Flashback Friday # 156

The Early Show

Greetings one & all. As I type this, I can hear the rain falling outside. What can you do when it's raining. We watched TV. A lot. One of the shows that was on most days was The Early Show hosted by Flippo the Clown.

Most channels had The Late Show, which ran old movies. The Early Show did the same thing, only it was intended for those who didn't stay up until late o'clock.We loved old movies in our house.

Flippo started doing The Early Show in 1953. I don't remember him back then (probably since I was born in 1963). All throughout my school years, Flippo was there to greet me when I came home from school. I would usually get home about 3:45 and he came on at 4:00. You never had to worry whether the movie would be "questionable". Everybody could watch without a problem.

He was given free reign to be as silly as he pleased during his "comedic interludes" and during his sales pitches. It's been over 30 years, but I still came remember his adds for Whistle Stop Pop Shop, Dan Durthdaler's Lowrey Genie Organ dealership, Frostie Rootbeer and Winnebago (I always thought he was talking about "win a bago"). My favorite comedy routine deals with him opening the refrigerator and having it make snide remarks about his weight.

On the days when he was on vacation, Fritz the Night Owl would fill in for him. He retired in 1983, a year after I graduated from High School. He donated his costume to the Ohio Historical Society after his retirement. We saw it on a trip we took there and took a picture of it.

You can find more information about Flippo at his biography page.

Nobody In Either City Knew the Heimlich Maneuver

Going into September, the Atlanta Braves and the Boston Red Sox held commanding leads in the wild card race in each division of MLB. Throughout the month of September, they were absolutely putrid. Last night, both teams choked to death.

Going into last night's game, both teams were tied in the wild card race. The Braves were up by 8 1/2 games on the Cardinals on September 6. The Red Sox lead the Rays by 9 on September 3. They both needed a win. Both lost.

The Red Sox were 76-0 after leading in the 8th inning this year. Their closer not only blew the save, but lost the game. The Rays were down 7-0 in the 5th, tie the score in the 9th, and win it it in 12th with a home run.

The Cardinals soundly thumped the Astros while The Braves were leading the Phillies in the 9th. A Braves win forces a one game play-off. The Phillies made a comeback and beat the Braves in 13 innings.

Epic historic choking.

He REALLY Doesn't Like It.

Sparky, the wonder dragon & protector of the realm, really has a dislike for remote controlled cars. We think it had something to do with his past, before we got him. When Ninja John lived here, and would drive his RC car around, Sparky would pick it up with his teeth & flip it over. Mine is too big for him to do that. He just barks like crazy at it.

Flashback Friday # 155

That didn't come out quite right.

Welcome to all who have ventured this way on the cyberpath. If you've accidentally stumbled upon these ramblings, I'll try not to rot your mind too much. If you came here on purpose, you get what's coming to you.

Have you ever tried to express an idea, and by the time it has gotten tangled around your eye teeth, It has become something completely different? The very first time that I spoke in Student Council was just such a time.

Being a Freshman, meant that you were to be seen & not heard. Nobody cared what you thought or how you felt about something. If you didn't like something, too bad. I think you're beginning to get the picture.

One of the things that several of the Seniors wished to get changed was the part of our dress code that banned facial hair. No mustaches, beards or long sideburns were allowed. Facial hair was considered a distraction. If you drew a line from the corner of your mouth to your ear, your sideburns had to stay on the north side of that line. No hair was to be past the shirt collar either. Our school was established in the 60's so I assume the dress code attempted to get the hippies to conform.

But I digress. Since several of the Seniors wanted this rule changed, the created a petition for student body members to sign. They acquired several hundred signatures. It was brought up in the Student Council meting and a delegation was to be selected to approach the Principal with the petition & dress code changes.

The Student council advisor was an older teacher who taught journalism, typing & IOE (Inner Office Experience). The Student Council meetings were held in her IOE room. It looked similar to an old typing pool that you would see on TV in the 70's. She asked several of the Seniors why they wished to change the rule. Some said it was outdated, while others said it hindered their expression of who they were. She then asked ME what I thought of the issue. This caught me completely flatfooted. (Read the third paragraph again).

I tried to express something to the effect that if you looked mature, you might act mature. What came out was some kind of mishmash about your girlfriend dumping you for a guy who looked older. The Seniors roared and I was put on the committee to approach the Principal. This was the same Principal who didn't like me because of my brother.

The committee approached the Principal. He was given the petition. The Seniors gave their arguments. I was prompted to repeat the mishmash. The Principal basically said, in the nicest manner possible, FUGITUBOWTIT, AINTHAPPIN.

When I became a Senior, this issue came up again, but in a little bit of a different way. That's another post all together.

The Family That's Weird Together

Everyone has some weird idiosyncrasies. Don't read this and say "I never do anything weird" because deep down, you know you do.


One of the weird things that is done around here is the tussle about who gets the little curlicue at the top of a new tub of margarine. A big production is made about it. I tease the Ogre all the time when I get it.


She sent me this picture the other day.


The message that accompanied it said "Oh I'll do it too!" It's fun being weird, especially when you know that it is being passed on.

Who would have thought?

It looked like everyone in the NFC East was firmly set at quarterback except for one team. The Eagles had just signed Michael Vick to a HUGE contract. Tony Romo is a rising star & fan favorite in Dallas. Eli Manning signed a long term, large contract after his Super Bowl win. Only the Washington Redskins, with has-been Rex Grossman and never-been John Beck, were shaky at the quarterback position. Oh, how quickly things change.

Sunday, Vick received a concussion and Romo received fractured ribs & a punctured lung. On Monday Manning as booed in his home stadium on just the ninth play. In Washington, the redskins are 2-0 and at the top of the standings.

