past and present

The talents that were bestowed upon me

My sister Sooz for all that she is doing to help our mom.

My other siblings

Americans that are willing to serve in our military in order to preserve the American way

My nieces and nephews

My wonderful staff

My sense of humor

My overall good fortune... I am more than blessed

My golf swing

Being able to see Michael Jordan play for the Bulls. He was fun to watch. It was a great run.

The people that love me for who I am

My iPod

My guitars

Great red wine

Personal computers

Casual business wear at work

Summer

The ability to travel to “summer” when it’s not summer in Chicago

HD Television

Good football

Not going hungry...especially today

In the spirit of the coming holidays I implore anyone that reads this to figure out how to do something for those that are less fortunate than you are. That's what it's all about. Any gesture of generosity and kindness comes with a sense of satisfaction that money cannot buy.

Anti-Thanksgiving

My daughter A declared today Anti-Thanksgiving. I like the idea so I am going to list some of the things I am not thankful for.

politicians

greedy people (see above)

sand baggers

mean people

racists, sexists, ageists and any other heinous ists

my digestive system

religious zealots

terrorists (see above)

cold weather

lousy service at restaurants, airports, retail stores...anywhere

not being able to talk to a human on the phone when calling a company

not being able to talk to an American on the phone when calling an American company for assistance

people that don't take responsibility for their lot in life and blame everything that 's wrong on somebody else

companies that don't provide health benefits for their employees

my short stubby fingers


I put off my Q band yesterday so today I declare that band as Queen...the band that never realized that they would be responsible for so many sports anthems. I only wish that Freddy Mercury would have lived long enough to sing We Will Rock You or We are the Champions at the Super Bowl. It would have happened and it would have been very cool.The song Fat Bottomed Girl is one that I hate to hear because its one of those songs that gets wedged in my head for the day. Bohemian Rhapsody is a masterpiece aside from the fact that for about 10 years it seemed that everybody tried to copy Wayne and Garth's automobile rendition.

One other thing, I saw something yesterday that I still can't reconcile. "Free Range Chicken Broth" Where is this broth ranging and I need to see it with my own eyes.

Its So Fine Its Sunshine Its The Word Love

The Beatles Love CD was released today and despite my family wanting me to leave this one for a good Christmas present...there was no way. It is playing now and I am here to tell you that I had goosebumps the first time through. Bravo George and Giles Martin! Oh yeah and John, Paul, George and Ringo you passed the audition again. In deference to this sneak peek at my obvious B band, I will put off announcing the Q band until tomorrow. No it won't be Queensryche...

When I first discovered the Beatles I was 9 years old and they transformed my life. I had always been exposed to music through my mother and my one aunt who loved music. But for the first time, this was to become my music. One glimpse at them on the Ed Sullivan show and I was done. My aunt took me to the store the next day and asked me if I wanted a Beatles record. She bought me She Loves You and so it began. I would wait for each new Beatles 45 to come out...for those who need to know a 45 was a single record that spun at 45 rpm as opposed to an entire album (LP) of songs which spins at 33 and a third. I would ride my bike to the local Ben Franklin and plunk my 98 cents down and start to wear the grooves off of the thing. I still have most of the 45's stashed away somewhere and the LP's as well.

I remember one incident with my Beatles albums that will not fade from my fading memory. My sisters had taken the record player and my albums on to the patio one hot summer afternoon. When they were done listening and dancing with their friends, they neglected to bring the records back in to the house. The albums basically melted...ruined. I was crushed. My mother passed this one off to my dad and when I went crying to my Dad about what happened his lesson of the day was the need to share. He was telling me that I needed to share with my sisters. I didn't know share and destroy were partners. I set about replacing them one at a time with money earned in dribs and drabs from a paper route and the share and destroy lesson was lost on me at that point in time.

I want to thank the Beatles for opening me to music, my music. It's still my music but my Dad would be proud to know that I did share it with everyone that would listen. Most importantly, I shared my music with my children and I am happy to know that it opened them to their music.

Here comes my 19th nervous breakdown or can't you see I'll always be a music man

It's the night before an early morning airplane and it seems the clock is moving faster than usual. I have a lot to do before I sleep and not enough time to sleep before I have to get up. OK...I'll try a few deep breaths and speed writing.

The R band has to be the Rolling Stones. Too much history and too many great songs to go any other way. They were never among my favorite musicians or performers. Mick doesn't do anything for me and watching Keith Richards wander about on stage is amusing but not a great moment in music. However, collectively their contribution to Rock and Roll is not debatable. The combination of the scores of fans who do love to watch them perform and the number of great songs they've done over the decades solidifies their position as one of the legendary acts to come along in my lifetime.