Flashback Friday # 154

Venting

Welcome back to more minutia from the archives of my brain.

How do you let off steam? Are you a screamer? A thrower? Crawl into your shell? Assault people? When I was a young teen, I was quite the passive aggressive individual (still am, for the most part). I came up with a way to release aggression toward everyone I did liked without anyone knowing about it (almost).

My cousin Skeeter (one of Aunt Shelly's kids) and I were playing around with my cassette recorder one day. We had been discussing our mutual enemies at school. He grabbed the microphone and hollered out "(enemy's name here) eats piles of (use your imagination)." That started the ball rolling. Every slimebag we knew got pasted on that tape.

There were three things that were really nice about this. 1.Since we were up in my room, we had the privacy to include as many folks as we wanted. 2. My parents weren't there. Since Skeeter's vocabulary in public & private was saltier than mine. 3. Dad's friend Chuck had come over and was mowing our grass, further insulating our ventings from prying ears.

After we finished venting, we came up with several skits that we recorded. Some were from comedy records that I had (Cheech & Chong, Bill Cosby, Shel Silverstein) and some were just made up. We recorded these on battery power. By the time we got to the end of the tape, the batteries were pretty worn out. Playing it back using the power cord just made it all that much funnier because it sped everything up and made us sound like chipmunks. We titled the tape "The Nutsos".

Every time Skeeter was over after that, I have to get the tape out and play it.

Romance Advice

Here is a video clip that had us laughing last night. I hope you like it as much as we did.

Never Forget

Unless you were in a coma or living under a rock, you know exactly where you were 10 years ago today.

Flashback Friday # 153

Smashmouth Football

Greetings one & all. Welcome back to the meanderings of my mind, where many times we stray from the beaten path.

One of the things that I really disliked about school was Phys Ed class (more about that later). Since it was Autumn, what do you play in gym class? Football, of course. Since the classes were co-ed, this was one time where the guys were separated from the girls, that way they wouldn't get hurt.

Out in the field beside the school, the guys went to one end, while the girls went to the other. Teams were chosen and we were to commence playing flag football. How does one consider that smashmouth football, you may ask? I will explain that soon enough.

Another reason that the girls weren't playing along side the guys was that the guys were playing shirts vs skins. I hated shirts vs skins. The colored flags didn't differentiate the teams enough (what was strange is that it was differential enough for the girls).I was fortunate that the other team had more "fat boys" on it, therefore it had to be skins.

Our class was big enough that each team had 10 guys on it. Each side could very nearly field an entire offense or defensive unit. On offense, I was a running back, on defense, a linebacker. During kickoffs I was a kamikaze forward to block or tackle as needed.

During one of the kickoffs, our kicker boomed a huge kick. It was a beauty. A thing to behold. It isn't a good idea to watch a kick sailing through the air while running down the field as fast as you can. In the moment that I took my eyes off the field to follow the flight of the ball, disaster struck. One of the guys on the other team also took a gander at the beautiful kick, and stopped to see who would field it. The very moment that he stopped is the very moment the I looked up at the kick.

WHAM! I ran into his back at full speed. I didn't even see him when I hit him. All I saw were stars. The collision sent both of us sprawling. Other than being shaken up from having a tank steamroll into him, he was OK. I, on the other hand, wasn't so lucky. My mouth was smashed into the back of his head (see I told you that I would explain the title). My lips were pulverized and blood flowed fast & furious.

Since my parents worked in Westerville & weren't able to come to my aid, we had arranged with a neighbor, who just happened to be a nurse, to be my emergency pick-up if had to leave school due to sickness or injury. When she got there, the school nurse had stopped most of the blood flow with cold compresses. She took a look at what used to be my lips and determined that stitches wouldn't be necessary, but it would be a good idea if I went home & took it easy the rest of the day. I would find out later that it wouldn't be the only time that I got hurt in High School gym class.

The Muppets Bohemian Rhapsody

As a huge fan of the Muppets, I find this video hilarious.

Posting Has Been Light This Week

I haven't had much time to post this week. After I got home from my eight hour job, I got cleaned up and went to the church to drive the van down to The Millersport Sweetcorn Festival. Some folks can spend the four days down at our church campgrounds to work the festival. Many have to work, then drive down to work some more. We've been doing this for over 20 years. It's a great fundraiser.

Here is something that most people who have never seen, find quite fainting. The machine that we use to husk the corn is an antique and must have all replacement parts custom made for it. Corn is placed on a conveyor belt at the top,

and comes out at the bottom.

As long as the corn isn't loaded too quickly, the husker does an excellent job. Unfortunately, most times we have it cranked out to max and have to take some of the husks off by hand. It sure beats husking it all by hand. One year, the husker broke down. For two days, we husked all the corn by hand. I hope to never do that again.

Flashback Friday # 152

The Ultimatum

Greeting to one & all. Welcome back.

In several previous posts I have mentioned the many trips to Westerville. My Grandparents lived there and both of my parents worked there. At least for now.

Dad worked at a lumberyard. He had worked there for many years. The problem with that is he didn't make a whole lot there. He generally spent more than what he made. Mom wasn't real happy. Something had to change.

One day, after a payday, she looked at the amount of his check and told him that he was going to have to find a new job. Dad didn't want to. He liked working at the lumberyard. Mom put her foot down. Either he left his job or she was leaving him. She said that with his skills, he could be making significantly more than he was making. She said his bosses knew they were taking advantage of him. A shipment of panels was worth more than a couple of his weekly paychecks.

Reluctantly, Dad turned in his two week notice. He found a job working as a sub-contractor building new homes in Westerville. There will be future posts about his employment there because he hired me as a sub-sub-contractor. The lumberyard closed within a year of Dad quitting. Coincidence?