I have some honorable mentions...REM, too good too leave out...REO Speedwagon...Illinois band makes good, saw them at my high school and in bars before they went big venue. A high school buddy was promoting the REO concert at the high school. I got to work the "stage door" at the fieldhouse. At one point Gary Richrath, the lead guitar player from REO comes to the door with a young lady on his arm and they have no credentials. So, I tell him they can't get in without credentials. He says, "OK fuck it, we're not playing then" and storms away. I figured I had just created a riot and figured I might have had the shortest stage door security career in history. Within 5 minutes he returned, with credentials, and apologized for going off. He thanked me for protecting them and shook my hand. OK, I am good at this security thing! I saved the band! OK maybe not...

One more...Roxy Music...Brian Eno did some great stuff. I love Avalon.

I love music.

Still crazy after all these years

I am taking a page out of K's book by taking this meme from her site. She is K the daughter in my list of blogs.


1. IF YOU COULD BUILD A SECOND HOUSE ANYWHERE, WHERE WOULD IT BE?

Can I trade in my current second home for one in either Scottsdale, AZ or Palm Springs, CA?

2. WHAT ARE YOUR FAVORITE ARTICLES OF CLOTHING?

Fleece sweats in the winter and a variety of t shirts. I like my Tommy B cargo shorts in the summer.

3. THE LAST CD YOU BOUGHT?

The new Who CD, Endless Wire

4. WHAT TIME DO YOU WAKE UP IN THE MORNING?

Between 6 and 7

5. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE KITCHEN APPLIANCE?

It would have to be the coffeemaker.

6. IF YOU COULD PLAY AN INSTRUMENT, WHAT WOULD IT BE?

I dabble with my guitars but I would love to be able to play the piano.

7. FAVORITE COLOR?

Is black a color?

8. WHICH VEHICLE DO YOU PREFER, SPORTS CAR, MOTORCYCLE, OR SUV?

Yes? Well, no motorcycles for me. I love my sports car/SUV.

9. DO YOU BELIEVE IN THE AFTERLIFE?

Why? Do you know something? I don't think it matters what I believe. What will happen will happen and it is totally beyond my control. Those that think they know are making shit up.

10. FAVORITE CHILDREN'S BOOK?

Goodnight Moon...I read it a lot when my kids were small.

11. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE SEASON?

Summer.

12. IF YOU HAVE A TATTOO, WHAT IS IT?

No tattoo and there will be no tattoo. Not into pain and ink under my skin.

13. IF YOU COULD HAVE ONE SUPERPOWER, WHAT WOULD IT BE?

I would be invincible. Then I could go take care of the villains of the world.

14. CAN YOU JUGGLE?

Priorities, but that's about it.

15. ONE PERSON/PEOPLE FROM YOUR PAST YOU WISH YOU COULD GO BACK AND TALK TO?

My dad

16. WHAT IS UNDER YOUR BED?

Carpeting and the floor

17. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE DAY?

Every day

18. WHICH DO YOU PREFER, SUSHI OR HAMBURGER?

Burger...not a contest for me.

19. FROM THE PEOPLE WHO NORMALLY READ YOUR BLOG, WHO IS THE MOST LIKELY TO RESPOND FIRST?

My daughters

20. ON WHICH BLOG DID YOU FIND THIS MEME?

K the daughter

21. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE FLOWER?

Bird of Paradise. Very cool looking.

22. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE MEAL?

Rack of Lamb at home with mashed potatoes and asparagus. Pasta of any Italian variety is in 2nd though 50th place.

23. DESCRIBE YOUR PJS.

I don't have any PJ's

24. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE BREAKFAST?

I love a couple of eggs some bacon, hash browns and some fresh toast. I eat it once in a blue moon.

25. DO YOU LIKE YOUR JOB?

I love my job.

26. WHAT IS YOUR DREAM JOB?

I have it.

27. WHAT AGE DO YOU PLAN TO RETIRE?

ASAP...probably in the next 3 to 5 years but who knows...I love my job.

28. WHERE DID YOU MEET YOUR SPOUSE OR SIGNIFICANT OTHER?

At work back in about 1980. If you would have told me we would end up together I would have had you checked into rehab.

29. SOMETHING YOU WOULD LIKE TO DO THAT YOU HAVE NEVER DONE BEFORE.

Take a cruise to Alaska or go to China



The title of this journalistic masterpiece is a clue on my S selection. Paul Simon gets the nod by a nose over the Boss. And this is my list...Springsteen is a legend and I equate him with concert legends. See a Springsteen show back in the day and you were hooked. Obviously a big part of that legend is the music that powered the concerts.

I chose Paul Simon because of his longevity and the variety of things that he has accomplished musically. I saw the Paul at the Chicago Opera House on the Graceland tour way back when. It was a fabulous show...one I will never forget. The blending of World music with his own was daring and ended up being very successful. In addition to Graceland I love the Still Crazy... album.

Happy Sunday night all!